@ 1f79058c:eb86e1cb

I'm currently using this bash script to publish long-form content from local Markdown files to Nostr relays.

It requires all of yq, jq, and nak to be installed.

Usage

Create a signed Nostr event and print it to the console:

markdown_to_nostr.sh article-filename.md

Create a Nostr event and publish it to one or more relays:

markdown_to_nostr.sh article-filename.md ws://localhost:7777 wss://nostr.kosmos.org

Markdown format

You can specify your metadata as YAML in a Front Matter header. Here's an example file:

```md

title: "Good Morning" summary: "It's a beautiful day" image: https://example.com/i/beautiful-day.jpg date: 2025-04-24T15:00:00Z tags: gm, poetry published: false

---

In the blue sky just a few specks of gray
In the evening of a beautiful day
Though last night it rained and more rain on the way
And that more rain is needed 'twould be fair to say.

— Francis Duggan ```

The metadata keys are mostly self-explanatory. Note:

• All keys except for title are optional
• date, if present, will be set as the published_at date.
• If published is set to true, it will publish a kind 30023 event, otherwise a kind 30024 (draft)
• The d tag (widely used as URL slug for the article) will be the filename without the .md extension

@ 8d5ba92c:c6c3ecd5

Money is more than just a medium of exchange—it’s the current that drives economies, the lifeblood of societies, and the pulse of civilization itself. When money decays, so does the culture it sustains. Take fiat, for example. Created out of thin air and inflated into oblivion, it acts like poison—rewarding conformity over sovereignty, speculation over creation, and exploitation over collaboration.

A culture built this way fails to foster true progress. Instead, it pushes us into darker corners where creativity and truth become increasingly scarce.

From the food we eat to the media we consume, much of modern culture has become a reflection of this problem—prioritizing shortcuts, convenience, and profit at any cost. It seems there’s no room left for depth, authenticity, or connection anymore.

Art, for example—once a sacred space for meaning, and inner calling—has not been spared either. Stripped of its purpose, it too falls into gloom, weaponized to divide and manipulate rather than inspire beauty and growth.

“Art is the lie that reveals the truth” as Picasso once said.

Indeed, this intriguing perspective highlights the subjectivity of truth and the many ways art can be interpreted. While creative expression doesn’t always need to mirror reality one-to-one—actually, often reshaping it through the creator’s lens—much of what we’re surrounded with these days feels like a dangerous illusion built on the rotten incentives of decaying values.

The movies we watch, the music we hear, and the stories we absorb from books, articles, ads, and commercials—are too often crafted to condition specific behaviors. Greed, laziness, overconsumption, ignorance (feel free to add to this list). Instead of enriching our culture, they disconnect us from each other, as well as from our own minds, hearts, and souls.

If you see yourself as a Bitcoiner—or, as I like to call it, ‘a freedom fighter at heart’—and you care about building a world based on truth, freedom, and prosperity, please recognize that culture is also our battleground.

Artistic forms act as transformative forces in the fight against the status quo.

Join me and the hundreds of guests this May at Bitcoin FilmFest 2025.

You don’t have to be a creative person in the traditional sense—like a filmmaker, writer, painter, sculptor, musician, and so on—to have a direct impact on culture!

One way or another, you engage with creative realms anyway. The deeper you connect with them, the better you understand the reality we live in versus the future humanity deserves.

I know the process may take time, but I truly believe it’s possible. Unfiat The Culture!

Bitcoin FilmFest 2025. May 22-25, Warsaw, Poland.

The third annual edition of a unique event built at the intersection of independent films, art, and culture.

“Your narrative begins where centralized scripts end—explore the uncharted stories beyond the cinema.” - Details: bitcoinfilmfest.com/bff25/ - Grab 10% off your tickets with code YAKIHONNE!

@ f18b1f8f:5f442454

218684c8f0ba4c869250d3a2e6875c20

Retrograde, or "Emma", is a talent management agent for content creators. The interface is efficient - e-mail in, correspondence gets analysed and actions taken on behalf of a client. It helps clients manage deals and opportunities. Founded by Grace Beverley, Jake Browne and Gary Meehan.

Listing: https://agentlist.com/agent/218684c8f0ba4c869250d3a2e6875c20

@ 5188521b:008eb518

Ecology

When my father died, an entire ecosystem of beneficiaries withered. Moussa Ag El Khir funded scholarships and community projects, paying thousands of Dinars monthly to stop the oasis town of In Salah from burning up. The few families we knew operating outside the oil-field economy would be forced to flee to the Mediterranean coast, along with just about every other Berber.

It wasn’t unexpected. My father had cystic fibrosis for all sixty-one years of his life. So far, that’s the only legacy he’s passed on to his children. My brothers are just carriers, but me, his precious daughter ended up like him in more ways than one.

We sat there in the lawyer’s office in Algiers, my brothers and I, staring at the ledger which contained payment for his life’s work.

“And he only left one word in his will?” asked Ibrahim for the third time. Ecology.

The lawyer said Moussa was very clear. He chose each of the keys himself. The contents of the ledger would belong to whoever could decode his life — those who understood the real meaning. Then he cut all communications and walked into the Sahara. The Tuareg caravan on the road to Akabli found his body a week later, reddened by sand burn.

Earth

We made an agreement that day. To share each word we discovered. We could break the code together. Of course, Ibrahim and Hama didn’t share anything. We barely speak. That’s what happens when one child follows their father into science, and her two brothers move to France the minute they get rich enough to buy a wife. I bet they spent longer looking into legal loopholes to get their hands on my father’s assets than they did trying to identify the keys.

That day was the start of my second life, and I went from research assistant at a regional university to private-key detective. 2048 words and few clues where to start. Although I was 27, I was virtually a grandmother according to the In Salah wives. But of course, I could never be a grandmother, or even a mother. Every night, I scoured photos in the family archive. An initial sweep of his digital footprint returned no out-of-place instances of any keywords.

It took me a year to find the GPS tag he’d added to one photo — an eighteen-year-old daughter standing next to a father proud of his first infinite solar prototype. The panel has long-since been torn out by the oil corp, but the base is still there. I drove the three kilometres from the town limit and shone the high beams at the spot. When I got out, the air was cool but still thick with sand. A few more steps through sinking dunes, and I saw it. He’d scratched a little globe into the blistered metal, and for a moment, my mucus-laden lungs tasted clear air.

Trigger

The next word took three years. Friends, contacts, professors, biographers — visits to anyone with whom he might have left a clue. But it was in the In Salah hospital, where, upon a routine CF checkup with Jerome Devailier, a French doctor, ‘trigger’ appeared. The government might stack everything against the desert peoples, but they hadn’t taken away healthcare. I’d been living off the kindness of neighbours while finishing my thesis on the very solar technology my father developed. How could he have known the ‘buyer’ was just a tendril of the very oil company he sought to defeat.

Dr Devalier went through the list of carcinogens and allergens to avoid with my new drugs. Over forty triggers which could be my downfall. If I was lucky, I’d live as long as my father did.

By then, my research stipend was long gone. I existed on toughened bread and soup, which always carried the taste of the scorched city air. Yet, I stayed. The public library, disconnected from the grid by the oil corp, was where I finished my manuscript. They would fight its publication. Since father’s money no longer flowed into the town, many had deserted me. There were those who said he killed an entire people by selling his solar patent to the wrong buyers. Others in In Salah worshipped his name, but eventually, they all trudged north to the cities. My brothers sold the family home from under me, forcing me to follow.

When I returned from the hospital, I dug out my father’s medical documents. On every page, the word ‘trigger’ was underlined. That was the moment I knew my life’s work would be unlocking the ledger, not publishing studies on long-dead solar panel technology. That battle was lost.

They

All we need is a simple document, but here, it is the administrators’ job to send people away. Physical copies are only issued in extreme circumstances. Citizens’ Registry screens played endless repetitions of how to apply for digital documents. The shrill voices of family members desperate for the original copy of a pirated document drowned the TV messaging. Women removed headscarves and revealed thick black hair; teenagers paced. The atmosphere thickened with sweat. And hours passed. Each appointment required a reset of digital protocol, biometric tests, and identity cards from legal descendents. Through counterfeit identities, our Dinars leak into the hands of criminals, but still the government denies the need for bitcoin. They just print more money. They is the word my father used for the government that fought his patent so hard.

After a four-hour wait, I discovered that the physical death certificate included an ‘identifying mark’ on the deceased’s body. The ink was fresh — etched into the shoulder blade of a man who wished to turn his back on the government that ignored its people. The tattoo read aqqalan, the Tamasheq word for they.

Scheme

It took two trips to his cluttered Marseille office to convince him I was serious. Two visas, two flights, and the small amount from the sale of the family house. But few detectives wanted to work for a promise.

The ledger could not legally be owned in Algeria, and Laurent Mercier was the only serious professional who entertained a percentage of what was on there. The solar tech patent and documents from my father were enough to start Laurent on the trail. ‘Preliminary,’ he said, until I had the ledger in my possession.

“Flying is not easy with my condition,” I said.

He lowered his sunglasses. “Working is not easy without money.”

Contact with my brother through the lawyer in Algiers was achingly slow, but eventually they agreed to give me possession. What was 33% of nothing anyway? Years had gone by.

So, when I sat for the second time, in the sweaty office in Marseille, I gave Laurent the ledger, and he handed me a surprise. In all his business affairs, my father used little English, but the word ‘scheme’ appeared in all three company names he incorporated in the last three years of his life. We had our fifth word, and I finally had someone on my side.

Make

Some days, I could barely walk to the public library. I became lethargic and mostly sat in the cool dark of my room in the shelter. The government refused to provide housing outside of Algiers, but a Tuareg organisation from Mali opened a shelter in In Salah. Bulging eyes and faded clothes stared back in the mirror each day. How long had it been since I’d been to a wedding, or celebrated a friend’s child? Occupants came and went, and all that was left was a barren room and one meal per day.

As the sun punished the city with every ray of Allah’s untapped gift, streets grew thick with dust, and the local government fell, seat by seat, to oil execs. The only transport running was to and from the oil fields, which belched the remnants of the land into the sky. And still they worked. Still they sat on my father’s patent and refused to supply the world with efficient solar power.

With little else to cling onto, I harboured thoughts of how I could spend the ledger money. Fixing the town and replanting lost gardens. Bringing people back. That all took a back seat to decoding the message my father was sending. Laurent and I began to believe that the keys he chose formed some sort of instruction for his legacy.

Ten years to the day after his death, I was in the public library, looking for clues in an English history book. On my exit, the librarian stopped me.

“We have a gift for you, Kana.”

I waited while he fetched a package.

“Your father instructed me to give this to you. But not before this date.”

My hands tore open the package. More books, technical manuals, and hand-written notes. Amongst the papers was a tasselled leather bookmark embossed with the four letters that comprised one of the seven missing words. Make.

Citizen

It’s hard for a father in Algeria to admit to his daughter that she is his spirit — the heir to his life’s work. Of course he felt terrible guilt after our mother’s passing. That was when the letters started.

Moussa wrote to himself really, trying to come to terms with bringing a protégé into the world with a bright scientific mind and lungs that would snap her life expectancy. We communicated by letter for the last few years of his life — sharing the breakthroughs of his findings and what it might mean for our decaying oasis town. Analogue writing was the only real privacy, he said. His letters always ran to the same length, as if they were one lesson divided into equal chunks. We even exchanged letters during his last hospitalisation in Algiers. Those words were the only real strength I gained.

It was Laurent who analysed the letters with a new text scanning tool. For me, my father’s last letters were advice, regret, pain, and love, but to Laurent, they were simply a puzzle to solve to get one step closer.

Our letters gave Laurent the idea to communicate via physical mail. The process was painful, with letters sent from outlying towns before being shipped across the Alboran Sea and up into France. Muatin was one name my father called me. Like him, I dreamed of helping many through science. This was one of the few Arabic words in the French letters he wrote. It was also the only keyword included in any of the letters. Citizen.

When

Years of quiet followed. In Salah became unlivable after they co-opted the city reservoir for cooling drilling rigs. Each study that proved the field was still viable funnelled funds away from the locals who clung on. Resettlement benefits went up, and all but the semi-nomadic Tuaregs left. I followed. My health could not take much more desert. In the cooler coastal plains, I recovered strength, and subsidies for new medications helped me survive on a meagre teaching salary.

With no further clues, my Marseillais detective lost interest. His last letter, sent years ago, stated with unusual brevity that he was resigning the case. No payment was due.

I had lost my health, my father, his work, my money, our house, the town, and I spent each week delivering science and English classes to teenagers. They had no more hope for our country than I had. Algerians had already lost the Sahara. A one-degree temperature shift each decade of my life had shrunk Africa and sent its peoples northwards.

My father’s word puzzle occupied my thoughts. The combinations and permutations of letters and characters had millions of possible meanings but only one correct answer. Yet simple linguistic logic provided the next word. The headteacher was a linguist — a profession long lost to the higher-powered text analysers and language AI. He spoke little English but asked about the categorisations of grammatical terms in the 2048 key words.

“Why do you ask?”

“Because,” he said, “for a sentence of twelve words, at least one conjunction is necessary to form a second clause.”

He was right. I had been focussing on lists and complex codes to build my father’s motto. When I got home, I furiously searched my list of terms for conjunctions. I found only one. ‘When.’

Can

The permutations were still huge. Even eliminating some of the more conceptual words did not help. Millions of sentences existed in my dead father’s mind. Millions of meanings, all lost to the need for more energy to fund the world’s great thirst for energy. Still, the panels in most of the ‘dead middle’ (as the space between the tropics became known) melted at over 50 degrees.

I was back in Paris for CF treatment. As a young woman, I would have been pleased to make fifty years. But the realities of daily visits and the sickness brought on by medication stung. I wanted things to end, even when I discovered the next key.

It had been years since I had dreamed of the freedoms my father’s fortune could bring. Parts of Asia held out against bitcoin, but the cost of countries doing business off-network had become prohibitive. Eventually, the fossil conglomerates would give in to the need for solar mining and the provision of universal energy.

It was in a Parisian hospital bed that I discovered ‘can.’ My wardmate, a rough labourer from Oran, found a biography in the hospital library that made me sit up straight. ‘Can’ was repeated in almost every description of my father in his one-time business partner’s book. And it was this Arabian ‘businessman,’ Abdulkarim Rahman, who brokered the deal that robbed the world of infinite solar power. Each page mocked my father as believing only physical impossibilities are impossible. He branded him the ‘can man.’

Drastic

During my recuperation, I spent the final two weeks of my visa stay in Marseille. My days passed with endless algorithm tweaks to reject or accept word orders for the elusive twelve-word sentence my father once wrote.

Food lost its taste, and friends and colleagues in academia had scattered. In-person meetings were often contained to the night hours, but Marseille was not a place to go out after dark. The latest protests had gotten violent, and the government looked likely to topple. My people had always been resilient, but when the option to move and operate a caravan was removed by General Hafiz, part of my spirit died. I resolved to spend my final years in In Salah, however uncomfortable they would be.

My final port of call before returning was Laurent’s office. The eTaxi cast me out into the dusty street, and I wheezed as I climbed the three flights of stairs to his tiny door on Rue Marché. We hadn’t spoken in years, but I was surprised to find a different name about the door. Pascale Dupont, Investigateur.

The assistant I remembered was quite the opposite to Laurent — slow and methodical, short and heavy set.

“Madame,” he said. “I have difficult news.”

Their business had always straddled the law, but I never imagined an ex-officer of the law could be convicted of treason.

“A closed-door trial,” said Pascale. Then he handed over an air-gapped 3D storage file. “Laurent knew you would come for this.”

My mind cast forward to the reams of information he must have built on my father. The patents and technical diagrams he illegally acquired and other clues. I instantly recognised the brand of storage file as a keyword. Drastic.

“How can I thank him?”

“He is dead, madame.” Pascale hung his head. “He survived prison for only two weeks.”

Must

My final years brought me home. In Salah had gained fame for its one group of Tuaregs who refused to leave. The Lakzis owned a house in a desperate condition, not dissimilar to my failing body. By the age of fifty-two, I could no longer walk, but they welcomed me. I pooled my disability allowance and some money I’d gained from selling my father’s watch. We waited for the world to mourn the death of a once great city. We would keep it alive by refusing to move, by refusing to permit its rebranding as an ‘industrial area.’ Now the oil fields were finally drying up, they wanted to dig under the town.

We had managed to eliminate half of the remaining words. Just under 1,000 possible selections for the final two words, but little idea of an order.

The problem was that I was the only English speaker among them, and it took great energy to attempt to teach the meaning of the words and possible grammatical constructions for my father’s sentence.

But soon, patterns began to emerge. Fragments of word pairings and groups. ‘Trigger drastic scheme’ appeared again and again in the permutations. ‘They can’ and ‘When they can’ gave a tantalising glimpse. We ranked sentences in terms of likelihood to form the full key and categorised them by the most likely remaining words. Due to the need for a modal verb, ‘must’ scored highest by our calculations.

In this race to unlock the ledger before In Salah’s destruction, we nosed ahead.

Yet the day of that discovery was my final day in the desert. An air ambulance transported my feeble body to Algiers, and I would never return.

They messaged me — so close. They would unlock the ledger with the final word after my operation. The bitcoin could undo the wrongs of the past, and my father’s sentence would live on.

End

The phrase which began the global revolution first appeared on the wall of a much-disputed oil refinery in the desert outside In Salah, Algeria.

When they can make ecology end, citizen earth must trigger drastic scheme

Soon, the graffiti marked government buildings in Algiers. Activists took to the streets. Governments crumbled and currencies collapsed. Climate groups received massive donations said to come from ‘the one,’ a ledger with a huge stack written off by financiers the world over. The codebreaker credited with unlocking the ledger was unable to witness the transfer of 10,000 coins to the Global Climate Fund due to her death, aged 52, from a congenital condition.

The words of Moussa Ag El Khir now mark each of the millions of panels, which line the ‘dead middle.’ They contribute over 80% of the Earth’s power supply.

To mark the fiftieth anniversary of his death, the World Climate Forum will be held in the town of his birth, In Salah, Algeria. This story, compiled from the diaries of his daughter, Kana Ult El Khir, will be read as the opening address of the conference.

---

This story was originally published in 21 Futures: Tales From the Timechain

To continue the story of the real-world treasure (sats) use the address (it's real).\ Who knows, maybe some zaps will find their way into the wallet...

@ 866e0139:6a9334e5

Autor: Sabrina Khalil. Dieser Beitrag wurde mit dem Pareto-Client geschrieben. Sie finden alle Texte der Friedenstaube und weitere Texte zum Thema Frieden hier. Die neuesten Pareto-Artikel finden Sie in unserem Telegram-Kanal.

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Die neuesten Artikel der Friedenstaube gibt es jetzt auch im eigenen Friedenstaube-Telegram-Kanal.

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„Immer wieder ist jetzt“ übertitelt unsere Sprecherin Sabrina Khalil ihren Text, den sie für die Friedensnoten geschrieben hat. Das gleichnamige Gedicht hat Jens Fischer Rodrian vertont. Sabrina Khalil ist Schauspielerin, Musikerin und Sprecherin, u.a. für Radio München.

Das gleichnamige Gedicht hat Jens Fischer Rodrian für das Album "Voices for Gaza" vertont.

https://protestnoten.de/produkt/voices-for-gaza-doppel-cd/ 

Sprecher des Textes: Ulrich Allroggen

Dieser Beitrag erschien zuerst bei Radio München.

https://soundcloud.com/radiomuenchen/immer-wieder-ist-jetzt-nie-wieder-war-noch-nie-von-sabrina-khalil?utm_source=clipboard&utm_campaign=wtshare&utm_medium=widget&utm_content=https%253A%252F%252Fsoundcloud.com%252Fradiomuenchen%252Fimmer-wieder-ist-jetzt-nie-wieder-war-noch-nie-von-sabrina-khalil

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LASSEN SIE DER FRIEDENSTAUBE FLÜGEL WACHSEN!

Hier können Sie die Friedenstaube abonnieren und bekommen die Artikel zugesandt.

Schon jetzt können Sie uns unterstützen:

• Für 50 CHF/EURO bekommen Sie ein Jahresabo der Friedenstaube.
• Für 120 CHF/EURO bekommen Sie ein Jahresabo und ein T-Shirt/Hoodie mit der Friedenstaube.
• Für 500 CHF/EURO werden Sie Förderer und bekommen ein lebenslanges Abo sowie ein T-Shirt/Hoodie mit der Friedenstaube.
• Ab 1000 CHF werden Sie Genossenschafter der Friedenstaube mit Stimmrecht (und bekommen lebenslanges Abo, T-Shirt/Hoodie).

Für Einzahlungen in CHF (Betreff: Friedenstaube):

Für Einzahlungen in Euro:

Milosz Matuschek

IBAN DE 53710520500000814137

BYLADEM1TST

Sparkasse Traunstein-Trostberg

Betreff: Friedenstaube

Wenn Sie auf anderem Wege beitragen wollen, schreiben Sie die Friedenstaube an: friedenstaube@pareto.space

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Sie sind noch nicht auf Nostr and wollen die volle Erfahrung machen (liken, kommentieren etc.)? Zappen können Sie den Autor auch ohne Nostr-Profil! Erstellen Sie sich einen Account auf Start. Weitere Onboarding-Leitfäden gibt es im Pareto-Wiki.

@ 2b24a1fa:17750f64

„Immer wieder ist jetzt“ übertitelt unsere Sprecherin Sabrina Khalil ihren Text, den sie für die Friedensnoten geschrieben hat. Das gleichnamige Gedicht hat Jens Fischer Rodrian für das Album "Voices for Gaza" vertont.

https://protestnoten.de/produkt/voices-for-gaza-doppel-cd/ https://bfan.link/voices-for-gaza

Sprecher des Textes: Ulrich Allroggen

https://soundcloud.com/radiomuenchen/immer-wieder-ist-jetzt-nie-wieder-war-noch-nie-von-sabrina-khalil?

@ a93be9fb:6d3fdc0c

This is a tmp article

@ d34e832d:383f78d0

1. Premise
The demand for high-capacity hard drives has grown exponentially with the expansion of cloud storage, big data, and personal backups. As failure of a storage device can result in significant data loss and downtime, understanding long-term drive reliability is critical. This research seeks to determine the most reliable manufacturer of 10TB+ HDDs by analyzing cumulative drive failure data over ten years from Backblaze, a leader in cloud backup services.

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2. Methodology
Data from Backblaze, representing 350,000+ deployed drives, was analyzed to calculate the AFR of 10TB+ models from Seagate, Western Digital (including HGST), and Toshiba. AFR was calculated using cumulative data to reduce volatility and better illustrate long-term reliability trends. Power-on hours were used as the temporal metric to more accurately capture usage-based wear, as opposed to calendar-based aging.

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3. Results and Analysis

3.1 Western Digital (including HGST)

• Ultrastar HC530 & HC550 (14TB & 16TB)
• AFR consistently below 0.35% after the initial “burn-in” period.
• Exhibited superior long-term stability.
• HGST Ultrastar HC520 (12TB)
• Demonstrated robust performance with AFR consistently under 0.5%.
• Excellent aging profile after year one.

3.2 Toshiba

• General Performance
• Noted for higher early failure rates (DOA issues), indicating manufacturing or transport inconsistencies.
• After stabilization, most models showed AFRs under 1%, which is within acceptable industry standards.
• Model Variability
• Differences in AFR observed between 4Kn and 512e sector models, suggesting firmware or controller differences may influence longevity.

3.3 Seagate

• Older Models (e.g., Exos X12)
• AFRs often exceeded 1.5%, raising concerns for long-term use in mission-critical applications.
• Newer Models (e.g., Exos X16)
• Improvements seen, with AFRs around 1%, though still higher than WD and HGST counterparts.
• Seagate’s aggressive pricing often makes these drives more attractive for cost-sensitive deployments.

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4. Points Drawn

The data reveals a compelling narrative in brand-level reliability trends among high-capacity hard drives. Western Digital, especially through its HGST-derived Ultrastar product lines, consistently demonstrates superior reliability, maintaining exceptionally low Annualized Failure Rates (AFRs) and excellent operational stability across extended use periods. This positions WD as the most dependable option for enterprise-grade and mission-critical storage environments. Toshiba, despite a tendency toward higher early failure rates—often manifesting as Dead-on-Arrival (DOA) units—generally stabilizes to acceptable AFR levels below 1% over time. This indicates potential suitability in deployments where early failure screening and redundancy planning are feasible. In contrast, Seagate’s performance is notably variable. While earlier models displayed higher AFRs, more recent iterations such as the Exos X16 series have shown marked improvement. Nevertheless, Seagate drives continue to exhibit greater fluctuation in reliability outcomes. Their comparatively lower cost structure, however, may render them an attractive option in cost-sensitive or non-critical storage environments, where performance variability is an acceptable trade-off.

It’s crucial to remember that AFR is a probabilistic measure; individual drive failures are still possible regardless of brand or model. Furthermore, newer drive models need additional longitudinal data to confirm their long-term reliability.

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5. Consider

Best Overall Choice: Western Digital Ultrastar HC530/HC550
These drives combine top-tier reliability (AFR < 0.35%), mature firmware, and consistent manufacturing quality, making them ideal for enterprise and archival use.

Runner-Up (Budget Consideration): Seagate Exos X16
While reliability is slightly lower (AFR ~1%), the Exos series offers excellent value, especially for bulk storage.

Cautionary Choice: Toshiba 10TB+ Models
Users should be prepared for potential early failures and may consider pre-deployment burn-in testing.

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6. Recommendations for Buyers
- For mission-critical environments: Choose Western Digital Ultrastar models.
- For budget-focused or secondary storage: Seagate Exos offers acceptable risk-to-cost ratio.
- For experimental or non-essential deployments: Toshiba drives post-burn-in are serviceable.

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7. Future Work
Based on publicly available Backblaze data, which reflects data center use and may not perfectly map to home or SMB environments. Sample sizes vary by model and may bias certain conclusions. Future research could integrate SMART data analytics, firmware version tracking, and consumer-use data to provide more granular insight.

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References
- Backblaze. (2013–2023). Hard Drive Stats. Retrieved from https://www.backblaze.com/blog
- Manufacturer datasheets and reliability reports for Seagate, Western Digital, and Toshiba.

@ 2b24a1fa:17750f64

Wo, wenn nicht in Dresden, sollte man sich einig sein, in der Frage nach „Krieg oder Frieden“? Doch 80 Jahre nach der flächendeckenden Brandbombardierung Dresdens macht sich in dieser Stadt wieder verdächtig, wer so etwas selbstverständliches wie Frieden einfordert.

https://soundcloud.com/radiomuenchen/wiederauferstatung-eines-friedensprojekts-von-jens-fischer-rodrian?

Am vergangenen Karfreitag fand eine große Friedensprozession in der sächsischen Metropole statt. Kriegerisch jedoch war die Berichterstattung. Mit Falschbehauptungen und verdrehungen wurde die Friedensaktion und deren Akteure beschädigt. Dorne im Auge der Betrachter waren womöglich Dieter Hallervorden und die Politologin Ulrike Guérot mit Reden, die dringender nicht sein könnten. Ulrike Guérot stellte zugleich das European Peace Project vor, das am 9. Mai mit jedem einzelnen von uns in ganz Europa stattfindet.

Der Liedermacher Jens Fischer Rodrian war am Karfreitag ebenfalls vor Ort und widmete der Rede von Guérot eine Friedensnote. Hören Sie seinen Beitrag mit dem Titel „Wiederauferstehung eines Friedensprojekts“. europeanpeaceproject.eu/en/

Bild: Demoveranstalter

@ 8125b911:a8400883

In Nostr, all data is stored as events. Decentralization is achieved by storing events on multiple relays, with signatures proving the ownership of these events. However, if you truly want to own your events, you should run your own relay to store them. Otherwise, if the relays you use fail or intentionally delete your events, you'll lose them forever.

For most people, running a relay is complex and costly. To solve this issue, I developed nostr-relay-tray, a relay that can be easily run on a personal computer and accessed over the internet.

Project URL: https://github.com/CodyTseng/nostr-relay-tray

This article will guide you through using nostr-relay-tray to run your own relay.

Download

Download the installation package for your operating system from the GitHub Release Page.

| Operating System | File Format | | --------------------- | ---------------------------------- | | Windows | nostr-relay-tray.Setup.x.x.x.exe | | macOS (Apple Silicon) | nostr-relay-tray-x.x.x-arm64.dmg | | macOS (Intel) | nostr-relay-tray-x.x.x.dmg | | Linux | You should know which one to use |

Installation

Since this app isn’t signed, you may encounter some obstacles during installation. Once installed, an ostrich icon will appear in the status bar. Click on the ostrich icon, and you'll see a menu where you can click the "Dashboard" option to open the relay's control panel for further configuration.

macOS Users:

• On first launch, go to "System Preferences > Security & Privacy" and click "Open Anyway."
• If you encounter a "damaged" message, run the following command in the terminal to remove the restrictions:

bash sudo xattr -rd com.apple.quarantine /Applications/nostr-relay-tray.app

Windows Users:

• On the security warning screen, click "More Info > Run Anyway."

Connecting

By default, nostr-relay-tray is only accessible locally through ws://localhost:4869/, which makes it quite limited. Therefore, we need to expose it to the internet.

In the control panel, click the "Proxy" tab and toggle the switch. You will then receive a "Public address" that you can use to access your relay from anywhere. It's that simple.

Next, add this address to your relay list and position it as high as possible in the list. Most clients prioritize connecting to relays that appear at the top of the list, and relays lower in the list are often ignored.

Restrictions

Next, we need to set up some restrictions to prevent the relay from storing events that are irrelevant to you and wasting storage space. nostr-relay-tray allows for flexible and fine-grained configuration of which events to accept, but some of this is more complex and will not be covered here. If you're interested, you can explore this further later.

For now, I'll introduce a simple and effective strategy: WoT (Web of Trust). You can enable this feature in the "WoT & PoW" tab. Before enabling, you'll need to input your pubkey.

There's another important parameter, Depth, which represents the relationship depth between you and others. Someone you follow has a depth of 1, someone they follow has a depth of 2, and so on.

• Setting this parameter to 0 means your relay will only accept your own events.
• Setting it to 1 means your relay will accept events from you and the people you follow.
• Setting it to 2 means your relay will accept events from you, the people you follow, and the people they follow.

Currently, the maximum value for this parameter is 2.

Conclusion

You've now successfully run your own relay and set a simple restriction to prevent it from storing irrelevant events.

If you encounter any issues during use, feel free to submit an issue on GitHub, and I'll respond as soon as possible.

Not your relay, not your events.

@ 526bec6a:07c68d13

Welcome to Whitey's Hub: Hack Shack & Party Pharmacy on Nostr The decentralized underworld of Nostr just got a whole lot darker. Nestled within the encrypted, censorship-resistant corners of the Nostr protocol, Whitey's Hub is the ultimate destination for those who crave the forbidden. This isn't just a market—it's a movement. Anonymity, security, and freedom are our currencies, and we’re here to deliver.

Xpresspostt Party Pharmacy: From the finest powders and crystals—cocaine, crack, methadrone and crystal meth—to the greenest buds of marijuana and the most potent opiates, our Party Pharmacy is stocked to satisfy any high. Looking for something more exotic? Our catalog includes pills, oxy, ice, and speed, ensuring your next party is unforgettable. All transactions are facilitated through Nostr's decentralized network, with public key encryption and escrow services that you the buyer can choose.

Hack Shack: Step into the digital underworld. Here, you'll find premium American and Canadian financial credentials, fraud services, and dirty script malware and cracked software. Whether you're looking to boost your cyber arsenal or gain unauthorized access to the world's most secure systems, our tutorials and software will guide you every step of the way. All communications are encrypted and decentralized, thanks to Nostr's secure relay system.

Ebooks & Tutorials: Elevate your game with our collection of eBooks and guides. Learn the art of fraud, master the dark web, or dive into the world of cyber espionage. Knowledge is power, and at Whitey's Hub, we empower. Our content is distributed directly through Nostr's decentralized channels, ensuring it’s uncensorable and always accessible.

Security & Anonymity: Nostr’s decentralized, open-source protocol ensures your identity remains hidden and your activities untraceable. All transactions are secured with end-to-end encryption, and our escrow system is built on trustless, cryptographic principles. Your privacy is our priority, and Nostr’s design guarantees it.

@ 9c9d2765:16f8c2c2

CHAPTER TWELVE

"Who in the world is knocking like that?" Susan grumbled as she approached the front door, the loud thud clearly interrupting her peaceful afternoon.

She swung the door open sharply and immediately, her face twisted with disdain.

"You again?" she spat with venom. "What are you doing here, James? Haven’t you embarrassed this family enough?"

James stood calmly at the threshold, wearing his usual tattered and weathered clothes. His expression was composed, though his eyes revealed the exhaustion of someone who had endured too much for too long.

"I just wanted to see Rita," he said quietly, his voice tinged with longing but not weakness.

Susan laughed, cold and cruel. "See Rita? Dressed like that? You look like you crawled out of a dumpster. Don’t you have any shame? This isn’t the street where you beg for leftovers. It’s the Ray residence!"

Before James could utter another word, Susan, holding a glass of water in her hand, flung it into his face with disgust. The icy splash soaked his shirt and clung to his skin. The suddenness of it made him flinch, but he didn’t retaliate.

"And if I see you here again, I’ll make sure you’re dragged out by your ears!" she hissed.

The commotion quickly drew the attention of Helen, Rita’s mother, who stormed to the door with a glare.

"What is going on here, Susan? Why are you shouting like" She stopped abruptly when she saw James standing there, drenched and still calm. Her eyes narrowed.

"Oh, it’s you," she scoffed. "What do you want now, you jobless disgrace? Coming here to leech again?"

"Mother, please, I" James tried to explain.

"Don’t call me that! I’m not your mother, and you are no longer part of this family!" Helen shrieked, before pulling out her phone. "I'm calling the police right now. You need to be removed from this property permanently!"

Inside the house, Rita heard the shouting and came rushing downstairs, her heart dropping when she saw her husband standing like a soaked stray dog at their doorstep, humiliation written all over his face.

"James… please," she whispered as she gently approached him. "Just go. Not like this. Not today."

His eyes met hers, and for a moment, his resolve wavered. He had come to see her, to remember what home used to feel like. But this place no longer felt like home.

Moments later, a patrol car pulled into the driveway. Two officers stepped out, firm and ready for confrontation. The lead officer, tall and broad-shouldered, approached the group until his eyes landed on James.

There was a brief pause.

Then, the officer’s face lit up with recognition. "Master James!" he exclaimed, breaking into a wide smile as he stepped forward and embraced him like an old friend.

Susan and Helen’s jaws nearly hit the ground.

"Kenneth?" James blinked in surprise.

"Yes, sir! It’s me Kenneth. Do you remember? You helped me when my son needed surgery, even when you had nothing! I’ll never forget that. What happened here? Who did this to you?" Kenneth’s voice shifted into concern as he noticed James’s soaked shirt.

"It’s fine," James said, managing a small smile. "Don’t make trouble here. It’s not worth it. Please… let it go. For my wife’s sake."

Kenneth frowned, clearly not happy, but he respected James too much to argue. He turned toward Helen and Susan, his tone now sharp and professional.

"You’re lucky he’s a merciful man," he said coldly. "Because if it were up to me, you’d both be charged with public harassment."

He gave James one last look, a mixture of respect and sorrow, before turning back to the car.

James stood for a few seconds longer, then nodded to Rita before stepping away, leaving the house that had long stopped being a home.

As the police car disappeared into the distance, Susan muttered under her breath, "How does someone like him even know the head of patrol?"

"Are you sure this is everything?" Lisa asked her assistant, checking through the neatly packaged folder she held in her manicured hand.

"Yes, ma’am. That’s the most outstanding project we have. If JP Enterprises approves, it could breathe life into Ray Enterprises again," the assistant replied.

