A Historical Shift In The Global Economy. A World Polarized By Sanctions. Where Are We Heading? 

Crypto And Gold Are Critical In These Erratic Times

I recently came across a research paper by a Ph.D. candidate in economics at Harvard University. The report headlined “Hedging Sanctions Risk: Cryptocurrency in Central Bank Reserves” argues that central banks, particularly in sanctioned countries, should start buying Bitcoin to protect themselves from sanctions. It seems viable when you consider Russia has announced its intentions to adopt crypto, and others, such as Iran, are reportedly already using it.    

Matthew Ferranti, the author of the highly detailed composition, discusses empirical and historical data on sanctions countries, devises complex economic model simulations, and projections of how sanctions could lead to the accumulation of BTC by central banks. He notes that it's the first research paper that analyzes the change in central bank reserves in response to sanctions. He also states he is not a Bitcoin maximalist, nor does he hold any BTC. 

Sanctions More Common But Less Effective

Matthew begins by giving examples of countries accumulating or using BTC. The list includes El Salvador and the Central African Republic, both of which made Bitcoin legal tender, and Ukraine received BTC donations following the inception of the Russia-Ukraine proxy war. He recounts how half of the Russian central bank's international reserves were frozen due to sanctions by certain western countries. 

He points out that this sent a warning to central banks worldwide that fiat currencies and cash equivalents like sovereign debt are not safe assets. He explains that sanctions have become more common as the financial system is more centralized. This centralization is due to digitization, which will only increase as central bank digital currencies  (CBDCs) are rolled out.

The details of US sanctions, specifically those from the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), basically ban all US individuals and institutions from interacting directly or indirectly with any sanctioned entity. The paper reveals that the US has sanctioned almost 9,000 entities. To put things into perspective, the European Union has sanctioned around 2,000 entities, and the United Nations has sanctioned about 1,000. These figures indicate how money is used as a weapon and point to how trigger-happy the US has been. 

Not surprisingly, research suggests that sanctions have become significantly less effective over the last 30 years, with only 30% of sanctions policy objectives being achieved. These policy objectives typically involve human rights and democracy, a term synonymous with US imperialism to many. 

Regarding sanctions against central banks, Matthew notes that there are seven that are or have been sanctioned by the United States. These are the central banks of Russia, Iran, Syria, North Korea, Venezuela, Afghanistan, and Iraq, with no expiration date for sanctions. Because the sanctions against these central banks were introduced for various reasons, no central bank can be sure it won't suddenly find itself on the wrong end of US sanctions. This calls for accumulating truly safe haven assets to hedge against this risk. 

Gold And Cryptocurrency

Gold is one of the most popular non-currency assets on central bank balance sheets, and it's impossible for the US or its allies to seize physical gold being held at the central bank of a sanctioned country. Matthew speculates that is the primary reason why central banks continue to hold gold. He also suggests that another reason has to do with concerns with the financial system because central bank gold reserves have risen since the 2008 financial crisis, reaching 14.4% in 2020.

The paper accurately states that so long as a centralized entity doesn't control a cryptocurrency’s blockchain, there will always be a way to evade sanctions using its coin or token. The only way to censor transactions on proof-of-work Blockchains is to acquire and sustain 51% of the computing power, AKA hash rate. 

It’s noted that the only time a Bitcoin mining pool achieved more than 50% of Bitcoin’s hash rate was in 2014, which has not happened since. Matthew implies that executing a 51% attack on Bitcoin today is practically impossible due to how large the network has grown. However, he does note that there have been cases of individual Bitcoin miners complying with US sanctions in the past and gives Marathon Digital as an example. 

Marathon Digital temporarily stopped including transactions from sanctioned Bitcoin wallet addresses in May last year. The Bitcoin miner went back to business as usual one month later after all the backlash from the crypto Community. He also explains why stablecoins are not suitable for sanctions evasion. Essentially, it’s because they're centrally controlled, and their issuers have previously frozen token holdings. Notably, centralized stablecoins also back many decentralized stablecoins. 

