{"id":558625,"date":"2023-03-02T18:45:20","date_gmt":"2023-03-02T15:45:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/most-blockchain-advocates-havent-even-used-bitcoin\/"},"modified":"2023-03-02T18:45:20","modified_gmt":"2023-03-02T15:45:20","slug":"most-blockchain-advocates-havent-even-used-bitcoin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/most-blockchain-advocates-havent-even-used-bitcoin\/","title":{"rendered":"# Most blockchain advocates haven&#8217;t even used Bitcoin"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2d2561056cd\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2d2561056cd\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/most-blockchain-advocates-havent-even-used-bitcoin\/#%E2%80%9D_Most_blockchain_advocates_havent_even_used_Bitcoin_%E2%80%9C\" >&#8221; Most blockchain advocates haven&#8217;t even used Bitcoin  &#8220;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9D_Most_blockchain_advocates_havent_even_used_Bitcoin_%E2%80%9C\"><\/span>&#8221; Most blockchain advocates haven&#8217;t even used Bitcoin  &#8220;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div class=\"post-content\" data-v-48054ca8>Bitcoin (BTC) popularised the term blockchain. Blockchains, or \u201cdecentralized and distributed digital ledgers used to record transactions across a network of computers,\u201d have been around for over thirty years, the household name for a blockchain is Bitcoin.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s despite the fact that the Genesis block was mined well over 14 years ago when George W. Bush was president and \u201cI Gotta Feeling\u201d by Black Eyed Peas topped the charts\u2013Bitcoin is still top of the blocks. <\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s to be expected, then, that most blockchain advocates would have used, understood or a the very least experimented with Bitcoin. <\/p>\n<p>Nope. Not so. <\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.cointelegraph.com\/uploads\/2023-02\/ab4de865-2bc9-4608-b995-4df7039dc1d9.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><figcaption style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Speaking with Victoria Gago, co-founder of the European Blockchain Conference. Source: Jos\u00e9 Val Bal<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Here\u2019s an example. While MC\u2019ing at the European Blockchain Conference in February, I asked the audience for a show of hands. I inquired of the circa 250 blockchain believers sitting in front of me:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Who here has used Bitcoin?&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Maybe 20 audience hands shot up. \u201cOkay. Keep your hand up if you\u2019ve used Bitcoin\u2019s Lightning Network,\u201d I said. The Lightning Network or (LN) is the payments network built on top of Bitcoin which allows near-instant, near-free transactions. Over half those hands went down. <\/p>\n<p>One data sample is insufficient. So, the following day I quizzed the audience on stage. I was surprised to receive the same result. Four-fifths of the blockchain conference audience had never used Bitcoin.<\/p>\n<p>Why is that? Why is it that so few people have touched arguably the only blockchain that solves what is known as the \u201cscalability trilemma;\u201d that of decentralization, security and scalability?<\/p>\n<p>The Bitcoin blockchain, or timechain as Satoshi Nakamoto called it in the white paper, is still relatively small. Anyone with an old laptop can <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">download<\/a> the entirety of all transactions in order to run a node; the network can scale to reach millions and soon billions of people with layers, while the Bitcoin blockchain has never been hacked. And yet at the blockchain conference, very few attendees run nodes or have transacted on Bitcoin.<\/p>\n<p>However, there are not enough data points to yet form this conclusion. I wanted to quiz individuals across the conference if they were blockchainers or Bitcoiners\u2013and if so, why is that the case?<\/p>\n<p>I quizzed conference-goers about a simple question. I asked around 15 conference goers to choose Web3 or Web5, and only one person of the fifteen chose Web5. Ironically, the sole Web5 proponent in the interview is Bitcoiner Antonia Roupell, whose job title is \u201cWeb3 lead\u201d for Save the Children. <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">If <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JoeNakamoto?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@JoeNakamoto<\/a> happened to give you one <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Bitcoin?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Bitcoin<\/a> at the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EBlockchainCon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@EBlockchainCon<\/a>, what would you do with it? <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/tV3hdEIA0n\">pic.twitter.com\/tV3hdEIA0n<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Cointelegraph\/status\/1627786330129268736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 20, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Most respondents looked confused when presented with the choice of webs. \u201cWhat is Web5?\u201d They queried. <\/p>\n<p>Web3 is a world of reportedly decentralized blockchains in which tokens (and token sales) drive the economy forward; Web5 is the decentralized internet built on Bitcoin. Naturally, Bitcoin maximalist Jack Dorsey champions Web5.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Dorsey explained in December 2021 that Web5 will allow true ownership of identity and data, unlike Web3. Dorsey explains that \u201cWeb3&#8243; has the \u201cSame corporate incentives [as <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter<\/a>] but hides it under &#8220;decentralization.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The Twitter founder reckons Web3 will never achieve true decentralization as underneath the marketing spiel and tokenomics it\u2019s the venture capitalists and limited Partners who<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jack\/status\/1473139010197508098?