This is an opinion editorial by Nozomi Hayase Ph.D., who has a background in psychology and human development.
From resistance against war to a social justice movement, activists have been engaged in uncountable hard fights. Their vigorous efforts, rather than bringing positive outcomes, seem to keep them in perpetual struggle. Now, a breakthrough in computer science has created a game changer. Bitcoin, through the empowerment of individuals, has begun to disrupt the world. In this article, I will show how bitcoin is a currency of love and how it inspires creative action in ordinary people, generating social change.
1969 “Bed-in for peace”: As a protest against the Vietnam War, newlyweds John Lennon and Yoko Ono invited the press to their bed at the Amsterdam Hotel. They demonstrated a new way to promote peace.
Image source: Wikipedia.org
In 1971, in the midst of the Vietnam War, John Lennon released a song of inspiration. “Imagine” asked people to envision a world in which people are united in peace. Later, with the message “Give Peace A Chance,” John and Yoko Ono made a case for the importance of love, demonstrating it as the ultimate antidote to violence.
Over a half-century since their plea for peace, the war game played by the few has accelerated. The ever-increasing pursuit of power by an exclusive group has expanded hegemonic petrodollar dominance and provoked military action for control of resources. In the aftermath of the tragedy of 9/11, the U.S. war on terrorism including the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, spread fear and hatred and making the world a more dangerous place.
Now, these destructive forces continue with the Russia-Ukraine geopolitical conflict and the increase of the U.S. military might through expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) across Europe.
Love as a potent force that can transform the world has been stifled in our society. This has to do with our existing monetary system and the economy it has built.
Money As Debt
Fiat money is declared legal tender by government decree; it has no intrinsic value. This kind of money is really a debt, in the form of an IOU. Its supply in circulation is controlled by the central banks, which lend people money in return for the duty to pay back interest.
This debt-based money is used to create a highly consumerized economy that gives unfair advantages and benefits to those who are close to the printing of the money. Extracting energy and resources from hardworking people, the system fundamentally suppresses our hearts. It crushes our will to experience joy and love.
We see this in our relationship to our occupations. For most people, work has become something they are forced to do to sustain their livelihood. A majority of them engage in meaningless 9-5 jobs, doing what they don’t like to do.
Furthermore, this centrally controlled monetary system led to what Andrew Ross describes a “creditocracy” — a society where the state serves the interests of a creditor class and entraps the public with debts that they can’t ever repay. From credit cards and student loans to medical expenses, people who accumulate massive debt have become indentured servants. Economic forces are used to suppress love as a fountain of creativity.
Satoshi’s Gift For Humanity
Fortunately, the invention (discovery?) of Bitcoin has unleashed a potent power that can overcome the forces of destruction in the world. At the genesis of Bitcoin was the impulse of love, demonstrated by the act of its mysterious creator, Satoshi Nakamoto.
When our actions come from our love of the deed itself, we often do not expect anything in return. We do things freely, not as dictated by external forces or out of a sense of obligation, but engaging in that activity gives us joy and happiness. It has its own value. This feeling of love is a gift. It is not something that we created, but spontaneously arises in us. When we choose to act out of this love, we receive this gift that is given to us.
Satoshi worked on a protocol of sound money tirelessly without compensation and without any guarantee of its outcome. Through his labor of love, engaging in his own activities of intrinsic value, he discovered a gift for humanity.
Bitcoin, with its fixed supply limit, is a new class of asset-based money. The emergence of this new property opened up new possibilities, where people can free themselves from the fabricated interest obligations imposed by the private banks.
In the debt-based monetary system, the recipients of money become borrowers who have been given promissory notes for repayment. With Bitcoin, on the other hand, the recipients do not owe anything. The act carried by love of the action itself, established by its creator, does not create a need for return in a recipient in the sense of “I owe you.” Such an act does not incur debt. It creates a new course of action that does not bind individuals by expectation and a need for repayment.
Networked Heart
Bitcoin opened a pathway to the heart. Inspired by Satoshi’s creation, people began to follow the impulse for love. Many took a leap of faith, leaving old fiat jobs and claiming the gift — to discover and develop their talents and skills. From developers and wallet providers to meme makers, people around the world began to use their time and energy to add value to this technology.
Through acts of love made by individuals freely, coordinated through the consensus algorithm, a dynamic market is created. Being synchronized with the rhythmic expansion and contraction of our heart, a new life has begun, producing one block to the next in 10-minute beats.
Bitcoin can be seen as our networked heart that works 24/7 hours without interruption. Through our loving deeds, a new currency enters into circulation to generate the flow of economic activities. The power of love that is distributed across a network began to break the bondage of debt.
Now, over 13 years since the first bitcoin block was mined, a circle of giving started by Satoshi, continues. The generosity of an early Bitcoin adopter and philanthropist (who wishes to remain anonymous) instigated the Bitcoin Beach project in a small mountainous country in Central America. Then the President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, who recognized the significance of Bitcoin, took a huge political risk by making his country the first to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender.
Relentless Optimism
Bukele’s brave move created hope for the people of El Salvador. It gave ordinary people a chance to end the era of neoliberalism which had stolen their future. Courage became contagious. OG Bitcoiners Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert moved to El Salvador with relentless optimism. Together with Cory Klippsten, the founder of Swan Bitcoin and Bitcoiner Ventures, they launched El Zonte Capital, an investment firm that facilitates hyperbitcoinization.
A creative couple, who have now become American expats, bets on victorious transformation of a country that has long been exploited by the International Monetary Fund working on behalf of U.S. interests. They have been organizing educational events and workshops to help locals gain skills and knowledge to claim their own individual sovereignty.
Keiser, who has been reporting from the front line of the financial war, noted positive changes that are occuring:
In El Salvador, 70% of unbanked Salvadorans now have the option to use bitcoin as money. Tourism grew 82.8% in the first half of 2022. With the increased prospect of economic growth, more and more El Salvadorians who were forced to flee the country are finding their way back home.
Give Peace A Chance
Bitcoin is the currency of love backed by our exuberance. Love knows no bounds. It traverses the diverse shapes and colors of national flags, transcending borders to touch people’s hearts.
Now, a new game is on. Samson Mow, the founder of game company Pixelmatic and former chief strategy officer of Blockstream, ignites a spirit of play at a global level. With JAN3, a Bitcoin technology company that focuses on Bitcoin mass adoption, this peaceful diplomat engages nation-states to align incentives with Bitcoin to mitigate conflicts and strengthen union.
Link to embedded video here.
“I want peace now. We can get peace if we want it now,” John Lennon once told the world. He reminded us that all we have to do is awaken the power within ourselves.
We can’t fight to end war and stop the destruction of the world. We can only overcome violence through each of us generating our own creative power of love. Through a network of consensus infused by our imagination, we can now give peace a chance.
This is a guest post by Nozomi Hayase. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc. or Bitcoin Magazine.