Bitcoin: Choosing the Path Forward. Wall Street or Main Street? by Tracey Leonard
I know I’m not the only one who is sick and tired of hearing that Bitcoin is dead, damaged, destroyed, ad nauseum. It isn’t. And everyone within the community already knows that. The myth has been put to bed. The thing I was most impressed by during the last week was the ability of an entire group of people to jump in, analyze, dialogue, offer support, and work together in order to get as much valid information out and to dispel the mainstream media misinformation storm that seemed to never end. This was done, for the most part, for free. It was done because we all believe in something enough to want it to move forward. The reasons for this are varied. Some of us want to see Bitcoin succeed to build new businesses or industries or markets. Some of us see the opportunity to overhaul a dinosaur of a financial system that benefits almost no one. Some see the potential to change the lives of those living in poverty and oppression all over the world. All are important.
What is the overwhelming common element in all of those endeavors? It’s change. It is my personal belief that human beings have reached a critical mass. There is a consensus among everyday people all over the planet that we cannot continue to live the way we are living. With the ability to connect with others all over the world through computers, we are realizing that we are all more or less the same. Our governments are equally corrupt and running agendas that have absolutely nothing to do with the best interests of the people. The power structure is designed to keep us in line. The corporate elite are in place to prevent small businesses and fair trade from thriving. Innovation is stifled and growth is impossible in the current paradigm. But more importantly, people are dying. They are dying from exported inflation in the form of bailouts and QE and from a bloated and out of control military industrial complex with exactly ZERO accountability. They are dying because of policies created by corporate interests that are pushed through the political structure by greedy and corrupt elected officials who can only see through to the next election and who are only interested in securing their place at the government trough until every last taxpayer dime has been squeezed out of the system. There isn’t a whole lot left to squeeze. The workforce is at an all time low, salaries are stuck in the 1960s, and the consumer is completely tapped out. The world is currently built on a debt model. It’s not going to end well.
In short, the equilibrium has shifted. Whereas before families could at least eek out an existence and provide the necessities, that is no longer possible for most. Decisions about buying groceries or filling a life saving prescription, paying the heating bill or the rent – these are now the norm for people around the world. And prices just keep going up while we are told that inflation is totally under control. It’s bullshit. We all know it’s bullshit.
That is where the inevitability of change comes in. Those of us in the real world interact with people every day who have been affected by the devastating economic, financial, environmental and political decisions made by others we have placed our trust in. To add insult to injury, if you choose to vote, you get blamed for putting that person in office. If you choose not to vote, you get blamed for being apathetic and uncaring. The joke is on us. Do people really still believe that the person sitting in that elected seat is operating on our behalf? Do you really think that Republican or Democrat matters? They all operate based upon the flow of money. It really is that simple. You have money, you matter. If you don’t, you’re expendable.
Bitcoin disrupts the flow. It shakes up the status quo and confuses the heck out of the group of people who have had a really nice system going for hundreds of years for their own personal benefit. I’ll tell you where they are stuck. Most of them know exactly how valuable the Bitcoin payment network is. The banking system is the last system left that hasn’t been completely overhauled since the tech revolution. It’s obvious why they want it gone. At the same time, they see the fortune to be made by capitalizing on a new innovation. So what do they do? Right now, they are trying to figure out how they can sink their teeth in and control it. And not just in the US. All over the world. Everyone with a firing brain cell knows that the financial system is insolvent. Bailouts are life support. The patient is already brain dead. They aren’t trying to fix anything. They are simply trying to figure out how to drain the very last bits of liquidity out of the system before they pull the plug. So I am always very leery when I start to see ‘leaders’ in the Bitcoin world pop up. By leaders I do not mean informational leaders or technological leaders. I mean money leaders. I mean Wall Street. While many are claiming that Wall Street money is necessary to legitimize Bitcoin – I vehemently disagree. What Wall Street has it’s eye on is a massive windfall. They care about the fiat value of one bitcoin. It’s an easy thing to get wrapped up in. And there is no single entity better at manipulating the price of an asset or commodity or stock than Wall Street traders. Sure, they can open up lots of doors that the every day person could not. But those doors come at a price.
Bitcoin is at a turning point. There are a lot of decisions to be made. Most of what I have seen coming out of the community is overwhelmingly positive. The majority of us want Bitcoin to remain what it was meant to be – a superior ledger/payment system that takes out the middleman and turns the power structure on its head. A peer to peer method that allows each of us to decide who we want to help or how we want to transact business anywhere in the world without permission. Is there a price tag on that freedom? Are we going to allow one to be placed on it? My hope is that others feel like I do. I’d rather have a bitcoin with a lower dollar equivalent and grow it over time in an honest and real way with minimal regulation. The power that comes from freedom trumps money any day. Especially fiat money that requires guns and a military to make it ‘legitimate’ and to give it value. The value of the bitcoin currency will happen over time anyway. It will happen when the broader population begins to see why it is important and what it can do. The financial sector is already in the process of hanging itself. My advice is just let it die. But don’t hand it Bitcoin as a lifeline. Bitcoin was created to end the reign of terror created by the banking sector and Wall Street. Let’s not hand them our greatest weapon to make a few bucks.
This article originally appeared coinchomp.com and has been republished here with permission.
Tracey Leonard
I'm an avid sewer and crafter who designs and makes custom handbags, a mom, and most importantly, a person looking at the state of the world and trying to figure out how to change it. I stumbled across Bitcoin about a year ago. It will change the world. I want to be a part of that. I like to think of myself as one of the faces of broader adoption. I'm not a CEO or a developer. As a matter of fact I'm not even very tech savvy, but I understand enough to know that we are looking at something revolutionary and game changing. How it changes things is up to us.
You can follow me on my website: http://sewcreativebags.com/ Or my personal blog