GetOnZero: Living on the Bitcoin Standard
A synthesis of Round Rock Bitcoiners meetups on the philosophy, acquisition, deployment, and spending of Bitcoin as primary money.
What GetOnZero Means
GetOnZero is the personal finance philosophy of minimizing or eliminating fiat currency holdings in favor of Bitcoin. It is not a purity test, nor does it require extreme austerity. The goal is to upgrade your money: replace the depreciating asset (fiat) with the appreciating one (Bitcoin), then spend from that position of strength.
As Sahil Chaturvedi framed it at Meetup #24: dollars are a legacy payment rail to move bitcoin. The mindset shift is from "I own Bitcoin as an investment" to "I use Bitcoin as money."
The Fundamental Rule: Spend Less Than You Earn
Before acquisition methods matter, the arithmetic must work. GetOnZero is impossible if outflows exceed inflows. The discipline is simple:
- Track every dollar and sat that enters and leaves
- Cut discretionary spending that does not serve your values
- Save the surplus in the hardest money available
- Let compound appreciation do what fiat inflation destroys
Bitcoin rewards patience. Fiat punishes it. The spread between those two curves is where wealth is built.
Stage 1: Acquire
KYC Rails (Convenient, Tracked)
These are the on-ramps most people start with. They require identity verification, link to bank accounts, and create a paper trail. Use them for the portion of your stack you are comfortable attributing to your name.
| Platform | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cash App | Mobile app | Simple BTC buys, Lightning sends, mainstream adoption |
| Strike | Payment app | Bank-linked purchases, global Lightning transfers, merchant tools |
| River | Broker | Bitcoin-only, auto-buy DCA, cold storage custody option |
| Swan | Broker | Automated DCA, education-focused, withdrawal to self-custody |
| Fold | Rewards card | Sats-back on fiat spending, gamified, KYC required |
| Relai | European app | Simple DCA, non-custodial option, EU-focused |
| Bull Bitcoin | Canadian broker | Bitcoin-only, bill pay feature, non-custodial withdrawal |
Best practice: buy on these platforms, then withdraw to self-custody immediately. Do not leave bitcoin on an exchange or custodial app longer than necessary.
Non-KYC Rails (Private, Sovereign)
For the portion of your stack that is nobody's business:
- Bisq - Peer-to-peer exchange over Tor, non-custodial, no identity required
- Bisq 2 (Easy) - Reputation-based trades without multisig deposits, ideal for smaller amounts
- RoboSats - Lightning-native P2P exchange, no accounts, no KYC
- HodlHodl - P2P with multisig escrow, no identity verification
- Azteco - Buy vouchers with cash, redeem for bitcoin
- Bitcoin ATMs - Cash in, bitcoin out (use non-KYC machines with reasonable fees)
- P2P in person - Local meetups, friends, family; cash or goods for sats
Verification: GPG-sign all binaries before installation. Verify PGP keys of counterparties on P2P platforms.
The Hybrid Approach
Most Bitcoiners use both. KYC rails for regular DCA and convenience. Non-KYC rails for larger purchases, privacy-sensitive amounts, or geographic regions with restrictive banking. There is no shame in using KYC to start. The goal is to trend toward sovereignty over time.
Stage 2: Hold (Self-Custody)
Once acquired, the priority shifts to preservation:
- Cold storage hardware wallets (Coldcard, Trezor, Ledger, SeedSigner) for the majority
- Lightning node (Umbrel, StartOS, RaspiBlitz, RoninDojo, MyNode) for spending-ready sats
- Multisig (Nunchuk, Unchained, Casa, CARAVAN) for shared/family custody
- Paper/steel backup for seed phrases, stored in separate physical locations
The principle: not your keys, not your coins. Every compromise on self-custody is a concession to counterparty risk.
Stage 3: Spend (Circular Economy)
The end game is not hoarding—it's using Bitcoin as money:
- Merchant directories: BTC Map, Plebscan, CoinMap
- Gift cards: Bitrefill, Fold, Azteco
- Payment processors: BTCPay Server, Strike (merchant), Breez, Zeus, Phoenix
- Peer-to-peer: Cash, goods, services directly for sats
Every transaction that settles in Bitcoin instead of fiat is a vote for the standard you want to live under.
Stage 4: Teach (Recursive Onboarding)
The strongest signal is helping others getonzero:
- Host a meetup or workshop
- Gift a hardware wallet + setup session
- Orange-pill with patience, not pressure
- Build tools that make Bitcoin easier to use than fiat
The standard grows one person at a time.
Source Material
This synthesis draws from Round Rock Bitcoiners meetups: