James Bachini

Blockchain

  • Struct in Solidity | Solidity Tips & Examples

    Struct in Solidity | Solidity Tips & Examples

    A struct in Solidity is a data type that allows you to group together multiple variables of different data types into a single unit. This is useful because it gives us a convenient container to package structured data, it enables us to pack variables into memory slots more efficiently and it allows us to get…

  • Ownable Contracts | Solidity Tips & Examples

    Ownable Contracts | Solidity Tips & Examples

    Ownable contracts in Solidity are used to implement access control for certain functions. The idea is that only the contract owner, who is typically the deployer of the contract, can execute these protected functions. To do this we will first import the OpenZeppelin library Inside our contract we can then add the onlyOwner modifier to…

  • Payable Transfers | Solidity Tips & Examples

    Payable Transfers | Solidity Tips & Examples

    Payable transfers are one of a number of ways to send ether from a Solidity smart contract to an external address. In this next example we create a fallback function so that any user can send this contract ether and it will get split between the different addresses. Full code at: https://github.com/jamesbachini/Solidity-Snippets/blob/main/contracts/PaymentDivider.sol Payable fails if…

  • Solidity Interface | Solidity Tips & Examples

    Solidity Interface | Solidity Tips & Examples

    A Solidity interface is code that provides a set of function declarations without any implementation details. Interfaces are used to interact with 3rd party contracts or external systems by defining a common set of functions that both parties agree to implement. Interfaces are used to define a contract’s external-facing functions, which is the only part…

  • OpenZeppelin Libraries | Solidity Tips & Examples

    OpenZeppelin Libraries | Solidity Tips & Examples

    OpenZeppelin libraries are popular for building secure smart contracts on top of pre-audited code in Solidity. The framework includes a number of reusable smart contract components, such as token contracts, access control contracts, and math libraries. In this article we will explore the various Libraries available within the OpenZeppelin framework to give you a tool…

  • Arrays in Solidity | Solidity Tips & Examples

    Arrays in Solidity | Solidity Tips & Examples

    Arrays are a fundamental data structure in programming, and Solidity is no exception. In Solidity, there are several types of arrays available, including dynamic arrays, fixed-size arrays, and multi-dimensional arrays. Dynamic Arrays Dynamic arrays are the most common type of array in Solidity. These are arrays whose length can be changed during runtime. To declare…

  • Get Contract Balance | Solidity Tips & Examples

    Get Contract Balance | Solidity Tips & Examples

    To get the contract balance in solidity there are a few different methods depending on if you want the Ether balance or an ERC20 token balance. Contract Balance Eth You can use the address type’s balance property to get the balance of any address, including the contract’s own address. The this value is used to…

  • Mapping in Solidity | Solidity Tips & Examples

    Mapping in Solidity | Solidity Tips & Examples

    This article explores how mapping in Solidity is used to for storing key->value pairs, where the keys are of a specific data type and the values can be of any data type. Mappings are declared using the mapping keyword, followed by the key data type in parentheses and the value data type after the parentheses.…

  • Variables in Solidity | Solidity Tips & Examples

    Variables in Solidity | Solidity Tips & Examples

    Variables in Solidity can be classified into several categories based on their data types and scope. In this article we will explore all the different uses of variables in Solidity and look at some example code. Variables in Solidity Solidity variables are used to store and manipulate data in our smart contracts. They come in…

  • ERC721 vs ERC1155 | Solidity Tips & Examples

    ERC721 vs ERC1155 | Solidity Tips & Examples

    Today we will discuss the differences between ERC721 vs ERC1155 smart contracts and the use cases where each is best suited. These are the two most popular types of smart contracts used for the creation of NFTs (non-fungible tokens). James On YouTube Watch On YouTube: https://youtu.be/B64VBGt3tMU |Subscribe ERC721 Smart Contract ERC721 is the original standard…

  • ERC20 Carbon Credits | Creating A Depleting Token

    ERC20 Carbon Credits | Creating A Depleting Token

    Carbon credits are used to tokenise finances put towards carbon offsetting. On-chain products often have a purchase and burn mechanism where a user must first purchase the token on a DEX and then manually execute a transaction to burn the token. I had the idea to create a automatically depleting token which you just hold…

  • zkEVM | Are Zero-Knowledge Rollups The Future Of Ethereum Or A Ticking Time Bomb?

    zkEVM | Are Zero-Knowledge Rollups The Future Of Ethereum Or A Ticking Time Bomb?

    zkEVM is a zero knowledge Ethereum virtual machine, credited as being “the ultimate solution to Ethereum scaling” The Ethereum ecosystem continues to grow alongside concerns around its scalability and privacy. A new technology currently being rolled out aims to address these issues through the implementation of zero-knowledge rollups. In this article, we’ll take a closer…

  • ETHDenver | Thoughts & Takeaways From The Biggest US Blockchain Conference

    ETHDenver | Thoughts & Takeaways From The Biggest US Blockchain Conference

    This article is aimed at providing an overview summary of what was talked about at ETHDenver and some of the things I picked up while being there. Buzz Word Bingo I took the schedule and ran through how many talks there were on each of these subjects. Buzz Word No. Of Talks Zero Knowledge 18…

