Holes in Superman's Cape

Superman has holes in his cape and his plans.

It is no secret that I support a smaller, less invasive government, and regulations are a thorn in my side as much as it is to all life forms of productivity. But before my libertarian peers and bitcoin enthusiasts wet themselves as bitcoin reaches 100k for the first time, I think it’s cause for a pause to evaluate what might actually be at play here whether President Trump intends it to or not.

The U.S. dollar’s status as the world’s primary reserve currency is facing increased scrutiny amid global economic shifts and geopolitical tensions. President-elect Donald Trump has threatened 100% tariffs on BRICS nations if they pursue alternatives to the dollar, aiming to deter “de-dollarization” efforts. Countries like China and Russia are actively seeking to reduce reliance on the dollar by increasing gold reserves and exploring alternative currencies. Wharton School finance professor Jeremy Siegel recently expressed concerns about bitcoin’s potential to challenge the U.S. dollar’s dominance as the world’s primary reserve currency. He emphasized the need to “defend the dollar” against the rising appeal of decentralized digital assets.

President-elect Donald Trump has suggested creating a strategic bitcoin reserve, aiming to diversify the nation’s financial assets. This idea aligns with Senator Cynthia Lummis’ (R-WY) Boosting Innovation, Technology, and Competitiveness through Optimized Investment Nationwide (BITCOIN) Act of 2024. The legislation seeks to mandate the U.S. Treasury to acquire one million bitcoins over a five-year period.

This opinion won’t win me any popularity contests, but it’s worth considering for a moment just in case. Is Bitcoin, and blockchain in general, a government trap? I think the evidence for the answer being yes is pretty strong.

Superman has holes in his cape and his plans.

It is no secret that I support a smaller, less invasive government, and regulations are a thorn in my side as much as it is to all life forms of productivity. But before my libertarian peers and bitcoin enthusiasts wet themselves as bitcoin reaches 100k for the first time, I think it’s cause for a pause to evaluate what might actually be at play here whether President Trump intends it to or not.

The U.S. dollar’s status as the world’s primary reserve currency is facing increased scrutiny amid global economic shifts and geopolitical tensions. President-elect Donald Trump has threatened 100% tariffs on BRICS nations if they pursue alternatives to the dollar, aiming to deter “de-dollarization” efforts. Countries like China and Russia are actively seeking to reduce reliance on the dollar by increasing gold reserves and exploring alternative currencies. Wharton School finance professor Jeremy Siegel recently expressed concerns about bitcoin’s potential to challenge the U.S. dollar’s dominance as the world’s primary reserve currency. He emphasized the need to “defend the dollar” against the rising appeal of decentralized digital assets.

President-elect Donald Trump has suggested creating a strategic bitcoin reserve, aiming to diversify the nation’s financial assets. This idea aligns with Senator Cynthia Lummis’ (R-WY) Boosting Innovation, Technology, and Competitiveness through Optimized Investment Nationwide (BITCOIN) Act of 2024. The legislation seeks to mandate the U.S. Treasury to acquire one million bitcoins over a five-year period.

This opinion won’t win me any popularity contests, but it’s worth considering for a moment just in case. Is Bitcoin, and blockchain in general, a government trap? I think the evidence for the answer being yes is pretty strong.

The Man Behind the Curtain

To start with, why are Bitcoin’s roots so shrouded in mystery? It’s hard to imagine the inventor of a technology with as much revolutionary potential as blockchain refusing to take credit. Such genius would surely be rewarded with fame and fortune, yet whoever hatched the world’s first cryptocurrency chose to hide behind the pseudonym ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’. He has remained anonymous since 2009. The ‘official story’ we are expected to believe is that ‘Satoshi’ is some selfless soul who’d just had enough of the corrupt central banking system and decided to take matters into his own hands. Based on my experience of human nature, this just doesn’t pass the pub test.

The white paper ‘Satoshi’ wrote was not merely conceptual. It was a detailed blueprint for solving a problem that had always plagued digital money schemes — eliminating the risk of ‘double spend’. This isn’t something that was cooked up overnight. I’m not a blockchain technician, but I’d say it’s much more likely Bitcoin was spawned in a DARPA lab than by some genius and libertarian saint with a love for anime.

