The court jester in medieval times was said to have served as a wise counsel to royal rulers.
They were said to have filled a need to wake a ruler up to something that 'loyal' sycophants wouldn't have dared to utter.
Whether this historical idea is true or not is open to debate. I'm no historian.
What's not open to debate is the fact that sometimes we need to hear things from outside of our comfort zone - mull it over, debate it and maybe change things: or change ourselves.
I'm afraid on this Saturday/Sunday I've got a jest for us all to mull over...
The jester in this case is The Onion the king here, of course, is Bitcoin - and by extention, ourselves.
[Here's the piece](Bitcoin On Path To Functioning Just Like Real Currency After Small Concentration Of People Acquire Majority Of It). Just one headline (no article underneath).
Bitcoin On Path To Functioning Just Like Real Currency After Small Concentration Of People Acquire Majority Of It
There's some crappy articles that push FUD from 'serious' papers, but I've got to admit, this one (from one of our favorite court jesters in 2017) hurts a little.
I've got no clever reply to the jester's quip.
I can only dig deep and point out that Bitcoin was mined fairly from the beginning with no pre-mine; that many early adopters didn't hoard it all but spent it like water, gave it away via Bitcoin faucets; lost it; donated it and possibly even intentionally lost it.
I remember reading a December 2010 Hal Finney quote in which he foresaw that the 'ultimate fate' of Bitcoin as being the future reserve currency (as opposed to
I believe this will be the ultimate fate of Bitcoin, to be the "high-powered money" that serves as a reserve currency for banks that issue their own digital cash. Most Bitcoin transactions will occur between banks, to settle net transfers. Bitcoin transactions by private individuals will be as rare as... well, as Bitcoin based purchases are today.
When reading his full quote in context we can see that Hal couldn't have foreseen lightning being such a game-changer for Bitcoin on Layer 2.
However, the jester is still there and the 'jest' still exists .
The question is, what should we make of it - and what could/should we do?