At the beginning of 2018, I wrote an article outlining a New Year’s resolution that I thought could help boost cryptocurrency adoption and awareness in 2018, as long as enough people were doing it. A few weeks ago was the twenty-first installment of the challenge.
Before we jump into the progress of the challenge, I wanted to take a moment to apologize to our readers for neglecting to write about this challenge for the past few weeks. While I was still keeping to my resolution, I was unable to find the time to write about my experiences, so this week’s edition will be a sort of ‘catch-all’ for the weeks I’ve been unable to write.
I recently caught a few drinks with a colleague who I met at a workshop where I was a panelist. We discussed many things, ranging from Croatia’s performance in the World Cup (all of the teams I was rooting for just got knocked out) to the merits of blockchain technology in relation to some of his projects. The utility of blockchain technology was readily apparent to him, and I ended up sharing my copy of Andreas Antonopoulos’ The Internet of Money Volume I since I happened to have it on hand (I’d just gotten it back from another friend, actually). Not 24 hours later, he sent me a message saying he couldn’t put it down and had bought his own copy to heavily mark.
This conversation in particular was an excellent thought experiment and one that I suggest everyone try. 1) Critically think about our world today with a friend or colleague; 2) identify not only areas where there are problems to be solved, but also areas that could be improved (not necessarily problematic); and 3) explore how blockchain technology could solve, improve, and worsen those problems. I don’t pretend that blockchain technology can fix it all, nor that it should be thrown at all problems, but there are some areas in which we can strategically and intentionally implement it. Never stop thinking critically about our world and how your expertise or talent could help it. You’ll have fun, strengthen relationships, and learn something new – even if it’s only that the problem you’re exploring doesn’t need a blockchain to fix it.
Lately, I’ve been pretty partial to sending LTC to my friend who streams. The fees are minimal and I know he used to mine cryptocurrency before he got out of it, so he knows the ins and outs of it. He has described some of the shortcomings of receiving donations in fiat money, and I could see how cryptocurrency would be a more attractive option to him.
Are you also participating in the cryptocurrency challenge? How is it going for you? Let us know on Twitter or in the comments!