Dear Readers,

If you’ve spent any time reading Western media’s analyses on Bitcoin, then you’ve probably noticed a common theme: the journalists and editors writing those analyses have no idea why Bitcoin is valuable.

To a certain degree, I can understand why Bitcoin’s true value proposition is difficult to grasp for a writer who has only spent a few minutes studying it in order to spit out their latest propaganda. I have spent my entire life living in the “West”, so I can say from my own experience that we Westerners live pretty sheltered lives. We have relatively stable currencies and financial systems that allow us to fairly easily earn, save, and invest. And the pseudo-democracies that lord over us have done a good job of convincing us that their financial largesse and their burdensome oversight and control are for our good.

In short, it’s difficult for people who mostly only experience so-called “First World problems” to understand many of the much more pressing issues that people in countries around the world experience daily. Nowhere has this been more apparent to me than when I recently read an article from an author who trivialized both the real-world issues, like financial inequality and exclusion, faced by a lot of people and the ability of Bitcoin to correct those issues by stating that all that is needed to ensure equal financial privilege and access globally is “a smart phone and links to simple financial apps”. In this discussion, I hope to elaborate on why that idea is pure nonsense.

Barriers To Financial Equality

Living Under Authoritarian Governments

If you live in a country with a government that at least pretends to protect your rights and freedoms, consider yourself lucky. There are billions of people around the world who live under authoritarian regimes that rule their lives with an iron fist. They don’t enjoy freedoms, like freedom of speech, that so many of us Westerners take for granted. And that means that their governments have little if anything that keeps them from censoring speech, beliefs, or actions that go against the governments’ prerogatives. Simply put, people in those countries could be kicked out of the financial system, or worse, from one minute to the next if their authoritarian government decides to kick them out. In this context, financial apps are part of the problem, not the solution.

By the way, some Western countries may not even be able to enjoy such freedom for much longer. Don’t believe me? Take a minute to remind yourself what happened to Canadians who protested government mandates that they disagreed with.

Living With Massively Compounding Inflation

Don’t get me wrong. I’m strongly against never-ending inflation of any level, and that’s why Bitcoin’s 21 million coin supply cap is so appealing to me. But having single-digit annual inflation, which is what the majority of Western society typically experiences, is nowhere near as bad as the double- or triple-digit inflation that many countries suffer through annually. If you live in one of those countries, it’s essentially impossible to save your way to financial success.

Financial apps will do little to solve peoples’ inflation woes. The financial systems in most countries require that people use whatever currency is considered legal tender. So if you live in a country with a weak currency, the financial apps, if there even are any, will almost assuredly require you to hold your savings in that same weak currency. And let’s not even get started on how horrible interest rates on savings are around the world.

Living Under The Weight Of Financial Sanctions

The reality is that most financial systems throughout the world are controlled by a handful of countries. And if your country’s government does something that the countries in power don’t like, they’ll do everything they can to force your government and you out of the financial system. Try and imagine the unfairness of living under an authoritarian government that you have no control over and being kicked out of the financial system because of that government’s real or imagined misdeeds.

Financial apps will do nothing to solve that problem. Most of the useful financial apps out there are based out of the countries that are imposing the sanctions. But even if they use local financial infrastructure, the sanctions will sever almost all ties between local and global financial systems. Financial sanctions result in a march towards insolvency for many people and businesses who suffer under them.

Bitcoin Is The Real Solution

Bitcoin is the real solution to the problems discussed above:

Bitcoin can be easily custodied and transferred, so authoritarian governments will have a hard time censoring Bitcoin transactions or forcing people off of the blockchain.

Bitcoin’s incentives structure ensures that removal of its supply cap is nearly impossible, meaning that inflation will be a thing of the past once the world moves onto a Bitcoin economy.

The open and censorship-resistant nature of Bitcoin makes enforcement of blockchain-level sanctions an impossible task. No one will be kicked off of the Bitcoin blockchain by a centralized government or corporation unless they allow themselves to be forced off.

Whether you live a privileged life in the Western world or not, it’s important to do your research so that you can fully comprehend what problems Bitcoin solves for people from all walks of life.

Like what you see, but not a subscriber yet?

Consider subscribing fortwo weekly emails about Bitcoin, subscriber giveaways, real-time community discussions and more!

Can’t Get Enough Bitcoin In Your Life? Follow me on Social Media:

Bitcoin is my passion and my mission is to give as many people as possible the chance to learn how it can change their lives for the better. You can help:

Blockchain Word of the Day

Want to learn more Blockchain words?

🙋🏽‍♂️Did you enjoy this edition of The HiFi Crypto Letters?

This 3-question survey is your chance to tell me how I can improve the newsletter for you.

This is not financial advice. This newsletter and related content are for informational purposes only. Cryptocurrencies and digital assets can be risky. Always do your own research before making any sort of investment.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thehificrypto.substack.com/subscribe