Sharpen Your Pencils For a Lesson in Cryptocurrency

The term ‘cryptocurrency’ has always been to me a bit…cryptic.  When I first heard the term, I thought it may be the points earned in a video game, something like, reach the top of the mountain and earn cryptocurrency. 

But, when I began to hear more about it, that it’s a real thing, something with value, I began to take notice. That more and more people – including my own family for gosh sakes — were investing in it, earning interest, and including it into a retirement portfolio. I was, like, what’s going on? I needed to know more.

And then I heard about Daniel Yurcho. He’s a blockchain* entrepreneur and crypto expert with a mission to encourage women to learn more about this new investment opportunity because of the following factors: the masculine culture of virtual investing has deterred women from getting involved; the potential for women to succeed in this new digital currency field is great; and how with so little women involved, the “female perspective” is missing. What female perspective, I asked. “The message in crypto right now is largely ‘get rich quick,’ which I believe is harmful,” Yurcho explains. “Men are very risk-heavy in their investments and that’s why it seems like the industry is currently male-dominated. I believe with more women involved, that message will shift to focus on projects that build wealth over time, and more sound-investing.” 

I asked if he would explain it to me as if I were in kindergarten, and since this thirty-year-old is very used to explaining cryptocurrency to his parents, I knew I was in the right place. So, my first question to Daniel was this: What is cryptocurrency and why did it get created? His answer: It’s a form of digital currency that brings asset control back to the owner. The currency can be transferred instantly from peer to peer versus waiting days for a bank check to clear, or a wire transfer to go through. It’s even quicker, he says, than Venmo and PayPal. Also, it’s decentralized, meaning, there is no one centralized place to attack the “network,” so transactions on the network are safer.  

Daniel Yurcho (Photo Credit: Liz Hough)

It was started by a group of anonymous computer experts in response to the money crises of 2008. Not the real estate bubble we all heard about, he says, but in response to how the banks were failing and needed a government bailout. These anonymous computer financial people also made sure to limit the amount of cryptocurrency created or “mined,” and so making it scarce which then makes it valuable.To that end, only 21 million Bitcoins, for example, will ever exist. 

Next question: when we say “it,” what do we mean? Cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin, is a digital alternative to the dollar, and is kept in the owners “digital wallet.” His generation already does most things digitally, but the older generation, the baby boomers, the ones that only know paper money, are taking longer to embrace the concept. But, he says, if you have money in the bank, you’re already experiencing this digital financial world. “While you may have thousands in your account, you couldn’t go to the bank and make a withdrawal of every dollar you have in there,” he says. “The banks have it invested, and you’d have to wait days or weeks for the whole amount to be available to you.” The bottom line: the money in your bank account is already being held in a kind of digital state.  

Investing in cryptocurrency, he says, comes with risks, so it’s advised that anyone new to the game research it via reputable financial organizations like Forbes, and view cryptocurrency tutorial videos before putting any money into it. In fact, Yurcho took a year to educate himself before investing in it. The future of cryptocurrency, as far as its growth is concerned is unknown, since there’s no history, and therefore, no trends, like we have with stocks and bonds. Plus, it’s not federally insured. China has banned crypto because it cannot be controlled, or monitored as closely as their own currency, but, says Yurcho, not every country will be able to ban it, only totalitarian or communist nations like China have had success. “The network will continue to live on no matter what countries choose not to adopt the technology – this digital world is not going away,” he says.

To learn more about Daniel Yurcho, visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-yurcho-60174a20b/ and https://www.consultweb3.com/

*blockchain is the technology that tracks crypto transactions across a network of computers. 

Top photo: Bigstock

About MJ Hanley-Goff (168 Articles)
MJ Hanley-Goff has been contributing to Woman Around Town since its inception in 2009. She began her career at Newsday in the early 90’s and has continued writing professionally for other New York publications like the Times Herald-Record, Orange Magazine, and Hudson Valley magazine. Former editor of Hudson Valley Parent magazine, she also contributed stories to AAA’s Car & Travel, and Tri-County Woman. After completing her novel and a self-help book, she created MJWRITES, INC. to offer writing workshops and book coaching to first time authors, and also college essay writing help to students. MJ has recently made St. Augustine, Florida her home base, and is thrilled and honored to continue to write for WAT and the amazing adventures it offers. Despite the new zip code, MJ will continue to keep a pulse on New York events, but will continue to focus on the creative thinkers, doers, and artists wherever they are.