BTCfi: The Dinosaurs Were Right
A Love Letter to Bitcoin's True HODLers
TL;DR: While the crypto world chased shiny new mirages in DeFi, you stayed steadfast, keeping your Bitcoin in cold storage. They called you boring, paranoid, and outdated. Then $17.5B in customer funds disappeared, and suddenly, “boring” became brilliant. Here’s why your commitment to self-custody not only preserved Bitcoin’s soul but also laid the groundwork for its future—and how Acre aligns with your vision for a secure, decentralized tomorrow.
Mockery Turns to Vindication
Remember when they laughed?
- “Have fun staying poor!”
- “OK Boomer, I’m making 20% APY!”
- “You just don’t get innovative finance.”
Turns out “innovative finance” had a knack for innovating its way straight into bankruptcy.
2022’s cost of “innovation” reads like a horror story:
- Celsius: $17 billion worth of “customer interactions” reduced to zero.
- BlockFi: Institutional-grade losses, not gains.
- FTX: Everyone’s funds were made "Sam Bankman-Fried."
- Terra/Luna: $40 billion erased at breakneck speed.
Meanwhile, cold storage stalwarts lost exactly $0. You didn’t just avoid catastrophe—you upheld the principles that make Bitcoin revolutionary.
The Principles You Never Abandoned
While others rebranded old banking risks as “DeFi,” you remembered the essence of Bitcoin:
- Not your keys, not your coins.
- Self-custody is sovereignty.
- Security isn’t optional—it’s the foundation.
These weren’t just catchy slogans. They were the bedrock of financial freedom, drawing clear lines in the sand against the creeping shadow of centralization.
Acre: True to Bitcoin’s Ideals
Unlike platforms that promise the world only to collapse under their own risks, Acre aligns with the values that Bitcoin HODLers have defended for over a decade. Acre’s backbone is decentralized tBTC, a system with a proven track record of long-term security. By building on this foundation, Acre ensures that your Bitcoin remains sovereign while offering rewards that align with the self-custody ethos.
Here’s why Acre isn’t just “another honeypot”:
- Decentralized Bitcoin, Always Sovereign: With Acre, your Bitcoin is never custodied by a central authority, and it cannot be seized.
- Completely Permissionless Access: No need to sign up or provide personal information—Acre is accessible to anyone, anywhere.
- Withdrawals Direct to Bitcoin Main Chain: Funds are withdrawn directly to the Bitcoin main chain, not intermediaries or synthetic assets.
- Rewards Without Ethereum Accounts: Acre allows you to earn rewards without ever touching an Ethereum account.
- Hardware Wallet Integration: Manage your Acre account directly from a hardware wallet, preserving the highest standard of security.
The Evolution of Being "Boring"
A quick timeline of vindication:
- 2020: “Cold storage is for dinosaurs.”
- 2021: “You’re missing out on DeFi summer.”
- 2022: “Can I have my coins back, please?”
- 2023: “Maybe those self-custody folks were onto something.”
- 2024: “Security first” becomes the new rallying cry.
Acre represents the next phase of this evolution. It doesn’t ask you to abandon what worked—it amplifies it. By making decentralized security the foundation, Acre shows how Bitcoin can evolve without betraying its first principles.
Beyond Vindication: Building the Future
Being proven right feels good. But what comes next is even better: building a future that works.
The same commitment to security that protected billions is now the foundation for innovation. Acre doesn’t compromise Bitcoin’s principles to chase trends. Instead, it creates a bridge between the security-first ethos of self-custody and the opportunities of DeFi, showing the world that Bitcoin’s best days are ahead.
To the HODLers: You Were Right—Now You’re Ready
When the history of crypto is written, 2022 won’t just mark the year of spectacular failures. It’ll stand as the year you—Bitcoin’s true believers—proved the skeptics wrong.
And in 2024, being right is no longer about survival. It’s about being ready to lead the next revolution.
Cold storage warriors, decentralized pioneers, and Acre users—you are the architects of Bitcoin’s future. Turns out, patience and paranoia weren’t just virtues. They were superpowers.
Stay sovereign. Stay secure. Stay ready.
The next era belongs to you.
