Almost three years ago we met in this dark corner of the Internet to highlight a Lightning Network enabled public bike service which really showcased the power of micropayments in meat space. At the time, the Lightning Network was in its infant stage yet this simple app showed how the second layer protocol could improve the UX of in real life experiences by making sovereign payments extremely straightforward fashion. The Lightning Network was still considered "vaporware" that was nothing more than an unrealistic pipe dream to many altcoiner and nocoiner naysayers, but those who were determined to build apps went out and did just that, they built apps. The few applications that were around may have been very rudimentary, but they were working apps nonetheless and they highlighted the potential of the network.

Fast forward to today, and the Lightning Network is still derided as a vaporware pipe dream by the same types and yet, more and more apps keep coming to market that harness the power of Bitcoin and the Lightning Network. The latest example of this is Zion, a social media app that leverages the Lightning Network to give individuals a new way to produce, share and interact with content. While it may not be the "world's first social network built on Bitcoin" - I would give that mantle to Sphinx Chat, whose code Zion forked to build on and add more features for users - the launch highlights that more and more people are building very cool and useful apps on Bitcoin. More importantly, people who wouldn't necessarily label themselves as bitcoiners, but people who want to build certain things and have found that the only viable technical solution to build those things is by using the Bitcoin stack.

As we said three years ago, when it comes to Bitcoin patience is key. Many Bitcoiners, myself included, see Bitcoin for what it is, one of the most revolutionary technologies man has ever come into contact with, and are driven crazy because a mass majority of humanity hasn't recognized this yet. This shouldn't be surprising. When you see something so clearly, it is hard to understand how others don't see it too. However, if you look at how far we've come since the simple bike lock app that was brought to market in October 2018, it is impossible to deny that the space has made incredible progress. This might be hard to identify for those of us who are engrained and enthralled in the day to day happenings and headlines that pertain to Bitcoin, but if you take a step back it is astonishing how far we have come.

Once looking at progress from a 30,000 foot vantage point, it becomes easier to recognize that Bitcoin adoption is inevitable. The tech simply provides too much utility that didn't exist before the protocol was launched. It is just going to take time for enough humans to realize this and begin building applications. Slowly but surely, this is happening. And if you are 30,000 feet above the day to day progress you'll notice that "slowly" is turning into "quickly". Do not fret that most don't realize this is happening yet. Patience is key. It is all coming together and it seems to be coming together faster as time moves forward. The masses will come because they will need the utility that the stack provides as the utility of the incumbent system continues to erode.

Final thought...

It's hot out.