The A-Z of Crypto Tools To Explore DeFi and Web3

Posted on by Werner

Introduction

The crypto landscape has undergone some huge changes following 2020’s DeFi Summer and the ensuing 2021 bull run. Gone are the days when you could simply buy and sell (or HODL) the top ten coins at the most opportune times and retire soon after. With the 2024 crypto bull run starting due to the launch of Bitcoin spot ETFs and the looming Bitcoin Halving which could raise all boats, DeFi degens who want to strike it rich like early Bitcoin investors must now be smarter and look beyond the action on boring old centralized exchanges, in order to find those 10x and 100x opportunities. 

To do this, they use a plethora of innovative data research and trading tools that give them precise on-chain analytics, detailed airdrop gameplans, project news and announcements, and more. 

Here are some of the most popular ones, excluding trading bots, but please note that none of these are endorsed by Mindplex Magazine, and are shared for educational purposes only. Only connect your crypto wallets to any of these tools once you’ve done your research on them and always be vigilant against malicious phishing sites that could drain your entire portfolio. 

Airdrops.io: Timely Cryptocurrency Airdrops

  • Best feature: Timely information on cryptocurrency airdrops.
  • Cost: Gratis.
  • How it works: Community airdrops are a huge narrative in 2024, but it takes plenty of research to know which protocols to target. Airdrops.io is a dedicated platform for crypto enthusiasts looking for the latest airdrop opportunities. It provides detailed information about ongoing and upcoming airdrops, making it easier for users to participate and potentially receive free tokens. The site categorizes airdrops by type (such as DeFi, NFT, etc.), ensuring users can find opportunities that align with their interests and investment strategies.

Artemis.xyz: Comprehensive Crypto Analytics

  • Best feature: Aggregates data from various sources for comprehensive analytics.
  • Cost: Gratis
  • How it works: Artemis.xyz stands as a comprehensive analytics platform, aggregating data from exchanges, social media, and more, to offer investors a broad view of the market for well-informed decision-making.

BanterBubbles: Visualizing Crypto Performance

  • Best feature: Visualizes performance of cryptocurrencies in a unique format.
  • Cost: Free
  • How it works: BanterBubbles offers a visually engaging way to comprehend market trends, using bubbles to represent performance data, making it an intuitive tool for grasping market dynamics at a glance. BanterBubbles goes beyond the original CryptoBubbles by featuring niche sector views and an interactive comment section that pools together research from the Crypto Banter community.

Chainalysis: The Crypto Detectives

  • Best feature: Advanced blockchain analysis for tracking the flow of digital assets.
  • Cost: Freemium
  • How it works: Chainalysis is renowned for its blockchain analytics tools, providing transparency and insight into the movement of digital assets, essential for compliance, research, and understanding complex blockchain ecosystems.

CoinAlyze: Spotting Altcoin Trends

  • Best feature: Spotting changes in open interest.
  • Cost: Gratis
  • How it works: CoinAlyze caters to those focused on the derivatives market, offering critical data on open interest changes that can signal market sentiment shifts, essential for altcoin traders.

Coin Lobster: Simplified DeFi Analytics for Beginners

  • Best feature: Simplified analytics for beginners.
  • Cost: Free
  • How it works: Designed for simplicity, Coin Lobster breaks down complex DeFi analytics, providing insights into futures markets, liquidations, and significant trades, making it accessible for newcomers.

CoinMarketCap: Cryptocurrency Market Rankings

  • Best feature: Extensive database of cryptocurrencies with market rankings, price charts, and volume data.
  • Cost: Gratis.
  • How it works: CoinMarketCap and others like CoinGecko are leading cryptocurrency information websites that offer detailed data on thousands of digital currencies. It includes market cap rankings, historical data, exchange volumes, and more, serving as an essential research tool for investors looking to make informed decisions. Its user-friendly layout and comprehensive coverage of the crypto market have made it a go-to resource for both beginners and experts alike. These sites also compete with each other to roll out new features frequently. 

Coinstats.app: Real-Time Crypto Data

  • Best feature: Real-time crypto market data and portfolio tracking.
  • Cost: Gratis version available; premium plans offer additional features like advanced analytics and exclusive insights.
  • How it works: CoinStats.app is a comprehensive cryptocurrency portfolio tracker and market data provider that offers real-time price updates, news, and detailed analysis across thousands of cryptocurrencies. It’s designed to help investors manage their investments across multiple wallets and exchanges, providing a unified view of their portfolio’s performance. The platform’s intuitive interface and mobile app make it accessible for monitoring investments on the go. Please understand what you’re doing and don’t give portfolio sites like CoinStats unfettered API access to your exchange and private wallets and the ability to execute transactions on your behalf, as it could potentially be hacked. 

