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@beastion 28 July 2021

Pushing Back The Little Devil Inside My Head https://pixabay.com/illustrations/angel-devil-gut-evil-sky-contrary-1939761/ **Signs of Recovery** The cryptocurrency market seemed to be showing signs of recovery after the rumor that Amazon might start accepting cryptocurrency spreads which pushes the price of Bitcoin to $40k for a short while. Of course the price quickly went down after Amazon denied said rumor, but again, only for a short while. https://news.bitcoin.com/jeff-bezos-amazon-accept-bitcoin-popular-cryptocurrencies/ Currently, Bitcoin is trading at $40k or more as of time of writing but is unsure if it’ll break through $40k which seemed to be the barrier that needed to be broken if the market is to enter another upward trend, or go down to $30k again. Not that I know which way it will go since I’m no analyst. Anyway, although the rumor only pushed Bitcoin to $40k at most, it still gave the cryptocurrency market a much needed boost. And considering that the market had been dry and stale for quite some time now, the current boost was like a cold rain in the middle of summer – refreshing and cool. Also, seeing the value of my favorite cryptocurrencies going up made me especially happy. I’m pretty certain that I’m not the only one though. After all we have all been waiting for something like this for some time now. It’s just that the boost in the market also has its side effects. For example... **Pushing Back The Little Devil** Seeing the cryptocurrency market doing quite well in the past few days made the little devil inside my head active once again. As such, in the past few days have been hearing a little voice at the back of my mind urging me to sell my cryptocurrencies at the current market price. Don’t misunderstand me though, I haven’t lost my mind yet, nor am I possessed (lol) by something. This should be the “voice” that many of us hear inside our head from time to time so I think it’s normal (I hope). So as previously mentioned, this “voice” or the little devil as some people would call it was urging me to sell my cryptocurrencies to earn a bit of profit as there was really no assurance that the current market trend would continue to go upward instead of downward. If not for the fact that I have been constantly reminding myself to be patient and not be blinded by greed, I would have sold my coins already. Thankfully, we have already seen the price of Bitcoin reaching as high as $64k this year so $40k isn’t so tempting anymore. That being said, many should be tempted to sell their cryptocurrency at the current market price. And if you’re one of those people I suggest pushing back the little devil for now. That is, of course, if you are not in desperate need of money. Why am I asking you all to be patient and hold onto your coins instead of selling it? Well, for starter, the market had only shown signs that it’s recovering and hadn’t really recovered yet. Moreover, the highest that Bitcoin had reached this year was $64k which means that selling your cryptocurrencies at the current market price would ensure that you'll suffer a loss. As such, if you can afford to, I suggest waiting for a little bit more. At least wait till the price of Bitcoin return to $64k or something in that range. Another reason why I’m suggesting that everyone should wait a little longer was because some analysts had predicted that Bitcoin could reach as high as $160k by the end of the year. That being said, it was just a prediction and like most predictions, it rarely comes true. https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-will-go-all-the-way-to-160-000-this-year-says-celsius-ceo But even of the price of Bitcoin didn’t reach the predicted price; it’s still highly possible that Bitcoin could recover to its previous all-time high before the end of the year. Moreover, in the cryptocurrency market, the more you wait, the higher the possible profit which mean that $160k is not really out of the question. It’s just that you might have to wait for a year or two before reaching that point. But by then though no one would say anything even if you listen to the little devil inside your head and sell your cryptocurrencies as your profit will justify the wait. **Having Patience and Self-Control Does Payoff** I think that the current boost in the market is proof that patience and self-control does payoff, and more often than not, only those who were impatient or those that lack self-control suffer loses in the cryptocurrency market. Of course, I’m not implying that patient people will always win if they're patient it’s just that they tend to win more than people that are impatient. Patience is a virtue after all while haste or impatience is not. I also think that if you know what you’re doing in the cryptocurrency market and coupled with the fact that you’re a patient person; there’s a high chance that you’ll get back, at barest minimum double that of your initial investment. But if the opposite is true and you lack patient then you’re more than likely to lose all of your money. I understand that it’s not easy to ignore the voice of the little devil inside your head but if you could, try to persevere as long as you are able to as the payoff will surely be worth the wait.   Thank you for reading. **** My other articles: https://read.cash/@beastion https://pixabay.com/vectors/divider-separator-line-art-owl-5228719/

@beastion 26 July 2021

Economic Freedom or Control: Cryptocurrency vs Government-Authorized Digital Currency https://pixabay.com/photos/cryptocurrency-concept-chess-3412233/ **Cryptocurrency vs Government-Authorized Digital Currency** Many of us had entered the cryptocurrency market because of the promise of economic freedom. And many of those that had chosen to stay believed that cryptocurrency had delivered on that promise. Indeed, the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, etc. allowed ordinary people like you and me to experience what true economic freedom is like. As a currency not under any government, cryptocurrency have none of the usual restrictions that fiat money has. For example, Bitcoin Cash knows no border and can be used outside one’s own country or region. Moreover, cryptocurrency is digital which mean that one could “carry” as much as one needed without having to worry of getting into trouble with the authorities by bringing too much cash when flying to other countries. But what truly set cryptocurrency apart from fiat money though was the fact that no government controls it which means that whatever happens to one’s country, cryptocurrency won’t be affected at all. These few examples alone were enough to show the superiority of cryptocurrency over fiat money which is one of the reasons why governments around the world are so eager to regulate the cryptocurrency market. This brings us to our next subject: Government-authorized digital currency. Digital currency like the Digital Dollar, Digital Euro, Digital Yuan, etc. is the government’s answer to the perceived “threat” of cryptocurrency. It is the government’s attempt to once again gain control over the populace’s ability to earn money and economic freedom given to us by cryptocurrency. Seeing the rising popularity of cryptocurrency, and the populace’s lack of confident in fiat money; the government must have figured out that the only way that they could compete and take back control is to fight cryptocurrency with their own “cryptocurrency” – digital currency versus digital currency. However, our government(s) has a lot of work to do as cryptocurrency have long established itself. After all cryptocurrency is ahead of government-authorized digital currency by more than a decade which is a very, very early head start. That being said, a decade head start had also given our government(s) the necessary tool to skip some process that cryptocurrency had to go through in order to reach its current height. Using this decade of data, digital currency like the Digital Dollar could establish itself a lot faster than cryptocurrency did. One could even say that government-authorized digital currency is standing on the shoulder(s) of a giant (cryptocurrency). But despite the advantage enjoyed by digital currency (thanks to more than a decade of data gathered by cryptocurrency), it still has a long way to go before matching the achievement accumulated by cryptocurrency. Moreover, while government-authorized digital currency is still trying to find its footing, cryptocurrency is scaling mountains after mountains on its way to mainstream adoption. https://pixabay.com/photos/businessman-tablet-control-city-3210932/ **Government-Authorized Digital Currency Is All About Control** The existence of cryptocurrency has always been a huge thorn on government regulators’ sides and over the years has been battling to put cryptocurrency under governments’ control. But thanks to the decentralized nature of cryptocurrency as well as the countless people who believed in it, our government(s) had seen very little success in their attempts. The most that our government(s) had accomplished over the years was to tax cryptocurrency and to force some regulations here and there but as a whole cryptocurrency remained relatively intact. Since our government(s) sees very little chance in putting cryptocurrency under their control, they could only try to push it out of mainstream use by introducing and promoting the use of government-authorized digital currency like the newly completed Digital Yuan. https://news.bitcoin.com/chinese-bank-employees-told-to-entice-300-customers-to-use-the-digital-yuan/ Our governments’ plan was to entice the populace to use their government-authorized digital currency instead of cryptocurrency like Bitcoin Cash. Once they succeed in enticing the public into using their digital currency, they could then start pushing cryptocurrency to obsolescence. If our government(s) succeed in their plan, we might see a scenario similar to that of fiat money where only government-issued currency are legal where other types of currency are illegal. Can you imagine a scene where every country have digital currencies of their own and people could only trade and transact with government-authorized digital currency because they succeeded in making cryptocurrency illegal or obsolete? I can, and I don’t like it… Of course pushing cryptocurrency to obsolescence was easily said than done. After all cryptocurrency’s decade of achievement could not easily be overcome by some newcomers. Having established itself in the hearts of countless people, cryptocurrency cannot easily be replaced. That being said, underestimating our government(s) is a huge taboo. If they (the government) stopped holding back, they’re more than capable of destroying cryptocurrency once and for all. The only reason they haven’t done so already was because they’re afraid of the economic impact that such a move would bring. Moreover, the number of people involved in cryptocurrency should not be underestimated either. The numbers of people supporting cryptocurrency are so great that our government(s) needed to weigh the pros and cons of moving against it, or face the people’s wrath. After all history had already proven that when the populaces are angry enough, and/or numerous enough, they could even bring down the government. But even if our government(s) were reluctant to use drastic measure against cryptocurrency, it doesn’t mean that they’re out of options. If drastic measures are not allowed, they could always resort to trickery and secret maneuvers. And it’s no secret that all politicians are good at trickery, after all one cannot survive in politics unless one knew a dirty trick or two. Therefore, we must not only guard against plots that are out in open but plots hidden from our views as well. And considering how obsessed our government(s) in their desire to control the cryptocurrency, or rather, the digital currency market, it’s only proper that we guard against the unexpected.  **Final Say** The threat of government-authorized digital currency will always be present. As digital currency supported by their respective government, it has a huge advantage that cryptocurrency do not have. Thankfully, cryptocurrency has a decade of head start which is a huge advantage. But just because we had such a huge lead that doesn’t mean that we should be complacent. No, in order to protect the lead that cryptocurrency currently have, we must always be vigilant against unexpected moves from our own government(s). It’s not an exaggeration when I say that cryptocurrency could only survive countless government regulatory onslaught because it has many supporters all over the world. Without supporters, cryptocurrency would have long ago been swallowed by our power-hungry government.   Thank you for reading.  **** My other articles: https://read.cash/@beastion https://pixabay.com/vectors/divider-separator-line-art-owl-5228719/

@beastion 24 July 2021

The Slump Can’t Stop the Growth and Mass Adoption of Bitcoin Cash and other Cryptocurrencies https://pixabay.com/photos/motivational-quote-try-and-stop-me-3403638/ **Introduction** The cryptocurrency market might be experiencing a slump in the past few months but it couldn’t stop the growth and mass adoption of Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies. Some would even say that the current bear market is allowing more people to join in on the fun. After all, the price of all cryptocurrencies is currently selling in a discount. And you know what people do when there’s a discount – buy, buy, and buy some more! Therefore, instead of feeling sorry for yourself because there are reds everywhere, just think of it as the cryptocurrency market rearing up for another explosive bull run. **Global Investment Bank Providing Access to Five Cryptocurrency Funds**  JPMorgan, a global investment bank just recently announced that they’re now providing their clients access to five cryptocurrency funds which include Bitcoin Cash Trust, Bitcoin Trust, Ethereum Trust, Ethereum Classic Trust, and Osprey Fund’s (OBTC) Bitcoin Trust. https://news.bitcoin.com/jpmorgan-begins-offering-5-cryptocurrency-funds/ The service started last July 19, and financial advisors from JPMorgan will now offer this service to their clients interested in investing into cryptocurrencies. What so good about this service though was the fact that every one of the global bank’s client can access this service and not just the wealthiest of clients. This might not seem much but the new service could bring more people into the cryptocurrency market. Moreover, as JPMorgan is a highly trusted brand, those that are currently sitting on the fence might finally make up their mind and invest in the market. Another interesting thing about the whole thing though was the fact that JPMorgan or rather, its CEO Jamie Dimon used to be a hardcore critic of cryptocurrency. But as cryptocurrency grew closer and closer to mass adoption, Dimon’s stance against cryptocurrency also grew softer over the years. Nowadays, one could even consider JPMorgan’s CEO as an avid supporter of cryptocurrencies. JPMorgan’s move in providing access to cryptocurrency services goes to show that even though the market is experiencing a long slump due to the actions of a certain government and certain people, most of us still have high expectations in the future of cryptocurrency and are willing to support it. https://pixabay.com/photos/mountaineer-climb-rock-climber-2100050/ **Cryptocurrency Could Still Become a Dominant Currency** The introduction of government-approved digital currencies like the Digital Yuan made some people think that cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, etc. lost the chance to become a dominant currency. But some high-profile financial world personalities like Interactive Brokers’ Chairman Thomas Peterffy think otherwise. Thomas Peterffy and other high-profile personas believed that it’s too early to say if cryptocurrency can or cannot become a dominant currency. In his opinion there’s still a chance that it could become a dominant currency in the future. *“Even I myself have put a little bit of money into crypto, because even though chances are, I think, that this is not going to be a viable market, I think that there’s a small chance that this will be a dominant currency, so you have to play the odds.” –* *Thomas Peterffy* https://news.bitcoin.com/billionaire-thomas-peterffy-invests-in-crypto-says-theres-chance-it-could-be-dominant-currency/ There might still be some hesitations in his words but the fact that he put some of his money into cryptocurrencies proved that he still see a future in it. Moreover, Thomas Peterffy’s company, Interactive Brokers is planning on opening cryptocurrency trading this coming summer because their clients are highly interested in cryptocurrency trading. Just like JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, Interactive Brokers’ Chairman Thomas Peterffy used to be a harsh critic of cryptocurrency. And like Dimon, he too, has seen the light and is now trying to explore the possibilities that cryptocurrency offered. Certainly, there’s still some skepticism left but I’m pretty certain that the day where he’ll fully embrace cryptocurrency will come. **Chinese Miners Has Yet to Give Up on Cryptocurrencies** There’s an ongoing crackdowns on cryptocurrencies in China after the introduction of the Digital Yuan which greatly affected the cryptocurrency market. Have you been wandering why the market is experiencing a long bear cycle? Well, wonder no more… the crackdown is one of the reasons. A few months back, the Chinese government had started cracking down on cryptocurrency mining in the country – forcing all foreign cryptocurrency miners to move to countries like Kazakhstan just to continue their operations. Unfortunately, majority of Chinese miners didn’t have the option to move to other countries and are forced to halt cryptocurrency mining operations completely or face the consequence of going against their own government.  One would think that cryptocurrency mining and trading would be over in China after this move by the Chinese government but we might have underestimated the bravery and determination of the Chinese. Yes, as the title suggest, Chinese miners has yet to give up on cryptocurrency as they are now currently looking for possible loopholes in the Chinese government’s policy and alternative access to cryptocurrency mining and trading. https://news.bitcoin.com/chinese-miners-pivot-to-alternative-currencies-to-keep-operating/ Currently, many of our Chinese counterparts are pivoting and are showing great interest in storage-based tokens like Filecoin as cryptocurrencies in that category has yet to be taken noticed by regulators in China. Some even believed that storage-based tokens are in the “grey area of business” and might circumvent the restrictions on cryptocurrencies. Thinking that the Chinese government would overlook storage-based tokens is wistful thinking on the Chinese miners’ part, and majority of them think so as well as many are currently on the watch and wait mode. That being said, it’s still great to see that the Chinese haven’t given up yet and are trying to think outside the box – proving that many of them are unwilling to let go of the economic freedom that cryptocurrency has to offer. **Final Say** There are a lot of good things happening on the cryptocurrency market right, and the three included in this article are just some of them. Moreover, one doesn’t even have to look hard as good news is aplenty in the market right now. So there’s really no need to bemoan that there’s nothing but bad news on the market right now as that’s very far from the truth. Even if the cryptocurrency market is experiencing one of the longest bear cycle, the growth of cryptocurrency has stopped.   Thank you for reading. **** My other articles: https://read.cash/@beastion

@beastion 22 July 2021

Market Survival Tip: Controlling One’s Greed https://pixabay.com/illustrations/emotion-greed-sin-deadly-america-2676703/ **Introduction** Let’s be honest with ourselves. One of the reasons why we entered the cryptocurrency market is to make money. It is like a Shangri-La, a place fill with dreams and hopes. But this Shangri-La is a place filled with risk and traps that could ensnare people not paying careful attention. Moreover, beneath the surface is an abyss that could swallow a person whole once he or she falls unwittingly into the hole. What is this abyss I’m talking about, you ask? It is an abyss called greed. It is indeed possible to become rich in the cryptocurrency market but for that to happen, one must know where to look. Aside from that, one must also know how to weigh the pros and cons of the venture as one mistake could result in one losing everything. If one simply ventures without thinking hoping to strike it rich then one is mostly likely to fall into the abyss without hope of getting out ever again. **Control Your Greed Before It Controls You** Learning to control one’s greed is as important as knowing how the market works. Even the smartest person alive could still lose everything in the cryptocurrency market if he or she let greed get hold of his or her heart. Although there’s risk in every venture, the cryptocurrency market especially preys on people’s greed. So in order to not only succeed but also survive in the cryptocurrency market that’s known for its volatility, one must not only have enough courage, knowledge but must also have total control of one’s greed. It is normal for people to be greedy. I mean, which of us has no greed? After all, it is a characteristic ingrained in all living thing including humans. Isn’t it normal to strive for a better life for our loved ones and ourselves? Being a little greedy isn’t exactly a bad thing per se. On the contrary, a little greed could make a person strive for a better life. But it’s one thing to have some greed, and it’s another thing all together to let greed control oneself. If you let yourself to be consumed and controlled by greed then you’ll most likely fall to investment traps, and scams that seemed to litter the market nowadays. Not really surprising if one consider the fact that knowing how to take advantage of people’s inclination to get rich quickly is a common skillset of fraudsters and scammer in the cryptocurrency and stock market. https://pixabay.com/illustrations/smiley-button-disappointment-798856/ **People That Had Lost or Almost Lost Everything Because Of Greed** Stories of people losing everything they had because of greed are not uncommon both in the traditional stock market and cryptocurrency market. These people either lost their money on bad investments and/or scams. Of course there are stories of people losing their investments through silly mistakes cause by greed. One good example of this is the Filipino cryptocurrency trader (whale) that had lost hundreds of billions of pesos or a dozen billion dollars last February after failing to put another zero when inputting the sale price for his cryptocurrency. https://interaksyon.philstar.com/trends-spotlights/2021/02/23/186114/filipinos-bitcoin-pdax-inaccessible-accounts/ Until now it is unclear if he got his money back after such a colossal mistake but even if he succeeded in getting some of his Bitcoin back, it is highly likely that he paid dearly for it. Honestly, it was such a silly mistake that could have been avoided if he simply double checked the number before clicking the confirm button. But because greed had blinded his eyes after seeing the price of Bitcoin that time, he failed to think clearly and almost lost everything. The stock exchange, or to be more precise, Wall Street also had its share of greedy people that almost lost everything after being control by greed. Do you still remember the WallStreetBets debacle? Yeah, I’m talking about those guys from a certain Reddit group who brought down a well-known hedge fund worth billions of dollars to its knees that was trying to short a certain stock. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/reddit-r-wallstreetbets-just-took-160015229.html The news was so sensational and huge that most people still remembered it even though several months had already passed. The story goes like this: A certain well-known hedge (Melvin Capital) fund wanted to manipulate the stock market by shorting a certain stock (GME) only to be caught completely off guard when a certain subreddit group (WallStreetBets) that’s tired of the elite traders’ bullshit made them have a taste of their own medicine. No one really knows exactly how the subreddit group, WallStreetBets found out the hedge fund’s plan to shorten GameStop’s stock. Only that the plan was somewhat leaked thus allowing the subreddit group enough time to come with a way to counter the hedge fund’s plan by manipulating the market in a way that would make the elites lose money while allowing small time investors to profit. That being said, WallStreetBets’ plan only worked because the members of their group manage to get inside information and were able to act upon it. Not to mention that most of their members have money in hand because of the covid relief check that they recently received. WallStreetBets’ action could be considered a classic example of other people taking advantage of some people’s greed. Since the aforementioned hedge fund wanted to profit from market manipulation, it’s only fair that they suffer from their greed. **Final Say** Losing assets out of greed wasn’t just limited to the cryptocurrency and stock market. On the contrary, such scenario was actually more common outside the two markets. Even in everyday life one could be victimized by one’s greed. How many times have you heard through television and newspapers of regular folks losing money to pyramid scams and other illegal rackets? I’m pretty certain that you’ve heard plenty. After all, there are more people in other industries. And as long as people exist, there would always be someone that would try to take advantage of other people’s greed. As such one should learn how to control one’s greed inside and outside the market.   Thank you for reading. **** My other articles: https://read.cash/@beastion https://pixabay.com/vectors/divider-separator-line-art-owl-5228719/

@beastion 20 July 2021

Don’t Be Too Hasty to Sell Your Cryptocurrencies https://pixabay.com/photos/road-sign-asphalt-road-sign-90390/ **Introduction** The cryptocurrency market might be a little difficult to look at nowadays due to the bear market and the correction that we’re experiencing. But before you do anything I suggest that you calm down and not panic. In a volatile market like the cryptocurrency market, panicking is one of the worst things that we could do as it prevent us from thinking straight which could result in bad decisions. So yes, calm down and don’t be hasty. That being said, some of you might be thinking of selling your cryptocurrencies even if you know that you will suffer a loss because you are in desperate need of money, and that’s fine. Life is more important than money so do not hesitate to sell your cryptocurrencies to meet yours and your family’s needs. But if you are not in a real desperate need of money but is just feeling anxious because the value of your portfolio quickly cascading then I suggest that you take a deep breath and think happy thoughts… Okay, I’m kidding. But I do suggest that you calm down and not be hasty to sell your cryptocurrencies as haste do makes waste. I also suggest that you keep reading as I will tell you the reason why the current bear market and the correction is not a cause for panic. Let us begin… **Haste Makes Waste** The famous phrase *“haste makes waste”* is very apt in the situation that the cryptocurrency market is currently in. It is during these times that weak-willed investors and traders are most likely to succumb to pressure and sell their cryptocurrencies. So if you are one of those traders and investors, I will ask you to hold your horses and keep holding unto that bag of coins of yours. And here’s why… **A long bear cycle or correction happen all the time** – The market often corrects itself resulting in a long bear cycle. There’s nothing new about it and is very normal. Moreover, some corrections often times follow the pattern of previous bear cycles. For example, the current bear cycle was said to mirror the bear cycle of 2013. https://news.bitcoin.com/analyst-bitcoin-correction-very-similar-to-2013-btc-may-remain-stuck-at-30k-for-a-while/ In 2013 Bitcoin had long drawdowns (197 days), and considering that we are only 95 to 96 days we still have a long way to go. But as I’ve previously mentioned, this is a very normal thing in the cryptocurrency market. Moreover, after the long drawdowns of 2013 Bitcoin had rebounded and reached new all-time high. So if you sell your cryptocurrencies now won’t you be missing out when Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies rebounded? **Volatility is not always a bad thing** – Despite what some people might think the volatility of the cryptocurrency market isn’t always a bad thing. Volatility is actually the entry point of new traders and prospectors. Moreover, volatility could allow prospectors that are just waiting for the price of cryptocurrencies to fall by a large margin to swoop in and buy the cryptocurrencies sold by impatient sellers. Surely, you don’t want to be one of those hasty people that only benefit others while hurting themselves in the process, right? **Bitcoin could reach $100,000 or more by the end of the year** – Some cryptocurrency analysts predicted that Bitcoin could reach as high $160,000 by the end of the year. And considering that the prices of all cryptocurrencies are affected by Bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin Cash are bound to follow. Of course these are just predictions and predictions tend to fall short of expectations. https://news.bitcoin.com/crypto-experts-predict-bitcoin-price-rising-to-318417-by-december-2025/ Nonetheless, even if the price of Bitcoin didn’t reach $100,000 by the end of the year, we could still expect some uptrend by December or even earlier. And this is not just empty words, cryptocurrencies often started rebounding when we enter the so called “ber months”, September, October, etc. **Those that couldn’t hold onto their coins loses** – You probably heard of this again and again but only those who have the patient to wait win in the cryptocurrency market. Those who are anxious to let go of their cryptocurrencies in the hope of minimizing loses tend to lose more. It’s not an exaggeration to say that only people with balls of steel could survive in the market. And if you do survive the onslaught of the bear market then you could survive pretty much anywhere. **Final Say** Surviving in the cryptocurrency market is very difficult. Those who do not have the patient and the resolve to wait out the bear cycle are quickly weeded out. Yes, it is not for the faint-hearted as the risk is as big as the reward. Moreover, the cryptocurrency market is more volatile than the traditional stock market making it riskier. But once one get a hang of the market, the profit we could possibly earn would allow us to retire early. Of course, surviving the countless bear cycles and corrections isn’t easy. Moreover, the learning curve is much steeper than anywhere else. One should expect to lose money several times before one could call himself or herself a veteran trader or investor. Don’t think that those that became billionaires and millionaires through the cryptocurrency market didn’t lose money. No. it the opposite, these people actually lose money more than you and me. But because they were not hasty, and because they knew that the market will rebound back again much stronger than before, they waited and waited until they earned their billions and millions. Really, that’s just how the market works. The haste ones are defeated while the patient ones reaped and profited.   Thank you for reading. **** My other articles: https://read.cash/@beastion https://pixabay.com/vectors/divider-separator-line-art-owl-5228719/

