Dad: Son, what is an "Epoch" in Bitcoin?

Son: Hi Dad,

With a "Bitcoin epoch" people usually mean a period of roughly 4 years (210,000 blocks and about 10 minutes between them) with a specific mining reward.

The first epoch started with the genesis block in 2009, and a block reward of 50 bitcoin.

From May 2020 until some time in 2024, we're in the 4th mining epoch, and the block reward is at 6.25 bitcoin per block.

Dad: I see a bitcoin supply squeeze coming.

Son: Dad, me too.

#Bitcoin

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, is it possible to sell Bitcoins?

Son: Hi Dad,

Yes, it's possible.

Most exchanges that let you buy bitcoins also let you sell bitcoin, for a fee, of course. So, ...

Could you sell? Yeah, sure.

Should you sell? Hell, no!

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, understanding what Bitcoin is, is damn hard. Explaining it to someone else is even harder.

Have you tried?

Son: Dad, you're absolutely right on that.

Aside from the fact that Bitcoin is different things to different people, the term "Bitcoin" is also used equally for different things.

Dad: The confusion is immense.

Son: "Giacomo Zucco" tweeted no long ago, "Bitcoin's Layer 1 Protocol (BP) is about time. Bitcoin's Layer 2 Protocol (LNP) is about space."

I really like the concept of "BP" and "LNP". Dad, what do you think comes on top of "LNP"?

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, how can I convert a 24 word seed into a 12 word seed (BIP39)? 12 words can be better memorized.

Son: Hi Dad,

Converting a 24 into a 12 word seed is impossible.

According to BIP 39, a mnemonic seed is converted into a binary seed using PBKDF2-SHA-512.

To turn a 24 word seed into a 12 word seed, you'd need to find a 12 word seed that produced the same binary seed, which is believed to be impossible.

Dad: Oh, I see.

It will take me a while to learn all 24 words.

#Bitcoin

Son: Dad, two years from now you're going to regret that you didn't stack today.

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, when will all 21 million BTC be mined?

Son: Hi Dad,

All 21M bitcoins will be mined by 2140, but more than 98% will be mined by 2030.

Act accordingly and stack some sats today, tomorrow and the day after.

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, do you have a good Bitcoin investment strategy you would like to share?

Son: Hi Dad,

Sure. Don't trade, don't sell – that's the strategy.

Holding bitcoin is savings, not investing.

People with a high time preference will invest their fiat money seeking for fiat gains.

#Bitcoin

Son: Dad, don't forget to invest in your friendships. Tell your friends about Bitcoin today.

Dad: Son, what is the easiest way to get someone to start using Bitcoin?

Son: Dad, onboarding friends to Bitcoin is like 1-2-3.

1. Install BlueWallet on friend's mobile phone.

2. Create a wallet and get a receiving address.

3. Scan the QR code and send $10 worth of sats.

Dad: So, it costs me $10 to orange pill a friend?

Son: Dad, orange pilling is priceless!

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, there are valuable life lessons to be learned from Monopoly. Do you know them?

Son: Hi! Which one do you mean, Dad?

Dad: Just the most important:

Don't sit on too much cash.

Choose your investments and stick with it.

The Bank never “goes broke”. If the Bank runs out of money, the Banker issues as much as is needed.

Finally, avoid jail at all cost.

Son: Most of this can be reached by buying Bitcoin.

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, what about splitting the 24 recovery seed words in two and storing the two parts in different locations?

Son: Hi Dad,

This is a bad idea that should not be done because if one set of words is discovered, then it becomes far easier to brute force the rest of the seed phrase.

Storing bitcoin in multiple locations like this should be done with multi-signature wallets instead. A 2-of-3 quorum is a great configuration to secure your funds.

Dad: Well, that brings other challenges, I assume.

Son: Yes, but it's not that hard to do.

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, cam yuu hlp be to make a bitcorn paymentt?

Son: Dad, what's wrong? Are you drunk?!

Dad: Alk goood. coudl be, .. maybe jhst a little too muvh of that finee botttle, ..

Son: 4 things not to operate intoxicated:

1. Firearms

2. Heavy machinery

3. Vehicles

4. Bitcoin

That's my message for today, Dad. Talk tomorrow.

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, why should I invest in Bitcoin?

I do not understand it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Son: Hi Dad,

Nobody understands Bitcoin when they start.

Dad: Truth.

Son: Two other things are true:

1. Nobody has enough Bitcoin.

2. Nobody understands Bitcoin completely.

So, you are in good company. ;-)

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, I just got my Coldcard hardware wallet today.

The bag is really special. Pretty sure it has more security feature than a banknote.

Son: Hi Dad,

Not sure about that one. ;-)

But yes, the device seems well protected. However, I recommend you download the latest firmware from Coinkite, check it and install it on your Coldcard manually. And also inspect the device visually, and verify the bag number.

Dad: Son, why all the effort, it is "just a calculator".

Son: Haha. Anyway, I will send you a tutorial later.

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, what are "HD Bitcoin Wallets"?

Son: Dad, by definition, wallets are private key and public key management systems. In the beginning, every key pair used had to be backed up individually. That's why many have reused addresses, which is bad for privacy, as you know.

BIP-32 made Bitcoin better and introduced "HD wallets", which stands for "Hierarchical Deterministic", and not for "High Definition". With this BIP, it's possible to generate multiple addresses (public/private key pairs) derived from a single source of random data (=entropy).

Dad: Why was this introduced in the first place?

Son: It makes backing up the random bits of data much easier and safer, especially if combined with BIP-39, which introduced the mnemonic seed words, which is just entropy in a human-readable form.

#Bitcoin

Son: Dad, did you know that there are 1,461,501,637,330,902,918,203,684,832,716,283,019,655,932,542,976 Bitcoin private keys?

Dad: Son, guess which ones are mine. ;-)

Jokes aside.

How likely is it that someone could guess one?

Son: In short, extremely unlikely.

Dad: Extremely unlikely? So, it is possible?!

Son: Extremely unlikely because there are more Bitcoin private keys than atoms in the universe.

Dad: Okay, somehow reassuring.

#Bitcoin

Son: Dad, here's the four-point plan to not screw up with your bitcoin.

1. Never store a 12/24 recovery seed words online, not even encrypted

2. Never type a 12/24 recovery seed words onto any online device

3. Only enter the 12/24 recovery seed words directly onto a hardware wallet

4. Only record the 12/24 recovery seed words onto durable physical medium such as a Cryptosteel Capsule or a Cryptosteel Cassette.

Dad: Son, sounds like a plan.

#Bitcoin

Son: Dad, in the future, you will have to get on a waiting list to buy a fraction of a bitcoin.

Dad: Son, I am not made for waiting lists.

I prefer to get my fraction right now.

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, is the "Bitcoin Halving" necessary?

Son: Hi Dad,

Yeah, the halving is necessary. This is how Bitcoin controls its supply.

Once the block subsidy expires, transaction fees will pay miners for securing the network.

#Bitcoin

Son: Dad, buy bitcoin before you need it.

Dad: Son, in my opinion, it is always better to "want" something than to "need" something.

Son: And when you "want bitcoin", you realize that Bitcoin is on every level of Maslow's pyramid.

#Bitcoin