I tended to only think about how bitcoin will fix the world by syphoning in all the monetary energy misallocated in other assets.
Now I increasingly realize that the appreciation of bitcoin is primarily not due to sucking in new investments.
Bitcoin attracts human ingenuity because bitcoin is ethical and absolutely vital to human flourishing.
All the intellectual energy that had been captured by fiat jobs and fiat markets is now turning towards better use - helping bitcoin win.
Investments couldn’t have occurred if not for all those open-source people who put in the low time-preference effort in projects with no clear business plan or calculated returns on investment.
This is grassroots adoption, not institutional adoption.
This is organic evolution. This is spontaneous emergent order.
This is bitcoin
Opens-source software is the long tail winning against the short head.
People tend to focus on short-term gains and develop centralized services which have their clear expiration dates.
Others would like to convert developers to improve their not-so-useful pet projects just because they think it is valuable for everyone.
The right mixture of low time-preference and incentives will do the magic.
Many times I hear people complaining about the democratic voting system. It is doomed indeed. However, complaining will not save a failed system.
In bitcoin-land open source software makes things really simple:
Just run your own node.
#bitcoin self custody reveals profound things about life.
One such thing is irreversibility. Time cannot be reversed. Your actions cannot be reversed.
This means that if you make a mistake it is really painful.
On the other hand it also means that now your actions really matter. Your life really matters. You really matter.
Reconnect with life. Practice Self Custody.
Most Nation states understand at this point that Sound Money imbued with Cryptography has won, and fiat has lost.
Since #bitcoin is unstoppable, they will try to stop people from using it rather than trying to hack or shut down the network.
With their last breath they will try to use psi-ops, surveillance and coercion to discourage people from using bitcoin.
If you have already awaken to the truths of bitcoin there is only one step to be finally free:
You must deeply internalize the importance of privacy tools, especially #NoKYC bitcoin.
I get it, it's mostly way more convenient to just hit that smash buy button on your DCA dashboard.
The bureaucrats in turn hit their button to inform you that you must turn in all your bitcoin or else...
Don't make it easy for them. Be prepared, stay vigilant. Keep learning. Keep winning.
Many think that all it takes to be a good teacher is to be the expert know-it-all.
They measure success in the amount of respect they get from colleagues and students.
These people leave other-orientedness out of the equation which is arguably even more important if we measure success in mastery instead of respect.
Really paying attention to others' blindspots instead of just reciting the facts works wonders.
One more metric to this subject:
How confidently do people ask questions from you? Or are you just making them feel dumb?
Teaching is empowerment.
The nature of #bitcoin as p2p permissionless and censorship-resistant sound money will require bitcoin Plebs to onboard people the right way.
The fiat methods of company advertising, attention-hustling and centralized KYC services will never translate into committed Plebs capable of storing and using bitcoin properly.
They just lead to easy-to-shutdown giant honeypots of sitting ducks.
Save yourself then save others.
Attend meetups. Show empathy and care. Teach and Lead the way.
This kind of grassroots adoption will bring your desired future closer.
Degrees are Proofs of Servitude.
Open-source coding is Proof of Work and Virtue.
Which do you value more?
Choose your path. Choose community.
Choose your destiny.
Show me how much you can learn by reading formal definitions and articles.
Then I'll show you how much can be learned by just playing around with it.
If learning wasn't tied tightly to play, kids wouldn't do it.
Reading is important but it's cultural.
Play is visceral.
Self Custody of #bitcoin is a nerdy niche-subject for now.
In 10 years, these skills are going to be essential for survival in most countries.
Learning the skills required for #bitcoin Self-Custody is a decision.
Education and Convenience is radically improving in the space.
The really hard part lies in adopting responsibility for your actions.
It makes all the difference in your learning curve.
Here's a litmus test:
- Am I afraid of holding my keys?
- Am I afraid of losing sats?
- Am I afraid of getting shamed for it?
- Am I afraid of looking into using bitcoin privately?
- Am I afraid of something I don't yet understand?
- Am I afraid to ask "stupid" questions?
Responsibility assumes courage to own the result of your actions regardless of what others might think.
We're all learning, all the time.
Being wrong will teach you a more valuable lesson than being right.
Your fear can hold you back.
Or it can show you the way forward.
#my2sats
Many times we accept theories presented to us at face value. We don't have the time to dig deeper in all possible topics. We do need trusted authorities of some kind in our lives.
But pay attention to your own curiosity. Which areas cause you to look further and ask: Why? These relevance realizations will save you from your evident blindness and help you focus your life in accordance with your values.
The deeper you're inclined to dig and the more times you ask Why, the more you should direct your attention to that area.
What you will find is how blind you were before. After adopting this practice, what you will hopefully conclude is how blind you still are and will always be, and how humble and open you need to be in order to learn.
Dig deeper. Dare to ask Why and spend the effort to feed your curiosity.
The Truth lies beneath the known, beyond the frontiers.
The biggest lie about privacy is that "do or die" mentality:
Normie#1: "Nothing to hide, nothing to do."
Normie#2: "Surveillance is bad but privacy is too hard"
Techie#1: "You're gonna get burnt I warn you... told you so!"
Techie#2: "Don't you have a burn email and phone nr.? You use google? You're doomed..."
Truth is, privacy is a practice.
You want better privacy?
Start small and build up gradually.
You really want to help?
Practice empathy and ask the right questions instead of venting your frustration.
"There is nothing more permanent than a temporary government program."
There is no stronger incentive for you to keep your software closed-source than launching a fully proprietary product.
Your problem will be of course that there is an even stronger incentive at play:
If your product is any good, it will eventually break free.
It's all about incentives.
#opensource
My friends in the tech-industry mostly ignore #bitcoin. They are highly skilled and intelligent people.
My conclusions:
1. Technology is a tool. If you don't see the problem you don't need the tool.
2. Intelligence can make you ignorant and blind. Wisdom is NOT intelligence. It is more about being humbly open towards people and new ideas to gain new insight.
3. Bitcoin is for the wise and the virtuous.
#stayhumblestacksats
#Bitcoin is the missing piece from Open Source Software.
Not only because it makes you sovereign.
But because bitcoin makes you switch and learn open source software through Self Custody.
Depending on certain products and services in #Bitcoin makes you vulnerable.
Companies suggest that if you buy their stuff you suddenly become sovereign.
If you want to become a Sovereign Individual, don't rely on companies.
Just embark on the journey and learn Self-Custody.
Plebs advice:
1. Build your Practice and become excellent at something.
2. Create value for others. Find your niche. Find your audience. Just a few true fans go a long-long way.
3. Trade your value for sats
4. Hodl the profits in Self Custody.
Enjoy life. Enjoy Bitcoin. Responsibly.
#V4V
A simple measure of your Time Preference is the number of times you check the price of #Bitcoin in a week.
Lower your Time Preference.
One of the benefits of being "late" to adopt #Bitcoin is starting with a clean slate:
Buy #NoKYC only.
You don't need the exchange.
You need Peer-to-Peer freedom.
...and Responsibility is the price.
No better teacher than #Self-Custody.