@beastion 18 July 2021

Cryptocurrency Will Never Become Redundant Even if the Digital Dollar is Introduced https://pixabay.com/illustrations/bitcoin-dollars-convert-3263691/ **The Digital Dollar Could Never Replace Cryptocurrencies** There’s fear that once the Digital Dollar is introduced cryptocurrencies will lose its value, and will therefore become redundant. Obviously such sentiment is unwarranted but that will not stop detractors from bringing up the issue. For example, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell talked about cryptocurrencies during a congressional hearing last Wednesday. There Powell argued that the Digital Dollar could replace all cryptocurrencies currently circulating in the market, and would therefore, will no longer be needed. *“In particular, you wouldn’t need stablecoins, you wouldn’t need cryptocurrencies if you had a digital U.S. currency. I think that’s one of the stronger arguments in its favor.” -* *Jerome Powell* https://news.bitcoin.com/fed-chair-jerome-powell-you-wouldnt-need-cryptocurrencies-if-you-had-digital-us-currency/ It’s quite the bold claim coming from the Federal Reserve Chairman but considering that he’s in the government, one could expect nothing less. I mean, which government would not promote its own currency? If a government promotes cryprocurrency instead of their state-approved digital currency then that would be even weirder. Nonetheless, Powell’s claim is just that, a claim. Cryptocurrency will not and cannot be replaced by the Digital Dollar unless they can control everyone in the world and force them to use the aforementioned digital currency instead. Such claim is unrealistic no matter how one looks at it. And considering that the US is not China that could force its citizens to give up on cryptocurrency through threats, it’s even more so. Cryptocurrency is a trillion dollar industry that’s already active for more than a decade and therefore has supporters from people in all walks of life from around the world. One could even argue that cryptocurrency has now a strong foothold on the market so even the introduction of the Digital Dollar could not easily shake its foundation. Moreover, a lot of powerful and wealthy people has stakes on the crypto-market and would not allow themselves to be bullied by a newcomer like the Digital Dollar. **The Digital Dollar Monopoly is an Affront to the Free Market** In my opinion, the statement of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on that congressional hearing is an affront to the spirit of the free market. If the Digital Dollar is allowed to suppress cryptocurrencies then we might end up with a monopoly. Monopoly is heavily frown upon in any industry as the one holding the monopoly could easily control and decide the value of a product or service whenever they wanted. In the Digital Dollar’s case, it meant that the government could just do whatever they wanted in the market and no one could anything about it which shouldn’t be allowed to happen. That being said it’s easy to see why the US wanted to monopolize the digital currency market. The US Dollar is currently the reserve currency of the word, and they want to extend that status to Digital Dollar. But for that to happen they must first rid the world of cryptocurrency as it’s something that no government could control. If they succeed, the US could once again dominate trade through the help of the Digital Dollar. Obviously, no one would want to see the US monopolizing the digital currency market as that would make them too powerful. Government around the world will surely challenge the Digital Dollar by creating their own digital currency. And countries that couldn’t be bothered to create, or doesn’t have to the technology to create their digital currency would surely support cryptocurrencies. Meaning, the US plan to replace all cryptocurrencies with the Digital Dollar is bound to fail from the very start. https://pixabay.com/photos/shaking-hands-handshake-teamwork-2499612/ **Cryptocurrency Could Co-exist with the Digital Dollar** Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s stance on cryptocurrency and his latest argument about it is an indicator of the US government’s desire to control and regulate the crypto-market. But considering how slow the US was on the uptake when it comes to digital currency, Powell’s claim is kind of laughable. After all it’s no secret that compared to countries like China, and even India, the progress of Digital Dollar is rather slow. Of course I’m not underestimating the US as many of the world’s brightest mind lived in the country so although they’re currently lagging in behind other countries from developing their state-approved digital currency, they could easily make up for it through sheer resources alone. That being said can cryptocurrency and Digital Dollar not co-exist? In my opinion, the two can actually co-exist without a problem. There are already hundred of cryptocurrencies in the market and although there's a steep competition between them they're all still co-existing without a problem. Only people like Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell would ever think that the Digital Dollar should monopolize the digital currency market. Such way of thinking is no different from how the Chinese government thinks. For a country that supposedly values freedom of expression and choice, Powell’s statement is rather similar to a dictator. It’s no wonder then the popularity of cryptocurrency has greatly increased over the years while the trust on the US Dollar is decreasing. Compared to centralized currencies, cryptocurrencies promote freedom of choice due to its decentralized nature. In a free market, people should be allowed to purchase whatever they wanted so Powell’s way of thinking is the furthest thing from what a free-market should be. **Final Say** I always believed that instead of trying to control cryptocurrencies, or to monopolize the digital currency market, the US government should be magnanimous and allow its citizens to freely choose what digital currency they should use. And instead of suppressing cryptocurrency to promote the Digital Dollar, they should help to ensure that the two could co-exist.  Thank you for reading.  **** My other articles: https://read.cash/@beastion https://pixabay.com/vectors/divider-separator-line-art-owl-5228719/

@beastion 17 July 2021

Cryptocurrency Is Not Supposed to be Political https://pixabay.com/photos/politics-political-election-letters-2361943/ **Politics, there’s politics everywhere…** Everything in the world seemed to be political nowadays even things that are not supposed to be political like food, movies, music, video games, etc. Even cryptocurrency is becoming political. Correction… even cryptocurrency is being used as a political tool to push forward an agenda. Yes, cryptocurrency, a decentralized digital currency that was created to give financial freedom to ordinary people was being used as a political tool by people that see politics in every little thing. It’s annoying. It’s frustrating… and I really wish they would stop and let us be. You must be wandering what I’m babbling about, right? Let me explain. It has something to do with the rant of certain twitter user that want to color cryptocurrency with the dirty, stinky, ugly hue of politics. Cryptocurrency is the farthest thing from being political and it’s not supposed to be political. It’s decentralized which mean no government in the world can control it. But a certain twitter user who went by the username of Jackson Palmer @ummjackson thinks otherwise. Now, you might ask. Who is Jackson Palmer? I won’t go into detail on the man’s background but here’s what you need to know. Jackson Palmer, along with Billy Markus, is one the developer of the popular meme coin, Dogecoin. Yes, he co-created THAT Dogecoin. Jackson Palmer is not a very active Twitter user as he doesn’t like to be bothered too much which is a good thing as many known users had become too political and toxic for their own good after using the platform for a long time. https://twitter.com/ummjackson/status/1415353984617914370 **Right-wing, left-wing, chicken wing?** Palmer’s rant about cryptocurrency started after receiving questions asking him if he’ll ever return to cryptocurrency, or begin regularly sharing his thoughts about it. Obviously he answered “no” in both question. That said, Palmer was still professional enough to explain to his followers and the people that asked him the questions why he won’t be involving himself in cryptocurrency ever again. *“After years of studying it, I believe that cryptocurrency is an inherently right-wing, hyper-capitalistic technology built primarily to amplify the wealth of its proponents through a combination of tax avoidance, diminished regulatory oversight and artificially enforced scarcity.”* In this tweet, Palmer called cryptocurrency as inherently ***right-wing*** which in my opinion is nothing but bullshit. Cryptocurrency does not cater to just one side of the political spectrum. Right-wing, left-wing, or chicken-wing? Who cares what side of politics you believed in!? Cryptocurrency caters to everyone regardless of social status, age, gender, political beliefs, or even religion. Palmer said he had studied cryptocurrency for years but how come he sounded like those journalist from the mainstream media? Did he really studied cryptocurrency or did he simply watched mainstream news and call it “studying”? The fact that he mentioned right-wing tells us that he’s a left-winger and had incorporated his political bias when he wrote the above tweet. Another thing that irks me is that he calls the blockchain technology, the technology that created cryptocurrency, a hyper-capitalistic technology that was built primarily to make its proponents richer through tax avoidance and similar criminal act. Is he serious? Did he really believe that the blockchain was created solely for criminal activities like tax evasion? According to his logic, does that makes me and others like me, people who are writing in a platform built on the blockchain technology, criminals and tax evaders? Then what about the millions of people trading and investing in cryptocurrencies and other blockchain-related projects? Are they all criminals as well? Is the reason why he no longer wants to have any sort of dealings with cryptocurrency is because he thinks we are all criminals?  *“Despite claims of “decentralization”, the cryptocurrency industry is controlled by a powerful cartel of wealthy figures who, with time, have evolved to incorporate many of the same institutions tied to the existing centralized financial system they supposedly set out to replace.”* Well, judging by his other tweet I guess he does. I mean “cartel”? Really? So we’re the mafia or an organization similar to a crime cartel now? I think we should remind him that as the co-creator of Dogecoin that he’s also part of the “cartel” he loathes so much. Hypocrisy much? Also, what’s wrong with working along with banks and other existing financial system? Surely he’s aware that in order to invest in cryptocurrencies investors must first exchange fiat to cryptocurrency, right? So of course cryptocurrency need to work along with financial institutions like banks. Really, Jackson Palmer’s tweets make me question if her even read his own tweets. Is this what four years under Donald Trump did to him? Just because cryptocurrency does not align with his political ideology he’s now badmouthing it and everyone that believe in it? *“I applaud those with the energy to continue asking the hard questions and applying the lens of rigorous skepticism all technology should be subject to. New technology can make the world a better place, but not when decoupled from its inherent politics or societal consequences.”* I think the above tweet encompass the main reason why Jackson Palmer decoupled himself from cryptocurrency and is now one of its harshest critics. Yes,from Palmer’s own words, he dislike the fact that cryptocurrency is NOT political and could not be used to push his political and societal agendas. He tried to makes himself look like someone fed up with the centralized government and system but at the end of the day, he’s no different from activists that wanted to use cryptocurrency to push his own political agendas. Makes me wonder… did his wife’s boyfriend order him to write those tweets? **Final Say** Jackson Palmer’s hypocritical views and his attempt to politicalize cryptocurrency is certainly very annoying. That said some of his arguments do have some validity in it. For example, the current cryptocurrency market is indeed suffering from the whims of some of the whales in the market. Not to mention there were also people like Elon Musk who want to influence the market and who has an ego that seemed to pierce the heavens. In my opinion, these are some issues that need to be taken seriously and addressed as quickly as possible if we want cryptocurrency to have mainstream acceptance in the future.   Thank you for reading. **** My other articles: https://read.cash/@beastion

@beastion 14 July 2021

Being Calm During the Bear: The Beauty of an Anxiety-free Mind https://pixabay.com/photos/freedom-feel-free-free-4503959/ **Do not let the bear cause you anxiety** It’s difficult to look at the market lately because of the bear cycle. Moreover, the fact that we might need to wait for quite some time for the market to recover can be a depressing thought. That said I hope none of my readers would misunderstand my words as I’m not trying to put down anyone. On the contrary, I wanted everyone to calm down and not allow anxiety to take over your mind. We might be experiencing a possibly long bear period but it shouldn’t be a cause for panic. As everyone should know by now, the bearish cycle is just a phase of not only the cryptocurrency market but by the stock market as well. Being a phase means that it would eventually turn around and enters the opposite of the bear cycle which is the bull. So yeah… do calm down and stop thinking whether to sell your cryptos or not. It’s not healthy and would just cause unnecessary anxiety and stress. Of course I’m not telling anyone not to stress out while looking at our portfolios that were bleeding red as that would be unrealistic. But I do suggest that we stop looking at our portfolio too often. That’s because the more we look at it, the more depress we’ll feel. So as to control our stress limit and not cause some veins to pop, I suggest limiting the checking of our portfolio to once a day and if possible to once in every few days. This obviously will not magically make the red turn green or turn the bear into the bull. What it’ll do though is to help our taut mind to relax which is very important during a bear cycle. After all, a calm and relax mind would allow us to make better decisions than an anxious mind. **Disadvantages of an anxiety-riddled mind** Anxiety is very common among people and it’s not cause by the bear market alone so don’t go thinking that it’s the market’s fault that your feeling very anxious right now. The reason I’m writing this is to help people that’s feeling stress because of the unfavorable market condition by reminding them not to be too anxious and stressed out. Now that’s out of the way, let’s start with the disadvantages of an anxiety-riddled mind and why we must always check our mental health in and out of trading. **It’s easy to make bad decisions when a person is anxious** – Anxiety is a terrible thing, and being too anxious often lead to countless bad decisions. In the crypto-market bad decisions includes, selling your cryptocurrencies for a big loss during a bear market, and/or buying and investing in bad crypto-based assets, and falling for fad and scams to name a few. **Losing sleep because of anxiety** – For serious cryptocurrency traders, losing sleep is a very normal thing. Which mean that it doesn’t really matter whether it’s a bear or a bull market as traders often lose sleep regardless of the cycle. That said the difference in mentality during a bear or a bull market does matter. In a bull market, traders have a very positive mentality so even if they’re losing sleep, they’re still very happy, and when they do finally sleep they take that happiness with them, resulting in a better sleep. But during a bear market, traders could barely sleep as they’re always anxious to could recoup their losses due to the bad market. And when they finally sleep, their sleeps were always shallow and anxiety-filled which prevent them from having a proper rest. **Anxiety could cause premature aging** – Yes, this is a thing. There are studies suggesting high anxiety could cause people to age faster. It has something to do with the length of the telomeres which the DNA at the end of the chromosomes. Apparently, the length of the telomeres is an indication of cellular aging which could be affected by high stress and anxiety. https://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/news/20150210/anxiety-aging **Anxiety Disorders** – If you think premature aging wasn’t that bad then you’re kind of right as there are worse things that could result from high anxiety. One of which are mental disorders called anxiety disorders. Anxiety disorders are disorders that could result from genetic defects, head trauma, but most commonly because of environmental stress. Environmental stress could be anything including but not limited to an unfavorable market. https://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/guide/anxiety-disorders **Advantages of a calm, anxiety-free mind** Now that I’ve discussed the disadvantages of an anxiety-filled mind, I will now discuss the advantages of an anxiety-free mind. Let us begin. **An anxiety-free mind allows for better decision-making** – As traders, one must always keep a calm mind. It’s no secret that people could make better decision when they’re calm and not panicking. In both the crypto-market and the stock market, FUD is often used as a weapon by those who wanted to manipulate the market but if one’s mind is calm and free or anxiety, FUD will have no effect. People that are less calm tend to make decisions that they would later come to regret. How many times have you heard of people regretting how they should have waited a little longer before buying and selling? Even I made the mistake of selling some of my Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash too early. If I waited for a few months more, I could have earned more. Honestly speaking, such stories are very common in the crypto-market and could even be said to be a common occurrence. **Being calm gives us bigger chance of surviving the bear market unscathed** – The crypto-market can considered a waiting game. The more we wait, the greater our profit. If one is anxious all the time, there’s no way that he or she could survive the waiting game, and might end up losing money instead of earning it. One need to be very patient in the crypto-market and patience requires calmness. **One can spot opportunities better when one is calm** – the crypto-market is full of opportunities but it’s easy to miss such opportunities if one’s mind if filled with anxiety. People that could remain calm despite the blood bath in the market are the ones that can spot opportunities that most people tend miss and most of the time they end up profiting greatly from it. **People that worry less tends to live longer** – Everyone wanted to earn money in cryptocurrency trading and I’m no exception. But if one is always stressed out, the chance of him or her becoming ill would increase exponentially so even if one earn a lot of money from trading, one might just end up using all of them to pay for one’s hospital bills. **Closing Words** The reason I wrote this article is to remind my readers, as well as myself to always remain calm now that the market is performing more poorly. The reason being is that it’s during such times that most people make horrible decisions that they would later regret. Aside from the aforementioned reason, I also want to motivate my readers even by a little bit. After all, a little motivation could go a long way for some people. Another thing, I didn’t write this article to force everyone to hold to their cryptos. If you’re in great need of money then don’t hold back and sell. Money is supposed to be use in such occasions anyway and as I’ve mentioned earlier, thinking too much whether to sell or not is not healthy.   That is all for now. Stay calm and healthy and thank you for reading. **** My other articles: https://read.cash/@beastion https://pixabay.com/vectors/divider-separator-line-art-owl-5228719/

@beastion 13 July 2021

Bans and Restrictions Could Never Deter the Growth of Cryptocurrency https://pixabay.com/illustrations/image-set-internet-vectors-3046593/ **If there’s a Will there’s a Way** We have heard news of countries cracking down, or downright banning cryptocurrencies. But considering how most governments and central banks view cryptocurrencies and the market in the first place, it shouldn’t really come as a surprise. Yes, most governments weren’t very fond of cryptocurrencies (a huge understatement, I know) as they could not control it unlike fiat money, and would like nothing more than to see it fail. And with the law of the land on their hands, they could do a lot of things that will make cryptocurrency traders’ lives difficult. But no matter what the government and the central banks do, they cannot stop the growth of cryptocurrency, nor can they stop people from trading in the crypto-market. They can ban, and restrict the trade and transaction of cryptocurrency in their respective country but traders, even common people, would still find ways to overcome to use and trader cryptocurrencies. After all, as the famous saying goes, *“if there’s a will there’s a way”*. Indeed. It was a known fact that the more you forbid people from doing something the more they would want to do it. The same goes for cryptocurrency trading in countries facing bans, crackdowns, and restrictions. In countries where cryptocurrency trading were ban or restricted, traders have found several ways to circumvent said bans and restrictions implemented by their own government and central banks. For example, in Nigeria where the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) issued a directive to all financial institutions in the country to halt the service to people trading with cryptocurrencies; it was reported that traders had switched to P2P platforms or other platform that the Central Bank of Nigeria had very little or no control of to do trades. And as result, the growth of cryptocurrency in the country was pretty much unhindered. Of course, the severity of bans and restrictions are different from country to country. The reason that Nigerian could pull off trades despite the directive from the Central Bank of Nigeria was due to the fact that only financial institutions like banks and (possibly) lending companies are affected by the directive while other platforms are unaffected. Nonetheless, it still shows that people are willing to go to great length no matter how troublesome to continue trading with cryptocurrencies. Speaking of going to great lengths, in countries where bans and restrictions are more severe, many traders chooses to move out of said countries entirely to escape the ban for good. Personally, I do not like this method but personal preference aside I also understand why some people would choose to move out of their countries. In one of my articles, I even suggested that miners currently in China should move to other countries due to current crackdowns on cryptocurrency mining and trading by the Chinese government. https://read.cash/@beastion/government-crackdown-why-we-must-move-cryptocurrency-mining-out-of-china-d1d3083e The reason why I’m so vehement for mining companies to move their operations to other countries despite my personal dislike of the aforementioned method was due to the fact that China was the biggest cryptocurrency mining hub in the world, and what’s happening in said country is greatly affecting the entire crypto-market. Another method that comes to mind that could help circumvent bans or restrictions was to use proxy. No, I don’t mean VPN or the likes. What I meant by proxy was to look for people you could trust, possibly a relative that’s living in another country to do the trading for you. The risk in this method was very obvious as other people even relatives could easily betray your trust when money is involve but for those who don’t want to leave their country for another country this is a viable option. There should be other ways to circumvent the cryptocurrency bans and restrictions, and what I listed above are just the most common ones that traders all around the world use. If you’re a trader and is living in a country that’s not too accepting to cryptocurrency and could not use the above methods, scouring the internet is your best bet. After all you one could find almost everything in the internet if one searched hard enough – including methods on how to circumvent bans and restrictions. https://pixabay.com/illustrations/graph-growth-finance-profits-163509/ **Unstoppable Growth** Cryptocurrency is growing and will keep on growing. No matter what our detractors and the government do, they could never stop cryptocurrency from becoming mainstream. It’s expected and in my opinion, inevitable. Also, in my humble opinion, the blockchain and cryptocurrency is one of the greatest inventions of the modern age, and its benefits are palpable. One of the benefits of trading in cryptocurrency (possibly the biggest) is that it allows common people financial freedom as cryptocurrency could not be controlled by any government and could be used and traded anywhere and anytime as long as one have phone and an internet connection. It was for this very same reason that allowed cryptocurrency to gain such a huge following in just over a decade. And if the trend continues, which I believe it would, cryptocurrency is bound for greater heights. I am aware of course that cryptocurrency is in a slump due to the bear market but it’s just temporary. Besides, it’s not like it never happened before. Surely, many of you still remembered the time when the price of Bitcoin dropped from $20k to only more than $3k in 2018. But look were we are now in 2021? Bitcoin reached almost $64k in this year alone. Certainly, the price had fallen to about $33k (as of time of writing) but the price was still a lot higher than the highest price of previous years. Which bring us to a very important point: Cryptocurrency will always bounce back much stronger after each slump. And this current bear market is no exception. Why? It’s because cryptocurrency had grown strong over the years. Certainly, it would still encounter bumps here and there but that’s only normal. One of the reasons why cryptocurrency was able to weather all previous storms that come its way was because those so called bumps actually help the market mature and made the community more united. Which mean that instead of fearing the current bear market we should be thankful instead as it will allow the market to become much stronger than before. After all, the growth of cryptocurrency is pretty much unstoppable at this point.   That’s all for now; thank you for reading. **** My other articles: https://read.cash/@beastion https://pixabay.com/vectors/divider-separator-line-art-owl-5228719/

@beastion 11 July 2021

The Future Is Digital and the Cryptocurrency Community Is Way Ahead of Most People https://pixabay.com/illustrations/network-earth-block-chain-globe-3537401/ **Our Future Is Digital** Many believed that we’re heading to a digital future, and although I agree with them, I will go further and say that we have already stepped on it. Yes, I’m referring to the internet, the blockchain technology and cryptocurrency. I think that the world was introduced to the digital age the moment the internet was introduced. But to say that we’ve entered the digital age was going too far; at most we merely open the door to it. It was only when the internet gained popularity and online payment becomes a thing could we say that we truly entered the door to the digital age. Majority of people, especially young people are very eager to embrace the new age along with the new technologies. However, there were also people that remained reluctant to accept the change. Maybe they don’t like the new technology, or maybe it’s too complicated for them. It could also because they’re afraid that their ways of life would be affected. Or maybe they find the world becoming too fast paced and simply don’t like it. But no matter what these reluctant people feel or think, the new digital age cannot be stopped. Admittedly, we have only stepped on the entrance of the new age and still have a long way to go before we could truly say that the world in a digital age. But that’s only normal, after all our technology is still not advance enough. Technologies like A.I, virtual reality, robotics, digital currency, NFTs, self-driving cars, etc. are still in their infancy. And for all we know it might take us decades or even a century to truly get there. But make no mistake, we will get there eventually. It’s just a matter of time. **The Blockchain Technology and Cryptocurrency** The blockchain, and its offshoot, cryptocurrency did not start the digital age but it sure has a hand in accelerating it. This brainchild of a visionary that goes with the pseudonym of Satoshi Nakamoto exposed people to the beauty of digital currency, solidifying the fact that the future is indeed digital. The disruptive technology that is the blockchain introduced us to digital currencies (cryptocurrency) such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, etc. Not only did the blockchain introduced us to cryptocurrency, it also made us aware that currency doesn’t need to be physical, it could also be digital. Certainly, wired, bank to bank money transfers already exist years before cryptocurrency but I don't believe it count as a digital currency, nor is it disruptive. The cryptocurrency that the blockchain introduced on the other hand is not only digital, it’s also decentralized. Unlike wired money transfer which requires a bank or a third party middleman to be transferred from one account to another, cryptocurrency needed none of it. Yes, cryptocurrency is a true peer-to-peer protocol that needed no middleman to complete a transaction. Any transaction could be completed as long as the two parties agree to the trade. And in term of practicality, ease of use and freedom, cryptocurrency fits better to the new digital age than wired money transfer which in my opinion fits perfectly to the concept of what a digital age is supposed to be. Moreover, this new rising technology, the blockchain is also evolving which mean that time will never make it obsolete unlike wired money transfer. People in power knew this best. If they did not try to adapt, wired money transfer might become an obsolete technology.  It was for this very reason that government around the world are experimenting on creating their own state-approved digital currency – the best example being China’s Digital Yuan. https://pixabay.com/illustrations/hitech-art-concept-digital-4341022/ **The Crypto-Community is Full of Visionaries** *Disclaimer: The word visionary here had nothing to do with the supernatural ability to see the future but is referring to people that could "see" a future in a new, untested technology like the Blockchain.* When cryptocurrency was first introduced, many considered it as a fad that will quickly go out of fashion, and a bubble that would burst and disappear into oblivion without creating a single ripple. Oh how wrong they were… The technology that they thought was a fad did not went out of fashion, on the contrary, it become even more popular. And what people thought was bubble did not burst but instead had become ever stronger as the decade past which was akin to resounding slap to the faces of the detractors. Unlike the narrow-minded detractors though, the people who invested in cryptocurrency are true visionaries who saw a glimpse of the future. Despite the risk posed by new, untested technology, these people willingly embrace the blockchain and the market that formed because of it. Fortunately, their trust was not betrayed. Many of the first adopter of the new technology was rewarded. Many of them become millionaires while few become billionaires. Moreover, instead of packing up and taking their money with them, they invested the money into new blockchain projects which greatly help in the propagation of the disruptive technology while introducing more investors into the market. In the new digital age that we are in, its people like this are the ones that would eventually become industry leaders. And considering that they could see the potentials in a new untested technology, I feel like it’s only right. The first adopters aren’t the only visionaries. Even those who come after them could be considered as such. Heck, I’ll even go as far as say that the entire crypto-community is a community of visionaries. Yes, people like you and I could be considered as one. After all, cryptocurrency has yet to become mainstream, and the risk involve is still ever present. And yet, like the first adopters, we still here; believing that the blockchain project that we choose to believe in would bring us prosperity. Are we too late in joining? Those who had joined recently are all indeed late but to say that we’re already too late is nothing but an exaggeration. After all the crypto-market is still full of potentials and blockchain projects like Bitcoin Cash had yet to reach its full potential. So no we’re still not too late. I dare say that the crypto-market is has yet to fully mature which mean everyone still have a chance. And as long as you found the right project to invest in then you’re set. But then again, why look further? In terms of project with promising future, Bitcoin Cash is among the most promising cryptocurrency out there. If you're new, or is still undetermined and wanted to feel what the digital age is like, I highly suggest choosing Bitcoin Cash. I trust that you won’t be disappointed.   Anyway, I’ll end the article here– thank you for reading, and have a nice day. **** My other articles: https://read.cash/@beastion https://pixabay.com/vectors/divider-separator-line-art-owl-5228719/

