The Bitcoin Big Bang
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# Finance
Bitcoin started out having many different names. It is a scam, fad, schema, Tulipmania 2.0 and many others. This book is here to debunk these terms. It is here to explain to the reader what bitcoin and the crypto revolution has to offer.
Evolution is slow. What started in 2009 as a concept has now exploded. Change is coming and it’s coming fast.
A personal journey
The book starts rather light by going back into time with Brian (the author) to the early days of bitcoin. Its a story on how he got himself involved in the bitcoin world. It makes it clear that the early days are scary in 2011. It required a revolutionary mind to believe what blockchain technology could bring in the future.
Later it delves deeper into the fundamental problems that are solved by using blockchain technology. I must give credit to the author to explain these complex topics with fun and understandable examples.
BTC a currency?
It then goes into a very necessary part and some debunking why BTC is a currency. It does this by proofing the fundamentals of a currency. Well at least sums it up so it could become a real respected currency.
- It is a medium of exchange. This has been proven that bitcoin can be used to buy goods or services.
For example, a 10000 BTC pizza was bought in 2010 that now is worth a whopping 72million dollar. There is even a page dedicated to this rather unfortunate event. 10000 BTC Pizza
- A store of value, which seems to be a problem as of now due to fluctuating prices. For it to become an accepted store of value, the price fluctuating from one day to another should be more stable.
- A unit of account. Which BTC passes somewhat as products and commodities can be bought with BTC. BTC is the main entry to buy any other cryptocurrency. When people see BTC they still think with FIAT currency in mind. This concept of conversion should change for it to become a real unit of account.
Besides these points, the book brings you back in time. Like really back in time to proof that BTC as a currency is not that crazy. In the past in almost every continents seashells were used as a valid currency. I cannot imagine you go into any store today to trade seashells for any product or service. Well unless you live in Papua New Guinea, where it’s still considered a legal currency. Shell Money
Bitcoin or Crypto?
I had the feeling the author misused bitcoin in some cases that instead he should use the term blockchain or cryptocurrency. In hindsight, this is on purpose because somewhere halfway the book other cryptos like Litecoin are introduced. An interesting way to introduce the concept without overwhelming the reader in the beginning.
If you are quite knowledgable about the topic don’t freak out if you have these same misconceptions. Knowing that the book was written in 2014 many terms were different as of today.
Bitcoin and Satoshi Nakamoto
Any bitcoin book could not go without mentioning Satoshi Nakamoto. This chapter is quite interesting as it speculates who the inventor of bitcoin is. Is it a single person? Is it a group of persons? An interesting part is that in 2019 we know as much as the author knew in 2014.
Although Satoshi is an important figure it does not matter if the identity of this person is found. Bitcoin and crypto will keep on living. The importance of this technology has surpassed the inventor.
Nautuliscoin
Somewhere halfway the book, Brian introduces you to a different cryptocurrency called Nautuliscoin. To be honest, when I read it I never heard of it before. Some googling brought me to this dead crypto project NAUT - coinmarketcap. So it was not so a good idea of the author to use this coin as an example. He would have done a lot better if he stuck with using bitcoin throughout the book.
There was somewhat an interesting part of this chapter to see how he explained the way of thinking of creating a cryptocurrency. The project went through many phases and possible changes. It was interesting to read it from a creators perspective to keep the project relevant in ever-changing crypto space. As mentioned before using bitcoin to tell this story would make this chapter more relevant as of today.
Regulations
When money is involved regulations follow. This chapter was very heavy on including sections and laws concerning the regulation of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as a whole. To be honest I found this part boring and the extra info the book added could not keep me excited. If laws excite you then this chapter is for you, any other person will fall asleep as I did.
The subject, however, is very important for the future of crypto. Without proper regulation of crypto, widespread adoption will be difficult. This chapter would have done well if he focussed more on the economic/social implications rather than commenting on current laws.
A bright future
The book does end strong with branching from bitcoin and introducing the different project on the blockchain like Ethereum. It goes more in depth on how blockchain technology could change how the economic system works. It has the potential to be a social and economic revolution to bring human development to the next level.