Discussion: How much will the average person know about Bitcoin?
3986 sats \ 26 comments \ @frostdragon 10 Apr 2023 bitcoin
Once we're on a bitcoin standard, how much will the average person really know about how bitcoin works?
We have a lot of fun discussion about mining, PKE, nodes, blockchains, etc, but a lot of that is way more technical than the average person has any desire to think about.
Heck, right now we're in a place where most bitcoiners have some well-thought answer to the question "what is money", whereas most people haven't even thought about it.
Bitcoiners know WAY more about bitcoin/money/tech than most people will even after bitcoin takes over.
What do you think people WON'T have much, if any, knowledge about?
and
What are the minimum necessary things people will need to understand about money and bitcoin for a bitcoin standard to function successfully?
IMO:
Won't know:
  • PKE
  • Hashing / energy / mining / difficulty adjustment
  • How blockchain works
  • How the lightning protocol works
  • Anything about the gold standard or Austrian economics
  • Anything about the Fed or Keynesian economics
  • What money is
  • Why you can't just print bitcoin dollars ("oh well, guess I'll just keep using my phone and this weird looking thumb drive")
MUST know:
  • Self-custody (what it is and how it's possible)
  • What a seed phrase back up is (but not HOW it works)
  • Savings vs checking (hodl wallet vs lightning wallet)
  • who @darthcoin is, obviously
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916 sats \ 3 replies \ @tomlaies 10 Apr 2023
It's highly dependent on under which scenario. You are assuming under a Bitcoin standard - in this case I would say exactly as much as people currently know about fiat.
This would mean that upper class and upper middle class know about Blockchain, basic cryptography (without the math probably) etc. while the lower class barely has heard the word "Blockchain". They will treat their mnemonic like they currently treat passwords. Knowledge about economics even beginning with Adam Smith, Hayek, Keynes - like today - will not be known by the blue collars.
I'd even go so far as saying centralized banks holding fractional reserves of Bitcoin will become a thing... I know that is against your premise of under a Bitcoin Standard... but the greed of humans and the stupidity of humans makes it almost inevitable imo
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944 sats \ 2 replies \ @frostdragon OP 10 Apr 2023
Super interesting perspective. Seems almost oxymoronic to think central banks holding bitcoin could be a thing, but I can relate to the greed/stupidity sentiment. It means things are anything but straightforward, and it results in plenty of oxymoronic realities, haha
Sadly, I think there will be a long phase of people thinking seed phrases are like passwords, but after a ton of bitcoin is lost, I think that's one of the few things that can't last. People will absolutely have to have SOME concept of keeping a crypto wallet secure before things can truly stabilize.
Personally, I think it will start with HWW / backup + PIN / backup + password / backup, and will end with multisig "savings" + lightning "checking", or people will just rely on lightning 100%
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760 sats \ 1 reply \ @ek 10 Apr 2023
Personally, I think it will start with HWW / backup + PIN / backup + password / backup, and will end with multisig "savings" + lightning "checking", or people will just rely on lightning 100%
I think banks will still exist to hold one key of a 2of2 multisig. That will solve the problem of custody for most people.
edit: Wait... then they still have to not lose their key. This setup only protects against getting hacked. Okay, nevermind, lol.
But it's at least something.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @frostdragon OP 10 Apr 2023
You’re really close:
2-of-3 collaborative custody multisig where the “bank” holds 1 of 3 is the solution here. Unchained Capital’s goal is to provide this solution, and they’re already doing it.
If a bank tried to do 1-of-2 or 2-of-2, Unchained’s model makes that instantly obsolete. It’s honestly genius. It’s bank level security for a back up, but they don’t actually control your funds.
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122 sats \ 1 reply \ @DarthCoin 10 Apr 2023
No, I am absolutely not a very knowledgeable bitcoiner. I know much less than many here. Yes, I was learning a lot during these 10 years, but still I do not have coding knowledge. And also you never stop learning about Bitcoin. Every day is something new.