@beastion 10 July 2021

Fiat Money Could Cause Hyperinflation, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) Will Not https://pixabay.com/photos/money-euro-banknotes-savings-2696648/ **Overprinting and Hyperinflation** Fiat money had been in use for many centuries, and had served us well for the same time frame. It’s light, convenient, and easy to use in comparison to copper, silver, and gold coins which are very heavy and inconvenient to use especially during large business transactions. But despite the convenience brought to us by fiat money, it’s not the perfect currency. No, it's far from it… By itself, fiat money has no intrinsic value. It only has value because the government determined it so. And unlike some popular belief, fiat money is neither backed by gold nor oil but by fate and trust to the government that issued it. Meaning, the more trustworthy the government, the more valuable fiat money becomes. It was for this reason that the US Dollar was more valuable than most fiat money and why most fiat money is pegged to the US Dollar. It was also for the same reason why oil was always purchased in dollars. That's because for majority of other government in the world, the US government is trustworthy. But to maintain the value of fiat money like the USD, the amount of physical money in circulation must be strictly controlled which mean the government couldn’t just print money whenever they wanted, or risk lowering the value of their country's currency. But in some instances, the government would have no choice but to print more money. For example; the government would print more money if the economy is really bad or when the government needed money to pay its debt, or for some other reasons. When that happened, the value of fiat money would go down which would then be followed by inflation, and in rare cases, hyperinflation. What is hyperinflation? Hyperinflation happened when prices of goods increased by an astonishing 1000%. To put hyperinflation more in perspective, here’s an example: Let say for example, a cup of freshly brewed coffee in Starbucks cost about $2 in normal times. But if there’s a hyperinflation that $2 cup of coffee would cost about $2,000! What cause hyperinflation? Hyperinflation could occur because of socio-economic and political instability like for example if there’s war. When a country is unstable, the trust in the government dwindles greatly. And because of the lack of trust and the risk involved, companies from outside the country would ask for a premium for their goods, or products. Meaning, the prices of goods inside the country suffering from instability would also increase causing a massive inflation. To combat the increase in prices of goods, the government of said country is often left with no choice but to print more money for their citizens so that they could buy the products with inflated prices – decreasing the value of their money even more and causing hyperinflation in the process. https://www.lowyat.net/2021/238338/bitcoin-cash-gets-green-light-from-securities-commission-as-5th-approved-cryptocurrency/ **Bitcoin Cash (BCH) Would Never Cause a Hyperinflation.** Overprinting is the downfall of most if not all fiat money. But such scenario will never happen to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin Cash (BCH). Why? Because… **Bitcoin Cash has limited supply of 21 million** – Unlike fiat money that could be printed whenever the government wanted; Bitcoin Cash has a limited supply that could not be increased by simply printing. This limited supply would ensure that Bitcoin Cash would always remain valuable. Sure, Bitcoin Cash’s prices could go up or down depending on the market but it will never lose its value unless the entire community forsakes the project which I believe is almost impossible. **Bitcoin Cash is decentralized** – One of the biggest issues with fiat money is the fact that it’s not decentralized, and relies on a centralized government that minted it. Being a centralized currency, fiat money would always be on the mercy of the government. Bitcoin Cash do not suffer this problem as the (Bitcoin Cash) community is the most powerful decision making body and not the government of any country. It also mean that every major change in Bitcoin Cash must first have the approval of the community. **Bitcoin Cash is a cryptocurrency** – Bitcoin cash is a cryptocurrency, and unlike most fiat money, it could be used to purchase goods and services worldwide. Most fiat money on the other hand could only be used to purchase goods in their country of origin with the exception of the USD and Euro. If you want to use your country’s currency outside your own country then you need convert it first to either the USD or the local currency of that country. Bitcoin Cash will never face such a problem. **Bitcoin Cash is not “rooted” in one country** – As I’ve mentioned earlier, the cause of hyperinflation is instability, and instability doesn’t always mean war. It could also because of an economic downturn, or anything that could destabilize a country’s government like a coup. If a country is suffering from any of the reason I’ve mentioned, it’ll face hyperinflation, causing the country’s currency to lose much of its value. But since Bitcoin Cash is a digital currency that exists on the internet, the instability of a certain country’s government will not affect it. On the contrary, it might even increase in value instead as people from said country would flock to cryptocurrencies for relief. The reasons I stated above should give everyone a hint why I think cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin Cash is far superior to fiat money. It’s also the very same reasons why cryptocurrency would never cause hyperinflation or any type of inflation in that matter. Certainly, cryptocurrencies also have its flaws too. For example it needed a device like a cellphone, or a computer, electricity, and an internet connection to be used. But in this day and age, almost everyone has a cellphone and access to the internet so I don’t really consider it a big problem. If there’s an issue that really needed addressing though, it would be volatility. Speaking of volatility... it is what really keeping cryptocurrency from going mainstream. Although cryptocurrency was increasingly becoming more popular, volatility had always cause people to hesitate to invest in the market. So if we really want to see cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin Cash to become mainstream, we must quickly solve the issue of volatility. Once we solve the problem of volatility, the weapons that detractors could use against cryptocurrency would be reduced by one, and our claim that cryptocurrency is superior to fiat currency will have more merit.   That’s all from me for today. Thank you for reading – have a nice day. **** My other articles: https://read.cash/@beastion https://pixabay.com/vectors/divider-separator-line-art-owl-5228719/

@beastion 9 July 2021

Institutions Aren’t Afraid of the Bear Market and Stricter Regulations So Why Should You? **Bear Market or Bargain Sale?** The cryptocurrency is currently experiencing a bear market due to some unforeseen circumstances like China suddenly cracking down on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency mining after the release of the Digital Yuan. Then couple that with Elon Musk’s tweet that Tesla will no longer accept Bitcoin as payment for their cars; we saw the value of almost all cryptocurrencies being slashed by more than half. As most traders and holders, I too, saw my portfolio halving in term of value. It wasn’t a pretty sight, and was even disheartening. Despite that though, I was only a little disheartened. But am I disappointed? A little, yes, but that’s all. Not once had I thought on giving up on cryptocurrency. The bear market is just one cycle of the crypto-market– a phase. It happens all the time, and will continue to happen in the future. Besides, it’s not like the bear market is all bad. No, the bear, despite all of its cons, also has its pros. One of the positive effects of the bear market, the best one in my opinion, is that all coins are now on sale! Yes, there’s currently bargain sale for all cryptocurrencies, and big-time institutions are buying en masse. Buy in the dip. A great number of regular investors, and multi-million (or billion) dollar institutions and hedge funds are taking this popular phrase very seriously. Certainly, we’re still not seeing the effect on the market right now as we’re still in the bear phase. But that’s because the really big investors are still planning their next moves. For example, the $55 billion dollar hedge fund firm, **Marshall Wace**, plans on investing in the crypto-sector. The firm is said to planning on investing in the blockchain technology, digital currency, and stablecoins. In particular, stablecoin infrastructure seems to be their focus. https://news.bitcoin.com/55-billion-hedge-fund-firm-marshall-wace-investments-crypto-sector/ But that’s not all the happenings in the crypto-sector. If you’re a fan basketball and cryptocurrency, specifically the NBA, there’s good news for you too. Boston Celtic, a popular team in the NBA, has announced their partnership with Socios.com, a blockchain firm that could allow fans to become “*superfans*” which would allow them to influence club specific decision, trade digital access, and so on. https://news.bitcoin.com/the-boston-celtics-announce-partnership-with-blockchain-company-socios-com/ If that’s not exciting enough for you then how about the possibility of 4,000 institutional funds in Germany possibly being invested in the crypto-market sounds? https://news.bitcoin.com/4000-institutional-funds-germany-invest-20-of-portfolios-crypto-assets/ Thanks to the Fund Location Act that went effect last July 1, around 4,000 German institutional funds that’s worth about 2 trillion euros, could now invest 20% of the aforementioned funds on cryptocurrency. That’s a whopping 400 billion euros! Can you imagine the effect of 400 billion euros being injected into the crypto-market? Yeah, me too… **Regulations Are Not That Terrifying** In one of my article, I discussed the possibility of a stricter regulation and why it might be an inevitable outcome. But in this article, I’ll discuss why regulations are not as terrifying as one would think. As proof of that, institutions are still buying cryptocurrencies in bulk, and/or dabbing into the crypto-sector despite news that stricter regulations might be looming in the horizon. Now, regulations are nothing new. If a new industry pops out, especially if it's an industry that involved a large amount of money, then you should expect the government to regulate it. That’s just how things work in real life, and cryptocurrency is no exception. But unlike other industries, the government couldn’t really control cryptocurrency due to its decentralized nature. They could only try to regulate the market, at worst, crackdown on mining and trading. But that’s all they could do. Implementing stricter regulations? It’s possible. Fully control the market? That’s impossible. If a government of one country tried to control cryptocurrency, traders would simply move their funds to other country that will not restrict their tradings. Sure it might affect the value of cryptocurrencies in the short term but it won’t really affect the market in the long run. What will really happen though is that the country that tries to control and restrict cryptocurrency will lose possible taxes from cryptocurrency mining and trading. Not a small lost considering how big the market is. Moreover, once cryptocurrency become mainstream, that country will lose out more. After all, Cryptocurrency can bring in new jobs and opportunity for the people. It’s because the government around the world know this that most of them could only regulate cryptocurrency as much as they could get away with. Of course there will always be exceptions. As you might have already guessed, some countries had already ban cryptocurrency, either because they felt threatened by it or they’re so blind that they’re unable to see its benefits. In my opinion though, these countries will soon come to regret such decision. Now another reason why regulations are not that terrifying was due to the fact that cryptocurrency also have supporters in the government. Yes, not all old men and women in our government are against cryptocurrency. Quite a few of them also sees cryptocurrency as the future. One good example of this is the president of El Salvador, Nuyib Bukele, who not only support cryptocurrency but is also willing to make Bitcoin a legal tender in his country. Sure, he and his government might be currently taking a rap from the US State Department and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) but as long as the citizens of El Salvador continue to have his back, he’ll be able to push forward with his agenda. Nuyib Bukele isn’t the only visionary amongst politicians. Argentina’s national deputy for the province of Mendoza, Jose Ruiz Ramon had also introduced a bill that would allow workers to get paid in cryptocurrency. The idea behind his new bill was to allow (independent) workers to strengthen their autonomy and conserve the purchasing power of their remunerations. https://news.bitcoin.com/argentine-lawmaker-presents-bill-enabling-workers-to-receive-salary-in-cryptocurrency/ Jose Ruiz Ramon’s bill might not be on the same level as that of Nuyib Bukele but his vision is not inferior to his. And unlike the weak politicians that are afraid to step out of their comfort zones and try new things, the two politicians from El Salvador and Argentina are chads of the political scene that are willing to take the risk for the future of their country and constituents. So what do you think? Do you still think that the bear market and the threat of stricter regulations should be feared after reading this article? Please write your opinion in the comment section.   That’s all from me for today. Thank you for reading. Have a nice day. **** My other articles: https://read.cash/@beastion https://pixabay.com/vectors/divider-separator-line-art-owl-5228719/

@beastion 8 July 2021

Buying and Saving Cryptocurrency for Retirement https://pixabay.com/photos/money-coin-investment-business-2724241/ **Preparation is the Key to the Future** Is it too early to worry about retirement when you’re not even at your twenties? Personally, I don’t think so. One could be a kid or a teen and it’s still okay to think about your retirement. Why? It’s because no one knows what will happen in the future, and being prepare for the inevitable won’t hurt anyone either. In my opinion, starting at a very young age is the best time to prepare for retirement as one’s youth allow for a much broader option. If you start preparing when you’re at your 40’s or 50’s, you’re actually limiting your options. After all, our youth and our health are our ultimate assets. Now, that’s out of the way, I think we should discuss what would be a good investment. Okay, that’s a bit misleading. I think the title alone should be enough to tip everyone the content of my article. Yes, it’s about cryptocurrency, and why I think it’s a good idea to buy cryptocurrency and save it for your retirement. But why cryptocurrency? Why not gold, or insurance, or a saving account? Gold is good but buying gold is not as easy as buying cryptocurrency. Insurance on the other hand seem like a scam to me. It keeps you poor all your life and rich when you're dead. Okay, I’m exaggerating. Insurance is not THAT bad of an idea as long as one find a trustworthy insurance company. And having a saving account is obviously good as well especially if the bank of your choice gives decent interest for your money. Now, I’m not actually trying to stop anyone from using any of the aforementioned options. In my opinion, it’s really just a matter of choice and preference. I simply prefer cryptocurrency, that’s all. Also, no one is telling you that you can’t use all of them at once. https://pixabay.com/photos/cryptocurrency-finance-be-free-3415066/ **Choose One Crypto or Diversify?** I think this is a no brainer. Diversifying your assets is always the right move. As the saying goes, *one should not put all your eggs in one basket*. That said, finding the right cryptocurrency is as important as diversifying. Actually, in the crypto-market it could even more important since investing in shitty coins is one of the fastest ways to lose money. Now here are the list coins I’m holding so far. **Bitcoin Cash (BCH)** – This shouldn’t really come as a surprise. Yes, Bitcoin Cash is my top choice of cryptocurrency. It’s one of the best coins around, and in my opinion, one with the most promising future. I believe in Bitcoin Cash so much that I’ve sold all of my Bitcoin (yes, I used to own Bitcoin) and bought Bitcoin Cash instead. That said I’ve sold some of my BCH before when I needed money so I have less than 1 BCH on my wallet now which I don’t plan on selling any time soon. **Litecoin (LTC)** – I think this is a good coin as well. Litecoin has good functionality, and cheap transaction fee, and is a much better choice than Bitcoin just like Bitcoin Cash. I don’t have much of this coin, just about $100 or so. I didn’t buy it as well; I got this coin by I exchanging some of my STEEM to LTC. Alright...I guess you could technically say that I bought my LTCs. **Dogecoin (DOGE)** – I have dissed this coin in several of my articles before but that’s because mostly of Elon Musk and not because hate DOGE or anything. Actually, I really like the coin. Not as much as Bitcoin Cash but its close. Right now I have about 300 DOGE on my wallet but I didn’t buy it (for real). I earned my DOGE through faucets and through Tipestry.com. I actually have more but I sold several hundreds of it about two years ago. A dumb decision, I know. **Hive** – I’ve been writing at Hive.blog before focusing on Read.cash, and as such I have several hundred Hives on my main account wallet. That said I’ll probably exchange all of my HIVES to BCH once the market stabilizes. Of course, there’s also the option of diversifying to another asset I deem promising. Or I could just stake it and let it earn some interest. **STEEM** – I have a thousand STEEM in my main account’s wallet. As I’ve completely stopped writing at STEEM about a year ago, I simply let my STEEM work for me through staking. Just like HIVE, I’m thinking of exchanging all of my STEEM to BCH, or other promising asset. As you can see my portfolio is not as diverse as other people since I only have five types of cryptocurrencies but I do have plan on adding more in the near future. I could also just exchange my HIVES and STEEMS to other more promising cryptos like Bitcoin Cash which would make my portfolio less or more diverse.. https://pixabay.com/vectors/sign-designation-of-the-3228713/ **Why No Bitcoin or Ethereum?** You might have notice by now but I didn’t include Bitcoin or Ethereum in my portfolio. The reason for that is not because I hated the two most popular cryptocurrencies on the market today but because: One, Bitcoin is considered outdated compared to other cryptocurrencies. In terms of functionalities it is greatly lacking compared to the five in my portfolio. Two, Bitcoin is not practical with its horrendous transaction fee. Three, Ethereum have good application but horrible gas fees (much worse than Bitcoin) and transaction speed. The transaction (gas) fees and transaction speed were the real reasons I didn’t even considered the two aforementioned cryptocurrencies. The transaction fee is especially a deal breaker for me. Although I plan on keeping my cryptocurrencies for my retirement, there might come a day that I desperately needed money, and would be forced to sell all of them. And if that happened, Bitcoin and Ethereum’s absurd transaction (gas) fees would slash a noticeable chunk of the money I would have otherwise received from selling them which is counterproductive. Some might argue that the price of Bitcoin and Ethereum might have gone up by then so the transaction fees don’t really matter. To that I’ll argue back that Bitcoin’s transaction fee, and Ethereum’s gas fee scale up or down depending on the price of the two coin. Moreover, the value of Bitcoin Cash, and the other cryptocurrencies in my portfolio would have also went up by then, and even if the transaction fees of my coins went up as well, it’s still within the acceptable limit. Anyways, I’m just sharing my plan for the future and there’s really no need to emulate my method. That said if you do choose to keep some cryptocurrencies for your retirement, I advise that you choose your cryptos very carefully. After all you’re trying to save (and earn) money, not lose it.   That’s it for now. Thanks for reading – have a nice day. **** My other articles: https://read.cash/@beastion https://pixabay.com/vectors/divider-separator-line-art-owl-5228719/

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@beastion 6 July 2021

Crackdowns and Regulations: Is It an Inevitable Outcome? https://pixabay.com/photos/cryptocurrency-concept-blockchain-3409725/ **The Price of Becoming Mainstream** Cryptocurrency had become increasingly popular over the years. People from all walks of life had at least heard of cryptocurrency one way or another. This is true even if one does not search for it online, one would still come across it through countless online and offline ads. And if this trend continues, it’ll only be a matter of time before cryptocurrency become a household name and become mainstream. But would it really that easy? Would Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dashcoin, Dogecoin, etc. be allowed to become household names without interference? It’s highly unlikely. Although cryptocurrency have countless supporters, its detractors are nothing to sneeze at either, especially if said detractors are our politicians and regulators. Before Bitcoin become very popular, it was relatively unknowns save for those lucky few who had seen the future in cryptocurrency, and acted quickly. Back then, there are very few regulators and politicians eyeing Bitcoin as most of them consider it a bubble that would eventually burst. Even the media share this sentiment. Yes, very few took Bitcoin very seriously – a big mistake on their part. But as the years passed the “bubble” still did not burst. Not only did the bubble not burst, it even multiplied when others followed Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto’s footsteps and creates their own cryptocurrencies, many of which simply used Bitcoin as a base for their cryptocurrency instead of starting from scratch – creating cryptocurrencies that greatly improved upon its many flaws and limitations. Just by seeing the number of cryptocurrencies that appeared after Bitcoin, its plain for everyone to see that cryptocurrency won’t be going anywhere soon. Bitcoin is becoming more popular and slowly becoming mainstream, and our politicians and regulators has no choice but to take cryptocurrency very seriously. Which they did... As the disruptive technology behind cryptocurrency, the Blockchain technology, is slowly transforming the world, cryptocurrency is also, ever-so slowly becoming mainstream, even becoming a threat to the almighty fiat currency. And as old fashioned as they are, our politicians and industry leaders felt like they needed to do something about it. So as to combat what they see as a “threat”, these politicians and regulators do what they do best – control or at least try to control cryptocurrency through crackdowns and regulations. https://pixabay.com/illustrations/bitcoin-cryptocurrency-splash-water-3270890/ **Stricter Regulations is Inevitable** When it comes to currency (digital or fiat); the government would want nothing less but absolute control. Anything less than that is unacceptable for them. The reason they wanted absolute control over cryptocurrency was to: One, protect fiat currency, and the stock market; two, to regulate and tax cryptocurrency, and three, to control the price of cryptocurrency which is very volatile. There might be other reasons that I have forgotten or I couldn’t think of but the three I’ve mentioned should be among the main reasons. Over the years, our politicians did everything they could to put cryptocurrency in the government’s control. But so far, cryptocurrency has remained very resilient and resisted their attempts at every possible turn which displeases them greatly. Seeing that cryptocurrency simply refuses to bow down to them, some governments turn to crackdowns and even outright ban. For example, some countries like Nigeria and even India chooses to ban, or plan to ban cryptocurrency. Fortunately, there are also countries that are more open-minded, country like El Salvador that embraces cryptocurrency, specifically Bitcoin, even going as far as to make it a legal tender. Sadly, the El Salvadoran government is a rarity amongst government in the world. That said majority of governments actually have a neutral stance when it comes to cryptocurrencies. These governments will not fully support cryptocurrency but they would also not ban or suppress it. That is to say, they opted for regulations instead of crackdowns and ban. Speaking of regulations… the severity of the regulation depends largely from country to country. Countries that are more supportive to cryptocurrency would opt for lighter regulations. For example, several countries in Latin America sparsely regulate cryptocurrencies. A country like China on the other hand has very strict regulations, and recently has begun cracking down on Bitcoin miners. Also, exchanges are illegal in China too, so there’s that too. The United States of America, one of the most influential countries in the world, whose stance had been relatively neutral till now, had expressed its desire for stricter cryptocurrency regulations. This desire had become more apparent when the US Department of State tried to influence El Salvador after their country’s congress passed the bill that would make Bitcoin a legal tender last June 8. During a press conference, US Department of State undersecretary of state for political affairs, Victoria Nuland told reporters that she’d spoken with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, urging him to be responsible for their new Bitcoin law – ensuring that it’s well regulated. Following that the US State Department also released the name of 14 El Salvadorans under the Bukele regime – labeling them as corrupt and undemocratic actors. Even a blind person could see that this is a threat. If the Salvadoran President did not regulate Bitcoin in his country that same level as the US, then he’ll risk running afoul with the US State Department and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). So as you could see, stricter cryptocurrency regulations are inevitable. Although cryptocurrency had become big over the years, it’s still not big enough to fight against the government’s control. https://pixabay.com/photos/shield-ban-stop-containing-warning-2854067/ **The Crackdown on Exchanges and Tightening Regulations** Most of you must be aware of this already but Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world is currently facing troubles with large number of regulators from several countries like Thailand, Japan, the United Kingdom, and even Cayman Islands. The aforementioned countries claimed that Binance is unregistered, unlicensed, and unregulated cryptocurrency exchange that’s operating illegaly in their countries. Why I am mentioning this? It’s because before this debacle, Binance had been operating in these countries without issue. But after regulators from these countries implemented stricter regulations, Binance had suddenly become an unlicensed exchange that’s operating illegally. Binance is not the only exchange that’s facing pressure from regulators. A few months back, the South Korean pushes out a bill that requires 200 of the country’s exchanges to register for a business license. The business license itself is not the problem but rather the requirements to earn said business license. For these 200 exchanges to earn the license and become a legal trading platform they must first partner up with local banks to open real-name bank accounts for their customers which is a very difficult thing to do. Yes, a simple KYC is no longer enough for the South Korean governments. What’s happening to Binance and the 200 South Korean exchanges is like a glimpse of the future. As regulations on cryptocurrencies strengthened, our freedom to trade with cryptocurrency freely will become more and more limited. Unfortunately, this trend will most likely continue, and with the crypto-market’s limited power, there’s very little that we could do to prevent it. Not only can we not prevent it, we must also play the game that the regulators are playing. This is because government can and will crackdown on cryptocurrencies if we don’t.   Anyway, I’ll end the article here– thank you for reading, and have a nice day. **** My other articles: https://read.cash/@beastion https://pixabay.com/vectors/divider-separator-line-art-owl-5228719/

