Disclaimer:
I must first warn that some readers may find this article offensive. Some may laugh, some question and others outright hate and unfollow me. I’m okay with that but I refuse to be silent on this issue.
For the record, I love precious metals, hold precious metals and believe they are a store of value and wealth. I also am not selling or advising anyone to be 100% in cryptocurrencies.
In my opinion, Gresham’s law is what we are witnessing globally with the rise of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. For those that aren’t aware, Gresham’s law can be summed up like this:
BREAKING DOWN 'Gresham's Law'
Coins were first made with gold, silver and other precious metals, which gave them their value. Over time, the amount of precious metals used to make the coin decreased because the metals were worth more on their own than when minted into the coin itself. If the value of the metal in the old coins was higher than the coin's face value, people would melt the coins down and sell the metal. Similarly, if a low quality good is passed off as a high quality good, then the market will drive down prices because consumers won't be able to determine the good's real value.
So many die hard ‘gold bugs’ just don’t understand bitcoin and I’m afraid they’re missing the boat. I agree with many of their valid points and arguments and I do believe gold and silver is money, however, this is a digital globalized world and transferring value via physical metals is just folly. It is very expensive for me to give Satoshi who is in Tokyo a Canadian silver maple when I reside in Toronto. Transferring value safely is why modern banking was born, but now we can perform transactions without the need of banks or an intermediary without the use of precious metals or paper.
Gold and silver is a pain in the ass to move and store safely. Our ancestors weren’t imbeciles and realized this 400 years ago! Paper money (receipts on gold claims) is what created modern banking, even though the Chinese had used it in the 7th century during the Song Dynasty. Please understand, from here on out I’m referring to modern western banking.
Going back to a gold standard is ludicrous. This means you have to go out into the world with a tonne of energy and man power to dig metal out of the ground and then stick it in a vault. THEN, you have to trust the vault keepers so they don’t steal, cheat or make false claims on what is available. Who is going to perform the physical audits of this gold? How can you be sure that the audit is open and transparent? Again, you need to ‘trust’ someone or some entity to validate the claim what is in the vault. The key word is ‘trust’.
Bitcoin uses open source code that can be viewed by anyone. You do not need to trust a person to perform physical audits of it. The trust is in the code and the decentralized system which is connected globally doesn’t require an audit of the physical by a person or organization. The bitcoin miners via PoW (proof of work) perform this automatically using computers and mathematics.
This is why people are getting so excited about crypto. Bitcoin and platforms like Steemit are changing the way people transfer value and communicate completely outside of the banking realm without ‘trusting’ a third party for validation.
I too at one time thought governments were going to kill Bitcoin, but once I understood the technology the more I realized how they couldn’t stop it. In 2012 I had my business website display a banner that said we accepted bitcoin, but later removed it due to all the MSM fud after the silk road fiasco the following year. You have to understand that at the time, I had just launched my own startup business and the last thing I wanted any new potential customers to think was that we were some drug dealing hackers. Unfortunately, I was allowing fear to impair my better judgment. I regret this now as I’d be a very, very wealthy individual today.
One of the best decisions I made was 2 years ago and ignored all the gold bugs and zerohedgers and converted most of my fiat paper to Bitcoin. Yes I have some PMs and it is money, but today I regard it as more of an insurance policy. It is heavy, a pain in the ass to move and you have to hide it well or trust a third party to hold it for you.
Many zerohedge commenters hate, I MEAN HATE bitcoin. Just read the comments from this article:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-05-25/bitcoin-blows-throuigh-2500-2600-2700-overnight-south-korea-demand-soars
Gold bugs won’t admit when they are wrong and even if a Mad Max world doesn’t occur they will still claim that it should have happened. Should have and did are two separate accounts of history. I’m only concerned with what actually occurred or is occurring and how it affects me in the real world.
My advise is to ignore some of the posters on Zerohedge or any other gold bug site that advocates for a return to a gold standard. That objective is to force us to use some kind of a digital token and AGAIN place faith and trust in a middle-man. Once you place trust in a President, government, bank, corporation etc, you’ll just end up repeating the exact same mistakes and the same results which equals fraud. Completely moronic if you ask me.
