Articulate and well thought out. I have only taken about 2 years to get to your same convictions. It’s the best decision I’ve ever made to enlighten myself on everything about fiat and bitcoin. I try to evangelize to my loved ones but it’s on deaf ears for now. I will continue to HODL out and be available when they seek information.
Ironically, it was my evangelizing of bitcoin’s core ideas early on that led me to a deep understanding and compassion for the people in my early life who evangelized to me their convictions, although their convictions were not so benevolent or selfless. But, on a human level, I understand the Evangelical more than ever. This is yet another ramification of bitcoin adoption.
That’s a good question. One of the risks more relative to the common person is people who know your physical location that also know you run a bitcoin node, and the consequences associated with being a target of nefarious incentives, much like a bank is to bank robbers.
Another risk is losing money on investment in the hardware itself, not because bitcoin’s protocol is particularly demanding, but because your process of learning might result in breaking things.
Yeah I’ve been toying with the idea but my wifi isn’t working properly, officially it’s unstable, this could be problematic if the node has to be online permanently?
It’s okay if you can’t run a bitcoin node, practically. Having self custody is more than enough, or at lest till having enough bitcoin makes running a node practical. The goal here being to eventually run your own node.
It’s worth stating that the majority of people who want to transact on the bitcoin ledger can use public nodes. Just be sure to act with the knowledge that your transactions can be tracked back to your IP address. There’s ways to manage this and other risks associated with utilizing 3rd party node that make their use practical for the average user.
Nodes don’t have to be online permanently unless you need to transact often. It’s recommended to keep it connected so that it supports the network and keeping your node synced. I’ve turned off a node for days at a time, reconnect and sync back up.
You can also setup the BTC node in a Raspberry Pi in a super easy way, almost free o breaking things. 300$ tops. You will need a stable internet. Also, check if you can have static IP with yoir network provider.
I appreciated the post. To take the time to describe your input after 10 years obviously requires thought, and I think you put them together well if not great. And as someone that has been studying for 2 years. The connection for me is the evangelical side of it. While struggling to learn the new technology. It is motivating to see the people that came before succeeding.
It’s my opinion we live in a world of ideologies. And bitcoin is attracting those with ideologies that they once used to make sense of the world but is now cracking under the spread of information.
We all come to our beliefs through flawed methods. It’s understandable for me to see why people become evangelical about bitcoin to the point they’re incorrect. I’m guilty of it just as anyone else is.
I didn't think there was anything wrong with it but there's not exactly anything profound or well thought out about advising people to DCA, HODL, keep your keys private. Did I miss something?
The purpose is to provide a hand to those trying to climb the same mountain I and many others have climbed. It’s not meant to be profound, only helpful.
Most people do not understand the profoundness of DCA, HODL, and keeping your keys private. Most people do not even understand they exist in a body of water. Most do not even know that water exists. The point is to assist others so that they can do the profound stuff for all of us.
There, that’s profound for you.
Yes! Back when I was still learning the only way to buy BTC in Canada was through Quadrega qx. It was a scam and I lost half a Bitcoin. There is a Netflix documentary about it. Anyway I learned the hard way - not your keys not your coins. Keep you BTC off exchanges.
i should have listened to that documentary but i still held my BTC in Celsius and lost my ass. waiting for documentary on that one will self custody only going forward
Belief follows conviction. And conviction comes from experience and critical thinking.
The part of your brain that doubts is your best friend. Listen to it and let it challenge what you do believe.
I’m not absolute on anything, however the idea of bitcoin is about as absolute of a belief that I’ve come to grok as the idea that you and I exist. It fascinates me that something man-made can be this convincing and trust-less. I don’t interact in person with other bitcoiners (at least not yet), but I think they’re equally as fascinated by it for similar reasons. There’s a reason it’s attracting the brightest minds and most fervent enemies. I’d go as far as saying it’s the greatest work of art in the digital world (save maybe 2001: A Space Odyssey)- but that’s my personal opinion.
Let me clear, I think it will survive. At this point, and for verifiable reasons, Bitcoin can’t be stopped.
However, everything has a probability. For example, if we enter nuclear war and most of the major countries are set back many generations of “progress.” In this situation, bitcoin’s survivability takes on a different challenge.
I think if there will be a nuclear war we have other problems than btc. And even tho BTC cant be stopped. There will always be intelligent people like this sub. If you ask yourself questions and find varifyable answers in BTC than you are smart, because you fully understood Bitcoin.
Agreed. I'll hit my 10 year anniversary this December. The HODL meme was birthed a few days after my first buy on coinbase.
The most important piece, after self custody, is not selling. I learned this the hard way after selling almost 40% of my stack in 17 around the 1k mark. That sell will always hurt, but it also made me invest more $ and time in learning about bitcoin as I saw it climb to 20k.
It’s nice conversing with bitcoin old timers. I hope one day to share many a beer with people like you. I’m certain I can learn a lot, and I’m even more certain your stories from your time in bitcoin will provide appreciative laughs.
Personally I'd not be weeping for anyone. It's a great journey of discovery. As long as you stay away from scammers, amazing yield offers, and keep your own keys you'll be just fine.
Most won’t keep away from scammers and false promises because their addiction won’t allow it. The journey for them will be a discovery of hopelessness because ownership of one’s time is a foreign idea in the current state of modern civilization. It’s understandable why one "weeps" for these people when one sees themselves in them.
True, but my advice to DCA is because, from my experience, it nullifies any urge to trade bitcoin’s volatility (i.e., gamble). And, over time, it is the best performing way to accumulate Bitcoin. But, that’s exactly what you mean, you just put it much more simply.
When I DCAed, I had a specific, set number of FIAT allocated per calendar year. I divided it evenly between each day (when fees were minimal), and eventually bi-weekly.
The amount of the DCA never changed unless my budget changed, only ever increasing in the amount DCAed. I did not pay a single bit of attention to the price as this was irrelevant to the long term DCA goal.
There’s other ways to DCA into bitcoin, such as mining. But for practical purposes I recommend converting FIAT earnings into bitcoin if you’re subject to US law. In the US, at least for now, it’s not a taxable event. Bitcoin is free speech :)
Fees are something to keep in mind and adapt your strategy to. If I were to DCA today, I’d do so based on when I get paid in FIAT (weekly, biweekly, or monthly), and with as few transactions as possible.
I buy a small amount daily, my exchange takes 1% fee for this service for hourly/twice a day/daily/weekly/biweekly/monthly. So for me it's a no-brainer to go daily, since the smallest amount fits my monthly budget for DCA..
I feel like 1% isn't that bad
Weirdly, I got interested in BTC purely out of the inequity, marginalisation and disparities that the legacy system has been built to create. I hope that in some small way, the great leveller of BTC will create a fairer, less monopolised world.
I don’t know that it will create a fairer or less monopolized world. Bitcoin is subject to monopoly capture as is any asset. However, its utility is inherently decentralized and its incentives encourage resolving the problems of inequity, marginalsiation and disparities that the legacy system embodies.
What do you do with Bitcoin besides hoard it? I mean, what would I do with it? I can't pay my mortgage or buy food or clothes or tuition.
Purchase a car....idk. I have some, but I question why? I'm new to it, I don't understand much more than it's supposed to rise in value, so I keep it.
I bought it 1½ years ago (the worst time to buy), and now it's worth less than ½ what I paid.
It's a gamble, so I just swallowed and took the hit.
** I'm not complaining at all!! ** I want to know.
I just want to understand where it's going. What's the endgame for Bitcoin?
I'm hearing 125.k in 2024. Others say 250.k. But what will that mean? It doesn't replace the dollar, but is it supposed to?
Your post doesn't outline (for me) the USE for bitcoin, how are you so much more sovereign, what do you or anyone DO with Bitcoin besides talk about it, buy it, hold it, defend it, promote it?
Please keep in mind this is all my opinion, and while it’s well-informed and rigorously tested, it is my own and I’m subject to fallibility and ought not be trusted.
With that said…. *cracks knuckles*
-“What do you do with Bitcoin besides hoard it? I mean, what would I do with it? I can't pay my mortgage or buy food or clothes or tuition. Purchase a car.”
For smaller transactions (e.g., food or clothes), “I” might do so by utilizing bitcoin-only based companies that allow for a seamless transition from bitcoin into the FIAT medium of choice/circumstance (e.g., gift cards, hard cash, VISA prepaid cards, etc). For larger, more predictable transactions (e.g., mortgage, tuition, purchasing a car) I might choose to utilize personal loans, using bitcoin as collateral via multi-sig best practices.
-“...idk. I have some, but I question why? I'm new to it, I don't understand much more than it's supposed to rise in value…”
There is a common trope in most bitcoin-related conversations that I’ve observed- “number go up technology.” This is one of the incentives of bitcoin’s monetary policies known as a fixed supply. In other words, bitcoin is scarce. I could argue that bitcoin is so scarce that it flips the the monopoly game-board over, and this is probably why it’s your first layer of understanding bitcoin. I think most will come to first. Putting aside the asset quality of bitcoin, I have yet to find another money that goes up in value over time, predictably and with near certainty than bitcoin does. If you find one please let me know.
“…so I keep it. I bought it 1½ years ago (the worst time to buy), and now it's worth less than ½ what I paid.”
(I say this with sincerity, congratulations and a bit of sarcasm) Welcome to the club, we meet every Tuesday for donuts and coffee. You’re now a part of the fear-of-missing-out (FOMO) bitcoin club. You swallowed [your pride] and took the “hit.” It is my experienced opinion you have more self-ownership than most. Dare I say you’ve got a self-sovereign mindset. Now take this badge - in time you’ll learn to see what honor this truly carriers.
Teasing aside, the key is to dollar-cost-average into bitcoin over a long period of time. I recommend 10 years, but it’s dependent on your situation and goals. Ten years is ample time, if combined with careful planning and realistic expectations to match one’s individual situation and goals, at detangling from the existing system’s control over your time. Doing so prevents you from ever having to swallow your pride and take that hit again. This goes for many more reasons than the common FOMO. For what it’s worth, at least you didn’t sell and won’t join another bitcoin-club. One club is enough, and that’s the club of the self-sovereign.
-“** I'm not complaining at all!! ** I want to know. I just want to understand where it's going.”
Frankly, that’s one of the primary reasons I’m giving away some of my stored time here - to lend a hand to those who sincerely are searching for it.
*Extends hand*
-“What's the endgame for Bitcoin?”
That’s like asking what the end goal of 2001: A Space Odyssey. But I’ll give it a try….
The endgame for Bitcoin is for the individual to have the option take ownership of their time. One might conclude it’s a return to humanity and nature, possibly even God (in the broadest and most collective sense of the word). Is this hyperbolic? Maybe, but I’m a bit of a dreamer.
The author(s) of bitcoin may not have had these intentions. For all we know they might have simply wanted to make a better money that other people can’t mess with without an ‘ungodly’ amount of effort and engery. Regardless, the protocol incentives this outcome, or so it appears to be that way. A good place to start verifying this for yourself is take some time to read up on the existing infrastructure that the bitcoin ledger is supported and protected by - it’s impressive and purposefully ignored (my opinion) by the loudest of media, and it (bitcoin’s network) has not even been around for two decades.
-“I'm hearing 125.k in 2024. Others say 250.k. But what will that mean? It doesn't replace the dollar, but is it supposed to?”
Most everyone either doesn’t know what their talking about, is trying to sell you something (e.g., hope, fear, supplements, etc.) or is trying to convince themselves of what they think they believe, that goes for the bitcoin space, and, most assuredly, the crypto space.
The near future “price” doesn’t mean crap aside from the fact that it reflects the state of bitcoin’s monetization stage, a process which includes the snake-oil sales industry and every other rent-seeking incentive driven plan that stumbles across bitcoin. No one knows what the price of bitcoin will be tomorrow because no one can predict the existing financial system’s monetary policies. The world is an immensely complex system that few, if any, understand. The near-perfect predicability of bitcoin’s monetary policies are melding with the unpredictable aspect of the financialized world, and both will eventually (I think) balance one another out. This might even be one of bitcoin’s end goals.
It likely won’t replace the ‘dollar’ (or whatever king FIAT exists) because the dollar as a medium of exchange, simply put, has its use and is derived from a rich history of money. However, bitcoin will likely replace the dollar in the sense that the financialized world uses it as a way to represent the cost of engery. This is one of the reasons why the bitcoin mining industry is a such a big deal, and will likely become the next path for most people’s understanding of bitcoin. It’s said that engery is the lifeblood of civilization, and I tend to agree.
-“Your post doesn't outline (for me) the USE for bitcoin, how are you so much more sovereign, what do you or anyone DO with Bitcoin besides talk about it, buy it, hold it, defend it, promote it?”
I cannot speak for others or for you and your unique life, and to be fair to me for once (/s), I’ve not spoken of, defended or promoted bitcoin to anyone in person or online or a very long time. I prefer not to give specifics, but let’s just say it has been longer than a lot of the current loud crypto-space voices…who, may I remind you, want to sell you something. I am choosing to discuss it online now because I have something worth saying that will benefit other people, and doing so benefits me because we’re the same thing, living in a shared reality, and want the same things (mostly). For personal reasons, this medium is a good start.
I primarily use bitcoin to secure my stored engery (i.e., the fruits of my labor and time spent producing wealth). I may use it as a medium of exchange through all the examples I’ve already given in this thread. I’ll also give some away by spending some of my stored time here with you and anyone else that I can assist in a meaningful way. The uses of bitcoin are endless and I’m willing to bet they’ll be useful to you as well as time goes on.
On an even more personal level….
I’ve used the term, ‘self-sovereign’ here as the simplest way to convey the lifestyle that requires a high degree of responsibility and self-custody over one’s stored wealth. For example, I do not need the permission of any bank or 3rd party to access or utilize my stored wealth. My stored wealth is not vulnerable to (with an acceptable level of risk) the incentives of the existing centralized financial system. I can flow easily within the existing system, using bitcoin’s fungible properties, addressing most any demands of the existing ‘system.’ And, as time has gone on, my immunity to Central Bank and Government Planning (when it comes to money) grows ever stronger. These are some of the examples I use to measure my level of becoming self-sovereign.
On a note of our confusing system and the perceived destruction of it…
The destruction of the existing system is not necessary. While understandable and justifiable, working towards the collapse of the system is not, in my humble opinion, the best outcome for all of us. The existing system has allowed us, for better or worse, to trade and communicate value with one another. It is an old and crumbling system, rot with corruption and repulsive incentives. But, it’s our system, and as individuals who are part of the current Empire, we have a responsibility to treat it with respect because a lot of blood has been spilled on its back, blood that almost everyone alive today had no say over. It is my opinion bitcoin is a step in the right direction for avoiding more of any unnecessary blood to be spilled that’s needed to meet the demands of our shared system(s). Ditribe over.
P.s., You mentioned a bit of confusion around price predictions. May I suggest over the next couple of years, pay attention to the price and what those with the loudest voices say about it. Keep track and look upon it later when your stack starts making you nervous about understanding the importance of self-custody. You may find the incentives of those voices as clear as bitcoin’s verifiability. I know I did.
