The world is used to a centralized system that requires us to present identification cards in order to open bank accounts, get on planes or even stay at hotels. But now, we have Bitcoin, a completely decentralized online protocol that allows anyone, anywhere to send sound money around the world without needing permission from anyone else. There’s this huge debate in the Bitcoin community regarding KYC requirements versus non-KYC privacy and we’re not going to specifically get into which route is better but we will ask, what even is KYC to begin with? KYC or “know your customer” requirements were implemented in order to establish the legitimacy of a customer’s identity. Why did this begin? It was meant to create a process of checks and balances that, in reality, ultimately strips people of their privacy and freedom to be involved in anything that now requires identification. DO KYC RULES REALLY ENSURE STRONG BORDERS? Now, when we start to talk about this idea of a passport — a booklet that is granted to a person under the authority of a nation that allows them to enter and leave a country — it’s important to note that the idea hasn’t been around for that long. When you really think about it, the idea that you need a document authorized by a “leader” in order to travel around the world is pretty gnarly. In fact, the whole system of modern border passport requirements only came to fruition about a century ago. Passports and visas became necessary travel documents after World War I. The 1920 League of Nations meeting in France laid the foundation for worldwide passport standards and thus, the fruition of standardized monitorization. As Bitcoiners, we value permissionless money so, what about permissionless movement? In many ways, people are born into this world automatically becoming a human barcode, assigned a number as a slave to the current monetary system that exists today. So, those who seek permissionless movement may ask, what really makes a strong border? One might say that indications of strong borders include established economic zones, infrastructure, military, gross domestic product, unemployment rates, etc. However, what happens when the people within those borders begin to have lower levels of trust in their governments? Does that begin to weaken the “strong border,” regardless of the economies inside? This leads us to November 1989 and the destruction of the Berlin Wall. This symbolized more than just the collapse of Communism in Germany — it was the destruction of something that prevented people from escaping their own country. As “The Sovereign Individual” states, “The fall of the Berlin Wall was not just a symbol of the death of Communism. It was a defeat for the entire world system of nation-states and a triumph of efficiency and markets.” It was an event that truly showed what people are capable of when they’ve finally had enough. “The Sovereign Individual” goes on to say that, “The nation-state became history’s most successful instrument for seizing resources. Its success was based upon its superior ability to extract the wealth of its citizens.” In the United States’ case, while it may not have built a physical wall, it has absolutely put up some “financial barriers” that would motivate a majority of its citizens to think twice before leaving. In 1995, the implementation of an exit tax was proposed that would require Americans to pay large sums for their own escapes. Since its implementation, this tax has likely held a lot of Americans hostage in their own country. Fast forward to today, and we are experiencing another form of imprisonment around the world. Australia, Canada, New Zealand and other countries have prevented their citizens from leaving because of certain medical decisions they decided not to make, and some people around the world are still unable to leave their countries even to this day. Not only have citizens been unable to leave their countries, some have even been taken to quarantine camps. If they didn’t have a second passport or other means to escape, they could be forced to stay in their countries and be subjected to tyrannical measures put in place. Not only are people experiencing physical imprisonment, but now such measures have bled into the online world. Censorship, suspensions, and perhaps soon, KYC requirements are being implemented on social media platforms. The world has turned into a politically-correct “safe space,” where you need to make everyone else feel like they’re living in a warm, fuzzy bubble of their feelings, instead of being able to freely express your opinion. Have you ever heard of the concept of “free speech”? Doesn’t seem to exist much anymore. So, how does Bitcoin inevitably fix this? Bitcoin will ultimately lead to smaller states and the interoperability of jurisdictional entities because it takes the power out of the hands of governments and puts it back into the hands of the people. It incentivizes people to go to places that offer better services, fit their needs and provide high quality of life, and it forces governments to work for the fruits of their labor. Bitcoin is freedom for the individual and it’s about time that the places we live match that. Eventually, we will live in a world where we are all citizens of Bitcoin. This article is the first in a series inspired by the limitations imposed by governments on their citizens and the need for Bitcoiners to find sovereignty through unrestricted, global travel. The next entry in this series explores how to increase your freedom in this reality, and find a way to turn this system around and have it work for you.

