Bitcoin apocalypse, cyber-Buddhist lessons and a cure for Hamster fever: the best long reads of 2024

ForkLog

11 months ago

Bitcoin apocalypse, cyber-Buddhist lessons and a cure for Hamster fever: the best long reads of 2024

In 2024 ForkLog, as ever, covered the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry’s most significant news and events with speed. The fact you read us is the best proof—and the reward we value most.

But beyond the torrent of breaking-news flashes, we tried not to neglect the perennial themes—always relevant, meaning-shaping, and useful for navigating a changing market. That is what our long-reads desk is for, producing substantial pieces: features, reviews and interviews, some of which we suggest revisiting today.

We have split this roundup into two equal parts. The first contains 10 of 2024’s most popular long reads; the second, the ForkLog editors’ personal standouts.

Readers’ choice

“There is only one working node left on the Bitcoin network. What now?”

A whole planet left without electricity is the most frightening apocalypse scenario for modern humans. It is entirely plausible—for example, under extreme solar activity. Bitcoin seems the ideal currency amid a global financial-system collapse. But can it survive without a stable power grid? We explain why the answer is more likely yes than no.

Monero, Zcash, Dash: how the three anonymous “old-timers” are faring

Whatever one thinks of fully anonymous transactions, from a technical standpoint privacy coins are among the cypherpunk community’s greatest achievements. We checked in on the state of Monero, Zcash and Dash—the first to implement assets fully shielded from prying eyes. (Spoiler: they’re very much alive, and some have even spawned their own DAOs.)

Buying on fear

Everyone knows Warren Buffett’s oft-quoted wisdom: “Buy when others are fearful, and sell when others are greedy.” Such maxims usually teach beginners only that nobody will actually teach you the trade. Yet when we tested the billionaire’s credo against bitcoin’s historical charts, we were surprised to find: it really does work.

United optimism

In 2024 not only did bitcoin’s dollar price set new records; mining difficulty did too. We assessed the mining industry’s health, the challenges it faces now and what to expect in 2025. Altcoin prospects received special attention.

How long will the bull market last?

To answer the question on everyone’s mind, we looked not only at blockchain-analytics reports but also at traditional tools—economic cycles. It turns out bitcoin now behaves like the classic market, and models, some over a century old, are enough to forecast its price. We will see soon enough how well this holds.

How to write off US public debt with cryptocurrencies

The IMF projects that by 2030 US public debt will top $100 trillion. In search of solutions, financiers turned to crypto—and found a viable scenario using tokenisation of real-world assets (RWA). We explore what rescuing a superpower from default via today’s crypto tools might look like.

When is alt season?

Many analysts assumed an altcoin bull run would follow shortly after bitcoin’s halving. Vague as the notion of “alt season” is, in 2024 it objectively did not arrive. Our analysis suggests optimistic forecasts for bitcoin’s rivals are unlikely to come true any time soon. Blame the memecoins.

“A whale that slept for 100 years moved all the world’s bitcoins to FTX”

Anyone who follows crypto news sees such “sensational” headlines almost daily. What really lies behind them, who benefits from stoking panic, and what role do the slick, menacing charts drawn by the “expert community” play? We explain why on-chain analytics, for all its persuasive gloss, often means absolutely nothing.

Which Bitcoin wallet to choose — a beginner’s guide

In 2024 the market was refreshed by an influx of newcomers—people newly serious about digital currencies as crypto winter thawed. For those who immediately opted for bitcoin maximalism, we prepared a guide to wallets designed solely for storing digital gold. Some you can even assemble yourself.

Mass adoption or madness?

Our most-read long read of 2024—the undisputed traffic champion. Together with experts, we tackled awkward questions about the media bomb called Hamster Kombat. By year’s end we were satisfied to find we were right about most things linked to the clicker frenzy that made millions of adults from Tokyo to Buenos Aires “tap the hamster”.

Editors’ choice

“Yes”, “No”, Web3Net

One of 2024’s surprise trends was prediction markets. Dreamed up in 1988 by academics for applied research, they were reborn as blockchain totes with multimillion turnovers. America’s presidential race helped. We explain what prediction markets were “then” and what they are “now”.

I want to bequeath everything to my cat

Don’t ask how we arrived at the idea of leaving a four-legged tormentor all we’ve earned. It just seemed that modern Web3 tools—RWA and specialised protocols—could help enforce your last will. And also make sure the heir doesn’t blow your crypto wealth on a blockchain feeder, an NFT bed and the latest promising cat-coin.

From music NFTs to AI content

A wide-ranging review of how Web3 analogues of streaming services work. Many of these projects are not merely “Spotify on-chain” but full-fledged DAOs with their own tokens. We explore genuinely modern, horizontal interactions between musicians and audiences—without producers, corporations and platforms that seize every chance to deprive artists of royalties.

Your transaction @#$%

The digital world offers not only life-easing technologies but more censorship—the sworn enemy of cypherpunks and crypto-enthusiasts. The Tornado Cash case, the arrest of Pavel Durov in Paris, backdoors letting supposedly decentralised platforms freeze clients’ funds—these are just the tip of a massive iceberg of repression in Web3. We analyse how early crypto-utopias turned into their opposite.

The Tigran Gambaryan case

In February 2024 Nigerian police detained Binance’s vice-president for global intelligence and investigations, Tigran Gambaryan, accusing him of money laundering and tax evasion. He is now free, but this piece will remain relevant: it speaks not only to one legal case but to a broader systemic problem for the crypto community.

Time to burn the bridges?

A programmatic article by Web3 researcher Vladimir Menaskop, based on an analysis of more than 50 cross-chain projects. It thoroughly dissects and synthesises their economics, technical architectures and in-segment competition. A methodology for independent study is included.

Such animal‑welfare‑coin

A substantial overview of Web3 initiatives that help animals—both wild and domestic. From a Bolivian sanctuary for red-listed species and charitable NFT collections to entire metaverses that let you care for real creatures in distress. Most projects are altruistic at heart, but some also let you earn a little on the side.

Cyber om cyber mani cyber padme cyber hum

One of the most delightfully mad (in a good way) features in ForkLog’s history. Cyber-Buddhism is not a postmodern parody but a genuine and fairly widespread spiritual practice. With scholar of Buddhist traditions Mikhail Matrekhin we learned how to pray in a datsan built in Minecraft, why chatting with a bot can nudge you toward enlightenment, and why communing with avatars of wrathful deities may beat office stand-ups.

“I am confident about who hacked The DAO”

An interview with Laura Shin—an American journalist specialising in crypto-economics and the host of the Unchained podcast. The conversation coincided with the release of her book The Cryptopians, devoted to Ethereum’s early, fraught history—from the birth of an ambitious project to its rescue after The DAO’s collapse and the many conflicts among its co-founders.

Cards, routes, two tickers

Another instructive interview—this time with Nikita, founder of the “Pitupi” project. We learned how people get into arbitrage, the non-obvious hurdles they face, and why this segment is a good school for those who want to become market improvisers, constantly acting on the situation.