The first lesson of a four week crypto course.

0:09AOkay, I love that. That’s the reason to be here. Okay, there we go. Oh wow, boom, somebody else. Marianne, I see you got your hand up. I got that. And so can I ask you, Marianne, what would be like your -- like if you had a question, like what’s your first question? I got that. What is it and how does it work?

0:48BOkay.

0:49CDitto.

0:50AOkay, perfect. Rosalina, what about yourself? Is that who this is, Rosa Spence? Yes, it is. It is Rosa Spence.

1:06BWell, I’m curious and I would love to be in access to provide this for people who have been impacted by violence and disaster. poverty. So I’m really curious to hear what you have to offer. And, and I don’t have a lot of experience with crypto. My kids do, but I don’t.

1:30AOkay, I got that. I got that, that you’re really passionate about this subject and better understanding, right, these financial systems, especially as they pertain to an impact and can be leveraged by those, you know, experiencing poverty, impacted by poverty, et cetera. And I’m excited that we got so many blank slates. I think that’s a fantastic place to be. Mom, what about yourself?

1:52DHi, can you hear me?

1:59BI’m driving. Yeah, even though you’ve been involved in this and passionate about it for quite a while, I realized that I really don’t have an understanding, certainly not enough of an understanding to dive into that world. And so, um, it seemed like I should take advantage of this thing that you’re doing to get people, um, more informed.

2:28AOkay, well, thanks. Thanks for being here. And I got that. I’m excited that you’re gonna get to be more informed, definitely with me having this course I’ll be able to speak with more clarity to people myself. I feel like I can be all over the place sometimes when I’m just talking to talk, which is how I get when I feel like I’m just being passionate. And I’m not always clear on whether or not people are actually keeping up with me. So this time it’s for the people and not for me. Thanks, Mom. Paulina?

2:54EI was kind of avoiding the topic for quite a while. Mostly because of how volatile that is. I wouldn’t say currency, but these finances. And I know a lot of people playing it, getting a lot of money and losing a lot of money over a short period of time. And because of that, I was kind of -- didn’t give a lot of attention to it. Like, it’s not settled yet.

3:32DThank you.

3:32AYeah, I got that. You’re welcome. Thank you. I’m really clear that the volatility has made you somewhat disinterested, kind of led you to kind of keep your distance. You’re kind of uncertain what to make of it and just like how serious or how pertinent it is, right, to understand it, given that it seems right now like a giant scary casino to many. And it sounds like you might find yourself in that lot.

3:56EYes, thank you for creating me.

3:58DThank you.

3:58AAbsolutely. Uh, Dr.

4:03DAlston?

4:06AYou’re like, which one, huh? Miss Robinette Alston?

4:09EYes.

4:11AUm, unfortunately, I don’t know much at all. Um, so I’m excited to, to hear and learn as much as I can. Okay, fantastic. And Allison, last but not least. Hey, um, I think I am just here for general curiosity. I don’t know much about cryptocurrency other than what you hear in the news, um, so why not have a starting point? Okay, fantastic. Well, that’s, that’s literally what this is designed to be. I am -- I myself, I got into the cryptocurrency space at the end of 2021, so It’s, it’s crazy to me to even tell myself I’ve been learning about this stuff for 4 years. I feel like that seems improbable.

4:11AIt seems impossible. And I feel like time has really just flown by. And what -- I had a podcast, I had a podcast called We Them Niggas where I was interviewing Black people working in crypto, discussing identity, interested in journalism on a lot of fronts actually. And what led me to kind of switch into the blockchain cryptocurrency space was actually noticing how little content there was that really made what is crypto and blockchain and how do you use it very accessible to everyday people. Inside my podcast, my focus was less on making it accessible to everyday people and more actually tracking how people were finding their way into the industry, becoming professionals, so young people like myself could actually be able to consider or explore or pursue a career in the blockchain industry, this startup industry that is even more unheard of than most of what blockchain and Bitcoin actually is.

4:11AAnd so really being able to bring that to communities of color, communities just in general, right, young people who are thinking about what their next steps can be. And in the process of that, I went beyond having my podcast. I found an executive producer or patron who was supporting me financially for a year and a half to go and learn about the industry and create content. And this course isn’t just an opportunity to continue creating content or educating, but really is something that I’m also doing to fund the completion of that project. So I have over 70 different interviews with Black people working in the blockchain industry, software developers, founders, people working in VC, lawyers, creatives even.

4:11AI’m really interested in making sure all that content reaches a global audience and people really get to see my content not as news per se, but really as a window into the story of how this technology has been evolving and who people of color are that are leading this technological revolution. And so this course is my introduction to the everyday person around what the revolution is and how they can participate and keep themselves ahead of the curve. So thank you all for being with me here tonight. You all are officially my first students, and, and thanks for being with me for my first lesson. Yeah, Marianne.

6:57DYeah, thank you. I just realized I remembered becoming aware of blockchain technology, gosh, I don’t know, many years ago, and what was exciting to me about it was the potential to actually have anonymity built in so that it was uncorruptible, right? And a community could actually have resources in a structure that everybody could have confidence and trust that their investment was gonna go where they said it was gonna go. And I was like, oh my God, this is like, this is world-changing. And then I was surprised to see that it just became currency. I was like, what the hell happened to that? That was so cool. So I don’t know whether that has any part in this conversation, but I would love to understand that.

7:48AYeah, so that will be less the subject of this conversation, but absolutely the subject of the course. What you’re speaking to is this notion that it’s decentralized, that it’s leveraging the blockchain. And the blockchain is an infrastructure that is like a decentralized data or information database, right, where it’s actually able to keep track of transactions. That’s what you’re speaking to. And people, they just have wallets and they have these essentially online bank accounts, which are not tied to a formal bank, but instead tied to this technology and this code, which is maintained by computers around the globe, right? That’s what Bitcoin mining is. And so this course won’t be going so much into those technical details, but absolutely, you know, explaining it conceptually, as you just spoke to, But then beyond that, looking at like, what are the actual emerging use cases?

