I created this because I know how overwhelming it is to be a beginner in the crypto space. When I started working at BitGo, I had a hard time with terms like "blockchain," "Web3" and "DeFi" and it was hard to know where to even start. So, I built this simple repository of videos for people just like me. It’s not about becoming an expert overnight. It’s about watching a few short, clear videos that give you the "aha!" moments you need to understand the big picture.

My philosophy is simple: learn the basics first, then choose your own adventure. This collection won't tell you everything, but it will give you the essential tools and vocabulary to begin your own research. Once you have these core concepts down, you can start exploring the topics that genuinely excite you. This is your starting block—the rest of the race is yours to run.

The "Why" - Setting the Foundation

The History of Money (From Barter To Bitcoin)

Money. We all use it. But is it real? I mean, you can touch a coin or bill, but who decided that’s worth anything? And what about all those 1’s and 0’s getting swapped and traded by computers thousands of times per second? How are those worth anything? We trace the history of money, from physical barter to bitcoin, and discover that money isn’t just a lie we all agree to share, it’s been built on the back of technology and invention for millennia.

If the above video interested you and/or you want to deep dive into this a bit more, you can watch this playlist reg the same: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9DpKzAHkdgqIDcxNi8S1b1ln09Z8vkZj

Centralization vs. Decentralization Explained

1 min explainer: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/4gsFz4Equv4

The Problem with the Current System

Before we learn what's wrong. Let's learn a few things

Inflation

Middlemen

1 min video on the duopoly of visa and mastercard: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LZ4fMjEeJM8

The "What" - Introducing the Technology

What is a Blockchain in Simple Terms?

What is Bitcoin ($BTC)?

: What is Ethereum ($ETH)? The World Computer

The "How" - Your First Steps into the Ecosystem

What is a Crypto Wallet?

How Do You Buy Crypto? (Exchanges Explained)

I've written an article on how did I get started to buy and store my cryptocurrency in my own wallet. You can read the article here: https://paragraph.com/@iampritamg/getting-start-with-crypto-investing

PS: This is not financial advice for you to buy cryptocurrency. Please understand the risks around investing before you make your decision.

Exploring the Web3 Universe

Coins vs Tokens

What is DeFi (Decentralized Finance)?

Skepticism

You might feel skeptic about all this. Here are some videos that you can watch around this

Why do people value Bitcoin: https://paragraph.com/@iampritamg/why-does-bitcoin-have-value

How many cryptocurrencies are there? Are all of them scams? How many are alive? https://paragraph.com/@iampritamg/the-lifespan-of-blockchain-exploring-the-vital-factors-that-ensure-cryptos-longevity

Bitcoin Monetory Policy Explained

The Bitcoin network's security relies on a system called Proof of Work (PoW). In this system, individuals and companies known as "miners" use powerful computers to solve complex mathematical puzzles. The first one to solve the puzzle gets to add the latest "block" of transactions to Bitcoin's public ledger and is rewarded with a certain amount of new bitcoin.

This reward creates a powerful incentive for miners to act honestly. They spend significant amounts of money on specialised hardware and electricity to compete. To attack the network—for instance, by trying to spend the same bitcoins twice—a malicious actor would need to control more than half of the network's entire computing power. This is known as a 51% attack.

Given how many thousands of miners are spread across the globe, acquiring that much computational power would be extraordinarily expensive. It would make far more economic sense to use that computing power to mine bitcoin honestly and earn the rewards. In short, it's more profitable to cooperate than to attack.

Think of it like this: why spend $10 on a sledgehammer to break open a box that only contains a $5 bill? The cost of the attack far outweighs the potential reward, making the contents of the box inherently secure. This economic principle is the foundation of the Bitcoin network's security.

Bitcoin miners earn revenue from two primary sources:

Block Subsidy: A reward of newly created bitcoin that the network automatically pays to a miner for successfully adding a new block of transactions to the blockchain.

Transaction Fees: Fees paid by users to miners as an incentive to include their transactions in a block.

Bitcoin Halving explained

The block subsidy that is awarded to miners is halved every 210,000 blocks, or roughly every four years. This is done because Bitcoin was intentionally coded with a fixed supply to make it a scarce digital asset.

This process, known as the "halving," serves a few key purposes:

• Controls Inflation: Unlike traditional currencies that governments can print at will (potentially leading to inflation), the rate at which new bitcoin is created is predictable and slows down over time. This controlled supply helps to maintain its value.

• Creates Scarcity: There will only ever be 21 million bitcoin. The halving ensures that the final bitcoin won't be mined until around the year 2140. This finite supply is a core feature of Bitcoin's design.

• Mimics Precious Metals: The system is designed to be similar to the mining of precious resources like gold. Initially, gold is easier to find, but as more is extracted, it becomes progressively harder and more expensive to discover new reserves. Similarly, the reward for mining Bitcoin decreases over time, making the creation of new coins more difficult.

