On December 14, the Website Investaweb.com quoted me in an article “20+ Experts about Bitcoin: Should You Buy into the Hype? (Part 1)“. I’m the second expert in their list of experts. I was interviewed in October for this article and typically financial articles go to press immediately. I didn’t realize there would be so much time between being interviewed and being published, so the prices I discuss don’t make sense. I didn’t see the article until January 29 so the prices really didn’t make sense. But I’m still tickled to be quoted as an expert.
Category: Why Bitcoin
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.
Barron’s Reads My Blog?
The highly respected weekly financial newspaper Barron’s published a great article “Bitcoin Storms Wall Street” by Avi Salzman on Dec 2, 2017.
This exhaustive, analytical, and well researched article quotes hedge fund managers, derivatives experts, Goldman Sachs analysts and appears to paraphrase one of my blog posts.
The 39th paragraph of this Barron’s article discusses the risks of trading cash-settled Bitcoin futures and uses the SAME ANALOGY I USED COMPARING BITCOIN TO FRIENDSTER! I would like to point out I published my blog post on November 28 (5 days BEFORE the Barron’s article published).
Here’s what I published on Nov 28, 2017: “Bitcoin may have been the first, but it may not be the long term winner. Do you wish you invested in Facebook? Its IPO was around $32 and today it’s $180. You could have quintupled your money. But before Facebook was MySpace. And before MySpace was Friendster. Friendster was first – do you remember Friendster? Exactly. If you put your money on Friendster, you would have lost. Maybe Bitcoin is Friendster or MySpace. Maybe an altcoin will be the next gold standard and Bitcoin will be the next generation’s punchline.”
Here’s what Barrons published Dec 2, 2017: “A danger is that Bitcoin could end up being the Friendster of the crypto world, while the Facebook – the real winner – may still be in development somewhere.”
Does Avi Salzman read my blog? I am flattered (but a credit or even a heads up would have been nice). If anyone finds other articles that closely resemble what I wrote, please let me know, I find these things gratifying.