Comparisons between bitcoin‘s market capitalization and publicly traded companies used to make me wince with frustration. Trying to contrast the world’s first successful digital native currency with a single industry is narrow-minded, let alone a single company. However, as I continually indulge in the process of meeting people on their bitcoin journey, I realized that I can use this comparison to illustrate bitcoin‘s strengths in a different way.
Instead of trying to conceptually bring bitcoin down to the level of global currencies, I suggest conceptually bringing global currencies down to the level of publicly traded companies. This temporarily negates the need to delve into the history of monetary theory when trying to explain bitcoin.
A note to investors:
To achieve this, imagine that USD and btc are tickers on a stock market. Each is a company with employees, management policies, price performance history, legal obligations and publicly traded shares. Now that we operate at the same conceptual level, let’s take a look at the state of these two companies.
USD’s board of directors has a long history of diluting its shares and, more recently, has been issuing new shares at a very alarming rate. Much of the dilution is benefiting the board while employees work hard for reduced salaries. On the other hand, btc does not have a board of directors. It is employee-run and employees maintain a collective bargaining agreement under which shares will be issued at a fixed, predictable, declining rate with a maximum bid of 21 million. To work in the company, it is necessary to adopt a constant emission policy.
The USD company is clearly a strong competitor that arms around the world and forces people to conform to its standards. They have been the leaders for decades and have swallowed most of the global market share. As a result, they have enormous influence over their competition, but they have become complacent and are losing their advantage. Expenses to maintain overheads are increasingly burdensome and debt loads are well above responsible levels. Price developments for investors holding dollar stocks are roughly 90% in the red since 1971 and show no signs of a major rebound.
The btc company is running a grassroots marketing campaign that is gradually gaining traction, but has not yet gone completely viral online. btc is a disruptive technology company with fourteen years of volatile but steady growth in value and adoption. Its share in the global market is extremely small compared to that of the current market; creating spectacular upside potential. The management structure is lean and employees share overhead costs, while the organization itself has no debt. Price performance for investors holding btc shares is in the green by about 200,000% since 2013 and shows no signs of slowing down.
Rational investors can bet on both horses, but weigh their allocation based on current events. Market conditions are rapidly transforming as a new startup called BRICS makes pre-launch announcements. The BRICS seem interested in stealing market share from the USD. This will have a profound effect on USD as its business model depends on it being the sole provider of its service.
btc investors tend to hold the stock firmly. About 70% of the shares have not changed hands in the last two years despite tremendous volatility. There are some large btc shareholders who may be driven to sell their shares for one reason or another, but many of the smaller investors are passionately snapping up those discounted shares at every opportunity. Due to the entrenched nature of the USD, it has a few cards up its sleeve to attract new investors and curb the growth of competition, but its days of true market innovation are behind it.
On the other hand, btc is innovating at a steady pace and is on track to continue gaining market share regardless of the competition. Your product has fundamental qualities that the competition will not be able to match. Ultimately, of the three companies, btc is the only one that is digital native. USD runs a hybrid physical/online system, but is not optimized for a strictly online model. The BRICS do not yet have a functional prototype, but their digital presence is inevitable. Traditional customers will make more serious comparisons between available options once they realize that all global commerce will migrate to a digital format.
A note to employees:
Simply defined, every individual who adds value to the network could be considered a btc employee. According to this definition, every investor is also an employee. Just like the miners, developers, manufacturers and entrepreneurs who get involved with bitcoin software or hardware. Suppliers who accept bitcoins for goods or services also add value to the network proportional to the value of those goods and services. Investors who buy bitcoins compete with each other and at the same time benefit each other. Investor stakes add value to the network by reducing the circulating supply.
The resulting condition is one in which each network participant works for all other network participants. Rewards are distributed relative to investors’ holdings. btc is employee owned and operated. Examine bitcoin‘s circular economy through this lens; Every bitcoin user is simultaneously an investor, an employee, and a business owner. Each user chooses their own level of involvement and all roles are accepted or rejected voluntarily.
Cohesive teams outperform teams that struggle to reach consensus. Fortunately, the bitcoin community was built around a mathematical consensus machine. Despite continued disagreements within the community, we are ultimately forced to reach a collective agreement every ten minutes. Each of us has taken unique paths to understanding the importance of bitcoin and we all support the network in specialized ways. Even those who try to attack bitcoin bring their own form of value. We can thank them for helping us educate ourselves and pointing out possible vulnerabilities in the protocol.
The Latin root of the word “compete” is compete “to fight in common, to fight for something in company or together.” As we compete, we can all grow stronger together. To ignore the collective nature of bitcoin would be to ignore the facts of reality. Currently, millions of people act as a decentralized collective to manage the bitcoin network based solely on the protocol’s incentives. Without them I would have nothing to write about.
Groups do not exist without individuals and individuals do not exist without groups. If we choose, we can strive to live with compassion for other living beings. However, this is far from a prerequisite for employment on the bitcoin network. Forcing someone to behave ethically or compassionately completely negates the value of these virtues. Under this new paradigm there are no obligations, only offerings.
Conclusion:
We all make decisions regarding how we use capital and allocate our personal energy. Relying on the bankrupt trust giant rather than meeting the new market rival is a much bigger risk than most realize. Fortunately, bitcoin will never experience layoffs or hiring freezes.
Viewing bitcoin through this lens sets aside ideological and moral arguments in favor of a sober look at the network in comparison to its competition. This approach may simplify the conversation or it may stifle a call to action, but not everyone is prepared to confront the atrocities of the fiat system. Some invest primarily rationally; working to maximize profits above all else. Some invest more with their heart; avoiding investments that do not morally align with them. Unfortunately, in the fiat system it is not possible to do both. Invest wisely.
This is a guest post by Origin node. The opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of btc Inc or bitcoin Magazine.