🧑⚖️ Politics & Power（政治與權力）
- self-dealing（以權謀私）
👉 Many people accuse him of self-dealing—he makes decisions that benefit his own investments.
（很多人指控他以權謀私，他做的決策都是為了自己的投資。） - conflicts of interest（利益衝突）
👉 Isn’t that a conflict of interest? He’s pushing a bill that would increase the value of his own crypto holdings.
（這不是利益衝突嗎？他推的法案會讓他自己的加密資產升值。） - regulatory agencies（監管機構）
👉 Some crypto supporters now work inside regulatory agencies, which creates a complicated dynamic.
（有些幣圈支持者現在已經進入監管機構工作，情勢變得很微妙。） - electoral power（選舉影響力）
👉 Crypto firms have gained real electoral power—they can influence who gets elected.
（加密公司現在真的有選舉影響力了，能影響誰當選。） - benefactor（金主、支持者）
👉 It’s clear that Trump has become a major benefactor of the crypto industry.
（很明顯川普已經成為加密產業的重要金主。）
💸 Finance & Technology（金融與技術）
- tokenised（被代幣化的）
👉 More real-world assets like bonds are being tokenised to improve liquidity and transparency.
（越來越多像債券這樣的實體資產被代幣化，用來提升流動性與透明度。） - vanilla（傳統、保守的）（金融術語）
👉 Even vanilla institutions like BlackRock are joining the crypto space now.
（連像 BlackRock 這種保守的大機構都開始加入加密市場了。） - stablecoins（穩定幣）
👉 I think stablecoins are more practical for daily use because they’re pegged to real-world currencies.
（我覺得穩定幣更實用，因為它是跟實體貨幣掛鉤的。） - touted（被宣傳的、被吹捧的）
👉 He’s been touting his new memecoin project on social media all week.
（他整週都在社群媒體上大力宣傳他的新迷因幣專案。） - decentralization（去中心化）
👉 The original promise of crypto was decentralization, but it feels more centralized than ever.
（加密貨幣原本承諾要去中心化，但現在反而更像是集中控制。）
🧨 Risk & Regulation（風險與監管）
- runs（擠兌）
👉 Stablecoins are vulnerable to runs if people suddenly lose confidence and withdraw all at once.
（穩定幣如果大家突然失去信心、一次性贖回，就會出現擠兌風險。） - guardrails（防護機制、規範）
👉 Without proper guardrails, crypto could pose serious risks to the financial system.
（如果沒有適當的規範，加密貨幣可能會對金融系統造成巨大風險。） - flighty（不穩定的、善變的）
👉 Crypto deposits are extremely flighty—they move at the first sign of trouble.
（加密資金非常善變，只要有一點風吹草動就全跑了。） - facilitated（促成、助長）
👉 Unfortunately, the system also facilitated a lot of fraud and money laundering.
（很可惜，這個系統也助長了大量詐騙與洗錢行為。） - grubby（骯髒的、不光彩的）
👉 The relationship between politics and crypto has become really grubby—it’s all about power and money.
（政治和加密貨幣的關係變得很不光彩，全是金權交易。）
🌍 Society & Global Trends（社會與趨勢）
- jurisdictions（司法管轄地區）
👉 Other jurisdictions like Singapore and the EU have already passed clearer crypto laws.
（像新加坡和歐盟這些司法地區已經通過比較清楚的加密法律了。） - expropriation（財產徵收）
👉 In some countries, people use crypto to protect their wealth from government expropriation.
（在某些國家，人們用加密貨幣來避免財產被政府徵收。） - debasement（貨幣貶值）
👉 Bitcoin was seen as a hedge against currency debasement in high-inflation countries.
（在高通膨國家，比特幣被視為對抗貨幣貶值的工具。） - utopian（烏托邦的、理想化的）
👉 It started as a utopian idea—giving power back to the people through technology.
（它一開始是個烏托邦式的構想：透過科技把權力還給人民。） - anti-authoritarian（反權威的）
👉 The early crypto community was very anti-authoritarian, trying to bypass traditional banks and states.
（早期幣圈社群非常反權威，試圖繞過銀行和國家。）
When Bitcoin was first introduced in 2009, it came with a bold, almost utopian vision: decentralization, freedom from banks, and protection from government control. It was a dream born out of the financial crisis, when people were angry at big institutions and wanted more control over their own money.
But now, looking at what crypto has become—especially in America—we need to ask: has it really fulfilled that dream?
In recent months, we’ve seen crypto companies spend hundreds of millions lobbying friendly politicians. Regulatory agencies are filled with crypto supporters, and even the president’s family is deeply involved in meme coins. It’s hard to say this industry is still anti-authoritarian or grassroots.
Sure, the technology is powerful. Tokenised assets are growing fast, and stablecoins might change the way we do payments. But crypto also facilitated fraud, money laundering, and political self-dealing. The system that was supposed to protect the little guy now feels like it’s helping the rich get richer.
In other jurisdictions, like Singapore or Switzerland, the crypto world seems more regulated and less grubby. And in developing countries, where people face real risks of expropriation or currency debasement, crypto might still serve its original purpose. But in the U.S.? It looks more like a swamp.
So here’s the question for all of us: is crypto still about freedom, or has it just become another power game full of conflicts of interest, flighty deposits, and no guardrails?
🗣️
2009年比特幣剛出現的時候，它提出一個很**烏托邦（utopian）**的理想——去中心化（decentralization）、不用銀行、可以避開政府控制。這是金融海嘯後人們很希望的願景，因為大家對大機構很不滿，想自己掌控自己的錢。
但現在回過頭來看，尤其是美國的情況，真的有實現這個夢嗎？
最近幾個月，我們看到很多加密貨幣公司花好幾億去遊說政治人物。監管機構（regulatory agencies）裡面也都是幣圈支持者，甚至總統家族自己也參與了迷因幣（meme coins）。這樣還能說這個產業是反權威（anti-authoritarian）、**草根出身（grassroots）**的嗎？
當然，這個技術本身還是很強大。**代幣化（tokenised）**的資產成長很快，穩定幣（stablecoins）可能會改變我們日常支付的方式。但說實話，加密貨幣也助長（facilitated）了詐騙、洗錢，還有政治人物的圖利行為（self-dealing）。原本說是要保護小資族的，現在感覺反而是幫助有錢人更有錢。
在其他司法管轄區（jurisdictions），像是新加坡、瑞士，加密產業看起來有比較清楚的規範，也沒那麼骯髒（grubby）。但在某些開發中國家，加密貨幣的確還有原來的功能，比如對抗政府的財產徵收（expropriation）或是貨幣貶值（debasement）。可是在美國？看起來就像一灘爛泥。
所以我們要問自己：現在的加密貨幣，是自由的象徵，還是只是另一場權力遊戲，充滿利益衝突（conflicts of interest）、善變（flighty）的資金，卻完全沒有防護機制（guardrails）？
