8 BTC or a certificate? This is the one we think is better

Temitope Akintade

The beauty of the Internet is that it is an interactive space with varying views, experiences, and minds. This beauty once again showcases itself as 8 BTC is compared to other wants and human needs like academic certificates and japa.

Top cryptocurrency influencers and other figures had asked tweeps to choose between owning 8 units of Bitcoin (about $308,000) or a Canada work visa, a first-class degree at Harvard University or a full education degree up to Ph.D. level, and the timeline went haywire.

Unsurprisingly, people have preferred 8 BTCs, including those who do not have sufficient knowledge of what bitcoin is and how to utilise it. In the wake of this, it is important to strike a balance between owning bitcoin and having an education.

8 BTC

The first mistake people make is the misconception about what education is. Some people believe education only takes place within the four walls of the classroom and is always about the certificate. ‘Education’ is more than classrooms and lecturers. But, a classroom education can open doors uneducated people may never have access to.

Besides that, we must remember that many of the world’s leading innovators and entrepreneurs did not implement what they were taught in schools, but rather did self-learning that opened their minds to a world of possibilities.

The Bitcoin story

Bitcoin’s value has exponentially increased to a ridiculous level in the last decade, it first made its debut for trading at the beginning of July 2010 at a price of $0.0008 per token, and here we are in 2022 trading around $40,000 – an amazing increase of 4999999900% in just 12 years.

Pieces are all over the internet asking and answering questions on issues like: “if I had brought $100 of bitcoin back in 2010, I’d have over US$100 million now”. And, conversations about Bitcoin’s first billionaires usually come in at some point. However, trading bitcoin and cryptocurrency are not as rosy and straightforward as it seems, and that is where education comes in.

Education develops critical thinking. This is vital due to the technical and volatile aspects of bitcoin. An uneducated person may never comprehend what bitcoin is, not to talk of its ecosystem.

Similar to the question of ‘8 BTC or an academic degree?’, we have seen scenarios where people are asked to choose between $5,000 and 1 bitcoin, and many people lean towards the former. An educated person may never make such a decision, having examined all the consequences of choosing one over the other.

There is a humourous story of how Laszlo Hanyecz spent 10,000 bitcoins to buy two pizzas in the early days of bitcoin – a scene created from the mindset of an educated person.

Ordinarily, a typical Nigerian will opt for 8 BTC, knowing that there is no assurance of a job opportunity after getting an education. Besides, 8 BTC is worth about 154 million in naira.

But, why not have the icing and the cake?

Even though, even though, this writer would choose 8 BTC, and get the education later, if forced to make one choice.


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