My day with Bitcoin Cash: A short story by Thanah85

Today was my first day back in the office since Mar '20. I decided to wear the custom shirt I ordered last month for my trip to King's Island.

This shirt starts conversations.

As you can imagine, small groups of people catching up after 15 months formed. Naturally the conversation of my group turned to crypto (how could it not with me wearing that shirt?), and I regaled them with the stories of me seamlessly handing out BCH and explaining trustless instant free p2p electronic cash to perfect strangers while standing in line for roller coasters.

Most of my listeners today were already familiar with crypto in general and BCH in particular from my past orations, and indeed several of them already owned some crypto (including BCH) as a passive investment. I'm a software engineer, so I work with naturally clever and curious people, and they asked all the sensible follow-up questions.

I ended up demonstrating the bitcoin.com wallet app for the group by sending my colleague Matt $10 of BCH via text-message using the apps shareable-link feature (a really awesome gizmo for on-boarding a new user - basically creates a wallet for them and all they have to do is open it). Then we had him try a send by giving me $9 back (I told him to just send $1 but he already has a bunch of BCH and was more interested in the app than the free crypto), and naturally he was dazzled by the speed.

Fast-forward to lunch-time. We decide to go to Raising Cane's. Dining room is closed. I'm in the drive-thru w/ (the same) Matt and Mason in the car. I figure it's a long-shot, but I ask Mason if he happens to have some Bitcoin Cash. He says maybe. Checks his Coinbase app and he does! So I pitch the idea of heroically saving the cashier guy two swipes by paying for everyone's lunch using my debit card and receiving payment from them in BCH. They dig the idea. 2 box combos, 1 three-finger combo, coke, sprite, dr. pepper - $24

We're back at the office eating in the break room. The sauce is delicious. We shoot the breeze. We finish eating. The time comes for money to change hands. I whip out my phone, they whip out theirs. QR codes scanned, 0-conf validation for instant transfers, $0.00 fees, bingo-bango.

Our lunch companions see us masterfully wielding the financial tools of tomorrow and, again being familiar with crypto in general from having me in their lives and again being talented people working in an industry that favors sharp minds, start asking me the big questions. i'm on a roll - hashing, nonces, merkle roots, block propagation, crypto backed by energy the fundamental unit of value and scarcity in the universe, decentralized consensus. these are software guys so they speak the language. it's not a huge group (8 including me) but its great fun. During the chat Rakesh downloads the bitcoin.com wallet and I send him $10. I show him how to send me $1 back. It's super fast and easy and free. Yes its across the table and only $1, but if it was $1,000,000,000 and you were in Thailand, it would still be fast and easy and free. "But what about the other $9?" That's a gift from me-to-you, my man! Read the shirt!

Lunch is over, Mason wants to play ping-pong. I check the time. 1:20. I evangelized for too long. Sorry Mason, I have an appointment at 1:45, gotta run.

1:45 - I'm glad to see my massage therapist because I'm not in my 20s anymore.

3:00 - feeling much better. I ask her if she's still willing to accept a tip in Bitcoin Cash. I had introduced her during my previous visit (gave her $30; $20 for the great massage and $10 for being a good sport about trying something new). She says yes! I whip out my phone, she whips out hers - QR code scan, $20, slide-to-send, done. I save her address to the wallet's address book w/ her name, so next time we can save those 10 extra seconds by skipping the QR-code part.

Arrive home, buy more BCH from Coinbase to replenish the ones I've used recently. Transferred $200 into my mobile wallet to fund my next round of Bitcoin Cash adventures.

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Just doing my part to keep the revolution moving forward!

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Here's a semi-relevant picture. This is me explaining in technical-detail how blockchains have made peer-to-peer electronic cash a reality to a room full of super-smart people back in 2017. The table on the right is where I was sitting today during lunch.

The story starts with Satoshi...

If you're curious, the bitcoin.com app is non-custodial so all the transactions from my tale today are on the BCH blockchain. You can see them here:

https://explorer.bitcoin.com/bch/address/bitcoincash:qphf8lsk8xnzny0m267yfhw9gx5njdj72uvnxmnzqp

691355 - $9 from Matt

691368 - $8 each from Mason and Matt for lunch

691374 - $10 to Rakesh, $1 back

691393 - $20 tip to massage therapist

691394 - $200 from Coinbase

Here's the $10 to Matt's new wallet:

https://explorer.bitcoin.com/bch/tx/785fa9e39f68f5b130dae13eaef82a6622c9ffa9b43f3f38299f4443b240a37e

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Thanks for reading!