None of us can see the future. We don’t know what 2036 will bring.
We all like to tell ourselves that we can, or do, and maybe we do actually see small pieces of it coming before we catch up to them, but none of us see the whole picture. That’s, at the end of the day, part of what it is to be human.
Nevertheless we can’t seem to help ourselves from at least trying.
Going into the second half of the 2020s we are coming out of a time period that marked wild and tumultuous disruption, with the world changing in both big and small ways that none of us could have imagined in our wildest dreams at the start of 2020. As we enter the second half of the decade, events around the world are starting to push us in a direction that seems like it will be even more disruptive and unpredictable than the first half of the decade.
In this issue, we are going to do what we can’t help ourselves doing, we’re going to try to predict the shape of the next decade. I say shape, and not just the future itself, because that is the best that human beings can actually do.
These pages are filled with pieces written by some of the most influential and intelligent people that engage in this space trying to look ahead and provide something of value to you, the reader. Some have given deep analysis of how larger geopolitical trends will unfold, others have written more lighthearted musings on what different aspects of our lives will be like day-to-day, and some have written what I can only call warnings or reminders of what to keep in mind while navigating the coming ten years.
Every few generations, the world seems to go through some tumultuous upheaval. A radical shift that upends the order and institutions that maintained the previous shape of the world. I think we are entering that next period now, and we’ve probably been standing in its doorway since 2020.
Chaos and change are not solely reasons to give in to fear, or anxiety, they are also reasons to have hope and optimism. When things fall apart, it doesn’t just mean the end of what was there before, it means there is space to build something new. It signals the beginning of something new in the exact same moment that it signals the end of something old.
The next ten years are going to be the biggest opportunity yet for Bitcoin. We can either spend them optimistically building, putting our energy into bringing into reality the positive impact we see that Bitcoin can have on the world, or we can squander them doing the opposite.
Ultimately, the shape the future has when it finally arrives at our doorstep will be the shape that all of our individual actions and choices mold it into.
Make them count.
Don’t miss your chance to own The 2036 Issue — featuring articles written by many influential figures in the space pondering the challenges of the next decade!
This piece is the Letter from the Editor featured in the latest Print edition of Bitcoin Magazine, The 2036 Issue. We’re sharing it here as an early look at the ideas explored throughout the full issue.