This past weekend I was in Medicine Hat (we have funny city names in Canada) for my brother's wedding.

It was my first time meeting the bride's family, and I couldn't help but laugh when her brother came up to me, shook my hand and said, "Hi there, Wade. Nice to meet you. I hear you're a cryptocurrency expert."

<center>![image1 (23).png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmdccjh472fvJayr4sPQQRiziN4TmwcbHwiaGfSmCPgR4f/image1%20(23).png)</center>

I find this incredibly funny because prior to joining Steemit in July 2016, I had absolutely no idea what a cryptocurrency was. I didn't own bitcoin or any other cryptocurency. Hell, I didn't even understand what "blockchain" meant.

Let me be clear: I'm definitely **not** a cryptocurrency expert.

However, in the year-and-a-half I've spent blogging on Steemit, I've automatically become a cryptocurrency investor... simply by writing content. And, as my cryptocurrency value has grown, I've become more interested in some of the other coins and what their purposes are. 

[Two weeks ago](https://steemit.com/marketing/@wadepaterson/steemit-s-marketing-opportunity-as-a-gateway-to-cryptocurrency) I wrote about Steemit's opportunity to market itself as a gateway to cryptocurrency. Anecdotally, I've witnessed a lot of my friends talk about cryptocurrencies, but they have no idea how they go about attaining them. Steemit introduces its new members to the world of cryptocurrency in a fairly user-friendly way.

And, as of right now, that's very appealing. For example, [5 days ago](https://steemit.com/marketing/@wadepaterson/reminding-900-canadian-bloggers-that-steemit-might-be-a-good-fit-for-them) I mentioned that I told 900 Canadian bloggers/writers about Steemit and explained that the website is a gateway into the world of cryptocurrencies.

<center>![DQmWA59DnormHfKqZwuEEhAQ5zArbqnscHXuBGiL6z162oB_1680x8400.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmTMdZt3x3CVaTRDqKbU92DKtoo4gVtTj3wNNMscbUoqBg/DQmWA59DnormHfKqZwuEEhAQ5zArbqnscHXuBGiL6z162oB_1680x8400.png)</center>

A few of those bloggers ended up commenting on that post, and I believe some of them have signed up to give Steemit a go. Keep in mind, these are writers who have followings of several thousand people.

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I think that this "gateway to cryptocurrency" marketing angle should be utilized as a way of driving interest to Steemit. In my experience, this has been a powerful method for getting people in my personal circles to give Steemit a try. (Retention is a completely separate challenge!)

After all, if there are people out there who consider me to be a cryptocurrency expert, that goes to show the power of this platform, which has been my primary source of education.