The Fiat Ponzi Scheme Goes Into a Death Spiral, Bringing More People to Bitcoin & Greenpeace’s Bitcoin Skull Becomes a Meme

Banks are failing & the Fiat Ponzi scheme continues

You can’t taper a Ponzi. It’s as simple as that. Therefore, those involved in a Ponzi will inevitably fail as well. 

This is exactly what you’ve seen with the current banking crisis. The issue was not the banks; as a matter of fact, they’re just as much trapped in the system as their depositors are. 

The main issues are the central banks and the game they’ve been playing for the past 50 years. We’ve been in this Ponzi ever since the U.S. went off the gold standard in 1971. Back then, money was bound to physicality and had to play by specific rules.  

Those days, however, are long gone, and it seems like the Fed can only react with one tool: printing more money. 

Whether it was the crisis in 1987, 2000, 2008, or whatever we want to call this one we are seeing now, all of them had one thing in common: someone messed up, and instead of coming up with a solution so it never happens again, we continued the same way and took on even more risk. 

Every crisis has its scapegoat. This time, it seems like Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). They didn’t think to hedge against a very aggressive Fed rate hike schedule and brought in a $1.8 billion loss from selling long-end U.S. Treasuries and MBS securities. They had to react fast and wanted to raise money quickly. 

This completely backfired. Clients lost trust in the bank, and within 48 hours, depositors withdrew $42 billion from the 18th biggest bank in America. Their loss was so huge that not even the FDIC, which previously was safeguarding depositors up to $250’000, could help out. 

In the end, the Fed and Treasury had to step in and create a new program. Essentially, it’s a fancy way to give themself permission to turn on the good old money printer and inflate our lives into oblivion. 

Because that’s the result of printing money out of thin air, for months now, they’ve been telling us that they need to stay aggressive with rate hikes. The goal is to bring inflation back down to 2%. The economy, banks, and the working class fell victim to these hikes. In the end, it seems like it was all for nothing. We’re back to where we were just three years ago. Overnight the Fed added $300 billion to its balance sheet. 

Smaller and regional banks lost out big. Their clients got scared and wanted their money out of the bank. Before you knew it, money from these banks was leaving for the big banks. Just like we’ve seen in the past, Wall Street became one giant hot pot, and fiat money was highly centralized again, creating even bigger, too big-to-fail banks. 

I’ve worked through some of these crises, and I can tell you this is not the end. There will be more money printing, bailouts, (likely) higher inflation, dramatic failures of giant bond portfolios, and, above all, pain for everyday people. Because they will be the ones left picking up the pieces. 

As I established previously, many of the big boys in banking like this. They receive free money and more power to control the finance world. 

What’s the upside, you ask? Is there even one? Yes, there is. It’s Bitcoin!

Look closely at the Bitcoin Genesis Block. Can you find the hidden message?

This is the environment. Satoshi Nakamoto wrote the now infamous whitepaper, and just a few weeks later, on January 3rd, the Bitcoin software was released to the world. There was a hidden message embedded in the Bitcoin Genesis Block. It said: “The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.” 

Bitcoin is fulfilling its role

Bitcoin is an open, permissionless monetary network that anyone across the globe can use to store, send, and receive value digitally. 

Satoshi predetermined the monetary policy, and it still holds to this day. Everything in the Bitcoin ecosystem is verifiable and available for everyone to use. You can even participate in the network by owning and operating a Bitcoin Full Node. 

Many people also seemed to have realized this in the past few weeks. Bitcoin’s performance has been astonishing. At times they were pushing it past $28’600, up 71% from the start of the year. 

While banks were failing left, right, and center, Bitcoin catapulted into the atmosphere. There are many reasons for people to invest in Bitcoin. 

• Firstly, we could see the re-entry of many previous Bitcoin HODLers. Those who sold at $30’000 might get back in at $25’000. 

• For others, this banking crisis might have been the last straw. They lost the last bit of hope in the banking world and looked for an alternative. 

• Then, there’s the last group, who’ve realized the fiat Ponzi is at a breaking point. Hyperinflation is not far away if we continue to see more contagion. 

