Bitcoin and the Collapse of Greece

There’s a silver lining to every crisis…

While the global economy shuttered and shook after Greece gave the proverbial middle finger to its lenders, Bitcoin got a very nice boost.

The cryptocurrency that offers an alternative to centrally planned corruption hit a four-month high after Greece voted against the terms of its bailout agreement. In fact, in just the past 30 days, the price of Bitcoin has risen by about $50.

Click Chart to Enlarge

Fears of Greece getting the boot from the euro have sparked the climb in Bitcoin, and certainly Bitcoin owners and advocates couldn’t be happier.

But it’s not just about the price of Bitcoin; in fact, the recent run on Bitcoin is really just icing on the cake.

The Plague of Central Planning

While Greek citizens recently found themselves in a situation where they could only access 60 euros per day from their bank accounts, I made an interesting observation…

Greek citizens that owned Bitcoin had access to all their Bitcoin — not just 60 euros’ worth.

Sure, it’s not as if most stores in Greece accept Bitcoin as payment, but consider this for a moment…

Imagine having an option of two forms of currency: one that’s tied to the whims and reactions of central planners, and one that is safe from their pilfering hands.

Although most folks still don’t even know what Bitcoin is, the advantages of Bitcoin remain overwhelmingly positive, as more and more of our wealth is exposed to the plague of central planning.

3 Benefits of Bitcoin

1.) Fear of Currency Collapse

While the fear of currency collapse remains very real in many economies, Bitcoin doesn’t have this problem, as it’s not dependent upon governments — which can, and do, fail.

2.) Inflation

Bitcoin expert Ivan Raszl did an excellent job explaining this, writing, “One of the biggest problems with our current dollars and other currencies used around the world is inflation. Over time all currencies lose purchasing power at a rate of few percents per year mainly because governments keep printing more money. This process is basically a small tax on your accumulated wealth. With Bitcoin you don’t have this problem because the system is designed to make Bitcoins to be finite. Only about 21 million Bitcoins will ever be released.”

3.) No middleman

One of the things I love about Bitcoin is that you can transfer it without an intermediary and without any kind of transaction fee. It’s essentially the digital equivalent of exchanging items or services of value in person.

But wait…

Of course, despite the benefits of Bitcoin, one major hurdle remains…

It’s very hard to use Bitcoin to buy and sell things — although we are starting to see more and more companies moving to accept the cryptocurrency, including Expedia, Dish Network, and Overstock.com.

There’s also a company called eGifter, which allows you to buy gift cards with Bitcoin. Basically this allows you to use Bitcoin to buy things from some of the biggest stores on the planet, including Amazon, Target, and Home Depot.

Sure, it’s not a direct way to use Bitcoin at these major outlets, but it’s yet one more option in a world that is becoming less and less enthusiastic about traditional currencies tied to insecure, centrally planned systems.

Now, I’m not saying rush out and buy Bitcoin — although I do believe owning some Bitcoin isn’t a bad idea, just as I think it’s always a good idea to own some physical gold and silver.

However, it’s hard to contain my enthusiasm over any event that chips away at the illusion that traditional currencies are safe and secure. They’re not. And what’s going on in Greece now just further proves this point.

Economist, speaker, and all-around Libertarian superstar Jeffrey Tucker opined this in a recent article, writing:

There is no government anywhere that would decline to shut the banks if the ruling class fears financial meltdown. That’s what’s happening in Greece. That could happen in any European country. And it could happen in the U.S. too. In the end, the government regards itself as the owner of all a nation’s currency and the wealth it carries.

It’s wise to have another option, and people have long known that. The question is: what is that option? Bitcoin is here to save the day.

I love Tucker’s enthusiasm, and I hope he’s onto something here.

To a new way of life and a new generation of wealth…

Jeff Siegel

Check us out on YouTube!

@JeffSiegel on Twitter

Jeff is the founder and managing editor of Green Chip Stocks. For more on Jeff, go to his editor’s page.