Welcome to the exciting world of cryptocurrencies! The more I know about this nascent ecosystem the more I get excited on knowing more about it and how I can be part of this socio-economic movement. However, proper knowledge about cryptocurrency does not come by so easily. For one, there is so much negative information about cryptocurrencies and worse, traditional news outlets and supposedly experts in the field of finance have painted a very negative picture of how people use it in the real world.

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Knowing this, people with knowledge about cryptocurrencies has the responsibility to inform those who are new to the space especially those who are misinformed experts in order for them to truly understand what it is and more importantly what it is trying to accomplish. To give you a better understanding let me narrate to you how I got to know about cryptocurrencies and why it is so important that more people get to know more about it. Moreover I will also show you proof that knowledge of this subject may result to a life changing financial experience. I am no expert, however I hope by sharing my humble beginnings will inspire you to start your own cryptocurrency journey.

How I Came to know about cryptocurrencies (Digital Assets)

More than two years ago I left my home to pursue a life on my own. In doing so I needed to find work that I am qualified for. Unfortunately my options were not that great since I am only a High school graduate and the most of the work that I am qualified for are low paying or labor intensive jobs with long hours of work. The last work I had required me to work until the wee hours of the night thus exposing me to unnecessary risk each time I go home. One night I got mugged. That is the time that I have decided that I would rather stay at home and do online work instead. I started looking for work on Facebook where I discovered Bitcoin, the first digital asset that got me interested with cryptocurrencies. This was after trying out several online jobs/ businesses that quite honestly did not give me any financial growth at all.

At first I was really confused about Bitcoin and I wondered why a lot of people are really excited about it. Honestly what really allured me to Bitcoin is the prospect of participating in the many Bitcoin money making schemes available online, in the hope that it will give me financial success and freedom. After a while I have learned that most of these schemes are scams and instead of making money I have lost from it. Those were painful experiences but this did not deterred me from pursuing to know more about it and try to figure out leverage it and be as successful as other cryptocurrency investors. That is exactly what I did. With sheer determination and an unfettered hope I set out to learn more about cryptocurrencies, how they work and how become successful in the crypto space.

With the help of other Cryptocurrency/Blockchain enthusiast I was able to learn more about it and I could say I have garnered enough experience both from my successes and failures in the past to have operational knowledge to invest smartly in the space. I even learned ways on how to invest in cryptocurrencies without eking out money from my own pocket just by participating in activities that sought to spread awareness about digital assets or more commonly known as cryptocurrencies, these activities are called airdrops, bounties and crypto contests which I truly think are effective ways of spreading the great opportunity of cryptocurrencies.

Learning through teaching and what people should learn first

Once you learn more about cryptocurrencies it is not hard to understand the immense opportunities in this space. Not only in helping yourself financially but in the way we live our day to day lives. That is why I sought out a deeper understanding about the subject by trying to teach others about what it is and how we can leverage it to attain financial freedom. By teaching we are forced to have a better understanding of the subject we trying teach, we need to remember details more accurately and execute strategies more efficiently and effectively. Through teaching others we discover any gaps we may have in our own knowledge and make us learn harder. By explaining digital assets to people that comes from different backgrounds, experiences and expectations forces us to think carefully how we explain things.

Photo by Andre Francois on Unsplash

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As I have mentioned above, knowledge about digital assets or more popularly known as cryptocurrencies is paramount to be successful in the said field. The lack of knowledge have led to erroneous representations in main stream news outlets and even pundits who many view as experts in fields of finance have incompetently branded such assets as bubbles or just a passing fad; a soon-to fail technological experiment by millennials who wants to make their own money. Even highly respected people views digital assets just a new financial mechanism that were designed for illicit activities of criminals or people with bad intentions. Of course this is not the case. Hence we need to educate everyone that digital assets are here not for the use of criminals but it is here to empower people with a new financial ecosystem that seeks for a more equitable financial mechanism for everyone that knows how to use it properly and effectively.

Transparent, Secure and Cost Effective, these are the three primary attributes of digital assets. It is Transparent because most of digital assets uses blockchain technology or similar distributed ledger technology (DLT) to make an immutable records of transactions. Once a transaction is made, a recording of the transaction cannot be undone and forever be etched on the blockchain. This record can be seen by all participants though a blockchain explorer making it very transparent. The record is immutable and secured by what we call a consensus protocol we can be sure that the record is correct. A consensus protocol is the means by which a particular digital asset maintains a single version of the truth, it ensures that all records are accurate and every ledger balances out. Lastly, digital assets are said to be more cost effective when doing transactions. Generally speaking this is true although some might argue that moving Bitcoin is more costly specially in micro transactions, but remember there are more than 1,000 digital assets in the space by learning how to utilize the different cryptocurrencies you will be able to use that best suits your required transactions.

