The Satoshi Revolution: A Revolution of Rising Expectations
Section 3: Decentralization
Chapter 7, Part 3. Are You Part of the Revolution or Part of the War?
by Wendy McElroy
What do We mean by the [American] Revolution? The War? That was no part of the Revolution. It was only an Effect and Consequence of it. The Revolution was in the Minds of the People, and this was effected, from 1760 to 1775, in the course of fifteen Years before a drop of blood was drawn at Lexington.
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Revolution and war are polar opposites. Revolution is the decentralization of power from a concentrated authority down to the level of individuals who demand control of their own lives. War is the centralization of power into a coerced and coordinated effort by elites who hold individuals in such contempt as to call them cannon fodder.
A war on cryptocurrency has been declared. It comes from government and from those who believe crypto must be made “respectable,” which always translates to regulation, which always translates to people going to prison for making decisions about their own lives. Authorities and those who believe in authority want to control the wealth of other people.
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The war is afoot. But the revolution continues. Cryptocurrency, like the printing press, has been a social and political game-changer. A huge window of freedom has opened for the average person who can now avoid the central banking system and the government’s grab for wealth and social control.
A lot of confusion surrounds the issue of revolution because it has been so badly portrayed. Barricaded streets, people rampaging, cars on fire, conflict with the military…that is not revolution. The violence may be the effects and consequences of revolution, but change comes from the hearts and minds of people when they embrace a new idea. Revolution is not rage and despair; it is hope and realization. The decentralization cannot be handed down, like a pretty gift, from those in political power to those who produce and engage in daily life. The power of decentralization rises up from people who understand that basic human rights are never something for which you say “thanks!” They are a birthright.
John Adams explained where the American Revolution could be found. “The Records of thirteen [Colonial] Legislatures, the Pamphlets, Newspapers in all the Colonies ought be consulted, during that Period…” The violence that erupted in 1776 could well be described as a Civil War because about a third of the colonial population backed the British. The War itself was not the revolution; indeed, the War interrupted an intellectual revolution that was slowly winning the loyalty of average people, and might have produced a non-violent societal overthrow. What would America now look like if it had not been born in blood? Fortunately, it was born in newsprint far more than in violence.
The quiet explosion caused by was every bit as much “a revolution.” Those who call it so are often dismissed as hyperbolic because the cryptocurrency eruption does not conform to the images of barricaded streets and people screaming “Pig of a Government!” The social changes in crypto are largely silent. “Pig of a Government!” remarks are hurled at a computer screen in the wee hours of the morning. The pioneers of cryptocurrency are far from traditional bombastic revolutionaries, like Che Guevara, whose portraits are plastered on the walls of post-revolutionary nations. Satoshi himself remains anonymous. It is an unassuming, unpretentious revolution.
Besides which, the subject in contention is finance—also known as “filthy lucre”–and since when is that idealistic enough to deserve a revolution? Shouldn’t the banner read “FREEDOM, JUSTICE”?
It does. Financial independence is freedom and justice. The ability of people to make and keep the wealth they earn is how people feed their children; it is how they rise from starvation to well-being; wealth allows people to own the land they walk upon; filthy lucre turns an assembly of strangers into a civil society that trades rather than makes war. Money is the engine of civilization itself because there is nothing more important than people being able to feed themselves. Freedom of speech, art, literature and the other amazing human accomplishments follow.
The revolution of cryptocurrency takes the custody and management of wealth away from central authorities, like central banks, and returns it to individuals. This is the return of freedom itself. The revolution is all the more remarkable because it has been so peaceful. Alas, the war is beginning.
Revolution is Decentralization
Satoshi does not mention decentralization in his White Paper, which was pivotal in launching the crypto revolution. That’s odd. Decentralization through the distribution of information over nodes is the key to the freedom offered by cryptocurrency. Gandhi said, “the means are the ends in progress.” Decentralization is the freedom in progress. Decentralization is the revolution.
Every successful revolution must answer, “What is the end point?” If there is no good answer, then a bad system will just be replaced by another bad system. The French Revolution that overturned a corrupt monarchy was replaced by a “Committee of Public Safety” that instituted what was called the “Reign of Terror.” The Satoshi revolution of decentralized personal finance must answer, “What is the end point?”
The question becomes a problem when people try to give one answer. That is, when they try to centralize the answer into a single statement. The key: there is no one answer, and there should be no one answer. Every human being must decide for him or herself. In his magnum opus “Human Action”, Ludwig von Mises described the principle of Methodological Individualism to which all supposed collectives dissolve: “First we must realize that all actions are performed by individuals. A collective operates always through the intermediary of one or several individuals whose actions are related to the collective as the secondary source…The hangman, not the state, executes a criminal. It is the meaning of those concerned that discerns in the hangman’s action an action of the state… If we scrutinize the meaning of the various actions performed by individuals we must necessarily learn everything about the actions of the collective whole. For a social collective has no existence and reality outside of the individual members’ actions.”
Ultimately, revolutions are not a collective. They can and should be reduced to their most basic unit: the individual. Every individual who refuses to obey must provide his or her own answer as to “why?” and “for what?” The answers cannot be collectivized without destroying the revolution itself. Including cryptocurrency.
The War is Coming
Cryptocurrency reverses the political trend that centralizes financial power over the lives of average people into the hands of the elite. The centralization of power literally kills the average person, for example, through war.
