Son: Dad, if Bitcoin fails, I'm fucked.

We are fucked.

Dad: Son, all of us, I guess.

#Bitcoin

Son: Dad, don't wait for a three-digit-sats-per-dollar-value to start stacking sats.

Dad: Son, I am already stacking sats with Relai.

Son: That is a relai good idea, Dad.

#Bitcoin

Son: Dad, Bitcoin is hope.

Dad: Seems so, son.

#Bitcoin

Son: Dad, the coins nobody knows you have are worth more.

Privacy first.

Dad: This message self-destructs in 5, ...

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, what about trading bots?

Son: Hi Dad,

The bitcoin markets are unpredictable.

Few are able to consistently turn a profit, particularly during a bear market, much less code a program to do so.

Dad: So, that is a taboo?

Son: Anything or anyone claiming guaranteed profits or insider knowledge should be treated as scam or scammer, uhm, with caution.

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, criminals use Bitcoin for various purposes like laundering dirty money, scamming victims, monetizing ransomware, or buying illicit goods.

Son: Hi Dad,

Yes, of course they do.

Bitcoin is the best and hardest money ever.

However, the percentage of bitcoins used for crime is small compared to US dollars.

Dad: Hmm... Your counterargument makes these "facts" seem like an attack on Bitcoin.

Son: Bitcoin is black market money. Few.

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, what happens if I lose access to my Bitcoin?

Can anybody help me to recover the coins?

Son: Hi Dad,

No one can help. If you lose your 12/24 recovery seed words and/or your passphrase, your funds are inaccessible and considered lost forever.

That would be bad for you and for your bitcoin, but would make everybody else's a bit more valuable.

Dad: Why does it make other coins more valuable?

Son: Bitcoin is already super scarce and would become even more scarce. 4M coins are already lost forever. Satoshi once said: "Think of it as a donation to everyone."

#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

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, 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: Daily reminder: Dad, no one is coming to secure your wallet's recovery seed words for you. ;-)

Dad: Son, thank you for helping me to help myself.

With a Cryptosteel, it was done in no time.

Thank you for the recommendation and the "TEACH_ME_BITCOIN_SON_CS10 " coupon code.

Son: You're welcome, Dad. Glad you did it.

Have you secured the passphrase too?

Dad: Yes, I did. Got a "Capsule Duo".

#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, 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, why Bitcoin?

Son: Hi Dad,

Fiat is broken and they can’t fix it.

Bitcoin works, and they can’t break it.

Dad: Okay, agreed, but what about gold?

Son: The century between the gold standard and the Bitcoin standard – the fiat money interregnum – is the real anomaly of history.

Dad: And what about "the next Bitcoin"?

Son: The "next Bitcoin" does not and will never exist.

#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 does it take so long to have my new Umbrel ready to use? It is syncing since hours now.

Son: Dad, again, it's a question of time preference.

A full node, what your Umbrel is, is a program that fully validates transactions and blocks.

Everything from the Genesis block to today's latest block must be downloaded and validated first. This is the only way to be sure that you have a valid copy of the blockchain running.

Dad: Ok, I see. How can this be accelerated?

Son: A fast internet connection and a fast SSD disk helps to speed up the initial sync, however ...

You'll have to be patient, Dad. ;-)

#Bitcoin

Son: Dad, I taught my kids that:

"The more you learn,

the more you earn,

the more you stack,

the more luck you will have."

Dad: Son, "The amount of good luck coming your way depends on your willingness to act."

That is a quote from "Barbara Sher" which basically says the same thing.

Son: .., but without Bitcoin – a huge difference.

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, why did Satoshi Nakamoto choose a decentralized system, and why did he always choose to remain anonymous?

Son: Hi Dad,

"Governments are good at cutting off the heads of a centrally controlled networks like Napster, but pure P2P networks like Gnutella and Tor seem to be holding their own." ––Satoshi Nakamoto

Dad: Oh! Okay, that makes perfect sense.

Son: "Satoshi's genius was the removal of all heads, including his own." ––dergigi

Dad: I really like those quotes.

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, is there a difference between Bitcoin and bitcoin (upper-/lowercase 'b')? I have seen both spellings in publications.

Son: Hi Dad,

When expressed using a small 'b', the word bitcoin usually refers to the unit of currency.

Dad: And the uppercase 'B' ?

Son: Bitcoin with a capital 'B' is typically associated with Bitcoin, the protocol and payment network or to refer to the ecosystem as a whole.

Dad: So, "Saving in bitcoin is investing in Bitcoin."

Son: "Stacking sats makes Bitcoin better."

#Bitcoin

Son: 56bbd862e7e4bfe4da5a10d0e80e1da13dd3a2ed15eee8b9a0a322b8a4ca3e3d

Dad: Son, what is this again?

Son: Dad, this is just a random, 256-bit hexadecimal number. A bitcoin private key.

A private key is used to spend bitcoin and as the source of its public key. The public key is required to receive bitcoin.

Dad: Are public keys the same thing as addresses?

Son: No. Bitcoin addresses are derived from a public key using a one-way function. Or in other words:

A bitcoin address is a hashed version of a public key. It’s shorter than the original public key.

#Bitcoin