PhiMarHal on Farcaster

PhiMarHal pfp

Something underdiscussed in BTC vs ETH: Bitcoin, organically, appeals so much more to older gens (60+ y/o) than Ethereum. Yes, it is discussed, in terms of "what boomers do/like". Wording evidences the dynamic. Older generations as an outsider group. I wonder what kind of framing could change that.

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Thomas pfp

@aviationdoctor.eth

For sure, just the two words of “digital gold” is both an incredibly simple narrative for boomers and one that they can relate to. By comparison “ultrasound money” was opaque to any outsider because even “ultrasound” has an unrelated meaning in everyday language. Now that the meme is dead, there isn’t an easy soundbite to describe Ethereum that will instantly speak to boomers. Except perhaps “programmable money” — but programmable for what? It still begs for more explanations. At the risk of unasking the question — how relevant is it to work on making Ethereum more appealing than it is to the shrinking cohort of 60+ y/o, or making them part of the inside group? Catching up on smart contracts, DeFi, layers, PoS, data availability, etc is hard enough even for insiders

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PhiMarHal pfp

Unasking the question is quite relevant indeed, I'm not sure we have a need to move in that direction. With time, power distribution rebalances towards the previously young. Unless @bryanjohnson converts the world and we're stuck with 140 years old bitcoiners dominating us forever.

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PhiMarHal pfp

But, I'm quite interested in the question as a thought experiment. Relative to the rough cultures bitcoin and Ethereum have settled on, too. Bitcoin has the carnivore diet, guns loving, libertarian and drug user vibe. Ethereum is the tree-hugging hippie who wants to go global and be inclusive. Bitcoiners are quite ridiculous to sophisticated people. Yet it's not a barrier for the bitcoin asset. Ethereans are more serious about business. However there's Vitalik, our 30 years old guide - a baby to baby boomers, and an attack vector for bitcoin propaganda making him as a sort of defacto CEO with controlling share. Hearing some version of the above, several times, in good faith, by reasonably intelligent elderly investors gives me appreciation for the case a blockchain needs an anon founder. I don't agree with it, mind you, and I would never trade 1 Buterin for 1 MassAppeal. But it's interesting to think of. Ethereum's culture of openness has yet to manage making everyone feel welcome.

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PhiMarHal pfp

Perhaps because that open culture overindexes on avoiding tribal sentiment? I think Tribes Are Good. Tribes are often seen as exclusionary, but they can merely reflect a heightened level of interest. Especially with new things. It's a pragmatic acknowledgement new ideas take time to gain consensus. "Don't Die" is a good tribe. Focusing on longevity is a positive, cooperative goal. It doesn't exclude anyone. It's less straightforward to find a simple goal for a smart contract platform. Even though, personally, I always loved the simple idea of World Computer. This is how I plug the tech to non-tech people, and this resonates. You have this big computer we all share. This is something anyone can get even if they don't think it's relevant to them. Now to define the actionable mission statement of a World Computer...

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Thomas pfp

@aviationdoctor.eth

I love that part which I think is spot-on: > Bitcoin has the carnivore diet, guns loving, libertarian and drug user vibe. > Ethereum is the tree-hugging hippie who wants to go global and be inclusive. I would only add that Bitcoin also has the doomer/prepper market cornered (catering to those who prophesize a collapse of their currency, or massive civil unrest), whereas Ethereum has that nerdy builder outlook (catering to those who naively or optimistically care to make the world a better place). Back to the boomer onboarding unquestion, maybe one angle to emphasize loudly is that Bitcoin’s security budget going forward poses a real dilemma. Whether the fees rise drastically, making BTC even costlier to ever transact, or tail issuance bringing back inflation to the table, something has to give. So ETH, while not perfect either, acts as a hedge for BTC hodlers while still keeping the same desirable properties of sovereignty, decentralization, immunity against monetary debasement, etc.

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