This is the first of a five-part series on cryptocurrencies as well as their uses benefits for the Second Amendment community. Read part two here.
By Rob McNealy
When shuffling between gun show tables full of essential oils, overpriced 1911s and stacks of tasty beef jerky, it never fails that when the topic of cryptocurrencies comes up, I end up getting sucked into conversations about the ‘mark of the beast’. Now, I can understand that end times prophecies are endemic in the 2A world, but comments like that still grate on me.
So, just for the record, cryptocurrencies as a technology, are not actually the mark of the beast.
People often fear things they don’t understand. Technology, like all tools — including guns — can be used for good or bad purposes, which is determined by the users.
In simple terms, cryptocurrencies are just a new form of digital money run on computer networks called blockchains. Digital money isn’t new. Most fiat currencies (government created money) are already digital. Americans already buy most goods and services with some form of digital money using debit cards, credit cards, and third-party payment options such as PayPal and Venmo.
The big differences between cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies are who creates them, how they are managed, and who controls them.
Any group or developer can (technologically) create and launch a cryptocurrency, as cryptocurrencies are just a type of open-source software. However, most cryptocurrencies are created by communities of people wanting to solve a particular problem.
For example, Bitcoin was created in response to the TARP bailouts, to act as a hedge against inflation and the reckless monetary policies of the federal government. TUSC was created to protect 2A retailers from being financially de-platformed due to politics.
Unlike fiat currencies, once a cryptocurrency is launched, it is governed by code. Cryptocurrency developers often say “code is law”. What they mean by this is that the rules on how a cryptocurrency is governed is transparent and public for everyone to see. The rules about how a cryptocurrency is operated can’t simply be changed by the whims of the creators, in fact, it’s very hard to do. That is a feature, not a bug.
That is in stark contrast to how fiat currencies are operated. The rules about fiat currencies (a.k.a. monetary policy), can and often do change on a whim by greedy politicians, usually in secret closed-door meetings.
For example, all the “transitory inflation” we are currently seeing with the US dollar is largely happening due to politicians deciding to print and borrow more money, which dilutes the value of the dollar. That is a form of stealth tax.
One of the other benefits of cryptocurrencies is that they are decentralized. What that means is that the blockchains (think computer servers) that cryptocurrencies run on are independently controlled and operated. There isn’t one central entity that controls all of them, so if one goes down, the network just routes around it.
That also means that there isn’t a central point of authority that, like Visa or PayPal, that can arbitrarily cancel accounts because of politics. With Bitcoin or TUSC, there isn’t a way for any of the creators to stop a person from sending a payment across the network.
Being financially de-platformed has been a huge problem for business owners in the 2A industry since Operation Chokepoint began in 2013. Since then, the PayPals and other financial institutions of the world have become more and more hostile to honest 2A business owners, shutting many off from financial services and leaving them no way to process online and in some cases, in person payments.
Cryptocurrencies are still very new, but they can serve as a continuity-of-business insurance policy for businesses that are at risk for being financially de-platformed.
Read part two in this series here.
This is the first of a five-part series on cryptocurrencies as well as their uses benefits for the Second Amendment community. Read part two here.
Rob McNealy is an entrepreneur, 2A supporter and co-founder of TUSC, a 2A-friendly crypto payments and NFT project, and Krappy Art, an NFT and digital art collective. Rob lives in the Salt Lake City area with his wife, four kids and their ferocious guard doodle. You can listen to his podcast or follow him on Minds and Twitter.
this “mark of the beast” nonsense appllied to just bout anything government does is crazy. NOTHING we see or know today cn possibly be that “mark of the beast”. Here is why:
the greek word in the scriptural accounts which is translated into “mark” in english means always and only a very visible mark, such as a tattoo, brand, scar, easily seen by anyone being near the person marked. Thus it cannot be an injection, chip, graphene, cryptocyrrency. I cannot see ANY of those things if YOU have it. Thus they are NOT
Next, what is “the beast”? That term was universallly used throughout the Roman world (which stratched from Sctoland to North Afria, and from Gibraltar to the eastern shores of the Black and Caspian seas. Fifteen illion square miles of territory dominated by the roman government. More specifically, the nasty corrupt perverted Romn governor Nero Caesar is commmonly known as “the beast” Note that John, in his Apocalypse declares “the beast” has a number, and that same number applies to the specific emperor at tht e time, Nero Caesar. Thos both are synonimous.
