As it matures as an asset class, persons of influence can no longer feign ignorance about bitcoin. Politicians, bankers, and businesspeople must possess an opinion now, no matter how poorly researched. Bitcoin is omnipresent. It’s front of mind. But it’s also much more than a hot topic.
Bitcoin exists independent of governments and elicits responses dependent on the political and social tendencies of individual cultures. In the US, bitcoin is adored and celebrated for its ingenuity and opportunistic landscape, and in China, it’s mined underground while shunned publicly as a threat to financial consumers. In El Salvador, it’s legal tender, and throughout Latin America, bitcoin helps families survive hyperinflation. Yet despite existing in every corner of the globe, bitcoin is still terribly misunderstood by public figures, especially by anybody with an active anti-bitcoin stance. Try it at your own peril.
Imagine a world
Imagine a world in which we’ve just discovered a new element and added it the periodic table. The last naturally occurring element (not using a particle accelerator) was discovered in 1839, so this newly found element is a pretty big deal. A spoonful can power a home for a month. It can be found on every continent. It’s changing the way we think about entire industries. Scientists are calling it bitcoinium.
Let’s also imagine that bitcoinium is becoming a geopolitical playing field. Seeing how the US, Saudi Arabia, and Russia have been major players in the fossil fuels game for the past century, countries are tripping over themselves trying to secure bitcoinium as a matter of national importance. Its value is subjective only from a price perspective; from a chemical standpoint, bitcoinium’s value is wholly objective, as scientists have reached consensus around its properties as a breakthrough fuel.
Finally, imagine politicians and industry leaders denying the potential importance of bitcoinium, refusing to acknowledge this new chapter of science. This is happening today, not with a make-believe element, but with bitcoin itself.