Before

before

The CSS properties are what also known as . They are used to add something before or after the content of an element. There are a lot of great uses for these pseudo elements, and we are here to explore some of them. :before and :after pseudo elements The Syntax If we have an element like this one: welcome to our website < > h2 </ > h2 We can add a pseudo element before it using CSS, like this: { : “Hello“; : blue;
} h2 :before content color The result will be: This is a quite simple principle. You are adding content before or after a certain element. It can be extremely helpful when , and in many other cases. adding icons, clearing floats The property of the pseudo element can be left with empty quotes like this .  This way you can treat the pseudo element like a . If the content property is removed altogether, the pseudo element content empty `content: “”` box with no content will not work. Adding Icons Probably the most popular usage of the before and after pseudo elements is using them to . We can add a simple .png icon. add icons Let’s look at the markup. HTML Weather report < > h2 </ > h2 CSS { : “ ”; : block; : ; : ; : (‘images/icon.png’’); : ; h2 :before content display height 15px width 25px url margin-right 5px The result: Now we have successfully added an icon before the text. Easy, right? Clearing Floats After elements are , another one needs to be added in order to clear that float. You can and simply using a pseudo one. floated avoid adding a new element Let's say we have this situation: We can use the next code to achieve clearing of the floats. HTML Lorem ipsum dolor amet truffaut kombucha roof party iPhone forage farm-to-table. < = > div class "box-container" < = > div class ”box” </ > div < = > div class ”box” </ > div </ > div < > p </ > p CSS , { : ; : block;
} { : both;
} { : ; : ; : ; : ; : left;
} .box-container :before .box-container :after content "" display .box-container :after clear .box height 100px width 100px background-color #C98EED margin 5px float Now, let's take a look at the result. By using this method we are and the paragraph is moved below the two elements. clearing the float Using a Background Image We can also to a pseudo element. This is commonly used when styling a header. add a background image HTML Hello World < > h2 </ > h2 CSS { : “”; : ; : ; : (‘underline.png’) center center no-repeat; : block;
} h2 :after content width 100% height 30px background url display The result achieved: Browser Support As with everything else in CSS, browser support needs to be checked. By consulting the , we see that these pseudo classes have a high browser support ( ) and we won’t have a headache when using them. CanIUse over 98% Summary Here, we have explained of the CSS pseudo elements. The examples illustrate just some of the many possible usages. Don't worry if it's not completely clear in the beginning. A little practice goes a long way. basic principles Hopefully, this article will help with any future projects. Thank you for reading! Previously published at https://kolosek.com/css-before-and-after/

How to use CSS pseudo-classes :before and :after

In RSpec, there are two different ways to write DRY tests, by using or . Their purpose is to create variables that are common across tests. In this post, we will explore differences between before and let and explain . before let why let is preferred by the Ruby community let Let creates lazily-evaluated local variables. This means that let() is not evaluated until the method that it defines is run for the first time. It DRYs up the spec and makes it more readable. $count = describe let( ) { $count += }
  it expect(count).to eq( )
    expect(count).to eq( ) it expect(count).to eq( ) 0 "let" do :count 1 "stores the value" do 1 1 end "is not cached across examples" do 2 end end Let should not be used for local variables, which have to be saved to the database, as they will not be saved to the database unless they have already been referenced. In this case, you should use or . let! before blocks The the tests we are creating are done using . RSpec and Capybara Also, have a let block inside of a before the block, this is what let! is made for! never let! Unlike let, you can . It means that, even if you didn't invoke the helper method inside the example, it will be invoked before your example runs. use let! to force the method's invocation before each example $count = describe invocation_order = []
  let!( ) invocation_order << $count += it invocation_order << expect(invocation_order).to eq([ , ])
    expect(count).to eq( ) 0 "let!" do :count do :let! 1 end "calls the helper method in a before hook" do :example :let! :example 1 end end As with let blocks, if multiple let! blocks are defined with the same name, the most recent one will be executed. The core difference is that will be executed multiple times if used like this, whereas the will only execute the last time. let! blocks let block before(:each) Before(:each) block will run before each example, even if the example doesn't use any of the instance variables defined in the block. This can noticeably slow down the setup of the instance variables. @tests = [] describe User before( ) @user = User.new describe it @user.should have( ).tests it @user.tests << Object.new it @user.should have( ).tests class User def tests || end end do :each do end "initialized in before(:each)" do "has 0 tests" do 0 end "can accept new tests" do end "does not share state across examples" do 0 end end end Depending on your personal preference you could use before blocks when: In nearly every situation, it is better to use let over before blocks. There is a reasonable amount of variables. There are variables that don't need to be referenced directly but are required. There are many commands to be executed because its syntax is more clear when many commands are involved. Creating mocks/stubs. Give it a try and create your own model or ! controller tests before(:all) This block is executed only once, before all of the examples in a group. There are certain situations this can cut down on execution and effort. @tests = [] describe User before( ) @user = User.new describe it @user.should have( ).tests it @user.tests << Object.new it @user.should have( ).tests class User def tests || end end do :all do end "initialized in before(:all)" do "has 0 tests" do 0 end "can get accept new tests" do end "shares state across examples" do 1 end end end It runs outside of transactions, so the data created here will bleed into other specs. Using before(:all) in RSpec will cause you lots of trouble unless you know what you are doing! Conclusion It all depends on what and how you need to make the work or consider using for creating data. Let blocks bring more to the table than before blocks. RSpec tests FactoryGirl Besides being slower, one of the major problems with before blocks is that spelling errors can lead to bugs and false positives, allowing certain types of tests to pass when they shouldn't. before( ) @user = User.find( )
    @user.logout it expect(@usr).to be_nil :each do username: "kolosek" end "should log the user out" do end Since @usr wasn't previously defined, the test will pass, @usr is nil by default. The same test using let would raise NameError because @usr isn't defined. Hope this will help you to better understand the differences between let and before blocks. Thank you for reading! Previously published at https://kolosek.com/rspec-let-vs-before/

RSpec Testing: Let Vs. Before

Many crypto games aim to "onboard the next 1 billion users," but is this feasible if users have to pay gas fees while playing and even pay to play? This alone deters new users from entering the crypto space. With over 100 million people playing tap-to-earn games currently, it appears that Telegram may have found a hack to onboard the next billion users into the crypto space effortlessly. More non-crypto natives have joined Telegram, and even those who had abandoned their accounts have become interested in the app again after discovering they can earn money by playing a game. How fancy! Some of the popular tap-to-earn games on Telegram have amassed millions of users by just conveying simplicity. Notcoin - 40 million players
Tapswap - 48 million players
Hamster Kombat - 100 million players
Avacoin- 5 million players
W-Coin- 10 million players Ordinarily, it's quite rare for a new project to amass such traffic in barely 4-8 weeks. This is a jinx that Telegram mining games have broken. Could Telegram Surpass Solana in Massive User Adoption With Toncoin? The team behind Solana is making incredible efforts to drive massive adoption for the project. One notable example is the recent partnership with PayPal, which has made the PayPal stablecoin, PYUSD, available on the Solana blockchain. This enables PayPal users (only in the US for now) to leverage Solana's speed and low transaction fees. According to PayPal: “Solana’s low cost, close to instant settlement, high throughput and advanced token extensions functionality makes it an ideal network for issuing PYUSD”. While this may be clearly understood by crypto natives, those unfamiliar with the technology might not see any reason to adopt Solana for transactions or own a Solana-based wallet. How do you advise a non-crypto native, who has many fears about crypto, to download a Phantom wallet? Yes, it's simple for those accustomed to storing keys in a non-custodial wallet. But how does that appeal to someone new to crypto? Telegram may have unlocked a new stream of onboarding by using a familiar environment to attract the attention of crypto newbies. About 3 billion people globally use WhatsApp to send and receive messages instantly, and Telegram is similar, with almost 1 billion users. This familiarity makes it easy for new crypto users to join Telegram and start playing crypto games without needing to learn how the platform works from scratch. So the Funnel May Look Like This 👇🏽 Create a Telegram bot crypto game. Make rewards enticing. Constantly update players to keep them interested. Educate players about the future of your game, so they are willing to stay long-term. Introduce them to a Telegram in-app wallet or Ton Keeper to secure their rewards. Introduce them to staking - investing their rewards for a period of time with an interest top-up. Along the way, they may want to swap their tokens, earn through crypto, or purchase an NFT. Then they can find wallets that suit their needs. This is a sketch of how simple onboarding for non-crypto natives should be: presenting what's familiar and introducing touchpoints into the decentralized space without overwhelming them with technical details. Many of them don't want technical jargon—it can be boring. Just like a person using an electric car doesn't care about the wiring that makes it work, as long as it works. While using the car, the person may now get to learn a few things about its framework that will make them appreciate the car more. Many crypto games aim to "onboard the next 1 billion users," but is this feasible if users have to pay gas fees while playing and even pay to play? This alone deters new users from entering the crypto space. With over 100 million people playing tap-to-earn games currently, it appears that Telegram may have found a hack to onboard the next billion users into the crypto space effortlessly. More non-crypto natives have joined Telegram, and even those who had abandoned their accounts have become interested in the app again after discovering they can earn money by playing a game. How fancy! Some of the popular tap-to-earn games on Telegram have amassed millions of users by just conveying simplicity. Notcoin - 40 million players Tapswap - 48 million players Hamster Kombat - 100 million players Avacoin- 5 million players W-Coin- 10 million players Notcoin - 40 million players Tapswap - 48 million players Hamster Kombat - 100 million players Avacoin- 5 million players W-Coin- 10 million players Ordinarily, it's quite rare for a new project to amass such traffic in barely 4-8 weeks. This is a jinx that Telegram mining games have broken. Could Telegram Surpass Solana in Massive User Adoption With Toncoin? The team behind Solana is making incredible efforts to drive massive adoption for the project. One notable example is the recent partnership with PayPal, which has made the PayPal stablecoin, PYUSD , available on the Solana blockchain. This enables PayPal users (only in the US for now) to leverage Solana's speed and low transaction fees. According to PayPal: PYUSD “Solana’s low cost, close to instant settlement, high throughput and advanced token extensions functionality makes it an ideal network for issuing PYUSD”. “Solana’s low cost, close to instant settlement, high throughput and advanced token extensions functionality makes it an ideal network for issuing PYUSD”. PYUSD”. While this may be clearly understood by crypto natives, those unfamiliar with the technology might not see any reason to adopt Solana for transactions or own a Solana-based wallet. How do you advise a non-crypto native, who has many fears about crypto, to download a Phantom wallet? Yes, it's simple for those accustomed to storing keys in a non-custodial wallet. But how does that appeal to someone new to crypto? Telegram may have unlocked a new stream of onboarding by using a familiar environment to attract the attention of crypto newbies. About 3 billion people globally use WhatsApp to send and receive messages instantly, and Telegram is similar, with almost 1 billion users. This familiarity makes it easy for new crypto users to join Telegram and start playing crypto games without needing to learn how the platform works from scratch. So the Funnel May Look Like This 👇🏽 So the Funnel May Look Like This Create a Telegram bot crypto game. Create a Telegram bot crypto game. Make rewards enticing. Make rewards enticing. Constantly update players to keep them interested. Constantly update players to keep them interested. Educate players about the future of your game, so they are willing to stay long-term. Educate players about the future of your game, so they are willing to stay long-term. Introduce them to a Telegram in-app wallet or Ton Keeper to secure their rewards. Introduce them to a Telegram in-app wallet or Ton Keeper to secure their rewards. Introduce them to staking - investing their rewards for a period of time with an interest top-up. Introduce them to staking - investing their rewards for a period of time with an interest top-up. Along the way, they may want to swap their tokens, earn through crypto, or purchase an NFT. Then they can find wallets that suit their needs. This is a sketch of how simple onboarding for non-crypto natives should be: presenting what's familiar and introducing touchpoints into the decentralized space without overwhelming them with technical details. Many of them don't want technical jargon—it can be boring. Just like a person using an electric car doesn't care about the wiring that makes it work, as long as it works. While using the car, the person may now get to learn a few things about its framework that will make them appreciate the car more.

