When Did People Stop Caring About the Promise of Bitcoin?
A quick look at what the conversation used to be about
Someone recently shared this Bitcoin Magazine article with me from early 2016.
Sound familiar?
I can’t remember the last time I heard anyone in the BTC world talk about anything remotely as interesting as this, let alone put forth effort to try to create it.
What happened?
Is it really as simple as: price went up —> protocol was deliberately broken to force people into third-party products —> everyone accepted the narrative because they were getting rich —> all memory of groundbreaking functions was lost?
Whatever the case, it’s a bit heartbreaking to feel like a voice in the wilderness, shouting, “Hey, sub-cent payments tied to on-chain data is a really big effing deal and we can build some amazing stuff around it!”
As the bear market wears on, I have begun to notice more people slowly probing for something more than a new speculative asset out of the world of crypto. I have seen signs of increased dabbling, from both builders and users of micro and nanopayments apps.
So far, the only place this nascent community is really doing anything is on BSV, which adds to the bizarre nature of this entire thing.
It is in many ways a silly community with exceedingly silly major players. Yet both the protocol and a the people who predominantly use it are just about the only ones in this space serious about tiny payments on a large scale.
I don’t know whether because of this BSV will start to get less absurd and become more of a force in the world, or whether other communities and protocols will start paying attention to tiny payments and take the mantle.
It’s hard to imagine tiny payments not becoming a big deal in the next decade one way or another. Don’t be distracted by the fact that the majority of crypto people are ignoring them and only the crazies are playing with it.
It's kinda like saying is capitalism a big deal? Is freedom a big deal? Is the promise of Bitcoin a big deal? Yes! I certainly think so. The voluntary exchange of value that it opens up is tremendous. People across the globe being able to trade and exchange things for dimes, nickels, and even fractions of a cent! Why don't more people see the potential here? I feel that the dream was lost not so much because people got rich, but because the system was taken over by central planners. Like those who plan the fiat system, it's is hard for people to imagine that an unplanned system of mutual benefit can create better results. Craig seems to think he can just keep building the infrastructure in his ivory tower, but I don't know if he understands the central role that entrepreneur plays in the system. We need more excitement and more people iterating. Not that I should talk, I'm percolating ideas, but haven't made anything yet. What will it take for people who've been bamboozled to wake up? Why did all the economist at the mises Institute fall for the BTC scam? The ponzi scheme seems so obvious. I worry that if people don't wake up, the dream and vision may be forever lost.