BWJ 003: “Bitcoin?! You serious?!”; Lightning strikes; Follow the money; and more.
This week: Why do some intelligent people dismiss Bitcoin so easily? What is being built on top of Bitcoin? Who should we listen to?
“Bitcoin?! You serious?!”
Why do some intelligent people dismiss Bitcoin so easily?
On reading Croesus’ article “Why the yuppie elite dismiss Bitcoin”, not only did my business school background immediately resonate, but I felt a pang of satisfaction as a nagging annoyance of mine was resolved. To date I could not explain why some extremely intelligent friends of mine ignore Bitcoin…
The answer lies in a persons ‘trust of the system’. If you are highly intelligent, but have a high level of trust, then it’s likely you will dismiss Bitcoin as an unimportant scam. Often these characters are ‘successful’, in that they’re winning the game of life they’ve been asked to play, but they cannot see a reason to question the status quo.
I particularly liked Guy Swann’s analysis in his audio version, highlighting how these types of character lose intellectual respect for you, the moment you mention Bitcoin seriously. Little do they know, Bitcoin is built with a core philosophy changing the world as we know it, “don’t trust, verify”.
Lightning strikes
What is being built on top of Bitcoin?
Entrepreneurs choosing to build on top of Bitcoin are utilising the strongest foundation ever available to man, quite the opposite of volatile quicksand, a fact that becomes more prevalent day-by-day. Indeed Michael Saylor during his excellent interview on the What is Money Show nailed it, when he compared Bitcoin to an indestructible superhero, impossible to kill and able to learn new superpowers over time.
The lightning network is another ‘layer’ to Bitcoin, built on top of it, and capable of increasingly impressive functions. It’s a layer that is now integral to multiple new startups, across a dizzying aray of use cases, all of which you can read about in Ryan Gentry’s excellent Lightning Labs newsletter.
This weeks news that Substack are partnering with OpenNode is a case in point, a project enabled by the bitcoin technology stack, and proof of just how powerful a strong network effect can be.
Follow the money
Who should we listen to?
I will not pretend to be an expert on the IMF, but when I see self-interest driven commentary such as this tweet, it makes my blood boil. The advice throughout the article ignores so much of what I now know to be true when it comes to ‘hard money’, a characteristic Bitcoin attains, and simply serves to miss-lead the reader.
It comes as no surprise they are biased in favour of their members, countries who pay them a subscription fee, all operating with fiat currency systems. The truth is making Bitcoin national currency would be akin to a national currency backed by gold, like the US dollar before 1971, a far less risky option than limitless currency debasement.
This highlights nicely just how important it is to ‘follow the money’, learn what incentivises the information source, and judge for yourself its relevance to you…
Additional content:
Listen: “Gradually then Suddenly Pt 1” with Parker Lewis & Peter McCormack
Read: “Bitcoin is the War on War” by Robert Breedlove
Watch: “Bitcoin Wealth: Where you rank!” by InvestAnswers