NFT

Dettol-tasting-menu

Oh that’s just the NFT / ordinal / inscriptions / Runes thingy. From my POV people simply found a loophole (after Taproot upgrade) to use the bitcoin blockchain as a cloud drive for pictures. Miners love it because it means they make $$$ from selling block space, but it dilutes the monetary function of Bitcoin, to the point that people sometimes cannot use the base chain for smaller amount (while L2s are not totally widespread just yet) Best money should be just money and nothing else. For this reason fiat is actually a better money if it’s not printed by the trillions. Bitcoin fixes that as it’s a digital money that can’t be printed and has zero usage outside of being money.

Key_nine

$DIGI, it is under a million in market cap but it looks like something with potential, it could fail like any other projects but it is definitely doing some different things than other coins. It wants to bridge the gap between the digital world and real life at its locations. It has one location so far but wants to be an IRL metaverse and NFT art display entertainment venue that only using QR, AR and crypto.

starts

Wanted to shout out cronos chain and specifically crow with knife (CAW). I've been on the chain since it launched and managed to get in on this meme project early. The team behind the first NFT project on the chain launched it. It spent a while in the 10-20m cap range and then popped off when crypto.com listed it. CDC now own about 25% on behalf of their users and they themselves own about 5% that they bought OTC to form additional liquidity on the main cronos DEX. They've built up 5000+ discord members and 9000+ wallets. It's been a wild ride so far. Been seeing a lot of CT influencers and Dev teams from Solana launching and shifting attention to Cronos the last couple weeks and I'm betting that capital will follow swiftly. As the first and biggest meme coin on the chain it should pop off. Obviously DYOR. It seems there could be big opportunities on cronos in the next couple of weeks, not just this memecoin so worth keeping an eye out. Anyways that's my shill. Keep an eye on cronos and crow with knife, looking forward to seeing what the next couple weeks bring.

mal-contented

$DUCKS Influencer marketing landing. NFT of a duck smoking weed soon. Dedicated team. Great community. Awesome meme. @DuckSmokingMeme 

Greggybone72

Look up "Bettina Warburg" she does a Ted Talks that explains why blockchain is important in business.. It's not just forex, there's more layers. Twitter X spaces is your friend.. 'NFT degens' gather on open calls where a dozen can speak and thousands can listen along. But go read on your own.. Actually read a white paper.. or look up "IOHK Ouroboros" follow the vision and question if there's a human need.. decide which company building on which blockchain is making an impact large enough to invest into. So it's not just a popularity contest, There's also computer science history being written. Developers, engineers, & artists collaborate to create companies to sell their digital project or service to the public. Do you wish to support their early endeavors by collecting their tokens? Decide if part of your goal is to use the property within your chosen ecosystem or is this a flip and move on thing. Are you adding to your staking walket long term? Any way you choose, make a plan you will stick to. Designate a paper notebook and a nice pen to this endeavor. Write everything down. 2FA your back up email. In 5 years you won't remember which email or which wallet app. Write it all down.

CointestMod

#Bitcoin Pro-Arguments Below is an argument written by a deleted user which won 1st place in the Bitcoin Pro-Arguments topic for a prior [Cointest](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_policy) round. > **First-Mover Advantage and The Network Effect** > > Bitcoin is currently the most popular cryptocurrency and market cap leader by a long shot. The [Bitcoin dominance chart](https://www.coingecko.com/en/global-charts) shows that Bitcoin represents 60% of the entire cryptocurrency market cap. This has increased from 40% in 2020. > > Bitcoin is the **gateway**. People start out with Bitcoin before checking out other cryptocurrencies. They're likely going to keep holding any Bitcoin they bought along the way. > > People will flock to whichever product has the largest user base. For half a decade, Bitcoin was almost synonymous with cryptocurrency. The Network Effect creates a **positive feedback loop** and makes Bitcoin's lead grow even more. > > If Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin were all released simultaneously, Bitcoin would lose to its PoW competitors because its competitors have cheaper fees with higher throughput. But the reality is that Bitcoin's first-mover advantage gave it such a huge head start that the others can't catch up. > > **Has the largest block reward for security** > > Due to its high price, Bitcoin has a huge [block reward of 6.5 BTC](https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/bitcoin/bitcoin-halving) (halves every 4 years) or ~$180k per block. This gives it the security lead because its block reward is so much bigger than other PoW cryptocurrencies, which attracts more miners. > > **Anti-censorship** > > Bitcoin provides partial censorship-resistance against sanctions and totalitarian government restrictions. It's much harder to prevent Bitcoin transactions than it is to prevent financial transactions at a centralized bank. [Legal sex workers](https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/24/22639356/onlyfans-ceo-tim-stokely-sexually-explicit-content-ban-banks) (e.g. Onlyfans) and [marijuana industries](https://www.leadingretirement.com/blog/cannabis-banking) are blocked from using traditional financial services due to social stigma. Even though they can operate legally, many TradFi banks avoid operating with them. Bitcoin provides those workers a way to transfer funds around that censorship. > > **Avoids Hyperinflation**: As long as governments keep causing high inflation through money-printing, people will run to Bitcoin for safety, which pumps up Bitcoin's price. > > **Considered a commodity by both SEC and CFTC**: Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency that both the SEC and CFTC have openly agreed is a commodity. And the CFTC is much less lawsuit-happy than the SEC. > > **Legal tender**: El Salvador has shown (despite some technical mishaps) that Bitcoin can be successfully used as legal tender for a country. > > **Ordinals provide utility** > > Even though Bitcoin Maxis hate Ordinals, this new protocol gives utility to Bitcoin and adds demand. NFT bros are using it as an **on-chain data storage layer** for their own blockchains (e.g. Ethereum, Stack). This has an advantage over IPFS since IPFS is stored in centralized databases instead of on-chain. > > This generates more fees for Bitcoin miners. Transaction fees have finally [risen to ~20 sats/vByte](https://mempool.space/graphs/mempool) on days with high Ordinals activity like Mar 22-24. This gives hope that there may be sufficient demand for Bitcoin as an on-chain data-storage layer even after the block subsidy eventually disappears due to halvings. > > **Pseudonymous**: Bitcoin's UTXO transactions can provide moderately-high levels of obscurity. A single wallet can produce a near-unlimited amount of addresses, and there's no way to link them unless they interact with each other. It's much harder to trace UTXO-based wallets than Account-based wallets because the former creates new UTXO addresses with each transaction while Account-based blockchain wallets typically reuse the same account. > > **Lightning transactions are near-instant and cheap** > > As long as you're spending small amounts of Bitcoin, you can use the Lightning network to make near-instant, sub-$0.01 transactions. Many Lightning nodes for merchants are connected to 3rd-party services that convert between cash and Lightning, making it easy to transfer Bitcoins. Consumers usually don't have to care about rebalancing issues since they're only spending small amounts. > > And the [total capacity of the Lightning Network](https://bitcoinvisuals.com/ln-capacity) in BTC keeps increasing steadily. > > **Cannot be counterfeited**: Cash can be counterfeited, but you can't fake Lightning transactions. Merchants have to deal with counterfeit cash in many markets around the world. > > **Bitcoin has a very strong community of die-hard supporters** > > A huge portion of Bitcoin supporters have become Bitcoin Maxis who will keep spreading their arguments, regardless of accuracy. Because Bitcoin is a gateway cryptocurrency, crypto newbies will encounter it first and gobble up these narratives because they don't have the experience to know their flaws. And they're very convincing when you keep repeating them in an echo chamber: > > * Maximum supply cap of 21M BTC vs Fed's money printer > * Amazing past-performance gains vs fiat > * Works as Store of Value (despite volatility) > * Had a "fair launch" without an ICO > * Is not a risky altcoin > * Is decentralized (based on largest number of miners) > * Has instant payments via the Lightning Network > > **Ultimately, people are mainly using crypto for speculative investing and long-term Store of Value. Most people don't care about technology, Defi, or utility. Thus Bitcoin is sufficient for their investment needs.** > > And since cryptocurrency value is largely based on a Keynesian Beauty Contest (i.e. you buy not based on your own value, but on what you think others are going to buy), people are going to keep buying Bitcoin as long as the investment narrative holds. ***** Would you like to learn more? [Click here](/r/CointestOfficial/comments/100p7vq/top_coins_bitcoin_proarguments_january_2023/) to be taken to the original topic-thread for this argument or you can scan through the [Cointest Archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Bitcoin) to find arguments on this topic in other rounds.

az226

I’m very technically savvy and my wife is highly proficient. We wanted to try to buy and sell an NFT from me to her. It was the most ridiculous difficult thing and made me convinced it was 99% money laundering because who would pain through the hoops and godawful ux for it. An extremely strong motivating factor.

Yuppiex

It’s similar but not the same ERC-20i embeds unique data within each token transaction, enhancing both fungibility and uniqueness. In contrast, ERC-404 bonds an NFT to an ERC-20 token to fractionalize ownership of the NFT. You can re-roll and evolve your erc20i based on your token holdings.

UglyDuckling00000

I’ve heard about it a few times now - it looks like a novel direction for dynamic memes… basically meme 2.0 with NFT-like properties. I am bullish on it for sure

EnzoFerrarisShades

Noob here by all means. Learnt the hard way through the 2021 bullrun. I still have a very small amount of SOL left in my phantom wallet from my failed NFT ventures of the past, and figured I may as well just throw it in a SOL memecoin or two as it's basically only 3% of what I actually put in initially! Trying to figure out the best source for hunting new SOL memecoins which I can then just swap my SOL for inside the phantom wallet. Any suggestions? (for both hunting memecoins, and for memecoins themselves)

CointestMod

#Bitcoin Pro-Arguments Below is an argument written by a deleted user which won 1st place in the Bitcoin Pro-Arguments topic for a prior [Cointest](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_policy) round. > **First-Mover Advantage and The Network Effect** > > Bitcoin is currently the most popular cryptocurrency and market cap leader by a long shot. The [Bitcoin dominance chart](https://www.coingecko.com/en/global-charts) shows that Bitcoin represents 60% of the entire cryptocurrency market cap. This has increased from 40% in 2020. > > Bitcoin is the **gateway**. People start out with Bitcoin before checking out other cryptocurrencies. They're likely going to keep holding any Bitcoin they bought along the way. > > People will flock to whichever product has the largest user base. For half a decade, Bitcoin was almost synonymous with cryptocurrency. The Network Effect creates a **positive feedback loop** and makes Bitcoin's lead grow even more. > > If Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin were all released simultaneously, Bitcoin would lose to its PoW competitors because its competitors have cheaper fees with higher throughput. But the reality is that Bitcoin's first-mover advantage gave it such a huge head start that the others can't catch up. > > **Has the largest block reward for security** > > Due to its high price, Bitcoin has a huge [block reward of 6.5 BTC](https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/bitcoin/bitcoin-halving) (halves every 4 years) or ~$180k per block. This gives it the security lead because its block reward is so much bigger than other PoW cryptocurrencies, which attracts more miners. > > **Anti-censorship** > > Bitcoin provides partial censorship-resistance against sanctions and totalitarian government restrictions. It's much harder to prevent Bitcoin transactions than it is to prevent financial transactions at a centralized bank. [Legal sex workers](https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/24/22639356/onlyfans-ceo-tim-stokely-sexually-explicit-content-ban-banks) (e.g. Onlyfans) and [marijuana industries](https://www.leadingretirement.com/blog/cannabis-banking) are blocked from using traditional financial services due to social stigma. Even though they can operate legally, many TradFi banks avoid operating with them. Bitcoin provides those workers a way to transfer funds around that censorship. > > **Avoids Hyperinflation**: As long as governments keep causing high inflation through money-printing, people will run to Bitcoin for safety, which pumps up Bitcoin's price. > > **Considered a commodity by both SEC and CFTC**: Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency that both the SEC and CFTC have openly agreed is a commodity. And the CFTC is much less lawsuit-happy than the SEC. > > **Legal tender**: El Salvador has shown (despite some technical mishaps) that Bitcoin can be successfully used as legal tender for a country. > > **Ordinals provide utility** > > Even though Bitcoin Maxis hate Ordinals, this new protocol gives utility to Bitcoin and adds demand. NFT bros are using it as an **on-chain data storage layer** for their own blockchains (e.g. Ethereum, Stack). This has an advantage over IPFS since IPFS is stored in centralized databases instead of on-chain. > > This generates more fees for Bitcoin miners. Transaction fees have finally [risen to ~20 sats/vByte](https://mempool.space/graphs/mempool) on days with high Ordinals activity like Mar 22-24. This gives hope that there may be sufficient demand for Bitcoin as an on-chain data-storage layer even after the block subsidy eventually disappears due to halvings. > > **Pseudonymous**: Bitcoin's UTXO transactions can provide moderately-high levels of obscurity. A single wallet can produce a near-unlimited amount of addresses, and there's no way to link them unless they interact with each other. It's much harder to trace UTXO-based wallets than Account-based wallets because the former creates new UTXO addresses with each transaction while Account-based blockchain wallets typically reuse the same account. > > **Lightning transactions are near-instant and cheap** > > As long as you're spending small amounts of Bitcoin, you can use the Lightning network to make near-instant, sub-$0.01 transactions. Many Lightning nodes for merchants are connected to 3rd-party services that convert between cash and Lightning, making it easy to transfer Bitcoins. Consumers usually don't have to care about rebalancing issues since they're only spending small amounts. > > And the [total capacity of the Lightning Network](https://bitcoinvisuals.com/ln-capacity) in BTC keeps increasing steadily. > > **Cannot be counterfeited**: Cash can be counterfeited, but you can't fake Lightning transactions. Merchants have to deal with counterfeit cash in many markets around the world. > > **Bitcoin has a very strong community of die-hard supporters** > > A huge portion of Bitcoin supporters have become Bitcoin Maxis who will keep spreading their arguments, regardless of accuracy. Because Bitcoin is a gateway cryptocurrency, crypto newbies will encounter it first and gobble up these narratives because they don't have the experience to know their flaws. And they're very convincing when you keep repeating them in an echo chamber: > > * Maximum supply cap of 21M BTC vs Fed's money printer > * Amazing past-performance gains vs fiat > * Works as Store of Value (despite volatility) > * Had a "fair launch" without an ICO > * Is not a risky altcoin > * Is decentralized (based on largest number of miners) > * Has instant payments via the Lightning Network > > **Ultimately, people are mainly using crypto for speculative investing and long-term Store of Value. Most people don't care about technology, Defi, or utility. Thus Bitcoin is sufficient for their investment needs.** > > And since cryptocurrency value is largely based on a Keynesian Beauty Contest (i.e. you buy not based on your own value, but on what you think others are going to buy), people are going to keep buying Bitcoin as long as the investment narrative holds. ***** Would you like to learn more? [Click here](/r/CointestOfficial/comments/100p7vq/top_coins_bitcoin_proarguments_january_2023/) to be taken to the original topic-thread for this argument or you can scan through the [Cointest Archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Bitcoin) to find arguments on this topic in other rounds.

ashurii22

I can think of three advantages: more privacy, more autonomy, more portability. If you mint your social media profile as an NFT, you don't need to give your email address, phone number, or any personal information away; you decide what to share with whom. And if you're connecting a wallet to a social app, you don't even need a password; short of losing the NFT or wallet access, there's nothing to lock you out. So instead of a site like Twitter allowing you to use their service (while collecting lots of data on you), you're consenting to let the app host your content. You can also take that profile to a different app running the same protocol. So you have options for exit if an app's community turns toxic or just isn't working for you; but equally important, you can branch out and keep the same identity across multiple platforms. It becomes more like the ID in your physical wallet, while being less intrusive than e.g. a Google ID. The tl;dr is that if blockchain cash removes middlemen, blockchain identity should do the same.

CointestMod

#Bitcoin Pro-Arguments Below is an argument written by a deleted user which won 1st place in the Bitcoin Pro-Arguments topic for a prior [Cointest](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_policy) round. > **First-Mover Advantage and The Network Effect** > > Bitcoin is currently the most popular cryptocurrency and market cap leader by a long shot. The [Bitcoin dominance chart](https://www.coingecko.com/en/global-charts) shows that Bitcoin represents 60% of the entire cryptocurrency market cap. This has increased from 40% in 2020. > > Bitcoin is the **gateway**. People start out with Bitcoin before checking out other cryptocurrencies. They're likely going to keep holding any Bitcoin they bought along the way. > > People will flock to whichever product has the largest user base. For half a decade, Bitcoin was almost synonymous with cryptocurrency. The Network Effect creates a **positive feedback loop** and makes Bitcoin's lead grow even more. > > If Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin were all released simultaneously, Bitcoin would lose to its PoW competitors because its competitors have cheaper fees with higher throughput. But the reality is that Bitcoin's first-mover advantage gave it such a huge head start that the others can't catch up. > > **Has the largest block reward for security** > > Due to its high price, Bitcoin has a huge [block reward of 6.5 BTC](https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/bitcoin/bitcoin-halving) (halves every 4 years) or ~$180k per block. This gives it the security lead because its block reward is so much bigger than other PoW cryptocurrencies, which attracts more miners. > > **Anti-censorship** > > Bitcoin provides partial censorship-resistance against sanctions and totalitarian government restrictions. It's much harder to prevent Bitcoin transactions than it is to prevent financial transactions at a centralized bank. [Legal sex workers](https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/24/22639356/onlyfans-ceo-tim-stokely-sexually-explicit-content-ban-banks) (e.g. Onlyfans) and [marijuana industries](https://www.leadingretirement.com/blog/cannabis-banking) are blocked from using traditional financial services due to social stigma. Even though they can operate legally, many TradFi banks avoid operating with them. Bitcoin provides those workers a way to transfer funds around that censorship. > > **Avoids Hyperinflation**: As long as governments keep causing high inflation through money-printing, people will run to Bitcoin for safety, which pumps up Bitcoin's price. > > **Considered a commodity by both SEC and CFTC**: Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency that both the SEC and CFTC have openly agreed is a commodity. And the CFTC is much less lawsuit-happy than the SEC. > > **Legal tender**: El Salvador has shown (despite some technical mishaps) that Bitcoin can be successfully used as legal tender for a country. > > **Ordinals provide utility** > > Even though Bitcoin Maxis hate Ordinals, this new protocol gives utility to Bitcoin and adds demand. NFT bros are using it as an **on-chain data storage layer** for their own blockchains (e.g. Ethereum, Stack). This has an advantage over IPFS since IPFS is stored in centralized databases instead of on-chain. > > This generates more fees for Bitcoin miners. Transaction fees have finally [risen to ~20 sats/vByte](https://mempool.space/graphs/mempool) on days with high Ordinals activity like Mar 22-24. This gives hope that there may be sufficient demand for Bitcoin as an on-chain data-storage layer even after the block subsidy eventually disappears due to halvings. > > **Pseudonymous**: Bitcoin's UTXO transactions can provide moderately-high levels of obscurity. A single wallet can produce a near-unlimited amount of addresses, and there's no way to link them unless they interact with each other. It's much harder to trace UTXO-based wallets than Account-based wallets because the former creates new UTXO addresses with each transaction while Account-based blockchain wallets typically reuse the same account. > > **Lightning transactions are near-instant and cheap** > > As long as you're spending small amounts of Bitcoin, you can use the Lightning network to make near-instant, sub-$0.01 transactions. Many Lightning nodes for merchants are connected to 3rd-party services that convert between cash and Lightning, making it easy to transfer Bitcoins. Consumers usually don't have to care about rebalancing issues since they're only spending small amounts. > > And the [total capacity of the Lightning Network](https://bitcoinvisuals.com/ln-capacity) in BTC keeps increasing steadily. > > **Cannot be counterfeited**: Cash can be counterfeited, but you can't fake Lightning transactions. Merchants have to deal with counterfeit cash in many markets around the world. > > **Bitcoin has a very strong community of die-hard supporters** > > A huge portion of Bitcoin supporters have become Bitcoin Maxis who will keep spreading their arguments, regardless of accuracy. Because Bitcoin is a gateway cryptocurrency, crypto newbies will encounter it first and gobble up these narratives because they don't have the experience to know their flaws. And they're very convincing when you keep repeating them in an echo chamber: > > * Maximum supply cap of 21M BTC vs Fed's money printer > * Amazing past-performance gains vs fiat > * Works as Store of Value (despite volatility) > * Had a "fair launch" without an ICO > * Is not a risky altcoin > * Is decentralized (based on largest number of miners) > * Has instant payments via the Lightning Network > > **Ultimately, people are mainly using crypto for speculative investing and long-term Store of Value. Most people don't care about technology, Defi, or utility. Thus Bitcoin is sufficient for their investment needs.** > > And since cryptocurrency value is largely based on a Keynesian Beauty Contest (i.e. you buy not based on your own value, but on what you think others are going to buy), people are going to keep buying Bitcoin as long as the investment narrative holds. ***** Would you like to learn more? [Click here](/r/CointestOfficial/comments/100p7vq/top_coins_bitcoin_proarguments_january_2023/) to be taken to the original topic-thread for this argument or you can scan through the [Cointest Archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Bitcoin) to find arguments on this topic in other rounds.

EeeeJay

I think the system will make legitimate voting better, but don't forget that there were real tampering attempts and we escaped them by luck. Using a blockchain to manage and verify it all improves security for less hours worked overall, less trust needed in individual vote centres, allows people to easily and securely vote, remotely as an option, no/minimal postal lag. I used this example elsewhere to address similar concerns to yours:  Each person has a govt blockchain account already linked to their ID/licence/whatever. When voting opens, each wallet is given a token (an NFT linked to that specific election) that they can then send to the account of their choice. A one time/temporary address can be used so votes can't be traced if someone's account address is public knowledge. This can all be anonymised while remaining totally verifiable. One vote only, anonymous, automatically counted/tallied, each town could run a node at the voting centre, any person could run a node for the vote casting period. I work in voting centres, the total amount of hours put in at one election on counting/tallying alone could easily cover development of this system. Even if it took two or more years worth of effort, I'd really hope that an open and fair democracy could continue for hundreds of years. It's digital so could be used by any country with slight modification, just how new blockchains are made from the good few now. Not forgetting the massive boost to research and study that would flow into the crypto space if it started being used this way. So yes, it's really worth it.