Tap to Earn : Telegram May Onboard The Next 10 Billion Crypto Users Before Solana

আয় করতে ট্যাপ করুন: টেলিগ্রাম সোলানার আগে পরবর্তী 10 বিলিয়ন ক্রিপ্টো ব্যবহারকারীদের অনবোর্ড করতে পারে

Tippen, um zu verdienen: Telegram könnte die nächsten 10 Milliarden Krypto-Benutzer vor Solana an Bord holen

Toque para ganar: Telegram puede incorporar a los próximos 10 mil millones de usuarios de criptomonedas antes de Solana

Appuyez pour gagner : Telegram pourrait intégrer les 10 prochains milliards d'utilisateurs de crypto avant Solana

टैप टू अर्न: टेलीग्राम सोलाना से पहले अगले 10 बिलियन क्रिप्टो उपयोगकर्ताओं को शामिल कर सकता है

タップして稼ぐ：テレグラムはソラナより先に次の100億人の暗号通貨ユーザーを獲得する可能性がある

탭하여 수익 창출: 텔레그램에서 솔라나 이전에 100억 명의 암호화폐 사용자를 확보할 수 있음

Toque para ganhar: Telegram pode integrar os próximos 10 bilhões de usuários criptográficos antes de Solana

Нажмите, чтобы заработать: Telegram может привлечь следующие 10 миллиардов пользователей криптовалюты до Соланы

Kazanmak için Dokun: Telegram, Solana'dan Önce Sonraki 10 Milyar Kripto Kullanıcısına Katılabilir

Nhấn để kiếm tiền: Telegram có thể tiếp cận 10 tỷ người dùng tiền điện tử tiếp theo trước Solana

点击赚钱：Telegram 可能会在 Solana 之前吸引下一个 100 亿加密用户

While data breaches and security threats loom, innovative and robust authentication security mechanisms become the need of the hour. The best business strategy in today’s modern landscape is to please your customers. And when you’re delivering services online, it all depends on how your customers are treated at your platform, how their data is managed, and how much they trust your platform. However, the first interaction with your platform is the biggest factor deciding the overall customer satisfaction rate. And it all begins with a reliable authentication system! Yes, your authentication system is all that can create a great, lasting impression on your users and potential customers. But what’s worrisome is that most businesses are reluctant to switch to cutting-edge authentication mechanisms like a customer identity and access management (CIAM) solution. They rely on legacy authentication systems that aren’t powerful enough to handle the security and user experience challenges of the modern digital landscape. And here’s where businesses lag behind competitors in the ever-evolving modern business environment. Let’s learn why enterprises must take a giant leap toward adopting a reliable, innovative CIAM solution to stay competitive. Why CIAM is the Missing Piece in Your Business Strategy? Businesses must emphasize seamless customer experience in the modern digital world. However, ignoring the true potential of a secure and seamless user experience makes all the difference. Brands creating a perfect symphony between user experience and security in their authentication process can convert and retain more users than those that aren’t. And here’s where the critical role of a robust CIAM comes into play! A CIAM allows businesses to incorporate cutting-edge security mechanisms that reinforce user account security and offer a streamlined user experience. CIAM helps deliver great authentication experiences backed with adequate security, which is why users trust businesses that have incorporated CIAM into their platforms. In a nutshell, if you wish to build lasting relationships with your customers and potential customers, you have to lay the foundation for trust through secure data management best practices. By integrating CIAM into your business strategy, you can flawlessly integrate security, user experience, and compliance with data protection regulations to drive customer loyalty. 5 Reasons You Must Incorporate CIAM into Your Business Strategy 1. Enhanced Security The conventional and legacy authentication systems mostly rely on single-factor authentication. And most of them leverage password-based security, which is highly prone to data and privacy breaches. On the other hand, using a CIAM can simplify the authentication process and add multiple layers of authentication into the user authentication process. This means a user has to go through a number of verification processes, including passwords, security questions, or one-time passwords, to access their account. This kind of authentication security ensures that even one aspect of authentication, i.e., passwords, is compromised; another stringent layer      of security safeguards an individual’s account and hence significantly reduces the risk of unauthorized access. 2. Great User Experience All these authentication methods ensure there’s zero or no friction at all while users access resources and their accounts. Furthermore, the added layers of security in most advanced CIAMs are automatically added in a situation where the system detects any unusual behavior. This means a user has to go through a number of authentication layers only if it is required. Otherwise, they can enjoy a seamless login experience every time they access their account. So, if an enterprise is offering a better user experience, it always contributes to higher customer satisfaction and overall retention rates. To be precise, a CIAM not only just secures your system but eventually increases the overall user experience. 3. Regulatory Compliance Requirements While data privacy and security regulations like the GDPR and CCPA are becoming more stringent than ever, choosing a reliable CIAM has become an absolute necessity. With a CIAM solution, enterprises can adhere to a number of global data privacy and security compliance standards while catering to their citizens. Features like adaptive authentication, multi-factor authentication, and consent management are some of the basic requirements of various regulations in different nations, which must be adhered to to offer services and products to their citizens. 4. Scalability and Flexibility As your business grows, so does the complexity of managing many customer identities and infinite login attempts. Advanced CIAM solutions can offer auto-scalable infrastructures that can scale up to millions of identities per minute. This helps maintain a great user experience during peak hours without a glitch. Modern CIAMs are designed to handle large volumes of users and data seamlessly, allowing you to adapt to your diverse business needs. 5. Data Insights and Personalization With a comprehensive CIAM, businesses can harness the power of data analytics that allows them to gain valuable insights regarding user behavior and preferences. This data can be further leveraged to create personalized user journeys and experiences for your customers, enhancing engagement and loyalty. Final Thoughts In the modern digital business landscape, where cyber-attacks and breaches are becoming increasingly sophisticated, relying on legacy authentication systems could be quite risky. Upgrading to a CIAM system is undeniably a proactive step toward securing your business and sensitive customer data. Advanced CIAM offers a great user experience and ease of access so businesses can quickly achieve overall success. While data breaches and security threats loom, innovative and robust authentication security mechanisms become the need of the hour. The best business strategy in today’s modern landscape is to please your customers. And when you’re delivering services online, it all depends on how your customers are treated at your platform, how their data is managed, and how much they trust your platform. However, the first interaction with your platform is the biggest factor deciding the overall customer satisfaction rate. And it all begins with a reliable authentication system! Yes, your authentication system is all that can create a great, lasting impression on your users and potential customers. But what’s worrisome is that most businesses are reluctant to switch to cutting-edge authentication mechanisms like a customer identity and access management (CIAM) solution. They rely on legacy authentication systems that aren’t powerful enough to handle the security and user experience challenges of the modern digital landscape. And here’s where businesses lag behind competitors in the ever-evolving modern business environment. Let’s learn why enterprises must take a giant leap toward adopting a reliable, innovative CIAM solution to stay competitive. Why CIAM is the Missing Piece in Your Business Strategy? Businesses must emphasize seamless customer experience in the modern digital world. However, ignoring the true potential of a secure and seamless user experience makes all the difference. Brands creating a perfect symphony between user experience and security in their authentication process can convert and retain more users than those that aren’t. And here’s where the critical role of a robust CIAM comes into play! A CIAM allows businesses to incorporate cutting-edge security mechanisms that reinforce user account security and offer a streamlined user experience. CIAM helps deliver great authentication experiences backed with adequate security, which is why users trust businesses that have incorporated CIAM into their platforms. In a nutshell, if you wish to build lasting relationships with your customers and potential customers, you have to lay the foundation for trust through secure data management best practices. By integrating CIAM into your business strategy, you can flawlessly integrate security, user experience, and compliance with data protection regulations to drive customer loyalty. 5 Reasons You Must Incorporate CIAM into Your Business Strategy 1. Enhanced Security The conventional and legacy authentication systems mostly rely on single-factor authentication. And most of them leverage password-based security, which is highly prone to data and privacy breaches. On the other hand, using a CIAM can simplify the authentication process and add multiple layers of authentication into the user authentication process. This means a user has to go through a number of verification processes, including passwords, security questions, or one-time passwords, to access their account. This kind of authentication security ensures that even one aspect of authentication, i.e., passwords, is compromised; another stringent layer      of security safeguards an individual’s account and hence significantly reduces the risk of unauthorized access. This kind of authentication security ensures that even one aspect of authentication, i.e., passwords, is compromised; another stringent layer      of security safeguards an individual’s account and hence significantly reduces the risk of unauthorized access. 2. Great User Experience All these authentication methods ensure there’s zero or no friction at all while users access resources and their accounts. Furthermore, the added layers of security in most advanced CIAMs are automatically added in a situation where the system detects any unusual behavior. This means a user has to go through a number of authentication layers only if it is required. Otherwise, they can enjoy a seamless login experience every time they access their account. So, if an enterprise is offering a better user experience, it always contributes to higher customer satisfaction and overall retention rates. To be precise, a CIAM not only just secures your system but eventually increases the overall user experience. 3. Regulatory Compliance Requirements While data privacy and security regulations like the GDPR and CCPA are becoming more stringent than ever, choosing a reliable CIAM has become an absolute necessity. With a CIAM solution, enterprises can adhere to a number of global data privacy and security compliance standards while catering to their citizens. Features like adaptive authentication, multi-factor authentication, and consent management are some of the basic requirements of various regulations in different nations, which must be adhered to to offer services and products to their citizens. 4. Scalability and Flexibility As your business grows, so does the complexity of managing many customer identities and infinite login attempts. Advanced CIAM solutions can offer auto-scalable infrastructures that can scale up to millions of identities per minute. This helps maintain a great user experience during peak hours without a glitch. Modern CIAMs are designed to handle large volumes of users and data seamlessly, allowing you to adapt to your diverse business needs. 5. Data Insights and Personalization With a comprehensive CIAM, businesses can harness the power of data analytics that allows them to gain valuable insights regarding user behavior and preferences. This data can be further leveraged to create personalized user journeys and experiences for your customers, enhancing engagement and loyalty. Final Thoughts In the modern digital business landscape, where cyber-attacks and breaches are becoming increasingly sophisticated, relying on legacy authentication systems could be quite risky. Upgrading to a CIAM system is undeniably a proactive step toward securing your business and sensitive customer data. Advanced CIAM offers a great user experience and ease of access so businesses can quickly achieve overall success.

