Bitcoin Self-Custody And Financial Sovereignty – Bitcoin Magazine

This is an opinion editorial by Kudzai Kutukwa, a passionate financial inclusion advocate who was recognized by Fast Company magazine as one of South Africa’s top-20 young entrepreneurs under 30.

The release of the Bitcoin white paper in 2009 after the 2008 financial crisis was one the most significant events of the 21st century. For the first time ever, a trustless, peer-to-peer monetary system for the digital age that was independent of intermediaries and central banks was now a reality.

Initially, Bitcoin was dismissed as a passing fad and a worthless Ponzi scheme, but 13 years later, no one is laughing at Bitcoin anymore. In fact, it’s now being ruthlessly attacked in multiple ways. These attacks have included 2021’s ban of Chinese bitcoin miners by the Chinese government; the continual denial of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); the framing of Bitcoin as an environmental hazard (which later prompted the EU to consider banning proof-of-work mining); and, most recently, the EU’s attack on “unhosted wallets.” The latter is not just an attempt at the regulatory capture of Bitcoin, but it’s also an attack on your financial privacy. You can think of it as the 21st-century version of Executive Order 6102.