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@beastion 5 July 2021

Bitcoin Cash: The Underappreciated Gem https://pixabay.com/photos/rock-crystal-clear-to-white-gem-top-1603474/ **A Diamond on the Rough** Should Bitcoin Cash be worth more? Yes, it should! Bitcoin is good and I appreaciate it like many other people but it just can’t hold a candle to Bitcoin Cash. Why? It’s because Bitcoin Cash is the real Bitcoin. It’s the Bitcoin that Satoshi Nakamoto, the developer and inventor of Bitcoin and the Blockchain technology had envisioned – a worldwide digital currency backed by energy that cannot be controlled by any government. Unfortunately, Bitcoin failed at that badly. Being considered the world’s third largest currency by the Deutsche Bank wasn’t a good thing for Bitcoin as it’s now on every government’s radar. Call for stricter regulation has become louder because it has grown too big over the years. Certainly, altcoins are also on the government’s watch list but it’s not as bad as Bitcoin. Then there’s the issue of transaction fee. Satoshi Nakamoto also envisioned Bitcoin as a digital currency that the masses could use on online transactions. Basically, Bitcoin should be a digital currency with great value but affordable fees. But seeing the average transaction fee for Bitcoin, I think we could agree that it failed at that too. …Then how about Bitcoin Cash? Many, specifically Bitcoin maximalist, considered Bitcoin Cash as a splinter cryptocurrency. And they’re right. Bitcoin Cash was a digital currency created because people that believed in Satoshi Nakamoto’s vision thought that Bitcoin was drifting further and further away from its original purpose. It’s a split, or an offshoot or whatever people (detractors) wants to call it. But even if it’s just an offshoot, it’s a damn good one. It's better than Bitcoin. And I’m not just talking twice, thrice, or even ten times that of Bitcoin but a hundred times, possibly even more. Bitcoin Cash is what Bitcoin strive to be but failed miserably. Don’t be mistaken though, Bitcoin is still a viable digital currency that could be used for large scale transactions (as long as one is prepared to pay absurd transaction fees), and there’s no doubting that. But Bitcoin shines more as store of value similar to gold than anything else – probably the only reason why it’s so popular. But in term of functionality and practicality, Bitcoin Cash trumps Bitcoin. And yet in terms of value, Bitcoin Cash is losing badly to Bitcoin which is absurd in my opinion. No, of course I’m not saying that Bitcoin Cash should have the same value as Bitcoin (although that would be good too). After all, if Bitcoin is the Gold while Bitcoin Cash is the currency of the crypto space. Meaning, Bitcoin is akin to gold, while Bitcoin Cash is akin to the US Dollar, Euro, or other fiat currencies on the real world. As everyone knows, gold has more value than any fiat currency. That said, fiat currency have bigger market than gold. But the fact that Bitcoin Cash is lagging behind Bitcoin too much is what makes it aggravating. Bitcoin Cash is a gem of a cryptocurrency, a diamond on the rough but its way underappreciated and undervalued. And that needed to change. https://pixabay.com/illustrations/question-mark-important-sign-1872634/ **Why is Bitcoin Cash Undervalued?** Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash both have very limited supply of 21 million. So if we look at that alone, both should have the same value. In terms of Block size Bitcoin Cash has 32 MB while Bitcoin only has 1 MB. That’s a huge difference of 31 MB. When it comes to transaction speed, Bitcoin could only do 7 transactions per second while Bitcoin Cash could do 116 transactions per second. That’s a whopping 99 more transaction per second. Again, a huge difference. So as we have already established, Bitcoin Cash is a much better cryptocurrency compared to Bitcoin which should make Bitcoin Cash, in theory, more valuable. If we use cellphones as an analogy, a cellphone with better features and specs should be more expensive. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case when it comes to Bitcoin Cash which doesn’t make sense. But why is Bitcoin Cash so undervalued? In my opinion, one reason why Bitcoin was more valuable than Bitcoin Cash was because Bitcoin was first (2009) and was therefore more established and have more supporter than Bitcoin Cash that only appeared in 2017. Meaning, it’s more popular. Another reason why Bitcoin Cash was so undervalued was largely due to the fact that many Bitcoin maximalists are doing everything they could to pump the value of Bitcoin while devaluing Bitcoin Cash. And considering that they have several years of head start, they’re more than capable crushing rivals that could potentially take over Bitcoin. Then there’s the fact that the original Bitcoin Cash forked into Bitcoin Cash ABC and Bitcoin Cash SV on November 2018. I believed that this is one of the main reason, it not the main reason why Bitcoin Cash was so undervalued today. Aside from the fact that the Bitcoin Cash community itself split into the Bitcoin Cash ABC and Bitcoin Cash SV community respectively, Bitcoin Cash’s popularity also suffered a big hit. Many previous supporters turned their backs on the community and turned to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies instead. Worse still, some of these previous supporters turned into detractors after losing faith in the project. Seriously, it’s easy to see that Bitcoin Cash suffered greatly after the fork and the divide of the community. And although it’s showing signs of recovery, it’s still far from its all-time high of $3,721. https://pixabay.com/photos/sunset-men-silhouettes-helping-1807524/ **Bitcoin Cash Need Our Support** Bitcoin Cash had lost a significant number of its supporters and investors after the fork, and the effects of such a loss could still be felt even though almost two years had passed. I’m actually confident that Bitcoin Cash would eventually recover but that’ll require time and our unending support from the community. To be more precise we need more investors to invest in the project. Obviously, the job of attracting big investors is the responsibility of those heading the project. But even we, bloggers and writers, could offer our assistant. And we could do that by spreading the words through our writings. Aside from writing, we could also try inviting others to try Bitcoin Cash or by joining read.cash. And even if we the people we invited decided not to join, that’s still okay as our main goal is to spread awareness about Bitcoin Cash. Some of you might scoff at me by saying that raising awareness is not enough to increase Bitcoin Cash’s value. And I have to disagree with that sentiment. Raising awareness through writings and words of mouth is a very effective method. The more people that knew the existence of Bitcoin Cash, the more its popularity rises. And honestly, Bitcoin Cash needed an injection of popularity to attract more investors to the project. I’m not saying that it’s not popular but Bitcoin Cash needed more clout. I think most of you had noticed by now but Bitcoin’s popularity is the only reason it is where it is right now. Bitcoin is the single most popular cryptocurrency in the market right now. And every single day, it’s attracting rich people and institutions to invest in it. Think of Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, and the new Baby Doge. Elon Musk had sent the value of these coins soaring through his tweets alone. I won’t go into more details about this coin but I think you get my point. Obviously we couldn’t copy Elon Musk’s method as we’re not as popular as he was. But what we lack in quality could be compensated through quantity. As long as we have the number, people would have no choice but to listen us. Anyway, I’ll end the article here– thank you for reading, and have a nice day. **** My other articles: https://read.cash/@beastion https://pixabay.com/vectors/divider-separator-line-art-owl-5228719/

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@beastion 4 July 2021

US Interference: How Far is Too Far? https://pixabay.com/photos/bitcoin-crypto-currency-currency-3215526/ **Bitcoin Law “Controversy”** June 8, 2021, the country of El Salvador, in a historic move, passed a bill that will make Bitcoin a legal tender by September – and some people are not pleased. El Salvador’s passing of the bill that will make Bitcoin, one of the country’s legal tender received both praise from countless supporters of cryptocurrency, especially those who supported Bitcoin. But as one would expect, this move also displeased people that sees cryptocurrency as a threat to the dominance of fiat currency – specifically, the dominance of the US Dollar. The World Bank for example, had rejected the request of Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, for assistance – same goes for the European Central Bank (ECB). That said, the World Bank and European Central Bank’s response is still understandable as they had made their stance on cryptocurrency years ago. What’s not understandable though, is the US State Department’s action. Not long after El Salvador passed their “controversial” bill, the US State Department of State’s undersecretary met face to face with President Nayib Bukele, stating the US concern over the bill that makes Bitcoin a legal tender in his country. During a press conference, US State Department undersecretary Victoria Nuland stated that the US has “urged” El Salvador to be “responsible” with their new Bitcoin law, and that the country must ensure that Bitcoin is “well regulated.” Below is a quote of her statement. “I did suggest to the president that whatever El Salvador chooses to do, you ensure that it is well regulated, that it is transparent and that it is responsible, and you protect yourself against malign actors.” Such a statement makes one wonder what will happen if El Salvador didn’t follow the US State Department undersecretary’s “advice.” Not good I’m sure. It’s quite obvious why the US State Department was so concern with El Salvador’s new Bitcoin law. They’re worried that Bitcoin becoming a legal tender would affect the US Dollar. After all, a few months back, a report from the Deutsche Bank ranks Bitcoin third among global currencies, just below the US Dollar and the EURO. https://decrypt.co/39425/bitcoin-is-3rd-largest-world-currency And although the value of Bitcoin had plummeted since that report, Bitcoin still remained as the single most popular cryptocurrency which also happened to be (mostly) unregulated – a good reason to be concerned. Hmm… so okay, the US State Department’s action might actually be understandable but still… **The US is Reaching Too Far…** The US interfering with other country’s policies is not really new as they’ve been doing it for more than a hundred years already. Using their strong economy and overwhelming military, the US would try to influence other country’s policies through bribe, intimidation, and force (if necessary). And no, I’m not just spouting nonsense here. My country, the Philippines, used to be a US colony. For 48 years, my country was under US rule. So yes, I do know what I’m talking about. That said, compared when my country was under Spanish and Japanese rule, the US did treat the Philippines and the Filipinos a lot better but that doesn’t mean they didn’t take advantage of us. But since this article is not about how the US treated my country when it’s still under their rule, I won’t go into further details. But if you’re really curious how the Philippine was treated under US rule, you could always search for it online. There should be plenty of articles and video about it. Anyways, the US State Department’s attempt of influencing El Salvador’s new Bitcoin law was kind of expected, understandable even. But it won’t change a fact that they’re overreaching their boundaries. El Salvador is sovereign country with its own constitutions and laws, and interfering with the country’s policies is a blatant disrespect, and even disregard to this sovereignty. So what if they decided to make Bitcoin a legal tender? Does their new law have anything to do with the US? No, it doesn’t. The US might not like the new law but that doesn’t give them right to interfere with other country's affair. Besides, the new law was just an attempt to improve the country’s economy by trying to attract Bitcoin whales and investors to invest in the country. I’m pretty sure that the US State Department understood this fact but that won’t stop them from doing what they have set to do using any method they deem necessary. **Crackdown and Unconventional Warfare (UW)** No one knew the result of the meeting between US State Department’s undersecretary, Victoria Nuland and El Salvador’s president Nuyib Bukele. But during a press conference, the US State Department released the names of **14 Salvadorans** under the Bukele regime – naming them as “corrupt” and “undemocratic” actors. https://www.state.gov/reports/section-353-corrupt-and-undemocratic-actors-report/ The US State Department’s action of naming these 14 Salvadorans as “corrupt” and “undemocratic” actors made many people think that the US is cracking down on El Salvador for supporting Bitcoin. And personally, I think so too. Before the controversial Bitcoin law was passed, the US State Department didn’t even care about these 14 Salvadorans but after the bill was passed by the El Salvadoran congress, their names and their crimes was suddenly put to light. Even a blind person could see that the US State Department was trying to force the El Salvador president’s hands. Certainly, the US State Department could no longer do anything about the new law now that El Salvadoran congress had passed it but they sure could force President Nuyib Bukele to push for stricter regulations. And if the El Salvadoran president declined, his country will most likely face the wrath of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). How? Through a method called the Unconventional Warfare (UW). Unconventional Warfare doesn’t just involve fighting or war. In the case of El Salvador, their economy would be the target. The image below (an excerpt from a WiKiLeaks document) could explain more how the US could cripple El Salvador through the use of Unconventional Warfare (UW). https://twitter.com/100trillionUSD/status/1402574448046313475?s=19 https://twitter.com/100trillionUSD/status/1402574448046313475?s=19 As you have read the US have many ways to make the president of El Salvador agree to their “request”. And In my personal opinion though, I think that President Nuyib Bukele is most likely succumb to pressure once the US and the IMF started targeting the country’s economy. Moreover, even if the US didn’t make the lives of the El Salvadoran difficult through economic warfare, the country would still suffer economically because of their new Bitcoin law. The reason being is that majority world leaders and international banks refuse to support his new law. **Final Say** The US State Department’s response to the El Salvador’s new Bitcon law is very worrying, and could jeopardize many cryptocurrencies chance of becoming a legal tender. Most worrying though was the fact that many government bodies and international organization seemed to share the sentiments of the US government when it comes to cryptocurrency. Honestly, I feel a little disappointed that our world leaders are so against cryptocurrencies. And from the looks of it, our dream of seeing cryptocurrency becoming mainstream will take several more years to be realized. Still, I’m hopeful that our leaders would see the light. Anyway that’s all for now – thank you for reading, and have a nice day. FIN~ **** My other articles: https://read.cash/@beastion https://pixabay.com/vectors/divider-separator-line-art-owl-5228719/

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@beastion 3 July 2021

Fear of the Unknown: An Inherent Trait that Pushes Humanity Forward https://pixabay.com/photos/hand-silhouette-shape-horror-984170/  **The Unknown…** Humans fear what they could not explain. It has been like that since the day of our ancestors, and it’s a trait we inherited from them. It’s in our genes. The feat of the unknown is a symbol of human ignorance? But is it a bad thing? In my personal opinion though, the fear of the unknown is what pushes our race to move forward. It’s a stumbling block that we must overcome. So for me, fearing the unknown is not a bad thing. Many of the things that surrounds you; your house, the clothes you’re wearing, the vehicle you’re riding, and even the laptop that I’m using to write this article was the product of that fear. The unknown pushes humans to strive for knowledge that could explain phenomenon that were unexplainable. For that they needed to develop and invent tools that can help them explain the unknowns. Of course the unknown can be very dangerous too. And since there’s power in number, humans group together. Also, to protect themselves, they built houses, castles, and fortresses that could defend them from the unknown. Weapons are also developed for that purpose. Since humanity fear the cold, they invented clothes to keep themselves warm. They tame the force known as fire for their own uses. They even learned how to harness the power of the river for various purposes such as irrigation and electricity. Even the power of the sun was used to serve humanity’s needs. And all of this was only possible because humanity fears the unknown… https://pixabay.com/photos/fantasy-surreal-mask-wall-eye-2506830/ **Humanity Will Never Stop Fearing the Unknown** Despite what humanity have achieved so far, it could be said we had just scratched the surface of what the universe had to offer. We might not be as ignorant as our ancestor but the fear of the unknown is still there. And that’s a good thing. I say it’s a good thing because as long as the unknown exist, humanity has something to strive for. And as long as we keep striving forward, our lives will never get boring – our existence will always have a purpose. After all, it was said that once humanity stop striving for new knowledge, we will become stagnant and our race will soon cease to exist. Besides, there’s really no reason to stop striving. The universe is full of strange and wonderful things that are just waiting to be discovered. Moreover, as race, humanity could be said to have just taken the first step. Meaning, we still have a long way to go until we discover more of the unknown. It could also mean that our civilization would grow stronger and walk farther. Moreover, the farther we walk, the more we discover, and the more we discover, the nearer we are in answering some of the questions that’s been plaguing as for ages. Questions like, if we are alone in this vast universe? Personally though, I always believe that humans are not the only intelligent race in the universe. Nor is Earth the only planet with life. Obviously, I’m not the only one who thought this way. But as undeniable proof hasn’t been discovered yet, this belief could only remain as such; a belief. Still, I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to see aliens in this life time. That said, will the aliens we’re going to eventually meet be friendly or not? That’s another unknown worth contemplating. https://pixabay.com/photos/gothic-goth-fantasy-cosmos-galaxy-3623555/ **Life is Worth Living Because of the Unknown** Humans are very different from every animal on Earth. No, I’m not being a humanist, or was that human supremacist? Not that it matters… Anyways, what makes humans very different from other animals aside from our intellect is our creativity and imagination. Yes, humans are very creative creature. If we humans encountered something that we could not understand, we would try to make up explanation for it. And the explanation that we concocted can be… very imaginative to say the least as seen in our arts, literature, architectures, cultures, etc. Of course as we learn more of the unknown, our explanation for the things that confuses us in the past also becomes more scientific and realistic. Personally though, I prefer the “creative” explanations more than the scientific ones. But that’s because it’s more interesting that way. Basically, the unknown is like the spice of our entire existence; similar to how spice makes even the blandest dishes more palatable, the unknown gives more meaning to our existence. It’s a great thing and we should be thankful that our world and the universe have so many mysteries that have yet to be discovered. Certainly, the unknown can be very terrifying most of the time but we wouldn’t be where we are now if we did not try to find answers to the mysteries that plague us. Saying that we owe everything we have now to our innate curiosity and fear of the unknown isn’t an exaggeration either. The unknown pretty much shaped us as a race. And if we allow it, it’ll continue shaping us. Personally, I say we let it. So what do you think of this article? Did you find it interesting? Also, did you agree with what was written here? Or maybe you disagree? Whatever your opinion might be please write it in the comment section. Also, if you have any criticism, please do write it there as well so that I could improve. Anyway that’s all for now – thank you for reading, and have a nice day. FIN~ **** My other articles: https://read.cash/@beastion

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@beastion 2 July 2021

Pandemic, Lockdown and Depression (A True Story) https://pixabay.com/photos/desperate-sad-depressed-feet-hands-2293377/ **The Pandemic and the Lockdown** The Covid-19 pandemic, and the lockdowns that seemed to have no end in sight – this two things are enough to send even the toughest mind into depression. When schools closed because of the pandemic, I secretly celebrated. Yes, I’m a horrible person, I know. But to my defense, I wasn’t celebrating because people are getting sick and/or dying but because I’m a lazy student that hated going to school. Also, it's because I’m ignorant and thought that the lockdown would only last for a week or so. Oh, how wrong I was… At first the lockdown was great. And although I couldn’t go out as easily as before; I also no longer need wake up very early every single day. I could stay up all night to browse the internet, play games, and watch movies, etc. without having to worry about going to school the next day. It was a blast – at least for the first few months. Of course being on a lockup at home doesn’t mean that my education have to stop. Online classes were scheduled as compensation for the fact that we couldn’t go to school personally. And although I found it a bit troublesome, it wasn’t so bad. So like I said previously, the first few months of the lockdown were a blast (for me) being the only downside (that I could think of that time) was the fact that I couldn’t go out to socialize with my friends – not really a big deal considering that I’m sort of an introvert that’s not too fond of socializing. Yes, I’m an introverted kind of guy. That said I have friends which I enjoy hanging with from time to time. After all I’m an introvert not a loner. But as the months passes by the novelty of being stuck at home with nothing to do finally wear off. The games and movies I used to enjoy so much no longer seemed as fun as it used to be. What’s more surprising though was the fact that I actually started miss going to school! Truth be told; I never thought that there would be a day that I’ll think that it'll be great to wake up early in the morning and go to school. But a day like that did actually come. As days passes by with no news if the lockdown will ever be lift up, I could feel the depression sinking in. Many of the activities that I used to enjoy like online gaming, binge watching movies and television shows, and reading online novels no longer gives me satisfaction. Only then did I realized that although I didn't caught covid, I have caught depression. I also know that I needed to do something quickly, or I’ll end badly for me. https://pixabay.com/vectors/counselor-icon-school-counselor-1294858/ **Seeking Professional Help…** Oftentimes, the best way to cure depression was to seek help before things gets worse. And that’s exactly what I did. The first people I approached for help were obviously my parents. But as supportive as they were, they couldn’t really help me with my problem. As such, they seek help from a relative who happened to be a psychiatrist. But before I continue though, I would like to clear one thing – I haven’t lost my mind. Yes, I was depressed but not insane. I’m aware that there’s a misconception that only people with mental issue need to see a psychiatrist which is false. There’s nothing wrong with normal people seeking a psychiatrist. On the contrary, it’s actually recommended that we see a psychiatrist from time to time to avoid developing a mental illness. After all, life’s very stressful, and one of the best ways to combat the stress of life was to talk to someone – especially a professional who could not only listen to our problem but give advice as well. So anyway, I spoke to my relative about my issue via ZOOM. And after listening to me close to an hour, he gave me a few advices. One of which was to actually go out and see my friends. Yeah, he basically wants me to go out and socialize, the one thing I haven’t done since the pandemic. As most of you would have expected, I was conflicted, unsure if I should follow his advice. After all, one of the reason we’re having this damn lockdown in the first place was to prevent the spread of the virus. Since he’s acting as my psychiatrist, I could only tell him my concern. I explain to him that I don’t feel comfortable going out these days because the pandemic seemed to be worsening, especially with news of the new variant.   My relative smiled and told me that the pandemic is not as bad as the news tries to convey. He also told me that I should be fine as long as I take proper precautions and follow the social distancing guidelines. Also, it’s not like he’s telling me to see my friends all at once as I could just visit them one by one. So after thinking about it for two days, I finally decided to bite the bullet and went out to visit them. Following my psychiatrist’s advice, I contacted them first via Messenger before visiting so as to give them ample time to prepare. After all I want to reduce the risk of possible infection as much as possible. As most of my friends live at the same city (but different towns) visiting them all in a single day is just not possible. But since I don’t have too many friends in the same city (I limit the visit to the same city where I live to reduce the risk further), it only took me two days to visit them all. I won’t bore you guys with what I’ve discussed with my friends as most of it is just some random stuff not worth mentioning. I will tell you though that to my pleasant surprise, the “treatment” that my psychiatrist suggested worked a lot better than I had anticipated. Yes, I got better. That said I won’t say that I have totally escaped my depression as I probably didn’t. After all the source of my depression were the pandemic and the lockdown. So for my depression to go away for good, the lockdown must end. **Lesson Learned** Although my depression didn’t go away for good, I did find myself coping a lot better. Aside from that, I also learned some very important lessons from that experience. One of which was to never ignore depression. That’s because the more we ignore our depression, the worse it’ll haunt us. Another lesson that I learned was the importance of human contact. Whether a person is an extrovert or an introvert, both needed to bond and interact with another human being. There’s no escaping this fact. After all humans are social creatures, and the need for bonding is ingrained deeply into our genes. Anyway that’s all for now – thank you for reading, and have a nice day. FIN~ **** My other articles: https://read.cash/@beastion https://pixabay.com/vectors/divider-separator-line-art-owl-5228719/

@beastion 1 July 2021

The Future of Cryptocurrency: Moving out of Bitcoin’s Shadow https://pixabay.com/illustrations/bitcoin-blockchain-business-3411349/ ***Disclaimer****: Everything written in this article is based solely on my opinion which means that everyone is free to dismiss whatever is written here if they don’t agree to it.* **Living Under Bitcoin's Shadow…** I love Bitcoin Cash and I believed that most of you on this platform do so as well. But I Bitcoin Cash has a fundamental flaw that limits its growth – its living under Bitcoin’s shadow. This is actually a flaw that’s not unique to Bitcoin Cash alone. Every cryptocurrency created after Bitcoin also share this fundamental flaw which I believe is actually harmful to the crypto-market as a whole. That said it’s not really surprising considering that many cryptocurrency today are either clones or fork of Bitcoin. But do they really have to live under Bitcoin’s shadow? No they don’t. After all, most of these offshoots of Bitcoin are a lot better than the original in term of cost, functionality, practicality, security, usability. Even the popular meme coin, Dogecoin, that’s originally created as a joke is a better cryptocurrency compared to Bitcoin. In all honesty, with so many better alternatives, Bitcoin’s continued existence is a mystery to me. What’s more absurd is the fact that this “outdated relic” is actually lording over all cryptocurrency in existence. If Bitcoin is a fiat currency, it would have been paced out a long time ago – replaced by a better currency. After all, it makes no sense to use something impractical when there are much better alternatives out there. Yes, I know that Taproot, the first Bitcoin upgrade in four years that claims to improve Bitcoin’s privacy and efficiency exist. But considering Bitcoin’s base infrastructure, how much improvement could be made? In my personal opinion, no matter the improvement Bitcoin will have in the near future, it would still be inferior in comparison to Bitcoin Cash and other altcoins. https://pixabay.com/photos/sheep-animals-flock-herd-lamb-1148999/ **Correlation Is Not Beneficial For the Market** How many times had you found yourself losing money because some government in a country in Asia decided to take a hard stance against Bitcoin mining? Or when an egotistical technocrat billionaire decided to test how much he could push cryptocurrency traders around before they explode in anger? If you’re a regular cryptocurrency trader, I dare say a lot. After all unlike these millionaires and billionaires traders that could hold on to their coins for a long time, majority of regular traders would often time have to sell their coins for a loss because they needed the money to feed themselves and their families. The most infuriating thing about all of this was the fact that even though Bitcoin was the target, other cryptocurrencies are often caught in the crossfire as well! This is very unfair. Unfortunately, there’s very little we could do about it. After all, altcoins live under Bitcoin’s shadow. That’s because Bitcoin, and all altcoins are correlated – they’re interdependent on each other. If Bitcoin rises, altcoins would follow, and if Bitcoin falls, so do all altcoins. And yes even Bitcoin Cash is an altcoin. This correlation with Bitcoin is unhealthy for the cryptocurrency ecosystem. It also proves that the crypto-market is still very much immature. And it’s because of this immaturity that the crypto-market cannot truly compete with the traditional stock market – at least not yet. To say that the market has truly mature, we must at least reach the point where Bitcoin’s rise and fall will have no or very little effect on other cryptocurrencies. https://pixabay.com/photos/woman-adventure-ice-cave-cold-1850094/ **BItcoin Cash Should Move out of Bitcoin’s Shadow** Young birds leave their nest once they could fly. Human children leave their home and become independent once they’re old enough. Similarly, altcoins should have left Bitcoin’s shadow years ago. Dependency makes a person weak, and similarly, being in Bitcoin’s shadow makes cryptocurrency as a whole, weak. Although Bitcoin is currently dominant and is very popular, its inherent flaws are a weakness that could be exploited. These weaknesses are very apparent and could lead to the downfall of Bitcoin. Once that happens, the market will surely follow. Of course the chance of that actually happening is very slim. After all, Bitcoin has grown too big – possibly too big to fail. But is it really? Still, even if Bitcoin didn’t actually collapse. It would still be advantageous for the crypto-market if it stop being too dependent on Bitcoin. If alcoins like Bitcoin Cash stay dependent on Bitcoin, they would never mature as a cryptocurrency. Moreover, their dependency would prevent them from ever reaching their full potential. Bitcoin Cash is a very promising and wonderful cryptocurrency; much more than Bitcoin would ever be. But just like all altcoins, its future will be limited if it remain on Bitcoin’s shadow. Just like how a person should learn on his or her own two legs to be a proper human being, Bitcoin Cash too, should learn how to be independent of Bitcoin if it wanted to replace it as the dominant cryptocurrency. **In Conclusion: Moving Out of Bitcoin’s Shadow is the Best for the Crypto-market** Altcoins like Bitcoin Cash deserved better than to remain under the shadow of Bitcoin. Although cryptocurrency started with Bitcoin it doesn’t mean that the crypto-market should follow its whims and the whims of the whales that controlled it. One of the reasons that Bitcoin was created was decentralization. And in my opinion, the fact that the market needed to rally at the side of one big central cryptocurrency like Bitcoin is as centralize as one can be. Of course like many people, I’m very grateful to Bitcoin and its creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. Without Bitcoin, the blockchain technology and the market we have today would not exist. As such I don’t want to see it fail. But it shouldn’t be like a possessive parent that won’t allow its offshoots (altcoins) to mature and walk on their own two legs. For the sake of the market and cryptocurrency as a whole, Bitcoin needed to let go... So what do you think of this article? Do you agree with what was written here? Or maybe you disagree? Whatever your opinion might be please write it in the comment section. Also, if you have any criticism, please do write it there as well so that I could improve. Thank you for reading and have a nice day.        **** My other articles: https://read.cash/@beastion

