The primeval attacks on Tesla are protectionist at best, no surprises that those under threat should retaliate, that they have done so openly and with violence is worrisome. Luddites rarely win, so this will be painful for all and ultimately wasteful. So it is with Chokepoint 2.0, the fight to prevent digital assets and payment systems disrupting the bloated and antiquated banking system. It too will fail. Darwinism isn’t something abstract pertaining to living organisms, it applies to systems and technology. It would also be wonderful if it applied to political systems more, so that as societies build more efficient and prosperous political systems they could be copied and iterated on. It just doesn’t happen fast enough, because the best are bottom up, and those are slow by nature compared to top down diktats. Tesla, Bitcoin, Argentina offer hope to those who embrace change with all the risks that fear that change brings, it would be so good if education could include embracing this concept.

Is it enough for Bitcoin to be a digital work of art, a collectible with scarcity value, or does it need to actively compete as a currency? At the moment the Bitcoin bulls are unwavering, ‘it’s the hardest money’ and it’s hard to disagree with this notion. Transactions are reasonably quick, they are full settlement too, not just a promise, and the decentralised nature of the network means successful attacks are improbable. However, for most people payments are already pretty fast and easy and being eroded by inflation is only a problem for wealthy savers (of which there are far fewer) because for most the priorities are securing food, shelter, healthcare, education, security, and in the daily, weekly, monthly quest for these a government enforced tax of say 5% is of little consequence. Also Bitcoin’s price is hugely volatile, making it hard to use for business purposes. What to do Bitcoin? Perhaps it is simply the case that early users have to suffer volatility and ridicule and keep building the network of users to a tipping point. Can you envisage paying bills regularly in BTC and not worrying about the price to fiat, whether your merchant will accept or not, and your accountant can cope? We shall see, in my view the future is far from certain, hence the low price and network value, or alternatively the huge speculative run up which will collapse gradually then suddenly.