Should We Be Teaching Students About Cryptocurrency?

If you work in an educational environment, you will know that the face of education is changing. As our world becomes increasingly digitized, young people need education beyond basic subjects – they need guidance when it comes to tackling the online world, as they learn how to navigate the complexities of online work and digital literacy.

One key facet of online operations in this day and age is online investing and trading. More and more people are beginning to trade online with very little information about how it works, thereby putting their money and cybersecurity at risk.

In this blog we explore the question: should we be teaching students about cryptocurrency? And if so, how could this happen in practical terms?

Crypto: The “Easy Way” To Make Money

One thing people often say about trading online is that it is the easiest way to make money, because it requires no actual work. This is true in theory, but what this crucially omits is the fact that there are a lot of risks involved in investing in cryptocurrency. For young people to invest even small amounts of money in crypto safely, they need to understand the risks first.

Here are three basic rules we should be teaching students about investing online.

Only Use Established Exchanges

One huge mistake people make when investing in cryptocurrency is using insecure exchanges. Crypto is already vulnerable to security risks due to the advanced nature of hackers in the market, so we need to teach the benefits of using an established exchange.

An established exchange gives maximum security to your investments, so that you are at a lower risk of losing money to hackers or fraudulent exchanges.

Don’t Invest Any Money You Can’t Afford to Lose

Another mistake that young investors sometimes make is to invest more money than they can stand to lose. This is because some investments seem like a sure thing, so they are willing to take the big risk and invest more than is wise to do. This can be hugely damaging to a person’s personal finance, and should be strongly discouraged when discussing investments with young people who are just starting out.

Research Before You Invest

Lastly, it is crucial to inform young people that just because investing in crypto doesn’t require them to “show up to work”, that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be taken seriously. Everyone should engage in research on the type of crypto they are investing in, and how much risk is involved.

This can be done by using investment simulators, for example, that trade in fake money and can teach a person how online trading exchanges work in a cost-free environment.

Final Thoughts

If we ignore current digital trends and leave young people to fend for themselves, they are far more likely to end up in bad situations. By teaching young students about cryptocurrency investments, we can help them to frame this practice in a safe way that avoids maximum risk.