We built it for ourselves. In the chaos of a crumbling fiat system, retirement funds teetering on the edge of ponzi-like absurdity, and housing prices that turned the dream of ownership into a Vegas gamble, we did what any rational group of tech nerds would do: we coded our way out.
It was our small corner of the world, a sanctuary where smart contracts ruled, and transparency was more than just a marketing buzzword. For years, it was a developer’s paradise—a place for cryptographers, tinkerers, and degens alike to play with open ledgers and immutable truth. The outside world? They thought it was a fad. "Magic internet money," they sneered. Perfect.
Then it happened: Bitcoin’s price rose.
Not just by a little. No, this was the kind of rise that made headlines, set CNBC’s graphics department into a frenzy, and inspired TikTok investors to declare themselves "crypto experts" after watching a single tutorial.
Suddenly, the normies wanted in.
Our serene ecosystem of nodes, hashes, and HODL memes was overrun by … people. Not the "let’s-write-a-lightning-network-in-Rust" kind of people. The other kind. The ones who thought smart contracts were something you signed before working at a startup.
Bitcoin’s price climbing to astronomical levels brought out everyone:
The Boomer Investor: "Where can I buy one Bitcoin? Can I put it in my IRA?"
The Meme Trader: "Okay, but can I stake my Bitcoin to earn more Dogecoin?"
The Skeptical Journalist: "Aren't you worried this is a bubble? Or a pyramid scheme? Or an alien conspiracy to end the flat earth hypothesis?"
We tried to explain. We really did. Blockchains are open ledgers. Bitcoin is capped at 21 million. Decentralization is key. But our nuanced explanations were met with blank stares and the occasional "So, can I use it to buy a coffee?"
With the price mooning, the grifters weren’t far behind. Suddenly, every D-grade influencer was promoting "the next Bitcoin" (usually their own token), and every third LinkedIn post featured some former middle manager rebranding as a "Web3 Visionary."
The pitch decks came rolling in:
"Uber for NFTs."
"AI-powered meme coins."
"Blockchain, but on the blockchain."
ICO 2.0 was back, baby, and this time it was powered by FOMO.
Here's the kicker: Bitcoin wasn’t meant to be this popular. It’s a trustless, borderless system, yes, but it was always a bit of a closed game. Not in the sense of exclusivity—anyone could participate—but in the sense that you needed to understand the rules to play. Proof of work, mining difficulty, private keys—this wasn’t Monopoly; it was chess in four dimensions.
The price rise changed that. Suddenly, it was no longer a game for the technically inclined but a spectacle for the masses. People who didn’t know a hash from a hashtag were throwing their life savings into "crypto" because their barber’s cousin’s dog walker said it was a good idea.
The irony, of course, is that Bitcoin’s rise to mainstream fame was a direct result of its openness. The very thing that allowed us to build our little utopia also allowed the outside world to flood in, dragging their memes, scams, and financial illiteracy with them.
As Bitcoin surpassed not just gold but most currencies in value, our magical world turned real, and the real world turned magical. Great visionaries like Michael Saylor were now not just listened to but had cult followings. The surrealism of seeing mainstream institutions bow to what was once dismissed as "nerd money" was a twist no one expected.
And now? Now, we’re stuck explaining to Aunt Karen why she can’t send her "Bitcoins" via PayPal or why the "free airdrop" she signed up for just drained her wallet. We’re the reluctant ambassadors of a revolution that’s starting to feel a lot like the old world we tried to escape.
So here we are, the devs turned tour guides, trying to keep the spirit of the blockchain alive while fending off hordes of speculators, influencers, and grifters. Was this inevitable? Maybe. But deep down, we’ll always have those early days—when it was just us, the code, and the dream of something better.
Until then, HODL on. And if you’re new here, please, for the love of Satoshi, read the whitepaper.
Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. It’s a must-read for anyone diving into the world of blockchain!
Fabian Owuor
