Topic: Bitcoin: The Social Phenomenon - page 5. (Read 2624 times)
I think that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies can become a whole lot more social if companies that specialize in social media like Facebook or twitter get involved. Facebook is poised to launch its Libra platform and Libra stablecoin that could potentially revolutionize the way that we interact with cryptocurrency. As of now cryptocurrency is limited to those who are technically literate but platforms like Libra will simplify the process making adoption more widespread and accessible.
A good presentation about social life especially Bitcoin. Everyone who has bitcoin will definitely feel threatened and uncomfortable when there is negative news about bitcoin.
This is natural because they feel they have full bitcoin in their wallet. Whatever they will do to defend something they think is theirs.
Hopefully this thread can be crowded with a variety of opinions from other members because it is quite interesting what is stated from the explanation above.
This is natural because they feel they have full bitcoin in their wallet. Whatever they will do to defend something they think is theirs.
Hopefully this thread can be crowded with a variety of opinions from other members because it is quite interesting what is stated from the explanation above.
A lot of people never believed bitcoin could thrive this long and eventually gain such a large community that include even the powerful people in the world. It is easy to develop such a financial social movement when its idea is relevant and solve problems. There are still room for improvement in some years when it get more adoption. It has grown to a large network as blockchain to altcoins, and impacting other phases of life from health to energy with physical impact to human existence. Crypto ecosystem has come to stay and improve the world at large.
For those who are not devs they can help people about knowing what is bitcoin and how it can be used. What its pros and cons are and how it differs from fiat currencies.
While doing such promotions, one may face a lot of arguments that bitcoin might be a ponzi and a so on. So one should keep handy the the things that has been said in bitcoin wiki which can help counter some of the arguments, though not all. There are people who are hardcore anti-bitcoin, one might not want to attempt to convert them.
It is difficult to understand who might be the correct target population of such discussions but discussing among those who already know about bitcoin is less helpful though it might "feel good" because they all agree with you. It is important to teach people who do not know about bitcoin or have some little bit of exposure to it. They will be hostile towards your approach but this is what comes as the challenge.
While doing such promotions, one may face a lot of arguments that bitcoin might be a ponzi and a so on. So one should keep handy the the things that has been said in bitcoin wiki which can help counter some of the arguments, though not all. There are people who are hardcore anti-bitcoin, one might not want to attempt to convert them.
It is difficult to understand who might be the correct target population of such discussions but discussing among those who already know about bitcoin is less helpful though it might "feel good" because they all agree with you. It is important to teach people who do not know about bitcoin or have some little bit of exposure to it. They will be hostile towards your approach but this is what comes as the challenge.
Fortunately, Bitcoin is resilient against this type of attack. I can easily make my own fork of Bitcoin, and declare to the world that this is the new Bitcoin. You will just laugh at me, and keep using Bitcoin. It turns out that trying to break up everybody’s agreement is like trying to stop a moving train by stepping in front of it. People who do that are deliberately excluding themselves from “everybody”. Their pretend-“Bitcoins” just get crushed and left behind, as everybody keeps using Bitcoin.
Well said. The drawback of this (if there is one) is the difficulty by which a cohesive hard fork could ever be achieved. The legacy protocol has become sacrosanct, so changes implemented by hard fork -- like Confidential Transactions or future block size increases -- are likely to lead to permanent network splits. Outside of an existential bug fix, it's becoming more and more difficult to imagine a Bitcoin hard fork where the new network is known as "Bitcoin."
That's Bitcoin governance for you. But important decisions, especially that requires a hard fork, should arrive at consensus. That's a feature, not a bug.
Remember when the top Bitcoin merchants, with the help of a powerful cartel of miners, tried to co-opt Bitcoin?
You may dislike me, you may disagree with me, you may condemn me—you may even decide that you hate me. But we both agree that Bitcoin has value; and Bitcoin itself is absolutely unbiased between us. *snip*
There are actually people who think that bitcoin "has no value"; and one of the most famous people who thinks that, well, we all know the dude:
The good thing though, is that it doesn't matter that he thinks! The market decided(via supply and demand) that the current price is $8100(as we speak), so it doesn't matter if he thinks bitcoin has no value! It's one of the beauties of open markets.
With that said, you should create a Medium account lol.
Arguably, bitcoin has always had a value - as Bitcoin is/was a value proposition from the moment of inception.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_proposition
"A value proposition is a promise of value to be delivered, communicated, and acknowledged."
