Arthur Hayes: What does the best cryptocurrency legislation look like, and how can it be passed through the U.S. elections?

Author: Arthur Hayes, Founder of BitMEX

Compiled by: 0xjs, Golden Finance

Last summer, I went to the doosh doosh Mecca of house music on the island of Ibiza, Spain (translator's note: located in the Mediterranean Balearic Islands). This was a professional mission with three friends. The organizer of the trip was a college classmate of mine who has lived in London since graduation. He was born for the European summer and organized a fantastic trip.

On the first night of our stay, the classmate sent us an invitation to a private party at a villa on the island. Imagine the scene of Chiltern guests being brought to the Balearic Islands. Two friends lived in London and knew people at the party; my former Hong Kong roommate and I did not know anyone. The two of us walked to the bar and started drinking.

A few hours later, we arrived at a hot, cramped room where Carlita was spinning the decks. As we danced to the music, Leonardo DiCaprio was brought in by a long-legged girl. We witnessed something very funny. Leonardo's girl was pitching to him why he should take her home. We overheard snippets of the conversation, which were quite amusing. I don't know if she succeeded in sleeping with a movie star, but she certainly made her best effort.

The reason this story relates to cryptocurrency is that a potential American emperor—Trump—suddenly became interested in cryptocurrency. Thousands of voters will decide the outcome of the U.S. presidential election in key swing states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Florida. Appeasing the young, politically active, and newly wealthy cryptocurrency crowd might help Trump win the election. Therefore, Trump is boosting his reputation among cryptocurrency supporters by saying all the right things. One example is his announcement that he would pardon Ross Ulbricht, the former head of the Silk Road trading platform. Ross is currently serving a life sentence for running an online marketplace that primarily used Bitcoin as a payment method.

Unfortunately, this newfound political attention has caught the eye of many in our industry. Political hotshots are trying to bring us home instead of the other way around. These feelings are misguided. The playboys of cryptocurrency are not movie stars but fools standing on the edge of the party.

What frustrates me is that many cryptocurrency experts who should know better are now blindly hosting fancy fundraisers for Trump's campaign. They mistakenly believe that Trump is sincere and that as long as they donate enough money, the "crypto chokehold" will disappear. This is utter nonsense. Trump is a shrewd politician. He will say anything to anyone who wants to be re-elected. Once in office, anything related to cryptocurrency will become a distant memory.

How can U.S. voters who support cryptocurrency leverage the Democrats' and Republicans' need for swing votes? Is there a way to turn the approximately 50 million American adults who hold cryptocurrency into a single voting bloc? Is there a strategy that does not require any campaign donations but ensures the enactment of positive cryptocurrency legislation before the election? Of course, there is. But it won't be easy.

Before I introduce my strategic thoughts, I would like readers to analyze a prophetic speech by Malcolm X. I will use this speech as a backdrop to illustrate how oppressed American cryptocurrency holders/voters can achieve their goals in a divided political environment.

After listening to Brother Malcolm's speech, I want to discuss a simple piece of legislation that cryptocurrency voters should demand their elected political representatives enact into law before election day. Cryptocurrency celebrities are going all out to support pro-crypto politicians, while those politicians are merely building regulatory moats around Coinbase and Blackrock, which is frustrating. If voters want to become pro-crypto voters, the legislation enacted in their name should actually benefit the entire industry and bring cryptocurrency jobs and opportunities for peace under American governance. Corporate fraud should not be on the menu.

Finally, I will delve into these numbers and show how mathematically a single pro-crypto voting bloc can determine which party controls the House, the Senate, and, most importantly, the presidency.

Before I begin my discussion, I want to explain why "separation of money and state" should be the top priority for any voter, regardless of who is elected. When a nation and its governing bodies must regularly tax citizens, they are very cautious about their demands to avoid being voted out. Many of the nation's problems stem from an overactive government using inflation taxes to do unnecessary things. For example, if the government used direct taxation to pay for military expenses, the current level of global military spending would be unsustainable, inevitably leading to conflict. What do you want: free healthcare or more AK-47s? Free college education or an F-16 fleet? Affordable public transportation or another nuclear missile-equipped submarine? If taxpayers decide, different types of public goods will be produced, improving the quality of life for many.

