After roughly a year of the new Cryptocurrency club at LT being planned out, March 1 marked its first official meeting. The co-founder of the club, Finn Gallagher ‘22, started gaining more knowledge on the applications of cryptocurrency, and after taking a computer science course, his interest only grew deeper from there, he said.

“I started the idea over this past summer when I got involved in investing [cryptocurrency],” Gallagher said. “I saw that some colleges have [cryptocurrency] clubs, so I thought we should make one at LT.” 

Cryptocurrency is a fairly new phenomenon in American culture, with it being invented in 2008 by an anonymous individual by the alias of Satoshi Nakamoto. Cryptocurrency was created as a result of the 2008 Great Recession when distrust of banks became a more popular ideal in society. Although many choose to invest in cryptocurrency, there are also many who refrain, since there is risk involved. 

“Right now, people look at [cryptocurrency] as volatile, but as the technology and software develops further, it can become more stable,” Gallagher said.

The second co-founder of the club, Jack Pochocki ‘22, became involved when he was contacted by Gallagher, who he knew through mutual friends. Pochocki found value in the sense of freedom that is associated with investing in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.

“It’s not government regulated, so I think that’s why a lot of people are interested in it,” Pochocki said. “It’s a great tool for making money and for future purchases.”

Although the club is only in its pilot status, there are already different activities planned for members in order to immerse them into the crypto world. One of these activities allows students to choose a specific type of cryptocurrency to track how the price fluctuates and understand why that happens, Gallagher said. This is something he hopes to continue for the rest of the year to see which member gets the most gain. 

In the last few months of the semester and moving forward to future school years, Gallagher and Pochocki hope that their club spreads more awareness about the new technology of cryptocurrency. 

“I think many people frown upon [cryptocurrency] a lot these days, but don’t really know the majority of what’s behind it,” Gallagher said. “People look at it as just a regular stock but aren’t aware how the technology aspect of it impacts our lives.”

The Cryptocurrency club meets every other Thursday in NC room 112, with there being around ten active members currently. For more information or updates, follow @lthscryptoclub on Instagram, or contact advisor Susan O’ Rourke.