Is Bitcoin Too Complicated?

Is bitcoin complicated or did we make it complicated for ourselves? In general, this question is interesting and controversial. Many of us remember when the Internet was expanding and we wanted to send an email, how much trouble and how difficult it was for us. When we entered the recipient’s address and the subject and body of the email, we thought we were doing the most complicated thing in the world. The same mentality exists with Bitcoin. Many people feel that working with Bitcoin and sending and receiving this digital currency is a strange and complicated task, and we must be fully aware of its algorithms and rules behind the scenes; If such a view is not correct.

Currently, the number of Bitcoin users has reached more than 130 million people and this number is increasing every day. Of course, specifying the number of users is only an estimate and it is not possible to determine its exact figure. The only way to find out the number of users on the Bitcoin network is to check the number of addresses that are used on the network.

In this article, we intend to a note Check out Sylvain Saurel from the Medium website. In this note, he discusses the complexity of Bitcoin and uses interesting comparisons to show whether this digital currency actually has different complexities or whether we have made it difficult and incomprehensible for ourselves. So, to find the answer to this question, follow us to the end of the article.

Some say Bitcoin is too complicated

As we mentioned, we need to estimate the number of users in the Bitcoin network based on the available addresses. By December 2020, about 100 million users have joined the Bitcoin network, and a year later, in December 2021, this number crossed the 130 million mark; Therefore, we see that Bitcoin has become more popular among the general public.

What Satoshi Nakamoto has achieved since January 3, 2009, the date Bitcoin started working, is truly rare and exceptional; But there is still a long way to go before Bitcoin is widely used by people. If you are a fan of Bitcoin and digital currencies, this long and uphill road will be exciting for you.

Some people keep repeating that the Bitcoin system is too complicated and ask if Bitcoin is too complicated for general use. No wonder people ask this question over and over again. As fans and people of Bitcoin, we have a responsibility on our shoulders here. In 2014, I was attracted to the technical side of Bitcoin. Satoshi Nakamoto’s special and unique combination of technologies to create the Bitcoin protocol made me learn more about Bitcoin.

Later, the monetary revolution of Bitcoin and the freedom of its system became clear to me; So naturally, I initially tried to talk about things like the Elliptic Curve Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) at the heart of Bitcoin’s public/private key system, cryptographic hash functions with the SHA-256 algorithm, the Proof-of-Work (PoW) algorithm, and the network’s peer-to-peer (P2P) architecture. I can speak and write Bitcoin.

I am a developer and these topics are interesting to me; Therefore, my passion for these issues may have confused people at first as to whom I intend to speak for and who my audience is; But later I realized that my approach and talking about technical issues was not the right way. The general public is not interested in knowing about Bitcoin’s SHA-256 pattern and ring signatures, they are looking for other things and don’t like to be confused by these topics.

Some people say that the Internet is too complicated

In 1997, the Internet had about 130 million users; That is, almost as many users as Bitcoin today. At that time, the excitement and enthusiasm of the developers was very high. They talked a lot about the TCP/IP layer and the HTTPS protocol and the many methods of this protocol and wrote various articles.

In general, technical topics are exciting and interesting for technical people in this field; But it is not very pleasant for the public. When people heard these technical topics and discussions, they felt that the Internet would not succeed and would not be widely accepted; Because it is very complicated and not everyone can understand it. You may remember the headline of this article in Newsweek in 1995.

Clifford Stoll (Clifford Stoll) said in this article that the Internet will not become a permanent phenomenon and is only a fad or a temporary fever. Perhaps for him, who worked in the computer world since the early 1980s and was also a famous astrologer, these words may seem a little strange and show his inability to predict the future. However, he should not be blamed; Because even famous people like Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, who knew a lot about technology, said in a strange statement:

Internet is only a temporary fever.

These are the intellectual errors of humans. When we look at the incredible growth of the Internet since 1997, it is safe to say that those who did not believe in the success of the Internet back then were short-sighted.

Today, more than 60% of people in the world have access to the Internet; A tool that has made our lives better. Although the Internet was initially difficult and somewhat complicated for the general public to learn, it is now used in a variety of sectors.

Internet is accepted, Bitcoin is also accepted

We have to ask ourselves why despite the many complexities in technology, the Internet was still widely used among the general public? In response, it should be said for the same reason that everyone will use Bitcoin in the future. It is not a complicated issue. Internet has made life easier and better for its users. People who use the Internet don’t care about the HTTP protocol or the GET and POST methods. The only thing that matters to people is the enjoyment of using the Internet in their daily lives.

The same is true for Bitcoin. Bitcoin is a completely new monetary system and strives to give users unprecedented control over their assets. This decentralized payment system is owned by users, which will be useful for daily payments at the macro level thanks to the second layer solution of the Lightning network. By becoming a store of value instead of gold in a world where everything is going digital, Bitcoin can protect you from the damage of inflation.

As Bitcoin becomes more widely used in the coming months and years, this is the point that will attract more and more people to it. Surely, you are among the lucky people who are reading this before the future generations. Suppose in 1997 you invested in Internet companies and waited for a long time, what would happen in the end? Except that you were a billionaire today?! With Bitcoin, this can happen to you and finally, you can control your money.

Conclusion

It seems that by reading Sylviane Sorel’s comments, it is clear to us whether Bitcoin is complicated or not. We now know that Bitcoin, if complicated, should not have much impact on the widespread use of it by people and companies. The Internet once seemed very complicated; But with the removal of the cloud of ambiguity and related technical issues, people were able to communicate with it well, and the negative views of media owners and prominent people could not prevent such a process.

Internet had many uses for people and made their lives easier and better. Bitcoin can do this and it will definitely happen. We must not forget that Bitcoin faces various problems and obstacles in order to reach its lofty goal, which is to find its real place among the general public and become a tool and store of value. Scalability problems, price fluctuations, uncertain and hostile approaches of governments, and the need for regulations are among the obstacles that this digital asset must overcome to achieve its lofty goals.