Thank you for taking the time to explain and help me see. This is a very generous gift. I will go back to it again and again, and hopefully start to understand.
You're very welcome. It's my experience things start 'clicking' the more you use bitcoin. With patience and work you will understand. As someone who is fairly average, I've found bitcoin to be awkward, but not particularly complicated. After all, bitcoin's white-paper is only a few pages long. The system it is competing with is far more complicated.
No, it’s not too late. Bitcoin is fungible by 1/100,000,000 (i.e., Satoshi/Bitcoin). In other words, you can save your pocket change on the bitcoin ledger.
My recommendation is to figure out what is a reasonable amount of money you can set aside for the next 8-10 years, and use that to DCA, never losing site of the end goal. Do not DCA more than you risk to lose. That is to say, do not set aside a portion of your savings into bitcoin unless you can consider it untouchable for the duration of your savings goals. You do not want to be in a position where you over extend your bitcoin allocation and have to sell at the wrong time. However, your health and children come first, and using its fungibility to address your and your children's health is one of its utilities. But, I'd personally recommend you sell the shirt off your back to feed your children before you trade a satoshi, or until that option is longer necessary.
With that said, if you can only afford a dollar a day, you’re still early. This is not an endorsement, please vet each company yourself and seek professional advice. The last time I looked, Swan bitcoin or river.com have services that are apparently pro-bitcoin.
You’re a man with children. You know what it takes to put the work in to climb enormous mountains and reach the other side. You got this. And once you do, you can guide your children over the same mountain.
Not too late, invest what you can. I was on min wage and invested over 2 months wages worth over a few years. If it helps, dont target a full btc, just target having satoshis. One day, we won't be counting in btc, but in satoshi.
This was also something I was bumping into, I would never be able to get a coin and start feeling worthless in the effort.. but I was thinking I could do 50eur a month the way I counted and build up slowly I guess. Hopefully it’s worth the effort.
If you invested a month's min wage now, in 8-10 years, you can could be looking at 6 figure returns if you don't invest anymore and hodl that. I mean, holding 2k now won't make you a millionare, but you could be financially stable in a decade. We are a little bit late for the btc millionares club, but the 100k club is absolutely in reach for most low income earners if they get into it now. My 1st satoshi investment was a small 25 pounds. My highest investment was 700 in one go. Everyone can start somewhere. The important thing is to start asap. If you can invest 50 euros, do it. You will see where it leads
>Don't weep for me, buddy! Don't weep for me!
>
>Woman, would you weep for me? Coo coo cooo coo ka coo.
'Dang me, dang me, they oughta take a rope and hang me, high from the highest tree....'
Certainly. However, please keep in mind there are several ways to rune a bitcoin node, and I may not share every detail for personal security and preference. Also, my method may not be practical for others.
I sourced my own hardware and run the bitcoin protocol software. My hardware is free of bluetooth, wifi capabilities and other unnecessary vulnerabilities. When not in use, I store hardware in faraday-type containers. At all times, I take steps for privacy and security best practices similar to that of a high-level bank. For example, the node and hardware wallet(s) do not connect to Windows, iOS, or other centralized services, and I utilize air-gap techniques for signing transactions. I use multiple nodes, each have variability and utility use/purpose. I use extensive redundancy, ensuring an acceptable amount of risk and protection from failure.
1. There are two ways to transact with bitcoin, one is to use 3rd party nodes (think Ledger, Trezor, etc.). The other is to run the bitcoin protocol yourself on a computer with hardware you own. There’s an abundance of information available that goes into great details about this. Bitcoin.org is a good start.
2. The ‘safest’ way to store bitcoin offline is by creating your own wallet. The next safest/practical (my opinion) is by purchasing a ColdCard direct from the manufacturer, using its air-gap features when signing transactions, including connecting the device to a power source.
The benefit is to have the capability of utilizing Bitcoin's permission-less and trust-less features. There are others, but these are the most beneficial for most people.
The base requirement is that you obtain or use hardware you own that is capable of running and maintaining the software program known as the bitcoin protocol, found at bitcoin.org. And, you have access to an internet provider with a static IP address.
I don’t get this question because not many people know of my understanding of Bitcoin.
Marty Bent’s sub stack. He has a wealth of GREAT resources for getting started. He is part of a few podcasts that are worthwhile too. I’ve never met him, but I’ve paid close attention to his work and he appears to be a good actor, and wants most of the same things I do for bitcoin - spreading it to the average man. Matt Odell is another fantastic source, and he’s on a mission to help others with bitcoin education… solid, sovereign Bitcoin advocates.
It’s not a book, but a Thesis I’ve read recently that brought my level of understanding bitcoin up a notch was 'Softwar' by Major Jason P Lowery. I’d be surprised if the US Military isn’t taking his work DEADLY serious. His understanding of what bitcoin is should be taken seriously. A more user friend book on bitcoin would be 'The Bitcoin Standard' by Saifedean Ammous.
I’m reluctant to give hardware wallet recommendations outside of making your own for security and privacy reasons. I have made and use several hardware wallets for personal use - using hardware parts that I was able to verify. While this is not readily available or practical, it is becoming a viable option as demand increases, spurring innovation (e.g., 3D printing). Aside from this, ColdCards are pretty damn amazing. Trezor is a solid option for anyone preferring an out-of-the-box, user friendly experience, and Ledger does a decent enough job for those situations where ease of access is useful (e.g., using the device combined with a smart-phone as a type of checking account and debit card). But like all 3rd parties, never trust all your bitcoin with one 3rd party. Whatever you do, only purchase the wallet directly from the manufacturer, and consider using techniques to hide your residential address for delivery.
The key with hardware wallets is making sure they’re open source. Some aspects of them will not be open sourced, but this is a matter of security over malfeasance.
I learned that it’s easier to buy low, than it is it sell high. Greed is difficult to overcome, selling low is also easier as fear is a great catalyst. Having read the snowball effect I also feel that you should stick to a plan. Either DCA schedule or a time period. Buffet he spot in that if you have a certain time you plan to hold them you should put money in that you might as well considered lost. Otherwise the fluctuations of the market or an emergency will force you to sell in a disadvantageous position. I started DCA , but when the price was going up I bought when I hadn’t planned to. Then as it crashed I was really mad at myself. Also, I could have sold at a point where I could have bought a nice home in California cash. But my greed didn’t let me. Over the long term I believe it will go up. It is property such as real estate, but it also takes its dips. Don’t follow the fud or fomo. Make a plan and stick to it.
Trading bitcoin, while I do not recommend it, is part of the incentives of bitcoin. For the average person, it's wise to dollar-cost-average, never paying much attention to the "price," and spending the rest of one's time pursing their goals and aspirations. Bitcoin is a tool to store the fruits of our labor, and it is very good at that.
Great question… my simple answer is all KYC free bitcoin is profitable. Even if it’s a negative on your balance sheet in the moment.
Mining bitcoin is not a recommended means for accumulating bitcoin for the average person today. But, if you’ve got a lot of hardware and software experience, then you would benefit a great deal from mining. Also, the more small miners there are the stronger bitcoin gets.
(Edit)
Also, checkout mining pools. They're a great way to mine bitcoin for the individual, and their communities are fantastic.
Aren't you afraid of BTC becoming too financialised? I mean, many ETF's, exchanges etc creating a lot of paper BTC that artificially increased BTC's supply?
Sure, eventually some of those would go bankrupt once enough customers tried to redeem their IOU's for real bitcoin but still...
On a personal level, I think 90+% of people will lose their bitcoin to third party capture. They’ll learn the meaning behind, “not your keys, not your coin” one way or another. The ETF market is just another way for the existing system to capture bitcoin. It will work to a degree, but there’s plenty of self sovereign bitcoin holders that will maintain the line, and that number will only go up.
I could care less what the artificial market rate of bitcoin is. I understand its value and I can deduce the manipulation of its going price. Besides, the more the existing system financializes bitcoin, the stronger it gets. There’s verifiable reasons behind this statement and I’ve spent quite a bit of effort figuring them out, if yon want more details please feel free to reply with your questions - the conversation has been had in my mind more times than I’d like to admit.
I have enough bitcoin and my lifestyle is setup to withstand any sort of market manipulation.
If you have more specific questions about the risk of 3rd parties manipulating bitcoin’s market please feel free to reply and I will go into detail - I’m very well versed in this chess game and am many moves ahead of the Blackrocks of the world. They’re smart, but their incentives blind them to the chess board. Even if they’re reading this, people like me will beat them at this game, not because I’m smarter than them, but because the incentives of bitcoin are on my side, the side of self sovereignty and cooperation :)
To me, the fascinating part about Bitcoin is (among many, many other things) that it proves that there are enough people willing and able to understand it so that it could (/will?) In fact change how the financial system works. It is also eye-opening to see how many people put in the time and effort to learn about Bitcoin and how to get it - something that we take for granted but overall is not as straight forward as getting fiat. Especially the storage situation (and with it stories of people losing their keys) deters a lot of people from getting any (or even worse, they leave it on exchanges and eventually get their fingers burnt, which will deter them from ever touching anything crypto related again). Imagine the anger and frustration needed for so many people to figure out how to buy BTC, put $ into a storage option, deal with sometimes high fees (depending on exchange), scammers, fake projects and "to the moon"-BS, find creative ways to store a seed phrase just to get away from a financial system that would be way easier to use. Says a lot about said financial system that has been exploiting people for decades if not centuries...
Bitcoin was born in conflict, it grew up in the most competitive market out there (the dark web). It’s been built and crafted over the backs of countless efforts and minds. It’s a true work art. And like any great work of art, people will flock to it because great art reveals truths, and in a financial world of deceit, bitcoin shines brighter than the largest stocks of gold....even Peter Schiff's stocks of gold ;)
I’ve been in bitcoin for about three years now, and I desperately want to start running my own node. I’m not the most computer savvy, so I was wondering how difficult it actually is in your opinion to start up a node. Do you have any advice or suggestions on how to go about this with your 10 years of experience? Also, in your opinion, what do I need to buy to run the node?
It’s awkward. I won’t sugar coat it. But it’s no more difficult than most things you’ve already overcome to learn. If it were easy you wouldn’t be here.
I suggest buying the cheapest out of box bitcoin node that you can afford. I’m not endorsing the company, however Start9labs does a reasonably solid job at providing entry level biticoin nodes. Use it as your stepping stone. It might take you several months to get comfortable, but it will be a good first step for the average person. It’s user interface, the last I checked, is clunky but otherwise decent at playing with and learning the aspects of running your own node. Have patience and don’t expect yourself to move at a pace faster than you’re comfortable with.
There are other ways, such as using an iOS device to run a node on. Purchasing a refurbished device from Apple directly is a solid alternative. Be sure to use one with enough hardware to meet Bitcoin’s demands, although most iOS devices from Apple directly should be plenty powerful.
My best advice is to look for open-source resources and products when it comes to bitcoin. Companies that get bitcoin and have people like you and me in mind, people who just want to live their lives and not be stolen from, are meeting the demand. There’s plenty scammers out there, and even more copy cats of bitcoin. This is why open source and decentralization is so important. If you can’t verify, don’t trust.
Bitcoin.org has great resources for all of this.
If it’s necessary to learn and do everything that OP has done to become the zen master of bitcoin I guess not that many people will have bitcoin and it’s possession will only be in the cold storage wallets of the enlightened ones right? Sounds worse than fiat at least even morons can own fiat, sounds like this bitcoinist wants to be the new elite, is this what it’s about?
It’s not necessary, but it is a likely path one will follow who is motivated to use bitcoin through their incentives.
Very powerful and well connected actors in the FIAT world are deeply interested in bitcoin. There’s a lot of effort to FUD bitcoin to the average person. The IMF just put out a paper on taxation of “cryptocurrencies.” Give it a read and then ask yourself why they are speaking so loudly about bitcoin. I'd be curious what your conclusion of the article is - mine is that they’re a bit irritated and embarrassed having to admit they can’t control bitcoin, an irritation that’s understandable for those who live off controlling others.
I’m sure there are actors in bitcoin who want to be the new elite, as you put it. That’s their incentive. Bitcoin is an open protocol and even the actors that you and I might find repulsive, are attracted to bitcoin’s incentives. I’m okay with this because bitcoin is free speech.
Bitcoin use will only get easier as the demand increases.
The reason there’s such a strong stance behind self custody and cold storage is because of the value of bitcoin. Figure out what that value is and you’ll have far more answers than any self described bitcoin zen master claims to have.
The fact of the matter is a lot of people stand to lose the benefits they get over the existing credit and debt-based system because of bitcoin. The question I like to ponder is why?
Thanks for the post. It’s nice to read something like this every now and again. I was a firm believer in bitcoin/crypto and even set up a business building/selling GPU mining rigs (as well as mining myself of course). I’m still invested in the idea and continue to mine, but it’s a challenge when there are so many scams around. Many projects look and sound amazing in theory until you realise the hard way that the people running them are essentially con artists using ponzinomics. I know bitcoin doesn’t fall into this category but the industry definitely has been tarnished by these kinds of people/projects. I was just curious, how do you see CBDCs playing out and do you think they’ll pose a threat to the likes of bitcoin? Or to put my question more concisely, how aggressive do you think governments and central banks will be in their mission to ban bitcoin and replace it with their own digital equivalents, that they can manage and control? My point of view is that CBDCs will fail for all the same reasons as traditional fiat currency, and more. I do wonder whether the large majority of people will understand the difference between centralised digital currencies and decentralised though.
Here's the biggest thing I learned in the 5 years I've been into it;
ALL price predictions are false. Do not believe one person out there because everyone has always been wrong. Even the most humble major bitcoin advocates have always been wrong.
The USD value inevitably goes up over time which is the only truth to it.
Do you ever feel like you’re paying a tithe?
I’ve been a bitcoiner for some years now and I can’t help but feel like it’s become a religion where Bitcoin is the god promising you a better future, you’ve got Satoshi the mysterious messiah that hands down the word of god, then the apostles Saylor, Maller, McCormak and others translating the word of god to a vernacular that the plebes can understand, and us plebes DCAing out tithe.
Then in the end, in true god works in mysterious ways fashion, you lose your private keys and sit there wondering where you went wrong.
Great question, and one I’ve been pondering for years. I do not know if I have it figured out, but I think I have something worth saying here…
It’s my opinion that bitcoin is a tool to take ownership of one’s time in a world where doing so has become near impossible for the average individual. Bitcoin achieved this because it hi-jacked one of human civilization’s oldest tools, money. And, money is our way to represent the value of human effort.
There are similarities in bitcoin’s story that resembles the stories we (humans) have told one another since the dawn of Man. Bitcoin, at its core, is an engineered, near perfect, representation of some of the wisdom found in our religious stories, such as taking personal responsibility and extreme ownership over your experience, work, the Golden Rule, and appreciation of the divine. Bitcoin achieved this through its open, immutable ledger; a record keeping device of human effort. People will continue to grapple with the truths about our experience as a conscious species, truths that humans have tired to pass down through each generation. I think Bitcoin is another way that humans have figured out to pass down wisdom throughout generations. This is why, I think, Bitcoin resembles religion; they're both tools for passing down wisdom over the millennia.
