Crypto & NFT for Dummies: Learn Blockchain, Bitcoin & NFT

In this lecture, you will gain a foundational understanding of blockchain technology and its potential to revolutionize the way we trust in business. Starting with a simple and easy-to-understand explanation, I break down how trust is a fundamental aspect of our society and how blockchain will change the way we transact with each other. Using a relatable example of buying a used car, I want to illustrates how the current ledger system is tamperable and unreliable. To address this problem, intermediaries such as banks and real estate agents are brought in to facilitate trust. However, these intermediaries are not foolproof and rely heavily on personal intuition. Blockchain technology will change this by creating a decentralized system that removes the need for intermediaries and ensures trustworthiness through secure and immutable transactions. After completing this lecture, students will be able to grasp the importance of blockchain technology in changing the way we trust in business and understand its potential to create a more transparent and secure economy.

In this lecture, students will learn about the fundamentals of blockchain technology and its major innovation of having an unhackable key on every record in its ledger. Simplifying the complex concepts of cryptography and hashkeys, while emphasizing how blockchain is different from traditional ledgers. By the end of this section, students will understand how every record on a blockchain ledger is independent and different, and how blockchain chains all of the records together.

What it means for blockchain to be decentralized, and how this is similar to the structure of the internet. The difference between centralized and decentralized networks, highlighting the benefits of a decentralized blockchain network where everyone owns the application and no single entity can control what happens on the network. Students will understand that in a decentralized blockchain network, every member has a copy of the exact same ledger, making it easy to detect tampering and allowing users to be the decision makers. Upon completing this lecture, students will have a solid understanding of the core concepts of blockchain and its decentralized nature.

In this lecture, we will be recapping what we have learned so far about blockchain and its impact on commerce.

By the end of this lecture, you will have a deeper understanding of how blockchain changes the way we trust and how it can be used to make transactions more trustworthy, efficient, and cost-effective. You will be able to envision how blockchain can transform industries such as agriculture by providing consumers with transparent and trustworthy information about their products. You will also understand the potential of blockchain to disrupt traditional business models and create new opportunities for competition.

Overall, this lecture will help you grasp the basic concept of blockchain and its transformative power.

In this lecture, students will learn about the revolutionary world of bitcoin and cryptocurrency.

They will gain a clear understanding of what bitcoin is, how it works, and its advantages over traditional centralized payment systems.

By the end of the lecture, students will be able to explain the concept of blockchain technology and how it enables bitcoin transactions to be secure and decentralized. They will also learn about the limited supply of bitcoins and how it is different from traditional fiat currencies that are subject to inflation. In addition, students will understand the potential applications of blockchain technology beyond just monetary transactions.

With this knowledge, students will be equipped to navigate the world of cryptocurrency and understand its significance in the future of finance and technology.

In this lecture, you will learn how Bitcoin gains value and its limited supply.

You will understand the relationship between supply, demand, and price, and how more institutions accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment increases its utility. Additionally, you will discover that only 21 million Bitcoins will ever exist, and how 3-4 million of them are permanently lost due to forgotten passwords and private keys.

You will also be prompted to consider the potential future implications of this limited supply on the price of Bitcoin, and how it makes it a unique decentralized digital currency.

After completing this lecture, you will have a better understanding of the factors that affect Bitcoin's value and why it is considered a scarce asset.

In this lecture, you will learn about Ethereum - the second largest cryptocurrency system and blockchain platform in the world.

You will discover the differences between Ethereum and Bitcoin, and understand how it operates in a completely unique way. Additionally, you will learn about the creator of Ethereum - the young mastermind, Vitalik Buterin, who proposed a decentralized network running on smart contracts.

By the end of this lecture, you will have a solid understanding of Ethereum and its applications in the world of cryptocurrencies and smart contracts.

In this lecture, you will learn all about smart contracts and how they are used in blockchain technology.