CryptoFees.info: Understanding Revenue Generation

  • Best feature: Insights into project revenue generation.
  • Cost: Gratis
  • How it works: CryptoFees.info offers a simple yet effective way to understand which DeFi projects are generating significant revenue, aiding investors in identifying sustainable and potentially profitable ventures.

CryptoQuant: In-Depth Market Insights

  • Best feature: Offers data on spot and derivatives markets, and on-chain metrics.
  • Cost: Free, with paid plans for additional features
  • How it works: CryptoQuant caters to the analytical needs of both institutional and individual investors, providing a wide array of data points including on-chain metrics, market analysis, and trading indicators for strategic investment planning.

DappRadar: Decentralized App Data Heaven

  • Best feature: Personalized tables for DeFi protocols.
  • Cost: Gratis
  • How it works: As a very popular DApp market explorer, DappRadar simplifies the discovery and analysis of NFT, DeFi, and more, making it easier for users to compare different protocols and streamline their investment strategies.

DeBank: The Web3 Messenger and Tracker

  • Best feature: Tracking of on-chain Web3 activity.
  • Cost: Gratis
  • How it works: DeBank provides a streamlined interface for portfolio tracking and on-chain activity monitoring, allowing users to follow influential investors and gain insights into prevailing market trends.

DeFi Llama: Onchain Alpha in One Spot

  • Best feature: Comprehensive tracking of TVL across various chains.
  • Cost: Gratis
  • How it works: A one-stop dashboard offering insights into the crypto market dynamics, DeFi Llama tracks the Total Value Locked across different chains, providing a macro view essential for spotting trends and identifying opportunities.

DeFiPulse: Tracking and Analytics for DeFi

  • Best feature: Tracking and analytics for DeFi projects and Total Value Locked (TVL).
  • Cost: Gratis.
  • How it works: DeFiPulse is a key resource for those interested in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space. It ranks DeFi platforms based on the total value locked (TVL), providing insights into the most popular and successful projects. The platform also offers information on yield farming, lending rates, and other DeFi metrics, making it invaluable for investors looking to dive into the DeFi ecosystem.

Delphi Digital: In-Depth Crypto Research and Analysis

  • Best feature: Expert-led research and strategic insights into the crypto market.
  • Cost: Membership-based, with different tiers for individual and institutional access.
  • How it works: Delphi Digital stands out as a premier research boutique specializing in the digital assets market. The platform combines deep industry knowledge with data-driven analysis to offer comprehensive reports, investment strategies, and market forecasts. Catering to both individual investors and institutions, it provides actionable intelligence on various aspects of the crypto ecosystem, including DeFi, NFTs, and emerging blockchain technologies. 

DEXTools: Real-Time Data for DeFi Traders

  • Best feature: Insights and historical charts for informed decision-making.
  • Cost: Gratis
  • How it works: DEXTools is a robust platform offering real-time data from decentralized exchanges, equipped with features that support traders through insights, charts, and alerts, enhancing DeFi trading decisions.

Dune: The Community Research Hub

  • Best feature: User-generated scripts and data.
  • Cost: Gratis
  • How it works: Dune Dashboards empowers its users with the ability to create, share, and explore custom data visualizations, offering a decentralized platform for deep-diving into blockchain analytics through community-sourced insights.

Instadapp: DeFi Protocol Aggregator

  • Best feature: Seamless management of multiple DeFi protocols.
  • Cost: Free to access, with transaction fees applicable for certain actions.
  • How it works: Instadapp provides a unified interface that simplifies the management of assets across various DeFi protocols. It enables users to optimize their DeFi strategy by leveraging functionalities like asset swapping, leverage adjustments, and debt management in one platform, making it easier to navigate the complex DeFi ecosystem.

KyberSwap: Real-Time and AI Insights for Trading

  • Best feature: Real-time insights with Kyber AI.
  • Cost: Gratis
  • How it works: KyberSwap leverages AI to provide predictive market insights and trend analyses, offering a competitive edge to traders looking for real-time data to refine their strategies.

