2025 - a year in which I was turned from a shitcoiner to a bitcoiner, I learnt how Bitcoin worked technically, I understood how broken the fiat system is, and most importantly, I realized how unique Bitcoin is. This rabbit hole is too deep, but I want to dig deeper and deeper, as you will find a sense of escape, a glimpse in a better system, and a hope that nothing can offer.

What differentiates Bitcoin from gold? Both are good monies. Obvious answer is BTC is more divisible and portable. A more in-depth answer is BTC cannot be counterfeited, and in worst case, laymen wait on the spot for up to an hour (~6 blocks) to confirm receipt. For gold, if someone give me a gold coated iron, it will some tools to cut it, some experiment to test it. In short, laymen can’t wait on the spot, but to verify it somehow. Most important answer is the difficulty adjustment in BTC, which controls its constant supply even with most advanced tools/computers. In theory, gold also has a fixed supply, just that it is not 100% known yet. It is arguably at least on par with BTC, both having fixed supply. Both are backed by proof of work( BTC by energy and ASIC manufacture, gold by mining machinery and labour). The key differentiator is the programmed difficulty adjustment. Assuming one day, technical advancement enables gold miners to extract gold reserves at a much faster pace, gold can in theory flood the market and crash its prices. There can be coordination among miners like OPEC, but this is centralised and man-made efforts, not comparable to the difficulty adjustment built-in in Bitcoin. Bitcoin is the best money, most decentralised with fixed and most importantly, a foreseeable, supply that everyone can check.

The idea of Nostr is the best among all social apps. I own my account and profile, and bring it anywhere I want. I can use it to unlock apps, not vice versa

@Guy Swann great episode on the op_return war back in 2014. Good to know and hear the history and refresh my memory and thoughts. Though I disagree the conclusion and leans on Core right now, I appreciate Guy’s digging into the history and bring up an intellectual discussion

Fountain

Bitcoin Audible • Read_904 - The Op_Return Wars of 2014 • Listen on Fountain

"All of the above did have an impact, however their impact is often overstated in our view. The most significant factor is culture. Some Bitcoiners...

Every time I re-read @Gigi “Bitcoin is Time”, I understand more about Bitcoin and admire its beauty more. This time, after listening to the 7-hour plus podcast by @Vlad, Bitcoin Takeover Podcast on Kaspa interview relating to proof of work, the beauty of proof of work is simply astonishing. PoW is superior to PoS because: 1. No matter how powerful anyone is, everything is reset after each round of game in PoW. Powerful players still have edge in each round, but it is not on an accumulated basis over time. In PoS, power accumulates over time, same as what tradfi is doing right. Capital begets more capital. What kind of new system do we get in PoS? 2. Time is the most precious thing we have as human. If you want something valuable, use your most precious asset (i.e. time) to exchange. Can’t be more fair to anyone, and this is what ensures bitcoin’s moneyness. Bitcoin is locked in time.

I was attracted to bitcoin because of its cypherpunk ideals, censorship resistance, , decentralised, immutability , non-custodial, permissionless, peer-to-peer without any intermediary. However, with more tradfi and mass adoption, it seems that these ideals are secondary to its moneyness or as a means of store of value. It is indisputable that higher price, acceptance of tradfi institutions and normal people in the street is a vindication of Bitcoin and what most (if not all) people in Nostr has believed and fought for. Unfortunately, Bitcoin has not forced tradfi/ normies to adopt any of the ideals. Exactly the opposite, tradfi is more successful in injecting their values into Bitcoin, with the rise of ETF and DAT (custody with intermediaries), and adoption of the KYC (permissioned and can be censored). It seems we get the result right, but the path wrong. On a more optimistic tone, we are still early. Numbers going up, breaking into mainstream are only the 1st steps. Once people know about the utility and moneyness of the Bitcoin, they will naturally go deeper and understand the ideals. Similar to mining, incentives are necessary to solve the cold-start problem. Higher price is incentive for people to go deeper into the rabbit hole. Let me review this in 5 years time and see what happens by then. In Bitcoin (and its values) we trust!