Hi friends,
Hello, Happy 4th of July Weekend and welcome to The ₿it Economy! I’m Rob, and each week I write a blurb about something I learned that’s broadly Bitcoin related. If you have thoughts, I'd love to hear from you. My goal is to shed a tidbit of info that I believe will get you thinking about the digital world around you. If you know anyone who would be interested, please do forward this along, send them to the archive, or have them subscribe here. 👇
-Rob
Bitcoin’s Role in the Creator Economy
Our vision for Strike is unornamented and inelastic; we want to build an application with the ambition to usher in an era of Bitcoin that we believe can achieve our goal of true mainstream adoption. What does commerce look like in a world where legacy finance is interoperable with this new global value transfer protocol known as Bitcoin? A world where a full node and a checking account speak the same language? A world where a debit card and a BTCPay server are friends? A world where the line between BTC and USD no longer exists? We wanted to see for ourselves what that world would look like. Enter Strike.
— Jack Mallers, CEO of Zap
Well, it got a lot easier to onboard users to Bitcoin. With only a debit card, users can utilize the payment rails of the Lightning Network to transact with one another. The best part...users never touch bitcoin. Yup — pay in fiat, use Lightning. Now everybody's bank account is fluid in Bitcoin. Why does this matter? It sits at the crossroads between financial sovereignty and the budding creator economy. And it gets better — development's like Strike make it so easy to send payments from one another that people won't even realize they're using bitcoin.
The Creator Economy
The creator economy or as a16z calls it the "passion economy" is leveraging new digital platforms to earn a livelihood in a way that highlights a person's individuality. From writers launching newsletters on Substack to hobbyists turned teachers on Podia, more people are taking advantage of digital platforms to make money off their unique skills. According to a study, over 17 million Americans earned ~$7 billion in income from their independent creations in 2017.
Users can now build audiences at scale and turn their passion into livelihoods. Hey by reading this very newsletter, you're participating in it right now.
Bitcoin's Payment Rails
The rise of new creator tools has shifted the threshold for success. Paired with Strike, it empowers creators to focus on what they love and less about chargebacks or credit card processing fees. Just like there are new digital platforms democratizing creative jobs there's a digital currency democratizing individual sovereignty.
Bitcoin is the most secure network on the planet and the larger the network grows, the more secure it becomes. It is backed by Proof of Work and has a multi-billion dollar daily bounty that no one has cracked. When combined with these platforms, creators are not only given the tools to succeed but to thrive.
World Access
In her post on the passion economy, Li Jin listed a recipe for monetizing with 100 True Fans:
Differentiated content and community
Tangible value and results
Accountability
Access, recognition, and status
Bitcoin provides access. Before Strike, non-US merchants could spin up a BTCPay Server and accept Bitcoin. The problem with that is they'd only have access to maybe 10 million customers at its peak. With Strike, the entire US market is now open for business. All you have to do is get your customers to download the app and you're ready to stack some sats.
Conclusion
The creator economy is enabling a generation of digital creators to make money out of their talent or knowledge. Paired with Bitcoin through apps like Strike, it empowers those very creators to take financial sovereignty. The possibilities are endless when one can focus on their craft.
Threads🧵
Breakdown of long-form content into an easy to read and concise format.
Tuesday | Bitcoin and How Money Arises | Jeremy Salerno of the Mises Institute joins Stephan Livera to discuss his view on Bitcoin, monetary velocity and how money emerges.
Wednesday | Building on Bitcoin | Jimmy Song & Aleks Svetski discuss building on Bitcoin, the emerging Bitcoin-only industry and much more on Swan Signal.
Thursday | What is Bitcoin | Andreas Antonopoulos links up with the DYOR Podcast to talk about the Lightning Network, hyperinflation and decentralization.
Friday | Bitcoin and the Decade of Discontent | @ObiWanKenoBit and Brady Swenson discuss Obi’s recent tweetstorm, generational change and his viral piece “Hyperbitcoinization: Winner Takes All”.
News 📰
The top announcements in Bitcoin. All in one place.
Coldcard Updates Tamper Evident Bag Design
Full Noded Releases Full Node Wallet
Nodl Dojo and Nodle One v0.1.1 Firmware Released
Swan Bitcoin Drops Merch Store
Pine Wallet Teases New Feature
Bottlepay Launches New Website
350,000 Aussie Crypto Users Are Receiving Tax Warning Letters
Samourai Wallet Whirlpool CLI v0.10.7 Released
Market Watch 💸
One-stop-shop Bitcoin market & network snapshot.
What I'm Reading 📕
Scowered the internet so you didn’t have to.
Many Bitcoin Developers are Choosing to Use Pseudonyms - For a Good Reason
Primer: An Overview of the Bitcoin Investment Fund Landscape
Bitcoin: A Declaration of Monetary Independence
Bitcoin Optech Newsletter #104
Flood & Loot: A Systemic Attack on the Lightning Network
How to Buy Non-KYC Bitcoin With a US Postal Money Order
Mystery of $2bn of Loans Backed by Fake Gold in China
What I'm Listening To 🔊
Give your eyes a break and pop in the earbuds.
Tales from the Crypt #178 - Antione Riard
Here’s How to Expand Who Contribute to Bitcoin Core
Why the Robinhood Revolution is the Future of Finance
How to Get Rich With Lightning Gaming
How This New Supply Metric Makes Buy Signals Clearer
Why Bitcoin Now: The Single Greatest Brand of the Last 10 Years
WTF is Going on in the Markets
What I'm Watching 📺
Take a break from Netflix and check these out.
How we MUST reclaim economic power from federal reserve, technocrats
Housekeeping 🏡
Who doesn’t like free money and information?
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Final Quote 🎩
Thanks for reading. Send me tips, stories I’ve missed, or comment below. And if you liked this piece, you can sign up here for more issues of the Bit Economy, a newsletter on something bitcoin related.
Until then, have a great week! See you next Sunday.