Bitcoin isn't quite as hilarious as it used to be. In the past, bitcoiners were obsessed with attempting to expand bitcoin and achieving the elusive 'mass-adoption'. They would peddle bitcoin to local restaurants and stores. They would push bitcoin on friends and family. The very best would attempt to sell giant companies on bitcoin with expertly-crafted emails.

Bitcoin forums were filled with euphoria over cryptocurrency technology and its supposed superiority over evil fiat. Bitcoin would end wars. Bitcoin would topple governments. Bitcoin would usher in an era of libertarian rule. All of this was blended with open price speculation. Everyone was going to get rich while saving the world.

Times have changed.

Bitcoiners today have abandoned all hope for legitimate acceptance by the outside world. There is little to no discussion about expanding bitcoin. Companies that rely on actual usage of bitcoin as a currency have failed or been forced to diversify out of bitcoin. The once never ending stream of 'next big thing' services has diminished to a trickle.

Even in the bitcoin universe, it seems there is a limit to how much spin the community can absorb. Advancements like side-chains and the lightning network have been 'just around the corner' for years. Thousands of breathless reports from cryptocurrency news outlets suggesting bitcoin is on the verge of mass adoption have led to nothing.

So what's left for bitcoiners? Price. Take a look at r/bitcoin today.

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Bitcoin is nothing more than a speculative instrument and bitcoiners are barely even trying to hide it.

Bitcoin as a currency has failed. Bitcoin as a technology has failed (or at best stalled). Blockchain is a faded buzzword. Price is the only thing resembling victory that bitcoiners can achieve at this point. They can tout the rising price of bitcoin as validation of their faith in cryptocurrency. After all, how could bitcoin be a failure if coins are worth more than $1,000 each? It doesn't seem to matter if bitcoin usage has dried up as long as coins are worth more today than yesterday.

The irony is price is the one thing bitcoiners can influence. Demand is driving the price up, but the source of that demand is what matters. Bitcoin is not being purchased for use as a currency. It is not being purchased to transfer or store value. Bitcoin has dropped all pretense of serving as a currency and is now only a vehicle for speculation.

Bitcoiners are buying coins from one another at ever higher prices, and they're celebrating the accomplishment. This is their moment. This is the validation.

How long can they keep the scheme running? Nobody knows. The normal market mechanisms which maintain fair and rational pricing don't exist in the bitcoin space. Exchanges that facilitate bitcoin trade aren't regulated and have no accountability whatsoever. If those operating the exchanges are voluntarily acting in the best interests of their customers, this would truly be a first for the bitcoin world.

The important question is how much hilarity will the modern bitcoiner deliver? There is reason to worry that the single-minded bitcoin speculator may not deliver much comedy. Compared to the naive bitcoin enthusiasts of the past, today's bitcoin speculator is one-dimensional and boring.

This puts bitcoin comedy aficionados in an awkward position. We may actually need bitcoin to gather some 'wins' to draw back the type of bitcoiners that make the cryptocurrency hilarious. We need more over-the-top libertarians and ideas guys to flock back to bitcoin. We need to reseed the bitcoin comedy fields.

This is a call to action. We need everyone that enjoys bitcoin comedy to start pushing bitcoin. Tell your friends and family about bitcoin. Print out paper bitcoin wallets and pass them out at Halloween. Start sending faxes and emails to companies demanding that they accept bitcoin. Tell your local restaurants that they need to take bitcoin. Use a bitcoin ATM. Buy some narcotics online with bitcoin. Epoxy your ethernet ports.

Do your part. We need to get this comedy machine going again.