Adventures in Crypto is a weekly series focusing on my journey as a Zcash Foundation operations apprentice. Zcash Foundation is a 501(c) 3 non-profit whose mission is to build a truly private financial payment infrastructure for public use, and they support Zcash and the surrounding cryptocurrency community with research grants.
Sept 23, 2019 – Sept 27, 2019
What I’m Learning:
One cool thing I learned at work last week:
I learned about a new breakthrough in cryptography, Halo which is a new technology that could solve the issue of scalability in the crypto realm. Basically, Halo built upon zk-SNARKs and computes an entire blockchain with one math problem, thus increasing the number of transactions per second, which is the scalability issue. Compare that to Bitcoin, where it currently can only process seven transactions per second.
One cool thing I learned outside of work last week:
The difference between llamas and alpacas is similar to alligators versus crocodiles. Llamas are bigger and more aggressive than alpacas.
What I’m Creating:
One example of how I created value at work last week:
I created a new section in the database for our conference that the Foundation is planning and processed mail in our electronic inbox, which freed up more time for my boss who is currently busy with auditing.
What project I’m currently working on at my BP:
I’m currently helping to plan Zcon, a yearly conference hosted by the Foundation.
What I’m doing to become a better version of myself overall:
I’m continually learning new things and documenting it in the Master Operations sheet.
Weekly Monday Workshop:
What Praxis Monday session did you attend last week (ie. what was the topic & who was the guest)?
Working Remotely with Amanda Kingsmith, Praxis advisor and alumna.
What was your favorite highlight from the session?
I appreciated the actionable takeaway that Amanda suggested and the steps needed to successfully work remotely. The steps are listed below.
What was your biggest takeaway from that session?
I learned the importance of Pomodoro and taking short, frequent breaks to prevent burnout.
How do you intend to apply that takeaway to your life?
I will implement Pomodoro often and learn more discipline with it’s use.