Guo Hongjie - Founder of Nakamoto University
What mindset do we have when we join the blockchain industry? What has made us believe and persist for so long? To this day, does our original intention and what we desire still exist? If we had the chance to choose again, would we still make the same choice?
As time flies to the present, the tide gradually recedes, and illusions slowly dissipate. We are gradually emerging from the revelry of yesterday's indulgence. Although we still have reluctance, confusion, and attachment, we will ultimately face reality - "What exactly is blockchain? What can blockchain do? How much value can blockchain bring? What does blockchain have to do with me?"
On the roulette of fate, how many people think they are not participating in the gamble, yet unknowingly become chips for others' bets. Domesticated livestock, no matter how glorious their past, cannot escape the fate of becoming food. Thus, for us, "Is blockchain still alive?"
Blockchain has become our shackles, imprisoning our thoughts and freedom. The hopeful Eden we initially imagined no longer exists. Those who came to this land first have turned it into their own ranch. So, "Do we continue to submit, or do we resist?", "Where is our path?", "Where is hope?"
We look around, only to find a wasteland, filled with lifelessness, seemingly only despair remains. But despair is also hope, and unfamiliar paths can lead us home.
"What is Bitcoin?" This seemingly simple question reignites hope. Looking back, many arrogant people think they understand what bitcoin is, yet cannot clearly articulate what bitcoin is.
Some say Bitcoin is blockchain, but is bitcoin really blockchain? Is Bitcoin a database? Is blockchain a distributed ledger? Does a consortium chain have any significance?
If so-called experts truly understood bitcoin, why can't they create something that surpasses bitcoin?
The meaning of blockchain's existence, the significance of our progress on this path, proves that bitcoin is not the blockchain.
"Bitcoin is the blockchain" is already the wrong answer. So, what is bitcoin?
To this end, we proposed an answer that is closer to being correct: bitcoin is a CAS (Complex Adaptive System). In a complex adaptive system, the whole is more complex and meaningful than any individual part or the sum of parts. The mainstream understanding of bitcoin in the past was primarily reductionist, breaking a system down into components and then reassembling them. This method works well for handling simple linear problems. However, its flaw is that it cannot solve complex, dynamic issues.
Thus, we have discovered a broader, yet untapped expanse of the world. Bitcoin is the starting point, the key, and a glimpse into a brand new world. It also announces to us that the era of cryptocurrency has only just begun. And the foundation of the cryptocurrency era is certainly not built on blockchain.
In this brand new world, humans are no longer merely tool makers. Humans will have the ability to create countless systems similar to bitcoin, systems that can coexist and promote each other, thus reconstructing today's world.
