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I all the time discover it humorous when I’m attending a Bitcoin occasion like Bitcoin 2023 — or subsequent 12 months’s Bitcoin 2024 in Nashville — and a struggle fan acknowledges me with a bewildered look of their eyes and asks,
“Cyborg?!…What are YOU doing right here?”
The reply all the time appears apparent to me, “as a result of I’m a Bitcoiner!”
One factor that makes Bitcoin particular is that it’s for everybody and that the extra you perceive it, the extra sure you grow to be of its success. Each time I meet somebody and discover out they’re additionally a Bitcoiner, I immediately really feel a reference to them — a way of respect. It’s laborious to elucidate to somebody who isn’t concerned in martial arts, but it surely’s a sense similar to how I really feel round my Muay Thai or Brazilian jujitsu sparring companions. Perhaps that is the explanation for the bewildered appears to be like on the convention; I do know we’re each a part of a group of economic freedom warriors. In some ways, Bitcoin jogs my memory a number of martial arts, in that anybody and everybody can profit from taking part, and the proof-of-work is confirmed within the optimistic, life-changing outcomes.
I’ve been combating professionally for 18 years and through that point have received each championship within the sport of MMA. I’m the present Bellator MMA Champion and former UFC, Invicta FC, and Strikeforce Featherweight Champion which makes me the one “Grand Slam Champion” within the historical past of the game — a title reserved solely for individuals who have received all 4 main World Championships. Throughout my time as a fighter I noticed the game change dramatically from a “No Holds Barred” spectacle into one of many largest-grossing stay sporting occasions on the planet, entertaining a really international fanbase. If you struggle for cash, it is called “prize combating”, with cash being the prize. As a fighter, our careers have very brief incomes durations the place we’ve got to hunt the largest “cash fights” in an effort that we will save and make investments that cash into retirement.
MMA is a comparatively new sport. This 12 months the UFC — the most important MMA promotion — is celebrating its thirtieth anniversary. A glance again on its temporary historical past exhibits an incredible international progress fee in recognition and an acceptance that has by no means been witnessed in skilled sports activities earlier than. Whereas the Bitcoin community is lower than half the age of the game of MMA, I see a robust resemblance in how it’s really evolving into a world phenomenon, rapidly turning into widespread tradition and reaching a tipping level the place it would not be simple.
Early within the historical past of “Final Combating” there have been few guidelines. With no athletic fee sanctioning the sporting competitors, Congress tried to create legal guidelines that may have banned the game within the U.S. Via training, regulation, and self reform, finally audiences bought to see the game of MMA evolve into what it’s at present: organized, sanctioned, and comparatively protected for the rivals.
Once I meet fellow Bitcoiners who’re educating themselves concerning the community, advocating for adoption, and even working their very own node or miners, I take a look at them just like the early pioneers of my sport of MMA. I do know that every of us collectively play an vital position in serving to strengthen the Bitcoin community, guaranteeing that the true advantages of a decentralized, peer-to-peer trade of worth are by no means compromised.
The primary 30 years of the game of MMA has taught us extra about hand-to-hand fight than the earlier 200 years of martial arts coaching mixed. With the early Type versus Type MMA fights the viewers and practitioners rapidly discovered that regardless of the previous Kung Fu films, there was no “5 touches of dying” punch. Over time, we noticed the best martial arts get confirmed within the cage, finally inflicting rivals to solely concentrate on these strategies that have been confirmed to be efficient and worthwhile throughout an precise struggle.
I see Bitcoin doing to finance what MMA has performed to conventional martial arts. The primary 15 years of Bitcoin has taught us extra concerning the retailer of worth than the primary 150 years of fiat currencies mixed. Upon getting been “Orange Pilled”, it’s like signing up for “Monetary MMA”. When you perceive how bitcoin is the best retailer of worth — confirmed to be probably the most sturdy, moveable, divisible, fungible, scarcest, trustless, censorship-resistant, and universally accepted as a type of cash — you can also make it your monetary focus, understanding it’s the best and worthwhile device at saving your worth long run.
