Bitcoin & Veterans:
A Natural Alignment
Onramp Deep Dives
In the dynamic world of bitcoin, surprising connections often emerge, offering fresh perspectives and insights. One such connection is the natural yet underappreciated synergy between military veterans and bitcoin. This alignment may initially seem counterintuitive, given the military’s role in upholding the fiat and petrodollar systems that bitcoin seeks to disrupt. However, a closer examination reveals a deeper, strategic relationship, particularly when viewed through the lens of individual veterans’ experiences and ideals.
Wes Lippman, the author of this article, brings a unique perspective to this discussion. Wes served as a logistics officer in the Marine Corps for four years before medically retiring in 2008 due to injuries sustained from an IED during a 2006 deployment in Anbar, Iraq. Currently a Senior Product Manager at Verizon focusing on enterprise security, Wes’s career has also spanned roles in management consulting at PWC and IBM, as well as service with the U.S. Government. He holds an MBA from the University of Virginia and a BA from Dartmouth College.
This article delves into the shared values and principles of accountability, self-sufficiency, and decentralization that bind the veteran community and the bitcoin movement, offering a compelling argument for why veterans could find renewed purpose and alignment with bitcoin. Released during the week of July 4th as a testament to those who defend our freedom and independence, we’re proud to share Wes’s insights and highlight how bitcoin can serve as a new mission for veterans.
Additionally, we are excited to announce a special edition of the Onramp Webinar Series, hosted by Onramp’s Head of Private Wealth, Cam Stromme. This webinar features a discussion on the ideas presented in this article with Wes Lippman and two other current and former US service members, Lee Bratcher and David Thayer. The webinar will be released tomorrow, July 4th, across Onramp Media channels.
Happy July 4th from team Onramp!
Bitcoin & Veterans: A Natural Alignment
Written By Wes Lippman
Although it’s not something you hear every day in the world of bitcoin, there is a natural but perhaps underappreciated alignment between military veterans and bitcoin. Initially, this may appear counterintuitive, given the role the military – specifically the U.S. military – plays in supporting the current fiat and petrodollar system that bitcoin seeks to disrupt. But that relationship is a strategic one. Viewed at the individual level, the alignment makes more sense.
Idealism and Hope
The large majority of veterans who voluntarily join the military do so because of a sense of duty, patriotism and idealism; they simply want to do the right thing, serve their country, and play their part in shaping what they hope will be a better world. In the U.S. specifically, few young recruits have a deep strategic understanding of the U.S. military’s vital role in maintaining the dollar as the global reserve currency, or the geopolitical machinations of the petrodollar system. They serve because they want to make a difference.
But whether or not they fully understand why, this community has been as mistreated by the fiat system as any other. In the past century alone, from World War I to Afghanistan more recently, they have suffered unspeakable injuries, been lied to by their leaders, have seen promises broken, oaths ignored, and have generally been used by the existing global order and financial powers that be. As a result, they are often disillusioned, their prior idealism hardening into cynicism and even despair.
But hope abounds in bitcoin. Bitcoin can provide a renewed sense of purpose, as well as the bonds of community and shared ideals that many veterans find desperately lacking in their post-military lives. For an intensely mission-focused community, bitcoin is the ultimate mission. Instead of siphoning their time, energy, wealth and experience into the giant, rent-seeking maw of the government contracting machine, they can now dedicate themselves to something worthwhile, something that truly will change the world for the better. There is an enormous opportunity to educate this cohort about bitcoin and reignite the spark of idealism that has gone dark for so many.
Although the path is radically different, bitcoiners share a similar idealism at their core: they want to improve the world and help their fellow man. Bitcoin has the potential to accomplish much of what veterans hoped to accomplish with their military service. It is the peaceful alternative to kinetic war and bloodshed. Many bitcoiners are also disillusioned, having watched the rampant money-printing, financial repression, inflation and outright theft that governments around the world seem to execute with such practiced proficiency. They seek a better, more inclusive financial system that is open, free and fair. Bitcoin has a better chance at ushering in an era of global freedom and democracy than bombing countries or nation-building in Iraq and Afghanistan ever did. Ironically, if it reaches its full potential, bitcoin drastically reduces the role of militaries worldwide.
Tactical Overlap
On a more concrete level, bitcoin shares many positive properties and characteristics that should be readily apparent to any veteran with an open mind. Although the list is long, three of the most important are accountability, self-sufficiency, and decentralization.
Accountability
The most obvious point in common is the principle of taking responsibility for your actions and holding yourself accountable. Retired Navy SEAL commander and widely-recognized leadership expert Jocko Willink has built an entire leadership philosophy based on the concept of “extreme ownership,” the idea that you are ultimately accountable for all your actions and for everything that happens to you and those you lead. Bitcoin is extreme financial ownership. Taking control of your money, your time, your future, your family’s well being and ultimately your private keys is the ultimate expression of personal financial accountability.
Self-Sufficiency
While related to accountability, self-sufficiency is slightly different. It implies an element of resiliency and preparedness, the ability to survive and thrive during times of adversity. This is where bitcoin shines, but it is also a core part of military culture, especially among special forces and other elite organizations. Perhaps the most succinct distillation of this idea can be seen on some of the most popular tee-shirts made by the veteran-owned apparel company 30 Seconds Out: “No one is coming. It’s up to us.” And “Expect to self-rescue.” There are no bailouts and second chances in combat, just as there are none in bitcoin; resilience and self-sufficiency are paramount. For the veteran plebs who aren’t able to socialize their losses and privatize their gains, and whose military benefits and pensions have no chance of providing for them in a potentially dark future, bitcoin is the ultimate self-rescue technology, allowing them to shape their destiny and secure their financial independence without having to rely on anyone else.
Decentralization
To most who have not served (and even some who have), the military likely appears to be the pinnacle of centralized command and top-down decision making. And there is some truth to that. But any halfway-decent and sufficiently humble small unit commander, from Corporal to Captain, will tell you that one of their biggest weapons is decentralized command. In a war zone there are hundreds, if not thousands of things happening simultaneously, each affecting the others in ways that a commander simply cannot see or comprehend. The decisions are too complex and running everything through a central authority would be slow, woefully inefficient, and would lead to terrible decisions and poor outcomes. Additionally, having one central point of failure leaves your entire unit disproportionately vulnerable to attack and catastrophic loss. Any honest examination of centrally commanded economies and central banks – even a cursory one – leads inevitably to the same outcomes, albeit on a different scale.
As all bitcoiners know, bitcoin is the ultimate decentralized asset and network for a decentralized economy filled with billions of individual decisions made every second. That this is superior to a small group of senior citizens sitting around a table making arbitrary but consequential decisions for the entire world’s financial system should be obvious to anyone with even a superficial understanding of finance and economics. Most veterans will recognize this immediately.
The Future
A common and popular refrain is that we would benefit from more veterans serving in elected office and leadership positions. This may or may not be true; but more importantly, we would benefit from more veterans serving in bitcoin roles. The best of them deeply understand the importance of selflessness, sacrifice, and determined execution. Importantly for the future of bitcoin, they are also not afraid of a fight. They are a mission-focused community with the ability to sort through noise and execute in difficult situations.
The only impediment to mass adoption among veterans is awareness and education. So as bitcoiners, let’s make a concerted effort to cultivate this fertile ground. Let’s reach out to prominent veterans, let’s go on podcasts, let’s link up with local and national veterans’ groups, and let’s welcome these natural allies into the fold. We will be stronger for it.
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