Dad: Son, your best teacher is your last mistake.
Son: Hi Dad,
I disagree with your take.
Bitcoin is the best teacher.
#Bitcoin
Dad: Son, do not respect the people who do not respect time.
Son: Dad, don't respect the people who don't respect bitcoin.
Dad: Time is money, as the saying goes.
#Bitcoin
Dad: Son, what is the legal form of Bitcoin?
Son: Hi Dad,
Bitcoin is an open protocol, not a company.
Companies come and go. On the other hand, once a protocol gets established, it almost never changes.
We only use one internet protocol (TCP/IP) and one email protocol (SMTP).
Dad: That is true. The analogy is interesting....
Son: It looks like the default protocol for a sovereign platform is Bitcoin.
#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
Dad: Son, what stops a wallet from stealing bitcoin?
Son: Hi Dad,
What stops malware from being malicious?
Nothing.
Get a signing device and split wallet functionality from transaction signing.
#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
Dad: Son, I am getting old. I need a backup solution for my passphrase. I think getting another Cryptosteel Capsule.
I have so many tiles left. Do you know if I can buy only a Capsule container without the tiles?
Son: Hi Dad,
Yes, you can buy an empty Capsule.
This package includes no tiles or separators and is perfect for backing up a passphrase.
On the Cryptosteel website, go to 'Products' > 'All Products' > 'Shop'. Use the coupon "TEACH_ME_BITCOIN_SON_CS10" during checkout to get 10% off!
Dad: Great, found it. Thank you. :-)
#Bitcoin
Son: Dad,
Dad: Son?
Son: On your Mac, open `Terminal` and then type the following command: "open /System/Library/Image\ Capture/Devices/VirtualScanner.app/Contents/Resources/simpledoc.pdf" What do you see? :-)
Dad: How did you get the Bitcoin whitepaper onto my Mac?
Son: I wasn't. It was always there.
Dad: Okay, ... Now I am speechless.
#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
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
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, 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
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, 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 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, 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, 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
Dad: Son, how large is the Bitcoin community?
Son: Hi Dad,
There is no single Bitcoin community.
Instead, there are numerous decentralized communities using Bitcoin, contributing to its development, and/or investing in various ways.
#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
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