My crypto journey started off with an interest in the technology (BTC in 2013) and then evolved into investment (ETH, FIL), then utility (my assets working for me in DeFi) to entertainment, collection, and communities (NFTs). I’m incredibly excited about the potential and believe that crypto will democratize access to payments and trade the same way that the internet democratized access to information.
I bought BTC in 2013 for ~$50 (and lost it all in Mt Gox) and also discovered Ethereum at around ~$80 a coin as I was excited about the promise of smart contracts; combining metadata with the transfer of value.
I’ve been following the growth of the ecosystem with investments in other blockchain projects (e.g. FileCoin SAFT in 2017), started making some equity investments in some crypto companies (e.g. Mirror and Ponto), and even a few funds (Acrylic and 1kx).
Most recently, I’ve gotten really into decentralized finance on Ethereum and Polygon but also have been experimenting on Solana and Terra. I also completed an intro “bootcamp” to Smart Contracts from Chainlink that was fun.
Here are a few thoughts to make some of my own learnings easier to consume for folks at all stages of their crypto journey:
- Starter Crypto Strategy: My recommended strategy for most people who want crypto and DeFi exposure, but want to start slow. This is fairly simple and just requires a Coinbase and BlockFi account to capture 75% of the upside of more complex strategies.
- Why DeFi?: This is a summary of what DeFi is and why I think it’s an important structural shift for the global financial services system. Many folks have written complete versions of this, and I link to a few examples. It’s just my own take on why I think it’s so interesting, important, and worth understanding.
- Depths of DeFi: This is a fun post (at least I thought so) about the different depths of DeFi and how the trenches evolves as you get deeper and deeper into the whole DeFi world.
- DeFi Set Up and Project Diligence: A set of useful tips before you start investing in new projects – make sure you understand core concepts, have a network of folks as a sounding board and get set up properly (especially security) as you’re on your own in DeFi land if things go badly.
- My Personal DeFi Strategy for 2021: I have no idea if this will actually generate good returns but if I make XX% APR and learn a lot about the future of finance this will all be a win for me 🙂.
- Solana Primer: Solana is a very fast and cheap blockchain. This is a practical guide to get started on Solana with DeFi and NFTs.
- The Potential for NFTs: A long article on the current use cases and potential future for NFTs.
- Global M-Pesa: How crypto could power the global financial rails for money transfer (Global Venmo).
- Developing Crypto: A view into a multichain future with better developer tools with complexity abstracted away for most users.
- Developing on Solana: Engineering resources for building apps on Solana.
- Learning Lessons: Lots of mistakes and lessons learned, shared here.
Aadil Mamujee 