CointestMod

#Chainlink Con-Arguments Below is a Chainlink con-argument written by etj103007. > **What is Chainlink?** > > *Disclaimer: I have interacted with smart contracts using Chainlink, though I don’t hold any of the token itself.* > > Chainlink is an oracle network, allowing smart contracts to receive (and send) external information. In short, it allows the blockchain to interact with the outside world. > > It is supported on many different blockchains, including the Ethereum Mainnet, its L2s, and sidechains such as Polygon. > > However, the Chainlink network itself is not a blockchain. Instead, it calls itself “blockchain-agnostic” meaning it can theoretically be used on any chain that wants to support it. > > Say you want send 10$ of a coin or token to a certain address every day. Well, if it was a stablecoin, it’d be pretty easy. But maybe it’s Ethereum, or WBTC, or some other token that fluctuates in price. As such, the amount of said token/coin worth 10$ always changes. Using Chainlink, you can avail the price of that token/coin, and be able to calculate the exact amount to send so that it equals 10$. There are many other situations just like this that the Chainlink network is used for. > > The Chainlink token serves a niche; it is used to pay the node operators for the data they deliver. Recently, LINK staking has launched with the advent of Chainlink Staking v0.1. This allows operators and users to stake their LINK to secure the network. > > Chainlink is used as an oracle by various DeFi protocols like AAVE, dYdX, Synthetix, by various NFT projects such as those created by the NBA, even decentralized insurance (Etherisc) and more. ([https://blog.chain.link/smart-contract-use-cases/](https://blog.chain.link/smart-contract-use-cases/)) > > # Pros of Chainlink (LINK) > > **1. Chainlink is secure, scalable, and reliable.** > > The nature of being a Chainlink node operator maintains these 3 qualities. Node operators are required to follow a set of guidelines for their nodes to ensure security. For example, nodes have to have backups for the nodes connecting to their data sources, snapshots of the chain for syncing, Ethereum to pay for gas, and more. > > Being decentralized and relying on the blockchain to secure the data feed transactions pretty much guarantees its security as well. > > Node operators also do their best to optimize the performance of their nodes and have also released multiple developments to increase scalability, such as the Off-Chain Reporting upgrade which has reduced operating costs by 90% ([https://blog.chain.link/off-chain-reporting-live-on-mainnet/](https://blog.chain.link/off-chain-reporting-live-on-mainnet/)) > > As said before, Chainlink (being based on smart contracts) can theoretically be used on any blockchain that wishes to adopt it. And with the use cases mentioned above ([https://blog.chain.link/smart-contract-use-cases/](https://blog.chain.link/smart-contract-use-cases/)), the only thing it needs is developers willing to adopt it into their respective blockchains. > > The Chainlink network also prides itself on its reliability. Being serviced by independent and reputable node operators such as Infura, Swisscom (telecom company), Huobi, Binance, and others, it relies on this network of operators to source the data needed onchain. As node operators need to stake their tokens as collateral, it also challenges them to offer good performance. > > For example, Chainlink held an “oracle Olympics” challenging operators to keep their uptime at 100% while undergoing several challenges. While 100% is impossible, the winners guaranteed 99.99%, ensuring that their nodes would be available for that amount of time while still surviving thru challenges. > > **2. Chainlink’s recently launched Chainlink Staking v.0.1 allows users to stake their tokens while securing the networks' nodes.** > > While currently only supporting the ETH/USD data feed on mainnet Ethereum, other data feeds will soon be supported. Meanwhile, Staking 0.2 is planned in 9-12 months and is expected to bring updates and developments to staking, and also allow withdrawals of currently staked LINK. > > Just like traditional staking, this version allows users to secure the network; unlike POS blockchains, Chainlink doesn’t run on a blockchain so stakers secure by raising alerts (if the oracle doesn’t report an update in 3 hours, for example). If the alerts are valid, they can earn LINK, improving the security of the network by penalizing unresponsive nodes. > > Reputation systems for nodes have also been developed, ensuring that nodes maintain their good performance and continue providing correct oracle prices. > > These two systems combined ensure every node performs well and allow users in the ecosystem to earn rewards while securing the network. > > **In conclusion:** > > Chainlink Network and its token will continue its developments in the next years as the demand for oracles increases across the crypto space. Its' progress in its tokenomics with the start of staking while simultaneously ensuring the performance of its nodes will be welcomed by users of the network. And as more and more chains support Chainlink, it won't be long until it'll be found everywhere in DeFi and other sectors. > > TLDR: LINK and its network is used in many sectors of crypto, is secure, scalable, and reliable, while its' tokenomics continue to progress. ***** Would you like to learn more? Check out the [Cointest archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Chainlink) to find submissions for other topics.

CointestMod

#Chainlink Pro-Arguments Below is a Chainlink pro-argument written by etj103007. > **What is Chainlink?** > > *Disclaimer: I have interacted with smart contracts using Chainlink, though I don’t hold any of the token itself.* > > Chainlink is an oracle network, allowing smart contracts to receive (and send) external information. In short, it allows the blockchain to interact with the outside world. > > It is supported on many different blockchains, including the Ethereum Mainnet, its L2s, and sidechains such as Polygon. > > However, the Chainlink network itself is not a blockchain. Instead, it calls itself “blockchain-agnostic” meaning it can theoretically be used on any chain that wants to support it. > > Say you want send 10$ of a coin or token to a certain address every day. Well, if it was a stablecoin, it’d be pretty easy. But maybe it’s Ethereum, or WBTC, or some other token that fluctuates in price. As such, the amount of said token/coin worth 10$ always changes. Using Chainlink, you can avail the price of that token/coin, and be able to calculate the exact amount to send so that it equals 10$. There are many other situations just like this that the Chainlink network is used for. > > The Chainlink token serves a niche; it is used to pay the node operators for the data they deliver. Recently, LINK staking has launched with the advent of Chainlink Staking v0.1. This allows operators and users to stake their LINK to secure the network. > > Chainlink is used as an oracle by various DeFi protocols like AAVE, dYdX, Synthetix, by various NFT projects such as those created by the NBA, even decentralized insurance (Etherisc) and more. ([https://blog.chain.link/smart-contract-use-cases/](https://blog.chain.link/smart-contract-use-cases/)) > > # Pros of Chainlink (LINK) > > **1. Chainlink is secure, scalable, and reliable.** > > The nature of being a Chainlink node operator maintains these 3 qualities. Node operators are required to follow a set of guidelines for their nodes to ensure security. For example, nodes have to have backups for the nodes connecting to their data sources, snapshots of the chain for syncing, Ethereum to pay for gas, and more. > > Being decentralized and relying on the blockchain to secure the data feed transactions pretty much guarantees its security as well. > > Node operators also do their best to optimize the performance of their nodes and have also released multiple developments to increase scalability, such as the Off-Chain Reporting upgrade which has reduced operating costs by 90% ([https://blog.chain.link/off-chain-reporting-live-on-mainnet/](https://blog.chain.link/off-chain-reporting-live-on-mainnet/)) > > As said before, Chainlink (being based on smart contracts) can theoretically be used on any blockchain that wishes to adopt it. And with the use cases mentioned above ([https://blog.chain.link/smart-contract-use-cases/](https://blog.chain.link/smart-contract-use-cases/)), the only thing it needs is developers willing to adopt it into their respective blockchains. > > The Chainlink network also prides itself on its reliability. Being serviced by independent and reputable node operators such as Infura, Swisscom (telecom company), Huobi, Binance, and others, it relies on this network of operators to source the data needed onchain. As node operators need to stake their tokens as collateral, it also challenges them to offer good performance. > > For example, Chainlink held an “oracle Olympics” challenging operators to keep their uptime at 100% while undergoing several challenges. While 100% is impossible, the winners guaranteed 99.99%, ensuring that their nodes would be available for that amount of time while still surviving thru challenges. > > **2. Chainlink’s recently launched Chainlink Staking v.0.1 allows users to stake their tokens while securing the networks' nodes.** > > While currently only supporting the ETH/USD data feed on mainnet Ethereum, other data feeds will soon be supported. Meanwhile, Staking 0.2 is planned in 9-12 months and is expected to bring updates and developments to staking, and also allow withdrawals of currently staked LINK. > > Just like traditional staking, this version allows users to secure the network; unlike POS blockchains, Chainlink doesn’t run on a blockchain so stakers secure by raising alerts (if the oracle doesn’t report an update in 3 hours, for example). If the alerts are valid, they can earn LINK, improving the security of the network by penalizing unresponsive nodes. > > Reputation systems for nodes have also been developed, ensuring that nodes maintain their good performance and continue providing correct oracle prices. > > These two systems combined ensure every node performs well and allow users in the ecosystem to earn rewards while securing the network. > > **In conclusion:** > > Chainlink Network and its token will continue its developments in the next years as the demand for oracles increases across the crypto space. Its' progress in its tokenomics with the start of staking while simultaneously ensuring the performance of its nodes will be welcomed by users of the network. And as more and more chains support Chainlink, it won't be long until it'll be found everywhere in DeFi and other sectors. > > TLDR: LINK and its network is used in many sectors of crypto, is secure, scalable, and reliable, while its' tokenomics continue to progress. ***** Would you like to learn more? Check out the [Cointest archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Chainlink) to find submissions for other topics.

CointestMod

#Chainlink Con-Arguments Below is a Chainlink con-argument written by etj103007. > **What is Chainlink?** > > *Disclaimer: I have interacted with smart contracts using Chainlink, though I don’t hold any of the token itself.* > > Chainlink is an oracle network, allowing smart contracts to receive (and send) external information. In short, it allows the blockchain to interact with the outside world. > > It is supported on many different blockchains, including the Ethereum Mainnet, its L2s, and sidechains such as Polygon. > > However, the Chainlink network itself is not a blockchain. Instead, it calls itself “blockchain-agnostic” meaning it can theoretically be used on any chain that wants to support it. > > Say you want send 10$ of a coin or token to a certain address every day. Well, if it was a stablecoin, it’d be pretty easy. But maybe it’s Ethereum, or WBTC, or some other token that fluctuates in price. As such, the amount of said token/coin worth 10$ always changes. Using Chainlink, you can avail the price of that token/coin, and be able to calculate the exact amount to send so that it equals 10$. There are many other situations just like this that the Chainlink network is used for. > > The Chainlink token serves a niche; it is used to pay the node operators for the data they deliver. Recently, LINK staking has launched with the advent of Chainlink Staking v0.1. This allows operators and users to stake their LINK to secure the network. > > Chainlink is used as an oracle by various DeFi protocols like AAVE, dYdX, Synthetix, by various NFT projects such as those created by the NBA, even decentralized insurance (Etherisc) and more. ([https://blog.chain.link/smart-contract-use-cases/](https://blog.chain.link/smart-contract-use-cases/)) > > # Pros of Chainlink (LINK) > > **1. Chainlink is secure, scalable, and reliable.** > > The nature of being a Chainlink node operator maintains these 3 qualities. Node operators are required to follow a set of guidelines for their nodes to ensure security. For example, nodes have to have backups for the nodes connecting to their data sources, snapshots of the chain for syncing, Ethereum to pay for gas, and more. > > Being decentralized and relying on the blockchain to secure the data feed transactions pretty much guarantees its security as well. > > Node operators also do their best to optimize the performance of their nodes and have also released multiple developments to increase scalability, such as the Off-Chain Reporting upgrade which has reduced operating costs by 90% ([https://blog.chain.link/off-chain-reporting-live-on-mainnet/](https://blog.chain.link/off-chain-reporting-live-on-mainnet/)) > > As said before, Chainlink (being based on smart contracts) can theoretically be used on any blockchain that wishes to adopt it. And with the use cases mentioned above ([https://blog.chain.link/smart-contract-use-cases/](https://blog.chain.link/smart-contract-use-cases/)), the only thing it needs is developers willing to adopt it into their respective blockchains. > > The Chainlink network also prides itself on its reliability. Being serviced by independent and reputable node operators such as Infura, Swisscom (telecom company), Huobi, Binance, and others, it relies on this network of operators to source the data needed onchain. As node operators need to stake their tokens as collateral, it also challenges them to offer good performance. > > For example, Chainlink held an “oracle Olympics” challenging operators to keep their uptime at 100% while undergoing several challenges. While 100% is impossible, the winners guaranteed 99.99%, ensuring that their nodes would be available for that amount of time while still surviving thru challenges. > > **2. Chainlink’s recently launched Chainlink Staking v.0.1 allows users to stake their tokens while securing the networks' nodes.** > > While currently only supporting the ETH/USD data feed on mainnet Ethereum, other data feeds will soon be supported. Meanwhile, Staking 0.2 is planned in 9-12 months and is expected to bring updates and developments to staking, and also allow withdrawals of currently staked LINK. > > Just like traditional staking, this version allows users to secure the network; unlike POS blockchains, Chainlink doesn’t run on a blockchain so stakers secure by raising alerts (if the oracle doesn’t report an update in 3 hours, for example). If the alerts are valid, they can earn LINK, improving the security of the network by penalizing unresponsive nodes. > > Reputation systems for nodes have also been developed, ensuring that nodes maintain their good performance and continue providing correct oracle prices. > > These two systems combined ensure every node performs well and allow users in the ecosystem to earn rewards while securing the network. > > **In conclusion:** > > Chainlink Network and its token will continue its developments in the next years as the demand for oracles increases across the crypto space. Its' progress in its tokenomics with the start of staking while simultaneously ensuring the performance of its nodes will be welcomed by users of the network. And as more and more chains support Chainlink, it won't be long until it'll be found everywhere in DeFi and other sectors. > > TLDR: LINK and its network is used in many sectors of crypto, is secure, scalable, and reliable, while its' tokenomics continue to progress. ***** Would you like to learn more? Check out the [Cointest archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Chainlink) to find submissions for other topics.

CointestMod

#Chainlink Pro-Arguments Below is a Chainlink pro-argument written by CreepToeCurrentSea. > Chainlink is a decentralized and open source Oracle network. Sergey Nazarov and Steve Ellis developed it in 2017. Chainlink's primary function is to act as a link between smart contracts on smart contracting platforms and external data sources, allowing smart contracts to securely access off-chain data feeds. In other words, it serves as a connection point between smart contracts and off-chain environments. Its native token LINK is used as a payment token as well as a work token. LINK is a payment token used to reward Chainlink node operators for providing Oracle services. As a work token, LINK can be staked as collateral by node operators to provide oracle services. > > # PROs > > **Unique Function** > > * As mentioned in the introduction, Chainlink serves as a link between smart contracts and off-chain environments. This means that Chainlink enables smart contracts to interact with real-world data and services that exist outside of blockchain networks, broadening the use-case and future potential of smart contracts beyond crypto and into the real world. It's also a very flexible system that can be configured so that Oracle networks can be made up of any combination of node operators and data providers, with different network parameters like update frequency, fee payment amounts, and so on. Instead of trying to be the next Bitcoin or the Ethereum Killer, Chainlink thrives on it's unique utilities and functions that it just acts as another layer in blockchain technology. > > **Various Use-Cases** > > * Chainlink has one of the best use cases in both crypto and in the real world. According to their website, its use cases include DeFi, Enterprise, Insurance, NFT, and Gaming. Social Implact. as well as Climate Markets. By acting as the omni-bridge of crypto, it enables real-world data to be transferred into blockchains/networks, and vice versa by allowing blockchains/networks to send information/data into real-world events. All of this occurs while remaining decentralized, tamper-resistant, and secure. > > **Staking** > > * Chainlink also provides a staking mechanism that "adds a new layer of cryptoeconomic security," according to their website. With this feature, network users can earn rewards for increasing the security guarantees and user assurances of Oracle services by backing them up with staked LINK tokens. As a result, the Chainlink network is more secure, participants are rewarded, and they can play an important role in the network's development. > > **Support for Web3** > > * Web3 is still a bit of a buzzword these days, as not many people understand it. Through their BUILD program, Chainlink assists Web3 projects by providing them with enhanced access to Chainlink services and technical support. This will benefit Chainlink in the long run as the future is likely to bring more technological advancements, as well as up and coming Web3 projects that require Chainlink's security and reliability. > > *Sources:* > > [*https://research.chain.link/whitepaper-v2.pdf*](https://research.chain.link/whitepaper-v2.pdf) > > [*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chainlink\_(blockchain)*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chainlink_(blockchain)) > > [*https://chain.link/use-cases*](https://chain.link/use-cases) > > [*https://chain.link/economics/staking*](https://chain.link/economics/staking) > > [*https://chain.link/economics/build-program*](https://chain.link/economics/build-program) > > [*https://consensys.github.io/blockchainSecurityDB/projects/chainlink/*](https://consensys.github.io/blockchainSecurityDB/projects/chainlink/) ***** Would you like to learn more? Check out the [Cointest archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Chainlink) to find submissions for other topics.

TraipReddit

*"The only possible application I could ever endorse would be if a famous modern day artist such as Banksy released some NFT's."* British artist Damien Hirst did a NFT project in 2022 called [The Currency](https://heni.com/nft/more-info/the-currency), consisting in 10.000 paintings, each of which could be purchased either in a physical or digital (NFT) form. If the buyer chose the physical version, then the NFT counterpart would be burnt, and vice-versa.

coinfeeds-bot

tldr; SolForge Fusion, a collectible deck-builder game developed by Stone Blade Entertainment, is set to launch into Web3 with support from Animoca Brands, Solana Foundation, and MatrixPort. The game, co-created by Richard Garfield and Justin Gary, will allow players to mint algorithmically generated decks as tradeable digital assets and earn through rare unlocks. A token and NFT launch is planned for early June 2024, introducing specialty decks and weekly drops, enhancing player ownership and community engagement. *This summary is auto generated by a bot and not meant to replace reading the original article. As always, DYOR.

Whiskeywonder

What people don’t realize is blockchain probably is going to be a huge part of the tech future of automated data, IOT, AI, NFT etc etc. And even though crypto seems like bullshit what’s really happening is a modern space race for who will be the major companies and technologies of that future. Without all this funding the development in crypto would take far longer. Money is really pushing hard innovation and in the end the best will win.

OMFGROFLMAO2

You're a dev, I'm a dev. Imagine this: you connect your wallet to eBay and you pay for an item, you get an NFT. Then you connect your wallet to the UPS site, it checks your NFT, you track your item automatically. It arrives, you sign the receipt, you get a second NFT, eBay reads it as delivered, and releases the money to the seller. Then you connect your wallet to Amazon, it reads you already bought a 3D printer on eBay, and offers you 5% discount on resins with a 10% discount so you don't buy them at eBay. You login to your PC, you automatically connect your wallet, it reads your Photoshop license, your Windows license, your Office license. You can use those programs. I see the future, it's a dystopic connection of everything.

LacCoupeOnZees

There’s two crypto industries. The one dominated by billionaires and investment funds and the one dominated by NFT shilling pump and dump podcasters

CloserToTheStars

Yuga labs bought a lot of other projects and also started many more including game studios and art houses. It wanted to be the tencent of NFT's. But with the gigantic market swings in crypto related equity, this was a very very bold company decision with a lot of problems on the horizon like losing creative focus.

JustSomeBadAdvice

Serious answer to your questions. Like you, I'm a developer, and like you I try to be practical. You're absolutely right that blockchains aren't good for most things, at least today. There's not a lot you can do with them currently, and many of the ideas people have are either unworkable or straight up scams. Realistically, they're not that different from computers in the late 1970's and early 1980's. At that point in history there was no functional internet, computers couldn't talk to you, and software was either specifically developed for a specific purpose at great expense (for computers that were also very expensive), or just didn't exist. There often wasn't even a command line for shell commands. Despite this, computers continually grew in popularity throughout that time period for those who could get their hands on one and actually use it. Computers didn't become generally useful like we think of today until basically Windows 95 hit the market. To quote Hewlett-Packard management when Steve Wozniak offered them his computer 5 different times, "What would a normal person ever want with a computer????" So now backing up - Much of blockchain tech is useless or scammy today, you got that part right. And Blockchains are bad solutions for many problems programmers & businesses encounter. So what about in the future? Fundamentally what Satoshi solved with Bitcoin was trust. Blockchain is at heart a timestamping system that verifies and maintains the order of events that happen (transactions), it's even in his second paragraph of Satoshi's whitepaper. So applications of blockchain that don't involve any issues of trust are usually not a good fit - However, trust underpins a lot more of our society than you think when we get to issues of governmental power and control. So the #1, by far, killer potential application for Blockchains is money. And the advantages are that Bitcoin is fundamentally a finite commodity like Gold that cannot be inflated or devalued, teleports long distances in minutes or seconds, can store or transfer almost any amount of value for a fraction of the cost of secure storage for gold/cash, and can be anonymous when used with carefully for that purpose. Even there it falls short though, because the system struggles to scale to handle global transaction volumes and the layer-2 systems have substantial limitations in rapid increases in complexity to be used. So ultimately Bitcoin is good for money/value storage and transfer of larger sizes, large size international payment settlement, and for anti-government monetary uses. Not useless, but not great. But Ethereum and other coins have added far more than the limited capabilities of Bitcoin. NFT's are stupid, but the idea behind NFT's is not - The idea that you can "own" a digital "thing" the same as you can own a physical thing. A lot more infrastructure, systems, support, and adoption need to be built up for that to reach its actual potential, which will take years if not a decade, but I personally view that idea as very valuable. And there's a lot more that will become possible with Ethereum as more infrastructure gets built. As you mentioned, EVM code can only interact with things on the blockchain - Which right now is very little. But as oracles bring real-world information onto the blockchain, as other systems build interfaces, more becomes possible. It's just going to take awhile. What might that look like? I don't know, any more than the geeks in the late 1970's could envision the internet of 2010 -- All they knew was, it was cool and it had potential. Two final things where blockchains could be good gets back to trust -- Supply chain management, and real estate title transfer & escrow. Supply chain management is a situation where people who have never met and who have no reason to trust eachother can benefit from sharing information, potentially publicly. Today even finding who to talk to to figure out where something was made and with what materials is nearly impossible. Foreign producers, especially those seeking to spread the word of their high quality products, can benefit by ensuring their products are publicly traceable for someone who has the identifiers in front of them. Which could benefit the consumers seeking to buy similar products or find discontinued parts/replacements, regulators seeking to trace potential health or safety threats, and middlemen attempting to prove / demonstrate the authenticity of their products. In real estate & title transfer, currently escrow costs are substantial because escrow agents must take on an active role and an active risk in title transfer and money escrow. 99.9% of these have no problems, it's just security plus shuffling numbers around with some verification. Blockchains with monetary value provide 2-of-3 escrows where the escrow agents wouldn't need to do anything for those 99.9% of cases, and smart contracts provide a way to automate the disbursement of fees, taxes, transaction recordkeeping, and ownership transferring. In most developed places deed and land ownership records are public information even today, so the public nature of Blockchains makes this a natural fit. Of course there's control and fraud-correction problems since Blockchains are designed to be irreversible and un-controllable, but there's no reason they HAVE to be that way for a purpose-built system for real estate recordkeeping. Can any of this be done today or this year? Not a chance. A decade from today? Quite possibly in some areas. So all said, if anyone says "Blockchains & cryptocurrency are useless for average people!" they are absolutely correct, today. In the future, I find it likely that people will end up using Blockchains regularly without even realizing it - Likely on the back-end of company transactions & settlement, or as a base system for recordkeeping like the above 2 examples. Will it happen? Who knows. We're just geeks in the 1970's, and we're playing with cool shit.

