The Bitcoin Chronicles Volume I Number 1
I decided to write The Bitcoin Chronicles because there is so much misinformation, disinformation, and misleading information about Bitcoin specifically and cryptocurrencies in general. My goal in The Bitcoin Chronicles is to provide as much factual data as I can, as well as offer informed opinion about the state of Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency world.
I will capitalize Bitcoin whenever I use the term to be consistent in style and to avoid introducing ambiguity into the discussion regarding the Bitcoin protocol, the Bitcoin blockchain, and the Bitcoin currency.
THE BACK STORY
The history of Bitcoin began in 2008 when an individual or individuals named Satoshi Nakamoto wrote about a design for “… a new open-source P2P (peer-to-peer) e-cash system called Bitcoin. Satoshi (please excuse the familiarity) realized that conventional currencies (all of which are fiat currencies) are problematic in the extreme. I infer from Satoshi’s writings that he was most concerned that central banks can easily debase (and have debased) any and all fiat currencies. The US Dollar is a case in point and the villain in the piece is the Federal Reserve. To wit: the Federal Reserve increased its balance sheet from $860 billion in August 2007 to $7.78 trillion in April 2021. This balance sheet increase translates into monetizing America’s debt. If I have done the math correctly, that is over an 800% increase.
I urge everyone to read the White Paper that Satoshi Nakamoto wrote in December 2008. I have included a link at the end of this first Bitcoin Chronicle.
FIVE KEY PERSPECTIVES
Here are five key perspectives that occur to me. There are many others because the story of Bitcoin and Blockchain Technology is a many splendored one. I will discuss all five perspectives in more detail in future Bitcoin Chronicles. The purpose here is just to highlight all five.
Bitcoin And Blockchain Are Two Of The Most Important Creations Or Inventions In The History Of Mankind
As I came to understand the key elements of Satoshi’s creation, I realized that Bitcoin and Blockchain Technology are probably two of the most important creations by one individual in the history of man. Bitcoin ranks up there with the Gutenburg Press, the Free Market System, and Edison’s Electric Light Bulb, among others.
The value that will be added to the lives of so many people in the world cannot be measured or even estimated at this time. Only the future will be able to circumscribe that value.
Bitcoin And Blockchain Technology Will Be A “Force For Good” In The World
Bitcoin and Blockchain Technology will be a “force for good,” and, as I noted above, that “cosmic good” cannot be understood at present. The good that will be created for the unbanked world alone will be several orders of magnitude greater than anything that has ever occurred before in the history of humanity.
Bitcoin As Digital Asset
Bitcoin is in reality a digital asset, not a currency in the conventional meaning of that word. In addition, I do not believe that Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency will replace the U.S. Dollar as the reserve currency for the world. That future reality will be decided by the several nations that have the most tradable currencies, which will probably include the USD, the Chinese Yuan, the British Pound, the Japanese Yen, and the Euro. That reality, known as the Big Reset, will likely be a basket of currencies or some supranational currency like the SDR, and for either case, gold may be one of the elements.
Bitcoin and Ethereum are both cryptocurrencies with the two largest market caps. However, they are as different as chalk and cheese, as the British are wont to say. Each cryptocurrency that succeeds will have a use case that solves or facilitates the solution of a real-world problem that the countries of the world will continue to face in the economic and financial life of their citizens.
At some point, Bitcoin and a few other key cryptocurrencies with strong real-world use cases will constitute a recognized and defined asset class. Bitcoin, specifically, will displace a certain percentage of hard assets with a significant valuation. Only time will tell the magnitude of that displacement.
Bitcoin As Spearpoint In The Battle Between Centralized Power Versus Decentralized Power
Bitcoin is the spearpoint in the continuing and expanding battle between centralized economic and financial power in the world and decentralized power. It is the hard, cold case for privacy and personal freedom, which amounts to a resurgence of libertarianism in the 21st Century. There are tectonic shifts occurring now and in the recent past, that will blindside the legacy financial systems.
Blockchain Technology And The Banked World Versus The Unbanked World
The banked world comprises approximately four billion people in the world. The unbanked world numbers three billion or four billion. Many people in the unbanked world (South America, Africa, India and the sub-continent, and Southeast Asia for example) do not have access to credit, loans, property titles, and a host of other financially related benefits. Certain coins (I have in mind the ADA coin developed by the Cardano Development Group under Charles Hoskinson) will focus on this most important global issue. Bitcoin will be the backbone of that financial tectonic shift because of its emphasis on decentralization and security. Ethereum’s role is to be the platform of choice for smart contracts and other decentralized apps (DApps).
FUTURE BITCOIN CHRONICLES
As opportunities and time permit, I will endeavor to expand on the ideas set forth in this initial Bitcoin Chronicle. If you have any questions or thoughts regarding this subject matter, please identify them in a comment and I will try to address them in future articles.
*Note: I titled these articles after “The Martian Chronicles,” which is the title of a book written by Ray Bradbury and published in 1950.
Links
External: https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf
