This is something I've been wanting to articulate and get others thoughts on for a while, and has a few different angles, so bear with me. But yes, in a nutshell and to borrow and then adapt the Jameson Lopp famous quote - Bitcoin doesn't need me, and that's ok.
What does this mean and how did I come to this? Let's consider the two main ways in which Bitcoin might need me.
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To own it. Does Bitcoin need me to do this? Of course not. The universe won't change without me acquiring or holding my small stack. The dollar price would perhaps be infinitesimally smaller. Others will own more instead. I like to say that Bitcoin is both the carrot and the stick - the carrot is acquiring some before the purchasing power goes up further, as everything is gradually falling in price in Bitcoin terms over time. The stick is.. just the same.
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To contribute in some other way to the Bitcoin ecosystem (this would include "working in Bitcoin" in some capacity. Whilst I see Bitcoin as pretty much the most important thing that's happened in the world since inception, it may not prove a direct way for me to ever earn an income, for these few reasons -
-As a global, permissonless, protocol, Bitcoin is astonishingly efficient. Noone is on payroll, and companies in the ecosystem are subject to brutal levels of global competition. Bitcoin mining? Insanely competitive. Hardware wallets, Exchanges? Margins will be squeezed relentlessly. Writing about Bitcoin? Already a massively high bar to improve on the best material. And so on. In summary, there's huge opportunities for sure, but huge competition.
- Tapping into FOSS principles and Jeff Booth's book, "The price of tomorrow" - Bitcoin is ultimately a technology that will reflect prices falling for the benefit of those using it, and that's a good thing. Yet there are no favours and proof of work principles abound - anyone in the ecosystem is going to have to constantly prove themselves in a highly competitive environment to earn sats. Ironically, some of the main companies that thrive may actually be those with regulatory moats put up by others, and nothing to do with Bitcoin itself. An example might be Coinbase.
Of course there's a chunk of this sentiment sitting also in Odell's phrase "Stay humble and stack sats" - a hugely genius phrase of only 5 words. To me, staying humble means you're unlikely to change Bitcoin as a random individual, and to appreciate it's far more likely to change you. Stack sats refers to the other part mentioned above - the good news is that nearly anyone can tap into Bitcoin's power and utility as money, globally. All you have to do is acquire some. You don't need to further invest it, earn yield on it, diversify from it... I'll stop - Odell said it better.
I might trigger some with this, so let me be clear that there's a difference between someone and everyone. I think running a node is generally important, I try and support Bitcoin related companies, I go to the odd conference, I also own Bitcoin. All these matter at a collective level, but not individually, for does Bitcoin need me to do any of this? No. And that's ok.
Let me know thoughts.
Bitcoin is pure storage for energy, secured by mathematical algorithms, something that will be eternal. If you own Bitcoin YOU OWN ENERGY FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.