Andrew Courey was fascinated with the concept of cryptocurrency, specifically Bitcoin. So he wrote his own book about it.
A group Redditors banned together to buy stock in GameStop and AMC, sending the companies' stocks soaring by more than 800% and 300%, respectively, in just days. Many took notice, including Wall Street executives, government officials and those familiar with the cryptocurrency Bitcoin.
Anthony Scaramucci, cofounder of SkyBridge Capital and former White House communications director, told Bloomberg that the capacity for impact small retail trading groups have proven they have in the AMC, GameStop case proves the concept of Bitcoin itself.
"The activity in GameStop is more proof of concept that Bitcoin is going to work," he told Bloomberg. "How are you going to beat that decentralized crowd? That to me is more affirmation about decentralized finance."
So what is Bitcoin, exactly? Andrew Courey has just the explanation.
At just 11 years old, Andrew Courey found himself fascinated with the concept of cryptocurrency, specifically Bitcoin.
But he struggled to find resources that put it into terms young adults could really understand. So he wrote his own guide.
“I had the idea in five seconds and just went with it,” the now-13-year-old told InsideEdition.com of his self-published book, “Early Bird Gets the Bitcoin.”
His goal? “To create something that was simple and understandable” so that even kids could get in on the cryptocurrency rush.
Of all the various cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin is arguably the most well-known. Instead of using cash or credit cards, you can use Bitcoin to send payments directly to other people without going through institutions like banks. Facebook's version, which is expected to launch next year, will be called Libra.
At first, Andrew’s dad, Jeff Courey, said he was “skeptical” of his son’s quest to write about Bitcoin — after all, by Andrew’s own admission, it’s “complicated and extremely technical” — but he was happy to let him give it a shot.
So Andrew spent much of his free time after school in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and during his winter break writing, sometimes spending four to five hours at a time on his computer.
The result was “Early Bird Gets the Bitcoin,” which was first published as a digital book on Amazon. He later created a paperback version as well.
So far, he’s made about $4,600 from sales of 1,500 copies sold online. Another 70 have been sold in person, including at his local toy store.
“Part of the reason I wrote it was that I thought I could make a difference,” Andrew said. “I made it a goal to be able to connect to kids who didn't really know too much about … cryptocurrency.”
And he doesn’t plan on stopping there. Andrew, who’s always had a passion for trying new things, wants to create his own tech company. He idolizes Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Steve Wozniak. Right now, he’s studying coding and app development.
“What I really want is to have an idea while I'm walking around and say, ‘Oh, here's a really good idea for an app’ and just go and create it,” said Andrew.
His dad believes that will happen one day.
“He keeps a Google Doc of all the different businesses that he's invented over time. He's a very innovative kid,” the proud dad said.
“I love seeing what he comes up with and what he invents.”
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