7:48AWhere are these emerging use cases actually happening? The US isn’t the highest adoption for day-to-day crypto usage. We have a lot of like advanced services already available is the best way I’d put it. But a lot of people don’t have access to like Apple Pay or Cash App or PayPal, right? Services like that that allow for instant money sending. And so environments like that where there isn’t such a structured industry available that is so high functioning, these people, there are a lot of people using this. And so I’ll be speaking as well to that kind of stuff.

8:58DOkay, great. Thank you. Thanks, Vasilis.

9:02AYeah, absolutely. Thank you, Maryam. All right. And so now I’m going to begin sharing my screen so you all can see my presentation. Can you -- okay, click here. All right, welcome to your Crypto Clarity preview. What’s happening with the money? Uh, we’re here to be your compass in a digital economy. Can you see my screen?

9:36DYes.

9:37AAll right, fantastic. So what is We Them Worldwide? Um, so We Them Worldwide is an evolution of what I have been up to over the last few years. Uh, for most people, crypto is inaccessible, confusing, and predatory. As I just told you, most of the content online is more focused on showing you different products or things people are building than they are actually leaving everyday people with a real critical understanding of how this stuff actually works. And I personally think that that leaves us in an environment where it’s hard to really know what’s going on. And We Them Media is here to change that by really connecting with builders on the ground.

9:37AAbena here in Ghana, she organized this event called EthAccra. It’s the biggest tech technologist-focused event that happens in Western Africa every year in September. Over here, my friend Jed, he’s, he’s just been in my community and a content creator. He’s doing coverage at an event in Nigeria. Down here on the bottom right, you can see us at Ethereum Denver, which is a major Ethereum conference which happens in Denver every year. It’s the biggest blockchain conference in North America. Ethereum is the second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, and it exists essentially to envision a world where what you were just speaking to, Marianne, where any kind of financial product can exist on-chain, where we can integrate applications and money in any kind of way while preserving that anonymity and lack of a middleman, which is kind of the immediate power, right, of the blockchain.

10:55DRight.

10:56AAnd so we’re here to change this confusing narrative and really give you clarity by giving you a window into what’s actually happening on the ground with the brilliant people wondering what the future can look like and what a more just and financially fair or ethical future can look like. All right, so let me tell you what’s actually happening with the money. Um, so Bitcoin is the conversation that most people think of first when they think of cryptocurrency. I mean, most people don’t really understand what it is though. I think the place to start is actually looking at what’s happening with the money, and that’s why that’s a big part of the title of this, of this course. So the place that I like to start is de-dollarization. Does anybody know what de-dollarization is?

11:38BNope.

11:38AOkay. Well, de-dollarization is this premise that the value of the dollar is going down. And it has to do with the fact that countries around the globe, which have been using the US dollar as their reserve currency since World War II, are beginning to lose confidence that we are actually the best place to store their value. As the US continues to print more money, as countries find themselves less aligned with the values or actions the US is taking, Countries are looking at alternatives. And so other countries being dependent on the dollar is becoming less common of a currency. And a lot of countries are looking at how do they reduce their dependency, which reduces demand pressure for the dollar.

11:38AYou can consider BRICS. The BRICS expansion is a new economic alliance where countries are designing their own reserve currency that exists outside of the power of just one country, whereas the US dollar is obviously under the power of the US, right? When we print money -- not we, but really the the Federal Reserve -- oh, look at that, my father’s joined -- when the Federal Reserve prints money, impacts the whole globe. And so in the expansion, there are countries such as Russia, Brazil, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, the UAE, and Indonesia are already countries in the conversation to look at how can they move away from the dollar.

11:38AAnd so Bitcoin is -- and really blockchain at large -- is an opportunity to explore what are ways that we can use technology to explore this world of creating new kinds of reserve currencies. And that’s, that’s what Bitcoin is. It is an attempt at solving this concern around centralized power around reserve currency. Like, like gold is, um, is scarce, but it’s not finite. Bitcoin is in fact finite. It’s only 21 million Bitcoin. And so it’s meant to be the store of value that people can purchase and hold on to, that whether or not governments are doing well or doing poorly, uh, Bitcoin is a store of value that can exist outside the nation-state standard, you might say.

11:38AAnd people are exploring what it looks like for the, the order right, of currencies and economies changing, right, as the US loses its standing in the global landscape, you might say. People are looking at Bitcoin as a way to, I guess, step outside of that arena while things kind of recalibrate.

13:42DMm-hmm.

13:43AYeah. And so the money’s foundation is shifting. And really, this course is about helping you understand exactly what that looks like and being able to look at the news and think critically about what that means for us here in the US. Bitcoin aside, just being someone working and living inside the US economy, it really is critical, the value of the dollar. And so we’ll be learning to really be able to think more critically around how inflation impacts us, around what the source of inflation is and what people are doing to hedge against inflation, both in a short-term and a long-term way, so that we can be more effective in planning for and envisioning our financial futures.

13:43ASo right now there are 2 bets on the future. There are stocks where people can bet on established corporations and legacy financial systems. This allows people to look right at what’s tied to traditional growth. People can see the companies that have historically done well. You can look at big tech, you can look at oil, and people already have a pretty clear understanding for the most part who do participate, right, and how to understand and value those things. The concern here again is that we don’t really understand what the long-term potential is around the US economy. And so people are looking at the global digital economy and cryptocurrency as an access to it.

13:43AIt’s meant to be an opportunity to have access to decentralized finance. And so while many people around the globe don’t have access to the New York Stock Exchange, decentralized finance is meant to make banking products and tools and applications just available to anyone anywhere in the globe. On the planet, there’s over 50 million people who are unbanked, and this is really a technology designed to solve that problem for people and really give them more upward mobility. and access to resources. Yeah, and so that’s one thing I’m really excited to help people understand what that looks like and how it works. And so people will actually be able to do their first transactions in this course.

