rCryptoCurrency Academy

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Welcome to Course 2.

In Course 1, we covered the history of money, the birth of Bitcoin, and the concept of CryptoCurrency. We learned that Bitcoin is Digital Money: a secure, decentralized way to store and send value.

But what if we could apply that to everything?

Decentralized internet, messaging, software, data, ownership, governance.

Currency vs. Asset: What is the difference?

To understand the crypto market, you must understand this distinction:

• A Currency (like Bitcoin) is a Medium of Exchange or a Storage of Value. Its primary job is to pay for goods or store wealth, like a a dollar bill or gold.
• An Asset is a Resource. Anything that you own, use, or borrow, can be an asset. It can be a commodity you consume, an investment, or even a Currency.

All currency can be an Asset. But not all Assets are simply a currency.

The World Computer

What if we applied BTC's decentralization to everything?

That is the question that Vitalik Buterin asked himself before he created Ethereum.

If Bitcoin is a ledger of transactions, Ethereum is a ledger of everything.

Developers can upload any code to the Ethereum blockchain. This code lives on thousands of computers (nodes) simultaneously. When you interact with the code, every node in the network runs it to verify the result.

This turns the network into one giant, decentralized computer known as the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). It is a computer that no single person owns, and no government can turn off.

Smart Contracts

The programs running on this computer are called Smart Contracts.

A Smart Contract can be anything.

For example, the simplest Smart Contracts are like a digital vending machine. They hold funds and only releases them when specific conditions are met. This allows us to build agreements that execute themselves without a bank, attorney, or any intermediary in the middle.

Real-World Example: The "Trustless" Vending Machine:

Imagine you want to buy a piece of software like a game or an app.

• The Old Way: You need a lot of intermediaries.
• The Smart Contract Way: You write a program on Ethereum that says:
  • If the user sends 1 ETH -> Send software to user.

Once this code is deployed, nobody can stop it or change it, except if the person who wrote it allows.

Users know that if they send money, they get the product.

Sellers know that the money is received and will be stored in his wallet safely without trusting any other third parties.

How does it work?

Running this code costs electricity. If running programs on the World Computer were free, someone could write a loop that runs forever and crash the system.

To prevent this, the network usually charges a fee for every step of computation. This fee is called Gas (on Ethereum).

You pay Gas using the network's native asset, Ether (ETH). This is why ETH is a Utility Asset: it is the digital fuel required to run the engine of the World Computer.

That being said, ETH can also be seen as a Currency as it can be used as a medium of exchange or storage of value. It really depends on how you use it.

Summary

• Bitcoin is a Pure Currency: Digital Gold. It tracks ownership. May store value.
• Ethereum is a Protocol or Platform: The World Computer. It runs code.
• Ether (ETH) is an Asset: Digital Oil. It fuels the computer.

In addition, several other Protocols appeared after Ethereum.

Some protocols claim to be faster, cheaper, or more secure than Ethereum.

However, Ethereum remains the most used and biggest major Protocol CryptoAsset, while also being the first.

Since this is an Educational Series, we will refrain from citing examples that aren't historical.

Disclaimer: This content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. The technology described involves risks. Never invest money you cannot afford to lose.

Next Lesson

Now that we know crypto can be more than just money, we need to organize the chaos.

There are millions of cryptos out there: what do they all do?

Next Up: What are Tokens? Layer 2? All that and other types of CryptoAssets will be classified soon on this Educational Series.

See you in Lesson 6.

rCryptoCurrency Academy:

rCryptoCurrency Foundation (CCMOON DAO) is the official Non-Profit DAO that helps moderate the rCryptoCurrency community, the world's largest crypto community with over 10 Million Members on several platforms. The Foundation also provides Community Tools and Educational Content for everyone.

Course 1: The History of CryptoCurrency

• Lesson 1: What is CryptoCurrency after all? The Bitcoin Story
• Lesson 2: The Evolution of Money (Debt, Barter, Gold, Fiat, and Crypto)
• Lesson 3: How a Blockchain Works (The "Public Ledger" Explained)
• Lesson 4: Other CryptoCurrencies

Course 2: Types of CryptoAssets

• Lesson 5: The World Computer, Ethereum, and other Smart-Contract Cryptos (Protocols) (You Are Here)
• Lesson 6: Tokens (Next Lesson)
• Lesson 7: Crypto Layer 2 and other Layers
• Lesson 8: Private Chains
• Lesson 9: Types of CryptoAssets

Course 3: CryptoAsset Tools and Finance

• Lesson 10: Common Crypto Mistakes and How to Spot Scams
• Lesson 11: Educational How to Buy CryptoAssets. Centralized Exchanges (CEX) and Decentralized Exchanges (DEX)
• Lesson 12: Wallets & Keys (Hot vs. Cold Storage)
• Lesson 13: Transactions (Gas Fees, Mempools, and Block Explorers)

Course 4: CryptoAssets and the Smart Economy

• Lesson 14: Introduction to DeFi (Decentralized Finance)
• Lesson 15: NFTs: Beyond the JPEGs (Digital Identity and Ownership)
• Lesson 16: Real World Assets (RWA) & Tokenization
• Lesson 17: The Banking System with Stablecoins & CBDCs

Course 5: CryptoAssets and the Law

• Lesson 18: Smart Contracts and Legal Validity
• Lesson 19: Oracles & The Law
• Lesson 20: Digital Evidence & Chain of Custody (What happens when things go wrong?)

Course 6: The Frontier Tech of CryptoAssets

• Lesson 21: Proof of Work vs. Proof of Stake (Miners vs. Validators)
• Lesson 22: Layer 2 Solutions (Scaling)
• Lesson 23: Algorithms trading and AI agents
• Lesson 24: The Metaverse

Course 7: Crypto Institutions (Governance & Compliance)

• Lesson 25: Corporate Structures in Crypto
• Lesson 26: What are rCryptoCurrency Moons?
• Lesson 27: DAOs and The rCyptoCurrency Non-Profit Model
• Lesson 28: The Future

Disclaimer: This content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. The technology described involves risks. Never invest money you cannot afford to lose.