This is an opinion editorial by Nozomi Hayase, Ph.D., who has a background in psychology and human development. Disclaimer: Bitcoin 2023 and Bitcoin Magazine are both operated by BTC Inc.

With rising inflation and a growing number of bank failures, the dysfunctional nature of the fiat system becomes more apparent day by day. In the midst of this chaos, Bitcoin enthusiasts are staying calm, even generally hopeful about their futures.

As public trust in institutions weakens, governments around the world are gearing up for

central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) as a means of reasserting their authority over peoples’ money.

“Thank God, we have Bitcoin!”

Those of us who are fortunate to have found it are relieved that Bitcoin exists. As Christine Lagarde, the head of the European Central Bank once acknowledged, Bitcoin is an escape hatch from the financial surveillance state.

Bitcoin, the hardest money ever created, presents a real alternative to both current fiat currencies and CBDCs. Now, those who so choose don’t have to go down the path leading toward a dystopian society. This might make us feel at ease. Some of you might think we can just HODL and maybe orange pill newcomers here and there, and simply wait for hyperbitcoinization. But I say, “Not quite yet. We can’t just sit back and relax.”

We Bitcoiners have important tasks ahead: Bitcoin’s battle against the fraudulent banking system is far from over. It is really only just beginning.

The Battle Is Beginning

Bitcoin, over the 14 years since its creation, has been slowly unveiling its revolutionary potential. Bitcoin is a form of “digital gold” that cannot be confiscated. As a saving technology, it provides inflation proofing, allowing us to store value securely. Its core feature of censorship resistance has also helped it to gain popularity, since the importance of having “freedom money” has become clearer to political dissidents and the oppressed the world over.

Now that the COVID-19 pandemic has wound down, and the emergency has been declared over, global leaders aim to re-engineer the economy. The initiatives of the Great Reset plan to use CBDCs as instruments of control, in the process creating a post-human society where human beings, as we have known them, cease to exist.

Things are moving fast. Commenting on the development of AI and its potential ramifications for humanity, Jordan Peterson, a prominent Canadian psychologist, said, “We better get our acts together before the giants show up. They are like knocking at the door right now.”

Peterson has talked about how ChatGPT, a large language model (LLM) and advanced conversational chatbot, is already building an increasingly-intelligent system. He described the process whereby, in the next few years, this AI model could extract a model of the world from the entire corpus of language, and use that to create a fully-rendered, photo-realistic animation indistinguishable from the image of a genuine person. By giving an example of turning a virtual girlfriend into a sex partner, he explained how easily it could falsify the representation of reality so completely that we all become confused about what is real and what is not.

And this technology is rapidly advancing. In March 2023, ChatGPT4, the most powerful artificial intelligence, was released. And Bitcoiners are in a unique position to take Peterson’s warning seriously and start doing something about the issues he has raised.

Bitcoin is pro-human technology. It provides a tool for us to detect counterfeit reality and which helps us to authenticate and secure truth, backed by our real human experiences.

Now, digitization of all aspects of society is taking place. From finance to healthcare and education, people are brought to the web to live their lives in a way that disconnects them from their bodies and from the natural environment. This trend leads to “hyper-mechanization,” a term I use to describe the turning point at which machines and robots become dominant in our world, dictating our very experiences.

This force of digitization, now becoming extreme, is also penetrating into the Bitcoin space. From Twitter to Nostr, and more than we are willing to admit, many of us are hooked to the iPhones and computers that keep us plugged into the matrix, becoming cut off from genuine, heart-to-heart interactions with other human beings.

As a machine-takeover of the world increasingly threatens the essence of what it means to be human, it is important for us to learn to unplug ourselves and maintain our relationships to ourselves and to nature. We need to collectively practice being offline from time to time, connecting with one another in real life. It is crucial for us to create a resilient human network of proof of work, built on top of the technology that can authenticate reality, based on our truly-felt feelings.

