Dear Bitcointalk Community, please change your perspective about Bitcoin!

[Boseda]

I'm writing this post because I see it everywhere on this forum. People who just talk about Bitcoin pump(s), $ price, € price and so on... even most legendary members do it!


I think most Bitcoin users miss what Bitcoin really is and what Satoshi wanted it to be.
If you read the white paper, there's no mention about Bitcoin as a digital asset. Satoshi just wanted to create a payment system, a strong one and much better than the traditional ones.

But right now, Bitcoin is mainly considered as a digital asset, digital gold, just an investment tool to make (quick) profit. That's wrong, in my opinion.

I think Bitcoin users are raping Satoshi's original view, thinking only about BTC's value on exchanges.


What most don't understand is that Satoshi gave us a huge power. The power to destroy and make disappear forever the whole old banking system, other online payment systems like paypal and maybe governments too. Forever.

He gave us the power to decentralize everything using the blockchain technology. In short, Satoshi gave us the power the change the world for the better.


So why are you focusing only on Bitcoin's price on exchanges?


Imagine this.

A world where you can send money anywhere and to anyone in the world, instantly and with low fees.
A world where you can buy anything using Bitcoin, from coffees to yatchs.
A world where you can get all the privacy you want.
A world without banks.
A world without old currencies, that only create inflation.
A world where you pay only the taxes you wanna pay and not what you are forced to pay.


I think Satoshi's original view was very revolutionary.
A decentralized payment system and a deflationary currency. A real digital cash.


But now, Bitcoin has becomed just a digital asset. Maybe a toy for rich people to get even richer.
What's so revolutionary about it? The world is already full of assets and investment tool...


In short, Bitcoin lost most of its revolutionary appeal.

I strongly suggest you to change your consideration about Bitcoin. Now it's time to choose, because what we - as a community - decide now will influence all the future history of Bitcoin.


So, what do you prefer? A brick of gold or a better world?

[Searing]

I'm writing this post because I see it everywhere on this forum. People who just talk about Bitcoin pump(s), $ price, € price and so on... even most legendary members do it!


I think most Bitcoin users miss what Bitcoin really is and what Satoshi wanted it to be.
If you read the white paper, there's no mention about Bitcoin as a digital asset. Satoshi just wanted to create a payment system, a strong one and much better than the traditional ones.

But right now, Bitcoin is mainly considered as a digital asset, digital gold, just an investment tool to make (quick) profit. That's wrong, in my opinion.

I think Bitcoin users are raping Satoshi's original view, thinking only about BTC's value on exchanges.


What most don't understand is that Satoshi gave us a huge power. The power to destroy and make disappear forever the whole old banking system, other online payment systems like paypal and maybe governments too. Forever.

He gave us the power to decentralize everything using the blockchain technology. In short, Satoshi gave us the power the change the world for the better.


So why are you focusing only on Bitcoin's price on exchanges?


Imagine this.

A world where you can send money anywhere and to anyone in the world, instantly and with low fees.
A world where you can buy anything using Bitcoin, from coffees to yatchs.
A world where you can get all the privacy you want.
A world without banks.
A world without old currencies, that only create inflation.
A world where you pay only the taxes you wanna pay and not what you are forced to pay.


I think Satoshi's original view was very revolutionary.
A decentralized payment system and a deflationary currency. A real digital cash.


But now, Bitcoin has becomed just a digital asset. Maybe a toy for rich people to get even richer.
What's so revolutionary about it? The world is already full of assets and investment tool...


In short, Bitcoin lost most of its revolutionary appeal.

I strongly suggest you to change your consideration about Bitcoin. Now it's time to choose, because what we - as a community - decide now will influence all the future history of Bitcoin.


So, what do you prefer? A brick of gold or a better world?

we are still at the stage we want the world to LIKE US as the new kid in town...the price of BTC gives us hope that maybe what you state above can happen

but we are a little bit skittish yet...I assume if bitcoin hits 10k and has more use ..things will go as you state...as of now we are in the WTH stage of awe

and BTC price going up ...is a reflection of adoption and holding.....thus security at least for those of us holding bitcoin  

[BitcoinBabbler]

I agree with your point. A nice perspective you have there.

Bitcoin, although originally created to change the banking system, has inflated itself in the last few years.

I mean, who and why wouldn't take the change to get profits out of the uprise of Btc?
Sure, the long term goal remains to change the banking system and aim for a better world, but while we are at it, is it wrong to make profits out of it?

[krishnapramod]

It would take quite some time for bitcoins to change the banking system. The problem  is that a good number of bitcoin users have restricted themselves to thinking that BTC serves only two purposes, gambling and trading. Somewhere because of this the original peer-to-peer payment objective is getting overruled. I do not think most of the traders would even think twice about scalability issues and current fees, as far as bitcoin price is increasing, they are happy with it. Micro transactions are no longer possible, merchants who had opted for bitcoin as a payment option have taken a hit.

But still there a lot of good things happening, a few countries are planning to legalise bitcoins, major stores accepting bitcoin, major industries opting for bitcoin. The next step is making bitcoins available for purchasing almost everything that can be bought with fiat. Fees issue would be resolved soon, at least by 2018. Expecting bitcoin growth would make banks or fiat disappear would be bit too much to ask.

