By Frank Karsten
The Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises once said: “Whoever asks for more government intervention ends up asking for more coercion and less freedom”.
Bitcoin is not government money, but freedom money. If you own Bitcoin, it is cryptographically secured against theft and robbery, and without your cooperation, no one can take it – not even the government. This digital currency also has no intermediary, such as a bank, and therefore no one can block a transaction.
The financial freedoms of citizens are being violated all over the world. In almost every country, people are forced to use the national currency, which always depreciates as governments enthusiastically print more money.
But the problem is even bigger. When Cyprus went through a financial crisis in 2013, the government decided to give account holders a so-called “haircut”. The assets of everyone with more than R2 000 000 have been pruned. Thank you Cypriots for your hard work!
Last year, Lebanese banks froze the assets of certain customers. This was done at the behest of the government, causing massive inflation and trying to stop people from using their dollar accounts. Several outraged account holders even committed an armed robbery of their own bank to get their hands on their hard-earned savings.
Venezuela, which is going down the economic drain like a rat, also offers citizens little financial freedom. Since 2015, more than 6 million people have fled the country. Those who want to escape the misery in this way run the risk of being robbed by customs officials at the border. But Bitcoin can offer a solution. Because it is invisible and weighs nothing, it is easy to get safely across the border.
When the whistleblower website Wikileaks exposed US scandals in 2010, politicians demanded that banks block the donations. Fortunately, donors have switched to Bitcoin. It turned out to be a godsend, as seven years later founder Julian Assange gleefully reported that he had made almost 50,000% return.
Many governments like to block their opponents financially. In Russia, opposition leader Alexei Navalny was cut off from his bank accounts. Last year, the Canadian government froze 200 accounts related to the Trucker protest against the Covid-19 measures. Bitcoin turned out to be a lifesaver.
Unfortunately, the British banks are also playing political games, because many refused to accept the right-wing Reclaim Party as a customer. Even the popular British podcast Triggernometryexpressing conflicting views, suddenly received a message that the bank had closed the account for no apparent reason.
The Netherlands also happily participates. For example, the ING blocked the Virus Truth account in 2021. In 2008, the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Act came into force. Dutch banks therefore have to watch their customers like a Big Brother.
The consumer program Radar recently showed how even compliant bank customers received letters. Among other things, it demanded an explanation about “suspicious” payments to supermarkets and an energy supplier. Was this for tons of money? No, it only involved millions of rands, in transactions spread over an entire year.
And all this seems like child’s play compared to the danger called CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency). If governments make their national currencies fully digital, they will be able to spy on their citizens’ finances and limit and influence them like never before. Those who buy too much unhealthy food can be blocked. Those who do not abide by the curfew may no longer be able to spend their money.
You may not be interested in politics, but politics is always interested in you, and not always in a positive way. Remember that the freedoms you enjoy today depend on the activities of the people and organizations who defend them. If they can no longer receive donations, your grandchildren will no longer know the freedoms you once had.
Financial freedom cannot be taken for granted. Since Bitcoin is neutral and open, it can help protect freedom. Hopefully it can be an insurance policy against an Orwellian future.
- Frank Karsten is the author of The Discrimination Myth (discriminationmyth.com) and co-author of The Democracy Beyond (beyonddemocracy.net).
- Frank Karsten is the author of The Discrimination Myth (discriminationmyth.com) and co-author of The Democracy Beyond (beyonddemocracy.net).
