Victoria works in clinical trials, coordinating with teams that oversee data privacy and the regulations governing every step. Assessing potential risk is a core part of her job, and that experience comes in handy when she’s evaluating financial decisions, including crypto.
Starting the learning journey
When growing up in Brazil, Victoria saw her parents work tirelessly as missionaries. Since money was short after moving back to the United States, she started learning about financial security at a young age. Having gone through financial struggles, she thought to hold onto her money in other ways whenever possible, keeping it a lifelong interest of hers. As a kid, she imagined herself as a stockbroker when she was older, and ended up dealing in bank lending for a decade. This led her to talk about markets with her family for as long as she can remember.
Her son grew up in those conversations, and took his first job with the goal of buying his first crypto with his own earnings. The two of them have been watching that investment grow for over a decade, and they continue to hold. He went on to study cybersecurity, and between his training and her eye for risk, they keep each other protected.
Blockchains and supply chains
Blockchain fascinated Victoria long before crypto entered the picture. The security built into the technology piqued her interest so much that she almost went back to school to study it. After years of learning how trading worked, she made her first investment.
And her learning didn't stop at the purchase.
Once she dug into how crypto works and the intricacies of trading, she started noticing the overlap with her own field, where secured contracts are the whole game. In her line of work, every step needs a record that all the teams involved can trust. Blockchain works similarly, keeping every transaction on a public shared ledger that cannot be altered. The philosophy she brings to her work, assessing potential risk, came with her, and crypto became another place to put it to use.
“I've sort of used that same philosophy in my own life. It's become part of my natural way to assess risk, whether it's at work, at home, or in my finances.”
— Victoria, Global Supply Chain Manager
Confidence built for the long haul
Having security to combat risk is what keeps Victoria’s attention on crypto. With blockchain, she can see when and where a transaction occurs. That type of security is hard to find. She believes that expanding the regulatory space in crypto would help people feel safer using crypto every day, and crypto is now part of her long-term financial plan.
Coming from a background of financial insecurity, she wants to leave her sons and her granddaughter with assets and the knowledge of how to use them.
Key takeaways
Victoria monitors risk for a living, and crypto has entered her life to meet the moment by providing stronger financial security. Her story shows that it's okay to not know where to start, and that confidence will grow over time.
It also shows that nobody has to take crypto on faith, hers included. Victoria gave it her trust after she did the homework, and that homework is open to anyone. Start yours with the fundamentals in the NCA's Learning Portal, ask the questions she would ask, and let your own answers decide what happens next.