EdwinLeonardJSS

bitcoin

Meme Monday - Best Bitcoin Meme Gets 25,000 Sats

KellyWilkinson3S0

[![darth-vader-drunk.gif](https://imgprxy.stacker.news/ihc5olX2n7Y4enscqtWCzPDJNFXaUrLdQTZ-3oWhsoo/rs:fit:600:500:0/g:no/aHR0cHM6Ly9pLnBvc3RpbWcuY2MvNjNkZkRIbTMvZGFydGgtdmFkZXItZHJ1bmsuZ2lm)](https://postimg.cc/5Y2zzm1d)


### The Paper

You can download it here:

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4985877

### First Shots Fired

@TomK posted about this article yesterday:
https://stacker.news/items/731251/r/siggy47

Last night everyone was weighing in on nostr. Marty Bent was actually quoted in the paper. It purports to be a serious economic paper, but most people in the bitcoin world see it as the beginning of a full scale war by the EU on bitcoin. 

I finally read it through last night, and I may give my laymen impressions at some point. 

### A Robust Defense

What I really would love to see, though, are real bitcoin economists, and not influencers or amateurs like me, pick this thing apart. 

We have that talent on Stacker News with @SimpleStacker and @Undisciplined. @SimpleStacker has already written a review of an academic paper here:
https://stacker.news/items/727081/r/siggy47


This paper could very well be the beginning of an assault on bitcoin. We need our own economists to shred it in the academic arena. 


The Distributional Consequences Of Bitcoin

Showing Number Of Stackers Who Zapped On Posts (Without Hovering)

RachelHooverSQ3

TLDR: Know your friends values. What do they care about. Bitcoin is good for everyone. Do not focus on their politics and how wrong they are. Talk to them about how bitcoin relates to what they care about in the world. 

There are progressive bitcoiners. It pains me to listen to them rationalize their political views in light of how bitcoin works but this is a human flaw. We will never free the world by appealing to logic and reason alone. Building a better system is the way. A system based on logic, reason, and intentional incentive structures. People are locked into their political dogma. The vast majority of people I know are not even open to questioning their views. Its pointless to argue. Better to show it by example.

Note Screenshots

AdrianVillaPV6

How and Why They're Gaslighting You About Supporting El Salvador & Bitcoin

ConniePageXAP

I plan to start playing with Nosrt. Not in a sense of using it to publish content, but in a sense of building things on top of it, such as clients, tools, games, integrations, etc.

BooksAndArticles

Sensei Stacked 1.1 million Sats on Stacker News

VictorBarber1I2

If we are talking about small amounts, I think most people will dismiss the legal consequences. For example, people pay each other under the table all the time and don't report it.

In 2021 the hedge fund manager Ray Dalio wrote a book called "Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order". The book is accompanied by two video summaries on YouTube, one in 5 minutes, one in 40. Got interested through these videos, now I'm reading the book, and it's really insightful!

The tldr is that in his methodology, historical global empires (the Dutch, the British, the Americans...) have a quantifiable rising – maintaining – falling trajectory of about 250 years. The general theme is that we are currently living in the period where the US is starting to fall behind on his key economical and social metrics, is divided internally, and another world power is rising to the challenge. Typically the "passing of the torch" was accompanied by a local conflict.

Dalio makes a lot of interesting points about understanding one's place in history – for example that we rarely anticipate events that have always been happening historically (pandemics, wars, economic crises), because they happened to different generations, and that this incapability to anticipate such events is a recurring theme in humankind also. These historical cycles are typically longer than one single human life, hence this constant running in circles.

He developed his research to deliver better results to his stakeholders, so economy, monetary policy and reserve currencies are an important topic to his understanding of these empires. I haven't yet encountered him discuss bitcoin in the book, but if we are to believe his narrative, China's becoming a global dominant may become a very good reason even for ordinary people to get into bitcoin and privacy, given China's current stance on cryptocurrency and surveillance policing.

Have you read the book and have something to add, or correct? If not, check these videos out and let's talk about it, I'm curious to hear what you think.

