A sect of Bitcoin Maximalists known as Bitcoin Fundamentalists are taking over the movement. But is this fundamentalism a threat to Bitcoin or its greatest ally?
This is an opinion editorial by Aleks Svetski, author of “The UnCommunist Manifesto,” founder of The Bitcoin Times and Host of the “Wake Up Podcast with Svetski.”
Fundamentals are fundamentals. They are pure, simple, straightforward and true.
Complexity, on the other hand, is often the enemy of truth, and also of beauty and of progress.
We live in a world that is today obfuscated by complexities and abstractions that few can understand, let alone operate within the context of. Shitcoiners, scammers, statists and fraudsters love to use complexity to their advantage. They find support from both the lemmings and those with maladapted egos, who don’t want to seem “stupid” by not “getting it.”
The lemmings are the lemmings. They march onward whether to paradise or to the lava, and know not why. There’s not much to say about them.
But the latter are the more curious case, because in their attempt to look intelligent or superior in the face of complexity, they prove supremely stupidity because they never actually got it in the first place, and were thus duped.
Prime examples are the wealthy fund managers and venture capitalists who backed everything from Enron, to Bernie Madoff, to Lehman Brothers, to Theranos and, in more recent times, EOS, Cardano, Solana, Ethereum and every other major shitcoin ever created.
G.K. Chesterton said:
“Evil always takes advantage of ambiguity.”
And so it goes with all such things in the modern world. The siren call is “Trust, don’t verify.”
Modern “mOrALiTy” is obedience, conformity and compliance. We are told to just “go with the flow” because “we’re all in this together.”
But those worth their salt spit in the face of such stupidity, and this is an ethos I find quite regularly among Bitcoiners who I respect.
To Bitcoin is to verify, and not trust, at least to the degree that your competence allows, and should you need to enhance your understanding, then you do so. In the Bitcoin world, information is not “hidden,” but made freely available by other sovereign individuals who want to see another competent, independent member join their ranks.
This is Bitcoin Fundamentalism, and I cannot think of something more important for a grassroots movement that is attempting to shift the very foundation of civilization.
When someone tells you that “Bitcoin is too boring,” stand guard at the door of your mind, and at the vault of your wealth, for they will almost certainly follow this up with an elaborate pitch about how they’ve discovered perpetual motion.
Such Rube Goldberg machines will always lead to hell, no matter the intention, because they are false gods, peddled by false prophets.
Simplicity is elegant. It is pure.
Basic is beautiful.
The fundamentals are the foundation.
So it is in the world of Bitcoin.
24 words.
10 minutes.
21 million.
Beyond just Bitcoin is the raw beauty and purity found in living a fundamental life.
The older I get, and more mature (I hope), the more I cherish simplicity and focus. Why must I mire myself in unnecessary complexity?
The former comes from a place of certainty and confidence, while the latter from insecurity and anxiety.
Always trying to prove that you’re more than you are is the behavior of a malformed, fragile ego.
Why are you trying so hard? Who hurt you? What are you trying to prove?
There’s a time and a place for exploring complexity. Perhaps in your 20s when you’re learning, exploring and discovering the perimeters of life. But as you get older, you will come to the realization (assuming that you actually mature, instead of becoming some overgrown child) that truth is quite simple, that the principles of life are not so numerous, and that focus is important — for you have a limited time on this Earth.
Relationships, good food, sunshine, savings, energy, knowledge, fitness, health, freedom, family, responsibility, respect, love, creativity, problem solving, leverage*, nature, god.
Of course, this is not an exhaustive list, but 80% to 90% of the beauty in life can be found in that list.
So remember…
Complexity is often the enemy of truth.
Simplicity is elegant.
Basic is beautiful.
Fundamentals are the foundation.
Being a Bitcoin Fundamentalist is something worth aspiring toward.
It will do your soul much good.
Take this advice or leave it. The choice, of course, is yours.
*I don’t mean leverage in the market. I mean leverage in the Archimedean sense. It’s a powerful tool, and can move mountains.
This is a guest post by Aleks Svetski, author of “The UnCommunist Manifesto,”, founder of The Bitcoin Times and Host of The Wake Up Podcast. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.
