This thread got me wanting to do this Here

Throw up questions you may have and those who halfway understand it can break it down.

Please dont bog this down with your opinion or thoughts on where crypto goes in the future. Keep it Q&A on how it functions, how to get started, etc.

The Chinese government recently reiterated their ban on the use of any of their lending institutions for cryptocurrency transactions. My question...do cryptocurrency adoption, Metcalfe's Law, and network effects pose threats to their monetary system?

Yes/No. China, like others, is in process of creating & implementing their own cryptocurrency. Being a communist nation - everything must go through their hands in order to be allowed. Other crypto's are outside of their control, and thusly, not allowed. Arguably, their digital yuan being implemented is more digital currency than crypto but that's semantics for this level of Q&A. More specifically, everything is a threat to their monetary policy.

Further reading:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-...cy-a-first-for-major-economy-11617634118

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/05/chinas-digital-yuan-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-work.html

"this level of Q&A." Would that be the single-syllable words, knuckle-dragging level...

haha, just my feeble attempt at keeping the thread on track for those with questions about the basics of crypto. It's not an easy subject for anyone.

what happens to the funds if you lose the key to your "wallet"

what stops the issuers from exceeding their stated limit?

when you buy bitcoin (or other cryptos)...who gets the US Dollars you sent?

try to think of them as coins and not funds.
the coins never leave their original home, you just own the pathway & keys to the door of that home.
if you lose the keys, nobody can ever get in again. they just exist on the public board as inaccessible.
when coins are transferred to you, what you are getting is the pathway and a new key that nobody else has.
this is where it gets weird, techy & cryptographic.
There are different wallet types that work, well, differently.
For a cold or hardware wallet (one that could be lost) - only houses the key and it's part of creating the key when it comes to you.
When you create a wallet from say a Trezor device, you create a seed phrase.
With that unique, and 99.999999999999999% hack proof seed phrase, you can create a new wallet which will reverse engineer the keys with your seed phrase.
Seed phrase = DO NOT LOSE
The guy that lost his crypto on a hard drive in europe - he stored his seed phrase on it. with the seed phrase gone. his access is gone. he can reverse engineer the keys with the corresponding seed phrase. For this example - the coins/funds are still in their original location, not in his wallet, but inaccessible without the keys or seed phrase.

others - please join in on explanations - I'm not an expert.

this has more to do with the coins white paper.
a crypto white paper will detail exactly how it will & should operate.
Bit Coin - Max possible, ever, is 21 million
Dogecoin - Max possible - infinite.
How the crypto functions controls it's limit, not any one being or company. Math & cryptography are the limit control.

if you're on an exchange like coinbase, gemini, or similar - it goes directly to the exchange.

if you're off exchange - it goes to whoever is trading you, in whatever manner they choose.

You may not be an expert, but it would seem that you are an investor. I say this because you have a depth of understanding and an ability to explain it in a manner that usually only comes from someone on the "inside." Is this a correct assumption?

The Trezor Model 1 and the Model T allow a currency holder to move their access pathways off of the internet. This is the most secure form of storage. It would appeal to the person that intends to Hold On For Dear Life (HODL) to their currency. If you use a Cold Storage Wallet, you must create the "seed" phrase as spoken about earlier. Lose it, and your currency access is FOREVER GONE!!! If you intend to buy and hold, you will be able to watch the markets do what they will, and you may not feel like it, but you will suffer no loss or taxable event.

I just heard on the news this morning that the US Treasury is looking into launching an official crypto currency. They said it would be used for conducting commerce, mostly international commerce, and that it would only be voluntary; yeah, riiiight.

We already know they (the Feds) want to get rid of cash and other real forms of money, it's in order to hinder drug dealers and other bad guys; it's for your own good.