The crypto industry is booming. Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies captured our rapt attention with their amazing gains, creating newly minted millionaires and billionaires. As demand to trade cryptocurrencies continues to rise, so do crypto jobs.
There are uncertainties around cryptocurrencies as well since many Governments do not recognize cryptocurrencies as legal tenders. Plus, many folks are afraid of the unknown and hence concerned about career safety. However, we believe cryptos are going mainstream at a rapid pace. In this article, we will walk you through the basic FAQs around cryptocurrencies, blockchain technology, and crypto jobs.
Introduction to Web3, Blockchain and Crypto
By now you must have heard the word Bitcoin, Etherum, Dogecoin, Shibu. The global cryptocurrency market crossed its all-time high market cap of $3 trillion last week. And if you haven’t heard about it, let’s give you some crypto basics and related terms.
What is Web3?
Web3, also known as Web 3.0, is an idea for a version of the Internet that is decentralized and based on public blockchains. The concept gained popularity in 2020 and 2021 with interest from crypto enthusiasts and investments from high-profile technologists & companies.
Web 1.0
Web 1.0 lasted approximately from 1991 to 2004. You can think of Web 1.0 as the read-only web.
Web 1.0 consisted of sites serving static content instead of dynamic HTML. Data and content were served from a static file system rather than a database, and sites didn’t have much interactivity at all.
Web 2.0
Most of us have primarily experienced the web in its current form, commonly referred to as web2. You can think of web2 as the interactive and social web.
In the web2 world, you don’t have to be a developer to participate in the creation process. Many apps are built in a way that easily allows anyone to be a creator.
Web2 is simple, really, and because of its simplicity more and more people around the world are becoming creators.
Web 2.0 vs Web 3.0
Web2 refers to the version of the internet most of us know today. An internet dominated by companies that provide services in exchange for your personal data.
Web3, in the context of Ethereum, refers to decentralized apps that run on the blockchain. These are apps that allow anyone to participate without monetizing their personal data.
Web2 vs Web3 Comparison via Practical Examples:
How is Web 3 different?
Web3 enhances the internet as we know it today with a few other added characteristics. web3 is:
- Verifiable
- Trustless
- Self-governing
- Permissionless
- Distributed and robust
- Stateful
- Native built-in payments
Usually, on Web2, data is hosted on and managed by a single cloud provider. In web3, developers don’t usually build and deploy applications that run on a single server or that store their data in a single database.
Instead, web3 applications either run on blockchains, decentralized networks of many peer-to-peer nodes (servers), or a combination of the two that forms a crypto-economic protocol. These apps are often referred to as d-apps (decentralized apps), and you will see that term used often in the web3 space.
What is Blockchain Technology?
Blockchain technology is most simply defined as a decentralized, distributed ledger that records the provenance of a digital asset. By inherent design, the data on a blockchain is unable to be modified, which makes it a legitimate disruptor for industries like payments, cybersecurity, and healthcare.
The blockchain is a virtual (digital) public ledger, which records everything in a secure and transparent manner. The blockchain is the digital and decentralized ledger technology that records all transactions without the need for a financial intermediary like a bank.
If you are wishing to make a career in Blockchain development then it is highly rewarding. The industry is in a pretty early stage right now and skilled blockchain developers are in huge demand.
If you are a trader or trade/chart analyst then huge money is waiting for you. Being a content marketer/tech writer you can also make good bucks in the blockchain industry.
Crypto / Bitcoin FAQs
Q: Is Bitcoin cryptocurrency?
A: Yes, bitcoin is the first widely adopted cryptocurrency, which is just another way of saying digital money.
Q: Is there a simple bitcoin definition?
A: Bitcoin is digital money that allows secure and seamless peer-to-peer transactions on the internet.
Q: What is the price of bitcoin?
A: It is currently trading at $65,500, a record high.
Q: Who created Bitcoin?
A: Bitcoin was created by Satoshi Nakamoto, a pseudonymous person or team who outlined the technology in a 2008 white paper. It’s an appealingly simple concept: bitcoin is digital money that allows for secure peer-to-peer transactions on the internet.
Beginners Guide to Crypto
Q: How do you use Bitcoin?
A: Unlike traditional bank services which rely on the traditional financial system for permission to transfer money and on existing debit/credit accounts, bitcoin is decentralized: any two people, anywhere in the world, can send bitcoin to each other without the involvement of a bank, government, or other institution.
Every transaction involving Bitcoin is tracked on the blockchain, which is similar to a bank’s ledger, or log of customers’ funds going in and out of the bank. In simple terms, it’s a record of every transaction ever made using bitcoin.
Unlike a bank’s ledger, the Bitcoin blockchain is distributed across the entire network. No company, country, or third party is in control of it; and anyone can become part of that network.