@beastion 30 June 2021

Cryptocurrency: The Advantages of Teaching it in Schools https://pixabay.com/illustrations/back-to-school-abc-school-enrollment-2629361/ ****Disclaimer******:** *Before reading please be advised that this article contains opinion(s) that some people might find offensive. It’s a take against Critical Race Theory (CRT). And although it’s just a small part of the whole article, it might still offend some people. So if you’re a supporter of Critical Race Theory and don’t want to hear people say bad thing about CRT, I suggest that you stop reading.* ****Should Cryptocurrency Be Taught In Schools?**** Short answer: Yes! Long answer: Yeeeeeeeeeeessssssssssssssssssssssssss!!! Okay, I’m kidding. But yes, I believe that cryptocurrencies (and the blockchain) should be taught in school. And here’s why. Cryptocurrency is slowly but steadily becoming mainstream, and it’ll only be a matter of time before everyone and their grandmothers started using cryptocurrencies to pay for goods and services. It’s inevitable. It’s the future. Which begs the question; why is cryptocurrency not being taught in school yet? Okay, maybe that’s not correct either. There are universities like Stanford that offers course in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies but most of those universities do not consider cryptocurrency courses a full program. In other words, it’s not enough. What I really want to see though is for cryptocurrencies to be taught as a mainstream subject similar to Math and Science. Of course I’m not saying that we should just shove everything about cryptocurrencies to the students’ throats and expect them to learn everything in one fell swoop. No. We need to be systematic about it and teach our children the ins and outs of cryptocurrencies. For example, in the elementary level we could teach the basics of cryptocurrencies. Then as they to step to higher level of education we could teach them the more advance ones. It’s similar to teaching elementary students basic mathematics, and then teaching them algebra and calculus once they step into high school and college. I might be being bias here considering that I’m a big fan of cryptocurrencies. But I really do believe that cryptocurrencies could help our children prepare for the future. I mean if Critical Race Theory (CRT) is being taught in school, why not teach them about cryptocurrencies and the technology behind it, the blockchain? In my opinion, it’s more practical, useful, and could actually open new opportunities for our children. Not to mention it won’t make them hate themselves. Also, since learning institutions in countries like Nigeria plan on accepting cryptocurrencies as payment for school fees (Google it), why not go all out and teach about cryptocurrencies in all levels? https://pixabay.com/photos/success-stairs-board-drawing-4168389/ ****Advantages of Educating Our Children on Cryptocurrencies**** As mentioned above: Cryptocurrency is the future. And in order to prepare for that (inevitable) future, we must first educate ourselves and our children on cryptocurrency. Now teaching our children about cryptocurrencies is well and good. But we must also tell them why learning about cryptocurrencies is beneficial for their future. Well then… Here are some of the advantages of learning about cryptocurrency. ****It’s the Future**** – Yes, I know that I’ve been repeating myself over and over again. But for such an important point, saying (or writing) it just once is not enough. Also, I’m aware that this could be considered more of a reason why we should learn about cryptocurrency instead of an advantage but I always see it as one so please do get off my back! Cryptocurrency is indeed the future and no one could escape from it. Even the governments around the world are aware of this fact (although they won’t admit to it). For example, China created their Digital Yuan because they know that cryptocurrency will one day become mainstream. It was for the same reason that the US, and India are pushing for their own digital currency – which mean the earlier our children learn about cryptocurrencies the more advantageous it will be for them. ****More Opportunities**** – Being a blockchain developer is a very sought after and lucrative job even in the stage that cryptocurrency has yet to become mainstream. So just imagine how many opportunities would open to developers once cryptocurrency finally do become mainstream. Of course being a developer isn’t the only option for our children. They could also become traders, entrepreneurs or even teachers that will educate the new generation about cryptocurrencies. In all honestly, the sky is the limit when it comes to cryptocurrency. ****The Cure to Ignorance**** – There’s a saying that ignorance is bliss but this does not apply to cryptocurrency. If you dabble on cryptocurrency and knew nothing about it then you’re pretty much screwed. Vultures are everywhere in the crypto-space. And these vultures would do anything to scam you out of your hard earned money. Unfortunately, expect scams to get worse once cryptocurrencies become mainstream; it’s a dark side of cryptocurrencies that we couldn’t truly avoid. The only way to protect ourselves from these vultures is to arm ourselves and our children with knowledge about cryptocurrencies Honestly there are more advantages in learning about cryptocurrencies than what I've written in this article but I decided to just list what I believed to be the greatest benefits of studying cryptocurrencies.   ****In Conclusion...**** Cryptocurrency, and the technology behind it, the blockchain is very complex, and no one could really say that they’re expert on the subject (except perhaps, for its inventor, Satoshi Nakamoto). And it was for this reason that even the experts on the field must constantly educate themselves. Of course this applies double for us little folks that knew very little about cryptocurrencies to begin with. Even if we don’t study about cryptocurrencies for the purpose of landing lucrative job in the blockchain industry (although that’s always an option), we still need to educate ourselves about it to prevent falling victim to countless vultures (scammers) that roam the crypto-space. And since there’s almost no disadvantage in doing so (except more school works for our children), why not just go all out and make it a mandatory subject in our education system. After all we already have Computer Science and Information Technology (IT) which could be expanded upon for the studies of the blockchain technology. So what do you think? Do you agree with my opinion? Or maybe you disagree? Whatever your opinion might be please write it in the comment section. And if you have any criticism, please do write it as well as I’m always open to criticism. Thank you for reading and have a nice day.        **** My other articles: https://read.cash/@beastion

@beastion 29 June 2021

Seeds of Chaos: Chapter 62 (A True Clash of the Titans)  **Chapter 62** The Rommel Plain boasts one of the largest pieces of flat land in the Holymark Region. Such large piece of flat land should be a very popular choice for a settlement. Unfortunately, this vast piece of land is barren and therefore unsuitable for farming making it unpopular instead. Despite such a major flaw though, Rommel plain is still home to a diverse group of beast and monsters. In usual days, Rommel Plain would be devoid of people with the exception of adventurers who use the place as a training ground of sorts. Currently though, this unpopular place is filled with all manners of people from various races and organizations watching the ongoing battle between two powerful beings with great anticipation from a safe distance. That said what these people are doing could be considered very foolish, not to mention very dangerous. With how powerful the two beings fighting are; the shockwaves from their exchange of blows alone could kill anyone unlucky enough to be hit. But considering what is at stakes in this battle, it’s understandable that many are willing to put themselves in danger, Boom! Two fist, one as large as a small mountain while the other the size of an average-sized human male collided in what could be considered an apocalyptic exchange. Although the size difference between combatants is like heaven and earth, the smaller combatant is in by no way in a disadvantage. However, none of the people watching is surprised by this at all. And that’s to be expected. After all, none of the combatants are human. No. Far from it – the huge combatant is a being known as a titan – a man-made abomination created to kill dragons! The other combatant is no less impressive than the titan. One could even argue that he’s more impressive which is unsurprising considering that he’s the avatar of a foreign god! Both combatants are beings so powerful that they could destroy the world’s civilization on their own. Fortunately for the world and its inhabitants, only one of the two overly powerful combatants has bad intentions. One of them, the Titan Andes, wanted to destroy the avatar of the foreign god to ensure the continued existence of the word and those that inhabits it. The other one, the avatar of the god Tehran, has unknown intentions but considering how he tried to deceive the world’s inhabitant, his intentions couldn’t possibly be good. Worse still, god Tehran is just one of the three foreign gods *(formerly four)* with unknown designs for the world. Outside of the planet, in outer space, two gods are trying to descend through their respective avatars with the help from a dastardly organization known as the Sect of the Void. And unfortunately, it’s no longer a matter if they will succeed by when they will succeed. As someone with their own agenda, the Sect of the Void had mastered the method of creating a vessel capable of holding the power of the gods. After all, they too used to have a god – the god of the void, whose sole purpose was to consume the entire world from the inside. And considering that the god of the void was far more powerful than the god Tehran and his cohorts, creating vessels for the *“weaker”* gods pose little challenge to them in comparison to creating a vessel for the god of the void. “You should have never interfered, titan,” said the god Tehran after the two exchanged attacks. “You could have lived longer that way.” The titan, Andes stared at its opponent floating several hundred feet away from it, and spoke in a booming voice. “Your words are as empty as your promises, foreign god. Life or death means nothing to a titan like me. Our kind exists only for the sole purpose of protecting the world from threats like you,” Andes countered. Hearing Andes’ words, god Tehran sneered. “I’m an administrator of this world so how am I a threat? He questioned. “…Administrator? You still dare to call yourself that? Just how shameless can you foreign gods get?” Titan Andes shots back mockingly. “You’re kind had been leeching off from the world and its inhabitants for eons without doing a single thing. Should I remind you how you foreign gods created your own religion just so you could leech off your believers’ beliefs and strengthened yourselves?” The words of the titan greatly shocked the people listening – even those watching the battle using magic artifacts were no exception. It never crossed their minds that they would be able to learn of such an important secret by just watching two powerful beings duke it out. Of course the ones that are most affected are the devote believers of the four churches. The fates of the believers of the four gods have long been shaken after Titan Andes revealed the truth not too long ago. But as they had given everything to the four churches, many still refuses to forsake their religion despite knowing the truth. In truth, many devote believers are still hoping that everything will turn out will for their religion, and that the titan was just spouting nonsense. But the titan’s last words and their god’s reaction shattered that faint hope to pieces. “Silence you cur!” God Tehran shouted angrily after the titan revealed the purpose of the four gods’ religion. “What’s wrong with gathering fates to strengthen ourselves? Every known god in existence is doing it!” “Yes. It should be a normal thing among gods. It’s because we understood this that we titans turned a blind eye to your previous actions. Even when you and your cohorts were making the lives of this world’s inhabitants into a living hell, we still choses to look the other way,” Titan Andes exposes, resentment ever present in its booming voice. “And yet when the world needed you the most, you turn your backs on us!” Despite being an artificially created being, Titan Andes was showing emotions that were beyond its programming. The titan’s love for the world and the inhabitant that created it was as plain as day. If the titan claims that no one loves the world as much as it did, no one would dare doubt it. **** Majority of the people watching felt touched after hearing the words of the titan that was filled with love for the world and its inhabitants. Even those from the four churches religion could not help but let out sighs of frustration, and even remorse. God Tehran on the other hand felt none of that. Right now he’s brewing with rage and regret. He really should have never spoken with the titan. The more the titan spoke, the more of their secrets are revealed. If the titan was allowed to speak more, who knows how many of their believers would remain? *“I should just silence this lump of stones for good,”* thought god Tehran as his killing intent boils. Invisible energy started gathering on the avatar’s clenched fist. To destroy the titan, he must stop holding back. Although he and the titan seemed equally powerful, the avatar of the god Tehran was actually more powerful even in his current state. That said there’s actually a reason why god Tehran was hesitant to use his avatar’s full power. And it has something to do with the will of the world. As an exiled god, god Tehran was not allowed to descend through any method. Because if he did; the will of the world would crush his avatar – destroying a piece of his soul in the process. The only reason he could descend into the world was through the help of the Sect of the Void. The Sect of the Void had studied and experimented using the lives of their members throughout the centuries just so they could craft the best vessel that could contain a small piece of the god of the void’s soul. As an organization filled with crazy people, most of the members of the sect have no respect for their own lives. As long as they could allow their gods to descend, they won’t care even if they sacrifice many of their members. Of course this applies to the lives of innocent civilians as well. God Tehran’s eyes turned sinister as he releases more of his power. Everyone present could feel that his power is increasing, turning their expressions grim. Moreover, his increase in power was also affecting the surrounding as the once blue and clear sky is now churning with dark clouds. Knowing that it would be bad if it allowed the avatar to continue; Titan Andes send a horrifyingly powerful punch towards the god Tehran. From the avatar’s point of view, it seemed like a huge mountain was being hurl his way. However, no fear could be seen in the avatar’s sinister-looking eyes. Moreover, instead of dodging the punch, god Tehran took on head on! With a roar, three pairs of black, wing-like spikes sprout out of the avatar’s back. He then clenched his fist and punched the mountain-like fist barreling towards him! Boom! Shockwaves, much stronger than the earlier ones spread out, destroying everything it hits. Rocks, and soil, and even what little vegetation that had grown in the barren field were uprooted and destroyed by the shockwaves created by the clash between two titanic foes. Even the people watching from a relatively safe distance were also bombarded by the shockwaves. Thankfully, the ones that managed to reach their position had already been weakened greatly. Despite being weakened though, the shockwaves still injured several unlucky people. After everything settled, people looked on and were shock by what they saw – Titan Andes, who was the equal of the avatar of the god Tehran in term of power, was actually pushed back! *“How is that possible?”* People thought with flabbergasted look on their faces. In the earlier encounter, the Titan Andes and the avatar of the god Tehran were basically equal. Even if the avatar seemed to be a little stronger, the difference was barely noticeable. But after hose strange, wing-like spikes appeared on the avatar’s back, his power exploded! “How powerful… As expected of a god. Even though you’re a scum that make and break promises as easily as you breathes, you’re still a god,” Titan Andes praises. “But if you think that you’ve defeated me then you’re sorely mistaken!” Hah! Titan Andes charges at the avatar with its mountain-like body, throwing punches as it goes. Seeing this, god Tehran snorted and countered every one of the punches with his own. Their exchange was so catastrophic and terrifying that heart of the people watching was pounding. “Such horrific battle… and to think that there’s still two more gods and titans that has yet to appear,” commented one of the observers. “You’re right. And isn’t this dangerous? What if the world suddenly collapses because of the two of them?” The observers shuddered after such a thought appeared on their minds. Even though it sounded absurd, the feel watching felt like if it was this two then they might just be able to do it. **** “So this is the power of god and a titan. Truly terrifying…,” Pina commented as she observes the battle aboard an airship. “I wonder if the battle between Rennel’s teacher, and the avatar of the god of the void was as terrifying.” “I think it’s more terrifying. Although we only saw glimpses of it as we’re trying to escape with our lives back then, I still remember clearly that the sight was like the end of the world. Besides, Chaos and the god of the void are more powerful than Titan Andes and the god Tehran.” Pina turned her eyes towards Miranda and nodded her head in agreement. That fight was indeed a terrifying sight that’s akin to the apocalypse. It’s just unfortunate that they couldn’t observe that fight like what they’re doing right now due to their situation that day and the place where the fight was happening. It was exactly for that very reason that the girl didn’t feel like it was as impressive as the fight between Titan Andes and the god Tehran. “Still… it’s strange…,” Miranda said with a grim expression on her face. “Strange? What do you mean by '*strange*'?” Pina asked after hearing the black-haired girl’s words. Pina stared at her senior and waited for her reply but the one who answered her question was her teacher, the Sorceress Cassandra. “She found it strange that the will of the world showed no reaction despite the fact that the avatar of the god Tehran had unleashed his true power,” she explained. Upon hearing her teacher’s explanation, Pina suddenly realized that they were right. Since the god Tehran was using his full power, why is there no reaction from the will of the world? Shouldn’t the avatar of the god Tehran be turning to ash by now? “How could it be like this? Pina questioned with a worried expression on her face. As someone that’s been forbidden entry into the world, god Tehran would be quickly vanished once discovered. So before the battle begun, the original plan was to force the avatar to use his full power so that he would be discovered by the will of the world. The reason they need to do such a troublesome thing was because the will of the world failed to discover that one of the foreign gods it exiled secretly entered the world through an avatar. Even when the sorceress communicated with the will of the world, the foreign god could still not be found. It was as if there’s a veil that’s hiding the presence of the god Tehran from the will of the world. Fortunately, a method was device to destroy that veil. “The Sect of the Void… Did they found a method to cover up that flaw?” Rennel whispered her question softly. “Probably… But even that should have its limit,” answered the sorceress while observing the ongoing battle that’s growing more ferocious as time goes by. “If my guess is correct, Andes should have found a way to counter it.” ****   **To be continued** Image Source: Pixabay https://pixabay.com/illustrations/fantasy-science-fiction-earth-4732736/ Previous Chapters: https://read.cash/@beastion

@beastion 28 June 2021

Seeds of Chaos: Chapter 61 (Truth Revealed) **Chapter 61** Doubts started gnawing on the populace’s minds. And as the four churches pushes their propagandas even further with the secret help from the Sect of the Void, this doubt grew increasingly bigger. Questions like whether the war was justified or not started appearing on most people’s minds. Many more are asking themselves if they are really doing the right thing by supporting the war against the four gods’ religion. And despite the three alliances’ best effort, they could no longer stop the wheel from turning. It was now growing increasingly obvious that the four churches have gained the momentum. If things are left to continue as it is, the war might end sooner than most had anticipated – ending with the three alliances armies crumbling from the inside due to the differing opinions from within its own ranks. But when the members of the four churches are about to celebrate their imminent victory, something unexpected happened. The *‘land titan’*, Titan Andes had arrived in the battlefield in support of the forces of the three alliances! What’s more aggravating for the four churches though was the fact that Titan Andes didn’t just went there to support the three alliances in battle but also to expose the four churches’ lies! Titan Andes made a declaration, a declaration that could be heard far and wide, that the four gods that the four gods religion are worshipping, did indeed turn its back to the flight of the world when the avatar of the god of the void descended several months ago! Worse still, Titan Andes also revealed that the four churches are working with the Sect of the Void. And it was due to their interference that the forces of the three alliances had suffered greatly not too long ago. The fact that they were the ones helping the four churches to spread their propaganda was also revealed. The titan’s declaration sends the entire continent into an uproar once again. And that was to be expected. After all, the declaration came from a titan’s mouth. And if there’s one other thing that titans are known for besides their overwhelming power is that titans don’t lie! Yes, titans only spoke the truth. It’s in their programming. And anyone with a bit of knowledge about these legendary beings knew this fact. It was for this reason that the effect of Titan Andes’ declaration was so effective. “Hahaha! Serves them right!” King Horas and the other leaders of the three alliances are in a light mood. And how could their mood not be light? The effect of the titan’s declaration was more effective than they anticipated. Opinion of the populace that was previously swaying in favor of the four churches now sways in their favor. “You all did a marvelous job. I don’t know how you did it but you convinced the titan to interfere and speak for us,” praised the emperor while looking at the five men that was standing respectfully not too far away. The five men, the envoys that were sent to convince Titan Andes, looked at each other awkwardly after being given such high praise. Unfortunately, they couldn’t take credit for the titan’s action. The reason being was that they weren’t the ones who convinced the titan. No, it was someone else that did that. “We are very grateful of Your Majesty’s praise. It’s just that we’re unworthy of such praise. Truthfully, the titan’s action had absolutely nothing to do with us five at all,” One of the envoy explained while lowering his head. The admission of one of the envoys shocked everyone present. How could it not be them? Did someone else have the same idea as they have? Could it be the sorceress? No, it couldn’t be… The leaders of the three alliances both reached the same conclusion that the sorceress might have her hands on this. After all as someone that could communicate with the will of the world; she would be the best candidate to speak with the titans. But from the reports they’ve received recently it couldn’t be the sorceress. The reason being was that she never left her airship due to her duty as the eyes and ears of the Order. Without her presence, the mysterious forces, now revealed to be from the Sect of the Void, could mount another surprise attack. Even though they had made preparations to avoid suffering the same casualties they suffered before, it’s still not as effective as the sorceress being present. But if it wasn’t the sorceress, then who was it? With that question in mind, the emperor and the other leaders, look at the five men to explain further. Fortunately, the five envoys didn’t disappoint as they do know who convinced the titan, Andes. “It was an avian monster coated in silver,” said the same envoy that spoke earlier. “An avian monster coated in silver? Ah, so that’s how it is…” Upon hearing that a silver-colored flying monster was responsible for convincing Titan Andes, the king of Farcell, King Rutney, suddenly understood something and nodded his head repeatedly. And since he spoke out loud, everyone heard him and realized that the king of the gnomes most likely knew what’s up. **** “King Rutney, your reaction right now seemed to indicate that you knew something. Care to enlighten us?” asked Emperor Darius IX. King Rutney simply shrugged his shoulder in a casual manner, and answered. “Sure! I’m not trying to hide it anyway,” he said. “The silver-colored avian monster that the envoy described is most likely referring to the silver falcon called Sol.” “Silver falcon? A monster king?” The king of Forst asked, frowning. “That’s right, a monster king!” King Rutney confirmed. A looked of surprise appeared on everyone’s face which was expected if one thinks about it. Monsters kings, although could not be considered humanity’s enemies could not be considered their friends as well. These powerful beast are unlike regular monsters as not only are they powerful on their own right, they’re also extremely intelligent. If regular monsters only follow their instincts, the monster kings are more than capable of rational thoughts. And with the exceptions of very cruel ones, most monster kings could be reasoned with. It was for this reason that accounts of ordinary people surviving an encounter with a terrifyingly powerful monster were very common. But still, a monster king negotiating to a titan for the sake of the world was definitely unheard of. While the leaders of the three alliances are mulling over this extraordinary event, one of the elders from the Council of Elders, Elder Zelma has a strange expression on her face. *“A monster king… a silver falcon named Sol? Is that just a coincidence?”* The reason Elder Zelma has such an expression is because her only student, that had gone missing several months ago also have silver falcon which was also named Sol as a familiar! Elder Zelma knew of Sol’s existence was because before her only student, Rennel, went missing, she’d received a letter from her narrating her adventures. And among those letters was a letter detailing her new familiar, the monster king named Sol. *“It couldn’t be just coincidence, right? After all, there couldn’t be two silver falcons with the name Sol!”* Elder Zelma let out a sigh. She regrets not asking Sorceress Cassandra about it. The sorceress should know more about the silver falcon because she was present when her precious student vanished. It couldn’t be helped though. Elder Zelma resented the sorceress for leaving Rennel behind to fight one of the envoys of void, who later became the avatar of the god of the void. Of course she’s fully aware that the sorceress is not at fault. After all, Rennel stayed behind on her own free will. It’s just that as a teacher she couldn’t accept the fact that their group returned safely while her precious student went missing. “King Rutney, would it be possible to meet this silver falcon called Sol?” The emperor asked with eyes full of curiosity. “I’m afraid you’re asking the wrong person here, Darius. You should instead forwards your request to Elder Zelma,” answered King Rutney while smiling mischievously. “Elder Zelma? Why her?” asked the king of Almena. “The silver falcon is someone’s familiar.” “Oh?” The eyes of the other leaders turned towards Elder Zelma who was currently giving the king of the gnomes a death glare. Being glared like that by Elder Zelma who also happened to be a powerful arch-mage terrified the heck out the king of the gnomes. He couldn’t help but think that his joke might have gone too far. “Please don’t be mad, Elder Zelma. I’m not trying to put you in a tight spot. It’s just that no one here besides you and that black-haired girl who’s constantly on the sorceress side could summon Sol. If anyone else tried, the silver falcon would most likely ignore or attack them,” explained King Rutney with an awkward smile on his child-like face. “Hmph! You think you could escape punishment by saying that? In your dreams!” Elder Zelma exclaimed angrily. “Just you wait. I’ll get back to you later so don’t even think of running away, you runt!” King Rutney almost fainted when he heard the elder’s threat. Knowing Elder Zelma’s personality, she would certainly make good of her threat. That said King Rutney is still a king as such he’s hoping that the punishment won’t be too severe… Everyone was amused by the banter between the two. In their opinion, King Rutney had dug his own grave. Most people on the continent knew the infamous female elder’s temper. When her temper flares up, very few could stop her. Even the emperor would think twice before angering her. “Forget Rutney’s punishment and whatnot for now, Zelma. How come we’re unaware of this silver falcon? Is it your new familiar?” Elder Theodore asked. Elder Zelma let out a sigh before shaking her head. “No. Sol is not my familiar. She’s the girl’s familiar. To be honest I only knew of Sol’s existence through her letters,” explained Elder Zelma rather gloomily. “If you really want to meet Sol, I could arrange a meeting.” “The girl… I see.” Elder Theodore was deep in thought. He was aware that the girl went missing inside the Dark Sea after accompanying the sorceress and the gnomes in their quest to find the then missing prince of the gnomes, Russell. “Have you heard any news of the girl's whereabouts recently?” Elder Zelma shook her head and no longer spoke. Listening to the conversation, the people inside the room seemed to have realized something and simultaneously gave the king of the gnomes a dirty look. They finally understood why the female elder was so furious earlier. It seemed that the female elder's student went missing not too long ago. King Rutney’s joke was indeed tasteless. Seeing the dirty looks the others are giving him, the king of the gnomes felt wronged. They were the ones who wanted to know about the silver falcon so why is he the only one suffering? **** True to her words, Elder Zelma did indeed arranged a meeting between the leaders of the three alliances and Sol. She did this by contacting Pina, and asking her to send Sol to Radford Castle. But before the meeting could be held, a piece of important news arrived. It was news that concerned the Titan Andes and the god Tehran. According to the news, the Titan Andes and the god Tehran had started battling on a plain not too far away from the four holy cities! When everyone in Radford Castle heard the news, no one was really surprise. Pretty much everyone in the continent understood that after Titan Andes revealed the truth, the titan would undoubtedly become the four churches most hated enemy. After all, the titan had revealed the four churches’ conspiracy and lies – damaging their reputation for good. The damage to the churches’ reputation was so thorough that recovery is no longer possible. Also, without a shadow of a doubt, Titan Andes had singlehandedly changed the course of the war in favor of the three alliances. Although the leaders of the three alliances wanted to see the fight between the titan and the avatar of the god Tehran personally, their current situation prevented them from doing so. As the leader of their respective forces, they must always think of the big picture and calculate their every words and actions. As such they could not just leave Radford Castle as they please. Of course that doesn’t mean that they could not watch the fight. Even if they could not be physically present, it’s still possible to watch the fight between the titan and the god Tehran in the safety of Radford Castle by using a special artifact developed by the magicians of Nuathl city. It won’t be the same as personally seeing the fight but it’s better than nothing. Also, watching the battle within the conference room of Radford Castle has it advantages. For example, it will allow the leaders of the three alliances to prepare a countermeasure in the chances that the titan loses the fight. They're not being pessimistic but realistic. Although the titan is strong and could match a dragon, it’s facing a god in battle even if that god is just an avatar. Truth be told, the leaders of three alliances have not confident that the titan would win against the god Tehran. After watching the recorded scene of the massacre initiated by the avatar of the god Tehran, the leaders became fully aware of the terrifying power of the gods. Although the truth is painful to accept, it’s a fact that to the gods, all mortals are just insects that they could crush whenever they wanted. ****   **To be continued** Previous Chapters: https://read.cash/@beastion

