Behold A Black Horse: A Biblical Guide To Cryptocurrencies

“When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, ‘Come and see.’ So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.” – Revelation 6:5-6

In this guide you will learn everything you need to know about cryptocurrencies from the perspective of a Biblical worldview, with the use of tried and trusted sources.

I have painstakingly spent hours researching these topics over the years and want to equip you with the most valuable knowledge I have acquired.

We will be covering:

• Why Cryptocurrencies Are Important For Christians
• What Cryptocurrency Should You Use
• How To Set Up Your Wallet
• How To Buy Crypto
• How To Receive Payments / Donations
• How To Mine Crypto
• Useful Resources

At anytime should you have questions please leave a comment at the bottom of this article and I will ensure to answer every single one!

Let’s get started 💥

Why Cryptocurrencies Are Important For Christians

The Protestant Reformation was a time of significant spiritual renewal in Europe, however, it was not without some disadvantages.

With enhanced Bible reading and true scriptural exegesis from the pulpits, also came vestiges of human tradition popularised by some of the Reformers.

Most unfortunate was the normalisation of the practice of usury due to the misinterpretations of Matthew 25:14-30 and the Parable of the Talents, particularly by John Calvin.

Usury is the practice by which interest is paid on loans. Usury had been previously outlawed by the Roman Catholic Church and was also outlawed by God for national Israel (Leviticus 25:35-37). Under the Torah the only exception to usury was when it was applied to non-citizens (Deuteronomy 23:19-20), however, there are many scriptures (Ezekiel 18:8) that even discourage this practice:

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Psalm 15

Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle?
Who may dwell in Your holy hill?

He who walks uprightly,
And works righteousness,
And speaks the truth in his heart;
He who does not backbite with his tongue,
Nor does evil to his neighbor,
Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend;
In whose eyes a vile person is despised,
But he honors those who fear the Lord;
He who swears to his own hurt and does not change;

He who does not put out his money at usury,
Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.

He who does these things shall never be moved.

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In the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus condemns the wicked and lazy servant by answering him according to his folly (Pro 26:5), who thought Christ was like him, wicked and lazy (Matthew 25:24-25), when in fact Christ is the exact opposite (Isa 42:3, Matt 11:30). Christ suggests that if this servant truly thought He “reaps where others have sown, and gathers where others have scattered seed” this servant should have gone to the greedy bankers where at His return, He could have collected what was His with interest (the word in Greek is usury).

Jesus likewise condemns the practice of usury by clearing the Temple two times of the money changers who were effectively doing the same thing through currency exchange.

This is because usury is a system of economic enslavement (Proverbs 22:7) that exploits the poor or those most in need. Usury is also a means to financially benefit from the labours of others’ hard work without doing any work yourself, a condition repeatedly condemned in the scriptures (Genesis 4:7, Matthew 23:4, 1 Timothy 5:18).

This is all well and good but what does usury have to do with Christians today? Everything.

Private, centralised banks create money from absolutely nothing and then charge nations usury in the forms of government bonds, mortgages and loans for the privilege of using their currency. This is why many nations are trillions in debt with no way to ever pay back their debts. Who are these debts to? Private banks.

This means that debt crises (recessions) and inflation are by deliberate design to make the rich richer and the poor poorer.

When private institutions control the flow of currency (The Federal Reserve / Bank of England) we no longer have sovereign nations or capitalistic economies. The openness of our current ‘capitalistic’ market is an illusion dictated by private interests that can control the ebb and flow of currency and therefore resources and policy.

When in control of the currency, all one needs to do in order to control the people is to lower their moral standards- immoral people will do anything for money. This is no doubt why we see so much wickedness promoted in pop culture.

Modern banking is the most sophisticated scam in human history and a significant sign of the times before Christ’s return.

Be not deceived, the current universal inflation crisis is designed to bring in a New Economic Order:

It is for this reason that Christ, no doubt, condemned the practice of modern banking and usury in the Parable of the Talents with reference to His return.

Remember, the only time we see Jesus in the Gospels become violent is when He is ridding the Temple of the money changers.

Jesus describes the seriousness of our stewardship of resources and opportunities. To those who are given much, much is expected. The faithful will be entrusted with more when Christ returns while the unfaithful will be judged.

We as Christians must therefore be good stewards with the resources we are entrusted with:

• Investing in the Kingdom (Matthew 6:33)
• Helping the needy (Luke 12:32-34, Acts 20:35)
• Leaving an inheritance for our children (Proverbs 13:22)

It is therefore for these reasons why we look to exit the current economic system of enslavement and move towards a cryptocurrency that can’t be manipulated by those who reap where others have sown.

What Cryptocurrency Should You Use?

Now that the need for an economic system that is not based on usury has been established we move on to which cryptocurrency you should use.

