Looking through posts regarding cryptocurrency, all I can think of is the book Animal Farm.
When I read the Bitcoin Whitepaper for the first time, I remember thinking it could start a revolution.
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Satoshi rallied a spirit to be free in people who wanted to put the power of money back in the hands of the common person. The mysterious figure(s) stirred up the fight in those who realized there was too much trust placed in the hands of central banks and banking institutions. Nakamoto knew the current monetary system needed to be fixed because money was lent out in "waves of credit bubbles", "massive overhead costs (made) micropayments impossible", and the issue of "trust".
Satoshi gave us our battle cry and identified the banks and governmental monetary policies for what they are, "The Beasts Of England".
Beasts of every land and clime,
Hearken to my joyful tidings
Of the Golden future time.
Soon or late the day is coming,
Tyrant Man shall be o'erthrown,
And the fruitful fields of England
Shall be trod by beasts alone
-Animal Farm
The early Bitcoin community of miners and advocates became the people's Snowball and Napolean.
They wanted to strengthen the reality of Satoshi's vision of "online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution". Just like in Animal Farm the initial vision grew to something larger. The movement grew into the real possibility of Bitcoin freeing the masses from the oppression of central banks; not just an easier way to transfer money, lower fees, and take control of trust.
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The revolution became successful in 2011 when Bitcoin hit parity with the U.S. dollar.
Bitcoin had gained enough acceptance to have a value on par with the most powerful currency on Earth, we had chased Mr.Jones off the farm. Of course, the old pesky farmer tries to keep reentering the picture through regulation and outright banning of crypto in some countries.
Now our Napoleon has morphed into the Bitcoin and Ethereum Advocates with both sides trying to figure out how to gain mainstream acceptance while sacrificing the original goals of the movement.
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Animal Farm had its 7 commandments and the cryptocurrency community has generally adopted the philosophy of Anarcho- Libertarianism as theirs. The community wanted to be free of oppressive government money manipulation, excessive bank regulation, excessive fees, and corrupt banksters.
Now there is infighting between the main sides, with Ethereum splitting in two and Bitcoin trying to reach a consensus on BIP 148 with the possibility of another hard fork after Bip 148's implementation. The Snowball's of the CryptoCurrency World are your Steems, Vivas, and Dashes trying to steer the overall system to a technology that frees the masses but are currently overshadowed by the sheer dominance of Bitcoin and Ethereum.
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I fear we are starting to enslave our own selves just like the animals allowed Napoleon and his henchman to do in Animal Farm.
- Many have become a slave to their money, just like the banksters. The value of their portfolio is the sole motivation for their association with cryptocurrency. The drop in value recently is literally enslaving their minds because the loss of profits is many people's only worry and it is affecting the quality of lives.
- The average transaction fee for Bitcoin is hovering around $2.20 effectively eliminating a cost effective way for micropayments. Other coins are on the upswing in regard to fees.
- The avenues to enter cryptocurrency are charging excessive fees as high as 10% on each side of the transaction(to enter and leave the currency). For a system with a desire to free the poor from monetary oppression, this effectively eliminates many of the oppressed from entering it.
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Overall, the crypto community is letting profits and greed overshadow the initial reasons for cryptocurrency itself. Instead of running away from banking greed and governmental regulation, we are morphing into the very banking entities we despised and asking for the governmental regulation we were trying to run away from.
I can't help but think of when Napoleon sold Boxer to the knacker for whiskey money because it seems that is what the miners and those " more equal than others" are currently doing to its own community to gain mainstream acceptance.
Are we going to be the Mollies, Benjamins, and Boxers of the revolution and allow Napoleon to rule? Or are we willing to be the Snowball and sacrifice our well-being to sound the alarm of a revolution that looks as if it may be going full circle to the point we were trying to get the furthest away from?
“Stand up to hypocrisy. If you don't, the hypocrites will teach. Stand up to ignorance, because if you don't, the ignorant will run free to spread ignorance like a disease. Stand up for truth. If you don't, then there is no truth to your existence. If you don't stand up for all that is right, then understand that you are part of the reason why there is so much wrong in the world.”
― Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem
OFFICIAL HOME OF THE FIRST EVER LOONEY COIN
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