You’re right to frame Bitcoin’s primary utility today in terms of censorship resistant payments. That is where it solves an immediate and undeniable problem and those use cases tend to emerge where the traditional rails fail because of political instability capital controls or outright exclusion.
The store of value narrative often gets more attention from investors because it is neat and easy to compare with gold but your observation is important. Most people are not looking for long term hedges against monetary policy. They need a solution to the transaction problem before they care about protecting purchasing power.
That said the salience of the store of value function might change abruptly in environments where fiat inflation is both high and personal. Look at economies where even the middle class cannot trust the bank to preserve their wealth. In those cases Bitcoin becomes both a payment rail and a savings vehicle almost overnight.
In short censorship resistance is the here and now application. Store of value is latent utility that surfaces under stress. The revolutionary part may be that Bitcoin can switch between those roles instantly depending on the environment.
There is also institutional inertia. Banks governments and payment processors have built vast systems around control of money flows. Bitcoin strips away layers of that control and decentralizes it. That is a structural threat to entrenched interests and institutions rarely embrace technologies that reduce their own leverage.
And wishing everyone Merry Merry Christmas 🎄 Have a blast guys..
You’re right to frame Bitcoin’s primary utility today in terms of censorship resistant payments. That is where it solves an immediate and undeniable problem and those use cases tend to emerge where the traditional rails fail because of political instability capital controls or outright exclusion.
The store of value narrative often gets more attention from investors because it is neat and easy to compare with gold but your observation is important. Most people are not looking for long term hedges against monetary policy. They need a solution to the transaction problem before they care about protecting purchasing power.
That said the salience of the store of value function might change abruptly in environments where fiat inflation is both high and personal. Look at economies where even the middle class cannot trust the bank to preserve their wealth. In those cases Bitcoin becomes both a payment rail and a savings vehicle almost overnight.
In short censorship resistance is the here and now application. Store of value is latent utility that surfaces under stress. The revolutionary part may be that Bitcoin can switch between those roles instantly depending on the environment.
There is also institutional inertia. Banks governments and payment processors have built vast systems around control of money flows. Bitcoin strips away layers of that control and decentralizes it. That is a structural threat to entrenched interests and institutions rarely embrace technologies that reduce their own leverage.
And wishing everyone Merry Merry Christmas 🎄 Have a blast guys..