TheBlacktom

Look at the fundamentals. What does it actually change? What is the innovation? What is the added value? For some main coins and maybe niche projects there is something valuable that wouldn't exists without a blockchain, but for most of the stuff, it's a big scam, accounting fraud, money laundering. I would focus on the **blockchain** part of the story, not the **coin, token, NFT, crypto**, etc keywords. Think about what a blockchain could accomplish that wasn't feasible before. In my opinion it could be a solution in an AI dominated world to prove someone actually wrote or said something. Proof of authenticity will be very important in the near future. People need a way to know what is real and original.

CointestMod

#Bitcoin Pro-Arguments Below is an argument written by a deleted user which won 1st place in the Bitcoin Pro-Arguments topic for a prior [Cointest](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_policy) round. > **First-Mover Advantage and The Network Effect** > > Bitcoin is currently the most popular cryptocurrency and market cap leader by a long shot. The [Bitcoin dominance chart](https://www.coingecko.com/en/global-charts) shows that Bitcoin represents 60% of the entire cryptocurrency market cap. This has increased from 40% in 2020. > > Bitcoin is the **gateway**. People start out with Bitcoin before checking out other cryptocurrencies. They're likely going to keep holding any Bitcoin they bought along the way. > > People will flock to whichever product has the largest user base. For half a decade, Bitcoin was almost synonymous with cryptocurrency. The Network Effect creates a **positive feedback loop** and makes Bitcoin's lead grow even more. > > If Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin were all released simultaneously, Bitcoin would lose to its PoW competitors because its competitors have cheaper fees with higher throughput. But the reality is that Bitcoin's first-mover advantage gave it such a huge head start that the others can't catch up. > > **Has the largest block reward for security** > > Due to its high price, Bitcoin has a huge [block reward of 6.5 BTC](https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/bitcoin/bitcoin-halving) (halves every 4 years) or ~$180k per block. This gives it the security lead because its block reward is so much bigger than other PoW cryptocurrencies, which attracts more miners. > > **Anti-censorship** > > Bitcoin provides partial censorship-resistance against sanctions and totalitarian government restrictions. It's much harder to prevent Bitcoin transactions than it is to prevent financial transactions at a centralized bank. [Legal sex workers](https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/24/22639356/onlyfans-ceo-tim-stokely-sexually-explicit-content-ban-banks) (e.g. Onlyfans) and [marijuana industries](https://www.leadingretirement.com/blog/cannabis-banking) are blocked from using traditional financial services due to social stigma. Even though they can operate legally, many TradFi banks avoid operating with them. Bitcoin provides those workers a way to transfer funds around that censorship. > > **Avoids Hyperinflation**: As long as governments keep causing high inflation through money-printing, people will run to Bitcoin for safety, which pumps up Bitcoin's price. > > **Considered a commodity by both SEC and CFTC**: Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency that both the SEC and CFTC have openly agreed is a commodity. And the CFTC is much less lawsuit-happy than the SEC. > > **Legal tender**: El Salvador has shown (despite some technical mishaps) that Bitcoin can be successfully used as legal tender for a country. > > **Ordinals provide utility** > > Even though Bitcoin Maxis hate Ordinals, this new protocol gives utility to Bitcoin and adds demand. NFT bros are using it as an **on-chain data storage layer** for their own blockchains (e.g. Ethereum, Stack). This has an advantage over IPFS since IPFS is stored in centralized databases instead of on-chain. > > This generates more fees for Bitcoin miners. Transaction fees have finally [risen to ~20 sats/vByte](https://mempool.space/graphs/mempool) on days with high Ordinals activity like Mar 22-24. This gives hope that there may be sufficient demand for Bitcoin as an on-chain data-storage layer even after the block subsidy eventually disappears due to halvings. > > **Pseudonymous**: Bitcoin's UTXO transactions can provide moderately-high levels of obscurity. A single wallet can produce a near-unlimited amount of addresses, and there's no way to link them unless they interact with each other. It's much harder to trace UTXO-based wallets than Account-based wallets because the former creates new UTXO addresses with each transaction while Account-based blockchain wallets typically reuse the same account. > > **Lightning transactions are near-instant and cheap** > > As long as you're spending small amounts of Bitcoin, you can use the Lightning network to make near-instant, sub-$0.01 transactions. Many Lightning nodes for merchants are connected to 3rd-party services that convert between cash and Lightning, making it easy to transfer Bitcoins. Consumers usually don't have to care about rebalancing issues since they're only spending small amounts. > > And the [total capacity of the Lightning Network](https://bitcoinvisuals.com/ln-capacity) in BTC keeps increasing steadily. > > **Cannot be counterfeited**: Cash can be counterfeited, but you can't fake Lightning transactions. Merchants have to deal with counterfeit cash in many markets around the world. > > **Bitcoin has a very strong community of die-hard supporters** > > A huge portion of Bitcoin supporters have become Bitcoin Maxis who will keep spreading their arguments, regardless of accuracy. Because Bitcoin is a gateway cryptocurrency, crypto newbies will encounter it first and gobble up these narratives because they don't have the experience to know their flaws. And they're very convincing when you keep repeating them in an echo chamber: > > * Maximum supply cap of 21M BTC vs Fed's money printer > * Amazing past-performance gains vs fiat > * Works as Store of Value (despite volatility) > * Had a "fair launch" without an ICO > * Is not a risky altcoin > * Is decentralized (based on largest number of miners) > * Has instant payments via the Lightning Network > > **Ultimately, people are mainly using crypto for speculative investing and long-term Store of Value. Most people don't care about technology, Defi, or utility. Thus Bitcoin is sufficient for their investment needs.** > > And since cryptocurrency value is largely based on a Keynesian Beauty Contest (i.e. you buy not based on your own value, but on what you think others are going to buy), people are going to keep buying Bitcoin as long as the investment narrative holds. ***** Would you like to learn more? [Click here](/r/CointestOfficial/comments/100p7vq/top_coins_bitcoin_proarguments_january_2023/) to be taken to the original topic-thread for this argument or you can scan through the [Cointest Archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Bitcoin) to find arguments on this topic in other rounds.

Jaythiest

There are a lot of people that will tell you that THEY are a Guru. But there are very few people that will point to them and confirm it. You are off to a good start looking for some friendly communities on discord but be very wary there as well. But ApeX has a trading App and Discord and are very helpful and friendly there. CryptoHopper is an automated trading bot 🤖 so everyone in that discord is focused on trading. KillerWhaleCrypto is a trading group that writes scripts for CryptoHopper and they are very friendly and helpful in their discord. Then most of the NFT projects I’m in usually has a channel and several members that like to talk crypto. Finding people who are friendly and helpful is possible. Just gotta be super careful. If you wind up over on discord, shoot me a dm if ya want. But NEVER “authenticate your wallet” so someone can then help you.

CointestMod

#Ethereum Pro-Arguments Below is an argument written by Nostalg33k which won 2nd place in the Ethereum Pro-Arguments topic for a prior [Cointest](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_policy) round. > ​ > > # Ethereum: Use-case driving value > > Ethereum is a very valuable Blockchain. This blockchain is driven by innovation and utility. To understand what makes Ethereum such a valuable eco-system we need to discuss the inner-working of Ethereum. > > # Introduction: Ethereum explained > > According to [Ethereum.org](https://Ethereum.org) : > > >What is Ethereum? > > Ethereum is a technology that's home to digital money, global payments, and applications. The community has built a booming digital economy, bold new ways for creators to earn online, and so much more. It's open to everyone, wherever you are in the world – all you need is the internet. > > So the topic driving this discussion is badly worded. If we are discussing top coins then we should discuss Ether and not Ethereum. Since Ethereum is such an interesting ecosystem I will treat this argument as a pro Ethereum post. I'd love to see the discussion focused on Ether next time. > > Ethereum is not managed by a single entity nor managed by the Ethereum Foundation but is managed through a decentralized process explained [In their governance page](https://ethereum.org/en/governance/). > > Time for some metrics: Ethereum is currently trading north of 1750 $ and has a circulating supply of 122 millions ETH for a Market cap at around 218 billions > > Let's go back to the quote: "Ethereum is a technology that's home to digital money". This point is important. Ether is not the only coin which is using the Ethereum blockchain. A lot of value on the Ethereum Blockchain is not in Ether coins. This will be discussed further down. Ethereum is also home to global payment, so Ether and other cryptocurrencies can be used to settle transactions between P2P in a permissionless way. > > Applications called Dapps exist on the blockchain. We are going to discuss all of these aspects. We are also going to tackle NFTs on the Ethereum Blockchain. > > Ethereum is also completed by L2s. These are going to be mentioned. > > Ethereum has been switched from POW to Asic resistant POW to POS. These are going to be discussed. > > ​ > > # Ethereum: Home to digital money. > > Ethereum strength is that the blockchain is home to many cryptocurrencies. If gas fees are paid in Ether, many tokens have billions circulating in the Ethereum ecosystem. A quick look at Etherscans reveal how strong the ethereum ecosystem is. > > According to [EtherScan](https://etherscan.io/tokens) the blockchain has 40 Billions $ in USDT, 46 Billions in USDC and 7 Billions $ in Wrapped BTC. The market cap of Ether may be around 200 billions but the on chain value of assets in the Ethereum Blockchain is far higher. > > All of these USDT and USDC are stablecoins which can be used for transactions. In fact, it can be used for P2P transaction in a permissionless way but also to buy stuff from businesses. [Here is a list of business accepting USDT (which exists in the Ethereum blockchain)](https://nowpayments.io/blog/businesses-accepting-tether) and [Here is a list of business accepting directly Ethereum](https://www.analyticsinsight.net/top-10-companies-accepting-ethereum-as-a-payment-method-in-2022/) > > These classical transactions are not the only use of the Ethereum Blockchain: Dapps and NFT are also thriving ! > > # Ethereum: Home to dapps and NFTs > > Ethereum is home to a lot of different applications: Marketplaces, exchanges, defi, wallets, games... > > These application are different because they are called dapps: > > >A decentralised application (DApp,\[1\] dApp,\[2\] Dapp, or dapp) is an application that can operate autonomously, typically through the use of smart contracts, that run on a decentralized computing, blockchain or other distributed ledger system.\[3\] > > [Wikipedia Dapps](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decentralized_application) > > To give a glance to these dapps you can head to this website tho be wary of the first dapp listed being an advertisement for shady businesses (I haven't found a better website to source dapps) [Here you go](https://dappradar.com/rankings/protocol/ethereum/1) > > While I don't believe in the current state of NFT technology being viable (See my write up in favor of NFT speaking about the future of this technology), we have to take into account that even after losing 60% of their value there is still 3 Billions USD in NFTs in the Ethereum Blockchain [Source](https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-nft-collections-lost-nearly-60-of-their-market-cap-in-2022-report) > > # Ethereum: Layers of goodness. > > Ethereum can be a bit expensive for people, this is why it was layered. There are side chains existing just to be cheaper than Ethereum while offering bridges to and from Ethereum. For example Polygon. > > >Polygon is a Layer-2 scaling solution created to help bring mass adoption to the Ethereum platform. It caters to the diverse needs of developers by providing tools to create scalable decentralized applications (dApps) that prioritize performance, user experience (UX), and security. > > So if you want to be able to evaluate Ethereum you need to go and read about the biggest layer 2 pro and cons. > > [A small list of Ethereum layer 2 given by Ethereum.org](https://ethereum.org/en/layer-2/) > > # Ethereum: Evolve to thrive > > Ethereum has been a rapidly evolving ecosystem. It has seen the evolution of mining from GPU to Asic. In order to not become reliant on Asic mining, Ethereum was made Asic resistant. This created other problems: A pressure on the GPU market but also a concern for energy efficiency. In order to improve the footprint but also reduce the fees, Ethereum was made to transistion from POW to POS. Proof of stake is a protocol in which you need to stake coins to run a node in the network. > > This shows an ability to look ahead and to tackle challenges. > > # Conclusion: Ethereum is a rapidly evolving ecosystem which has a lot of value in it. Since Ether is their native coin, all of this impacts Ether's value. > > This is where we go back to the TOP COIN aspect of this write up. Everything I have said has an impact on the value and use of Ether. If you believe in the future of the Ethereum Blockchain, you can go ahead and look a bit more into Ether. If you don't believe in the Ethereum Blockchain then you should try to find a competitor. > > Just know that Ethereum is trying to become deflationary and that their economic outlook seems on par with good cryptos. > > Ethereum is one of the techs of the future and this essay has shown some of the most important aspects of it. > > Have fun ! ***** Would you like to learn more? [Click here](/r/CointestOfficial/comments/100p71b/top_coins_ethereum_proarguments_january_2023/) to be taken to the original topic-thread for this argument or you can scan through the [Cointest Archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Ethereum) to find arguments on this topic in other rounds.

CointestMod

#Ethereum Pro-Arguments Below is an argument written by Nostalg33k which won 2nd place in the Ethereum Pro-Arguments topic for a prior [Cointest](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_policy) round. > ​ > > # Ethereum: Use-case driving value > > Ethereum is a very valuable Blockchain. This blockchain is driven by innovation and utility. To understand what makes Ethereum such a valuable eco-system we need to discuss the inner-working of Ethereum. > > # Introduction: Ethereum explained > > According to [Ethereum.org](https://Ethereum.org) : > > >What is Ethereum? > > Ethereum is a technology that's home to digital money, global payments, and applications. The community has built a booming digital economy, bold new ways for creators to earn online, and so much more. It's open to everyone, wherever you are in the world – all you need is the internet. > > So the topic driving this discussion is badly worded. If we are discussing top coins then we should discuss Ether and not Ethereum. Since Ethereum is such an interesting ecosystem I will treat this argument as a pro Ethereum post. I'd love to see the discussion focused on Ether next time. > > Ethereum is not managed by a single entity nor managed by the Ethereum Foundation but is managed through a decentralized process explained [In their governance page](https://ethereum.org/en/governance/). > > Time for some metrics: Ethereum is currently trading north of 1750 $ and has a circulating supply of 122 millions ETH for a Market cap at around 218 billions > > Let's go back to the quote: "Ethereum is a technology that's home to digital money". This point is important. Ether is not the only coin which is using the Ethereum blockchain. A lot of value on the Ethereum Blockchain is not in Ether coins. This will be discussed further down. Ethereum is also home to global payment, so Ether and other cryptocurrencies can be used to settle transactions between P2P in a permissionless way. > > Applications called Dapps exist on the blockchain. We are going to discuss all of these aspects. We are also going to tackle NFTs on the Ethereum Blockchain. > > Ethereum is also completed by L2s. These are going to be mentioned. > > Ethereum has been switched from POW to Asic resistant POW to POS. These are going to be discussed. > > ​ > > # Ethereum: Home to digital money. > > Ethereum strength is that the blockchain is home to many cryptocurrencies. If gas fees are paid in Ether, many tokens have billions circulating in the Ethereum ecosystem. A quick look at Etherscans reveal how strong the ethereum ecosystem is. > > According to [EtherScan](https://etherscan.io/tokens) the blockchain has 40 Billions $ in USDT, 46 Billions in USDC and 7 Billions $ in Wrapped BTC. The market cap of Ether may be around 200 billions but the on chain value of assets in the Ethereum Blockchain is far higher. > > All of these USDT and USDC are stablecoins which can be used for transactions. In fact, it can be used for P2P transaction in a permissionless way but also to buy stuff from businesses. [Here is a list of business accepting USDT (which exists in the Ethereum blockchain)](https://nowpayments.io/blog/businesses-accepting-tether) and [Here is a list of business accepting directly Ethereum](https://www.analyticsinsight.net/top-10-companies-accepting-ethereum-as-a-payment-method-in-2022/) > > These classical transactions are not the only use of the Ethereum Blockchain: Dapps and NFT are also thriving ! > > # Ethereum: Home to dapps and NFTs > > Ethereum is home to a lot of different applications: Marketplaces, exchanges, defi, wallets, games... > > These application are different because they are called dapps: > > >A decentralised application (DApp,\[1\] dApp,\[2\] Dapp, or dapp) is an application that can operate autonomously, typically through the use of smart contracts, that run on a decentralized computing, blockchain or other distributed ledger system.\[3\] > > [Wikipedia Dapps](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decentralized_application) > > To give a glance to these dapps you can head to this website tho be wary of the first dapp listed being an advertisement for shady businesses (I haven't found a better website to source dapps) [Here you go](https://dappradar.com/rankings/protocol/ethereum/1) > > While I don't believe in the current state of NFT technology being viable (See my write up in favor of NFT speaking about the future of this technology), we have to take into account that even after losing 60% of their value there is still 3 Billions USD in NFTs in the Ethereum Blockchain [Source](https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-nft-collections-lost-nearly-60-of-their-market-cap-in-2022-report) > > # Ethereum: Layers of goodness. > > Ethereum can be a bit expensive for people, this is why it was layered. There are side chains existing just to be cheaper than Ethereum while offering bridges to and from Ethereum. For example Polygon. > > >Polygon is a Layer-2 scaling solution created to help bring mass adoption to the Ethereum platform. It caters to the diverse needs of developers by providing tools to create scalable decentralized applications (dApps) that prioritize performance, user experience (UX), and security. > > So if you want to be able to evaluate Ethereum you need to go and read about the biggest layer 2 pro and cons. > > [A small list of Ethereum layer 2 given by Ethereum.org](https://ethereum.org/en/layer-2/) > > # Ethereum: Evolve to thrive > > Ethereum has been a rapidly evolving ecosystem. It has seen the evolution of mining from GPU to Asic. In order to not become reliant on Asic mining, Ethereum was made Asic resistant. This created other problems: A pressure on the GPU market but also a concern for energy efficiency. In order to improve the footprint but also reduce the fees, Ethereum was made to transistion from POW to POS. Proof of stake is a protocol in which you need to stake coins to run a node in the network. > > This shows an ability to look ahead and to tackle challenges. > > # Conclusion: Ethereum is a rapidly evolving ecosystem which has a lot of value in it. Since Ether is their native coin, all of this impacts Ether's value. > > This is where we go back to the TOP COIN aspect of this write up. Everything I have said has an impact on the value and use of Ether. If you believe in the future of the Ethereum Blockchain, you can go ahead and look a bit more into Ether. If you don't believe in the Ethereum Blockchain then you should try to find a competitor. > > Just know that Ethereum is trying to become deflationary and that their economic outlook seems on par with good cryptos. > > Ethereum is one of the techs of the future and this essay has shown some of the most important aspects of it. > > Have fun ! ***** Would you like to learn more? [Click here](/r/CointestOfficial/comments/100p71b/top_coins_ethereum_proarguments_january_2023/) to be taken to the original topic-thread for this argument or you can scan through the [Cointest Archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Ethereum) to find arguments on this topic in other rounds.

CointestMod

#Bitcoin Pro-Arguments Below is an argument written by a deleted user which won 1st place in the Bitcoin Pro-Arguments topic for a prior [Cointest](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_policy) round. > **First-Mover Advantage and The Network Effect** > > Bitcoin is currently the most popular cryptocurrency and market cap leader by a long shot. The [Bitcoin dominance chart](https://www.coingecko.com/en/global-charts) shows that Bitcoin represents 60% of the entire cryptocurrency market cap. This has increased from 40% in 2020. > > Bitcoin is the **gateway**. People start out with Bitcoin before checking out other cryptocurrencies. They're likely going to keep holding any Bitcoin they bought along the way. > > People will flock to whichever product has the largest user base. For half a decade, Bitcoin was almost synonymous with cryptocurrency. The Network Effect creates a **positive feedback loop** and makes Bitcoin's lead grow even more. > > If Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin were all released simultaneously, Bitcoin would lose to its PoW competitors because its competitors have cheaper fees with higher throughput. But the reality is that Bitcoin's first-mover advantage gave it such a huge head start that the others can't catch up. > > **Has the largest block reward for security** > > Due to its high price, Bitcoin has a huge [block reward of 6.5 BTC](https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/bitcoin/bitcoin-halving) (halves every 4 years) or ~$180k per block. This gives it the security lead because its block reward is so much bigger than other PoW cryptocurrencies, which attracts more miners. > > **Anti-censorship** > > Bitcoin provides partial censorship-resistance against sanctions and totalitarian government restrictions. It's much harder to prevent Bitcoin transactions than it is to prevent financial transactions at a centralized bank. [Legal sex workers](https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/24/22639356/onlyfans-ceo-tim-stokely-sexually-explicit-content-ban-banks) (e.g. Onlyfans) and [marijuana industries](https://www.leadingretirement.com/blog/cannabis-banking) are blocked from using traditional financial services due to social stigma. Even though they can operate legally, many TradFi banks avoid operating with them. Bitcoin provides those workers a way to transfer funds around that censorship. > > **Avoids Hyperinflation**: As long as governments keep causing high inflation through money-printing, people will run to Bitcoin for safety, which pumps up Bitcoin's price. > > **Considered a commodity by both SEC and CFTC**: Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency that both the SEC and CFTC have openly agreed is a commodity. And the CFTC is much less lawsuit-happy than the SEC. > > **Legal tender**: El Salvador has shown (despite some technical mishaps) that Bitcoin can be successfully used as legal tender for a country. > > **Ordinals provide utility** > > Even though Bitcoin Maxis hate Ordinals, this new protocol gives utility to Bitcoin and adds demand. NFT bros are using it as an **on-chain data storage layer** for their own blockchains (e.g. Ethereum, Stack). This has an advantage over IPFS since IPFS is stored in centralized databases instead of on-chain. > > This generates more fees for Bitcoin miners. Transaction fees have finally [risen to ~20 sats/vByte](https://mempool.space/graphs/mempool) on days with high Ordinals activity like Mar 22-24. This gives hope that there may be sufficient demand for Bitcoin as an on-chain data-storage layer even after the block subsidy eventually disappears due to halvings. > > **Pseudonymous**: Bitcoin's UTXO transactions can provide moderately-high levels of obscurity. A single wallet can produce a near-unlimited amount of addresses, and there's no way to link them unless they interact with each other. It's much harder to trace UTXO-based wallets than Account-based wallets because the former creates new UTXO addresses with each transaction while Account-based blockchain wallets typically reuse the same account. > > **Lightning transactions are near-instant and cheap** > > As long as you're spending small amounts of Bitcoin, you can use the Lightning network to make near-instant, sub-$0.01 transactions. Many Lightning nodes for merchants are connected to 3rd-party services that convert between cash and Lightning, making it easy to transfer Bitcoins. Consumers usually don't have to care about rebalancing issues since they're only spending small amounts. > > And the [total capacity of the Lightning Network](https://bitcoinvisuals.com/ln-capacity) in BTC keeps increasing steadily. > > **Cannot be counterfeited**: Cash can be counterfeited, but you can't fake Lightning transactions. Merchants have to deal with counterfeit cash in many markets around the world. > > **Bitcoin has a very strong community of die-hard supporters** > > A huge portion of Bitcoin supporters have become Bitcoin Maxis who will keep spreading their arguments, regardless of accuracy. Because Bitcoin is a gateway cryptocurrency, crypto newbies will encounter it first and gobble up these narratives because they don't have the experience to know their flaws. And they're very convincing when you keep repeating them in an echo chamber: > > * Maximum supply cap of 21M BTC vs Fed's money printer > * Amazing past-performance gains vs fiat > * Works as Store of Value (despite volatility) > * Had a "fair launch" without an ICO > * Is not a risky altcoin > * Is decentralized (based on largest number of miners) > * Has instant payments via the Lightning Network > > **Ultimately, people are mainly using crypto for speculative investing and long-term Store of Value. Most people don't care about technology, Defi, or utility. Thus Bitcoin is sufficient for their investment needs.** > > And since cryptocurrency value is largely based on a Keynesian Beauty Contest (i.e. you buy not based on your own value, but on what you think others are going to buy), people are going to keep buying Bitcoin as long as the investment narrative holds. ***** Would you like to learn more? [Click here](/r/CointestOfficial/comments/100p7vq/top_coins_bitcoin_proarguments_january_2023/) to be taken to the original topic-thread for this argument or you can scan through the [Cointest Archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Bitcoin) to find arguments on this topic in other rounds.

