🔥 Unpopular Opinion :
Bitcoin will never be daily spending money for most people.
It's digital gold, not digital cash.
Stop forcing it into a use case it wasn't designed for.
I don't know if it's a bubble, but it's definitely an easy entry point for many investors who want Bitcoin exposure without educating themselves about it.
The real challenge : how do we get them from exposure to actual Bitcoin ?
#BTC #Privacy #SelfCustody
BitcoinExplained#5
UTXOs - What You Actually Own in Bitcoin
A UTXO (Unspent Transaction Output) is like a digital coin in your wallet. Unlike traditional banking, Bitcoin doesn't track account balances. Instead, it tracks individual coins you can spend.
How UTXOs work :
Each UTXO is like a specific banknote with a fixed value. You can't spend part of a UTXO because it's all or nothing. When you spend a UTXO, you must spend the entire amount. Any leftover value comes back to you as change in the form of a new UTXO. Your wallet balance is simply the sum of all your UTXOs.
Real-world analogy :
Imagine you only have cash bills and no coins. To buy something for $15 with a $20 bill, the cashier takes your $20 and gives you $5 change. You can't tear the $20 bill in half. Bitcoin works the same way because each UTXO is like an indivisible digital banknote.
Example transaction :
You have a 0.1 BTC UTXO and want to send 0.06 BTC to a friend. Your 0.1 BTC UTXO gets consumed entirely as input. The transaction creates two outputs: 0.06 BTC goes to your friend's address, and 0.04 BTC comes back to your address as change (minus fees).
Why this matters :
Your wallet balance is actually a collection of UTXOs rather than a single number. UTXOs can be tracked through the blockchain, which affects privacy. Multiple small UTXOs result in higher transaction fees. Advanced users can choose which specific UTXOs to spend for better privacy and efficiency.
Bottom line :
Bitcoin doesn't have accounts with balances. You own specific digital coins called UTXOs that you can spend entirely or not at all.
#Bitcoin #BitcoinExplained #UTXO
Nice try Jimmy 😉
This is the Way
Understanding Bitcoin Cycles and Accumulation Strategy
The Context of the Viral Tweet
There's currently a tweet circulating widely in the Bitcoin community that essentially says you need to buy 0.1 Bitcoin before countries start printing money massively to buy Bitcoin against each other. This idea is based on a theory that nation-states will soon enter a monetary arms race to accumulate Bitcoin.
The main argument is that governments will create massive amounts of fiat currency like dollars or euros to buy Bitcoin before their competitors. This excessive money creation would devalue their national currencies but allow them to acquire more Bitcoin. Some countries like El Salvador have already adopted Bitcoin as legal tender, and US states as well as other nations are studying the creation of strategic Bitcoin reserves.
Why 0.1 Bitcoin is Considered Significant
The figure of 0.1 Bitcoin is not chosen randomly. There will be a maximum of 21 million Bitcoin that will ever exist. This means that only 2.1 million people in the world will ever be able to own 0.1 Bitcoin or more. When we know there are about 8 billion humans on Earth, this represents only 0.026% of the world population.
This mathematical scarcity is what drives some to think that 0.1 Bitcoin could represent a fortune in the future if Bitcoin truly becomes a global store of value massively adopted by states and institutions. In this scenario, 0.1 Bitcoin could represent enormous purchasing power.
The Reality of Current Prices
Today, Bitcoin trades around $107,000, which means 0.1 Bitcoin costs about $10,700. For many people in developed countries, this amount represents a few months of savings, the price of a used car, or less than a down payment for real estate in most major cities. It's still accessible for a middle class that saves regularly.
However, experts predict much higher prices for Bitcoin. Some analysts forecast that Bitcoin could reach $200,000 by 2025, while firms like ARK Invest project prices between $300,000 and $1.5 million by 2030. In these scenarios, 0.1 Bitcoin would be worth between $20,000 and $150,000.
