At the beginning of 2018, I wrote an article outlining a New Year’s resolution that I thought could help boost cryptocurrency adoption and awareness in 2018, as long as enough people were doing it. Last week was the eleventh installment of my challenge. With the holiday, I was able to speak to some family members about cryptocurrency, and I also had the privilege of being part of a panel at UChicago’s recent cryptocurrency event.

TRY TO SPEAK TO AS MANY PEOPLE ABOUT CRYPTOCURRENCY AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN

This past week, I’ve had some of the most meaningful conversations about cryptocurrency that I’ve had since starting the challenge. I’m excited to share some of the best parts of my conversations with you.

1. On Saturday, I was on a panel with other industry experts to discuss cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. The energy from the crowd was palpable, and they were all very engaged with the panel. After it was over, a few individuals approached me to discuss some of the points I’d made a bit further. The most exciting thing for me about it was that many who spoke with me were students (undergrads) who were looking to learn more. I hope that the panel and subsequent conversations helped the students get a good grasp of the concepts and inspire them to continue learning. Their excitement encouraged me even more to continue teaching everyone possible about the exciting new world of blockchain technology.
2. While he is also very knowledgeable, I wanted to share a bit from my conversation with The Merkle’s very own Noah Detweiler. Our conversation covered many important topics, and I really enjoyed discussing our disagreement over whether or not Satoshi Nakamoto’s true identity was important or not.
3. My uncle noticed my bitcoin socks during our Easter celebration this year. He and I began discussing his belief that “blockchain is here to stay, but cryptocurrency is a fad.” This is something I’ve heard often recently. The truth of the matter is that you cannot separate one from the other in any truly effective way. Game theory and economic incentives are what help keep public blockchains afloat. I tried to explain that the two will always be connected, and that’s a good thing. Unfortunately, the conversation was cut short. I look forward to continuing it and explaining this in further detail to him in the future.

LEARN SOMETHING NEW ABOUT CRYPTO

While it was something I’d suspected, this weekend’s panel showed me just how interested the wider community is in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. The event was not well publicized, but it sold out. The engagement from the audience with the speakers and panelists was breathtaking.

I realize this is not my typical “what I learned this week,” but I think that it is important to tell everyone that people are really interested in this. As more people get involved, the stronger the community becomes.

BE GENEROUS – GIVE AND USE YOUR COINS

Unfortunately, outside of tipping on Reddit, I did not use much of my cryptocurrency this week. I wanted to use some bitcoin to re-up my VPN subscription, but they recently stopped accepting Bitcoin as a payment method due to fees and volatility. Dirty fiat had to suffice.

Are you participating in the challenge? Do you have trouble finding places to spend your cryptocurrency? Tell us in the comments or via Twitter! Let’s make 2018 the Year of Cryptocurrency together!