Live off crypto and expect a fight

in LeoFinance3 years ago

A lot of us would like to reach the dream position of "living off crypto", but I suspect that for the vast majority, it will never be more than a dream of an impossible future - not because the opportunity doesn't exist, but most people do not have the discipline to grow their stack and protect their stack for long enough. Many will get spooked and will sell and a lot will use their various incomes and gains to live now, buying a better this or that - "just this month."

But things are changing. Much like in my posts about the social normalization of crypto in society, the likes of Paris Hilton are not only bringing celebrity to the table, but they are increasing the FOMO of both other celebrities and retail investors. If the new black is Bitcoin, Instagram posts become the fashion runway.

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But, there is theoretically only 21 million Bitcoin available and if Paris Hilton got in, how much did she buy? As I have mentioned before, there are 55 million millionaires in the world, meaning that if each decided to buy the total supply of Bitcoin evenly, they could each have 0.38 BTC. lols. It is pretty obvious that if there is a rush on Bitcoin, there isn't going to be enough to go around, even amongst the wealthy, but they are going to want it.

Yet, we in crypto are impatient and most of us don't actually believe much in the future of crypto, evidenced by how willing we are to sell it to the likes of celebrities for fiat. At the end of the day, most crypto holders don't actually want to live off of crypto, they want to use the crypto they have and get to buy fiat and live off of that instead. Essentially, they aren't actually opting into crypto - they are getting in and exiting when they can or must, which is why so many still see it as Ponzi scheme.

This is why the move by El Salvador to potentially make Bitcoin legal tender is such a big move, as it brings legitimacy to the token as a currency and allows people to Stay in crypto whilst still using it. This is a mammoth event and once there is an increase in seamless interoperability across many chains, many cryptos will act as currencies without ever having to touch the legacy economy. Not only this, once this becomes the norm, businesses will increasingly build onto the blockchains and generate value and wealth, that will never directly touch the legacy economy either.

The speed of change that could happen in society toward crypto could be insanely fast in terms of just how large the ramifications will be, and this will be reflected in the shifting economy. In many ways, this move should scare the bejeezus out of us all, as there have been large scale wars fought for less wide-ranging disruption to the economy. The challenge in fighting against this disruption though is, there is no country to invade, there is no collected group to attack, there is no location to serve as a battle ground.

Yes, there are plenty of ways for those with legacy power to slow the change and make life hard for those taking part, but the interesting thing is, the more suffering applied, the more who will ultimately turn to alternatives. People can put up with being controlled when things are going well, but in times of hardship, rebellions tend to rise.

This sets up a bit of a conundrum for those in various forms of power as they will be stuck in a position of losing their consumer audience and cash-cows to the competition or, be forced into adequately serving their audience by offering them better conditions. Either way it is a cost for the authority, as the first will mean a massive reduction in income, the second will mean a massive increase in expenditures.

This sets up a challenging environment that will be difficult to negotiate and require some careful planning and execution - and we all know how good governments are at that. So, they will likely be heavy-handed in their approach and punish those they can to set an example for others. The example they will set is that the enforcer cannot be trusted to have the best interest of the people at heart and therefore, should be defunded. If you consider that many people wanted to defund the police departments for institutional racism recently, it isn't farfetched to assume the call for the same could happen at the next layer up.

And defunding becomes something altogether different when it isn't an appeal to the funding authority who is also the governing body to make the move. When there is a shadow economy that has the power to scale and support all participants, it is less defunding and more, disusing the currency that funds them. By that point, the question of "legitimacy" isn't answered by an authority of one, it is built through the social agreements of the masses. Once that happens, the legitimacy of fiat becomes the question.

Social change drives economic change, as the shifting norms will affect the demand and supply of all units within the economy. In the past, this has largely been thought of as the goods and services of the consumer marketplace, but with the introduction of crypto, currency itself has become both a good and a service in that same marketplace in a way it hasn't existed before. When celebrity benefits from shilling, celebrities are going to shill.

But, unlike the depreciating consumer products that they have been pushing for decades, they are now pushing appreciating assets that provide ownership to those who buy the hype. And yes, it might be bought on hype, but at the end of the day, it is still owned and will increase in usage, stabilizing through normalization.

