The Only Bitcoiner - The Burden of Responsibility

In this article:
Are you the only Bitcoiner in your family? Well, you wouldn’t be alone. We speak with hundreds of clients who all share a familiar story. They’re the only ones in their immediate circle who have fallen down the rabbit hole.
When you’ve put the work in and can appreciate the beautiful simplicity of Bitcoin’s solution to the money problem, it can be extremely frustrating when friends and family members refuse to see the wood for the trees. Their financial futures may depend on it, but despite 16 years of progress they still want to bury their heads in the sand.

Occasionally you might encounter someone who is interested in ‘crypto’ or has ‘Bitcoin exposure’ via an ETF, or some yield-generating proxy stock, but people who use the network directly and could send you some non-KYC sats? They tend to be few and far between.
The reality is, if you’re holding Bitcoin in self-custody, running your own Bitcoin node, and sending peer-to-peer air-gapped transactions via a secure setup, then you are in an elite group that probably represents less than 0.01% of the population. (We crunched the numbers in this article)
But as they say, it can be lonely at the top….

Most of us aren’t growing our Bitcoin stacks just for ourselves. We’re doing it to create a better future for our loved ones. So being the only one in your circle who knows what to do with a 24-word seed phrase, or how to use an air-gapped hardware wallet, can end up feeling like quite a burden to carry on your shoulders alone.
For so many of us, the responsibility of securing our family’s future falls at our feet. It’s up to us to make sure we stay up to date with the latest updates to software wallets and hardware wallets. And it’s on us to be diligent about keeping seeds secure, encrypting critical data, building enough redundancy into our self-custody setups.
With no one close to discuss these things with, the journey of a Bitcoiner can sometimes feel like a bit of a solo mission.

So what strategies can you follow if you don’t want to feel like the last man out of Saigon? Let’s look at some of the best ways to find your tribe and make your Bitcoin journey a more social experience…
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
Find Your Bitcoin Tribe
Bitcoin becomes a lot more fun when you get to experience it in the real world with real people. There are few things more satisfying in life than a conversation with another Bitcoiner.
The thing is, those conversations aren’t just going to come to you (unless your opsec is bad). If you want to experience Bitcoin in the real world, you need to put some effort in and seek it out.
The good news is, if you do, your efforts will be handsomely rewarded.
Visit Bitcoin Meetups
Meetups are a great place to find some fellow Bitcoiners and the people attending them tend to be very passionate and engaged, so the conversations are almost always high signal. You’ll typically find a good mix of people from beginners through to OG’s you could learn a thing or two from.

Another great thing about meetups is that the conversation will often move beyond Bitcoin into broader topics like health, education, nutrition. Bitcoiners tend to be high-agency individuals who pursue knowledge in a variety of fields. It’s amazing the esoteric knowledge you can encounter at these types of events. Diving down rabbit holes with like-minded people is an entirely different experience than just consuming Bitcoin content online.

Meetups are a great way to make connections and feel less isolated on your journey. A lot of firm friendships have been formed at them. Just remember, be careful how much personal information you share, keep your stack private, and whatever you do, avoid ‘crypto’ meetups like the plague. They will lower your IQ.
Attend Bitcoin Conferences
Having just attended BTC Prague, we can’t tell you how invigorating it is to be surrounded by thousands of Bitcoiners all at once. The energy at these events is palpable, and it dawns on you that far from being alone, there are thousands of other people who are using Bitcoin to escape financial oppression and improve their lives.
It really helps with your sense of perspective. Bitcoin is growing…fast!

Hearing talks live on stage, meeting some of the most important people in the space, and everyone transacting exclusively in sats, just hits different. Most ‘industry events’ feel like organised fun, hundreds of people milling around in suits force feeding each other business cards and making awkward small talk. Bitcoin events are different, they really are fun, and you’ll find yourself engrossed in meaningful conversations without even trying.

The best thing about Bitcoin conferences is the people who attend, and you can’t get access to that on YouTube or Twitter.
Support Bitcoin Merchants
We all like to see our stack size increasing, but that’s a one-dimensional experience. One of the most enjoyable things about Bitcoin is using it.
That isn’t to suggest that you spend the hardest money on earth for the sake of it. Wanton consumerism only makes sense on a fiat standard. But it’s important to understand that money is only a means to an end, not an end in itself. What use is a tool if you’re never going to use it? It makes perfect sense to spend Bitcoin on the things you need.