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1473139010197508098%7Ctwgr%5Ea097c43257d3f4ad15465c1efdf21e966e8bd26b%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcointelegraph.com%2Fnews%2Fjack-dorsey-is-building-web5-powered-by-bitcoin\"> own<\/a> the blockchains and the data underpinning the systems. <\/p>\n<p>Web5\u00a0already boasts social media applications such as Zion in which users can easily send Bitcoin to one another and own their data, built atop one decentralized blockchain and. Which blockchain? You guessed it, Bitcoin.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.cointelegraph.com\/uploads\/2023-02\/feb5d0bd-9539-47c1-b3e0-3af0d96fdd88.png\"><figcaption style=\"text-align: center;\">Source: areweweb5yet.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Web3 has existed since Ethereum coder Gavin Wood coined the term in 2014 and thus has more time on its side. Plus it\u2019s a catchy, catch-all term that is often used interchangeably with blockchain, crypto and metaverse. It\u2019s hard to define, underline or frame without referring to financially lucrative projects.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It finally struck me that the focus of most attendees at the European Blockchain Convention was business over Bitcoin. Or to put it another way\u2013and to attempt to be a little less naive\u2013the attendees wanted to make money over work towards a new monetary policy.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.cointelegraph.com\/uploads\/2023-02\/a39a63db-e857-45f9-86f2-197b0f641e4e.png\"><figcaption style=\"text-align: center;\">Moderating a panel on Web3 during the conference. Source: Jos\u00e9 Val Bal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I had the same experience when discussing Nostr, which stands for Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted by Relays. The relatively new, decentralized network enables private messaging and uncensorable communication\u2013among other projects.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>One of the applications of Nostr, called iPhone app Damus, helped Nostr reach nearly half a million daily users in mid-February. User count multiplied by 5 since its listing on <em>the Apple iOS store<\/em><em> <\/em>and the protocol is full of Bitcoin advocates. <\/p>\n<p>I asked conference attendees for their public key so I could follow them on Nostr. I was met with bemused looks. The blockchain believers and champions of decentralized protocols had not tested nor heard of Damus. <\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.cointelegraph.com\/uploads\/2023-02\/51eec724-23d7-4e69-abe9-bcc953b08265.png\"><figcaption style=\"text-align: center;\">Nostr explained by nostr.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Do you want one more example? <\/p>\n<p>An employee at a popular Bitcoin company\u2013who I won\u2019t dox in this opinion piece\u2013approached me during the conference. \u201cI saw you sending sats to people on stage. You sound like a [Bitcoin] maxi,\u201d he joked.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGuilty, officer\u201d I joked. I only hold Bitcoin and am passionate about bringing Bitcoin to the world, especially those living in financially kneecapped countries. <\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cYou would probably recognize the company I represent then. I work for Blockstream.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Of course! I told him. I actually played Jenga in the park with Blockstream\u2019s CEO, Adam Back, recently. We immediately bonded. <\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Related:\u00a0Regulation stole the show at Barcelona\u2019s European Blockchain Convention<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Blockstream employee confided in me that not a single conferencegoer had clocked his employer. Blockstream is a well-known Bitcoin companies. Blockstream pioneers lightning adoption, side chains, affordable hardware wallets and liquid, while Back was one of the few names mentioned in the Bitcoin white paper published in 2008.<\/p>\n<p> He shared his surprise with me, but it was 5pm on the last day of the conference\u2013by this point I understood. \u201cIt\u2019s a Bitcoin company, mate\u201d I explained. And after all, \u201cBitcoin and blockchain don\u2019t really mix.\u201d Bitcoin has a marketing problem, I said.<\/p>\n<p><template data-name=\"subscription_form\" data-type=\"markets_outlook\"><\/template><\/p>\n<p class=\"post-content__disclaimer\"><em>This article is for <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a> information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author\u2019s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/general\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">General category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/news\/most-blockchain-advocates-haven-t-even-used-bitcoin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8221; Most blockchain advocates haven&#8217;t even used Bitcoin &#8220; Bitcoin (BTC) popularised the term blockchain. Blockchains, or \u201cdecentralized and distributed digital ledgers used to record transactions across a network of computers,\u201d have been around for over thirty years, the household name for a blockchain is Bitcoin.\u00a0 That\u2019s despite the fact that the Genesis block was&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":558626,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/images.cointelegraph.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=90,width=1200\/https:\/\/s3.cointelegraph.com\/uploads\/2023-02\/618f9c6f-4570-423e-b05a-1caf2af80433.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[74862,81260,74894,76555,74863,80667,75029,2800,87110,4947],"class_list":["post-558625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-bitcoin","tag-bitcoin-community","tag-blockchain","tag-conference","tag-cryptocurrencies","tag-event","tag-lightning-network","tag-barcelona","tag-lightning","tag-opinion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=558625"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558625\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/558626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=558625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=558625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=558625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}