How we choose to visualize data shapes the story we tell. When it comes to bitcoin, we read its trends through charts and models.

The question is: are we using the right lens?

In a recent conversation, Jack and I explored why logarithmic charts provide a clearer lens for understanding bitcoin’s long-term trends – and why linear charts often fall short:

📈 The Limits of Linear Charts

Linear charts are fine if you’re tracking small, steady movements.

But when you apply them to something that grows exponentially – like bitcoin or other disruptive technologies – they start to distort reality. Peaks look extreme, pullbacks look terrifying, and the steady growth underneath gets buried in noise.

I’ve seen plenty of folks walk away with the wrong impression because they’re zoomed in on the wrong chart.

🔎 Why Logarithmic Charts Are Superior

Log charts fix this by treating percentage changes equally.

For example: a move from $10 → $100 shows up the same as $10,000 → $100,000.

This perspective reveals long-term cycles and adoption-driven patterns that linear charts just can’t capture. When you step back and look at bitcoin through that lens, the wild swings feel less chaotic and more like part of a much bigger story.

🚀 Adoption Curves and Disruptive Technologies

Jack and I also talked about how bitcoin’s trajectory mirrors other disruptive technologies. Electricity, the internet, smartphones – they all followed adoption curves that start slow, accelerate rapidly, and then settle into ubiquity.

Bitcoin is on that same curve. Looking at it on a logarithmic scale lets us see those adoption patterns playing out in real time.

🌍 A Broader Perspective on Value

At the end of the day, zooming out is key.

Headlines will always focus on price swings, but what really matters is network adoption. The more people and businesses using bitcoin, the stronger its foundation becomes. That’s the story I see when I look at log charts.

Not volatility – but progress, adoption, and resilience.


Are you a business owner curious about how bitcoin can fit into your payments strategy?