  • Anonymous Developer Tutorial | How & Why You Should Code Anonymously

    Anonymous Developer Tutorial | How & Why You Should Code Anonymously

    There are plenty of articles and content about why you should be an anonymous developer for blockchain projects but I haven’t seen much content about best practices and how to actually set up an anonymous development environment. In this article we will cover the following:- Anonymous Developer Video Tutorial James On YouTube Watch On YouTube:…

  • How To Stake Ethereum | Earn More Yield With Ethereum Staking

    How To Stake Ethereum | Earn More Yield With Ethereum Staking

    Staking Ethereum has become a popular way for crypto investors to earn passive returns on their holdings. Liquid staking tokens like stETH make this process easily accessible. You can buy staking tokens and effortlessly enjoy the rewards of staking Ethereum without having to manage the technicalities of running a node. Lido Finance were first to…

  • Crypto Market Thesis 2023

    Crypto Market Thesis 2023

    Once viewed as a fringe market for tech-savvy libertarians, the crypto market has grown exponentially in recent years and is now being recognized as a legitimate asset class by mainstream investors. As we move into 2023, the crypto market is at a crucial juncture, with the potential to continue its explosive growth or face regulatory…

  • Remixd Tutorial | How To Take The Solidity IDE To The Next Level

    Remixd Tutorial | How To Take The Solidity IDE To The Next Level

    I’ve gone full circle from Remix > Hardhat > Foundry > Remix I find that I enjoy coding most when I’m experimenting with ideas and proof of concepts within the Remix IDE at https://remix.ethereum.org However for more serious projects I inevitably find myself moving out of creative mode and into testing mode in either Hardhat…

  • Mean Finance | How To DCA With DeFi

    Mean Finance | How To DCA With DeFi

    Mean Finance is a DeFi protocol that enables users to dollar cost average (DCA) into a position for an ERC-20 token. In this article we will look at why dollar cost averaging is useful and how Mean Finance works. Why Dollar Cost Average Dollar cost averaging is an investment strategy that simply breaks a entry…

  • LayerZero Example | How To Send Cross-Chain Messages In Solidity

    LayerZero Example | How To Send Cross-Chain Messages In Solidity

    In this article we are going to look at how to send messages or data from one chain to another. In this LayerZero example we will be sending a string from Ethereum’s Goerli Testnet to Optimisms Layer 2 Goerli Testnet. Cross-Chain Tutorial Video James On YouTube Watch On YouTube: https://youtu.be/rKVhQHmljXM |Subscribe How LayerZero Works LayerZero…

  • How To Debug Solidity Smart Contracts

    How To Debug Solidity Smart Contracts

    If you’ve ever received a “gas message” error which makes no sense in Solidity then you’ve probably come across one of it’s greatest flaws. Error reporting and debugging isn’t great for blockchain developers but in this tutorial I’m going to provide some tips, tools and resources to debug Solidity smart contracts. James On YouTube Watch…

  • RAILGUN 2.0 | ZK Privacy Protocol

    RAILGUN 2.0 | ZK Privacy Protocol

    Railgun just announced the launch of version 2.0 this week and in this article we are going to explore the zero knowledge wallet and discuss why privacy protocols are important. In August 2022 Alexey Pertsev was arrested and he has been imprisoned without trial ever since. He was a developer on a ZK mixer called…

  • Timeframe & Budgets For Web3 Development

    Timeframe & Budgets For Web3 Development

    In this article I’m going to provide a timeframe, gantt chart and budget costs for web3 development projects. This assumes a medium sized project for something like a new, innovative DeFi protocol consisting of 5-10 interconnected smart contracts and around 1000 lines of code plus an external audit and dApp frontend. If you are just…

  • Dynamic Evolving NFTs | How To Create Dynamic NFTs & dApps

    Dynamic Evolving NFTs | How To Create Dynamic NFTs & dApps

    Dynamic NFTs include logic that evolves the underlying data that the NFT contract holds. In this example we will build a picture profile NFT that is upgradeable to an alien 👽 All the source code for this project is available at: https://github.com/jamesbachini/WomenWhoCode Dynamic NFT Smart Contract The Solidity smart contracts will comprise of two tokens:…

  • FTX Collapse Explained | The Story Of Scam Bankrun Fraud

    FTX Collapse Explained | The Story Of Scam Bankrun Fraud

    In November 2022 the world’s second largest cryptocurrency exchange FTX collapsed, stopped withdrawals and filed for bankruptcy. The stories of the last week are so far-fetched they deserve a Netflix documentary. Here we will look at how FTX was able to defraud the crypto industry of somewhere in the region of $10 Billion US dollars.…

  • POAP vs NFT | A Guide With Examples

    POAP vs NFT | A Guide With Examples

    In this article we will look at what POAPs are and how their technology is built on top of NFT standards. We will also look at how to create simple POAPs and NFTs. In the conclusion I’ve put together some thoughts on why I think POAPs should only be used for fun and not for…

  • SAFT Template | Simple Agreement Future Tokens

    SAFT Template | Simple Agreement Future Tokens

    Below I’ve shared an example SAFT legal agreement and a smart contract which can be used to lock up tokens. James On YouTube Watch On YouTube: https://youtu.be/hpsegda6gvo |Subscribe What Is A SAFT? A SAFT is a simple agreement for future tokens. It is used primarily for blockchain projects to sell tokens at an early stage…

