You’re minding your own business, investing in a balanced portfolio, planning for retirement, not especially worried about macroeconomics.

Then along comes Bitcoin:

“The root problem with conventional currency is all the trust that’s required to make it work.
The central bank must be trusted not to debase the currency, but the history of fiat currencies is full of breaches of that trust.”
— Satoshi Nakamoto, 2009
source

“If you own fiat, you are poor.” — Michael Saylor

“Fiat money debt imperialists die under a global Bitcoin standard.” — Max Keiser
source

Suddenly, the world is on fire.
Fiat is collapsing.
Banks are stealing your money.
You’re being robbed.

And wouldn’t you know it — Bitcoin is the solution.

This isn’t just a financial pitch. It’s a persuasion tactic.

It follows a classic pattern from high-pressure sales:
Disrupt–Then–Reframe (DTR)

It works like this:

🔁 The Pattern:

  1. Disrupt: Create confusion or fear.
    “The money in your wallet is being debased by the second.”

  2. Reframe: Offer a simple, emotionally satisfying solution.
    “Bitcoin is scarce and decentralized. It can’t be printed or corrupted.”

  3. Close: Prompt urgent action.
    “Buy now. Stack sats. Escape the system.”

But here’s the thing:

Before hearing this pitch, most people didn’t think fiat was collapsing.
They weren’t searching for a solution.
And in many cases, they already had one — a diversified portfolio of productive capital like stocks and bonds. A long-term strategy built on real-world utility, cash flows, and resilience.

Bitcoin didn’t fix a broken system for them — it persuaded them their system was broken in the first place.

It introduces the disease in order to sell the cure.

🚨 Why this matters:

Disrupt-Then-Reframe works by shaking your mental footing, just enough to make you more receptive to a narrative that promises clarity, empowerment, and urgency. It bypasses skepticism with emotion:

  • Fear of being left behind
  • Panic over inflation
  • The promise of safety and independence

But a problem that only exists inside the pitch isn’t necessarily real — no matter how many memes, whitepapers, or charts are thrown at you.

If the only way to sell a solution is to first convince you you’re in crisis, maybe it’s not a revolution.
Maybe it’s just a really effective sales funnel.

If someone knocks on your door to warn you about a fire you didn’t smell, check if they’re also selling hoses.