Well-known crypto lawyer Irina Heaver has advised Europeans to stack Satoshis, firewood, and bullets for the coming winter. The startling advice was given during a Kitco NEWS interview at the recent Future Blockchain Summit in Dubai. During the interview, Irina blasted Europe’s ‘green’ energy policy, central bank money printing, and political incompetence, but argued a Bitcoin Standard offers a potential solution.
Misguided ‘Green’ Agenda Pushing Europe to Brink of Collapse
Heaver, who splits her time between Switzerland and Dubai, said that residents in her Swiss village were already resorting to stockpiling firewood, and she is extremely concerned for Europeans elsewhere who don’t have access to such alternative fuels. Indeed, she pointed out that, even before the current crisis, around 10% of Europeans were already living in fuel poverty, and estimates suggest that could surpass 30% this winter – with families having to make the choice between heating their homes and putting food on the table.
In addition to slamming ‘green’ energy policies, Heaver also criticised the way that central banks and governments have fuelled inflation through money printing and subsidies – echoing the views of many observers from the crypto space (asset management firm Fidelity recently published a report addressing this). And, again, like others, she pointed out that if this winter seems tough for Europe, next winter will likely be even worse. Why? Simply because, even if European governments find the backbone to dump the fraudulent ‘green’ agenda, it will take years to build the required new energy infrastructure.
Underlining the severity of the situation facing Europe, at one point Heaver even said “and how much wood do we even have to burn in Europe, I mean, that will end as well.” And, if urging those with firearms to stock up on ammunition, and those in rural areas to stockpile firewood wasn’t alarming enough, the lawyer went on to point out that war is engulfing the world. In fact, she explained that, despite the war in Ukraine dominating the headlines, there are actually around 50 wars currently being fought globally.
Bitcoin Standard Could Stop the Fiat-Driven Cycle of War
Faced with spreading wars, civil disorder, and economic collapse, Heaver predicted that governments will take the same course they have done countless times in the past – endlessly issue new money to keep the military-industrial complex going. However, she pointed out that this cycle can only keep repeating itself as long as we have the current monetary system, and that it would be impossible on a Bitcoin Standard. Why? Because the government would have to ask its citizens to contribute their Bitcoin to fund any war – and the citizens would probably say “no.”
Underlining how the current fiat monetary system is already collapsing in many countries, Heaver used Lebanon as an example. There, normal people have, quite literally, resorted to robbing banks at gunpoint to try and get their own deposits back. Meanwhile, much of the country is also without a regular electricity supply.
Of course, Lebanon isn’t alone in being in the advanced stages of collapse. As we’ve previously reported, even previously stable countries like Sri Lanka are now falling into chaos. And, in the UK, the authorities are seriously preparing for widespread, multi-day electrical blackouts. Further stressing just how badly inept politicians have failed the people, Heaver seriously suggested they should be publicly flogged.
“the answer to this stupidity is taking these government representatives to the town squares, and like in the 17th century, flog them publicly…”
Irena Heaver, crypto lawyer
Ethereum has Re-Invented Fiat and Made It Worse
Although Heaver is a big crypto fan, and argues a Bitcoin Standard could solve many of the world’s current problems, she isn’t so positive about Ethereum. In fact, she said that since the Merge, when Ethereum moved from a proof-of-work(PoW) to a proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain, ETH has become even worse than fiat currencies. Specifically, she pointed to the fact that those who have staked their ETH still have no idea when they will be able to withdraw it.
Unsurprisingly, this negative sentiment towards Ethereum has been echoed by many Bitcoin maximalists, but it does seem to have some logic to it. Indeed, many have warned that the Ethereum network may become dominated by a relatively small number of large validators, like Coinbase for example, and thus increasingly centralised. This would make it highly vulnerable to censorship and raise the spectre of corporations, or even government authorities, being able to exert pressure and influence.
This is especially worrisome because so many people are now living under oppressive governments – over 6 billion according to Heaver. Justifying this huge number, she argued that in addition to obvious examples like Iran and Russia, even previously liberal countries like Canada and Australia demonstrated frighteningly draconian credentials during the Covid-19 pandemic. Again, she argued that Bitcoin, along with privacy coins like Monero and Zcash, can play a big role in providing the privacy that humans fundamentally need – using the analogy that we all hang curtains or blinds on our windows to provide privacy, but that doesn’t mean we are doing anything nefarious.
Final Thought: Beware Orwellian CBDCs
As a final thought, Heaver also warned about the frightening possibility of governments introducing CBDCs (central bank digital currencies). Like others in the crypto space, she warned that these will give governments Orwellian-level control over every aspect of people’s lives. Indeed, many in the crypto community are now trying to educate the public about the dangers of CBDCs, which are just digital fiat currencies that provide none of the benefits of crypto, but instead amplify the dangers of centralisation.
While most of us in developed countries have never experienced a crisis on the scale of societal and economic collapse or global war, it is becoming increasingly apparent we are heading into an unprecedented crisis. Thanks to normalcy bias, a well understood psychological condition, a significant portion of the population likely won’t acknowledge this until it’s far too late. But, with the lights going off across Europe, food prices rocketing, conflict intensifying, banks on the edge of failure – and political leaders apparently living in their own parallel universe – the world definitely needs a next-level solution. So, is that solution a Bitcoin Standard? Maybe. One thing’s for sure, the smart money is continuing to stack the Satoshis, as well as the firewood!
