This report argues that Universal Basic Income (UBI) is a flawed strategy for the Global South because it triggers inflationary feedback loops and remains fiscally impossible for developing nations to sustain. Instead, the text proposes Universal Basic Assets (UBA), identifying Bitcoin as the primary technological vehicle to help the poor bypass "economic apartheid" and accumulate sovereign wealth. By leveraging the Lightning Network and microwork platforms, individuals can overcome structural barriers like high transaction fees and restrictive banking regulations to convert their labor directly into a deflationary, hard asset. Ultimately, the author contends that shifting from state-dependent handouts to permissionless capital formation is the only viable path toward genuine financial liberation in regions plagued by currency devaluation.
Based on the #UBI vs. #UBA: A #Bitcoin 's Solution report, here are the key concepts, categorized by their economic and technological themes.
#UniversalBasicAssetsRepresents the central proposal of the text: moving away from income handouts toward enabling the permissionless accumulation of hard assets.
#UBIvsUBAEncapsulates the comparative analysis between the "mirage" of Universal Basic Income and the "solution" of Universal Basic Assets.
#FiscalImpossibilityRefers to the "Fiscal Impossibility Theorem," which argues that developing nations lack the tax base and monetary privilege to fund UBI without causing debt crises.
#SovereignWealthHighlights the goal of UBA: enabling the poor to build personal, sovereign wealth rather than relying on state dependency.
#EconomicApartheidDescribes the structural exclusion of the global poor from the asset economy due to regulations and costs.
#IdentityWallRefers to the exclusionary KYC/AML regulations that prevent unbanked populations from accessing formal financial tools.
#InflationTaxHighlights the argument that printing money for UBI in supply-constrained economies creates inflation that hurts the poor most.
#LiquidityPremiumDescribes the penalty the poor pay by holding cash because they cannot afford the time or cost to liquidate traditional assets like land or gold.
#LaborToAssetA key concept in the text describing the need to convert human energy directly into a store of value that does not leak purchasing power.
#PermissionlessFinanceReflects Bitcoin's ability to bypass the "Identity Wall" because generating a wallet requires no government ID or bank permission.
#DeflationaryDividendRefers to the benefit holders of Bitcoin receive as technology drives prices down while their money maintains or increases in value, unlike fiat systems.
#SelfCustodyHighlights the removal of "Custody Risk" (bank failure or seizure), allowing individuals to hold their own private keys.
#LightningNetworkThe Layer 2 technology that makes Bitcoin viable for the poor by enabling instant, near-zero cost transactions.
#StreamingMoneyRefers to new economic models like Microwork, where workers are paid instantly for digital tasks without waiting for payroll cycles.
#StrandedEnergyDescribes how rural Bitcoin mining monetizes excess renewable energy (like hydro in Africa) to fund community development.
#P2PResistanceDescribes the grassroots adoption in places like Nigeria, where citizens use peer-to-peer markets to bypass currency controls and save in Bitcoin.
