Cryptocurrency [krip-toh-kur-uhn-see]
noun.
: currency that exists only in electronic form, operates on a decentralized system of exchange, and uses advanced cryptography for security, or any individual currency of this type.
On my journey to answer “What’s the purpose of life?”,
I needed to answer these 3 questions:
Where to live for 5 yearsBali, IndonesiaHow do I have freedom of time and location
What to learn for the next 5 years
1 Down 2 to go.
I also went and reviewed what I did for the last 5 years:
Many different roles as a founder & investor in the cryptocurrency industry.
Why?
The real story? One late night, I watched a Bitcoin documentary on Netflix in 2017.
I jumped up about half way through and said,
“Oh sh*t. This thing is not going away now”.
Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System
Abstract. A purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution. Digital signatures provide part of the solution, but the main benefits are lost if a trusted third party is still required to prevent double-spending. We propose a solution to the double-spending problem using a peer-to-peer network. The network timestamps transactions by hashing them into an ongoing chain of hash-based proof-of-work, forming a record that cannot be changed without redoing the proof-of-work. The longest chain not only serves as proof of the sequence of events witnessed, but proof that it came from the largest pool of CPU power. As long as a majority of CPU power is controlled by nodes that are not cooperating to attack the network, they'll generate the longest chain and outpace attackers. The network itself requires minimal structure. Messages are broadcast on a best effort basis, and nodes can leave and rejoin the network at will, accepting the longest proof-of-work chain as proof of what happened while they were gone.
How Bitcoin works has been explained a billion times since 2008. I won’t do that again.
I highly suggest using AI to explain to you the Bitcoin Whitepaper if you haven’t tried. Quick Tip: You can ask it to explain to you like a 5 year old or 90 year old.
(Here’s the link to the white-paper: Bitcoin Whitepaper)
Since Bitcoin launched in 2008, there were some risk with the network in the first 5 years or so where someone could, with a lot of money and time, take over the majority of the network to steal all the Bitcoin by rerouting the transactions, but no one did since it was worth nothing.
Then there was no way back.
In 2025, it’d cost $15 to $20+ billion just to have the infrastructure set-up to attempt to hack the Bitcoin ONE time, and not to mention that number is increasing by the day due to the global competition to compete for earning Bitcoin.
If there’s anything we should take away from Bitcoin is that for the first time in the history of mankind, no one can take the Bitcoin from another person or refuse anyone to send or receive ₿itcoin.
This is a huge win against dictators and corrupt governments who have made many mistakes in the monetary systems.
Misused tax spending and uncontrolled issuing of new currencies in the form of debt is absolutely the worst kind of theft in this world.
It affects EVERY person who is holding that currency. Bitcoin is effectively the only alternative from not being controlled by a small group of people in the governments.
And the story continued - there were a few big breakthroughs since.
The most significant one is the launch of Mastercoin in 2013.
Most people today have heard of Ethereum, but not many have heard of Mastercoin.
Mastercoin is a network built on top of the Bitcoin network to enable more complex features than Bitcoin could support natively. Think of it as an early attempt to create software & automation and assets before other networks like Ethereum existed.
When I joined the industry in 2017, I worked under the biggest supporters of Mastercoin who helped raise $500K at the time of launch. The group was called DApps Fund led by my then boss and now good friend David Johsnton & his former partner Michael Terpin. Early supporters collectively invested 5000 BTC at about $100 per Bitcoin.
Today that’s worth $6 Billion USD at all time high of $120,000 per Bitcoin.
Mastercoin launched and crashed. The network soared in price and the folks bought the tokens early at a low price sold it and no one touched it again. The volume was low, there was no real demand. No liquidity for people that wanted to buy or sell.
Does this sound familiar?
Yes - in 2025, we are completely reenacting what happened to Mastercoin 12 years ago across most crypto projects. Venture Investors buy tokens at a low price, create a high price on the launch, try to hold on as long as they can with artificial liquidity, but the real demand is low. And guess what? Most tokens disappear like Mastercoin.
However, unlike the crazy memes and unrealistic projects that are being launched today, one project launched on Mastercoin is now changing the world forever:
Tether, widely known as the company behind USDT. They introduced a new concept of having a cryptocurrency representing US Dollar 1:1 on the Mastercoin network before other networks like Tron, Ethereum, and Solana. Today USDT is the largest stablecoin in the world with $158 Billion in circulation, with yearly profit exceeding $13 Billion in 2024.
Many things came and went in the crypto industry since I joined in 2017.
The ONLY two that are adding value to people’s lives are Bitcoin & Stablecoins.
Everything else has less users than ClubHouse at its peak during COVID (remember clubhouse the talking app from silicon valley? me neither).
What’s happening now?
The U.S. Government & Wall Street have taken notice of Bitcoin & Stablecoins.
Now BlackRock, the largest asset manager in the world with Assets Under Management of 10 Trillion, with a T, is buying Bitcoin in the billions. Companies like Strategy (formerly Microstrategy) are borrowing money to buy Bitcoin.
The Senate just passed the Stablecoin Bill last week on June 17th 2025.
The new bill is outlining how stablecoins will be more controlled by the government than ever before. It gives them the right to essentially freeze any wallet address with any amount of money at a moment’s notice - their excuse?
”All stablecoins need to be compliant to anti-money laundering rules.”
The US finally realized its potential to expand the influence of US dollar world wide, and this bill gains control over the companies that facilitates this expansion. The word Stablecoins should practically be renamed Digital Dollar as US dollar is basically 99% of all the stablecoins today.
All of this means one thing:
The cryptocurrency industry is tied more closely to the United States than ever before.
Remember,
Bitcoin was created to be neutral and censorship-resistant.
Stablecoins were created to allow everyone in the world to keep their assets stable in a safe place (USD) since Bitcoin and other digital assets were too volatile.
I’m excited about how far crypto has come, but I’m just as afraid where it will go from here in this unprecedented geopolitical climate, and more government control.
Especially when it’s now tied to the benefit of one country.
Others are cautious.
I grew up in 3 different countries and spent the last 3 years in Mexico - I don’t see borders and flags the same way that most people do.
I don’t have much interest in going back to traditional finance to help integrate Stablecoins into the U.S. Payment Systems.
Or help Wall Street buy more Bitcoin with debt.
I am very happy knowing that people especially under authoritarian governments now have a choice of uncensorable money - their bank accounts won’t disappear and governments can’t just steal from their account like in Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Argentina, Brasil and many countries have done.
I’m proud to know that I’ve contributed to that work as a builder and investor in the past 8 years.
Now back to the question of what I want to learn for the next 5 years.
Let me look around some more…
1 Down 2 to go.
Where to live for 5 yearsBali, IndonesiaHow do I have freedom of time and location
What to learn for the next 5 years
See ya tomorrow!
