My biggest problem with Monero is that it's not Bitcoin. Creating a Bitcoin circular economy requires using Bitcoin. Using Monero is not using Bitcoin. Monero is not a layer on Bitcoin, it is its own economy and culture that is in direct competition with the Bitcoin economy and culture. Both cultures are incredibly small and thus the Monero has a real dilutive effect to the Bitcoin economy.
My PSA allows for this reality.
However I'll digress and respond further.
I understand the monero user to be a rational human who uses whatever tool works best for him or her, even if that includes fiat or bitcoin.
The bitcoiner uses bitcoin hopefully (sometimes not, I'll get to that in the next sentence) but probably fiat quite frequently, as the need arises, yet posts online about monero being a shitcoin.
Even worse if he's a NGU hodler using bitcoin only as an investment vehicle...
Monero users are interested in peer to peer digital cash, and the more private the better. As hopefully, SOME bitcoiners are. Again, a lot of bitcoiners are holding paper only and DO NOT SPEND.
Then I come to Nostr and see a bunch of LN users/devs shitting on monero calling it a shitcoin... It just seems counterproductive and counterintuitive. At least someone like nostr:npub1lxktpvp5cnq3wl5ctu2x88e30mc0ahh8v47qvzc5dmneqqjrzlkqpm5xlc is logically consistent when he gives people shit for using fiat at all... I actually respect that. As much as I'd like him to take a more measured look at monero as a grassroots project that cannot "pump and dump" on someone, has no pre-mine or self-enriched founder like ETH or XRP does...
Discussion
It comes down to the *kind* of culture and economy you want to see in the world.
As a oldie and 90s cypherpunk type dude
the principles of #monero are closer to my heart than whatever #bitcoin is turning into today.
but obv these are all decisions we have to make for ourselves 👍
Interesting take. And a fascinating one because it seems to fit more in the NGU crowd narrative than anything else.
I see Bitcoin and Monero as a revolt against a broken monetary system and corrupt government.
Both SHOULD be being used to support local markets in a way that circumvents banks and dollars (or other government currencies).
I do agree that they are "competing", but I don't really see where the harm arises?
For the longest time (even as the use of paper dollars grew which was originally silver (NOT GOLD) backed, and then suddenly in 1970 backed only by government best wishes) we had staunch supporters of gold and silver coinage. A dollar BTW is technically a certain weight of silver (again, not gold).
Silver and gold are elementally different, yet both can be used in a market place... Silver being better for lower value goods whilst gold was better for higher value goods.
Monero arose from a group of people that noted that Bitcoin devs had no intention of improving base layer privacy. And so yes, they are distinctly and elementally different. Monero IS NOT a Bitcoin clone, it IS different. Yet, as you mention, it (sometimes) fills the same role.
I actually think you're more aligned psychologically with Monero users who are spenders and obsessed with privacy, like cash and gold coin users are. MAAAANY in my estimation of bitcoin "users" are actually holding IOUs, paper bitcoin, HODLing, investing, TradFi NGU bros...
So again, yes they can be competing for the same purpose of spendable money, but I don't see that as a bad thing. I save in Bitcoin (because it seems to store value better), but when I check out with a person or online vendor I am able to pay at any given moment in onchain/lightning bitcoin or monero... And I like that flexibility...
Plus I like how cypherpunk I feel spending onchain monero versus bitcoin, knowing that most of the transaction is obfuscated. Versus the 100% transparent onchain footprint of bitcoin. (let's face it, with AI, all it takes is one slip-up or unmasked home IP address and a home string of bitcoin transactions and wallets can suddenly be bagged, tagged and labelled as _________ (fill in Legal name here) and subsequent IRS fraud or evasion charges could be pursued...)