You Should Upgrade Your Authentication System to CIAM Now Before It's Too Late

If you watch a market hibernate long enough, eventually, you will witness its awakening, followed by the emergence of new projects. Something similar has been happening to the blockchain market for the past few months. This situation is typical for any market entering its bullish phase: Market capitalization goes up, and updated multipliers attract the interest of investors and developers alike. Startup owners flood the market with new ideas and products. A new era begins. Poetic statements aside, creating a fresh startup might leave its owner with nothing but a shirt on their back. There are five mistakes that can ruin your product before it launches. For a detailed study of this topic, I recommend the book INSPIRED: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love by Marty Cagan. Five Fatal Mistakes In Bullish Development 1. Failure Of Leadership A team is only as good as its leader. Still, you can always benefit from someone else’s expertise, and you will absolutely have tasks to delegate. Your right-hand person in this quest is your blockchain product manager, so choose wisely. Your PM needs to have a solid understanding of blockchain technology, markets, and the regulatory landscape. But the most valuable asset is the ability to identify opportunities that offer real value to a customer. A value that transcends mere hype: Every market still has hundreds, if not more, unsolved issues. Knowing how to locate them and offer a solution is what we all look for in a PM. 2. I Can Sell Anything Just because you want to innovate something doesn’t mean you should. We have two words for you: New Coke. This is, hands down, the most disastrous example of a product failure, when something nobody asked for made its way to the market. Believe that you don’t want your product to become the New Coke of the blockchain market. Choosing the right product to build is arguably the most important call you will ever have to make. Product discovery is a whole discipline that combines elements of marketing, development, and sociology. Before rolling out a product or even an idea, you must spend time researching. Any book would suggest figuring out the pain points and needs of users. When it comes to the blockchain space, it’s the knowledge and user experience that can play a crucial part. How well do you and your PM know what a regular person from your target audience experiences when they interact with it? Use surveys, interviews, and prototype testing with potential users active in trading and investing—or use blockchain for other tasks. The issues may include security, wallet usability, transaction fees, trading strategies, and so on. Make sure your product truly answers the requests of the community. 3. What Works For Me Works For Everyone User-centric design is more of an issue than more of us realize. It’s crucial to remember who you are building the product for. It’s not just your team. Back in the day, Myspace was a huge platform that catered to the needs of the tech-savvy community. It offered personalization and complex UX design with many features. Yet, it couldn’t survive the competition when far less complicated Facebook and Twitter came around. Indeed, when it comes to products, the comfort of many will prevail over the individuality of a few. A user-friendly interface will go a long way, and it’s even more valid when we talk blockchain. This space is intimidating enough for newcomers. If you don’t believe it, just consider how many advantages it offers, yet it’s still not commonly adopted. Yes, we might revel in our technical knowledge, but if we create the product for ourselves, we would be the only ones using it. That is a UI/UX/design failure. Make sure to test the product with your target audience. If you want an average person to be comfortable with it, let them try it, let them explore it, and listen to the feedback. 4. Let’s Spend It All in One Place While the leadership team behind ScaleFactor attributes its problems to Covid-19, many former employees have said that the company focused on costly marketing strategies instead of responding to the customers’ expectations. To avoid the need to blame a global pandemic, concentrate on lean product development. Your minimum viable product has to address the core functionality. It can be a secure wallet or a user-friendly trading platform. When that’s done, continue improving the product gradually, according to the feedback. Prototype and test rapidly, mostly paying attention to the features and seeing what works best. All the improvements have to align with your key value proposition. When you have a core group of users, you will be able to provide agile and continuous delivery. Because the tech market and blockchain, in particular, develop rapidly, you will have to regularly update your product and add new features. But always start small. 5. Develop Now, Promote Later Here’s the pièce de résistance: marketing. It’s last but not least. Quite the contrary, marketing channels and potential should be studied prior to developing the product. You have to go into development knowing how, when, and where you are planning to market your product. Only then you will be free to focus on MVPs and roadmaps. It’s a simple case of “Who am I doing this for?” This is a question that every startup in blockchain or any other market has to face eventually. And it’s best to answer it right away. If you don’t find your audience and marketing channels now, you certainly won’t find them later. Applying this framework to the development of a blockchain product allows you to create a solution that not only takes advantage of the unique capabilities of the technology but also addresses user needs, fosters innovation, and adapts to the ever-changing landscape of the market. At the same time, it’s these five simple facts that help manage your initial funds and even save some for a pivot in case the original product falls short of your expectations. Follow me on LinkedIn. Check out my website. If you watch a market hibernate long enough, eventually, you will witness its awakening, followed by the emergence of new projects. Something similar has been happening to the blockchain market for the past few months. This situation is typical for any market entering its bullish phase: Market capitalization goes up, and updated multipliers attract the interest of investors and developers alike. Startup owners flood the market with new ideas and products. A new era begins. Poetic statements aside, creating a fresh startup might leave its owner with nothing but a shirt on their back. There are five mistakes that can ruin your product before it launches. There are five mistakes that can ruin your product before it launches. For a detailed study of this topic, I recommend the book INSPIRED: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love by Marty Cagan. INSPIRED: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love Five Fatal Mistakes In Bullish Development 1. Failure Of Leadership A team is only as good as its leader. Still, you can always benefit from someone else’s expertise, and you will absolutely have tasks to delegate. Your right-hand person in this quest is your blockchain product manager, so choose wisely. Your PM needs to have a solid understanding of blockchain technology, markets, and the regulatory landscape. But the most valuable asset is the ability to identify opportunities that offer real value to a customer. A value that transcends mere hype: Every market still has hundreds, if not more, unsolved issues. Knowing how to locate them and offer a solution is what we all look for in a PM. 2. I Can Sell Anything Just because you want to innovate something doesn’t mean you should. We have two words for you: New Coke . This is, hands down, the most disastrous example of a product failure, when something nobody asked for made its way to the market. Believe that you don’t want your product to become the New Coke of the blockchain market. New Coke Choosing the right product to build is arguably the most important call you will ever have to make. Product discovery is a whole discipline that combines elements of marketing, development, and sociology. Before rolling out a product or even an idea, you must spend time researching. Any book would suggest figuring out the pain points and needs of users. When it comes to the blockchain space, it’s the knowledge and user experience that can play a crucial part. How well do you and your PM know what a regular person from your target audience experiences when they interact with it? Use surveys, interviews, and prototype testing with potential users active in trading and investing—or use blockchain for other tasks. The issues may include security, wallet usability, transaction fees, trading strategies, and so on. Make sure your product truly answers the requests of the community. 3. What Works For Me Works For Everyone User-centric design is more of an issue than more of us realize. It’s crucial to remember who you are building the product for. It’s not just your team. Back in the day, Myspace was a huge platform that catered to the needs of the tech-savvy community. It offered personalization and complex UX design with many features. Yet, it couldn’t survive the competition when far less complicated Facebook and Twitter came around. Indeed, when it comes to products, the comfort of many will prevail over the individuality of a few. Facebook Twitter A user-friendly interface will go a long way, and it’s even more valid when we talk blockchain. This space is intimidating enough for newcomers. If you don’t believe it, just consider how many advantages it offers, yet it’s still not commonly adopted. Yes, we might revel in our technical knowledge, but if we create the product for ourselves, we would be the only ones using it. That is a UI/UX/design failure. Make sure to test the product with your target audience. If you want an average person to be comfortable with it, let them try it, let them explore it, and listen to the feedback. 4. Let’s Spend It All in One Place While the leadership team behind ScaleFactor attributes its problems to Covid-19, many former employees have said that the company focused on costly marketing strategies instead of responding to the customers’ expectations. ScaleFactor To avoid the need to blame a global pandemic, concentrate on lean product development . Your minimum viable product has to address the core functionality. It can be a secure wallet or a user-friendly trading platform. When that’s done, continue improving the product gradually, according to the feedback. product development Prototype and test rapidly, mostly paying attention to the features and seeing what works best. All the improvements have to align with your key value proposition. When you have a core group of users, you will be able to provide agile and continuous delivery. Because the tech market and blockchain, in particular, develop rapidly, you will have to regularly update your product and add new features. But always start small. 5. Develop Now, Promote Later Here’s the pièce de résistance: marketing. It’s last but not least. Quite the contrary, marketing channels and potential should be studied prior to developing the product. You have to go into development knowing how, when, and where you are planning to market your product. Only then you will be free to focus on MVPs and roadmaps. It’s a simple case of “Who am I doing this for?” This is a question that every startup in blockchain or any other market has to face eventually. And it’s best to answer it right away. If you don’t find your audience and marketing channels now, you certainly won’t find them later. Applying this framework to the development of a blockchain product allows you to create a solution that not only takes advantage of the unique capabilities of the technology but also addresses user needs, fosters innovation, and adapts to the ever-changing landscape of the market. At the same time, it’s these five simple facts that help manage your initial funds and even save some for a pivot in case the original product falls short of your expectations. Follow me on LinkedIn . Check out my website . LinkedIn website

Five Mistakes That Can Ruin Your Blockchain Startup Before It Launches

Gartner predicts generative AI will become a general-purpose technology akin to the steam engine, electricity, and the internet. While the initial hype will fade, its impact will increase as innovative applications are discovered in daily work and life. Look at some of their predictions for AI, particularly Generative AI’s adoption: As entire industries, enterprises, and digital transformation specialists race to adopt this new tech, there are critical factors that must be taken into account. Improper adoption of technology can lead to disastrous results for the business and poor satisfaction for customers and employees who have to use them. I want to share what those factors are in this article. Why Integrate GenAI?
How to Implement GenAI?
What to Use GenAI For? Why Integrate GenAI? Value Proposition The primary reason to consider integrating GenAI is the substantial value it can bring to your business. GenAI has the potential to revolutionize various aspects of your operations, ultimately driving growth and efficiency. Top-Line Benefits One of the most significant advantages of GenAI is its ability to increase user engagement with your target segment, which can lead to higher revenue or new revenue streams altogether. By leveraging GenAI, you, as a business, can create more personalized and interactive content and enhance your customer experience and satisfaction with your products and services. For example, GenAI can help summarize and synthesize large amounts of information quickly, making it easier for users to find what they need and stay engaged with your platform. Bottom-Line Savings On the other hand, GenAI can also lead to significant cost reductions. Automating repetitive tasks such as customer support queries and data entry, allows your team to focus on more strategic activities. AI-powered tools can support your help center, providing instant responses to common questions and reducing the need for extensive human intervention. How to Implement GenAI? Building the GenAI Tech Stack Successful integration of GenAI requires a systematic approach. This involves Applications and use cases that align with your business goals


Choosing the right AI models to power these applications


Using the right infrastructure to deploy these applications and models


Handling the Implementation responsibly without harming trust and security while also upskilling employees and educating customers on how to use GenAI. Implementation and Application To start, you need to identify the areas within your business that will benefit most from AI integration. This could include content generation for marketing and sales, content conversion for streamlined communication, and productivity tools for various teams. Content Generation: Tools like Jasper, Writer.com, Byword, Adobe Firefly, and Midjourney can enhance your marketing efforts by generating high-quality content.


Content Conversion:  Platforms like Wondercraft (text to podcast), Vidyo (long-form video to short clips), Descript (podcasting), and ElevenLabs (AI voices) can transform how your marketing teams operate.


Spreadsheets and Slides: For financial and R&D teams, AI tools like Numerous.ai, Equals, Gamma, and Tome can automate data management and presentation tasks.


General Productivity: Tools like Vowel for meeting transcription and Metaview for interview recording can optimize daily operations. Ensuring Trust and Security Integrating AI also necessitates maintaining high standards of trust and security. Implement robust reporting mechanisms to allow users to flag AI-generated content that may be inaccurate or controversial. This helps build user trust and maintain content quality. Moreover, ethical training and fine-tuning of AI models are crucial. Ensure that user data is collected and used transparently and with explicit consent. Handle all user interactions responsibly to protect privacy and build confidence in your AI systems. What to Use GenAI For? Enhancing Employee Productivity Deploying AI applications can significantly boost employee productivity across various departments. As previously mentioned above, in the implementation and application layer of the GenAI tech stack, these are some use cases for employee productivity. Marketing and Sales: Tools like Jasper and Adobe Firefly can assist in generating compelling content for campaigns, while platforms like Byword enhance SEO efforts.
Content Conversion: AI tools such as Wondercraft and Vidyo can transform text and video content, making it more versatile and accessible.
Spreadsheets and Slides: AI-powered tools like Numerous.ai and Gamma streamline data processing and presentation creation, aiding teams in finance and R&D.
General Productivity: Vowel provides meeting transcription, while Metaview offers optimized recording and summarization for interviews. Poised serves as a personal communication coach, enhancing overall communication skills.
Customer Support: AI tools like Chatbase can automate customer service, providing immediate responses to queries and improving customer satisfaction.
Specific Applications for HR and Hiring Managers: For HR teams, GenAI tools like Metaview and Poised can revolutionize the recruitment process by recording and summarizing interviews, as well as coaching candidates on communication skills.
Customer Support: In customer support, tools like Chatbase can handle routine queries efficiently, freeing up human agents to tackle more complex issues. Integrating GenAI into your business can unlock new levels of efficiency, engagement, and cost savings. So consider the value it brings, the implementation process, and the specific applications for your business, and you can ensure a successful integration of GenAI that drives your business forward. Embrace the future of AI to stay competitive and innovative in today’s rapidly evolving landscape. Hope that helps! Gartner predicts generative AI will become a general-purpose technology akin to the steam engine, electricity, and the internet. While the initial hype will fade, its impact will increase as innovative applications are discovered in daily work and life. Look at some of their predictions for AI, particularly Generative AI’s adoption: As entire industries, enterprises, and digital transformation specialists race to adopt this new tech, there are critical factors that must be taken into account. Improper adoption of technology can lead to disastrous results for the business and poor satisfaction for customers and employees who have to use them. I want to share what those factors are in this article. Why Integrate GenAI? How to Implement GenAI? What to Use GenAI For? Why Integrate GenAI? How to Implement GenAI? What to Use GenAI For? Why Integrate GenAI? Value Proposition Value Proposition Value Proposition The primary reason to consider integrating GenAI is the substantial value it can bring to your business. GenAI has the potential to revolutionize various aspects of your operations, ultimately driving growth and efficiency. Top-Line Benefits Top-Line Benefits Top-Line Benefits One of the most significant advantages of GenAI is its ability to increase user engagement with your target segment, which can lead to higher revenue or new revenue streams altogether. By leveraging GenAI, you, as a business, can create more personalized and interactive content and enhance your customer experience and satisfaction with your products and services. For example, GenAI can help summarize and synthesize large amounts of information quickly, making it easier for users to find what they need and stay engaged with your platform. Bottom-Line Savings Bottom-Line Savings Bottom-Line Savings On the other hand, GenAI can also lead to significant cost reductions. Automating repetitive tasks such as customer support queries and data entry, allows your team to focus on more strategic activities. AI-powered tools can support your help center, providing instant responses to common questions and reducing the need for extensive human intervention. How to Implement GenAI? Building the GenAI Tech Stack Building the GenAI Tech Stack Building the GenAI Tech Stack Successful integration of GenAI requires a systematic approach. This involves Applications and use cases that align with your business goals Choosing the right AI models to power these applications Using the right infrastructure to deploy these applications and models Handling the Implementation responsibly without harming trust and security while also upskilling employees and educating customers on how to use GenAI. Applications and use cases that align with your business goals Applications and use cases that align with your business goals Choosing the right AI models to power these applications Choosing the right AI models to power these applications Using the right infrastructure to deploy these applications and models Using the right infrastructure to deploy these applications and models Handling the Implementation responsibly without harming trust and security while also upskilling employees and educating customers on how to use GenAI. Handling the Implementation responsibly without harming trust and security while also upskilling employees and educating customers on how to use GenAI. Implementation and Application Implementation and Application Implementation and Application To start, you need to identify the areas within your business that will benefit most from AI integration. This could include content generation for marketing and sales, content conversion for streamlined communication, and productivity tools for various teams. Content Generation: Tools like Jasper, Writer.com, Byword, Adobe Firefly, and Midjourney can enhance your marketing efforts by generating high-quality content. Content Conversion:  Platforms like Wondercraft (text to podcast), Vidyo (long-form video to short clips), Descript (podcasting), and ElevenLabs (AI voices) can transform how your marketing teams operate. Spreadsheets and Slides: For financial and R&D teams, AI tools like Numerous.ai, Equals, Gamma, and Tome can automate data management and presentation tasks. General Productivity: Tools like Vowel for meeting transcription and Metaview for interview recording can optimize daily operations. Content Generation: Tools like Jasper, Writer.com, Byword, Adobe Firefly, and Midjourney can enhance your marketing efforts by generating high-quality content. Content Generation: Tools like Jasper, Writer.com, Byword, Adobe Firefly, and Midjourney can enhance your marketing efforts by generating high-quality content. Content Generation: Content Conversion:  Platforms like Wondercraft (text to podcast), Vidyo (long-form video to short clips), Descript (podcasting), and ElevenLabs (AI voices) can transform how your marketing teams operate. Content Conversion :  Platforms like Wondercraft (text to podcast), Vidyo (long-form video to short clips), Descript (podcasting), and ElevenLabs (AI voices) can transform how your marketing teams operate. Content Conversion Spreadsheets and Slides: For financial and R&D teams, AI tools like Numerous.ai, Equals, Gamma, and Tome can automate data management and presentation tasks. Spreadsheets and Slides : For financial and R&D teams, AI tools like Numerous.ai, Equals, Gamma, and Tome can automate data management and presentation tasks. Spreadsheets and Slides General Productivity: Tools like Vowel for meeting transcription and Metaview for interview recording can optimize daily operations. General Productivity : Tools like Vowel for meeting transcription and Metaview for interview recording can optimize daily operations. General Productivity Ensuring Trust and Security Ensuring Trust and Security Ensuring Trust and Security Integrating AI also necessitates maintaining high standards of trust and security. Implement robust reporting mechanisms to allow users to flag AI-generated content that may be inaccurate or controversial. This helps build user trust and maintain content quality. Moreover, ethical training and fine-tuning of AI models are crucial. Ensure that user data is collected and used transparently and with explicit consent. Handle all user interactions responsibly to protect privacy and build confidence in your AI systems. What to Use GenAI For? Enhancing Employee Productivity Enhancing Employee Productivity Enhancing Employee Productivity Deploying AI applications can significantly boost employee productivity across various departments. As previously mentioned above, in the implementation and application layer of the GenAI tech stack, these are some use cases for employee productivity. Marketing and Sales: Tools like Jasper and Adobe Firefly can assist in generating compelling content for campaigns, while platforms like Byword enhance SEO efforts. Content Conversion: AI tools such as Wondercraft and Vidyo can transform text and video content, making it more versatile and accessible. Spreadsheets and Slides: AI-powered tools like Numerous.ai and Gamma streamline data processing and presentation creation, aiding teams in finance and R&D. General Productivity: Vowel provides meeting transcription, while Metaview offers optimized recording and summarization for interviews. Poised serves as a personal communication coach, enhancing overall communication skills. Customer Support: AI tools like Chatbase can automate customer service, providing immediate responses to queries and improving customer satisfaction. Specific Applications for HR and Hiring Managers: For HR teams, GenAI tools like Metaview and Poised can revolutionize the recruitment process by recording and summarizing interviews, as well as coaching candidates on communication skills. Customer Support: In customer support, tools like Chatbase can handle routine queries efficiently, freeing up human agents to tackle more complex issues. Marketing and Sales: Tools like Jasper and Adobe Firefly can assist in generating compelling content for campaigns, while platforms like Byword enhance SEO efforts. Marketing and Sales: Content Conversion: AI tools such as Wondercraft and Vidyo can transform text and video content, making it more versatile and accessible. Content Conversion: Spreadsheets and Slides: AI-powered tools like Numerous.ai and Gamma streamline data processing and presentation creation, aiding teams in finance and R&D. Spreadsheets and Slides: General Productivity: Vowel provides meeting transcription, while Metaview offers optimized recording and summarization for interviews. Poised serves as a personal communication coach, enhancing overall communication skills. General Productivity: Customer Support: AI tools like Chatbase can automate customer service, providing immediate responses to queries and improving customer satisfaction. Customer Support: Specific Applications for HR and Hiring Managers: For HR teams, GenAI tools like Metaview and Poised can revolutionize the recruitment process by recording and summarizing interviews, as well as coaching candidates on communication skills. Specific Applications for HR and Hiring Managers: Customer Support: In customer support, tools like Chatbase can handle routine queries efficiently, freeing up human agents to tackle more complex issues. Customer Support: Integrating GenAI into your business can unlock new levels of efficiency, engagement, and cost savings. So consider the value it brings, the implementation process, and the specific applications for your business, and you can ensure a successful integration of GenAI that drives your business forward. Embrace the future of AI to stay competitive and innovative in today’s rapidly evolving landscape. Hope that helps!

