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- ⏳🏦 On the brink
⏳🏦 On the brink
The last time this happened, Satoshi Nakamoto released bitcoin. It's now 14 years later, and bitcoin has matured into a viable alternative to a fiat-based financial system.
Dave Birnbaum & David Waugh
March 16, 2023
Bitcoiners,
In 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto inscribed the following message on bitcoin's Genesis block: "The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks."
This weekend, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank were abruptly closed by regulators. Rumors are floating that other banks are in similarly dire straits, driven by the Fed's interest rate hikes to tame the inflationary spiral it started in 2020. On Monday, exchanges halted trading for several bank stocks.
The Fed and Treasury released a joint statement that all depositors will be made whole past the $250,000 FDIC insurance limit, funded by a "special assessment on banks." In other words, the government is leaning on banks to repay depositors for the mess it created.
Anyone who thinks banks won't pass these costs to depositors is mistaken. This is a bailout. The fiat money system is unreliable, but it is predictable. Inflation is too tempting for central bankers to resist- begetting unsustainable credit booms and taxpayer-borne busts.
However, unlike during the last financial crisis, we now have bitcoin, a proven sound monetary alternative to fiat chaos.
Let's dive in.
NEWS
⚖️ NY AG: Ether is a security
The New York State Attorney General filed a lawsuit against KuCoin, alleging that the Seychelles-based crypto exchange violated securities laws by offering tokens (including Ether) that meet the definition of unregistered securities.
The noted financial investigative firm Citron Research released a series of tweets about Ethereum, alleging it expects "the secrets to be just as bad as any shadowy organization with: self dealings, shady ICO transactions, multiple attempts to avoid federal laws of taxation and securities, all while being controlled by a small group of people under a guise of decentralization."
Also included in the tweet thread: "Our opinion that Vitalik's public charity efforts are reminiscent of the SBF effective altruism coverup combined with tax avoidance."
The takeaway: The fiat system's swoon doesn't mean "cryptos" are off the hook. Only bitcoin is truly decentralized and secure.
☠️ SVB and Signature shutter
Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank were closed by regulators, and the FDIC created a new entity to protect uninsured depositors past the $250,000 limit. Credit Suisse, one of the largest global banks, borrowed $54 billion from Switzerland's central bank following a stock price plummet and solvency concerns.
Under the hood: Where there is smoke, there is fire. The credit-driven fiat banking system is under stress from high interest rates, and these bank failures are unlikely to be the last.
BITCOIN ADOPTION CONTINUES
The Praia Bitcoin experiment set a world record for the most peer-to-peer (P2P) bitcoin lighting transactions, with 71 transactions in only three minutes and 33 seconds.
European bitcoiners are gearing up for the first-ever bitcoin film festival, March 24th through 26th in Warsaw, Poland.
The Perth Heat, a popular Australian baseball team, is partnering with Bitrefill, Wallet of Satoshi, and IBEX, allowing fans to "Steal Sats," earning bitcoin rewards whenever a Heat player makes an exciting play.
THNDR Games launched a bitcoin game called Bitcoin Blocks, and announced a new reputation and badging system called Gaming Graph, allowing players to earn badges to share on clients like NOSTR.
HOW BITCOIN WORKS
Learn one key idea about bitcoin each week. This week: Bitcoin is restitution.
Centuries ago, the Roman Calendar marked this week, the Ides of March, as the deadline for settling debts.
Although different empires rule the world today, it is an interesting coincidence that Silicon Valley and Signature's bank failures occurred during the same time most Romans settled their debts.
This week, government bailouts are allowing banks to make their depositors whole. However, the rest of us will eventually bear the cost of these bailouts.
It might seem strange to think of governments as owing us something. Yet, through central banking and fiscal management, governments worldwide have slowly sucked away our wealth and sovereignty.
In the United States, for example, the Federal Reserve has steadily debased the value of our dollars, resulting in a sustained drain on the wealth of its citizenry for over a hundred years.
The inflationary policies central banks impose are a hidden theft from the populace. Unfortunately, this is widely recognized only when inflation reaches dramatic levels.
Will governments ever make us whole for what they have taken from us?
It doesn't seem likely.
Fortunately, bitcoin offers restitution.
Governments won't return the wealth they extracted from their citizens and wasted – it is already gone. But we can use bitcoin technology to regain control over our money, preventing this destructive cycle from continuing.
Ready to get started with bitcoin? Coinbits is the best option. It's fast, safe, and free to create your account.
COIN CHECK
If bitcoin were evenly distributed to everyone in the world, how much bitcoin would there be per person?
.002 BTC
2 BTC
1,000 BTC
67 BTC
Check your answer at the end of the page.
FROM THE MEME POOL
ANSWER
.002.
Assuming a total world population of eight billion, 8,000,000,000 / 21,000,000 BTC = .002 BTC per person.
That’s all for this week, folks! When you signed up for this newsletter, we promised to act as your personal guide and help you understand what’s happening in the world of bitcoin. What did you think of today’s newsletter? Reply to this email and let us know what you’d like to see more of.
Until next week!
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