The True Value of Bitcoin

We are nearing an event horizon. Surveys indicate that soon as much as 10 percent of the population will be interested or involved, directly or indirectly, in blockchain or cryptocurrency.

That may seem like a small number, but in fact, it is hugely significant. 10 percent is, statistically, considered a tipping point. It's the point at which the snowball effect begins - where involvement starts to grow exponentially.

As we move forward fearlessly into the future of a digital economy, many speculate on the demise of the original cryptocurrency, Bitcoin. It's lack of scalability, unsustainable resource usage and a number of other concerns seem to predict it's inevitable collapse. Many believe that Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency market will fall to zero and all who are invested will suffer losses. Many others, however, believe that this scenario is impossible.

In a way, both are right.

You see, the thing is, Bitcoin - and the blockchain revolution which it spawned - is not about the money. It never was. We made it about the money. And that's fine... it's been a wild ride and there is much still to come. But the idea that all this will die simply because Bitcoin's value drops to zero is ridiculous.

Think about it - we have millions of people around the globe who have spent the past decade dedicating their lives to this technology. For some, it is all they know. They got involved in their teens, they haven't studied or done anything else - this is their lives. Do you think that because one technology dies, or even if the entire industry collapses, that they will simply say, "Well that was fun, let's go flip burgers at McDonald's"?

This is not going anywhere.

Blockchain, cryptocurrency, digital assets - whatever various names or forms its different elements take on as it all evolves, it's here to stay.

So if cryptocurrency is not about the money, what is it about? Many of you out there who are more entrenched in the industry may think that now is the point where I'll say it's about the technology.

It's not that either.

In about 3500 BC, some caveman rolled a rock over a log and realized that this is an easy way to move large objects. One must assume that many other cavemen at the time thought it was unnecessary - they already had caves to live in, why move large rocks to build houses? The logs were big and heavy and the process was slow and laborious. What good could possibly be gained from moving things on round objects that roll?

Almost five centuries later the wheel is still considered humankind's greatest invention.

Bitcoin has already given us its most valuable gift - where it goes from here is irrelevant. It has served its purpose far beyond Satoshi’s wildest dreams - it has inspired a generation, opened the eyes of the oppressed and freed the minds of those resigned to a fate imposed upon them by a broken system.

Less than a decade ago the majority of us saw no escape from the banking system which held us prisoner. We watched, helpless, as our governments shamelessly propped up one financial collapse after another while hardworking men and women went hungry. Now their cracks begin to show and the next collapse will be their own. We will no longer be forced to fund their corruption as we forge ahead and build a new world fuelled by financial independence.

Bitcoin is not, and never was, about money or technology. Bitcoin is that one thing that has always been at the forefront of human innovation since the dawn of time.

An idea.