By Michael Saylor

@Sea Bitcoin

Introduction

Bitcoin is no longer a narrow technical experiment, nor is it just a small monetary protest. It has become a dominant digital currency network and a global asset with far-reaching implications for individuals, institutions, enterprises, banks, capital markets and countries。

With Bitcoin growing up, the communities around it naturally divide into different schools of thought. These groups share the importance of Bitcoin, but there are different views on how Bitcoin should evolve, fit into the world, expand and be protected。

This post describes four main Bitcoin ideologies:

1. Bitcoin Maximalists
2. Bitcoin Capitalists
3. Bitcoin Technologists
4. Bitcoin Fundamentalists

Each ideology has a different focus。

Bitcoin is considered a dominant currency network by the biggest partisans。

Capitalists see Bitcoin as an open economic infrastructure that should be integrated into global markets。

The technocrats see Bitcoin as an agreement that must be continually improved。

Fundamentalists see Bitcoin as a sacred currency breakthrough that must be protected from corruption, capture and compromise。

These groups are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Many Bitcoiner also holds more than one view. But these distinctions make sense, because they help us see what the debate over the future of Bitcoin is about。

1. Bitcoin The Greatest

Core conviction

Bitcoin is the dominant digital money network: it is an ethical, technical and economic breakthrough and a tool for economic empowerment. It provides better property rights, more complete monetary integrity and gives hope to those in economic distress。

Worldview

Bitcoin's biggest activist believes that Bitcoin is not one of many encrypted assets. It's that breakthrough。

It is a network that addresses digital scarcity, creates a credible fixed currency supply and creates a decentrization agreement that allows people to store and transfer value without relying on any government, bank, company or intermediary。

Bitcoin is important to the biggest partisans because it provides what the world desperately needs: a currency that cannot be corrupted。

It protects people from inflation, confiscation, currency devaluation, capital controls, institutional failures and currency disorder。

The biggest partisans tend to view Bitcoin as an ethical and civilized level of progress, not just a deal. They believed that a better currency would improve human behaviour, reward low-time preferences, protect savings and provide individuals with a path out of economic oppression。

What do the biggestists stress

Bitcoin's biggest activist stressed:

• Bitcoin is the dominant digital money network
• Bitcoin is the only truly decentralised encrypted asset
• Bitcoin offers better property rights
• Bitcoin is the solution to currency devaluation
• Bitcoin is the hope of people in economic trouble
• Bitcoin is a long-term value storage tool
• Bitcoin is the foundation of a better monetary system

Natural advantages

The greatest partisan position is powerful because it provides moral clarity。

It points to the highest mission of Bitcoin: economic empowerment through sound currency. It resists distraction, dilution and tendency to equate Bitcoin with other tokens or projects。

Bigminism gives Bitcoin the strongest identity:No second best choice。

Natural risks

The risk is that, if maximism fails to distinguish between "bitcoin as a winning money network" and "the world uses Bitcoin in different ways", it may become less precise。

One of the biggestists can believe that Bitcoin has won, but he still needs to answer: how does Bitcoin integrate with banks, companies, capital markets, governments and billions of people

The maximalist definition is the end. Other ideological arguments are the path。

Bitcoin Capitalist

Core conviction

For Bitcoin to realize its full potential, it must be integrated into the global economy: money, credit, securities, corporations, banks, institutions, Governments, families and individuals. Bitcoin is an open money network for everyone。

Worldview

Bitcoin capitalists believe that Bitcoin belongs to everyone. It should not be isolated in a closed system. It should be integrated into every portfolio, balance sheet, product, service, securities, currency, credit instruments and capital structure, as long as it creates value there。

According to the capitalist, Bitcoin is digital capital。

Like steel, electricity, oil, the Internet or mobile calculations, the full value of Bitcoin will only really appear when embedded in the global economy。

Bitcoin does not need to replace every institution to change the world. It can empower individuals, companies, banks, insurance companies, asset management agencies, sovereign States, families and capital markets by providing them with a better form of capital。

Capitalists are happy to see the institution adopt Bitcoin. The company can hold Bitcoin. Bank can trust Bitcoin. Capital markets can finance Bitcoin accumulation. Credit instruments can be built on Bitcoin. Equity can be enhanced by Bitcoin. Money and payment systems can be made stronger by Bitcoin。

What do capitalists stress

Bitcoin Capitalists stress:

• Bitcoin is digital capital
• Integration with global capital markets
• Bitcoin-supported credit
• Securities supported by Bitcoin
• Enterprise Bitcoin Reserve Policy
• Institutional hosting and lending
• Banks, vouchers, insurance companies, asset management agencies as conduits
• L2 AND L3 INNOVATION FOR EXTENSION AND FUNCTIONALITY
• Market incentives are the force that protects and drives Bitcoin's growth

