Crypto and blockchain are not easy for ordinary investors to understand, particularly in a crypto winter. Investors in blockchain, digital assets and crypto have lengthy list of questions--and the list keeps getting longer and more nuanced. Tradecraft Capital's Jake Ryan and James Diorio Jr. lay out easy to understands answers for crypto enthusiasts and investors in the digital economy, so they can move beyond the short-term to explore what great opportunities lie ahead for blockchain technologies.

Ryan and Diorio dive deeply and decrypt crypto, sharing  information about the digital asset economy and blockchain innovations that you can trust. They suggest approaches to investing safely and soundly, based on an investor's risk appetite and investment timeframe.

 You will learn:

 •     What is happening on the cutting -edge of blockchain innovation, and the ways it will transform our financial systems, our economy, and society itself.

•      How to participate in lower risk approaches in investing in digital assets in your retirement portfolio.

•      How to create self-directed IRAs that hold crypto directly. (Think of crypto like owing a piece of land: you hold it). Do you need a wallet? They answer that too.

•      What the playing field of active investment opportunities looks like over different investment timeframes.

•      Why "The Merge" is a huge breakthrough that creates greater opportunities for consumers and investors like you.

Blockchain technologies could boost the global economy US$1.76 trillion by 2030 through raising levels of tracking, tracing, and trust. Our financial system as we know is changing for the better. Ryan and Diorio will help you learn how to benefit from all the economic growth opportunities created with this game-changing technology.

JAKE RYAN is the Chief Investment Officer of Tradecraft Capital. He is a former computer scientist and software engineer, and an advisor to several venture-backed startups focusing on AI. He has contributed to Newsweek, Bloomberg, Ameritrade Institutional, Harvard Business Review, and Business Insider.

JAMES DIORIO is the Chief Executive Officer of Tradecraft Capital. He is a serial entrepreneur, speaker, and executive with a foundation in computer science and a history of guiding ventures to realize their full potential. He is the author of the Crypto: Decrypted^® monthly blog, which focuses on education, insights and providing clarity in this often-misunderstood space.