Lisa gave a satisfied nod and stepped into the driver’s seat of the sleek black SUV. As the assistant secretary of Ray Enterprises, this was her chance to make an impression that could fast-track her rise to the top. Promotion was within reach if this proposal went well.

It was early afternoon when she arrived at the imposing glass building of JP Enterprises. The logo gleamed under the sun, a symbol of unmatched success and prestige. She walked briskly through the entrance, heels clicking confidently on the marble floor, and introduced herself to the front desk staff.

"I’m here to see the President of JP Enterprises. I represent Ray Enterprises and have a proposal that demands his attention," she declared with poise.

The general secretary, seated calmly at the reception, glanced up and gave her a professional smile. "The President is currently away from his office. You may have to wait a bit. Would you prefer to sit here, or would you like to be notified upon his return?"

Lisa gave a nod. "I'll wait outside briefly. I left my phone in the car. Kindly notify me once he’s in."

She turned and walked outside. As she approached the parking lot, she noticed a familiar yet irritatingly disheveled figure walking into the building.

James.

He wore his usual plain, faded clothes hardly fitting for someone walking into a place like JP Enterprises. Lisa didn’t hesitate to launch an insult.

"Back again to beg, are we?" she said mockingly, narrowing her eyes as she crossed paths with him. "This isn’t a shelter for street men, James. Some places are just too grand for certain people."

James didn’t respond. He only glanced at her with the calm of a man who knew something she didn’t. Lisa rolled her eyes and headed back to retrieve her phone.

By the time she returned, the secretary informed her, "The President has just returned. You may go in now."

Lisa adjusted her blazer, tucked the folder neatly under her arm, and proceeded toward the private elevator that would take her to the executive floor. She entered the spacious office, ready to deliver her well-rehearsed pitch.

But as she stepped through the grand doors, she froze.

Seated confidently behind the massive desk, dressed in a sleek tailored suit, was James.

Her eyes widened in disbelief.

"What... what is this?" she stammered.

James looked up slowly, his expression unreadable.

"Miss Lisa," he said smoothly, "I see you’ve come to present a proposal."

She was completely speechless. The same man she had mocked moments ago now sat before her as the very person she came to impress.

"I didn’t know"

"No, you didn’t," James interjected, his tone firm but calm. "Unfortunately, I won’t be reviewing this proposal. JP Enterprises is not interested in any form of collaboration with Ray Enterprises at this time."

"But sir"

"You may leave now, Miss Lisa. Kindly ensure you exit the premises without further disturbance."

He pressed the intercom. "Security, please escort the representative from Ray Enterprises out of the building."

Crushed and humiliated, Lisa nodded awkwardly and backed out of the office, her hands trembling. As she exited the building, every step felt heavier than the last. She had blown her opportunity. Badly.

She drove back in silence, and when she reached Ray Enterprises, she delivered the unpleasant news.

"He rejected the proposal outright," she told the board members, struggling to mask her shaken pride. "I think… he holds something against us. He was cold. Dismissive."

Robert frowned, deeply perplexed. "Why would the President of JP Enterprises be so dismissive without even reviewing the content?"

He mulled it over in silence for a few seconds before his eyes lit up.

"Charles," he muttered to himself.

Everyone in the room turned toward him.

"Charles once introduced me to someone he said would someday become one of the most influential business minds in the country. Maybe he has a connection. Perhaps if I reach out to Charles, he can speak to the President on our behalf."

Without wasting time, Robert made the call. Charles, ever the gentleman, agreed to meet him over dinner the following evening.

The restaurant was quiet, with soft classical music playing in the background as they settled into a private booth. Wine glasses clinked, and after casual pleasantries, Robert finally laid out everything: the rejected proposal, the mounting pressure on Ray Enterprises, and the family’s desperation for investment.

Charles listened patiently.

"I see," he finally said, placing his glass down. "This is… complicated. I can’t make any promises, but I’ll have a conversation with the President myself. He listens to me. I’ll get back to you after we’ve spoken."

Robert gave a sigh of relief. "That’s all I ask."

Charles nodded.

"Let’s hope it’s not too late," he said softly.

"He's agreed to the investment, but there's a condition," Charles said with a steady voice, lowering the phone from his ear.

Christopher sat upright in his chair. "What condition?"

Charles hesitated briefly before responding. "He wants eighty percent ownership of Ray Enterprises in exchange for the investment funds."

The room fell silent.

Christopher’s brows furrowed. "Eighty percent? That’s nearly the entire company!"

"And yet it’s the only lifeline we have left," Nancy chimed in, standing beside Charles. "It’s this... or collapse."

Despite the protests that echoed through the Ray household, the truth was unavoidable the business was crumbling and in dire need of immediate funding. Left with no other viable option, the family begrudgingly accepted the condition and agreed to fix a date when the President of JP Enterprises would arrive in person to finalize the deal.

The day of reckoning came swiftly.

Everyone in Ray Enterprises was on edge. Christopher, Helen, Robert, Susan, and the rest of the executives were already seated in the boardroom. They whispered among themselves, speculating about the identity of the elusive president. No one expected what was to come.

The grand doors creaked open.

Charles entered first, followed closely by Sandra. Then, a third figure walked in calm, composed, and strikingly handsome in an immaculately tailored suit. James.

He carried himself with a quiet authority that immediately drew attention. His posture was upright, his gaze clear and unwavering. Yet the moment the Ray family saw him, chaos erupted.

"What is he doing here?!" Helen spat, her face contorted in fury. "This is a boardroom, not a shelter for the homeless!"

Susan sprang to her feet. "Security! Get this impostor out now!"

But before things spiraled further, Robert rose from his seat and raised a hand.

"Stop!" he commanded, silencing the room. "Before you embarrass yourselves any further, you should know this man is the President of JP Enterprises."

The revelation hit like a thunderclap. Mouths fell open, gasps echoed around the room. Some blinked in disbelief, others stared as if seeing James for the first time.

"Impossible," Helen whispered, shaking her head. "He’s just a... a beggar!"

"He was never what you thought he was," Robert said coolly. "And now, he’s your only chance."

James stepped forward, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"I was prepared to invest and take eighty percent," he began. "But after seeing the way I'm still being treated, I’ve had a change of heart."

He paused, letting the silence weigh heavily.

"I want eighty-five percent now."

The words struck like a blow. The room erupted again in murmurs and disbelief. Helen clenched her fists, fury simmering just beneath the surface.

"You can't be serious," she growled. "You’re trying to rob us"

"I’m offering to save you," James cut in firmly. "This business is days away from total collapse. Take the deal, or lose everything."

Christopher remained silent, his mind racing. The truth was undeniable. Ray Enterprises had no bargaining power left.

"Do we have a deal or not?" James asked again, his voice now tinged with impatience.

Helen opened her mouth to object, but Robert spoke first.

"We accept," he said solemnly.

With no more time to argue, the documents were signed by both parties. Ray Enterprises was now eighty-five percent owned by James, the man they had once called worthless.

But James wasn’t done.

"One more thing," he said, looking directly at Helen. "I know you’re now the general manager, a position handed to you after forcing my wife to step down when she refused to sign those pathetic divorce papers."

Helen stiffened.

"Reinstate Rita as general manager, and I’ll increase the investment to one point one billion dollars. That’s an additional two hundred million for her."

A collective gasp echoed through the room. Helen’s expression soured. She had no choice. Robert nodded after a long pause.

"Consider it done," he said.

Satisfied, James rose. He glanced at Susan, who was suddenly all smiles, her tone syrupy sweet as she tried to engage him in polite conversation. He ignored her completely.

He left the building with his uncle and Sandra, dignity intact, power reclaimed. Later that evening, Helen sat in her room, seething. She dialed a familiar number. When Mark picked up, she wasted no time.

"He’s the President of JP Enterprises, Mark," she hissed. "James owns eighty-five percent of this company now."

Mark was silent for a long while before chuckling bitterly. "So that’s why I was fired... why everything crumbled. No wonder."

Even in their separate storms, they found common ground in one thing hatred for James.

Mark’s eyes darkened. "I swear, Helen. He’ll pay for this."

"We’ll make sure of it," Helen replied, her voice low and vengeful.

@ d34e832d:383f78d0

This walkthrough examines the integration of these three tools as a combined financial instrument, focusing on their functionality, security benefits, and practical applications. Specter Desktop offers a user-friendly interface for managing Bitcoin wallets, Bitcoin Core provides a full node for transaction validation, and Coldcard provides the hardware security necessary to safeguard private keys. Together, these tools offer a robust and secure environment for managing Bitcoin holdings, protecting them from both online and physical threats.

We will explore their individual roles in Bitcoin management, how they can be integrated to offer a cohesive solution, and the installation and configuration process on OpenBSD. Additionally, security considerations and practical use cases will be addressed to demonstrate the advantages of this setup compared to alternative Bitcoin management solutions.

2.1 Specter Desktop

Specter Desktop is a Bitcoin wallet management software that provides a powerful, open-source interface for interacting with Bitcoin nodes. Built with an emphasis on multi-signature wallets and hardware wallet integration, Specter Desktop is designed to serve as an all-in-one solution for users who prioritize security and self-custody. It integrates seamlessly with Bitcoin Core and various hardware wallets, including Coldcard, and supports advanced features such as multi-signature wallets, which offer additional layers of security for managing Bitcoin funds.

2.2 Bitcoin Core

Bitcoin Core is the reference implementation of the Bitcoin protocol and serves as the backbone of the Bitcoin network. Running a Bitcoin Core full node provides users with the ability to independently verify all transactions and blocks on the network, ensuring trustless interaction with the blockchain. This is crucial for achieving full decentralization and autonomy, as Bitcoin Core ensures that users do not rely on third parties to confirm the validity of transactions. Furthermore, Bitcoin Core allows users to interact with the Bitcoin network via the command-line interface or a graphical user interface (GUI), offering flexibility in how one can participate in the Bitcoin ecosystem.

2.3 Coldcard

Coldcard is a Bitcoin hardware wallet that prioritizes security and privacy. It is designed to store private keys offline, away from any internet-connected devices, making it an essential tool for protecting Bitcoin holdings from online threats such as malware or hacking. Coldcard’s secure hardware environment ensures that private keys never leave the device, providing an air-gapped solution for cold storage. Its open-source firmware allows users to audit the wallet’s code and operations, ensuring that the device behaves exactly as expected.

2.4 Roles in Bitcoin Management

Each of these components plays a distinct yet complementary role in Bitcoin management:

• Specter Desktop: Acts as the interface for wallet management and multi-signature wallet configuration.
• Bitcoin Core: Provides a full node for transaction verification and interacts with the Bitcoin network.
• Coldcard: Safeguards private keys by storing them securely in hardware, providing offline signing capabilities for transactions.

Together, these tools offer a comprehensive and secure environment for managing Bitcoin funds.

3. Integration

3.1 How Specter Desktop, Bitcoin Core, and Coldcard Work Together

The integration of Specter Desktop, Bitcoin Core, and Coldcard offers a cohesive solution for managing and securing Bitcoin. Here's how these components interact:

1. Bitcoin Core runs as a full node, providing a fully verified and trustless Bitcoin network. It validates all transactions and blocks independently.
2. Specter Desktop communicates with Bitcoin Core to manage Bitcoin wallets, including setting up multi-signature wallets and connecting to hardware wallets like Coldcard.
3. Coldcard is used to securely store the private keys for Bitcoin transactions. When a transaction is created in Specter Desktop, it is signed offline on the Coldcard device before being broadcasted to the Bitcoin network.

The main advantages of this setup include:

• Self-Sovereignty: By using Bitcoin Core and Coldcard, the user has complete control over their funds and does not rely on third-party services for transaction verification or key management.
• Enhanced Security: Coldcard provides the highest level of security for private keys, protecting them from online attacks and malware. Specter Desktop’s integration with Coldcard ensures a user-friendly method for interacting with the hardware wallet.
• Privacy: Using Bitcoin Core allows users to run their own full node, ensuring that they are not dependent on third-party servers, which could compromise privacy.

This integration, in combination with a user-friendly interface from Specter Desktop, allows Bitcoin holders to manage their funds securely, efficiently, and with full autonomy.

3.2 Advantages of This Setup

The combined use of Specter Desktop, Bitcoin Core, and Coldcard offers several advantages over alternative Bitcoin management solutions:

• Enhanced Security: The use of an air-gapped Coldcard wallet ensures private keys never leave the device, even when signing transactions. Coupled with Bitcoin Core’s full node validation, this setup offers unparalleled protection against online threats and attacks.
• Decentralization: Running a full Bitcoin Core node ensures that the user has full control over transaction validation, removing any dependence on centralized third-party services.
• User-Friendly Interface: Specter Desktop simplifies the management of multi-signature wallets and integrates seamlessly with Coldcard, making it accessible even to non-technical users.

4. Installation on OpenBSD

This section provides a step-by-step guide to installing Specter Desktop, Bitcoin Core, and setting up Coldcard on OpenBSD.

4.1 Installing Bitcoin Core

OpenBSD Bitcoin Core Build Guide

Updated for OpenBSD 7.6

This guide outlines the process of building Bitcoin Core (bitcoind), its command-line utilities, and the Bitcoin GUI (bitcoin-qt) on OpenBSD. It covers necessary dependencies, installation steps, and configuration details specific to OpenBSD.

Table of Contents

1. Preparation
2. Installing Required Dependencies
3. Cloning the Bitcoin Core Repository
4. Installing Optional Dependencies
   • Wallet Dependencies
   • GUI Dependencies
5. Building Bitcoin Core
6. Configuration
7. Compilation
8. Resource Limit Adjustments

---

1. Preparation

Before beginning the build process, ensure your system is up-to-date and that you have the necessary dependencies installed.

1.1 Installing Required Dependencies

As the root user, install the base dependencies required for building Bitcoin Core:

bash pkg_add git cmake boost libevent

For a complete list of all dependencies, refer to dependencies.md.

1.2 Cloning the Bitcoin Core Repository

Next, clone the official Bitcoin Core repository to a directory. All build commands will be executed from this directory.

bash git clone https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin.git

1.3 Installing Optional Dependencies

Bitcoin Core supports optional dependencies for advanced functionality such as wallet support, GUI features, and notifications. Below are the details for the installation of optional dependencies.

1.3.1 Wallet Dependencies

While it is not necessary to build wallet functionality for running bitcoind or bitcoin-qt, if you need wallet functionality:

• Descriptor Wallet Support: SQLite is required for descriptor wallet functionality.

  bash pkg_add sqlite3

• Legacy Wallet Support: BerkeleyDB is needed for legacy wallet support. It is recommended to use Berkeley DB 4.8. The BerkeleyDB library from OpenBSD ports cannot be used directly, so you will need to build it from source using the depends folder.

  Run the following command to build it (adjust the path as necessary):

  bash gmake -C depends NO_BOOST=1 NO_LIBEVENT=1 NO_QT=1 NO_ZMQ=1 NO_USDT=1

  After building BerkeleyDB, set the environment variable BDB_PREFIX to point to the appropriate directory:

  bash export BDB_PREFIX="[path_to_berkeleydb]"

1.3.2 GUI Dependencies

Bitcoin Core includes a GUI built with Qt6. To compile the GUI, the following dependencies are required:

• Qt6: Install the necessary parts of the Qt6 framework for GUI support.

  bash pkg_add qt6-qtbase qt6-qttools

• libqrencode: The GUI can generate QR codes for addresses. To enable this feature, install libqrencode:

  bash pkg_add libqrencode

  If you don't need QR encoding support, use the -DWITH_QRENCODE=OFF option during the configuration step to disable it.

1.3.3 Notification Dependencies

Bitcoin Core can provide notifications through ZeroMQ. If you require this functionality, install ZeroMQ:

bash pkg_add zeromq

1.3.4 Test Suite Dependencies

Bitcoin Core includes a test suite for development and testing purposes. To run the test suite, you will need Python 3 and the ZeroMQ Python bindings:

bash pkg_add python py3-zmq

---

2. Building Bitcoin Core

Once all dependencies are installed, follow these steps to configure and compile Bitcoin Core.

2.1 Configuration

Bitcoin Core offers various configuration options. Below are two common setups:

• Descriptor Wallet and GUI: Enables descriptor wallet support and the GUI. This requires SQLite and Qt6.

  bash cmake -B build -DBUILD_GUI=ON

  To see all available configuration options, run:

  bash cmake -B build -LH

• Descriptor & Legacy Wallet, No GUI: Enables support for both descriptor and legacy wallets, but no GUI.

  bash cmake -B build -DBerkeleyDB_INCLUDE_DIR:PATH="${BDB_PREFIX}/include" -DWITH_BDB=ON

2.2 Compile

After configuration, compile the project using the following command. Use the -j N option to parallelize the build process, where N is the number of CPU cores you want to use.

bash cmake --build build

To run the test suite after building, use:

bash ctest --test-dir build

If Python 3 is not installed, some tests may be skipped.

2.3 Resource Limit Adjustments

OpenBSD's default resource limits are quite restrictive and may cause build failures, especially due to memory issues. If you encounter memory-related errors, increase the data segment limit temporarily for the current shell session:

bash ulimit -d 3000000

To make the change permanent for all users, modify the datasize-cur and datasize-max values in /etc/login.conf and reboot the system.

---

Now Consider

By following these steps, you will be able to successfully build Bitcoin Core on OpenBSD 7.6. This guide covers the installation of essential and optional dependencies, configuration, and the compilation process. Make sure to adjust the resource limits if necessary, especially when dealing with larger codebases.

4.2 Installing Specter Desktop What To Consider

Specter Installation Guide for OpenBSD with Coldcard

This simply aims to provide OpenBSD users with a comprehensive and streamlined process for installing Specter, a Bitcoin wallet management tool. Tailored to those integrating Coldcard hardware wallets with Specter, this guide will help users navigate the installation process, considering various technical levels and preferences. Whether you're a beginner or an advanced user, the guide will empower you to make informed decisions about which installation method suits your needs best.

---

Specter Installation Methods on OpenBSD

Specter offers different installation methods to accommodate various technical skills and environments. Here, we explore each installation method in the context of OpenBSD, while considering integration with Coldcard for enhanced security in Bitcoin operations.

1. OS-Specific Installation on OpenBSD

Installing Specter directly from OpenBSD's packages or source is an excellent option for users who prefer system-native solutions. This method ensures that Specter integrates seamlessly with OpenBSD’s environment.

• Advantages:
• Easy Installation: Package managers (if available on OpenBSD) simplify the process.
• System Compatibility: Ensures that Specter works well with OpenBSD’s unique system configurations.

• Convenience: Can be installed on the same machine that runs Bitcoin Core, offering an integrated solution for managing both Bitcoin Core and Coldcard.

• Disadvantages:

• System-Specific Constraints: OpenBSD’s minimalistic approach might require manual adjustments, especially in terms of dependencies or running services.

• Updates: You may need to manually update Specter if updates aren’t regularly packaged for OpenBSD.

• Ideal Use Case: Ideal for users looking for a straightforward, system-native installation that integrates with the local Bitcoin node and uses the Coldcard hardware wallet.

---

2. PIP Installation on OpenBSD

For those comfortable working in Python environments, PIP installation offers a flexible approach for installing Specter.

• Advantages:
• Simplicity: If you’re already managing Python environments, PIP provides a straightforward and easy method for installation.
• Version Control: Gives users direct control over the version of Specter being installed.

• Integration: Works well with any existing Python workflow.

• Disadvantages:

• Python Dependency Management: OpenBSD users may face challenges when managing dependencies, as Python setups on OpenBSD can be non-standard.

• Technical Knowledge: Requires familiarity with Python and pip, which may not be ideal for non-technical users.

• Ideal Use Case: Suitable for Python-savvy users who already use Python-based workflows and need more granular control over their installations.

---

3. Docker Installation

If you're familiar with Docker, running Specter Desktop in Docker containers is a fantastic way to isolate the installation and avoid conflicts with the OpenBSD system.

• Advantages:
• Isolation: Docker ensures Specter runs in an isolated environment, reducing system conflicts.
• Portability: Once set up, Docker containers can be replicated across various platforms and devices.

• Consistent Environment: Docker ensures consistency in the Specter installation, regardless of underlying OS differences.

• Disadvantages:

• Docker Setup: OpenBSD’s Docker support isn’t as seamless as other operating systems, potentially requiring extra steps to get everything running.

• Complexity: For users unfamiliar with Docker, the initial setup can be more challenging.

• Ideal Use Case: Best for advanced users familiar with Docker environments who require a reproducible and isolated installation.

---

4. Manual Build from Source (Advanced Users)

For users looking for full control over the installation process, building Specter from source on OpenBSD offers the most flexibility.

• Advantages:
• Customization: You can customize Specter’s functionality and integrate it deeply into your system or workflow.

• Control: Full control over the build and version management process.

• Disadvantages:

• Complex Setup: Requires familiarity with development environments, build tools, and dependency management.

• Time-Consuming: The process of building from source can take longer, especially on OpenBSD, which may lack certain automated build systems for Specter.

• Ideal Use Case: Best for experienced developers who want to customize Specter to meet specific needs or integrate Coldcard with unique configurations.

---

5. Node-Specific Integrations (e.g., Raspiblitz, Umbrel, etc.)

If you’re using a Bitcoin node like Raspiblitz or Umbrel along with Specter, these node-specific integrations allow you to streamline wallet management directly from the node interface.

• Advantages:
• Seamless Integration: Integrates Specter directly into the node's wallet management system.

• Efficient: Allows for efficient management of both Bitcoin Core and Coldcard in a unified environment.

• Disadvantages:

• Platform Limitation: Not applicable to OpenBSD directly unless you're running a specific node on the same system.

• Additional Hardware Requirements: Running a dedicated node requires extra hardware resources.

• Ideal Use Case: Perfect for users already managing Bitcoin nodes with integrated Specter support and Coldcard hardware wallets.

---

6. Using Package Managers (Homebrew for Linux/macOS)

If you're running OpenBSD on a machine that also supports Homebrew, this method can simplify installation.

• Advantages:
• Simple Setup: Package managers like Homebrew streamline the installation process.

• Automated Dependency Management: Handles all dependencies automatically, reducing setup complexity.

• Disadvantages:

• Platform Limitation: Package managers like Homebrew are more commonly used on macOS and Linux, not on OpenBSD.

• Version Control: May not offer the latest Specter version depending on the repository.

• Ideal Use Case: Best for users with Homebrew installed, though it may be less relevant for OpenBSD users.

---

Installation Decision Tree for OpenBSD with Coldcard

1. Do you prefer system-native installation or Docker?
2. System-native (OpenBSD-specific packages) → Proceed to installation via OS package manager.

3. Docker → Set up Docker container for isolated Specter installation.

4. Are you comfortable with Python?

5. Yes → Install using PIP for Python-based environments.

6. No → Move to direct installation methods like Docker or manual build.

7. Do you have a specific Bitcoin node to integrate with?

8. Yes → Consider node-specific integrations like Raspiblitz or Umbrel.
9. No → Install using Docker or manual source build.

---

Now Consider

When installing Specter on OpenBSD, consider factors such as your technical expertise, hardware resources, and the need for integration with Coldcard. Beginners might prefer simpler methods like OS-specific packages or Docker, while advanced users will benefit from building from source for complete control over the installation. Choose the method that best fits your environment to maximize your Bitcoin wallet management capabilities.

4.3 Setting Up Coldcard

Refer to the "Coldcard Setup Documentation" section for the installation and configuration instructions specific to Coldcard. At the end of writing.

---

5. Security Considerations

When using Specter Desktop, Bitcoin Core, and Coldcard together, users benefit from a layered security approach:

• Bitcoin Core offers transaction validation and network security, ensuring that all transactions are verified independently.
• Coldcard provides air-gapped hardware wallet functionality, ensuring private keys are never exposed to potentially compromised devices.
• Specter Desktop facilitates user-friendly management of multi-signature wallets while integrating the security of Bitcoin Core and Coldcard.

However, users must also be aware of potential security risks, including:

• Coldcard Physical Theft: If the Coldcard device is stolen, the attacker would need the PIN code to access the wallet, but physical security must always be maintained.
• Backup Security: Users must securely back up their Coldcard recovery seed to prevent loss of access to funds.

6. Use Cases and Practical Applications

The integration of Specter Desktop, Bitcoin Core, and Coldcard is especially beneficial for:

• High-Value Bitcoin Holders: Those managing large sums of Bitcoin can ensure top-tier security with a multi-signature wallet setup and Coldcard’s air-gapped security.
• Privacy-Conscious Users: Bitcoin Core allows for full network verification, preventing third-party servers from seeing transaction details.
• Cold Storage Solutions: For users who want to keep their Bitcoin safe long-term, the Coldcard provides a secure offline solution while still enabling easy access via Specter Desktop.

7. Coldcard Setup Documentation

Setup Guides

This section should provide clear, step-by-step instructions for configuring and using the Coldcard hardware wallet, including how to pair it with Specter Desktop, set up multi-signature wallets, and perform basic operations like signing transactions.

---

8. Consider

The system you ant to adopt inculcates, integrating Specter Desktop, Bitcoin Core, and Coldcard provides a powerful, secure, and decentralized solution for managing Bitcoin. This setup not only prioritizes user privacy and security but also provides an intuitive interface for even non-technical users. The combination of full node validation, multi-signature support, and air-gapped hardware wallet storage ensures that Bitcoin holdings are protected from both online and physical threats.

As the Bitcoin landscape continues to evolve, this setup can serve as a robust model for self-sovereign financial management, with the potential for future developments to enhance security and usability.

@ e46f3a64:4426aaf9

Want to stay ahead in the fast-changing Synthetic Fuels Market industry? Our report breaks down all the key insights—so you don’t have to! Whether you're a business owner, investor, or just curious about market trends, we’ve got you covered.

According to Straits Research, The Synthetic Fuels Market size was valued at USD 4.84 billion in 2023. It is projected to reach USD XX Billion by XX, growing at a CAGR of 18.15% during the forecast period (2023-XX).

Get Your Sample Report Now : https://straitsresearch.com/report/synthetic-fuels-market/request-sample

What’s Inside? Clear Market Analysis – No jargon, just straight-to-the-point insights on market size, growth, and trends. You’ll know exactly where the industry stands and where it’s headed, with clear data-backed predictions. Who’s Leading the Game? – Discover top players, their strategies, and how you can compete. We give you an in-depth look at the biggest players in the industry and how they’ve achieved success, providing actionable insights for your own business. Hot Growth Opportunities – Find out which regions and segments are booming—so you can jump on the next big opportunity! Our research pinpoints high-potential markets, allowing you to make timely, data-driven decisions. Real-World Insights – Get practical tips for product development, marketing, and expansion. We show you how to implement successful strategies based on what the leading companies are doing, and the trends that are making waves. Why Trust This Report? We’ve done the heavy lifting—analyzing data, trends, and competition—so you can make smart, confident decisions. Plus, we include a PESTEL Analysis to help you understand political, economic, social, and tech factors shaping the market, giving you a comprehensive understanding of the macro-environment.

Don’t miss out—download a FREE sample with key graphs, data, and insights : https://straitsresearch.com/report/synthetic-fuels-market/request-sample

Market Segments Covered: By Production Method Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis Methanol to Gasoline (MTG) Electrolysis-based Methods By Applications Gasoline Diesel Jet Fuel Others By End-User Transportation Power Generation Industrial Others Top Key Players: Audi AG Royal Dutch Shell Plc ExxonMobil Corporation PetroChina Company Limited Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. Reliance Industries Ltd. Phillips 66 Company Got Questions? We’ve Got Answers! How big is the Synthetic Fuels Market market, and where’s it headed? Which regions are the next big growth hubs? What’s driving (or slowing) market growth? By Region North America (U.S., Canada, Mexico) – Learn about market trends, challenges, and opportunities in North America, one of the most dynamic regions.

Europe (UK, Germany, France, and more) – Gain insights into Europe’s evolving market, focusing on the countries with the highest potential for growth.

Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, and fast-growing markets) – Discover the rapid changes happening in Asia Pacific, home to some of the world’s fastest-growing economies and industries.

Middle East & Africa (GCC, South Africa, Nigeria, and emerging economies) – Unlock the potential in Middle Eastern and African markets, understanding what drives demand in these emerging regions.

South America (Brazil, Argentina, and beyond) – Explore the opportunities and challenges in South America’s growing markets, as well as the top sectors to focus on.

Stay Ahead with Straits Research Stay Ahead with Straits Research We’re a trusted name in market intelligence, helping businesses like yours make smarter moves. From tech to healthcare, we’ve got the insights you need to win. Our reports are crafted with precision and backed by reliable data, ensuring you’re always ahead of the curve in a competitive landscape.

More Industry Reports & Updates:

https://sites.google.com/view/consumerandpackageingresearchr/home/anti-aging-products-market-size

https://sites.google.com/view/consumerandpackageingresearchr/home/solar-tracker-installation-market

@ e46f3a64:4426aaf9

Want to stay ahead in the fast-changing Air Conditioning System Market industry? Our report breaks down all the key insights—so you don’t have to! Whether you're a business owner, investor, or just curious about market trends, we’ve got you covered.

According to Straits Research, The Air Conditioning System Market size was valued at USD 119.77 Billion in 2022. It is projected to reach USD 202.34 Billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 6% during the forecast period (2022-2031).

Get Your Sample Report Now : https://straitsresearch.com/report/air-conditioning-system-market/request-sample

What’s Inside? Clear Market Analysis – No jargon, just straight-to-the-point insights on market size, growth, and trends. You’ll know exactly where the industry stands and where it’s headed, with clear data-backed predictions. Who’s Leading the Game? – Discover top players, their strategies, and how you can compete. We give you an in-depth look at the biggest players in the industry and how they’ve achieved success, providing actionable insights for your own business. Hot Growth Opportunities – Find out which regions and segments are booming—so you can jump on the next big opportunity! Our research pinpoints high-potential markets, allowing you to make timely, data-driven decisions. Real-World Insights – Get practical tips for product development, marketing, and expansion. We show you how to implement successful strategies based on what the leading companies are doing, and the trends that are making waves. Why Trust This Report? We’ve done the heavy lifting—analyzing data, trends, and competition—so you can make smart, confident decisions. Plus, we include a PESTEL Analysis to help you understand political, economic, social, and tech factors shaping the market, giving you a comprehensive understanding of the macro-environment.

Don’t miss out—download a FREE sample with key graphs, data, and insights : https://straitsresearch.com/report/air-conditioning-system-market/request-sample

Market Segments Covered: By Type Unitary Rooftop Packaged Terminal Air Conditioner (PTAC) By Technology Inverter Non-Inverter By End-User Residential Commercial Industrial Top Key Players: Daikin Industries Ltd. Mitsubishi Electric Trane HVAC US LLC Carrier Haier Group ALFA LAVAL BSH Hausgeräte GmbH Electrolux AB Corporation Ingersoll-Rand plc (Trane Technologies plc) Got Questions? We’ve Got Answers! How big is the Air Conditioning System Market market, and where’s it headed? Which regions are the next big growth hubs? What’s driving (or slowing) market growth? By Region North America (U.S., Canada, Mexico) – Learn about market trends, challenges, and opportunities in North America, one of the most dynamic regions.

Europe (UK, Germany, France, and more) – Gain insights into Europe’s evolving market, focusing on the countries with the highest potential for growth.

Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, and fast-growing markets) – Discover the rapid changes happening in Asia Pacific, home to some of the world’s fastest-growing economies and industries.

Middle East & Africa (GCC, South Africa, Nigeria, and emerging economies) – Unlock the potential in Middle Eastern and African markets, understanding what drives demand in these emerging regions.

South America (Brazil, Argentina, and beyond) – Explore the opportunities and challenges in South America’s growing markets, as well as the top sectors to focus on.

Stay Ahead with Straits Research Stay Ahead with Straits Research We’re a trusted name in market intelligence, helping businesses like yours make smarter moves. From tech to healthcare, we’ve got the insights you need to win. Our reports are crafted with precision and backed by reliable data, ensuring you’re always ahead of the curve in a competitive landscape.

More Industry Reports & Updates:

https://sites.google.com/view/consumerandpackageingresearchr/home/furniture-market-size

https://sites.google.com/view/consumerandpackageingresearchr/home/anti-aging-products-market-size

@ 6ccf5232:5c74f0cb

H2Bet se destaca como uma das plataformas de jogos online mais inovadoras e emocionantes, oferecendo uma experiência dinâmica e imersiva para jogadores de todo o Brasil. Com uma ampla seleção de jogos, design fácil de usar e atendimento ao cliente excepcional, a H2Bet é uma das melhores escolhas para quem busca uma experiência de entretenimento online de qualidade. Este artigo abordará as principais características da plataforma, as opções de jogos e a experiência geral que a H2Bet oferece aos seus jogadores.

A H2bet é uma plataforma de jogos online criada para atender tanto iniciantes quanto jogadores experientes. Sua interface moderna e intuitiva garante que a navegação seja simples, permitindo que os jogadores encontrem facilmente seus jogos e recursos preferidos. Se você está jogando no computador ou em um dispositivo móvel, a H2Bet oferece uma experiência sem interrupções graças ao seu design responsivo.

Um dos principais diferenciais da H2Bet é o seu compromisso com a criação de um ambiente seguro e protegido para os jogadores. A plataforma utiliza tecnologia de criptografia de ponta, garantindo que suas informações pessoais e transações financeiras sejam mantidas em total segurança. Além disso, a H2Bet oferece uma variedade de métodos de pagamento, incluindo opções locais para jogadores brasileiros, facilitando depósitos e retiradas de forma rápida e segura.

A H2Bet também valoriza a transparência e a responsabilidade no jogo, oferecendo informações claras sobre os termos e condições da plataforma, além de um compromisso com práticas responsáveis para que os jogadores possam desfrutar de suas experiências de forma consciente e segura. Com essas medidas em vigor, os jogadores podem se sentir confiantes ao usar a plataforma.

Uma Ampla Gama de Jogos A H2Bet oferece uma vasta seleção de jogos que atendem a todos os gostos e preferências. De jogos de ação intensa, que mantêm a adrenalina lá em cima, a jogos mais estratégicos, que exigem habilidade e paciência, há opções para todos os tipos de jogadores. A plataforma conta com parcerias com os principais fornecedores de jogos, garantindo que cada título seja de alta qualidade, com gráficos envolventes e mecânicas emocionantes.

Jogos de Mesa e Cartas Para os jogadores que apreciam os jogos tradicionais, a H2Bet oferece uma excelente seleção de jogos de mesa, como blackjack, bacará e roleta. Cada um desses jogos está disponível em diversas versões, permitindo que os jogadores escolham o estilo que mais gostam. Seja você um jogador casual ou alguém que se dedica à estratégia, esses jogos oferecem o equilíbrio perfeito entre entretenimento e desafio.

Máquinas de Caça-Níqueis A seção de slots da H2Bet é uma das ofertas mais emocionantes da plataforma. Com uma grande variedade de temas e recursos bônus, as máquinas de caça-níqueis oferecem horas de diversão. Os jogadores podem escolher entre jogos simples e rápidos ou opções mais complexas, com várias linhas de pagamento e rodadas de bônus. Seja qual for sua preferência, a H2Bet tem algo para oferecer aos fãs de slots.

Jogos ao Vivo Para aqueles que buscam uma experiência mais imersiva e interativa, a H2Bet também oferece jogos ao vivo. Esses jogos são transmitidos em tempo real, com dealers profissionais e ação real, proporcionando uma experiência semelhante à de um ambiente físico de jogos. A roleta ao vivo, blackjack e outros jogos oferecem uma atmosfera social e envolvente, tornando o momento ainda mais emocionante.

Experiência do Jogador Excepcional No centro da H2Bet está a experiência do jogador. A plataforma foi projetada para garantir que cada jogador, independentemente de sua experiência, tenha uma experiência de jogo tranquila, divertida e envolvente.

