Getting back to Bitcoin basics, on today's show Trent and Dan get into a very important aspect of every's Bitcoin journey, which is mistakes. We all make them. Every Bitcoiner who has ever existed has made a number of dumb mistakes over the years, all of which lead you to having less Bitcoin that you otherwise would.

Especially if you are new to Bitcoin, learning about these mistakes - and how to avoid them - will be invaluable in helping you smartly grow your Bitcoin stack over time.

This will be an ongoing conversation over multiple episodes as there are a near endless amount of common mistakes all people make. Today we start with 3 of the most fundamental ones:

1. Not taking the time to understand Bitcoin. This is the keystone mistake and in many ways all other mistakes fall downstream of this one. Its crucially important, so take the time to study and really understand Bitcoin and what makes it so unique. The more time you spend with Bitcoin the more likely you are to make smarter decisions going forward. Put in the effort, its worth it. You will spend 40,000 to 50,000 hours of your life working for money, don't you think its worth it to spend 100 hours to learn about how money works?
2. Sitting on sidelines. So many people have little or no allocation to Bitcoin. Trillions upon trillions of dollars sitting on sidelines. Its natural for people to have hesitation or to hope for a big dip and a lower entry price. All very natural and understandable. But Bitcoin has an uncanny way of going up so fast and people remain on the sidelines. Don't be one of those people. Get in the game. Learn about dollar cost averaging, which is one of the solutions to this problem. And of course refer to #1 above and continue to learn about Bitcoin, it will make it easier to allocate smartly over time.
3. Thinking Bitcoin is a trade. One of the most common misconceptions about Bitcoin is that it is a trade to make more dollars. In reality its the opposite: dollars continue to go down in value (as governments continue to make more and more), while Bitcoin goes up in value over time. If anything, dollars are the short term trade to acquire the best store of value in the world in Bitcoin. Bitcoin is not a trade. It is not investing. It is saving part of your work and your value in the world into the hardest asset in world history with a fixed supply at the very beginning of its global adoption. And any time you sell your Bitcoin for dollars, you have to understand the price of Bitcoin will be much, much higher in the future.

Not financial advice, just two friends talking. Everyone needs to do what's right for them.