13:43AI spoke to traditional stocks being tied to the legacy financial systems. We’ll also be discussing in this course exactly what it looks like for the legacy financial systems to actually begin adopting blockchain and crypto and what that’s looking like right now. Are there any questions? Yeah, I have a question. All right.

15:48CNo, I actually do have a question, but I just couldn’t figure out how to raise my hand on my phone.

15:52AOkay.

15:53CYou said there’s -- or did you say there were 21 billion cryptocurrency in existence? No, is that what you said?

16:04AI couldn’t tell you how many cryptocurrencies there are in existence, but there’s -- I was saying there’s 21 million Bitcoin. Total that will ever exist.

16:11EOh, Bitcoin.

16:12COkay. 21 million Bitcoin.

16:15BOkay.

16:16CSo what does that actually mean?

16:17AYeah, I appreciate you asking. So what it means for there to be 21 million Bitcoin, I was kind of speaking to inflation a little bit. You know what inflation is, Maria?

16:26CYes, I know what inflation is.

16:28AYou know how it works?

16:29CUm, I, I maybe don’t. Can you explain it?

16:34AYeah. And so when we look at inflation, the way that it was explained to me and the way that I continue to think about it, right, is this notion that the Federal Reserve is able to print money for different things. And when they do, they’re increasing the overall supply of dollars, right, in the globe. And in doing so, the actual value of our dollars goes down, like on a dollar-per-dollar basis.

16:53EOkay.

16:53AAnd so while we look at the way that I would think about it at first, right, you look at minimum wage, minimum wage in most places stays the same for a decade at a time, if not longer. Right? And inflation happens every year, so the value of dollars are going down every year, but people aren’t actually seeing that translate into their wages in a way that treats them fairly. And so it actually turns out to be a massive tax on the everyday working-class person.

17:15DMm-hmm.

17:16AAnd so the premise of Bitcoin is that you can now store your value outside of the, I guess, the framework, right, that the dollar exists in, or particularly inside of really any currency tied to a nation-state or centralized power. And so with most cryptocurrencies and scams that you might see, there’s generally one person who knows exactly how much of a currency there is, and they can even print more, kind of like, right, the central bank can, or the Federal Reserve. And so a lot of people, they might buy a crypto and be excited about it, and then that person might print more of the token and then sell it themselves. And now that person has kind of gamed the system. And that happens in crypto, sure, as scams, but it also happens right inside of our own government, our own country.

17:55COkay, okay, yeah, thank you. That was a really great explanation.

17:59AYeah, thank you.

18:01CYeah, yeah, thank you. Okay.

18:03AWhat were you gonna say?

18:04CJust, no, I, I can see it. So it exists outside of the current structures that give -- it exists outside of the current structures that we have access to as like regular people living our lives that can bank and all of that. It’s like a whole different, um, space that this exists in.

18:20AYeah, absolutely. And you can access it through the internet and you can buy Bitcoin or other digital assets, right? There’s different platforms, Coinbase, Kraken. Um, there’s many of them, right? But the premise is that once you have access to that, then many people are using that as a way to hedge against inflation. And so while the dollar, uh, may be worth more or less a year from now, right, someone is buying Bitcoin with the concern that, you know, a year from now the dollar will be worth less. And I think many people think that when they see Bitcoin, they’re gambling on a future where Bitcoin is doing really well. But for most people that are actually buying Bitcoin or these different digital assets in like a serious way, thinking long-term, they’re actually buying it with the concern that the US dollar may not do very well in the long-term.

19:01BMm-hmm.

19:02AAnd so they’re considering how to hedge against that. And it might not be just the US dollar, it might be someone in a different country, right? And in Greece, there’s, there’s been a lot of inflation from what I understand. In Nigeria, I know there is actively hyperinflation. And so in a lot of countries around the globe, actually, people are holding the US dollar because it is more or less volatile, right, than the US dollar. And now people are beginning to wonder what is the less volatile asset than the US dollar, right?

19:28DExactly.

19:29AOkay. Did that make sense?

19:32CYeah, it did.

19:34FYeah.

19:35COkay. Yeah.

19:37ASo I’ll keep going. But then that premise, right, that there’s 21 million is that we know there will never be any further inflation. And so the value just comes from that ongoing demand from it, assuming that people continue to look for ways to hedge or hold value right outside of these centralized entities like banks or governments or countries.

19:54COkay.

19:57FYeah.

19:58CThank you.

19:58AYeah, absolutely. Thank you, Maria. Does anyone else have any questions they want to ask at this point? All right, excellent. So this is our solution, this is our course, right? The one that I’ll be leading. And so in session 1, we’ll really look at this economic shift we were just speaking to and why it matters right now. So I’ll be breaking down Bitcoin. Marianne, you were asking about how it works in the technology. We’ll be breaking down what is the blockchain, uh, looking at a quick video which kind of explains it. I’m intending to have a founder on actually who can speak to their own participation in the crypto industry.

19:58AThe second course will be looking at getting started, so I’ll help people set up your wallets. You’ll get your first airdrop so you can actually begin to do transactions and look at how to read transactions on the internet. The premise is that this is an uncensorable bank account now you have on the internet, so you can join communities and participate by voting on different kinds of contracts and things like that. There’s these things called DAOs. We Them Media, my project, we exist and have aspired to be a DAO. A DAO is a community-governed cooperative, you might say. So that uses crypto to kind of hold money and steward money.

19:58AAnd I can do that with my friends. All of us could deploy a crypto wallet right now. We all have a vote in how we spend that money, and we could set out some values and guidelines, and we’d be an internet organization like none other, right? And so we explore what it looks like to participate in those. And a lot of people are envisioning public goods that exist and are governed that way, leveraging the blockchain. And I’m super excited about that space. And so we’ll be seeing what those look like. We’ll be setting up wallets. You’ll be able to have your first crypto and be able to look at it and trade it online, both on your phone but also on a web browser.

