I think Bitcoin has a bigger problem than explaining how it works

[KaneMayfield]

I've been involved in Bitcoin for years, and one thing I keep coming back to is the difference between explaining Bitcoin and giving someone a reason to actually care.

21 million hard stop. Proof of work. Decentralization. Self-custody.

All important. None of them necessarily means anything to somebody who goes to work, comes home, pays bills, and has no interest in spending their evenings studying monetary policy. I like doing that, but im probably weird

I wrote a novel partly because I hoped it would be a better way to have that conversation with people who aren't already interested.

The book is really good if anyone is interested in it.

But the larger question is this: what actually makes someone care about sound money?

I don't think "number go up" is enough. I've watched people abandon things they believed in when the financial incentive disappeared.

What gave you your reason to care about Bitcoin beyond the price?

[JaanusRaim]

For me, Bitcoin is a finger pointing at the Moon.
Bitcoin’s primary contribution lies in the fact that it proved that cryptocurrencies (the shares of reputation in electronical form) are possible - technologically, economically, politically.
However, the true potential of cryptocurrencies remains undiscovered. Yes, I dare say that we haven’t seen true crypto yet.

[Livingleged]

I don't think "number go up" is enough. I've watched people abandon things they believed in when the financial incentive disappeared.

What gave you your reason to care about Bitcoin beyond the price?

For bitcoin I don’t think it’s the price really matters, just because 1BTC is simply 1BTC and nothing changes, sure the 21m total supply is a factor that make bitcoin worth more. The fact that we know it has limitations and more cannot just be created will eventually make it scarce in the future. This is enough reason to care about bitcoin.

Also, the other features you listed above like the decentralized nature, self custody, and the freedom you get when you make transactions across countries without the involvement of any government authority is the another reason I care about bitcoin and not just its price value.

[Botnake]

What gave you your reason to care about Bitcoin beyond the price?

Financial freedom from centralized banks and government, and of course financial stability that I think bitcoin is highly capable of making us one. Its not about the current price of bitcoin, but more likely the future value of bitcoin especially when everyone else is buying, saving or spending bitcoin.

However, we can't stop those people who instantly like bitcoin because of its impressive price. But later on, they will realized that its not the price that made them hooked into it, but its the utility case and technology itself that keeps people wanting bitcoin.

[KiaKia]

You sound hurt.

Anyways, I go to work everyday and comes back home and open my laptop to stay updated about Bitcoin related news then do some trading if that's the day I want to trade.

Once I get my paycheck I use all to buy Bitcoin, you want to ask why?
My Bitcoin wallet is my Bank and own the key, I care about Bitcoin.

You saying that no one cares is beyond me, many people do cares, if anyone wants to know my worth they will have to find any Bitcoin wallet address and good luck with that because no KYC is linked to my address.

If what Bitcoin has to offer isn't useful for anyone then the problem is them, by the way, I use this so called sound money to fill up my gas, restock food in the house,  shop online and many more.

If you don't get it, forget about it then.

[pooya87]

But the larger question is this: what actually makes someone care about sound money?

I think the question we need to answer first is: does it matter?

We are not looking for getting everyone on board. After all, we cannot force people to change.
Bitcoin is "freedom money" or as I like to call it: the exit. Those who want to have financial sovereignty are going to benefit from Bitcoin and those who want to remain slaves of the oligarchy will continue living like that.

We can and probably should continue introducing it to others the right way (as the decentralized censorship resistant money not some investment to get rich) but shouldn't kill ourselves trying to convince them! It's a choice they should make.

What gave you your reason to care about Bitcoin beyond the price?

Price is not a separate thing. When you call bitcoin "sound money" you are saying it is a store of value therefore its price has to go up since fiat keeps dumping due to inflation.

[d5000]

All important. None of them necessarily means anything to somebody who goes to work, comes home, pays bills, and has no interest in spending their evenings studying monetary policy.

I'll try an optimist take on this:

It now still doesn't mean anything to most people, but that may change in the future.

