The polarization in the Bitcoin world deepens with every major increase in the price of Satoshi Nakamoto's brain child. From an obscure Github repository frequented by nerds into cryptography and stuff, the software that consumes now tremendous amounts of energy evolved into an unprecedented social phenomenon. You can hear people on the streets talking about it, there are dozens of thousands of "Bitcoin investment specialists" and even Wall Street caved in and accepted that there is such thing as a "Bitcoin futures".
There are 2 major camps: the hardcore hodlers and the notorious naysayers. For simplicity: HH and NN .The space between them used to be filled with intermediary cohorts, but as the price grows, these are migrating hastily towards one end of the slope.
And for the NN (notorious naysayers) there are at least 3 major concerns supporting their doom predictions:
- Bitcoin is not used as an actual currency
- There is no underlying value of the digital asset
- Something doesn't increase in value just because you "hodl" (or stick to it)
As surprising as it may be for many of my followers here, I found all of them to be correct. Yes, they are true. All of them. And, at the same time, I'm very optimistic towards Bitcoin.
How come?
Well, the hype about Bitcoin, it's not about Bitcoin. It's about what Bitcoin stands for.
You know, there is this inertia of breakthrough concepts that kinda acts like a tsunami. First, there is a slow wave and then another wave comes from behind and adds up to the momentum and so on and so forth. With every news about Bitcoin there is another wave coming from behind and adding to the momentum. But the process is very slow. It can take years, just like a tsunami is not born in a second.
These Bitcoin waves that are giving the impression of a bubble are about understanding, not about money. With every news, more and more people are getting a better understanding of the underlying technology. With every new transaction made by the average Joe, there is a new group of neurons firing. And abstract concepts like "decentralization" or "immutability" are getting translated in real world useful things like: "complete access to my own money" or "honesty".
Each and every person that buys into Bitcoin - even the speculators - doesn't necessarily buys the token, but the technology.
From this perspective, Bitcoin acts like a buffer. A buffer holding the hopes of a new generation into a better world.
As you may know, I'm not big into Bitcoin as an asset, and the words you've read so far are confirming it clearly. But I am big into alts. I am big into the technology. I am big into Steemit, or the new attention economy. Big into appcoins like Filecoin, EOS and all the other tiny tokens that are just "not there yet".
Of course they aren't. They need time to mature. And the influx of energy towards them comes through the Bitcoin buffer.
So the price of Bitcoin is not about the Bitcoin per se. It's not an indicator of the Bitcoin value as a "bounty". It's just a temporary place for all this value that shifts from an outdated economic model into something new. As these new appcoins will mature, Bitcoin will slowly start to plateau.
Just like, two hundreds years ago, when we experienced a similar shift into human economics, gold also stopped being the common denominator, and "melted" into paper money.
And here is where HH (hardcore hodlers) are correct: if you hodl, then your chances for a better start in this new world are better.
As simple as that.
I'm a serial entrepreneur, blogger and ultrarunner. You can find me mainly on my blog at Dragos Roua where I write about productivity, business, relationships and running. Here on Steemit you may stay updated by following me @dragosroua.
https://steemit.com/~witnesses
If you're new to Steemit, you may find these articles relevant (that's also part of my witness activity to support new members of the platform):