TLDR; Crypto can be extremely volatile and creating mental models for staying grounded as you navigate this space can be challenging. I’ve found that the below principles can apply to any stage of your journey and are mantras that I find myself regularly going back to. 

Hello. I’m Mikey. I’ve been learning, participating, and investing in the Bitcoin and crypto space for the last couple of years. I’m no expert by any means but I’ve become enamored with this new digital frontier and fascinated by the impact this foundational technology has and will continue to have on our world. In family and social circles I often get asked about how to think about the space and how I keep up with the evolving dynamics of this new ecosystem. Regardless if you are a new participant or a crypto vet hardened by emotionally fraught crypto winters over the years, if you’re eager to learn about crypto, web3 (whatever it means) or just digital assets in general, I find that having some grounding principles, keys, if you will, can help you stay pragmatic in this ever-broadening space. 

Stay curious 

Our world is changing rapidly, sometimes at an overwhelming speed. The biggest paradigm shift in our collective mindset is the notion that crypto is here to stay. Ask anyone regardless of age if they’ve heard of crypto or Bitcoin and the answer is yes. Regulatory clarity aside (which is coming and largely seems positive) the genie is out of bottle. The use cases have been validated. Intellectual capital, developer mindshare, and global interest in crypto has skyrocketed with no signs of slowing down. The opportunity to interact with emerging networks and protocols are abundant.

Be adaptable

In Q1 of 2021 NBATopShot started to make noise and take the crypto world by storm. Even though my Twitter feed was excited about this and there seemed to be a growing interest, I was convinced that NFTs were stupid and couldn’t understand why anyone would want to own a jpeg of Lebron dunk that anyone could view or right-click and save. A year later, I’m an NFT Success Manager at Coinbase helping creators use our upcoming NFT marketplace. If you can remain flexible and open minded ideologically, you’re on your way to having the right mental models that will allow you to stay ahead of trends. Keep your ear to the ground and be prepared to change your mind which is the ultimate unlock.

Know what you don’t know 

See above. “The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know.” - Albert Einstein

Don’t borrow conviction

This is probably the most important one. Anyone can get tips from friends or hear stories about X coin or Y NFT skyrocketing up in value but if you don’t know WHY you’re buying it you won’t be able to hang onto it during downturns and bear markets. Conversely, downturns are actually fantastic buying opportunities in the projects and assets you believe will continue to have a place in the world. Don’t borrow conviction is the cousin of DYOR (Do Your Own Research) and should be taken seriously.

Bitcoin and everything else

Bitcoin is the OG, the king, the one that started it all. It’s hard money and is digital property. It acts like gold but is a 100x improvement on physical gold because it’s portable, divisible, fungible, and truly scarce. It’s money, it’s a currency, and a long term store of value backed by code and math. Its use cases are simple and limited by design. It’s meant to hold its value over time and space. Crypto is everything else - Defi, NFTs, smart contacts, the application layer of a new internet protocol. They all have their place and I believe we will continue to live in a multi-chain world but just know there is a major difference between Bitcoin and crypto and that’s ok.

Last but not least…Survive

Ape-ing in, FOMO-ing, etc are all great ways to lose a lot of money and leave you overexposed. Invest the amount that allows you to sleep soundly at night. I can’t tell you what the price of a certain coin or NFT will be tomorrow but just know that the continued emergence and global adoption of an entirely new asset class will be volatile. That said, what I can tell you is that overall crypto wallet adoption over the last decade is up and to the right and is on track to have a faster adoption rate than the World Wide Web. Everyone has a smartphone in the pocket and the barriers to entry are decreasing by the day. Do with that information what you will.

TLDR; Crypto can be extremely volatile and creating mental models for staying grounded as you navigate this space can be challenging. I’ve found that the below principles can apply to any stage of your journey and are mantras that I find myself regularly going back to. 

Hello. I’m Mikey. I’ve been learning, participating, and investing in the Bitcoin and crypto space for the last couple of years. I’m no expert by any means but I’ve become enamored with this new digital frontier and fascinated by the impact this foundational technology has and will continue to have on our world. In family and social circles I often get asked about how to think about the space and how I keep up with the evolving dynamics of this new ecosystem. Regardless if you are a new participant or a crypto vet hardened by emotionally fraught crypto winters over the years, if you’re eager to learn about crypto, web3 (whatever it means) or just digital assets in general, I find that having some grounding principles, keys, if you will, can help you stay pragmatic in this ever-broadening space. 

Stay curious 

Our world is changing rapidly, sometimes at an overwhelming speed. The biggest paradigm shift in our collective mindset is the notion that crypto is here to stay. Ask anyone regardless of age if they’ve heard of crypto or Bitcoin and the answer is yes. Regulatory clarity aside (which is coming and largely seems positive) the genie is out of bottle. The use cases have been validated. Intellectual capital, developer mindshare, and global interest in crypto has skyrocketed with no signs of slowing down. The opportunity to interact with emerging networks and protocols are abundant.

Be adaptable

In Q1 of 2021 NBATopShot started to make noise and take the crypto world by storm. Even though my Twitter feed was excited about this and there seemed to be a growing interest, I was convinced that NFTs were stupid and couldn’t understand why anyone would want to own a jpeg of Lebron dunk that anyone could view or right-click and save. A year later, I’m an NFT Success Manager at Coinbase helping creators use our upcoming NFT marketplace. If you can remain flexible and open minded ideologically, you’re on your way to having the right mental models that will allow you to stay ahead of trends. Keep your ear to the ground and be prepared to change your mind which is the ultimate unlock.

Know what you don’t know 

See above. “The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know.” - Albert Einstein

Don’t borrow conviction

This is probably the most important one. Anyone can get tips from friends or hear stories about X coin or Y NFT skyrocketing up in value but if you don’t know WHY you’re buying it you won’t be able to hang onto it during downturns and bear markets. Conversely, downturns are actually fantastic buying opportunities in the projects and assets you believe will continue to have a place in the world. Don’t borrow conviction is the cousin of DYOR (Do Your Own Research) and should be taken seriously.

Bitcoin and everything else

Bitcoin is the OG, the king, the one that started it all. It’s hard money and is digital property. It acts like gold but is a 100x improvement on physical gold because it’s portable, divisible, fungible, and truly scarce. It’s money, it’s a currency, and a long term store of value backed by code and math. Its use cases are simple and limited by design. It’s meant to hold its value over time and space. Crypto is everything else - Defi, NFTs, smart contacts, the application layer of a new internet protocol. They all have their place and I believe we will continue to live in a multi-chain world but just know there is a major difference between Bitcoin and crypto and that’s ok.

Last but not least…Survive

Ape-ing in, FOMO-ing, etc are all great ways to lose a lot of money and leave you overexposed. Invest the amount that allows you to sleep soundly at night. I can’t tell you what the price of a certain coin or NFT will be tomorrow but just know that the continued emergence and global adoption of an entirely new asset class will be volatile. That said, what I can tell you is that overall crypto wallet adoption over the last decade is up and to the right and is on track to have a faster adoption rate than the World Wide Web. Everyone has a smartphone in the pocket and the barriers to entry are decreasing by the day. Do with that information what you will.