I wanted to wish my fellow Steemians a very Merry Christmas and reflect on the year gone by and my hopes and expectations as we go forward.

We have created a great community here. There are a vast array of talents and though we may have different points of view we have shown how we can come together and work towards a greater goal.

Many of us are here at least in part because we are hoping for a more fair and equitable world.

A world where everyone has an equal chance and is not forced to hand over their meagre earnings at gun point by the very government which is supposed to protect their interests.

I think that world is coming.

We have seen much turmoil this year, whether it is in the crises in Venezuela, the restrictions on cash in India, a variety of wars around the world (e.g. Syria) - the common denominator in all of this is that ordinary people are paying the price for the profligacy, war mongering and sociopathic ways of our rulers.

Though this has caused much suffering we should not despair.

In the next year we will see the continued advancement of cryptocurrencies. We have already seen Bitcoin taking up the place that was previously held by the dollar in places like Venezuela.

In India Bitcoin is in such great demand that it is usually sold at a premium of as much as 20% compared to the rest of the world.

I think it is only a matter of time before we see this demand spill across into Steem.

This is the time of year when we think about families and one of the biggest use cases of Steem/SBD could be in foreign remittances - the market was worth $583 billion dollars in 2014.

Steem has the advantage of zero transaction fees something that even bitcoin doesn't have so as we move forwards I think this will be another big source of momentum for us in the coming years.

By virtue of being here on Steemit we are part of a new fairer way of doing things.

It is part of giving back people control of their destinies whether it be via control of their finances or in their ability to express their voices and opinions freely and without censorship.

I also think it could herald in a new lower cost way of giving money to charities and good causes - as with many things the blockchain can remove or reduce extraneous costs and middlemen.

Perhaps even government and state control itself could be made more efficient and less tyrannical through the use of blockchains.

I am not pretending that times will not be tough in the following year but I think part of the Christmas message is one of hope and togetherness.

We should be thankful for what we have and where we see that others are struggling we should try to help.

Whilst you are celebrating the holidays with your families please keep in mind those that are less fortunate and help out those in your local community that may need it. Check on that elderly neighbour, invite that lonely soul to lunch or dinner.

It will not only enrich their lives but your's too.

To finish I would like to say that I am so happy to be part of the Steemit family and once again wish my fellow Steemians a very Merry Christmas!

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Thank you for reading.

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If you like my work please follow me and check out my blog - @thecryptofiend

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