The Looking Glass

  Josiah Dunn May 22nd 2009. A programmer purchases two pizzas for 10,000 Bitcoin. This is the first commercial use of Bitcoins and marks the beginning of a financial revolution. Now those 10,000 Bitcoins are worth billions, a testament to the incredible potential of cryptocurrencies. May 22nd 2029. Twenty years on, in a bustling street market, sellers and buyers from all over the world trade goods without a central currency and use their digital wallets to transfer digital value instantly and securely. As impossible as this sounds, it is becoming a reality as cryptocurrencies challenge traditional banking by removing intermediaries and reducing costs. Decentralisation is a core part of cryptocurrencies, differentiating them from traditional financial systems that rely on central authorities like banks and governments. By operating on blockchain networks, cryptocurrencies eliminate intermediaries, allowing individuals to conduct transactions directly with one another. This peer-to-...

Rishabh Sidana Year 12 In an ever-evolving modern economy, cryptocurrencies appear to have been the epicentre of this transition to the digital realm since the conception of Bitcoin in 2009. Their existence, however, has been one subjected to swathes of fluctuations over the years, from Bitcoin’s meteoric rise of 416% in 2020 ( Binance, 2024 ), to widespread criticism of their handling during the FTX collapse. On one side the sceptical, among whom are Nobel Laureate Robert Merton ( PBS, 2018 ), and JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon ( CNBC, 2024 ); they emphasise the illegitimacy of cryptocurrencies, with Merton discussing how their decentralised nature disqualifies them from being legal tender, one of the fundamental criteria of any currency. On the other are the advocates, among whom is former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, who argues that Bitcoin’s decentralisation enables it to overcome the barrier of borders, hence permitting for globalised liquidity. This essay aims to explore the intr...

Given limited resources, should the scientific community focus on broadening our horizons or improving standard of living? Should efforts be focused on broadening our horizons or ameliorating standard of living? The scientific community stands at a crossroads between this mind wrenching decision. On one hand, limited resources can be directed to expanding the frontiers of knowledge through space exploration, artificial intelligence and quantum computing, offering the promise of innovation and long term survival. On the other hand by tackling poverty, enhancing healthcare and mitigating climate change, tangible and immediate benefits can be achieved for billions of people. Billions of lives. Billions of futures. Neither approach is wrong but constrained budgets and competing priorities necessitate different choices. This essay will examine the debate over where scientific efforts should be focused, weighing the merits and challenges of both broadening our horizons and improving the s...