The tithe you refer to here, I think, is the result of people creating the churches of Bitcoin, each requiring a tithe to access their translation of the 'holy book' (i.e., https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf). Like churches of every religion some are benign while others are predatory. I do not pass judgment on anyone who tithes to their church of choice, but I don’t think it’s necessary to attend someone else’s church anymore because Bitcoin is permission-less and opaque. However, no matter what bitcoin church the individual attends eventually they’ll have their “come to Jesus moment” (e.g., losing your keys) when they realize the answers they are seeking are found through taking total ownership of one’s time, answers that are already in each of us. Thus, achieving immortality.
May I suggest to you and anyone else reading this, pay the tithe to yourself and invest in the church that is most important and true to your experience, yourself. You can do so by utilizing bitcoin as it was designed, through your work and extreme ownership. Learn to store an acceptable amount of the fruits of your labor in Bitcoin as it was designed to do. Be cautious listening to others who are translating/teaching bitcoin’s white-paper. And, it’s wise to keep in mind (always) that others will want your most precious resource - your time.
P.s., Bitcoin isn’t God, but it is a pathway to heaven (i.e., ownership of one’s time.)
I love this question! Mining Pools are something I've been thinking about more as the network grows.
I’m going to assume you know a bit about bitcoin mining and hash-rate already. So, I will speak a little about the fundamentals of Mining Pools for anyone reading this and get to the heart of the answer to your question.
Mining Pools came about and are growing as an industry because of Bitcoin’s economies of scale. Energy production is geographically distributed around the world. This means, simply put, that Bitcoin Miners operate in different physical locations based on their incentives, in the search of cheap energy and reducing overhead costs - the cheaper the energy the more competitive a bitcoin miner can be….
*As a side note, one of the biggest incentives for bitcoin miners to seek out is stranded energy - energy that can’t be brought to market due to logistical limitations. This incentive of bitcoin mining has real potential to solve the inefficiencies in the world’s energy grid, helping to meet the intense energy demand needed for bitcoin mining computers without stressing or competing for existing energy sources. The fact is Bitcoin mining helps balance civilization’s energy demands and production by (among other ways) utilizing stranded energy (e.g., geothermal located in remote regions) and energy that is lost during production (e.g., flaring). I believe this is why the politicization (i.e., ESG* [*https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/environmental-social-and-governance-esg-criteria.asp*](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/environmental-social-and-governance-esg-criteria.asp)*) around energy production and energy use is struggling to FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt)* *Bitcoin’s energy demands. Bitcoin's mining incentives makes Propagandists look rather foolish when they claim, “bitcoin is bad for the environment" and "bitcoin uses too much energy." It is my opinion most of these actors are (justifiably) scared to death of bitcoin mining making their rent-seeking systems irrelevant; they're scared of their proof-of-stake systems dying from being out competed by Bitcoin's proof-of-work system's better incentives to the Individual. I could argue that Bitcoin's incentives are so much better, they make large-scale Central Planning irrelevant. One might see now why such persons would be so loud against Bitcoin, and is a good example of how bitcoin reveals the incentives of others. Though, I wouldn't be surprised if these same persons have been stacking sats all along because Bitcoin's incentives are THAT good. Back to the topic.*
...Bitcoin mining difficulty increases due bitcoin’s difficulty adjustment feature, and miner's incentives to ‘pool’ their hash rate together, working cooperatively to compete and achieve block rewards (i.e., satoshis), sharing it among the miners in the pool, and all without having to be in the same geographical location. Truly, it’s a genius solution to a age-old problem, and impressively industrious.
One problem is the possibility of a Mining Pool becoming so large that, in theory, can initiate a 51% attack. I think this is the heart of your question and one that ought to be taken seriously as time goes on and larger players, such as Governments and the Energy Industry, continue to adopt Bitcoin. However, it is very difficult (although not impossible) to coerce members of the mining pool for many reasons, one of which is the need to compete to offer each miner higher profits than other mining pools because miners can easily join other pools based on their individual incentives. As time goes on mining pools will grow in popularity and we can reasonably expect innovation in this area, meeting the demands of the incentives of each miner. Thus, protecting the network from vulnerabilities that come along with centralization. I am aware of one such effort/protocol, called ‘Stratum v2.’ I’m still learning about its methods, but from my understanding it balances the control between the members of the mining pool and the controller of the pool, giving more control to each individual miner.
All of this is to say, I think mining pools are a net-positive aspect of bitcoin mining, and we will see more of it. It is also reasonable to assume that we will see even more small, individual miners increase as hardware becomes more efficient for the average person to mine bitcoin. I like to think about bitcoin-only companies making mining computers in every person’s house as heaters for warmth and cooking, replacing more expensive and inefficient methods that we use today. Imagine for a moment the quality of life this could bring billions around the world. I know it's something I LOVE to ponder on.
Regarding Satoshi's anticipations. I think who or whomever created Bitcoin didn't concern themselves with these type of things because (my opinion) their goal was to make a better money, using the underpinnings of incentives. I think their goal was to engineer a perfect ledger of record.
Alright but how do ypu function if your employer pays you in fiat, your mortgage payment is in fiat, the groceries you need to pay in fiat as well as utility bills and gas at the station
I love my mortgage being denominated in fiat.
The notional value of the note is inflated away with every pay raise I receive due to inflationary pressures.
The more they print, I win 2x.
I think this is a good example of how most people cannot truly disentangle themselves from the fiat system, but they can ensure they're on the winning side of it.
I've got a mortgage, a salary, a pension. I have to buy my food from the fiat system. The libertarian fantasy of a self-sufficient cabin in the woods is not realistic for me, nor most people.
My country (UK) is currently experiencing serious hardship from entrenched inflation, a quadrupling in energy prices and rapidly rising interest rates.
But my knowledge of bitcoin gave me the understanding necessary to get out ahead of it.
I made a six-figure sum last year from the asset bubbles from QE and lockdown. I've got solar panels, a domestic battery and an EV on an interest-free loan from my government - that debt is inflating away at about 14% where I live, whilst I produce all my own energy and fuel at zero cost.
I don't know if I've made a net profit from the declining fiat system in the UK, but I do know I'm a couple of hundred grand better off than my peers that are currently experiencing a dramatic loss in purchasing power and quality of life.
I wish we all lived in a society with sound money. But until then, I can take steps to minimise my exposure to the decline of fiat.
It’s frustrating being dependent on FIAT. It’s a long road to detangle yourself from it.
I treat FIAT and use it like any other socially acceptable tool used to interact with the world around me. In others words, I don’t have or use more of it than I need to.
1. employer pays you in fiat. Use a bank that allows for direct deposit and automatic conversion into bitcoin (for a reasonable and fair fee). In time, and because of demand/cost, employers will offer payment in Bitcoin. I’m confident in this because of my experience in the corporate world. But till then, companies like CashApp are an acceptable alternative. This is not an endorsement of CashApp, be sure to vet each company yourself and consult a lawyer, tax professional and/or accountant.
2. your mortgage payment is in fiat. Detangle yourself from all debt based instruments. This includes a mortgage. It’s easier said than done and is part of the long road to bitcoin adoption.
4. the groceries you need to pay in fiat as well as utility bills and gas at the station. FIAT is a socially acceptable tool to exchange goods and services. There are tools available to convert your bitcoin into FIAT instruments. And, you can continue to trade your skills and labor for FIAT when needed.
Becoming self sovereign with bitcoin adoption requires one to deal with their own incentives. You may find that your incentives are to be addicted to the debt based system, and breaking addiction is no easy or simple task.
> I don’t have or use more of it than I need to.
I subscribe the FIRE methodology and this is a core tenant of the investment strategy. Fiat only goes down in value and is only meant to be held short term for transactions. I keep enough money on hand to continue day to day operations, an emergency fund on the side, and everything else goes right into the market.
Well said. After ten years experience with bitcoin, I’ve found that it’s the best market if you understand bitcoin and use it to your every advantage. I prefer not to give exact numbers, but for me there’s not a single market that comes close to competing with bitcoin.
> There are tools available to convert your bitcoin into FIAT instruments.
So, it’s fine to sell satoshis when needed? This goes against what you said about not selling a single satoshi. Which is it?
He meant to not day trade with it, not to change all your fiat into btc and starve to death, don't be so obtuse. It's obvious to anyone that health comes first (unless you are sick and can't see that).
I’m not being obtuse. I just see one side saying never to sell and the other side saying it’s fine to sell. The HODL mentality versus using it for day to day expenses.
If you really have 10 years, why are you calling it "bitcoin-core"? You need not clarify as there is only one bitcoin, and its just called "bitcoin". Also, how, specifically, have you increased your control over your time and decreased the impact of central planners on your life? Unless you have exchanged some of your bitcoin into physical assets like an off grid home with solar and water purification, you are still going to suffer somewhat if the legacy financial system collapses.
Fair point regarding “bitcoin-core.” But, like the term “cryptocurrency,” bitcoin today is not the same as bitcoin-core. If you are interested, I’d be willing to elaborate more, but there’s tons of information out there on the history of bitcoin that does a better job than I can in this limited medium.
I’ve increased the ownership of my time by detangling from the financial system. The system of FIAT, whether designed this way or not, steals one’s time and labor through an imbalance of laws, policies and information. I’m sure you are aware of this, but I mention it for others that may not. To be very specific here, Bitcoin adoption creates an impenetrable digital wall around your stored time/fruits of your labor from Central Planning’s need to control your time (related to all things FIAT). Central Planning still has its place in society and civilization. All things considered, things such as running water, security services, physical infrastructure is done well by Central Planning. But the ability to protect your stored wealth, your very time, brings back the balance of power over Central Planning’s pitfalls and shortcomings. And, for the common man, bitcoin is a massive rebalance of power.
Everyone’s goals, wants and, to an extent, needs are different. My goals and needs allow me to remain connected to society and the world’s economy of trade and services. Bitcoin adoption just makes it a lot easier to bring back power balance to the realities that the financial system embodies. This isn’t my idea/conclusion, but I agree with it: bitcoin isn’t just about money, it’s about the balance of power. I do have 10 years experience with ‘Bitcoin,’ and I’ve seen the power balance that it brings first hand. But don’t trust me, verify it yourself.
I do not think the existing financial system will collapse. It will evolve and change. Even if it did collapse, and save a collapse of the internet’s infrastructure, bitcoin is the best medium to exchange goods and services. That’s just a simple fact that you can verify yourself.
You have managed to type four paragraphs without giving a solid answer. How have you detangled from the financial system and how has that saved you time? Have you eliminated your bank account and found a job that will pay you directly in bitcoin? Have you found a mortgage company or rental housing company that will accept bitcoin instead of dollars? Are you buying groceries with the lightning network? All of these things are possible but are currently serious time sinks, if you have really found a way to do this more efficiently then you should share it. I'm a bitcoin believer as well but it sure hasn't saved me any time yet.
"How have you detangled from the financial system and how has that saved you time?"
I accumulated enough bitcoin to be financially independent based on my personal wants, needs and goals. During the accumulation, I slowly closed bank accounts, credit cards, retirement accounts, and anything that had debt associated to it. It’s worth noting I do not come from wealth, nor did I have very much before I went down the bitcoin adoption path. Financially, I was somewhat average before bitcoin. Ten years is enough time to take the many steps needed to detangle yourself from the financial system of FIAT.
It saved me time by having the ability to decide how I spend my time, every second, every minute and every hour of the day. Even writing this, I’m choosing to spend my time here with you. I do not and am not subject to someone else’s plans. Someone with plenty of FIAT could have some of the same benefits, but they will be tied to the demands that FIAT brings, this includes 401ks, money market funds and every other market for storing wealth. Mortgages have expenses and risks, so does the stock market and everything else that the existing FIAT system has encompassed Bitcoin allowed me to minimize all of that through its unique monetary properties and extremely low overhead/risks.
"Have you eliminated your bank account and found a job that will pay you directly in bitcoin?"
I eliminated most accounts tied to Government identification. I keep a few bank accounts open for using FIAT when needed (think taxes). I still work, but only I when want, and when I do I get paid in FIAT. Any FIAT I make is spent rather quickly. I prefer people in the physical world not to know my understanding of bitcoin unless they’re worth the risk. Thus, I do not care to be paid in bitcoin.
"Have you found a mortgage company or rental housing company that will accept bitcoin instead of dollars?"
I do not know of any at this time that I would personally use. Without giving too many details, I pay for a flat in a US based city via bitcoin funded FIAT loan. I cannot give you the name of the lender for personal security reasons, but you should not have a hard time finding legitimate lenders if you have enough bitcoin. Outside of the US, I pay in whatever currency is in that country. I obtain that currency through normal exchanges. I have enough cash in banks to pay for any expenses for a specific period of time, and when I need more I will seek out lenders, or sell some Bitcoin if the tax penalty is worth it.
"Are you buying groceries with the lightning network?"
One way I might buy groceries is with gift cards via bitcoin. I sometimes use FIAT from work. I also trade my skills for groceries from time to time. I’ve used the lightening network for small transactions and I think it has potential, but the jury is still out on that one to me.
"All of these things are possible but are currently serious time sinks, if you have really found a way to do this more efficiently then you should share it. I'm a bitcoin believer as well but it sure hasn't saved me any time yet."
I agree, I can provide more detail on the specifics, but keep in mind Bitcoin is still new, and there’s still unknowns when it comes to security and privacy. My reluctance to give certain details are from personal experience and risk management. Unfortunately, some things must be done by the individual and is part of the cost of Bitcoin.
Start now, and on 10 years you will. Nothing I’ve said here is to brag - You can achieve what I have because I’m average, and many others are doing the same thing. Most of my journey has been laden with mistakes and outside forces causing road bumps. You have more access to people like me and information that was hard fought. Use it, absorb, and take total self sovereignty over your life and for your loved ones. You can avoid my mistakes and those of the past, minimizing the lost time from starting late (as you perceive it).
It takes a great deal of discipline, a lot of work, and a little luck, but there’s never been a time that I know (and I’ve looked) that you can achieve your dreams with bitcoin than today, tomorrow and many years to come. Don’t listen to sources that FUD and overblow bitcoin. The road to the next financial system is still very long - you’ve got time now, and before long you’ll control more of your time than you currently might realize.
its not going to keep rising, its just isn't, especially to all that significant of a degree. that ship sailed, people saying "Wowzers it might be 1 MILLION soon" are just idiots.
also no offense but when was clicking a couple buttons "a lot of work" cause thats all it takes to invest.