By the end of this lecture, you will understand what a smart contract is and how it differs from a traditional contract. You will also learn how smart contracts can be used to build a trustless system, removing the need for a third party intermediary.

Using the example of Kickstarter, you will see how a smart contract can be used to create a similar fundraising platform without the need for Kickstarter's involvement.

By the end of this lecture, you will be able to explain the benefits of smart contracts and how they can be used to create secure and decentralized systems.

In this lecture, you will learn about the incredible potential of smart contracts and their applications in the real world. You will discover how smart contracts can be used to hold funds until a certain goal is met, ensuring that supporters of a project can directly send money to the smart contract with complete transparency.

By the end of this lecture, you will understand why smart contracts are so trustworthy, as they are immutable and distributed on the blockchain, meaning that once they are created, no one can change them, and anyone can see the contract's details.

Furthermore, you will learn about the various real-world applications of smart contracts, such as crowdfunding, banking, insurance, and even life insurance. You will be able to see how smart contracts can streamline various industries, leading to significant time savings and increased efficiency.

In this lecture, students will learn about the monetary currency of the Ethereum blockchain, called Ether or ETH. They will gain a clear understanding of how Ether supports the Ethereum network, paying for transaction fees and funding application development.

By the end of the lecture, students will be able to confidently explain what Ether is and its role as the monetary system of the Ethereum blockchain. This knowledge will allow them to make informed decisions when investing in or using Ethereum-based applications.

In this lecture, you will learn about Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and how they function within blockchain technology. You will gain a clear understanding of the concept of fungibility and how it relates to asset exchange. Through real-world examples, you will see how NFTs can be used to represent unique digital assets, such as artwork or collectibles, and how they are secured through blockchain.

By the end of this lecture, you will be able to identify the potential applications of NFTs and how they can be used in different industries.

In this lecture, you will learn about the difference between fungible and non-fungible assets. Using examples of fungible assets like currency and non-fungible assets like the Mona Lisa, you will understand why non-fungible assets are unique and cannot be substituted for anything similar.

You will also learn about the concept of NFTs or non-fungible tokens, which are digital signatures that represent ownership of unique assets like art or collectibles.

By the end of this lecture, you will be able to differentiate between fungible and non-fungible assets and understand how NFTs are used to represent ownership of unique assets on the blockchain ledger.

In this lecture, students will learn what an NFT is, how it works, and why it has become a popular trend in the digital world. After completing this lecture, students will be able to define an NFT, explain how it solves the issue of making digital creations unique and scarce, and identify the types of digital files that can be turned into NFTs. They will have a clear understanding of the concept and be able to discuss NFTs with confidence.

In this lecture, you will be introduced to some of the most famous NFTs in history.

We will start with Nyan Cat, an internet meme that was sold as an NFT for $600,000.

You will also learn about the tweet by the CEO of Twitter, which was sold for $3.8 million as an NFT.

We will then move on to the works of Beeple, the digital artist who sold his piece "Everydays – The first 5000 Days" for a whopping $69 million.

I also cover PFPs or Profile Pics, such as CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yatch Club, which are unique avatars that live on the Ethereum blockchain. We will discuss how CryptoPunks, a collection of 10,000 8-bit avatars, has raked in over $2 billion in lifetime total sales, with the most expensive being sold for $7.58 million.

You will also learn about Bored Ape Yatch Club, which in only five months has already raked in $1.21 billion in total volume.

After completing this lecture, you will have a better understanding of NFTs and how they function on the Ethereum blockchain with smart contracts.

• Alpha: insider information / insider tips + tricks

• Auction: some NFTs are available for purchase via a "Buy Now" option, while others are put up for auction for a set period of time for various people to bid on.

