The standard answer people in crypto give, when asked about the bitcoin/blockchain bubble, is that it's just like the 90's, and we're in 199X, where X is sometimes 4, 5 or 6 but never 8 or 9. It's the closest point of reference for most of us; it makes sense because it was also a tech bubble, and (best of all) it gives an upper barrier to reference against when we think, "maybe this is all going up a bit too fast".

But maybe we're thinking a little too small here. Maybe it isn't the *19* 90's all over again, but the *14* 90's.

Maybe this is more like European explorers discovering the New World. 

Consider the vast amount of free labor that has been available online since the internet as we know it was born in the 90's. Wikipedia is one such example, but there are many other projects that have harnessed the power of volunteers. A great deal of our internet is powered on Linux servers, for instance. Much of the development that has gone into Linux, an open source project, has been unpaid.

Bitcoin has shown us that public/private encryption can be the bedrock of monetary systems. Now that the idea of safe, decentralized value transfer on the internet has been established, there is a scramble to find every last inch of real estate-*online* real estate-in a manifest destiny sort of sprint.

<center>![A_Turning_Point_picture.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmdUNJjLcpzeLGi18GRmKYcUFmzRRx1SVc3oShUokLK99c/A_Turning_Point_picture.png)</center>
<center>*France, land of the weak hands! They could've hodl'd if they didn't have their silly Revolution.*</center>

One of the most exciting things about this space is that no matter what happens from here on out, there is a new layer to the economy that didn't exist before. There are new ways to do things that were impossible a few months ago.

Every single one of us who are interested now can contribute. And contributions *pay*.

I look forward to reading the success stories of those from more remote corners of the world using platforms like steemit to change their lives. We're watching a global free market rapidly expand and it is going to drastically change the balance of power in our world...for good, or for bad.

The constant harping of the bubble nature of this space is likely a good sign that this isn't a bubble...yet. Naysayers aren't holding cryptocurrency. The more naysayers, the more money on the sidelines. It's when the bubble chatter stops that you should be worried.

Regardless of bubbles, we live in a new Age of Exploration. I'm grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this vast experiment, and look forward to what we build together in this *new* New World.