It's Just Technology
The initial vision for The Internet was meant to be free and decentralised. But things didn’t really go as planned. So, what went wrong? who’s to blame? and where are we heading? Let’s figure out.
Sections in this video:
0:00 Intro – hello, Internet
1:35 A free tool for humanity?
2:34 Tim’s vision for the Internet
3:09 The early 90s: Microsoft, Netscape
4:30 Antitrust legislation and the rise of big players
6:18 But there is hope
7:08 It’s all up to you
I’ll take a look back at what I’ve explained during this series and share resources and tips to help you continue in your blockchain learning journey.
Blockchain technology has the power to not only decentralize currency and art but also almost every aspect of our lives. The same way that currency is centralized, so are our social media platforms and blockchain technology has the potential to change that.
Once you understand blockchain principles, you can explore the best ways to build and manage your own blockchain networks. Learn about the solutions that Azure provides like the Blockchain Development Kit, Blockchain Service, and Blockchain Workbench and how they can help you.
OpenZeppelin is a popular open-source platform to help write, deploy and manage decentralized applications. See how you can integrate this platform with your blockchain applications.
Silvio Micali describes blockchain. He is a computer scientist at MIT, Turing award winner, and founder of Algorand.
The Truffle Suite is a set of tools that make it easy to develop smart contracts. In this video, see how you can get started with using the tools that are part of the Truffle Suite.
Intense interest in cryptocurrencies, like bitcoin, and the Covid-19 pandemic have sparked debate among central banks on whether they should issue digital currencies of their own. Advocates argue that central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, can make cross-border transactions easier, promote financial inclusion, and provide payment system stability. Here’s how central bank digital currencies could become the future of digital finance.
Intense interest in cryptocurrencies and the Covid-19 pandemic have sparked debate among central banks on whether they should issue digital currencies of their own.
China has been in the lead in developing its own digital currency. It’s been working on the initiative since 2014. Chinese central bank officials have already conducted massive trials in major cities including Shenzhen, Chengdu and Hangzhou.
“China’s experiment is very large scale,” said J. Christopher Giancarlo, former chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. “When the world arrives in Beijing next winter for the Winter Olympics, they are going to be using the new digital renminbi to shop and to stay in hotels and to buy meals in restaurants. The world is going to see a functioning [central bank digital currency] very soon, within the coming year.”
The U.S. is playing catch-up. In late February 2021, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the U.S. will engage with the public on the digital dollar this year.
Advocates contend central bank digital currencies can make cross-border transactions easier, promote financial inclusion and provide payment system stability. There are also privacy and surveillance risks with government-issued digital currencies. And in times of economic uncertainty, people may be more likely to pull their funds from commercial banks, accelerating a bank run.
What is Token Design and why do we need it?
Despite the fact that well-functioning token architectures are a fundamental component of any healthy crypto protocol, the vast majority of crypto protocols make serious mistakes in their token architectures. This results in fewer fundraising opportunities for early-stage crypto protocols and in lower utility and market caps of live crypto protocols.
The goal of this video is to give readers an overview of all token architecture mechanisms currently in use. If crypto protocols implement them correctly, these mechanisms have the potential to exponentially increase the value and market caps of their underlying tokens.
The true power and potential of blockchain is incredible. This is way more impactful than the power of any social media platform or digital-born business like Uber, the blockchain can actually change the fundamental structure of society, and not everyone is necessarily going to be happy about it. There is a lot of good to come from blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, but there are plenty of entities who are in control now that would lose their power if blockchains were to become part of everyday life. Be aware of these things as you are navigating the space and always keep in mind the long term consequences this technology can have on how the world operates.