By progressively reducing the issuance of new coins, the halving mechanism is designed to make Bitcoin a deflationary asset, meaning its purchasing power could increase over time if demand for it continues to grow. This predictable scarcity is a primary reason why many consider it a store of value.

How does the future look like for Bitcoin?

For much of Bitcoin's history, transaction fees have not consistently risen to a level that would replace the diminishing block subsidy. This issue is one of the most debated topics when analysing the future of Bitcoin.

The Core Challenge: The Security Budget

The total reward for miners, consisting of the block subsidy and transaction fees, is known as the "security budget." This budget pays for the hash rate that secures the network. The concern is that as the subsidy trends towards zero (the last new satoshis will be mined around the year 2140), the network must be secured almost entirely by transaction fees.

If transaction fees remain low, the total miner revenue will decrease. This could lead to:

• Reduced Hash Rate: Miners could become unprofitable and shut down their machines, lowering the network's total computational power (hash rate).

• Increased Centralization: Only miners with the absolute cheapest electricity and most efficient hardware would survive, potentially leading to centralization.

• Lowered Security: A significantly lower hash rate would, in theory, reduce the cost for a hostile entity to launch a 51% attack.

What's the way forward?

In order to account for the lower subsidy over time, one or all of the below things need to happen:

1. A High-Value Settlement Layer: The dominant theory is that Bitcoin's main blockchain (Layer 1) will not be for buying a cup of coffee. Instead, it will evolve into a global settlement layer for high-value transactions that demand the highest level of security and finality.

In this scenario, block space becomes an extremely valuable commodity. Corporations, governments, and second-layer protocols would be willing to pay significant fees for the final, immutable settlement of large transactions, much like paying for a secure armoured car transport versus a regular postal service.

2. The Role of Layer-2 Solutions: Technologies built on top of Bitcoin, like the Lightning Network, are crucial to this vision. The Lightning Network allows for near-instant, low-cost transactions that are bundled together off-chain.

• How it helps: Instead of every small payment needing space in a block, millions of transactions can occur on Layer 2. These networks will still need to use the main Bitcoin blockchain to open and close payment channels and settle final balances.

• Impact on Fees: This creates a dynamic where the main chain processes fewer, but more economically significant, transactions (the settlements from Layer 2), which can justify higher fees.

3. Rising Bitcoin Price: While miners are rewarded in BTC, their primary costs (electricity, hardware, salaries) are paid in fiat currency. Therefore, a significant increase in the price of Bitcoin can offset a reduction in the block subsidy. For example, a miner earning 0.1 BTC in fees when the price is $500,000 makes the same fiat revenue as a miner earning 1 BTC when the price is $50,000. Most long-term models assume a substantial rise in Bitcoin's value as a key component of future miner profitability.

4. Emergent Uses for Block Space: New innovations can unexpectedly create valuable use cases for Bitcoin's block space, boosting competition and driving up the transaction fees required to use it.

5. Charitable Mining: Companies and Nation states and Individuals who value the decentralisation ideals will continue to mine and secure the network

My thoughts on the way forward

On Bitcoin being the settlement layer:

Currently Bitcoin has always been held in the regards of buy and hold, that's been the lore. I feel that Bitcoin will really start to add value once there's enough usage for what it was originally meant to be used for : electronic cash system. Unless people start using Bitcoin for actual transactions, it would not be able to live up it value.

On Lightning being the layer 2 for bitcoin:

Imagine you are trying to onboard 1 billion people onto the Bitcoin network, it would take about n years just to onboard everyone wherein you have to send some amount of bitcoin to every person's wallet just so that they can get started. Once they have some bitcoin on their wallets it would take n more years to open a lightning channel because that's an on-chain transaction. And if we do figure out a way to onboard a billion people onto the network, imagine how insane the fees will have become. Would you be able to pay $1000-$10000 just to open a lightning channel when there are cheaper options available? I guess the layer 2 networks would have to adapt to this onboarding problem

On Rising Bitcoin Price:

It's a risky assumption to believe Bitcoin's price will perpetually increase. If it stagnates or declines, the economic model for miners breaks down. Miners face significant upfront capital expenditure on hardware and ongoing operational costs for electricity. While they can absorb losses temporarily, prolonged periods of unprofitability are unsustainable and would inevitably force them to shut down their operations.

On charitable mining:

A trustless system must pay for its own security. Relying on charity is simply reintroducing a new form of trust—trust that someone else will bear a cost for your benefit—which is the very thing it was designed to eliminate.

Conclusion

In the end, Bitcoin is at a major turning point. For it to succeed, it has to prove it can be useful and grow to handle lots of people. If it doesn't, users might prefer easier "IOU" versions of Bitcoin, where a company holds your coins for you instead of you owning them yourself.

