The Bitcoin Journey

There is a reason why the journey into Bitcoin is often described as "falling down the rabbit hole." Bitcoin combines cryptography, game theory, computer science, distributed systems, economics, physics, and a multitude of other disciplines into a living, breathing ecosystem. It is interdisciplinary in nature, offering many entry-points down the rabbit hole. Whether your background is in computer science, economics, trading, or something else completely, understanding Bitcoin is an ongoing journey that we undertake both collectively and individually. How this journey might look like and how it relates to the cyclical nature of Bitcoin will be explored in this talk.

Transcript

1. Gigi · @dergigi
   The Bitcoin Journey
   

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3. Part One
   A Bitcoiner’s Journey
   

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4. 1. This will never work.
   
   2. Why isn’t it dead yet?
   
   3. Oh, this is interesting…
   
   4.
   
   5.
   
   6.
   Getting into Bitcoin
   

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6. Source: Unchained Capital (2017)
   

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7. Source: BlockTower, Ari Paul (May 2018)
   

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8. The Rabbit Hole
   

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9. … has many entries
   The Rabbit Hole
   …
   …
   …
   …
   …
   

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10. The Rabbit Hole
    … is a journey
    2
    4
    3
    1
    …
    

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11. The Rabbit Hole
    “All roads lead to Bitcoin.”
    

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12. Part Two
    Bitcoin’s Journey
    

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13. 0 1
    Stage n: Bitcoin exists.
    

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14. 0 1¢
    Stage n: Bitcoin exists.
    

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15. 0 1¢
    Stage N: bitcoin has value.
    

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16. NgU Technology
    N > 0
    

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17. Source: Saifedean Ammous (2018)
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    Demand for
    store of value
    Price rises
    Mining becomes
    more profitable
    More processing power
    goes to mining
    Network becomes
    more secure
    

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18. –Satoshi Nakamoto
    “It might make sense just to get some in case it catches on. If
    enough people think the same way, that becomes a self fulfilling
    prophecy.”
    

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20. 1 2
    3
    4
    

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21. 1 2
    3
    4
    1. Proof of Concept
    
    2. Payments
    
    3. E-Gold
    
    4. Financial Asset
    
    5. ?
    Source: Bitcoin Stock-to-Flow Cross Asset Model by Plan B (2020)
    

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22. Source: Visions of Bitcoin by Hasu and Nic Carter (2018)
    

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23. Source: Bitcoin Stock-to-Flow Cross Asset Model by Plan B (2020)
    

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24. Source: Bitcoin Stock-to-Flow Cross Asset Model by Plan B (2020)
    

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25. Source: Satoshi Rides the Waves of Change by hodl.rocks
    

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26. Source: HODL Waves by Unchained Capital (2018)
    

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27. Source: HODL Waves by Unchained Capital (2020)
    HODL of 2018
    

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28. Source: Don't Buy Bitcoin. It's Going To Crash by Alex Millar (2015)
    6¢ → 36¢ → 58¢ → $29 →
    $13 → $213 → $130 → $1.100 →
    

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29. Bitcoin = Cyclical
    

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31. 1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    Number Go Up
    Mining = Profit
    Trust & usage
    go up
    Security & Price
    Security go up # of miners go up
    

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32. 1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    Number Go Up
    Media Hype
    New Wave of
    People
    Some “get it”
    and become
    bitcoiners
    More development,
    more education,
    more HODL.
    Price & Adoption
    

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33. 1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    Improvement
    proposed
    Improvement
    discussed
    PR opened
    PR merged
    New version released
    Development
    

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34. Cycles in Bitcoin
    • Security
    
    • Price
    
    • Adoption
    
    • Development
    • Mining
    
    • Difficulty Adjustment
    
    • Reward Eras (Halving)
    
    • …
    

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35. Part Three
    Circling Around a Schelling Point
    

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36. The Rabbit Hole
    “All roads lead to Bitcoin.”
    

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37. The Rabbit Hole
    … is a journey
    2
    4
    3
    1
    …
    

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38. 2 4
    3
    1
    The Rabbit Hole
    5
    … a personal journey, different for everyone
    

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39. 2 4
    3
    1
    The Rabbit Hole
    5
    … is circular!
    

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41. Bitcoin = Consensus
    

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42. 1
    2
    3
    4
    5 Investing / Trading
    Economics
    Game Theory
    Cryptography
    Computer Science
    Getting Into Bitcoin
    

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43. 1
    2
    3
    4
    5 Bought some
    Look more into it
    Understanding++
    Go all-in!
    Heard of it
    Coming Full Circle
    Amnesia
    induced by
    boating accident
    

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44. If Bitcoin is successful, it will disappear.
    If Bitcoin is successful, bitcoiners will disappear.
    

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46. ?
    dergigi.com/contact
    21Lessons.com
    

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47. BONUS SLIDES
    

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48. Main Idea
    Very abstractly speaking.
    

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49. 1
    2
    3
    4
    5 Bought some
    Look more into it
    Understanding++
    Go all-in!
    Heard of it
    Coming Full Circle
    Boating accident
    

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50. Mining
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    Bundle txs in block
    Verify txs
    Add hash of prev.
    block header
    Solve PoW
    Propagate

    new block
    

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52. Bitcoin = Mirror
    

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53. “Knowledge is a mirror, and for the first time in my life, I
    was allowed to see who I was, and who I might become.”
    Bitcoin = Mirror
    

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54. Religion = Meme = Idea
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    Education
    Religion
    FinTech
    Idea
    Tech
    Financial
    Social
    Cult
    *
    *
    Code
    Investing
    

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