"2021 could be it… THE YEAR. One that reverberates for decades to come. One that changes finance and technology forever. Riches will be made and lost. Freedoms will be won and stolen. Either way, I believe the past 12 years were merely a prelude to this moment. And now the music is set to begin."
- Redphone Crypto
Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing anonymous Crypto & DeFi investor, educator, and enthusiast Redphone Crypto. For those not in the know, Redphone Crypto is the anon Twitter handle of a big, long-time fan of cryptocurrency. Oh, and before we get too deep into this, I highly suggest you take a moment to follow Redphone Crypto on Twitter and Substack. Trust me, you'll be glad you did.
There's a bigger picture to Redphone's involvement in the Crypto and DeFi space. While many people have a short-sited profit-driven view of cryptocurrency, Redphone sees this as an emerging financial revolution. A revolution that promises independence, autonomy, and a change in the way the world operates. Much like the invention of the telephone or the internet, crypto is a massive paradigm-shifting event in history. It has the potential to free us all... if we allow it to.
Through The Looking Glass
According to Redphone, it's easy to view crypto through the lens of the western world. For the most part, freedom of speech is protected and we have a number of rights. It's easy for us to take those givens as the norm and to take them for granted. To see it as just another investment or asset. However, not everyone in the world is so fortunate. There are still many parts of the world where large swaths of people are under the control of tyrannical governments and rulers. Meanwhile, others live in terrible conditions where their government may be unstable. Redphone loves crypto for its ability to offer people living under authoritarian regimes the financial freedom they deserve. With crypto, they've been given access to loans, stocks, and financial tools which they may have never had access to. Putting money in the hands of the people and taking away control from centralized authorities will make waves across the world and change the financial landscape for decades to come.
However, is it any surprise the powers that be don't like the idea of cryptocurrency? Of course not. Governments, massive corporations, and the super-wealthy love having their tentacles in the pockets of everyone they can reach. And right now, they're doing everything they can to hold onto that power. Currently, we have a KYC (or "Know Your Customer) system in place where financial institutions gather and track as much personal data about us as possible. They claim this policy is in place for our protection - to prevent financial crime, money laundering, and the funding of terrorism. And let's be real for a second. These aren't necessarily unfounded claims. The crypto community needs to acknowledge that these are happening in our space and we should keep that in mind. However, this boils down to a violation of our rights, as these governments and financial institutions assume nefariousness and guilt as the default narrative.
Unfortunately, we currently have a similar problem in the crypto world as well. When you go into a store and buy something with cash, that's a totally anonymous transaction. The vast majority of the crypto world is missing this financial feature, as the blockchain tracks the movement of everything we do. At any point in time, people can watch where your finds are and when they begin to move through the system. While it may not be as direct, it's still a hurdle that must be cleared before the financial freedom revolution can truly take place. We must continue to develop truly anonymous ways of utilizing the DeFi space. For example, Bitcoins are fungible but fully trackable on the blockchain. If someone can peg you, it may as well not be anonymous. Redphone understands that so-called "privacy coins" are absolutely crucial for crypto moving forward. That's why projects like Tornado and Secret which offer smart contracts with anonymity are such an important step for the community.
The Gosple Truth
Redphone's goal is to help develop and drive the narrative that a financial revolution is on the horizon. According to Redphone Crypto, "narratives have the power to alter the future." They define what projects get adopted and used. They shape the world and the landscape of thought. And Redphone uses Twitter to help craft the narrative, not for the short-term view of crypto, but why it matters in the years to come. Why we must change our view of money and what finance looks like. Ultimately, Redphone preaches the gospel that crypto has the potential to offer "freedom for humanity." That's some pretty heavy stuff.
Redphone believes that money is a religion - a collective delusion. Money technically has no value. Yet it holds tremendous power. A small group of bankers determines its apparent worth through interest rates and the treasury decides how much more to print. In essence, it has an arbitrarily-assigned value. Like religion, money has widespread cultural beliefs, customs, and rituals. Money has psychological powers, and it's intertwined with our wants and desires. Finally, there are many parts of the financial system that are taken as gospel truth. Ones must not be questioned or challenged.
However, money in its current form is not a given. It can be changed. And it's changing right before our eyes. Unlike traditional finance, crypto is transparent. And people are starting to see that currency has no technical value - that it's an arbitrary mechanism. Therefore, the value can be assigned to anything and carry that same or greater utility. Additionally, we must consider that the separation of church and state is a very new concept. In fact, it's a very recent advancement in human psychological evolution and one that changed the way society functions. So the same is true with the separation of money and state. In the future, we could live in a world where the state has no say whatsoever. And that seems like a wonderful opportunity to promote true freedom.
