The Bitcoin Rabbit Hole: A Journey in 12 Stages
Stage 1: “It’s just internet money for criminals” - You dismiss it completely while your cousin won’t shut up about it at Thanksgiving.
Stage 2: The Curiosity - Someone mentions the price and you think “wait, ONE Bitcoin costs WHAT?” You Google it. Fatal mistake.
Stage 3: The Skeptical Research - You read a few articles to prove it’s a scam. Instead, you learn about the 21 million supply cap. Your brain starts tingling.
Stage 4: The YouTube Vortex - You watch one explainer video. Then another. It’s 3 AM and you’re watching Andreas Antonopoulos explain Byzantine Generals. You don’t understand it but you can’t stop.
Stage 5: The First Book - You pick up “The Bitcoin Standard” by nostr:npub1gdu7w6l6w65qhrdeaf6eyywepwe7v7ezqtugsrxy7hl7ypjsvxksd76nak . Suddenly you’re angry about everything you were never taught about money. You start ranting about the Cantillon Effect at dinner parties.
Stage 6: The Orange Pill Hits - You buy your first $50 in Bitcoin. You check the price 47 times that day. You’re now that person you used to mock.
Stage 7: The Deep Dive - You tear through “The Fiat Standard,” “Layered Money” by Nik Bhatia, and “The Price of Tomorrow” by nostr:npub1s05p3ha7en49dv8429tkk07nnfa9pcwczkf5x5qrdraqshxdje9sq6eyhe . You realize the rabbit hole has a basement. With more rabbit holes.
Stage 8: The Evangelism Phase - You try to orange-pill everyone. Your friends avoid you. Your family changes the subject. You don’t care because you just finished “Thank God for Bitcoin” and feel spiritually aligned.
Stage 9: The Technical Obsession - You read “Mastering Bitcoin” by Andreas Antonopoulos and “Grokking Bitcoin” by Kalle Rosenbaum. You sort of understand how nodes work. You definitely don’t understand cryptographic signatures but you’re pretending you do.
Stage 10: The Philosophy Era - “The Sovereign Individual” rewires your brain. You read Ammous’s “Principles of Economics” and suddenly have opinions about Austrian economics. You’ve become insufferable.
Stage 11: The Humility Reset - You realize how little you actually know. You re-read everything. You start listening instead of preaching. You understand that sound money is a multi-generational journey.
Stage 12: The Builder/HODLer - You’re stacking sats, running a node, or building on Bitcoin. You’re still learning. You’ll always be learning. The rabbit hole has no bottom.
Plot twist: You’re never leaving. Welcome home
