interrelate_powertrax

A lot of people with good intentions in here. Hopefully I can add something to the pile.

Non Fungible Tokens

Think of them as a digital immutable certificate of authenticity. A Rembrandt is only worth anything if the buyer truly believes it was actually painted by Rembrandt. If Rembrandt had made an NFT along with his painting and when it was sold the token was transferred to the new owner the authenticity would be easier to prove. This is simplistic but is the reality of the actual use for NFT's, they are seen as more a financial tool for art but there best purpose if for proving ownership of whatever the contract contains. If you think about it when Oligarchs buy and sell painting to store in warehouses they don't really buy the painting they are simply buying an asset with a non fixed value with a fungible asset. A non fungible asset is only worth what someone will exchange for it, NFT's simply keep track of the asset.

Pretty Good Privacy

OP mentioned PGP and keys. Well cryptographic currency is no different, not least because the group that Satoshi was a part of was integral to the creation of PGP and the push back against the attempted criminalization of cryptography in the US. An address is simply a public key and to alter it you need the private key. No different to any encryption we use daily, the difference is the public ledger, the ledger allows the system to run without a central authority, though we can debate how decentralised it is with the monopoly ASICs created, this means that operations are immutable, traceable and provable. The alternative to a banking system. With the advantage of not having to trust a private, secretive, powerful institution with the altruistic goal of sharing wealth and the good of the world at its heart...

THE BEST CRYPTO

As for the best crypto, there is no right answer and anyone with any investment in the success of it (and the decline of fiat and banks!) wishes there were. It depends on what you want to do with it, this is my how I personally use it now:


Litecoin - It is fast, secure, widely available, compatible with BTCpay and cheap to transact. I would not use it as a store of value but it good for accepting payments and then converting to dirty fiat. Best for: Transactional payments from customers to be exchanged into dirty fiat


Bitcoin - A long term store of value, if you are in for the long haul then in reality Bitcoin is the Gold of crypto. Highly secure, massive investment from institutions if you want ignore the short term volatility then Bitcoin is a good hedge. Fungibility is a future worry imo. Best for: Long term store of value, hedge against fiat.


Ether - The "currency" of the Ethereum network. Transaction fees are volatile and far higher than Litecoin but fast as well, the network security is great. Also... Welcome to the world of DeFi. Ether is unlikely as stable a hedge as Bitcoin but the network has a vast community and many options when it comes to use. Best for: Fast secure transactions, entry into DeFi.


ZEC/Monero/*PrivacyCoins* - ZEC most cryptographically secure and private but dogged by low use and issues with the creators motivation (sorry Zooko). Monero less private but as secure and the creator does not have the same hold on it, truly decentralised. Other coins are available and each has their own fan base. Spend time understanding them if this is something you are interested in (it should be!). Best for: True financial sovereignty.


DAI/USDT/USDC/BUSD - Pegged to fiat currencies but created by others. Consider your options, the great USDT plug pull has yet to arrive, and may never, but remember that a peg is only as good as those guaranteeing it. Also remember that Dollars/Fiat are a terrible store of value as they constantly depreciate. If you insist on holding a depreciating asset then make sure you learn about DeFi (or even CeFiDeFi if you love others holding your hand) so you can at least track inflation.


Decentralized Finance

I won't talk to much about the but if you own crypto then you should be using it in the same way as you do fiat money. There is a lot to learn and remember that there is no one to call if things go wrong, you are your own bank and responsible for your own assets, take your time to relearn how to think about your finances and how we have become so reliant on trusting institution who have nothing but their own success in mind. Remember banks print money not just governments. If you do hold fiat tethered crypto then you can at least make sure you aren't losing money by earning some interest. For most people AAVE makes sense.


Security

You are your own bank. This doesn't mean you need air gapped laptops, safe rooms, signal blockers or a nice tin foil hat. What it does mean that you need to have a basic amount of common sense. For most people I suggest a hardware wallet, they are the perfect combination of ease of use, security and accessibility. Spend time deciding and understanding them the two major players Ledger and Trezor are the best bets for most people. On either side you will have people fighting there are issues with both but fundamentally both are relatively secure and safe. Get a hardware wallet, don't mess around with keys and software. Signing on computer with a key is inherently unsafe and although if done properly extremely safe the inconvenience inevitable means that most people end up forgoing the effort need to stay secure. There is no need for paranoia for most people, use your common sense and you will be fine.

ANONYMITY

Stay open source whenever possible. For payment BTCpay and for fiat exchange Bisq or spend crypto. Please spend crypto people, the irony of all this "investing" is that buy not giving it an actual use case it is harming the growth of your "investment" use crypto whenever you can to buy things.

Sorry for the long post but I hope it helps others in future. I am also aware that this post is a cliff notes and misses many things and contains some things that are debatable but I still hope that it is of some use to some people.