To prevent this, two things need to happen. First, the main Bitcoin network needs enough activity to generate fees that can pay miners to keep it secure forever. Second, it must scale using Layer 2s to handle fast and cheap payments for everyone around the world.

This leads to a future where the main network is used for huge, important money transfers, while most everyday shopping happens on these layer 2s. That way, you can still be in full control of your own money, and it will still be easy to use.

Here’s a good video on this topic:

Edit: GalaxyHQ wrote an article about this that you can read: https://www.galaxy.com/insights/research/bitcoin-onchain-fees-utxo

The Trajectory of Growth

The growth in the number of cryptocurrencies did not occur linearly but in distinct waves, each corresponding to a reduction in the technical barriers to entry.

• Early Days (2009-2013): Following Bitcoin's singular launch, the digital asset space grew at a glacial pace. Creating a new cryptocurrency required deep technical expertise, limiting the field to a small community of cryptographers and developers. By April 2013, four years after Bitcoin's creation, only seven cryptocurrencies were tracked by CoinMarketCap. By the end of 2013, this number had grown to just over 50.  

• The First Proliferation (2014-2017): This period witnessed the first significant growth spurt. The number of cryptocurrencies jumped from 67 in January 2014 to over 500 by early 2015. This wave was fueled by the emergence of the first "altcoins"—many of which were direct forks of Bitcoin's code—and culminated in the Initial Coin Offering (ICO) boom of 2017. The ease of launching a token on the Ethereum platform, primarily through the ERC-20 standard, dramatically lowered the barrier to creation, pushing the number of assets to 1,359 by the start of 2018.  

• The Hyper-Proliferation (2020-Present): The growth curve steepened dramatically in the 2020s. By January 2021, over 4,000 active coins were in circulation. Today, the figures are staggering and depend heavily on the definition of "cryptocurrency." Market data aggregators like CoinGecko and CoinMarketCap track between 10,000 and 18,000 active cryptocurrencies. However, the total number of unique tokens created is orders of magnitude higher. Some sources estimate that over 37 million unique cryptocurrency tokens have been created as of mid-2025, with projections suggesting this could reach 100 million by the end of the year. This hyper-proliferation is largely attributable to token-generation platforms on high-throughput blockchains like Solana and Base, which have made the process of creating a new token trivial, taking minutes and costing very little.

The following graphs illustrates the parallel growth of the number of cryptocurrencies and the total market capitalization, providing a clearer picture of the market's expansionary and contractionary cycles.

Of course. Here are three blockchain networks that have demonstrated long-term success and three notable networks that have failed, along with three key reasons for their respective outcomes.

Networks That Lived

Here are examples of blockchain networks that have remained prominent and influential over time:

Bitcoin (BTC)

Reasons for its longevity:

• First-Mover Advantage and Network Effect: As the first successful cryptocurrency, Bitcoin established a powerful brand and a vast network of users, miners, and developers. This created a strong network effect, where its value and security increased as more people joined, making it difficult for newer competitors to challenge its position.

• Simplicity and Security: Bitcoin's primary function as a decentralized store of value is clear and easily understood. Its underlying blockchain has operated without significant interruption for over a decade, proving its robustness and security against attacks. This reliability has fostered trust among its users and investors.

• Decentralization and Censorship Resistance: Bitcoin is not controlled by any single entity, making it resistant to censorship and government interference. This core principle has attracted users seeking financial sovereignty and an alternative to traditional financial systems, especially in regions with economic instability.

Ethereum (ETH)

Reasons for its success:

• Pioneering Smart Contracts: Ethereum's introduction of smart contracts revolutionized the blockchain space. This innovation enabled the development of decentralized applications (dApps), creating a platform for a wide range of use cases beyond a simple store of value, including decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

• Thriving Developer Ecosystem: Ethereum has cultivated the largest and most active community of developers in the crypto space. This has led to a continuous stream of innovation, with a vast array of tools, programming languages (like Solidity), and standards (like ERC-20 and ERC-721) that have become industry norms, further solidifying its position as the leading platform for dApp development.

• Adaptability and Continuous Improvement: The Ethereum network has demonstrated a commitment to evolving and addressing its limitations. The transition from a Proof-of-Work (PoW) to a more energy-efficient and scalable Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism with "The Merge" showcased the community's ability to execute complex upgrades and plan for the long-term health of the network.

Solana (SOL)

Reasons for its relevance:

• High Performance and Scalability: Solana was designed to address the scalability issues that plagued earlier blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Its unique Proof-of-History (PoH) consensus mechanism allows it to process a high volume of transactions per second at a very low cost, making it an attractive platform for applications requiring high throughput, such as high-frequency trading and gaming.

• Rapidly Growing Ecosystem and User Adoption: Solana has experienced explosive growth in its ecosystem, with a surge in developer activity and a high number of daily active users. This has been fueled by a focus on user-friendly applications, particularly in the NFT and DeFi sectors, and strong venture capital backing that has supported the development of new projects.

