roja / is on Nostr

Bitcoin = Freedom

Last Notes

2024-08-26 15:12:14

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
- Edmund Burke
Education Alone Will Not Increase Bitcoin Adoption - Let’s Get Serious and Focus on What Matters
- If you could place your “best bet” on a goal to increase Bitcoin adoption, where would you focus your energy? What would your goal be?
- Are bitcoiners ready yet to switch from a NGU mentality to seeing bitcoin for what it really is and that Bitcoin is true freedom money and more?
- Is it finally time to realize that bitcoiners can help to advance adoption by focusing more on what matters? And what matters boils down to behavior change.
Consider these points -
1. Need to identify a priority goal to focus on AND recognize that Bitcoin adoption ultimately boils down to changes in behaviors and mindsets
Currently, there is a lot of activity occurring in the bitcoin world, which is exciting to see. However, it is clear that the majority of actions are not focused on outcomes, such as bitcoin adoption — let alone on having agreement on what success actually looks like for adoption. What is successful bitcoin adoption - how to measure?
To advance Bitcoin adoption, it is critical to first develop a clear aspiration or goal. Then, specify what behaviors and mindsets must change or shift to adopt Bitcoin. The more specific, the better - e.g., ‘A “no-coiner” purchases their first satoshis’ or ‘A Bitcoiner uses btc to purchase that infamous cup of coffee’ or how about ‘A bitcoiner transfers btc to cold storage’.
Answer this - have you been able to go through the cold storage process and verify it worked without breaking into a little bit of a sweat? Admit it - it can be terrifying. Complexity is no bueño for behavior change as it takes simplicity to change behavior.
2. “Price is a measure of adoption”
Price in any fiat currency, including USD is a limited, proxy measure of bitcoin adoption at best. Off the top — the volatility fluctuation and geographical differences alone make price an unreliable measure of adoption. Also, the value of Bitcoin should be based on its inherent properties and not on its exchange rate against fiat currencies.
One Bitcoin should have the same value regardless of its exchange rate against fiat currencies. More nuanced measures for MoE, SoV and UoA could include the number of Bitcoin transactions, the number of active Bitcoin wallets, number of ATMs, the adoption and growth of the Lightning Network, the hash rate and network security of the Bitcoin network, and the number of merchants and businesses accepting Bitcoin as payment. And Bitcoin is all about separation of state and money - its value is not tied to the policies nor economic conditions of any particular country. So why measure adoption in fiat?
3. “Education is everything”
Education is critical - I agree - it helps to raise awareness, which is needed as a first step to effect change, but education is not everything when it comes to adoption. Communication nor education alone reliably change behavior. Bitcoin Beach and Bitcoin Jungle show this - both required more than education to get people to first become aware of, buy, and then use bitcoin. If it were only about education or informing people about Bitcoin, then why don’t we send out a mass email with a set of educational links? Why doesn’t everyone quit smoking already given all the education there is about how bad it is?
The El Salvadorans and Ticos weren’t just sent a set of educational links and podcasts. Each had a community of dedicated bitcoiners and they used a lot of proven change techniques for adoption. They had infrastructure development (wallets to use, merchants accepting bitcoin etc.), tailored comm campaigns, onboarding training sessions, social support and incentives, too. The initial focus was on making Bitcoin as “easy as possible” for the people.
I am proposing that more efforts like these “pilots” should be done and scaled out - but only better - based on what has been learned already. Recognize that while a key component, education alone is not sufficient for effective behavior change. Rather than using #StudyBitcoin, we should advocate for the outcome-focused #BuyBitcoin instead.
Bottom-line :
My bottom-line points are: 1) Bitcoin adoption can be achieved more rapidly with some focus on a clear adoption-related goal, 2) Human nature and societal/cultural aspects must be considered to design approaches and pilots to increase Bitcoin adoption, and 3) It is possible to help advance bitcoin adoption when the right blend of committed Bitcoiners come together for a shared purpose and focus.
And so, the first step to advance btc adoption, is to answer “What is the next best bet? What is a clear goal to help increase Bitcoin adoption?”
#adoption #BTC #Bitcoin #Bitcoineducation #Education #Plebchain