When I was a teenager, I watched a documentary about how our monetary systems evolved: from goods exchange, to gold, to gold-backed lending notes, to government-issued fiat currencies, and finally to our current system of digital money—created through fractional reserve banking. The deeper I understood this system, the more strange and unreliable it felt to me.
At the same time, I’ve always seen how impractical it would be to go back to bartering or carrying around precious metals. So I accepted the current system, even though it never sat right.
As for cryptocurrencies—they felt even more disconnected from reality. Most coins looked like speculative tokens or tech experiments. And when meme coins like Trumpcoin or Dogecoin started trending, it made the whole idea seem even sillier. A few lines of code and hype? That didn't feel like a solution.
Then, at a spiritual event, I met someone who really understood Bitcoin. He explained it in a way that finally clicked for me.
Bitcoin Is Different
Bitcoin isn’t just another cryptocurrency. It’s built on a few fundamental principles that make it different from both fiat money and other digital coins:
- Finite supply: Only 21 million bitcoins will ever exist. This scarcity creates inherent value, unlike fiat currencies that can be printed endlessly.
- Proof of work: Bitcoin is "mined" by real computers using real electricity to solve cryptographic problems. This ties it to the physical world.
- Security and decentralization: No central authority can manipulate or seize the network. It’s powered by its users, not controlled by governments or banks.
-
It has longevity and trajectory. As mining becomes harder over time and the available Bitcoin becomes scarcer, the long-term price has shown a steady climb. It's volatile in the short term, yes, but over time it's proven more resilient than many assumed.
As time goes on, mining becomes harder and more scarce, reinforcing the long-term trajectory of Bitcoin's value. Unlike meme coins, Bitcoin wasn’t created as a joke. It was created as a response to the flaws of modern banking.
Many who use it are true believers in building a better monetary future—one less dependent on centralized systems that often feel predatory or unstable.
Why I Chose to Accept Bitcoin
There are still limitations. Not many shops accept Bitcoin directly. But converting it to regular currency is now quite fast—usually taking just 15–20 minutes.
So, in support of this alternative system—and of the people who believe in it—I decided to accept Bitcoin payments in my shop (which can be made in sats—short for satoshis, the smallest unit of Bitcoin, like cents to a dollar).
To me, this decision feels aligned with my values: sovereignty, innovation, and conscious commerce. I'm not a crypto evangelist, but I do believe in choice. And this feels like a step toward more freedom in how we exchange value.
A Note on Environmental Impact
Of course, I can’t ignore the environmental impact of Bitcoin mining. The energy used in the proof-of-work system is part of what anchors Bitcoin in the real world and gives it value—but it also raises questions about sustainability. In an ideal future, we’ll find ways to create decentralized currencies that still have real-world weight without the environmental cost—or maybe even with a regenerative impact. Until then, I still believe Bitcoin offers a meaningful alternative to the current financial system, and it's a step worth exploring.
Thank you for walking this path with me.