Ornella Hernandez

<div id="highlights-block_62f271a0d591e" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Students can unlock a bundle of courses as holders of an NFT collection</li>
 <li>One Decentralien NFT is worth 7 Sol, or $291, on the Magic Eden marketplace</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



A membership NFT grants the owner access to an exclusive community, and may reward its members with loyalty perks like merchandise or discounts. Nas Academy, the education technology platform founded by vlogger Nuseir Yassin, aims to reward a certain NFT community with its online courses.&nbsp;



In partnership with Invisible College, an e-learning platform focused on Web3, Nas Academy will enable holders of the Solana-based NFT project Decentraliens to take courses on Web3 and crypto. To join Invisible College, you’ll need to hold at least one Decentralien NFT.



One of the advantages of an NFT-based membership is that students can then sell the Decentralian NFT once they have completed the courses, and receive a return on their tuition investment, or recoup the value of the course. The NFT can then be used again by another would-be student.



Alex Dwek, chief operating officer of Nas Academy, told Blockworks that Nas Academy is committed to driving adoption of Web3 through education with the Invisible College network.&nbsp;



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“Together we plan to build the largest community of learners, builders and investors to help serve the wider web3 ecosystem.&#8221;</blockquote>



Invisible College has been operating as a Web3 educational source since December 2021, using NFTs as a form of tuition credit for access to recorded lessons, fireside chats and lectures ranging from “Intro to Web3” to “Investing in the Metaverse.”



Invisible College co-founder Nick deWilde said in a statement that “combining a catalog of high-quality courses with an NFT collection is a fundamentally new way to empower students to own their education,” and he owes it to Web3 technology.&nbsp;



Now it’s joining forces with Nas Academy, which is mostly known as a resource for emerging content creators. Offering certificates in social media and video editing, the academy also has a growing selection of courses for the crypto curious investor or creator.&nbsp;



Classes ranging anywhere from $49 to $597, normally paid via credit card or crypto, will be free for Decentralien NFT holders starting on Sept. 1. Some of the titles include “How to Launch an NFT Project” taught by influencer Zeneca and “Bored Ape Yacht Club, Explained” by a BAYC investor.&nbsp;



Students may benefit from cohort-learning or group based instruction, live interactive sessions and monthly Zoom meetups with crypto experts.



The startup recently <a href="https://twitter.com/nasdaily/status/1551911274547621888?s=20&amp;t=OsBUkskNyNnITovpSiPXIQ" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">raised $12 million</a> in a Series B funding round with participation from investors such as Pitango, BECO Capital, FTX and HOF Capital.



Additionally, as education moves increasingly online, more traditional educators, such as textbook publishers Pearson, do not want to fall behind. The firm’s CEO Andy Bird recently <a href="https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/pearson-says-blockchain-could-make-it-money-every-time-e-books-change-hands-1.1799825" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told</a> Bloomberg that it is considering using blockchain and NFT technology to take a cut from second hand sales of its online textbooks and materials.



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Nas Academy To Launch Token-gated Web3 Courses

Aaron Ahmadi

The Investor’s Guide to Staking

<h2>What is bitcoin, and how can one invest in it? </h2>



Want more like the Guide to Bitcoin? Scroll to the bottom for further reading and a <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/category/education/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">list</a> of other Blockworks Investor&#8217;s Guides.





<h2>A quick primer on Bitcoin</h2>



Bitcoin is like Carl Sagan, David Attenborough or Nelson Mandela. Few people can name its peers, but most have almost certainly heard of it, and it&#8217;s notably changing things for the better.



Investors don&#8217;t need another answer to the question, &#8220;What is Bitcoin?&#8221; You probably recognize bitcoin as one of the first examples of cryptocurrency. You know it was created to solve the problem of centralized currency control, and it provides a peer-to-peer system for electronic cash transactions. 



You also likely already know that the best way to understand Bitcoin&#8217;s intentions is to <a href="https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">read the Bitcoin whitepaper</a>. 



So instead, this guide will answer questions like:



<ul><li>What should I do with Bitcoin, if anything?</li><li>Is Bitcoin being used as it was originally intended by its creator(s)?</li><li>Is Bitcoin a good investment?</li><li>Are there any environmental issues with Bitcoin? </li><li>Is it an ethically-sound investment?</li></ul>





<h2>The case for Bitcoin</h2>



Bitcoin is both a payment network and a currency. While the network was intended to be a trustless system for payments, Bitcoin is one of the least efficient transaction models in the modern crypto space. 