I will refer to "Joe Biden" as the presumptive candidate for the Democrats. However, after poor debate performances, I do not believe he will ultimately be the Democratic presidential candidate. He is Joe Biden, but rather than speculate on who will replace him, I prefer to assume he is the candidate for simplicity's sake.

Ballots or Bullets

Let’s go back to America in the 1960s. The Black community became restless, demanding political change. Malcolm X was a radical leader pushing for change. On April 3, 1964, he delivered a speech in Cleveland, Ohio, titled "Ballots or Bullets." The theme was how the Black community could leverage their power as a voting bloc to determine who would be the next president and what they should receive in return for their loyalty. The incumbent president, Lyndon Johnson (Democrat), was competing against Barry Goldwater (Republican). Johnson won re-election.

I will excerpt some paragraphs relevant to this discussion. It should be noted that I do not agree with everything Malcolm X said or did. Nevertheless, his observations are sharp and relevant for those seeking political gains under a simple majority system, particularly for oppressed minorities and cryptocurrency holders.

Malcolm first articulated why Black people should set aside their differences and unite to achieve political goals that benefit all:

"Even though I am still a Muslim, I am not here tonight to discuss my religion. I am not here to try to change your religion. I am not here to argue or discuss anything we have differences on because now is the time for us to eliminate our differences and realize that we better see that we have the same problem, a common problem, a problem that will put you in hell, whether you are a Baptist, a Methodist, a Muslim, or a nationalist. Whether you are educated or illiterate, whether you live on the boulevard or in the alley, you will go to hell just like I will. We are all in the same boat, and we will all end up in the same hell created by one man. He just happens to be white. We all suffer from white political oppression, white economic exploitation, and social degradation in this country."

In cryptocurrency, it doesn't matter whether you are a maximalist of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, etc. What matters is that whether you are a shareholder in a centralized exchange like Coinbase or an ordinary holder, there is no need to get caught up in these differences. "Politicians," or in this case, the state, harbor resentment toward any disciple of Satoshi.

What similarities exist between the 1964 and 2024 elections?

"1964 could become the most explosive year in American history. The most explosive year. Why? Because it was also a political year. In that year, all the white politicians would come back to the so-called Black community to trick you and me out of some of our votes. In that year, all the white political con artists would come back to our communities with their false promises, their tricks and betrayals, with their false promises that they do not intend to keep, to let our hopes down."

2024 is an important election year for peace under American governance. Peace under American governance is at a crossroads. Should it accept a multipolar world order, hold firm, and fight challengers economically and militarily? The next emperor will have a significant say in how America navigates this changing world order. Given that thousands of votes will determine the election outcome in a few states, Trump and the Republicans are saying some platitudes about cryptocurrency. Like Malcolm in 1964, I am skeptical of Trump's sincerity. He cares about being elected, and he will do anything to get your vote. If Biden and the Democrats support cryptocurrency, Trump will oppose it. This is just good political maneuvering.

Malcolm then discussed why and how disenfranchised minorities could wield significant political power.

"These 22 million victims are awakening. Their eyes are beginning to open. They are starting to see what they have only focused on in the past. They are becoming politically mature. They realize there are new political trends from the East Coast to the West Coast. When they see these new political trends, they may find that every election is so competitive that they have to recount the votes. They had to recount in Massachusetts to determine who would be governor because the votes were so close. The same goes for Rhode Island, Minnesota, and many other places in America. It was the same when Kennedy and Nixon ran for president. The votes were so close that they had to recount. So what does this mean? It means that when white people are evenly matched, and Black people have their own voting bloc, they will decide who will enter the White House and who will be left out [or if you are Trump or one of Trump's supporters, who will be thrown in jail]."

According to Coinbase, 50 million Americans (20% of the total population) own cryptocurrency. If this group votes together, they can easily decide which clown ascends to the throne. The divide between the Democratic and Republican parties provides a unique opportunity for significant political concessions. It is important to realize that placing party affiliation above Satoshi will only lead to failure.

Malcolm continued to harshly criticize tokenism. We should heed this warning. American cryptocurrency holders should not settle for some meaningless government stance from either the Biden or Trump administration. The only acceptable outcome is the signing of pro-crypto legislation into law.

