Don’t Worry About Bitcoin

(Originally published June 1, 2022.)

There are, apparently, a lot of people who think Bitcoin is down for the count. Forget about that; Bitcoin is doing just fine and “the count” is just a sideshow.

I should probably say this more often, but Bitcoin is not a stock, not a bond, it’s not a company… it literally cannot go broke.

Bitcoin is a computer program. A brilliant one, in my opinion, but a computer program. The price of a bitcoin in dollars makes no difference to the operation of the Bitcoin program… none at all. This is simply not a thing that can go bankrupt and close its doors: There are no doors, there is no company, there is no boss; there’s not even a reset switch.

So, please don’t think of Bitcoin as any normal type of investment, because it’s not. It’s something new and very different. Bitcoin, to put it simply, is a piece of the future invading the present.

Bitcoin is also better money. It is a near-perfect store of value and a near-perfect form of collateral. By itself it’s not a great daily currency, but with the Lightning overlay it becomes that too.

Bitcoin Is Not “A Crypto”

Bitcoin is not “a crypto,” in the 2022 sense of the term. This gets confusing, because Bitcoin is indeed a cryptocurrency. What I mean is this:

The old and virtuous idea of “building a business” has fallen away over the past generation, replaced by the model of conjuring unicorns: Find a clever idea, flamboyantly promote it, and have millions of dollars thrown at you. And this in a period of just a few years.

Bitcoin operates by the “building a business” model; most cryptos are trying to conjure unicorns.

There are explanations for this, of course, and there are some cryptos of value, but the general description stands.

So…

So, please understand that Bitcoin is just fine, and will be just fine. Fiat currencies will trade for changing prices, coming and going as they do. But Bitcoin will remain.

The reason behind the recent change in price versus the dollar is mainly attributable to fear. Bitcoin has always been surrounded by a thick and toxic cloud of fear. It is, after all, from the outside; it threatens the status quo and those who find existential comfort in it.

And so again, Bitcoin is a piece of the future. It’s presently undergoing the long and difficult process of taking root in a contrary present. I highly recommend getting in on the adventure, but please understand that it’s not for the faint of heart.

**

Paul Rosenberg

freemansperspective.com

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