FRANK: We are Bitcoin

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Last night I had the distinct pleasure of having an in-depth conversation with Jeff Booth, who I often refer to as the Eckhart Tolle of Bitcoin.

Booth, soft-spoken but direct, spoke to one point in particular in the conversation that, although I didn’t understand it at first, came to resonate deeply with me.

He repeatedly said “We are Bitcoin” in efforts to drive home the point that Bitcoin will continue to work if we continue to make it work.

At first, this statement seemed antithetical to Bitcoin. Technically, of course, we are not Bitcoin. Bitcoin is an open-source protocol that allows people to transfer value securely and without permission. Also, Bitcoin was designed in a way that actually requires less human involvement than traditional monetary and financial systems because the rate of inflation cannot be changed by humans and there are no middlemen involved in Bitcoin transactions.

However, we are Bitcoin, as Booth said.

We are the ones who have to spin the nodes to keep the network decentralized.

We are the ones connecting the miners to help power and secure the network.

And we are the ones educating others about Bitcoin and defending it in the social arena.

We are human nodes in the network, doing our part to make Bitcoin work technically and to spread information about Bitcoin to the world.

Without taking responsibility as human nodes, Bitcoin becomes less decentralized, less secure and less understood.

So if you’re reading this, know that you’re Bitcoin, a component of the most incredible system for human freedom and prosperity ever created, and you’re both enjoying it and acting on it.