"Bitcoin has no intrinsic value because it's not physical"
We've all heard this from Peter Schiff and people like him countless times
Let me explain why this misses the entire point:
All value is abstraction. Gold doesn't have "value" sitting in its atoms—the atoms just sit there, inert. Gold has value because humans assign value to those properties. That assignment happens in minds, then becomes real through markets when our individual abstractions interact through trade. You think gold is valuable, I think gold is valuable, we trade other things for gold—boom, abstraction becomes market price. Bitcoin works the exact same way.
"But Bitcoin is formless!" No, it's not. Bitcoin has mathematical form, and that form is more concrete than gold's physical form. Why? Because thousands of computers verify Bitcoin's exact properties every 10 minutes. Bitcoin's form is: 21 million supply cap (unchangeable), specific transaction rules (identical everywhere), and cryptographic security (mathematically provable). Every node on Earth agrees on Bitcoin's form. Always. Exactly. Can you say that about gold? No—gold gets diluted, faked, confiscated.
If Bitcoin were truly "formless," you couldn't value it. Markets can only price things with consistent, verifiable form. Gold's form: Atomic #79, chemically inert, scarce. Bitcoin's form: 21M cap, decentralized, cryptographically secured. Both have form. One is physical. One is mathematical. Both are objective.
The real question isn't "does Bitcoin have value?" The question is: which form is more reliable? Physical atoms that can be seized, diluted, or confiscated? Or mathematical properties that can't be changed without global consensus?
You decide. 🧡
Banks and governments accepting Bitcoin was always inevitable.
It's exciting and it does mean, in many ways, we've won already.
However now is the time to be laser focused on why we are all really here and for the principled Bitcoiners among us to not lose sight of what's really important.
Banks and governments are not our friends. They never were. They never will be.
So when they "adopt" Bitcoin, don't mistake their participation for alignment. They're not here to decentralize power. They're here to stay relevant in a world where power is decentralizing without their permission.
The victory isn't them holding Bitcoin. The victory is you holding Bitcoin. In your custody. Under your control. Unseizable. Uncensorable. Yours.
That hasn't changed just because the enemy learned to speak our language.
Self-custody isn't a feature. It's the entire point. 🧡
BREAKING: Today Rumble has turned on Bitcoin tipping in conjunction with their non-custodial Bitcoin wallet.
This allows users to tip creators on the platform using Bitcoin without leaving the app.
Maybe time to migrate our YouTube content over? 🤔
- Zach 🧙♂️
1. Grid Balancing
Bitcoin miners are interruptible load. When energy demand spikes, they shut off instantly, stabilizing the grid.
Texas uses miners as ""demand response"" to prevent blackouts. They're paid to turn OFF during peak demand.
That's not waste. That's infrastructure.
2. Monetizing Stranded Energy
Renewable energy often gets built where transmission infrastructure doesn't exist yet (remote wind/hydro).
Bitcoin miners set up on-site, monetizing energy that would otherwise be curtailed (wasted).
This subsidizes renewable build-out.
3. Capturing Flared Gas
Oil fields flare ~140 billion cubic feet of natural gas annually because there's no pipeline to capture it.
Bitcoin miners use portable containers to capture that gas, mine Bitcoin, and turn waste methane (terrible for climate) into revenue.
4. Industrial Heat Recovery
Mining generates heat. Instead of venting it:
• Greenhouses use it to grow food year-round
• Lumber companies use it for kiln drying
• Fish farms use it for aquaculture heating
• Buildings use it for district heating
Waste heat → productive output.
5. Enabling Energy Infrastructure
Energy companies can now justify building transmission lines to remote areas because miners provide guaranteed demand before population arrives.
Once infrastructure exists, other industries follow.
Bitcoin bootstraps energy access.
6. Landfill Methane Capture
Landfills produce methane (84x worse than CO2 for warming).
Bitcoin miners partner with landfills to capture methane, mine Bitcoin, and prevent greenhouse emissions.
Literally turning trash into treasure while helping the environment.
Bitcoin mining is one of the most useful demand-side energy technologies ever invented.
It balances grids, monetizes waste, subsidizes renewables, and captures emissions.
""No use case"" is cope from people who don't understand energy markets."