Next, Jesus was very specific as to WHERE this “mark” was to be placed… forehead, or hand/forearm. the injections often called the mark of the beast go into the shoudler, chips are ut anywhere, graphene circulates thorughout the body, internally, etc. NONE of these can posssibly be that “mark.
Finally, Jesus was also VERY SPeciFIC about the time frame when this “mark” would be used…. He declaree “all these things” (as described in the “Olivet discourse” recorded in the three gospels and in John’s REvelation) (and which included “the mark of the beast” in the list of “all these things”) would take place or happen during the current generation, that is, the generation then living and to whom He was directly speaking “these things”. That generatioin ended sometime around 75 AD, forty five years or so after He declared thse thigns.
Thus this “mark of the beast” has alreaady happened… as history records in signficant detail.
SO next time yuo hear that this or that is “the mark of the beast” simply laugh, shrug your shoulders, and say
no, can’t be”. And now yuo can explain why. Challenge anyone to prove differently… they cannot.
I’m not a preterist. I disagree
stratched sctoland afria illion romn tht e thos shoudler ut declaree thse thighs yuo yuo.
but i know what you mean.
I don’t think you are taking into account the factoid that Jesus was usually misquoted, due to poor quality recording equipment.
That’s all well and good but crypto has nothing backing it and could still be vulnerable to foreign interests. Note how China and Russia have run state backed crypto farms and for all we know, the feds could pull the rug out from under the whole movement at any moment.
Meh…re nothing backing crypto. True enuf. Like the “full faith & credit of the USA”. Lose your azz. I don’t care. What a bizarre headline about not being the mark of the Beast. Like the 200000000 man army depicted in the Revelation of JESUS CHRIST most of the prophecy could not have existed in 100AD…
You need to do about 28 more minutes of research into Bitcoin to understand why you’re openly lying on the internet. “Bitcoin will never work, who created it, who backs it”. Does the wheel work? Do you not drive cars with these silly round things at all corners because no one knows who created the wheel or who might someday make a better one?
“Vulnerable to foreign interests”. Lol WUT. Please explain in detail how to rugpull Bitcoin. Take all the letters you need in the alphabet and dictionary and not sound like someone who has zero knowledge of the subject.
1. Up yours, my point is valid and all you can do is seethe and misrepresent my argument.
2. State backed mining farms create excess supply to manipulate the market. You ever hear of “Supply and Demand”?
Excess supply of what? Mail me a couple so I can examine them, please, they are not only backed by nothing, they also do not exist! But y’all go on ahead, hear, it’s not costing me anything.
Open your mind up a bit.
https://podcastnotes.org/members-only/jordan-peterson-breedlove-gigi-vallis-james-bitcoin/
if crypto was really worth anything, and couldn’t be legislated away in a moment, then Bezos would be taking some of the idle processors (thousands, at any given moment ) on AWS and have them crunching crypto. Or Google would do the same with their server farm. OR Microsoft would do the same with Azure.
How do you know they’re not?
If they were, they wouldn’t let us know. The biggest reason why they probably aren’t, though, is the difficulty of converting it into legal tender. That’s a very real choke point. You could be a Bitcoin billionaire and have only a few fungible dollars to your name.
They already are. Many blockchain servers and apps, in part, run on AWS and Azure.
“Most fiat currencies (government created money) are already digital.”
Well since my money isn’t back by anything anymore and is just printed by the government anyway as it sits in my bank…this seems like a pretty good description of what I work so hard for.
The problem with cryptos is Bitcoin alone uses more energy than the US military. All that energy has to be paid for, along with profit for the Bitcoin miners who record the transactions, with transaction fees. And with the impending climate disaster (sarc.) that’s a lot of energy to be squandering.
That and the threat of governmental interference. Our overlords don’t like competition in the currency market. If you’re worried about inflation buy gold or real estate. If you’re itching to throw a few grand down on a double O but don’t want the hassle of flying to Vegas (what with the mask mandates and all) then you can do the same thing from the comfort of your couch with cryptos.
The only thing that will save us from using so much energy is for everyone to have an electric car or two to plug in every night.
Especially those 5000 pound 1000hp cars Elon’s been selling. Got to hand it to the guy, he figured out what no one before him could – how to sell Americans electric cars.
Get the taxpayer to pay for it?
