At a time when Black people are setting their sights on ownership and generational wealth, proponents of blockchain technology continue to embrace what they describe as a means of meeting those goals.
That mission continues at Everlasting Life Vegan Cafe in Capitol Heights, Maryland this weekend. From Nov. 4-6, participants can visit and gain a baseline understanding of blockchain technology.
At the end of this experience, they will walk away with a non-fungible token, or NFT, they developed under the direction of a blockchain expert. They would have also purchased cryptocurrency.
Blockchain technology, also known as Web 3.0, serves as the platform where exchange of cryptocurrency and NFTs takes place.
Since its inception more than a decade ago, blockchain technology has been heralded as a tool that marginalized people can use to circumvent banks and other global entities on the road to collectively building wealth.
NFTs and cryptocurrency count among the numerous commodities exchanged through blockchain technology. In recent years, governments across the globe have slowly embraced cryptocurrency. Even with a dip in value over the last few months, Bitcoin and other forms of cryptocurrency still have stalwarts.
In the age of the metaverse, NFT counts as more of a recent creation. In years past, content creators couldn’t guarantee ownership of video and other media posted on social media platforms. Through blockchain technology however, NFT creators certify their ownership with non-replicable identifiers.
Over the last couple years, people of various ages have developed and generated millions of dollars from NFTs. They come in many forms, including songs and visual art.
That’s why Nile Ferrell, organizer of the upcoming workshop, titled “Wealth in Web 3.0,” continues to encourage Black people of various backgrounds to monetize their talent with blockchain technology.
Over the last three years, Ferrell has learned about blockchain technology, all while educating others about its benefits. He started exploring blockchain after participating in a hack-a-thon where he helped African immigrants make digital cross-border payments without a bank account.
Even with concerns about the volatility of cryptocurrency and its environmental impact created by exorbitant amounts of energy utilized to operate Bitcoin mining machines, Ferrell endorses blockchain as a tool that Black people in the U.S. and abroad use in this day and age to secure their sovereignty.
Ferrell went further to describe the apprehension about energy expenditure as an indictment on technology as a whole, not just blockchain. He then expressed his hope that people would overcome those fears and see blockchain’s potential to facilitate entrepreneurship and self-governance.
“This applies to any commodity, but more so groups and organizations that want to create a stamp of authenticity for their commodities without [being attached] to a centralized body, company or government,” said Ferrell, 23.
“We’re still in the early phases of blockchain. There’s an opportunity for Black people to get ahead as long as we do the work, get the education and have some stock in blockchain early on,” Ferrell added.