BC CRYPTO
Saved by @Alex1Powell

A personal update: Monday was my last day at Business Standard and I can truly count the past 3 years as the golden phase of my career, where I got the opportunity to not only report but also break some of the biggest news stories during this period.

 From January, I will be writing for the @BloombergQuint.

Even though I will miss the adrenaline rush of finding my byline in the paper every morning, I am really excited about starting a new journey with a digital platform.
In this thread, I am sharing some of the work that I did at @bsindia, which is close to my heart.
I wrote a series of stories with @dilasha on how the cryptocurrency players in India are surviving in a hostile regulatory climate.

https://t.co/NJAcIwAgmC
In Feb 2018, I exposed how the government secretly commissioned a survey to two independent economists, giving them unauthorised access to private data of citizens only to establish ‘robust’ job creation.

https://t.co/JmN7VjQxkC
State-owned PNB was hit by the country's biggest banking fraud.

This letter written by the finance ministry to the RBI became the first point of friction between the govt and the regulator. (Ultimately, Urjit Patel had to step down as the RBI Guv)

https://t.co/Z4oFEDZUr8
In Apr 2018, I broke the story about a currency crunch at ATMs in at least 8 Indian states. Why did this happen? Hint: demonetisation

This was followed by extensive coverage on the issue (the govt did acknowledge publicly that there was a cash crunch).

https://t.co/KU67ulaTMO
I continued to dig into the PNB fraud & found this gem:

I reported how PNB (of all banks) didn't receive a crucial directive sent by the RBI in 2016 asking all lenders to strengthen their risk mechanism to avert fraud.

The story about a missing e-mail

https://t.co/My6Ll42Bp0
The RBI vs government tussle was heating up. I wrote a series of stories on the friction points:

https://t.co/IREwm8LeOU

https://t.co/3801yfOJRg

https://t.co/BYCVe5kcpq

https://t.co/O3jIuI0dpM

https://t.co/YXDTiarSFh

https://t.co/JCcyzd75gD
In September 2018, I reported how the government has found over 60% of the money deposited in 37 million Jan-Dhan accounts in the weeks following the note ban announcement in 2016 as “suspicious”

https://t.co/gwsYVOQnle
Politics of data was a project I took up in the past 3 years. The following stories aptly throw light on an ever-important issue:
A day before leaving office as NITI Aayog vice-chairman in 2017, Arvind Panagariya submitted the final report of the task force he chaired for recommending improvements in jobs data. The final report never saw the light of the day. Here are the details:

https://t.co/FyagN0UMrY
An official survey on jobs conducted in 2016-17 by the Labour Bureau (part of the labour and employment ministry) was never made public. Here are the findings of the report (this survey has been officially junked since then):

https://t.co/4A2uw3gppj
The biggest scoop of my career (yet). The unemployment rate rose to a 45-yr-high, a year before India went into elections. Shockingly, the Modi govt didn't officially release the findings of the report until it came back to power in the 2019 elections.

https://t.co/FBcV5VTggg
Some important analysis from the hidden report in the run up to the national elections:

https://t.co/NZGwD4EUpI

https://t.co/9YsxMzBlqr

https://t.co/qMluVa4rLP
Of course, the government initiated an inquiry to find out my sources but it was to no avail :)

https://t.co/GLfNOlEhv0
Months later, I brought out the findings of another hidden survey report that showed consumer spending falling for the first time in over four decades.

https://t.co/zejgxPn4MI
The data hasn't been made public till date as the government decided to scrap the survey report the day we published the results.

More in this thread:

https://t.co/5Kur6wiMyf
I also did some ground reporting during the 2019 national elections:

https://t.co/ibihPxveAS

https://t.co/6FUJaLAwHv

https://t.co/fNh0ltutDe
I added on to @nit_set's stellar investigative work on electoral bonds to report how the finance ministry knew that there was a hidden serial number which could reveal the donor's identity

https://t.co/tX2sCof3Ki
Last winter, I covered the anti-CAA protests. I went to the protest sites across Delhi almost everyday and wrote on the many voices leading the protests

https://t.co/TFMEXfArWD
I visited the riot-affected areas in Delhi with @ari_maj to bring out the horror stories of alienation, distrust and exodus that loomed in parts of the national capital early this year (the most difficult reporting assignment till date for me)

https://t.co/0xbfbf4qmI
Then of course, there was a (COVID-19) lockdown.