Also, importantly, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have been allowed to trade as essentially unregulated assets for well over a decade despite clearly falling within the purview of some of the world’s most overbearing and uninventive regulatory agencies. Countless IPO scams, massive speculation, trillion dollar market caps, and black market use haven’t sparked any sweeping SEC, FBI or Department of Treasury clampdowns. It’s almost as if the cryptocurrency industry has been allowed to operate in the open to crowd source its debugging.

The Man Behind the Curtain

To start with, why are Bitcoin’s roots so shrouded in mystery? It’s hard to imagine the inventor of a technology with as much revolutionary potential as blockchain refusing to take credit. Such genius would surely be rewarded with fame and fortune, yet whoever hatched the world’s first cryptocurrency chose to hide behind the pseudonym ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’. He has remained anonymous since 2009. The ‘official story’ we are expected to believe is that ‘Satoshi’ is some selfless soul who’d just had enough of the corrupt central banking system and decided to take matters into his own hands. Based on my experience of human nature, this just doesn’t pass the pub test.

The white paper ‘Satoshi’ wrote was not merely conceptual. It was a detailed blueprint for solving a problem that had always plagued digital money schemes — eliminating the risk of ‘double spend’. This isn’t something that was cooked up overnight. I’m not a blockchain technician, but I’d say it’s much more likely Bitcoin was spawned in a DARPA lab than by some genius and libertarian saint with a love for anime.

Also, importantly, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have been allowed to trade as essentially unregulated assets for well over a decade despite clearly falling within the purview of some of the world’s most overbearing and uninventive regulatory agencies. Countless IPO scams, massive speculation, trillion dollar market caps, and black market use haven’t sparked any sweeping SEC, FBI or Department of Treasury clampdowns. It’s almost as if the cryptocurrency industry has been allowed to operate in the open to crowd source its debugging.

Private or Hidden Surveillance?

Then there is the fact that cryptocurrency (and blockchain in general) is one of the least anonymous or privacy-oriented technologies ever invented. Despite its PR as a path to libertarian utopia. In fact, blockchain’s standout feature is that it can track and trace every transaction ever made with near perfection. If you can tie individuals to their Bitcoin addresses, you can know exactly how much anyone has ever spent, and when and with whom they spent it. The anonymity of Bitcoin is entirely predicated on it not being possible to tie individual identities to addresses. The authorities are working very hard to tie off this loose end.

Digital wallets are how the ‘powers that be’ will ensure there is no anonymity on the blockchain. As the zeitgeist moves towards contactless payment for everything and governments around the world roll out national cryptocurrencies, or Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC), regulated digital wallets will become the means by which people spend money. Those digital wallets will be tied directly to your identity. Even today, most people who use crypto do so through apps that have ‘know your customer’ (KYC) requirements and without using VPNs. It’s a simple task for law enforcement or intelligence agencies to identify this type of user.

Even if you did the hard work of transacting with a nominally anonymous wallet, the time and value of any transaction is permanently captured. If your counterparty is less security conscious than you, even the location might be a matter of record. All authorities would need to do is access the ubiquitous web of cameras that canvas our society to locate your smiling face and pop a question to facial recognition AI. Now you are tied to your presumably anonymous address. Compare that to cash which leaves no records or time stamps.

Private or Hidden Surveillance?

Then there is the fact that cryptocurrency (and blockchain in general) is one of the least anonymous or privacy-oriented technologies ever invented. Despite its PR as a path to libertarian utopia. In fact, blockchain’s standout feature is that it can track and trace every transaction ever made with near perfection. If you can tie individuals to their Bitcoin addresses, you can know exactly how much anyone has ever spent, and when and with whom they spent it. The anonymity of Bitcoin is entirely predicated on it not being possible to tie individual identities to addresses. The authorities are working very hard to tie off this loose end.

Digital wallets are how the ‘powers that be’ will ensure there is no anonymity on the blockchain. As the zeitgeist moves towards contactless payment for everything and governments around the world roll out national cryptocurrencies, or Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC), regulated digital wallets will become the means by which people spend money. Those digital wallets will be tied directly to your identity. Even today, most people who use crypto do so through apps that have ‘know your customer’ (KYC) requirements and without using VPNs. It’s a simple task for law enforcement or intelligence agencies to identify this type of user.