Part i - Foreword              i

Part ii - Introduction        iii

Part iii – Note from the Authors  v

PART ONE – THE PRIMER              1

Chapter 1: What’s the Big Deal About Blockchain?             1

A Blockchain is a Specialized Database    4

Decentralized     6

Immutable          7

Transparent        8

Cryptographically Secure              9

Non-Money Examples of Blockchain Technology 11

Decentralized Finance    11

Supply Chain Management           12

Additional Examples        13

Blockchain Technical Components            14

Transactions       14

Blocks   15

Hash / Hashing Function               16

Miners and Proof-of-Work Consensus      17

Block Rewards   19

Aligned Incentives            20

Other Consensus Mechanisms     21

Chapter 2: Bitcoin, the First Application of a Blockchain   24

What’s Unique About Bitcoin      29

A Global, Public Payments Network         31

Public Versus Private       32

Economic Empowerment and Bitcoin      33

A Regulatory Head Start 35

Bitcoin vs. bitcoin             36

Getting Started with Bitcoin        36

Exchanges           37

Your Wallet        39

PayPal and Other Secure Options              41

Bitcoin ATM        41

On Risk 42

Know Your Risk Envelope              43

Chapter 3: What Makes a Smart Contract Smart?               45

What is a Smart Contract Platform?         45

Smart Platform Convergence: The Foundation of the Age of Autonomy     47

Smart Contracts & The Supply Chain        48

The Evolution of the Contract     49

How Can We Benefit from Smart Contract Applications?  51

Banking “Know Your Customer” Regulations        52

Real Estate Transactions               52

Insurance            53

Transparent Auditing      55

Voting and Democracy   55

Health Care Industry and Health Care Management          55

Intellectual Property and Content Creators           57

Integration with the Internet of Things (IoT)         58

Chapter 4: What is DeFi?              60

The Wild West   61

Banking for the Bankless               62

DeFi and CeFi: Odd Bedfellows   63

Lending, Borrowing & Yield          66

Decentralized Exchanges (DEX)   67

Derivatives          68

DeFi and Governance Tokens      69

Chapter 5: Metaverse, NFTs & Web 3.0   72

The ABCs of NFTs             73

Not Just Art        75

The Metaverse   77

MANGA and Mainstream Adoption          79

Web 3.0               84

PART TWO – DEBUNKING MYTHS              88

Chapter 6: Myth - Regulation Will Kill Crypto        90

The Sticking Point            91

Crypto Classification: Security vs. Commodity       92

Howey Test        93

Consider Similar Analog Assets    94

Commodities — Looking at “The What”   94

The Punchline     95

Chapter 7: Myth – Crypto Is a Bubble       97

Spring Follows Winter     100

Do You Believe in Technology?   101

Of Course It’s a Cycle!    104

Centralized Crypto Exchange Celsius Melts Down              105

Professor Krugman Is (Still) Wrong           107

Our Silver Lining Playbook            111

The Amazing Merge        113

Chapter 8: Myth - Crypto Is Bad for the Environment        117

Bitcoin Energy Consumption        117

Blockchain Technologies and Climate Mitigation 123

Chapter 9: Myth - Crypto is a Fraud          126

Watchdogs On the Hunt: the SEC Putting Scammers on Notice     128

Risk Management and Red Flags               131

Don’t Do Stupid Stuff      138

Chapter 10: Myth – Crypto Empowers Crime        140

The Internet is a Criminal Battlefield        144

Tracing the Untraceable 145

Ransomeware? Ransomthere!    145

Not Hiding in Plain Sight 147

Everyone Evolves             148

PART THREE – THE BREAKTHROUGH         150

Chapter 11: A Primer on Technological Innovation             150

Converging Technologies – Innovations in AI, IoT and Robotics     154

Artificial Intelligence       154

The Internet of Things and Sensors           156

Robotics              157

Vision, Image Processing and Autonomous Motion           158

From Automation to Autonomy  159

The Crucial Connector: Smart Contracts, Protocols and Platforms               160

Putting It All Together    160

Chapter 12: The Byzantine General’s Problem      162

Some Other Top Computer Science Problems       162

What is BGP and Why is it So Important?               164

How Bitcoin Solved BGP 165

Bitcoin, a peer-to-peer electronic cash system     166

Other Applications of P2P Consensus       167

Show on BBC called ‘Fake or Fortune’ Illustrates the Problem        167

Chapter 13: Peer-to-Peer Models              172

Computer Networking    174

Easy File Sharing               176

Reduced Costs   180

Adaptability        181

Reliability            183

Chapter 14: Trusting Trustless Transactions          186

The Trust-Minimized Advantage 188

Open-Source Software   189

Chapter 15: No Permission Required        191

The Permission Monster               191

The Permissionless Solution         193

The Game, Changed        195

Chapter 16: Digital Scarcity          200

Provable Scarcity             201

Digital Scarcity – The New Frontier           203

The Case for Money        204

The Case for Goods         205

Scarcity in The Metaverse             206

NFTs – Provable Uniqueness        207

Chapter 17: A New Decentralized, Autonomous Economy              209

Sound Money, Required but Not Sufficient           210

Financial Capital Vs. Production Capital   210

Production Capital Supporting the Autonomous Economy             211

DAOs and DACs– a New Structure for Human Organization            211

Smart Contracts & Autonomous Protocols            212

Autonomous Governance             212

The Autonomous Economy Realized        215

New Tools Create New Possibilities           215

New Types of Owners & Ownership          216

Chapter 18: Liquid Venture          218

A Cautionary Tale            219

Crypto Assets Revolutionize Investing      220

A New Name, A New Game          221

Other Advantages            222

Risks Still Exist   223

Get Rich Slow     224

PART FOUR – THE APPLICATION 226

Chapter 19: Signals v. Noise         227

All that Glitters is not Gold           227

Sound Assets      230

What makes a crypto asset valuable         230

USP        231

Moat     233

Team     234

Market Capitalization     235

Acceptance         236

Scarcity 237

Regulatory Risk  239

Putting it All Together    243

Chapter 20: Interpreting Charts  244

On-Chain Metrics             245

Basic Trend Analysis        247

Advanced Analysis           247

Advanced Metrics            250

Technical Analysis            251

Basic Indicators 252

Advanced Indicators       256

Charting Tools   258

If Nothing Else, Dollar Cost Average          258

Chapter 21: Crypto as Diversification in a Total Portfolio 260

Safe-haven Assets – Gold and Bitcoin      261

Generating Alpha – Market-Beating Returns         261

Measuring Risk-adjusted Returns              266

Adding Bitcoin to a Total Portfolio            268

Chapter 22: Savings, Borrowing, Income Strategies & Taxes          270

Taxes     270

Saving   271

Borrowing           274

Income Strategies            275

Chapter 23: Retirement  277

Ways to Invest in Digital Assets in Retirement Accounts   278

Self-Directed IRA / Roth IRA Investing Directly with Digital Assets               278

Using Options and Futures Accounts        278

Investing with Single Asset Trusts              279

Crypto Hedge Funds and Venture Funds for Qualified Investors    280

No ‘40-Act’ Spot ETFs (Yet)           281

Chapter 24: Looking Ahead          283

The Future of the Metaverse       283

Play in the Metaverse     284

Work in the Metaverse   285

Play-To-Earn Evolved      286

The Future of Sovereign Data      287

The Future of Money      288

The Future of the DAO   290

The Future of Companies              292

Practical Examples           293

Getting a Job (Contract) 294

Making an Investment    295

The Technology Exists Today       297

What’s Next?     298