There will only ever be 21 million bitcoin. This is digital money that cannot be inflated or manipulated in any way.
Q: Where does Bitcoin come from?
A: Bitcoin is virtually ‘mined’ by a vast, decentralized (also referred to as ‘peer-to-peer’) network of computers that are constantly verifying and securing the accuracy of the blockchain. Every single bitcoin transaction is reflected on that ledger, with new information periodically gathered together in a “block,” which is added to all the blocks that came before.
Q: How does it all really work?
A: Unlike credit card networks like Visa and payment processors like Paypal, bitcoin is not owned by an individual or company. Bitcoin is the world’s first completely open payment network which anyone with an internet connection can participate in. Bitcoin was designed to be used on the internet and doesn’t depend on banks or private companies to process transactions.
One of the most important elements of Bitcoin is the blockchain, which tracks who owns what, similar to how a bank tracks assets. What sets the Bitcoin blockchain apart from a bank’s ledger is that it is decentralized, meaning anyone can view it and no single entity controls it.
Here are some details about how it all works:
Specialized computers are known as ‘mining rigs’ perform the equations required to verify and record a new transaction. In the early days, a typical desktop PC was powerful enough to participate, which allowed pretty much anyone who was curious to try their hand at mining.
These days the computers required are massive, specialized, and often owned by businesses or large numbers of individuals pooling their resources. (In October 2019, it required 12 trillion times more computing power to mine one bitcoin than it did when Nakamoto mined the first blocks in January 2009.)
Q: Why should I care about Bitcoin?
A: Depending on your goals, bitcoin can function as
- an investment vehicle
- a store of value similar to gold
- a way to transfer value around the world
- even just a way to explore an emerging technology
Bitcoin is a currency native to the Internet. Unlike government-issued currencies such as the dollar or euro, Bitcoin allows online transfers without a middleman such as a bank or payment processor.
The removal of those gatekeepers creates a whole range of new possibilities, including the potential for money to move around the global internet more quickly and cheaply, and allowing individuals to have maximum control over their own assets.
Bitcoin is legal to use, hold, and trade and can be spent on everything from travel to charitable donations.
Is bitcoin money?
It’s been used as a medium of exchange, a store of value, and a unit of account—which are all properties of money. Meanwhile, it only exists digitally; there is no physical version of it.
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Blockchain Technology Beyond Cryptocurrencies and Financial Services
Top 5 Universities for Blockchain Degrees
Crypto Job Market
Trending Crypto Jobs
- Blockchain Developer
- Crypto Journalist
- Venture Capital / Investment Analyst
- Mining Specialist
- RippleX developer
- Data Scientist
- Machine Learning / AI Developer
- Cybersecurity Expert
- Security Architect
- Content Marketer
- Accounts Executive
Crypto Job Demand
The lack of experienced talent is particularly problematic within the turbo-charged crypto community. The exchanges need highly specialized professionals, such as software engineers, compliance, legal, risk management, marketing, sales, and recruiting personnel to manage, scale their businesses and deal with the anticipatory tighter regulations and government oversight.
Blockchain Developer: Hottest Crypto Jobs
Blockchain developer jobs are also one of the highest-paying roles in crypto, with an annual average salary of $123,750. To be competitive for this role, you’ll need hard programming skills. The main programming languages used include C++, C#, Solidity, GO, JavaScript and Python, although it’s always worth checking with a recruiter which languages are preferable for your chosen company.
Entry-level jobs in Blockchain:
- Junior full stack developer
- Graduate software developer
- Blockchain legal assistant
- Junior developer
Top Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Companies
- BRD
- BitMEX
- Chainalysis
- Coinme
- Netki
- Paxful
- Republic
- Spring Labs
- SALT Lending
- TQ Tezos
- Mythical Games
- Gemini
- Circle
- Coinbase
- Chronicled
- IBM
- Voatz
- Steem
- Shipchain
Fortune 500 companies such as JPMorgan Chase, Amazon, Apple, and PayPal are also hiring for cryptocurrency positions. Read talent-war among crypto recruiters.
Crypto Jobs & Salaries around the World
Crypto Jobs and Salaries in India
According to Xpheno, there are more than 10,000 active job openings currently in the cryptocurrency segment in India. Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Gurgaon are the hotspots for such jobs, accounting for 60% of all jobs.
20 Top Universities for Blockchain/Crypto
- National University of Singapore
- Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
- University of California Berkeley
- University of Zurich
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Hong Kong Polytechnic University
- University College London (UCL)
- Tsinghua University
- Chinese University of Hong Kong
- ETH Zurich
- Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
- Stanford University
- UNSW Sydney
- City University of Hong Kong
- University of Oxford
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University
- Cornell University
- Delft University of Technology
- University of Hong Kong
- University of Sydney
Feel free to look at the CoinDesk University Ranking of Top 50 Blockchain Universities.
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