I think the "related posts" say it all
ETF holders are not node runners and therefore are unable to participate in social construct debate on what Bitcoin is. To them, Bitcoin is what their ETF custodian says that it is. So in a blocksize wars scenario, those people are by default on the side of the ETF custodian (if they don't immediately sell) and the ETF custodian is by default on the side of whatever government regulators decide is Bitcoin.
Unlike Bitcoiners, they are not censorship resistant, they are not decentralized, they don't even have the ability to prove they own what they say they own, they can't do cheap cross border transactions, they can't use the lightning network, they can't even withdraw Bitcoin from their custodian, and all in all, they don't own Bitcoin.
What about people who have some Bitcoin and some ETFs? Well, I suppose some of their net worth is censorship resistant, able to participate in social construct debate/blocksize wars, can do cross border payments and use the lightning network whereas another part of their net worth can not.
Thanks for sharing the link. Devoured it.
I gotta confess that I’m not very interested in the tech, but nonetheless enjoyed reading your argument on the agency and choice having Bitcoin gifts us in charting its development
reply
Just trying to avoid what happened to gold is enough of a goal isn't it? So many seem to desire jumping straight into those problems instead of avoiding them.
reply
Yeah... most people don't care much about any of that stuff.
They just want their savings to increase and aren't cult members like us.
reply
Will their savings increase though? Because you need to be able to verify your Bitcoin to sync up with the price of Bitcoin. If ETF holders had Bitcoin crash right now I bet you they'd be more than a little upset.
And why call us cult members? This isn't a cult. Its a money. Not being able to deal with people in the same money is kinda a big problem to overlook.
reply
There was a time when I couldn't stop talking about bitcoin. I don't go on and on about it anymore, but I've definitely been called a "cult member" by family.
It's just...I feel like I see the light, and could "rescue" people, if they would just listen to me But that never appears to work.
reply
As a teacher, I can only share that sometimes the seeds you sow don’t mature until much later, years down the road even.
You are doing what you can, and it is enough.
reply
ETFs are very liquid. They can trade back and forth into Nvidia, treasuries or whatever degen position they want. 401ks work well enough (so far) for plenty of people who have retired successfully, despite market fluctuations.
Most people have busy lives and don't want to have to think about self custody.
reply