Free Market

Does Jack Dorsey Support Voluntaryism? Twitter CEO Shares Murray Rothbard’s Book ‘Anatomy of the State’

14/08/2021 by Idelto Editor

Ever since the CEO of Twitter and Square, Jack Dorsey, started appreciating the crypto asset bitcoin, crypto enthusiasts have been following his coattails. However, there are very mixed views about Dorsey because while some people adore him, others are skeptical of his goals as his firm has been accused of mass censorship. Then on August 13, Dorsey tweeted out a URL link to a book called “Anatomy of the State” by the economist Murray Rothbard. The tweet not only attracted likes from bitcoiners but a number of libertarians were also confused by his tweet.

While Some Bitcoin Supporters Love Him, Many Other Crypto Advocates Don’t Trust Jack Dorsey

For quite some time now, the CEO of Twitter has been a bitcoin (BTC) supporter as he sports a Lightning Network emoji next to his username and keeps a bitcoin symbol in his Twitter bio. Jack Dorsey has also talked about the benefits of bitcoin on various occasions and recently tweeted about the vast number of Nigerians that leverage the crypto asset.

Dorsey’s other company Square allows merchants to accept bitcoin and people can purchase BTC via the Cash App as well. However, Dorsey is not liked by everyone and in fact, a great number of crypto supporters don’t like that he’s a maximalist, that his firm has censored individuals, and many believe he’s just a run-of-the-mill status quo figurehead from Big Tech.

Dorsey recently said that bitcoin would be a big part of Twitter’s future and recently discussed the subject of bitcoin with Ark Invest’s Cathie Wood and Tesla’s Elon Musk at the “B Word” event. Dorsey’s company Square is also in the midst of developing a bitcoin hardware wallet.

But while Dorsey was on stage at the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami he was heckled by a conference attendee over “censorship” and “interfering in elections.” Since the onset of Covid-19, just like Youtube, Facebook, and Instagram, Dorsey’s firm Twitter has been accused of mass censorship when tweets involved alternative discussions concerning the narrative surrounding the coronavirus and the 2020 election.

Twitter CEO Shocks Bitcoiners and Libertarians With Rothbard Book Tweet

To many people’s surprise, on Friday the 13th, Dorsey shared a URL to Murray Rothbard’s magnum opus called “Anatomy of the State.” So far Dorsey’s Rothbard tweet has close to 13,000 likes and almost 2,000 retweets. The Twitter CEO even got the name “Rothbard” trending across Twitter since he shared the link stemming from Mises.org. It confused a number of bitcoiners and popular libertarian voices as well, because Dorsey is considered a leftist who still endorses the state.

The American economist Murray Newton Rothbard, on the other hand, was a leading theoretician of anarcho-capitalism and one of the founders of the Austrian School of economics. The reason people were confused by Dorsey’s tweet is that today’s neo-liberal ideals, something Dorsey is known for advocating, would almost certainly be scorned by Rothbard.

Free Market, Anti-War, and Anti-State

Rothbard’s book “Anatomy of the State” is considered one of the economist’s finest works and the first chapter, “What the State Is Not,” lays the groundwork of people’s false perceptions of the world’s nation-states. Essentially, the state is humanity’s enemy and the institution is a monopoly of violence that leverages force and coercion as a means to get its ends. Rothbard’s “Anatomy of the State” describes why the state is immoral and how the so-called “good intentions” are used as excuses for theft and manipulation. Rothbard’s famous magnum opus is wholeheartedly free market, anti-war, and anti-state.

“Since production must always precede predation,” Rothbard writes, “the free market is anterior to the state. The state has never been created by a ‘social contract’; it has always been born in conquest and exploitation.” The Austrian economist adds:

The State is that organization in society which attempts to maintain a monopoly of the use of force and violence in a given territorial area; in particular, it is the only organization in society that obtains its revenue not by voluntary contribution or payment for services rendered but by coercion.

