In the ever-evolving world of cryptocurrency, Bitcoin forks have emerged as a fascinating yet ultimately unsuccessful strategy for innovation and disruption. What began as a promising approach to addressing Bitcoin’s perceived limitations has devolved into a graveyard of failed alternatives, offering crucial insights into the dynamics of blockchain technology and digital currency markets. The Illusion […]
Category: Bitcoin
All articles in the category of “Bitcoin”:
In 2009, Bitcoin emerged as the first cryptocurrency, introducing a revolutionary concept: a decentralized, immutable ledger where anyone could participate without trusting a central authority. This ethos of decentralization became the foundation for blockchain technology. But as the industry evolved, cracks in Bitcoin’s approach began to show. It was slow, expensive, and incapable of scaling […]
In the ever-evolving world of finance and economics, few innovations have challenged the status quo as profoundly as Bitcoin. Often hailed as “digital gold,” Bitcoin has become a cornerstone of conversations about the future of money. However, to understand its transformative potential, it’s essential to explore two timeless economic principles: Gresham’s Law and Thiers’ Law. […]
If Michael Saylor and MicroStrategy were to align with BlackRock and its Bitcoin ETF during a contentious Bitcoin fork, their combined influence could significantly shape the outcome of the fork and the future of Bitcoin itself. This alignment would represent the convergence of corporate and institutional forces in the Bitcoin ecosystem, raising questions about decentralization, […]
If Bitcoin Core developers were to propose a contentious fork of Bitcoin, and MicroStrategy holds a significant percentage of Bitcoin’s total supply (currently over 386,700 BTC, or approximately 1.84%), the company and its CEO, Michael Saylor, could wield substantial influence over the outcome. Their influence would depend on several factors, including their public stance, voting […]
Bitcoin’s journey from obscurity to becoming a global financial phenomenon has been nothing short of extraordinary. Early investors in Bitcoin saw astronomical returns, transforming small investments into life-changing fortunes. But as Bitcoin matures, the concept of diminishing returns has become increasingly relevant. In this post, we’ll explore what diminishing returns mean in the context of […]
The meteoric rise of Bitcoin has created extraordinary wealth for early adopters. When Bitcoin was trading at $10 or $100, many wealthy individuals and institutions poured millions into the cryptocurrency. As Bitcoin rose to $1000 and eventually to $100,000 per BTC, even more capital followed, creating billionaires almost overnight. But as Bitcoin matures and the […]
Over the past decade, cryptocurrency has transformed from an obscure, niche innovation into a cultural and financial phenomenon. Bitcoin, the original cryptocurrency, sparked the imagination of technologists, libertarians, and dreamers alike. It was a revolution in how we think about money, sovereignty, and the digital world. Yet, as Bitcoin grew in recognition, so too did […]
Bitcoin has experienced dramatic highs and devastating lows throughout its history. Its inherent volatility is one of the main risks and rewards of investing in the cryptocurrency. But what would happen to MicroStrategy, the company led by Michael Saylor, if Bitcoin experienced a catastrophic bear market—where its value plummeted by 75%-90%? MicroStrategy, which now holds […]
Bitcoin, often lauded as a decentralized and distributed digital asset, has its foundation in the idea of removing centralized power structures from the control of money. Satoshi Nakamoto’s vision was a global network where no single entity could exert undue influence over the currency. However, as Bitcoin has matured, it has drawn significant interest from […]
Bitcoin, the world’s first cryptocurrency, has experienced several dramatic cycles since its inception in 2009. Each bull run has been driven by a combination of technological innovation, institutional adoption, and market dynamics. This blog will explore the key players and factors that fueled each Bitcoin cycle, from its early days to its current surge toward […]
Introduction In the ever-evolving world of cryptocurrency, two giants stand out for very different reasons: Bitcoin, the original cryptocurrency that started it all, and Solana, the high-performance challenger that’s reshaping what’s possible with blockchain technology. Whether you’re an investor, developer, or simply crypto-curious, understanding the key differences between these two blockchain powerhouses is crucial for […]
The proposal for the United States to create a national Bitcoin reserve, as suggested by Senator Cynthia Lummis, has sparked fascinating debates about how the government might fund such a move. Should the US sell some of its gold reserves to buy Bitcoin, or simply issue more debt? Each path carries significant implications—not only for […]
The proposal by U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve, potentially funded by reallocating Treasury gold holdings, has sparked significant debate. This idea, which would see the U.S. Treasury purchase up to 1 million Bitcoin (around 5% of its total supply), is bold and unprecedented. But beyond its impact on U.S. monetary […]
The cryptocurrency space has always thrived on the promise of innovation. From Bitcoin to Ethereum to Solana, and now to newer chains like Sui, Aptos, and Celestia, the narrative has been about progress: faster, cheaper, more scalable. But as the years go by, a pattern emerges—a chain of hype, speculation, and eventual abandonment. The cycle […]
America’s national debt stands at a staggering $36 trillion, with unfunded liabilities exceeding $100 trillion. While these numbers might seem insurmountable, the United States enjoys an unparalleled advantage that could turn this apparent crisis into a golden opportunity: the world’s insatiable demand for dollars. By strategically leveraging stablecoins and tokenized treasuries, America could solve its […]
The global financial landscape is undergoing a seismic shift. Traditional currencies and banking systems are being challenged by decentralized technologies, creating new opportunities for how we save, spend, and think about money. At the center of this transformation lies a powerful synergy: Bitcoin and stablecoins. This dynamic pairing could form the bedrock of a future […]