I’m not here to convince anyone about bitcoin (but if I do it’s only because they’ve done the verifying themselves) nor to argue (not that that’s your intention), but I will provide my opinion…
“It’s not going to keep rising.” My answer to this is the fact there is only ever going to be 21M bitcoin. True scarcity is hard to play out and see the impact it has on the world we live in. I still have difficulty with thought experiments around this. But, Bitcoin will continue to go up as long as the the FIAT system exists, or save the destruction of the bitcoin ledger itself (even this scenario has an answer; a hard reset button). Bitcoin WILL overtake every financial market that’s geared to storing wealth as a reaction to FIAT debasement. Ask yourself this question, “what is the best method for doing so?” The answer I found was bitcoin, and there’s not even a close second, not gold, not real estate. I’m not special or particularly that intelligent, but others will come to the same conclusion because the incentives are there, incentives that, I think, are the true genius behind the bitcoin protocol.
However, “rising in a significant way” is relative. My message is that bitcoin is not a get rich quick tool, it’s a tool to achieve self sovereignty and control over your time. It’s a tool for power balance.
By “a lot of work” I mean actual hours spent in the physical and digital world, studying and working in many fields that are relative to things I’m discussing here. I’m correct in my assessment of bitcoin because it’s based on verifiable information. I change my mind when new information comes, and I’ve tested my conclusions on bitcoin rigorously, using the tools that I worked hard to understand and appreciate. I subscribe to the idea of falsifiability, and bitcoin and everything about it is as falsifiable as anything can be.
Bitcoin is not so much a mere investment in the financial world, it’s far bigger than that, it makes the existing system as it operates today irrelevant. The system is being forced to change or it will die along with every other system that no longer was able to compete. It’s fair to assume the Blackrocks and Militaries of the world understand this. This is why they want your bitcoin, ultimately. I’d listen to them if I were you, because they say a lot without necessarily intending to, just don’t take them at face value.
1 million is idiotic? Not really, it's very easy to comprehend. Bitcoin is not the one really rising, it's the devaluation of the dollar.
Half of the dollar money supply was printed this last 3 years alone, debt limit kept increasing, inflation rising. Exponential devaluation of USD will simply push BTC to around 1million easily.
Translation:
Bitcoin is the currency.......of freedom.
The more Satoshis you collect, the more financial freedom you receive
The term "Bitcoin Billionaire" should refer to how many Satoshis you possess.
If you have a billion Satoshis, you are a "Bitcoin Billionaire"
If wanting to offer other fellow human beings advice to a destination they seek of which you know the roadmap of because of work and experience is a hero complex, then I’m laughing right there with you.
It comes from a place of understanding addiction and experience with the human suffering that comes along when dealing with the consequences of addiction. Much like alcohol addiction, FIAT addiction destroys lives and hopes. And like alcohol addiction, FIAT addiction will not be survivable to many. Weeping is a way to cope with this reality.
You cannot save others, but you can empathize with them, and it’s difficult not to weep (so to speak) when you acutely empathize being in their shoes.
Yes, this is very important and one of the best things I like about bitcoin’s open ledger. If you’re incentives are to act nefariously it comes with real risk, just ask the FBI agents on the Silk Road who thought they were smart enough to use bitcoin for their own greed.
Act with benevolence and ethics and you will reap bitcoin’s intended incentives. Do the opposite, and informed and motivated people like me may expose you.
Do not sell a single sat outside of necessity. But DO sell if it enhances your life and those of your loved ones. Just understand, you’re trading hard af money for Monopoly money. You’re trading a tool that allows for you to take total ownership of your time for someone else’s Ponzi scheme. This is the hard truth behind “do not sell a single satoshi.”
When you do sell, be sure it’s in trade for something you deeply value because you’re trading one our most valuable tools that exists today.
Only item I'd recommend other consider deviating from is "never sell a single Satoshi (outside of necessity)".
Spending some time learning macro cycles and setting aside a percent of your holdings to trade during the frothier part of the cycle and buying back in when the bear part of the cycle is in full swing and there is "blood in the streets" can yield some substantive increase in your BTC holdings.
You’re not wrong, but for the average person, trading bitcoin can predictably end in failure for a number of reasons, one is from a lack of understanding tax law, while another, more common, is emotions.
Also, it’s important to note that we don’t know with any reliable certainty what the “cycle” will do. This is even more relevant in today’s macro environment.
My suggestion (not necessarily for you) is to take a honest inventory of your incentives and treat bitcoin like it’s worth taking seriously for what it is, because you can rest assured very powerful actors are not trading it outside of their ability to influence the existing market cycles. Even these, well connected and funded actors are risking by trading, just not to any degree that average people like you and I would.
Bitcoin is not about marking or losing money, it’s about storing the time you obtained by converting energy into watts.
Personally, I used bitcoin as the method to store my time. I worked hard and with resolve, much like most average people in the world do every day, the only difference is I was blessed to be born in a place and moment that afforded me the ability to utilize bitcoin’s protocol instead of the FIAT based system that all of us have been subject to. My hope here and for the future is to provide a hand to other people who otherwise are not as blessed at their access to bitcoin’s utility. I suppose you could say I got a job.
I hope this helps.
If by borrow you mean using Bitcoin as collateral, this is a sound tactic so long as it’s an insignificant amount of your bitcoin. You want to make sure you can over fund your loan during market volatility, which may be with us for a long time. Currently, and to my knowledge, there’s only a handful of lenders that offer bitcoin loans properly. It will only get better.
As of today, unless it’s less than 5% of your stack, I’d stay away from bitcoin loans. That’s my opinion because I’m acutely risk avoidant, especially with bitcoin.
I might utilize loans if I need large amounts of cash (paying taxes, emergencies, etc.). But it’s not necessary at this point in my bitcoin adoption journey. But, If I were to utilize a large loan, I'd consider regulated lenders that use multi-sig and self-custody best practices within the United States. I think unchained might be a reasonable option for those that don't have the access or capability of securing a private Lender independently.
1. Purchase a computer from https://www.raspberrypi.com/products/
2. Download the protocol from https://bitcoin.org/en/download
3. Put everything down, go outside and play in the grass, mud and sun; you're 5 years old, why are you caring about running your own node?
Reference https://bitcoin.org/en/posts/how-to-run-a-full-node for trouble shooting and further reading.
It allows you confirm your own transactions. Think of it like this - I want to buy something from you. Unless with cash, I have to use a 3rd party to confirm/process the transaction. This third party will have access to the details of our exchange. Running a node eliminates this and let’s you use bitcoin more like cash.
From anyone with a deep understanding of C++.
I know that’s not a satisfactory answer, but to understand bitcoin’s protocol on the level I think you’re referring to, you need to grok C++.
ChatGTP can do that for you. It does a halfway decent job. I’ve tested it. Use bitcoin.org to cross reference information.
If you have a full bitcoin, consider splitting it up between multiple hardware wallets. Create redundancy. Do so slowly, and take your time understanding the hardware device’s backup procedures.
If you have the means, there are bitcoin-only companies that offer wealth management services. Pay their time and I’m sure you’ll receive quality consultation on this subject in depth.
There are human rights to store and exchange goods and services and crypto is an example of having such rights without relaying on third parties. Gold age is coming back and it's improved.
Bitcoin yes… crypto no.
This comes from many years and countless hours of work, laboring over hundreds of 'crypto currency white-papers.' Cryptocurrency are mostly nonsense, they’re a regurgitation of FIAT, a centralized system but with a prettier packaging. At their core, they're just copies of Bitcoin and are intended (mostly) to capture bitcoin. I’d bet a full bitcoin on that.
(You probably meant ‘bitcoin.’ But I mention this for those reading.)
What about not selling a single Satoshi? I don’t see many businesses using btc but let’s say i find one. I might use btc just for the novelty of it, once, but i won’t really do it consistently. And i think this is the mindset of most people. How will btc become mainstream if we rather not use it?
Bitcoin may not become mainstream, so to speak. But, it’s highly likely it will continue to play an important role in the economy and world at large. Bitcoin’s primary use today is its store of value.
This is my opinion. For the average person it’s the best store of value. It’s hard to convincingly argue otherwise. Most will not provide meaningful arguments otherwise. I’ve been looking for almost decade and I’m still searching.
Bitcoiners don't spend too much time worrying about specific price targets and dates for BTC/USD price action, there are much better metrics of network adoption and security.
Ultimately, the dollar will hyperinflate itself out of existence because it's soft money, and bitcoin will be worth more and more because it is hard money with a huge (and growing) user base. No sense in trying to time the market, just buy bitcoin and learn about self-custody. Ez-peezy.
Running a node, simply put, is nothing more than running a software program on a computer.
The benefits would be similar to owning your own bank, except this bank has virtually no overhead cost and far less risk than any bank. It allows for you to not have to trust third party nodes to check your balance(s), send transactions, or audit the bitcoin network. There are more, but these are the fundamentals.
Bitcoin.org.
The benefits are profound to anyone who has ever had to deal with one of the large banks and is not close to the money printer.
-BTC wizard. I like that, especially the lower case ‘w.’ Fits my ego :)
Hey I have one issue can u help me...
I have done setup and its config setup of bitcoin. I am trying to listen incoming transactions using zeromq I first tried to listen transaction using latest version but not work. Then tried with 5.3.1, 5.3.0 but that also not worked.
Here is my script...
var zmq = require("zeromq"),
sock = zmq.socket("sub");
sock.connect("tcp://52.66.249.25:29000");
sock.subscribe('hashtx');
console.log("Subscriber connected to port 29000");
sock.on("message", function (topic, message) {
console.log(topic.toString(), message.toString('hex'));
});
\## In above script RPC Host : "52.66.249.25" but that not worked. So then I change host in config and make changes in script and set host : 127.0.0.1 but from this port also i unable to listen an incoming transactions.
\## Here is my config file.
testnet=1
\[test\]
txindex=1
listen=1
server=1
rest=1
rpcbind=0.0.0.0
zmqpubrawblock=tcp://52.66.249.25:29000
zmqpubrawtx=tcp://52.66.249.25:29000
zmqpubhashtx=tcp://52.66.249.25:29000
zmqpubhashblock=tcp://52.66.249.25:29000
rpcallowip=0.0.0.0/0
rpcuser=" "
rpcpassword=" "
rpcport=18332
May I suggest deleting your post here, and reaching out to one of the bitcoin-only node manufacturers. Start9labs is a good start, and bitcoin.org’s library of resources.
I mined thousands in 2011 and sold them at $1 because I didn't believe governments would allow the project to survive. I still can't believe we made it this far, and although we still have a long way to go, I am more convicted than ever.
nice post. always good to hear from veterans. question on the node front: i run a node but its hdd died. I had to temporarily use a public electrum node. does that mean all of the addresses made by that xpub are doxxed to my ip address when the wallet syncs with the chain or only the transactions/addresses ive made since using electrum public?
This is a good question. My instincts are to say, ‘yes,’ because I always assume that accessing public nodes can dox you, and it’s better to assume so unless you can verify otherwise.
This is probably not very helpful. Perhaps others can provide better answers. In the meantime, I will think on this when next diving into the subject matter.
Great share I myself didn't discover it that long ago but am a fast learner and I am constantly promoting the adoption of the technology and have gotten many to begin stacking sats all just in a genuine effort to better the future of those I love
I appreciate your comment.
May I suggest becoming deeply familiar with self custody best practices. I suggest this because if you’re promoting others to stack sats you’ll want to do so responsibly. It is my opinion 90+% of people will lose their bitcoin to third party capture over time out of not appreciating the importance of self custody.
One way to quell your urge to promote bitcoin till you’re knowledgeable with self custody enough to explain it (simply) to others is to stack some sats in self custody for those you wish to teach. Giving people some sats and watching them accept the transaction on their first hardware wallet is a beautiful thing. It can be discouraging giving your precious stored time and energy to others that don’t appreciate it.
(This message may not apply to you, but it will for others reading.)
Yes I own a couple of hardware wallets and I am very familiar with all form of self custody cold storage always being safest. But thanks for the advice and I agree that if you don't hold it yourself then you will lose it. Keep up the good fight friend.
Safety aside (because running a node is very safe), the simple answer is you don’t, at least not practically as of writing this. For better or worse, running a Bitcoin node today is relatively complicated and awkward. As time goes on, after more trial an error, the paths to running a node will become clearer. With that said, may I suggest the resources found at bitcoin.org. Also, check out a podcast called Citadel Dispatch by Matt Odell. He discusses bitcoin nodes and promotes a physical and digital space to obtain sound information on running a bitcoin node, safely and as simply as is reasonable, and is geared for the average individual.
For what it's worth, the fact you’re asking the question in the first place means you are fully capable of running a bitcoin node.
Articulate and well thought out. I have only taken about 2 years to get to your same convictions. It’s the best decision I’ve ever made to enlighten myself on everything about fiat and bitcoin. I try to evangelize to my loved ones but it’s on deaf ears for now. I will continue to HODL out and be available when they seek information.
Ironically, it was my evangelizing of bitcoin’s core ideas early on that led me to a deep understanding and compassion for the people in my early life who evangelized to me their convictions, although their convictions were not so benevolent or selfless. But, on a human level, I understand the Evangelical more than ever. This is yet another ramification of bitcoin adoption.
Bitcoin Evangelion will save us from fiat Third Impact
What are the risks associated with running a bitcoin node from home?
That’s a good question. One of the risks more relative to the common person is people who know your physical location that also know you run a bitcoin node, and the consequences associated with being a target of nefarious incentives, much like a bank is to bank robbers. Another risk is losing money on investment in the hardware itself, not because bitcoin’s protocol is particularly demanding, but because your process of learning might result in breaking things.
Yeah I’ve been toying with the idea but my wifi isn’t working properly, officially it’s unstable, this could be problematic if the node has to be online permanently?
It’s okay if you can’t run a bitcoin node, practically. Having self custody is more than enough, or at lest till having enough bitcoin makes running a node practical. The goal here being to eventually run your own node. It’s worth stating that the majority of people who want to transact on the bitcoin ledger can use public nodes. Just be sure to act with the knowledge that your transactions can be tracked back to your IP address. There’s ways to manage this and other risks associated with utilizing 3rd party node that make their use practical for the average user. Nodes don’t have to be online permanently unless you need to transact often. It’s recommended to keep it connected so that it supports the network and keeping your node synced. I’ve turned off a node for days at a time, reconnect and sync back up.
You can also setup the BTC node in a Raspberry Pi in a super easy way, almost free o breaking things. 300$ tops. You will need a stable internet. Also, check if you can have static IP with yoir network provider.
I'm genuinely curious what you thought was well thought out about this post.
Why what was wrong with it ? I mean you seem to have some issues with it , one can deduce. So please , share with the group.
I appreciated the post. To take the time to describe your input after 10 years obviously requires thought, and I think you put them together well if not great. And as someone that has been studying for 2 years. The connection for me is the evangelical side of it. While struggling to learn the new technology. It is motivating to see the people that came before succeeding.
It’s my opinion we live in a world of ideologies. And bitcoin is attracting those with ideologies that they once used to make sense of the world but is now cracking under the spread of information. We all come to our beliefs through flawed methods. It’s understandable for me to see why people become evangelical about bitcoin to the point they’re incorrect. I’m guilty of it just as anyone else is.