I went to the ground to cover the plight of migrants:

https://t.co/6XSOHu5TDa

https://t.co/wIym1nCfbH

https://t.co/cEA9TmcWaB

https://t.co/Dshk24AcZG

https://t.co/YYY6N284aV

https://t.co/rNMyZpedLj
Many states swung into action to do away with labour laws this year. Here's an extensive coverage:

https://t.co/1NyDcish0A

https://t.co/EGH3qvWJVZ

https://t.co/IPapM0bzog

https://t.co/kv252xNHwE

https://t.co/m6QCiNEEYK

https://t.co/j3AkQ7ihHY

https://t.co/Bn7Kn0W02V
I wrote extensively on the labour law changes and its impact....

https://t.co/LaGJPOQ3pC

https://t.co/Zx2ZI1uzHJ

https://t.co/3q39YKHJqQ

https://t.co/ox3TMwbSR5

...while also highlighting the issues in the labour laws:

https://t.co/IqiVrt0ri4

https://t.co/lzzeLVL3h0
I am thankful to everyone - my present and former colleagues and editors at @bsindia, industry colleagues, readers, whistle-blowers and everyone who helped give shape and add value to my work. I look forward to your love and support as I embark on this new journey :)

More from Crypto

V.H.
V.H.
@Varg_88
Lots of people are sleeping on one the biggest things @quant_network is currently involved in-ODAP (Open Digital Asset Protocol).

So what is exactly #ODAP and why this makes $QNT one of the most significant and, regarding #crypto mcap, undervalued projects?

Time for a THREAD⬇️


1/ODAP is the protocol for communication between gateways, primarily with an enterprise focus.
So banks, central banks etc. would run a gateway in Overledger Network and ODAP would be the protocol for gateways to communicate with each other in a secure and trustless manner. $QNT


2/ #ODAP Interfaces are the open source connectors that will connect a gateway to #blockchains and any existing network / API. That is based on the standards from work done at ISO TC 307 which 57 countries are working towards.
$QNT CEO Gilbert Verdian is the founder of TC307.


3/We know from the submitted drafts via #IETF (the Internet Engineering Task Force) $QNT is working on #ODAP with:

✅@MIT

✅@intel

but, there’s more to the story as we found out from Gilbert that US Government, Juniper, payment and telecom companies are also there.


4/So how it all started with #ODAP?
Let’s go back to $QNT CEO Gilbert Verdian’s interview with Santiago Velez on #RealVision (October 14th) and try to put all the pieces of the puzzle together.
I’ll forward his words ⬇️
CRYPTO
Nabeel Qadeer
Nabeel Qadeer
@nabeelaq
The global blockchain market is growing fast & it is expected to grow from USD 3.0B in 2020 to USD 39.7B by 2025 at an impressive CAGR of 67.3% during 2020–2025. The global fintech market has also significantly grown over the past 2 years & so is the case in Southeast Asia. (1/n)


2) Thanks to the increased application of blockchain & cryptocurrency in the region.
With a total pop. of 570M, a young demographic & high Internet usage, Southeast Asia (SEA) is promising for companies & investors in blockchain & crypto.

#Blockchain


3) The use of blockchain in SEA has certainly come far ahead from the time when the technology was seen as another speculative commodity or a mere passing fad.

Today, the application of decentralized finance (DeFi) is under the limelight.

4) The region’s fast-growing economies are well-positioned to drive adoption of #blockchain & crypto. As each country competes to stay relevant in today’s digital age & embrace emerging technologies such as blockchain & #cryptocurrency, large-scale adoption is the key to success.

5) Here’s an overview of where the region is headed in terms of blockchain w/ respect to digital financial transactions.

