Nicolette Brown
Head of content at Crystal Intelligence
Do you educate external audiences on crypto (e.g. clients, journalists, partners)? Who is your audience for education, and how do you approach it?
We work extensively on education and training within the sector. We regularly provide training workshops worldwide, delivered in person to governments, regulators, law enforcement, and clients. For example, Crystal representatives have provided extensive training to the Counter Narcotics Department of the Ukraine Police, demonstrating how Crystal’s platform tracks and analyses the movement of illicit funds.
As part of our education approach, we are updating Crystal's online courses, catering to different levels of understanding in crypto compliance and investigations. The courses are designed for compliance teams in financial institutions, including VASPs, law enforcement teams, and regulators.
Crystal collaborates closely with clients to offer compliance training and guidance. This involves practical training for risk and compliance officers to handle issues related to digital assets effectively. Further, we provide continuous support and training updates to ensure teams stay informed about the latest industry developments and regulatory changes.
We acknowledge that journalists can also benefit from our training, and we regularly engage them in a more informal setting to help them understand the flow of cryptocurrency and the challenges that negatively impact society. Finally, Crystal Intelligence will soon launch a dedicated learning management system to meet the need for on-demand courses tailored for crypto enthusiasts.
Has the market changed in terms of crypto knowledge in the past years? What do you think caused this change?
Yes. I can speak for the past two years I have been at Crystal. I believe the overwhelming perception of crypto was negative when I joined. Our CEO commented on this: “During the early years of crypto, people referred to the digital asset world in negative statements such as laundering the proceeds of hijackings and kidnappings.” This has changed significantly following the approval and launch of Bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (EFTs) in January 2024.
On May 23, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved eight Ethereum ETFs for listing and trading on SEC-regulated exchanges. This ruling illustrates a significant shift in attitudes, and its impact is ongoing. In matters of social and economic behaviour, there always comes a point when a minority viewpoint becomes widely accepted. This is where we are now in crypto, and that only happens with an increase in knowledge and understanding.
What channels and tools do you use? Is there something that should be done differently concerning crypto education on a more general level?
At Crystal Intelligence, we use a mix of in-person and online workshops catering to groups. We acknowledge that there is still a gap that needs to be filled with more accessible knowledge hubs that we can produce ourselves to complement training. We have plans to build up a new resource in Q4 aimed at educating scam victims about where to find help and, hopefully, not to be scammed again.