Spending Bitcoin isn’t just a symbolic gesture. It holds multiple benefits. First of all, it’s awesome. You can just happily transact away without ever involving a bank or your government. If that doesn’t make your balls tingle, nothing will.
But beyond that, finding merchants that accept Bitcoin and giving them your business helps promote a circular economy, and makes it more likely that other merchants will notice and want to attract your custom as well. With a little time and effort, you can build a whole new network of people to trade peer to peer with, and you’ll likely end up becoming firm friends in the process.

Not sure where to start? Check out BTC Map to see if any local merchants near you accept Bitcoin and go and visit them. And if you own a business what’s stopping you from becoming one of those locations?
Find Your Bitcoin Apprentice
Few things are more satisfying and rewarding than orange pilling someone. Mainly because it’s a really difficult thing to accomplish. But also because it starts to expand your Bitcoin network in the real world.
In our experience, there are some key tactics you can follow to increase your odds:
Keep Things Small & Focussed
If you’re trying to orange pill 12 people at a dinner party, we admire your ambition but have some concerns about your chances of success.

Stop trying to convert congregations with sermons. It rarely works. Instead, keep things focused and choose your targets. That niece or nephew who makes memes on Photoshop? Probably a great candidate. Your uncle who’s always tinkering with old cars and electronics? Again, probably a good prospect.

Don’t try and orange pill everyone, it’s inefficient. Besides, you only need one apprentice to end up having long interesting conversations with a new ‘partner in crime’.
Skip The Theory – Get Practical
“You want to learn about Bitcoin? Here are 14 books I would recommend…”
Good luck with that.
Accept that most people aren’t interested in your long dreary tales about Jekyll Island. If that’s where you start, you’re already finished. While it seems logical to start the story at ‘the beginning’ it’s not the best way to get people engaged.
That’s why movies have trailers.

You’ll be far more successful by just getting straight down to business. Instead of them staring down the barrel of 1000s of hours of economic theory, you can have them downloading wallets and firing transactions around in minutes. For most people, the latter is infinitely more appealing.
People learn best when they experience frequent quick wins. Save the heavy stuff for later.
Channel Your Inner Satoshi - Create Incentives
If you want to get better at orange pilling, take a leaf out of Satoshi’s book and think about how you can create incentives that draw people in.
Want your kids to do some chores around the house? Offer Bitcoin rewards for the various tasks they complete. Shooting hoops with your brother? Offer him 1000 sats for every 3-pointer he can get in a row. Make interacting with Bitcoin a fun and rewarding experience.

(True story – I successfully orange pilled a friend on the golf course by offering him £2 in sats for every fairway he hit from the tee, £2 for every green in regulation, and £2 for any birdies made. But he had to send £1 back for any bogeys. The result? He played one of the best games of his life, and by the end of the round we’d sent more than 15 Bitcoin lightning transactions between us.)

Finding your Bitcoin apprentice comes with a lot of benefits. If you can onboard a family member, you can start to share the burden a little and make your inheritance plans a lot more robust. Not only that, but by teaching others you will sharpen your skills as well. With the right apprentice by your side, you can 10x your Bitcoin experience. It’s well worth the investment.
After completing their training a lot of our clients sign up their close family members to do the same. It’s a beautiful thing to see families forging even closer bonds as they go on this shared journey together. We are in a uniquely privileged position to witness that.
Build Your Bitcoin Community – The Bitcoin Way
Bitcoin, just like life, wasn’t meant to be enjoyed alone. The more you engage with others and bring Bitcoin into your everyday life the more you’ll experience its true benefits.
The bigger your Bitcoin community, the more enjoyable your journey will be.
That’s why we are so extremely grateful to all of you for coming on this journey with us. We know we might not get to meet all of you, but every single client we interact with makes our mission that much more enjoyable.

If you’d like to join our growing community, get your Bitcoin security up to scratch, and connect with like-minded individuals who want to pursue freedom alongside you, then we’d love to hear from you. Book a call with one of our experts to find out how we can enhance your Bitcoin experience.