Dispatch #156: The Weight of (Crypto) Literacy

Sep 09, 2023 4 min read

Dispatch

In this patch of your weekly Dispatch:

SOL’s institutional attraction 🏛️
Separating “good” crypto 🔏
Time for a virtual watch ⌚

The Big Idea

Straight As for Crypto Adoption

Cryptocurrencies have ushered in a transformative era in personal finance. From stablecoins combating hyperinflation and NFTs enhancing user experiences for major brands, all the way to the potential for mass tokenization of real-world assets, the crypto sector is rife with innovation.

These developments are paving the way for global crypto adoption and now, a promising concept is emerging that could further advance its acceptance – the Crypto Literacy Scale.

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati have introduced the “Measuring Crypto Literacy” study, aiming to establish a standard for understanding cryptocurrencies. This initiative seeks to create a robust tool that benefits not only researchers and policymakers, but the entire industry.

In the survey, 300 students who’ve engaged with crypto answered questions to identify the challenges they have experienced. To no one’s surprise, managing private keys surfaced as an issue.
In response, researchers unveiled the Crypto Literacy Scale (CLS), featuring ten questions on technology, economics, and policy. The scale categorizes individuals into three levels: low, medium, or high crypto literacy.
The CLS serves a dual purpose: evaluating the industry's educational efforts and offering individuals a clear pathway to enhance their knowledge. To promote wider adoption, the researchers have also devised a “Quick 5” question subset that can seamlessly integrate into various financial domains – it’s on page 34, in case you want to take a shot.

So as cryptocurrencies set new standards in personal finance, could a standardized literacy scale prove to be the stepping stone for the next generation of cryptocurrency adopters? It’s a thinking we certainly adopt. You can start preparing using our Crypto Bits. 😉

The Latest In…

Zero-Knowledge to Spot the Bad Guys

Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin is one of the most influential figures in crypto, not only for bringing forward the most widely-used blockchain network, but also for his insights. This time, he co-authored a paper on distinguishing honest crypto transactions from criminal activity:

Blockchain protocols will be able to distinguish honest users from criminals, thanks to a smart contract-based privacy-boosting feature, called “privacy pools.”
Backed by zero-knowledge technology, these pools will offer transaction privacy while effectively distinguishing it from illicit activity.
By grouping honest transactions, users can demonstrate the legitimacy of their funds, a capability beyond the reach of bad actors.

Buterin's innovation aims to prove that technology and regulations can coexist harmoniously, challenging the perception that privacy and regulatory compliance are inherently incompatible.

The Latest In…

No SOL–Crushing This Week

Looking for a crypto to cheer you up? Solana has kept spirits high lately, with the holy grail of institutional capital entering the asset recently, according to a CoinShares report.

Тhe 10th largest digital asset by market cap has seen $700,000 worth of inflows over the past week alone.
Year-to-date inflows for SOL now stand at an impressive $26M.
Trading volumes totalled $2.8B last week.
SOL jumped after Visa announced it will introduce a USDC settlement on Solana.

The Latest In…

A G-Shocking NFT

It was only a few weeks ago that the Dutch Grand Prix circuit Zandvoort marked its 75th anniversary with a special NFT, but the concept has become a trend. Japanese electronics giant Casio has partnered with Polygon Labs to launch its virtual G-Shock watch, starting with an NFT-based collection of community access passes to celebrate 40 years since the original Casio G-Shock was introduced. Here’s why it matters:

The collab signals a growing trend in major brands embracing NFTs.
The community-driven design approach further underscores the positive engagement NFTs can foster.

Shockingly, it’s not just about collecting apes and punks anymore, it’s much bigger than this.

The Week’s Most Interesting Data Story

We Are Getting There

It’s easy to get excited about milestones with big round numbers, but it’s equally pleasing to follow the process leading to them. So here we have it, just shy of 50 million, Bitcoin addresses with non-zero balances are 48,834,954 for the current all-time high. It’s coming!