The other thing that this all brings to the table is that unlike the normal consumer trash that grabs the attention of so many people these days - the new products and entertainments are economic teachers, introducing concepts and practice that many people have never been exposed to before. Not only this, they will be buying into a society of other buyers, people willing to discuss at length about all kinds of investment considerations. This means that not only will people's ownership increase, so too will their financial literacy. The difference that this can make to the world is immense, but if successful, it is fatal for the economy as we know today.

The majority of wealth in the world has been made and and is tied to the current economy. If you want to truly live off of crypto, expect a fight and be prepared.

Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]

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Your basic premise here is the main reason I'm excited about crypto and blockchain. This technology has the power to really upset the status quo, and while that's super exciting and a good thing, it is as you said. Expect a fight and be prepared. Disruption of the status quo is never an easy thing and so many people have a vested interest in maintaining it.

Fantastic post.

Disruption of the status quo is never an easy thing and so many people have a vested interest in maintaining it.

It is going to get very uncomfortable and many questions will b raised - if they don't have answers, all they will respond with is violence.

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It's not so much as people not believing in it as it as people wanting to believe in it. I think for the most part, the people who come in are skeptics looking either to be convinced or profit and sell off. For the former, it may take time to build this symbiosis.

When I see people who have been here a lot longer for instance selling off their stake so rapidly though, I do second guess myself

When I see people who have been here a lot longer for instance selling off their stake so rapidly though, I do second guess myself

Depends what they are selling into. Are they out of crypto?

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Some may be divesting to other coins in hindsight

I really agree with this, and see it as our #NOW;

Yet, we in crypto are impatient and most of us don't actually believe much in the future of crypto, evidenced by how willing we are to sell it to the likes of celebrities for fiat. At the end of the day, most crypto holders don't actually want to live off of crypto, they want to use the crypto they have and get to buy fiat and live off of that instead. Essentially, they aren't actually opting into crypto - they are getting in and exiting when they can or must, which is why so many still see it as Ponzi scheme.

I also agree that while people discount this because El Salvador isn’t a rich prosperous country, it is still historic. It is similar to what happened in Venezuela when their President made the Venezuelan Peso legal tender for all purchases, and he even provided machines for all merchants to speed up adoption.

This is why the move by El Salvador to potentially make Bitcoin legal tender is such a big move, as it brings legitimacy to the token as a currency and allows people to Stay in crypto whilst still using it. This is a mammoth event and once there is an increase in seamless interoperability across many chains, many cryptos will act as currencies without ever having to touch the legacy economy. Not only this, once this becomes the norm, businesses will increasingly build onto the blockchains and generate value and wealth, that will never directly touch the legacy economy either.

Your final premise is a very accurate transition statement for the crypto movement to go forward. People need financial education. Learning about and understanding why cryptocurrency is so great requires you to learn why the old system isn’t great.

The other thing that this all brings to the table is that unlike the normal consumer trash that grabs the attention of so many people these days - the new products and entertainments are economic teachers, introducing concepts and practice that many people have never been exposed to before. Not only this, they will be buying into a society of other buyers, people willing to discuss at length about all kinds of investment considerations. This means that not only will people's ownership increase, so too will their financial literacy. The difference that this can make to the world is immense, but if successful, it is fatal for the economy as we know today.

I enjoyed the post, and Ithink you nailed it.

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The biggest risk to the status quo, is an educated mass.

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Exactly. It's hard to rule educated masses because their knowledge makes the world transparent. Transparency is the enemy of those who make their money off the gullibility and ignorance of others.

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Hold on, this ride is going to be rough. I have always said that the old establishment will protect their riches at all costs. Crypto is a threat to them and nothing prevents them from buying huge chuncks of crypto and continually selling to keep the prices low.
People are a strange breed and if the crypto prices continue to bottom, many will fall by the wayside.
Many dirty tricks await methinks.

Crypto is a threat to them and nothing prevents them from buying huge chuncks of crypto and continually selling to keep the prices low.

Well, forks can help, but they are rare for now :)

People are a strange breed and if the crypto prices continue to bottom, many will fall by the wayside.

Just remember, we are about 10x up in a year - at this "bottom" :)

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Agreed with you and in the meantime, come what may, I just continue to build.
My first milestone is 50,000 HP and I am not that far off anymore.