The famed Austrian economist Murray Rothbard depicted the struggle for freedom as being Power versus Liberty. It can be rephrased as a struggle between centralization versus decentralization. It is King versus Commoner.
To some, cryptocurrencies are nothing more than a profit-making scheme. So be it for them. But everyone who values the political aspect of cryptocurrency should ask themselves: are you part of the revolution or part of the war?
[To be continued next week.]
Reprints of this article should credit bitcoin.com and include a link back to the original links to all previous chapters
Wendy McElroy has agreed to ”live-publish” The Satoshi Revolution exclusively with bitcoin.com. Every Saturday you’ll find another installment in a series of posts planned to conclude after about 18 months. Altogether they’ll make up her new book ”The Satoshi Revolution”. Read it first.
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Fortunately, miners and investors now have new options when it comes to putting their crypto money to use. How? A small number of companies are now offering credit and debit cards that can be linked to bitcoin and Ethereum wallets, using those balances for cash purchases and withdrawals via ATMs. This is a natural step in the continuing evolution of cryptocurrency being accepted as a financial instrument.
bitcoin is maturing. Its reputation as a legitimate currency is growing, due in part to rising interest from institutional investors. This year has seen the launch of many crypto funds from the banking and investment communities which has given the market a new level of respectability.
At the same time, bitcoin value . Certainly, there have been volatile fluctuations, but overall its value has increased significantly. Many experts predict the bitcoin value above $20,000 before the end of the year.
Miners and institutional investors alike want to reap the benefits from its growing value. Until recently, few options existed that would allow these people to convert their bitcoin to cash, or to use it for purchases.
Deals could be made exchanging bitcoin for products or services. But this seemed more like bartering than anything that resembled an actual financial transaction system because there were few opportunities to use bitcoin.
As cryptocurrencies go mainstream and gain more popularity, there is a need for bitcoin to become more user-friendly. Those who own bitcoin want and need ways to use the accumulated value for day-to-day spending, for an easy access to cash, and a way to use the money in a bitcoin account for transactions and purchases.
This void is now beginning to be filled by the introduction of bitcoin-based credit and debit cards. People that want to use bitcoin-based cards should typically go through a short process which includes requesting a card from a provider that supports such activity.
The user then registers or authorizes the card to activate it. Next, the card must be linked to a bitcoin wallet. Money can then be loaded onto the card, converting the bitcoin from that wallet into fiat currency.
Once this is done, a person can use the card anywhere where the card’s payment system such as Visa, Mastercard, etc. is accepted. That means a card owner can shop online just as they would with a traditional credit or debit card, pay for services, buy products in stores, and travel. These credit and debit cards let holders buy anything with bitcoin.
Any store that accepts credit or debit cards will accept the bitcoin-backed card. The merchant gets paid in his fiat currency by the card company, and the charge is deducted from the card owner’s bitcoin balance.
One additional feature to look for is the ability to withdraw cash using these cards. Some cards now work with ATM networks to dispense cash.
When it comes to bitcoin cards, usefulness and fees vary from card issuer-to-issuer. Digital currency holders should compare the terms of any card as they would traditional credit and debit cards.
Items to look for include where the card is accepted, ATM coverage, transaction costs, monthly or annual fees, and caps on spending or withdrawals. Keep in mind that some cards incur large usage fees and have a sparse network of ATMs in the desired geography. This limits their usefulness.
One additional point to consider is what type of card: Credit or debit, one should request. As with traditional cards, the choice is up to the individual based on how that person will use the card.
So, how does one find a suitable card? A few minutes searching the web will quickly provide investors with online sources that can be used to evaluate and compare cards. In these searches, a digital currency investor should look for cards that have no or low fees and an abundance of ATMs in the investor’s global region.
One pioneer in the field to consider is , a crypto bank that brings together cryptocurrency opportunities and a standard bank service. Its Nebeus trading platform supports peer-to-peer (P2P) lending and a multi-cryptocurrency wallet. The platform enables customers to buy, sell, store, remit, lend and borrow cryptocurrency funds.
Nebeus two cards that allow holders to spend their cryptocurrency at their convenience online, offline, or to get cash at ATMs, and the convenience and protection this card offers is hard to beat.
The Nebeus Exo Card lets users top up their card with all major cryptocurrencies and spend that money with over 30 million merchants online. Users can make $1,500 ATM withdrawals per day, worldwide. And they get 3% cashback In NBTK tokens monthly. There is no monthly fee for the card for NBTK holders.
The second card is the Nebeus Rocket card. Users can top up the card with bitcoin and enjoy the convenience of spending their crypto money wherever major cards are accepted. Users can make $750 ATM withdrawals per day, worldwide. And they get 2% Cashback in NBTK tokens monthly. There is no monthly fee for NBTK holders.
Nebeus is building bridges between crypto and fiat finances. New Nebeus cards allow the use of bitcoin and Ethereum as collateral to get a fast loan in fiat or cryptocurrency, and besides that Nebeus Exo and Nebeus Rocket card owners are entitled to perks, benefits and other rewards, so when you think about the advantages they offer, you will probably never use the mainstream bank card again. A full scale Nebeus crypto-financial eco system allows participants to create and consume financial products and services in the secure and convenient environment.
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