Why I'm Bullish 6: The ETFs are Capitulation \ stacker news ~bitcoin

Disclaimer for..., you know who you are. Acquire real bitcoin. Self custody it. Don't trade your BTC for ETFs. Ok? Ok.

I do not care if the state recognizes bitcoin for its value to humanity. But, the ETF is a signal. The ETFs were a step that was going to happen in this timeline. Sure, it is possible that the there is some broad conspiracy with the ETF. Maybe to try and manipulate bitcoin. But, when we jump to that conclusion we are missing something important. The SEC, a government body was forced by another part of the government, the courts to allow bitcoin into their domain of responsibility. What many in the government would rather see is for the government to ban it. Many in finance would love to see the government ban it. The SEC approval is a capitulation. It is not an endorsement. Could it be reversed? Of course but it seems very unlikely.

The approval makes me bullish because for many people the SEC approval is a stamp of legitimacy. The masses do not care about what long time stackers care about. They likely have no clue about Libertarian thought. They have no clue on economics let alone Austrian economics. They do not care about privacy. They do not care about personal sovereignty. The are more concerned with their day to day needs. I'm not saying their ignorance is a good thing. I'm saying these are the realities. If I actually believed the road to bitcoin's success was dependent on the masses gaining understanding on even a few of these topics I would not be bullish at all. Uber wasn't able to succeed in the face of regulatory moats because the masses suddenly understood how the cab companies use their positions to block out competition. They succeeded because they provide a better product and people want a better product. We will never create the kind of change needed by intellectual arguments alone. Yes, we should use the intellectual approach but building something that is better is always gonna be the way to win.

So, bitcoin will only succeed if it is better. If it is the best. Bitcoin's core properties will lead to the value of bitcoin increasing over time. I won't rehash why. You all know why. This fact alone is all most people will need to see. And they will see it. As the ETFs begin to explained by investment managers more people will begin to adopt them(not bitcoin). We are already seeing the impact of this. Bitcoin is being talked about more in financial news. Yeah, they get a lot wrong. They do not get it. But that is to be expected. See my first point about the masses ignorance. The ETF is just another step on the path to the virus of bitcoin spreading.

Think about this. When union pensions begin to invest even a small percentage of their funds in the ETFs, how likely is it that a politician supports a banning of BTC. When teacher's and firefighter's pensions are wrapped up in BTC do you think their politicians will be ready and willing to attack it? Most of them do NOT care in the slightest about principles. They care about votes. That's not to mention that many in DC will also be invested in the ETFs themselves. The ETFs do not change bitcoin. The ETFs show how the tradfi world has to adopt bitcoin. Bitcoin cannot be ignored. They have allowed the elephant to put its nose under the edge of the tent.

Get ready stackers. The war isn't over. I'm not saying it is time for a victory lap. There will be many more fights, FUD, and Lies. I'm sure there will be attempts to change bitcoin. There will be attempts to confuse people about it. They may even be a ban in the US. I'm not ruling any of this out. But guys. We are winning and we do not need to let our foot off the gas pedal. We need to be ready to help those we know adopt bitcoin because they will be coming. The EFTs are a sign of the times, not a goal.

81 sats \ 1 reply \ @nerd2ninja 24 Jan

Uber wasn't able to succeed in the face of regulatory moats because the masses suddenly understood how the cab companies use their positions to block out competition. They succeeded because they provide a better product and people want a better product. We will never create the kind of change needed by intellectual arguments alone. Yes, we should use the intellectual approach but building something that is better is always gonna be the way to win.

Reminds me of this meme posted on this week's meme Monday

https://m.stacker.news/13620

At the same time I gotta dispute it lol. You see, because a central database can be better for payments and use Dollars, the money everyone loves.

You can fork Bitcoin's code and print up tokens based on dollar redemptions through some shady shadow banking with huge counter-party risk.

In the mind of the uninformed (which is probably a better descriptor than normie), "better" is a relative term of what's working right now. Risks are an afterthought to cry about. A tragedy surely no one could have prepared for and the people who do prepare for these things are to be shunned for being weirdos.

Bitcoin succeeds on the basis of long time preference. On the basis of people who do think for themselves figuring it out, being more successful than people who don't, and passing down their wisdom from generation to generation.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @kepford OP 24 Jan

I think we agree. The most obvious path to mass bitcoin adoption is as a life boat with things fall apart.

96 sats \ 1 reply \ @SpaceHodler 24 Jan freebie

The SEC, a government body was forced by another part of the government, the courts to allow bitcoin into their domain of responsibility. What many in the government would rather see is for the government to ban it.

It surely made some tyrants cry. Which is always nice to witness.

Bitcoin has been legitimized as a fixed supply asset; the first step to taking away the state's power to steal through inflation. Next milestone: legitimize self-custody.

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @kepford OP 24 Jan

Another is censorship resistance. I suspect it will take off in non US countries faster but I can see it here as well if the state and payment processors continue to censor more transactions.

96 sats \ 1 reply \ @joeswam 24 Jan

An ETF was always going to happen with the maturation of bitcoin as a global asset, whether you think it's good or not. The only question is - is the network strong enough to survive its entry into the mainstream? I'd say yes. In the words of Uncle Kramer, "this thing is... y-y-you can't kill it."

54 sats \ 0 replies \ @kepford OP 24 Jan

Exactly. There is an ETF for so many things. Like price the desire for an ETF is a signal of the mindset of people. They can be wrong in the way they use it but they want to be a part of it in this less than ideal way.

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @OriginalSize 24 Jan

Not only capitulation, but integration. On the mining side, power companies are building Bitcoin into their infrastructure and it's acting like an energy teleporter which will be aided by legit trading of ETFs. It's beautiful, dammit.