We are in an EXTREMELY vulnerable position.

I wish that my posts warning about our risky situations weren't brushed into the background but perhaps I'll touch a few people.

Can anyone on this site actually see what's going on in the present moment?

No, not where Bitcoin will be in December, or the most profitable short-term trades, or the newest decentralized platforms. I want you to ask me what's going on with all of this technological progress right now in the world, and I'll answer to you my observations.

You: Oh dear Atherz! Tell me what's wrong with the world this time!

Atherz: Okay.

1. Bitcoin still hasn't made a move out of it's trading range.

It's correlated with the stock market slightly, and stocks are getting destroyed over there -- Big tech, banking, real estate... I think people are extremely optimistic about Bitcoin, yet meanwhile investing is not only becoming more popular, it's also becoming FAR more risky.

We here good news story after good news story, which looks like a more desperate attempt to keep investors in the space, yet the volume on Bitcoin and the while crypto space right now is awful. I actually see a bit of a curving downwards in the Bitcoin price (in terms of gold). Smarter investors are out of the market waiting for Bitcoin to choose a direction. HODLers are of course, in, and see it going upwards because of the news stories.

"MASS ADOPTION IMMINENT. CENTRAL BANKS WILL FALL -- even though we ROOT for Visa and Mastercard to accept Bitcoin and for government regulation KYC/AML and Google's Coinbase."

2. This whole crypto thing is sketchy.

I'm talking about the entire thing. Bitcoin, Litecoin (from Charlie I-Sold-At-The-Top Lee), and USD Tether.

So we have Stable coins now -- FDIC-insured, USD backed coins. Here's the thing, though: The government is so bankrupt, that FDIC may not be as reliable of a gauge. If the banking system collapses, who's going to be able to convert TrueUSD into cash? And if they could (along with the rest of the people running on the banks), how reliable will the value of the dollar be? You could very well have a large amount of TrueUSD, and without the link to your bank account, merchants won't be able to accept it. No merchant accepts TrueUSD, or the more popular USD Tether.

In a massive deflation (stocks, bonds, real estate, cryptos all crashing), people will run to the banks for their cash, while the banks implode from loans gone bad. What's TrueUSD going to do, or even Bitcoin, whose value is basically unknown? Poof into midair?

3. The power of blockchain technology grants us the ability to make money through use of digital technology.

This solves the problem of having centralized entities use the traditional system, and places everyone on an equal field on the platform. This is great for making income on the side, or even full time.

But here's where we pause. What if it's your only source of income?

In a major recession and debt collapse, businesses will shut down and unemployment will skyrocket. We already see how horrific it is to make a tangible amount of money on Steemit. It takes weeks of posting just to be able to buy a Pop Tart, for crying out loud.

So think about what could happen -- automation takes the labor, all of the currency is digital, and you need a device in order to expose yourself to the economy.

It's great that you can get paid to watch videos on BitTube, but how many videos do you need to watch in order to have a meal?

It's great to stake your coins and make compound interest, but what does that do to the price of the digital asset, especially for those just coming into the platform?

How many STEEM will you need to buy land? Or to get the gas to drive 60 miles?

In a world with no fiat currency, there is Real, and then there is Digital.

You need to absorb this.

There will be real assets such as food, clothing, gold, land, and then there will be the DIGITAL REALITY, which will provide access to those assets (that you need to live). These machines will rule us.

And I can hear some of you right now -- Atherz, stop being such a consp- No, don't say it, because look around you.

We need the internet to talk to people, to order products, to transact, to apply for jobs, to handle our schooling, to learn and to be entertained. Some of us are on these devices all day, every day, and yet our human nature is still intact. We are being traced at all times, already. Google knows when you're walking, driving, and Amazon can hear your conversations. They know you more than you know yourselves.

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People ignore this shit and it really gets to me. "Oh, by using our phones and working and paying taxes, we fuel the beast that will utterly enslave us?" -uses phone, works, pays taxes-

And it's so bad that people think you're literally crazy for extrapolating this outward. We actually think cryptos will "free mankind."

I really wish this could've gone differently -- had we always been on a gold standard, we could've gradually worked up towards unlocking this technology for the right reasons, breeding a powerful species not dumbed down by public education and media, powerful men not held financially hostage by their women, and a constitution that was never sold out and ruled irrelevant.

I wish things could've been different -- integrating with nature instead of claiming power over it, loving one another instead of being in perpetual survival mode with the money chase. Realizing that these gadgets are slowly ruining everything we built up towards, a change so slow that we simply go along with it thinking that humanity is becoming more advanced.

Because of the wealth inequality, the information overload, and the constant attacks on our health, most of us won't enjoy the benefits of a hi-tech future. No flying cars, no holographic touch screens, no instant healing. We are in such a bad position right now that they could literally turn off the crypto markets, and all of the wealth hidden in asset values would vanish.

Bitcoin is NOT invincible from this debt collapse. However Bitcoin may be the only option left for most -- slavery to technology.

So go ahead. Work, go to school, use your phones to spread information. But until we see some real action outside of this DIGITAL REALITY, the course will be maintained.