{"id":5060,"date":"2022-06-20T00:50:57","date_gmt":"2022-06-20T00:50:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/?p=5060"},"modified":"2022-06-20T00:50:57","modified_gmt":"2022-06-20T00:50:57","slug":"educating-the-bitcoin-minors-of-the-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/?p=5060","title":{"rendered":"Educating the Bitcoin \u2018minors\u2019 of the future"},"content":{"rendered":"<script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\namzn_assoc_placement = \"adunit0\";\r\namzn_assoc_tracking_id = \"totafreearti-20\";\r\namzn_assoc_ad_mode = \"search\";\r\namzn_assoc_ad_type = \"smart\";\r\namzn_assoc_marketplace = \"amazon\";\r\namzn_assoc_region = \"US\";\r\namzn_assoc_default_search_phrase = \"crypto\";\r\namzn_assoc_default_category = \"All\";\r\namzn_assoc_search_bar = \"false\";\r\namzn_assoc_title = \"\";\r\namzn_assoc_rows =\"1\";\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"\/\/z-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/onejs?MarketPlace=US\"><\/script>\n<p>The crypto winter is here. It\u2019s a trying time as prices grind down, but it\u2019s the best moment to build and learn. For some Bitcoiners, the bear market is a time to plant trees\u00a0or create memes. For those with kids, it\u2019s a welcome recess used to broaden the minds\u2019 of Bitcoin (BTC) minors.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Cointelegraph spoke to the creators of popular Bitcoin-related games and educational tools to understand why teaching kids about sound money is critical, and some of the best ways of doing so. <\/p>\n<p>SHAmory, a portmanteau of SHA-256 (the cryptographic function that hashes inputs in Bitcoin) and memory, is among the best-selling Bitcoin games. Targeted at kids aged four and over, creator Scott Sibley shared that he had his \u201ctoddler in mind for both the creation of the game and book.\u201d <\/p>\n<p><em>The Bitcoin mining game, SHAmory. Source: Shamory.com<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Sibley and his wife also thought up <em>Goodnight Bitcoin,\u00a0<\/em>part of a burgeoning bookshelf of Bitcoin-related books. A passionate educator, Sibley told Cointelegraph that breaking the money taboo and educating kids about finance is critical:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFinancial education, especially financial education that includes Bitcoin, is something that kids aren\u2019t going to receive in most \u2018traditional\u2019 schools. So right now it\u2019s on bitcoin parents to find ways to weave that education in at home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sibley suggested that kids seeing, interacting with and recognizing something as simple as the \u201cBitcoin logo\u201d or even \u201cplaying our game and then asking how Bitcoin mining works,\u201d is key for long-term adoption. Plus, the Gen-Z \u2014\u00a0the Zoomer \u2014 generation has a headstart understanding intangible digital products: \u201cTransacting in Bitcoin is going to be no different than buying a new skin or level in a video game they are currently playing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Will Reeves, co-founder of Fold App \u2014 a Bitcoin rewards debit card \u2014 co-founded the Bitcoin game\u00a0Bitopoly. Reeves told Cointelegraph that \u201cthe first version of Bitopoly emerged from a conversation around a dinner table in which we were attempting to teach friends and family members about Bitcoin.\u201d He said:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGames provide a great way for people to understand a complex concept by \u2018experiencing\u2019 it rather than be \u2018taught\u2019 it. Humans have always used games to play this role throughout history, helping people come to understanding on their own terms.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Much like Sibley, Reeves explained that the best thing for Bitcoin adoption is teaching children, especially as they have no \u201cpreconceived notions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKids do not approach Bitcoin with a lifetime of preconceived notions, thus they are able to understand it faster and with less pushback against their own bias,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Bitcoin is really just a game. <\/p>\n<p>We made a game about the game to get people to play the real game. It&#8217;s called Bitopoly. <\/p>\n<p>Wrench attacks, margin calls, mining farms, boating accidents and proof of keys\u2014 it has it all. Only 500 first editions available at https:\/\/t.co\/L1mzWk2mqC pic.twitter.com\/xO5jZ4w4qu<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 will reeves (@wlrvs) May 26, 2021<\/p>\n<p>In comments that may ring true for adult readers, Reeves said that Bitcoin is a hard process of \u201c\u2018unlearning\u2018 their previously held thoughts and understandings about what money is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>MTC, the founder of Sats Ledger, told Cointelegraph, \u201cI wanted to share Robert Breedlove and other Bitcoiners,\u201d with his young family. As a Bitcoin influencer and freedom maximalist, he knows that realistically, no five-year-old would sit through a one-hour Breedlove podcast that waxes lyrical about sound money, libertarian first principles and the evolution of the tax system.<\/p>\n<p>MTC reflected on his own childhood, during which he \u201creally liked to save.