I started learning about Bitcoin in February. Ten months later, I’ve changed more than I could ever imagine changing in a year. Let’s review.
How Bitcoin fixes me: A thread from a class of 2020 pleb.
Ten months after starting this journey, I have more money than I could have ever imagined having as a poor student. I also have less of an urge to spend than I’ve ever had. Except for essentials, I’ve spent less during this year than I used to spend in a month.
This is partly NgU technology and partly a lack of spending. But it’s impacted me on more than the monetary front. I’ve become much less materialistic as a result. I used spend hours drooling over the stuff I could buy. I've never wanted to spend money less than now.
Ten months ago, I was an avid socialist. I just didn’t understand how anyone could vote right, except for selfish reasons. Mind you, this was after six years of both economics and management basics in the highest level of Dutch high school.
Obviously, it was Keynesian economics. We were taught gov. Interference did cause inefficiencies in the market, but without it, capitalism will just make the rich richer and the poor poorer. I never really doubted what I was taught, but in hindsight it’s obvious.
We were never taught the moral case for free markets. I’d heard the phrase taxation is theft before, but never really let it bounce around in my thick skull. Now I realize that it’s more profound than I could’ve imagined. Taxation IS theft. Literally.
I’m parting with my rightful property under threat of literal violence. Of course, you’ll be fined first if you don’t pay up, but what happens after? You’ll be thrown in jail by men with guns if you don’t pay up for long enough.
Freedom and free markets are not only the most efficient way to a prosperous future for everybody, but also the most moral way. It’ll take most people a while to get to that conclusion after years of living in the system, but libertarianism is very well thought-out.
I urge everyone who thinks we need government to read more. Read Mises, not Marx. If you bring up “them bitch-ass roads”, start here: https://t.co/bEonrLmdJA. If you want to know what socialism leads to, start with The Gulag Archipelago
The lower time preference has also made me realize what I’m working for. I used to kinda coast through life, doing only what I had to and spent the rest of my time gaming. This year, I can probably count the hours I gamed on one hand.
I also deleted reddit from everywhere (though Twitter partially took its role), and all the time I save not gaming/redditing I’m now spending working or learning. I’ve read more books this year than ever before, including mandatory reading.
Bitcoin has also brought me to religion and spirituality through people like @jordanbpeterson. My mom took me to church when I was younger and I hated it. I became a militant atheist thinking people who believed in god must be superstitious idiots.
Now, aging has made me less militant, and the Dr. Peterson’s lectures on the bible made me think that there might be something more behind it. After listening to @alekssvetsky’s bitcoin preachers pod, I ordered “there is a god”. Maybe I’ll be a Christian in 2021?
Another 180 turn I made this year is in my diet. I was a vegetarian before. Now, I only eat meat thanks to my fellow carnivore plebs. @carnivoreMD’s book and podcasts have been instrumental in this. This might sound extreme, I know, but hear me out.
At age 21 I was finally diagnosed with ADHD after a whole childhood of obvious ADHD behavior. Since then I’ve used ritalin. I didn’t know how to get through a day without that. Even doing fun stuff I couldn’t concentrate on what I was doing without it.
I took at least 10x 5mg pills per day, often more, to feel ‘normal’. Then I started eating meat again and noticed I was a lot less tired all day. After doing more and more research, I cut out everything but animal products.
Believe me, you don’t know how great you can feel. Carbs and sugar are SHIT. I really noticed this during this holiday, when I ate the same stuff as my family. I was much more tired, and got irritated about stuff much more quickly. Nothing except my food changed.
Now, going carnivore sucks for the first month or so. You’ll feel shit. You know what also sucks for the first bit? Quitting drugs. It’s the same deal. You’re addicted to carbs. Just keep a tab on what percentage of your calories come from carbs daily.
Next to that, I fixed my sleep schedule. I go to bed at ten every day, and wake up at 7 every day. I used to take at least an hour to fall asleep, now I’m unconscious in 15 minutes most of the day. I almost always wake up before my alarm.
A regular sleeping schedule and no more eating after 19:00 ~ 20:00 really helps with falling asleep and sleeping well. Sleep is massively important and it’ll help you feel even better.
If you view Bitcoin as a way to make money, you’re right. But you’re also blind to most of the rabbit hole. I don’t believe I’ve explored even close to the entire rabbit hole where I stand now. I haven't even described all of the ways it changed me in this thread.
More from Crypto
So the cryptocurrency industry has basically two products, one which is relatively benign and doesn't have product market fit, and one which is malignant and does. The industry has a weird superposition of understanding this fact and (strategically?) not understanding it.
The benign product is sovereign programmable money, which is historically a niche interest of folks with a relatively clustered set of beliefs about the state, the literary merit of Snow Crash, and the utility of gold to the modern economy.
This product has narrow appeal and, accordingly, is worth about as much as everything else on a 486 sitting in someone's basement is worth.