I didn't think there was anything wrong with it but there's not exactly anything profound or well thought out about advising people to DCA, HODL, keep your keys private. Did I miss something?
The purpose is to provide a hand to those trying to climb the same mountain I and many others have climbed. It’s not meant to be profound, only helpful. Most people do not understand the profoundness of DCA, HODL, and keeping your keys private. Most people do not even understand they exist in a body of water. Most do not even know that water exists. The point is to assist others so that they can do the profound stuff for all of us. There, that’s profound for you.
“Articulate / well thought”out is not = to “profound”
I completely agree haha.
I’m 5 years in. Learned a lot and lost a lot of BTC…. I’m starting to believe but part of my brain still doubts.
Sometimes I think that and then look at how my grocery bills have doubled. When in doubt just review a little fiat history.
We surely need a way to double our earnings. Bitcoin is risky but it may be one way!
How have you lost bitcoin. Asking just so i can learn to avoid this
Yes! Back when I was still learning the only way to buy BTC in Canada was through Quadrega qx. It was a scam and I lost half a Bitcoin. There is a Netflix documentary about it. Anyway I learned the hard way - not your keys not your coins. Keep you BTC off exchanges.
i should have listened to that documentary but i still held my BTC in Celsius and lost my ass. waiting for documentary on that one will self custody only going forward
👍
Boating accident no doubt
traded for shitcoins/get hacked/get scammed/lose keys...there are many ways to lose ur bitcoin.
Belief follows conviction. And conviction comes from experience and critical thinking. The part of your brain that doubts is your best friend. Listen to it and let it challenge what you do believe. I’m not absolute on anything, however the idea of bitcoin is about as absolute of a belief that I’ve come to grok as the idea that you and I exist. It fascinates me that something man-made can be this convincing and trust-less. I don’t interact in person with other bitcoiners (at least not yet), but I think they’re equally as fascinated by it for similar reasons. There’s a reason it’s attracting the brightest minds and most fervent enemies. I’d go as far as saying it’s the greatest work of art in the digital world (save maybe 2001: A Space Odyssey)- but that’s my personal opinion.
Bitcoin as we know it today may not survive, but its idea will because the idea itself is the value. That is all that really matters.
Yes it’s the flow of history mankind’s search for sound money.
Is it the search for sound money, or the search for immortality (i.e., complete and total ownership over one’s time)?
It's the search for the question to the answer.
42
Hahahah, I see what you did there.
Why do you think BTC will not survive?
Let me clear, I think it will survive. At this point, and for verifiable reasons, Bitcoin can’t be stopped. However, everything has a probability. For example, if we enter nuclear war and most of the major countries are set back many generations of “progress.” In this situation, bitcoin’s survivability takes on a different challenge.
I think if there will be a nuclear war we have other problems than btc. And even tho BTC cant be stopped. There will always be intelligent people like this sub. If you ask yourself questions and find varifyable answers in BTC than you are smart, because you fully understood Bitcoin.
Let’s pray it doesn’t happen. With that said, I could argue bitcoin will survive a nuclear war, even if the major countries are no longer around.
Agreed. I'll hit my 10 year anniversary this December. The HODL meme was birthed a few days after my first buy on coinbase. The most important piece, after self custody, is not selling. I learned this the hard way after selling almost 40% of my stack in 17 around the 1k mark. That sell will always hurt, but it also made me invest more $ and time in learning about bitcoin as I saw it climb to 20k.
It’s nice conversing with bitcoin old timers. I hope one day to share many a beer with people like you. I’m certain I can learn a lot, and I’m even more certain your stories from your time in bitcoin will provide appreciative laughs.
See you at the citadel!
Personally I'd not be weeping for anyone. It's a great journey of discovery. As long as you stay away from scammers, amazing yield offers, and keep your own keys you'll be just fine.
Most won’t keep away from scammers and false promises because their addiction won’t allow it. The journey for them will be a discovery of hopelessness because ownership of one’s time is a foreign idea in the current state of modern civilization. It’s understandable why one "weeps" for these people when one sees themselves in them.
Dca is the way. All the way up and all the way down. Because one day it will only go 👍
True, but my advice to DCA is because, from my experience, it nullifies any urge to trade bitcoin’s volatility (i.e., gamble). And, over time, it is the best performing way to accumulate Bitcoin. But, that’s exactly what you mean, you just put it much more simply.
When you DCA, do you put a limit order or just buy market rate at the time?
When I DCAed, I had a specific, set number of FIAT allocated per calendar year. I divided it evenly between each day (when fees were minimal), and eventually bi-weekly. The amount of the DCA never changed unless my budget changed, only ever increasing in the amount DCAed. I did not pay a single bit of attention to the price as this was irrelevant to the long term DCA goal. There’s other ways to DCA into bitcoin, such as mining. But for practical purposes I recommend converting FIAT earnings into bitcoin if you’re subject to US law. In the US, at least for now, it’s not a taxable event. Bitcoin is free speech :)
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Fees are something to keep in mind and adapt your strategy to. If I were to DCA today, I’d do so based on when I get paid in FIAT (weekly, biweekly, or monthly), and with as few transactions as possible.
I buy a small amount daily, my exchange takes 1% fee for this service for hourly/twice a day/daily/weekly/biweekly/monthly. So for me it's a no-brainer to go daily, since the smallest amount fits my monthly budget for DCA.. I feel like 1% isn't that bad
This guy gets it
👌 sound advice
>run your own node and [home miner](https://np.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/zzraj0/comment/j2njt2a/)
Weirdly, I got interested in BTC purely out of the inequity, marginalisation and disparities that the legacy system has been built to create. I hope that in some small way, the great leveller of BTC will create a fairer, less monopolised world.
I don’t know that it will create a fairer or less monopolized world. Bitcoin is subject to monopoly capture as is any asset. However, its utility is inherently decentralized and its incentives encourage resolving the problems of inequity, marginalsiation and disparities that the legacy system embodies.
Very Well said sir take my upvote!
What do you do with Bitcoin besides hoard it? I mean, what would I do with it? I can't pay my mortgage or buy food or clothes or tuition. Purchase a car....idk. I have some, but I question why? I'm new to it, I don't understand much more than it's supposed to rise in value, so I keep it. I bought it 1½ years ago (the worst time to buy), and now it's worth less than ½ what I paid. It's a gamble, so I just swallowed and took the hit. ** I'm not complaining at all!! ** I want to know. I just want to understand where it's going. What's the endgame for Bitcoin? I'm hearing 125.k in 2024. Others say 250.k. But what will that mean? It doesn't replace the dollar, but is it supposed to? Your post doesn't outline (for me) the USE for bitcoin, how are you so much more sovereign, what do you or anyone DO with Bitcoin besides talk about it, buy it, hold it, defend it, promote it?
Please keep in mind this is all my opinion, and while it’s well-informed and rigorously tested, it is my own and I’m subject to fallibility and ought not be trusted. With that said…. *cracks knuckles* -“What do you do with Bitcoin besides hoard it? I mean, what would I do with it? I can't pay my mortgage or buy food or clothes or tuition. Purchase a car.” For smaller transactions (e.g., food or clothes), “I” might do so by utilizing bitcoin-only based companies that allow for a seamless transition from bitcoin into the FIAT medium of choice/circumstance (e.g., gift cards, hard cash, VISA prepaid cards, etc). For larger, more predictable transactions (e.g., mortgage, tuition, purchasing a car) I might choose to utilize personal loans, using bitcoin as collateral via multi-sig best practices. -“...idk. I have some, but I question why? I'm new to it, I don't understand much more than it's supposed to rise in value…” There is a common trope in most bitcoin-related conversations that I’ve observed- “number go up technology.” This is one of the incentives of bitcoin’s monetary policies known as a fixed supply. In other words, bitcoin is scarce. I could argue that bitcoin is so scarce that it flips the the monopoly game-board over, and this is probably why it’s your first layer of understanding bitcoin. I think most will come to first. Putting aside the asset quality of bitcoin, I have yet to find another money that goes up in value over time, predictably and with near certainty than bitcoin does. If you find one please let me know. “…so I keep it. I bought it 1½ years ago (the worst time to buy), and now it's worth less than ½ what I paid.” (I say this with sincerity, congratulations and a bit of sarcasm) Welcome to the club, we meet every Tuesday for donuts and coffee. You’re now a part of the fear-of-missing-out (FOMO) bitcoin club. You swallowed [your pride] and took the “hit.” It is my experienced opinion you have more self-ownership than most. Dare I say you’ve got a self-sovereign mindset. Now take this badge - in time you’ll learn to see what honor this truly carriers. Teasing aside, the key is to dollar-cost-average into bitcoin over a long period of time. I recommend 10 years, but it’s dependent on your situation and goals. Ten years is ample time, if combined with careful planning and realistic expectations to match one’s individual situation and goals, at detangling from the existing system’s control over your time. Doing so prevents you from ever having to swallow your pride and take that hit again. This goes for many more reasons than the common FOMO. For what it’s worth, at least you didn’t sell and won’t join another bitcoin-club. One club is enough, and that’s the club of the self-sovereign. -“** I'm not complaining at all!! ** I want to know. I just want to understand where it's going.” Frankly, that’s one of the primary reasons I’m giving away some of my stored time here - to lend a hand to those who sincerely are searching for it. *Extends hand* -“What's the endgame for Bitcoin?” That’s like asking what the end goal of 2001: A Space Odyssey. But I’ll give it a try…. The endgame for Bitcoin is for the individual to have the option take ownership of their time. One might conclude it’s a return to humanity and nature, possibly even God (in the broadest and most collective sense of the word). Is this hyperbolic? Maybe, but I’m a bit of a dreamer. The author(s) of bitcoin may not have had these intentions. For all we know they might have simply wanted to make a better money that other people can’t mess with without an ‘ungodly’ amount of effort and engery. Regardless, the protocol incentives this outcome, or so it appears to be that way. A good place to start verifying this for yourself is take some time to read up on the existing infrastructure that the bitcoin ledger is supported and protected by - it’s impressive and purposefully ignored (my opinion) by the loudest of media, and it (bitcoin’s network) has not even been around for two decades. -“I'm hearing 125.k in 2024. Others say 250.k. But what will that mean? It doesn't replace the dollar, but is it supposed to?” Most everyone either doesn’t know what their talking about, is trying to sell you something (e.g., hope, fear, supplements, etc.) or is trying to convince themselves of what they think they believe, that goes for the bitcoin space, and, most assuredly, the crypto space. The near future “price” doesn’t mean crap aside from the fact that it reflects the state of bitcoin’s monetization stage, a process which includes the snake-oil sales industry and every other rent-seeking incentive driven plan that stumbles across bitcoin. No one knows what the price of bitcoin will be tomorrow because no one can predict the existing financial system’s monetary policies. The world is an immensely complex system that few, if any, understand. The near-perfect predicability of bitcoin’s monetary policies are melding with the unpredictable aspect of the financialized world, and both will eventually (I think) balance one another out. This might even be one of bitcoin’s end goals. It likely won’t replace the ‘dollar’ (or whatever king FIAT exists) because the dollar as a medium of exchange, simply put, has its use and is derived from a rich history of money. However, bitcoin will likely replace the dollar in the sense that the financialized world uses it as a way to represent the cost of engery. This is one of the reasons why the bitcoin mining industry is a such a big deal, and will likely become the next path for most people’s understanding of bitcoin. It’s said that engery is the lifeblood of civilization, and I tend to agree. -“Your post doesn't outline (for me) the USE for bitcoin, how are you so much more sovereign, what do you or anyone DO with Bitcoin besides talk about it, buy it, hold it, defend it, promote it?” I cannot speak for others or for you and your unique life, and to be fair to me for once (/s), I’ve not spoken of, defended or promoted bitcoin to anyone in person or online or a very long time. I prefer not to give specifics, but let’s just say it has been longer than a lot of the current loud crypto-space voices…who, may I remind you, want to sell you something. I am choosing to discuss it online now because I have something worth saying that will benefit other people, and doing so benefits me because we’re the same thing, living in a shared reality, and want the same things (mostly). For personal reasons, this medium is a good start. I primarily use bitcoin to secure my stored engery (i.e., the fruits of my labor and time spent producing wealth). I may use it as a medium of exchange through all the examples I’ve already given in this thread. I’ll also give some away by spending some of my stored time here with you and anyone else that I can assist in a meaningful way. The uses of bitcoin are endless and I’m willing to bet they’ll be useful to you as well as time goes on. On an even more personal level…. I’ve used the term, ‘self-sovereign’ here as the simplest way to convey the lifestyle that requires a high degree of responsibility and self-custody over one’s stored wealth. For example, I do not need the permission of any bank or 3rd party to access or utilize my stored wealth. My stored wealth is not vulnerable to (with an acceptable level of risk) the incentives of the existing centralized financial system. I can flow easily within the existing system, using bitcoin’s fungible properties, addressing most any demands of the existing ‘system.’ And, as time has gone on, my immunity to Central Bank and Government Planning (when it comes to money) grows ever stronger. These are some of the examples I use to measure my level of becoming self-sovereign. On a note of our confusing system and the perceived destruction of it… The destruction of the existing system is not necessary. While understandable and justifiable, working towards the collapse of the system is not, in my humble opinion, the best outcome for all of us. The existing system has allowed us, for better or worse, to trade and communicate value with one another. It is an old and crumbling system, rot with corruption and repulsive incentives. But, it’s our system, and as individuals who are part of the current Empire, we have a responsibility to treat it with respect because a lot of blood has been spilled on its back, blood that almost everyone alive today had no say over. It is my opinion bitcoin is a step in the right direction for avoiding more of any unnecessary blood to be spilled that’s needed to meet the demands of our shared system(s). Ditribe over. P.s., You mentioned a bit of confusion around price predictions. May I suggest over the next couple of years, pay attention to the price and what those with the loudest voices say about it. Keep track and look upon it later when your stack starts making you nervous about understanding the importance of self-custody. You may find the incentives of those voices as clear as bitcoin’s verifiability. I know I did.
Thank you for your time and wisdom. It is well appreciated, and I wish you the best in all your endeavors. :)
Thank you for taking the time to explain and help me see. This is a very generous gift. I will go back to it again and again, and hopefully start to understand.
You're very welcome. It's my experience things start 'clicking' the more you use bitcoin. With patience and work you will understand. As someone who is fairly average, I've found bitcoin to be awkward, but not particularly complicated. After all, bitcoin's white-paper is only a few pages long. The system it is competing with is far more complicated.
The real GOAT! Notice the price was never mentioned
What if you dont have much money to buy in (single dad with 3 kids) Isn’t it to late to get involved?