But that doesn&#8217;t make Bitcoin useless — the opposite is true, in fact. As the industry has progressed and created blockchains and currencies with more specific applications, Bitcoin&#8217;s product-market fit has evolved far beyond what its pseudonymous creators outlined in the whitepaper, making it a more attractive vehicle for investment than ever before.



<h3 class="has-black-color has-text-color">Bitcoin&#8217;s strengths</h3>



Immutability — A key feature of Bitcoin is the immutability of its transactions. A transaction cannot be changed or reversed, which proves the authority of conflicting transactions by honoring the first one that&#8217;s validated, and protects against disputes and mediation costs.



Supply hard cap — The total supply of bitcoins is capped at 21 million BTC — a strong selling point for those who view it as a store of value. No matter how much demand for BTC grows, a fixed supply ensures scarcity, which can lead to increased value.



Trustlessness —&nbsp;Validating transactions on the network with community consensus and trustless organization removes the need for centralization (leading to the next point). It also creates a way for transactions between parties to be secured by a coalition of independent validators, so users neither need to trust the other party nor the transaction facilitator.



Decentralization — Removing a central third party that controls and confirms all transactions (like banks and governments) puts the control of a user&#8217;s money back in that user&#8217;s hands. It&#8217;s ideologically a major perk, and it practically defends against abuses of power by central authorities around the globe.



Proof-of-work — Using CPU power to validate transactions ensures a committed validator and protects majority decision-making against someone able to allocate many IP addresses or bots to take over a voting system.



Privacy — The lack of personal information in a transaction, in theory, protects users&#8217; right to privacy from all manner of fraud, surveillance and coercion. (See weaknesses for practical problems.)



Simplicity — A simple, singularly-focused system ensures that one system can more efficiently be devoted to its purposes and less vulnerable to the improper interactions/breaks that can happen in more complex protocols.



<h3 class="has-black-color has-text-color">Bitcoin&#8217;s weaknesses</h3>



Bitcoin maximalists (fundamentalists) may tell you Bitcoin has no weaknesses. And in truth, its simplicity serves it very well in an industry that is constantly changing. But by acknowledging where Bitcoin doesn&#8217;t fit, we can honor it and our balance sheets by using it where it does.



Immutability — For use in transacting, immutability can become inefficient when reversing a transaction is necessary. Refunds and incorrect transactions take a second transaction to rectify, and theft of bitcoins is irreversible, requiring Layer-2 insurance protocols to protect against it (which are not readily available).



Decentralization — From the user side, there isn&#8217;t a clear downside to decentralization, other than some network inefficiency, which will be addressed in the next point. Governments, however, often view unregulated Bitcoin as a threat to their control, which can either be a strength or weakness of Bitcoin depending on whom you ask.



Proof-of-work — After the invention of proof-of-stake and other consensus models, Bitcoin&#8217;s proof-of-work model appears inefficient. Its strengths remain, but can be wasteful if the energy to power the network is not sourced sustainably. Proof-of-work also creates opportunities for network centralization, as the people with the best chance of mining bitcoin and powering the network are those with the money and connections to be able to do so at scale, and cheaply. 



Privacy — Despite intent for privacy, bitcoin is not a very private currency. It is easily traceable, and once a transaction is linked to a user, that user&#8217;s wallet is now correlated with their identity, and transactions are no longer private. A variety of <a href="https://incognito.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">privacy-preserving networks</a> have emerged to fill this hole.



Simplicity — While the singular focus of bitcoin on peer-to-peer transacting has inspired countless technological and social progresses, the failure of bitcoin to remain the most efficient method of transacting opens it up to obsolescence. Additionally, it largely leaves Bitcoin out of market developments like DeFi and GameFi. Luckily for Bitcoin, it has found a different fit in global markets, which will be addressed further below.



Supply hard cap — The supply of bitcoins being capped at 21 million results in an inflexible monetary supply (which some economists suggest is necessary for use in transacting and for a healthy, adaptable economy). Additionally, early holders able to amass more bitcoin at lower prices create a centralization of wealth and supply control, in opposition to the core principle of decentralization. Additionally, as users lose access to their bitcoins due to the level of technical familiarity needed to safely store one&#8217;s bitcoins, the total supply of accessible bitcoins slowly shrinks.



You&#8217;ll notice that many of Bitcoin&#8217;s strengths are also its weaknesses when incorrectly applied. This is where the maximalist view breaks down, and it&#8217;s important to consider how Bitcoin is used when speaking of its value:



<h3 class="has-black-color has-text-color">Bitcoin as a store of value</h3>



The concept of Bitcoin as a store of value is necessary for bitcoins to preserve purchasing power over time, and has thus always been intended for the currency. However, as its utility as a medium of exchange faded, its use as a store of value has grown in importance.



