Crypto Beans #23 Bitcoin is an insurance product with no CEO or a team

Hey there everyone! 👋 This is Shivam. I bring to you the 23rd weekly edition of Crypto Beans. This is an effort through which I try to share my thoughts on the crypto space and help you stay updated. Your 0 to 1 guide in crypto.

Read time - 4 mins

In this edition, the article I explore is titled "Bitcoin is an insurance product with no CEO or a team" Hope you enjoy it.

Spill the beans (Explain to me like a 5 year old) 

Bitcoin has become a massive insurance product worth over $500 billion

1} Millions of people around the world use it. The best part: There's no CEO, marketing team, or salespeople

Let me tell you about insurance in a way that's easy to understand. So, when you have something valuable or you're worried about something bad happening, like a fire or a flood, you can get something called an insurance policy

It's like making a deal with a special company that promises to help you if those bad things actually happen

Here's how it works:

You and the insurance company make an agreement. The agreement says that if something bad happens, the company will pay for the losses. In return, you have to pay the company some money called a premium regularly. It's like paying for the right to have insurance, and you only use it when you really need it

2} Now, here's where it gets interesting when I say Bitcoin could be the largest insurance company ever!

Let me explain why this could be the case- When people buy Bitcoin as a form of insurance, they see it as protection against things like:

1. The value of money going down

2. Countries not being able to pay their debts

3. Governments making bad decisions with money

Some people even use Bitcoin as a way to protect themselves from having their money taken away or being controlled by others. It's like they're buying insurance against things like economic censorship or being unable to access their money.

3} But how is Bitcoin like insurance? 

Well, when you buy Bitcoin, you pay a one-time cost to get it, instead of paying regularly like with traditional insurance. If you buy it early, it's cheaper, but if you wait too long, it can be more expensive.

If Bitcoin becomes the asset that people turn to when there's uncertainty or chaos in the economy, it means that bad things are happening in the regular financial system. When that happens, the value of Bitcoin tends to go up.

We've seen this in the past when there was high inflation or when banks were failing.

When people lose faith in the regular financial system, they want something different and outside of that system. Nowadays, there aren't many options for that, especially with everything being so digital and connected. That's where Bitcoin comes in.

Instead of having to trust an insurance company to keep its promises, Bitcoin is a digital product that works automatically. You don't have to ask anyone for permission or submit any claims. Nobody can decide not to honor the insurance policy. Bitcoin is not owned or controlled by any one person or organization. So, anyone can check and make sure everything is working as it should, at any time, from anywhere in the world

4} Conclusion

Bitcoin is a product that solves a real problem, and people learn about it through word-of-mouth. The idea of Bitcoin as a large insurance company is exciting as it means that open-source software can create a new kind of insurance for things that were never covered before.

Just in case any of these economic risks do happen, having some Bitcoin can be a smart way to protect yourself. You don't need a lot of Bitcoin for it to be effective, maybe just 1-3% of your savings. It can help balance out the negative effects of those risks.

State of Crypto affairs - A quick look at the market 

The global cryptocurrency market cap today: $1.18 Trillion

Weekly change: +0.83% | Yearly change: -6.24% 

Bitcoin (BTC) is the largest cryptocurrency with a market cap of $527 Billion.

Weekly change: 0.45% | YTD change: 63.68%

Another important metric is Bitcoin dominance which can be used as a rough indicator of the relative strength of Bitcoin versus other cryptocurrencies. A high Bitcoin dominance means that Bitcoin has a large market share and is potentially more influential in the overall cryptocurrency market and vice-versa.

Bitcoin dominance: Current Year: 46.19% | Last year (May 2022): 46.24%

Greed and fear index 

The market sentiment has been a bit neutral now post Bitcoin dumping in the last week. The beginning of a crab market it seems. However, with an agreement on Debt ceiling can send the Bitcoin soaring to new heights in the short term

Note: The data used is based on metrics like Volatility, Surveys, Bitcoin Dominance, Social and Google Trends. Source: Coinstats

Is ETH ultrasound money? 

Let's have a look at Ethereum supply changes post its merge to a PoS blockchain from PoW, as there is a shift in the narrative for Ethereum to become a store of value due to the expected reduction in ETH emissions.

Supply change since merge POS -264,853 ETH

The graph highlights POS vs POW issuance since the merge. Impressive numbers, look super bullish for ETH long term given the supply of ETH is not growing as before

What's brewing today? Bringing fresh beans to you: 

DeSantis: ‘Bitcoin Represents a Threat to the Current Regime: Florida’s governor and the Republican Party’s latest leadership candidate talked crypto and central bank digital currencies in a Twitter space with Elon Musk.

Will Social Tokens Finally Click? Stealcam Is Betting on It: "Steal to reveal" platform Stealcam is rebranding and shifting gears. Can Friend.tech finally crack the social token model for creators?

Bitcoin Payments App Strike Expands to More Than 65 Countries From Three: Strike, led by Jack Mallers, currently operates in the U.S. and El Salvador. Now it's pushing into new markets in Africa, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Asia and the Caribbean

Whats meme-ing? Better make sure this is fun

And now the funny part,

What did you think of today's edition?  

Reach out to me on Twitter or Linkedin for any feedback :)

DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.