Even if you did the hard work of transacting with a nominally anonymous wallet, the time and value of any transaction is permanently captured. If your counterparty is less security conscious than you, even the location might be a matter of record. All authorities would need to do is access the ubiquitous web of cameras that canvas our society to locate your smiling face and pop a question to facial recognition AI. Now you are tied to your presumably anonymous address. Compare that to cash which leaves no records or time stamps.

A Financial False Flag

Blockchain’s inescapably sketchy backstory and its centrality to a nearly perfect global control system could just be a coincidence. Satoshi Nakamoto could just be a libertarian hero who loves us and wants us all to be free. Or blockchain could be the foundation for a long planned global slave state.

For that to happen it must be necessary for a financial catastrophe of some sorts to bring about such a swift change. And we just maybe headed towards the perfect storm to allow such a catastrophe to persist.

The Dodd-Frank Act was met with animosity from the industry, which argued the regulations were burdensome and only necessary for the largest banks. Silicon Valley Bank's CEO Gregory Becker was among those calling for lighter regulations.

After years of political pressure, Congress passed a law that rolled back some of those rules for smaller and mid-tier banks.

Among the biggest changes was raising the asset threshold for "systemically important" institutions from $50 billion to $250 billion. Under the law, the Federal Reserve still had the right to apply the Dodd-Frank regulations to banks with at least $100 billion in assets if they chose to do so.

A Financial False Flag

Blockchain’s inescapably sketchy backstory and its centrality to a nearly perfect global control system could just be a coincidence. Satoshi Nakamoto could just be a libertarian hero who loves us and wants us all to be free. Or blockchain could be the foundation for a long planned global slave state.

For that to happen it must be necessary for a financial catastrophe of some sorts to bring about such a swift change. And we just maybe headed towards the perfect storm to allow such a catastrophe to persist.

The Dodd-Frank Act was met with animosity from the industry, which argued the regulations were burdensome and only necessary for the largest banks. Silicon Valley Bank's CEO Gregory Becker was among those calling for lighter regulations.

After years of political pressure, Congress passed a law that rolled back some of those rules for smaller and mid-tier banks.

Among the biggest changes was raising the asset threshold for "systemically important" institutions from $50 billion to $250 billion. Under the law, the Federal Reserve still had the right to apply the Dodd-Frank regulations to banks with at least $100 billion in assets if they chose to do so.

Both Cannot Coexist

Trump signed it into law in May 2018, calling it a "big deal for our country." The push to alter Dodd-Frank split the Democratic Party, and ultimately more than a dozen Senate Democrats joined Republicans to support the deregulations.

"It reduced stress testing, it reduced collateral calculations, it reduced the supervisory stress test and it enabled them not to publicly conduct or report their own company-run stress tests," Dennis Kelleher, the president & CEO of the nonprofit Better Markets, said of the 2018 law. "It blew a hole in several of the key financial stability protection rules."

Now President elect, Trump is soon to be back in office and ran his campaign on two very strangely related and critically opposing views of bank deregulation and pro bitcoin. Two things that are rivals at best and at the least will leave only one left standing. Or perhaps they merge as the new form of financial autonomy allowing free trade amongst individuals, nations and corporations without government interference or ability to track or control. Or perhaps that last sentence was me joking and the complete opposite is the goal.

Both Cannot Coexist

Trump signed it into law in May 2018, calling it a "big deal for our country." The push to alter Dodd-Frank split the Democratic Party, and ultimately more than a dozen Senate Democrats joined Republicans to support the deregulations.

"It reduced stress testing, it reduced collateral calculations, it reduced the supervisory stress test and it enabled them not to publicly conduct or report their own company-run stress tests," Dennis Kelleher, the president & CEO of the nonprofit Better Markets, said of the 2018 law. "It blew a hole in several of the key financial stability protection rules."

Now President elect, Trump is soon to be back in office and ran his campaign on two very strangely related and critically opposing views of bank deregulation and pro bitcoin. Two things that are rivals at best and at the least will leave only one left standing. Or perhaps they merge as the new form of financial autonomy allowing free trade amongst individuals, nations and corporations without government interference or ability to track or control. Or perhaps that last sentence was me joking and the complete opposite is the goal.

Holes in Superman's Cape

The Man Behind the Curtain

The Man Behind the Curtain

Private or Hidden Surveillance?

Private or Hidden Surveillance?

A Financial False Flag

A Financial False Flag

Both Cannot Coexist

Both Cannot Coexist

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