Building on Bitcoin in the Age of Web3

The experience inspired him to write “The Currency Revolution, Courtesy of Bitcoin,” and to articulate a philosophy that put Bitcoin at the center of a movement he recognized as having the ultimate aim of disrupting money, payments, and all areas of finance. Through his own experience in the financial establishment, Moy started to believe Bitcoin could disrupt “traditional notions” of currencies, banking, and financial technology as a whole by ushering in a permissionless, decentralized financial system.

In its initial stages, Bitcoin was teeming with innovation. As the pace towards its mission of challenging conventional finance appeared to accelerate, Tether was introduced on Bitcoin, while decentralized exchanges such as Bisq emerged for Bitcoin traders. Additionally, tokens – both fungible and non-fungible – sprouted up in abundance, all connected to Bitcoin. The atmosphere within the industry was a blend of excitement, apprehension, and greed.

The vision Moy articulated was shared by nearly every Bitcoin enthusiast, but opinions on how to actualize these ideas of decentralized money and finance differed widely. From stablecoins to NFTs, almost every category of application commonly used in the decentralized finance industry today has its roots in Bitcoin, but a strong ideological undercurrent started to create a cultural shift toward discouraging and combating these projects. From Satoshi Dice in 2012 to Ordinals in 2024, Bitcoin’s history is littered with experimental projects that have been lambasted for spamming, polluting, or distracting the Bitcoin community from its mission. As a result, the developers, users, and capital that could have flowed to an industry of financial applications running on Bitcoin were incrementally pushed to other public blockchains.

If an attempt to stifle innovation were successful and no practical application for Bitcoin was found, it would lead to a situation where a robust currency exists without any place to spend it – an undesirable outcome for Bitcoin. However, such efforts have not prevailed as evidenced by the flurry of activity in the crypto industry over the past two years, which includes the development of new scripts, symbols (like runes), layer-two networks, and other innovative projects based on or associated with Bitcoin. This influx of investment from both institutional and retail investors totalling billions is seen as ushering in a new era for Bitcoin, though it might more accurately be described as a rekindling of the original Bitcoin vision to challenge and democratize the global financial system.

In terms of public blockchains, Bitcoin stands out as a leader among many competitors, boasting the largest and most recognized brand within and beyond the cryptocurrency sector. It also holds the largest crypto capital pool, currently valued at over $1 trillion. Furthermore, Bitcoin is the most battle-tested public blockchain globally, with numerous nodes operating worldwide and maintaining a 100% network uptime for an impressive eleven consecutive years. Essentially, Bitcoin is the world’s biggest, most secure, most decentralized, most reliable, and permissionless financial network – opting to build on Bitcoin means you’re choosing to build on the best.

While Bitcoin still holds a significant position, it lags behind in terms of development compared to platforms like Solana and Ethereum. Over the years, these blockchains have thrived during Bitcoin’s relative standstill by fostering vibrant ecosystems teeming with hundreds of applications, thousands of users, and collectively managing billions of dollars. Even the Lightning Network, once highly favored by the “anti-DeFi” segment in Bitcoin, has seen little growth in the number of coins stored on its network for quite some time now.

As a dedicated crypto investor, I firmly believe it’s high time to rekindle Bitcoin’s role as the breeding ground for innovation and experimentation within the digital currency landscape once more. If we can’t make Bitcoin the entry point for permissionless finance for newcomers, then our mission will have fallen short. If Bitcoin morphs into nothing more than a secure storage facility managed by ETF providers, then we will have missed the mark. If the ideal form of global money doesn’t coexist with the growth of a native financial system driven by Bitcoin, we will have failed in our vision. It’s essential to root out entirely the technocultural norms and routines that have stifled Bitcoin’s progress for years.

Constructing the future of monetary systems and finance revolving around Bitcoin necessitates a vast team of innovators. Over the past two years, an impressive number of new entrepreneurs and engineers have embarked on building for Bitcoin, yet this number must expand further.

Bitcoin represents a groundbreaking innovation with the potential to liberate ordinary individuals from the grip of a centralized and censored financial system. To fulfill this promise, Bitcoin must foster an alternate financial landscape to overthrow its existing counterparts. Innovation and exploration should be fundamental principles in this new age of transparency, decentralization, and freedom from authorization. The vision for Bitcoin as a transformative force in finance, as Moy and many others envision it, is within our reach if we collectively work towards making it a reality. Given the importance at stake, it’s crucial that we give it our best effort.

Please take note that the opinions shared in this article belong solely to the writer and may not align with those held by CoinDesk, Inc., its proprietors, or its associates.