[secede] -- cryptocurrency
In our age of mass surveillance and ever tightening state control over citizens’ finance, cryptocurrency has been hailed as the savior. Unfortunately, it is a false god.
The obvious problem with cryptocurrencies is that they do not actually function as currencies. Even large and well-known cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are not universally accepted, and their value (invariably pegged to another, more stable fiat currency like the dollar) fluctuates wildly. They behave like commodities, not currencies. Wealth is our ability to obtain goods and services. Crypto can sometimes procure these things for us, but sometimes it cannot. If a merchant refuses to accept crypto or if legislation forbids banks from exchanging crypto for fiat, our crypto portfolios are quickly rendered useless.
Crypto is often likened to “digital gold”. This analogy is misleading because, unlike gold, crypto has no inherent value in the physical world. It is just another fiat currency. The coming Web 3.0 architecture holds great promise. But for the foreseeable future, it is just that — a promise. A mature and scalable Web 3.0 framework is still far away.
In the meantime, the most logical way to prepare for times of economic uncertainty is to hold things that have inherent physical worth — land, tools, generators, fuel, livestock, food, seeds, water, guns, and ammo. Like gold, these items maintain their value very well. Unlike gold and unlike crypto, they also serve an immediate practical purpose.
We are first and foremost physical beings. Therefore, our physical existence must be attended to first. Crypto is an interesting toy, but for the vast majority of us it is just a distraction. Who will better able to withstand an economic collapse — a man who lives on a 40 acre farm with a generator, three chest freezers full of meat, ample fuel, and plenty of ammo or a man who lives in a 700 square foot urban apartment with a minifridge but an extensive crypto portfolio?