If you are a student, then like me you probably do not remember the days when depositing a check meant going to a bank, and checking the balance meant doing everything manually, by keeping a book to write down the money going in and the money going out.  

Over the last few years, banking has been revolutionized and we may not even realize it.

In stores, we can now use Apple Pay on our phones without the physical card. If your friend owes you money for lunch, they can now pay you back on Venmo or PayPal digitally. If you want to deposit a check in the bank, you can take a photo of it on your phone! 

Half of the world’s population does not have access to a bank account. However, in the last two years, there have been 1.1 billion new banking customers online according to Lang. Having the ability to have online banking accounts has revolutionized our world. It has allowed people in less-developed countries to have access to bank accounts. 

As technology develops with banking, so does Bitcoin, cryptocurrency, and blockchain. These are terms you have probably heard of over the past few years but what do they mean and how are they used in the world? In Jeffrey Lang’s webinar Blockchain and Cryptocurrency, he explores and explains the new world of digital currency and technology developing.

I think it is important for students, in particular, my generation and the generations after mine, to understand cryptocurrency and what is happening. Personally, I feel as if it is not spoken enough about. Perhaps this is because it is only 10 years old which in perspective means it is still new. 

According to Lang’s webinar, there are six stages to a Blockchain.

1. User requests a transaction
2. A block representing the transaction is created
3. Block is broadcasted to all the nodes of the network
4. All the nodes validate the block and transaction
5. Block is added to the chain
6. The transaction gets verified and executed
   

These blocks are linked together using cryptocurrency to form the foundation for Bitcoin. 

You may be reading this and feeling confused as to why it is relevant and if you should consider being part of the cryptocurrency world in the future. Lang explains the various sides of cryptocurrency in the webinar, but one point he does make is that people are still hacking digital currency. This suggests that may not be ready and safe yet.

“I think that the opportunity here today is to understand the technology innovation,” Lang said at the end of his webinar. I really liked this quote not only because it highlighted the theme throughout his webinar, but because this statement can be taken into so many different areas of our lives. 

Similar to the last blog post, How to Create a High-Performance Practice, technology is going to continue to develop and change the world we are living in. Bitcoin may only be the beginning of what we will see in the near future. 

To learn more work with a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) practitioner or reach out to the Financial Planning program here at California Lutheran University. 

About the Speaker:

Mr. Jeffrey W. Lang Sr. is the Director of Supervision for the Southeast Division and a Financial Planner of Lincoln Financial Advisors, a Registered Investment Advisor and Broker-Dealer.

He attended Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland. He received his CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER (TM) certification from the College for Financial Planning in 1984. Jeffrey has also earned a Chartered Leadership Fellow and Chartered Life Underwriter designations from the American College. He attended The Richard D. Irwin Graduate School at the American College where he earned a Master of Science in Financial Services degree in 1992, the Master of Science in Management degree in 1995, a Chartered Leadership Fellow designation in 2004 and a Chartered Life Underwriter designation in 2012. Jeffrey is a PhD candidate in the Financial and Retirement Planning Program at the American College.

He is presently an adjunct faculty member at California Lutheran University’s Financial Planning program. He has been a member of the adjunct faculty for professional studies for the CFP® program at the University of Baltimore and Villa Julie College. He is frequently invited as a guest lecturer at The American College, The University of Maryland, The University of Baltimore, as well as professional associations. Jeff served as the Financial Planning Association of Maryland’s President in 2003 and as its Chairman in 2004.

About the author:

Rosie Baker is an undergraduate student at California Lutheran University studying Communication with an emphasis in PR and Advertising. She is also minoring in Creative Writing.

To watch the archived webinar, click the link below: Block-chain and Cryptocurrency – Jeffrey Lang

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