Proximity Warning.
Chapter 1
what is the potential of bitcoin?
I first got wind of Bitcoin toward the end of 2011, its market value just had a meteoric rise from 9 cents to twenty-five dollars, when I looked at it, it was on its way down at a price of around $15 US. I thought the entire idea was a scam and did not look at it again until the price came in at $100 in the middle of 2012.
At this time I decided to read a little more on what it was. I looked at the website with its animated video description and thought I might buy a few bitcoins. Only problem was that it all seemed too hard, and I gave it up.
By the end of 2013 it shot up to $1100 US and I lamented the lost opportunity, but only for a short while. It lost half that value again within three weeks until it seemed to settle down at just over $200 US by early 2015.
It was July 2017 that I finally thought to research the technology. I could not stop reading about it, after nine books and a lot of internet research, I came to finally see the future tool that may one day underly the infamous ‘Mark’ in Revelation 13.
The potential of Bitcoin I am addressing in this chapter is not its future value, but its future use. My question relates to the Distributed Ledger technology behind it called The Blockchain. This Blockchain technology answers the last question I had regarding what I understood scripture teaching, that is, the ability of a central authority to control assets as well as the means to attain them.
The Blockchain and its technology can be used centrally; true that this is not Bitcoin, but I did not say it would be Bitcoin that would be adopted. Yet, even if it is Bitcoin; though the currency is not centralised, the assets and their distribution may certainly become centralised. The worst case is if or when, both currency and assets are centrally controlled. This is the potential for the technology in the hands of a powerful central authority.
Any RFID type of technology can be employed to exchange currency, even with our current currency system, this was not my concern. But Revelation 6:6 gives the distinct impression that assets, or at least produce, is affected, even controlled. This was the only question I needed to have answered, and the Blockchain answers it perfectly.
An Encrypted Message
In January 2009 a strange message was discovered imbedded within a type of computer code. Along with a set of what seems random numbers and characters, was this somewhat cryptic message;
“The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks“
(see below).
It was imbedded in what is known as “The Genesis Block”, understood to be the original block of transaction data in a chain of blocks that form a digital public ledger, or record, of digital transactions. It was the birth of Bitcoin and the Cryptocurrency phenomenon sweeping the world today. The technology behind it is, what I believe, the tool that will ultimately replace physical Cash.
Bitcoin, in short, is a digital medium of exchange where cryptographic encryption techniques are used to regulate both the creation of each unit, and the public verification of their exchange, without the use of a third-party, such as a bank. Most of our money today is digital; so that is not difficult to understand. Our money is broken down into individual units; that also is not difficult to understand, each unit can be exchanged for goods and services, again, not difficult to understand. Bitcoin achieves all of this, but the quantity of coins to be ‘minted’ are forever limited.
It is this limitation that sets Bicoin apart from the fiat currency we use today. Bitcoin promises to be a unit of exchange but without the inflationary interference of governments and central banks. Government through central Banks, devalue the money we have in our hands each year and lower the spending power of what we work for each hour, by creating unlimited quantities of spending currency from nothing. Bitcoin’s original purpose, noted by its anonymous creator, was to keep money honest, by limiting its creation over a long period of time and yet be as globally fluid as possible through technology.
The strange message found in the “Genesis block” was purposefully placed, at least to permanently record, the earliest possible date the first Bitcoins could have been created, 03/Jan/2009. It is not possible for that block to have been created before the date in which The Times headline was made public[1]. But why that message? Does it also tell us something more?
It would not be speculative to delve into what else the message might mean, the fact that the Bitcoin Phenomenon has philosophical libertarians and monetary idealists as its underpinning support, does give us a clue of what the message could mean.
the meltdown
In the year 2008 we had the virtual meltdown of much of the financial systems of the world beginning in the United States and spreading like a wildfire around the Globe. The fall of the biggest insurers (AIG), the biggest and oldest investment banks (Bear Sterns, Lehman Brothers, Wells Fargo, Citi Group), the biggest Mortgage companies (Fannie May, Freddie Mac), and even the largest Real Estate giant (Countrywide Financial Corp). These had witnessed trillions of dollars vaporized. The result sent most of the countries in the world into recession, some of whom have yet to recover ten years on.
