"You can retire from a job, but don't ever retire
from making extremely meaningful contributions in life." - Stephen Covey
I've been meaning to write my entry to the prompt for days, and finally, today is the day.
My beginnings in crypto-verse
I started with cryptocurrencies in 2015, a bit by chance. At that time, the situation in Venezuela was already quite bad in economic terms. There were fierce exchange and price controls. There were shortages of basic products, and wages were miserable. Some still are. Many Venezuelans began to look for ways to generate income in foreign currency. At that time, I had already left my office job and eventually worked with my husband in audiovisual production. But as I had enough time, I started to do freelance work and began to use crowd working sites. So one day, by chance, I stumbled upon crypto faucets. I had read about bitcoin. And at that moment, cryptocurrencies became an additional way to generate some extra income.
As the situation became more difficult and the government imposed more controls and obstacles to the financial system, a few places began to appear that accepted payments in bitcoin. There were not many, but it was in the atmosphere that the cryptos could be a valid alternative payment to circumvent the crisis. Some people started to mine. The electricity, although the service was very bad, was also very cheap. If there is one thing I regret, it is not having done something about it myself.
Sometime later, Dash gained some strength here. It was widely advertised. I remember the first time I paid with cryptocurrencies. I used Dash. I invited my husband and my son to eat sushi at one of the first places in the country that advertised accepting Dash as a form of payment. I remember feeling not only happy to be able to do it but also feeling powerful, the government could control my accounts in bolivars, but not what I did with my cryptos, and the feeling was one of empowerment.
The path of constant learning
Eventually, I started trading, and of course, not everything has been winnings. In 2017 and 2018, I made some bad decisions, from which I learned some lessons. That didn't discourage me. On the contrary, I understood that this is a long-term run. We never stop learning since the crypto-verse is constantly evolving.
During the pandemic, I started blogging to earn cryptocurrencies. In 2021, I joined Noise.cash and Read.cash to earn BCH. I was never a big fan of BCH before, but as I got involved in both platforms and started accumulating it, I became more interested. BCH, thanks to its low transaction fees, could be used to make payments. And I have used it for that. My first DEFI experiences were in SmartBCH. In 2021, the world of NFTs also opened up for me, although it was more for fun.
And then, last but not least, I came to Hive, which today is without any doubt one of my long-term projects. And to which I'm dedicating a lot of my time and energy.
How do I see cryptos and my retirement plans?
If being retired means not having a formal job, I've been retired for a long time. If being retired means sitting and watching life go by with a beer in one hand and a crossword puzzle in the other 24 hours a day while gazing at the view of the sea. I don't think I'm going to retire as long as I'm alive and my mind is working, although I would like the view and to live by the sea. But I need to have something to do and keep active. However, in the future, I hope that what I am harvesting in cryptocurrencies will have a good return and help me navigate through my silver years.
Here, the pensions paid by the state are a mockery. Nowadays, a pension in Venezuela is seven bolivares a month, less than two dollars. Yes, you are reading well, less than two dollars. So of course, in my case, cryptocurrencies could be much more than a complement to my retirement plans, and I really hope they will be.
I got into cryptocurrencies by chance. I started using them out of necessity. But I'm still in them for the long haul out of conviction. Because I believe they can make a huge difference in the long run.
This is my participation in the Silver Prompts this time about Cryptocurrencies and retirement.
Thank you very much for reading.
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© CoquiCoin
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March 19, 2022