5 Experts (Not Influencers) Who Can Help You Learn (Not Scam) Crypto

Ignore the Influencers and Head To These Straight-Talking Experts for Unbiased Crypto Educational Content

ABC's of Crypto
Coinmonks
Published in
8 min readApr 4, 2024

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Photo by Leeloo The First on Pexels

Ever felt paralysed by all the Crypto hype, techno jargon and scams?

Flashy influencers bombard you with unrealistic promises, leaving you unsure of who to trust or where to even start.

Success in understanding crypto lies in finding unbiased experts who prioritise teaching you the fundamentals, not selling dreams.

After learning crypto for the last 5 years and listening to or watching their content daily, we can safely say that these 5 experts are not here to sell you get-rich-quick schemes but rather to educate the masses on the opportunities that lie ahead. By harnessing their expertise, you’ll gain the knowledge and confidence to navigate this exciting, yet complex, space.

But before we dive in, one must ask: Why bother learning about crypto in the first place?

Why Learn Crypto?

Learning crypto can feel like you’ve rudely interrupted a cult gathering of elite software nerds who speak a foreign language and follow the religion of computer code. You feel like you’ll be crucified just for raising your hand and asking stupid questions.

Despite this, you need to persevere as there is much to be gained on the other side of fear:

  • Financial Empowerment: Understanding crypto enables greater control over finances and diversification of investment portfolios
  • Technological Insight: Delving into blockchain and cryptocurrencies offers foresight into emerging tech trends and potential career opportunities
  • Global Economic Awareness: Cryptocurrencies operate globally, providing insights into geopolitical and macroeconomic dynamics
  • Security and Privacy Awareness: Learning about cryptographic principles enhances online security practices and asset protection.
  • Community Engagement: Participation in the vibrant crypto community fosters collaboration, innovation, and potential investment opportunities

The following experts explain crypto concepts in an approachable, informative way.

The Macroeconomist — Raoul Pal

Raoul Pal is an ex-hedge fund manager and founder of Real Vision — an educational platform which provides access to the very best insights and analysis from the brightest financial minds. He prides himself on being a business cycle economist, investment strategist and economic historian.

He’s a chart guy who uses his analytical skills to form a holistic view of the crypto market and how it will benefit our future lives, given current market conditions.

This quote of his ignited my ‘ah-ha’ moment and kicked off my crypto educational journey:

“We’ve never been given the opportunity to own the infrastructure layer, and own it before the institutions…..we’re front-running the institutions, and it’s not like it’s some mass illusion or delusion, I know it because I speak to them all day, they’re all coming, all the investors are coming and we get the privilege for the first time in our lives to own this….”

This is the first time in history that retail investors (you and I) have access to a new asset class (Crypto) before VC firms and institutions do. Usually, you need to be an accredited investor, get regulatory approval and have a certain amount of capital to invest but that’s not the case with crypto. Anyone can go on an exchange and buy crypto with cash.

Why he’s good?

His X (formally known as Twitter) bio says he’s ‘Not a Guru’ and he stresses this often in his videos. He uses his Real Vision platform to learn from experts and freely shares these insights with his audience so they can learn too.

He’s good because he’s motivated by an altruistic mission to have this information readily available. He watched family and friends suffer through the 2008 financial crisis due to a lack of knowledge and doesn’t want people to miss out on this ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ crypto opportunity.

The majority of this content for newbies is free, whilst technical analysis comes at a subscription cost.

Click below to begin your crypto journey with Raoul Pal:

The Bitcoin Maximillist — Peter McCormack

Host of the What Bitcoin Did podcast started in 2017, Peter’s content focuses on Bitcoin only. In each episode, you’ll gain knowledge on various aspects of Bitcoin and all the people creating technology around it. Peter boasts an impressive guest list. From the Mayor of Miami to the President of El Salvador, who has adopted Bitcoin as legal tender for his people. He greets each guest with a child-like curiosity which makes for some entertaining listening, irrespective of whether you’re a beginner or a Bitcoin evangelist.

In an interview with CoinTelegraph Magazine, he first used Bitcoin to buy drugs via mail order from Silk Road, scanning the reviews for high-quality gear. After ending up in the hospital from a drug overdose, he decided to clean up his act and ploughed £23,000 into Bitcoin in 2016. After watching Bitcoin reach all-time highs he knew he was onto something and wanted to learn more.

Why he’s good?

‘The What Bitcoin Did’ podcast was started;

…to get answers to the questions Peter was struggling with, to make a show for himself, which hopefully would help others. Many people want to get involved with Bitcoin but are not technically proficient and may not understand economics to the level of some of the experts in the space.

He’s good because he’s inquisitive about Bitcoin and not afraid to ask stupid questions. His audience learns as he learns through having informative conversations with his guests.

