What Toxic Bitcoin Maximalism Means for Bystanders – Bitcoin Magazine
This is an opinion piece by Boomer, a longtime and active member of the financial independence/early retirement (FIRE) movement and a contributor to Bitcoin Magazine.
I was recently inspired after reading Tomer Strolight’s piece, “Bitcoiners Are Not Toxic – They Have Integrity.”
For context, I read it a few days after Nic Carter’s “situation” really blew up on Twitter, and Strolight’s article really resonated with me. To be clear, I have great respect for Carter and all the good work he has done for the Bitcoin community, especially the work he has done to debunk the energy fears, uncertainties and doubts out there. Like him or hate him, he is truly one of the most important voices Bitcoin has in the energy and mining space. In recent weeks, he has taken it on the chin from many people in the community for investments in “blockchain” and “crypto” companies through his venture capital investment company, Castle Island Ventures. In his defense, he has been very open about his investments in these projects, talking about them quite openly on his “On The Brink” podcast for at least a year. In retaliation for the criticism, Carter has written a few articles and appeared on a few podcasts where he has hit back at the critics, calling out a vocal group in the Bitcoin space known as “toxic Bitcoin Maximalists” or pejoratively “toxic maxis.” I’m not going to go over exactly what was said about him or what he said back, but it’s all gotten pretty ugly. In this humble plebe’s opinion, it feels childish. It could be a symptom of the bear market that people in Bitcoin are turning on each other, or maybe it’s the Bitcoin immune system doing its job.
Over the past week, I’ve been thinking about what the terms “toxicity” and “maximalism” mean to me. I’ve purposely held back from reading too much on the subject because I want to make sure I come to my conclusions on my own, but I know there have been quite a few pieces on the subject lately. Pete Rizzo, Stephan Livera and John Vallis have all written articles on maximalism in the past few days and I look forward to reading them, but I want to get my own thoughts out there first. I’ve been listening to my regular rotation of podcasts and I’ve heard pretty much every Bitcoin podcaster give their two bets on Carter, Maximalists and Toxicity. I’d like to give a shoutout to Joey and Len from “The Canadian Bitcoiners Podcast” for discussing Carter’s recent spat with the maximalists in a way that I felt summed up the situation well. They get into it at the end of the episode.
When I first started my journey into Bitcoin, Elon Musk was in the middle of pumping dogecoin. I remember the mainstream media’s fascination with it all. Musk even hosted “Saturday Night Live!” It all seemed playful to me, and it made sense. Musk is this future-centric tech boss, and I knew Tesla had put some bitcoin on the balance sheet. Bitcoin, ethereum, dogecoin – everything was similar to me at the time, and Musk seemed to fit in perfectly. I remember listening to Bitcoin podcasts that were very critical of Musk and it confused me. All publicity is good publicity, isn’t it? A lot of the bitcoiners I followed were really upset about what this guy was doing and I just didn’t get it. I guess this was my first taste of Bitcoin’s “toxic” culture, not that I thought much of it. I wasn’t ready. I was too busy learning.
Strolight wrote his article around the same time Musk was hosting “Saturday Night Live.” It was before I was ready to understand it all, so I’m grateful to have stumbled upon it now. It really motivated me to do a personal exploration of how I define “maximalism.”
I am nowhere near done with this exploration and it may be something I think about for a long time. I still am road too new here to have a full opinion of what “toxic Bitcoin maximalism” actually is, but I know enough now to have a handle on how Bitcoin continues to shape me and how important it is. Bitcoin means different things to everyone, so it only makes sense that Bitcoin Maximalism is equally personal. I truly believe that in Bitcoin we have discovered the greatest form of money ever, and with this discovery we have the potential to reverse many (if not most) of the perverse incentives that plague this world. To me, this belief is Bitcoin maximalism. Make someone stand up for it poisonous Maximalist? I guess it depends on your perspective.
Generally speaking, Bitcoiners are leaders: type A personalities who aren’t exactly the most politically correct group of people. What we are is a group of sovereign individuals led by truth, openness and a belief in a protocol that has no time for nonsense. Of course we can appear toxic! Does that really surprise anyone!? There’s a difference between being toxic and being an asshole. Some of the things I’ve read on Twitter coming from defenders of Bitcoin are downright rude, intolerant and childish. Slinging insults in the name of Bitcoin does not make you a maximalist, nor does it make you a hero. Stop that shit. It does not help. But if you call a spade a spade, it’s not toxic. And if you are offended by someone being toxic by defending something they believe in, maybe you are the toxic one.
Bitcoin is for everyone. And even if there are no gatekeepers, perhaps there is a need for protectors. Maximalism is that protection. Bitcoin maximalists have to fight against threats, and there are certainly a lot of threats out there. Perhaps maximalists must be toxic since Bitcoin is itself, completely pure. Maybe Gigi is right toxicity equals love. It’s been said many times before, but I believe that the toxic maximalists act as Bitcoin’s immune system. As a biological organism, the immune system can sometimes go too far and kill healthy cells from time to time, but it does so to protect the organism. A certain level of toxicity is necessary because if we are not toxic enough, shitcoins, scammers and fiat bloodsuckers will run wild. But if we’re too toxic, we’ll waste our energy fighting among ourselves, and we’ll alienate people who are watching with curiosity. While no degree of toxicity will ever kill Bitcoin, an overly toxic environment can certainly slow its adoption. There is a fine line to walk and every Bitcoiner needs to find where they fit in, but we don’t all have to agree on where that line really is.
I know that Nic Carter has studied Bitcoin more in depth and longer than I have. He knows that bitcoin is not just an investment tool or an asset class. He knows how important the discovery was. That said, he should be allowed to invest in as many “blockchain” companies as he chooses, but he’s going to be held to a higher standard than some newbies, and he should expect that. He shouldn’t be surprised (or triggered) when people call him out on it. Is this a case of the immune system attacking a healthy cell? I’m not sure.
Personally, I find myself becoming more and more convinced of Bitcoin with each passing day. I guess my maximalism is growing and I find myself becoming less and less tolerant, but you still won’t find me hurling insults on Twitter. That’s not who I am, but I reserve the right to be as toxic as I need to be. And you know what? You don’t have to like it. We all have a role to play in this Bitcoin world. If I can eventually become the “not-so-toxic” Bitcoin maximalist, that’s a role I’d be honored to serve, but to all the toxic maximalists out there, keep up the good work. Growth only comes from discomfort, and every time your toxicity makes someone uncomfortable, it helps someone else along the way. Keep calling nonsense as you see it.
This is a guest post by Boomer. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BTC Inc. or Bitcoin Magazine.
