At the beginning of June, I attended NZ’s inaugural CyrptoCon where I was expecting to hear all things crypto and Blockchain. There was plenty of that on show but there was one topic that kept on coming up across multiple presentations, Security.
As crypto becomes more mainstream, users may tend to focus a lot on prices, altcoins, meme coins, the next big thing and so on. The event made me realise that the biggest investment should be educating yourself.
The increase in crypto adoption brings with it more opportunity for scammers. AI has made it that much easier for scammers to create content and entire fake ecosystems that include but aren’t limited to deepfakes, fake websites, fake WhatsApp communities populated by bots and fake support staff. They will put something together that not only looks legit but also seems to make a lot of sense. And, if the pay off is big enough, they are willing to play the long game.
This highlighted something that is easy to overlook, the user often being the weakest link in the security chain. It also highlighted that learning is security. The more you know about the blockchain, exchanges, wallets, transactions, scams and so on, the harder it becomes to be scammed.
That said, it’s not all doom and gloom. Platforms are well aware of this and do what they can to protect customers and their assets. During a panel discussion, a Swyftx team member spoke to them being a business that wants to make money meaning they want you to transact through them. But at the same time, they have a strong incentive to prevent customers losing money. They explained that If anything suspicious is detected, they may step in and if need be, get on the phone with you just to make sure that it is in fact ‘YOU’ initiating a transaction; that you are not being coerced by rogue characters.
Crypto education: your first line of defence
The biggest takeaway from CryptoCon was education.
Thinking about getting into it or are already in it, it pays to educate yourself on the ecosystem, how it works, the main moving parts, how to do things the right way, where and how things could go wrong and the list goes on.
There are a number of ways through which you can educate yourself. One place to start if you haven’t already done so is Swyftx’s Learn & Earn. It’s a collection of short courses where you can learn about crypto with the opportunity earn a small crypto reward. The platform has a range of courses that take 30-45 minutes to complete. There is a quiz at the end where if you score 80% or higher, there may be a reward redeemable in the Swyftx trade platform. At the time of writing, some of the courses include:
- Intro to cryptocurrency (reward = $2 of BTC)
- Emerging crypto threats and how to spot them (reward = $5 of BTC)
- Ultimate guide to storing crypto safely
- The rise of tokenised gold (reward = $10 of XAUT)
I’ve completed a few of the modules which were easy enough to understand and besides getting a better understanding of the blockchain, there was the added bonus of a small amount of BTC and XAUT (the amounts won’t change your financial situation but that’s not really the point).
Crypto investing isn’t set and forget. The blockchain, platforms and scams are continually evolving. AI is probably making some scams harder to detect. In this space, education is not a one time thing, it’s an ongoing part of protecting yourself/investment.
So, what about you? Has anything in this post got you thinking about something you could learn, improve or do differently? Or do you think I’m talking a load of bull? Either way, I’d be interested to hear your thoughts.
Disclaimer: This is not financial or investment advice. I am not a licensed financial adviser. I share my own experiences and research for informational purposes only. Always do your own research before making financial decisions and, if needed, seek professional advice from a qualified financial adviser in your country.
No comments yet.