🧩 ET Notes

Cryptochrrencies

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Bitcoin

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  • Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency that one can buy, sell and exchange directly, without an intermediary like a bank. 比特币是一种去中心化的数字货币，用户可以直接买卖和交换，而无需银行等中介机构
  • It uses public blockchain technology that allows decentralized transfers of value between individuals and businesses. 它采用公共区块链技术，使个人和企业之间的价值转移去中心化
  • Motivation: Distrust of financial institutions and Transaction costs 产生动机：对金融机构的不信任和交易成本问题
  • Primary concerns: Transaction security and Double spends 主要关注点：交易安全性和双重支付问题
  • Each and every Bitcoin transaction that’s ever been made exists on a public ledger accessible to everyone, making transactions hard to reverse and difficult to fake. 每一笔比特币交易都存储在公开账本上，所有人都可以访问，这使得交易难以撤销或伪造
  • Satoshi Nakamoto is the so-called father of Bitcoin and when he was building the first-ever cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, he had to find a way for transactions to be verified without the need to use a third party. This he achieved when he created the Proof of Work system. 中本聪被称为比特币之父，在创建比特币这一首个加密货币时，他必须找到一种方法，让交易能够无需第三方进行验证。他通过创建工作量证明（Proof of Work）系统实现了这一目标
  • There are currently more than 19.31 million Bitcoin tokens in circulation, against a present capped limit of 21 million. 目前，流通中的比特币代币超过 1931 万枚，而其总量上限设定为 2100 万枚

Bitcoin Mining

  • Principally everybody can be a miner, therefore, a cryptocurrency needs mechanism to prevent one ruling party from abusing it (creating millions of peers and spreads forged transactions). 基本上，任何人都可以成为矿工，因此，加密货币需要一种机制来防止某个单一实体滥用系统（例如，创建数百万个节点并传播伪造交易）
  • Satoshi set the rule that the miners need to invest some work of their computers to qualify for this task. 中本聪设定了一条规则，矿工必须投入计算机工作量，才能获得挖矿资格
  • In Bitcoin, they must find a hash – a product of a cryptographic function – that connects the new block with its predecessor. 在比特币系统中，矿工必须找到一个哈希值——即加密函数的产物，该哈希值用于连接新区块与前一个区块
  • This is called the Proof-of-Work. In Bitcoin, it is based on the SHA 256 Hash algorithm. 这被称为工作量证明（Proof-of-Work）。在比特币中，它基于 SHA 256 哈希算法
  • You don‘t need to understand the details about SHA 256. It‘s only important you know that it can be the basis of a cryptologic puzzle the miners compete to solve. 你无需理解 SHA 256 的具体细节，只需要知道它可以作为矿工竞相解决的密码学难题的基础
  • After finding a solution, a miner can build a block and add it to the blockchain. 找到答案后，矿工可以构建一个新区块，并将其添加到区块链中
  • As an incentive, he has the right to add a so-called Coinbase transaction that gives him a specific number of Bitcoins. This is the only way to create valid Bitcoins. 作为激励，矿工有权添加一个称为 Coinbase 交易的记录，赋予自己一定数量的比特币。这是唯一合法生成比特币的方式

Ethereum

  • Like Bitcoin, Ethereum is a public blockchain platform with its own cryptocurrency, called Ether (ETH) or Ethereum, and its own programming language, called Solidity. 与比特币类似，以太坊是一个公共区块链平台，拥有自己的加密货币，称为以太币（ETH）或以太坊，并且拥有自己的编程语言 Solidity
  • The network’s users can create, publish, monetize, and use applications on the platform, and use its Ether cryptocurrency as payment. 该网络的用户可以在平台上创建、发布、盈利并使用应用程序，同时使用其加密货币以太币进行支付
  • Ethereum describes itself as “the world’s programmable blockchain.” It also includes smart contracts. 以太坊自称为“全球可编程区块链”，并且支持智能合约
  • Ethereum was launched in July 2015 by a small group of blockchain enthusiasts. 以太坊于 2015 年 7 月由一小群区块链爱好者推出
  • Ethereum is certainly faster than Bitcoin – with transactions typically settling in seconds, rather than minutes. 以太坊的交易速度明显快于比特币，通常可在几秒钟内完成，而比特币交易需要几分钟
  • The Ethereum network also allows the creation of other cryptocurrencies, or tokens, using the same protocol as Ether but distributed on different blockchains, which can be public or private. 以太坊网络还允许创建其他加密货币或代币，这些代币使用与以太币相同的协议，但可以分布在不同的区块链上，既可以是公共区块链，也可以是私有区块链
  • Ethereum began in 2020, to move from POW to POS and completed the move in 2021. 以太坊于 2020 年开始从工作量证明（POW）向权益证明（POS）迁移，并于 2021 年完成转型