We don’t know if Jack Dorsey’s tweet meant that he was moved by Rothbard’s book and words that describe the state or if it was just a Friday the 13th gag. It’s doubtful that the CEO of Twitter will become a Rothbardian after reading “Anatomy of the State,” but even though some bitcoiners and libertarians were skeptical, some thought that maybe Jack is changing ideological directions. Maybe the Twitter CEO realizes the value of voluntary cooperation and believes force and coercion are wrong?

What do you think about the CEO of Twitter sharing Murray Rothbard’s book “Anatomy of the State”? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

2020 Libertarian Presidential Candidate Jo Jorgensen Talks Bitcoin, Endless Wars, Covid-19 Response

09/06/2020 by Idelto Editor

On June 8, news.Bitcoin.com chatted with the U.S. 2020 Libertarian candidate for president, Joanne Jorgensen. The Libertarian Party’s nominee for president is the party’s first female candidate and she is a firm believer in free markets and civil liberties.

This week our newsdesk discussed a number of issues with the Libertarian 2020 presidential candidate Joanne Jorgensen, otherwise known as “Jo.” The Libertarian nominee is a well known political activist and academic researcher during the last few decades. Jo Jorgensen discusses a number of subjects with our newsdesk including Donald Trump, bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, police accountability, the war on drugs, the war on terror, the Federal Reserve, and pardoning Ross Ulbricht. Jorgensen offers an interesting perspective that is unlike the incumbent Donald Trump and very different from the Democrat challenger Joe Biden.

Bitcoin.com (BC): Can you tell our readers why you are running for President?

Jo Jorgensen (JJ): Because the government is too big, too nosy, too intrusive, and it often hurts those it tries to help. News.Bitcoin.com readers can read about my stance on all the issues here at my website joj2020.com.

BC: Why do you think voters feel obligated to vote either Democrat and Republican over a third-party candidate?

JJ: Part of it is because they control the narrative. One thing voters look forward to is the debates and after some third-party candidates were able to be included in the debates, what they did was change the requirements. In fact, Harry Browne and I in 1996 tried very hard to get third parties into the debates. What they told us was “Well I’m sorry the Debate Commission won’t allow it.” Now what they were not telling us was that the Debate Commission consisted of half Republicans and half Democrats.

Both parties are for bigger government, they both enjoy the power, and they know that if the Libertarians get too much publicity, then people would realize this is what the average American voter wants. There are estimates that say 40 to 45 million people are Libertarian-leaning, and either they have never heard of the Libertarian party or they just don’t know enough about the party. If we could come in contact with them, they probably would be thrilled with our message and we could get somewhere. But again the Democrats and Republicans with the mainstream media — It’s hard to get any traction.

One thing that is promising and that we are thrilled about, is the fact that we are getting so many volunteers. So many volunteers visiting our website, signing up and what is really great is that many of them are not even Libertarian. We are just overwhelmed with how many people from outside the Libertarian party want to help us.

BC: What are your thoughts on how the US government handled the coronavirus outbreak— specifically the business shutdowns and lockdown orders?

It was the largest assault on history in my lifetime. It was tragic, they put us all under house arrest and tens of millions of people lost their jobs. Many of those jobs are not coming back. One of my grandfathers immigrated from Sweden and his family came to America for freedom. You know the land of the free and home of the brave. And while we are all under lockdown, the old country that he left they were all out walking about, going to school, going to restaurants, and having a general freedom that you would expect Americans to have.

BC: Since the coronavirus and even months prior, the US Federal Reserve has created trillions of dollars and it has been distributed to private dealers and interests. What are your thoughts on the Fed and how would you address this private bank as President?

JJ: First all the Federal Reserve should have never been created to begin with. Unfortunately, they are teaching history a little wrong in the textbooks these days. Because a lot of people say that if it wasn’t for the Fed stepping in, the Great Depression would have been so much worse. But actually the Federal Reserve caused the problems. The reason the Fed was brought about was to help with times of crisis — to smooth things over.

