Quote from: figmentofmyass on January 24, 2021, 11:52:36 PM

greed makes the world go 'round.

you've got it backwards---greed drives adoption. it may not be exactly the kind of adoption you hoped to see. i acknowledge there is much more speculative usage than p2p usage today. however, i am confident that as bitcoin's network effect grows and as users move on from their "get rich quick newbie" stage, that will change for the better.

i only arrived on the scene in 2013 because i thought bitcoin was going to the moon and i wanted to get rich. now i'm an avid user. it's a very important part of my life, my finances, my businesses, my social life. it's been a really liberating experience. i'm so excited that i have friends and family interested in bitcoin now---including some who will really benefit from its p2p economy.

people who expected bitcoin to be totally altruistic and non-speculative were always being unrealistic. everyone needs to just accept bitcoin for what it is. it isn't what you idealize. it simply is. it's something different to everybody, whether that means p2p electronic cash or digital gold, or something else, or everything in between.

That is just the way things are, the moment a creation leaves its creators hands then it belongs to the public to do whatever they want with it, bitcoin is money and as such greed is going to be a huge part if not the main component that drives adoption, it is not pretty but it is really effective.

And as you say once people get over their dreams of becoming rich with bitcoin and they actually begin to see its utility and the community around it they will stay and become part of the bitcoin economy which as time passes is becoming bigger and bigger.