Digital Money: Understanding Cryptocurrency For A Modern Age
By Kelby McIntosh, Freelance Writer
Since its invention in 2008 by an unknown group of creators going by the name “Satoshi Nakamoto,” Bitcoin ushered in an unheard-of concept of money that felt ripped from the pages of a science fiction story based on some far-flung year. By 2011, more digital currencies were created to contend with the Bitcoin image giant, and the phrase “cryptocurrency” was born.
Cryptocurrency has been the digital fated goddess that has turned some people into overnight millionaires and left others substantially drowning in the waters of investment and time loss. At the same time, some U.S. government officials have praised or persecuted cryptocurrency for what it could do for us economically; countries like El Salvador and The Central African Republic made Bitcoin an official legal tender back in 2021.
Though U.S. government regulation efforts for cryptocurrency have grown pretty stagnant with minimal movement to a solution and many digital currencies known black market uses – people still flock to this new form of digital money to varying results.
The Rise of Crypto Scams
According to the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel Networking fraud reports, between January 2021 to June 2022, $1 out of every $4 was reported as fraud. Cristina Miranda, Consumer Education Specialist for the FTC Consumer Business Education Division, said, “Because there isn’t a centralized bank or authority for cryptocurrency; these transactions are irreversible. Another reason why these scams happen is that people don’t understand how digital currencies work.”
Cristina also mentioned that investment scams are one of the most significant ways people get caught. “You should look for the signs of a scam; many scammers will guarantee a profit return and use fake testimonials to validate their claims,” Cristina said. “Do your research, and ask where your money is going.” After listening to Cristina, I understood that cryptocurrency scams come in many forms. “Other cryptocurrency scams include Government impersonation, romance scams, job scams, and even business scams.”
While cryptocurrency scams have risen, Cristina mentioned that there is hope for scam victims. “If you and someone you know is a victim of a cryptocurrency scam, you can report it to reportfraud.ftc.gov. Your report helps us better understand the types of crypto scams and how to help you.” She further stated, “On top of reporting to us at the FTC, you should inform The Commodity Futures Trading Commission and The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.”
The Other Side of The Blockchain
What Ethnic Media Services and The Federal Trade Commission are doing for cryptocurrency education is impressive. While I understood the importance of protecting people from these scams and why regulation is needed – I wanted to know the positives of digital currency, if there were any.
I know what you’re thinking; what is an NFT, and how does this relate to cryptocurrency? My search led me to California native and long-time Oakland resident Adorable Jasmine, Founder and creator of Black Money, a digital NFT token dedicated to providing economic sustainability to Black people in the digital world.
According to to GO Banking Rates, NFTs are commonly bought and sold with crypto, and both tend to attract the same players — the NFT world branched off from crypto culture.
In a conversation on The Feeding The Albatross Podcast, Jasmine spoke about what led her to Black Money. “Black heroes inspired me but were underrepresented within our culture and not often seen as valuable,” Jasmine said. “How we see value in America is through money. So through this perfect storm of realizing that if we could mint our own ‘money’ that has value and worth solely to Black people.”
Earlier, I mentioned that crypto is still heavily scrutinized; what Black Money is doing is providing our “40 acres in a mule” but in a different way. While many black people would prefer having land in the physical plane of existence, and tech companies looking toward digital money and spaces as humanity’s future, is Jasmine missing the mark? “Black Money is the first of its kind, dedicated to selling and empowering Black people – as a Black woman; this was something I had to push for our future,” Jasmine said.
While cryptocurrency is ever-evolving within modern society, this firmly established digital phenomenon isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. With more countries jumping on board to convert to digital currencies, this only brings more awareness to needed conversations about the regulated uses of digital currency and what this means for us as consumers. While the Federal Trade Commission and Black Money are educating communities on crypto on different sides of the spectrum, the common thread is that they want to see you flourish when navigating cryptocurrencies in a modern world.
Sacculturalhub.com/THE HUB Magazine coverage of local news in Sacramento county is supported by the Ethnic Media Sustainability Initiative, a program created by California Black Media and Ethnic Media Services to support community newspapers across California.