The genie is out when it comes to bitcoin and cryptotcurrencies and it’s never going back into the bottle. Cryptos are here to stay even if some fail. Arguments that keep arising such as bitcoin could go to zero and the banking system could collapse, are valid points. Also, a nuclear war may happen tonight and end all human life, the apocalypse might happen tomorrow or the power grid could go down by dawn. Yes, all those could happen, so too could a meteor smashing into earth ending all life or a pole shift altering our planetary axis. I can’t worry about such things and I’m not going to spend my life worrying about them and what it does to my bitcoin.
What If The Power Grid Goes Down?
This is a major concern which is repeatedly brought up in rebuttals of cryptocurrencies. If the power grid goes down, here’s why (IMHO) this shouldn’t be a concern for bitcoin holders or if you hold gold and silver.
If an EMP, terrorist attack or Carrington Event occurred, the last thing you’d worry about is bitcoin. Food, water and shelter are your primary concerns. Not even gold and silver would be a top priority. It is estimated that 90% of the population would die, and if one rationally thinks about this it is probably accurate :
http://www.powermag.com/expect-death-if-pulse-event-hits-power-grid/
We are basically cashless now. I know few people here in Canada that have more than a couple hundred bucks in their wallet and almost none have any stashed at home. Everything is debit/credit and if you need cash you go to an ATM. This all requires electricity. Even if you had cash, good luck buying anything at a supermarket or even a corner store for very long. Everything is digital scanners and electronic cash registers. Not only that, but how will they make change for your 20, 50 or 100 dollar bill? Hmmmmm
All supply chains disintegrate. This means food, clothing, medicine, fuel and a plethora of consumer needs (not wants) toilet paper, maxi-pads, etc dry up within just a few days. Just think logically about this for 4 minutes and use your imagination what this looks like.
Almost all those in hospitals, the elderly, terminally sick would die. Not just that, diabetics that require insulin injections (approx 2.9 million US citizens) would die:
https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pubs/statsreport14/national-diabetes-report-web.pdf
For those living in cold climates (northern Europe, Canada and US) many would die to the freezing temperatures. Yes, even if the natural gas was working for a little while, how is your furnace fan going to work without electricity? Also, how long will the natural gas continue to flow without power at the producers or distributors of it? Not everybody that lives in Canada has access to firewood or a forest near by.
Gold bugs think that magically any survivors are going to recognize PMs as money. Hmmm….and just exactly who is going to know how much ‘stuff’ you can actually buy with a 1oz silver maple? Does a survivor just google what the spot price is? Oops….forgot. No power, no google, no internet. Perhaps before the Mad Max world gets crazier the gold bugs have arranged a method for determining fair market value for silver over short-wave or ham radio. I am fully aware that in India or some Asian countries, gold trading or bartering would be much easier, but in the west I highly doubt it.
It is also estimated that in the US only 1% of the population actually owns physical PMs, and so if 9 out of 10 people die, how many left do you think will have PMs and are going to use it as money? LMFAO. Just think about this for like 5 seconds, its easy math!
I could probably go on for like 16 pages of ‘What if the Power Grid Goes Down’ but I think I’ve stated my case and you get my point.
But ‘The Rich, The Club, The Elite, The Globalists, TPTB, Illuminati, The Bad Guys, The Jesuits, The Rothschilds, The Banksters, Shemitah’ Blah, blah blah….
Another trap is to believe that some oligarch class is going to pull the plug and kill us all. Yes, I do believe that perhaps an oligarch class exists but trust me, they don’t want the power grid to go down or the masses to immediately realize their paper money is dog shit! Again, just take some time and logically think about this.
Do you really think they would have printed up trillions of dollars since 2008 (and continue to print) if they wanted this game to end? They’re terrified of it falling apart, and are probably more fearful than the rest of us are.
The rich despise or don’t know how to perform physical labour. Most couldn’t even make a cup of tea or prepare a sandwich! I’m not talking about the somewhat self-made rich like a Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerburg, but the super rich. The ones that have inherited wealth (land owners) down through generations. The old money. The ones that profit massively from our corrupt usury, debt-based money system.
