Bitcoin’s Revolution in Africa, Banking Crisis, & The Women Raped by Peacekeepers
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” The same timeline applies to buying bitcoin.
***Pacific Bitcoin Conference is taking place on October 5th & 6th in Santa Monica, California. It’ll be a festival celebrating Bitcoin, the lifestyle, & the community that is working to build a Bitcoin future. Head over to Pacific Bitcoin and use code AYE20 on checkout to get 20% off your ticket here.
(And if you do, please let me know. Would love to know who else is going!)
Photo credit: James Wiseman
Good morning, friends!
It’s been awhile since I’ve written to you. I’ve been spending the last few weeks in mental silence, thinking about the vision of the newsletter and podcast, recording episodes, and figuring out how I can focus on significance over achievement. Until that is further hashed out, I will share a few pieces of content I’ve been noodling on in the hopes you too will appreciate them.
Quote.
Robert A. Caro is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist described as "the most influential biographer of the last century.” He writes:
“Really, my books are an examination of what power does to people. Power doesn’t always corrupt, and you can see it in the case of, for example, Al Smith or Sam Rayburn. There, power cleanses.”
“But what power always does is reveal, because when you’re climbing, you have to conceal from people what it is you’re really willing to do, what it is you want to do. But once you get enough power, once you’re there, where you wanted to be, then you can see what the protagonist wanted to do all along, because now he’s doing it.”
READ.
Bitcoin is Poised to Blow Up Africa’s $86 Billion Banking System.
In countries where a majority of their population are unbanked, or where their currencies are highly inflated and cannot act as a safe store of value, or where remittances make up a significant portion of GDP, or where international sanctions plague their economies, bitcoin can be a lifeline.
In this article, you’ll get a glimpse into how expensive and difficult it is to move money around Africa, how part of that problem is due to a “colonialist payment framework” (“roughly 80% of cross-border payments originating from African banks are processed offshore, mostly in the U.S. or Europe.”), and the benefits of sending cash with the Lightning Network.
Bitcoin may just help uplift Africans from financial oppression.
Sarah Said She was Raped by Peacekeepers. The U.N. Offered Her $50.
At 17 years old, Sarah was raped by a United Nations (U.N) peacekeeper and got pregnant. When the peacekeeper heard the news, he disappeared without a trace. Years later, she was raped by a second peacekeeper. Again, she got pregnant. This time with twins.
The U.N. peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (known as MONUSCO) is meant to disband the militias and bring stability to the country. With an annual budget of over $1 billion and 14,000 soldiers employed from member states, MONUSCO has instead become notorious for abusing people they were meant to protect. Like Sarah.
In this piece, you’ll dive into the world of women raped by peacekeepers in Congo, the unwillingness of the United Nations to listen and provide support to victims (though they claim to), and how often times rapists face little to no repercussions because:
“Legal consequences, if they come, have to be initiated by the soldier’s own government. Yet countries that provide troops rarely do this; the victims are not their own citizens, so they face little pressure to do much.”
Meanwhile, victims are “portrayed as opportunities and profiteers,” isolated, and rejected from their communities.
WATCH.
How To Make Money In A Recession | Codie Sanchez.
Codie Sanchez is an entrepreneur with a portfolio of ~20 “boring businesses” (think: laundromats, car washes, etc.) which do about $50 million in revenue. When asked “are we headed to a recession?” this is what she had to say:
“Here’s the truth. Nobody knows… And I actually think it’s also the wrong question. The right question is actually this: Are you prepared for a moment in history in which things go on sale to a level that they’ve never been on sale during the time you had cash? That’s the right question. Are you ready?”
“Do I have the knowledge I need to put whatever money, skills and unfair advantages I have to work because at some point shit will go on sale and will I actually be able to capitalize on it? That’s the right question.”
In this interview with Anthony Pompliano (“Pomp”), she talks about the hidden opportunities available when you invest in boring businesses, her love for business deals, how she operates multiple businesses, and the questions we must all be asking ourselves during tough economic times.
Lyn Alden: Is This Another Global Financial Crisis? Credit Market Turmoil, Bailouts & Bitcoin Rally.
Where do I even start? Basically, the banking system is artificial and there’s a solvency hole in it and it’s all one giant bailout and we’re all desperately trying to get our masters in “how banks work.” Will banking catastrophes be the norm of societies moving forward? Possibly.
I could not do justice explaining what’s going on with the banking crisis at the moment (as I’m still wrapping my head around all this). So, I’m going to let journalist Natalie Brunell and finance/investment guru, Lyn Alden, do all the talking.
In this video, you’ll learn from Lyn what happened with Silicon Valley Bank, what regulators are doing/not doing, unrealized losses on balance sheets, government intervention and so much more.
What can we do in the meantime? You could consider investing in an asset that was created out of the ashes of the last banking catastrophe: bitcoin. With bitcoin, you are your own bank through self-custody.
To learn more about bitcoin, check out these articles.
Resources to get you started with Bitcoin:
*Thanks Der Gigi for these tips!
On that note, here’s a letter by software engineer and bitcoiner, Der Gigi, dedicated to non-bitcoiners, called “Dear Family, Dear Friends, A letter to all of you who still have no bitcoin.”
“Thanks to more and more reckless monetary interventions by the Fed and similar institutions, even the mainstream narrative is beginning to shift. Bitcoin is not a synonym for criminality and darknet money anymore. Today, it is more and more becoming a synonym for sound money, a hedge against the current system, a vote for freedom, a different paradigm.
Oh, and before I forget! Last week I went to a bitcoin meetup featuring none other than the brilliant entrepreneur, investor, author, and bitcoiner, Preston Pysh (skip to min: 25 to avoid technical issues).
That’s it for now, friends. Don’t let algorithms run your life. Breathe in the glorious fresh air and move your bodies.
Con cariño,
— Ayelen xx
Great article Ayelen!