I had no idea what I was doing the first time I bought Bitcoin.

I mean that genuinely. I bought it, hoped the price would go up, and called it a strategy. That was it. That was the whole thesis. When someone asked me what the use case was, I had nothing. I changed the subject, and I probably mentioned property.

Here’s what I know now that I didn’t know then.

In 1859, a former railroad conductor named Edwin Drake drilled for oil in Pennsylvania, hoping it would make a good substitute for whale oil in lamps. It took almost another decade before the distillation of oil into lighter fuel would eventually power the internal combustion engine, and change the world. It took almost a decade before the resource found the true use-case. Ed had no idea.

I think most of us who’ve ever bought Bitcoin have followed the same arc. You buy it hoping to get rich. Then somewhere along the way, something clicks. And you realise what you’ve actually done is bought a piece of something that’s only now proving its worth as a new foundation layer to a new financial system. Yes, I know the word ‘system’ already sounds too abstract, but stick with me.

Bitcoin can be an investment, it can be a savings technology, or it can become a tool to ‘opt-out’. It’s all three. But increasingly I’m of the view it’s the last one that matters most.

The housing crisis that wasn’t

Here’s something that should make you uncomfortable.

Property values in New Zealand rose roughly 20% between March 2020 to 2026, ignoring inflation. That median house price, if purchased back in early 2020, would have cost you around 67 Bitcoin. Today, that same house costs you roughly 8 Bitcoin.

Priced in Bitcoin, that same house fell in price by about 88%. The so-called housing crisis in this country had almost nothing to do with the free market. It had everything to do with how our money is programmed to lose value.

Think about what inflation actually is. Not the textbook version where prices mysteriously rise because of “supply chain issues” or “greedy capitalists.” The real version: When the banking system creates new units of currency through the process of lending activity, all the existing units of money in your pocket lose a fraction of their purchasing power. Some call it a tax, but it’s more like theft. And it hits hardest on people who save in cash, earn wages, and don’t own assets.

Richard Cantillon, an 18th century French-Irish economist, observed this back when powdered wigs were fashionable: those closest to the money printer benefit first. In other words, those who can access bank credit (ie those with assets that banks will lend on), can access newly printed money at the expense of everyone else. Governments, banks, and everyday people like you and me. By the time the new money filters down to your income, prices have already moved against you.

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