The actual production costs of bitcoin have always included the price of an internet connection, metered electricity, computer equipment and perhaps (factored) depreciation of said computer equipment.
The above is what provided the very first bitcoin exchange rates in 2009, formulas to calculate actual cost or intrinsic value ...
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost
"In production, research, retail, and accounting, a cost is the value of money that has been used up to produce something or deliver a service, and hence is not available for use anymore..."
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intrinsic_value_(finance)
"In finance, intrinsic value or fundamental value is the "true, inherent, and essential value" of an asset independent of its market value..."
- http://newlibertystandard.wikifoundry.com/page/Exchange+Rate
"... The exchange rate is the average of the adjusted bitcoin production per day divided by the average production costs per day. The per day averages start with the previous day and will eventually extend back 365 days, but until then, they increase by half a day each day by taking the average of two averages. Production costs consist of the price of broadband Internet and metered electricity. The adjusted bitcoin production is the following spreadsheet calculation =if(M2>N2,((B2+F2)/2)*(1/(3-((N2/M2)*2))),((B2+F2)/2)*(3-((M2/N2)*2))) where M2 is the available balance of dollars times the exchange rate of that same day, N2 is the available balance of bitcoins, B2 is the amount of bitcoins produced the previous day and F2 is the average of the adjusted bitcoin production per day..."
http://newlibertystandard.wikifoundry.com/page/2009+Exchange+Rate
"During 2009 my exchange rate was calculated by dividing $1.00 by the average amount of electricity required to run a computer with high CPU for a year, 1331.5 kWh, multiplied by the the average residential cost of electricity in the United States for the previous year, $0.1136, divided by 12 months divided by the number of bitcoins generated by my computer over the past 30 days..."
...
Many early adopters, myself included, suffered great opportunity cost in regards to enthusiastically helping to bootstrap the Bitcoin (value) network.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opportunity_cost
"When an option is chosen from alternatives, the opportunity cost is the "cost" incurred by not enjoying the benefit associated with the best alternative choice..."
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_network
"A value network is a business analysis description that graphically illustrates social and technical resources within and between an organization and how they are utilized. The nodes in a value network represent people (or roles)..."
Hence, There ain't no such thing as a free lunch ...
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_ain't_no_such_thing_as_a_free_lunch
Scarcity value and Price discovery contribute more towards bitcoins actual value today of course.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarcity_value
"Scarcity value is the economic factor that increases an item's relative price based upon artificially low supply..."
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_discovery
"The price discovery process (also called price discovery mechanism) is the process of determining the price of an asset in the marketplace through the interactions of buyers and sellers..."
Bitcoin is by definition the true digital form of Commodity money.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodity_money
"Commodity money is money whose value comes from a commodity of which it is made. Commodity money consists of objects having value or use in themselves (intrinsic value) as well as their value in buying goods..."
Also see: Kaei "Branch money" ...
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_currency
...
As for the OP: Bitcoin: The Social Phenomenon - I found the following to be very enlightening ...
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_phenomenon
"Social phenomena include all behavior that influences or is influenced by organisms sufficiently alive to respond to one another. [citation needed]
There is also internet phenomenon" ...
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_phenomenon
(Redirected from Internet phenomenon) ...
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_meme
The original Bitcoin / Satoshi meme of course being ... "The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks"
...
We all live and learn! Pizzas "and" haircuts aside ...
- https://web.archive.org/web/20100114172032/http://www.bitcoin.org/node/1
...
Philomena Cunk Money "Moments of Wonder."
- https://youtu.be/Z-YKw8w-e50
Fortunately, Bitcoin is resilient against this type of attack. I can easily make my own fork of Bitcoin, and declare to the world that this is the new Bitcoin. You will just laugh at me, and keep using Bitcoin. It turns out that trying to break up everybody’s agreement is like trying to stop a moving train by stepping in front of it. People who do that are deliberately excluding themselves from “everybody”. Their pretend-“Bitcoins” just get crushed and left behind, as everybody keeps using Bitcoin.
Well said. The drawback of this (if there is one) is the difficulty by which a cohesive hard fork could ever be achieved. The legacy protocol has become sacrosanct, so changes implemented by hard fork -- like Confidential Transactions or future block size increases -- are likely to lead to permanent network splits. Outside of an existential bug fix, it's becoming more and more difficult to imagine a Bitcoin hard fork where the new network is known as "Bitcoin."
And again, maybe that's a good thing...
It's difficult to succinctly summarise why Bitcoin has value because it's a combination of many things all coming together as one. It does take a while to absorb and consider all the different facets and it's likely the reason people don't always "get it" right away. And in some cases, they sadly never understand at all.
To start off, I'm reminded of that line from 'V for Vendetta':
Secondly, it's about the underlying principles that attracted the earliest adopters. At a time when the bitcoins being mined had a fiat value of a fraction of a cent, it had very little to do with speculation. So what was it that drew these people in? People saw something they liked, something they could get behind, something they could believe in. Something that quite literally changed the world and opened up some pretty amazing possibilities. People could recognise this from just looking at it. Yet, for some reason, these crucially important qualities of open-source, permissionless, censorship resistant, trustlessness, limited supply, etc are normally the first thing many altcoins sacrifice, usually in favour of some lame marketing gimmick. It's baffling. People clearly want those fundamental things at the heart of it.
Next up is the facet that Bitcoin found its equilibrium almost instantly with an economic incentive to secure the chain. Other chains have failed spectacularly at maintaining this alignment of incentives and have proven more profitable to attack than they have been to secure.
The security itself is a factor as well. And Bitcoin is still the most secure of them all. Bar none. No contest. You want cheaper and faster? You're going to have to sacrifice some security. That's just how it is.
Then there's the workforce. An ever-growing army of developers who work tirelessly to improve the base protocol and other devs that are focused on new layers built on top. The fact that many contributors have done this work totally unpaid over the years speaks volumes to that second point about believing in what we're doing. Few coins can match the raw pace of development we possess. Fewer still can match the quality and stability of the code our devs produce.
Utility is clearly something that will help define value. Network effects naturally increase with more users. The more people who accept Bitcoin and the more places you can spend it, the larger our economy grows. It's only going to become more useful over time. This, in turn attracts yet more users.
And, while it should go without saying because it's one of the most important parts, it's about decentralisation. Another one of those bits that can't be replicated or cloned. You can copy the code, but you can't copy the actual human beings who all choose THIS code. I'm sure I've said it a hundred times before, but code means nothing if no one runs it.
So while people can say simple things like "no one can censor or reverse your transaction", "transact with who you want, when you want", "be your own bank", etc, there's so much that goes into making those advantages possible. It only works with all of the ingredients.
To start off, I'm reminded of that line from 'V for Vendetta':
Quote
Beneath this mask there is more than flesh, Beneath this mask there is an idea (...) and ideas are bulletproof.
So firstly it's that guaranteed certainty that there is absolutely no way of undoing what has been done. This can't be un-invented. People are going to pursue this idea relentlessly for the rest of forever. It can't be killed. Throw whatever obstacles you want in our path, we're not stopping.Secondly, it's about the underlying principles that attracted the earliest adopters. At a time when the bitcoins being mined had a fiat value of a fraction of a cent, it had very little to do with speculation. So what was it that drew these people in? People saw something they liked, something they could get behind, something they could believe in. Something that quite literally changed the world and opened up some pretty amazing possibilities. People could recognise this from just looking at it. Yet, for some reason, these crucially important qualities of open-source, permissionless, censorship resistant, trustlessness, limited supply, etc are normally the first thing many altcoins sacrifice, usually in favour of some lame marketing gimmick. It's baffling. People clearly want those fundamental things at the heart of it.
Next up is the facet that Bitcoin found its equilibrium almost instantly with an economic incentive to secure the chain. Other chains have failed spectacularly at maintaining this alignment of incentives and have proven more profitable to attack than they have been to secure.
The security itself is a factor as well. And Bitcoin is still the most secure of them all. Bar none. No contest. You want cheaper and faster? You're going to have to sacrifice some security. That's just how it is.
Then there's the workforce. An ever-growing army of developers who work tirelessly to improve the base protocol and other devs that are focused on new layers built on top. The fact that many contributors have done this work totally unpaid over the years speaks volumes to that second point about believing in what we're doing. Few coins can match the raw pace of development we possess. Fewer still can match the quality and stability of the code our devs produce.
Utility is clearly something that will help define value. Network effects naturally increase with more users. The more people who accept Bitcoin and the more places you can spend it, the larger our economy grows. It's only going to become more useful over time. This, in turn attracts yet more users.
