Just listened to Pete Rizzo’s interview with Michael Terpin:
https://x.com/supplyshockbw/status/1953226635081036132?s=46&t=wq0GoOCdXxA5DblxlsJJng
While it was excellent overall, there was one thing that I want to respectfully push back on. In discussing Bitcoin and/vs crypto, Michael notes that he looks at Bitcoin as "store of value" and the rest of crypto as "innovation". I feel very strongly that this is a narrative that is not only mistaken but against which we must push back (again, all respect to Michael).
I ask: innovation toward/for what? When I look out at the vast landscape of crypto, what I see is a network of projects guided by technological determinism and engineering masturbation. Projects that extol the virtue of innovation but offer up self-referential loops of engineering gymnastics garnished with flourishes of Web3, DeFi, Blockchain (all rhetorical devices).
So what is innovation? Well, I believe that it is something that moves us -- humanity -- into a new stage of development, of growth. One can argue over the etymology of the term "innovation" (see etymonline.com/word/innovation), however, I believe strongly that the restoration and renewal to which it speaks is a profoundly humanistic one, focused on virtue and evolution.
In its beautiful simplicity and what it offers us -- the ability to communicate truth, trust, value and meaning across time, space and culture (h/t to nostr:nprofile1qqsp2wdswcnnykz6jg5skv34tth9qw34x22ev4l42jcje25hjzt5yxspp4mhxue69uhkummn9ekx7mqpzpmhxue69uhkummnw3ezuamfdejs072k5u and nostr:nprofile1qqsfccf03dms7r3l6dwd4s4u2l7waptpu4s9qn4ztj9ealuwqdgjk0spz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuanpwf4k2tn9w5q3yamnwvaz7tmsw4e8qmr9wpskwtn9wvz3aku5) -- Bitcoin exudes innovation. It enables and ushers us into renewal, restoration, growth, and evolution across multiple domains of existence.
The manifest distinction between the self-referential, technological determinism of "crypto = innovation" and "Bitcoin = innovation" is that the latter ultimately makes human action and relationships the locus of activity. We are not anticipating salvation and surrendering ourselves to the tool, we are employing the tool (whether consciously or not in all instances) as a tool for human renewal and growth. We are re-ordering and re-constructing the architecture of human relationships. We are re-fashioning how we "communicate truth, trust, value and meaning across time, space and culture".
As far as what this looks like, well, I see it play out in multiple domains. It is evident in opportunity afforded mothers in Kenya participating in nostr:nprofile1qqstmxppwmj4wdfgkwg5kzeya4egfk3tlv9sp8ca22k7pg503vjenfcpz4mhxue69uhhwmm59eek7anzd96zu6r0wd6qz9rhwden5te0wfjkccte9ekxuct49ehx2aq6s7r0x who employ Bitcoin as means to re-claim their rightful, virtuous place within community and to restore and empower community in the process. I see it play out in the growth of children participating in nostr:nprofile1qqsptpha27kgrdnpw7cqs7ascrayvheshxy4jjwgjd5rdmz7dngnzvspz4mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumn0wd68ytnzvuhsz3rhwvaz7tmpwe6n2a3kdymhxdme0gmk66rzv96k2umhw3mr2mn6d9nxwungw95kjcekwechv6rrwgmh2cmdv3ekvvn6dp58x6ty9ehku6t0dchsqvdtyh who are moving toward an increased expression of their human potential against the heavy weight of oppressions that time and history have assigned to them at birth. I see it in the almost unimaginable spark of self-determination that is being realized in high Andes Mountain communities through nostr:nprofile1qqsq8s77zvvc2c3q4vhu9w7xpedye4kszk8a49mza3xcnu9nndyndrqpzdmhxue69uhh2uewdehhxarj9emkjmn9qyw8wumn8ghj7um4wpjhyttjv4kxz7fwvdjhxceww3exzer9qqr5wk'S work. And so on, and so forth across community-based projects and human rights cases harnessing Bitcoin.
Those of us privileged to live in Canada, the U.S. and other more affluent countries can also witness the innovation of Bitcoin is the unprecedented potential it offers many individuals and groups to climb the hierarchy of needs against the headwinds of social distress either caused by or exacerbated by debt-money. For instance, the opportunity afforded a GenZ-er to realistically plan for the sorts of life goals/goods (home ownership, financially sustainable family life) that were once simply taken for granted by most. In this respect, one can argue that "store of value = innovation".
I don't want to get bogged down in semantics nor over-extend this analysis. What I do want to get across is that we must actively resist the Siren call of crypto as innovation. Yes, the "Bitcoin is digital gold" analogy is useful and has some applications...but it only scratches the surface and is utterly inadequate at capturing the many overlapping circles of innovation that Bitcoin achieves or births.
Bitcoin is a store of value. Bitcoin is a medium of exchange. Bitcoin is a unit of account. Bitcoin is a network. Bitcoin is a protocol. Bitcoin is a map and the territory. Bitcoin is innovation and gives rise to innovation.
Let us not neglect the staggering beauty of this exquisite phenomenon. Let us not surrender the human story and evolution which Bitcoin exalts. Let us not relinquish the rightful claim to innovation which is Bitcoin and is set forth through Bitcoin. 🙏🧡
