Oddbean

Bitcoin Parallelists have existed since the beginning of Bitcoin and they come in many different forms. The root animating thinking is that Bitcoin cannot be good enough at face value, and that something needs to be added to Bitcoin to make it “correct” or “more useful”. One example of this poisonous thinking is the idea that an identity layer needs to be added to Bitcoin. This is obviously insane to actual Bitcoiners, but there are people who cannot conceive of life without having the ability to track and trace and identify themselves with a government piece of paper on demand. This toxic thinking was behind the BIP to add an identity layer “An identity layer does not add anything to the Bitcoin protocol; its a political, superfluous addition, that is parochial and toxic.” https://x.com/search?q=bitcoin%20%22identity%22%20layer%20from%3A%40beautyon_&src=typed_query&f=top Take a look at this: "What is needed is an optional identity layer — a Bitcoin Assigned Custodial Identities Authority, much like the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, to oversee global Custodial Identity allocation. Such an authority delegates Custodial Identity Spaces to Regional Bitcoin Custodial Identity Registries, much like the RIRs (Regional Internet Registries) managing the allocation of Internet number resources." https://lists.linuxfoundation.org/pipermail/bitcoin-dev/2014-August/006555.html Shocking. Imagine having to spend the rest of your life refuting and defending against this garbage. It's unthinkable...hellish. The analogy to Money, the ultimate toxic poison in “Bitcoiner” thinking, takes the legacy financial system as the gospel and “how things get done”, and believes, quite erroneously, that Bitcoin must copy feature for feature and institution for institution everything found in the legacy system, and of course that includes “identity”. This “thinking” leaves out the facts of Bitcoin; that it is… • A database and not money • Identify in the legacy system was and is a necessity because that system emerged from pre internet / cryptography world • Western ways of thinking about the utility of anything is not a universally applicable standard to be forced on everyone on Earth Similar to this bad thinking is the idea that the only way Bitcoin can exist is by coexistence. This is absolutely false, and many industries throughout history demonstrate it. No one asserted that the ice delivery industry should coexist with domestic electric refrigerators and neither did anyone think that the horse and cart needs to coexist with the motorcar. Or electric stoves with open fires. The “Bitcoin get along gang” are fundamentally anti-Bitcoin. They don’t accept the truth; that fiat money is a criminal enterprise stealing from the most vulnerable people on earth to the richest. Choosing coexisting with evil is evil, and this is why Dollarizers and Dollar Idolaters are evil and anti-Bitcoin. Thankfully, all of these people and their bad ideas will be wiped out. Bitcoin is powerful enough to do this, because by its action it exerts influence on the user, just as WhatsApp exerts influence on users to refrain from sending messages by SMS. No conscious thought is required for this to happen (in fact, not thinking is a prerequisite) it just happens because people gravitate to what is cheaper and faster. One people get Bitcoin into their hands in the correct way, meaning an Ethical Bitcoin wallet (Wallet of Satoshi, Samourai Wallet, Breez, Muun, Bluewallet, Green Address, BitKey) then the side effects will simply emerge, if they can get Bitcoin easily, and this will happen because Bitcoin Wallets create demand for Bitcoin simply by being installed... https://medium.com/@beautyon_/bitcoin-adoption-and-conway-s-game-of-life-54ca71db7b88 And don't bother trying to surveill everyone with your "identity on Bitcoin" Statism. It will not change the outcome... https://medium.com/@beautyon_/bitcoin-surveillance-an-ahistoric-market-error-d3871f671c8c Purveyors of bad ideas will never vanish; this is why Bitcoin had to be written. It puts money beyond the reach of bad people and their bad ideas, whether they are well meaning and innocently suggested or not. Every generation of men is essentially a blank slate onto which bad ideas can be imposed. That's why there are Marxists in 2024, and even 60 year old Marxists, because some people are incapable of learning and are stubborn. Bitcoin stops these people from being able to destroy, and prevents future generations from being able to destroy. Time and events will strengthen Bitcoin's position, and the idea of believing in Bitcoin and understanding Bitcoin's value will seem the most natural state of affairs. You will come to defend Bitcoin with a fervor based upon the most enduring trait in man: self-interest. Isn't it exciting? https://x.com/Beautyon_/status/1843959576712151203