• Focus on Developer Experience: The Solana Foundation and its community have made significant efforts to create a welcoming and supportive environment for developers. This includes providing comprehensive documentation, development tools, and grants, which has helped to attract a new wave of builders to the platform and foster a vibrant and innovative ecosystem.

Networks That Died

Here are examples of blockchain networks that have become largely irrelevant:

Terra (LUNA) and TerraUSD (UST)

Reasons for their collapse:

• Flawed Algorithmic Stablecoin Design: The entire Terra ecosystem was built on the premise that its stablecoin, UST, could maintain its 1:1 peg to the US dollar through an algorithmic relationship with its sister token, LUNA. This design was inherently fragile and susceptible to a "death spiral." When UST began to lose its peg due to large-scale withdrawals, the algorithm went into overdrive, minting massive amounts of LUNA in a futile attempt to stabilize UST.

• Unsustainable Yields and Over-leveraging: The Anchor Protocol, a lending platform on Terra, offered an unsustainably high yield of nearly 20% on UST deposits. This created a huge demand for UST that was not based on organic use but on speculative yield farming. When market confidence wavered, a bank run on Anchor Protocol was the catalyst that exposed the fragility of the entire system.

• Loss of Market Confidence and Panic Selling: Once the algorithmic mechanism began to fail and the unsustainability of the yields became apparent, a massive wave of panic selling ensued. The loss of trust was swift and absolute, and the interconnected nature of the Terra ecosystem meant that the collapse of UST and LUNA wiped out billions of dollars in value, leading to the complete failure of the network.

BitConnect (BCC)

Reasons for its failure:

• Transparent Ponzi Scheme: BitConnect was a textbook Ponzi scheme masquerading as a cryptocurrency investment platform. It promised impossibly high returns (up to 1% daily) through a proprietary "trading bot" that supposedly profited from cryptocurrency volatility. In reality, it used funds from new investors to pay returns to earlier investors, the classic hallmark of a Ponzi scheme.

• Lack of Transparency and a Legitimate Product: The project was shrouded in secrecy, with anonymous founders and no verifiable evidence of the "trading bot" ever existing. Unlike legitimate blockchain projects that have open-source code and clear use cases, BitConnect's business model was opaque and based solely on the recruitment of new members to keep the scheme going.

• Regulatory Scrutiny and Cease-and-Desist Orders: As the project grew, it attracted the attention of regulators worldwide. Authorities in the UK and US issued warnings and cease-and-desist orders, labeling it a fraudulent scheme. This regulatory pressure shattered the remaining confidence in the platform, leading to its abrupt shutdown and the instantaneous collapse of its native token, BCC, resulting in billions of dollars in losses for its investors.

Networks That Died

Here are three examples of blockchain networks that have stopped being prominent and influential over time:

Peercoin (PPC)

• The Concept: Launched in August 2012 by developers under the pseudonyms Sunny King and Scott Nadal, Peercoin's primary goal was to solve what they saw as the long-term sustainability and energy consumption problems of Bitcoin's Proof-of-Work (PoW) model. It introduced a groundbreaking new concept to the world: Proof-of-Stake (PoS).

• Key Features & Groundbreaking Innovations:

  1. The First Proof-of-Stake (PoS) Implementation: This was Peercoin's revolutionary contribution. While Bitcoin's security relies on miners spending vast amounts of electricity (Proof-of-Work), Peercoin introduced a system where users who held PPC could "stake" their coins to participate in the consensus process. This "minting" process secured the network and generated new coins with minimal energy consumption. This was a fundamental shift in how a blockchain could be secured.

  2. Hybrid Consensus Model: Peercoin didn't completely abandon PoW. It used a hybrid model where the SHA-256 algorithm (the same as Bitcoin's) was used for the initial distribution of coins. However, the long-term security and transaction validation were primarily handled by the energy-efficient PoS system. This dual approach was designed to get the best of both worlds.

  3. Sustainable Inflation Model: Unlike Bitcoin, which has a fixed supply cap of 21 million, Peercoin was designed with a perpetual, low inflation rate of approximately 1% per year, generated through PoS minting. The rationale was that this would provide a permanent incentive for users to stake their coins and secure the network, avoiding a potential future scenario where transaction fees alone might not be enough to pay for network security.

• What Happened? (The Fade from Prominence): Despite its pioneering technology, Peercoin's influence waned over time for several key reasons.

  1. It Was Ahead of Its Time: In the early 2010s, the crypto world was still grappling with the basics of Proof-of-Work. The concept of Proof-of-Stake was novel, more complex, and less intuitive than the simple "digital mining" metaphor of Bitcoin. This made it harder to gain widespread understanding and adoption.