@beastion 27 June 2021

Government Crackdown: Why We Must Move Cryptocurrency Mining Out of China  ****London Bridge is Falling Down****                 London Bridge is falling down (*metaphorically speaking*) – crushing many cryptocurrency traders hope of another bull run to pieces – painting our portfolios in red. Although I liked the color red, I certainly don’t like to see it dotting my portfolios. And in all honesty, who does?                 A couple of days ago, the cryptocurrency market experienced another crash as the price of Bitcoin (BTC) plummets even further and taking other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin Cash (BCH) along with it. Certainly, the market moving up and down is a common thing, and considering how volatile cryptocurrency is, it’s kind 0f expected.                 But my problem with the latest crash though is not that the market is being too volatile or that it crashes but why the market crashes. And I can tell you why Bitcoin tumbles even further while dragging down all other cryptocurrencies along with it in a single word: China ****Government Crackdowns****                 According to some data from Cambridge University, Chinese cryptocurrency miners account for about 65% of Bitcoin’s hash rate in the world, an incredibly large percentage of the global Bitcoin hash rate. With such a large control over the global hash rate, whatever is happening in China would affect the price of Bitcoin as well which is exactly what we're experiencing right now.                 Last May, the local government in Sichuan, China, closes several major cryptocurrency mining projects in the province. This was done under the Chinese government’s order to strengthen and expand the crackdown against Bitcoin mining and trading in the country. Sichuan province was China’s second biggest Bitcoin mining bases so when the ban on mining was implemented the effect was felt worldwide.                 Not only that, the government also ordered the banks in China, under the Central Bank of China to tighten the crackdown on cryptocurrency trading – adding more to the woes of miners and traders in the country.                 But all of that is not enough for the Chinese government. Last Friday, the authorities in the southwest province of Sichuan ordered the closure of the many more Bitcoin mining projects which once again send the price of Bitcoin tumbling even further. And when the price of Bitcoin plummets, other cryptocurrencies are sure to follow.                 One might ask why the Chinese government was so adamant on cracking down on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies despite the positive impact of cryptocurrency mining and trading on their economy. Well, the answer to that was actually quite simple: Control.                 The Chinese government wanted full control of all cryptocurrencies in their country, especially Bitcoin. It was for this reason that the government hasn’t announced a total ban on cryptocurrency yet. This was actually nothing new. A few years back the government also strengthened the crackdown on Bitcoin mining. But not long after the government had a sudden change of heart and eventually loosened on the crackdown.                 But not long after the introduction of the Digital Yuan, the government renews their crackdown on cryptocurrency. Indeed. It could be said that the crackdown happened because of the Digital Yuan. As the state approved digital currency, the government doesn’t want any competition for the Digital Yuan. And to be honest, that’s only expected.                 After all, unlike Bitcoin and every other cryptocurrency, the Digital Yuan was under the Chinese government’s control. Which mean they could do anything they wanted to the digital currency – including setting its value, right?                 Being under the control of the government the Digital Yuan would be less volatile in comparison to Bitcoin which is usually under the whims of the whales, and a certain billionaire technocrat **cough** Elon Musk **cough** who loved to flex his influence.  ****A Market at Risk****                 China wanting to control cryptocurrency in its soil was only expected and understandable. Showing support for its own digital currency was also only natural. But the problem is, what’s happening in China is also influencing the rest of the world which is, putting it lightly, a bad thing.                 If the Chinese government gains control of the supply of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies through forcibly seizing them from Chinese miners and traders, it’ll be a terrible thing for the cryptocurrency market. If they already have this much influence on the market by simply implementing bans and crackdowns imagine what they could do once they have the actual cryptocurrencies.                 Some of you might scoff at what I’m writing in this article but you shouldn’t dismiss it so easily. After all it’s not out of the realm of possibility. If you been following the news and been doing your own research about China then you should know that the Chinese government is more than capable of seizing their own citizen’s properties.                 Although the government hasn’t announced a full ban on cryptocurrencies yet, who said they won’t do so in the near future? Let us not forget that China now have its own digital currency, the state-supported Digital Yuan. If by banning and seizing Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies could benefit the Digital Yuan, then the Chinese government would do it in a heartbeat.                 The only way to stop this from ever happening is move majority of all Bitcoin mining project out of China into countries that supports cryptocurrencies. Of course putting all of our eggs in one basket is never a good idea. After all if the basket falls then all eggs might break. Besides, diversifying greatly reduces the risk.                 Thankfully, most people understood this logic and are now moving out of China. For example, the Shenzhen-based BIT Mining reported that they’re moving out hundreds of their mining machine to Kazakhstan, a country in Central Asia that neighbors China. Still not out of the reach of China but it’s a start.                 What I really want to see though is a mass exodus of most if not all Bitcoin mining projects out of China which is very likely to happen thanks to the Chinese government’s hard stance on cryptocurrency. Since the government disliked competition for their Digital Yuan, might as well move somewhere, right?                 Anyways, with the current atmosphere in China, moving out of the country would be for the good of all with the exception of the Chinese people that, depending on their government’s action, might just lose access to decentralized cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin. *FIN~*        **** Lead Image: Pixabay https://pixabay.com/illustrations/jesus-christ-god-holy-spirit-4779544/ Image Source: Pixabay https://pixabay.com/illustrations/brexit-stop-ban-prohibited-rules-5848446/ My other articles: https://read.cash/@beastion

@beastion 27 June 2021

Seeds of Chaos: Chapter 60 (The Wind Changes)  **Chapter 60** The appearance of the mysterious man was so sudden that Pope Alexander VI and Pope Alvan III could not react at all.  Even Pope Arnold II didn’t know where that man came from and he's just next to The Jester! The three popes could have sworn that the mysterious man was not there earlier. But what’s truly shocking though was the action of Pope Reynolds I. “…My Lord?” What lord? This was the first time that the three popes have seen Pope Reynolds acting so subservient to another person, especially since he’s a very prideful man! One could even see how prideful he was through his title – Reynolds I. Not Reynolds II but I. When he sat on the throne of the church of Tehran, he didn’t use the title of the other popes before him. Instead, he created another title and called himself Pope Reynolds I! …And yet this prideful man is now kneeling in front of another man – even going as far as to call him his ‘Lord.” The mysterious man’s appearance was no different from a regular person that could be seen anywhere. One could see him on the street and not give him a second glance. He is neither good-looking nor ugly. The best description for the man would be “average.” But despite the mysterious man’s average appearance the pope of the church of Tehran, one of the most influential man in the four churches is currently kneeling in front of him like a loyal servant. Just who could this man be? Why is someone as prideful as Pope Reynolds I acting so humbly?  “Are you not going to let go of the pope, Jester?” The mysterious man asked the man Conrad, also known as the Jester who’s currently pointing a sword at Pope Arnold’s throat, to let him go. “Although Lueger is long gone his church still exist, you know?” He remarked. The Jester, Conrad, smirked at the remark of the mysterious man before sheathing his sword once again. Pope Arnold II who was finally free let out a sigh of relief. He gave the envoy a hard look before glancing at the mysterious man for several seconds. He then walked towards the other pope while caressing his throat in silent. Without anyone speaking, the atmosphere in the room suddenly turned awkward. This could be blamed partly on the mysterious man who stopped talking after speaking for Pope Arnold’s behalf. The other half on the other hand could be blamed to some of the words that the man had said. Lueger! The mysterious man called one of the four gods by its name as if he was the god Lueger’s equal! If the three popes could still not tell who the mysterious man in front of them despite all the clues that was given to them then they might as well smash their heads into a wall and end their life. “We pay our respect to Lord Tehran!” The three popes exclaimed loudly upon realizing the truth – the mysterious man who suddenly appeared out of nowhere was none other than the avatar of the god Tehran – one of the four gods of their religion! As the popes of their respective churches, Pope Alexander, Pope Arnold, and Pope Alvan could not afford to kneel to another god. Still, they bowed their heads as a sign of respect. “Hmm… Raise your heads,” The mysterious man told the four popes to raise their heads. He then walked calmly towards one of the seats and sat down without asking permission. Of course the mysterious man need not to ask permission, as one of the four gods, the property of the four churches belonged to him. “I believed you already know what I’m going to ask all you, correct?” “Yes, My Lord. If I’m not mistaken you wanted us to cooperate with the Sect of the Void?” Pope Reynolds answered in behalf of the other popes. “Exactly. For the other two to ascend into this world, we need the assistance of the Sect of the Void,” god Tehran explained. When the popes heard that two other gods would also descend into the world, their hearts skipped a beat. But when they realized that only two gods would descend and not three, a sudden understanding dawn on them. “My, My Lord… Shouldn’t it be three instead of two?” Pope Arnold asked in a stammering voice. The three popes looked at their colleague with pity. They’ve known for a while now that the god Lueger have stopped answering to the pope’s prayers since some time ago – even before the descent of the avatar of the god of the void. At first they thought that Pope Arnold simply fall out of favor and lost the blessing of god Lueger. But from the looks of things, the worst had actually happened. “Lueger is dead. Killed by the same being that destroyed the avatar of the god of the void,” god Tehran answered coldly. “No! That’s impossible…” Pope Arnold, fall into his knees, grieving. As a pope and devout believer of god Lueger, the fall of his god is a great blow to him. **** Despite suffering greatly from the ambush by a mysterious force that they believed belonged to the Sect of the Void, the armies of the three alliances still carry on with the same determination from before. On their way to the holy cities, several forts and fortresses fall to their wrath that was akin to a tsunami that sweeps everything on its path. Their momentum was so great that one would think that nothing could possibly stop their march – they were greatly mistaken. Before they could even step a single foot on the holy cities they were stopped by a single person who claimed to be the avatar of god Tehran! What’s more terrifying though was the fact that this mysterious person has the power to back up his claim. Despite their great number the armies of the three alliances could do nothing against him. Power, speed, and magic – the person claiming to be the avatar of the god Tehran far surpasses anyone in the three armies. This was proven when he easily killed several of their warriors, the champions. Even the arch-mages from Order of the Magus could do nothing but protect their own lives in front of the mysterious man’s power. Helpless, the armies of the three alliances could only retreat in humiliation from the holy cities. Fortunately, the avatar of the god of the void didn’t pursue them. Maybe the avatar felt like it was beneath him to pursue the retreating armies or maybe he couldn’t be bothered. Either way the three armies managed to successfully retreat to the fortresses they’ve previously conquered… Bang! A king from the Red Phoenix alliance, King Horas of Yalan, slammed his left fist on the wooden table after receiving the news of their armies retreat. “How did this happen? Weren’t the four gods exiled? How could they send an avatar into our world? Could it be that our previous information was compromised?” He asked seemingly implying that the information about the exile of the four gods was untrue. “Hmph! What are you trying to say, King of Yalan? Are you implying that we gave you all fake information?” The one who spoke was the king of the gnomes, King Rutney of Farcell. As a straightforward man who dislikes schemes, King Rutney took personal offense when King Horus implied that the information about the exile of the four gods was false. And considering he's the person responsible for spreading the information, he has all the right to be angry. “Let me tell you, the information about the exile of the four gods came from Titan Leviathan and Sorceress Cassandra. How about you tell the two of them what you’ve just said to us?” Challenged the enraged monarch of the gnomes. King Horas was miffed. Ask the titan and the sorceress themselves? He’s not tired of living yet. The sorceress is one thing as she’s only human and could be reasoned with using methods such as flowery words, bribery, or threats. But as for the Titan Leviathan – he’ll be lucky if the titan didn’t swallow him whole! Admittedly, it was his fault for running his mouth without thinking due to his frustration. But can he really be blamed for that? After all victory was so close at hand when it was suddenly snatched away from them! “I apologize for my ally’s careless words. He didn’t mean anything by what he’d said, he’s simply frustrated at the appearance of the avatar of the god Tehran. After all, we were so close to taking over the holy cities.” Emperor Darius IX apologizes to the members of the other two alliances for his ally’s careless words which helps diffuse the situation – and prompted the king of Yalan to lower his head as an apology. “Since the emperor himself had apologized for King Horas’ behalf then let it end here. After all we’re still allies facing the same enemy. Instead of arguing amongst ourselves we should think of a way to defeat the avatar of the god Tehran and the four churches,” said King Egbert. “Your words ring true but how are we supposed to face a god? Certainly it’s just an avatar and not the real thing but its power couldn’t be denied. Even several of our arch-mages could only flee in the face of the avatar’s overwhelming power. As for our regular soldier… only death awaits them,” asked Elder Theodore. Elder Theodore’s voice was filled with frustration and helplessness. Many of the Order’s magicians had died while battling the avatar of the god Tehran. As the most powerful force in the three armies, the avatar targeted their magicians first, fully aware that the magicians possessed the greatest threat in the battle that was to come. It was also for this reason that their arch-mages were forced to deploy this early in the phase of war which was to give the magicians’ time to retreat. “The only ones that could possibly match the avatar in this world would be the mysterious god who defeated the avatar of the god of the void, the dragons… and the titans,” King Vernal of Almena mentioned their options. “The whereabouts of the mysterious god is a mystery. Is he still even in this world? Did he and the avatar of the god of void destroy each other? Since we don’t know where he is or what happened to him, defending on him would not be proper. That leaves us the dragons and the titans. The dragons have kept to themselves for millennia and haven’t showed themselves since their isolation. So we can’t depend on them as well – leaving only the titans.” The leaders of the three alliances nodded their heads in agreement after hearing the words of the king of Almena. They understood what he meant. To have a fighting chance against the avatar of the god of Tehran, they must employ the help of the titans whose powers rivaled that of the dragons. That said convincing the three titans to fight for them won’t be easy… **** While the three alliances was thinking on how to counter the threat of the avatar of god of the void, the four churches was not just twiddling their thumbs doing nothing. One of the very first things that the four churches did was to announce the descent of one of their gods as part of their propaganda. Included in the propaganda was a story to clear up the names of the four gods – denying the “allegation” that the four gods had flee in fear after the descent of the god of the void – explaining that the reason the four gods was absent during the god of the void’s rampage was that the four gods were fighting other “threats.” And only after neutralizing these threats could the four gods returned. The four churches also emphasized that upon returning, the four gods were greatly disappointed after realizing that the heathens have besmirched their names with lies while they were absent – even going as far as to declare war on their churches – forcing one of the four gods to descend through the bodies of their most devote followers to end the war and to clear up their names. However, descending was not easy task even for the gods. After all the gods’ great power could cause an imbalance that could destroy the very fabric of the reality itself. To prevent the destruction of the world, the merciful gods decided to only send one of them – the god of Tehran to punish the heathens – raining down divine retribution to those who wronged the gods. Also, as to show that the gods are merciful, the four churches spread that the god Tehran did not wipe out the heathens’ entire force, wiping only the greatest sinners among them. As proof of this, god Tehran allowed the rest of the armies of the three alliances to retreat safely. The news of the descent of the god Tehran through an avatar reached the ears of all the people in the continent thanks to a hidden force that was working behind the scene. When news of the descent of one of the four gods spreads many people become terrified. This was especially true to those who have hands on the destruction of the churches and temples, and the killing of many of the religion’s devout believers. And following the "official" explanation from the church, many started doubting the legitimacy of the information that the four gods was run away in face of danger and was exiled by the will of the world as a result. After all if the four gods were exiles how could one of the four gods descend into the word? Won’t the avatar of the god Tehran be destroyed? As the wind changes, many of the believers of four churches that goes into hiding could finally show themselves. Even those that used to be in support of the war against the four churches started to have second thoughts. Calls to stop the attack on the four churches were becoming louder and louder as the days pass even among the volunteer soldiers. If things continue as it is, the three alliances might just lose the support of the people. ****   **To be continued** Previous Chapters: https://read.cash/@beastion

@beastion 26 June 2021

Seeds of Chaos: Chapter 59 (Creeping Shadows) **Chapter 59** The unstoppable forces of the three alliances swoop through the forces of the four churches. Despite having the home advantage, the forces of the four churches could only fall to the overwhelming number of the three alliances forces. Realizing that spreading their forces thin was to their disadvantage; the leaders of the four churches ordered their soldiers to retreat to their biggest and most fortified fortress, Fort Anglest and abandoned the other fortresses. With how the leadership of the four churches had reacted to the defeat they’ve suffered so far, one could see that the forces of the four churches stood no chance of victory. Still, countless devote believers stood their ground and refuses to abandon their religion despite the threat of death. The believers’ devotion to their religion is without a doubt worthy of respect if not for the fact that they’re wasting their lives by following a misguided religion. And the fact that the leaders of the four churches refuse to surrender to save the lives of their believers showed that the churches only cared for themselves. Realizing this fact, the populace’s and volunteers soldiers’ hatred for the four churches religion grew. If some of the commoners and soldiers have qualms about the war, the four churches brazen disregard for their believers’ lives erases all of that. Now everyone just wanted to see the religion of the four traitor gods eradicated from the continent for good. Overwhelmed and woefully undermanned, the forces of the churches stood no chance of winning the war. Despite the church leaders’ beast efforts their soldiers’ morale are in an all-time low. And from the looks of things it’s only a matter of time before the Fortress Anglest falls. And when that happened, the holy cities would have to face the hatred of the three armies – many of which were the four churches’ former believers. But when everyone thought that the end of the church was near, something unexpected happened. Mysterious forces suddenly appeared to aid the forces of the four churches that were about to collapse.  This mysterious force came out of nowhere and causes havoc to the woefully defended rear of the three alliances armies – destroying vital supplies while killing countless unprepared soldiers. Facing such huge loses; the attacking armies could only stop their siege of the fort to face the infidels that dared to attack them without warning. Unfortunately, once the main army arrived at the scene, the mysterious forces was long gone but not before leaving behind the corpses of their fallen comrade along with what remained of their destroyed provisions. Although greatly enraged the three alliances could only swallow their anger as they investigated the identity of the mysterious forces that ambushed their rear. But despite their best efforts the identity of the attackers remained a mystery. After tabulating their loses, it was found that the Order of the Magus didn’t suffer much, at least in comparison to the other two alliances. This was mainly due to the fact that Sorceress Cassandra had warned the commander of their army of a mysterious force that was creeping in the shadows. Thankfully the commander acted quickly and strengthened their rear – protecting the army’s vital supplies and greatly reducing their casualties. Still, like the other two armies, they too failed in discovering the identity of their mysterious attackers. Although they killed many of them, not a single body of the attackers’ troops was left behind as the dead bodies of the attackers would mysteriously burst into eerie green flames, consuming the dead attackers’ bodies – leaving only ashes behind. Even with the sorceress’ help, the result of their investigation turned up empty. It was so eerie that their soldiers begin to fear their mysterious attackers. Nonetheless, the three armies could only regroup and replace the supplies and soldiers that they’ve lost in the sudden ambush. And having learned their lessons, the commanders no longer leaves their rear woefully unguarded. That said they’re not as protected as that of the Order of the Magus. That’s because unlike the Order, the two alliances did not have someone like the sorceress. With the sorceress presence, any attempt to ambush the army of the Order was doomed to fail. **** The fact that the alliances had suffered an unexpected ambush to their rear did not escape the notice of the four churches. Hearing that they suffered great damage to manpower and supplies, the commanders and officials of the churches (*not the popes*) gloated at the misfortune of their enemies. They feasted, laugh and drink to celebrate they claimed to be divine retribution from their gods – acting as if they were the ones who gave the alliances’ armies such massive blow, and completely forgetting that the war had just started. Not to mention that the overwhelming difference in their forces was is still present. Upon hearing that the commanders and officials of the churches’ army were acting like fools in a victory they did not earn, greatly angered and disappointed the four popes who were currently trying to communicate with the four gods. Despite the fact that the churches have lost countless battles before this and were still on the losing end, the greedy and foolish leaders of their religion still have the gall to celebrate and get drunk. If their devote believers heard of their leaders’ actions, they might just lose hope and give up on the churches. Knowing full well the consequence of losing countless believers, the four popes decided to end their isolation early and ordered the arrests of the foolish commanders and officials. Inside a large, well-furnished conference room, the four popes; Pope Alvan III of the church of Krant, Pope Arnold II of the church of Lueger, Pope Alexander VI of the church of Surl, and Pope Reynolds I of the church of Terhan gathered. All four of them have a solemn expression on their faces. “Do any of you know who attacked the forces of the three alliances?” Pope Reynolds I asked breaking the silence that suffused the room. The other three popes shook their head, indicating that they don’t know the answer to the Pope Reynolds I’s question. Just like the pope of the church of Terhan, they too, want to know who came to their aid. “About that… I might have an idea who helped us,” Pope Alvan III suddenly said after the silence returned to the room. “And I think you already knew who I’m referring to,” he added. An ugly expression appeared on the other popes’ faces. Indeed, Pope Alvan III is correct. They do have someone in mind. It’s just that they’re unwilling to accept the fact. And how could they? After all, once news surfaced that the four churches received help from *that organization* their remaining believer might just turn their backs on them! Meanwhile… “The attackers are most likely from the Sect of the Void,” said Sorceress Cassandra after putting down her cup. While the four popes are trying to figure out the true identity of the mysterious forces that attacked the rear of the three armies, the three alliances are also doing the same. As someone who prevented severe damage to the forces of the Order of the Magus, it’s only expected that the commanders of the two alliances would want to seek audience with her. “Sorceress, how sure are you with your conjecture?” One of the commanders from the United Kingdom Alliance, a male elf, asked. “My apologies but I only have 80% certainty,” answered the sorceress truthfully. “The reason I thought it was them was because I found their auras very familiar. As most of you are probably aware, I have encountered several of their acolytes while lending help to the gnomes look for their prince,” added the sorceress while glancing at Russell who was awkwardly scratching the back of his head. Everyone inside the room let out a knowing smile. All of them are aware that this prince of the gnomes almost died inside the Dark Sea after deciding to venture into the one of the world’s most dangerous and mysterious region. If not for the gnomes that didn’t give on him and asked the assistance of the famous sorceress, who knows if he’ll even return alive after losing his airship? “Eighty percent, huh… That’s already quite high,” commented Prince Darryl of Forst loudly. “Too bad we don’t have any evidence. If we have then…” “Indeed. If we have undeniable proof then we could turn the remaining believers against the churches. If that happened we no longer have to waste the lives of our soldiers, the four churches would collapse on itself due to the weight of its sins,” continued Prince Clyde of Almena. “Aye, it’s a wasted opportunity indeed,” said a muscular-looking dwarf with braided beard. This dwarf is one of the kings of the dwarves, King Dwargo of Drucel. “If only we’ve captured at least one of them attackers then we’ll have the proof we need,” he added regretfully. **** “Everyone seemed to be troubled?” A voice suddenly sounded inside the large conference room, greatly startling the four popes who are currently wearing very serious expressions on their faces. “Who’s there? Show yourself!” Pope Arnold II was the first to react and stood vigilantly while looking around. “Hehehe~ please… do calm down. I meant you all no harm,” the mysterious voice replied. A moment later a person wearing colorful outfit like that of jester appeared before the popes. The person that looked like a jester has a very pale face that was similar to a ghost. Just looking at him would give anyone the creeps. “My name is Conrad. A pleasure to meet you all, gentlemen,” The mysterious man that looked like a jester gave an exaggerated and theatrical bow and introduced himself as Conrad. “Are you someone from the Void of the Sect?” Pope Alvan III asked with frown on his forehead. Conrad gave an exaggerated smile after hearing the question of the pope of the church of Krant. “Aye, that I am. One of the Envoy of the Void, *‘The Jester’,* at your service,” he introduced further. “So you’re The Jester? Indeed we’ve heard of you,” Pope Alexander VI commented calmly after hearing the envoy’s introduction. “What do you need of us?” He asked. Although Pope Alexander VI appeared calm, his nerve was actually very taut. He along with the other popes had heard a lot of things about the person in front of them but most of it was not good. Rumors have it that among the Envoys of the Void, The Jester was the most dangerous due to his insanity. It was said that the man was so dangerous that very few among his fellow envoys liked him. Even the leaders of their organization were very wary of using the unsteady man. “Cooperation,” answered Conrad with that exaggerated smile still present on his pale face. “Cooperate? With you lot? Don’t be absurd!” The first one to speak out after hearing the word “cooperation” was the hot-blooded Pope Arnold II. They were just discussing on how dangerous it would be to be associated with the sect, and what their next course of action would be when the jester-like envoy appeared out of nowhere. So of course the pope of the church of Lueger would be agitated. “Why would it be absurd?” The Jester asked in confusion while tilting his head to the side. If a cute girl did that gesture it would look cute and adorable but if done by a ghastly-looking man it only looks creepy. “Of course it is! You people are the enemy of the world!” Pope Arnold II exclaimed in agitation. “Hehehe~ Enemy of the world?” Conrad gave the four popes a strange look which irritated them. “Aren’t you all the same position as us now?” “SHUT UP!!!” It’s because of you people that we’re in this kind of trouble in the first place!” Pope Arnold II screamed like he was about to explode in anger. The Jester, Conrad rolled his eyes before appearing in front of the pope who could not help but take a step back after being suddenly approached by the envoy. “Wrong. This happened because your gods are cowards who couldn’t stand up against our god and therefore, chooses to run away with tails behind their legs,” mocked Conrad in a voice that was almost a whisper. “BASTARD!!!” The pope swings his fist towards the envoy wanting to give him a good beating. Unfortunately, the envoy was too fast for him thus he could only punch air. But that’s not all. After missing the punch, Pope Arnold found himself with a sword on his neck. Even he, as hard-headed as he was knew that his head will go flying if he makes another move. “Enough!” Pope Reynolds I shouted. “Is this how you treat your future allies?” He asked. “Reynolds!” “What on heaven’s name are you saying? Are you out of your mind?” Pope Alexander VI and Pope Alvan III both exclaimed at the pope of the church of Terhan in disbelief. How could they not be shock? A pope of the four churches is actually considering joining hands with terrorist! Pope Reynolds on the other hand simply shook his head after seeing the disbelieving look his colleague was giving him. He then opened his mouth and spoke. “No, I’m not insane. I’m simply following the will of my lord,” he reasoned After saying so, the eyes of the two popes almost popped out as they look on in disbelief as Pope Reynolds I kneels at The Jester. No, that is incorrect. He was kneeling to the person behind The Jester! ****   **To be continued** Previous Chapters: https://read.cash/@beastion

