Ever wondered what crypto currency is and whether it has any relevance to you?
Well I want to teach you a little about why I think blockchain technology (which cryptocurrency is based on) is the next iteration of the world wide web. (Web3.0 in techie parlance). Indeed I believe it's a revolution on a par with the printing press and computing in its day! But so many people are fearful and indeed negative about it.
This is a way to revolutionize finance. Where else can you potentially 6X your money in 18 months? And no, this is not a joke. And it doesn't rely on buying some weird coin and waiting for it to go up in value. These results are dependent on normal investment strategies normally only available to those in the know (ie. the rich).
But first things first, crypto and blockchain are not the same thing. Blockchain is simply the operating system if you like and crypto is a program that runs on it. But in the future many other things will operate on this chain of connected computers (hence blockchain) running what's called 'smart contracts' will use this technology. And not so far in the future either. I would guess within 3-5 years. These smart contracts are immutable and automatic once all the computers agree. Anything that requires a contract or transaction will use it. Think about it: shop purchases, house buying, insurance, virtual land and business ownership (often referred to as the metaverse), It's all up for grabs and the banks are clearly worried.
3 years ago when I first tentatively got involved it was relatively easy to send your native currency (called fiat currency like pounds or dollars) to an exchange, buy crypto like Bitcoin or Etherium and either hold the coin in the hope of it going up in value or invest it into a scheme which puts your money to work. I was attracted to something called Hyperfund which promised returns of 0.5% per day! It seemed totally amazing to me. It was amazing for the 18 months it lasted. Sadly it wasn't run very well and people who got in early or who referred and build teams beneath them did too well and the withdrawals started to outpace the inputs from new members. This is typical of a so-called 'Ponzi' or pyramid scheme. They are illegal but many companies get around this by pretending that your money is actually being earned in a legitimate way. With hyper they sold us the dream of all these fantastic young technical geniuses who were selling their expertise around the world AND setting up lucrative exchanges and deals. It proved to be all hyperbole and puff. After various 'rescue plans' came and then crashed (Hyperverse/nation/cosmos) it all came to nothing. You'd be forgiven for thinking it's all one great scam. And indeed you will find support for that all over the internet. However, like all uncritical thinking this is only partly true.
Some schemes are undoubtedly scams, but there are some very innovative ideas out in the space and I, for one was determined to get involved. I decided to get advice from people who had been in it longer than me. I signed up for various group chats and trainings. I found a British guy called Cash-master who made really good Youtube videos on schemes he thought had viability. I bought into a couple (D.AI.SY and Crypto Performance). Then I experimented with another new one called WeWe Global on his advice. 2 of those have done well and one has not. Not a bad punt.
All the time I noticed that it was getting harder and harder to actually obtain the cryptocurrency that allowed you access to these schemes. Very often I would have my transfer referred to the fraud protection office of my bank. Now I can understand this if I am transferring large sums to loads of different schemes but to be fair it was mostly the same address and in small tranches. Each time I would have to explain that I hadn't been coerced etc. I changed banks several times to see if that made any difference. Eventually even the 'crypto friendly' banks like the Co-op and Santander in the UK put stops on all transactions. So, this isn't just about safety online. It's more about control I feel. Because when you can get 3-5% per week on average, it obviously is a real threat to you putting your money in more traditional savings pots i.e. a bank savings account (average 4-6% per year) or stocks and shares ISAs (just about 0 in the last 2.5 years!)
It seems very clear to me that banks don't want you to experiment with your money, they don't want to lose the massive amount of interest they earn on your deposits.
So, there is a lot to learn about finance when you play in this arena and it is very liberating, if a little scary sometimes. I have lost a lot of my fear of money in the last few years and started to see it as a relationship. Something to help you achieve your goals, but by no means a thing to hoard or spend but to put to work.
This to me is financial freedom. More on what to look out for next time.
If you would like to subscribe to my 'Wary Cryptonaut' Youtube channel please do. on it you will find lots of helpful information about what to look out for. Not a 'how-to' channel but more of a 'what's it all about' kind of channel.
