The Cryptos is a witty comic strip that pokes fun at cryptocurrencies

Cryptocurrency and blockchain are finally making waves in mainstream media – a trend that has sent thousands of recreational enthusiasts hastily flocking to talk crypto on various online discussion boards like BitcoinTalk, Steemit, Telegram and Twitter. But perhaps most popular among these is Reddit.

The self-proclaimed ‘front page of the internet’ has gradually established itself as one of the go-to places for heated discussions on cryptocurrency, blockchain, and the culture around these still-nascent technologies. Among other things, crypto-nerds frequent Reddit to share investment advice, drop trading tips, vent about silly decisions – and quite often, post dank memes.

But there is one particular Redditor who makes memes so dope, they are changing the very fabric of the cryptocurrency meme economy. Meet The Cryptos: the author behind the eponymous comic series that mocks your favorite cryptocurrencies by turning them into poorly-drawn comic characters.

Think of it as Polandball, but for crypto.

Since first launching in September last year, The Cryptos has poked fun at Bitcoin’s slow and pricey transaction fees, Ethereum’s numerous hard forks, Ripple’s sudden price increase and subsquent drop, as well as BitConnect‘s shady business model.

After months of entertaining the Reddit cryptocurrency community, The Cryptos recently launched its own subreddit where people can find the latest editions of the quirky web comic series. But before venturing into drawing comics, The Cryptos was merely another Redditor with a vague interest in crypto.

“I personally entered the cryptocurrency space in March 2017, after stumbling across ethereum on Reddit while bored and working as a waiter at a restaurant,” the anonymous author told TNW over email. “I launched [The Cryptos] on September 6 [last year].”

Anxiously browsing through CoinMarketCap, one day the author had a brief moment of contemplation. “There are more than 1,000 [cryptocurrencies],” the comic-maker thought, “[a]nd each one is unique.”

“As you look through them, it can be reminiscent of going through a Pokedex or staring at the back of a Mr. Men book,” he continued. ” You want to know about them all, but there are just so many.”

This is how the idea for The Cryptos was born.

Shortly after The Cryptos launched, one of the comic strips went viral on Reddit in December, attracting more than 115,000 views. “This made me realise the true potential of my project and it also kicked our dev team (me) into gear,” the author said.

A month later, The Cryptos now has its own subreddit and – in die-hard crypto-fashion – its own roadmap, outlining the future of the project.

Among other things, the roadmap (which appears to be semi-serious at best) envisions The Cryptos launching its first animated cartoon, getting listed on a “major” exchange desk, “forking off” into a YouTube channel, building a blockchain-based game, and eventually ceasing to exist in September later this year – perhaps due to increasing financial struggles, or so the roadmap suggests.

“Every milestone featured has been selected so that is it achievable in the time given,” The Cryptos tells me. “Some of the goals will be challenging and take a lot of effort, but I have complete faith in the Roadmap.”

“I am also of course also planning a few surprises along the way,” the author teased.

For now though, the mysterious force behind the web comic wants to focus on the short-term goals.

“I’m very lucky to be in a position right now to be able to devote a lot of time to this project,” the author said. “A side perk of creating my comic is I am continually learning about new and exciting cryptocurrencies – this in itself is a value proposition, as it gives me an extra incentive to conduct research.”

While The Cryptos prefers to refrain from spoiling what is to come in future comics, he was kind enough to offer us a hint. “At the moment, censorship is emerging as a huge issue across certain cryptocurrency subreddits,” he continued. “I absolutely want to address that, as I’ve personally been affected by it after having my comics deleted by moderators.”

“Other topics I plan to explore more include: privacy, rebrands, the power imbalance associated with pre-mines and also the impact of cryptocurrency on the environment.”

Curious to take a peek at the upcoming comic strips? Follow The Cryptos‘ most recent work on Reddit and Twitter.

Meanwhile, here are some of my personal favorites from The Cryptos:

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CES 2018 will have an extra focus on smart cities and the impact of IoT

The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) and financial firm Deloitte have made a major investment at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show to highlight smart cities technology and encourage attendees to explore the solutions presented by this emerging sector.

Companies that are pioneering new solutions include major brands like Bosch, Ford, Nissan, and Ericsson. They and others will be on hand to explore new opportunities in smart transportation, smart grids, public safety, cybersecurity, health care, artificial intelligence, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), and more.

This year, more than 11,000 square feet of the show, which is held annually in Las Vegas, will be dedicated to The Smart Cities Marketplace, presented by the CTA, the industry’s trade organization, and Deloitte. It will feature smart city-enabling technology and solutions. Other exhibitors demonstrating the potential for smart cities technology include the European Commission, the Holland Startup Pavilion, and the cities of Berlin, Quebec and Las Vegas.