  Bitcoin (BTC) is a tool for freedom and economic empowerment. For one young Zimbabwean, Ovidy, it turned his life around when he returned to his home country at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.  An entrepreneur who first learned of Bitcoin while living in the United States, Ovidy has since built a business with Bitcoin at its core. Below, Ovidy (center) is pictured with Paco the Bitcoin traveler (left): Ovidy imports cars using Bitcoin. “I really like to import BMWs,” he told Cointelegraph, as well as enabling peer-to-peer remittance payments to the families of friends in Kenya and overseas. In short, Bitcoin makes him hopeful for the future. Ovidy told Cointelegraph that he “came across Bitcoin when it was around $10,000,” during the 2017 bull run. However, he didn’t invest “because I didn’t have any knowledge about it.” “I thought that you could Bitcoin one day and have $500; the next day you have $1,000 and it goes up and up.” He stacked some sats over this period, but it took a few years’ learning and small experiments tinkering with Bitcoin — such as using BitPay to pay for clothes on Amazon — before he could com to grips with the decentralized digital currency. However, it was no more than a hobby and an experience that was soon forgotten. Jump to the dark beginnings of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and Ovidy was obliged to return to Zimbabwe from the United States. In an unfortunate twist of events: “I didn’t have anything to do when I came back to Zimbabwe. There were no jobs, so I considered foreign exchange (forex) trading.” The forex account asked for him to deposit some Bitcoin and Ovidy remembered he had some “Bitcoin in an old Coinbase account.” He checked, and to his delight, the $500 he hadbought during 2017 and 2018 was worth more than $2,000. A eureka moment, Ovidy immediately realized he could leverage Bitcoin for payments and investments. He could create work, and more importantly, a salary for himself. The Ovidy E-Wallet transfer hub was born. He tapped into his network of contacts and began facilitating the importation of cars — from BMWs to Toyotas to off-the-shelf Hondas — from Japan. His Zimbabwe clients give him dollars after which he sends Bitcoin to Japanese car dealerships. Weeks later, the cars arrive. He explained: “It is impossible for me to send dollars to Japan as the only way to do so is through banks. When something gives me $5,000 in Bitcoin, I send the Bitcoin to Japan almost instantly, and I already have the cash here and the transaction is confirmed. Bitcoin is a faster and safer process.” The process would take more than two weeks and involve high commissions if it were done through banks, he added. Ovidy takes a small commission on the sale of cars and balances the dollars he earns with a money transfer service that uses Bitcoin remittance in reverse. As dollars are in scarce supply in Zimbabwe, Ovidy receives Bitcoin from “family members across Zimbabwe,” or from friends’ families in Kenya or overseas, and sends the dollars he makes on cars in return. Two of the cars Ovidy imported recently, all paid for with Bitcoin. Source: Ovidy Ovidy told Cointelegraph that while Bitcoin adoption in Zimbabwe is growing, it’s not plain sailing. Many people “really don’t trust Bitcoin,” and there is a significant education gap: “At first people didn’t appreciate Bitcoin because most people investing get scammed. Even me, I was scammed $500 when I was learning about Bitcoin! A convincing “invest company” asked me for money, and I didn’t realize.” He mentioned that the trickiest part about Bitcoin adoption — particularly for older generations — is that it is not tangible. A friend of his, William Chui, built a “Bitcoin house, using funds from Bitcoin,” as “a testimony to prove to people that with Bitcoin you can actually be financially free.” While education remains a hurdle in the country, which i experiencing hyperinflation, he is hopeful. “We start small and 10 to 15 years from now — and given that the younger generation appreciates Bitcoin — there will be a significant number of people adopting Bitcoin in Zimbabwe.” 