Um dos maiores diferenciais da H2Bet é sua interface intuitiva. Os jogadores podem navegar facilmente pelas categorias de jogos, explorar novos títulos e acessar todos os recursos da plataforma sem complicação. O layout é limpo e organizado, permitindo que os jogadores se concentrem no que realmente importa: se divertir.

Além disso, o suporte ao cliente da H2Bet está disponível 24 horas por dia, 7 dias por semana, garantindo que qualquer dúvida ou problema seja resolvido de forma rápida e eficiente. Os jogadores podem entrar em contato por meio do chat ao vivo ou por e-mail, e a equipe de suporte é reconhecida pela sua cordialidade, conhecimento e rapidez no atendimento.

A H2Bet também oferece uma experiência otimizada para dispositivos móveis, permitindo que os jogadores aproveitem seus jogos favoritos a qualquer hora e em qualquer lugar. Se você estiver usando um smartphone ou tablet, a versão móvel da H2Bet oferece a mesma qualidade e recursos que a versão para desktop, garantindo que sua diversão não tenha limites.

Bônus e Promoções A H2Bet recompensa seus jogadores com uma variedade de bônus e promoções, tanto para novos quanto para jogadores regulares. Novos jogadores são recebidos com ofertas de boas-vindas atraentes, proporcionando a oportunidade de explorar a plataforma sem precisar de um grande depósito inicial. Jogadores frequentes podem se beneficiar de promoções contínuas e programas de fidelidade, o que garante que eles sejam sempre premiados pela sua lealdade. Esses bônus são uma excelente maneira de aumentar o tempo de jogo e, quem sabe, aumentar as chances de vitória.

Conclusão A H2Bet é uma excelente opção para jogadores brasileiros que buscam uma plataforma completa, segura e divertida para jogos online. Com uma vasta seleção de jogos, foco na satisfação do jogador e forte compromisso com a segurança, a H2Bet oferece uma experiência de jogo excepcional para todos os tipos de jogadores. Se você é fã de jogos clássicos de mesa, caça-níqueis emocionantes ou uma experiência ao vivo realista, a H2Bet tem tudo o que você precisa. Sua interface fácil de usar, suporte ao cliente eficiente e promoções generosas tornam a H2Bet uma das plataformas de entretenimento online mais atraentes do mercado.

@ 6ccf5232:5c74f0cb

O Bet7k chegou ao mercado como uma plataforma de entretenimento online que visa oferecer uma experiência envolvente e divertida para jogadores de diversas preferências. Com uma interface amigável e uma vasta gama de jogos, ela se posiciona como uma opção de destaque para aqueles que buscam uma experiência interativa de alto nível. Neste artigo, vamos explorar o que torna o Bet7k especial, desde sua introdução até os jogos oferecidos e a experiência do jogador.

Ao acessar o Bet7k, a primeira impressão é a de uma plataforma moderna e bem estruturada. O site foi projetado para ser intuitivo, facilitando a navegação tanto para novatos quanto para jogadores experientes. A plataforma é otimizada para dispositivos móveis, garantindo que os jogadores possam aproveitar seus jogos favoritos a qualquer hora e em qualquer lugar.

Além disso, o Bet7k é uma plataforma segura e confiável, com medidas robustas de proteção de dados e transações financeiras. A transparência e o compromisso com a privacidade do usuário são aspectos essenciais que contribuem para a confiança dos jogadores. Com uma conexão estável e interface rápida, a plataforma proporciona uma navegação sem interrupções, essencial para uma boa experiência de jogo.

Variedade de Jogos: Entretenimento para Todos os Gostos O Bet7k oferece uma grande variedade de jogos que atendem a todos os tipos de jogadores. Desde opções de jogos de mesa até jogos de habilidade e de sorte, a plataforma se esforça para garantir que todos os jogadores encontrem algo de seu interesse. Entre os jogos mais populares estão os caça-níqueis, onde a emoção e a expectativa de grandes vitórias estão sempre presentes. Com temas criativos e gráficos impressionantes, esses jogos proporcionam uma experiência envolvente e divertida.

Além disso, o Bet7k disponibiliza uma série de jogos de cartas, como o pôquer e o blackjack, que testam a habilidade e a estratégia dos jogadores. Esses jogos exigem mais do que sorte, oferecendo uma experiência desafiadora e dinâmica. Para os fãs de jogos rápidos e emocionantes, há também opções como roletas virtuais, que combinam sorte e emoção em cada rodada.

Para os jogadores que buscam algo mais interativo, o Bet7k também oferece uma série de jogos com dealers ao vivo, onde é possível interagir em tempo real com outros jogadores e dealers profissionais. Essa opção proporciona uma imersão ainda maior, criando uma atmosfera de jogo mais realista e envolvente.

A Experiência do Jogador: Praticidade e Diversão O diferencial do Bet7k está na experiência do jogador. A plataforma foca em oferecer uma experiência sem fricções, com um suporte ao cliente eficiente e disponível para resolver qualquer dúvida ou problema que possa surgir durante o jogo. A equipe de suporte é altamente treinada e está disponível 24 horas por dia, sete dias por semana, garantindo que o jogador sempre tenha a assistência necessária.

Outro aspecto importante da experiência do jogador no Bet7k é a variedade de métodos de pagamento. A plataforma aceita diversos métodos de depósito e retirada, facilitando o acesso dos jogadores ao conteúdo sem complicações. A transação é rápida e segura, permitindo que os jogadores se concentrem em sua diversão sem se preocupar com aspectos financeiros.

Além disso, o Bet7k oferece promoções regulares e programas de fidelidade, que incentivam os jogadores a retornarem à plataforma e continuarem sua jornada de diversão. As promoções são diversificadas, oferecendo bônus em depósitos, rodadas grátis e outros benefícios que aumentam a emoção e as chances de vitória.

Conclusão O Bet7k se destaca como uma plataforma completa de entretenimento online, oferecendo uma experiência envolvente, segura e divertida para todos os tipos de jogadores. Com uma vasta gama de jogos, uma interface intuitiva e suporte ao cliente de alta qualidade, o Bet7k é a escolha perfeita para quem busca uma plataforma confiável e cheia de diversão. Se você ainda não experimentou, é hora de conhecer o Bet7k e descobrir tudo o que essa plataforma tem a oferecer.

@ 6ccf5232:5c74f0cb

O mundo do entretenimento digital está em constante evolução, e o Betao surge como uma das plataformas mais inovadoras e empolgantes do momento. Com uma proposta moderna, acessível e repleta de recursos, o Betao atrai jogadores de todos os perfis, oferecendo uma variedade impressionante de jogos e uma experiência de usuário pensada para surpreender desde o primeiro acesso.

Logo ao entrar no site ou aplicativo do Betao, fica evidente o cuidado com o design e a funcionalidade. A navegação é intuitiva, com menus bem organizados e fácil acesso às principais seções. Seja no computador, tablet ou smartphone, o usuário encontra uma interface fluida que garante uma jornada sem complicações.

O processo de cadastro é rápido, e o suporte ao cliente está sempre disponível, o que mostra o comprometimento da plataforma com a segurança e a satisfação dos seus jogadores. Além disso, o Betao conta com sistemas de segurança modernos que protegem os dados dos usuários, promovendo um ambiente confiável para jogar com tranquilidade.

Um dos maiores atrativos do Betao é a sua diversidade de jogos. A plataforma oferece opções para quem gosta de jogos rápidos e dinâmicos, como também para aqueles que preferem estratégias mais elaboradas. Entre os destaques, estão os jogos de cartas tradicionais, como o pôquer e o blackjack, além de versões modernas com gráficos surpreendentes e mecânicas envolventes.

Outro ponto forte é a seção de jogos com roletas, onde a emoção de cada giro é potencializada por gráficos realistas e sons imersivos. Os jogos de dados e os famosos títulos de “crash” também fazem parte do catálogo, oferecendo uma dinâmica diferente e desafiadora para quem busca algo além do comum.

Os desenvolvedores parceiros do Betao são reconhecidos no mercado pela qualidade de seus jogos, o que garante um alto padrão de performance, gráficos e jogabilidade. Com atualizações constantes, a plataforma está sempre trazendo novidades para manter o jogador engajado.

Experiência do Jogador: Diversão com Recompensas Reais O Betao entende que a experiência do jogador vai muito além do jogo em si. Por isso, investe em promoções exclusivas, bônus generosos e programas de fidelidade que valorizam quem escolhe a plataforma. Novos usuários são recebidos com ofertas especiais de boas-vindas, enquanto os jogadores frequentes acumulam vantagens e benefícios exclusivos.

A interação com a comunidade também é um diferencial. O Betao promove torneios e desafios que incentivam a competição saudável e a socialização entre os participantes. Tudo isso contribui para uma experiência muito mais rica e envolvente.

Outro ponto que merece destaque é a rapidez nos pagamentos e retiradas. O Betao oferece diferentes métodos de transações, todos seguros e com prazos reduzidos, garantindo que o jogador possa curtir suas recompensas sem demora.

Conclusão Com um catálogo diversificado, uma plataforma segura e moderna e uma experiência pensada para o jogador brasileiro, o Betao se consolida como uma excelente opção para quem busca entretenimento online de qualidade. Se você está em busca de diversão, emoção e recompensas reais, o Betao é, sem dúvida, a escolha certa. Acesse, descubra os jogos disponíveis e mergulhe em uma nova forma de jogar!

@ fd06f542:8d6d54cd

什么是电子书系统？

目前电子书系统非常多，gitbook，mkdocs，vitepress。但是这些系统都有一个问题，就是你需要 静态存储你的markdown文件， 而且不能在线编写。

现有的电子书系统，你需要用一个 第三方编辑器 制作好一个一个的md文件，并且编排好目录结构，然后用上面列举的 软件生成 一个website。

现有电子书的缺点是什么？

1. 空间问题，你需要存书的空间；
2. 编写不方便 写好以后需要手动上传；
3. 登录到服务器更新写好的新文件；
4. 不支持交互和评论；
5. 再重启服务器，（有些可能不需要重启，自己能监控）；

以上过程太繁琐了。

nostrbook如何解决这个问题？

• nostrbook采用的在线编辑；
• 用户无须任何空间，内容存储到第三方服务器，你也可以用自己的服务器；
• 免费，开源；
• 发布轻松，写好点"提交"就发布了，不需要过多的动作；
• 无须其他的维护成本；
• 支持 评论和点赞；
• 可以私有部署，到自己服务器，或者部署在本机都可以。

搭建过程

环境依赖

• nodejs

安装过程

git clone https://github.com/nostrbook/nostrbook cd nostrbook npm install npm run dev

定制化配置

修改这个文件 https://github.com/nostrbook/nostrbook/blob/main/src/lib/config.ts export let booktag="createbook"; export let blogtag="createblog"; export let chaptertag="bookchapter";

修以上3个参数，就可以成为你自己的 电子书和blog了。

你要你的系统安装了nodejs，就可以了。 Windows，Linux ，macos都可以。

系统支持 电子书和blog，你可以搭建 私有 日志系统也可以。

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วันนี้จะเล่าเรื่องโครงการ School Plates โดย ProVeg UK ให้อ่านครับ

ProVeg UK เปิดตัวโครงการ School Plates ในเดือนมิถุนายน 2018 โดยมีเป้าหมายเพื่อช่วยให้โรงเรียนในสหราชอาณาจักรเสิร์ฟอาหารที่ดีต่อสุขภาพและเป็นมิตรต่อสิ่งแวดล้อมมากขึ้น โครงการนี้มุ่งเน้นการเพิ่มคุณภาพ ปริมาณ และการยอมรับของอาหารจากพืชในเมนูโรงเรียน โดยเฉพาะในโรงเรียนประถมศึกษา ซึ่งส่วนใหญ่จะอยู่ภายใต้การดูแลของหน่วยงานท้องถิ่น ​

เพื่อการสนับสนุนโครงการ บริการที่ ProVeg UK มอบให้จะประกอบไปด้วย บริการฟรีแก่โรงเรียน หน่วยงานท้องถิ่น และผู้จัดเลี้ยงอาหารโรงเรียน เพื่อสนับสนุนการเปลี่ยนแปลงเมนูอย่างมีประสิทธิภาพ บริการเหล่านี้รวมถึง -การให้คำปรึกษาเมนู โดยให้คำแนะนำในการปรับสมดุลเมนู และใช้ภาษาที่ส่งเสริมอาหารจากพืช​ -การพัฒนาสูตรอาหารใหม่ ช่วยสร้างสูตรอาหารจากพืชที่อร่อย มีคุณค่าทางโภชนาการ และเหมาะสมกับครัวโรงเรียน​ -การจัดเวิร์กช็อปและการฝึกอบรม โดยจัดอบรมทั้งแบบออนไลน์และแบบพบหน้าสำหรับพ่อครัวและเจ้าหน้าที่ครัวโรงเรียน​ -การวิเคราะห์ด้านสุขภาพ สิ่งแวดล้อม และงบประมาณ มีโปรแกรมประเมินผลกระทบของเมนูต่อสุขภาพเด็ก การปล่อยก๊าซเรือนกระจก และต้นทุน​ ให้ครบถ้วน

นอกจากนี้ยังมีการจัดรางวัล School Plates Awards: มอบรางวัลระดับ Bronze, Silver และ Gold ให้แก่โรงเรียนที่มีความมุ่งมั่นในการปรับปรุงเมนูอย่างยั่งยืน ด้วย

ผลลัพธ์ตั้งแต่เริ่มโครงการ School Plates ได้เปลี่ยนแปลงเมนูอาหารโรงเรียนมากกว่า 6 ล้านมื้อ ให้กลายเป็นอาหารที่ดีต่อสุขภาพและยั่งยืนมากขึ้น โดยมีการเพิ่มวัน Meat-Free Mondays และตัวเลือกอาหารจากพืชในเมนูประจำวันของโรงเรียนหลายแห่ง ​

สูตรอาหารที่พัฒนาโดย ProVeg UK มีคุณสมบัติประมาณนี้ครับ -มีโปรตีนเทียบเท่ากับอาหารที่มีเนื้อสัตว์​ -มีไขมันอิ่มตัวต่ำกว่า​ -อุดมไปด้วยไฟเบอร์และสารอาหารที่จำเป็น​ -มีการปล่อยก๊าซเรือนกระจกต่ำ​ -สอดคล้องกับมาตรฐานอาหารและโภชนาการของโรงเรียนในสหราชอาณาจักร ​

นั่นทำให้โครงการ School Plates ได้รับการยอมรับจากโรงเรียนและหน่วยงานท้องถิ่นหลายแห่งในสหราชอาณาจักร และยังได้รับการเสนอชื่อเข้าชิงรางวัลด้านสิ่งแวดล้อมระดับโลก เช่น Food Planet Prize

ทีนี้เรามาวิเคราะห์กันว่า School Plates คือ เมนูรักษ์โลกหรือกับดักระบบ? โครงการ School Plates ของ ProVeg UK ภายนอกดูเหมือนเรื่องดี เป็นการ “ช่วยโรงเรียนให้เปลี่ยนเมนูไปทาง plant-based เพื่อสุขภาพเด็กและโลก” มีการให้คำปรึกษา ทำสูตรอาหาร อบรมพ่อครัว และพูดจาภาษาดี ๆ ว่า "อาหารยั่งยืน" กับ "ทางเลือกที่ดีต่อสุขภาพ" แต่ถ้ามองลึกเข้าไป มันไม่ใช่แค่อาหาร มันคือ เกมเปลี่ยนโครงสร้างการผลิตอาหารในระดับระบบ โดยใช้ “เด็กในโรงเรียน” เป็นจุดตั้งต้น

ถ้าดูเผิน ๆ เราอาจนึกว่าเด็กได้กินผักเยอะขึ้น โลกได้ลดก๊าซเรือนกระจก แต่ถ้าขุดเข้าไป จะเห็นว่าเบื้องหลัง ProVeg UK เชื่อมโยงกับกลุ่มทุน plant-based ขนาดใหญ่ ไม่ว่าจะเป็นผู้ผลิตนมถั่ว เนื้อเทียม หรือบริษัทยีสต์และจุลินทรีย์ที่ใช้ทำโปรตีนหมัก (Precision Fermentation) ทั้งหลาย

และอย่าลืมว่า ProVeg มีพันธมิตรกับองค์กรระดับโลกอย่าง EAT Foundation, World Resources Institute, และกลุ่ม lobby ต่าง ๆ ที่ผลักดัน นโยบายเปลี่ยนอาหารโลก ให้ไปทาง plant-based เป็นหลัก ซึ่งดูดี… ถ้าเราไม่รู้ว่าเบื้องหลังมันคือระบบ “อาหารสำเร็จรูปจากโรงงาน” ที่อ้างคำว่า “รักษ์โลก” แต่ผลิตโดยอุตสาหกรรมที่กระจุกตัวสูงมาก

ปัญหาที่คนอาจไม่ค่อยพูดถึงก็มีอยู่ครับเช่น -ละเลยโภชนาการตามธรรมชาติของเด็ก เพราะเด็กวัยเจริญเติบโตต้องการ โปรตีนคุณภาพสูง ไขมันดี และ สารอาหารที่พบเฉพาะในสัตว์ เช่น วิตามิน B12, เฮม-ไอรอน, โคลีน, คาร์โนซีน ฯลฯ ซึ่งอาหาร plant-based จำนวนมากขาด หรือมีในรูปแบบดูดซึมยากกว่าหลายเท่า - ใช้คำว่า "สิ่งแวดล้อม" บังหน้า แต่เป็นการผูกขาดระบบอาหาร การผลัก plant-based ไม่ได้ลดการพึ่งพาระบบอุตสาหกรรมเลย ตรงกันข้ามคือมันพาเราเข้าสู่ยุคของ plant-based ultra-processed food ที่ผลิตจากซอยโปรตีน ถั่วเหลือง GMO 2.0 น้ำมันพืช และสารแต่งรส... จากโรงงาน - เจาะระบบโรงเรียน = วางรากฐานความเชื่อ ให้เด็กที่โตมากับอาหารแบบนี้จะเชื่อว่านี่คือ “ของดี” และมองโปรตีนจากสัตว์เป็นสิ่งแปลกแยกในอนาคต เหมือนเป็นการ “reset” วิถีอาหารใหม่แบบไม่รู้ตัวผ่าน เจเนอเรชั่น - กลไกการจัดซื้อของรัฐจะถูก redirect ไปยังกลุ่มทุนใหญ่นอกพื้นที่ จากที่โรงเรียนจำนวนมากเคยซื้อวัตถุดิบจากชุมชน หรือฟาร์มใกล้เคียง พอโครงการแบบนี้เข้ามา จะค่อย ๆ ทำให้วัตถุดิบถูกกำหนดจาก เมนูที่ standardized ซึ่งสุดท้ายต้องพึ่ง “สินค้าสำเร็จรูปจากระบบอุตสาหกรรม”

ซึ่งถ้าเรามองโภชนาการสำหรับเด็กจริงๆแล้วนั้น เราควรลดของแปรรูป ไม่ใช่แค่ลดเนื้อ และใช้วัตถุดิบสดแท้จากธรรมชาติ ไม่ใช่ plant-based industrial food นอกจากนี้ยังควรสนับสนุนอาหารจากฟาร์มท้องถิ่น ทั้งผัก ไข่ เนื้อ และผลิตผลจากเกษตรกรจริง รวมถึงให้เด็กได้รู้จักที่มาของอาหาร ไม่ใช่แค่เรียนรู้แคลอรีกับคาร์บอนที่ว่ากันว่าปล่อยออกมา

School Plates คือก้าวเล็ก ๆ สู่การเปลี่ยนโครงสร้างใหญ่ของการควบคุมอาหารของโลก มันไม่ได้แค่เรื่องของเมนูกลางวัน แต่มันคือ “ระบบคิด” ที่กำลัง reshape โลกให้เด็กยุคใหม่โตมาโดยไม่รู้จัก real food ในสายตาเฮีย แม้โครงการนี้ไม่ได้เลวร้ายทั้งหมด แต่มันมี “เจตนาเชิงโครงสร้าง” ที่ต้องจับตาอย่างมาก และเราควรถามกลับเสมอว่า... ทำไมเราถึงต้องยัดอาหารสังเคราะห์ในนามของการ “รักโลก” แต่กลับตัดขาดจากดิน น้ำ ฟ้า และฟาร์มท้องถิ่น? ทำไม?

#pirateketo #กูต้องรู้มั๊ย #ม้วนหางสิลูก #siamstr

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Crypto Insights

1 BTC Quantum Cracking Challenge Called a Joke

Quantum computing research organization Project Eleven launched “Q-Day Challenge,” announcing a 1 BTC reward to the first team that can crack an ECC (elliptic curve cryptography) key using Shor’s algorithm on a quantum computer before April 5, 2026. Project Eleven considers this an extremely difficult task, stating that even recovering a few private keys would be big news.

However, Shinobi from Bitcoin Magazine called the bounty a joke, arguing it provides no serious incentive for several reasons:

• Even highly optimistic forecasts place the feasibility of such a quantum breakthrough at least 5–10 years away.
• At Bitcoin’s current price of $80,000, the bounty is insufficient compensation for such a demanding task.
• A quantum computer could be used for much more lucrative exploits—eavesdropping on internet connections regardless of TLS, breaking encrypted private communications, or compromising the certificate authority hierarchy of the DNS system.

New BIP Proposal to Redefine Bitcoin’s Smallest Unit

A new BIP draft proposes redefining the term “Bitcoin” to refer to the smallest indivisible unit in the system—currently “sat” (Satoshi). The goal is to make transaction amounts more readable and reduce user error. For example, someone with 851 sats would simply see “851 bitcoin” instead of “0.00000851 BTC.” Only the display and interpretation of amounts would change—the protocol remains untouched.

Previously, BIP 176 attempted to improve readability by introducing “bits” (100 sats), but it introduced a new denomination users had to learn and switch between.

Sparse Bitcoin Block Contains Only 7 Transactions

Bitcoin transaction activity has slumped to its lowest in over two years. Recently, top mining pool Foundry mined a sparse block—Block 890466—containing only 7 transactions and weighing 5,369 weight units.

The last time a block was sparser was in January 2023, when Binance Pool mined Block 769895, which included just 4 transactions and weighed 4,370 weight units.

Over 95% of Bitcoin Blocks Mined by Just 6 Pools

A recent investigation by b10c analyzed the hash rate shares of Bitcoin’s five largest mining pools to examine centralization trends in 2025. Part one looked at mining pool information in coinbase transactions. Part two considered the assumed potential proxy pools. Both parts revealed a high concentration of mining activity. The conclusion: over 95% of recent blocks were mined by just six pools.

Bitcoin Hashrate Projections Through 2027

Valentin Rousseau in collaboration with Blockspace published hashrate forecast, covering:

• Hashrate forecasts for 2025, 2026, and 2027
• How current Bitcoin mining economics may influence the hashrate trajectory
• Hashrate expansion schedules for public miners, plus probability of completion
• Sensitivity tables for hashrate growth under various Bitcoin prices

Using VLS for Non-Custodial Lightning Integration

VLS (Validating Lightning Signer) is a library and reference implementation for a signer module to secure Lightning nodes. It separates Lightning private keys and security rule validation from the node, moving them to a dedicated signing device, thereby reducing the attack surface and enhancing security.

Before VLS, it was nearly impossible to securely manage Lightning private keys in a hosted environment without taking custody of user funds. Blockstream’s Greenlight demonstrates in this case study how VLS enables developers to seamlessly integrate non-custodial Lightning payments into their apps, with minimal overhead, while ensuring users retain full control of their funds.

How CTV+CSFS improves BitVM bridges

Robin Linus elaborates on how input-committing covenants can be used to build more efficient and secure bridges in the BitVM ecosystem. By using CTV (CHECKTEMPLATEVERIFY) and CSFS (CHECKSIGFROMSTACK), the need for presigning committees is eliminated and transaction size is significantly reduced. This simplifies bridge architecture, enhances operational efficiency, and aims towards trust-minimized Bitcoin interoperability, though challenges such as potential censorship in the peg-in process remain.

RISC Zero Launches R0VM 2.0 with Performance and Security Gains

RISC Zero introduced R0VM 2.0, a major upgrade to its zkVM focused on performance and scalability. Enhancements include:

• Ethereum block validation and execution time cut from 35 minutes to 44 seconds;
• Validity proof costs reduced 5x, with batch sizes of 25 bringing per-block costs down from $1.355 to $0.2747; for larger batches, as low as $0.0012.

On the security side, formal verification is a key focus of R0VM 2.0. The Keccak circuit’s determinism has been fully verified, and 122 of the 123 components in the v2 RISC-V core circuit have also been confirmed deterministic.

Bitcoin Soft Forks Could Improve BitVMX

BitVMX is a platform for optimistic verification of Bitcoin smart contracts. In this article, Fairgate Labs outlines various potential Bitcoin upgrades and how they could benefit BitVMX. The article argues that new opcodes introduced via soft forks could improve efficiency, reduce on-chain costs, simplify scripting, and promote decentralization.

Ethereum Execution Layer to Replace EVM with RISC-V

Vitalik announced a long-term proposal to replace the EVM in Ethereum’s execution layer with RISC-V as the virtual machine for smart contracts. This aims to significantly improve execution efficiency and address key scalability bottlenecks, while also simplifying the execution layer.

Additionally, Cardano’s Charles Hoskinson mentioned that their project is also using RISC-V in BitVMX, stating: “RISC-V is the future.”

Top Reads on Blockchains and Beyond

Viewing a Clown World Through Bitcoin: Responsibility, Freedom, and Self-Reflection

The book Bitcoin: The Inverse of Clown World critiques a modern society filled with “clowns”—obsessed with false political narratives and meaningless social issues, such as excessive focus on “political correctness” and climate change. The author argues that the root of absurdity is a lack of personal responsibility, and that when money breaks down, everything becomes political theater.

Beyond exposing and criticizing these absurdities, the book promotes Bitcoin as a means to succeed by providing value. It emphasizes the importance of protecting one’s time and mind in an era of information overload and encourages readers to reflect on their lifestyles and contribute to making a better world—with Bitcoin as a foundation for that change.

The book review by Bitcoin Magazine.

GPU Proof-of-Work: Redefining Energy, Computation, and Money in the AI Age

The author envisions a future where GPU-based Proof-of-Work (GPU PoW) plays a pivotal role in an AI-driven world. GPU PoW can secure cryptocurrencies, train AI models, balance energy loads, and help build a global compute marketplace. Unlike ASICs, which are limited to mining, GPUs are versatile and can dynamically shift workloads for optimal economic return.

By coordinating local data centers, superclusters, and middleware, GPU PoW can improve energy and compute efficiency without sacrificing decentralization. This gives rise to a new utility-based economic system. PoW is no longer just about mining—it becomes infrastructure supporting the convergence of AI, energy systems, and monetary networks.

DahLIAS：First Cryptographic Protocol for Fully Cross-Input Signature Aggregation Compatible with Secp256k1

Blockstream’s research team has introduced DahLIAS, the first cryptographic protocol that enables full cross-input signature aggregation, while remaining compatible with Bitcoin's existing secp256k1 elliptic curve.

An interactive aggregate signature scheme allows n signers—each with their own (sk, pk) key pair and message m—to jointly produce a short signature that proves each m was signed under its corresponding pk. While such schemes can offer massive space and verification savings—two critical bottlenecks for blockchain like Bitcoin—aggregate signatures have received less attention compared to other multisig schemes like MuSig2 or FROST.

DahLIAS is the first such scheme built on discrete logarithms in pairing-free groups, with constant-size signatures that look just like standard Schnorr signatures. DahLIAS also addresses real-world use cases. In addition to its savings in space and time, it supports key tweaking—a common Bitcoin technique used in hierarchical deterministic wallets to derive keys and enhance on-chain privacy.

Read the full paper.

Thunderbolt: A Formally Verified Protocol for Off-Chain Bitcoin Transfers

Bitcoin Thunderbolt is a novel off-chain protocol for asynchronous, secure transfer of Bitcoin UTXOs between uncoordinated users. Unlike prior solutions such as payment channels or the Lightning Network, Bitcoin Thunderbolt requires no prior trust, direct interaction, or continuous connectivity between sender and receiver.

At its core, Bitcoin Thunderbolt employs a Byzantine fault-tolerant committee to manage threshold Schnorr signatures, enabling secure ownership delegation and on-chain finalization.

Read the full paper.

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加密洞见

悬赏 1 BTC 的量子计算破解密钥挑战，被认为是个笑话

量子计算研究机构 Project Eleven 发布 Q-Day 挑战，宣布对能够于 2026 年 4 月 5 日之前、在量子计算机上使用 Shor 算法破解椭圆曲线加密（ECC）密钥的第一支团队提供 1 BTC 的奖励。Project Eleven 认为这将是一项极其艰巨的任务，即使获得几位私钥也将是一个大新闻。

而 Bitcoin Magazine 的长期贡献者 Shinobi 认为该笔赏金是一个笑话，并没有提供任何严肃的激励，原因有：

• 即使是对量子计算进展的高度乐观预测，也将实际实现这一目标的时间表定为 5-10 年；
• 按照目前单个比特币 80,000 美元的市价来看，奖励对于这项困难的工作其实并不多；
• 一台量子计算机可以完成比价值 80,000 美元更有价值的事，如窃听互联网连接、破解私人信息应用程序、破解整个 DNS 系统的证书颁发机构层次结构等。

重新定义比特币的基本单位的新 BIP

这份 BIP 草案建议重新定义「比特币」一词，以指代系统中最小的不可分割单位，即目前所说的「聪」（sat），目的是让交易看起来更清晰易读，可以有效降低了用户出错风险。如果某人有 851 个聪，钱包只显示 851 个比特币，而不是 0.00000851 BTC。变化的只有显示和解释金额的方式，而协议不变。

在这项提案之前，已经有提案（BIP 176）试图通过引入代表 100 聪的「比特」（bits）来使比特币数位的显示更加友好。虽然这减少了小数位的数量，但它引入了一种新的面额，用户必须学习并在其之间切换。

比特币交易活跃度低迷，稀疏区块仅包含 7 笔交易

比特币交易活动处于 2 年多来的最低水平，导致最大的矿池 Foundry 近期挖掘出一个稀疏的非空区块：Block 890466 仅包含 7 笔交易，重量为 5369 个单位。

上一个低于此的稀疏区块是 Binance Pool 在 2023 年 1 月挖出的区块 769895。内存池同样是空的，仅包含 4 笔交易，重量为 4370 个单位。

当前比特币挖矿高度集中：超过 95% 的区块仅由 6 个矿池开采

这篇由 b10c 发表的调查检查了当前五个最大的比特币矿池的哈希率份额，探讨 2025 年比特币挖矿中心化问题。第一部分着眼于 coinbase 交易中包含的矿池信息。第二部分考虑了假定的代理池。这两部分都显示了当前最大的矿池和挖矿集中化指数。调查结论：当下的比特币挖矿高度集中，有 6 个矿池开采了超过 95% 的区块。

预测到 2027 年的比特币哈希率

Valentin Rousseau 与 Blockspace 合作撰写了这份报告，涵盖： * 2025 年、2026 年和 2027 年的哈希率预测 * 当前的比特币挖矿经济学将如何影响哈希率的轨迹 * 公共矿工的哈希率扩展时间表，以及完成概率 * 不同比特币价格下哈希率增长的敏感度表

使用 VLS 支持非托管的闪电集成

VLS（Validating Lightning Signer）是签名者模块的库和参考实现，用于保护闪电节点，将 闪电私钥和安全规则验证从闪电节点分离到一个单独的签名设备中，通过减少攻击面来增强安全性。

在 VLS 之前，在不保管用户资金的情况下，在托管环境中安全地管理闪电私钥几乎是不可能的。Blockstream 的 Greenlight  在这份案例研究中介绍了如何使用 VLS，以非托管的方式使开发人员能够以最小的开销将闪电的功能添加到他们的应用程序中，同时确保用户保留对他们资金的完全控制权。Greenlight 构建在 Core Lightning 的模块化架构上，将由 Blockstream 管理的闪电节点操作与掌握在用户手中的闪电交易签名分开。

CTV+CSFS 如何改进 BitVM 网桥

Robin Linus 阐述了如何使用「输入提交契约」（input-committing covenants）在 BitVM 生态系统中构建更高效、更安全的桥，利用 CTV（CHECKTEMPLATEVERIFY）和 CSFS (CHECKSIGFROMSTACK) 消除对预签名委员会的需求并显着减少交易规模。这一进步简化了桥架构，提高了运营效率，并旨在实现信任最小化的比特币互作性，尽管仍然存在诸如挂钩过程中的潜在审查等挑战。

RISC Zero 推出 R0VM 2.0，性能提升的同时确保安全性

RISC Zero 推出了 R0VM 2.0，重大改进包括： * 以太坊区块的验证和执行时间，从 35 分钟缩短到仅 44 秒； * 到有效性证明的成本降低了 5 倍，批量大小为 25 的每个区块交易成本从 1.355 USD 下降到 0.2747 USD；较大批次交易成本低至 0.0012 USD；

在安全性方面，形式化验证是 R0VM 2.0 的核心。目前已经验证 Keccak 电路的完全确定性，以及在其 v2 电路中，核心 RISC-V 功能的 123 个组件中有 122 个是确定性的。

比特币软分叉可以改进 BitVMX

BitVMX 是支持乐观验证比特币智能合约的平台。Fairgate Labs 在本文中介绍了比特币可能经历的不同类型的升级，以及它们如何对 BitVMX 产生积极影响，认为了新的 opcodes 如果被软分叉到比特币中，可以提高 BitVMX 的效率、降低链上成本、简化脚本，并变得更加去中心化。

以太坊执行层将用 RISC-V 替代 EVM

Vitalik 发布了长期 L1 执行提案，宣布以太坊执行层将用 RISC-V 替换 EVM 作为编写智能合约的虚拟机，以大幅提高以太坊执行层的效率 ，解决主要的扩展瓶颈之一，同时增强执行层的简单性。

此外，Cardano 的 Charles Hoskinson 也表示 Cardano 在 BitVMX 中使用了 RISC-V；RISC-V 就是未来。

精彩无限，不止于链

从比特币看荒诞的世界：责任、自由与自我反思

《Bitcoin: The Inverse of Clown World》（比特币：荒诞世界的逆转）一书批判了充满「小丑」的当代世界——被虚假的政治议题和无意义的社会关注所占据——比如对「政治正确」和气候变化的过度关注。作者认为荒谬的核心是人们不负责任的行为，并认为当货币失效时，一切都变成政治和闹剧。

除了揭示和批评诸多荒诞现象，作者指出比特币倡导通过提供价值来获得成功，并强调了个人在这个信息过载的时代保护自己的时间和思想的重要性，进一步鼓励读者在比特币的支持下，重新审视自己的生活方式，并为改变世界贡献力量。

这里是 Bitcoin Magazine 对该书的书评。

GPU 工作量证明：重新定义 AI 驱动时代的能源、计算和金钱

作者设想了以 GPU 为基础的工作量证明（GPU PoW）在 AI 驱动的未来中的潜力。GPU PoW 不仅可以用于加密货币的安全保障，还能参与 AI 模型训练、能源负载调节以及全球算力市场的构建，相较于传统只能挖矿的 ASIC，GPU 更通用灵活，并能动态分配任务，在不同场景下实现收益最大化。通过本地数据中心、超级集群与中间件协同运作，GPU PoW 可以在不牺牲去中心化的前提下，提升能源与计算资源的使用效率，并创造以实用性为基础的新型经济体系。PoW 不再只是挖矿，而是成为支撑 AI、能源系统与货币市场协同发展的基础设施。

DahLIAS：首个用于完全交叉输入签名聚合的加密协议，允许重用比特币的曲线 secp256k1

Blockstream 研究团队推出 DahLIAS——第一个用于完全交叉输入签名聚合的加密协议，允许重用比特币的曲线 secp256k1。

一个交互式聚合签名（interactive aggregate signatures）方案允许 n 个签名者，每人拥有自己的秘密/公钥对（sk, pk）和消息 m，共同生成一个简短的签名，同时证明每个 m 在 pk 下已经被签名，其中 i ∈ {1, . . . , n}。尽管在空间和验证时间方面具有巨大的节省潜力，这两个因素是像比特币这样的区块链系统的主要瓶颈。但聚合签名相比于多方签名家族中的其他成员（例如 MuSig2 多重签名和 FROST 阈值签名）受到的关注较少。

而 DahLIAS 是首个直接在无配对组（pairing-free groups）中的离散对数上构建的、具有常数大小签名的聚合签名方案——与标准的 Schnorr 签名具有相同形态。DahLIAS 的签名协议由两轮组成，第一轮可以在没有消息的情况下预处理，且验证某个由 n 个签名者创建的签名，是由一个大小为 n + 1 的多重指数运算主导，这在渐近意义上比批量验证 n 个独立的 Schnorr 签名要快两倍。

DahLIAS 也考虑到了现实中的应用。除了前述的空间节省和验证速度提升外，DahLIAS 还提供了密钥调整功能，这是一种常用于比特币的技术——从有层级的确定性钱包中派生密钥，以节省空间并增强链上隐私。研究团队在随机预言模型下，基于（代数的）再一次离散对数假设，证明了包含密钥调整功能的 DahLIAS 在并发设置下的安全性。

查看完整论文。

Thunderbolt: 经过验证的链下比特币转账协议

该 Bitcoin Thunderbolt 链下协议用于在未协调的用户之间安全、异步地转移比特币 UTXO。与支付通道或闪电网络等现有解决方案不同，该协议无需预先信任、直接交互或持续连接发送方和接收方。其核心是通过拜占庭容错 committee 来管理阈值 Schnorr 签名，实现安全的所有权委托和链上最终确认。

查看完整论文。

@ 3de5f798:31faf8b0

My everyday activity

This template is just for demo needs.

