After using xLog to write a blog, you will naturally become curious about blockchain, and the most obvious question is what tokens are needed to publish articles? Therefore, as a blockchain novice, I tried to break down the question into several steps and deepen my understanding through practical operations.
- What is the difference between virtual currency and cryptocurrency?
- How to buy cryptocurrency in China?
- How is cryptocurrency exchanged?
- Can $CSB be recharged?
What is the difference between virtual currency and cryptocurrency#
I have always thought that virtual currency and cryptocurrency are just different names for the same thing. However, this is not the case.
Virtual currency is a type of digital currency issued and managed by a central institution or platform, such as Alipay and WeChat Pay.
Cryptocurrency is a type of digital asset that uses cryptographic technology to secure transactions and is not subject to central authority intervention, such as Bitcoin.
The difference between virtual currency and cryptocurrency is that virtual currency is issued and managed by a central authority, while cryptocurrency is issued and managed through decentralized technology.
The use of virtual currency is limited to specific platforms or systems, while cryptocurrency can be traded and used in a broader market.
Actually, I still don't quite understand, but at least I figured out one thing: I need to purchase a decentralized cryptocurrency rather than virtual currency.
How to buy cryptocurrency in China#
Since I have decided to buy cryptocurrency, is there a platform that allows us to use Alipay or WeChat to purchase it, even though it is not permitted in China?
After searching and comparing, I chose to use Binance. Although the installation requires various verifications, mobile app, Google Authenticator, personal identity verification, etc., the operation is entirely in Chinese, and it supports WeChat and Alipay. The initial certification is a bit cumbersome, but afterwards, it is smooth sailing.
Which cryptocurrency should I buy?
The recommended USDT (Tether) is a cryptocurrency that has established a 1:1 peg with the US dollar. It is issued by Tether and aims to provide stability in the cryptocurrency market, keeping its price fixed to the US dollar.
The purchasing process is quite smooth.
A few notes when using Binance:
- VPN needs to be set to global; some country IPs are not supported, so please switch nodes.
- There is a minimum standard for buying and selling; for example, USDT can only be bought (or sold) starting from 10 coins.
- Transaction payments require dual verification, including email verification and Google Authenticator.
How is cryptocurrency exchanged#
What is the purpose of buying this USDT?
Because I saw the MIRA exchange tutorial in the xlog backend. My initial understanding is that platform rewards or tips from others can be exchanged for USDC through this website, recharge Binance, sell it, and convert it to RMB.
But my current need is: to transfer USDT to MIRA and then exchange it for the token CSB used on the xlog website?
- The MetaMask browser extension acts as a digital wallet, similar to Alipay or WeChat wallets. It allows you to manage and use cryptocurrencies in your web browser.
- Crossbell and Polygon are both scaling technologies for Ethereum. Ethereum is the second-largest cryptocurrency network, with Bitcoin being the first.
- Different networks are like different companies; transferring money from WeChat to Alipay requires a bank intermediary, which incurs fees.
- GAS is the fuel; each transfer ultimately requires a gas fee paid to miners.
Here’s what I did:
I withdrew USDT from Binance to the Polygon chain, and then transferred USDT to MATIC on the same chain. How to understand this? It’s like transferring money from a Construction Bank account to an Industrial and Commercial Bank account via Alipay, and then from that account to another credit card of the same bank.
This step went quite smoothly; MetaMask on the Polygon chain received the USDT withdrawn from Binance, and then I used the built-in SWAP feature to exchange USDT → MATIC. This step encountered an error because MATIC requires a certain starting amount for transaction fees.
How to understand this? USDT is sending a package to MATIC; logically, I am the sender and should pay, but the logic here is that the recipient needs to pay for the shipping fee, meaning it must be cash on delivery.
But what if the recipient has no money? It will remind you that the gas fee is insufficient, and the transaction cannot be completed.
Alipay doesn’t care, so we go to the local bank of Polygon and tell it that both of my cards are from your bank, so please help me transfer some money from Card A to Card B within your bank. This process incurs no fees.
There is indeed such a service Polygon Bridge: Bridge Assets from Ethereum to Polygon zkEVM where I need to recharge 1 MATIC from my USDT card, which is a free exchange, but at least 1 MATIC is required, meaning your USDT card must have at least 0.7 coins to transfer.
Very smoothly, at this point, I have money in both my USDT and MATIC cards at the Polygon bank, so I can perform operations like transferring cryptocurrencies using MetaMask.
Why do I need to recharge MATIC? In fact, I confused MATIC with MIRA. MATIC is the cryptocurrency on the Polygon chain; MIRA is the cryptocurrency on the Crossbell chain.
My goal is to recharge MIRA and then transfer it to CSB. Fortunately, although MIRA is not officially listed, it can still be circulated and exchanged.
I exchanged MATIC for MIRA through Uniswap Interface.
In fact, Uniswap can directly exchange USDT for MIRA. This was a mistake I made, but it’s a lesson learned.
In the final step, we will exchange $MIRA for CSB, and we are about to hit a bump, so everyone should pay attention to steering.
The xLog official exchange tutorial states that platform rewards MIRA can be transferred out to the Polygon chain. I am now performing the reverse operation, trying to exchange MIRA for CSB. From this official exchange website, my initial understanding is that since it can be transferred out, it can naturally be transferred in.
In fact, it can be transferred in, but this transfer is still MIRA. Why is that? What is the significance of this transfer? My initial understanding is that it’s like receiving a red envelope on WeChat; you open it yourself. The balance remains the same, but the records of these transactions are logged.
However, the logic of transferring MIRA is indeed a bit confusing. After exchanging MIRA from Uniswap, do I still need to transfer it from the Polygon chain to the Crossbell chain? I haven't tested what would happen if I skip this step, but I guess if I don't do this step, I might not truly own MIRA.
After completing this step, I have reached the lowest level where cryptocurrencies can circulate; there is no way forward unless I go back.
Attempting to exchange MIRA for CSB failed; this path is blocked.
Can $CSB be recharged?#
The conclusion is that the CSB used in the xLog blog cannot be recharged or exchanged through other cryptocurrencies, not even MIRA on the same Crossbell chain.
It’s like Crossbell is a university, MIRA is the tuition fee, and CSB is the points earned by students in the university through scholarships or academic achievements. Tuition cannot be exchanged for points, and points cannot be used as tuition; the two are not interchangeable.
Points can only be used for publishing articles, editing articles, updating configurations, etc. There are no channels for exchange or trading; the only way to obtain them is through the faucet. When CSB falls below 0.02, you can go here to receive "relief funds" for free.
Therefore, the operations for circulation, exchange, and withdrawal on xLog use the MIRA cryptocurrency, while CSB is merely an interactive currency used for operations. They are two separate systems with different functions.
So for friends who share the same curiosity, I can clarify that aside from receiving the minimum "relief funds" from the faucet, there are no other channels to increase CSB.
So, if your CSB falls below 0.02 and the faucet is broken, making it impossible to receive the minimum interactive currency, theoretically, you will not be able to publish articles on xLog. Of course, this situation is very unlikely, but you should be aware that it exists.
The official explanation suggests that in the future, it is very likely to support cryptocurrencies, such as using MIRA to pay for gas fees, so there is no need to worry unnecessarily.
As for withdrawing platform rewards MIRA, you can simply reverse the operation.
Transfer MIRA out, exchange it for stablecoins through Uniswap, recharge back to Binance, and finally cash out and sell.
For a blockchain novice, understanding this much is sufficient, after all, we are using xLog to write articles, not researching cryptocurrencies on this platform.