Bitcoin’s true message is not decentralization; it’s emancipation

Opinion by: Dr. Merav Ozair

Regulatory clarity for digital assets is rapidly increasing, especially within the US. The time has come when the world is moving beyond patchwork rules to cultivate innovation while protecting investors, a trend that’s mirrored globally with frameworks like Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA).

After years of bans, bashes and misrepresentation, Bitcoin (BTC) has finally received greater recognition by mainstream, traditional finance and regulators as “digital gold” and a “reserve asset.”

This may not have been Bitcoin’s goal, but this is where we have ended up, after almost two decades.

One of Bitcoin’s main critics over the years has been JPMorgan’s CEO, Jamie Dimon. Calling Bitcoin a “shitcoin” in mainstream headlines, he has frequently described Bitcoin as a “fraud,” “pet rock,” “decentralized Ponzi scheme” and “worthless”.

Despite his apparent hatred for Bitcoin, Dimon has consistently stated that the underlying blockchain technology is real and can be used for financial services. Indeed, JPMorgan has heavily invested in blockchain technology since 2015 and has its own blockchain arm, Kinexys (formerly known as Onyx).

One might think that blockchain technology and Bitcoin’s original purpose is at odds. Bitcoin’s true mission has more in common with Dimon’s view on blockchain technology, however, than not. Purposefully or not, to serve their own agenda, Dimon and the like chose to separate Bitcoin from blockchain technology and its benefits.

The birth of Bitcoin

Bitcoin was born on Jan. 3, 2009, following the aftermath of the global financial crisis at the end of 2008 and the bailout of the financial industry once known as being “too big to fail.” The common man lost their retirement and life savings. People were devastated and outraged. Later in 2011, the “Occupy Wall Street” movement was created to protest against economic inequality and corporate greed.

Was it a coincidence that Bitcoin was born on Jan. 3, 2009? Hardly so.

Bitcoin was solving the problem that “Occupy Wall Street” was focused on solving. They missed out on the fact that they already had a solution. If only people had paid attention to what Bitcoin and blockchain, the technology that underpins it, were all about, instead of falling for the rhetoric of the government and finance moguls calling Bitcoin a “scam.”

Bitcoin is the answer to a centralized financial system. It called for a decentralized system with no intermediaries — no government, central bank or financial institutions. A financial system ‘run by the people for the people.’”

A global community where everyone around the globe — no matter their location, gender, age, nationality or culture — can pseudonymously join the network. All you need is an internet connection.

Bitcoin, and by extension blockchain, are the ultimate equalizers. Due to its fractionalization, you do not need a lot of “cash” to participate, enabling everyone to be part of the financial system.

Related: Stablecoins vs. Bitcoin salaries: Why regulation pushes one ahead of the other

No wonder some governments and finance moguls have called it a scam, conflating Bitcoin with blockchain technology and misrepresenting Bitcoin as a fictitious currency.

Why would they want the public to understand the true value of Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is capital mobility and financial freedom

As a result of no centralized government or organization controlling the network, each participant has full self-sovereignty of their wallet — the equivalent of a bank account. They have full ownership and control of their wallet. No one but them has access.

Bitcoin does not require users to disclose their real-world identity at the protocol level, but it is pseudonymous rather than anonymous, as wallet balances and transaction histories are publicly visible on the blockchain. Other blockchain systems and privacy-enhancing technologies, such as zero-knowledge proofs, explore ways to selectively disclose information while preserving user privacy, allowing users to reveal only what is necessary to whom and when.

Self-sovereignty means that you are the sole owner and in full control of your assets.

Wherever you go, they go with you.

They say that “necessity is the mother of adoption.” This is indeed the case in the Philippines. In the Philippines, more than half of all adults don't have a bank account and thus are unbanked. People are also underbanked, as they are forced to spend a tremendous amount of time to visit bank branches. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, one in five people lived below the poverty line in the Philippines, with many relying on cash-in-hand jobs and living from day to day. Many Filipinos work overseas and send money back home to support their families.

It’s not surprising that blockchain adoption in the Philippines is among the highest globally. Millions of adults now use blockchain-based digital payment applications.

Blockchain-based remittance services offer practical solutions for daily financial hurdles — banking access and quick, cheap and convenient money transfer. It provides economic opportunities, like GameFi, during crises. Axie Infinity became a significant income source during the pandemic, enabling Filipinos to earn crypto for their daily needs, though these models later proved highly volatile and unsustainable for many participants

In the Philippines, blockchain is not a buzzword — it’s a technology with the potential to transform the lives of every Filipino, regardless of their occupation, location or background. It’s a tool for financial inclusion and financial freedom, transparency, self-sovereignty and empowerment.

This is the utmost freedom and emancipation that anyone can ask for. It is not reserved for Filipinos only, but for everyone who wishes to embrace blockchain technology and what it has to offer.

Bitcoin is the antidote to centralized AI

The rise of the AI revolution — accelerating at an exponential rate and centralized by a few Big Tech hyperscalers — dictates our privacy, security and safety and threatens our future jobs.

We are facing a new centralized power. In 2008, it was the financial giants collaborating with the government; today, it’s Big Tech that are collaborating with the government and dictating our future.

Bitcoin’s virtue of capital mobility and financial freedom through self-sovereignty is not limited only to the financial system. Bitcoin has demonstrated the power of a system “run by the people for the people,” without any centralized intermediaries. The same can be applied to AI.

Decentralized AI (DeAI) combined with decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePINs) can be the antidote to Big Tech centralized AI.

DePIN refers to the hardware and real-world networks that are decentralized, while DeAI uses distributed data and compute power to build more private and resilient AI systems. When combined, the two create “intelligent infrastructure,” where DePIN provides the physical and digital resources (like compute and data), and AI acts as the “brain” to orchestrate and operate them. There are some examples in this area: Fetch.ai, SingularityNET and the Render Network.

You can also create decentralized social media, decentralized identity or self-sovereignty identity (SSI), all following Bitcoin’s virtue of full ownership and autonomy, granting you the ultimate emancipation: You are in control of your assets, privacy, safety and mobility and are able to create wealth and protect it no matter where you live, what you do and how you present yourself in the world. As long as you adhere to the values and rules of the network, you are welcome to contribute and benefit.

The Bitcoin message to the younger generation

The younger generation, who were not yet born or were toddlers when Bitcoin was born, are not yet fully aware of Bitcoin’s emancipation message to the world.

They are discouraged and dismayed by job uncertainty, financial distress and unaffordability and are looking for answers to solve their problems. The major cause of these problems is not AI but rather the central banks' management of excessive government debt through ongoing currency debasement, which steadily erodes the purchasing power of fiat currencies.

Unfortunately, the younger generation is plagued by having fallen into a victimhood mindset and following the rhetoric of politicians offering them more government and claiming a bigger government will save them, not understanding that government policies might be a cause of their problems. These politicians offer — “Leave everything to the government to solve,” basically giving up your complete autonomy and self-sovereignty — counter to Bitcoin virtues and its emancipation message.

Bitcoin’s virtues and messages were true then and are true now, and always will be. The young generation has the opportunity to utterly emancipate itself, seizing control over their lives with self-sovereignty, capital mobility, financial freedom, protecting their privacy, creating wealth and protecting it, choosing where to live and how, and being a true equal citizen of the world.

Bitcoin has given them the tools and shown them the way. Now they have to act on it.

Opinion by: Dr. Merav Ozair.

This opinion article presents the contributor’s expert view and it may not reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. This content has undergone editorial review to ensure clarity and relevance, Cointelegraph remains committed to transparent reporting and upholding the highest standards of journalism. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research before taking any actions related to the company.