When I first bought Bitcoin a couple of years back, I didn't buy it for the same reasons I buy it today. The first time I bought Bitcoin was on Robinhood in 2019 (and learned the hard lesson that you can’t even withdraw Bitcoin from Robinhood1). The price was about $5k. At the time, I wasn't even a believer in Bitcoin and I had previously dismissed it multiple times prior to that purchase. I put a small amount of money into it because this was something that had sudden price run-ups in the past and might do so again.
As of this writing, I'm an ardent believer in Bitcoin. I've freed myself from worrying about the day-to-day price movements because I believe in it as something much bigger than a speculative asset, a medium of exchange, or a store of value. Bitcoin represents financial inclusivity for all. Bitcoin represents true financial sovereignty. Bitcoin represents freedom. Check out my initial newsletter on El Salvador’s Bitcoin law for more on Bitcoin and financial inclusivity.
I understand the hesitations many people face when first hearing about Bitcoin. On the surface, it sounds like fake internet money — a scam. The media portrays Bitcoiners as degenerate price speculators trying to meme their way "to the moon." I honestly thought the same thing, even as I made my first purchase.
What I know now is that isn't the case. I've fully immersed myself into the world of Bitcoin and I've found Bitcoiners to be some of the smartest and most altruistic people I've ever met. I'll cover 'who is a Bitcoiner' and the overall ethos of Bitcoin in a future post. For now, I want to tackle some common misconceptions about Bitcoin.
In this newsletter, I'll list out a few hurdles I had to get over to understand Bitcoin. In subsequent pieces, I'll do a deep dive into each of these misconceptions, and I even hope to build on those topics over time as I learn more myself.
Some of Bitcoin's Common Misconceptions:
Bitcoin is bad for the environment
Bitcoin is used primarily for illicit activity
Governments will ban Bitcoin
Bitcoin isn't secure
Bitcoin is too confusing
Bitcoin is too slow
Bitcoin is too expensive
The first 3 are likely ones you've heard about one way or another. I've lost count of how many half-baked articles I've read about Bitcoin's energy use. The truth of the matter is, Bitcoin incentives renewable energy, and a large sum of Bitcoin's hash rate actually comes from energy that would otherwise go wasted. Regarding illicit activity, statements such as "Bitcoin is primarily used for illicit activity" are downright false. Only a fraction of a percent of Bitcoin's network is estimated to be used for criminal activity vs. anywhere from 2-5% for fiat currencies. I won't get into (yet) the countless examples of Bitcoin's use for philanthropic efforts or as a means to escape political repression. Lastly (for now), governments cannot ban Bitcoin. Governments can make it more difficult for their citizens to own Bitcoin and they can even ban Bitcoin mining like China recently announced, but they cannot shut down the Bitcoin network. And they cannot eliminate all potential avenues for people to buy and securely and privately store Bitcoin offline.
I'll save any further commentary on these misconceptions for future newsletters, as there is a lot to unpack for each topic. The first topic I am going to cover in detail will be Bitcoin's energy use. Despite the overwhelming amount of FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) being spun up by politicians and journalists, this is one of my favorite topics. I'm excited to share with you all I've learned about Bitcoin and energy, and why I feel Bitcoin might end up being the most economical and environmentally friendly use of energy we've ever seen.
Wrapping Up
Thank you so much for tuning in. This post mostly served as a primer for those to come, but I appreciate your time as always.
In this newsletter, I'll cover all things Bitcoin. I don't plan to cover the basics like what is Bitcoin or how to buy it. There is already a lot of great intro to Bitcoin content out there. Topics I plan to share with you are common misconceptions about Bitcoin, my take on recent Bitcoin news, what makes someone a Bitcoiner, problems Bitcoin can solve, and other things I've learned during my obsession with Bitcoin over the past year. My plan is to write one of these weekly and follow a similar format:
What I learned and how this is contrary to views outside of the Bitcoin community
My personal take on the topic
Links to other pieces of content to read/watch/listen to learn more
Remember to subscribe below if you don't want to miss out on next week's discussion around energy and follow me on Twitter for more takes on all things Bitcoin.
—Nick
CoinDesk has a lot of great intro content on how and where to buy Bitcoin. If you are going to buy Bitcoin for the first time, do your own research and come up with a plan to safely and securely buy and store it. You can email me for more information on tips I’ve learned along the way.