Whiskeywonder

I don’t think general narratives are like some secret insider knowledge lol. Last cycle it was clear narratives like Defi, NFT’s nd EVM L1’s were hot. This cycle I keep hearing DePin, RWA, AI, Bitcoin defi and scalability, memes etc. knowing that won’t make you rich but might get you looking in the right direction.

CointestMod

#Apecoin Con-Arguments Below is a Apecoin con-argument written by Nostalg33k. > # ApeCoin: A bad timing, a bad distribution, for a BadCoin > > ​ > > Apecoin is a coin created by YugaLabs, the BoredApeYachtClub people. In the following lines I'll explain how ApeCoin fails in three accounts. The first point of failure is temporal. The second point of failure is the distribution. And lastly the final point of failure is the use. In order to shield themselves from responsibility, YugaLabs shielded themselves with ApeCoin DAO which is an hypocritical move as we'll soon see. > > ​ > > 1) Let's launch during the big NFT Bubble. > > ApeCoin is a project built on the backbone of the hype of BAYC Nfts. Now I don't need to be a wizard nor a tech savvy to tell you that, launching Apecoin right when the hype bubble of NFT has burst and right when NFTs have become the laughing stock of normies was not the best move. That wouldn't be so bad if ApeCoin was distributed in a sane manner. > > 2) ApeCoin's distribution: Who will rugpull first ? > > 23% of the supply was given to Yugalab and 47% was given to the DAO as liquidity. If we take out the liquidity supply of the DAO out of the equation, YugaLabs have close to 50% of the voting power of the DAO. > > 14% was given to Venture Capitalists. So that's 85% of the supply locked away. As supporters of projects and speculators, you are playing with the 15% and just allow some strangers net worth to fluctuate wildly. > > 3) What is the point? > > ApeCoin has no point. Except a few bad games, and the promise of a metaverse, ApeCoin is useless. This fact makes it a venture not worth your time. > > ​ > > Conclusion: This coin is useless, exist only to create speculation and to trade but fails to be a good opportunity. Stay far from it. ***** Would you like to learn more? Check out the [Cointest archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Apecoin) to find submissions for other topics.

CointestMod

#Apecoin Pro-Arguments Below is a Apecoin pro-argument written by cryotosensei. > > Background > > ApeCoin ($APE) was an ERC-20 governance token that was launched on March 17, 2022. It is a social token associated with twoof the biggest NFT players, Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and Mutant Apes Yacht Club (MAYC). They will be used to engage these two communities and maintain dominance of the whole ecosystem. > > 1. Interestingly, $APE is not controlled by BAYC’s creator, YUGA Labs. Instead, it is operated by the ApeCoin Dao, a decentralised autonomous organization. This means that every $APE holder gets a say in deciding governance rules. Already, they have exercised their right. When YUGA Labs proposed for $APE to have its own blockchain, Layer-2/subnet, or other sidechain solution, an overwhelming majority (99.91%) of 196K ApeCoin holders voted in favour of Proposition 41 as they would rather ApeCoin remain in the Ethereum ecosystem instead of migrating to other chains. This enhances $APE holders’ sense of autonomy as they get to determine the future of their token. > 2. Besides being empowered with voting rights, $APE holders will find like they are in an exclusive club as they will get to access member perks and benefits, including access to rare merchandise, and invitations to face-to-face events. > 3. $APE offers utility as a form of currency. Firstly, this is because of the Otherside metaverse that was launched by Yuga Labs. Since $APE is employed as the standard currency in Otherside (e.g. minting of Otherside NFTs), its value soared, thus helping it to become the largest metaverse token by market capitalisation at one point in time. Plus, players of the Animoca Brands blockchain game, Benji Bananas, could use ApeCoin as an in-game currency to advance to higher levels. This applies to players of a play to earn game from nWay Play too. > > > References > https://chaindebrief.com/everything-you-need-to-know-apecoin/ > > https://decrypt.co/98829/apecoin-becomes-largest-metaverse-token-surpassing-mana-sand-axs > > https://cryptobriefing.com/apecoin-at-all-time-highs-ahead-of-otherside-nft-drop/ > > https://bit.ly/3LlxoMC > > https://www.gemini.com/cryptopedia/apecoin-ape-crypto-bayc-ape-token-crypto-yuga-labs-ape-board#section-use-cases-of-ape-coin ***** Would you like to learn more? Check out the [Cointest archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Apecoin) to find submissions for other topics.

CointestMod

* Related Cointest topics: [Ethereum](https://www.reddit.com/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_ethereum), [NFT](https://www.reddit.com/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_nft), [DAO](https://www.reddit.com/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_dao. * Related subreddits: r/apecoins, r/NFT, r/NFTsMarketplace, r/BoredApeYachtClub. * Sort comments as controversial first by [clicking here](/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/1cgew7e/ceo_of_baycs_creator_studio_announces_layoffs/?sort=controversial). Doesn't work on mobile.

JazzDevil84

Fair comment. I get that. But look at it today. Devs are adding NFT and Tipping. TG super active, more post being posted on the site, and holding super at in todays downwards trend at the new floor. I might be an idiot, and maybe I loose all my money, but I do believe what I wrote above

Deep-Cow9096

At this point plain NFT's like what we were mostly getting in 2021 and back have way lower potential than before. Looking at what's coming out, even thought the games suck, web3 game NFTs have become way higher budget with way more personality than these crappy profile pics. Plenty of them still do suck from the web3 games but a fair amount looks impressive that just happens to be tied to a crappy nickle and dime-ing and/or terribly imbalanced to force spending web3 video game

CointestMod

#Bitcoin Pro-Arguments Below is an argument written by a deleted user which won 1st place in the Bitcoin Pro-Arguments topic for a prior [Cointest](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_policy) round. > **First-Mover Advantage and The Network Effect** > > Bitcoin is currently the most popular cryptocurrency and market cap leader by a long shot. The [Bitcoin dominance chart](https://www.coingecko.com/en/global-charts) shows that Bitcoin represents 60% of the entire cryptocurrency market cap. This has increased from 40% in 2020. > > Bitcoin is the **gateway**. People start out with Bitcoin before checking out other cryptocurrencies. They're likely going to keep holding any Bitcoin they bought along the way. > > People will flock to whichever product has the largest user base. For half a decade, Bitcoin was almost synonymous with cryptocurrency. The Network Effect creates a **positive feedback loop** and makes Bitcoin's lead grow even more. > > If Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin were all released simultaneously, Bitcoin would lose to its PoW competitors because its competitors have cheaper fees with higher throughput. But the reality is that Bitcoin's first-mover advantage gave it such a huge head start that the others can't catch up. > > **Has the largest block reward for security** > > Due to its high price, Bitcoin has a huge [block reward of 6.5 BTC](https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/bitcoin/bitcoin-halving) (halves every 4 years) or ~$180k per block. This gives it the security lead because its block reward is so much bigger than other PoW cryptocurrencies, which attracts more miners. > > **Anti-censorship** > > Bitcoin provides partial censorship-resistance against sanctions and totalitarian government restrictions. It's much harder to prevent Bitcoin transactions than it is to prevent financial transactions at a centralized bank. [Legal sex workers](https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/24/22639356/onlyfans-ceo-tim-stokely-sexually-explicit-content-ban-banks) (e.g. Onlyfans) and [marijuana industries](https://www.leadingretirement.com/blog/cannabis-banking) are blocked from using traditional financial services due to social stigma. Even though they can operate legally, many TradFi banks avoid operating with them. Bitcoin provides those workers a way to transfer funds around that censorship. > > **Avoids Hyperinflation**: As long as governments keep causing high inflation through money-printing, people will run to Bitcoin for safety, which pumps up Bitcoin's price. > > **Considered a commodity by both SEC and CFTC**: Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency that both the SEC and CFTC have openly agreed is a commodity. And the CFTC is much less lawsuit-happy than the SEC. > > **Legal tender**: El Salvador has shown (despite some technical mishaps) that Bitcoin can be successfully used as legal tender for a country. > > **Ordinals provide utility** > > Even though Bitcoin Maxis hate Ordinals, this new protocol gives utility to Bitcoin and adds demand. NFT bros are using it as an **on-chain data storage layer** for their own blockchains (e.g. Ethereum, Stack). This has an advantage over IPFS since IPFS is stored in centralized databases instead of on-chain. > > This generates more fees for Bitcoin miners. Transaction fees have finally [risen to ~20 sats/vByte](https://mempool.space/graphs/mempool) on days with high Ordinals activity like Mar 22-24. This gives hope that there may be sufficient demand for Bitcoin as an on-chain data-storage layer even after the block subsidy eventually disappears due to halvings. > > **Pseudonymous**: Bitcoin's UTXO transactions can provide moderately-high levels of obscurity. A single wallet can produce a near-unlimited amount of addresses, and there's no way to link them unless they interact with each other. It's much harder to trace UTXO-based wallets than Account-based wallets because the former creates new UTXO addresses with each transaction while Account-based blockchain wallets typically reuse the same account. > > **Lightning transactions are near-instant and cheap** > > As long as you're spending small amounts of Bitcoin, you can use the Lightning network to make near-instant, sub-$0.01 transactions. Many Lightning nodes for merchants are connected to 3rd-party services that convert between cash and Lightning, making it easy to transfer Bitcoins. Consumers usually don't have to care about rebalancing issues since they're only spending small amounts. > > And the [total capacity of the Lightning Network](https://bitcoinvisuals.com/ln-capacity) in BTC keeps increasing steadily. > > **Cannot be counterfeited**: Cash can be counterfeited, but you can't fake Lightning transactions. Merchants have to deal with counterfeit cash in many markets around the world. > > **Bitcoin has a very strong community of die-hard supporters** > > A huge portion of Bitcoin supporters have become Bitcoin Maxis who will keep spreading their arguments, regardless of accuracy. Because Bitcoin is a gateway cryptocurrency, crypto newbies will encounter it first and gobble up these narratives because they don't have the experience to know their flaws. And they're very convincing when you keep repeating them in an echo chamber: > > * Maximum supply cap of 21M BTC vs Fed's money printer > * Amazing past-performance gains vs fiat > * Works as Store of Value (despite volatility) > * Had a "fair launch" without an ICO > * Is not a risky altcoin > * Is decentralized (based on largest number of miners) > * Has instant payments via the Lightning Network > > **Ultimately, people are mainly using crypto for speculative investing and long-term Store of Value. Most people don't care about technology, Defi, or utility. Thus Bitcoin is sufficient for their investment needs.** > > And since cryptocurrency value is largely based on a Keynesian Beauty Contest (i.e. you buy not based on your own value, but on what you think others are going to buy), people are going to keep buying Bitcoin as long as the investment narrative holds. ***** Would you like to learn more? [Click here](/r/CointestOfficial/comments/100p7vq/top_coins_bitcoin_proarguments_january_2023/) to be taken to the original topic-thread for this argument or you can scan through the [Cointest Archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Bitcoin) to find arguments on this topic in other rounds.

CointestMod

#Ethereum Pro-Arguments Below is an argument written by Nostalg33k which won 2nd place in the Ethereum Pro-Arguments topic for a prior [Cointest](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_policy) round. > ​ > > # Ethereum: Use-case driving value > > Ethereum is a very valuable Blockchain. This blockchain is driven by innovation and utility. To understand what makes Ethereum such a valuable eco-system we need to discuss the inner-working of Ethereum. > > # Introduction: Ethereum explained > > According to [Ethereum.org](https://Ethereum.org) : > > >What is Ethereum? > > Ethereum is a technology that's home to digital money, global payments, and applications. The community has built a booming digital economy, bold new ways for creators to earn online, and so much more. It's open to everyone, wherever you are in the world – all you need is the internet. > > So the topic driving this discussion is badly worded. If we are discussing top coins then we should discuss Ether and not Ethereum. Since Ethereum is such an interesting ecosystem I will treat this argument as a pro Ethereum post. I'd love to see the discussion focused on Ether next time. > > Ethereum is not managed by a single entity nor managed by the Ethereum Foundation but is managed through a decentralized process explained [In their governance page](https://ethereum.org/en/governance/). > > Time for some metrics: Ethereum is currently trading north of 1750 $ and has a circulating supply of 122 millions ETH for a Market cap at around 218 billions > > Let's go back to the quote: "Ethereum is a technology that's home to digital money". This point is important. Ether is not the only coin which is using the Ethereum blockchain. A lot of value on the Ethereum Blockchain is not in Ether coins. This will be discussed further down. Ethereum is also home to global payment, so Ether and other cryptocurrencies can be used to settle transactions between P2P in a permissionless way. > > Applications called Dapps exist on the blockchain. We are going to discuss all of these aspects. We are also going to tackle NFTs on the Ethereum Blockchain. > > Ethereum is also completed by L2s. These are going to be mentioned. > > Ethereum has been switched from POW to Asic resistant POW to POS. These are going to be discussed. > > ​ > > # Ethereum: Home to digital money. > > Ethereum strength is that the blockchain is home to many cryptocurrencies. If gas fees are paid in Ether, many tokens have billions circulating in the Ethereum ecosystem. A quick look at Etherscans reveal how strong the ethereum ecosystem is. > > According to [EtherScan](https://etherscan.io/tokens) the blockchain has 40 Billions $ in USDT, 46 Billions in USDC and 7 Billions $ in Wrapped BTC. The market cap of Ether may be around 200 billions but the on chain value of assets in the Ethereum Blockchain is far higher. > > All of these USDT and USDC are stablecoins which can be used for transactions. In fact, it can be used for P2P transaction in a permissionless way but also to buy stuff from businesses. [Here is a list of business accepting USDT (which exists in the Ethereum blockchain)](https://nowpayments.io/blog/businesses-accepting-tether) and [Here is a list of business accepting directly Ethereum](https://www.analyticsinsight.net/top-10-companies-accepting-ethereum-as-a-payment-method-in-2022/) > > These classical transactions are not the only use of the Ethereum Blockchain: Dapps and NFT are also thriving ! > > # Ethereum: Home to dapps and NFTs > > Ethereum is home to a lot of different applications: Marketplaces, exchanges, defi, wallets, games... > > These application are different because they are called dapps: > > >A decentralised application (DApp,\[1\] dApp,\[2\] Dapp, or dapp) is an application that can operate autonomously, typically through the use of smart contracts, that run on a decentralized computing, blockchain or other distributed ledger system.\[3\] > > [Wikipedia Dapps](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decentralized_application) > > To give a glance to these dapps you can head to this website tho be wary of the first dapp listed being an advertisement for shady businesses (I haven't found a better website to source dapps) [Here you go](https://dappradar.com/rankings/protocol/ethereum/1) > > While I don't believe in the current state of NFT technology being viable (See my write up in favor of NFT speaking about the future of this technology), we have to take into account that even after losing 60% of their value there is still 3 Billions USD in NFTs in the Ethereum Blockchain [Source](https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-nft-collections-lost-nearly-60-of-their-market-cap-in-2022-report) > > # Ethereum: Layers of goodness. > > Ethereum can be a bit expensive for people, this is why it was layered. There are side chains existing just to be cheaper than Ethereum while offering bridges to and from Ethereum. For example Polygon. > > >Polygon is a Layer-2 scaling solution created to help bring mass adoption to the Ethereum platform. It caters to the diverse needs of developers by providing tools to create scalable decentralized applications (dApps) that prioritize performance, user experience (UX), and security. > > So if you want to be able to evaluate Ethereum you need to go and read about the biggest layer 2 pro and cons. > > [A small list of Ethereum layer 2 given by Ethereum.org](https://ethereum.org/en/layer-2/) > > # Ethereum: Evolve to thrive > > Ethereum has been a rapidly evolving ecosystem. It has seen the evolution of mining from GPU to Asic. In order to not become reliant on Asic mining, Ethereum was made Asic resistant. This created other problems: A pressure on the GPU market but also a concern for energy efficiency. In order to improve the footprint but also reduce the fees, Ethereum was made to transistion from POW to POS. Proof of stake is a protocol in which you need to stake coins to run a node in the network. > > This shows an ability to look ahead and to tackle challenges. > > # Conclusion: Ethereum is a rapidly evolving ecosystem which has a lot of value in it. Since Ether is their native coin, all of this impacts Ether's value. > > This is where we go back to the TOP COIN aspect of this write up. Everything I have said has an impact on the value and use of Ether. If you believe in the future of the Ethereum Blockchain, you can go ahead and look a bit more into Ether. If you don't believe in the Ethereum Blockchain then you should try to find a competitor. > > Just know that Ethereum is trying to become deflationary and that their economic outlook seems on par with good cryptos. > > Ethereum is one of the techs of the future and this essay has shown some of the most important aspects of it. > > Have fun ! ***** Would you like to learn more? [Click here](/r/CointestOfficial/comments/100p71b/top_coins_ethereum_proarguments_january_2023/) to be taken to the original topic-thread for this argument or you can scan through the [Cointest Archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Ethereum) to find arguments on this topic in other rounds.

AutoModerator

Greetings Games_NFT_5585. Your submission contained a link to telegram, which is hard blocked by reddit. This also prevents moderators from approving your submission, so please repost your submission without the telegram link. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/CryptoCurrency) if you have any questions or concerns.*

fwman1986

I hope we wouldn't see any NFT craze anymore.

Frogolocalypse

The primary driver would be whether it is taxable, and the first determination of that is whether it is profitable. In the united states, you need report any earnings regardless of where they come from. In places like Australia, that level of activity is ignored. And I hate to break it to you all, but you do need to report that on taxes. Just like you need to report on the earnings of begging. Sux2bu. But in practice, these are not enforced. But you can still earn money and not be a business. Businesses have different tax rates than income tax, so that's one of the primary reasons it's done. As well as liability. In the case of earning millions of dollars from american consumers, without paying any income tax, that is a klaxon call for their regulatory bodies. The problem that any person who provides a service like that to US consumers is; Are you earning money? Is it profitable? Are you paying taxes on that money your earning? What are you doing to earn that money that you're paying taxes on? In the case of Samourai, they were advertising their service as a way of laundering money and earning a sizeable profit on that service that they provided. I don't know why anyone is surprised about it tbh. What's surprising is that it's the first time it has been enforced. I mean, look at NFT's. But they were blatant about it.

