8 Types of Freedom
October 11, 2023
by Regy Andrade
Could be more objective — and I will be in all other topics, but I believe it is important to bring a “dystopian” view to show another perspective of what Bitcoin and crypto assets in general are and why they were created.
Disclaimer: I remind that this view does not refer to any country on this planet and all this happens in a very, very distant place…
Imagine God creating the universe, obviously he did not send a petition to the bureaucrats of the celestial public power asking for a permission, he just did it. Now, here we are in a universe of infinite possibilities, inside a stone ball, full of water, animals and crazy people inside, spinning around a giant ball of fire, going from nothing, to nowhere.
That’s where it all starts; I’m going to tell the story of a group of people, known as the State Mafia and who meet to create a country — in that place, very very far away.
What is a country really? Nothing more than a territory controlled by an armed group; and that based on its military power defines virtual borders that exist as far as its power can reach and sustain, or through diplomacy with other groups.
Once the territory to be explored is established, this group organized by military forces and interest groups needs to institutionalize the operation, since depending on the size of the territory it needs to create subdivisions of land and chain of command, both military and of norms, supervision and economic engine.
Military power is the central axis of the gear, but other powers are also important within the State Mafia, including information and economic power. Information is an interesting power that serves both in articulation, processes and control, as well as in its own social intelligence. For example, in the oldest times power was centralized in the figure of a king, over time it became increasingly decentralized and due to technology and other factors it moves towards a distributed model.
Governance is done by what many people call “politics”, it is nothing more than a diplomacy between gangsters and their factions that fight to control the mafia and serve their interest groups and themselves.
Just as borders are virtual, so are laws; the rigidity of what is fulfilled depends on who and their influence within the organization and in some cases the economic power of those who broke them. Incidentally, the state mafia is not a reference in ethics and morals. So we see abuses and absurdities in the most diverse forms, but contrary to what many people think, it is not a system failure, it was made precisely to work this way, for various reasons.
The difference of the state mafia compared to other organizations is that it is a enslaver organization. Its operation is based on coercion and submission of the next; disfiguring the identity of the individual as a unique being, independent of his religion, ethnicity and sexual orientation.
It is a modern version of slavery, which “democratizes” the form of exploitation and extends to all individuals. Thus, all those born in this territory are forced to “share” a part of their earnings if they have a profit, through a voluntary exchange, inheritance, sale and purchase of properties (even if you have losses you will be forced to pay the “extortion” — since the state mafia never loses).
The state mafia usually acts in a blatant way, even the name of its main extortion refers to its origins. The definition of the word tax is “that was imposed; that was forced to accept or to perform”. And why then do people pay this extortion? Only because the most intellectual argument of the state mafia, in the end, is violence — both psychological and physical. Nobody wants to have their property stolen by their hitmen, or even be kidnapped and imprisoned in an organization prison for not paying or trying to hide from the “lion”.
Economic power is one of the main pillars of the state mafia. As it survives from the exploitation of the territory, it needs to be present in the lives of the people who live in it and in their voluntary transactions. For this, it establishes a central body that issues a paper registered with its brand, which becomes a forced currency and thus participates in the economic system of its territory.
These coins have evolved over time, passing through the gold standard (which had a reserve in gold for each unit issued as backing), to the current fiduciary coins, which are no longer backed by any real asset — practically the only backing these coins have today are the random opinions of politicians who control these mafias.
For various other reasons such as fractional reserves, central bank policies, inflation, etc., the economic power of individuals living in these territories is increasingly devalued and from time to time the fragile and exploited economy finds itself in increasingly greater crises.
This is where Bitcoin, digital assets and, in general, the tokenization of real-world assets come in. With the advancement of technologies and information that are increasingly expanding and spreading like viruses, making individuals stronger against state mafias, money and “symbols” of value as we know them disconnect from the figure of the state.
There have been several attempts by peaceful individuals to create free territories, but they have always been frustrated by actions of these mafias full of military and economic resources. But one territory went unnoticed, this territory is practically omnipresent and co-exists with all other territories dominated by these groups — this territory is the “cyberspace”! We are living in the new “old west”, the real world in virtual reality. Physically separated, but united online.
This territory is a new world of opportunities and in this environment Bitcoin emerged, one of the greatest exponents of freedom ever seen, since it is not directly controlled by any government, protecting individuals and weakening one of the main powers of the state mafia, which is the economic one. How was this possible? One of the best ways to keep something hidden and safe is to be in plain sight, and cryptography allows that. Through a technology called “blockchain”, which is nothing more than a chain of encrypted information blocks, which record all transactions.
The block zero of the blockchain information is called the “genesis” block, and that of bitcoin brings a simple information, but which demonstrates the reasons for its creation. In less than a paragraph, the text records that on January 3, 2009, a story appeared in The Times newspaper saying that the chancellor of the British army was considering a new bailout for the banks, something that ended up happening a year later.
