I work in the Bitcoin industry, but there is still no clear source of revenue. This is not only my situation. In Korea, almost no one is sustainably earning money through Bitcoin-related work outside of donations. Even so, people keep doing this work. Why do they hold on to something that barely makes money?
From the outside, everyone looks similar. They want to contribute to Bitcoin. They want more people to understand Bitcoin. They want a Bitcoin standard to arrive. But after watching closely for several months, I learned that the visible posture and the actual motivation are not always the same.
Some people were deeply sincere about Bitcoin, but their direction shifted while trying to use it as a business. Some believe Bitcoin is the superior money and are planting a flag while waiting for the market to grow. Some want to build better financial services with Bitcoin. Some believe the current economic system is already breaking down and want to build a different world through Bitcoin.
On the surface they may all look alike, but their motives and priorities are different. Those differences eventually reveal what kind of future each person wants for Bitcoin.
A Bitcoin standard may require everyone's effort. For a Bitcoin standard to arrive, the market must grow. More people need to join, products need to be built, and services need to appear. There must be people who explain Bitcoin, people who try to sell it, and people who bring it into daily life.
But I am not satisfied with simply making the Bitcoin market bigger.
For that to happen, the requirements described in the Bitcoin white paper need to be preserved.
- Removing trusted third parties
- Being able to verify directly instead of trusting someone
- Being able to join the network without anyone's permission
But these are protocol-level designs, and there is a large gap between them and how Bitcoin is handled in the real world. Can everyone perfectly verify transactions or devices without trusting others? Can everyone self-custody without help? Can everyone run a full node or miner and participate in the network?
In the end, there are still moments where some form of trust becomes necessary, and a perfectly trustless system is an illusion. The best we can do is reduce trust as much as possible and lower risk by avoiding single points of failure. The problem is that people do not think about this deeply enough. This point is subtle, so it is hard to say exactly what the problem and answer are.
There is an even more fundamental problem. The way Bitcoin's spirit breaks down is not always obvious. Some things, such as altcoins or Web3, are easy to draw a line around. But in reality, many cases are more ambiguous.
https://fintechnews.sg/18967/korea/top-10-korean-cryptocurrency-exchanges/
Getting Bitcoin information only from centralized platforms
Treating Bitcoin only as a dollar-cost averaging investment asset
Being exposed only to Bitcoin's price increase rather than using it as money
It is hard to say all of these are bad. Exchanges can be necessary for beginners. Dollar-cost averaging can be a good way to first encounter Bitcoin. Centralized content can also be the starting point for someone's study. It is also true that convenient services are needed for more people to enter Bitcoin.
The problem is when those things become the final state rather than the entrance. Buying Bitcoin on an exchange can be a start. But if it stays on the exchange forever, the person is closer to being exposed to the Bitcoin price than actually holding Bitcoin. Watching Bitcoin content can be a start. But if someone depends only on a person or platform's interpretation, they are trusting an explanation rather than verifying Bitcoin. Dollar-cost averaging can also be a start. But if Bitcoin is seen only as an asset that goes up, it is consumed as another financial product rather than a new form of money.
That is why it is not enough for Bitcoin simply to grow. Bitcoin may spread as its price rises, but it can still lose in how it is used. This is the hardest part. Bitcoin's supply is limited, so it may naturally draw attention as an asset over time. But being noticed as an asset and being used as money are different things.
For Bitcoin to become real money, it has to move beyond the asset stage and into everyday life and transactions. There are many obstacles. People still leave Bitcoin on exchanges. Using a wallet directly is hard. The Lightning Network is still unfamiliar, and the payment experience is not yet smooth. Above all, for most people Bitcoin is still closer to an investment product than money.
That is why turning Bitcoin into a business contains a contradiction from the beginning. Bitcoin was created to reduce intermediaries, while businesses usually earn money through intermediation and services. Bitcoin speaks of self-sovereignty, while the public wants convenient services.
Then temptations appear: altcoins, Web3, tokens, fundraising, exaggerated promotion. That path is easier to explain in the short term. Money can arrive faster. It can look flashier to the public. But the moment you take that path, you move away from Bitcoin's essence.
But doing nothing and waiting for Bitcoin to spread someday is not the answer either. That is neglect, not conviction. Donations also have limits. Donations are appreciated, but relying on them makes it harder to collide directly with the market. You become less obsessed with what people actually pay for, what they find difficult, and where they give up. Donations can continue as long as some work is being done, even without a clear output.
What is needed in the end is a sustainable revenue model that does not sell out Bitcoin's spirit. Not consuming Bitcoin as a mere investment product, but helping people use, understand, store, and connect with it directly. Building products and experiences that the public can understand. There must be an answer somewhere. I just do not know it yet.
그러다 보면 유혹이 생깁니다. 알트코인, 웹3, 토큰, 투자 유치, 과장된 홍보. 그쪽으로 가면 당장은 설명하기 쉽습니다. 돈도 더 빨리 붙을 수 있습니다. 대중에게도 화려하게 보입니다. 하지만 그 길로 가는 순간, 비트코인에 본질에서 멀어집니다.
그렇다고 아무것도 하지 않고 "언젠가 비트코인이 알아서 퍼지겠지"라고 기다리는 것도 답은 아닙니다. 그건 신념이라기보다 방치입니다. 후원만으로도 한계가 있습니다. 후원은 감사한 일이지만 후원에 의존하게 되면 시장과 직접 부딪히기 어렵습니다. 사람들이 실제로 무엇에 돈을 내는지, 무엇을 어려워하는지, 어디에서 포기하는지집착하지 않게 됩니다. 확실한 아웃풋을 내지 않아도 어느정도 일을 한다면 후원은 지속되니까요.
결국 필요한 것은 비트코인의 정신을 유지하면서도 지속 가능한 수익모델을 만드는 일입니다. 비트코인을 단순한 투자 상품으로 소비시키는 것이 아니라, 사람들이 직접 쓰고 이해하고 보관하고 연결될 수 있게 만드는 일. 대중이 이해할 수 있는 제품과 경험을 만드는 일. 어딘가에 답이 있을 겁니다. 아직은 잘 모르겠습니다. 허황된 꿈을 꾸는 것일 수도 있겠습니다. 그렇지만 아직 포기하지는 않았습니다. 답이 없다면 만들어야겠지요.