Bitcoin: From Decentralized Currency to Wall Street's Golden Goose

Bitcoin, the first cryptocurrency, has become a mainstream investment asset, but its role as a decentralized currency has been overshadowed by its status as a get-rich-quick scheme for Wall Street and other financial institutions. The dreams of decentralization that drove early Bitcoin adopters and evangelists have been replaced by a focus on liquidity and the use of fiat currency as a measure of value.

The shift from Bitcoin as a currency to an investment asset has led to a situation where cryptocurrencies are no longer a stand-alone system, and the established financial system now controls crypto market liquidity. This has created an illusion that cryptocurrencies are the most risky asset class in the world, but in reality, the opposite may be true.

As a species, we need to rethink value at a system level and move away from a centrally planned global economy. The current system puts a high value on the idea of wealth, not productive capital, and creates media-hungry demagogues and power-mad technocrats. Bitcoin, as an honest form of digital money, has not made much difference in the world, and the first generation of cryptocurrencies will likely never be money.

To create a global society that understands the power of decentralization, we must work together to make a system that values productive capital and social cooperation over wealth and money. Bitcoin may survive the global currency reset, but it is unlikely to become money anytime soon. We must look beyond Bitcoin and empower decentralization in other ways.