As the financial hub for SEA, Singapore plays a critical role in supporting the region to push it forward technologically & financially.
CRYPTO
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Jos\xe9 Maria Macedo
José Maria Macedo
@ZeMariaMacedo
While my time investing in crypto and previously playing poker has gotten me used to experiencing large daily personal net worth volatility, it's never a pleasant experience

Short thread (by my standards...) with some ramblings that help me get through it 👇

1/10 Imo, some DeFi projects represent 10-1000x upside opportunities

Obviously, like all of crypto, it is extremely risky and can go to 0. That said, given the magnitude of potential outcomes, it just doesn't have to succeed that often to make it a massively +EV bet

2/10 As with all early stage tech, realising these outcomes will require 4-8 year holds

Unlike early stage tech, crypto investors will have liquidity, i.e. the possibility, and thus the temptation, to sell

This is both a blessing and a curse

3/10 A look at any of the best performing public stocks will show you that you cannot have 10-1000x upside potential without volatiliy and occasional large drawdowns

Crypto, as early stage tech, is much riskier than established public companies and thus even higher vol too

4/10 Obviously, one should take advantage of this liquidity as it allows for rebalancing. Most importantly, it also makes outcomes less binary and thus less volatile than traditional VC

However, one should not let the liquidity take advantage of us
CRYPTO
Stears Business
Stears Business
@StearsBusiness
The CBN's official reason for its recent cryptocurrency restriction is that cryptocurrencies are anonymous and used for money laundering, terrorism financing, and tax evasion. Let’s dig into what the facts say.

A THREAD #Nigeria #Bitcoin

1/21

We’ll break up the allegation into two. First up, “cryptocurrency is used for money laundering.”
Cryptocurrencies have been used for illicit activities but so too have official currencies. So the CBN's argument must be that cryptocurrencies make the situation worse.

2/21

But as things stand, significantly more illicit activities are conducted with regular money than with cryptocurrencies. According to the UN, between $800 billion and $2 trillion is laundered globally every year, mostly in cash.

3/21

Meanwhile, the entire global value of cryptocurrencies is currently $1.4 trillion. Chainanalysis, the leading crypto-analysis company helping governments track criminals, estimated that 1.1% of all cryptocurrency transactions are illicit.

4/21

So, if the government is trying to clamp down on money laundering and terrorism financing, they are better off spending their energy on their naira accounts.

5/21
CRYPTO
Subhadip Nandy
Subhadip Nandy
@SubhadipNandy16
Will start this thread with a disclaimer. I have never invested a rupee in cryptos 😀

But I have studied bull and bear cycles and financial bubbles extensively. Saw 1992, 2000, 2008 with own eyes. The first one as a novice, the next two when I knew to analyze

The amount of chatter I am seeing in friends, family and social media about cryptos has gone through the roof. For everyone, it's a dream to make 100x or even 1000x easily. Basically, become stinking rich easily
( it never happens )

In any financial bubble, the top is made in extreme speed and violence. The distribution happens on the way down. Unless one saw the rates of 65k on bitcoin, one wouldn't buy at 30-35k or 20k. That 65k is an anchor point which leads to greed

During the tulipmania, a single piece of tulip reached a price of $750,000 in today's money. When we see that history, we think "what idiots". But consider this, as of now meme coins generated by someone in their garage are being traded at absurd prices


Then there is this joke called NFT. A piece of "digital art" basically made by someone on their computer ( who is not even a known artist) are being sold for millions of dollars
CRYPTO

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John Myles White
John Myles White
@johnmyleswhite
This post is pretty bizarre, but it manages to hit on so many false beliefs that I've seen hurt junior data scientists that it deserves some explicit

(1) The notion that R is well-suited to "building web applications" seems totally out of left field. I don't feel like most R loyalists think this is a good idea, but it's worth calling out that no normal company will be glad you wrote your entire web app in R.

(2) It is true that Python had some issues historically with the 2-to-3 transition, but it's not such a big deal these days. On the flip side, I have found interesting R code that doesn't run in modern R interpreters because of changes in core operations (e.g. assignment syntax).