But the tragedy is that the banks had already worked out a system already. A system of where the banks helped each other out voluntarily and it did not involve the ups and downs of the Fed. So first of all, it should have never been created. Second, it took a small problem and made it much larger. And third, the first thing I would do if I was President of the United States would be to audit the Federal Reserve.

I would seek advice from former Senator Ron Paul and ask him his recommendation on who should be in charge of that investigation committee. Eventually, I’d like to see the Fed abolished. Because through the Federal Reserve we get money created out of thin air, which is basically the equivalent of counterfeit money.

It is a hidden tax that was not passed by Congress, so people don’t realize that now they have been taxed, but not in an honest way. If there even is an honest way. They are doing it under the dark of night where nobody knows and all retirees know is that their money isn’t going as far as it used to go.

BC: A great number of Libertarians like money such as gold and silver. However, in recent years many free-market advocates support bitcoin. What is your stance on Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency economy?

JJ: A message from the Libertarian Party platform says: “We favor free-market banking with unrestricted competition among banks and depository institutions of all types — Individuals engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any mutually agreeable commodity or item. We support a halt to inflationary monetary policies and unconstitutional legal tender laws.”

So a number of people say that they want to back USD with gold. That would be a step in the right direction, but that is not enough. We have competition in cars, competition with computers, and competitive grocery stores. Why not have competition with money? So the people have access to something that is more planned and a monetary system they can better predict. Right now what we have is money that’s created under the whims of Congress and the Federal Reserve Chair.

I would act in support of a free market in currencies. Some people say that the constitution authorizes the federal government to create currency, just like it authorizes the creation of the post office. But in neither case, does the constitution give the federal government a monopoly on currency or the delivery of mail. Businesses should be able to trade and accept whatever they want and that would mean bitcoin and all the other cryptocurrencies.

BC: A lot of people can’t stand Donald Trump. But there are many with the Libertarian perspective that Obama was just as much of a tyrant. For instance, the 6-7 wars Obama was involved in, signing the NDAA, and militarizing the police during the Occupy protests. How would you compare the last two presidencies?

JJ: They are both big government. If you ask the average person: “Do you think the government is too big or do you think it is too small?” They will usually laugh when you ask if it is too small. It gives the voters a false sense of choice and people say “well my team won this time.” Its basically big government guy number one and big government guy number two. So we are basically down to literally just the red and blue team. They are both for big government and all you are doing is rooting for the red and blue, and not necessarily policy. When I joined the Libertarian party and movement in 1979, in the ‘70s and ‘80s we would often tell people we take the best of both sides.

Like the Republicans, we believe in economic liberties. Like the left and the Democrats, we Libertarians believe in social liberties. But now you can’t even say that anymore because neither side is for any liberty. We see Republicans like Donald Trump coming in and spending money and enacting horrible laws in industry. Then on the left, we see some of the biggest movements against free speech that have been around for quite a while. The left has become so anti-free speech, so we can’t even say we take the best from both sides.

For instance, with Obamacare, we do not have a free market healthcare system. I keep hearing people say “since the free market doesn’t work, I guess we will have to go to single-payer or we have to go to this system or that system.” No, we don’t have a free market healthcare system and we haven’t had it since at least World War 2. If we went back to the free market, we would have much lower healthcare prices. Because we would have the checks and balances of a free market system.

BC: Do you think ending the war on drugs would help reform American police forces?

Absolutely. We have so many laws and the police in so many areas there’s kind of an ‘us versus them’ mentality. Crime is a local issue. For instance, assault, burglary, and all of those things are done to a specific person, home, or to their cars. There is no need for the federal government to get involved. Policing is a local issue. But what the federal government has done is that they have made it a federal issue. One of those ways we can reform police is by ending the drug laws. We have drug laws at the federal level. Now we got the federal government giving local police forces tanks and paramilitary equipment. Free training, and free money to buy other forms of equipment. The police forces wouldn’t have that money if they had to raise it in their own communities.

So what if people use marijuana. Does it matter if someone has a joint in their home or a bottle of bourbon? Who cares? As long as you use it safely and peacefully.