Matthew also claims that Bitcoin mining is terrible for the environment because it uses 0.05% of the world’s total energy, which in my mind, is more proof that he’s not a Bitcoin maxi. According to Cambridge University, he says environmental and energy issues won't be of concern to countries evading sanctions. Anyone who knows the facts about BTC and energy usage knows it’s not a concern to anyone. 

Further into the paper, Matthew discusses how he calculates BTC’s future price. He makes mention of BTC's insane price action since its inception and correctly points out that BTC will provide diminishing returns in percentage terms as it becomes more mainstream. In other words, Bitcoin's halving event every four years induces less supply with a deflationary outcome. Increased adoption causes a rise in demand which in turn increases the price. 

Image source: Crypto Valley Journal 

This is the purpose of the Bitcoin economic model and has earned the title of “the flagship cryptocurrency.” Bitcoin is crypto’s store of value or digital gold, making it a stable asset class for institutional investors and fueling its long-term rise.

Matthew also accounts for the BTC in circulation, new BTC being created with each new Bitcoin block, BTC trading volume, economic growth, stock market growth, and even estimated yields on government debt in his BTC price model. To be honest, most of this analysis went entirely over my head, but you’re welcome to tackle his 64-page digest. 

The Economics Of Sanctioned Countries. 

Michael then makes a series of economic assumptions related to sanctions. These include assertions that sanctions don't affect a central bank's gold or cryptocurrency reserves and that the stocks of companies in a sanctioned country will fall significantly in response to sanctions. 

He starts by estimating how much BTC central banks will begin to hold in the future without any sanctions. His extraordinary complex modeling suggests 2-3% of Central Bank portfolios will be in BTC. Interestingly, his model suggests that central banks will reduce their gold holdings simultaneously. 

The second model suggests that central banks facing sanctions risks will hold at least 5% of their portfolios in BTC and apparently up to 50% in gold. He concedes that such a large gold allocation will be unrealistic for most central banks due to the difficulty of acquiring and securing large amounts of gold. 

As such, Michael presents a third model where sanctioned central banks prefer BTC over gold for these reasons. In this third model, BTC holdings of central banks could be as high as 40% of their portfolios when facing a very high risk of sanctions.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), most central banks have already been moving away from the USD and other US dollar assets for years and loading up on alternatives which set the stage for some significant BTC adoption.

In the paper's final section, Michael reiterates that no central bank can be confident that the US, the EU, or some other entity won't sanction their country and seize its assets. He also stresses that, in truth, there is no safe asset when sanctions are indeed severe. Regardless, gold and cryptocurrency are the best assets for central banks to hold under such circumstances.

Michael admits that much more research is needed, especially in simulating how central bank portfolios will change over time with and without sanctions risks. He also believes some central banks may already hold BTC on their balance sheets but refuse to disclose them publicly. This could be because they want their Bitcoin wallet addresses to be private or fear public scrutiny.

Michael points to the opacity of some central banks about their fiat currency reserves as evidence of this. He also points out that central banks tend to underreport their gold holdings when the price of gold is falling as additional evidence.

Why Central Banks Are Likely To Accumulate BTC

What is the reason for central banks to start accumulating more BTC? In short, their fiat currencies are collapsing, and not all of them can develop their own CBDCs. Adopting cryptocurrency could very well be the only alternative for these central banks. 

For central banks capable of producing their own CBDCs, their interest in cryptocurrency might increase due to having to leverage similar technologies. Case in point, the Central Bank of Switzerland said earlier this year that it could hold BTC as part of its balance sheet in the future. 

As pointed out by the research paper, we've just been looking at the central banks that are most likely to accumulate BTC, and other cryptocurrencies are those in countries facing sanctions. The list of countries targeted by the US, EU, and other western powers is likely to grow as globalization breaks down and political poles emerge. 

