Courage, (Permissionless) Currency, and Uncensorable Connectivity: The Free Mandates of a Sovereign Society
Iran's Lessons for the free world from the last two courageous weeks
First off, I love humanity, and I despise evil. Secondly, the God of my understanding wants each and every one of us to be fundamentally free, and I believe in the U.S. Constitution and our Declaration of Independence’s promise that “all men(species) have the inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Thirdly, I am heartbroken and inspired by what the brave men and women and children of Iran are doing to show their conviction for these principles these past few weeks and days, despite immense terror and evil perpetrated by the falling regime.
Today, I will focus on the lessons to be learned from this while it still unfolds in real time, and how you can heed them before you are standing in a crowded street defending your liberty, portfolio, and dodging death.
What is Revolution?
The past several months in Iran have reminded the world that revolutions ignite not from grand speeches but from human courage, are amplified by connectivity, and are fueled by permissionless currency. Millions of ordinary Iranians now access three uncontrollables by any regime: courage, incorruptible (stateless) currency, and satellite connectivity. These three assets form the free mandates of personal liberty—two of them (Bitcoin and Starlink) are purchasable or providable, one is accessed only innately via faith: courage.
Iran’s crisis still unfolds with tens of thousands of public assassinations, loyalty defections, and mass refusal of obedience as millions fill Tehran’s square and other cities. This shows liberty stems from access, not privilege, from the individual will and not the despotic ruler or their enabling masters and flawed ideology.
The Spark: Courage as Invisible Currency
Let’s start with the most important one that our Iranian brothers and sisters have in spades: courage. Courage transcends systems. You cannot download or centrally issue it. Courage is faith-activated (regardless of religious tradition). The innate drive for freedom exceeds comfort.
In Tehran, Tabriz, Shiraz, defiant acts such as hijab removal, “freedom” shouts, censored video uploads, spend individual courage in a spiritual economy for the greater good. Its value surges in the face of fear, and it is the eternal self-issued currency.
Courage alone burns briefly without economic rails or tech permission, however, because like all flames, it needs oxygen to spread. It endures via resource exchange and global connectivity, to get the message, the images, and the documented evil to the outside world, where help and support can be mustered.
Currency (Permissionless): Escape Hatch from Fiat Collapse
Regimes historically monopolized money via central banks to control all life. Cryptographic assets (specifically Bitcoin) broke this forever-uncensorable, portable, beyond borders, and incorruptible by any centralized authority or large holder.
Iran’s Central Bank collapsed its currency (rial) over 14 days: For instance, $1 USD is now 1,455,000 IRR as of Jan 14, 2026, up from 1.1M rial to $1 USD just weeks prior, hitting 1.47M amid Ayandeh Bank failure and subsidy cuts. Staples skyrocketed, rials were rendered worthless paper again, and bank accounts were frozen;
Ignorant folks will tell you that Bitcoin is too volatile, but the current 1BTC to USD exchange rate of $97K USD has nothing to do with BTC and everything to do with the fiat its being priced in. As you can see above, that same single bitcoin would now cost 4.1 trillion rial on January 14th, 2026—preserving value when fiat fails. And unlike gold or silver, you can cross any border with it because it’s weightless and invisible.
Bitcoin holders can fund escapes, harness resources, pay debts, and mobilize networks permissionlessly 24/7/365. This is true economic freedom. This is the only way to fight the despot and win when your currency collapses.
Untethered money declares: I transact without consent. It buys optionality, the economic escape hatch from evil of any and all shapes and sizes.
Free Speech: Connectivity Beyond Blackouts and Censorship
Permission is liberty’s nervous system. Digital tools self-issue it: cryptography, VPNs, encrypted messaging, decentralized IDs.
Iran blacked out the internet to 1% since Jan 8, hiding their human rights atrocities. But once again, Elon Musk stepped in and Starlink showed up to the rescue with fees dropped for protesters—pierced jamming, flooding global feeds and networks like X (formerly Twitter) with crackdown and user-generated videos and journalism, while the main stream media and most college campuses ignored the atrocities. Activists summon world pressure sans oversight, and connectivity is the oxygen to that fire.
Permission embeds in code and community, thus becoming the amplifier, turning courage and currency into an unstoppable human rights revolution.
Courage Multiplied: Millions Defy Machine Guns
As protests hit week three across 195+ cities, millions fill squares despite 2,500+ confirmed deaths (opposition estimates exceed 12K+), including children. Security claims 100+ losses, but crowds swell, targeting eyes in suppression that hardens resolve. Khamenei’s forces fracture via defections.
Courage at scale: no evil handful prevails against millions with faith, uncensorable money, unbreakable world links.
Western Parallels: CBDCs as Rial Traps
America/Europe court fiat fragility. CBDCs and stablecoins promise efficiency, but deliver control—tracking, freezing, and inflating like rial’s plunge. Iran’s bank implosions preview frozen wallets in protests. Trump’s “help is on the way” signals awareness amid deaths, but vigilance demands sovereignty.
Sovereignty Framework
Iran proves the triad:
courage + portable currency + connectivity = tyranny’s end.
Practical Steps: Build Your Stack
Courage (Non-Religious Faith):
Daily 5-min ritual: “Principles exceed fears. I choose sovereignty.” Visualize Iran’s millions in the street and pray for them to win back their liberty.
Weekly anti-fragility: Cold shower/public speaking/no-spending for a day/fast for 24-36 hours (just lemon water).
Accountability circle: 3-5 allies share “courage spends.”
Bitcoin Stack:
Target 1 BTC (become a wholecoiner in 2026-2027 (~$97K today). Self-custody (Ledger/Trezor). DCA weekly (set up daily or weekly auto buys on an exchange (coinbase is easy), and don’t think about it or sell it or do anything until you have 1 BTC (100m satoshis).
20% stablecoins, 10% Lightning. Test cross-border monthly payments to your wallets.
Family seed phrase rituals; self-custody quarterly audits.
Starlink Prep:
Buy Mini ($599) + unlimited. Hide the antenna high.
eSIMs/VPNs/mesh redundancy. 24hr blackout test.
Diaspora relays for broadcast.
WANT MY PERSONAL 1-on-1 HELP INSTEAD?
NEW YEAR EXCLUSIVE SUBSTACK OFFER: Claim Your Wealth Matters Sovereignty Blueprint Session: Wealth Matters 3.0 readers only—secure a New Year Personalized Strategy and Blueprint Session with me. First 5 Substack subscribers get 50% off: just $1,500 (Normally $2,997). We’ll audit your current portfolio mix, your asset protection plan and team, bitcoin stack (or lack thereof), custodial solutions, map courage rituals, and engineer your 2026 liberty blueprint. I will also plug in any holes in your advisor network to help you execute it seamlessly!
Book your one-on-one private session with me now:
The slots will fill fast today since this went out to 10,000+ of you.
Final Thoughts.
When a country reaches the breaking point, like Iran is right now:
People in city after city pour into the streets,
The truth gets out through tools like Starlink,
And money like Bitcoin helps people move and act—all because ordinary people choose to be courageous.
This isn’t just their story; it’s a warning and a reflection for us, too. New forms of government-controlled digital money, “internet safety” rules, and quiet money-printing are already on the horizon. So build your daily courage, build your Bitcoin savings, and have a backup way to get online. Freedom doesn’t happen by accident; you engineer it and secure it on purpose.
If the day comes when our own streets are full, step up and lead. These tools of freedom—courage, independent money, and open communication—are available to anyone who chooses to use them.
Yours in health, wealth, and liberty!
~Chris J Snook