5 Things Every Woman Should Know About Bitcoin

Different suggestions have been made, but one that seems to be gathering waves of support from people all over the world is Bitcoin. Bitcoin continues to increase in value, shows stability that is revolutionary, and is available for anyone to use. The main problem is that we are confused by this relatively new monetary system. However, the answers are simpler than you might think.

Here are five simple points that every woman should know about Bitcoin (often known as BTC). Whether you’re looking to escape the monster of the money printer or merely impress your next date, this knowledge is power. The concept of Bitcoin was introduced in 2008 by a brilliant but anonymous individual(s) under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. At the time, the world was in financial chaos due to the Housing Crisis/2008 Recession, and recovery seemed impossible. However, as many Bitcoiners say, “Fix the money, fix the world.” With your newfound knowledge, you could help do just that.

Understand Money: Currency and Fiat

First, we need to understand what “money” and its forms are. To understand money, let’s define “currency” and “fiat.” Currency means that something (whether it be gold, Bitcoin, or even cocaine) is generally accepted as a means of payment in a particular area. The reserve currency of most of the world is the US Dollar. Therefore, whatever happens with US currency affects the world, for better or for worse.

Fiat is currency that is backed by an authority, namely a government. As we shall see, when currency is backed by a government, it merely means it’s backed by some entity with a military. The legitimacy of fiat is the military capacity behind it. In the past, assets such as gold were used to back the fiat standard. However, President Nixon famously took the US off the gold standard to fund the Vietnam War. When the treasury’s gold ran out, instead of backing out of a forever war, Nixon appealed to the Federal Reserve (the Fed, which is neither federal nor reserved). The Fed then began to use fiat to operate the monetary system. The Fed printed more money for circulation, which devalued the dollar. Money is simply a means of exchange, but who controls it and what backs it has the power of life and death.

A Brief History of Our Monetary System

We should know a brief history of our own monetary system, and why it’s flawed. Prior to the 1900s, much of America’s banking was localized and subject to the discretion of limited bankers and those in their communities who would hold them accountable. Not perfect at all, but harder to control without a centralized power and any banking failure was purely localized.

This would all change in 1910, when, on Jekyll Island, off the coast of Georgia, a small number of elite bankers gathered under the guise of “duck hunting.” The duck they were hunting was the complete control of the monetary system, and thus the world. They would call their idea the Federal Reserve of the United States. Just as the name is deceptive, so is the entire entity. These men already controlled massive financial entities that we now recognize as JP Morgan and others. They had political influence that matched their massive wealth and wanted complete domination. They would proceed to set up 15 member banks, headed by approved directors, that would buy up smaller banks. If a financial entity fell on hard times, the Fed would swoop in and save them, regardless of if it should have rightly failed for its actions. With the support of those they owned in government, the Fed masterminds have spent the 100+ years since then collecting any financial control it can. 

The Federal Reserve is comprised of a few elite individuals, unelected by the American public, who answer to no one, choose what happens with the dollar, and have the full support of the military-industrial complex that they made possible to back them. The amount of blood that has been spilled since the inception of the Fed and the wars it has funded are shocking by any standard. Further and valuable reading should be done on this topic, and The Creature from Jekyll Island by G. Edward Griffin is a fantastic place to start.

Bitcoin vs. Fiat – Trust vs. Trustless

The third point we need to understand is the difference between Bitcoin and fiat currency systems, such as the Fed. The difference is, in one simple word, trust. Whether we like it or not, when we swipe our credit card, we’re hoping that, through a chain of events, our transactions will be permitted and our buying power will remain. But what if there were a system of checks and balances that forced each person to be accountable to every user, and we didn’t have to just blindly trust? What if there were a fixed, unchangeable amount of currency, so that it never lost value through inflation? Enter, Bitcoin, a trustless system.

