Why I'm all in on Blockchain

Friday, 9 March 2018 by Ian Ebden

Looks like this article is over a year old, so some of the technical solutions or opinions may be a bit outdated now.

Back in 2015 I bought a Bitcoin. I was fascinated with the technology – born out of the 2008 financial collapse – and its' potential to completely reset the financial, political and socio-economic landscapes. I paid just over $200 for that Bitcoin, and feeling like a stud I sold it a few months later for a neat little profit. If I'd held on to that coin it would now be worth over $9,000 (at time of writing).

But how was I to know? Or anyone for that matter? Fact is, holding Bitcoin is a wild ride, and though I bought back in last year I've certainly experienced the highs and the lows of this and other cryptocurrencies. Yet I remain fascinated with the underlying technology of blockchain and firmly believe it will turn out to be just as transformative as the World Wide Web has been.

Not all about the money

See, there's a little anarchist in me. I've always been interested in politics, society, and what/who really makes the world go round. And over the last couple of decades I've witnessed the criminal behaviour of successive governments and central banks in this country and overseas, and I've become disillusioned and somewhat anti-establishment. Like many I don't see anyone worth voting for, I don't trust banks, and I don't see much hope on the horizon.

But now there's Bitcoin. Now we can be our own banks. We can store our wealth in an asset that can't be devalued by 'quantitive easing' (endlessly minting more of it), can't be taken from us by 'bail-ins', and can't be stolen from us through taxation.

Governments, central banks and anyone else with a vested interest in the status quo constantly push the narrative of Bitcoin and crypto being a dangerous 'Ponzi' scheme; a gimmick, all about money laundering, sponsoring terrorism... you name it. Frankly I think all those things apply more to governments and central banks than Bitcoin.

Sure there are plenty of ways to loose money in Bitcoin and crypto, but that's true of any investment or currency if you don't know what you're doing.

Who knows what the future holds for Bitcoin, but the technology of blockchain isn't going anywhere. The genie is out of the bottle, and even governments and central banks - despite their public comments – are privately seriously looking at (and in some cases already adopting) blockchain technology; albeit their own centralised versions.

Be the change

So the point of this article I suppose is to help push back in some small way against the constant FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) being sprayed out most days by the establishment, and ask you to consider this technology for yourself – whether as an investor, adopter or supporter. I really do believe that blockchain can solve many of the World's financial woes, as well as driving innovations in privacy, security, equality, and a million more ways.

End

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