197 - Crypto 101 - The Cryptocurrency Beginner’s Tutorial! W/ Boris Peysakhov

Are you curious what question I get asked most these days is? “Krisstina, what do you think of Cryptocurrency?” 6 months ago I was rarely asked this question. 

You’d have to live under a rock to not know that Cryptocurrency, especially Bitcoin, has been exploding. That, had you purchased one coin a year ago at $3000, you’d see that investment being worth about $40K today. So, where historically Bitcoin and cryptocurrency has been something we’ve known exists, it’s seemed to be of little consequence so we paid no attention to it. Well, it now has our attention!

Why has Crypto, out of nowhere it seems, skyrocketed in price and therefore awareness? 

There are many complex reasons that are above my pay grade. To sum those explanations up into one ‘at the end of the day’ reason is that major institutional investors with millions and billions of dollars, who have never before invested in the blockchain, are now moving their fiat currency (government-backed) to this new land of opportunity. The sentiment has become, “if those smart cookies are moving their money there, well, maybe I should too.” 

What is cryptocurrency in a nutshell and is it safe? 

It is a newer way of decentralizing our financial system that allows for full transparency. “Decentralized” meaning there is no central authority that manages the records or has any say in the network. The government-controlled US dollar is reaching record highs of inflation and devaluation. Old forms of retirement funds and investments are becoming less and less reliable as a way of saving for your future. 

So, for those who see the current financial system as fragile due to the current state of affairs (printing dollars like monopoly money), crypto is fast becoming the new marketplace to transact and store money (among many other cool things).  

As a result, it’s becoming easier and easier to transact using a token like bitcoin. Payment processors such as Square’s Cashapp and Paypal give the option to buy and sell bitcoin in their apps. These bigger institutions are starting to recognize that cryptocurrency is here to stay and they don’t want to miss the boat. 

Blockchain technology is considered radically disruptive in that it has the capability to transform every trust-based interaction of our lives, from financial services to identity, from health care to our election system. There are endless possibilities for the framework that cryptocurrency is built around. So, blockchain technologies are considered highly disruptive and expected to radically change life as we know it. Like trying to remember the day pre-internet, there will be a day in the not so far away future where we’ll try to remember life before cryptocurrency. 

What about cryptocurrency as an investment? 

Cryptocurrency may become a leading place to steer investment dollars. If you ask my  Crypto-genius friends they wholeheartedly believe that the BlockChain and Cryptocurrency IS the future. It’s just a matter of time. And where it was believed to be a way out, it’s now believed that the time is now. 

What is the difference between Blockchain and Cryptocurrency? 

This was one of my first questions when I was trying to understand the basics of this new landscape. The two terms were often conflated and used interchangeably which caused me to think they were the same thing. One doesn’t really exist without the other, but they are different. To over-simplify, think of Cryptocurrency as “virtual money”. It’s considered a digital asset that functions as a medium of exchange (like cash in digital form). The “technology” behind the cryptocurrencies are called Blockchains -- which serve as a shared ledger that records all transactions and is controlled by a global network of computers (not people). 

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