I’m now CMO of a blockchain company, yet didn’t know much about crypto or web3 until this year.

My journey started in January, after a surge of 2021 media activity that shouted, “Hey, start paying attention to this.” I approached the process without judgment, trying to balance the hype of new and promising technology with stories about low-quality projects, scams, and extreme coin price volatility.

After months of research, I now believe that blockchains are the new internet that will shape the future of digital trust, value and ownership, as they’re built and owned by the decentralized community instead of increasingly distrusted intermediaries (i.e. big tech, banks, music labels, and more.) I also realized that this technology empowers financial access, ownership, and governance to people who historically haven’t had them, especially in developing countries.

This is my opinion, and if you haven’t already, consider forming your own.

Here are 5 learnings,* if they help you get started.

1. Head spinning? Blockchain is like learning another language.

I’m currently learning Spanish, and if I don’t know a word, it’s easy to look it up. But to “speak crypto,” it took hours of Googling acronyms that engineers, founders, and venture capitalists said on podcasts, reading Coinbase articles about tokens I’ve never heard of, creating four digital wallets and then figuring out how to actually get cryptocurrency in there, minting my first NFT and getting scammed doing so (and then yelled at on Twitter when I asked for help about it…), and trying not get overwhelmed by Discord banter.

Don’t worry if you don’t understand what I just said, and don’t be intimidated by technical jargon. No one really knows exactly what’s going to happen—start now and form a hypothesis about the future of digital trust and ownership.

Many call this the age of digital ownership “Web3.” This is different from “Web1”, which refers to reading content like a catalog on Netscape and AOL, and “Web2” where people could “read + create” content on Facebook, YouTube and more. Web 3 is now “read + create + own,” powered by blockchain technology.

2. Crypto is a community-first internet of digital ownership, secured by blockchain technology.

The first thing that surprised me about crypto is that it’s about much more than digital money. Yes, there are the cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. But “crypto” actually refers to a secure way of sending and receiving different types of digital assets without an intermediary— like a bank or music label—making the transaction happen.

Because these assets are exchanged digitally, there’s a unique block of software code that’s stored on a decentralized permanent record of transactions—a blockchain, the technology behind crypto transactions—that proves you not only own things like money, but also digital goods. One type of digital goods are NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, which means that they’re unique and can’t be changed. These goods could be art, music, game characters, basketball cards, personal information, or other use cases that haven’t been built on blockchain technology yet.

This exchange of any form of digital value on a blockchain is decentralized or “trustless,” since the transaction of value doesn’t rely on a person or institution to facilitate it, just the technology. This means that people without bank accounts in developing countries can access money without a bank intermediary or ATM. Or, that they can play a game or learn more about a particular topic, and can get instantly compensated for their efforts. Or, that countries and institutions can track commodities exchanges that haven’t been transparent or traceable, like carbon credits. These are all real-world use cases that are happening on the blockchain.

3. It’s “a blockchain,” not “the blockchain.” These are also “Layer 1s.”

“The Blockchain” is a confusing term. There are multiple blockchains that correspond to their cryptocurrencies. For example, Bitcoin has its own blockchain technology—secured by thousands of computers, or “nodes” running code—and its own corresponding stored value called Bitcoin (BTC). Ethereum is a different blockchain technology, with its own separate cryptocurrency, Ethereum (ETH). Same with the Chia blockchain, which has 160,000 nodes operating the network around the world, and its own cryptocurrency of value (XCH). These are all different “Layer 1” decentralized blockchains, the technical infrastructure off of which other things can be built.

Because Layer 1 (L1) security often comes at the expense of slow speeds and high transaction costs, Layer 2 solutions are built on top of Layer 1 blockchains to scale each network. Lastly, there are Layer 3 decentralized applications (DApps) built on top of Layer 1s, which end consumers are starting to use for decentralized finance and gaming. These include wallets, games, metaverses, NFT marketplaces, and more. You may want to google more about this.

4. If you’re confused, set a budget and experiment.

All the crypto theory became too much to comprehend without experiencing it myself. Given the space is still early and carries risk, I recommend setting a budget for experimenting, so you can view it as a personal learning investment. To start, consider trying* four things:

• Invest in a cryptocurrency: Go through the process of exchanging USD (fiat) for a crypto currency on an exchange like Coinbase, FTX or Gemini. Set up tax tracking software like Cointracker.io

• Buy an NFT: Create a Metamask wallet, purchase some Ethereum (ETH), and connect your wallet to OpenSea, an NFT marketplace. You can try this on a variety of other NFT marketplaces as well.

• Browse Twitter and Discord: Twitter is the hub for cryptocurrency news, and Discord is the home of web3 communities. Start researching and following crypto influencers and organizations. Join Discord communities, and observe or participate. (Turn off DMs in your Discord settings to avoid getting scammed.). Note the volume of information can be overwhelming, so focus on things that are interesting to you.

• Have a conversation: Talk to people who work in the industry. Find them if you don’t know them.

5. Pace yourself to keep going.

This space changes so quickly that it may seem impossible to know where to start and how to keep up. Focus on what you’re interested in, and balance offline self-care with screen-heavy learning. Here are some resources:

• Crypto 101: a16z 2022 State of Crypto Report, BFF Minted, Crypto Curious with Katie Haun, BFF Discord & Twitter Communities

• Podcasts: web3 with a16z, gm from Decrypt, Bankless, Coinbase Around the Block, W3B’D

• News: Axios Crypto, Coinbase Bytes, TLDR Crypto, CoinDesk, Decrypt, Cointelegraph, Bloomberg Crypto, Future

Buena suerte, and embrace the journey.

*All companies and cryptocurrencies mentioned are for learning purposes only, and do not represent my personal or employer endorsement, or investment advice. Do your own research and assess your own risk.