Most people in Bitcoin don’t care about tech they care about not being poor

[Mr:Gabby]

This might upset some people but I’ll say it honestly.

Most people in Bitcoin don’t actually care about decentralization, nodes, block size, or censorship resistance.

They care about money.

We like to act philosophical in public:
“Future of finance”
“Bank the unbanked”
“Freedom money”

But privately?
We’re checking “when moon” and calculating how to quit our jobs.

I’m not attacking Bitcoin. I’m attacking the hypocrisy in the community (including myself).

In the last bull market, did most people run nodes?
Or did most people just open Binance and stare at charts?

If price went sideways forever, would 90% of the community still be here talking about hash rate and mempools?

Let’s be real: If Bitcoin never made people rich, this forum wouldn’t be this active.

So I’m curious: Do you think this space is full of true believers…
Or people motivated by escape from poverty?

No hate  just truth.

[FortuneFollower]

Bitcoin wouldn't get to where it is now price wise if it wasn't good enough for it from the technical and idea-wise standpoint.

So your argument has an answer in itself - it's just like that, and it won't change, the BTC price and the demand, I mean

[Omj1014]

I think the technical configuration of Bitcoin is perfect judging from the fact that it has stood the test of time, the fact that people don't care about the nodes those not really matter...

That aside, about the decentralization of Bitcoin I think most people care about that, most people don't want the government in charge of Bitcoin, because there is high chance that it might get centralized.

Apart from any other reason the fact that Bitcoin is an asset is  the reason why its been this relevant world wide, so you cant blame investors for having there minds fixed on the monetary aspect.

[Stalker22]

The fact is that you are not criticizing hypocrisy; you are simply describing human nature.  Of course, the majority of Bitcoiners are going to treat it as an exit from the relentless fact of fiat devaluation.  they care about the money, period.  They are not reading white papers; they are reading price feeds.

But guess what? Thats a good thing!  Bitcoin accomplishes its philosophical ends through pure self‑interest.  It doesnt need 100 percent of its users to take a side in an ideological fight.  It just needs people to care about their money.

So, yeah, a lot of people are in it to get out of a hole.  And thats exactly why it is working right now.  Seriously, do you think some coin based only on ideas, with no chance to make money, would last a second against a motivated government?

[JiiBs]

This might upset some people but I’ll say it honestly.

Most people in Bitcoin don’t actually care about decentralization, nodes, block size, or censorship resistance.

They care about money.

So I’m curious: Do you think this space is full of true believers…
Or people motivated by escape from poverty?

No hate  just truth.

Your curiosity might just not be in the wrong place but I’ll tell you this for a fact, it is until it is not. When you first come into Bitcoin, the tech is hardly the first place you start, you don’t wait until you are completely knowledgeable on what the tech is before you begin investing.
Making money might be the push but, when you have taken the first step to learn the basics, understand what you could about the tech would be the next thing. You don’t want to earn or build some crypto wealth only to loose it all.

[Distinctin]

Well that's the very reason why people stick with bitcoin, they just want to take the biggest advantage with bitcoin which is making profits. If there are no profits involved in bitcoin, I don't think people will care about that. Though they might try studying it for a while, but we can't expect to spend some sleepless nights with bitcoin if they can't also make profits from it.

Let's face it, everyone is here for money, knowing the technology is just an option. And the demand for bitcoin will continuously grow as long as there is greater amount of profits involved.

[Agbamoni]

So I’m curious: Do you think this space is full of true believers…

Trusting Bitcoin alone because of the belief in long-term profit is enough.

Choosing Bitcoin over other assets, especially physical assets, is enough

They dont have to know the technical side of Bitcoin before they become true believers.

[Vaculin]

We are living in a world of survival, if you don't make extra efforts and go out from your safe zone, you will never live and survive. Now in order to live, you need a consistent flow of income, and here's bitcoin that is giving us a room for learning and making profits. If you don't maximize the opportunity that bitcoin has for us, we will never benefit from it. That is why don't question why the people are here for money and profits, technology alone won't save them from poverty.

[terrific]

The early investors will justify it that they were in it for the 'tech'.
I bet you've heard that not just once but so many times. I also have believed it myself that I have invested for the tech.
But eventually, it's all about the potential profits that we can make from investing in it.
And anytime that there is money involved, it's all about potentiality of making money whether we say it to the others or not.

[Sanitough]

What do you expect? Everyone is here to gain advantage and make profits, so its never new to us to seize the opportunity to be in profits rather than to keep updated with the technology.

Bitcoin is created to gain financial freedom and stability, so we should work on that.

[Darker45]

To a certain standard, we're all hypocrites. And you aren't the first one to honestly speak out on this. It's just that this community we're part of is fast becoming a sort of a religion and so hypocrisy is quite apparent. There are those who proclaim to be Bitcoin maxis yet end up supporting shitcoins, building centralized apps, requiring KYC, and so on. There are those who strongly argue that 1BTC is 1BTC regardless of its fiat equivalent but make decisions based on Bitcoin's price.

If you're looking for irony, you'll find a lot. But it isn't that dishonorable to prioritize not being poor. And if Bitcoin saves them from that situation, that'd be great. I'm sure Satoshi will be happy knowing that his/her/their creation somehow protected people from non-stop fiat devaluation.

[fuguebtc]

Well that's the very reason why people stick with bitcoin, they just want to take the biggest advantage with bitcoin which is making profits. If there are no profits involved in bitcoin, I don't think people will care about that. Though they might try studying it for a while, but we can't expect to spend some sleepless nights with bitcoin if they can't also make profits from it.

I believe that if Bitcoin is only used for its original purpose, which is solely as a peer to peer currency and does not generate profit. It would never have received the attention and popularity it has today.

