Anand N Panicker

Blockchain

Blockchain Byte - Week 24 Trees & Roots

Table of Contents 1. Recap 2. Merkle Tree / Merkle Root 3. Application in Blockchains 4. Data Immutability 5. Transaction Query 6. Optimal Space Usage & Transaction Verification Recap Last week we explored how blocks are mined in a blockchain - meaning how new transactions are authorized and added to the

Strategy

Strategy Byte - Week 24 Interest Rate - From Base to Prime

Table of Contents 1. Recap 2. Headline 3. Prime Rate 4. Spreads 5. Reserve Requirement Recap During Week 23, we discussed that Interest rate is the price of money & thus subject to supply & demand of money like any other commodity. From the supply side, 1. An increase in

Self - Reflection

Self Reflection Byte - Love the Journey

Table of Contents 1. The Start 2. The Learning 3. Figure Stuff Out 4. Travel Lite 5. Love the Journey We all love to travel. Who doesn't? I was always somehow fascinated with the metaphor of life as a hike or a journey. I still am. But as

Blockchain

Blockchain Byte - Week 23 : Block Mining

Table of Contents 1. Recap 2. Mining 3. Validation Controls 4. Nonce 5. Target 6. Game of Dice 7. Summary Recap During week 22, we explained how blocks are "chained" to each other thus earning the name Blockchain. We deep dived into block headers which contain the following

Strategy

Strategy Byte Week 23 - Interest Rates Origin

Table of Contents 1. Recap 2. Starting Point 3. Monetary Policy & OMO 4. Central Bank Base Rate 5. Natural Rate of Interest 6. Impact of Fed Funds Rate Recap During Week 22, we introduced interest rates as The cost of borrowing money which are normally expressed as a % of

Self - Reflection

Self Reflection Byte - Never Back Down...But..

Table of Contents 1. Never Back Down 2. Problem Solving 3. Decision Making 4. Conclusion Never Back Down I took a break last two weeks & watched some movies, especially martial arts genre. I love martial arts movies. Why? Because most stories involve the protagonist experiencing some event which forces

Strategy

Strategy Byte - Week 22 : Interest Rates

Table of Contents 1. Recap 2. Two Headlines 3. Interest Rates Recap In Week 21 of Strategy Bytes, we discussed how movements in a country's current account or Balance of Payments (BoP) position impacts the exchange rate. Higher USD inflows into current account due to strong export performance

Blockchain

Blockchain Byte - Week 22 : Chaining the Block

Table of Contents 1. Recap 2. What is a Block? 3. Block Identification 4. Block Hash 5. Block Header 6. Reference to Previous Block Hash Recap Last week we explained how nodes validate & verify transactions in a Blockchain. In a Blockchain, transactions are added to the public ledger by

Strategy

Strategy Byte - Week 21 : Forex Drivers..Cont'd

Recap In Week 20, we started our journey to explore the key economic drivers of foreign exchange rates. We started with 1. Interest Rates & 2. Relative Inflation Rates We defined interest rates as the cost of borrowing or return earned on saving money in a bank or from a

Strategy

Strategy Byte - Week 20 : Forex Drivers

Table of Contents 1. Recap 2. Interest Rates 3. Relative Inflation Rates Recap During Week 19, we explored how fluctuations in foreign exchange (forex) rates can impact a company's balance sheet &/or income statement. The impact can be on account of: 1. Single or multiple transactions -

Blockchain

Blockchain Byte - Week 21 : Transaction Authorization

Table of Contents 1. Recap 2. Nodes Revisited 3. Transaction Verification 4. Transaction Aggregation - Blocks Recap In Week 20, we explained how transactions are initiated in a blockchain through a wallet. We ended with the below sequence of events : 1. Sender wants to send 10 BTC to Beneficiary 2.

