pull down to refresh
I'm skeptical of the idea that this needed a coordinated plan by bankers. Fiat payment companies already had every incentive to make their products better.
But I think there's a scaling problem missing from that explanation. Bigger blocks let you fit more transactions, but I don't think putting everyone's everyday payments on a global ledger is a scalable architecture, at least while keeping it cheap for people to independently verify it. That's why I see payment channels as something worth building, rather than just a distraction.
Still, from a practical standpoint: what next? How does Bitcoin win payments from here?
Even if we accept that explanation of how we got here, it doesn't tell us what to offer a merchant or customer today. They have working alternatives. Calling them sheep won't make ours more useful.
What would you build or change that makes someone choose Bitcoin because it solves a problem for them? Lower fees? Better privacy? Easier international payments? And how do we deliver that at scale without giving up what makes Bitcoin valuable?
But I don't think any of those are the issue. I think it's just volatility that people hate.
Yea, I agree with you. I don't ascribe to Ver's hypothesis, but I think it's interesting and worth keeping in mind.
As for what comes next, here's my 2 Sats:
Listen to a political radio show or podcast, left or right leaning. Most of the time on those shows, you will hear people complaining about one social issue or other. They always blame the other side of the isle for all their issues. I can't stand these shows because I just keep yelling at the radio: "It's the money, stupid! What do you think happens when there is a money printer at the top??!!!!"
I bring that up to emphasize how much appetite there is for real change. But no one knows that the money is the problem. No one has read Alex Gladstein's books, and Bitcoiners are NOT getting that message out.
Now, listen to Bitcoin podcasts. All I hear there are macro-economics, focused on debasement-trades and fiat-based technical analysis. No wonder we aren't getting the message out to the world, we're circle-jerking monetary nerds. Like a stereotypical computer nerd from the 1990's getting excited about the internet... no one understands what we're talking about.
What we desperately need is someone getting Alex Gladstein's message out to the masses, NOT James Check's message.... not Jordi Visser's message. Those podcasts are great for the nerds, but people are not going to listen to that for fun like we do.
We need a messaging shift. Get the heart strings. Fiat destroys ecosystems, enables wars, kills babies. Get this on the mainstream news, not another Bitcoin chart or negative segment about Bitcoin miners making too much noise. Show the people WHY Bitcoin is good.
Simultaneously, Bitcoiners need to make more of a stand against fiat. We have read Gladstein's books.... we have read "The Creature from Jekyll Island." We understand why fiat is so bad. So.... why do we continue using it without even a flinch? What message do we send when we talk shit about fiat and then immediately start asking for donations in fiat, and continue using fiat terminology?
I think we need to start practicing what we preach. When 10% of the world boycotts fiat merchants and fiat systems, the other 90% will start listening to us. Because right now, we just look like a bunch of hypocritical, fiat-maxis. I know we can't all immediately move off of fiat for everything, but I know we can do A LOT more than we are. And I know we are coming across stupid to the world lately.
We've solved many of the technical problems. Now, we need to solve the social ones. Get people to start using what we've built. We can start with ourselves. Do more to stop using fiat, and stop making excuses for why we can't do more than we are.
Most people have no idea what money is. They swipe their credit card and figure if they can make the monthly payment... They can 'afford' something.
They are content paying each other in pieces of paper.
Then when they get tired of their car or whatever they financed they 'sell' it (they never owned it) and have 'negative equity' which means they have to make payments on a vehicle they don't own that total more than the vehicle is worth (a depreciating asset on top of that).
Millions of Americans do this it's 'popular' its how you "buy things" (which is actually financing things through a bank?)
Is it any surprise then that 'hold your own keys' 'hard money' 'that you can't fake' that you either own OR DON'T is so unpopular?
How do you make your "monthly payment" on owning bitcoin?
People aren't really ready for bitcoin yet. There needs to be another financial crisis and people will figure our what that paper money is really worth. Not until then.
It's complete crap. Guy is a moron, understands nothing about money or payments
Have you read "Hijacking Bitcoin" by Roger Ver?
I'm not recommending it, because it's full of issues. But there are a few gems in it. One of them being his hypothesis which goes something like this:
The big bankers (Bilderberg) purposely influenced Bitcoin development around 2014 with the sole purpose of slowing down adoption so that they accelerate and could catch up on digital, fiat payment rails. It was clear that Bitcoin would be quickly adopted because, at that time, it was impossible for someone to send money to another person digitally and quickly. No Venmo or CashApp yet. Zelle was brand new, and under-utilized. The Cantillionaires knew they could not stop Bitcoin, so instead, they devised a way to slow down adoption by ensuring Bitcoin remained difficult to scale. (i.e. small-blocks, Wallstreet monetization, and distracting L2 projects such as Lightning). Now, a decade later, they have caught up. They have enough digital payment rails to keep the sheep stupid. No need for Bitcoin adoption. And they don't care about Bitcoin as long as it remains a gold-like tool. They don't care if a few of us escape a little inflation. As long as we continue using fiat for payments, they can remain in power, feeding off their money tree.