Bitcoin and Litecoin are two of the most established and widely known cryptocurrencies. Both have achieved remarkable success since their launches, but Litecoin often lingers in Bitcoin’s shadow despite offering unique advantages. This post dives deep into the comparison between Bitcoin and Litecoin, evaluating their technical features, use cases, and market dynamics. Let’s dive in… […]
Could Bitcoin Pay Off the U.S. National Debt? Here’s What It Would Take… In the face of a towering $36 trillion national debt, the idea of the U.S. paying it off with Bitcoin may sound like a tech investor’s dream—or a wild thought experiment. But let’s take a serious look: if the U.S. government used […]
In short: maybe. There’s no direct or conclusive evidence to back this idea up, and everything that follows is speculative. But when you look at the big picture, the pieces seem to fit together remarkably well… MicroStrategy has captured global attention for its relentless Bitcoin acquisition, often raising questions beyond traditional corporate strategy. With over […]
This is an outrageous post title: of course Bitcoin is better money than the Solana meme coin ‘Bonk’, right? Well, maybe, but also maybe not. What is money? What should money be? Money in the modern era should be digital, almost free to transact (preferably free to send and receive), able to scale to millions […]
If Bitcoin were to replace the US dollar as a global currency, it would likely have significant economic and geopolitical implications. However, it’s important to note that such a scenario is highly speculative and uncertain. If it were to happen, the US government and financial institutions might respond in several ways, including: It’s crucial to […]
The development and updates of the Lightning Network are typically decided upon through a collaborative and open-source process involving multiple contributors and developers from the broader Bitcoin and Lightning community. There is no single central authority that makes these decisions. Key decisions regarding the Lightning Network often involve: Ultimately, the decentralized nature of Bitcoin and […]
Approximately 6.25 new bitcoins are mined every 10 minutes (see note on the ‘bitcoin halving cycle’ below), which equates to approximately 900 new bitcoins per day. This roughly translates to around 328,500 bitcoins per year. As of October 2023, one bitcoin is worth approximately $28,000, so doing the math: = 328,500 × $28,000 = $9,184,000,000 […]
The size of the entire Bitcoin blockchain grows at a pace of approximately one additional megabyte of data (known as a block) every ten minutes (and has done since it began way back in 2009) — making it (so far) approximately 500GB in size (so half a terabyte, i.e. 0.5TB). The 1MB block size allows […]
Trying to find out how big the entire Bitcoin blockchain (also known as the Bitcoin ‘ledger’) is? The size of the entire Bitcoin blockchain grows at a pace of approximately one additional megabyte (MB) every ten minutes (and has done since it began way back in 2009). As of August 2023 it is a pretty […]
There are about 900 brand new bitcoins mined/created per day. There are about 7 billion people on Earth. So splitting all 900 new bitcoins equally, allocating an equal share of all of these to everyone on Earth each day, would result in 900/7,000,000,000 bitcoins = about 0.00000012857 bitcoins per person. A bitcoin is divisible by […]
There’s this question I keep coming back to: “If Bitcoin had been able to match Visa’s transactions per second from the start, what would its value be now, today?” Bitcoin can handle about 7 transactions per second. For comparison, Visa can handle somewhere in the region of up to about 25,000 transactions per second. Clearly […]
Whilst going through hundreds of emails and forum posts written by Satoshi Nakamoto (all of which are documented for posterity at the Satoshi Nakamoto Institute), one particular correspondance I came across stopped me in my tracks. Why? Because it — an email written by Satoshi himself no less — talks about scaling Bitcoin (a topic […]
Have you ever wondered how proof of work (the mechanism by which new blocks are added to Bitcoin – a.k.a ‘mining’) solves the Byzantine Generals Problem? Well, who better to try to explain this than the creator of Bitcoin himself: Satoshi Nakamoto. Interestingly, everything Satoshi Nakamoto wrote is recorded for posterity on a website called […]
There’s a lot to appreciate looking back at all the various things Satoshi Nakamoto (the creator of Bitcoin) wrote in emails, mailing lists, and forums (and boy did he write quite a bit). If you happen to already understand Bitcoin you’ll quickly see some of the early-thinking-brilliance of Satoshi in many of the below quotes, […]
Bitcoin went live on January 3, 2009. This was the day that Satoshi Nakamoto generated the first Bitcoin block, in which he encoded the message: “The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.” -taken from the title of an article on the front page of one of London’s best-known daily newspapers: The […]
Let’s explore Bitcoin priced in gold (all prices as of August 2023). The entire market cap of Bitcoin is currently roughly 570 billion US dollars (i.e. over half a trillion US dollars). At current market prices, one kg of gold is approximately $60,000, giving us one metric tonne of gold having a price of approximately […]
An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a fund, held by a custodial/manager (such as BlackRock), that can be traded like a stock. A Bitcoin ETF would be a fund that holds Bitcoin and then sells shares in this fund that represent the price of Bitcoin, which can then be traded on traditional stock markets. Someone […]
Every ten minutes Bitcoin adds a new block to its blockchain. Every new block is approximately 1MB in size (meaning every ten minutes the entire blockchain grows by approximately 1MB in overall size). Each of these blocks contains on average roughly 2,000 bitcoin transaction, and every new block that is mined carries a reward of […]
“Can you define ‘blockchain’? I think a few people in this room could define blockchain, but the real challenge would be can you define ‘blockchain’ in such a way that I can’t do search and replace with the word ‘database’ and still make that sentence work.” -Andreas Antonopolous, in the YouTube video ‘Blockchain vs. Bullshit: […]