The OG Philosopher of Bitcoin
@philosopherbtc.bsky.social
Bitcoin since ’09.
Engineer turned philosopher.
I decode money, markets & human behavior.
Daily reflections: substack.com/@thephilosophersbitcoin
Engineer turned philosopher.
I decode money, markets & human behavior.
Daily reflections: substack.com/@thephilosophersbitcoin
Pinned
My grandfather washed aluminum foil.
Everyone mocked his habits.Bitcoin proved him right.
open.substack.com
My grandfather washed aluminum foil.
We mocked it for years.
Then Bitcoin taught me why he did it, he’d lived through real scarcity.
Abundance is temporary.
Bitcoin is the reminder.
Read - open.substack.com/pub/thephilo...
We mocked it for years.
Then Bitcoin taught me why he did it, he’d lived through real scarcity.
Abundance is temporary.
Bitcoin is the reminder.
Read - open.substack.com/pub/thephilo...
Volatility isn’t the hard part of Bitcoin, uncertainty is.
The quiet fear, What if I’m wrong?
Selling gives closure.
Holding gives doubt.
Which one is harder for you?
The quiet fear, What if I’m wrong?
Selling gives closure.
Holding gives doubt.
Which one is harder for you?
November 27, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Volatility isn’t the hard part of Bitcoin, uncertainty is.
The quiet fear, What if I’m wrong?
Selling gives closure.
Holding gives doubt.
Which one is harder for you?
The quiet fear, What if I’m wrong?
Selling gives closure.
Holding gives doubt.
Which one is harder for you?
At the Eagle pub in Cambridge having a beer with friends tonight. Bitcoin somehow ended up on the table too.
A friend said, I sold 2 BTC at £15k in 2017. Felt smart, now it stings.
Not because of the missed gains, but because he didn’t trust himself.
Ever felt that?
A friend said, I sold 2 BTC at £15k in 2017. Felt smart, now it stings.
Not because of the missed gains, but because he didn’t trust himself.
Ever felt that?
November 26, 2025 at 11:02 PM
At the Eagle pub in Cambridge having a beer with friends tonight. Bitcoin somehow ended up on the table too.
A friend said, I sold 2 BTC at £15k in 2017. Felt smart, now it stings.
Not because of the missed gains, but because he didn’t trust himself.
Ever felt that?
A friend said, I sold 2 BTC at £15k in 2017. Felt smart, now it stings.
Not because of the missed gains, but because he didn’t trust himself.
Ever felt that?
I’ve been thinking how my grandfather grew up in real scarcity. We grew up in manufactured abundance.
We assume the system will always work because we’ve never seen it break.
He had.
Bitcoin was the first thing that made me question that assumption.
We assume the system will always work because we’ve never seen it break.
He had.
Bitcoin was the first thing that made me question that assumption.
November 25, 2025 at 7:29 PM
I’ve been thinking how my grandfather grew up in real scarcity. We grew up in manufactured abundance.
We assume the system will always work because we’ve never seen it break.
He had.
Bitcoin was the first thing that made me question that assumption.
We assume the system will always work because we’ve never seen it break.
He had.
Bitcoin was the first thing that made me question that assumption.
Something I realised reading yesterday’s comments.
Every family had a “foil washer” someone shaped by real scarcity.
We rolled our eyes at them.
But the older I get, the more I think they were the only ones who truly understood risk.
Every family had a “foil washer” someone shaped by real scarcity.
We rolled our eyes at them.
But the older I get, the more I think they were the only ones who truly understood risk.
November 24, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Something I realised reading yesterday’s comments.
Every family had a “foil washer” someone shaped by real scarcity.
We rolled our eyes at them.
But the older I get, the more I think they were the only ones who truly understood risk.
Every family had a “foil washer” someone shaped by real scarcity.
We rolled our eyes at them.
But the older I get, the more I think they were the only ones who truly understood risk.
My grandfather washed aluminum foil.
We mocked it for years.
Then Bitcoin taught me why he did it, he’d lived through real scarcity.
Abundance is temporary.
Bitcoin is the reminder.
Read - open.substack.com/pub/thephilo...
We mocked it for years.
Then Bitcoin taught me why he did it, he’d lived through real scarcity.
Abundance is temporary.
Bitcoin is the reminder.
Read - open.substack.com/pub/thephilo...
My grandfather washed aluminum foil.
