But good lord, what does all of it mean?

但是，老天爺，這一切意味著什麼呢？

So welcome to the one video that will take you from crypto noob to crypto genius.

歡迎觀看這段視頻，它將帶你從加密新手變為加密天才。

I'm going to tell you what it is, why it keeps becoming more important, what I've actually invested in myself, and the dark side of it.

我要告訴你它是什麼，為什麼它變得越來越重要，我在自己身上究竟投入了什麼，以及它的陰暗面。

Okay, so when society was in its early stages, there was no such thing as money.

好吧，在社會的早期階段，是沒有錢這個東西的。

We'll call this stage one.

我們稱之為第一階段。

The only way to buy something off someone was to go up to them and be like, Oh, I really like your horse.

從別人那裡買東西的唯一方法就是走到他們面前，說："哦，我真的很喜歡你的馬。

I'll trade you my cat for it.

我用我的貓跟你換。

Sorry, Milo, I'd never trade you.

對不起，米洛，我不會拿你做交易的。

But the issue with a system like that is that even though you might be perfectly happy to give up your horse, you just might not want a cat.

但這樣一個系統的問題在於，即使你很樂意放棄你的馬，但你可能並不想要一隻貓。

So that trade will never happen.

是以，這筆交易永遠不會發生。

But that's where currency came in.

但這正是貨幣的作用所在。

Stage two, coins, which because they were made of precious materials like gold and silver, everyone just accepted that they were worth something.

第二階段是硬幣，因為硬幣是用金銀等貴重材料製成的，所以大家都認為它們很值錢。

You've heard of the British pound, right?

你聽說過英鎊吧？

Well, the reason they're called pounds is because one pound literally just used to be one pound of silver.

之所以叫 "英鎊"，是因為以前一英鎊就是一磅銀子。

And so all of a sudden in a trade, it doesn't matter if you don't want my cat.

突然之間，在交易中，你不想要我的貓也沒關係了。

As long as I have coins, we can still trade for your horse.

只要我有金幣，我們就能換你的馬。

Even if you have no use at all for the silver, because it's a precious material, you have that reassurance that you can take that coin, give it to someone else, and trade for something that you do want.

即使你根本用不上銀幣，但由於它是一種貴重材料，你可以放心地把它交給別人，換取你想要的東西。

Convenient, right?

方便吧？

But then this evolved to stage three.

但後來發展到了第三階段。

As banks became established and governments had control, we realized that as long as there was trust in the system, we could move away from needing to carry blocks of precious metal towards something even more convenient.

隨著銀行的建立和政府的控制，我們意識到，只要對系統有信任，我們就可以擺脫攜帶貴金屬塊的需要，轉而使用更方便的東西。

Paper money.

紙幣

It does the same thing, but now the money doesn't have value because it's made of pure silver.

它做了同樣的事情，但現在的錢沒有價值，因為它是由純銀製成的。

It just has value because the government says it has value.

它有價值只是因為政府說它有價值。

Like this £10 note here in the UK, the note itself is just made of, well, it's actually made of plastic.

就像英國的這張 10 英鎊紙幣，紙幣本身是由塑膠製成的。

They changed it recently because it's more durable.

他們最近換了一種，因為它更耐用。

But if you look closer, you can see that all this actually is, is the Bank of England promising that they will pay the bearer of this note £10.

但如果你仔細觀察，就會發現這實際上只是英格蘭銀行承諾向持票人支付 10 英鎊。

Really, this is just a receipt, a kind of proof that you own a certain amount of money.

實際上，這只是一張收據，一種證明你擁有一定金額的憑證。

But as technologies improved even further, we found even more convenient ways of storing and trading our stuff.

但隨著技術的進一步發展，我們發現了更方便的儲存和交易方式。

We're now in what I would call stage four, where more people than ever are buying things online and using credit cards.

我們現在正處於我所說的第四階段，在這一階段，比以往任何時候都有更多的人在網上購物並使用信用卡。

And really, when you're at that stage, we don't see our money anymore.

