Complete Cryptocurrency Newb: Let's Learn Together!

Hello, Steemit community & entire universe! I hope you have some extra space for a complete newb to join your ranks. And it's time to #introduceyourself. Myself. Whatever...

The truth is that I know nothing about cryptocurrencies. Up until a short while ago, I thought that Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency out there. And I was so afraid of it that I completely ignored it!

We tend to ignore new stuff we know little about. And in this particular case, I completely missed out. Well, not anymore as things are about to change!

I might be a little bit late to the cryptocurrency boat, but at least I'm here. And probably I'm not the only complete newb when it comes to it. Everybody was a newb once and, with the help of friends, strangers, a beautiful community like the one Steemit is creating, and their own common sense have become experts. So why shouldn't I give it a try as well?

From newb to expert

A few months ago, I met an old friend from college. While going through the regular casual chat people go through after not talking to each other for over a decade, he told me that he's in the cryprocurrency business. He travels a lot: Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and other countries in Asia mainly...

I laughed and said: "Oh, I know about that! Bitcoin, right?"

He smiled and replied: "Well... not really, but you can say that. It would take me a long time to explain".

And we didn't carry on that path

But then I got home and started chewing on this: what do you mean - there are more cryptocurrencies out there? Can a guy like my friend from college "be in the cryptocurrency business" and live in all those amazing places - all thanks to a magical currency that doesn't physically exist? What the hell is happening here?

And I started to read.

...then I gave up. It was too difficult. Over 800 currencies and tech talk I understand nothing about. Something for the geeks to worry about. I'll miss out on this one again, thank you!

Hey, I'm not stupid!
...I hope!

Last month, I was on vacation and I was browsing the internet on my phone, like any sane person does when away in a beautiful place they never saw before, after paying top dollars to get there...

Do you know those articles where people say something like: If you invested $100 in Bitcoin X years ago, you would have a million today? Well, I saw one.

A quick Google search later, I found out that in early 2017, Bitcoin was valued at under $2,000. It was over $4,000 when I read the article. And growing.

That's something worth investing your time in for sure!

Things that are really rewarding are also difficult to learn. Otherwise, we'd all be living the dream, right?

So I started learning. Reading. My entire vacation was spent on various websites, learning about cryptocurrencies and how they work. The amazing technology behind them. And a beautiful new world opened before my eyes: I was finally starting to understand how it works.

And I decided to hop in!

But who am I?

I am a 30-something guy who always missed out on the big stuff. Back in the early 2000s, when I was still a teen, one of my friends started talking to me about launching a blog. I laughed. He now moved from our crappy country and lives in a mansion in Malta, running his own business. And I'm not laughing anymore!

Even though later on, I started blogging and kept missing out. For years, I frowned upon affiliate marketing, focusing on CPM ads for monetizing my traffic, even though everybody and their mother said it's affiliate marketing where the real money is. The niche site craze where 5-article blogs would make you a fortune? I ignored that. The selling of online courses to make you rich? I ignored that too.

If there's an award for missing out on so many occasions, I should get it!

I was stupid and ignorant, mainly because I didn't want to try new things. They were risky. I was about to lose money. And time. And they would never work.

Well, lesson learned now! Even though it took me a lot of time to learn this lesson, I did. And I'm not going to miss out on this again.

I might be late and I might never get rich now - especially since I don't have a lot of money to invest and I'm still afraid to blindly throw my savings into something I don't fully understand, but I'm embarking on a journey.

The cryptocurrency newb willing to become an expert.

I am going o share my story here, so do follow me. I am reading a ton, so any good articles you think I must read, are welcome. I will also throw in a few hundred dollars and share with you my wins or instant losses.

It will be fun but hopefully - and most important - this will help complete newbs just like myself to give it try and make it happen. There's a lot to learn, but don't be afraid of this. The good things in life are not easy!