BTC is a product of apocalypticism and messianic belief.
Apocalypticism is about proclaiming that the end of the world is near, or in other words, saying that the world is very dark. Then it proclaims that there will be a messiah to save us.
BTC uses this very strategy. It starts by saying that the 2008 financial crisis was caused by the official control of the US dollar exchange rate, leading to inflation. This is equivalent to saying that reality is dark and the end of the world is coming. Then, it claims that BTC has a limited supply and can fight against inflation. This is like packaging BTC as a messiah.
Throughout history, this pattern has been common. It first appeared in Persia, where the cult of Mithras and Zoroastrianism were both messianic beliefs. The Persian king packaged himself as a messiah, expanding under the banner of the messiah, claiming it was not expanding but the salvation of all beings.
Later, messianic belief spread westward and influenced Christianity. The last chapter of the Christian Bible, Revelation, is a prophecy of the end of the world, with Jesus being the messiah.
Messianic belief also spread eastward and combined with Buddhism, giving rise to the beliefs in the rebirth of Maitreya and the White Lotus Society. In Buddhism, Amitabha is the Buddha of the Western Paradise, and Maitreya is the Buddha of the future, with one ruling the Paradise (Utopia) and the other ruling the (future world). They are clearly two messiahs. The White Lotus Society developed from this kind of belief.
There are many similar cases, such as Hong Xiuquan's Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement, which was also a product of messianic belief. Stalin also packaged himself as a messiah.
The reason messianic belief can generate massive attention is that human intelligence is inherently sensitive to disasters. Therefore, apocalypticism easily attracts attention. And when apocalypticism is followed by a messianic belief, the attention becomes explosive.
Human intelligence is naturally sensitive to disasters. This is because human intelligence evolved to adapt to the environment.
For example, imagine a primitive hunter on the African savannah seeing the grass move. Would he first assume there's a lion in the grass, or that the wind is blowing it? The correct answer is that he would assume there's a lion and run away. Because even if the grass was just moved by the wind, he doesn't lose anything by running, just consider it exercise. But if there really was a lion in the grass and he didn't run, he could lose his life.
This example shows that humans, to adapt to the environment, will prioritize the assumption that there are factors in the environment that threaten their safety.
Apocalypticism and messianic belief play on this "bug" in the human mind, provoking sensitive nerves. They say that reality is too dark and a messiah is needed.
BTC follows this pattern. It promotes the idea that official control of currency will lead to an economic crisis, which is akin to apocalypticism, proclaiming the end of the world. Then, it packages BTC as a messiah that can replace fiat currency and counter official control.
However, a problem arises. The absence of official control doesn't mean no one is controlling. A large amount of BTC is in the hands of exchanges and mining operations. They can manipulate the coin's price by pumping and dumping with the BTC they hold.
Therefore, the so-called decentralization of blockchain actually has its issues. Removing one center just leads to the formation of a new center.