> <i>Slowly I became like Gollum. Which is ironic because I love The Lord of the Rings for the exact opposite reasons: calling for adventure, exploration, to love your friends, and to live in harmony with nature.</i><p>...<p>> <i>When the lock-down was in full effect it dawned on me: bitcoin is indeed utterly useless when things go haywire. What's the point of wealth if you can't do anything with it, won't do anything with it, or have no one to share it with.</i><p>During his journey home, Bilbo gifts a portion of his treasure to the King of the Wood Elves. This generosity is juxtaposed with Thorin, who<p><pre><code> A) Roped his 12 buddies and Bilbo into a speculative venture (with ZERO plan to realistically defeat Smaug),
B) obsessed over the Arkenstone to an unhealthy degree,
C) refused to share the spoils with Lake Town or the Wood Elves, and
D) locked himself away in the mountain.
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The moral of Bilbo's gesture was to demonstrate that wealth should be shared. Rather than hoarded in "Erebor, the Lonely Mountain".