Ergo & Blockchain: Cryptocurrency Sphere

The following is a first in a series of articles covering general cryptocurrency & blockchain education. Over the next few weeks, we will regularly publish articles covering various introductory topics as they relate to the field of smart contracts.

Before you start, Ergo Protocol Research and Client Development Roadmap is recently published by Kushti, if you wish to look in advance.

At the core, Ergo supports smart contracts and blockchain development as a way to enrich ordinary people. Cryptocurrencies are innovative tools that should be open to everyone. Everyone can be their own bank, execute international transfers and participate in global financial markets. 

As some private funds want to grab a big slice, the short-term price of the currency is advertised as the sole indicator to investors. The adoption phase requires time and devotion. An average cryptocurrency holder however, does not know the technology behind the investment. Cryptocurrency is an investment in a future decentralized network so it is important to have an overview of the big picture.

With this series, we hope to simplify some of the more complex blockchain concepts into more easily accessible terms. Some topics we will be covering are:

• Tokenomics & Finance: Differences between proof-of-stake and proof-of-work networks indicate a whole new set of tokenomics and users. These are both entirely different notions to the traditional centralized finance we are used to. Understanding the different approaches cryptocurrencies are taking to finance is crucial for predicting the evolution of this ecosystem.
• Privacy & Security: Blockchain can serve as an immutable tool for participating in global markets - even for an ordinary person. No centralized entity is needed to validate transactions, and there is no need to expose your identity to a third party when using blockchain. There are different layers of privacy and security aspects to be discussed on personal & public usages.
• Technology & Innovation: What are crypto ecosystems, really? Smart contract implementations are evolving faster than ever and it feels like there are new platforms or currencies appearing every other day. A summary of smart contract development phases will serve to inform about the potential use cases of blockchain.
• Scalability & Adoption: Data processing is costly and blockchain & cryptocurrencies are trying to achieve faster and cheaper means to lower the barrier of entry to finance. There are different approaches to scalability solutions and different applications will serve different markets. What tools/moves are being developed to integrate the masses?
• Sustainability & Growth: What are the future projections for blockchain technology? How will actual usage, energy consumption, innovations and new regulations continue to evolve? 
• Collaboration & Value: Cryptocurrencies are open-source software projects. The more the collaboration, the more value and innovation created. The cypherpunk spirit and altruist approach of cryptocurrencies are generally overlooked topics in this space these days. We hope to change that. 

The “Ergo & Blockchain'' series will serve to educate Ergonauts on the current ‘cryptosphere’ and the approach of Ergo regarding the topics mentioned above. Please stay tuned as we dive deeper into demystifying these blockchain concepts and provide an avenue to simplify the tools and applications of the future.