Currently, Bitcoin is too volatile, people fear crashes. The merchant network is too thin. Even now when we see frequently less than 1 sat/vbyte, due to some spikes, the fees are sometimes too high if you don't use second layers, and don't want to wait with your payment. People also struggle with the question "self-custody or not"? Self-custody is challenging.

For some of these things there are technical solutions (layer 2's, for example). For the volatility question in particular, which is in my opinion the main problem currently, the solution is increased liquidity, and volatility is actually declining. The merchant network will probably grow if volatility reduces further and scalability improves. This could lead to a virtuous cycle.

What gave you your reason to care about Bitcoin beyond the price?

Two years ago I started to compile answers to exactly that question in the German subforum. Just translate the thread, AI shouldn't have problems with that. The most interesting answers range from the well known characteristics you already mentioned, reasons related to economics (e.g. efficiency of the economic system), others related to human rights (democracy activism), and even the advancement of science.

One more reason with "real life relevancy" that just occurred to me when thinking about it: Banks are increasingly far away from the customers, local branch offices close, and so if you have any problem with your account you've to deal with the support system, which can raise fears due to loss of control. With Bitcoin, you are always close to your money and control it.

[Antidote47k]

People often don’t recognize the value of something until they experience the problem it was designed to solve. The average working man earns his salary into his bank, make payments and life goes on, they might have heard about bitcoin but they haven’t given it much thought simply because for them it might seem unnecessary or abstract. This thinking or perception can change when they start facing some of those issues bitcoin was designed to address,
when bank freezes their account or restrict access to their money,
when government imposes restrictions on moving money,
when country’s currency starts losing purchasing power,
when they need to send money accross to other countries and then face restrictions and expensive intermediaries and then all of a sudden it hits them, they start to understand the value having an alternative currency that is decentralized and trustless.

Fact is, you can’t force anyone to care about bitcoin, the best you can do is inform them, they have to see value in it before they can care about it. Bitcoins value is easier to understand when someone faces the limitations of the financial system they currently depend on and I think that’s essentially what bitcoin is, an alternative to the current financial system.

[Kelward]

What gave you your reason to care about Bitcoin beyond the price?

Financial freedom from centralized banks and government, and of course financial stability that I think bitcoin is highly capable of making us one. Its not about the current price of bitcoin, but more likely the future value of bitcoin especially when everyone else is buying, saving or spending bitcoin.

However, we can't stop those people who instantly like bitcoin because of its impressive price. But later on, they will realized that its not the price that made them hooked into it, but its the utility case and technology itself that keeps people wanting bitcoin.

For many newcomers Bitcoin price is their major interest, they heard that Bitcoin rose from nothing and increased beyond $100k although the price is bellow that mark now but it has potentials to reach a new ATH so you cannot isolate profit from the interest of the majority of Bitcoin holders. For them privacy and freedom are secondary matters, they don't mind ETFs and CEX which are centralized they want to hold Bitcoin like a stock basically for profit.

Some of us sees beyond these layer which is profit that I believe attracts majority to Bitcoin investment, we see Bitcoin as a financial freedom from centralized authorities, when our Bitcoin is in none custodial wallets we have a total control of it, it is a store of value and a hedge against inflation for fiat. I got attracted first to Bitcoin because of it's profit then I began to see it beyond just an asset like a stock, like I said Bitcoin is financial freedom for those who value privacy.

[Somegory]

None of them necessarily means anything to somebody who goes to work, comes home, pays bills, and has no interest in spending their evenings studying monetary policy. I like doing that, but im probably weird

You should speak for yourself only because many people who works and pay bills are hardcore Bitcoin investors, I am one of them, and just because I have my own bills to pay or salary to earn doesn't mean I should be blind.

I have few family members who don't care and they failed to listen because they are the most educated one among us all and they are regretting today for not getting into Bitcoin earlier on.

It's their loss not mine, I think they underestimated Bitcoin because the advice came from me, you know, I am less educated and why would I be lecturing those who are more educated than I am? It pisses them off.

