Bitcoin (BTC) has its detractors here and there. Mostly, they come from the tools of traditional finance (TradFi) in the government who want to keep the status quo, which they tend to exploit to their advantage. So, what’s in it that they should fear about?
Many politicians go on hating Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies not because of their perceived risks to people’s finances or their claimed intensive energy use. These are merely convenient excuses to immediately dismiss the benefits of BTC without even understanding the very fabric of its design that even surpasses gold as a hard asset.
While we recognize that there are still a lot of politicians who genuinely care for the benefit of their constituents, the same cannot apply to everyone. As with any other institution out there, there will always be the pressing challenges of corruption in each government that need to be addressed.
Without much ado, here’s a rundown on five hard facts that make Bitcoin the ideal currency to safeguard everyone’s financial autonomy against political corruption:
1. Decentralized Barrier of Bitcoin
The decentralized nature of Bitcoin means no single entity, government, or corporation could control, manipulate, or shut it down. It requires a concerted effort from the consensus of its overall user base to enact changes in its inner workings, hence, it reflects the true essence of democracy, equity, and inclusivity.
This goes in opposition to traditional finance entities that have inherent biases over their clients, governing bodies, or owners. Even fiat money is no exception because its value can be adjusted by monetary and fiscal policies that usually favor the government.
It cannot be denied that there are whales who hold a significant supply of Bitcoin, which could theoretically exert massive selling pressure in the market if they decide to jointly flush all their BTC holdings. However, the digital asset has always found ways to undergo correction whenever the smoke has cleared without any form of government intervention or bailout.
Thanks to its cyclical halving, the trajectory of the cryptocurrency has remained upward on a long-term scale. Likewise, its demand due to its potential utility in payments and money-transmitting sectors could further offset any attempts to drive down its price.
2. Transparency and Immutability in the Blockchain
Lack of transparency has time and again proven itself to be the natural breeding ground of corruption. The blockchain is a public ledger that can track transactions as they happen, thus, it presents an effective tool for taxation and catching money laundering attempts. While there have been criminals caught washing their dirty money via Bitcoin, let’s consider the fact that most of them have been exposed via the breadcrumbs they left in the blockchain.
Meanwhile, the immutability of the Bitcoin blockchain ensures that transactions and their corresponding data cannot be altered or tampered with. Both of these provide an effective instrument to combat alterations to hide any criminal wrongdoings like embezzlement, bribery, vote buying, and other crooked practices.
3. Financial Inclusivity
Again, due to its decentralized nature, Bitcoin couldn’t be used to censor or influence the populace because of its permissionless system. Anyone, even the unbanked or marginalized sector of the community can participate in its ecosystem.
Most governments and politicians generally hate something they can’t control, so the idea of people having autonomy in their dealings and having a choice on how they run their finances just irks them to the core.
4. BTC’s Anti-Inflationary Ecosystem
Fiat currency can be printed by the government on a whim to align with its fiscal goals, but the same cannot be said for Bitcoin because of its finite supply of 21 million BTC. This characteristic makes it resistant to the inflationary pressures often caused by incompetent, inconsiderate, or irresponsible monetary solutions pushed forth by policymakers like quantitative easing.
The incessant money printing of governments like the US to support their agendas has always been to the detriment of people as they caused prices of goods and services to skyrocket. Bitcoin’s hard supply cap coupled with its decentralized economy, however, ensures that everyone has a voice in its future direction.
5. The Global Nature of Bitcoin
Bitcoin like gold transcends the boundaries set forth by governments. The cryptographic framework of BTC makes it challenging for regulators and politicians to enforce controls to manipulate its exchange rates or use them to their advantage.
Bitcoin’s lack of geographical boundaries or regulatory restriction by a single entity or a collective is the very reason why it’s seen as freedom money.
Final Thoughts
These hard facts only form the tip of the proverbial tip of the iceberg. Furthermore, these may be debatable at best, but they do present an exciting kick-off for discussions aimed at combating the fallacies critics mostly throw at Bitcoin, especially the obviously uninformed comments of most politicians against it.