The Future of Cryptocurrency

A student’s observations and predictions

| Nate Letteer

After the rise of cryptocurrency in the early 2010s, there has been much debate on how it will be utilized in the future. Some suggest that it will eventually crash, destroying the market and never gaining any real value. Others believe it to be the future of currency in the growing technological market. Although some crypto may fail, it is highly likely that a digital currency will be established as the standard legal tender in many first-world countries. Before continuing on it is important to understand that the value of cryptocurrencies is set, similar to anything purchased and sold on the free market. The predetermined supply of a certain coin gains value through demand. Since this value is not tied to anything physical, it needs to be backed by a tangible object if intended to replace physical currency. Another possible route that could be taken, which has already been implemented with some NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), is to tie crypto to a real physical object that you could obtain. The online reseller, StockX, launched a project in January called Vault NFT. They began selling these NFTs on their website but they were also attached to a high-value sneaker. This gave the buyer two options, they could either redeem the physical shoe by trading in the NFT, or they could hold it and sell it later all while StockX kept it in the vault. If something along these lines could be implemented with cryptocurrency then it could have the potential to become the standard currency.

AP Classes: A Review

| Julianna Lengowski

Knowing which classes to take can be difficult, especially when you are looking to boost your GPA with an AP class. I have taken 8/10 APs that Saint Mary’s offers, and I have decided to rank them based on overall enjoyment and workload. Not included: AP Computer Science Principles; AP Physics.

Psychology

Consistent schedule, manageable homework, very interesting, 10/10 teacher

U.S. History

Made me love history, helps a ton with writing skills, not hard, just pay attention in class

Environmental Science

(online)

Ecology but better, conceptually easy, a lot of work, need really good time management skills for the online APs

Literature and Composition

Learn why literature matters, more analysis, fiction

Fun projects, good feedback, nonfiction

(online) One of the most interesting APs; very conceptual; class is way harder than the national exam, a lot of work

Easier than Pre-Calc but you need to put in the effort to not fall behind; you get college credit for Calc I and II even if you don’t pass the national exam.

(online) Wouldn’t recommend unless chemistry is your passion… a lot of math