7/31 ANDY HOFFMAN (CryptoGoldCentral.com): Defining Bitcoin Success

On this extremely frustrating day of Bitcoin price pressure – that after 2½ years of ownership, has become as commonplace as rain showers – I want to comment on a thought-provoking speech by the godfather of Bitcoin education, Andreas Antonopoulos. Titled, “Measuring Success – Price or Principle,” he discusses the various ways people define Bitcoin “success.”

The most obvious answer is higher price – which unquestionably, is why the vast majority of people enter the space…for now, at least. However, other answers are mass adoption; the replacement of legacy political, monetary, and social systems; and technological advancement – to which, he discusses the pros and cons of each…generally speaking, and using the “the internet” as a proxy. His conclusion being, that Bitcoin’s ultimate success should be defined by the increased LIBERTY it brings the world.

Unfortunately, “liberty” is an ambiguous term; and for the vast majority of Bitcoin holders – as in, 99% - it can only be achieved by higher prices, in the ultimate example of the chicken versus the egg. Sure, it’s nice to consider a world where “the powers that be” are neutered by decentralized money – which may not occur, irrespective of Bitcoin usage. However, just as when I bought gold to protect myself against inflation - and hedge the failure of fiat currency; my ownership of Bitcoin is motivated principally by the undervaluation I see, in an asset with the potential to become vastly more valuable…and in the process, positively change the world.

To that end, the ONLY way Bitcoin can effect such change – and by proxy, bring “liberty” to the world – will be through higher prices…as without it, there’s no way the masses will invest - be they individuals, institutions, or sovereign governments. That’s why the $100 billion market cap level was so important to breach, and hold – and why other “key round numbers” will be too…like, say, $500 billion.

For those who think it can’t happen, he at the 13-minute mark describes how the independent, open-sourced LINUX protocol usurped the world’s biggest corporate software manufacturers. Bitcoin, given its emerging role as “money,” will be fought as least as hard as LINUX - but in the end, it will prevail…given that, like LINUX, it’s vastly superior to what is currently available.