August 9, 2017 4 min read

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Imagine that it’s October 29, 2012. You’ve just closed a deal to deliver a service or a product worth $100. But instead of sending you the funds by Paypal, your buyer offers to pay you with bitcoins.

Few people had heard of bitcoins in October 2012, so probably you would have balked. But if you had agreed to accept to accept 1,074 bitcoins instead of $100-deal, and you'd kept the bitcoins, you would have $3 million today.

Cryptocurrencies have exploded in value to become a huge opportunity. Backed by blockchains, a unique way of tracking transactions and preventing fraud, currencies like Bitcoin, Litecoin and Dogecoin (based on an internet meme) are changing how people around the world pay for goods and services.

Cryptocurrencies allow buyers and sellers to transfer funds almost for free and almost immediately, without using big companies or a currency that’s under the control of a national bank.

Cryptocurrencies are the most democratic way of doing business, and it looks now that they’re here to stay, but they’re also complicated and difficult to understand. They’re unlike the dollars in your wallet or even the numbers in your Paypal account. Fortunately though, there are some easy places to listen, to learn and to put yourself in a position to make the most of the cryptocurrency opportunity.

Related: Why Small Businesses Should Consider Bitcoin

Here are five podcasts that will bring you quickly up to speed and keep you informed about cryptocurrencies:

1. BadCryptoPodcast

Broadcast by Internet entrepreneur Joel Comm and marketing technologist Travis Wright, BadCryptoPodcast makes understanding the forks and the ledgers both simple and fun. Both Travis and Joel are experts… but not about bitcoin. You get to learn with them as they explore the world of cryptocurrencies and make the subject simple for other regular people to understand and use. Just as cryptocurrency is designed to empower power, Joel and Travis’ show makes the complex subject matter interesting and entertaining.

Related: How Digital Wallets and Mobile Payments Are Evolving and What It Means for You

2. Unchained

BadCryptoPodcast is a good place to start but if you’re looking for something a little more intense you can move up to Unchained. Created by Laura Shin, a business journalist and Forbes contributor, the podcast takes a closer look at some of the issues that bitcoin raises, such as taxes, and also includes interviews with other experts. It’s one to add to your regular listening.

Related: Someone in 2010 Bought 2 Pizzas With 10,000 Bitcoins -- Which Today Would Be Worth $20 Million

3. Epicenter

That’s also true of Epicenter. Broadcast by Ian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture, the podcast runs weekly interviews with leading bitcoin analysts. It’s been broadcasting for a couple of years and has built up a healthy backlog of material to work through. Use it to deepen your understanding of the development of cryptocurrencies.

Related: 5 Ways to Participate in the Bitcoin Revolution

4. Let’s Talk Bitcoin

Let’s Talk Bitcoin is a complete platform for all things cryptocurrency. The network offers a bunch of different cryptocurrency podcasts and other content but the main podcast, led by Adam B. Levine, takes topical issues, explains them, then keeps going, turning practical information into food for thought. It’s always fascinating stuff.

Related: Bitcoin Feud Splits the Currency in Two

5. Bitcoins and Markets

Ansel Lindner’s Bitcoins and Markets podcast has a small audience, mostly made up of experienced bitcoin users. Once you’re caught up on cryptocurrencies and have been using bitcoin or ethereum for a year or so, it’s a good place to come to stay up to date on the connections between blockchains, cryptocurrencies and the free market.