The Perspective of Experienced Investors
For those who have been investing in Bitcoin for a few years, the situation is different. People who bought Bitcoin between 2020 and 2021 at prices around $20,000 to $30,000 now see their investment worth $107,000. For them, accumulating 0.1 Bitcoin might represent a few weeks of gains, not months of difficult saving.
These experienced investors also know the history of Bitcoin cycles. During the last bear market, Bitcoin fell from its all-time high of about $69,000 at the end of 2021 down to about $15,000 to $16,000 in 2022, a 77% drop. This massive correction allowed those who were patient to buy Bitcoin at much more advantageous prices.
The Question of Traditional Cycles
The big debate today is whether these traditional Bitcoin cycles are broken or will continue. On one side, there are arguments to think something has changed. Institutional Bitcoin exchange-traded funds create constant and less volatile flows. National strategic reserves are becoming reality with countries like El Salvador adopting Bitcoin. Institutional investment behavior is different from retail, with less panic selling.
On the other hand, cyclical fundamentals remain present. Human nature with its phases of euphoria and panic doesn't change. Macroeconomic corrections affect all risky assets, and Bitcoin still remains correlated to stock markets in significant stress situations. Financial history shows that when everyone says this time is different, it often ends badly.
The Waiting Strategy
A prudent approach consists of waiting for a correction before accumulating Bitcoin massively. Even if institutional adoption probably creates a higher floor than before, there will probably still be significant corrections. Instead of 80% drops, we could see 50% to 60% corrections. Instead of falling to $15,000, Bitcoin could stay above $40,000 to $50,000.
If this analysis is correct, a correction from the current level of $107,000 could bring Bitcoin back to $20,000 to $30,000. In this case, 0.1 Bitcoin would cost $2,000 to $3,000 instead of $10,700 today. This represents a much more attractive accumulation opportunity.
The Main Lesson
Patience is often rewarded in cryptocurrency markets. Those who buy at the top out of fear of missing an opportunity often find themselves in an unfavorable position. Experienced investors know it's better to wait for good market conditions rather than give in to social pressure or fear of missing the train.
Even in the most optimistic scenario where Bitcoin becomes a global store of value, there will be plenty of time to accumulate at more reasonable prices. Institutional cycles are generally slower than retail cycles, and investment opportunities don't disappear overnight.
The important thing is to understand that Bitcoin remains a volatile and cyclical asset, even with growing institutional adoption. A progressive accumulation strategy during periods of weakness probably remains wiser than an impulsive purchase during market peaks.
#Bitcoin #BTC #Investing #HODL
BitcoinExplained#4 :
Transactions - Moving Bitcoin on the Network
A Bitcoin transaction is like writing a digital check. You specify the recipient and amount, then sign it with your private key to prove you authorize the transfer.
How transactions work :
- You "spend" previous UTXOs (unspent transaction outputs) as inputs
- Create new outputs specifying where Bitcoin goes (recipient addresses)
- Sign the transaction with your private key to prove ownership
- Broadcast the signed transaction to the Bitcoin network
- Miners validate and include it in a block
Real-world analogy :
Imagine writing a check. You specify who gets paid and how much, then sign it to authorize the payment. Your bank verifies your signature matches their records before processing. Bitcoin works similarly, but instead of a bank, thousands of computers verify your digital signature.
Key components :
- Inputs : The Bitcoin you're spending (from previous transactions)
- Outputs : Where the Bitcoin is going (recipient addresses)
- Digital signature : Proof you own the private key for the inputs
- Transaction fee : Payment to miners for processing
Why signatures matter :
Your digital signature proves you control the private key without revealing it. It's mathematically impossible to forge, making Bitcoin transactions extremely secure.
Once confirmed :
Transactions become permanent and irreversible, there's no "undo" button in Bitcoin.
Bottom line :
Transactions are how you actually move Bitcoin using cryptographic proofs instead of trusted intermediaries.