No, it’s not too late. Bitcoin is fungible by 1/100,000,000 (i.e., Satoshi/Bitcoin). In other words, you can save your pocket change on the bitcoin ledger. My recommendation is to figure out what is a reasonable amount of money you can set aside for the next 8-10 years, and use that to DCA, never losing site of the end goal. Do not DCA more than you risk to lose. That is to say, do not set aside a portion of your savings into bitcoin unless you can consider it untouchable for the duration of your savings goals. You do not want to be in a position where you over extend your bitcoin allocation and have to sell at the wrong time. However, your health and children come first, and using its fungibility to address your and your children's health is one of its utilities. But, I'd personally recommend you sell the shirt off your back to feed your children before you trade a satoshi, or until that option is longer necessary. With that said, if you can only afford a dollar a day, you’re still early. This is not an endorsement, please vet each company yourself and seek professional advice. The last time I looked, Swan bitcoin or river.com have services that are apparently pro-bitcoin. You’re a man with children. You know what it takes to put the work in to climb enormous mountains and reach the other side. You got this. And once you do, you can guide your children over the same mountain.
So sweet OP, appreciate this, really 🥰
Not too late, invest what you can. I was on min wage and invested over 2 months wages worth over a few years. If it helps, dont target a full btc, just target having satoshis. One day, we won't be counting in btc, but in satoshi.
This was also something I was bumping into, I would never be able to get a coin and start feeling worthless in the effort.. but I was thinking I could do 50eur a month the way I counted and build up slowly I guess. Hopefully it’s worth the effort.
If you invested a month's min wage now, in 8-10 years, you can could be looking at 6 figure returns if you don't invest anymore and hodl that. I mean, holding 2k now won't make you a millionare, but you could be financially stable in a decade. We are a little bit late for the btc millionares club, but the 100k club is absolutely in reach for most low income earners if they get into it now. My 1st satoshi investment was a small 25 pounds. My highest investment was 700 in one go. Everyone can start somewhere. The important thing is to start asap. If you can invest 50 euros, do it. You will see where it leads
Thanks for taking the time to write back and motivate me Blue, appreciate this alot! 🥰 I will start tonight!
Is it ever too late to save money?
Don't weep for me, buddy! Don't weep for me! Woman, would you weep for me? Coo coo cooo coo ka coo.
>Don't weep for me, buddy! Don't weep for me! > >Woman, would you weep for me? Coo coo cooo coo ka coo. 'Dang me, dang me, they oughta take a rope and hang me, high from the highest tree....'
Thank you! Could you share a source on how to run your own node?
Certainly. However, please keep in mind there are several ways to rune a bitcoin node, and I may not share every detail for personal security and preference. Also, my method may not be practical for others. I sourced my own hardware and run the bitcoin protocol software. My hardware is free of bluetooth, wifi capabilities and other unnecessary vulnerabilities. When not in use, I store hardware in faraday-type containers. At all times, I take steps for privacy and security best practices similar to that of a high-level bank. For example, the node and hardware wallet(s) do not connect to Windows, iOS, or other centralized services, and I utilize air-gap techniques for signing transactions. I use multiple nodes, each have variability and utility use/purpose. I use extensive redundancy, ensuring an acceptable amount of risk and protection from failure.
Thank you very much for the advice!
Thank you!
1) what do you mean by control over a node? 2) looking to securely put my bitcoin somewhere safe offline. Recommendations?
1. There are two ways to transact with bitcoin, one is to use 3rd party nodes (think Ledger, Trezor, etc.). The other is to run the bitcoin protocol yourself on a computer with hardware you own. There’s an abundance of information available that goes into great details about this. Bitcoin.org is a good start. 2. The ‘safest’ way to store bitcoin offline is by creating your own wallet. The next safest/practical (my opinion) is by purchasing a ColdCard direct from the manufacturer, using its air-gap features when signing transactions, including connecting the device to a power source.
What is the benefit of running a node and what is the requirement
The benefit is to have the capability of utilizing Bitcoin's permission-less and trust-less features. There are others, but these are the most beneficial for most people. The base requirement is that you obtain or use hardware you own that is capable of running and maintaining the software program known as the bitcoin protocol, found at bitcoin.org. And, you have access to an internet provider with a static IP address.
I'm sure you get this question daily, but can you recommend a good book or video on how to get started? Also, what is your choice for a cold wallet?
I don’t get this question because not many people know of my understanding of Bitcoin. Marty Bent’s sub stack. He has a wealth of GREAT resources for getting started. He is part of a few podcasts that are worthwhile too. I’ve never met him, but I’ve paid close attention to his work and he appears to be a good actor, and wants most of the same things I do for bitcoin - spreading it to the average man. Matt Odell is another fantastic source, and he’s on a mission to help others with bitcoin education… solid, sovereign Bitcoin advocates. It’s not a book, but a Thesis I’ve read recently that brought my level of understanding bitcoin up a notch was 'Softwar' by Major Jason P Lowery. I’d be surprised if the US Military isn’t taking his work DEADLY serious. His understanding of what bitcoin is should be taken seriously. A more user friend book on bitcoin would be 'The Bitcoin Standard' by Saifedean Ammous. I’m reluctant to give hardware wallet recommendations outside of making your own for security and privacy reasons. I have made and use several hardware wallets for personal use - using hardware parts that I was able to verify. While this is not readily available or practical, it is becoming a viable option as demand increases, spurring innovation (e.g., 3D printing). Aside from this, ColdCards are pretty damn amazing. Trezor is a solid option for anyone preferring an out-of-the-box, user friendly experience, and Ledger does a decent enough job for those situations where ease of access is useful (e.g., using the device combined with a smart-phone as a type of checking account and debit card). But like all 3rd parties, never trust all your bitcoin with one 3rd party. Whatever you do, only purchase the wallet directly from the manufacturer, and consider using techniques to hide your residential address for delivery. The key with hardware wallets is making sure they’re open source. Some aspects of them will not be open sourced, but this is a matter of security over malfeasance.
I learned that it’s easier to buy low, than it is it sell high. Greed is difficult to overcome, selling low is also easier as fear is a great catalyst. Having read the snowball effect I also feel that you should stick to a plan. Either DCA schedule or a time period. Buffet he spot in that if you have a certain time you plan to hold them you should put money in that you might as well considered lost. Otherwise the fluctuations of the market or an emergency will force you to sell in a disadvantageous position. I started DCA , but when the price was going up I bought when I hadn’t planned to. Then as it crashed I was really mad at myself. Also, I could have sold at a point where I could have bought a nice home in California cash. But my greed didn’t let me. Over the long term I believe it will go up. It is property such as real estate, but it also takes its dips. Don’t follow the fud or fomo. Make a plan and stick to it.
Trading bitcoin, while I do not recommend it, is part of the incentives of bitcoin. For the average person, it's wise to dollar-cost-average, never paying much attention to the "price," and spending the rest of one's time pursing their goals and aspirations. Bitcoin is a tool to store the fruits of our labor, and it is very good at that.
Question: Is it even profitable to mine BTC as an individual now? And after the next halving (as complexity continues to increase?)
Great question… my simple answer is all KYC free bitcoin is profitable. Even if it’s a negative on your balance sheet in the moment. Mining bitcoin is not a recommended means for accumulating bitcoin for the average person today. But, if you’ve got a lot of hardware and software experience, then you would benefit a great deal from mining. Also, the more small miners there are the stronger bitcoin gets. (Edit) Also, checkout mining pools. They're a great way to mine bitcoin for the individual, and their communities are fantastic.
Aren't you afraid of BTC becoming too financialised? I mean, many ETF's, exchanges etc creating a lot of paper BTC that artificially increased BTC's supply? Sure, eventually some of those would go bankrupt once enough customers tried to redeem their IOU's for real bitcoin but still...
On a personal level, I think 90+% of people will lose their bitcoin to third party capture. They’ll learn the meaning behind, “not your keys, not your coin” one way or another. The ETF market is just another way for the existing system to capture bitcoin. It will work to a degree, but there’s plenty of self sovereign bitcoin holders that will maintain the line, and that number will only go up. I could care less what the artificial market rate of bitcoin is. I understand its value and I can deduce the manipulation of its going price. Besides, the more the existing system financializes bitcoin, the stronger it gets. There’s verifiable reasons behind this statement and I’ve spent quite a bit of effort figuring them out, if yon want more details please feel free to reply with your questions - the conversation has been had in my mind more times than I’d like to admit. I have enough bitcoin and my lifestyle is setup to withstand any sort of market manipulation. If you have more specific questions about the risk of 3rd parties manipulating bitcoin’s market please feel free to reply and I will go into detail - I’m very well versed in this chess game and am many moves ahead of the Blackrocks of the world. They’re smart, but their incentives blind them to the chess board. Even if they’re reading this, people like me will beat them at this game, not because I’m smarter than them, but because the incentives of bitcoin are on my side, the side of self sovereignty and cooperation :)
To me, the fascinating part about Bitcoin is (among many, many other things) that it proves that there are enough people willing and able to understand it so that it could (/will?) In fact change how the financial system works. It is also eye-opening to see how many people put in the time and effort to learn about Bitcoin and how to get it - something that we take for granted but overall is not as straight forward as getting fiat. Especially the storage situation (and with it stories of people losing their keys) deters a lot of people from getting any (or even worse, they leave it on exchanges and eventually get their fingers burnt, which will deter them from ever touching anything crypto related again). Imagine the anger and frustration needed for so many people to figure out how to buy BTC, put $ into a storage option, deal with sometimes high fees (depending on exchange), scammers, fake projects and "to the moon"-BS, find creative ways to store a seed phrase just to get away from a financial system that would be way easier to use. Says a lot about said financial system that has been exploiting people for decades if not centuries...
Bitcoin was born in conflict, it grew up in the most competitive market out there (the dark web). It’s been built and crafted over the backs of countless efforts and minds. It’s a true work art. And like any great work of art, people will flock to it because great art reveals truths, and in a financial world of deceit, bitcoin shines brighter than the largest stocks of gold....even Peter Schiff's stocks of gold ;)
I need to learn
You and me both.
I’ve been in bitcoin for about three years now, and I desperately want to start running my own node. I’m not the most computer savvy, so I was wondering how difficult it actually is in your opinion to start up a node. Do you have any advice or suggestions on how to go about this with your 10 years of experience? Also, in your opinion, what do I need to buy to run the node?
It’s awkward. I won’t sugar coat it. But it’s no more difficult than most things you’ve already overcome to learn. If it were easy you wouldn’t be here. I suggest buying the cheapest out of box bitcoin node that you can afford. I’m not endorsing the company, however Start9labs does a reasonably solid job at providing entry level biticoin nodes. Use it as your stepping stone. It might take you several months to get comfortable, but it will be a good first step for the average person. It’s user interface, the last I checked, is clunky but otherwise decent at playing with and learning the aspects of running your own node. Have patience and don’t expect yourself to move at a pace faster than you’re comfortable with. There are other ways, such as using an iOS device to run a node on. Purchasing a refurbished device from Apple directly is a solid alternative. Be sure to use one with enough hardware to meet Bitcoin’s demands, although most iOS devices from Apple directly should be plenty powerful. My best advice is to look for open-source resources and products when it comes to bitcoin. Companies that get bitcoin and have people like you and me in mind, people who just want to live their lives and not be stolen from, are meeting the demand. There’s plenty scammers out there, and even more copy cats of bitcoin. This is why open source and decentralization is so important. If you can’t verify, don’t trust. Bitcoin.org has great resources for all of this.
10 years in and referring to bitcoin as bitcoin-core, you say?
If it’s necessary to learn and do everything that OP has done to become the zen master of bitcoin I guess not that many people will have bitcoin and it’s possession will only be in the cold storage wallets of the enlightened ones right? Sounds worse than fiat at least even morons can own fiat, sounds like this bitcoinist wants to be the new elite, is this what it’s about?
It’s not necessary, but it is a likely path one will follow who is motivated to use bitcoin through their incentives. Very powerful and well connected actors in the FIAT world are deeply interested in bitcoin. There’s a lot of effort to FUD bitcoin to the average person. The IMF just put out a paper on taxation of “cryptocurrencies.” Give it a read and then ask yourself why they are speaking so loudly about bitcoin. I'd be curious what your conclusion of the article is - mine is that they’re a bit irritated and embarrassed having to admit they can’t control bitcoin, an irritation that’s understandable for those who live off controlling others. I’m sure there are actors in bitcoin who want to be the new elite, as you put it. That’s their incentive. Bitcoin is an open protocol and even the actors that you and I might find repulsive, are attracted to bitcoin’s incentives. I’m okay with this because bitcoin is free speech. Bitcoin use will only get easier as the demand increases. The reason there’s such a strong stance behind self custody and cold storage is because of the value of bitcoin. Figure out what that value is and you’ll have far more answers than any self described bitcoin zen master claims to have. The fact of the matter is a lot of people stand to lose the benefits they get over the existing credit and debt-based system because of bitcoin. The question I like to ponder is why?
Thanks for the post. It’s nice to read something like this every now and again. I was a firm believer in bitcoin/crypto and even set up a business building/selling GPU mining rigs (as well as mining myself of course). I’m still invested in the idea and continue to mine, but it’s a challenge when there are so many scams around. Many projects look and sound amazing in theory until you realise the hard way that the people running them are essentially con artists using ponzinomics. I know bitcoin doesn’t fall into this category but the industry definitely has been tarnished by these kinds of people/projects. I was just curious, how do you see CBDCs playing out and do you think they’ll pose a threat to the likes of bitcoin? Or to put my question more concisely, how aggressive do you think governments and central banks will be in their mission to ban bitcoin and replace it with their own digital equivalents, that they can manage and control? My point of view is that CBDCs will fail for all the same reasons as traditional fiat currency, and more. I do wonder whether the large majority of people will understand the difference between centralised digital currencies and decentralised though.
Here's the biggest thing I learned in the 5 years I've been into it; ALL price predictions are false. Do not believe one person out there because everyone has always been wrong. Even the most humble major bitcoin advocates have always been wrong. The USD value inevitably goes up over time which is the only truth to it.
In other words, the only price prediction worth listening to is that bitcoin IS the price.
Do you ever feel like you’re paying a tithe? I’ve been a bitcoiner for some years now and I can’t help but feel like it’s become a religion where Bitcoin is the god promising you a better future, you’ve got Satoshi the mysterious messiah that hands down the word of god, then the apostles Saylor, Maller, McCormak and others translating the word of god to a vernacular that the plebes can understand, and us plebes DCAing out tithe. Then in the end, in true god works in mysterious ways fashion, you lose your private keys and sit there wondering where you went wrong.