And, while it should go without saying because it's one of the most important parts, it's about decentralisation. Another one of those bits that can't be replicated or cloned. You can copy the code, but you can't copy the actual human beings who all choose THIS code. I'm sure I've said it a hundred times before, but code means nothing if no one runs it.
So while people can say simple things like "no one can censor or reverse your transaction", "transact with who you want, when you want", "be your own bank", etc, there's so much that goes into making those advantages possible. It only works with all of the ingredients.
I liked the text in general. It's text and style makes it relatable and attractive. However, I think that sometimes some points are radicalised.
1. It's not like everyone agrees that Bitcoin is valuable. Otherwise if would cost way more, and these would not be people saying it's a financial pyramid that will crash soon.
2. Some people might genuinely believe that Bitcoin Cash or Bitcoin SV are the true ones, and I think they have the right to this opinion, even though I agree that these forks put Bitcoin at risk.
3. I am not sure, but perhaps Bitcoin is largely used by a certain social group, even though some people from various groups use it, of course.
Edit: I've finished the post before the one by buwaytress appeared, but I can see that some points and the style are similar which looks awkward.
1. It's not like everyone agrees that Bitcoin is valuable. Otherwise if would cost way more, and these would not be people saying it's a financial pyramid that will crash soon.
2. Some people might genuinely believe that Bitcoin Cash or Bitcoin SV are the true ones, and I think they have the right to this opinion, even though I agree that these forks put Bitcoin at risk.
3. I am not sure, but perhaps Bitcoin is largely used by a certain social group, even though some people from various groups use it, of course.
Edit: I've finished the post before the one by buwaytress appeared, but I can see that some points and the style are similar which looks awkward.
Something to chew on right in the middle of the week. I do share many of the sentiments, but definitely not all. And there is enough variety of sentiment in the post for many like and unlike me to choose from, yet as you say, we are all here on common ground called Bitcoin.
1. Not everyone wants Bitcoin though.
2. Not everyone who has gone against it or attacked it hates Bitcoin. Those who profess hatred like those unnamed forkcoiners still have enough sense to actually have Bitcoin. Those I know who've built alternatives or chosen alternative don't hate it at all, and in fact feel like they owe it to themselves to leave, but continue to wish Bitcoin well. I know how that feels like so I can understand.
3. As much as it pays us to protect Bitcoin, it goes without saying it pays others threatened by Bitcoin to protect their way of life too =)
1. Not everyone wants Bitcoin though.
2. Not everyone who has gone against it or attacked it hates Bitcoin. Those who profess hatred like those unnamed forkcoiners still have enough sense to actually have Bitcoin. Those I know who've built alternatives or chosen alternative don't hate it at all, and in fact feel like they owe it to themselves to leave, but continue to wish Bitcoin well. I know how that feels like so I can understand.
3. As much as it pays us to protect Bitcoin, it goes without saying it pays others threatened by Bitcoin to protect their way of life too =)
Bitcoin’s freedom attracted many people. This gave Bitcoin some value; and in turn, Bitcoin’s value attracted more people, which gave Bitcoin even more value. Thus, its value comes from its power as a social phenomenon, and not directly from the ingenious technology which enables that social phenomenon.
...sometimes all it takes is a seed, or a spark of an idea to set growth or
a fire in motion, something that sunlight or the air itself can fuel and
accellerate the growth making that seed or spark transform into
something great and wonderful for all to enjoy and benefit from.
Such is Bitcoin, Satoshi created that seed and spark and we the adopters
can add fuel to make it bigger than the initial idea.
There are actually people who think that bitcoin "has no value"; and one of the most famous people who thinks that, well, we all know the dude: [quote of Peter Schiff]
The good thing though, is that it doesn't matter that he thinks! The market decided(via supply and demand) that the current price is $8100(as we speak), so it doesn't matter if he thinks bitcoin has no value! It's one of the beauties of open markets.
The good thing though, is that it doesn't matter that he thinks! The market decided(via supply and demand) that the current price is $8100(as we speak), so it doesn't matter if he thinks bitcoin has no value! It's one of the beauties of open markets.
Bitcoin has a subtle value that goes beyond its current valuation in open markets. If Bitcoin’s value were purely speculative, then I would agree that it has no value at all: It actually would be a Ponzi scheme, with earlier fools trying to sell the scheme itself at a higher price to later fools. But Bitcoin’s value is not merely speculative: Bitcoin is much more than an expectation of future value!
