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More than ten years ago, a man(?) And a bunch of idealistic programmers started creating a new currency. A currency that would allow freedom, that would return the power taken by governments and banking institutions. A currency that today the whole world knows as Bitcoin.

For a long time, Bitcoin has provided people with exactly what it was created to provide: freedom (and a reasonable level of privacy). I met him in mid-2010, but I didn't really get involved until 2016. After the first big top at the end of 2017, things started to change. Bitcoin is no longer a "currency of the underworld", as they called it, to gain the attention of the mainstream media, governments and, mainly, investors.

That same year, I met a very poor community in my country. There, I met a man we will call John Doe. Doe was a fisherman, fed his wife, two daughters and his father - already quite old - with what he managed to catch fish and crustaceans, selling them at a local market. Doe told me that things were difficult. In its small village - which could only be accessed by boat - there were no benches. Not even the credit card companies had been concerned about these people. Yes, Jhon Doe used Bitcoin. Even there, there was a P2P provider. Interestingly, the same man who programmed and carried out tourist excursions to that place.

But it had been a while since he had gotten some satoshis at a good price. The massive amount of people depositing Bitcoins on exchanges or personal funds, traders sucking the currencies out of a market with people who really needed them ... All of which greatly reduced the liquidity for Doe, who had to rely on the local fiat currency again. You can say that if John had saved, today he would be rich. It's true, but you didn't see his house, with walls made of wood and clay. The one-room house, with hammocks where they could sleep. There were only three dishes where Doe's two daughters and father first ate. The wife hoped that one of them would be free and Doe always ate his meals in a rusty metal mug. He couldn't afford to wait years of Bitcoin appreciation, he was more concerned with putting food on the table and killing the family's hunger for another week. That day, I donated to Doe the only entire Bitcoin I had in my entire life.

I am not saying that the great appreciation of Bitcoin is a problem. May it spread further and help many people in the same way that it helped Doe. Speculate, enrich and do not forget those who have not had the same opportunity. Allow institutional investors to come in, they will give the market resilience. But please, never forget the reason why Bitcoin was created. Don't let it get out of reach of the people who need it.

Last December, I visited Doe again. Her father had died in 2018. Ironically, not from old age, but from the bite of a snake. There was no time to take him to a hospital. I donated to John everything I have recovered in Bitcoin since then, which did not add up to a tenth of the previous amount. I don't even own a single satoshi, and I intend to stay away from the cryptocurrency environment. At least for a while. Perhaps, when they return to being what they were created to be, it will be a good time to return.

Have a great day.
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