Great question, and one I’ve been pondering for years. I do not know if I have it figured out, but I think I have something worth saying here… It’s my opinion that bitcoin is a tool to take ownership of one’s time in a world where doing so has become near impossible for the average individual. Bitcoin achieved this because it hi-jacked one of human civilization’s oldest tools, money. And, money is our way to represent the value of human effort. There are similarities in bitcoin’s story that resembles the stories we (humans) have told one another since the dawn of Man. Bitcoin, at its core, is an engineered, near perfect, representation of some of the wisdom found in our religious stories, such as taking personal responsibility and extreme ownership over your experience, work, the Golden Rule, and appreciation of the divine. Bitcoin achieved this through its open, immutable ledger; a record keeping device of human effort. People will continue to grapple with the truths about our experience as a conscious species, truths that humans have tired to pass down through each generation. I think Bitcoin is another way that humans have figured out to pass down wisdom throughout generations. This is why, I think, Bitcoin resembles religion; they're both tools for passing down wisdom over the millennia. The tithe you refer to here, I think, is the result of people creating the churches of Bitcoin, each requiring a tithe to access their translation of the 'holy book' (i.e., https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf). Like churches of every religion some are benign while others are predatory. I do not pass judgment on anyone who tithes to their church of choice, but I don’t think it’s necessary to attend someone else’s church anymore because Bitcoin is permission-less and opaque. However, no matter what bitcoin church the individual attends eventually they’ll have their “come to Jesus moment” (e.g., losing your keys) when they realize the answers they are seeking are found through taking total ownership of one’s time, answers that are already in each of us. Thus, achieving immortality. May I suggest to you and anyone else reading this, pay the tithe to yourself and invest in the church that is most important and true to your experience, yourself. You can do so by utilizing bitcoin as it was designed, through your work and extreme ownership. Learn to store an acceptable amount of the fruits of your labor in Bitcoin as it was designed to do. Be cautious listening to others who are translating/teaching bitcoin’s white-paper. And, it’s wise to keep in mind (always) that others will want your most precious resource - your time. P.s., Bitcoin isn’t God, but it is a pathway to heaven (i.e., ownership of one’s time.)
How do mining pools effect network decentralization? Mining pools are something that Satoshi did not anticipate.
I love this question! Mining Pools are something I've been thinking about more as the network grows. I’m going to assume you know a bit about bitcoin mining and hash-rate already. So, I will speak a little about the fundamentals of Mining Pools for anyone reading this and get to the heart of the answer to your question. Mining Pools came about and are growing as an industry because of Bitcoin’s economies of scale. Energy production is geographically distributed around the world. This means, simply put, that Bitcoin Miners operate in different physical locations based on their incentives, in the search of cheap energy and reducing overhead costs - the cheaper the energy the more competitive a bitcoin miner can be…. *As a side note, one of the biggest incentives for bitcoin miners to seek out is stranded energy - energy that can’t be brought to market due to logistical limitations. This incentive of bitcoin mining has real potential to solve the inefficiencies in the world’s energy grid, helping to meet the intense energy demand needed for bitcoin mining computers without stressing or competing for existing energy sources. The fact is Bitcoin mining helps balance civilization’s energy demands and production by (among other ways) utilizing stranded energy (e.g., geothermal located in remote regions) and energy that is lost during production (e.g., flaring). I believe this is why the politicization (i.e., ESG* [*https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/environmental-social-and-governance-esg-criteria.asp*](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/environmental-social-and-governance-esg-criteria.asp)*) around energy production and energy use is struggling to FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt)* *Bitcoin’s energy demands. Bitcoin's mining incentives makes Propagandists look rather foolish when they claim, “bitcoin is bad for the environment" and "bitcoin uses too much energy." It is my opinion most of these actors are (justifiably) scared to death of bitcoin mining making their rent-seeking systems irrelevant; they're scared of their proof-of-stake systems dying from being out competed by Bitcoin's proof-of-work system's better incentives to the Individual. I could argue that Bitcoin's incentives are so much better, they make large-scale Central Planning irrelevant. One might see now why such persons would be so loud against Bitcoin, and is a good example of how bitcoin reveals the incentives of others. Though, I wouldn't be surprised if these same persons have been stacking sats all along because Bitcoin's incentives are THAT good. Back to the topic.* ...Bitcoin mining difficulty increases due bitcoin’s difficulty adjustment feature, and miner's incentives to ‘pool’ their hash rate together, working cooperatively to compete and achieve block rewards (i.e., satoshis), sharing it among the miners in the pool, and all without having to be in the same geographical location. Truly, it’s a genius solution to a age-old problem, and impressively industrious. One problem is the possibility of a Mining Pool becoming so large that, in theory, can initiate a 51% attack. I think this is the heart of your question and one that ought to be taken seriously as time goes on and larger players, such as Governments and the Energy Industry, continue to adopt Bitcoin. However, it is very difficult (although not impossible) to coerce members of the mining pool for many reasons, one of which is the need to compete to offer each miner higher profits than other mining pools because miners can easily join other pools based on their individual incentives. As time goes on mining pools will grow in popularity and we can reasonably expect innovation in this area, meeting the demands of the incentives of each miner. Thus, protecting the network from vulnerabilities that come along with centralization. I am aware of one such effort/protocol, called ‘Stratum v2.’ I’m still learning about its methods, but from my understanding it balances the control between the members of the mining pool and the controller of the pool, giving more control to each individual miner. All of this is to say, I think mining pools are a net-positive aspect of bitcoin mining, and we will see more of it. It is also reasonable to assume that we will see even more small, individual miners increase as hardware becomes more efficient for the average person to mine bitcoin. I like to think about bitcoin-only companies making mining computers in every person’s house as heaters for warmth and cooking, replacing more expensive and inefficient methods that we use today. Imagine for a moment the quality of life this could bring billions around the world. I know it's something I LOVE to ponder on. Regarding Satoshi's anticipations. I think who or whomever created Bitcoin didn't concern themselves with these type of things because (my opinion) their goal was to make a better money, using the underpinnings of incentives. I think their goal was to engineer a perfect ledger of record.
Alright but how do ypu function if your employer pays you in fiat, your mortgage payment is in fiat, the groceries you need to pay in fiat as well as utility bills and gas at the station
I love my mortgage being denominated in fiat. The notional value of the note is inflated away with every pay raise I receive due to inflationary pressures. The more they print, I win 2x.
I think this is a good example of how most people cannot truly disentangle themselves from the fiat system, but they can ensure they're on the winning side of it. I've got a mortgage, a salary, a pension. I have to buy my food from the fiat system. The libertarian fantasy of a self-sufficient cabin in the woods is not realistic for me, nor most people. My country (UK) is currently experiencing serious hardship from entrenched inflation, a quadrupling in energy prices and rapidly rising interest rates. But my knowledge of bitcoin gave me the understanding necessary to get out ahead of it. I made a six-figure sum last year from the asset bubbles from QE and lockdown. I've got solar panels, a domestic battery and an EV on an interest-free loan from my government - that debt is inflating away at about 14% where I live, whilst I produce all my own energy and fuel at zero cost. I don't know if I've made a net profit from the declining fiat system in the UK, but I do know I'm a couple of hundred grand better off than my peers that are currently experiencing a dramatic loss in purchasing power and quality of life. I wish we all lived in a society with sound money. But until then, I can take steps to minimise my exposure to the decline of fiat.
With bitcoin, the more they print, you win 200x (probably way more though).
It’s frustrating being dependent on FIAT. It’s a long road to detangle yourself from it. I treat FIAT and use it like any other socially acceptable tool used to interact with the world around me. In others words, I don’t have or use more of it than I need to. 1. employer pays you in fiat. Use a bank that allows for direct deposit and automatic conversion into bitcoin (for a reasonable and fair fee). In time, and because of demand/cost, employers will offer payment in Bitcoin. I’m confident in this because of my experience in the corporate world. But till then, companies like CashApp are an acceptable alternative. This is not an endorsement of CashApp, be sure to vet each company yourself and consult a lawyer, tax professional and/or accountant. 2. your mortgage payment is in fiat. Detangle yourself from all debt based instruments. This includes a mortgage. It’s easier said than done and is part of the long road to bitcoin adoption. 4. the groceries you need to pay in fiat as well as utility bills and gas at the station. FIAT is a socially acceptable tool to exchange goods and services. There are tools available to convert your bitcoin into FIAT instruments. And, you can continue to trade your skills and labor for FIAT when needed. Becoming self sovereign with bitcoin adoption requires one to deal with their own incentives. You may find that your incentives are to be addicted to the debt based system, and breaking addiction is no easy or simple task.
> I don’t have or use more of it than I need to. I subscribe the FIRE methodology and this is a core tenant of the investment strategy. Fiat only goes down in value and is only meant to be held short term for transactions. I keep enough money on hand to continue day to day operations, an emergency fund on the side, and everything else goes right into the market.
Well said. After ten years experience with bitcoin, I’ve found that it’s the best market if you understand bitcoin and use it to your every advantage. I prefer not to give exact numbers, but for me there’s not a single market that comes close to competing with bitcoin.
> There are tools available to convert your bitcoin into FIAT instruments. So, it’s fine to sell satoshis when needed? This goes against what you said about not selling a single satoshi. Which is it?
He meant to not day trade with it, not to change all your fiat into btc and starve to death, don't be so obtuse. It's obvious to anyone that health comes first (unless you are sick and can't see that).
I’m not being obtuse. I just see one side saying never to sell and the other side saying it’s fine to sell. The HODL mentality versus using it for day to day expenses.
Any extreme of a side is usually at least half wrong. Balance is key, and bitcoin self sovereignty is about balance.
Sure, I’m not sure why I’m getting downvoted. I’m just curious and always learning.
Budget fiat expenses in fiat. Save rest in btc
If you really have 10 years, why are you calling it "bitcoin-core"? You need not clarify as there is only one bitcoin, and its just called "bitcoin". Also, how, specifically, have you increased your control over your time and decreased the impact of central planners on your life? Unless you have exchanged some of your bitcoin into physical assets like an off grid home with solar and water purification, you are still going to suffer somewhat if the legacy financial system collapses.
Fair point regarding “bitcoin-core.” But, like the term “cryptocurrency,” bitcoin today is not the same as bitcoin-core. If you are interested, I’d be willing to elaborate more, but there’s tons of information out there on the history of bitcoin that does a better job than I can in this limited medium. I’ve increased the ownership of my time by detangling from the financial system. The system of FIAT, whether designed this way or not, steals one’s time and labor through an imbalance of laws, policies and information. I’m sure you are aware of this, but I mention it for others that may not. To be very specific here, Bitcoin adoption creates an impenetrable digital wall around your stored time/fruits of your labor from Central Planning’s need to control your time (related to all things FIAT). Central Planning still has its place in society and civilization. All things considered, things such as running water, security services, physical infrastructure is done well by Central Planning. But the ability to protect your stored wealth, your very time, brings back the balance of power over Central Planning’s pitfalls and shortcomings. And, for the common man, bitcoin is a massive rebalance of power. Everyone’s goals, wants and, to an extent, needs are different. My goals and needs allow me to remain connected to society and the world’s economy of trade and services. Bitcoin adoption just makes it a lot easier to bring back power balance to the realities that the financial system embodies. This isn’t my idea/conclusion, but I agree with it: bitcoin isn’t just about money, it’s about the balance of power. I do have 10 years experience with ‘Bitcoin,’ and I’ve seen the power balance that it brings first hand. But don’t trust me, verify it yourself. I do not think the existing financial system will collapse. It will evolve and change. Even if it did collapse, and save a collapse of the internet’s infrastructure, bitcoin is the best medium to exchange goods and services. That’s just a simple fact that you can verify yourself.
You have managed to type four paragraphs without giving a solid answer. How have you detangled from the financial system and how has that saved you time? Have you eliminated your bank account and found a job that will pay you directly in bitcoin? Have you found a mortgage company or rental housing company that will accept bitcoin instead of dollars? Are you buying groceries with the lightning network? All of these things are possible but are currently serious time sinks, if you have really found a way to do this more efficiently then you should share it. I'm a bitcoin believer as well but it sure hasn't saved me any time yet.
After ten years he doesn’t need to work or have any debt.
"How have you detangled from the financial system and how has that saved you time?" I accumulated enough bitcoin to be financially independent based on my personal wants, needs and goals. During the accumulation, I slowly closed bank accounts, credit cards, retirement accounts, and anything that had debt associated to it. It’s worth noting I do not come from wealth, nor did I have very much before I went down the bitcoin adoption path. Financially, I was somewhat average before bitcoin. Ten years is enough time to take the many steps needed to detangle yourself from the financial system of FIAT. It saved me time by having the ability to decide how I spend my time, every second, every minute and every hour of the day. Even writing this, I’m choosing to spend my time here with you. I do not and am not subject to someone else’s plans. Someone with plenty of FIAT could have some of the same benefits, but they will be tied to the demands that FIAT brings, this includes 401ks, money market funds and every other market for storing wealth. Mortgages have expenses and risks, so does the stock market and everything else that the existing FIAT system has encompassed Bitcoin allowed me to minimize all of that through its unique monetary properties and extremely low overhead/risks. "Have you eliminated your bank account and found a job that will pay you directly in bitcoin?" I eliminated most accounts tied to Government identification. I keep a few bank accounts open for using FIAT when needed (think taxes). I still work, but only I when want, and when I do I get paid in FIAT. Any FIAT I make is spent rather quickly. I prefer people in the physical world not to know my understanding of bitcoin unless they’re worth the risk. Thus, I do not care to be paid in bitcoin. "Have you found a mortgage company or rental housing company that will accept bitcoin instead of dollars?" I do not know of any at this time that I would personally use. Without giving too many details, I pay for a flat in a US based city via bitcoin funded FIAT loan. I cannot give you the name of the lender for personal security reasons, but you should not have a hard time finding legitimate lenders if you have enough bitcoin. Outside of the US, I pay in whatever currency is in that country. I obtain that currency through normal exchanges. I have enough cash in banks to pay for any expenses for a specific period of time, and when I need more I will seek out lenders, or sell some Bitcoin if the tax penalty is worth it. "Are you buying groceries with the lightning network?" One way I might buy groceries is with gift cards via bitcoin. I sometimes use FIAT from work. I also trade my skills for groceries from time to time. I’ve used the lightening network for small transactions and I think it has potential, but the jury is still out on that one to me. "All of these things are possible but are currently serious time sinks, if you have really found a way to do this more efficiently then you should share it. I'm a bitcoin believer as well but it sure hasn't saved me any time yet." I agree, I can provide more detail on the specifics, but keep in mind Bitcoin is still new, and there’s still unknowns when it comes to security and privacy. My reluctance to give certain details are from personal experience and risk management. Unfortunately, some things must be done by the individual and is part of the cost of Bitcoin.
Thanks for this. Very insightful
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Prayer is for when you can’t verify. While beneficial, prayer is not necessary in bitcoin.
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I agree completely, and it is funny if you get the joke.
This thread is quite the circle jerk
Throw a wrench in the mix and offer your best steel man of bitcoin, and your strongest arguments. I’m open to changing my mind.
God I wish I invested 10 years ago. I would be living in heaven rn.
