I'm quite skeptical of this idea and not so much on the implementation side, which is a challenge for sure but I've seen plenty of bright and enthusiastic people on this forum who could make it happen and would probably welcome a chance to build something inherently positive. To me the more important question is - already expressed by some other posters above me - how do we (or do we even attempt to) entice those who really need that education? We could build the nicest tastiest most beautiful carrot but seeing how many newbies here have a complete disregard for the rules of their "workplace" - how do we get them to eat their veggies without a big-ass stick? If there is one thing we learned from the merit system it's that even when their source of income is threatened (and that's a pretty big stick) some/most folks actively resist any chance of improvement but rather whine and moan about some perceived unfairness.
The idea itself is looking good however when you mention
Introductory cryptocurrency investing
It's already misleading people. Cryptocurrencies are not supposed to be an investment and a speculative asset. This is not the ideology of the cryptocurrency. Otherwise, I should be super rich already.
If you're specifically referring to ICOs, then it should not be called cryptocurrency most of the time. A lot of them don't have any product, or don't use anything using the cryptography
Perhaps not the best title, but the concept is good. It could be focused on what NOT to do, due diligence, risks of irreversible pseudonymous payments, lack of legal recourse etc. Let's face it - people are already being misled in so many horrible ways that any education on the topic would be an improvement.
About the carrot and the stick: The stick is that you may loose your money if you don´t bother to read. The carrot is saving your money, but let´s sweeten the deal by using merit to those "students" who prove themselves worth of it.
And I would not go further than that. We can teach those who are willing to learn, that is, I can help someone who doesn´t know, but
I not willing to motivate someone who doesn´t care (even about their own money). I you are not even willing to read I can´t help you. That doesn´t mean that the material has to be boring or picture-less, but difficult things are difficult.
Investing is not equivalent to speculation. I can invest to speculate or I can invest to generate a new business, create new jobs and generate something worth for the world. But I think that the title is not really the main issue.
ICO analysis should include Due Diligence for non-professionals, Business Analysis, Technology Analysis, Economic model analysis and many more topics.
Most of the people in the forum don´t grasp simple concepts such as the Market Cap, the value of a token, the real legal implications of an ICO, their rights (or the lack of these more precisely).
As for the the "white papers" that are normally published, most would not even pass the minimum filter of a half-witted accredited investor.
This is not about discouraging people to invest, but about discouraging poor projects to snatch the funds from the users of this forum and create a bad image for the sector, the forum and the senior members.
I think this is a very healthy discussion.