• Aped: the process of buying into an NFT project quickly, without doing any research, based on a gut feeling or FOMO

• Burn: an irreversible process that destroys the token to completely removes it from the Ethereum blockchain

• DAO: Decentralized Autonomous Organization - organizations that are run by community members with consensus decision-making

• Decentralized: the process by which buyers and sellers of assets, (e.g. NFTs), are able to deal directly with each other for transactions rather than with a centralized organization (i.e. removing the "middle person")

• DeFi: "Decentralized Finance"; a blockchain-based form of financial contracts that doesn't rely on centralized financial institutions (i.e. banks and exchanges)

• Dutch Auction: An auction that has a set starting price and decreases over time if the asset remains available for purchase

• DYOR: "Do Your Own Research"; the concept of ensuring that one does their own research on an NFT project and/or artist before purchasing it. Don't just buy something because someone else says that you should buy it, DYOR, and make sure you're making the decisions on what and what not to buy

• ERC 721: a specific token standard on the Ethereum blockchain that ensures unique, one of a kind, tokens (often used for NFTs)

• Fiat: money often issued/declared by a government as legal tender, unbacked by a physical commodity (e.g. gold)

• Floor: the lowest available price on any NFT available within an NFT project

• FOMO: "Fear of Missing Out"; there are hundreds of different NFT projects launching each week and it's easy to feel FOMO when you see those around you purchasing projects

• Fractionalize: the process of taking an NFT and dividing it into a fractions (tokens) to create liquidity in the NFT with efficient pricing

• FUD: spreading “Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt”

• Generative Art: refers to any art practice where the artist creates a process, such as a set of natural language rules, a computer program, a machine, or other procedural invention, which is then set into motion with some degree of autonomy contributing to or resulting in a completed work of art (source)

• gm: Refers to "Good morning". The first thing people in the NFT & crypto space say when they first log onto twitter or discord to start their day.

• Lambo: a slang term representing incredible success within the NFT space (i.e. so financially successful that you can buy a Lamborghini)

• Ledger: a digital listing and verification of all web 3.0 transactions; blockchain is a digital ledger. Can also be e reference to a hardware wallet product widely used for token/cryptocurrency "cold" storage.

• Liquidity: the availability of funds in your wallet that can be used to purchase items or can be swapped into fiat

• Metadata: a series of data points that offer information that describes a particular token ID (i.e. an image, origin, authenticity etc.)

• Metaverse: seen as the "next phase of the internet" the metaverse is an online world that merges the physical world with XR, AR, and VR to revolutionize the way that society works, interacts, and lives online.

• Mint: the process of formally turning digital art into a part of the Ethereum blockchain so that it's immutable and tamper-proof. The only way to remove it is by burning the NFT (see "burn")

• Moon/Mooning: a slang term representing incredible success within the NFT space (i.e. "going to the moon")

• Off-Chain: NFT transactions where part of the transaction take place “off-chain”, i.e. not on the blockchain, meaning that information must be added to the metadata manually

• On-Chain: NFT transactions where all stages of the process occur on blockchain and can be easily traced within the asset's metadata

• PFP: "Profile Picture"; many NFT projects have been built around PFPs - examples include World of Women, CryptoPunks, BAYC, Cool Cats etc.

• Rugged: to be scammed by a project's creators, coordinated attack (e.g pump and dump), bug, etc.For example, an NFT projects mints and then its creators take the profits and don't follow through with the promises of value they previously made

• Smart Contract: a self-executing, autonomous contract with the terms of the agreement between buyer and seller written directly into lines of code and living on the blockchain

• Stake: the process of "locking" or "holding" your digital assets (such as ETH ) on a blockchain to receive rewards and/or protect the network from manipulation and security vulnerabilities.

• Token: a unit of data stored digitally on the blockchain; it can be used as a unit of account and associated with ownership access of art, collectibles, real estate, etc.

• Vault: a secure online platform where you can collect and maintain your digital assets and logins, and share access with the people you trust.

• Wen: slang for the word "when"

• Wallet: wallets store your private keys to keep your crypto (i.e. ETH) safe and accessible. They also allow you to send, receive, and spend cryptocurrencies.

• WAGMI: Slang for "We Are Gonna Make It"

• NGMI: Slang for "Not Gonna Make It"