#6 - Bitcoin is a spiritual asset
It changes the world and the people who own it
Bitcoin (BTC) is the most fascinating asset I have ever discovered, and it had a profound impact on me, since it entered my life. Compared to many other Bitcoiners, I was relatively late to the game, having read the famous Satoshi whitepaper in 2018— the year I made my first small Bitcoin investment.
Since then, I went down the crypto currency rabbit hole, “invested” in so-called altcoins, lost money with them, and finally learned that nothing compares to Bitcoin.
In this article, I will first go through the mysterious origin of Bitcoin and then explain the features that make it truly unique. In the last section, I will explain why Bitoin is a spiritual asset to me, one that changes the world and the people who own it.
So let’s get started.
The emergence of Bitcoin and its key features
On October 31, 2008, a person or group using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto published a whitepaper titled "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System." This document described a new type of digital currency that enables online payments directly between parties without the need for financial intermediaries like banks. The revolutionary key features of the whitepaper were:
Decentralization: Bitcoin operates on a peer-to-peer network where no single entity has control.
Blockchain Technology: Transactions are recorded on a distributed ledger known as the blockchain, which is maintained by network participants (nodes).
Proof-of-Work: A consensus mechanism ensures security and prevents double-spending.
Security: Bitcoin relies on a cryptography method that is considered to be unhackable. A public key acts as the user’s Bitcoin address, visible to anyone on the blockchain, while the private key is a secret cryptographic key that proves ownership of Bitcoin and authorizes transactions.
In January 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto mined the first block of the Bitcoin blockchain, known as the Genesis Block. It included the following text embedded in its data: "The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks." This message referenced a headline from The Times newspaper on the same day and served as a timestamp. It also highlighted Bitcoin's origins during the global financial crisis of 2008 and its potential as an alternative to the traditional monetary system.
Satoshi remained active in Bitcoin’s development until 2010, after which he/she/they gradually reduced their involvement and eventually disappeared. The identity of Satoshi Nakamoto remains one of Bitcoin’s greatest mysteries. The pseudonym could represent an individual or a group, and while many have speculated on their identity, no definitive proof has ever emerged. Satoshi’s one million Bitcoins, which are worth more than USD 100 billion as of today, remain untouched in a publicly visible wallet.
Why Bitcoin is unique
Many consider Bitcoin to be the money and store of value of the future, as it has a number of unique features. In my view, it is superior to fiat money, gold and any other crypto currency for the following reasons:
Bitcoin is non-inflationary: As opposed to fiat currencies that are printed by central banks and are highly inflationary (if you hold one USD for 10 years, you will lose 20-40% of your money, depending on the inflation rate), the number of Bitcoins that can be mined is limited to 21 million. As of today, almost 20 million coins have been mined, and based on the built-in halving cycle, the last coin will be minded in the year 2140. In other words, Bitcoin supply will increase only marginally from here, while demand is accelerating globally.
Bitcoin is fungible: Unlike gold, Bitcoin is fungible and can be used for payments. Additional applications on the Bitcoin network, like Lightning, will make BTC transactions even faster and highly reliable in the future.
Bitcoin is permission-less: Everybody can participate in the network and there is no central authority that can lock people out.
Bitcoin is decentralized: Unlike all major so-called altcoins, Bitcoin is truly decentralized. There is no group of people, no CEO, no foundation controlling the network. It is controlled by its participants who are spread all over the world.
Bitcoin cannot be hacked: Bitcoin's protocol and blockchain are among the most secure systems ever designed. Before any quantum computer will be able to hack the Bitcoin network, other institutions like banks, governments or the military will be hacked first. As quantum computers become more potent, the Bitcoin code can be upgraded, if the network participants agree to do so.
Bitcoin is now proven: As the price of Bitcoin has soared over time and it has proven to be stable and secure, interest in it grew steadily. Today, large Wallstreet firms manage Bitcoin-based funds, corporations like Microstrategy use Bitcoin as a treasury asset, governments own Bitcoin and the incoming US administration is even considering a national Bitcoin reserve. In other words, Bitcoin is established and the risk of it being banned has vanished.
Superior performance: When measured against fiat currencies (like USD in the chart below), the Bitcoin price only knows one direction: up. Given its capped supply and the increased interest globally, the price will likely continue rising in the long run (with ups and downs). BlackRock CEO Larry Fink recently said that Bitcoin could climb to USD 700,000 per coin amid currency debasement fears.
Bitcoin has the potential to change the world
The global debt-based financial system is broken and it needs to print more and more money every year in order to survive. This creates high levels of inflation and it hurts those people most, who rely on fixed salaries or pensions, which are denominated in traditional (fiat) currencies. So most people are getting poorer every year, as their incomes buy them less and less goods—take a look at house prices, your bill at the pump or the cost of groceries!
As governments need to continue printing money in order to finance their deficits and the costs of the existing debt, high inflation is here to stay—or the system will collapse in a big bang. The results are the same: the majority of people will lose all their savings and continue to become poorer.
Bitcoin provides an alternative store of value for our life savings, as its supply is capped and therefore uncorrelated to the fiat money supply. And the good thing is: everyone can buy Bitcoin on an online exchange and hold it in a secure private wallet (https:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptocurrency_wallet). The government cannot do anything against it.
So in essence, we constantly have to work harder and get less in our current fiat system. Bitcoin reverses this. We have to work less and get more as the Bitcoin price outperforms all other assets—it is essentially a time creating machine.
While fiat currencies will continue to be de-based, I am convinced that Bitcoin will drastically increase in value against those currencies, protecting your savings better than any other asset.
One could argue that real estate or gold have similar beneficial features, which is partially true. However, Bitcoin is liquid, affordable as it is divisible into small units (Satoshis) and can be moved freely around the globe. You can take it with you in a cold wallet wherever you go - try that with your house!
With more and more people realizing this and (partially) leaving the current monetary system, it will have to change or it will break down.
Why Bitcoin has changed me and why I call it a spiritual asset
I always knew that inflation was slowly eating away at the wealth of “normal” people and shifts it to those who own real assets. However, the sheer magnitude only became clear to me after the 2008 financial crisis and even more so after the Covid pandemic.
The current financial system is stealing my life savings and my life time!
Bitcoin was given to us by this mysterious person or group that is Satoshi and it provides a beautiful solution, accessible to all of us. Once I realized it, I was sold and started shifting more and more money into Bitcoin.
What is really interesting to me, is the fact, the buying Bitcoin is very fulfilling and makes me happy in a way that I have never felt with any other thing that I bought. And I know many people who feel the same.
The self-storage aspect of Bitcoin intensifies this feeling, as I know that I am becoming increasingly independent from the corrupt financial system. I control my own destiny.
This realization has led to a fundamental change in the way I look at the world, and it has prompted me to seek freedom in many other aspects of life as well.
I call Bitcoin a spiritual asset, because it has fundamentally changed me!
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