I get your point, but you're kind of mixing personal benefit with system level dominance. Sure, you win personally when you use something good like Bitcoin. No argument there.

But when we talk about platforms or protocols “winning,” it does come down to adoption, network effects, and influence.

That’s not fiat thinking, it’s just reality.

If a tech platform is dead in user engagement, it’s not winning, even if it has 5B ghost accounts. But if it’s still shaping culture, news, or global policy, that says something.

It’s not about “only one can win and everyone else dies.” It’s about who’s leading, who’s setting the rules, who has momentum. That’s what “number one” means in this context.

Nostr is not number 1 yet and that's reality.