First Discussion with Family on Cryptocurrencies

I wanted to ensure that I keep the routine of posting daily despite the commitments that one has this time of year. Balance is always the key and spending time with family is always a great way to gain perspectives of the environment around us. This year I have seen an interesting dynamic of family members doing much better for themselves while continuing with their undisciplined practices. It continues to be a consumer driven economy as those take any increases in wages they get or costs they reduce to continue to consume and live beyond their means.

Whereas I have started to curtail my spending to prepare for changes to come, many continue to live the moment and pursue the pursuit of material happiness while getting deeper into a financial challenge. I have started to discuss with many family members these ideas of the importance of being prepared for the next financial crisis which led me to an interesting discussion of cryptocurrencies that I have yet to have with many of them as I am more of an introvert and have little drive to discuss opinions openly even with family members.

While avoiding the political aspects of the discussion, I explained in summary of how the United States and many other developed countries got out of the financial crisis by essentially printing more money. They then asked how we are not seeing the same impact that countries like Argentina and Venezuela see in their currencies. I explained how the US Dollar is the world reserve currency and is used for international commerce which is what maintains the demand and value of the currency despite the trillions being issued. However, given the amount of debt being issued to support the economy and its production like lower taxes, there will be a breaking point. If you add the fact that interest rates need to increase given the need to maintain the incentive to hold the debt, they fiscal balance is becoming highly dependent on the performance of the economy and its participants.

That led to a discussion of how to store value and precious metals. Most have always heard of the history of gold and how it retains its value. The importance was how it can help in hold its value. However, it quickly led to discussion of how powerful organizational have become to control these assets and even the possibilities of confiscating assets. I have them my recent example of the tax authorities embargoing my bank accounts without notice or warning. This is when cryptocurrencies finally came into the discussion.

I did not intend to get into the technical aspect of blockchain with them so I simply did an experiment. I ask one of them to download the Abra app for their mobile phone. After explaining the security measures needed, I scanned the WR code and sent them $5 worth of Litecoin. The transaction confirmed in less than 5 minutes with less than $0.01 in fees. They quickly said that their bank’s cash apps could do the same or PayPal could as well. I challenged them to do the same and no two people could do the same without first either setting up accounts or verifying identification and/or account information. The one that did in a similar time had the same bank but we did not know if the money was available immediately to spend. I then asked which of all the alternatives kept others away from your funds... The banks can close your account and freeze funds, PayPal the same but nobody can do it for a cryptocurrency wallet that is controlled by you with private keys!

Minds were blown despite skeptism remaining... Why? Questions related to where cryptocurrencies are accepted as payment or how to secure value as unfortunately the $5 I sent turned to $4.89 in a couple of minutes. The fact was that the same culture that has led most of us to the consumerist society we are also have a control to how we think of money. However, I was happy to have the discussion as it allowed me to feel comfortable with my thought regarding why I have assets in cryptocurrencies and why I want more of it there. It also showed me that I need to get a better “elevator pitch” when discussing this so I have already started putting together some talking points when these opportunities arise.

The family has typically looked to me for knowledge in these aspects. I have helped members through bankruptcies, home purchases, credit consolidations, 401(k) alllocations, among many others. I hope they will remember this discussion as crypto becomes more mainstream and eventually a part of our daily lives. The next time around, I will bring them all free Steem accounts I have claimed with some SP delegation to get them all into the ecosystem! Looking forward to the Holiday Season this year and the exciting time it is to be alive!

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