Bitcoin may seem inevitable but you can still act to push it forward.
This opinion editorial is by Stephan Livera (host of "Stephan Livera Podcast") and managing director at Swan Bitcoin International. This article is an adaptation of his speech from BitBlockBoom 2022 Austin, Texas.
We live in an age of great change, and money is broken. Bitcoin, a monetary technology, is a bright spot. Unfortunately, many people are still stuck in fiat mindsets and don't see the value of Bitcoin.
Take a look at the GIF below. This GIF shows Bitcoiners "pushing the train" in a useless way. Is this just a matter of time?
Bitcoin is inevitable?
It seems that Bitcoin is inexorable by the way people talk about it. This raises interesting questions. It is? What sense is that? What if we could all just relax and do nothing?
But not exactly. Bitcoin needs to be able to survive as a system. It needs code review and maintenance, miners for security, and users and HODLers to give it value. Although Bitcoin may not be completely inevitable in aggregate, it is highly likely to win due to certain characteristics, such as scarcity, neutrality and openness. It is dependent on the actions of real people to sustain Bitcoin, regardless of whether it is inevitable.
What can you do?
Your efforts can help to promote adoption and technological progress in Bitcoin. Contributing doesn't require you to be a programmer. You can:
- Review, test and give feedback on Bitcoin apps. Many of these users and developers are part of a Telegram chat or Mattermost server community.
- Contribute to or organize your local Bitcoin Meetup
- You can invest in Bitcoin companies, or you can work for them.
- Translate important Bitcoin content into foreign languages
- Review and funding Bitcoin development
- To spread the word beyond Bitcoin circles, get published in non-Bitcoin media
Normalizing Bitcoin
You shouldn't underestimate how important it is to normalize bitcoin use among friends. For example, if one of your friends or family members pays the bill in fiat while you're out to dinner, you might offer to set them up on Muun Breez, Phoenix, or Phoenix wallets and then repay them with Lightning. You may find that this accumulation of Sats can lead to "bitcoin greed" over time. You may be able to create a new Bitcoin hodler/stacker.
Do you have family or friends overseas whom you would like to send money? You don't have to be afraid to use bitcoin. If they require it, you can let them sell it for cash in their local market. They may be able to sell bitcoin at a slightly higher price in their local markets. They could also use Bitrefill.com voucher sites to spend bitcoin in indirect ways.
Another option is to locate a local bar or cafe that hosts your Bitcoin meetup and ask them to accept bitcoin payments. It will be more likely to pay you if you bring it revenue in the form of paying customers. Breez comes with a built-in POS mode, which shopkeepers can install on their smartphone or tablet. They could also use OpenNode and IBEX Lightning for larger transactions. If they're tech-savvy, you can set up BTCPay Server for non-custodial setups.
Being open about where we are
Bitcoin use is still very early. Although it may sound like I'm a broken record when I say this, it is actually true in terms how many bitcoin users there are worldwide.
Especially if you're talking non-custodial usage, the count for UTXOs at the time I write this is around 85 million. This is a limit on non-custodial Bitcoin users. There will be custodial users whose platform represents their IOU-coins and users with many UTXOs. However, the total number of Bitcoin users on-chain will be much lower than 85 million in a world that has almost 8 billion people.
Source: Blockchain.com
It can be hard to gain traction in bitcoin payments because very few people have bitcoin to make payment with. This is a great opportunity to expand the bitcoin community and create a peer-to-peer marketplace of users.
Technology Adoption and Public Attitudes
Bitcoiners need to be aware of the fact that public opinion is important. Bitcoin may continue to exist, but individuals may be affected if the government targets them. If Bitcoin was not readily available, it would also mean that many people currently suffering from high inflation and financial censorship will continue to suffer.
An interesting historical parallel is the way ideas changed history, enabling the industrial revolution. Deirdre Mcloskey, author of the "Bourgeois Equality", argues that ideas and liberal notions about equality and dignity are what made this possible. The cultural attitudes towards commerce and merchants changed, which in turn led to a huge rise in human prosperity over the last 100 years. The Bitcoin community's idea of digital sound money is one of the most important.
Consider another analogy: if nuclear power technology are made illegal, humanity will be less able to benefit from it. Remember that nuclear power is dependent on an ecosystem of engineering talent in order to be sustained. Bitcoin is also dependent on humans for its advancement and maintenance.
Ideas and culture can change the world. You don't have to be a programmer or developer to contribute to Bitcoin.
Let's all get on board and push the train!
Stephan Livera contributed this guest post. These opinions are not necessarily those of BTC Inc.
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By: Stephan Livera
Title: What Can You Do For Bitcoin?
Sourced From: bitcoinmagazine.com/culture/what-can-you-do-for-bitcoin
Published Date: Tue, 30 Aug 2022 12:00:00 GMT
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