“The key elements of a free market are widely in accordance with the concept of blockchain technology because the free market, as well as the blockchain, supports the private ownership of resources, and the freedom to participate.”
From the biggest multinational banks and corporations to a child’s sidewalk lemonade stand or selling homemade cookies to your friends at college, all economies operate on the principles of private property and exchange, the individuals interacting with each other in the pursuit of a living, based on their personal needs. These concepts are the building blocks of free societies, and it is the system of countless small trades that we make even without noticing, this is the world that we call “the market.”
Cryptocurrencies, as a new wave of the economy and as a factor of change in the way we use money nowadays as become with no doubts into another pillar of the free market. But before going deeper into this, let’s talk about the free market and what characteristics it shares with blockchain technology and crypto.
What is free market?
In a few words, the free market is an economic system based on supply and demand with little or no government control. It is a summary description of all voluntary exchanges that take place in a given economic environment. It is the market that occurs between people in a very natural way, which means that people exchange goods and make spontaneous and decentralized arrangements.
The key elements of a free market are widely in accordance with the concept of blockchain technology because the free market, as well as the blockchain, supports the private ownership of resources, meaning that each individual, owns or control the means of production, distribution, and exchange of goods, all for his own good without undesired intervention. Also, the capital needed to finance commerce is obtained by charging interest or fees on transactions which is most of the time, the way it’s done in crypto exchanges.
“With crypto people keep open options and they are the lawful owners of their money and none can take it away from them.”.
But most of all, the free market means freedom to participate: the production and the consumption of goods and services are completely voluntary. Individuals are free to acquire, consume, or produce as much or as little as their own needs require. With crypto, people also participate voluntarily and they are free to use their money in a way that works the best for them.
Can freedom help the economy grow?
Some people think of the free market as an economy with unobstructed competition and only private transactions between buyers and sellers. However, the real free market includes any voluntary economic activity so long as it is not controlled by coercive central authorities. Any kind of startup can invent themselves and compete in a healthy market where the restrictions are made by the market itself, the market that it’s the people
Individual Liberty is still something that many countries don’t know and can’t experience because of the continuous coercive impositions or restrictions regarding their economic activities. Even though no modern country operates with completely uninhibited free markets, the value of free markets as to do with the fact that the private property and individual rights are respected and valued. It is a reality, that such value can increase people’s happiness by increasing their sense of freedom. And their willingness to start something new and create
Crypto tokens are also an alternative that blockchain offers to increase such sense of self reliability and freedom, by giving people the capacity of creating and issuing their own money and selling it without restrictions, regulations or subsidies that interfere with voluntary economic transactions.
Free market using blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies is not a synonym of anarchy, on the contrary, it means that responsible people are allowed to interact with one another with the help of private initiatives that can also provide them with the tools to do so, like the creations of tokens for example. Yet, safety laws and regulations or prohibition regarding specific exchanges, licensing requirements, and even price controls are applied even when it comes to crypto, where the biggest difference lies though, is that with crypto people keep open options and they are the lawful owners of their money and none can take it away from them, allowing the market to grow and stand during difficult times overcoming instability
Mary Schwartz