10 Things Futurama Got Right About Bitcoin
1Thallium — The metals and materials used to construct chips, microchips, and computer electronics are considered a scarce resource. Due to their value and scarcity, it’s speculated we may be entering a “Wild West gold rush” style race for these resources such as silicon- if we aren’t in one already.
2 “MicroBitcoin” — Each Bitcoin is comprised of one hundred million atomic units. This means every bitcoin can be broken down into one-hundred-millionth parts.
In Futurama, they referred to these as “microbitcoin”, however you’re likely never to see or hear that term anywhere else. The term “Sats”, an abbreviation of “Satoshi” which is the name of the founder/creator of Bitcoin, is what each one-hundred-millionth part is referred as.
Despite this small incongruity, the term “microbitcoin” isn’t fully off the table. As Bitcoin adoption becomes more widespread we may see new terms emerge for daily Bitcoin use. A “microbitcoin” is technically defined as 100 satoshis, therefore in some markets this terminology might make more sense to use.
3 Sats are the Standard — Everything can be specifically valued in Bitcoin, down to the one-hundred-millionth.
As the comparative value of Bitcoin to other adopted currencies continues to rise, goods and services priced in bitcoin will begin to find their true market value- speculatively lowering in cost when priced in Bitcoin as Bitcoin is a finite and scarce asset, making it deflationary.
4Instant Payments & “Too low in value to be worth my time” — There are growing concerns that below a certain increment, sats (or, increments of bitcoin akin to the value of cents or pesos) may become economically irrelevant; due to the fee to place a transaction being higher than the transaction itself in certain instances. Because of how the settlement process for transactions on the Bitcoin network execute, many fear that as volume increases the execution time for transactions will increase with it.
Fortunately, there are many solutions being developed to specifically address this issue. Lightning Network is one protocol which directly addresses the issue of high transaction fees for low value transactions- operating for Bitcoin much like CashApp or PayPal do for other currencies. The layer two scaling solution also directly addresses the problem of transaction time — for those who aren’t willing to pay a higher fee yet desire their transaction to execute almost instantly.
5 Mining A Bitcoin — Each machine does have the opportunity to mine a whole bitcoin, and some machines can be programmed to mine multiple digital assets at a time.
As the probability for mining an entire bitcoin lowers when you mine multiple assets on the same machine, people usually choose to only mine one digital asset at a time.
6 “I only got an Ethereum” — Unlike Bitcoin, Ethereum is controlled by one small central party who have the ability to dictate how Ethereum will be used- as well as create more Ethereum to circulate, resulting in inflation. This makes Ethereum a less-than-desirable asset when it comes to being used as an actual currency; as money.
7 Borax Kid — “Never trust, always verify” is a memetic creed in Bitcoin. There are plenty of grifters and great pretenders that are trying to gain your trust to ultimately take your money. It doesn’t matter if someone is an influencer with 2.4 million followers on Twitter, or if they are someone who has written a book about Bitcoin.
A cultural aspect that seems common amongst those who participate in the Bitcoin network is the willingness to speak freely in regards to the nefarious behaviors of another, regardless of forum. Many “bitcoiners” feel it is their personal responsibility to protect their fellow Bitcoin network participants and ensure they have access to the data they need to Do Their Own Research by any means necessary.
Later in the episode, Borax Kid is revealed to be a fraud and a copycat, with his fame and legacy attributed to copying the works of others and passing it off as his own original content. This speaks to growing concerns in the intellectual property space regarding the use of AI in publishing & intellectual property, but we’re not here to get into the weeds on that.
8WELLS CRYPTO — Banks will adopt bitcoin to stay relevant; many of them are already developing adoption strategies behind the scenes and attempting to create a path to legislating Bitcoin in accordance with local governance.
MicroStrategy, a huge mover in the financial space, has already adopted Bitcoin. Corporations such as McDonalds have begun regionally accepting Bitcoin as well. Many mom and pop businesses and independent producers (such as Peony Lane Wine) are advertising that they prefer to transact using bitcoin.
In order to not get cut out of the financial future of peer to peer marketplaces, banks and institutions continue to show that they are more than willing to “play ball”.
9 “Protect it with our lives” — Self sovereignty means full ownership and control of you and your data, which comes with full responsibility to manage and protect it. With nobody to rely on to keep your digital assets and identity safe but yourself, it becomes evident to the individual how at-risk their self sovereignty is at constant.
This speaks to the culture of rebuilding a new world- one where the people have full control over their data and access to it, and aren’t willing to give it up without fight.
10Classic Shootout Scene / Finale — During the shoot-out at the end of the episode, allegorical for the aforementioned resources arms race, Dwight Conrad- a child- limbo’s his way under gunfire and around the entire scene to ultimately save the day.
Kids may be kids, but they’re already experts at navigating the increasingly volatile digital landscape of today’s internet and global community. Staying out of the flame wars and getting to the root of the issues may be easier said than done. In order to survive the upcoming “shootout” of culture and legislation, people are going to have to make a choice as to where to allocate their skills for the best outcome — and recognize that there is no contribution (or contributor) too small.
Bitcoin is truly for everyone. Everyone has a role to play, and everyone has the opportunity to save the day. Operating with integrity, understanding the risks, and working hard to build the future of money are deeply seeded ideologies in those who have adopted Bitcoin.
It’s nice that Big Media seems to have picked up on that.