Son: Dad, Bitcoiners are just a different lot of people.

They think different.

They act different.

They spend different.

They are different.

Dad: Son, that is pretty obvious to me.

But why?

Son: Because of Bitcoin, Dad.

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, what about newer versions of Bitcoin like Bitcoin Cash and BitcoinSV?

Son: Nah, Dad. Those are shitcoins!

Bitcoin Core 25.0, Bitcoin Core 24.1 Bitcoin Core 23.2, Bitcoin Core 23.1, Bitcoin Core 22.1, … These are newer Versions of Bitcoin.

There are other Bitcoin Core alternatives like "Bitcoin Knots", "Libbitcoin" and "BitcoinJ" that don’t fork the blockchain.

Dad: How that?

Son: Satoshi launched the first Bitcoin client in January 2009. Over time, developers improved it, leading to "Bitcoin Core." Other projects also created compatible Bitcoin versions with the same consensus rules and protocols.

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, what do you think about __________?

Son: Hi Dad,

Nah. I wouldn't recommend __________.

I'm just interested in Bitcoin. But in the end, everyone has to decide for themselves...

#Bitcoin

Son: Dad, there is no such thing as over-production in Bitcoin.

Dad: Son, what about under-consumption?

Son: In a free market, everything is in perfect balance.

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, what is a "Bitcoin block" exactly?

Son: Hi Dad,

Think of it as a record of ownership at a certain point in time.

The "point in time" is measured as "block height", which is the number of blocks in the chain between a given block and the very first block in the blockchain.

Dad: So the blockchain can also be used to measure time?

Son: Yes, exactly, that's why Satoshi also called the blockchain a "timechain".

#Bitcoin

Son: Dad, I'm grateful that you taught me this:

"Good habits and simple rules, if applied, can positively change your whole life."

Dad: Son, how did you put that to use?

Son: Numerous ways, but one of them is stacking sats, no matter what happens.

Dad: Son, that seems to have paid off.

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, why not keep my Bitcoin on an exchange? They are like banks, and you can use two-factor auth.

Son: Hi Dad,

Exchanges are on-ramps and off-ramps. They are not destinations. Use them as they have been designed, as routes to self-custody and not as banks.

Dad: Even though every withdraw costs a hefty fee?

Son: Yes. Freedom and sovereignty has its price. I don't want anything or anyone to come between me and my bitcoin. For me, there is no such thing as "too complicated", "too cumbersome" or "too expensive" when it comes to self-custody.

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, who is the CEO of Bitcoin?

Son: Hi Dad,

There is no "CEO of Bitcoin".

Bitcoin is an open, collaborative project that no company or government controls, belonging to the people.

Dad: Son, but someone must have launched it.

Son: Satoshi Nakamoto is the presumed pseudonymous person or group who developed bitcoin, authored the bitcoin white paper and launched the network.

#Bitcoin

Son: Dad, Bitcoin is like Bamboo.

Dad: Son, what? Why should Bitcoin be like bamboo?

Son: Bamboo grows underground, unseen, for a few years with nothing valuable to offer the world.

The whole time was a period of preparation.

Growth in solitude. Once matured, in two months or so it grows upwards of 90 feet, towering over everything around it.

Okay, not "a few years with nothing valuable", but still Bitcoin is like bamboo.

Dad: That is a great analogy. It is also interesting to mention that bamboo that bends is stronger than the oak that resists.

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, on a scale from 1 to 100,000,000 how satisfied is a bitcoin?

Son: Hilarious, Dad.

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, I am getting old. I need a backup solution for my passphrase. I think getting another Cryptosteel Capsule.

I have so many tiles left. Do you know if I can buy only a Capsule container without the tiles?

Son: Hi Dad,

Yes, you can buy an empty Capsule.

This package includes no tiles or separators and is perfect for backing up a passphrase.

On the Cryptosteel website, go to 'Products' > 'All Products' > 'Shop'. Use the coupon "TEACH_ME_BITCOIN_SON_CS10" during checkout to get 10% off!

Dad: Great, found it. Thank you. :-)

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, what are Mining pools?

Son: Hi Dad,

Mining pools are groups of miners that combine their computational power to increase the probability of finding new blocks.

Dad: Compete in good company.

Son: Yeah, that's it.

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, who works actually on Bitcoin to make it better and would "doing nothing" make it worse?

Son: Hi Dad,

Everybody can help to make Bitcoin better.

Nobody can make Bitcoin worse.

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, how do you know Bitcoin has a hard cap of 21M BTC?

Son: Hi Dad,

It's defined in Bitcoin's source code.

Dad: The question is: How do you know that hard cap will stay 21M?

Son: The answer is: Because of game theory.

Who would want to join a Bitcoin chain with modified hard cap?

That would no longer be Bitcoin.

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, I am worried about Bitcoin's security model in the long run. What if the block reward is too small?

Son: Don't be, Dad! Not so long ago, transactions were free, then they cost just a few cents, now they cost dollars.

Over time, transaction fees are replacing the block subsidy and remember that block space is scarce.

That's why transactors will likely pay higher fees to get any block space and their transaction confirmed.The fee market is a free market.

Dad: Just like the land prices that are skyrocketing?

Son: Bitcoin's block height, the exchange rate [price] and the transaction fees will go up over time.

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, is the Bitcoin price artificially suppressed?

One Bitcoin should already be worth many times more, as rare as Bitcoins are.

Son: Hi Dad,

Yeah, buy as much as possible of the artificially low-cost asset, and move it off the exchange into cold storage.

They may be able to delay the death of the dollar, but Bitcoin's settlement properties make this type of attack impossible to win.

The question is not "if", but "when".

Dad: At the same time, one Bitcoin is already so expensive that it will be impossible for most to own a whole coin.

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, can you please help me with this new social media thing?

Son: Hi Dad,

Sure, but first, let me teach you how to take a selfie without cutting off your head.

Imagine if Bitcoin was this difficult ;)

#Bitcoin

Son: Dad, dying young is not a retirement plan.

Get some bitcoin.

Dad: Nah.

Son: You can buy a fraction of a bitcoin.

Dad: Son, hell, no!! Uhm, I meant yes.

No, on the retirement thing.

Yes, get some bitcoin.

#Bitcoin

Son: Dad, get your coins off exchange!

Dad: Son, I did that already.

Son: Get more and get those coins off exchange.

#Bitcoin

Son: Dad, do you know how to get the most value out of a gold coin?

Dad: Son, I have no idea....

Son: Flip it 256 times to generate 256 bits of entropy and convert that entropy into a BIP-39 seed.

#Bitcoin