
Alice in the land of cryptos (Bitcoin, NFT and other curiosities): it was the comic book we were waiting for. Alice inherits from her grandmother and must place her inheritance: we will live her initiatory journey with her. Doubts, convictions, despair, enthusiasm and sometimes arrogance too. The character is not chosen at random, nor is anything: a young woman, not particularly keen on computers. Nicolas Balas and Daniel Villa Monteiro, educational director of the Alyra blockchain school, decipher the crypto universe with simplicity and education.
Alice in the land of cryptos: fun and educational comics
The story begins in 2020. A year which saw a budding interest in cryptos in France, people in confinement having had more time to look into the question of bitcoin (BTC). But who wants to delve into a complicated work, sometimes mixing notions of economics and computer science intended for a seasoned audience? So we sometimes settle for “ready-to-think” and this work is there to invite us to reflect.
This is how the idea of this graphic novel was born, which was both complete and simple to understand. Adapted to a wide audience, we learn or relive certain emotions. Some will feel the pain of a first bear market, others will learn that bitcoin (BTC) is a national currency in El Salvador. Still others will find themselves frantically searching for their private keys. Don’t worry, all these terms are very well explained in pictures. There is also a glossary at the end of the book.
Pleasures and doubts: investing in Bitcoin?
What will Alice do with her inheritance? Placing it in a bank seems to be the classic solution. But the banker being late for the meeting, the lapse of time will invite Alice to reflect. She goes. And of course this is not to the taste of his parents, especially his father, a fashionable insurer.
Alice discovers cryptos first, then bitcoin of course. And a sleepless night. Stunned by clichés who we are, how can we make the right choice? This is a question that everyone asks themselves before making an investment and bitcoin is no exception. He is even decked out in the worst ways: Ponzi, money laundering, terrorism, energy guzzler…
Alice takes the plunge on page 23 and her adventures will be punctuated by the price of bitcoin, mischievously displayed with the date. We understand the volatility of bitcoin and we experience the emotions that go with it, like Alice.

Alice and the Private Keys (seeds)
The authors manage to explain in a few (comic strip) bubbles the mnemonic phrase, BIP 39, hardware wallet and public bitcoin (BTC) address. And of course bring up a recurring question: what if my hardware wallet is stolen or broken?
(…) The most important thing is therefore not your electronic wallet but the sentence.
Alice in Cryptoland. Page 48.
Only the Ledger is mentioned here, although there are many others hardware wallets. But there is already a lot of information in just a hundred pages and it was necessary to condense it. But, is it useful to clarify it once again: this book invites us to do research.

Alice and the scams
Alice will learn humility with Terra/luna: she who assured her friend that she was going to ” make a small fortune » says to him when he expresses doubts:
Pfff… You don’t know anything about it Charlie, let the pros do it.
Alice in Cryptoland. Page 91.
As we know today, Do Kwon (the creator of the Terra blockchain) has been arrested and is accused of multiple frauds. Alice will also learn with NFTs Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC)for which she was enthusiastic and whose price literally crashed.
It is therefore with hindsight that she will talk about FTX at the end of the book. She learned a lot (and so did the reader).
This graphic novel is a real tour de force: condensing so much information and clear explanations is astonishing. However, it is not a boring user manual. Those who have already put a foot (or two) down the bitcoin (BTC) rabbit hole will no doubt be amused by the hiding place of seeds or even moved by the discreet final dedication. Others may be annoyed by the caricature of the maximalist Bitcoiner and some will no doubt break out in a cold sweat thinking about their first bear market. Thanks to this book, Orange pillage his friends will be child’s play!
ALICE IN THE LAND OF CRYPTOS. Bitcoin, NFT and other curiosities Nicolas Balas & Daniel Villa Monteiro. Publication on October 6, 2023. €20, 112 pages.
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