"They got all the Black votes, and after they got the votes, Black people got nothing. All they did when they came to Washington was give some big Black people good jobs. Those big Black people didn’t need good jobs; they already had jobs. This is a disguise, a trick, a betrayal, a whitewash."

I strongly recommend that readers read the entire speech carefully. Just remember the racial, economic, and political context in which Malcolm X spoke. I use his remarks about Black and white people as a backdrop to illustrate my point: if there are tens of millions of cryptocurrency holders in America willing to act, they can seize favorable policies from the government because politicians are eager for re-election.

For those who think that making substantial progress will take too long or be too difficult, remember that American politicians are currently engaging in moral manipulation to continue funding the war between Israel and Hamas. Bombardier Bibi "the Bedouin Butcher" Netanyahu is conducting a genocidal campaign against unarmed Palestinian civilians, which the world is witnessing in real-time, as he seeks to eliminate Hamas and its thousands of fighters, who are the sworn enemies of the Israeli state. Regardless of their personal views, no American politician is willing to stand up for human life because that would mean angering the powerful Israeli lobbying groups, which, due to their overwhelming financial resources, can unleash negative ads one after another, reducing the chances of politicians being re-elected. The primary goal of any politician is re-election, and this self-preservation drive is even stronger in the capital of the empire, as long tenures in Congress or the Senate bring immense wealth.

Take House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as an example. I learned from ChatGPT, which can access her official public disclosures of net worth. In 1987, when she joined Congress, Pelosi's disclosed net worth was estimated at $3.64 million. By 2023, her disclosed net worth was estimated to be as high as $97.7 million, an increase of nearly 27 times. ChatGPT estimates that during her 37-year tenure, her salary as a Congresswoman was $5.7 million. Most of her wealth comes from her savvy investments in stocks and real estate. Given that elected members of the House and Senate are allowed to engage in insider trading, it’s no wonder her trading abilities surpass those of Steve Cohen.

Pelosi is a living embodiment of the political dreams of America's rulers. As a public servant, she has amassed generational wealth. Politicians will say anything to keep you happy; what’s so strange about that?

Malcolm X suggested that cryptocurrency holders, as a political minority in a divided electoral environment, have power, so what should we protest for?

What is Money?

Money can be dirty fiat currency, heavy gold, or shiny Bitcoin, but what is its essence? The purpose of money is to transmit energy across time and space through communication in physical or digital form. Lynn Alden's monetary ledger theory is a good way to think about what money is.

Understanding blockchain from basic principles can make this concept come alive. A blockchain is simply a series of encrypted hashes linked together in sequence, placed in a publicly readable ledger. With Bitcoin, we can read and write in this public ledger. Bitcoin is digital speech.

Here’s another example of this concept that many readers might understand a bit too well. Services like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook allow you to read and write messages containing your and other users' content in a centralized database. These messages take the form of video or text content. These platforms support digital speech.

In most liberal democracies, governments view the information published and consumed on social media platforms as protected speech. Therefore, users can freely express their opinions without government interference, which is also the reality. Additionally, the companies providing these services are not held responsible for the speech on their platforms.

Let’s take Facebook during the 2016 U.S. presidential election as an example. The Democratic team claimed that the evil Russian dictator Putin used Facebook to influence people to vote for Donald Trump, thereby undermining "democracy," and they viewed Trump as a little tyrant. Thus, Facebook was accused of enabling treason, and its CEO should be held criminally liable for foreign actions on its platform. However, that did not happen; due to free speech laws, Facebook and its executives faced no penalties.

If the internet and the information it contains are protected speech, then why should Bitcoin and any other blockchain-supported cryptocurrency or token be treated differently? Both use speech to provide services. The fact that Bitcoin is a monetary tool does not strip it of constitutional protections against government interference.

This is an interpretation of a document written over two centuries ago when the steam engine was still a new technology. However, in America, the Constitution is analyzed this way. The Second Amendment states that you have the right to bear arms. In the 18th century, the most advanced weapon was a flintlock. In contemporary America, gun lobbying groups and many Supreme Court rulings interpret this to mean you have the right to carry automatic assault rifles. Absurdity is the name of the game in a free country.

