8. Conclusion
Conclusion
Blockchain technology is an ever-evolving tool that is advancing at a very rapid pace. New use cases and applications are popping up on a daily basis as new projects come up and older projects evolve. This course is meant only to serve as an introduction that will allow you to further explore the potential applications of blockchain. With a vibrant and active community, there are plenty of external resources available to explore this technology further.
Blockchain is not meant to be a solution to all of the current issues with the Internet - why fix something that’s not broken? Instead, it is meant to offer an alternative to an existing system. Cryptocurrency is likely not going to entirely replace fiat currencies, but rather it’s a much better medium for sending money and storing wealth. Similarly, blockchain will likely not replace all aspects of the Web but rather will likely serve as a backend to replace centralized data systems.
With more and more people having now heard of cryptocurrency and companies leaning more and more into blockchain technology, the future of blockchain is bright. While the market size of blockchain projects was only $17.5 billion in 2023, the industry has a massive compound annual growth rate of 88%, meaning it is expected to reach a valuation of $1.4 trillion by 2030. Cryptocurrencies are expected to achieve a similarly massive rate of growth, with Bitcoin’s market cap already sitting at over $1.2 trillion. 2024 saw both Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF launches, letting traditional financial markets and their investors have access to the cryptocurrency market.
When being active in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, please always remember to stay secure and always double check every transaction you make.
- Avoid putting all your money into one wallet and instead spread it across multiple wallets with a cold wallet for primary storage of funds
- Write down your seed phrases for every wallet you make and have those seed phrases stored in a secure location
- Always use 2-Factor Authentication for any centralized exchanges or banking confirmations
- Always check to make sure the site you connect your wallet to is legitimate and remember to periodically terminate connections to sites once you finish using them
- Always double check all dApp sites and only use official links
This course was meant to be an introduction to the amazing blockchain ecosystem and what this technology is truly capable of. I highly encourage you to find topics within this course that stand out and intrigue you, and to further research those topics. I also encourage you to go and experience the DeFi ecosystem for yourself and see what it truly has to offer!
Haven’t had enough? Interested in a private blockchain tutoring session to continue learning more about this fascinating technology?
Works Consulted for the course:
Section 1
Brownworth, A. (n.d.). Blockchain Demo. Anders Brownworth. Retrieved from https://andersbrownworth.com/blockchain/blockchain
Brownworth, A. (n.d.). Hash Function - Blockchain Demo. Anders Brownworth. Retrieved from https://andersbrownworth.com/blockchain/hash
Section 2
Cloudflare. (n.d.). How Does Public Key Encryption Work? Cloudflare. Retrieved from https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/ssl/how-does-public-key-encryption-work/
Coinbase Wallet. (n.d.). Coinbase Wallet. Retrieved from https://www.coinbase.com/wallet/
ENS Domains. (n.d.). Ethereum Name Service. Retrieved from https://ens.domains/
Ledger. (n.d.). Ledger Wallet. Retrieved from https://www.ledger.com/
MetaMask. (n.d.). MetaMask - A Crypto Wallet & Gateway to Blockchain Apps. Retrieved from https://metamask.io/
Rabby Wallet. (n.d.). Rabby - The Next-Gen Wallet for Defi & NFTs. Retrieved from https://rabby.io/
