NFTs and DeFi overturn a banker's generational curse of poverty in 2 years

Published at: Jan. 22, 2022

Brenda Gentry, a former USAA mortgage underwriter from Texas, believes that the cryptocurrency ecosystem offers a fighting chance to overcome the generational curse of poverty. 

Gentry, a.k.a. MsCryptoMom, left her decade-long job as a banker to pursue a full-time crypto career as her initial investments from early 2020 confirmed the “unprecedented opportunities offered by crypto.” She currently runs Gentry Media Productions, a firm that advises decentralized finance (DeFi) and nonfungible token (NFT) projects — generating up to 20 ether (ETH) each month, nearly $50,000 at the time of writing.

Speaking to Cointelegraph, Gentry recollected the moment she first bought crypto:

“It was early 2020 during the lockdown. I bought Bitcoin, Ethereum and Link on Coinbase. When I started, I almost gave up multiple times. I just want to help others have a more streamlined way to get into crypto.”

With this early investment, Gentry also dedicated her time to learning about DeFi, which eventually led her to invest in altcoins. Acknowledging the big learning curve into crypto, the entrepreneur provides educational content through her website, adding:

“I’m also hosting seminars to educate the general public about navigating in this space and things to look out for when searching for good NFT projects or DeFi tokens, and also how to quickly detect scams or rug pulls.”

Gentry’s younger daughter and business partner Imani told Cointelegraph about the rising interest in crypto within her friend circle. She said:

“A trend that was interesting for me to watch was people following trends — every one making their own projects & 10k collections because they saw the outcome.”

What may come as a surprise to many, Gentry did not have a Plan B, but only the moral support of her family, before committing to restart her career as the new owner of Bundlesbets, a DeFi platform dedicated to sports betting. “My husband and daughters encouraged me to pursue my dreams full time and I’m happy I did,” she added.

“I don’t want anyone to be left behind.” Giving back to the community, Gentry intends to help accelerate breaking down the generational curses of poverty around the world. This year, she plans to visit her home country Kenya and equip her nonprofit organization Educate a Child “with knowledge about this new asset class and the opportunities that blockchain technology affords.”

For people wanting to follow suit, Gentry advises researching this space first before jumping in. According to her, one must understand the bad side of crypto to avoid getting scammed, a concern most relevant for new investors:

“When it comes to investing in crypto, the opportunity to gain financial freedom is well worth the cost to watch a few educational crypto YouTube videos or read a book on this topic.”

The 19-year-old Imani believes that crypto will be the future reality. Addressing the younger generation, she concluded:

“Take time to learn and get involved in the space, and even teach your parents, siblings and others, as blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies are disruptive technologies that will require a major paradigm shift in the way we currently think about centralized finance and fiat money.”

Sultan Gustaf Al Ghozali, an Indonesian college student, reportedly made a million dollars by selling NFT versions of his selfies on the OpenSea NFT marketplace.

Related: An Indonesian 22-year-old makes $1M by selling NFT selfies on OpenSea

Uploading my photo into nft lolhttps://t.co/E3Q4sBmN26#NFT #opensea pic.twitter.com/rD51rdcpzp

— Ghozali_Ghozalu (@Ghozali_Ghozalu) January 10, 2022

As Cointelegraph reported, some of Ghozali’s selfie NFTs sold for 0.9 ETH, worth roughly $3,000. Ghozali’s collection subsequently reached a total trade volume of 317 ETH, equivalent to more than $1 million.

Tags
Nft
Related Posts
Kevin O'Leary says his crypto holdings could reach 20% of portfolio
Shark Tank celebrity Kevin O’Leary, also known as Mr. Wonderful, says he would be ready to increase his crypto allocations up to 20% as soon as there are clearer regulations around stablecoins. O’Leary, a former Bitcoin (BTC) skeptic, is now a vocal advocate of cryptocurrency, which currently makes up over 10% of his investment portfolio. Mr. Wonderful is particularly focused on U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins, which he sees as an effective hedge against rising levels of inflation. By staking stablecoins, he pointed out, he can make up to 6% returns. He explained to Cointelegraph: ”When inflation is 6%, you're buying power …
Adoption / Dec. 30, 2021
Ethereum white paper predicted DeFi but missed NFTs: Vitalik Buterin
Rounding up the last decade, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin revisited his predictions made over the years, showcasing a knack for being right about abstract ideas than on-production software development issues. Buterin started the Twitter thread by addressing his article dated Jul. 23, 2013 in which he highlighted Bitcoin's (BTC) key benefits — internationality and censorship resistance. Buterin foresaw Bitcoin’s potential in protecting the citizens’ buying power in countries such as Iran, Argentina, China and Africa. However, Buterin also noticed a rise in stablecoin adoption as he saw Argentinian businesses operating in Tether (USDT). He backed up his decade-old ideas around …
Adoption / Jan. 2, 2022
Crypto wallets: An important battlefront to gain wallet share and mind share
Digital wallets are software constructs that mimic physical wallets and provide the functionality of storing, using and categorizing payment instruments. The journey of digital wallets started with payments and morphed to other forms of stubs such as digital passes, tickets and boarding passes. However, crypto wallets attempt to redefine the digital wallet landscape as something more than safe storage of payment and crypto instruments. With more than 100 crypto wallets and growing, this sector in the cryptosphere is getting crowded and adding further complexity to an already fragmented blockchain and digital asset space. As I study this space and try …
Decentralization / Aug. 29, 2021
What are the best altcoins you can buy for under $3? | Find out now on The Market Report
“The Market Report” with Cointelegraph is live right now. On this week’s show, Cointelegraph’s resident experts discuss the best altcoins to buy for under $3. But first, market expert Marcel Pechman carefully examines the Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) markets. Are the current market conditions bullish or bearish? What is the outlook for the next few months? Pechman is here to break it down. Next up: the main event. Join Cointelegraph analysts Benton Yaun, Jordan Finneseth and Sam Bourgi as they discuss the best altcoins to buy for under $3. First up, we have Bourgi with his first pick of …
Decentralization / March 29, 2022
9 crypto gifts for your Valentine’s Day date
For readers looking for unique, meaningful gifts for their valentine this Valentine’s Day, consider giving a cryptocurrency-related gift. Here are nine options: A cryptocurrency gift card Give your significant other the gift of choice by giving them a cryptocurrency gift card. They can use it to buy food or any digital asset they want, whether that’s Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) or a stablecoin like USD Coin (USDC). Virtual real estate Readers can buy virtual real estate in the metaverse, such as in Decentraland or The Sandbox, as a unique, romantic gift. Their significant other can build and customize their own …
Decentralization / Feb. 13, 2023