A common meme among Bitcoin enthusiasts is the phrase “Bitcoin fixes this,” used in response to any current societal problem. Whether it’s an economic issue, political conflict, or social ill, many bitcoiners believe the root cause is the money supply and the Federal Reserve’s inflationary policy—therefore a decentralized cryptocurrency like Bitcoin can provide the solution. “Fix the money, fix the world” is another popular meme phrase among bitcoiners.
However, Bitcoin and its supporters have their critics. Many do not care for the “Bitcoin maximalists,” their toxicity, and their repeated claims that “Bitcoin fixes this” for every societal problem. I cannot claim to be a full-on Bitcoin maximalist since I hold several alt-coins, but I am a Bitcoin mostlyist—as the majority of my crypto hodlings are BTC, and I think Bitcoin is the best and most important cryptocurrency in the world. I agree with the Bitcoin maximalists on most things, including that bitcoin will fix many of society’s current problems, which are often economic in nature. (Read Robert Breedlove for more on this.)
Many critics of Bitcoin can be dismissed out of hand because their criticisms are biased—they are part of the problem that Bitcoin aims to fix. But there are other critics, friendly to cryptocurrency, who can be taken more seriously. One such critic is Eric Weinstein, whose podcast appearance on “What Bitcoin Did” inspired this post. I like Weinstein but felt frustrated by this conversation. If “Bitcoin fixes this” why isn’t this fixed? His main criticism is that bitcoiners aren’t putting their money where their mouths are, so to speak—that they are not “fixing this” yet, at least in the way he wants them to (i.e. funding theoretical physics). But I think “yet” is the key word here. Give Bitcoin time.
There are many early investors in Bitcoin who bought the cryptocurrency when it was just pennies or dollars per coin. The price continues to fluctuate (at one point surpassing $50,000 and now in the $20,000 range), but it has still produced massive profit for the early investors. Many bitcoiners are already super-rich, with “fuck you money” that they can use to “fix the world.” But for Bitcoin’s ultimate journey, there is still a long way to go.
Weinstein criticizes the early Bitcoin investors for buying Lambos and other frivolous things with their profits rather than fixing the world as they say they want to. However, I think there are two issues he is missing. First, he’s cherry-picking the unserious people in the Bitcoin world, which indeed there are a lot of. They are the ones who frivolously spend their money, and there’s really nothing you can do about that. God knows there are plenty of fiat billionaires spending their money just as frivolously—if not more so. But there are also serious bitcoiners, who are not buying Lambos (Satoshi himself hasn’t moved his bitcoins), who sincerely want to fix the world by fixing the money. And that’s the other thing: they have to first fix the money before they can fix the world.
Yes, Bitcoin now exists and its price has risen quite high, but Bitcoin still has many obstacles to face in the future—which Weinstein is keen to point out. The State can crack down with regulation or outright banning of Bitcoin, and there are other technological threats, be it hacking or quantum computing. So those threats need to be bitcoiners’ primary concern right now—not theoretical physics research, as Weinstein wants. I want that too, as do many bitcoiners. And though some bitcoiners may have the money to fund physics research now, now is not the time to spend money on skyhook projects. Weinstein is correct that institutions will be needed, but now is not the time to build them. Bitcoiners cannot cash out their bitcoins when they still face the primary concern of ensuring Bitcoin succeeds.
The goal is a Bitcoin Standard—Bitcoin becoming the global reserve currency. We are on the path toward that end but still a long way away. Once that stage is reached, then bitcoiners will truly have “fuck you money” and be able to fund all types of speculative research projects, build new institutions, and fund art and culture. Bitcoiners will rebuild the world of the future. But they can only fix all the other aspects of society after the money is fixed. As long as the world is primarily running on the fiat standard (which despite Bitcoin’s success, it still is) then the money is not yet fixed.
A key part of Austrian economics, which inspired Satoshi Nakamoto, is the concept of time preference. There is high time preference and low time preference, or short-term thinking versus long-term thinking, caring about quick immediate payoffs as opposed to more fulfilling payoffs at a later date. Those who study Austrian economics know that low time preference and long-term thinking is better for individuals and society as a whole. Bitcoiners understand this, hence they are not expecting Bitcoin to fix this right now, but in the long run.
The fiat money system with its inflationary properties promotes high time preference behavior and short-term thinking: spend now, don’t save—always go for immediate gratification. Whereas Bitcoin promotes the opposite: a low time preference, saving your money now because its value will grow in the future. Opt for delayed gratification; plan for the long term and you will be rewarded in the end. Bitcoin fixes individual hodlr’s time preference, and a Bitcoin Standard fixes the time preference of society as a whole.
Eric Weinstein essentially wants bitcoiners to count their chickens before they hatch, and to spend their Bitcoin earnings before attaining hyperbitcoinization. Not only is that a poor investment, as in ten years they will be able to do a lot more with the same amount of Bitcoin, but if bitcoiners spend their Bitcoin now instead of focusing on the threats to Bitcoin, they might not reach the Bitcoin Standard at all.
Weinstein and critics like him simply need to have some patience. I know he doesn’t want to wait because he sees too many existential threats (primarily nuclear annihilation), for which he thinks fundamental physics is the only solution. I do not disagree, nor do many bitcoiners. But even if we do fund physics research now, all the other fiat institutions are still in power. There are already many scientists doing great work outside of what Weinstein terms the GIN (gated-institutional narrative) and DISC (Distributed Idea Suppression Complex), but the “gate” still exists and will prevent any groundbreaking findings from physics (or any other field) from breaking into the mainstream and disrupting the narrative. If data arises counter to the GIN, the DISC will de-platform and censor first, then examine the data later—or never.
So the focus of bitcoiners has to be on growing Bitcoin and achieving hyperbitcoinization. Toxicity is an aid to that end, as is attacking alt-coins, continuing to make the blockchain more secure, educating the public, and spreading Bitcoin more widely. As Bitcoin adoption grows, the price increases, fiat money falls, and bitcoiners gain more potential research funds that the traditional institutions will lack. Once the Bitcoin Standard is reached, not only will bitcoiners have the money to fix the world, the powers who broke the world in the first place will not have the financial capital to fight back against them.
It is impossible to say how long this may take—a decade, two, three, four… I don’t know, but we are on the trajectory, and that needs to be the primary focus: to remain on the path toward hyperbitcoinization. Once there, we can fix the world—and perhaps even fund the physics to leave it.
For a more vivid view of how “Bitcoin fixes this”, read my science fiction story “Satoshi Revealed” @ Time Zone Weird. It is a speculative tale about who the true creator of Bitcoin may be, as well as Satoshi Nakamoto’s ultimate plans for the future.
T.Z. Barry 