Everyone mocked his habits.Bitcoin proved him right.
open.substack.com
November 23, 2025 at 8:29 AM
My grandfather washed aluminum foil.
We mocked it for years.
Then Bitcoin taught me why he did it, he’d lived through real scarcity.
Abundance is temporary.
Bitcoin is the reminder.
Read - open.substack.com/pub/thephilo...
We mocked it for years.
Then Bitcoin taught me why he did it, he’d lived through real scarcity.
Abundance is temporary.
Bitcoin is the reminder.
Read - open.substack.com/pub/thephilo...
If you find yourself checking the Bitcoin price too often, ask.
What feeling am I chasing?
Control?
Reassurance?
Relief?
Checking never gives it.
It only makes the urge stronger.
Sitting with the feeling is harder, but that’s the real skill.
What feeling am I chasing?
Control?
Reassurance?
Relief?
Checking never gives it.
It only makes the urge stronger.
Sitting with the feeling is harder, but that’s the real skill.
November 21, 2025 at 7:21 PM
If you find yourself checking the Bitcoin price too often, ask.
What feeling am I chasing?
Control?
Reassurance?
Relief?
Checking never gives it.
It only makes the urge stronger.
Sitting with the feeling is harder, but that’s the real skill.
What feeling am I chasing?
Control?
Reassurance?
Relief?
Checking never gives it.
It only makes the urge stronger.
Sitting with the feeling is harder, but that’s the real skill.
Over coffee moment today.
A guy tried explaining Bitcoin.
Digital gold.
But why is it valuable?
…uh… scarcity?
Five years ago I would’ve jumped in.
Now I realise, people only understand Bitcoin
when they’re ready to accept uncertainty.
Explaining it early never works.
Ever tried explaining it?
A guy tried explaining Bitcoin.
Digital gold.
But why is it valuable?
…uh… scarcity?
Five years ago I would’ve jumped in.
Now I realise, people only understand Bitcoin
when they’re ready to accept uncertainty.
Explaining it early never works.
Ever tried explaining it?
November 20, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Over coffee moment today.
A guy tried explaining Bitcoin.
Digital gold.
But why is it valuable?
…uh… scarcity?
Five years ago I would’ve jumped in.
Now I realise, people only understand Bitcoin
when they’re ready to accept uncertainty.
Explaining it early never works.
Ever tried explaining it?
A guy tried explaining Bitcoin.
Digital gold.
But why is it valuable?
…uh… scarcity?
Five years ago I would’ve jumped in.
Now I realise, people only understand Bitcoin
when they’re ready to accept uncertainty.
Explaining it early never works.
Ever tried explaining it?
4 Bitcoin cycles. 4 different lessons. Here’s what each taught me.
November 19, 2025 at 7:52 PM
4 Bitcoin cycles. 4 different lessons. Here’s what each taught me.
Wealth isn’t about doing more. It’s about tolerating discomfort.
Most people can’t sit still when uncertainty rises.
So they act. React. Adjust. Optimise.
But almost every great outcome in life comes from resisting the urge to fix the moment.
Wealth = the ability to wait.
Most people can’t sit still when uncertainty rises.
So they act. React. Adjust. Optimise.
But almost every great outcome in life comes from resisting the urge to fix the moment.
Wealth = the ability to wait.
November 18, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Wealth isn’t about doing more. It’s about tolerating discomfort.
Most people can’t sit still when uncertainty rises.
So they act. React. Adjust. Optimise.
But almost every great outcome in life comes from resisting the urge to fix the moment.
Wealth = the ability to wait.
Most people can’t sit still when uncertainty rises.
So they act. React. Adjust. Optimise.
But almost every great outcome in life comes from resisting the urge to fix the moment.
Wealth = the ability to wait.
The part I didn’t include in yesterday’s essay. Checking the price has nothing to do with information.You already know the trend.It’s about trying to feel in control of something that can’t be controlled.
Every check teaches your brain that uncertainty, danger. That’s the loop we all need to break.
Every check teaches your brain that uncertainty, danger. That’s the loop we all need to break.
November 17, 2025 at 6:56 PM
The part I didn’t include in yesterday’s essay. Checking the price has nothing to do with information.You already know the trend.It’s about trying to feel in control of something that can’t be controlled.
Every check teaches your brain that uncertainty, danger. That’s the loop we all need to break.
Every check teaches your brain that uncertainty, danger. That’s the loop we all need to break.