BC: Ever since I was born, for the last 40+ years, the US has been at war. What would you do about these conflicts if you became President?

JJ: One of my top three issues is to bring the troops home. It is to turn America into one big giant Switzerland. Armed and neutral. The irony here is that a military is supposed to protect us. But what is happening is that our military is making us less safe and not safer. It has had the opposite effect.

There was no justification for Bin Laden to orchestrate the 9-11 attack. However, Bin Laden was able to justify the attack with his followers. Part of the way he was able to do that is was to say look the United States is still here, and they said it would be ‘temporary.’ He said that the U.S. lied to us and said they would be out of here by a certain date, but they are still here. If we were not over there, Bin Laden would have had a much harder time convincing his followers that the U.S. needed to be attacked.

We spend more on military spending than any other country. We spend 3x as much as the next biggest military spender. The U.S. could cut military spending by two-thirds and still be tied with the largest military on the face of the earth.

BC: What would you say to people who don’t think that it’s worth it participating in voting because Democrats and Republicans always win?

JJ: I would tell them that the reason that Democrats and Republicans keep winning is because everybody keeps voting for them. If you don’t want big government, then don’t vote for a Democrat or Republican. Some people say “well its a waste of a vote,” but I tell people it is a wasted vote to vote for something you don’t want.

BC: Can you tell our readers what types of plans you have that would address specifically bitcoin and cryptocurrency advocates?

First I would enact Ron Paul’s Free Competition in Currency Act. This would repeal legal tender laws and taxes on coins and monetary metals. And it would repeal the prohibition on coining money.

Also, I would repeal the Bank Secrecy Act, Know-Your-Customer (KYC), and other laws that violate our right to financial privacy. Many people go to bitcoin because they do want privacy so I would work to repeal those unjust laws. I would also appoint commissioners to the CFTC and the SEC who would then seek to deregulate Bitcoin and other crypto-assets.

I would appoint leaders at the Treasury Department, who would be told to leave bitcoin and crypto operations alone. Lastly, I would pardon Ross Ulbricht, the individual who operated the Silk Road (SR) marketplace. Ulbricht is serving more than one life sentence in prison for nonviolent offenses, partly because some of the SR members were selling drugs for bitcoin. By doing these things it would help keep finances private and help stop the government-induced devaluation of the dollar.

What do you think about our interview with Jo Jorgensen? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

The post 2020 Libertarian Presidential Candidate Jo Jorgensen Talks Bitcoin, Endless Wars, Covid-19 Response appeared first on Bitcoin News.

$2,000 a Month: US Lawmakers Propose Basic Income for Americans to Cope With Covid-19 Economy

16/04/2020 by Idelto Editor

Democrats from the House of Representatives have introduced legislation that would pay eligible Americans $2,000 a month until U.S. unemployment numbers return to pre-covid-19 levels. Under the proposal, any American citizen 16-years or older making less than $130K per year would receive monthly funding from the federal government.

Also read: Minting Basic Income – US Lawmaker Asks Treasury to Issue Two $1 Trillion Coins With No Debt

The Emergency Money for the People Act

U.S. representatives have been pushing for a universal basic income (UBI) plan for quite some time now. Since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, politicians worldwide have promoted UBI as a solution to deal with the financial hardships. Just recently, news.Bitcoin.com reported on Spain’s plans to create a UBI program. A few weeks prior, Michigan Democrat Rashida Tlaib proposed that the U.S. Treasury could issue two $1 trillion platinum coins with no debt. If the Treasury adopted this concept, Tlaib’s plan noted that the Treasury could then send $1-2K to every American on a monthly basis until the covid-19 hardship ends. Following Tlaib’s proposal, bipartisan members of Congress passed the largest stimulus relief bill in American history. U.S. President, Donald Trump then signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief & Economic Security (CARES) Act into law, which gives American residents a one-time payment of $1,200 per taxpayer.

