Another Bitcoin cycle means another wave of FUD in the form of red herrings, false claims & flawed arguments.
Some are due to ignorance, some are intentionally misleading and some are just pure lazy.
So, here are the most common BAD TAKES to be on the lookout for.
THREAD
“There is nothing inherent about the tools used to facilitate crimes that makes them criminal in themselves. Despite criminal use, no one is calling for the ban of roads, the internet, mail, etc.” @parkeralewis
“It is logically inconsistent to form a view that bitcoin is sufficiently functional to be viable as a currency for criminals, while at the same time deny the implication that such a view would merely establish that bitcoin is functional for everyone.” @parkeralewis
Calling Bitcoin a pyramid scheme or a ponzi lacks an understanding of both Bitcoin and the definitions of those terms.
Bitcoin is permissionless, there's no ‘membership’ element into which to recruit.
Additionally, there is no central authority from which promises can be made.
"..bitcoin is not just beyond the control of governments, it functions without the coordination of any central third parties.
..the very attempts to ban bitcoin will accelerate its adoption and proliferation."
Let’s look at the different methods one can use to interact with the Bitcoin network in the event of infrastructure failures, natural disasters or intentional outages.
Offline bitcoin tx options are becoming ever more accessible-
When a bank gets robbed we don’t say the dollar (as a currency) was hacked.
When a jeweler is robbed we don't say gold (as an element) was hacked.
Bitcoin’s network resilience comes from being economically & logistically infeasible to attack, even at the scale of state actors.
“As of 2019, the largest general-purpose quantum computers have fewer than 100 qubits, have impractically-high error rates, and can operate only in..temperatures near absolute zero. Attacking Bitcoin keys would require around 1500 qubits.” -Bitcoin Wiki
Bitcoin is an open source protocol for transferring value.
Anyone can copy it.
But you cannot take all of the developers, miners & hash power, users, node operators or suite of products and services with you.
A succinct explanation from @real_vijay on how duplication can serve to reinforce scarcity.
“Ultimately, bitcoin is backed by something, and it’s the only thing that backs any money: the credibility of its monetary properties.” - @parkeralewis
“Bitcoin is money free of counterparty risk, and its network can offer final settlement of large volume payments within minutes. Bitcoin can thus best be compared to settlement payments between central banks and large financial institutions” -@Saifedean
“Many people, when decrying Bitcoin...presume that someone, somewhere is being deprived of electricity because of this rapacious asset.” @nic__carterbit.ly/3crtZMb
When Ray Dalio uttered the words “cash is trash!" on CNBC in early 2020, he seemingly broke the fourth wall.
For someone of his stature and influence within the political machine to acknowledge the chronic and unavoidable debasement of fiat currency was a clear turning point.
While he did temporarily reverse his position, his general view remains unchanged.
The perverse incentives of the fiat system—siphoning value from savers to fund deficits—can only lead to more of the same.
20 years ago, Michael Crichton coined a term that has now become essential for navigating the incentives of today’s news media landscape:
The Gell-Mann Amnesia Effect.
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Named after Nobel Prize-winning physicist Murray Gell-Mann, Crichton explains the pitfalls of observing errors in the reporting of a topic, yet trusting the same source in areas where you are less knowledgable/able to verify accuracy.
Bitcoin is multidisciplinary and multifaceted.
It represents a major paradigm shift in innovation and the communication of value. Thus it can take years to gain a basic fundamental understanding.