Why the Bitcoin Blockchain Requires Bitcoin

If you want to place data onto the Bitcoin blockchain, you need a means of conveyance. Satoshi called this bitcoin. The bitcoin is to the Bitcoin network what chips are to a casino: If you want to play poker, you must convert your dollars into chips. The chips are your means of conveyance – you use them to play the games, and when you’re done, you convert your chips back into dollars. 

Ditto for the Bitcoin blockchain: if you want to put blocks of data onto the chain, you must use the coin that is native to the system. Satoshi invented them and instead of calling them dollars, pennies, chips, tokens or shares, Satoshi called them bitcoin.

So, if you want to engage with Satoshi’s blockchain, you must use bitcoin. It has its own ticker symbol (BTC) just like publicly traded stocks.