“What is Bitcoin?”When people ask me this question, I first start to gloat and then deliver a monologue, in which most people drop out after just half a minute. They often become overwhelmed by all kinds of complex and unfamiliar terms. Terms like “decentralization”, “blockchain”, “peer-to-peer network”, “nodes”, and a global explanation of the current monetary system; about the creation of money out of thin air and an unjustified trust in fiat currencies since Nixon abandoned the gold standard in 1971. I can’t blame them for dropping out of the conversation, though. Suddenly being bombarded with information about the power of central banks, the infinite printing of money (in which the imitation of the sound “money printer goes brrr” is my favourite), the associated inflation and a few other doomsday scenarios is quite a bitter pill to swallow. And the majority of people just don’t feel like it. They would rather live presently, chat and laugh about current affairs in which everyone can participate and keep it simple. In their view, it remains a ‘too far from their bed-show’. Whereas it is precisely the current global money flows that have a lot to do with international events and current affairs. Follow the money is a well-known slogan; political and state decisions are easier to understand when one has the financial incentives clearly in mind.
It frustrates me… After all these years of obsessively devouring all kinds of books, podcasts, articles and whatever information I could find about Bitcoin; I still can’t seem to convey the importance of Bitcoin and its possibilities to my fellow humans in a simple manner. It is also the loneliness from the lack of understanding in my environment that even hurts a little. I guess it feels like shouting from a quay to a surfer who doesn’t realize that there is a shark in the water nearby but can’t hear the shouter because of the strong wind.
And for this reason, I have decided to influence the wind, and therefore it has become my mission to explain the importance of Bitcoin to everyone simply and understandable.
Bitcoin is namely much more than just a digital currency. Bitcoin is also the name of the protocol, a peer-to-peer network, and a distributed computing innovation. It represents the culmination of decades of research in cryptography and distributed systems and includes key innovations brought together in a unique and powerful combination. It consists of a public transaction LEDGER (the blockchain), a set of rules for independent transaction validation and currency issuance and is a mechanism for reaching globally decentralized consensus. The bitcoin currency is really only the first application of this invention; the possibilities are endless. Bitcoin is like the internet of money, a network for propagating value and securing the ownership of digital assets via distributed computation. There’s a lot more to bitcoin than first meets the eye, but more about this later!
In the coming weeks, I'll launch my new website and post a weekly blog here, in which I'll explain the most important aspects of Bitcoin simply and understandably for everyone. In addition, I'll discuss the latest developments in the market on the website, and there will be various 'how-tos' if you would like to become a Bitcoiner but don't know where to start. I'm passionate about working more in the field I'm excited about and sharing my knowledge with others!
www.bitcoinclarified.com
Onward and upward!