  Part 4, Chapter 4 of the JBP series. The series continues. If you’ve not yet read chapters one through three, you can find them here, and of course make sure you’ve read Part One, Part Two and Part Three of this chapter. Quotes with no source underneath are attributed to Dr. Jordan B. Peterson. In the previous parts we explore value, games, action, aim, focus, attention, truth and speech. We uncovered the sources of nihilism and examined the “Unholy Trinity” of the static apparatus known as “The State.” We’re going to close this chapter out by reviewing Bitcoin’s relationship to religion, the Bible, and its semblance to Old Testament God through the reintroduction to economic consequence. THE BITCOIN RELIGION Shinobi, whom I have deep respect for, recently said that he’s not seen a space or industry with more of a disparity between understanding and confidence, than Bitcoin. To a large degree, I would agree. Although Bitcoiners differ in that, I believe it’s actually a positive thing. This kind of disparity will naturally unnerve an engineer or a technician, but for the kind of phenomenon Bitcoin is, the existence of religious-zealot-like acolytes adds to its overall strength. It’s the power of narrative and myth in action. Bitcoin’s core principles representing “the good,” give it an aura of religious fervor that transcends the purely empirical domain of the technician. You have people willing to tie their identities to this thing come hell or high water, and for a phenomenon that must overcome the greatest collective lie of all time, this is the sort of moral, economic and memetic impetus that’s required. I’m not sure anything more powerful exists — and I say this as a non-religious person. “Religion concerns itself with the domain of value, ultimate value. That is not the scientific domain. It’s not the territory of empirical description.” A religious Bitcoin acolyte is often similar to a religious theistic acolyte in their belief of the discovery of some form of veil-piercing truth. In the beginning they just blindly parrot what they’ve seen or heard on Twitter: “digital gold,” “only 21 million,” “censorship-resistant,” “store of value,” “stock-to-flow,” etc. They become dogmatically obedient to these ideas, often ignorant to their meaning and in some cases to their own detriment, but over time they have the opportunity to discipline themselves. They learn (via podcasts, articles, books, etc.) and transcend the frame of “dogmatic acolyte” to become the “sovereign Bitcoiner” i.e., the kind of person measuring their wealth in bitcoin, running a full node, CoinJoining, who understands the nuances of a BIP and can effectively participate in the subversion of the corrupt statist paradigm. This in a general sense is a net positive. We all must start somewhere, and we must have a pathway worth walking. Bitcoin is that, and in many ways it’s a religious canvas against which we can paint our individual journeys toward sovereignty and truth. “It is therefore necessary and desirable for religions to have a dogmatic element. What good is a value system that does not provide a stable structure.” Bitcoin and the story of Satoshi are poetically religious and mythic. From the disappearance of the founder, to its stable, inert structure, and the offer of a form of economic salvation against the backdrop of an “evil” enemy, Bitcoin has all the ingredients for a narrative powerful enough for a critical mass of followers to emerge. And they have. They don’t need to initially “know” everything. In fact, they cannot know it all. But the kernel of truth they find in some article or podcast resonates enough with them, that they keep digging. They already possess the necessary precondition for this journey, i.e., the intent to become a better person, and some form of attraction to truth or integrity, so their instinct tells them that this may be a way. Their initial obedience turns into discipline, and in time they become the low time preference “chad” or “trad wife” equivalent that the more “based” of us aspire to be. “A genuine religious acolyte isn’t trying to formulate accurate ideas about the objective nature of the world (although he may be trying to do that too). He’s striving, instead, to be a ‘good person.’ It may be the case that to him ‘good’ means nothing but ‘obedient’ — even blindly obedient. Hence the classic liberal Western enlightenment objection to religious belief: obedience is not enough. But it’s at least a start (and we have forgotten this): You cannot aim yourself at anything if you are completely undisciplined and untutored. You will not know what to target, and you won’t fly straight, even if you somehow get your aim right. And then you will conclude, ‘There is nothing to aim for.’ And then you will be lost.” Of course this does not happen to everyone. For every one of these, there are 1000 Vitalik Buterins and Sam Bankman-Frieds who are more interested in unicorns, printing their own money and frying Beyond Meat sausages. You can’t save everyone. Nor should you try. Bitcoin is for anyone, but not for everyone. For those with the necessary makeup, even the not-so-high-IQ of us, Bitcoin represents so much more than just a ticket to get rich quick or a technology. It’s a religion of sorts which if approached in the right way can enhance one’s understanding of self, deepen their relationships to that which matters most and ultimately make them a better person. It’s an extraordinary thing to see. ECONOMIC RELIGION AND THE UNDERSTANDING OF SELF An idea I’ve been toying with for a while is whether economics is simply a religion of action? The more true and accurate it is, the better the aggregate result of the players, students, acolytes and thus society. It rings true in the classic idea of, don’t tell me what you believe, show me your bank account and I’ll tell you what you believe. And is further echoed by Dr. Peterson in Chapter 4 of his book