CointestMod

#Bitcoin Pro-Arguments Below is an argument written by a deleted user which won 1st place in the Bitcoin Pro-Arguments topic for a prior [Cointest](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_policy) round. > **First-Mover Advantage and The Network Effect** > > Bitcoin is currently the most popular cryptocurrency and market cap leader by a long shot. The [Bitcoin dominance chart](https://www.coingecko.com/en/global-charts) shows that Bitcoin represents 60% of the entire cryptocurrency market cap. This has increased from 40% in 2020. > > Bitcoin is the **gateway**. People start out with Bitcoin before checking out other cryptocurrencies. They're likely going to keep holding any Bitcoin they bought along the way. > > People will flock to whichever product has the largest user base. For half a decade, Bitcoin was almost synonymous with cryptocurrency. The Network Effect creates a **positive feedback loop** and makes Bitcoin's lead grow even more. > > If Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin were all released simultaneously, Bitcoin would lose to its PoW competitors because its competitors have cheaper fees with higher throughput. But the reality is that Bitcoin's first-mover advantage gave it such a huge head start that the others can't catch up. > > **Has the largest block reward for security** > > Due to its high price, Bitcoin has a huge [block reward of 6.5 BTC](https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/bitcoin/bitcoin-halving) (halves every 4 years) or ~$180k per block. This gives it the security lead because its block reward is so much bigger than other PoW cryptocurrencies, which attracts more miners. > > **Anti-censorship** > > Bitcoin provides partial censorship-resistance against sanctions and totalitarian government restrictions. It's much harder to prevent Bitcoin transactions than it is to prevent financial transactions at a centralized bank. [Legal sex workers](https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/24/22639356/onlyfans-ceo-tim-stokely-sexually-explicit-content-ban-banks) (e.g. Onlyfans) and [marijuana industries](https://www.leadingretirement.com/blog/cannabis-banking) are blocked from using traditional financial services due to social stigma. Even though they can operate legally, many TradFi banks avoid operating with them. Bitcoin provides those workers a way to transfer funds around that censorship. > > **Avoids Hyperinflation**: As long as governments keep causing high inflation through money-printing, people will run to Bitcoin for safety, which pumps up Bitcoin's price. > > **Considered a commodity by both SEC and CFTC**: Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency that both the SEC and CFTC have openly agreed is a commodity. And the CFTC is much less lawsuit-happy than the SEC. > > **Legal tender**: El Salvador has shown (despite some technical mishaps) that Bitcoin can be successfully used as legal tender for a country. > > **Ordinals provide utility** > > Even though Bitcoin Maxis hate Ordinals, this new protocol gives utility to Bitcoin and adds demand. NFT bros are using it as an **on-chain data storage layer** for their own blockchains (e.g. Ethereum, Stack). This has an advantage over IPFS since IPFS is stored in centralized databases instead of on-chain. > > This generates more fees for Bitcoin miners. Transaction fees have finally [risen to ~20 sats/vByte](https://mempool.space/graphs/mempool) on days with high Ordinals activity like Mar 22-24. This gives hope that there may be sufficient demand for Bitcoin as an on-chain data-storage layer even after the block subsidy eventually disappears due to halvings. > > **Pseudonymous**: Bitcoin's UTXO transactions can provide moderately-high levels of obscurity. A single wallet can produce a near-unlimited amount of addresses, and there's no way to link them unless they interact with each other. It's much harder to trace UTXO-based wallets than Account-based wallets because the former creates new UTXO addresses with each transaction while Account-based blockchain wallets typically reuse the same account. > > **Lightning transactions are near-instant and cheap** > > As long as you're spending small amounts of Bitcoin, you can use the Lightning network to make near-instant, sub-$0.01 transactions. Many Lightning nodes for merchants are connected to 3rd-party services that convert between cash and Lightning, making it easy to transfer Bitcoins. Consumers usually don't have to care about rebalancing issues since they're only spending small amounts. > > And the [total capacity of the Lightning Network](https://bitcoinvisuals.com/ln-capacity) in BTC keeps increasing steadily. > > **Cannot be counterfeited**: Cash can be counterfeited, but you can't fake Lightning transactions. Merchants have to deal with counterfeit cash in many markets around the world. > > **Bitcoin has a very strong community of die-hard supporters** > > A huge portion of Bitcoin supporters have become Bitcoin Maxis who will keep spreading their arguments, regardless of accuracy. Because Bitcoin is a gateway cryptocurrency, crypto newbies will encounter it first and gobble up these narratives because they don't have the experience to know their flaws. And they're very convincing when you keep repeating them in an echo chamber: > > * Maximum supply cap of 21M BTC vs Fed's money printer > * Amazing past-performance gains vs fiat > * Works as Store of Value (despite volatility) > * Had a "fair launch" without an ICO > * Is not a risky altcoin > * Is decentralized (based on largest number of miners) > * Has instant payments via the Lightning Network > > **Ultimately, people are mainly using crypto for speculative investing and long-term Store of Value. Most people don't care about technology, Defi, or utility. Thus Bitcoin is sufficient for their investment needs.** > > And since cryptocurrency value is largely based on a Keynesian Beauty Contest (i.e. you buy not based on your own value, but on what you think others are going to buy), people are going to keep buying Bitcoin as long as the investment narrative holds. ***** Would you like to learn more? [Click here](/r/CointestOfficial/comments/100p7vq/top_coins_bitcoin_proarguments_january_2023/) to be taken to the original topic-thread for this argument or you can scan through the [Cointest Archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Bitcoin) to find arguments on this topic in other rounds.

FolsgaardSE

crypto = digital currency. That is what it was designed for. Long before people started figuring out you could add arbitrary data into the blocks which led to all the garbage polluting it now adays like NFT's. I think crypto had it's high point back when bitcoin core was having the huge debate to up the blocksize to 1 meg. Tons of shitcoins flooded the market, most exchanges were targeted and hacked, people added garbage eating up space for no reason for a currency "just because we can". NFT's kinda became the death curse. Now it's all "too the moon" bullshit. Sorry I'm in a grumpy mood and its almost 3am.

CointestMod

#NFT Con-Arguments Below is a NFT con-argument written by a deleted user. > ####**Anti-NFT backlash** > > By now, we need accept that most communities, especially the technology and gaming communities, absolutely hate NFTs. Even the crypto community is quite skeptical about the practical use cases for NFTs. > > There are literally subs banning users for having a reddit avatar NFT (like the 196 subreddit) even though they were given away freely. Gaming companies like [Ubisoft were absolutely vilified](https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2022/04/ubisofts-first-nft-experiment-was-a-dumpster-fire/) when they mentioned exploring NFTs in future games. [EA had to backtrack](https://www.protocol.com/bulletins/ea-ceo-nfts-blockchain-backtrack) after their own high-profile backlash. Gamers in particular hate Pay-to-Win and Pay-to-Earn systems, which are commonly used in the design scheme for NFT-based games. > > **It's risky for companies to endorse NFTs when their customers are going out of the way to avoid them.** NFTs will likely remain a very niche product for the near future. > > ####**Does not provide direct ownership** > > NFTs are records of transactions and don't provide direct ownership. They can hold metadata, which are often just glorified links and pointers to other sources. For example, an NFT could point to the URI of an image. **But there's nothing preventing others from creating new NFTs that point to the same image. Owning the NFT does not mean you own the referenced image.** It's up to the people, communities, and front-end services involved with the NFT to recognize that the NFT represents ownership of the object it links to. > > Similarly, NFTs that point to real objects like property also have to work within the confines of the regulatory system. If the regulatory system does recognize the the NFT, then trading that NFT doesn't transfer actual property rights. In that situation, the NFT becomes an unnecessary extra step. > > There are many [stolen artwork](https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/17/23077174/deviantart-protect-nft-crypto-stolen-art-blockchain-detection) that get created as NFTs. Many projects like Bored Apes have near-identical copycats of each other. For example, the official collection of MetaWaifus is on Solana, but there are 4 other (likely stolen) collections on Polygon's PoS network sold through Opensea that are duplicates of the original. Centralized marketplaces have to spend effort blocking stolen work, and it's a complicated game of whack-a-mole. > > ####**Uses centralized front-end services** > > NFTs require front-end services to provide an interface for customers. For example, games could easily cost 10s to 100s of millions of dollars and take many years to develop. **If the centralized front-end platform goes down or chooses to no longer recognize the NFTs, it could be cost-prohibitive and time-prohibitive for the community to rebuild it.** If that happens, the NFT will become worthless. Intellectual Property rights could also prevent the objects represented by the NFTs to be re-established without considerably changing how they look or work. > > ####**Reliant on blockchains** > > NFTs are stored on blockchains, so they carry all the risks and downsides to using them. **NFTs are at risk of theft, hacks, bugs, and user errors.** If you lose access to an NFT, there is no undo button or recovery system--it's permanently lost. Users will need to become familiar with a complex system of wallets, gas tokens, safety, and will shoulder the risk of owning NFTs. > > **Networks also can have high transaction and smart contract fees** for minting and transferring the NFTs. For example, BAYC NFT's Otherside sale brought in $253M of revenue, but cost $181M in Ethereum gas fees [[Source](https://qz.com/2161193/bored-ape-yacht-clubs-nfts-cost-181-million-in-gas-fees/)]. Even on the very-cheap Polygon PoS network, it cost 0.1-0.2 cents to mint a reddit NFT. They're cheap individually, but if you need to mint and transfer millions of these for the 400M+ monthly active redditors, the costs quickly add up. > > **Most blockchains are very storage-limited**, so the objects that the NFTs represent are often stored off-chain either on centralized databases or on IPFS, leading to the additional risk of dead links. ***** Would you like to learn more? Check out the [Cointest archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_NFT) to find submissions for other topics.

CointestMod

#NFT Pro-Arguments Below is a NFT pro-argument written by a deleted user. > ####**Niche following** > > By now, we need accept that most communities, especially the technology and gaming communities, hate NFTs. Even the crypto community is quite skeptical about the practical use cases for NFTs, and they will likely remain a **very niche product** for the foreseeable future. > > NFTs are similar to everything else that attract criticism from more practical shoppers because they have little practical use. In this aspect, they are similar to Rolex watches, gacha waifus, game character skins, anime car decals, expensive designer t-shirts, brand-name medicine, etc. Even though these products are expensive and have little practical value, **they still make their owners happy**. And who are we to criticize others for spending money that goes towards increasing happiness. > > Some game items like character skins, tradeable gacha items, and Steam/game marketplace items could easily be turned into NFTs without changing gameplay, so there is an existing market for them. > > ####**Decentralized backend, allowing more auditability and access** > > NFTs can be stored on public, immutable blockchains. This gives their users more flexibility in controlling how they transfer and interact with them. It also provides an auditable record that anyone else could build an API to visualize or track the NFTs. **The community no longer has to rely on the front-end service provider for API tools since the blockchain already provides public access to the data source.** Communities can build markets and other visualizers for their NFTs on their own without needing additional permissions. > > Keeping NFTs on open ledgers is also useful for tracking unethical practices like wash sales and money laundering. > > ####**Automatic Royalties** > > NFTs can be set up as smart contracts that provide automatic royalties to the original creator. There is no need for an intermediary, who can often take a huge cut of the creator profits. > > ####**Potentially lower fees** > > Ethereum NFTs are insanely expensive. It can easily cost tens to hundreds of dollars to mint a Layer 1 Ethereum NFT even when there's little congestion. > > However, many NFT collections have now moved over to cheaper networks like Polygon, Solana, and Ethereum Layer 2 networks. For example, the Reddit collectible avatars only cost around $0.002 each to bulk-mint on Polygon. That's $50 total to mint the 27000 NFTs currently available for [my avatar set](https://polygonscan.com/address/0x466a330887bDF62D53f968EA824793150f07762e). Reddit doesn't have to pay for the backend of keeping track of all these NFTs or ongoing costs of concerning they're transferred, so it's orders of magnitude cheaper than it was on Ethereum. > > Most NFT marketplaces only charge 1-2% for listing fees, which is much cheaper than many traditional digital art marketplaces that charge 5-20% (e.g. ArtStation, DeviantArt). After all, they only need to provide the front end, not the backend or customer support for transfers. Even gaming communities like Steam charge a 5-10% commission fee for item trades. **People can skip marketplace fees by trading directly on the blockchain.** ***** Would you like to learn more? Check out the [Cointest archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_NFT) to find submissions for other topics.

CointestMod

NFT {{pros}} & {{cons}} with related info are in the collapsed comments below.

CointestMod

* Relevant Cointest topics: [Ethereum](https://www.reddit.com/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_ethereum), [Cardano](https://www.reddit.com/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_cardano), [Solana](https://www.reddit.com/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_solana), [Algorand](https://www.reddit.com/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_algorand). * Relevant subreddits: r/CCNFT, r/Ethereum, r/Cardano, r/CosmosNetwork. * [NFT tutorial](https://reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/lzjuf7/nft_madness_what_they_are_and_what_they_are_not/). * Sort comments as controversial first by [clicking here](/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/1cfro6a/yuga_labs_lost_its_way_says_ceo_as_bored_ape_nft/l1r0ass/?sort=controversial). Doesn't work on mobile.

CointestMod

#Apecoin Con-Arguments Below is a Apecoin con-argument written by bkcrypt0. > # Ape Coin Apes Real Crypto, but Without a Purpose > > # Background > > First there was the NFT craze with Bored Ape Yacht Club growing a following and a selling a ton of generated digital images fetching millions of dollars a piece. There were ones with funny hats, and expressions, and clothes, and laser eyes (how collectible!), but the underlying "art" was pretty much the same. The experiment proved there's a buyer for practically anything out there. > > Then came the social club that only BAYC NFT holders could attend. They even rented out a warehouse space in NYC with DJs, drinks, and a "don't you wish your NFTs were as cool as mine" vibe. > > Don't forget the mediocre cartoon featuring all your favorite apes who wait in line to escape a dying planet (oh the symbolism, how smug). > > If that wasn't enough, now there's APE coin, initially airdropped to NFT holders as another benefit of being in the club, but now available to anyone who wants to plunk down some hard earned cash on a purely speculative digital "asset." > > # Analysis > > Trouble is, the NFT ship has sailed (and the APE NFT values are plummeting based on floor price data.) This was meant to rival the Doge fans and their fanatical adherence to a private club of crypto holders that does nothing except circulate money from fiat to DOGE to other crypto and back again (the greater fool theory at work, except some got insanely rich off the grift.) > > APE coin failed to reach critical mass before the market tanked, and they didn't get the Musk nod to give it enhanced credibility like by being used for Tesla merch (how many Doge holders really care about Tesla merch?), so the coin languishes like the majority of alts (not all of them, at least not ones that actually do something.) > > Purely on the technicals at time of writing APE coin is off 80% from its high of over $25 with a little under **30% of its one billion tokens in circulation**. Imagine when the rest of that supply hits the market. > > What is APE coin used for? It's an ERC-20 token used for APE community DAO governance (and some online metaverse features.) How many people are buying Ape Coin to be able to vote in governance? > > # Conclusion > > Not every crypto has to have utility just like anything else that sells in the physical world (beanie babies and chia pets all had some value to the people who bought them.) > > They may look good on a shelf somewhere, but that doesn't make them a good investment (only a few beanie babies are actually worth significant money.) > > There's no tech here, no unique use case, no problems solved. Ape Coin is strictly a hyped crypto token with minimal value beyond the hype. As long as that machine keeps working it may sustain itself, but that's a risky bet by any definition. > > Otherwise it's all smoke and mirrors until the carnival closes and the mope in the ape suit vaping out back is left to wonder how to pay next month's bills. ***** Would you like to learn more? Check out the [Cointest archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Apecoin) to find submissions for other topics.

coinfeeds-bot

tldr; Yuga Labs, the creator of Bored Ape Yacht Club, announced a restructuring initiative including layoffs as part of efforts to refocus the company. CEO Greg Solano admitted the company had 'lost its way' and emphasized the need for a smaller, more agile team. The restructuring follows rapid expansion and challenges, including a significant drop in NFT prices and criticism of their metaverse game, Otherside. Solano plans to return to a lean operation focusing on quick, impactful projects. *This summary is auto generated by a bot and not meant to replace reading the original article. As always, DYOR.

CointestMod

#Apecoin Pro-Arguments Below is a Apecoin pro-argument written by cryotosensei. > > Background > > ApeCoin ($APE) was an ERC-20 governance token that was launched on March 17, 2022. It is a social token associated with twoof the biggest NFT players, Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and Mutant Apes Yacht Club (MAYC). They will be used to engage these two communities and maintain dominance of the whole ecosystem. > > 1. Interestingly, $APE is not controlled by BAYC’s creator, YUGA Labs. Instead, it is operated by the ApeCoin Dao, a decentralised autonomous organization. This means that every $APE holder gets a say in deciding governance rules. Already, they have exercised their right. When YUGA Labs proposed for $APE to have its own blockchain, Layer-2/subnet, or other sidechain solution, an overwhelming majority (99.91%) of 196K ApeCoin holders voted in favour of Proposition 41 as they would rather ApeCoin remain in the Ethereum ecosystem instead of migrating to other chains. This enhances $APE holders’ sense of autonomy as they get to determine the future of their token. > 2. Besides being empowered with voting rights, $APE holders will find like they are in an exclusive club as they will get to access member perks and benefits, including access to rare merchandise, and invitations to face-to-face events. > 3. $APE offers utility as a form of currency. Firstly, this is because of the Otherside metaverse that was launched by Yuga Labs. Since $APE is employed as the standard currency in Otherside (e.g. minting of Otherside NFTs), its value soared, thus helping it to become the largest metaverse token by market capitalisation at one point in time. Plus, players of the Animoca Brands blockchain game, Benji Bananas, could use ApeCoin as an in-game currency to advance to higher levels. This applies to players of a play to earn game from nWay Play too. > > > References > https://chaindebrief.com/everything-you-need-to-know-apecoin/ > > https://decrypt.co/98829/apecoin-becomes-largest-metaverse-token-surpassing-mana-sand-axs > > https://cryptobriefing.com/apecoin-at-all-time-highs-ahead-of-otherside-nft-drop/ > > https://bit.ly/3LlxoMC > > https://www.gemini.com/cryptopedia/apecoin-ape-crypto-bayc-ape-token-crypto-yuga-labs-ape-board#section-use-cases-of-ape-coin ***** Would you like to learn more? Check out the [Cointest archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Apecoin) to find submissions for other topics.

CointestMod

* Related Cointest topics: [Ethereum](https://www.reddit.com/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_ethereum), [NFT](https://www.reddit.com/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_nft), [DAO](https://www.reddit.com/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_dao. * Related subreddits: r/apecoins, r/NFT, r/NFTsMarketplace, r/BoredApeYachtClub. * Sort comments as controversial first by [clicking here](/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/1cfro6a/yuga_labs_lost_its_way_says_ceo_as_bored_ape_nft/l1r0ass/?sort=controversial). Doesn't work on mobile.

ProgrammaticallyHip

OK, you listed one non-marginal (albeit not especially prominent) company. But NFTs? They were just another company riding the hype wave before it died. The TravelX NFT website hasn’t been updated in a year (big surprise). If these are the best examples you can come up with, I hope your exposure is pretty limited.

CointestMod

#Ethereum Pro-Arguments Below is an argument written by Nostalg33k which won 2nd place in the Ethereum Pro-Arguments topic for a prior [Cointest](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_policy) round. > ​ > > # Ethereum: Use-case driving value > > Ethereum is a very valuable Blockchain. This blockchain is driven by innovation and utility. To understand what makes Ethereum such a valuable eco-system we need to discuss the inner-working of Ethereum. > > # Introduction: Ethereum explained > > According to [Ethereum.org](https://Ethereum.org) : > > >What is Ethereum? > > Ethereum is a technology that's home to digital money, global payments, and applications. The community has built a booming digital economy, bold new ways for creators to earn online, and so much more. It's open to everyone, wherever you are in the world – all you need is the internet. > > So the topic driving this discussion is badly worded. If we are discussing top coins then we should discuss Ether and not Ethereum. Since Ethereum is such an interesting ecosystem I will treat this argument as a pro Ethereum post. I'd love to see the discussion focused on Ether next time. > > Ethereum is not managed by a single entity nor managed by the Ethereum Foundation but is managed through a decentralized process explained [In their governance page](https://ethereum.org/en/governance/). > > Time for some metrics: Ethereum is currently trading north of 1750 $ and has a circulating supply of 122 millions ETH for a Market cap at around 218 billions > > Let's go back to the quote: "Ethereum is a technology that's home to digital money". This point is important. Ether is not the only coin which is using the Ethereum blockchain. A lot of value on the Ethereum Blockchain is not in Ether coins. This will be discussed further down. Ethereum is also home to global payment, so Ether and other cryptocurrencies can be used to settle transactions between P2P in a permissionless way. > > Applications called Dapps exist on the blockchain. We are going to discuss all of these aspects. We are also going to tackle NFTs on the Ethereum Blockchain. > > Ethereum is also completed by L2s. These are going to be mentioned. > > Ethereum has been switched from POW to Asic resistant POW to POS. These are going to be discussed. > > ​ > > # Ethereum: Home to digital money. > > Ethereum strength is that the blockchain is home to many cryptocurrencies. If gas fees are paid in Ether, many tokens have billions circulating in the Ethereum ecosystem. A quick look at Etherscans reveal how strong the ethereum ecosystem is. > > According to [EtherScan](https://etherscan.io/tokens) the blockchain has 40 Billions $ in USDT, 46 Billions in USDC and 7 Billions $ in Wrapped BTC. The market cap of Ether may be around 200 billions but the on chain value of assets in the Ethereum Blockchain is far higher. > > All of these USDT and USDC are stablecoins which can be used for transactions. In fact, it can be used for P2P transaction in a permissionless way but also to buy stuff from businesses. [Here is a list of business accepting USDT (which exists in the Ethereum blockchain)](https://nowpayments.io/blog/businesses-accepting-tether) and [Here is a list of business accepting directly Ethereum](https://www.analyticsinsight.net/top-10-companies-accepting-ethereum-as-a-payment-method-in-2022/) > > These classical transactions are not the only use of the Ethereum Blockchain: Dapps and NFT are also thriving ! > > # Ethereum: Home to dapps and NFTs > > Ethereum is home to a lot of different applications: Marketplaces, exchanges, defi, wallets, games... > > These application are different because they are called dapps: > > >A decentralised application (DApp,\[1\] dApp,\[2\] Dapp, or dapp) is an application that can operate autonomously, typically through the use of smart contracts, that run on a decentralized computing, blockchain or other distributed ledger system.\[3\] > > [Wikipedia Dapps](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decentralized_application) > > To give a glance to these dapps you can head to this website tho be wary of the first dapp listed being an advertisement for shady businesses (I haven't found a better website to source dapps) [Here you go](https://dappradar.com/rankings/protocol/ethereum/1) > > While I don't believe in the current state of NFT technology being viable (See my write up in favor of NFT speaking about the future of this technology), we have to take into account that even after losing 60% of their value there is still 3 Billions USD in NFTs in the Ethereum Blockchain [Source](https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-nft-collections-lost-nearly-60-of-their-market-cap-in-2022-report) > > # Ethereum: Layers of goodness. > > Ethereum can be a bit expensive for people, this is why it was layered. There are side chains existing just to be cheaper than Ethereum while offering bridges to and from Ethereum. For example Polygon. > > >Polygon is a Layer-2 scaling solution created to help bring mass adoption to the Ethereum platform. It caters to the diverse needs of developers by providing tools to create scalable decentralized applications (dApps) that prioritize performance, user experience (UX), and security. > > So if you want to be able to evaluate Ethereum you need to go and read about the biggest layer 2 pro and cons. > > [A small list of Ethereum layer 2 given by Ethereum.org](https://ethereum.org/en/layer-2/) > > # Ethereum: Evolve to thrive > > Ethereum has been a rapidly evolving ecosystem. It has seen the evolution of mining from GPU to Asic. In order to not become reliant on Asic mining, Ethereum was made Asic resistant. This created other problems: A pressure on the GPU market but also a concern for energy efficiency. In order to improve the footprint but also reduce the fees, Ethereum was made to transistion from POW to POS. Proof of stake is a protocol in which you need to stake coins to run a node in the network. > > This shows an ability to look ahead and to tackle challenges. > > # Conclusion: Ethereum is a rapidly evolving ecosystem which has a lot of value in it. Since Ether is their native coin, all of this impacts Ether's value. > > This is where we go back to the TOP COIN aspect of this write up. Everything I have said has an impact on the value and use of Ether. If you believe in the future of the Ethereum Blockchain, you can go ahead and look a bit more into Ether. If you don't believe in the Ethereum Blockchain then you should try to find a competitor. > > Just know that Ethereum is trying to become deflationary and that their economic outlook seems on par with good cryptos. > > Ethereum is one of the techs of the future and this essay has shown some of the most important aspects of it. > > Have fun ! ***** Would you like to learn more? [Click here](/r/CointestOfficial/comments/100p71b/top_coins_ethereum_proarguments_january_2023/) to be taken to the original topic-thread for this argument or you can scan through the [Cointest Archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Ethereum) to find arguments on this topic in other rounds.