Bitcoin is a single, unified monetary platform that everybody can use to exchange value with each other. They don’t need to trust each other, or even like each other. They don’t need to ask each other’s permission, or anybody’s permission. It is this agreement which creates demand. And that agreement is not “buy low, sell high” market speculation. This agreement, facilitated by technology, in turn facilitates trade. Simply, it helps people live life better.
That itself is valuable!
I am not in Bitcoin because I want it to “moon”. I am in Bitcoin because it makes my life better—just as it can make your life better, and make everybody’s life better. It is true that as more people discover Bitcoin, its valuation will increase due to increased demand for a limited supply. I like that, but I think it’s an ancillary benefit.
With that said, you should create a Medium account lol.
I don’t usually do the “user-generated content” thing, i.e. working for free for somebody else’s business. And if I do, I would prefer to do it for the Bitcoin Forum!
(Also, what Lauda said...)
There are people that truly understand Bitcoin, not necessarily how it works, but why the world needs it and from where it derives value. [...]
If you are invested in Bitcoin, it pays for you to protect Bitcoin.
I urge people to do this quite often, but the lack of action is also quite noticeable. Maybe thread How you can help Bitcoin if you aren't a developer would be helpful? Good point. That is why I created this thread. We need clearer positive statements of what Bitcoin is, why it is valuable, and why people should care.
Above, I put some effort into explaining those points (and more!) in simple, familiar terms that anybody can understand. To all readers of this thread: Please feel free to adapt my own arguments to your own discussions with other people, when you are trying to tell them about Bitcoin and it seems they just don’t understand. Of course, it also helps to link to this post elsewhere, if you feel that others should read it.
We also need better organized efforts to get the word out. That’s what I am working to achieve right here—at least, one small part. A beginning. We can work together to bring the Bitcoin social phenomenon to the next level of its development!
I'm going to be short on this excellent write-up.
That is why there is only one Bitcoin.
And that is why people who hate Bitcoin itself try to break it apart. If there are many Bitcoins, then people don’t agree on Bitcoin anymore: There is my Bitcoin, and there is your Bitcoin, and there is someone else’s Bitcoin. That agreement I just described is broken up. In the long term, if one Bitcoin splits into many Bitcoins, its value will not be divided up: Its value will be zero, worthless. Bitcoin has value because everybody agrees on Bitcoin. If there are many Bitcoins, then none of them has value, because none of them has everybody’s agreement.
There are people that truly understand Bitcoin, not necessarily how it works, but why the world needs it and from where it derives value. This is in stark contrast to people like Roger Ver, who have no idea what they're talking about, at least when it comes to their statements regarding Bitcoin. There is only one Bitcoin, and there can never be another. Not a forked Bitcoin, not a Bitcoin 2.0, just Bitcoin. The one and only. If Bitcoin fails, all the copycat "Bitcoins" fail too.And that is why people who hate Bitcoin itself try to break it apart. If there are many Bitcoins, then people don’t agree on Bitcoin anymore: There is my Bitcoin, and there is your Bitcoin, and there is someone else’s Bitcoin. That agreement I just described is broken up. In the long term, if one Bitcoin splits into many Bitcoins, its value will not be divided up: Its value will be zero, worthless. Bitcoin has value because everybody agrees on Bitcoin. If there are many Bitcoins, then none of them has value, because none of them has everybody’s agreement.
If you are invested in Bitcoin, it pays for you to protect Bitcoin.
I urge people to do this quite often, but the lack of action is also quite noticeable. Maybe thread How you can help Bitcoin if you aren't a developer would be helpful? With that said, you should create a Medium account lol.
Too many trackers and attempts at data gathering, thus I'd not suggest this to OP even though I know that your intent is genuine. 
You may dislike me, you may disagree with me, you may condemn me—you may even decide that you hate me. But we both agree that Bitcoin has value; and Bitcoin itself is absolutely unbiased between us. *snip*
There are actually people who think that bitcoin "has no value"; and one of the most famous people who thinks that, well, we all know the dude:
The good thing though, is that it doesn't matter that he thinks! The market decided(via supply and demand) that the current price is $8100(as we speak), so it doesn't matter if he thinks bitcoin has no value! It's one of the beauties of open markets.