  Bitcoin bank Custodia is suing the Federal Reserve for delays in the approval process to acquire a “Master Account.” Having a master account allows the bank access to greater capacity for products and services while significantly reducing costs. The process has been delayed 19 months and the Federal Reserve states that applicants are typically decided on within “5-7 business days.” Custodia, the bitcoin bank formerly known as Avanti, is suing the Federal Reserve for “patently unlawful” delays towards the bank’s application to become a “Master Account,” under the central bank, according to a report from Forbes. “For more than 19 months, Defendants [The Federal Reserve] have refused to act upon Custodia’s application for a master account with the Federal Reserve,” states the lawsuit. On October 28, 2020 the Wyoming-chartered bank was successfully approved as a special purpose depository institution (SPDI), which means it can serve both traditional banking services and bitcoin transactions. The next day, Custodia simultaneously submitted its master account application. “The delay also breaches the schedule contained on the master account paperwork itself, which provides that a master account decision ordinarily takes “5 – 7 business days,” the lawsuit continues.In early 2021, the lawsuit states a representative from the Kansas City Fed informed Custodia that there were “no showstoppers,” in the application, which was confirmed to be complete. The charter obtained through Wyoming was great news as Custodia became the second crypto-bank in the U.S. behind Kraken, but in order for Custodia to reach the federal level on its own, it is required to go through the Fed. Currently, Custodia has to endure higher costs, counterparty and settlement credit risks and claims it is losing its competitive advantage by being forced into partnership with an institution that does currently hold a master account. “Through this lawsuit, Custodia seeks to ensure that its Federal Reserve master account application receives the fair dealing and due process guaranteed to it by both federal statute and the U.S. Constitution,” Custodia Bank’s spokesperson Nathan Miller reportedly stated. Miller continued to say “Custodia has satisfied every rule applicable to it, and has gone beyond by applying to become a Fed member bank.” Custodia was founded by former Morgan Stanley alumni Caitlin Long under the name Avanti Financial Group in 2020. Long helped write some of the legislation used to regulate these financial service entities entering the bitcoin and broader cryptocurrency space for the state of Wyoming. 

  Crusoe, a bitcoin mining company, is deploying equipment in Muscat, Oman to capture flared gas. The Oman Investment Authority in the Middle East was part of an April funding round that saw Crusoe raise $350 million. The MENA region accounts for 38% of the world’s flared gasses. Crusoe Energy, a U.S. firm that specializes in using excess natural gas for bitcoin mining, will begin deploying generators and mining equipment to capture flared gas in Muscat, Oman as the Middle East looks to cut its emissions, according to a report from Bloomberg. Chase Lochmiller, Crusoe’s CEO, explained in the report that the company felt it was important to have a presence in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region as the location accounts for 38% of the world’s burning of excess natural gas from oil wells. “Having the buy-in from nations that are actively trying to solve the flaring issues is what we are looking for,” Lochmiller said. The Oman Investment Authority was part of a $505 million funding round for Crusoe this past April. Ismail Ibrahim Al-Harthi, senior manager of technology investments at Oman Investment Authority, reportedly explained the stake in Crusoe did not represent the size of stakes in the company and Crusoe also declined to comment on the terms of the deal. The pilot for the first Middle Eastern deployment is expected to launch by the end of the year or early 2023. Lochmiller also reassured that while the state of financial markets and bitcoin “certainly has some impact on our top-line revenue, it doesn’t impact any plans for growth and expansion.” “Oman is committed to reduce greenhouse gases in line with the Paris climate agreement,” Al-Harthi said in an email with Bloomberg. The Oman government reportedly signed on with the World Bank to end routine flaring by 2030, and invested in Crusoe last year. Oman increased its stake in the company this past April, Al-Harthi reportedly stated in a phone interview.