Image source: Economist.com     

Although the analysis cited that the effectiveness of sanctions has been declining for decades, this begs the question of why the need to flee to safe-haven assets like BTC and gold. The answer may be because of economic cohesion. Consider a world where almost every central bank has its own CBDC; this digital centralization means that the risk of sanctions could be much higher, even if the effects are less severe due to financial fragmentation.

The standoff between central banks is probably in the context of international trade. They would constantly be skeptical of whether they can safely process payments using highly controlled foreign currencies. The bottom line is that central banks want an alternative currency they can trust. That would be the trustless decentralization of cryptocurrency. 

One of the most prominent asset managers in the world, Fidelity Investments, reports there is a very high-stakes game theory at play here. If bitcoin adoption increases, the countries that secure some bitcoin today will be better off competitively than their peers. They elaborate by saying, “Therefore, even if other countries do not believe in the investment thesis or adoption of bitcoin, they will be forced to acquire some as a form of insurance.”

Given central banks' opacity concerning their portfolios, a theoretical approach could mean a push for more privacy because central banks won't want to reveal their BTC holdings. Bitcoin’s recent Taproot upgrade could well be the solution. 

Bitcoin’s upgrade made all complex transactions look identical, increasing privacy for institutions or anyone using Bitcoin’s Lightning Network. Meanwhile, Litecoin has introduced a privacy-preserving side chain. Note that Litecoin has a history of introducing upgrades before bitcoin as its de facto test net. 

That concludes the overview of Matthew Ferranti’s research analysis; however, another situation is brewing.

BRICS Breaking Away From The US Global Reserve Currency

Are the BRICS countries the United States Nemesis? BRICS is a collective body composed of five countries; Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. It was initially an informal group of the leading emerging economies of the early 2000s. 

BRICS has since become more of an institution and is expanding in light of the geopolitical uncertainty polarized by sanctions as more countries have applied for membership. A historical event leading to a restructuring of global economic power may be on the rise. 

Recently, Egypt was accepted and officially part of the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB). Egypt initially joined the bank sector of BRICS and has now applied for full membership in the BRICS alliance. Turkey and Saudi Arabia are also expected to apply for full membership to move away from the US dollar as a reserve currency.

Part of the alliance is the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), an eight-member Eurasian security and economic bloc, including Russia, China, India, and Pakistan. The SCO was founded in 2001 by Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. India and Pakistan became full members in 2017.

Moscow sees the increasing role of blocs like the SCO and BRICS as countermeasures against western sanctions imposed over the Ukraine conflict. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in July, 

“We are talking about countries that together account for 80% of the world’s population. Which is why it is clear to any unbiased person that there is no such thing as an isolation of Russia.” 

In November of this year, Lavrov confirmed that “more than a dozen” countries are eager to join BRICS, including Algeria, Argentina, and Iran.

Image source: rt.com

The five BRICS economies currently account for more than 40% of the world’s population and nearly a quarter of the world's GDP (31.5%), heading for 50% of global GDP by 2050. They are building their own reserve currency backed by gold and other commodities like uranium, graphite, and copper.

BRICS is also working on its own financial infrastructure, including a joint payment network. Some member states have already switched to trade in the local currency in order to reduce dependence on the US dollar and the Euro. 

The US dollar is also called the petrodollar. As its name suggests, the petrodollar is pegged to oil and was created through a deal between the US and Saudi Arabia in 1973. This was just two years after the Nixon Administration abandoned the gold standard resulting in the US dollar going into freefall as inflation soared. 

With oil standardized in terms of dollars, any country that purchased oil from Saudi Arabia would have to use dollars. This led many other oil-producing countries to standardize oil prices in US dollars – and the petrodollar system was born. 

The drawbacks of the petrodollar are the need for the US to run account deficits to maintain liquidity in a continuously expanding global economy. Stopping these deficits will slow down the global economy, but continuing the deficits may cause other countries to downgrade the dollar's value. This is already happening, along with the added dilemma of strained relationships with major oil producers like Russia, Iran, and China. 