19:58AAnd yeah, that’ll be a lot of fun. The 3rd week, I’m looking to have a tax professional on, my friend CJ. He’s super talented. I’ve seen him speak a number of times, and I’ll be reaching out to him this coming week, actually. And so stay tuned to see if we confirm him, but I’m committed to having a tax professional in this conversation. so that you all can really know how to operate, you know, and stay above board for yourselves as you explore getting your confidence and clarity. I think that’s, that’s an important part, and I don’t want to overlook that. And so, yeah, we’ll be looking at additionally what’s happening in the US policy landscape.

19:58AWe’ll be looking at what’s happening abroad in terms of adoption and things like that. And there’s a lot of exciting information needs to be able to keep up with. And if you don’t really have the news sources or the jargon per se, or know who the guiding lights are, it’s kind of hard to do that. And so I want to set you all up to be able to do that after our course is over. In session 4, we’ll actually be having presentations. So during the course, we’ll actually have pods. And so y’all will be broken up into groups of 4. And you will come on the final session with a presentation on one thing that you learned or thought was interesting after having gone out and found a story pertaining to blockchain that you see as legitimate and speaking to the kind of difference this stuff can make.

19:58AI’m committed that when people complete this course, they’re actually able to be the person in their life who, when that Bitcoin or crypto thing comes up, they really have something to contribute and can leave people clear and oriented. Like, we’re here to provide the clarity, and it’s not just me. I’m inviting you all to join me in being a community where we make that available to people. And that’s what I’ve been doing over the last 4 years, traveling throughout the industry and connecting with Black professionals and professionals thinking about public goods and media and the future of the African continent. And I’m just inviting everyday people now into that conversation where you can be surrounded by people who know so, so, so much while being somebody who can ask your questions.

19:58ABecause I do know that when the world is changing fast, it’s hard to go on the internet and know where to go to get the information that you might be wanting. And so our community exists to give you that, that support for as long as you’re present and active. And as of now, you can actually go in our Linktree. Our Discord is available for free. Anybody can join, and you can come to our community calls and ask your questions. That’s, that’s available to everyone. I see your hand is up, Paulina.

23:45EYeah, I just have a question. Um, you can finish and then I will ask.

23:48AI’m complete with this slide, so you’re welcome to ask your question.

23:51EOkay, thank you. So, um, I have 2 questions. So Bitcoin is only one, um, cryptocurrency. Um, will you explain the difference between Bitcoin and others?

24:04AAbsolutely.

24:06EIn the course?

24:07AAbsolutely.

24:09EThank you. And the second question is, uh, I remember like several years ago, like I had a friend, she was so excited about Bitcoin, she like had so much settled for, for that. And then one day she came and said like, oh, it was, uh, banned in United States, all the operations have been banned. Um, so where is it right now, like, uh, in terms of, um, you know, relationship with US government?

24:36AYeah, it’s a fantastic question. Um, so right now there’s, there’s the Genius Act was passed earlier this year. The Genius Act is looking at how the US can issue the dollar as a digital currency, actually leveraging the blockchain. Um, and so right now, as companies create these digital issuance US dollar traded coins, they actually have to begin buying US Treasuries, which creates more, more demand for the dollar actually, and, and creates this It’s this debt flywheel we’ll go into more during the course as well. But right now, the US government is looking at how they can leverage this giant financial shift actually to support them in hedging against their own debt, because the US has a whole lot of debt.

24:36AAnd so you see Donald Trump talking about making the US a crypto capital. We are seeing institutions approve ETFs. We’ve seen BlackRock launch a Bitcoin ETF in the last year and Ethereum ETF as well, I believe. And so really be looking at what does the industry look like here in the US? And what are companies as well as state governments -- there are state governments now looking to buy cryptocurrency and create crypto reserves. Uh, people speculate the US will be launching a crypto reserve. The US government has actually, um, collected from different people who they’ve arrested a whole lot of Bitcoin, and the US actually already has Bitcoin on their balance sheet.

24:36AUm, and there are people who even track that. So right now the, the US, I think, is being very quiet. Many assert that if the US were to announce they’re gonna start holding Bitcoin to hedge against the future that every government around the globe who’s holding the US dollars would raise their eyebrow and wonder, like, am I going to be late to the party? Right. And they definitely don’t want that because that would create a tailspin. So right now we’re really in the moment where the foundation of, you know, the next phase of where the US and the global economic system land are really under development and under construction.

24:36AAnd so this is really a prime time to be in this conversation, actually. And your question is perfect.

26:25DThank you.

26:29AFantastic. And yeah, and I think that’s once again why I really want to have session 1 focus on why this matters right now. It’s like, sure, we can speak to the conversation you were speaking to, Miriam, about the technology and why it’s exciting and revolutionary and privatizing things and also creating public goods around money. But I also really think it’s critical just for us to understand the way that power and money are are, I guess, changing hands right now in the global order and who -- what age we’re living in really as it’s happening. And so inside of the first 2 sessions, you obviously get that over -- that understanding of why it matters right now and how it works.

26:29AAnd then inside sessions 3 and 4, Paulina, what you were asking about is really that landscape component. You really get to understand what’s happening in the world of regulation and policy, both domestically and abroad, as well as actually who are some of the major products and companies building the major products that people are using every day now, and how do we think about them, right? What I was speaking to before was these notions of decentralized entities, or entities which aren’t, you know, run by one central power. And so we have some of these monetary systems that are being built as public goods or community-governed products, while we also have, you know, more corporate-adjacent products being built.

26:29AAnd I’ll also teach you how to distinguish between those two. And how to participate in whatever way you want to. There’s no right way to participate, but it is really critical for everyone to understand what those different paths are.

27:50DFantastic.