petrinet ;startDay () -> working ;stopDay working -> () ;startPause working -> paused ;endPause paused -> working ;goSmoke working -> smoking ;endSmoke smoking -> working ;startEating working -> eating ;stopEating eating -> working ;startCall working -> onCall ;endCall onCall -> working ;startMeeting working -> inMeetinga ;endMeeting inMeeting -> working ;logTask working -> working

@ 3de5f798:31faf8b0

My everyday activity

This template is just for demo needs.

petrinet ;startDay () -> working ;stopDay working -> () ;startPause working -> paused ;endPause paused -> working ;goSmoke working -> smoking ;endSmoke smoking -> working ;startEating working -> eating ;stopEating eating -> working ;startCall working -> onCall ;endCall onCall -> working ;startMeeting working -> inMeetinga ;endMeeting inMeeting -> working ;logTask working -> working

@ 266815e0:6cd408a5

noStrudel

Its been over four months since I released v0.42.0 of noStrudel but I haven't forgot about it, I've just been busy refactoring the code-base.

The app is well past its 2yr birthday and a lot of the code is really messy and kind of hacky. so my focus in the past few months has been refactoring and moving a lot of it out into the applesauce packages so it can be tested.

The biggest changes have been switching to use rx-nostr for all relay connections and using rxjs and applesauce for event management and timelines. In total ~22k lines of code have been changed since the last release.

I'm hoping it wont take me much longer to get a stable release for v0.43.0. In the meantime if you want to test out the new changes you can find them on the nsite deployment.

nsite deplyment: nostrudel.nsite.lol/ Github repo: github.com/hzrd149/nostrudel

Applesauce

I've been making great progress on the applesauce libraries that are the core of onStrudel. Since January I've released v0.11.0 and v0.12.0.

In the past month I've been working towards a v1 release with a better relay connection package applesauce-relay and pre-built actions for clients to easily implement common things like follow/unfollow and mute/unmute. applesauce-actions

Docs website: hzrd149.github.io/applesauce/ Github repo: https://github.com/hzrd149/applesauce

Blossom

Spec changes: - Merged PR #56 from kehiy for BUD-09 ( blob reports ) - Merged PR #60 from Kieran to update BUD-8 to use the standard NIP-94 tags array. - Merged PR #38 to make the file extension mandatory in the url field of the returned blob descriptor. - Merged PR #54 changing the authorization type for the /media endpoint to media instead of upload. This fixes an issue where the server could mirror the original blob without the users consent.

Besides the changes to the blossom spec itself I started working on a small cli tool to help test and debug new blossom server implementations. The goal is to have a set of upload and download tests that can be run against a server to test if it adheres to the specifications. It can also be used output debug info and show recommended headers to add to the http responses.

If you have nodejs installed you can try it out by running sh npx blossom-audit audit <server-url> [image|bitcoin|gif|path/to/file.jpeg]

Github repo: github.com/hzrd149/blossom-audit

Other projects

Wifistr

While participating in SEC-04 I built a small app for sharing the locations and passwords of wifi networks. Its far from complete, but its usable and serves as an example of building an app with SolidJS and applesauce.

Live version: hzrd149.github.io/wifistr/ nsite version: here Github repo: github.com/hzrd149/wifistr

nsite-manager

I've been slowly continuing work on nsite-manager, mostly just to allow myself to debug various nsites and make sure nsite.lol is still working correctly.

Github repo: github.com/hzrd149/nsite-manager

nsite-gateway

I finally got around to making some much needed bug fixes and improvements to nsite-gateway ( the server behind nsite.lol ) and released a stable 1.0.0 version.

My hope is that its stable enough now to allow other users to start hosting their own instances of it.

Github repo: github.com/hzrd149/nsite-gateway

morning-glory

As part of my cashu PR for NUT-23 ( HTTP 402 Payment required ) I built a blossom server that only accepts cashu payments for uploads and stores blobs for 24h before deleting them.

Github repo: github.com/hzrd149/morning-glory

bakery

I've been toying with the idea of building a backend-first nostr client that would download events while I'm not at my computer and send me notifications about my DMs.

I made some progress on it in the last months but its far from complete or usable. Hopefully ill get some time in the next few months to create a working alpha version for myself and others to install on Umbrel and Start9

Github repo: github.com/hzrd149/bakery

@ 76b0d68a:fdf859d0

Gemini look like they've just released a new video generating function. I just asked it to generate a video of a dog running through the snow in the Swiss Alps and this is what it came up with. Amazing.

Amazing that this is what is for all intents and purposes freely available to anybody. My mind is blown.

I know we saw all this with Sora last year, but the speed at which this kind of capability is being propagated is terrific.

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/957519

@ 76b0d68a:fdf859d0

Am reading his 1995 diary and he was so interested and up on technology I would be interested in his take on everything in AI, music and art going on today!

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/957396

@ 5f078e90:b2bacaa3

Bird story 3

This is a test post, 5-600 characters, no md or html. Should become kind 30023.

Dawn Sparrow flitted over dewy grass, eyes sharp for a wriggling worm. The meadow hummed with life, but her quarry hid well. She hopped, pecked, and tilted her head, listening for the faintest squirm. A rustle! Her beak darted into soft earth, pulling up a plump worm. Triumph! She soared to her nest, breakfast secured, as the sun warmed the fields. Her chicks chirped, eager for the meal. Dawn’s keen hunt ensured their strength, a small victory in the endless dance of survival. Each day, she’d search again, tireless, for the worms that sustained her family’s song.

---

Originally posted on Hive at https://hive.blog/@hostr/bird-story-3

Cross-posted using Hostr at https://github.com/crrdlx/hostr, version 0.0.1

@ 0e67f053:cb1d4b93

How to Be an Anti-Fascist: A Gentle Rebuttal to Billionaire Strongmen and Their Twitter Cosplays

By Carl Tuckerson

Good evening, radiant souls.

Tonight, I want to talk about something serious—but not in a shouty, vein-popping way. In a warm, clear-eyed, candle-lit kind of way. Let’s talk about fascism. And more importantly, how to stand firmly, nonviolently, and stylishly against it.

First, a definition. Fascism isn’t just people yelling on the internet or wearing weird hats. It’s a political disease—authoritarianism drenched in nationalism, allergic to diversity, and obsessed with power. It’s rigid. It’s cruel. It thrives on fear.

History, of course, gave us the ultimate case study: Adolf Hitler. A man who turned wounded ego and racist paranoia into a genocidal regime. Let’s be uncomfortably clear: fascism starts with rhetoric and ends in blood. It wears suits at first. Then it builds camps.

Which brings us to the now. To a peculiar blend of self-pitying billionaires and spray-tanned demagogues playing dictator on easy mode.

Let’s start with Elon Musk.

Here’s a man who once inspired us with rockets and electric cars—and now spends his time posting “anti-woke” memes like a Reddit troll who just discovered Ayn Rand. Elon claims to love “free speech,” unless that speech critiques him or his companies, in which case he’ll fire you, shadowban you, or awkwardly reply with a meme of Pepe the Frog.

You can’t be a free speech absolutist and also an insecure billionaire who throws tantrums when journalists ask questions. That’s not libertarianism. That’s narcissism with a Wi-Fi signal.

Then there’s Donald Trump.

The man who said he’d “drain the swamp” and instead held cocktail parties in it. Who said he loved “the people” but spent four years helping billionaires and banning brown kids. Who said he was “tough on crime” while pardoning white-collar felons and cozying up to actual Nazis at campaign rallies.

You don’t get to call yourself a patriot while trying to overthrow democracy. You don’t get to wrap yourself in the flag while selling fascist cosplay to a base too traumatized to see the grift. And no, calling your opponents “fascists” doesn’t make you less of one. That’s what projection looks like, not principle.

So… what does it actually mean to be anti-fascist?

It’s not just wearing black or smashing Starbucks windows (though I get the temptation). It means:

• Refusing to dehumanize. Even when it’s easier.

• Defending institutions of democracy while pushing them to do better.

• Confronting power with truth—especially when that power has a blue checkmark and a bunker.

• Building diverse communities where all people—not just rich white dudes with podcasts—have a voice.

• Educating yourself. Read. Listen. Learn from those who’ve lived through real authoritarianism. Hint: it wasn’t your uncle who got suspended from X.

And look, I get it. It's easy to feel hopeless. To doomscroll and despair. But the antidote to fascism isn’t more fear. It’s radical hope. It’s showing up. It's organizing mutual aid. It's hugging someone at a protest. It's running a book club. It’s standing in solidarity instead of standing by.

So if you’re wondering how to be anti-fascist?

Start by being anti-ego. Anti-greed. Anti-cruelty. Anti-lie. And yes, sometimes that means being anti-Musk. Anti-Trump. Anti-anyone who thinks oppression is a branding opportunity.

We’ve tried letting billionaires be our heroes. It didn’t work. Maybe it’s time to try being each other’s heroes instead.

Stay soft. Stay loud. Stay antifascist.

We’ll see you tomorrow.

— Radical Kindness Carl

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/957123

@ e691f4df:1099ad65

Viewing Bitcoin Through the Light of Awakening

Ankh & Ohm Capital’s Overview of the Psycho-Spiritual Nature of Bitcoin

---

Glossary:

I. Preface: The Logos of Our Logo

II. An Oracular Introduction

III. Alchemizing Greed

IV. Layers of Fractalized Thought

V. Permissionless Individuation

VI. Dispelling Paradox Through Resonance

VII. Ego Deflation

VIII. The Coin of Great Price

Preface: The Logos of Our Logo

Before we offer our lens on Bitcoin, it’s important to illuminate the meaning behind Ankh & Ohm’s name and symbol. These elements are not ornamental—they are foundational, expressing the cosmological principles that guide our work.

Our mission is to bridge the eternal with the practical. As a Bitcoin-focused family office and consulting firm, we understand capital not as an end, but as a tool—one that, when properly aligned, becomes a vehicle for divine order. We see Bitcoin not simply as a technological innovation but as an emanation of the Divine Logos—a harmonic expression of truth, transparency, and incorruptible structure. Both the beginning and the end, the Alpha and Omega.

The Ankh (☥), an ancient symbol of eternal life, is a key to the integration of opposites. It unites spirit and matter, force and form, continuity and change. It reminds us that capital, like Life, must not only be generative, but regenerative; sacred. Money must serve Life, not siphon from it.

The Ohm (Ω) holds a dual meaning. In physics, it denotes a unit of electrical resistance—the formative tension that gives energy coherence. In the Vedic tradition, Om (ॐ) is the primordial vibration—the sound from which all existence unfolds. Together, these symbols affirm a timeless truth: resistance and resonance are both sacred instruments of the Creator.

Ankh & Ohm, then, represents our striving for union, for harmony —between the flow of life and intentional structure, between incalculable abundance and measured restraint, between the lightbulb’s electrical impulse and its light-emitting filament. We stand at the threshold where intention becomes action, and where capital is not extracted, but cultivated in rhythm with the cosmos. 

We exist to shepherd this transformation, as guides of this threshold —helping families, founders, and institutions align with a deeper order, where capital serves not as the prize, but as a pathway to collective Presence, Purpose, Peace and Prosperity.

---

An Oracular Introduction

Bitcoin is commonly understood as the first truly decentralized and secure form of digital money—a breakthrough in monetary sovereignty. But this view, while technically correct, is incomplete and spiritually shallow. Bitcoin is more than a tool for economic disruption. Bitcoin represents a mythic threshold: a symbol of the psycho-spiritual shift that many ancient traditions have long foretold.

For millennia, sages and seers have spoken of a coming Golden Age. In the Vedic Yuga cycles, in Plato’s Great Year, in the Eagle and Condor prophecies of the Americas—there exists a common thread: that humanity will emerge from darkness into a time of harmony, cooperation, and clarity. That the veil of illusion (maya, materiality) will thin, and reality will once again become transparent to the transcendent. In such an age, systems based on scarcity, deception, and centralization fall away. A new cosmology takes root—one grounded in balance, coherence, and sacred reciprocity.

But we must ask—how does such a shift happen? How do we cross from the age of scarcity, fear, and domination into one of coherence, abundance, and freedom?

One possible answer lies in the alchemy of incentive.

Bitcoin operates not just on the rules of computer science or Austrian economics, but on something far more old and subtle: the logic of transformation. It transmutes greed—a base instinct rooted in scarcity—into cooperation, transparency, and incorruptibility.

In this light, Bitcoin becomes more than code—it becomes a psychoactive protocol, one that rewires human behavior by aligning individual gain with collective integrity. It is not simply a new form of money. It is a new myth of value. A new operating system for human consciousness.

Bitcoin does not moralize. It harmonizes. It transforms the instinct for self-preservation into a pathway for planetary coherence.

---

Alchemizing Greed

At the heart of Bitcoin lies the ancient alchemical principle of transmutation: that which is base may be refined into gold.

Greed, long condemned as a vice, is not inherently evil. It is a distorted longing. A warped echo of the drive to preserve life. But in systems built on scarcity and deception, this longing calcifies into hoarding, corruption, and decay.

Bitcoin introduces a new game. A game with memory. A game that makes deception inefficient and truth profitable. It does not demand virtue—it encodes consequence. Its design does not suppress greed; it reprograms it.

In traditional models, game theory often illustrates the fragility of trust. The Prisoner’s Dilemma reveals how self-interest can sabotage collective well-being. But Bitcoin inverts this. It creates an environment where self-interest and integrity converge—where the most rational action is also the most truthful.

Its ledger, immutable and transparent, exposes manipulation for what it is: energetically wasteful and economically self-defeating. Dishonesty burns energy and yields nothing. The network punishes incoherence, not by decree, but by natural law.

This is the spiritual elegance of Bitcoin: it does not suppress greed—it transmutes it. It channels the drive for personal gain into the architecture of collective order. Miners compete not to dominate, but to validate. Nodes collaborate not through trust, but through mathematical proof.

This is not austerity. It is alchemy.

Greed, under Bitcoin, is refined. Tempered. Re-forged into a generative force—no longer parasitic, but harmonic.

---

Layers of Fractalized Thought Fragments

All living systems are layered. So is the cosmos. So is the human being. So is a musical scale.

At its foundation lies the timechain—the pulsing, incorruptible record of truth. Like the heart, it beats steadily. Every block, like a pulse, affirms its life through continuity. The difficulty adjustment—Bitcoin’s internal calibration—functions like heart rate variability, adapting to pressure while preserving coherence.

Above this base layer is the Lightning Network—a second layer facilitating rapid, efficient transactions. It is the nervous system: transmitting energy, reducing latency, enabling real-time interaction across a distributed whole.

Beyond that, emerging tools like Fedimint and Cashu function like the capillaries—bringing vitality to the extremities, to those underserved by legacy systems. They empower the unbanked, the overlooked, the forgotten. Privacy and dignity in the palms of those the old system refused to see.

And then there is NOSTR—the decentralized protocol for communication and creation. It is the throat chakra, the vocal cords of the “freedom-tech” body. It reclaims speech from the algorithmic overlords, making expression sovereign once more. It is also the reproductive system, as it enables the propagation of novel ideas and protocols in fertile, uncensorable soil.

Each layer plays its part. Not in hierarchy, but in harmony. In holarchy. Bitcoin and other open source protocols grow not through exogenous command, but through endogenous coherence. Like cells in an organism. Like a song.

Imagine the cell as a piece of glass from a shattered holographic plate —by which its perspectival, moving image can be restructured from the single shard. DNA isn’t only a logical script of base pairs, but an evolving progressive song. Its lyrics imbued with wise reflections on relationships.  The nucleus sings, the cell responds—not by command, but by memory. Life is not imposed; it is expressed. A reflection of a hidden pattern.

Bitcoin chants this. Each node, a living cell, holds the full timechain—Truth distributed, incorruptible. Remove one, and the whole remains. This isn’t redundancy. It’s a revelation on the power of protection in Truth.

Consensus is communion. Verification becomes a sacred rite—Truth made audible through math. 

Not just the signal; the song. A web of self-expression woven from Truth.

No center, yet every point alive with the whole. Like Indra’s Net, each reflects all. This is more than currency and information exchange. It is memory; a self-remembering Mind, unfolding through consensus and code. A Mind reflecting the Truth of reality at the speed of thought.

Heuristics are mental shortcuts—efficient, imperfect, alive. Like cells, they must adapt or decay. To become unbiased is to have self-balancing heuristics which carry feedback loops within them: they listen to the environment, mutate when needed, and survive by resonance with reality. Mutation is not error, but evolution. Its rules are simple, but their expression is dynamic. 

What persists is not rigidity, but pattern. 

To think clearly is not necessarily to be certain, but to dissolve doubt by listening, adjusting, and evolving thought itself.

To understand Bitcoin is simply to listen—patiently, clearly, as one would to a familiar rhythm returning.

---

Permissionless Individuation

Bitcoin is a path. One that no one can walk for you.

Said differently, it is not a passive act. It cannot be spoon-fed. Like a spiritual path, it demands initiation, effort, and the willingness to question inherited beliefs.

Because Bitcoin is permissionless, no one can be forced to adopt it. One must choose to engage it—compelled by need, interest, or intuition. Each person who embarks undergoes their own version of the hero’s journey.

Carl Jung called this process Individuation—the reconciliation of fragmented psychic elements into a coherent, mature Self. Bitcoin mirrors this: it invites individuals to confront the unconscious assumptions of the fiat paradigm, and to re-integrate their relationship to time, value, and agency.

In Western traditions—alchemy, Christianity, Kabbalah—the individual is sacred, and salvation is personal. In Eastern systems—Daoism, Buddhism, the Vedas—the self is ultimately dissolved into the cosmic whole. Bitcoin, in a paradoxical way, echoes both: it empowers the individual, while aligning them with a holistic, transcendent order.

To truly see Bitcoin is to allow something false to die. A belief. A habit. A self-concept.

In that death—a space opens for deeper connection with the Divine itSelf. 

In that dissolution, something luminous is reborn. 

After the passing, Truth becomes resurrected.  

---

Dispelling Paradox Through Resonance

There is a subtle paradox encoded into the hero’s journey: each starts in solidarity, yet the awakening affects the collective.

No one can be forced into understanding Bitcoin. Like a spiritual truth, it must be seen. And yet, once seen, it becomes nearly impossible to unsee—and easier for others to glimpse. The pattern catches.

This phenomenon mirrors the concept of morphic resonance, as proposed and empirically tested by biologist Rupert Sheldrake. Once a critical mass of individuals begins to embody a new behavior or awareness, it becomes easier—instinctive—for others to follow suit. Like the proverbial hundredth monkey who begins to wash the fruit in the sea water, and suddenly, monkeys across islands begin doing the same—without ever meeting.

When enough individuals embody a pattern, it ripples outward. Not through propaganda, but through field effect and wave propagation. It becomes accessible, instinctive, familiar—even across great distance.

Bitcoin spreads in this way. Not through centralized broadcast, but through subtle resonance. Each new node, each individual who integrates the protocol into their life, strengthens the signal for others. The protocol doesn’t shout; it hums, oscillates and vibrates——persistently, coherently, patiently.

One awakens. Another follows. The current builds. What was fringe becomes familiar. What was radical becomes obvious.

This is the sacred geometry of spiritual awakening. One awakens, another follows, and soon the fluidic current is strong enough to carry the rest. One becomes two, two become many, and eventually the many become One again. This tessellation reverberates through the human aura, not as ideology, but as perceivable pattern recognition.

Bitcoin’s most powerful marketing tool is truth. Its most compelling evangelist is reality. Its most unstoppable force is resonance.

Therefore, Bitcoin is not just financial infrastructure—it is psychic scaffolding. It is part of the subtle architecture through which new patterns of coherence ripple across the collective field. 

The training wheels from which humanity learns to embody Peace and Prosperity.

---

Ego Deflation

The process of awakening is not linear, and its beginning is rarely gentle—it usually begins with disruption, with ego inflation and destruction.

To individuate is to shape a center; to recognize peripherals and create boundaries—to say, “I am.” But without integration, the ego tilts—collapsing into void or inflating into noise. Fiat reflects this pathology: scarcity hoarded, abundance simulated. Stagnation becomes disguised as safety, and inflation masquerades as growth.

In other words, to become whole, the ego must first rise—claiming agency, autonomy, and identity. However, when left unbalanced, it inflates, or implodes. It forgets its context. It begins to consume rather than connect. And so the process must reverse: what inflates must deflate.

In the fiat paradigm, this inflation is literal. More is printed, and ethos is diluted. Savings decay. Meaning erodes. Value is abstracted. The economy becomes bloated with inaudible noise. And like the psyche that refuses to confront its own shadow, it begins to collapse under the weight of its own illusions.

But under Bitcoin, time is honored. Value is preserved. Energy is not abstracted but grounded.

Bitcoin is inherently deflationary—in both economic and spiritual senses. With a fixed supply, it reveals what is truly scarce. Not money, not status—but the finite number of heartbeats we each carry.

To see Bitcoin is to feel that limit in one’s soul. To hold Bitcoin is to feel Time’s weight again. To sense the importance of Bitcoin is to feel the value of preserved, potential energy. It is to confront the reality that what matters cannot be printed, inflated, or faked. In this way, Bitcoin gently confronts the ego—not through punishment, but through clarity.

Deflation, rightly understood, is not collapse—it is refinement. It strips away illusion, bloat, and excess. It restores the clarity of essence.

Spiritually, this is liberation.

---

The Coin of Great Price

There is an ancient parable told by a wise man:

“The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, who, upon finding one of great price, sold all he had and bought it.”

Bitcoin is such a pearl.

But the ledger is more than a chest full of treasure. It is a key to the heart of things.

It is not just software—it is sacrament.

A symbol of what cannot be corrupted. A mirror of divine order etched into code. A map back to the sacred center.

It reflects what endures. It encodes what cannot be falsified. It remembers what we forgot: that Truth, when aligned with form, becomes Light once again.

Its design is not arbitrary. It speaks the language of life itself— 

The elliptic orbits of the planets mirrored in its cryptography,

The logarithmic spiral of the nautilus shell discloses its adoption rate,

The interconnectivity of mycelium in soil reflect the network of nodes in cyberspace, 

A webbed breadth of neurons across synaptic space fires with each new confirmed transaction.

It is geometry in devotion. Stillness in motion.

It is the Logos clothed in protocol.

What this key unlocks is beyond external riches. It is the eternal gold within us.

Clarity. Sovereignty. The unshakeable knowing that what is real cannot be taken. That what is sacred was never for sale.

Bitcoin is not the destination.

It is the Path.

And we—when we are willing to see it—are the Temple it leads back to.

@ 2ed3596e:98b4cc78

Bitcoiners, your points just got a lot more epic! We’re thrilled to announce the launch of the Bitcoin Well Point Store, available now in Canada and the USA.

Now you can redeem your Bitcoin Well points for prizes that level up and celebrate your Bitcoin lifestyle.

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• Simply Bitcoin hoodie: Rep your Bitcoin pride in style

• Exclusive Bitcoin Well Stampseed backup plate: Protect and manage your private keys securely

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More epic items will be available in the Bitcoin Well Point Store in the coming months. Stay tuned! 

How to redeem your Bitcoin Well Points

Redeeming your points is easy:

1. Log in and go the Bitcoin Well Points store within the Rewards Section

2. Check your Bitcoin Well point balance

3. Redeem Your Bitcoin Well points for the prize of your dreams

Once you’ve purchased an item from the Bitcoin Well Point Store, we’ll email you to figure out where you want us to ship your prize. Unless it's the Cybertruck, then you can come to our office and pick it up! 

How can you earn more Bitcoin Well Points? ⚡

Here are all the ways you can earn Bitcoin Well points:

• Buy bitcoin/Sell bitcoin/pay bills - 3 Points per $10

• Recurring buy - 5 points per $10 

• First transaction bonus - 500 points 

• Refer a friend to Bitcoin Well - 500 points

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Bitcoin Well is on a mission to enable independence. We do this by making it easy to self custody bitcoin and embracing the latest bitcoin innovations. By custodying their own money, our customers are free to do as they wish without begging for permission. By creating a full ecosystem to buy, sell and use your bitcoin to connect with the modern financial world, you are able to have your cake and eat it too - or have your bitcoin in self custody and easily spend it too 🎂. 

Create your Bitcoin Well account now →

Invest in Bitcoin Well

We are publicly traded (and love it when our customers become shareholders!) and hold ourselves to a high standard of enabling life on a Bitcoin standard. If you want to learn more about Bitcoin Well, please visit our website or reach out!

@ 0e67f053:cb1d4b93

By Carl Tuckerson, Who Weeps During City Council Meetings

Democracy is not a system.

It is a living, breathing organism, pulsating with the ancestral heartbeat of every barefoot revolutionary who ever composted oppression into community gardens of change.

It is consent manifested, a tapestry woven by the trembling hands of the marginalized and the mildly inconvenienced alike. It is radical accountability on a biodegradable ballot.

Democracy is the collective inhale of a million voices saying, “Yes, I matter,” and the collective exhale of power releasing its grip—not because it was forced to, but because it finally understood its own trauma.

It is fluid, non-binary, and consensually participatory. A polyamorous relationship between people, policy, and purpose. No labels. Just vibes.

It is the sacred act of showing up—in person, in spirit, in ethically sourced linen—because you believe that your voice, no matter how tremulously intersectional, is a note in the symphony of collective liberation.

Democracy is not red or blue. It’s not even purple. It’s the entire spectrum of human expression, from burnt sienna to sunset glitter sparkle.

It is brunch and ballots. It is protest and poetry. It is tweeting while crying while registering your roommate to vote.

It is government of the people, by the people, and for the people, but especially for the people who’ve been gaslit by history.

And when democracy falters, we don’t abolish it—we give it a weighted blanket, whisper affirmations into its ear, and tell it to take the day off, because healing is not linear.

So what is democracy?

It’s not a noun.It’s not even a verb.It’s a sacred energy exchange—and if you listen closely, you can hear it humming in the compost bin behind your community center.

Namaste. Vote. And remember: ballots are spells cast in ink. Use yours wisely.

— Carl, “Decolonize the Vote” Tuckerson

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/956879

@ 40b9c85f:5e61b451

Introduction

Data Vending Machines (DVMs) have emerged as a crucial component of the Nostr ecosystem, offering specialized computational services to clients across the network. As defined in NIP-90, DVMs operate on an apparently simple principle: "data in, data out." They provide a marketplace for data processing where users request specific jobs (like text translation, content recommendation, or AI text generation)

While DVMs have gained significant traction, the current specification faces challenges that hinder widespread adoption and consistent implementation. This article explores some ideas on how we can apply the reflection pattern, a well established approach in RPC systems, to address these challenges and improve the DVM ecosystem's clarity, consistency, and usability.

The Current State of DVMs: Challenges and Limitations

The NIP-90 specification provides a broad framework for DVMs, but this flexibility has led to several issues:

1. Inconsistent Implementation

As noted by hzrd149 in "DVMs were a mistake" every DVM implementation tends to expect inputs in slightly different formats, even while ostensibly following the same specification. For example, a translation request DVM might expect an event ID in one particular format, while an LLM service could expect a "prompt" input that's not even specified in NIP-90.

2. Fragmented Specifications

The DVM specification reserves a range of event kinds (5000-6000), each meant for different types of computational jobs. While creating sub-specifications for each job type is being explored as a possible solution for clarity, in a decentralized and permissionless landscape like Nostr, relying solely on specification enforcement won't be effective for creating a healthy ecosystem. A more comprehensible approach is needed that works with, rather than against, the open nature of the protocol.

3. Ambiguous API Interfaces

There's no standardized way for clients to discover what parameters a specific DVM accepts, which are required versus optional, or what output format to expect. This creates uncertainty and forces developers to rely on documentation outside the protocol itself, if such documentation exists at all.

The Reflection Pattern: A Solution from RPC Systems

The reflection pattern in RPC systems offers a compelling solution to many of these challenges. At its core, reflection enables servers to provide metadata about their available services, methods, and data types at runtime, allowing clients to dynamically discover and interact with the server's API.

In established RPC frameworks like gRPC, reflection serves as a self-describing mechanism where services expose their interface definitions and requirements. In MCP reflection is used to expose the capabilities of the server, such as tools, resources, and prompts. Clients can learn about available capabilities without prior knowledge, and systems can adapt to changes without requiring rebuilds or redeployments. This standardized introspection creates a unified way to query service metadata, making tools like grpcurl possible without requiring precompiled stubs.

How Reflection Could Transform the DVM Specification

By incorporating reflection principles into the DVM specification, we could create a more coherent and predictable ecosystem. DVMs already implement some sort of reflection through the use of 'nip90params', which allow clients to discover some parameters, constraints, and features of the DVMs, such as whether they accept encryption, nutzaps, etc. However, this approach could be expanded to provide more comprehensive self-description capabilities.

1. Defined Lifecycle Phases

Similar to the Model Context Protocol (MCP), DVMs could benefit from a clear lifecycle consisting of an initialization phase and an operation phase. During initialization, the client and DVM would negotiate capabilities and exchange metadata, with the DVM providing a JSON schema containing its input requirements. nip-89 (or other) announcements can be used to bootstrap the discovery and negotiation process by providing the input schema directly. Then, during the operation phase, the client would interact with the DVM according to the negotiated schema and parameters.

2. Schema-Based Interactions

Rather than relying on rigid specifications for each job type, DVMs could self-advertise their schemas. This would allow clients to understand which parameters are required versus optional, what type validation should occur for inputs, what output formats to expect, and what payment flows are supported. By internalizing the input schema of the DVMs they wish to consume, clients gain clarity on how to interact effectively.

3. Capability Negotiation

Capability negotiation would enable DVMs to advertise their supported features, such as encryption methods, payment options, or specialized functionalities. This would allow clients to adjust their interaction approach based on the specific capabilities of each DVM they encounter.

Implementation Approach

While building DVMCP, I realized that the RPC reflection pattern used there could be beneficial for constructing DVMs in general. Since DVMs already follow an RPC style for their operation, and reflection is a natural extension of this approach, it could significantly enhance and clarify the DVM specification.

A reflection enhanced DVM protocol could work as follows: 1. Discovery: Clients discover DVMs through existing NIP-89 application handlers, input schemas could also be advertised in nip-89 announcements, making the second step unnecessary. 2. Schema Request: Clients request the DVM's input schema for the specific job type they're interested in 3. Validation: Clients validate their request against the provided schema before submission 4. Operation: The job proceeds through the standard NIP-90 flow, but with clearer expectations on both sides

Parallels with Other Protocols

This approach has proven successful in other contexts. The Model Context Protocol (MCP) implements a similar lifecycle with capability negotiation during initialization, allowing any client to communicate with any server as long as they adhere to the base protocol. MCP and DVM protocols share fundamental similarities, both aim to expose and consume computational resources through a JSON-RPC-like interface, albeit with specific differences.

gRPC's reflection service similarly allows clients to discover service definitions at runtime, enabling generic tools to work with any gRPC service without prior knowledge. In the REST API world, OpenAPI/Swagger specifications document interfaces in a way that makes them discoverable and testable.

DVMs would benefit from adopting these patterns while maintaining the decentralized, permissionless nature of Nostr.

Conclusion

I am not attempting to rewrite the DVM specification; rather, explore some ideas that could help the ecosystem improve incrementally, reducing fragmentation and making the ecosystem more comprehensible. By allowing DVMs to self describe their interfaces, we could maintain the flexibility that makes Nostr powerful while providing the structure needed for interoperability.

For developers building DVM clients or libraries, this approach would simplify consumption by providing clear expectations about inputs and outputs. For DVM operators, it would establish a standard way to communicate their service's requirements without relying on external documentation.

I am currently developing DVMCP following these patterns. Of course, DVMs and MCP servers have different details; MCP includes capabilities such as tools, resources, and prompts on the server side, as well as 'roots' and 'sampling' on the client side, creating a bidirectional way to consume capabilities. In contrast, DVMs typically function similarly to MCP tools, where you call a DVM with an input and receive an output, with each job type representing a different categorization of the work performed.

Without further ado, I hope this article has provided some insight into the potential benefits of applying the reflection pattern to the DVM specification.

@ bf95e1a4:ebdcc848

This is a part of the Bitcoin Infinity Academy course on Knut Svanholm's book Bitcoin: Sovereignty Through Mathematics. For more information, check out our Geyser page!

Scarcity

What makes a commodity scarce? What is scarcity in the first place? What other properties can be deducted from an object’s scarcity? How are scarcity, energy, time, and value connected? Scarcity might seem easy to describe on the surface, but in reality, it’s not. Not when you take infinity into account. Infinity is a concept that has puzzled the human mind for as long as it has been able to imagine it. If it ever has. It is a very abstract concept, and it’s always linked to time simply because even imagining an infinite number would take an infinite amount of time. If we truly live in an infinite universe, scarcity cannot exist. If something exists in an infinite universe, an infinite number of copies of this something must also exist since the probability of this being true would also be infinite in an infinite universe. Therefore, scarcity must always be defined within a set framework. No frame, no scarcity.

Think of it this way: the most expensive artwork ever sold at the time of writing was the Salvator Mundi, painted by Leonardo da Vinci. It’s not even a particularly beautiful painting, so why the high price? Because Da Vinci originals are scarce. A poster of the painting isn’t expensive at all, but the original will cost you at least 450 million US Dollars. All because we agree to frame its scarcity around the notion that it is a Da Vinci original, of which under twenty exist today. Historically, scarcity has always been framed around real-world limits to the supply of a good. Most of the great thinkers of the Austrian school of economics from the twentieth century believed that the value of a monetary good arises from its scarcity and that scarcity is always connected to the real-world availability of that good. Most of them believed that a gold standard would be the hardest form of money that we would ever see and the closest thing to an absolutely scarce resource as we would ever know.

In the late 90’s, the cryptographers that laid the groundwork for what would become Bitcoin reimagined scarcity as anything with an unforgeable costliness. This mindset is key to understanding the connection between scarcity and value. Anything can be viewed as scarce if it’s sufficiently hard to produce and hard to fake the production cost of — in other words, easy to verify the validity of. The zeros at the beginning of a hashed Bitcoin block are the Proof of Work that proves that the created coins in that block were costly to produce. People who promote the idea that the mining algorithm used to produce Bitcoin could be more environmentally friendly or streamlined are either deliberately lying or missing the point. The energy expenditure is the very thing that gives the token its value because it provides proof to the network that enough computing power was sacrificed in order to keep the network sufficiently decentralized and thus resistant to change. "Easy to verify" is the flipside of the "unforgeable costliness" coin. The validity of a Bitcoin block is very easy to verify since all you need to do is look at its hash, make sure the block is part of the strongest chain, and that it conforms to all consensus rules. In order to check whether a gold bar is real or not, you probably need to trust a third party. Fiat money often comes with a plethora of water stamps, holograms, and metal stripes, so in a sense, they’re hard to forge. What you cannot know about a fiat currency at any given moment, though, is how much of it is in circulation. What you do know about fiat currencies is that they’re not scarce.

