Before writing about unschooling in 2018, my focus was on cryptocurrency investment. I hosted Bitcoin Startup Parties in multiple countries, teaching those interested the basics of cryptocurrency.

Presenting at the Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Masterclass: January 2018 Edition

I wrote a guide for those whom I couldn't teach personally called the Bitcoin Startup Guide.

Available on Amazon. Get yours before the next bull run!

I shared my insights on cryptocurrency at the 2018 Cross Border Summit in Shenzhen

and the 2019 Escape Artist Conference in Phoenix, Arizona.

I do not profess to be the foremost authority, but I do know how cryptocurrencies work and have a knack for explaining it to people unfamiliar with this type of thing.

This article will be a very basic overview of what cryptocurrency is and why it is awesome!

What is Cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrency is money that you control and can spend however you want.

What does that mean? Isn't the money in your bank or PayPal account yours?

Actually...no.

Funds deposited into a bank or PayPal become a liability of that institution. That money actually belongs to them.

It may not seem like a big deal now, but it sure was 100 years ago when banks would regularly close, leaving its customers with nothing. Some bank customers in Cyprus learned this lesson the hard way when much of their money was taken from them in March 2013.

Cryptocurrency users were not affected.

As the world economy looks to be entering the "Greater Depression," that could be very important to remember.

No Restrictions

Living in China can be a lot of fun, unless one is trying to move money outside the country, either as a foreigner or a Chinese citizen.

Foreigners now face restrictions on the amount of RMB they can have in their wallets and Chinese citizens have limits on how much they can withdraw abroad.

Cryptocurrency users own their money directly. We can spend it however we want, whenever we want. To reiterate, cryptocurrency owners actually own their own money. The rest of you don't.

It is FAST

Quick question: What is the fastest way to send $10,000 from Singapore to Los Angeles?

Get on a plane and deliver it yourself.

Yep. In 2019, with all of our other advancements, money is still stuck in the 1970s. That's not an accident, by the way.

Using cryptocurrency, your transaction is pretty much instantaneous. (There are many different kinds of cryptocurrencies, which have different transaction speeds). Transaction times usually range from 1 second to a few minutes.

The first cryptocurrency, bitcoin, was designed to be "A Peer to Peer Electronic Cash System."

This is the original Bitcoin white paper, which you can read here

Inclusive and Decentralized

Decentralized. That is another one of those words along with blockchain, bitcoin, crypto...

Cryptocurrencies are awesome because they are decentralized. That means there is no central point of authority or failure.

For example, the bitcoin transaction ledger is stored on millions of different computers around the world (and in space), meaning that anyone can join the network and help secure the network.

Buy What You Want

There is something coming to China called the Social Credit Score. Maybe you have heard about it. With it, society's controllers will manipulate behavior for their desired ends. Other nations' governments will likely implement a similar version of it.

Do what they want, your score goes up. Do what you want, your score may go down.

Adults treated like little boys and girls by Big Brother.

Some cryptocurrencies are completely anonymous, granting you privacy in your personal life.

How Do They Work?

Cryptocurrency relies on something called a block chain or distributed ledger technology.

Each wallet address has a unique code called a private key. This private key, using cryptography or a special code or cipher, can generate a unique signature for each transaction the wallet sends.

It is similar to how each person has a unique fingerprint or written signature that they can use to prove their identity. The good news is that the bitcoin wallet generates this private key and does the cryptography for you.

The even better news is that no one can duplicate your digital signature.

All of this might seem totally confusing and make you want to avoid cryptocurrency. If so, I have a question for you...

Do you use email?

I imagine you do, and you have been using it for years. But do you know how email works?

Cryptocurrencies are still in their beginning stages and can seem very technical to use. Like the internet, they will become more user-friendly over time.

It is good to be ahead of the curve, which is why you should learn about it now.

This is a very brief overview, so if you would like to know more about how it works, consult the University of YouTube.

Why It Is Awesome

One word: Liberation.

The painting Liberty Has Arrived by Michael Godard, commissioned by Joby Weeks

In the United States, it has been over 100 years since the average person had this amount of freedom over their money. In some areas of the world, it has been much much longer.

Do you hear me everyone? The jail doors are open! The guards aren't looking and the coast is clear! You don't have to be controlled by banks, governments, or institutions any longer.

Investors, there was a time when the financial markets did not resemble a casino. Wouldn't that make your life easier? It can be better, and cryptocurrencies are one way to do that.

It has NEVER been so easy to own your money and therefore this new freedom may feel uncertain, unfamiliar, or even a little scary.

That is normal and it is okay. Just come out from the cave and breathe the FREE air.

Before there were so many restrictions. One had to go through intermediaries who would help themselves to a piece of your pie. Now it is amazingly more efficient.

It gets even better. At the metaphysical level, money is just a form of energy.

It's there in the words we use to describe it: The flow of currency. From a spiritual standpoint, if the parasites and energy vampires become a thing of the past, imagine the kind of world for us to enjoy!

Discernment is still necessary. The old leechlike institutions will do everything they can to trick you into choosing them. In November of last year, Christine Lagarde, head of the IMF told an audience in Singapore that central banks should issue their own digital currencies.

If that is the case, and if people accept them, say goodbye to the few freedoms we have left. Using a digital currency, they could shut you off and out of the system if they chose to, unlike bitcoin and other decentralized cryptocurrencies, where that is impossible.

Digital currency is very interesting. In the hands of the wrong people, it represents total control. In the hands of you and me, it represents a road to our freedom.

Which will it be? Total control or total freedom?

I have been learning about the Tarot cards. They are much more useful than as a prop for fortune tellers. The symbolism contains valuable messages.

Take this card, for instance. It is one I like to use in my presentations.

What do you see? A man and a woman, chained to a putrid beast. Are they his prisoners? Perhaps, but look closer. Observe the chains around their necks.

They are loose. The people can slip them off at any time...and be free.

These people can be free if they want to be. And so can we.

Digital currency could either help totally liberate or totally enslave Humanity.

Which one will happen? The one which Humanity most desires.

有办法,

-Michael McGillicuddy

Arizona, United States