Survivalist Mentality Leads Ultra-Rich to Invest in Bitcoin

The idea of the survivalist, the lone pessimist preparing for what he sees as an inevitable end to the world as it currently exists by stocking up on basic commodities or building a protected bunker, has not faded entirely from the realm of possibility in today’s world. One of the major differences with today’s survivalists as compared with the historic perception of the individual doomsday worrier has to do with the means of those individuals, according to an article in the New Yorker. And one thing that the wealthy survivalists of today are preparing with is digital currency, including Bitcoin.

Bracing for an Uncertain Future

Today’s survivalists, characterized more and more as wealthy or even ultra-wealthy individuals from backgrounds as diverse as business, tech, and more, tend to involve some of the traditional survival tools, supplemented with others that could be more useful now than ever before. On the one hand, those individuals fearing for the future of society because of disease, warfare, unexpected attacks, or political breakdown are tending to buy up the usual supplies: food, weapons, and, if they have the means, land. There are also, however, some new items in the proverbial backpacks of so-called “preppers.” Among the most important to many is a supply of Bitcoin.

Arguments for Bitcoin

Supporters of Bitcoin as a currency to collect in the event of a global catastrophe or gradual breakdown of society are often in favor of the decentralized currency because it fits well with the idea of self-reliance that is widely found among survivalists. Unlike most other forms of currency, which are inextricably tied to a national or central bank and thus exposed to all of the risks that those banks are, including breakdown of communications and action in the event of a loss of societal stability, digital currencies are independent and free from such constraints. While gold has long been the standard for survivalists, today’s preppers understand that keeping large stocks of physical currency (and such a weighty, bulky one as gold in particular) is unreasonable in a post-apocalyptic world.

There are, of course, reasons why Bitcoin may not be as useful as some survivalists believe. If the modern basics of civilization have degraded sufficiently, it is likely that internet access will be compromised for many people. Digital currencies, which rely on the internet for everything from mining to basic transactions and documentation utilizing blockchain, could be crippled. Bitcoin is also increasingly an option for the elite and wealthy above all others, as amassing a sizable quantity of the cryptocurrency is far beyond the means of most around the world. Still, today’s survivalists look to the latest technology, including Bitcoin, as means for preparing for an uncertain future.