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May 19, 2025 11 mins
The Bitcoin Series - Part 5: Does Bitcoin democratize wealth — or simply create a different kind of aristocracy or generational wealth?

The ethics around early adoption & fairness - wealth in markets vs. actual, usable value.

In Part 5 of The Bitcoin Series, we confront a harder, more human question: if Bitcoin is the solution to our broken system... will it just build another one? One where early adopters become new elites? One where generational wealth shifts hands — but not values?

We unpack the ethics of early adoption, the power of transparency, and whether this decentralized revolution actually democratizes opportunity — or just reorganizes it. Because if the money changes, but the culture doesn’t… what are we really building?

This episode asks what fairness looks like in a post-fiat world — and whether Bitcoin’s tools can be used to level the playing field, or quietly recreate the same structures we swore we wanted to leave behind.


Stay curious. Stay grounded. Let’s build better.

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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Welcome to the Crypto one on one Show, where we
dive into the world of cryptocurrencies, bitcoin, blockchain, and all
the technology with it. Whether you're experienced or a beginner
to crypto, our goal is to break down complex concepts
and make it easy for you to understand the basics,
from Bitcoin to all coins. We'll cover it all in
a way that's easy to digest and provide listeners with

(00:30):
the knowledge and understanding they need to make informed decisions
and better critical thought. Sit back, relax, and let's simplify
your understanding of cryptocurrencies on the Crypto one on one Show,

(00:51):
Part five. Does bitcoin democratize wealth or simply create a
different kind of aristocracy or general wealth? The ethics are
early adoption and fairness, wealth and markets versus actual usable value.
I need to start off by saying this is not
financial advice, so if you're looking for that, the show
isn't for you. The content of this podcast episode is

(01:13):
for informational purposes only. The opinions expressed here are not
meant to be taken as financial investment or any other advice.
Welcome back to the Bitcoin Series, Part five. So far
in the series, we've talked about decentralization, manipulation, corruption and control.
But today we're asking a more personal question, one that
hits at the root of why people come to bitcoin

(01:35):
in the first place. What is wealth really and just
as importantly, who gets to keep it? Is it freedom, stability, access,
or just the number on your screen going up. We
live in a world where people confuse market value with
life value, where stock portfolios are mistaken for security and
crypto charts are treated like destiny, and Bitcoin it's caught

(01:58):
in the middle of that myth. On one hand, it
offers something revolutionary, a fixed supply, no geekeepers, no government debasement,
and a global network that anyone can use. But on
the other hand, we're seeing familiar patterns emerge, with early
adopters becoming the new elite, speculation driving more adoption than utility,
and wealth that's concentrated just in new hands. So in

(02:23):
this new episode, we're diving into the deeper tension at
the heart of all of this. Are we building a
system that actually empowers people or just giving the same
race a new track to run on. Because if bitcoin
is going to be a part of a better future,
we need to start asking what it means to be
wealthy in the first place. Question one, is bitcoin creating

(02:44):
real wealth or just another illusion of it. Let's talk
about what we mean when we say wealth, because in
most systems Fiat Stock's crypto wealth usually means one thing,
a number like the balancing your bank account, the value
of your portfolio, or how many commas are in your
net worth. Maybe a hard truth is that number only

(03:05):
matters if it translates into real freedom. Bitcoin has made
a lot of people feel wealthy, some of them really are,
But we have to ask is this wealth you can
use or just wealth you can measure? Because wealth isn't
just price, it's also purchasing power, stability, access, mobility, and sovereignty.
It's whether you can actually live a life, not just

(03:27):
refresh a chart. For example, you could hold one million
in bitcoin, but if the price drops fifty percent in
a week, what do you really have? You could hold
one hundred dollars in bitcoin in a country with no
infrastructure to use it, what good is it? Then? Even
in traditional finance, people get rich all the time on paper,
but wealth that disappears overnight, wealth you can't spend without

(03:51):
jumping through hoops. That's not really freedom, but rather financial theater.
Maybe here's where bitcoin is different, or at least it
could be. Bitcoin isn't just an investment. It's a protocol
for storing and transmitting value without permission. It can't be debased,
it's borderless, and if you control your keys, you own it.
That's a different kind of wealth, sovereignty or the ability

(04:14):
to move your money, protect it, and access it without
asking anyone. So yes, bitcoin can create real wealth. But
that wealth isn't defined by the price going up. It's
defined by the freedom you gain and how durable that
freedom is. The real risk isn't whether bitcoin is an illusion.
It's whether we treat it like a lottery ticket instead
of a tool. Because markets rise and fall, charts go

(04:38):
green and red. But wealth that gives you dignity, mobility,
and security that's real, and bitcoin, when used right, might
actually help us get closer to it. Question two, does
early adoption of bitcoin just recreate a new elite class.
One of the most powerful promises of bitcoin is fairness,

(04:58):
where there's no insider advantage or no printing more for
the connected few, it's just code and a level playing field.
But if you bought bitcoin in twenty ten or twenty
thirteen or even twenty seventeen, you're holding a very different
kind of power. Now some of the earliest adopters, whether
they were tech savvy or just lucky, now hold massive
amounts of bitcoin, and that raises a couple questions. Did

(05:21):
we democratize wealth or just mint a new aristocracy. Bitcoin
launched with no marketing budget, no centralized team, and no IPO,
just an open network and a white paper. Anyone could
have mined it, and some people did. In doing so,
they held, they believed, or maybe they just forgot their
hard drive. But now a decade later, the first two

(05:44):
percent of users hold a huge chunk of the supply.
And while Bitcoin's code is fair, time is in always
getting in early gives you a massive head start, and
that's not necessarily unfair, but it does replicate something familiar
the birth of generational wealth. Landowners in the seventeen hundreds,
oil barrens in the nineteen hundreds, tech founders in the

(06:07):
two thousands, bitcoin wills in the twenty twenties. Bitcoin doesn't
reward political connections or bank bailouts. It rewards time, conviction,
and risk. That's more meritocratic than the fiat system, but
it's not an equal start for everyone. And if those
early holders consolidate wealth controlled narratives or gate key access,

(06:30):
then we've just built a new empire of new rails.
So does early adoption recreate a new ely class. It could,
but it doesn't have to stay that way. As adoption grows,
more people get in, more wallace are created, more bitcoin
changes hands, and more opportunities emerge to build, not just buy.
But what matters more is what they do with that power.

(06:51):
Because bitcoin doesn't make you just it just makes you visible,
and the future of this system depends on whether that
visibility leads to account of bit or just a fancier
version of the same old hierarchy. Question three, can we
build a bitcoin economy that values contribution not just speculation?
If you spend any time around bitcoin or crypto, you

(07:14):
hear it all the time. Number go up, how much
did you buy in at? Or what's your portfolio look like?
We've turned the conversation into a scoreboard. But what if
that's the wrong metric. What if we measured value by
what you give, not just what you hold? Because if
this really is a new system, then maybe we need
new values to go with it. Right now, Most people

(07:36):
come to bitcoin through speculation. They want to buy low,
sell high, and hopefully cash out, and honestly, who can
blame them. We live in a system that tells us
wealth equals freedom, and bitcoin looks like a rocket ship
heading toward that dream. But if we only treat bitcoin
like an asset to trade, we miss the deeper opportunity
to build an economy based on participation, not just profit.

(07:58):
For example, what would it look like if bitcoin culture
shifted from speculation to contribution. Builders who create open source
tools and get supported with SATs or suatoci's, teachers and
mentors sharing bitcoin education and being valued for it. Artists,
musicians and creators getting direct support via lightning local bitcoin
meetups funded by the community not corporations. Miners contributing security

(08:21):
to the network and being rewarded for it. This isn't hypothetical.
It already is starting to happen in small pockets around
the world. But we're still early and the default mindset
is still get rich quick. Here's an even deeper question,
what kind of wealth do we want to build? In
the fiat world, value is defined by the market, what
people are willing to pay, who controls the supply and

(08:44):
who can buy their way to the top. But in
a bitcoin world, we can choose to build something different,
something where wealth means impact, trust, reputation, and service. We've
talked about this before in this series, but that might
mean new systems like decentralized cooperatives, ordos that reward labor
and creativity, or protocols that support care, work, teaching a

(09:05):
mutual aid. So can we build a bitcoin economy that
values contribution, Yes, but not automatically, not by code alone.
It takes culture, community, and people willing to redefine what
that means and who deserves it. Because financial freedom isn't
just about holding coins. It's about having the tools and
the values to build something worth sharing. And maybe that's

(09:25):
where Bitcoin shines the brightest, not in price charts, but
in people choosing to do things differently. So where does
that leave us? Bitcoin was born as a rebellion against
a broken financial system, but if we're not careful, it
risks becoming a mirror of it, a place where those
who got in early write the rules or the wealth
and build new walls around opportunity. The code may be fair,

(09:49):
the ledger may be transparent, but the culture that's still
up to us. If we want the future that's more equitable,
not just digital, we have to build it intentionally. That
means questioning power sharing tools and making sure the next
system doesn't just create new elites with better branding. Bitcoin
can decentralize money, but only we can decentralize justice. Thanks

(10:11):
for listening to Part five. If this episode sparked a
new question, challenged a belief, or opened your perspective, that's
the point. I'll see you in part six, where we
ask the next uncomfortable question, can bitcoin truly be for
everyone and coexist with democracy? Until then, stay curious, stay grounded.
I want to be extremely upfront that I try my

(10:31):
best to leave all of my opinions out of this.
I know this is very condensed and simplified, but I
want you to gain your own understanding beliefs and not
be persuaded by me. I hope this helped you gain
a better grasp of it. Please remember to share our
follow and subscribe to our mailing list and to your
favorite podcast app for future episodes so you can gain
more with your crypto knowledge. If this sparks something in

(10:52):
you or made you question what's possible, I'd love to
hear about it. And if you found this valuable, share
it tag someone who needs to hear it or just
sit with it. Thanks for listening. Thanks for listening to
this episode of The Crypto One on one Show. If

(11:14):
you would like to join our email list, email us
at the Crypto One on One Show at gmail dot com.
For more helpful tips, subscribe in your favorite podcast app
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next episode. See you next time.
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