By FELICITY DARVILLE

IN recent years, cryptocurrencies have proven to be a new, yet strong asset in the world of finance. Certain cryptocurrencies continue to see extraordinary returns. With more stakeholders from different sectors now gaining interest in its potential, cryptocurrency is predicted to maintain its footing in terms of market growth.

The average Bahamian knows little to nothing about cryptocurrency. Because of it, fear of the unknown exists and people prefer to stick with conducting most of their business transactions with cash. Some are even slow to move over to online banking, even though most banks in the country have changed their mode of operations and are encouraging customers to utilise digital banking services.

But one Bahamian is on a mission to help change the public’s mindset, show them how easy it is to set up and maintain digital wallets and help make them owners in an industry that continues to expand worldwide.

He calls himself Black Crypto, and his name is becoming popular in the world of Bitcoin, which is the most popular type of cryptocurrency. He has taught people around the world about blockchain, the technology behind Bitcoin. He enjoys sharing the knowledge that has empowered him, so that others could enjoy this source of passive income.

“I’m showing people how to have control over their own money,” he told me.

He explained that because people are fearful about cryptocurrency, they turn their money over to others to invest for them. All along, he says, they could have had total control – because it’s easy once they know what to.

He added: “I think we need better education in The Bahamas. People need to learn the basics in so many different fields and skill sets. It’s all about inclusion. We should be sharing our knowledge with everyone. We need to build the Bahamas again. We need to be our own investors and owners…including in the digital world. That’s why I am pushing my motto - From Pirates to Port Owners.”

On bitcoinmadesimple.com, he has lots of tips and frequently asked questions to help beginners find their way. His YouTube channel Black Crypto has several instructional and informational videos for viewers. His followers can keep up to date with the latest news in the world of Bitcoin by checking out his site Bitcoinnewspost.com, which is steadily becoming one of the largest aggregates of crypto related news.

His desire to help usher others into this world started when he decided to build a Bitcoin mine right in his Miami apartment, using powerful computers to do the job. He started to document this process of actually making Bitcoin, and he decided to share his knowledge. Today, he has already hosted several successful Bitcoin and cryptocurrency sessions in Miami and The Bahamas.

Just as he is pioneering in the education of a new field for Bahamians to take advantage of, his parents have done the same in their respective fields. Born Joseph Evans Jr, he stands on the great shoulders of his father, Dr Joseph Evans, the first Bahamian Urologist. His mother, Ethel Evans is a well-known pharmacist and proprietor of Paradise Pharmacy. The Evans taught their children Joseph and Jene’ to think for themselves and forge their own path. For their son, the world of electronics and computers was most intriguing.

The young Joseph went through the motions of school as he grew, but he found it boring and was much happier taking electronics apart to see how they worked.

“I didn’t pay attention; I got in trouble a lot, but it was because I was bored,” he recalls.

“A lot of people thought I was mischievous, but I was just finding out how things work. I always felt like, if you are just going to teach me from a book, I could read it myself.”

Joseph built his first remote control car from scratch at the age of eight or nine. At an even younger age, he built an entire city from Leggo blocks – with functioning, moving parts. When the electronics he took apart didn’t have everything he needed to build something, he would ask his dad to pick up the parts when he travelled to the US. In this way, he patiently built his childhood inventions. In the centre of his Black Crypto logo sits the symbol for a digital city. Never letting go of that Leggo dream, he hopes to help create a world where more and more everyday people could become empowered through the knowledge and use of digital currency.

The same boy whose father was told he would never graduate shocked many. As he walked across the stage on the day he graduated from Bahamas Academy, he wore a gold sash – a sign of having made the honour roll every semester. He was even recognised in a Ministry of Education booklet of the nation’s top achievers.

Joseph had his sights set on schools like Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Georgia Institute of Technology to study computer engineering. But his parents got a call with a scholarship opportunity for him to attend Oakwood University in Alabama. He went to Alabama and took on the challenge of pursuing a double major. He majored in Applied Mathematics and also enrolled in the University of Alabama, where he majored in Computer Engineering. Both are in the city of Huntsville, and Joseph arranged his schedule to accommodate both rigorous schedules.

The structure of schooling still didn’t really suit him, and his technical and practical inclinations always seemed to prevail. Like many students, he didn’t buckle down as much as he should in the first two semesters. He ended up with a C- grade in Calculus. A fellow student passed a comment that insinuated he may not be up to the mark to maintain his double major.

Joseph knew he had what it took; so when he returned to his family in Nassau for summer break, he decided to do something about it. He enrolled in Sojourner Douglass College and took up two courses – Calculus 2 and 3 – in one summer. He passed both classes and headed back to Huntsville with high hopes. However, the school would not accept the credits, although he was originally told they would be accepted. The comment was passed that such a feat was “impossible”.

With dashed hopes, he left Alabama after two years of study. He headed to Florida, where family members lived and where he could be closer to home. He was accepted into the Miami International University of Art and Design in the computer animation programme. He had special talents that he was able to nurture at both schools – art and photography. He was an avid photographer, and he compiled a fantastic portfolio of photographs of many of the beautiful girls he schooled with over the years. As it was an art and design school, teachers and students called on him often to photograph their term projects or portfolios as designers and models. In this way, he was able to earn income while he studied.

He graduated with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Computer Animation with a concentration in particle dynamics and programming. Before he even completed that degree, he received a job offer. Florida Career College was in need of a part time professor for their Photoshop Graphics Course. He became the youngest professor at the college at the age of 21. He went on to teach six individual college courses there, including one of his loves – computer graphics. He also taught at New Horizons Learning Centre, one of the largest computer training institutions in the world. In this role, Joseph taught hundreds of students, and was frequently called on to train large groups at places like Fortune 500 companies, where he taught the staff and students in over ten individual computer courses.

All the while, he was busy photographing models in Miami, as well as capturing the popular car import scene. In 2015, he ended up founding and launching Portbox.com, an online booking platform for models and photographers. He found that there were some issues integrating the right payment system into his complicated software design on this Beta platform.

This is how he came across Bitcoin, and being driven by his mathematics and computer bug, Black Crypto was born.

“Over the course of the year that I was looking for alternative payment solutions for my site, I came across Bitcoin. Bitcoin wasn’t ready yet (for what I needed). But due to my background, I recognised the value of it, and that’s how I got into Bitcoin mining. In 2017, I realised I needed to increase my power, and so I got more powerful computers. I decided to build a Bitcoin mine inside my home, converting my washer/ dryer space. I started to document the process and upload it to YouTube to show people what I do, so they could make passive income and pay their bills.”

Since then, his popularity has grown as he has hosted seminars in Miami to share his knowledge with others. He also came home in June of 2019 and held sessions at Ebenezer Methodist Church, which were well received. After our interview, he helped me set up a Bitcoin wallet in about ten minutes.

On Friday, September 10, Black Crypto will hold a four hour fast track course entitled, “What is Bitcoin?” Topics include how to send and receive Bitcoin, exchange withdrawal, cashing out, is it a scam, and how to make money. Over the weekend, his training sessions continue with a mastermind course in cryptocurrency. It will focus on how to make real money in cryptocurrency, explaining seven streams of income. It will cover when and how to trade, how to make profit gains, a live demonstration on how to set up a Bitcoin mine, how to start a crypto business in one day, and much more. Both events will be held at Fusion Superplex. For more information, check out blkcrypto.com, email hi@blkcrypto.com, or look for blkcrypto on Instagram and Twitter.