On Independence Day, everyone shouted loudly, "Freedom!" while waving flags. But there was a group of crypto hodlers whose chant was different: "Freedom from taxes, please!" They sat in the corner, opened their exchange app, and looked at their portfolio, which had colors resembling the flag: red more dominant than white.

Interestingly, amidst the euphoria of the parade and the cracker-eating competition, they were more anxious not because they lost the pinang climbing contest, but because they feared being "taxed". They said, "Hey, didn't we say we're independent? Why is the digital wallet still colonized?"

Some say that Bung Karno once said: "A great nation is a nation that honors the services of its heroes." Now there might be an addition: "A great nation is a nation that does not make holders shocked when they log in and suddenly see their balance reduced due to tax cuts."

Actually, if you think about it, the fighters back then were willing to fight to the death for independence. Why are we, who are only asked to pay a tax of 0 something percent, trembling like we see the Bitcoin chart during a dump? Sure, the struggle with a pointed bamboo is different from the struggle with a candlestick, but the feeling of anxiety is the same.

Finally, they realized, maybe this is what independence means in the modern era: free to save their own assets, but also free to "contribute" through taxes, even though it feels like participating in a tug-of-war but the rope is cut in the middle.

But don't worry, the spirit of independence always teaches us to be optimistic. As long as the red in the portfolio isn't all white, there is still hope to shout louder:
"Freedom! ...even though the taxes make my wallet shrink, but hodl keeps going!"