Category: You Should Know This

Great Analysis of Bitcoin Price Crash

There’s no shortage of bloggers’ opinions on trends in Bitcoin (or any crypto) prices. I am a fan of Mark E Jeftovic’s Guerrilla Capitalism  blog. His post from Feb 7, 2018 about Bitcoin’s “Trough of Disillusionment” I found well researched, comprehensible, and highly enlightening.

It discusses the pattern of Bitcoin’s seemingly wild and allegedly “unpredictable” price fluctuations. The author’s thesis is that these fluctuations are not “unpredictable” at all, and in fact follow a fairly established pattern known as the “Hype Cycle” which can be depicted as:

This analysis helps clarify the price movements and (I think) provides comfort that things are not spinning out of control, they are just following a natural course of behavior. And to continue to hold on for the Slope of Enlightenment to reach the desired destination: Plateau of Productivity.

What is Blockchain?

I recently posted a link to the best explanation of Bitcoin I ever read. I read this article last summer that explained Blockchain and it really stuck with me. I didn’t appreciate how useful it was until I noticed I used the same explanation for the hundredth time between Thanksgiving and Christmas when friends and family quiz me about Bitcoin/Blockchain/Crypto.

Today I spent 45 minutes trolling my browsing history to find this article and I’m happy to have succeeded.  Read this. You will know more about the underlying protocol of Bitcoin and most alt coins than 99% of anyone with an opinion about digital currency:

https://medium.com/@divjyot.cse/what-is-blockchain-9126b45d8f0

What Is Bitcoin – Best Answer I’ve Found

Unless you program blockchain protocol, it’s hard to really understand Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. It seems almost impossible for a Bitcoin expert to explain to a layperson in a comprehensible way, and practically impossible for a layperson to explain Bitcoin to another layperson.

I’ve read a lot of articles about Bitcoin, and found most to be jargon-filled and too technical, or overly simplified and sort of insulting to my intelligence.

Then I read this article and many random facts I gathered started fitting together and making more sense about what Bitcoin is, what it does, and why it’s useful. Feel free to read and share:

https://medium.freecodecamp.org/explain-bitcoin-like-im-five-73b4257ac833

This was published way back in 2013. I’ve seen other bloggers post this same explanation, but they all seem to be plagiarizing Nic Custodio. If I’m wrong, please let me know and I’ll update the link with the true original author.