Post
Topic
Board Bitcoin Discussion
Re: Slow adoption and decentralized nature of bitcoin
by
witcher_sense
on 03/09/2020, 10:57:36 UTC
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There’s always that duality taking place, whereby Bitcoin can be seen as an investment (for the most) or a means of payment (the least nowadays I’d say).
That's true but I am more interested in duality inherent in bitcoin itself. From my point of view, bitcoin can be described as a system of two significant parts, parts which are inteconnected and constantly influencing one another. The first part is technical, it answers the question how bitcoin works. The second part is non-technical, ideological, philosophical, it answers the question why bitcoin works, what purpose it was created for. The author of aforementioned tweet claims that users have to know neither of said parts. However, I disagree. True that most people aren't computer experts (including myself), most people aren't interested in becoming computer experts (partly excluding myself), but some basic understanding of technology is required since we live in a digital age. I guess it is reasonable to claim that. So, in order for bitcoin to be adopted in technical terms, user interfaces should be enhanced. For example, if I want to run a full node, I can do that with a standard installation process, when I just keep pressing "Continue" button. But it is not enough. Why would I run a full node in the first place? The second, non-technical part of bitcoin may answer the question. This part is also important, it is inextricably connected to technical one. People should understand not only the fact that bitcoin is decentralized, but also why it should remain decentralized. That requires reading and learning.