Fiat currency has done more harm to society than just debasing and stealing our wealth.
Fiat currency has done more harm to society than just debasing and stealing our wealth. There is a powerful second order effect to currency debasement that further ensnares people into complete serfdom. That second order effect is behavioural change.
When your currency is devaluing at a rate of knots, seemingly evaporating in your hands, it creates new incentives. Whether you are conscious of them or not, these new incentives greatly impact the choices you make and the behaviours you exhibit.
When your currency is being quickly devalued then your propensity to save for the future is greatly diminished. Instead, there is a powerful incentive for you to consume now, before your money becomes worthless. Whilst it may be easy to judge someone for being frivolous, if you stop to consider that by holding fiat money their purchasing power quickly depreciates then it at least becomes easier to rationalise.
The main behavioural change we see from fiat money then is the increase in people’s time preference. People no longer have the luxury of planning for their future, with many simply living hand to mouth. Instead, we see the emergence of destructive behaviours like consumerism, instant gratification, and apathy.
In stark contrast to this, Bitcoin cannot be debased. This completely flips the current paradigm of money on its head and creates a new set of incentives that reward a low time preference. Instead of living hand to mouth, Bitcoin gives people a tool they can use to save for their future
With sound money, Bitcoiners have the luxury of thinking in decades or even centuries. Bitcoin can give you the opportunity to build and secure a legacy that benefits your family for generations.
“Why do you stack Bitcoin?”
Ask people this question and you’ll get a variety of different answers. Some might say they stack Bitcoin to ‘get rich’ and buy untold treasures. Hardcore Bitcoiners might tell you that for them it was always about ‘Ending the FED’.
For majority of us, Bitcoin simply represents a way for us to secure the fruits of our labour. A way to maintain and grow our wealth and build a bright future for our children and grandchildren. Bitcoin allows us to escape the pernicious incentives of fiat money. Instead, Bitcoin gives us the incentive structure and solid ground upon which we can plan ahead, not only for ourselves but for future generations.
Bitcoin allows you to start building your legacy. A lot of us stack Bitcoin so we can pass it on one day to our heirs affording them a life of abundance, sovereignty and ultimately, freedom.
The thing about freedom, however, is that it isn’t a destination, a place you can reach if you accumulate enough wealth. Freedom is a mindset. If you truly want to build your legacy, then holding Bitcoin for your heirs isn’t enough, you need to imbibe them with a freedom mindset. To do that, you need to equip them with the right education and the right skills.
If you have been following our content for a while, you’ll already understand that there are many threats that would seek to relieve you of your hard-earned Bitcoin. Hackers seek to steal it; Governments seek to confiscate it and third parties have proven they can’t be trusted to secure it.
To avoid these threats, you need to have learned how to effectively take self-custody of your Bitcoin, manage your UTXOs, run your own node and learn a variety of techniques to ensure your privacy. You may have mastered these skills yourself already and if you have, then kudos to you, you’re one of an elite few. But have you gone far enough?
Consider that if you’re planning on handing down Bitcoin to your heirs that you won’t always be there to protect them. These skills may come easily to you, and you might have already invested hundreds of ours honing them and building an excellent self-custody setup. But if you get hit by a bus or end up in a fatal car accident would your loved ones and heirs have the skills to navigate Bitcoin properly without you?
Have you trained them thoroughly on your Bitcoin self-custody setup? Do they understand UTXO management, or will they overspend on fees and ruin their privacy? Will they run their own node, or will they reveal their transaction data to 3rd parties? Will it overwhelm them, making them turn to a 3rd party in a misguided attempt to find refuge from these responsibilities?
And beyond these practical skills, have they also developed a proper understanding of money; delayed gratification and that freedom requires a low time preference? Or will they blow your hard-earned Bitcoin on worthless trinkets and shiny objects as soon as they get their hands on it?
Most of us have worked hard and significantly delayed our own gratification to acquire Bitcoin for our heirs. To think that this sacrifice and the energy and time we have invested would be squandered or lost is an agonising thought.
As your Bitcoin stack is passed down through each generation of your family, it will always be under threat simply because it is the most desirable asset on earth. The various ways in which bad actors will attempt to part you and your family from your stack is always going to evolve and will get increasingly sophisticated as time goes on.
New security vulnerabilities will emerge in hardware and software over time and new scams like ‘NFTs on Bitcoin’ or ‘risky ways to earn yield’ will also continue to pop up.
Take the emergence of the recent ‘Bitcoin ETFs’ as an example. They represent the latest shift in the sophistication of these scams as Wall Street offers ‘legitimate’ ways to convince you to part with your Bitcoin in exchange for a promissory note.
And let’s not forget the greedy eyes of national Governments. They are becoming increasingly interested in Bitcoin themselves and given their penchant for theft via taxation and subjugation, they are going to become increasingly motivated to get their hands on your stack.
This enemy has spent Billions developing surveillance tech for their digital panopticon to track every single move you make online and offline. Avoiding their gaze is not an easy task.
The point is, Bitcoin is valuable. If you hold it, others will seek to take it. When your heirs inherit your Bitcoin, they will seek to take it from them too.
This should go to show that simply holding Bitcoin on behalf of your loved ones is only a job half done. If you won’t always be there to protect them, then it’s your responsibility to get them the Bitcoin education and training they need.
Hopefully we have made the point loud and clear. If you want to use Bitcoin to create a lasting legacy, you need to be thinking long term. At some point your whole family is going to need to develop their own Bitcoin expertise.
In your absence would your heirs be ready to navigate Bitcoin safely? Are they ready with the requisite skills to ‘Be Their Own Bank’? It's worth thinking about. Once Bitcoin becomes ubiquitous, understanding how to use it is going to be essential. Learning how to use Bitcoin should be a family affair. Without the proper training your heirs aren’t going to maintain your legacy for very long.
And we are pretty sure Bitcoin isn’t going to be on the national curriculum any time soon….
The good news is, learning Bitcoin as a family can be a fun and engaging experience. Teaching your whole family to get comfortable with Bitcoin will give all of you a sense of independence and newfound confidence. Learning Bitcoin can be a wholesome family experience and as an investment, one that can pay off for decades if not centuries to come.
Here at the Bitcoin Way we aren’t just experts in Bitcoin Self Custody and Inheritance Planning. We are also expert educators. We have made it our business to make understanding and getting comfortable with Bitcoin as easy and as enjoyable as possible. Having trained thousands of Bitcoiners, we have become exceedingly efficient at it.
Not only can we teach practical skills, but we also give expert personalised guidance specifically on inheritance planning for your family and circumstances. And if you’re the type who wants to take zero chances, we also offer remote support packages meaning you and your family always have access to expert support.
Investing in Bitcoin is smart.
Investing in Bitcoin education for your whole family is even smarter…
Learn from our 25 years of cybersecurity expertise
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