Own_Television_6424

Icp is one of the main cryptos, it’s the chain that can host a true NFT on chain.

CointestMod

#Bitcoin Pro-Arguments Below is an argument written by a deleted user which won 1st place in the Bitcoin Pro-Arguments topic for a prior [Cointest](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_policy) round. > **First-Mover Advantage and The Network Effect** > > Bitcoin is currently the most popular cryptocurrency and market cap leader by a long shot. The [Bitcoin dominance chart](https://www.coingecko.com/en/global-charts) shows that Bitcoin represents 60% of the entire cryptocurrency market cap. This has increased from 40% in 2020. > > Bitcoin is the **gateway**. People start out with Bitcoin before checking out other cryptocurrencies. They're likely going to keep holding any Bitcoin they bought along the way. > > People will flock to whichever product has the largest user base. For half a decade, Bitcoin was almost synonymous with cryptocurrency. The Network Effect creates a **positive feedback loop** and makes Bitcoin's lead grow even more. > > If Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin were all released simultaneously, Bitcoin would lose to its PoW competitors because its competitors have cheaper fees with higher throughput. But the reality is that Bitcoin's first-mover advantage gave it such a huge head start that the others can't catch up. > > **Has the largest block reward for security** > > Due to its high price, Bitcoin has a huge [block reward of 6.5 BTC](https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/bitcoin/bitcoin-halving) (halves every 4 years) or ~$180k per block. This gives it the security lead because its block reward is so much bigger than other PoW cryptocurrencies, which attracts more miners. > > **Anti-censorship** > > Bitcoin provides partial censorship-resistance against sanctions and totalitarian government restrictions. It's much harder to prevent Bitcoin transactions than it is to prevent financial transactions at a centralized bank. [Legal sex workers](https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/24/22639356/onlyfans-ceo-tim-stokely-sexually-explicit-content-ban-banks) (e.g. Onlyfans) and [marijuana industries](https://www.leadingretirement.com/blog/cannabis-banking) are blocked from using traditional financial services due to social stigma. Even though they can operate legally, many TradFi banks avoid operating with them. Bitcoin provides those workers a way to transfer funds around that censorship. > > **Avoids Hyperinflation**: As long as governments keep causing high inflation through money-printing, people will run to Bitcoin for safety, which pumps up Bitcoin's price. > > **Considered a commodity by both SEC and CFTC**: Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency that both the SEC and CFTC have openly agreed is a commodity. And the CFTC is much less lawsuit-happy than the SEC. > > **Legal tender**: El Salvador has shown (despite some technical mishaps) that Bitcoin can be successfully used as legal tender for a country. > > **Ordinals provide utility** > > Even though Bitcoin Maxis hate Ordinals, this new protocol gives utility to Bitcoin and adds demand. NFT bros are using it as an **on-chain data storage layer** for their own blockchains (e.g. Ethereum, Stack). This has an advantage over IPFS since IPFS is stored in centralized databases instead of on-chain. > > This generates more fees for Bitcoin miners. Transaction fees have finally [risen to ~20 sats/vByte](https://mempool.space/graphs/mempool) on days with high Ordinals activity like Mar 22-24. This gives hope that there may be sufficient demand for Bitcoin as an on-chain data-storage layer even after the block subsidy eventually disappears due to halvings. > > **Pseudonymous**: Bitcoin's UTXO transactions can provide moderately-high levels of obscurity. A single wallet can produce a near-unlimited amount of addresses, and there's no way to link them unless they interact with each other. It's much harder to trace UTXO-based wallets than Account-based wallets because the former creates new UTXO addresses with each transaction while Account-based blockchain wallets typically reuse the same account. > > **Lightning transactions are near-instant and cheap** > > As long as you're spending small amounts of Bitcoin, you can use the Lightning network to make near-instant, sub-$0.01 transactions. Many Lightning nodes for merchants are connected to 3rd-party services that convert between cash and Lightning, making it easy to transfer Bitcoins. Consumers usually don't have to care about rebalancing issues since they're only spending small amounts. > > And the [total capacity of the Lightning Network](https://bitcoinvisuals.com/ln-capacity) in BTC keeps increasing steadily. > > **Cannot be counterfeited**: Cash can be counterfeited, but you can't fake Lightning transactions. Merchants have to deal with counterfeit cash in many markets around the world. > > **Bitcoin has a very strong community of die-hard supporters** > > A huge portion of Bitcoin supporters have become Bitcoin Maxis who will keep spreading their arguments, regardless of accuracy. Because Bitcoin is a gateway cryptocurrency, crypto newbies will encounter it first and gobble up these narratives because they don't have the experience to know their flaws. And they're very convincing when you keep repeating them in an echo chamber: > > * Maximum supply cap of 21M BTC vs Fed's money printer > * Amazing past-performance gains vs fiat > * Works as Store of Value (despite volatility) > * Had a "fair launch" without an ICO > * Is not a risky altcoin > * Is decentralized (based on largest number of miners) > * Has instant payments via the Lightning Network > > **Ultimately, people are mainly using crypto for speculative investing and long-term Store of Value. Most people don't care about technology, Defi, or utility. Thus Bitcoin is sufficient for their investment needs.** > > And since cryptocurrency value is largely based on a Keynesian Beauty Contest (i.e. you buy not based on your own value, but on what you think others are going to buy), people are going to keep buying Bitcoin as long as the investment narrative holds. ***** Would you like to learn more? [Click here](/r/CointestOfficial/comments/100p7vq/top_coins_bitcoin_proarguments_january_2023/) to be taken to the original topic-thread for this argument or you can scan through the [Cointest Archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Bitcoin) to find arguments on this topic in other rounds.

FYATWB

> Is my only choice to pay the fees or just let the Eth be stuck in there forever? Am I fucked? Bro lost $25 “am I fucked?” my man you just paid $25 to learn that fucking around with a “crypto NFT game” is a stupid idea. You know how much people in crypto normally pay to learn these kinds of lessons? Sometimes thousands of dollars or more. Someone should pay you $25 for all the laughs people will get from reading your post.

CointestMod

#Ethereum Pro-Arguments Below is an argument written by Nostalg33k which won 2nd place in the Ethereum Pro-Arguments topic for a prior [Cointest](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_policy) round. > ​ > > # Ethereum: Use-case driving value > > Ethereum is a very valuable Blockchain. This blockchain is driven by innovation and utility. To understand what makes Ethereum such a valuable eco-system we need to discuss the inner-working of Ethereum. > > # Introduction: Ethereum explained > > According to [Ethereum.org](https://Ethereum.org) : > > >What is Ethereum? > > Ethereum is a technology that's home to digital money, global payments, and applications. The community has built a booming digital economy, bold new ways for creators to earn online, and so much more. It's open to everyone, wherever you are in the world – all you need is the internet. > > So the topic driving this discussion is badly worded. If we are discussing top coins then we should discuss Ether and not Ethereum. Since Ethereum is such an interesting ecosystem I will treat this argument as a pro Ethereum post. I'd love to see the discussion focused on Ether next time. > > Ethereum is not managed by a single entity nor managed by the Ethereum Foundation but is managed through a decentralized process explained [In their governance page](https://ethereum.org/en/governance/). > > Time for some metrics: Ethereum is currently trading north of 1750 $ and has a circulating supply of 122 millions ETH for a Market cap at around 218 billions > > Let's go back to the quote: "Ethereum is a technology that's home to digital money". This point is important. Ether is not the only coin which is using the Ethereum blockchain. A lot of value on the Ethereum Blockchain is not in Ether coins. This will be discussed further down. Ethereum is also home to global payment, so Ether and other cryptocurrencies can be used to settle transactions between P2P in a permissionless way. > > Applications called Dapps exist on the blockchain. We are going to discuss all of these aspects. We are also going to tackle NFTs on the Ethereum Blockchain. > > Ethereum is also completed by L2s. These are going to be mentioned. > > Ethereum has been switched from POW to Asic resistant POW to POS. These are going to be discussed. > > ​ > > # Ethereum: Home to digital money. > > Ethereum strength is that the blockchain is home to many cryptocurrencies. If gas fees are paid in Ether, many tokens have billions circulating in the Ethereum ecosystem. A quick look at Etherscans reveal how strong the ethereum ecosystem is. > > According to [EtherScan](https://etherscan.io/tokens) the blockchain has 40 Billions $ in USDT, 46 Billions in USDC and 7 Billions $ in Wrapped BTC. The market cap of Ether may be around 200 billions but the on chain value of assets in the Ethereum Blockchain is far higher. > > All of these USDT and USDC are stablecoins which can be used for transactions. In fact, it can be used for P2P transaction in a permissionless way but also to buy stuff from businesses. [Here is a list of business accepting USDT (which exists in the Ethereum blockchain)](https://nowpayments.io/blog/businesses-accepting-tether) and [Here is a list of business accepting directly Ethereum](https://www.analyticsinsight.net/top-10-companies-accepting-ethereum-as-a-payment-method-in-2022/) > > These classical transactions are not the only use of the Ethereum Blockchain: Dapps and NFT are also thriving ! > > # Ethereum: Home to dapps and NFTs > > Ethereum is home to a lot of different applications: Marketplaces, exchanges, defi, wallets, games... > > These application are different because they are called dapps: > > >A decentralised application (DApp,\[1\] dApp,\[2\] Dapp, or dapp) is an application that can operate autonomously, typically through the use of smart contracts, that run on a decentralized computing, blockchain or other distributed ledger system.\[3\] > > [Wikipedia Dapps](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decentralized_application) > > To give a glance to these dapps you can head to this website tho be wary of the first dapp listed being an advertisement for shady businesses (I haven't found a better website to source dapps) [Here you go](https://dappradar.com/rankings/protocol/ethereum/1) > > While I don't believe in the current state of NFT technology being viable (See my write up in favor of NFT speaking about the future of this technology), we have to take into account that even after losing 60% of their value there is still 3 Billions USD in NFTs in the Ethereum Blockchain [Source](https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-nft-collections-lost-nearly-60-of-their-market-cap-in-2022-report) > > # Ethereum: Layers of goodness. > > Ethereum can be a bit expensive for people, this is why it was layered. There are side chains existing just to be cheaper than Ethereum while offering bridges to and from Ethereum. For example Polygon. > > >Polygon is a Layer-2 scaling solution created to help bring mass adoption to the Ethereum platform. It caters to the diverse needs of developers by providing tools to create scalable decentralized applications (dApps) that prioritize performance, user experience (UX), and security. > > So if you want to be able to evaluate Ethereum you need to go and read about the biggest layer 2 pro and cons. > > [A small list of Ethereum layer 2 given by Ethereum.org](https://ethereum.org/en/layer-2/) > > # Ethereum: Evolve to thrive > > Ethereum has been a rapidly evolving ecosystem. It has seen the evolution of mining from GPU to Asic. In order to not become reliant on Asic mining, Ethereum was made Asic resistant. This created other problems: A pressure on the GPU market but also a concern for energy efficiency. In order to improve the footprint but also reduce the fees, Ethereum was made to transistion from POW to POS. Proof of stake is a protocol in which you need to stake coins to run a node in the network. > > This shows an ability to look ahead and to tackle challenges. > > # Conclusion: Ethereum is a rapidly evolving ecosystem which has a lot of value in it. Since Ether is their native coin, all of this impacts Ether's value. > > This is where we go back to the TOP COIN aspect of this write up. Everything I have said has an impact on the value and use of Ether. If you believe in the future of the Ethereum Blockchain, you can go ahead and look a bit more into Ether. If you don't believe in the Ethereum Blockchain then you should try to find a competitor. > > Just know that Ethereum is trying to become deflationary and that their economic outlook seems on par with good cryptos. > > Ethereum is one of the techs of the future and this essay has shown some of the most important aspects of it. > > Have fun ! ***** Would you like to learn more? [Click here](/r/CointestOfficial/comments/100p71b/top_coins_ethereum_proarguments_january_2023/) to be taken to the original topic-thread for this argument or you can scan through the [Cointest Archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Ethereum) to find arguments on this topic in other rounds.

CointestMod

#Shiba Inu Con-Arguments Below is a Shiba Inu con-argument written by shitiforgotmypasswor. > - SHIB doesn't really have a use case well defined. There are some people accepting it as a payment, there are some NFT being minted, but all without a clear use besides hodling. > > - The developers are anonymous, nobody know who they are and what they got out of it. > > - ShibaSwap is not well developed, lots of manual processes, rewards are deployed manually, last reward cycle delayed due to a dev having personal issues. The security excuse for it at this day and age is a red flag > > - Roadmap is full of ideas but still lacks a clear vision on what is SHIB going to address and make itself relevant. The ecosystem has 3 coins, with another 2 on the horizon, but again, no real use case for them. Feels like they just throw some words like "governance" but what is it governing? What pairs are to be added to the swap? What else? > > All in all, it comes down to lack of an appealing use case. It's marketed as community experiment, but it feels like a group of people with wishful thinking trying to make the coin value go up. ***** Would you like to learn more? Check out the [Cointest archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Shiba_Inu) to find submissions for other topics.

CointestMod

#Shiba Inu Pro-Arguments Below is a Shiba Inu pro-argument written by cbelaski. > Shiba Inu (SHIB) is an ERC-20 token modeled after the king of meme coins Dogecoin. This token has evolved beyond meme status, focusing on decentralization with their own DEX ShibaSwap. > > ShibaSwap utilizes the 3 tokens in the ecosystem (SHIB, LEASH, and BONE) to facilitate transactions and provide rewards. ShibaSwap has gone all in on the theme, renaming staple terms to more dog centric names: stake is now bury and provide liquidity is now dig. This helps to immerse users into the ecosystem and provides a unique aspect to those involved. > > Shiba Inu also has an incubator dedicated to "cultivating an enviromnet which encourages creativity and growth." This incubator helps those in the community with their NFT aspirations and is a large part of their decentralization movement. > > SHIB also has a psychological advantage not many coins can replicate. This comes from the fact that their are 1 QUADRILLION coins in circulation. Having that many coins helps SHIB maintain it's low price and allows users to buy massive amounts of coins for a relatively small investment. While this doesn't really mean much in the grand scheme of things since market cap is what really matters, people are easily swayed by large numbers. > > Looking past the technicals, SHIB is a force to be reckoned with on the community front. Following Dogecoins footsteps, SHIB may have figured out the secret to quick growth and utilization: hype. It doesn't matter how good your product is if no one has heard of you. SHIB has gained a rabid following through the ShibArmy and taking just one look at their subreddit will show you that they have all drank the kool-aid. If they can keep this hype going, SHIB is a meme coin that will stick around for quite some time. > > Others will argue that these meme coins are a negative on the crypto space and only further the idea that this is all fake money, but it is actually the opposite. Hype leads to growing interest which leads to more users in the crypto world. Dogecoin paved the way for meme coins as an entry point for the average person, and Shiba Inu is just the next evolution of that idea. As more users flow into this space and add their fiat into the exchanges, the crypto world as a whole will continue to grow and head towards our ultimate goal of replacing the current financial system. ***** Would you like to learn more? Check out the [Cointest archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Shiba_Inu) to find submissions for other topics.

CointestMod

#Ethereum Pro-Arguments Below is an argument written by Nostalg33k which won 2nd place in the Ethereum Pro-Arguments topic for a prior [Cointest](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_policy) round. > ​ > > # Ethereum: Use-case driving value > > Ethereum is a very valuable Blockchain. This blockchain is driven by innovation and utility. To understand what makes Ethereum such a valuable eco-system we need to discuss the inner-working of Ethereum. > > # Introduction: Ethereum explained > > According to [Ethereum.org](https://Ethereum.org) : > > >What is Ethereum? > > Ethereum is a technology that's home to digital money, global payments, and applications. The community has built a booming digital economy, bold new ways for creators to earn online, and so much more. It's open to everyone, wherever you are in the world – all you need is the internet. > > So the topic driving this discussion is badly worded. If we are discussing top coins then we should discuss Ether and not Ethereum. Since Ethereum is such an interesting ecosystem I will treat this argument as a pro Ethereum post. I'd love to see the discussion focused on Ether next time. > > Ethereum is not managed by a single entity nor managed by the Ethereum Foundation but is managed through a decentralized process explained [In their governance page](https://ethereum.org/en/governance/). > > Time for some metrics: Ethereum is currently trading north of 1750 $ and has a circulating supply of 122 millions ETH for a Market cap at around 218 billions > > Let's go back to the quote: "Ethereum is a technology that's home to digital money". This point is important. Ether is not the only coin which is using the Ethereum blockchain. A lot of value on the Ethereum Blockchain is not in Ether coins. This will be discussed further down. Ethereum is also home to global payment, so Ether and other cryptocurrencies can be used to settle transactions between P2P in a permissionless way. > > Applications called Dapps exist on the blockchain. We are going to discuss all of these aspects. We are also going to tackle NFTs on the Ethereum Blockchain. > > Ethereum is also completed by L2s. These are going to be mentioned. > > Ethereum has been switched from POW to Asic resistant POW to POS. These are going to be discussed. > > ​ > > # Ethereum: Home to digital money. > > Ethereum strength is that the blockchain is home to many cryptocurrencies. If gas fees are paid in Ether, many tokens have billions circulating in the Ethereum ecosystem. A quick look at Etherscans reveal how strong the ethereum ecosystem is. > > According to [EtherScan](https://etherscan.io/tokens) the blockchain has 40 Billions $ in USDT, 46 Billions in USDC and 7 Billions $ in Wrapped BTC. The market cap of Ether may be around 200 billions but the on chain value of assets in the Ethereum Blockchain is far higher. > > All of these USDT and USDC are stablecoins which can be used for transactions. In fact, it can be used for P2P transaction in a permissionless way but also to buy stuff from businesses. [Here is a list of business accepting USDT (which exists in the Ethereum blockchain)](https://nowpayments.io/blog/businesses-accepting-tether) and [Here is a list of business accepting directly Ethereum](https://www.analyticsinsight.net/top-10-companies-accepting-ethereum-as-a-payment-method-in-2022/) > > These classical transactions are not the only use of the Ethereum Blockchain: Dapps and NFT are also thriving ! > > # Ethereum: Home to dapps and NFTs > > Ethereum is home to a lot of different applications: Marketplaces, exchanges, defi, wallets, games... > > These application are different because they are called dapps: > > >A decentralised application (DApp,\[1\] dApp,\[2\] Dapp, or dapp) is an application that can operate autonomously, typically through the use of smart contracts, that run on a decentralized computing, blockchain or other distributed ledger system.\[3\] > > [Wikipedia Dapps](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decentralized_application) > > To give a glance to these dapps you can head to this website tho be wary of the first dapp listed being an advertisement for shady businesses (I haven't found a better website to source dapps) [Here you go](https://dappradar.com/rankings/protocol/ethereum/1) > > While I don't believe in the current state of NFT technology being viable (See my write up in favor of NFT speaking about the future of this technology), we have to take into account that even after losing 60% of their value there is still 3 Billions USD in NFTs in the Ethereum Blockchain [Source](https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-nft-collections-lost-nearly-60-of-their-market-cap-in-2022-report) > > # Ethereum: Layers of goodness. > > Ethereum can be a bit expensive for people, this is why it was layered. There are side chains existing just to be cheaper than Ethereum while offering bridges to and from Ethereum. For example Polygon. > > >Polygon is a Layer-2 scaling solution created to help bring mass adoption to the Ethereum platform. It caters to the diverse needs of developers by providing tools to create scalable decentralized applications (dApps) that prioritize performance, user experience (UX), and security. > > So if you want to be able to evaluate Ethereum you need to go and read about the biggest layer 2 pro and cons. > > [A small list of Ethereum layer 2 given by Ethereum.org](https://ethereum.org/en/layer-2/) > > # Ethereum: Evolve to thrive > > Ethereum has been a rapidly evolving ecosystem. It has seen the evolution of mining from GPU to Asic. In order to not become reliant on Asic mining, Ethereum was made Asic resistant. This created other problems: A pressure on the GPU market but also a concern for energy efficiency. In order to improve the footprint but also reduce the fees, Ethereum was made to transistion from POW to POS. Proof of stake is a protocol in which you need to stake coins to run a node in the network. > > This shows an ability to look ahead and to tackle challenges. > > # Conclusion: Ethereum is a rapidly evolving ecosystem which has a lot of value in it. Since Ether is their native coin, all of this impacts Ether's value. > > This is where we go back to the TOP COIN aspect of this write up. Everything I have said has an impact on the value and use of Ether. If you believe in the future of the Ethereum Blockchain, you can go ahead and look a bit more into Ether. If you don't believe in the Ethereum Blockchain then you should try to find a competitor. > > Just know that Ethereum is trying to become deflationary and that their economic outlook seems on par with good cryptos. > > Ethereum is one of the techs of the future and this essay has shown some of the most important aspects of it. > > Have fun ! ***** Would you like to learn more? [Click here](/r/CointestOfficial/comments/100p71b/top_coins_ethereum_proarguments_january_2023/) to be taken to the original topic-thread for this argument or you can scan through the [Cointest Archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Ethereum) to find arguments on this topic in other rounds.

tilac

Who...huh...what? I don't want to borrow an NFT. Why would someone want to do that? Look everyone, I borrowed an NFT! Huh? People paid 2 billion dollars to borrow NFTs? What?

