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...

By Rohith-Raj Dhinakaran Game Theory, as described by Steve Levitt, delves into “strategic interactions between a small number of adversaries (2 to 3 competitors)” . It's a fascinating concept ranging from every situation like “holding the door open for someone” all the way to significant global problems such as “nuclear weapon conflicts between the USA and the Soviet Union in the late 1940’s”. I will discuss the rudiments associated with this discombobulating idea and perhaps help you understand how pertinent this is to the real world. Case 1: Static Game Static Game: This is a game that happens only once and all decisions are made simultaneously.  The most common/simple game which we relate to game theory is the “Prisoner’s Dilemma”.  Explanation of the Game: The “Prisoner's Dilemma” is a scenario which involves two prisoners who each have two options: stay silent or betray the other person. If both prisoners decide to stay silent, they will each serve one month in prison. I...