Thread by @ScottAWolfe

1/ What the average observer of the #Ethereum merge to Proof of Stake needs to know when considering all the headlines & fanfare about “reduced energy consumption” and then asking “why doesn’t #Bitcoin do this too?”, is that #ETH and $BTC are fundamentally different assets/tools.

2/ #Bitcoin and #Ethereum are not like “Coca Cola and Pepsi”. They are not interchangeable brands of the same type. They are designed and have evolved to achieve very different things. Their context and needs are different, and how we asses them needs to be guided by this.

3/ #Ethereum has evolved and aspires to be a base technological layer for development of creative assets like NFTs, and to enable venture capitalists and others a way to financialize, exchange, and bet on these within the structures of our current monetary & financial systems.

4/ #Ethereum does not propose to alter the monetary or financial structures that dictate our current world, nor is there a concerted effort to place #ETH at the centre of social, economic or climate justice initiatives and community-building efforts.

5/ #Ethereum simply aspires to provide a base layer for creatives and capital within the same sort of centralized governance structures that are common to banks and tech companies like Meta and Google. Like #Web3 in general, #ETH is the digital next extension of this paradigm.

6/ One can decide for themselves if/how they wish to judge this role and use for #Ethereum. My thread here is not to do so. But it is clear that to consume larger amounts of energy via PoW would be unreasonable and wasteful for #ETH given its use case goals and objectives.

7/ #Bitcoin, on the other hand, has and continues to evolve as a disruptive technology that seeks to re-orient monetary and financial systems; to advance human rights, financial inclusion; to recalibrate geo-political relations; and to modernize energy production/consumption.

8/ #Bitcoin was created as a direct response to the damage caused by the 2008 financial crisis, and the bail out of large financial institutions at the direct expense of everyday people around the world. It was a way to re-orient global systems with “rules, but no rulers”.

9/ In order to be and remain a decentralized, collectively governed (ie, by consensus) base technological layer, #Bitcoin uses Proof of Work and a fully transparent protocol guiding how mining/hashing, supply/issuance, and other factors of the asset operate.

10/ Unlike Proof of Stake assets like $Solana, $LUNA and now #Ethereum, the use of Proof of Work by #Bitcoin remains an essential way to preserve decentralization and an inability for a small group of stakeholders to arbitrarily change the supply of the asset and other features.

11/ The implication of #Ethereum shifting to PoS is perhaps trivial given its objectives and use cases. One could say these actually necessitate the move to PoS. The same could not and cannot be said for #Bitcoin.

12/ As an asset that is gradually re-orienting our monetary and financial systems and providing a reliable, censorship resistant, and accessible monetary asset for the entire world, #Bitcoin’s use of PoW is imperative.

13/ Global adoption and use cases for #Ethereum and #Bitcoin tell the story more fully. For instance, while there are now @Bitcoinbeach @BitcoinEkasi @LakeBitcoin and other community dev initiatives via $BTC, there are no “Ethereum Beach”, “Ethereum Ekasi”, Ethereum Lake”.

14/ People around the world are not turning to #Ethereum as an asset to escape political persecution, to build sustainable local economies, and to build new low-barrier payment and financial settlement tools, like #Bitcoin’s #LightningNetwork.

15/ And, #Ethereum miners (who are now facing extinction) have not rallied as part of a global movement to incentivize build out of renewable energy production and to capture waste energy (eg, #methane) as is happening with #Bitcoin mining.

16/ #Ethereum and #Bitcoin are fundamentally different assets, with different adoption and use cases, and which require different consensus and mechanisms for their ongoing governance.

17/ Based on the above, I think #Ethereum shifting to Proof of Stake is just fine. As a base layer for creatives, hobbyists and venture capitalists within our current monetary & financial systems, best that #ETH use the same centralized governance as banks, Meta, Google, et al.

18/ Unless #Ethereum were to espouse a grander social, economic & climate justice vision like #Bitcoin has, it is better that #ETH move on to PoS and occupy its place within the ecosystem of centralized, traditional finance and capital institutions. Uses and governance align.

19/ Again, this is intended to help observers appreciate why the headlines & fanfare about #Ethereum’s shift to PoS should be tempered and contextualized. Superficially, yup, a good thing for #ETH and the world. But don’t make the mistake of applying the same logic to #Bitcoin.

20/ Instead, I would humbly suggest that one use this opportunity to latch on to the question “WHY is #Bitcoin different?”. I’m not saying buy $BTC. I’m saying do some homework. Get to understand it. It’s a beautiful and hope-inspiring journey of discovery!

END/ A few accounts I would recommend following to learn more about #Bitcoin’s use cases and global value.

@progressivebtcr @JeffBooth @AnitaPosch @gladstein @DSBatten @LynAldenContact @WhatBitcoinDid @pete_rizzo_ @BitcoinEkasi @Bitcoinbeach @LakeBitcoin @thetrocro @jyn_urso