@beastion 25 June 2021

Seeds of Chaos: Chapter 58 (First Blood) **Chapter 58**                 While the leaders of the three alliances were discussing some very important issues at Fort Ranford, there armies continue to march.  And after marching for hundreds of miles, the army of the United Kingdom Alliances finally stopped not far away from one of the four churches stronghold, Fort Halls.                 Before the descent of the god of the void through an avatar and the declaration of war, Fort Halls was a very popular and important stop for many travelers and devotees traveling towards the four holy cities. Tired and weary travelers would use the fort town to rest and relax during their travels. The same goes for the devotees.                 Being such an important hub, Fort Halls received a lot of business and was very prosperous. All types of people, humans and non-humans would flock into the fort town to do business or for other reasons. Besides being hub, the fort town also served as a first line of defense from unsavory elements like bandits or even from an army.                 That said, the fort town never once encountered such an incident since its founding more than two hundred years thanks to the influence of the four churches. Because of that, only a handful of soldiers are needed to protect the town. It was so safe that the town gates almost became unnecessary and had only been closed a handful of time. In normal times, the gates would remain open no matter the time of the year. But that had changed in recent months.                 When the betrayal of the four gods was known to the public, Fort Halls’ gates were forced to close to protect the town and its believers from possible harm. As for the travelers and merchants that are staying in town, they were thrown out before they could cause any trouble. Without a doubt, a wise move from the town’s overseer considering the fate of the believers and priests of the four churches from other towns and cities that were lynched and killed by the furious mobs after failing to escape in time.                 Despite being a fort town, Fort Halls never once suffered any kinds of attacks and was therefore always lightly defended. But after the three alliances declared war on the four churches, the famous fort town turned from a trading hub to a proper fort that could be used to withstand attacks from its enemies. And in first time since its foundation two hundred years ago, Fort Halls was now facing its first and possibly last siege.                 “They sure acted fast,” commented a young man with brown hair and blue eyes wearing a majestic set of armor and riding a black stallion. This young man is Prince Darryl Forst, the crown prince of Forst. “Isn’t that right, Clyde?” He asked after turning to the young man not to besides him.                 Clyde Almena, the crown prince of Almena nodded his head and answered “Yes” without looking at the prince of Forst. “But it won’t be enough to stop us.” Clyde added with solemn expression on his face.                 The Kingdom of Almena and the Kingdom of Forst use to be bitter rivals that often wages war on each other over territories and resources. That said it was actually Forst that often starts wars with their neighbors. This campaign was actually the first time that the two kingdoms worked together. But considering that the war could decide the future of the entire continent, it was only expected.                 “That’s a given. Unless their gods descent into the world, they stood no chance of defeating our army,” said Darryl confidently while crossing his arms together.                 “Hey, don’t jinx it. What if those gods really do come back because of what you’ve just said? Won’t we be in trouble then?” A voice that seemed to belong to that of a child cuts in. But the one who just spoke wasn’t a child though his appearance suggest otherwise. It was a grey-skinned *‘boy’* that looks quite cute. No, it was the prince of the gnomes, a person everyone should be familiar by now: Prince Russell.                 Clyde and Darryl turned to the prince of the gnomes and couldn’t help but purse their lips a little after seeing his child-like appearance. Although both of the princes knew that Russell wasn’t really a child, they still couldn’t help but react like that. Fortunately, these two young men are royalties and knew how to properly control their emotions.                 “Don’t be stupid, Russell. Who said I’m trying to jinx anything? It’s quite the opposite. I’m actually trying to bless our army,” Darryl countered. “I’ll let you know that I’m quite lucky.”                 “Oh, really now…?” Russell stared at the prince of Forst, a look of doubt fully written in his childish face.                 “This brat…”                 Darryl really wanted to argue with Russell to prove that he was telling the truth but after noticing Clyde shaking his head slightly, he stopped himself.                 “We’ve seen everything we have to see here. Let’s return to camp and decide on our next course of action,” Clyde suggested before turning around. Having seen no reason to deny Clyde, the two princes agreed and followed him. ****                 That afternoon, the commander of the United Kingdom Alliance Army spoke to the commander of Fort Halls and lay down their army’s demand of surrender – giving only the commander of the fort town half a day to consider. If the fort town did not open its gates, and surrender, the army would lay siege on the fort the very next day.                 Unfortunately to the soldiers of Fort Halls, their commander is a zealous believer of the four churches and quickly refuses the United Kingdom Alliance’s demands. Not only that, he actually demanded that the United Kingdom Alliance surrender instead or face retribution from their gods. Hearing of this, the commander could only shake his head, and ordered the army to march towards the fort the next morning.                 The result of the battle, if you could even call it that was easy to imagine. Overwhelmingly outnumbered, Fort Halls only lasted for several hours before finally falling to the might of the army of the United Kingdom Alliance. With the fort town fallen, the soldiers of the fort could only either fight, flee, or surrender. The devoted soldiers choose death rather than surrender while the least devoted ones either flee for their life or surrendered to the alliance army.                 And just like that, the once proud fort town, Fort Halls that stood for more than 200 years was no more – burned to the ground because of the stupidity of its inhabitants – becoming the first sacrifice to the war.                 After the destruction of Fort Halls, the alliance army didn’t linger for too long and continue their march to the four holy cities fully knowing that they would encounter much opposition on their way there. Of course they’re not alone. The other armies like the army of the Order of the Magus and the Red Phoenix Alliance were also heading to the next destination. As the three armies taken different route the amount of opposition differs from that of the other armies.                 For example, the forces of the Order of the Magus encountered very little opposition on their way to the four holy cities while the Red Phoenix army encountered heavy opposition from members of the soldiers of the four churches.                 There’s actually a proper explanation why it was so. The Order of the Magus have no previous conflict with the four churches which was due to the fact that magicians would rather focus on their studies and research than to waste time in politics. Of course that’s not to say that there’s no magician that dabbled to politics but those exceptions. Most organizations of magicians would rather stay contently in their territories. And as long as others leave them be they would not bother other people as well.                 Also, as powerful and influential as the four churches used to be, the magicians were not pushover either. History had already proven that magicians are a force to reckon when they were able to force out the warring nations of the continent including the Red Phoenix Empire out of the holy city of magicians: Nuathl City. That single feat alone proved to the entire continent the might of magicians once they banded together for a single goal. It was for this reason that even the churches would rather leave the magicians to their own devices.                 The Red Phoenix Empire on the other hand has vested interest in the four churches and has always been eyeing the territories owned by the four churches but could not take the territories as their own due to the overwhelming popularity of the churches. If the Empire attacked the four churches and seize its territories they would surely earn the ire of the populace which could result in the kingdoms in the continent uniting against the Empire.                 Of course the four churches weren’t blameless either. Similar to how the Empire was eyeing the territories of the four churches, the churches were also eyeing the empire to extend the influence of their order. The four churches had sent countless dignitaries and missionaries to the Empire over the years but had very little success due to the interference of the imperial family and the nobility. Still, the failures didn’t deter the four churches who continued to try to convert the citizens of the Empire much to the disappointment and anger of its ruler.                 In retaliation, the Empire sent its troops several times to the territory of the four churches only to quickly retreat not long after. It was as if the Empire was trying to warn the four churches not to encroach on Empire territories as they could easily do the same. It was for this reason that the two forces had been defending against each other for so many years which was actually beneficial to the other kingdoms not allied to the Empire as the churches ironically prevented the emperor’s dream of total domination.                 And yet in a twist of fate, the once powerful churches that could once match the might of the almighty Red Phoenix Empire loses much of its influence in the continent – it was such a rare chance that the current ruler of the empire, Emperor Darius IX quickly summoned his allies to destroy the four churches once and for all. ****                 “So this is war, huh?” A black-haired young woman looked down from atop the airship deck as she observed the on-going battle with a complicated on her face.                 “Yeah, but this is just the start. Once we reach the holy cities the fighting would become a lot worse,” answered a red-headed young woman with similar expression on her face.                 The two young women are Miranda and Pina from the Sorceress Tower who came along with their teacher. As a member of the Order of the Magus, Sorceress Cassandra was expected to fight in the war as well. Due to her special position, the sorceress is eligible to attend the meeting between the alliance leaders as well but declined and joined the Order’s marching army instead.                 That said riding an airship was the furthest from the description of marching but as the sorceress’ ability was most suited for reconnaissance and preventing ambushes, the other mages saw no problem in allowing the sorceress to use her airship (*that she received from the gnomes as payment*) as being in the sky allowed the sorceress to see more compared to being on the ground.                 “Sigh. It’s been three months, and there’s still no news from Rennel,” Pina complained after a while. Seeing how their forces were sweeping away the enemy forces, she judged that continuing to observe would no longer serve any purpose. It was also for this reason that her mind stray to her still absent friend.                 “Didn’t Sol say that she’s safe and is currently training with the other student of her teacher?” Miranda asked while tilting her head after sitting down beside Pina.                 “That’s exactly what I’m worried about! Did you forgot what Sol said that they? Rennel was training with her senior brother!” Pina exclaimed in a raised voice. “It’s a man! Rennel was training under a man. Do you not understand? Rennel is so beautiful that the senior brother of hers might just do something to her!”                 Miranda let out a sigh and put a palm on her forehead after hearing her junior sister’s words. “That’s it? That’s what you’re worried about? Rennel’s not some silly love starved girl you know?” Miranda commented sounding a little fed up. “From what I see, that girl has absolutely no interest in the opposite sex.”                 “That’s exactly what I’m worried about. Since she’s completely ignorant in that kind of thing that she might fall victim to that ‘*experienced’* senior of her,” Pina argued.                 “You spoke as if you actually have experience in that sort of thing. If I’m not mistaken you’re as innocent as that friend of yours,” Miranda teases. “Besides, we don’t even know of that senior brother of Rennel is even human. For all we know he’s from an entirely different species.”                 Pina could only pout after failing to counter her senior sister’s argument. She knew that she’s might just be overreacting. Rennel had managed to survive for almost for years on her own, and wasn’t a fool. But as her best friend it’s only given that she would worry.                 “You should trust your friend more. Also we should just focus on the war for now. If we could defeat the churches and the sect before Rennel return from her training then there’s no need for her to fight anymore,” Miranda suggested softly after seeing Pina looking slightly down.                 Pina’s eyes lit up after hearing her senior sister’s suggestion. Indeed. If they could defeat the forces of the four churches and the Sect of the Void, then Rennel no longer need to risk her life just like what she did back in the Dark Sea. Besides, in her opinion, Rennel had already done so much and that asking more of her would be too much. After all, what Rennel did prevented the destruction of the world – a debt so big that it’s impossible to pay.                 “Let’s go. Teacher’s already calling for us and it won’t be proper to let her wait,” urges Miranda after noticing that the sorceress was calling for the two of them. Pina nodded her head and followed Miranda towards their teacher.                 Although Pina was determined to end the war as fast as possible to save her absent friend from fighting in the war, fate’s unpredictable wheel might turn again, possibly forcing Rennel into the heart of the conflict. As for what will happen next, that’ll be a story for another day. ****   **To be continued** Previous Chapters: https://read.cash/@beastion

@beastion 24 June 2021

Why I Think Bitcoin Won’t Make A Good Legal Tender  **A Momentous Event**                 On June 4, 2021, Miami, Florida, a cryptocurrency conference – Bitcoin 2021 was held. And in that same conference, the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, appeared in front of all attendees via a ZOOM call. There he announced to anyone that he plan on submitting a bill that would make Bitcoin a legal tender. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8nFfz_a-Fk                 True to his words (*which are rare among politicians*) President Nayib Bukele did indeed submit a proposal to the EL Salvadorian Congress. And then on Tuesday night, June 8, 2021, congress voted and 62 out of 84 lawmakers vote in favor of adopting Bitcoin – making El Salvador the only country in the world that recognize Bitcoin as a legal tender. https://twitter.com/nayibbukele/status/1402507224916836352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1402507224916836352%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fnews%2Fworld-latin-america-57398274                 Bitcoin’s use as a legal tender will start 90 days later which mean that on September 6, 2021 El Salvadorian could use Bitcoin to buy any product and avail services in the country.   **Good Intention, Bad Choice of Cryptocurrency**                 Without a doubt, El Salvador’s move to make Bitcoin a legal tender put them in the history book as the first country that recognize cryptocurrency as a legal tender. And with El Salvador as precedence, I believe that other countries would follow suit especially if one considers that several countries are experimenting on digital currencies, China being a good example with their Digital Yuan.                 Honestly, I have nothing but praise for President Nayib Bukele’s bold vision for his country. The fact that he acted fast after making his announcement proved just how much he believed in the potential of cryptocurrencies, and what cryptocurrency could do to improve the financial situation of his country.                 President Nayib Bukele had good intentions when he adamantly submits the bill to congress to make Bitcoin a legal tender despite possible repercussion from the International Monetary Fund. This could be seen on a tweet after congress voted in favor of his bill. The tweet states: *"It will bring financial inclusion, investment, tourism, innovation and economic development for our country,"*                 President Nayib Bukele believed that Bitcoin would improve the financial situation of his country – pushing the country to a more positive economic development – a sentiment that countless supporters of cryptocurrencies shared, myself included. That said I do take serious issue on one particular matter – his choice of cryptocurrency.   **Bitcoin Won’t Make a Good Legal Tender**                 Bitcoin is not a bad cryptocurrency per se. After all it won’t reach its current height if it was. But as a legal tender that would be used by an entire country with a population 6.5 million, I think Bitcoin is a bad choice. And here’s why. Absurdly High transaction Fee – Bitcoin’s transaction fees are absurdly high. Its average transaction fee is $8.257 (*as of June 23*). https://ycharts.com/indicators/bitcoin_average_transaction_fee#:~:text=Bitcoin%20Average%20Transaction%20Fee%20is,767.2%25%20from%20one%20year%20ago. Slow Transaction Speed – Bitcoin has a scalability problem. With a block size of just 1 megabyte transaction on the Bitcoin network is worryingly slow in comparison to other network like that of Bitcoin Cash. Volatility – This is a problem that all cryptocurrencies faces not just Bitcoin and probably wouldn’t be solved unless it falls into the control of the governments and becomes centralized which is against the principles of decentralization that almost all cryptocurrencies championed. That said, it the problem of correlation could be solved then other cryptocurrencies wouldn’t be too affected if the price of Bitcoin changed on the whims of whales. Security – Bitcoin is very difficult to hack but that doesn’t make it impossible to hack. Decade since it was first introduced about a million (around 980,000 as of 2017) Bitcoin had been stolen from exchanges through hacking and scams. According to an Investopedia article, 2019 alone about $9 million worth of cryptocurrency, mostly Bitcoin are lost every day. Technically, it wasn’t the fault of Bitcoin itself but by exchanges with horrible security and by gullible users. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptocurrency_and_crime https://www.investopedia.com/news/beware-9m-are-lost-each-day-crypto-scams/ Limited Use – Although Bitcoin could be used to purchase goods and services, its horrendous transaction fees, and slow transaction speed makes it a horrible choice for a legal tender and limits its uses to big transactions like buying car or other properties. As for smaller transactions like, Bitcoin is pretty much unusable. No, don’t misunderstand; I’m not saying that Bitcoin couldn’t be used for smaller transactions. Technically it could but would you really use Bitcoin for a $10 transaction? I won’t. The transaction fee alone would make that $10 transaction to $13 or more. It’s just isn’t worth it.   **What Cryptocurrency Would Make Good Legal Tinder?**                 Pretty much every other cryptocurrencies besides Bitcoin and Ethereum would make for a good legal tender. Yes, even DOGE, as absurd as it may sounds, would actually make a better legal tender to Bitcoin for the sole reason that the transaction fee was absurdly small in comparison to Bitcoin. Of course, DOGE won’t be my first choice of legal tender as that honor goes to Bitcoin Cash (BCH).                 Bitcoin Cash, by all account is much, much better cryptocurrency compared to Bitcoin. The transaction fees are a lot cheaper, transactions are a lot faster, it is more secure, and it has unlimited uses. Besides that, Bitcoin Cash is the cryptocurrency that Satoshi Nakamoto, the developer of Bitcoin had envisioned.                 No. I’m not claiming that Bitcoin Cash is the perfect cryptocurrency – far from it. Bitcoin Cash like Bitcoin has it flaws one being its correlation to Bitcoin that would affect its value whenever the value of Bitcoin changes. But compared to Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash deserved to be a legal tender of El Salvador (*and possibly other countries as well*) more so than Bitcoin.                 And considering that one of the main uses of cryptocurrency in El Salvador was for remittance, I believed that El Salvadorians could save more on transaction fees and send more money to their love ones if they use Bitcoin Cash instead of Bitcoin. Honestly, I find it baffling that President Nayib Bukele would chooses Bitcoin instead of other more practical cryptocurrency like Bitcoin Cash. But that’s just my opinion.                 Anyway, that’ all for now. And if you so chooses please show your support by liking or upvoting my articles. Thank you for reading and I wish everyone a pleasant day. *FIN~*        **** My other articles: https://read.cash/@beastion Image source: Pixabay https://pixabay.com/photos/bitcoin-dollar-president-washington-2730220/

@beastion 23 June 2021

Seeds of Chaos: Chapter 57 (Declaration of War)  **Chapter 57** 3451 of the Blue Month, three months after the descent of the avatar of the void; the United Kingdom Alliance, a newly formed alliance of several humans and non-human kingdoms within the Wallachia continent declared war on the Four God’s Religion. Following the United Kingdoms’ footsteps, another organization, this time of that of magicians, the Order of the Magus, led by the elders from Elder Council of Nuathl also declared war on the four churches as well. And as if not to be left out, the Red Phoenix Alliance, an alliance spear-headed by the Red Phoenix Empire also declared war on the Four God’s Religion just several days after the other two alliances made their declaration. The declaration of war by the three newly formed alliances did not surprise a single person on the continent. The fact that they declared war on the Four God’s Religion first instead of the Sect of the Void wasn’t that surprising in the eyes of many as well. For most people, removing the tumor that was the four god’s religion first was more practical in comparison to eliminating the Sect of the Void for the sole reason that the former was in the open and could be attack at any time while the latter was hiding somewhere on the continent. Although most people hated the Sect of the Void, the populace’s hatred for the Four God’s Religion was by no way lesser than their hatred for *the sect*. No, it could even be said that they hated the four churches even greater.  The reason for it being that the Sect of the Void was, despite their horrible reputation, had always been very open when it comes to their main objective; which was to allow the descent of the god of the void. The Four God’s Religion on the other hand painted themselves as the ally of the common people, a righteous organization that only have the people’s best interest at heart. It was for this reason that majority of the populace joined the four churches. So when the news that the four major gods were quick to abandon the world and their believers when the god of the void descended, the populace felt betrayed and disillusioned. In their anger the populace mobbed together and burn down the churches and temples belonging to the Four God’s Religion. Not only that the mob also lynched and killed countless priest and officials from the four churches. And although the populace had calmed down greatly after that event, their hatred for the four churches didn’t lessen. That’s why when the three newly found alliances declared war on the Four God’s Religion, majority of the people gave their full support – the only time it ever happened in the history of the continent. Thanks to this support, the three alliances managed to recruit a lot of volunteer and amassed massive armies that started marching to the four holy cities. With such a massive force, the army of believers and zealots of the four churches stood no chances against the armies of the three alliances. If nothing unexpected happened, the Four God’s Religion would likely cease to exist after the war. As for the Sect of the Void, the three alliances had also spent countless resources and manpower to locate *the sect’s* hidden headquarters. However, as the three alliances were focusing more on the four churches, locating *the sect* would most likely yield very little result. To the three alliances though, it’s fine even if they didn’t find the sect’s headquarters during the duration of the war. As long as *the sect* didn’t act against them while they were fighting the four churches, they could consider the resources and manpower used to locate them well-spent. However, considering that *the sect* had suffered great losses when the titan Leviathan killed a few of their envoys and the destruction of the avatar of the god of the void by a mysterious god; the Sect of the Void might use the war between the three alliances and the four churches to recover before acting again. Of course it’s also possible that they would try to cause more strife and chaos while recovering. It’s just that doing so possess great risk and might even betray their headquarters’ location. Still, whether *the sect* will take the risk or not would not change the fact that a war had once again erupted in the continent… **** “Damn those heathens!” A bald, giant of man with a mustache and a beard smashed the wooden table with his muscled hand in anger after receiving the news that the armies of the three alliances are currently marching to the holy cities. This giant mustached man was Pope Arnold II of the Church of Lueger, the god of battle and power. On his forehead was mysterious symbol that looks very much like a third eye. It was the symbol of the god Lueger, the god with three eyes. All believers of the Church of Lueger believed in the philosophy *‘might make right.’* They also believed that violence is the best way of solving any disagreement and that the one with the bigger fist is king. It was for this reason that there pope must be someone that looks physically strong and intimidating and not intelligent, solemn, and kind like the other three popes. Which is why, the current head of the Church of Lueger, Pope Arnold II looks like a barbarian in comparison to the popes of the other three churches. Still, no one dares to look down on this intimidating man. His physical prowess alone far surpassed anyone in the four churches. Even all of his followers are only a little weaker than him. In terms of magic, the pope of the Church of Lueger was definitely the weakest as he could only use enhancing and strengthening magic. But even if that was the case, he was not the weakest of the four popes. It could even be argued that he is the strongest as even his limited magic could increase his already terrifying strength by ten folds. Also, every time a conflict that could threaten the four churches’ interest arises, the Church of Lueger was the first one to act. The church’s paladins, carrying huge maces and tower shields were a sight to behold on the battlefield. And their barbarity in battle could even turn the legs of most hardened of soldiers into jelly in fear. But as impressive as the pope and his paladins were, they could not go against three massive armies. Even the strongest of humanity could only flee with his tail between his legs in the face of such force. It was due to this reason that Pope Arnold II was seething in anger. He might be a muscle head but that doesn’t mean he was a fool. Even he knew that his army of paladins could never stop the marching army of the three alliances. No. it’s not just that. Even if the four churches combined all of their forces, the most they could do was slow down their enemies and nothing more. “Please calm your anger, Your Excellency,” his aide urged. How many had it been? This should be the seventh table that the pope smashes to smithereens in just a week. Honestly, he’s already contemplating of hiring blacksmiths to forge a table made out of metal. “Calm down? How do you expect me to calm down after knowing that a bunch of heathens are currently marching towards us?” Pope Arnold II screamed with a red face. “But being angry at the table and smashing it wouldn’t solve our problem, Your Excellency!” The aide shouted back with a large vein popping out of his temple. “Also, please think of our limited budget!” “You damn bastard! So you’re only concern about our budget! Fine, I won’t destroy another table again. Happy now?” the pope surrendered after being reminded that they’re currently short on funds. “Has any of the popes arrived?” He asked after calming down. “Yes, Pope Alvan III is currently waiting in the meeting room,” his aide replied. “Alvan, huh… Understood, you could leave for now. Just send someone to look for me once the other two arrived.” The aide bowed a little before leaving the pope seating in front of his broken table. After hearing about the armies marching towards them, Pope Arnold II had summoned the other three popes to discuss their next move. But the fact that only Pope Alvan III out of the three popes he had summoned for the meeting arrived on time made his quite upset especially considering their current situation. Unfortunately, there’s very little he could do about it considering that the god of his church, the god of battle and power, Lueger, had mysteriously perished some time ago! **** Somewhere in the Stein Region there’s a huge castle known as Radford Castle. The castle is owned by a duke named Radford who happened to be a member of the United Kingdom Alliance. As the armies of the three alliances marches towards the four holy cities, the leadership of the alliances held an important meeting that would hopefully strengthen their cooperation. The reason they’ve chosen Castle Radford out of all the castles and forts of the three alliances for the sole reason that the aforementioned castle was the biggest and most fortified castle in the Stein Region – a region near the Holymark Region where the four holy cities are located. Being a castle, Castle Radford was naturally fortified but for the sake of protecting the leaders of the three alliances, the security in the castle was strengthened to an insane level. All sorts of the enchantments were used to ensure that the castle could withstand even forbidden level magic. Aside from that the people guarding the leaders of the three alliances were all insanely powerful. One could see that three alliances did not hold anything back and did everything they could to ensure the safety of their leaders from all sorts of dangers and assassination attempts. Admittedly such a setup was over the top and even wasteful. Now one might ask why bother with such a meeting if they needed to waste so many resources that could have been used to strengthened their respective armies. There’s actually a proper reason for it. To ensure that the war lean on their favor, the three alliances which includes the United Kingdoms’ Alliance, the Red Phoenix Alliance, and the Order of the Magus, decided to hold a meeting between the leaderships of the respective alliances. Actually, the real reason why the meeting needed to be held in the first place was to prevent any conflict that might arise between the armies of the alliances during the war. And considering that the armies that are attacking the holy cities are from three different forces, it was actually a very valid concern. It would not be good for everyone involved if they lose a war that they could have easily won due to some conflict or misunderstanding that might unexpectedly arise between their respective forces. Inside a large and heavily decorated hall is an expensive-looking rectangular table made of a special type of wood.  And gathering around that table are the leaders of the three alliances. “Are everyone here?” A man wearing a majestic-looking red armor with a black cape asked. Embroidered on the cape is an image of a red phoenix. Indeed, as most people would have guessed by now the person who just spoke was the current emperor of the Red Phoenix Empire: Emperor Darius IX! The Red Phoenix alliance led by Emperor Darius IX is composed of the Red Phoenix Empire, and five other human kingdoms allied to the empire. Although the number of kingdoms in Red Phoenix Alliance was lesser than that of the United Kingdom Alliance, the size of their armies was almost equal. The reason for this was because the Red Phoenix Empire has the biggest active army in the continent. The current leader of the United Kingdom Alliance, King Egbert IV of Gran nodded his head and said “Yes, all of leaders of the United Kingdom Alliance are here.” The United Kingdom Alliance is an alliance of a dozen of kingdoms, six of which are human kingdoms, three dwarf kingdoms, one beastkin kingdom, one elven kingdom, and one gnome kingdom. As the members of United Kingdom Alliance were mostly made-up of human kingdoms, it was given that the alliance leader was also human. It’s not that the human kingdoms looked down on the non-humans but that the alliance army was about 70% of their soldiers are humans. With such overwhelming difference in number, it would be strange if the human did not take the leadership seat. “All of the elders of the Order are also present,” answered Elder Theodore of the Council of Elders. The remaining elders of the Council, including Elder Zelma nodded their heads after hearing Elder Theodore’s words. As the name suggest, many members of the Order of Magus with the exception of the regular soldiers in their army were magicians. These magicians belonged to different magician organizations scattered all around the continent. Among the three alliances, the army of the Order of Magus was the smallest. But to belittle the Order because of the size of its army would be a big mistake. That’s because the army of the Order of Magus has the largest number of magicians in the three alliances. More so than that of the United Kingdom Alliance and the Red Phoenix Alliance combine! “That’s good. Then, shall we begin the meeting?” Emperor Darius IX asked of which the leaders of the other two alliances agreed. And with that, one of the most important meetings that could potentially decide the future of the entire continent officially begins. But as to how the meeting indeed or even what has been discussed on the meeting is a story for another time. ****   **To be continued** Previous Chapters: https://read.cash/@beastion

