Crypto Weekend Review 7/2

Wilson Withiam

Published in

Circle Research

4 min readJul 2, 2019

Curated reads, listens, views by Wilson Withiam and Ria Bhutoria.

Weekly Spotlight 🔦

A Distributed Consensus Case Study by Dan Zuller

Dan Zuller of Vision Hill unleashed an epic, three-part tweet thread and accompanying blog post exploring the state of distributed consensus in crypto networks. His synopsis covers the ingenuity of reaching consensus in distributed systems, PoW vs. PoS value propositions, as well as attack vectors and possible design solutions present in PoS networks. The commentary provides context around the question: Could proof-of-stake systems be considered “secure enough” to capture billions of dollars in value?

While the question remains open to interpretation and dependent on future developments, Dan is able to distill complex engineering concepts into understandable nuggets of knowledge. As a result, the case study delivers first-rate learning material for both technical and non-technical crowds.

One of the primary takeaways from this piece stems from its genesis: Dan’s realization that it is critical for crypto professionals to have a foundational understanding of both technical and financial concepts. Given Dan’s role as an investor in the crypto space, a key motivation behind this exercise was to bolster his technical knowledge to better recognize crypto investment risks.

On the other hand, developers looking to manage crypto investments or design monetary assets would benefit from studying financial markets and economic theory, as in some cases, an understanding of markets and asset risk management is more important than underwriting the protocols. Crypto is a multi-disciplinary field, which is both exciting and daunting to new entrants, but can be very rewarding to those always striving to learn more.

If you haven’t read it yet, we highly recommend you carve out some time to do so. Here are tweet threads part 1, 2 & 3. And if you prefer a blog format, you can find that version here.

Reads 📚

Tweets

Listens 🎧

Views 🎥

Reports, market insights, and other information (“Information”) provided by Circle Internet Financial Limited (“Circle”) or its affiliates have been prepared solely for informative purposes and should not be the basis for making investment decisions or be construed as a recommendation to engage in investment transactions or be taken to suggest an investment strategy in respect of any financial instruments or the issuers thereof. Information has not been prepared in accordance with the legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and is not subject to any prohibition on dealing ahead of the dissemination of investment research under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No 596/2014. Information provided is not related to the provision of advisory services regarding investment, tax, legal, financial, accounting, consulting or any other related services and is not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any asset. Information is based on sources considered to be reliable, but not guaranteed, to be accurate or complete. Any opinions or estimates expressed herein reflect a judgment made as of the date of publication, and are subject to change without notice. Trading and investing in digital assets involves significant risks including price volatility and illiquidity and may not be suitable for all investors. Circle and its affiliates trade and hold positions in digital assets and may now or in the future trade or hold a position in an asset that is the subject of Information provided. As a result, Circle or its affiliates may be subject to certain conflicts of interest in connection with the provision of Information. Circle will not be liable whatsoever for any direct or consequential loss arising from the use of this Information.