Today is Memorial Day—a time to remember members of the military who have died in the line of duty. The holiday began as Decoration Day, and was originally a time when citizens took time out to decorate soldiers’ graves as a way of honoring the more than 620,000 people killed in the Civil War.
Almost 160 years later, we mark the day on the fourth Monday of May. Government offices and many businesses close, including banks, the New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ and bond markets. But not the crypto market. It keeps churning on 24/7.
The month of May was not a happy one for investors in cryptocurrency. On May 12, the price of a single BitCoin plunged to $26,293 from a high of $67,553 in November of 2021.
Cryptocurrency and Online Banking, Explained
The 2022 crash came as crypto appeared to finally infiltrate mainstream culture. In December of 2021, the Staples Center in Los Angeles changed its name to “Crypto.com Arena,” after the Singapore-based app paid $700 million for 20 years of naming rights. Crypto.com and rival crypto exchange FTX also signed up a roster of A-list celebrities to plug cryptocurrency.
But many are still wondering what cryptocurrency is, and how it works. Jonathan Vankin does a little cryptocurrency mining of his own, digging into the crypto crash of 2022, and how cryptocurrency works. And to further delve into the world of fintech, Vankin takes a look at the history of online banking.
How Cash Went Digital
Before crypto, banking began moving into the digital world as far back as 1953. Here's a brief history of how computers and the internet changed finance.
Serving Those Who Served
But back to Memorial Day ... It’s important to honor members of the military who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. But the veterans who are still living—and there are more than 10,000 in Santa Cruz County—deserve to be honored as well. One place where veterans can get help is at Stand Down events put on by veterans support groups. The 2022 Monterey County Veterans Stand Down, an event where homeless veterans on the Central Coast can get help obtaining services, is coming up. Hosted by the Veterans Transition Center, it takes place June 17-18. All homeless men, women and veterans with families are welcome. Registration packages can be picked up at the Santa Cruz Veterans Center and Santa Cruz Memorial Hall. And to find out more about other news of interest to those who have served in the military, check out California Local’s veterans topic overview.
Veterans in Need ‘Stand Down’
At hundreds of Stand Down events throughout California, veterans agencies and organizations come together to deliver life’s necessities.
The Cycling Continues
We continue to receive good feedback on the Safe Cycling Santa Cruz crowdsourced map of safe bike routes. A tip of the hat to California Local members Mikey Cohen, Keith Bontrager and Brian DiGiorgio, and to Reddit user goddamnitwhatsmypw, for their contributions over the last week.
A special shoutout to local cycling advocate Lloyd Tabb, who lent an e-bike and helmet to California Local co-founder Chris Neklason (who hadn’t been on a bike in the last 40, no, 41, years) and led him and a dozen other local cyclists on a 16-mile “safe cycling circuit” around Santa Cruz and Live Oak. Lloyd’s safe cycling circuit will be incorporated into the safe routes map, and the experience will be documented in a forthcoming blog post.
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