  • Ethereum DevCon Bogotá Write Up

    Ethereum DevCon Bogotá Write Up

    In this post I’m going to try to summarise some of the most interesting talks at from DevCon 2022. Here’s a video summary about the key takeaways from the conference. James On YouTube Watch On YouTube: https://youtu.be/kgiAV7z1fwo |Subscribe The main topics for this years event were: One of the best things about the event is…

  • Complete Introduction To Web3 Tutorial | Fullstack Web3 Development Tutorial

    Complete Introduction To Web3 Tutorial | Fullstack Web3 Development Tutorial

    This video course provides a complete introduction to Web3 development. The Web3 tutorial starts with a simple Hello World smart contract and React frontend before diving in to create something useful on Ethereum mainnet. Introduction To Web3 Development James On YouTube Watch On YouTube: https://youtu.be/RwuG9HluFQY |Subscribe Hello World Smart Contract James On YouTube Watch On…

  • Yield Futures With Resonate Finance

    Yield Futures With Resonate Finance

    Resonate Finance is building a protocol for the creation and sale of yield futures. In this article we will look at what yield futures are, how they can benefit a projects tokenomics & why investors might find them attractive. This post isn’t sponsored and I currently have no stake in Resonate Finance or Revest at…

  • Solidity Token Factory Contract Walkthrough

    Solidity Token Factory Contract Walkthrough

    A token factory contract is used to deploy tokens from a parent contract within Solidity. In this simple example we will be deploying an ERC20 token from our factory contract. James On YouTube Watch On YouTube: https://youtu.be/MY9SoGPGVoo |Subscribe Full source code below and on Github: https://github.com/jamesbachini/Token-Factory-Tutorial We start with a standard ERC20 token using the…

  • Trading The Merge

    Trading The Merge

    Once or twice a year the crypto markets align to provide exceptional trading volumes and volatility. I believe the Ethereum merge will presents one such opportunity for low time frame system trading. James On YouTube Watch On YouTube: https://youtu.be/3ltpF4UGir4 |Subscribe About The Ethereum Merge The merge is happening in just a few days. This is…

  • The State Of CBDC Central Bank Digital Currency

    The State Of CBDC Central Bank Digital Currency

    Nation states across the world are exploring CBDC’s (central bank digital currency). Many governments including France, Canada, Saudi Arabia & China have pilot schemes already in place. The US dollar is the global reserve currency, it’s used throughout the world as a base asset and more recently as a political weapon in the form of…

  • Aligning Founders, VC’s and Stakeholders Interests In A Smart Contract

    Aligning Founders, VC’s and Stakeholders Interests In A Smart Contract

    The blockchain sector prides itself on openness and transparency. Except that is when it comes to early stage VC deals and token allocations. In this article we are going to look at an experimental solidity smart contract which lays out terms, vesting schedules and milestone bonuses on-chain. Team Allocations and VC Unlock Schedules This is…

  • Twitter Crypto Ads  | Blockchain Advertising Is Live On Twitter

    Twitter Crypto Ads | Blockchain Advertising Is Live On Twitter

    Twitter crypto ads are live after the platform unofficially relaxed its ban on advertising crypto products. Perhaps due to the Elon bid there seem to be more ads showing up and less stringent controls on ad quality. This opens up an opportunity for companies in the sector to use the platform for growth. In this…

  • Dune Analytics Tutorial | How To Create A Dune Analytics Dashboard

    Dune Analytics Tutorial | How To Create A Dune Analytics Dashboard

    In this Dune Analytics Tutorial we will look at how the platform works and get up to speed with creating our own queries, visualisations and dashboards to analyse and present blockchain data. Queries, Visualisations & Dashboards Dune Analytics dashboards are built using a 3 step process. First we make SQL queries to pull data into…

  • Ownable vs Permissionless Smart Contracts

    Ownable vs Permissionless Smart Contracts

    One of the beautiful things about smart contracts is they can be permissionless where the developers relinquish control to the community and all users are treated equally. However less than 20% of the top 50 protocols by TVL on Ethereum are using fully permissionless contracts. In this article we will look at why this is,…

  • Solidity Tutorial | Fixed Rate Staking Contract

    Solidity Tutorial | Fixed Rate Staking Contract

    In this tutorial we will create a fixed rate staking contract that pays out 1 token for every 1 token staked per year. The contract will be built on an OpenZeppelin ERC20 token library with additional functionality for staking. The user will stake their tokens which will lock them in the smart contract at what…

  • Zero Knowledge Proof | How ZKP Works In Blockchain Applications

    Zero Knowledge Proof | How ZKP Works In Blockchain Applications

    Zero knowledge proofs offer a method for developers to prove data validity or knowledge of data without revealing the data or additional information about the prover. Zero knowledge proofs are becoming widely used in blockchain applications from smart contracts like Tornado Cash to ZKrollups which are layer 2 blockchains on top of Ethereum. In this…

  • 3 Examples Of How To Use Assembly In Solidity

    3 Examples Of How To Use Assembly In Solidity

    Ethereum developers can directly use assembly in Solidity to improve the performance of their code. When OpenSea released the Seaport upgrade it reported the use of assembly reduced gas fees by 35% saving it’s users an estimated $460m per year. Today we are going to go through some simple examples of how and when to…

