By @edent · bitcoin blockchain crypto · 19 comments · 600 words · read ~536 times.
A few weeks ago, someone wanted to send me some crypto. After spending months studying for a Blockchain exam, I usually avoid such things. But, hey, $20 is $20. So I signed up for a wallet, installed an extension, verified my credentials, saved a seed phrase, and - without too much technical fuss - had […]
Continue reading →By @edent · blockchain crypto Satire (Probably) · 6 comments · 900 words · read ~215 times.
Dear the venture capitalists. I am a very charming white man and am prepared to drop out of university if you'll invest in these ideas. In the future, all your clothes are an NFT. "Wow! I love your blouse." "Thanks, here's a smart contract showing where I purchased it from. If you buy one, I […]
Continue reading →By @edent · blockchain crypto cryptography · 2 comments · 850 words
Wouldn't it be good if digital currencies worked offline? I'm going to talk through a proposed user experience, and then discuss how it would work in practice. Let us imagine a future digital currency ₢. It might be fiat, it might be crypto, doesn't really matter. Alice loads up a smartcard with ₢100 and locks […]
Continue reading →By @edent · bitcoin blockchain crypto NaBloPoMo · 1,150 words · read ~306 times.
I was at an event a few months ago, where someone from the Bank of England was talking about understanding the user needs for cryptocurrency. One of the things people do when trying to create a new product or service is to write little user stories to illustrate the problem they're solving. You've probably seen […]
Continue reading →By @edent · bank blockchain crypto money · 14 comments · 700 words · read ~8,722 times.
When I was young, I had a piggy bank. A piggy bank is incredibly secure. It's fairly big - so it is hard to lose. It is brightly coloured - so you can find it easily. No one else can see how much money there is in there. The only way to get money out […]
Continue reading →By @edent · crypto nft pgp web3 · 13 comments · 800 words · read ~10,585 times.
This is a small proof-of-concept. It relies on PGP - but you could use Keybase, GPG, or any other hard-to-use encryption program. Background Suppose you want to support an artist and give them money. That's easy. Most artists take PayPal, bank transfer, or cash. But how can you prove that you've paid an artist for […]
Continue reading →By @edent · crypto money · 5 comments · 600 words
I recently read this interesting, and distressing, story of a man who was drugged and robbed. A form of crime which has been going on for centuries. But the 21st Century twist is that the thieves forced him to transfer large sums of money via his phone's banking apps. While under the influence, the victim […]
Continue reading →By @edent · blockchain crypto NaBloPoMo scam · 700 words · read ~295 times.
You've heard of the AI Winter, right? The period where funding for AI dried up due to products failing to meet their hype. I think we're now in Springtime For Crypto0 - named after the musical "Springtime for Hitler" from movie The Producers - where scams abound. You should take a couple of hours to […]
Continue reading →By @edent · crypto nft speculative fiction Tales Of The Algorithm · 4 comments · 700 words · read ~324 times.
David Bowie invented the NFT in 19970. The "Bowie Bond" allowed you to directly invest in an artist's catalogue and receive royalty payments based on their sales. Here's how it worked1: You pay money to the artist (Bowie) Artist uses that money to buy the rights to their back catalogue Every time one of the […]
Continue reading →By @edent · beer crypto money · 3 comments · 450 words
This is a thought experiment inspired by the sort of rambling and speculative conversations my wife and I have been having in lockdown. Most countries in the world place legal limits on alcohol production at home. There are, usually, several good reasons for this: Improperly brewed alcohol can cause severe health problems - including death. […]
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