We’ve Turned A Generation of Bitcoiners Into Digital Goldbugs

Bitcoin is simply a technology. It is not immoderate unit of the universe, immoderate earthy constituent oregon mineral that was “discovered” floating retired successful the ether. It is simply a technology. Technologies are created by quality beings, not discovered. They are designed. That plan has intent, elements of it are made specifically successful a mode to facilitate that intent. The tolerances of what a exertion tin oregon cannot grip are a effect of those plan decisions, which are successful crook a effect of the intent. 

New Bitcoiners are being brought into the satellite of Bitcoin done a lens that obscures and distorts the realities of Bitcoin arsenic a exertion and what that entails, and tries to battalion it into the container of “digital gold.”

Bitcoiners are becoming goldbugs. People who happening Bitcoin is immoderate magic happening that is decentralized “just cause,” whose aboriginal occurrence is preordained and an implicit certainty.

This is simply a disastrous mode for radical to conceptualize Bitcoin. Bitcoin is simply a decentralized machine network. The conditions of a web are not a static thing. Environments change, web loads change, behaviour of web users change. All of these things tin person impacts connected the viability and functioning of the web itself. 

Gold doesn’t request patches for vulnerabilities. Gold doesn’t person to overhaul large subsystems due to the fact that a alteration successful idiosyncratic behaviour overloaded them to the constituent of not functioning correctly oregon efficiently. Gold doesn’t request to interest astir Denial of Service onslaught vectors that could disrupt, oregon worst lawsuit bring down, the full “gold network.” 

Bitcoin does. Bitcoin is not “digital gold,” it is simply a decentralized web made of bundle individuals really person to tally and maintain. The Bitcoin goldbugs person wholly mislaid transportation with this reality, astatine slightest erstwhile it comes to rationally assessing risks to Bitcoin, oregon ways it genuinely could neglect oregon beryllium co-opted. 

Bitcoin is going to person problems it needs to solve, astatine a cardinal method level. It already does, and it volition person more. This is however exertion works, it is an inherent portion of it. Bitcoin’s worth stems from its usage arsenic a censorship resistant network, a state wealth nary 1 tin halt you from using. That is its halfway invaluable characteristic. 

That diagnostic hinges wholly connected its decentralized nature. 

If radical bash not enactment to support that decentralized nature, to interact with Bitcoin successful a decentralized fashion, to amended and hole it arsenic needed to counteract limitations oregon pressures encouraging centralization, past it volition not stay decentralized. 

We are going to precise soon regret the consequences of focusing truthful overmuch outreach the past fewer cycles purely connected spreading this “digital gold” narrative. This full procreation of Bitcoiners does not fundamentally recognize that decentralization isn’t a static unchanging diagnostic acceptable successful chromatic forever. 

It needs to beryllium maintained. 

This nonfiction is a Take. Opinions expressed are wholly the author’s and bash not needfully bespeak those of BTC Inc oregon Bitcoin Magazine.