[Bryan jessy]

None of them necessarily means anything to somebody who goes to work, comes home, pays bills, and has no interest in spending their evenings studying monetary policy. I like doing that, but im probably weird

You should speak for yourself only because many people who works and pay bills are hardcore Bitcoin investors, I am one of them, and just because I have my own bills to pay or salary to earn doesn't mean I should be blind.

I have few family members who don't care and they failed to listen because they are the most educated one among us all and they are regretting today for not getting into Bitcoin earlier on.

It's their loss not mine, I think they underestimated Bitcoin because the advice came from me, you know, I am less educated and why would I be lecturing those who are more educated than I am? It pisses them off.

I understand how it feels when you try to share something beneficial to your loved ones but because of their class they underestimate your abilities, it is never your lose you tried your best and trust me now they will respect you and regret ever disregarding your opinion, at times people with higher educational qualifications are the ones who fear Bitcoin investment the more even with their level of qualification, what happens to making a research, because they have already seen it as something that Is not reliable that is why it is difficult to convince them to adopt. Though some persons in this category who venture outside their qualification are into Bitcoin today and they are doing just fine, some people who works still have Bitcoin in their possession, of course people are different not everyone believes the same thing.

[Gaza13]

I don’t think you need to convince anyone with your own understanding of this asset people differ in how they view Bitcoin. I believe many successful entrepreneurs have shared their life stories by writing books whether they’ve channeled their wealth into specific assets and we ought to learn from that. Ultimately, it comes down to the individual you don’t need to go to the lengths of writing a novel to convince someone about Bitcoin I think that’s just a waste of time. Let them come to their own realization about how the world works.

Most likely, a person values ​​having stable funds which can provide them with peace of mind and immediate accessibility over investments that they perceive as detrimental, especially since they have frequently seen or heard of others suffering losses through such investments. The reason I care about Bitcoin is that I am fascinated by its technology, its limited supply, and how it functions this is what gives me the conviction to purchase it on a regular, monthly basis for the long term.

[dzungmobile]

For many newcomers Bitcoin price is their major interest, they heard that Bitcoin rose from nothing and increased beyond $100k although the price is bellow that mark now but it has potentials to reach a new ATH so you cannot isolate profit from the interest of the majority of Bitcoin holders.

With any reason, if it actually brings new users to Bitcoin market, it's good. New comers with actual fresh capital means a new force for the market to rise higher. It's very basic in supply and demand principle, with a balance between them skewed towards demand and buyers, price will receive very good and even strong support, with buying force lifting the price upwards.

For them privacy and freedom are secondary matters, they don't mind ETFs and CEX which are centralized they want to hold Bitcoin like a stock basically for profit.

They might start without attention on privacy, freedom, full control, no censorship that Bitcoin blockchain gives them, but with time, they can learn and understand further about these things. Then they will realize how good Bitcoin is, and believe more in Bitcoin future.

Start to learn very basics with The bullish case for Bitcoin.

[Die_empty]

I've been involved in Bitcoin for years, and one thing I keep coming back to is the difference between explaining Bitcoin and giving someone a reason to actually care.

21 million hard stop. Proof of work. Decentralization. Self-custody.

All important. None of them necessarily means anything to somebody who goes to work, comes home, pays bills, and has no interest in spending their evenings studying monetary policy. I like doing that, but im probably weird

Most of them are burdened with financial problems that they focus more on how to make more money. Only a few people care about privacy or freedom from government control. This is why more people buy Bitcoin during the bull market.

I wrote a novel partly because I hoped it would be a better way to have that conversation with people who aren't already interested.

Only a few people are interested in reading financial books. Maybe you could convert it to a short video. Videos on social media seem to get more views than books. Some authors have Bitcoin educational videos on YouTube that simplify Bitcoin education. 

What gave you your reason to care about Bitcoin beyond the price?

I have always desired to hide my financial transactions from the public. Bitcoin offers the opportunity to live a financially private life. 

[slaman29]

But why focus on the things that don't give normal people a normal reason to use Bitcoin? I mean look around the world and ask people who can't use Visa or Paypal or whatever if they would use an alternative. A resounding yes would come.