The Fed gained control through centralization; Bitcoin is decentralized. The Fed is involved when I exchange my labor for any product. Bitcoin is peer-to-peer and does not need intermediaries, banks, or credit card companies. Bitcoin allows for a veil of pseudonymity that our current system doesn’t have, as it uses a sequence of numbers, not names or email addresses. The Fed can restrict anyone’s bank account on a whim; thousands of BTC “nodes” (machines operating BTC software) are running worldwide, making transaction censorship logistically impossible in the Bitcoin world.

The Basics of How Bitcoin Works

Fourth, we need to have a rudimentary knowledge of how Bitcoin works. The “nodes” just mentioned are in locations ranging from government buildings in China to your neighbor’s living room. Guess what? That computer in your neighbor’s living room is keeping that computer in China accountable! 

How is this possible? Bitcoin is like a puzzle, and to solve this puzzle, you need to use a “hash.” A hash is akin to a fingerprint, only digital. It’s a distinctive set of numbers that, when solved, matches the rest of the “blockchain.” A block is the group of transactions that make up the Bitcoin network, each unique and each building upon the other, enforcing the validity of each prior transaction. A block that is successfully hashed is then sent to the entire network of nodes, and the chain is further built. This makes Bitcoin decentralized and creates a guarantee of trustworthiness. 

Roughly every 10 minutes, somewhere in the network, a block is mined. Mining happens when a digital fingerprint (a “hash”), typically utilized by specifically equipped supercomputers, reaches what is known as the target difficulty, and successfully finds the correct sequence of numbers needed to build the next part of the chain. 

To hold Bitcoin, you would set up a private digital wallet, and through that wallet, generate a private key (of 12-24 words) that in turn can be used to generate a public address, to receive Bitcoin directly from another user or an exchange. The adage is, “Not your keys, not your coins.” This may seem highly technical, and it is, but anyone can take part in it and its value isn't left up to mere whims or political pledges.

Bitcoin in Action: The Case of El Salvador

Fifth, we need to have a practical example of how Bitcoin can be revolutionary. Enter, El Salvador and its president, Nayib Bukele. Tall, dark, and handsome with high energy, President Bukele has turned his nation from the murder capital of the world into a peaceful tourist attraction within a few years. How has this knight in shining armor accomplished what American cities are yearning for? Return to the phrase, “Fix the money, fix the world.”

In mid-2019, the start of Bukele’s time in office, El Salvador was run by murderous gangs and had worthless money. While some may argue with Bukele’s methods, the results are undeniable. Bukele incentivized his people to get on the Bitcoin standard and used Bitcoin instead of dollars to back his treasury. The new stability El Salvador found financially helped the all-out war they needed to wage on the gangs. After successfully imprisoning thousands of active gang members, El Salvador emerged true to its name as “the savior.” It demonstrated that with a valid currency backed by a trustless system, ending poverty and gang violence is rapidly within reach. Bitcoin now exceeds the value of silver, and some have theorized that the government that uses its currency to primarily buy and store Bitcoin will attain world leadership.

Closing Thoughts

"Fix the money, fix the world." This phrase captures the transformative potential of Bitcoin.

Fixing this world matters to women. It matters that we can afford to live without excessive inflation and have a quality standard of living. It matters for our femininity that we can live without the financial fear of the last few years. It’s now harder than ever to buy a home, get married, and have children because fiat has failed us. A reliable currency saves time and effort. Think of the simplicity of living in a world where you didn’t have to store whatever savings you made in uncertain stocks, bonds, and real estate? A world where our paycheck could stay in its original form and not lose value. 

Bitcoin is not some “get rich quick” plan or commodity to be tossed about in a pyramid scheme. With Bitcoin, you exchange your time and effort for a currency that holds its own value, so you don’t have to play risky games trying to retain a piece of what you have labored for. 

Finally, it matters to us as women that our husbands and children not be sent as a needless sacrifice for another fiat war. While Bitcoin is not perfect, it’s likely a superior option to what we’re currently using. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain with our financial Knight in Shining Armor.