The world is a pretty divided place right now and few spaces are quite as divided as the cryptocurrency markets. There have always been rivalries between competing brands among products that people are passionate about. A few that come to mind were Apple vs Microsoft, or even Apple iOS vs Android, Nintendo vs Sega, Pepsi vs Coca Cola and the list is endless. But the rivalries between certain cryptocurrency blockchains takes all of these combined and is multiplied by 1,000 in its intensity. But why is this?
I think it is very obvious because people's own money is on the line with the cryptocurrencies they have been investing into. While the above listed rivalries only make up a person's identity. They don't determine a person's financial future like attaching themselves to the correct coin can, or investing into the wrong one can destroy it.
In cryptocurrency there are two huge rivalries that immediately come to my mind; one of those being Ethereum vs Cardano. But perhaps the largest of those is Bitcoin vs Ethereum. Fans of each side have their own strong beliefs that will probably never change, and they will go all out to perhaps even aggressively call you out for being a fan of the wrong coin.
After all, how could you not share the same viewpoint as that other person. What would the world look like if everyone had the same viewpoint!? Not one that I would want to be a part of. Generally people who are a fan of only bitcoin, and nothing else are considered to be "bitcoin maximalists." But what is a bitcoin maximalist, and how would you know if you're becoming one? What are the clues? And some people would argue that being a bitcoin maximalist is an amazing thing, while others would argue it is everything wrong with the cryptocurrency market. I will let you decide.
ALSO Note: This article is just for entertainment purposes, and is meant for people to not take themselves so seriously. This is not a one winner takes all market. So let's sit back, and enjoy it.
So first let me be upfront about where I stand in this situation. Bitcoin is by far my favorite cryptocurrency out there. It makes up the largest portion of my portfolio as well. It's wan
So without further delay, here are some signs that you might actually be becoming a bitcoin maximalist.
1) Calling Other Coins Shitcoins
There are a large amount of bitcoin fans out there that will call any coin that is not bitcoin; a shitcoin. Even if it is a pretty-well respected coin. They're belief is that bitcoin is generally considered the cryptocurrency that started it all, and everything after is just a copy or trying to build off of its success. They feel the bitcoin had a creation that couldn't be replicated again.
I will be the first one to admit to you that I believe there are a ton of coins out there that do not need to exist. I would say that there are in fact many shitcoins out there. Coins that have no need or real purpose other than the creator just making a quick cash-in. But we need to be honest that many financial markets are the exact same. People are always trying to emulate other success and make quick money. But going so far as to call ethereum a shitcoin is something that I cannot agree with. Yes it does have its faults, but it has its own set of amazing things that it is trying to accomplish and has real use-cases.
2) You Only Listen to Bitcoin Podcasts
One of my favorite forms of entertainment out there is listening to podcasts. You can basically listen about any topic that you're interested it. It's great; especially for a person like me who likes to consume every bit of information about things that I am passionate about. And there are several bitcoin only podcasts out there, and even more cryptocurrency related shows. Listening to bitcoin only shows is not a bad thing; I think they are amazing to listen to in-fact. But if you call yourself a big cryptocurrency fan, but then only listen to Bitcoin Only shows. Then perhaps you're becoming a bitcoin maximalist. A lot of these shows are of a certain type of eco chamber; who love to criticize ethereum and any other coin. I will admit that the majority of the shows that I listen to are only bitcoin shows, but I am also careful to add in shows based on other cryptocurrencies. It is a great way to keep an open mind, and have your eyes peeled for potential future opportunities. I have talked before about this, but I think it is so important to always keep an open mind.
3) No other Coin is appealing enough for you to buy
There have been several times throughout my time in cryptocurrency where I got paid from work and it was time for me to decide where I would be investing in cryptocurrency this week. I had been telling myself all week that I needed to balance out my portfolio. Purchase some ETH, maybe some Polkadot or something else. That I already had enough bitcoin for now. But when I pulled up the order pages on my computer, it was literally hurting me to not use this money on bitcoin. I had thoughts that bitcoin will be the future reserve currency of the world. That it will someday go over one million dollars and many more similar type of thoughts. I was honestly worried that by not buying bitcoin, I would be having regrets in the future. And then of course I bought more bitcoin. This situation has honestly happened to me before, but I am much more level-headed now and am spreading out my investments among difference cryptocurrencies.
4) If You're Extremely Hyped about Bitcoin's Second Layer Developments
If you think that bitcoin's second layers such as Lightning and Liquid are going amazingly well and will soon be widely adopted; you may in fact be a bitcoin maximalist. During the last bull run in 2017, Lightning was hyped at bitcoin's saving grace. It would be the thing that makes bitcoin viable for the mainstream, the thing that makes the chain usable for everyday purchases.
And then nothing happened for years.
I think anyone in their right mind would say up until this point, the 2nd layer solutions for bitcoin have been failures, because the adoption is just not there or anywhere close to what everyone was imagining would happen. But with that said, I do remain very bullish for these 2nd layer solutions. And we have been seeing great recent progress with several large exchanges finally beginning to implement lightning. Let's face it, if bitcoin continues to go up in price, these developments and adoption will take place. I believe it is the very reason that some of these exchanges have decided to finally implement it now.
5) You Only have Bitcoin in Your Portfolio
If you bitcoin in your portfolio and nothing else; perhaps you're becoming a bitcoin maximalist.
Now don't get me wrong. If you are first getting into cryptocurrency; I strongly believe the first coin you should concentrate on accumulating is bitcoin. At the end of the day, it is what you want to own, to take profits into and more. It is the blue chips of all blue chips. But with that said, after you have accumulated a decent portion in BTC, I believe that you should definitely become to spread out to other coins as well. Some of my favorites include; ethereum, polkadot, chainlink, and more. Diversifying is always a good thing, but be careful not to be overly diversified where you don't have a high enough concentration of any coin to make significant profits. Remember to always have an open mind and be searching for new opportunities. You don't want to be that person that missed an opportunity of a lifetime, because you were too stubborn to see it.
Just remember that this was just a playful article, but there is real truth in many of the things that I did say.
Wow! After going through everything that I wrote, I see a lot of myself in every single category. I guess you would have to consider me a bitcoin maximalist. I do love bitcoin the most, and it is always the coin that I am most passionate to talk about. But, I do like other coins as well. I value them, like their use cases, and invest in them as well. So maybe I'm not a bitcoin maximalist, but just a very passionate bitcoin bull.
I want want to know if any of these categories matches you!? Are you a bitcoin maximalist!? Or maybe an ethereum maximalist, or some other coin!?
As always, thank you for reading!
Wow this is very nice