• 1. Sincere Unawareness
• 2. Skepticism & Dismissal
• 3. Curiosity & Discomfort
• 4. Research, Unlearning, Reframing Reality
• 5. Deeper Engagement & Contribution
• Supporting Others

I’ve noticed five common states that describe how people relate to Bitcoin. They’re not hierarchical. No one is better or worse and we can move between them depending on what life throws at us; just points on a map. I found that putting names to them helped me understand my own journey, and maybe they’ll do the same for you.

§1. Sincere Unawareness

At this stage we are unaware of Bitcoin, or it has entered our awareness and registered as noise. Many people sense that something is not quite right in their lives and in the world, but are encouraged to work harder. Hustle culture and the idea that anyone can make it if they try hard enough are fiat-based ideals that fuel us to do more inside an inflationary system designed to steal our productivity. Others may feel financially secure, trusting of governments, with no perceived problem to solve. In either case, the awareness has not yet arrived.

§2. Skepticism & Dismissal

Skepticism and dismissal are natural initial reactions to Bitcoin. We might see potential benefits but ultimately conclude it is deeply flawed: Used by criminals, bad for the environment, bound to be shut down by governments. After all, human history is rife with broken trust and co-opted money. I know these objections from the inside. Recently, someone interrupted a presentation I was giving, listing reasons why Bitcoin would fail. My initial internal reaction was to refute each point, but while they were speaking I realized it was just them saying “this is my cognitive dissonance.” If they came all the way to that educational event, they had at least some interest in resolving it. I thanked them for sharing and invited them to keep asking questions. I chose to hold space for their concerns rather than battle an ego not yet ready to move further along.

§3. Curiosity & Discomfort

Now we have noticed something is not quite right. The cognitive dissonance can no longer be ignored; we ask bigger questions and seek deeper truths. What is money? Where does it come from? Why does it have such a hold on our lives? This is also the stage where fiat-adjacent distractions appear: The allure of other cryptocurrencies, promises of high yields on sats. Paper dreams wrapped in Bitcoin clothing, tied to a fiat reality. Bitcoin just reveals truth when we keep looking. Speaking with a couple after a presentation, I learned a valuable lesson. He was in traditional finance, she was curious about the tech; both agreed that fiat is printed money and that we live in a fabricated reality. They asked genuinely deep questions, but every time we agreed on something, they had a new rebuttal. I watched them oscillate between State 2 and State 3 for over an hour. It was clear they were grappling with big ideas, but they were not yet ready for the shift the conversation was asking of them. After over an hour of unwinding conditioning and holding space, I felt completely depleted. I learned that questions are not always readiness.

§4. Research, Unlearning, Reframing Reality

Bitcoin is a pattern interrupt that requires us to look deeply into the void. An insatiable curiosity and intrinsic motivation are undeniable at this stage; we must resolve the cognitive dissonance. This part of the journey is akin to ego death, or a spiritual awakening’s dark night of the soul. We need to understand Bitcoin for ourselves. Countless podcasts and books eventually lead us to meetups and conferences. We learn about central banking. We may begin to see how “politics are theatre on top of broken money” (Jeff Booth) and that everything ties back to inflation. The excitement is palpable: “Bitcoin fixes this.” We feel hopeful, eager, and empowered with a renewed sense of agency.

§5. Deeper Engagement & Contribution

The cognitive dissonance has been resolved. Values and actions feel more aligned. There is a growing sense of grounded calm, peace, and clarity. The outlook is long-term; we are less drawn to clickbait about price or how much Bitcoin we need to own. We try to embody the signal through the noise, knowing we may not always succeed. There is a fine line (a WuWei) between knowing that Bitcoin needs us and recognising that it does not; that it could fail, but it will succeed because of our choices and actions. We may participate in its success by actively voting with our node and maintaining a secure, decentralised monetary network for all and find fulfilment in channelling our time, energy, and skills into the Bitcoin ecosystem and receiving value in sats in return.

§Supporting Others

Most of us, once through the harder stages, feel a genuine pull to help the people we care about do the same, but we cannot help someone who does not want to be helped. I wrote a chapter in Beyond Money on this, and it transformed considerably through a year of editing. The first version was about asking questions and meeting people where they are. The published version holds more wisdom: be the change, and welcome those who are ready. I still find this genuinely difficult sometimes with family and friends. Releasing the desire for them to “get it” and redirecting energy toward organising free Bitcoin educational events that attract those who are ready has helped. We are all on a unique path, and not everyone will awaken, and that is okay. Author Anne Lamott wrote that “lighthouses do not go running all over an island looking for boats to save; they just stand there shining.”[1] Creating space for others, organising meetups, participating on Nostr, running a node, being the change: This is what actually reaches people.

These states are just a map for understanding where we are and what the resistance we encounter in ourselves and others is actually about, not a destination. If this framework resonates, Beyond Money goes much deeper. You can find it at daniella.io.

Sources

[1] Lamott, A. (1994). Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life.

Original: <https://daniella.io/states-of-bitcoin-awakening/>