Axel

“The priests monopolized the medium of exchange and were able to extract interest for lending it. They also monopolized the land, and extracted tribute for renting it. It was the beginning of what we laughingly call civilization, which has always rested on rent and interest. The old Babylonian con.”
― Robert Shea, The Illuminatus! Trilogy: The Eye in the Pyramid/The Golden Apple/Leviathan

“Poker is ultimately a battle against human irrationality. To master poker is to master the brain, the human apparatus. This is also the journey.”
― Haseeb Qureshi, How to Be a Poker Player: The Philosophy of Poker

“Crypto is about the power of privacy, and the form of power that is decrypted when the concealment of information is verified and guaranteed beyond the law of any and all men. But so long as ‘crypto’ remains a vacuous slogan used by every piece of shit blockchain thought up, crypto will continue to be a nascent term concealing its true meaning and its messianic potential to all who see it, but not to those who seek it.”
― Erik Cason, Cryptosovereignty: The Encrypted Political Philosophy of Bitcoin

“This technology goes around blockades and government restrictions, it allows you to move value without trusting anyone, it connects you to the world, and it allows you to empower yourself and do things that are otherwise impossible,” he said.”
― Alex Gladstein, Check Your Financial Privilege