Many people still think Bitcoin is a speculative investment with no use case or intrinsic value.

This is understandable considering how little knowledge the general public has about the protocol and the fundamentals of the Bitcoin network.

It’s easy to criticize something we don’t fully understand especially when all the media does is write FUD about it. I’m old enough to remember when the internet was a dangerous and useless tool that will never succeed, according to “the experts”

Ignorance is bliss. Understanding Bitcoin is not easy and given the number of lies spread by institutions with a vested interest, it’s no wonder how the perception of Bitcoin is still negative.

Here are some of the most common objections about Bitcoin and their counterarguments.

Bitcoin consumes electricity. True, but so do Christmas lights, watching tv, or standby devices. Banking is several orders of magnitude more wasteful than Bitcoin while being less effective in securing and transferring money.

Bitcoin is money for criminals. In 2022, 98% of illegal transactions were conducted in dollars and less than 1% in Bitcoin. Should we ban dollars?

Bitcoin is a Ponzi scheme. Bitcoin has a limited supply, an immutable protocol, and a decentralized network with no one in charge. Fiat money, on the other hand, is infinite, benefits only the elite thanks to the Cantillon effect and it’s easily manipulated.

These are just some examples of how the media, politicians, and bankers can affect public opinion to keep holding on to power and benefiting from a legacy system under their control.

But here’s what they don’t tell you. Bitcoin uses cases that are providing value to millions of people.

Here are some examples:

1. Transfers

International money transfers can be expensive and slow, especially for businesses. Sending a million dollars across borders can take weeks and cost thousands of dollars when using traditional banking channels.

Now, with Bitcoin, unlimited amounts can be transferred between parties and minimal cost, in minutes while keeping the transaction extremely secure.

There are examples of companies sending $1 billion overseas for as little as $7 in fees.

Businesses around the world are realizing this and saving a ton on commissions while increasing security and transparency.

2. Remittances

The remittances market is valued at $1 trillion a year worldwide.

Sending money back home to India, Pakistan, the Philippines, or Nigeria is vital for the economies of these countries and the families that rely on them for survival.

Western Union or any of the other money intermediaries charge 20% in commissions on average and for some third-world countries a lot more.

This is clearly daylight robbery. Often, for these families losing $20 for every $100 transaction is a big deal they can hardly afford.

Now, thanks to Bitcoin and the Lightning network, it is possible to send small amounts instantly, at zero cost. And the best thing is that this network could be used to send dollars if they choose to do so.

Many families in El Salvador, Kenya, or Venezuela are already benefiting from this opportunity while saving a small fortune in the process.

3. Store of Value

We all need a way to save. Money in the bank loses value over time and unless you do something about it, you’ll end up with nothing left after a few years.

Traditionally, people have been using financial assets like gold, real estate, bonds, or the stock market. We have been forced to become armchair investors because the fiat system is so inefficient.

Arguably, Bitcoin is the best store of value ever when compared to anything else. 7 million % appreciation in the last 10 years is something that no other asset can claim.

Of course, the past doesn’t equal the future but when considering Bitcoin’s fundamentals it is very likely this performance will continue for the next few decades at least.

The probability of an asset appreciating over the long run is mainly due to the supply and demand, now and in the future.

Bitcoin is extremely scarce, even more so than gold. This scarcity is also predictable (by the halvings) and on top of that, the supply is inelastic.

I can tell you exactly how many Bitcoin there will be in circulation in 2100 and that’s something that can’t be said about any other asset including gold.

Demand is very likely to continue in the future as more use cases continue to appear and the adoption curve keeps gathering momentum.

Markets are very efficient at getting rid of obsolete technologies and embracing exponential disruptive solutions that provide value.

The internet adoption curve was just 1% in the 90s and then skyrocketed to 80% in the next decade.

Bitcoin adoption is just at 1% now. Just saying.

4. Inflation

Bitcoin is a deflationary currency that can solve the endemic problems of inflation in many developing nations.

