Bitcoin Basics Series — Part 3
“So Bitcoin… That’s Just One of Those Cryptos, Right?”
If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard that, I’d have a pretty big stack of fiat money (and I’d quickly swap it for Bitcoin).
Here’s the thing: Calling Bitcoin “just another crypto” is like calling the internet “just another app.” It completely misses the point.
And tied to that misconception is another one I hear often:
“Sure, Bitcoin was first… but won’t something newer and better eventually replace it? You know, like how Netscape was replaced by Chrome, or AOL was replaced by faster, better internet services?”
Sounds logical at first glance.
But it’s dead wrong, and here’s why…
The Crypto Bucket — and Why It’s Misleading
“Crypto” is a catch-all term for thousands of coins and tokens that live on blockchains.
Some people lump them all together — Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, you name it.
But lumping them together is a mistake.
Most of these projects look more like startups than money:
- They have founders and marketing teams.
- They change their rules or supply when it suits them.
- They raise venture capital, chase hype cycles, and often crash hard.
Some of them might be interesting experiments.
But make no mistake: They are fundamentally different from Bitcoin.
What Makes Bitcoin Different
Bitcoin stands alone.
Here’s why:
- Immaculate Conception: Bitcoin wasn’t launched with a “premine” or insider advantage. Satoshi mined the first coins publicly and then disappeared. No one person or group profits from its creation.
- Truly Decentralized: There’s no CEO, no headquarters, no board of directors. No single point of failure.
- Fixed Supply: Only 21 million will ever exist — and nobody can change that rule.
- Battle-Tested: For over 15 years, Bitcoin has resisted every attempt to hack, shut down, or co-opt it.
- Network Effect: It has the largest user base, the most secure computing power, and the strongest brand in the space.
Put simply: Bitcoin isn’t a company. It’s not someone’s project.
It’s money — the “hardest” money ever in the history of mankind.
The Netscape / AOL Myth
Here’s where the Netscape and AOL comparisons fall apart…
Netscape and AOL were companies. They had competitors. They were products in a marketplace that could be out-innovated. And they were.
Bitcoin isn’t a company. It’s a protocol. More like email or the internet itself.
Nobody replaced “email” with a “better email.” Email just became the standard.
Bitcoin is doing the same thing with money.
It isn’t trying to out-compete the latest altcoin or trendy project. It’s already won the category that matters: being the best form of money humanity has ever seen.
Why This Distinction Matters
If you’re new to all this, you might wonder: “Okay, but why should I care about the difference?”
Because beginners are the ones who most often get burned by the confusion.
If you think Bitcoin = “crypto,” you might assume all coins are equal.
They aren’t.
You might chase cheap-looking coins thinking they’ll “be the next Bitcoin.”
They won’t.
You might get distracted by flashy promises when Bitcoin doesn’t need to make any promises.
It just runs, block after block, without fail for over 15 years.
Super quick side note: What does “block after block” even mean?
Every ~10 minutes, Bitcoin bundles the latest transactions into what’s called a “block,” and that block is permanently added to its public ledger (the blockchain). That’s how Bitcoin keeps marching forward — steadily, reliably, and predictably. No breaks. No bailouts.
The Freedom Lens
Here’s another way to see it…
Most crypto projects are chasing something else — profits, features, speed, hype, or speculation.
Bitcoin’s mission is simple — to give the world money that can’t be inflated, censored, or seized.
That’s why Bitcoin isn’t just another crypto. It’s a category of one.
A Balanced Note on “Crypto”
Now, don’t get me wrong — I’m not saying nothing else in the digital asset space matters. Some people do very well in areas outside of Bitcoin.
Take my friend Andy Howard, for example.
Andy teaches our Automatic Payment Pools program at Awesomely, where he shows how to earn returns from liquidity pools in the crypto markets.
And Andy’s one of the best at it because he’s put in the reps and plays that game at a high level.
The point is, opportunities like that exist — but they’re a different lane than Bitcoin.
- APP is about tapping into specific strategies in the crypto markets.
- Bitcoin, on the other hand, is the foundation of this whole movement — the piece everyone should understand sooner or later.
They don’t compete with each other. They serve different purposes.
The Takeaway
Bitcoin isn’t Netscape. It isn’t AOL. And it’s not “just another crypto.”
It’s the first — and still the only — truly decentralized, fixed-supply, battle-tested money the world has ever seen.
If Bitcoin is digital gold, most “crypto” is just digital penny stocks.
If you’re new to this world, start with Bitcoin. Understand it first.
Once you do, the noise will start to fade, and the signal will come through loud and clear.
What’s Ahead in This Series
This article is part of my Bitcoin Basics series…
In Part 1, we unpacked what Bitcoin actually is and why it’s not “internet money.” In Part 2, we explored its scarcity — the 21 million cap that makes it unique.
Now, in Part 3, we’ve cut through the noise to show why Bitcoin isn’t “crypto.”
Next, we’re going to get practical: How do you safely own, hold, and use Bitcoin without losing sleep?
👉 Coming up in Part 4: “Bitcoin Safety Basics: How to Hold It Without Losing Sleep.”