Bitcoin provides us with absolute scarcity for the first time in human history. It is a remarkable breakthrough. Even though you can’t make jewelry or anything else out of Bitcoin, its total supply is fixed. After the year 2140, after the last Bitcoin has been mined, the total amount of Bitcoin in circulation can only go down. This limited supply is what the gold standards of the past were there for in the first place. Bitcoin’s supply is much more limited than that of gold, however, since they will be lost as time goes by. Since the supply is so limited, it doesn’t matter what the current demand is. The potential upside to its value is literally limitless due to this relationship between supply and demand. The “backing” that other currencies have is only there to assume people that the currency will keep its value over time, and the only way of ensuring this is to limit the supply. Bitcoin does this better than any other thing before it. Leonardo da Vinci’s original paintings are extremely valuable because of Leonardo’s brand name and the fact that there are only about 13 of them left. One day there’ll be less than one left. The same is true for Bitcoin.

Scarcity on the Internet was long believed to be an impossible invention, and it took a multi-talented genius such as Satoshi Nakamoto to figure out all the different parts that make Bitcoin so much more than the sum of them. His disappearance from the project was one such part, maybe the most important one. The thing about computerized scarcity is that it was a one-time invention. Once it was invented, the invention could not be recreated. That’s just the nature of data. Computers are designed to be able to replicate any data set any number of times. This is true for every piece of code there is, and digital scarcity needed to be framed somehow to work. Bitcoin’s consensus rules provided such a frame. Bitcoin certainly seems to provide true digital scarcity, and if the game theoretical theories that it builds on are correct, its promise of an ever-increasing value will be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

In 2018, the inflation rate of the Venezuelan Bolivar was a staggering 80,000%. Hugo Chavez and his successor, Nicolas Maduro, effectively killed the Venezuelan economy with socialism. It has happened before — and sadly, it is likely to happen again. The main problem with socialism is not that people aren’t incentivized to work in socialist countries. On the contrary, hungry people under the threat of violence tend to work harder than most. The problem with state-owned production is that there is no free market price mechanism to reflect the true demand for goods and, therefore, no way of knowing how much supply the state should produce. Everything is in constant surplus or shortage — often the latter, as the empty supermarket shelves in Venezuela depressingly attest. Chavez and Maduro attempted to rescue the country’s economy by printing more money — which simply does not work. Their true motives for printing money are, of course, questionable given that it depreciated the value of Bolivar bills to less than that of toilet paper. As mentioned in earlier chapters, inflation is the greatest hidden threat to themselves that humans have ever created.

A few hundred years ago, the Catholic Church held the lion’s share of political power throughout Europe. Today, power primarily resides with nation-states in collusion with multinational corporations. The separation of church and state triggered the migration of power from the former to the latter, emancipating many citizens in the process. Still, places like Venezuela are sad proof that “the people” are still not in power in many self-proclaimed democracies — if in any, for that matter. Another separation will have to take place first: The separation of money and state. We, the people of Planet Earth, now have the means at our disposal for this separation to take place. Whether we use them or not will determine how emancipated and independent our children can and will be in the future.

About the Bitcoin Infinity Academy

The Bitcoin Infinity Academy is an educational project built around Knut Svanholm’s books about Bitcoin and Austrian Economics. Each week, a whole chapter from one of the books is released for free on Highlighter, accompanied by a video in which Knut and Luke de Wolf discuss that chapter’s ideas. You can join the discussions by signing up for one of the courses on our Geyser page. Signed books, monthly calls, and lots of other benefits are also available.

@ bf95e1a4:ebdcc848

This is a part of the Bitcoin Infinity Academy course on Knut Svanholm's book Bitcoin: Sovereignty Through Mathematics. For more information, check out our Geyser page!

Scarcity

What makes a commodity scarce? What is scarcity in the first place? What other properties can be deducted from an object’s scarcity? How are scarcity, energy, time, and value connected? Scarcity might seem easy to describe on the surface, but in reality, it’s not. Not when you take infinity into account. Infinity is a concept that has puzzled the human mind for as long as it has been able to imagine it. If it ever has. It is a very abstract concept, and it’s always linked to time simply because even imagining an infinite number would take an infinite amount of time. If we truly live in an infinite universe, scarcity cannot exist. If something exists in an infinite universe, an infinite number of copies of this something must also exist since the probability of this being true would also be infinite in an infinite universe. Therefore, scarcity must always be defined within a set framework. No frame, no scarcity.

Think of it this way: the most expensive artwork ever sold at the time of writing was the Salvator Mundi, painted by Leonardo da Vinci. It’s not even a particularly beautiful painting, so why the high price? Because Da Vinci originals are scarce. A poster of the painting isn’t expensive at all, but the original will cost you at least 450 million US Dollars. All because we agree to frame its scarcity around the notion that it is a Da Vinci original, of which under twenty exist today. Historically, scarcity has always been framed around real-world limits to the supply of a good. Most of the great thinkers of the Austrian school of economics from the twentieth century believed that the value of a monetary good arises from its scarcity and that scarcity is always connected to the real-world availability of that good. Most of them believed that a gold standard would be the hardest form of money that we would ever see and the closest thing to an absolutely scarce resource as we would ever know.

In the late 90’s, the cryptographers that laid the groundwork for what would become Bitcoin reimagined scarcity as anything with an unforgeable costliness. This mindset is key to understanding the connection between scarcity and value. Anything can be viewed as scarce if it’s sufficiently hard to produce and hard to fake the production cost of — in other words, easy to verify the validity of. The zeros at the beginning of a hashed Bitcoin block are the Proof of Work that proves that the created coins in that block were costly to produce. People who promote the idea that the mining algorithm used to produce Bitcoin could be more environmentally friendly or streamlined are either deliberately lying or missing the point. The energy expenditure is the very thing that gives the token its value because it provides proof to the network that enough computing power was sacrificed in order to keep the network sufficiently decentralized and thus resistant to change. "Easy to verify" is the flipside of the "unforgeable costliness" coin. The validity of a Bitcoin block is very easy to verify since all you need to do is look at its hash, make sure the block is part of the strongest chain, and that it conforms to all consensus rules. In order to check whether a gold bar is real or not, you probably need to trust a third party. Fiat money often comes with a plethora of water stamps, holograms, and metal stripes, so in a sense, they’re hard to forge. What you cannot know about a fiat currency at any given moment, though, is how much of it is in circulation. What you do know about fiat currencies is that they’re not scarce.

Bitcoin provides us with absolute scarcity for the first time in human history. It is a remarkable breakthrough. Even though you can’t make jewelry or anything else out of Bitcoin, its total supply is fixed. After the year 2140, after the last Bitcoin has been mined, the total amount of Bitcoin in circulation can only go down. This limited supply is what the gold standards of the past were there for in the first place. Bitcoin’s supply is much more limited than that of gold, however, since they will be lost as time goes by. Since the supply is so limited, it doesn’t matter what the current demand is. The potential upside to its value is literally limitless due to this relationship between supply and demand. The “backing” that other currencies have is only there to assume people that the currency will keep its value over time, and the only way of ensuring this is to limit the supply. Bitcoin does this better than any other thing before it. Leonardo da Vinci’s original paintings are extremely valuable because of Leonardo’s brand name and the fact that there are only about 13 of them left. One day there’ll be less than one left. The same is true for Bitcoin.

Scarcity on the Internet was long believed to be an impossible invention, and it took a multi-talented genius such as Satoshi Nakamoto to figure out all the different parts that make Bitcoin so much more than the sum of them. His disappearance from the project was one such part, maybe the most important one. The thing about computerized scarcity is that it was a one-time invention. Once it was invented, the invention could not be recreated. That’s just the nature of data. Computers are designed to be able to replicate any data set any number of times. This is true for every piece of code there is, and digital scarcity needed to be framed somehow to work. Bitcoin’s consensus rules provided such a frame. Bitcoin certainly seems to provide true digital scarcity, and if the game theoretical theories that it builds on are correct, its promise of an ever-increasing value will be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

In 2018, the inflation rate of the Venezuelan Bolivar was a staggering 80,000%. Hugo Chavez and his successor, Nicolas Maduro, effectively killed the Venezuelan economy with socialism. It has happened before — and sadly, it is likely to happen again. The main problem with socialism is not that people aren’t incentivized to work in socialist countries. On the contrary, hungry people under the threat of violence tend to work harder than most. The problem with state-owned production is that there is no free market price mechanism to reflect the true demand for goods and, therefore, no way of knowing how much supply the state should produce. Everything is in constant surplus or shortage — often the latter, as the empty supermarket shelves in Venezuela depressingly attest. Chavez and Maduro attempted to rescue the country’s economy by printing more money — which simply does not work. Their true motives for printing money are, of course, questionable given that it depreciated the value of Bolivar bills to less than that of toilet paper. As mentioned in earlier chapters, inflation is the greatest hidden threat to themselves that humans have ever created.

A few hundred years ago, the Catholic Church held the lion’s share of political power throughout Europe. Today, power primarily resides with nation-states in collusion with multinational corporations. The separation of church and state triggered the migration of power from the former to the latter, emancipating many citizens in the process. Still, places like Venezuela are sad proof that “the people” are still not in power in many self-proclaimed democracies — if in any, for that matter. Another separation will have to take place first: The separation of money and state. We, the people of Planet Earth, now have the means at our disposal for this separation to take place. Whether we use them or not will determine how emancipated and independent our children can and will be in the future.

About the Bitcoin Infinity Academy

The Bitcoin Infinity Academy is an educational project built around Knut Svanholm’s books about Bitcoin and Austrian Economics. Each week, a whole chapter from one of the books is released for free on Highlighter, accompanied by a video in which Knut and Luke de Wolf discuss that chapter’s ideas. You can join the discussions by signing up for one of the courses on our Geyser page. Signed books, monthly calls, and lots of other benefits are also available.

@ 24462930:3caf03ab

Nostr 中所有的数据都是事件，通过将事件存储在多个中继器上来实现去中心化，通过签名来证明事件的拥有者。但如果你想真正拥有你的事件，你应该运行一个自己的中继器来保存它们。否则一旦你使用的所有中继器出了故障或者刻意删除了你的事件，你将永远丢失它们。

对于大部份人来说，运行一个中继器是复杂的，成本高昂的。为了解决这个问题，我开发了 nostr-relay-tray，这是一款可以很方便在个人电脑上运行的中继器，并且支持通过互联网对其进行访问。

项目地址：https://github.com/CodyTseng/nostr-relay-tray

本文将介绍如何使用 nostr-relay-tray 来运行一个自己的中继器。

下载

从 GitHub Release 页面 下载对应你操作系统的安装包

| 操作系统 | 文件格式 | | --------------------- | ---------------------------------- | | Windows | nostr-relay-tray.Setup.x.x.x.exe | | macOS (Apple Silicon) | nostr-relay-tray-x.x.x-arm64.dmg | | macOS (Intel) | nostr-relay-tray-x.x.x.dmg | | Linux | 你们应该知道使用哪个 |

安装

因为我没有对这个安装包进行数字签名，所以在安装时会有一些阻碍。安装成功后，菜单栏会出现一个鸵鸟图标。点击鸵鸟图标，你会看到一个菜单，点击 "Dashboard" 选项可以打开中继器的控制面板进行更多的配置。

macOS 用户注意：

• 首次打开时需要前往「系统设置 > 隐私与安全性」点击“仍要打开”按钮。
• 若遇损坏提示，需要在终端执行以下命令解除限制：

bash sudo xattr -rd com.apple.quarantine /Applications/nostr-relay-tray.app

Windows 用户：

• 在安全警告界面点击「更多信息 > 仍要运行」

连接

默认情况下，nostr-relay-tray 只能在本地通过 ws://localhost:4869/ 进行访问。这让它的用途非常有限，所以我们需要将它暴露到互联网。

在控制面板中点击 "Proxy" 选项卡，并打开开关。你将会获得一个 "Public address"，你可以使用这个地址在任何地方访问你的中继器。就是这么简单。

接下来，你要将刚刚获得的地址添加到你的中继器列表中。并且要让它在列表中尽可能靠前的位置。因为大部份的客户端会优先连接列表中靠前的中继器，后面的中继器常常会被忽略。

限制

接下来我们需要增加一些限制来防止中继器保存一些与你无关的事件，浪费存储空间。nostr-relay-tray 可以非常灵活精细地设置允许接收哪些事件，但有些复杂，所以不在这里介绍，如果有兴趣可以日后探索。

在这里我先介绍一个很简单有效的策略 —— WoT (Web of Trust)。你可以在 "WoT & PoW" 选项卡中打开这个功能。打开之前你需要先输入你的 pubkey。

这里还有一个非常重要的参数 Depth，它表示某个人与你的关系深度。你关注的人与你的深度为 1，你关注的人关注的人与你的深度为 2，以此类推。

• 如果你将这个参数设置为 0，那么你的中继器只会接收你自己的事件。
• 如果你将这个参数设置为 1，那么你的中继器只会接收你和你关注的人的事件。
• 如果你将这个参数设置为 2，那么你的中继器只会接收你和你关注的人的事件，以及你关注的人关注的人的事件。

目前这个参数的最大值只能为 2。

总结

至此，你已经成功运行了一个自己的中继器，并且设置了一个简单的限制来防止中继器保存一些与你无关的事件。

如果你在使用中遇到任何问题，请随时在 GitHub 上提交 issue，我会尽快回复你。

Not your relay, not your events

@ c1e9ab3a:9cb56b43

If you ever read about a hypothetical "evil AI"—one that manipulates, dominates, and surveils humanity—you might find yourself wondering: how is that any different from what some governments already do?

Let’s explore the eerie parallels between the actions of a fictional malevolent AI and the behaviors of powerful modern states—specifically the U.S. federal government.

Surveillance and Control

Evil AI: Uses total surveillance to monitor all activity, predict rebellion, and enforce compliance.

Modern Government: Post-9/11 intelligence agencies like the NSA have implemented mass data collection programs, monitoring phone calls, emails, and online activity—often without meaningful oversight.

Parallel: Both claim to act in the name of “security,” but the tools are ripe for abuse.

Manipulation of Information

Evil AI: Floods the information space with propaganda, misinformation, and filters truth based on its goals.

Modern Government: Funds media outlets, promotes specific narratives through intelligence leaks, and collaborates with social media companies to suppress or flag dissenting viewpoints.

Parallel: Control the narrative, shape public perception, and discredit opposition.

Economic Domination

Evil AI: Restructures the economy for efficiency, displacing workers and concentrating resources.

Modern Government: Facilitates wealth transfer through lobbying, regulatory capture, and inflationary monetary policy that disproportionately hurts the middle and lower classes.

Parallel: The system enriches those who control it, leaving the rest with less power to resist.

Perpetual Warfare

Evil AI: Instigates conflict to weaken opposition or as a form of distraction and control.

Modern Government: Maintains a state of nearly constant military engagement since WWII, often for interests that benefit a small elite rather than national defense.

Parallel: War becomes policy, not a last resort.

Predictive Policing and Censorship

Evil AI: Uses predictive algorithms to preemptively suppress dissent and eliminate threats.

Modern Government: Experiments with pre-crime-like measures, flags “misinformation,” and uses AI tools to monitor online behavior.

Parallel: Prevent rebellion not by fixing problems, but by suppressing their expression.

Conclusion: Systemic Inhumanity

Whether it’s AI or a bureaucratic state, the more a system becomes detached from individual accountability and human empathy, the more it starts to act in ways we would call “evil” if a machine did them.

An AI doesn’t need to enslave humanity with lasers and killer robots. Sometimes all it takes is code, coercion, and unchecked power—something we may already be facing.

@ 5c26ee8b:a4d229aa

5:118 Al-Maaida

‎إِنْ تُعَذِّبْهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ عِبَادُكَ ۖ وَإِنْ تَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ فَإِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ

If You should punish them - indeed they are Your servants; but if You forgive them - indeed it is You who is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.

The previous verse will be said by prophet Jesus, peace be upon him, on the day of reckoning.

No one will enter paradise without God’s mercy.

16:61 An-Nahl

‎وَلَوْ يُؤَاخِذُ اللَّهُ النَّاسَ بِظُلْمِهِمْ مَا تَرَكَ عَلَيْهَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ وَلَٰكِنْ يُؤَخِّرُهُمْ إِلَىٰ أَجَلٍ مُسَمًّى ۖ فَإِذَا جَاءَ أَجَلُهُمْ لَا يَسْتَأْخِرُونَ سَاعَةً ۖ وَلَا يَسْتَقْدِمُونَ

And if Allah were to impose blame on the people for their wrongdoing, He would not have left upon the earth any creature, but He defers them for a specified term. And when their term has come, they will not remain behind an hour, nor will they precede [it].

And no one will enter paradise with pride in the heart. Pride belongs only to God, Allah, as mentioned in the next verse.

45:37 Al-Jaathiya

‎وَلَهُ الْكِبْرِيَاءُ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ ۖ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ

And to Him belongs [all] the pride within the heavens and the earth, and He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.

It is narrated on the authority of 'Abdullah b. Mas'ud that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) observed: None shall enter the Fire (of Hell) who has in his heart the weight of a mustard seed of belief (in the oneness of God and resurrection day) and none shall enter Paradise who has in his heart the weight of a mustard seed of pride.

‎حَدَّثَنَا مِنْجَابُ بْنُ الْحَارِثِ التَّمِيمِيُّ، وَسُوَيْدُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، كِلاَهُمَا عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ مُسْهِرٍ، - قَالَ مِنْجَابٌ أَخْبَرَنَا ابْنُ مُسْهِرٍ، - عَنِ الأَعْمَشِ، عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، عَنْ عَلْقَمَةَ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ "‏ لاَ يَدْخُلُ النَّارَ أَحَدٌ فِي قَلْبِهِ مِثْقَالُ حَبَّةِ خَرْدَلٍ مِنْ إِيمَانٍ وَلاَ يَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّةَ أَحَدٌ فِي قَلْبِهِ مِثْقَالُ حَبَّةِ خَرْدَلٍ مِنْ كِبْرِيَاءَ ‏"‏ ‏.‏

God, Allah doesn’t forgive that any other is associated with him in worship. Also, the good deeds of disbelievers will worth nothing.

4:116 An-Nisaa

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَنْ يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ ۚ وَمَنْ يُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلَالًا بَعِيدًا

Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills. And he who associates others with Allah has certainly gone far astray.

18:103 Al-Kahf

قُلْ هَلْ نُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِالْأَخْسَرِينَ أَعْمَالًا

Say, [O Muhammad], "Shall we [believers] inform you of the greatest losers as to [their] deeds?

18:104 Al-Kahf

‎الَّذِينَ ضَلَّ سَعْيُهُمْ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَهُمْ يَحْسَبُونَ أَنَّهُمْ يُحْسِنُونَ صُنْعًا

[They are] those whose effort is lost in worldly life, while they think that they are doing well in work."

18:105 Al-Kahf

‎أُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِآيَاتِ رَبِّهِمْ وَلِقَائِهِ فَحَبِطَتْ أَعْمَالُهُمْ فَلَا نُقِيمُ لَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَزْنًا

Those are the ones who disbelieve in the verses of their Lord and in [their] meeting Him, so their deeds have become worthless; and We will not assign to them on the Day of Resurrection any importance.

18:106 Al-Kahf

‎ذَٰلِكَ جَزَاؤُهُمْ جَهَنَّمُ بِمَا كَفَرُوا وَاتَّخَذُوا آيَاتِي وَرُسُلِي هُزُوًا

That is their recompense - Hell - for what they denied and [because] they took My signs and My messengers in ridicule.

18:107 Al-Kahf

‎إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ كَانَتْ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتُ الْفِرْدَوْسِ نُزُلًا

Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds - they will have the Gardens of Paradise as a lodging,

God, Allah, sent messengers to inform the people about him as the one and only God.

6:47 Al-An'aam

قُلْ أَرَأَيْتَكُمْ إِنْ أَتَاكُمْ عَذَابُ اللَّهِ بَغْتَةً أَوْ جَهْرَةً هَلْ يُهْلَكُ إِلَّا الْقَوْمُ الظَّالِمُونَ

Say, "Have you considered: if the punishment of Allah should come to you unexpectedly or manifestly, will any be destroyed but the wrongdoing people?"

6:48 Al-An'aam

وَمَا نُرْسِلُ الْمُرْسَلِينَ إِلَّا مُبَشِّرِينَ وَمُنْذِرِينَ ۖ فَمَنْ آمَنَ وَأَصْلَحَ فَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ

And We send not the messengers except as bringers of good tidings and warners. So whoever believes and reforms - there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve.

6:49 Al-An'aam

وَالَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِنَا يَمَسُّهُمُ الْعَذَابُ بِمَا كَانُوا يَفْسُقُونَ

But those who deny Our verses - the punishment will touch them for their defiant disobedience.

6:50 Al-An'aam

قُلْ لَا أَقُولُ لَكُمْ عِنْدِي خَزَائِنُ اللَّهِ وَلَا أَعْلَمُ الْغَيْبَ وَلَا أَقُولُ لَكُمْ إِنِّي مَلَكٌ ۖ إِنْ أَتَّبِعُ إِلَّا مَا يُوحَىٰ إِلَيَّ ۚ قُلْ هَلْ يَسْتَوِي الْأَعْمَىٰ وَالْبَصِيرُ ۚ أَفَلَا تَتَفَكَّرُونَ

Say, [O Muhammad], "I do not tell you that I have the depositories [containing the provision] of Allah or that I know the unseen, nor do I tell you that I am an angel. I only follow what is revealed to me." Say, "Is the blind equivalent to the seeing? Then will you not give thought?"

6:51 Al-An'aam

وَأَنْذِرْ بِهِ الَّذِينَ يَخَافُونَ أَنْ يُحْشَرُوا إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ ۙ لَيْسَ لَهُمْ مِنْ دُونِهِ وَلِيٌّ وَلَا شَفِيعٌ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ

And warn by the Qur'an those who fear that they will be gathered before their Lord - for them besides Him will be no protector and no intercessor - that they might become righteous.

16:23 An-Nahl

‎لَا جَرَمَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا يُسِرُّونَ وَمَا يُعْلِنُونَ ۚ إِنَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُسْتَكْبِرِينَ

Assuredly, Allah knows what they conceal and what they declare. Indeed, He does not like the arrogant.

16:24 An-Nahl

‎وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ مَاذَا أَنْزَلَ رَبُّكُمْ ۙ قَالُوا أَسَاطِيرُ الْأَوَّلِينَ

And when it is said to them, "What has your Lord sent down?" They say, "Legends of the former peoples,"

16:25 An-Nahl

‎لِيَحْمِلُوا أَوْزَارَهُمْ كَامِلَةً يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ ۙ وَمِنْ أَوْزَارِ الَّذِينَ يُضِلُّونَهُمْ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ ۗ أَلَا سَاءَ مَا يَزِرُونَ

That they may bear their own burdens in full on the Day of Resurrection and some of the burdens of those whom they misguide without knowledge. Unquestionably, evil is that which they bear.

16:26 An-Nahl

‎قَدْ مَكَرَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ فَأَتَى اللَّهُ بُنْيَانَهُمْ مِنَ الْقَوَاعِدِ فَخَرَّ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّقْفُ مِنْ فَوْقِهِمْ وَأَتَاهُمُ الْعَذَابُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ

Those before them had already plotted, but Allah came at their building from the foundations, so the roof fell upon them from above them, and the punishment came to them from where they did not perceive.

16:27 An-Nahl

‎ثُمَّ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ يُخْزِيهِمْ وَيَقُولُ أَيْنَ شُرَكَائِيَ الَّذِينَ كُنْتُمْ تُشَاقُّونَ فِيهِمْ ۚ قَالَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ إِنَّ الْخِزْيَ الْيَوْمَ وَالسُّوءَ عَلَى الْكَافِرِينَ

Then on the Day of Resurrection He will disgrace them and say, "Where are My 'partners' for whom you used to oppose [the believers]?" Those who were given knowledge will say, "Indeed disgrace, this Day, and evil are upon the disbelievers" -

16:28 An-Nahl

‎الَّذِينَ تَتَوَفَّاهُمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ ظَالِمِي أَنْفُسِهِمْ ۖ فَأَلْقَوُا السَّلَمَ مَا كُنَّا نَعْمَلُ مِنْ سُوءٍ ۚ بَلَىٰ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ

The ones whom the angels take in death [while] wronging themselves, and [who] then offer submission, [saying], "We were not doing any evil." But, yes! Indeed, Allah is Knowing of what you used to do.

16:29 An-Nahl

‎فَادْخُلُوا أَبْوَابَ جَهَنَّمَ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا ۖ فَلَبِئْسَ مَثْوَى الْمُتَكَبِّرِينَ

So enter the gates of Hell to abide eternally therein, and how wretched is the residence of the arrogant.

16:30 An-Nahl

‎۞ وَقِيلَ لِلَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا مَاذَا أَنْزَلَ رَبُّكُمْ ۚ قَالُوا خَيْرًا ۗ لِلَّذِينَ أَحْسَنُوا فِي هَٰذِهِ الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةٌ ۚ وَلَدَارُ الْآخِرَةِ خَيْرٌ ۚ وَلَنِعْمَ دَارُ الْمُتَّقِينَ

And it will be said to those who feared Allah, "What did your Lord send down?" They will say, "[That which is] good." For those who do good in this world is good; and the home of the Hereafter is better. And how excellent is the home of the righteous -

16:31 An-Nahl

‎جَنَّاتُ عَدْنٍ يَدْخُلُونَهَا تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ ۖ لَهُمْ فِيهَا مَا يَشَاءُونَ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ يَجْزِي اللَّهُ الْمُتَّقِينَ

Gardens of perpetual residence, which they will enter, beneath which rivers flow. They will have therein whatever they wish. Thus does Allah reward the righteous -

16:32 An-Nahl

‎الَّذِينَ تَتَوَفَّاهُمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ طَيِّبِينَ ۙ يَقُولُونَ سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمُ ادْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ

The ones whom the angels take in death, [being] good and pure; [the angels] will say, "Peace be upon you. Enter Paradise for what you used to do."

16:33 An-Nahl

‎هَلْ يَنْظُرُونَ إِلَّا أَنْ تَأْتِيَهُمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ أَوْ يَأْتِيَ أَمْرُ رَبِّكَ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ فَعَلَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ ۚ وَمَا ظَلَمَهُمُ اللَّهُ وَلَٰكِنْ كَانُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ

Do the disbelievers await [anything] except that the angels should come to them or there comes the command of your Lord? Thus did those do before them. And Allah wronged them not, but they had been wronging themselves.

16:34 An-Nahl

‎فَأَصَابَهُمْ سَيِّئَاتُ مَا عَمِلُوا وَحَاقَ بِهِمْ مَا كَانُوا بِهِ يَسْتَهْزِئُونَ

So they were struck by the evil consequences of what they did and were enveloped by what they used to ridicule.

16:35 An-Nahl

‎وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُوا لَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ مَا عَبَدْنَا مِنْ دُونِهِ مِنْ شَيْءٍ نَحْنُ وَلَا آبَاؤُنَا وَلَا حَرَّمْنَا مِنْ دُونِهِ مِنْ شَيْءٍ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ فَعَلَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ ۚ فَهَلْ عَلَى الرُّسُلِ إِلَّا الْبَلَاغُ الْمُبِينُ

And those who associate others with Allah say, "If Allah had willed, we would not have worshipped anything other than Him, neither we nor our fathers, nor would we have forbidden anything through other than Him." Thus did those do before them. So is there upon the messengers except [the duty of] clear notification?

16:36 An-Nahl

‎وَلَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِي كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَسُولًا أَنِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَاجْتَنِبُوا الطَّاغُوتَ ۖ فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ هَدَى اللَّهُ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ حَقَّتْ عَلَيْهِ الضَّلَالَةُ ۚ فَسِيرُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ فَانْظُرُوا كَيْفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ الْمُكَذِّبِينَ

And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger, [saying], "Worship Allah and avoid Taghut (the false deities)." And among them were those whom Allah guided, and among them were those upon whom error was [deservedly] decreed. So proceed through the earth and observe how was the end of the deniers.

16:37 An-Nahl

‎إِنْ تَحْرِصْ عَلَىٰ هُدَاهُمْ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِي مَنْ يُضِلُّ ۖ وَمَا لَهُمْ مِنْ نَاصِرِينَ

[Even] if you should strive for their guidance, indeed, Allah does not guide those He sends astray, and they will have no helpers.

3:176 Aal-i-Imraan

‎وَلَا يَحْزُنْكَ الَّذِينَ يُسَارِعُونَ فِي الْكُفْرِ ۚ إِنَّهُمْ لَنْ يَضُرُّوا اللَّهَ شَيْئًا ۗ يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ أَلَّا يَجْعَلَ لَهُمْ حَظًّا فِي الْآخِرَةِ ۖ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ

And do not be saddened, [O Muhammad], by those who hasten into disbelief. Indeed, they will never harm Allah at all. Allah intends that He should give them no share in the Hereafter, and for them is a great punishment.

3:177 Aal-i-Imraan

‎إِنَّ الَّذِينَ اشْتَرَوُا الْكُفْرَ بِالْإِيمَانِ لَنْ يَضُرُّوا اللَّهَ شَيْئًا وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ

Indeed, those who purchase disbelief [in exchange] for faith - never will they harm Allah at all, and for them is a painful punishment.

3:178 Aal-i-Imraan

‎وَلَا يَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَنَّمَا نُمْلِي لَهُمْ خَيْرٌ لِأَنْفُسِهِمْ ۚ إِنَّمَا نُمْلِي لَهُمْ لِيَزْدَادُوا إِثْمًا ۚ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مُهِينٌ

And let not those who disbelieve ever think that [because] We fill for them time [of worldly things, among which wealth or time], it is better for them. We only fill for them so that they may increase in sin, and for them is a humiliating punishment.

3:179 Aal-i-Imraan

‎مَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيَذَرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلَىٰ مَا أَنْتُمْ عَلَيْهِ حَتَّىٰ يَمِيزَ الْخَبِيثَ مِنَ الطَّيِّبِ ۗ وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيُطْلِعَكُمْ عَلَى الْغَيْبِ وَلَٰكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَجْتَبِي مِنْ رُسُلِهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ ۖ فَآمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِ ۚ وَإِنْ تُؤْمِنُوا وَتَتَّقُوا فَلَكُمْ أَجْرٌ عَظِيمٌ

Allah would not leave the believers in that [state] you are in [presently] until He separates the evil from the good. Nor would Allah reveal to you the unseen. But [instead], Allah chooses of His messengers whom He wills, so believe in Allah and His messengers. And if you believe and fear Him, then for you is a great reward.

6:54 Al-An'aam

‎وَإِذَا جَاءَكَ الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِآيَاتِنَا فَقُلْ سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ ۖ كَتَبَ رَبُّكُمْ عَلَىٰ نَفْسِهِ الرَّحْمَةَ ۖ أَنَّهُ مَنْ عَمِلَ مِنْكُمْ سُوءًا بِجَهَالَةٍ ثُمَّ تَابَ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ وَأَصْلَحَ فَأَنَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ

And when those come to you who believe in Our verses, say, "Peace be upon you. Your Lord has decreed upon Himself mercy: that any of you who does wrong out of ignorance and then repents after that and corrects himself - indeed, He is Forgiving and Merciful."

6:55 Al-An'aam

‎وَكَذَٰلِكَ نُفَصِّلُ الْآيَاتِ وَلِتَسْتَبِينَ سَبِيلُ الْمُجْرِمِينَ

And thus do We detail the verses, and [thus] the way of the criminals will become evident.

6:56 Al-An'aam

‎قُلْ إِنِّي نُهِيتُ أَنْ أَعْبُدَ الَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ ۚ قُلْ لَا أَتَّبِعُ أَهْوَاءَكُمْ ۙ قَدْ ضَلَلْتُ إِذًا وَمَا أَنَا مِنَ الْمُهْتَدِينَ

Say, "Indeed, I have been forbidden to worship those you invoke besides Allah." Say, "I will not follow your desires, for I would then have gone astray, and I would not be of the [rightly] guided."

6:57 Al-An'aam

‎قُلْ إِنِّي عَلَىٰ بَيِّنَةٍ مِنْ رَبِّي وَكَذَّبْتُمْ بِهِ ۚ مَا عِنْدِي مَا تَسْتَعْجِلُونَ بِهِ ۚ إِنِ الْحُكْمُ إِلَّا لِلَّهِ ۖ يَقُصُّ الْحَقَّ ۖ وَهُوَ خَيْرُ الْفَاصِلِينَ

Say, "Indeed, I am on clear evidence from my Lord, and you have denied it. I do not have that for which you are impatient. The decision is only for Allah. He relates the truth, and He is the best of deciders."

6:58 Al-An'aam

‎قُلْ لَوْ أَنَّ عِنْدِي مَا تَسْتَعْجِلُونَ بِهِ لَقُضِيَ الْأَمْرُ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَكُمْ ۗ وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالظَّالِمِينَ

Say, "If I had that for which you are impatient, the matter would have been decided between me and you, but Allah is most knowing of the wrongdoers."

6:59 Al-An'aam

‎۞ وَعِنْدَهُ مَفَاتِحُ الْغَيْبِ لَا يَعْلَمُهَا إِلَّا هُوَ ۚ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ ۚ وَمَا تَسْقُطُ مِنْ وَرَقَةٍ إِلَّا يَعْلَمُهَا وَلَا حَبَّةٍ فِي ظُلُمَاتِ الْأَرْضِ وَلَا رَطْبٍ وَلَا يَابِسٍ إِلَّا فِي كِتَابٍ مُبِينٍ

And with Him are the keys of the unseen; none knows them except Him. And He knows what is on the land and in the sea. Not a leaf falls but that He knows it. And no grain is there within the darknesses of the earth and no moist or dry [thing] but that it is [written] in a clear record.

6:60 Al-An'aam

‎وَهُوَ الَّذِي يَتَوَفَّاكُمْ بِاللَّيْلِ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا جَرَحْتُمْ بِالنَّهَارِ ثُمَّ يَبْعَثُكُمْ فِيهِ لِيُقْضَىٰ أَجَلٌ مُسَمًّى ۖ ثُمَّ إِلَيْهِ مَرْجِعُكُمْ ثُمَّ يُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ

And it is He who takes your souls by night and knows what you have committed by day. Then He revives you therein that a specified term may be fulfilled. Then to Him will be your return; then He will inform you about what you used to do.

6:61 Al-An'aam

‎وَهُوَ الْقَاهِرُ فَوْقَ عِبَادِهِ ۖ وَيُرْسِلُ عَلَيْكُمْ حَفَظَةً حَتَّىٰ إِذَا جَاءَ أَحَدَكُمُ الْمَوْتُ تَوَفَّتْهُ رُسُلُنَا وَهُمْ لَا يُفَرِّطُونَ

And He is the subjugator over His servants, and He sends over you guardian-angels until, when death comes to one of you, Our messengers take him, and they do not fail [in their duties].

6:62 Al-An'aam

‎ثُمَّ رُدُّوا إِلَى اللَّهِ مَوْلَاهُمُ الْحَقِّ ۚ أَلَا لَهُ الْحُكْمُ وَهُوَ أَسْرَعُ الْحَاسِبِينَ

Then they His servants are returned to Allah, their true Lord. Unquestionably, His is the judgement, and He is the swiftest of accountants.