CointestMod

#NFT Con-Arguments Below is a NFT con-argument written by a deleted user. > ####**Anti-NFT backlash** > > By now, we need accept that most communities, especially the technology and gaming communities, absolutely hate NFTs. Even the crypto community is quite skeptical about the practical use cases for NFTs. > > There are literally subs banning users for having a reddit avatar NFT (like the 196 subreddit) even though they were given away freely. Gaming companies like [Ubisoft were absolutely vilified](https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2022/04/ubisofts-first-nft-experiment-was-a-dumpster-fire/) when they mentioned exploring NFTs in future games. [EA had to backtrack](https://www.protocol.com/bulletins/ea-ceo-nfts-blockchain-backtrack) after their own high-profile backlash. Gamers in particular hate Pay-to-Win and Pay-to-Earn systems, which are commonly used in the design scheme for NFT-based games. > > **It's risky for companies to endorse NFTs when their customers are going out of the way to avoid them.** NFTs will likely remain a very niche product for the near future. > > ####**Does not provide direct ownership** > > NFTs are records of transactions and don't provide direct ownership. They can hold metadata, which are often just glorified links and pointers to other sources. For example, an NFT could point to the URI of an image. **But there's nothing preventing others from creating new NFTs that point to the same image. Owning the NFT does not mean you own the referenced image.** It's up to the people, communities, and front-end services involved with the NFT to recognize that the NFT represents ownership of the object it links to. > > Similarly, NFTs that point to real objects like property also have to work within the confines of the regulatory system. If the regulatory system does recognize the the NFT, then trading that NFT doesn't transfer actual property rights. In that situation, the NFT becomes an unnecessary extra step. > > There are many [stolen artwork](https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/17/23077174/deviantart-protect-nft-crypto-stolen-art-blockchain-detection) that get created as NFTs. Many projects like Bored Apes have near-identical copycats of each other. For example, the official collection of MetaWaifus is on Solana, but there are 4 other (likely stolen) collections on Polygon's PoS network sold through Opensea that are duplicates of the original. Centralized marketplaces have to spend effort blocking stolen work, and it's a complicated game of whack-a-mole. > > ####**Uses centralized front-end services** > > NFTs require front-end services to provide an interface for customers. For example, games could easily cost 10s to 100s of millions of dollars and take many years to develop. **If the centralized front-end platform goes down or chooses to no longer recognize the NFTs, it could be cost-prohibitive and time-prohibitive for the community to rebuild it.** If that happens, the NFT will become worthless. Intellectual Property rights could also prevent the objects represented by the NFTs to be re-established without considerably changing how they look or work. > > ####**Reliant on blockchains** > > NFTs are stored on blockchains, so they carry all the risks and downsides to using them. **NFTs are at risk of theft, hacks, bugs, and user errors.** If you lose access to an NFT, there is no undo button or recovery system--it's permanently lost. Users will need to become familiar with a complex system of wallets, gas tokens, safety, and will shoulder the risk of owning NFTs. > > **Networks also can have high transaction and smart contract fees** for minting and transferring the NFTs. For example, BAYC NFT's Otherside sale brought in $253M of revenue, but cost $181M in Ethereum gas fees [[Source](https://qz.com/2161193/bored-ape-yacht-clubs-nfts-cost-181-million-in-gas-fees/)]. Even on the very-cheap Polygon PoS network, it cost 0.1-0.2 cents to mint a reddit NFT. They're cheap individually, but if you need to mint and transfer millions of these for the 400M+ monthly active redditors, the costs quickly add up. > > **Most blockchains are very storage-limited**, so the objects that the NFTs represent are often stored off-chain either on centralized databases or on IPFS, leading to the additional risk of dead links. ***** Would you like to learn more? Check out the [Cointest archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_NFT) to find submissions for other topics.

CointestMod

#NFT Pro-Arguments Below is a NFT pro-argument written by Blendzi0r. > First published on: [30.11.2021](https://np.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/pfonjt/rcc_cointest_general_concepts_nft_proarguments/hmpq1xo/) > > Last edited on: 23.02.2022 > > NFTs, Non-Fungible Tokens, are tokens that have unique hash IDs. This makes it possible to always indicate the original one even if there are countless NFTs that look exactly the same. > > Think of it this way: you have two exactly the same copies of George Orwiell’s “1984”. But one of them is signed by the author. This makes the book with the signature worth much more than the other one. And it makes it non-fungible in a way: the signature is unique ergo the book is unique (or at least unique compared to all the books which weren’t signed by the author). But signatures can be faked, you might say. True, but it’s impossible to fake “signatures” on blockchain: blockchain stores all the data about minted (created) NFTs and this data cannot be altered. Therefore, **NFTs are an incredibly reliable tool when it comes to verifying ownership and legitimacy of various assets**, e.g. land, pieces of art, licenses, certificates and so on. > > In the case of blockchains like Ethereum, which are decentralized and well-established, you can be sure that [NFTs that you create on such blockchains are secure](https://www.artshub.com.au\/news/opinions-analysis/nfts-the-pros-and-cons-262268-2370580/) and no one can remove or modify them. > > What’s more, [NFTs can have their own smart contracts](https://medium.com/lansaar/nfts-and-smart-contracts-6c4c5516d5a0). You can e.g. add a smart contract for royalties – each time your NFT is sold/used, you will receive a royalty payment that you set beforehand yourself. And, again, the fact that **everything is visible on blockchain** makes it very transparent for any transacting party – everyone can take a look at/inspect the smart contract. An no one can alter it without your consent. > > NFTS can also be used for storing important data. Not only is the data safe on the blockchain from physical damage, but it also cannot be secretly modified since every change is recorded forever on the blockchain. > > Another interesting use-case for NFTs is **ticketing**. Any party organizing events can use NFTs to sell tickets that will be easily verifiable and impossible to fake. NFTs also eliminate the need of using third-party services, like e.g. Ticketmaster, and help to avoid paying high fees. > > NFTs suffer bad publicity due to bad actors (sometimes literally bad actors – looking at you, John Cena and Lindsay Lohan) who take advantage of the NFT hype, but in reality they are a very useful application of blockchain. ***** Would you like to learn more? Check out the [Cointest archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_NFT) to find submissions for other topics.

CointestMod

NFT {{pros}} & {{cons}} with related info are in the collapsed comments below.

CointestMod

* Relevant Cointest topics: [Ethereum](https://www.reddit.com/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_ethereum), [Cardano](https://www.reddit.com/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_cardano), [Solana](https://www.reddit.com/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_solana), [Algorand](https://www.reddit.com/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_algorand). * Relevant subreddits: r/CCNFT, r/Ethereum, r/Cardano, r/CosmosNetwork. * [NFT tutorial](https://reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/lzjuf7/nft_madness_what_they_are_and_what_they_are_not/). * Sort comments as controversial first by [clicking here](/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/1cduv7b/nft_lending_volume_surpass_2_billion_in_q1_as/?sort=controversial). Doesn't work on mobile.

Shadow_throne2020

Shoutout to freaky keke. Rundown put out little hippo NFT Got in on it and let them sit. Came back to check in 3 years later. Instead of building uses for those he spent his time designing a frog hooker coin. Maybe Ill get my airdrop.

Own_Department1943

I received NFT's recently. I clicked on view details and the network they were transferred from. I didn't input anything. Are my funds vulnerable now too?

coinfeeds-bot

tldr; The NFT lending market saw a significant increase, surpassing $2 billion in volume during Q1 2024, marking a 44% growth from Q4 2023. Blend, launched by Blur in May 2023, dominated the market with nearly 93% share and a quarterly lending volume of over $2.02 billion. Other platforms like Arcade and NFTfi also showed growth, with Arcade hitting a new quarterly record of $39.4 million. The rise in NFT lending volume reflects a trend where NFT holders leverage their assets for liquidity. *This summary is auto generated by a bot and not meant to replace reading the original article. As always, DYOR.

LacCoupeOnZees

Remember when Eminem was promoting some shitty NFT?

Big-Finding2976

You misunderstand. The stolen car is the dirty ETH in this analogy, not the NFT. The point is, if you receive something stolen/dirty, whether that be a car, cash, or ETH, it's liable to be seized regardless of whether you knew it was stolen/dirty.

CointestMod

#Solana Con-Arguments Below is a Solana con-argument written by a deleted user. > #CONs > > This is the Cons section of [my analysis on Solana](https://np.reddit.com/r/MPlankton/comments/vk42tn/solana_research_june_2022/) > > There are many flaws with Solana's network and design. Retail investors should be cautious of investing in Solana until the upcoming **QUIC** and **Localized Fee Prioritizations** fix the ongoing outage and stability issues with the network. > > ##Way too many outages > > One of the biggest problems with Solana is that it has had way too many outages ever since its Mainnet launch. It's had at least [4 major outages, 3 partial outages](https://status.solana.com/uptime), and numerous congestions caused by DDoS attacks (some unintentional) in the 9 months between Sept 2021 and Jun 2022. That's way more than most of its competitors. These numerous outages have ruined its reputation in the crypto community. > > The network is very vulnerable to DoS attacks, which have brought down the network many times. In Sept 2021, a [DoS attack flooded the entire network](https://solana.com/news/9-14-network-outage-initial-overview) to the point it could not recover for almost a full day. In Jan 21-22, 2022, [bots brought down the network](https://fortune.com/2022/01/25/solana-founder-anatoly-yakovenko-crypto-crash-blockchain-instability/) with excessive duplicate transactions. A similar DDoS attack happened on Apr 30, when a [NFT minting bots took down the network](https://solana.com/news/04-30-22-solana-mainnet-beta-outage-report-mitigation) with 4M TPS of spam. > > During DDoS attacks, validators continue forwarding transactions to the leader. Since there is no mempool, the leader has to keep up with the traffic. If the leader can't keep up, the transaction drops and the user has to resubmit it. When congested and attacked by DDOS, the number of forks increases greatly, and leaders end up picking branches quickly and inaccurately, often extending empty blocks. This ends up reducing throughput of valid transactions and creating wasted forks. For example, during the Jan 21-22 attacks, the true throughput fell to 140 TPS. It's really easy for DDoS attacks to create a disruptive positive feedback loop that shuts down the whole network. > > ##Blockchain Design > > **Slower Finality** > > Due to the design of Proof of History consensus, Solana has probabilistic finality with a moderate chance of wasted forks. It takes [32 blocks before any transaction is final](https://docs.solana.com/proposals/block-confirmation). At 2.5s per block, this means 80 seconds. Users will see their transactions posted in 2.5s. If there's no congestions, they can probably wait 10s and assume it's probabilistically final. But if there's congestion, lots of skipped blocks, and people DDoS'ing the network, it's not deterministically final until they wait 80 seconds. This is much slower than many of their competitors, which have 2-10s deterministic finality. > > **Exaggerated/Useless TPS metrics** > > Solana's reported 50K TPS in ideal conditions is completely exaggerated. > > First, that number is based on a 400 ms slot time, but the current slot time is around 600-800 ms, which reduces the ideal TPS 25-50%. > > Solana also exaggerates their throughput by including non-useful transactions in their metrics. This includes vote transactions, which account for 70-90% of transactions. > > The count of valid TPS (excluding vote transactions and erroneous transactions) is much lower. About 80-85% of transactions are either vote transactions that are used for consensus or erroneous transactions. The true [non-vote TPS limit is much lower at around **400-600 TPS**](https://dashboard.chaincrunch.cc/public/dashboard/cc7a0d94-7f70-46f4-aae4-2f8810430931#theme=night) when the network isn't congested. As of June 2022, on average only 15% of total counted transactions are working transactions. > > In addition, validators routinely skip blocks, encounter bad forks, or post empty blocks. Even when there's no congestion, validator's unweighed skip rate is [10-25% of blocks](https://solanabeach.io/validators). > > ##Opaque Ledger and Block Explorer > > Solana has several explorers, and all of them are very opaque. The official explorer doesn't allow you to browse blocks and transactions, and it's practical useless. Solana Beach is probalby the best explorer, but it too shows almost no data except for the address and transaction fee. It is very confusing trying to decipher these transactions. There's almost no information on the identity of validators. Both of the main explorers are very slow and often stall when querying details. > > Another part of Solana's obscurity is the 30% of the total supply of SOL that is non-circulating but staked. It's supposedly owned by the Solana Foundation. This has been discussed several times by developers on Discord, but no one seems to understand why it's there and how they're using it. It also doesn't help that Solana's main explorer and Solana Beach explorer won't load details about its non-circulating supply. > > **Unable to Audit Smart Contracts** > > Probably the worst issue on Solana (even worse than the outages) is that you can't audit smart contracts. When you use a smart contract on Solana, you are blindly trusting that it does what it says it'll do. There's not a single Solana Explorer that currently shows smart contract code. > > Developers can publish their source code on another website, but they can also redeploy their on-chain contract at the same address. So users don't have a reliable method of trusting source code published off-chain. > > ##Poor Tokenomics > > **Transaction fees are 99% subsidized by Staking Rewards, which feed back into SOL as supply inflation** > > Like many networks, the low transaction fees are not enough to pay for the cost of running the network. > > Solana is expected to make [$12M in transaction fees in this year going by the current 30-day average]( https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/projects/solana). Staking rewards is expected to [pay out around $1.4B in SOL in 2022](https://messari.io/asset/solana/profile/supply-schedule). That means 99.1% of validator rewards are being paid by staking rewards instead of the artificially-low transaction fees. And staking rewards inflate the supply of the SOL token. > > Total supply inflation for staking started out [at 8% and gradually declines by 15% annually until it reaches 1.5%](https://docs.solana.com/inflation/inflation_schedule). Note that this is an underestimate because these calculations are based on total supply, not circulating supply, which is 30% smaller. Messari currently lists [circulating supply inflation as 7.4%](https://messari.io/screener/supply-and-marketcap-EB1755C2). > > Solana is fully-vested as of Jan 2022, though there is a 30% gap between the recorded circulating and total supply because most of the [Foundation's staked SOL](https://explorer.solana.com/supply?filter=nonCirculating) is not included in circulating supply. (Their Explorer website barely has any supply details or charts, and doesn't even loading half of the time, so it's hard to investigate.) > > ##Other Points > > **Requires insecure bridges to other networks** > > Solana is a bit isolated from other blockchains. It requires insecure bridges to connect to other networks, which is also an issue for many other networks. Bridges often get exploited, like the [Feb 2022 $320M Solana Wormhole hack](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/02/320-million-stolen-from-wormhole-bridge-linking-solana-and-ethereum.html). Solana needs a safer cross-chain protocol if it wants to communicate safely with other networks. > > **High validator requirements** > > The minimum requirements for validators are 12-cores and 128GB of memory. 300 Mbit internet server is preferred. These are enterprise-server requirements, and they're expensive to maintain. ***** Would you like to learn more? Check out the [Cointest archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Solana) to find submissions for other topics.

CointestMod

#Solana Pro-Arguments Below is a Solana pro-argument written by a deleted user. > **Solana Pros** > > **Proof-of-History** > > The development and use of the Proof-of-History consensus method, which enables Solana to achieve extraordinarily fast network speeds, is the most notable competitive advantage of the Solana blockchain. The sole purpose of this method was to raise TPS more than leading networks like Ethereum or Bitcoin. Due to the time normally needed to obtain consensus and properly organize the blockchain in response to time passing, proof of history helps other networks' scalability issues. > > **Transaction fees** > > Solana has a block size of 20,000 transactions and block time of 0.4 seconds. The Solana network offers an exceptionally cheap transaction cost of just 1c per transaction, which is made possible by the greater block time and block size. Solana is now among the blockchains with the lowest transaction costs because to this cost. > > **NFTs** > > Currently, NFTs account for a sizable portion of why individuals use these networks. The major factor behind Solana's NFT ecosystem's rapid expansion is the network's scalability, which enables it to handle transactions effectively. Ethereum can only handle 15 transactions per second, whereas Solana can process 50,000. This is important information for users to know because sluggish network speed also equates to expensive costs. The freedom that artists enjoy with their NFT works on Solana is enormous. This is mostly caused by the other blockchains' technical shortcomings. Fast processing times and affordable prices enable artists to produce works that, for instance, would be too expensive to mint on Ethereum. ***** Would you like to learn more? Check out the [Cointest archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Solana) to find submissions for other topics.

trimming_addy247

The purchaser of the NFT now could be laundering money.

DruPeacock23

Chainanalysis has mapped mapped most of bitcoin and ethereum addresses. They also work closely with the US governments. Chainanalysis reports NFT washing trades are making a killing when they are profitable.Wash trades are not illegal so this is keep persisting for a while. However, NFT money laundering is quite small in comparison to the makers cap according to chainanalyssis. Everyone thinks bitcoin is anonymous but there are many software which watches all the wallets and transactions especially when it ends up in fiat.

Duncle_Rico

>Well yeah I was talking only nft collection too. And I'm not saying crypto is never used for money laundering, just 9.9/10x a redditor comment's money laundering, it's the farthest thing from it. I can agree that most don't understand the process enough to claim it as money laundering. With the NFT sale on topic, I definitely don't think it's money laundering because there are press articles about it and discussions on it lmao. If they were intending money laundering, the goal is to remain undetected, not make headlines. >It's interesting that they have discernible listings by seller. As I don't know what purpose that is for natively. But I don't know anything bout the ecosystem. All the listings for gods unchained are anonymous, so you can post a card up for $1 and as soon as someone else puts the same card up for $1, you can't tell the difference between the two. But if 900cards are between $0.50-$20. Posting a sell offer for $9000 is going to easily be picked out. >You'd have to do a lot more obfuscation though to be effective or else that's super easy to get caught and would be immediately flagged from any investigation, as such a mismatch in price is an easy/common indicator of fraudulent activity. Assuming the end goal is to liquidate legally into fiat. I'd assume a lot of these sales don't just go from one wallet to the next. The person trying to launder the money would first use a method called "Crypto tumbling" (I think), in which they would use hundreds of crypto wallets to split and recombine the funds in order to obscure the origin and destination of the funds, making it challenging for investigators to trace the flow of money. I'm almost positive there are illegal services for this (dark web shit) Once funds are into the final wallet, the user would then buy the NFT from their main wallet, cash out, and claim it as a legitimate sale.

Fornicatinzebra

But that's why I said to use a coin mixer. Essentially what you do is transfer your dirty ETH to one and receive a transaction key. Then at any point in the future from any wallet you can enter that key into the mixer and receive the amount. Sounds simple enough, but they do that with programming such that 4000 ETH is sent in a thousand 4 ETH transactions, then received at random times over a period like a year or so to unique wallets. Now you have let's say 400 wallets with like 35 ETH in each (gas, mixer fees, etc), that received their balance from a coin mixer address in multiple transactions throughout a year. You can't track those transactions any further. And you can set scripts up to make them do some random transactions to look like an average investor. Now you have 400 wallets which each received ETH transactions from a coin mixer over a year at unrelated time, and each lost some of it "gambling" Then you make 100 NFTs that cost what you have in 4 wallets each, and release them as a collection. You rig it so your 400 wallets get to buy first. Now you have a seemingly clean wallet with all of the originally dirty ETH minus fees etc. that received it by selling out an NFT collection. In your actually clean wallet you sell your inflated value NFT for much higher than others. It sits for awhile, but then is bought by the wallet that had the once dirty ETH. Now your personal wallet has 2000 ish ETH that was from selling an NFT to a wallet that just made a bunch of ETH selling NFTs to average looking "investors". Setup a script to do this and every time you hack a smart contract you get paid out in 1-2 years. The numbers are just for literary purposes, but hopefully what I'm trying to say makes sense.

Biasanya

Yeah but, selling an NFT is not criminal. It's not your fault if whoever buys it does so with dirty money

CointestMod

#Solana Con-Arguments Below is a Solana con-argument written by Nostalg33k. > # Solana: A tale of broken trust and VCs > > Solana, an infamous name living as the shadow of it former self [Currently hovering at a price a bit higher than 10% of the ATH](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/solana/) which is a shame for any investor. In this small analysis we are going to discuss why Solana is a failure on multiple fronts. From Security, to stability. Let's delve into Solana. > > ​ > > # From outages to outrages > > Solana has been transformed into a laughingstock by the repeating outages the network has known. While it is claimed that [Solana is all about speed, with 400 millisecond block times. And as hardware gets faster, so does the network.](https://Solana.com) The Solana network has suffered [6 outages in the month of January](https://fortune.com/2022/01/25/solana-founder-anatoly-yakovenko-crypto-crash-blockchain-instability/) Stability has not been the strong suit of the network. This has sparked outrage against the network but ALSO against some exchanges because these outages are leading big dumps on the markets: [When speculator sell and lead to a 12 % dump](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/01/solana-suffered-its-second-outage-in-a-month-sending-price-plunging.html) the most dedicated investor are left holding their bags on the blockchain. > > Every discussion about Solana as an investment should discuss the possibility of outages and swings. > > # The Main Use case is Bullshit > > The main use case for Solana is to sell useless no common sense NFTs. While there are good use case for NFT technology, art and music nfts as they exist are just a passing fad and will need to evolve or disappear. Being a place linked mainly with this technology is very risky and shows a devotion to speculation and not to common sense use cases. > > ​ > > ​ > > # Security: Hacks, hacks, hacks and VCs > > The Solana ecosystem has known a lot of failures. The fact is that value is on the ETH side of the crypto ecosystem so bridges are required. When the Wormhole bridge saw a hack leading to 120000 ETH being minted out of the bridge leading to a loss which would be currently valued at 160 Millions. > > When this happened Jump Crypto, a subsidiary from Jump Capital, found 320 Millions to buy ETH and replace the missing funds. This allows us to understand two possibilities. > > 1) Jump Crypto did this from the kindness of their heart > > 2) Jump Crypto did this because they are heavily invested in Solana and control a large part of the SOL moving around. > > Now this may be speculation BUT recently Jump Crypto was said to be working to overhaul the open source SOL protocol for nodes. This leads to doubt about the legitimacy of the Solana Fundation and who controls the project. > > [https://protos.com/jump-crypto-forced-to-save-solana-with-320m-bailout-of-its-own-company/](https://protos.com/jump-crypto-forced-to-save-solana-with-320m-bailout-of-its-own-company/) > > [https://thedefiant.io/jump-crypto-solana-overhaul](https://thedefiant.io/jump-crypto-solana-overhaul) > > [https://www.reuters.com/technology/crypto-network-wormhole-hit-with-possible-320-mln-hack-2022-02-03/](https://www.reuters.com/technology/crypto-network-wormhole-hit-with-possible-320-mln-hack-2022-02-03/) > > ​ > > # Conclusion: A lacking use case, a profit motive from VCs and a past of lacking security and stability must lead you to high caution. > > VCs are here to make money and they must be holding bags of Solana. If you buy some SOL you are putting yourself into their games and are now dancing with them. While NFT is the future for so many reasons (intellectual property, administration and so much more) the current use case are laughable and security will be at the forefront of gouvernements or IP management companies sending patents through your blockchain. > > Being seen as an Eth killer, Solana is far from making the cut. I'd advise extreme caution. Please don't get burn't by this project. ***** Would you like to learn more? Check out the [Cointest archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Solana) to find submissions for other topics.