Cryptocurrencies are distinct from fiat money (US Dollars, Pounds, Euro etc) in that they are decentralised with individual miners, not centralised private banks, keeping a tab on all transactions.

If you are in any way familiar with cryptocurrencies you have probably come across Bitcoin. Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency and is currently the most valuable.

You should know that Bitcoin has a host of problems, the most prominent being its security vulnerabilities due to its lack of privacy. Anyone can see how much Bitcoin you have in your wallet and trace all of your transactions. In short, Bitcoin is surveillance money and a cryptocurrency you should largely ignore. For a comprehensive breakdown of Bitcoin and its problems please see this article we compiled.

The only cryptocurrency that currently exclusively operates like decentralised digital cash is Monero (XMR). The benefits of Monero include:

• End-to-end encrypted transactions (fully private)
• Low processing fees
• Fast transactions
• Easy integration options
• Cleaver anti-inflation algorithm
• Anti-pay-to-win mining algorithm
• Helpful community

The uses of Monero include:

• Person-to-person transactions (no middle man bank, you become your own)
• Cancel culture/persecution proof (as long as there is internet and computers you can use Monero)
• Inflation proof (Can be used to store wealth and protect your assets from inflation)

Sometimes to see the quality of something you need to only look at its enemies. Monero is the only cryptocurrency 3 letter agencies fear and are even paying to crack. It is also delisted from many exchanges. This signifies its strengths against those who currently hold power. These strengths, sadly, attract nefarious users who seek to hide the transactions of their crimes.

Christians should note at this point that William Tyndale used the black market to smuggle Bibles into England at one stage and that all currencies can be used for evil. Criminals using something should not stop anyone from embracing a tool or technology. That would be like refusing to use a car because criminals also use cars.

To learn more about Monero see the official website and read the free book Mastering Monero.

How To Set Up Your Wallet

When it comes to managing Monero there are two paths to go down. Less technically complex and more technically complex.

For starting off I suggest moving forward with a less technically complicated solution, however, both will be outlined here.

Less Technically Complex – Cake Wallet
✅ Easy to use
✅ Quick setup
✅ Mobile app
✅ Compatible with Unstoppable Domains (human-readable addresses)
🛑 Less private
🛑 No desktop option
🛑 No built-in mining options

Setting Up Your Cake Wallet

Cake Wallet is an open-source (no hidden code in its framework), non-custodial wallet, this means you own your private keys and therefore have complete control over the cryptocurrency within your wallet. In contrast, custodial wallets act like your fiat bank account, a private business holds your assets on your behalf but they control the lock and key. For more information on the different types of crypto wallets see this resource.

When first installing your Cake Wallet on your phone make sure to back up your recovery codes (private seed), preferably printing them out and keeping them in a physical safe. Think of this master code as your permanent address while the wallet address is like your PO box. The private seed is what you will use to restore your wallet and access your Monero on the blockchain. This is your Monero and if someone was to access this they would have the master key to your safe!

Download Cake Wallet

More Technically Complex – Monero’s Official GUI Wallet
✅ Greater security
✅ Built-in mining options
🛑 Lengthy setup
🛑 Desktop only
🛑 Incompatible with Unstoppable Domains (human-readable addresses)

Setting Up Your Monero GUI Wallet
The GUI wallet is officially designed by the Monero community and is your solution for storing large amounts of Monero. Think of it like your bank for your savings while Cake Wallet will act as a wallet for day-to-day purchases.

The GUI wallet is very secure and strengthens the Monero network. You will need about 150 GB of space on your hard drive however to run this application as the wallet downloads the entire ledger helping to keep Monero decentralised.

Before you install the GUI software you will want to verify that your download is authentic/legitimate. This is a very important step that should not be skipped. If this is going to be your bank, you want to make absolutely sure you have downloaded and installed software that the Monero developers intended you to download, not a Trojan program pretending to be legitimate, so bad actors can steal your XMR.

Follow this step-by-step guide for Windows to validate your Monero GUI installer download.

You can download the Monero GUI Wallet installer files here.

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NOTE: You will want to create a new folder that will hold the binaryfate.asc file, the hashes.txt file and your .exe download. Create an exception in Windows / your anti-virus to this folder as the .zip will most likely be flagged as suspicious.

To do this hit the Windows key, type “Virus & threat protection”, tap “manage” and navigate to Exceptions and create an exception folder, if you are using an anti-virus, tap “open app” instead of “manage” to do this within that software.

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Once your download has been validated, install the GUI wallet and see this official guide to configure the app.

For the highest security make sure to keep this application up to date.

How To Buy Crypto

One reason why I recommend Cake Wallet is that you can easily purchase Monero within the wallet itself. This is the most convenient way to obtain Monero, however, you might be able to find a better price elsewhere.

