Newsletter 001

Aaaaargh not another Crypto Newsletter

Author

Eric Karani
January 14, 2023

Welcome to the Ledger Line!

At the end of 2022, I stumbled upon a LinkedIn post below by Matt Gray. He was talking about publishing a newsletter. I have read most newsletters starting with https://milkroad.com/, which was recently sold by Shaan Puri and Ben Levy.

Matt Gray on LinkedIn: Simple growth playbook: Newsletter: • Use Beehiiv • Publish 1x per… | 18 comments

Simple growth playbook: Newsletter: • Use Beehiiv • Publish 1x per week Social Media: • Post to Twitter and LinkedIn 2x per day • 2 carousels / week, 2… | 18 comments on LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mattgray1_simple-growth-playbook-newsletter-use-activity-6987825659209207809-4Ra3?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

This motivated the heck out of me. First, because it was a one-year experiment with explosive growth, and second, they focused on something that excited me. There was only one thing that was missing. What would I write? I mean, I have never thought of a writer since late last year. Before I tell you what to expect in this newsletter, let me give you a short background of myself.

I first heard about bitcoin in the year 2014 and immediately took an interest. It took me one year for me to try and buy some bitcoin.

The only problem is that they did not have an option for buying using MPESA (mobile money in Kenya). I thought that was a red flag since the government had warned people about digital currencies. I passed on the purchase little did I know that I had missed a golden opportunity.

In 2017, I attended an event that talked about cryptocurrencies, and I tried to buy crypto online and bought Potcoin.

This is the period I created LocalBitcoins and Binance accounts. It was the ICO boom of 2017, and soon after, there was a bear market. People disappeared from the space. I, of course, was not left behind as people ran back to normal things far away from Crypto. That was another mistake I made.

Fast forward to 2021, there was a bull market, and as I was reading articles on medium, I found out about DEFI. This time, I decided to go deep into the rabbit hole, and from that moment, my mind changed!

I have been in DEFI since then, and the journey has been both exciting and fulfilling. This is without the downs that come with every cycle. We are in the bear market, but true wealth is made here!

There are things I still want to get good at in the space i.e

Scalping, Swing Trading, position trading and more DEFI protocols. I also believe we, as Africans, can capitalize on blockchain technology to solve issues affecting us. Take, for example, how blockchain can disrupt CHAMA (Not the city in Mexico).

The term "Chama," derived from the Swahili language and is widely used in East Africa, particularly in Kenya, refers to an unofficial cooperative organization where several people pool their financial resources for investing reasons. The most typical is the Merry Go Round (Rotating Savings and Credit Associations), where a set sum of money is periodically collected from each member (often monthly) and handed out to one of the members on a rotating basis.

Because those paid earlier in the schedule have no motivation to keep up with payments, the members near the end of the payment rotation are at the greatest risk. By front-loading the most trustworthy members in the payment rotation and the least trustworthy at the end, the Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCA) will address this issue. The ROSCA methodology is better than a random structure but still presents risks.

A DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) could solve the trust issues.

I am suggesting ChamaDAO as a solution for a token-gated community website and Discord channel. To become a member, one must mint a free Chama NFT, which grants access and voting rights. These NFTs will later be replaced by the $CHAMA ERC-20 token, which is required to be a member and have voting rights in the DAO. Members can trade the Chama token on decentralized exchanges, allowing new members to join the DAO. The $CHAMA is a governance token representing each member's stake in the ChamaDAO and distributed control among members leads to on-chain governance. Members have collective ownership and control over the DAO treasury and can vote on proposals, such as buying real estate property in Nairobi, Kenya. If the majority vote yes, the code will automatically execute the proposal, disbursing funds from the DAO treasury accordingly. Tony Kipkemboi explains more information on this.

What to expect in this newsletter.

  • An overview of the current state of the cryptocurrency market, including the top-performing currencies, market trends, and any major news or events that have occurred recently.

  • An explanation of a current issue or debate in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry, such as scalability, regulation, or privacy concerns.

  • An interview with a prominent figure in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space, such as a developer, entrepreneur, or investor. (in future :) )

  • An article on the use cases of blockchain technology beyond just cryptocurrency, such as supply chain management, voting systems, and identity verification.

  • Blockchain events happening around the globe specifically in Africa.

Let's stop it there for now. Bye for now.