Bitcoin: Why New Inventions Cause Conflict Before Changing Our World
Bitcoin: Why New Inventions Cause Conflict Before Changing Our World
New technologies create debate, conflict and pressure... and then change our world.
The Misfit explores the existential questions facing our world. It brings together the diverse topics of humanity, economics, and bitcoin. Here’s an archive of my latest articles. If you’re new here, my aim is to get you thinking each week about money, the way the world works, and how we can make it a better place. Hope you enjoy!
Photo credit: Julian Alexander (Unsplash)
Hello friends,
I went on a hike with a few people who asked me “so, you think bitcoin’s going to be around?”. They gave me about three seconds to answer before turning to each other to laugh. Then they whispered to each other how bitcoin’s a scam and will not survive.
My blood boiled.
First, because they didn’t give me a chance to answer and second because even if I did answer it, I know they wouldn’t have listened to me. They’d already made up their minds about bitcoin and there was no chance at changing that. (I guess that’s the price of stubbornness. You fall behind.)
Just because a technology isn’t yet “excelling”, doesn’t mean it won’t in the future.
New Inventions Cause Conflict
Back in the day, horses and carriages were the main form of transport. Mud roads made it easy on the horses’ hooves to travel. And because horses were an excellent mode of transport, there was never an incentive to change the make-up of roads.
That is, until automobiles were invented…
When the first automobile arrived, it didn’t work well on muddy roads. It was easy to criticize that. People thought:
“That’s crazy. Those noisy disgusting machines that are probably going to kill us all, they’ll never work. And why would anyone other than stupid rich people playing with these crazy noisy toys want to use one of these horrible machines when we have perfectly good horses?” — Andreas M. Antonopoulos (Aantonop)
The problem wasn’t the automobile. The problem was that the existing roads that didn’t work for the automobile.
For automobiles to succeed, the roads had to be reimagined.
Turns out, flat, paved roads worked much better and allowed automobiles to thrive. Not only that, it allowed for the invention of other modes of transport like scooters, skateboards and roller blades (including horses and carriages).
“That’s an infrastructure inversion. You start with the new technology living on the old infrastructure and then, it flips.” — Aantonop
Infrastructure inversions happen when new technologies use old infrastructures creating debate, conflict and pressure… until the infrastructure flips to suit the new technology.
We’re seeing this debate, conflict and pressure happen with bitcoin today.
It’s only a matter of time until we see the financial infrastructure inversion, which is already happening at an unprecedented rate. If you’re not convinced, allow me to share why I think bitcoin is revolutionary.
The Brilliance of Bitcoin
Last year, I overpaid my credit card by accident (they were slow to update my online banking account). I called the credit card company to ask they return my money. “Sure” they said. And do you know how long it took them to send me my money back?
Three whole weeks!!
Unbelievable. If the roles were reversed, they would be charging me high interest fees and riding my ass all day every day. What if I was a single parent who needed that money right away?!
You see, now we have a technology that can settle transactions quickly at a global scale without any parties involved AND at low fees. This is the beauty of the Bitcoin network. It’s an open, decentralized ledger that is fast, transparent, secure and global.
The problem is that we have a new technology while still living in the old system, the banking system. This makes it easy for critics to say “see, it doesn’t work!” OR, “why do we need Bitcoin if our money system already works?”
Sound familiar???
Today, we’re riding the automobile along the muddy roads of banking. The bitcoin supercar, the Formula One of finance, is riding along on the muddy roads of 1970s mainframe-based banking, and it’s a bumpy road.” — Aantonop
As every bitcoiner knows, it’s SUPER easy for the banks, the financial players and the mainstream media to say “you see, it doesn’t work!”
“It’s not working. Look, you have to do all of the regulation that we have to do. You have to do all of the identity that we have to do. You have to slow everything down to the speed of traditional banking. This is never going to work. Not only that, but you don’t have enough users to build infrastructure, and you don’t have enough infrastructure to attract new users. So, this is clearly never going to work.” — Aantonop
Poor things. Good thing bitcoiners have history on their side...
The Bitcoin Technology Is Here to Stay & Will Flip Our World
Bitcoin is like an avalanche. It picks up speed and volume as it continues to roll down the mountain. It sweeps up everything in its way, rarely leaving behind anything alive. Bitcoin is doing this with the financial industry.
Not only will bitcoin revolutionize money but every industry affected by money… basically, the whole wide world.
Over the last decade and more, bitcoin went from $0 to over $62,000 USD. In fact, it is the best-performing asset of the decade with an annual compound growth rate of 200% (see, an avalanche!).
That means bitcoin’s performance beat gold, the stock markets, real estate, collectibles, and every other asset under the sun in the last +10 years.
Let that sink in.
Plus, the network that allows bitcoin to be sent has never been hacked or been down. It runs like clockwork without failing (for 12 years and counting). Meanwhile earlier this year the Fed’s system that allows banks to send money back and forth went down for several hours.
Ouchieeeee.
That’s gotta account for something, right?
Not to mention the fact that today we have financial institutions, corporations, hedge funds, family offices, billionaires and wealthy investors investing in bitcoin because they see it as a hedge against inflation (given its scarcity and decentralization).
To these savvy, go-getter, future-thinking individuals, bitcoin is the best way to build wealth.
As billionaire hedge fund manager, Paul Tudor Jones, put it: bitcoin is the “fastest horse” in this environment.
As you can see, bitcoin is not only causing debate, conflict and pressure but it’s already starting to flip out world upside down.
Invest In Bitcoin’s At These Discounted Prices
Bitcoin’s adoption will continue to accelerate. And the more people buy bitcoin, the less bitcoin that are available, the more expensive they get. Basic supply and demand.
How high can it go? Umm, the sky’s the limit…
For a little taster, Cathie Wood (Founder, CEO & CIO at Ark Invest) believes bitcoin will reach $500,000 USD while PlanB (anonymous financial analyst) believes bitcoin is on the path to $1 million USD.
If they are correct - which I believe they are - bitcoin priced at $62,000 is a bargain. (Keep in mind, you can buy a little bit of bitcoin lie $20 if you wish. That will go a long way in the future.)
Buying bitcoin today is like investing in the Amazon stock market when it was just getting started… except the difference is that bitcoin is a larger, bolder technology that is disrupting multiple industries.
You have two options: adopt this great invention while it’s still early on or fall behind, like the horses and carriages did.
“Fortune favours the bold” — Latin Proverb