Safe. (n.d.). Safe - The Most Trusted Platform to Manage Digital Assets. Retrieved from https://safe.global/wallet
Uniswap. (n.d.). Uniswap Interface. Retrieved from https://app.uniswap.org/swap?chain=mainnet
Section 3
Avalanche. (n.d.). Avalanche. Retrieved from https://www.avax.network/
Bitcoin. (n.d.). Bitcoin. Retrieved from https://bitcoin.org/en/
CleanSpark. (n.d.). CleanSpark. Retrieved from https://www.cleanspark.com/
CoinGecko. (2023). SPL Token Standards on Solana. Retrieved from https://www.coingecko.com/learn/spl-solana-token-standards
Ethereum. (n.d.). Ethereum. Retrieved from https://ethereum.org/en/
Ethereum. (2024). Token Standards - Ethereum Documentation. Retrieved from https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/standards/tokens/
Mara. (n.d.). Mara. Retrieved from https://www.mara.com/
Phoenix Group. (n.d.). Phoenix Group. Retrieved from https://phoenixgroupuae.com/
Solana. (n.d.). Solana. Retrieved from https://solana.com/
Section 4
Aave. (2023). Aave Hub. Retrieved from https://docs.aave.com/hub
Aave. (2024). Governance. Retrieved from https://docs.aave.com/governance
Aave. (2023). Governance - Aavenomics. Retrieved from https://docs.aave.com/aavenomics/governance
Avalanche. (2024). California DMV Digitizes 42 Million Car Titles on Avalanche Blockchain. Retrieved from https://www.avax.network/blog/california-dmv-makes-history-digitizes-42-million-car-titles-on-avalanche-blockchain
Chainlink. (2023). What Is an Automated Market Maker (AMM)? Retrieved from https://chain.link/education-hub/what-is-an-automated-market-maker-amm
Circle. (n.d.). Circle. Retrieved from https://www.circle.com/
Circle. (n.d.). Cross-Border Payments Solution. Retrieved from https://www.circle.com/en/solution/cross-border-payments
Circle. (n.d.). Digital Dollar Stablecoin Solutions for DeFi. Retrieved from https://www.circle.com/en/digital-dollar-stablecoin-solutions-for-defi
CoinGecko. (2023). SPL Token Standards on Solana. Retrieved from https://www.coingecko.com/learn/spl-solana-token-standards
Dogecoin. (n.d.). Dogecoin. Retrieved from https://dogecoin.com/
Ethena. (n.d.). Ethena. Retrieved from https://ethena.fi/
Ethena Labs. (2024). Ethena Labs Documentation. Retrieved from https://ethena-labs.gitbook.io/ethena-labs
Gearbox. (n.d.). Gearbox. Retrieved from https://gearbox.fi/
Goldfinch. (n.d.). Goldfinch - Earn. Retrieved from https://app.goldfinch.finance/earn
Instadapp. (n.d.). Fluid - Instadapp. Retrieved from https://fluid.instadapp.io/
Investopedia. (2024). Total Value Locked (TVL). Retrieved from https://www.investopedia.com/total-value-locked-7486821
Kamino Finance. (n.d.). Kamino Finance. Retrieved from https://app.kamino.finance/
Lido. (n.d.). Lido. Retrieved from https://lido.fi/
MakerDAO. (n.d.). MakerDAO. Retrieved from https://makerdao.com/en/
Oveit. (n.d.). NFT Tickets. Retrieved from https://oveit.com/nft-tickets/
Pendle Finance. (n.d.). Pendle Finance. Retrieved from https://www.pendle.finance/
Pendle Finance. (n.d.). vePENDLE Mechanisms - Protocol Mechanics. Retrieved from https://docs.pendle.finance/ProtocolMechanics/Mechanisms/vePENDLE
Pepe. (n.d.). Pepe. Retrieved from https://www.pepe.vip/
Solana. (n.d.). Solana. Retrieved from https://solana.com/
Tether. (n.d.). Tether. Retrieved from https://tether.to/
The Block. (2023). Practical Use Cases of Non-Fungible Tokens. Retrieved from https://www.theblock.co/learn/251481/practical-use-cases-of-non-fungible-tokens
Uniswap. (n.d.). Uniswap Interface. Retrieved from https://app.uniswap.org/swap?chain=mainnet
Wharton School. (2021). DeFi Beyond the Hype. Retrieved from https://wifpr.wharton.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/DeFi-Beyond-the-Hype.pdf
Section 5
Alchemy. (n.d.). Best Decentralized Storage Tools. Retrieved from https://www.alchemy.com/best/decentralized-storage-tools
