Thread by @basedlayer

I was there yesterday when Spain went dark.

It took less than an hour for panic to set in.

Cash became, surprisingly, worthless.

Here’s what actually happens when the systems break: 🧵

No internet.

No phone service.

No warning.

Within an hour, lines were already forming at supermarkets and gas stations.

People didn’t wait for answers and just acted on instinct.

Then, the rumors.

Someone said it was a cyberattack.

Others said the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, and Greece were also hit.

There was no way to confirm anything.

Fear spread faster than facts.

I went to grab supplies.

It didn’t matter if you even had cash.

Stores couldn’t give change.

If you only had a €50 bill for a €5 item, you either handed it over or walked away with nothing.

I didn’t have a radio at home.

The only way to get updates was to walk to my car, turn on the radio, and listen there.

It was the only working source of information.

One thing became obvious:

The more centralized the system, the more fragile it is.

The Iberian Peninsula's interconnected grid turned a local issue into a regional blackout within minutes.

The power eventually came back.

But the illusion didn’t.

It doesn’t take days, or even hours, for society to start unraveling.

It takes minutes.

Decentralize what you can.

Keep basic tools around.

Don’t assume the systems you rely on will always be there.

Yesterday made that very clear.

Modern systems are fragile. Most people won’t see it until it breaks.

I built @BTCPerception to track global narratives and sentiment around Bitcoin and financial infrastructure: because media is infrastructure too.

If you’re into that, follow along.