Click below to begin your crypto journey with the ‘What Bitcoin Did’ podcast:

The OG Crypto Educators– ‘The Coin Bureau’ crew

Guy and Jessica are the hosts of the Coin Bureau a YouTube channel, Website, Podcast, Telegram channel, Twitter account etc……which pumps out high-quality crypto content daily. Guy fell down the crypto rabbit hole in 2013 when he discovered that his local pub was accepting payments in Bitcoin. This, together with the near collapse of the British financial system in 2008, piqued his interest in crypto and he decided to start a blog with two friends.

Their main aim is to provide educational content for their audiences and they’ve never failed to deliver on this promise. Furthermore, they are transparent about their holdings and back up all their claims with relevant links to supporting information.

Why they’re good?

Albert Einstein once said:

‘The definition of genius is taking the complex and making it simple’

That’s exactly what the team at Coin Bureau do. Every day they summarise large volumes of credible information and present it in a format that is so easy to understand that even my grandmother could start investing in crypto.

Topics include:

  • Weekly crypto market updates
  • Coin reviews and their possible potential and pitfalls
  • Reviews of exchanges and wallets
  • Analysis of various blockchain projects; their pros, cons and updates
  • Summary of crypto-economic reports — from Fidelity, The World Economic Forum, Messari Annual Theses and many more

Guy also stresses, that unless you work in the crypto space, it’s going to be physically impossible for the average person to keep up with all this information as it changes in the blink of an eye.

They’re good because they summarise the latest news, research and crypto reports all in once place so you don’t have to — A great time saver for the busy investor.

Click here to begin your crypto journey with the Coin Bureau crew:

Early Crypto Adopter Fund Manager — Cathie Wood

One of the few women in this space, Cathie Wood is the founder of ARK Invest. She heads up a number of funds which make thematic investments in disruptive innovation such as robotics, AI and blockchain.

A firm believer in the power of Bitcoin she bought $100k worth in 2015 after reading the Satoshi White Paper and has held it ever since! Making her holdings worth a cool $28 million today.

Why she’s good?

Cathie’s a futurist and sees far out into the future better than we mere mortals can. She’s great at joining the dots to determine how technology will revolutionise our daily lives.

She highlights that never before has a currency existed like Bitcoin:

“the first global, private, digital, decentralized, rules-based monetary system in history.”

These features position Bitcoin at the forefront of a potential monetary revolution. A revolution that could fundamentally change how individuals, institutions and even countries control their finances. As a result of these potential changes, Cathie foresees Bitcoin’s market cap could surpass $20 trillion pushing its price well over $1 million.

Click below to begin your crypto journey with Cathie Wood:

Your Daily Crypto News Outlet — Scott Melker

The world of crypto moves at lightning speed and Scott’s podcast — The Wolf of All Streets — helps you keep up.

The Ex-DJ turned investor hosts at least 2 Twitter spaces daily with breaking news updates and deep dives into various crypto topics. He quit DJing after 20 years to become an investor.

Melker said:

“…learning about Bitcoin sent me down a rabbit hole to better understand the problems with fiat money and the legacy financial system.”

Why he’s good?

The crypto industry is still in its infancy, trying to find its feet, hence it’s evolving on an hourly basis. To understand what’s driving price movements, new technology and regulatory updates you need to keep up with crypto news.

But who has the time to be glued to YouTube all day? Most of us have day jobs!

What makes Scott good is that he’s a prolific content creator pumping out content on his podcast, YouTube channel and newsletter to save you time and help you understand what’s going on in this dynamic industry.

Click below to begin your crypto journey with Scott Melker:

Building Your Crypto Knowledge: A Roadmap to Success

Now that you can distinguish the influencers from the experts where do you start your crypto education journey?

  1. Learn the fundamentals of Bitcoin and blockchain first– The Coin Bureau has some great introductory videos whilst the ‘What Bitcoin Did’ podcast dives deeper.
  2. Understand how macroeconomics influences crypto and is constantly changing – Raoul Pal and Cathie Wood talk about overarching economic factors and how they impact the crypto market
  3. Keep up to date with the crypto news by listening to the ‘Wolf of All Streets’ daily briefing podcasts
  4. Continuous crypto learning with Guy and Jessica from Coin Bureau

To help relieve techno stress we’ve also compiled a glossary that can help you on your crypto journey!

Closing Thoughts

Navigating the world of crypto can be daunting, especially with the rise of influencers and celebrities promoting meme coins with no value or get-rich-quick scams.

Add to that, all the technical jargon and hours required to learn means that many miss out on this once in a lifetime opportunity.

The experts highlighted in this article offer valuable insights, practical guidance and a commitment to education that goes beyond mere profit-seeking. Learning from them can not only protect you from scams but also empower you to make informed decisions and truly thrive in this dynamic and evolving crypto landscape.

This is really the first time in history we have access to a new asset class way before the corporates do. The first time that regular people like you and I have an advantage over the institutions. You owe it to yourself to start learning the crypto fundamentals today.

True wealth in the crypto world comes not just from financial gains, but from the knowledge and wisdom gained through genuine education.

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ABC's of Crypto
Coinmonks

Crypto and Blockchain Concepts Made Simple for Everyone