Traditional banking consolidates power into the hands of a few, and when trust erodes and power is left ungoverned, the consequences are devastating for the working class.
We've seen it time and time again—central banks printing excessive amounts of money to solve short-term problems, only to trigger long-term crises—and for people like us, the working class, this means watching our savings evaporate from inflation faster than we earn, despite years of honest work.
Behind the velvet curtain of modern comforts and distractions—the truth is—traditional banking systems backed by nothing are failing people across the world. As inflation, repression, and central bank overreach grow, so do financial and personal restrictions. The real life accounts below aren't just stories. They're warnings. Warnings which portray an honest, uncomfortable truth, bred from the misfortune of those in less fortunate environments.
Limited in the opportunities they have to ensure the money created from their time and energy expenditure is not taxed to oblivion, hope is the only avenue left to explore—there must be another reality that's better than my current circumstance—they contemplate, as the rawness of life becomes second nature to them.
Lebanon, 2023.
You've worked your arse off for over 50 years to ensure a good retirement for yourself and your wife. You ran the numbers, and if you're lucky, you will have atleast 20 years to enjoy the rest of your days doing what you have waited so long for. Christmas has gone, and the new year brings an exciting nervousness for what the future holds. It's your first month being retired, and you receive your first paycheck of 1600 dollars. A month passes. It's now the 1st of February, 2023, and you only receive 80 dollars. Overnight, the Lebanese Central Bank has devalued the currency by 90 percent. Your entire pension you slaved 50 years for, is worth 90 percent less than last month. You question whether it was really worth it.
Turkey, 2023.
After only a year into your marriage, you and your husband are forced to move out of Istanbul and into the countryside because the cost of living is becoming unbearable. Inflation and interest rates have decimated any hope of owning a car, even on a two-income household. Monthly wages have quadrupled, yet you're still forced to take on debt just to afford basic household necessities to survive. In just a couple of years, prices have risen so much it is now costing you a quarter of your income just to provide groceries. You and your husband seriously start to question what it takes just to stop living on the hunger line.
Venezuela, 2016 - 2022.
It's 2018, and for the past three years your country has dealt with the brutal realities of having a 57 million percent inflation rate. During the hardest economic time of your life, the usage of anything other than your now worthless currency, is illegal. You cannot turn to USD, EURO, crypto or even gold. The streets are littered with paper Bolivar's as everyone around you rushes to get rid of fiat. Bartering seems like the only way out from complete financial devastation, provided you have something useful to offer. Fast forward to 2022, and it costs you almost your entire month's salary to afford a single grocery shop for your family. You wait in line for over 10 hours to buy the items you need, but are not even sure they have them in stock. By the time you reach the checkout, the government overseeing the supermarket have increased prices yet again, forcing you to spend money you cannot afford. You are losing hope by the day.
So we must act, and move towards the path of financial freedom, outside the grip of broken banking institutions and government hypocrisy.
Bitcoin violates everything we know about money and forces us to consider whether we actually understood money in the first place.
For the first time in digital history, society has been presented with a revolutionary piece of technology that allows for online payments to be sent directly from one person to another, anywhere in the world at any time, without the centralisation, intervention or authorisation from any government or central banking system.
Never before have we seen a transacting system that allows money to be moved around the globe with absolutely no fuss from anyone asking where you're sending it to and why you're sending that amount. You'll never get questioned on what you're purchasing, nor will it stop you from purchasing goods based on your opinions, beliefs, or religion. Instead, it provides hope for those who are unable to see any other way around the previously inescapable problems we face today. Problems that encapsulate the essence of life itself.
In short, Bitcoin addresses the devaluation of salaries, savings, time, work, energy and opportunity of citizens. It does this by arming those with the education-backed-conviction a new approach to the way they view money, and the energy exchange used to earn it. Before Bitcoin, money earnt from a job was outsourced into ventures that we all hoped would retain or gain in value; be it gold, silver, land or property. But with Bitcoin, the troubles of maintaining these investments is nullified completely, with the benefits of each venture instead condensed into a singular investment.
Instead of corruption deciding the direction of the financial economy, bitcoin offers us all a peaceful alternative that puts the power of financial decisions back in the peoples hands. In essence, bitcoin represents an updated and modern-day solution for the future of finance.
