Bitcoin solves human distrust

Yes, Bitcoin is the first trustless payment system, but its implications go far beyond this.

From a first principle thinking basis:

The main reason we have nukes, armies & countries is because humans distrust each other. We don't have nukes because we intend to fire them. Everybody would lose, including the person who hit that button first. We build them to deter others from using them on us. We build them, because if we didn't, 'they' would, and they would have the upper hand and therefore ability to coerce us. I imagine that's how the US government convinced scientists to invent nuclear weapons. We have armies, not because we want to fight. Most people never want to fight. We have armies to prevent someone else from coming to us and telling us what's ours is now theirs.

There are always conflicts between countries based on game theory. Everybody wants what's best for them. And we understand that if we don't defend our own interests, we can be exploited by a third party. Even a pacifist needs an army. And although he might never intend to use it, others must think he will not hesitate to use it when forced to do so. As long as there are groups with competing interests, such as countries, there will be tensions that can potentially escalate to conflict. So long as game theory predicts that what's best for me is not what's best for you and vice versa, we will distrust one another. As long as diametrically opposed interests exist, people will distrust other people, groups & on a larger scale nations. Game theory dictates that you must distrust your peer, even though your first inclination might be to trust him.

So the question becomes, how can you solve for the distrust that arises out of game theory? The best strategy, the most dominant strategy, almost always, is to distrust. Humanity has never been able to solve this problem with finality. A common enemy might align interests and offer a temporary solution. But never a final solution. It is hard to imagine a real world scenario on a global scale, where trusting others is the most dominant and therefore incentivized strategy.

However, since 2009 it actually is possible to imagine a game theoretical scenario where, although the dominant strategy remains to distrust others, simultaneously the incentive is to cooperate instead of cheat them on a global scale. This is because of the fundamental change Bitcoin introduced.

Bitcoin solves 2 fundamental problems:

1. It solves for the ability of a single party to cheat to their advantage.
2. It solves the problem of weak property.*

The incentive for another party to come and take what is yours largely disappears because Bitcoins cannot be confiscated. Over time, a significant chunk of all value will accrue into the Bitcoin network because it's the dominant strategy to store your wealth in Bitcoin, since it is the most incorruptible property to ever exist. It cannot be confiscated. It cannot be taxed against your will. You can move it without permission to anyone anywhere. It can and will become the most liquid property to ever exist. Because it is no longer possible to steal the world's most valuable property, there will no longer be a reason to physically fight over and defend it to the degree we do today.

Over time, this will mean that countries as we understand them to operate today, will cease to exist almost entirely, because the main reason for their existence disappears. Governments will become much smaller than today and more business-like and profit oriented, with their only purpose to provide services to their citizens (customers) and make their jurisdictions as attractive a place as possible to reside in.

Currently, there are almost 8 billion human beings. By the year 2060, 10 billion people will inhabit planet earth. There will never be more than 21 million Bitcoins. 3-4 million have been lost. So let's say there are 18 million whole bitcoins for 10 billion people. That's 0.0018 Bitcoins on average per person. Owning a whole Bitcoin will make you at least 555x wealthier than the average person. Any whole coiner will be rich. People who own 100+ Bitcoins will be billionaires in purchasing power today. All you have to do in the coming years is purchase as much Sats as you can while maintaining a decent standard of living.

Self-custody your coins. You are absolutely INSANE if you store generational wealth with a third party when you have the ability to store it yourself. There are no realistic methods for large 3rd parties to insure Bitcoins. Because there is a finite amount in existence. If a party loses a significant amount of Bitcoin for whatever reason, it would bankrupt any insurance company immediately, as it would cost astronomic amounts to replace the lost coins.

It's insane to think that some people have lost multiple Bitcoins to custodian bankruptcies these past few months. They have lost generational wealth because they insisted to keep picking up pennies in front of a freight train. Despite the fact that this has happened multiple times before and people have been warning for this since the days of Mt Gox.

The Bitcoin network grows organically. You cannot market it and push it unto the masses. It will only make them distrust it even more. It takes time for the network to grow because it takes time for people to embrace a new way of thinking. It takes time to build second and third layers onto Bitcoin and all the awesome applications that will eventually come with it. The price will keep fluctuating for some time, although the general trend will be upwards.

If you understand what I've written here, you will hold through the tough and seemingly uncertain times with ease.

What bothered me for a long time was my own self-doubt. And I'm sure this has bothered a lot of early adopters as well. It's very hard to imagine that you have understood something that 99%+ of people have not, which will make you rich without having to do any work besides buying and self-custodying Bitcoins. It seems too good to be true. But it's clear to me now that I have not misunderstood. That I am not wrong, and that this self-doubt was rooted in an underestimation of my own intellect and the people working in this space.

You need to be a smartass to get Bitcoin. And still, you need to put in 100s of hours of studying economics/finance/politics/computer science/math to get to that point of 'absolute conviction'. And perhaps most important, you need curiosity and open mindedness to see past all the mainstream nonsense. Combine all 3, and it's obvious why less than 1% of people today 'get it'. ** However, as information about Bitcoin becomes more digestible and adoption & price increase, the 'barrier of entry' towards understanding becomes lower & lower and more people will 'get it' eventually.

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*This, by the way, is also why ALL other cryptocurrencies are shitcoins. Bitcoin solved the problem that needed solving. People buy other cryptocurrencies because they do not understand what problem Bitcoin fundamentally solves. And people who create other cryptocurrencies try to benefit from this. Both maliciously or ignorantly. If you understand the problem that Bitcoin solves with finality, you will understand that there will never be a 'better' crypto or a Bitcoin 2.0

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**The absolute genius of Satoshi cannot be understated. To understand Bitcoin is one thing. To conceptualize and implement it is another. It requires expert level knowledge in several fields. It requires absolute self-restraint to walk away from the project & not profit personally. (Although he could buy coins later anonymously). He knew Bitcoin would become a success. He removed himself from the project and along with that the incentive for agencies to ever come after him. His invention will bring world peace. Many more statues will be built in his name. He will stand among the greatest thinkers of all time.