With that said, you should create a Medium account lol.
If you, dear reader, are a business shark who sneers at idealistic theories, then surely you will immediately understand the danger of consumer confusion from fraudulent dilution of Bitcoin’s brand. It’s a practical danger, a danger to you.
If you are invested in Bitcoin, it pays for you to protect Bitcoin.
Re-read everything I said above—viewing it as a prospectus statement on Bitcoin’s fundamentals, and not a political or philosophical tract. Bitcoin has solid fundamentals and an excellent long-term market prospect. Like any investment, there are risks; one of Bitcoin’s risks is dilution and confusion from fork-attacks.
In cut-and-dry business terms, a savvy strategy is to invest in Bitcoin for its upside, while actively protecting it against that potential downside. It’s in your best interest to be an active investor (and to some degree, an activist investor). That way, you enjoy the growth potential of a unique socioeconomic phenomenon that cannot be duplicated—while actively minimizing your risks, instead of just passively questioning whether the risks are worthwhile.
Indeed, there are few opportunities in investing for actively minimizing your risks. This should change your calculation of Bitcoin’s risk: Part of that calculation is your own willingness to protect Bitcoin.
If you are invested in Bitcoin, it pays for you to protect Bitcoin.
Re-read everything I said above—viewing it as a prospectus statement on Bitcoin’s fundamentals, and not a political or philosophical tract. Bitcoin has solid fundamentals and an excellent long-term market prospect. Like any investment, there are risks; one of Bitcoin’s risks is dilution and confusion from fork-attacks.
In cut-and-dry business terms, a savvy strategy is to invest in Bitcoin for its upside, while actively protecting it against that potential downside. It’s in your best interest to be an active investor (and to some degree, an activist investor). That way, you enjoy the growth potential of a unique socioeconomic phenomenon that cannot be duplicated—while actively minimizing your risks, instead of just passively questioning whether the risks are worthwhile.
Indeed, there are few opportunities in investing for actively minimizing your risks. This should change your calculation of Bitcoin’s risk: Part of that calculation is your own willingness to protect Bitcoin.
Bitcoin is more than a technology: Bitcoin is a social phenomenon. And it is the first mass social movement in history that does not propose any opinion other than its own value.
People who disagree with each other about everything else, can agree about Bitcoin. That is what gives Bitcoin its value: Everybody wants Bitcoin, no matter what their opinions about anything else! And that is what makes Bitcoin immune to financial censorship. There are people from completely opposite ends of the political spectrum who came to Bitcoin, because big banks disliked them, closed their accounts, and shut them out of the fiat financial system.
It’s scary that banks can impose an unwritten law of their own, with no accountability and no appeal, just by closing people’s accounts. Bitcoin stops that.
I have experience living without a bank account. It’s very difficult: You can’t use money normally, and you are shut out of many opportunities. That can impoverish you, and it can keep you in poverty. Bitcoin takes away the power of unaccountable corporations to shut down people’s lives on a whim, just because they don’t like them.
You may dislike me, you may disagree with me, you may condemn me—you may even decide that you hate me. But we both agree that Bitcoin has value; and Bitcoin itself is absolutely unbiased between us. This is what gives Bitcoin its power—and this is how Bitcoin empowers anybody who wants to use it. If I decide that I hate you, we still agree on Bitcoin—and we can’t tell each other what to do with Bitcoin.
Bitcoin’s freedom attracted many people. This gave Bitcoin some value; and in turn, Bitcoin’s value attracted more people, which gave Bitcoin even more value. Thus, its value comes from its power as a social phenomenon, and not directly from the ingenious technology which enables that social phenomenon.
The Bitcoin technology is easy to duplicate. But the Bitcoin social movement cannot be duplicated. It exists because everybody agrees on Bitcoin. People all over the world, of every race and nationality, of every religion, of every political opinion, all agree on Bitcoin. Their agreements or disagreements about anything else are irrelevant to Bitcoin.
That is why there is only one Bitcoin.
And that is why people who hate Bitcoin itself try to break it apart. If there are many Bitcoins, then people don’t agree on Bitcoin anymore: There is my Bitcoin, and there is your Bitcoin, and there is someone else’s Bitcoin. That agreement I just described is broken up. In the long term, if one Bitcoin splits into many Bitcoins, its value will not be divided up: Its value will be zero, worthless. Bitcoin has value because everybody agrees on Bitcoin. If there are many Bitcoins, then none of them has value, because none of them has everybody’s agreement.
