Dad: Son, is bitcoin for individuals only?
Son: Hi Dad,
No, not at all! Bitcoin is not only for individuals. Publicly traded companies own bitcoin too.
Dad: Can you name a few?
Son: Visit 
Son: Dad, what advice would you have given me back then if you had already known?
Dad: Son, this would be "Pay Yourself First".
Son: Yeah, that's a good one, Dad. That is valuable advice that will pay off over time.
Dad: .. or not, if this advice is not put into practice.
Son: Buy bitcoin first after payday, then dollar cost averaging until the end of the month – or end of cash – whatever comes first.
Dad: LOL. Yes, exactly. Something like that, and let me add "always live below your means".
#Bitcoin
Dad: Son, what is the difference between blockchain and Bitcoin? Is there even a difference?
Son: Hi Dad,
"Blockchain" is the technology that underpins Bitcoin, and transactions are stored in blocks.
Think of it as a decentralized database or a decentralized ledger.
"Bitcoin" – the coins or the "value" – are the unspent transaction outputs that are stored on the blockchain.
Dad: Where on the blockchain?
Son: If the blockchain were a material flow or Sankey diagram, you would find the stored value at the ends of the diagram.
#Bitcoin
Dad: Son, what stops a wallet from stealing bitcoin?
Son: Hi Dad,
What stops malware from being malicious?
Nothing.
Get a signing device and split wallet functionality from transaction signing.
#Bitcoin
Dad: Son, how many Bitcoins does, or did, Satoshi have? Many, I am certain, since he was early. ;-)
Son: Hi Dad,
Some estimate Satoshi had around 980,000 bitcoins. This number is heavily debated, though.
Dad: Estimate based on what? Why do we know that?
Son: The blocks mined by Satoshi have a special pattern, like a fingerprint.
We do not know who Satoshi was, but we know with high probability the number of bitcoins he had. Satoshis' coins never moved and are considered lost forever.
I'm pretty sure even Satoshi felt short bitcoin. ;-)
#Bitcoin
Dad: Son, do you think bitcoin will eventually become a global currency?
Son: Hi Dad,
Bitcoin is already a global currency. :-)
If you're asking if bitcoin will be the reserve currency, then yes, I think that is very likely.
The question is not if, but when.
#Bitcoin
Dad: Son, why does it take so long to have my new Umbrel ready to use? It is syncing since hours now.
Son: Dad, again, it's a question of time preference.
A full node, what your Umbrel is, is a program that fully validates transactions and blocks.
Everything from the Genesis block to today's latest block must be downloaded and validated first. This is the only way to be sure that you have a valid copy of the blockchain running.
Dad: Ok, I see. How can this be accelerated?
Son: A fast internet connection and a fast SSD disk helps to speed up the initial sync, however ...
You'll have to be patient, Dad. ;-)
#Bitcoin
Dad: Son, since most of us cannot afford Bitcoin – is "Bitcoin Cash" still a good deal?
Son: Hi Dad,
"Bitcoin Cash" is trash. This is not bitcoin.
You can buy one dollar worth of bitcoin.
#Bitcoin
Son: Dad, I taught my kids that:
"The more you learn,
the more you earn,
the more you stack,
the more luck you will have."
Dad: Son, "The amount of good luck coming your way depends on your willingness to act."
That is a quote from "Barbara Sher" which basically says the same thing.
Son: .., but without Bitcoin – a huge difference.
#Bitcoin
Dad: Son, having kids does not make you a father.
Raising them does.
Son: Dad, buying bitcoin doesn't make you a Bitcoiner.
Holding your keys does.
#Bitcoin
Dad: Son, why is relaying unconfirmed transactions from one Bitcoin node to others necessary?
Son: Hi Dad,
Nodes relay unconfirmed transactions they hear about to one another, and every node has its own, more or less synchronized, mempool.
If there was no mempool, there would be no way for miners to learn about unconfirmed transactions to include in blocks to begin with.
Dad: Why not send directly to the miners?
