My Blockchain Journey: Discovering Cryptocurrency

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I have no idea how I got on the email list, but the content that popped into my inbox has forever changed my life. No, I’m not an investor or even anyone who has much banking knowledge. I’m just a student working as a chef, aspiring to become a middle school Science teacher, and now – suddenly - the world of blockchain is being opened up for me.

I remember many years ago hearing about Bitcoin, but never really understood exactly what it was. Bitcoin was just some conversation joke that got thrown around whenever anyone talked about accepting payment for something.

“Do you take Bitcoin?” someone would ask, chuckling under their breath.

“Oh, no not yet,” the answer would come in return, laden with the same humorous edge.

Bitcoin wasn’t taken very seriously, and, in some circles, it still remains in the shadows of unacceptance. I have learned lately, though, the world of blockchain that has given energetic life to cryptocurrencies has far more reaching potential than I might ever have imagined. For example, here we are on Steemit – fully driven by blockchain technology.

To return to my story - after reading through several of the emails (from whom I will not mention), I became deeply fascinated. When I came into the picture in November, Bitcoin was trading at $5500. Very quickly over the next five weeks, I watched the bubble grow and grow and grow – up to an astonishing $20,000. This was amazing (as I’m sure all of you already know) and I found myself getting caught up in the excitement, wishing I had $10,000 to risk on investment. Since I do not, I decided to focus entirely on educating myself (which everyone should do anyway).

I went to the Udemy website and found Ravinder Deol’s course on Bitcoin for Beginners. It is free and in the introduction video he seemed like a good instructor. After watching all of the videos I finally had a better understanding of cryptocurrencies and I also had a small plethora of resource websites to check out. I opened up a wallet and have been actively working to get my first Satoshis from a faucet.

I decided to join the Steem community not only because I love to write about a myriad of subjects but I also want to learn more about this incredibly complex future – as I do believe blockchain is a cutting-edge, common sense evolution of technology. We already pay bills online, use debit and credit cards, and receive direct deposits. All of this is performed without a single piece of fiat money exchanging hands. One of the biggest arguments against cryptocurrencies is that it is not tangible money. But, aren’t we already accepting of digital currency when many of us would have a difficult time coming up with $2,000 in cash? A lot of our “money” is already intangible and we are not only okay with it, but we prefer digital transactions.

I welcome all of you to reach out with any thoughts you may have… thank you!