@beastion 22 June 2021

Seeds of Chaos: Chapter 56 (Arc 3: Prologue)  **Chapter 56** In a place filled with fog and mist, a girl lies unconscious on the ground. The girl has long silver hair and beautiful facial features that could invoke one’s desire to protect. And on her side lies a long jade-green spear waiting for its master to awaken. Indeed, the person lying unconscious on the ground is none other than Rennel who was thrown into a crack in space by her own teacher which leads to an unknown space. As the girl was already greatly weakened after battling the avatar of the god of the void and using every ounce of mana in her body, she soon lost consciousness the moment she realized that she’s safe inside the unknown space. Physically and mentally exhausted, the girl remained unconscious for many days, completely unaware of the chaos that ensued after the defeat of the avatar of the god of the void. Of course for the same reason, the girl was also unaware that the power balance in the continent had changed completely.  Still, chaos or whatnot, it’s not something that a girl that’s not even fifteen yet should concern herself with. Normally, a person’s body that had been sleeping for many days should have starved or was near starvation after not receiving nutrition for so long. And yet, the girl’s unconscious body remained healthy. Also, dust and dirt should have covered her body by now but for some reason, she remained clean and pristine as if someone was taking care of her. But how could that be? Chaos had sent her into the mysterious space on her own so who could possibly took care of her needs while she was unconscious? In reality, the girl was indeed not alone inside the mysterious space. When Chaos sent the girl in that space, he also sent someone there to take care of her. Tap! Tap! Tap! In the darkness footsteps could be heard and a shadowy figure could be seen approaching the sleeping girl. The shadowy figure then stopped at a few feet from the girl, observes her for several seconds before walking towards a nearby rock to sit down. “She should be waking up right about now,” said the mysterious figure. It was a man’s voice. Calming, composed, and pleasant to the ears – that’s how the mysterious man’s voice sounded. Moreover, as if on cue, one of Rennel’s fingers twitched ever so slightly. And then soon after the girl let out a soft moan before slowly opening her eyes. The girl has finally woke up after days of sleeping. “What happened? Where am I?” Rennel softly asked to particularly no one before moving her eyes without getting up to scan her surroundings. Despite the fact that it was dark without a single ray of light, the girl could still see clearly thanks to the effect of her ‘*seed*’. “You’re finally awake. I’ve been waiting for you,” the mysterious man suddenly spoke, greatly startling the girl who suddenly stood up only to sit down again due to sudden nausea. While groping around, Rennel felt a cold, long, hard object on the floor. It was her spear, Jade Thorn. Although still feeling slightly nauseous, Rennel forced herself to speak while gripping her spear tightly. “Who’s there?” She asked loudly. “Calm down. There’s no need to be so alarmed. I’ve no intention of causing you harm,” the mysterious man clarified seeing how the girl acted. Rennel followed the voice and saw a mysterious person wearing a cloak that covered his entire body including his face seating on a rock. But since the man was seating, Rennel could not tell how big or stall he is. She could only tell that he was a man based on the shape of his body and his voice. “Like I said already… I mean you no harm,” the man repeated after seeing that the girl remained extremely vigilant. Although Rennel didn’t fully believe the mysterious man’ words, her vigilant did ease up a bit. That said, her guard was still fully up just in case the mysterious man does anything. The mysterious man on the other hand could only shake his head and raise both of his hands as if to show that he didn’t have a weapon on him. Seeing this, Rennel realized that she might have overacted a bit but considering her current situation and the event that leads to it, her vigilance was actually considered justified. Using her spear as support, the girl slowly stood up while not taking her eyes away from the mysterious man. After adjusting her balance, the girl spoke to the mysterious man again,” Who are you?” She asked. The mysterious didn’t answer the girl’s question right away but instead also stood up, before giving the girl an elegant bow. “My name is Rance,” the mysterious man replied. “I was summoned her by our teacher to take care of you,” the man explained further. Hearing the name ‘*Rance*’ and phrase ‘*our teacher’*, Rennel was slightly in daze. She had heard her teacher, Chaos, mentioned that name before. No, rather than call it a mention, the word complain would be better suited. That’s because if she remembered correctly, Rance was the name of her teacher’s most troublesome student! Unfortunately, that’s the only thing she knew about the person in question as her teacher didn’t clarified when he called him troublesome. And this was despite her best effort of trying to convince Chaos. Beyond her expectation, she actually met that *‘troublesome’* student… ****   “Rennel,” the girl returned the man’s gesture and also bowed a little. After that introduction she didn’t say anything else and just looked curiously at the mysterious man named Rance. Unbeknownst to her though, there was a strange expression on her face that didn’t escape Rance’s notice. The mysterious man also stared at the girl for a little bit before speaking, “Judging by your expression, you seemed to know a little about me. Teacher should have mentioned something about me during a conversation if I’m not mistaken. And if I'm to be presumptuous, your expression of me… should not be that good, correct?” Being easily read by a stranger even if that stranger was a fellow student, her senior even, made Rennel flustered. She wanted to deny the man’s accusation but could not find the right words to say. “Hahaha… Its fine, its fine... Teacher is someone like that. He could be very tight-lips but from time to time he would let some things slip. Still, was it on accident or did he let some information about me on purpose? Knowing his personality, I think it’s the second reason. And if my guess is right, he probably planned our meeting from the very start,” Rance said in a playful manner. “That said I was a little surprise when I found an unconscious girl in this place.” Rennel’s eyes widened after hearing the mysterious man’s words. “Teacher planned our meeting since some time ago? What do you mean by that?” The girl asked with a confuse look on her face. “Aye. Teacher seemed to consider me an assistant of sort and would often send me to his other students to train them in his place. Not that I mind since I like to travel and meet new people,” Rance explained. “That said, I think it’s a little too early for you to meet me. At minimum, teacher would wait till his student reached third awakening before passing them to me. But as I see it you've only attained second awakening. However, since something unexpected crops up that forces teacher to advance our meeting, it couldn’t be helped.” The girl tried to digest what the mysterious man had said. As Rance revealed a lot of information despite not saying much, Rennel needed a bit of time to take it all in. “Where’s teacher now?” Rennel finally asked after understanding the situation. This was her greatest concern. As she lost consciousness after being thrown into a space crack, she didn’t know how the battle ended or what happened to Chaos. “Teacher allowed his avatar to dissipate after destroying the avatar of the god of the void. Right now all the knowledge and memories he accumulated from his travels should have returned to his real body that’s currently slumbering.” Rance answered. Surprise could be seen in the girl’s eyes after hearing that Chaos’ real body was slumbering. “Our teacher’s real body is… slumbering?” She asked. “That’s right. It has been slumbering for who knows how long now,” Rance confirmed. “With the exception of yours truly; none of our fellow brothers and sisters has seen teacher’s true form yet. Not because teacher didn’t want to see them but because they weren’t eligible to see him as they haven’t reached the required level yet – only by gaining the ability to enter ‘*Chaos’* could they meet Chaos.” *“Only be gaining the ability to enter ‘Chaos’ could they meet Chaos? What’s that even mean?”* Rance could tell that his words only serve to confuse the girl further but didn’t attempt to give more clarification as he wanted the girl to figure what his words really mean on her own. Not hearing further explanation from Rance, the girl knew that she couldn’t rely on him to clarify her confusion. Crossing her arms the girl wracked her brain to the point that it’s starting to hurt but as she was about to give up, she remembered Chaos’ last words before passing out. *“Look for me at the beginning and the end of everything: Chaos.”* Rennel knew that the word ‘*Chaos*’ wasn’t just referring to her teacher but to something else entirely. Probably a place somewhere in the cosmos… “*Teacher probably wanted me to go to that place called Chaos…,”* Rennel though to herself. *“But judging by this mysterious senior’s words, that place isn’t a place that one could go and leave as one pleases without reaching a certain level.”* And if Rance was to be believed, aside from him, none of teacher’s other student reached that level yet. Just how dangerous is that place that even Chaos’ other students that were most likely far more powerful than Rennel couldn’t go there whenever they wanted? *“With my current power, I should be one of the weakest of teacher’s student,”* Rennel thought. She then secretly glanced at Rance for second before lowering her eyes. *“Since he could go to where teacher is does that make this senior the most powerful amongst teacher’s students? Yes, that should be the case…”* “Senior, what should I do next?” As Chaos sent the mysterious Rance to replace him, Rennel thought that this senior should be responsible in teaching her. And she’s right. Rance was indeed tasked to teach the girl in Chaos’ place. Rance examined Rennel for several seconds with his eyes after hearing the girl’s question which made the girl fidget a little in embarrassment. Of course Rance is simply examining her physical condition to ensure that she’s fit to train, and has no other thoughts beside that. “You seem to have reached a certain threshold that makes you eligible for a third awakening. We shall focus on that first,” Rance answered. “After that we shall return to the continent.” **** While Rennel was trying to breakthrough to the next level with the help of her mysterious senior, the political landscape and power balance on the entire continent had experienced a shift after the appearance and defeat of the avatar of the god of the void.  The four major churches for example had lost a lot of their influence due to the action of the gods they worshipped. Although the four churches are still powerful thanks to their thousands of years of inheritance and influence, it couldn’t be compared to what it was before. Being forced back to their remaining sanctuaries by the angry mobs, the nobles, and royalties that had long been displeased with their interference, the religion of the four major churches could only lick their wounds as they bid their time in their holy cities. Besides the churches, the angry mobs also did not spare the aristocrats and the royalties. This was especially true in regions where the peasantries are often maltreated by the nobility and members of the royal families. Taking advantage of the chaos, many leaders of the commoners and peasantries in said regions rallies the populace to overthrow their kings and the aristocrats adding more to the chaos and turmoil. Still, it can’t be said that the effect of the news was really negative. Although there were chaos everywhere after the news disseminated, the four major churches losing much of their power and influence, and abusive aristocracy and royalties being overthrown left and right might actually be for best interest of the people in the continent. So depending on who you ask, they would even say that the overall effect was more positive than negative. Also, one of the biggest effects of the news was that the wars that had been raging for years finally stopped. For example, the war between the Kingdom of Forst and Almena had finally stopped as both kingdoms have bigger threats in the form of the Sect of the Void. Yes, the warring kingdoms finally understood that the biggest threats to their survival were not their neighboring kingdoms but an organization that was powerful enough to threaten them all. If not for the accidental discovery of the vessel for the god of the void, everyone would still be in the dark of how much of a threat *the sect* has become because of their negligence. Thankfully it wasn’t too late yet. Although the god of void had succeeded in descending into the world, it was stopped by a mysterious god before it could even start devouring the world. Nonetheless, they’re fully aware that they couldn’t always to depend on some otherworldly being to save them every time. What if the next time it happened they weren’t so lucky? Could they only some power hungry god devour their world? No they could not. As the inhabitant of the world, it falls to them to protect their home. As such, most power in the continent set aside their differences and worked together to destroy the threat that was the Sect of the Void. But aside from the Sect of the Void, they must also remove one of the biggest tumors that could threaten them at any moment – the four major churches! Yes, majority of people in the continent considered the four churches as a tumor after the god they were worshipping unhesitatingly abandoned their world when it was facing one of its biggest threats yet. Since their gods abandoned their world, how could they allow the four churches to continue existing? It was for this reason that they didn’t tried to stop but instead hastened the dissemination of the news that the four administrators had abandoned them all despite fully knowing what the effect of the news would be. For the people behind the scene, if they could destroy the four churches once and for all, then any sacrifice was worth it. It’s because only after the threat of the four churches are neutralized could they focus on destroying the Sect of the void. And so while chaos ensued, a new chapter opened for the continent, nay, the world… ****   **To be continued** Previous Chapters: https://read.cash/@beastion

@beastion 20 June 2021

Seeds of Chaos: Chapter 55 (Arc 2: Epilogue)  **Chapter 55** Chaos and the avatar of the god of the void continue to fight inside the broken space of what used to be a region of the Dark Sea. The two celestials had completely changed their surroundings due to their cataclysmic clash. From the looks of things, even if the entire Dark Sea recovered, one certain region would forever become a forbidden zone where no life could exist. However, that outcome was still a lot better compared to what it could have been if the avatar of the god of the void was left to do what it pleases. Moreover, the only reason that the damage was contained to a small region was largely thanks to Chaos who played no small part in preserving and protecting the world. If Chaos didn’t seal that small region, their berserk power could have spread and destroyed the entirety of the world. Indeed, as the sorceress had surmised, the world was very lucky that Chaos was present when the god of the void descended by using an avatar. “Who the hell are you and why do you interfere with my business?” The avatar of the god of the void was in a terrible shape. His appearance was horrible to look at with countless wounds littering all over its borrowed body. Worse still, the avatar of the god of the void couldn’t heal the wound for some reason. Also, one of its wings that resembled that of a galaxy had been torn out in the battle between the two. One would think that a torn wing made out of energy held no significance in the grand scheme of things but in reality that couldn’t be far from the truth. The avatar’s wings were actually an indicator of how much power the avatar possesses in its body besides increasing the avatar’s speed and power. The fact that the wings could no longer be regenerated after being torn out proves that the avatar of the void of the god had been weakened greatly and could no longer receive more power from its main body. With how the things are going, the avatar of the god of void could only wait to be destroyed by Chaos. That said, Chaos wasn’t exactly on his best condition either. As he was fighting seriously with the avatar of the god of the void, Chaos inadvertently used more power than necessary and is now facing rejection from the world itself. It was because of this rejection that Chaos was very slowly becoming transparent – a sign that he would vanish into nothingness unless he chooses to stop it. It’s not like the will of the world really wanted to reject Chaos but it’s more like that the world could no longer tolerate the power that Chaos inadvertently released. Think of it this way. Chaos could be considered an implanted organ that the body has no trouble accepting at first. But after some time had passed, the body started treating the implanted organ as a foreign object; rejecting it thoroughly. Unless that organ (Chaos) is removed, there's a high possibility that the body (world) would die. Being rejected by the world was not really a problem for someone of Chaos’ level. If he wanted to, he could just easily prevent himself from slowly vanishing into nothing. And yet, Chaos chooses not to do it in fear of destroying the world. “Who the hell want to interfere with your business?” Chaos answered in a voice filled with disdain. “If not for the fact that you annoyed me and even tried to kill my student, I wouldn’t even bother with a weakling like you.” “That’s it? Just because I annoyed you and tried to kill a human girl that you destroyed hundreds of (mortal) years of preparations?” The avatar of the void asked in anger and disbelief. Although time is nothing to a celestials as they have infinite lifespan, that doesn’t mean that working for hundreds of years was nothing to them. Yes hundreds of years. The god of the void had worked hundreds of years just to prepare a mortal body that could accommodate a small portion of its soul and power. As the god of the void couldn’t forcefully descend into the world using its true body as the will of the world would rather choose destruction than to allow it, the god of the void could only do so in a roundabout manner – by using an avatar. One might ask why go to all that trouble just to devour a single world. Couldn’t the god of the void just devour the world from the outside? That’s actually a fair and simple question of which the answer was also similarly fair and simple: The god of the void could not. Or rather it could not as the god of the void would surely face the counterattack from the will of the world if he did so from the outside. Even though the god of the void was exponentially more powerful than the will of the world, the world’s last measure which was self-destruction that could lead to some damage to a celestials’ soul was a price that the god of the void was unwilling to pay. After all, the god of the void wanted to increase its own power by devouring the world and not decrease it by receiving injuries to its soul. It just isn’t worth it. But if the god of the void did it from the inside, then it was possible to devour the entire world by weakening and removing the world’s ability to self-destruct. To do that though, the god of the void must first seduce its inhabitants of the world it wanted to devour to work for it which was a very time-consuming and troublesome task. Devouring worlds was initially a taboo for higher beings as celestials but once they discovered that they could easily increase their powers by devouring a world, some power-hungry celestials broke the taboo and started devouring worlds. But as worlds have its last resorts, many worlds ended up being destroyed rather than devoured. Of course not all celestials were greedy bastards that choose the easy way to increase their powers. Many conscientious celestials actually disliked such method as it disrupts the natural order, or so they claimed. Unfortunately, most celestials were very detached and would usually not bother with their brethren’s’ actions so only few of the conscientious celestials actually tried to do something to stop such a grievous act. Fortunately for the countless words in the cosmos and its inhabitants, the ones that decided to act are very powerful and usually more powerful than the ones doing the devouring. Maybe it was for this very reason that these conscientious celestials care not of the benefit of devouring a world. Was it because that they do not want less powerful celestials to become more powerful and threaten their position that they decided to be a busybody and interfere? No one really knows the answer to that question but one thing was certain, it’s all thanks to this celestials that countless worlds were saved from the fate of being destroyed or devour. “Those reasons were enough for me,” Chaos answered. “Enough talk. Let’s get this over with.” **** With the help of Sol, the airship easily found the exit of the Dark Sea. But once they exited the region they meet ‘*someone* unexpected. No, calling it a meeting was a bit of a stretch as that ‘*someone*’ purposely waited for them. “Titan Leviathan…” Yes, the ‘*someone*’ that was waiting for their group was none other than the Lord of the Oceans, the titan Leviathan. Everyone aboard the airship with the exception of the sorceress, and the monster king Sol were flustered seeing the titan; and understandably so… After all, the titan was incredibly humongous sea serpent and was more than capable of swallowing the tens of airship pack together in a single gulp. If not for the fact that titans are usually benevolent; everyone on board would have panicked already. Kak! Kak! “You kept your promise and actually waited for us here!” Sol exclaimed after flying around the titan. “We titans don’t make promises easily, little one. And since I gave you my words it’s only given that I would wait for you here,” the humongous sea serpent answered in a booming voice. The sudden conversation between the two surprises almost everyone on the airship. But it also helps clarify some of their question. For example; they now knew why the titan Leviathan was waiting in the same place as the exit they had chosen to use. “Leviathan did you get attack while waiting for us?” Sol asked after noticing a wreckage of what seemed to be an airship. “Yes, two airships filled with lunatics were lying in wait in this region. When I surfaced to question them, they attacked me in panic,” the titan Leviathan confirmed. “They passengers of those two airships were surprisingly strong for a group of humans, especially the ones that keep calling themselves envoy of the void or something.” “But although they were strong they were not my match, and I easily destroyed one of the airships. As for the other airship, it escaped after seeing the fate of the first airship that attacked me. I could have destroyed the escaping airship as well but I let them go as I dislike senseless slaughter,” the titan elaborates further. Envoy of the void! The Sect of the Void! Sol’s eyes gleamed after hearing the titan’s explanation. As someone who almost fall victim to *the sect’s* machination, Sol was especially wary of them. So when she heard from Leviathan that members of *the sect* were waiting in the same region where their airship was suppose to emerge, the monster king Sol knew that someone from their group had leaked the information. If even Sol understands such a simple Logic, there’s no way that Sorceress Cassandra and the others would not have understood the implications. As a royal, Russell was quick to react and ordered his men to surround the acolytes from the Sect of the Void which leaves Dahlia flustered. To ensure the gnomes that they meant no harm, Dahlia raises both of her hands indicating that she was unarmed and would not needlessly struggle. Most of the acolytes followed Dahlia’s example and peacefully surrendered. A few acolytes on the other hand tried to escape which indicate their guilt. These people were probably the ones who leaked the news to *the sect*. Seeing this, Dahlia could only shake her head. She could already tell the fate of the acolytes that tried to escape. Russell might be free spirited and straightforward but through their interaction with him back in the *island*; she could tell that he’s a man that will never forgive anyone that betrayed his trust. So after betraying his trust just like that, coupled with the fact that these acolytes’ action put the lives of everyone aboard the airship in danger Russell would surely not allow them to escape. And as she had expected, Russell didn’t show any mercy and quickly ordered the escaping acolytes to be put down. Although the escaping acolytes did their best to escape, they couldn’t escape the gnomes who peppered them with bolts from their crossbows. Russell’s merciless action didn’t surprise the gnomes but had greatly shaken Miranda and Pina who had never seen such carnage their entire life. The sorceress on the other hand didn’t show much reaction as she’d seen her fair share of bloodshed. And although she was feeling guilty that the girls had to witness such a scene, she still allowed Russell to continue. In her mind, the earlier they learned the true color of the world the better it would be for them. After all such was the world they were leaving in. What’s more the descent of the god of the void was a harsh lesson for everyone living in this world. Allowing the Sect of the Void to grow barely uncontested for so many years was a terrible and pricy mistake. If not for accidental discovery of Carl’s identity as the vessel for the god of the void, they would have remained ignorant till now. Still, they had discovered it too late and allowed the god of the void to actually descend. “How brutal…,” commented Leviathan after seeing gnomes bringing down the acolytes that leaked their information to *the sect*. “Still, they only have themselves to blame. By the way, where is your master, little one? Is she safe?” Leviathan asked. “But of course! I’m still here, aren’t I?” Sol energetically answered. As the contract between Rennel and Sol was a bit special, the monster king would die if her master, Rennel dies. The fact that she's still alive was proof that Rennel was safe and sound. “Unfortunately, master could not return right now. Master’s teacher contacted me using the link between me and master, and told me that he teleported her somewhere to train as master was still too weak. He said that once master made a breakthrough she would be allowed to return,” she explained further. “I see… then what about her mysterious teacher. Where is he now?” Leviathan asked. Hearing Leviathan’s question made Sol slightly sad. “He told me that he’d used power that far surpasses the threshold of this world and could no longer stay or risk destroying the planet. And since he doesn’t want to see the world destroyed, he could only leave…” Sol was actually very afraid of Chaos at first due to his overwhelming power. But after interacting with him for some time, Sol found out that he wasn’t really as scary as she initially thought. What’s more, although her master’s teacher seemed quite lazy and harsh with words, he actually cared a lot for her master’s well-being. Moreover, even she had benefited from Chaos’ teachings and advice. “I understand. Since he’s not originally from this world, it’s only expected that he would leave one day,” Leviathan commented with a little of regret in its voice. “Unfortunately, we missed the chance to personally thank him for saving this world…” **** The news that the god of the void to successfully descended in the Dark Sea quickly spread all over the continent which cause great uproars among the citizens and the ruling class of the empire and every kingdom in the continent. And as one would expect, chaos and panic followed the dissemination of the news. As the main culprit of the descent of the god of the void, the hatred towards the members of the Sect of the Void increases a hundred fold. But the Sect of the Void wasn’t the only that suffered the wrath of the populace. The nobility, the officials, the kings, and even the emperor were blamed for allowing *the sect* to grow to its current state. But that’s nothing compared to what the four major churches has to face after the news of the four major gods abandoning their world in fear of facing the god of the void in battle spread. Feeling betrayed and disillusioned, the populace takes it upon themselves to punish the followers of the cowardly gods. Of course the leadership of the four churches didn’t just wait for their doom. The four popes all came out together and denied the allegations – claiming that the news were the works of heathens that wanted to destroy the churches and that doubting the four major gods was a blasphemous act. Unfortunately for them, the popes’ announcement had little effect in quenching the fire of anger in the heart of the people. Armed with sticks, pitchforks, and torches, the enraged mobs riots and burned down every churches and temples belonging to the four major churches. In just one night hundreds of churches and temples were burned to the ground. Moreover, the enraged mobs also lynched and killed countless priest, monks, and believers that belonged to the four churches. That said, the four major churches’ with its thousands of years of history would not fall so easily. And after falling back and regrouping into their holy cities, the four major churches manage to survive being destroyed. Still, they had lost a lot of their influence and many of their believers. Also, whether by accident or by design, the chaos was allowed to persist for some time until the dissemination of another news which greatly calmed the burning anger in heart of the populace – the destruction of the avatar of the god of the void in the hands of a nameless god. ****   **End of Arc 2** Previous Chapters: https://read.cash/@beastion