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2024-09-17 15:38:28

bitcoinwell on Nostr: "A man worth his salt" 🧂 You've heard before it, maybe you've said it yourself But ...

"A man worth his salt" 🧂

You've heard before it, maybe you've said it yourself

But why is this expression used in admiration or respect, when a box of salt costs a couple bucks at the grocery store?

And what does salt have to do with bitcoin?

The answer may surprise you!

First, let's go back to Ancient Rome, its 100 BC

Salt is a valuable commodity

Salt frees people from the whims of the seasons by enabling long term food preparation

Salt could mean the difference between life and death

Salt production was minimal, salt was hard to obtain

Rome learned how to import salt from the Mediterranean, some say the first roman roads were built to transport salt from the sea to the capital

Roman soldiers were paid, in part, in salt. Likely a mixture of coinage and salt.

If a Roman Soldier slacked at his duties, the salt from his payment would be cut as he was 'not worth his salt'.

The latin world 'sal' means salt.

It is believed that roman soldiers were paid in salt and thats why the latin word 'salarium' is our origin for 'salary'.

Today salt is not a precious commodity.

Increased technological sophistication meant that harvesting salt became increasingly easier, increasing the amount of available salt and lowering its price.

This is the case with most commodities today, even gold.

As technology increases, stock to flow increases as well.

As bitcoiners know, an increasing stock to flow ratio can lower the per unit value of a commodity.

Bitcoin is immune to salt's downfall because increased technological sophistication cannot increase bitcoin production

Who knows, a few decades from now when bitcoin becomes the primary monetary system+unit in the world, maybe people will stop saying "a man worth his salt"

Bitcoin will be the money everyone desires.

The expression may even evolve to be:
"a man worth his sats" 🤔
Author Public Key
npub19mf4jm44umnup4he4cdqrjk3us966qhdnc3zrlpjx93y4x95e3uq9qkfu2