People are attached to fiat because it (and more broadly, the state) gives them a false sense of certainty - through state schooling, propaganda and manipulation.
They think of their oppressor's fiat as a fixed measuring stick, and when you bring up inflation, they don't connect it to the stick's shrinking.
I saw a Reddit post recently where the OP, presumably based in the eurozone, was considering depositing EUR to an account and converting it to USD to earn a higher interest rate (5.1% on USD vs 4.1% on EUR). The commenters warned him it was "gambling" due to exchange rate fluctuations. As if holding the ever-devaluing euros wasn't gambling and a box of eggs was going to be obtainable for €2 in perpetuity, because somehow the "full faith and credit" of the EU means Christine Lagarde's indentured servitude tokens are going to be backed by a constant supply of chickens dropping eggs one after another, forever and ever.
The FIRE community, too, is fiercely against Bitcoin. However, people over in r/LETFs are warmer to it. Not because they've gone down the rabbit hole and understand its value proposition, not because they've studied monetary theory, or the tech, or believe in privacy and individual sovereignty, but because - as 'degens' - they're open to volatility and uncertainty. They may not be willing to hodl forever, they may see it more as a mid-term trade than the foundations of a new financial system, they may not have an understanding, but they do have balls.
Anyone who has studied human action knows that there is no absolute reference point for measuring value. Value is subjective, a good is exchanged for another good, and price is the exchange rate of the last trade. Money is just another good - and the economy may converge on one such good, causing it to become the most liquid good with the least decreasing marginal utility. But no one can guarantee its value, or, indeed, that it will continue to be used as money.
There is no certainty in human action and consequently there is no certainty in the market.
To go on a Bitcoin standard you have to embrace this fact, which may be scary to those who have fallen for the myth of certainty created by the fiat empire's brainwashing machine. And that doesn't only mean the volatility on the NGU curve, but even the possibility it may go to zero. But even if it does, at least you have accepted the truth; you may be broke, but your eyes are open.
Your alternative is to take the blue pill and wake up in your prison cell, with a bowl of rice, believing in the state's certainty fairy tale and being exploited by it until its empire falls and gets replaced by the next one.
1458 sats \ 9 replies \ @nullcount 6 Jul
What deters people from embracing uncertainty is a lack of personal responsibility.
People without personal responsibility are quick to blame external factors that they cannot control for the cause of their suffering. They blame the economy/the president/the immigrants/the fiat money system, etc. for their problems.
When asked what would help them right now, they'll describe actions others should take: president should lower inflation/interest rates, the gov should issue more stimulus/welfare, the corporations should lower prices and pay workers more, people should adopt a BTC standard, etc.
Someone with high personal responsibility is more likely to focus on what they can control. They accept that they alone are to blame/credit for their situation. They are more likely to bet on themselves and embrace uncertainty because they are aware of their own power and limitations and have faith in their ability to navigate uncertainty.
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Since you're both right, what's the path forward?
People are not going to fundamentally change and bitcoin is going to remain more seemingly uncertain than the major currencies.
One option is to focus adoption efforts in places with extremely high local uncertainty. The more bitcoin is used in such places, the less uncertainty it will contain globally.
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Why so focused on adoption? This seems like something a person with low personal responsibility would want: "my bags need to go up and it requires the actions of other people to make it happen"
Just be a humble hodler, you don't have to convince everyone that a flood is coming. Just build your ship so that when it starts to rain, there's room for anyone you care about to come aboard.
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Why so focused on adoption?
Adoption means more merchants accepting bitcoin. Not how many hodlers are pumping their bags for NgU.
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It's not only about whether merchants accept it, but also what they do with it: immediately sell it for fiat or hold the sats. The latter reinforces the NGU feedback loop, and the former, which shirks the SoV aspect, arguably isn't complete adoption as money.
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It's not just about wanting your stack pumped.
Adoption also means having a better money, and therefore higher productivity and a higher standard of living for the population.
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Since I'm not a narcissist, I have concern for the victims of fiat all over the world. That's why I care about adoption. I don't give a shit about number go up.
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219 sats \ 1 reply \ @nullcount 6 Jul
There can be virtues in Selfishness. Just like there can be negative effects (even if unintended) by being a "selfless" missionary.
For example:
Short-term Focus - Maybe you convince someone to buy BTC, but without long-term support, that person who was easy to persuade, may be just as easily persuaded to gamble on shitcoins. Its possible that person would have been better off if they focused on their career instead of being coaxed into becoming an amateur "investor".