Arweave. (n.d.). Arweave. Retrieved from https://www.arweave.org/
Celestia. (n.d.). Basics of Modular Blockchains: Modular and Monolithic Blockchains. Retrieved from https://celestia.org/learn/basics-of-modular-blockchains/modular-and-monolithic-blockchains/
Celestia. (n.d.). Celestia. Retrieved from https://celestia.org/
Celestia. (n.d.). What is Celestia? Retrieved from https://celestia.org/what-is-celestia/
Chainlink. (2024). Blockchain Oracles. Retrieved from https://chain.link/education/blockchain-oracles
Chainlink. (n.d.). CCIP Documentation. Retrieved from https://docs.chain.link/ccip
Chainlink. (n.d.). Chainlink. Retrieved from https://chain.link/
CoinGecko. (2024). Data Availability in Blockchain and Crypto. Retrieved from https://www.coingecko.com/learn/data-availability-blockchain-crypto
Cointelegraph. (2024). A Beginner's Guide to Understanding Wrapped Tokens and Wrapped Bitcoin. Retrieved from https://cointelegraph.com/learn/a-beginners-guide-to-understanding-wrapped-tokens-and-wrapped-bitcoin
Cointelegraph. (2024). Polygon Blockchain Explained: A Beginner's Guide to Matic. Retrieved from https://cointelegraph.com/learn/polygon-blockchain-explained-a-beginners-guide-to-matic
CosmWasm. (n.d.). CosmWasm. Retrieved from https://cosmwasm.com/
Ethereum. (n.d.). Ethereum. Retrieved from https://ethereum.org/en/
Ethereum. (2024). EVM Documentation. Retrieved from https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/evm/
Ethereum. (2024). Patricia Merkle Trie Documentation. Retrieved from https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/data-structures-and-encoding/patricia-merkle-trie/
Filecoin. (n.d.). Filecoin. Retrieved from https://filecoin.io/
Filecoin. (2024). Filecoin Documentation. Retrieved from https://docs.filecoin.io/
Filecoin. (2024). Filecoin Virtual Machine (FVM). Retrieved from https://fvm.filecoin.io/
GeeksforGeeks. (2024). Introduction to Merkle Tree. Retrieved from https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/introduction-to-merkle-tree/
IPFS. (n.d.). How IPFS Works: How IPFS Represents and Addresses Data. Retrieved from https://docs.ipfs.tech/concepts/how-ipfs-works/#how-ipfs-represents-and-addresses-data
Medium. (2024). What is Sharding in Blockchain? Retrieved from https://medium.com/@theblockchains/what-is-sharding-in-blockchain-a11dc10c54cf
NEO. (n.d.). NEO. Retrieved from https://neo.org/
Optimism. (2024). Rollup Overview - Optimism Documentation. Retrieved from https://docs.optimism.io/stack/protocol/rollup/overview
Solana. (2024). Solana Status - Uptime. Retrieved from https://status.solana.com/uptime
Squads. (n.d.). Solana SVM (Sealevel Virtual Machine). Retrieved from https://squads.so/blog/solana-svm-sealevel-virtual-machine
Stargate. (n.d.). Stargate Finance - Bridge. Retrieved from https://stargate.finance/bridge
SushiSwap. (n.d.). SushiSwap. Retrieved from https://www.sushi.com/swap
SushiSwap. (2023). SushiXSwap V2 - SushiSwap Blog. Retrieved from https://www.sushi.com/blog/sushixswap-v2
Unchained Crypto. (2023). EVM Compatibility. Retrieved from https://unchainedcrypto.com/evm-compatibility/
Wormhole. (2024). Wormhole Documentation. Retrieved from https://docs.wormhole.com/wormhole
YouTube. (2023). Data Availability & DA Layers EXPLAINED (Animated). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku8MwyUbOH8
zkSync. (n.d.). zkSync Transaction Lifecycle Documentation. Retrieved from https://docs.zksync.io/zk-stack/concepts/transaction-lifecycle
Section 6
Arkham Intelligence. (n.d.). Arkham Platform. Retrieved from https://platform.arkhamintelligence.com/
Blockchain.com. (n.d.). Blockchain Explorer. Retrieved from https://www.blockchain.com/explorer
Bubblemaps. (n.d.). Bubblemaps Case Studies. Retrieved from https://bubblemaps.io/case-studies