  2. Lack of a Compelling Use Case Beyond Efficiency: Peercoin's innovation was purely technical. It was a more efficient and sustainable currency, but it was still just a currency. It didn't offer a new paradigm for what a blockchain could do.

  3. The Ethereum Revolution: The launch of Ethereum in 2015 completely changed the game. The focus of the crypto world shifted from creating better digital money to building platforms for decentralised applications (dApps) and smart contracts. Projects like Peercoin, which were not designed for this kind of complex functionality, were quickly overshadowed.

• Current Status & Lasting Legacy: Peercoin is still active today, with a small but dedicated community that continues to maintain the network. However, its market capitalisation and relevance in the modern crypto landscape are minimal. Its true importance lies in its historical legacy. Peercoin is the "founding father" of Proof-of-Stake. It proved that PoS was a viable, secure, and energy-efficient alternative to PoW. Nearly every major modern blockchain, including Ethereum (after The Merge), Cardano, Solana, and Polkadot, owes its existence to the foundational concepts that Peercoin introduced to the world in 2012.

Novacoin (NVC)

• The Concept: Launched in late 2012, Novacoin was an early hybrid cryptocurrency that aimed to improve upon the models of Bitcoin and Peercoin. Its primary goal was to create a more energy-efficient and secure network by combining two different methods of block creation.

• Key Features:

  1. Hybrid PoW/PoS: This was Novacoin's main innovation. It used both Proof-of-Work (like Bitcoin) and Proof-of-Stake (like Peercoin). This meant users could either mine the coin with hardware or "stake" their existing coins to help secure the network and earn rewards, making it less reliant on massive energy consumption.

  2. Scrypt Algorithm: Like Litecoin, it used the Scrypt hashing algorithm for its PoW component, which was designed to be more resistant to the specialized ASIC miners that were beginning to dominate the Bitcoin network.

  3. Limited Supply: It had a hard cap on the number of coins that could be created through mining, after which the network would be sustained entirely by Proof-of-Stake.

• What Happened? (The Decline): Novacoin was a solid project for its time but ultimately fell victim to a common fate for early altcoins: a lack of a unique, compelling use case beyond incremental technical improvements.

  1. Fierce Competition: It existed in a sea of "Bitcoin clones" that were all slightly faster, more energy-efficient, or used a different algorithm. It didn't offer a paradigm shift like Ethereum's smart contracts did later.

  2. No "Killer App": There was no specific application or ecosystem built around Novacoin that would drive demand or user adoption. Its value was purely speculative.

  3. Loss of Developer and Community Interest: As newer, more ambitious projects emerged, the developer community and user base for coins like Novacoin dwindled. Without active development and a vibrant community, the project stagnated.

• Current Status: Novacoin is now considered a "ghost coin." While it may still trade for fractions of a cent on a few obscure exchanges, it has no active development, a negligible market cap, and is irrelevant to the modern crypto landscape. It remains a historical example of early hybrid consensus models.

DevCoin (DVC)

• The Concept: Launched in 2011, DevCoin was one of the earliest and most ethically ambitious altcoins. Its entire purpose was to create a funding mechanism for open-source projects, including work by programmers, writers, artists, and musicians.

• Key Features:

  1. Funding Model: This was its core. The blockchain was designed so that 90% of all newly generated coins would be distributed to recognized open-source contributors, while only 10% went to miners.

  2. Merge-Mining: DevCoin could be "merge-mined" with Bitcoin. This allowed Bitcoin miners to secure the DevCoin network simultaneously without dedicating extra hardware or energy, a clever way to bootstrap its security.

  3. Broad Definition of "Development": It aimed to reward any form of creative work, not just software development, making it a precursor to modern concepts of the creator economy.

• What Happened? (The Decline): While the idea was noble, the project faced insurmountable practical and economic hurdles.

  1. The Governance Problem: The central challenge was deciding who deserved funding. This required a centralized or complex governance process to evaluate projects and distribute coins, which ran counter to the decentralized ethos and proved difficult to manage fairly.

  2. The Chicken-and-Egg Economic Flaw: For the developer rewards to have any real-world value, the DVC token itself needed a high market price. But for the token to have a high price, it needed strong demand, which would come from its utility as a funding mechanism. The system could never generate enough value to make the rewards meaningful.

  3. Lack of Market Traction: The project appealed to idealists but failed to attract significant investors or speculators. Its complex mission was harder to "sell" than a simple "digital silver" narrative like Litecoin's.

• Current Status: DevCoin is completely defunct. It was a fascinating and influential experiment in crypto-economics, but it ultimately failed to create a sustainable model. Its legacy lives on in the ongoing discussion about how to fund open-source development and public goods using blockchain technology.

CHNCoin (CNC)

• The Concept: Appearing around 2013, CHNCoin was one of the very first cryptocurrencies created specifically for the Chinese market. At a time when Bitcoin was gaining global attention, CHNCoin was an attempt to create a localized version to appeal directly to users in China.

