Cryptocurrency 101 by Andy Finch

CHAPTER 1: MY CRYPTO JOURNEY
When I first started out with my crypto journey, I had heard some
rumblings in mainstream media about some sort of “bit” of a coin. I thought
to myself, why on Earth would anybody want a bit of a coin? I dismissed it
and moved on with my life. However, the rumblings soon got stronger and
louder, to the point where I could no longer ignore this “fad”. I just had to
check this out for myself.
I was overwhelmed by the colossal amount of information available.
Unfortunately, this was accompanied by the difficulty of identifying what
information was good, or fake, or everything in between.
It became glaringly obvious that mainstream media, governments, and most
financial institutions were by and large against anything crypto-related, and
that the other sources were pro-crypto, with nothing negative ever being
discussed, regardless of validity. The information pool was further muddied
by individuals and groups promoting agendas of their own. So how do you
tell the difference? How do you navigate these treacherous waters?
In my experience, any information you come across will always have a
viewpoint that is contradictory. For example, one day Bitcoin prices may be
on the up and up and everyone is euphoric, without any naysayers to be
seen. The following day, Bitcoin may have a wobble on price and drop a
fair amount, and people come out of the woodwork saying they told you so,
and that they had predicted the end of Bitcoin, (amongst many other
things), 100 years ago. They just KNEW. I want the crystal ball they have.
There are just too many moving parts in cryptocurrency for everyone to
agree upon every aspect. Crypto is almost as controversial as religion or
politics. I say almost only because the crypto world is relatively small, but it
is growing larger by the minute. Just as there are different views for and
against politics, the same can be said with regard to cryptocurrency.
Given the unsettling environment of the ‘clear-as-mud’ crypto era, along
with my own experiences in the world of Bitcoin, I decided to write this
book to offer some guidance for people who are new to this form of
currency and investing. This book is for people who have heard the cry of
cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, or the crypto world, but cannot make heads or tails
of any of the information they have found on Google, or worse, seen on
mainstream media. This book is NOT for experienced traders or people who
are already fluently trading in cryptocurrencies.
It is my aim to provide you with the basics of crypto knowledge. Wherever
possible, I will use similarities, comparisons, and examples with traditional
platforms and currencies to make understanding “crypto concepts” much
easier. I also cover aspects of risks, scams, frauds, and how to spot some of
these pitfalls.
Throughout the book, we will use language widely used in the crypto
world. Please refer to the Crypto Lingo chapter as you go through this book
to help you understand some of these terms.
As a gentle reminder, this book’s purpose is to provide you with a basic
understanding of how crypto operates and to give you sufficient information
to allow you to begin your crypto journey with some confidence.
I make no recommendations for any exchanges or coins in this book. There
are also no referral links, commissions, marketing payments, shout-outs or
anything of the sort. Any mention of exchanges, coins, and other references
are purely for illustrational purposes only.
Cryptocurrency 101
A cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency that exists and is stored
securely on the Internet. The most famous and recognized cryptocurrency is
Bitcoin, which came to being in 2009. The creator or creators of Bitcoin are
not known, but the speculation is that the person or group of individuals
called Satoshi Nakamoto created Bitcoin.
It is worth noting that Bitcoin was introduced shortly after the banking
crisis of 2008 when the world’s major governments and financial
institutions were in severe trouble. Some of you may even recall the
following event: September 15th, 2008, when the prominent investment

Cryptocurrency 101 by Andy Finch