Issue number 500. What a world.

A lot has changed since June 8th, 2017, the day I started slinging this rag to anyone interested in reading my thoughts about Bitcoin.

Brought into this world during the immediate aftermath of the now infamous New York Agreement, the Ƀent has served as a medium for me to document the happenings in and around Bitcoin as seen through my eyes. In just two insanely fast years we have covered the fork wars, the ICO craze, the failed flippening, the technical developments around the protocol, the launching and growth of the Lightning Network, hacks, bugs, FUD, geopolitics and everything in between. Through it all, I have learned that Bitcoin is an extremely resilient system that is revealing itself to us all in real time as we explore and test its boundaries with every new block. On top of this, it has detached itself from the hardware and software that make it run and has succeeded in the wild as an idea that has infected millions to date, with more individuals catching the Bitfluenza every day.

During the early days of the Ƀent, there was a real sense of worry about the future of the protocol as it seemed like we were about to shoot ourselves in the foot with the SegWit2x fork. Luckily we learned that Bitcoin is a cruel bitch who will not yield to the high time preference wants of a few. We have seen the quick proliferation and demise of fork spinoffs like Bitcoin Cash that have failed to attract Bitcoin's network effects with every attempt. We have seen the quick proliferation and demise of the ICO, cash grabs marketed as funding vehicles. We have seen the quick proliferation and demise of a mining giant we once feared. Each failure bringing new information to this nascent market. Helping the collective get a better understanding of what we're working with.

Today, it feels as if Bitcoin is primed for another run. Battle-hardened and as lean as it has ever been with promising potential upgrades on the horizon, Bitcoin has reached a point at which it cannot be ignored. It is demanding the attention of politicians, central bankers, and the institutions it aims to disrupt. Things are only going to get weirder from here, freaks. We'll be here to document what we see along the way.

Thank you to all of you masochists who subject yourselves to this drivel every weekday. It has been fun embarking on this journey with you.

Final thought...

I had the coldest Coors Light I've ever had in my life last night. Pure bliss.

Enjoy your weekend, freaks.