Have we departed from Bitcoin's original purpose?

[ABCbits]

Bitcoiner 2013 on that meme still exist today, but they're overshadowed by people who only see Bitcoin as investor. And while LN have some limitation, IMO comparing LN with those who only care about profit isn't fair. Some people assume LN is universal solution or magic, even though it's only designed for micro-transaction where it works best when you regularly send/receive Bitcoin with same part.

[Baofeng]

Maybe we can ask, "KYC is the thing" as well.

Nevertheless, it might still maintain it's originally, I mean we haven't divert, the code is still like that not much has change. It's only the people and the environment around.

But fundamentally, we are still BYOB, no to KYC, payment method, so we still exist and we still have the original purposed.

[NotATether]

Bitcoiner 2013 on that meme still exist today, but they're overshadowed by people who only see Bitcoin as investor. And while LN have some limitation, IMO comparing LN with those who only care about profit isn't fair. Some people assume LN is universal solution or magic, even though it's only designed for micro-transaction where it works best when you regularly send/receive Bitcoin with same part.

There is no universal solution that can be made for money right now. If you want that, you have to stick with cash and cards because at least those are instant and work with transactions of any size.

But we don't like banks so that is not an option for us that we will accept.

The other options are to continue to use what we have, or make a new solutions becaudse moving to an altcoin won't fix anything as they literally have the same problems.

[bitterguy28]

Do you think we took the wrong path of focusing mostly on the investment value of Bitcoin neglecting its use as functional money?

i think two things can coexist at once

yes bitcoin is a great investment opportunity but there are still people out there who recognize the importance and purpose of bitcoin as a decentralized currency to be used for private transactions with that said we should also recognize that due to the influx of new investors transaction fees are higher than ever and that is also something that hinders a lot of investors from using bitcoin daily

[God Of Thunder]

Do you think we took the wrong path of focusing mostly on the investment value of Bitcoin neglecting its use as functional money?

There is no way to deny that most people see Bitcoin as an investment today. But Bitcoin is still the same. The developers added some new features which improved the technology further. But we know why it's changing day by day. People treat Bitcoin as an investment because of its volatility. Everyone knows that Bitcoin prices will go up as scarcity continues. So, everyone want to have some bitcoin for the future. We can still use Bitcoin as our own bank. The OG Bitcoiners are still around who used to use Bitcoin for security and privacy purposes.

[0t3p0t]

I can see Bitcoin nowadays being used to protect investments from inflation and in general it has already been sought as an investment rather than a form of payment but we can actually do both right now since fee is not that high. Enthusiasts already learned from the past and their experiences is what drove them to what they are using Bitcoin today.

[nakmantu99]

I can see Bitcoin nowadays being used to protect investments from inflation and in general it has already been sought as an investment rather than a form of payment but we can actually do both right now since fee is not that high. Enthusiasts already learned from the past and their experiences is what drove them to what they are using Bitcoin today.

I also agree if bitcoin is used to protect inflation because it has been proven that bitcoin can always do that role. We are safer storing our assets in bitcoin if we want to protect the value of our assets because if we invest in FIAT it will be affected by inflation.

[Asiska02]

I came across this meme sometime ago, and I think it's hard to deny there's a lot of truth to it:


Do you think we took the wrong path of focusing mostly on the investment value of Bitcoin neglecting its use as functional money?

I don’t think so. Bitcoin can still be used as functional money but everyone will prefer to use it as an investable asset instead of using it for this purpose. It is because of the investable asset that is it that is making it to be adopt by many. Not all people are interested in the decentralized nature of it, and other benefits you can get from owning bitcoin asides from it been a source of more money when invested in for the long term. Bitcoin is still serving its purpose it was invested for, we just decide to also take advantage of other benefits that comes with having a bitcoin as an alternative to the fiat currency.

[Faisal2202]

I came across this meme sometime ago, and I think it's hard to deny there's a lot of truth to it:


Do you think we took the wrong path of focusing mostly on the investment value of Bitcoin neglecting its use as functional money?

I actually don't really get the meme fully, like in 2013,, P2P was a new thing for people to buy and sell BTC without the need of banks and other middlemen, so this was new for them and it should be a great feeling for them as well. Don't know how Silk Road came up here but the other two make sense because BTC's existence gave us the knowledge and truth about the banking sector I sometimes wonder where would we end up without such knowledge.

Speaking of the current time situation is still bad as people who came to know about p2p and the other 2 factors are still living in the same vibe as people lived in 2013 but those 2013 people are not living in the same vibe they are in search of new progress and developments and they are really getting them but they also want to earn money so why would they not chose such options where they can see the developments and can earn money as well.