The Venezuelan Bolivar, the Sudanese Pound, and the Zimbabwean Dollar are failed currencies with inflation rates in the thousands.

Most fiat currencies are unable to maintain value and this is crippling many nation-states.

Only a handful of currencies are stable enough and even those have started to lose value in the double-digit range recently.

Who wants to lose 10% of their money every year?

Well, Bitcoin is one of the solutions. Over the long run (5 years or more) Bitcoin is the best anti-inflationary asset ever created. This could become very useful not for failed economies like Argentina, Venezuela, or Lebanon but also for those running on dollars, euros, or yens.

El Salvador has adopted Bitcoin as legal tender and ever since, GDP, exports, and productivity have increased substantially.

Most economies fail to take off because they are using the wrong currency. Now there is hope for the global south.

5. Censorship

Totalitarian estates use financial repression in order to punish their citizens.

Once your bank account and credit cards have been frozen there is very little you can do to fight for your rights. Even leaving your country becomes a chimera without money.

Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer network that can’t be censored by any government. Many citizens in the not-so-free world realize this and have started to transact and save in out-of-reach Bitcoin wallets.

Probably, one of the most interesting and useful use cases for Bitcoin is the ability to achieve financial independence. Being able to truly own your money and spend it wherever you see fit without the government interfering is the first step to achieving personal freedom.

We, spoiled westerners, might not find this so valuable but billions in the developing world do.

Let’s not forget that even in the west, financial repression is a real threat as we have seen in Canada where those who supported the trucker’s protests had their bank accounts frozen.

Financial repression is one of the worse things that can happen to you and Bitcoin is probably the only key to escaping this prison.

6. Corruption

Governments print money, they give it to their friends who in return help them stay in power.

This is how liberal western democracies work and there is nothing we can do to avoid it.

Unless…

By adopting a Bitcoin standard we will be helping the separation of money and estate. Forcing the elite to run the economy in a scarce, transparent, and immutable blockchain will get rid of most of the corruption we see nowadays.

You can’t print Bitcoin out of thin air. You can’t manipulate the blockchain records. You can’t send unlimited amounts of money without leaving a trace.

This is what Bitcoin brings to the table. Transparency, honesty, and hard money. Everything that can be manipulated will be manipulated. That’s why we need Bitcoin.

7. Security

No other asset is more secure than Bitcoin.

If you have some BTC in a cold wallet where you control your keys, it is nearly impossible for a hacker to get your money. This is not true for any other asset.

Banks, gold deposits, and even stocks are centralized assets that external hackers or internal rogue agents can attack.

The CIA, FBI, and many banks are regularly compromised. Any centralized database is vulnerable to attacks. Bitcoin thanks to its Proof of Work and the energy required to run it, has become unassailable. There is not enough processing power or energy to attack the network.

If keeping your money safe is a priority for you. If you don’t trust banks or governments. If you worry about hackers, Bitcoin is the best solution humans have developed so far.

Conclusion

Bitcoin might appear a useless, speculative, and wasteful technology for the uninformed. But by digging into its fundamentals it’s not difficult to realize the tremendous potential and the number of use cases no other technology can provide.

It’s often said that Bitcoin is not an invention but a discovery and it is easy to see why.

To solve the double spending problem, the byzantine general’s problem, to create a digitally scarce asset, to prevent the 51% attack, and to create a decentralized monetary network that can’t be attacked is quite remarkable.

I don’t think we’ll see any development like this in our lifetimes. Bitcoin can’t be replicated. If you still think some of those altcoins might take over, you still don’t get it.

Bitcoin is here to stay as the most reliable monetary instrument ever discovered. It has some of the properties of gold minus the defects. It is the obvious evolution of money after millennia of trial and error.

Bitcoin is freedom, independence, security, scarcity, transparency, and honesty. It can’t be created out of thin air. It can’t be manipulated. It can’t be stolen. It can’t be diluted.

It took us 5000 years to find this monetary technology and now that is here, it won’t be replaced for a few centuries.