Why I Almost Abandoned Crypto after Hurricane Helene

Your annual reminder to care about crypto

I believe in freedom of choice. I believe people need to be well-informed to make the best decisions for themselves. This is not investment advice. Don’t spend money you don’t have or aren’t willing to lose.

I also just had a baby, so as a new mother, I’m not spending hours drafting this newsletter. Instead, I’m writing as I see fit and hitting publish.

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The recent power outages in all of Portugal and Spain are giving me flashbacks to Hurricane Helene in autumn 2024.

I was living in western North Carolina during the unexpected windfall. We had prepared to lose power for a day (two at most).

Instead, the area lost power for one week. Cellular service was down for everyone. The house relied on well water, and with the electric pump down, we lost access to water after a day and a half.

It all had me questioning a lot of things: is my work meaningful? Should I become an electrician? Why don’t I read more?

And most importantly: does crypto matter?

road damage from flooding after Helene

Hurricane Helene Shook My Faith

Cash was the absolute king in the days following. The hurricane reminded everyone that our electronic payment systems are fragile. Regardless of whether you’re using credit cards, debit cards, or crypto, they all require connectivity.

So when I saw this cast earlier this week, I was confused: does cellular connectivity not require electricity?

limone.eth on Farcaster

Yes and no.

Cell towers are supposed to have functioning backup power sources in the case of a power outage. So in Portugal and Spain, it was generally possible for people to be connected.

After Helene, however, much of western North Carolina lost service because of the damage done to cell towers, roads, and powerlines. Restoring service required hundreds of people working around the clock, from assessing damage to deploying mobile support hubs for charging and connectivity.

So yes, crypto payments can still work if the paying party has a charged mobile device with service.

The frequency of disasters (natural or otherwise) is just going to increase, and they will increasingly affect places that aren’t prepared. There will continue to be “unprecedented” events, and cash will continue to be necessary, in addition to improved infrastructure.

Faith Restored…Sort Of

In a weird way, the disastrous instability caused by the new U.S. administration has restored my conviction in crypto. Not because of meme coins, which have arguably betrayed any forward progress the industry has made, but because people are starting to question the strength of the U.S. dollar.

In order to best protect ourselves financially from both unpredictable governments and natural disasters, diversification is necessary. Crypto has to be part of that diversification, not just as an investment, but as a means of transacting.

I don’t have to tell people in Argentina or Lebanon or Ukraine about that. They already know how useful crypto can be when governments and banks withhold access to money. I already wrote about this years ago (and revisited again) regarding climate refugees.

While natural disasters are deeply disruptive and threatening, they are often profound moments for just a subset of a population. But when an entire nation is confronted with chaos led by its own government, that unpredictability bleeds into every aspect of every person’s life.

And suddenly crypto’s volatility looks a little more attractive.

Final Thoughts

As citizens of wealthy, seemingly stable democracies, we don’t regularly think about this very real fear. We trust the dollar, the banks that hold our money, and the firms that invest with it.

That is, until a chaotic and unpredictable force enters the government and wreaks havoc on the economy.

The US has been the backbone of the global economy for a while, so it’s hard to imagine that world order changing.

But it might. And when it does, will you be ready?