The Gigi Anthology A collection of Bitcoin commentary from Gigi. The Gigi Anthology Contents Goals and Scope ............................................................................................................................................... 2 Support Crypto Words ................................................................................................................................. 3 Tweetstorm: Circularity ................................................................................................................................ 4 The Rise of the Sovereign Individual ................................................................................................ 13 Proof of Life ........................................................................................................................................................ 19 Bitcoin’s Gravity .............................................................................................................................................. 27 Philosophical Teachings of Bitcoin .................................................................................................. 40 Economic Teachings of Bitcoin .......................................................................................................... 49 Technological Teachings of Bitcoin ................................................................................................. 72 Bitcoin’s Energy Consumption ............................................................................................................ 93 Disclaimer: ........................................................................................................................................................ 101 https://cryptowords.github.io/cy19m11 1 Goals and Scope The Gigi Anthology Goals and Scope Crypto Words is a journal of Bitcoin commentary, established February 13, 2019. Its purpose is to document and advance commentary and research in disciplines of particular interest to the Bitcoin community. The journal is broad in scope, publishing content from original research, essays, blog posts, and tweetstorms from a wide variety of fields, especially governance, technology, philosophy, politics, and economics, but also legal theory, history, criticism, and social or cultural analysis. Its broader mission is to capture the conversations and think pieces in the Bitcoin space for current and future researchers. Crypto Words hopes to continue and expand the tradition established by publications such as the Journal of Libertarian Studies and Libertarian Papers. History There exists a gap in Bitcoin publishing. For authors with commentary and scholarly papers on topic, the choice of publication outlets is relatively limited. The number of journals that serve as outlets for crypto research is in any event too small, as the number of crypto thinkers continues to grow with every market cycle. This generation of Bitcoin thinkers have limited places to submit thought pieces for publication. Content is scattered across the web, and in some cases behind paywalls which prevent the free flow of information. With the advent of the Twitter and blogging, authors also now have the option of self-publishing: they post the content to their own site or some private site, link it in a blog post, or post a working paper. But this is obviously not the best way to document and publish. What is needed is a journal that takes full advantage of the possibilities of the digital age as a go to resource for think pieces in the crypto space. Enter Crypto Words. Published independently, Crypto Words is a journal that welcomes submissions on a range of topics of interest to the crypto community. In addition to conventional research articles, we welcome review essays blog posts, tweets as well as papers in other formats, such as distinguished lectures. Finally, wherever possible, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Authors retain ownership without restriction of all rights under copyright in their articles. Crypto Words is open access, and we encourage readers to “read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of these articles…or use them for any other lawful purpose.” We want our ideas read, spread, and copied. https://cryptowords.github.io/cy19m11 2 Support Crypto Words The Gigi Anthology Support Crypto Words The posts and journals published here have been carefully curated and crafted as a true labor of love. If you’ve found any of this content useful here’s how to show your thanks and keep the project going. 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Our pledge • We will never sell you out. • We will never shill you shitcoins. • We will only deliver what is promised. https://cryptowords.github.io/cy19m11 3 Tweetstorm: Circularity The Gigi Anthology Tweetstorm: Circularity By Gigi Posted October 30, 2019 “Circularity” - A thread about Bitcoin, religion, mirrors, my rabbit hole journey, and where Bitcoin (and bitcoiners) might go in the next couple of years. https://cryptowords.github.io/cy19m11 4 Tweetstorm: Circularity The Gigi Anthology 2/ I drew it in various forms, so the details (e.g. how many outside circles there are) aren’t that important. The main idea is important - at least to me. 3/ The Bitcoin “rabbit hole” might look innocuous at first. After all, you’re just trying to answer a very simple question: “What is Bitcoin?” https://cryptowords.github.io/cy19m11 5 Tweetstorm: Circularity The Gigi Anthology 4/ First of all, I believe that falling down the Bitcoin rabbit hole is a deeply personal experience. 5/ The rabbit hole has many entries. Your particular entry point depends on circumstance, your background, and your previous experience. Once you are inside, however, you will stumble upon things that are far removed from your particular point of entry. https://cryptowords.github.io/cy19m11 6 Tweetstorm: Circularity The Gigi Anthology 6/ Many say that the rabbit hole is bottomless, and I tend to agree. It certainly feels like a journey without end. 7/ However, I believe that Bitcoin - and the rabbit hole journey - is circular. For whatever reason, this insight was of such profundity that it changed me, my view of the world, and my outlook in regards to the future. https://cryptowords.github.io/cy19m11 7 Tweetstorm: Circularity The Gigi Anthology 8/ Bitcoin is profoundly circular. It is circular because it is anchored in nature, via the energy expended in proof-of-work. Some even go further and conclude the following: “Bitcoin is Nature” – @FriarHass 9/ You can get stuck in the smaller circles, which is partly why Bitcoin is so hard to understand. If you are a trader, you might get stuck trading. Others might get stuck on the whitepaper, or get stuck on implementation details. https://cryptowords.github.io/cy19m11 8 Tweetstorm: Circularity The Gigi Anthology 10/ I sometimes drew this image as a mirror, because, well, I believe that Bitcoin is a mirror - it reflects who you are; it reflects your beliefs. “Bitcoin is different things to different people.” “Bitcoin is whatever it needs to be…” 11/ “Knowledge is a mirror and for the first time in my life I was allowed to see who I was and who I might become.” https://cryptowords.github.io/cy19m11 9 Tweetstorm: Circularity The Gigi Anthology 12/ The main journey, as I see it now, is roughly as follows: Idea -> Tech -> Finance -> Social -> Cult -> Idea 13/ There might be multiple stops in-between; that’s not particularly important. What is important, is that a cult exists, and some people will take it to the next level. What is the next level? I think it’s Religion. https://cryptowords.github.io/cy19m11 10 Tweetstorm: Circularity The Gigi Anthology 14/ Up to now, the most powerful ideas have been religious ideas. Bitcoin fixes this. It combines financial incentives, economic realism, mathematics, and physics with fundamentalism and religious devotion. More powerful. “Bitcoin religion” is real. It has already started. 15/ I believe that Bitcoin is the most powerful idea of our time. It is about to become one of the most powerful memes of our time. I believe that more and more people will be religious about Bitcoin, about the idea of separating money and state through absolute scarcity. https://cryptowords.github.io/cy19m11 11 Tweetstorm: Circularity The Gigi Anthology 16/ Every cycle new bitcoiners are born. Some of these bitcoiners become maximalists, and some of these maximalists will have religious devotion. 17/ I’m prepared to be wrong about this. But I ask you, dear skeptics: are you prepared to deal with tens of thousands of zealots, in case I’m right? https://cryptowords.github.io/cy19m11 12 The Rise of the Sovereign Individual The Gigi Anthology The