Crypto Agorism
Free markets for a free world
This presentation introduces Crypto Agorism
what it is
and how it helps people today
to survive outside of the state
and access services without censorship or surveillance
Important tools are
cryptocurrencies
anonymous services
and gray markets
Agorism means fair and free markets
that operate outside of the state
No company registration
ID or permits are required
Examples are under-the-table jobs
informal apartment rentals
and anonymous sim cards
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Monero
are good tools for agorist markets
Unlike banking
no government ID or
corporate permission is required
Just download a wallet
and you can send and receive money worldwide
without censorship
Crypto Agorism unites agorists
and cryptocurrency users
to build practical free markets
Agorism focuses on small businesses
entrepreneurs and communities
not state-backed corporations
Small businesses are more flexible
offer better
more individualized service
and have a closer relationship between the buyer and seller
Small businesses can also offer
fairer pay and better working conditions
due to direct deals with the producers
and bypassing middlemen
profiteers and CEOs
An example is direct trade coffee vs. Nestle
Agorism helps you to bypass
the state's monopolies on money
identity and markets
which attempt to censor and surveil the free market
Fiat such as the US dollar
is the state's monopoly on money
The state can print more money limitlessly
and manipulate the economy
The state also forces
government ID requirements onto banks
which excludes millions of people without ID
and surveils the financial transactions of everyone else
As the state is phasing out cash
and planning to introduce gatekept and surveilled CBDCs
a free currency is necessary
Cryptocurrencies are the answer
Crypto operates outside of the state
No country
corporation or individual
controls the network or issuance
No government ID
or application is required
Simply download a wallet
and you are ready to earn
spend and save money worldwide
Crypto transactions are pseudonymous
censorship-resistant
fast and have low fees
This makes crypto perfect for
online shopping
money transfers
fundraising
and brick-and-mortar stores
Additionally you can withdraw
crypto to physical cash
gift cards or gold
The tyranny of digital ID already exists
due to the state's monopoly on identity
The state already refuses to print passports
national ID cards and birth certificates
for approximately 1 billion people worldwide
As more and more services require government ID
this shuts people out from necessities
like jobs
apartments
healthcare
mail
sim cards and more
Sadly there are no alternatives
Flag Theory requires an existing ID
Red Cross doesn't print IDs
and non-government IDs aren't accepted
If someone for example
wasn't registered at birth
there is no way for them to appeal
or access ID in another way
Government ID requirements
also known as KYC
have been excluding innocent people
from jobs
housing
healthcare and more since decades
Not only people who can't get ID
but also people who need pseudonymity
for safety reasons
such as activists and victims of abuse
This artificial barrier to the economy
is cruel, fatalistic and puts people in danger
No third party should be able to
universally censor an individual
from the entire market
For example
if an employer likes an applicant's skills
and work ethic
they should be able to hire this person
In reality
government ID requirements
prevent this applicant
from finding work anywhere
despite their abilities and efforts
Likewise
if someone is ill
goes to the doctor
and can pay in cash
they may be wrongly refused treatment
due to no government ID
In a free market
transactions are between the buyer and seller only
Trades are made on the basis of
supply and demand
without censorship from external gatekeepers
Government ID requirements are unethical
especially as the state refuses
to print ID for millions of people
In comparison
agorism doesn't require ID
and is open to everyone
Agorist KYC-free services
don't require government ID
or state permission
This provides equal and meritocratic access
to services
preserves privacy
and avoids state surveillance and censorship
Some examples are
under-the-table jobs
informal apartment rentals
and anonymous health clinics
Cryptocurrencies help people to
earn money remotely
shop online
and send international money transfers
Anonymous sim cards and PO boxes
help people to access the internet
and receive mail without ID
Proxy merchants are also useful
Some examples of proxy services include
A roommate deals with the rental contract
on your behalf and you pay them in cash
A friend sends a bank transfer for you
A local store allows you to
pickup mail there
A business registers sim cards
under their company name
and resells them anonymously
There are many ways to establish trust
or authorization
without government ID
many of which are successfully used today
Many transactions can be done anonymously
for example
buying food, clothes or electronics in a store
You only need to hand over the cash
and the product is yours
No name required
PINs and passwords can help
with authorization
One example is
a password to login to a website
or a PIN sent by SMS or email
to pick up a package
Cryptographic key pairs
are used for critical applications
such as PGP encryption and signing
for secure communication
and proving ownership of funds
with Bitcoin
A pseudonymous key pair is enough
to prove your identity
or send money worldwide
Online shopping and remote work
can benefit from escrows
such as Bitcoin's multisig
This enables refunds
in the case of a scam
Cash deposits for rentals
can protect against damages or theft
Customer reviews can help you to
find trusted products or businesses
Vouches for example from friends
colleagues or landlords
and web of trust can help
to trust individuals
While personal IDs are a dangerous concept
non-government IDs from NGOs or companies
are easier to access than the gatekept
single point of failure of government ID systems
Next to the state monopoly on money
and identity
is the monopoly on markets
Via regulations
the state censors what can be sold
who can sell
and for what price
The state excludes entire
categories of products
and groups of sellers
from the economy
despite market demand for these services
State regulations harm many people
They make it difficult
to access medicine
affordable housing
or even find a job
High taxes make it difficult
for regular people to afford food and rent
while the state immorally spends these funds
on corporate bailouts corruption and war
In comparison
unregulated markets are open to everyone
without restrictions
