Why Build on Bitcoin?

When thinking of opportunities for web3 development, most people will immediately think of Ethereum as the go-to chain for building web3 dapps. Historically, Bitcoin has been seen as the OG cryptocurrency that is great at being money but is wasteful, boring, and somewhat of a dinosaur. It was useful for kicking off the cryptocurrency revolution, but it hasn't innovated and is being left behind by more modern, useful chains like Ethereum.

Let's challenge that idea. Bitcoin is currently a sleeping giant in the web3 ecosystem, and it's an excellent opportunity for developers to launch projects and careers.

A Brief Note for Crypto Skeptics

If you are skeptical of the whole blockchain/crypto/web3 space, we get it. The industry is filled with hype and there is a good chunk that is not useful. This is a major reason why the Bitcoin space is an especially good opportunity.

Bitcoin is currently being used around the world to help people preserve wealth when they find themselves in situations like living under an authoritarian regime or their country's currency is suffering from hyperinflation.

There are billions of people around the world that live in highly volatile, unpredictable places where their ability to function in the economy is completely out of their control. Censorship-resistant money like Bitcoin empowers them to collect and preserve wealth despite controls placed on centralized alternatives.

But the money itself is only half the battle. It's necessary to build decentralized systems on top of this money and build a global economy that is as (or close to) decentralized as Bitcoin itself.

If we don't do that, people can't use Bitcoin to meaningfully participate in the economy without having to eventually resort to some sort of traditionally centralized system, which can derail things.

The core thesis of The Bitcoin Primer is that Bitcoin is a fantastic decentralized system of money, and now it's our job as developers to build the tools and systems for people to create an economy on top of it.

The how and why of doing that are the focus of this series. So if you consider yourself a skeptic, we invite you to come along for the ride and see the massive opportunity latent in Bitcoin for building useful technology while also building a successful career for yourself.