BBC seemingly changes rhetoric on cryptocurrency

The BBC has released a new six-minute ‘Learning English’ video centred on cryptocurrency.

The video can be found on the BBC’s website on its Learning English page.

While the video is arguably overly basic, it is interesting to see the BBC creating educational crypto content to help lay people learn more about the asset class, particularly when you consider the company’s previous tendency to only report on cryptocurrency when it’s related to crime.

A large portion of the video focuses on the volatility associated with cryptocurrency – an important aspect to understand for beginners.

This is particularly relevant following the scrutiny popular cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX has recently found itself under for publishing an advertisement to commemorate Bitcoin’s 10th anniversary.

The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) complained to BitMEX, suggesting the graph showing Bitcoin’s price history provided in the article drastically exaggerated the potential returns when trading with Bitcoin.

The BBC’s video is intended to be used as a tool for people to learn English rather than to fully educate people on cryptocurrency.

The approach taken by the BBC has stripped the technical details down to a bare minimum, perhaps even going too far.

While it is promising to see a giant such as the BBC promoting education about cryptocurrency, its approach is devoid of many fundamental details that were outlined in Bitcoin’s white paper.

Still, it would appear that the BBC is undergoing a tonal shift when it comes to cryptocurrency and blockchain.

Last month, the broadcaster also released a video discussing how blockchain will be important for the world’s economy.

In both of these instances, the BBC makes reference to Facebook entering the fray with its Libra project. This is perhaps indicative that with a rise in mainstream interest, the BBC also intends to re-think how it approaches the topic of cryptocurrency.

Education is undoubtedly the first step towards mass adoption, and the BBC’s recent endeavours show a vested interest in ensuring that the risks involved with crypto are known. This is another quintessential step because many retail investors are still feeling the effects of last year’s bear market.

It will be interesting to see how the BBC continues to portray cryptocurrency and whether it will release more educational videos in the future.

Interested in reading more BBC and cryptocurrency-related stories? Discover more about tech journalist Monty Munford losing £25,000 after storing his private keys on his Gmail account.