• Key Features:

  1. Regional Focus: Its primary "feature" was its branding and marketing, which were tailored to a Chinese audience. Technically, it was a straightforward clone of an existing cryptocurrency, likely Litecoin or a similar Scrypt-based coin.

  2. Early Exchange Listings: It gained initial traction by being listed on some of the earliest Chinese cryptocurrency exchanges, giving it visibility within that specific ecosystem.

• What Happened? (The Decline): CHNCoin's story is a lesson in the dangers of being a regional project in a global, politically sensitive industry.

  1. Regulatory Crackdowns: The Chinese government has had a volatile relationship with crypto. An early crackdown by the People's Bank of China in late 2013, which banned financial institutions from handling Bitcoin transactions, created immense fear and uncertainty. This was devastating for a coin whose entire existence was tied to the Chinese market.

  2. Inability to Compete Globally: It had no technical advantage over global giants like Bitcoin and Litecoin, which were also accessible to Chinese users. When the regulatory environment soured, users flocked to more established, resilient, and globally recognized networks.

  3. Lack of a Unique Identity: Beyond its name, it offered nothing new. It was quickly forgotten as the market matured and more innovative projects appeared.

• Current Status: CHNCoin is completely extinct and has been for over a decade. It is a historical footnote, remembered only as an early example of a geographically-targeted altcoin that was wiped out by regulatory pressure.

Of course. Here is a paragraph about the recent memecoin explosion and a concluding paragraph to wrap up the article.

The Unpredictable Rise of Memecoins

In recent years, the cryptocurrency landscape has been dramatically reshaped by the explosive and often bewildering rise of memecoins. These digital assets, born from internet jokes, cultural trends, and viral social media content, have evolved from niche novelties into a multi-billion dollar market sector. Fueled by platforms like X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, and Reddit, memecoins thrive on community hype and the "fear of missing out" (FOMO). Unlike traditional cryptocurrencies that often emphasize technical innovation, a memecoin's success is almost entirely dependent on its ability to capture the public's imagination and build a passionate, engaged following. While this has led to incredible stories of small investments turning into life-changing sums, the memecoin space is a high-risk casino defined by extreme volatility, a lack of underlying utility, and the ever-present danger of sudden collapses once the social media attention inevitably shifts.

An Ever-Evolving Digital Frontier

The journey from Bitcoin's solitary whitepaper in 2009 to today's vibrant and chaotic ecosystem of thousands of digital assets is a testament to relentless innovation and human ingenuity. We've witnessed a remarkable evolution: from the simple, powerful idea of a decentralized currency to the birth of programmable money with Ethereum, the quest for infinite scalability with platforms like Solana, and the rise of entirely new economies built on DeFi and NFTs. Along the way, we've seen both spectacular successes driven by strong communities and genuine utility, and cautionary failures rooted in flawed design and unfulfilled hype. Now, with the rise of phenomena like memecoins, the space continues to prove that its future will be shaped not only by technical merit but also by culture, community, and the unpredictable nature of the internet itself. As this digital frontier continues to expand, the principles of innovation, security, and a clear value proposition will remain the crucial navigators for determining which projects become a permanent part of our digital future and which fade into history.

"Hey," he asked, "Can I just create a coin, name it 'BTC', sell it to people, and get rich?"

"You absolutely can!" I replied. "The blockchain is permissionless. You can go right now and mint a token with the ticker 'BTC'. The real challenge isn't creating it; it's finding someone willing to pay you for it."

He thought for a second. "Okay, what if I sell just 0.000001 of my new 'BTC' to my mom for $0.119? I control all the other coins. Does that make me rich?"

And that's the million-dollar—or $119,000—question. Sure, you'd be rich if you measure your worth in your own "BTC". But if you want to measure your net worth in dollars, you need someone else willing to trade you real money for it.

This brings us to the core of it all: how does the real Bitcoin have value? The simple answer is that someone is willing to buy it for $119,000, and someone else is willing to sell it at that price. It's not $25 or $1 million because, at this very moment, this is the value we as humans collectively assign to it based on supply and demand.

But that feels like a circular argument. Why are we assigning any value at all to this "magic internet money"? To answer that, let's take a slight detour to Westeros. In Game of Thrones, Lord Varys poses a riddle: "Power resides where men believe it resides. It's a trick, a shadow on the wall."

Power resides where men believe it resides. It's a trick!

This "trick" is the foundation of almost every system of value we have. Governments have power because we collectively agree to grant it to them. A piece of paper with "100" printed on it has value only because we all believe it does. At what point does a cult become a religion? When a critical mass of people shares the same faith.

Humanity collectively believing in something gives that thing power.

So, is Bitcoin just a new religion? Yes and no. Yes, in that its value is powered by the shared belief of millions. But crucially, it is not blind faith. This belief is rooted in the fact that Bitcoin solves problems that our existing systems cannot.

