More than money
When Joe Biden met with Xi Jinping in San Francisco last week one of the many topics they discussed was AI and they agreed to form a group to continue talking about AI. Because it has tremendous implications for the global balance of power.
Bitcoin was designed as money but as Jason Lowry points out a lot of Technologies involved in Warfare we’re not designed for Warfare. Bitcoin and its proof of work mechanism are uniquely positioned to provide security for the cyber realm. “Who cares” you say “I live in the real world” China, Russia, Argentina, Germany, and several other countries have been slowly altering their position of Bitcoin
Bitcoin changes economics globally and totally. Just like the internet changed newspapers and travel agencies to a large extent retail with Amazon Bitcoin changes economics and banking but only if it’s accepted and embraced. The entrenched, powered money in the US realizes this and is pushing back. Bitcoin has caught the attention of 16 of the largest financial institutions in the world among them BlackRock, State Street, and Fidelity. They see an opportunity to make large profits. Do they understand the Geopolitical knock-on effects of this decision?
DOD adoption of Bitcoin recommended by would undoubtedly change the economics of our planet. We live in a world based on US dollar dominance our currency strongly influences every other currency on the planet. Official adoption of Bitcoin by the US government would without question upset that dominance. The question is: Would the world be a better place to live? Could an unsustainable bastardization of capitalism we now practice, with its roots in global conflict and unbridled resource consumption be replaced by one based on digital money invented only 13 years ago?
Clearly what the US loses is control. By controlling the dollar they control significant trade and influence all over the world. Bitcoin removes any third-party control of currency. “Well, how the hell can it work?”. you say, Very well there is not and has never been a more secure technology on the face of the Earth. What are the implications of everyone engaging in commerce with a level playing field?
The urgency for adopting Bitcoin as a means of protecting the US digital space is clear-cut and well-presented by Jason Lowery. The knock-on impact on the global economy, not so much. Either as money or security Bitcoin adoption is not a matter of if but when. Is it a decision that the DOD should make or should it be made by banks and the alphabet soup of US agencies that can’t seem to agree on much? Or should Amazon, Meta (Facebook), Google and Microsoft and Alibaba wield the financial power of the future?
It is not exclusively a decision the US will make, Germany has raised the question about paying more attention to Bitcoin, these folks know a thing or two about recession and hard financial times. Argentina’s new president is looking closely at de-dollarization and has been cautioned by the IMF to dial back the Bitcoin rhetoric if they want a loan. Russia and China have done an about-face on Bitcoin years ago.
We can no longer stand back and absolve ourselves from understanding what Bitcoin is and what its potential is or we run the risk of “Foching this up”. Take the time to discover something new, listen to the long-form discussion on Bitcoin on YouTube, Robert Breedlove, What Bitcoin Did, and/or read some of the groundbreaking books that deal with far more than Bitcoin price headlines like Bitcoin Venice, The Truth Machine The Cost of Tomorrow, Broken Money and The Bitcoin Standard.
It’s more than an interesting toy.