[slaman29]

Satoshi may not have dreamt of creating more elites out of nothing, but I am sure the genius could imagine that it would happen and no one could do much about it. Just like gold/dollar and other assets, before mainstream adoption, the elites already had most of the wealth and the rest of the world used 10% of the rest.

It will be the same for Bitcoin, unfortunately.

[avikz]

You have your own perspective and I respect that. However, what Mr. Satoshi wanted for the bitcoin, we have long diverted from that path. Like you have said in the thread,

A world where you can send money anywhere and to anyone in the world, instantly and with low fees.

Apart from sending money everywhere, do you think  we have achieved the other two aspects like instant and low fees money transfer??

I think NO. Bitcoin transactions are not instant and definitely not with low fees. Rather, bitcoin transaction fees are way higher than any other online payment processors.

So I think bitcoin going towards a future, which majority of the users have chosen for it. I am absolutely happy with that because I am an investor and trader of bitcoin. The high price is giving me hope and hence I am associated with bitcoin. If the price drops to $1, I am sure 99% of the bitcoin users will loose interest on it.

[talkbitcoin]

a very good post and i fully agree with it.

although i want to add that this has always been inevitable. when something gains value it obviously attracts a lot of people with different goals.
- many see the price rise $$$ only
- many see that at first and then start learning more and see there is more to bitcoin than just its price (i am in this category)
- and some are obviously mostly into it for the technology.

i have always tried to tell others on the forum or in real life when they ask me about bitcoin that bitcoin is a currency first then an investment. and try my best to show them the other side of bitcoin and the $$$ it gives them.

Apart from sending money everywhere, do you think  we have achieved the other two aspects like instant and low fees money transfer??

the fact that after 8 years we are currently at a crossroad doesn't change the fact that bitcoin is instant and with low fees.

p.s. instant means when you send money to someone else it reaches them in about 5 seconds. the confirmation is a different story which is about 10 minutes on average.

[NeuroticFish]

Although you seem well intended, your views are unrealistic.

A world where you can buy anything using Bitcoin, from coffees to yatchs.

Do you know anybody that would accept to stay at least 20 minutes (and up to 3 days) in line to wait for his payment to get accepted and go home from the grocery store?

A world where you can get all the privacy you want.

Bitcoin is not as anonymous as many would think nor would like.

A world without banks.
A world without old currencies, that only create inflation.
A world where you pay only the taxes you wanna pay and not what you are forced to pay.

Governments will resist badly against these. They're goals very hard to achieve.
And you know that if you will not pay takes you'll need to pay for school, road access, and so on, even get your personal bodyguards since there will be no police (no funds).


Yes, Bitcoin is a very good way to transfer money between countries, evade taxation (although this will not last much longer), experiment a revolutionary way to see money / asset / value and public data storage. but most of the benefits you written about don't apply. Sorry.

And you forget the human greed. Anything that holds value attracts dreamers and speculators.

[Chikito]

This is amazing when you start to create a forum with your opinion, because when we assume that bitcoin as a medium of exchange, then bitcoin has value, and value is created because of usability. And I think that satoshi created bitcoin is deliberate to resemble fiat money and create bitcoin by removing some fiat weakness, not only that, where many values make bitcoin more expensive, such as gambling, trading, and some financial settlements with bitcoin and cryptocurrency .

[Gaaara]

That is so true, the one reason why there is a high payment for every transaction is because of bitcoin pumping, if the value of bitcoin is low then there will be a lower payment for transaction. Maybe Satoshi wouldn't have wanted this to happen but as a matter of fact it is one of the reason why bitcoin demands is growing more than any cryptocurrencies in the whole internet.

[vaccin]

It's still too early to discuss and believe that btc will replace the us dollar bill.
As it stands, after all these years, it's impossible to buy a coffee with btc, due to confirmation times.
Not to mention than the average Joe never heard of btc.
Also privacy cannot be accomplished with btc. This is an early misconception and uneducated people believes that.
There are a lot to be done to make this coin perfect, we might enjoy the ride till it goes mainstream.

[Snorek]

Satoshi was a visionary and genius but he wasn't a prophet, he couldn't possible know what bitcoin will became in the future.
Sometimes our creations evolve beyond our control and despite our initial plan. Reality will correct every plan.
Op, what do you ask of us? What can we do to preserve original Satoshi's vision? Give out our BTC to poor people?

[franky1]

Satoshi was a visionary and genius but he wasn't a prophet, he couldn't possible know what bitcoin will became in the future.
Sometimes our creations evolve beyond our control and despite our initial plan. Reality will correct every plan.
Op, what do you ask of us? What can we do to preserve original Satoshi's vision? Give out our BTC to poor people?

lol
probably easier to slap devs with a wet fish if they mess with the fee controls.... oh wait they have
probably easier to slap devs with a wet fish if they use bad code and empty promises that still only offer false hope of 7tx/s to avoid real onchain scaling... oh wait they have.

so maybe instead of just letting devs screw with bitcoin, and pretend bitcoin can survive without utility. we should be slapping devs more often

[bitbunnny]

Money makes the world go round, don't forget that. It's true that maybe at the begininig Bitcoin has engaged and gathered a lot of enthusiasts and visionaires but with time a lot of different people was attracted to Bitcoin with main purpose to get their share of profit and opportunity to make some money.
And I don't think this should necessary be wrong thought some would like to see more idealists.