Son: It's important to think about each party's incentives and needs. Relaying transactions is not a waste, even if a node is not mining. Learning about unconfirmed transactions has value, for example while waiting for a payment.
#Bitcoin
Dad: Son, do you have a good Bitcoin investment strategy you would like to share?
Son: Hi Dad,
Sure. Don't trade, don't sell – that's the strategy.
Holding bitcoin is savings, not investing.
People with a high time preference will invest their fiat money seeking for fiat gains.
#Bitcoin
Dad: Son, I am getting old. I need a backup solution for my passphrase. I think getting another Cryptosteel Capsule.
I have so many tiles left. Do you know if I can buy only a Capsule container without the tiles?
Son: Hi Dad,
Yes, you can buy an empty Capsule.
This package includes no tiles or separators and is perfect for backing up a passphrase.
On the Cryptosteel website, go to 'Products' > 'All Products' > 'Shop'. Use the coupon "TEACH_ME_BITCOIN_SON_CS10" during checkout to get 10% off!
Dad: Great, found it. Thank you. :-)
#Bitcoin
Dad: Son, many people I know have cryptophobia.
Son: Hi Dad,
I'm not surprised.
Bitcoin is like early electricity.
Raw, dangerous, very volatile and hard to use.
With time, Bitcoin will feel much safer, easier to use, and simply normal.
Dad: I also believe that Bitcoin is here to stay.
Son: Like electricity, it will inspire and power new unimaginable industries. And one day we will wonder how we could live without Bitcoin.
#Bitcoin
Son: Dad, Bitcoin scarcity is intensifying as soaring demand triggers an imminent explosion.
Dad: Son, so does this mean that a price explosion is imminent?
Son: The question is not if, but when.
#Bitcoin
Dad: Son, cam yuu hlp be to make a bitcorn paymentt?
Son: Dad, what's wrong? Are you drunk?!
Dad: Alk goood. coudl be, .. maybe jhst a little too muvh of that finee botttle, ..
Son: 4 things not to operate intoxicated:
1. Firearms
2. Heavy machinery
3. Vehicles
4. Bitcoin
That's my message for today, Dad. Talk tomorrow.
#Bitcoin
Dad: Son, what exactly is "difficulty adjustment"?
Son: Hi Dad,
The "difficulty adjustment" is why Bitcoin will never die.
The more people are mining, the harder it gets to find a new block and vice versa. This ensures that, on average, a new block is found every 10 minutes.
Dad: Son, literally no one outside of Bitcoin knows or understands what the "difficulty adjustment" is.
Son: Weightlifters maybe do.
#Bitcoin
Dad: Son, I feel embarrassed asking this question, but what is the difference between a full node and a miner?
How do I get my full node to mine?
Son: Hi Dad,
A full node verifies blocks.
A miner creates blocks.
A full node on a Raspberry Pi is not made for mining. You need specialized equipment to mine.
Dad: Son, that is a pity. I was hoping to make some sats.
#Bitcoin
Son: Dad, FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) does not help on your Bitcoin HODL journey.
99.99 percent of the news is irrelevant and makes you feel bad at the end of the day.
Yet, you watch it anyway, Dad. Every single day.
Dad: Son, you are not going to sell your sats and watch the BTC price anyway. Every single hour, 100 times a day.
Son: Touché.
#Bitcoin
Dad: Son, what are "HD Bitcoin Wallets"?
Son: Dad, by definition, wallets are private key and public key management systems. In the beginning, every key pair used had to be backed up individually. That's why many have reused addresses, which is bad for privacy, as you know.
BIP-32 made Bitcoin better and introduced "HD wallets", which stands for "Hierarchical Deterministic", and not for "High Definition". With this BIP, it's possible to generate multiple addresses (public/private key pairs) derived from a single source of random data (=entropy).
Dad: Why was this introduced in the first place?
Son: It makes backing up the random bits of data much easier and safer, especially if combined with BIP-39, which introduced the mnemonic seed words, which is just entropy in a human-readable form.
#Bitcoin