If you have to ask this question then the answer is a big no.

Do you need to understand Cryptocurrency? The answer is, you guessed it, not really. Well, if you live in or near the Canton of Zug, Switzerland, known as Crypto Valley, then you are an exception.

Here’s what you need to understand.

One day you may need to understand cryptocurrency. That day isn’t today. Money is a social construct, a social contract. Cryptocurrency is basically an attempt to change who is in charge of those contracts. Right now, banks are in charge of money. If you thought it was governments, then why are governments in debt? You probably didn’t even know that banks were in charge of money, they hide this fact well. This is geopolitical power bigger than you can imagine. Changing who is in charge of money will probably take a war or three, or four, or something on that scale. Seriously. Wars are what created this geopolitical structure.

The next thing you need to understand about cryptocurrency is that a lot of people who work with cryptocurrency are drunk with greed. Get involved at your peril. If you’ve drunk the greed juice, go take a cold shower and sober up. Hoping for quick money is gambling and the house always wins. You’re better suffering while you pay off all your debt, build up an emergency fund, pay off your mortgage, and then invest in index or mutual funds (aka a retirement account).

The last thing you need to understand about cryptocurrency is that the technology is pretty cool stuff. But again, the purpose of this technology is to topple bank control over money. Maybe it will happen. I’m not holding my breath. Cryptocurrency technology is cool stuff and may become useful in other ways in our society. But until that happens, stay away from cryptocurrency.

One last thing. I have friends who are involved in cryptocurrency. They aren’t drunk with greed. But they are surrounded by people who are. I wish them the best of luck. What they’re doing is not easy and it is perilous.