That was around long before Elon’s cars.
Not every crypto is mined the same way. Many, like TUSC, take no more power than normal computer servers do.
First, there has to be a beast. So, who or what is the beast?
Find the beast and you can find his/her/its mark.
Post Script: It might be my brother-in-law. He is a disgusting little creature…smells badly, also.
I deal in cash, friend.
big fan.
remember when a looney was worth .95, but they’d still give you 25cents for a quarter from canadia?
pocketfulla twoneys.
That doesn’t help 2A retailers with ecommerce.
Had some impressive returns in the stocks of some crypto miners. Then, Bitcoin crashed. Now, underwater. Volatile market. Hang on for dear life.
How many times have I heard something or other is the “Mark of the Beast” in the last 70 years?
Digital only currency, for my part, is just a little sketchy. Stll not sure about money being nothing but electric signals on some server. Unless the system is hardened against natural, or man made issues like solar storms, or an EMP, as well as being hacker proofed, I will be sticking with the old fashioned US Dollar. At least I can draw cash from the bank and use it without a paper trail following my every dime. Bad enough Uncle Sam, or his minions can check up on my debit card or CC use. And, just in case, I do keep both silver and gold stashed someplace undisclosed. ( Not under the mattress)
I have some crypto. I consider it a matter of diversification. That said, I come here for firearms content–no religious hokem or financial edumucation. Please, let’s get back to guns.
Right on! Well said! Thank you!
TUSC is having a hard time gaining traction.
Crypto is, however, a great (digital)counter against inflation of fiat currency.
Precious medals are something to consider as well. The dollar isn’t doing so hot. So much so that it has to be intentional.
The precious metals is my thing. Lead, brass, steel, carbon fiber and polymers. And available in denominations from a nickel to 20 grand. No computer needed.
Good philosophy, but nothing holds it’s value like good old walnut, especially when paired with blued steel.
don’t rule out lignum vitae.
the hedge is the hedge.
Does anyone seriously believe Bitcoin or the COVID jab are the mark of the beast?
I do wonder if they might be puzzle pieces of the beast system coming together. The people running the world have been behaving in a more “beastly” manner than usual lately. I do wonder if Christ may return in the somewhat near future. Times are certainly getting spicy.
I’d be more concerned about having my name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life than figuring out exactly what the mark of the beast is. If you belong to the Lamb, you won’t get the beastly mark.
The insane evil of our world makes the light of Christ shine all the brighter.
I’m not keen on crypto. The fact that everyone is buying it probably indicates that one shouldn’t. I’d prefer farmland, food, silver, ammo etc. Of course everyone is also buying all that stuff right now too, so maybe I’m wrong about the crypto.☺️
I think I may need more fancy freeze-dried foods, but I would advise careful consideration before investing in a square foot more farmland than you can and will personally defend with armed violence. All deeds will be moot if this kind of scenario comes to pass. In fact, you might want to buy more and nastier arms instead of land, in order to take it from the guy who bought it.
Actually, lots of big announcements are coming at SHOT, stay tuned.
The petro-dollar isn’t a global currency?
I’ll take the folks inventing new money to circumvent the existing pedophile ring known as the federal government, any day. If we’re going to have serial mass murderers as presidents (#DanielHale, #JulianAssange, #ChelseaManning), then it should be as expensive as possible for them to conduct their Satanism.
> There isn’t one central entity that controls all of them, so if one goes down, the network just routes around it.
You should look into how the mining pools actually function, tho.
In fact, this whole article is filled with technical, legal and and political inaccuracy.
Good grief.
“….the rules on how a cryptocurrency is governed is transparent and public for everyone to see.”
So, in your own words, it is neither crypto logic nor currency, is it?
The late prophet Rush (PBUH) I formed us that “words mean things”. He was correct.
You conflating code with the rules implemented by the code.
Crypto being the mark of the beast is a normal thought? I guess I hang out with all the wrong Christians. We all seem to agree the dollar is all but worthless, crypto can be a good hedge, and that the clot shot is the closest to the mark that we’ve seen. Doesn’t help that all the good luciferians push the shot like it’s seafood about to turn.
