Demonstrating that Bitcoin is not freedom: Pacific Bitcoin Panel

[ad_1]

“Bitcoin (BTC) is Freedom” is one of the many epithets of Bitcoins. As bitcoin is digital gold, bitcoin is property, or even bitcoin is absolute digital scarcity, these phrases ricochet off the walls of bitcoin-themed conference arenas. They are also remembered in eternity on social networks.

But one of Bitcoin’s overriding mantras is Don’t trust, verify. Rooted in an old Russian proverb, the phrase has come to define Bitcoin philosophy. It suggests that rules, ideas, and concepts should be tested, tried, and verified. So with that in mind, how free is Bitcoin really? How far can it be said that Bitcoin is categorically a tool of freedom?

Can Bitcoin Free People?

At the Pacific Bitcoin Conference in Los Angeles, hosted by bitcoin-only exchange Swan Bitcoin, this debate came to life. During a roundtable succinctly titled Bitcoin is Freedom, three freedom fighters and thinkers explored the ways Bitcoin might not be as emancipatory as it is evangelized online.

Panel discussion on stage at Pacific Bitcoin. Source: YouTube

Craig Warmke, a professor at Northern Illinois University, Yan Pritzker, co-founder and CTO of Swan, and Alex Gladstein, chief strategy officer of the Human Rights Foundation, discussed the nature of magic money on the internet. Bitcoin has no central body, and is unlikely to change its rules or hard fork any time soon. Importantly, Bitcoin fought off a serious threat of source code change during block warfare, which in a sense crystallized Bitcoin code at least in the short term.

Now, naturally, the relationship between Bitcoin and freedom can vary and can depend on an individual’s personal experiences and outlook. However, it is taken for granted that Bitcoin is freedom due to its decentralized nature and its ability to allow individuals to store and transfer value without the need for intermediaries or government control.

For example, Gladstein cited examples of people living in disadvantaged communities around the world. He observed that people who live under dictatorships and highly repressive governments can use Bitcoin to achieve their goals and objectives regardless of what their government wants to do or what their government says.

The reason Bitcoin stands for freedom is because it gives anyone access to the internet and we can access those property rights.

Warmke laid out the idea, suggesting that just like a dandelion flower, Bitcoin spreads and is beautiful, but some people’s preferences for how they think the world should be lead them to want to kill it. In this context, it is the censorship-resistant properties of Bitcoin that help make it a tool for freedom.

You don’t need bitcoin until you do

Nevertheless, for people who do not understand or do not wish to understand Bitcoin, this cannot set them free. Yan Pritzker tackled this point head-on; he talked about his home country, Ukraine, and the response Bitcoin embodied to the start of the war between Ukraine and Russia.

He explained that Ukrainians have never heard of bitcoin, don’t care about bitcoin, don’t need bitcoin. They were being bombarded. So now was not the right time to introduce Bitcoin to them. Right.

But it turned out Bitcoin was a great way for us to get money there simply because it was the only thing that worked on a Saturday in the middle of the night. This was how we could send money to Ukraine and then convert it to local currency and route it to local currency.

He also nodded to another of Bitcoins slogans, You don’t need Bitcoin until you do. In this case, people who didn’t understand or care about bitcoin suddenly got help from bitcoin when they needed it most. And suddenly, their level of freedom has been improved thanks to Bitcoin.

Warmke shared that although Bitcoin has excellent money properties, its low penetration in modern society and the fact that it is not easy to use privately means that sometimes Bitcoin falls short in real life situations. Take the Canadian trucker protests, where money was successfully raised using Bitcoin, but not everything was delivered:

Part was confiscated. And part of the reason is that even if you wanted to blame it on the people who give them bitcoin or had the bitcoin, so you’re blaming the user.

It can be extrapolated that for Bitcoin to serve as an outright tool of economic freedom, it must be used privately. And on top of that, it should be used with care and attention.

Moreover, there are not yet many circular economies. And so if you actually want to spin the bitcoin you receive, it’s quite difficult. Bitcoin circular economies describe areas such as El Zonte or Bitcoin Beach, El Salvador, where Bitcoin is used almost exclusively, and there is no need to cash out in fiat currency. Fiat currency offramps could undermine economic freedom because they reveal weakness for state capture.

Literacy

The three bitcoin advocates pointed to the use case for bitcoins in emerging markets, where bitcoin adoption is skyrocketing at arguably faster rates than in the developed world. However, emerging markets struggle with low levels of literacy and unreliable internet connections. These are significant hurdles to overcome to embrace freedom money, as Bitcoin requires the internet and a rudimentary understanding of math and generally English.

Sending Bitcoin without internet access is now a reality. Source: Twitter

Gladstein agreed, explaining: Bitcoin relies, as you have seen yourself, on the other journeys of literacy and internet access. The Human Rights Foundation CSO explained that the journey to literacy and internet access follows a trend of positive growth:

But the good news is that it looks like by the end of this decade, even in countries like Sudan and Senegal, well over half of all people in those countries will be literate and have access to internet. . So I think the potential is vast enough to make a difference.

Additionally, technical advancements on Bitcoin suitable for people living in developing countries are bringing more and more users online, without using the internet. For the illiterate, the solution lies with wallet developers to ensure users can still use Bitcoin.

But what about the price? The price per Bitcoin is down 70% from its highs. A loss of such extravagant sums is crippling, not liberating. The philosopher Warmke urged the public to reduce their time preference and avoid focusing on short-term gains.

In the long term this [Bitcoin] is a very, very libertarian thing, because it actually gives people the opportunity to have something of their own.

Finally, Warmke also joked that his level of personal freedom has diminished since becoming a bitcoin advocate because he checks the price too much!

Gladstein and Prtizker ended the panel on a sobering note. Gladstein explained that for some people living in authoritarian regimes, Bitcoin literally means life or death. In some cases, it’s literally the only way they can do what they can do. In this context, Pritzker suggested spending more time looking at other countries and what is happening there. And I think you’re going to see that Bitcoin allows freedom in a big way.

[ad_2]