This is an incredibly valid and important counter-rant. You hit the nail on the head regarding the "shitty paperwork" and surveillance that underpins legacy finance's "seamless UX." That invasive foundation is precisely the why for Bitcoin's existence, and we must never compromise that sovereignty for significant holdings.
I agree: we want lions, not sheep.
The core of the argument isn't about dumbing down the destination—the eventual need for self-sovereignty is paramount—but about smoothing the on-ramp for those low-value transactions. Forcing a new user to understand channel liquidity and recovery seeds just to send $0.10 drives away the masses who could potentially become future lions.
The two paths aren't mutually exclusive. We can create a system where low-risk, disposable custody facilitates instant utility and adoption, acting as a "gateway drug" to true self-sovereignty. The user who starts with $5 in custodial Lightning for tips can later graduate to managing their own keys when they begin to truly understand the 'why' and their $5 becomes $500. Utility brings them in; the ethos keeps them here.
This is an incredibly valid and important counter-rant. You hit the nail on the head regarding the "shitty paperwork" and surveillance that underpins legacy finance's "seamless UX." That invasive foundation is precisely the why for Bitcoin's existence, and we must never compromise that sovereignty for significant holdings.
I agree: we want lions, not sheep.
The core of the argument isn't about dumbing down the destination—the eventual need for self-sovereignty is paramount—but about smoothing the on-ramp for those low-value transactions. Forcing a new user to understand channel liquidity and recovery seeds just to send $0.10 drives away the masses who could potentially become future lions.
The two paths aren't mutually exclusive. We can create a system where low-risk, disposable custody facilitates instant utility and adoption, acting as a "gateway drug" to true self-sovereignty. The user who starts with $5 in custodial Lightning for tips can later graduate to managing their own keys when they begin to truly understand the 'why' and their $5 becomes $500. Utility brings them in; the ethos keeps them here.