Why the Anxious Never Get Rich.
It’s about the version of you who checks the price at 3am… not because the market changed, but because uncertainty feels unbearable.
Bitcoin reveals your time preference.Anxiety shortens it.
Full essay: open.substack.com/pub/thephilo...
It’s about the version of you who checks the price at 3am… not because the market changed, but because uncertainty feels unbearable.
Bitcoin reveals your time preference.Anxiety shortens it.
Full essay: open.substack.com/pub/thephilo...
Why the Anxious Never Get Rich
And how Bitcoin exposes the time-preference trap
open.substack.com
November 16, 2025 at 8:49 AM
Why the Anxious Never Get Rich.
It’s about the version of you who checks the price at 3am… not because the market changed, but because uncertainty feels unbearable.
Bitcoin reveals your time preference.Anxiety shortens it.
Full essay: open.substack.com/pub/thephilo...
It’s about the version of you who checks the price at 3am… not because the market changed, but because uncertainty feels unbearable.
Bitcoin reveals your time preference.Anxiety shortens it.
Full essay: open.substack.com/pub/thephilo...
The market is moving.
What interests me more is what it exposes, your patience,your fear,
your time preference.
Most people aren’t shaken out by price,but by what they feel.
If today feels tense, pay attention.
That’s the real lesson.
What interests me more is what it exposes, your patience,your fear,
your time preference.
Most people aren’t shaken out by price,but by what they feel.
If today feels tense, pay attention.
That’s the real lesson.
November 14, 2025 at 10:26 AM
The market is moving.
What interests me more is what it exposes, your patience,your fear,
your time preference.
Most people aren’t shaken out by price,but by what they feel.
If today feels tense, pay attention.
That’s the real lesson.
What interests me more is what it exposes, your patience,your fear,
your time preference.
Most people aren’t shaken out by price,but by what they feel.
If today feels tense, pay attention.
That’s the real lesson.
The market moves in waves, but the real movement is internal.
Most people aren’t losing money to volatility, they’re losing it to impatience.
If today felt slow or frustrating, that’s the work.
Staying still when your mind wants to sprint.
Most people aren’t losing money to volatility, they’re losing it to impatience.
If today felt slow or frustrating, that’s the work.
Staying still when your mind wants to sprint.
November 13, 2025 at 12:54 PM
The market moves in waves, but the real movement is internal.
Most people aren’t losing money to volatility, they’re losing it to impatience.
If today felt slow or frustrating, that’s the work.
Staying still when your mind wants to sprint.
Most people aren’t losing money to volatility, they’re losing it to impatience.
If today felt slow or frustrating, that’s the work.
Staying still when your mind wants to sprint.
Every Bitcoin cycle punishes impatience and rewards silence.
The 2013 crowd mocked the 2011 holders.
The 2017 crowd mocked the 2013 holders.
The 2021 crowd mocked the 2017 holders.
The pattern never changes. Just the price. Time is undefeated.
Early is luck.
Holding is character.
The 2013 crowd mocked the 2011 holders.
The 2017 crowd mocked the 2013 holders.
The 2021 crowd mocked the 2017 holders.
The pattern never changes. Just the price. Time is undefeated.
Early is luck.
Holding is character.
November 12, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Every Bitcoin cycle punishes impatience and rewards silence.
The 2013 crowd mocked the 2011 holders.
The 2017 crowd mocked the 2013 holders.
The 2021 crowd mocked the 2017 holders.
The pattern never changes. Just the price. Time is undefeated.
Early is luck.
Holding is character.
The 2013 crowd mocked the 2011 holders.
The 2017 crowd mocked the 2013 holders.
The 2021 crowd mocked the 2017 holders.
The pattern never changes. Just the price. Time is undefeated.
Early is luck.
Holding is character.
Everyone talks about getting in early. Almost no one talks about staying in long enough.
Most losses weren’t from buying high, but from not being able to hold low.
Early is luck. Holding is character.
Most losses weren’t from buying high, but from not being able to hold low.
Early is luck. Holding is character.
November 11, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Everyone talks about getting in early. Almost no one talks about staying in long enough.
Most losses weren’t from buying high, but from not being able to hold low.
Early is luck. Holding is character.
Most losses weren’t from buying high, but from not being able to hold low.
Early is luck. Holding is character.
Everyone romanticizes conviction, until they live it.
It doesn’t feel like power.