\u201d He remembered the savings books that he would diligently fill out, watching his wealth grow. Combine that with the fact that \u201ckids don\u2019t like being cheated out of things, and \u2018mine\u2019 is one of the first concepts that a kid understands,\u201d and Sats Ledger was born.<\/p>\n<p>MTC said Sats Ledger is a fun, physical savings book for kids to log their Satoshi savings, money that \u201cnobody can take from them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Sats Ledger savings book plus stickers. What kid doesn&#8217;t like stickers? Source: Twitter<\/em><\/p>\n<p>With Sats Ledger, kids get to grips with Bitcoin and money \u2014 learning how to HODL using a low-time preference. MTC told Cointelegraph, \u201cIf you can encourage kids to see their savings growing then it puts them on the path to understanding sound money and Bitcoin.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another childhood saver, Pigtoshi Nakamoto, hatched a Bitcoin twist on the premier childhood saving device \u2014 the piggy bank. The BitPiggy works with OpenDime, a Bitcoin USB stick that allows people to spend Bitcoin-like dollar bills, to teach kids how to save some or all of their money in Bitcoin. <\/p>\n<p>Bitcoin savings bank, a Bitpigg.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Pigtoshi told Cointelegraph, \u201cI figured it out early that if I saved early in life then things would get easier later in life. Especially when you\u2019re young. It\u2019s when you\u2019re young, that\u2019s when you can get ahead.\u201d They have since partnered with Sibley from SHAmory, so more toys and games could be on the horizon.<\/p>\n<p>In the United Kingdom, Bitcoiner Coach Carbon has taken the \u201cbeautiful game\u201d of soccer and combined it with Satoshi Nakamoto\u2019s invention. A life and health coach \u2014 and lifelong soccer fan \u2014Coach Carbon founded Bitcoin Ballers academy, where kids work to combine \u201cproof-of-work, personal responsibility and fighting the FUD in a footballing journey,\u201d he told Cointelegraph. <\/p>\n<p><em>An Instagram post from Coach Carbon&#8217;s BitcoinBallers.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Bitcoin Ballers soccer training exercises include \u201c51% attack;\u201d a training game called \u201cgetting off zero\u201d and difficulty adjustments within certain training exercises where defenders are added or the pitch size is boxed in. For Coach Carbon, it\u2019s not just about promoting Bitcoin: <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe main thing is to get at \u2018what is money?\u2019 It\u2019s not just currency, it\u2019s time, it\u2019s value and it\u2019s energy. This question is not asked enough, and if it\u2019s not talked about in schools then where are people going to learn that?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fundamentally, given that the Bitcoin network is barely a teenager \u2014 just two countries out of a possible 195 have formally adopted Bitcoin \u2014 and global adoption rates sit at less than 1%, \u201chyper-Bitcoinization\u201d (when Bitcoin becomes the global store of value), is a distant prospect. As the educators explained, exposure to Bitcoin from a young age is another small step on that path. <\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Related:\u00a0Is education the key to curbing the rise of scammy, high-APY projects?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Moreover, an unexpected upshot to educating children about sound money is the knock-on effect it has on parents. Reeves concluded that \u201cteaching children about Bitcoin is one of the most efficient strategies for accelerating the adoption of Bitcoin.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Whereas for Sibley, games, books, and educational tools are \u201ca stealth way of orange-pilling people,\u201d notably the parents. <\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\namzn_assoc_placement = \"adunit0\";\r\namzn_assoc_tracking_id = \"totafreearti-20\";\r\namzn_assoc_ad_mode = \"search\";\r\namzn_assoc_ad_type = \"smart\";\r\namzn_assoc_marketplace = \"amazon\";\r\namzn_assoc_region = \"US\";\r\namzn_assoc_default_search_phrase = \"bitcoin\";\r\namzn_assoc_default_category = \"All\";\r\namzn_assoc_search_bar = \"false\";\r\namzn_assoc_title = \"\";\r\namzn_assoc_rows =\"1\";\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"\/\/z-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/onejs?MarketPlace=US\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/news\/from-games-to-piggy-banks-educating-the-bitcoin-minors-of-the-future\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The crypto winter is here. It\u2019s a trying time as prices grind down, but it\u2019s the best moment to build and learn. For some Bitcoiners, the bear market is a time to plant trees\u00a0or create memes. For those with kids, it\u2019s a welcome recess used to broaden the minds\u2019 of Bitcoin (BTC) minors.\u00a0 Cointelegraph spoke [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5061,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bitcoin-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5060"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5060\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5062,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5060\/revisions\/5062"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}