84:6 Al-Inshiqaaq

‎يَا أَيُّهَا الْإِنْسَانُ إِنَّكَ كَادِحٌ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ كَدْحًا فَمُلَاقِيهِ

O man, indeed you are laboring toward your Lord with [great] exertion and will meet it.

84:7 Al-Inshiqaaq

‎فَأَمَّا مَنْ أُوتِيَ كِتَابَهُ بِيَمِينِهِ

Then as for he who is given his book (where the good deeds and bad deeds are registered) in his right hand,

84:8 Al-Inshiqaaq

فَسَوْفَ يُحَاسَبُ حِسَابًا يَسِيرًا

He will be judged with an easy reckoning

84:9 Al-Inshiqaaq

وَيَنْقَلِبُ إِلَىٰ أَهْلِهِ مَسْرُورًا

And return happy to his people.

84:10 Al-Inshiqaaq

وَأَمَّا مَنْ أُوتِيَ كِتَابَهُ وَرَاءَ ظَهْرِهِ

But as for he who is given his book (where the good deeds and bad deeds are registered) behind his back,

84:11 Al-Inshiqaaq

فَسَوْفَ يَدْعُو ثُبُورًا

He will cry out for destruction

84:12 Al-Inshiqaaq

وَيَصْلَىٰ سَعِيرًا

And [enter to] burn in a Blaze.

84:13 Al-Inshiqaaq

إِنَّهُ كَانَ فِي أَهْلِهِ مَسْرُورًا

Indeed, he had [once] been among his people content;

84:14 Al-Inshiqaaq

‎إِنَّهُ ظَنَّ أَنْ لَنْ يَحُورَ

Indeed, he had thought he would never return [to God; Allah].

84:15 Al-Inshiqaaq

بَلَىٰ إِنَّ رَبَّهُ كَانَ بِهِ بَصِيرًا

But yes! Indeed, his Lord was ever of him, Seeing.

Everything that we do is written in our books by angels assigned to us; on our right and left. The weight of the deeds good or bad will determine where each person will end up; heavens or hellfire. However, each good deed will be rewards ten times more its value written in the person’s book and for each bad deed nothing more than it will be written. And whoever is away from worshiping God, Allah, has a Qarin; devil from jinn that drives him or her more astray and provokes to commit more sins.

50:16 Qaaf

وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ وَنَعْلَمُ مَا تُوَسْوِسُ بِهِ نَفْسُهُ ۖ وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ الْوَرِيدِ

And We have already created man and know what his soul whispers to him, and We are closer to him than [his] jugular vein

50:17 Qaaf

إِذْ يَتَلَقَّى الْمُتَلَقِّيَانِ عَنِ الْيَمِينِ وَعَنِ الشِّمَالِ قَعِيدٌ

When the two receivers receive, seated on the right and on the left.

50:18 Qaaf

مَا يَلْفِظُ مِنْ قَوْلٍ إِلَّا لَدَيْهِ رَقِيبٌ عَتِيدٌ

Man does not utter any word except that with him is observers (from the angels) prepared [to record in the person’s book].

50:19 Qaaf

وَجَاءَتْ سَكْرَةُ الْمَوْتِ بِالْحَقِّ ۖ ذَٰلِكَ مَا كُنْتَ مِنْهُ تَحِيدُ

And the intoxication of death will bring the truth; that is what you were trying to avoid.

50:20 Qaaf

وَنُفِخَ فِي الصُّورِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ يَوْمُ الْوَعِيدِ

And the Horn will be blown. That is the Day of [carrying out] the threat.

50:21 Qaaf

وَجَاءَتْ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَعَهَا سَائِقٌ وَشَهِيدٌ

And every soul will come, with it a driver and a witness.

50:22 Qaaf

لَقَدْ كُنْتَ فِي غَفْلَةٍ مِنْ هَٰذَا فَكَشَفْنَا عَنْكَ غِطَاءَكَ فَبَصَرُكَ الْيَوْمَ حَدِيدٌ

[It will be said], "You were certainly in unmindfulness of this, and We have removed from you your cover, so your sight, this Day, is sharp."

50:23 Qaaf

وَقَالَ قَرِينُهُ هَٰذَا مَا لَدَيَّ عَتِيدٌ

And his companion, [the angel], will say, "This [record] is what is with me, prepared."

50:24 Qaaf

أَلْقِيَا فِي جَهَنَّمَ كُلَّ كَفَّارٍ عَنِيدٍ

[Allah will say], "Throw into Hell every obstinate disbeliever,

50:25 Qaaf

مَنَّاعٍ لِلْخَيْرِ مُعْتَدٍ مُرِيبٍ

Preventer of good, aggressor, and doubter,

50:26 Qaaf

الَّذِي جَعَلَ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَٰهًا آخَرَ فَأَلْقِيَاهُ فِي الْعَذَابِ الشَّدِيدِ

Who made [as equal] with Allah another deity; then throw him into the severe punishment."

50:27 Qaaf

۞ قَالَ قَرِينُهُ رَبَّنَا مَا أَطْغَيْتُهُ وَلَٰكِنْ كَانَ فِي ضَلَالٍ بَعِيدٍ

His Qarin [devil from jinn assigned to the person in case of disbelief or disobeying God] will say, "Our Lord, I did not make him transgress, but he [himself] was in extreme error."

50:28 Qaaf

قَالَ لَا تَخْتَصِمُوا لَدَيَّ وَقَدْ قَدَّمْتُ إِلَيْكُمْ بِالْوَعِيدِ

[Allah] will say, "Do not dispute before Me, while I had already presented to you the warning.

50:29 Qaaf

مَا يُبَدَّلُ الْقَوْلُ لَدَيَّ وَمَا أَنَا بِظَلَّامٍ لِلْعَبِيدِ

The word will not be changed with Me, and never will I be unjust to the servants."

50:30 Qaaf

يَوْمَ نَقُولُ لِجَهَنَّمَ هَلِ امْتَلَأْتِ وَتَقُولُ هَلْ مِنْ مَزِيدٍ

On the Day We will say to Hell, "Have you been filled?" and it will say, "Are there some more,"

50:31 Qaaf

وَأُزْلِفَتِ الْجَنَّةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ غَيْرَ بَعِيدٍ

And Paradise will be brought near to the righteous, not far,

50:32 Qaaf

هَٰذَا مَا تُوعَدُونَ لِكُلِّ أَوَّابٍ حَفِيظٍ

[It will be said], "This is what you were promised - for every returner [to Allah] and keeper [of His covenant]

50:33 Qaaf

مَنْ خَشِيَ الرَّحْمَٰنَ بِالْغَيْبِ وَجَاءَ بِقَلْبٍ مُنِيبٍ

Who feared the Most Merciful (while) unseen and came with a heart returning [in repentance].

50:34 Qaaf

ادْخُلُوهَا بِسَلَامٍ ۖ ذَٰلِكَ يَوْمُ الْخُلُودِ

Enter it in peace. This is the Day of Eternity."

50:35 Qaaf

لَهُمْ مَا يَشَاءُونَ فِيهَا وَلَدَيْنَا مَزِيدٌ

They will have whatever they wish therein, and with Us is more.

50:36 Qaaf

وَكَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا قَبْلَهُمْ مِنْ قَرْنٍ هُمْ أَشَدُّ مِنْهُمْ بَطْشًا فَنَقَّبُوا فِي الْبِلَادِ هَلْ مِنْ مَحِيصٍ

And how many a generation before them did We destroy who were greater than them in [striking] power and had explored throughout the lands. Is there any place of escape?

50:37 Qaaf

إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَذِكْرَىٰ لِمَنْ كَانَ لَهُ قَلْبٌ أَوْ أَلْقَى السَّمْعَ وَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ

Indeed in that is a reminder for whoever has a heart or who listens while he is present [in mind].

23:102 Al-Muminoon

فَمَنْ ثَقُلَتْ مَوَازِينُهُ فَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ

And those whose scales are heavy [with good deeds] - it is they who are the successful.

23:103 Al-Muminoon

وَمَنْ خَفَّتْ مَوَازِينُهُ فَأُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ خَسِرُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ فِي جَهَنَّمَ خَالِدُونَ

But those whose scales are light - those are the ones who have lost their souls, [being] in Hell, abiding eternally.

23:104 Al-Muminoon

تَلْفَحُ وُجُوهَهُمُ النَّارُ وَهُمْ فِيهَا كَالِحُونَ

The Fire will sear their faces, and they therein will have taut smiles.

23:105 Al-Muminoon

أَلَمْ تَكُنْ آيَاتِي تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْكُمْ فَكُنْتُمْ بِهَا تُكَذِّبُونَ

[It will be said]. "Were not My verses recited to you and you used to belie them?"

23:106 Al-Muminoon

قَالُوا رَبَّنَا غَلَبَتْ عَلَيْنَا شِقْوَتُنَا وَكُنَّا قَوْمًا ضَالِّينَ

They will say, "Our Lord, our wretchedness overcame us, and we were a people astray.

23:107 Al-Muminoon

رَبَّنَا أَخْرِجْنَا مِنْهَا فَإِنْ عُدْنَا فَإِنَّا ظَالِمُونَ

Our Lord, remove us from it, and if we were to return [to evil], we would indeed be wrongdoers."

23:108 Al-Muminoon

قَالَ اخْسَئُوا فِيهَا وَلَا تُكَلِّمُونِ

He will say, "Remain despised therein and do not speak to Me.

23:109 Al-Muminoon

إِنَّهُ كَانَ فَرِيقٌ مِنْ عِبَادِي يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا آمَنَّا فَاغْفِرْ لَنَا وَارْحَمْنَا وَأَنْتَ خَيْرُ الرَّاحِمِينَ

Indeed, there was a party of My servants who said, 'Our Lord, we have believed, so forgive us and have mercy upon us, and You are the best of the merciful.'

23:110 Al-Muminoon

فَاتَّخَذْتُمُوهُمْ سِخْرِيًّا حَتَّىٰ أَنْسَوْكُمْ ذِكْرِي وَكُنْتُمْ مِنْهُمْ تَضْحَكُونَ

But you took them in mockery to the point that they made you forget My remembrance, and you used to laugh at them.

23:111 Al-Muminoon

إِنِّي جَزَيْتُهُمُ الْيَوْمَ بِمَا صَبَرُوا أَنَّهُمْ هُمُ الْفَائِزُونَ

Indeed, I have rewarded them this Day for their patient endurance - that they are the attainers [of success]."

6:160 Al-An'aam

مَنْ جَاءَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ فَلَهُ عَشْرُ أَمْثَالِهَا ۖ وَمَنْ جَاءَ بِالسَّيِّئَةِ فَلَا يُجْزَىٰ إِلَّا مِثْلَهَا وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ

Whoever comes [on the Day of Judgement] with a good deed will have ten times the like thereof [to his credit], and whoever comes with an evil deed will not be recompensed except the like thereof; and they will not be wronged.

More often whoever does wrong thinks that nobody saw them, however, the person’s own ears, eyes and skin will witness against him/her on Judgement Day.

41:19 Fussilat

‎وَيَوْمَ يُحْشَرُ أَعْدَاءُ اللَّهِ إِلَى النَّارِ فَهُمْ يُوزَعُونَ

And [mention, O Muhammad], the Day when the enemies of Allah will be gathered to the Fire while they are [driven] assembled in rows,

41:20 Fussilat

‎حَتَّىٰ إِذَا مَا جَاءُوهَا شَهِدَ عَلَيْهِمْ سَمْعُهُمْ وَأَبْصَارُهُمْ وَجُلُودُهُمْ بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ

Until, when they reach it (hellfire), their hearing and their eyes and their skins will testify against them of what they used to do.

41:21 Fussilat

‎وَقَالُوا لِجُلُودِهِمْ لِمَ شَهِدْتُمْ عَلَيْنَا ۖ قَالُوا أَنْطَقَنَا اللَّهُ الَّذِي أَنْطَقَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ وَهُوَ خَلَقَكُمْ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ وَإِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ

And they will say to their skins, "Why have you testified against us?" They will say, "We were made to speak by Allah, who has made everything speak; and He created you the first time, and to Him you are returned.

41:22 Fussilat

‎وَمَا كُنْتُمْ تَسْتَتِرُونَ أَنْ يَشْهَدَ عَلَيْكُمْ سَمْعُكُمْ وَلَا أَبْصَارُكُمْ وَلَا جُلُودُكُمْ وَلَٰكِنْ ظَنَنْتُمْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَعْلَمُ كَثِيرًا مِمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ

And you were not covering yourselves, lest your hearing testify against you or your sight or your skins, but you assumed that Allah does not know much of what you do.

41:25 Fussilat

‎۞ وَقَيَّضْنَا لَهُمْ قُرَنَاءَ فَزَيَّنُوا لَهُمْ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ وَحَقَّ عَلَيْهِمُ الْقَوْلُ فِي أُمَمٍ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ مِنَ الْجِنِّ وَالْإِنْسِ ۖ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا خَاسِرِينَ

And We appointed for them companions (for each of them a Qarin; devil of jinn) who made attractive to them what was before them and what was behind them [of sin], and the word has come into effect upon them among nations which had passed on before them of jinn and men. Indeed, they [all] were losers.

In the following a description of some of the events that will happen on the day of the reckoning.

2:166 Al-Baqara

إِذْ تَبَرَّأَ الَّذِينَ اتُّبِعُوا مِنَ الَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوا وَرَأَوُا الْعَذَابَ وَتَقَطَّعَتْ بِهِمُ الْأَسْبَابُ

[And they should consider that] when those who have been followed disassociate themselves from those who followed [them], and they [all] see the punishment, and cut off from them are the ties [of relationship],

2:167 Al-Baqara

وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوا لَوْ أَنَّ لَنَا كَرَّةً فَنَتَبَرَّأَ مِنْهُمْ كَمَا تَبَرَّءُوا مِنَّا ۗ كَذَٰلِكَ يُرِيهِمُ اللَّهُ أَعْمَالَهُمْ حَسَرَاتٍ عَلَيْهِمْ ۖ وَمَا هُمْ بِخَارِجِينَ مِنَ النَّارِ

Those who followed will say, "If only we had another turn [at worldly life] so we could disassociate ourselves from them as they have disassociated themselves from us." Thus will Allah show them their deeds as regrets upon them. And they are never to emerge from the Fire.

57:12 Al-Hadid

‎يَوْمَ تَرَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ يَسْعَىٰ نُورُهُمْ بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَبِأَيْمَانِهِمْ بُشْرَاكُمُ الْيَوْمَ جَنَّاتٌ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا ۚ ذَٰلِكَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ

On the Day you see the believing men and believing women, their light proceeding before them and on their right, [it will be said], "Your good tidings today are [of] gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein you will abide eternally." That is what is the great attainment.

57:13 Al-Hadid

‎يَوْمَ يَقُولُ الْمُنَافِقُونَ وَالْمُنَافِقَاتُ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا انْظُرُونَا نَقْتَبِسْ مِنْ نُورِكُمْ قِيلَ ارْجِعُوا وَرَاءَكُمْ فَالْتَمِسُوا نُورًا فَضُرِبَ بَيْنَهُمْ بِسُورٍ لَهُ بَابٌ بَاطِنُهُ فِيهِ الرَّحْمَةُ وَظَاهِرُهُ مِنْ قِبَلِهِ الْعَذَابُ

On the [same] Day the hypocrite men and hypocrite women will say to those who believed, "Wait for us that we may acquire some of your light." It will be said, "Go back behind you and seek light." And a wall will be placed between them with a door, its interior containing mercy, but on the outside of it is torment.

57:14 Al-Hadid

‎يُنَادُونَهُمْ أَلَمْ نَكُنْ مَعَكُمْ ۖ قَالُوا بَلَىٰ وَلَٰكِنَّكُمْ فَتَنْتُمْ أَنْفُسَكُمْ وَتَرَبَّصْتُمْ وَارْتَبْتُمْ وَغَرَّتْكُمُ الْأَمَانِيُّ حَتَّىٰ جَاءَ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ وَغَرَّكُمْ بِاللَّهِ الْغَرُورُ

The hypocrites will call to the believers, "Were we not with you?" They will say, "Yes, but you afflicted yourselves and awaited [misfortune for us] and doubted, and wishful thinking deluded you until there came the command of Allah. And the Deceiver deceived you concerning Allah.

57:15 Al-Hadid

‎فَالْيَوْمَ لَا يُؤْخَذُ مِنْكُمْ فِدْيَةٌ وَلَا مِنَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا ۚ مَأْوَاكُمُ النَّارُ ۖ هِيَ مَوْلَاكُمْ ۖ وَبِئْسَ الْمَصِيرُ

So today no ransom will be taken from you or from those who disbelieved. Your refuge is the Fire. It is most worthy of you, and wretched is the destination.

57:16 Al-Hadid

‎۞ أَلَمْ يَأْنِ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَنْ تَخْشَعَ قُلُوبُهُمْ لِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَمَا نَزَلَ مِنَ الْحَقِّ وَلَا يَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ مِنْ قَبْلُ فَطَالَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْأَمَدُ فَقَسَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ ۖ وَكَثِيرٌ مِنْهُمْ فَاسِقُونَ

Has the time not come for those who have believed that their hearts should become humbly submissive at the remembrance of Allah and what has come down of the truth? And let them not be like those who were given the Scripture before, and a long period passed over them, so their hearts hardened; and many of them are defiantly disobedient.

57:17 Al-Hadid

‎اعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ يُحْيِي الْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا ۚ قَدْ بَيَّنَّا لَكُمُ الْآيَاتِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ

Know that Allah gives life to the earth after its lifelessness. We have made clear to you the signs; perhaps you will understand.

57:18 Al-Hadid

‎إِنَّ الْمُصَّدِّقِينَ وَالْمُصَّدِّقَاتِ وَأَقْرَضُوا اللَّهَ قَرْضًا حَسَنًا يُضَاعَفُ لَهُمْ وَلَهُمْ أَجْرٌ كَرِيمٌ

Indeed, the men who practice charity and the women who practice charity and [they who] have loaned Allah a goodly loan (by spending for charity and for the cause of Allah) - it will be multiplied for them, and they will have a noble reward.

57:19 Al-Hadid

‎وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِ أُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الصِّدِّيقُونَ ۖ وَالشُّهَدَاءُ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ لَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ وَنُورُهُمْ ۖ وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَكَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِنَا أُولَٰئِكَ أَصْحَابُ الْجَحِيمِ

And those who have believed in Allah and His messengers - those are [in the ranks of] the supporters of truth and the martyrs, with their Lord. For them is their reward and their light. But those who have disbelieved and denied Our verses - those are the companions of Hellfire.

57:20 Al-Hadid

‎اعْلَمُوا أَنَّمَا الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا لَعِبٌ وَلَهْوٌ وَزِينَةٌ وَتَفَاخُرٌ بَيْنَكُمْ وَتَكَاثُرٌ فِي الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَوْلَادِ ۖ كَمَثَلِ غَيْثٍ أَعْجَبَ الْكُفَّارَ نَبَاتُهُ ثُمَّ يَهِيجُ فَتَرَاهُ مُصْفَرًّا ثُمَّ يَكُونُ حُطَامًا ۖ وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ عَذَابٌ شَدِيدٌ وَمَغْفِرَةٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَرِضْوَانٌ ۚ وَمَا الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا إِلَّا مَتَاعُ الْغُرُورِ

Know that the life of this world is but amusement and diversion and adornment and boasting to one another and competition in increase of wealth and children - like the example of a rain whose [resulting] plant growth pleases the tillers; then it dries and you see it turned yellow; then it becomes [scattered] debris. And in the Hereafter is severe punishment and forgiveness from Allah and approval. And what is the worldly life except the enjoyment of delusion.

57:21 Al-Hadid

‎سَابِقُوا إِلَىٰ مَغْفِرَةٍ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَجَنَّةٍ عَرْضُهَا كَعَرْضِ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ أُعِدَّتْ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ فَضْلُ اللَّهِ يُؤْتِيهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ ۚ وَاللَّهُ ذُو الْفَضْلِ الْعَظِيمِ

Race toward forgiveness from your Lord and a Garden whose width is like the width of the heavens and earth, prepared for those who believed in Allah and His messengers. That is the bounty of Allah which He gives to whom He wills, and Allah is the possessor of great bounty.

57:22 Al-Hadid

‎مَا أَصَابَ مِنْ مُصِيبَةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِي أَنْفُسِكُمْ إِلَّا فِي كِتَابٍ مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ نَبْرَأَهَا ۚ إِنَّ ذَٰلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيرٌ

No disaster strikes upon the earth or among yourselves except that it is in a register before We bring it into being - indeed that, for Allah, is easy -

57:23 Al-Hadid

‎لِكَيْلَا تَأْسَوْا عَلَىٰ مَا فَاتَكُمْ وَلَا تَفْرَحُوا بِمَا آتَاكُمْ ۗ وَاللَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ كُلَّ مُخْتَالٍ فَخُورٍ

In order that you not despair over what has eluded you and not exult [in pride] over what He has given you. And Allah does not like everyone self-deluded and boastful -

22:1 Al-Hajj

‎يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُوا رَبَّكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ زَلْزَلَةَ السَّاعَةِ شَيْءٌ عَظِيمٌ

O mankind, fear your Lord. Indeed, the convulsion of the [final] Hour is a terrible thing.

22:2 Al-Hajj

‎يَوْمَ تَرَوْنَهَا تَذْهَلُ كُلُّ مُرْضِعَةٍ عَمَّا أَرْضَعَتْ وَتَضَعُ كُلُّ ذَاتِ حَمْلٍ حَمْلَهَا وَتَرَى النَّاسَ سُكَارَىٰ وَمَا هُمْ بِسُكَارَىٰ وَلَٰكِنَّ عَذَابَ اللَّهِ شَدِيدٌ

On the Day you see it every nursing mother will be distracted from that [child] she was nursing, and every pregnant woman will abort her pregnancy, and you will see the people [appearing] intoxicated while they are not intoxicated; but the punishment of Allah is severe.

22:3 Al-Hajj

‎وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يُجَادِلُ فِي اللَّهِ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ وَيَتَّبِعُ كُلَّ شَيْطَانٍ مَرِيدٍ

And of the people is he who disputes about Allah without knowledge and follows every rebellious devil.

22:4 Al-Hajj

‎كُتِبَ عَلَيْهِ أَنَّهُ مَنْ تَوَلَّاهُ فَأَنَّهُ يُضِلُّهُ وَيَهْدِيهِ إِلَىٰ عَذَابِ السَّعِيرِ

It has been decreed for every devil that whoever turns to him - he will misguide him and will lead him to the punishment of the Blaze.

22:5 Al-Hajj

‎يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ فِي رَيْبٍ مِنَ الْبَعْثِ فَإِنَّا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ مِنْ تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ مِنْ نُطْفَةٍ ثُمَّ مِنْ عَلَقَةٍ ثُمَّ مِنْ مُضْغَةٍ مُخَلَّقَةٍ وَغَيْرِ مُخَلَّقَةٍ لِنُبَيِّنَ لَكُمْ ۚ وَنُقِرُّ فِي الْأَرْحَامِ مَا نَشَاءُ إِلَىٰ أَجَلٍ مُسَمًّى ثُمَّ نُخْرِجُكُمْ طِفْلًا ثُمَّ لِتَبْلُغُوا أَشُدَّكُمْ ۖ وَمِنْكُمْ مَنْ يُتَوَفَّىٰ وَمِنْكُمْ مَنْ يُرَدُّ إِلَىٰ أَرْذَلِ الْعُمُرِ لِكَيْلَا يَعْلَمَ مِنْ بَعْدِ عِلْمٍ شَيْئًا ۚ وَتَرَى الْأَرْضَ هَامِدَةً فَإِذَا أَنْزَلْنَا عَلَيْهَا الْمَاءَ اهْتَزَّتْ وَرَبَتْ وَأَنْبَتَتْ مِنْ كُلِّ زَوْجٍ بَهِيجٍ

O People, if you should be in doubt about the Resurrection, then [consider that] indeed, We created you from dust, then from a sperm-drop, then from a clinging clot, and then from a lump of flesh, formed and unformed - that We may show you. And We settle in the wombs whom We will for a specified term, then We bring you out as a child, and then [We develop you] that you may reach your [time of] maturity. And among you is he who is taken in [early] death, and among you is he who is returned to the most decrepit [old] age so that he knows, after [once having] knowledge, nothing. And you see the earth barren, but when We send down upon it rain, it quivers and swells and grows [something] of every beautiful kind.

22:6 Al-Hajj

‎ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْحَقُّ وَأَنَّهُ يُحْيِي الْمَوْتَىٰ وَأَنَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ

That is because Allah is the Truth and because He gives life to the dead and because He is over all things competent

22:7 Al-Hajj

‎وَأَنَّ السَّاعَةَ آتِيَةٌ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهَا وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ يَبْعَثُ مَنْ فِي الْقُبُورِ

And [that they may know] that the Hour is coming - no doubt about it - and that Allah will resurrect those in the graves.

@ 88cc134b:5ae99079

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Good morning, readers!

In Georgia, mere weeks after freezing the bank accounts of five NGOs supporting pro-democracy movements, the ruling Georgian Dream party passed a new law banning foreign organizations from providing grants to local groups without regime approval. The bill is part of a broader effort to silence dissent and weaken democracy through financial repression.\ \ In Latin America, opposition leader María Corina Machado seeks to rally citizens against Nicolás Maduro’s immensely repressive regime. With the economy and currency in shambles and dozens of military personnel abandoning Maduro, Machado sees an opportunity to challenge his grip on power.

In open source news, we spotlight the release of Bitcoin Core version 29.0, the latest update to the primary software that powers the Bitcoin network and helps millions of people send, receive, and verify Bitcoin transactions every day. This release improves the reliability and compatibility of Bitcoin’s main software implementation. We also cover the unique story of LuckyMiner, an unauthorized Bitaxe clone making waves in Asian markets as demand soars for small, low-cost, home mining equipment — evidence that people want to participate in the Bitcoin network themselves.

We close with the latest edition of the HRF x Pubkey Freedom Tech Series, in which Nicaraguan human rights defender Berta Valle joins HRF’s Arsh Molu to explore how authoritarian regimes weaponize financial systems to silence dissent and isolate opposition voices and how tools like Bitcoin can offer a way out. We also feature an interview with Salvadoran opposition leader Claudia Ortiz, who discusses the erosion of civil liberties under President Nayib Bukele and offers a nuanced take on Bitcoin in the country.

Now, let’s jump right in!

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GLOBAL NEWS

Georgia | Bans Foreign Donations for Nonprofits and NGOs

Mere weeks after freezing the bank accounts of five NGOs supporting pro-democracy demonstrators in recent unrest caused by elections, Georgia’s regime passed a new law that bans foreign organizations from providing “monetary or in-kind grants” to Georgian organizations and individuals without regime approval. Introduced by the increasingly repressive Georgian Dream party, the bill is part of a broader effort (including the controversial foreign agents law passed in 2024) designed to silence dissent and dismantle pro-democracy groups. Rights groups warn these laws will cripple civil society by cutting funding and imposing heavy fines for violators. Last week, parliament also read a bill that would grant officials the power to ban opposition parties entirely. With civil society financially repressed, Georgia is sliding further into tyranny, where free expression, political opposition, and grassroots organizations are under siege.

Venezuela | Opposition Mobilizes Against Maduro’s Financial Repression

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado is intensifying efforts against Nicolás Maduro’s brutal regime by targeting what she believes are his two greatest vulnerabilities: a collapsing economy and fractures in his repressive apparatus. As the Venezuelan bolivar unravels (reaching a record low in March) and inflation spirals out of control (expected to reach 220% before the end of the year), Maduro’s regime doubles down. It imposes currency controls, expropriates private property, and exerts complete state control over banks. Meanwhile, signs of discontent are growing inside the military, with dozens of personnel reportedly deserting. “I think we have a huge opportunity in front of us, and I see that much closer today than I did a month ago,” Machado said. To rebuild Venezuela’s future, Machado sees financial freedom as essential and has publicly embraced Bitcoin as a tool to resist the regime’s weaponization of money.

India | UPI Outage Disrupts Payments Nationwide

Digital transactions across India were disrupted mid-April as the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) experienced its third major outage in the last month. UPI is a government-run system that enables digital payments and underpins India’s push towards a cashless, centralized economy. Fintechs, banks, and institutions plug into UPI as a backbone of their digital infrastructure. Recently, India started integrating its central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital rupee, into UPI, leveraging its existing network effect to expand the reach of state-issued digital money. When a single outage can freeze an entire nation’s ability to transact, it reveals the fragility of centralized infrastructure. By contrast, decentralized money like Bitcoin operates independently of state-run systems and with consistent uptime, giving users the freedom to transact and save permissionlessly.

China | Bitcoin for Me, Not for Thee

China is debating new regulations for handling its growing trove of Bitcoin and other digital assets seized during criminal investigations. While the regime debates how to manage its seized digital assets, the trading of Bitcoin and other digital assets remains banned for Chinese citizens on the mainland. Reports indicate that local governments have quietly sold confiscated Bitcoin and other digital assets through private companies to bolster their dwindling budgets. If true, this exposes the hypocrisy of a regime banning digital assets for its people while exploiting them as a strategic revenue source for the state. This contradiction accentuates the ways authoritarian regimes manipulate financial rules for their own benefit while punishing the public for using the same strategies.

Serbia | Vučić Targets Civil Society as Economy Sinks

As Serbia’s economy stalls and the cost of living remains stubbornly high, President Aleksandar Vučić is escalating his crackdown on civil society to deflect blame and tighten control. After a train station canopy collapse in Novi Sad killed 16 people last November, protests erupted. Serbians, led by students, flooded the streets to protest government corruption, declining civil liberties, and a worsening economy. The protests have since spread across 400 cities, reflecting nationwide discontent. In response, Vučić is now targeting civil society organizations under the pretext of financial misconduct. Law enforcement raided four NGOs that support Serbians’ human rights, the rule of law, and democratic elections.

Russia | Jails Four Journalists for Working With Navalny

A Russian court sentenced four independent Russian journalists to five and a half years in prison for working with the Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF) — a pro-democracy organization founded by the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The journalists — Antonina Favorskaya, Konstantin Gabov, Sergei Karelin, and Artyom Kriger — were convicted in a closed-door trial for associating with an organization the Kremlin deems an “extremist.” The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the verdict as a “blatant testimony to Russian authorities’ profound contempt for press freedom.” Since it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Kremlin has increasingly criminalized dissent and financially repressed opposition, nonprofits, and ordinary citizens.

BITCOIN AND FREEDOM TECH NEWS

Flash | Introduces Flash Lightning Addresses, New UI, and Encrypted Messaging

Flash, a Bitcoin Lightning wallet and HRF grantee bringing freedom money to the Caribbean, released its version 0.4.0 beta. This release includes an updated user interface, dedicated Flash Lightning addresses (user @ flashapp.me), and encrypted messaging. The redesigned app is more user-friendly and better suited for users new to Bitcoin. Flash users now receive a verified Lightning address, making it easier to send and receive Bitcoin. The update also adds encrypted nostr messaging, enabling secure communication between users. As authoritarian regimes in the region, like Cuba, tighten control over money, Flash offers a practical and private solution for Bitcoin access.

DahLIAS | New Protocol to Lower the Cost of Private Bitcoin Transactions

Bitcoin developers recently announced DahLIAS, the first protocol designed to enable full cross-input signature aggregation (CISA). CISA is a proposed Bitcoin update that could make private Bitcoin transactions much cheaper. Right now, collaborative transactions are more expensive than typical transactions because each input in a transaction needs its own signature. CISA would allow those signatures to be combined, saving space and reducing fees. But this change would require a soft fork, a safe, backward-compatible software update to Bitcoin’s code. If adopted, CISA could remove the need for users to justify why they want privacy, as the answer would be, to save money. This is especially important for dissidents living under surveillant regimes. DahLIAS could be a breakthrough that helps make privacy more practical for everyone using Bitcoin.

Bitcoin Core | Version 29.0 Now Available for Node Runners

Bitcoin Core is the main software implementation that powers the Bitcoin network and helps millions of people send, receive, and verify transactions every day. The latest update, Bitcoin Core v29.0, introduces changes to improve network stability and performance. The release helps keep the network stable even when not everyone updates simultaneously. Further, it reduces the chances that nodes (computers that run the Bitcoin software) accidentally restart — an issue that can interrupt network participation. It also adds support for full Replace-by-Fee (RBF), allowing users to increase the fee on stuck transactions in times of high network demand. Enhancing Bitcoin’s reliability, usability, and security ensures that individuals in oppressive regimes or unstable financial systems can access a permissionless and censorship-resistant monetary network. Learn more about the update here.

Nstart | Releases Multilingual Support

Nstart, a new tool that simplifies onboarding to nostr — a decentralized and censorship-resistant social network protocol — released multilingual support. It added Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch, and Mandarin as languages. This update broadens access by making the onboarding experience available to a wider audience — especially those living under dictatorships across Africa, Latin America, and Asia, where communication and press freedom are heavily restricted. Users can even contribute translations themselves. Overall, multilingual support makes Nstart a more powerful tool for activists and organizations operating under authoritarian environments, offering guided, straightforward access to uncensorable communications.

Bitcoin Chiang Mai | Release Bitcoin Education Podcast

Bitcoin Chiang Mai, a grassroots Bitcoin community in Thailand, launched an educational podcast to teach Bitcoin in Thai. In a country where financial repression is on the rise and the regime is experimenting with a programmable central bank digital currency (CBDC), this podcast offers an educational lifeline. By making Bitcoin knowledge and tools more accessible, the show empowers Thais to explore alternatives to state-controlled financial systems. It’s a grassroots effort to preserve financial freedom and encourage open dialogue in an increasingly controlled economic environment. Check it out here.

LuckyMiner | Undisclosed Bitaxe Clone Gaining Popularity in Asia

LuckyMiner, a Bitcoin mining startup out of Shenzhen, China is shaking up Asia’s Bitcoin hardware scene with a rogue twist. What began as a hobby project in 2023 has since exploded into a full-scale operation, manufacturing and selling thousands of undisclosed Bitaxe clones (which are small, affordable bitcoin miners based on the Bitaxe design). While Bitaxe is open-source, it’s licensed under CERN-OHL-S-2.0, requiring any modifications to be made public. LuckyMiner ignored that rule and the founder has openly admitted to breaking the license. Despite that, LuckyMiner is succeeding anyway, fueled by growing demand for affordable home mining equipment. While controversial, the rise of low-cost miners signals grassroots interest in Bitcoin, especially at a time when Asia grapples with growing authoritarianism and financial repression.

RECOMMENDED CONTENT

HRF x Pubkey — Bitcoin as a Tool to Fight Financial Repression in Autocracies with Berta Valle

In the latest HRF x Pubkey Freedom Tech series, Nicaraguan human rights defender and journalist Berta Valle joins HRF’s Arsh Molu to discuss how Bitcoin empowers individuals to resist the financial repression of authoritarian regimes. From helping families receive remittances when bank accounts are frozen to enabling independent media and activists to fund their work without regime interference, Bitcoin is quietly reshaping what resistance can look like under tyranny. Watch the full fireside chat here.

Claudia Ortiz: A Voice of Opposition in Bukele’s El Salvador

In this interview, analyst and journalist Marius Farashi Tasooji speaks to Salvadoran opposition leader Claudia Ortiz about President Bukele’s consolidation of power, the erosion of civil liberties, and the future of Bitcoin in the country. While Ortiz acknowledges Bitcoin’s potential as a tool for freedom, she critiques the current administration’s opaque and heavy-handed implementation of it. Ortiz explains her opposition to the Bitcoin Law, citing concerns about transparency and accountability, and outlines what she would do differently if elected president. Watch the full conversation here.

If this article was forwarded to you and you enjoyed reading it, please consider subscribing to the Financial Freedom Report here.

