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$BITCOIN vs $ NOTE

Todd: Okay. So, Anthony, I thought we would talk about bitcoin.

Anthony: Okay.
Todd: So, you are kind of the expert about bitcoin.
Anthony: I wouldn't say I'm an expert, I just, maybe a hobbyist,
bitcoin hobbyist.
Todd: How long have you been involved with bitcoin?
Anthony: I rst heard about bitcoin in probably 2012, and I really,
I'm really kicking myself that I didn't buy some then because it
was about $20, but when I-
Todd: So $20 per bitcoin-
Anthony: Yeah, per bitcoin was about $20.

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Todd: Okay. So how much is it worth now?

Anthony: Right now, it's about $8,500, somewhere around there.
Todd: You've got to be kidding me.
Anthony: No. I wish I was, but-
Todd: Wow.
Anthony: I got into it as a hobbyist around 2014, a little before I
moved abroad, and I got into what is known mining. To brie y
explain what that is, is miners, people who call themselves
miners, they buy special computers which are called ASICs, and
that stands for application-speci c integrated circuit. The
application-speci c part means that the chips that you're using in
that computer can only be used for one purpose, and that
purpose is to solve cryptographic problems thus creating bitcoin.
So that's what I was doing, I was running a mining computer.
Todd: So you say mining, like mining, you're getting little bits of
bitcoin-
Anthony: Yeah, exactly.
Todd: And it's tiny, tiny fragments.
Anthony: Exactly.
Todd: You have this chip in your computer. Your computer nds
this cryptographic problem, so your computer, you get the
reward by getting a small bit of bitcoin.
Anthony: Exactly. It's called solo mining. You can do solo mining
where you're only working with your, with whatever computers
you have, but what's a lot more popular is pool mining where you
join a pool and you work together with a group of miners to solve
one problem. Once the block is discovered, as they say, each
block contains 50 bitcoins. So depending on the computing
power that you were giving the pool, you get paid out in equal

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measure. For people, that's a lot more pro table than solo mining
because you could solo mine for years and never nd a block.
Todd: Yeah. For somebody who has no concept of this, the rst
thing they're going to ask you is, well, who creates these blocks
of ... Who makes this?
Anthony: That's a good question.
Todd: It's like a "Where are we from?" It's like a chicken and an
egg thing, so-
Anthony: Exactly, and that's a very interesting point to bring up
because allegedly the creator of bitcoin is someone called
Satoshi Nakamoto. And he is the alleged creator, as I said, but
the reason I say alleged is that no one has ever met this person.
He's kind of a mystery, so no one knows his real identity. Some
people have had made theories that it could be a group of
people. It could be a speci c person that, and that's just an alias,
but no one really knows who this guy is and where he came from.
Yeah, it's this really interesting concept.
Todd: So, then how did this take hold? How did this get a foot in
society? You know what I mean, like get a foot in the door, I
should say.
Anthony: Yeah.
Todd: So somebody creates this system. This person is a
mystery, but then the internet grabbed onto it and said, "Hey, this
is a really cool thing. I want to buy this." It's just it's quite
interesting that this market came out of nowhere and now it's
challenging traditional currency systems.
Anthony: Exactly. This was before the internet was even really
what it is now, but I think in like 2007, I think, 2007, 2008, there
was a group of people called the Cypherpunks, and they were
kind of like anarchistic programmers that were anti-

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establishment. They ran this email mailing list, and they were just
collaborating together talking about creating some kind of digital
cash. Satoshi Nakamoto was a member of that mailing list, and
that's where it kind of gained the underground movement
and ... Really, I think there's what is called the white paper and
that's the document that details everything about bitcoin, and it's
really big. I'm not sure exactly how large, but it's like a book, and
a lot of the reason it took o is people would read it and they
would believe the technology, and they would try to sell it to
other people because they believed in it really.
Todd: Wow. That's an interesting history, and so basically this
community read this white paper and then it took o -
Anthony: From there.
Todd: And gained momentum and then that here we are today.
Anthony: Yeah, but I think a big part of it, as you mentioned, is
really just convincing people because really at currency, I mean,
if you break it down, it's just paper, right?
Todd: Yeah.
Anthony: It's just paper that the government makes.
Todd: It's an illusion.
Anthony: Yeah, and the only reason that it has any value is
because we trust in it. So, if I give you a $100 bill or whatever,
you're going to trust that you can spend that to buy something.
It's the same thing with bitcoin. It's a process of convincing
people that because this technology makes something that is
scarce, it cannot be replicated, it cannot be ... Without the proper
means, it cannot be moved or taken, that it is a valid way of
transferring value digitally. So that's a really big part of it and a lot
of people have bought into it.
Todd: Wow. Very interesting.

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QOD:

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Learn Vocabulary from the Lesson

kicking myself

Your browser does not support the audio element.

I'm really kicking myself.

Kicking oneself means to be annoyed or disappointed in oneself.

Notice the following:

1. I am kicking myself for not going to the airport.

2. I am kicking myself that I didn't sign up when I had the
chance.

a chicken and an egg thing

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It's like a chicken and an egg thing.

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A chicken and an egg thing is a puzzle or riddle with no de nite

answer. Notice the following:

1. Trying to nd a solution is like a chicken and an egg thing.

2. Its history is like a chicken and an egg thing, no one knows
for sure.

a foot in the door

Your browser does not support the audio element.

Like get a foot in the door, I should say.

Getting a foot in the door means getting an opportunity or taking

the rst step. Notice the following:

1. She has to know a manager to get a foot in the door there.

2. Good references will help him get a foot in the door at work.

came out of nowhere

Your browser does not support the audio element.

This market came out of nowhere.

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When something comes out of nowhere, it is highly unexpected

and surprising. Notice the following:

1. His proposal came out of nowhere.

2. Their team came out of nowhere to win the award.

underground movement

Your browser does not support the audio element.

That's where it kind of gained the underground movement.

Underground movements are secret operations that work outside

the establishment. Notice the following:

1. The underground movement was instrumental in Paris

during the World War.
2. She joined the underground movement because she was a
rebel.

break it down

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If you break it down, it's just paper.

To break something down means to analyze it and separate it

into its parts. Notice the following:

1. When you break it down, diamonds are just dust.

2. Let's break it down and nd where it went wrong.

Vocabulary Quiz
kicking myself • chicken • foot in the door
came out of • underground • break it down

1. Young people think it is cool to be in an ___________

movement.
2. It's like the ___________ and the egg. What came rst?

3. I am__________ for not investing in Amazon ten years ago.

4. I am trying to get a______________ in the music industry.

5. The success of Tik-Tok _______________ nowhere.

6. If you cannot understand this, I can_____________ for you.

Cheers
Edited by Marcque Leeh.

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