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by Thomas M. Sipos,
managing editor [June 11, 2022]
[HollywoodInvestigator.com]Computer manuals have a reputation for being poorly written and
incomplete. The answer to your question about a program is often
missing. The author knows the answer; it just didn't occur to him that
it needed to be explained. What is explained is often done so
confusingly.
The Dummies books, I have found, make it worse. Rather than
clarify, they merely pad an already bad manual with cartoons, jokes,
and happy talk -- making it that much harder to plow through the
verbiage in search of useful nuggets.
Darcy Weir's newly released documentary, The Bitcoin Field Guide,
is a poorly written Dummies manual. It promises to explain
Bitcoin in a fun, comedic way, but I learned almost nothing from its
119 minutes. True, I did some research prior to seeing this
documentary, but I'm still a newbie. I should have learned more.
Rather than step-by-step, comprehensive explanations of blockchain and
cryptocurrencies, we are hit with a succession of sound bites,
snippets from TV news shows and articles, talking heads, and pretty
graphics. We learn a few factoids, but gain no understanding.
We learn that hard wallets are safer than soft wallets
for storing cryptocurrency, because soft wallets are online and can be
hacked. Well, that's useful.
We're told that Bitcoin is a deflationary asset, because it's
limited to 21 million coins, but (even better) there's really
only 18,483,118 coins, because people often die before revealing their
passwords to anyone. Thus, their Bitcoin accounts can never be
accessed by anyone. And so, because the supply of Bitcoin is limited,
and even shrinking, while demand increases, its value always go up.
If you die without a will, the state, not you, decides who gets your
assets. With the exception of your Bitcoin, which simply disappears
into the ether.
Alas, The Bitcoin Field Guide suffers the misfortune of
having been completed shortly before the Bitcoin crash of 2022. Yes,
the supply of Bitcoin is limited. But the supply of cryptocurrencies
is unlimited. New coins are being issued all the time, and Bitcoin
competes with them. Bitcoin is not deflationary.
Part of Bitcoin's appeal is that it's thought to be "crypto" (i.e.,
secret). But Ben Armstrong, Founder of BitBoy Crypto, tells us that
Bitcoin is "100% traceable." (Don't ask me what BitBoy Crypto does;
the documentary doesn't say.)
But what about Monero? I heard that it's truly untraceable. So
untraceable that many crypto exchanges are forbidden by the laws of
their jurisdictions to trade it. What's up with Monero?
A good portion of The Bitcoin Field Guide discusses other
forms of blockchain currencies. Alt coins, stable coins, utility
coins, defi coins, meme coins, Ethereum, Shiba, gaming tokens, NFTs --
the head spins. Many name drops and sound bites, but like the
proverbial crappy computer manual, nothing is clearly explained. We're
told that online gaming creates -- or earns? -- tokens, which are
actually a financial system, or currency, or something. And Ethereum
is really a "platform" for ... other stuff, I guess.
And no mention of Monero.
We're told that blockchain coins have to be "mined." This involves
solving complex math problems, or something. It's not explained in
much detail. But we are invited into the Montreal apartment of Brian
McCloskey, cryptocurrency miner. He shows us all his computer gear,
humming away 24/7 in every room. His mining generates so much heat,
McCloskey's built air vents extending from his cabinets full of
computers to the window.
We learn that mining "creates coins." It's how miners are paid. But if
the number of Bitcoins is fixed at 21 million, then how can new coins
be created? We're told these new coins come from a "pool of coins."
What does that mean? Like a poorly-written computer manual, it didn't
occur to Weir that the audience doesn't know, yet might want to.
Other thoughts as McCloskey walked us through his apartment: Does his
landlord know he's running dozens of rows of computers? Who's paying
for the electricity? Is it a fire hazard? Is McCloskey in violation of
a city safety ordinance or his lease? Does he require or have a
license to operate such a business in his apartment?
Rather than a sober documentary, The Bitcoin Field Guide is a
breathless infomercial. There are the brief disclaimers about
cryptocurrencies being volatile and high risk, but the bulk of the
talking heads -- the ones who provide more than sound bites -- all
exude an evangelical, libertarian fervor. Armstrong says that
blockchain and cryptocurrencies aren't merely an investment, they will
transform the world. They will protect privacy, remove social media
censorship, and disempower banks.
The documentary suggests that blockchain finance will empower the
Third World poor who have no access to centralized banking. Such as
the sad-faced African mother in a hut, holding a baby, that we are
shown. But if she's dirt poor, I don't see how she'll be able to buy
or even access crypto, or how it will help her buy milk or rice from
nearby vendors. Such details are left unexplained.
The most fervent of the evangelical talking heads is Joseph Shew,
Founder of the Crypto Consulting Institute in Australia. This
"consultant" looks and acts like a parody of every motivational
speaker and infomercial huckster you ever saw. The constantly moving
hands. Tight polo shirt so you can see that he works out. The
breathless, hyper-enthusiastic delivery. Twenty years ago he'd have
been hawking juicers or the ten-minutes-a day to a washboard ab
miracle exerciser.
I said The Bitcoin Field Guide promises to explain
cryptocurrencies in a fun and comedic way. Well, it tries. Several
skits featuring professional "comedians" are interspersed. There's
even a "comedic" rap song that mocks traditional finance. None of it
is funny or informative.
I learned a few factoids, but came away with no understanding. This
documentary plays mostly like a libertarian sales pitch for the new
utopian crypto future. Too bad for these Bitcoin evangelists that
their sale pitch was released right after the recent crypto crash.
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