Why do Bitcoin holders often form a strong 'believer culture'?

Hey, buddy, you've hit the nail on the head with this question. Having been in the crypto space for so many years, I've seen this very clearly. Why do people in the Bitcoin community seem so "die-hard," almost like believers? Actually, it's not complicated. I'll give you a few analogies, and you'll understand.

Think about it: when this thing first came out, apart from a few geeks, no one understood it. Everyone called it a scam, "air money." The earliest holders were like Columbus saying the Earth was round; they got on board despite global ridicule and skepticism. In such an environment, they had to stick together, encourage each other, or they would have been drowned by criticism long ago. This pioneering experience of "we are right, the world is wrong" naturally fosters an unbreakable community culture.

So, you can understand how this "faith" was forged step by step from the following perspectives:

1. It's not just money; it's more like a social experiment

For many early and core holders, Bitcoin isn't just an asset to make money from. Behind it lies an ideology: dissatisfaction with and resistance against the existing financial system (e.g., banks, governments printing excessive money). It offers a possibility – a global monetary system that is beyond anyone's control, completely transparent, where you are truly in charge of your own money.

When what you hold isn't just about your wallet, but also about your ideals and vision for the future, you're no longer a simple "investor"; you become a "revolutionary" or a "builder." Naturally, you'll defend it, promote it, and hope more people join this "new world."

2. "Consensus" is its sole source of value

This point is the most crucial. Think about it, why is gold valuable? Because it's rare, stable, and universally recognized for thousands of years. Why are stocks valuable? Because there's a company behind them making profits. What about Bitcoin? There's no company, no government behind it; it's just a bunch of code.

Its value comes entirely from "everyone believing it has value." The more people believe in it, the more people use it, the higher its value. Therefore, every holder naturally has an incentive to maintain this "consensus," to persuade others, and to let this "snowball of faith" grow larger and larger. It's like a club where every member wants the club to become more famous and have more members, because that makes their own membership card more valuable. So, spreading the "gospel" and strengthening the "faith" becomes an instinct for everyone.

3. Having weathered storms together, the bond is different

Bitcoin's price volatility is notoriously thrilling, like a rollercoaster ride. Today your assets might double, tomorrow they might be halved.

Imagine a group of people who together endured crashes that 99% couldn't withstand, watching their money evaporate but still choosing to "HODL" (crypto slang for holding firm and not selling), and then together experiencing the euphoria of a crazy bull run. This shared, extreme emotional experience, like comrades who've been through battle together, forms a very strong emotional bond. They'll feel, "We've been tested, unlike those speculators outside who run at the first dip." This "comradeship" evolves into a loyalty akin to faith.

4. High learning curve creates a "knowledge barrier"

To truly understand Bitcoin – concepts like blockchain, mining, private keys, decentralization... these have a high learning cost for ordinary people. When you've spent a lot of time and effort, finally grasped this complex system, and genuinely resonate with it, you develop a sense of superiority, feeling "everyone else is drunk, only I am sober."

This feeling makes you more willing to interact with others who are equally "in the know," and regarding external skepticism, you might feel, "They simply don't understand, and it's not worth explaining." Over time, a chasm of knowledge and understanding forms between those inside and outside the circle. Those within become more united due to their shared "secret knowledge."

So, you see, this strong "believer culture" is actually a concoction of Idealism (overthrowing the old world) + Real-world gains (price appreciation) + Shared experiences (weathering crashes together) + Group identity (we are the knowledgeable few). It is both the core driving force that allowed Bitcoin to go from worthless to what it is today, and indeed what makes outsiders view it as somewhat fanatical and hard to comprehend.