-
@ Andrew G. Stanton
2025-05-19 21:18:46After the pruning came clarity.\ And after the clarity came a quiet but relentless question:\ What now?
If I wasn’t going back to Web3, if I wasn’t going to pretend anymore — not in faith, not in finance — then I needed to start building again. But this time, with different materials. Different rhythms. A different spirit.
Starting Over on Solid Ground
I’d spent years exploring tokens, networks, and well-intentioned communities. But most of it, I see now, was sand. It moved with the tides. The incentives shifted. The values bent. And when the storms came — personal, financial, spiritual — much of what I’d been part of collapsed or exposed its shallowness.
So I returned to the beginning: What can’t be faked?
That’s where Bitcoin came in — not just as an asset, but as a foundation.\ It taught me cost. Time. Truth. It doesn’t market itself. It just is.\ A system that punishes shortcuts, rewards discipline, and invites peace.
And the more I leaned in, the more I realized:\ This isn’t just money. This is philosophy. This is soil.
Pruned to Plant Again
I used to be a buy-and-hold investor. I still carry those instincts. But in 2020–21, I discovered trading — and with it, a new kind of discipline. Not gambling. Not speculation. Stewardship under pressure. Real-time decision-making with skin in the game.
My grandfather, who passed in the late '90s, probably would’ve looked a little dimly on trading. He lived off his dividends. Stocks he held for decades. He wasn’t chasing. He was rooting. But he would’ve respected the discipline — the clarity — when done right.
He also saw things I didn’t. He once told me I wasn’t raised properly. It hurt at the time, but now I understand. He saw the drift — not just in me, but in the culture. He understood that frugality means nothing if it’s not paired with truth.
I think he would’ve respected what I’m doing now — even if he wouldn't have fully understand it.
What I’m Building Now
-
StartNation – A Bitcoin-aligned equity accelerator. Proof-based. No tokens. No hype.
-
Golden Gate Group Investments – Real estate with a vision to integrate BTC in payments and ownership. Still early. Still real.
-
Blue Planet Ventures – Equities trading with daily proof-of-work and sats-based performance tracking.
-
A garden – Yes, literal food. Soil and seed. Hypdropnics. Bitcoin taught me patience; gardening reinforces it.
I’m not building a brand. I’m building a life. And I’m doing it in public — not to be seen, but to help others see. That it’s possible to step off the hype rails and still thrive.
Bitcoin: The Turning Point
It wasn’t until last fall that Bitcoin truly became central for me.\ Not just part of a portfolio — the lens through which I see capital, time, and truth.
I don’t see it as speculative anymore. I see it as inevitable. In 20–30 years, I believe Bitcoin will be the de facto reserve currency — even if not in name. Those who hold it will steward wealth not because they played the game, but because they opted out of it early.
I’m stacking not to escape — but to prepare. Not to prove I'm right — but to live rightly.
Legacy Without a Platform
I don’t have children.\ But I do have nieces. Nephews. Brothers. Sisters. Cousins. In-Laws.
And I know they’re watching — even if they don’t say it.\ I want to show them that you can live with truth, walk by faith, work with your hands — and still thrive.
I’m not stacking for applause. I’m stacking for legacy.\ I’m building not just for the next quarter — but for the next generation.
And if someone, years from now, asks why I chose this path, I want to say:
Because it was real.\ Because it was proof.\ Because it was built to last.
⚡ If this series has encouraged or challenged you, zap a few sats/bitcoin. It keeps me building.
✍️ Catch up on the full series here:\ \ Part 1: The Drift -> https://primal.net/andrewgstanton/why-i-left-web3-for-proof-of-work-%E2%80%93-part-1%3A-the-drift\ Part 2: The Breaking Point -> https://primal.net/andrewgstanton/why-i-left-web3-for-proof-of-work---part-2%3A-the-breaking-point\ Part 3: The Return -> https://primal.net/andrewgstanton/why-i-left-web3-for-proof-of-work-%E2%80%93-part-3%3A-the-return\ Part 4: Proof Of Work as Philosophy -> https://primal.net/andrewgstanton/why-i-left-web3-for-proof-of-work-%E2%80%93-part-4%3A-proof-of-work-as-philosophy\ Part 5: Building Again (what you are reading now...)
Written with help from ChatGPT (GPT-4), edited and posted by me.
-