Issue #348: Bitcoin as a living organism

Yesterday afternoon, Dan Held dropped the first of a four-part series of his in which he will lay out a thorough contextualization for Bitcoin's immaculate conception. In this part, Dan defines Bitcoin's "species" and sets the stage for putting Bitcoin's launch in perspective by taking the condition of the world in 2008 into consideration.

One thing I loved about this first part, in particular, is the introduction(?) of the Latin phrase "sanumpecuniam" or "sound money", which I have not ever seen until reading Dan's piece. As someone who tortured himself with 4-years of Latin in high school, I'm a sucker for a qual Latin phrase. Thanks for this, Dan!

Beyond the very meticulous breakdown of Bitcoin's species and the beautiful Latin phrases, the concept of Bitcoin as a living organism has fascinated me for some time now. Dan frames this piece by saying we should view Bitcoin like a tree; something that was planted and can grow strong over time if it is sufficiently nurtured. The protocol's open nature and low barrier to entry makes it so its "DNA" is copied and replicated across an extremely large geographic surface with no single point of failure. Bitcoin has hired us humans to expend a weird amount of energy and capital to ensure its survival. In return for our dutiful service, we are afforded a sound digital money in return. This symbiotic relationship between flesh and machine grows stronger and more dependent by the block. The meshing of the physical and digital worlds in unfolding before us as we tweet.

Here's to things only getting weirder from here!