  • Solidity for Beginners

    Solidity for Beginners

    Solidity is the programming language used to develop smart contracts on Ethereum and other compatible blockchains. In this “Solidity for Beginners” tutorial I will take you from setting up solidity tools to deploying your first contract. James On YouTube Watch On YouTube: https://youtu.be/yM6oRMdMiTM |Subscribe Tools & Setup We will be starting in Remix which is…

  • GameFi 2.0 | Sustainable Tokenomics & Business Models

    GameFi 2.0 | Sustainable Tokenomics & Business Models

    GameFi utilises digital assets such as cryptocurrency tokens and NFT’s to create internal economies within games. In this article I look at how tokenomics can be designed to create sustainable business models for gamers, investors and developers. James On YouTube Watch On YouTube: https://youtu.be/Ul_Mza9IyYE |Subscribe GameFi 1.0 Play2Earn Growing up I played computer games on…

  • Bear Markets | How Human Psychology Works Against Us

    Bear Markets | How Human Psychology Works Against Us

    Is loss aversion causing long-term underperformance in our portfolios? In bear markets I find it harder to rebalance my portfolio and allocate capital to riskier investments. This creates an unintentional de-risking in bear markets where there is a better long-term risk to reward. James On YouTube Watch On YouTube: https://youtu.be/6F1Cpk14stE |Subscribe Not a financial advisor,…

  • SBTs 👻 | Soulbound Token Solidity Example

    SBTs 👻 | Soulbound Token Solidity Example

    Soulbound tokens are non-transferable digital assets. The core concept is storing on-chain data directly relating to a specific address. This is nothing new but there is potential for a ERC SBT contract to provide a industry standard for how we manage user data. James On YouTube Watch On YouTube: https://youtu.be/yCHeHI8hUY8 |Subscribe Ethereum gas costs make…

  • Solidity Interface Examples | How To Connect The Lego Bricks Of DeFi

    Solidity Interface Examples | How To Connect The Lego Bricks Of DeFi

    Solidity interfaces allow developers to call external contracts from within their own smart contract. This enables us to build on top of the existing DeFi ecosystem. In this tutorial we will be looking at how solidity interfaces work and going through some example code for common tasks. James On YouTube Watch On YouTube: https://youtu.be/GWZmklp7RTg |Subscribe…

  • Hardhat Plugins & Hacks For Solidity Developers

    Hardhat Plugins & Hacks For Solidity Developers

    Hardhat provides a lot of features out of the box but with the addition of some 3rd party plugins and some additional code snippets we can add custom functionality to streamline our testing and migration processes. Top 3 Hardhat Plugins These plugins add a lot of functionality to make your life as a developer easier…

  • Blood in the streets for crypto markets

    Blood in the streets for crypto markets

    A year ago I outlined my 60/40 digital asset portfolio which was 60% crypto and 40% USD stablecoins. One of the biggest benefits to this portfolio is that during market downturns it leaves you with capital to deploy. Today has been one of the most chaotic days in crypto markets ever and I’m going to…

  • Foundry Tutorial | How To Debug & Deploy Solidity Smart Contracts

    Foundry Tutorial | How To Debug & Deploy Solidity Smart Contracts

    Foundry is a Solidity Framework for building, testing, fuzzing, debugging and deploying Solidity smart contracts. In this Foundry tutorial we will cover the following: Introduction To Foundry [Video] James On YouTube Watch On YouTube: https://youtu.be/VhaP9kYvlOA |Subscribe Smart contracts are most often written in Solidity but tested and deployed using Javascript frameworks such as Truffle or…

  • Which Token Will Coinbase List Next?

    Which Token Will Coinbase List Next?

    Coinbase has come under criticism for insider trading which has led them to open up about what tokens they are considering listing in the future. In this article we will look at the opportunity this brings alongside an analysis of all 50 projects. We will end by looking at how we can identify and track…

  • Why The PoS Basis Trade Will Generate $100B TVL

    Why The PoS Basis Trade Will Generate $100B TVL

    Proof of stake revenue provides a new opportunity for investors and funds to collect double digit APR’s on a PoS basis trade pegged to the USD. A basis trade (aka cash and carry) involves buying an asset and then short selling the same futures contract. Traditionally this has been to collect the funding premium on…

  • 5 DeFi Growth Metrics For Better Valuations

    5 DeFi Growth Metrics For Better Valuations

    Growth metrics have been used by tech VC’s for years to predict and monitor companies growth patterns. Terms like CAC (Customer acquisition cost) and LTV (Lifetime value) are critical to how we value startups in the traditional space. In DeFi the landscape is different and the metrics that we use are too. However on-chain transparency…

  • Prevent Phishing | 8 Tips To Avoid Getting Your Crypto Hacked

    Prevent Phishing | 8 Tips To Avoid Getting Your Crypto Hacked

    Earlier today @Arthur_0x released details about how his digital wallet was compromised and assets were stolen. Arthur is a technically minded crypto native which goes to show this could happen to anyone. A good time to review and discuss how to prevent phishing attacks and avoid getting your crypto hacked. How Digital Wallets Get Hacked…