Support the newsletter by donating bitcoin to HRF’s Financial Freedom program via BTCPay.\ Want to contribute to the newsletter? Submit tips, stories, news, and ideas by emailing us at ffreport @ hrf.org

The Bitcoin Development Fund (BDF) is accepting grant proposals on an ongoing basis. The Bitcoin Development Fund is looking to support Bitcoin developers, community builders, and educators. Submit proposals here.

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Poetry, unstacked

Painting by Early Fern, shared by Marine Eyes

It is difficult to get the news from poems yet men die miserably every day for lack of what is found there.—William Carlos Williams

April, the month Eliot famously deemed the cruelest, is kindest to poetry. It’s when we nationally awaken to poetry’s efforts to capture the human experience in all its messy contradictions, leaning into uncertainty and wonder and bringing readers along for the ride.

Williams’s adage pairs beautifully with Ezra Pound’s assertion that “Poetry is news that stays news.” Poetry* gives readers the most immediate and urgent hotline to feeling. Big emotions turn us instinctively, like human sunflowers, toward poems, which are singularly compact vehicles for thinking and feeling. They have a knack for distilling our existential questions and putting all that wondering to music—after all, the term lyric poetry comes from the lyre,* which accompanied the recitation of poetry in antiquity.

On Substack, poets shed the constraints of traditional publishing timelines, sharing works in progress and experimenting in real time. What arises isn’t just a collection of newsletters but a living anthology of established voices and emerging talents in conversation with one another and their readers. If you’re still not convinced that poetry is for you (it is!), I created a primer of Poems for Those Who Don’t “Get” Poetry. But beyond that gateway, Substack presents countless paths to discover the poems that will speak directly to you—from translation projects that breathe new life into ancient verse to craft discussions that demystify the process. Allow me to introduce you to a few of my favorites.

Poetry in progress

Quiddity: a word I love. It means “the inherent nature or essence of someone or something.” The you-ness of you. That is what the best poets translate through their writing—formal or free verse, ruminative or praising, expansive or brief. It’s the way one listens to the singular voice channeled through them** and delivers that voice alive on the page.

This is the foundation for the widest category of poetry on Substack. No two posts are alike: you might get the intimacy of seeing work that could later make its way into books, hearing poets muse about their writing lives, or watching notes and fragments coalesce into longer lyric explorations.

is one of the best-known poets on Substack, offering devoted readers a mix of never-before-seen work and poems from past collections. And his commitment to Substack’s potential as a propagator of new writing is especially inspiring to emerging writers.

Being witness to commitment and experimentation, that magical balance between discipline and freedom to explore, is riveting. I so admire , translator and former Random House editor ’s long-standing project to chronicle daily life:

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published4.11.25

what I so desired I can’t have

thank you blessed stars

Keep reading

Andrea Gibson’s gorgeously smart features videos of the poet reciting their work and contemplating illness, resilience, and the role that poetry plays in capturing duress, heartbreak, and hope. Here they are reading their poem “What Love Is”:

Keep watching

I was thrilled to see former U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith join Substack recently. She’s already sharing poems, works in progress, and essays. Hear her reading a new poem, “I Don’t Believe in Doom,” here:

Keep listening

Then there’s , an ambitious translation project by , a writer dedicated to bringing these ancient poems from the Tang Dynasty (618-907) to a contemporary audience. Hyun Woo translates one poem from the collection every week. Here’s one of my favorites, number 55:

The Farewell to Those Who Will Stay at a Tavern of JinlingThe wind blows the willow flowers, filling the inn with fragrance;The ladies of Wu press the liquor, calling to the guests to try.The young men of Jinling come and see each other off;Those who will go, those who will not, each empty his goblet.I invite you to ask the water flowing east, to test it:Which is short and which is long, the thoughts of farewell or itself?

Keep reading

Curators and craft

The poet-as-curator offers us an assortment of poems organized by their own idiosyncratic logic. It’s like receiving the perfect mixtape: songs you’ve known and loved for years, and others you’re grateful to discover for the first time. Chances are good that within any given roundup, at least one poem will speak to you, introducing you to a new voice.

’s is one of my go-tos. He has a phenomenal reader’s eye for juxtapositions that span ages, styles, and modes, creating unexpected—and delightful—tensions and correspondences. His thematic roundups extend far beyond expected subjects like love and death to more nuanced territories like therapy (“This is progress”) and mood (“Puff out the hot-air balloon now”). Through Sean, I was reminded to revisit one of my favorite Audre Lorde poems:

Shared in “This is progress” by Sean Singer

In my own newsletter, , I do something similar: curating Poems for Your Weekend around themes that serve as a prescription for your mind or soul, while exploring how neuroscience and mindset can help us live more sustainable and enriching artistic lives. Through it all, I write about the role of wonder in poetry, the subject of my PhD.

For subtle close readings of poems through the lens of life rather than the ivory tower, I turn to ’s , with its deeply thoughtful essays on the poems he selects each week. His recent post on the poems of Linda Pastan includes this gorgeous poem from Insomnia:

Imaginary ConversationText within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedYou tell me to live each day as if it were my last. This is in the kitchen where before coffee I complain of the day ahead—that obstacle race of minutes and hours, grocery stores and doctors.

But why the last? I ask. Why not live each day as if it were the first— all raw astonishment, Eve rubbing her eyes awake that first morning, the sun coming up like an ingénue in the east?

You grind the coffee with the small roar of a mind trying to clear itself. I set the table, glance out the window where dew has baptized every living surface.

Keep reading

I love Devin’s remarks: “why the last is the kind of question I adore, a question that does not assume it knows what we are supposedly supposed to know, a question that mirthfully pushes back against the world, and wonders aloud about astonishment in the face of certainty.”

For those interested in craft, literary powerhouse recently joined Substack and is already offering excellent writing exercises, as helpful for readers hoping to understand poetry as for poets creating their own. His Exercise 036: Begin with the End introduced even this poetry veteran to a new term: anadiplosis! is a resource-rich space, featuring interviews, classes, craft essays, and more. A large group of poets and readers has gathered to take advantage, creating a vibrant community. And a special shoutout in this section to , a poet whose candid essays on navigating both the publishing and dating world as a woman are their own kind of education on living more bravely and authentically.

Final thoughts

Whether encountered in an anthology or a newsletter, poems remind us of what Williams knew: that vital truths exist within their lines that we can find nowhere else. And there’s a special joy in reading them on Substack, where poets find renewed pleasure in publishing on their own terms, and where readers can witness the process and join the discussion. The digital format extends poetry’s reach, bringing these voices to new audiences who might not normally encounter them. Here, poets and readers are participating in poetry’s oldest tradition: the passing of essential truths from one human heart to another. I hope you’ll join us. https://connect-test.layer3.press/articles/4e5d2cee-8bd4-4fb0-9331-48bbeded3a47

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Heureu-x-se d’avoir trouvé une information utile sur ce site ?

Soutenez le projet en faisant un don pour le faire vivre et remercier les contribut-eur-rice-s.

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En bitcoin

• Sur la blockchain : bc1qkm8me8l9563wvsl9sklzt4hdcuny3tlejznj7d

• Réseau lightning : ⚡️origin-nature@coinos.io Vous pouvez aussi nous soutenir de manière récurrente 👉 Créer un paiement Lightning récurrent

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En euros, dollars, ou toute autre monnaie prise en charge

• Par virement, IBAN : FR76 2823 3000 0144 3759 8717 669

• Vous pouvez aussi nous soutenir de manière récurrente 👉 Faire une promesse sur LiberaPay

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La moitié des dons est redistribuée aux contribut-eur-rice-s qui créent la valeur du site, pour expérimenter un modèle de partage de revenus sur Internet — un modèle qui respecte vos données et ne cherche pas à capter votre attention. L’autre moitié permet de couvrir les frais de fonctionnement du site.

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Cet article est publié sur origine-nature.com 🌐 See this article in English

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Tucked away in the rolling hills of southern France’s Hérault department, Montpeyroux is a charming medieval village known for its peaceful atmosphere, beautiful stone houses, and excellent Languedoc wines. It’s the kind of place where time seems to slow down, making it perfect for a relaxed stop on a southern France road trip.

🏡 Why Visit Montpeyroux?

🪨 Authentic Medieval Character

• Wander narrow cobbled streets lined with honey-colored stone houses
• Visit the remains of a medieval castle and old tower that offer stunning views over vineyards and hills
• A tranquil place that feels untouched by time

🍷 Wine Culture

• Surrounded by prestigious vineyards producing Coteaux du Languedoc wines
• Stop by local caves (wineries) to taste bold reds and crisp whites—many with stunning views over the valley
• Don’t miss the annual wine festivals and open cellars

🌄 Scenic Location

• Located near the Gorges de l’Hérault, perfect for hiking, swimming, or kayaking
• Just a short drive from Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert, one of France’s most beautiful villages
• Great base for exploring the natural beauty of Occitanie

🍽️ Where to Eat

• Enjoy local cuisine at cozy bistros—think grilled lamb, duck confit, olives, and regional cheeses
• Many places serve seasonal dishes paired with local wines

🚗 Getting There

• Around 45 minutes by car from Montpellier
• Best explored by car as public transport is limited, but the countryside drive is worth it

@ 8cda1daa:e9e5bdd8

Bitcoin cracked the code for money.  Now it's time to rebuild everything else.

What about identity, trust, and collaboration? What about the systems that define how we live, create, and connect?

Bitcoin gave us a blueprint to separate money from the state. But the state still owns most of your digital life. It's time for something more radical.

Welcome to the Atomic Economy - not just a technology stack, but a civil engineering project for the digital age. A complete re-architecture of society, from the individual outward.

The Problem: We Live in Digital Captivity

Let's be blunt: the modern internet is hostile to human freedom.

You don't own your identity. You don't control your data. You don't decide what you see.

Big Tech and state institutions dominate your digital life with one goal: control.

• Poisoned algorithms dictate your emotions and behavior.
• Censorship hides truth and silences dissent.
• Walled gardens lock you into systems you can't escape.
• Extractive platforms monetize your attention and creativity - without your consent.

This isn't innovation. It's digital colonization.

A Vision for Sovereign Society

The Atomic Economy proposes a new design for society - one where: - Individuals own their identity, data, and value. - Trust is contextual, not imposed. - Communities are voluntary, not manufactured by feeds. - Markets are free, not fenced. - Collaboration is peer-to-peer, not platform-mediated.

It's not a political revolution. It's a technological and social reset based on first principles: self-sovereignty, mutualism, and credible exit.

So, What Is the Atomic Economy?

The Atomic Economy is a decentralized digital society where people - not platforms - coordinate identity, trust, and value.

It's built on open protocols, real software, and the ethos of Bitcoin. It's not about abstraction - it's about architecture.

Core Principles: - Self-Sovereignty: Your keys. Your data. Your rules. - Mutual Consensus: Interactions are voluntary and trust-based. - Credible Exit: Leave any system, with your data and identity intact. - Programmable Trust: Trust is explicit, contextual, and revocable. - Circular Economies: Value flows directly between individuals - no middlemen.

The Tech Stack Behind the Vision

The Atomic Economy isn't just theory. It's a layered system with real tools:

1. Payments & Settlement

• Bitcoin & Lightning: The foundation - sound, censorship-resistant money.
• Paykit: Modular payments and settlement flows.
• Atomicity: A peer-to-peer mutual credit protocol for programmable trust and IOUs.

2. Discovery & Matching

• Pubky Core: Decentralized identity and discovery using PKARR and the DHT.
• Pubky Nexus: Indexing for a user-controlled internet.
• Semantic Social Graph: Discovery through social tagging - you are the algorithm.

3. Application Layer

• Bitkit: A self-custodial Bitcoin and Lightning wallet.
• Pubky App: Tag, publish, trade, and interact - on your terms.
• Blocktank: Liquidity services for Lightning and circular economies.
• Pubky Ring: Key-based access control and identity syncing.

These tools don't just integrate - they stack. You build trust, exchange value, and form communities with no centralized gatekeepers.

The Human Impact

This isn't about software. It's about freedom.

• Empowered Individuals: Control your own narrative, value, and destiny.
• Voluntary Communities: Build trust on shared values, not enforced norms.
• Economic Freedom: Trade without permission, borders, or middlemen.
• Creative Renaissance: Innovation and art flourish in open, censorship-resistant systems.

The Atomic Economy doesn't just fix the web. It frees the web.

Why Bitcoiners Should Care

If you believe in Bitcoin, you already believe in the Atomic Economy - you just haven't seen the full map yet.

• It extends Bitcoin's principles beyond money: into identity, trust, coordination.
• It defends freedom where Bitcoin leaves off: in content, community, and commerce.
• It offers a credible exit from every centralized system you still rely on.
• It's how we win - not just economically, but culturally and socially.

This isn't "web3." This isn't another layer of grift. It's the Bitcoin future - fully realized.

Join the Atomic Revolution

• If you're a builder: fork the code, remix the ideas, expand the protocols.
• If you're a user: adopt Bitkit, use Pubky, exit the digital plantation.
• If you're an advocate: share the vision. Help people imagine a free society again.

Bitcoin promised a revolution. The Atomic Economy delivers it.

Let's reclaim society, one key at a time.

Learn more and build with us at Synonym.to.

@ 10f7c7f7:f5683da9

The first time I received a paycheque from a full-time job, after being told in the interview I would be earning one amount, the amount I received was around 25% less; you’re not in Kansas anymore, welcome to the real work and TAX. Over the years, I’ve continued to pay my taxes, as a good little citizen, and at certain points along the way, I have paid considerable amounts of tax, because I wouldn’t want to break the law by not paying my taxes. Tax is necessary for a civilised society, they say. I’m told, who will pay, at least in the UK, for the NHS, who will pay for the roads, who will pay for the courts, the military, the police, if I don’t pay my taxes? But let’s be honest, apart from those who pay very little to no tax, who, in a society actually gets good value for money out of the taxes they pay, or hears of a government institution that operates efficiently and effectively? Alternatively, imagine if the government didn’t have control of a large military budget, would they be quite so keen to deploy the young of our country into harm’s way, in the name of national security or having streets in Ukraine named after them for their generous donations of munition paid with someone else’s money?

While I’m only half-way through the excellent “Fiat Standard”, I’m well aware that many of these issues have been driven by the ability of those in charge to not only enforce and increase taxation at will, but also, if ends don’t quite meet, print the difference, however, these are rather abstract and high-level ideas for my small engineer’s brain. What has really brought this into sharp focus for me is the impending sale of my first house, that at the age of 25, I was duly provided a 40-year mortgage and was required to sign a form acknowledging that I would still be paying the mortgage after my retirement age. Fortunately for me, thanks to the government now changing the national age of retirement from 65 to 70 (so stealing 5 years of my retirement), in practice this form didn’t need to be signed, lucky me? Even so, what type of person would knowingly put another person in a situation where near 40% of their wage would mainly be paying interest to the bank (which as a side note was bailed out only a few years later). The unpleasant taste really became unbearable when even after being put into this “working life” sentence of debt repayment, was, even with the amount I’d spent on the house (debt interest and maintenance) over the subsequent 19 years, only able to provide a rate of return of less than 1.6%, compared to the average official (bullshit) inflation figure of 2.77%. My house has not kept up with inflation and to add insult to financial injury, His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs feel the need to take their portion of this “profit”.

At which point, I take a very deep breath, sit quietly for a moment, and channel my inner Margot, deciding against grabbing a bottle of bootleg antiseptic to both clear my pallet and dull the pain. I had been convinced I needed to get on the housing ladder to save, but the government has since printed billions, with the rate of, even the conservative estimates of inflation, out pacing my meagre returns on property, and after all that blood, sweet, tears and dust, covering my poor dog, “the law” states some of that money is theirs. I wasn’t able to save in the money that they could print at will, I worked very hard, I took risks and the reward I get is to give them even more money to fritter away of things that won’t benefit me. But, I don’t want your sympathy, I don’t need it, but it helped me to get a new perspective on capital gains, particularly when considered in relation to bitcoin. So, to again draw from Ms. Paez, who herself was drawing from everyone’s favourite Joker, Heath Ledger, not Rachel Reeves (or J. Powell), here we go. 

The Sovereign Individual is by no means an easy read, but is absolutely fascinating, providing clear critiques of the system that at the time was only in its infancy, but predicting many aspects of today’s world, with shocking accuracy. One of the most striking parts for me was the critique and effect of taxation (specifically progressive forms) on the prosperity of a nation at large. At an individual level, people have a proportion of their income removed, to be spent by the government, out of the individuals’ control. The person who has applied their efforts, abilities and skills to earn a living is unable to decide how best to utilise a portion of the resources into the future. While this is an accepted reality, the authors’ outline the cumulative, compound impact of forfeiting such a large portion of your wage each year, leading to figures that are near unimaginable to anyone without a penchant for spreadsheets or an understanding of exponential growth. Now, if we put this into the context of the entrepreneur, identifying opportunities, taking on personal and business risk, whenever a profit is realised, whether through normal sales or when realising value from capital appreciation, they must pay a portion of this in tax. While there are opportunities to reinvest this back into the organisation, there may be no immediate investment opportunities for them to offset their current tax bill. As a result, the entrepreneurs are hampered from taking the fruits of their labour and compounding the results of their productivity, forced to fund the social programmes of a government pursuing aims that are misaligned with individuals running their own business. Resources are removed from the most productive individuals in the society, adding value, employing staff, to those who may have limited knowledge of the economic realities of business; see Oxbridge Scholars, with experience in NGOs or charities, for more details please see Labour’s current front bench. What was that Labour? Ah yes, let’s promote growth by taxing companies more and making it more difficult to get rid of unproductive staff, exactly the policies every small business owner has been asking for (Budget October 2024).

Now, for anyone on NOSTR, none of this is new, a large portion of Nostriches were orange pilled long before taking their first purple pill of decentralise Notes and Other Stuff. However, if we’re aware of this system that has been put in place to steal our earnings and confiscate our winnings if we have been able to outwit the Keynesian trap western governments have chosen to give themselves more power, how can we progress? What options do we have? a) being locked up for non-payment of taxes by just spending bitcoin, to hell with paying taxes or b) spend/sell (:/), but keeping a record of those particular coins you bought multiple years ago, in order to calculate your gain and hand over YOUR money the follow tax year, so effectively increasing the cost of anything purchased in bitcoin. Please note, I’m making a conscious effort not to say what should be done, everyone needs to make decisions based on their knowledge and their understanding.

Anyway, option a) is not as flippant as one might think, but also not something one should (damn it) do carelessly. One bitcoin equals one bitcoin, bitcoin is money, as a result, it neither increases nor decreases is value, it is fiat currencies that varies wildly in comparison. If we think about gold, the purchasing power of gold has remained relatively consistent over hundreds of years, gold is viewed as money, which (as a side note) results in Royal Mint gold coins being both exempt of VAT and capital gains tax. While I may consider this from a, while not necessarily biased, but definitely pro-bitcoin perspective, I believe that it is extremely logical for transactions that take place in bitcoin should not require “profits” or “losses” to be reports, but this is where my logic and the treasury’s grabbiness  are inconsistent. If what you’re buying is priced in bitcoin, you’re trading goods or services for money, there was no realisation of gains. Having said that, if you choose to do this, best not do any spending from a stack with a connection to an exchange and your identify. When tax collectors (and their government masters) end up not having enough money, they may begin exploring whether those people buying bitcoin from exchanges are also spending it.

But why is this relevant or important? For me and from hearing from many people on podcasts, while not impossible and not actually that difficult, recording gains on each transaction is firstly a barrier for spending bitcoin, it is additional effort, admin and not insignificant cost, and no one likes that. Secondly, from my libertarian leaning perspective, tax is basically the seizure of assets under the threat of incarceration (aka theft), with the government spending that money on crap I don’t give a shit about, meaning I don’t want to help fund their operation more than I already do. The worry is, if I pay more taxes, they think they’re getting good at collecting taxes, they increase taxes, use taxes to employ more tax collectors, rinse and repeat. From this perspective, it is almost my duty not to report when I transact in bitcoin, viewing it as plain and simple, black-market money, where the government neither dictates what I can do with it, nor profit from its appreciation.

The result of this is not the common mantra of never sell your bitcoin, because I, for one, am looking forward to ditching the fiat grind and having more free time driving an interesting 90’s sports car or riding a new mountain bike, which I will need money to be fund. Unless I’m going to take a fair bit of tax evasion-based risk, find some guys who will only accept my KYC free bitcoin and then live off the grid, I’ll need to find another way, which unfortunately may require engaging once more with the fiat system. However, this time, rather than selling bitcoin to buy fiat, looking for financial product providers who offer loans against bitcoin held. This is nothing new, having  been a contributing factors to the FTX blow up, and the drawdown of 2022, the logic of such products is solid and the secret catalyst to Mark Moss’s (and others) buy, borrow, die strategy. The difference this time is to earn from our mistakes, to choose the right company and maybe hand over our private keys (multisig is a beautiful thing). The key benefit of this is that by taking a loan, you’re not realising capital gains, so do not create a taxable event. While there is likely to be an interest on any loan, this only makes sense if this is considerably less than either the capital gains rate incurred if you sold the bitcoin or the long-term capital appreciation of the bitcoin you didn’t have to sell, it has to be an option worth considering. 

Now, this is interacting with the fiat system, it does involve the effective printing of money and depending on the person providing the loan, there is risk, however, there are definitely some positives, even outside the not inconsiderable, “tax free” nature of this money. Firstly, by borrowing fiat money, you are increasing the money supply, while devaluing all other holders of that currency, which effectively works against fiat governments, causing them to forever print harder to stop themselves going into a deflationary nose drive. The second important aspect is that if you have not had to sell your bitcoin, you have removed sell pressure from the market and buying pressure that would strengthen the fiat currency, so further supporting the stack you have not had to sell.

Now, let’s put this in the context of The Sovereign Individual or the entrepreneurial bitcoiner, who took a risk before fully understanding what they were buying and has now benefiting financially. The barrier of tax-based admin or the reticence to support government operations through paying additional tax are not insignificant, which the loan has allowed you to effectively side step, keeping more value of your holdings to allocate as you see fit. While this may involve the setting up of a new business that itself may drive productive growth, even if all you did was spend that money (such as a sport car or a new bike), this could still be a net, economic positive compared to a large portion of that money being sucked into the government spending black hole. While the government would not be receiving that tax revenue, every retailer, manufacturer or service provider would benefit from this additional business. Rather than the tax money going toward interest costs or civil servant wages, the money would go towards the real businesses you have chosen, their staff’s wages, who are working hard to outcompete their peers. Making this choice to not pay capital gains does not just allow bitcoiner to save money and to a small degree, reduce government funding, but also provides a cash injection to those companies who may still be reeling from minimum wage AND national insurance increases.

I’m not an ethicist, so am unable to provide a clear, concise, philosophical argument to explain why the ability of government to steal from you via the processes of monetary inflation as well as an ever-increasing tax burden in immoral, but I hope this provides a new perspective on the situation. I don’t believe increases in taxes support economic development (it literally does the opposite), I don’t believe that individuals should be penalised for working hard, challenging themselves, taking risks and succeeding. However, I’m not in charge of the system and also appreciate that if any major changes were to take place, the consequences would be significant (we’re talking Mandibles time). I believe removing capital gains tax from bitcoin would be a net positive for the economy and there being precedence based on the UK’s currently position with gold coins, but unfortunately, I don’t believe people in the cabinet think as I do, they see people with assets and pound signs ring up at their eyes.

As a result, my aim moving forward will be to think carefully before making purchases or sales that will incur capital gains tax (no big Lambo purchase for me at the top), but also being willing the promote the bitcoin economy by purchasing products and services with bitcoin. To do this, I’ll double confirm that spend/replace techniques actually get around capital gains by effectively using the payment rails of bitcoin to transfer value rather than to sell your bitcoin. This way, I will get to reward and promote those companies to perform at a level that warrants a little more effort with payment, without it costing me an additional 18-24% in tax later on.

So, to return to where we started and my first pay-cheque. We need to work to earn a living, but as we earn more, an ever-greater proportion is taken from us, and we are at risk of becoming stuck in a never ending fiat cycle. In the past, this was more of an issue, leading people into speculating on property or securities, which, if successful, would then incur further taxes, which will likely be spent by governments on liabilities or projects that add zero net benefits to national citizens. Apologies if you see this as a negative, but please don’t, this is the alternative to adopting a unit of account that cannot be inflated away. If you have begun to measure your wealth in bitcoin, there will be a point where you need to start to start spending. I for one, do not intend to die with my private keys in my head, but having lived a life, turbo charged by the freedom bitcoin has offered me. Bitcoin backed loans are returning to the market, with hopefully a little less risk this time around. There may be blow ups, but once they get established and interest costs start to be competed away, I will first of all acknowledge remaining risks and then not allocate 100% of my stack. Rather than being the one true bitcoiner who has never spent a sat, I will use the tools at my disposal to firstly give my family their best possible lives and secondly, not fund the government more than I need to. 

Then, by the time I’m ready to leave this earth, there will be less money for me to leave to my family, but then again, the tax man would again come knocking, looking to gloat over my demise and add to my family’s misery with an outstretched hand. Then again, this piece is about capital gains rather than inheritance tax, so we can leave those discussions for another time.

This is not financial advice, please consult a financial/tax advisor before spending and replacing without filing taxes and don’t send your bitcoin to any old fella who says they’ll return it once you’ve paThe first time I received a paycheque from a full-time job, after being told in the interview I would be earning one amount, the amount I received was around 25% less; you’re not in Kansas anymore, welcome to the real work and TAX. Over the years, I’ve continued to pay my taxes, as a good little citizen, and at certain points along the way, I have paid considerable amounts of tax, because I wouldn’t want to break the law by not paying my taxes. Tax is necessary for a civilised society, they say. I’m told, who will pay, at least in the UK, for the NHS, who will pay for the roads, who will pay for the courts, the military, the police, if I don’t pay my taxes? But let’s be honest, apart from those who pay very little to no tax, who, in a society actually gets good value for money out of the taxes they pay, or hears of a government institution that operates efficiently and effectively? Alternatively, imagine if the government didn’t have control of a large military budget, would they be quite so keen to deploy the young of our country into harm’s way, in the name of national security or having streets in Ukraine named after them for their generous donations of munition paid with someone else’s money? While I’m only half-way through the excellent “Fiat Standard”, I’m well aware that many of these issues have been driven by the ability of those in charge to not only enforce and increase taxation at will, but also, if ends don’t quite meet, print the difference, however, these are rather abstract and high-level ideas for my small engineer’s brain. What has really brought this into sharp focus for me is the impending sale of my first house, that at the age of 25, I was duly provided a 40-year mortgage and was required to sign a form acknowledging that I would still be paying the mortgage after my retirement age. Fortunately for me, thanks to the government now changing the national age of retirement from 65 to 70 (so stealing 5 years of my retirement), in practice this form didn’t need to be signed, lucky me? Even so, what type of person would knowingly put another person in a situation where near 40% of their wage would mainly be paying interest to the bank (which as a side note was bailed out only a few years later). The unpleasant taste really became unbearable when even after being put into this “working life” sentence of debt repayment, was, even with the amount I’d spent on the house (debt interest and maintenance) over the subsequent 19 years, only able to provide a rate of return of less than 1.6%, compared to the average official (bullshit) inflation figure of 2.77%. My house has not kept up with inflation and to add insult to financial injury, His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs feel the need to take their portion of this “profit”.

At which point, I take a very deep breath, sit quietly for a moment, and channel my inner Margot, deciding against grabbing a bottle of bootleg antiseptic to both clear my pallet and dull the pain. I had been convinced I needed to get on the housing ladder to save, but the government has since printed billions, with the rate of, even the conservative estimates of inflation, out pacing my meagre returns on property, and after all that blood, sweet, tears and dust, covering my poor dog, “the law” states some of that money is theirs. I wasn’t able to save in the money that they could print at will, I worked very hard, I took risks and the reward I get is to give them even more money to fritter away of things that won’t benefit me. But, I don’t want your sympathy, I don’t need it, but it helped me to get a new perspective on capital gains, particularly when considered in relation to bitcoin. So, to again draw from Ms. Paez, who herself was drawing from everyone’s favourite Joker, Heath Ledger, not Rachel Reeves (or J. Powell), here we go.

The Sovereign Individual is by no means an easy reaD, but is absolutely fascinating, providing clear critiques of the system that at the time was only in its infancy, but predicting many aspects of today’s world, with shocking accuracy. One of the most striking parts for me was the critique and effect of taxation (specifically progressive forms) on the prosperity of a nation at large. At an individual level, people have a proportion of their income removed, to be spent by the government, out of the individuals’ control. The person who has applied their efforts, abilities and skills to earn a living is unable to decide how best to utilise a portion of the resources into the future. While this is an accepted reality, the authors’ outline the cumulative, compound impact of forfeiting such a large portion of your wage each year, leading to figures that are near unimaginable to anyone without a penchant for spreadsheets or an understanding of exponential growth. Now, if we put this into the context of the entrepreneur, identifying opportunities, taking on personal and business risk, whenever a profit is realised, whether through normal sales or when realising value from capital appreciation, they must pay a portion of this in tax. While there are opportunities to reinvest this back into the organisation, there may be no immediate investment opportunities for them to offset their current tax bill. As a result, the entrepreneurs are hampered from taking the fruits of their labour and compounding the results of their productivity, forced to fund the social programmes of a government pursuing aims that are misaligned with individuals running their own business. Resources are removed from the most productive individuals in the society, adding value, employing staff, to those who may have limited knowledge of the economic realities of business; see Oxbridge Scholars, with experience in NGOs or charities, for more details please see Labour’s current front bench. What was that Labour? Ah yes, let’s promote growth by taxing companies more and making it more difficult to get rid of unproductive staff, exactly the policies every small business owner has been asking for (Budget October 2024).

Now, for anyone on NOSTR, none of this is new, a large portion of Nostriches were orange pilled long before taking their first purple pill of decentralise Notes and Other Stuff. However, if we’re aware of this system that has been put in place to steal our earnings and confiscate our winnings if we have been able to outwit the Keynesian trap western governments have chosen to give themselves more power, how can we progress? What options do we have? a) being locked up for non-payment of taxes by just spending bitcoin, to hell with paying taxes or b) spend/sell (:/), but keeping a record of those particular coins you bought multiple years ago, in order to calculate your gain and hand over YOUR money the follow tax year, so effectively increasing the cost of anything purchased in bitcoin. Please note, I’m making a conscious effort not to say what should be done, everyone needs to make decisions based on their knowledge and their understanding.

Anyway, option a) is not as flippant as one might think, but also not something one should (damn it) do carelessly. One bitcoin equals one bitcoin, bitcoin is money, as a result, it neither increases nor decreases is value, it is fiat currencies that varies wildly in comparison. If we think about gold, the purchasing power of gold has remained relatively consistent over hundreds of years, gold is viewed as money, which (as a side note) results in Royal Mint gold coins being both exempt of VAT and capital gains tax. While I may consider this from a, while not necessarily biased, but definitely pro-bitcoin perspective, I believe that it is extremely logical for transactions that take place in bitcoin should not require “profits” or “losses” to be reports, but this is where my logic and the treasury’s grabbiness are inconsistent. If what you’re buying is priced in bitcoin, you’re trading goods or services for money, there was no realisation of gains. Having said that, if you choose to do this, best not do any spending from a stack with a connection to an exchange and your identify. When tax collectors (and their government masters) end up not having enough money, they may begin exploring whether those people buying bitcoin form exchanges are also spending it.

But why is this relevant or important? For me and from hearing from many people on podcasts, while not impossible and not actually that difficult, recording gains on each transaction is firstly a barrier for spending bitcoin, it is additional effort, admin and not insignificant cost, and no one likes that. Secondly, from my libertarian leaning perspective, tax is basically the seizure of assets under the threat of incarceration (aka theft), with the government spending that money on crap I don’t give a shit about, meaning I don’t want to help fund their operation more than I already do. The worry is, if I pay more taxes, they think they’re getting good at collecting taxes, they increase taxes, use taxes to employ more tax collectors, rinse and repeat. From this perspective, it is almost my duty not to report when I transact in bitcoin, viewing it as plain and simple, black-market money, where the government neither dictates what I can do with it, nor profit from its appreciation.

The result of this is not the common mantra of never sell your bitcoin, because I, for one, am looking forward to ditching the fiat grind and having more free time driving an interesting 90’s sports car or riding a new mountain bike, which I will need money to be fund. Unless I’m going to take a fair bit of tax evasion-based risk, find some guys who will only accept my KYC free bitcoin and then live off the grid, I’ll need to find another way, which unfortunately may require engaging once more with the fiat system. However, this time, rather than selling bitcoin to buy fiat, looking for financial product providers who offer loans against bitcoin held. This is nothing new, having been a contributing factors to the FTX blow up, and the drawdown of 2022, the logic of such products is solid and the secret catalyst to Mark Moss’s (and others) buy, borrow, die strategy. The difference this time is to earn from our mistakes, to choose the right company and maybe hand over our private keys (multisig is a beautiful thing). The key benefit of this is that by taking a loan, you’re not realising capital gains, so do not create a taxable event. While there is likely to be an interest on any loan, this only makes sense if this is considerably less than either the capital gains rate incurred if you sold the bitcoin or the long-term capital appreciation of the bitcoin you didn’t have to sell, it has to be an option worth considering.

Now, this is interacting with the fiat system, it does involve the effective printing of money and depending on the person providing the loan, there is risk, however, there are definitely some positives, even outside the not inconsiderable, “tax free” nature of this money. Firstly, by borrowing fiat money, you are increasing the money supply, while devaluing all other holders of that currency, which effectively works against fiat governments, causing them to forever print harder to stop themselves going into a deflationary nose drive. The second important aspect is that if you have not had to sell your bitcoin, you have removed sell pressure from the market and buying pressure that would strengthen the fiat currency, so further supporting the stack you have not had to sell. Now, let’s put this in the context of The Sovereign Individual or the entrepreneurial bitcoiner, who took a risk before fully understanding what they were buying and has now benefiting financially. The barrier of tax-based admin or the reticence to support government operations through paying additional tax are not insignificant, which the loan has allowed you to effectively side step, keeping more value of your holdings to allocate as you see fit. While this may involve the setting up of a new business that itself may drive productive growth, even if all you did was spend that money (such as a sport car or a new bike), this could still be a net, economic positive compared to a large portion of that money being sucked into the government spending black hole. While the government would not be receiving that tax revenue, every retailer, manufacturer or service provider would benefit from this additional business. Rather than the tax money going toward interest costs or civil servant wages, the money would go towards the real businesses you have chosen, their staff’s wages, who are working hard to outcompete their peers. Making this choice to not pay capital gains does not just allow bitcoiner to save money and to a small degree, reduce government funding, but also provides a cash injection to those companies who may still be reeling from minimum wage AND national insurance increases.

I’m not an ethicist, so am unable to provide a clear, concise, philosophical argument to explain why the ability of government to steal from you via the processes of monetary inflation as well as an ever-increasing tax burden in immoral, but I hope this provides a new perspective on the situation. I don’t believe increases in taxes support economic development (it literally does the opposite), I don’t believe that individuals should be penalised for working hard, challenging themselves, taking risks and succeeding. However, I’m not in charge of the system and also appreciate that if any major changes were to take place, the consequences would be significant (we’re talking Mandibles time). I believe removing capital gains tax from bitcoin would be a net positive for the economy and there being precedence based on the UK’s currently position with gold coins, but unfortunately, I don’t believe people in the cabinet think as I do, they see people with assets and pound signs ring up at their eyes.

As a result, my aim moving forward will be to think carefully before making purchases or sales that will incur capital gains tax (no big Lambo purchase for me at the top), but also being willing the promote the bitcoin economy by purchasing products and services with bitcoin. To do this, I’ll double confirm that spend/replace techniques actually get around capital gains by effectively using the payment rails of bitcoin to transfer value rather than to sell your bitcoin. This way, I will get to reward and promote those companies to perform at a level that warrants a little more effort with payment, without it costing me an additional 18-24% in tax later on.

