Bitcoin is an ephemeral digital currency. It doesn\u2019t have a physical address, or a specific place you can track it down. It\u2019s everywhere. This is what gives Bitcoin its superpowers, what makes it a truly decentralized and globally accessible monetary network. Your bitcoin isn\u2019t stored in your wallet but at Bitcoin addresses recorded by every computer running a Bitcoin node all over the world. Your wallet simply stores the private keys that allow you to control bitcoin at those addresses.<\/p>\n
That means that your Bitcoin can be accessed from anywhere in the world. In this way, Bitcoin gives you<\/em> superpowers as well. You can \u201ctake\u201d your Bitcoin with you wherever you go. All you need to do is bring your private keys with you, and it is accessible and spendable from any point on the planet where you can access the internet. <\/p>\n This can wind up being one of the most valuable and important abilities in a world that is becoming increasingly politically and economically unstable. Every day hundreds of thousands of people for one reason or another are picking up everything they can carry and leaving their home country for somewhere else. Somewhere that is safer, somewhere with more economic security and opportunities, somewhere they will not be persecuted for political or religious reasons. <\/p>\n The problem with doing this, is inevitably you have to cross a border. Generally, that means, except in the most extreme circumstances, dealing with customs agents employed by your government. Governments worldwide place extreme restrictions on financial assets, money, and other valuables you may cross the border with. They don\u2019t like when people try to remove monetary goods from their local economy without permission. <\/p>\n Attempting to flee your country for your own safety or to attain better opportunities is greatly complicated by this reality. In many cases, it means having to leave behind savings, valuables or anything the government would not allow you to bring with you when leaving. <\/p>\n Bitcoin is the answer to this problem. <\/p>\n Your Bitcoin is accessible from everywhere in the world, you just need to keep your private keys with you. And typically, wallets allow you to restore your private keys using a 12-24 word seed phrase. Carrying 12-24 words with you is infinitely easier than a bundle of cash, or large amounts of gold or jewelry. Traditional assets are bulky, physical, and identifiable. <\/p>\n Bitcoin is permissionless, as the ability for network participants to join and leave the network at will is not mediated by a centralized party. The agency of individuals to participate is solely at their discretion. By virtue of existing outside of the traditional banking and financial system, Bitcoin\u2019s supranational qualities make it uniquely fit for entering and exiting national jurisdictions.<\/p>\n Pseudonymity is a key component of Bitcon\u2019s permissionless nature. By possessing a private key to sign transactions, individuals can access and control their wealth regardless of their relationship with their country of residence. While there are caveats in that individuals incur risk in transgressing regulation, and must take responsibility to protect their privacy (for example, running a node<\/a> can help protect your privacy when interacting with the Bitcoin network).<\/p>\n Enabling Bitcoin\u2019s permissionlessness is its decentralization. With a globally distributed network of miners and validating nodes, the Bitcoin ledger has amassed resilience to control by centralized entities including companies and governments. <\/p>\n The central enabling constraint of Bitcoin as a money \u2013 its 21 million supply cap \u2013 is also a key factor in its suitability for individuals to retain wealth between national jurisdictions. While the public-private key architecture of the network is of course beneficial, it would be much less impactful (and likely obsolete) if it were not for the fact that Bitcoin\u2019s sound monetary policy<\/a> enables wealth to be stored <\/em>for an indefinite period of time.<\/p>\n By existing on computers around the world across political jurisdictions, and continually utilizing proof-of-work consensus to ensure the integrity of the ledger every 10 minutes, both access <\/em>and fidelity <\/em>of one\u2019s wealth can be retained over time.<\/p>\nWhy Bitcoin is So Effective at Crossing Borders<\/h2>\n
Bitcoin is Permissionless<\/h3>\n
Bitcoin is Decentralized<\/h3>\n
The Security of Cryptography<\/h3>\n