[Red-Apple]

i say it is not such a bad thing if they come in for the money and stay for the technology.
but we as the community may have a lot of work to do.
for starters people should stop talking about "to the moon" aka "price to 1 jillion dollar" to newcommers when they ask what is bitcoin.
second stop just telling them bitcoin is cheap method of transferring money. at least for a while until this stupid block size debate reaches some conclusion! (hope that happens soon!)

[mrfreezeh]

I'm writing this post because I see it everywhere on this forum. People who just talk about Bitcoin pump(s), $ price, € price and so on... even most legendary members do it!


I think most Bitcoin users miss what Bitcoin really is and what Satoshi wanted it to be.
If you read the white paper, there's no mention about Bitcoin as a digital asset. Satoshi just wanted to create a payment system, a strong one and much better than the traditional ones.

But right now, Bitcoin is mainly considered as a digital asset, digital gold, just an investment tool to make (quick) profit. That's wrong, in my opinion.

I think Bitcoin users are raping Satoshi's original view, thinking only about BTC's value on exchanges.


What most don't understand is that Satoshi gave us a huge power. The power to destroy and make disappear forever the whole old banking system, other online payment systems like paypal and maybe governments too. Forever.

He gave us the power to decentralize everything using the blockchain technology. In short, Satoshi gave us the power the change the world for the better.


So why are you focusing only on Bitcoin's price on exchanges?


Imagine this.

A world where you can send money anywhere and to anyone in the world, instantly and with low fees.
A world where you can buy anything using Bitcoin, from coffees to yatchs.
A world where you can get all the privacy you want.
A world without banks.
A world without old currencies, that only create inflation.
A world where you pay only the taxes you wanna pay and not what you are forced to pay.


I think Satoshi's original view was very revolutionary.
A decentralized payment system and a deflationary currency. A real digital cash.


But now, Bitcoin has becomed just a digital asset. Maybe a toy for rich people to get even richer.
What's so revolutionary about it? The world is already full of assets and investment tool...


In short, Bitcoin lost most of its revolutionary appeal.

I strongly suggest you to change your consideration about Bitcoin. Now it's time to choose, because what we - as a community - decide now will influence all the future history of Bitcoin.


So, what do you prefer? A brick of gold or a better world?

First, thank you very much has spend your time for write it, this is a good thread and very detail!
Yeah, I think Bitcoin will change payment system on the world's in future. It will replace old system: Banks, Paypal, Visa... and become to a currency freedom, not managent by any country, anyone!

[Kakmakr]

The Anarchist label brought a lot of criticism from the general public. They do not care what the goals of Satoshi was for this technology. They will care once their financial freedom and privacy are influenced, but for now they are not experiencing it, so it is a non-issue for them.

The people from Greece have experienced first-hand what government corruption can bring and how involved banks are with these governments. You will always see more interest in alternatives technologies, when the original technology/entity misuse their power.

[Boseda]

I agree with your point. A nice perspective you have there.

Bitcoin, although originally created to change the banking system, has inflated itself in the last few years.

I mean, who and why wouldn't take the change to get profits out of the uprise of Btc?
Sure, the long term goal remains to change the banking system and aim for a better world, but while we are at it, is it wrong to make profits out of it?

Yes, we all like to make profits. But there's something more important than just make money.

We could and should do a revolution. We have the power to it.
It will be, maybe, the greatest revolution of all times: decentralized money, a monetary systems not owned and controlled by governments or banks. This is my dream, but it's sad bitcointalk community seem to stay here just waiting for an increase in Bitcoin price...

[27QVUTZj8rgZP1]

A world where you can send money anywhere and to anyone in the world, instantly and with low fees.
A world where you can buy anything using Bitcoin, from coffees to yatchs.
A world where you can get all the privacy you want.
A world without banks.
A world without old currencies, that only create inflation.
A world where you pay only the taxes you wanna pay and not what you are forced to pay.


I think Satoshi's original view was very revolutionary.
A decentralized payment system and a deflationary currency. A real digital cash.

You've just described Dash, which aims to be (real) digital cash.


Anyway, what the OP said makes sense. Bitcoin is going to the wrong direction, yet they do nothing.

What you feel when reading this page: https://bitcoin.org/en/innovation ? It feels like false advertising.

[qiman]

I agree, Bitcoin is not just a toll to generate wealth for the Whales. It has technology that may be able to solve many of the World's problems. I am more interested in the blockchain applications myself and my Wife is more the trader/asset manager. She just showed me a new a company that won an innovations award in the U.S as it wants to revolutionize healthcare in the world at large. It's projects like this that give me hope that the future might be bright because of blockchain technology and Bitcoin is the offshoot of that.