Take the Leap into NFTs and Cryptocurrency with Ben Wiggins, Felina Tan & Jen Campbell - Episode 17
It looks like NFTs and cryptocurrency are here to stay - join us as we dive headfirst into the world of blockchain.
Between Ben Wiggins and Felina Tan, we’re taking our first steps into crypto trading and NFT ownership, and for anyone looking to do the same we’re sharing every facet of our experiences so far on episode 17 of Disconnected.
On top of that, we’re taking a look at the Bitcoin theft behind an upcoming Netflix series, the social good being created by our beloved David Beckham, police use of facial recognition, and a renewed warning about dangerous deepfakes...
This episode of Disconnected covers:
The dangers of deepfake technology being used for ill-intent
Use of automatic facial recognition in the English & Welsh police
Catching the perpetrator of one of the largest ever Bitcoin thefts
Ben’s experience entering into the world of cryptocurrency, and how to get started
Felina’s first NFT’s, what they are, and how much they’re worth
Episode Highlights:
“Keep your eye out for deep fakes. They are everywhere. They're not just of people like Tom Cruise anymore, the kind of celebrities that you've seen previously. It's now getting to the point where it's getting into news broadcasts.” - 3:00 - Jen Campbell
“The Police Force in England & Wales have started using facial recognition technology in trial mode at the moment, just with a few forces. They're saying that it can be used to find criminals obviously, but also potentially people who are wanted in connection with crimes.” - 4:30 - Ben Wiggins
“In August 2016, a crypto exchange was hacked, and at the time it was the 2nd-largest Bitcoin hack, wiping out about 100,000 Bitcoins. Fast forward to February 2022; Federal Agents in the US were granted access to Heather Morgan's digital wallet. It contained 94,000 bitcoins, valued at $3.6 billion.” - 10:10 - Jag Sharma
“What David Beckham has done is like on a different level. It's not light-hearted to promote a brand or a product. It's heavy, emotional, and very purposeful. In times like this when social media distrust is rampant, it's powerful for individuals of status and massive following to like, use their influence, use their voice to help cut through the nonsense.” - 14:45 - Felina Tan
“I'm at the very start of this journey. I'm learning and researching every single day about cryptocurrency, trying to get myself up to a level where I feel comfortable investing. That's what happened over the last week or so. So this is definitely not investment advice, but this is a little bit of my story and my journey with crypto.” - 17:25 - Ben Wiggins
“You know when you get a spare few seconds at work or during your day and you start googling stuff like the price of Bitcoin or Ethereum like you would other stocks. I started doing that over a few months’ period and started to see any trends that were happening. I'm quite a cautious person so I had to feel comfortable by doing a lot of research and reading and listening about it.” - 23:55 - Ben Wiggins
“Research, start small, and make sure you're comfortable. Don't just jump on cryptocurrency because everyone else is jumping on it.” - 32:55 - Ben Wiggins
“When I was younger I collected Pokemon cards, and I feel like NFTs are just a grownup version of that, with a lot more money. You can set up online galleries, parading your NFTs, send those links around and show it to your friends.” - 38:10 - Felina Tan
“Even though it's art, you shouldn't shoe box NFTs into just being art, because think about what it can do in terms of social impact. There have actually been a few communities that created their own collection of NFTs, so the people who created them are Asian and any profits that they make out of selling these NFT's they donate to charitable Asian foundations.” - 40:10 - Felina Tan
“It's interesting you mentioned the value of NFTs, and I feel a lot of it is like art. It's so subjective at the moment; it's worth what people are willing to pay for it. I do wonder if NF T's will become the next ‘art’ in the sense that - not to be too cynical with art - a lot of people can use it as a way around tax.” - 45:45 - Jag Sharma
Links & references:
Ben Wiggins:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bewiggins/
Felina Tan:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/felinagabrielletan/
Jen Campbell:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-m-campbell/
Jag Sharma: