👪 What I've learned after meeting a Ukrainian tech exile: crypto native and on-chain peace agreement
This is essay no. 3 out of 6 for 1729 Writers. Apply today at 1729.com.
While traveling back from Poland to Germany by train a couple of days ago, I saw with my own eyes the tragedy of war. Seeing families fleeing from Ukraine to find a new safe haven elsewhere.
I learned important lessons during the trip. It has inspired me to write this article on crypto native and on-chain peace agreements.
It's not related to sustainability which I usually write about, but it's worth sharing.
🚂 Intro: A long journey to the west
In the jam-packed train, I sat next to a Ukrainian family traveling from Warsaw to Berlin. The husband is a friendly South American from Ecuador, a Ukrainian wife, and a young daughter.
The husband told me that they had traveled for 15 days straight, escaping the bombings close to their apartment in Kyev. It made me feel weak to complain that the train was 30 minutes late.
They planned to go to Spain. Jokingly saying that the sunny weather is the reason, other than the Spanish government’s new regulation to provide residency for Ukrainians.
I’m amazed to see how stoic and calm he is despite the difficulties that he’s facing.
I also learned that both husband and wife are highly skilled tech talents. Have worked remotely for various international companies.
To financially support the trip, he told me that he relies on exchanging his crypto asset to the local currencies.
At that time, I was feeling pity but also astounded at the same time. I have been reading a lot about how Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies can be used as emergency funds.
But this is the first time that I actually met someone that did it in real life.
Source: Unsplash
👦 Crypto native
In times of crisis, anything can happen to our money. Banks defaulting and taking money from people’s accounts (Cyprus), devaluation of currency (Venezuela, Zimbabwe), and international sanctions (Russia).
So how could we avoid this? The answers might lie with the new generation of money and people.
Crypto native is a term that is used for the new generation. Either investing their future in crypto assets or contributing directly to crypto projects.
Look at the phone of a 20 something years old, a huge chance that they have a sort of crypto trading app or digital wallet. It is estimated that in early 2022, there are around 300 million people who own crypto assets worldwide.
Before the war, Ukraine was a prominent tech hub. It is also listed as the 4th country in the world with the highest crypto adoption, just behind India and Pakistan.
In the last week of February, days before the Russian invasion, cryptocurrencies trading reached its highest level in Ukraine.
Source: Chainalysis - Crypto adoption across countries
Although it is a hard time for everyone fleeing the country, crypto natives are becoming more antifragile than their grandparents. They can bring their wealth on a USB stick or just by remembering the 12 phrases of their private key.
Bitcoin is the best humanitarian tool.
In a refugee camp, you might not be able to access a bank, but as long as you can find an Internet connection, you can receive bitcoin, without asking permission and having to prove your identity. - Alex Gladstein
These generations will have the 1st hand experience of how crypto brings a positive force for society. Not just creating personal or financial freedom, but also freedom from invading oppressors.
📜 On-chain peace agreements
After pondering a lot about war and conflicts, I then remembered a Bankless podcast from a few years back, with Kevin Owocki and Ameen Solemani on slaying moloch.
They believed that crypto and blockchain technology can be the future guarantor of peace. To understand this thesis, let's first look at our history.
Tribes, kingdoms, or nation-states have been at war with each other for ages. Anyone that has not been able to gather resources to defend themselves will be swallowed by a stronger enemy.
Large countries can spend anywhere from 5% to 30% of their budget on defense.
But any country that fails to spend enough money on defense risks being invaded. Therefore, almost all countries try to spend some money on defense. - Scott Alexander in Meditations on Moloch
Just recently, Germany plans to double its military budget to €100 billion (2% of GDP). Various countries have been playing the arms race for a long time. Trying to have a stronger bicep than the others.
In the past, we also tried to avoid wars through treaties and alliances. However, agreements written in ink do not necessarily guarantee peace (e.g Versailles). And alliances do not guarantee that your friends will back you up when things go south.
Now, let's look into the future. Blockchain technology, specifically mechanism coordination on Ethereum, can be used to solve issues between countries.
In a decentralized world, international agreements do not need to be backed up by guns or the court of law. It can be coerced with a direct economic disincentive on the blockchain.
For example, if countries participate in a trade agreement or defense pact, they can lock in an agreed amount of assets on top of Ethereum.
It will be written in a smart contract. In an open and neutral protocol. Not controlled by any nation states or institutions.
When someone tries to mess around with the agreed terms, their assets will be directly burned off the chain.
This guarantees that there will be severe consequences that will happen autonomously, written in code. We do not need to rely on a big brother to bring out the fighter jets and warships.
The whole network will reinforce severe action to resolve the issue peacefully.
We can experiment with lots of use cases of Ethereum blockchain.
From a small scale peer to peer contract, to large scale alliances between countries. Recorded and ingrained on the chain. - Kevin Owocki
Conclusion
Now back to the story of the Ukrainian family. The husband, a crypto native and tech optimist. Told me that he has found a good job in Sevilla, Spain, amidst the crisis. Working for a company that provides blockchain as a service.
We then exchanged contacts. I can only wish him a safe journey and all the best for his new life.
This experience has reminded me of Memento Mori, that we are all mortal.
Cherish your time, love your family, and follow your dream. Take care and enjoy the weather ☀️.