How My Journey Began
It was January of 2017 and I was addicted to online poker. I didn't know what Bitcoin was other than it was some sort of "Internet Money" and that I can use it to deposit on all of my favorite poker sites because my bank wouldn't allow it. I didn't care to learn about it, it was simply a way for me to play the game I love. As the year went on, I wasn't making the profit I was hoping to playing online. I guess I wasn't the shark I thought I was. Not only was I losing money, but this Bitcoin thing was increasing in value. By the end of May it had doubled in price from when I first started using it as an intermediary between me and my poker addiction. By August it had quadrupled and by then I was both annoyed and intrigued. If I had just kept all the money I deposited into this "NERD MONEY" instead of playing poker, I would have made a nice little profit.
This is when I decided to "take a break" from poker which is what we poker degenerates say when we go broke. I had also just found out that my wife was pregnant with our first child so needless to say, shit started getting real. I would often ask myself, "How the hell am I going to do this? I can barely take care of myself let alone a family." This is when I started seriously researching Bitcoin.
At this time, all I cared about was the money. My wife and I both had good paying jobs as poker dealers (and still do today) but was that going to be enough to pay for our mortgage, student loans, credit card debt, car payments, AND raise a child? I didn't think so, and felt like I needed to figure something out and fast! I've heard stories about all these geeks living in their parents basements getting rich overnight because of Bitcoin. Like most, my knee jerk reaction to these stories was "Oh thats got to be a scam, too good to be true, some sort of Ponzi scheme, and its all going to collapse eventually." However, I felt desperate so I bought some on Coinbase and instead of immediately transferring it to my poker site, I just kept it there. I probably don't need to explain to you what happened in November/December of 2017.
Since then, I've become a crypto sponge, absorbing all of the information I possible could about Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency and as you probably already found out.... there is A LOT of it! I've been heavily involved in the Crypto world for slightly over a year now and during that time, I've learned a lot but have also made many mistakes. One of those mistakes was trying to convince everyone I knew to buy Bitcoin but when they asked me what it was, how it worked, why the world needs it. I was struggling to put my thoughts into words and when I did ramble on about decentralization, blockchain technology, distributed immutable ledgers, cryptography, hash algorithms, etc, I got blank stares or rolling eyes. I quickly realized that I'm not smart enough to explain to somebody what this tech is and how it works partly because I didn't fully understand it either (and still don't tbh)
My goal with this article, is to provide links to people who can explain and stop people from making the number one mistake when making an investment. Before you invest, learn what you are investing in!!! This may seem like basic advice, but it's advice most people in this space don't follow. I'm amazed at the number of people in this ever growing crypto-world who don't have a clue what they are buying.
Why Bitcoin?
"People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it"
Bitcoin was invented in the aftermath of the global financial crisis of 2008 which is considered the worst financial crisis since The Great Depression.
"It began in 2007 with a crisis in the subprime mortgage market in the United States, and developed into a full-blown international banking crisis with the collapse of the investment bank Lehman Brothers on September 15, 2008."
"The response of the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, the Bank of England and other central banks was immediate and dramatic. During the last quarter of 2008, these central banks purchased US$2.5 trillion of government debt and troubled private assets from banks. This was the largest liquidity injection into the credit market, and the largest monetary policy action, in world history."
How much this really cost U.S taxpayers is debatable but conservative estimates approximate the total at around $12.5 Trillion
We didn't survive it, we just put a bandaid on it.
The Financial Crisis and History of Bitcoin is a fantastic Medium article that explains what some of the shady business practices banks are using with your money, and the negative effects it can have on the global economy.
In short, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency's purpose is to enable somebody to become their own bank. In this day and age, there is no reason why there should be a middle-man in between you and your money.
Cryptocurrency also enables people currently handcuffed in 3rd world countries to become a part of the global economy where nobody, no border, bank or political power can deny them the right to save, send and receive money worldwide whenever they desire to. Why our World Needs Digital Currency is a lengthy, well written article that goes into great detail the benefits digital assets offer the world. I highly recommend reading it.What is Bitcoin
This is the most asked question when nerds like myself begin rambling incoherently and yet is the hardest question to answer. It's difficult to explain briefly because Bitcoin is many things. Bitcoin is digital currency yes but that doesn't really tell the whole story. The man I love directing people to to answer this question is Andreas M. Antonopoulos. Andreas is a best-selling author, speaker, educator, and one of the world’s foremost bitcoin and open blockchain experts. He is known for delivering electric talks that combine economics, psychology, technology, and game theory with current events, personal anecdote, and historical precedent effortlessly transliterating the complex issues of blockchain technology out of the abstract and into the real world. He truly has a knack for explaining the basics of Bitcoin and blockchain technology to complete novices. His YouTube channel is a must visit whether you are new to Crypto or a seasoned vet.
TED TALKS
TED is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less). TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, and today covers almost all topics — from science to business to global issues. There are many TED talks covering Bitcoin, cryptocurrency, and blockchain... here are a few of my favorites...
Conclusion
I was going to include in this article "How to Buy and Store Bitcoin" where I talk about crypto exchanges, types of wallets, and how to send/receive crypto, but I think I'll save that for the next one. Besides, I don't recommend anyone immediately jump into the water without first doing their own research and learning as much as they can. This space is filled with ponzi schemes, scams, and morons just shilling their bags. See Bitconnect You really need to be careful who you listen to. Crypto is like an onion, the more layers you peel off, the more there is to figure out.... or as Aristotle said, "The more you know, the more you really don't know."