And from then on the use of cryptocurrencies spread, which today goes far beyond the famous bitcoin, there are coins like Monero that are focused on the privacy of the user and other types of cryptocurrencies, such as tokens that are representations of assets both from the real world and the digital one.
Tokens work like bearer shares. With them you can be the owner of fractions of shares in companies, cars, real estate and an infinity of real world assets.
Cryptocurrencies have brought much more freedom, in a universe that is used to permissions from these mafias; permission to drive, permission to walk with a car that is yours, permission to call your own — a house that is yours. The great problem with permissions is that they can be revoked whenever the grantor wants. Permission is not freedom. Freedom is responsibility and risk, when talking about maximum security one of the first things that comes to mind is in a prison. So, just as it brought more freedom, cryptocurrencies also brought more risk, since you are your own bank — and that requires a new mindset of how you take care of yourself in this new scenario. But who is better than you to take care of what is yours?
An important part of the increasing and deliberate adoption of cryptocurrencies is the large number of secondary services that are being created, an ever-stronger ecosystem that will bring even more security to individuals. All this will generate more economic power, promoting freedom, weakening state mafias and making the world a better and more peaceful place for people.
The best protest you can make against the state mafia is to use cryptocurrencies and tokens. Be your own resistance banker, buy bitcoin!
Why Bitcoin?
In an economic collapse, the value of fiat currencies can quickly become unstable and unpredictable. Bitcoin is considered secure in an economic crash because it is a decentralized digital currency, meaning it is not managed by any government or central authority and hence, is safer in economic crises.
Being a digital asset, it isn’t subject to physical destruction, which offers an additional layer of security compared to traditional currencies, stocks and even gold investments. Furthermore, the limited supply of Bitcoin and its integrated algorithms to control its production make it hard for significant inflation and devaluation of its value.
Hence, it can provide investors a safe haven to protect their assets during an economic collapse.
What is a Crypto Wallet?
A cryptocurrency wallet is a software that stores public and private keys and interacts with various blockchains to allow users to send and receive digital currency and monitor their balance. If you want to use Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency, you will need to have a digital wallet. It can be accessed through an app, website or other online platform. In short, it’s basically a “bank account” where you are your own bank
A wallet I recommend is TrustWallet (https://trustwallet.com), for being multi-currency (you can use Bitcoin, Ethereum or other coins) and also secure, has been in the market for several years and with constant updates.
How to Buy and Exchange Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies
BUY
One of the advantages of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptos is their instant liquidity. At the same time that it works as a store of value, it allows its use in many day-to-day transactions, including exchanging it for fiat currency when necessary.
If you are starting out and want to buy your first Bitcoin, I recommend Itez (https://itez.com), operating since 2019; there you can buy Bitcoin with your VISA or MasterCard quickly and securely.
For high volume transactions, please check out Defyse (https://defyse.com)
EXCHANGE
There are several centralized Exchanges that you can use, such as Binance, LBank and others that operate regionally. A very interesting way to make trades is through P2Ps: Cryptocurrency peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions refer to transactions in which two parties (or peers) can transact directly with one another without the need for any intermediary, such as a bank or payment processor. But, beware! Only transact this way with people you trust or through Exchanges that offer an escrow service, which gives security for this transaction.
CENTRALIZED EXCHANGE (CEX)
Binance: https://binance.com
LBank: https://www.lbank.com
Bisq: https://bisq.network
Paxful: https://paxful.com
A decentralized exchange does not rely on a third-party service to maintain the customer’s funds. Instead, negotiations take place directly between users (peer-to-peer) through an automated process using smart contracts directly on the Blockchain. This means that the exchange is not controlled by any single administrator and users remain in control of their funds at all times.
DECENTRALIZED EXCHANGE (DEX)
Uniswap (Ethereum): https://uniswap.org
1inch (Different Networks): https://1inch.io
Matcha (Ethereum, BNB e Polygon): https://www.matcha.xyz
To exchange Bitcoin for over 10,000 currency pairs, instant and non-custodial, you can also use Defyse (https://bit.ly/defyse-dex).
Hire and Work with Crypto
For most of the world’s population, the main — or maybe their only income — is trading their working hours for money. This is the main subsistence model worldwide. Now imagine that people in various countries and regions around the world cannot participate in the traditional financial system — not for their fault — but because of the diplomatic, bureaucratic and restrictions that involve the countries where they live.
The freedom to work is a fundamental cornerstone of individual sovereignty, so ensuring access to free work is a natural right, and that is where platforms that allow workers and people interested in hiring their services can use to Hire or Work, being paid with Crypto. From freelancing to a full-time job.