It feels like holding your breath while the world insists you’re wrong.
And even when you’re proven right,
you don’t celebrate.
You exhale.
Because conviction was never about winning.
It was about staying intact.
It doesn’t feel like power.
It feels like holding your breath while the world insists you’re wrong.
And even when you’re proven right,
you don’t celebrate.
You exhale.
Because conviction was never about winning.
It was about staying intact.
November 10, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Everyone romanticizes conviction, until they live it.
It doesn’t feel like power.
It feels like holding your breath while the world insists you’re wrong.
And even when you’re proven right,
you don’t celebrate.
You exhale.
Because conviction was never about winning.
It was about staying intact.
It doesn’t feel like power.
It feels like holding your breath while the world insists you’re wrong.
And even when you’re proven right,
you don’t celebrate.
You exhale.
Because conviction was never about winning.
It was about staying intact.
The worst part of 2018 wasn’t Bitcoin at £2,500.
It was 2 a.m. at the kitchen table, realising conviction has a price tag, and not knowing if I could afford it.
Full story: open.substack.com/pub/thephilo...
It was 2 a.m. at the kitchen table, realising conviction has a price tag, and not knowing if I could afford it.
Full story: open.substack.com/pub/thephilo...
The Bitcoin Funeral I Never Attended
2018. £2,500. Everyone told me to sell.
open.substack.com
November 9, 2025 at 6:52 PM
The worst part of 2018 wasn’t Bitcoin at £2,500.
It was 2 a.m. at the kitchen table, realising conviction has a price tag, and not knowing if I could afford it.
Full story: open.substack.com/pub/thephilo...
It was 2 a.m. at the kitchen table, realising conviction has a price tag, and not knowing if I could afford it.
Full story: open.substack.com/pub/thephilo...
The Bitcoin Funeral I Never Attended.
2018. £2,500. Everyone told me to sell.
The hardest part wasn’t the price.
Read: open.substack.com/pub/thephilo...
2018. £2,500. Everyone told me to sell.
The hardest part wasn’t the price.
Read: open.substack.com/pub/thephilo...
November 9, 2025 at 9:35 AM
The Bitcoin Funeral I Never Attended.
2018. £2,500. Everyone told me to sell.
The hardest part wasn’t the price.
Read: open.substack.com/pub/thephilo...
2018. £2,500. Everyone told me to sell.
The hardest part wasn’t the price.
Read: open.substack.com/pub/thephilo...
2018. Bitcoin at $3,200.
Everyone said “sell.”
I almost did.
The hardest part wasn’t the price. It was wondering if they were right.
Conviction isn’t confidence. It’s choosing your own uncertainty
over everyone else’s certainty.
Everyone said “sell.”
I almost did.
The hardest part wasn’t the price. It was wondering if they were right.
Conviction isn’t confidence. It’s choosing your own uncertainty
over everyone else’s certainty.
November 6, 2025 at 12:27 PM
2018. Bitcoin at $3,200.
Everyone said “sell.”
I almost did.
The hardest part wasn’t the price. It was wondering if they were right.
Conviction isn’t confidence. It’s choosing your own uncertainty
over everyone else’s certainty.
Everyone said “sell.”
I almost did.
The hardest part wasn’t the price. It was wondering if they were right.
Conviction isn’t confidence. It’s choosing your own uncertainty
over everyone else’s certainty.
1971: Nixon closed the gold window.
Those who understood bought gold. Those who didn’t kept their dollars.
2009: Satoshi opened the Bitcoin window. Those who understand stack sats. Those who don’t keep their time in fiat jobs.
History doesn’t repeat.
It rhymes in debasement.
Those who understood bought gold. Those who didn’t kept their dollars.
2009: Satoshi opened the Bitcoin window. Those who understand stack sats. Those who don’t keep their time in fiat jobs.
History doesn’t repeat.
It rhymes in debasement.
November 5, 2025 at 11:30 AM
1971: Nixon closed the gold window.
Those who understood bought gold. Those who didn’t kept their dollars.
2009: Satoshi opened the Bitcoin window. Those who understand stack sats. Those who don’t keep their time in fiat jobs.
History doesn’t repeat.
It rhymes in debasement.
Those who understood bought gold. Those who didn’t kept their dollars.
2009: Satoshi opened the Bitcoin window. Those who understand stack sats. Those who don’t keep their time in fiat jobs.
