Well, you’ve finally done it. After all the hype, after some intense FoMo (fear of missing out), you’ve set up a wallet (specialized account for storing/using cryptocurrency)—perhaps with a friend’s help, if you’re honest; you’ve found a site to purchase some sort of coin, or token, or whatever it was called; and you are now ready to HODL (hold, or “hold on for dear life”) until it “moons” (goes up in value very high, very fast); at which point you can finally get the Lambo (Lamborghini) you’ve had your eye on—or maybe you could pay off your student loans, which would feel pretty good too.
They say the first step of a journey is always the hardest. That might be true, but if you are new to the territory and you aren’t sure how to navigate, the next few steps aren’t exactly easy either.
So for those who have found themselves as brand new owners of crypto (or for you who are almost ready to take that first step) let’s take a look at what resources you have available to you, what key information you need to learn (and what you need to keep track of), and how to begin your education and navigation in the world of blockchain/crypto/Web3/Dapps/etc…..
The Basics
Terminology
Before you do anything, it might be best to have a resource for terminology. There are many, but an easy to use article from NextAdvisor, which is a general use investor publication, shines some light on crypto terms for the decidedly new-to-crypto audience. Study up a bit until you at least have a rough idea of what each term means, and then you’ll be ready for school.
Blockchain 101
If you’re like most people involved in the crypto industry, the first time you actually understand the basics of blockchain—either from a very well written post or a friend who has shown an abundance of patience by explaining it five different ways—there is a feeling of “leveling up”. The world is now smaller, and you are in greater control of your destiny, because you understand something that is still a great mystery to most of the globe.
But then you start digging deeper and realize you have a long way before you become a “crypto expert”. That’s okay though; there are a lot of topics you need to learn, but the resources to learn them are freely available. Some of the biggest repositories focused on blockchain basics are Coinbase Learn and Binance Academy.
One of our other picks, Bitcoin.com, also has a wealth of educational info for beginners, but these two go deeper into the basics and aren’t as focused on current events (Bitcoin.com focuses on both).
Through these resources, you can dive into a decent understanding of elements such as blockchain architecture, consensus mechanisms, node management, DAOs, utility tokens, cryptocurrency, as well as key skills such as how to avoid scams and how to calculate your crypto earnings taxes.
You can learn more about DeFi if you want to explore the many different tokens available, how to stake or farm, how to swap, and how to play with derivatives. You can also look at the role of NFTs, blockchain gaming, and how Web3 is transforming what a social media platform can do.
News
Once you have the basics down, you are off to a good start. However, the blockchain industry is especially fast paced, with new platforms being launched every day, discussion on regulation, potential scams or hacks, and innovators finding new use cases for blockchain.
All of this is important information, and can help guide your decision making process, whether you simply want to HODL or explore new avenues of what your tokens can do.
Standard news outlets may occasionally have stories on blockchain, but keep in mind that the topics chosen are incredibly limited for an audience that has either only a vague idea of what blockchain is, and is written by groups that don’t mind feeding into their readers’ preconceived notions of “crypto”—even if they are inaccurate.
For news, the most comprehensive source is likely Bitcoin.com. The name is a bit of a misnomer, as the site covers all things crypto, even though its source of Bitcoin-based knowledge is massive on its own. Other sites that offer a broad range of news are Coindesk and Cointelegraph, both respectable in their own right for keeping readers up to date.
Evolving Platforms: What’s Next?
One more note on Bitcoin.com. While many of the platforms offer educational resources or up to date news, Bitcoin.com is not only sharing stories, it’s becoming one by releasing its own native token called VERSE.
What is interesting about this token is that it has three separate layers of utility. As a crypto newbie, you may want to buy it simply to use it for discounts on merchandise or if you want to advertise or publish press releases, payments with VERSE are nicely discounted as well.
At its second layer, it acts as a payment function, able to send/receive with others, discounts with vendors, and even the ability to buy gift cards for the site. At its deepest layer, it becomes a cryptocurrency in a true DeFi sense, with options like staking, loans, and trading.
It’s interesting that we see the functionality of crypto tokens being shown in so many ways, and on a platform that started out simply delivering crypto news. In a sense, this is a great example of blockchain’s evolution up to this point, and hints at how it can truly become mainstream.