真的，當你到了那個階段，我們就再也看不到我們的錢了。

It's not about coins or notes or cats.

這與硬幣、紙幣或貓無關。

It's just entries on a spreadsheet.

這只是電子表格上的條目。

Like when I buy a music album from Amazon, all that's happening is that my bank adds an entry in my spreadsheet that says Aaron now has $10 less, and then Amazon's bank adds an entry that says they have $10 more.

就像我從亞馬遜購買音樂專輯一樣，我的銀行在我的電子表格中添加了一條記錄，說亞倫現在少了 10 美元，然後亞馬遜的銀行又添加了一條記錄，說他們多了 10 美元。

So the reason I've given you this entire intro is to give you context on where cryptocurrency sits.

是以，我之所以給大家介紹這麼多，是為了讓大家瞭解加密貨幣的來龍去脈。

It's seen by many people as the most convenient era of exchange ever.

它被許多人視為有史以來最便捷的交換時代。

Stage five.

第五階段

The way to think about a cryptocurrency is that it's 100% virtual.

對加密貨幣的理解是，它是 100% 的虛擬貨幣。

I know the logo for Bitcoin kind of looks like a physical coin.

我知道比特幣的標誌看起來有點像實物硬幣。

It really is a bit coin now.

現在真的有點像硬幣了。

But with crypto, there is no gold, there is no silver, there is no paper.

但加密貨幣沒有黃金、白銀，也沒有紙張。

It really is just the transfer of digital assets.

這其實只是數字資產的轉移。

The core concept is exactly the same.

核心概念完全相同。

Think of them as literally just running spreadsheets of who's paid what to who.

把它們看作是誰向誰支付了多少錢的電子表格。

But instead of multiple banks keeping their own separate records, with crypto, there is just one enormous spreadsheet of every transaction made using that currency.

但是，使用加密貨幣時，只需一張巨大的電子表格，就能記錄使用該貨幣進行的每一筆交易，而不是多家銀行各自保存不同的記錄。

And this is called a ledger.

這就是所謂的分類賬。

Okay, we all love a good spreadsheet, but what's all the fuss about?

好吧，我們都喜歡電子表格，但這有什麼好大驚小怪的？

Why is everyone going crypto crazy?

為什麼每個人都在為加密貨幣瘋狂？

Well, there are some distinct advantages to a currency system like this.

這樣的貨幣系統有一些明顯的優勢。

One, it's decentralized, which means that while every transaction of a given cryptocurrency is all recorded on the same ledger, there are many, many copies of that ledger.

其一，它是去中心化的，這意味著雖然特定加密貨幣的每筆交易都記錄在同一個分類賬上，但該分類賬有很多很多個副本。

And anyone who is a part of the network has one.

只要是網絡的一部分，都有一個。

You might have heard of cryptocurrency mining or Bitcoin mining.

您可能聽說過加密貨幣挖礦或比特幣挖礦。

Well, all that is, is someone who set up a computer to crunch through transactions on their copy of this ledger or spreadsheet.

其實，這只是某個人設置了一臺電腦，在自己的賬本或電子表格副本上計算交易。

There are already about a million Bitcoin miners around the world, and Bitcoin is just one type of cryptocurrency.

全世界已經有大約 100 萬比特幣礦工，而比特幣只是加密貨幣的一種。

The reason they're doing it?

他們這樣做的原因是什麼？

Well, if you dedicate your computer's power to mining, say Bitcoin, then you will earn some Bitcoin as compensation.

好吧，如果你把電腦的能量用於挖礦，比如比特幣，那麼你就可以賺取一些比特幣作為補償。

So the result of this is that if I go into a store and spend five Bitcoins on something, then instead of just checking with one bank's records, the shop instead checks with every single computer on this network if I have enough.

這樣做的結果是，如果我去一家商店花 5 個比特幣買東西，商店就不會只查一家銀行的記錄，而是會查這個網絡上的每一臺電腦，看我是否有足夠的比特幣。

And assuming I do, each computer will give the go-ahead, and then every single one will update their records independently.