Ethnocentrism - Bitcoiners tend to believe they have it all figured out. This can lead to a certain arrogance or "know-it-all" attitude as they have encounters with curious no-coiners. This attitude can cause resentment or tension to build that actually pushes people away from Bitcoin.
Psychological Impact - Not all are ready to fall down the rabbit hole. Many bitcoiners tend to have radical changes in political/social/cultural views after taking the orange pill. It can lead to estranged or divisive relationships between friends/family. Many people want to stay ignorant of the world's issues so they can focus on work and relationships instead of spending all day discussing geopolitics and macro on internet forums.
Lately, it is my belief that few are able to achieve strong personal responsibility. Those that do tend to be the ones who govern or employ the rest of the population who just want stable incomes and a carefree existence.
Some religions have a strong emphasis on missions, others have emphasis on a personal relationship with the divine. There's no right way IMO, but it can be helpful to identify the virtues and vices with each approach.
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I think I agreed with all of that. It doesn't imply I shouldn't be concerned with the past path towards getting people out of fiat. Those are concerns that need to be accounted for.
It's perfectly fine with me if people are just in bitcoin for themselves. That's how I think it needs be pitched. That's just not why I'm into it.
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this a million times over.
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48 sats \ 1 reply \ @jgbtc 7 Jul
The hate from the FIRE community has always fascinated me. I was getting interested in that scene around the same time I started down the bitcoin rabbit hole. Fortunately, the anti-bitcoin sentiment actually turned me off and somehow made bitcoin more appealing.
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What better vehicle for financial independence?
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Nassim Nicholas Taleb on Accepting Uncertainty, Embracing Volatility #599391
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10 sats \ 0 replies \ @NRS 7 Jul
People cling to fiat currencies because they provide them with a false sense of certainty through government education and propaganda.
They ignore inflation and fail to grasp the shrinking value. Bitcoin represents a shift, despite its volatility, it embodies courage and openness to risk.
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they haven’t read a bitcoin book or listened to a podcast that makes them think about new money tech.
It’s not that deep.
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Not only that, but people dont want to take time to learn. Different things are out there, you just have to learn about them. I understand converting to btc from fiat can have its challenges, but it will get easier with repetitive action.
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Great post. For me, I have always been a risk-averse individual. In fact, I historically only ever traded dividend-yielding stocks and bonds - as this is what finance university taught us to do.
The way that I have been able to move towards this, is over the years build by conviction stronger and stronger by studying it endlessly.
While I'm not 120% like many here, I have a stack up to my risk tolerance. What I can afford to lose I keep in dollars. Value is relative, and in the end - my eyes have been opened to so much because of bitcoin. Hoping for more acceptance in the U.S. though!
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To go on a Bitcoin standard you have to embrace this fact, which may be scary to those who have fallen for the myth of certainty created by the fiat empire's brainwashing machine.
the only thing unchanged is change:) better to embrace the change and make it work in your favor instead of lying to yourself with a safety blanket.
But even if it does, at least you have accepted the truth; you may be broke, but your eyes are open.
I think one of the interesting things not many ppl talks about is once you truly understand Bitcoin, you probably would consume less but focus more on quality instead of keep buying junks, because every sat counts.
And why ppl want to have more money to spend in the fiat world in the first place? Consumerism, and maybe most of them are empty inside, so they want to show to others that they are "successful" and are able to buy XYZ... I used to think when I had more money, I would be able to buy whatever I wanted when I was younger too, but now I'm on the other side: I'm free to create whatever I want, finding the best ppl and making things happen, yes it takes more time and effort, but then I'm out of that giant consumerism game, and the beautiful part is I have full control in the process, so back to " you may be broke, but your eyes are open " even Bitcoin price go to zero, I already found out the trick on how to minimize my life yet with real quality stuff and depend less on others 👀 a wild but really fun path:)
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Fire community hates bitcoin? Very stubborn and ignorant
To answer your question, the best way to understand bitcoin is if you have a use case
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To be honest my unwillingness to embrace uncertainty led me straight to bitcoin and deterred me from fiat land. Fiat is uncertain, not bitcoin. There's a couple certainties in Bitcoin and with just that one can build an unshakable foundation for their life.
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In Bitcoin you have certainties that don't exist in fiat, but in the context of human action, value cannot be guaranteed. You could, however, argue that the game theory of Bitcoin makes it likely to win.
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Good article!
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lack of understanding is another issue, Many people find cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology complex and difficult to understand. This lack of understanding can lead to distrust or reluctance to get involved
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I think most people haven't even tried to understand it. And I'd argue the monetary aspect needs to be understood before the tech, otherwise the tech is pointless, as the countless shipcoin blockchains have proven.
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