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For kids of the 90s like me, MEW was just a Pokémon. It was mysterious and incredibly hard to catch. In 2015 however, MEW became something else — My Ether Wallet.

Taylor Monahan is the mind and workhorse behind MEW. She sat down with Matthew and Dani Amsalem from Decryptionary.com in a successful effort to make her own MEW a little less like the enigmatic Pokémon and a little more Crypto 101.

The original intention behind the creation of MEW was not unlike our own — to make crypto more accessible. Before MEW, interacting with the Ethereum blockchain required users to run command lines. Since it’s inception it has become and remained community-built and focused. It is no surprise that the platform has grown into the most widely-used tool for transacting with Ethereum and ERC-20 tokens.

Since recording this episode, Taylor has forked from MEW to create MyCrypto.com which is, for the most part, an evolved (pardon the pun) version of MEW, aimed at addressing the exponential scaling that was rapidly becoming a problem. Her own detailed explanation is linked below.

One of the core focusses Taylor will be taking with her into this new project is her commitment to an increased user experience; focussing on ease of use and clarity.

Within the interview, however, Taylor touched upon a few points worth restating.

Security

Hackers and phishers are incredibly determined to steal from unprepared crypto holders. However, this is nothing to be afraid of if you take some basic security measures like two-factor authentication, solid passwords and being careful with your private keys. A little preparation goes a long way. Which leads to:

Custody

The main difference between a platform like Coinbase and MEW or MyCrypto is custody — who ultimately has ownership of your private keys. The function MEW and Mycrypto provide everyday users is access to and complete ownership of their funds.

ICOs

This is the reason why you should never purchase ICO tokens from within a platform like Coinbase. You are essentially paying the ICO team from your Coinbase wallet, which is not owned by you,it is owned for you, by Coinbase. If you pay for a product from within Coinbase, it will be Coinbase that receives the product, not you.

Taylor’s final two points are the key takeaways from the interview. Whether you are a veteran or a complete neophyte in the cryptosphere, never stop learning, never stop growing. Taylor says “read everything,” stay informed and chase what excites you.

Lastly, if you are concerned about price (and she isn’t) ask yourself, “what am I doing to increase the value of cryptocurrency?” Who can we educate, what can we offer the community that will ultimately build the legitimacy and real-world tangibility of this new technology?

Taylor’s comments on the MyCrypto fork — https://medium.com/mycrypto/mycrypto-launch-6a066bf41093

Decryptionary — https://Decryptionary.com

Crypto 101 Podcast Episode 80 — pca.st/XjB0