Shipping in the Time of Covid

**The world has fallen rapidly into emergency—and while some have hope
for a swift recovery, the human and economic toll of Covid-19 will be felt for
years.**

**To stop the spread of this deadly disease, the global economy is on
lockdown. Weeks at home are turning into months, and the novelty has worn off.
It's become clear that the effects of this crisis will be lasting and profound,
and that realization has bred depression, anxiety, and helplessness.**

### This is a moment for action.

Before the pandemic, our global economic systems were under stress. The stock
market grew to new heights on the back of loose fiscal policy, but anyone
looking at the costs of living, healthcare, and education could see that we’ve
been losing purchasing power for the things we value most.

Covid-19 has accelerated that reckoning, bringing about what will surely be a
deep recession. No one is completely immune to the effects of the pandemic,
physical or economic. Those able to do their jobs remotely have been forced to adjust
to a new normal without commutes, offices, or meetings. Millions
who work in hospitality, service, and travel-intensive industries are
losing jobs that may not return. No one knows how long the chaos will
last, or what the new normal will look like.

Governments around the world are taking action to stanch the bleeding.
They’ve reached for their trusty playbook from the 2008 financial crisis,
dumping trillions of dollars of new money into the economy. At first,
the stimulus will inspire hope. If 2008 is any indication, however, few people
you know will directly benefit. Instead, the narrative will be that the
`stimulus has "saved the economy", though the details will remain vague.

### Eventually, the bill will come due.

Many feel we are out of options, but from a fiscal perspective, this isn't
true. In fact, we already have a cure for free money—Bitcoin. Bitcoin is
scarce money, born from the failures of 2008, when our legacy financial system
faltered, leading to a long downturn that hit the most vulnerable the
hardest. The crisis we are seeing now may be worse: a physical contagion
threatens people’s health, and the only recourse appears to require
shutting down the economy.

Unfortunately, in the US we no longer have a major party that believes
in fiscal conservatism: both the left and the right support invasive
government measures and monetary largesse. A crisis of this size tends to expose
the seams in society. Obviously, a large-scale response to the economic
fallout of Covid-19 is expected. But why does that response always
start with spending mountains of money we don’t have to prop up
financial firms who should know better? In the midst of a panic, few
are willing to point out the impossibility of sustaining this fiscal
house of cards.

We haven’t come as far since 2008 as I would’ve hoped. The people
whose livelihoods are the most precarious again look likely to bear
the brunt of this calamity. The most insecure workers in the gig
economy—those who lack savings and, in many cases, healthcare —
are furloughed and laid off _en masse_. Meanwhile, friends of mine in
private equity can afford to bide their time, waiting for the market to hit
bottom so they can snap up deals at bargain basement prices.

I’m an unapologetic capitalist. A downturn for some is always
an opportunity for another, and I don’t blame anyone for waiting for the
right price. But do we have to print new money to gift to the financial
sector, ensuring they can take the spoils of a downturn, and punishing
patient savers that have avoided speculation?

This crisis hasn’t only exposed the seams in our economy—it’s also
opening a window for authoritarianism. Even though it was authoritarian
censorship that suppressed knowledge of the coronavirus’s early spread,
many are now hailing China’s apparent success at “flattening the curve”
through draconian, coercive means. People who in normal times claim to
favor freedom and democracy now point to China’s authoritarian response
to the virus as a model to emulate. More than a few have asked, “Why
don’t our cops have smart helmets like the ones in China?” People are
afraid, and constitutions are nearly being put on pause in the
name of short-term safety.

> But times like these are also when the seeds of bold, transformative change
> are planted and nurtured.

But times like these are also when the seeds of bold, transformative
change are planted and nurtured.

This is our chance to deliver on the promise of Bitcoin since 2009.
While traditional finance relies on fiat currencies, in-person meetings,
and asking permission, crypto is built around permissionless transactions
and unfamiliar counterparties. The teams that build in crypto—like
ours at [Keep](https://keep.network) and [Fold](https://foldapp.com) —
are often remote-first. We are able to continue operations almost as normal
while this global situation unfolds. We are used to not knowing our
counterparties face to face, and collaborate remotely by default. Skepticism
of governments and regulators runs deep across our philosophies. We are ready
for this. And it is our responsibility to use this readiness to double our
efforts to bring financial access, as a human right, to everyone.

Not all crypto projects will succeed, of course. Most of them have
shipped nothing, and many never will. Part of the reason for the
mainstream skepticism that surrounds crypto is the fact that
most crypto projects are nonsense. But amidst the noise, there are
enough projects doing real, transformative work that their impact on
the world will be felt widely. Those are the teams I’m speaking to now.

It’s time to ship. We have a chance to remake the world for the better.
When people wake up from this nightmare, and the sugar high of free
money, we need to be ready with a new vision of finance.

At Thesis, we ship. This week, we shipped Keep's random beacon. Next week,
tBTC will open for deposits, giving scarce money superpowers and
unlocking two thirds of the wealth in crypto to fully participate in an
expanding vision of decentralized finance. Next quarter, Fold will ship the
world's first [Bitcoin rewards card](https://foldapp.com/card), bringing a new
wave of passive buyers to Bitcoin. All of these efforts will bring capital to
the space, providing opportunity that can't be diluted by central bankers.

We aren't doctors, and we can't treat people's physical symptoms. But we are
builders. And I believe it is our duty to ship an alternative economic vision,
to make the world on the other side of this dark tunnel a fairer, more equitable
place.

A crisis like this shows how essential finance is to everyday life.
Let’s ship the future we’ve all been talking about, and show the
world plan B.