The Bitcoin Gospel

The Bitcoin Gospel

2015, Economics  -   14 Comments
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Ratings: 7.93/10 from 184 users.

A devoted group of entrepreneurs and activists believe they see the writing on the wall, and they're determined to add a new chapter. In their view, the world banks and governments harbor too much control over the financial vitality of the masses. But what if an ordinary citizen could bypass all the regulation and manipulation of the financial industry to become their own bank? The insightful new documentary The Bitcoin Gospel examines one such method for making this hypothetical a tangible reality.

The concept took hold in 2009 following the global financial crisis of the previous year. Rising from the ashes of that catastrophe, Bitcoin represented a tidal shift in the way we procure, save and spend money without involvement or interference from banks or other mediators. In short, this exciting new digital currency held the promise of a world in which we would no longer be slaves to the financial elite. Consumers could buy and sell goods anywhere around the world without the constrictions of currency exchange or conversion.

While the popularity of Bitcoin has blossomed since its initial inception, the system has faced significant hurdles and adversity along the way and a number of setbacks are now beginning to come into focus. In cutting out the middleman, Bitcoin provides an escape from the burdensome fees that banks and other institutions normally charge for traditional transactions. But that anonymity comes at a price; it may appeal to most users for their legitimate every day transactions, but it can also empower greater flexibility for criminal activities to flourish.

Detractors also claim that the rising prominence of Bitcoin has inspired exactly the sort of elitist society the system was devised to defeat. As a result of these and other concerns, the currency has inspired the critical eye of government legislators and major players from the monetary sector.

The Bitcoin Gospel covers all of these issues and more in admirably even-handed fashion. According to the evidence and testimony presented in the film, and in spite of its myriad of potential defects, Bitcoin represents a growing movement of citizens who want to redefine the nature of capitalism on a global scale.

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andrew mohan charles
andrew mohan charles
5 years ago

are you not expected to close a cab door after you get out?

DIMOJABE
DIMOJABE
6 years ago

Bitcoin (and crypto currencies) are great when they work. Anything that frees us from the corrupt systems created for the financial elite are great.... But, I just posted this on the Block Chain documentary:

Mitch & Eugene are on it. When I first listened to that "5 Ways to Describe Blockchain" video on Gootube, I thought great! but by the time the pretty lady got to the creepy ending - I thought "Oh F..." We're doomed.

I did my time w/programmers in big corps. Love them dearly. But they all have the same blinders on -he who pays for the development rules the outcome.

A system based on the amount of information you reveal about yourself to build your 'level of trust = value" to that system is beyond totalitarian. It's like monetizing the pathetic mantra "I don't care about personal privacy because I have nothing to hide." Really?

Sure, I love the idea of ridding ourselves of the killuminati bankers and their satanism and pedophilic lifestyles... but they own the Internet.

Do you really think they care what these geeks are doing? They don't. They know if there is ONE global financial platform for day to day transactions - they win the game. NWO, Agenda 21, The Phoenix Project Fusion Centers, FEMA camps, Morgellons, 5G/Mk Ultra Sat Nets-Smart Grid, etc. No need to transition us through plastic money they can defund when they want too. They'll just prevent our access to the medium of the internet - and you can probably think of a really long list of ways they could do that.

Cnit
Cnit
7 years ago

Qibs;
Shares or certificates are just another form of currency which has value because people have given it value, and that value fluctuates based on other markets (gold, oil, projected future value of a corporation.....) Bitcoin is exactly the same. Also who is stopping him from transferring his Bitcoin into the currency of his choice? (rhetorical).
Nobody!

DustUp
DustUp
7 years ago

It would seem the govt would outlaw crypto electronic currencies if they became too popular, too widespread. Would you just go quietly home from you seat of power and income or would you try to maintain your power and source of income from a pesky competitor?

Hopefully people will see to it that doesn't happen. Govt controlled cashless economy means you simply will have to be happy and smile at everything govt does to you and how much they decide to take. Much the same as being nice to the boss who may fire you. Are you going to irritate those who can easily just turn off your account?

For the rose colored glasses wearers, and I know some, who think govt is just people trying to do good ...you just haven't had enough experience with govt. Get back to me when one of their oil and gas company friends wants to put a pipeline through the money making part of your property. Or that biz Y will pay them more in taxes than you do so they are going to confiscate your street corner biz X and give it to biz Y. That was determined to be fine by the US Supreme Court. Anyone who has read the Constitution knows that is the OPPOSITE of what it intended. And just WHO do they think they are? They are just flawed people like any other. There simply needs to be a quicker and easier (and ethical ;) way to get rid of treasonous presidents and supremes.

Bitcoin could go a long way to straightening out a lot of messes of problems govt causes, a lot of thieving it does.
Do I own any? Not yet but considering it.

DustUp
DustUp
7 years ago

It is interesting how people can watch a video and process it so differently. Some people have strange filters and limited comparators based on limited information and experience. Others see the exact opposite of what was shown legitimately (not trying to fool anyone).

