Utility Is The Killer App of…
Utility Is The Killer App of Bitcoin
Utility. We hear this word in a variety of settings, especially in the Bitcoin and macro economic community. What does it actually mean for something to have utility? Let’s check out what the Webster dictionary describes utility as.
When you look up what utility means you get the definitions:
the state or quality of being useful; usefulness:
something useful; a useful thing.
a useful or advantageous factor or feature
the capacity of a commodity or a service to satisfy some human want
When we talk about Bitcoin the discussion tends to be about medium of exchange, unit of account, store of value or everyone’s favorite number go up (NGU). This is all well and good, but I think this narrow focus on how Bitcoin drives the conversation towards certain conclusions that are not advantageous to Bitcoin or the Bitcoin community at large.
I get it, topics like how much the Bitcoin price is going to rise over the next 4 years is definitely exciting and brings Bitcoin tons of attention. It has caught the attention of some of the most powerful people in the world. Heck, former president Donald J. Trump spoke at the 2024 Bitcoin conference, which would have been unheard of a few years ago.
I am more than confident that what attracted Trump to Bitcoin wasn’t the 21 million supply cap or the decentralization of nodes globally. No it was the price and how much it is predicted to go up in dollar dominated terms.
The price is important to global adoption because it draws attention but it is not the most important attribute to Bitcoin. What I think is the most important attribute to Bitcoin is the ability to self-custody your money. This right here is the utility that makes Bitcoin work. Without self-custody Bitcoin would just be another commodity that third parties take care of for you.
There is utility in the fact that you can secure your wealth with 12 or 24 words and can't be arbitrarily confiscated by the state or anyone for that matter. You could have millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin in your pocket and no one would be none the wiser.
If you were to put your wealth in real estate, cars, jewelry or any other luxury item people are going to notice and make you a target for a physical attack. In today’s polarized political climate people are looking for scapegoats as to why life is so hard.
The first one to take the blame is the wealthy and well to do. It happened in China during the “Great Leap Forward” under Mao Zedong. There was also the Occupy Wall Street who were rallying the so called 99 percent versus the one percent. Now imagine if they had weapons and were looking for blood? I don’t think that would have ended well.
Having that utility to hide your wealth and blend in with society is a much better use case than store of value or number go up. I get that self custody is scary but its necessary if we are to improve out lot in life over a long enough time horizon.
WE DON’T NEED BANKS
Self-custody is what makes Bitcoin useful and makes the banking system completely unnecessary. Are you not tired of institutions telling you how much money you can spend at any given time or how much money you can withdraw from the bank?
Withdrawal limits over time have gotten small and smaller, where you can only withdraw maybe $400 a day from any given ATM. Who are they to control you like that? Even if you go into a bank and you try to withdraw anything over $10,000 you instantly get reported to the government for suspicious activity!
It’s your damn money! Why does the government need to know that you needed 10k for a home remodel? Does no one see the fundamental problem with this insanity? In the fiat system you don’t own your money period. Never have. Never will.
Bitcoin gives you the freedom to spend as much as you want, when you want without asking the bank for permission. So when I hear Bitcoiners promote custodial solutions and not think its a big deal, I’m like what the fuck, you are just creating the banking system all over again.
How about we not fall into that trap again? We have over 100 years of experience dealing with the banking system and it always blows up in our face. Let’s do something different for a change. Learn how to self custody your Bitcoin. It is not as hard or daunting as you think.
I urge you to start with a small amount of Bitcoin to self custody until you feel comfortable with larger amounts. Honestly it's like riding a bike, start with training wheels and work your way up to pedaling on your own. Here are a few resources you can use to help you self custody your Bitcoin. Good Luck!
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