Mining – Could it Be In Our Genes?

Could the ancient astronaut theory hold true?

That thousands of years ago celestial vistors came to our planet in search of materials needed for their very survival – and in realizing the difficulties in extracting these materials from the ground, developed modern man to essentially do the hard work for them? When you really think about it…..it’s really not that far off.

As a young boy I remember a hoax that played out at my elementary school. A group of the older kids had painted a bunch of small rocks with gold model paint and hid them out in the sand of the school’s playground. Once the word got out….I recall the excitement and anticipation sitting there in my tiny desk, staring at the clock, squirming in my chair, waiting for the bell to ring. “Gold! Gold! – they’ve found gold in the playground!”.

We’d trip over ourselves racing out the door – eager to be the first to lay our hands on even the smallest spec of the glorious stuff. We spent hours on our hands and knees sifting, searching for our fortunes.

In the end…….I never found a single piece.

A silly young boy indeed –  but is it really any different now as adults?

Maybe mining is in our genes.

The Modern Gold Rush: Central Banks and Currency Devaluation

Fast forward decades from that playground hoax, and here we are—still digging, still searching, still chasing the glitter. But now the game has evolved into something far more sophisticated and infinitely more consequential. Central banks have become the ultimate puppet masters, painting worthless paper with the illusion of value while systematically devaluing the very currencies we work so hard to accumulate. The Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, and Bank of Japan have perfected the art of modern alchemy—turning debt into perceived wealth through endless money printing.

Consider the USD/JPY pair over the past decade. The Bank of Japan’s relentless quantitative easing programs have essentially turned the yen into fool’s gold, weakening it systematically against the dollar while Japanese citizens chase the mirage of economic recovery. Meanwhile, American workers dig deeper into debt, convinced that their dollars represent real value when in reality they’re holding painted rocks in a global monetary playground. The irony is profound—we’ve become the labor force extracting real value from the earth while our compensation becomes increasingly worthless paper.

The Extraction Economy and Forex Fundamentals

Every major currency pair reflects this extraction dynamic. The AUD/USD relationship perfectly illustrates how modern economies mirror ancient extraction models. Australia digs iron ore and gold from the ground, shipping real commodities to China, while receiving digital credits in return. When commodity prices surge, the Australian dollar strengthens—but what are traders really buying? They’re betting on Australia’s ability to continue strip-mining its continent for the benefit of global consumption.

The Canadian dollar follows similar patterns with oil and lumber extraction. CAD/USD movements directly correlate with crude oil prices because Canada’s entire economic model revolves around pulling black gold from tar sands. Norwegian krone, Russian ruble, Brazilian real—all these currencies dance to the tune of extraction. We’ve built a global financial system where success is measured by how efficiently a nation can rape its natural resources and convert them into fiat currency units that lose purchasing power annually.

Currency Manipulation: The Ultimate Hoax

The Swiss National Bank’s currency floor debacle in 2015 exposed the fundamental fraud underlying modern forex markets. For three years, they convinced the world that EUR/CHF would never break below 1.2000. Traders positioned accordingly, believing in the central bank’s commitment. Then, without warning, they abandoned the peg, causing one of the most violent currency moves in trading history. Billions of dollars in retail accounts evaporated instantly. Alpari UK, a major broker, collapsed overnight. It was the playground hoax scaled up to institutional levels.

This manipulation extends beyond single events. The Bank of England’s forward guidance, the ECB’s whatever-it-takes rhetoric, the Federal Reserve’s dot plots—all sophisticated versions of painting rocks gold and watching market participants scramble to position themselves accordingly. Professional traders know the game is rigged, yet we continue playing because there’s no alternative marketplace for capital allocation.

The Digital Mining Revolution

Bitcoin and cryptocurrency markets represent the newest evolution of this extraction mentality. Miners burn massive amounts of electricity to solve mathematical puzzles, creating digital scarcity from thin air. The BTC/USD pair has become the ultimate speculation vehicle—no underlying commodity, no government backing, purely collective belief in algorithmic scarcity. Yet traditional forex markets treat cryptocurrency adoption as a fundamental threat to fiat currency dominance.

Countries like El Salvador stacking Bitcoin reserves while simultaneously devaluing their domestic currency through dollar adoption creates fascinating cross-market dynamics. When analyzing USD strength against emerging market currencies, we must now factor in Bitcoin accumulation strategies and their impact on capital flows. The playground has expanded beyond Earth’s physical resources into digital realms where mining operations consume entire power grids.

Breaking the Cycle

Understanding this systemic extraction model provides tremendous advantages in forex trading. Every major economic announcement, every central bank meeting, every geopolitical crisis ultimately revolves around resource control and currency devaluation strategies. Successful traders position themselves ahead of these extraction cycles rather than chasing painted rocks after the hoax is revealed. The question isn’t whether we’re still mining—it’s whether we’re intelligent enough to own the mines instead of just swinging the pickaxes.