A Proof Of Keys Story – Lady A
Once upon a time there was a banker. He inherited a nice property from his parents, with a big walled garden that protected him from thieves. At that time, many people had their gold stolen by a gang that roamed the trade roads.
When he opened up his bank, many flocked to him to exchange their gold for cotton receipts that guaranteed they could withdraw their gold at any time. Soon, the whole town was using these cotton IOUs while their gold lay safely behind the banker’s walls.
The banker raised his children & grandchildren to keep helping the town & they eventually built more banks in cities across the land. Cotton was booming. It was waterproof, easy to transport & hide from thieves & everyone trusted the banking family to keep their gold safe.
But the bankers soon realized that they could lend out much more cotton than the gold they had b/c it was just lying around in their vaults & people rarely asked for it back. They could make a nice profit on the loans they gave & no one was being hurt…
Until one day… a war broke out & people wanted to hold their gold themselves as they were afraid they’d have to flee their homes. They started to give their cotton back to the bankers to reunite with their precious metal. The banking family had to come up with a plan.
They raised their prices so everyone who took out loans had to pay back even more cotton to get their gold back. Panicked, hoards of people ran to the banks for their gold. The bankers appealed to the king who declared a Bank Holiday so no one could get their cotton or gold.
Many businesses had to shut their doors & many families went hungry. But what could they do? The banks were the only fortresses capable of storing their gold safely. No one even accepted gold anymore. You had to make sure it was real & weigh it. It was just easier to use numbered cotton papers.
And so the bankers continued with their scheme.
Until one day… an unnamed hero had an idea. What if everyone could hold their gold again, but this gold would be numbered & you didn’t have to hold it in your hands?
In fact, this gold would be so unique that all anyone had to do was hold just one key & they would have access to it anywhere, at any time. You didn’t need a bank to send it at all.
But people were so used to trusting the bankers, they were afraid to hold this key.
They found new bankers that they thought would be better and asked them to hold their keys instead.
But the story kept repeating. The new bankers were even less trustworthy, b/c they didn’t have generations of experience keeping this new gold safe. They were broken into, their schemes collapsed even faster, they demanded the people give them more than just their keys to get their money & they hoarded their newfound wealth in their pockets.
And so a new class of people began to rise. They preached in public squares & taught people how to store their keys. They inspired courage & created tools that made storing keys easier.
And they created their own holiday, on January 3rd, where they reminded the land that on this holiday you could still own, use & send your money, because you are your own bank, with your own key & no one can take that away from you.
Remember: not your keys, not your #Bitcoin. Please keep your money safe and off exchanges. You are a sovereign individual & your wealth is your responsibility. Your family will thank you.
Happy Birthday Bitcoin & I hope everyone has a safe Proof Of Keys Day!
Published at Fri, 03 Jan 2020 19:01:33 +0000
{flickr|100|campaign}
