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@ Andrew G. Stanton
2025-05-17 17:29:55
🧠 Am I in a Bitcoin Cult?
(No — but I can see why people ask.)
Over the past few years, I’ve gone deep into Bitcoin — not just as an asset, but as a philosophy, a technology, and a way of thinking about value, freedom, and truth.
But recently, I found myself asking a hard question:
“Am I in a Bitcoin cult?”
To outsiders, the signs might look familiar:
There’s a clear tribal identity — memes, slogans, strong opinions.
Some Bitcoiners are quick to dismiss anything outside the protocol.
We speak in shorthand: “HODL,” “stack sats,” “run a node,” “have fun staying poor.”
And yes, we have our prophets — Satoshi, Saifedean Ammous, Jimmy Song.
But here’s what I’ve realized:
Bitcoin isn’t a cult. It’s a protocol.
Some people treat it cultishly.
Some behave like zealots.
But the protocol itself doesn’t demand belief — it demands verification.
I’m not here to sell anything. I’m not building a downline. I’m not chasing hype.
I’m here because I believe in the value of a decentralized, auditable, apolitical form of money.
And unlike the world of MLMs or Web3 hype cycles — which I’ve dabbled in before — Bitcoin doesn’t ask me to recruit, to upsell, or to pretend.
It asks me to take responsibility.
To verify.
To build.
To hold my own keys.
To opt out of noise, not add to it.
So no — I’m not in a cult.
But I am part of something that’s radically countercultural in a world addicted to fiat illusions.
And I’m okay if that makes people uncomfortable.
(As with my ongoing article series, I’ve been shaping these thoughts with the help of ChatGPT — not to replace my voice, but to sharpen it.)
#Bitcoin #ProofOfWork #NotCrypto #StackSats #FiatIsTheCult #Nostr
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