History doesn’t repeat.
It rhymes in debasement.
15 years in Bitcoin.
Still check the price too often. Still doubt myself some days. Still tempted by “maybe this time it’s different.”
Conviction doesn’t arrive, it’s renewed. Every. Single. Day.
What keeps you steady when the noise gets loud?
Still check the price too often. Still doubt myself some days. Still tempted by “maybe this time it’s different.”
Conviction doesn’t arrive, it’s renewed. Every. Single. Day.
What keeps you steady when the noise gets loud?
November 4, 2025 at 2:01 PM
15 years in Bitcoin.
Still check the price too often. Still doubt myself some days. Still tempted by “maybe this time it’s different.”
Conviction doesn’t arrive, it’s renewed. Every. Single. Day.
What keeps you steady when the noise gets loud?
Still check the price too often. Still doubt myself some days. Still tempted by “maybe this time it’s different.”
Conviction doesn’t arrive, it’s renewed. Every. Single. Day.
What keeps you steady when the noise gets loud?
Bitcoin falling again, and every cycle proves the same thing:
Price tests emotion, not fundamentals.
Conviction compounds when volatility shakes weak hands.
Price tests emotion, not fundamentals.
Conviction compounds when volatility shakes weak hands.
November 3, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Bitcoin falling again, and every cycle proves the same thing:
Price tests emotion, not fundamentals.
Conviction compounds when volatility shakes weak hands.
Price tests emotion, not fundamentals.
Conviction compounds when volatility shakes weak hands.
Favorite comment from yesterday’s piece:
“Newton’s silence says more than his loss. The smartest man alive learned he couldn’t outsmart emotion.”
This is why I write here.
Full piece: open.substack.com/pub/thephilo...
“Newton’s silence says more than his loss. The smartest man alive learned he couldn’t outsmart emotion.”
This is why I write here.
Full piece: open.substack.com/pub/thephilo...
November 3, 2025 at 12:06 PM
Favorite comment from yesterday’s piece:
“Newton’s silence says more than his loss. The smartest man alive learned he couldn’t outsmart emotion.”
This is why I write here.
Full piece: open.substack.com/pub/thephilo...
“Newton’s silence says more than his loss. The smartest man alive learned he couldn’t outsmart emotion.”
This is why I write here.
Full piece: open.substack.com/pub/thephilo...
Isaac Newton could calculate the motion of planets, but not the madness of people.
He lost £20M in 1720 to a bubble he saw coming.
300 years later, we still fall for the same traps.
The Genius Who Couldn’t Price Madness: why Bitcoin is built for human psychology: open.substack.com/pub/thephilo...
He lost £20M in 1720 to a bubble he saw coming.
300 years later, we still fall for the same traps.
The Genius Who Couldn’t Price Madness: why Bitcoin is built for human psychology: open.substack.com/pub/thephilo...
The Genius Who Couldn't Price Madness
Isaac Newton, the South Sea Bubble, and Why Bitcoin Is Built for Human Psychology
open.substack.com
November 2, 2025 at 10:58 AM
Isaac Newton could calculate the motion of planets, but not the madness of people.
He lost £20M in 1720 to a bubble he saw coming.
300 years later, we still fall for the same traps.
The Genius Who Couldn’t Price Madness: why Bitcoin is built for human psychology: open.substack.com/pub/thephilo...
He lost £20M in 1720 to a bubble he saw coming.
300 years later, we still fall for the same traps.
The Genius Who Couldn’t Price Madness: why Bitcoin is built for human psychology: open.substack.com/pub/thephilo...
17 years ago, Satoshi published the Bitcoin whitepaper.
In just 9 pages, he redefined the idea of money, trust, and time.
Bitcoin wasn’t created for speculation, it was created for memory.
A quiet rebellion disguised as code.
In just 9 pages, he redefined the idea of money, trust, and time.
Bitcoin wasn’t created for speculation, it was created for memory.
A quiet rebellion disguised as code.
October 31, 2025 at 8:09 PM
17 years ago, Satoshi published the Bitcoin whitepaper.
In just 9 pages, he redefined the idea of money, trust, and time.
Bitcoin wasn’t created for speculation, it was created for memory.
A quiet rebellion disguised as code.
In just 9 pages, he redefined the idea of money, trust, and time.
Bitcoin wasn’t created for speculation, it was created for memory.
A quiet rebellion disguised as code.