pull down to refresh
12 sats \ 5 replies \ @Solomonsatoshi 14h \ parent \ on: Bitcoin has a Brand Problem bitcoin
The truth however is that while Bitcoin IS a better form of money from the point of view of the individual, it is not necessarily better from the POV of governments and bankers.
The adjoining factor to then consider is the importance of governments in the wealth of nations and the citizens who live under them.
Fiat extends the war making capacity of nation states therefore enhancing their power projection capacity- would a Bitcoin Standard nation be able to resist a Fiat nation when the fiat nation state can effectively debase all its citizens savings to zero to advance its military projection?
Bitcoin maximalists seldom ask let alone answer such inconvenient questions.
its mostly just self serving NGU hopium which is not a great brand image.
Fiat is not going away. Not only is fiat 'going away' probably not possible...
Even if it were possible, we are a very, very, long way away from realizing this.
Stacker News and Nostr are a huge bubble, the vast majority of people know nothing about Bitcoin, except for what they've seen on CNBC (if they're into stocks) and if they're not into stocks or CNBC then what they've heard on the internet is superficial/paper thin.
We are nowhere near a Bitcoin Standard - in large US cities I can barely find one business that takes Bitcoin. Barely any.
To 'get rid of fiat' we would need masses of businesses accepting it, and even then I think Bitcoin's transactional model much more closely aligns with Ideas on the internet, rather than meatspace products and trinkets.
'Tip me' for a good idea - 'tip me' to encourage better content, 'tip me' to prove you're not a bot etc etc... Lightning micro-transactions makes way more sense and is way more likely imo than buying lunch everywhere.
Government is not going to 'give up' fiat without an overwhelming draw and acceptance of Bitcoin by populations... which we are nowhere near. Outside of the SN/Twitter/Nostr bubble... ask the 'man on the street' about Lightning.
What does he say???
reply
Most Bitcoiners (even here on SN) hugely under estimate the degree of obstruction bankers and governments have imposed.
Here in New Zealand if a business (or individual) seeks to open a bank account they will be asked do you have any involvement with 'crypto'.
If you answer yes the chances of getting an account are minimal.
The very few businesses who bravely accept Bitcoin risk losing their banking if the bank becomes aware they accept Bitcoin- it is a risk few businesses except the brave will accept.
On the positive side we now have a business here ( lightningpay.nz ) that enables businesses to accept BTC payments but only receive fiat as the conversion is done from BTC to fiat before the accepting business receives it, but even with this available very few businesses accept BTC...because perhaps so few consumers are available and wanting to pay with LN to make it worth the business to accept.
We face a dual challenge of insufficient general knowledge and understanding in the consumer and concerted and determined obstruction and FUD orchestrated by banks and governments.
Where banks and governments are allowing Bitcoin it is almost always with a strategy to concentrate institutional custody and make Bitcoin a taxed and KYCed speculative commodity plaything...which diffuses any real threat Bitcoin presents to fiats MoE monopoly.
We definitely have a 'branding' problem as most people do not have enough information and knowledge to begin to realise the importance and true value of Bitcoin...instead the vast majority have bought the FUD and misinformation from fiat protagonists.
Bitcoin is freedom from state and banker market control. . . and the banks and governments will not give up that control without a significant uprising demanding it.
reply
Everywhere, in every newspaper and online comments section, people complain about inflation. It's common everyone knows what it is.
Shouldn't the solution be obvious? That doesn't mean Bitcoin isn't volatile (it is) but the inflation rate is steady... the supply capped, the network as a whole transparent...
As a solution to inflation it should be obvious to anyone with the curiosity.
Here in the United States people are becoming more interested in Bitcoin - obviously the US ETFs have helped and the financiers are taking it more seriously.
However, the 'man on the street' knows practically nothing about it. And self-custody? Running a node? Forget it.
We should have blocks just teeming with transactions like 6 days of the week if not all the time with relatively high fee rates, to include closing and opening lightning channels 24/7 a vibrant fee market.
But fees right now... Like 2 sats/vb.
It doesn't make any sense to me. I don't know if the information is better/worse about Bitcoin in the general public in NZ vs the US... but the information here is low and some of the political involvement hasn't gotten people interest the right way.
We definitely have a 'branding' problem as most people do not have enough information and knowledge to begin to realise the importance and true value of Bitcoin
Yup
reply
Bitcoin maximalists seldom ask let alone answer such inconvenient questions.
Asked and answered.
Lastly, Section 5 throws some cold water on some of Bitcoiners' more optimistic predictions. In this section, the author evaluates the claim that Bitcoin can make it harder for the state to finance wars. He points out that, historically, being on a gold standard didn't prevent governments from finding creative ways to finance wars, and therefore he believes that governments will similarly find creative ways to finance wars even on a Bitcoin Standard.
reply
All the Great Powers of Europe resorted to fiat money at the start of WW1.
None of them ever successfully returned to a hard money gold standard and subsequently as we can observe have all become monetarily and military subservient tribute states to the USA...which also eventually succumbed to the seductive monetary leverage of fiat.
Therefore believing 'governments will similarly find creative ways to finance wars even on a Bitcoin Standard' is not a reasoned or logical argument given the historical facts.
It is actually a baseless hopium assertion with no credible reasoning to support it..
reply