Experiencing The Power Of Bitcoin, Firsthand

This week, from May 18 to May 20, the biggest Bitcoin conference will take place in Miami Beach, Florida, bringing together Bitcoiners from all over the world. Along with presentations and panels from experts, professionals and leaders in the industry (check the speaker’s list here), this three-day educational event will provide a space for Bitcoiners to gather outside of cyberspace and get to know one another.

From brunches to happy-hour pleb parties, there will be plenty of opportunities for Bitcoiners to hang out. Through our exchanges of smiles and hugs, we can have firsthand experiences that demonstrate the power of bitcoin as the currency of love.

Crucially, the conference will also give us a chance to share our appreciation for artists who have been enriching the Bitcoin space. It will host an art gallery displaying the work of more than 60 talented Bitcoin artists.

There, attendees can meet and interact with these artists in person. Now that AI can whip out sophisticated images in a matter of seconds and mimic our creativity, it becomes vital for us to recognize the value of art created by real human beings who are inspired by their own visions, and engaged in a hard and honest labor of love.

During the first and second general attendance days of Bitcoin 2023 (on May 19 and 20, 2023), the exuberance of Bitcoin competition will be brought to the main exposition hall to ignite a spirit of collaboration and teamwork. Initiated as a community project, the Bitcoin Games will provide a fun and joyful contest where local meetups can match their skills and talents to compete. The winning team will bring home the trophy and one full BTC, which can be used to help develop their community (check here for the details).

From the Bitcoin Bazaar, a massive peer-to-peer marketplace, to the official after party, lots of fun things will be happening throughout the week (check the full agenda here).

Bitcoin is electronic cash backed by human ingenuity. But what powers Bitcoin is our passion and the values that are shared in our hearts. What good is free speech money, if there is no human being who can speak? What is the worth of life, if there is nobody who can feel and experience its fullness?

At Bitcoin 2023, Bitcoiners around the world can come together to work toward hyperbitcoinization, in order to preserve what defines us uniquely as human beings. It presents a festival of humanity.

“Tick tock, next block.”

The countdown has just begun. It’s time to amplify relentless optimism and celebrate the beauty and magnificence that we all are.

This is a guest post by Nozomi Hayase. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.

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This is an opinion editorial by Robert Hall, a content creator and small business owner.

If you follow U.S. politics, you understand that the country is on the brink of defaulting on its massive $31 trillion debt.

At the crux of the issue is that there are Republicans in one corner, who control the House of Representatives with a slim 222 to 213 majority. In the other corner, the U.S. Senate and the White House, under Joe Biden, are controlled by Democrats.

Both parties are diametrically opposed to what the other wants. Republicans want to significantly cut spending in order to raise the debt limit for a year. Democrats want a “clean” debt ceiling bill passed without strings attached. As you can see, both parties’ starting positions are nowhere near each other. Ultimately, this has turned into a game of chicken based on who will blink first. It’s all very tiring.

Is this the way a government should be run? It is absolutely crazy that these leaders would risk defaulting on money that has already been spent. This is like if you or I whipped out a credit card, went crazy buying all kinds of stuff, and did not make the monthly payment at the end of the month.

The government has been able to run up the debt for a long time because it has had willing participants, such as pension funds, hedge funds, sovereign wealth funds and regular joes who lent them money by buying treasury bills because they believed they would be paid back with interest.

This has been the case for a long time, but now this arrangement is being called into question with the will they, won’t they bull going on in Congress right now.

Seriously Broke

Are these politicians so detached from reality to think that, once the debt limit is breached and people stop getting paid what is owed to them, people will go right back to loaning them money?

If they do, they will demand even higher interest rates. The government can’t even afford the rates we have now! What happens if the borrowing cost for the government goes to 10% or 15%? Ain’t nothing getting funded; I can tell you that much.

Check out this: The federal government spent a record $475 billion on interest payments in fiscal year 2022. Interest costs grew 30% last year and are poised to jump another 35% this year, according to the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO’s) own estimate!

The CBO believes the federal government will spend $640 billion in interest payments this year alone. Is this the debt spiral that James Lavish has been talking about lately? It sure as hell seems like it to me.