An inflexible currency not subject to inflation and with immutable transactions is proving to be very useful as a way to protect one&#8217;s wealth. Individuals, corporations, banks, and governments alike are turning to bitcoin as a way to preserve purchasing power with something more convenient and usable than gold, but less volatile (at least, when factoring in inflation and politics) than government-issued currencies. 



On the subject of volatility, framing is key. 



Bitcoin for day traders may be considered a volatile asset, but year-over-year bitcoin has offered a massively-profitable ROI, albeit one which shrinks with every cycle, thus making it increasingly stable over time.



So, is bitcoin useful as a means of transacting daily? Not really. But, is it an asset perfectly suited to storing, protecting and occasionally transacting one&#8217;s wealth? Yes, and likely to a degree far beyond what its creator(s) intended.



<div style="height:10px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2>How to invest in bitcoin</h2>



<h3 class="has-black-color has-text-color">Hold on for dear life</h3>



&#8220;<a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/hodl.asp#:~:text=HODL%20is%20a%20term%20derived,post%20to%20the%20Bitcointalk%20forum." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hodling</a>&#8221; is by far the most reliable &#8220;tried-and-true&#8221; method of investing in bitcoin for profit. A misspelling of &#8220;hold&#8221; that was retroactively given the meaning &#8220;hold on for dear life,&#8221; to hodl bitcoin is to buy bitcoin and never let go.



Given the consistently positive and often outsized returns, the safest play appears to be to let bitcoin save your net worth from inflation and other investments (not financial advice):



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="649" height="543" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/messarichart.png" alt="" class="wp-image-19602" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/messarichart.png?w=649 649w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/messarichart.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/messarichart.png?w=307 307w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/messarichart.png?w=312 312w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/messarichart.png?w=262 262w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/messarichart.png?w=80 80w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/messarichart.png?w=50 50w" sizes="(max-width: 649px) 100vw, 649px" /></figure>



If hodling is your method of choice, simply set up a Bitcoin wallet and purchase some from a DEX or private party, or skip the setup and buy from a centralized exchange like Coinbase (though, you may still want to explore cold storage wallets for security). 



As with buying and selling any asset, day trading is a viable investment option, and should be done with careful analysis and thorough risk assessment.



<h3 class="has-black-color has-text-color">TradFi integrations</h3>



Using bitcoin like you were a trader before 2008 (if you were, I would like to set aside this parenthetical to congratulate you on your resilience) is also an enticing option, thanks to ever-increasing interest from Wall Street and products that integrate the currency.



<a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/grayscale-threatens-legal-action-if-sec-rejects-bitcoin-etf-conversion-bid/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bitcoin ETFs are fighting</a> to gain approval in the US (specifically spot ETFs), but you&#8217;ll also find bitcoin exposure through <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/crypto-index-primed-for-launch-as-financial-adviser-interest-grows/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">index funds</a>, backing <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/silvergate-issues-bitcoin-collateralized-loan-to-microstrategy-subsidiary/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">collateralized loans</a> and sitting on <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/microstrategy-buys-1900-more-bitcoins/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">corporate balance sheets</a>. A variety of bitcoin-exposed traditional financial suites are offered by both blockchain-based and traditional companies.



<h3 class="has-black-color has-text-color">Mining</h3>



Rather than purchasing bitcoin or bitcoin-exposed products, investors may choose to earn bitcoin by mining it (participating in validating transactions on the proof-of-work network and earning bitcoin in return for spent processing power).



Due to the popularity of bitcoin, bitcoin mining is a competitive ecosystem. Miners with the ability to source cheap power and build warehouses full of mining rigs have the best chance at profitability. That said, anyone with a powerful enough computer can participate and has a chance to earn bitcoin.



As proof-of-work consensus protocols like Bitcoin consume electricity, using them at scale risks being unsustainable. However, because excess renewable energy is cheap and would otherwise go to waste, some mining operations are using bitcoin as a profitable way to push economies toward greater <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/how-clean-energy-can-further-mass-adoption/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sustainability</a>. 



<h3 class="has-black-color has-text-color">Final considerations</h3>



Investing isn&#8217;t just the transfer of money, or a risk/reward profit vehicle. Its effects are social, environmental, emotional and political, and one&#8217;s convictions matter as much as one&#8217;s risk tolerance. Consider both carefully before committing to an investment strategy, and remember, you can never be too informed.





