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What Does HFSP Mean?

May 7, 2023 by Roy Donk
Home » Basic Bitcoin Knowledge » What Does HFSP Mean?
What does hfsp mean? very small dollar bill. low value. poor. Have Fun Staying Poor (HFSP)

You may have gotten into an argument with someone on Twitter, or seen a salty nocoiner say something about bitcoin, and then a large group of laser-eyed accounts left hundreds of responses with the acronym H.F.S.P. What does HFSP mean?

Much like taking an ‘L’, receiving an ‘H’ from someone isn’t exactly good news.

HFSP means Have Fun Staying Poor.

When someone tells you to “Have Fun Staying Poor”, they are basically dismissing one of your financial decisions. You can do whatever the hell you want to do, but it’s still a bad idea. It’s like seeing your best friend spend $200 on something you think is a waste of money, but what are you going to do about it? After all, you aren’t their financial advisor.

In the context of bitcoin, HFSP is often used on altcoiners who buy into ridiculous narratives like high yielding DeFi tokens or NFTs, but it can also be used on salty nocoiners who continually FUD bitcoin and don’t own any bitcoin despite plenty of evidence that they should.

Even after lengthy explanations and reasonable responses, some people still can’t be helped, so you just kind of have to move on with your life and let them make their own decisions. You accept that they’ll figure it out on their own, but just to leave the conversation with a bit of flare, you tell them to have fun staying poor.

Well, some people just skip straight to the HFSP part and it’s one of the reasons why many bitcoiners are accused of being toxic maximalists.

Regardless of whether or not you agree with the tactic, the message is clear and has merit. The message is that bitcoin is good money – great money, in fact. You should be saving at least some of your money in bitcoin. If you haven’t taken the time to do your own research and aren’t interested in doing it, then, well, you do you and I’ll keep buying bitcoin.

A friend who recently told me he has no money to buy #BTC just bought a $500 pillow.

This is your brain on the fiat standard.

Have fun staying poor I guess…

— Thomas Demetz (@t_demetz) January 14, 2021
(Real Story) I have a friend who bought a $6,000 massage chair just weeks after telling me he didn’t have any extra money to buy bitcoin.

In This Article

Toggle
  • Have Fun Staying Poor
    • The Origins Of Have Fun Staying Poor
    • HFSP In Context
      • Have Fun Staying Poor Memes & Jokes
      • Not Everyone Likes Telling People To Have Fun Staying Poor
    • Final Thoughts: Is HFSP Still A Good Meme?

Have Fun Staying Poor

The Origins Of Have Fun Staying Poor

There are actually a number of times the exact phrase “have fun staying poor” was used on Twitter before its association with the crypto world, and I assume that no single person coined the phrase. Similar, although not exactly the same, is the meme of Stop Being Poor, made famous by the photoshopped image of Paris Hilton wearing a shirt with that exact phrase.

Its use was popularized in crypto before it was adopted by bitcoiners, but what really got the meme moving was the popular crypto Twitter personality Udi Werthermer, who, for whatever reason, really memed this phrase into existence through consistency and humor. For a while, there was even a website and a Telegram group, though neither seem to be active these days.

⚓️ B-T-Sea Shanty #2 ⚓️

Have Fun Staying Poor

For all nocoiners and true enemies of the Bitcoin network. pic.twitter.com/rh0HXF51M7

— BTC Minstrel (@BTCMinstrel) July 4, 2022

The meme culminated in songs, printed mugs and T’s, and even a few people saying it on live television.

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HFSP In Context

Have Fun Staying Poor as a meme doesn’t actually target poor people. It’s a way of saying that someone is making a bad financial decision, namely that they don’t own bitcoin. For example, we all know that Warren Buffet is not poor, and yet, here’s someone saying that he should have fun staying poor. Why?

