The Vibe's Change - #406

TL;DR - New highs brings new vibes. Bitcoin's maturing.

rare

Jun 01, 2025

Reader,

Bitcoin keeps evolving.

The USD devalues further. $112K USD per Bitcoin.

BTC2025 was revealing. New players. Big players. Big pockets. Landscape's shifting.

For better? For worse? We'll see.

Never a dull day.

The Insight

The vibe's changed.

We see the suits now. They're here. Been here. Just louder now. Front and center. Their voices drown out the quiet ones.

Plebs still asking. Medium of exchange or store of value? It's both. But that's not the debate anymore. What's at stake is your sovereignty. Do you hold your bitcoin or not.

Bitcoin's mainstream now.

They're monetizing it. Making their products. New use cases. Lending. Borrowing. Contracts. There's a picture they're painting. It's not finished but it's got me thinking different.

Like sharks these suits bite. They bite and don't let go. If you give them your coin. They take it. Keep it. Never let go. If you sell it's a one way street. Keep that in mind.

Bitcoin circular economies keep the coin.

Ask yourself who holds the keys.

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Toolkit

Tools I'm using. No sponsorships. Just my experience.

Boltz Exchange

On-chain to LN swap. Real simple. Fast way to top-up LN wallets or open a channel.

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Bitrefill eSIMs

Solid product. Choose a country. Buy the eSIM. Load it to your phone. Done. Helps when globe hoping. Sends data usage when close to running out. Top-ups simple too.

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Travala

For booking flights and stays. Pay with Bitcoin directly. Sometimes there's discounts. Been using them for years. Real helpful.

Visit Travala

Lessons From The Road

How I'm using Bitcoin now

As loan collateral.

Why?

To know. Form my own opinion.

So far, it's OK. It gets the job done. Just with extra steps.

Taking a loan for consumption, no good. Loan needs servicing. How do you repay? A loan for production, better. There's a way out.

Got a friend making a film. Needed funds to finish. Asked if I'd be interested in investing. I don't have fiat. My coin's in buckets, each with a purpose. But his project sounds fun. His investment plan's good. Repays quick, plus royalties. I'd like to be apart of it. Just don't want to part with my coin, yet.

Took a collateral loan. Used CoinRabbit. Borrowed at 50% Loan to Value. If Bitcoin trades at $100K, you get $50K. His investment ain't much. Low risk. If it goes wrong, won't be weaping. I deposit the coin. Get funds. No questions asked. Make the investment. Deal's done.

Couple months go by. Film productions wraps. Get first repayment. It's enough to pay back loan and get my collateral back. I do.

He got a film made. I made a little income. Win-win.

My coin can be productive. Do productive things. Adds more value. More than just HODLing.

Some will argue against it. Some for it. I don't care. I use my funds how I will.

And that's the point.

Bitcoin's real simple.

You either earn it or buy it. You hold it. In your own wallet. You send it. From your own wallet. Sometimes you spend a little. Sometimes, a lot. Other times, you just stay still.

Running a node ain't hard either.

Download a Bitcoin client. Then the blockchain. Keep it running. Whether it's Core or Knots, preference is yours. Yours alone. Your node verifies. That's what counts.

We—you, me, people—complicate things. It's human nature. It's what we do when we don't fully understand. Study Bitcoin. 10 minutes, 10,000 hours, 10,000 years... Doesn't matter. KYC, non-KYC. Bitcoin is Bitcoin. Fundamentals stay the same. You send it, receive it. Pretty straightforward.

I learned by doing. Walking the walk. Bitcoin’s the class. Volatility the teacher. These days, I don't learn much. Either I'm a bad student, or there's not much more to learn. Again, Bitcoin's real simple.

If you're in the US, Steak and Shake accepts Bitcoin. Feed yourself and your curiosity.

My dad would often say: "You do it, you know it. No what ifs."

Use Bitcoin, even once. You'll know more than 90% of "Bitcoiners" out there.

No what-ifs.