Blockchain Expert and Crypto VC Antonio Velardo on What Its Like to Get a Formal Education in Cryptocurrency

Antonio Velardo on Getting His Masters Degree in Digital Currency

Antonio Velardo is a blockchain expert and a passionate promoter of cryptocurrency. He&rsquos made a name for himself by tracking the trends of this emerging field and how it&rsquos changing finance as we know it. Given his background, it would be easy to assume that he has a degree in computer science or software engineering.

On the contrary, his upper level education was in civil engineering and mass communication. It&rsquos only recently that he began pursuing his master&39s in digital currency. He discusses what it&rsquos like to be on the formal side of education and how it&rsquos helping him understand the real opportunities ahead.

Legitimizing an Industry

Many people might be surprised to learn that digital currency is an acceptable choice for a degree. This is because plenty still views crypto or digital money as little more than a phase. Yet Antonio Velardo says that the sheer fact that legitimate schools offer the option is a sign that it&rsquos a profession with staying power.

Regardless of what happens with individual brands, like Bitcoin or Ethereum, FinTech takes over much of the financial world. The blockchain is revolutionizing the speed of transactions and their security. It&rsquos no wonder that schools offering the degree are branding it as a way for professionals to stay ahead of the curve, particularly as it&rsquos beginning to deepen its bend.

Antonio Velardo on Combining Two Worlds

Those who want a career in FinTech are essentially a cross-section of people. Antonio Velardo is interested in the juxtaposition of finance and technology and how each field can be used to strengthen the other. People want to settle debts without having to worry about their identity being stolen. They want to avoid $.75 fees for $2 charges. With the current legacy systems in place, that&rsquos just not possible.

The master&rsquos degree that Velardo is pursuing is teaching people how we can accomplish these goals and why it&rsquos so important to keep up with these changing needs. The pandemic has put more payments online than ever before, a fact that has brought more criminals to the table to capitalize on all the money changing hands. Without viable solutions to payments, the situation will only spiral out of control.

Antonio Velardo explains the real advantage of structured education is studying and understanding the progression to predict the changes. His instructors can&rsquot tell him exactly what will happen, but they will present both sides of the story.

Trying to go it alone, which many people are attempting right now (either on the job or otherwise), makes it more likely that an important piece will slip through the cracks. For Velardo, each class reinforces that he made the right decision. Cryptocurrency and digital currency offer advantages that traditional banks can&39t, and this has set the industry on a course that is unlikely to be stopped or rerouted for any reason.