30/10/2021
Why do we need decentralization?
Perhaps the most important aspect of Bitcoin is its decentralization; this is the principal difference that separates Bitcoin from the central banking system we're currently used to. Inherently, our worldwide banking system is centralized because our money is controlled and distributed by the government. We call this money "fiat" — originating from the latin word meaning: "a determination by authority."
When you have a centralized fiat currency like the US dollar (the current global reserve currency), you are coerced into a financial system that can change the rules at any time. You are subjected to the big banking system that charges you overdraft fees, requires minimum balances, and lends your money out to other people only to pay you less than 1% in annual interest.
And while big banks in the United States have healthy competition and therefore have incentives to offer better, freer services to consumers, many countries around the world don't offer this privilege. In fact, many banks overseas actually charge their consumers to keep their money in the bank.
What is this highway robbery? You might as well keep all your cash under your mattress.
As much as we like to joke about this, the use of physical, insecure piggy banks are a reality for over a billion people around the world who remain unbanked.
Financial services create expensive barriers like fees, minimums, and identification requirements that don't allow people to participate fairly in it. Additionally, not everyone has access to a competently secured and insured central banking system; they must participate in the one handed to them by their government, no matter how unstable or corrupt it is.
What fixes this?
There's a saying in the Bitcoin community: Bitcoin fixes this.
Because nobody is in charge of Bitcoin, Bitcoin works for everyone. Rather than having someone at the top, the Bitcoin Network is based on the consensus of everyone who participates in it.
It doesn't matter what country you're in or how controlling your government is — your wealth is secured by the bitcoin blockchain all the same, and no one has the authority or power to change this. While it is technically possible for bitcoin to be "hacked" or controlled, I'll go over why this won't ever happen in a later email.
Bitcoin is an opportunity for the unbanked to store and grow their wealth in a secured way, where nobody can be locked out or denied — and it doesn't care about your credit score.
