Trying to explain what bitcoin is to someone unfamiliar with financial and computer science terms is usually pretty difficult and nearly impossible when the definitions are not clear. There are typically a lot of words like money, bearer asset, trust minimized, network, protocol, as well as many others being used to describe bitcoin. So, to say someone can get lost in translation is an understatement as it can be a frustrating experience for either party. Given that every human on the planet from almost our earliest days has participated in the exchange of goods and services, it is fair to say that there is an inherent understanding of money and why it is useful. This basic premonition follows that money facilitates the exchange when you want to buy a house, a car, or food at the grocery store to alleviate the coincidence of wants problem (i.e. having to barter). Today’s money and all the historical iterations (transition states) can therefore be thought of in a broader approach as mediums *for* exchange. Thus, it can be understood that the advent of money indicates the purpose of an environment for exchange to occur. Bitcoin is simply the end state digital transformation of money from the shared physical environment to a shared digital environment. An openly accessible digital environment without barriers to entry or seigniorage creating conditions that are better described as a medium *for* exchange. What could be brushed aside as a simple change in wording is actually a fundamental shift on how to grasp and explain what bitcoin is.
Medium
A medium is defined as the substance that transfers the energy from one substance to another substance or from one place to another, or from one surface to another.
surrounding objects, conditions, or influences; environment.
Of
expressing the relationship between a part and a whole.
For
used as a function word to indicate purpose
used as a function word to indicate an intended goal
Through this lens, Ten31 sees companies operating at today’s transition point as creating new technologies that will accrue outsized value facilitating commerce in different and innovative ways leveraging a new medium for exchange. These bitcoin technology companies are allowing their customers to interact within the environment of bitcoin in such ways as for the visualization of the environment (Mempool.Space), entrance to a global marketplace for the environment (Strike), and many others Ten31 has supported over the last five years.
https://ten31.vc/insights/bitcoin-medium-for-exchange
