What is the big picture for Bitcoin?

  • What is the overall purpose?
  • What happens when all Bitcoin has been mined?
  • How is it going to help society as a whole rather than just the few?
  • What happens if the economy crashes?
I could go down a rabbit hole and do a lot of research on this, however we all know that internet searches can be sketchy at best and I am likely to get a lot of contradictory answers to the questions above. I trust that there are experts here who will have the answers to these questions or at least be able to point me in the direction that I need to go.
What is the overall purpose?
Separating money from state.
What happens when all Bitcoin has been mined?
All bitcoins already exist, and have done since Jan 3rd 2009. The 94% that have been mined so far and the 6% that are still to be mined don't change this fact. Nothing happens, Bitcoin continues on as normal.
How is it going to help society as a whole rather than just the few?
Sound money provides sound economic incentives and allows people to make rational economic calculations. It also prevents creation/counterfeiting of money by central banks that transfer the value of society's savings to themselves and their shareholders.
What happens if the economy crashes?
There is no such thing as "the economy" - that is Keynesian dogma to convince you to hand over your the products of your labor to the state.
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There's another element to the overall purpose. After all, we could just be gold bugs, if all we cared about was separating money from state.
Bitcoin is an honest money that solves contemporary monetary issues that gold cannot, as well as resolving some of the vulnerabilities gold has as money.
The most important issue bitcoin solves is trustless value transfer over large geographic distances.
The largest vulnerability it addresses is inflation.
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You must have read my mind! I was just discussing theses potential issues with my fiance... I come on here and you answered my question!
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I'm on the newer side to bitcoin myself, so a lot of these thoughts are more top of mind than they might be for the seasoned veterans.
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compared to me @Undisciplined you are an expert😂
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I wish separating money and state was still felt strongly by all
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the mass follow stories that are created by those who 'appear' to be in control - How would you convince them that the system in place isn't the 'right' one?
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In general I don't. I dont try and convince anyone. if someone isn't ready, they arent ready. If they're not looking beyond their nose, there's no point wasting everyone's time.
But if I was in a conversation with someone I'd listen for the values they hold and may say one or two things connected to that if it seems appropriate.
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I do the same with magik!
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Thank you for this answer! Very to the point which helps my brain figure it all out :)
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Fab! I will take a good look at these later! Currently painting a bedroom!
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Maybe watch this :
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I will watch this! Thank you :)
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What is the overall purpose?
From the first sentence of the whitepaper: "A purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash would allow online payments to be sent directly from one peer to another without going through a financial institution"
What happens when all Bitcoin has been mined?
The block subsidy goes to zero. A diffusion process begins. Whales begin to die. Shrimp begin to grow.
How is it going to help society as a whole rather than just the few?
When honesty is optional, trust is a vulnerability. An open predictable monetary policy allows one to make informed decisions about their wealth. Having a true store of value will allow one to prepare for the future.
What happens if the economy crashes?
Big banks get bailed out. Inflation. Unemployment. Bitcoin is seen as a risky asset so potentially NGD.
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Thank you! My next question that many would ask:
  • What happens if the systems go down?
I am playing devils advocate here so I can get a really clear view, not because I disagree :)
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What happens if the systems go down?
Bitcoin is a fault tolerant distributed network. There are thousands of nodes around the world. They can join and leave the network at will. It would take a world wide cataclysmic event to bring down every one of these nodes in a way that they cannot be brought back online. My guess is we'll have bigger problems to worry about if that happens.
Here's a game to visualize the concept. https://bitcoin-battleship.vercel.app/ h/t @jasonb
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Thank you for this! I love games so when I get some time I will be happily clicking this link!
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This video is kind of long and you get your answers near the end. THAT BEING SAID, I recommend to watch the whole thing for it primes you WHAT and WHY bitcoin is the solution.
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I will make sure I watch it from beginning to end :)
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  • Personal sovereignty.
  • Nothing, miners will continue to earn on fees.
  • It will bring you freedom.
  • The economy crashes.
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Thank you :)
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What is the overall purpose?
The road to serfdom is working exponentially harder for a currency that grows exponentially weaker. Bitcoin is savings technology that gives the user full control over their money without the need to trust third party intermediaries.
What happens when all Bitcoin has been mined?
That's over 100 years away, but The miners will be rewarded primarily through transaction fees.
How is it going to help society as a whole rather than just the few?
Poor people now have the ability to dollar cost average fractions of a dollar into the best performing asset of the decade, while retaining custody of their funds, with the added benefit of being able to transact locally and globally without repression or permission.
What happens if the economy crashes?
Bitcoin becomes more valuable.
If you were in Zimbabwe in 1991, and had the ability to save and transact in US dollars......choose the stronger currency. "If" the Zimbabwe economy crashes.......you'll be ok.
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Interesting :)
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21 sats \ 1 reply \ @OT 6 May
It’s a new form of money that no one controls and has a fixed supply. It is creating (among other things) a decentralized savings account for people brave enough to buy some.
You will need to learn though. There’s no way around that.
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I know there is no way around that but I find that the best way to learn for me is to ask questions first and then dive into it from there :)
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21 sats \ 1 reply \ @jgbtc 6 May
The white paper answers all those questions. https://bitcoin.org/en/bitcoin-paper
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Thank you for this!
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I will take a look at this - thank you!
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When all the BTC has been mined around the year 2140 my understanding is that miners will still earn fees for their work however bitcoin will become truly deflationary meaning no new supply to dilute the existing.
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Thank you for this! Very interesting
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Each person has their own set of values and things they focus on about bitcoin. Some focus on its ethos, some focus on its value, some on its scarcity. So it is hard to read someone elses opinions on it. And the economy will never crash, people will always need to buy things to survive.
I am also interested in reading other peoples opinions on btc. ;)
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I am also very interested in peoples opinions and the links that I will be sent to do the research :)
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