Self - Reflection

Self Reflection Byte - The Flywheel we need

Today's topic has it's origins in strategy but I couldn't stop thinking about it's link & implementation in our own personal & professional lives & thought I'll write about a strategy topic in self reflection. The Experience Curve During my

Strategy

Strategy Byte - Week 19 : Forex Drivers & Impact

Table of Contents 1. Recap 2. Impact on Performance 3. Linkage to Strategy 4. Foreign Exchange Drivers Recap During Week 18, we explored "Exchange" which is "The act of giving something to someone & them giving you something else." Using apples & oranges being exchanged in

Blockchain

Blockchain Byte - Week 20 : Transaction Validation

Table of Contents 1. Recap 2. Transaction Validation 3. Nodes 4. Mempool 5. Public Key Verification Recap To recap, last week we introduced at a high level how crypto payments or funds transfer is initiated and how "value" moves across transactions in a blockchain. We explained 1. Transaction

Self - Reflection

Self Reflection Byte - Our Personal OS

Table of Contents 1. What is an Operating System (OS) 2. Personal Wiring / Individuality 3. Tuning with our Environment 4. Life = A Journey What is an Operating System (OS)? As per Wikipedia, An Operating System (OS) is a system software that manages computer hardware & software resources, & provides common

Strategy

Strategy Byte - Week 18 : Exchange Rate

Recap During Week 17, we discussed Balance of Payments (BoP) where we explained how total inflows of dollars into a country must equal total outflows & to balance the transaction, surplus in capital account must equal deficit in capital account & vice versa. Then we saw how "Net Exports&

Blockchain

Blockchain Byte - Week 19 : Crypto Payments

Table of Contents 1. Recap 2. Wallet 3. Transaction Type - Input / Output 4. UTXO - Unspent Transaction Output 5. Digital Signature 6. Scripts - Lock / Unlock Recap To recap, last week we explained payments in fiat currency through banks & Financial Institutions. We are aware of payment rails in

Self - Reflection

A New Dawn - Goodbye 2023, Hello 2024

Happy New Year 2024 As we bid farewell to 2023 & open the doors for 2024. I wish you and your families a very Happy & Blessed 2024!! Let there be new dawn in your lives. Reflections 2023 To be honest, I am not a reflective kind of person which

Blockchain

Blockchain Byte - Week 18 : Transaction Initiation

Recap Over the past 17 weeks, we explored different aspects of blockchain by starting with money - it's history, use & source of economic value. We then moved to a new paradigm called crypto currency with different concepts like decentralization, consensus, open source, nodes, distributed ledger, cryptography etc.

Strategy

Strategy Byte - Week 17 : Balance of Payments.. Cont'd

Table of Contents 1. Recap 2. Current Account & Capital Account 3. Present - Future Orientation 4. A Question to Ponder 5. UNCTAD Statistics 6. Foreign Exchange Rate - a Teaser Recap Last week, we introduced a new variable called "Balance of Payments" in analyzing a country'

Blockchain

Blockchain Byte - Week 17 : Open Source (Contd)...

Table of Contents 1. Recap 2. Open Source Business Models 3. Forking 4. Moving On Recap To recap, last week we introduced open source software which is defined as below: Open source software is source code that anyone can inspect, modify & enhance We also defined "source code"

Strategy

Strategy Byte - Week 16 : Balance of Payments

Recap Last week, we explored Net Exports which in simple terms is Exports - Imports. Exports are what a country sells to other nations & imports are what a country buys from other nations. We then discussed GDP as resources produced & consumed within a country either for current consumption

Strategy

Strategy Byte - Week 15 : GDP - Net Exports

Table of Contents 1. Recap 2. Net Exports 3. Relevance of Trade Surplus 4. Relevance of Strategy Recap Last week, we delved into how GDP can factor into a company's decision to expand it's business either locally or internationally. For e.g., if consumption constitutes a

Blockchain

Blockchain Byte - Week 16 : Open Source Software

Table of Contents 1. Recap 2. Open Source 3. Computer Software 4. Source Code Recap In Week 15, we delved into incentives in terms of how a system or code can incentivize actors in an ecosystem based on certain parameters or conditions being satisfied. Incentives in a Blockchain can be

Strategy

Strategy Byte - Week 14 : GDP Drivers

Recap Last week, we delved deeper into consumption side of GDP by starting with the analogy of a family & the "spend vs. save" mentality where a family saves more than it spends or spends more than it saves. We then extrapolated it to a country where it