Roughly one year has passed since I joined CryptoCompare and, so far, it has been an incredible journey. Before joining CryptoCompare I had just began dipping my toes in the cryptoworld. Although I had used Bitcoin before, I dismissed it as basically “anonymous internet money” and didn’t do any research on it. One day, however, I found out that I could make some money selling Bitcoin for PayPal in P2P exchanges (an extremely dangerous venture that I would not recommend to anyone). That led me to discover Ethereum and cryptocurrency mining.My adventure with CryptoCompare began with Vlad Cealicu, who I met on an Ethereum mining support group on Skype. At the time, I had begun mining Ethereum and I was spending all my free time reading and watching every piece of information I could find about cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. He helped me with a bunch of questions I had regarding mining.Eventually, after bugging him for a considerable amount of time with ideas for guides and other stuff I had for CryptoCompare, he introduced me to chayter. A few weeks later I quit my job and started working at CryptoCompare. My job initially was to add and manage the content of our coin pages, a position that has now expanded to pretty much everything. I basically run the company now… No, I’m joking, but since then, and thanks to the help and patience of both Charles and Vlad, I’ve been able to tackle much more exciting tasks. I’m now in charge of writing guides, the daily update, work on planning sections of the website itself and much more.Working for a company in the crypto space allowed me to dedicate all my time to learning about cryptocurrencies. It did not come easy to me, especially since I don’t have any particular education or background in technology, economy or anything relevant to this field. It was challenging at first but it has also put me in a position where I can understand what makes cryptocurrencies tick and I can convey that information to a general audience in a manner that everyone can understand. I’ve also had the opportunity to contribute to other websites like Coremedia and Bitcoinist where I have learned a great deal about cryptocurrencies and about the current alternative, fiat.After more than a year of working at CryptoCompare and with other companies in the cryptosphere, my perception of the world around me has changed. I can now see, understand and interpret current events differently.In this time, I’ve come to the conclusion that what gets people involved with Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies is not necessarily an understanding of how these cryptocurrencies themselves work. Instead, what really matters is an understanding of how the current financial system works, or rather, how it doesn’t.The most interesting aspect of Bitcoin, to me at least, isn’t how it can protect our privacy or how it can be used to send value across the world. They are important features but they are not game changing. What makes Bitcoin important is the fact that it cannot be controlled, censored or issued by any single entity. It makes no difference if you are a government, country, bank or a simple user. That’s what makes Bitcoin amazing. Not the fact that it’s some sort of technological revolution (although, in some sense, it is), but rather that it can help save mankind from its own greed and incompetence.The reason I say my perception of the world has changed is not that I have come to realize how good of a solution Bitcoin is, but rather how big of a problem it fixes. Before Bitcoin, I had no idea how money worked. The more I read the clearer the picture of the current financial system became and the more I realized the true value of Bitcoin.To sum it up, the most important lesson I’ve learned so far is not that Bitcoin can change the world, but rather that the world has to change. That can’t happen while a flick of a pen can magically add new billions of dollars/euros/pounds in circulation, not always for the most noble of reasons.So if you’re trying to explain how Bitcoin works to a friend or co-worker, don’t start with Bitcoin. Start with fiat, because it’s hard to see value in the solution until you understand the problem.What I’ve learned from working at CryptoCompare — and from crypto in general. was originally published in Tales from the Crypto on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.