"As the plausibility gap shrinks the populace entrenches in extremes. Empathy is forced out until logic serves no purpose. Weak minds and the corrupt become most vocal while the knowledgeable are ridiculed and silenced. Public demonstrations of unquestionable loyalty are encouraged."
~ Finacealot
October 2, 2023
Presently, we are living through a cataclysmic evolution in the nature of money. We have grown up using paper money, using bankers to transact our investments, and building a portfolio with equities, bonds, and various standardized financial instruments. Presently we are seeing digital money being more prevalent, the use of deft services that remove bankers from as middlemen and custodians, along with a plethora of new financial instruments such as cryptocurrency and tokenization.
I have been a huge fan of cryptocurrency until two weeks ago.
Something happened in my perceptions and I’m not able to pinpoint the exact moment.
Two contributing factors were reading that Stellar USDC is funded from, or in large part, by Blackrock. Another factor was the new understanding that Ripple (XRP) is already involved with many banks, central banks, and large institutions around the world. And that number is growing monthly.
I need to rip off this band-aid quickly. Let’s face reality, Bitcoin, BTC, is either funded in part or completely by C - I - A or dark government entities. Seriously, who in their best frame of mind will create an innovative BTC, with all the technology and software and knowledge that is required - Satoshi Nakamoto, and then just walk away from it?
No one has ever seen Satoshi or knows their whereabouts. Seriously?
On the research I have read, BTC is financed by Tether funds. Have you ever researched the source of funds? Is Tether a dark money pool?
I am no expert in financial markets or cryptocurrency. But I have an abundance of common sense.
If the cryptocurrency market overall or a digital asset is solving a problem, it's going to drive some value.
~ Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple
If the cryptocurrency market overall or a digital asset is solving a problem, it's going to drive some value.
~ Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple
To me, the powers that be have brought blockchain to everyone in the world and identified it as a financial solution. It seems prudent that Satoshi's character introduced the globe to blockchain and its miracle sure for money ills.
The appearance of BTC and blockchain is comparable to what bankers do to sell a stock. First, they create a problem, then come out with a product/company to solve it, and lastly, they tell us we should own it.
Blockchain is a platform offering transparency and security. What, isn’t that what we expect from financial markets?
But in today's world of corrupt bankers of governments, there is zero of both transparency and security. Don’t believe me? Go watch The Big Short movie. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_big_short
Today, we have 8+ billion on the planet, and approximately 300 million own cryptocurrency. More have used crypto to make a purchase (here).
In Nigeria, most people use BTC and the majority of the population is family with crypto (here).
The good thing about digital money is that crooked politicians and drug lords will not be able to pass suitcases of paper currency under the radar. Gone are the days of paper money to bribe this person or sway justice in their favor. After all, blockchain is transparent.
We have read one or two news articles where the FBI has tracked BTC paid to hackers for ransom and been able to arrest those bad actors (here).
Make no mistake, the tide of money in transactions is turning quickly. Digital money is here to stay.
If you have read any research on CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Coins) you know that using those removes all privacy about where and what you spend money on, as well as, the owner of CDBC (banks) can shut down your ability to use them at their whim.
Biometrics and CDBCs are powerful tools that will shape our future. Imagine having to complete a face scan at the store to get in and shop, and also to check out when you pay with CDBC or any cryptocurrency (here).
BTC is the cryptocurrency that has been around the longest. I am not a fan of the Satoshi Nakamoto narrative. I believe that BTC is a dark pool fund where normal folks have jumped on the wagon to make money, think Enron or Nivida.
Then Ethereum, ETC, is the second oldest crypto and recently reinvented its structure to be faster and leaner.
Then Ripple, XRP, and Stellar, XLM, are both financial services. They function to move money. XRP does it from country to country. XLM is a money service targeted at individual transactions. XRP and XLM are both faster, cheaper, and use less energy than BTC or ETH.
Who needs CDBC when you have XRP and XLM?
Yes, BTC, ETH, XRP, XLM are all privately owned - right?
I am not a doom and gloom person. But, make no mistake the function of digital money does place restrictions on inherent freedoms we are accustomed to exercising IN USA.
The highlight for me in this particular time, the best move in my situation, is to make money in the digital money marketplace.
It's obvious that coins/tokens, with quality reputations and robust features, are being offered at low prices, comparatively speaking with similar tokens, that, to me, demonstrated a relatively low risk - at this point in time.
Over the summer BTC miners were paid by Texas to stop mining to reduce electricity loads (here).
Japan banking systems are reporting that in 2025 every bank there will be using XRP. (here).
Stellar, XLM, has teamed with Money Gram to make it easier to transfer crypto to fiat money, without having a bank account (here).
When you can buy XRP or XLM for less than a dollar a token/coin, while BTC is at 27K a token, I think that XRP and XLM are worthy of characters in the digital money world.
Digital money is here to stay.
I also think there is security in precious metals and paper currency.
The newest aspect of digital money is tokenization.
As the world continues, and completes its move to converting all record transactions into digital records - bye-bye paper - the world of tokenization opens its doors. The completion is scheduled for December 2023.
Tokenization means every physical object has the potential to be tokenized: a house, beautiful art, clothes … the list goes on and on.
The literal translation is, “the process of transforming ownerships and rights of particular assets into a digital form.” (here).
It is necessary to begin wrapping your mind around this concept of tokenization. As an example, what if traditional mortgages were replaced with the process of tokenization? A house worth 100,000 was tokenized with 100,000 tokens with a value of 1.00 to being. As the property value fluctuates so does the token value. Yes, the tokens are held in your digital wallet.
Don’t forget cryptocurrency will fund transactions of tokenization: BTC, ETH, XRP, XLM, and others.
As you consider your cryptocurrency purchases, remember the ISO 20022 Standard. There are ten cryptocurrencies that comply with that standard today.
The best phrase today that sums up my thinking on digital money.... it's a necessary evil.
There is no way to avoid digital money. And, you can plan accordingly with your finances to balance your assets.
This article is provided as educational information and is not investment advice.