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20 sats \ 0 replies \ @frostdragon OP 10 Apr 2023
ayo, I appreciate the human moment of humility there, darth. 🧡
you and I ultimately have the same goal, which is trying to make this stuff easier to understand for ourselves, and for others.
stay stacking
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361 sats \ 1 reply \ @WeAreAllSatoshi 10 Apr 2023
Realistically how many people know anything about the current money system besides how to access and use it? The bare minimum for most. I don’t expect that to change much
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Undisciplined 11 Apr 2023
The number of Americans who think the dollar is on a gold standard is growing. To a first approximation, no one knows anything and that will be true for Bitcoin.
I actually think it will be necessary for widespread Bitcoin adoption that users don't have to know anything about it.
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25 sats \ 0 replies \ @jgbtc 10 Apr 2023
It will be like smartphones. People will know how to use apps, but won't care about the inner workings.
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23 sats \ 3 replies \ @k00b 10 Apr 2023
I generally agree with most of your wonts/musts which uses the rule "they will know the least possible."
Why you can't just print bitcoin dollars ("oh well, guess I'll just keep using my phone and this weird looking thumb drive")
They might not know why but I think they will understand that you can't just print bitcoin. People understand, generally, that you can't just create gold. They might have vague ideas about why you can't create gold, but they understand it's difficult/expensive to acquire at least.
Savings vs checking (hodl wallet vs lightning wallet)
If we are hyperbitcoinized, I worry that most people won't be able to save on-chain as is. I do suspect there will be savings and checking equivalents, but I'm not sure we can predict the underlying tech.
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12 sats \ 1 reply \ @frostdragon OP 10 Apr 2023
Yeah it does seem like gold will be a common analogy, and I would imagine "you can't print bitcoin" will be a common phrase as well. Honestly, it's going to be super interesting to see what political and media narratives will be once this really starts shaking the earth. I know Elizabeth Warren and a few others already see it as a threat, but it's still very much shrugged off as not serious.
Out of curiosity, why do you think most people won't be able to save on-chain?
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10 sats \ 0 replies \ @Lumor 10 Apr 2023
Transaction throughput.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @DarthCoin 11 Apr 2023
That's why I wrote this guide about "community LN banks". https://darthcoin.substack.com/p/bitcoin-private-banks-over-lightning
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10 sats \ 1 reply \ @Bitcoiner1 10 Apr 2023
The last "must" is epic!
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @DarthCoin 11 Apr 2023
Soon...
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10 sats \ 1 reply \ @Majjin 11 Apr 2023
They'll probably know a very, very high level overview of Bitcoin. Its a currency not controlled by anyone and has a limited supply. Even the first part is not a guarantee. There will undoubtedly be people who believe that the government or some company created and controls Bitcoin.
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5 sats \ 0 replies \ @frostdragon OP 11 Apr 2023
Agree. There are lots of people that think the government can “ban” bitcoin right now, so it wouldn’t surprise me if people still think it’s under government control.
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0 sats \ 1 reply \ @grayruby 11 Apr 2023
Very little. The two biggest bitcoin holders I know personally (aside from myself ofcourse), actually know very little about bitcoin. And they know a lot more than the average person.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @grayruby 11 Apr 2023
That being said. Average person knows little about fiat as well or most things they interact with daily. How many people do you know that can explain how their car works of how electricity works or how a computer computes? Most people are not curious and are perfectly happy remaining ignorant. They have the capability to learn anything but won't unless they absolutely need to.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Undergotten 11 Apr 2023
Most people I know have zero knowledge about it, with the exception of the word, "Bitcoin".
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @nullama 11 Apr 2023
Most people don't care about how money works.
Eventually most international transfers will be made with Bitcoin under the hood, but people won't even know for example.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @godlikeXi 11 Apr 2023
People are willfully ignorant about this space and ALWAYS point to the bad actors in order to degenerate the entire space - especially Bitcoin.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @BeardedSaintRef 10 Apr 2023
You can only know as much a you research. Hence the saying, “Do your own research”. It’s incumbent on you!
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @muteness11 10 Apr 2023
Average techie person thinks its interesting but doesnt know shit Average intellectual person thinks its a scam ........... Average normal person .... no clue what Bitcoin is
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @mrprzerwa 11 Apr 2023 freebie
jatoja
0 sats \ 0 replies \ @SaToSHiWoMaN 5 Mar outlawed
stackers have outlawed this. turn on wild west mode in your /settings to see outlawed content.