Can we please get above 70k, or at least drop back into the lower 50k’s so I can stack some more.

Hopefully Bitcoin can be the beacon the reorientes us towards the consensus truth. We do have mostly shared values in this country and perhaps the time chain in the future will enshrine those truths for posterity and remind us we are all on the same insanely wild journey. The time chain could become our collective conscious, or unconscious, mind.

Well, I need to be somewhat pragmatic. For someone who thinks Bitcoin is basically a scam it’s hard to justify throwing all our savings into that when we have 2 kids as well. I’m trying to chip away at her ignorance towards it.

I’m in the same boat…except don’t even own a whole Bitcoin. But if it were fully up to me I would put all of our meager savings into Bitcoin. Unfortunately she, and most people, are stuck in the throw it in an index fund or try and get house poor by buying another property that we can’t afford. Needless to say, I’m impatiently waiting for number go up.

Forget Trump, every Bitcoiner should be supporting RFK this election. He is the only candidate who truly understands the crisis of our national debt. Yes, Trump may pump our bags for a while, but he is inviting the same people into his cabinet who thrive on the current system. Bitcoiners need to seriously think about what is right for our country, and not just who will get them rich in the short term. I implore everyone to listen to his press conference today.

#Bitcoin  #RFK2024 #RFKJr2024 #nationaldebt

This concept works wonders for writers. Just gotta keep at it, every day, eventually you will have a 500 page book that could be shit, or could be great. Low time preference.

Bitcoin Has Overcome Greed, but Can It Overcome Envy?

Greed has long been considered the bane of humanity, the cause of most societal problems, and deleterious to the advancement of our species. The Bitcoin protocol has established incentives to channel our greed into a collective energy building a fairer system where one man, or group’s, greed cannot surreptitiously put a chokehold on the rules. The protocol is set in digital stone, and it is a protocol where greed is encouraged so we may invest our time and energy into a system whereby our wealth cannot be siphoned off by the likes of even greedier bankers. Bitcoin welcomes these greedy bankers, for they will only add to the collective progression of wealth without being able to apply the pressure of power over the little guys.

This is perhaps the single greatest feat of Bitcoin, and is enough to change the trajectory of our downward spiral. Yet, there is another sin, another pernicious human characteristic, that may be even more difficult to overcome; envy. Many, if not all, evils committed throughout human history can be traced back to this poisonous water soaking deep down into the roots of our darkest intentions. Bitcoin fixes this, Bitcoin fixes that, but can it fix envy?

There is a widespread perception of early Bitcoiners as simply being lucky, right place right time, or tech nerds who somehow understood its value. People may never understand the level of conviction needed to withstand eighty percent downturns, the faith being rewarded, but it does not matter. They see a group of people who jumped on something they missed. For years I dismissed Bitcoin for this reason, ostensibly saying it has no value and dismissing it, but this was fueled by jealousy. As Bitcoin continues to grow in value, so will the rest of the world’s jealousy, and anger. Most people are envious of millionaires and billionaires, but there is at least an understanding that some of them earned it through hard work. No such concessions will be given to wealthy Bitcoiners. Bitcoin could become the new Wall Street, viewed with scathing envy as a cheap play on gaining extreme wealth.

Where is the counterpoint to this perception? The counterpoint is in the counterculture of Bitcoin, the philosophy of Bitcoin. If Bitcoin is to succeed as the world’s global reserve currency, it will first be needed as the world’s reserve morality. The world over is tired of economics, as the vast majority have got nothing but screwed over for their labor and time. Bitcoin is much more than a new economic paradigm, it is a sea change in how we view the world and the benefits of low time preference. We used to appreciate pyramids, great novels, stunning architecture, beautiful artwork, but now our focus is sucked in by Tik Tok videos. What we focus on is what we manifest, and in this fiat world we have manifested a culture of addiction, quick dopamine hits at the expense of well earned serotonin. Our focus has been stolen by the frenetic pace of a fiat world. Our labor is unsecured, at risk of being robbed from us any minute. In this world, envy saturates our collective roots while wisdom dries and dies in the dirt.

Through wisdom we may protect the goodness of the Bitcoin protocol, but this wisdom must be taught. Our best weapons aimed at the corrosive envy of the future are all the podcasts, books, articles, and hopefully institutions that will be established once the value of Bitcoin rises. Ancient Greeks understood the vital importance of having bedrock philosophy to guide their culture, and created institutions around it. The Bitcoin protocol gives rise to the opportunity for us to reestablish a philosophy of wisdom and goodness once again, to put a premium on low time preference and the societal benefits of focusing our energy into the future. Thankfully, due to the concerted efforts of Bitcoiners, we are well on the way to this path. However, our attention must stay focused on the principles and not distracted by the greed and envy of the fiat world. Jealousy and envy will be inevitable, but can be tampered by a consistent effort to provide the wisdom collected throughout the years of the blockchain’s ticking clock.

Not everyone will benefit financially from Bitcoin, or gain the valuable time they deserve. Bitcoin itself will not save the world, but Bitcoiners can be the example of hope they so desperately need. Bitcoin changes that way you think, forces you to question certain realities, and provides a shining glimmer of hope. This hope can be harnessed and exemplified by building businesses, creating art, and establishing new institutions that dig deeper into the depths of human ingenuity. Bitcoin has given us the gift of time, and this excess time should be hyper-focused on improving society, whatever form it may take. This is what drew me into Bitcoin, the depth of intellectual discussions around it and the well of inspiration I accumulated thereby. Bitcoiners should continue to inspire the world with their intellect and creativity. Draw them in with the greed and then keep them with the hope, the philosophy, the creations. A solely economic lens applied to Bitcoin will only spur more envy, reminding people of the opportunity they missed, but we can capture them with a wider net of inspiration.

