Some random weekend thoughts: Ive been noticing something recently about the Filipino Bitcoin community, and Im not sure what it says about Bitcoiners in general. It seems that everyone is so willing to share how many bitcoins they own, and consequently, everyone is so forward about asking. If Bitcoin were truly perceived as money, this would be a very taboo question to ask, the kind of information Id personally only be comfortable sharing with my significant other, or my lawyer. In theory, it should be no different from me asking you how much money you had in your bank savings account (something that I would never do, unless I was about to rob you), but for some reason, quite a few Bitcoiners seem to be ok sharing this information. Why is that? Based on various conversations Ive had with folks in the local industry, there could be a few reasons. 1. Bitcoiners like showing the level of their commitment to the network. How much BTC they own (and importantly, what the price was when they bought it) are pretty good indicators of that. Its essentially being a crypto-hipster. I bought into Bitcoin before it was $100, i.e., before it was cool. 2. Bitcoiners like complaining about the plummeting prices, and nothing emphasizes the level of their despair better than how much their net worth has dropped. 3. (Heres my favorite explanation.) Bitcoiners dont actually perceive it as money, but as property. People are much more comfortable describing how many shares in a public stock they own, how many TVs are in their homes, or how many trips theyve gone on this year. They can say stuff like that because they feel like its ok to divulge information about things you own or consume. (Whether or not its perceived as boastful is another question entirely.) Side Digression: I personally own very little BTC, because I try to spend it as soon as I have anything over a few hundred mbtc. Im not super interested in buying and holding BTC for speculation, because I decided pretty early on that Id rather pour all of my personal resources into building Bitcoin products and services. Speculation doesnt do anything for the overall utilization of Bitcoin, but creating more ways for people to transact with it does. Obviously, everyone will have different priorities though, and if youve got cash lying around (I dont, so perhaps thats the other reason I dont bother speculating), I think that it would be well served to sit in BTC for the next year or so. Yes, even allowing for the current downward trend. Parting Shot: Bitcoin attracts some of the nerdiest, most unique characters in the world, but as it becomes more mainstream, it will become more homogenous. If and when it starts to be more widely adopted, will people stop looking at it as property (i.e., ok to divulge) and start looking at it as money (i.e., not ok to divulge)?
Posted on: Sat, 04 Oct 2014 04:18:14 +0000
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