How Cryptocurrency Changed My Life

Most teenagers are excited for their 18th birthdays because they can legally get a tattoo, rent an apartment, or maybe go ski diving. I was excited because I was finally going to be able to buy into cryptocurrency, a concept that had already fascinated me for months prior to my 18th. That was a little less than 14 months ago, but I have never been so glad that I did anything. I have always had an infatuation with economics, the distribution of wealth, and how society functions in respect to currency. The idea that cryptocurrency could disrupt the current economic system fascinates me to no end. When I first got in, I knew little of the topic, and had to entirely educate myself when it comes to blockchain technology and the thousands of cryptocurrencies out there.

Cryptocurrency was popular before 2021, but had more of a niche focus. In the last year the industry as a whole has taken leaps far more quickly than I expected when I got into it. Now mainstream media outlets publish daily articles on blockchain-related topics, BTC and ETH get the real-time chyron treatment on CNBC, and celebrities and politicians alike are bringing it further into the mainstream.

Blockchain Technology

After initially getting into crypto, I continued to read more about blockchain technology and all the ways it can benefit society. The decentralization, the transaction speeds, the safety, DeFi, DEXs, and DAOs. There is still lots of work in all these departments, but with the growing, thriving community that I have seen all over the internet, I continue to gain interest and confidence in the industry. 

Even before I got into cryptocurrency, I was interested in stocks, the economy, the global financial system, currencies, and the idea of day trading. Being stuck at home for the last year and a half of my time in high school, I was searching for the intellectual stimulation I didn’t get from online school. At first when I learned about cryptocurrency all I saw was Bitcoin and Ethereum; I saw them as nothing more than investments. I couldn’t yet wrap my head around the idea of smart contracts or proof-of-work, all I understood was they were digital, decentralized assets that had greatly appreciated in value. 

When I began to further look into how the digitization of assets will change the internet, and the economy, I became more intrigued. I now firmly believe that blockchain technology will eventually have an impact on the world similar to the creation of the Internet. Blockchain supports an advancement in education, personal finance, economic development, online communication, encryption, and digital ownership. While Bitcoin and Ethereum are currently the main driving forces in the industry, I also started to read and learn about other altcoins that can also maintain a positive and growing impact. 

As this technology continues to develop, and the community continues to grow, more opportunities for careers and jobs continue to form. Cryptocurrency is more than an investment tool to make quick money, it is a way to work with a community that is trying to better the world through a revolutionary and developing technology.

The Community

Each and every individual in the community has their own role to play, and different contributions to make. Unfortunately, with success also comes setbacks and failures. There is a plague of scamming and misinformation in the cryptocurrency community. Everyone has heard the story where someone becomes a millionaire off of some token going up 10,000 percent in a matter of months. However, that isn’t always the case, and is a completely unrealistic expectation. Scammers will exploit this kind of hype around tokens and NFTs in order to get people to invest into projects with no real basis, team, or backing. The Squid Game coin is a great example.

People who are exploiting blockchain in this way undermine the entire purpose of blockchain technology, which is to create better, more secure digitized assets for everyone. The cryptocurrency community as a whole needs to do a better job providing correct, direct, information on how blockchain functions, and what types of projects to avoid at all costs.

I consistently see arguments on Twitter over which token is better or which project is growing faster, when really every project is different in some way, and making trivial comparisons won’t get the community anywhere. If cryptocurrency and blockchain technology really is going to become an economic disruptor and change the way the world operates, those in the community who are already educated on it need to stop arguing, and start educating.