Since Bitcoin has been smashing all price predictions and all-time highs, it’s getting a lot of attention from normies. We who were here before like myself being a late adopter as the class of 2016 have held down the fort until now and provided the floor!
But we have to accept that Bitcoin has outgrown us, it’s becoming an adult, and we won’t matter in the grand scheme of things like we did back when we were buying the previous bear market floors and keeps the dream alive.
The world is waking up to what we’ve known, and it may not be this cycle, but the next before it really takes hold, but it’s safe to say we’ve hit new levels of adoption.
As Bitcoin reaches the eyes and ears of “normies”, I’ve been one of the touchpoints people in my social circle turn to when they have questions about Bitcoin, and I’ve noticed a few distinct phases!
Many have had a brush in with Bitcoin over the years, and it’s interesting to see how each one thinks, based on the phase they are in right now.
Having gone through them myself, I often laugh to myself thinking back to when I had that mindset and how I’ve progressed in the last 5 years.
The Ignore phase
I think the vast majority of the world still sits in this camp, and 7 years ago I was there. I heard about this thing called Bitcoin; it sounded dumb and Ignored it.
It sounds silly, internet money; it sounds too good to be accurate; it sounds too complicated; it sounds like a scam; it sounds like a Ponzi. Perhaps one or all of these thoughts go through your mind as you quickly dismiss Bitcoin.
The “oh it’s still a thing” phase
Naturally, after bull markets, the excitement dies down, and countless obituaries are written about Bitcoin. Then when the next halving kicks in, Bitcoin shakes off the dust of the previous winter hibernation and it’s in the news again. This is the second touchpoint, where you may think oh there may be something to this Bitcoin thing, maybe I should check it out, many won’t though and remain dormant for some time.
The I might as well get some phase
Then comes the pinky toe, getting some skin in the game, you think ah this thing looks cool, it could make me rich, perhaps you’re just curious how it works, so you hand over some fiat, and you get your first Bitcoin. This is where the rabbit hole beings, and it’s only a crazy ride and an eye-opening educational experience for everyone.
The speculation and shit coin phase
Bitcoin is like a gateway drug; it opens you up to the entire world of crypto, where new hodlrs tend to be like magpies and want to cash every shiny new thing. you’ll go into crypto Twitter or Reddit learn about “altcoins” or “shitcoins”, and you’ll be mesmerized by their fancy white papers and low unit price and think you discovered the next Bitcoin.
You’ll part with some precious Bitcoin, make some paper gains get burned and eventually come back to granddaddy.
The accumulation phase
Once you’ve whored around the shitcoin market for long enough time, do your research, follow what new studies and projects are launching in the space, many move away from altcoins and move back into Bitcoin. They realise that Bitcoin is either the safer play, the only play or the easiest play and that your position in relative satoshis is what matters most.
Here is when you start thinking about joining the 1 coin club and look into DE-FI and lending markets to try and put your Bitocin to work for you. You’ll realise how precious this is, buy a cold storage wallet, back up multiple seed phrases and try to manage your Bitcoin position through dollar-cost averaging.
The obsession phase
This is when you start getting cold sweats you wake up realising you’re too short and need to acquire more, you become obsessed. You spin up a node, you join the lightning network, you deep in Bitcoin Twitter. You stud economics, you follow key Bitcoin influencers and you’re the most bullish you’ve ever been and price doesn’t matter.