如果我這樣做了，每臺電腦都會同意，然後每臺電腦都會獨立更新它們的記錄。

So because you end up having this many copies of exactly the same ledger, it becomes very easy to tell if anyone's trying anything fishy.

是以，因為你最終會擁有這麼多份完全相同的賬本，所以很容易分辨出是否有人在搞鬼。

Did you...

你...

Who bought this?

這是誰買的？

Like, if I try to hack into someone's computer that's on the network and give myself more money by adjusting figures on their copy of the ledger, it's not going to get through.

比如，如果我想黑進網絡上某人的電腦，通過調整他們賬本上的數字來給自己更多的錢，這是不可能通過的。

The system will realize that 99.9% of the copies on the ledger are saying one thing, but one of them is saying something else.

系統會發現，賬本上 99.9% 的副本都在說一件事，但其中一份卻在說另一件事。

So it must have been tampered with.

所以，它一定是被人動過手腳。

There is very clear organization to the system, and I think people believe in it because they see the future as open, traceable transactions.

該系統有非常清晰的組織結構，我認為人們之所以相信它，是因為他們看到了開放、可追蹤交易的未來。

Much more so than having like some bits of the record over here and other bits over there.

這比把唱片的一部分放在這裡，另一部分放在那裡要好得多。

And I know it seems complex at this point, but as we go through this, I think you'll realize that for a lot of people, in a way, it's simpler.

我知道現在看起來很複雜，但隨著我們的討論，我想你會意識到，對很多人來說，在某種程度上，這更簡單。

There are plenty of areas in the world that have internet access, which is all you'd need for crypto, but don't have access to traditional banks, which require a lot of paperwork and documentation.

世界上有很多地區可以上網，這正是加密貨幣所需要的，但卻無法使用傳統銀行，因為傳統銀行需要大量的文書工作和文件。

Two, and I've kind of implied this already, but the main perk of crypto is that you don't need banks anymore.

其二，我已經暗示過這一點，但加密貨幣的主要優勢在於你不再需要銀行。

Because everything is stored by the people on this ledger, you can make international payments almost instantly instead of it taking half a day with no spending limits.

由於所有資訊都由人們存儲在這個賬本上，是以您幾乎可以立即進行國際支付，而無需花費半天時間，而且沒有消費限制。

Plus, you don't need to worry about exchange rates, you don't need to worry about interest rates, and even transaction fees are close to zero.

此外，您無需擔心匯率，無需擔心利率，甚至交易費用也接近於零。

For some cryptocurrencies, that is.

對於某些加密貨幣來說就是如此。

But this is where the real fun begins.

但真正的樂趣也就從這裡開始了。

I'm fun at parties, I promise.

我保證，我在派對上很有趣。

The reason that cryptocurrencies are called cryptocurrencies is because they're secured by cryptography.

加密貨幣之所以被稱為加密貨幣，是因為它們是通過加密技術來保證安全的。

And one example of this, which a lot of the major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin use, is blockchain.

其中一個例子就是區塊鏈，比特幣等許多主要加密貨幣都在使用區塊鏈。

Now, people often get confused by this.

現在，人們常常對此感到困惑。

Blockchain is not Bitcoin.

區塊鏈不是比特幣。

Blockchain is not a currency itself.

區塊鏈本身不是一種貨幣。

Blockchain is just a secure type of ledger.

區塊鏈只是一種安全的分類賬。

So you know that big spreadsheet that everyone has that's recording transactions?

你知道每個人都有的記錄交易的大電子表格嗎？

Blockchain is just a way of organizing it, funnily enough, into blocks.

有趣的是，區塊鏈只是一種將其組織成區塊的方式。

So every time I pay for something with Bitcoin, that transaction is recorded as a block.

是以，每次我用比特幣支付，這筆交易都會被記錄為一個區塊。

Each block contains transaction data, like who was paid and how much, a hash, which is a unique identifier, and the hash of the previous block in the sequence, or the last transaction that was recorded.