  • How To Generate Artwork For NFT’s With Jang.js

    How To Generate Artwork For NFT’s With Jang.js

    This article explains how to generate artwork for NFT’s like cryptopunks where there are 10,000 profile pictures. Most of the NFT generators you’ll find online are designed for simplicity and ease of use for non-developers. I wanted to create something which was customisable and expandable to allow for more innovative NFT collections. Jang.js “Just Another…

  • 3 Yield Farming Stablecoin Strategies

    3 Yield Farming Stablecoin Strategies

    Yield farming stablecoin strategies provide high returns on low volatility digital assets. In this article I explore three ways to generate yield on USD stablecoin holdings. For an introduction on what stablecoins are and the different stablecoins compared see this article: https://jamesbachini.com/stablecoins/ Note that stablecoin farming strategies are changing all the time and this article…

  • Tokenomics Boilerplate | Governance Tokens, Uniswap Buy-Backs and Staking in Solidity

    Tokenomics Boilerplate | Governance Tokens, Uniswap Buy-Backs and Staking in Solidity

    In DeFi a projects success is greatly tied to the effectiveness of the tokenomics. Governance tokens can be distributed to the users to incentivise growth and fees can be used to buy these back on exchange. In this Solidity tutorial we are going to deploy a governance token, a Uniswap v3 liquidity pool, a buy…

  • EthGlobal Hackathon | Winning $4300 And Advice For Future Participants

    EthGlobal Hackathon | Winning $4300 And Advice For Future Participants

    EthGlobal hackathons are the largest and most prestigious in the blockchain developer space. The February 2022 “Road To Web3” event was focused on the migration from web2 social networks to web3 technologies. Over the weekend around 400 teams built projects using sponsors technology including Polygon, Uniswap, Moralis and Web3Auth. This video talks about the experience…

  • The Rise Of DyDx And Decentralized Trading

    The Rise Of DyDx And Decentralized Trading

    In May 2016 Bitmex launched the XBTUSD market, a perpetual futures contract which simplified traders ability to bet on the price of Bitcoin going up or down. Today perps are traded on the major exchanges at higher volumes than the underlying spot assets. DyDx took this concept and packaged it in to a decentralized trading…

  • Introduction To DEX Arbitrage | Intermediate Solidity Tutorial

    Introduction To DEX Arbitrage | Intermediate Solidity Tutorial

    This Solidity tutorial will provide an introduction to DEX arbitrage with real, working, profitable open-source code. Solidity developers have the ability batch multiple swaps together and if they are not profitable revert the entire transaction only paying the transaction fee. The creation of EVM blockchains which have low transaction fees has created a playground for…

  • How To Trade Crypto | Ultimate Guide To Trading Bitcoin, Ethereum & Altcoins

    How To Trade Crypto | Ultimate Guide To Trading Bitcoin, Ethereum & Altcoins

    This ultimate “How To Trade Crypto” guide is provided for educational purposes. I am not a financial advisor, not financial advice. The vast majority of active trading in crypto markets is done on centralized exchanges such as Binance and FTX. The high volumes on perpetual futures on both exchanges has proven the demand for leveraged…

  • How To Automate Yield Farming | Harvesting Rewards With A Quick & Dirty Script

    How To Automate Yield Farming | Harvesting Rewards With A Quick & Dirty Script

    Connect wallet, click button, confirm transaction. It gets old pretty quick, especially when you need to do it daily to compound returns. This tutorial takes you through the process of using a block explorer to find functions, calling those functions from a script and then executing to harvest and stake reward tokens. The aim is…

  • When Will Ethereum 2.0 Launch & The Triple Halving Event

    When Will Ethereum 2.0 Launch & The Triple Halving Event

    Ethereum 2.0 is the biggest update that the crypto sector has ever seen. A series of rollouts will include a migration to proof of stake, sharding and the highly anticipated triple halving event. This article will discuss the roadmap for these rollouts, what changes each update will implement and the possible effects. Ethereum 2.0 Roadmap…

  • DeFi Derivatives | The 13 Market Leading DeFi Futures, Options, Synths, Indexes & Staking Protocols

    DeFi Derivatives | The 13 Market Leading DeFi Futures, Options, Synths, Indexes & Staking Protocols

    This article is derived from a chapter in the free eBook explaining DeFi technologies:DeFi Demystified | An Introduction To Decentralized Finance DeFi derivatives are financial contracts which track or provide exposure to an underlying asset. The most common derivatives products in crypto markets are futures and options. In crypto markets derivatives are traded at greater…

  • Token Launch Plan | Fair Launch vs Pre-Sale vs ICO vs IDO vs IEO

    Token Launch Plan | Fair Launch vs Pre-Sale vs ICO vs IDO vs IEO

    This article is derived from a chapter in the free eBook explaining DeFi technologies:DeFi Demystified | An Introduction To Decentralized Finance When a new project launches a token it is quite common that they create an initial distribution through a token launch. This article discusses some of the different types of token launches followed by…

  • Crypto Oracles | Moving Data On-Chain

    Crypto Oracles | Moving Data On-Chain

    This article is derived from a chapter in the free eBook explaining DeFi technologies:DeFi Demystified | An Introduction To Decentralized Finance Crypto oracles provide an essential bridge between off-chain and on-chain data. If a smart contract needs access to price feeds, random numbers or external data they will need to use an oracle because the…