Fortunately, Bitcoin is resilient against this type of attack. I can easily make my own fork of Bitcoin, and declare to the world that this is the new Bitcoin. You will just laugh at me, and keep using Bitcoin. It turns out that trying to break up everybody’s agreement is like trying to stop a moving train by stepping in front of it. People who do that are deliberately excluding themselves from “everybody”. Their pretend-“Bitcoins” just get crushed and left behind, as everybody keeps using Bitcoin.
That is why most pretend-“Bitcoin” forks quickly slide away into total irrelevance. The only ones which hang on with a relatively minuscule market share are the ones backed by rich people who have lots of money to risk attempting to manipulate the market, and organized propaganda to scam people into believing that their pretend-“Bitcoin” is Bitcoin.
It would be difficult to attack Bitcoin with wealth alone. Bitcoin and its value are supported by too many people, rich and poor. A rich market manipulator who backs a forked fake-“Bitcoin” may see some short-term gains, especially from pump-and-dump market manipulation. But in the long term, he will probably lose lots of money: His scam-coin is competing with Bitcoin, which is collectively backed by the economic resources of too many people all over the world, rich and poor alike.
But the scam becomes dangerous when the fake-“Bitcoin” is promoted with cunning propaganda to fool people into believing that it’s the real Bitcoin.
Newbies and people who never used Bitcoin may wonder why Bitcoiners get angry about fake-“Bitcoin” forks.
Some of that anger is principled outrage. There are people who deeply believe in Bitcoin’s principles of financial freedom. Some of them have devoted to those principles their careers, their passions—they have devoted their lives to Bitcoin! Of course, they will be angry when they see Bitcoin attacked by liars and scammers promoting fake-“Bitcoin”.
More broadly, many people are morally outraged when they see lies, scams, and identity theft. Of course, people get angry at criminals.
But there is also another reason: If you have any Bitcoin, whether you have 1000 BTC or only a few precious satoshis, then an attack on Bitcoin is an attack on your wallet. You may or may not care about Bitcoin’s noble principles. You will defend those principles, to defend the value of your money.
Part of the genius of Bitcoin is that it turns greed and selfishness toward the common good: If you have Bitcoin, you want to protect your savings, so you must stand against people who try to devalue it. Otherwise, you risk losing your savings.
Everybody who has Bitcoin, has an incentive to protect Bitcoin. If you have Bitcoin, then you are making the world a better place when you defend the value of your own money. You can’t avoid protecting Bitcoin, if you want to protect your own money. And if you have Bitcoin, then an attack against Bitcoin is not only an attack against some idealistic theory: It’s a financial attack on you, personally! Of course, you should be angry about that.
Whether you are selfish or altruistic—whether or not you give a hoot about making the world a better place—I urge you to rally behind Bitcoin, and stand up against scammers who make fake-“Bitcoins”. Do it for noble principles. Or just do it to protect your own money. If nothing else, it would be stupid of you to ignore scammers who are trying to trash the value of your money. By standing together, we can stop them: Expose their lies, shred their scam propaganda, and make sure that new market entrants and the general public know: There is only one Bitcoin, your Bitcoin, which has value because it is everybody’s Bitcoin.
People who disagree with each other about everything else, can agree about Bitcoin. That is what gives Bitcoin its value: Everybody wants Bitcoin, no matter what their opinions about anything else! And that is what makes Bitcoin immune to financial censorship. There are people from completely opposite ends of the political spectrum who came to Bitcoin, because big banks disliked them, closed their accounts, and shut them out of the fiat financial system.
It’s scary that banks can impose an unwritten law of their own, with no accountability and no appeal, just by closing people’s accounts. Bitcoin stops that.
I have experience living without a bank account. It’s very difficult: You can’t use money normally, and you are shut out of many opportunities. That can impoverish you, and it can keep you in poverty. Bitcoin takes away the power of unaccountable corporations to shut down people’s lives on a whim, just because they don’t like them.
You may dislike me, you may disagree with me, you may condemn me—you may even decide that you hate me. But we both agree that Bitcoin has value; and Bitcoin itself is absolutely unbiased between us. This is what gives Bitcoin its power—and this is how Bitcoin empowers anybody who wants to use it. If I decide that I hate you, we still agree on Bitcoin—and we can’t tell each other what to do with Bitcoin.
