Spreading Bitcoin – How to ‘Orange Pill’ More Effectively

One of the things they don’t warn you about when you first get into Bitcoin is the inevitable obsession that comes with it. It’s very rare to meet people who understand Bitcoin deeply that don’t also spend practically every waking hour thinking about it, talking about it, and somehow steering every conversation back towards it.

To Bitcoiners this behaviour appears perfectly rational. Afterall, we’re witnessing a paradigm shifting technology that promises to reformat money itself and transform the entire global economy. How could you not be completely transfixed by something like that?

The problem is, to anyone still outside our burgeoning monetary revolution, our collective obsession can sometimes look a little crazy if not downright fanatical.

The risk here is that instead of finding our passion inspiring, people who are new to Bitcoin find it off-putting instead. If we’re not careful, newcomers can end up mistaking our intensity for derangement, and our enthusiasm for nothing more than naked greed.

But if you’re anything like us, your love Bitcoin isn’t borne out of greed or an unhealthy obsession with money. Bitcoin isn’t about winning at anybody else’s expense.

Instead, our collective passion is fuelled by dreams of a more prosperous and cohesive world. A world where the broken and corrupt monetary system has been dismantled, and the world operates on sound money. A world where a true meritocracy can emerge allowing anyone who works hard the opportunity to build a successful and dignified life.

We all just want to see what society can create when money no longer evaporates, and people can develop a low time preference.

Most Bitcoiners come to realise that if this is the kind of future we want, then it’s important we bring as many people as we can along with us on the journey. If we want to transact freely with others, collaborate, and start fixing our broken societies, then the more sovereign individuals using the network, the better!

This means we need to get busy ‘Orange-Pilling’!

But how can we make sure that our enthusiasm doesn’t get misconstrued? How do we take this raw energy and passion and channel in it such a way that people start listening to us instead of looking at us like we’re Alex Jones?

Let’s explore some of the ways you can make your orange pilling more successful, more enjoyable, and a lot less frustrating.

‍

Orange Pilling – The Struggle is Real

Once you understand Bitcoin and recognise what a remarkable innovation it is, your desire to share this discovery with others becomes insatiable.

Everywhere you look you see people struggling. Family members complain about the cost of living, co-workers complain about wages not keeping up with inflation, and the young people in your life look defeated before they even turn 25. Most of them buried under a mountain of student debt and resigned to the fact that home ownership is out of reach.

When you’re in the unique position of not only recognising the cause of these problems, but you also know of a solution, it’s impossible not to feel compelled to frantically try and convince everyone around you to adopt Bitcoin as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, most attempts to lead people to the lifeboats will be met with scepticism, derision, or total indifference. It can be a painful experience for Bitcoiners. When you know the building is on fire, but you can’t make people head to the exits, it can be extremely frustrating.

So, before you even begin, understand that ‘Orange Pilling has never been easy’ and you should be prepared to face a lot of resistance.

Thankfully, beyond just having a lot of patience, there are ways you can increase your success rate:

Start With the Problem, Not the Solution

Whenever you’re ‘Orange Pilling’ it’s easy to make the mistake of jumping straight into all the amazing things that Bitcoin can do, what it represents, and all the technical aspects that make it so unique and amazing.

But the problem with this approach is that by diving straight into explaining Bitcoin, you risk putting the cart before the horse.

When a developer designs a new piece of software, they don’t just randomly stick code together in the hope that it results in something useful. First, they identify a specific problem and write a software solution that seeks to solve it.

Just like any other software developer, Satoshi designed Bitcoin to solve a very specific problem. The inherent unfairness of our corrupt fiat monetary system.

Satoshi understood that, by having the ability to conjure new money out of thin air, central banks were able to steal purchasing power from the rest of society via inflation, and that by doing so, bankers and politicians were enriching themselves at everyone else’s expense.

Satoshi would never have developed Bitcoin and made the design choices he made without first intimately understanding this problem he was trying to solve.

The same is true of anyone you’re trying to ‘Orange Pill’. You can’t expect someone to understand a solution without first understanding the problem it’s trying to solve.

