Battles for the mindspace can take a lot of time,
Indeed. That is why it is important to discuss these issues publicly.
What happens if nobody steps up and says it?
* nullius is nobody.
Of course, in some sense, you are preaching to the choir, nullius.
With you, perhaps, and with a good number of WO regulars. I think that you and I are in basic agreement about many of these issues, although I think that perhaps here, I needed to clarify a few points on which you may have slightly mistaken my own position.
But then, there is that “mindspace” thing that you mentioned.
Why yes, let’s create a highly regulated derivatives market
(replete with regulatory capture by the biggest and worst criminals), in which highly profitable
(and oftentimes massive-clusterfuck-crash grade risky) financial products can be offered by those who
(have teams of lawyers to pretend to) obey the
(loophole-ridden exact letter of the) regulations. Let’s create a regulated “digital assets industry”
(in which the sharks with big money and big lawyers can just eat everybody else alive). While we’re at it—let’s recreate the fractional reserve central banking system! You know, as long as this
MAX_MONEY thing is in place, Bitcoin will always be subject to more or less price volatility. A beneficent central bank is like the governor on the economic engine—or like speed limits...
So, why do we have Bitcoin?
How are you going to stop those kinds of BIGGER players from coming into the space?
I don't see how we can necessarily have our cake and eat it too... One of the network effects in bitcoin is the increased financialization of the asset, and sure there might be attempts to denigrate bitcoin or to use bitcoin in the same kinds of ways that they have fucked up other asset classes, but you and I both recognize a distinguishing feature of bitcoin that changes the dynamics, and that is to be able to immediately claim possession of it. If we enter into relationships with third parties in which we are NOT capable of either requesting or obtaining immediate possession of our coins, then we have chosen to disempower our lil selfies, and there are a large number of current BTC HODLers who recognize such power.. whether they are a minority or a majority, probably does not take away the power of that use case.. and many of us recognize other powers of bitcoin too.. and perhaps the value that others are able to use bitcoin in ways that we might NOT be using bitcoin, but still bring both power and value to bitcoin.
I am just saying that there is no way to keep some of the potentially bad actors out, nor abilities to cause them from attempting to be successful in their various manipulation attempts... but the mere fact that they have a lot of resources to manipulate does not necessarily mean that they understand bitcoin well enough to know that the odds might NOT be so much in their favor to be able to manipulate bitcoin in certain ways or beyond certain points.. but they might NOT realize such aspects of bitcoin until they make such attempts..
Remember fall 2017.. very interesting lessons for some BIG players trying to teach bitcoin some lessons but ending up getting schooled their lil selfies. I remember. There are other bitcoiners who remember, too, including some of the active members in this thread and including other parts of bitcoinlandia too, and may not be participating in this thread.