[pawel7777]

This would be true if Bitcoin development stopped and was limited to being used as an investment, but reviewing the technical updates you will find that there are efforts being made to make Bitcoin more decentralized, even though investors' interest is towards something else.

It's not just about whether or not there's development but more about community engagement.
I'm old enough to remember that 10 years ago people were genuinely interested in things related to development, we had intense debates/arguments about block size and all that, but now it all seems so apathetic and indifferent.
The number of BTC holders is probably highest in the history, and we can't even use that as leverage to stop unfavorable crypto regulations etc. We could have governments banning self-custodial wallets tomorrow and people would just shrug it off. Many wouldn't even bother as long as the price was going up.

[Lucius]

~snip~
The number of BTC holders is probably highest in the history, and we can't even use that as leverage to stop unfavorable crypto regulations etc.

How do you think you could influence anyone in that way? The fact that there are more of us than 10 years ago does not mean too much to those who have the power to make laws - except of course in the US where politicians before the elections flatter the voters to get their votes.

We could have governments banning self-custodial wallets tomorrow and people would just shrug it off. Many wouldn't even bother as long as the price was going up.

There is some truth in that, but it is a consequence of a decentralized system where no one convinces you that BTC is good for only one thing, but people have decided for themselves how they will use it. Of course, it would be better if more people used BTC as a currency, but the very idea that you can profit from it if you buy it and keep it, directed the majority in that direction.

In addition, a lot of people from the first years of the adaptation are no longer active for one reason or another, and maybe Satoshi's idea of ​​BTC disappeared with them a long time ago.

+1

[Mia Chloe]

You can still use bitcoin for P2P transactions. You can still decide to convert your fiat to bitcoin which still means fuck the government as you will control your own money yourself.
But just know that most people are ignorant. You will see many of them store their coins on exchanges and also doing things that will makes them vulnerable to lack of privacy and security.

Bitcoin didn't depart from it's initial plan for which it was made by its creators. Rather it more like fitted into more aspects of crypto currencies and economics. Bitcoin grew from a very little start in both price and. Adoption and the nature of the network brought about more and more adoption which contributed more to it's increase in price.

Bitcoin is still as much used as P2p . However more and more people in the crypto space continue to view it as a very nice investment based on. Its return over the years as well as it's ability to store value and battle inflation. So I'll rather say bitcoin found more applications than saying it lost its purpose.

[taufik123]

-snip-
There is some truth in that, but it is a consequence of a decentralized system where no one convinces you that BTC is good for only one thing, but people have decided for themselves how they will use it. Of course, it would be better if more people used BTC as a currency, but the very idea that you can profit from it if you buy it and keep it, directed the majority in that direction.

The purpose of the currency changes but has a new purpose that is adapted to the capabilities and desires of the people and it also depends on how each government accepts Bitcoin.

Making Bitcoin a currency is only the initial goal carried out by a few countries, but now it is more used as a commodity and as a speculative asset, more profits are obtained and it is a good long-term investment.

[Vision pro]

It somewhat evolve and grow on the outside of the Bitcoin's whitepaper, even the thoughts of it as an investment, where most bitcoiners do and its the most thing they have interest, it's huge value. The moment government accepted it, have laws and regulations is the time people get dependent on the government's next move towards bitcoin's price. In which i don't think Satoshi will be happy, but anything than that, it is still the same Bitcoin and its purpose.

You've touched on an important evolution of Bitcoin. While Bitcoin's original intent, as outlined in Satoshi Nakamoto's whitepaper, was to create a decentralized and peer-to-peer digital currency, its role has expanded significantly over time. Many now see it primarily as a store of value or investment asset, a shift from its original purpose.

[Fivestar4everMVP]

I came across this meme sometime ago, and I think it's hard to deny there's a lot of truth to it:


Do you think we took the wrong path of focusing mostly on the investment value of Bitcoin neglecting its use as functional money?

Bitcoin is still a functional money and can be used for buying and selling, but this is in countries where bitcoin is accepted as a legel tender.
For countries where bitcoin is yet to be accepted as a legal render, but not banned, you will still see alot of citizens who carry out or use bitcoin as a way of buying and selling goods and services.

If you ask me, I did say that we have not actually departed from Bitcoin's original purpose, but then, bitcoin"s original purpose is something that can't really stand without the approval of the government and proper regulationm. So while waiting for the government to take and or state their final decision on bitcoin and cryptocurrency regulations, it is only normal that people continue to buy and sell bitcoin for monetary gains, since this is also an important aspect of bitcoin we must not neglect as well.