Written by Sylvain Saurel - In Bitcoin We Trust

A few weeks ago, in September 2021, I drew your attention to a rather incredible figure: $332B. This figure represented the total fines paid by the world's leading banks since 2000 for violating rules in the financial services world.

The different rules violated over the last twenty years by banks such as Bank of America, JPMorgan, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Deutsche Bank, or Goldman Sachs are diverse and varied as you can see by quickly reading the list of the main reasons that led to these penalties:

• Mortgage abuses.

• Fraud.

• Toxic securities abuses.

• Investor protection violation.

• Economic sanction violation.

• Consumer protection violation

• Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

• Anti-money-laundering deficiencies.

• Banking violation.

• False Claims Act and related.

• Foreign exchange market manipulation.

• Price-fixing or anti-competitive practices.

• Interest rate benchmark manipulation.

• Tax violations.

Bank of America has been fined more than $82 billion in 20 years. The $332B figure is all the more impressive since it only represents the penalties paid by the banks and not the actual value of the damages suffered by the banks' customers.

Satoshi Nakamoto created Bitcoin to provide an alternative to the corrupt and flawed banking system

As you can imagine, for $332B of penalties, the banks have ten times more profits by their actions showing a total corruption of the banking system, but also a generalized failure.

Satoshi Nakamoto already had this in mind when he created Bitcoin, as I often like to remind people via this quote from the Bitcoin creator:

“The root problem with conventional currency is all the trust that's required to make it work. The central bank must be trusted not to debase the currency, but the history of fiat currencies is full of breaches of that trust. Banks must be trusted to hold our money and transfer it electronically, but they lend it out in waves of credit bubbles with barely a fraction in reserve. We have to trust them with our privacy, trust them not to let identity thieves drain our accounts. Their massive overhead costs make micropayments impossible.”

The fact that it is impossible to trust central and private banks has pushed Satoshi Nakamoto to create an alternative system owned by the majority. We can only thank Satoshi Nakamoto for giving us Bitcoin as a priceless gift to humanity. It is now up to us to make good use of it so that the Bitcoin revolution can come to an end.

In today's world, it is becoming clear to more and more people that there is a need for a weapon to fight the current banking system and its abuses. The latest example came from Israel in the last few days.

Esther Freeman turned a $3.2K investment in Bitcoin into just over $320K

It concerns Esther Freeman, a 69-year-old retired citizen of Israel. In 2013, Esther decided to invest $3,240 in Bitcoin following the advice of her son and nephews:

“I listened to my son and nephews, to the young guys, and said that an attempt would be made. Without any knowledge on the subject, in the real innocence of an ordinary citizen. I never thought that NIS 10,000 would become almost NIS 1 million.”

Esther Freeman has been patient since 2013 in remaining a Bitcoin HODLer no matter what. Today, she is rewarded for her confidence in the Bitcoin revolution, as she was able to multiply her initial investment by x100. She turned her $3,240 investment into just over $320K.

This all sounds idyllic for Esther Freeman, but there is a but as always with the banking system. Her longtime bank, Bank Hapoalim, refuses to allow her to transfer the Bitcoin converted into fiat currency on the exchange platform she uses to her bank account.

The reason that was given by Bank Hapoalim? Esther Freeman used cash in 2013 to finance her $3,240 Bitcoin purchase, so Bank Hapoalim explains that the money originally used could be related to “money-laundering or terrorist financing”. The bank went even further by responding to Esther Freeman with this:

“The characteristics of virtual (i.e., digital) currencies allow them to be transferred anonymously and unsupervised, often bypassing the need to use the financial factors that apply to the anti-money laundering and terrorist financing regime.”

Her bank is abusing its power by denying Esther Freeman the opportunity to recover the funds from the sale of her Bitcoin

This is an abuse of power on the part of Bank Hapoalim, but this is not surprising, since the banking system is made up of arbitrary rules enacted by a minority of corrupt people. Everything is done to prevent you from using the fruits of your labor as you wish.

Esther Freeman has protected the fruits of her labor from the ravages of monetary inflation within the Bitcoin network. She should be able to take advantage of this today by having the freedom to use her wealth as she wishes. But this is impossible within the current banking system. This only reinforces the need to have the Bitcoin system at your disposal, and especially to move towards hyperbitcoinization so that you can use your wealth directly in BTC without going back to fiat currency.

To get her money back, Esther Freeman hired attorney Shaul Zioni and began legal proceedings against her longtime bank. Esther says she has always been a loyal customer, and now she wants her money back to help one of her children:

“The bank knows my conduct. I have no money anywhere else, only at Bank Hapoalim. They know I do not launder capital or do business outside the bank. I am retired. All four of my children have bank accounts. The money I need to help one of my children buy an apartment.”

Shaul Zioni said his client wanted the court to declare that the money invested in Bitcoin by Esther Freeman was “known, clear, and supported by references”. Besides, Freeman kept her Bitcoin in various digital wallets in which no transactions were made. This, of course, confirmed Esther Freeman's claim.

Court rules in favor of Esther Freeman, but Bank Hapoalim has decided to take its time to decide if it will follow the court's decision

The court agreed with Esther Freeman, ruling that Bank Hapoalim should not restrict the activity of its customers' accounts solely because they are linked to digital currencies like Bitcoin. Instead of immediately complying with this court ruling, Bank Hapoalim promised to study the details of this court decision and respond promptly.

This is another abuse of power by Bank Hapoalim when Esther Freeman should be allowed to enjoy the fruits of her savings as she sees fit. The example of Esther Freeman is just one more example of banks not only attacking Bitcoin but also abusing their power by making arbitrary decisions against customers.

Bitcoin is definitely your best weapon to protect yourself from this corrupt and flawed banking system. All the while supporting the progression of the Bitcoin revolution so that the hyperbitcoinization of the world will allow you to switch to Bitcoin as an alternative system so that you no longer have to depend on the banking system.

This is the ideal that all Bitcoiners will pursue in the years to come.

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