After the CARES Act was signed into law, Democrats from the House of Representatives say that the funding is not enough to help the American people. This week U.S. taxpayers who use the IRS direct deposit system started getting their one-time payments from the Treasury Department. Democratic Representatives Tim Ryan (Ohio) and Ro Khanna (Calif.) have proposed a bill called the “Emergency Money for the People Act” that aims to provide citizens with $2,000 payments per month. The checks would be sent to Americans who are 16-years or older making $130,000 or less per year. The payments could last for six months or up until U.S. unemployment statistics go under pre-covid-19 levels.

“As millions of Americans file for unemployment week over week, we have to work quickly to patch the dam — and that means putting cash in the hands of hard-working families,” House Democrat Tim Ryan explained to the press.

While Stimulus Checks Are Deposited, Thousands of Americans Can’t Access Their Online Bank Accounts for More Than 24 Hours

Meanwhile, U.S. citizens have been complaining about the stimulus payment system this week. For instance, some people were upset that the government made it so debt collectors can take the one-time payment, if the resident owed money to lenders. U.S. officials gave banking institutions the green light to repatriate stimulus funds to pay off an individual’s debt. Additionally, thousands of Americans have been complaining about being able to access their online banking account. Some have complained that they cannot access their bank accounts online for over 24-hours. The host of the Youtube channel Timcast, Tim Pool mentioned the issues yesterday on Twitter. “Is anyone else not able to log into their bank accounts?” Pool asked his 446,000 Twitter followers. “So far three banks I’ve checked on are unable to log in,” Pool added.

People who responded to Pool’s question were also experiencing the same banking issues. “Looks like everyone’s checking their accounts for Trump-Bux,” one person responded. A few individuals said they were unable to log into their banking account for 1-2 days so far. Not only are American residents on lockdown and cannot visit a bank branch in person, U.S. citizens also can’t even access their bank online at times.

“All day I’ve had problems [trying to log into my bank account]. When I finally got in, I was not sufficiently stimulated,” another individual tweeted.

Americans Don’t Want Stimulus or UBI — They Want Their Jobs Back

The American economy is in shambles and citizens are starting to get restless with the lockdowns. There have been protests in states like Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, New Hampshire, Kentucky, and Virginia as people are extremely upset about the shutdown economy. People on social media and forums have been complaining about the situation relentlessly. On freedom advocate wrote:

We don’t want stimulus or universal income, we want our jobs back.

For years now free market advocates and cryptocurrency proponents have known the monetary system designed by the oligarchy is immoral. The financial incumbents and politicians today are blatantly ruining the economy by shutting down businesses nationwide. U.S. lawmakers have halted specific parts of the supply chain and are causing inflation by printing massive amounts of money from thin air. Right now, more than ever before, cryptocurrency advocates and those who want more freedom are advocating the use of non-nation state issues currencies like bitcoin, precious metals, and barter and trade techniques. At the same time, the American bureaucracy’s propaganda is filled with sensationalism, socialist ideas like UBI, and the ultimate devastation of the American economy.

What do you think about the new UBI plan proposed by House Democrats? Let us know in the comments below.

The post $2,000 a Month: US Lawmakers Propose Basic Income for Americans to Cope With Covid-19 Economy appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Hundreds of Darknet Listings Are Selling Masks and PPE Products for Bitcoin

09/04/2020 by Idelto Editor

According to a recent research report written by the blockchain surveillance firm Elliptic, there’s been a massive influx of darknet market (DNM) vendors selling personal protective equipment (PPE) like masks and coronavirus test kits. The spike in medical equipment sales on the invisible web during the month of March, follows Ebay and Amazon’s decision to remove all third-party PPE suppliers who sell masks and disinfection products on the websites.