The belief in Bitcoin isn't random; it's earned. It’s built on a foundation of unique, verifiable properties:

1. Verifiable Scarcity (The "Digital Gold" Property) Unlike national currencies that can be printed into oblivion, there will only ever be 21 million bitcoin. This limit isn't based on a promise; it's hard-coded into the system for everyone to see. You don't have to trust a person or a government not to devalue your savings. You just have to trust math. This predictable scarcity is a powerful reason to believe in its ability to hold value over time.

2. Decentralised Power (The Answer to Varys's Riddle) Bitcoin takes the "trick" of power and gives it to everyone. There is no CEO of Bitcoin, no central bank, no board of directors. Control is distributed across a global network of thousands of computers. This means no single person or government can shut it down, freeze your account, or block a transaction. This decentralisation is the system's core innovation.

3. The Problem It Solves (Trustless Value Transfer) For the first time in history, Bitcoin allows you to send value directly to anyone, anywhere in the world, without needing to trust an intermediary like a bank or a payment processor. The network itself validates the transaction. The fact that we now have a global network that enables censorship-resistant, permissionless value transfer is, in and of itself, incredibly valuable.

So, why does Bitcoin have value? Because people believe it does. And why do they believe? Because it is scarce, decentralised, and uniquely useful. It's a new kind of power—a shadow on the wall that anyone can cast.

When I first started exploring investing in crypto, I embarked on my journey using exchanges. Here are the steps involved in purchasing your cryptocurrency of choice:

1. Sign up on the platform

2. Submit KYC documents

3. Add bank account details

4. Provide the application bank details that will be used for adding INR to the platform to buy crypto.

5. And finally, gain the ability to purchase any cryptocurrency that you wish.

All this works well, but at the end of the day, do you really own your crypto? You just have an entry in a database. There's a saying: Not your keys, Not your Crypto! But what does that really mean?

Centralised Exchanges (CEXes) and Custody Issues

When you invest on exchanges like CoinDCX or Mudrex, you don’t truly control your crypto. The private key that is used to transact on the blockchain is stored by the exchange, which means the control of assets is centralized. This is why they’re referred to as centralized exchanges, or CEXes.

The primary purpose of this method is to speculate on the prices of cryptocurrency tokens. While speculation can be valid, I believe cryptocurrency and blockchain should be focused on creating real-life value, moving beyond just market speculation.

Much attention has been given to hacks of exchanges (like ByBit in 2025) or those that don't have the best intentions for their users' funds (FTX in 2022). Utilizing self-custody is a vital approach to securing your cryptocurrency.

Exploring Self-Custody Options

If you are wondering where to store crypto assets instead of exchanges, there are several options available.

1. Hot wallets: Services like MetaMask and Trust Wallet are well-known multi-platform wallets that offer ease of use.

2. Cold Hardware wallets such as Ledger and Tangem. I personally use Tangem and can vouch for its simplicity and user-friendliness.

These options provide self-custody but vary in how private keys are stored. If the keys are stored on a device connected to the internet, it is termed a hot wallet. Conversely, if the keys are kept on a device that's not internet-connected, it is a cold wallet. Hot wallets are easy to use, but they are less secure since the keys are online and could be compromised. Cold wallets require a bit more investment and additional steps, but they offer far better security against bad actors.

The Indian Crypto Landscape: Challenges & Considerations

There are several challenges pertaining to self-custody of crypto assets in India:

1. Many exchanges do not allow withdrawals to personal wallets, including platforms like CoinDCX and CoinSwitch.

2. Some platforms permit withdrawals only after completing level 2 KYC, which requires excessive documentation such as ITR for the last three years, PAN Card, Aadhar Card, and proof of residence and employment. Examples include Unocoin, Mudrex, and Flitpay.

3. International exchanges, like Binance, often lack an INR on-ramp but still operate in India.

4. Peer-to-peer exchanges: Binance’s P2P platform allows transactions directly between customers and merchants.

Personal Reviews about the Platforms I've Used

Let me share my experiences with various platforms and what I recommend to anyone getting started.

1. Regarding exchanges like CoinDCX, their user experience is one of the best for Indian users—the app is simple and intuitive. However, they don’t allow for self-custody of funds, meaning you have an IOU with these exchanges, essentially speculating on prices.

   Reasons not to use it: Lack of self-custody options.

2. Unocoin and Mudrex allow withdrawals, but I've found the required documentation overwhelming. The withdrawal fees are high; for example, Mudrex charges a 2% fee, which can be more expensive than blockchain transactions. Unocoin's user experience is particularly poor, with app issues and a disappointing web interface.

   Reasons not to use it: Self-custody is possible, but it comes at a steep price.

3. Binance does provide a superior user experience; however, it lacks an INR on-ramp, which means purchasing assets directly with INR is impossible. You need existing cryptocurrencies to transact on Binance. The UI is better than most Indian exchanges but might be complex for beginners. Thankfully, their lite mode simplifies the process.