A myriad of topics

Session topics will include “Energy Consumption and Distribution in Smart Cities,” “Paving the Way for Connected Emergency Vehicles,” and “Consumer IoT [Internet of Things] Changing the Game for Emergency Responders.” Other sessions will examine how smart cities can leverage sensor networks, human intelligence, and data gathering to create and share actionable intelligence, which is being used in smart cities for everything from smarter emergency response to parking programs.

“Smart Cities at CES 2018 and our related conference programming are a natural extension of the show’s focus on innovation,” said Steve Koenig, senior director for market research with the Consumer Technology Association to the HuffPost. “CTA projects global spending on smart cities will reach $34.35 billion by 2020, so we think it’s important to have a dedicated conference program and exhibition focused on this global initiative. This remarkable growth will influence tech industry growth, change the way we think about cities and address global ills. We want to help our attendees gain a better and more comprehensive sense of this trend and help encourage the continued development of smart cities.”

5G technology

The hot topics related to smart cities that will be explored at CES 2018 include topics like equitable innovation and inclusivity, electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure expansion, cybersecurity, and microtransit.

However, the subject that is currently burning all the oxygen in the room when it comes to smart cities is 5G technology. While most consumers think this emerging telecommunications standard will simply mean faster smartphones – Qualcomm has already hit a speed of 1 gigabyte per second (Gbps) – the technology can have a transformative effect on smart city grids. Research suggests that smart city solutions applied to traffic management and electrical grids could produce $160 billion in savings and benefits through reductions in energy use, traffic congestion, and fuel costs.

Qualcomm, Baidu, Verizon and SDxCentral are set to discuss “Mobile Innovation: How 5G Will Enable the Future” at CES 2018. This keynote session will explore how 5G networks can enable innovations like self-driving vehicles, AR and VR, breakthroughs in health care, IoT data applications, and more. U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao will also headline the Smart Cities event.

“The tech community is committed to and passionate about changing lives for the better, and smart cities have the potential to address the need for more sustainable and livable cities around the world, said Koenig. “With the Internet of Things as a foundation, technologies such as automated street lighting, smart energy meters, parking assistance apps and sensors have the ability to make cities safer, more efficient, and more accessible. The United Nations projects 66 percent of the world’s population will live in urban areas by 2050 — so now is the time to harness technology’s potential to improve urban life.”

Real-world potential

The real-world applications of smart cities technology are as diverse as the needs of any given community. Kansas City, Missouri-based Site 1001 uses core building information, building systems, and sensor data in combination with a machine learning engine to analyze building operations and produce efficiencies.

Multinational firm Connecthings operates a global network of beacons in public spaces to transform massive urban points of contact and locations such as train stations, airports and public venues into smart, connected hubs that communicate with the smartphones of citizens and visitors. By analyzing and broadcasting smart cities data, the company can help smartphone users improve their daily commute, alert them of emergencies, and more. The company has set up more than 60 smart cities in Europe and South America, and is currently expanding into the U.S. with projects in Austin, Texas, and New York City.

List, a research institute of France-based CEA Tech,will demonstrate its new multitask deep neural network algorithm called Deep Manta, which is capable of performing advanced and efficient real-time analysis of video streams. The algorithm is a real-world demonstration of a new category of artificial intelligence called multitask deep learning that targets visual object recognition in smart cities.

The applications may be diverse but the goal is the same — to leverage artificial intelligence and data analytics to correlate the information collected from digitally connected people, devices, vehicles, transportation facilities, and other sources to make the urban experience more efficient and user friendly.

“We are witnessing firsthand cities worldwide exploring the opportunities holistic smart city initiatives can create for the public and private sectors, and for the people that live in increasingly connected urban corridors,” said John Skowron, principal for Deloitte Consulting LLP and global smart city leader. “Across North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, city planners, entrepreneurs and business leaders are working in collaboration to make the promises smart cities hold a reality.”

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Skype finally gets end-to-end encryption, thanks to Signal

Microsoft has partnered with Signal, the secure messaging app that counts whistleblower Edward Snowden among its fans, to add end-to-encryption to Skype.

That means that all your chat, files and audio messages will be securely transmitted through the service, and they’ll only be readable to you and the recipient. No one will be able to easily intercept them as they pass through Microsoft’s servers and parse them – similar to how messages on Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and Telegram work.

However, bear in mind that this doesn’t yet cover your audio and video calls – those are only secured by the standard encryption that Microsoft already offers with this service.

The feature is currently available in the latest Skype Insider build for Mac, Windows, Linux, Android, and iOS, and both users will need to have that version in order to be able to message each other privately. And as The Verge notes, Microsoft would do well to enable this feature by default if it’s included in a public release of Skype, so it’s automatically turned on for more users than if they had to find the setting themselves.

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