The US dollar is built on debt and “the nothing.” What is “the nothing”? Just like the movie The Neverending Story,  it’s the “emptiness that’s left.” The nothing, in this case, is the failure of the western hegemony, which is built on a house of cards. It’s game on as these countries develop a separate currency backed by gold. 

Why is Saudi Arabia turning its back on the United States? It can be traced back to one single big event; the start of the war in Ukraine. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC Plus) and Saudi Arabia specifically warned the United States not to impose sanctions on Russia. 

The US didn’t heed the warning, neither did Europe, and they pigheadedly did the opposite, thinking its relationship with Saudi Arabia would continue unabated. Well, that wasn’t the case and is considered a failure of the Biden Administration of the highest order and set to hurt America’s ability to secure low-cost oil. 

The world is currently in a state of change as it shifts into a golden age eliminating the evil surrounding us. Ecosystems are being built; They are sanctuaries for all people who see the horrific deceit and are hurt by the powers that be and their egomaniacal decisions that have wrecked the global economy and societal culture.     

It’s good news regarding Bitcoin and all cryptocurrency adoption. Bitcoin is the store of value (like gold was) and is on its trajectory to becoming a crypto asset class with less risk for people and institutions with a long-term investment strategy. Utility-driven altcoins and platform tokens will benefit and thrive as the market begins to appreciate the value of blockchain ecosystems and services. 

All is as it should be, and God is watching over us as this all plays out. 

Also published @ BeforeIt’sNews.com; Substack; Steemit.com

David https://markethive.com/david-ogden

The Fourth Industrial Revolution, Business as Usual Moving Forward?

The world as we know it is going through a significant shift. In this article, I look at some key themes and what that means for the future of business.

It is challenging to think of 2020 and not think of Covid 19 and lockdowns due to the relentless media coverage of it and the political messages from leaders worldwide.  

The fallout is that massive change is deemed necessary by governments worldwide in the name of health, and now with a heavy emphasis on the environment.

With the passage of time and the pushback coming from protests, declassified documents, and civil lawsuits, more and more people are waking up to the possibility that things have not added up and maybe another agenda is at play.

A central figure during this period has been Klaus Schwab. For a long time before 2020, he has been talking about a much-needed Fourth Industrial Revolution. He wrote a book with that title published in 2016/17.

Image source: Flickr

What was he referring to, and how does it connect with everything that has played out so far? The philosophy revolves around how we live, work, and relate to each other; a central piece of this is technology.

We can now see the emergence of themes such as artificial intelligence, the internet of things, virtual reality, and the move to introduce programmable money called Central Bank Digital Currencies. The underpinning layer to this is a new world order where control is from a central base in a top-down, authoritarian approach.

The combination of a New World Order with CBDC as a core component would put a final nail in the coffin of democracy, even though the governmental systems of ‘rules for thee but not me’ have continually demonstrated that democracy has existed in theory for the most part.

In case you think that CBDC is a relatively new idea that has gathered speed in the wake of the last two years, you would be mistaken. 

Many who claimed that the last two years were all about an orchestrated effort to bring about vaccine passports, a social credit system based on the government’s version of a digital currency, were considered conspiracy theorists. Now it seems their call was accurate.

Look at the CBDC tracker in this diagram to see how far the groundwork has progressed. You can see how many countries are in the research, proof of concept, or pilot stage.

Currency Wars

It seems ironic and convenient that FTX recently collapsed in the way it did, followed by swift proclamations from all corners of the political sphere that more regulation is needed. 

Growing evidence of involvement in the FTX scandal from across the political spectrum has emerged, leaving many considering whether certain powers created this problem, so they could provide further false justification to usher in their solution.

Were SBF and FTX used in the war between centralization and decentralization to swing things in favor of the WEF agenda and remove cryptocurrency as a competitor?

