Alias had spent months—years, even—returning to the Bitcoin white paper, poring over its pages as if the answer lay buried beneath the layers of cryptographic proofs and peer-to-peer idealism. He had studied it not just as a blueprint, but as a whisper from the past written by someone who had seen the future more clearly than those living in it. And yet—it wasn’t enough.

Satoshi’s vision had been precise, clinical, elegant in its minimalism. A protocol for transacting value without trust, without intermediaries, without reversal. The mechanics were all there—the chain of signatures, the proof-of-work, the incentives—but it was just a skeleton, stripped of the flesh that history would later drape upon it. Bitcoin had not remained in the world of the white paper. It had become something else entirely.

It had become an ideology. A dogma. A fortress built of code, but defended by belief.

The problem gnawed at him. How do you study something that has transcended its original design? The white paper described a decentralized cash system, but the world no longer saw Bitcoin that way. Bitcoin had been captured—not by hackers or bad actors, but by narratives. It had been turned into a store of value, a political statement, a hedge against the collapse of empires. Its users no longer read Satoshi’s code; they read maximalist scripture, whispered in Twitter spaces and thundered from the mouths of men in expensive suits.

And then there was Saylor, the CEO of Strategy (MSTR).

Michael Saylor, the aeronautical engineer turned high priest of Bitcoin, had done something Alias found useful: he had written it all down. Not in code, but in rules—a doctrine, a catechism. The 21 Rules of Bitcoin. It was Saylor’s codification of Bitcoin’s new reality, about fifteen years after its launch. And unlike the white paper, it did not pretend to be neutral, or technical, or even objective. It was the mythology, in its purest form.

Alias had felt a strange sense of relief when he first read them. Finally, the real Bitcoin had been put into words—not the cold, mechanical Bitcoin of Satoshi’s diagrams, but the living Bitcoin, the worshipped Bitcoin, the Bitcoin that had ceased to be just a protocol and had become a faith, a way of life, a financial dogma defended with the fervor of zealots.

This was what he needed to study. Not the technical workings of the past, but the social reality of the present.

Pegged would not be Bitcoin. It would not be worshipped, it would not be debated, it would not need defenders or preachers or maximalists to ensure its survival. It would simply function.

Bitcoin needed belief. Pegged would not. The pages of an unlined notebook open in front of him are already filled with sharp, deliberate handwriting—Alias’ reflections on Bitcoin, its mythology, and where Pegged diverges from its path.

He turns the page and writes:

Comparing Pegged to Bitcoin – A Reflection on Saylor’s 21 Bitcoin Rules (published on “X” on Feb 17th 2025)

Bitcoin Rule #1. Those who understand buy Bitcoin.

→ Understanding Bitcoin means understanding its flaws, too. The biggest one? It was capture-prone from the start. The miners, the exchanges, the regulatory choke points—Bitcoin’s infrastructure was always vulnerable. Pegged is designed so that understanding it means launching it, not just owning it.

Pegged alternative: Those who understand Pegged use it.

→ Pegged does not demand belief, only participation. You do not need to "hold" it. You do not need to "defend" it. You only need to transact.

Bitcoin Rule #2. Those who don’t, criticize Bitcoin.

→ Not all critics are fools. Some saw the centralizing pressures early. The Bitcoin community equates skepticism with ignorance, but true understanding includes knowing what Bitcoin could not do.

Pegged alternative: Those who don’t, ignore Pegged.

→ Pegged does not seek approval. It does not need evangelists. It does not argue.

Bitcoin Rule #3. Everyone is against Bitcoin before they are for it.

→ That’s because Bitcoin’s adoption process is an initiation. People resist it until they are economically incentivized to embrace it. Pegged won’t follow this pattern. It’s not designed to persuade—it’s designed to be used, silently, without requiring belief.

Pegged alternative: No one is for Pegged before they use it.

→ Pegged is not a cause. It is a function. Understanding comes from experience, not from ideology.

