I think the #bitcoin community was starting to feel smugly certain. ETFs, fee issues, big blockers wanting to fork to support ordinals better, and lightning FUD will put people back in their place.

Bitcoin only has these powerful traits that guarantee its success because we all collectively will it to. If we get lazy about defending the important bits, Bitcoin can still lose. The smug certainty isn't good for promoting active defense.

Bitcoin has to be a thing that can survive these institutions or it will never bring the society wide time preference changes we all hope for. The ETF was always going to be part of the future. We have to defend what is important through these next fights the same way OGs did during the block size wars. The only way to avoid this fight was to stay so niche the real power of bitcoin remained unrealized for most of the world.

Don't complain. Join in the fight. Self custody. Run a node. Stay sovereign. Educate yourself. Help other plebs to do all those things too. Win the fight instead of avoiding it.