Introduction to Crypto culture

• A. Hal Finney
• B. Satoshi Nakamoto ✓
• C. Nick Szabo
• D. Wei Dai

Why: Satoshi Nakamoto is the pseudonym used by the person or group who published the Bitcoin whitepaper in October 2008 and developed the original Bitcoin software. The true identity of Satoshi remains unknown.

• A. Making payments completely anonymous to governments
• B. Preventing the double-spending problem without a trusted central authority ✓
• C. Increasing the speed of credit card transactions
• D. Eliminating the need for any computer hardware

Why: Digital money can be copied, so the same unit could be spent twice. Earlier systems relied on trusted intermediaries such as banks to prevent this. Bitcoin solved it through a decentralized ledger secured by proof-of-work.

• A. The Ledger Block
• B. The Genesis Block ✓
• C. The Origin Block
• D. The Foundation Block

Why: The first block in the Bitcoin blockchain is called the Genesis Block. It was mined in January 2009 and contained a newspaper headline referencing bank bailouts, as a timestamp and a statement of motivation.

• A. Ethereum
• B. DigiCash (eCash) ✓
• C. Litecoin
• D. Ripple

Why: DigiCash, founded by David Chaum, used blind signatures to enable privacy-preserving payments. It depended on a central company to issue and manage the currency, which contrasts with Bitcoin's decentralized design. DigiCash went bankrupt in 1998.

• A. Proof-of-stake
• B. Proof-of-work ✓
• C. Proof-of-authority
• D. Proof-of-delegation

Why: Proof-of-work requires miners to expend computational effort solving a difficult puzzle to add a block. This makes rewriting history costly and secures the network without a central authority.

• A. A centralized database controlled by one company
• B. A distributed, append-only ledger of transactions grouped into linked blocks ✓
• C. A type of cryptocurrency wallet
• D. A social media platform for crypto traders

Why: A blockchain is a distributed ledger where transactions are recorded in blocks that are cryptographically linked in a chronological chain, and copies are held across many participants rather than one central authority.

• A. A timestamp only
• B. A hash of the previous block's contents ✓
• C. A password chosen by the miner
• D. A list of account balances

Why: Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block. Altering any past data changes its hash, which breaks the chain and makes tampering easy to detect.

• A. To encrypt user messages
• B. To let participants agree on which transactions are valid and in what order, without a central authority ✓
• C. To increase the price of the native token
• D. To store large files such as videos

Why: Consensus mechanisms such as Proof of Work or Proof of Stake allow distributed nodes to agree on the state of the ledger, which is what makes decentralized trust possible.

• A. Its transaction fees never change
• B. Its code can never be upgraded under any circumstances
• C. Once data is recorded and confirmed, it is extremely difficult to alter or delete ✓
• D. Only one person can read its contents

Why: Immutability means that confirmed records are practically very hard to change, because altering one block would require recomputing all subsequent blocks and out-competing the honest network.

• A. To serve as a secret password that must never be shared
• B. To derive a wallet address that others can send funds to, while the private key signs transactions ✓
• C. To speed up block production
• D. To store the entire transaction history

Why: Public keys are shared openly and used to derive addresses, while the matching private key is kept secret and is used to sign transactions proving ownership.

• A. Vitalik Buterin
• B. Satoshi Nakamoto ✓
• C. Hal Finney
• D. Nick Szabo

Why: Bitcoin's whitepaper, 'Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System,' was published in October 2008 under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. The creator's true identity remains unknown.

• A. 21 million BTC ✓
• B. 100 million BTC
• C. 1 billion BTC
• D. Unlimited supply

Why: Bitcoin's protocol caps the total supply at 21 million coins. This scarcity is built into the code and is a key reason many people view Bitcoin as a store of value.

• A. Staking
• B. Mining ✓
• C. Forking
• D. Minting

Why: Miners use computational power to solve cryptographic puzzles (proof of work), which allows them to bundle transactions into new blocks and add them to the blockchain. Successful miners are rewarded with newly created bitcoin and transaction fees.

• A. A hard fork
• B. A difficulty adjustment
• C. A halving ✓
• D. A network upgrade

Why: The halving occurs approximately every 210,000 blocks (about four years) and reduces the block subsidy paid to miners by 50%. It controls the rate at which new bitcoin enters circulation.

• A. Maximalism ✓
• B. Mainstreaming
• C. Stablecoinism
• D. Tokenization

Why: Bitcoin maximalists believe Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency that truly matters and that other coins are unnecessary or inferior. The term reflects a strong community identity centered on Bitcoin's design principles.

• A. Only to store digital gold
• B. To run programmable smart contracts and decentralized applications ✓
• C. To issue central bank digital currencies
• D. To replace the internet's DNS system

Why: Ethereum was designed as a general-purpose blockchain that can execute programmable smart contracts and host decentralized applications, going beyond Bitcoin's focus on peer-to-peer payments.

• A. A legally binding paper agreement signed by two parties
• B. A self-executing program stored on a blockchain that runs when predefined conditions are met ✓
• C. A type of cryptocurrency wallet with built-in insurance
• D. A contract written by a government regulator for crypto exchanges

Why: A smart contract is code deployed on a blockchain that automatically executes its logic when specified conditions are satisfied, without needing a trusted intermediary.

