Progress pill
The Future of Bitcoin

Red Pill or Blue Pill?

The Bitcoin Journey

Red Pill or Blue Pill?

  • Technological future and its implications
  • What is the future of finance?
  • Our freedom is at stake.
  • Bitcoin: a revolutionary protocol
As Morpheus said to Neo: "You take the blue pill, the story ends, you wake up in your bed, and you believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes." Are you ready to explore the rabbit hole of Bitcoin? Be careful, as you might rediscover your financial freedom!

Technological future and its implications

Technology is evolving exponentially, and no one can predict its future developments with certainty. World connectivity and artificial intelligence continue to advance, and the knowledge that an individual can acquire through the internet is becoming increasingly immeasurable over time.
If we take AI as an example, these technologies have already surpassed or are approaching human-level performance in a growing number of domains, such as video games, image and text production, and data analysis. One potential implication is that over 80% of jobs will disappear due to AI and automation. As a consequence, several options are available to us, such as restraining technological progress or harnessing the increased capital from productivity gains created by AI.
We have some essential questions to ask ourselves:
  • How do we manage a society where 80% of jobs will disappear?
  • How do we revitalize a population?
  • Is there a need for as many teachers?
  • The geopolitical, political, and human consequences of automation are not sufficiently discussed. Computing, the internet, streaming, and VR will change education. We could have a universal course for all French students managed by the government and teachers who no longer give lectures but directly accompany the students. Children could go into a virtual world and be accompanied in learning history.
  • Where is the boundary between a teacher and an AI personification?
  • How can we guarantee a society that lives in prosperity?
These fundamental questions for our future must be debated and collectively decided. What is the connection with Bitcoin? Just as the Internet revolutionized modes of communication, Bitcoin represents a technological revolution for new forms of large-scale organization, enabling us to exchange value without relying on any trusted third party. Do we want to hinder the technological evolution of the monetary system, or do we wish to embrace the potential for increased capital through the tenfold productivity gains offered by using Bitcoin and Lightning protocols?

What is the future of finance?

These considerations also raise questions about who should hold, authorize, and trace the money we use. The goal is to decide between a closed system with unelected leaders or an open system without trusted third parties, where neutrality prevails.
  • Is currency a form of private property?
  • Can protesters' accounts be blocked without a Supreme Court order?
  • Who guarantees the financial system?
  • How can an individual be sovereign over their money and rely on a trusted third party?
  • Can money be sent to the other side of the world without fees or intermediaries?
Accepting these new technologies could generate massive economies of scale worldwide. Should we allow the free movement of capital flows? International blockades have economic and political consequences. Is it ethical to use financial intermediaries like Western Union, which sometimes charge up to 25% in fees? We believe that in an increasingly digital world, money should be democratized and considered a common good belonging to the people rather than to the state or to opaque financial institutions.
The question of who should control the banking system is crucial because the rules of the banking game are not transparent and understandable to all, allowing a caste of politicians and regulators to maintain their grip on the system, so it is important to question whether the free market or a group of intellectuals should have the power over it.

Our freedom is at stake.

Censorship must also be questioned: who has the knowledge to decide what should be censored or not? The media has changed their position on certain information and those who were censored before are no longer censored today.
  • Who decides what is censorship or propaganda?
  • Who has the divine hand over our system?
We strongly believe that tolerating censorship can destroy freedom of expression and the right to assembly, as it can have a negative impact on innovation and free will. Imposing censorship is technically difficult without creating a complete dystopia. Thus, which entity should have the power of censorship? The matter is complicated, and it is also difficult to decide who should be restricted or not.
There are 2.4 billion people in the world without a bank account, which necessarily creates geographical inequalities. On the other hand, Bitcoin grants transactions equality, disregarding your social status or political position. The protocol is apolitical and does not grant specific privileges to leaders or other influential figures, ensuring that everyone has the same opportunities to drive development forward, rather than allowing a few to remain at the top while others are left behind. Should everyone have access to the same currency, regardless of their social status? It is essential to consider the world we want to leave to our children, and we aspire to create an open world where they are free to manage their money as they choose.
Bitcoin is important and should not be considered just a game of chance, so it is crucial to keep asking questions about Bitcoin and its consequences on the world.

Bitcoin: a revolutionary protocol

As we have seen in the previous chapter, the Bitcoin protocol is neutral towards all its users. Thanks to consensus rules and cryptography, we can immutably record transactions in a global public ledger, guaranteeing monetary value transfers without any trusted third party. The second-layer infrastructure (and soon the third layer, with RGB, or "Really Good Bitcoin") is used for network scalability and the development of new functionalities.
Bitcoin has all the necessary characteristics to be an efficient and healthy currency: divisible, instantly transportable, uncensorable, negligible verification costs, and with a monetary policy already set to 21 million units for centuries to come. Bitcoin is pseudonymous and can be exchanged anywhere in the world without any authorization from any entity. You just need to hold your own private keys and remember the saying "Not your keys, not your bitcoins".
It is adopted by diverse groups of people, from cryptographers, to libertarians, to traditional businesses, and even entire countries. However, Bitcoin is for everyone, and as the number of users is growing, so does the number of Bitcoin nodes that serve as guardians of transaction history, ensuring its decentralization.
Bitcoin cannot be stopped and cannot be censored anymore. It is a peaceful revolution that changes the monetary system and enables financial inclusivity. Users can obtain bitcoins by accepting them for their trade or by buying them through regulated or unregulated platforms. They can store funds in their wallets, mobile applications, or physical devices, without the need of trusted intermediaries. Bitcoin advocates transparency, freedom, and individual responsibility: as the saying goes "Don't Trust, Verify".
Satoshi created Bitcoin in 2008 to propose a change to the financial system by redesigning currency. He viewed easy-to-create fiat as a corruption risk - governments can and do abuse it. Bitcoin is a neutral alternative, emancipating us from banks and sparking a peaceful revolution in how we view money.
Are you ready to join?
Quiz
Quiz1/5
What is one of the main questions raised regarding the future of finance?