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Bitcoin: Meet the 11-year-old boy who wrote the book on cryptocurrencies

Andrew K. Courey from Wellesley, Massachusetts, agreed deal with parents that he could leave education if he achieved his goal of earning $20m by age of 14

Joe Sommerlad
Monday 26 February 2018 15:30 GMT
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The 57-page book capitalises on its author's interest in cryptocurrencies, inspired by hours spent studying YouTube videos
The 57-page book capitalises on its author's interest in cryptocurrencies, inspired by hours spent studying YouTube videos (Andrew K. Coury/Amazon)

An 11-year-old boy has written a book about bitcoin in the hope of raising $20m (£14.3m) by the age of 14 so that he can drop out of school.

Andrew K. Courey from Wellesley, Massachusetts, made the agreement with his parents that he could leave education if he achieved his goal and set about looking for million-dollar business ideas to make it happen.

The result was Early Bird Gets the Bitcoin: The Ultimate Guide to Everything About Bitcoin, which Courey self-published in January for Amazon Kindle.

The 57-page book capitalises on its author's interest in cryptocurrencies, inspired by hours spent studying YouTube videos on bitcoin mining and the digital currency's short but turbulent history, according to The Swellesley Report.

Early Bird addresses such subjects as bitcoin wallets, rival electronic currencies like ethereum and initial coin offerings, aiming to help even beginners become "masters of bitcoin."

To ensure the book was easily understandable, Courey chose simple analogies to explain complex jargon associated with the field, for instance likening blockchains to Google Docs files shared by everyone.

The e-book, which took three months to write and edit, is retailing for $2.99 (£2.11) while a print version is on sale for $9.99 (£7.22) - in case you feel like helping Andrew buy his freedom.


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If you are interested in trading, eToro* and Coinbase are two of the biggest exchanges operating in the UK and a good place to start.

Cryptocurrencies are a highly volatile unregulated investment product and investing in them could lead to a loss of capital.*No FSCS or Financial Ombudsman investor protection. 67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs.*You should consider whether you understand how CFD’s work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

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