We’re not suggesting you start your orange pilling sessions with a 4-hour lecture on ‘The Creature from Jekyll Island’ (If you’re starting the story in 1913, you’re almost certainly laying it on too thick!)

But help someone understand that inflation isn’t just some mysterious force that makes things more expensive. And that it’s the constant expansion of the money supply making their wages increasingly worthless, then by helping them understand the root cause of the problem, you make them much more receptive to a potential solution.

Now when you get onto the topic of Bitcoin, Satoshi’s design choices like a 21 million hard cap, or its decentralised design, will be far more intuitive and easier for them to understand.

Drop the Bitcoin Jargon

Every new technology ends up creating a slew of new acronyms and abbreviations recognisable only to those who are familiar with it. Overtime, this eventually results in proponents speaking what appears to others to be their own unique dialect.

This natural process helps signal expertise and streamline communication. It’s actually very useful, unless of course you’re a beginner. In which case it feels like not only do you have to learn a new technology that may be unfamiliar, but you also need to learn a brand-new language.

If you’re ‘Orange Pilling’ and you start waxing lyrical about Bitcoin nodes, air-gapped wallets, cold-storage, and UTXOs then don’t be surprised if you’re met with confusion and blank stares.

This language feels familiar to you but to your counterpart it may as well be gibberish. You need to ease this burden by taking the time to translate what you’re saying into plain English.

A few examples:

COUNTERPARTY RISK

You hear the term ‘counterparty risk’ all the time in Bitcoin circles, but a lot of people won’t be familiar with it. If you’re throwing it around casually you risk going over people’s heads.

It isn’t much effort to clarify that what you really mean is that if someone else is looking after something for you, then there is a risk they might steal it or lose it.

COLD-STORAGE

To most people ‘cold storage’ is what’s required for meat and dairy products. So when you declare – “You have to keep your Bitcoin in cold-storage” the potential for misunderstanding (and possible hilarity) is significant.

Say what you mean. “You need to store your Bitcoin offline, not on an internet connected device. We refer to this as cold storage”.

It takes a few more minutes, but stopping to clarify will make the penny drop faster and actually speed up your ‘Orange Pilling’ process.

BLOCK EXPLORER

“Just throw your transaction ID into a block explorer and you’ll either be able to see it in the Mempool, or if it was added to a block, you’ll be able to see how many confirmations it has”.

OK, exaggerating a little bit here just to make a point, but you get the idea. Most people would have no idea what the sentence above means. While you’re saying the word ‘mempool’ they’re still wondering if a block explorer is another name for kids who play Minecraft.

It’s not always easy to do, but when you’re ‘Orange Pilling’, the more you can drop the jargon and make what you’re saying more accessible, the higher your success rate will be. It might feel a little laborious to drop the acronyms and slang, but you’ll actually make faster progress.

Don’t Deliver a Sermon, Have a Conversation

We’re all probably a little guilty of this one.

Bitcoin is money, so there are very few areas of modern life where it won’t have some direct or indirect influence. The broken incentives of fiat money have caused so much destruction and distortion in our economy that almost every aspect of our lives could be improved by sound money.

This means when someone asks you about Bitcoin it’s all too easy to just go ‘full send’ and start delivering something that resembles a sermon or an audition for a TED talk. Once you get on a roll ranting about freedom, sovereignty, and the malaise of central banking it’s easy to get carried away.

The thing is, when someone asks you about Bitcoin, they weren’t asking for a lecture. The most effective form of ‘Orange Pilling’ is a conversation not a sermon.

Instead, be a good conversationalist and meet them where they are. You’ll find your ‘Orange Pilling’ is a lot more effective when you’re asking questions and listening instead of just preaching.

The best teachers help people explore a new topic by asking them questions and guiding them to rational conclusions. You could ask them what they think about rising prices and what causes it. Or ask them to explain what role money plays in society and how it works. By having a conversation you’ll be able to gauge their understanding and gently nudge them in the right direction.

A sherpa doesn’t drag someone up a mountain, they support and guide them. Stop pounding the pulpit and have relatable human interactions if you want to improve your ‘Orange Pilling’ technique.

