The Coin Bureau Podcast: Crypto Without the Hype

Latest Episodes:

Ethereum Part 1 May 27, 2022

Show notes

It’s time to delve back into crypto’s history and start looking at the project that is second only to Bitcoin in terms of scale and recognition.

Ethereum may not have been the first altcoin to emerge in Bitcoin’s wake, but its influence on the crypto industry has been seismic. Since it first appeared on the scene back in 2015, Ethereum has been the driving force behind much of crypto’s evolution, triggering a wave of innovation and growth.

In this episode, we take a look at Ethereum’s early days and how it began to grow from an idea in the mind of a teenage genius into a project that would change crypto forever. We delve into the early life of Vitalik Buterin and meet some of the other characters who gravitated toward him and his idea.

We’ll also get a glimpse of the project’s early development, when Vitalik and the other co-founders gathered together for months on end at a house in Switzerland. We’ll talk about some of the interpersonal dramas and personality clashes that took place as a bunch of very smart people tried to bring the idea of Ethereum to life.

Many of the people we meet in this episode have gone on to become some of the most famous figures in cryptocurrency. Some of them are now involved with projects that are in direct competition with Ethereum: make of that what you will…

The two books on Ethereum we talk about are both excellent reads and essential for anyone interested in learning more about the project and cryptocurrency in general. They are:

The Infinite Machine (2020) by Camila Russo

The Cryptopians: Idealism, Greed, Lies and the Making of the First Big Cryptocurrency Craze (2022) by Laura Shin

We hope you enjoy the show.

Producer for iHeart Media: Noel Brown

Editor: Sam Moult

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Crypto Market Emergency Update Continued May 19, 2022

Show notes

After we recorded last week’s episode, things only got worse for crypto. The collapse of Terra and the plunge in the prices of LUNA and UST have all made for one of the most dramatic and harrowing weeks this industry has seen.

In this episode, we try to make some sense of what happened and also try to pinpoint what lessons can be learned from it all. The only way to take something positive out of the disaster is to try and ensure we prevent something similar from happening again.

If you have been affected by Terra’s collapse and are finding life difficult, then please don’t suffer in silence. There are many things in life that are infinitely more precious than money and we urge you to think of those if you are in a bad place. If you need someone to talk to then the Samaritans are always on hand to offer support to anyone and everyone who needs it. Look after yourselves and remember that things will get better.

http://www.samaritansusa.org/

https://www.samaritans.org/

We hope you enjoy the show.

Producer for iHeart Media: Noel Brown

Editor: Myke Johns

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why We're All in the Red: A Crypto Market Emergency Update May 11, 2022

Show notes

It’s perhaps appropriate that our 13th episode is an unscheduled one discussing the current, dire state of the crypto market.

At times like this, it’s often good to get a bit of context. When your net worth has taken a dive, it’s natural to want to know why. This episode should provide some explanations as to what’s going on out there.

The principal reasons for the downturn in crypto - and other markets - are macroeconomic factors. The world is going through one of the most turbulent periods in recent history and the fear, uncertainty and doubt these conditions create is being reflected in the global economy. Covid is still with us and the effects of the measures to counter it are being felt more acutely than ever. The war in Ukraine drags on and asset markets everywhere are feeling the sting.

But there are some specific factors affecting the crypto market too, the biggest of which has actually got worse since we recorded this episode. Terra’s UST stablecoin has slipped spectacularly off its dollar peg and thousands of holders of UST - Guy included - are currently out of pocket as a result. Fear is up, confidence is down.

We can’t offer much in the way of cheer in this episode, but sometimes a little clarity can go a long way. Stay strong and don’t do anything rash.

We hope you enjoy the show.

Producer for iHeart Media: Noel Brown

Editor: Sam Moult

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Altcoins May 06, 2022

Show notes

Once Bitcoin started to gain traction, it became inevitable that other cryptocurrencies would start to appear. And so the altcoins were born.

An altcoin - as you may remember from the last episode - is any cryptocurrency that isn’t Bitcoin. There are now thousands of altcoins in existence, but the flood began as a mere trickle with the release of Namecoin in 2011. Slowly, other altcoins began to emerge - some of which are still with us today, many of which have faded into obscurity.

In this episode, we look at a few of the most notable altcoins to break out in the decade following Bitcoin’s entrance into the world. As so many are no longer relevant, we’ve focused mostly on the ones that have survived in some way, shape or form. It’s a useful look into crypto's past, which will help us better understand its present over the course of future episodes.

This episode will also serve as a useful primer for our upcoming series of episodes about the king of all the altcoins: Ethereum.

Some interesting chapters and snippets about altcoins can be found in several of the books we’ve referenced before. These include:

Bubble or Revolution? (2021), by Neel Mehta, Adi Agashe and Parth Detroja

The Age of Cryptocurrency (2015) by Paul Vigna and Michael J. Casey

We hope you enjoy the show.

Producer for iHeart Media: Noel Brown

Editor: Sam Moult

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Language of Crypto Apr 29, 2022

Show notes

Now that we’ve covered blockchain and Bitcoin, it’s time to tackle one of the most daunting and downright intimidating aspects of cryptocurrency. It’s a minefield that’s not for the faint-hearted. It is, of course, crypto jargon.

Like any community, crypto has its own unique phraseology that can be baffling to outsiders. For newcomers, getting to grips with the lingo is one of the first steps to becoming a fully-fledged cryptopian.

So, in this episode, we unpack some of the words and phrases you’ll encounter in the world of cryptocurrency. But, we’ll also look beyond their meanings and try to figure out where they came from too. We’ll learn how one of crypto’s most famous terms came into being as a result of a forum user drinking too much whiskey; we’ll try and figure out why crypto people have lasers for eyes and we’ll put FUD to flight while we’re at it.

So, forget Duolingo because the Coin Bureau podcast has you covered.

We hope you enjoy the show.

Producer for iHeart Media: Noel Brown

Editor: Sam Moult

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bitcoin Part 4 Apr 22, 2022

Show notes

We’ve been talking about Bitcoin for a while now, but then there’s a lot to discuss. After the dark days of Mt Gox and the furore surrounding Silk Road, you might think Bitcoin’s difficult days were behind it. As we’ll see in this episode, there was plenty of drama still to come.

As well as bringing Bitcoin’s history up to the present day, we also talk about the wider Bitcoin community and its often conflicting views on the whole project. Nowhere were these differences more pronounced than during the infamous 'blocksize war' which tore the community apart and gave rise to the first hard fork of the Bitcoin blockchain.

We also cover some more recent events and milestones in the history of Bitcoin and crypto, bringing us (almost) bang up to date.

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