Education is the key to broader crypto adoption | Opinion

For years now, the promise of crypto has been capturing imaginations and promising global financial transformation, but for all the talk around it, there is still a significant barrier that’s blocking mainstream adoption. And that barrier is, put simply, the general lack of crypto-related knowledge. 

Market surveys show that almost half of respondents globally have never used or invested in cryptocurrencies because they are uncertain of how it all works. In the US alone, over 60% of people say that they have no confidence in crypto’s safety and reliability.

Without a proper foundation of knowledge, it makes perfect sense that potential users would be deterred from entering this market. Hesitance—if not outright skepticism—is holding them back, getting in the way of the mass adoption that the industry likes to talk of so much.

If this gap is to be crossed, crypto education is essential. And yet, much of what’s labeled as “education” in crypto today is really just an attempt to dress up marketing tactics. My opinion is that this focus is misplaced and that clear, comprehensive knowledge that could empower users is the way to go here. 

Let me show you what I mean.

Current crypto education programs are full of pitfalls

On more than one occasion, I’ve been asked about my stance on how the crypto industry has progressed in terms of audience communication and education. Unfortunately, I can’t say that I’ve seen much improvement in recent years. For many companies, education programs are simply not a priority, and even those few that try often miss the mark.

Instead of focusing on truly teaching potential users, too many market players try to highlight their own platforms, products, and tokens—what have you? Education is treated as a way to advance their own agenda rather than genuinely inform people about what cryptocurrencies are, how they function, and how users can behave in this market to stay safe. This leaves many newcomers with a very shallow level of understanding, causing them to mistrust crypto and abandon the idea of using it.

For example, the average crypto education program may talk up the benefits of using a particular coin or exchange, but it’s not likely to delve into the core concepts that new users really need. Basic stuff like how crypto exchanges, wallet security, or fraud prevention generally work. It’s no surprise then, that this approach doesn’t inspire much confidence.

Benefits of improving financial literacy

To reiterate once more—fostering trust and a sense of safety in this market requires a deeper commitment to education. It should go beyond just throwing out some appealing words to make crypto sound awesome; real education should teach how to participate in this industry in an informed fashion. In short, users need to know what they’re doing. 

Properly educated consumers are more confident and less likely to fall for scams. They are also more likely to see crypto as trustworthy, which would certainly help in terms of trying to improve the industry’s overall shaky reputation.

As more people understand the workings and risks of crypto, the market as a whole can become safer. If fewer users lose money because of misunderstandings and deceptive schemes, it will, in turn, lead to broader use of crypto and mainstream acceptance.

Promoting a collaborative approach

Despite everything said above, to my mind, the job of pushing crypto literacy forward can’t—and shouldn’t—be left solely to businesses. They simply don’t have the resources to shoulder such a broad task. The market stands to benefit from someone taking the leading role and providing the full scope of knowledge instead of narrowing it down. And who better to assist in this than regulators who already possess the necessary authority to make it happen?

Crypto companies and regulators have to work together. One potential way to go here is for regulators to set standards for educational content while companies can take responsibility for educating their user bases. By sharing the load and working together, they can cover all their bases better.

Most importantly, greater focus needs to be put on the end users. At this point, regulatory bodies worldwide mainly work towards creating rules for crypto companies to follow. And while that’s certainly not a bad thing, it still leaves the problem of regular people continuing to lose money in this market due to a lack of basic knowledge about it. This is something that requires urgent attention from all market participants.

Boosting understanding to boost acceptance

The way things stand, I am convinced that the knowledge gap is one of the biggest obstacles to mainstream crypto adoption. If this industry is to move forward, it needs to show a genuine commitment to making the fundamentals of crypto accessible to everyone.

Crypto literacy can’t be just an attractive “gimmick” to hook users with—it has to be at the core of how companies engage with their audience. By enabling people to make better-informed decisions, this industry can build up greater consumer confidence and, ultimately, get the broader adoption that it desires so much.

Valentina Drofa

Valentina Drofa is a co-founder and CEO of Drofa Comms, an international PR consultancy specializing in the financial and fintech sectors. She is a global entrepreneur and business leader with over 15 years of working in the financial market. She is a financial market consultant with a PhD in economics and the author of a few books on financial literacy.