In the Bitcoin world, you're going to have to learn to distinguish between two things: the price of Bitcoin and the Bitcoin revolution. Far too many people focus solely on the price of Bitcoin, which distracts them from the real signal, which is the Bitcoin revolution.
By focusing too much on the price of Bitcoin, you'll take a short-term view that risks locking you into the middle of what I call the iceberg illusion
the price of Bitcoin has just experienced the eighth 50% or more crash in its history, some people are starting to panic and doubt. Those people who seem petrified of a prolonged Bear Market like in 2018 don't seem to understand why Bitcoin HODLers continue to keep their faith in Bitcoin despite everything.
As one of those Bitcoin HODLers of last resort, I will explain why we continue to HODL Bitcoin no matter what. As you will see, it is simply because if the Bitcoin revolution were to fail, we would have no hope in many areas for a better world in the future.
No privacy on money
Bitcoin allows you to send money to anyone, anytime, anywhere, cheaply and quickly. Most importantly, it happens in a decentralized way without any interference from governments or banks. Bitcoin is building a future in which everyone can have full access to their money without needing to comply with the arbitrary rules of the powerful at the head of the current system.
If the Bitcoin revolution fails, we will lose our chance to have decentralized hard money free from the arbitrariness and corruption of the powerful in the current monetary and financial system.
Censorship will win
Decentralization is the answer to the problem of censorship on the Internet. In this context, Bitcoin is our best weapon in the fight against money censorship on the Internet. Bitcoin is the most secure decentralized network in the world, giving all its users power over the fruits of their labor. As we have seen since Bitcoin's inception, its network is resilient, antifragile, trustless, and permissionless.
Anyone can come and participate in the Bitcoin network as long as they have an Internet connection and a smartphone. No one can stop you from using the fruits of your labor as you wish, as long as you have the private keys associated with your Bitcoin.
Big governments will win
The governments of the world's major economic powers allow themselves to go into phenomenal debt to support an unsustainable system and to maintain their privileges within that system. The powerful do not feel responsible for anything and think they are above all laws.
Instead, they are constantly trying to control you and monitor more closely how you use your money. The latest government fad in America? Controlling Americans on all transactions over $600...
Without Bitcoin to protect you from these arbitrary, freedom-loving rules, we would have no way to protect ourselves and build a better future.
Central Banks will win
The vast majority of people have difficulty grasping that the current monetary and financial system established in August 1971 by Richard Nixon is total heresy. Thus, a minority of people not representative of the people can print as much fiat money out of thin air as they deem necessary. These people can devalue everything we own arbitrarily.
And they don't mind! The problem is that money creation is not neutral. It produces the Cantillon effect, which only deepens the inequality between the ultra-rich and the vast majority of the people who are living in worse conditions because of a flawed, and not fixable, system.
Bitcoin changes that with a superior programmatic monetary policy in every respect. Without Bitcoin, we will remain condemned to this vicious cycle of widespread impoverishment. Bitcoin is Hope.
No freedom of expression guaranteed
Once you have the private keys associated with your Bitcoin, you are in total control. No one can censor you and no one can stop you from using your Bitcoin as you wish. This has an incredible impact on your life by giving you freedom on every level.
You are guaranteed freedom of expression, and most importantly, the freedom to live your life on your own terms. Freedom of expression is one of the basic human rights that Bitcoin protects. It is one of the five basic human rights that Bitcoin protects:
The right to privacy
The right to basic banking services
The right to security through encryption
The right to freedom of speech
The right to save your money
A failure of the Bitcoin revolution would thus be a huge blow and the end of the hope that Bitcoin has brought to millions of people.
You will have to accept the truth imposed by the powerful
Fiat money is the truth that the government imposes on you. You can't check the books yourself because the system is opaque and centralized. It is in the hands of a few powerful individuals.
With Bitcoin, it's a major paradigm shift. You are dealing with an open and transparent system where everyone can make up their version of the truth by checking everything for themselves. All you have to do is run your node on the Bitcoin network to audit the accounts.
This truth is the most powerful because it is the one that all Bitcoin users can arrive at. Nothing is imposed, you have complete freedom to audit. A failure of the Bitcoin revolution would put us back in the position of having to take for granted everything that the powerful in the current system present to us as the truth.
But it is not the truth, but rather THEIR truth. A fundamental difference to understand.
Energy transition will fail
We need to change our energy consumption model from one based on fossil fuels to one based on renewable energy. This is where Bitcoin has a major role to play in the energy transition by promoting the development of low carbon infrastructure.
Bitcoin is a major force for good in the fight against climate change as I explain in 5 key reasons here: https://inbitcoinwetrust.substack.com/p/the-5-big-reasons-why-bitcoin-will
The failure of Bitcoin will cause this energy transition to fail.
You won't own anything, except your Bitcoin, for which you have the private keys
In today's society, with the system imposed on us, we don't own anything of value. Property and money are regulated and stored by custodians. You have to trust intermediaries. It's a fair claim. At any time, you can have these properties confiscated for arbitrary reasons.
With Bitcoin, the value of the fruits of your labor is truly yours as long as you have the associated private keys in your possession. No one can take your Bitcoin away from you. You can take these properties anywhere with you by simply retaining the words of your seed phrase. This is something unique in human history.
Final Thoughts
Bitcoiners HODL Bitcoin no matter what for one simple reason: we understand that the consequences of a Bitcoin failure would be far too great for us to bear as a civilization. Bitcoin is building a better world for the many in the future.
If you value freedom, transparency, or truth in its purest form, you will sooner or later become a Bitcoiner to make this revolution change the world of the future for the better. This is our best chance, and we can't squander it for lack of conviction.
In Bitcoin We Trust Newsletter: Everything around Bitcoin, Blockchain, and the cryptocurrency market