Provide Real World Examples

A lot of discussion about Bitcoin is very theoretical. Especially the economics of it. And while a good understanding of economic theory and monetary history can certainly help someone develop a full understanding of Bitcoin, it isn’t necessarily the best place to start.

Most people you try to ‘Orange Pill’ will want you to provide practical real-world examples instead. If Bitcoin is such a great tool, then they will want to understand how they can use it in ways that will benefit or protect them. The perfect way to approach this is through storytelling. You can show off Bitcoin’s superior qualities indirectly by showing them in action.

You can demonstrate how Bitcoin is a superior form of value by showing them the difference in egg prices when measured in fiat vs measured in Bitcoin.

Or you could demonstrate how Bitcoin protects you from asset seizure and censorship by telling them the story of Wikileaks using Bitcoin to keep supporting independent journalists after PayPal locked their account.

You could explain to them how easy it is to make international payments without tedious delays and how people can send money home in remittances without paying predatory fees to the likes of Western Union.

Or you could explain how Bitcoin mining contributes stability to the electricity grid, makes use of stranded or wasted power and encourages the use of renewables by pointing at clear examples from places like Texas:

There are countless use cases for Bitcoin and countless examples of people leveraging them in the real world. Find your favourites and arm yourself with them so you’re ready for any Orange Pilling opportunity.

Once you become a real pro, you’ll even find yourself choosing specific examples that are the most relatable to the person you find yourself talking to.

Get Good at ‘SHOW and Tell’

Most of us remember the excitement and intrigue of sending and receiving our first Bitcoin transaction. It’s an almost formative experience that tends to make a lasting impression and is great at driving someone’s curiosity.

That’s why one of the most effective ‘Orange Pilling’ techniques is to let someone taste Bitcoin for themselves by actually trying it. That’s why you should get good at ‘show and tell’.

Develop a slick way to gift someone some Bitcoin and let them see it in action in the wild. Keep it simple, you don’t have time to get into the intricacies of setting up a node or cold storage, but you can get someone to quickly install a lightning app and receive some sats and make their first transaction.

Don’t worry too much whether it’s the perfect ‘secure and sovereign’ setup right out of the gate, there will plenty of time for them to learn all that. Your first goal is to spark their curiosity and sending someone some sats is a sure-fire way to get them thinking about Bitcoin.

With enough practice you can get this down to a fine art. No long tutorials, just a wallet, a quick transaction and a grin. Then all you need to do is wait. They will be back with more questions, and you can start taking them further down the rabbit hole and showing them more advanced tools.

Pick Your Battles

We would all love to ‘Orange Pill’ the whole world, but the best piece of advice we could give anyone trying to spread the word about Bitcoin is to pick your battles. No matter how charismatic you are or how persuasive your arguments are some people are just not ready to be unplugged from the fiat matrix.

Learn to recognise that you’re only one half of the equation. If you’re speaking to someone with a closed mind, you’re unlikely to be able to pry it open.

Your time is a precious and finite resource just like Bitcoin, so don’t spend your time banging your head against a brick wall. Learn to recognise that you’re only one half of the equation. If you’re speaking to someone with a closed mind, you’re unlikely to be able to pry it open.

When you do encounter extreme resistance like this make the smart choice and save your energy for someone more receptive and curious. You can’t force someone to learn who doesn’t want to.

As the saying goes, everybody gets Bitcoin at the price they deserve…..

‍

Orange Pill Your Community – The Bitcoin Way

‘Orange Pilling’ is tricky and can often feel like a thankless task, but it’s worth it.

By teaching others you’ll notice your own understanding improves and if you manage to build a community of Bitcoiners around you, then the personal benefits can be huge. Your journey will no longer be a solo mission, and you’ll have people to learn, socialise and even transact with.

Not to mention, if you’re a client of The Bitcoin Way, then once your new compatriots are ready to take their skills to the next level you can even earn rewards by introducing them to us via our referral program!

At the Bitcoin Way we are very grateful you’re part of our growing community, and we love helping you to improve your skills on your own journey to self-sovereignty.

Whenever you’re ready to take the next step and improve your skills further, simply book a free 30-minute call with one of our experts to start your training.