Something, Something, Blockchain

The idea of a non-taxed, non-regulated, digital currency can sound incredibly appealing for many uses, but are cryptocurrencies all they’re cracked up to be and should we be advocating their use? That’s what we discuss with the published researcher, Dr Catherine Flick, known on BBC local radio as being able to explain Bitcoin in 15 seconds. Catherine brought so much insight to help us understand what exactly cryptocurrencies and the blockchain are, and why they’re not as great as those involved in them think. We also dig into how NFTs got into the video game industry and of course the environmental impact of the blockchain. We know this topic can stir up a lot of discussions, and we’d love to hear from you (as long as we can all keep things civil). So, send a note over to [email protected], leave a comment on the post, or join the discussion over on our Discord server Episode Links Dr Catherine Flick: Mastodon / Website WWF UK faces backlash over ‘destructive’ plans to sell ‘eco-friendly’ NFTs (Sky News) ACM Code of Ethics A critical professional ethical analysis of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) The Missing Cryptoqueen: Apple Podcasts / BBC Sounds Cross-cultural patterns in mobile playtime: an analysis of 118 billion hours of human data Chapter Times 00:00:04: Introductions 00:16:05: Privacy & The Ick Factor 00:24:17: What Is Blockchain? 00:34:26: Lack of Financial Protection 00:39:42: Regulation? 00:43:15: Virtual Currences vs Proof of Work / Stake 00:49:57: The Environmental Impact 00:54:32: Decentralised 01:00:20: NFTs & Video Games 01:18:17: Solving Actual Problems 01:22:40: Wrapping Up Credits Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW