It is hard to not laugh at Bitcoin maximalists. History repeats itself, you would think people, especially the “supposedly” intellectual among us would understand that.
Cryptocurrencies are like Christianity
For most in the blockchain space, this is an offensive statement. While exact stats aren’t available, I’d estimate 90%+ of Bitcoin and/or blockchain believers identify as atheist or agnostic.
That is ironic.
Bitcoin Core vs Bitcoin Cash is the modern equivalent of the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther (aka Roger Ver aka Bitcoin Jesus) found his vision diverging from that of the Catholic Church (BTC Core).
Source: CoinTelegraph
As the divide grew, differences began to outweigh commonality — especially thanks to egos. In a degrading situation (hard fork) every god-fearing Christian/Bitcoiner better pick a side — otherwise you are going to hell.
Both the Catholics and Protestants subsequently declare themselves the one true church under Jesus Christ and denounce all others.
Not only is the “otherside” wrong, they are morally corrupt, horrible, hateful people polluting the “one true” vision of Jesus (aka Satoshi).
Could you imagine the Twitter feeds and Reddit posts if we had internet during the Protestant Reformation?
The cult of belief
Religion has been one of the most powerful (and destructive) forces throughout the history of humanity. A spiritual/religious doctrine designed for the greater good has caused more wars, violence, hatred and terrorism than any believer would willingly own up to.
But it was all done in the name of the greater good and god right?
There are two types of crypto investors: those in it for the movement and those in it for the money. And while many would argue “purists” in fact are the more morally righteous, history has other thoughts.
Extremism in any form is dangerous for society.
Religion and race are two “dividing forces” people have used for power. The pursuit of power and wealth perpetuated these and caused incalculable damage to the human race, using morality as our “excuse”.
You NEED to have an inhuman otherside — that is propaganda 101. How else can humanity justify its inhumane actions?
How many millions were sold into slavery or murdered in the pursuit of “civilizing them.” How many billions were “stolen” from hardworking peasants to build the megalithic churches of old?
We “need” a moral reason to commits wrongs, to help us sleep at night. So we manufacture one.
A rising tide lifts all ships
“Nobody wins when everyone’s losing.” — Theory of a Deadman
The competitive nature of today’s cryptocurrencies and protocols is driven by short-sighted greed. From Bitcoin Core vs Bitcoin Cash to the hundreds (maybe 1000s) of shitty ICOs, people are “creating value” out of thin air, capitalizing on the ignorance of the moment and selling a dream to make themselves stupid rich. The idea of divide and conquer feels reminscent of the internet era tech giants like Amazon, Google, Facebook and Apple, enriching themselves first and foremost.
Is that the future crypto-enthusiasts hope to create — a set centralized, economically stratified closed garden networks? If so you are well on your way…
“United we stand, divided we fall”
For crypto to make a serious impact on the world, the kind it is capable of where many major centralized institutions and players are disrupted, a MAJOR change is needed.
Competition breeds innovation and evolution. In crypto, as in life, as you see the tides changing you have two options: fight to maintain the inferior status quo (like Big Oil fighting electric vehicles in the 60s) or find a way to contribute the future.
This isn’t an open call to jump ship when times are tough, but as the old adage goes two heads are better than one.
Do you want to change the world or just make a shit ton of money? Your actions, not your words define your character.
Be a team player and build something for fucks sake, stop trying to only tear your enemies down.
Satoshi was ONLY human — stop kneeling, stop preaching, stop bitching, start doing.
Let the best protocol win.
Closing thoughts
This was meant to be provocative. It was meant to make you think.
If you fail to see the similarities then there is only so much I can do for you. But if Bitcoin Cash helps Bitcoiners and cyber punks create an alternative, honest system of money not controlled by any one government, would you really be that upset?
If you aren’t in it just for the money, then the mission matters a hell of a lot more than who accomplishes it.
For cryptocurrencies gain mainstream adoption, their are many different use cases needed. There is a reason we have Fiat currency, credit (and debit) cards, gold, silver, derivatives and more today. There is 0 historical precendent to say a single cryptocurrency could adequately accomplish all these use cases better than existing solutions.
A quarterback isn’t kicking field goals and an 18 wheeler isn’t street racing a corvette — optimizing for use allows multiple methods for increased efficiency.
So, what do you think?
I could careless which crypto is your favorite? I am much more interested, rather than promoting a single GODcoin, in creating the environment for experimentation and testing needed to turn cryptos into worldwide, censorship resistant, non-governmental currency.
Like politics and everything else, beliefs are on a spectrum. How secure is secure enough? How decentralized is secure enough?
What does the future of crypto hold? Can we all get over our own egos and build?
I for one think we need more women in the space. The “I am god and all others are wrong” narcissistic ego prevalent today is very much a masculine trait.
Changing your mind and the ability to compromise leads to progress. Failure to do so feels a lot like Fox News… who do you want to be?
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