Bitcoin should be a spice, not the meat and potatoes

Have you interacted with someone in the Bitcoin ecosystem? You'll notice they have a ton of passion and enthusiasm, many times a detriment to themselves. I am no different. I, too, am included in this group, or should I say ‘cult’?

We LOVE talking about Bitcoin. Why you should understand it, why you should save in it, and why you should study it! Let’s be honest, no one is studying these days. To the uninitiated, this is off-putting. However, they are unaware that this knowledge base has been formed over many years. It took time, patience, and many mistakes to get here.

When we (my Bitcoin friends and I) emotionally respond to ‘crypto’ and why it's different than Bitcoin, it's because we've been burned by it. When we describe inflation and the loss of purchasing power, we feel it. You do too, but haven't named it yet.

Our biggest problem is trying to condense our knowledge into a single conversation to help you see Bitcoin differently. We come off strong! We use big words such as decentralization, blockchain and permissionless. To make matters worse, this addresses the topic of money, an extremely taboo subject. Add to the fact that this thing isn't physical, and the interaction is a mess waiting to happen.

I've been in this camp and made many mistakes. It wasn't until I went to the streets to interact with others outside the space that I noticed our own flaws. After falling flat on my face, I learned to simplify the message and use analogies instead. I stopped bringing up money altogether and used the person's hobbies or profession to build a connection.

Where am I headed with this? Bitcoin is often treated as the meat and potatoes of the dish, the item that gets the most attention, the ingredient the chef leads with. Doing so almost always puts the other person off and labels Bitcoin as a cult. Instead, let's treat bitcoin as a spice, an ingredient to enhance an existing dish. Each individual has their existing perspective and worldview. Let's use their current understanding to sprinkle Bitcoin rather than brute force it.

How do you actually put this into practice? Before you try to throw the kitchen sink at them, PLEASE PAUSE! Ask them what they know. What do they think of Bitcoin? How do they view money? Use the challenges they face to introduce this new concept. Use simple words that anyone could understand. My favourite question: “Who's your favourite athlete?” It has nothing to do with Bitcoin or money, yet it can convey the concept of scarcity. How? You can learn these analogies from my presentation "Bitcoin Without Buzzwords".

To my Bitcoin friends: Let's treat this as a spice and use it to enhance a person's view, not shatter it. Please leverage simple analogies for these conversations. I know we want them to understand it, but it's going to take time. We didn't come to terms with Bitcoin through a single conversation, so we can't expect it with others either!

To everyone else: my Bitcoin friends and I mean well. I apologize for the moments when we come off strong. We are excited to share something that has changed our lives, and hoping it can do the same for you.

PS. Here is my initial draft, written by hand, not AI. That said, one could argue that this image can be generated by AI, so we're in for an interesting future. What is human and what is not!?