<h2 class="has-black-color has-text-color">Further reading</h2>



<h3 class="has-black-color has-text-color">More on bitcoin</h3>



<a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/bitcoin-developers-do-not-have-a-fiduciary-duty-to-bitcoin-owners-judge-rules/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bitcoin Developers Do Not Have a Fiduciary Duty to Bitcoin Owners, Judge Rules</a>



<a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/exxon-mobil-powering-bitcoin-mining-pilot-using-excess-natural-gas-report/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Exxon Mobil Powering Bitcoin Mining Pilot Using Excess Natural Gas: Report</a>



<a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/is-a-change-to-exchange-definition-key-to-bitcoin-etf-approval/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Is a Change to ‘Exchange’ Definition Key to Bitcoin ETF Approval?</a>



<a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/bitcoin-atms-illegal-in-the-uk-regulator-says/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bitcoin ATMs Illegal in the UK, Regulator Says</a>



<a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/bidens-crypto-executive-order-may-be-watershed-moment-despite-lack-of-specifics/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Biden’s Crypto Executive Order May Be ‘Watershed Moment’ Despite Lack of Specifics</a>





<h3>Get educated. Check out <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/the-investors-guide-to-bitcoin/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Investor&#8217;s Guide to AVAX</a>, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/the-investors-guide-to-music-nfts/">The Investor&#8217;s Guide to Music NFTs</a>, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/the-investors-guide-to-defi/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Investor&#8217;s Guide to DeFi 2.0</a> and <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/the-investors-guide-to-the-metaverse/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Investor&#8217;s Guide to Avalanche</a>.</h3>





The content of this webpage is not investment advice and does not constitute any offer or solicitation to offer or recommendation of any company, product or idea. It is for general educational purposes only and does not take into account your individual needs, investment objectives or specific financial circumstances.

The Investor’s Guide to Bitcoin

Jacquelyn Melinek

<div id="highlights-block_621f6168d370a" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>About 1 in 4 women already own crypto, the survey found</li>
 <li>Other subsectors in the industry remain largely untapped by women as only 5% have bought an NFT or participated in crypto mining</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



About one-third of women are planning on buying cryptocurrencies this year, according to a new survey conducted by BlockFi. Of those women, 60% said they plan on buying digital assets within the next few months.



That’s more than double the 29% of women who said, in a September 2021 survey, they would purchase within the next year. 



“There’s no better way to learn about something new than by doing — especially when diving into the seemingly complex world of crypto,” Flori Marquez, founder and senior vice president of operations of BlockFi, said in a statement. 



About one in four women already own cryptoassets, and of that group, a majority of them have never sold what they’ve bought.



The findings also showed women are buying bitcoin, dogecoin and ether the most — at 71%, 42% and 18%, respectively. However, other subsectors in this space remain largely untapped by women, as only 5% have bought a non-fungible token (NFT) or participated in crypto mining.



In general, the crypto sector is a heavily male-dominated industry. Out of the 121 leading crypto companies, only five of them, or 4.13%, had female founders, according to <a href="https://cryptohead.com/cryptocurrency-company-index/?msID=5717aa95-8a58-4454-9210-9f72fa4cd4a0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">research</a> by Crypto Head. Of those founders — Marquez being one of them — all the companies also have at least one male founder, too.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/Nu87tROsif4_LwFU8AQdFN_KSrq-YCJdhr-PlI68I_p1_pqovr6rQH9Qm2KIBukFKrNqmxkXoGC_nKT82IWu6ngxoSDvpQjY07_XSKtQvrjtzI_TaWshx_s7MLyDCa3Atp5FdraY" alt=""/><figcaption>Source: Crypto Head</figcaption></figure>



The number of women in the industry is set to grow, though. The BlockFi survey found that 15% of women are interested in working in crypto, but only 10% plan on applying to crypto or blockchain-focused companies within the next year.&nbsp;



“It’s very exciting to know that women are becoming more aware of the benefits of owning crypto and expressing interest in working in the crypto sector,” Marquez said. “Now it’s our responsibility to continue to close the education gap and provide as many on-ramps as possible, so women can easily gain exposure to crypto markets and get comfortable doing more with their crypto.”&nbsp;



The survey was conducted by a third-party survey panel at the end of January and consisted of 1,031 female Americans between the ages of 18 and 65. This is the third edition of its “Real Talk” survey, which is focused on female Americans’ attitudes toward crypto, financial wellness and career aspirations.&nbsp;



&#8220;Crypto is becoming a part of everyday financial wellness, and we must continue to educate new adopters and make financial products that are simple and easy to use,&#8221; Marquez told Blockworks. &#8220;Mass adoption presents a significant opportunity to drive inclusion in the industry.



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