29 episodes
Easing into Crypto Michael Caloz
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- Education
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5.0 • 3 Ratings
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Cryptocurrency is about a lot more than just making money. We'll get there in later episodes, but first, I want to help you understand how crypto actually works (including how it will transform society, promote social justice, lead to brand new forms of art and creativity, form the foundation of futuristic online worlds, and protect personal autonomy).
You might be wondering:
- Did El Salvador really make Bitcoin an official currency you can pay taxes with? Yes.
- Did an NFT (i.e., a piece of art that lives inside cryptocurrency) really sell for $69 million? Yes.
- Is Bitcoin actually useful for anything, or is it just creating a lot of needless pollution? Yes.
There's a lot to unpack here, and most educational resources I've come across are either way too simplistic or way too advanced.
I'll start at the very beginning and gently guide you through all the concepts you need to understand to feel comfortable with cryptocurrency. There's so much potential here, but I want to do what I can to protect you from getting scammed or making costly mistakes.
I certainly won't claim to be an expert, but I've spent many hundreds of hours studying all this, and I'm continuing to learn and make mistakes every day.
I recommend starting with episode 0 and going through the series in numerical order from there—there are a lot of concepts to learn, and each episode builds on the previous ones.
My goal with this podcast is to get you excited about what's possible here, and then to help you out by sharing what I wish I'd known back when I got started.
This is for you whether you're brand new to crypto (maybe even brand new to investing in general), a seasoned investor wanting to dive deep for potentially huge returns, or a non-techie passionate about social justice, personal freedom, or moving toward a utopian future for humanity.
Visit the podcast's website to see all the episodes laid out in order and broken down into four mini-series: https://www.easingintocrypto.com
Here’s a map of the episodes:
- 0-1: Why crypto is important, and why you might consider listening to me
- 2-6: How blockchains and crypto work, focusing on Bitcoin
- 7-8: How Ethereum works
- 9-11: NFT’s (non-fungible tokens), which are more than just expensive pictures
- 12: DAO’s (decentralized autonomous organizations), the crypto version of corporations
- 13-15: DeFi (decentralized finance), how crypto is reinventing finance
- 16-18: Preparing to invest in crypto
- 19-21: All the major categories of investment opportunity, including my list of coins and tokens
- 22-23: Wrapping up investing
Thanks for reading and listening,
Michael Caloz
crypto@michaelcaloz.com
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Special: The #1 threat facing our species—worse than climate change and nuclear war
This feels vulnerable to share because this isn't pleasant news, and I might seem crazy. But it feels like I have a responsibility here.
It feels like I'm watching the house catching on fire, but few people have noticed. And those who *have* are focusing on that one burning curtain… when the entire foundation is about to collapse.
But, I’m also optimistic. Because if everyone comes together to spread the word and take action, we might be able to turn this threat into something absolutely wonderful instead.
Yes, this is about AI—but a very different (and far more dangerous) part of it than the typical ChatGPT- and MidJourney-focused discussions you’ve been hearing.
The original post on LinkedIn
The MidJourney post I mentioned comparing images made from the exact same prompt just one year apart
The webpage I created with all my top recommended links for learning more about AI (including videos, podcasts, articles, and threads). Please also feel free to post questions or comments there about this episode.
Thanks for listening!
