The battle for MP3s and how decentralization always wins.

Back in 1998, I landed one of my first jobs at a computer store called CompUSA. This was the kind of place that hosted celebration parties when new Windows versions dropped. As a teenager, I worked the tech station, selling loads of RAM and listening to customers vent about their faulty printers.

One day, a product called the Diamond Rio MP3 Player arrived. My boss rushed over and told me, "I want one before they're banned!" You see, MP3s were this new, legally questionable audio format back then - they existed only in niche computer circles. That all changed when the Rio player acknowledged that MP3s were something people wanted.

A month after hitting our shelves, the Recording Industry Association of America sued Diamond, requesting a restraining order on Rio sales. While not the first ever MP3 player, the Rio was the first marketed to mainstream buyers. During that month, our tiny stash of 6 Rios sold out fast. I remember selling one to a dude (they were about $300 back then I think) and kinda wondering why he was interested. I said, "With the lawsuit coming from the RIAA, I doubt you will be able to find anything to play on it." We talked about Napster and Limewire, and how they were going to be targeted next (they were). He was adamant that there would always be a network, somewhere, supporting MP3s because they were so small they could be transferred P2P without any trouble. The RIAA wouldn't be able to shut it down if they tried. This customer bought two Rios, resolute that MP3 freedom could not be contained.

Just three years post-Rio, BitTorrent emerged. Despite losing their lawsuit, the RIAA aggressively prosecuted MP3 downloaders - targeting thousands with legal threats and fines. They annihilated early networks like Napster, but decentralization helped file-sharing persist and thrive.

Today, BitTorrent remains uncontainable, still enabling authorized (and unauthorized) media downloads. The occasional settlement letter or lawsuit arises, but decentralization prevents total suppression. Streaming services arose largely from these early MP3 struggles. Other innovations, like game distributor Steam, also responded to piracy threats with better legal options. (Steam actually uses torrent architecture to provide faster downloads in some instances!) It's why Apply Music took off. To think of MP3s as being illegal is ridiculous now.

When comparing MP3s and Bitcoin, some compelling parallels exist - small transaction sizes, seamless transfers, decentralized networks. However, bitcoin's programmed scarcity truly distinguishes it from infinitely reproducible MP3s. Nonetheless, observing this history shows why some of us believe so strongly in Bitcoin's antifragile staying power. Like Mp3's, there will be struggles against bitcoin, but the network can never be stopped. Decentralized networks like Bitcoin and BitTorrent are highly resilient because their distributed structure means there is no central point of control or failure. Without any central servers to target, the only way to shut them down is to eliminate every node - an impossible task given the global scale, not to mention how readily new nodes emerge. Essentially, they are a hydra that keeps multiplying heads each time one is cut off. Their tiny transaction and file sizes (thank you SegWit) allow seamless dispersal across internet connections as slower speeds become less relevant. By trading directly instead of relying on intermediaries, decentralized networks neuter threats to data availability, integrity, and access. BitTorrent and Bitcoin prove that going distributed sparks innovation - not crime and is the future of our culture, politics, and economic activity. Decentralization is The Great Enlightenment we have been hoping for.