LunarCrush: Social Media Analytics for Crypto

  • Best feature: Real-time social media analytics and market sentiment.
  • Cost: Gratis, with premium features for advanced users.
  • How it works: LunarCrush collects and analyzes data from social media to gauge market sentiment and trends for various cryptocurrencies. By leveraging AI and machine learning, it offers insights into user engagement and sentiment, helping investors make informed decisions based on the social dynamics of crypto markets.

Nanoly.com: The APY Hub for DeFi Yield Chasers

  • Best feature: Maximizing staking returns.
  • Cost: Gratis
  • How it works: Nanoly directs users to the highest APY opportunities for staking their crypto, an invaluable resource for those looking to optimize their yield farming strategies in a risk-aware manner.

Nansen: Advanced Crypto and NFT Analytics

  • Best feature: Advanced on-chain data analytics.
  • Cost: Gratis, with paid advanced options
  • How it works: Nansen stands out for its wallet and token activity tracking, providing alerts and insights that help users make informed investment decisions, especially in the NFT space. By combining blockchain data with an array of proprietary analytics tools, users can identify emerging trends, track smart money movements, and uncover investment opportunities across various blockchain ecosystems. 

The platform’s dashboard offers visualizations of on-chain data, making it accessible for both novice users and experienced analysts. Nansen segments data into actionable insights, allowing users to monitor wallet addresses, decipher market signals, and follow the strategies of successful investors.

Credit: Tesfu Assefa

NFTGo.io: NFT Market Analytics and Discovery Platform

  • Best feature: Comprehensive NFT market analysis and trend tracking.
  • Cost: Gratis basic access; premium features for advanced insights.
  • How it works: NFTGo offers a wide array of tools and data for users to explore and analyze the NFT market comprehensively. The platform aggregates NFT data across multiple blockchains, providing insights into trading volumes, price trends, and market movements. Users can discover hot collections, track whale activities, and utilize rarity tools to assess NFT value. The platform aims to democratize access to NFT market data, making it easier for collectors, investors, and creators to make informed decisions. 

Nomis: Interest Rate Optimization

  • Best feature: Optimizing interest rates for savers and borrowers in DeFi.
  • Cost: Free to use, with possible fees for executing transactions.
  • How it works: Nomis serves as a platform for optimizing interest rates for users looking to either save or borrow in the cryptocurrency space. It aggregates and analyzes interest rates across various DeFi protocols, providing recommendations to help users maximize returns or minimize borrowing costs, thereby enhancing the efficiency of capital allocation in DeFi markets.

OnChainBlock: On-Chain Data and Analysis

  • Best feature: Detailed blockchain analytics for data-driven decision-making.
  • Cost: Free access to basic features; subscription model for advanced analytics.
  • How it works: OnChainBlock specializes in providing on-chain data and analysis across multiple blockchains. It offers tools for tracking wallet activities, transaction trends, and network health, catering to analysts and investors seeking to base their strategies on granular blockchain data.

SolanaCompass: Analytics for the Solana Ecosystem

  • Best feature: Dedicated analytics and insights for Solana blockchain.
  • Cost: Gratis, with potential premium features for specialized insights.
  • How it works: SolanaCompass focuses exclusively on the Solana ecosystem, offering analytics, project tracking, and network statistics to investors and developers. It provides real-time data on transactions, dApps, and token performance within the Solana network, enabling stakeholders to make informed decisions within this high-performance blockchain environment.

TokenMetrics: AI-Based Crypto Investment Research

  • Best feature: AI-driven cryptocurrency analytics and forecasts.
  • Cost: Subscription-based, with multiple tiers offering different levels of access and services.
  • How it works: TokenMetrics uses artificial intelligence to analyze and predict crypto market trends. It provides a comprehensive suite of tools, including market predictions, portfolio management, and investment strategies, tailored to help users from novice to expert maximize their investment potential by leveraging data-driven insights.

Token Unlocks: Capitalizing on Circulating Supply Changes

  • Best feature: Track token unlocks to capitalize on changes in circulating supply.
  • Cost: Gratis
  • How it works: Don’t become exit liquidity for early investors in a DeFi project who dump their vested tokens as soon as they receive them. Token Unlocks provides essential information on token release schedules, aiding investors in anticipating market impacts driven by fluctuations in token supply, a critical factor for strategic planning.