Let me propose a simple statement that should realign cryptocurrency policy to comply with free speech:

"Cryptocurrencies and tokens residing on or supported by blockchains are forms of protected speech. All laws applicable to the protection of free speech apply to cryptocurrency users or intermediaries. Any laws or regulations that restrict the ability of individuals or formally established entities to hold or transfer cryptocurrencies are not applicable."

This is all we need to completely clarify the current state of cryptocurrency regulation. Let’s delve into what practical impacts would arise if such a law were passed.

Cryptocurrency Clarity

If this simple bill were enacted into law, it would have profound implications for how regulatory agencies treat cryptocurrencies. Questions about which agency has jurisdiction over cryptocurrency-related activities would abound. The only way to clarify boundaries is through legal precedents established in adversarial public court cases. That is how it should be. Judges appointed to adjudicate laws enacted by elected representatives will determine the extent of free speech enjoyed by cryptocurrencies.

At the same time, peace under American governance would become the most favorable place for "crypto." Engaging in crypto could mean opening your own exchange, creating new DeFi protocols, building decentralized infrastructure, or pooling funds for investment or trading. This means innovation without permission. The stubbornness of American governance is nostalgic for such innovation. Did John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, or Henry Ford ever beg government officials to completely reform the oil, steel, or automotive industries? Of course not; they just got things done, establishing entire industries and industrial processes that set agricultural America on the path to becoming an empire.

For politicians who vote to achieve this goal, it means they will be praised for creating high-paying jobs. It means leveraging their privileged positions in committees to get in early on publicly listed cryptocurrency exchanges and miners' stocks, thus lining their pockets like Congresswoman Pelosi. If they want to engage in insider trading, at least they can do so while the cryptocurrency business is booming.

This sounds like a happy day for cryptocurrency holders and politicians. Would anyone be uncomfortable with these developments?

Opposition—Bad Traditional Finance

If cryptocurrencies are viewed as protected speech while fiat currencies are not, TradFi would feel uneasy. Their lobbyists would fiercely oppose any such cryptocurrency free speech legislation. Therefore, I invite them to join our journey.

The financial regulatory rules established over decades do not protect consumers; they merely politically exempt bureaucrats from ongoing bailouts of the financial sector. After each crisis, politicians need to show they are doing something and impose more absurd rules and regulations on traditional financial institutions.

Fiat currency (like dollar bills) and commodity money (like gold) should also be viewed as speech and thus be protected. As mentioned earlier, these are forms of money that can convey how much energy someone has across time and space. There should be an equal and fair competitive environment among all forms of money.

Let’s slightly modify the proposed bill:

"Any form of money, such as government-issued currency, precious metals like gold and silver, and cryptocurrencies and tokens residing on or driven by blockchains, are forms of protected speech. All laws applicable to the protection of free speech apply to cryptocurrency users or intermediaries. Any laws or regulations that restrict the ability of individuals or legally established entities to hold or transfer cryptocurrencies are not applicable."

There is one issue. Since most financial regulatory agencies would become ineffective, some fractional reserve banks and other highly leveraged traditional financial intermediaries might engage in high-risk activities. All government bailout programs for financial institutions should be eliminated to reduce public costs.

Let’s revise the bill again:

"Any form of money, such as government-issued currency, precious metals like gold and silver, and cryptocurrencies and tokens residing on or driven by blockchains, are forms of protected speech. All laws applicable to the protection of free speech apply to cryptocurrency users or intermediaries. Any laws or regulations that restrict the ability of individuals or legally established entities to hold or transfer cryptocurrencies are not applicable.

No public funds shall be used to bail out any financial institution in any way or form. No public financial institution (a comprehensive list of all relevant entities) shall accept any funding from the federal government."

The government should not guarantee any amount of bank deposits. Instead, it should require banks to place fiat currency on a public blockchain for triple-entry accounting. If all fiat currency circulates on a public crypto ledger, potential depositors can verify the health of any financial institution in real-time.

Central banks and any other public financial institutions, such as housing mortgage policy banks (e.g., Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae), should not receive any funds from the central government if they go bankrupt. Central banks can print any money they want, but if their losses deplete all capital, the central bank will go bankrupt. This would undermine public trust in fiat currency, but the goal is to ensure that all financial institutions, whether public or private, are involved and cannot access public funds when in trouble.