• A. A physical server farm owned by the Ethereum Foundation
• B. A graphics card designed for mining Ether
• C. A decentralized runtime environment that executes smart contract code on every node ✓
• D. A cloud service that stores user wallets

Why: The EVM is the computation engine of Ethereum. Every node runs it to execute smart contract bytecode, ensuring all participants reach the same result.

• A. A fee paid to compute and execute operations on the network ✓
• B. The name of Ethereum's governance token
• C. A measure of how much Ether a wallet holds
• D. A protocol for connecting Ethereum to other blockchains

Why: Gas is the unit measuring computational work on Ethereum. Users pay gas fees, denominated in Ether, to have transactions and smart contract operations processed.

• A. Ethereum was briefly banned by every major government
• B. The DAO hack drained about a third of its funds through a reentrancy vulnerability, leading to a contentious hard fork ✓
• C. Bitcoin adopted smart contracts and split into two chains
• D. A smart contract automatically repaid all US national debt

Why: The DAO, a decentralized investment fund, was exploited due to a code vulnerability. The community responded with a hard fork to recover funds, which also created the separate Ethereum Classic chain.

• A. New Financial Token
• B. Non-Fungible Token ✓
• C. Networked Function Transfer
• D. Nominal Fixed Table

Why: NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token. 'Non-fungible' means each token is unique and cannot be exchanged one-for-one with another token of the same type, unlike currencies such as Bitcoin, where each unit is interchangeable.

• A. Able to be divided into smaller units without losing value
• B. Unique and not interchangeable with other items of the same type
• C. Interchangeable with other identical items of equal value ✓
• D. Stored only on a centralized server

Why: A fungible asset is interchangeable with another identical unit of equal value. One dollar bill or one bitcoin can be swapped for another without any difference, which is why they are considered fungible.

• A. In a bank's private database
• B. On a blockchain ledger ✓
• C. In a government registry
• D. Inside the image file itself

Why: NFT ownership is typically recorded on a blockchain, a public and tamper-resistant ledger. This record shows who holds the token and its transaction history, though it does not automatically grant copyright over the underlying artwork or file.

• A. A verifiable record of ownership of the token
• B. The ability to transfer or sell the token
• C. Automatic copyright ownership of the associated image ✓
• D. A unique identifier that distinguishes it from other tokens

Why: Owning an NFT usually gives you ownership of the token record, but not necessarily the copyright to the underlying artwork. Creators often retain copyright and may only license the buyer limited rights to display or use the work.

• A. The blockchain stores a full copy of every image
• B. NFT images are usually hosted off-chain, and anyone can right-click and save a copy ✓
• C. Blockchains automatically delete images after a sale
• D. Only the owner can view the image

Why: Most NFT images are stored off-chain, such as on web servers or decentralized storage, and the token simply points to them. Anyone can view and save a copy, so what is scarce is the verifiable ownership record, not the image itself.

• A. Digital Exchange Finance
• B. Decentralized Finance ✓
• C. Distributed Electronic Funds
• D. Deferred Financial Investment

Why: DeFi stands for Decentralized Finance, a category of financial applications built on blockchains that aim to operate without centralized intermediaries such as banks or brokers.

• A. A bank that issues cryptocurrency loans
• B. A platform where users trade crypto directly from their own wallets without a central intermediary ✓
• C. A government-run digital currency marketplace
• D. A centralized company that holds users' funds in custody

Why: A DEX lets users swap tokens peer-to-peer through smart contracts while keeping control of their own assets, unlike centralized exchanges that hold customer funds.

• A. A savings account offered by a crypto bank
• B. A bundle of tokens locked in a smart contract that enables trading and lending ✓
• C. A type of cryptocurrency wallet for storing large amounts
• D. A list of the most valuable tokens on a blockchain

Why: Liquidity pools are collections of tokens deposited by users into smart contracts, providing the funds that traders swap against on DEXs, and liquidity providers typically earn fees for contributing.

• A. A legal agreement signed by two crypto investors
• B. A self-executing program on a blockchain that runs when predefined conditions are met ✓
• C. A contract that guarantees a fixed price for a cryptocurrency
• D. A paper document stored in a digital wallet

Why: Smart contracts are code deployed on a blockchain that automatically execute actions such as transfers or loans once their programmed conditions are satisfied, without needing a human intermediary.

• A. Borrowers must repay more than they borrowed in interest every day
• B. Borrowers must deposit collateral worth more than the amount they borrow ✓
• C. Lenders must hold a surplus of cash in a bank account
• D. The protocol charges a fee equal to the total loan amount

Why: Because DeFi lending has no credit checks, most protocols require borrowers to lock up collateral exceeding the loan value, which protects lenders if the borrower defaults or the collateral's price falls.

• A. Syndicate
• B. DAO-style community
• C. Cooperative bank
• D. Hedge fund

• A. LinkedIn
• B. Pinterest
• C. Twitter/X and Discord
• D. Yelp

• A. Hold On for Dear Life, meaning to keep assets long-term despite price drops
• B. Hire Outside Developers Locally
• C. High-Output Digital Ledger
• D. Hash Output Data Layer

• A. Memes are legally required in crypto projects
• B. They build shared identity and make complex topics more accessible and engaging
• C. Memes replace the need for any technical documentation
• D. Memes are used to hide project risks from investors

• A. Members asking beginner questions
• B. Discussion of technical whitepapers
• C. Pressure to invest quickly, promises of guaranteed returns, or moderators who ban critical questions
• D. Regular community AMAs with developers