💸Redefining financial freedom

Financial freedom does not simply mean having more ressources. It actually means having more of the ressources you would like to have.

As we are talking about the mission of Jaypigs, we have to take a step back and actually reflect on why we would like to create new financial instruments and assets in the first place. Financial products are by definition an investment vehicle. They have always been seen that way, and only that way. The means of using them and evaluating them have been geared solely towards how much financial yield or gains they bring to the person. Perhaps, this is about to change. As a matter of fact, it is already changing.

In the last few years, new generations have entered the workforce. We have talked very often lately about the millenial and the gen Z revolutions. Precisely, the old world has been discussing how newer generations do not like the transactional nature of most corporate jobs. They are looking for meaningful tasks which have impact on the world. This has been reflected in the world of investments as well, through the creation of the highly controversial ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) criterea for company investments.

While this was certainly a clear manifestation of how investing has become a way to express an opinion, it was only the beginning. Hence, we saw big excitement for stocks like TSLA, GME, AMC and others, early january. Some of the members of those communities were ready to lose big amounts of money in order "hold the line" against the "wolves of wallstreet". This was a very interesting turn of event, but it only marks the beginning of a new era of investment.

NFTs, or the era of the engaged investor

As our online presence grew bigger and further, our communities have become more and more digital. This has clearly impacted the way we run businesses, and manage our investments. Instead of sitting at angel investor syndicate or going to stock holders meetings, new investors have decided to give their money and attention to communities with which they can engage online, in a fun and sustainable manner.

Many financial analysts explain the excitement and speculation around NFT collection by a certain dovish monetary policy by the central banks. While that has certainly contributed to it, we must realize that it is a simplistic explanation to the phenomenon. This was not the first time nor will it be the last time at which central banks lower interest rates. The plethora of innovation, creation and community engagement which came out of the NFT ecosystem goes beyond speculation. It is community engagement paired with financial interest. There is something so strong in that combination that we are only starting to understand the dynamics of it right now.

We hope that sociologists will spend more time exploring those questions. Meanwhile, we can clearly see that digital assets (including fungible and non-fungible tokens) have succeeded to create new vehicles of investment which allow a new era of investing. It is an era where we no longer have to all use the same investment vehicles that our grandparents used. It is a time when we can make our investments more personal, more meaningful and more impactful.

Achieving true financial freedom

When people talk about financial freedom, they often mean amassing a large amount of wealth, that they do not need to work anymore. One usually hears people say: “If I can make x amount of money, I will stop working and actually pursue what I find interesting”. We believe there are many problems with approaching investment in this manner. However, if we disregard those problems, the term “financial freedom” has been hijacked by people belonging to the movement “FIRE” (Financial Freedom, Retire Early), who believe that financial freedom mainly means having enough money to retire. We want to create a new definition of financial freedom.

We believe that having more resources stored in any shape or form does in fact lead to more freedom. This is undeniable. However, while we concentrate on the monetary value of one’s net worth, we completely forget how that person’s investment is composed. True financial freedom comes also from having more choice of investment vehicles. Blockchain interoperability and composability have allowed the creation of the new digital economy. We would like to make those economies even more interoperable, in order to unlock the full potential of digital assets.