P.S. If you feel freaked out after reading this (as I did during a lot of my research), I highly recommend meditation. Here's my new 7-day guided series. -
Episode 26.5: Who to trust in the crypto world, who I follow, and technical analysis & market cycles
- The five categories of writers / podcasters / YouTubers
- Which of those you should trust
- What's wrong with "gurus," and three ways they trick you
- Being careful even of people you trust
- What's wrong with technical analysis and market cycles
- What to do instead of looking at technical chart patterns
- Who I personally follow
- What I'm doing with my money
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The corresponding blog post with links and images:
https://www.michaelcaloz.com/2022/04/26/easing-into-crypto-part-26-how-to-decide-who-to-trust-in-the-crypto-world-technical-analysis-market-cycles-and-an-update-on-my-longish-term-portfolio/ -
Episode 26: Long-time update, reflections on the crash, portfolio, lessons from StrongBlock & Terra
- What happened to me and crypto
- Lessons from StrongBlock, Terra, and Anchor Protocol
- The portfolio I recommend to friends nowadays
- What happened to LUNA/UST
- Reflections on the crypto market crash(es)
Update: Even since I recorded this a few weeks ago, a lot has changed in the crypto world. As usual, I still have long-term faith in crypto, but it's certainly a rocky period right now. It's also worth noting that Freeway, a platform I mentioned in this episode, is not accepting new accounts right now due to the high market volatility. Stay safe out there, and make sure you take time away from crypto to recharge and stay healthy.
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The corresponding blog post with links and images:
https://www.michaelcaloz.com/2022/04/26/easing-into-crypto-part-26-how-to-decide-who-to-trust-in-the-crypto-world-technical-analysis-market-cycles-and-an-update-on-my-longish-term-portfolio/ -
Episode 25: Preparing taxes, upgrading your security & avoiding scams, how to judge new projects
- How my friend was scammed out of tens of thousands of dollars, and how you can stay safe
- What you should look for to evaluate if a new crypto project is legit
- How I decided recently to upgrade my overall crypto security
- My best tips for preparing your taxes with crypto
- Maximizing your earnings by using S Corps, Self-Directed IRA’s, and Solo 401(k)’s
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The corresponding blog post with links and images:
https://www.michaelcaloz.com/2022/03/25/easing-into-crypto-part-25-staying-safe-preparing-your-taxes-avoiding-scams-upgrading-your-security-and-judging-new-projects/ -
Episode 24: Holding coins vs. yield farming, where my $ is now, big StrongBlock news, future of crypto
Warning: If you're new to this podcast and jumped straight to this episode, I suggest you instead start at the beginning. I know that learning the secrets of investing and making money in crypto sounds appealing, but this episode relies on a lot of concepts I've been slowly explaining in a very intentional order across the previous 23 episodes. This is complex stuff, and I think you'll be best served by listening to everything.
- Updates on OlympusDAO & Tomb Finance, and some big news about StrongBlock's new Litepaper and 2022 roadmap (along with my bullish and bearish arguments for investing in StrongBlock)
- An update on the specific places I'm putting my money right now (focusing on non-high-risk liquidity staking involving stablecoins)
- To what extent should you just hold “large cap, blue chip” cryptocurrencies like ETH, BTC, SOL, etc., versus hold other coins & tokens, versus stake in APY-generating opportunities like yield farming?
- Three possible perspectives on the future of crypto, and how high ETH might eventually go from here
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The corresponding blog post with links and images:
https://www.michaelcaloz.com/2022/03/03/easing-into-crypto-part-24-holding-coins-tokens-vs-yield-farming-where-im-putting-my-money-now-and-big-news-on-strongblock/ -
Episode 23: How to invest based on how much $ you have (plus, the market dip, where my $ is, and more)
Warning: If you're new to this podcast and jumped straight to this episode, I suggest you instead start at the beginning. I know that learning the secrets of investing and making money in crypto sounds appealing, but this episode relies on a lot of concepts I've been slowly explaining in a very intentional order across the previous 22 episodes. This is complex stuff, and I think you'll be best served by listening to everything.
- Whether or not you should be worried about the market dropping, and if this has happened before
- Where my money is, my todo list for what I'll probably be doing next, and a list of my total returns over the past year
- How to invest based on how much money you have, and how to keep things super simple for friends and family
- How to fit crypto into a larger investment strategy including stocks and bonds
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The corresponding blog post with links and images:
https://www.michaelcaloz.com/2022/01/20/easing-into-crypto-part-23-how-to-invest-at-various-levels-of-wealth-and-risk-plus-where-my-money-is-and-how-much-ive-made/