Even if they had a hide out bunker, do you really think the Queen of England wants to live in a bunker? Seriously? Not to mention if almost everyone is dead, what good is their power over the masses now? The rich need slaves (debt slaves) to provide them with all the resources for their very survival. It wouldn’t take long for the serfs that were still left around to turn on their masters and stop serving them. After all, the serfs have the time to not only provide for themselves, but then still have the time to serve their oligarch masters as well. Who really has the upper hand here? Hmmmmmm
The Future Looks Bright
Yes the banks are crooks, the government is evil, and the system should have melted down and returned to sound money in 2008 but it didn’t. Get over it!
In fact, more people than ever around the world are waking up to the scam of central banking due to their corrupt nature and their effort to save the system. Gresham’s law is going to kick into over drive and that haven for most will be cryptos, not precious metals. This is good news to me. I’m not claiming that society will be utopia but it will be much more prosperous without central banks.
Bitcoin and other cryptos have the potential to destroy the entire old financial order. Yes there will be pain as we transition from the old world to the new but it will be well deserved. And no, I do not believe it is going to happen this fall of 2017 because of a comic book written by the Fed Reserve talking about Wishes and Rainbows or Satoshi Nakamoto is Alan Greenspan! I feel sorry for people paying $200-$300 yr on these internet subscriptions. Just save your money and get some damn crypto people. Geez!!
And I’m tired of hearing from religious fanatics that bitcoin is the mark of the beast from the Bible. Seriously? A system of payment that can’t be controlled by a bank, government or company and last time I checked, my latest bitcoin transaction didn’t require a mark in my hand or forehead. Sorry, the only way something like that is remotely possible is if the international bankers are able to create their own, centralized system that may mimic bitcoin. Bitcoin works completely 100% opposite of that model and I hope it becomes tremendously successful. Could bitcoin or another crypto morph into the mark of the beast? I guess, but that isn’t going to stop me from using it or promoting it. I could just say that I won’t use money any more because someday the beast will come and give me a mark where I can’t buy or sell anything unless I have one. This is just nonsense.
People from around the world are now working collaboratively to develop new decentralized technologies everyday. Their efforts are solving real world problems and providing solutions. Most of this code is open source, viewable by all and transparent. It no longer matters if you are in the jungles of Asia, the slums of India or a western metropolis. These coders, developers, contributors, artists, farmers, tradesmen and all classes of working men and women can transfer value to one other without the need of a bank. That is totally optimistic in my opinion. What an amazing time to be alive.
Due to the nature of globalism and the off-shoring of jobs people have had to create and chart a new definition of wealth. The power has always resided with us and it always will. We are the ones that produce and create wealth. All peoples of different talents from different nations. Hopefully together we can continue to be strong and face our fears and claim what is ours whether the governments of the world like it or not.
Please upvote or resteem if you agree.
Cheers
Hell of a read you have here. Just 2 observations.
Cryptocurrencies will always be at risk of the (unlikely) event of a global crisis. Power is a major concern in some countries with strained infrastructures (In South-Africa for example). In such a situation, if the world is solely reliant on cryptocurrencies, it could be catastrophic...
The above is unlikely and the world is becoming more connected daily, so I believe that it is inevitable that people will shift towards crypto. But I do not think relying on crypto completely is a good idea.
Yes, relying totally on cryptos is not a good idea. That's why I think holding both metals and cryptos is wise. Going back to a gold standard and allowing banksters and govs to cheat and create fiat is worse though. That's just my opinion. I'd rather see the world move to a decentralized blockchain like Bitcoin over a gold standard any day.
Thanks for posting.
You make an interesting case for cryptocurrencies over metals. I think many people will resonate with this and I suspect most people don't own metals. Just from comparing reddits, the gold reddit has very few people (3K) compared to the bitcoin reddit (230K).
Nice article. I'm a fairly young guy and a friend of mine who is also my age (30) got me into gold and introduced me to bitcoin (he was not an advocate). I just yesterday reallocated my portfolio to 75% crypto and 25% metals. There just isn't enough gold and silver to go around and store in everyone's homes. People will learn to slowly not trust banks anymore, especially with the blockchain decentralization. Everything is becoming digital and slowly, more and more of the older generation and becoming tech savvy.
It is good to have both crypto and precious metals and very prudent. I was just getting tired of hearing so many gold bugs suggest gold is the only option we have for sound money. I don't believe gold will ever be abandoned as money nor should it, just that gold standards suck and would force us back to 'trusting' others and the scam would just repeat again. We can use cryptos for that now and they are a lot more versatile.
