We discussed the question if buying and holding BTC is bad for the environment and thetefore bad for future generations. If the answer is yes, we still have to check if BTC is generating value, which is greater then the harm it possibly does. Then we can decide if buying and holding BTC is morally permissible.
The value of Bitcoin
How much the monetary value of Bitcoin is, seems to be the million dollar question right now. Only future can tell where the price will go. The discussion ranges from 0$ to 1000000$ in several years. I don't want to participate in this guessing game. I rather want to focus on the upsides Bitcoin and other Cryptos bring to the table and see if there is any moral value to it.
1. Inflation
The most popular upside seems to be that Bitcoin is a good store of value and it is not inflationary because of its limited supply. I don't want to go into detail about inflation and how good of a store of value Bitcoin is. Because the question on hand we have to tackle first is, if inflation is really as bad as all the BTC fans out there say it is.
Yes the value of the money in your bank account decreases. But so does your debt. It depends on your financial situation if inflation is working for or against you. So you can't say it's generally a bad thing. Governments need inflation to get rid of their debt. So it also depends on your evaluation of the state you live in and your government. If you identify more with libertarian values, have concerns about deep state and would prefer a minimal state, you probably don't like inflation. So it is not a coincidence that Americans have a more negative view on inflation because they tend more towards libertarian values then for example Europeans. In Europe a lot of people like their government and the work they do. Norway is a good example for a well functioning Government. So as a Norwegian you could be a fan of inflation because it allows your government to get rid of their debt and therefore is able to build more schools, provide better health care etc.
Or as one of my favorite human beings ones said: (poorly translated from German)
„Inflation is similar to nicotine and alcohol. In small doses its stimulating but you should not become a chain smoker or an alcoholic.”
Andre Kostolany
So it remains unclear if Bitcoin is bringing moral value to future generations in terms of being a non inflationary asset. Because it is not clear if you want governments to have the possibility to get rid of their dept that way.
2. Financial access
Banking the unbanked is one of the great slogans in the crypto community. It means giving especially poor populations a chance to get access to financial services. A lot of people in the third world don't have bank accounts due to their lack of documentation. So they can't open a bank account and therefore can't get any loans. Giving them a possibility to get loans via Blockchain could boost th economy. This would improve their situation and for their offspring. So this would absolutely be positive for future generations.
How much value this financial accessibility through BTC and crypto in general brings to the world is unknown and only the future can tell us. There more pessimistic voices who see the problems more in the absence of markets and therefore jobs and money rather than in the financial accessibility:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/yayafanusie/2021/01/01/stop-saying-you-want-to-bank-the-unbanked/?sh=5e2639dc456a
But even if it is not solving all the problems of poor populations it is definitely making progress and therefore generating moral value.
3. Smart contracts
This is less a value generated by Bitcoin and more by other Cryptos, but still is a big driver for value. Through smart contracts a lot of new possibilities to settle transactions emerge. And that opens a whole new world for new businesses and busines ideas like Defi. So that is definitely generating new jobs and simplifies and improves the lifes of many. But it could also cost a lot of jobs and even destroy parts of the recent financial industry who profit from the absence of smart contracts. But it also makes room for new ways of forms of giving value to digital assets like NFTs. The possibilities for artists to generate and sell digital artworks are countless. Collectable and transferable Items could revolutionize the gaming industry.
You could still ask the question if this brings moral value to humanity and who cares if you can make a copyright on a jpeg now. But I think we should not underestimate the value art and new art forms bring to the world. This new way of dealing with digital art and collectables is bringing at least some aesthetic value to the world.
Bringing it all together the points made by crypto enthusiasts might not be as strong as they seem on first sight but Bitcoin and the whole crypto space is generating value for humanity. Especially the impact of financial accessibility on poorer populations brings a lot of moral value. We see it in Latin America and the acceptance of BTC as legal tender and the numerous partnerships and programms Cardano is setting up in Africa. If Bitcoin is helping to end global poverty even just a little, we can say that it is morally valuable.
If you want read, like, comment and follow.