After reaching 100 million users in September 2020, Bitcoin surpassed 200 million during the year 2022 to reach an estimated 219 million users by December 31, 2022
I am still talking about estimates because you know that it is not possible to know precisely the number of Bitcoin users. You can know the number of active addresses on the network, and then make different estimates using data from the exchange platforms to arrive at an estimated figure.
If every year the same method of calculation is used, you can at least see a trend. The trend is that Bitcoin adoption continues block after block at a rate that still puts Bitcoin on its trajectory to reach one billion users by 2030.
You know it's possible to make raw numbers say anything and everything. It's all a matter of interpretation.
For example, when you look at the figure of 219 million Bitcoin users, you'll think that's a huge number for a leaderless P2P system that was launched just 14 years ago. Indeed, the growth in the number of Bitcoin users over the years has been impressive. It is even more impressive because Bitcoin has never received any support from governments or private investment bankers.
Bitcoin has grown because of its users who realize how lucky they are to have such a system available to them, and who feel it is their mission to help the Bitcoin revolution realize its full potential for the world in the future.
But if you take that figure of 219 million users and compare it to the number of people on Earth, which has surpassed 8 billion as of the end of 2022, you'd think that only 2.7% of the Earth's population owns Bitcoin units. That's not very many after all!
And out of those 219 million, how many understand the why of Bitcoin?
10%? Even less?
If we take the figure of 10%, that would make a mere 21.9 million people in the world understand the why of Bitcoin. Only 0.27% of the world's population would understand the why of Bitcoin.
If you buy Bitcoin in 2023, you are still an early adopter!
The Bear Market of 2022 with all the fiascos we've seen, from Terra Luna to Celsius Network to FTX, will have provided a necessary and welcome purge of the cryptocurrency industry. It will have allowed a growing number of people within the general public to understand this essential truth:
Bitcoin != Crypto. Bitcoin is different from cryptocurrency, for those who would not master logical comparison operators :D.
Also, it became obvious with FTX selling fake Bitcoin units to their customers that you need to own the private keys to your Bitcoin to own it.
Not Your Keys, Not Your Bitcoin – FTX Was Selling Fake BTC to Its Users
Not your Keys, Not your Bitcoin” is a meme I keep repeating. I even created a website about it to help as many people as possible realize that this meme was there to describe reality.
You absolutely must have the private keys to your Bitcoin to take full advantage of all that the Bitcoin system has to offer.
By buying Bitcoin, you will protect yourself from the endless monetary expansion of the U.S. dollar and fiat currencies, but if you don't have your private keys, you won't know whether you really own Bitcoin or what is now called paper Bitcoin, to draw a parallel with paper gold.
Gold is a scarce store of value, but not paper gold, which is only a promise that only commits those who believe it...
With Bitcoin stored on an exchange platform, it's the same problem you'll face. You are trusting a third party who can censor you at any time.
The year 2022 will have made more people aware of the self-sovereignty issue with Bitcoin:
This graph shows that 1/5 of the BTC units present on the exchange platforms on January 1, 2022, left the platforms during the year, with a clear acceleration at the time of the FTX scam in November 2022.
That's good, but it's not enough!
Too many people still forget that exchange platforms are even worse than their banks. For the most part, they have even fewer regulatory constraints. They can censor you like banks, but they can manipulate your money and lie to you in even easier ways. What happened with FTX in November 2022 is sufficiently eloquent that I don't need to go into it.
Therefore, you absolutely must continue the movement that started in 2022. You must take back control of your Bitcoin. You must take possession of your private keys.
By taking your Bitcoin units off the exchanges, you will gain access to the best bank in the world: yourself! And yes, who can you trust more than yourself?
This may sound scary to some, but you'll find that it's easy to use hardware wallets like those offered by leading brands TREZOR and Ledger. Other solutions exist, but I have always been satisfied with the products of these two brands, which is why I am not afraid to recommend them.
I wrote a comparison article last year:
Trezor vs. LEDGER – Which Is the Best Hardware Wallet To Use With Bitcoin?
It's still around, and since then, Ledger has even released a new model, the Stax, which the French manufacturer hopes will become what the iPod was for the music world in the 2000s.
These devices are worth a certain price, but I see this as the price to pay to ensure the security of the fruits of my labor. I think you should see it the same way.
For those of you who are still hesitant to take possession of your Bitcoin's private keys, I hope this article has given you some arguments to lean in the right direction and take power away from the exchange platforms. If you want to take power over your money, you must have your private keys. The other benefit I didn't mention earlier is that by removing your Bitcoin from the exchanges, you will be increasing its scarcity on the spot market, which will mechanically increase its price.
So if you don't intend to sell, this is something that can only be beneficial to you.
It's up to you as always.
If you are already leaning towards a Hardware Wallet from Ledger, follow this link:
Ledger Nano S Plus / Ledger Nano X / Ledger Nano Stax
If you are already leaning towards a Hardware Wallet from Trezor, follow these links:
Trezor One
If You’re Worried That Bitcoin Hasn’t Reached Its Bottom and This Is Holding You Back, Read This.
Stop looking down with fear. Instead, look up with hope.
https://inbitcoinwetrust.substack.com/p/if-youre-worried-that-bitcoin-hasnt
Don't take for granted the word of Bitcoiners who tell you that Bitcoin is an incredible monetary revolution, but verify it for yourself by developing the knowledge to build your truth about Bitcoin.
That's what I suggest you do in the book “The Truth About Bitcoin: Everything you need to build your truth about Bitcoin and stop trusting others without verifying
The book is available on various platforms:
On Amazon in print format: 630 pages
On Amazon in Kindle format: 543 pages
On Gumroad in PDF format: 475 pages
In P2P mode in PDF format or EPUB format with payment in BTC: contact me by email at [email protected]