Capitalists generally believe that many of the fundamental layers of constraints can be addressed by innovation at a higher level or by the actions of self-serving institutional holders。

If large companies, banks, funds and countries all rely on Bitcoin, they will have a strong incentive to protect the network, improve the surrounding infrastructure and ensure the long-term security of Bitcoin。

Natural advantages

Capitalist positions are powerful because they explain how Bitcoin extends into the present world。

It is pragmatic, inclusive and expansionary. It welcomed individuals, families, companies, institutions and Governments to the Bitcoin network。

Capitalists understand that the global economy is built on capital, credit, collateral, trusteeship, liquidity, securities, accounting, regulation, taxation and institutional infrastructure。

If Bitcoin is to become a global digital capital, it must interact with these systems。

Capitalists are also optimistic. It believes that Bitcoin can improve the world, not by forcing all people to adopt a narrow method of use, but by allowing the free market to create many forms of Bitcoin's path。

Natural risks

The risk is that capitalist integration may introduce complexity, leverage, hosting risk, regulatory dependence and institutional influence。

If not properly designed, Bitcoin-based financial products may rebuild the type of vulnerability that Bitcoin was supposed to address。

Capitalists must therefore distinguish between “constructive integration” and “brash financialization”。

The goal should be to expand the benefits of Bitcoin, not to weaken its core attributes。

Bitcoin Technician

Core conviction

If Bitcoin is to realize its full potential, it will need to continuously improve the base level in order to continuously enhance its outreach, availability, privacy, functionality, security, integrity and compatibility as needs and threats evolve。

Worldview

Bitcoin technologists see Bitcoin as an extraordinary agreement, but not a completed agreement。

The technocrats believe that technology will evolve, threats will evolve, user needs will evolve, and therefore Bitcoin must continue to evolve。

In the eyes of technocrats, the improvement of responsible agreements is not corruption, but protection。

The long-term success of Bitcoin may require better privacy, greater expansiveness, better script capabilities, better security, better wallet structures, better interoperability, better hosting models, better L2 support, and ultimately protection against new threats, such as quantum computing。

The technocrats are often concerned about what Bitcoin can do if the base level is improved。

They fear that over-conservatism may make Bitcoin less useful, less private, less scalable or less competitive over time。

What do technocrats stress

Bitcoin technologists stress:

• Base level improvements
• Extension
• Privacy
• Clear
• Functionality
• Availability
• Integrity of the agreement
• Compatibility with higher-level systems
• Preparing for future technological threats
• Expand what developers can build on Bitcoin

Natural advantages

The technocratic position is powerful because it recognizes that no technology can survive forever without regard for environmental change。

Technological progress is important. Safety is important. User experience is important. Privacy is important. Expansion is important。

The technocrats bring engineering discipline, imagination and a sense of urgency. They helped to identify problems, propose solutions before they turned into crises and propose improvements that could enhance networks。

Without technocrats, Bitcoin faces the risk of stagnation in the face of real technological challenges。

Natural risks

The risk is that ambitious changes in agreements may have unintended consequences。

Bitcoin's greatest advantage is its reliability. Any change in the base level must be extremely careful, as mistakes can undermine security, decentrization, monetary integrity or social consensus。

If technological ambitions underestimate the value of stability, it may become dangerous。

In medicine, there is a concept called medical source harm, which means treating the harm itself. Bitcoin faces a similar risk: changes to Bitcoin that are intended to improve it may inadvertently weaken it。

The technocrats must therefore respect the conservative nature of Bitcoin. The burden of proof for changes in the base level should be very high。

4. Bitcoin Fundamentalist

Core conviction

Bitcoin must be faithful to its core principles: self-custody, personal nodes, decentrization, immutability and use as a currency. Fundamentalists tried to protect Bitcoin from corruption, capture or compromise。

Worldview

Bitcoin fundamentalists see Bitcoin as a monetary revolution that must be protected from institutions, governments, financial engineers and excessive agreement experiments。

For fundamentalists, the purity of Bitcoin is at its core。

Bitcoin is valuable because it is scarce, decentrized, non-licensed, resistant and supportive of individual sovereignty。

These attributes are fragile. They may be weakened by hosting concentration, regulatory capture, leverage, re-collateralization, institutional dependence, or poorly conceived agreements。

Fundamentalists attached the highest importance to individual sovereignty。

They believe that individuals should hold their own private keys, run their own nodes, validate their transactions and use Bitcoin as a currency: both as a value storage tool and as a clearing and accounting unit。

Their central concern is that the success of Bitcoin will attract forces and try to reshape it in accordance with their interests。

