I love the cynicism around crypto. I like that people are side-eyeing it and asking so many questions. What is it? What is its purpose? Why is crypto even a thing? I’ll be honest and say that I’m asking the same questions. But, I am also reluctantly, begrudgingly believing that crypto will be “a thing” moving forward. What that looks like I’m not sure, but as part of my learning about what crypto is and what it isn’t, I’ve brought on a guest to help me work through some of the questions that I have. Please note that my crypto episodes are being recorded to take a deeper and more approachable dive into the emerging language and use cases specific to cryptocurrency and Blockchain technology. Ultimately, my goal with my cryptocurrency conversations is to familiarize my listeners with emerging experts in the space, the language of crypto and continue asking the following question “is crypto here to stay and what does this mean for the rest of us?” Today’s guest,Trey Edwards helps me work through that question.
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Show Notes
- Trey Edwards is responsible for retail product launches and the customer experience.
- He shares how he got into crypto-It surprised me and starts with something that happened on his last day of college.
- As a result of that incident, Trey’s mentality about “life” changed
- After college he had a hard time figuring where to align his passion and energies. Then he connected with Bitcoin and the Blockchain technology.
- He wanted to do more than just invest in crypto and he found a university University of Nicosia in Cypress (only accredited program on crypto at that time)
- After he graduated he found a job with Coinbase
- After work he spends a lot of time focused on inclusivity in the crypto space. Technology will fail without including Black/Brown communities.
- I ask about why he things African-Americans are so excited about crypto and investing at such a high rate in comparison to other communities.
- Traditional financial systems have misstreated the Black community and the idea of having equal access is enticing.
- I bring up MLMs and the perception of crypto is that it functions similarly to an MLM. Is this the case?
- Scarcity impacts the value of crypto currencies=digital scarcity. Brand new asset class for example if Gold and a Dollar had a baby=the middle of those two assets.
- Merchants are beginning to adopt it for for usage.
- I bring up the Diner’s Club story-People had no idea what this was.
- How do people learn about crypto? I point out that because of the educational components of Coinbase, I know to avoid throwing too much money at crypto because it’s so complicated.
- What’s a white paper?
- We discuss the complexity of crypto and how education is a barrier to entry and meeting people where they currently.
- Ask yourself: What are the problems that a coin has tasked itself to solve?
- Resources: Youtube or Amazon are great places
- Andreas Antonapolis-YouTube
- The Internet of Money–Book
- Who are the Black and Brown folks in this space that he’s excited about?
- Isiah Jackson-Education “Bitcoin in Black America”
- Bradley Miles-Role (Social Tokens) How does an everyday person build a crypto currency and monetize your audience.
- I bring up the fact that there are so many coins and it’s so confusing. Where do I start?
- Trey recommends starting simple: Bitcoin or Etherium (Not investment advice)
- Dollar cost averaging-Setting a small amount and a recurring purchase amount and forget about it.
- Crypto is incredible volatile.
- Not timing the market but time in the market (HODL)
- How does Trey help people manage the up and downs of crypto volatility.
- For Trey, the volatility signals a buying opportunity or outsized gains that typically wouldn’t happen in short-term gains in the market
- Events/Conferences that listeners could attend
Coinbase
- What is the user experience like and what’s Coinbase’s goal?
- Great for beginner users of crypto
- Coinbase Earn-I’ve earned crypto watching these videos
- Looking to be a primary financial account-this is an interesting focus
- Coinbase card to earn or spend cryptocurrency (USD)
- Crypto Wallets simplified * This is advanced*
- Are most people getting way too much information making it too complicated to understand and start using crypto
- CashApp has a crypto symbol and just purchase $5 (Start where you’re at)
- What are some of the strengths and weaknesses of the Coinbase platform?
- Clean user interface
- Good security and 2Factor Authentication
- Number of assets-Working to add more
- Platform for the everyday person
- Other platforms may be a better fit for more advanced users
What happens when you have someone who is super bullish about crypto and takes super risky/aggressive purchases.
Only invest what you can lose.
How to Find Jobs in Crypto
- Get a professional resume writer $100-$400 depending on who you hire
- Be thoughtful about how you prepare for your interviews-Have information/data on how you impacted your previous employer’s success
- Reach out to Trey
What’s Trey’s Next Goal?
- Build out his team-program managers
- Side-hustles outside of Coinbase
- Develop a crypto course
Hot takes on some infrastructure bills and crypto tax
- Trey is a fan and thinks that infrastructure is important.
- Mainstream adoption-clarity around regulations *Key milestone
- I ask Trey to share an example of a problem that crypto can solve
How to Connect
- Twitter: TreyEdwards919
Key Takeaways from the Conversation
This was’t brought up during the course of our conversation but I feel it’s incredibly important to mention. It’s my view that crypto is the last part an investment portfolio. If you don’t have a Roth IRA, an Index Fund, a savings account and a manageable debt load, then crypto might not be for you. By the way, 99% of the people that I know who are investing in crypto are investing a maximum between 1-5% of their entire portfolio in crypto as a way to learn about and observe how crypto works.
- Don’t invest what you can’t lose
- Educate yourself about crypto
- Keep it simple. Bitcoin and Etherium are where most people should start.
- Some regulation around the ecosystem will further legitimize crypto
- Dollar cost average as an investment approach and hold.
Additional Resources
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