Learn and practice Bitcoin community culture

The fifth thing to become a Bitcoiner: learn and practice the Bitcoin community culture.

Perhaps you have heard these words in the process of understanding and contacting Bitcoin: "Not Your Key, Not Your Coin.", "Don't Trust, Verify!", etc. These are the unique culture and values ​​advocated by the Bitcoin community. On the road of learning and understanding Bitcoin, I also gradually realized the inner meaning of these words, and agreed with their inner values, and even actively practiced these principles in my life. Below, I have listed some famous quotes that have touched me deeply and have guiding significance in my life.

Not Your Key, Not Your Coin

This phrase was first proposed by a Bitcoin evangelist, mainly to emphasize the importance of private keys to cryptocurrency ownership. If the private key is lost or stolen, the assets in the wallet cannot be recovered.

The most important significance of this sentence is that it reflects the decentralized nature of cryptocurrency. Unlike the traditional financial system, cryptocurrency is not controlled by a central institution. Users have full control over their assets and are also the sole responsible person for their assets. Therefore, we should keep our private keys ourselves and not store Bitcoin on centralized exchanges or other third-party platforms. Once these platforms have problems or are hacked, your Bitcoin may be lost forever. The most well-known incident is the theft of the Mentougou Exchange, where 800,000 Bitcoins were stolen and Bitcoin investors on the platform suffered heavy losses. This incident also once again illustrates the importance of mastering private keys.

I have a deeper understanding of this sentence: In life, we need to master not only private keys, but everything that is important to us. Take investment as an example. I believe that many people have longed for gossip, insider information, etc., and always want to make money through some "easy ways". It is undeniable that gossip can sometimes make quick money easily. But if one day, gossip is gone, how can we make money? Therefore, the core of investment lies in establishing your own trading strategy. Only by establishing your own trading system can you make money steadily. A tall building is built from the ground, and it is better to rely on yourself than on anyone else. Therefore, hold your private key tightly to safely own your Bitcoin.

Don't Trust, Verify

The values ​​of this sentence are deeply rooted in the design concept of Bitcoin, and it also reflects a basic principle behind the decentralized system of Bitcoin - de-trust, removing trust in third parties. It emphasizes the importance of verification rather than blind trust, because trust does not always bring benefits, and sometimes trust can breed deception.

Another meaning of Don't Trust is Question Everything, dare to question everything. This is my understanding. Living in this world, each of us is an independent individual, and we should not blindly believe in authority. The biggest driving force for the continuous progress of human society is that we dare to question and challenge authority. From Copernicus to Galileo, from Newton to Einstein, their success all came from questioning authority and their own independent thinking. Therefore, we should do the same in life, not blindly believe in anything, any authority, what we should do is to think independently and verify it ourselves...

Now this sentence is also widely used in fields beyond blockchain, reminding us to be cautious and think critically when facing information. Don't trust anyone, company, institution or force easily, even don't trust yourself, but verify it realistically. This way of thinking is not only crucial in Bitcoin transactions, but also an important principle in my life.

Hodl

The word Hodl originated in December 2013, when a user on the Bitcoin forum wrote "I AM HODLING" in a post. Later, this misspelling became popular and even had a new meaning, because HODL happened to be the abbreviation of "Hold on for Dear Life". Over time, Hodl gradually became an investment concept, that is, holding cryptocurrency for a long time and not selling the Bitcoin in your hands regardless of market fluctuations.

As a hodler who has held Bitcoin for almost 5 years, my true feeling is that Bitcoin is not that important to my life. At least so far, apart from seeing the fluctuations in the numbers on the books, the value of Bitcoin itself has not had much impact on my life. What I was like before hoarding the currency, and what I am like after hoarding the currency. Instead, it is the philosophy and values ​​​​contained in Bitcoin that made me start to think and find the way I want to go. So in my opinion, we should hodl not only Bitcoin, but also a heart that pursues progress and learning! In addition, we should also hodl something worth cherishing, perhaps a friendship, perhaps a family relationship, perhaps a love, and so on. The beauty of life should not be let down by us!

Stack Sats & Stay Humble

Here, "Stack Sats" refers to accumulating Bitcoin (the smallest unit of Bitcoin is "Sat"), while "Stay Humble" refers to staying humble. This phrase first appeared in a Bitcoin forum post in 2017, in which the author called on Bitcoin holders to accumulate more Bitcoin and stay humble. This phrase has been widely circulated in the Bitcoin community and has become an iconic slogan of Bitcoin culture. It reminds Bitcoin holders to remain patient and humble, and to keep improving themselves while constantly accumulating more Bitcoin.


This is also a sentence I like very much, and I also agree with the values ​​it advocates. This may be related to my own personality. I am an introvert, so what I have always pursued is "working hard secretly", and as for "amazing everyone", it is not important to me. And I also have my own understanding of being humble. On the one hand, you need to have an empty cup mentality so that you can put more things in it. On the other hand, what we should do is to pursue what we want in our hearts, rather than external vanity and praise. Unnecessary showing off will only bring us unnecessary trouble. Such examples are not uncommon in the currency circle. So, Stack Sats & Stay Humble. Be a low-key and constantly improving Bitcoin Hodler.

Value for Value

“Value for Value” means “value for value”, which emphasizes that in the Bitcoin ecosystem, users should get corresponding rewards for providing value. In the Bitcoin community, users can provide value to the ecosystem by contributing code, maintaining nodes, creating content, etc. In return, they can get Bitcoin, community recognition or other forms of value.

I realized that this sentence came from a member of the Bitcoin community. He recommended the book 21 Lessones to newcomers to the crypto industry. I happened to see it and read it. This book once again examines the greatness of Bitcoin from the perspective of economics and philosophy, and I benefited a lot from it. After this incident, he mentioned this sentence and said that if you have read this book, you should give money to the author, Value for Value. Indeed, if you get value from others, you should give others corresponding value.

Let's start

Although the Bitcoin codebase may change, I believe that these spiritual cores and culture will always exist. If you have read this far, you might as well start with the above principles and try to practice the unique community culture and values ​​of the Bitcoin community in your life. Maybe you will become a better person.


Nick, an ordinary person who strives to become a Bitcoiner