BJJ just isn’t karate and Bitcoin just isn’t crypto! As an athlete in MMA, it’s my job to coach in a number of completely different types of martial arts. To a novice watching a martial arts class, there won’t appear to be a lot of a distinction between a karate uniform and a Brazilian jujitsu uniform. Regardless of the same uniforms, the 2 martial arts couldn’t be anymore completely different. One focuses on punches and kicks (karate), whereas the opposite focuses on wrestling and submissions (BJJ). Most individuals don’t perceive that MMA stands for “blended martial arts” and that we use guidelines from Olympic sports activities like boxing (punches), taekwondo (kicks), wrestling (takedowns), and judo (submissions) to compete in hybrid competitors with the objective of proving what’s the best system of fight.
Bitcoin just isn’t crypto. Bitcoin is decentralized, digital foreign money exchanged by means of a peer-to-peer community. It’s open-sourced and permits anybody to take part with no central level of management. Nobody individual or entity is in cost and it proves itself day by day as the best retailer of worth, block after block, by means of proof of labor. Similar to the strategies used within the sport of MMA, the proof is within the work and the outcomes (rewards). It’s vital to distinguish between Bitcoin and cryptos in an effort to perceive why Bitcoin is the best hybrid system of finance.
If my trade has taught me something it’s that ladies are wanted to steer the revolution. Regardless of the primary UFC happening in 1993, it was not till I received the Strikeforce World Championship in 2009 towards Gina Carano that the game of MMA had a feminine acknowledged as undisputed World Champion. Wanting on the sport at present, it’s superb to see how very important girls have been to its general progress. Now we see the largest occasions being showcased by high feminine athletes, and we witness coaching services around the globe stuffed with younger, motivated, and hungry girls eager to show themselves within the sport of MMA.
On the Bitcoin 2023 convention in Miami I bought the chance to attend the second annual “girls of Bitcoin” brunch hosted by Natalie Brunell, which had over 250 girls from around the globe in attendance. It was inspiring to satisfy so many younger, educated, motivated girls working collectively to make sure the Bitcoin community turns into a type of monetary empowerment for girls all around the globe. I really feel assured that years from now, as we glance again on the journey of Bitcoin, that the historical past goes to be stuffed with tales of feminine entrepreneurs, builders, and evangelists who have been instrumental within the community’s development and progress as a result of Bitcoin is all-inclusive — each race, faith, and intercourse.
In my sport, in an effort to have longevity and success as a fighter, you want to perceive the idea of “time choice”. As an athlete, you can’t be out partying, consuming poor meals, and having fun with speedy gratification if you need long-term success. Success requires us to concentrate on profitable the small day by day objectives with the understanding that every one the trouble is rewarded with a victory come the night time of the struggle. I take a look at bitcoin and the observe of stacking sats (DCA) with that very same mindset. When you determine on a Bitcoin technique and also you perceive there’s solely ever going to be 21 million bitcoin accessible, the idea of delayed gratification and time choice turns into straightforward to concentrate on. Much like profitable a championship belt in my sport, the outcomes of all of your laborious work being saved in sound cash goes to be life-changing.
Early within the historical past of the game of “final combating”, it was taken off the air. MMA largely made it by means of this “darkish period” because of a devoted loyal fanbase that spent their time on web boards, and sharing VHS movies of fights to make sure individuals continued to get publicity to this creating sport. By no means in 1,000,000 years did I think about myself combating in entrance of fifty,000 followers inside a soccer stadium and promoting hundreds of thousands of pay per views.
The Bitcoin community jogs my memory a number of these early blended martial arts followers who invested their very own time, vitality, and efforts into the group as a result of they believed within the outcomes. Much like these early years in my sport, there isn’t a turning off the web and due to that the Bitcoin community goes to proceed to develop. It’s going to proceed to get stronger, and with it would come the tipping level that may drive a world acceptance of Bitcoin.
Followers admire my talent, braveness, and focus after I step within the cage to compete in a championship prize struggle, however the actuality is they don’t seem to be so completely different from me. The way in which I see it, everybody who swallows the orange capsule has already signed the contract for the final word cash struggle.
The following time you see your favourite UFC or Bellator MMA fighter at a Bitcoin convention don’t look bewildered. As a substitute give them a heads-up, understanding you’re…
