Understanding Cryptocurrencies: Game of Thrones Edition

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Article Overview: A simple way of understanding cryptocurrencies as told through the popular  TV series, Game of Thrones.

During Thanksgiving, the big questions were, “How do I invest in Cryptos?” and “Is it too Late to Get Into Cryptos?” As 2020 approaches, your friends and family will be asking you to explain the different cryptocurrencies.

Luckily for you, I have created this guide to help you answer that very question, using terminology that many will understand (unless they live under a rock and don’t watch Game of Thrones either).

Bitcoin / House of Stark: The legitimate cryptocurrency that came into power. Like Ned Stark, Satoshi Nakamoto disappeared after the launch of Bitcoin; yet, his legacy lives on.

Bitcoin is competing with other coins for top market capitalization. 

Ethereum / Daenerys: Like Daenerys, Ethereum believes in smart contracts for the people and wants to remove the middleman chains of society.

Additionally, just as Daenerys has set up some strategic alliances, Ethereum has also created smart alliances with big players. 

Bitcoin Cash / Cersei Lannister: Wants to destroy Bitcoin and claims to be the rightful Crypto heir to Satoshi Nakamoto. Uses strategies to pump up the price in order to displace Bitcoin. Cunning and extremely ambitious.

Litecoin / Jon Snow: Came out of Bitcoin’s blockchain via a software fork. Litecoin fought back from its deathly low drop in Sept. ’17 to current ATH (All-time-high) price level.

Believed to be Bitcoin’s Silver, aka right-hand man. Quick as “lightning” with transactions (and a sword). 

Monero / Arya Stark: The coin that is “Faceless” and has secret origins akin to the House of Black & White.

A rebel currency like Arya that rejects the idea that transactions need to be made public. Prides itself on being secure, private, and untraceable. 

Zcash / Varys: The coin that is a master of secrecy and “not the controller or the power-holder” of the currency. A decentralized network and open-source coin that offers privacy and selective transparency of transactions via its secret network. 

Ripple / Jaime Lannister: Like Jaime, Ripple is a formidable player but not liked in the crypto world. Wasn’t designed to be a standard crypto and has no mining component. Ripple is centralized and serves financial institutions; the very antithesis of Bitcoin. 

Blockstack / Tyrion Lannister: Tyrion believes in a new (peaceful) order like Blockstack believes in “A new internet for decentralized apps where users own their data.” Blockstack exercised caution during its ICO, just like Tyrion exercises caution with his strategic plans.

Bitcoin Gold / Stannis Baratheon: Believes that it has the claim to be the true Bitcoin; yet, looks like it just has a small cult of followers that believe in its cause. 

IOTA / Baelish: Great at convincing people using media tactics, IOTA claimed to have some strategic alliances which never existed. Like Baelish — IOTA uses a mix of FOMO (fear of missing out) tactics to get what it wants from the people.

Cardano / Samwell Tarly: Platform that has evolved out of a scientific philosophy and a research-first driven approach. Team consists of expert engineers and researchers. Just like Sam, it is quite the crypto-scholar. 

Tezos / The Hound: Standing tall at a $232M ICO raise, Tezos had a nasty battle scar from internal team fighting. It is still yet to be seen whether Tezos will be successful, and there is a chance Tezos will be on the right side of crypto-history.  

NEO / Dragons: Known as the “Chinese Ethereum” NEO was once on fire making 400% gains. NEO also runs on gas to light its flames. It is yet to be seen if NEO will live on like Daenery’s surviving dragons or will succumb to the White Walkers.

Regulators / White Walkers: Waging a battle on banning and destroying cryptocurrencies. Some regulators are out to ruin cryptos and bring everything back to the currency world.

It doesn’t apply to all regulators. Here's an interesting piece: ​Evolution of Cryptocurrency: The Problem With Money Today