The "Down" and "Up" World Around You

The book I am currently reading is called “The Molecule of More” by Daniel Z. Lieberman and Michael E. Long. The book explains the power of dopamine and how it is the single chemical in all of our brains that drives love, sex, creativity, and ultimately, the future of humanity.

The book’s introduction provides an “up versus down” scenario to the reader. It asks you to look down and describes what you may see. Your hands, your desk, your feet, the floor, a laptop, or even a cup of coffee. The “down” represents the world around you that you can touch, control, and manipulate with little to no effort, planning, or thought. You are in possession of the “down.”

The book then instructs you to look up. When you look up you may see things like the ceiling, trees outside, buildings, or clouds in the sky. The commonality amongst items you see when you look “up” is that you need to be calculated to reach them, planning and coordinated effort are involved.

The “down” is the here and the now—you can have it in a moment.

The “up” is what you desire and what you need to work towards—a pursuit of what you don’t have.

The book continues to explain that in your pursuit of the “up,” you are fueled by the drip release of dopamine. It’s the source of creativity and the itch to keep going. Without it, you would only be inclined to live in the world of the “down” already around you.

I view the “down” and “up” perspective as a short-term and long-term mode of thinking. A long or short time horizon. An immediate fix already available or something earned as it moves from the hypothetical to the actual.

In the world of investing and specifically with Bitcoin, the “down” perspective is selling your holdings for dollars or your native currency. It’s cashing out to realize a return on your investment. It’s an outcome that can be triggered by selecting a few options on the exchanges you use to buy and sell. It’s an outcome you can have in your grasp in a moments notice.

I will even extrapolate beyond the present day and move to a few years in the future. Selling your Bitcoin, the hardest currency ever created, for a fiat and inflation-plagued currency is a choice that doesn’t conquer the unknown. Regardless of the ROI on your Bitcoin investment, if you choose to sell for a fiat currency, you are reverting back to a system that was preexisting and “comfortable” for society. This is not a critique of any decision to liquidate your Bitcoin holdings, rather it is instead summarizing an outcome that is readily available for anyone if they want.

But what if you held Bitcoin until you don’t have to sell?

Looking “up” in the world of Bitcoin is pursuing a world where you don’t swap your Bitcoin for a different currency. The “up” in this world is a world where 1 Bitcoin does not equal $1 million, $10 million, or even $100 million. In a hyper-inflated world what is $1 million today could hold the same purchasing power of $100 million. Therefore, using a lesser currency as a denominator for value does not make sense.

The world naturally moves to one form of currency so that mediums of exchange can have a standard. Bitcoin could become that standard. In this world, 1 Bitcoin equals 1 Bitcoin and is the world's currency. There is never a need to sell your Bitcoin for other currencies because, in this reality, no other currency is worth holding.

The potential of the “up” in this scenario is uncertain and unknown.

We could be one domino away from it being a reality or we could be 100.

We could be five years away or fifty.

I cannot tell the future but I can say we are much closer to this “up” reality today than we were last year, or five years ago.

I believe the only two outcomes for Bitcoin are it goes to zero or it goes to infinity. There is no in-between. With every passing day, I believe more strongly that we are not moving into a world where Bitcoin has zero value.

You can readily sell your Bitcoin and experience the “down” world at any point.

In pursuit of the “up” world, it may make sense to hold some Bitcoin for the chance you never have to sell it for any other currency.

Stack SATs.

The views and opinions expressed here are for entertainment purposes only and should, in no way, be interpreted as financial or investment advice. Always conduct your own research when making an investment or trading decision, as each such move involves risk. The team members behind Triana are not financial advisors and do not claim to be qualified to convey information or advice that a registered financial advisor would convey to clients as guidance. Nothing contained in this e-mail/article constitutes, or shall be construed as, an offering of financial instruments, investment advice, or recommendations of an investment strategy. If you are seeking financial advice, find a professional who is right for you.