How a 2014 Bitcoin Project Will Pay an Alaskan Schoolgirl's College

In 2014, a schoolgirl decided to do her class project on bitcoin. As part of her presentation, she distributed 30 paper wallets containing BTC to her classmates. Three years later and half of her peers still have their wallets, with some planning to use the windfall to help pay for college. The girl at the center of the story has benefited the most however: years of performing chores, paid in bitcoin, have seen her pocket money swell to over 3.5 BTC.

Also read: Twenty Years Ago, Two Men Predicted Bitcoin

Smart Kids Get Paid in Bitcoin

Clever kids don’t badger their parents for a pocket money raise: they simply request a change in currency, from fiat to crypto. That’s what one sixth grader did back in 2014, but the enterprising girl didn’t stop there. The 12-year-old sought to educate the rest of her class on the wonders of bitcoin, which formed the topic of her science fair project.

Armed with some bitcoin, kindly donated by members of r/bitcoin, and the support of her bitcoin-mad parents, the girl created an information stand which addressed what bitcoin is, how it works and how it can be used. Her submission evidently pleased the judges, who awarded her first place in the Interior Alaska Science Fair. Some kids would have accepted their rosette and moved on, but not this one. Today, the now-15-year-old remains a big fan of bitcoin – which has been very good to her in the intervening years.

It’s Never Too Early to Talk About Bitcoin

In a post to r/bitcoin this week, the girl’s mother provided an update on the legacy left by the winning science project. She wrote:

Those 30 kids are all now about 15 and they all have their wallets, so cool. My daughter made sure they added little bits to their wallets in the bitcoin lows (and highs – haha). Some have never spent and are saving for college or gonna hold for the long haul.

She finished: “Little Alaska group of crypto kids talking about decentralized banking, forks, and the current issues with bitcoin now when they hang out. All from this little science project in 2014.”

At the time of the project, one bitcoin was worth about $850. Pupils who were disciplined enough to hodl – and to retain their paper wallets – are now sitting on a healthy lump sum. The wallet that the girl used to collect donations to fund the 2014 project now contains 3.45 BTC. The mother explained that she’s stored the private key in a safe place and will give it to her daughter when she turns 18, whereupon she’s free to use the funds to pay for college.

As this story illustrates, it’s never too early to teach your kids about money and to give them a measure of financial freedom. If bitcoin fees are preventing you from issuing your kids with micropayments for washing the car, there are always alternatives – bitcoin cash for one. Alternatively, create a virtual ledger on a whiteboard in the kitchen displaying “off-chain transactions”, before rounding them up and issuing them at the end of the month. For parents who are big on bitcoin, there’s a wealth of ways to incentivize the next generation to take an interest in cryptocurrency.

How have you tried teaching your kids about bitcoin? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock and kimberlitepipes.

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