{"id":13729,"date":"2021-09-16T17:38:54","date_gmt":"2021-09-16T12:08:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/?p=13729"},"modified":"2021-09-16T17:38:54","modified_gmt":"2021-09-16T12:08:54","slug":"should-you-be-a-bitcoin-maximalist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/in\/blog\/should-you-be-a-bitcoin-maximalist","title":{"rendered":"Should you be a Bitcoin Maximalist?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_66_1 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-light-blue ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/in\/blog\/should-you-be-a-bitcoin-maximalist\/#The_Argument_in_Favour_of_Maximalism\" title=\"The Argument in Favour of Maximalism\">The Argument in Favour of Maximalism<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/in\/blog\/should-you-be-a-bitcoin-maximalist\/#The_Argument_Against_Maximalism\" title=\"The Argument Against Maximalism\">The Argument Against Maximalism<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/in\/blog\/should-you-be-a-bitcoin-maximalist\/#In_Conclusion\" title=\"In Conclusion?\">In Conclusion?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n<p><strong>Bitcoin maximalism is interesting. In short, a Bitcoin maximalist is someone who feels like the crypto revolution should begin and end with Bitcoin. Any other alt is a distraction.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bitcoin maximalism is a phrase often attributed to Vitalik Buterin who described the emerging belief that the only desirable outcome of this \u201cquiet revolution\u201d is a Bitcoin monopoly. All other coins are at best a distraction and at worst a wrench in the chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What do you think?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s an interesting debate, and you can\u2019t help but wonder. Did Satoshi get it right the first time? Is it really not possible for <a href=\"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/in\/buy-bitcoin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bitcoin<\/a> to be improved upon?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-argument-in-favour-of-maximalism\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Argument_in_Favour_of_Maximalism\"><\/span>The Argument in Favour of Maximalism<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This Twitter thread is a great breakdown of why you should be in favour of Bitcoin maximalism:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">1\/I don\u2019t post much, usually just retweet some interesting stuff I find on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/bitcoin?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#bitcoin<\/a> twitter, but since my reply to a newcomer got some engagement I decided to write a thread on how I got here and some of the things I leared since entering the space. Hope this helps.<br><br>Thread \ud83d\udc47\ud83c\udffb <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/851z7z2wJz\" target=\"_blank\">pic.twitter.com\/851z7z2wJz<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Potapac (@potapac1) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/potapac1\/status\/1292796404621090816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">August 10, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The argument can be broken down into two fronts &#8211; the existing adoption, and trust factor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first is easy to explain. Bitcoin is by far the <a href=\"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/blog\/looking-ahead-bitcoin-as-digital-gold\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">most adopted crypt-asset in the world<\/a>, and is almost synonymous with blockchain. A first-time investor needn\u2019t devote much time to additional research (and the possibility of being scammed) if they just stick to Bitocin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Apart from competing for resources, like developers or capital, bitcoin maximalists also believe other cryptocurrencies steal mindshare from the original coin or provide an excuse for governments to try to shut the whole crypto industry down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bitcoin\u2019s trust comes from its development. Bitcoin maxis often note that Satoshi stepped away from the project without profiting from their work. Bitcoin was simply released into the world, with little fanfare or credit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Compare that to any altcoin, where the names of the projects founders and developers are well-known, giving them outsized influence on the market.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-argument-against-maximalism\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Argument_Against_Maximalism\"><\/span>The Argument Against Maximalism<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>While each of the above arguments have a certain merit, they can be contested. But before we do, let\u2019s look at the primary argument against Bitcoin maximalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Scalability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bitcoin uses the proof-of-work protocol to verify its transactions. As a result, an enormous amount of energy is needed to process the growing volume of transactions. The amount of power needed to secure the Bitcoin blockchain is getting so large that, as of 2021, <a href=\"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/blog\/is-bitcoin-sustainable\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">it exceeds the total amount of energy consumption of the country of Pakistan.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For all that consumption of energy, Bitcoin throughput is still very low, processing a maximum of 5 transactions per second (TPS). For context, Ethereum manages 30 TPS, and that is still considered slow. <a href=\"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/blog\/paypals-crypto-story-looking-ahead\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Payment gateways like PayPal<\/a> process 193 TPS at a significantly larger scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In other words, Bitcoin&#8217;s scalability issue is preventing it from being accepted for widespread use for financial transactions since it cannot handle the volume. As a result, other blockchain networks and their cryptocurrencies are needed, which punches a hole in the Bitcoin maximalist ideology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is before getting into more abstract ideas like the fact that every solution can be iterated on, or that specialist solutions exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-in-conclusion\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"In_Conclusion\"><\/span>In Conclusion?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I asked the Z-Team this same question:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2018Do you consider yourself a Bitcoin maximalist?\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The response was an overwhelming no, as 96% of respondents said they preferred a more diversified approach. One response summed it best:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\u2018I disagree, because finance is too big a space and crypto is too new a space to put all your eggs into one basket&#8217;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>There you have it. So, what do you think?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe width=\"620\" height=\"572\" src=\"https:\/\/strawpoll.com\/embed\/19uh7du4c\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 572px;\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Bitcoin maximalist is someone who feels like the crypto revolution should begin and end with Bitcoin. We want to understand why?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13732,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_ayudawp_aiss_exclude":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13729"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13729"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13729\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13729"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}