A War is Coming
Redphone looks at this revolution in finance from a 100-year point of view. The war is just getting started. People from all walks of life are beginning to wake up to the fact that the staying power of crypto is real. And the more you learn, the further the veil gets pulled back from your eyes. It's no longer a toy or a game. It's a very serious movement. With that, we're likely going to see many battles rage across the world. If all goes well, we may no longer have the money of the state. Instead, the money of the people will reign supreme. However, like any great revolution, this won't come without a fight.
For example, India is already looking at banning crypto. Redphone sees traditional money as "a tool for a single population," while crypto like Bitcoin and Ether are borderless. It's literally a world-changing technology. Should a country try and ban its use, other countries will step in to fill the gap. Should this happen, markets that embrace it will flourish while others will stagnate. In the end, countries banning its use will have to reconsider to remain viable in the global economy. The powder keg is exploding. Power is slipping through their fingers. Countries and centralized institutions are losing control over the money supply and that could resonate for years.
The current banking system is extremely inefficient. It is so highly controlled and so regulated that it is currently incapable of meeting the needs of our global marketplace. We've seen innovation everywhere else but little in banking. Redphone believes we are collectively working on something greater. Something bigger than either of us. Or anyone for that matter. Consider for a moment Aristotle's quote "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts," and the Gestaltian psychological school of thought built around this principle. In the same way, we're building something greater than any one of us involved. Like the human body, the whole of what our physical and mental selves represent is greater than the collection of the nerves, organs, and electrical impulses that keep things running behind the scenes. The devs, the users, the voters, the investors, the educators, the influencers, the writers - each piece that we collectively contribute shall come to be a new, better, brighter future for all of us. And even if we have to drag some of the detractors into the future kicking and screaming, it's what needs to be done... and what we're going to do.
Crypto Community Building & Cheerleading
As a person working on growing my own community, I wanted to know about Redphone's views on growing a following on Twitter and Discord. What were the challenges? Did it happen by accident? All in all, what has the experience been like? According to Redphone, "Twitter has been a life-changing experience and it's a wonderful environment to operate in because your credentials don't matter, especially when operating in the realm of anonymity. There is power in being anonymous. You can say more when you don't have a name attached. Anonymity gives one the ability to vocalize things you might otherwise keep things to yourself. Ultimately, that honesty resonates with people immediately. Having core beliefs and reminding yourself of those beliefs is what is important."
As a crypto cheerleader and DeFi defender, Redphone's philosophy is to search out, promote, and encourage smaller projects to flourish. Additionally, the hope is that through community presentation and support, smaller DeFi and crypto projects will bloom and take on the problems of the industry head-on. In regards to investments, Redphone holds a number of diversified coins and tokens. Redphone believes it's important to diversify into long-term holds like Bitcoin, medium-term trades (1 year plus holds), and a smaller bucket of "speculative narrative-driven trades" on newer projects which may offer higher yields.
In paying attention to traditional finance, Redphone looks for those which are launching in DeFi. Over the next 10 years, Redphone feels we should see 400 years worth of financial innovation shift to this new environment. Ultimately, Redphone views Bitcoin as "harnessing time." As the dollar deflates while you accrue capital, you are "accruing human energy and innovation." In other words, Bitcoin is energy and time. Redphone believes that "Bitcoin is the greatest value store of time that humanity has ever seen," and that those invested in crypto are "accruing the most valuable resource in history."
Personally, I hold lots of ETH because I believe in the platform and feel it can currently outperform Bitcoin. So much is being built on the Ethereum network. Additionally, I feel there is less possibility of losing money on various altcoins and tokens. Ultimately, I feel that if I walk out alive, I'll be doing very well. I don't need to go super aggressive as I already believe that we're already in "aggressive mode" just by being in the crypto and DeFi ecosystems. It appears that we're both attracted to farming opportunities, grow capital, and making our money work for us.
So ultimately, what is Redphone's goal? To inspire devs to keep building and steer users to projects that will enhance the freedom of the people. Finance is changing and the concept of money is evolving. Power is changing hands. In the end, the question is this - "Will traditional finance take over the space and force us to live by their rules, or will we do it ourselves?" The power is literally at our fingertips. And it's up to us to steer the ship in the direction we wish to arrive at. Can we make it happen? Only time will tell.
Much Appreciation
I'm so grateful to Redphone Crypto for taking the time to talk with us and share their view of the upcoming financial revolution. I hope you enjoyed it as well and learned a thing or two in the process. If you'd like to know more about Redphone Crypto, please visit their Substack and follow their Twitter to keep finding out more. Finally, please take a peek at Redphone's "95 Theses" for some interesting views and musings on the future of finance.
The crypto world is an ever-changing ecosystem. A living, breathing beast. A force to be reckoned with. And best of all, a rich environment with boundless opportunity. Keep yourself in the know and stay up to date on the latest in Crypto and DeFi. How? By following me of course!
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- Gabriel Haines -