Very true what you say is people want the crypto bags but would rather sell for money instead of using the crypto. Just is strange and tells us they are not real believers in the true sense of the word. I honestly can't wait to get my crypto card eventually as it gives you the best of both worlds and the way the world will interact financially for quite a while yet. This is going to be a fight as the ones with wealth now will feel threatened by this new wealth appearing out of thin air.

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There will have to be a changeover process and it might take decades, but this is the thing with this kind of change - it is very fast - relatively.

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Well I would be happy to sell the miserable holding of BTC I do have to a millionaire 😁 It all comes at a price tough!
Never had the idea that crypto would turn me into a rich men. During the bear period I would have signed not to make a loss on it.
When I did step into crypto the idea was that it could make life a little bit easier. By due to that idea I would be forced to sell. Without selling I wouldn’t make my life easier at all.
But so far I haven’t sold much. Planning each month to sell something but it is so hard to let go some of my precious coins.

Still I do have the plan/dream to decrease my fiat investment further. Will let you know in 2022 if I succeeded 😂

Cheers,
Peter

It all comes at a price tough!

It is that price that matters. At 500K do I sell all, or half - and wait with the rest for a million?

By due to that idea I would be forced to sell. Without selling I wouldn’t make my life easier at all.

If it becomes a currency in its own right with many options as well as yield pools earning, "selling" isn't the same as it is now.

but it is so hard to let go some of my precious coins.

Mu issue......

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I do stay away from those yields pool as I don’t understand them.
I do have some coins who generate income, other could be, but because I would have to learn how these things work, I also stay away there!
I know missing out on some earning 😔

I have a fair bit in pools, have also lost a fair bit...

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As a user from El Salvador we can say that there was already a pre-project implemented by strike through the cryptography of a local economy of a couple of towns, on our coast and it has been a phenomenal result until today we can say that our economy has made the main implementation ,
Likewise, the regulatory challenge is on the way, if implemented this would be a milestone for us as a small nation, hopefully the large developed economies do not interpose their good offices trying to stop such a wonderful innovation, in the meantime we are still here and we will be updating them with the results of this magnificent project at the world level as an experiment that we hope will be carried out successfully
Greetings and if I hope to live on crypto in the future and if not I can at least have a better life to live with the much desired financial freedom.

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Do you think the bill will pass through parliament? I hear he has quite a majority in power there, so I guess it should.

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Yes i am sure that the parliament know about the blockchain, the people know the proyect that are implement for around 1 1/2 years ago, and the result was amazing, for this reason i guess that could be go to the future,
our president maybe know about the topics.

But, there is theoretically only 21 million Bitcoin available and if Paris Hilton got in, how much did she buy? As I have mentioned before, there are 55 million millionaires in the world, meaning that if each decided to buy the total supply of Bitcoin evenly, they could each have 0.38 BTC.

This is a great way to look at the scarcity of BTC. Mainstream awareness of and interest in crypto is only beginning; as more and more of your neighbors, coworkers, and relatives start buying Bitcoin, there will still never be more than 21 million in existence. It is a good time to be involved in crypto!

Just imagine what it could mean in a few years to have a full BTC. What this also alludes to is that alt coins are going to be huge. Everyone might want a Ferrari, but most people drive Toyotas and Volkswagons.

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Hmmm.. The government knows this and that's why they are trying to fight crypto by all means. As at now a few people are taking conscious efforts to be financial literates and this change will move power from the government to the people.

I think this change might really take a long time like w20 years but the main thing is that it will be achieved

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I think this change might really take a long time like w20 years but the main thing is that it will be achieved

It "has" to take a long time, because we don't learn or act very fast as a group. We prefer the status quo too - even though it hurts us.

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True... The status quo is comfortable even if it does not offer any good

but most people do not have the discipline

I was ready to fight you but then you slapped me in the face with too much truth and I was left dumbstruck.

Very rude.

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:)

The potential is there in the market, not necessarily the user.

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Truth be told.. i think you nail it i step into crypto the idea was that it could make life a little bit easier. Thanks for going deeper. You are doing well


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Making life easier now, can lead to more suffering later. I am trying to make life increasingly easier going forward for many.

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At the beginning I was wondering what your definition of "living off crypto" was and at the end was like yep that's exactly how I want to live off crypto XD

But on the bright side hive being a pain in the arse to "cash out" makes it a more effective savings account than my savings account (we'll just ignore the interest rates are drastically different too).