Bitcoin Rule #4. You will never be done learning about Bitcoin.

→ This is true of any system that evolves and adapts. The difference is that Bitcoin has stopped evolving in meaningful ways, it has “ossified”. Pegged is built to be self-adjusting—not because it has developers steering it, but because the DAO’s governance mechanics will respond to real-world usage.

Pegged alternative: You will never be done testing Pegged.

→ No system is perfect, but Pegged must be resilient. It should withstand scrutiny. It should evolve through use—not through governance.

Bitcoin Rule #5. Bitcoin is powered by chaos.

→ And yet, it has become a tool for order. TradFi institutions learned how to harness Bitcoin’s volatility and integrate it into their portfolios. Pegged, on the other hand, is powered by inevitability. It doesn’t seek chaos; it seeks functional irreversibility.

Pegged alternative: Pegged is powered by necessity.

→ Pegged is not a speculative asset. It exists because there is a need for irrevocable, self-sustaining transactions.

Bitcoin Rule #6. Bitcoin is the only game in the casino that we can all win.

→ This assumes holding is winning. But finance isn’t a casino—it’s an ecosystem. Pegged isn’t about speculative bets; it’s about a parallel system that functions regardless of market sentiment.

Pegged alternative: Pegged is not a game. It is a tool.

→ There is no casino. No one is betting against you. You either use Pegged, or you don’t.

Bitcoin Rule #7. Bitcoin is the one thing in the universe that you can truly own.

→ Until they regulate it out of your hands. Custodians, regulated exchanges, AML and KYC—Bitcoin can be confiscated. Pegged won’t need to be owned. It needs to be transacted. That’s the key difference.

Pegged alternative: Pegged is not owned. It is executed.

→ There are no "holders" of Pegged. There are only users.

Bitcoin Rule #8. Everyone gets Bitcoin at the price they deserve.

→ This is pure mysticism. The price of Bitcoin is set by the whims of liquidity, leverage, and institutional hedging strategies. Pegged won’t have a price in the same way. Its value will be tied to utility, not speculation.

Pegged alternative: Pegged is used at the price the world deserves.

→ The price of Pegged is not a market-driven speculation. It is stabilized by the system itself, based on circulation and transaction volume.

Bitcoin Rule #9. Only buy Bitcoin with the money you can’t afford to lose.

→ Because it’s a speculative asset. This is why Pegged has a lottery-based stabilization mechanism—to protect transactional users from volatility rather than force them to gamble.

Pegged alternative: Do not use Pegged with money you cannot afford to move.

→ Pegged is final. There is no reversal, no undoing, no intermediary to appeal to. Use it wisely.

Bitcoin Rule #10. Tickets to escape the matrix are priced in Bitcoin.

→ Nonsense. The matrix adapted and embraced Bitcoin. Now, Bitcoin is inside the system, being traded on Wall Street. If there’s a way out, it won’t be a currency—it will be an infrastructure that TradFi can’t absorb. That’s what Pegged is designed to be.

Pegged alternative: Escape routes are not priced in Pegged.

→ Pegged does not provide "freedom" as an abstract ideal. It provides a practical alternative to centralized financial rails.

Bitcoin Rule #11. Bitcoin insight is restricted to those with a need to know.

→ This is another way of saying Bitcoin is a religion. Pegged is not a mystery cult. It’s a tool—either you use it, or you don’t.

Pegged alternative: Pegged insight is available to anyone who looks.

→ Unlike Bitcoin’s cryptic evangelism, Pegged does not hide behind rhetoric. Its function is transparent to those who examine it.

Bitcoin Rule #12. All your models will be destroyed.

→ Except the models of TradFi, which have survived just fine. Bitcoin’s price action is analyzed like any other asset. The real models that need to be broken are the ones controlling financial distribution. That’s what Pegged is designed to attack.

Pegged alternative: All your assumptions about money will be tested.

