What blockchain could do for financial literacy

Sunday, January 29, 2023 9:02 PM

There is a common misconception that once you start learning about Bitcoin, you go down the rabbit hole. Today I would like to bind Stuart Hylton’s book “What the Railways Did for Us: Creating Modern Britain– especially the chapter on literacy – with crypto. Here is what the author says:

“The train was a natural place to sit (or stand) and read, and it remains so: a railroad car probably accommodates more readers each day than the average small-town library. (Harrington) The early years of the railroad saw significant advances in the nation’s literacy. According to one estimate, 75% of the population in 1840 could read a little and 60% could write. Male literacy, by another estimate, rose from 67% to 80% between 1841 and 1870, with female rates rising from 51% to 73%.

Not everyone considered literate would have been familiar with all of Shakespeare’s works, but how many were able to do much more than sign their name in a marriage register? Likewise, you don’t have to become a blockchain developer, but you want to single out interesting projects and learn how to create your own wallet.

How did people discover the world of cryptocurrencies?

“Before the railways, there was no real national newspaper. By the time the London papers appeared in the more remote parts of the provinces, their news was becoming obsolete, and it generally carried little specific provincial interest. Similarly, provincial newspapers such as the Manchester Guardian (founded in 1821) carried only “late echoes of the London press”.

Similarly, people never fully controlled their money before blockchain introduced a decentralized and trustless environment. What I have noticed, however, is that people should first understand what money is and how it works, before moving on to decentralized money on the blockchain. Here are some resources that help newbie blockchain enthusiasts.

1. The Udemy platform is a real find for anyone who wants to learn about cryptocurrencies, blockchain and trading. Many courses and free courses are available on the site.
2. The Coin Diligent website engages blockchain industry experts and shares their experiences and opinions with its readers. Experts research crypto investing topics, provide security tips, recommend the best exchanges, and discuss the latest crypto industry news and developments.
3. BLOC-511DL: Introduction to Digital Currencies is a free online course on blockchain technology and digital currencies. At the end of the course, an exam tests your understanding of the concepts presented.
4. The 99Bitcoins website is a must read for anyone starting to dive into the crypto space. The platform is constantly updating its manuals and adding new reviews. Whether you are looking for a good cryptocurrency exchange or setting up your first setup for mining, you will find the answer to any question in this resource.

“The rise of industrial capitalism, with its work ethic and emphasis on self-improvement, is one of them, as is the transformation of the state’s view of education, of laissez-faire do, through the support of voluntary providers, to the Education Act of 1870. , ensuring compulsory education for all children between the ages of five and thirteen”.

Lessons must be carefully planned to address any behavioral biases that make children (and adults) lousy with money. Students need to see real case studies of people who have made bad decisions and suffered financial loss. They also need to know more about those who amassed wealth gradually rather than miraculously. Above all, students must be carefully taught the value of money. How to earn it, how to invest it, how to grow and save it, and how to spend it wisely.

Just as they learned to use steam as a steam printing press centuries ago, allowing many more copies of books to be published, blockchain introduced features that others could apply to their work and their enterprise: an immutable ledger, smart contracts, and a network of untrusted participants. But one can acquire not only in theory but also by practice.

Approaches to increasing crypto knowledge:

• Parachuting is a type of marketing strategy used by cryptocurrency entrepreneurs. This involves giving tokens to current cryptocurrency traders in exchange for a minor promotional service or giving them free tokens to put in their wallet. The Airdrop aims to expand the ownership of the cryptocurrency startup and raise awareness.

• Bitcoin Cranes were popular early on, allowing users to earn bitcoin (and eventually learn more) while performing small tasks or watching advertisements. Payments were made in very small amounts, so you had to use several dozen cranes and do the activity for several months to earn real money.

• Prime is a cryptocurrency incentive given to anyone who can complete a specific task or set of tasks. Crypto projects that need to expand their community and attract new users frequently create bounties. As a result, you might receive a bounty just for performing simple actions like joining their Telegram channel, following the project on Twitter, and retweeting one of their tweets or blog posts.

• learn to win is a procedure in which individuals can gain expertise in a particular field while earning money by taking question-and-answer exams. For cryptocurrency investors, it is an income model that motivates them to gain technical expertise, promoting cryptocurrency trading and education.

• play to win are online games that allow players to earn rewards with real value by completing tasks, competing against other players, and progressing through multiple game levels. In-game items, including crypto-tokens currency, virtual land, as well as skins, weapons, and other NFTs, are used as rewards.

“The forced inactivity of train travel created a huge captive market for readers (60 million passenger trips a year in 1850) and retailers spotted the opportunity.”

The forced observation of monetary inflation led people to explore new ways of preserving capital…just as the railways helped give Britain the mid-19th century equivalent of electronic mail, Blockchain will play an important role in the world, providing everyone with a tool to create and store value.