Make Bitcoin Fun Again
As we near Bitcoin’s 10-year anniversary, and the bitcoin price closes in on its 52-week low — marking a decline of over 75 percent in 2018 so far — we find ourselves deep in crypto winter and nearing the end of the latest bitcoin hype cycle.
The last three years have felt like a decade-long sprint, so the cooling market provides a much-needed opportunity to take a deep breath, zoom out, gain perspective and reflect on the Bitcoin epic so far — a story that began for Bitcoin Magazine in 2011. It’s incredible how much and how little has changed since then: hodl memes, regulatory scrutiny, altcoin fever, Satoshi sightings, Mark Karpelès’ billions, the influence of big mining, stablecoins, Dan Larimer’s latest science experiment and the ever-looming bitcoin ETF (just two weeks™ more!) still dominate the headlines. Simultaneously, developments that would have been unfathomable last cycle are now commonplace: contentious hard forks and hashwars, native bitcoin products from institutions like the NYSE and Fidelity, ICOs from the likes of Telegram and Venezuela, crypto companies joining the Fortune 1000 and, depending on what subreddit you read, Bitcoin Jesus is now Bitcoin Satan.
The conclusion of one chapter means the beginning of another, a fresh chance for each of us to reimagine the narrative of digital value and manifest our response to the question “Why does this technology matter?” For us at Bitcoin Magazine (and our parent company, BTC Inc), the answer lies in Bitcoin’s genesis, before piles of fiat distracted the community’s focus …
We’re here for nothing short of a revolution. A complete reinvention of monetary and financial systems, designed for a digital world in which the legacy systems become uncompetitive and irrelevant.
Not an incrementally more efficient tool for interbank transfer, but a redefinition of the word “bank.” Not a digital fiat system run by a new ruling class, but a total collapse of centrally controlled and political value. A value system for all people of the world in which potential is not constrained by regulation, but rather in which regulation is constrained by potential. A world where the freedom to create value and transact is as innate as the freedom to think and speak. A world where a great idea can raise a trillion dollars overnight, starting a business is as easy and as painless as creating a social media account, digital value is as accessible as digital communication and the 80 percent of people who live under $10 a day finally have the requisite tools needed to lift themselves out of poverty. We’re here for the revolution.
This is the promise of Bitcoin, just waiting for us to come and make it real. Creating this tomorrow will be a marathon, and it will require many of the world’s brightest minds to add their intellectual capital to the Bitcoin system. We’ve let all of the excitement and wonder get sucked out of the room by smart contract protocols like Ethereum — forgetting the first Bitcoin 2.0 concepts were built on Bitcoin (Omni, colored coins, Counterparty). We forget the first ICO happened via Bitcoin in early 2013 (Mastercoin). We forget the first crypto-equities existed in 2012 (Satoshi Dice, anyone?). We forget the first DApps were Bitcoin-powered (multisig escrow, provably fair betting, proof of existence). The list goes on and on …
If we’re going to realize this potential, we have a lot of work to do.
We need to expand the intellectual frontier of Bitcoin, educate new users on the philosophical tenets that underpin the system, cultivate and highlight future generations of Bitcoin leaders, expand Bitcoin’s utility and showcase its progress, improve developer access to review and contribute code, improve interindustry communication and, perhaps most importantly, we need to MAKE BITCOIN FUN AGAIN.
In this spirit, we’re proud to announce our small contribution toward this vision: Bitcoin Magazine is returning to its roots in exclusively covering the world’s original cryptocurrency and blockchain. It will reestablish itself as the primary community platform around the Bitcoin protocol, bitcoin the currency, the open financial system it’s powering, the new ideas expanding Bitcoin’s uses, the communities adopting Bitcoin, the ideas and technology powering Bitcoin, the people and companies making Bitcoin better and perhaps the occasional spicy meme. We don’t want to traffic in clickbait, fake news or political agendas — our goal is to help incubate and channel the community’s coordinated energy, accelerate Bitcoin’s long-term adoption and take Bitcoin to the moon and beyond. We want to focus on Bitcoiners’ shared vision, the ideas that unite the crypto community and its early adopters, not to dwell on the differences.
We’re investing critical resources into executing this refocused direction for Bitcoin Magazine and are thrilled to have Andrew Fleming lead the charge for our media division at BTC Inc. Andrew recently joined us from Dow Jones & Company, where he oversaw platform, audience and content for all Dow Jones properties, including the Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch and Barron’s. Before joining Dow Jones, he was one of the earliest employees at Business Insider, where he led up the product team until their acquisition by Axel Springer.
We have a lot of exciting announcements to share around this relaunch, but we don’t want to spoil all of the surprises. The transition has already begun, but a complete retooling of our web/mobile product, editorial production, content strategy and other improvements will take days/weeks/months … so if this vision excites you, don’t just bear with us through these changes; join us in them!
To the OGs: Utilize us. Re-engage the grassroots community. Reinsert your voice into the movement — not just your hands and money. Evangelize your vision of a better Bitcoin and transcend the politics and salted wounds of the past.
To the newbies: To keep a revolution running, we need a new generation of thought leaders. If you’ve found yourself head-over-heels down the rabbit hole, we want your voice as well. Your fresh takes, new skill sets, most nagging questions and insight into the pain points to which many of us have become numb are needed to keep us headed in the right direction.
To the devs: We need more than just your documentation. We need your commentary. You are on the frontlines of our march toward a decentralized future. Tell us what you see, explain what you’re working on and why. Lead from the trenches.
To the creators, writers, web devs, designers, videographers, moderators, marketers, translators: You are the ones dictating how people will interact with this technology. Elucidate your vision. Engage with your early adopters. Create with us.
If you’re interested in joining us, fill out this Google form outlining your background and expertise, and we will get back to you expediently.
Bitcoin is the genesis of the decentralized movement and the catalyst for the ideas that propel this movement forward. It deserves the biggest megaphone in this space. Come help us build it.
Let’s make Bitcoin fun again!
David Bailey