每個區塊都包含交易數據（如付款人和付款金額）、哈希值（唯一標識符）以及序列中上一個區塊的哈希值，即記錄的最後一筆交易。

And the pivot on which this system rests is that if something in a block is changed, then that block's hash will change.

這個系統的基礎是，如果某個區塊中的某些內容發生了變化，那麼該區塊的哈希值也會隨之變化。

You might be starting to see where this is going.

你可能已經開始明白事情的來龍去脈了。

Because each block also contains the data of the previous block, if the hash of the block here changes, then the next block will no longer have a matching hash with it, and so every subsequent block after that one becomes invalid.

由於每個區塊都包含前一個區塊的數據，如果此處區塊的哈希值發生變化，那麼下一個區塊將不再有與之匹配的哈希值，是以之後的每個區塊都會失效。

So if you combine this with what we talked about earlier, this whole idea of a million different users all having their own copy of the blockchain ledger, then if I wanted to fraudulently create a transaction that, say, paid me money, I'd have to not just tamper with a block and every single block after it, but I'd also have to do this on at least half a million computers around the world so that the majority of computers in the system are also consistent with the one I've tampered with.

是以，如果把這一點與我們之前談到的，一百萬個不同用戶都擁有自己的區塊鏈賬本副本的想法結合起來，那麼如果我想欺詐性地創建一筆交易，比如說，給我錢，我就不僅要篡改一個區塊和它後面的每一個區塊，而且還要在全世界至少五十萬臺計算機上這樣做，這樣系統中的大多數計算機也就與我篡改過的計算機一致了。

Probably not going to happen.

可能不會發生。

Whereas just hacking into someone's dollar account and sending myself money, that does happen.

而黑進別人的美元賬戶給自己匯款，這種事確實會發生。

And it's sometimes as simple as just literally guessing someone's six-digit PIN.

有時就像猜測某人的六位數密碼一樣簡單。

But there's a massive jump between that and trying to hack into 500,000 uncorrelated computers at once.

但是，要同時入侵 500,000 臺不相關的計算機，這兩者之間存在巨大的差距。

Okay, so cryptocurrencies have their issues.

好吧，加密貨幣也有自己的問題。

I'm literally going to get to them in a minute, but hopefully you can see why some people are excited about them.

我馬上就會說到它們，但希望你能明白為什麼有些人會對它們感到興奮。

And that brings me on to investments.

這讓我想到了投資。

You've probably heard of people putting money into cryptocurrencies, and all that means is that they're exchanging normal currencies, like dollars, for cryptos, like Bitcoin.

你可能聽說過有人把錢投入加密貨幣，這意味著他們把美元等普通貨幣換成了比特幣等加密貨幣。

They're hoping that those cryptocurrencies become the next big thing and therefore suddenly shoot up in value, at which point they can then either spend them or just exchange them back for more dollars than they bought them for.

他們希望這些加密貨幣能成為下一個風口，從而突然升值，到那時，他們要麼可以花掉這些加密貨幣，要麼就可以換回比他們買入時更多的美元。

There's actually a term for cryptocurrencies that skyrocket like this, going to the moon.

實際上，有一個術語來形容像這樣暴漲的加密貨幣，那就是 "登月"。

Or mooning.

或月事。

But that can mean something very different depending on who you talk to.

但這可能意味著非常不同的東西，這取決於你和誰交談。

But the one decision that someone would have to make at this point is, which cryptocurrency?

但此時此刻，人們必須做出的一個決定是：哪種加密貨幣？

Because we've talked about Bitcoin, but Bitcoin is just one of over 4,000 different cryptos already, and each of them have different properties.

因為我們已經談到了比特幣，但比特幣只是 4000 多種加密貨幣中的一種，而且每種加密貨幣都有不同的特性。

For example, Ethereum, which is the second most invested in, can process transactions even faster than Bitcoin.

例如，投資第二多的以太坊處理交易的速度甚至比比特幣還快。

There's one called Cardano, which is considered to be technologically superior.