(3) "Most of the time we only need a latest, working interpreter with the latest packages to run the code" -- this is where things get real and reveal some things that hurt data scientists. If this sentence is true, it's likely because you don't share code with coworkers.

(3) Really is a broader issue in data science: people only think of what they need to do their work if no one else existed and code was never maintained. Junior data scientists almost always operate on projects they start from scratch and don't have to maintain for long.
DATA SCIENCE
Tej Dosa \U0001f602\U0001f9e0
Tej Dosa 😂🧠...
@ComedicBizman
(A THREAD)

18 Things I Would Do At 18:

I was a dumb 18-year-old. I thought I had the world figured out. I didn't.

I stayed up till the wee hours. Drank every liquor invented.

Partied non-stop. Woke up after noon.

Surfed the web aimlessly.

Read BS self-help.

Repeat.

If I could do it all over again, here's 18 things I would do...

PHASE ONE: GET MY MIND RIGHT

ACTION #1: Break the chains - I wish I made the decision earlier. I didn't. I was scared. Anxious. Nervous. I knew once I made the decision, there was no going back.

Don't be like me.

Make the decision at 18. The decision to pave your own path in life. To go against the herd. To choose your own adventure. To commit to whatever sets your heart on fire.

ACTION #2: Cut off every negative person in your life.

Scroll through the contacts in your phone...

Notice how the names make you feel.

Delete any and all names that fill you with doubt and negativity.

ACTION #3: Condition your mind to embrace the producer mindset instead of the consumer mindset.

Consume 20% of the time. Produce 80% of the time.

Case closed.

ACTION #4: Set an intention to make $10k a month and write it out every MORNING and NIGHT as if you already achieved it (in the past tense).

Visualize yourself already having the money as you write.

Cheesy?

Yes.

Does it work?

Yes.

PHASE TWO: EDUCATION
LIFE
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foone
foone
@Foone
An interesting set of games that I've been vaguely interested in since I was a kid, after seeing one at a friend's house and never being able to find it again, was the BATTLES IN A DISTANT DESERT/BATTLES ON DISTANT PLANETS series.


These are turn-based wargames for windows 3.x, sharing the same engine.
Battles in a Distant Desert is from 1992, and is based on the first Iraq war (Desert Storm)


and Battles on Distant Planets is from 1991, and takes place in SPACE!
I'm pretty sure this is the one I played as a kid.


They've got 3 options to play with:
* Player vs. Player
* Player vs. Computer
* Computer vs. Computer

So it's a 0-2 player game!


They also did a DOS strategy game called "STARDATE 2140.2: GALACTIC CONQUEST" in 1990, but it seems to be lost.
All the games share an experimental AI system based on neural networks.
FUN
Mystery Grove Publishing Co.
Mystery Grove Publishi...
@MysteryGrove
By popular demand, here is the official Mystery Grove Film Recommendations list. Watch all of these in order if you want to truly understand the world we live in today.
CULTURE
WORLD OF SANATAN DHARMA
WORLD OF SANATAN DHARM...
@world_sanatan
WHY BABUR NEVER TRIED TO ATTACK SRI KRISHNADEVARAYA ?

A🧵u must read

It is very well known that Babur considered Krishna Dev Raya as the strongest ruler of the entire subcontinent, and Vijayanagar empire the strongest during that time in India.

1/10


The Vijayanagar empire reached its peak during 1509-1529 around the reign of Krishna Dev Raya.

Vijayanagar’s famed elephant brigade 👇

2/10


At his command there were over 50000 elite troops with a regiment of Portuguese gunners and 3200 cavalry with 600 elephants.

3/10

Along with that more than four hundred thousand ( four lakh) peasant levies and irregular military made this empire one of the largest in all of South Asia.

A typical Vijayanagar levie soldier 👇

4/10


During Baburs invasion, Krishna Dev Raya ruled supreme in all of deccan.

In fact, in an all our brawl, Krisha Dev Raya will beat Babur fair and square.

Babur could muster at max 50000 troops with 50 canons.

While Krishna Dev Raya had these numbers in Hampi alone

5/10
ALL


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