Leo’s Lesson Eight 🐾
Leo finally found it! After lots of lessons, questions, discoveries, and one very important realization, Leo finally found the answer he’s been searching for.
Is there a kind of money that no one controls and whose rules can never be changed?
Yes! It’s Bitcoin!
What Leo finally discovered has changed everything…but what is Bitcoin?
Let’s Meet Bitcoin!
Leo had heard the word before. His dad never learned about, so he couldn’t explain it to him. But Leo was curious and kept asking questions even though the grown ups around them didn’t have the answers. So Leo set out to discover the truth about Bitcoin for himself, and found out that Bitcoin is a kind of money unlike any money that has ever existed before!
Bitcoin is accessible and easily transportable, limited in its supply, decentralized, and trustworthy.
It’s Accessible And Transportable
It’s Limited In Supply
It’s Decentralized
It’s Trustworthy
Leo realized Bitcoin is the answer to all the problems with money.
Why Only 21 Million Changes Everything
Leo thought back to Lesson Five when he learned how the supply of money matters. He thought about the printing press creating more and more money, and how each new dollar (or bone!) made the ones already in his piggy bank worth just a little less.
Then he thought about Bitcoin’s number: 21 million…Fixed…Forever.
Nobody can create more bones whenever they want or think they need to. There is no council. There is no stamp of approval. There is only the finite number, and that number cannot change...ever.
For the first time, Leo imagined a kind of money where saving felt completely safe, where the rules he learned about in Lesson Six, the rules made by central banks and commercial banks deciding how much money exists, simply did not apply.
Bitcoin’s limited supply was not a mistake…it was by design!
A Simple Leo Story
Leo remembered the two neighborhoods from his last lesson. One neighborhood where a council controlled the bones and created more whenever they wanted (hurting the value of the bones). Then a second neighborhood where the bones had unchangeable rules and could never be increased.
Now Leo understood the answer to his question, “What is Bitcoin?” Bitcoin is like the second neighborhood.
Leo imagined a single golden bone with a simple truth: there were only 21 million of these golden bones in the entire world, and that number could never grow.
Every dog who held one of these golden bones knew exactly what they had. Nobody could secretly create more and make their treasured golden bone worth less. Nobody could change the rules in the middle of the game. The bone simply was what it was, and it always would be.
Every dog with one of these golden bones never had to sell it to make use of its value. These dogs could just borrow against it forever and never have to get rid of it or sell it for money. Just think about that…a thing that will always have value that you can use as collateral forever.
Leo was happy to know that this kind of money didn’t need a council. This kind of money earns value simply by being trustworthy.
Why Bitcoin Doesn’t Need A Council
Leo thought back to Lesson Six and the dog council controlling all the bones from behind their big desk.
Bitcoin works completely different. Instead of one council making decisions, Bitcoin is maintained by thousands of computers all around the world, all following the exact same rules at the exact same time. Nobody is in charge because everybody who participates helps keep it honest together (Leo will explore this process in a later lesson!).
This is what people mean when they say Bitcoin is decentralized. There is no single desk. No single stamp. No single group of suited dogs who can change the rules to help themselves.
Leo found this idea remarkable.
A type of money that works because everyone follows the same rules together, instead of the type of money that works because we have to trust a small group of decision makers who make the rules and control it.
Is Bitcoin Too Good To Be True?
Leo wanted to be honest and thoughtful, the way he always tries to be. So he asked himself an important question.
If Bitcoin solves so many problems, why doesn’t everyone use it already?
The honest answer is that Bitcoin is actually still pretty new. It was only introduced in 2009, which means most adults today grew up without ever learning about it, the same way Leo’s dad never learned about it. New ideas, even good ones, take time for people (and dogs!) to understand and trust.
Bitcoin also comes with a big responsibility. Because no bank or council watches over it, keeping Bitcoin safe is entirely up to the person (or dog!) who owns it. Leo will explore Bitcoin storage and safety in a future lesson, because it’s actually one of the most important things we need to understand about it.
Leo isn’t here to tell us that Bitcoin is perfect or that everyone should rush to buy it tomorrow…Leo just wants us to understand what it is so we can ask good questions and make informed decisions together. Leo wants you to ask for yourself: what is Bitcoin?
What This Means For Leo’s Family
Leo thought about his dad again. His dad worked hard and saved carefully, but his dad was never given the chance to understand Bitcoin because by the time he heard about it, the conversation already felt too complicated, too late, and too uncertain.
Leo doesn’t want that for you or your family.
Understanding Bitcoin doesn’t mean rushing to do anything (although like Leo, you may want to!). It simply means having the knowledge to ask better questions so you can make the right choices for yourself, just like Leo has been doing this entire journey.
What is money, really?
Why does money lose value over time?
Who controls money, and what happens when big decisions are made?
Is there a better way?
And finally…
What is Bitcoin?
Leo found his answer..and now you and your family have the chance to understand it too.
Talking About Bitcoin With Others And As A Family
Bitcoin can feel like a big topic, but Leo believes every big topic starts with small, honest conversations. Here are some simple questions to explore together:
Had you heard of Bitcoin before? What did you think it was?
Why do you think it matters that only 21 million Bitcoin will ever exist?
How is Bitcoin different from the dog council controlling the bones in Leo’s last lesson?
What would change if you could save in something nobody could secretly create more of?
There are no wrong answers, just curiosity. That’s how Leo’s journey began.
Looking Back And Looking Ahead…
Leo now understands:
But Leo’s journey is far from over…
Now Leo has new questions…
How do you get Bitcoin? How do you keep it safe? How do you use it?
Can Bitcoin really lead to the kind of freedom Leo has been dreaming about? The kind of freedom he finds in Leo’s First Bitcoin!? Is it possible for all of us to have freedom?
Those questions lead Leo to his next lessons…and just like the dog with the golden collar in Leo’s First Bitcoin!, Leo is about to discover that this is only the beginning.
Until then, Leo keeps doing what he does best…being curious, asking questions, and learning one lesson at a time.🐾
Follow Leo on his full journey! Read Leo’s First Bitcoin! and download the Parent and Educator Guide at LeoThePuppy.com 🐾