Hypothetically, if HBD was stable, I wonder how many people would be interested in staking it in the savings wallet. At the moment, it attracts 5% interest and that should go up after the hardfork.

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It's stable enough for me that I priced commissions in it and I've actually finally started using savings now that there's an interest rate XD

So at least one? x_x

Interesting that all these International airports are locked up tight just as countries start seriously competing with each other for citizens.

Countries for a long time have wanted to collect the best and brightest, as well as the richest - I wonder if the best and brightest will be left behind :D

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I can see all the memes flooding in Paris Hilton pointing at a token like DOGE, and then in bold with quotation marks - "That's Hot"

I will admit what few others will, I did like her Simple Life TV series. TRAVLA has been in the news lately, and she is a Hotelier, so maybe she is working from that angle to get her Hilton chain back in the news, it has been a slow year hotel wise.

Would be great if Hotels started backing Travala :D

I never watched her show or really any of those kinds of shows, so can't comment.

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Her show was stupid funny, but it put her in the spot light and her hotel chain in the spot light so a sort of good move on her part. People still think she is dumb.

I think you nailed it here. Most of what we need for our living is tied to fiat currency. And while we say we want to live from our crypto, we do sell it for fiat to use it in our daily lives. For me, it´s not because I buy unnecessary things, but because I need it. And yes, I know that is not an excuse because it´s exactly what you are saying.

To actually live from crypto I think there need to change a lot and the move El Salvador is making is a very big move. It´s a move for the history books. And it shows that the adoption is getting bigger every day. In the future, and I don´t think it is very far away, it will be possible to really live from crypto.

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For me, it´s not because I buy unnecessary things, but because I need it. And yes, I know that is not an excuse because it´s exactly what you are saying.

Out of curiosity, what would you do if crypto didn't exist?

That's not such a difficult question to answer. I have lived in that situation for a few years. I lost my job due to circumstances. I am not eligible for benefits because I live together. My partner earns a salary that is just over the minimum and given that my job search was unsuccessful, my bank account remained empty. Literally 0 euros and I suddenly became dependent on my partner. I think that is a very unhealthy situation and that is how I ended up in crypto.

In this way I was able to earn some money, and thus contribute to living expenses that were out of reach for his salary alone.

We don't live excessively, we don't do crazy things, we don't buy expensive things and try to save. But if ever something needs to be replaced that is just necessary ... yes I do use crypto for that.

What I would do if crypto didn't exist is not much different from what I do now. Very frugal living and making sure I don't build up debts. And try to look for other ways to make money.

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What I would do if crypto didn't exist is not much different from what I do now. Very frugal living and making sure I don't build up debts. And try to look for other ways to make money.

Can I use this quote at the end of my next post in a few minutes?

Sorry for the delay in my answer. But yes, of course!

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powerful article. Huge societal upheaval is indeed scary, but also of course needed when you consider that our current system has been bursting at the seams for quite a while now. We are in a period of intense pressure as a race and it is in these melting pots of risk that evolution occurs. Perhaps we will see a hard fork in the human race?

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This is why I am trying to focus as close to 100% as possible on utility over price or financial trading.

Hive f.e. is way better than a regular blog in my eyes -- it's the same but the token adds the financial "fuel" so that blog posts are powered by money and thus more interesting things can happen. Splinterlands is an example of a thing that doesn't happen in a non-crypto blog ecosystem, but DOES happen with crypto involved.

Brave is my preferred browser since the ad system makes sense to me -- in my head, if I imagine everybody using Brave and then donating some of their BAT tokens to the sites they visit most frequently, that's a utility that far surpasses anything possible with the other browsers I know about. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think that would mean less money for Facebook and more money for small/mid sized creators.

Etc etc etc, just utility utility utility. The price for most coins has to follow utility, even if the "tail wags the dog" sometimes and the price gets the headlines first.

I think for a lot of people the move to fiat is a necessity more than something they want to do. I know for me yes, I look to move crypto into fiat to take care of real world stuff simply because there is no other option. Until we start to see more mass adoption, there isn't going to be a way to purely live off of crypto. I think the day is coming, but we are still a bit away from that.

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i think El Salvador is trying to get away from the US dollar if possible. I see a 3rd world country looking to escape some of the exploitation that comes with having parts of the economy pegged to the us dollar. An effort to attract capital. I say this only because it was specifically mentioned that there would be no capital gains tax on BTC.

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