Why Bitcoin's Absolute Scarcity Matters
Hi Plebs,
In Zero to One, Peter Thiel talks about huge innovations that create something completely new - like the steam engine or computers. He calls these "zero to one" inventions.
Thiel says most new tech since the 1970s has just been small upgrades to existing stuff, not real game-changers. But since bitcoin came along this idea changed.
Bitcoin is a totally new type of money that works differently than normal money. It uses digital scarcity which means there's a set limited amount, similar to gold or silver. Although, both gold and silver both have a limited amount, they don’t have a cap. These are the closest versions to what bitcoin can be compared to - but bitcoin is actually the stronger money of the three due to its finite cap, which has no real comparisons.
Money is important for organising an economy. So bitcoin, being a new kind of money, could end up changing way more than even amazing inventions like engines or computers. Those were awesome, but bitcoin reworks one of the most basic things humans use every day - money itself.
That makes bitcoin likely the biggest pioneering "zero to one" innovation in a long time. It revolutionises one of our oldest core technologies.
Bitcoin is for anyone, anywhere - no one controls it or can censor you from using it. It's global and unchangeable. While bitcoin alone can't fix every issue, it creates a whole new kind of money network unlike any product or business. That's because money coordinates everything else in an economy. Bitcoin is something completely new, and improving it later will be part of the next step (often referred to as the next layer).
Bitcoin's limited supply still needs more testing, but it's a big deal, and it's what makes bitcoin special. No money, has ever had a strictly capped amount before. This limited supply is the basis for the most solid, unchangeable form of money ever - one where absolutely no more can be made, but anybody anywhere can get some. There will only ever be 21 million bitcoin total. Creating something 100% limited like that is a breakthrough unlikely to be repeated.
Bitcoin's limited supply makes it revolutionary. No past money could ever run out for good. But with only 21 million bitcoin possible, it's built on something entirely new - true digital scarcity. When Satoshi invented this scarce global money, they invented a total game-changer. Since money allows for all other trades, bitcoin's limited supply could transform how the whole world's economy works.
Cheers, and onwards with Bitcoin
