Understanding Bitcoin’s journey from obscurity to mainstream relevance requires more than just technical knowledge—it demands insight into human behavior, societal structures, and the psychology of adoption. In this deep dive, we explore the complex dynamics behind Bitcoin’s slow but steady rise, particularly focusing on why highly educated, financially savvy individuals often dismiss it outright. Drawing from a compelling conversation between Preston Pysh and Bitcoin thinker Croesus, we unpack the social and cognitive barriers shaping Bitcoin’s adoption curve.
The Cultural Resistance to Bitcoin
Despite its growing influence, Bitcoin remains polarizing—especially among elite financial circles. This isn’t due to ignorance or lack of intelligence. On the contrary, many of the most vocal skeptics are highly educated professionals: MBAs, Wall Street analysts, and corporate finance experts. So why do they resist?
Croesus recounts a telling experience during the early days of the pandemic when he tried introducing Bitcoin to his business school peers during weekly Zoom gatherings. At the time, Bitcoin was trading below $10,000—still within reach for early adoption. Yet every attempt to discuss its potential was met with dismissal, even hostility.
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This resistance wasn’t rooted in data or analysis. It stemmed from identity. These individuals had built careers, reputations, and worldviews around traditional finance. Bitcoin, by design, challenges the very foundation of that system—centralized monetary policy, institutional control, and legacy banking infrastructure.
The 2×2 Matrix of Trust and Intelligence
Croesus proposes a powerful mental model: a 2×2 matrix that plots individuals based on two dimensions—intelligence and trust in the system.
- Top-left quadrant: Smart but distrustful of the system — This is where most Bitcoin advocates reside. They see flaws in fiat currency, central banking, and government overreach.
- Top-right quadrant: Smart and trusting of the system — This describes many Ivy League MBAs and financial professionals. Their success is tied to the existing financial order.
The conflict arises not from logic, but from worldview alignment. For those in the top-right quadrant, accepting Bitcoin means admitting that their life’s work is built on a flawed or unsustainable model. That cognitive dissonance makes genuine exploration nearly impossible.
Meanwhile, people outside elite circles—like Croesus’s sailboat captain friend—often embrace Bitcoin more readily. Without deep institutional indoctrination, they approach it with openness rather than defensiveness.
Unit Bias and Cognitive Shortcomings
Another barrier to understanding Bitcoin is unit bias—the tendency to judge value based on price per unit rather than total scarcity or utility.
Many ask: “Why would one Bitcoin be worth $100,000 when I can buy a whole stock for $150?” This reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of digital scarcity. Unlike stocks, which can be diluted through share issuance, Bitcoin has a fixed supply of 21 million. Its value grows not because of corporate earnings but because of increasing demand against an unchanging supply.
This leads to another key insight: Bitcoin doesn’t fit traditional valuation models. You can’t apply discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis to a decentralized digital asset. Instead, new frameworks are needed.
Two Models for Understanding Bitcoin’s Value
Croesus highlights two primary models used by analysts to assess Bitcoin:
Stock-to-Flow (S2F) Model
This model measures the ratio of existing supply (“stock”) to new annual production (“flow”). Assets with high stock-to-flow ratios—like gold—are considered more scarce and thus more valuable as stores of value. Bitcoin’s halving events reduce flow every four years, increasing scarcity over time.While debated, S2F has historically correlated well with Bitcoin’s long-term price trends.
Monetary Premium Model
This approach views Bitcoin as gradually gaining a “monetary premium” as adoption increases. Initially seen as speculative, it gains value as more people recognize its properties: censorship resistance, portability, durability, divisibility, and verifiability.As this premium compounds, so does market capitalization—regardless of immediate use cases.
The Digital Revolution Has Two Layers
Bitcoin isn’t just another tech innovation—it represents a foundational shift in how value is stored and transferred. Croesus argues that the digital revolution has two parts:
- The Information Layer (already realized): Social media, cloud computing, streaming services.
- The Value Layer (emerging): Decentralized money, smart contracts, digital ownership.
Bitcoin sits at the core of the second layer. Just as HTTP enabled the web, Bitcoin enables trustless value exchange. It’s not merely a currency; it’s infrastructure.
A Speculative Attack on Fiat Currency?
One provocative idea discussed is that Bitcoin functions as a speculative attack on fiat currency. As global debt levels soar and central banks expand money supplies, confidence in traditional money erodes. Bitcoin offers an alternative—a hard-capped asset immune to inflation and political manipulation.
Investors aren’t just buying Bitcoin for potential gains—they’re hedging against systemic risk. This mindset shift is accelerating post-2020, as quantitative easing reached unprecedented levels.
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Do Financiers Price in Future Halvings?
Halving events—where Bitcoin mining rewards are cut in half—are predictable and baked into the protocol. Yet mainstream financiers rarely incorporate them into forecasts.
In contrast, Bitcoin-native investors often anticipate these events years in advance, adjusting allocations accordingly. This difference in time horizon and analytical framework further separates traditional finance from the crypto-native world.
FAQ: Common Questions About Bitcoin Adoption
Q: Why don’t smart people in finance understand Bitcoin?
A: It’s less about intelligence and more about incentives and worldview. Their success depends on the current financial system remaining dominant. Acknowledging Bitcoin’s potential undermines their professional identity.
Q: Is Bitcoin really scarce if I can buy a fraction of one?
A: Yes. Scarcity refers to total supply—not divisibility. Gold is scarce even though you can own small amounts. Bitcoin’s 21 million cap creates digital scarcity, a revolutionary concept in a world of infinite digital copies.
Q: Can Bitcoin replace gold as a store of value?
A: Many believe it already is surpassing gold in key areas: portability, verifiability, and ease of transfer. While gold has centuries of tradition behind it, Bitcoin offers superior technical properties for the digital age.
Q: Isn’t it too late to invest in Bitcoin now?
A: Adoption is still in early stages globally. Less than 5% of the world owns Bitcoin. With growing institutional interest and macroeconomic uncertainty, the network effect continues to build.
Q: How does social media influence Bitcoin’s value?
A: Social platforms amplify narratives and drive awareness. Viral moments can accelerate adoption cycles. However, price ultimately depends on supply constraints and long-term demand trends—not short-term hype.
Final Thoughts: Bridging the Gap
Bitcoin’s adoption curve mirrors that of other disruptive technologies—slow initial uptake followed by exponential growth once critical mass is reached. But unlike prior innovations, its biggest hurdle isn’t technical—it’s psychological.
The path forward involves empathy. Rather than mocking skeptics, advocates should recognize that resistance often comes from deeply held beliefs shaped by career paths and societal status.
As more real-world use cases emerge—from remittances to sovereign wealth funds adopting BTC—the narrative will continue shifting from speculation to necessity.
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For those willing to look beyond surface-level criticism and examine first principles—scarcity, decentralization, trust minimization—Bitcoin reveals itself not as a bubble, but as one of the most profound innovations of the 21st century.
Core Keywords: Bitcoin adoption curve, Stock-to-Flow model, unit bias, digital scarcity, value layer, fiat currency, monetary premium, trust in the system