By Steve Conley, Founder of the Academy of Life Planning
Bitcoin has just smashed through the $120,000 mark. Social media timelines are flooded with FOMO-fuelled headlines and chest-thumping crypto champions proclaiming, “We told you so.”
But while the markets roar, I choose silence. I’m not buying.
Not because I don’t understand the opportunity. I do. I know early adopters are becoming millionaires – some even billionaires. I know institutional investors are jumping in. I know the hype is now wrapped in legitimacy, with regulation, pension funds, and even political campaigns lining up behind it.
But I also know this: not everything that makes money is right.
Let’s be clear. I’m not here to deny anyone their excitement. Nor am I blind to innovation. What I question – deeply and deliberately – is at what cost this form of digital wealth is being built. And whose wealth is being sacrificed for it.
Conscience over Coin
I do not want to enrich myself through a system that consolidates wealth among the few while burdening the many. That’s not progress. That’s history repeating itself – only this time wrapped in blockchain code.
Bitcoin is heralded as “digital gold,” but unlike gold, it doesn’t just sit in a vault. It consumes vast amounts of energy, powering an ever-expanding architecture of speculation, extraction, and elite control. The same extractive mindset that got us into the mess of ecological collapse, economic disparity, and spiritual disconnection.
This isn’t wealth. It’s a carbon-heavy illusion. It’s not freedom. It’s just another digital trap.
I come from a place of conscience. And that conscience tells me: no.
A Different Kind of Rich
I’m not anti-wealth. I’m anti-extraction.
True wealth, for me, is meaning. It’s a life of purpose, contribution, and harmony with others and the planet. It’s leaving behind a better system than the one I inherited – not gaming it one last time before the whole thing collapses.
Let’s be honest: most people piling into Bitcoin today aren’t in it to fix finance. They’re in it because they want in on the speculative gains. The vast majority will lose – just as three-quarters of retail Bitcoin investors did between 2015 and 2022. But a few will get spectacularly rich.
The rest of us? We’ll foot the bill – in emissions, in inequity, in policy distortions, and in the missed opportunity to build systems that truly serve the many.
The Future I Choose
I believe in systems built on empowerment, not extraction.
I believe in using technology to democratise planning, not to repackage inequality in cryptographic wrappers. I believe that a financial revolution is needed – but it must be guided by consciousness, not speculation.
You can laugh at me, sneer, say I “missed the boat.” That’s fine. I’m not interested in boats that run on fossil fuels and leave the poor in their wake.
Keep your Bitcoin.
I’m building something else entirely.
đź“Ś About the Author
Steve Conley is the founder of the Academy of Life Planning. A former banking executive turned financial reformer, Steve empowers individuals to reclaim autonomy, design lives of purpose, and challenge extractive financial systems. Learn more at aolp.co.uk.
📦 Does Bitcoin Align with the Age of Aquarius?
The Age of Aquarius is marked by values of decentralisation, collective empowerment, technological evolution, and spiritual awakening. On the surface, Bitcoin appears to fit the bill:
- âś… Decentralised Ledger: It operates without central banks or intermediaries.
- âś… Open Source: Anyone can inspect, improve, or build on it.
- âś… Global Network: It transcends borders and resists censorship.
Yet beneath this Aquarian exterior lies a paradox:
- ❌ Energy Consumption: Bitcoin’s mining model consumes more electricity annually than some nations, contradicting ecological harmony.
- ❌ Wealth Concentration: A small group of early adopters hold disproportionate influence, reinforcing rather than dismantling economic hierarchies.
- ❌ Speculative Culture: It invites fear-based investing (FOMO), which undermines the inner stillness and self-reliance the Aquarian Age calls forth.
đź’ˇ The Verdict:
Bitcoin may carry Aquarian potential, but its current practice often mirrors Piscean patterns of extraction, control, and illusion. True alignment requires technology in service of consciousness—not just freedom from institutions, but freedom from greed.
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