{"id":24297,"date":"2025-05-27T11:53:32","date_gmt":"2025-05-27T08:53:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/critique-bitcoins-shift-from-idealism-to-speculation\/"},"modified":"2025-05-27T11:53:32","modified_gmt":"2025-05-27T08:53:32","slug":"critique-bitcoins-shift-from-idealism-to-speculation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/critique-bitcoins-shift-from-idealism-to-speculation\/","title":{"rendered":"Critique: Bitcoin&#8217;s Shift from Idealism to Speculation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Free software advocate and YouTube blogger Luke Smith has criticized the current state of Bitcoin. According to him, the first cryptocurrency has strayed from its original principles and turned into a tool for speculation.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0-lS8Y79L7g?si=U4q1y4G761esTSjD\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Luke Smith is a tech blogger specializing in free software, privacy, and digital minimalism. Two weeks ago, he broke a two-year silence on his YouTube channel and has since been regularly posting new videos.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Enemy of Perfection<\/h2>\n<p>Smith believes that any technology is eventually &#8220;captured&#8221; by people who appreciate certain aspects of it but are far removed from its original philosophy.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\n<cite><em>&#8220;Any technological project, regardless of the purity of its initial motives \u2014 be it GNU\/Linux or Bitcoin \u2014 will inevitably be captured by, let&#8217;s say, indifferent interests. It&#8217;s just a fact of life,&#8221; the blogger noted.<\/em><\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>He cited the Linux community as an example: many users value the modifiability of the operating system and the availability of free software but do not take these principles to their logical conclusion. They adhere to the saying &#8220;don&#8217;t let perfect be the enemy of good,&#8221; but according to Smith, one should not allow the good to become the enemy of the perfect.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">From Cypherpunks to Michael Saylor<\/h2>\n<p>Smith highlighted the radical changes in Bitcoin&#8217;s philosophy since its inception:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\n<cite><em>&#8220;At its core was the cypherpunk movement, which sought to create a financial system independent of government control. However, when I look at Bitcoin today, I feel deep pessimism.&#8221;<\/em><\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The blogger criticized the shift in focus from liberating individuals to mass adoption and integration with the traditional financial system.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\n<cite><em>&#8220;You see figures like Michael Saylor, who has become the &#8216;face of Bitcoin.&#8217; All attention is focused on the rising chart, on Bitcoin as a commodity. The goal becomes to involve everyone \u2014 governments, the existing financial system \u2014 instead of empowering people or creating something that truly liberates them,&#8221; Smith noted.<\/em><\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>According to him, these ideals may be paid lip service, but there is no true intention. People like Saylor do not want Bitcoin to be &#8220;dangerous&#8221; \u2014 that is, to pose a threat to the existing system and lead to real change, he explained.<\/p>\n<p>Smith pointed out the paradox: those who understand the value of free software, privacy, and cryptocurrencies like Monero hesitate to actively advocate for these projects. They do not want to &#8220;impose them by force&#8221; or firmly defend their beliefs. Meanwhile, those who dilute the original ideals of projects do not experience such qualms:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\n<cite><em>&#8220;They seek to redefine Bitcoin, turning it from digital cash into something you just hold, watching its value grow. That was never its purpose.&#8221;<\/em><\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>CEO of the P2P platform <a href=\"https:\/\/noones.com\/ru\">NoOnes<\/a> Ray Youssef agrees with Smith that Bitcoin has strayed from its roots, transforming from a tool of liberation into a &#8220;bankers&#8217; trophy.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\n<cite><em>&#8220;Bitcoin was born in the cypherpunk environment \u2014 as electronic cash designed to bypass bureaucracy, intermediaries, and a broken financial system. But look at it now: a bankers&#8217; trophy, a favorite ETF. It has become part of the very monster it was supposed to destroy,&#8221; he stated in a comment to ForkLog.<\/em><\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Youssef also criticizes industry figures like Saylor for treating Bitcoin as a means of saving rather than exchange.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\n<cite><em>&#8220;People like Saylor just want to &#8216;sit&#8217; on Bitcoin while the rest of the world remains unbanked. The idea was not for large companies to hoard satoshis, but to create an open financial system for everyone.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>It&#8217;s not about personalities \u2014 it&#8217;s about priorities. When Bitcoin adoption turns into a corporate PR game, the mission is lost. We need movement, not hoarding. Circulation, not stagnation,&#8221; he emphasized.<\/em><br \/><\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Like Smith, Youssef also highlights Monero, which he believes truly serves the ideals of privacy and freedom, rather than being just another &#8220;parking spot for capital.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\n<cite><em>&#8220;Monero is not just another coin, it&#8217;s a mission. Privacy is a human right, not a feature you can turn on or off. With Monero, privacy is built into the architecture, not the marketing.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>The world doesn&#8217;t need another coin to park capital. We need tools that can be used: to transfer value, protect oneself, and move freely and without permission. Monero is already doing this \u2014 quietly and consistently. That&#8217;s what true freedom is,&#8221; he stated.<\/em><br \/><\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>This week, the market capitalization of privacy coins <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/market-capitalisation-of-privacy-coins-surpasses-10-billion-as-xmr-and-zec-continue-to-rise\">surpassed<\/a> $10 billion. Over the month, Monero&#8217;s price increased by 83%.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier, as part of the &#8220;Podcast Society&#8221; on ForkLog&#8217;s YouTube channel, Allbridge.io co-founder Andrey Veliky <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/andrey-veliky-discusses-gambling-mania-in-the-bitcoin-market\">explained<\/a> that the industry is experiencing a phase of &#8220;ludomania,&#8221; where meme coins and gamified models have become the new reality, while the ideals of decentralization, privacy, and censorship resistance have taken a back seat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Free software advocate and YouTube blogger Luke Smith has criticized the current state of Bitcoin. According to him, the first cryptocurrency has strayed from its original principles and turned into a tool for speculation. Luke Smith is a tech blogger specializing in free software, privacy, and digital minimalism. Two weeks ago, he broke a two-year [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24296,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"select":"","news_style_id":"","cryptorium_level":"","_short_excerpt_text":"","creation_source":"","_metatest_mainpost_news_update":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[18,930,1208,1138],"class_list":["post-24297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-bitcoin","tag-cypherpunks","tag-michael-saylor","tag-opinions"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"views":"66","promo_type":"","layout_type":"","short_excerpt":"","is_update":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24297"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24297\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}