The decision was made governments and central banks to “bail out” many of these crippled companies; some by issuing public loans, some by publicly assisting takeovers and some by direct Government acquisition, nationalizing them. In short, money was created out of thin air (inflated), with the public taxpayer (you and I) becoming the lenders of last resort.
Central banks lowered interest rates to levels never seen in 4000 years of recorded history in the efforts to “Stimulate the economy”. This occurred not only in the United States, but in Asia, Europe and even Down Under (Remember your Christmas bonus in December 2008?).
An article in the Year Book 2009 of Encyclopaedia Britannica records it this way;
“In an atmosphere that bordered on panic, governments throughout Europe adopted policies aimed at keeping the recession short and shallow….On fiscal policy, European Governments for the most part scrambled to approve public spending programs designed to pump money into the economy”
In the 2010 copy of the same series of books, the encyclopedia wisely considers a potential future problem of this type of effort stating;
“On the whole, private economists applauded the U.S Government’s response to the crisis at hand[Stimulus spending through creation of new currency and debt], but some of the remedies enacted there and in other countries seemed poised to haunt the world economy in years to come”
Most of us intuitively know that you cannot borrow money to get out of debt, but this is exactly what has been done for the last ten years. Perhaps the creator of Bitcoin, by his inclusion of the Times article reference, both understood the danger as well as listing the motive behind his creation of Bitcoin.
And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
It is not difficult to see that the passage in the book of Revelation has economic implications.
…And that no man might buy or sell
It is also not too difficult to identify that the economic effect is Global in scope.
…he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond
We can also recognize by the simple phrase “he causeth all” that this refers to a single world ruler that has both the power and the authority to legislate and enforce “both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark.”
Lastly, we can identify that the medium of exchange (buy or sell), is by an in-bedded (in their right hand, or in their foreheads), identifiable mark (the name of the beast, or the number of his name), that has within its capacity both the control and the purchase of goods (that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark).
The simplest way for this to be enforced uniformly and globally, is for the unit of exchange (currency) to be digital; and the goods to buy and sell, digitized.
Bitcoin, a useful idiot?
After attending the Bitcoin conference in Miami Florida early this year, I became convinced that the desire of both Bitcoin techies and those supporting all the competitive digital currencies, were striving for, is the predominant Global use of their coin!
I spoke to numerous individuals (some names would be known by the faithful), all believe their coin to be the best, and hope to have it as the single global currency, their motive in the short term is likely profit, but the original intent was idealogical, FREEDOM from central Bank tyranny. Meanwhile they are all working diligently to have their currency become the most appealing currency platform to use, to facilitate the global prominence of their coin. But what happens when the same technology for freedom is used by the powers that be, for control?
They all told me their motivation is freedom, but when I asked if the underlying tech also has the potential to enslave, most were blissfully ignorant, one charged me with being a ‘Bible thumper’ (he had no idea who I was, but it seems obvious Christians are evidently discerning the potential), and some others listened intently for the first time that their tech may just as easily be used for enslavement as for freedom.
Bitcoin may indeed be a “useful idiot” as its technology may one day be employed in a manner that is directly opposite to its originally intended purpose. Just like the Socialists where useful idiots to Lenin’s Communist plot (the term ‘Usefull Idiot’ was coined by Vladimir Lenin).
But what we have in this day is not only the desire for a single global currency coming to fruition, but also the means to have it employed digitally. I believe that his will occur through a distributed Ledger Technology similar to that which is behind Bitcoin.
The foundation is there and the potential is astounding.
NEXT TIME
What was the original purpose of Visa?
Is there evidence that a Single Global Currency has been desired historically?
Will it come through Co-operation or Crisis?
Pr Edi Giudetti.
[1]Original copies of this particular Newspaper on this day are for sale and valued at over AU$57,000 (Or 5.5 Bitcoins at current value)http://www.thetimes03jan2009.comAccessed 9/2/18.
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