Good morning everyone!

Welcome to another week’s newsletter. I would like to talk about Blockchain and its applications in Cryptocurrency.

Cryptocurrency News:

The meme Cryptocurrency meant to poke fun at Bitcoin went through a rollercoaster ride. Dogecoin, started in late 2013 has been growing in fame both in and outside the crypto community.

The price of Doge was at $0.0057, about half a cent at the beginning of 2021. It is currently trading at $0.5555 almost 100 times or 9900% the value in January!

Dogecoin runs on blockchain technology similar to Bitcoin and Ethereum. This means that they run on a secured digital ledger system that is distributed across an entire network of computers on the blockchain. The ledger system is set up to make hacking the system virtually impossible and allows a decentralized currency environment.

The miners of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin must solve extremely complicated computational math problems using supercomputers (Proof of Work – arbitrary complex math problems to solve). The miners are then rewarded with tokens for their work and more new tokens can enter into the general circulation.

Bitcoin is capped at 21 million coins and there are approximately 2.3 million bitcoins remaining to be mined. This means that there is a limit to the number of Bitcoin supply in the world. This makes Bitcoin valuable.

Currently one bitcoin is worth about $51,000USD, putting the Bitcoin Market Cap at almost $1 Trillion. For comparison, 4 US Companies are worth more than 1 Trillion: Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet.

The value of Bitcoin fluctuates greatly. Just back in April 2021, one Bitcoin traded at almost $64,000. The value can fluctuate 10%-20% daily. Trading Bitcoin is not for the faint of heart.

Unlike Bitcoin that has a limit at 21 million coins, Dogecoin has no lifetime cap and can be produced at 10,000 coins per min! This is approximately 14 million new coins per day! In addition, the mining software for Bitcoin takes an average of about 10 minutes to process a block whereas for Dogecoin, it takes only about 1 minute.

Note to self: A block records a transaction. Each time a block is completed, it becomes a link in a chain of records of all the transactions before it. So the blockchain network can be thought of as millions of blocks that contain information about its past and future. Each block contains past and new transactions before it. This is how data on blockchain is permanently stored and makes it virtually impossible to hack or alter previously recorded transactions.

While the 49 years old Elon Musk is a proponent of cryptocurrency like Bitcoin and Doge, the 90 years old Warrant buffet (Berkshire Hathaway) and the 65 years old Bill Gates (Microsoft) are much more bearish on the future of cryptocurrency.

Here are some of the reasons for NOT liking Cryptocurrency

  1. Crypto is anonymous meaning that you can hold a crypto address without revealing your identity. Reuters reported that hundreds of millions of dollars of dirty funds last year flowed through digital wallets that users can hide their trails.
  2. Crypto lacks any regulatory compliance. This can lead to criminal activities such as cyberattack and money laundering (money laundering is the illegal process of making money via criminal activities like drug trafficking, embezzlement appear legal. In this sense “dirty money” is “washed or laundered” to make them clean. Check out “Breaking Bad” on Netflix if you want to see how a chemist launders large sums of money.
  3. Crypto Mining is extremely energy consuming – Tesla just decided to stop accepting bitcoin as a form of payment due to cryptocurrency’s environmental impact. Elon musk cited the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, cbeci https://cbeci.org/ Since it is impossible to actually calculate the energy use of mining bitcoin using supercomputers, the site listed floor of 47.31 TWh (lower bound) and ceilings of 519.96 TWh (upper bound).

Watt-hour or Wh is the unit commonly used to measure the amount of energy. Instead of using Joules or Calories as in food consumption, which are too small, kWh, GWh or TWh are used to measure the amount of energy.

1Watt-hour is equivalent to using 1Joules of energy per second for 1 hour. Our house electrical bills are often presented in kWh units where 1kWh is 1000 Joules per second for 1 hour or 3.6 million Joules. Check that our on phone bill or Tesla solar app

1 TeraWatt-hour is a huge amount of energy and is energy equivalent to 45 atomic bombs. The United States consumed about 3802 TWh in 2020. (1TWh= 1 billion kWh = 1012Wh). Based on the upper ceiling of crypto mining of 519.96 TWh annualized assumption, bitcoin mining could consume roughly 13.7% of US annual energy consumption!

Tesla currently still holds approximately 38300 Bitcoins that cost about $1.33 Billion. (38300 coins at $51,000 per coin is approximately $1.95 Billion at today’s price, so it is currently worth more than what it cost, good decision by Tesla!).

