The recent crypto price rally has lead to a lot of confusion and criticism of what Bitcoin is. This shouldn’t be surprising since the concept is so esoteric.
You can’t hold or see a bitcoin, so it’s no wonder people are having a hard time wrapping their heads around the idea of Bitcoin and blockchains in general.
This hasn’t stopped people from giving oversimplified, and in my opinion, incorrect explanations as to what Bitcoin is.
Warren Buffet has described Bitcoin as “a real bubble.” Jaimie Dimon claims that “it’s a fraud” and that it’s “worse than tulip bulbs.”
I find it interesting that most of the exaggerated criticisms come from financiers, not technologists.
These oversimplified criticisms can potentially deter people from diving down the Bitcoin rabbit hole, so this post is an attempt to combat that.
By simplifying what (I think) Bitcoin is, I hope it can spark a genuine curiosity in others and lead them to do the research and come up with their own well thought out conclusions.
So with that being said, here is what I think Bitcoin is…
Bitcoin is a bet against central planning.
Bitcoin is a new way for humans to organize themselves.
Bitcoin is backed and secured by math.
Bitcoin is digital scarcity.
Bitcoin is an immutable public ledger.
Bitcoin is a means of securing one’s sovereignty.
Bitcoin is computers reaching consensus.
Bitcoin is a threat to middlemen and rent seekers.
Bitcoin is best understood as a technology first and a financial instrument second.
Bitcoin is the most important social shift/experiment happening today.
If you want to dive down the Bitcoin rabbit hole, I’d suggest you first dive down the history of money rabbit hole.
Here are some great books that have helped me internalize the significance of the invention and adoption of Bitcoin:
Happy reading!! 🤓📚
If you enjoyed this post please leave a clap and a share! 👏🏼_🔥_👏🏾_🔥_👏🏿_🔥_👏🏾
You can follow me on twitter @dalexandruignat 🔎🔎🔎🔎
_(Note: This post is merely a reflection of what goes on in my weird little head)_🤓