We're Still At The Starting Line
In the 14 years of Bitcoin’s existence we’ve seen this idea of a digital decentralized money grow into a revolution. From the events preceding its birth to The Blocksize Wars, to the FTX collapse we’ve seen this technology gain more and more adoption from both average joes to nation-states like El Salvador alike, even during a bear (or for some: bull) market. Many people including myself believe we’re already in the “And Then They Fight You” stage, which I stand by fully. The powers of the world do not want their ability to print more of their Vampire Money to be hindered by some toxic bitcoiners, so they attempt to regulate and ban it, they attempt to FUD it, they may even attempt to capture it. But In the end I and many others believe they will inevitably fail. But we still have a long way to go if we want our future generational wealth to create a brighter world for our loved ones and descendants. One of the obstacles that we’re all too familiar with is the FUD from friends and family.
If I said take a drink whenever a No-Coiner friend or relative made a claim about Bitcoin that was easily refuted but they were certain it was a gotcha, I’d assume you’d be comatose or dead. Whether it be the damage to our planet’s climate or the idea that only a nation-state can define what money is, these arguments will likely stay a part of our daily discussion and we should readily be able to answer them confidently and concisely. Sometimes however we give an answer that is unsatisfactory or we encounter someone who doesn’t want to be educated. I have a story for today. One that was the reason for writing this piece.
Recently I went to get a cup of coffee with a friend of mine while visiting my hometown. While having a discussion on various topics we inevitably get to the subject of Bitcoin as he knows it’s one of the things I write about. My friend however is a progressive leftist who doesn’t believe money should exist at all. Leaving the political beliefs out of it, this was an opportunity to clear the air on some misconceptions one may have regarding Bitcoin. While able to accept the environmental messaging about Bitcoin being a nothingburger (at least during this discussion), he believed that the transaction fees of the network were exploitative on the user of the money being lorded over by the miners. This threw me aback, not because I was stumped for an answer but because I realized that this is what a non-zero portion of the population believes. Not everyone is a monetary nerd like bitcoiners are. After further discussion he said he wanted to go back to the days of barter, it was then I realized further that some people have a very long way to go before they’ll understand Bitcoin. And That is fine.
Perhaps I’m being too lax when hearing that level of FUD from a dear friend, but sometimes you have to stick by the adage “Everyone pays for Bitcoin at the price they deserve.” Do I want my friends to miss out on a new money that is world changing? Absolutely not. However I know at a certain point there isn’t enough time in the world to convince some people. They will either get it or they won’t. And this is what I mean when I say we’re still at the starting line. Bitcoin will beat out every other money in the end but we're just at the beginning of this beautiful world. With all things new there will be people fighting it, swimming against the current, trying to cling to the ancient (or in the case of the fiat system: modern) tools of the path. It’s just a matter of time however when they join you in this multigenerational marathon, you just have to keep chugging along. Don’t run out of gas just yet, we’re still at the starting line.