The Satoshi story is the mythical foundation, but the disciples must spread the word with more stories, better stories. Stories that truly infect people with the contagion of hope. Nobody remembers the currency or financial institutions of Ancient Greece or Egypt, but they do remember and revere their culture and the beautiful creations they left behind that still have us in awe to this day. Their ideas were encapsulated with beautiful narratives and their ingenuity preserved in the architecture. Both were made to withstand the test of time, and were mindfully created to carry forth their cultures through the ages. Do we look back on these cultures with envy? Or are we still inspired by what they created? We must leave behind the myopic cynicism of the fiat world and create a permeable bubble of longstanding hope and inspiration around Bitcoin.

We are all trapped in this fiat world, and the best way to defeat envy is through inspiration. We will not speak down to the disenfranchised masses, but show them what can be done when you invest in a system that invests in you. The enlightenment of hard money savings will not be remembered, but what we were able to create on top of this foundation will be. Our actions and creations will speak to the power of saving with Bitcoin, because our time will not be perverted or subverted, our focus will be on the future, our focus will be hope. No, Bitcoin cannot defeat envy, but we can.

#bitcoin

A Newcomer’s Perspective on Bitcoin

What is the value of Bitcoin? Very simply: the idea. The idea is what drew me into Bitcoin and I have stayed for the philosophy (and number go up). The brilliance of Bitcoin is that while I impatiently wait for the number to go up, I build my conviction through hundreds of hours of podcasts, diving deep into the philosophical principles held therein.

One could argue it is perhaps a self-serving delusion, especially considering its monetary implications–yes, I check the Bitcoin price on Coinbase at least a few times an hour, and yes I use Coinbase and don’t self-custody yet, don’t kill me–but it feels much deeper than that. I have listened jealousy to podcasters extolling the virtues of Bitcoin, sometimes dismissing their opinions and persuasion because they just happened to buy Bitcoin early, but this misses the point. These people have been rewarded for their conviction. However, this argument of a lucky bunch saying how great and life-changing Bitcoin has been because they got in on it early must be taken seriously. Newcomers and normies are likely to treat this bunch with hostility, as they see it as a lucky investment. I know I did, and let's be honest, it is easy for you to espouse the greatness of Bitcoin, because it has already worked for you.

There will be a wave of newcomers like myself who come to Bitcoin with the expectation of exponentially growing their money. For years I heard about Bitcoin and listened to random podcasts talking about it, but there was one problem; I didn’t have any money to put into it. Most people think you can only buy a whole coin, I did, and even when I discovered you could put any amount of money into it, I still didn’t. Because what is a measly $100 dollars worth putting into Bitcoin? I had no savings to even think about buying Bitcoin, nevermind an index fund. I didn’t even know what an index fund meant (and still don’t really) a year ago. However, I was lucky to come into a decent chunk of money after my grandfather passed away. Only then did I jump on the opportunity to buy Bitcoin, and of course bought the top of this latest bull run in 2024. Now I am waiting for my faith to be rewarded.

I am not just here for number go up, but it sure as hell is a big part of it. I find the whole ecosystem of Bitcoin fascinating. I find the ideas extraordinary and I want to be a part of seeing them manifested. However, the store of value proposition is paramount for me at the moment, as it will be for most newcomers to Bitcoin. The assumption that everyone who buys Bitcoin will be orange-pilled seems false. Most people will not care about the Libertarian ideals attached to Bitcoin, the real power is in the time they will gain. That is what we are buying with Bitcoin: time. Time to have enough savings to not work your life away. Time enough for a writer like myself to actually spend his working hours on the next book, not running a painting business just to make ends meet.

My creative mind yearns for the ideas being thrown around in the Bitcoin space. It is an inspiration for me, but most people are not like me and will not be drawn in by the philosophy. Most people just want to get by, and right now Bitcoiners seem to be ignoring those very people who will bring about a hyper-Bitcoinization world. This seems to have always been a bottom-up movement, but the bottom feels as though they are priced out. The way to truly get these people on board, in my opinion, is by telling them to use Bitcoin as a small savings account and explain how they are being robbed by inflation. We now live in a time when inflation is obvious to everyone, and we need to explain how inflation is robbing them via the money printer. Let them build their conviction first through this understanding and then remind them of the virtues of having low time preference, however meager the manifestation of that preference may be. Let them use Coinbase for chrissakes, just get them in first, then badger them about self-custody.

The truth is that however appealing number go up is, it always comes at the expense of excess envy from those who see their number stay stagnant, or go down. We need to eliminate that envy by extolling the virtues of an honest ledger, a sound inflation-resistant money, and then, much further down the line, the power of self-custody. The idea of Bitcoin is why it is so successful, it is like a virus with no vaccine. I still have many questions, like how will it scale? I cannot fathom it as the best store of value ever created, and a means to buy a breakfast sandwich in the morning. Let it be a secure store of value, a scarce asset, for a long time. Don’t confuse people by claiming it will be the world’s currency, that is too daunting an idea for the average person to wrap their head around. Let it be the ultimate savings account, let Ethereum or stablecoins be the checking account.

While I wait for my number to go up, I will continue to stack Sats and build my conviction further by combing through the archives of “What is Money” and “What Bitcoin Did” and all the other superfluous podcasts, because honestly, I still cannot get enough. Hopefully in the next four years my conviction will be rewarded and I can buy the time I so desperately need and want, and if my number doesn’t go up, well, I can always blame you guys, the disciples of a false-prophet.