  • DeFi Borrowing & Lending

    DeFi Borrowing & Lending

    This article is derived from a chapter in the free eBook explaining DeFi technologies:DeFi Demystified | An Introduction To Decentralized Finance DeFi borrowing and lending differs from traditional finance where institutions will lend funds based on credit ratings. In DeFi accounts are anonymous, there are no credit ratings to assess risk. Borrowing and lending is…

  • USD Stablecoins Compared | USDT vs USDC vs UST vs MIM vs DAI vs FRAX

    USD Stablecoins Compared | USDT vs USDC vs UST vs MIM vs DAI vs FRAX

    This article is derived from a chapter in the free eBook explaining DeFi technologies:DeFi Demystified | An Introduction To Decentralized Finance USD stablecoins have become big business with over $100 billion of collateral locked in USDT and USDC alone. This article dives in to how stablecoins work, the different types and looks at some of…

  • Synthetic Assets | A Regulatory Nightmare

    Synthetic Assets | A Regulatory Nightmare

    This article is derived from a chapter in the free eBook explaining DeFi technologies:DeFi Demystified | An Introduction To Decentralized Finance Synthetic assets are a form of derivative product in decentralised finance. Synths are created which follow the price of an underlying asset. For example sTSLA will follow the stock price of Tesla and can…

  • The Rise Of Automated Market Makers

    The Rise Of Automated Market Makers

    This article is derived from a chapter in the free eBook explaining DeFi technologies:DeFi Demystified | An Introduction To Decentralized Finance In late 2017 all the tokens were on Ethereum and it made sense that someone would eventually build a decentralised digital asset exchange. The first popular one was called IDEX and it followed the…

  • The Token Economy

    The Token Economy

    This article is derived from a chapter in the free eBook explaining DeFi technologies:DeFi Demystified | An Introduction To Decentralized Finance The token economy is the accelerating migration of assets into the digital world. One of the first breakthroughs for Ethereum was a smart contract that facilitated the creation and transfer of tokens. Anyone who…

  • The Truth About dApps & Web3

    The Truth About dApps & Web3

    This article is derived from a chapter in the free eBook explaining DeFi technologies:DeFi Demystified | An Introduction To Decentralized Finance If smart contracts form the back end brains of a DeFi platform then dApps or decentralized applications form the front-end that we interact with as users. In theory dApps can be compiled from source…

  • Smart Contracts Simply Explained

    Smart Contracts Simply Explained

    This article is derived from a chapter in the free eBook explaining DeFi technologies:DeFi Demystified | An Introduction To Decentralized Finance Decentralized finance is built on smart contracts. The code that enables users to lend, borrow and swap tokens is all run on Ethereum’s virtual machine. Smart contracts are written (mainly) in the language of…

  • History of Cryptocurrency | How Bitcoin & Ethereum Created A Trillion Dollar Asset Class

    History of Cryptocurrency | How Bitcoin & Ethereum Created A Trillion Dollar Asset Class

    This article is derived from a chapter in the free eBook explaining DeFi technologies:DeFi Demystified | An Introduction To Decentralized Finance The history of cryptocurrency starts long before Bitcoin. Blockchain’s have been around since the 1980’s and Bitcoin was built not as a totally novel concept but on top of other works like Nick Szabo’s…

  • Understanding Squeeth | A Token To Track ETH² From Opyn

    Understanding Squeeth | A Token To Track ETH² From Opyn

    Squared ETH or Squeeth is a perpetual options protocol that provides unlimited upside leverage with no liquidations on long positions. Squeeth isn’t just a tool for traders, it can be used as a hedge for liquidity providers on Uniswap and it can provide a funding rate yield in sideways markets. This article starts at the…

  • Aurora | Near Protocol’s Explosive EVM Blockchain

    Aurora | Near Protocol’s Explosive EVM Blockchain

    Money flows in and out of DeFi ecosystems like the changing of the tide. In 2021 fifteen different blockchains exceeded one billion us dollars in total value locked. The early adopters who stay ahead of the money flow tend to make the highest returns. Aurora looks set to become another billion dollar DeFi ecosystem. This…

  • The Truth About Where Yield Comes From In DeFi

    The Truth About Where Yield Comes From In DeFi

    Interest rates in traditional banks are 0.1%, have you ever wondered how DeFi yield farmers are getting 20-100% yields on their digital assets? Is it sustainable wealth creation or a giant ponzi that risks collapsing in on itself. That’s the question we are going to explore in this article looking at where yield comes from…

  • How To Make Cross Chain Transfers With Multichain

    How To Make Cross Chain Transfers With Multichain

    I’ve seen Anyswap popping up more and more in on-chain analytics reports as it’s grown to be a six billion dollar protocol by TVL. The platform just rebranded to Multichain and its fast becoming the market leader in cross chain bridges. If you want to transfer USDC from Ethereum to Polygon or Fantom or another…

  • Real Bedford FC | The ₿itcoin Football Club Story

    Real Bedford FC | The ₿itcoin Football Club Story

    Negotiations are finalised. Peter McCormack, host of “What Bitcoin Did” podcast, has agreed to purchase Bedford Football Club. At the end of the season the the club will rebrand to Real Bedford FC and the journey to take Bedford to the premier league will begin. With lucrative sponsorship deals already in place this could just…