Bitcoin mining using supercomputers to solve complex mathematical puzzles is power hungry and still relies heavily on fossil fuels (dirty energy). The carbon footprint of Bitcoin production is estimated to generate 22 million metric tons of CO2 per year (compared to 4.57 million metric tons of US footprint in 2020!)

Why such a sudden change of mind by Tesla within a few months? Maybe Elon Musk is hinting at Green Bitcoins where Tesla’s innovation and energy solutions can ultimately help to achieve? Investing in greener ways to mine cryptocurrency can potentially give Tesla a new role in its energy business.

Ethereum, another cryptocurrency, has been gaining a lot of traction in the past 2 months.

Ethereum’s price in February was about $2000 and is currently trading just above $4000. Ethereum’s Co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, the world’s youngest crypto billionaire just donated $1 billion in crypto to India Covid Relief Fund.

Forbes reported that Buterin donated 50 Trillion SHIB tokens worth $1.2 Billion on May 12th. SHIB, or “Doegecoin Killer”, is another dog-theme meme token recently elevated by the hype in Dogecoin. This donation came after India’s proposed cryptocurrency ban (penalize miner and traders of crypto) and the ban’s struck down by India’s own supreme court ruling.

Although similar in many ways, Ethereum is fundamentally quite different from Bitcoin. 

Bitcoin is primarily used to provide a Monetary base and a way for people to send money over the internet securely without a central control.

I think of Bitcoin as an alternative to Gold. Gold has a limited supply and a market cap of $11 Trillion. Bitcoin is limited at 22 million coins and is around $1 Trillion. Bitcoin has a lot more room to run in the future.

Ethereum is used to provide a smart contract capability like that for NFT’s. Ethereum technology can be used to define rules (just like a contract you sign for a mortgage or lease). The technology will automatically enforce them via the codes. NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) are now used to commodify digital assets in art, music or anything of value using Ethereum blockchain.

In many aspects, I like Ethereum a lot more for its potential applications in all aspects of our lives!

Ethereum is more on the application and derivative of the cryptocurrency. Using Ethereum technology as a smart contract to build a platform for decentralized applications is amazing. You can use Ethereum technology to execute any codes! You can create your own cryptocurrency, raise funds and create smart contracts of your own.

The blockchain technology has many applications. According to buildin.com, the revolutionary technology is far reaching. Here are some examples

  1. Secure sharing of medical data in Healthcare
  2. NFT Marketplace
  3. Music Royalties
  4. Art transactions
  5. Instant money transfer (without currency exchanges)
  6. Real-time Internet of Thing (IoT) operating systems
  7. Person Identity Security
  8. Original Content Creation like NFT
  9. Real estate processing platform
  10. Supply chain and logistics monitoring (shipping and tracking)

If you like coding, learn about Javascript, python, C++, R on your own. Unfortunately the high school curriculum in our districts introduces C++ and Java only. Even if you are in Tech programs, there aren’t really much differences in the curriculums. The best way to stand out and stand apart is to pursue these education on your own on weekends and in summer times.

The blockchain technology is still in its early days. The possibility of blockchain technology is truly endless in the next few years. Keep an eye out for their applications woven into our daily lives.

Now imagining creating your own cryptocurrency to showcase your extracurricular activities as a cryptocurrency creator. 

Or

Creating your own smart contract applications in the form of computer code that are stored on a public database and run on the block chain. 

If you are interested in learning about coding and their applications, Dr. Meng, our STEM counselor, may be able to help you map out a personalized pathway to showcase your abilities and creative interests. This may be the WOW factor in college admissions. Learning about coding requires time and hands-on practice, invest in yourself, and learn real skills. Do NOT fall for gimmicks and shortcuts out there that skips learning, Admission Officers can see right through fake activities.

Here is a short video on explaining what is Ethereum 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsXvoYeJxKA

 

Thanks guys,

Great news! 12 to 15 years old are getting vaccinated. Make your appointments!

Stay safe out there during reopening!

Best

Mr. Daniel

 

 

大家,早安!

歡迎收看另一周的新聞通訊。 我想談一談區塊鏈及其在加密貨幣Cryptocurrency中的應用。

 

加密貨幣新聞:

原先這只是嘲笑比特幣愚蠢的一切,但是現在Meme它的特性結合了比特幣,使得其暢行起來。

狗狗幣(Dogecoin)開始於2013年底,它在加密貨幣市場內外都已廣為人知。

Doge的價格為0.0057美元,在2021年初約為半美分。目前,它的交易價格為0.5555美元,幾乎是1月份價格的100倍或9900%!