Commenter "Face" sees people making money off of money when the chart went up and it went down. When the bitcoin miner describes some he knows as losing money at mining them. Very similar to gold miners, some win, some lose. However both contribute to the money supply so that the price of gold nor bitcoin rise too rapidly unless there is another reason besides lack of supply. Rather than hording, Gold miners often sell into a rising market for two reasons: 1. They have no idea how high it will go. 2. To meet current expenses. Some Gold miners hold onto gold in a falling market hoping for a higher price in the near future or they sell to the futures market getting a higher price now for delivery later when it is lower yet. It is somewhat similar for Bitcoin except for the absolute upper limit on supply. The major risk to the Bitcoin miner is if it were to fail. So as the shoe maker/repairer said, he exchanges Bitcoins for Euros (thinking that the Euros are less likely to fail and maintain their value). Now if one were paying attention to economics and nonsense going on in the Eurozone, one would have good reason to believe that Bitcoin "may" outlast the Euro and "may" be a better store of value.

What M. Bell above calls a scam applies to the current fiat paper money system: People attributing value to something that is worthless (except the micro amount the paper and ink cost). Any money system is attributing value to some Thing. Why was Gold priced below $300 in 2001 and 10 years later over $1300 ? Yet those who don't look around to see what there is to see, think Bitcoin should be stable and not rise against a fiat money system where the private banksters print as much as the govt wants to borrow, while you get 2 wonderful benefits: 1. Loss of the value of the money you exchanged your work, your time of life for. 2. You get to pay the taxes on all the wasteful spending to buy the votes of those who prefer not to work rather than vote the bums out.

Rather than date transaction accounting, several banks issuing debit cards will rearrange your spending time and date to cause you the highest fees. Then of course notify you of the overage in the slowest way possible, by mail, so that your fee will be even higher. They call this legal since your bankster bought and paid for congress approved it.

What happens when a significant portion of the people using credit cards cannot pay what they owe? Theoretically the bank should fail and the deposit insurance should pay those who had deposits...until the insurance runs out, which won't take long at all. Then who knows when you will get paid. Could be a couple years or more. Today, with govt approved mark to fantasy accounting, banks get to value those debts as assets and remain open and get bailed out by the taxpayer for operating cash to pay their employees and the power company to keep the doors open. As soon as people get tired of paying for this nonsense many banks will fold. Not only for bad credit card debt but they doubled down on bad mortgage risk as well.

All of the above nefarious bank activity are the very intended consequences of the powers that be, the banksters, to arrange a tighter grip on every aspect of your life when you beg for relief from starving, when the property tax and income tax upon farmers comes to the point they decide it isn't worth it. All of which would be avoided using gold or the more convenient bitcoin.

If there was a means to feed gold into a Bitcoin machine and get gold out of a Bitcoin machine, the people would be MUCH freer, without big brother trying to squeeze you for every dime to buy another vote with. It "seems" that "may" make the Bitcoin more stable in price. However, it would cause all fiat(backed by nothing [all major currencies]) paper currency to fall to nothing eventually, as it rightly should since it truly has no value but that which is agreed upon by those using it as a medium of exchange. No need to use it any more if/when a no or super low commission way of exchanging gold for bitcoins.

Unfortunately, there are gold hackers (counterfeiters) so the machine would have to have a good way to make sure it was actually gold, for those of you who see the biz opportunity.

Alan
Alan
7 years ago

can the descriptions be enhanced to include details of who created the docs and when?
Can the comments be enhanced to include the date&time when they were added?

Micheal Bell
Micheal Bell
8 years ago

What I see is some people took nothing and said it's worth something. It's backed by existing currency so to say it's a new currency is nuts. I see another scam. Long term and legal but all the big scams are.

Sam
Sam
8 years ago

FACE... Even in Communism people are rewarded for services rendered! open your eyes The goal behind this ideal of not paying the typical banking systems interest per unit spent is to stop giving our hard earned interest to the already wealthy elite powers that be and instead reward those in our class! however where i agree is setting up a co-op system where all members are investors and owners henceforth means discounts on goods as opposed to non members who pay regular price which in turn pays for the discounts that members reap!

User1
User1
8 years ago

Man the at 3:15 is EXACTLY like me when I attack Justin Bieber haters! We might be related, don't know.

I wonder why this doc didn't mention anything about Ross Ulbricht or competing Bitcoin clones?

Face
Face
8 years ago

Still looks like people making money off money. The most unproductive occupation in the world. As long as that's the case they will be banks by another name. The documentary went from how this can help me get away from the tyranny of financial institutions to how bitcoins can turn a profit very quickly, too quickly.
What we'd need is a free app that enables us to exchange money between ourselves full stop as the originator intended (I hope). No ads, no updates, nobody punching the ticket on the way through. But already there seems to be people looking to make a bitbuck so the cycle of corruption will be embedded into the system before it even takes off. The other concern is hacking but then that's an ongoing concern now.
The concept is a worthy one but with the capitalist mentality still very much alive I wouldn't give this infomercial much credence.

Qibs
Qibs
8 years ago

bryan. Don't mislead. Bitcoins are not shares or certificates. Value pegged to current rates of currency prices.

bryan
bryan
8 years ago

man i found an article of a guy who bought $27 worth of bitcoin and forgot about it.. then he remembered he bought it... and then it was worth OVER $800,000 when he remembered... google it if you dont believe me its not hard to find... im jealous :-(