TLDR: Here are talking points in a format that can be used to help spread awareness and dispel FUD, or, how I spend my Saturday mornings.

Most people misunderstand Bitcoin because they still think about it as a replacement for cash—something you'd use to buy coffee or groceries. That might be part of its future, but right now, the real game is happening at a much higher level: institutional adoption.

Game Theory & Bitcoin: The Bigger Picture

Game theory helps explain why major players are starting to position themselves around Bitcoin today. In any competitive system—whether it’s markets, geopolitics, or even biological evolution—actors make strategic decisions based on what others are doing. In Bitcoin’s case, early institutional movers are recognizing that waiting too long means paying a higher price later—or worse, being left behind entirely.

This is why MicroStrategy (MSTR) continues to aggressively accumulate Bitcoin. They’re increasing the probability of global adoption by forcing other institutions to consider their own Bitcoin strategy. If you're a large company or nation-state watching this unfold, you face a choice:

1. Act early and gain an advantage.
2. Ignore it and risk getting priced out later.

This is a classic coordination problem—if enough large players move in, Bitcoin's role as a global financial asset becomes inevitable. The first movers gain the most, while those who hesitate will be forced to join at much higher costs.

What Is Front-Running & Why It Matters for Emerging Tech

Front-running traditionally refers to a trader or institution making a move ahead of others based on privileged information. In traditional finance, this might involve high-frequency trading.

In emerging tech, front-running takes a different form. It means understanding a paradigm shift before the masses do and positioning accordingly. Most of the world still doesn't fully grasp Bitcoin's macro role, so the "pool of capital" available to front-run remains relatively small. Additionally, access is still relatively limited and prohibitive (but this is changing).

Right now, front-running Bitcoin adoption is limited by the close-mindedness of those who still think about it as a payments system instead of a monetary base layer. That’s why large institutions are slowly accumulating rather than going all in—most of their competitors haven’t even realized they need to play this game yet.

Bitcoin as an Institutional Settlement Layer

This cannot be stressed enough right now: the shift we’re seeing isn’t about Bitcoin being used for coffee transactions—it’s about it becoming a settlement layer for large-scale institutional transactions. Central banks, hedge funds, multinational corporations—these are the players that will drive the next phase of adoption.

MSTR understands this. BlackRock understands this, the general public does not. This is the opportunity of lifetimes.