Bitcoin is a world of its own with its codes and expressions. A true Bitcoin culture has developed over the years. When you enter this new world, you may get lost in reading expressions that keep coming up over and over again, but that no one will take the time to explain to you.
These expressions are called Bitcoin Memes.
You have probably already heard people use the following Memes: “Have fun staying poor”, “Few understand this”, “Number Go Up”, “Run the numbers”, …
So that you don’t feel left out the next time you hear or read these Bitcoin Memes, I offer you an explanation of what they mean. A dive into the heart of Bitcoin culture.
To the Moon
When you ask a Bitcoiner to tell you how high the price of Bitcoin will go, he will answer tirelessly:
“To the Moon.”
This describes the phenomenal heights that Bitcoin can reach in the future.
In the past, many opponents of Bitcoin did not even pay attention to this Meme. And now that the price of Bitcoin has reached $69K, no one is laughing anymore.
More and more people understand that the price of Bitcoin can indeed approach previously unimaginable heights. Seeing the price of Bitcoin reach $500K and surpass the gold market cap is very likely by 2030.
Number Go Up
I frequently repeat that Bitcoin is a NgU technology. NgU here means “Number Go Up”. This very popular Meme is there to remind you that the price of Bitcoin is constantly increasing over time.
For example, the price of Bitcoin went from a few cents in 2010 to more than $60K in 2021. This phenomenal increase is only the beginning of what lies ahead for Bitcoin.
Bitcoin reached a market cap of $1,000 billion for the first time in February 2021. This is just one step in the rise of the price of Bitcoin to $100K in the years to come, and much more in the future.
Bitcoin being a NgU technology, you can never be too late in this new world.
Bitcoin Fixes This
The current monetary and financial system is suffering from seven deadly sins that will lead to its loss. The original sin is the possibility given to central banks to print as much fiat money out of thin air as they deem necessary.
From this original sin then follows all the others, including the infinite increase in the debt of the world’s great economic powers.
This debt reached $277T at the end of 2020. Its increase is accelerating alarmingly.
When a Bitcoiner will explain this to you, it will probably end up saying: “Bitcoin fixes this”. This Meme is there to highlight the fact that Bitcoin responds intelligently to the flaws of the current system.
Run the Numbers
Unlike the current system where everything is complicated and opaque, Bitcoin is an open book. The Bitcoin Blockchain is accessible to everyone without conditions. If you are in doubt, just run your node on the Bitcoin network to check for yourself.
To opponents of Bitcoin who question its properties, Bitcoiners always reply:
“Run the Numbers.”
By checking for yourself, you will see that Bitcoin has nothing to hide. Better yet, you will find that everything Bitcoin guarantees are real at all times. To go further, you can read the Bitcoin source code. Everything is written there.
Do the Math
The Meme “Do the Math” is usually associated with the Meme “Run the Numbers
You will see Bitcoiners using both together:
“Run the Numbers, Do the Math.”
By running your node on the Bitcoin network, you will run the numbers. This will give you the ability to do the math to fully audit the Bitcoin system.
You will be able to check in real-time the current supply of Bitcoin for example. That’s why I recommend to everyone who enters the Bitcoin world to run their node on the Bitcoin network. This is the best way to take power with Bitcoin.
Don’t Trust, Verify
Bitcoin does not ask you to take its revolution at its word. On the contrary, Bitcoin’s motto has always been:
“Don’t Trust, Verify.”
You have the right to doubt Bitcoin. Rather than blindly listening to its opponents or supporters, the best thing to do is to verify for yourself to make up your mind.
Bitcoin encourages you to develop your critical thinking skills. This is how you will discover the ugly truth about the current monetary and financial system. Then you will be able to better understand why Bitcoin is a monetary revolution that will take everything in its path.
Never take my word for it, check it out for yourself.
Not Your Keys, Not Your Bitcoin
After buying Bitcoin, many people think they own their BTC. In reality, you only own a portion of the Bitcoin Blockchain. To be able to prove this, you must have the private keys associated with your BTC.
If you do not have the private keys associated with your BTC, then you have nothing. You simply trust a third party that holds the private keys of your BTC.
This puts you at the same risk as with the current system where a third party can decide to censor the fruit of your work. A Meme was created a long time ago to remind you of the importance of owning the private keys of your BTC:
Not Your Keys, Not Your Bitcoin.
This is one of the Ten Commandments of Bitcoin. After each purchase of BTC, you must send them directly to your hardware wallet for safekeeping. That’s how you’ll have real control over your money.
Have Fun Staying Poor
You have realized that Bitcoin is an incredible monetary revolution. Your first reflex is to buy Bitcoin. Then you will try to convince your friends and family to dive into the Bitcoin revolution.
You might even decide to write articles about Bitcoin like I do to help more and more people open their eyes to the Bitcoin revolution.
As you do so, you will get used to hostile reactions from people who unfairly denigrate Bitcoin. These people will take up the arguments used by the powerful people at the head of the current system.
In the beginning, you will struggle. Eventually, you will give up and say to them:
“Have fun staying poor.”
This Meme is there to make you aware that you will not be able to open the eyes of people who are not open-minded enough to take advantage of disruptive new ideas like Bitcoin.
Let these people make their own choices, and move on.
Few Understand This
Bitcoin is a total paradigm shift. The functioning of Bitcoin is the opposite of the current monetary and financial system.
The current system is based on quantitative easing, which is tirelessly abused by central banks. Bitcoin highlights the virtues of quantitative hardening
Bitcoin’s monetary policy is programmatic, which protects it from the arbitrary decisions of humans, but also from their natural inclination to corruption. Moreover, Bitcoin exists in limited quantities. The issuance of new Bitcoins is done predictably according to a schedule known to all in advance.
Many people find it difficult to understand the impact this will have on the world of the future.
After explaining the impacts that Bitcoin will have on the future, many Bitcoiners end their demonstrations with the following Meme:
“Few Understand This.”
This highlights the fact that very few people understand what Bitcoin is changing for the world. As a reminder, less than 1% of the Earth’s inhabitants own Bitcoin. We are only at the beginning of this monetary revolution.
In Bitcoin for the Tech
This well-known Meme is used by some who say they are not only in the Bitcoin world to get rich. It was very popular a few years ago.
Some people who wanted to show that they were better than those who only thought about money liked to say: “I’m in Bitcoin for the Tech
The reality is more complex. There’s always a bit of both here. I frequently explain that when you buy Bitcoin, your primary goal should be to take control of your money, not to get rich.
However, if you become a true Bitcoiner, you will eventually become rich because of the endless weakening of the U.S. dollar, which is weak money. Anyway, people who don’t see Bitcoin the right way always end up losing patience and selling their BTC at a loss.
Stack Sats
The Meme Stack Sats was born in the summer of 2019 on Twitter with the following Hashtag:
#StackSats
This Meme was there to remind new entrants that Bitcoin is divisible up to eight digits after the decimal point and that you should take advantage of it. This means that you should try to accumulate as many Satoshis, the smallest unit of Bitcoin, as possible.
This will make a big difference in the future when the price of Bitcoin has reached such a level that talking in Sat rather than in BTC will be the norm
Final Thoughts
The Memes that I have just detailed are an integral part of the Bitcoin culture. You have to get used to them because you will see them frequently appear in conversations on social networks or forums. In time, you will even end up using them yourself.
I’ve listed eleven very popular ones here. The list is obviously far from being exhaustive. If you have others that you particularly like, feel free to use the comments. I might include them in a future article.
In Bitcoin We Trust Newsletter: Everything around Bitcoin, Blockchain, and the cryptocurrency market