Uniswap Info: DeFi Trading at Your Fingertips

  • Best feature: Detailed analytics and trading volumes for Uniswap pairs.
  • Cost: Free
  • How it works: Uniswap Info delivers in-depth analytics for the Uniswap protocol, allowing traders to track performance, liquidity, and trading volumes, essential for anyone deeply involved in DeFi trading on Uniswap.

Youtube: Long-form Crypto Education and Insights

  • Best feature: Diverse content on crypto education, news, and analysis.
  • Cost: Free access to content; costs may vary for premium or exclusive content.
  • How it works: Crypto Youtube is an essential crypto research tool that encompasses a broad range of channels and content creators dedicated to cryptocurrencies, blockchain technology, and digital finance. Get anything from coin deep dives to detailed market analysis, project previews and reviews, and real-time news. You could almost say, hear about it on Twitter, learn about it on YouTube. 

Viewers can also find content tailored to various levels of expertise, from beginner tutorials on blockchain fundamentals to advanced trading strategies and technical analysis by following excellent channels such as CoinBureau.

Content creators range from experienced traders and crypto enthusiasts to blockchain developers and fintech experts, providing a rich tapestry of perspectives and insights. Channels may offer live streams, Q&A sessions, community discussions, and interviews with industry leaders. 

Be wary though of believing everything you hear. That’s because content creators, also called KOLs or influencers, are often very biased and shill the projects they’re invested in or getting paid by, as the controversial recent SatoshiVM launch highlighted again. 

Zapper.fi: Your DeFi Dashboard

  • Best feature: Manage and track your DeFi assets and liabilities in one place.
  • Cost: Free
  • How it works: Zapper.fi simplifies DeFi portfolio management, offering users a unified dashboard to track and manage their assets and liabilities across numerous protocols, enhancing the DeFi investment experience.

Messari: Crypto Data and Research

  • Best feature: Comprehensive crypto market data and in-depth research.
  • Cost: Gratis basic access; premium subscription for advanced insights.
  • How it works: Messari is one of the most respected names in crypto, thanks to the wealth of information it offers on cryptocurrencies and sectors, including market data, project overviews, and research reports. It aims to provide transparency and actionable insights to investors and market participants through tools for tracking, analyzing, and discovering trends in the crypto market. 

Conclusion

Each of the platforms in our A-Z DeFi Tool List (which we’ll update from time to time) brings a unique angle to how we can understand and manage our cryptocurrency investments and strategies. From protocol aggregators and market data providers to AI-driven analytics and dedicated ecosystem tools, the breadth of resources available to crypto enthusiasts and investors continues to grow, giving retail investors institutional-grade insights and opportunities that are there for the taking if you can connect the dots. 

Let us know your thoughts! Sign up for a Mindplex account now, join our Telegram, or follow us on Twitter. 

ERC-404 Unlocks Hybrid Features For NFTs

Posted on by Werner

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on Ethereum exploded in popularity during 2021’s bull run, driven by record sales of flagship projects like CryptoPunks, Bored Ape Yacht Club, Azuki and Moonbirds, and artists like Beeple. However, the dominant ERC-721 and ERC-1155 standards for NFTs have some limitations that have seen the crypto collectibles market crater after NFT prices came crashing down in 2022 and 2023. 

A new token standard called ERC-404 that aims to revolutionize NFTs with new features and improvements has captured the imagination and buy-in of NFT degens, and its earliest associated projects like Pandora are soaring in value. While it’s early days and the standard remains unaudited, it offers an innovation that could provide a massive shot in the arm for NFT trading and collectibility. 

In short, that’s because ERC-404 has hybrid features that combine the best of both cryptocurrency and NFT technology to create a new digital asset that enables fractionalized NFT ownership. Let’s jump in. 

What is ERC-404?

ERC-404 is a proposed new token standard for NFTs on Ethereum. It builds on the existing ERC-721 standard by adding functionality specifically for NFTs. The standard is currently still under development but shows enormous promise.

The ERC-404 standard opens the door to ‘dynamic NFTs’. Unlike regular NFTs, which have static content, ERC-404 NFTs can change and evolve over time. This unlocks entirely new use cases and possibilities.

For example, ERC-404 NFTs could represent characters in games that gain experience and evolve. Or they could represent dynamic digital artworks that change based on external data feeds. The possibilities are endless.

