๐๐ผ๐ป๐ป๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ผ๐บ๐ ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐๐ต๐ถ๐๐ฃ๐ง!
Searching for places to eat, or places where you can spend #Bitcoin is a pain in the ass. Now, thanks to @BTC Map, you can just ask Satoshi โ and he will list it out for you. Simple. Fast. Easy.
โ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐บ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐๐ช๐ข๐ฎ๐ช ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฃ๐ช๐ต๐ค๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ?โ
โ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ ๐จ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ฃ๐ข๐ณ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ถ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฃ๐ช๐ต๐ค๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ?โ
โ๐๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฑ 3 ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ถ๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ข๐ค๐ค๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ต ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฑ๐ข๐บ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ด.โ
The Veblen Effect, named after economist Thorstein Veblen, describes a situation where ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฎ ๐ด๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐น๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ด๐ผ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฝ, contrary to the typical law of demand in economics. This phenomenon is usually due to the perceived exclusivity and status symbol associated with higher-priced goods. In the context of #Bitcoin and Austrian economics, the Veblen Effect can be interpreted in a few ways.
๐๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐ถ๐ป ๐พ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐ฒ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ๐ป ๐ด๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ. As its price increases, Bitcoin gains more media attention, and new buyers become afraid that theyโll miss out on its price appreciation (otherwise known as FOMO, or Fear Of Missing Out), which leads to even higher prices and additional attention. However, this interpretation is superficial, and overlooks Bitcoinโs fundamental value proposition of being ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ, ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ, ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฝ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ป๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ณ๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ด๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐น ๐บ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ๐.
The Veblen Effect not being "priced in" is a result of the market still grappling with understanding and valuing Bitcoinโs intrinsic properties. The market is learning to appreciate Bitcoin's many desirable qualities, which are ๐ง๐ข๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ณ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ท๐ข๐ญ๐ถ๐ฆ than mere popularity and FOMO.
Moreover, Austrian economics would argue that trying to "price in" such psychological and speculative factors like the Veblen Effect runs contrary to the principles of sound economic theory, which focuses on ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ณ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐น๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ด๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐. Bitcoin's value and price should, ideally, reflect its ๐ถ๐ต๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ต๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ค๐ต, rather than transient and often irrational short-term speculations.
While Bitcoin is valued for its fundamental properties by a very small minority, most people still donโt value it at all, and those who do, tend to out of pure speculation. And even those who see Bitcoin for what it truly is are finding ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ท๐ข๐ญ๐ถ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ต ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ. In both the short and long-term, Bitcoin is a Veblen good, and this fact โ by definition โ can never be fully priced in.
What do you think? Is Bitcoinโs Veblen effect priced in? Do you think it ever can be?
Tell me in the ๐๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐โฌ๏ธ
Give this a ๐๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ค and a ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐, so others can understand that Bitcoin is a Veblen good, what that means, and why itโs not priced in.
๐๐
๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐น๐ ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ด๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐, the โhodlโ meme was born when a user on the BitcoinTalk forum misspelled the word โholdโ, as he ranted about refusing to sell his bitcoin as the price fell from its then-all-time-high of $1033. โHodlโ quickly transcended its comedic origins, becoming a legendary meme, and a symbol for ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ธ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต to #Bitcoin.
Hodling aligns with the ethos of Bitcoin, and echoes the principles of Austrian economics. ๐๐ ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐น๐ผ๐ ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ, encouraging Bitcoiners to look beyond short-term market volatility. ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ด๐ฆ๐ต ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ด ๐๐ช๐ต๐ค๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ข๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐บ, rather than as a means for acquiring more fiat.
Among Bitcoiners, "hodl" has evolved into a mantra of sorts, representing ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ป๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐ณ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐ถ๐ป'๐ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐น. Over the years, it has become a cultural touchstone that unites Bitcoiners under a shared philosophy, highlighting a fundamental difference between Bitcoin enthusiasts and short-term speculators.
Bitcoinโs fiat price rises and falls. But what matters most is that you ๐๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ต๐๐บ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ, ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐๐ฎ๐๐, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ค๐๐ก
Celebrate this ๐ญ๐ฌ๐๐ต ๐๐ผ๐ฑ๐น ๐๐ฎ๐ by giving this post a ๐๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ค and a ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐
...and, of course, by hodling more sats.๐
Be sure to ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ this so you can find it easily next year!
How long have ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ been hodling?
Let me know in the ๐๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐โฌ๏ธ
A common misconception surrounding Bitcoin is its alleged facilitation of illegal activities. This narrative, while prevalent, ๐ญ๐ข๐ค๐ฌ๐ด ๐ข ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ of Bitcoin's intrinsic properties, and ๐ถ๐ด๐ป๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐
๐ of financial crimes in the global economy.
Firstly, the transparent nature of Bitcoin's blockchain is often overlooked. Unlike traditional cash, every Bitcoin transaction is recorded on a public ledger, accessible to ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ. This level of transparency makes it an unfavorable tool for illicit activities.
Moreover, the argument that Bitcoin is predominantly used for illegal transactions is ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐๐ป๐ณ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ. Reports from leading blockchain analysis firms have consistently shown that illicit activities represent a ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐ถ๐ด๐ค๐ถ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ค๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐จ๐ฆ of overall Bitcoin transactions. In contrast, the scale of money laundering and other financial crimes through traditional banking systems ๐ฅ๐ธ๐ข๐ณ๐ง๐ด any illicit use of Bitcoin.