3 Things to Consider Before Adding GenAI to Your Business

This paper is available on arxiv under CC 4.0 license.
Authors:
(1) Mykola Makhortykh, Institute of Communication and Media Studies, University of Bern;
(2) Aleksandra Urman, Social Computing Group, University of Zurich;
(3) Roberto Ulloa, GESIS – Leibniz-Institute for the Social Sciences. Table of Links Author Note Abstract Theoretical background Methodology Findings Conclusion and References Author Note This is the preprint version of the "This is what pandemic looks like: Visual framing of COVID-19 on search engines" chapter. The data collection for the chapter was sponsored from the SNF (100001CL_182630/1) and DFG (MA 2244/9-1) grant for the project “Reciprocal relations between populist radical-right attitudes and political information behaviour: A longitudinal study of attitude development in high-choice information environments” lead by Silke Adam (University of Bern) and Michaela Maier (University of Koblenz-Landau). This paper is available on Arxiv under CC 4.0 license. This paper is available on arxiv under CC 4.0 license. Authors: (1) Mykola Makhortykh, Institute of Communication and Media Studies, University of Bern; (2) Aleksandra Urman, Social Computing Group, University of Zurich; (3) Roberto Ulloa, GESIS – Leibniz-Institute for the Social Sciences. This paper is available on arxiv under CC 4.0 license. Authors: (1) Mykola Makhortykh, Institute of Communication and Media Studies, University of Bern; (2) Aleksandra Urman, Social Computing Group, University of Zurich; (3) Roberto Ulloa, GESIS – Leibniz-Institute for the Social Sciences. Table of Links Author Note Author Note Abstract Abstract Theoretical background Theoretical background Methodology Methodology Findings Findings Conclusion and References Conclusion and References Author Note This is the preprint version of the "This is what pandemic looks like: Visual framing of COVID-19 on search engines" chapter. The data collection for the chapter was sponsored from the SNF (100001CL_182630/1) and DFG (MA 2244/9-1) grant for the project “Reciprocal relations between populist radical-right attitudes and political information behaviour: A longitudinal study of attitude development in high-choice information environments” lead by Silke Adam (University of Bern) and Michaela Maier (University of Koblenz-Landau). This paper is available on Arxiv under CC 4.0 license. This paper is available on Arxiv under CC 4.0 license. Arxiv

This Is What a Pandemic Looks Like: An Author's Note Before We Begin

The Noonification: We’ve Been Here Before: The Impacts of Today’s Age of AI (4/26/2024)

Accelerated employment. Wage gains. Faster investment, more information and notable gains in productivity. These were all hallmarks of the 1990s, a period that looms large in the memories of those who witnessed this time of innovation and skyrocketing long-term growth. New technologies, like computers and software, gave rise to a greater reliance and utilization of networking. The internet first flashed its true potential. Information was suddenly accessible and storing it became cheaper and cheaper. The combination of personal computing and the internet catalyzed massive changes to industry, trade, finance and services. The economic sluggishness of the 1970s and 1980s finally folded, as technology prospered, inflation fell and poverty gave way to job gains. History certainly harmonizes. In many ways, the 1990s are primed to rhyme with today’s gains in artificial intelligence. Like the entrepreneurs of the early-1990s, we’re standing at the outset of a period that will see massive growth, productivity gains and the rapid transformation of business, creativity and data utilization. Across industries and around the globe, the promises of AI are already apparent. What’s left to us, today, is to ensure that AI operates in collaboration with workers, complementing our abilities and allowing us to make the most of an exciting and singular period in our lives. When AI Booms, Businesses Benefit By the close of 2023, AI had been mentioned more than 30,000 times on earnings calls. Society seemed to embrace AI overnight. Machine learning, technology that was often used to automate routine processes, started giving way to generative AI, technology that outputs specialized knowledge work. Just as the internet democratized access to information, AI is democratizing the context and insights we obtain from data. That adds up to productivity enhancements and demand for new skills. Similarly to how familiarity with personal computers became an expectation for professionals in the 1990s, today’s employers and business owners are beginning to hire workers who know their way around AI. Early adopters are already pushing the boundaries of what’s possible — and acceptable — with AI-generated images, videos, briefs, reports and marketing material. Like any boom, the Age of AI needs an energy source. Data licensing, which provides firms with access to information, will be the in-demand raw material in the years to come. Entrepreneurs and executives are already aware of its potential: AI data licensing was valued at $203 million in Reddit’s recent IPO, for example. What Comes Next? The internet fundamentally changed our world in the 1990s. It changed the language we used, the way we interacted with one another and how we thought about the world. It changed the jobs we coveted and ways we studied. The same is happening today. AI is already leading to productivity gains, which in turn explains why the market is optimistic about stock prices and valuations. Inflation is coming down and output is on its way up. The prospects of high interest rates aren’t as intimidating today as they were two years ago, and the near-zero interest rates of March 2022 seem like ancient history. Cyclical sectors that benefit from a strong economy are outperforming defensive sectors and there’s an appetite for even the riskiest of corporate bonds. In the financial services sector, AI is already generating a positive impact. The disjointed client experiences of yesterday are giving way to smoother, more client-friendly portals, workflows and interactions. Most significantly, AI is enabling financial advisors to collect, organize and retain volumes of information that allow delivery of more targeted and relevant solutions. AI is also helping HR departments, back office personnel and technology vendors, leading to better client service and stronger adherence to rules and regulations, according to a recent report. AI isn’t all hype; it’s not something to be afraid of, either. Our AI Chapter Will be Long and Prosperous On a macro level, we should stand ready to capitalize on the collective benefits we’ll reap from our AI productivity boom. Remember the budget surpluses of the late-1990s? We, too, are poised at the edge of a period of growth. In the years ahead we’ll see lower core inflation, tracking at or below the Fed’s 2% target. We will also see improving corporate profits that will lead to higher equity valuations, enabling millions of investors to retire comfortably and creating a wealth effect that supports consumption, which accounts for 70% of economic activity. Perhaps most importantly, rising equity markets will generate capital gains tax revenue, meaning smaller deficits at both the federal and state level. This will support government spending without the need for tax increases, leading to widespread improvements including social security solvency along with critical investments in healthcare, defense, infrastructure and education. Capital market assumptions and portfolio construction are already changing in anticipation of this new reality. In part, AI is producing smarter investing, even as it brightens the overall economic picture in vivid detail. In the financial services sector, AI adds the most value when used as a collaborative tool within teams of experts. It’s not meant to replace us; rather it’s meant to enable, enliven and strengthen our decision making, the relationships we form and the world we are ambitiously building for tomorrow. We’re yet to see the full impact of AI across industries, but it’s already changing our lives for the better, in much the same way that the internet, mobile devices and mobile payments have in recent decades. Accelerated employment. Wage gains. Faster investment, more information and notable gains in productivity. These were all hallmarks of the 1990s, a period that looms large in the memories of those who witnessed this time of innovation and skyrocketing long-term growth. New technologies, like computers and software, gave rise to a greater reliance and utilization of networking. The internet first flashed its true potential. Information was suddenly accessible and storing it became cheaper and cheaper. The combination of personal computing and the internet catalyzed massive changes to industry, trade, finance and services. The economic sluggishness of the 1970s and 1980s finally folded, as technology prospered, inflation fell and poverty gave way to job gains. History certainly harmonizes. In many ways, the 1990s are primed to rhyme with today’s gains in artificial intelligence. Like the entrepreneurs of the early-1990s, we’re standing at the outset of a period that will see massive growth, productivity gains and the rapid transformation of business, creativity and data utilization. Across industries and around the globe, the promises of AI are already apparent. What’s left to us, today, is to ensure that AI operates in collaboration with workers, complementing our abilities and allowing us to make the most of an exciting and singular period in our lives. When AI Booms, Businesses Benefit When AI Booms, Businesses Benefit By the close of 2023, AI had been mentioned more than 30,000 times on earnings calls . Society seemed to embrace AI overnight. Machine learning, technology that was often used to automate routine processes, started giving way to generative AI, technology that outputs specialized knowledge work. Just as the internet democratized access to information, AI is democratizing the context and insights we obtain from data. 30,000 times on earnings calls on earnings calls access context and insights That adds up to productivity enhancements and demand for new skills. Similarly to how familiarity with personal computers became an expectation for professionals in the 1990s, today’s employers and business owners are beginning to hire workers who know their way around AI. Early adopters are already pushing the boundaries of what’s possible — and acceptable — with AI-generated images, videos, briefs, reports and marketing material. Like any boom, the Age of AI needs an energy source. Data licensing, which provides firms with access to information, will be the in-demand raw material in the years to come. Entrepreneurs and executives are already aware of its potential: AI data licensing was valued at $203 million in Reddit’s recent IPO, for example. What Comes Next? What Comes Next? The internet fundamentally changed our world in the 1990s. It changed the language we used, the way we interacted with one another and how we thought about the world. It changed the jobs we coveted and ways we studied. The same is happening today. AI is already leading to productivity gains, which in turn explains why the market is optimistic about stock prices and valuations. Inflation is coming down and output is on its way up. The prospects of high interest rates aren’t as intimidating today as they were two years ago, and the near-zero interest rates of March 2022 seem like ancient history. Cyclical sectors that benefit from a strong economy are outperforming defensive sectors and there’s an appetite for even the riskiest of corporate bonds. In the financial services sector, AI is already generating a positive impact. The disjointed client experiences of yesterday are giving way to smoother, more client-friendly portals, workflows and interactions. Most significantly, AI is enabling financial advisors to collect, organize and retain volumes of information that allow delivery of more targeted and relevant solutions. AI is also helping HR departments, back office personnel and technology vendors, leading to better client service and stronger adherence to rules and regulations, according to a recent report . AI isn’t all hype; it’s not something to be afraid of, either. a recent report a recent report Our AI Chapter Will be Long and Prosperous Our AI Chapter Will be Long and Prosperous On a macro level, we should stand ready to capitalize on the collective benefits we’ll reap from our AI productivity boom. Remember the budget surpluses of the late-1990s? We, too, are poised at the edge of a period of growth. In the years ahead we’ll see lower core inflation, tracking at or below the Fed’s 2% target. We will also see improving corporate profits that will lead to higher equity valuations, enabling millions of investors to retire comfortably and creating a wealth effect that supports consumption, which accounts for 70% of economic activity. Perhaps most importantly, rising equity markets will generate capital gains tax revenue, meaning smaller deficits at both the federal and state level. This will support government spending without the need for tax increases, leading to widespread improvements including social security solvency along with critical investments in healthcare, defense, infrastructure and education. Capital market assumptions and portfolio construction are already changing in anticipation of this new reality. In part, AI is producing smarter investing, even as it brightens the overall economic picture in vivid detail. In the financial services sector, AI adds the most value when used as a collaborative tool within teams of experts. It’s not meant to replace us; rather it’s meant to enable, enliven and strengthen our decision making, the relationships we form and the world we are ambitiously building for tomorrow. We’re yet to see the full impact of AI across industries, but it’s already changing our lives for the better, in much the same way that the internet, mobile devices and mobile payments have in recent decades.