Bitcoin is an excellent hedge against a struggling banking system and high inflation, which the digital currency has clearly highlighted since the start of the year. 

The Bitcoin Skull becomes a meme in the fight against anti-Bitcoin ESG FUD

One of the biggest attack factors for Bitcoin is its energy usage. There is no doubt that Bitcoin uses a lot of energy. But that’s a feature and not a bug. 

Proof of Work is what makes Bitcoin so unique. 

• It solves remittance problems for low-income families in the global south. 

• It acts as a store of value for people living in countries with collapsing currencies. 

• It enables individuals who are locked out of the banking system to participate in the global economy. 

These examples are a net good for the world and are possible thanks to Bitcoin. 

However, this is not how Greenpeace sees it. 

For them, the 0.1% of global energy usage Bitcoin consumes too much. They started with the “Clean Up Bitcoin”  campaign a little over a year ago. They urged developers to change Bitcoin’s consensus model to Proof of Stake, which they claim is more environmentally friendly. FYI, there is already a Bitcoin PoS version, and - surprise, surprise - no one is using it, and the project failed immediately.  

For months, they’ve been fabricating lies on their Twitter, conspiring with media outlets, and recently financing artists to propagate against Bitcoin. 

The activist artist Benjamin Von Wong recently worked on a sculpture he released named Skull of Satoshi. It expresses how bad Bitcoin is and should be used as a symbol against energy waste. 

He posted about the artwork last week, and the reaction from the Bitcoin community was amazing. Instead of hating the guy, they embraced his artwork and encouraged him to speak to individuals in the Bitcoin community who’re actively working on making Bitcoin more green. 

Von Wong engaged in open dialogue with the community, learning more about the available options that the industry is already working on to make Bitcoin “greener” without changing the protocol that makes up the core of what makes Bitcoin, Bitcoin. 

Thanks for the gift Greenpeace! The Skull of Satoshi will be presented at many Bitcoin events and will always as a memory to keep working on even more renewables adoption!

You can already get cups and t-shirts from Bitcoin merchandise shops showcasing the Skull. I might just get one actually. 😃

I was actually involved in research on the topic of Bitcoin and Sustainability when I was the CEO of Deutsche Digital Assets. The DDA team released a brilliant report about this very topic. I recommend you read it here!  

The real scammers are Greenpeace, who relentlessly push their ESG narratives, without taking facts into account.

Where was Greenpeace when BlackRock lost billions with its ESG investments and, instead of doubling down, left the industry behind with even more problems than when it started? 

Where is the outcry about ACs or Christmas lights? 

Both use a significant amount more energy than Bitcoin and create hot or cold air. 

In reality, Greenpeace has become a giant corporation and needs to find new victims to keep the lights on. 

If I could tell you one thing to watch and see Bitcoin’s impact in the real world, it’s this documentary by Cointelegraph. 

In it, they show how a farmer in Ireland managed to turn his methane gas emissions into Bitcoin, showcasing how Bitcoin mining can be used to reduce emissions while contributing to the security of an open, global monetary network that allows anyone in the world to be their own bank. 

Bitcoin’s push into renewables teaches us something very important:

Instead of attempting to punish this industry, Greenpeace should focus on such projects and find a way to teach people how to become energy independent and support their local society. 

Banks are dropping like flies, and so are my extra pounds

To end this newsletter, I also want to share some personal news. About twelve years ago, this was me, 185 lbs and 10% body fat. Dare I say, I was ripped! 

I currently sit around 220 lbs and still have 35 lbs more to go. I wanted to make it fun and decided to give away 1 BTC (yes, one whole Bitcoin) if I didn’t achieve my goal by the end of 2023. 

I have an excellent trainer and watch what I eat (and drink 😉) to make sure I get there. 

You can hold me accountable by following me on Twitter and reminding me to weigh in! I’d also love it if you decided to join me in getting healthy this year!

I have launched the Proof of Words podcast! 🎙️

Last but not least, I have launched a new podcast called Proof of Words. Yes, just like the Substack newsletter! 😎

You can tune in to Proof of Words on AnchorFM, Spotify, and YouTube. Everything is on the new Proof of Words website here: proofofwords.io.

Your stacker in sats,

Patrick Lowry