Chapter 136: Printing Money
Chapter 136: Printing Money
In most countries, printing money was the domain of the state.
Hong Kong, with its advanced financial sector, was an exception where commercial banks issued currency directly.
In the United States, the Federal Reserve—owned by twelve private banks—issued dollars, though the president appointed its directors.
'They're calling coins the digital currency of a new era.'
〈Elon Musk: Dogecoin Is the People's Cryptocurrency〉
〈#Bitcoin: Elon Musk Adds Bitcoin to His SNS Profile〉
〈Musk's Regret: "Bitcoin is great. I should have bought eight years ago."〉
As March arrived, Dogecoin surged 48% on Elon Musk's tweets.
Virtual currency prices rose together.
Events unimaginable just a few years ago were unfolding.
Coins showed just how fast the world was changing.
Elon Musk announced he'd sell cars for Bitcoin, and El Salvador declared it legal tender.
A nation's fate could hinge on Bitcoin's price.
―Bill: Source Coin is the same as issuing money. The US government must be watching closely.
I recalled the senator's warning.
They wouldn't tolerate any challenge to the dollar's hegemony.
The dollar formed a massive economic bloc and maintained order in the international community.
A straight-laced goody-goody would react like this:
‘If America says to be careful, I should listen!’
A country deploying armored vehicles and armed helicopters with special forces for counterfeit currency, tax evasion, and drug busts.
They might even use military force to protect dollar hegemony.
When the US invaded Iraq, they cited weapons of mass destruction, but some said it was because Iraq planned to settle oil in euros.
With daily coin trading volumes exceeding $200 billion, it was odd the US stayed silent.
'Is the virtual currency market not yet big enough to alarm them? Or maybe high-ranking officials and the wealthy are leaving it alone for their own gains.'
I hadn't lived as a model student so far.
I'd studied hard for survival and lived diligently, but I wasn't fundamentally strait-laced.
I just didn't have the luxury to slack off or get distracted.
'As long as I don't challenge the US government's dollar hegemony, it should be fine, right?'
That was the most optimistic interpretation.
While my fame was high from sending COVID vaccines to the US, I'd tested various things.
"Leonard, how much Source Coin is issued per day?"
"Between 22 million and up to 25 million at peak."
They seemed to tolerate this daily issuance.
Other coins had already issued over 100 billion units, too.
Most altcoins launched with values under 5 won per coin.
―Kim Shin: Allison. I want to buy a bunch of 86-inch TVs for the employees.
―Allison: How many?
―Kim Shin: Enough for all the employees.
Earth Channel's launch had swelled staff to 3,500.
That meant buying 3,500 eighty-six-inch televisions.
'Bigger TVs are always better. No employee would dislike getting the latest model.'
The shopping mall division bulk-purchased brand-new 86-inch TVs.
$26 million flowed out through the shopping mall division.
―Vice Chairman Seon Jae-yong: I heard you bought TVs in bulk for your employees. Thank you for choosing Isung Electronics products.
The massive order must have gone up the chain. I got a thank-you text from Isung Group's Vice Chairman Seon Jae-yong.
―Kim Shin: No problem at all. I just wanted to get the best TVs for the staff.
I replied to Vice Chairman Seon Jae-yong, but I preferred LK electronics.
The shopping mall division must have researched it thoroughly.
Anyway, I spent $26 million and got 1.3 million Source Coins.
With Source Coin now over $30, selling on the exchange would net $39 million.
I spent money and turned a profit.
'True money duplication.'
In online games, players exploited unintended developer bugs.
It felt like I'd created such a bug in reality.
'By using the shopping mall and exchange, I can get unlimited Source Coins.'
I could print as much money as I wanted.
There were per-person sales limits on the mall, and $30+ prices were recent.
'This is pretty dangerous.'
The US government probably wouldn't see this as a dollar challenge yet.
Still, stable long-term Source Coin prices were good for business.
If it crashed to $3, operations across divisions would suffer.
At $1, I could demand buybacks on all issued coins.
Earth Resource was ready to pay out anytime, but keeping coins out there was more profitable.