Opposition—Crypto Crony Capitalism

Another voice of opposition comes from within. Many American companies and individuals with significant private cryptocurrency business interests want to use this opportunity to push legislation that establishes regulatory moats for their businesses. If these Uncle Toms are found to be involved in such dealings, their clients should publicly shame them. No one should support any cryptocurrency business that uses political processes to profit at the expense of collective financial freedom.

Are There Rules?

Of course, there are. If you steal or commit fraud, you will break the law. If you post false statements online intending to deceive others for personal gain, you will be punished. The same goes for cryptocurrencies. The industry does not need any new laws to punish already illegal behavior.

Completing the Mission

The best time to achieve concrete results is before the November elections. The proposed bill is only 113 words long. It is short for a reason. It is easy to understand; anyone can read it in a few minutes. This means that every elected representative can immediately digest the content of the bill, and it is less likely to be hijacked as an assistant to a high-paying lobbying channel.

The bill needs supporters in the House and Senate to submit it to their respective chambers for discussion and ultimately for a vote. Cryptocurrency lobbying groups can choose a few politicians who are fiercely campaigning for re-election in each chamber. The message is: sponsor this bill, and the cryptocurrency voters in your district will support you.

Once the bill is enacted, it will be time to pressure the Democrats and Republicans to support it. The same carrot-and-stick policy applies: support the bill, and the cryptocurrency voters in your district will vote for you; if you do not support it, they will vote for your opponent.

Finally, assuming the bill has passed in both the House and Senate, Biden must sign it into law. American voters do not have to limit themselves to one party when voting for congressional representatives, senators, and the president. Therefore, voters can elect Republican congressional representatives or senators who support the bill in their district, and they can also vote for Biden as president, even though he is a Democrat.

This is more effective than hoping Trump will keep his promises on various pro-crypto policy proposals, as this bill could become law in a matter of weeks. Just look at how quickly lawmakers act when approving more weapons for Ukraine and Israel. When they are motivated by their own interests (i.e., their defense industry stock portfolios), things happen at hyper-speed.

After the elections, pro-crypto voters will lose all leverage. The next election will be in two years, primarily involving two-year term congressmen. Biden or Trump will not spend the same political capital to support cryptocurrency policy, as it will not directly affect their chances of re-election or the majority of elected officials in their respective parties.

Remember, after the elections, the drums of war will intensify. Iran and Russia have not become more direct targets of American and NATO attacks solely because Biden does not want oil prices to rise before the election. Trump assassinated the top commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Qassem Soleimani, during his first term. He would not hesitate to bomb Iran at Israel's request. All of this indicates that once the bombs start flying, the issue of cryptocurrency freedom will soon be forgotten.

Election Math

Dreams are beautiful, but is this possible? Using ChatGPT, I created a model to analyze the ability of a single group of pro-crypto voters to decide congressional, senatorial, and presidential elections.

Assumptions:

1. The biggest assumption is that every one of the 50 million adults holding cryptocurrency is registered to vote and is part of a single pro-crypto voting bloc.

2. Among cryptocurrency voters, the ratio of Democrats to Republicans is 50/50.

3. The voter turnout in 2024 is 69.40%, the same as in 2020. I used 2020 because that was the last presidential election year.

4. Since Coinbase did not provide detailed data on the number of cryptocurrency holders by state, I will proportionally allocate voters based on the number of registered voters in each state from the 2020 presidential election.

5. Finally, I assume that in previous elections, voters voted along party lines. This means I only care about voters holding cryptocurrency who cross party lines in the 2024 election. For example, if Democrats won a congressional race in 2022 by a margin of 1,000 votes, then to flip the election in 2024, I only care about registered cryptocurrency-holding Democrats voting for Republicans.

Strategy

The Democrats control the presidency and the Senate. They clearly want to do everything necessary to maintain control of the presidency, which gives them immense control over various agencies of the U.S. government. The message to the party leadership is simple: enact this pro-crypto legislation, or the pro-crypto lobbying groups will hand control of all three branches of government to the Republicans. If the Democrats cooperate, the pro-crypto lobbying groups can hand all three branches of government to the Democrats.

Since the Democrats do not control the House, some endangered Republican members (specifically four) must be threatened with expulsion if they do not cross party lines to vote for the bill.

From a mathematical perspective, is this feasible? Yes, let’s look at the numbers.

