Dear Readers,
The world of crypto is vast. Bitcoin, the largest and only truly decentralized blockchain, has spawned an army of alternative coins (commonly called “altcoins”) and projects, each seemingly more nuanced than the last. And the growth of the industry shows no signs of stopping.
Many altcoins have attempted to incorporate some of Bitcoin’s characteristics into their own blockchains, but world events, especially recently, are proving that Bitcoin is still in a league of its own. For example, many stories have been told recently about Bitcoin’s superior ability to protect and transfer wealth for Canadians, Ukrainians, Russians, and others who are hurt, usually through no fault of their own, by financial censorship and sanctions. Bitcoin has quite literally been a lifeline for many of those users.
Unfortunately, the same can’t always be said for other blockchains. Supporters of the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, were shocked last week when several large platforms operating on top of the blockchain began blocking users of certain jurisdictions from accessing their services:
