GM Bitcoiners,
What do Ye (formally Kanye West), Andrew Tate, and a bunch of truckers from Canada have in common?
They’ve all been ‘cancelled’ over the past year for varying levels of controversy.
But being cancelled isn’t just social deletion anymore; it’s cancellation from the mainstream monetary network.
Not having access to your YouTube account is an inconvenience… not having access to your bank account and money is something else entirely.
We don’t need likes. We do need food.
Companies reacting to social sentiment and dropping sponsorships isn’t new and can be justified, especially when you’re backing a controversial person. Still, it’s only recently that the financial rails are joining in publicly. There’s a big difference between sources of income cancelling you vs the financial infrastructure you rely on to receive and spend money.
“I put $140 million into JPMorgan and they treated me like sh*t.” – Ye
Kanye West says “I put $140 million into JPMorgan and they treated me like shit.” pic.twitter.com/m6B1Qx8enH
— Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) October 16, 2022
Using the monetary system to target countries isn’t new; sanctions have been around for a while.
But for the average controversial celeb or protestor?
For individual citizens of your own country?
I’m sure Ye and Andrew will be ok, but the truckers and supporters? I’m unsure if their bank accounts have been reinstated.
But they won’t come after you if you don’t say crazy stuff and don’t support certain protests, right?
Those working in Bitcoin have experienced just how hard it is to operate without mainstream financial rails. Many banks still have a bias against Bitcoin. It’s changing, but many have had to change banks simply for buying Bitcoin.
Thankfully, Bitcoin is fixing this, but we’re still building that bridge.
I fear that using this financial weapon will become a common trend. Even if you have a sparkling social credit score, you might need to be careful 😉
On the plus side, these edge cases result in more energy invested in alternative systems.
P.S. Imagine how the landscape will look with CBDCs involved?