As a co-founder of TUSC, McNealy has a huge financial interest in getting their crypto adopted. Early “mining” is easier and faster, so people in the beginning get thousands or millions of coins. If the crypto becomes worth something, they could be worth millions or billions. They have 20-30% of the current coins. Transactions involve fees to the “miners” and can take hours to complete (unless if you pay more). The history of the transactions are public and can be reversed, so they aren’t necessarily anonymous. In the end, it’s only worth the product/service/cash that someone will give you for it. For me and many others, that amount is nothing
I’m with you. I wouldn’t give a dollar for all the Bitcoin in existence.
I haven’t made a dime on TUSC in 4 years.
We did a fair launch.
Our transactions can’t be reversed.
Our block times are 3 second and average confirmation times are 1.5 seconds.
Yes, all value is subjective.
Crypto currency bad very bad, a way to track everything you buy.
Black markets and private sales will be history.
Give up some more Freedom for the ease of convenience.
I’m afraid eventually it will be the only way to purchase anything however.
Not all cryptos are traceable (XMR) and there are ways to make anonymous transactions with other cryptos as well (tornado cash). I’m no expert, but those are things that I have heard of and I’m sure there are many more.
If you are buying black market things off the internet, you are making a mistake. TUSC is a payment tool for lawful online retailers.
That being said, we are going to be implemented shielded transactions in the near future.
Cryptocurrencies are not the mark of the beast, social security numbers are.
cryptocurrencies … personally I don’t see the advantage for purchases over the fiat currency we use now.
Given that the government now has methods which can trace cryptocurrencies … well not much of an advantage for those who would not want their purchases tracked.
“TUSC was created to protect 2A retailers from being financially de-platformed due to politics.”
In case someone doesn’t know what financial de-platforming is … its banking and financial service providers, among other companies, denying services to controversial activists or organizations or activities or businesses.
Aren’t invented theories great! Someone who doesn’t understand the reality that financial institutions and other companies don’t need to financially de-platform 2A retailers directly if they wanted to do so. All they need to do is affect the suppliers and external business modes and relationships for “2A retailers’ by financially de-platforming them, and cryptocurrencies can do nothing to prevent that.
I don’t think cryptos solve all problems, they don’t. They can be used to solve some problems. How are you helping 2A retailers with their payment issues?
The biggest difference to me is accountability.
With “real” money there is always someone accountable. Assume this scenario:
– You check your bank account one day and it is empty. There are records that can show where it went, who has it, and why it was authorized. You have legal options to recover it. Courts, government entities, even institution employees who can take action or be held accountable. If nothing else, at least you can pinpoint who allowed it to be taken and beat the sh*t out of that person to make you feel better.
– Same scenario with crypto. You check your wallet and it is empty. There is absolutely nothing you can do. It’s just gone. The app maker just made the app you use, so its not their problem. The anonymity of crypto means you can’t trace it to an individual. It’s just gone. Oh well. Better luck next time.
lots of drink markers go home never to be redeemed. pure profit: cash in till, nothing dispensed.
my sister died suddenly and i mentioned her bitcoins to her husband. “how do i get that?” value which cannot be accessed; pure profit.
All of the legal options that apply to theft and fraud in banking apply to crypto as well. And, you have an immutable full chain of custody where the payments went.
…”The big differences between cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies are who creates them, how they are managed, and who controls them…” McNealy MUST add “and who values them.”
All currencies, fiat or otherwise, are valued subjectively. Even currencies backed by precious metals are only worth the value people place on the underlying metal. The US dollar carries so much weight in the world because people highly value the US economy; not that the paper bills (or digital dollars) are worth anything at all. Let our economy fail, and the dollar will be worth nothing. Let China, Russia, and Iran succeed in dethroning the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency and our economy crashes overnight. The global monetary system is little more than a house of cards. Cryptocurrencies are just the jokers in the deck.
The US government itself is dethroning the US dollar through its abuse and inflation. Only suckers and fools are keeping their savings in dollars at this point.
I throw in free shipping on GunBroker if someone pays with Bitcoin.
Most traditional commerce streams are now anti-gun. I had a buddy get his PayPal account completely frozen (including all the money that was sent).
Bitcoin provides the security and anonymity must gun owners (and sellers) are clamoring for.
Bitcoin isn’t anonymous. Right now, the best privacy coin is Monero.
“Bitcoin provides the security and anonymity… “
Oh, so thats why the government has been able to seize bitcoin from specific people, because of “anonymity”.
Yeah, I want to learn about technology from the same people who get dB SPL wrong every time they write about ear protection.
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