Dad: Son, why is Bitcoin so hard to understand at first?

Son: Hi Dad,

Lina Seiche once said on a podcast: "The hardest part when learning about Bitcoin is to first unlearn the fiat economics you’ve been taught to believe in. Once you do, Bitcoin becomes the obvious choice."

Dad: Son, it doesn't make it any easier that you are then one of the few.

Son: Yeah, Dad, that's true. Oh, almost forgot, there is a quote from Satoshi Nakamoto himself on this.

"Sorry to be a wet blanket. Writing a description for this thing for general audiences is bloody hard. There’s nothing to relate it to."

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, is Bitcoin real money?

Son: Hi Dad,

This depends on how you define the term "money"?

Dad: Honestly, I have no idea.

Until recently, I was unaware that there is a difference between "currency" and "money".

Son: Dad, unfortunately, few people know that.

Money is a "Store of Value", a "Medium of Exchange", a "Unit of Account" and a "System of Control". Therefore, bitcoin is the best form of money that we have ever known. However, we are still working on the "Unit of Account" thing.

#Bitcoin

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

Son: Hilarious, Dad.

#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, 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, what about ETH, XRP and Doge?

The media are very positive about them.

Son: Hi Dad,

These are all shitcoins, and shitcoins are true parasites.

I would not catch one.

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, why not use gold as store-of-value?

Son: Hi Dad,

Bitcoin is the decentralized financial network.

It allows individuals worldwide to store and send value to one another without intermediary agents like banks or payment processors.

Dad: Okay, well, that sounds promising.

Son: It's a technology that will transform the world.

Gold can't compete with Bitcoin.

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, do you have any idea where I can hide my Bitcoin seed recovery phrase?

Son: Hi Dad,

No, but I can tell you many bad hiding places that are used by many and therefore known to burglars.

Under the mattress, master bedroom, bedroom closet, drawers, safes, cabinets, refrigerator/freezer, toilet tank, vases, and suitcases. These places should be avoided.

Dad: What's wrong with suitcases?

Son: Surprisingly, people use a suitcase as a not-so-secure safe. Burglars know this.

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, this Bitcoin thing is just a passing fad. Back in my day, we trusted banks and cash! Cash was king.

Son: Hi Boomer Dad,

Times are changing. Bitcoin offers decentralized, permissionless and secure transactions that are final. It's the future!

Dad: I don't understand it, and I don't trust it.

Son: Don't be afraid, Dad.

You might be surprised by the benefits it brings.

#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

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, 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, 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, I am reading the "Bitcoin white paper" right now and try getting my head around this:

"The network timestamps transactions by hashing them into an ongoing chain of hash-based proof-of-work, forming a record that cannot be changed without redoing the proof-of-work."

Son: Hi Dad,

A "hash" is like a "digital fingerprint" of any collection of data. Each new fingerprint builds on a previous one and adds a chain link segment.

Dad: Bitcoin seems to be a very sophisticated system.

Son: Dad, that's just the tip of the iceberg.

#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, 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

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, at this rate I am going, my student loans should be paid off in 3 years.

Son: Hi Dad,

That's great.

Dad: Lessons learned.

#Bitcoin

Dad: Son, I want one of those 21M Bitcoin so bad!!!

Son: Hi Dad,

I can understand this desire! One thing you should know: There will never be 21M BTC.

Dad: Why not 21M Bitcoin? Was I lied to?

Son: No, no one was lied to. Here is why: The block 501726 was generated without reward (-12.5 BTC), and block 526591 with half a reward (-6.25 BTC)

Also, the 50 BTC in the Genesis Block can't be spent, even if Satoshi comes back.

On top of that, ~4 million BTC have been lost. Well, those coins existed, but were lost. Maybe one or the other Satoshi will find its way back into circulation. However, keep stacking sats.

#Bitcoin