I need to get this rant out that nobody will probably read but I really like using Nostr as a place to timestamp my thoughts.

Just because you were an early adopter or got into Bitcoin for the "right" reasons does not make you holier than thou. It's mind boggling to me that people in this community act so shocked and appalled that the powers that be are starting to understand and get heavily involved in Bitcoin. Like what the fuck did you expect? Did you think corporations were not going to be greedy and opportunistic? Did you think governments were not going to seek more power Did you think individuals were not going to act in their own self interest?

The vibe I get from bitcoiners sometimes is just an echo chamber of people bitching about how "I want a revolutionary P2P electronic cash system that's going to change the world and undermine traditional power structures but also only want people who are morally and ethically aligned with me to use it too." Grow the fuck up with that childish mentality. Unfortunately, life is messy and everything is just a series of tradeoffs. We can't have our cake and eat it too. The mass adoption of bitcoin comes at the price of less cypherpunk bitcoiners and people who just want NGU. And I would argue that is still a net positive for the world.

I don't support war mongering nation-states or Wall Street as much as anyone else here on Nostr but we just need to accept the fact that "normies" have woken up to Bitcoin and are here to stay. At the end of the day, our role is to be the gatekeepers of what Bitcoin is and will become. We are the adults in the room. The perfect example is this current OP_RETURN debate. Nobody in the corporate or government world is talking about this issue because frankly they don't care. It's only a conversation amongst the stewards of the network and node runners. This is our burden to bear. So let's focus on what we can control and quit worrying about shit outside of our control.

Remember, just like participation in the Bitcoin network, participation in any derivative built on top of Bitcoin is OPTIONAL.

You don't like Saylor? Cool, don't buy MSTR.

You think BTC treasury companies are a scam? Cool, keep stacking sats on your coldcard.

You think Coinbase sucks? Cool, use River or Strike.

You think governments acquiring bitcoin is a bad idea? Cool, talk to your representative if you feel so strongly about it.

I probably just need a break from the internet for a while and am open to the idea I might be off base about this stuff... but please just quit trying to keep bitcoin in this ethically pure box.