We’ve Been Here Before: The Impacts of Today’s Age of AI

আমরা আগে এখানে এসেছি: আজকের এআই যুগের প্রভাব

Das haben wir schon einmal erlebt: Die Auswirkungen des heutigen Zeitalters der künstlichen Intelligenz

Ya hemos estado aquí antes: los impactos de la era actual de la IA

Nous sommes déjà venus ici : les impacts de l’ère actuelle de l’IA

हम पहले भी यहां आ चुके हैं: आज के एआई युग का प्रभाव

これまでにも同じようなことが起こっていた: 今日の AI 時代の影響

우리는 전에도 여기에 있었습니다: 오늘날 AI 시대의 영향

Já estivemos aqui antes: os impactos da era atual da IA

Мы были здесь раньше: влияние современной эпохи искусственного интеллекта

Daha Önce Buradaydık: Günümüzün Yapay Zeka Çağının Etkileri

Chúng tôi đã từng ở đây trước đây: Tác động của thời đại AI ngày nay

我们曾经经历过这样的事情：当今人工智能时代的影响

In this new series, we’re talking about remarkable cypherpunks who helped to create decentralized money and more privacy and online freedom tools for everyone. Let’s remember that the group named “ ” was formed by . As you may imagine, a lot of people in the crypto world belong there. cypherpunks computer science, cryptography experts, and Internet activists aiming to create new software to foster privacy and social change Wei Dai is, of course, one of them. Maybe his name is ringing a bell if you ever read the Bitcoin whitepaper. He’s one of the references at the end. We don’t know much about his personal life, because he’s a quite private person —like most cypherpunks, indeed. However, we do know about his career. Probably born , of Chinese origin but living in the USA, Dai went to the University of Washington. He graduated in computer science with a minor in mathematics. According to , his career began at TerraSciences, where he contributed to developing security solutions for the oil and gas industry. Later at Microsoft, he played a crucial role in optimizing encryption algorithms. in 1976 some sources Dai's VMAC algorithm, designed for 64-bit systems, demonstrated high-performance data verification. He also identified critical vulnerabilities in SSH2's Encryption Block Chaining and was part of the team that discovered the BEAST protocol vulnerability in SSL/TLS, posing a significant risk to Internet security. Dai's notable contributions include the widely-used open-source Crypto++ library, employed in projects like Microsoft Office Groove and LastPass. Besides, his work on b-money influenced the core concepts implemented in Bitcoin. This is a very similar system, published before the . Despite speculation, Dai denies being Satoshi Nakamoto, or even having some real influence in the cryptocurrency creation. Bitcoin whitepaper B-money Proposal is considered an important precursor of all cryptocurrencies, even though it was never released. “Fascinated”, in his own words, by Tim May’s with its purpose of making the government unnecessary and the threat of violence impotent, free of governmental intervention. B-money crypto-anarchism ideology Dai designed potentially unregulated money for the crypto-anarchist community to operate, He showed, indeed, two protocols. The first one, described as impractical, establishes a basis for the second, more feasible one. In both, an untraceable network is assumed, where participants are identified solely by digital pseudonyms. The first protocol relies on a synchronous and uninterrupted anonymous broadcast channel, with participants maintaining databases of money ownership tied to pseudonyms. It covers the creation and transfer of money, and enforcement of contracts, including arbitration mechanisms. . Transaction messages remain similar to the first protocol, but participants must verify that messages are received and processed by a randomly selected server subset. To prevent collusion, servers are required to deposit money for potential fines or rewards, periodically publishing and committing to money creation and ownership databases. The second protocol shifts the accountability of the money mint to a subset of participants called servers, connected through a Usenet-style broadcast channel B-Money and Bitcoin These two systems share many similarities. Both of them aim to establish unregulated digital currencies operating in a peer-to-peer (P2P) network without the need for a central authority. The use of Proof of Work (PoW) for the creation of new units of currency is considered as well. In both b-money and Bitcoin, participants can generate new coins by solving computational problems. This PoW process serves the dual purpose of securing the network and preventing abuse. Additionally, both systems employ cryptographic mechanisms to ensure secure and private transactions. . Transactions are signed and encrypted, contributing to the privacy and security of the overall system. B-money, like Bitcoin, uses digital pseudonyms (public keys) to identify participants, providing a level of anonymity The concept of a distributed ledger is another shared element. B-money and Bitcoin utilize a decentralized approach to maintain a ledger of transactions. In b-money, participants maintain separate databases, while Bitcoin realizes these databases as a blockchain—a public ledger that records all transactions across a network of computers. Overall, the conceptual foundations of b-money, particularly the use of PoW, cryptographic techniques, and decentralized ledgers, Even the “b” in the name may result in suspicion. But Dai himself any contribution or involvement. laid the groundwork for the subsequent development of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. denied “I didn't create Bitcoin but only described a similar idea more than a decade ago. And my understanding is that the creator of Bitcoin, who goes by the name Satoshi Nakamoto, didn't even read my article before reinventing the idea himself. He learned about it afterward and credited me in his paper. So my connection with the project is quite limited.” Not that decentralized B-money was only one of the important steps to what we have today, and to the real decentralization we’re still aiming to achieve in crypto. It wasn’t really decentralized, as you may have noticed: the “servers” (middlemen) were in control of the money. Something similar happens with Bitcoin, indeed. Miners, in charge of minting new coins, can cherry-pick or even censor transactions. If more than half of the big miners collude, they could take over the whole network. And they’re not even a lot of parties, that only two mining pools are currently in control of 54% of the network power (hashrate). considering , on the other hand, has solved this issue by completely eliminating the mining system. Instead, its Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) structure is fully censorship-resistant. There are no powerful parties behind, and only (OPs) are required to order transactions. Their transactions serve as waypoints to order the rest, and nothing else. If someone sends a transaction to the DAG, it can’t be blocked or censored by any party. The total supply is also fixed, protecting against inflation. Obyte Order Providers Interestingly, as Wei Dai described enforcement of contracts and arbitration mechanisms, we also have contracts with arbitration as well as an arbiters store ( ) in Obyte. This is a new decentralized escrow payment solution, specifically designed for international trade. ArbStore Operating on the decentralized , , offering a decentralized escrow that safeguards funds until the conditions of the contract are met. With the added layer of protection from independent arbiters in case of disputes, the parties involved are assured a fair resolution process. Obyte crypto platform contracts with arbitration facilitate safe transactions using smart contracts (without users needing to code anything) and cryptocurrencies We’re in debt to our predecessors. Distinguished cypherpunks like Wei Dai and Satoshi Nakamoto laid the groundwork for the building of in the financial and online world. Let’s continue their mission! real decentralization Featured Vector Image by Garry Killian / Freepik

Cypherpunks Write Code: Wei Dai and B-money — or a Coin Before Bitcoin

সাইফারপাঙ্কস কোড লিখুন: ওয়েই দাই এবং বি-মানি — বা বিটকয়েনের আগে একটি মুদ্রা

Cypherpunks schreiben Code: Wei Dai und B-Geld – oder eine Münze vor Bitcoin

Los Cypherpunks escriben código: Wei Dai y B-money, o una moneda antes de Bitcoin

Cypherpunks écrivent du code : Wei Dai et B-money – ou une pièce avant Bitcoin

साइफरपंक्स कोड लिखें: वेई दाई और बी-मनी - या बिटकॉइन से पहले एक सिक्का

サイファーパンクがコードを書く: Wei Dai と B-money — またはビットコイン以前のコイン

Cypherpunks 작성 코드: Wei Dai 및 B-money — 또는 비트코인 이전의 동전

Cypherpunks escrevem código: Wei Dai e B-money – ou uma moeda antes do Bitcoin

Шифропанки пишут код: Вэй Дай и B-деньги — или монета до биткойна

Şifrepunklar Kod Yazıyor: Wei Dai ve B-money — veya Bitcoin'den Önce Bir Coin

Cypherpunks viết mã: Wei Dai và B-money - hoặc một loại tiền trước Bitcoin

密码朋克编写代码：Wei Dai 和 B-money——或者是比特币之前的代币

1. Validate idea first I wasted at least 5 years building stuff nobody needed. 2. Kill your EGO It's not about me, but the user. I must want what the user wants, not what I want. 3. Don't chase investors Chase users, and then investors will be chasing you. 4. Never hire managers Only hire doers until PMF. 5. Landing page is the least important thing in a startup Pick an average template, edit texts and that's it. 90% of the users will end up on your site coming from a blog article, social media post, a recommendation. Which means they have the intent. No need to "convert" them again. 6. Hire only fullstack devs There is nothing less productive in this world than a team of developers. One full stack dev building the whole product. That's it. 7. Chase global market from day 1 If the product and marketing is good, it will work in the global market too; if it's bad, it won't work on the local market either. So better go global from day 1, so that if it works, the upside is 100x bigger. 8. Do SEO from day 2 As early as you can. I ignored this for 14 years. It's my biggest regret. 9. Sell features, before building them Ask existing users if they want this feature. I run DMs with 10-20 users every day, where I chat about all my ideas and features I wanna add. I clearly see what resonates with me most and only go build those. 10. Hire only people you would wanna hug My mentor said this to me in 2015. And it was a big shift. I realized that if I don't wanna hug the person, it means I dislike them. Even if I can't say why, but that's the fact. Sooner or later, we would have a conflict and eventually break up. 11. Invest all money into your startups and friends Not crypt0, not stockmarket, not properties. I did some math, if I kept investing all my money into all my friends’ startups, that would be about 70 investments. 3 of them turned into unicorns eventually. Even 1 would have made the bank. Since 2022, I have invested all my money into my products, friends, and network. 12. Post on Twitter (or other biz social media) daily I started posting here in March this year. It's my primary source of new connections and traffic. 13. Don't work/partner with corporates Corporations always seem like an amazing opportunity. They're big and rich, they promise huge stuff, millions of users, etc. But every single time none of this happens. Because you talk to a regular employees there. They waste your time, destroy focus, shift priorities, and eventually bring in no users/money. 14. Don't get ever distracted by hype, e.g. crypt0 I lost 1.5 years of my life this way. I met the worst people along the way. Fricks, scammers, thieves. Some of my close friends turned into thieves along the way, just because it was so common in that space. I wish this didn't happen to me. 15. Don't build consumer apps. Only b2b Consumer apps are so hard, like a lottery. It's just 0.00001% who make it big. The rest don't. Even if I got many users, then there is a monetization challenge. I've spent 4 years in consumer apps and regret it. 16. Don't hold on bad project for too long, max 1 year Some projects just don't work. In most cases, it's either the idea that's so wrong that you can't even pivot it or it's a team that is good one by one but can't make it as a team. Don't drag this out for years. 17. Tech conferences are a waste of time They cost money, take energy, and time and you never really meet anyone there. Most people there are the "good" employees of corporations who were sent there as a perk for being loyal to the corporation. Very few fellow makers. 18. Scrum is a Scam If I had a team that had to be nagged every morning with questions as if they were children in kindergarten, then things would eventually fail. The only good stuff I managed to do happened with people who were grownups and could manage their stuff. We would just do everything over chat as a sync on goals and plans. 19. Outsource nothing at all until PMF In a startup, almost everything needs to be done in a slightly different way, more creative, and more integrated into the vision. When outsourcing, the external members get no love and no case for the product. It's just yet another assignment in their boring job. 20. Bootstrap I spent way too much time raising money. I raised more than 10 times, preseed, seed, and series A. But each time it was a 3-9 month project, meetings every week, and lots of destruction. I could afford to bootstrap, but I still went the VC-funded way, I don't know why. To be honest, I didn't know bootstrapping was a thing I could do or anyone does. That's it. All my projects → http://x.com/johnrushx/bio Also appears . here

Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting My 1st Startup

The tumultuous journey of "The Day Before," once one of Steam's most anticipated games of 2023, has taken an unexpected turn. It was originally pitched as an open-world MMO, similar to and OSRS, albeit with a post-apocalyptic skin. Fntastic, the developer behind this game, recently announced that they are shutting down their operations. This announcement comes less than a week after the studio faced accusations of deceiving players by significantly altering the nature of the game from what was initially advertised. World of Warcraft On December 11, Fntastic released a statement on Twitter announcing the closure of their studio. They cited the financial failure of "The Day Before" as the primary reason, stating that all revenue is being used to settle debts with partners. Despite their efforts over five years in developing the game, they didn't raise funds through Early Access, pre-orders, or crowdfunding. The future of "The Day Before" and other online games from the studio remains uncertain, although the servers will remain active for now. The statement from Fntastic expressed regret for not meeting player expectations, acknowledging the immense challenge of game development and admitting to an overestimation of their capabilities. Simultaneously, the studio appears to be distancing itself from responsibility for the issues plaguing "The Day Before." The game, which was one of the most wished-for on Steam earlier in the year, drew significant attention upon release. It attracted over 400,000 viewers on Twitch and 30,000 concurrent players on its first day. However, players quickly realized that the game, built on the Unreal Engine and impressive in trailers, diverged from its original concept as a zombie survival MMO. Instead, it turned out to be a buggy extraction shooter with sparse content. The game, priced at $40, faced harsh criticism in numerous Steam reviews, with players labeling it a "scam" and citing server problems and flawed levels. Many sought refunds. PC The game's launch, which led to a predominantly negative rating, followed months of controversy. This included allegations of exploiting volunteer labor, misleading trailers, asset flips, a legal dispute leading to a temporary removal from Steam, and several delays. These issues fueled speculation about the game's legitimacy. Last week, Fntastic defended its integrity against such speculation, criticizing doubters and expressing commitment to improving the game post-launch. However, just four days after this statement, the studio announced its closure, marking an abrupt end to its promise of continued development and support for the game.

Fntastic, the Studio behind The Day Before, Shutting Down After Tumultuous Launch

You've created a mobile app. And so, what now? Over the past ten years, mobile devices have transformed into an indispensable form of communication. The ubiquitous availability and convenience of mobile devices have resulted in the relentless growth of . Therefore, the market for mobile apps is now among the most rapidly growing sectors. For every conceivable use case, there is a matching tool or app. mobile app development All of these factors have heightened the relevance of testing mobile apps. Today, it is essential that you have an app that works seamlessly and is superior to rival applications. This can only be accomplished through testing. Understanding Mobile App Testing As the name indicates, mobile app testing is the process of verifying an Android or iOS mobile application's usability and functionality before its public release. The purpose of testing mobile applications is to confirm that the app meets the projected business and technological specifications. Every day, people use mobile apps in a variety of scenarios, such as banking, contemporary vehicles, and games, or in smart refrigerators. Yet, most users have faced a very common and annoying situation -- the app didn't work when it needed the most. If mobile apps aren't rigorously tested, there is a major possibility that consumers will on their devices, which can result in a negative user experience, especially among new users. encounter serious bugs Any unexpected app breakdown or functionality defect could result in the app's immediate uninstallation. Severe bugs may even lead to sensitive data loss, which can result in fines and penalties. 7 Elements to Test Before Deploying Your Mobile Application The mobile app testing process is slightly different from testing a web app or a desktop app. Testers have to check the following key elements before the app is ready for deployment: 1. Functioning in Different Software Environments Your consumers will mostly install the app or work on different browsers and operating systems (like iOS and Android). Establish the necessary configurations, and use the test strategy to figure out which tests should be executed first. Software configuration testing usually takes place at the time of the AUT (application under test) phase. The mobile app must be tested across various OS versions, firmware upgrades, etc. 2. Functioning in Different Hardware Environments Hardware testing checks internal processors, core hardware, screen dimensions, resolution, capacity or memory, the camera, radio, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth connectivity, etc. There are scores of unique mobile devices, and end users will run your app on almost all of them. So, it is vital to check this element before launching the application. 3. Working Under Different Network Conditions The network has a major impact on app behavior, and every mobile app behaves uniquely across different network environments. Multiple factors define networks, like physical barriers, network spectrum, separation between devices, radio interference, network usage, or traffic, among others. When testing applications, network latency should be taken into consideration. Before being made available to the public, mobile apps have to undergo a range of evaluations on multiple networks, under various conditions. Remember that bandwidth and data capacities may influence the speed of page loading, which will ultimately affect . user retention 4. Performance on Real Devices and Not Just Emulators Your clients or consumers will use these applications on real devices, such as tablets and smartphones, and not on emulators. It is simple to evaluate the efficacy and general user experience of an app when tested on actual hardware. Emulators can carry out limited tests. Real devices can be deployed to test each and every function, like camera evaluations, geolocation abilities, biometric sensors, and more. However, there may be an additional cost involved. 5. Performance Under Difficult or Strenuous Conditions You must evaluate the app's usability, security, and resource utilization under different conditions and challenges. This comprises: Load testing: The application's response time to various kinds of requests : The application's functional capacity at above average demand, several times over Stress testing : Longevity of the app under normal operating conditions Concurrency testing: The number of concurrent users who can run an application Stability testing 6. The Security Level of the Mobile App The safety aspects of the app should also be evaluated before launch. Assess the dangers posed by viruses, hackers, or unauthorized access to private data. Ensure that all user information (logins, passwords, credit card details) is secure from mechanized attacks on the network. Confirm that the app's security system is protected by a robust password. 7. The App’s Ability to Recover After Failure An excellent mobile app must be ready to withstand and recover from defects resulting from software glitches, hardware malfunctions, or communication issues. Verify the app's ability to recover from unforeseen crises, transaction delays, or potential data loss. Conclusion This list is by no means exhaustive. Launching a fully functional, large bug-free, and sticky app can be difficult, which is why you need to test continuously – even after deployment. The primary elements we've highlighted are critical for a smooth app launch. To make these parts work in your development and testing, establish a strong team and, if necessary, seek assistance from a . software testing services company Ask users for feedback and roll out timely upgrades. With time, you will learn to test for local/cultural user expectations, work in newer OSs, and more.

Key Elements to Test Before Deploying Your Mobile App

আপনার মোবাইল অ্যাপ স্থাপন করার আগে পরীক্ষা করার মূল উপাদান

Wichtige Elemente, die Sie vor der Bereitstellung Ihrer mobilen App testen sollten

Elementos clave para probar antes de implementar su aplicación móvil

Éléments clés à tester avant de déployer votre application mobile

अपने मोबाइल ऐप को तैनात करने से पहले परीक्षण करने योग्य मुख्य तत्व

モバイルアプリを展開する前にテストする重要な要素

모바일 앱을 배포하기 전에 테스트해야 할 주요 요소

Elementos principais para testar antes de implantar seu aplicativo móvel

Ключевые элементы, которые необходимо протестировать перед развертыванием мобильного приложения

Mobil Uygulamanızı Devreye Almadan Önce Test Edilecek Temel Unsurlar

Các yếu tố chính cần kiểm tra trước khi triển khai ứng dụng di động của bạn

部署移动应用程序之前要测试的关键要素

About a year ago, I lost almost $100K overnight. Like most beginners during the 2021 craze, I made many mistakes. But the one I will tell you about was my most expensive one, by far. crypto Here's how the story starts. In April 2021, I landed in San Francisco for the first time in my life. With a re-entry permit for the U.S. that was set to expire in a couple of weeks, I had made a choice to quit my job in France, break up with my girlfriend, and say goodbye to my friends to come to live in the heart of tech, where all my dreams would ( ) become a reality. eventually I booked my flight, hopped on a plane, and landed in SFO a Friday afternoon on April 2nd, with a loosely held plan, direction, a room I had barely seen through a pixelized FaceTime 3 weeks prior, and the firm intention to make the most out of this experience. I was 23 years old and had in my bank account the result of summers working in jobs that seemed to compete to be the one who'd pay the least their employees and some extra dollars that I had miraculously saved from my $500/month internship salary, for a grand total of . $9,300 This slim amount was just enough to give me a shot at my dream of living in the U.S. and keeping my green card. The clockwork started, and I had three months to survive to find a job. It was also around that time that I really got interested in crypto. And as only beginner's luck can do, three months into the job search, I found a job as a Head of Content at a crypto startup. My role there was pretty straightforward: talking with Web3 creators, understanding their needs, and then writing about how to solve those problems. Around August 2021, immersing myself in crypto and talking with builders in the space seven days a week, I managed to get a decent amount of tokens that were steadily increasing in value. Through all my investments, I had made a couple of hundred dollars. Just enough for me to keep investing the few dollars I had into new coins and, soon, into NFTs. By the end of August, I dipped my toes in by purchasing my first NFT: a pixelized Astrocryptid. It wasn't that I specifically liked the art, but they were cheap enough for me to experiment with the whole process of buying them. Sure enough, their price dropped quickly after I bought them. A few weeks after this first experience, though, I started seeing friends of mine talking on Twitter about a new NFT collection that had just dropped: . Loot (for Adventurers) These NFTs, created by the founder of Vine, were a collection of text-based NFTs representing white words on a black background. Most of all, the art was free; you just had to pay for the gas fees. I decided to purchase one. Total of the operation: $300 spent in fees and a JPEG of some text in my wallet. ~whAt a DeaL~ And that was that. To be honest, I don’t know what I was really expecting from this, except maybe being able to say I was an NFT collector to the creators I was talking to and getting the right to join a soon-to-exist community. I continued my day and didn’t pay much attention to this for the next two days. Until I started seeing my Twitter feed full of people talking about the project. Suddenly, and only three days after my initial purchase, it seemed like the collection was on its way to becoming THE next big thing in the NFT space. In days, journalists started to , and new projects started to pop up here and there to fuel the growing universe of the Loot ecosystem. cover the rise of the collection Someone had even created a social token (Adventure Gold or $AGLD for short) associated with the NFT, sending it directly to the wallet of everyone owning a Loot. Not sure of what I would find there, I checked my wallet and found I had indeed received a transaction. Almost overnight, I had made $4,000 just by buying a JPEG online. Trust me it was eu-phor-ic. From $300 to $4,000 in 3 days, that was it - I was a real crypto investor. ; I started, slowly but surely, checking a bit more often my crypto wallet and Opensea to see the price at which people were now buying the NFT in the secondary market, slowly becoming addicted to the dopamine of seeing my net worth increasing every day. From there, things really started to go crazy. A short week and a half after purchasing my for $300, and only a few days after it hit $4,000, the bundle was now worth over $100K. Everyone, including , talked about . Loot (for Adventurers) mainstream media Loot (for Adventurers) The average sale price for a Loot NFT had soared to over 21 ETH, or about $84,000 at the time, and the original 10,000 AGLD I had received had skyrocketed to $28,000. Suddenly, the stakes were much higher. From checking my wallet a couple of times a day, I then kept refreshing my account every minute like an adrenaline junky to see if I had become even richer than the seconds before. Or if it all had just crashed… Because here’s the thing: Technically, I HAD those $28K and the NFT in my wallet. But until I had withdrawn the AGLD tokens and sold the NFT, the price could still drop to zero. It was a battle that started in my mind, between selling right away when the value was increasing minute after minute and missing the opportunity to make bank, or waiting, taking the risk of losing it all. It was my second NFT ever. I had no experience in investing. I decided to keep playing. On Tuesday night, as I refreshed the amount in my wallet one last time before trying to go to sleep, my brain kept running, and I started to envision all the things I could do with the money if I could sell at the right time. it As best I could, I turned off my phone and closed my eyes. The night was ( ) short, and at 5:30 AM, I was fully awake. I quickly grabbed the phone on my nightstand, turned it on, opened my crypto wallet, and checked the amount displayed at the top of my screen: obviously The 10,000 AGLD I had were now worth over $70,000. As you can imagine, my head was spinning. "OMFGGG!!! I did it, I didn't sell too early, and I'm now fuc*ing rich. Let's goooo!” But here I was again. Is NOW the right time to sell? See, getting those $70,000 and an NFT worth at least as much was way above my wildest expectation, and the wise part of myself screamed at me I should sell everything, take the money, and go enjoy life. But as I checked the price of the past hours and saw it constantly increasing, I couldn't help but think: Why on earth would it stop here? And this is how barely awake, I decided to play the money game a little longer. And for the first few hours of the day, everything went well. I started my day as every other day, first checking my emails and Twitter, then going from call to call, eventually checking the price of the tokens between each call and seeing the price slowly fluctuating. Around 9:30 AM, a client asked me to work on a project in a short timeline, and I got completely absorbed by my work. When I finally got my head above water, it was already 1:00 PM. I checked my wallet again. The AGLD tokens had completely plummeted, now getting back to $40,000. In less than 6 hours, I had just lost $30,000. Damn... that hurts. Now, I know what you might think. Reading this, you're quietly thinking you would have done differently, that you would have sold at $70K when it was still time, and that only a stupid motherfu**er would even think about holding for a little longer. Deep down, I’m sure many of you would have done the exact same thing. Because when there's that much money at stake, you don't make rational decisions anymore. You're seeing the numbers go up and truly think you can always " ." You're seeing the hype getting stronger than ever, and you're one of the few who have the chance to be part of a movement that the world is watching with envy. So why on earth would you sell while it's going up? win a little bit more In retrospect, the answer is easy: . because, inevitably, it'll go down Now sick to my stomach, I decide to grab my bike and go for a ride. The thoughts in my head are running as fast as I go down the hills of San Francisco under the adrenaline of someone who just lost $30,000. d I try to imagine all the scenarios in my head: Is it going to pump again? If I'm being honest with myself, is there a reason for this spike in the first place? Can I really risk it all in my situation? I stopped in front of the ocean near the Palace of Fine Art, and after a 30-minute ride weighing the pros and cons, I decided it was time for me to stop playing the game. It's more than I can handle. I'm done with it all. I sell all the AGLD Tokens at a discount — never mind the $70,000. Over the next 48 hours, seeing the trend slowly fading, I also decided to put the NFT on sale, hoping to get an email announcing that a transaction had occurred and that the money would soon be transferred to my account. One day, two days.. one month.. 3 months… After months of waiting for a notification, I had to face the reality: And just like this, I accepted my faith. Of the over $100,000 I was hoping to win between the NFT and AGLD tokens, most of it was lost due to my greed. no one would buy it. A $100,000 Life-Lesson Looking back at it, I now clearly see the impact these few months of investing in crypto (specifically, my experience with the Loot NFTs) had on my life. Coming with less than $10,000 in the U.S. and earning money in crypto after only a few months, I was already living the American dream. I could have withdrawn everything as soon as I won $20,000 or $30,000 and enjoyed life for a while. But I wasn’t satisfied. I always wanted “a little bit more” and decided to continue playing the money game. The thing is, the game never really stops. Each time you reach a new milestone, it becomes your new standard, and you start dreaming of new heights. As soon as you get the adrenaline of finally getting what you’ve desired for so long, this satisfaction vanishes. Trying to win the money game is a never-ending quest. And as the stakes grow, you increasingly sacrifice more and more aspects of your life in the pursuit of a single goal… one that might not be as worthy as you think. For a long time, I optimized my life to win the money game. All my life choices were optimized to be rich ASAP. Staying in France or coming to San Francisco? . Embracing the comfort of a big company or risking it all for the potentially unlimited upsides of a small startup? . Going out with friends or staying home to work on a project? Easy choice Even easier You get it. My life goal was always to be free, and I thought money was the way to get there. Hint: . it’s not It made me realize that what I really want is to keep writing. Go on bike rides whenever I want. Travel with my girlfriend. And do all these things that don’t require a million dollars - far from it - to be happy. And so, while I technically lost money on the table, I still feel like I came out of this situation a winner. At only 23, I learned a lesson many spent years learning and avoided wasting years playing the wrong game. So before continuing your journey, I guess it’s worth asking yourself: Is the money game the one you really want to play? Speak soon, - Eliot PS: So, what did you think of this one? If you enjoyed today's edition, - It'll help me understand if I should write more about new topics (and it only takes you 10 seconds). let me know here