  • Curve Wars | The Best Way To Gain Exposure To The Curve Wars

    Curve Wars | The Best Way To Gain Exposure To The Curve Wars

    A battle rages for control of DeFi’s biggest protocol as stablecoins fight for liquidity. Million dollar bribes being paid for votes, enemies becoming alliances and an ultimate prize at stake. This article explores why CRV is so valuable and why it likely isn’t the best way to gain exposure to the Curve wars. The CRV…

  • Crypto Market Thesis 2022 & Current Portfolio Holdings

    Crypto Market Thesis 2022 & Current Portfolio Holdings

    This article outlines my thoughts and predictions for crypto markets heading in to 2022. At the end of the article I share my allocations and plans for this year. Crypto Market Thesis Video James On YouTube Watch On YouTube: https://youtu.be/ogBcbwuasWw Bitcoin Market Outlook Crypto markets have cooled off significantly since summer 2021 but expectations are…

  • Blockchain Developer Roadmap | A Guide To Learning Blockchain Development

    Blockchain Developer Roadmap | A Guide To Learning Blockchain Development

    This blockchain developer roadmap lays out a framework for learning blockchain development. It should provide a wealth of resources and information for aspiring blockchain developers. Blockchain Developer Roadmap James On YouTube Watch On YouTube: https://youtu.be/h-IcAZX7250 Understanding The Moving Parts There are a number of roles within the blockchain sector and an understanding of what each…

  • Crypto Market Volatility | List Of 100 Altcoin Betas Relative To Bitcoin

    Crypto Market Volatility | List Of 100 Altcoin Betas Relative To Bitcoin

    In this study we are looking at crypto market volatility and how different altcoins markets move relative to Bitcoin. For example if Bitcoin moves up or down 1% Solana will roughly move double that amount for various reasons discussed below. Crypto Market Volatility List FTX Market Beta Volume BTC-PERP 1.01 $4609m ETH-PERP 1.29 $4471m SOL-PERP…

  • How To Create A TradingView Indicator | Easy Pinescript 5 Tutorial

    How To Create A TradingView Indicator | Easy Pinescript 5 Tutorial

    In this Pinescript tutorial we will build out a simple TradingView indicator using the latest version of Pinescript v5. TradingView Indicator Tutorial This video goes through the Tradingview indicator tutorial with more details and code snippets available in the article below. James On YouTube Watch On YouTube: https://youtu.be/gWw6Hv3CuBU Getting Started With Indicators TradingView indicators are…

  • DeFi Risk | A Framework For Assessing & Managing Risk in DeFi

    DeFi Risk | A Framework For Assessing & Managing Risk in DeFi

    The high yields available in decentralised finance come with a downside. DeFi risk is real and if you are participating in the markets then you should know how to assess and manage that risk. By building a risk assessment framework for yield farms and DeFi opportunities we can better assess fair value and allocate capital…

  • How To Clone Safemoon

    How To Clone Safemoon

    In this tutorial I’ll show you how to clone Safemoon and create your own token on Binance Smart Chain. I’m going to do this without any development tools using only a web browser with the metamask plugin. Safemoon is a cryptocurrency token with a function that taxes 10% of all transactions and redistributes 5% to…

  • How Many Bitcoin and Ethereum Are There In Circulation

    How Many Bitcoin and Ethereum Are There In Circulation

    There can only ever be 21 million Bitcoin ever created. However many are lost, a small fortune lies dormant in the wallets of the mysterious founder Satoshi, and some has been stolen and blacklisted. To calculate the circulating supply of Bitcoin now and in the future we need to take all these factors into consideration…

  • Crypto Index Funds | Set Protocol & Index Coop

    Crypto Index Funds | Set Protocol & Index Coop

    This article looks at the future of crypto index funds running on DeFi and in particular the Set Protocol and Index Coop. Crypto index funds known as sets provide a single token which represents a managed or fixed fund of digital assets. Index Funds in TradFi and DeFi In traditional finance index funds are the…

  • How To Short Sell Crypto

    How To Short Sell Crypto

    Short selling the best asset class of the the last 10 years is a risky venture at the best of times. However there are situations where it can be profitable to get the shorts in while markets or individual token valuations are crashing. In this article I’ll be explaining how to short sell crypto such…

  • Intermediate Solidity Tutorial | Building On DeFi Lego Bricks With Hardhat 👷

    Intermediate Solidity Tutorial | Building On DeFi Lego Bricks With Hardhat 👷

    In this intermediate solidity tutorial I’ll be building, testing and deploying a smart contract to rebalance a digital asset portfolio. The idea is to look at how we can work with external smart contracts to start building our own products on the lego bricks of DeFi. The Challenge To create a solidity smart contract to…

  • How To Stake Ethereum, Luna or Solana| LIDO Staking Tutorial

    How To Stake Ethereum, Luna or Solana| LIDO Staking Tutorial

    As Ethereum moves to a proof of work network it opens up the possibility to stake our assets to gain a yield. We can do this by running our own validator node on the network… or we can use a liquid staking platform. In this lido staking tutorial I’m going to look at the LIDO…