  One of the largest landowners in Texas has partnered with a digital infrastructure provider and bitcoin miner for a mining facility in West Texas. The mining venture will see up to 60 MW of bitcoin mining capacity. JAI Energy is the largest bitcoin mining farm in the state of Wyoming. Texas Pacific Land Corporation (NYSE: TPL) – one of the largest landowners in Texas – Mawson Infrastructure Group Inc. (NYSE: MIGI), and JAI Energy have partnered to build up to 60 megawatts (MW) of bitcoin mining capacity on TPL’s surface in West Texas, according to a joint press release. “This project marks the beginning of TPL’s journey into bitcoin, and we are fortunate to collaborate with Mawson and JAI as two highly regarded companies in the bitcoin mining industry,” said Tyler Glover, CEO of TPL, a digital infrastructure provider. “We believe TPL’s extensive surface footprint in West Texas can serve as a premier destination for the bitcoin mining industry, providing site locations proximate to existing grid infrastructure and excellent solar and wind resource for future renewable power procurement.” Mawson and JAI have four planned locations, all of which will be located in Texas and two of them will be on TPL surfaces. While construction is expected to begin within the second quarter of 2022, operations are not expected to be functional until the fourth quarter of 2022. “We are aligned to see this venture succeed and scale as we look to leverage our unique asset base, industry and customer relationships, and the region’s energy abundance,” Glover said. “For TPL, our shareholders will benefit from a unique royalty stream while retaining an option to participate as an equity partner.” The facilities will be owned and operated by Mawson and could support up to two exahashes (2EH/s) of bitcoin mining capacity. JAI and TPL will earn the royalty interest while maintaining the ability to acquire an equity position. “Texas is rapidly emerging as an attractive new Bitcoin mining destination in the United States, and we are eager to establish a foothold in the state,” said founder and CEO of Mawson, James Manning.

  News emerged overnight of the potential theft of more than US$326 million (A$457.7 million) of Ethereum tokens from a blockchain bridge (which connects two blockchains so cryptocurrency can be exchanged between them). It’s no surprise. Crypto crime has been on the rise – especially since the pandemic began. How are these crimes committed? And what can you do to stay ahead of scammers? Direct theft vs scams There are two main ways criminals obtain cryptocurrency: stealing it directly, or using a scheme to trick people into handing it over. In 2021, crypto criminals directly stole a record US$3.2 billion (A$4.48 billion) worth of cryptocurrency, according to Chainalysis. That’s a fivefold increase from 2020. But schemes continue to overshadow outright theft, enabling scammers to lure US$7.8 billion (A$10.95 billion) worth of cryptocurrency from unsuspecting victims. Crypto crime is a fast-growing enterprise. The rise of the crypto economy and decentralised finance (or DeFi), coupled with record cryptocurrency prices in 2021, has provided criminals with lucrative opportunities. Australian data confirm the global trends. The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission reported more than A$26 million was lost to scams involving cryptocurrency in 2020 from 1,985 reports. In December, federal police told the ABC crypto scam losses for 2021 exceeded A$100 million. That’s despite many incidents likely left unreported, often due to embarrassment by victims. Theft from exchanges Most consumers obtain cryptocurrency from an exchange. This involves opening an account and depositing currency, such as Australian dollars, before converting it to a chosen cryptocurrency. Typically the cryptocurrency is held in a “custodial wallet”. That means it’s assigned to the consumer’s account, but the private keys that control the cryptocurrency are held by the exchange. In other words, the exchange stores the cryptocurrency on the consumer’s behalf. But just as a bank doesn’t hold all of its deposits in cash, an exchange will only hold enough cryptocurrency in “hot” wallets (connected to the internet) to facilitate customer transactions. For security, the