Have fun staying poor. pic.twitter.com/KWHtXD2OON

— Michael Batnick (@michaelbatnick) February 9, 2021

His comment that “cryptocurrencies will end badly” is not the worst thing he’s said about bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, so it’s no secret that he’s not a fan. Telling him to have fun staying poor basically means that he’s just going to have to find out for himself that he’s wrong. Good luck with your Coca-Cola stock buddy!

Below is another exchange that demonstrates how to use HSFP to simply disagree with someone’s investment choice. In this context, Barry Silbert is adding ZCash to his fund, against the advice of his Twitter followers, and then he taunts them by purchasing more.

The response? You guessed it.

Have fun staying poor

— Crypto Bitlord (@crypto_bitlord7) December 5, 2021

Have Fun Staying Poor Memes & Jokes

Of course, once something hits the meme machine, it turns into all other types of jokes. The funny thing about many Bitcoin Twitter jokes and memes is that many normies outside of the circle can’t really tell the difference between what’s real and what’s a joke.

Anyway, here’s a pretty good one about a dad telling his kids to have fun staying poor for Christmas.

I asked my kids what they wanted for Christmas this year and neither of them said Bitcoin, so I put a note in their stocking saying “Have fun staying poor”

— Privatize Everything (@PrivatizeEdu) December 25, 2021

Not Everyone Likes Telling People To Have Fun Staying Poor

As I mentioned, some people end up not getting it. There are plenty of people who are upset about the meme, saying that it’s rude, immature, and doesn’t help grow the bitcoin community to be more inclusive.

I think the “have fun staying poor” statement is really insulting. It’s really rude, and I wish that wasn’t a part of the bitcoin community. I understand where it comes from, and that it’s a frustration with people not “getting” #bitcoin. Doesn’t make it right. We can do better.

— Noah Kaufman, MD (@noahkaufmanmd) December 29, 2020

What’s interesting about these comments is that these people seem to not understand that HFSP is not supposed to be targeted at people who are actually poor and uneducated about bitcoin. It’s targeting smart people who refuse to see what’s right in front of them, despite patient explanations and evidence.

It’s OK to be ignorant, but when you’re presented with the information, what else am I supposed to do? I can’t just keep holding your hand and rubbing your back and making you feel OK with bitcoin maximalism.

John Carvalho [source 43:15]

Bitcoin is not a company or an organization. When you interact with random people online, you are going to meet all types of personalities. My advice to someone offended by hearing HFSP is to just move on and then talk to someone kinder. Don’t let a mean person online stop you from learning about Bitcoin.

We try ¯_(ツ)_/¯ #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/VzcUsv6Yf4

— Ḿ̷̯a̵̡̽ṱ̵̃t̵̡̄y̸̼͠ ̵͚͋G̶̖͘ 58k ⚡ (@itsyaboymattyg) June 3, 2022

Final Thoughts: Is HFSP Still A Good Meme?

As of 2022, the meme of HFSP is kind of a dead meme. You don’t hear it very much, although once in a while the opportunity pops up for a good zinger. Personally, I’ve had plenty of conversations about bitcoin with my friends over the years that have just left me exhausted to the point of just giving up and saying, “You know what, if you really want to figure it out, you’ll do the research”, and that’s the end of the conversation.

I never actually told them to have fun staying poor, but I think it’s OK to just give people the tools they need and answer the immediate questions they have, and they’ll figure out bitcoin when it becomes interesting or useful to them. Even the shitcoiners will figure it out one of these days. If they don’t, well, good luck to them and their investments, but they may not get an invite to the citadel.

Satoshi said, if you don't believe me or don't get it… Have Fun Staying Poor

— Stephan Livera (@stephanlivera) December 27, 2020
Category: Basic Bitcoin KnowledgeTag: Bitcoin Culture, Bitcoin Dictionary

About Roy Donk

Bitcoin Foqus was started by a “Bitcoin Guy” who had nobody else to talk to about Bitcoin. I wanted to start a site that covered the basics of Bitcoin in an easy-to understand way, and remain focused on Bitcoin, without getting distracted by things like blockchain, crypto, or Web3. [More]

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