172 sats \ 2 replies \ @nullcount 10 Nov 2023 freebie \ on: Physicality of Bitcoin bitcoin
Bitcoin is NOT the bits in your silicon. If it were, then everyone who ran a full node would custody all the Bitcoin. Which makes no sense. Instead, bitcoin is the consensus reached when all nodes are in agreement about the state of the ledger represented by bits in silicon.
Its like the Rai Stones analogy. The money isn't the 2-ton stone sitting in Bob's front yard. In fact, everyone agrees that Bob only owns 1/4 of that stone. Therefore the "money" is actually the community's agreement of who owns the stone. Quite intangible, even though it uses something tangible as a means to derive the money.
https://jungcurrents.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/STONEMONE_635.jpg
Because ownership of BTC is just information plus consensus (private key + ledger). It can never be a "true" bearer asset IMO.
You have to be reasonably certain that you have EXCLUSIVE knowledge of a key to "own" any sats. Bearing that key in your custody does not make that key unknowable to others. Its just a number after all, and you can't really own a number.
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but for all intents and purposes...
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