Local Man Advocates For Use Of Cryptocurrency

Members of South Side Blockchain discuss the benefits of using cryptocurrencies. Photo provided by South Side Blockchain.
Members of South Side Blockchain discuss the benefits of using cryptocurrencies. Photo provided by South Side Blockchain.

Local Man Advocates For Use Of Cryptocurrency

By Tia Carol Jones

Darren Jamal Heard wants more people on the South Side to utilize cryptocurrency. He uses the group South Side Blockchain to help people understand cryptocurrency and blockchain as a way to more financial empowerment.

Heard and his co-founders Ron Daniels and LaTavia Berry launched the meetup group on Facebook in 2018 because they wanted to educate the community about bitcoin, crypto and blockchain. In the late 2010’s, as bitcoin started to grow in popularity, Heard and the co-founders would attend events, mostly on the North side of the city. While they learned a lot from attending the events, they thought the information should be shared with people on the South side.

Heard said the South Side Blockchain fills a void for people who might not want to travel to the North side to learn more about cryptocurrencies and blockchain or might not be able to afford to pay to attend those events. Since they started the group, they have hosted about 20 meetups, where they have provided information about Bitcoin, Ethereum and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

The Facebook group has more than 300 members. Heard said the end goal of the group is to continue to address issues in Bitcoin, Blockchain and cryptocurrency, while educating the community and helping people to make decisions on the best kind of cryptocurrency for their individual needs.

Heard said that some of the common misconceptions people have about cryptocurrency include that it is tied to illegal activities and that it is a corporation. He said bitcoin is for everybody, it is open-sourced, a payment system and currency. Heard said that it is free for anybody to use. He said people can plug into the Ethereum blockchain or Bitcoin blockchain.

Heard said that on the South Side Blockchain Facebook page, the group is always posting to make people aware of possible scams and educating people about ways to verify their transactions, as well as how to look up the bitcoin networks. He said almost every week they are putting out reliable and verifiable information.

“Being that the industry is still young, the industry is only about 15 years old, so there are scams popping up all the time. We just have to stay abreast and give people reliable sources so they can make wise decisions,” he said.

According to the Bitcoin website, when used on a mobile device it allows a person to pay with a simple two-step scan-and-pay. All the person has to do is display the QR code in a Bitcoin wallet app and let other people scan their mobile app to send or receive payments. According to the Ethereum website, people can coordinate, make agreements or transfer digital assets directly with other people, without intermediaries. Blockchain is a digital system used for recording transactions in cryptocurrency.

Heard said that communities can benefit from using cryptocurrencies because they do not need a banking system, just a smartphone and a software wallet to get started. He said that while some retailers accept Bitcoin as payment, it is not at the point where it is accepted every day. He said there are some indirect ways for everyday Bitcoin use, like the Fold app, which is a personal finance app that is powered by Bitcoin.

To find out more about the South Side Blockchain, visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/southsideblockchain.

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