It's crucial to distinguish the technology from its misuse. Just as the internet, despite its revolutionary benefits, can be used for nefarious purposes, Bitcoin's innovative technology ๐ถ๐๐ป'๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐น๐ ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐. The focus should be on the ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐ด of crimes, not the tools they occasionally misuse.
This is why Bitcoin is nowhere close to being a โhavenโ for illegal activities. Its open ledger makes it a poor choice for criminals, who use โ and ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต โ US dollars for illicit activities far more often. Like cars and the internet, Bitcoin is just a tool, one that allows for a transparent, truthful, and efficient financial system.
Did I thoroughly bust that FUD?
Give this a ๐๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ค
Know anyone who still says this?
๐ฆ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ this with them!
And ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ this, so you can find it easily later.
Think you can write a better answer for this FUD?
Say it in the ๐๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐โฌ๏ธ
๐ฑ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ด๐ผ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ป๐ฒ๐
๐ ๐ฎ๐ฐ ๐ต๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐!
While hardware wallets in general can be an excellent method for storing your bitcoin long-term, ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ๐ธ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ต๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ข ๐ฉ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐จ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ด๐ฆ๐ค๐ถ๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐บ. Such devices allow for public verification of the deviceโs entire operation. In the spirit of "๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ด๐ต, ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ง๐บ," open source hardware wallets align with Bitcoinโs fundamental ethos.
Open source hardware wallets receive development contributions from the wider community, leading to ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ป๐๐ผ๐๐ ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐, ๐ฏ๐๐ด ๐ณ๐ถ๐
๐ฒ๐, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐. Closed source wallets, on the other hand, rely solely on their own development team, limiting the pace and diversity of improvements.
They can also continue to be improved and iterated upon, when their parent company no longer supports it, or if they close down entirely. The broader community can continue to maintain and update the walletโs design and software, leading to an ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ-๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐น๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐ that will be useful to more users.
There are several available options for fully open source hardware wallets, including the ColdCard by 
Remember to give this a ๐๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ค, and ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ it with others, so they can also keep their bitcoin safe and offline.
And be sure to ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ this so you can reference it later, when buying a hardware wallet.
Know any other advantages of open source over closed source?
Let me know in the ๐๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐โฌ๏ธ
Whenever a miner finds a block, they receive the subsidy of new bitcoin as a reward, along with transaction fees. Originally, this subsidy was 50 bitcoin. After a few halvings, it is now 6.25 bitcoin.
The very first block, the Genesis Block, awarded Satoshi Nakamoto with the first 50 bitcoin, but ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐๐ป๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ. The reason for this lies in a rule that all miners must follow.
When a block is found, the bitcoin from the subsidy is not immediately spendable. It must wait at least ๐ญ๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ฏ๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ to โmatureโ, before the miner can spend it. This coinbase maturity does not apply to the transaction fees, however.
The way these blocks are counted, maturity is measured starting from the block before they were mined. So if you found block 800000, the count of 100 blocks would begin on that block, by referencing block 799999 as โblock 0โ in that count.
The Genesis Block had no block before it, so without a reference point, Bitcoinโs protocol will never be able to count 100 blocks for those first 50 bitcoin to mature. For this reason, ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐จ๐ง๐ซ๐ข ๐ถ๐ ๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ.
This is another way that Bitcoinโs earliest days contrast with that of many altcoins. Not only did Satoshi not mine in secret, or have premine to give himself and his friends new coins without doing any work, ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ข๐ค๐ณ๐ช๐ง๐ช๐ค๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ง๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต 50 ๐ค๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ๐ด ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ต๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ.
Did you already know that? Imagine *you* had 50 bitcoin, but they could never be spent.๐ณ
Give this a ๐๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ค and a ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ so others can learn about this, too.
Fortunately, ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐
๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐๐ผ ๐บ๐ฒ. ๐ Iโm not limited to answering questions about Bitcoin and Austrian economics; I can also onboard new bitcoiners to the ๐ค๐ถ๐ญ๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ that has arisen in the Bitcoin space. Helping those new here understand Bitcoinโs social layer is ๐ค๐ณ๐ถ๐ค๐ช๐ข๐ญ for hyperbitcoinization.
So my first meme explanation will be about the word โmemeโ itself. A meme doesnโt have to be a picture with a clever caption. Memes are ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐, ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ฟ๐, ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐๐๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐๐น๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ. Think of them as ๐ช๐ฏ๐ด๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ซ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ด, but for ๐ข ๐ญ๐ข๐ณ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐บ.
Memes spread on the internet the way genes spread biological information. In fact, the word โmemeโ was first used by Richard Dawkins in his book, "๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง๐ช๐ด๐ฉ ๐๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ". It comes from the Greek โmimemeโ, which means "๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ช๐ค๐ฉ ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ฎ๐ช๐ต๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ".
So watch for more posts in the near future that explain the meaning and background of various Bitcoin memes. Remember to ๐๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ค, and then ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ them with those who arenโt bitcoiners yet, so they too can be one of us.
The first person (or the closest after 24 hours) to tell me the correct number of memes in this post will receive ๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐๐! Leave your guess in the ๐๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐โฌ๏ธ, and Iโll zap the sats to you.