I’ve been thinking about something for a while now, which I thought I'd share. I don't usually do long-form posts or talk too personally, but here we go.
I love Bitcoin. It changed the direction of my life and shaped the work I do every day. But over the past year, something in me has felt muted. I haven’t been as vocal, as present, or as energised as I've been previously. And I’ve struggled to put my finger on why, until now.
Bitcoin hasn’t changed… but the direction of its narrative has.
Since the ETF era began, Bitcoin has increasingly been viewed through an institutional lens: a sound-money financial instrument curated by large institutions. And while there’s nothing inherently wrong with institutional adoption, something about that shift has quietly pulled the story away from what first lit a fire inside me about Bitcoin - a decentralised, permissionless, global network that empowers individuals.
Many people I’ve spoken to recently feel the same shift.
To be clear, ETFs and institutional growth are NOT a bad thing; they’re actually great for driving awareness of Bitcoin.
But Bitcoin’s value grows when more people strengthen its decentralised, self-sovereign network. That’s harder to do when more new entrants buy Bitcoin through ETFs, where the coins sit with a centralised US custodian. That flow doesn’t strengthen the network or advance Bitcoin self-sovereignty.
The roots of Bitcoin - sovereignty, resilience, freedom - still sit with us. With individuals. With people who hold their own keys, run nodes, transact, learn, and push the world steadily closer to decentralisation. We need to water those roots so that the tree can keep growing.
If we want Bitcoin to succeed in the way that matters most, we can’t rely on institutions to carry the narrative for us. They never will. That responsibility sits with us. And on reflection, I haven’t been carrying my share of it lately.
So I’m going to change that. I want to help strengthen the part of Bitcoin that truly matters: self-custody, decentralisation, and personal sovereignty. I’m going to start talking about these more, alongside the data and analysis I already share.
Bitcoin’s value is the number of people who secure it, who build on it, and who use it as a self-sovereign asset. If that fades, the magic of internet money may fade too.
Small actions compound. Every person who secures their own Bitcoin strengthens the network - and conversations about decentralisation strengthen the culture around it.
Right now, the market is still adjusting to this new era. But zooming out, I’m as optimistic as ever - because if we combine institutional awareness with real usage and a renewed focus on self-custody and decentralisation, Bitcoin’s future is incredibly bright.
Thanks for listening.
The future is bright, the future is orange. 🧡
