Beginners Guide Part 1/3 - Why Bitcoin? With American HODL - WBD630

American HODL is a Bitcoiner who has been promoting the
innovation for over 8 years. In this interview, we discuss why is
Bitcoin important: what makes it an improved version of money,
why society needs it, how it improves inclusion and thereby the
world, the proof we have that Bitcoin can work, and how the world
will look in the future with and without Bitcoin.


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This is the first in a series of special What Bitcoin Did shows
aimed at opening people to the basic principles that underpin
Satoshi Nakamoto’s innovation. Bitcoin has been in existence for
14 years. Whilst the adoption rate is tracking other
paradigm-shifting technologies like the internet, we are still
very early. Most people still don’t own Bitcoin. And, for those
that do, a lot are still to fully properly grasp its properties
and potential, and therefore understand why it’s important.


The majority of people are yet to comprehend Bitcoin’s capacity
to better individuals and the world for a number of reasons. It
is an innovation rivalling the disruptive power of any technology
that has come before it. Those who grasp it are still in awe of
its elegant and revolutionary design. But, because it risks
upending the balance of power between individuals and the state,
it rarely gets a fair representation in the mainstream media.


Further, Bitcoin touches on many fundamental tenets of modern
society. Firstly, it is a new form of money, purposefully outside
of the scope of centralized control. So, to understand Bitcoin,
one must understand the principles of money and trade. Secondly,
it has been developed to account for the manifest risks of
increased surveillance of individuals in the electronic age. So,
to understand Bitcoin, one must understand why privacy is the
bedrock of democracy.


Bitcoin also requires an appreciation of cryptography, the
internet, game theory, economics, politics, philosophy, and
energy. It’s the analogy of peeling an onion, where awareness at
one level enables the next layer to be peeled away revealing
hidden characteristics. Someone on this journey of discovery is
said to be going down the Bitcoin rabbit hole. It takes time and
effort.


Those embedded within the Bitcoin community know that
understanding Bitcoin is a process. But further, they know the
profound awakening that comes to those who open themselves to it.
The period of time before you properly understood Bitcoin will be
manifestly distinct from the period of time after. This is when
the hyperbole from those advocating for Bitcoin suddenly seems
understated. Asking why Bitcoin is important is the start of that
journey.