This is an editorial by Obiwan Satoshi, a professional pickleball player.
Fiat money gave birth to a fiat world. Fiat food, Fiat jobs… and Fiat athletes. In this article, I introduce ideas about what it means to be a Bitcoin athlete – an archetype I seek to embody in my professional pickleball career and a role model for the 21st century professional athlete.
Fiat Athletes Vs. Bitcoin Athletes
Fiat athletes compete to win fiat money. They store their time and energy (i.e. their wealth) in manipulated money that steals them, they trust corporations not to censor them, and they often live high time preference lifestyles .
Bitcoin athletes are a new breed of elite professional athletes. Bitcoin athletes store their wealth in sound money that protects them from theft, they use decentralized protocols like Nostr to create uncensored peer-to-peer relationships with their fans, they embody Bitcoin values, and they live a style life with low time preference.
Fiat athletes build digital identities on platforms created by companies that have the ability to censor what they say and separate them from their fans. Bitcoin athletes build digital identities on open source protocols that cannot censor what they say. These protocols allow Bitcoin athletes to connect directly with their fans.
Fiat Athletes trust banks to hold their money and lose energy with every exchange between fiat currencies when traveling to different countries. Bitcoin athletes hold their own money and conserve energy by using global money when traveling to compete.
Fiat athletes trust politicians to maintain monetary integrity. Bitcoin Athletes run nodes and verify that Bitcoin’s monetary policy enforces a supply cap of 21 million.
Fiat athletes lead a fiat lifestyle and spread fiat values to their fans. Bitcoin athletes live Bitcoin lifestyles and spread the values of the Bitcoin protocol to their fans – the values of truth, freedom, and personal responsibility.
Fiat athletes live at the mercy of banks and politicians who control their money and corporations who control their financial sponsorship. Bitcoin athletes are sovereign and masterless. Their money is ruled by math and they are directly backed by their fans, who are zapping them at the speed of light.
Fiat athletes are driven by Fiat fame and wealth. Bitcoin Athletes are driven by the mission to spread financial literacy to 8 billion people on earth and unlock unprecedented peace and human flourishing. Bitcoin athletes play for a purpose beyond money. They play to save money.
Fiat athletes use centralized money, centralized social media and centralized sponsorship models. They have relationships with intermediaries (banks, platforms and companies) who have the power to censor or control them if they don’t toe the line. Bitcoin athletes use decentralized money, decentralized social media, and decentralized sponsorship models. They use protocols in order to restore direct relationships with their fans and reduce (or eliminate) their dependence on banks, platforms and companies.
Earn with Bitcoin
I believe a bitcoin world will forge bitcoin athletes, that new type of professional athlete who is financially energized directly by their fans, lives in alignment with the values of the bitcoin protocol, and uses their influence to improve financial literacy and mend the money. The elite 21st century athlete will build his career on Bitcoin and be powered by the Lightning Network.
As a professional pickleball player, I’m on a mission to demonstrate this new model myself. I seek to master my sport by testing myself against the best pickleball players in the world and playing for bitcoin.
Part of my mission as a bitcoin athlete is to help fiat athletes make the leap to a bitcoin world, help them understand bitcoin and secure their information in cyberspace (ownership, identity, data, etc.) with encrypted energy. This process often starts with sending 21 sats after a game so they can experience the magic of Bitcoin firsthand, then helping them create a Nostr account so fans can directly support them financially.
I believe professional athletes in the 21st century will be powered by Bitcoin. They will connect directly with their fans with zaps and store their life energy in rare, digital and encrypted money. They will run nodes, share proof of work, and connect with fans on Nostr. They will be uncensorable, unstoppable and sovereign in their quest to financially support their careers.
This is a guest post by Obiwan Satoshi. The opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.