James Murphy, an SEC attorney and securities lawyer, alluded to fraud and political entanglement at the very minimum in this Coindesk article, in which he lists questions that still need proper answers. He is also predicting an even greater cryptocurrency crash in the wake of recent events.

The domino effect is being felt with BlockFi, for example, recently filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy. Gemini and Genesis appear to be in trouble too. Certain coins are getting delisted from Coinbase due to low usage.

No sooner has the covid narrative started to fall apart than the emphasis has quickly shifted to emergency climate change, with carbon being the focus and reports of climate lockdowns emerging in certain areas, on top of airport travel disruptions. 

The intended fourth industrial revolution, directed by the globalists, emphasizes a technocracy designed to control the masses and crush businesses threatening their agenda. 

The farmers in the Netherlands are the latest example of being victimized and monopolized by government officials through asset stripping of their land. Asset stripping of this nature has nothing to do with restoring personal well-being and economic freedom.

The Future of Business

The populace is being ushered into a small zone of mobility. In that zone, working from home is more prevalent. More energy is given to the online world due to further digitalization in place of customer service. The line between the physical world and the virtual world is becoming blurred through Artificial Intelligence. Tracking devices are becoming an inherent part of everyday technology.

Consider the mind-boggling possibilities of today’s technology, particularly with Artificial Intelligence. It is one thing to be able to diagnose disease quicker, yet quite something else to find you have lost your job to a robot. 

I recall watching a clip on artificial intelligence applied to a picture of Barack Obama to create a video clip that looked and sounded like him but was not him. I could not tell the difference. I also recall watching a clip about voice-to-text speech in which an internet marketer had paid a lot of money to several individuals to use their photos in technology and change their appearance.

This documentary expands on Artificial Intelligence and its nature as a double-edged sword. The implications depend on who is wielding that sword and to what end.

You can also see how this could connect to a social credit score system, where you are penalized should you not comply with the establishment. Since CBDCs are controlled by the Central Banks, they can turn off your access to money with the click of a button.

There is also a difference between suggested changes and those imposed on you. People are looking at alternative payments, such as gold and bitcoin, to free themselves of this system. Looking at practical alternatives that support the decentralization of power is essential.

The key for entrepreneurs is maintaining integrity around core values where they are genuinely helping clients through their offerings. It is vital to return to or keep fundamental principles rather than to sell your soul and take the path of least resistance for business to survive and thrive. 

As Robert Kennedy junior says, "you cannot comply your way out of tyranny.’" One thing is for sure. It is not business as usual anymore, as the walls of globalization intrude further into business. The farmers in the Netherlands experienced this firsthand.

Three Considerations

Here are three things to encourage you to defer from participating in the dangerous game they are playing while adding strategies in your favor as you seek to serve your clients with dignity, honor, and respect.

Power vs. Force

It is essential to realize that using so-called status and related power to enforce a new world order where the few control the masses is not true power in the real sense. 

It is about force, based on manipulating information and people to suit an agenda rather than encouraging progress through discussion and democracy. Their version of the truth revolves around their say-so rather than education and transparency in a debate.

Those who rely on force and its weapon of fear and propaganda cover up a truly disempowered state based on separation and scarcity perspectives. They fear that people will awaken to their deceptive and manipulative agenda and bring it to an end through a cooperative way of being.

Therefore, it seems ironic that ‘we the people’ comply en masse out of fear arising from the abuse of status and referent power as if we are powerless. 

This short video expands on the theme of power. It follows the rise of Vaclav Havel, a blacklisted playwright in Czechoslovakia who became President in the 80s. He wrote an essay on what he learned about power.

Most importantly, he talks about what it means to operate outside a totalitarian system and live in truth and the practical ways people can realize this.

Another resource worth mentioning is a book called Power v Force by David Hawkins, which goes into more depth on this subject. When you grasp the distinction between force and power in your heart and not just your head, it may awaken you to rise above the fear with a greater appreciation of your power when used as a force for good. 

This is the way of empowerment. Be willing to rise above your fear and live in truth for the sake of humanity and future generations.