How I Made $100K In Crypto (Before Losing It All)

Introduction Every year, Spotify users eagerly await the release of Spotify Wrapped, a personalized year-in-review showcasing their most listened-to songs, artists, and genres. What if I told you there's a way to get a sneak peek at your Spotify statistics before the official release? In this guide, I'll walk you through a Spotify Wrapped hack that allows you to create your own personalized stats using your Spotify streaming data. This way you won’t need to wait for Spotify Wrapped, and you will also be able to create stats that Spotify won’t show you. Prerequisites Similar to one of , we will use Jupyter Notebook for this one. It’s a great tool for experimenting and working with data. my earlier projects If you haven’t installed Jupyter Notebook yet, follow the instructions on their . Once installed, you can create a new Jupyter Notebook and get ready for diving into your Spotify stats. official website Gathering and Sanitizing Data To get started, you'll need to request your Spotify streaming data. You can do this (make sure you request the “Extended streaming history”). It will take some time for Spotify to send you your data. Requesting only the “Account data” will be faster and will also give you last year’s streaming history. However, it is way less detailed and you will have to adapt the code. here Once you have the data, we can import it. You will get multiple JSON files. Each file consists of an array of objects containing information about a played song or podcast episode: {
	"ts": "2023-01-30T16:36:40Z",
	"username": "",
	"platform": "linux",
	"ms_played": 239538,
	"conn_country": "DE",
	"ip_addr_decrypted": "",
	"user_agent_decrypted": "",
	"master_metadata_track_name": "Wonderwall - Remastered",
	"master_metadata_album_artist_name": "Oasis",
	"master_metadata_album_album_name": "(What's The Story) Morning Glory? (Deluxe Remastered Edition)",
	"spotify_track_uri": "spotify:track:7ygpwy2qP3NbrxVkHvUhXY",
	"episode_name": null,
	"episode_show_name": null,
	"spotify_episode_uri": null,
	"reason_start": "remote",
	"reason_end": "remote",
	"shuffle": false,
	"skipped": false,
	"offline": false,
	"offline_timestamp": 0,
	"incognito_mode": false
} This allows you not only to figure out when and on which device you listened to a song but also gives you information such as if and when you skipped it. We will simply merge all of them into a single Pandas data frame: path_to_json = 'my_spotify_data/'
frames = []
for file_name in [file for file in os.listdir(path_to_json) if file.endswith('.json')]:
    frames.append(pd.read_json(path_to_json + file_name))

df = pd.concat(frames) Afterward, we'll sanitize it by removing podcasts, filtering out short play durations, and converting timestamps to a more readable format: # drop all rows containing podcasts
df = df[df['spotify_track_uri'].notna()]

# drop all songs which were playing less than 15 seconds
df = df[df['ms_played'] > 15000]

# convert ts from string to datetime
df['ts'] = pd.to_datetime(df['ts'], utc=False)
df['date'] = df['ts'].dt.date

# drop all columns which are not needed
columns_to_keep = [
    'ts',
    'date',
    'ms_played',
    'platform',
    'conn_country',
    'master_metadata_track_name',
    'master_metadata_album_artist_name',
    'master_metadata_album_album_name',
    'spotify_track_uri'
]
df = df[columns_to_keep]

df = df.sort_values(by=['ts'])
songs_df = df.copy() Analyzing and Visualizing Your Spotify Stats Top Songs of All Time Let's kick things off by exploring your all-time favorite songs. We can easily unveil our top tracks based on your streaming history: df = songs_df.copy()


df = df.groupby(['spotify_track_uri']).size().reset_index().rename(columns={0: 'count'})
df = df.sort_values(by=['count'], ascending=False).reset_index()

df = df.merge(songs_df.drop_duplicates(subset='spotify_track_uri'))
df = df[['master_metadata_track_name', 'master_metadata_album_artist_name', 'master_metadata_album_album_name', 'count']]

df.head(20) Top Songs in 2023 Curious about this year's music trends? We can use this function to reveal the top songs of 2023: def top_songs_in_year(year):
    df = songs_df.copy()

    df['year'] = df['ts'].dt.year

    df = df.loc[(df['year'] == year)]

    print(f"Time listened in {year}: {datetime.timedelta(milliseconds=int(df['ms_played'].sum()))}")

    df = df.groupby(['spotify_track_uri']).size().reset_index().rename(columns={0: 'count'})
    df = df.sort_values(by=['count'], ascending=False).reset_index()

    df = df.merge(songs_df.drop_duplicates(subset='spotify_track_uri'))
    df = df[['master_metadata_track_name',
             'master_metadata_album_artist_name',
             'master_metadata_album_album_name',
             'count']]

    return df.head(20) Interactivity With Widgets That works very well already, but why settle for that? We can use interactive widgets to customize the queries using UI elements. This allows us to find out your top songs in any specific time range effortlessly: @interact
def top_songs(date_range=date_range_slider):
    df = songs_df.copy()

    time_range_start = pd.Timestamp(date_range[0])
    time_range_end = pd.Timestamp(date_range[1])

    df = df.loc[(df['date'] >= time_range_start.date())
                & (df['date'] <= time_range_end.date())]

    df = df.groupby(['spotify_track_uri']).size().reset_index().rename(columns={0: 'count'})
    df = df.sort_values(by=['count'], ascending=False).reset_index()

    df = df.merge(songs_df.drop_duplicates(subset='spotify_track_uri'))
    df = df[['master_metadata_track_name',
             'master_metadata_album_artist_name',
             'master_metadata_album_album_name',
             'count']]

    return df.head(20) Temporal and Weekday Distribution Now that we know our top songs, top artists, and top albums, we can go a little further. For example, exploring which days of the week we're most active on Spotify: def plot_weekday_distribution():
    df = songs_df.copy()

    df['year'] = df['ts'].dt.year
    df['weekday'] = df['ts'].dt.weekday

    df = df.groupby(['year', 'weekday']).size().reset_index(name='count')

    fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(12, 8))

    for year, data in df.groupby('year'):
        ax.plot(data['weekday'], data['count'], label=str(year))

    weekdays_order = ['Monday', 'Tuesday', 'Wednesday', 'Thursday', 'Friday', 'Saturday', 'Sunday']
    plt.xticks(range(7), weekdays_order)

    plt.title('Weekday Distribution of Played Tracks Over Years')
    plt.xlabel('Weekday')
    plt.ylabel('Number of Played Tracks')
    plt.legend(title='Year')

    plt.show() How to Do It Yourself Ready to dive into your own Spotify stats? Check out my to find all the code, including even more functions to explore your listening stats. GitHub repository Conclusion Creating your Spotify stats before the official release not only adds an element of fun but also provides insights into your unique listening habits. As we eagerly anticipate Spotify Wrapped, why not get a head start on your music analysis adventure? Get ready to groove into your personalized Spotify Wrapped experience!

Spotify Wrapped Hack: Create Your Own Stats Before the Official Release

Spotify Wrapped Hack: অফিসিয়াল রিলিজের আগে আপনার নিজস্ব পরিসংখ্যান তৈরি করুন

Spotify Wrapped Hack: Erstellen Sie Ihre eigenen Statistiken vor der offiziellen Veröffentlichung

Spotify Wrapped Hack: crea tus propias estadísticas antes del lanzamiento oficial

Spotify Wrapped Hack : créez vos propres statistiques avant la sortie officielle

Spotify रैप्ड हैक: आधिकारिक रिलीज़ से पहले अपने स्वयं के आँकड़े बनाएँ

Spotify ラップハック: 正式リリース前に独自の統計を作成

Spotify Wrapped Hack: 공식 출시 전에 나만의 통계 만들기

Spotify Wrapped Hack: crie suas próprias estatísticas antes do lançamento oficial

Spotify Wrapped Hack: создайте свою собственную статистику до официального релиза

Spotify Sarılmış Hack: Resmi Yayınlanmadan Önce Kendi İstatistiklerinizi Oluşturun

Spotify Wrapped Hack: Tạo số liệu thống kê của riêng bạn trước khi phát hành chính thức

Spotify Wrapped Hack：在正式发布之前创建您自己的统计数据

The United States v Meta Platforms Court Filing October 24, 2023 is part of . You can jump to any part in this filing . This is part 42 of 100. HackerNoon’s Legal PDF Series here 3. Meta does not obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information from users under age 13 on Facebook. 833. Despite being required under COPPA to obtain verifiable parental consent, Meta does not obtain—or even attempt to obtain—verifiable parental consent before collecting the personal information of children on Facebook. 834. On information and belief, Meta also does not provide sufficient notice on its Facebook websites or Platform, through a prominently posted link or directly to parents, about what information it collects from children, how it uses such information, its disclosure practices, and parents’ rights to review or delete their children’s information. 835. The “personal information” of children collected by Meta through Facebook includes, but is not limited to, geolocation information, persistent identifiers of the user, unique device identifiers, photos and videos of the children, and other individually identifiable information about each child-user. Continue Reading . Here About HackerNoon Legal PDF Series: We bring you the most important technical and insightful public domain court case filings. This court case 4:23-cv-05448 retrieved on October 25, 2023, from is part of the public domain. The court-created documents are works of the federal government, and under copyright law, are automatically placed in the public domain and may be shared without legal restriction. Washingtonpost.com

Facebook Does Not Obtain Verifiable Parental Consent Before Collecting Personal Information

TWO DAYS BEFORE THE TRIAL.

