Money's primary function is that of a medium of exchange. It is a good that one uses to exchange with other products or services to fill a need.
It represents one's labor, or a return on an investment, and needs energy, decision-making, or skill to acquire. To let go of it for another good means that the holder values the acquired good more than the money. It sends a signal that value is subjectively found in the purchased goods. It is a tool that communicates value with the action of letting go of it. It allows trade to flourish, markets to develop, and sectors to form depending on how it is allocated.
Bitcoin is a medium of exchange. Yet it is not very widely accepted for now.
Also, it is an open protocol. So, it is an open protocol that communicates value.
Why Protocols Converge to One Winner
Willem Van Den Bergh put it clearly:
"Unlike all other products, protocols do not benefit from the perpetual struggle of competing markets as one would assume to be the case in a healthy capitalist environment. Rather the opposite is true; protocols tend to converge to one sole victor over time who subsequently becomes the dominant monopoly player within its respective market... Money is the language in which we communicate value to one another. Since humans are social beings and we have a proclivity to create value systems as a tool to make sense out of our environment and the world, despite what some utopians might claim, there will always be a need for money, no matter how advanced or altruistic the society. Because money is a form of communication we can therefore assume that it will act as any other communication protocol; it will converge to a single protocol."
As an open protocol, Bitcoin is considered a welcoming technology. Perhaps one of the most welcoming technologies ever devised.
It is neutral to its users. This is a crucial point because it allows for a maximum of participants that any technology could benefit from.
With only two instances in which the network has been down, it has been running consistently since 2009, delivering its simple promise: settle money transfers every 10 minutes on average in an increasingly secure manner without the need for an intermediate party.
What is a Schelling Point?
A focal point, or Schelling point, is a solution people naturally gravitate toward when they can't communicate or coordinate with each other directly.
Imagine two people are told to meet somewhere in New York City, but they aren't allowed to talk or plan ahead. Where would they go? Many would instinctively choose Times Square because it's well-known and "stands out" as an obvious meeting spot.
In economics or game theory, a focal point is a choice that feels naturally obvious or significant to all players, even without discussion. It works because the choice is salient - meaning it's clear, stands out, or feels like the most logical option.
Bitcoin firmly presents itself as the apex candidate to become the Schelling point of money.
Why Fiat is Failing
All fiat currencies are being debased and there is enough certainty to state that they will continue to be printed and devalued. There are so many established and imposed by the state, which makes it difficult to convey value internationally. Exchange rates, expenses, and logistics slow down the velocity of money, foreign trade, and money transfers.
Central bank funds can be seized, and payments can be halted or reversed. They are effectively IOUs - promises to reimburse someone later in time.
In a world where the value of your time and energy is stolen away and dissolved simply by devaluing your money; in a world where it is increasingly hard to retain your wealth, live unapologetically and thrive; in a world where money has become a tool to influence the masses towards centrally planned goals - Bitcoin challenged the status quo and unfolded a digital realm in which people can choose a new type of unstoppable, non-confiscable and globally scalable money.
A Game That Invites You - But Doesn't Force You
The openness of its design makes it such that anyone can enter and quit voluntarily. It is a game that allows you not to join it. It will cost you if you don't, and benefit you tremendously if you do.
You have the option to refuse if you so choose. You will never be punished if you don't play by its rules. It is the existing system that punishes you, controls and erodes your wealth since it is failing and undoubtedly dragging you downwards with it.
Only the existence of a well-functioning and fair monetary system would have obliterated the value proposition of Bitcoin.
Michael Saylor described it as: "An open protocol that is Darwinian and competitive in a way that it is not just self-correcting on the protocol level to ensure correct money, but is also self-healing and adaptive to the environment around it."
The Positive Feedback Loop
Its design brings into effect a positive feedback loop. When adopted and played enough, the value it offers will multiply and intensify further.
Everything will be expressed in satoshis if it expands sufficiently to become the global reserve currency.
As a result of more people using it, the whole world benefits more. The network becomes more functional until a sufficient portion of the global population has access to sound money. Only then will we see a relentless bloom across economies.
Bitcoin will most importantly offer life-changing opportunities to the ones most in need - the ones that only have access to hyper-inflationary currencies, heavily monitored financial systems, the ones under monetary colonialism, the ones whose regimes are ultra-controlling and restrict their rights.
Bitcoin offers another chance at life for all individuals on earth. It allows them to grow and grows thanks to them. It empowers anyone. It needs no one but needs everyone at the same time.
The bigger it grows, the more abundant and deeper its roots, the strongest it gets, thus the more impactful it becomes.
References: The Bitcoin Standard by Saifedean Ammous - The Saylor Series - On Schelling points, network effects and Lindy by Willem Van Den Bergh