Dad: Son, is bitcoin for individuals only?
Son: Hi Dad,
No, not at all! Bitcoin is not only for individuals. Publicly traded companies own bitcoin too.
Dad: Can you name a few?
Son: Visit https://bitcointreasuries.net and find out for yourself.
Dad: Impressive. These companies hold huge amounts!
Son: It's just the beginning. More will follow, imagine what happens then. Oh, and did you notice that countries are on that list as well?
#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
Dad: Son, how many Bitcoins does, or did, Satoshi have? Many, I am certain, since he was early. ;-)
Son: Hi Dad,
Some estimate Satoshi had around 980,000 bitcoins. This number is heavily debated, though.
Dad: Estimate based on what? Why do we know that?
Son: The blocks mined by Satoshi have a special pattern, like a fingerprint.
We do not know who Satoshi was, but we know with high probability the number of bitcoins he had. Satoshis' coins never moved and are considered lost forever.
I'm pretty sure even Satoshi felt short bitcoin. ;-)
#Bitcoin
Dad: Son, since most of us cannot afford Bitcoin – is "Bitcoin Cash" still a good deal?
Son: Hi Dad,
"Bitcoin Cash" is trash. This is not bitcoin.
You can buy one dollar worth of bitcoin.
#Bitcoin
Dad: Son, the market capitalization of gold is huge.
Son: Hi Dad,
Yes, but Bitcoin will surpass the market cap of gold and eat all its monetary value very soon.
Dad: Maybe.
But it will take a generation or two before Bitcoin will make gold irrelevant.
Son: A generation or two of new Bitcoiners, yes.
What if Bitcoin will make gold irrelevant within 5 years or so???
#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
Son: Dad, we just got the new car. :-)
Dad: Son, I am glad for you and I wish you many safe trips with it. However, you should have some spare diesel, blankets, food and water in that car. Always.
Son: Yeah, always have backups and a plan B.
#Bitcoin
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, what is a passphrase?
Son: Hi Dad,
The BIP39 standard supports an optional 25th word, a so-called passphrase. The passphrase encrypts the seed and creates a new wallet.
Dad: Son, do I have limitations? Size, or something?
Son: On the Coldcard hardware wallet for example, passphrases are limited to 100 characters in length. The on-screen interface supports ASCII characters only.
Dad: Okay, that is a powerful feature!
Son: So little effort and so much more security.
#Bitcoin
Dad: Son, what is "Cold Storage" exactly?
Son: Hi Dad,
"Cold storage" is a general term for different ways of securing bitcoins offline. Your signing keys are disconnected from the internet.
Dad: So "BlueWallet" must be a hot wallet?
Son: Yes. It's connected to the internet. This is perfectly fine for daily transactions and smaller amounts.
For storing funds long term, use a dedicated hardware wallet like the "Coldcard" or the "Passport". However, multisig – a "signing combination" of various wallet – would be the best solution.
#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, 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
Dad: Son, how to get my coins off exchange?
Son: Hi Dad,
Your way to success:
https://t-m-b-s.com/get-off-exchange
#Bitcoin
Son: Dad, don't trust everything you see.
Even salt looks like sugar.
Dad: Son, what do you want to tell me?
Son: Use your Umbrel node to verify if your bitcoin is real bitcoin – or you will be salty in the end.
#Bitcoin
Dad: Son, what about "paper wallets"?
Son: Hi Dad,
Don't use them nowadays. These paper wallets are considered unsafe for various reasons.
Dad: What should I use instead? Any suggestions?
Son: "Opendimes" are today's paper wallets.
This is a very safe and effective way to generate a uncompromised private key.
Dad: And then I load the private key into BlueWallet?
Son: If you want to move your funds, then yes.
#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, what is "Coin Control" and what is it for?
Son: Hi Dad,
In Bitcoin, not every UTXO is the same, even if the amount is exactly the same.
Dad: An "UTXO" is a coin or note in my wallet, right?
Son: Yes. With coin control, you can choose which coin or note you want to spend.
It like choosing a note by its serial number.
Coin control is crucial for maintaining privacy.
Make sure to use it.
#Bitcoin
Dad: Son, what does m/44'|48'|84'/0'/0' mean?
Son: Hi Dad,
It's a "derivation path" and it describes how your Hierarchical Deterministic (HD) wallet derive a specific key within a tree of keys.
For example, if you want to get the next address from a wallet, it just increases the last number by one.
Dad: So this means that all receiving addresses are already known when the wallet is created?
Son: All receiving addresses, all change addresses, all accounts and much more are known from the beginning. Everything is derived from your 12 or 24 seed words using a derivation path.
#Bitcoin
Son: Dad, when in comes to Bitcoin, there are two things you have to control.
1. Your emotions
2. Your private keys
Dad: Son, it is simple, but not easy.
#Bitcoin
Son: Dad, someone who loves Bitcoin podcasts is a sign of a cool person who hasn't let me down yet.
Dad: Son, why that conclusion?
Son: First, this person likes to learn and,
Second, this person loves Bitcoin.
That's why this person must be pretty cool. :-)
Dad: However, do you have a podcast recommendation?
#Bitcoin