Bubblemaps. (n.d.). Bubblemaps for Ethereum. Retrieved from https://app.bubblemaps.io/eth/
CoinMarketCap. (n.d.). CoinMarketCap Academy. Retrieved from https://coinmarketcap.com/academy
CoinMarketCap. (2023). How to Use Arkham Intel: The Beginner's Guide. Retrieved from https://coinmarketcap.com/academy/article/how-to-use-arkham-intel-the-beginner-s-guide
DeBank. (n.d.). DeBank. Retrieved from https://debank.com/
DEXTools. (n.d.). DEXTools Hot Pairs. Retrieved from https://www.dextools.io/app/en/hot-pairs
Dune Analytics. (n.d.). Ethereum Restaking Analysis by Blocklytics. Retrieved from https://dune.com/blocklytics/ethereum-restaking
Dune Analytics. (n.d.). Dune Content Trends. Retrieved from https://dune.com/discover/content/trend
Dune Analytics. (n.d.). Dune Documentation. Retrieved from https://docs.dune.com/home
Etherscan. (n.d.). Etherscan. Retrieved from https://etherscan.io/
Etherscan. (n.d.). Etherscan Info. Retrieved from https://info.etherscan.com/
Koinly. (n.d.). Blockchain Explorers Guide. Retrieved from https://koinly.io/blog/blockchain-explorers/
Milk Road. (2024). DeFiLlama Review by Milk Road. Retrieved from https://milkroad.com/on-chain/defillama/
PolygonScan. (n.d.). PolygonScan. Retrieved from https://polygonscan.com/
Snowtrace. (n.d.). Snowtrace. Retrieved from https://snowtrace.io/
Solscan. (n.d.). Solscan. Retrieved from https://solscan.io/
Stakingbits. (2022). The Ultimate Guide to DeBank Portfolio Tracker. Retrieved from https://stakingbits.medium.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-debank-portfolio-tracker-109bc3fda364
YouTube. (n.d.). DEXTools Academy. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/c/DEXToolsAcademy
zkSync. (n.d.). zkSync Explorer. Retrieved from https://explorer.zksync.io/
Section 7
BBC. (2024). AI and Offensive Historical Images. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd11gzejgz4o
Bittensor. (2024). Bittensor Documentation. Retrieved from https://docs.bittensor.com/
Cointelegraph. (2024). How Can Third World Countries Counter Inflation Using Bitcoin? Retrieved from https://cointelegraph.com/learn/how-can-third-world-countries-counter-inflation-using-bitcoin
Financial Times. (n.d.). Banking the Unbanked: Why Emerging Markets Dominate Crypto Adoption. Retrieved from https://www.ft.com/partnercontent/kraken/banking-the-unbanked-why-emerging-markets-dominate-crypto-adoption.html?ref=thisweekinfintech.com
Fileverse. (n.d.). Fileverse Portal. Retrieved from https://fileverse.io/portal
GeeksforGeeks. (2024). Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (PBFT). Retrieved from https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/practical-byzantine-fault-tolerancepbft/
Gizmodo. (2024). AI Censorship and What Chatbots Won’t Tell You. Retrieved from https://gizmodo.com/we-tested-ai-censorship-here-s-what-chatbots-won-t-tel-1851370840
Grass. (2024. Grass: The First-Ever Layer 2 Data Rollup. Retrieved from https://www.getgrass.io/blog/grass-the-first-ever-layer-2-data-rollup
Guardian. (2024). Google AI Tool and Offensive Historical Images. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/mar/08/we-definitely-messed-up-why-did-google-ai-tool-make-offensive-historical-images
HubSpot. (2024). HubSpot Document. Retrieved from https://app.hubspot.com/documents/45150296/view/843862416?accessId=b9f6b6
Kaggle. (n.d.). Kaggle. Retrieved from https://www.kaggle.com/
OriginTrail. (n.d.). OriginTrail. Retrieved from https://origintrail.io/
Slice. (n.d.). Slice. Retrieved from https://slice.so/
The Verge. (2024). Google, Reddit, and AI Training Data. Retrieved from https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/22/24080165/google-reddit-ai-training-data
Yahoo Finance. (2024). The Cost of Training AI Could Soon Skyrocket. Retrieved from https://finance.yahoo.com/news/cost-training-ai-could-soon-101348308.html