insights from a blockchain developer, researcher & investor
exploring emerging opportunities in decentralized finance
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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How To Create A TradingView Indicator | Easy Pinescript Tutorial
In this Pinescript tutorial we will build out a simple TradingView indicator using the latest version of Pinescript. https://www.tradingview.com/pricing/?share_your_love=jimbachini 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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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,…
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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…
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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 @…
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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…
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Steal Like An Artist | Book Summary
The core concept behind steal like an artist is that nothing is truly original and everything is created based on the creators influences. The author Austin Kleon expands on this throughout the book to paint a picture of how to be more effective at creative work. James On YouTube There’s a quote at the start…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Markdown Tutorial | How To Get Started With Markdown 🖋
In this markdown tutorial I’ll be showing you how to get started with writing simple markdown for docs and social media before going on to some more advanced concepts and exploring the things you can do with markdown. Markdown Tutorial This video goes through the basics step by step. There are more details, copy &…
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Arbitrum Tutorial | How To Use The Ethereum Layer 2 Solution
This Arbitrum Tutorial explores what Arbitrum is and how it works, the opportunities layer 2’s present for investors and developers, before testing the deployment of smart contracts on the Arbitrum network and calculating gas fee reductions. What Is Arbitrum? Arbitrum is a layer 2 scaling solution for the Ethereum network. The L2 has opened it’s…
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How To Create A New Token And Uniswap Liquidity Pool
In this article I will create a new token and make it available to swap on a decentralised exchange. I’ll be deploying a solidity smart contract to mint an ERC20 token on Ethereum and setting up a liquidity pool on Uniswap v3. Create A New Token & Liquidity Pool [Video] This video provides an overview…
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Certification Of Bitcoin Mining Sustainability ♻️
This article explores Bitcoin mining sustainability and the idea of classifying Bitcoin by how it was mined to incentivise renewable energy. The Video: How To Incentivise Sustainable Bitcoin Mining James On YouTube The Idea: Tracking Bitcoin From Source The idea is to identify the public key addresses of miners who use renewable energy and then…
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Deflationary Effect Of Wealth Concentration
With inflation rising there is going to be more attention on government statistics like the consumer price index CPI. However these metrics don’t fully represent inflation in respect to the devaluation of fiat currency. This article explores the effects of wealth concentration and how it might affect all of our futures. Introduction In recent years…
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Order Execution Strategy Tests 📋
In this article I’m going to test different methods to find the best order execution strategy for buying and selling cryptocurrency. I’m going to define a test to enter and exit a delta neutral position, write trading bot code for each strategy in NodeJS and execute each on an isolated exchange sub-account to see which…
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Huobi Exchange Review
Huobi is the second largest crypto exchange in the world by trading volume. In this article I am going to undertake a comprehensive Huobi exchange review looking at trading, fees, HECO and the HT Token. Who is Huobi? Huobi Group was founded in 2013 by Leon Li. Huobi was originally based in Beijing and now…
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Solidity Tutorial | For Developers Coming From Javascript, C++, Python
In this Solidity tutorial I’ll be going through the work flow to develop smart contracts on Ethereum using the Solidity programming language. Solidity Developer Tutorial [Video] James On YouTube Introduction To Solidity Smart Contracts Solidity is the programming language of Ethereum and many other blockchains that use the Ethereum virtual machine. A developer will write…
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60/40 Crypto Portfolio | The Worlds Most Boringly Effective Cryptocurrency Portfolio
The 60/40 crypto portfolio is a modern version of the stocks and bonds retirement portfolio that has been around for over 70 years. The idea behind a 60/40 portfolio is to allocate 60% of an investment portfolio to high risk assets (stocks or cryptocurrency) and 40% to a yield producing low risk asset (bonds or…