Also read: Merchant Services, Gambling, and Darknets: Coronavirus Economy Stunts Cryptocurrency Spending

Report Shows Hundreds of Personal Protective Equipment Listings Can be Found on the Darknet

Medical equipment and PPE resources are being sold in great numbers on darknet markets (DNM) for bitcoin and other digital assets. The blockchain forensics firm Elliptic recently published a report called “How Darknet Markets Are Exploiting the Coronavirus Pandemic,” which describes the situation in detail. Since the coronavirus outbreak started gaining traction on a global scale, PPE and certain types of medical equipment like masks and ventilators have been hard to come by. Elliptic’s report notes that DNM vendors have found opportunities by supplying PPE goods to buyers willing to travel the invisible web. Elliptic underlines that the PPE products being priced with extreme premiums, as the company explains that masks are a top item.

Elliptic’s report shows N95 masks for sale on various DNMs on the invisible web. Most vendors accept BTC, but other vendors accept digital assets like LTC and XMR as well. The DNMs Bitbazaar and Argartha accept bitcoin cash (BCH) payments for medical supplies as well.

“Hundreds of listings have recently appeared on darknet markets for N95 respirator masks,” Elliptic’s report details. “Usually priced at less than $1 each, these masks have been in very short supply and their sale for non-medical use has been restricted. The listings shown offer N95s in bulk at around $1.75 per mask – a surprisingly low mark-up on retail prices. Compare this to the prices charged by vendors on legitimate marketplaces such as Amazon or Ebay, where N95 masks have been listed for sale for upwards of $10 each.”

The blockchain forensics firm Elliptic has also found a marketplace dedicated to just selling masks on the deep web.

Moreover, besides the traditional darknet markets that have been around for quite some time, a market that claims to be a European mask wholesaler has a dedicated site just for masks. “Everybody needs a chance to get a mask for protection – Not only medical employees,” the website declares. Vendors on DNMs are also selling alleged covid-19 diagnostics for cryptocurrencies as well. Elliptic’s report stresses that DNM vendors know there is a global shortage for coronavirus testing kits and one vendor is selling “COVID-19 test strips” for $92 apiece. Even though Elliptic states that the diagnostics being sold on DNMs are overpriced, test kits on the white market are similarly priced.

Alleged coronavirus testing strips are available on DNMs.

So-Called ‘Coronavirus Cures,’ Openbazaar, and the Debate Over Price Gouging and Government Limitations

The blockchain forensics firm’s findings also show that there are some DNM operatives selling so-called “coronavirus cures.” “There has been anecdotal evidence that existing drugs such as chloroquine, a malaria treatment, could be an effective treatment for COVID-19. Public interest in this drug has been sparked by repeated comments from U.S. President Donald Trump about the drug’s potential, despite the absence of regulator approval for its use,” Elliptic notes. The authors further add:

We have started to see listings for chloroquine on darknet markets. The listing below refers to the claims made by Donald Trump, and offers a pack of 150 pills for $500.

The malaria drug called chloroquine is also being sold on DNMs and other types of so-called “covid-19 cures.”

The news follows the recent report from the blockchain surveillance company, Chainalysis, that explains DNM sales have seemingly declined. DNM vendors might be leveraging the need for PPE resources and masks to overcome the slight decline in narcotic sales. In addition to darknet markets, PPE supplies like N95 masks are being sold on Openbazaar and the Haven Privacy app as well. For instance, one seller on Haven is selling a lot of N95 masks for 0.0117 BTC ($85) at the time of publication. There has always been a debate on whether or not price gouging is ethical and when the act is mixed with government-induced limitations and shortages, prices can get worse.

Users who frequent the Openbazaar and Haven Privacy marketplace can find masks and other types of medical supplies as well. Openbazaar and Haven Privacy app patrons can pay with cryptos like BTC, BCH, LTC, and ZEC.

At the end of February, Ebay and Amazon both banned third-party vendors who were selling PPE products like masks and disinfectants. There’s no doubt that suppliers have to find other types of marketplaces to sell these much-needed goods. It’s up to the buyer to decide whether or not the product is overpriced and the vendor is being exploitive. Elliptic’s opinion that DNM vendors are exploiting the market during the covid-19 crisis is merely the company’s meaningless subjective valuation. Government critics say, however, that price gouging is merely supply and demand and to Austrian economists, it is a “life-saving market mechanism.”