Bitcoin’s freedom attracted many people. This gave Bitcoin some value; and in turn, Bitcoin’s value attracted more people, which gave Bitcoin even more value. Thus, its value comes from its power as a social phenomenon, and not directly from the ingenious technology which enables that social phenomenon.
The Bitcoin technology is easy to duplicate. But the Bitcoin social movement cannot be duplicated. It exists because everybody agrees on Bitcoin. People all over the world, of every race and nationality, of every religion, of every political opinion, all agree on Bitcoin. Their agreements or disagreements about anything else are irrelevant to Bitcoin.
That is why there is only one Bitcoin.
And that is why people who hate Bitcoin itself try to break it apart. If there are many Bitcoins, then people don’t agree on Bitcoin anymore: There is my Bitcoin, and there is your Bitcoin, and there is someone else’s Bitcoin. That agreement I just described is broken up. In the long term, if one Bitcoin splits into many Bitcoins, its value will not be divided up: Its value will be zero, worthless. Bitcoin has value because everybody agrees on Bitcoin. If there are many Bitcoins, then none of them has value, because none of them has everybody’s agreement.
Fortunately, Bitcoin is resilient against this type of attack. I can easily make my own fork of Bitcoin, and declare to the world that this is the new Bitcoin. You will just laugh at me, and keep using Bitcoin. It turns out that trying to break up everybody’s agreement is like trying to stop a moving train by stepping in front of it. People who do that are deliberately excluding themselves from “everybody”. Their pretend-“Bitcoins” just get crushed and left behind, as everybody keeps using Bitcoin.
That is why most pretend-“Bitcoin” forks quickly slide away into total irrelevance. The only ones which hang on with a relatively minuscule market share are the ones backed by rich people who have lots of money to risk attempting to manipulate the market, and organized propaganda to scam people into believing that their pretend-“Bitcoin” is Bitcoin.
It would be difficult to attack Bitcoin with wealth alone. Bitcoin and its value are supported by too many people, rich and poor. A rich market manipulator who backs a forked fake-“Bitcoin” may see some short-term gains, especially from pump-and-dump market manipulation. But in the long term, he will probably lose lots of money: His scam-coin is competing with Bitcoin, which is collectively backed by the economic resources of too many people all over the world, rich and poor alike.
But the scam becomes dangerous when the fake-“Bitcoin” is promoted with cunning propaganda to fool people into believing that it’s the real Bitcoin.
Newbies and people who never used Bitcoin may wonder why Bitcoiners get angry about fake-“Bitcoin” forks.
Some of that anger is principled outrage. There are people who deeply believe in Bitcoin’s principles of financial freedom. Some of them have devoted to those principles their careers, their passions—they have devoted their lives to Bitcoin! Of course, they will be angry when they see Bitcoin attacked by liars and scammers promoting fake-“Bitcoin”.
More broadly, many people are morally outraged when they see lies, scams, and identity theft. Of course, people get angry at criminals.
But there is also another reason: If you have any Bitcoin, whether you have 1000 BTC or only a few precious satoshis, then an attack on Bitcoin is an attack on your wallet. You may or may not care about Bitcoin’s noble principles. You will defend those principles, to defend the value of your money.
Part of the genius of Bitcoin is that it turns greed and selfishness toward the common good: If you have Bitcoin, you want to protect your savings, so you must stand against people who try to devalue it. Otherwise, you risk losing your savings.
Everybody who has Bitcoin, has an incentive to protect Bitcoin. If you have Bitcoin, then you are making the world a better place when you defend the value of your own money. You can’t avoid protecting Bitcoin, if you want to protect your own money. And if you have Bitcoin, then an attack against Bitcoin is not only an attack against some idealistic theory: It’s a financial attack on you, personally! Of course, you should be angry about that.
Whether you are selfish or altruistic—whether or not you give a hoot about making the world a better place—I urge you to rally behind Bitcoin, and stand up against scammers who make fake-“Bitcoins”. Do it for noble principles. Or just do it to protect your own money. If nothing else, it would be stupid of you to ignore scammers who are trying to trash the value of your money. By standing together, we can stop them: Expose their lies, shred their scam propaganda, and make sure that new market entrants and the general public know: There is only one Bitcoin, your Bitcoin, which has value because it is everybody’s Bitcoin.
Jump to: