Here’s a philosophical question for Star Wars fans: when Luke fired two proton torpedoes down the thermal exhaust port [1]and destroyed the first Death Star, was it the end of the story or the beginning? On the one hand, the Rebel Alliance had won the battle and was safe after that shot. They even had an awards ceremony. Cue John Williams. On the other hand, that shot really irritated the Galactic Empire and drove them to scour the galaxy for vengeance, setting off the next episode in the saga.
My point is that where a story begins depends on who’s telling it.
We’ve all heard the news about El Salvador adopting bitcoin[3] as legal tender. And celebrated it. And felt our hearts racing. Whatever word you choose — “momentous,” “watershed,” “historic,” “joyous” — you can’t really overstate what’s happening. We live in exciting times, and there’s nowhere in history I’d rather be.
But much of the discussion so far has talked about El Salvador’s move as the culmination of something. It’s like Bitcoin’s adolescence is over, and with the Salvadoran decision, Bitcoin is moving out into its own apartment. It’s a real currency now. A nation-state says so. Cue John Williams.
There’s some truth in that. But the end of adolescence is the beginning of adulthood. The time has come for Bitcoin to be responsible, to apply what it has learned, and to live up to its potential. What does that future look like?
Many tellings of El Salvador’s story have largely overlooked and understated the role of the Lightning Network. But make no mistake: any country could have adopted bitcoin five or eight years ago. The base layer hasn’t changed much. The new
