Decentralized Finance — the New Frontier of Financial Freedom
As the cryptocurrency world continues to evolve, we are seeing a paradigm shift that is allowing people to earn money and set themselves free from economic systems which dole out rewards skewed towards a few at the top and does not reflect fairly the contribution of each participant. Crypto innovations are threatening to upheave the current system, and level the playfield for everyone who wants to play. Knowledge is power, and for the first time in history knowledge is available to everyone. All you need is an internet connection and a device to connect. Many are afraid to take the risk and invest in cryptos or take other steps towards their freedom, and are content to remain in their “secure” jobs until they reach whatever the retirement age is. I have been there myself.
As someone who spent over half of my life as someone’s employee, stepping away from my job was not an easy thing. In the three years since I have done so, I believe it is one of the best decisions I have made in my life. I am now free from a claustrophobic office cubicle and the tyranny of peak hour traffic (especially in a place like Washington, DC). More importantly, I now have the freedom and time to explore other ventures without having to worry about whether I am violating some obscure clause in an employment agreement I might have unwittingly signed without reading the fine print. For those thinking of taking a similar step, cryptocurrencies could be the prop you need to make that move. Of course, it is not the only route out. But as fishermen talk about fish, I write about cryptos because it has been the biggest game changer for me.
I believe the crypto market has the potential to dramatically alter people’s lives. The crypto market and decentralized finance in particular provide equal opportunity for all to earn enough money in a sustainable way to lift their standard of living. Other innovations like Medium have given voiceless people like myself the opportunity to share our experiences with others (imagine a non-name like me trying to get an article published in a mainstream media outlet). By sharing what we have learnt, we can play our part in helping to change peoples’ lives. That’s the only purpose for which many of us write these articles.
Getting the word out and convincing others to take a step in this new frontier is not an easy task. Why is this so? People have been so conditioned to depend on a job for their living, that many are afraid to try a different way. Yours truly is a case in point.
I thought about quitting my job for at least three years before having the courage to actually do so. A million what-ifs of things that could go wrong floated around in my head. I envisioned everything that could do wrong. Few and far between were the things that could go right. Many nights after taking the dreaded step of quitting my job, I woke up thinking about the madness I had done and constantly feared the impending doom I was convinced was just around the corner. Here I am three years later, and even with the pandemic none of those terrible things I imagined have materialized. The impending doom is still “impending”.
Nowadays I no longer worry about the monsters roaming the halls ready to devour me and my children. Instead of all the imaginary could-go-wrongs my cave man brain envisioned, I have found a new sense of freedom and a willingness to step outside my comfort zone and explore new horizons. Researching, writing and investing in the crypto markets is one of them. If I can encourage a few people to try something different that could improve their lives I would feel like I did a good job. I know that for ordinary folks to take their hard-earned cash and put it into something as esoteric as cryptocurrencies is not an easy decision. Our fight or flight wiring will tell most humans that danger might be lurking behind cryptos, and they could lose their money. Better to stick with the safety of the bank’s 1% a year, despite the fact it will get them nowhere. We love peace of mind.
To get out of our hamster wheel of a job and loss of freedom, we have to be willing to step outside our comfort zone. There are no guarantees you will succeed, but you will not know unless you take that step.
I’ll share a bit of my experience with a crypto project called DRIP. In November 2021 I decided to invest in DRIP. For those not familiar with DRIP, it pays 1% interest per day in DRIP tokens, which you can either cash out or compound to earn additional income. You can learn about DRIP here.
Since my entry into DRIP, using a combination of compounding and claiming, I have recouped my initial investment. My remaining max payout — the amount I can withdraw at 1% per day assuming constant price and no more compounding — is about six times the amount I earned in one year in my last job. And this is after a 50% fall in the price of DRIP from its all-time high. With judicious compounding and withdrawing I can maintain this ratio until I withdraw 100K DRIPs (maximum allowed for each DRIP account). You can have as many DRIP accounts as you want. The value of what I withdraw ultimately will depend on the price of DRIP when I claim. Barring a complete collapse of the DRIP network, it should be enough for me to claim my financial freedom. This is just one example. There are many other established and upcoming projects which people are using to escape the rat race.
I truly believe we are at a point in human history where the tools for success are equally available to everyone. No one can predict the future, and we do not know what will happen to cryptocurrencies in the years ahead. In five years we could be referring to them in the past tense. However, masters of the Internet like Google, Amazon and Facebook had no idea what would happen to the Internet when they made their move (if they tell you they did they are lying). Similar to these giants, I do believe best of class crypto projects will survive and be successful. A small investor can truly do well over time from investing in cryptos. Upward mobility is no longer a climb up, but rather a step across into a new frontier. Maybe we all just need to put a foot forward into this uncharted territory.
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This article is for information and educational purposes only, and nothing stated herein is to be construed as investment advice. Neither the author nor the publication takes any responsibility or liability for any investments, profits, or losses you may incur as a result of this information. Please do your own research and due diligence before making any investment decisions. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of the information in this article, but makes no representations or warranties, expressed or implied, as to its accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or correctness. The author may own cryptocurrencies discussed in this article.