  • Metaplex Tutorial | How To Mint & Sell Solana NFT’s

    Metaplex Tutorial | How To Mint & Sell Solana NFT’s

    This Metaplex tutorial details how to build and deploy a Metaplex fork and then use it to create and sell a Solana NFT. What Is Metaplex The standard for building a NFT store and minting application on Solana is called Metaplex. It’s an open source framework which lets anyone mint and sell NFT artwork. The…

  • 112 DeFi Definitions | Blockchain Glossary

    112 DeFi Definitions | Blockchain Glossary

    The blockchain community has its own language and abbreviations which can seem quite daunting at first glance. Here is a glossary of defi definitions and terms that you’ll want to know and understand to interact in the space. AML (Anti-Money Laundering) Regulations applicable in most international markets aimed at preventing criminal activity. Anti-Money Laundering regulations…

  • Crypto Research | Due Diligence & How To Find The Next 10x Token 🧐

    Crypto Research | Due Diligence & How To Find The Next 10x Token 🧐

    When market conditions are right there are abundant opportunities in seeking out high quality and early stage crypto projects. In this post I’ll walk-through my crypto research process from screening and researching crypto projects to due diligence and tokenomics. An Introduction To Crypto Research James On YouTube Where To Find New Crypto Projects Being early…

  • Impermanent Loss Calculator | How To Calculate And Mitigate DeFi’s Biggest Risk

    Impermanent Loss Calculator | How To Calculate And Mitigate DeFi’s Biggest Risk

    Impermanent Loss Calculator Enter the quantities for the two assets in a full-range liquidity pool and a future price ratio to find out what the impermanent loss would be: Base Asset Qty: Token Asset Qty: Future Price Ratio: Calculate How Impermanent Loss Is Calculated In this article we will look at what impermanent loss is,…

  • Testnet Faucets | 13 Testnet Details Including Ethereum, BSC, Polygon, Avalanche, Solana & Bitcoin

    Testnet Faucets | 13 Testnet Details Including Ethereum, BSC, Polygon, Avalanche, Solana & Bitcoin

    Testnet faucets provide a risk free way to experiment with DeFi and cryptocurrency. You enter your address and get testnet tokens for free which hold no value. In this article I’ll be providing the latest details for all available public testnets. At the end I carry out some analysis to gain insights into developer activity…

  • Bitcoin ETF | Why A Bitcoin ETF Changes Everything

    Bitcoin ETF | Why A Bitcoin ETF Changes Everything

    On Tuesday 3rd August the head of the SEC gave the clearest signal yet that they are readying for the approval of the growing list of Bitcoin ETF products awaiting regulatory approval. “I look forward to the staff’s review of such filings, particularly if those are limited to these CME-traded Bitcoin futures” Gary Gensler @…

  • Bitcoin Market Cycle | How To Navigate Crypto Market Cycles 📈

    Bitcoin Market Cycle | How To Navigate Crypto Market Cycles 📈

    The Bitcoin market cycle is volatile and emotionally challenging for investors but both Bitcoin and the wider crypto sector follow familiar cycle dynamics to other markets. Prophecy Was Given To Fools While I’ve never found a way to predict what the market will do next it’s both useful and fairly easy to understand where you…

  • Crypto Influencers | List Of The 45 Best Crypto Content Creators

    Crypto Influencers | List Of The 45 Best Crypto Content Creators

    Here is the list of the crypto influencers that I follow who are creating the best content about the blockchain sector. I’ve divided it in to six categories: Crypto Trader Influencers @CryptoKaleo One of the OG crypto traders. Does huge volume and has a cool head when markets are getting out of line. Highly respected…

  • Bitcoin vs Ethereum | Everything You Need To Know About BTC & ETH

    Bitcoin vs Ethereum | Everything You Need To Know About BTC & ETH

    The Bitcoin vs Ethereum debate is passionately argued by maximalists for both sides. This article and video explains the fundamental differences in how they work, what makes them unique and why Ethereum carries more risk and potential reward. Bitcoin vs Ethereum [Video] James On YouTube Fundamental Differences In 2008 an anonymous developer using the pseudonym…

  • Bit.com Review | A New Crypto Exchange

    Bit.com Review | A New Crypto Exchange

    In this Bit.com review I’ll take a first look at a new exchange from the co-founder of Matrixport and Bitmain. Bit.com Review & Demo [Video] James On YouTube Who Are Bit.com? Bit.com is a new exchange registered in the Seychelles offering spot, futures and options markets for digital assets. The chairman is Jihan Wu who…

  • Crypto Portfolio | What I’m Hodling & Why In 2021

    Crypto Portfolio | What I’m Hodling & Why In 2021

    In this article I’ll go through my crypto portfolio and explain why I’m holding each of the digital assets. I’ll also be discussing the principles behind the portfolio and how I manage it. The Crypto Portfolio 2021 This is what my crypto portfolio looks like as of July 2021. I’m not a financial advisor, not…

  • Optimism Tutorial | How To Use Optimism On Ethereum

    Optimism Tutorial | How To Use Optimism On Ethereum

    In this Optimism tutorial we will be looking at what Optimism layer 2 is, how to use it and how to develop smart contracts on the Ethereum layer 2. What is Optimism & Layer 2? Optimism is a layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum which offers lower transaction fees. For consumers who are used to…