This is a little rant that came out of me this week, after reading this article:
Global Debt Is Now An Insane $164 Trillion, But Who Exactly Do We Owe? It poses this question:
“...You have to wonder with a global debt number so high, do the people of the planet owe each other, or are we really in debt to some type of off-planet entity?”
LOL, crazy thought, but then again - not any crazier than the structure of our current money system. Thing is, literally nobody knows how our money system works and that money is created out of thin air.
The only people suffering from the stress of debt are “everyone” who do not belong to the top 1%.
Everyone, who doesn’t know how money works, because we were explicitly not taught in school (see my post of a few days ago).
“It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning." [Henry Ford]
Bitcoin, people.
BITCOIN.
Stop thinking it’s just a trading or speculation tool. It’s not.
It can’t be printed at will by a central authority (the total number of coins is fixed, and it’s decentralized - meaning no central bank and no government is in charge of it).
It’s global and borderless - everyone can use it - including the 2 billion “unbanked” people in the development world, who are excluded from the financial system and have no bank account. (Did it ever occur to you that we have to be lucky to be born into our money system?)
It cannot be artificially inflated and lose its purchasing power, like any other fiat currency.
What’s a fiat currency? Your dollars, euros, pounds, etc.
You still think bitcoin is backed by nothing? What’s your fiat currency backed by? Google it. 🙂
Every Bitcoin is actually there and accounted for. Unlike your money in the bank. Try and withdraw it all today and see what happens. Bitcoin is backed by mathematics and cryptography, and it’s always in your hands.
Bitcoin is as private as cash - you have full control over it, and nobody but you has access to your wallet. Meaning, nobody can cut you off from your money. (Ever had your bank account frozen? Or a PayPal transaction “held”? You do not own your money. You only have access to it. If you’re lucky.)
In our current money system, there is no way to ever become truly financially free.
It doesn't matter how much money you have and whether you're the richest person in the world - as long as someone other than you has ownership of your money, you're NOT free.
Seeing Bitcoin as just a trading tool and a way to increase your fiat holdings, is utterly useless. Do it if you want to continue the rat race, because you are strengthening the old system by doing that. You're not going to change the world and make anything better for anyone, though. Not even for yourself, because you're investing in currencies that are doomed to fail and lose their purchasing power over time (the average life span of a fiat currency is 27 years...)
Why not get interested in Bitcoin beyond just the money part? The society-changing governance part, the decentralisation part?
People keep asking me, "So you really think Bitcoin will take off and become a currency that we all use?" And my answer will always be the same: "Only if we all start participating."
About the author:
Anja Schuetz is a cryptocurrency mentor for absolute beginners, with specific focus on women and non-digital natives. She also consults as a Customer Communication & Operations Manager for blockchain start-ups.
Sign up for her Free Bitcoin Beginner's Course and her Conscious Crypto Museletter here: http://anjaschuetz.net
I have checked the Btc chart today. Only a question of time until it will moon again.
Resteemed :-)
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Totally! Though I'm looking forward to a time when we don't measure the value in USD anymore, but everything else in Bitcoin ;)
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Operating the fridge would become too expensive! I would prefer STEEM or Gridcoin...
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Maybe I should have said Satoshis ;)
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What I meant about bitcoin (and thus satoshi) is it is an energy hungry beast. If it would become a leading world currency, we would run out of electricity. Therefore, until they will fix bitcoin wasteful mining it will have no chance to become world currency.
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Ah! Would you still think the same if it were completely solar powered or we had free energy? My view is that this wouldn't be an issue if free energy were allowed. So to me it's not Bitcoin's fault... And I hope we get there, soon, because proof-of-work only works this way and from what I understand, every other proof-of is a trade-off in terms of network security.
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If there was a free energy...
if .... telepathy, if no wars, no hunger, no poverty...
Well, we can dream only. There is no free energy and there will be no free energy for many years to come, at least. Physics, laws of nature.
Stellar, Steem and many others seem to be quite resilient despite no PoW.
I think Bitcoin is a great proof of concept, but one lousy currency - expensive to keep up (energy), expensive to send coins (can cost $10 for a transfer, more than Visa or MasterCard), slow, and in fact quite centralized.
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Personally, I loved the way someone described it at an introductory chat of bitcoin. "A pocket private bank" the speaker said. I have always thought of it as such. Indeed, the approach it has to value is the most economically correct to what "money" should be. But, the fact is; it is still a "free" market and everyone will try to make a quick buck of it, even worse, people will try to manipulate them to make it look less attractive when buying.
Anyway, I hope your message reaches a lot of people. I owe a lot to the crypto market and I'd hate to see bitcoin or any other deserving altcoin to die.
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I first heard that term in this clip ;) "Swiss bank account in your pocket" - and I remember thinking, "You say that like it's a bad thing!" XD
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Amazing that the average fiat currency is only 27 years! I followed the link - Almost unreal the 100 Trillion Dollar Notes from Zimbabwe! Thanks for the article.
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Yes, I found that very interesting as well! The Euro is approaching 20, and the USD in its current form is already 48 years old...
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You got a 23.48% upvote from @ocdb courtesy of @connecteconomy! :)
@ocdb is a non-profit bidbot for whitelisted Steemians, current max bid is 60 SBD and the equivalent amount in STEEM.
Check our website https://thegoodwhales.io/ for the whitelist, queue and delegation info. Join our Discord channel for more information.
If you like what @ocd does, consider voting for ocd-witness through SteemConnect or on the Steemit Witnesses page. :)
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