Google “Bitcoin lifestyle” and you get Lamborghinis, promised returns and guys in sunglasses posing in front of rented private jets. We've been around the Bitcoin world for years, and that has very little to do with the everyday lives of the Bitcoiners we know. The real Bitcoin lifestyle is a lot less spectacular, and that's exactly how we like it.
What the Bitcoin lifestyle isn't
The cliché lumps Bitcoiners and speculators together. If you spend all day staring at charts, shuffling coins back and forth and hoping for a quick exit, you're a trader. Anyone's free to do that, it's just not what we mean when we talk about the Bitcoin lifestyle. Bitcoiners aren't traders, and Bitcoin is not crypto. Most Bitcoiners we know actually check the price less often than their friends who don't own any Bitcoin. They've made their decision and they get on with their lives.
Low Time Preference: the heart of it all
At its core it's about Low Time Preference: you make decisions today that you'll still be happy with ten years from now. Sounds abstract, but in everyday life it looks pretty concrete:
- Saving: Lots of Bitcoiners put a fixed amount aside every month, no fuss, just as a habit.
- Buying less, but better: When you think in decades, you tend to pay more attention to whether tools, furniture and clothes will last.
- Health: The Bitcoiners we meet go running, lift weights and cook for themselves. Your own body is what you have to live with the longest, after all.
Self-custody, and not just for Bitcoin
“Not your keys, not your coins” is more than a technical tip. Once you get why you hold your own keys, you start looking more closely at other things as well: What data am I handing over? Who am I making myself dependent on? What can I fix, understand and control on my own? Privacy is part of that too, and we wrote about it in Bitcoin and Privacy.
How to spot a Bitcoiner in everyday life
Most of the time you can't. There are a few clues, though: they ask at restaurants whether they can pay with Lightning. They give people books about money. And sometimes they wear a small logo in the same colour as the fabric, one you'll only notice if you know what to look for.
We're Bitcoiners. We live and love Bitcoin and stand fully behind it. How visibly you wear that is up to you: with the logo in orange, or subtle, tone on tone. For the subtle version, there are our Privacy pieces.
Paying in sats, and why lots of people still don't
You can pay with Bitcoin in our shop, on-chain and over Lightning. Even so, plenty of people would rather pay in euros and keep their sats. You spend the weaker money first and hold on to the harder one. In the Bitcoin world people like to quote Gresham's law for this. The nice part is that you get to choose.
A Bitcoiner's wardrobe
We started Bitcoin21 because we couldn't find clothes like this ourselves: simple basics that suit the way we actually live, not the cliché. For hoodies, sweatshirts and T-shirts we go for heavy fabrics, on most pieces the logo is embroidered, and the cuts should still look good a few years from now. If you want to get started: you'll wear the Bitcoin T-shirts almost all year round, the Bitcoin Hoodie comes out when it gets colder, and the Bitcoin Cap goes with both. Designed and finished in Hamburg. We walk you through exactly how we do it in Designed in Hamburg.
If you want the details on what to look for when buying Bitcoin clothing, like fabric weight, embroidery or print, and fit, have a look at our guide to buying Bitcoin clothing.
Frequently asked questions about the Bitcoin lifestyle
What is the Bitcoin lifestyle?
An everyday life built on Low Time Preference: saving, preferring a few good things over lots of stuff, keeping your Bitcoin in your own custody and taking responsibility for yourself. Trading and price hype barely play a part in it.
How can you tell someone is a Bitcoiner?
Rarely by how they come across, more often by their habits: they think long term, count in sats and ask about Lightning. Sometimes also by a subtle logo in the same colour as the fabric.
What do Bitcoiners wear?
Ideally, things that last. Fast fashion is a poor fit for a kind of money that, for a lot of people, is about holding its value over the long run. That's why many go for a few good basics with simple cuts.
Keep stacking sats, Tobi & Henry