'What if Source Coin survives five or ten years? If issuance continues and users grow, what happens?'
Earth Channel's 400 million users.
In a few years, far more— if they started using Source Coin?
The media might say money isn't earned, it's made.
I'd have to watch US reactions and public sentiment.
"Leonard, massively expand the monitoring team. Track histories of large Source Coin holders."
"Yes."
The terms users agreed to when receiving Source Coin allowed verification of legal ownership.
We'd preempt illegal or abusive activities.
"This is a chance to survey the entire coin market beyond Source Coin."
"The entire coin market?"
"We're running an exchange. We just list coins and enable trading. We don't know their true value or internals well."
"Do we need to? Investors chase price gains."
I used to think like Leonard.
Most people cared only about profiting from buying and selling.
How many Bitcoin or Ethereum investors dig into core tech, performance, potential?
It's too complex and unrelated to today's price moves.
Ripple barely rises anyway...
Investor losses were their own fault.
"I think exchanges bear far greater responsibility than investors."
The exchange raked in massive cash.
We had a duty to provide services matching that.
"And tell the shopping mall to bulk-order charity items for kids."
"Charity items?"
"School supplies would be good. Simple daily necessities."
I'd scale up welfare for the underprivileged to generate more Source Coin.
The additional coins were not for me, but for distribution to the employees.
Unlike other companies giving stock, we needed extra rewards.
'Spending $100 million via the mall gets $150 million in Source Coin value back.'
$100 million spent usefully becomes $250 million total.
Purchases through the company mall would generate another thirty million dollars in profit.
Earth Resource had grown on the foundation provided by Source Coin.
Who'd have thought we'd fund charity and employee welfare via coin duplication?
* * *
〈Earth Resource Gifts $100 Million to California Kids〉
〈Earth Resource's Monthly Charity Event〉
〈Kim Shin: The Santa Claus of the 1st〉
Good deed articles lifted my spirits.
"Fire!"
"Grenade out, charge!"
Playing the last-man-standing game on Earth Channel with Oh Myeong-woo and Jo Soo-ah, mid-March arrived.
―Ellie: Buying over $1.5 billion in put options on semiconductor stocks daily.
―Ellie: Scale varies by market; expirations end of April.
Individual stock put options via JP Morgan.
Fees were high, but pro traders got them cheap, with added bonuses.
―Ellie: Wall Street thinks semis have risen too much.
―Kim Shin: Why?
―Ellie: Analysts report peak PC and electronics sales after a year-plus of COVID.
That was the prevailing sentiment across the industry.
Shopping mall reported declining electronics sales, rising apparel.
―Vice Chairman Seon Jae-yong: Once Pangea Project goes public, Isung Electronics will announce semiconductor investment delays.
―Vice Chairman Seon Jae-yong: They'll postpone investments below 5nm.
With Vice Chairman Seon Jae-yong's full cooperation, we just awaited timing.
Expanding Earth Channel, we kept acquiring US, Europe, Asia data servers.
By late March, Earth Channel posted an announcement.
[New service launching next month.]
The announcement explained the Pangea System and stated that the first month of testing would support up to 100,000 users.
Even internal secrecy on Pangea Project lifted.
Public reaction was instant.
―Pangea System? High-spec games on my junk home PC?
―No need for expensive rigs anymore?
―Is this possible?
―More telecom tech advancement than computer tech.
―Image quality probably sucks?
―Supports 1080p. Not great, but low-end PCs have bad monitors anyway.
―Earth Channel streams movies. Same idea.
―Like streaming music from websites, now games.
―Earth Channel is the future.
NYSE opened: computer stocks plunged over 5%.
Intel, AMD, Nvidia, TSMC, Texas Instruments, and many other companies were caught in the decline.
Market caps of computing icons tanked.
Not just games; Pangea applied beyond, and Earth Channel's popularity made mass adoption likely.
By afternoon, breaking news:
[Isung Electronics Halts P3 Investment]
[Isung Electronics Delays $30 Trillion+ Plan]
[Goldman Sachs Fund Manager: "Earth Channel Service Could End Computer Boom."]
[CPU, GPU Prices Crash After Earth Channel Announcement]