Or if, in the coming years, it becomes stable and no longer generates huge profits. I wouldn't be surprised if many people leave and look for an alternative investment.

Let's face it, everyone is here for money, knowing the technology is just an option. And the demand for bitcoin will continuously grow as long as there is greater amount of profits involved.

The harsh truth is that it’s all about money, but not many people dare to admit it. In most discussions and conversations, they will try to talk more about the technology and philosophy of Bitcoin, but in reality, what they care about is the price of Bitcoin and the profit they will receive from it.

[OcTradism]

Most people in Bitcoin don’t actually care about decentralization, nodes, block size, or censorship resistance.

They care about money.

We like to act philosophical in public:
“Future of finance”
“Bank the unbanked”
“Freedom money”

But privately?
We’re checking “when moon” and calculating how to quit our jobs.

I’m not attacking Bitcoin. I’m attacking the hypocrisy in the community (including myself).

It is true about market participants but by ignoring very important basic steps before beginning like learning, practicing with testnet, wallet creation, backup, recover on testnet, they truly took very high risk as without these basic but vital, they will not be able to hold bitcoin.

It is worse and more terrible as they will be attracted to altcoins which are worse than Bitcoin, and lack of many good fundamentals, so they will lose most or all money with altcoins.

Do research about Bitcoin, altcoins, aware of their big and opposite differences and risk to their money, they will self-protect their capital against loss with altcoins, and can have opportunity to get profit with Bitcoin.

Starting with empty knowledge but with risky actions, they will have not happy endings later.

[Rruchi man]

Let’s be real: If Bitcoin never made people rich, this forum wouldn’t be this active.

If there was another benefit aside from the potential to make people rich, people would still care about it because actually people care more about the benefits that Bitcoin could offer them, and it just happens to be the case for Bitcoin that the benefit is the potential to become rich from it. Not everyone is conversant with tech, so many people will try not to concern themselves with the technical side of bitcoins, and to me that is okay.

It has happened for some people that their concern for becoming rich through bitcoins pushes them into deep understanding of the technology behind it as they continue in it; for some others, it doesn't because deep technical knowledge is not always a requirement to be rich from bitcoins—you mostly need understanding of the basic concepts.

[CryptoATM]

The truth is that, not everyone should be involved in the technical process of bitcoin and I think the success of the project is as a result of the collective effort of everyone and just so you know that, we have the miners, the traders, the holders and the rest of them and they all collectively make bitcoin functional.

The forum is a versatile place and I understand when you say that, there’re hypocrites because not everyone typically lives the life they portray on here but that doesn’t mean everyone is doing same.

[Outhue]

Finally, Bitcoin is the only thing that can make me very rich, how is this a bad thing OP?
Banks use my money in my bank account to enrich themselves.
Governments have taken advantage of me, lying that they can help but it was to take advantage of me.
I have always gotten used and dump by anything and everything that promised to help financially.
Bitcoin is the only thing that has worked, tell me OP, how is this a bad thing?

The techy side of Bitcoin is not for everyone, many people don't even know how to run Bitcoin Node or set up an asic miner to the pool and start mining Bitcoin, must they really do this? the answer is no, people don't have to know everything about Bitcoin, buying and holding Bitcoin the right way is all that matters to many and it is fine..

[Zlantann]

No hate  just truth.

Your definition of true believers will affect my response. Are Bitcoin believers only those who run nodes and have nothing to do with centralisation? Bitcoin believers use Bitcoin in different ways. Someone who buys Bitcoin and decides to keep it for a long time and has plans to sell it in the future for profit believes in it. You are not wrong that the biggest attraction to Bitcoin is profit, but your definition of true believers is flawed. Choosing Bitcoin as an asset in the face of many others shows that you believe it's a good investment. If the price of gold drops drastically, many people will sell off. This forum has been active since Bitcoin's price was low; it will still function no matter what happens.

[henry_of_skalitz]

The truth is that, not everyone should be involved in the technical process of bitcoin and I think the success of the project is as a result of the collective effort of everyone and just so you know that, we have the miners, the traders, the holders and the rest of them and they all collectively make bitcoin functional.

The forum is a versatile place and I understand when you say that, there’re hypocrites because not everyone typically lives the life they portray on here but that doesn’t mean everyone is doing same.

Everybody who uses BTC in one way or another is a Bitcoiner, imo, we can categorize or try to do it, but in a way, if you do something with BTC - you are already adopting it to being used one way or another, by hodling, buying, or using it for services (the best way, of course, adoption-wise).

[Rikafip]

This might upset some people but I’ll say it honestly.

Most people in Bitcoin don’t actually care about decentralization, nodes, block size, or censorship resistance.

You won't upset anyone as its a well known fact.

To be honest, when I heard about bitcoin for the very first time somewhere in the late 2013, I didn't care about any of those things neither. The main reason why I joined is that I heard you could make money via your PC, and since I was a gamer with a high end gaming PC, it seemed to me like a great way to earn some money back that I spent on it. Later I realized there's more to bitcoin than just a chance for profit.

So I’m curious: Do you think this space is full of true believers…

It used to be, at the beginnings when bitcoin was a thing known only among handful of cypherphunks.

[nemesis_incarnate]

What do you expect? Everyone is here to gain advantage and make profits, so its never new to us to seize the opportunity to be in profits rather than to keep updated with the technology.

Bitcoin is created to gain financial freedom and stability, so we should work on that.

It's also about having an alternative to the systems of today at all.

With how things are tightening up, it becomes more and more clear how BTC (and overall crypto with some of the pro-anonymity coins) can make us disappear from the radars to some degree at least.