#Bitcoin #BitcoinExplained #Transactions #DigitalSignatures #BitcoinBasics
Apparently, he wasn't following my account...
Unpopular opinion :
Hardware wallet companies are the biggest privacy scammers in Bitcoin.
They sell you "security" while you hand over your ID to buy coins on Coinbase. Your privacy died before you even touched their device.
Marketing > reality.
#Bitcoin #Privacy #HardWallets
Bitcoin Explained #3
Bitcoin Addresses - Your Digital Postal Address
A Bitcoin address is like your postal address for receiving digital money. It's a shortened, user-friendly version of your public key that people can easily share and use.
How addresses work:
Mathematically derived from your public key through hashing
Much shorter than public keys (26-62 characters vs 66 characters)
Safe to share publicly - anyone can send Bitcoin to an address
Come in different formats: Legacy (1...), SegWit (3... or bc1...), Taproot (bc1p...)
QR codes make them easy to scan and share
Real-world analogy:
Think of your public key as your full legal name on official documents, and your Bitcoin address as a nickname everyone uses. Both identify you, but the nickname is easier to remember and share. Just like you might use different nicknames in different contexts, you should use different Bitcoin addresses for different transactions.
The privacy angle:
Your wallet can generate unlimited fresh addresses from the same public key. Using a new address for each transaction is like having a different P.O. Box for each package delivery - it prevents people from linking all your transactions together.
Why fresh addresses matter:
Reusing the same address is like using the same mailbox for everything - eventually, people can track all your financial activity. Fresh addresses = better privacy.
Bottom line: Bitcoin addresses are your public receiving points, but using them smartly protects your financial privacy.
#Bitcoin #BitcoinExplained #Addresses #Privacy #BitcoinBasics
Bitcoin Explained :
Public Keys - Your Safe-to-Share Bitcoin Identity
Your public key is like your bank account number, you can safely give it to anyone who wants to send you money, but they can't use it to steal from you.
How it works :
- Generated mathematically from your private key using cryptography
- One-way process: private key → public key (but never the reverse)
- Think of it as a locked mailbox, anyone can put mail in, only you can take it out
- Your Bitcoin addresses are derived from this public key
Real-world analogy:
Imagine your private key is your house key, and your public key is your home address. You can freely share your address so people can send you packages, but knowing your address doesn't give them access to unlock your front door.
The magic of cryptography :
Even though your public key is mathematically connected to your private key, it's computationally impossible to work backwards. It would take longer than the age of the universe for the world's most powerful computers to reverse-engineer your private key from your public key.
Why this matters :
This mathematical relationship is what makes Bitcoin work. You can prove you own Bitcoin (by signing with your private key) without ever revealing that private key to anyone.
Bottom line : Your public key is your Bitcoin identity that's safe to share, it's how people can send you Bitcoin while your private key stays secret.
#Bitcoin #BitcoinExplained #PublicKey
Bitcoin Explained
Private Keys - The Foundation of Bitcoin Ownership
Your private key is like the master password to your digital vault. It's a 256-bit number (think of a password with 77 random characters) that proves you own specific Bitcoin.
Why it matters :
Anyone who knows your private key can spend your Bitcoin
Lose it = lose your Bitcoin forever (no "forgot password" button)
It's what generates your public key and Bitcoin addresses
Hardware wallets exist specifically to keep this number safe
Real-world analogy :
Imagine your Bitcoin as gold in a safety deposit box. Your private key is the only key that opens that box. If someone else gets a copy of your key, they can empty your box. If you lose your key, your gold is locked away forever.
The golden rule : "Not your keys, not your coins"
When Bitcoin is on an exchange, THEY hold the private keys. You're essentially trusting them with your vault key. True Bitcoin ownership means controlling your own private key.
Bottom line : Your private key IS your Bitcoin ownership. Everything else in Bitcoin flows from this fundamental concept.
#Bitcoin #BitcoinExplained