Why ERC-404 is an NFT Gamechanger

ERC-404 represents the cutting edge of innovation in the NFT space. Here’s how: 

1. More Flexibility & Use Cases

The dynamic nature of ERC-404 completely reimagines what an NFT can represent. Traditional NFTs have been quite limited and mostly focused on digital art. ERC-404 blows the doors wide open for NFT utilities and use cases.

2. Native Interoperability

ERC-404 NFTs can interconnect with other smart contracts and protocols. This makes them far more extensible and interoperable than regular NFTs. 

For example, a dynamic NFT character could directly integrate with a battle game dApp. The possibilities for creativity are endless.

3. Improved Functionality

The standard defines various new functions to manipulate and evolve ERC-404 NFTs over time. This extends to things like changing metadata, upgrading visuals, attaching tokens, and more.

This improved functionality brings NFTs far closer to representations of real-world items and makes them compatible with DeFi.

How ERC-404 NFTs Work

The ERC-404 standard upgrades NFTs in two major ways: evolution and interoperability. 

‘Evolution’ refers to the ability for the NFTs to change attributes over time, like gaining experience or changing visual representations. The logic governing these evolutions is handled by a separate ‘Engine’ smart contract.

‘Interoperability’ refers to the ability to directly integrate the NFTs with other external smart contracts like games, marketplaces, etc. This could add in-game things like HP, SP, inventory slots, and more directly in the NFT token itself.

Example: Pandora and Replicants

The Pandora NFT collection has 10,000 unique digital collectibles called Replicants hosted on the Ethereum blockchain. Each Replicant acts as both an NFT and a crypto token. 

Owning a Replicant token lets you trade it on decentralized exchanges like Uniswap. You can buy as many tokens as you want – each one equals a fraction of a Replicant NFT. This makes the NFTs more affordable and liquid.

When you’re ready, you can redeem your Pandora tokens for the actual Replicant NFTs. The more tokens you have, the more NFTs you can claim. You can also choose to keep some tokens and redeem others. This makes Pandora more flexible for investors.

The key idea is that Pandora links NFT collectibles and crypto tokens together in a new way. This combines the scarcity of NFTs with the liquidity of tokens and has seen the value of Pandora tokens shoot up from $4,3000 to over $26,000 during the last seven days on CoinMarketCap.

Impact on NFT Trading & Liquidity 

ERC-404 is set to completely transform NFT trading, thanks to dynamic NFTs being more liquid. Whereas traditional NFTs tend to be static and illiquid once purchased, ERC-404 builds in interoperability and evolution by design.

This interoperability and upgradability make ERC-404 NFT markets far more dynamic and liquid compared to legacy NFTs. Traders can speculate on NFT evolutions, upgrades, integrations, and more.

Another benefit is the ability to use dynamic NFTs directly in other DeFi protocols via built-in interoperability. For example, putting them up as collateral for loans, depositing them in yield farms, and more.

Credit: Tesfu Assefa

Exciting ERC-404 Projects Already Underway

While ERC-404 is not launched officially yet, teams are already building out exciting projects on the standard, including:

  • DynamicPunks – Algorithmically generated evolving punks.
  • SmartChar NFT RPG – Customizable RPG character NFTs that level up.
  • NFTfi Guild – DeFi/NFT hybrid for asset management. 

(Please note these are not in any way endorsements of these experimental projects. Please do your own research.)

And many more projects are on the way. The community excitement for ERC-404 is enormous given its vast potential, but it’s important to do your due diligence and ensure you don’t open yourself up for rugpulls or phishing that could drain your wallet. Be very careful with which protocols you interact with. 

Final Thoughts

The introduction of ERC-404 marks a significant turning point in the NFT marketplace, promising to catalyze a shift towards greater mainstream adoption by boosting accessibility and liquidity. 

This innovative token standard is set to bridge the existing divide between fungible and non-fungible tokens, thereby facilitating a more fluid exchange across decentralized exchanges (DEXs), NFT marketplaces, and decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms. 

Moreover, ERC-404 paves the way for groundbreaking functionalities within the NFT space, including leverage trading, options contracts, and novel avenues for Metaverse interoperability and composability. These advancements can help to further integrate the NFT sector with the broader digital economy.

However, the advent of ERC-404 has its challenges and considerations. Among its most notable advantages are improving NFT liquidity and lowering the barriers to entry for investing in high-value NFTs. ERC-404 also promises to usher in new business models for NFT platforms, crucial for the market’s future, offering a more inclusive and dynamic ecosystem for creators, investors, and collectors alike.