27:55AAnd really, I spoke to Mike just in case. So I actually already have -- you have your pods in the course, which I think I’m really excited about. I think as you kind of come into crypto, having people around you that you can look at as your peers is a privilege. That’s what I’ll tell you. And, you know, coming into it myself, my college roommate, he was really my guide. Shout out to Drew. And, you know, in my first several months, him, he was participating. He had made like, like over $50,000 from NFTs. And I was like working as a busser and I’m like, what the heck is all this stuff you’re doing?

27:55AAnd essentially come home from work and be like, like pestering him to explain things to me. And I’m really grateful that he did, but I don’t think that I really would have spent my months of my senior year of college researching this stuff and coming back to him and asking questions because if he weren’t there, because he wouldn’t have been there. And so I think it’s really motivating to have people around you, not just holding you accountable, but keeping you abreast to what exciting stuff is happening. And so your pod exists to create your project book and presentation with, but also to be able to speak frankly about what’s challenging you in the course or confusing to you without having to feel necessarily intimidated by being in the larger group, as well as to really be people who are keeping up with stuff.

27:55AAnd so even if you’re not the person who keeps up with the news as much or is going to be doing that, The goal is to have the pod be an access for you to have somebody who is working to keep you abreast and looking at that stuff. Yeah, and I’m super excited about that.

29:15BMm-hmm.

29:16AAnd there’s also a level 2 that will be existing coming after January, and so I’m intending to be teaching this course in January, February, and March, and then come April I’ll be teaching a level 2 where people will actually be able to -- where you all would actually be able to learn about how to participate in the online economic systems which exist in decentralized finance, this opportunity to do what you call staking and participate in other ways to generate interest by participating in the financial systems that exist online. You could do things like put your Bitcoin per se in a yield-generating wallet or account online. So there are people who have designed a lot of fascinating and interesting things.

29:16AYeah, before I proceed to the final thing, I wanna show you all who We Them Media is. So now I’ve talked to you a little bit about my journey and about what crypto is. I’m actually going to let Gabrielle share her screen and she’ll be able to show you videos that, you know, demonstrate the kind of work I’ve been doing over the last several years. As I mentioned, We Them Media was a platform I developed really looking to learn myself what is this crypto stuff and educate people in the long term. And We Them Media has kind of become my entity for telling that story.

29:16AI’ve found a team in Nigeria who’s been helping me shoot content. We were at an event in -- a couple of events in Nigeria this year, an event in Ethiopia. Um, an event in Ghana, an event in Kenya. Um, and for the last several months I’ve been at home while they’ve been out shooting stuff and working on stuff. And we actually, uh, right now working with our first B2B client as a media agency. And, and I’m super excited about that because that’s a massive breakthrough for us to, for me to go from having no media team to having a team that people want to work with to tell the story of their businesses.

29:16AIt really means that I’ve done a good job and I’m excited about that. And so I want you to be able to see the kind of content we’ve been working on, um, which will actually exist as a support to you, right? It gives you an access to knowing what’s going on right now while you’re in the course. but also afterwards. And so you all will also actually be -- and this is bonus -- be added to our We/Them newsletter starting next month. Yeah, so thank you all. And, uh, Gabrielle, are you ready?

31:13EYeah.

31:16AAll right, then I’ll go on mute and I’ll let you do that. I can’t hear you.

31:37BOkay.

31:41AI think you might have to, like, start sharing again and make sure that it is enabling you to share the audio. But this first video -- I’m sorry. I muted you, Gabriel. But I was just going to say this first video is a video that was shot in Nigeria at the Web3 Lagos conference, which happened in September, and edited by our guy SuperBio, who was there before running over to Ghana for the event you saw the picture from earlier. And so that, that’s one of our videos and other kinds of formats that we do our interviews. And so Gabriel is going to show one or two more videos, and that kind of gives you a sense of what it is participating in the We Them Media ecosystem. So thank you. Yes, yes, Marie, that, that is our logo. And so the logo that you see in the corner there is our, is our newer logo, uh, which Bio, our media lead, has created. And the one that you see on the wall there and on the shirts is actually our older logo that I made, uh, with ChatGPT a couple years ago. Thank you for telling me that the sound is in and out, Paulina. Yeah, is that what you’re gonna say, Marianne?

34:55DYeah, I’m wondering if everybody had that experience. The sound did not communicate smoothly.

35:00AHmm. Let me see if there’s something that we can do about that.

35:06DNot necessarily for now, but you might want to check that out. Playing a video on, playing a video on, you know, a player like this, Zoom or Google Meet. I’m not sure how that works, but it didn’t work very well.

35:21AYeah, thank you, Mary Ann. I got that.

35:25BOkay, yeah, my apologies. I’m doing my best.

35:30DGabby, I think it might be a technical issue. Nothing, you know, it might not be actually appropriate. It might not function well. I don’t really know, but it’s worth checking out, right?

35:41BLet’s try this next one and let me know if it still the same issue.

35:48AOkay, thanks, Kevin. Yeah, it sounds kind of like -- it sounds kind of like Alvin the Chipmunk.

36:01DSomething’s not right.

36:07AYeah, in this video, technically, Ethanugu was a software developer residency and builder residency that happened in Eastern Nigeria, in Enugu. And my guy Kelvin, he organized that. I actually had the opportunity to travel to some of the events that Kelvin was organizing around Nigeria when I was there. And I got to speak to some university students when I was there, which was fantastic, on his account. Is it the -- Maria said maybe it’s the video speed needing to be reduced?

36:34CMaybe.

36:35AAnd so I wasn’t actually at this event. This was in September. Or maybe late August, I think it’s late August. But some people from my community were there interviewing people who participated, asking them to offer one word to describe their experience. I am going to say this one is --

36:53BI did reduce the speed. Should I try it again?

36:56AYeah, go ahead.

36:57BNo.

