I apologize for the clickbaitish headline. I will explain it shortly.

But first, a confession: I am a Bitcoin HODLer. Whether through mining, staking, fauceting, trading, or using DeFi, I am stacking satoshis as fast as I can manage.

Further, selling my Bitcoin is a last resort for me. I sell my altcoins if I need to use crypto funds.

It is the mentality of refusing to part with my Bitcoin which drove me to the subject line of this post. By never considering selling my Bitcoin, I am passing up opportunities to encourage its use. When buying something from a local merchant, I don't ask, "Do you take Bitcoin?"

Even if the person you are asking isn't empowered to take Bitcoin, they may mention it to the owner/boss that some guy asked if we took Bitcoin for payment. If they didn't know what Bitcoin was before, they'll probably look it up. If they did know, it might plant a seed for future acceptance of Bitcoin.

Now imagine if all the HODLers out there started asking, "Do you take Bitcoin?" at places that don't take Bitcoin currently, that might get people's attention.

The odds are very low that the response to that question will be "Yes, we take Bitcoin" so the cost of encouraging Bitcoin acceptance with this simple question is just a little discomfort of rejection, probably followed by the relief of not having to give up your hard-earned satoshis.