Oddbean

Most bitcoin explanations are cringe af. Listen to me. Bitcoin is a database, so is fiat. Bitcoins’ database is 1. decentralised and 2. synchs into a consensus in a novel as surprisingly robust way, 3. allowing any tx within its rules without censorship or ways to change the db in anyone’s favor. 4. It’s finite supply, this isn’t technological, it was a choice. Because of all of this, some people use Bitcoin as money all over the world. That’s it.

I know what fiat is, what I mean is that it’s database that keeps a ledger. But I didn’t even want use the word ledger because that’s opinionated. I want to get into why these digital numbers in a table are better than those digital numbers in a table. My main point was that explaining 1971 or seashells to start the convo is silly.

Fiat literally means “by decree,” and it refers to a money that is forced on people and whose entire value proposition is because you are forced to accept it and/or pay taxes in it. It’s a market not based on genuine value or real attributes of the money, but on the artificial violence used to prevent the market from dropping it. So again, just because we are specifically talking about being precise with our language, #Bitcoin being a ledger doesn’t make it fiat, anymore than applications being only code make them fiat. I also kinda disagree on the explanation of other money and their flaws as being a bad place to start explaining things. Most people don’t know the first thing about money, so sometimes you have to start at the beginning. (Also I don’t think calling it a ledger is controversial really 🤔)

I don’t think calling it a ledger is controversial, I’m saying we can try to be even more agnostic on economics and get more across. Explaining 1971 makes you look an conspiracy theory if the person is not open to it. I don’t get your fiat arguments. I’m saying the manifestation of Bitcoin or fiat is a database with transactions, that’s it, to first pass the hurdle of “non physical money” I’ve had 0 success explaining economic incentives of a hard money etc, because inevitably someone will think I’m not sharing the whole side of story. When I explain what it is, like I did, and how people are using, then people start asking questions. “Fiat means by decree!1!1!1!!” is much more useless than it looks because everything is by decree. People are completely numb to the reach of government, it’s a dead end.

I’ve had decent success with explaining how our money works, but I do it with as little jargon as possible and usually stick with basic principles in bite sized amounts. Curious, what has been your most successful strategy since this one turns you off?

For context, most people I deal with have left leaning sensibilities. Most are not economically knowledgeable and almost see being economically knowledgeable as a bad sign (“money should be simple!!”). Keeping politics away helps me keep the conversation going. I also keep the “flaws” on the forefront so I keep trust. I don’t want to be the “bitcoin guy”. People have reached out to me privately on other social media but I don’t push resources on them, just tell them what *not* to do and how to keep it simple. I have some years on me now in Bitcoin to know it’s a personal thing, specially if it goes against many of your assumptions. I’m not going to convince anyone. I can barely teach anything to my offspring XD .

Finally, the reason why I go with “it’s just a database” it’s because people STILL don’t know technically what it is, and saying “it’s digital gold” or “digital real estate” doesn’t mean anything to people who think gold or real estate (“all assets!1!!!!1!”) are manipulated. I make it boring and basic on purpose. *Then* do I go on why that db, with those characteristics, is perceived by many to be better money.