Introduction to Crypto & DeFi

Join Stephen Reid, founder of the Psychedelic Society and creator of the dandelion.earth platform, for a four-week deep dive into the world of cryptocurrency and decentralised finance (DeFi).

The course is suitable for beginners but will also be of interest to those with some expertise in the area seeking to connect with likeminded others.

The course will take place 2pm-4pm UK time via Zoom on:

• Thursday 8th April 2021
• Thursday 15th April 2021
• Thursday 22th April 2021
• Thursday 29th April 2021

You will be sent pre-reading/watching a few days before each session (allow 1 hour), and homework at the end of each session (allow 1 hour). To get the most out of the course you should also set aside at least 2 hours per session to go back through the notes, read some of the links provided and make sure you understand everything we've covered. So that's a minimum of 6 hours per session for maximum benefit (2 hours live, 1 hour pre-reading/watching, 2 hours revision, 1 hour homework). If you are an absolute beginner it is particularly important to do all the above.

Sessions will be recorded and shared (so you can catch up if you're late/miss one).

There are only 5 low income spaces. Please bear this in mind if considering this option.

Feedback from previous editions

“The course covers a tremendous amount of material in a very short time. This is only possible because the teacher is outstanding. On offer are directly applicable advice and strategies to take advantage of the new economics made possible by the development of the internet and cryptography.”

"I didn't really know what to expect, but I was very happy with this course. Both interesting and useful, which is a rare and precious thing in this world! The subject matter suited the Zoom medium very well, and the demonstration approach of actually going through the processes on-screen was the ideal way to teach them and give confidence to try them out for myself… Overall the structure of the course flowed well, building on ideas in an engaging and easy-to-follow progression. Thank you very much – I got a lot out of this and greatly appreciate the care and intelligence put into its construction and delivery."

“Worth every gwei! Fantastic introduction, really detailed notes that I have already gone back to several times to help clarify my subsequent interactions with the crypto world. I feel like I went on a journey over the course of the month - from crypto curious, to crypto trader, and have come out the other side as a better informed, slower-paced crypto enthusiast. Crypto and DeFi are really energetic and hypey spaces and it's easy to get lost in the buzz. Stephen's grounded approach and thoughtfulness about the field helped pull me out the other side and consider how I can help meaningful crypto projects rather than fixate on crypto as a cash cow.”

“Insightful peak into the mysterious world of crypto! Thank you Stephen for creating and delivering this course which I think is well suited to beginners like myself. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but feel like I have peeked into another world - one that gives another alternative reality and story away from the “beaten track” of centralised banks and systems that are all we know today. Would recommend to friends!”

Course schedule

The schedule is subject to change to ensure maximal relevance in this fast-changing space.

Session 1: Introduction to Crypto

• Cryptography
• Hashing
• Public key (asymmetric) cryptography
• Blockchains
• The simplest possible blockchain
• Proof-of-work
• Ledgers
• Distributed ledgers
• Bitcoin: the first cryptocurrency
  • Nakamoto Consensus
  • 51% attacks
• Ethereum: the world computer
  • Smart contracts
• Proof-of-stake

Session 2: DeFi basics

• History of DeFi
• Basics
• CeFi v DeFi
• DeFi newsletters, channels & podcasts
• Information sources
• ERC-20 and WETH
• Fiat-backed Stablecoins: USDT & USDC
• Maker and DAI
  • Why DAI?
  • Price stability mechanisms
• Wrapped Bitcoin: WBTC, renBTC and tBTC
• Automated Market Makers: Uniswap, Balancer and Curve
  • Slippage (price impact/loss rate)
  • Buy-And-Hold vs. Constant-Mix (aka impermanent loss or divergence loss)
  • Aggregators
• Money markets: Aave and Compound
  • Decentralised shorting

Session 3: Advanced DeFi

• Yield farming (liquidity mining)
  • Platform co-operativism
  • What about 'effort/contribution mining'?
  • Degen farming
  • Stablecoin farming
  • What if there's no farm for my token?
• Automated farming
• Hedging and insurance
• Money legos with FURUCOMBO
• DeFi indices

Session 4: Looking to the future

• Layer 2 scaling solutions
  • What about faster layer 1?
• DAOs (Decentralised Autonomous Organisations)
  • Snapshot: gasless, off-chain polling
• NFTs
  • Ethereum Name Service
  • NFT marketplaces
  • Cryptokitties
  • Decentraland
  • Axie Infinity
• Regenerative crypto
  • SEEDS
  • Celo
  • Regen Network
• And finally…
  • Investing v trading
  • Taxes

About Stephen

Stephen Reid is a co-operative technologist and cultural changemaker who has trained in the fields of physics, complexity science, software development, meditation, psychotherapy, plant medicine, conscious sexuality and political activism. 

He has been using cryptocurrency since 2011 and made his first major investment in 2017.

Stephen is currently a co-director of Dandelion Collective (the not-for-profit worker co-operative behind the Psychedelic Society, which he founded in 2014), the lead developer of dandelion.earth, a co-creator of Don't Go Back To Normal and a contributor to Enspiral.

Previously, he was the youngest ever board member of Greenpeace UK, was selected as the Green Party parliamentary candidate for Totnes, co-founded the New Economics Foundation's New Economy Organisers Network and worked as a technology consultant for organisations including the Labour Party, the Living Wage Foundation and 350.org. Stephen has an MPhys in Physics from the University of Oxford, where he specialised in quantum field theory, and an MRes in Complexity Sciences from the University of Bristol.

Please note that the purpose of this course is education and nothing in the course constitutes financial advice.

REFUNDS POLICY: Please note, we do not arrange refunds or exchanges. When possible we encourage reselling on Ticketswap.

ACCESS:  We do our best to include everyone in our events, regardless of health circumstances. If you have access requirements please email the event organiser directly to discuss. Many facilitators are able to offer reduced ticket prices for those truly unable to afford the ticket price. If this applies to you, do please get in touch with the event organiser.

For PSYCHEDELIC KNOWLEDGE AND RESOURCES please check out the Psychedelic Society website. 

Our facilitators have agreed to our code of conduct. Learn about our procedure for raising concerns

MEMBERS of the Psychedelic Society get a discount off almost all of our events.
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