So, the 2024 ETF and Halving hype actually paid off. Bitcoin is at highs we used to just dream about, and it's a legit asset on Wall Street's books. We won. But now that the suits are running the show, the vibe is... sterile. The wild, revolutionary energy is gone, replaced by corporate custody solutions and regulatory chatter. The cypherpunk dream feels like it's been traded for a spot in a 401(k). Is this what "making it" looks like? A higher price tag in exchange for its soul? What's the point if Bitcoin just becomes another toy for the system it was supposed to challenge?
You started your post saying that the demand for BTC in combination with the halving paid off, which has led BTC to all-time highs. Then you ask if this is actually what "making it" looks like. The answer is an easy YES. It's a financial asset whose success is measured in terms of price appreciation over time. This loss of soul stuff you're referring to is just nonsense. What more were you wanting? For Bitcoin to still be the shiny new experimental toy appreciated only by nerds 15 years later? It had to grow up eventually.
I dunno, maybe people actually using it as currency as it was intended? Yesterday I saw a video about China. Honestly, the US looked like a 3rd world country compared to Shenzhen. Anyhow, that wasn't the important part, but their payment methods. Pretty much everybody could pay with their phone everywhere (banking the masses!!) but even with their faces and PALMS!!! (obviously not everywhere) I mean you could pay with your palm, how banking of the masses it is? So someone tell me again, why do we need crypto??
China can turn off these payment methods for those that don't toe the party line. Bitcoin is censorship resistant and permissionless.
The party line is capitalism, who wouldn't want to toe that? Yeah I forgot about that censorless claim when they rolled back the blockchain to get back stolen coins.