有一種叫 Cardano，被認為在技術上更勝一籌。

There's one called Litecoin, which has a newer algorithm.

有一種叫萊特幣，它有一種更新的算法。

And if you are enjoying this video, then a sub to the channel would be... delightful.

如果您喜歡這段視頻，那麼訂閱該頻道將......令人愉快。

So let me show you what I've done.

讓我來告訴你我做了什麼。

And disclaimer, this is not in any way at all financial advice.

免責聲明：本文絕非任何金融建議。

I'm not recommending this.

我不推薦這樣做。

I've literally only put in a small amount of money that I am comfortable losing.

實際上，我只投入了一小部分錢，我覺得虧損也沒什麼大不了的。

And to be honest, the way I'm seeing it is more as an optimistic gamble as opposed to a strategic investment.

老實說，在我看來，這更像是一場樂觀的賭博，而不是戰略投資。

The only thing that you absolutely should buy is one of these hats.

你唯一絕對應該買的就是這頂帽子。

Best purchase I've ever made.

這是我買過的最好的東西。

That is financial advice.

這就是財務建議。

So I've put 40% in Ethereum, 20% in Polygon, 20% in Cardano, 10% in Cartesi, and 10% in Litecoin.

是以，我把 40% 放進了以太坊，20% 放進了多邊形，20% 放進了卡達諾，10% 放進了 Cartesi，10% 放進了萊特幣。

And this portfolio has basically gone up and then down, and then up and then down.

這個投資組合基本上是先漲後跌，再漲再跌。

And then, honestly, you probably get more consistency from Wish.com.

老實說，你可能會從 Wish.com 上獲得更多的一致性。

So crypto is in a pretty weird place right now.

是以，加密貨幣現在正處於一個非常奇怪的境地。

And this brings me onto its problems.

這讓我想到了它的問題。

The dark side.

黑暗的一面

One of the main ones is exactly this.

其中一個主要問題正是如此。

The reason I think a lot of people don't take crypto seriously is its volatility.

我認為很多人不重視加密貨幣的原因在於它的波動性。

Because these currencies are so new and they're completely digital, unlike, say, the market for gold, no one really knows what they should be worth.

由於這些貨幣非常新，而且完全數字化，與黃金市場不同，沒有人真正知道它們應該值多少錢。

And so you find that crypto prices are quite heavily speculative.

是以，你會發現加密貨幣價格的投機性相當強。

They're tied to the news cycle.

它們與新聞週期息息相關。

Like when a glowing article comes out about them, prices spiral upwards.

比如，當一篇關於它們的文章大放異彩時，價格就會直線上升。

But then when Elon Musk posts a tweet that puts them down, they go way down.

但是，當埃隆-馬斯克發佈一條推文，把他們貶得一無是處時，他們就會大跌眼鏡。

Two is the fact that they're not really accepted as a form of payment in, well, most places.

其次，在大多數地方，它們並不被接受為一種支付方式。

Like, yes, I can now book holidays with crypto.

比如，是的，我現在可以用加密貨幣預訂假期了。

I can donate to Wikipedia with crypto.

我可以用加密貨幣為維基百科捐款。

But there's been a lot of companies who are pretty back and forth with it.

但也有很多公司在這方面來回折騰。

Microsoft, Tesla, even Burger King are examples of companies who said they were going to accept Bitcoin, and then they said they weren't going to accept Bitcoin.

微軟、特斯拉，甚至漢堡王都是這樣的例子，它們先是說要接受比特幣，然後又說不接受比特幣。

Three, there can be an environmental concern.

三是環境問題。

See, the whole reason why a lot of these cryptos are so secure is because of this concept of transactions being verified many, many times by many, many computers.

你看，很多加密貨幣之所以如此安全，就是因為交易要經過很多很多臺計算機的多次驗證。

So I think it's a fair criticism that that in itself creates a fundamental inefficiency.

是以，我認為這本身就造成了根本性的低效，這種責備是公平的。

That much computing power requires a lot of electricity.

