Category: Op-Ed
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Agorism and Bitcoin: Free People Don’t Ask Maxine Waters for Permission
Anti-agorism Congressional Representative Maxine Waters still has misgivings about Facebook’s proposed Libra digital currency, even after meeting with Swiss government officials to discuss the tech last week. The sustained reservations echo the message of July’s open letter from the House of Representatives to Facebook, calling for a halt on Libra’s ongoing development. While many view…
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Reformed BTC Maximalist Erik Finman Proves the Value of Unschooling
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DB_Saff55E8&w=560&h=349] A 12-year-old, future unschooling advocate at an Occupy Wall Street protest learns about Bitcoin while running from the cops. He invests. Later, the independent Erik Finman will become the supposed “world’s youngest bitcoin millionaire” at age 18. That’s not where the story ends, though. The high school dropout has since gone on to…
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Doing What You Want With Your Money Is a Fundamental Right
Since the birth of Bitcoin, crusaders fighting for the separation of money and state discovered a new payment tool that bypasses the nation state’s control over the monetary system. For over ten years now, lots of people have been using digital currencies to hide from prying eyes of governments in order to free themselves from…
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The Push to Kill Cash – Australia’s Proposed Ban Shows It’s Not Conspiracy Theory
The supposed coordination of governments and tech companies to create a one-world, cashless society is often viewed as little more than fodder for silly Youtube conspiracy videos. After all, cash is still king in daily life, even in extremely high-tech, innovative societies like Japan. Upon closer examination, though, current realities like Australia’s proposed cash transaction…
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Fiat Lite vs. Freedom Maximalist: The Two Types of Bitcoiner
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWCSDupPQGY&w=560&h=349] As regulation continues growing exponentially for cryptocurrencies worldwide, a chasm is yawning ever deeper between supporters. On the one hand, many yearn for massive adoption and clear regulations so they can get on with their trading, and get on with their lives – not to mention the lucrative value gains attendant to such…
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The Most Important Aspect of Bitcoin Is the Separation of Money and State
Many cryptocurrency supporters believe the technology allows for the separation of money and state in a manner that’s never been seen before. Governments inflict two forms of robbery against nonviolent citizens by forcing them to pay taxes while also stealing from them silently through inflation. Now there’s a wide array of digital currencies competing in…
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IRS Revoking Passports Shows How Government Erodes Everything We Hold Dear
If you have outstanding tax debt, the IRS may now want to take your passport. For U.S. crypto holders still waiting on promised IRS guidelines for filing — especially those overseas who may have missed these warning memos — the over 400,000 agency notifications issued since February last year are troubling. This kind of behavior…
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Can the Fed Kill Bitcoin? Navigating the Chokepoints of Tax Law and KYC
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRlM-R7MjtY&w=560&h=349] Taxes. The one word that can kill any buzz in seconds flat. Whether you’re a libertarian ranting about how taxation is theft or one of those fabled creatures who is actually happy to file them as their so-called civic duty, one fact remains: those who don’t give the government a bite — or…
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From Spartacus to Satoshi: A Brief History of Economic Rebellion
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPRBQadLNIM&w=560&h=349] Government dominance of human beings via slavery and violent economic oppression is as old as government itself. For thousands and thousands of years kings and rulers, usually held to be “appointed by God,” have used free, non-violent individuals as their tax farm livestock to exploit for economic gain and political power. Without individuals…
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From Booze to Bitcoin Mining – Why Violent Prohibition Is Always Harmful
Stories continue to emerge about newly discovered illegal mining operations being busted by state and corporate authorities. Just last week Iranian media reported the seizure of 177 Bitcoin mining units worth over $270,000 being smuggled via truck in the Arak region. On July 31, Russia’s Kraskom power company reported illegal siphoning of power from municipal…