CointestMod

#Solana Pro-Arguments Below is a Solana pro-argument written by a deleted user. > **Solana Pros** > > **Proof-of-History** > > The development and use of the Proof-of-History consensus method, which enables Solana to achieve extraordinarily fast network speeds, is the most notable competitive advantage of the Solana blockchain. The sole purpose of this method was to raise TPS more than leading networks like Ethereum or Bitcoin. Due to the time normally needed to obtain consensus and properly organize the blockchain in response to time passing, proof of history helps other networks' scalability issues. > > **Transaction fees** > > Solana has a block size of 20,000 transactions and block time of 0.4 seconds. The Solana network offers an exceptionally cheap transaction cost of just 1c per transaction, which is made possible by the greater block time and block size. Solana is now among the blockchains with the lowest transaction costs because to this cost. > > **NFTs** > > Currently, NFTs account for a sizable portion of why individuals use these networks. The major factor behind Solana's NFT ecosystem's rapid expansion is the network's scalability, which enables it to handle transactions effectively. Ethereum can only handle 15 transactions per second, whereas Solana can process 50,000. This is important information for users to know because sluggish network speed also equates to expensive costs. The freedom that artists enjoy with their NFT works on Solana is enormous. This is mostly caused by the other blockchains' technical shortcomings. Fast processing times and affordable prices enable artists to produce works that, for instance, would be too expensive to mint on Ethereum. ***** Would you like to learn more? Check out the [Cointest archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Solana) to find submissions for other topics.

StraightG0lden

The assumption in this case would be that it was ETH obtained in some questionable manner (hacks, scams, whatever) they're trying to launder. For example let's say someone does a lot of phishing and manages to get 12m from however many victims. They can't exactly cash that out on coinbase so they move it around a bunch and then buy their own NFT with it so they have a legitimate explanation for where the money came from.

Level_Forger

But how do you get the cash to ETH to buy the NFT without a trail?

Duncle_Rico

You're most likely correct on this. However I've been a God's Unchained (NFT TCG) player for about 4 years, and the number of times a common card worth $0.02 randomly sells for $5,000+ is absurd. With the amount of fees tacked on to the transaction and the 100s of readily available sell orders to purchase the same card, *that* is definitely money laundering.

lifeandtimes89

You have 100 million dollars in crypto or fiat that is from the proceeds of crime. You want to be able to spend it but can't explain to the government how you got it as it was illegal. You create an NFT and put it on sale for 100 million dollars. You then use that 100 million in crypto to buy the NFT, pay your tax for cashing out your crypto as normal, low and behold you've washed the money and you can now tell the government all you did was make a nifty NFT that someone bought, thats where the money came from. *"Who bought it you said Mr. IRS? Beats me, its all private"*

PianoSandwiches

The big Beeple NFT sale that launched the major 2020 bull run. Had been hustling as a media contractor for a decade, dealing with a ton of bullshit people. Zero knowledge about investing of any kind. No knowledge about markets. Just seeing the sheer amount of stupid dumb money thrown around made me go “wtf am I doing spending all my time over here?”

PlayingRS

I'm so glad I got rekt gambling shitcoins with some pocket money back in 2021 so I learned my lesson *before* the NFT fad started. This scene is filled to the brim with scammers, money launderers, shills, and other filth. Just buy BTC and stop thinking about it for over a decade, it's that easy.

Fornicatinzebra

What? It's for laundering stolen ETH. Team hacks a smart contract, steals $100 M in ETH but can't touch it. They send it to a mixer like tornado cash, and slowly end up with several wallets with reasonable amounts of dirty ETH of questionable origin. There's likely more steps here but I'm not a launderer. Then they put an NFT for sale for a ridiculous amount, let it sit, then use one of the dirty wallets to buy it. As the seller, you now have a clean source for the ETH in your wallet. As the buyer, you no longer have dirty ETH but have a worthless image. It's not for laundering drug money

CointestMod

#Bitcoin Pro-Arguments Below is an argument written by a deleted user which won 1st place in the Bitcoin Pro-Arguments topic for a prior [Cointest](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_policy) round. > **First-Mover Advantage and The Network Effect** > > Bitcoin is currently the most popular cryptocurrency and market cap leader by a long shot. The [Bitcoin dominance chart](https://www.coingecko.com/en/global-charts) shows that Bitcoin represents 60% of the entire cryptocurrency market cap. This has increased from 40% in 2020. > > Bitcoin is the **gateway**. People start out with Bitcoin before checking out other cryptocurrencies. They're likely going to keep holding any Bitcoin they bought along the way. > > People will flock to whichever product has the largest user base. For half a decade, Bitcoin was almost synonymous with cryptocurrency. The Network Effect creates a **positive feedback loop** and makes Bitcoin's lead grow even more. > > If Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin were all released simultaneously, Bitcoin would lose to its PoW competitors because its competitors have cheaper fees with higher throughput. But the reality is that Bitcoin's first-mover advantage gave it such a huge head start that the others can't catch up. > > **Has the largest block reward for security** > > Due to its high price, Bitcoin has a huge [block reward of 6.5 BTC](https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/bitcoin/bitcoin-halving) (halves every 4 years) or ~$180k per block. This gives it the security lead because its block reward is so much bigger than other PoW cryptocurrencies, which attracts more miners. > > **Anti-censorship** > > Bitcoin provides partial censorship-resistance against sanctions and totalitarian government restrictions. It's much harder to prevent Bitcoin transactions than it is to prevent financial transactions at a centralized bank. [Legal sex workers](https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/24/22639356/onlyfans-ceo-tim-stokely-sexually-explicit-content-ban-banks) (e.g. Onlyfans) and [marijuana industries](https://www.leadingretirement.com/blog/cannabis-banking) are blocked from using traditional financial services due to social stigma. Even though they can operate legally, many TradFi banks avoid operating with them. Bitcoin provides those workers a way to transfer funds around that censorship. > > **Avoids Hyperinflation**: As long as governments keep causing high inflation through money-printing, people will run to Bitcoin for safety, which pumps up Bitcoin's price. > > **Considered a commodity by both SEC and CFTC**: Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency that both the SEC and CFTC have openly agreed is a commodity. And the CFTC is much less lawsuit-happy than the SEC. > > **Legal tender**: El Salvador has shown (despite some technical mishaps) that Bitcoin can be successfully used as legal tender for a country. > > **Ordinals provide utility** > > Even though Bitcoin Maxis hate Ordinals, this new protocol gives utility to Bitcoin and adds demand. NFT bros are using it as an **on-chain data storage layer** for their own blockchains (e.g. Ethereum, Stack). This has an advantage over IPFS since IPFS is stored in centralized databases instead of on-chain. > > This generates more fees for Bitcoin miners. Transaction fees have finally [risen to ~20 sats/vByte](https://mempool.space/graphs/mempool) on days with high Ordinals activity like Mar 22-24. This gives hope that there may be sufficient demand for Bitcoin as an on-chain data-storage layer even after the block subsidy eventually disappears due to halvings. > > **Pseudonymous**: Bitcoin's UTXO transactions can provide moderately-high levels of obscurity. A single wallet can produce a near-unlimited amount of addresses, and there's no way to link them unless they interact with each other. It's much harder to trace UTXO-based wallets than Account-based wallets because the former creates new UTXO addresses with each transaction while Account-based blockchain wallets typically reuse the same account. > > **Lightning transactions are near-instant and cheap** > > As long as you're spending small amounts of Bitcoin, you can use the Lightning network to make near-instant, sub-$0.01 transactions. Many Lightning nodes for merchants are connected to 3rd-party services that convert between cash and Lightning, making it easy to transfer Bitcoins. Consumers usually don't have to care about rebalancing issues since they're only spending small amounts. > > And the [total capacity of the Lightning Network](https://bitcoinvisuals.com/ln-capacity) in BTC keeps increasing steadily. > > **Cannot be counterfeited**: Cash can be counterfeited, but you can't fake Lightning transactions. Merchants have to deal with counterfeit cash in many markets around the world. > > **Bitcoin has a very strong community of die-hard supporters** > > A huge portion of Bitcoin supporters have become Bitcoin Maxis who will keep spreading their arguments, regardless of accuracy. Because Bitcoin is a gateway cryptocurrency, crypto newbies will encounter it first and gobble up these narratives because they don't have the experience to know their flaws. And they're very convincing when you keep repeating them in an echo chamber: > > * Maximum supply cap of 21M BTC vs Fed's money printer > * Amazing past-performance gains vs fiat > * Works as Store of Value (despite volatility) > * Had a "fair launch" without an ICO > * Is not a risky altcoin > * Is decentralized (based on largest number of miners) > * Has instant payments via the Lightning Network > > **Ultimately, people are mainly using crypto for speculative investing and long-term Store of Value. Most people don't care about technology, Defi, or utility. Thus Bitcoin is sufficient for their investment needs.** > > And since cryptocurrency value is largely based on a Keynesian Beauty Contest (i.e. you buy not based on your own value, but on what you think others are going to buy), people are going to keep buying Bitcoin as long as the investment narrative holds. ***** Would you like to learn more? [Click here](/r/CointestOfficial/comments/100p7vq/top_coins_bitcoin_proarguments_january_2023/) to be taken to the original topic-thread for this argument or you can scan through the [Cointest Archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Bitcoin) to find arguments on this topic in other rounds.

d_d0g

Start with your favorite blockchain. There are different NFT markets for different blockchains, they don’t overlap. Although you’ll see people talk about NFTs from other chains eventually. ETH was king of NFTs for a bit but I think SOL and now even BTC are making a splash. You’ll have to decide which chain you want to explore NFTs on because each literally has its own subculture and they all work a bit different. Once you decide which chain you want to start your journey in, go to the top marketplace for that chain. I know OpenSea is the top ETH market and jpg.store is the top ADA market. You’ll have to look into other chains as those are the only two I’ve really played with. Another warning. Be incredibly weary of venturing into new marketplaces or tools that connect to your wallet. A ton of scam sites that will drain you.

Number_United

No one will buy your NFT. This is just money laundering to yourself or a known entity

d_d0g

You just gotta hang around NFT groups on Discord, Reddit, and or Telegram to hear about new projects. Fair warning, they’re even more riskier than crypto and good chance you’ll lose more than you ever make… I spent a year of my life learning about them and picked up a couple that may have a little value, but wish I would’ve stayed more true to my DCA and HODL strategy.

Lord-Nagafen

I heard about them on a podcast called “Dumb Money Live.” Like another commenter said, I wouldn’t bother trying to chase the next. Especially from that podcast. It’s mostly crappy stock picks that they talk about. The covid NFT boom was unique

MedicalWood

This will be wash trading- the buyer is just the seller but with different accounts: You could do this to elevate price of the NFT Reduce tax burden (i.e. this next sells at a loss of 5 million i.e. he re buys it off himself at a lower price) To launder money

CointestMod

#Ethereum Pro-Arguments Below is an argument written by Nostalg33k which won 2nd place in the Ethereum Pro-Arguments topic for a prior [Cointest](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_policy) round. > ​ > > # Ethereum: Use-case driving value > > Ethereum is a very valuable Blockchain. This blockchain is driven by innovation and utility. To understand what makes Ethereum such a valuable eco-system we need to discuss the inner-working of Ethereum. > > # Introduction: Ethereum explained > > According to [Ethereum.org](https://Ethereum.org) : > > >What is Ethereum? > > Ethereum is a technology that's home to digital money, global payments, and applications. The community has built a booming digital economy, bold new ways for creators to earn online, and so much more. It's open to everyone, wherever you are in the world – all you need is the internet. > > So the topic driving this discussion is badly worded. If we are discussing top coins then we should discuss Ether and not Ethereum. Since Ethereum is such an interesting ecosystem I will treat this argument as a pro Ethereum post. I'd love to see the discussion focused on Ether next time. > > Ethereum is not managed by a single entity nor managed by the Ethereum Foundation but is managed through a decentralized process explained [In their governance page](https://ethereum.org/en/governance/). > > Time for some metrics: Ethereum is currently trading north of 1750 $ and has a circulating supply of 122 millions ETH for a Market cap at around 218 billions > > Let's go back to the quote: "Ethereum is a technology that's home to digital money". This point is important. Ether is not the only coin which is using the Ethereum blockchain. A lot of value on the Ethereum Blockchain is not in Ether coins. This will be discussed further down. Ethereum is also home to global payment, so Ether and other cryptocurrencies can be used to settle transactions between P2P in a permissionless way. > > Applications called Dapps exist on the blockchain. We are going to discuss all of these aspects. We are also going to tackle NFTs on the Ethereum Blockchain. > > Ethereum is also completed by L2s. These are going to be mentioned. > > Ethereum has been switched from POW to Asic resistant POW to POS. These are going to be discussed. > > ​ > > # Ethereum: Home to digital money. > > Ethereum strength is that the blockchain is home to many cryptocurrencies. If gas fees are paid in Ether, many tokens have billions circulating in the Ethereum ecosystem. A quick look at Etherscans reveal how strong the ethereum ecosystem is. > > According to [EtherScan](https://etherscan.io/tokens) the blockchain has 40 Billions $ in USDT, 46 Billions in USDC and 7 Billions $ in Wrapped BTC. The market cap of Ether may be around 200 billions but the on chain value of assets in the Ethereum Blockchain is far higher. > > All of these USDT and USDC are stablecoins which can be used for transactions. In fact, it can be used for P2P transaction in a permissionless way but also to buy stuff from businesses. [Here is a list of business accepting USDT (which exists in the Ethereum blockchain)](https://nowpayments.io/blog/businesses-accepting-tether) and [Here is a list of business accepting directly Ethereum](https://www.analyticsinsight.net/top-10-companies-accepting-ethereum-as-a-payment-method-in-2022/) > > These classical transactions are not the only use of the Ethereum Blockchain: Dapps and NFT are also thriving ! > > # Ethereum: Home to dapps and NFTs > > Ethereum is home to a lot of different applications: Marketplaces, exchanges, defi, wallets, games... > > These application are different because they are called dapps: > > >A decentralised application (DApp,\[1\] dApp,\[2\] Dapp, or dapp) is an application that can operate autonomously, typically through the use of smart contracts, that run on a decentralized computing, blockchain or other distributed ledger system.\[3\] > > [Wikipedia Dapps](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decentralized_application) > > To give a glance to these dapps you can head to this website tho be wary of the first dapp listed being an advertisement for shady businesses (I haven't found a better website to source dapps) [Here you go](https://dappradar.com/rankings/protocol/ethereum/1) > > While I don't believe in the current state of NFT technology being viable (See my write up in favor of NFT speaking about the future of this technology), we have to take into account that even after losing 60% of their value there is still 3 Billions USD in NFTs in the Ethereum Blockchain [Source](https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-nft-collections-lost-nearly-60-of-their-market-cap-in-2022-report) > > # Ethereum: Layers of goodness. > > Ethereum can be a bit expensive for people, this is why it was layered. There are side chains existing just to be cheaper than Ethereum while offering bridges to and from Ethereum. For example Polygon. > > >Polygon is a Layer-2 scaling solution created to help bring mass adoption to the Ethereum platform. It caters to the diverse needs of developers by providing tools to create scalable decentralized applications (dApps) that prioritize performance, user experience (UX), and security. > > So if you want to be able to evaluate Ethereum you need to go and read about the biggest layer 2 pro and cons. > > [A small list of Ethereum layer 2 given by Ethereum.org](https://ethereum.org/en/layer-2/) > > # Ethereum: Evolve to thrive > > Ethereum has been a rapidly evolving ecosystem. It has seen the evolution of mining from GPU to Asic. In order to not become reliant on Asic mining, Ethereum was made Asic resistant. This created other problems: A pressure on the GPU market but also a concern for energy efficiency. In order to improve the footprint but also reduce the fees, Ethereum was made to transistion from POW to POS. Proof of stake is a protocol in which you need to stake coins to run a node in the network. > > This shows an ability to look ahead and to tackle challenges. > > # Conclusion: Ethereum is a rapidly evolving ecosystem which has a lot of value in it. Since Ether is their native coin, all of this impacts Ether's value. > > This is where we go back to the TOP COIN aspect of this write up. Everything I have said has an impact on the value and use of Ether. If you believe in the future of the Ethereum Blockchain, you can go ahead and look a bit more into Ether. If you don't believe in the Ethereum Blockchain then you should try to find a competitor. > > Just know that Ethereum is trying to become deflationary and that their economic outlook seems on par with good cryptos. > > Ethereum is one of the techs of the future and this essay has shown some of the most important aspects of it. > > Have fun ! ***** Would you like to learn more? [Click here](/r/CointestOfficial/comments/100p71b/top_coins_ethereum_proarguments_january_2023/) to be taken to the original topic-thread for this argument or you can scan through the [Cointest Archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Ethereum) to find arguments on this topic in other rounds.

Iranoutofhotsauce

I’ll give you drugs for your NFT… so

GabberKid

Can you buy drugs with an NFT?

DRosado20

You see as bullish that someone bought something and tokenized it? Boy the NFT craze a couple of years ago would have blown your mind.

Awkward_Potential_

Yeah. If this industry allows people to slide on doxing for bullshit NFT projects we should absolutely let all privacy projects slide.

Icy-Fee-361

People made too much money than what they knew what to do with last bullrun. It led people to spend massive amounts of money on Bored Apes cus it was new and cool to get NFT’s. I think the market is much smarter this cycle. I don’t think Bored Apes will ever be worth as much as they once were at their peak. I could be wrong.

CointestMod

#Bitcoin Pro-Arguments Below is an argument written by a deleted user which won 1st place in the Bitcoin Pro-Arguments topic for a prior [Cointest](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_policy) round. > **First-Mover Advantage and The Network Effect** > > Bitcoin is currently the most popular cryptocurrency and market cap leader by a long shot. The [Bitcoin dominance chart](https://www.coingecko.com/en/global-charts) shows that Bitcoin represents 60% of the entire cryptocurrency market cap. This has increased from 40% in 2020. > > Bitcoin is the **gateway**. People start out with Bitcoin before checking out other cryptocurrencies. They're likely going to keep holding any Bitcoin they bought along the way. > > People will flock to whichever product has the largest user base. For half a decade, Bitcoin was almost synonymous with cryptocurrency. The Network Effect creates a **positive feedback loop** and makes Bitcoin's lead grow even more. > > If Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin were all released simultaneously, Bitcoin would lose to its PoW competitors because its competitors have cheaper fees with higher throughput. But the reality is that Bitcoin's first-mover advantage gave it such a huge head start that the others can't catch up. > > **Has the largest block reward for security** > > Due to its high price, Bitcoin has a huge [block reward of 6.5 BTC](https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/bitcoin/bitcoin-halving) (halves every 4 years) or ~$180k per block. This gives it the security lead because its block reward is so much bigger than other PoW cryptocurrencies, which attracts more miners. > > **Anti-censorship** > > Bitcoin provides partial censorship-resistance against sanctions and totalitarian government restrictions. It's much harder to prevent Bitcoin transactions than it is to prevent financial transactions at a centralized bank. [Legal sex workers](https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/24/22639356/onlyfans-ceo-tim-stokely-sexually-explicit-content-ban-banks) (e.g. Onlyfans) and [marijuana industries](https://www.leadingretirement.com/blog/cannabis-banking) are blocked from using traditional financial services due to social stigma. Even though they can operate legally, many TradFi banks avoid operating with them. Bitcoin provides those workers a way to transfer funds around that censorship. > > **Avoids Hyperinflation**: As long as governments keep causing high inflation through money-printing, people will run to Bitcoin for safety, which pumps up Bitcoin's price. > > **Considered a commodity by both SEC and CFTC**: Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency that both the SEC and CFTC have openly agreed is a commodity. And the CFTC is much less lawsuit-happy than the SEC. > > **Legal tender**: El Salvador has shown (despite some technical mishaps) that Bitcoin can be successfully used as legal tender for a country. > > **Ordinals provide utility** > > Even though Bitcoin Maxis hate Ordinals, this new protocol gives utility to Bitcoin and adds demand. NFT bros are using it as an **on-chain data storage layer** for their own blockchains (e.g. Ethereum, Stack). This has an advantage over IPFS since IPFS is stored in centralized databases instead of on-chain. > > This generates more fees for Bitcoin miners. Transaction fees have finally [risen to ~20 sats/vByte](https://mempool.space/graphs/mempool) on days with high Ordinals activity like Mar 22-24. This gives hope that there may be sufficient demand for Bitcoin as an on-chain data-storage layer even after the block subsidy eventually disappears due to halvings. > > **Pseudonymous**: Bitcoin's UTXO transactions can provide moderately-high levels of obscurity. A single wallet can produce a near-unlimited amount of addresses, and there's no way to link them unless they interact with each other. It's much harder to trace UTXO-based wallets than Account-based wallets because the former creates new UTXO addresses with each transaction while Account-based blockchain wallets typically reuse the same account. > > **Lightning transactions are near-instant and cheap** > > As long as you're spending small amounts of Bitcoin, you can use the Lightning network to make near-instant, sub-$0.01 transactions. Many Lightning nodes for merchants are connected to 3rd-party services that convert between cash and Lightning, making it easy to transfer Bitcoins. Consumers usually don't have to care about rebalancing issues since they're only spending small amounts. > > And the [total capacity of the Lightning Network](https://bitcoinvisuals.com/ln-capacity) in BTC keeps increasing steadily. > > **Cannot be counterfeited**: Cash can be counterfeited, but you can't fake Lightning transactions. Merchants have to deal with counterfeit cash in many markets around the world. > > **Bitcoin has a very strong community of die-hard supporters** > > A huge portion of Bitcoin supporters have become Bitcoin Maxis who will keep spreading their arguments, regardless of accuracy. Because Bitcoin is a gateway cryptocurrency, crypto newbies will encounter it first and gobble up these narratives because they don't have the experience to know their flaws. And they're very convincing when you keep repeating them in an echo chamber: > > * Maximum supply cap of 21M BTC vs Fed's money printer > * Amazing past-performance gains vs fiat > * Works as Store of Value (despite volatility) > * Had a "fair launch" without an ICO > * Is not a risky altcoin > * Is decentralized (based on largest number of miners) > * Has instant payments via the Lightning Network > > **Ultimately, people are mainly using crypto for speculative investing and long-term Store of Value. Most people don't care about technology, Defi, or utility. Thus Bitcoin is sufficient for their investment needs.** > > And since cryptocurrency value is largely based on a Keynesian Beauty Contest (i.e. you buy not based on your own value, but on what you think others are going to buy), people are going to keep buying Bitcoin as long as the investment narrative holds. ***** Would you like to learn more? [Click here](/r/CointestOfficial/comments/100p7vq/top_coins_bitcoin_proarguments_january_2023/) to be taken to the original topic-thread for this argument or you can scan through the [Cointest Archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Bitcoin) to find arguments on this topic in other rounds.