We are on a slow-motion collision course with the economic reality that you can’t print and borrow money without consequences. Inflation rears its ugly head first, and then people realize the money they are being paid back with has diminished purchasing power. Once people know they are losing money when they lend it to the federal government, it’s game over.

This debt-ceiling debate will highlight the dysfunction of the federal government and its inability to keep its promises. This is what surprises me about the politicians on both sides of the aisle.

Do they really want to show this level of incompetence to the world? It’s like watching your family fight in the front yard. It’s embarrassing as hell and will change the perception that your neighbors have about your family.

A debt default will change the perception of the U.S. from a trusted payer to a debt junkie unable to pay its debts.

How Is Default Good For Bitcoin?

The silver lining to this whole debt-ceiling debacle is that it’s going to throw rocket fuel on the price of bitcoin. As people see that their money is no longer “safe” with the federal government, they will seek an alternative to U.S. treasuries. Undoubtedly, some of the dollars that would have been earmarked for treasuries will flow into bitcoin.

New entrants to bitcoin will see that it is the safe haven asset they were looking for the whole time. There is no counterparty risk, and the supply can’t be diluted.

During the last contentious debate over the debt ceiling, under the Obama administration, the price of bitcoin went from $13 and ended the year at $755. It also reached an all-time high of $1,163 that year. Coincidence? Maybe, but it does make sense for people to protect their wealth during times of potential calamity such as a default.

So, I say to the politicians running the government right now: Go ahead and keep playing these games. Default or don’t default because, in the end, it doesn’t matter; you still lose. You have led the world to ruin, and it will be up to Bitcoin to save humanity from itself. The debt-ceiling debacle only accelerates the inevitable.

And to the Bitcoiners: Keep stacking them sats like your lives depend on it, because one day they might.

This is a guest post by Robert Hall. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.

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While several top digital assets have decreased in value against the U.S. dollar over the past month, the stablecoin economy has lost $2.4 billion in value since March 31, 2023. Four of the top five stablecoins experienced net redemptions over the last 30 days, except for tether, which grew by 2.3% during that time.

Four of the Top Five Stablecoins Experience Net Redemptions in the Past 30 Days

On March 31, 2023, the top stablecoins by market capitalization represented $133.63 billion in value, and now the valuation is down to $131.21 billion. A total of $2.4 billion worth of stablecoins has been withdrawn from the stablecoin economy since then. Data reveals that over the past 30 days, USDC, BUSD, DAI, and TUSD have all seen redemptions. Usd coin’s (USDC) circulating supply dropped 10.2% compared to last month, and binance usd (BUSD) fell by 20.6%. Of the top five largest stablecoins, both USDC and BUSD experienced the most redemptions.

Further, DAI’s circulating supply slipped 9% lower in 30 days and TUSD’s supply decreased by 0.7%. Tether (USDT), however, grew 2.3% since last month, reaching a market capitalization worth $81.39 billion. Tether’s market valuation accounts for 61.65% of the entire stablecoin economy’s $131.21 billion value. While tether’s supply grew by 2.3%, pax dollar (USDP) rose by 33.9% since last month.

USDP now has a market valuation of approximately $1,037,832,268. Both frax dollar and Tron’s USDD experienced losses during the past 30 days; frax dollar (FRAX) shed 3.8% while USDD lost 1% of its circulating supply. Gemini’s dollar-pegged token GUSD saw its supply increase by 18.1% to $465.22 million. Liquity usd (LUSD) recorded a 2.4% rise, and magic internet money (MIM) increased by 5.9% last month. The entire stablecoin economy represents 11.02% of the crypto economy’s $1.19 trillion net value.

What does the recent decline in the stablecoin economy mean to you? Share your thoughts about this subject in the comments section below.

Jamie Redman

Jamie Redman is the News Lead at Bitcoin.com News and a financial tech journalist living in Florida. Redman has been an active member of the cryptocurrency community since 2011. He has a passion for Bitcoin, open-source code, and decentralized applications. Since September 2015, Redman has written more than 7,000 articles for Bitcoin.com News about the disruptive protocols emerging today.