Conversely, the ERC-404 standard raises several concerns that warrant attention. The code underlying ERC-404 has not undergone extensive auditing. It could potentially have undiscovered vulnerabilities, particularly in the mechanism for burning linked NFTs. This introduces a layer of complexity in wallet management and poses questions regarding the regulatory landscape surrounding these innovations.

This might do little to stem the rise of ERC-404, as adoption accelerates. NFT marketplace Blur quickly jumped on the bandwagon, and Telegram bot Banana Gun and new decentralized social media hotshot Farcaster are all implementing it. And new projects are shooting up on other chains like Bitcoin, Solana and Arbitrum.

The next 12 months promises to yield even more innovative applications of the ERC-404 standard across DeFi, gaming, Metaverse and other spaces. This hybrid standard opens up a whole new realm of possibilities for non-fungible tokens, setting them up for a seismic 2024. 

Let us know your thoughts! Sign up for a Mindplex account now, join our Telegram, or follow us on Twitter. 

Tokenized Warfare: Cryptocurrency in Conflict Zones

Posted on by SB Fisher

War is good for absolutely nothing. Yet the reality is that at this very second there are conflicts raging that disrupt and destroy the lives of millions. It’s against this dark background that crypto has found a morbid use-case, to channel funds freely to various entities that are prosecuting violence against others, and a way for resistance fighters to access funds. As a way to continue some semblance of normality. 

It’s hard to bank when your bank has become a bunker. When the systems-architecture of a country disintegrates under the horrors of war, the financial system is often the first to break. Cryptocurrency, a standalone system of transactions, accounting and payments that’s uniquely resistant to the shocks of the real world, is a perfect, and now prevalent, candidate to get the money to where it’s needed most.

Crypto is censorship resistant. If an oppressor switches off its citizens’s access to money, crypto allows them to continue as they were. Crypto has superb remittance capabilities. A transaction doesn’t care if you’re in Tulsa or Timbuktu – the price is the same. Crypto is also pseudo-anonymous. An agent who is persona non grata to the traditional financial system, dominated as it is by powerful Western countries, can still operate and receive funds. Jurisdictions that traditionally struggle with access to banking and which are major conflict zones top the charts for Bitcoin searches.

You mean crypto is funding terrorism!? That’s appalling! Well yes, it is – depending on what you define as a terrorist. It’s far beyond the scope of this tech junkie to comment on who is a freedom fighter and who is a terrorist, who is right and who is wrong, on each and every one of the world’s multifarious conflicts, just to note that a decentralised ledger doesn’t care who you are. It just works – no matter the situation, and it works both ways. 

Crypto has provided enormous humanitarian relief to those in conflict zones. Citizens fleeing Ukraine have been beneficiaries of extensive crypto donations, and the Ukrainian government has received $0.225 billion in its fight against the Russian invasion. Similarly, Russian-financiers frozen out of traditional payment rails due to sanctions have resorted to using crypto to finance their campaign, and Hamas has received plenty of funding through the Tron network. Crypto continues its use-case of being an out-of-context asset – booming in times of trouble.

Credit: Tesfu Assefa

So, is crypto a tool of liberation or of oppression? Should the Powers That Be choose to blacklist a certain nation or entity, crypto provides an easy way for that entity to continue its machinations. For Ukrainians and Palestians and Houthis and whoever else feels oppressed, crypto provides a lifeline of financial and banking access when the rest of their world falls apart.

To many, crypto’s use in war-financing is yet another black stain on its reputation, a further stamp of its association with the illicit, the illegal, and the lethal. The ledger has no morality, and it is not under the control of any moral arbiter, any centralised power. That is its very purpose. It’s easy to condemn crypto when you’re on the side of the would-be moral arbiter. 

Yet you never know when the tables may turn, when suddenly you find yourself on the wrong side of history – as millions do all over the world daily, sometimes surprisingly – and you need a way to continue your life. ‘Commit a crime and the earth is made of glass.’ Such a reality is alien until it happens to you. Crypto remains on your side even when the institutions militate against you.

Systems are fragile. Authorities change. The ledger is eternal. So, although crypto is buying guns used to kill people, equipping terrorists, and fueling tanks marching across borders, it is also doing the opposite. Buying crucial aid, giving the unbanked a system of money, and putting food in the mouths of the desperate, and medicine in the hands of the dying. The ledger is not evil, we are. At least with a decentralised ledger, no one gets to choose which side is which.

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