In 1921, American industrialist Henry Ford proposed the creation of an “energy currency” that could form the basis of a new monetary system — offering striking similarities to the peer-to-peer electronic cash system outlined in Satoshi Nakamoto’s 2008 Bitcoin (BTC) whitepaper.
Bitcoin sebagai mata uang energi
On Dec. 4, 1921, the New York Tribune diterbitkan an article outlining Ford’s vision of replacing gold with an energy currency that he believed could break the banking elites’ grip on global wealth and put an end to wars. He intended to do this by building “the world’s greatest power plant” and creating a new currency system based on “units of power.”
Ford, yang mendirikan Ford Motor Company pada tahun 1903, mengatakan kepada publikasi:
“Di bawah sistem mata uang energi, standarnya adalah sejumlah energi yang digunakan selama satu jam yang setara dengan satu dolar. Ini hanyalah kasus berpikir dan menghitung dalam istilah yang berbeda dari yang ditetapkan kepada kami oleh kelompok perbankan internasional yang telah kami terbiasa sehingga kami pikir tidak ada standar lain yang diinginkan.”
Spesifik seputar nilai mata uang "akan diselesaikan ketika Kongres peduli untuk mendengarnya," katanya.
Although Ford was never able to advance his vision of a fully-backed currency, Bitcoin has seemingly vindicated the idea a century later. Since 2009, more than 18.8 million BTC have been created through energy-intensive mining that requires computers to solve increasingly complex math problems. This proof-of-work mining process has drawn kritik keras over its alleged environmental impact — a short-sighted claim that ignores Bitcoin’s abilily to accelerate the shift to renewable energy.
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Mengganti emas, mengakhiri perang
Tentang hubungan antara emas dan perang, Ford menjelaskan:
“Kejahatan esensial emas dalam hubungannya dengan perang adalah fakta bahwa emas dapat dikendalikan. Hancurkan kendali dan hentikan perang.”
Beberapa pendukung Bitcoin yang paling bersemangat percaya bahwa prinsip-prinsip uang kripto yang sehat dapat menghilangkan perang dengan mengurangi kemampuan negara untuk mendanai konflik melalui inflasi. Sementara standar emas mempersulit pemerintah untuk menggelembungkan mata uang mereka, "bankir internasional," seperti yang dijelaskan Ford, mengendalikan sebagian besar pasokan emas batangan. Proses pengendalian dan akumulasi komoditas berharga ini memungkinkan elit keuangan untuk menciptakan pasar uang yang aktif, yang berkembang pesat selama masa perang.
The remnants of the gold standard were abandoned in 1971 by U.S. President Richard Nixon, who said his government would temporarily suspend convertibility between dollars and bullion. The so-called quasi-gold standard would terakhir until 1973, with all definitions linking the dollar to bullion removed by 1976. However, in effect, the gold standard system was eliminated by the British government in 1931, with the U.S. following suit two years later.
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The New York Tribune article beredar on Reddit’s r/CryptoCurrency page on Saturday, where it received considerable upvotes. While Satoshi Nakamoto never mentioned Henry Ford in online forum posts, some Reddit users speculated that Bitcoin’s creator may have been influenced by the late industrialist. Others jokingly said Satoshi was actually Ford’s reincarnate, given the latter’s apparent belief in reincarnation.