如此強大的計算能力需要大量電力。

But at the same time, you could counter this by saying that traditional banking uses more electricity, that there are newer coins with better technology that are more efficient, and that one day we'll be able to get that electricity from renewable sources.

但與此同時，你也可以反駁說，傳統銀行業用電量更大，而現在有了技術更好、效率更高的新型硬幣，而且總有一天我們可以從可再生能源中獲取電力。

Depends who you ask.

這要看你問誰了。

And four, there's also a pretty strong sentiment that because there's no real policing or regulation on crypto right now, it's like the perfect currency for criminals.

第四，還有一種相當強烈的觀點認為，由於目前對加密貨幣沒有真正的監管，它就像是犯罪分子的完美貨幣。

But to be honest, I think the data speaks for itself on that one.

但說實話，我認為數據本身就能說明問題。

According to Chainalysis, 0.34% of crypto transactions are criminal, up to 5% of normal cash transactions are criminal.

根據 Chainalysis 的數據，0.34% 的加密貨幣交易是犯罪交易，而高達 5% 的普通現金交易是犯罪交易。

And I think that's because it's a bit of a misconception that currencies like Bitcoin are anonymous.

我認為這是因為人們對比特幣等貨幣的匿名性有些誤解。

They're actually pseudonymous, which means that even though your actual details aren't visible to everyone, your public key, your unique identifier, will be permanently baked into the blockchain upon making transactions with it.

它們實際上是假名的，這意味著儘管每個人都無法看到您的實際資訊，但您的公鑰，即您的唯一標識符，將在與區塊鏈進行交易時永久嵌入區塊鏈中。

So cash is just a better currency for most types of criminal activity because by its very nature, it's untraceable.

是以，對於大多數類型的犯罪活動來說，現金是一種更好的貨幣，因為就其本質而言，它是無法追蹤的。

Don't ask me how I know that.

別問我是怎麼知道的。

But as well as the negatives, there are also just some straight-up odd things that have come about because of crypto.

不過，除了負面因素，加密貨幣還帶來了一些直接的怪事。

For example, you might have heard of an NFT, a non-fungible token.

例如，您可能聽說過 NFT，即不可篡改代幣。

If you haven't, you might want to take a seat for this one.

如果你還沒看過，不妨坐下來看看。

I don't want to call it stupid, but this one's a head-scratcher.

我不想說這是愚蠢的，但這是一個令人匪夷所思的問題。

So you know how now you can go into an art gallery and you can pay to own a painting?

你知道現在你可以走進藝術畫廊，花錢擁有一幅畫嗎？

Well, now, thanks to the blockchain, you can pay just to have digital ownership over something.

現在，多虧了區塊鏈，你只需付費就能擁有某樣東西的數字所有權。

So it doesn't stop anyone from using or sharing that thing, but all it means is that you'd effectively be the owner of the original and they'd all be sharing copies of it, even if, for most intents and purposes, they look and behave identically.

是以，這並不能阻止任何人使用或共享該東西，但它所意味著的是，你實際上是原件的所有者，而他們都在共享它的副本，即使就大多數意圖和目的而言，它們的外觀和行為都是一樣的。

Like, a lot of these NFTs are literally just JPEG images.

比如，很多 NFT 都只是 JPEG 影像。

I think the reason some people find this stupid and kind of funny is that there's a distinct difference between buying an NFT and buying the rights over something.

我認為，有些人之所以覺得這很愚蠢、有點滑稽，是因為購買 NFT 和購買某些東西的版權是截然不同的。

So if you buy the rights over something, that's a very legitimate purchase because you can create merch or sell licenses.

是以，如果你購買了某樣東西的版權，這是非常合法的購買行為，因為你可以製作商品或出售許可證。

With an NFT, you can't.

而使用 NFT 就不行。

The original owner still has all the reproduction rights over that piece.

原擁有者仍擁有該作品的所有複製權。

All it is is that you're using the blockchain to prove that you have some ownership over that asset.

它只是利用區塊鏈來證明你對該資產擁有一定的所有權。