I am here to remind you that you don’t have enough #bitcoin
Why should you use bitcoin?
February 22, 2014 by
Here’s why you would want to get your hands on some bitcoin and start using it now, while its fate is still uncertain:
Use bitcoin if you don’t like being told what you can and can’t do with your money.
Use bitcoin if you don’t like being told who and where you can send your money to.
Use bitcoin if you like the idea of being able to use services online without having to reveal your personal information or email.
Use bitcoin if you don’t like buying stuff and having to trust the merchant to keep your credit card information safe.
Use bitcoin if you think it is silly that a merchant can charge your credit card the wrong amount, or accidentally double charge, or worse.
Use bitcoin if you like the idea that nobody, for any reason, justified or not, can freeze or confiscate your assets.
Use bitcoin if you don’t like paying large fees when transferring money.
Use bitcoin if you are saving money for your retirement. Unlike government money it isn’t guaranteed to lose 95% or more of its value in your lifetime.
Use bitcoin if you want to help make sure it survives the battle with Visa, Western Union, JP Morgan, HSBC and friends.
Use bitcoin if you want to always have access to your money no matter where you are on earth.
Use bitcoin if you feel government has a bit too much power or abuses it. Take some of that power back into your own hands. If government currency has less of a monopoly, government can’t just print more money whenever it wants to, to pay for things citizens don’t agree with.
Use bitcoin if you want choice. Don’t let it die from neglect.
Use bitcoin if your life savings are all pegged to your government’s currency. Don’t keep your eggs all in one basket. Or buy some gold.
Thoughts about what bitcoin is
June 23, 2013 by
Here are some not very organized thoughts about Bitcoin that won’t fit in tweets, but that I think are food for thought still worth publishing.
What is Bitcoin? It is the world’s most secure and fair way for storing and exchanging value.
Think about the money you make and any wealth you accumulate. Is it safe from bank fees, restrictions of various kinds, safe from being taken away from you unfairly by the government (not counting income taxes and sales taxes and other everyday government policies we typically participate in), being stolen by thieves, lost by bank errors, accidents, taken by unfair court order, seized, etc?
Bitcoin is like “the Internet of money”. It cannot be stopped, it is worldwide, it has real value, and it is not controlled by one or more governments and manipulated by banks, the nobility, politicians, intelligence agencies, organized crime, etc. It is a breakthrough in mathematics and computer science, and builds upon other amazing breakthroughs like public-key cryptography and peer-to-peer networking protocols.
Think of bitcoin as a new possession/wealth recognition system. There are 4 such systems I can think of today not including bitcoin:
- Fiat currency, which means money that is issued by government and also legal tender, which means legally it must be accepted by the citizens of the country for exchanging goods/services. This is what you get paid with by your employer, this is what you have in your wallet, bank account, etc. Every country uses one or more. The Euro, US$, Yen, Rupiahs, etc.
- Deeds to properties/land. You have one of these, it is recognized by your country and citizens, and this way everyone knows you own something. Of course, if your country is invaded, the invaders can ignore this.
- Legal agreements, promise documents, verbal promises to pay back, etc. between people.
- Precious metals.
Much of the above can fall apart when everything isn’t smoothly running.
Bitcoin is a new, 5th possession/wealth recognition system, not based on trust, but rather, mathematics and encryption (under the covers, you don’t need to know how it works) to assign value to you (in “bitcoins”). That value assigned to you cannot be taken from you by anyone. Governments, intelligence agencies, thieves, etc. When you send bitcoin to someone, the operation cannot be reversed. There are no banks involved, no fees necessary to make transactions, and your bitcoins exist worldwide as long as the internet exists. If you keep your private key in your mind, then only torture can extract it. Torture, blackmail, or a compromised device (such as a compromised Android phone you enter your private keys into).
With bitcoin, your wealth is not hanging by a thread which can be easily cut by the whim of courts, governments, thieves, banks, etc. It is international, it doesn’t depend on the value of the $US dollar, or the stability of a few countries. Solid stuff.
You can think of bitcoin as “digital gold”. Its value is based on supply/demand (purely, because supply cannot be manipulated artificially, like a country “printing more money” as needed). Gold, but with all the advantages of being digital… speed, micro-transactions, security, etc.
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