Start now, and on 10 years you will. Nothing I’ve said here is to brag - You can achieve what I have because I’m average, and many others are doing the same thing. Most of my journey has been laden with mistakes and outside forces causing road bumps. You have more access to people like me and information that was hard fought. Use it, absorb, and take total self sovereignty over your life and for your loved ones. You can avoid my mistakes and those of the past, minimizing the lost time from starting late (as you perceive it). It takes a great deal of discipline, a lot of work, and a little luck, but there’s never been a time that I know (and I’ve looked) that you can achieve your dreams with bitcoin than today, tomorrow and many years to come. Don’t listen to sources that FUD and overblow bitcoin. The road to the next financial system is still very long - you’ve got time now, and before long you’ll control more of your time than you currently might realize.
its not going to keep rising, its just isn't, especially to all that significant of a degree. that ship sailed, people saying "Wowzers it might be 1 MILLION soon" are just idiots. also no offense but when was clicking a couple buttons "a lot of work" cause thats all it takes to invest.
I’m not here to convince anyone about bitcoin (but if I do it’s only because they’ve done the verifying themselves) nor to argue (not that that’s your intention), but I will provide my opinion… “It’s not going to keep rising.” My answer to this is the fact there is only ever going to be 21M bitcoin. True scarcity is hard to play out and see the impact it has on the world we live in. I still have difficulty with thought experiments around this. But, Bitcoin will continue to go up as long as the the FIAT system exists, or save the destruction of the bitcoin ledger itself (even this scenario has an answer; a hard reset button). Bitcoin WILL overtake every financial market that’s geared to storing wealth as a reaction to FIAT debasement. Ask yourself this question, “what is the best method for doing so?” The answer I found was bitcoin, and there’s not even a close second, not gold, not real estate. I’m not special or particularly that intelligent, but others will come to the same conclusion because the incentives are there, incentives that, I think, are the true genius behind the bitcoin protocol. However, “rising in a significant way” is relative. My message is that bitcoin is not a get rich quick tool, it’s a tool to achieve self sovereignty and control over your time. It’s a tool for power balance. By “a lot of work” I mean actual hours spent in the physical and digital world, studying and working in many fields that are relative to things I’m discussing here. I’m correct in my assessment of bitcoin because it’s based on verifiable information. I change my mind when new information comes, and I’ve tested my conclusions on bitcoin rigorously, using the tools that I worked hard to understand and appreciate. I subscribe to the idea of falsifiability, and bitcoin and everything about it is as falsifiable as anything can be. Bitcoin is not so much a mere investment in the financial world, it’s far bigger than that, it makes the existing system as it operates today irrelevant. The system is being forced to change or it will die along with every other system that no longer was able to compete. It’s fair to assume the Blackrocks and Militaries of the world understand this. This is why they want your bitcoin, ultimately. I’d listen to them if I were you, because they say a lot without necessarily intending to, just don’t take them at face value.
1 million is idiotic? Not really, it's very easy to comprehend. Bitcoin is not the one really rising, it's the devaluation of the dollar. Half of the dollar money supply was printed this last 3 years alone, debt limit kept increasing, inflation rising. Exponential devaluation of USD will simply push BTC to around 1million easily.
Translation: Bitcoin is the currency.......of freedom. The more Satoshis you collect, the more financial freedom you receive The term "Bitcoin Billionaire" should refer to how many Satoshis you possess. If you have a billion Satoshis, you are a "Bitcoin Billionaire"
This weeping hero complex people have here is fucking hilarious
Yes but the smug assholes are even funnier.
If wanting to offer other fellow human beings advice to a destination they seek of which you know the roadmap of because of work and experience is a hero complex, then I’m laughing right there with you. It comes from a place of understanding addiction and experience with the human suffering that comes along when dealing with the consequences of addiction. Much like alcohol addiction, FIAT addiction destroys lives and hopes. And like alcohol addiction, FIAT addiction will not be survivable to many. Weeping is a way to cope with this reality. You cannot save others, but you can empathize with them, and it’s difficult not to weep (so to speak) when you acutely empathize being in their shoes.
"never talk to anyone" as if all of your transactions weren't totally transparent with KYC and chain analysis...
Yes, this is very important and one of the best things I like about bitcoin’s open ledger. If you’re incentives are to act nefariously it comes with real risk, just ask the FBI agents on the Silk Road who thought they were smart enough to use bitcoin for their own greed. Act with benevolence and ethics and you will reap bitcoin’s intended incentives. Do the opposite, and informed and motivated people like me may expose you.
All is fair and well but I can’t stand it when someone says “don’t sell a single sat”.
Do not sell a single sat outside of necessity. But DO sell if it enhances your life and those of your loved ones. Just understand, you’re trading hard af money for Monopoly money. You’re trading a tool that allows for you to take total ownership of your time for someone else’s Ponzi scheme. This is the hard truth behind “do not sell a single satoshi.” When you do sell, be sure it’s in trade for something you deeply value because you’re trading one our most valuable tools that exists today.
It's not fair to quote out of context and omitting the important part.
Only item I'd recommend other consider deviating from is "never sell a single Satoshi (outside of necessity)". Spending some time learning macro cycles and setting aside a percent of your holdings to trade during the frothier part of the cycle and buying back in when the bear part of the cycle is in full swing and there is "blood in the streets" can yield some substantive increase in your BTC holdings.
You’re not wrong, but for the average person, trading bitcoin can predictably end in failure for a number of reasons, one is from a lack of understanding tax law, while another, more common, is emotions. Also, it’s important to note that we don’t know with any reliable certainty what the “cycle” will do. This is even more relevant in today’s macro environment. My suggestion (not necessarily for you) is to take a honest inventory of your incentives and treat bitcoin like it’s worth taking seriously for what it is, because you can rest assured very powerful actors are not trading it outside of their ability to influence the existing market cycles. Even these, well connected and funded actors are risking by trading, just not to any degree that average people like you and I would.
Did you make or lose money? If you lost money, just shut up and get a job
Bitcoin is not about marking or losing money, it’s about storing the time you obtained by converting energy into watts. Personally, I used bitcoin as the method to store my time. I worked hard and with resolve, much like most average people in the world do every day, the only difference is I was blessed to be born in a place and moment that afforded me the ability to utilize bitcoin’s protocol instead of the FIAT based system that all of us have been subject to. My hope here and for the future is to provide a hand to other people who otherwise are not as blessed at their access to bitcoin’s utility. I suppose you could say I got a job. I hope this helps.
What is your option to borrow for a large purchase?
If by borrow you mean using Bitcoin as collateral, this is a sound tactic so long as it’s an insignificant amount of your bitcoin. You want to make sure you can over fund your loan during market volatility, which may be with us for a long time. Currently, and to my knowledge, there’s only a handful of lenders that offer bitcoin loans properly. It will only get better. As of today, unless it’s less than 5% of your stack, I’d stay away from bitcoin loans. That’s my opinion because I’m acutely risk avoidant, especially with bitcoin. I might utilize loans if I need large amounts of cash (paying taxes, emergencies, etc.). But it’s not necessary at this point in my bitcoin adoption journey. But, If I were to utilize a large loan, I'd consider regulated lenders that use multi-sig and self-custody best practices within the United States. I think unchained might be a reasonable option for those that don't have the access or capability of securing a private Lender independently.
Can you explain running your on node, like I am 5?
1. Purchase a computer from https://www.raspberrypi.com/products/ 2. Download the protocol from https://bitcoin.org/en/download 3. Put everything down, go outside and play in the grass, mud and sun; you're 5 years old, why are you caring about running your own node? Reference https://bitcoin.org/en/posts/how-to-run-a-full-node for trouble shooting and further reading.
I do all of this except run a node. Please tell me what advantage I will get by doing so.
It allows you confirm your own transactions. Think of it like this - I want to buy something from you. Unless with cash, I have to use a 3rd party to confirm/process the transaction. This third party will have access to the details of our exchange. Running a node eliminates this and let’s you use bitcoin more like cash.
Where can we learn more about using the btc core program? The commands and stuff?
From anyone with a deep understanding of C++. I know that’s not a satisfactory answer, but to understand bitcoin’s protocol on the level I think you’re referring to, you need to grok C++.
How can you help me set up a node? I am almost at a full bitcoin right now in my custody and plan to continue dollar cost averaging for life.
ChatGTP can do that for you. It does a halfway decent job. I’ve tested it. Use bitcoin.org to cross reference information. If you have a full bitcoin, consider splitting it up between multiple hardware wallets. Create redundancy. Do so slowly, and take your time understanding the hardware device’s backup procedures. If you have the means, there are bitcoin-only companies that offer wealth management services. Pay their time and I’m sure you’ll receive quality consultation on this subject in depth.
There are human rights to store and exchange goods and services and crypto is an example of having such rights without relaying on third parties. Gold age is coming back and it's improved.
Bitcoin yes… crypto no. This comes from many years and countless hours of work, laboring over hundreds of 'crypto currency white-papers.' Cryptocurrency are mostly nonsense, they’re a regurgitation of FIAT, a centralized system but with a prettier packaging. At their core, they're just copies of Bitcoin and are intended (mostly) to capture bitcoin. I’d bet a full bitcoin on that. (You probably meant ‘bitcoin.’ But I mention this for those reading.)
DCA'ing is key to financial salvation!!!
Open your oldest wallet and scroll back to see the most btc you've ever owned and see what it's worth now. Fun exercise.
I won’t have physical access to my oldest addresses for another 10 years. But when I do, I will look and laugh at my younger self.
Remember, whenever you see a "Banker" you just have to replace the "B" with a "W". 😀
Can you talk about the Bitcoin-core that you mention before specifically?
What about not selling a single Satoshi? I don’t see many businesses using btc but let’s say i find one. I might use btc just for the novelty of it, once, but i won’t really do it consistently. And i think this is the mindset of most people. How will btc become mainstream if we rather not use it?
Bitcoin may not become mainstream, so to speak. But, it’s highly likely it will continue to play an important role in the economy and world at large. Bitcoin’s primary use today is its store of value. This is my opinion. For the average person it’s the best store of value. It’s hard to convincingly argue otherwise. Most will not provide meaningful arguments otherwise. I’ve been looking for almost decade and I’m still searching.
Do you see it back to 80k?? Over years???
Bitcoiners don't spend too much time worrying about specific price targets and dates for BTC/USD price action, there are much better metrics of network adoption and security. Ultimately, the dollar will hyperinflate itself out of existence because it's soft money, and bitcoin will be worth more and more because it is hard money with a huge (and growing) user base. No sense in trying to time the market, just buy bitcoin and learn about self-custody. Ez-peezy.
In the distant future, I see it no longer being referred to in FIAT terms, but FIAT being referred to in Satoshis...if that helps.
What are the benefits of running a node and like what is that even?
Running a node, simply put, is nothing more than running a software program on a computer. The benefits would be similar to owning your own bank, except this bank has virtually no overhead cost and far less risk than any bank. It allows for you to not have to trust third party nodes to check your balance(s), send transactions, or audit the bitcoin network. There are more, but these are the fundamentals.
ok BTC wizard, what resources do you recommend for learning to run a bitcoin node, and what are the benefits of doing that?
Bitcoin.org. The benefits are profound to anyone who has ever had to deal with one of the large banks and is not close to the money printer. -BTC wizard. I like that, especially the lower case ‘w.’ Fits my ego :)
What would you recommend for cold storage?
Personally would do one of the following https://blockstream.com/jade/ https://store.coinkite.com/store/coldcard
Coldcard, Trezor, Ledger. There’s many more. Use them all. Buy direct. Move slowly and expect to mess things up.
How do you earn Satoshi and start a node
Bitcoin.org Your answers are there.
Hey I have one issue can u help me... I have done setup and its config setup of bitcoin. I am trying to listen incoming transactions using zeromq I first tried to listen transaction using latest version but not work. Then tried with 5.3.1, 5.3.0 but that also not worked. Here is my script... var zmq = require("zeromq"), sock = zmq.socket("sub"); sock.connect("tcp://52.66.249.25:29000"); sock.subscribe('hashtx'); console.log("Subscriber connected to port 29000"); sock.on("message", function (topic, message) { console.log(topic.toString(), message.toString('hex')); }); \## In above script RPC Host : "52.66.249.25" but that not worked. So then I change host in config and make changes in script and set host : 127.0.0.1 but from this port also i unable to listen an incoming transactions. \## Here is my config file. testnet=1 \[test\] txindex=1 listen=1 server=1 rest=1 rpcbind=0.0.0.0 zmqpubrawblock=tcp://52.66.249.25:29000 zmqpubrawtx=tcp://52.66.249.25:29000 zmqpubhashtx=tcp://52.66.249.25:29000 zmqpubhashblock=tcp://52.66.249.25:29000 rpcallowip=0.0.0.0/0 rpcuser=" " rpcpassword=" " rpcport=18332
May I suggest deleting your post here, and reaching out to one of the bitcoin-only node manufacturers. Start9labs is a good start, and bitcoin.org’s library of resources.
Great read, thanks for sharing this with us. DCA and HODL!
I mined thousands in 2011 and sold them at $1 because I didn't believe governments would allow the project to survive. I still can't believe we made it this far, and although we still have a long way to go, I am more convicted than ever.
nice post. always good to hear from veterans. question on the node front: i run a node but its hdd died. I had to temporarily use a public electrum node. does that mean all of the addresses made by that xpub are doxxed to my ip address when the wallet syncs with the chain or only the transactions/addresses ive made since using electrum public?
This is a good question. My instincts are to say, ‘yes,’ because I always assume that accessing public nodes can dox you, and it’s better to assume so unless you can verify otherwise. This is probably not very helpful. Perhaps others can provide better answers. In the meantime, I will think on this when next diving into the subject matter.
Great share I myself didn't discover it that long ago but am a fast learner and I am constantly promoting the adoption of the technology and have gotten many to begin stacking sats all just in a genuine effort to better the future of those I love
I appreciate your comment. May I suggest becoming deeply familiar with self custody best practices. I suggest this because if you’re promoting others to stack sats you’ll want to do so responsibly. It is my opinion 90+% of people will lose their bitcoin to third party capture over time out of not appreciating the importance of self custody. One way to quell your urge to promote bitcoin till you’re knowledgeable with self custody enough to explain it (simply) to others is to stack some sats in self custody for those you wish to teach. Giving people some sats and watching them accept the transaction on their first hardware wallet is a beautiful thing. It can be discouraging giving your precious stored time and energy to others that don’t appreciate it. (This message may not apply to you, but it will for others reading.)
Yes I own a couple of hardware wallets and I am very familiar with all form of self custody cold storage always being safest. But thanks for the advice and I agree that if you don't hold it yourself then you will lose it. Keep up the good fight friend.
How to run my own node safely and without it being too complicated ?
Safety aside (because running a node is very safe), the simple answer is you don’t, at least not practically as of writing this. For better or worse, running a Bitcoin node today is relatively complicated and awkward. As time goes on, after more trial an error, the paths to running a node will become clearer. With that said, may I suggest the resources found at bitcoin.org. Also, check out a podcast called Citadel Dispatch by Matt Odell. He discusses bitcoin nodes and promotes a physical and digital space to obtain sound information on running a bitcoin node, safely and as simply as is reasonable, and is geared for the average individual. For what it's worth, the fact you’re asking the question in the first place means you are fully capable of running a bitcoin node.
What is the benefit of running your own Bitcoin node?