Ripple

  • Ripple is the name of the company and network behind the XRP cryptocurrency. Ripple 是负责 XRP 加密货币的公司和网络名称
  • In 2012, XPR was launched, and its purpose was to serve as an intermediate mechanism of exchange between two currencies or networks. 2012 年，XRP 被推出，其目的是作为两种货币或网络之间的中介交换机制
  • Its products are used for payment settlement, asset exchange, and remittance systems that work more like SWIFT, a service for international money and security transfers used by a network of banks and financial intermediaries. 其产品用于支付结算、资产交换和汇款系统，类似于 SWIFT，这是一个供银行和金融机构使用的国际资金和证券转账服务
  • XRP is pre-mined and uses a less complicated method of mining as compared to Bitcoin. XRP 采用预挖矿方式，与比特币相比，其挖矿方法更加简单
  • Instead of using the blockchain mining concept, the Ripple network uses a unique distributed consensus mechanism to validate transactions in which participating nodes verify the authenticity of a transaction by conducting a poll. Ripple 网络不使用区块链挖矿概念，而是采用独特的分布式共识机制来验证交易，参与节点通过投票确认交易的真实性
  • About 1 billion XRP were pre-mined at launch and have been released gradually into the market by its main investors. 在 XRP 发行之初，大约 10 亿枚 XRP 被预挖，并由其主要投资者逐步释放到市场
  • The current circulation is over 50 billion (50,799,084,881). 当前流通量超过 500 亿枚（50,799,084,881）

Summary

  • It is a digital or virtual currency that uses cryptography to secure and verify transactions as well as to control the creation of new units. 它是一种数字或虚拟货币，利用加密技术来保护和验证交易，同时控制新单位的创建
  • Main advantages of cryptocurrency, include Decentralization (eliminates the need for intermediaries), Security (uses cryptography for security and privacy), Faster and cheaper transactions (eliminate the need for intermediaries and can be processed 24/7) and Borderless transactions (enables parties to send and receive payments from anywhere in the world). 加密货币的主要优势包括：去中心化（消除对中介的需求）、安全性（使用加密技术保护隐私）、更快且成本更低的交易（无需中介，可全天候处理），以及无国界交易（使各方能够随时随地发送和接收付款）
  • The Disadvantages of Cryptocurrency include Volatility (values can be highly volatile), Lack of regulation (operate in a largely unregulated space, which can make it challenging for users to resolve disputes), Lack of acceptance ( still not widely accepted, which limits its utility). 加密货币的劣势包括：波动性（价值可能高度不稳定）、缺乏监管（在大部分情况下处于未受监管的环境，用户可能难以解决争议），以及接受度较低（仍未广泛使用，限制了其实用性）。
  • Popular cryptocurrencies are Bitcoin and Ethereum. Bitcoin is cryptocurrency, while Ethereum is designed as a platform for decentralized applications. 受欢迎的加密货币包括比特币和以太坊。比特币是一种加密货币，而以太坊则被设计为一个去中心化应用的平台
  • Bitcoin has a fixed coin supply of 21 million, while Ethereum does not have a fixed supply. Bitcoin uses a proof-of-work, while Ethereum is now using proofof-stake consensus mechanism. Ethereum supports smart contracts, while Bitcoin does not support smart contracts. 比特币的总供应量固定为 2100 万，而以太坊没有固定供应量。比特币采用工作量证明（Proof-of-Work），而以太坊目前使用权益证明（Proof-of-Stake）共识机制。以太坊支持智能合约，而比特币不支持智能合约

The Evolution of Finance

  • During the Middle Ages, Italy established the first banking system. 中世纪时期，意大利建立了最早的银行系统

  • Italians used to conduct business and transactions while sitting on a bench. In Italian, the word Banco refers to a bench. The word Banco changed and became Bank. 当时，意大利人通常坐在长凳上进行商业交易。在意大利语中，Banco 指的是长凳，后来 Banco 演变成了 Bank（银行）

  • Technically, the banking system began with the advent of the barter system, in which people exchanged and traded goods they already had for things they needed. This was beneficial until the point when people realized they needed a common commercial tool for trading. Since gold was widely used, people began using gold coins as a trading tool, which led to the birth of banks. 从技术角度来看，银行系统的起源可追溯至物物交换制度。在该制度下，人们用已有的商品换取所需物品。这种方式在一定时期内有效，直到人们意识到需要一种通用的商业工具来进行交易。由于黄金广泛使用，人们开始采用金币作为交易工具，这促使银行的诞生

  • The traditional banking system was initiated through the concept of safe deposits when merchants travelled all over the world, they needed a place to safeguard their gold coins. So, they approached the Goldsmith to store these gold in their safety walls, and this is how safe deposits concept started. 传统银行系统始于“安全存款”的概念。当商人们到世界各地旅行时，他们需要一个安全的地方来存放金币。因此，他们寻求金匠（Goldsmith）帮助，将黄金存放在金匠的保险库中，这便是安全存款概念的起源

  • When the money was idle in the safety wall, the Goldsmith began lending it to people, earning interest on it; they also gave a portion of the profit to merchants as an incentive to deposit more gold coins with him; which gave rise to modern Banks in use today. 当存放的资金处于闲置状态时，金匠开始将其借给其他人，并从中赚取利息。此外，他们还会将部分利润分配给商人，以鼓励他们存入更多的金币。这一过程最终推动了现代银行业的发展

