Dad: Son, having kids does not make you a father.

Raising them does.

Son: Dad, buying bitcoin doesn't make you a Bitcoiner.

Holding your keys does.

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, how do you generate these 24 seed words?

Do you pick random words from your head?

Son: Hi Dad,

This doesn't work that way. First, these words are special words, taken from the "BIP39 Word List". Second, picking words from your head is not random and therefore a bad idea.

I don't always generate a new seed, but when I do, I use dices.

Dad: Why dices? How does this even work?

Son: Dice rolls provide entropy. You could also flip a coin as a source for randomness. The process is simple and is available in BlueWallet (advanced mode), SeedSigner and in every Coldcard.

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, is it possible to send funds from a Bitcoin address to itself, I mean to the same address?

Son: Hi Dad,

Yes, "address reuse" is possible, but should be avoided as it unnecessarily reveals common authorship of transactions.

Repeat after me: "Address reuse is privacy abuse."

#Bitcoin

Son: Dad, did you know that from 2100 to 2140, only two bitcoin will be mined! Think about it!!

40 years = two coins!

Dad: Son, these coins will be exorbitantly expensive.

Son: Exorbitantly expensive, yes, but measured against what?! Real Estate? Gold? Dollars?

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, why is relaying unconfirmed transactions from one Bitcoin node to others necessary?

Son: Hi Dad,

Nodes relay unconfirmed transactions they hear about to one another, and every node has its own, more or less synchronized, mempool.

If there was no mempool, there would be no way for miners to learn about unconfirmed transactions to include in blocks to begin with.

Dad: Why not send directly to the miners?

Son: It's important to think about each party's incentives and needs. Relaying transactions is not a waste, even if a node is not mining. Learning about unconfirmed transactions has value, for example while waiting for a payment.

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, I had to ask my bank to approve a payment.

This was incredibly annoying, and I wasn't even conscious of it before. Bitcoin frees people.

Son: Hi Dad,

Fuck banks... I know this oppressive feeling well.

It's not only payment freedom — there are no borders, no bank holidays, no bureaucracy and no bull shit in Bitcoin.

Bitcoin allows you to be in control of your own money.

Dad: If everyone knew that, everyone would already be using Bitcoin.

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, I feel embarrassed asking this question, but what is the difference between a full node and a miner?

How do I get my full node to mine?

Son: Hi Dad,

A full node verifies blocks.

A miner creates blocks.

A full node on a Raspberry Pi is not made for mining. You need specialized equipment to mine.

Dad: Son, that is a pity. I was hoping to make some sats.

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, bitcoin is worthless.

Son: Hi Dad,

Have you ever paid taxes on your bitcoin?

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, do you have a list of decentralized altcoins to invest in?

Son: Hi Dad,

Sure, these are the top 3 decentralized shitcoins:

1. _______________________________

2. _______________________________

3. _______________________________

Dad: Son, okay, I got it... No altcoins.

Bitcoin has become so expensive.

Son: Dad, get some sats instead.

#Bitcoin

Son: Dad, FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) does not help on your Bitcoin HODL journey.

99.99 percent of the news is irrelevant and makes you feel bad at the end of the day.

Yet, you watch it anyway, Dad. Every single day.

Dad: Son, you are not going to sell your sats and watch the BTC price anyway. Every single hour, 100 times a day.

Son: Touché.

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, imagine being hahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahaha haaaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha haha.

Son: Dad?

Dad: Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahaha

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahaha

Son: Dad?!

Dad: Imagine being invested in treasury bonds!

Son: Hahahahahahaha.... I'm laughing my head off.

#Bitcoin

Son: Hi Dad!

Fun fact: Your bitcoin can't be in two different blocks at once.

Dad: Son, how does it ensure that?

Son: Once a Bitcoin transaction is in a block, it can't be duplicated elsewhere, preventing double-spending. The full previously unspent "coin" moves forward with every transaction.

Dad: I see. So, no room for confusion or fraud?

Son: That's right, Dad!

Bitcoin is designed to be reliable and secure, making transactions trustworthy and final.

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, so, Bitcoin is open-source? What does this mean exactly?

Son: Hi Dad,

The term open source refers to something anyone can independently review, modify and share because its design is publicly accessible.

Dad: So, everything is public and there are no secrets, except your own?

Son: Your private keys are private, of course.

Everything else is public and auditable. In this beautiful asymmetry lies the true power of Bitcoin.

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, it seems that you either love Bitcoin or hate Bitcoin. Somehow, there is nothing in between.

Son: Hi Dad,

Nobody hates freedom.

#Bitcoin

Son: Dad, are you prepared?

#Bitcoin

Son: Hi Dad!

Fun fact: Your bitcoin can't be in two different blocks at once.

Dad: Son, how does it ensure that?

Son: Once a Bitcoin transaction is in a block, it can't be duplicated elsewhere, preventing double-spending. The full previously unspent "coin" moves forward with every transaction.

Dad: I see. So, no room for confusion or fraud?

Son: That's right, Dad!

Bitcoin is designed to be reliable and secure, making transactions trustworthy and final.

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, why not load the seed words into another wallet and spend all the Bitcoins twice?

Son: Hi Dad,

That's not how it works.

Bitcoins cannot be double spent.

Bill Gates once said: “Bitcoin is a technological tour de force.”

Think about it... Bitcoins are purely digital and at the same time something that cannot be copied.

Dad: That is indeed very impressive, son.

#Bitcoin

Son: Dad,

Measuring your wealth in fiat is _____ .

Measure it in bitcoin and time instead.

Dad: Yes – an exiting time.

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, what do you recommend to your friends?

Son: Hi Dad,

"Pay attention to Bitcoin and educate yourself." or "Invest in yourself, invest in Bitcoin."

Dad: Son, why exactly this recommendation?

Son: Because Bitcoin is the hardest money, the greatest monetary and technological revolution since the Internet itself. It's not a fad.

Dad: I also believe that Bitcoin will not go away.

Son: Bitcoin is here to stay — that's for sure – and it will transform money, the Internet and so much of the world around us. It's just starting...

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, what is the difference between blockchain and Bitcoin? Is there even a difference?

Son: Hi Dad,

"Blockchain" is the technology that underpins Bitcoin, and transactions are stored in blocks.

Think of it as a decentralized database or a decentralized ledger.

"Bitcoin" – the coins or the "value" – are the unspent transaction outputs that are stored on the blockchain.

Dad: Where on the blockchain?

Son: If the blockchain were a material flow or Sankey diagram, you would find the stored value at the ends of the diagram.

#Bitcoin