→ Pegged forces a reassessment of financial value. It is not inflationary, but it is also not static. It is built for function, not for storage.

Bitcoin Rule #13. The cure to economic ill is the orange pill.

→ No. The cure is systemic redundancy. Bitcoin did not fix the economic system—it gave hedge funds another asset to trade. Pegged is not a cure either. It is an alternative that does not beg for adoption.

Pegged alternative: Pegged does not cure economic ill, but it neutralizes capture.

→ Pegged does not solve financial inequities. It removes points of control that allow systemic abuse.

Bitcoin Rule #14. Be for Bitcoin, not against Fiat.

→ This is false neutrality. Bitcoin survives because it interacts with fiat, not because it replaces it. Pegged is fundamentally designed not to interact—it operates on a different axis.

Pegged alternative: Pegged does not oppose fiat. It ignores it.

→ Pegged does not compete with fiat systems. It operates independently. It does not require fiat entry points to function.

Bitcoin Rule #15. Bitcoin is for everyone.

→ Then why does it have a barrier to entry? The high price, the KYC-riddled onramps, the regulatory limitations—it is not for everyone. Pegged is for those who need it, when they need it.

Pegged alternative: Pegged is not for everyone. It is for those who need it.

→ Bitcoin sought to be a global reserve asset. Pegged seeks to be a functional financial layer for those who have no alternative.

Bitcoin Rule #16. Learn to think in Bitcoin.

→ Thinking in a currency is a limitation. Pegged isn’t a currency—it’s a process. It doesn’t demand that you think in it—it functions regardless.

Pegged alternative: Learn to think in finality.

→ Pegged removes the expectation of reversibility. Once committed, a transaction is executed without dispute.

Bitcoin Rule #17. You don’t change Bitcoin, it changes you.

→ Bitcoin maximalists have made this their personal identity. Pegged doesn’t require belief. It is simply a better system for specific use cases. No evangelism required.

Pegged alternative: You do not change Pegged. Pegged removes your ability to change it.

→ Governance does not control Pegged. Pegged exists outside governance. It cannot be altered, forked, or interfered with post-launch.

Bitcoin Rule #18. Laser eyes protect you from endless lies.

→ No. Laser eyes are a badge of tribalism. They are a signal of ideological possession. Pegged doesn’t need symbols—it needs transactions.

Pegged alternative: Pegged does not ask for trust. It removes the need for it.

→ Unlike traditional finance, where trust is placed in institutions, Pegged replaces trust with code and execution.

Bitcoin Rule #19. Respect Bitcoin, or it will make a clown out of you.

→ Bitcoin has made clowns out of plenty of its most vocal supporters—especially those who ended up needing fiat liquidity when markets crashed. Respecting a tool is not the same as worshipping it.

Pegged alternative: Pegged cannot be mocked, because it does not seek approval.

→ Bitcoin's defenders react to attacks. Pegged does not. It simply operates.

Bitcoin Rule #20. You do not sell your Bitcoin.

→ Then what is it for? Pegged’s strength is that it doesn’t depend on hoarding. It’s not about accumulating tokens—it’s about facilitating economic activity.

Pegged alternative: You do not hoard Pegged. You move it.

→ Pegged is designed for transactional use, not accumulation. $PEG should flow, not sit idle.

Bitcoin Rule #21. Spread Bitcoin with love.

→ Pegged doesn’t care about affection. It only cares about function.

Pegged alternative: Pegged does not spread through emotion. It spreads through necessity.

→ It does not seek fans. It does not need followers. It will survive because it is useful, not because it is liked.

Alias puts down his pen, staring at the page.

Bitcoin was a grand experiment, but it was still rooted in an old way of thinking—an asset, a store of value, something to be hoarded, protected, defended.

Pegged would be different.

Not a thing to own.

Not a system to integrate.

Not a movement to recruit people into.

It would exist. And that would be enough.