Money Always Comes from Subjective Value, and That's the Real Magic of BCH

TL;DR - Money comes from thin air. From crypto to Federal Reserve notes it's all made up in the minds of humans. That's scary, and that's magic. The difference between sound money and imposter garbage, however, is that sound money is based on sound economic principle, and individual freedom.

Which Is Worth More – A Glass of Water Or a PS5?

Money is a human creation. But it's founded on a deep, immutable reality: people value things. Subjectively. Just ask the guy who is lost in the desert whether he wants a new PS5 or a glass of cold water. I guarantee he will pay whatever he has for a sip of that cool, clear liquid. Further, he'll gladly leave the game console (which took many more hours and effort and materials to make than the glass of water) behind, roasting there in the desert sun, in the interest of getting back home to safety.

All Money Is Backed by Something, Even Fiat

I find it funny when crypto enthusiasts boldly claim that fiat money "isn't backed by anything." Quite the contrary. All money is backed by subjective valuations. In the case of fiat, it is backed by two very powerful forces:

1. a violent threat prohibiting use of other, unapproved money (people generally value self-preservation), and

2. a mass belief that fiat paper and coins have value.

Indeed, if I take my Japanese paper yen and coins to the store right now, I can buy things. I cannot do this with cowry shells, as one used to be able in times past. If, however, everyone in Japan adopted the belief that cowries are money again and used them in trade – with the government dropping the enforcement of the yen's perceived authority – all my paper coins and bills would become tantamount to scraps of garbage and bits of virtually worthless metal.

Interestingly, a linguistic artifact of this historical valuation in ancient times remains in the Chinese and Japanese languages today. The word for "buy," utilizes the character meaning "shell." English isn't left out, either. We've all had to shell out too many clams for a subpar product at one time or another.

BCH: Digital Cowry Shells of the Future

Why did bitcoin come about? Well, people simply started valuing a currency that didn't require a trusted third party – one that wasn't inflationary and used to finance endless war or irresponsible government spending on bailouts for criminal corporations and banks. The subjectively valued reasons are myriad, but the objective effects are now undeniable. Bitcoin undeniably has purchasing power, where before it was just an idea.

Like the cowries in their context of times past, bitcoin (bitcoin cash) is limited in supply, highly fungible, and extremely easy to carry and spend. BCH is enjoying higher and higher saleability in diverse markets as evidenced by transactions recently surpassing those on the BTC network, and high rates of onboarding and adoption by merchants and consumers across the globe.

But Isn't Subjective Value Too Unpredictable?

Subjective value is all there is, and to deny this reality always means inflicting untold damage on markets, and the humans that depend on them.

Arbitrary valuations enforced by violence and coercion are what result in economic collapse and immense human suffering and death. See, for example, attempts to artificially set market prices and supplies of goods historically in countries like China, the former Soviet Union, and Cambodia. Individuals' wants and needs are too varied and complex for any one individual, entity, or group to successfully 'run' the economy.

Even in so-called free and capitalist countries like Japan and the US, value is too often artificially determined and the free market not allowed to function. Try to do your own thing, and the alphabet agencies might be knocking at your door, heavily armed.

In other words, subjective valuation must be given free reign in non-violence for any market or money to be maximally successful. The good news is that everyday people – for all their limitless and varying wants, desires and needs – generally act in logical, peaceful, self-interested ways. The same cannot be said for governments which by way of mass brainwash, have convinced billions that money can be printed endlessly and still retain its value against scarce resources, or that constant wars and violence are necessary, with extortion (taxation) being moral. This brainwash has effectively insulated the state from any and all accountability.

The real magic of BCH, then, is that it is designed to be a free people's money. To the extent individuals use it, they wake up in greater degree to the nature of sound money, shedding the statist programming through practical experience. To the extent these folks wake up, conversely, they will also wish to use this sound money in lieu of non-functional and violent, fiat counterfeit.

So there it is. Sound money from 'thin air,' for a purpose. This is the awe-inspiring power of the subjective value of an idea.

~GS