To purchase Monero within Cake Wallet you will need to:

1. Create a Bitcoin wallet within Cake Wallet
2. Purchase Bitcoin within Cake Wallet (tap the buy button in your BTC wallet)
3. Exchange your Bitcoin for Monero

It can take about 20-40 minutes for Bitcoin transactions to be confirmed so you will want to account for this before starting.

I would ultimately suggest you buy directly from a seller and remove the need for a middleman exchange altogether. Some exchanges like Binance or CoinBase require you to hand over your most sensitive private information by confirming your ID, which is not ideal, while also charging you additional fees. Never keep your crypto on an exchange as they are custodial, always immediately transfer your purchased crypto to your non-custodial wallet.

Buying Monero directly from sellers without the need of an exchange can be done through Local Monero (closed – see Haveno). This is surprisingly easy to do and there are many payment options available national/international bank transfers, PayPal, Revolut etc. Make sure you purchase from a user that has many positive reviews and is trustworthy (Some users have over 6,000 positive transactions, so seek these ones out).

Local Monero can act as an intermediate and there are many automatic notifications that will help you along the way when making your first purchase!

Some traders will want you to verify your ID with them if it is your first Local Monero transaction. I would not recommend verifying your ID with a trader as you have no control over what they will do with your information after the transaction, nor do you know their security precautions in keeping your information safe.

To get your foot in the door I suggest buying a small amount of XMR via Cake Wallet and selling your XMR to a buyer on Local Monero for fiat. This will also get you used to the process.

How To Receive Payments / Donations

Perhaps you want to receive donations for your church/ministry, you only need to include your receive address on your website so that someone can copy and paste it into their wallet to send you Monero. Alternatively, you can include a QR code to your address on your site so that it can be scanned without the need to copy and paste.

As a way of an example, here is the TheoNerds Monero Receive Address:

44VRRc2PLsvSBD24zwoMAxPfr9WRsN6sWU1XeddydZJbgi6PxNYG6EdFVJJGmxetrWKTdVyN68VmHNnUu4Aw6fsCPaQm6GL

or type this URL in the Cake Wallet address field: Theonerds.wallet

You are welcome to send us a small tip as a test, we can confirm if we received it in the comments below 🙂

Cake Wallet has the added benefit of being compatible with Unstoppable Domains which will allow you to purchase a human-readable domain (theonerds.wallet) and connect it to your Monero address!

This domain will only work on selected wallets that are compatible with this functionality (Cake Wallet and Guarda Wallet being some of them).

If you run an online shop and are selling something on your website that needs to confirm a Monero payment before dispatching a product or service then I would recommend these three options:

1. Monero Integrations (works with WooCommerce)
2. Now Payments (works with Shopify)
3. BTC Pay

How To Mine Crypto

Mining Monero will require the latest version of the GUI Wallet so make sure to go back to this step and install it before continuing.

Mining Monero has several advantages:

1. It helps verify transactions on the Monero blockchain, strengthening the infrastructure
2. You are rewarded with Monero directly to your GUI wallet
3. You don’t need expensive hardware to be awarded

I highly recommend using the P2Pool mining integration within the GUI Wallet. This prevents any one private pool from holding a monopoly on validating Monero transactions (which was a threat at one time) and there are no payout fees!

Follow the simple video tutorial below to get started. Also, visit p2pool.io for more information.

–disable-dns-checkpoints –enable-dns-blocklist

NOTE: It can take several days to a week to find a share and receive a payout if your hashrate is low. Use the P2Pool Observer to check your current status. Consider using the “mini” sidechain for more frequent payouts.

I’ve seen better performance mining through Gupax using XMRig if you want to experiment with that too.

Questions?

If you have any questions or get stuck on any step I’ll happily help you in the comments below 🙂

Finally, make sure to check out these helpful resources below to continue your Monero journey!

Make sure to join us on Discord to chop theology, privacy, and crypto with other nerds.

Until then; stay meek, geek.

-Zo

Useful Resources

LocalMonero (Best Way To Buy Monero – closed see Haveno)

Monerica (Monero Directory)

Monero Market (Buy/Sell With Monero)

Monezon (Buy Amazon Items With Monero)

Monero Reddit (Community)

Monero Space (Community)

Monero Town (Community)

Monero Guides (By Seth For Privacy)

101 Things Monero Can Buy (Monero Directory)

Coincards (Buy Gift Cards With Monero)

Coinsbee (Buy Gift Cards With Monero)

+1300 Companies That Accept Monero (Cryptwerk Directory)

Monero News (Monero News)

The Monero Moon (Monero News)

Monero Wallet For Linux (MyMonero)

Buy Coffee With Monero (Gratuitas)

Monero Talk Show (Monero Talk)

Mullvad (VPN Service That Accepts Monero)