Somewhere that wheel of time is quickening. Lessons are being learnt, secrets are being exposed and the turning into a different chapter in history is in motion.
And, in the crypto space we have felt this acutely.
I'm sure you have heard about the disastrous collapse of FTX, one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in the space.
The losses incurred by FTX have truly been on a scale that hasn't been seen in this space (or many others) and will be truly painful for all those involved.
And what is extraordinary is that before a couple of weeks ago its collapse was unimaginable.
Not only did the CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), have parents who are both law professors at Stanford; he graduated from MIT; was entrusted with millions of dollars from institutional investors including BlackRock and Sequoia; and was running a multi-billion dollar exchange platform.
So, what can we learn from this collapse?
The first is to live by this statement: Not your keys, Not your coins. Which means that when you don't hold your (private) keys to your coins, they are vulnerable to being taken. Your private keys are provided when you set up a self-custody wallet (and will look like a 12 or 24 word seed phrase (series of words).
If you do not have these for the wallet where you keep your crypto, then you are entrusting your keys to someone else. And although we might choose to use a centralised exchange or wallet to buy bitcoin (or other cryptocurrencies), we must move our newly purchased crypto currencies out to a self-custody wallet as soon as possible. (If you need any help please contact us)
The second is that this highlights, even more acutely, why Bitcoin was created (and is needed), and why centralised (power/authority/organisation in the hands of a few) financial entities provide the opportunity for over-reach, corruption, lack of transparency and the ability to open the doorway for human error, greed or arrogance.
Bitcoin is fully decentralised, there is no CEO, no opportunity for human error, no possibility for corrupting the system or stealing funds from the system itself (every transaction is public). And Bitcoin is in no way connected to this fallout. This is one (or a small group of nefarious actors who were corrupt, greedy and in many ways incompetent)
The third is that one of the branches of FTX was in the US which means that it was subject to audits and regulation, so the fact that no issue was reported shows that either the auditors failed in their duties or that SBF lied; both of which will be legitimate cases for the courts. Just because cryptocurrencies are difficult to regulate, this does not mean that businesses working with cryptocurrencies are difficult to regulate.
And the fourth is in becoming aware of our relationship to money, our relationship to ourselves, and our relationship to trust. This is a big area - and one that we can help with. How can we reframe our choices, 'mistakes', responsibilities around money, and our relationship/attachment to it? Creating space, acceptance and self love around all this can help to set us free.
If you lost any money in FTX (or other exchanges or wallets) and have suffered a loss, please do reach out. Or if you need support to set up a custodial wallet, do reach out [info@thecryptoethic.com]
If you haven't listened to our new YouTube channel, this may be the perfect time to start listening as we discuss the crisis and our response to it.
Listen Here and if you enjoy it, consider liking and subscribing to our channel.
It is imperative when accessing a new space that you educate yourself fully.
I am running our next live program on 15 January 2023 - teaching you everything you need to know to say as safe as possible in this space, to work on healing your relationship to money, and learning all the essentials of bitcoin and crypto. If you want to find out more e-mail me:
info@thecryptoethic.com.
If you want to speak to previous attendees, do reach out as they would be happy to explain their experience from being in the program.
Why not begin the year with all you need to step into your money power!
With so many crypto blessings
Tansy x
[Tansy Baigent is The Crypto Ethic Founder and Lead Coach]