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.
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?
― 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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I say let people be greedy. Shake of the weak hands, eventually people learn and realize that's its about more than getting rich in a year.
After having dealt with btc for over 3 years I'm never going back. Fiat world feels like hell, everything is so damn hard to do. And that's from a person who lives in the part of the world where banking is at its best..
I'm never ever going back.
People may learn but what about the cryptocurrencies charging exuberant fees to transfer funds? Many would rather deal with banking headaches than losing their money for using a service. For example, my household conducts 200 transactions a month, easily. If I were to use BTC for those transactions that would be almost $375 a month in transaction fees alone with the average price per transaction of BTC today. There is no way a service could ever become mainstream with fees like that.
Additionally, that is an unethical amount to charge someone. We complain about fees from banks, but you know how much my bank charges me for those transactions to include the monthly fee for my bank account? $0. Who looks more unethical in this example? Doesn't this go against EVERYTHING BTC was founded on?
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Its so true that greed is an enemy of bitcoin. The push for mainstream adoption might actually have the opposite effect and end up stifling long term mass adoption by undermining it's intended purpose of freedom. Bitcoin needs to grow organically, like it did when it was born.
You bring up a very good point. Not one I have pondered deeply. I would prefer to see organic growth too because instead of some type of new-fangled technology people are jumping on to and may be disappointed with then never try again. An organic adoption on boards users more willing to contribute to the community and voice their opinion on how to make the technology better.
You raise a good point. You can revolutionize the way money works, but it won't touch the inherent weakness inside human beings themselves. It takes a different kind of transformation to do that :)
Yes, it really speaks volumes about humanity when a technology is presented that can really help humanity and people choose greed over their fellow man.
GREED is a bitch. the powers that be have invested a lot of TIME and MONEY training us to buy things we don't need to impress people we don't know.
upvoted.
Yeah, my mother called that trying to keep up with the Joneses. it's a sad cycle of ultimately debt people are engaged in.
Whoa...did not think that high school English books were going to show up again in cryptocurrencies of all things. That analogy fits so well.
Lol, yeah who would ever have thought a book many regarded as some "dumb high school book" would resurface years later when thinking of cryptocurrency. I just couldn't get the anology out of my head reading about cryptocurrency lately. Thanks for the comment @erickpinos.
This is a dangerous time for cryptocurrencies, and I am not all that confident in any particular one surviving or being able to rise above the difficulties they are facing right now, but I believe that the crypto-space is just getting started when it comes to innovation and progress.
Dangerous, exciting times...
I know we are still in the early stages and many of the negative currently surfacing can be fixed if people speak up and support cryptos that are being true to the original cause. I do agree with the block chain space as a whole produce many needed changes which will affect all industries throughout the world. I love the phrase "dangerous, exciting times...".
I don't often give a 100% upvote but this one is worth it.
There is a reason why the great books are great - their principles endure. I echo the sentiments in these comments. Never imagined an Animal Farm analogy in bitcoin world.
Thank you for sharing what you couldn't let go of in your mind - the good Lord knew I needed to read it.
Thanks @lydon.sipe and you are welcome for the share.
I thought about this all through the night. Came out and wrote about it this morning, sat on it and contemplated about it some more. Then I finally hit the send button after determining the analogy held true to what is currently happening.
It's amazing to read someone needed to read this. That comment made my day!
It is a well written article. You should be proud of it.
I love making your day with comments!
Good comparison with a lot of food for thought. The original goals are key to long term survival of cryptocurrencies!
Thanks @mortenbb! i do agree it will be its long-term survival because it is so appealing and freeing to the masses!
@lexikon082, this is a well written article. I hope we all take away greed and allow cryptocurrency to survive.
Very nice one here.
Thanks @ogoowinner! So glad to see you on here. How are you recovering?
I'm getting better. Thanks for care. I really appreciate it.
Good post, I have to agree that the "low transaction cost" is yet to be seen by me as I have been buying in with cards at ridiculous fees. The industry needs to evolve past the old BTC as the primary trading coin. Coins like LTC are going to really take off and displace BTC. Great post!
Yes, I do agree that other coins may very well start to do better. The three that I have been looking at are Lite Coin, Dash, and Viva with their viva.cash text message service to send funds. Viva.Cash will be able to solve the mainstream adoption of their coin from the very beginning. Dash and Lite Coin still have a way to go.
Intersting, will check it out
Viva.Cash is not out just yet, but it shouldn't be too far off.
I'm not nearly as knowledgeable as I want to be but even with the little bits that I'm dabbling in, I'm beginning to notice the "going and coming" fees of transferring MY coin from one wallet to another. I'm not even talking about the risk you take in exchanges or finding legit buyers.
There's a saying, "A Snowball's chance in hell..." I'm in that group. I like the underdog who works for the greater good even if there is some sacrifices that need to be made.
This made me laugh because it is very fitting with the analogy of Animal Farm. Snowball's chances of succeeding were very slim when it came to fighting off Napoleon. As @guiltyparties wrote..."people better start voting with their wallets" if they want this experiment to succeed with Satoshi's original plan in mind, not to mention the moral reasons that many began mining for in the first place.
Have I mentioned how much I love smart people? XOXOX
There are many on this platform. It's one of the aspects of Steemit that I Love! I've always thought that if you are the smartest in the room than you are in the wrong room! So, much to learn on here.
As a former creator of massive online communities, I have a different outlook on the idea that bitcoin/crypto initiatives are anything other than business ventures.
Here's my take on it: No one makes coins for the sakes of promoting equality or a political goal. Some animals are more equal than others is the main message of Animal Farm. In cryptocurrency those with the money are those with the power. Those who want a voice better start speaking with their wallets. Same as the international banking system. Only difference is now the key players are nodular, removed from geographic constraints. We're looking at a world without physical boundaries and are eagerly replacing them with monetary, opportunity, and intellectual boundaries.
But in the end of the day there are those who have power and those who don't and just like 15 years ago, those who have power will buy and sell their communities at whatever equated to 0.25$ a head back then.
This is the way to solve it. There are coins out there who are trying to stay true to Satashi's original message but merely improving on the blockchain technology that was introduced.
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Great analogy. Very apt indeed. After observing and participating in this space for 4 years now, I've been making similar comparisons during this time, and more-so lately.
With all of the amazing potential that blockchain technology has for our species, I'm also highly aware that it could just as easily serve as the perfect tool for an even deeper level of enslavement then anything else that has come before.
When accumulation of money is the epicentre thought process behind interaction with the blockchain, the dangled carrot enticement, that leads into the cage, could well be rotten like trough slop; where, gorging face first, on any old leftover scraps, the distracted filling their bloated bellies have the door firmly locked behind them.
I agree with this leading to the cage. I'm perfectly fine with people having money and even being wealthy. It's how you accumulate that wealth and what you do with the wealth is what I focus on. It seems there are many wealth accumulators doing it at the expense of their fellow man through high fees. I understand things can't be free, but there has to be a limit of costs associated with transactions.
Also, I wonder what happens if the lights go out and people didn't diversify properly. Imagine all of the money stuck in digital assets that people would not have access to. The people who put their whole life savings into crypto to chase a buck would be in a world of hurt.