In this blog post I want to answer the question why I started Hodl Helper:
A an educational approach as Blogger/Twitter-Amplifier/Youtuber-channel dedicated to education about wallets, the usage of digital assets, and self-sovereign identity.
Edit (Feb. 2020): I did a re-branding to SSI Ambassador. It perfectly aligns with the aim of empowering people. Let’s initiate self-sovereign identity!
There is nothing more tempting for a technology nerd than an open platform, which promises to disrupt industries and shifts power back to the people. Of course, I’m talking about the blockchain technology. While being way more than a bunch of decentralized networks, we will stick with this explanation for now. Being the underlying technology for cryptocurrencies and other digital assets the term “blockchain” quickly got used as a buzzword and was thrown around by people who know as much about blockchain as they do about gravitational microlensing — nothing.
Since this whole ‘Bitcoin thing’ sounds interesting, let’s learn something about it! Why not take a good cup of tea and dedicate a quiet Sunday evening for a reading or video session to understand how it works? Under the assumption of having a basic knowledge as a trained technician in information and telecommunication systems, it shouldn’t be too hard, or? What a fool I was!
Don’t invest in something you don’t understand. Following this basic rule of investing, I took my time to learn. To own digital money existing on permissionless systems is very tempting. After dedicating some hours per day to learn about PoW, game theory, and asymmetric cryptography for six months, I finally decided to buy my very first Bitcoin (or rather a part of it) — since learning by doing is important too ;)
Bitcoin is everything you don’t understand about money combined with everything you don’t understand about computers. — unknown.
Everybody who is going down the rabbit hole will be exposed to many price predictions, ICO reviews, and other investment opportunities. Especially during the bull run in 2017, this was as annoying as using the internet without AdBlock. Being from a generation, which abounded cable TV and embraces YouTube, Netflix, and curiosity stream, I always searched for the best educational content to learn more. Just to find out that a lot of YouTubers dedicated to the crypto topic used technical analysis or industry news to justify their opinion that the next bitcoin bull run is just around the corner. Good thing we have plenty of good written content!
During my learning journey, I realized that wallets are the most essential aspect of data sovereignty. Wallets are key management applications, which are used to store and manage digital keys. Different keys and cryptographic schemas are used for different functions. A self-custody wallet brings all of it together. Hence, they are the gateway to interact with decentralized networks and provide the user with a tool to control his*her identity. Everybody who wants to own digital assets or interacts with DLT/Blockchain based networks requires some kind of wallet or custody service.
You can use bitcoin without understanding how a blockchain works, but you need to know the basics about wallets. — Adrian Doerk
I’m by far no expert, but already gained some experiences. So let’s give it a try! The content of the channel Hodl Helper will primarily be about wallets, self-sovereign identity and the usage of digital assets in general.
I’m convinced that I found a niche in which the demand far outstrips its supply. The growth of my twitter impressions of 1,6 million percent seem to confirm my assumption.
It’s not faked, but I just got 11 impressions the month before :D
This is an open minded approach — let’s see where we will be in 5 years. Since these are the early days of this channel and it is as much a learning journey for me as it is for my viewers/readers, I would like to kindly ask you to provide me with feedback and input about topics, my execution or other suggestions.
Thank you for your attention!
Adrian Doerk (2019 Hodl Helper)
PS: Don’t forget — Own your keys!