Thanks for posting. :)
Yes, the ZH crowd hates bitcoin because they are bitter about having not sold the top in gold and are close to caving in to despair in the gold and silver markets over systemic control.
Their anger is just projection. They can't see the world as having multiple solutions to problems. Gold is not the solution to everything. If it was credit wouldn't exist or be abused by governments and rent-seekers.
The collapse in confidence in governments is on our doorstep. Bitcoin is a validation of that idea. Moving a few tens of billions into bitcoin that could have gone into gold still wouldn't have moved gold into bull market territory.
STEEM really does attempt to create a value chain based on human action as opposed to abusing math. And that's why as a system it has so much potential to me as an eventual cryptocurrency of note.
Great post... followed and resteemed.
Thanks for resteeming @goldgoatsnguns. You made a great comment:
You are 100% correct my friend. Followed you too. Cheers :)
Thanks for such an awesome post. You make good sense out of the many situations I've thought could occur. And at the end of it all who knows but I can't help trying to figure out how things will shake out in this crazy bubble economy we are living in. One thing is for sure and that's that I need to get seriously up to speed on crypto. It's not going away and I can't afford to not understand. Upvoted and following you. Thanks again! :)
Thank you, I'm glad you liked the post. The good news is @judym you have lots of time to get up to speed and learn as much as you can. I believe we're just seeing the beginnings of the blockchain revolution and the future looks exciting. Following you too.
Cheers. :)
Thanks for that perspective ... when I saw bitcoin hitting $2800 the other day it definitely felt like the train was leaving the station. Totally agree with you about exciting times ahead, so glad I found Steemit and I appreciate the follow. Hope you have an awesome night! :)
Post a good post is not easy but this one I liked, continue doing good post, follow me and I will follow you
Thank you @alexmejia. No, it isn't always easy writing a long post like this one.
Interesting comments to the article, followed this over from a post I did on Gold and Silver, I agree with a little bit on everyone's opinion, first off I agree that government will attack and demonize those who go against them, which only reflects the evil in itself.
The world elite do control the masses via debt and slavery, no your really not free. And they plan well ahead of any speculation and profits or gains in the real world. I agree physical Gold and Silver are a preliminary strategy towards self wealth and preservation as well as food supply water and protection.
I still say as a cyber currency, what's ones options if one day you wake up and there is no internet, no access to your crypto coins, and no ATM to draw cash, what if what happened in Cypress happens here... everywhere???
Grow your own food is key yes, having water, check, a power supply whether solar or fuel generator for short outages....
So many things one could argue but I still say silver is at a all time low, so undervalued..... get some now if you can. Got nothing against crypto as I'm looking to maybe get into some etherium, but to me priorities lie before something, that's not in my hand readily available, to something I may try to buy, and take days for the transaction to occur, if it occurs at all.
You would be right I don't fully understand all there is in crypto buying, I have been doing my homework on blockchain and alt coins, watching them daily, seems everyday a new one pop up.
Ok enough, have a good night all!
Thanks for commenting @buster544. Silver in my opinion is the bargain of a generation! I hold it, I am not selling it, but here I'm merely attempting to open the discussion that silver isn't the only solution of money looking forward. To dismiss bitcoin and the value it offers as a utility to transfer value, yet believe in PMs only may be a grave mistake. Believing that crypto (preferably bitcoin) has no value and that only precious metals is the answer going forward is to assume that we are heading back to an age without electricity or computers and an apocalyptic world. I do not believe that this will be the case even if it is possible.
We live in an age now where we work for paper, buy things with paper and pay taxes in paper, even when this token of paper is via electronic debit or credit. In reality, it is our modern society that gives paper money its value. If the power goes out, even paper is practically worthless compared to metals but today we don't use PMs in daily transactions and most wouldn't recognize its value.
IMHO, it's best to have have all three. Bullion, Bitcoin and Cash, in that order.