The Network Effect

Network Effects has a ‘bible’ dedicated to the network effect, which addresses the technical aspects of networks and the fundamental underpinning layer of people, value, and communication.

They conducted a sizable study in which they surveyed no less than 1000 unicorn companies and concluded that ‘Network Effects are still responsible for 70% of the total value in tech in 2022.’

Let that sink in. When a group gathers in community fashion around something they believe in, and the numbers increase to a critical mass, there is no turning back, a little like the 100th Monkey Effect.

The network effect of businesses creating communities of people who know, like, and trust them because their products and services embody the vision to serve their clients is a winner. Apply yourself diligently with a dedication to this principle.

The entrepreneur has an opportunity to take a stand and hold a mirror up to how businesses can serve and enable people to thrive and achieve economic prosperity.

Image source: pxhere 

Nature and Connection

Nature has inherent intelligence and is excellent for regeneration, clarity, and perspective because it aligns with the Natural Laws.

So, take time away from your computer to be in nature where and when you can. Now more than ever, the entrepreneur needs a clear and strong mind with a well-balanced perspective and creative spirit for present and future challenges. 

Connect with your true power and potential. Reinforce your basic principles for life and business through journaling. Reflect on what functional structures will give your business more independent operational freedom.

Connect with people of principle for encouragement and strength. In the British Isles, more communities of people assemble to support lives and businesses while developing international networks of friends.

Markethive is another example of a parallel business ecosystem and community built outside the walls of totalitarianism in politics. It has a community membership of at least 200 thousand. You are welcome to join us.

It creates the perfect storm, a safe harbor, and a platform where entrepreneurs can operate freely to build such communities. Empowerment and the community effect will rise above anything else. 

We have the opportunity to be proactive in shaping the Fourth Industrial Revolution and restore humanity to its rightful state, where well-being and economic prosperity can reign once more. It is time for the entrepreneur to rise and deliver a new economic vision.

David https://markethive.com/david-ogden

Crypto Adoption Increasing Regardless: Self-Custody Is Key: Markethive’s Next Move: Checkmate. 

It’s been a disturbing year for the crypto community and institutional investors alike as we’ve witnessed the collapse of Celsius, BlockFi, and now FTX. Billions of dollars of client funds have been lost and, in the case of FTX, one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, are quite possibly unrecoverable. It’s become increasingly clear that relying on centralized entities to hold your crypto is foolish and purported to be a rookie mistake. But it wasn’t only newbies or retail investors affected by FTX’s demise. Very few predicted the depravity and criminality of FTX cohorts led by Sam Bankman-Fried. 

Hedge funds, venture capitalists, investment managers, and high-net-worth individuals were all caught off guard. Who would’ve thought a company praised by politicians, regulators, VCs, and the mainstream media would collapse so quickly and spectacularly? Until you realize that fraud and ill-intent are rife in many so-called respected sectors. Some say FTX was worse than Mount Gox and Quadriga, and others say it’s worse than Enron. 

Image source: Cointelegraph

Crypto Adoption Increases

Contrary to the FUD about crypto acceptance diminishing due to recent events, crypto adoption is still increasing. As a store of value, Bitcoin is alive and well, and the decentralized public blockchain of Bitcoin remains as secure as ever. The confidence in the protocol is helping assert its role as a store of value and can reinforce its position as the gold standard of crypto. 

Bitcoin has proven to be an effective form of decentralized non-government money. TechCrunch reveals that consumers are utilizing BTC for international remittances for many reasons. Its ability to transcend the traditional financial system is valuable and, in some cases, critical to many potential users. The collapse of FTX or any token doesn't change that. 

Many are starting to see that FTX and the like are just stories based on misbehavior and lack of compliance, if not lining one’s pockets under the guise of effective altruism, turned moral vanity. There have been many failures in 2022, and the real losers are the ecosystem of centralized actors and cryptocurrency altcoins that have failed to deliver on their hype. 

