During the 2008 financial crisis, I was on my way to college eager to study finance and learn about the underlying mechanisms of our economy. However, it was really through watching the financial crisis unfold that I began learning how money and central banking worked. The aftermath of the financial crisis made it evident that there was a real need for non-state money. At times, many even fail to realize that fiat has only been a form of payment controlled by governments for the last 150 years or so. The need for a free-market form of money is real, similar to how individuals turn to gold during times of uncertainty or hedge against inflation. Bitcoin can fulfill this demand. When explaining the need for cryptocurrencies I draw from the analogy between the freedom to choose one’s religion and the freedom to choose one’s money. Simply put, Bitcoin is the separation of State and Money.

Separation of Church and State

Growing up in school all of us learn about the separation of church and state, which happened hundreds of years ago. We are taught why it is so important that humans can live in societies where their religion, something very precious to them as individuals, is unethical to leave under the management of the government. Looking back on that kind of society today, it seems like such an obvious and clear dynamic for the separation to exist. In the future, this same philosophy should and will be applied to the freedom of choice towards an individual’s money.

Separation of Money and State

Today, one can argue that a separation of money and state might be, if not more important than, freedom of religion. Money is as fundamental to our lives as religion because it affects almost every aspect of our life. The choices that you make about your finances impact your life and those around you, so to have money controlled by a central entity is comical.

The idea of free markets is still somewhat popular in the United States, but this logic never seems to apply to money. Although many Republicans often support the free market, none of them apply this idea to competing currencies. However, Bitcoin may create a situation where those politicians don’t have a choice in the matter.

Is it absurd to allow competition in money just as we allow competition in religion? We allow multiple churches to exist. Can’t we do that with money? One day our children will look back and realize how obvious the shift was.

Bitcoin is already competing strongly against a country’s fiat that has been plagued by hyperinflation like the Venezuelan Bolivar, Argentinian Peso, or throughout Africa. It has become clear through time that our current financial system has some real shortfalls that need to be fixed, and Bitcoin provides that real-world solution. However, Bitcoin still has a long way to go before it challenges the U.S. dollar or Euro, but the global economic revolution is well on its way.