Opinion: Bitcoin Is an Economy Free of Censorship

The advantage of a Bitcoin economy lies in the absence of surveillance and censorship, where “free people do not ask for permission to transact with each other.” This view was expressed in an article for Bitcoin Magazine by fintech entrepreneur Ragnar Liftrasir.

Speaking of the free Bitcoin economy, he drew an analogy with 3D-printed weapons, whose creators use the motto “Free people do not ask for permission.”

“They do not ask the state for permission to bear arms. They do not rely on manufacturers to make the weapon they would like to see”, writes Liftrasir.

According to him, this industry exists in parallel to and outside the outdated model of regulated manufacturers. The circular Bitcoin economy (BCE) operates on the same principle.

Bitcoin itself is the BCE. It consists of three participants and moves in parallel to the fiat financial system. Unlike national currencies, where money and the holder’s identity are linked, Bitcoin separates these concepts.

“Your credit cards, checking accounts and PayPal accounts start with your identity: name, home address, Social Security number, email, phone number, and much more,” notes the entrepreneur.

In his view, this has serious consequences: the state and third parties retain the right to control access to payment services and to censor trade.

“The Bitcoin economy is not tied to personal information… This is an economy free from censorship,” Liftrasir explained.

As an advantage of participating in BCE, he cited the absence of third-party services compatible with KYC/AML procedures. The third parties conducting this oversight help governments track and censor transactions, as well as collect taxes from cryptocurrency holders.

“When you participate in the Bitcoin economy, you build relationships with people who value peer-to-peer cryptocurrency. You can interact with them rather than trade on third-party, KYC/AML-compliant exchanges,” Liftrasir noted.

You can join the Bitcoin economy by using cryptocurrency as payment or by receiving donations, he added.

“BCE is an economy in which trade thrives, free from surveillance, censorship, and reliance on third parties. Anyone who wishes can participate, earning, spending, donating, and buying Bitcoin from those who do the same,” the author concluded.

Previously Liftrasir held the presidency of the International Blockchain Real Estate Association. In 2015, he stated that using blockchain to manage property rights would “lift the entire real estate industry out of the eighteenth century into which it is currently located”.

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