Oddbean new post about login | logout Altcoin Redux ------------ In a way, the ordinals scam is an excellent sign. Altcoins have long been associated with Bitcoin through the moniker of "crypto" and have used Bitcoin's good name to scam people through pump and dumps. But as we've seen, this narrative is no longer what it used to be. There are enough people that have recognized the pump and dump nature of altcoins as well as Bitcoin's continued rise that there's a distinction made in the peoples' minds between Bitcoin and altcoins. One is sound money, the other is fiat 2.0. The scam of altcoins, in other words, is starting to fade and the returns aren't like they used to be. That's why ordinals and BRC-20 are becoming more popular. There's little chance of escaping the "shitcoin" moniker by releasing a token on Ethereum or Solana now. The gulf between Bitcoin and altcoins is too wide and crossing that chasm, to scam newbies has become that much harder. But by releasing a token on Bitcoin, now there's a lot more room for confusion. They can claim to be supporting Bitcoin through fees while running the same scam. It's changing names and disguises so you don't get caught. This is the snake oil salesman leaving one town to get a bunch of suckers in the next town. But this is where we need to be even more diligent. The people that are scamming are picking up the verbiage of the people that know what they're talking about. They're going to scam people by looking and sounding like the real thing. They can talk about sound money, self-sovereignty and property rights and even sound pretty convincing doing it. Except, of course, that token they want you to buy. The time to separate the Bitcoiners from the Spamcoiners is now. They are running pump and dumps, just doing it with a new rationale like a new disguise and name. And they'll fool a bunch of people. Indeed, the people they seem to attract are the very people that pumped altcoins in the past. Altcoin-land is a scorched earth they've left behind and they want to run the same policies on "top of" Bitcoin. Don't let them take over. Reject these charlatans and shame them for their chicanery. And if you're someone that's throwing up their hands and saying there's nothing to be done, you're wrong. You can do something by calling these things out for what they are. They're scams and the faster they fail, the better it will be for Bitcoin. And as we saw with altcoins in the past, ignoring them doesn't make them go away. Calling them out and relentlessly exposing their grift is what's needed.
Happy New Year to you too . 🤣 While I don't think censoriship is the way to 'fix' this problem I also think it's prudent to recognize this as a deliberate attack on Bitcoin. But calling shitcoiners out didn't make them go away either, all it did is gave them a tool to use against us, twlling their followers to stay away from toxic Bitcoin maximalists and such. It's a dire problem but also a natural one. I plan to keep working on Bitcoin education, pinpointing the pointlessness of these spamtokens, but also keeping in mind that it's impossible to save people from their own stupidity.
After so many years of shouting from the rooftops it gets easy to stay quiet... but it's important that we don't. nostr:nevent1qqsxelem0qny9460xfxda0a7k59wfhntqw4kerrn3jqjgf5zkduy28gpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfdupzq7el0qph2p6x7325zw3zr7qfvhhvk600xz8jatga4zwv9jy396tgqvzqqqqqqy82urt8
This needs to be read as part of the daily reading diet on Nostr to keep reminding all..constantly..until it sinks in and Ordinals are no more. Sooner they are gone the better. Every time i read about them it evokes thoughts of those who are bankless, etc., and have began using Bitcoin. Like those in Africa and south America, only to be faced with crippling fees. Makes life even more difficult. ✌️
Altcoin Redux ------------ In a way, the ordinals scam is an excellent sign. Altcoins have long been associated with Bitcoin through the moniker of "crypto" and have used Bitcoin's good name to scam people through pump and dumps. But as we've seen, this narrative is no longer what it used to be. There are enough people that have recognized the pump and dump nature of altcoins as well as Bitcoin's continued rise that there's a distinction made in the peoples' minds between Bitcoin and altcoins. One is sound money, the other is fiat 2.0. The scam of altcoins, in other words, is starting to fade and the returns aren't like they used to be. That's why ordinals and BRC-20 are becoming more popular. There's little chance of escaping the "shitcoin" moniker by releasing a token on Ethereum or Solana now. The gulf between Bitcoin and altcoins is too wide and crossing that chasm, to scam newbies has become that much harder. But by releasing a token on Bitcoin, now there's a lot more room for confusion. They can claim to be supporting Bitcoin through fees while running the same scam. It's changing names and disguises so you don't get caught. This is the snake oil salesman leaving one town to get a bunch of suckers in the next town. But this is where we need to be even more diligent. The people that are scamming are picking up the verbiage of the people that know what they're talking about. They're going to scam people by looking and sounding like the real thing. They can talk about sound money, self-sovereignty and property rights and even sound pretty convincing doing it. Except, of course, that token they want you to buy. The time to separate the Bitcoiners from the Spamcoiners is now. They are running pump and dumps, just doing it with a new rationale like a new disguise and name. And they'll fool a bunch of people. Indeed, the people they seem to attract are the very people that pumped altcoins in the past. Altcoin-land is a scorched earth they've left behind and they want to run the same policies on "top of" Bitcoin. Don't let them take over. Reject these charlatans and shame them for their chicanery. And if you're someone that's throwing up their hands and saying there's nothing to be done, you're wrong. You can do something by calling these things out for what they are. They're scams and the faster they fail, the better it will be for Bitcoin. And as we saw with altcoins in the past, ignoring them doesn't make them go away. Calling them out and relentlessly exposing their grift is what's needed.
This needs to be read as part of the daily reading diet on Nostr to keep reminding all..constantly..until it sinks in and Ordinals are no more. Sooner they are gone the better. Every time i read about them it evokes thoughts of those who are bankless, etc., and have began using Bitcoin. Like those in Africa and south America, only to be faced with crippling fees. Makes life even more difficult. #Bitcoin
we'll said @jimmysong critical thinking is the fundamental basic skill requirement for a successful generation, and your writings are helping me hone it. thanks for what you are doing