I recently received the following questions:

One of the reasons we started the rewards program based on the blockchain is to have the opportunity to teach so I really appreciate these questions.  But I realize that blockchain technology is not at all related to the sport of sailing, so I acknowledge that I have intentionally inserted into the conversation something we wouldn't otherwise discuss on these forums.  I accept all criticisms of this hypocrisy. 

WIND is a cryptocurrency.  You can find it's mint on the blockchain. The onchain WiND accounts aren't updated real time, but rather periodically.  WIND doesn't have a market for trading as it's only value is as a reward token.  But SOL does have a tradable value.

At the moment our only RRoS rewards program is on the Forums.  Every month the winner receives $25 in SOL. We used a USD base line to help understand the dynamics of cryptocurrencies.   Currently, the value of many of the monthly SOL reward is less than $25.  You can see this real time valuation on RRoS.

The distinction between the tokens WIND and SOL is the primary consideration in understanding cryptocurrency.  SOL is a primary token whose value is based on the valuation of the underlying technology.  The Solana Blockchain is a high-performance network that enables fast, secure, and affordable digital transactions. It powers thousands of applications ranging from payments and games to digital art and financial services.  Western Union, Fidelity and Vanguard are just a couple of the hundreds of financial institutions using the service.  SOL is just a token representing an ownership interest in the Solana Blockchain.  Solana Market Cap is about $59.7 billion right now.  I know we tend to think that owning a stock certificate is the only way to invest in the market, but cryptocurrency is changing that pretty dramatically. There are multiple mark-makers who will trade SOL for USD or vice-versa.  And of course there are mark-makers for every currency, so you can trade EUR to SOL, or BTC to SOL.  And just like any equity, it's value changes because of the subjective emotional response to the market.  And cryptocurrencies are more volatile for a lot of reasons any AI can explain to you.

The RRoS rewards program opens a unique account for each monthly winner on the forums.  That account receives the SOL and is staked on the InfiniteSOL validator to earn these rewards.  On the rewards page of RRoS you can see the current value of that stake account.  The Account Balance indicates the number of SOL in the account including any accrued validator rewards.  If you compare that to what was original given to the account as part of the WIND program, you will see that they are increasing in value beyond what was originally contributed to the account.  If you own one of those accounts, Idhra is holding the keys.  If you want to change how your cryptocurrency is being held, provide us the public key of an account and we'll transfer the SOL there.

So WIND is a token, but has no underlying intrinsic value other than as a token of your participation in the Forums.  There are lots of tokens on the blockchain that serve a functional purpose like this.  But no market maker is willing to trade USD or any other value for your WIND tokens, because the value of your participation has no value to a third party.  And this is my opportunity to point out that there are many tokens with no underlying value are traded by market makers who see that others are willing to give value for that token.  DOGE for example has no underlying intrinsic value.  I think everyone in the market is pretty clear on this subject.  But there is still people willing to trade USD for DOGE for a lot of very interesting reasons. I think this fact alone has undermined acceptance of the blockchain in the United States more than any other factor.  If you live in the United States, realize that, as a market, we are way behind the rest of the world. If you live outside the United States, realize the US is way behind and provides incredible opportunities as it tries to catch up.