Last semester, I took a lecture series taught by students in Cornell Blockchain every Monday afternoon from 4-5. Last semester, every Monday afternoon from 4-5 was probably the best nap I got every lecture. It’s safe to say, I didn’t retain any concrete information while snoozing away my financial accounting sorrows from the hour before. Surprisingly, I gained some knowledge (shocking, I know). So, during this table talk about cryptocurrency, I was able to clear up the foggy facts that were covered during my rem-sleep naps.

One thing I learned is that cryptocurrency is kinda bubbly material. Low-key bubbly. For instance, Long Island Ice Tea recently renamed their BEVERAGE company to Long Chain and consequently tripled their stock price. Sneaky move by a TEA company. People look at bitcoin and blockchain and don’t really understand that the underlying technology behind it, blockchain technology, is simply brilliant!! Unfortunately, this lack of knowledge in such areas spread amongst the masses is the main contributor to the bubbly component of the blockchain movement. The technology is revolutionary for its decentralized currency and transparent ledger. Of course, not many people seem to understand this!! To be honest, I am still sort of confused:

What is the value that is being created that is increasing the market value of the cryptocurrency? And, also omg, this talk made me realize the catastrophic effects of blockchain mining on the environment. All rumors have a hint of truth to it, so I am going to make the assumption that the statement that was thrown around, “one block requires the energy that a small country uses in a day,” is true. Based on this fact, what are we, as a society, doing?!?!?! How is this legal?

I am not sure if this talk gave me straight forward answers, but I guess that’s the point. Cryptocurrency in it’s currently volatile state can go either way. Whether or not to invest or divest is a question of whether there is hope in blockchain technology, and I think there is…