\n<\/p>\n
This is an opinion editorial by Boomer, a long-time and active member of the financial independence\/retire early (FIRE) movement and a contributor for Bitcoin Magazine.<\/em><\/p>\n I was recently inspired after reading Tomer Strolight\u2019s piece, \u201cBitcoiners Are Not Toxic \u2014 They Have Integrity<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n For context, I read it a few days after Nic Carter\u2019s \u201csituation<\/a>\u201d really exploded on Twitter, and Strolight\u2019s article really resonated with me. To be clear, I have a great deal of respect for Carter and all the good work he\u2019s done for the Bitcoin community, especially the work he\u2019s done to debunk the energy fear, uncertainty and doubt out there. Like him or hate him, he really is one of the most important voices Bitcoin has in the energy and mining space. Over the past few weeks, he\u2019s been taking it on the chin from many people in the community for investments in \u201cblockchain\u201d and \u201ccrypto\u201d companies through his venture capital investment firm, Castle Island Ventures. In his defense, he\u2019s been very transparent about his investments in these projects, talking about them quite openly on his \u201cOn The Brink\u201d podcast for at least a year. In retaliation to the criticism, Carter has written a few articles<\/a> and appeared on a few podcasts where he\u2019s punched back at the critics, calling out a vocal group in the Bitcoin space known as \u201ctoxic Bitcoin Maximalists\u201d or derogatorily \u201ctoxic maxis.\u201d I don\u2019t intend to go over exactly what was said about him or what he said back, but the whole thing has gotten pretty ugly. In this humble pleb\u2019s opinion, it feels childish. It might be a symptom of the bear market that people in Bitcoin are turning on each other, or maybe it\u2019s the Bitcoin immune system doing its job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n Over the past week, I\u2019ve been thinking about what the terms \u201ctoxicity\u201d and \u201cmaximalism\u201d mean to me. I\u2019ve purposely held back from reading too much on the topic because I want to make sure that I get to my conclusions on my own, but I know that there have been quite a few pieces on the topic recently. Pete Rizzo<\/a>, Stephan Livera<\/a>, and John Vallis<\/a> have all written articles on maximalism over the past few days, and I\u2019m looking forward to reading them, but I want to get my own thoughts out there first. I have been listening to my regular rotation of podcasts and I\u2019ve heard pretty much every Bitcoin podcaster give their two sats on Carter, maximalists and toxicity. I\u2019d like to give a shoutout to Joey and Len from \u201cThe Canadian Bitcoiners Podcast<\/a>\u201d for discussing Carter\u2019s recent spat with the maximalists in a way that I felt summed up the situation well. They get into it at the end of the episode.<\/p>\n\n When I first started my journey into Bitcoin, Elon Musk was in the middle of pumping dogecoin. I remember the mainstream media\u2019s fascination with the whole thing. Musk even hosted \u201cSaturday Night Live!\u201d It all seemed playful to me and it made sense. Musk is this future-centric tech CEO, and I knew that Tesla had put some bitcoin on its balance sheet. Bitcoin, ethereum, dogecoin \u2014 it was all similar to me at the time, and Musk seemed to fit in perfectly. I remember listening to Bitcoin podcasts that were very critical of Musk, and it confused me. Any publicity is good publicity, isn\u2019t it? A lot of the Bitcoiners I was following were really upset over what this guy was doing, and I just didn\u2019t get it. I guess this was my first taste of Bitcoin\u2019s \u201ctoxic\u201d culture, not that I thought much about it. I wasn\u2019t ready. I was too busy learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Strolight wrote his article around the same time that Musk was hosting \u201cSaturday Night Live.\u201d It was before I was ready to understand it all, so I\u2019m thankful to have stumbled upon it now. It really motivated me to do a personal exploration into how I define \u201cmaximalism.\u201d<\/p>\n I\u2019m nowhere near done in this exploration and it might be something that I ponder for a long time. I\u2019m still way<\/em> too new here to have a fully formed opinion on what \u201ctoxic Bitcoin Maximalism\u201d really is, but I know enough now to have a grasp on how Bitcoin continues to shape me and how important it is. Bitcoin means different things for everyone, so it only makes sense that Bitcoin Maximalism is just as personal. I truly believe that in Bitcoin we\u2019ve discovered the greatest form of money ever and with this discovery, we have the potential to realign many (if not most) of the perverse incentives that plague this world. To me, this belief is Bitcoin Maximalism. Does standing up for that make someone a toxic<\/em> Maximalist? I guess it depends on your perspective. <\/p>\n\n Generally speaking, Bitcoiners are leaders: type-A personalities that aren\u2019t exactly the most politically correct group of people. What we are is a group of sovereign individuals guided by truth, transparency and a belief in a protocol that doesn\u2019t have time for bullshit. Of course, we can come off as toxic! Does that really surprise anyone!? There is a difference between being toxic and being an asshole, though. Some of the things I\u2019ve read on Twitter coming from defenders of Bitcoin are flat out rude, intolerant and childish. Slinging insults in the name of Bitcoin doesn\u2019t make you a maximalist, and it doesn\u2019t make you a hero, either. Stop that shit. It isn\u2019t helping. But if you\u2019re calling a spade a spade, that isn\u2019t toxic. And if you\u2019re offended by someone being toxic by defending something they believe in, maybe you\u2019re the toxic one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bitcoin is for everyone. And while there are no gatekeepers, maybe there\u2019s a need for protectors. Maximalism is that protection. Bitcoin Maximalists have to fight off threats, and there certainly are a lot of threats out there. Maybe maximalists need to be toxic since Bitcoin is itself, perfectly pure. Maybe Gigi is right and toxicity equals love<\/a>. It’s been said many times before, but I believe that the toxic maximalists serve as Bitcoin\u2019s immune system. Like a biological organism, sometimes the immune system can go too far and kill off healthy cells from time to time, but it does so to protect the organism. A degree of toxicity is needed because if we\u2019re not toxic enough, then shitcoins, scammers and fiat bloodsuckers will run rampant. But if we\u2019re too toxic, we\u2019ll waste our energy fighting among ourselves and we\u2019ll alienate people who are looking on with curiosity. While no degree of toxicity will ever kill Bitcoin, an overly toxic environment could certainly slow down its adoption. It\u2019s a fine line to walk, and every Bitcoiner needs to find where they fit in, but we don\u2019t need to all agree on where that line truly is.<\/p>\n\n I know<\/em> that Nic Carter has studied Bitcoin in more depth and for longer than I have. He knows that bitcoin isn\u2019t just an investment tool or an asset class. He knows just how important the discovery was. That being said, he should be allowed to invest in as many \u201cblockchain\u201d companies as he chooses to, but he\u2019s going to be held to a higher standard than some newbie, and he should expect that. He shouldn\u2019t be surprised (or triggered) when people call him out on it. Is this a case of the immune system attacking a healthy cell? I\u2019m not sure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Personally, I find myself getting more and more convinced about Bitcoin by the day. I suppose my maximalism is growing and I find myself being less and less tolerant, but you still won\u2019t find me hurling insults on Twitter. That\u2019s not who I am, but I reserve the right to be as toxic as I need to be. And you know what? You don\u2019t have to like it. We all have a role to play in this Bitcoin world. If I can eventually become the \u201cnot-so-toxic\u201d Bitcoin Maximalist, that\u2019s a role I\u2019d be honored to serve, but to all the toxic maximalists out there, keep up the good work. Growth only comes from discomfort, and every time your toxicity makes someone uncomfortable, it helps someone else along their journey. Keep calling out bullshit as you see it.<\/p>\n