No, Bitcoin doesn't solve this...
Bitcoin is not a cure for bad politics
Scrolling through the backwoods of Twitter, hunting for insight in the brambles of inanity, I came across this Tweet from a prominent Bitcoin publication.
As I’ve dictated in the terms and conditions of this Substack, I hang my hat on Ethereum rather than Satoshi’s sole heir. However, that doesn’t mean I’m hostile to Bitcoin. I have a longstanding fondness for all the flavors of magic internet money. That being said…
I must protest. No, the citizens of Europe do not need Bitcoin to solve their cash-ban problem. Here’s how I see it instead.
Let’s assume that the EU bans cash transactions over €10,000. Using Bitcoin to get around that ban is like covering your ears and pretending the demon in the closet doesn’t exist. Seeking refuge with Lord Satoshi is the equivalent of a disgruntled teenager running away from home because she’s sick of her capricious caretakers. Nine times out of ten, running away from home is objectively a bad thing to do. Haphazard flight creates more problems than it solves. As difficult as it may be, the better solution would be for the teenager to attempt to negotiate a better deal with her parents.
Let’s take a step back so we can see the forest for the trees. The problem we must solve is not how to make a payment larger than €10,000 if cash is banned, that’s gazing at one oak while ignoring the forest around. The broader issue is the political and governance structure that puts forth arbitrary rulings that go against the will of the governed. I would argue that the Europeans are presented with a political problem not a payments problem.
If you start using Bitcoin instead of cash, how long is that going to last before the same power hungry technocrats put an end to crypto? They don’t need to get rid of Bitcoin, just make cryptocurrency exchanges illegal. That’s it. All those fancy crypto tokens and coins would become so marginalized that they would fail to be significant.
The base layer flaw of the Bitcoin community is their assumption that they can use their shiny orange coin to escape the injustices of the system, living happily ever after in their decentralized utopia. While I’m extremely sympathetic to that viewpoint, I just don’t see escapism as a long-term, viable solution. If there’s one thing that Cool Hand Luke taught us it’s that you can run like a cat on fire, but in the end it’s damn hard to escape.
The solution to a cash ban isn’t to go underground, the resolution (if we can pull it off) is to reform the system in such a way that we don’t need to run from it. That’s my take on Bitcoin subversion, although credit where credit is due a large part of my thinking on the subject comes from Mike Green.
While this piece comes across as negative on Bitcoin, I am actually a long term believer in decentralized currency. However, I just don’t see a world where Bitcoin thrives if the system is hellbent on crushing freedoms. How about you dear reader, what is your opinion on the subject?
Your post got me thinking about the problem and what -- if anything -- we actually can do. So my partner and I recorded a podcast about it. The bees got a mention, as did this article :)
https://howtosurvivetheapocalypse.substack.com/p/can-we-escape-this-technocratic-nightmare#details
Completely agree, I think you've really nailed the problem here. Yes, we can move out of smart cities, yes, we can use bitcoin instead of cash. But ultimately, if the state wants to mandate that every citizen carry a smartphone, and legitimate payment can only be made in digital central currency, than moving out won't work. How will you buy food? How will you pay for utilities? You'll have to construct a whole network of people around you dedicated to also going 'off grid' who are willing to trade, and at that point it becomes easy for the state to identify you as a group and simply shut you down.
And for all those thinking of buying land out in the sticks and going totally self sufficient, my father lives on 5 acres in New Zealand and says he's already seen drones flying around checking out what people have on their land. Have unlicensed chickens or bees? The drones will spot those and the police will be sent in to confiscate.
No, the only long term solution is to overturn the whole sorry globalist mess.