   Reasons not to use it: No INR on-ramp.

4. Binance's P2P service allows transactions between Indians for exchanging crypto, but I find this option unfeasible for two main reasons:

   1. P2P scams and potential bank freezes: Many cases have emerged where fraudulent transfers lead to bank account freezes.

   2. The cost of USD on the P2P platform was around 98-100 INR when the market rate was about 85 INR.

   
   

A New Approach: Decentralized P2P Solutions

In search of a straightforward SIP strategy into crypto that is easy, incurs lower charges, and offers self-custody, I discovered P2P.me during the India Blockchain Week. They are a decentralized peer-to-peer marketplace that offers an on-ramp with UPI, allowing you to acquire USDC on the Base chain (an Ethereum L2). Funded by Coinbase Ventures and MultiCoin Capital, their platform offers some clear advantages:

1. On the buy side: There’s minimal risk when processing purchases, as funds move from me directly to the other party. Moreover, they provide the best price for USDC across any platform.

2. On the sell side: While I haven’t yet used this platform for selling crypto, I feel comfortable doing so when the need arises. Funds can be sent to a merchant who can transfer the money to a bank account, minimizing the risk of freezing.

How Much Should You Invest?

Now that I’ve established a routine for investing, a critical question arises: How much of my savings should I invest? I’ve decided on allocating 10% of my portfolio to crypto, 70% to equities, and 20% to short-term debt holdings. Although 10% feels substantial, I’m comfortable with this arrangement due to my long-term investment strategy. I recommend that newcomers consider starting with a 1-2% allocation to their overall net worth, monitoring their performance over time. Maintain your investment allocation monthly, and after every six months or annually, reevaluate your inflows/outflows according to your asset allocation preferences.

Conclusion

I believe cryptocurrencies will play a crucial role in our future, and there are compelling reasons to do your research and maintain a portfolio allocation that feels comfortable. The best approach isn’t through centralized exchanges but by self-custodying crypto assets, allowing you true ownership by controlling your keys.

I was new to the cryptocurrency space and had to weigh my options carefully. I wasn't a cryptocurrency enthusiast, but I decided to take a chance and join BitGo. I'm excited to share my journey so far in this article and in future articles to come.

Before I joined BitGo, I invested my savings in Indian equity, mostly index funds, and some short-term debt funds for immediate expenses. I didn't have any allocation toward crypto, but my wife did. When we got married, some of her friends gifted her some cryptocurrency that they thought was going to the moon. Three years later, it's at one-third the value. I ignored Bitcoin because I didn't understand it and thought it was just a bubble. But when I accepted the offer to work at BitGo, I decided it was time to learn about the history of this space and what it has to offer.

To understand Bitcoin, you need to first understand money and it’s history.

What is money?

At its core, money is simply a way to transfer value. Consider a common scenario: buying popcorn at the movies. You pay ₹400, whether in cash, by card, or through UPI. But why does the merchant accept your payment, whether it's a physical note or a digital bank account entry?

The answer lies in mutual agreement. The merchant accepts it because they trust that someone else will accept the same form of payment in return. As Indians, we collectively recognize the Indian rupee as valuable and use it as a convenient medium of exchange. This shared trust is what gives money its power to function as a tool for economic transactions.

History of money

Joe from Be Smart explains this very well

If you want a bit more longer story and if you are familiar with Hindi(with english subtitles), you can check out this LLA playlist:

The history of money is a fascinating journey that reflects humanity's evolving social, economic, and technological needs. Here's a concise overview:

But why do we need decentralised money?

Unlike fiat money, whose value is backed by governments that can print it at will, Bitcoin was designed to challenge centralized monetary control. Its creation was a direct response to the injustices of traditional financial systems, such as the government bailouts for "too big to fail" banks, which allowed those responsible for the housing crisis to avoid accountability.

This connection is emphasised in Bitcoin's genesis block, which includes a reference to a newspaper headline about bank bailouts, symbolising its break from conventional banking systems.

If you haven't already, I highly recommend watching The Big Short. It provides an eye-opening portrayal of the events leading up to the crisis, shedding light on the greed, risky financial practices, and lack of oversight that caused a global economic meltdown. This context makes Bitcoin’s decentralised, transparent approach to money even more significant as a potential solution to such systemic failures.

More to come in the future

My motivation for writing comes from a desire to document my journey and track how my understanding of blockchain evolves over time. By capturing my learnings, I can reflect on how my knowledge grows and deepens. Additionally, I want to share these insights with others to help them better understand the rapidly changing landscape of blockchain technology. It's exciting to be part of such an innovative space, and I hope that by sharing my experiences, I can inspire and educate others to appreciate the potential and impact of blockchain on various industries. Watch out for more in this space!