Congressional Elections

ChatGPT provided me with the results of the 2022 congressional elections. I tallied the number of votes received by the winners and runners-up in each district, along with their respective parties.

The Republicans hold 48 seats, and if every Republican cryptocurrency holder in these races crosses party lines, these seats could be flipped to the Democrats. This would shift the House to the Democrats.

Senate Elections

Compared to House members, senators serve six-year terms. Therefore, I asked ChatGPT for the results of the 2018 Senate elections. Those elected in 2018 must run for re-election this year.

The Republicans hold 9 seats, and if every Republican cryptocurrency holder in these races crosses party lines, these seats could be flipped to the Democrats. This would expand the Democrats' current majority in the Senate.

Presidential Elections

ChatGPT provided me with the election results for each state in 2020. Each state has a certain number of electoral votes, and a presidential candidate needs to secure 270 electoral votes to win.

If every Republican cryptocurrency holder in a few states crosses party lines, then 115 electoral votes would go to the Democratic candidate. This would ensure Biden's victory.

If you are interested in my model and supporting data, please contact me; I would be happy to provide them.

Hard Work

The hard work is not raising funds from wealthy American cryptocurrency holders. Not a penny should be donated to political campaigns. The hard work is persuading the vast majority of cryptocurrency holders to become a single voting bloc and go vote. This is where the millions of dollars raised by various pro-crypto lobbying groups should be spent.

If Brian Armstrong truly wants to be an advocate for pro-crypto legislation, as many puff pieces about his political activities describe, then he should collect digital signatures from Coinbase's American users in support of the proposed legislation. This way, politicians will know that cryptocurrency holders are serious and want to push for change in an organized manner.

What I am describing is not easy, and more importantly, it has nothing to do with the amount of campaign donations. It is about motivating cryptocurrency holders to hold their elected representatives accountable for meaningful change. Doing this difficult thing means that any politician wanting to enter the lucrative job in Washington, D.C., cannot cross cryptocurrency because they know cryptocurrency holders will go out and vote for their wallets.

Independents

Some readers may think this article is secretly poisoning the minds of pro-crypto Trump supporters. I am not a member of any party, nor do I care who wins the U.S. presidential election. The ruling party has the means and motivation to do whatever it takes to stay in power. If the ruling party does something suspicious to prevent the opposition from taking power, the situation is even worse. This is why cooperating with the Democrats is more effective. If the situation were reversed, I would advocate supporting the Republicans. The key is that in a highly polarized two-party system, partisan bias is detrimental to achieving your single-group policy goals.

Copy and Replicate

If American cryptocurrency voters can achieve a simple yet profound piece of pro-crypto legislation, it will receive significant publicity. Therefore, it will politically activate cryptocurrency holders in other jurisdictions where a minority, outspoken, focused voting bloc can achieve legislative outcomes.

Look at how quickly the Hong Kong and London stock exchanges launched or planned to launch Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) after the U.S. listed Bitcoin spot ETFs. Competition among nation-states is our friend. Imagine if someone seriously worked to leverage this historically unique moment to push for transformative, simple, and effective pro-crypto legislation in the U.S. In this case, non-Americans should contribute to this cause.

Helping this cause means shaming those individuals and companies proposing legislation filled with cryptocurrency crony capitalism. Helping this cause means analyzing and providing feedback on serious proposals. Helping this cause means demanding that those who claim to support cryptocurrency in American politics do not accept the empty platitudes of politicians seeking re-election but instead demand concrete action before voting. Finally, if your country is a representative democracy with highly polarized parties and no party holds an overwhelming majority, then helping this cause means organizing similar activities in your country.

Ideas Matter

More than a year ago, I wrote an article about creating synthetic dollars using long Bitcoin and short perpetual swap contracts. Ethena took inspiration from this article, added its own twist, and created the fastest-growing stablecoin ever. They put in hard work, which is not easy. They were so successful that my inbox is full of emails from founders pitching the next "Ethena killer."

I do not believe the points raised in this article are truly original. However, I hope that by presenting this article, many in the industry will read it and motivate driven and savvy politicians to take immediate action. Do not waste this opportunity. Because if they do, the hotshot at the party will visit another man. By November 6, loyal politicians will once again find themselves in trouble, watching the world pass them by.