狗狗幣運行在區塊鏈技術上與比特幣和以太坊相似。 這也就意味著它們在安全的數字分類帳系統上運行,該系統分佈在區塊鏈上整個計算機網絡中, 設置分類帳系統是為了避免黑客入侵該系統,並且提供分散貨幣的環境。

像比特幣這樣的加密貨幣的礦工必須使用超級計算機解決極其複雜的計算數學問題(工作量證明-要解決的任意複雜數學問題)。 然後,對礦工的工作給予獎勵,並且更多新的令牌可以進入普通發行。

比特幣的上限為2100萬枚硬幣,還有大約230萬枚比特幣尚待開採。 這意味著世界上比特幣的供應數量是有限的。 這使比特幣很有價值。

目前,一個比特幣的價值約為51,000美元,在比特幣市值接近1萬億美元。 相比之下,美國的4家公司市值超過1萬億美元:蘋果,微軟,亞馬遜和Alphabet。

比特幣的價格波動很大。 就在2021年4月,一個比特幣的交易價格接近64,000美元。 該值每天可波動10%-20%。 膽小者並不適合做比特幣的交易。

與比特幣的最高限額為2100萬枚硬幣不同,狗狗幣沒有終生上限,每分鐘可以生產10,000枚硬幣! 每天大約有1400萬新硬幣! 此外,用於比特幣的挖礦軟件平均需要大約10分鐘來處理一個區塊,而對於狗狗幣而言,僅需要大約1分鐘。

自我注意:區塊記錄交易。 每次完成一個區塊時,它都會將其之前所有記錄連結成鏈。 因此,可以將區塊鏈網絡視為數以百萬計的區塊,其中包含有關其過去和未來的信息。 每個區塊之前都包含過去和新的交易。 這就是將區塊鏈上的數據永久存儲的方式,幾乎無法破解或更改以前記錄的交易。

雖然49歲的埃隆·馬斯克(Elon Musk)是比特幣和Doge等加密貨幣的擁護者,但90歲的Warrant Buffet(伯克希爾·海瑟薇(Berkshire Hathaway))和65歲的比爾·蓋茨(Bill Gates)(微軟)對加密貨幣的未來卻是更加悲觀。

這是一些不喜歡加密貨幣的原因

  1. 加密是匿名的,這意味著您可以在不透露身份的情況下持有加密地址。據路透社報導,去年有數億美元的骯髒資金流經數字錢包,用戶可以隱藏自己的踪跡。
  2. 加密缺乏任何法規遵從性。這可能導致犯罪活動,例如網絡攻擊和洗錢(洗錢是通過販毒,挪用公款等犯罪活動賺錢的非法過程。在這種意義上,“髒錢”被“洗“以使其變合法。 如果想了解如何洗黑錢,請在Netflix上查看“絕命毒師”。
  3. 加密採礦非常耗能-特斯拉剛決定停止接受比特幣作為付款方式,原因是加密貨幣對環境的影響。伊隆穆斯克(Elon Mussk)引用了劍橋比特幣電力消耗指數(cbeci https://cbeci.org/)。由於無法用超級計算機實際計算開採比特幣的能源使用量,該站點列出的最低樓層為47.31 TWh(下限),最高限額為519.96。  TWh(上限)

瓦時或Wh是通常用來測量能量的單位。 與其使用太小的焦耳或卡路里作為食物消耗,不如使用kWh,GWh或TWh來測量能量。

1瓦時等於每秒使用1焦耳的能量1小時。 我們的房屋電費通常以kWh單位表示,其中1kWh是1000焦耳每秒1小時或360萬焦耳。 檢查我們的手機話費或特斯拉太陽能應用

1 TeraWatt-hour是巨大的能量,相當於45顆原子彈的能量。 到2020年,美國消耗約3802 TWh。(1TWh = 10億千瓦時= 1012Wh)。 根據519.96 TWh年化假設的加密採礦上限,比特幣採礦可能消耗美國每年能源消耗的約13.7%!

特斯拉目前仍持有約38300個比特幣,價值約13.3億美元。  (38300枚硬幣,每枚硬幣51,000美元,按今天的價格計算,約為19.5億美元,因此,它現在的價值超過其成本,特斯拉做出了明智的決定!)。

使用超級計算機來解決複雜的數學難題的比特幣開採非常耗電,並且仍然嚴重依賴化石燃料(骯髒的能源)。 估計比特幣生產的碳足跡每年將產生2200萬噸二氧化碳(相比之下,2020年美國的二氧化碳足跡為457萬噸!)

