Evolution of blockchain technology ecosystem
Charlie Shrem the first Bitcoin felon went to federal prison in 2015 for 2 years. Upon his release he went about strengthening the ecosystem of blockchain. A real breakthrough came when he created a prepaid Dash debit card. He then joined Intellisys Capital and decided to raise funds in the form of initial coin offering but got cold feet, as he feared the intense scrutiny from the authorities and eventually backed off.
The Bitcoin community in the early days believed that the free flow of capital is a human right. The members were together in its sense of mission, which they considered was righteous. Because the digital currency circumvented central banks, many of its first adopters were libertarians, black marketers and anarchists who wanted to conduct business away from the watchful eye of the government. They were gleeful at Bitcoin’s impending triumph and enraged by any show of malice or incompetence by the big banks and the government.
Leads to collapse
A case in point is Charlie Shrem, the founder of Bitinstant, who was the first Bitcoin felon. He squandered the opportunity to make the company a world-beating one by helping drug dealers source funds. Upon his arrest, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, the venture capitalists, disavowed Shrem and would go on to scoop up 1% of all the Bitcoins. Depending on each person’s point of view, this fact makes Shrem either a martyr or a criminal who got what he deserved.
Job at Jaxx
After the release from prison, Charlie Shrem was ready to seize any suitable opportunity that came along to get in on the door. That lot fell to a full-time job as the head of business development at Jaxx mainly because the values of the company appealed to him. Shrem is no longer operating for himself but has landed a job at this startup that allows holding separate balances of different digital coins in virtual wallets. It also lets users exchange virtual currencies and digital money with one another all over the world. Anthony Dilorio, an entrepreneur who was also the co-founder of Ethereum, founded Jaxx too. The company wants to expand to China and Shrem will play a crucial role in that process. He is in charge of working with developers and turning relationships into revenue.
Right the wrong
Today, Charlie Shrem is a free man whose world has changed dramatically for the better and is using his skills to strengthen the community. He thinks that if he can build Jaxx, he will be an industry player again like old times. Having helped Bitcoin grow to a giant, he is confident he can tell which ones do not have real promise and which ones have. He expects to see technology where Bitcoin, Dash, Ethereum and other networks communicate. For instance, the balance in a Bitcoin wallet could trigger an Ethereum contact and vice versa.
Blockchain digital tokens
Today, many of the blockchain assets are not digital currencies like Dash or Bitcoin. They are tokens. They are different from digital money because they lack a blockchain. Instead, they run on existing blockchains and are built for specific applications, like a marketplace for computation, a blockchain-based advertising platform, or a crowd-sourced prediction market. These days $6.6 billion worth of digital tokens change hands every day, and the numbers are growing.
Initial coin offerings
The creation of digital currencies is through mining, but the production of tokens is through distribution in crowd sales called initial coin offerings. These crowd sales raise funds and give potential investors their first opportunity to grab a piece of the service. A token is a wealth-sharing mechanism where everyone, from hedge funders to consumers, places bets on or take positions in the future of the Internet. Several initial coin offerings have been launched already raising $230 million in 2016, followed by $450 million in 2017.
Digital token business
The tokenization craze constitutes Internet’s second business model, says Carlson-Wee a hedge funder who is backed by Andreessen Horowitz. Take the case of Facebook as a company issuing initial coin offerings as an example. If Facebook had published a token, with its value from the content and connections, then early users would have scooped up a significant amount of those tokens at low prices. Late adopters might have found themselves able to afford just a few. But all who were holders of this digital asset would have been able to participate in the growing success of Facebook. But, of course, this is not the case, and that is not how it works neither is it as easy as that. Only Mark Zuckerberg and company stockholders share the value of Facebook. Most other platforms operate on the same principle where their owners extract value from interactions between users.
Career in blockchain
It is the cryptocurrency gold rush era, and associated jobs have soared as its value continues to rise. According to the job site Freelancer, cryptocurrencies have been one of the rapidly growing online jobs. The practice of code-breaking known as cryptography, which is central to cryptocurrency, has also seen an increase in interest on the site. According to Zippia.com, a career website, most cryptocurrency jobs are for developers with tech skills including building full stack applications. Companies are searching en masse for qualified developers, promising substantially high salaries.
Skills worth sharpening
Job candidates who understand initial coin offerings would have an extra competitive edge. It is a method borrowed from the financial sector whereby capital is raised by putting up a new virtual coin for public sales. Knowing how to write smart contracts and a good understanding of Ethereum is another skill worth sharpening.
Awareness of basics
A variety of literature on what Bitcoin is and how it works is readily available online. Interested applicant should read it up to be aware of the basics before applying in the field. But every blockchain-related job does not require a comprehensive grasp of the technology. Most of these companies also hire people in marketing, communications and human resources, just like any other business.
No unified source
Although cryptocurrency jobs are booming, there are no centralized locations to find them. A simple search on Google for initial coin offerings and token sales will bring up some startups in the blockchain space. Looking beyond traditional job-listing sites would help too and is highly recommended. Looking at specific Bitcoin forums can help find job listings in the industry and keep up with what is happening. Being involved in the cryptocurrency community creates more authentic and reliable means of detecting positions and networking.
The publication of the white paper written by an anonymous hacker who goes by the pseudonym of Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin.