The government may want to control it. The bank may want to host. The company might want financial engineering. The technocrats may want to upgrade。

Fundamentalists tried to preserve the original monetary integrity of Bitcoin in the face of all these pressures。

What do fundamentalists stress

Bitcoin fundamentalists emphasize:

• Host
• Personal Nodes
• To centralize
• Unchangeable
• Access without permission
• Resistance
• Bitcoin as currency
• Low time preferences
• Scepticism with regard to custodians and intermediaries
• Resisting changes that could weaken the basis of the agreement

Natural advantages

The fundamentalist position is powerful because it protects the soul of Bitcoin。

It reminds the world why Bitcoin was originally created。

It defends the attributes that make Bitcoin unique, preventing the network from being diluted into another financial product controlled by institutions。

The fundamentalist is the guardian of the first principle of Bitcoin. They preserve a culture of certification, a culture of individual sovereignty and mistrust of centralized power。

Without fundamentalists, Bitcoin is likely to be captured, financialized, regulated, or modified into something that undermines its claim to core values。

Natural risks

The risk is that fundamentalism may become too closed。

If Bitcoin is acceptable only in a narrow way of use, billions of people, companies and institutions may be excluded from its benefits。

A world of 8 billion people would not use Bitcoin in the same way。

Someone will take care of themselves. Someone will use the bank. Someone will buy securities. Someone will hold Bitcoin through the company. Somebody's gonna take the Bitcoin mortgage. Someone will build credit, money and capital markets on Bitcoin。

If fundamentalists reject the integration of all institutions and all technological improvements, they may be able to protect Bitcoin ' s purity, but they will also limit its reach。

The real challenge is:

Protection agreements, not denials。

Core tension

These four ideologies can be understood by their respective questions:

• The biggest activist asks: What has Bitcoin proved
• Capitalists ask: "How does Bitcoin integrate with the global economy?"
• The technocrats asked: How should Bitcoin improve
• Fundamentalists ask: How do we protect the core principles of Bitcoin

Each group is responding to a real need。

Bitcoin needs the biggestists to keep faith。

Bitcoin needs capitalists to drive adoption。

Bitcoin needs technocrats to solve the technological challenges。

Bitcoin needs fundamentalists to defend the agreement。

The danger arises from the absoluteization of any ideology。

The biggest partisans may become contemptible。

Capitalists may become reckless。

Technologicals may become interventionist。

Fundamentalists may become exclusive。

A healthy Bitcoin ecology requires faith, integration, innovation and protection。

Bitcoin's Way Forward

Bitcoin's success is likely to require the integration of these perspectives。

The core of Bitcoin should remain decentralised, scarce, secure and immutable. This is a fundamentalist insight。

Bitcoin should be recognized as the dominant digital currency network, a breakthrough in property rights and monetary integrity. That's the biggest political insight。

Bitcoin should integrate into the global economy through companies, banks, securities, credit, currency and capital markets. It's the vision of the capitalist。

Bitcoin should continue to benefit from technological research, higher-level innovation and, where necessary, carefully considered improvements to protect its safety and relevance. This is a technocrat's insight。

The strongest way forward is not reckless change, not institutional capture, nor the pureness of isolationism。

It's an expansion of discipline。

The base level should be considered a sacred infrastructure. Changes in the base level should be rare, cautious and must be based on overwhelming consensus。

Most innovations should occur at higher levels, in applications, in hosting systems, in capital markets, in credit instruments and in global financial infrastructure。

At the same time, individuals must always retain their hosting, operating nodes and certify for themselves the rights and capabilities of the network。

Bitcoin has the power to serve many different groups, but does not belong to any of them。

It can be personal currency。

It can be corporate capital。

It can be collateral for the bank。

It can be a national reserve。

It can be family property。

It can be market infrastructure。

It can be the hope of anyone in economic distress。

Conclusions

The future of Bitcoin will be shaped by the interaction between the largest, capitalist, technocrats and fundamentalists。

Biggestists remind us that Bitcoin is the dominant digital currency network and a major breakthrough in human history。

Capitalists remind us that Bitcoin must be integrated into the global economy to realize its full potential。

The technocrats remind us that, as technology and threats evolve, Bitcoin must remain safe, useful and resilient。

Fundamentalists remind us that the core principles of Bitcoin can never be compromised。

These ideologies are not just factions. They are power。

Every power protects something important. Every force can go too far。

The challenge for Bitcoin is to make it useful to all while preserving its uniqueness。

The mission is not one between purity and adoption, or between innovation and stability。

The real mission is:

Make sure Bitcoin is still Bitcoin, and let the whole world build on it。

That's the way Bitcoin uses all his potential。