Mises author TJ Roberts explains that “a sober mind must acknowledge the necessity of price flexibility.” Price gouging stems solely from governments hindering the free market. For instance, the global shortage of sanitizers is caused by the government because of FDA regulations and costly oversight. Not only does the government regulation add to the price of these goods, but it also stops anyone from making products like sanitizers. At the end of March, vodka distillers and whiskey suppliers decided they would make alcohol-based disinfectants, but the government had stopped a number of them due to regulations. If the bureaucracy did not exist, the free market would easily help supply the demand a great deal and price gougers would be forced to deal with fair-value market prices.

Unfortunately, Elliptic’s report fails to mention all the private sector businesses that have attempted to help the situation. Some companies have come forward to make products like masks, but were stopped by regulators like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A few medical professionals that have tried to 3D print ventilator parts or create vaccines, have also been harassed over IP laws, regulations and government-backed patents.

What do you think about all the medical supplies and PPE goods being sold on DNMs? Let us know in the comments below.

The post Hundreds of Darknet Listings Are Selling Masks and PPE Products for Bitcoin appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Making Bitcoin Go Viral: Could Endless Printing Trigger a Hyperbitcoinization Event?

26/03/2020 by Idelto Editor

Hyperbitcoinization has been defined as “a state where bitcoin becomes the world’s dominant form of money.” But what actually needs to happen for bitcoin to ‘go viral’? As it turns out, a hyperbitcoinization event may be more likely than many suspect, especially in the current economic climate. However, there’s one big caveat: it requires human action.

Also read: Disney World Economics: How Coronavirus Could Be Used to Justify a Global Financial Reset

Contagious Currency

The current covid-19 panic and pandemonium gripping the world has brought economic issues to the forefront of conversation, as economies across the globe are stunted by government orders to shutdown. Whether this is the best way to contain a contagion is hotly debated, but the paranoia about getting sick has stretched so far as to even touch the safety of paper cash.

Some nations, China and the U.S. among them, have been quarantining and disinfecting physical cash, for fear that it could spread the covid-19 virus. This potential transmission vector is viewed as an important threat, and many businesses across the globe are encouraging customers to use contactless payment systems in lieu of the dirty paper stuff.

There’s even been a buzz in the bitcoin space about this being an argument for crypto adoption. But for bitcoin to catch fire and really spread around the world in viral fashion, a number of factors must be present.

Conditions Necessary for Hyperbitcoinization

In order for “Bitcoin-induced currency demonetization” to take place, three main factors must be present so that a competing money “will rapidly lose value as bitcoin supplants it.”

Loss of Faith in Established Systems: Individuals across the globe are losing jobs and losing trust in their governments, their monetary systems, and in many cases, the broader global economic paradigm itself. Before covid-19 showed up, the world was already in the throes of widespread protest and unrest surrounding corrupt governance and economically unviable situations at a systemic level.

Now states have leveraged coronavirus to justify shutting down innumerable businesses and halting critical industry, many more are asking questions, and some are losing faith in the Modern Monetary Theory magic, which says that you can always “just print more money” when times are hard. The thing is, you can’t “just print more” goods and services. As currencies across the globe lose value, hyperinflation is also not an entirely impossible outcome, meaning dollars could potentially turn into valueless scraps of paper.

Viable Alternatives to Fiat: Bitcoin is permissionless, fast, borderless, low-fee, and decentralized. While the issue of which version of bitcoin would best serve as a global money is debated, the critical fact is that an alternative to government fiat does exist, has active use cases, and is at this point time-tested. It is also hard-capped in supply and looks promising as an inflation-resistant asset.

Further, with governments now in development and research for CDBCs (central bank digital currencies) even so-called “normies” are being primed for understanding how crypto and digital assets work. The corona zeitgeist is one that includes mainstream media buzz about a “digital dollar” and “digital yuan.” This presents a unique window of opportunity for a shift away from fiat currencies.

