CRYPTOCURRENCY: ABOVE FIAT...

THE FIAT MENTALITY

There is no denying it, you know what I am talking about. You have it; I have it; we all have it. I am talking about the fiat mentality. It is simply reasoning in terms of fiat–dollars, pounds, or whatever local currency you use.

THE FIAT-TO-FIAT BIAS

When I started writing I had a couple of gigs. Most paid in my local currency and to be frank it wasn’t that attractive. I had friends who were earning in foreign currencies– $20-$50 dollars per article. It was a dream then to land such gigs. The amount (in dollars) did not seem like a lot but when converted to my local currency (then) it was quite significant. The point I am trying to make here is that the dollar did not matter as much as my local currency–naira. I would easily dump it for naira because it was of much value to me. I could use my naira to get groceries and the things I needed. So although the dollar was of much value–in price, it was used less (useless) to me.

In retrospect, what would have happened if I held the dollar back then. In 2014, a dollar was worth 150naira, today it is worth 570. More money you might think but if you consider inflation (which is eating through the Nigerian economy), a dollar in 2014 was of more value than now when converted to naira. I really cannot brag about being a millionaire in naira because it is not worth much if you are not in the eight figures bracket.

THE FIAT-CRYPTO BIAS

We all valuate our crypto in dollars (or our local currency). It is only money to us because we can equate it to fiat, and I find that to be problematic. It shows that the crypto industry isn’t where it should be–having an identity of its own. Cryptocurrency is still very much in the shadows of fiat. Irrespective of how we envision cryptocurrency it is still very much tied to the traditional system and we will only truly be decentralized when there is a decoupling of cryptocurrency from fiat.

What would that look like?

I envision walking into a store and paying for groceries in hive. When I say paying in hive I do not mean the dollar value of the product in hive. I mean paying for something valued in hive (or satsohi). This is a world I envision someday, where Bitcoin is the global currency; a world where goods and services are valued in sats. I do not know how feasible this is in the short or even the long run. If I am being honest I doubt if it is truly possible without any catastrophic event occurring. I do not believe the United State would relinquish its hold on the world without a fight.

THE CRYPTOCURRENCY MENTALITY

I do not think we are capable of thinking in terms of cryptocurrency solely. We are a product of the traditional financial system and we are conditioned to think and play by the rules of this system, consciously or unconsciously. Maybe the next generation of crypto enthusiasts can adopt this mindset–the crypto mindset. It seems more plausible in their lifetime.

Some centralized crypto exchanges have created payment systems that allow people to use their crypto to make purchases (even though they are still valued in fiat). Although I am not happy that centralized entities are championing this course, I think it is a step in the right direction. The less we interact with the traditional systems and fiat the better for us as crypto enthusiasts. Maybe through these innovations, we can help reconfigure our minds to think in crypto rather than fiat.

USE THE DAMN THING!

I am not so pro-hodling (I think most people know this by now). Crypto for me isn’t a speculative asset. I use it every day to pay for groceries, pay rent, play games, e.t.c Maybe not as direct as I would want to but it is a step in the right direction.

I am in support of anything that gets people to use their cryptocurrency for things other than speculation. Fiat is of value because we can use it. In our everyday life, we interact and exchange currency–fiat. It is not a dream or hope but our reality. This level of tangibility is what the crypto sphere is lacking but we are not so far off.

Today I can pay for some services in crypto. In fact, asides from writing to earn crypto (which is a practical use case), I also render services where I am paid in crypto (hive, pob, etc). So I am exchanging labour for crypto. It is not the same as mining. To the average joe mining crypto with fancy machines is just printing money out of thin air (which is not exclusive to crypto alone). People want to earn their crypto the same way they earn their fiat. The average joe doesn’t buy fiat, that’s absurd to them. These nuances contribute to the emotional and mental connections people have with fiat and we need to create avenues where people can have such connections with their cryptocurrencies.

I am grateful for platforms like hive (leofinance, proof-of-brain, splinterlands, etc) where people earn their crypto doing things they love. It is such an underrated endeavour that will have a huge impact on the way people see cryptocurrency. It takes some level of foresight to understand the importance of such platforms. Right now the crypto sphere isn’t moving in this direction but sooner or later it will and then we will see true adoption.

Thanks for reading. If you did like this post, a reblog/like/comment will be appreciated. Cheers!

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