Short version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB2r_eOjsPw&pp=ygUecmF5IGRhbGlvIGNoYW5naW5nIHdvcmxkIG9yZGVy


Long version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xguam0TKMw8&pp=ygUecmF5IGRhbGlvIGNoYW5naW5nIHdvcmxkIG9yZGVy



Ray Dalio's Changing World Order – thoughts?

This morning's [post](https://stacker.news/items/480661) by @Undisciplined in the [tough questions for Libertarians](https://stacker.news/items/458128) series got me thinking about this article, which I read  a while ago.  It's about how the lines about what's real have blurred; it's about how to one degree or other, we're all curating our own private worlds, and the consequences that play out when those worlds crash into other worlds.

> Perhaps this helps to explain why fact-checking seems so pitiably unequal to our moment. Yes, unlike a genuine game, QAnon followers assert claims about the real world, and so they could, in theory, be verified and falsified. It isn’t all confirmation bias — surprise is still possible: The Pizzagate believer who in 2016 brought a rifle to a D.C. pizza place to rescue child sex slaves from a ring believed to involve Hillary Clinton was genuinely shocked that the building didn’t have a basement. But ARGs can keep going because there are a myriad of possible solutions to puzzles in the game world. Debunking only ever eliminates one small set of narratives, while keeping the master narrative, or the idea of it, intact. For QAnon, or contemporary witchcraft, or #TheResistance, or Infowars, or the idea that all elements of American life are structured by white supremacy, one deleted narrative barely puts a dent in what people are drawn to: the underlying world picture, the big story.

If you liked this morning's question, or this topic more generally, you may dig this article.  It's one that has stuck with me for a while.

Reality Is Just a Game Now

Much has been written about SoV vs. MoE. I'm not trying to re-hash it here. But as bitcoin's exchange price in US dollars has cracked 100k the investment Slack channel at work started talking about bitcoin. 

A long while back I started a bitcoin only channel and we have been growing slowly but with this new discussion we've had kind of a spike in new people. I'm answering a lot of basic questions but something occurred to me this morning. I see a pattern repeating.

I will start by trying to roughly group people.

## The Crypto People

The crypto people are usually talking about all the limitations bitcoin has and largely ignoring the reasons, tradeoffs, and benefits. Most of their "arguments" come from ignorance. One thing they don't really say but is implied is that bitcoin will never work as a medium of exchange. Of course, they usually have never heard of Lightning let alone used any of the tech being developed. I rarely hear any of these types of people talk about SoV. They realize that bitcoin is a great store of value. The other thing they talk about of course are those 10x gains.

_Minor side note. I have a friend that's into XRP who told me a few weeks ago that bitcoin won't 10x again. I have a reminder set to remind him of what he said in 5 years._

## The No Coiners

I've been seeing many questions around bitcoin's adoption and utility as a medium of exchange from the no-coiners in Slack. I assume they are no-coiners based on their questions. They may have "bought" some bitcoin on some service but they are at least new and are clearly not "crypto" people. They also seem to have latched on to this idea that bitcoin is only good for investment. They don't really believe in the SoV but that is really the only thing they are even thinking bitcoin might have going for it. They seem to think of it like a stock. Obviously it would never be a currency. I've pushed back on these thoughts with my own experience with bitcoin and had positive responses. 

You see, what both of these types of people think is that bitcoin **can't** work as a currency. As a medium of exchange. Its not just that they don't think it will be widely adopted as an investment property. 

## The Vanguard

This is the group you and I fall into. I consider most SN people to be a part of a group I think of as the Vanguard of bitcoin. Some are earlier adopters than others. None of us are late. We believe there is a real _need_ for bitcoin. We are people that have long looked at the world and wondered what was wrong on a very deep level. We have varied political views and ideas about how things should be but we all have deep conviction about bitcoin being a key aspect of making a better future. We are in it for the long term. Its not primarily a way to get rich. Its not about investing. Its about a better world.

