I was reading this short post by Jimmy Song, and as soon as I clicked the close tab button, I received a new message in one of my Telegram groups I'm in: and yet, the bear market is here. Immediately after, they began discussing alternative strategies to cope with the so-called bear market.

A bear market? With bitcoin? Really?

That's when memories of the various reports the Federal Reserve produces, and their intellectual followers trying to interpret it through some convoluted mental gymnastics, saying that inflation is good, come flooding back. I also recalled Arthur Hayes' articles, where he repeatedly talks about how the fiat market is crumbling, just like in the famous movie "The Big Short," where they say, they're burning their feet, they smell it, and they think they're cooking a steak.

And here's where I want to emphasize something. Those of us who believe that Bitcoin is the strongest currency of all, a tool that helps us preserve our wealth, censorship resistance, even in dark days, sometimes want to give in, just end it all and not endure any longer. You wake up, see red in your screen, hear about stock-to-flow failures, the never-ending rainbow, the altcoins, the developers not making progress¹... without realizing it, you want to end your suffering.

You want to stop hodling.

You no longer want to see red on your screen, you're tired of saying that Bitcoin is stuck in a price range, tired of telling yourself it's worth the wait, you're simply tired of staying on the same path and want to go back to having easy bonds, stocks, and dividends... It happens, don't deny it, you're doing it again right now probably, fleeing from suffering once more, and now you shield yourself with the famous saying: better the devil you know than the devil you don't. You say this because Bitcoin hasn't gone up in price, and it's better to return to old practices.

Anon, those of us who hodl Bitcoin aren't just talking for the sake of it. Imagine this: they call us toxic, say we're psychopaths, and point out unimaginable crap done in the name of decentralization, and yet we are the bad guys. Damn it! Even the state wants to give us lessons in monetary policy!

Do you think the first images of hodling were accidental and they just portrayed Spartans like that for no reason?

In the Battle of Thermopylae, a group of 300 soldiers executed an unparalleled defense against an army that we can say recruited soldiers from all over the world. Yes, the battle was lost, but the war was won. There were losses, but victory was ahead. It would have been much easier to surrender and become a vassal state of the Persian Empire, but the Athenians and Spartans chose sovereignty.

Among cryptocurrencies, there are groups already working with the state. They tell you they're doing it in the name of fighting illicit activities, that the OFAC will do a good job, and so on, but you and I know the real reasons they're here. They are the Persians who have conquered towns once again. Today, you are the Spartans once again, suffering a brutal attack on your economy: the enemy will print more and more soldiers every day, and after waves and waves of attacks, you will feel beaten, as if it never ends.

But today... today, as you're reading this, my friend, you're reading that it's the end of Bitcoin. Today, I tell you that with those 1,000 sats, 10,000 sats, or 100,000 sats you have in your wallet, you're winning, and believe me, it's not just because you're accumulating.

...well, yes, partly it's because you're accumulating Bitcoin, but there's a much deeper, simpler reason: you're winning because by acquiring a Bitcoin or a fraction of one, you're casting your vote against the inefficient monetary policies of factions fighting over the trickle of dollars. You're bleeding, you're suffering, but my friend, you're winning. And because you're winning, others are winning. And even though it may seem like it's all over today, you're winning.

Friend, embrace the suffering of temporary defeat to achieve eternal victory. According to the media, Bitcoin has died more than 400 times already, and here we are, sharing satoshis among ourselves and encouraging each other to keep moving forward in this race that can only go forward.

First published at NOSTR: naddr1qq2nj66sgsu9vezyv4eksdzhdqm52e3sxfcyvq3qpps3gnrkt6ssuwdys3e62xlwvpygdcv2h58cx8x9a4m9re52rjhsxpqqqp65wr6zeqm