remainder is held in “cold” wallets (not connected to the internet). Unlike a bank, however, the government does not have a financial claims scheme to guarantee cryptocurrency deposits if the exchange goes bust. The recent BitMart hack is a cautionary tale. On December 4, the exchange announced it had “identified a large-scale security breach” resulting in the theft of about US$150 million (A$210.6 million) in crypto assets from hot wallets. BitMart temporarily suspended withdrawals and later promised it would use its “own funding to cover the incident and compensate affected users”. It’s unclear when this will happen, with the CNBC reporting in January that customers were still unable to access their cryptocurrency. BitMart wasn’t the first exchange to be hacked, and it won’t be the last. Similarly, consumers may be left with losses if an exchange fails for commercial reasons, rather than theft. Australians were left stranded in December when liquidators were appointed over Melbourne-based exchange myCryptoWallet. One way consumers can protect themselves from exchange theft, or insolvency, is to transfer their cryptocurrency from the exchange to a software wallet (a secure application installed on a computer or smartphone) or a hardware wallet (a hardware device that can be disconnected from the computer and internet). The cryptocurrency will then be under your direct control. But be warned, if you lose your private keys, you lose your cryptocurrency. Read more: The metaverse is money and crypto is king – why you’ll be on a blockchain when you’re virtual-world hopping Types of scams Drawing on the ACCC’s latest edition of the Little Black Book of Scams, the following types of scam are commonly observed in the cryptocurrency space, where the scammer is not personally known to the target: Email phishing The scammer sends unsolicited emails asking for personal login details, which can be used to steal cryptocurrency. Alternatively, they may offer “prizes” or “rewards” in exchange for a deposit. Investment scams The scammer creates a website that resembles a legitimate investment trading platform. It may be a fraudulent copy of a real business, or a completely bogus one. They may even post fake advertisements on social media platforms, with fake celebrity endorsements. In the latest news, billionaire mining magnate Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest has launched criminal proceedings against Meta (previously Facebook) for allowing scam ads using his image. More sophisticated operations will have multiple scammers emailing and calling victims to give the impression of being a legitimate organisation. After cryptocurrency deposits are made, victims may be able to “trade” on the fake platform but can’t withdraw their supposed earnings. Delay tactics include asking for further deposits to be made for fees or taxes. Romance scams The scammer creates a fake profile and matches with victims on a dating app or website. They may then ask for funds to help them with a personal crisis, such as needing a surgery. Or they may say they’re trading cryptocurrency and encourage the target to get involved, leading the victim into an investment scam, as described above. If a victim doesn’t already have a cryptocurrency exchange account, scammers may also coach them on how to open one. Some will mislead victims into installing remote access software on their computer, granting the scammer direct access to their internet banking or exchange account. Practical challenges There are practical legal challenges in the crypto crime environment. While reporting scams can be helpful in providing data and intelligence for regulators and law enforcement, it’s unlikely to result in the recovery of funds. Taking civil legal action may be possible, too, but identifying perpetrators is difficult. Since cryptocurrency is by its very nature global and decentralised, payments are often made to parties outside of Australia. So prevention is easier than a cure. The main way to avoid being scammed is to ensure you know exactly who you’re dealing with, transact through a reputable exchange and ensure all the channels you go through are verified. If an offer sounds too good to be true, it almost certainly is. Regulation on the horizon In Australia, cryptocurrency exchanges