為什麼特斯拉在幾個月內突然改變主意? 也許埃隆·馬斯克(Elon Musk)暗示著綠色比特幣,特斯拉的創新和能源解決方案最終可以幫助實現這一目標嗎? 以更綠色的方式投資開採加密貨幣可能會使特斯拉在能源業務中發揮新的作用。

以太坊是另一種加密貨幣,在過去兩個月中獲得了很大的吸引力。

以太坊2月份的價格約為2000美元,目前交易價格略高於4000美元。 世界上最年輕的加密億萬富翁以太坊的聯合創始人Vitalik Buterin剛剛向印度Covid Relief基金捐贈了10億美元的加密貨幣。

據《福布斯》報導,Buterin於5月12日捐贈了50萬億SHIB代幣,價值12億美元。  SHIB,即“ Doegecoin Killer”,是另一種以狗狗幣為主題的狗狗主題模因代幣。 這筆捐款是在印度提出擬議的加密貨幣禁令(對礦工和加密貨幣交易者進行懲罰)之後,該禁令被印度自己的最高法院裁決駁回。

儘管在很多方面都相似,以太坊與比特幣在本質上是完全不同的。

比特幣主要用於提供貨幣基礎,以及人們無需中央控制即可安全地通過互聯網匯款的一種方式。

我認為比特幣可以替代黃金。 黃金的供應有限,市值為11萬億美元。 比特幣的上限為2200萬枚硬幣,約為1萬億美元。 比特幣在未來還有更多的運行空間。

以太坊用於提供像NFT一樣的智能合約功能。 以太坊技術可用於定義規則(就像您為抵押或租賃簽訂的合同一樣)。 該技術將通過代碼自動執行它們。  NFTs(Non-Fungible Tokens)現在被用於使用以太坊區塊鏈將藝術品,音樂或任何有價物品中的數字資產商品化。

在很多方面,我都非常喜歡以太坊,因為它在我們生活的各個方面都有潛在的應用!

以太坊更多地涉及加密貨幣的應用和衍生物。 使用以太坊技術作為智能合約來構建去中心化應用程序的平台是驚人的。 您可以使用以太坊技術執行任何代碼! 您可以創建自己的加密貨幣,籌集資金並創建自己的智能合約。

區塊鏈技術有許多應用。 根據buildin.com的說法,革命性技術意義深遠。 這裡有些例子

1.在醫療保健中安全共享醫療數據

2.NFT市場

3.音樂版稅

4.藝術品交易

5.即時匯款(無需貨幣兌換)

6.實時物聯網(IoT)操作系統

7.人員身份安全

8.像NFT這樣的原始內容創作

9.房地產加工平台

10.供應鍊和物流監控(運輸和跟踪)

如果您喜歡編碼,學習JavascriptpythonC ++R。 不幸的是,我們高中課程僅引入C ++和Java。 即使您參加了技術課程,課程內容也沒有太大差異。想要 脫穎而出最佳方法是利用周末和暑期時間參加這些課程。

區塊鏈技術仍處於早期階段, 未來幾年,區塊鏈技術的可能性將是無限的。 密切注意其在我們日常生活中的應用。

現在想像一下在課外活動中作為加密貨幣創建者,創建自己的加密貨幣。

或者

以計算機代碼的形式創建自己的智能合約應用程序,讓這些應用程序存儲在公共數據庫中並在區塊鏈上運行。

如果您有興趣學習編碼及其應用程序,我們的STEM顧問Meng博士可能會幫助您規劃出屬於你個人並且個性化的學習路徑,以展示您的能力和創造興趣。 這可能是大學錄取中的WOW因素。 學習編碼需要時間和動手實踐,投入自己的熱忱並學習真正的技能,不要有任何投機的念頭去相信那些可以跳過學習步驟的捷徑,大學招生人員是可以察覺分辨出申請自傳上活動紀錄的真實性的。

這是一段簡短的視頻,解釋什麼是以太坊

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsXvoYeJxKA

 

謝謝你們,

好消息!  12至15歲的兒童正在接種疫苗。 趕快預約吧!

現在公共生活重啟,請大家注意安全!

謝謝!!

丹尼爾