Cheers
You have valid points, and anyone would be crazy not to have all 3 of if possible. I know lots of people struggling out there, looking for the lotto ticket get rich scheme. It's also unfortunate in reality 1000's a day lose their homes to forclosures. With that said, it's why I suggest primarily silver, which is only 20 bucks with premiums per coin ( silver eagles). Of coarse food to last you, but maybe the dollar does collapse, people in the street will still use some form of "cash" . They can't get crypto in the streets. People begging for help and food ( lots of scammers out there now ) you can't give them cyber money, it's just an awesome mechanism and a great way to have decentralized money, but something will still be needed to trade on the street. Ahhhhh so many thoughts to ponder and just where is it headed????
Malls and stores closing more people buy online, less workers equals less buyers equals more places closing and the cycle begins again...
In closing I do agree with your analogy, just so much going on yet nobody sees it.
Appreciate the reply
Definitely food for thought, I just have one counter argument. Do you seriously think the controlling elite and their stooges we call governments, will just sit on their hands and say OK you win. They have always controlled the flow of WHATEVER is classed as money at any particular time for THOUSANDS of years. I'm sorry but I can't put my 100% faith in something that is used by less than 1% of 1%. Do you think this is threatening to their power structure yet? I personally think as soon as crypto's starts to threaten the power structure, the ruling elite, through their government stooges will either take control or squash it. Great post. Cheers
No, it won't be easy and they'll fight to keep the system under their control for as long as possible but ultimately they will fail. They always have throughout history. If you have the time, (it is long watch but excellent) check out this vid by Stefan Molyneau: The Handbook of Human Ownership
I believe I did say at the very beginning of my post that I'm not advocating for anyone to put 100% into cryptos and that gold and silver are money I have some. This transition isn't going to happen next week or next year but will take some time. They can try to squash it but best of luck to them, and here's why.
They tried to outlaw alcohol during prohibition. Failed
They try to outlaw drugs and marijuana: Failed
Outlaw guns in Chicago: Massive Fail
They try to win the war on terror: Failed
They tried to outlaw Christianity in Rome: Failed
The King of England tried to control the 13 colonies: Failed
USSR tried to control its people with brutal control: Failed
...and many more.
People and a society that truly wants to be free can succeed. One way govs have been so successful is because they could control the money supply and now they're having a tough time. Most likely there will be some compromise with governments. Heck, Russia made bitcoin illegal just 2 years ago and now has been forced to change their position:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-10/russia-caves-in-on-bitcoin-to-open-new-front-on-money-laundering
Cryptos are still new but the masses will change their preference over time. Even the most zealous of the religious will stash their value into crypto once they refuse to be cheated and robbed any more.
Thanks for commenting @silverbug and yes the govs won't take this lying down. I agree 100%.
I think you missed my point, the government has never controlled the money. They are there to control us, and protect the powerful elites who control the money. It doesn't matter what form of money, be it seashells, cows, gold or bitcoin. They will burn the planet before they hand over control. All wars are banker wars,
.They tried to outlaw alcohol during prohibition.
The government makes more money of alcohol than anyone else.
.They try to outlaw drugs and marijuana:
Why do you think the US is really in Afghanistan, we now have a record poppy crops every year, they haven't fail to increase importation. Ask the CIA.
.Outlaw guns in Chicago:
It's probably the government supplying the weapons to prove why they need more gun control for the rest of the country.
.USSR tried to control its people with brutal control:
When did they become a society free from government control, I thought Putin is a brutal dictator!
I could go on all night, name one society in the world free from tyrant bankers and suffocating governments. Cheers
If I missed your point I apologize. My attempt was to illustrate the govs can try to control and regulate but people that aren't afraid will just ignore them. You can only continue to steal and bully a society for so long and then the masses just say enough is enough and go their own way.
I'm not afraid of any government or authority as I don't recognize their authority over me. I was born with rights and liberties that were not granted to me by them or any state. They are granted to me by God, a creator, the big bang whatever. Yes, some authority could take that away by using force against me (which is unlawful) but I won't give them my consent or go quietly, even if it costs me my life.
I will continue to do as I wish as long as I'm not using violence, theft or fraud against my neighbour. So if a gov tells me that I can't use something as money I'll just ignore them and use it anyway. So will many others I suspect.
I don't disagree with most of what you are saying, I can very well see the merits in crypto's,even being a gold bug, as many of us do. My point is it just come back to the physical world, I just don't have enough trust to have someone else between me and my money. If it's not in your hand to defend it, it's not yours. Thanks for the great debate, Cheers