We are very different from the average person out there. Some of you might not yet realize this because you are young. You might actually think you are just smarter or special. Of course you are probably smart. Probably smarter than myself but its deeper. You are very different from the average person. If you're like me you will realize that you think about thing most of the people around you do not think about. You think in different ways as well. You question many things others take for granted. I'm not trying to say you are better than others or they are better than you. We are different. We all have value and a role to play in society.

## My Thoughts on MoE

A medium of exchange is something widely acceptable in exchange for goods and services. The vanguard will often claim that bitcoin is a medium of exchange. That's true and not true. It can function as one. It is a medium of exchange in certain subcultures but in reality one can't directly exchange it for most goods and services today. Not because the tech doesn't support it but rather because the masses have not adopted it. They don't even understand that it _can be used_ as a MoE.

In case this isn't clear let me explain with an example. Sea shells are not a medium of exchange. No one to my knowledge is using them for this today. I have read that they have been used as currency in the past in certain places. Cigarettes are not a medium of exchange... unless you are in prison. In prisons cigarettes do often function as a medium of exchange in place of fiat paper.

This is what I mean. 

1. Bitcoin can function as a medium of exchange today
2. Bitcoin does function as a medium of exchange today in smaller markets or subcultures just like other things(cigarettes)
3. Bitcoin is not a medium of exchange like the US dollar... yet

So, of these three which is least important? The last one.

We all know what bitcoin is and can do. I would argue 99.9% of humans don't even understand bitcoin's value. But, they wonder about MoE. That's the right instinct. I believe outside of the supply cap the ability to transact without a third party is the most important thing bitcoin offers. Without it the supply cap is pretty meaningless. But how do we get there? How do we get to a society where bitcoin is a widely accepted form of payment and exchange?

## My View

I say my view because its what I believe. Many have stated this before. Bitcoin in my view will first be seen by most of the world as a good SoV before it will become a MoE. It seems so obvious to me. Granted there are and will be places where MoE is more important or at least equally important but I'm referring to societies where wealth is concentrated. 

The people in wealthy nations don't really yet see the need for a new MoE. They do see the need for a place to store their financial energy. But even this SoV aspect isn't widely accepted yet. We haven't even made it that far yet. Kinda mind blowing when you look at the exchange rate today isn't it?

As a significant number of people(who knows what number that is) have bitcoin and value it for its savings properties then they will be more open to its other uses. Right now you have a chicken egg problem. People would not accept something they don't value or understand. People would not spend something they do not have or few accept.

This is why I think it is SO DUMB to argue about SoV vs MoE. Bitcoin can be both. It needs to be both and it will be both. We should be working as members of the vanguard in making sure the ecosystem is ready. Making sure we know the answers to questions. Have written documents. Have produced guides. Have used the tools. Know which ones will work for the people we know.

IMO we still have a long way to go before the average person will "adopt" bitcoin.

I do think there is a intentional attempt to pigeonhole bitcoin as only a SoV. There are a few different reasons for this.

* Shitcoiners know they can't compete on SoV but think they can compete on other things
* Statists don't want to lose fiat control over society. SoV seems to be less of a threat to their power.
* Bitcoiners that run public companies don't want a target on their heads so they downplay bitcoin as currency(Mike Saylor)
* Deep state wants to make bitcoin into just another asset like gold. Paper bitcoiners. Something they can regulate. Its largely a psyop vs. direct attack.

Just realize these are not all the same people and some have different motivations.

## Action Steps

Don't be reactionary. Don't get sucked into the wrong arguments. It is easy to do. We all fall into this sometimes but try not to. Focus on these things.

* Bitcoin can be _the currency_ of the world. It will work. We don't need another crypto
* No coiners are not like you. They are almost always believers in the state. They may have more in common with you but they likely aren't ideological about money
* Focus on removing mental blocks. The troupes
* Don't push. Ask questions and answer questions. 
* Don't preach to much. You start sounding like a nut or a scammer.

These are my thoughts. I'm still learning and observing.