  • The world’s oldest chartered bank is the Bank of St. George in Italy, which was founded in 1407. 世界上最古老的特许银行是意大利的圣乔治银行，成立于 1407 年

  • Since then, the entire banking process has now been confined to small mediums such as computers and mobile phones. 从那时起，整个银行业务已被压缩到小型媒介，如计算机和手机

  • Simply open your computer or mobile, you’ll be able to transfer money and apply for credit and loans immediately. 只需打开你的电脑或手机，你就可以立即转账、申请信用和贷款

Decentralized Finance

  • Decentralized finance, or DeFi, refers to the use of decentralized technology, such as blockchain, to offer financial services and products. 去中心化金融（DeFi）指的是利用区块链等去中心化技术提供金融服务和产品
  • DeFi services include lending and borrowing, trading, insurance, etc. DeFi provides an alternative to traditional finance, offering more accessible, transparent, and secure financial services. DeFi 服务包括借贷、交易、保险等。它为传统金融提供了一种替代方案，使金融服务更加普惠、透明和安全
  • Benefits of DeFi
    • Decentralization: It operates on a decentralized network, eliminating the need for intermediaries and enhancing the security of transactions. 去中心化：基于去中心化网络运行，消除对中介的需求，增强交易安全性
    • Accessibility: DeFi offers financial services to individuals who may not have access to traditional finance, such as those in developing countries or those who do not have traditional banking relationships. 可访问性：为可能无法使用传统金融服务的人群（如发展中国家的用户或没有银行账户的用户）提供金融服务
    • Transparency: DeFi operates on a public ledger, providing greater transparency and accountability than traditional finance. 透明度：基于公开账本运行，提供比传统金融更高的透明度和问责性
    • Security: DeFi operates on a secure blockchain network, reducing the risk of fraud and theft. 安全性：依托安全的区块链网络，降低欺诈和盗窃风险
  • Risks of DeFi
    • Volatility: DeFi services are often built on highly volatile cryptocurrency assets, which can increase the risk of investment. 波动性： DeFi 服务通常建立在高度波动的加密货币资产上，这可能会增加投资风险
    • Immature Technology: DeFi technology is immature and has yet to be fully stress-tested at scale over an extended period. Funds may be lost or put at risk. 技术尚不成熟： DeFi 技术仍处于发展阶段，尚未经过长期、大规模的压力测试，资金可能面临损失或风险
    • Scaling Risk: Current DeFi platforms use a consensus method with slow transaction speeds. Ethereum, the main technology for decentralized finance, can process 15 transactions a second, while Visa can process 65,000 a second. 扩展性风险： 目前的 DeFi 平台采用共识机制，交易速度较慢。以太坊作为去中心化金融的主要技术，每秒可处理 15 笔交易，而 Visa 每秒可处理 65,000 笔交易
  • Future of DeFi
    • DeFi has grown tremendously over the past few years, however, the future of DeFi is highly dependent on factors like including the adoption and use of blockchain technology, regulatory changes, and advancements in the ecosystem. DeFi 在过去几年中迅速发展，然而，其未来高度依赖于多个因素，包括区块链技术的采用和应用、监管环境的变化以及生态系统的进一步发展

Role of Smart Contracts in DeFi

  • Automated Execution: Smart contracts allow complex financial operations to execute automatically without human intervention once conditions are met. For example, a lending protocol can automatically release collateral if a borrower fails to repay a loan by a certain deadline. 自动执行：智能合约允许复杂的金融操作在满足条件后自动执行，无需人工干预。例如，借贷协议可以在借款人未按时还款时自动释放抵押品
  • Trustless Environment: Users do not need to rely on a centralized authority or intermediary. The underlying code governs transactions, ensuring that all parties adhere to the terms. 无需信任的环境：用户无需依赖中心化机构或中介，基础代码管理交易，确保所有参与方遵守合约条款
  • Transparency and Security: Since smart contracts are deployed on public blockchains, all participants can inspect the code. This transparency minimizes the risk of fraud and creates an auditable record of all transactions. 透明性与安全性：智能合约部署在公共区块链上，所有参与者都可以检查代码。这种透明性降低了欺诈风险，并创建了可审计的交易记录
  • Interoperability: In the DeFi space, smart contracts can interact with each other to create complex financial protocols, enabling features like automated market making, decentralized exchanges, and liquidity pools. 互操作性：在 DeFi 领域，智能合约可以相互交互，以构建复杂的金融协议，支持自动化做市、去中心化交易所和流动性池等功能
  • No Central Intermediaries: Traditional financial systems rely on banks, clearinghouses, or other trusted institutions to facilitate transactions and enforce contracts. Smart contracts replace these roles by automatically executing the code-based logic agreed upon by the parties. 无中心化中介：传统金融系统依赖银行、清算机构或其他受信机构来促成交易并执行合约，而智能合约通过自动执行代码逻辑取代了这些角色

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