I'm blocked by all my banks in my country (personal financial issue) and can't buy anything online except locally.

Until Bitcoin.

Is that a problem? I don't need to know how it works.

[Darker45]

Quite frankly, Bitcoin is a luxury. To many others, it's simply irrelevant.

To somebody who's spending day and night making ends meet, it's a big waste of time studying about, comparing, and analyzing the current monetary system and an alternative system. It doesn't bring food to the table, nor will it pay the bills, or send children to school, or fix the leak in the roof, or whatever.

Secondly, there's no point looking for an alternative currency that protects the value of the currency everybody's using when they don't even have enough of it. If one's money runs out before the next payday, and even before all the needs are bought, there's no point looking for ways to save it.

As for me, honestly, what gave me the reason to care about Bitcoin is that I have the luxury of time and, therefore, money to care about it, to realize the pointlessness of the fiat system, to appreciate what the alternative offers. As to most of my neighbor, Bitcoin bakes no bread.

Quite ironically, those at the top of society, those who benefit the most from fiat, those who have a big say as to the overall direction and well-being of the country are exactly the ones who have a big reason to care about Bitcoin. That is, if they care about everybody else.

[The Cryptovator]

All important. None of them necessarily means anything to somebody who goes to work, comes home, pays bills, and has no interest in spending their evenings studying monetary policy. I like doing that, but im probably weird

But the larger question is this: what actually makes someone care about sound money?

What gave you your reason to care about Bitcoin beyond the price?

As human beings, we don’t move without benefit, although we don't always consider financial benefit, but there must be some other benefits. Like you are sitting with your fiends, because you feel comfortable and happy, that’s your benefit there and that’s why you are interested to sit with them. Unless there are financial benefits, then no one will move on to Bitcoin.

Besides price going up, another financial benefit is we can receive and send money worldwide without any third-party involvement. That’s also a big interest in Bitcoin. I have been earning online through Bitcoin payments; that’s another reason to become interested in Bitcoin besides the price going up.

[Jubilee58]

What gave you your reason to care about Bitcoin beyond the price?

Bitcoin was created to solve a major financial change that was confronting people in their various societies, and that is decentralization. The authority that the government has over fiat currency never favoured the society or users in any way, and that is what give room to fiat currency depreciation, and also cause inflation in our various countries. Before the introduction of Bitcoin, you have to visit the bank first before you make any financial transactions, and you don't even do that on weekends or public holidays, besides the bank can equally decide how you should withdraw your fund, but Bitcoin has eliminated all those errors, and challenges we face making use of fiat currency.

With Bitcoin, one can execute transactions to any part of the world in your own convenience, and the transaction fee is relatively low compared to traditional currencies, and this makes it a perfect digital currency for cross border transaction.
However, Bitcoin is an asset of value which is as a result of it's limited supply, and high demand.

[AprilioMP]

I think Bitcoin has a bigger problem than explaining how it works

There's no problem with Bitcoin; the problem lies in the people who want it and don't yet have it.

What gave you your reason to care about Bitcoin beyond the price?

Hedge against fiat currencies is my reason for wanting to know why I care about Bitcoin. For now, the price is my reason for wanting to keep Bitcoin, fueling my desire to keep trying to find a way to keep Bitcoin in my wallet. If the current price is considered low, that's not a problem, and in fact, it's an advantage in itself.

[Marvelockg]

All important. None of them necessarily means anything to somebody who goes to work, comes home, pays bills, and has no interest in spending their evenings studying monetary policy. I like doing that, but im probably weird

Regardless how engaging your work schedule is, if you are someone that is passionate about new knowledge, you will find time and a way of learning things you are ignorant of. What is too difficult about concept like bitcoin having 21 million maximum supply or what Proof of work is or what is meant by Decentralization and Self-custody? with AI, you just need to know how to give it a good prompt and within a day you can get all the basic knowledge on each of this concept.

If you are a ready, you will understand that people read way more complicated stuff just for knowledge sake and not that they are interested in toeing that part. this is even of an advantage because you are learning a thing that can make your life more better if you apply the knowledge in the right way.