Open Markets: Of all the prerequisites for hyperbitcoinization, this is arguably the trickiest, and will be dealt with more in-depth at the close of this article. Suffice to say that without the ability for individuals to transact freely and voluntarily no currency — not even national currencies like the yen, dollar, or peso — can be successful.

‘Ideal Money’

Late Nobel Prize Laureate John Nash, an American mathematician known for — among numerous other accolades — being the namesake for game theory’s Nash equilibrium, developed a notion he referred to as Ideal Money.

Ideal Money would be, simply put, a money whose value is not foundationally subject to political special interests and conflicts of interest like the USD, and which is not inherently subject to inflation. Loosely comparing modern economic planners with Bolshevik communists, Nash once wrote:

So there may be an analogy to this as regards those called ‘the Keynesians’ in that while they have claimed to be operating for high and noble objectives of general welfare what is clearly true is that they have made it easier for governments to ‘print money’.

Nash’s words sound hauntingly on target today, as we witness nations like the U.S. create unprecedented amounts of fiat out of thin air, ignoring that eventually, someone must pay the piper.

Though Nash had his own ideas about what might best constitute this so-called ideal, the renowned mathematician did not rule out bitcoin.

In fact, he wrote in his paper Ideal Money: “My personal view is that a practical global money might most favorably evolve through the development first of a few regional currencies of truly good quality. And then the ‘integration’ or ‘coordination’ of those into a global currency would become just a technical problem.” Nash went on:

But the famous classical ‘Gresham’s Law’ also reveals the intrinsic difficulty. Thus ‘good money’ will not naturally supplant and replace ‘bad money’ by a simple Darwinian superiority of competitive species. Rather than that, it must be that the good things are established by the voluntary choice of human agencies.

Human Action: The Final Ingredient

It is interesting that Nash describes “a few regional currencies of truly good quality” coming together someday via technical integration. Could this be an unintended, prescient nod to bitcoin, blockchain, and the various integrations and ideas the crypto space has seen over the years like atomic swaps and network interoperability?

Only time will tell. What is certain, and what Nash notes explicitly in the passage, is that no matter how seemingly fit the conditions, no exodus from the broken world of fiat can happen without voluntary human action.

This is a tricky thing. Those that use bitcoin know its value and utility, but they are limited in some ways as to how they can leverage digital cash due to enforced regulations. Those that don’t know about crypto in a meaningful way remain the unable-to-act majority, presenting a two-faced challenge. Standing in the way of hyperbitcoinization, then, is the obstacle of “going viral” and that of forced censorship. The first obstacle shouldn’t be hard to overcome, on surface view. The second is more daunting.

According to marketing group Outgrow, novelty and “information gaps” play a major role in determining what type of content goes viral online. The group notes:

Researchers have found that a part of our brain actually feels rewarded by novel ideas rather than the familiar. When consumers feel they’ve been led to a new notion or concept, their brains flood their bodies with dopamine.

A lack of desperately sought info — or “information gap” — can also lead to virality, according to the group, when that info is found.

So in this context of the current mass unemployment, crashing stock markets, and an increasingly questionable world reserve currency, emotions, which are another major indicator for virality, are running extremely high. And lo and behold, there is a novel proposed solution which fills the info gap of the “what is good money” question.

Still, there’s something of a catch 22. If the masses aren’t using it, it’s not going to be very useful in a situation like this. If they don’t start, a dire situation like this is bound to perdure, and repeat. Whether in compliance with laws and regulations or otherwise, individual actors have proven bitcoin’s strength by trading regardless, and such use is required to show the world bitcoin’s utility.

From feeding the hungry in Venezuela and South Sudan during a global crisis with borderless BCH, to making money for survival by selling goods peer-to-peer with no middleman or political permission, bitcoin is virtually unconfiscatable. It allows a shift from the broken fiat paradigm if individuals so choose. This core utility is what could ultimately trigger hyperbitcoinization, and what a “digital dollar” can’t hold a candle to. Then there might be a real shot at a peaceful, sound, and sensible global economy.

Do you think hyperbitcoinization is possible? Let us know in the comments section below.

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