Jul 19, 2021
A journey into cryptocurrencies, decentralized finance and anti-statism.
Episode 1 : Crypto Visions
Welcome to the first installment in my DeFi saga. This article is the first in a series where I’ll share my vision for cryptocurrency, it’s potential, and how it will change the world.
I was born in a small city of Normandy, France, in the 90’s. My family is part of the middle-class, which led me to have an agreeable childhood. I studied in the same place I’ve lived most of my life, with the most classic curriculum French people born between the 80’s and today have had: school, high school, university. I today still live in the same city, making me an urban person like 80% of French population.
My name is Lex. At least, that’s what they call me online. The truth is, I may just as well have been named John Doe. Are you getting me? I think you probably do. In the government’s demography, I’m just another average, middle-class dude that most could care less about. Sometimes the world we live in really brings me down. You know that feeling? I’m reluctant to call it a depression; people like to use that to justify behaving like children and denying responsibility for their own actions. This is something different from that. Maybe the opposite of it. More like an obligation to myself and the world that eats at me inside. Overall I’m a stand-up guy, smart (when I apply myself), and I feel like shit most of the time. Just like you.
All my life, I’ve felt like an outcast; I tried to fit in, I really tried. But little by little, I started to understand what causes us to be so unhappy. It’s others trying to impose their will, their control over our lives. At the very core, that’s what eats at me about our society in general.
Then something amazing happened. I discovered crypto. So let’s dive in. Join me as I take you on my journey into cryptocurrencies, decentralized finance, anti-statism, and why I’m working so hard to use these tools and ideas to create a society where we can be happy. One where we aren’t controlled.
Who controls your life today? States hand-in-hand with multinational corporations. How do they do this? By vampirizing the heck out of every “citizen” with what they call taxes. You see, taxes are not used for the greater good, the way it’s marketed to us. There’s no use trying to argue this with me; I’ve thought it through each step in detail. All governments are corrupt, and taxation is theft. Here, in France, you’re being taxed up to 90% on your labor. Of course, shiny faces are placed on many of the taxes to obfuscate. It’s easier for those with power in the government to control people by using Orwellian language. Payroll taxes, VAT, tax on revenue, property tax, and all the “fees” governments seem to need on top of their taxes. Have you ever wondered how these politicians become millionaires on a salary that it’s not possible (even with investments and luck) to make such fortunes? They don’t work for us, their job is to steal from us.
Life is shit, states steal from you and there’s nothing you can do about it. Revolution? People are way too divided to unite in revolt, way too intoxicated by the little money that is given back to them, and way too devout to the cult of statism. Peaceful marches and strikes? Do you really think they give a damn about peaceful marches? They control the military. There is NOTHING you can do!
At least, there wasn’t until the invention of blockchain. This is what it’s all about: decentralization! Decentralization is the answer that can and will empower you to make your true claim on your personal freedom.
The big looming problem in the world right now is that too much power is concentrated in the hands of a small few. If we no longer grant them their power, problem solved.
How does this work? Taxation relies on the fact that governments know how much of your stored labor (money) you earn; enabling them to take shares of it from you. But what if the governments had no idea of how much you earn? Who you exchange with? What was exchanged? It would be a complete mess for them and they couldn’t force you to play their money and tax game where they always end up with all the marbles.
Blockchain fixes the whole problem. Today, crypto adoption is effectively near zero. Some individuals do peer-to-peer transactions, some companies claim they accept Bitcoin, but in the end those transactions are either too small to be representative of anything substantive or are being conducted with agreement of states as a big daddy middleman; sticking its hands into all of your transactions and personal business. It should be direct wallet to wallet. We’re all adults and 99% of us do not need a babysitter who robs the house every time money is exchanged between yourself and another.
In an ideal world, a transaction between two individuals using blockchain would go like this: YOU want to buy a car from CarCompany XYZ. Both have wallets on a blockchain like Bitcoin’s. Both wallets are anonymous as they are just a combination of numbers and letters; and the State cannot distinguish your private wallet, as they are impotent to control your ability to transact. You buy the car with the currency of the blockchain your wallet lives on by sending it to CarCompany XYZ’s wallet. The transaction itself is anonymous, but also publicly visible and the involved parties can easily prove confirmation of funds. It’s not necessary to continue the fetishization of record keeping i.e. “What’s the transaction for? Who’s paying? How much? What’s their private information?” If a dispute were to ever arise, then you have proof of the transaction. It is completely unnecessary to give all of your private information to the state during your transactions. This is a trick they got us all accustomed to. And those with power know they are no more qualified to control your life than you are. You know it too.
In the end, using cryptocurrencies on the blockchain, both buyer and seller get to use and control 100% of their resources in the way of their own choosing. This is the beauty and power of cryptocurrencies, as described by visionary Timothy C. May in “The Crypto Anarchist Manifesto” back in 1989. A society where every person would get to fully benefit from the fruit of their work.
In this manifesto, he also warned that States would do anything to stop this type of technology. He predicted bitcoin, but he also predicted the FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt weaponized) from governments (China banning bitcoin, the FED claiming that bitcoin is used for illegal activities and terrorism…as if dollars are not even more so)
To succeed in fighting authoritarian governments that we currently face, all we need to do is to start taking small steps towards global crypto adoption. How? As an individual, talk around with your friends and family; say that you accept cryptos as a superior means of payment for everything you buy and sell. Services, goods, donations. Create a wallet. It’s easy! And nobody can control you or steal from the earnings you worked so hard for. Think about that? You worked for that money; and wealthy powerful people in “our” government steal from you to benefit their donors and then take more of your money to give themselves a bigger paycheck than you’ll ever see…time to tell them “HELL NO!”.
So what about me? Do I just talk big and write provocative online articles? No. I walk the walk every day. And I’m going to keep on developing paprprintr.finance, the Decentralized Finance project I’ve been devoting myself to since the beginning of 2021. My goal for this project is to build the first real bridge between cryptocurrencies/DeFi & the real world. A bridge that puts control of your life back into your hands.
You have a choice to make…is this mere entertainment? Do you sit passive while a system that doesn’t care about you continues to fleece you? OR, will you take action and seize control over your life. Red pill or blue pill, take a moment and choose wisely.
