Thriving in the Blockchain Economy: 5 Simple Keys To Help Get You Started

So you’ve heard about bitcoin, and maybe you’ve even heard the term blockchain, but you haven’t really been able to get a sense of what it truly is and why it matters.

Fear not, you are not alone. The reality is that you don’t have to be a tech developer in order to benefit in the emerging Blockchain Economy any more than you need to fully grasp protocols of the world wide web in order to surf the net or check your email.

Of course, that wasn’t always the case. Over the past eight years, the infrastructure of the Blockchain Economy has been under construction. Up until now, the world of blockchain has been largely focused on doing the technical work, solving technical issues and laying the groundwork for mass adoption.

2017 is the year that the curtains are metaphorically pulled back for the average user to participate in the Blockchain Economy in a meaningful way.

2017 is the year that blockchain-based applications (discussed in this post) hit mass consciousness — just like bank machines did in the 1980s and like the internet did in the late 1990s.

This is the year that the abstract becomes practical and the theories begin to shift into reality.

As someone who has been in and around the blockchain movement for several years — not as a developer, but as a researcher, an observer, and a community builder, I realize that it can be fairly easy to get overwhelmed by all of the buzz and all the new terminology.

My goal is to simplify; to present some of the fundamental considerations that will give you a basic awareness of how to navigate within the blockchain universe in a way that your experience becomes one of maximum learning/usefulness, and minimum discomfort/uncertainty.

So with that, here are 5 key concepts that I have found to be useful as both considerations and as points of reference to avoid some of the less productive aspects of the Blockchain Economy, and to stay aligned with the potential that exists for this technology to be a force for good.

1. Get a Cryptocurrency wallet. A wallet is actually a long string of numbers/letters that looks like this: 19SPmvW8mJqb8wddaHyShDsUEkkxL454VZ

You will need to install a wallet application/client to use it — similar to an email program that you would use for email.

My suggestion is that you use Jaxx wallet. You can download it from Apple store and enable it as an extension on your browser. There are a number of reasons why I prefer this app to most others out there which I am not going to get into here, except to say that it is simple and user-friendly, and it enables you to send receive multiple cryptocurrencies — not just Bitcoin. (Disclosure: my brother and his team are the creators of this app, but I have no financial involvement in its development)

2. Start By transacting small amounts. Unlike conventional money, cryptocurrencies are intended to support micro payments. There are multiple benefits to this feature which I won’t cover here, however, sending amounts of cryptocurrency equivalent to a fraction of a penny are feasible. At the time of writing this, 1 Bitcoin (BTC) is roughly equal to $1100 USD. Therefore, 0.00011 BTC is equal to approximately 0.11$. You can experiment with transactions of these kinds of amounts (or less) to get comfortable with the technology without risk of losing any significant amounts. (feel free to message me and ask me to send you a small amount so you can see how it works)

3. Take Responsibility. With cryptocurrency transactions, there is there is maximum transparency/reliability but minimal support. You are responsible for your wallet information; no one else is. I would suggest that you may want to have a simple text file somewhere that holds any passwords/codes you need in case you ever have to reset/restore anything.

4. Go Slowly. Understanding even the basics of blockchain technology and the cryptocurrency universe doesn’t happen overnight. And, there is no rush or urgency. If you simply allow your curiosity and interest to guide you, and step back whenever you feel like you have had enough, you will gradually move into the areas that are most useful to you, and you will avoid getting involved in things that are of little value/importance.

5. Look for the Love. I don’t mean Hollywood love. What I mean is the energy of sincerity and empowerment. Look for integrity, compassion and the spirit of collaboration. These are energies of the emerging paradigm on planet Earth that underlie the reality that is enabled by blockchain technology as a concept. There will be those who are opportunistic and inappropriate in the way that they participate in the blockchain universe (referred to as ‘bad actors’). There are also many who have good intentions but are driven by fear, worry and perhaps even greed. Learn to tap into your intuition and sense when you encounter this. There are many communities out there that are very much supportive and that embody those love-based energies I mentioned. If you can be intentional about gravitating towards them, what you will tend to find is that your experience is much more enjoyable and productive than not, and you are able to absorb key information and important concepts reasonably quickly and effortlessly. That will in turn enable you to engage with blockchain-based activities and applications in a way that supports your wellbeing and the improvement of your overall quality of life, and that is a force for good for humanity in general — is some way or another.

Obviously, there is a whole lot more to explore and consider. Connect with me here and on social media for more stories, updates and commentary as we move forward in this exciting shift of human consciousness.