Why Bitcoin is not a cult, but the fiat system is.

As the media continues to talk about Bitcoin, I see a recurring narrative being put forward by legacy financial experts; the lack of intrinsic value.

So let's take a look at the intrinsic value of fiat. (let's stick to dollars and euros for this) The cost to produce a $100 bill is the same as the production cost for a $1 bill. The paper itself is worthless. In fact most dollars and euros are digital.

The value of these currencies comes solely from the promise of the government that they are worth something. If history is a barometer on how trustworthy a government promise is, it is evident this promise instills very little trust.

But it is worse than that. Governments don't even feel the need to earn your trust. They just don't give you a choice to believe in anything else. They force it upon you. Fiat is the religion that you where born with. It is the reward system that allows you to live. By design, in the western world, you are indoctrinated by the belief that labour gets gewarded by fiat, that risk gets rewarded by fiat, that success gets rewarded by fiat. (There is a reason for government backed lotteries you know.) Even the punishment system mostly relies on the confiscation of fiat. (from traffic tickets, to high crimes)

Everybody has been made slave to the money.

If you were born and raised in a muslim society, you become a muslim. If you were born and raised in a christian society, you become a christian. Same goes for government issued fiat. You have no choice but to embrace it, or be rejected in your entirety. (Scientology anyone?)

Bitcoin is the exact opposite of this cult in fact.

It is not enforced upon anyone. You have the choice to believe in it or to dismiss it. It's value is derived from the faith of people in bitcoin. It's value is therefore derived on free will. If you reject it, you are free to do so.

It is an honest asset in the sense that is driven by supply and demand. Sure, there is manipulation going on (mostly from entities with ties to legacy finance by the way), but the effect of the manipulation can only shrink with growing adoption. The same cannot be said about fiat. In fact the more fiat circulates, the bigger the manipulation.

To add to that, unlike the fiat system, in which money production costs are the same regardless of the amount of money being printed, bitcoin relies on proof of work. As price goes up, production costs go up. (Spare me the envirornmental fud, which is nonsensical for a bunch of reasons not relevant to this post.)

Critics often refer to the fact that Bitcoin has only been around for 12 years. It could be a flash in the pan, a temporary fad.

Well, the dollar, as a fiat currency, has only been around for 50 years. The euro is only 20 years old. In fact the euro was only 9 years old when bitcoin was conceived. Not that much of a difference.

The chance of the euro disappearing seems greater to me than bitcoin disappearing.

Just some food for thought.

Submitted March 20, 2021 at 05:59PM by TheNutrient2 https://ift.tt/2OJRkkY