37:06AWhat I can do is I can try and share my screen for the last one.

37:10BOkay.

37:14AThank you, Gabrielle. And so I’m curious in this moment, what are some of the things that you all are learning in this conversation? Are you finding this conversation valuable?

37:44DYes, yes, yes.

37:49CIt’s like I’m learning a new language and a new way to think about the money, a new way to think about money in the world. the money, as you said. Yeah, like seriously, a new way to think about abundance in a way too, you know.

38:06AAnd so what is -- you say that, like, first and foremost, what stood out to you most, Maria?

38:13CLike freedom from the current structures that are controlled by the dominant paradigms of, like, the billionaire class basically, and the ineffective political structures that exist that are like foundationally undermining humanity. Like I see it as a way out of all -- like it’s like freedom from all of that. But it’s also really like me, I’m literally learning these concepts for the first time. So thank you for doing this, Maseo. And so I’m still absorbing it.

38:46AYeah, absolutely. I’m glad that you’re doing it.

38:50CBut I can see why people are excited about it.

38:53AThank you, I appreciate you saying that.

38:55DYou’re welcome.

38:56ASo this is the last video I’ll be showing you all, and this is a video interview I actually shot when I was in Ethiopia earlier this year. I was there for a developer residency organized for a lot of builders from Eastern Africa, and so here we have Gloria. She’s from Kenya, and she was speaking both to the event we were participating in as well as how she herself first got into the blockchain space.

39:18FPersonally, I didn’t buy Bitcoin, but I’ve heard from my parents and relatives talk about how it’s a pyramid scheme and all. So that was my idea of blockchain at the start. So I’ve learned more about like Web3 side of things and I’m loving it.

39:33EYeah.

39:34AAt the starting of the week, at Summit Talks, you hear them speak. It’s only Monday.

39:45FIt’s been quite interesting. I’ve really gotten new perspectives, new lessons, and just exploring the culture in Ethiopia. It’s amazing.

39:57AAnd what is a pop-up city?

39:59FThe pop-up city is a meetup of Web3 builders, mainly in Africa, to use Web3 as a tool to develop the continent and make it better.

40:11BYeah.

40:12AAnd so how would you say your perspective on that has shifted over being here the last two three weeks?

40:17FI don’t think much has shifted. Well, okay. The only thing I would say is I didn’t expect as many builders to be there, but I was shocked by the numbers. There can still be more though. It’s a good show.

40:28DYeah.

40:29AWhen was the first time that you first heard about blockchain?

40:33DAugust last year.

40:34FYeah, and I too. my hate for it because all I knew was Bitcoin scams. But, um, yeah.

40:40AYou said all you knew were Bitcoin scams?

40:42FYeah.

40:43AAnd what was your experience with Bitcoin scams?

40:45FUh, personally, I didn’t buy Bitcoin, but I’ve heard from like parents and relatives talk about how it’s just a pyramid scheme and all. So that was my idea of blockchain at the start. So I’ve learned more about like Web3 side of things and I’m loving it.

41:01EYeah.

41:01ADo you feel like blockchain is important for the future of Africa?

41:04BOkay.

41:04FThe possibilities of how it can be integrated in different industries, like my specialty, women’s sports tech. So I’m here to just learn as much as I can and see how it can be moved into or merged with women’s sports. Yeah.

41:38BVery cool.

41:39AI’m coming back, getting my video turned back on. I was thinking it might have been slowing down the video to have both live. Can you see me?

41:51DYes, we can.

41:53AYeah, excellent. And so you can see my podcast went from me being in little boxes like this than me getting to travel the globe and actually interview people who are on the ground thinking about what it means to be someone working in the future of this industry, leading it, and one day being mentors to young people who are going to have to look up to. And I have had the privilege of getting to go out in the world and interview them and document what’s going on in these spaces and in these environments. And I’m committed to making the network that I’ve been building across the globe available to my students as we continue to grow as a giant community.

41:53AYou know, here to make sure the world knows what’s going on. And really all these applications are looking for products and users. And so my goal in the long term is to be able to partner with community, community-built products, the products built by people in our community, so that people like yourselves and myself can be using products that we know are building into economies that serve us. I think one thing that we, we don’t always get to understand in the traditional system, right, is the externalities of where we bank or how our money moves and the systems we participate in. And so with blockchain, that stuff is transparent, is available.

41:53AAnd our commitment is to be the watchdogs. So you have friends and family and peers that you can speak to who know what’s going on. And you know that when you participate in these different environments that you have people who are attesting to, right, or advocating for the platforms that you use. And so we’re here to create the trust that the blockchain is here to make available as a community network as well.

43:11DVery cool.

43:12AAll right, fantastic. And so that is the conclusion of my presentation. And I’m wondering who of you all is interested in participating in our Crypto Clarity course come January.

43:22CMaceo, can you talk about the nuts and bolts of the course, like the time commitment and like how it works? And yeah.

43:31AYeah, absolutely. I appreciate that, Maria. And so come January, we’ll be meeting every Wednesday from 7 PM to 10 PM. The line will be available. The intention is for it to be about 2.5 hours a session. And so the session will begin with intros quickly, and then we’ll begin going through the material. And there’ll be opportunities for people to participate throughout, so you’ll be able to speak to what you do know and begin to ask questions about what you don’t know. And 30% of the way through the night, you’ll actually go into a breakout room with your pod, where you have a quick 20-minute section where you’re able to discuss what you’re learning in the course, do research, look up things that pertain to the discussion.

43:31AAnd then when you come back, we’ll be able to break down what questions showed up or what narratives were present for you all as I gave you different research topics to go and focus on as a group. And then we’ll proceed to the remainder of the presentation. On different days, we’ll actually have guest speakers. And so I’m looking to have a founder. As you’ve seen, I have a lot of professionals in my network that work in the industry. And so I want to have people come and be able to speak to the kinds of different products. And I’d love for input from the actual participants, right, around what people are interested in, so I can actually be able to identify guests that make the most sense given the curiosities or industries that are of interest to participants, you might say.

