Writing About Bitcoin Is Like Writing about Politics or Ideology

Someone is bound to disagree with you and call you names.

Has it become fashionable to verbally attack people who write about Bitcoin or cryptocurrency online?

When I first started writing on Medium, I thought that cryptocurrency could be a good topic to cover, since I saw that there was an issue with extreme narratives.

I disagreed with the Messianic narratives that Bitcoin or cryptocurrency would provide the one and true answer to the current broken financial system. Yet, I also disagreed with the simplistic view that Bitcoin and cryptos are just Ponzi schemes.

Both of them, as I have constantly maintained in my writing, are extreme and end up obscuring one crucial point — that the technology and the social repercussions need to be studied.

What I did agree with, however, was that cryptocurrency is here to stay, that it is a massive technological and social innovation, and that we need to understand it rather than denounce it.

The technology can be used for both good and bad.

Are there problems? Of course there are! Technology is not purely neutral. Technology is a tool that people can use for both good and evil.

And when I try to steer the focus to look at the good side that can come out of cryptocurrency, I inadvertently get attacked.

Yesterday, I wrote that cryptocurrency would have a big role to play in the Russian-Ukraine war. I said that it could be used by both sides in the war: Russia might utilize it as a backup option if Russia was locked out of the global interbank system (SWIFT).¹

At the same time, I suggested, based on researched sources, that Ukrainian supporters could also fund the resistance efforts with cryptocurrency.

I, The Pathetic Loser

Instead of a civil debate, the other person called me a “pathetic loser” and that the amount that has been funded through cryptocurrency was “a joke” and not even sufficient to buy a tank. I quote word-for-word without editing:

You are clearly invested in bitcoin and you are a pathetic loser who is using people in difficult situation to promote your shit coins that nobody needs.

First of all, to be very clear — I don’t own bitcoin at the point of writing. I have no interest whatsoever in peddling “shit coins.”

I also do not appreciate being called a pathetic loser.

If you’ve read most of my work on cryptocurrency, you know that they are about nuanced arguments. I have never written a single article claiming that this coin or that token is going to the moon.

On the contrary, I have written a 16-minute long story explaining why I think cryptocurrency advertising is unethical.

Cryptocurrency is Polarizing

My heart goes out to the people of Ukraine, but objectively analyzing the situation and discovering a connection between war and cryptocurrency is the role of a social observer. It has nothing to do with exploiting a “difficult situation” to sell anyone any coins.

Of course, when people come at you with emotionally-laden claims, it’s clear that they are not looking for a rational debate. I did what a rational person would do. On my third reply, I decided to end the debate and not pursue it anymore. (I succumbed and made a fourth reply.)

This is exactly the phenomenon that I’ve observed and documented in another recent story. I wrote that cryptocurrency is a highly polarizing and divisive topic.

Time and time again, I have maintained that we need to be objective about cryptocurrency (and most other things in life). And I’ve tried my best to be as civil and rational in debates that this topic inadvertently attracts.

But if this sort of personal attack continues — at the cost of my mental health — it makes me seriously reconsider if writing about this topic is worth it.

I don’t even make that much money writing these crypto stories — no one wants to read them!

Analysis Vs. Ideology

Writing about cryptocurrency is like writing about politics.

When you write about politics, someone is bound to disagree with you, because politics is not about rational discourse but about ideology.

And perhaps that is the problem with Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. As much as distributed ledger technology is a technology, cryptocurrency carries within itself an anarchist, anti-government sort of ideology.

No governments, no banks, just decentralized, code-governed consensus.

Can cryptocurrency be used for crime? Yes, Warren Buffett maintains that this is the case. And cryptocurrency’s anonymity makes it an excellent vehicle for scammers and fraudsters. This is also something I have also documented!

Concluding Thoughts

Why do people hate cryptocurrency?

Is it because it isn’t backed by governments? Because it could be a Ponzi scheme? Because criminals allegedly like using it? Because it could be hacked? Because Bitcoin mining is said to use a lot of energy? Because of the whole “to the moon” nonsense sold by crypto-bros giving cryptocurrency a bad name?

Lots of questions but I have no answers right now.

I am extremely tired from this pointless debate. If you know me in person, you know that I am very reserved and introverted. I prefer thinking and writing to speech and debates and I do not particularly enjoy verbal fights. Especially when people resort to ad hominem fallacies like “pathetic idiot”.

So, you tell me. Should I stop writing about this topic?

Disclaimer and Disclosure: This is not financial advice to buy or sell any asset, digital or otherwise. Please do your own due diligence before trading or investing in any digital or non-digital assets. The author holds some cryptocurrencies, but he does not own any Bitcoin at the time of writing.

©Alvin T.

Endnotes

[1] For the time being, locking Russia out of the SWIFT network doesn’t seem likely. Source: Reuters, U.S., EU unlikely to cut Russia off SWIFT for now -Biden, accessed 26 Feb 2022.

[Update] Selected Russian banks will apparently be removed from SWIFT. Source: The Guardian, Swift action at last brings meaningful sanctions against Putin regime, accessed 28 Feb 2022.

The author writes on a variety of topics. His key topics are Japan, society, culture, modern work, and cryptocurrency, with the occasional fictional story, creative piece, or reflective essay. Discover his most-read stories here.

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