Questionable Alt-coins

Although FTX and its FTT token are the latest to fail, others have fallen this year alone. The Celsius Network exposed the risk of "stablecoins" as the TerraUSD coin and LUNA token crashed. There was also the collapse of crypto lender Voyager Digital, which FTX subsequently purchased for a mere $51 million, down from a peak valuation of $1.5 billion. Hacks and marketing scams have also plagued the broader sector.

Considering there are over 13,000 cryptocurrencies, only a handful of altcoins have legitimacy and a place in the crypto ecosystem with well-defined utility or unique applications. Altcoins like Ethereum, Litecoin, Cardano, Elrond, and Solana have a reason for being, but there are many with questionable structures with no utility created for speculation purposes only. Some are just coin gimmicks with almost unlimited supply caps, which contradicts the supply and demand theory. 

The critical distinction is that these questionable alts are not related to Bitcoin or legitimate altcoins with purpose, especially benevolent ones, that are working towards an alternative future monetary system, just like Satoshi envisioned. There will always be nefarious actors in our midst, and with all that’s been happening, the crypto community is much more discerning. 

With Markethive about to appear on the global scene as the first blockchain-driven decentralized social media integrated with broadcasting and inbound marketing platforms and its sovereign monetary system using its native crypto, Hivecoin, security, and privacy are paramount. There are various ecosystems in the crypto space, and a parallel economy is on the rise. Markethive is creating an ecosystem for everyone with an entrepreneurial spirit looking for a sanctuary away from the escalating evil in the world. 

Security in centralized exchanges will always be a concern, as is the rollout of CBDCs and digital IDs that are making headlines. In a recent interview, Aman Jabbi, a computer scientist, says that if the population accepts these factors of control, it’ll be game over for humanity. He states the easiest way to push against the system is to “starve the beast” by refusing to use technologies that collect and share your data. Notably, in this case, the beast is AI and is used for evil against humanity, not for good. 

As with many other factions rejecting the global elite’s plans, Markethive is building an impenetrable fortress to protect its growing community. Cryptocurrency is the key to freedom and financial sovereignty, so how do we protect ourselves and keep control of our crypto? 

With the impending release of the Markethive internal wallet and its official listing of Hivecoin, you will need an external wallet connected to the blockchain for transactions. Unlike keeping your crypto on an exchange, there is only one way you can know for sure that your crypto is under your control: to self-custody your funds. 

What Is Self-Custody? 

Self-custody is when you hold the private keys to your cryptocurrency wallet, so you can only sign transactions from that wallet. Hence, you are the only person who effectively controls your crypto. There is a well-known phrase in the crypto world; not your keys, not your crypto. 

Conversely, when you place your funds on an exchange or any centralized platform, you use a wallet to which the platform has the private key, not you. It's a communal wallet; you have to hope and trust that the exchange won't lend or send those funds to anyone else. So what you essentially have from the exchange is an IOU, which is worth nothing if that exchange goes bust. It’s the same with a traditional bank account in that cash only exists as a database entry. 

It’s important to note that there is a distinct difference between self-custody and custody services. Companies like Coinbase, Gemini, Bitgo, and the like, operate custody services. Their primary modus operandi is to hold those coins and tokens for you in a supposedly safe manner. They're much safer than an exchange but are still not the gold standard when controlling your crypto. What you need is a self-hosted wallet. 

There are various self-hosted wallets, so the wallet you choose will depend on what you want to use it for and the coins and tokens you want to store. 

Image source: Exodus

Non-custodial Wallets

Desktop or software wallets are software programs that you install on your PC and to which you can send your crypto. The private keys themselves are stored on your device in an encrypted fashion, and whenever you want to send a transaction out, they are used to decrypt and sign that transaction.

A reputable wallet, and the one I use is the Exodus Wallet. Exodus has wide-ranging coin support and an intuitive, easy-to-use AI. It’s important to note that no exchange integration in any of the self-custody crypto wallets would ever allow an exchange to hold your private keys. 