October was an excellent month for crypto markets. Bitcoin rose 29% in October, bringing returns on the original cryptocurrency to 109% for the year. Ethereum was up almost 10% for October, and the long-sleeping Solana jumped 77% for the month. Yes, up 77% in a MONTH. Whilst Bitcoin went up, we also saw some sharp drops in the $hitcoin market, including 53% drop for Wall Street Memes, 44% loss for Shiba Saga and a 29% loss for the ironically named SafeMoon. The selling of junk to buy quality made us almost feel that the crypto markets were starting to mature… and then we saw that ridiculous and useless frog-faced memecoin PEPE v2 was up 642% for the month. Remember when NFTs shot up like a rocket, then crashed 99%? Some markets do ‘ave ‘em… As market regulations get closer, we feel junk coins may sink, and there will be a flight to quality. Stay tuned to watch what happens to most altcoins when they have to become registered, audited and counted for tax, just like traditional fund managers… we predict that when regulations are finalised, 80% or more of the altcoins will disappear. If you have any memecoins, $hitcoins or jokecoins, it may be a good idea to take profits while you can.. Spoiler Alert: Regulations are incoming After many reissues and redrafts, the . The document states that firms undertaking crypto asset activities must now be authorised by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority. The authorisation will include a stipulation for crypto exchanges to create detailed requirements for admission standards and mandate disclosures when listing new assets. Treasury states that DeFi will be addressed at a future date. UK Treasury has released its final proposal for crypto asset regulation If you have not been following the crypto news, or if you missed our , , , the or , then you may be unaware that many major financial institutions are applying for Bitcoin ETFs or exchange-traded funds. ETF updates here our ETF price prediction from six months ago here ETF update here $400 000 price prediction here the 300% charting forecast here In the $400 000 price prediction link above, we commented on the hypocrisy of the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) in the USA, and the fact that the US government was missing out on innovation (and income!) whilst other regions such as the UK, EU and Asia were much friendlier to crypto companies. The US Court of Appeals heard last month’s case between Grayscale and the SEC, and decided that the SEC was wrong and capricious when declining the BTC ETF application. The , thus laying the path for possible approval of several Bitcoin ETFs in the next 90 days. SEC has stated that they will not contest the court's decision The SEC had previously stated their “come one, come all” philosophy; if one Bitcoin ETF were to be approved, then they would approve all other complying applicants on the same day. This would mean that no institution received an unfair advantage by being able to accept funds before anyone else. Theoretically, we could see Bitcoin ETFs launched by Blackrock, Fidelity, Grayscale, ARK Invest, Wisdom Tree and half a dozen others, all on the same day. What do you think will happen when ten new storefronts open to sell a simple way into crypto, and there is a severely limited supply? (For a hint, refer to what happened when an . After having sat flat for almost thirty years, the gold price rockets up over 300%, at the exact time when the new ETF was introduced.) ETF was created to allow a simplified way for people to buy gold We cannot guarantee that the Bitcoin price will rise 300% when a slew of ETFs appear on the market, but we will say that a higher demand with a low supply generally makes prices go up. There will be other factors pushing prices up, and those who want to sell for a profit and crystallise some gains may cause prices to drop after a rise, so we could see a saw-tooth pattern with a few sharp drops on the way up. Crypto from your financial planner? If you have dealt with a financial planner (FP) or financial adviser (FA) in the last few years, you may know that some are independent, and some are bonded. For example, the planner inside Westpac could only recommend products that were branded Westpac or BT (as Westpac owned BT). The planner inside CommBank could only recommend products from CommBank or Colonial (as CBA owned Colonial). Ditto for ANZ and OnePath, NAB and MLC, and AMP and AMP. This may have seemed like a conflict of interest, as the financial planner would not necessarily recommend the “best” product for you, but just the best one that they happened to have on hand. We could compare this to any other product or service provider. If you visit the Toyota dealer, they will not recommend you buy a Ford, and the person in the Ferrari showroom will not tell you to buy a Lamborghini. For a truly independent point of view, you must visit an independent financial planner (or an independent car broker). It has been an industry standard for decades that your financial adviser would receive an upfront payment for placing your investment, as well as an ongoing payment for monitoring the investment and keeping you appraised of any changes required. This could be compared to the car dealership making a few dollars when you first buy the car, and then a few dollars every year when you have it serviced. Up until now, financial advisers, accountants and other financial professionals have not been able to charge clients for advising them on cryptocurrency, nor placing crypto investments or monitoring them. This meant an absolute dearth of financial advice around crypto: why would a professional adviser give crypto advice if they are not being paid for it? With the advent of Bitcoin ETFs, Ethereum ETFs and other crypto-ETFs to follow, crypto will become a regulated financial asset. That means that your financial adviser can start charging you for crypto advice, crypto placement and crypto monitoring. And then, all of a sudden, everything changes. We shared a post on , showing that over 80% of financial advisers have had clients ask about crypto, and almost 25% of financial advisers own crypto in their own name. Still, less than 10% of advisers put their clients into crypto. LinkedIn a while back There is a possibility that the advisers do not recommend crypto to the other 70% of clients because crypto is unregulated (for now), and/or crypto has no ongoing adviser payments (for now) crypto regulations are already in place in a few countries and will swiftly arrive in all the others. Adviser payments will follow regulation as the cart follows the ox. Recommendations will be made to clients who are seeking higher-risk and higher-reward investments. Demand for crypto will increase, and with a limited supply, prices should rise dramatically. Again, we cannot promise 300% gains like when the gold ETF was issued, but we are cautiously optimistic of more double-digit returns in crypto as the ETFs roll out. But wait… The perfect storm If upcoming regulations, ETFs and crypto-planners were not going to be exciting enough for you, here’s a little more fuel for your rockets. All of these events will happen around the time of the next Bitcoin halving. We have spoken of the Bitcoin halving (or “halvening”) several times, , , , and . Without labouring the point, when something becomes twice as scarce, Economics 101 tells us it should become twice as valuable. here here here here This math is not always perfect: when Bitcoin became twice as scarce in 2012, the price rose not by 100% but over 1000%. When Bitcoin mining rewards halved again in 2016 and BTC became twice as scarce, the price did not rise by 100% but almost 3000%. The previous Bitcoin halving event in early 2020 saw not a 100% gain but a completely fantastical 1000% gain. Of course, after these massive run-ups, the BTC price did crash somewhat, but a 3000% gain followed by a 60% crash is still a net positive result (even if it feels tough on the blood pressure!) There is a slim possibility that we will see a perfectly rational market, and the Bitcoin price will react to the next halvening event by only doubling its price to match the doubling of its scarcity. However, based on past market history (histrionics?), it is more probable that the Bitcoin price will massively overshoot its target before scaling back to normality. Grab your popcorn and stay tuned. Quick updates: Do as we say, not as we do: We reported that legendary investor Warren Buffett has been making money from crypto in private, despite him insulting it in public. this year. on Facebook Buffett’s investment in crypto-friendly Nubank is up 73% exchange and will allow crypto custody services for its banking clients. Thailand’s fourth largest bank has just paid $100M for a crypto https://blockworks.co/news/thailand-bank-stake-crypto-exchange Swiss bank Sygnum offers crypto purchasing, crypto custody/storage and staking of ETH, ADA, ATOM, ICP and XTZ for its clients. https://www.sygnum.com/digital-asset-banking/staking/ Large Swiss bank SEBA is also allowing ETH staking for their customers https://forkast.news/seba-bank-ethereum-staking-services/ If your friends wonder if crypto is a fad or is here to stay, let them know that the banks are stepping in. It’s all Greek to me (or how to sound smart at parties) There is a lot of jargon in investment circles. In addition to acronyms such as ASX, NASDAQ, DJIA, PEG, NTA and fancy words for income ( ), pointy-headed investment boffins also like to use Greek words. (Maybe the lawyers used all the good Latin words?) rent, yield, dividend, premium You may have heard of , which is outperformance. If the broad market returned 10% and XYZ investment returned 12%, it has a 2% alpha. All investors want to beat the average, so they all seek alpha… but Alpha There is also , which is volatility, or ups and downs. Assume that XYZ investment returned 12% whilst the market went up 10% (2% alpha). Imagine that the broad market made 10% by going up 15% and down 5%, which is common enough. Now imagine that XYZ made its 12% by rocketing up 45% and then dropping 33%; that is a little scarier. Beta A beta of 1 is the same as the average market. A beta of 0.5 means the investment is only half as volatile as the average market, which is reassuring for those who like lower risk. A beta of 3 means that the investment has three times as much up, and three times as much down as the average market. For example, if the market goes up by 10%, XYZ could zoom up 30%. Also the reverse: if the market drops 10%, XYZ could drop 30%. Whilst investors all want additional alpha, they usually want to minimise beta. Great returns with less rollercoaster; that is the dream 😊 For those who want to get super complex, yes, there are more Greek letters in investment circles, such as (and 20+ more letters we won’t go into today). Gamma (or ‘short gamma’) in the last month. This is fancy Greek terminology for “there is not enough Bitcoin to go around”. Bitcoin has been facing a Gamma Squeeze Traders can buy or sell options contracts for an asset (e.g. Bitcoin) at any time. Whenever that happens, the entities that offer options contracts take the opposite side of the trades. This is called “gamma hedging”, and market makers do this by buying/selling the underlying asset (e.g. BTC) as prices move. Recently there has been huge demand for Bitcoin call options, as traders expect prices to rise. As prices increase, market makers need to buy more BTC to hedge and maintain their position. The result is something called a “gamma squeeze” (like a ). short squeeze BTC prices go up → so market makers need to buy BTC → which pushes BTC prices higher → forcing market makers to buy more BTC → so BTC prices go even higher → leading to big green candles. Many believe that this is part of the reason why Bitcoin saw such a big pump last week. Wall Street Analysts think it could happen again soon. According to , head of research at Galaxy Digital, said on Twitter, “if BTC moves higher than US$35 750, options dealers will need to buy $20m in BTC for every 1% upside move, which could cause explosive (price rises) if we begin to move up towards those levels.” Alex Thorne As Bitcoin is already up almost 30% for the month and over 100% for the year, any gamma squeezes that require Wall Street to buy more Bitcoin is great news for those who are already in, and good news for those who get in before regulators and financial planners open the floodgates. WARNING: with institutional inflows of funds comes institutional behaviour and institutional algorithms. This next year could be the very last of the crazy crypto gains where prices rocket up 300% to 1000% or more. The reason is that large institutions often use algorithms, formulas or artificial intelligence to trade. For example, if prices on an investment drop more than 10%, the computer can buy, driving prices back up. If prices rise by over 20%, the computer can automatically sell, driving prices back down. The reason that crypto has had crazy rises of 3000% and crazy drops of 80% is because crypto has been traded by emotional or irrational humans and not unfeeling robots. Gains and dips in the stock market are generally no more than 10-20% in a single day due largely to automated trading. When automation comes to crypto, prices may be far more stable than we have ever seen before. Gains and losses may become more in line with the stock market averages of 10-20% per year. [ ] You have now been warned. How did we go this month? Bostoncoin In addition to the gains made by BTC, ETH and SOL mentioned in the first paragraph, we have seen some nice action in the altcoins and look forward to more. XRP            up 127% Litecoin      up 125% Assemble   up 119% As at Oct 31 2023 BOS NAV    USD 46.7181896 BOS Price   USD 51.3900086 BOS NAV    AUD 67.8335743 BOS Price   AUD 74.6169318 The Bostoncoin portfolio has a 53% gain for the year, 166% gain over three years and 197% gain for the past five years. There have been some dips along the way, but consistency and persistence always pay off. DARTcoin Now that you have learned about Beta, you will know why the DARTcoin outperforms in and drags the chain in .  For those who have the patience and the intestinal fortitude, you could consider a small amount in the unhedged DARTcoin fund, noting that it is far higher risk than the more balanced and comparatively conservative Bostoncoin fund. bull markets bear markets Thorchain  up 556% Render       up 460% TRON          up 152% Fantom       up 109% As at Oct 31 2023 DART NAV AUD 94.4308824 DART Price AUD 103.873971 DART NAV USD 60.4357647 DART Price USD 66.4793412 The DARTcoin portfolio has only been around two years versus the Bostoncoin seven-year history. Year-to-date gains are 134%. We are focusing forward on what the next altcoin season will bring. Share the love and win big Please share the love by sharing this post with a friend. If you are not motivated to help your friends make great returns whilst learning more about crypto, we will not assume that you are a terrible person; no judgment. We can assume you may need to be bribed with an exclusive Bostoncoin umbrella... A quality folding brolly, the same size as a thin water bottle, the Bostoncoin umbrella will fit easily into a handbag, briefcase or backpack. Easily compared to a Davek brolly that retails at $169, the Bostoncoin umbrella will protect you from sunburn on a clear day, save you from soaked hair on a wet day and can also be used to (if you happen to be Sean Connery). destroy enemy aircraft To get your hands on the best-looking protection for your best-looking asset, be sure to share the newsletter link, add the hashtag #Bostoncoin and tag @TradingBoston on Twitter (X) or @BostonTradingInc on Facebook (META). We will give ten umbrellas to random people who correctly follow the sharing instructions. Good luck! If your crypto-curious friends do not like to read, and prefer to watch videos, and tell them to watch the first 15 minutes. This is a very simplified overview of how to make money in crypto, and comparing Bitcoin to the gold rush and gold mining days of old. send them this link We are happy to do more “bite-sized” 15-minute live updates followed by 15 minutes of Q&A; your demand will lead this, so . We will create a webinar based on your questions and requests. reach out and ask JB

This is Your Last Chance for Crazy Gains in Crypto Before Wall Street Takes Your Toys Away

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