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Now that we know that digital assets are transparent, Secure and Cost Effective, we now delve into the subject of its legality. For many years proponents in the cryptocurrency community have work hard to bring some sort of legitimacy into crypto space. I can say for certain that it is bearing fruit as more and more sovereign countries in the world beginning to acknowledge this burgeoning industry and its underlying technology: Blockchain Technology or Distributed ledger Technology. Slowly but surely more and more countries in the world are beginning to regulate the digital asset space which is essential for the continual growth and adoption of the technology. They are doing this with a light handed approach to ensure they don’t stifle innovation and at the same time protect people who plan to invest in digital assets.

Protection is essential in digital assets investments. It is common knowledge that investments made in such asset types are highly risky not only due to the volatile nature of market prices but the deluge of money making schemes that are out to scam unsuspecting digital asset investors. When I was still new to cryptocurrencies I have been a victim of HYIP (High-Yield Investment Programs), Lending Coin Ponzi Schemes, Cryptocurrency Multi-level Schemes, Fake Cloud-Mining Sites and Fake Initial Coin offering. It must be noted though that some of these project might now have intended to scam people out of their money, however, shifting market conditions, security breaches or even just poor financial management of the token issuers can turn a seemingly legitimate project into scam. Digital assets has lowered the boundary to enter and participate in investments but in the same sense have increase the exposure of new investors from falling prey to scammers or poor digital investment projects.

How Can We Protect Digital Asset Investors

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Knowledge is the best protection. Digital Asset Investing can be a very rewarding experience but at the same time can spell disaster to beginners and experts alike. Therefore careful study of any investment into projects is a must. Of course to be able to do this you should be able to determine by yourself if a certain project is worth investing on and you can only do this if you have the necessary know –how on qualifying projects. One must learn the fundamentals when assessing projects that one might want to invest on. A simple recommendation from a stranger online is not enough but in most cases, they will give just give you positive insights of certain projects and not the whole picture. As a rule of thumb in any investment “do your own research” don’t just rely on someone else to do it for you.

I particularly like the approach of Huobi in making sure that traders and investors are well informed about digital assets they have in their platform. They have incentivized activities that basically educate people about digital assets and allied industries like exchanges, how they work and what they mean. Activities that gives participants the opportunity to interact with CEO and Founders of projects found in their Huobi trading platform via Youtube Live broadcast called “ Huobi Talk”. Incentivized twitter quizzes to reinforce what viewers have learned in their 60 seconds Youtube video tutorial called “Blockchain 101.” Local events that seek to spread more awareness about digital assets investments and their trading platform. And lastly Contests, that incentivize sharing of cryptocurrency related experiences of experienced crypto traders to other people who wants a concrete example of what this space can bring to them. In this regard I can honestly say that Huobi is not only interested in making profits but wants to genuinely protect its investors in making bad investment decisions. This is a hallmark trait of an organization that is in for the long run and an organization that understands that the success of its platform is closely tied to the financial success of its users.

How can we invite people to join Digital Asset Investments

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I am a 100% cryptocurrency earner. This means that all of my earnings come from doing cryptocurrency related work like ICO participation, Trading, Bounties/Airdrops and Cryptocurrency Blogging/News research. Modesty aside I think being able to pay for rent, utilities, food, clothing and have savings on the side give you a clear idea that cryptocurrency / digital asset investment is a very lucrative endeavor. Of course there is a stiff learning curve on how to do this, but, you will be happy to know that there is a strong cryptocurrency community that is willing to help you succeed in this field. In my honest opinion the best way to invite people in digital asset investment is by showing them that you yourself can succeed. And I have. Showing them that if a simple, under graduate teenage girl from the Philippines was able to gain certain amount of success in this field then there is a far greater chance that they too can do the same.

Cryptocurrencies and its underlying technology have paved the way for a more egalitarian financial service in the world. Exchanges like Huobi have enabled ordinary people like me to participate in the world economy. The internet liberated information and knowledge making it possible to exchange information at the speed of thought. With the dawn of digital assets we have the power to transform the internet not only as the internet of information but the internet of value where we can freely exchange value without the intrusion of centralized organizations or governments, where ever and whenever we might be. In some sense cryptocurrency is the emancipation of money and the money of truly free people.

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