The other product is investment scams, which have approximately the best product market fit of anything produced by humans. In no age, in no country, in no city, at no level of sophistication do people consistently say "Actually I would prefer not to get money for nothing."
This product needs the exchanges like they need oxygen, because the value of it is directly tied to having payment rails to move real currency into the ecosystem and some jurisdictional and regulatory legerdemain to stay one step ahead of the banhammer.
If everyone was holding bitcoin on the old x86 in their parents basement, we would be finding a price bottom. The problem is the risk is all pooled at a few brokerages and a network of rotten exchanges with counter party risk that makes AIG circa 2008 look like a good credit.
— Greg Wester (@gwestr) November 25, 2018
The benign product is sovereign programmable money, which is historically a niche interest of folks with a relatively clustered set of beliefs about the state, the literary merit of Snow Crash, and the utility of gold to the modern economy.
This product has narrow appeal and, accordingly, is worth about as much as everything else on a 486 sitting in someone's basement is worth.
The other product is investment scams, which have approximately the best product market fit of anything produced by humans. In no age, in no country, in no city, at no level of sophistication do people consistently say "Actually I would prefer not to get money for nothing."
This product needs the exchanges like they need oxygen, because the value of it is directly tied to having payment rails to move real currency into the ecosystem and some jurisdictional and regulatory legerdemain to stay one step ahead of the banhammer.
1/ @MIT discussing the need for blockchain gateways to achieve interoperability across different blockchain networks, and to support the cross-blockchain mobility of virtual assets
https://t.co/PbjQkSlTT3
@quant_network are collaborating with MIT in the creation of ODAP
$QNT
2/ "In order for blockchain-based services to scale globally, blockchain networks must be able to interoperate with one another following a standardized protocol and interfaces (APIs)"
Gilbert founded ISO TC307 which 60 countries are working towards standardizing the interfaces
3/ "We believe that a blockchain gateway is needed for blockchain networks to interoperate in a manner similar
to border gateway routers in IP networks. Just as border gateway routers use the BGPv4 protocol to interact with one another in a peered fashion we believe that a...
4/ blockchain gateway protocol will be needed to permit the movement of virtual assets and related information across blockchain networks in a secure and privacy-preserving manner"
You can read more about the gateway protocol ODAP in this 21 tweet
5/
"We motivate the need for blockchain gateways and blockchain gateway protocols in the following summary:
✅Enables blockchain interoperability:
Blockchain gateways provide an interface for the interoperability between blockchain/DLT systems that operate distinct consensus...
https://t.co/PbjQkSlTT3
@quant_network are collaborating with MIT in the creation of ODAP
$QNT
2/ "In order for blockchain-based services to scale globally, blockchain networks must be able to interoperate with one another following a standardized protocol and interfaces (APIs)"
Gilbert founded ISO TC307 which 60 countries are working towards standardizing the interfaces

3/ "We believe that a blockchain gateway is needed for blockchain networks to interoperate in a manner similar
to border gateway routers in IP networks. Just as border gateway routers use the BGPv4 protocol to interact with one another in a peered fashion we believe that a...
4/ blockchain gateway protocol will be needed to permit the movement of virtual assets and related information across blockchain networks in a secure and privacy-preserving manner"
You can read more about the gateway protocol ODAP in this 21 tweet
See this 21-tweet thread about the creation of an Internet scale protocol to move digital assets involving Quant, MIT, US Government, Intel, Juniper, Payment and Telecom companies \U0001f447https://t.co/n7VGIIlAvq pic.twitter.com/mTUEmCMFZM
— Seq (@CryptoSeq) December 22, 2020
5/
"We motivate the need for blockchain gateways and blockchain gateway protocols in the following summary:
✅Enables blockchain interoperability:
Blockchain gateways provide an interface for the interoperability between blockchain/DLT systems that operate distinct consensus...
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1) UCAS School of physical sciences Professor
https://t.co/9X8OheIvRw
2) UCAS School of mathematical sciences Professor
3) UCAS School of nuclear sciences and technology
https://t.co/nQH8JnewcJ
4) UCAS School of astronomy and space sciences
https://t.co/7Ikc6CuKHZ
5) UCAS School of engineering
6) Geotechnical Engineering Teaching and Research Office
https://t.co/jBCJW7UKlQ
7) Multi-scale Mechanics Teaching and Research Section
https://t.co/eqfQnX1LEQ
😎 Microgravity Science Teaching and Research
9) High temperature gas dynamics teaching and research section
https://t.co/tVIdKgTPl3
10) Department of Biomechanics and Medical Engineering
https://t.co/ubW4xhZY2R
11) Ocean Engineering Teaching and Research
12) Department of Dynamics and Advanced Manufacturing
https://t.co/42BKXEugGv
13) Refrigeration and Cryogenic Engineering Teaching and Research Office
https://t.co/pZdUXFTvw3
14) Power Machinery and Engineering Teaching and Research