The success of bitcoin can be defined in two ways.

On the one hand, there is the success of bitcoin as an investment asset. On the other, there is the success of Bitcoin as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system.

The success of Bitcoin as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system will always guarantee the success of bitcoin as an investment asset.

The success of bitcoin as an investment asset does not guarantee the success of Bitcoin as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system.

The success of Bitcoin as an investment asset is the blue pill – It’s the decision to stay in a safe, predictable world and avoid confronting uncomfortable truths. Scaling and privacy aren’t just not needed, but seen as actual risks.

The success of Bitcoin as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system is the red pill – It’s the decision to break out of the Matrix and build a world where financial censorship becomes an impossibility, but it requires future updates to the protocol.

Since the notion that self-custody is undesirable for users has increasingly been floating around, let us make this very clear: If you do not take custody of your funds, you do not get to decide.