43:31AAnd then in the end, we’ll have 30 minutes where people can just ask me questions. I’ll call it office hours. There’ll be assignments which should take you no longer than 30 minutes between weeks, between sessions. And if you didn’t complete that or you want to get it done early, you can stay with me in those 30 minutes and complete it. And then at the end, there will also be 15 minutes for you to sit with your group and discuss some of the things that you researched. And in the final 2 sessions, you’ll actually be able to -- or the 2nd and 3rd session, you’ll actually be able to use that 2nd 20-minute time slot to be working on a presentation or researching a topic that you want to present about in the final session.

43:31AAnd so in the 4th session, it’s not actually me teaching you all. You get to give me feedback on how I was as an instructor, what you learned in the course, and what you had to go and research on your own. You’re allowed to invite your friends and family, and then you’ll be presenting on -- maybe it’s a startup that interests you, or a side of the crypto industry. Maybe you care about agriculture and how it’s being impacted by this technology, or creating public goods around education. or information distribution, whatever people want to present on. And so the final day will be you getting to present what you learned and showcasing the truth that you came out of this course as someone who can give people clarity.

43:31AMarianne?

45:49DDid you say it was 90 minutes? I didn’t quite catch what was the length of each session.

45:53ASo the sessions will be 2.5 hours, generally at longest, the actual session. And then there’ll be 30 minutes of Q&A or just hanging out if you want to be in discussion and conversation.

46:03EOkay.

46:04DAnd you also said that it was going to be on Wednesdays?

46:06AYes. From 7:00 PM.

46:07DAnd all the dates on your website are Thursdays, just so you know.

46:11GYeah.

46:11DI knew I was going to, I knew I was going to register. So I checked my calendar to see how that would work and I got them blocked off already. And I, and then they’re Thursdays, but it’s not going to be Thursday, it’s Wednesday.

46:22AYeah. Yeah. I appreciate that.

46:24DOkay, great.

46:25AI looked and I realized that the website had the calendar from 2024 in it. And so that’s why all the dates were off, even though the dates themselves were correct. So, yeah.

46:34DSo all of the -- so all the, all those appointments that I put in just 1 day earlier, is that correct?

46:40AAbsolutely. Exactly.

46:41DOkay, cool.

46:42EThank you. Appreciate it. Yeah.

46:43CAnd how many weeks is it, Maceo? Is it 4 weeks or is it --

46:48Ait’s 4 weeks.

46:49COkay, got it.

46:52DOkay. Yeah.

46:53AAny other questions? All right, excellent.

47:01CCan you put your website in the chat?

47:03AYeah, I’ll put my website in the chat. And the course is $250 for these 4 weeks. And I actually have a discount code for you for being here. And so the discount code is, uh, oh, here, actually. Let me go in. I guess, yeah, it’s okay. I was gonna go and turn off my livestream so people watching can’t come in last minute, but it’s open to you too. You guys, you all are lucky. And so the discount code I’ll put here in the chat as well. Okay, so wethem.xyz is a link to the website. And, uh, yeah, maybe -- Wow, that’s not what I want.

47:43E.xyz.

47:44AOkay, yeah, so you can click on that link. I added the little syntax or whatever you call it so there would be a clickable link. And then the discount coupon code is COMMUNITY50, and so the course will be $200 as opposed to $250. You put that in the coupon line.

47:58BExcellent.

48:09CWhen does it start, Maceo?

48:10AAnd so it will begin on January 7th at 7 PM Eastern Standard Time.

48:18COkay, and then 4 weeks consecutive.

48:22ASo the 7th, the 14th, the 20th, the 28th will be the sessions. Okay, yeah, and over the next 72 hours you’ll actually be able to share that, that code COMMUNITY50 with anybody in your life and refer them. And because now you’re part of the community, you can invite them and they can have the COMMUNITY50 $50 discount off the course as well. And you get to have your friends join you, which I think is a blast. As I mentioned, having peers as you go on this intellectual journey, which is what I’ll call it, makes it a lot more fun. And it’s a big part of why I’ve been building the community I’ve been building so that anybody anywhere can jump in and, you know, have people they trust who can speak to them on things they don’t quite know a whole lot about yet.

49:03DMm-hmm.

49:05AAll right. I’d love to hear from some people. What were some of the things that stood out to you this evening? What did you learn? Yeah, I’d love to hear your praises and I’d love to hear your critiques.

49:17EI have one.

49:19AYeah, run it.

49:20DWell, so I clicked on the link and I said, yeah, I want to join. And I, then the page was okay, it’s $250. Okay. I’m going to put my code in. I clicked like next and it processed through my credit card for the full amount. It like, I never had a chance to put in the code.

49:41AOh, interesting. So there wasn’t like a place. Okay. There’s a whole lot going on.

49:47DI can’t hear you all of a sudden.

49:49AYeah. I put myself -- sorry, it’s not you. It’s me. It’s not you. It’s me. Um, so you’re saying that when you just put And you didn’t even see a place to put in the coupon code is what you’re saying?

50:01DI click on the link in the chat that has the, the, uh, you know, the URL. And, um, the only link that was on there was the, uh, join us for the free, you know, free preview. But if you go to pricing and you click on the course, then it processed my card. Just so you know. No, I appreciate you telling me that because And I’m fine with paying the full amount, but you should know the coupon -- there was no place to put in the coupon code, just so you know.

50:30ANo, I appreciate you telling me that. And I appreciate that. Um, I definitely would like to get your $50 back just because I said that’s what it is.

50:38FIt’s fine.

50:39DThat’s fine.

50:40EYeah. Okay.

50:41AI got that. And, um, is anyone else having that issue or not seeing that, not seeing that show up? I am going to open it myself now to double-check. And Paulina, I see your hand.

50:51DAnd it might not work the same for you because it has your background information, right? But as a, as a new user on the site, that’s how it went.

51:00AYeah, it should just take you to Stripe. Like, I haven’t actually -- did go through this, but it should take you to a different checkout page. And I’m not --

51:10DYeah, that link actually takes you to the home page where it says join free intro.

51:15CYeah. Same thing with me. Like it’s about to process it without requesting the code.

51:22DHmm.

51:22CSo there’s a step missing maybe.

51:25AThat’s what it seems like. Let me make sure. It seems like maybe I haven’t enabled that. Set up the coupon today. I think that what I seemingly didn’t do was put up the make it live maybe. I suppose. That’s what it seems it must be. Polina, I see you have your hand up.

51:47EIt’s just only to say thank you very much for the presentation. What I got is the background of why it actually did show up in the first place. That was my biggest question. Why did somebody come up with this idea? What was behind that?

52:11DAnd, um, yeah, that’s it.

52:12EThank you.

52:14DLike, really great. Thank you.

52:15AThank you. I’m glad that you’re able to really understand why it kicked off. I do think that’s a critical grounding part of the conversation. If you don’t have a sense why cryptocurrency emerged in the first place, I think the rest of it all occurs as insignificant and potentially arbitrary. And so we want to get people really present to that from the beginning so that they can really run with the rest of the course And be able to leave with like, how do I want to participate? What’s my style? And yeah, so I got that the -- this code isn’t working right now, and I’m trying to revise my dashboard. And what I can say is that by 8:15, this link will be live so that you’d be able to do that. Yeah, that’s just -- that’s just what I’m going to say for the time being because I have not troubleshooted this yet, and my computer is not letting me do a whole lot while I’m also on here with you all. Um, but I’d love to hear, I’d love to hear anything from anyone. Um, any thoughts, any questions? What stood out to you? Yeah, Marianne.

53:20DSo I just want to acknowledge you and thank you because I’m present to you know, wanting in the background, I wanted to understand this. And, um, you know, the pace of change is accelerating, and I still have all the things I have to do and manage in my real life, right?

53:46AMm-hmm.

53:47DUm, on the ground. And so if I had to go do this research and learn this That’s why I haven’t. I haven’t done it because I’ve got, you know, my commitments, the time I have to commit. If I was going to study this, it would come from my well-being time, right? Stay up late, get up early, right? So to have you share -- this is your passion.

54:15AMm-hmm.

54:16DAnd to share this with others. To me, that’s like the epitome of teams and teamwork. So thank you.

54:24AThank you. I appreciate it a lot.

54:27EYeah.

54:27DYeah, you’re welcome.

54:29AThank you. Booyah, as I like to say.

54:32DThat’s really great. Thanks, Giselle. And Gabby, I know you have your -- you’re in the background and maybe you’re even in the foreground, but thank you both. Yeah.

54:45AYeah. Gabrielle’s had the opportunity to actually come with me to some of the different conferences I’ve gone to. She came with me to Ethereum Denver last year. That’s actually an interview. If you go on YouTube and look up We Them Media, see me interviewing Gabrielle on what she learned there. She’s actually involved in an organization now speaking to the communities that are governed by the community, and she’s in a community, it’s called a DAO, and we’ll learn about those as well, called AthenaDAO, where they actually use cryptocurrency to fund women’s health research. And so they’re looking at new paradigms for funding research, and they’re calling it decentralized science by really trying to get outside of these institutionally driven and incentivized, like, research paradigms. And you can speak to that a little more if you want to, Gabrielle, but throwing you in there.

55:29BOkay, you had a great explanation. Yes, Maseo has really been my -- started my knowledge into cryptocurrency. I have done a kind of breaking things down crypto course about 2 years ago now. So I’m excited to be in this course and get, um, Messael’s nuanced takes and further information myself. Um, and it’s been great to dabble into his crypto world, like you mentioned, through going to ETHDenver. Um, there were also a few crypto events at Art Basel, happens every year in Miami. Um, and also just hearing about Messael’s adventures all around the world and the different people he’s been able to meet and their impacts on cryptocurrency has really and are really just, um, what they’ve been able to take from their involvement in cryptocurrency and apply to their lives and their communities and making an impact has really been a great experience to witness and hear about. Very cool.

56:33CAwesome.

56:35AThank you, Gabrielle. All right, Allison. Miss Robinette Alston, JS, Mom, do you have anything you want to add before we wrap things up?

56:56GI think for me, it was kind of helpful to see like what cryptocurrency can do on the global scale because, you know, it’s just you don’t really have too much information other than what’s presented to you directly. And so Um, just seeing how it could benefit more than, you know, in your mind, I think you visualize Silicon Valley techies and it only really applies to them, but seeing how it can affect, you know, marginalized communities around the world and help develop their communities as well. I think that was kind of nice to learn about the possibilities there.

57:34BVery cool.

57:39DThanks, Maceo. I’m going to jump off. Thank you very much.

57:42AYeah, thank you.

57:43DAnd yeah, Gabby, Maria, Paulina, all the people that I know already. Yeah, thank you.

57:48EBye.

57:49AYeah, thank you. Yeah, thank you.

57:52CYeah, same, same. I’m gonna go too. This was great, Maceo. I acknowledge you as well. Congratulations. This is fantastic.

58:00AYeah, thank you for being here.

58:02DMy first pupils.

58:04BWonderful job, Maceo.

58:05CYeah, you did a fantastic job. Super inspired. Okay, thanks, and great backup, Gabby. Yay, Dr. Alston!

58:13AYeah, I acknowledge you, Gabrielle, for having my back and supporting me with the videos. Yeah, it makes a difference to have a team.

58:20CYes, and to Maceo’s mom and dad, we love him so much. Okay, bye guys.

58:28ABye, Maria. All right. Um, Agaba, anything you want to say? Mom, anything you want to say?