Exodus also has a mobile wallet for smartphone users and a Web3 wallet that connects you to dApps, DeFi, and all of Web3. The Exodus Web3 Wallet is also a self-custody crypto wallet. It allows you to send, receive, and swap crypto and interact with NFTs on all supported networks.

Other multi-coin wallets to consider are the Atomic wallet or Jaxx wallet. Because of the Markethive and Solana Integration, as long as any of these wallets recognize Solana, they will accept Hivecoin going forward. 

Forewarned is Forearmed 

It’s also notable that Exodus has never been hacked. If you’ve heard of any reports about Exodus users getting hacked, it stems from where they downloaded the software. When downloading these desktop wallets, check that you download them from the official site. There are thousands of phishing sites that try to impersonate official wallet websites. 

Sometimes they'll have a dodgy domain that’s easily overlooked. There have been instances of phishing sites paying for Google ads to have their sites placed above those of the official sites. Once you go on these phishing sites, you may accidentally download a wallet jammed with malware that could be used to steal your private keys.

As with desktop wallets, ensure you download the correct mobile wallet app from the Apple or Google Play store. There have been examples where hackers have uploaded malicious apps and wallets with predictably unpleasant results. It’s also critical to keep your crypto wallet a secret, especially if you have any on your phone. The more people know about your holdings, the more of a target you are for the $5 wrench attack. 

It’s also essential to distinguish between crypto company mobile apps and mobile wallets. Smartphone apps like Coinbase, Binance, Nexo, and Crypto.com are just mobile versions of exchanges allowing you to access your crypto accounts. You don't hold the keys; the exchange does. 

Once you've downloaded and installed any of these wallets, you'll be asked to generate a collection of seed words. These words are the keys to your crypto kingdom, so be sure to keep them in a safe and secure place and make backups. Remember, anyone with the seed words can regenerate your wallet and exfiltrate your crypto. 

All the self-custody wallet solutions mentioned above are free to download and use. The next level option is hardware wallets, like Trezor or Ledger. They store your private keys in a cold environment, which means they are never exposed to the internet as they're always kept on the device itself.

Image source: Exodus

In terms of functionality, hardware wallets will be connected to your computer and operated with software that the device manufacturer has produced. Therefore from a simplicity perspective, they should be relatively easy to use as the software wallet. Furthermore, Exodus has a Trezor integration on its desktop wallet, which adds an advanced layer of security. 

Not only is your crypto much more secure with self-custody, but you also have complete control of what you do with that crypto. No permission is needed to withdraw, no limits, and no KYC. It's your wallet, keys, crypto, and your financial freedom. 

Moving Forward

2022 will arguably go down as one of the worst years in the crypto ecosystem; however, it is a turning point for the industry as we adapt to weed out bad actors. It'll also be the year where nearly everyone, from big money to average retail users, truly appreciates the importance of decentralization and having total control of their crypto assets.  

As we enter 2023 and witness the storm of catastrophic events worldwide and the unveiling of unscrupulous entities, the crypto industry is evolving, realizing and addressing issues borne from a nascent technology. 

Markethive is in the eye of the storm, where it’s calm and peaceful, diligently working to bring a blockchain-driven multi-media network to the crypto space. People worldwide who have suffered the tyranny of big tech and social media elite or been displaced or scammed by bad actors are being enlightened. 

We can consider all these adverse occurrences as blessings in disguise. The time is right for Markethive to distinguish itself and bring to light its purpose of delivering a broadcasting platform, marketing systems, and communication interface foundational to God’s law, the universal spiritual law where truth, freedom, and liberty are upheld for all of humanity. 

Come to our Sunday meetings at 10 am MST as we approach massive significant upgrades and the wallet launch. See and hear explanations, ask questions, and witness the ever-evolving technology and concepts of Markethive. The link to the meeting room is located in the Markethive Calendar. 

David https://markethive.com/david-ogden