Binance.com heading for Malta, Knights Templar (and weed!!!).
The Knights Templar allegedly created a kind of "proto-crypto currency" of their time using "cryptography based-ciphers" to create what would be early credit based-banking notes.
Collage by @friendly-fenix and Image sources: pixa bay(Malta)
Basically a pilgrim who would deposit gold coins in one templar castle would obtain a "crypto-letter of credit", then later use this "crypto-letter" to "cash out" the gold coins in one of the other templar castles, ensuring the pilgrim some safety from robbers and such on their pilgrimage.
The Templars did not have any transaction-fees, but if you died they would keep the gold, many pilgrims died on their way to or back from Jerusalem so it was a very profitable business model.
So what does this have to do with Binance.com?
Binance.com is heading for Malta a tiny mediterranean island/country located in between North Africa and Europe, during the medieval-times the island of Malta was known as a stronghold for the christian knights like the "Order of Saint John", a place where they could conduct their affairs and maybe a bit of a "safe haven" for crusaders on their way to or back from "The Holy Land".
Eventually the Templars new independent credit system "disrupted" the monetary system at the time to the degree that they finally got arrested by the king of France, (King Philip IV), on Friday, October 13, 1307.
The headquarters of the Templars in Paris was brutally ambushed and many of the leading Templars where rounded up tortoured and then burnt alive on what seams to be fabricated heresy charges...
Two Templar chess players Image source wikipedia
Not all of the Templars where killed or arrested and what actually happened to the order after Friday the 13th is still a matter of speculation... There are many conspiracy theories concerning this matter, like in Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" where the Templars have gone underground, guarding the "Holy Grail" or the TV-Show "The Curse of Oak Island" where they theorize about the Templars going to Pre-Columbian America to hide all their treasure on Oak Island, Nova Scotia.
We do know that some of the surviving Templars joined the Knights of Malta/Hospitalliers.
Anyway, it looks like Binance.com is going to partner up with a bank on Malta and offer a fiat-gateway, this is something quite extraordinary and if this happens it might take us one step closer to mass-adoption of crypto-currencies.
So I am wondering will history repeat itself?
Is Binance.com "in over their heads", will E.U. round them up on "friday the thirteenth" and hit them with a bunch of regulations?
Or will Binance.com live happily ever after on Malta?
Joseph Muscat, the Maltese prime minister Twittered (march 23, 2018):
Welcome to #Malta 🇲🇹 @binance.
We aim to be the global trailblazers in the regulation of blockchain-based businesses and the jurisdiction of quality and choice for world class fintech companies
-JM” Source
So what does this have to do with weed?
Info & Image Source (Aaron Farrugia @twitter)
Well, nothing really I think? But when I checked Joseph Muscat's twitter I read that Malta just decided to legalize medical marijuana, making it one of the most progressive European countries in these matters.
Malta
For people who don't know much about Malta, it is a very nice place to visit, it is also located south of Italy so the climate is a bit warmer then in the rest of Europe even during the winter, the water is crystal clear which makes it a great spot for diving, especially "wreck diving" because of all of the ship-wrecks left over from the second world war.
Place: Malta Image source: Pixa Bay
Malta used to belong to the British-empire, so everybody in Malta speaks perfect English and it is a part of the E.U. and the Eurozone since 2004. The people of Malta are generally friendly and hospitable, and there are many good looking people laying out in the sun all year around on the rocky beaches, but high season for tourism is during late spring and summer.
Please let me know what you guys think in the comments!?
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-edit-
I am not a historian, basically I am just trying to write an entertaining analogy, so expert historians please forgive my crudeness and feel free to give me feedback in the comments. Also I realized that I might have used the term Templar a bit too widely, "monastic knights" might be more correct in some cases. I also realized that some racist groups use the Templar flag and I just wanted to underline that I am not affiliated with any of these groups or ideas.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Knights_Templar
Very good article and really thrilling analogy with the Knights Templar.
I am concerned by the disruptive power of crypto on existing social and political constructs (see Blockchain and the End of the Western Civilization if you haven't read it already) and, prior to that, on the profound impact crypto will have on money creation and the power that it confers (see Blockchain revolution: Money and Credit if you haven't yet).
Note here that when Estonia appeared too enthusiastic about crypto, Mario Draghi immediatly reminded them that their official currency is the Euro (which he happens to have the privilege to mint ...).
Unlike Estonia, which has impeccable credentials, Malta is seen a bit as one of the "black sheep" ("brebis galeuse") of the EU - it is well known that corruption is pervasive at many levels and the State is not far from being captured by violent clans, witness the recent assassination of an investigate journalist, Daphne Caruana Galizia, an act that stirs bad memories of the dark days of the Red Brigades and few thought was still possible in today's European Union.
So if I were Binance, I would have steered clear of Malta (and Cyprus, for similar reasons) and strived to find a more reputable place to land.
On a different note, I followed and became a fan (using steemauto), so steemauto will from now on automatically give an upvote to your posts on my behalf ! How cool is that ? Keep it up !
Thanks for the long and interesting comment @sorin.cristescu, the article above was a bit hard to spin in the right way because the history of the crusades and the templars is quite complicated, so I am very glad you enjoyed it. I also read about the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, and it is tragic, and I am guessing the politicians and journalist or just anyone living on Malta might be an easy target for intimidation and attacks since the place is so small.
But I have also seen Chinese doing business in places in the third-world where other "countries" are afraid to operate, from what I have seen the Chinese are quite strict and smart and they have systems for operating in "high-risk countries".
But god knows what might happen, also I am not too familiar with the team behind Binance.
It will be very interesting to see how this plays out, maybe I am naive but I choose to remain optimistic.
Thanks for putting me on "steemauto", I will look into that application.
Cheers!
/FF
It's Not Whether You Get Knocked Down, It's Whether You Get Up
You make a valid point @cryptoindex!
=)
Although my upvote is small I am happy to share it with you.
Thank you @unitics, your upvote is extremely appreciated!
Cheers!
/FF
Thank you for your support. Upvoted.
I appreciate the education on the Knights Templar
Well @outwalking, take everything that you read about the Templars with a grain of salt, their history is something of a mystery... But quite interesting for sure... Thanks a lot for the comment!
I read that they stashed the Ark of the Covenant somewhere possibly in Ethiopia or at the Rosicrucian church. I think I got that from reading that Dan Brown novel.
The Lost Ark!
I heard there are several "arks" in Ethiopia, I think almost every coptic/christian underground church there has one, (like decoys or something like that), but one of them might be real?! (this is what I heard, might or might not be true).
I saw some "documentary" on youtube about how there was this one church down there that was always heavily guarded, and these guards got sick from radiation poisoning...
Highly suspicious, almost worth digging into and writing about...
I love these things, wanted to be Indiana Jones when I was a kid.
image source:wikipedia Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion
I like the way you wrote this post and the title and everything. good job.
Thanks @chickenburger!
I changed the title a little bit, and also the article, but the analogy stayed intact, (I read up on Templar history and realized it was a a TINY bit more complicated then I first assumed). Also their history is shrouded in mystery and what you hear or read (here and there) might or might not be true, "the Da Vinci Code" and "History Channel" are not good source material that is for sure, he he. Anyway thanks for the kind comment @chickenburger!
yes I gathered you must have a done some research but you have good imagination to put it all together. seems to have paid off too. congrats.
Thanks @chickenburger, I am going to try to keep it interesting, I guess imagination is one of my stronger abilities. See you around my friend!
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Thanks Larry!
Very nice posting and photo brother..
Thanks, nice to have you here @raumuscom
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