Rust, Solidity, Identity-Work Balance, Travel | 2.50

"A fit body, a calm mind, a house full of love. These things cannot be bought — they must be earned." - Naval Ravikant

Apr 23, 2023

Markets this Week:

S&P 500 is trading flat
NASDAQ 100 is trading flat
Bitcoin-USD is down 9%
Ethereum-USD is down 11%

Headlines from this Week:

Rival generals are battling for control in Sudan. The power struggle between the Sudanese military, led by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the RSF, led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, has dealt a harsh blow to Sudan's heady hopes for a democratic transition.
The first test launch of a SpaceX Starship rocket — the most powerful launch vehicle ever constructed — ended in an eruption of flames over the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday.
Amazon launched its Anti-Counterfeiting Exchange (ACX); an initiative to help retail stores label and track marketplace counterfeits as part of the e-commerce giant’s efforts to crack down on organized crime on its platform.
Canon USA to launch NFT marketplace on Ethereum

Finance

By Vlad Estoup, B.Comm. (Finance), working in Ethereum cybersecurity

Why Rust?

In the world of finance, the concept of blockchain has been making waves for some time now. For those who don’t know, blockchain technology is a decentralized, distributed ledger that enables secure and transparent transactions without the need for intermediaries. The technology has the potential to revolutionize the way banks operate, and those that don't adopt it risk being left behind.

Banks have long been the gatekeepers of finance, but blockchain technology threatens to disrupt their traditional business models. Banks have to adopt blockchain or else they will die out. One blockchain that has been gaining a lot of traction lately is Ethereum. Ethereum is an open-source blockchain that enables the creation of smart contracts.

Smart contracts are self-executing contracts with the terms of the agreement between buyer and seller being directly written into lines of code. The code and the agreements contained therein exist on a decentralized network, meaning that there is no central authority overseeing the transaction. This removes the need for intermediaries, such as banks, to oversee the transaction, reducing costs and increasing transparency.

For banks, the use of smart contracts built in Rust is particularly useful. Rust is a system programming language that is designed to be fast, reliable, and safe. It is particularly useful for building secure systems, making it an ideal choice for banks looking to implement blockchain technology.

Smart contracts built in Rust can be used for a variety of financial applications, such as loans, insurance, and derivatives. These contracts are self-executing, meaning that they can be automatically executed without the need for human intervention. This reduces the risk of errors and fraud, making transactions more secure.

In addition, Rust is an ideal language for building blockchain applications because it is designed to be concurrent and can run on multiple threads simultaneously. This means that Rust-based blockchain applications can be highly scalable, which is crucial for banks that need to process a large number of transactions quickly and efficiently.

Finally, Rust-based blockchain applications are highly secure. Rust is designed to be memory-safe, meaning that it prevents common programming errors that can lead to security vulnerabilities. This makes Rust-based smart contracts ideal for financial applications where security is of paramount importance.

In conclusion, banks that do not adopt blockchain technology risk being left behind in a rapidly changing financial landscape. Ethereum is an ideal platform for building blockchain applications, and smart contracts built in Rust offer a level of security and scalability that is particularly useful for financial applications. Banks that embrace blockchain technology and smart contracts built in Rust will be well-positioned to thrive in the coming years.

This is not financial advice and you should always do your own research before investing in any securities or cryptocurrencies.

Sci-Tech

By Keyann Al-Kheder, Software Engineer in Web3

Intro to Solidity | A 4-part series

This article will be part of a 4 part series that provides a basic overview of Solidity programming language, the programming language for . This week, we’ll cover syntax and data types, as well as walk through a simple example of a Solidity smart contract.

Solidity Syntax
Solidity code is written in text files with a .sol extension. A Solidity program is composed of contracts, which are similar to classes in other programming languages. Each contract can contain state variables, functions, events, and modifiers.

State variables represent the state of the contract and can be accessed and modified by functions within the contract. Functions are the executable code of the contract and can be called by other contracts or external accounts. Events allow contracts to communicate with external accounts, while modifiers are used to modify the behavior of functions.

Solidity Data Types
Solidity has several built-in data types, including:

uint: an unsigned integer (positive whole number)
int: a signed integer (positive or negative whole number)
bool: a boolean value (true or false)
address: an Ethereum address (20-byte hexadecimal number)
string: a string of characters
bytes: a dynamically-sized byte array
arrays: a fixed or dynamically-sized array of values of the same type
mappings: a key-value store where the keys and values can be of any type

Solidity also supports user-defined data types using struct, which allows developers to define custom data structures.

A Simple Example of a Solidity Smart Contract

Here’s a simple example of a Solidity smart contract that stores and retrieves a string message.

