Truth for the Commoner (TFTC), a media company and prominent Bitcoin advocate, has launched a new browser extension called "Opportunity Cost" that displays online prices in Bitcoin (BTC) or satoshis. The extension, released on Wednesday, aims to promote Bitcoin adoption, encourage rational economic calculations, and normalize a Bitcoin standard where financial decisions are weighed in BTC.
According to TFTC founder Marty Bent, the extension addresses the distorted price signals caused by fiat currencies. He argues that interest rate manipulation and money printing have corrupted the concept of opportunity cost, making traditional pricing signals unreliable. Bent believes that Bitcoin reintroduces a proper hurdle rate, enabling individuals to truly assess the opportunity cost of their spending decisions.
The "Opportunity Cost" browser extension is designed to be user-friendly and privacy-focused. It operates locally within the browser, meaning it doesn't collect browsing data or send it to external servers. The only external data it uses is the Bitcoin to fiat price conversion, ensuring user privacy while providing real-time pricing information. Users can choose to display prices in either BTC or satoshis, the smallest unit of Bitcoin, and set their preferred reference currency. The extension supports multiple currencies, including USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, and CNY.
The extension offers flexible display options, including a dual-display mode that shows both fiat and Bitcoin prices side-by-side, and a Bitcoin-only mode that replaces fiat prices entirely. This allows users to gradually transition to thinking in Bitcoin terms and better understand the value of their purchases in the context of a decentralized, scarce digital asset.
Bent outlined three primary goals for the "Opportunity Cost" extension. First, it aims to promote low time preference behavior, encouraging users to prioritize future needs over immediate consumption. By seeing prices in Bitcoin, users are more likely to consider the long-term value of saving in a currency with a limited supply. Second, the extension seeks to increase Bitcoin adoption by making it easier for people to think about prices and financial decisions in BTC. Finally, it provides a tool for business owners to calculate revenue denominated in BTC, facilitating the transition to a Bitcoin standard.
The development of "Opportunity Cost" began as an augmented reality app idea but evolved into a browser extension based on user feedback. Bent credits advancements in AI tools like ChatGPT and Replit for enabling rapid prototyping and development. The extension is fully open-source, with its code available on GitHub, encouraging community contributions and improvements.
The "Opportunity Cost" extension is available for Chrome and is expected to be available for Firefox soon. It is part of a broader effort by TFTC to promote Bitcoin education and adoption through various tools, products, and services. By normalizing Bitcoin-denominated prices and financial calculations, TFTC hopes to foster a more sound and sustainable financial system based on the principles of scarcity, transparency, and decentralization.
The launch of the "Opportunity Cost" browser extension has been met with positive feedback from the Bitcoin community. Many see it as a valuable tool for promoting Bitcoin adoption and encouraging individuals to rethink their relationship with money. By making it easier to see prices in Bitcoin, the extension helps users understand the true cost of their purchases and make more informed financial decisions in a world increasingly impacted by fiat currency inflation and monetary manipulation.