These may be known as
gray markets
parallel economies
circular economies
or Second Realms
Some examples are
local cash-in-hand markets
online classifieds
and darknet markets
Opsec and risk management are important
but gray markets have operated successfully
since decades
even in authoritarian countries
and provide customers with what they need
and are unable to get
from gatekept state markets
Many day-to-day necessities
take place as market transactions
When you earn money from your job
pay rent for your apartment
buy food in a grocery store
and pay for a gym membership
All these are market transactions
between a buyer and a seller
These market transactions
take place in communities
such as with colleagues
neighbors
regular customers
friends or fellow fans of your hobby
Local, global and online agorist communities
can help buyers and sellers to
meet each other and build
a parallel economy free from state control
Agorism doesn't require mainstream adoption
or integration with the statist white market
If you have one agorist employer
one agorist landlord
and shop from one agorist grocery store
that's enough
A network of like-minded people
and a peer-to-peer free market
can help people to find
what they need
There are many ways to participate
in agorist markets
The Gray Man strategy
is when a white market business
sells agorist services under-the-table
to trusted customers
For example
a local phone repair store
sells anonymous sim cards on request
or a hotel rents out rooms
without ID to people in need
such as victims of abuse
or undocumented people
A Proxy Merchant
offers their company as a proxy
so that people can
access services anonymously
An example is a personal shopping service
A customer sends a link to a product
and pays with crypto
The personal shopper buys the product
with their bank account
and ships it to the customer
A Second Realm business
exists entirely outside of the state
without a registered company
ID or permit
An example is
remote freelance work for cryptocurrency
or selling refurbished laptops in Craigslist
Peer-to-peer sales
are one time sales
such as subletting your apartment
for 1 month while you are traveling
or selling your old car for cash
Agorist markets for food include
farmers markets
local non-chain stores
crypto-friendly grocery stores and restaurants
and direct trade for imported products
You can also grow your own food
with a garden or homestead
Encourage your favorite
online and local stores
to accept crypto
rather than only bank transfers
or credit cards
Make sure you use a
KYC-free provider
such as BTCPayServer.org
Oshi.tech
Bitejo.com
or a mobile wallet
instead of a platform that
requires government ID
like Strike, Coinbase or Bitpay
Agorist jobs include
under-the-table jobs for cash and crypto
either as your main income
or on the side
Offer your services via word-of-mouth
Craigslist or crypto classifieds websites
like Microlancer.io or FreelanceForCoins.com
You can exchange earned crypto to physical cash
with Bisq, HodlHodl.com or Bitcoin ATMs
If you need to hire someone
choose a freelancer or small business
not a corporation
Proxy merchants can help
by setting up a shell company
with which freelancers can make contracts
receive bank transfers
rent coworking spaces
and receive mail
Agorist housing includes
apartment, hotel, land and office rentals
for cash or crypto
without ID or address registration
With a network of intentional communities
such as city neighborhoods
trailer parks, homesteads
or van living communities
agorists can live together
and build local parallel economies
Community spaces
including cafes
hackerspaces and anarchist libraries
provide a place for meetups
events and education
Agorist healthcare includes
anonymous health clinics
with out-of-pocket payments
or funded by donations
crypto-friendly doctors
online pharmacies and telemedicine services
and importing medicine from countries
that don't require prescriptions
An agorist health insurance company
could print health insurance cards
without requiring government ID
as well as help people access healthcare
for a monthly fee
In addition
people are starting to synthesize
medicine such as insulin
in home labs
Check Four Thieves Vinegar
for more details
Agorist logistics includes
anonymous PO boxes and parcel lockers
a crypto-friendly
alternative to Uber
for taxis and deliveries
and dead drop services
A dead drop is where
a package is left at specified co-ordinates
and the sender and recipient
never meet each other
Additionally
a proxy merchant
could rent an office
and allow customers
to pick up mail there
Agorist communication includes
anonymous sim cards
KYC-free home internet
public wifi networks
and mesh networks
In addition
use PGP and Matrix
for encrypted chats
Tor for anonymous browsing
and Monero for private payments
It isn't a question of
"Will Agorism Work?"
Agorism already provides
necessary services to people
outside of state censorship and surveillance
Sellers earn profits
save time
avoid bureaucracy
and bypass censorship
and buyers can get what they need
with cash or crypto
There are many motivations for this
such as saving money and time
avoiding red tape
financial inclusion
privacy
safety
humanitarian or ideological reasons
Gray markets work
have worked since decades
and will continue to work
wherever they are needed
What can you do
to get started with agorism
Buy from small businesses
and peer-to-peer markets
instead of state-backed corporations
Encourage your favorite stores
to accept crypto
or accept crypto in your business
Don't require government ID
in your business
and find services that don't require ID
Offer proxy merchant services
for example via a shell company
Join online or local agorist groups
to build practical parallel economies
There are many resources
articles, podcasts, directories and tools
to help you to learn more about agorism
and build truly free markets
"An Agorist Primer" by SEK3
and "Second Realm: Book on Strategy"
by Smuggler and XYZ
are practical books about agorism
Check Anarplex
Bitcoin Magazine and Medium
for agorist and crypto articles
like KYC-free Bitcoin circular economies
Listen to practical podcasts
for agorist ideas
crypto use cases and more
such as Vonu Podcast and Citadel Dispatch
Trade products and services for crypto
with Bitejo.com or MirageSale.com
or join a Matrix or Telegram group
for example
Bitcoin P2P Marketplace in Telegram
Find a list of KYC-free services
at KYC Not Me
Use Tor for anonymity
Matrix for encrypted chats
and Monero for private payments
There are many agorist, crypto and privacy
communities in Matrix, Telegram
and other social networks
including Flote, Freedom Cells and Hack Liberty
Free the markets, free the world.