// Define the contract

contract MyContract { 
  // Define the state variable 
  string message; 
  
  // Define the function to set the message 
  function setMessage(string memory _message) public {
    message = _message; 
  } 
  
  // Define the function to get the message 
  function getMessage() public view returns (string memory) { 
    return message; 
  } 
}

In this example, we define a contract called ‘MyContract’ that contains a state variable called message of type string. We also define two functions: setMessage to set the value of message, and getMessage to retrieve the value of message. The public keyword indicates that these functions can be called by anyone on the Ethereum network.

In the setMessage function, you may have noticed the use of the underscore character _. This is a convention in Solidity to distinguish between function parameters and state variables. The underscore in front of the message parameter indicates that it is a local variable that is being passed to the function, while the message without an underscore refers to the state variable defined in the contract.

To deploy this contract on the Ethereum network, we need to compile the Solidity code into EVM bytecode and then deploy the bytecode using a tool such as Remix or Truffle.

To recap, we provided a basic overview of Solidity syntax and data types, as well as walked through a simple example of a Solidity smart contract. Solidity is a powerful language that enables developers to write secure and autonomous smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain.

Paradigm Shift

By Roman Kuittinen-Dhaoui, BBA (Hons.), CPHR Candidate

Identity ties to Work

Those who work full-time spend close to 25% of their week at work. It’s a major part of their lives. However, there are several reasons why you should not tie up so much of your identity in what you do for work such as the below.

You may limit your potential: If you tie up too much of your identity in your job, you may limit your potential to pursue other interests or take on new challenges. By diversifying your identity beyond your job, you may discover new passions and opportunities for personal growth.
Your job is not the only thing that defines you: You are more than just your job. You have a unique personality, interests, values, and relationships that are not tied to your work. If you tie up too much of your identity in your job, you may miss out on other aspects of your life that bring you joy and fulfillment.
Your job may not be permanent: Jobs come and go, and your career path may change over time. If your identity is solely tied to your job, you may struggle to adapt to changes (e.g., layoff) and transitions in your career. (e.g., lateral transfer).
Your job can be stressful: If you tie up too much of your identity in your job, you may feel pressure to perform at a high level all the time. This can lead to burnout, stress, and anxiety, which can negatively impact your mental and physical health.
Your job is not always rewarding: Not all jobs are equally fulfilling or rewarding. If your identity is tied to your job, you may feel disappointed or unfulfilled if your job does not meet your expectations.

While work is an important part of our lives, it is not the only thing that defines us. It is essential to cultivate a diverse identity that includes other aspects of our lives to lead a fulfilling and meaningful life.

TLDR: Be more interesting than an employee. You have more value to bring to the world.

(Head)Space

Why you should travel

Travelling the world is an excellent way to improve one's mental health. It allows you to break free from the routine of everyday life and immerse yourself in new experiences, cultures, and environments. Here are some ways in which travelling can benefit your mental health:

Reduced stress and anxiety: Traveling can help reduce stress and anxiety by providing a break from the daily routine and allowing you to disconnect from the stressors of daily life. You can relax and unwind while exploring new places and experiencing different cultures.

Increased happiness and well-being: Travelling can increase happiness and well-being by giving you a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment. You can gain new perspectives, learn new things, and meet new people, which can all contribute to a greater sense of happiness and well-being.

Boosted confidence and self-esteem: Travelling can also boost your confidence and self-esteem. It allows you to step out of your comfort zone and try new things, which can help you build confidence in yourself and your abilities.

Improved creativity: Travelling can improve your creativity by exposing you to new ideas, cultures, and perspectives. It can also give you the time and space to reflect on your own thoughts and ideas.

Enhanced resilience: Travelling can enhance your resilience by exposing you to challenges and obstacles that you may not face in your everyday life. It can also help you develop coping mechanisms and problem-solving skills that can be beneficial in other areas of your life.

Company of the Week

SpaceX

Founded by Elon Musk in 2002, SpaceX’s mission is to make life multi-planetary by developing advanced space technologies that enable humans to colonize Mars and other planets.

Building on the achievements of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy, SpaceX is working on a next generation of fully reusable launch vehicles that will be the most powerful ever built, capable of carrying humans to Mars and other destinations in the solar system. While most rockets are designed to burn up on reentry, SpaceX rockets can not only withstand reentry but can also successfully land back on Earth and refly again.

SpaceX believes a fully and rapidly reusable rocket is the pivotal breakthrough needed to substantially reduce the cost of space access. The majority of the launch cost comes from building the rocket, which historically has flown only once.

In a recent round of funding, SpaceX was valued at $137B.

Written by: Vlad Estoup, Keyann Al-Kheder, and Roman Kuittinen-Dhaoui

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