In Response to Maxine...

A response to the previous blogger's unfortunate case of Maximilism

Listen, Maxine is a great gal. Sure, she's not all sunshine and rainbows, but she means well and makes a phenomenal Egg Drop Soup.

If you have read any of Maxine's previous work on the site then I'm sure you can tell...she digs Bitcoin. Like REALLY digs it. Can't blame her either. I agree with a lot of what she says. Bitcoin is great, and it is very different from most other cryptocurrencies. It's still "crypto" though, in fact it may be the "cryptoiest" of them all (I can picture the hairs standing up on her neck right now. Cringe is the word she would use...). Here are 6 characteristics Merriam-Webster defines "crypto" by:

• Cryptocurrency sometimes called crypto-currency or crypto, refers to digital or virtual currency that utilizes cryptographic techniques for secure transactions.

Bitcoin obviously meets this criteria, as does every other token built on a blockchain. Maxine may not want to hear it, but if the shoe fits...

• Crypto exists solely in electronic form, independent of any central authority, and operates on decentralized networks, such as blockchain technology.

Let's check this box for Bitcoin as well. Surprise! So do most Alt-Coins! Unfortunately our resident Maxi will have a problem here. She'll argue that Bitcoin fits this bill, but other computer coins do not. See Maxine is a stickler for the buzz words "central authority," and "decentralized." Unfortunately for her Bitcoin is very much working towards a central authority, and certainly is not as "decentralized" as she thinks. Let's use a visual aid here...

Pretty hard to call something "decentralized" when the top 20 wallets control over 30% of the supply. Granted, some of these wallets are exchanges holding BTC for common folk, but this is a trend that will continue to head in the wrong direction. While Bitcoiners applauded the recent United States Bitcoin Strategic Reserve, the likely probability is that other G20 countries will follow suit in stockpiling available BTC. Call it a Bitcoin arms race. Currently there are only 2 nations in the top 20 BTC holders, but that won't remain the case for long. While this in theory will absolutely drive the price up for holders, it will also continue to centralize the network.

• Cryptocurrency is a digital payment system that doesn't rely on banks to verify transactions. It’s a peer-to-peer system that can enable anyone anywhere to send and receive payments.

Last I checked, I can make peer to peer payments on Solana and Ethereum without relying on a bank. Funny thing is, I can do it far faster and cheaper on one of these "shitcoin" networks than I can on Bitcoin. Bitcoin maxis have a decidedly short memory when it comes to this fact. The italicized verbiage above was essentially Satoshi's dream. It's what he designed Bitcoin to do. These days though, that mission has basically been aborted by maxis. Now Bitcoin is touted as a "store of value," or "digital gold." I'm not knocking this as a use case at all...it's a very good one. Just remember that it wasn't the original use case. It's early and basic tech traded speed and scalability for security, ultimately making Bitcoin a failed attempt at peer to peer payments.

• Instead of being physical money carried around and exchanged in the real world, cryptocurrency payments exist purely as digital entries to an online database describing specific transactions.

Bitcoin meets the criteria again, along with its red headed step cousins...THE ALTS! Maxis be damned! Bitcoin sure shares a lot of qualities with these shitcoin chains huh?

• When you transfer cryptocurrency funds, the transactions are recorded in a public ledger.

You see where I'm going here right?

• Cryptocurrency is stored in digital wallets.

Ok, I just added this wallet one just to be a dick...

Look Maxine, you're a peach hon. I love you and I love Bitcoin. Let's not split hairs here. Bitcoin is the grandfather of "crypto," whether you like the word itself or not. Those shit coins you claim to hate are its spawn. Much like Bitcoin is the spawn of e-cash, E-Gold and Bit-Gold.

Sure Bitcoin has some unique characteristics that make it great (fixed supply isn't truly one of them, but we'll save that argument for another day). It's the oldest living blockchain. It's a revolutionary technological breakthrough, perhaps the most important of our lifetime. It solved the double spend problem efficiently. It's a unanimous first ballot Hall of Famer...but make no mistake about it, the Hall it resides in is the "CRYPTO" Hall of Fame. You can choose to call it whatever your little heart desires dear, but BTC is a cryptocurrency. Get over it.

See you at the bottom.