Crypto Basics

A Beginner's Guide to Cryptocurrency Investing

By: Michelle Lilly, Uzo Odili

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Length: 1 hr and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

If you are looking for a straightforward and simple guide on how to jump in the cryptocurrency market, this is it. Learning a new skill might be uncomfortable at first, but do not misconstrue this as difficulty. Investing your earnings in assets that on average will increase in value over time is easy. For decades, people have been buying gold and silver to give their money a chance to grow in value instead of shrinking with inflation. The supercomputer in your pocket right now has a lightning-fast connection to the rest of the world. Your smartphone is your key to joining the Decentralized Finance revolution. You now have the choice between money that decreases in value every year and money that increases in value over time.

According to Forbes Magazine, major US banks reported over $12 Billion income from overdraft fees in 2020. That’s the money you, your family, and your friends worked hard for and saved in the middle of a global pandemic, and it’s gone. And what did you receive in exchange for these fees you paid? The privilege of saving your money in a fancy bank account that collects more dust than interest? If you’re too busy not laughing out loud, you might be wondering why we use banks at all. There are benefits to banking but watching your money grow is not one of them.

Why do banks hold our money? Why do banks dictate who gets a loan? Why do we let big corporations control our financial opportunities? The traditional financial institutions pick and choose who gets access to loans and fair financing. How can we trust them to be impartial gatekeepers for the next generation of financial investments? During the pandemic, most small businesses struggled with slow or no access to PPP loans while corporations and large businesses received red carpet treatment. Even the stock markets are monopolized by financial institutions and big trading companies who use fiberoptic internet to trade faster than any one person can participate. The decisions that determine who is granted real access to profitable opportunities are too often made behind boardroom doors.


Cryptocurrency offers a way to divorce ourselves from the current financial system and the way it constricts our growth, a way to emancipate from the constructs that have held us down for centuries. The banks gamble with our money, keep 99.9% of the profit when they win and get reimbursed by the government when they lose. Do we really expect them to let us into the game? When whole cultures and generations of people have been blocked from the opportunity to invest meaningfully and earn a decent return on investment, are we surprised that our economics revolve around borrowing money from others? What if we could grow our own finances without permission from the mysterious people who oversee the financial system from the shadows? We already know that low interest rate loans are not available for everyone. It is a privilege to be able to borrow large amounts of money from strangers, a privilege that is not available to everyone. Imagine if you could cultivate your own ability to multiply your savings without relying on the big banks? Crypto investing offers that opportunity to anyone willing to try something new.