The Bitcoin Flippining

Hey Jessatoshis

Today an old school mate reached out to me and wanted to know more about Bitcoin, and since I am an ocean of information on the topic, it's pretty hard to hold back and give him only what he needs to hear to get him started. As a Bitcoiner, it's very tempting to overload newbies with information that I feel does more harm than good. We don't allow them to reach conclusions independently and enjoy the same journey of self-discovery we've all been through.

I think that journey is an important part of becoming a HODL'r, building a low time preference mindset and forming those diamond hands. I tend to suss out those who enquire about Bitcoin, and if they are coming at it with a speculators mindset, I often shy away.

I prefer to deal with those that have become curious, those who are traditional savers and have been stiffed by the system. Those are the ones that have the building blocks for me to assist down the same path I took regarding BTC.

Everyone is different; I can't speak to someone who wants to trade the asset because I don't trade the asset; I've got nothing to offer that person. I can only help those who want to HODL and perhaps take on some risk in the lending markets since that's where my experience lies and my strategy I use for BTC.

Relook your perceptions

As we got to chatting, he asked me plenty of questions, and while I could see his curiosity, something didn't click. The fiat mindset he has is still so strong that it's hard to understand what I say. All he sees is an asset going up and down in price, sucked in by the noise, and further obfuscated by the measuring stick that is fiat money.

He spoke sensibly about risking what he was willing to "lose" and riding the waves, asking when it would be right to sell. He sees it, as many others do, as a vehicle to get more fiat money. I get that if you live in a fiat world with a fiat mindset, the attraction of making more fiat money is a powerful message.

Yet, I am sitting on the other side of the spectrum; I don't measure my BTC in fiat. I measure my BTC in BTC, and when you do that, you know you never have enough. You're always looking for the next deal where you can hand over fiat for a cheaper amount of Sats.

We're both looking at the same market, but from different points of view, and we value different sides of the trade.

The flipping or flippining

I want to think I'm further down the rabbit hole than most, so I understand where he is coming from; even for those in crypto, I see so many with that same mindset. It's all about the fiat value to them and good on you, do your thing make your money.

However, the deeper you go, the more chance you hit this wall I refer to as the "flippining". Once you flip and start to think and measure in terms of Bitcoin, a few things start to happen to you.

How do you know you've flipped

When you realise you don't have enough Bitcoin
When you're constantly looking for dips to get back in cheaper
When you commit to cost averaging daily
When you measure ALL purchases in BTC
When satoshis become your unit of account
When people tell you at what price you want to sell your BTC, you hear at what price would you buy fiat
When the price of Bitcoin doesn't phase you
When 20% dips and rips make you feel nothing
When you're BTC net worth is more than your fiat net worth (and you don't care)
When you'll rather take a loan against your BTC than sell it
When your @coingecko charts are viewed in Sats, not in Fiat

Once you've flipped, you'll notice that life gets cheaper for you; you make more rational purchases. Your time preference lowers; you evaluate everything you buy from an opportunity loss standpoint. Then finally, you become a far more savvy saver and investor both with your BTC and your fiat positions.

I am not saying BTC holders are financial geniuses or won't make a stupid decision or go broke. I am just saying that the likelihood of them doing something like that once you've flipped drops majorly.

Originally posted on The Bitcoin Manual