Since I got into crypto (2017), I have been learning a lot about Bitcoin and Blockchain technology, I learned how to trade, at least how to read graphs, use a few indicators and decide which projects to trade with depending on their development, achievements and events.
I have been reading about news and following everyone I could possibly follow on social media to be as updated as possible. Still, it is hard and impossible to be up to date with every single thing or project in the crypto space.
Where I live, there are not too many people that know about what is Bitcoin, crypto or blockchain. Sometimes this could get a bit frustrating for me, but when it comes to talk about the subject with someone that happens to ask anything about it, I realized I enjoy sharing information and expecting to create some sort of value in that person.
My wife sometimes tells me I should start teaching what I know to people, but I always get a bit doubtful about myself since I am not good at teaching something to someone, nor I consider myself an expert. In fact, every time I watch the youtubers I follow, or when I watch Andreas Antonopoulos giving speeches about Blockchain Technology, I feel I know nothing.
A new goal I am starting to encourage myself to have in my professional life, is to get a Masters Degree in Cryptocurrency and Blockchain tech focusing on Business integration. The offer out there is very low still, but I know soon I will be able to find a University close to my country Panama, have the time and enough money to go and do it.
I know there are options online, but I am more of a presence learning, meet people and networking kind of person.
However, today for the very first time I decided to meet with a couple of friends and have a small little meetup to talk about Bitcoin and the technology behind it. It happens that they wanted to understand and learn more about it.
Since they are starting from scratch, I decided to do it. I did not prepare anything and it was very informal, but I am very happy with the outcome.
We agreed on meeting ourselves at a local smoothie cafe business of one of them today at 10AM. I thought about bringing my laptop but instead I thought it was better to just start talking, use a whiteboard and talk a little bit about the history of Bitcoin, fundamentals and some information on how the network works.
So after I was done with my coffee and feeding my son this morning, I left home with the whiteboard, a couple of markers, two of my Blockchain books for reference, a Bitcoin coin, my HODL hat, and my Crypto notebook.
The books I decided to take with me were:
- Blockchain Revolution by Don and Alex Tapscott
- Blockchain: The industrial internet revolution by Alex Preukschat
My Crypto notebook it is important for me, I have it since 2017 and I am constantly writing on it everything I consider relevant or important for me to remember and learn.
When I got there, I took the opportunity to order a nice bowl of acai, banana, strawberries, yogurt and granola. A perfect way to be welcomed.
Two of them were already there, the owner of the shop and her boyfriend, both of them good friends of mine. Unfortunately, the other friend that was supposed to bring the coffee, he slept in and did not wake up on time, it happens a lot in the Caribbean, especially on a Saturday morning.
Anyways, I am going to try to list all the topics we covered partly in our meetup / crypto speech like this:
I first started to list different examples on how some industries have already transcended from the physical world into the digital world without users thinking too much about it during the last two decades.
Then I talked a little bit about Bitcoin history, explaining “who” Satoshi Nakamoto is and what he did.
When I started to talk about how the Blockchain of Bitcoin works, it was a bit challenging because I did not want to confuse them with the technical part. But basically I explained what a node and a block is, what is Proof of Work, and what the miners do in order to get rewarded.
Talking about the fundamentals was a bit fun, since there were plenty of questions, we even made comparisons between Bitcoin and the Dollar, as well as Bitcoin and Gold.
I explained some important aspects about this amazing digital asset and its intrinsic value.
Then we talked about why there are so many other cryptocurrencies. I explained a little bit of what Open Source code is and since the “know how” of creating a new Blockchain is available, that made it easy for programmers to create new cryptos. I also talked about Scam projects.
They did ask good questions, and I finalized the speech by reviewing what we discussed and also left them some homework:
- Read the Satoshi Whitepaper, I told them that even if you don’t understand something, not to worry.
- To read the entire website of bitcoin.org
We finalized the meeting with a good cup of coffee. They were very grateful and excited, even one of them was already searching on Netflix about Bitcoin documentaries to watch tonight.
We will organize another meeting, in which we will review everything we saw today and also we will talk about the different type of Blockchains, how it is disrupting other industries such as Social Media, and how to choose the right wallet.
I feel very happy we did this, and by writing this post I am feeling motivated to write a following post where I specify everything that I explained and how I explained it so you can give me feedback.
Thank You!
