Where is Bitcoin Headed?
In the next few years Bitcoin adoption is supposed to hit the steep part of the curve. If the pundits are to be believed, we are heading fast toward the inflection point. And, as if perfectly on cue, the Overton Window is starting to shift. The Overton Window is a mental framework through which we can categorize various political issues as within the mainstream debate or not. A great example of this would be the treatment of marijuana in the various states.
When I was 13, a Presidential candidate felt the need to lie about inhaling weed. Pot was outside the Overton Window. Today, my 13 year old daughter opens our mailbox to find advertisements for marijuana dispensaries in our local area. Pot is now inside the Overton Window. You may be hoping for a similar trajectory for Bitcoin’s position within the larger political discourse.
Luckily, there is no doubt that it is newly acceptable and even expected for Bitcoin to be part of the economic and political conversation. Multiple presidential candidates (none viable) have expressed their support for Bitcoin.
It seems only a matter of time before we hear RFK Jr. admit that he tried Bitcoin, but didn’t inhale. Likewise, influential CEOs are expected to have thoughts about Bitcoin and analysts at major investment firms continue to take Bitcoin seriously. Lawmakers at the local and state level have carved out positions on Bitcoin, even if they aren’t quite able to articulate why Bitcoin is different from other “cryptos”. With the approval of Bitcoin spot ETFs this year, millions of Americans are able to easily gain exposure to bitcoin’s price through a tax advantaged retirement account.
These are all good milestones on Bitcoin’s journey toward mass adoption. But I am worried because an issue being inside the public discourse doesn’t mean it will be accepted or adopted. It just means that serious people in the real world will be willing to consider it. And I worry about what these “normies” will see when they look through the Overton Window and see Bitcoin.
What Others See When They Look at Bitcoin
I will tell you something you already know, but probably forget too often. Regular folks — I call them precoiners because I love them — consider most political views inside the Bitcoin space as extreme. They consider your passion as fanaticism. They consider your certainty as a red flag. To them, your multitude of examples are offensive conspiracy theories. They consider your memes juvenile and unserious. They don’t trust you. Of course, you may be fine with this.
After all, “have fun staying poor” has legs. But take a moment to think about that steep part of the adoption curve we are racing towards. How do we get there without these regular people? I don’t think we can. So while it may feel like Bitcoin is ready for the mainstream limelight, the culture around Bitcoin isn’t.
As a progressive in the Bitcoin space, I have never intended to change the political views of people who were already in the Bitcoin world. My intention is to provide resources for a large swath of precoiners who would otherwise be turned off by the culture around Bitcoin before they even had the chance to dig deep into Satoshi’s invention.
During a decades-long career in the classroom, I have learned that people need to feel comfortable when learning something new and complicated. So while the innovations behind Bitcoin are not specifically political, there is a market to introduce newcomers to Bitcoin with the vocabulary and values they know and respect.
How to Talk To your Precoiner Friends
Unlike a lot of Bitcoiners, you won’t hear me drone on about being a strict carnivore (I thought vegans were the ones who incessantly pushed their diets onto other people!). I won’t tell you which pocket I keep my steak in. I won’t tell you to avoid seed oils, nor will you hear me provide commentary about the “good ol’ days” when it was easy to tell boys and girls apart.
You won’t see me take cheap shots at UBI, DEI or ESG. I won’t blame fiat money for degenerate art. I won’t smugly dismiss someone that isn’t a hardcore libertarian as a socialist or a cuck. These kinds of things are great for farming engagement from Bitcoiners on social media, but they don’t really speak to the population who hasn’t yet adopted Bitcoin.
More and more of the people looking through the Overton Window to consider Bitcoin will be left of center. Luckily, there is plenty to like about Bitcoin if you’re progressive. And instead of name calling and sloganeering, my hope is to provide those people wishing to learn more about Bitcoin, more reasons to like it, not run in the other direction. And it’s actually pretty easy to do without mentioning sunscreen, tradwives or seed oils.
Bitcoin wrests financial independence away from powerful corporate banks and gives it back to the people to transact without a needed intermediary. It is an open and flat network that has no barrier to entry and can provide access to financial services for billions of unbanked and under-banked individuals across the globe.
Bitcoin can help facilitate fast and cheap international remittances. Poor nations can utilize their natural resources to mine and buy Bitcoin to side step harsh draconian restrictions imposed by international agencies.
Bitcoin miners are incentivized to bootstrap renewable energy generation, utilize stranded energy and mitigate methane all without the need for government subsidies. Bitcoin empowers women around the world to bolster their financial independence, particularly in jurisdictions where women are not afforded equal protections under the law.
Bitcoin encourages saving and low time preference decisions. Bitcoin can help people take a stand against authoritarian governments and it can help make democracies more efficient and transparent.
Bitcoin in the Overton Window
Many of Bitcoin’s properties and benefits speak directly to progressive values, and I have explained them in great detail during speeches, interviews, panel talks and in my book. Others have done the same in their books and podcasts. There is actually a growing community of people in the Bitcoin space who consider themselves liberal and progressive.
There are even socialists (like, literal socialists, I’m not using it as an insult) that appreciate Bitcoin. While some Bitcoiners view this as a contradiction, it isn’t. Bitcoin will, hopefully, be money for the entire world. To reach that goal, we need a multitude of serious voices explaining to people the benefits of Bitcoin for issues they care about in a language they can understand.
My goal isn’t to replace the meat eating libertarian Bitcoiner who wants to see the end of our government. I want to stand shoulder to shoulder next to that person. I want people to look at Bitcoin and see something reflected back to them that they can respect and relate to. There is work to do, but I think we can get Bitcoin ready to exist within the Overton Window in a way that will actually bring the adoption and success the world needs. As someone who cares deeply about the freedoms and progress that Bitcoin promises, I will continue to do all I can to reach a new audience of potential Bitcoiners and meet them where they are.