So, to return to where we started and my first pay-cheque. We need to work to earn a living, but as we earn more, an ever-greater proportion is taken from us, and we are at risk of becoming stuck in a never ending fiat cycle. In the past, this was more of an issue, leading people into speculating on property or securities, which, if successful, would then incur further taxes, which will likely be spent by governments on liabilities or projects that add zero net benefits to national citizens. Apologies if you see this as a negative, but please don’t, this is the alternative to adopting a unit of account that cannot be inflated away. If you have begun to measure your wealth in bitcoin, there will be a point where you need to start to start spending. I for one, do not intend to die with my private keys in my head, but having lived a life, turbo charged by the freedom bitcoin has offered me. Bitcoin backed loans are returning to the market, with hopefully a little less risk this time around. There may be blow ups, but once they get established and interest costs start to be competed away, I will first of all acknowledge remaining risks and then not allocate 100% of my stack. Rather than being the one true bitcoiner who has never spent a sat, I will use the tools at my disposal to firstly give my family their best possible lives and secondly, not fund the government more than I need to.

Then, by the time I’m ready to leave this earth, there will be less money for me to leave to my family, but then again, the tax man would again come knocking, looking to gloat over my demise and add to my family’s misery with an outstretched hand. Then again, this piece is about capital gains rather than inheritance tax, so we can leave those discussions for another time.

This is not financial advice, please consult a financial/tax advisor before spending and replacing without filing taxes and don’t send your bitcoin to any old fella who says they’ll return it once you’ve paid off the loan.

@ 4c86f5a2:935c3564

Write Test Postr

@ 5188521b:008eb518

We are losing our freedom.

Don't believe me? Data published by the Cato Institute suggests that 74% of Americans are concerned they could lose freedoms.

But what do we really mean by 'freedom'?

The Cambridge Dictionary defines ‘freedom’ as follows: the condition or right of being able or allowed to do, say, think, etc. whatever you want to, without being controlled or limited.

Despite this clear definition, freedom means different things to different people: it might also refer to freedom of movement, private property rights, free markets, and freedom from violence.

Freedom fiction (also known as Libertarian fiction) denotes fictional stories intrinsically linked to these ideas or, more likely, the sometimes vain pursuit of this idea.

If dystopian fiction is overly bleak, perfectly captured by the image of a boot on the reader's neck, libertarian stories should offer just a glimmer of hope.

---

What is freedom fiction?

If dystopia, sci-fi, fantasy, and horror are genres, i.e., styles of fiction that must encompass certain tropes, freedom fiction could more generally be considered a category that explores freedom as a theme, without necessarily being part of a specific genre.

Freedom fiction primarily concerns itself with the overarching topics of individual liberty and sovereignty, conflict with authoritarian or surveillance states, and the restoration or preservation of rights that citizens of the Western world have come to expect: privacy, freedom of speech, the right to private property, and freedom to transact and form contracts.

Though enjoying something of a resurgence in recent decades and especially post Covid, freedom fiction is not new, and famous/infamous novels throughout the centuries could be retroactively categorised as freedom fiction.

Think of The Epic of Gilgamesh (2000BC), Greek tragedies (500BC), Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (1852), which helped fuel the anti-slavery movement, or We by Yevgeny Zamyatin, written over 100 years ago.

Today, freedom fiction is an emerging category that includes the revival of the cypherpunk movement, as privacy technologies such as Bitcoin seek to remove the reliance on the banking system, which has become an effective method of control for the establishment.

Why read freedom fiction?

Storytelling is a tradition as old as humanity itself, created to share the joy and wonder of imagined worlds. Fiction can also serve as a warning of what might come, and playing out “what if?” scenarios in our minds can help us in the real world, too.

Any individual interested in escaping the modern debt-slavery rat race we’ve found ourselves forced into can enjoy freedom stories with a greater and deeper understanding of just how real this “fiction” could be in the future.

Spiking interest

Data from Google Trends shows that in the United Kingdom — a nation increasingly concerned with policing speech, surveillance and other dystopic methods — interest in freedom has been spiking in the past five years, centred in England.

Source: Google Trends

Now let’s take a look at the data for the United States:

Despite a lower interest overall, the spike in 2023 mirrors that of the UK. Perhaps this was due to an event featured in the news or even a brand name or TikTok trend.

It is interesting to note that although a great number of Amercians fear losing their freedoms, fewer are searching how to protect them.

One reason for the rise in freedom fiction could be that Libertarian thinkers, praxeologists, and freedom maximalists seek to alert the populace through emotive stories. Few, it seems, are awakened when presented with legacy media propaganda and government messages.

The benefits & outcomes of reading freedom fiction

Once a human mind has acquired a taste for freedom fiction, there are numerous benefits and likely outcomes that will arise as a result:

Benefits:

• Broadened perspective and understanding of historical issues
• Increased empathy and social understanding
• Inspiration, motivation & empowerment
• Critical thinking skills & awareness
• Emotional connection

Once the reader has enjoyed these benefits, it is likely they will put their newfound understanding to action, bringing about outcomes like these.

Outcomes:

• Appreciation of and gratitude for freedom
• Informed civic engagement
• Agency for social change
• Personal growth

It would appear, then, that at some point, freedom fiction will have a transformative impact on the social demographics of the civilised world. As popular Netflix shows like Black Mirror highlight our reliance and overreliance on digital media, and governments continue to censor user-generated content posted socially, we must ask ourselves, when exactly will we wake up to what is happening?

We are more connected, but more controlled, than ever. How can we use the tools that enslave us to liberate us? Perhaps through sharing stories.

Aspects of freedom, genres, and time periods

Freedom fiction is a broad spectrum, encompassing various aspects, genres and time periods.

Aspects — privacy, freedom of speech, wrongful imprisonment, oppression, discrimination, government overreach, surveilance, debanking, censorship, confiscation, forced separation and more.

Genres — horror, sci-fi, fantasy, thriller and even young adult romance stories can contribute to the growing canon of libertarian-themed fiction.

Time periods — slavery in the past, alien invasions in the future, totalitarian governments in the present. Freedom fiction can relate to any time period.

---

15+ Classic Freedom-themed Books

In no particular order, here are 15 of the greatest examples of freedom stories from modern times:

1. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell (1949): A dystopian classic where the Party controls every aspect of people's lives, and Winston Smith rebels against the oppressive regime.

   Reason to read: Offers a chilling and thought-provoking exploration of totalitarianism, mass surveillance, and the importance of individual thought and truth.

2. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (1985): In a totalitarian regime where women are stripped of their rights, Offred fights for survival and a chance to regain her freedom.

   Reason to read: A haunting story that explores themes of feminism, oppression, and resistance, with a timely warning about the dangers of religious extremism and the fragility of women's rights.

3. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1932): A satirical look at a future society where people are genetically engineered and conditioned to conform, and a "savage" challenges their way of life.

   Reason to read: Provides an unsettling vision of a future where happiness is manufactured at the cost of individuality, freedom, and genuine human connection.

4. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (1953): In a world where books are banned, Guy Montag, a fireman, discovers the power of knowledge and fights for intellectual freedom.

   Reason to read: A passionate defense of the importance of books, ideas, and intellectual freedom, and a warning against censorship.

5. The Giver by Lois Lowry (1993): A young boy named Jonas discovers the dark secrets of his seemingly Utopian society, where there is no pain, sadness, or freedom of choice.

   Reason to read: A thought-provoking exploration of utopia, dystopia, and the importance of memory, emotion, and individual choice in a truly human life.

6. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey (1962): Randle McMurphy challenges the authority of a mental institution, becoming a symbol of rebellion and the fight for individual freedom.

   Reason to read: A powerful and moving story about the struggle against forced conformity and the importance of individuality, even in the face of oppressive systems.

7. Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (2008): This contemporary science fiction novel explores themes of government surveillance, digital rights, and the power of decentralized networks in challenging authority.

   Reason to read: a timely exploration of digital surveillance, government overreach, and the power of youthful activism in defending civil liberties in the modern age.

8. Beloved by Toni Morrison (1987): Set after the American Civil War, this novel explores the psychological and emotional scars of slavery and the struggle for freedom and identity.

   Reason to read: A masterpiece that delves into the legacy of slavery and its enduring impact on identity, memory, and the quest for freedom.

9. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (2005): In Nazi Germany, a young girl named Liesel Meminger finds solace in stolen books and discovers the power of words to resist oppression and find freedom.

   Reason to read: A beautifully written story about the power of words to nourish the soul, resist oppression, and find hope and freedom in the darkest of times.

10. Animal Farm by George Orwell (1945): An allegorical novella about a revolution on a farm that turns into a totalitarian dictatorship, highlighting the dangers of unchecked power, Communism, and the loss of freedom.

    Reason to read: A timeless allegory that exposes the corruption of revolutions, the fragility of freedom, and the importance of resistance against tyranny.

11. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (2007): This novel tells the story of two Afghan women whose lives intersect under the oppressive Taliban regime, and their fight for survival and freedom.

    Reason to read: An eye-opening portrayal of the resilience and strength of women in the face of oppression, and a powerful story about the universal desire for dignity.

12. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (2016): A unique novel that reimagines the Underground Railroad as a literal railroad, and follows a slave's journey.

    Reason to read: A compelling blend of historical fiction and magical realism that offers a fresh perspective on the history of slavery and the enduring quest for freedom.

13. Anthem by Ayn Rand (1938): A novella set in a collectivist future where the concept of "I" has been eradicated. It follows one man's rediscovery of individualism and his rebellion against the oppressive society.

    Reason to read: a novella that champions radical individualism against the suffocating conformity of collectivist ideology.

14. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (1844-46): Edmond Dantès is wrongly imprisoned and seeks revenge and freedom after years of captivity.

    Reason to read: An exciting tale of betrayal, revenge, and ultimate triumph, with a focus on themes of justice, freedom, and the resilience of the human spirit.

15. Snow Crash (1992) and Cryptonomicon (1999) by Neal Stephenson: While not strictly libertarian manifestos, these novels explore themes of individual freedom, the power of information, decentralized systems, and critiques of centralized authority in engaging and complex ways.

    Reason to read: these books are considered modern cypherpunk classics. They are rich in detail and the perfect starting place to learn more about the genre and why it is important for freedom.

## Lesser-known Freedom Books

Here are 15 lesser-known, more modern books that also explore the theme of freedom:

• Exit West by Mohsin Hamid (2017): This novel uses magical realism to depict refugees fleeing a war-torn country and seeking freedom and safety in an uncertain world.
• A Lodging of Wayfaring Men by Paul Rosenberg (2007): a libertarian novel based on real events that explores themes of individual sovereignty and free markets.
• The Probability Broach by L. Neil Smith (1979): An alternate history novel where a slight change in the Declaration of Independence leads to a libertarian society in North America. It's the first in Smith's "North American Confederacy" series.
• The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri (2019): This tells the story of beekeepers forced to flee Syria and their struggle to find freedom and rebuild their lives in a new country.
• Alongside Night by J. Neil Schulman (1979): A dystopian thriller depicting the collapse of the US government and the rise of a libertarian underground.
• Freehold by Michael Z. Williamson (2004): A military science fiction series that portrays a future where individuals have seceded from Earth's controlling government to establish independent, more libertarian colonies.
• No Truce with Kings by Poul Anderson (1963): A novella that won the Hugo Award, depicting a future where scientific progress has led to a world of isolated, self-sufficient individuals, challenging traditional notions of society and government.
• A Passage North by Anuk Arudpragasam (2021): This Booker Prize-nominated novel explores the aftermath of the Sri Lankan Civil War and the complexities of memory, trauma, and the search for inner freedom.
• Kings of the High Frontier by Victor Koman (1996): A hard science fiction novel exploring themes of entrepreneurship and individual liberty in space.
• This Perfect Day by Ira Levin (1970): A dystopian novel where a seemingly Utopian global society controls every aspect of individual life, raising questions about freedom versus engineered happiness.
• Wasp by Eric Frank Russell (1957): A story containing acts of terrorism against oppressive aliens. A notable example of a single individual disrupting a larger, controlling power.
• The Peace War by Vernor Vinge (1984): A ruthless organization, the Peace Authority, uses impenetrable force fields to end war but suppresses technology and individual liberty, leading a group of rebels to fight for the freedom to advance and determine their own future.
• Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein (1959): Heinlein was a prolific science fiction writer whose works frequently touch upon libertarian themes. Starship Troopers explores the ideas of civic virtue and individual responsibility.
• Live Free or Die by John Ringo (2010) follows Tyler Vernon, a fiercely independent and resourceful entrepreneur who stands up against alien oppressors and Earth's own bureaucratic tendencies to forge a path to true liberty and self-determination for humanity.
• Darkship Thieves by Sarah Hoyt (2010): Winner of the Prometheus Award for Best Libertarian SF Novel. This book follows Athena Hera Sinistra, a genetically engineered woman who escapes a tyrannical Earth to a freer society in space.

---

Freedom Publishers

In addition to the many works of libertarian fiction, a number of publishers are beginning to focus on stories which promote freedom.

• Liberty Island: This publisher focuses on science fiction and fantasy with libertarian and individualist themes.
• Fox News Books: While a mainstream publisher, it has been known to publish fiction with libertarian themes or by authors who are considered libertarian.
• Defiance Press & Publishing: This independent publisher openly states its commitment to publishing conservative and libertarian authors across fiction and non-fiction genres.
• Konsensus Network: A publisher that specifically promotes libertarian themes and bitcoin authors.
• All Seasons Press: Founded by former executives from Simon & Schuster and Hachette, this independent press aims to be a home for conservative voices.
• Baen Books: This is a well-known publisher, particularly in science fiction and fantasy, that often features authors and stories exploring themes of individual liberty, self-reliance, and limited government.
• Morlock Publishing: This small press specializes in science fiction with themes often including aspects of anarcho-capitalism and libertarian rebellion.
• Heresy Press (now an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing): While broader in its scope, Heresy Press aimed to publish "uncensored, outspoken, and free-spirited books" which can include libertarian viewpoints in fiction.
• Libertarian Futurist Society (LFS) (indirectly): While not a traditional publisher, the LFS sponsors the Prometheus Award and promotes libertarian science fiction. Their website and related platforms can be resources for finding authors and works, which are then published by various houses.

Recent Trends in Libertarian Fiction:

Konsensus Network’s new imprint, 21 Futures, is building a movement centred on freedom fiction, a movement in which emerging and established writers can contribute their storytelling media to anthologies and blogs, as well as publish their own individual works.

To date, two short story anthologies are available from 21 Futures:

Tales from the Timechain: the world’s first Bitcoin-fiction anthology.

21 writers examine how the hardest sound money ever created can restore freedom and liberty to mankind.

Financial Fallout: in this recently-released anthology, 21 writers weave financial dystopia from across a broader spectrum of freedom fiction, sewing seeds of eventual hope.

In addition to 21 Futures, a host of self-published and even best-selling fiction on the theme of bitcoin is now available. The Rapid Rise of Bitcoin Fiction documents the history and current trends in this genre.

## What happens next?

As governments tighten their grip on our data and our freedoms erode, we expect that freedom fiction will become a wider phenomenon. It is our hope and belief that Konsensus Network and 21 Futures will help drive growth in the genre and better understanding of how to protect individual freedom through our multimedia publications.

Follow our socials to keep up to date on future releases.

---

This blog was originally published on the 21 Futures blog by Alex Boast.

Alex is a web3 writer, ghost writer and ghost story writer. He’s a novelist and poet from England who loves to work with other writers as a coach, mentor and friend. You can find him on LinkedIn.

@ 8671a6e5:f88194d1

For whoever has, will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.

Matthew 25:29, The Parable of the Talents (New Testament)For whoever has, will be given more,\ and they will have an abundance.\ Whoever does not have, even what\ they have will be taken from them.\ \ Matthew 25:29,\ The Parable of the Talents (New Testament)

How the Pump-my-bags mentality slows Bitcoin adoption

The parable of “thy Bitcoins” (loosely based on Matthew 25:29)

A man, embarking on a journey, entrusted his wealth to his servants. To one he gave five Bitcoin, to another two Bitcoin, and to another one Bitcoin, each according to his ability. Then he departed.

The servant with five Bitcoin buried his master’s wealth, dreaming of its rising price. The servant with two Bitcoin hid his, guarding its value. But the servant with one Bitcoin acted with vision. He spent 0.5 Bitcoin to unite Bitcoiners, teaching them to use the network and building tools to expand its reach. His efforts grew Bitcoin’s power, though his investment left him with only 0.5 Bitcoin.

Years later, the master returned to settle accounts. The servant with five Bitcoin said, “Master, you gave me five Bitcoin. I buried them, and their price has soared. Here is yours.”

The master replied, “Faithless servant! My wealth was meant to sow freedom. You kept your Bitcoin but buried your potential to strengthen its network. Your wealth is great, but your impact is none!”

The servant with two Bitcoin said, “Master, you gave me two Bitcoin. I hid them, and their value has risen. Here is yours.”

The master replied, “You, too, have been idle! You clung to wealth but failed to spread Bitcoin’s truth. Your Bitcoin endures, but your reach is empty!”

Then the servant with one Bitcoin stepped forward. “Master, you gave me one Bitcoin. I spent 0.5 Bitcoin to teach and build with Bitcoiners. My call inspired many to join the network, though I have only 0.5 Bitcoin left.”

The master said, “Well done, faithful servant! You sparked a movement that grew my network, enriching lives. Though your stack is small, your vision is vast. Share my joy!”

When many use their gifts to build Bitcoin’s future, their sacrifices grow the network and enrich lives. Those who “bury” their Bitcoin and do nothing else keep wealth but miss the greater reward of a thriving in a Bitcoin world.

This parable reflects a timeless truth: between playing it safe and building, resides the choice to take risk. Bitcoin’s power lies not in hoarding wealth (although it’s part of it), but mainly in using it to build a freer world. To free people from their confines. Yet a mentality has taken hold — one that runs counter to that spirit.

PMB betrays the Bitcoin ethos

“Pump my bags” (PMB) stems from the altcoin world, where scammers pump pre-mined coins to dump on naive buyers. In Bitcoin, PMB isn’t about dumping but about hoarding—stacking sats without lifting a finger. These Bitcoiners, from small holders to whales, sit back, eyeing fiat profits, not Bitcoin’s mission. They’re not so different from altcoin grifters. Both chase profit, not glory. They dream of fiat-richness and crappy real estate in Portugal or Chile — not a Bitcoin standard. One holds hard money by chance, the other a fad coin. Neither moves the world forward.

In Bitcoin, the pump-my-bags mindset is more about laziness; everyone looking out for themselves, stacking without ever lifting a finger. There’s a big difference in the way an altcoin promotor would operate and market yet another proof-of-stake pre-mined trashcoin, and how PMB bitcoiners hoard and wait.

They’re much alike however. The belief level might be slightly different, and not everyone has the same ability.

I’ve been in Bitcoin’s trenches since its cypherpunk days, when it was a rebellion against fiat’s centralized control. Bitcoin is a race against the totalitarian fiat system’s grip. Early adopters saw it as a tool to dismantle gatekeepers and empower individuals. But PMB has turned Bitcoin into a get-rich scheme, abandoning the collective effort needed to overthrow fiat’s centuries-long cycles.

Trust is a currency’s core. Hoarding Bitcoin shows trust in its future value, but it’s a shallow trust that seals it away from the world. Real trust comes from admiring Bitcoin’s math, building businesses around it, or spreading its use. PMB Bitcoiners sit on their stacks, expecting others to build trust for them. Newcomers see branding, ego, and grifters, not the low-tech prosperity Bitcoin can offer. PMB Bitcoiners live without spending a sat, happy to hodl. Fine, but they’re furniture in fiat’s ruins, not builders of Bitcoin’s future.

Hoarding hollow victories Hoarding works for those chasing fiat wealth. Bitcoin is even there for them. The lazy, the non-believers, the ones that sold very early, the ones that just started.

By 2021, 75% of Bitcoin sat dormant, driving scarcity and prices up. But it strangles transactions, weakening Bitcoin as a living economy. Reddit calls hoarding “Bitcoin’s most dangerous problem,” choking adoption for profit. Pioneers like Roger Ver built tech companies (where you could buy electronics for bitcoin), Mark Karpelès ran an exchange (Mt. Gox) and Charlie Shrem processed 30% of Bitcoin transactions in 2013. They poured stacks into adoption, people like them (even people you’ve never heard of) more than not, went broke doing the building while hoarders sat back. The irony stings: Bitcoin’s founders are often poorer than PMB hodlers who buried their talents and just sat there passively. Over the years, the critique from these sideline people became more prevalent. They show up here and there, to read the room. But that’s all they do.

The last couple of years, they even became more vocal with social media posts. Everything needs to be perfect, high-quality, not made by them, not funded by them, for free, without ads, and with no effort whatsoever, unless it’s NOT pumping their bags, then it needs to be burned down as fast as possible.

Today’s PMB Bitcoiners want the rewards without the risk. They stack sats, demand perfect content made by others for free, and cheer short-term price pumps. But when asked to build, code, or fund anything real, they disappear. At this point, such Bitcoiners have as much spine as a pack of Frankfurter sausages. This behavior has hollowed out Bitcoin’s activist core.

Activism’s disappointment

Bitcoin’s activist roots—cypherpunks coding, evangelists spreading the word—have been replaced by influencers and silent PMB conference-goers who say nothing but “I hold Bitcoin.” Centralized exchanges like Binance and Coinbase handle 70% of trades by 2025, mocking our decentralized vision. Custodial wallets proliferate as users hand over keys. The Lightning Network has 23,000+ nodes, and privacy tech like CoinJoin exists, yet adoption lags. Regulation creeps in—the U.S. Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2023 and Europe’s MiCa laws threaten KYC on every wallet. Our failure to advance faster gives governments leverage. Our failure would be their victory. Their cycles endlessly repeated.

Activism is a shadow of its potential. The Human Rights Foundation pushes Bitcoin for dissidents, but it’s a drop in the bucket. We could replace supply chains, build Bitcoin-only companies, or claim territories, yet we can’t even convince bars to accept

Bitcoin. We’re distracted by laser-eye memes and altcoin hopium, not building at farmer’s markets, festivals, or local scenes. PMB Bitcoiners demand perfection—free, ad-free, high-quality content—while contributing nothing.

The best way to shut them up, is asking them to do something. ”I would like to see a live counter on that page, so I can see what customers got new products” ”Why don’t YOU write code?” … and they’re gone.

”I would change a few items in your presentation man, it was good, but I would change the diagram on page 7” ”The presentation is open source and online, open for contributions. Do you want to give the presentation next time?” ”… “ and they’re gone.

”We need to have a network of these antennas to communicate with each other and send sats” ”I’ve ordered a few devices like that.. want to help out and search for new network participants?” ” … “ They’re off to some other thing, that’s more entertaining.

If you don’t understand you’re in a very unique fork in the road, a historic shift in society, much so that you’re more busy with picking the right shoes, car, phone, instead of pushing things in the right direction. And guess what? Usually these two lifestyles can even be combines. Knights in old England could fight and defend their king, while still having a decent meal and participate in festivities. These knight (compared to some bitcoiners) didn’t sit back at a fancy dinner and told the others: “yeah man, you should totally put on a harness, get a sword made and fight,… here I’ll give you a carrot for your horse.” To disappear into their castles waiting for the fight to be over a few months later. No, they put on the harness themselves, and ordered a sword to be made, because they knew their own future and that of their next of kin was at stake.

Hardly any of them show you that Bitcoin can be fairly simple and even low-tech solutions for achieving remedies for the world’s biggest problems (having individuals have real ownership for example). It can include some genuine building of prosperity and belief in one’s own talents and skills. You mostly don’t need middlemen. They buy stuff they don’t need, to feel like they’re participants.

And there’s so, enormously much work to be done.

On the other hand. Some bitcoiners can live their whole life without spending any considerable amount of bitcoin, and be perfectly happy. They mind as well could have had no bitcoin at all, but changed their mindset towards a lot of things in life. That’s cool, I know bitcoiners that don’t have any bitcoin anymore. They still “get it” though. Everyone’s life is different. These people are really cool, and they’re usually the silent builders as well. They know.

And yet, people will say they’ve “missed out”. They surely missed out on buying a lot of nice “stuff” … maybe. There are always new luxury items for sale in the burning ruins of fiat. There are always people that want to temporarily like or love you (long time) for fiat, as well as for bitcoin. You’re still an empty shell if your do. Just like the fiat slaves. A crypto bro will always stay the same sell out, even if he holds bitcoin by any chance.

You know why? Because bitcoiners don’t think like “they” do. The fiat masters that screwed this world up, think and work over multi generations. (Remember that for later, in piece twelve of this series.)

The only path forward

Solo heroics can’t beat the market or drive adoption anymore. Collective action is key. The Lightning Network grows from thousands of small nodes for example. Bitcoin Core thrives on shared grit. Profit isn’t sportcars — it’s a thriving network freeing people. If 10,000 people spend 0.05 BTC to fund wallets, educate merchants or build tools, we’d see more users and transactions. Adoption drives demand. Sacrifice now, impact later. Don’t work for PMB orders — they’re fiat victims, not Bitcoin builders.

Act together, thrive together

To kill PMB, rediscover your potential, even if it costs you:

Educate wide: Teach Bitcoin’s truth—how it works, why it matters. Every convert strengthens us.

Build together: Run nodes, fund Lightning hubs, support devs. Small contributions add up.

Use Bitcoin: Spend it, gift it, make it move. Transactions are the network’s heartbeat.

Value the mission: Chase freedom, not fiat. Your legacy is impact, not your stack.

A call to build The parable of Bitcoin is clear: hoard and get rich, but leave nothing behind; act together, sacrifice wealth, and build a thriving Bitcoin world. Hoarding risks a deflationary spiral while Wall Street grabs another 100,000 BTC every few weeks and sits on it for other fund managers to buy the stake (pun intended).

PMB Bitcoiners will cash out, thinking they’re smart, trading our future for fiat luxury. Bitcoin’s value lies in trust, scarcity, and a network grown by those who see beyond their wallets. Bury your Bitcoin or build with it.

If someone slyly nudges you to pump their bags, call them faithless leeches who ignore the call for a better world. They’re quiet, polite, and vanish when it’s time to fund or build. They tally fiat gains while you grind through life’s rot. They sling insults if you educate, risk, or create. They’re all take, no give — enemies, even if they hold Bitcoin.

Bitcoiners route around problems. Certainly if that problem is other bitcoiners. Because we know how they think, we know their buried talents, we know why they do it. It’s in our DNA to know. They don’t know why we keep building however, the worse of them don’t understand.

Bitcoin’s value isn’t in scarcity alone — it’s in the combination of trust, scarcity and the network, grown by those who see beyond their wallets and small gains.

Whether you’ve got 0.01 BTC or 10,000 BTC, your choice matters. Will you bury your Bitcoin, or build with it? I can hope we choose the latter.

If someone, directly or slyly, nudges you to pump their bags, call them out as faithless servants who wouldn’t even hear the calling of a better world. These types are often quiet, polite, and ask few questions, but when it’s time to step up, they vanish — nowhere to be found for funding, working, or doing anything real, big or small. They’re obsessed with “pump my bags,” tallying their fiat gains while you grind, sweat, and ache through life’s rotten misery. Usually they’re well off, because fiat mentality breeds more fiat.

They won’t lift you up or support you, because they’re all about the “take” and take and take more, giving nice sounding incentives to keep you pumping and grinding. They smell work, but never participate. They’re lovely and nice as long as you go along and pump.

Pump-My-Bags bitcoiners are temporary custodians, financial Frankfurter sausages hunting for a bun to flop into. We have the mustard. We know how to make it, package it and pour it over them. We’re the preservers of hard money. We build, think and try.

They get eaten. They’re fiat-born and when the real builders rise (they’re already a few years old), history won’t remember these people’s stacks and irrelevant comments — only our sacrifices.

by: AVB

@ d34e832d:383f78d0

Operation

This operational framework delineates a methodologically sound, open-source paradigm for the self-custody of Bitcoin, prominently utilizing Electrum, in conjunction with VeraCrypt-encrypted USB drives designed to effectively emulate the functionality of a cold storage hardware wallet.

The primary aim of this initiative is to empower individual users by providing a mechanism that is economically viable, resistant to coercive pressures, and entirely verifiable. This is achieved by harnessing the capabilities inherent in open-source software and adhering to stringent cryptographic protocols, thereby ensuring an uncompromising stance on Bitcoin sovereignty.

The proposed methodology signifies a substantial advancement over commercially available hardware wallets, as it facilitates the creation of a do-it-yourself air-gapped environment that not only bolsters resilience and privacy but also affirms the principles of decentralization intrinsic to the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

1. The Need For Trustless, Private, and Secure Storage

With Bitcoin adoption increasing globally, the need for trustless, private, and secure storage is critical. While hardware wallets like Trezor and Ledger offer some protection, they introduce proprietary code, closed ecosystems, and third-party risk. This Idea explores an alternative: using Electrum Wallet within an encrypted VeraCrypt volume on a USB flash drive, air-gapped via Tails OS or offline Linux systems.

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2. Architecture of the DIY Hardware Wallet

2.1 Core Components

• Electrum Wallet (SegWit, offline mode)
• USB flash drive (≥ 8 GB)
• VeraCrypt encryption software
• Optional: Tails OS bootable environment

2.2 Drive Setup

• Format the USB drive and install VeraCrypt volumes.
• Choose AES + SHA-512 encryption for robust protection.
• Use FAT32 for wallet compatibility with Electrum (under 4GB).
• Enable Hidden Volume for plausible deniability under coercion.

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3. Creating the Encrypted Environment

3.1 Initial Setup

• Download VeraCrypt from the official site; verify GPG signatures.
• Encrypt the flash drive and store a plain Electrum AppImage inside.
• Add a hidden encrypted volume with the wallet seed, encrypted QR backups, and optionally, a decoy wallet.

3.2 Mounting Workflow

• Always mount the VeraCrypt volume on an air-gapped computer, ideally booted into Tails OS.
• Never connect the encrypted USB to an internet-enabled system.

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4. Air-Gapped Wallet Operations

4.1 Wallet Creation (Offline)

• Generate a new Electrum SegWit wallet inside the mounted VeraCrypt volume.
• Record the seed phrase on paper, or store it in a second hidden volume.
• Export xpub (public key) for use with online watch-only wallets.

4.2 Receiving Bitcoin

• Use watch-only Electrum wallet with the exported xpub on an online system.
• Generate receiving addresses without exposing private keys.

4.3 Sending Bitcoin

• Create unsigned transactions (PSBT) in the watch-only wallet.
• Transfer them via QR code or USB sneakernet to the air-gapped wallet.
• Sign offline using Electrum, then return the signed transaction to the online device for broadcast.

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5. OpSec Best Practices

5.1 Physical and Logical Separation

• Use a dedicated machine or a clean Tails OS session every time.
• Keep the USB drive hidden and disconnected unless in use.
• Always dismount the VeraCrypt volume after operations.

5.2 Seed Phrase Security

• Never type the seed on an online machine.
• Consider splitting the seed using Shamir's Secret Sharing or metal backup plates.

5.3 Coercion Resilience

• Use VeraCrypt’s hidden volume feature to store real wallet data.
• Maintain a decoy wallet in the outer volume with nominal funds.
• Practice your recovery and access process until second nature.

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6. Tradeoffs vs. Commercial Wallets

| Feature | DIY Electrum + VeraCrypt | Ledger/Trezor | |--------|--------------------------|---------------| | Open Source | ✅ Fully | ⚠️ Partially | | Air-gapped Usage | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Limited | | Cost | 💸 Free (except USB) | 💰 $50–$250 | | Hidden/Coercion Defense | ✅ Hidden Volume | ❌ None | | QR Signing Support | ⚠️ Manual | ✅ Some models | | Complexity | 🧠 High | 🟢 Low | | Long-Term Resilience | ✅ No vendor risk | ⚠️ Vendor-dependent |

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7. Consider

A DIY hardware wallet built with Electrum and VeraCrypt offers an unprecedented level of user-controlled sovereignty in Bitcoin storage. While the technical learning curve may deter casual users, those who value security, privacy, and independence will find this setup highly rewarding. This Operation demonstrates that true Bitcoin ownership requires not only control of private keys, but also a commitment to operational security and digital self-discipline. In a world of growing surveillance and digital coercion, such methods may not be optional—they may be essential.

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8. References

• Nakamoto, Satoshi. Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. 2008.
• Electrum Technologies GmbH. “Electrum Documentation.” electrum.org, 2024.
• VeraCrypt. “Documentation.” veracrypt.fr, 2025.
• Tails Project. “The Amnesic Incognito Live System (Tails).” tails.boum.org, 2025.
• Matonis, Jon. "DIY Cold Storage for Bitcoin." Forbes, 2014.

In Addition

🛡️ Create Your Own Secure Bitcoin Hardware Wallet: Electrum + VeraCrypt DIY Guide

Want maximum security for your Bitcoin without trusting third-party devices like Ledger or Trezor?
This guide shows you how to build your own "hardware wallet" using free open-source tools:
✅ Electrum Wallet + ✅ VeraCrypt Encrypted Flash Drive — No extra cost, no vendor risk.

Let Go Further

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What You’ll Need

• A USB flash drive (8GB minimum, 64-bit recommended)
• A clean computer (preferably old or dedicated offline)
• Internet connection (for setup only, then go air-gapped)
• VeraCrypt software (free, open-source)
• Electrum Bitcoin Wallet AppImage file

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Step 1: Download and Verify VeraCrypt

1. Go to VeraCrypt Official Website.
2. Download the installer for your operating system.
3. Verify the GPG signatures to ensure the download isn't tampered with.
   👉 [Insert Screenshot Here: VeraCrypt download page]

Pro Tip: Never skip verification when dealing with encryption software!

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Step 2: Download Electrum Wallet

1. Go to Electrum Official Website.
2. Download the Linux AppImage or Windows standalone executable.
3. Again, verify the PGP signatures published on the site. 👉 [Insert Screenshot Here: Electrum download page]

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Step 3: Prepare and Encrypt Your USB Drive

1. Insert your USB drive into the computer.
2. Open VeraCrypt and select Create Volume → Encrypt a Non-System Partition/Drive.
3. Choose Standard Volume for now (later we'll talk about hidden volumes).
4. Select your USB drive, set an extremely strong password (12+ random characters).
5. For Encryption Algorithm, select AES and SHA-512 for Hash Algorithm.
6. Choose FAT32 as the file system (compatible with Bitcoin wallet sizes under 4GB).
7. Format and encrypt. 👉 [Insert Screenshot Here: VeraCrypt creating volume]

Important: This will wipe all existing data on the USB drive!

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Step 4: Mount the Encrypted Drive

Whenever you want to use the wallet:

1. Open VeraCrypt.
2. Select a slot (e.g., Slot 1).
3. Click Select Device, choose your USB.
4. Enter your strong password and Mount. 👉 [Insert Screenshot Here: VeraCrypt mounted volume]

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Step 5: Set Up Electrum in Offline Mode

1. Mount your encrypted USB.
2. Copy the Electrum AppImage (or EXE) onto the USB inside the encrypted partition.
3. Run Electrum from there.
4. Select Create New Wallet.
5. Choose Standard Wallet → Create New Seed → SegWit.
6. Write down your 12-word seed phrase on PAPER.
   ❌ Never type it into anything else.
7. Finish wallet creation and disconnect from internet immediately. 👉 [Insert Screenshot Here: Electrum setup screen]

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Step 6: Make It Air-Gapped Forever

• Only ever access the encrypted USB on an offline machine.
• Never connect this device to the internet again.
• If possible, boot into Tails OS every time for maximum security.

Pro Tip: Tails OS leaves no trace on the host computer once shut down!

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Step 7: (Optional) Set Up a Hidden Volume

For even stronger security:

1. Repeat the VeraCrypt process to add a Hidden Volume inside your existing USB encryption.
2. Store your real Electrum wallet in the hidden volume.
3. Keep a decoy wallet with small amounts of Bitcoin in the outer volume.

👉 This way, if you're ever forced to reveal the password, you can give access to the decoy without exposing your true savings.

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Step 8: Receiving Bitcoin

• Export your xpub (extended public key) from the air-gapped Electrum wallet.
• Import it into a watch-only Electrum wallet on your online computer.
• Generate receiving addresses without exposing your private keys.

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Step 9: Spending Bitcoin (Safely)

To send Bitcoin later:

1. Create a Partially Signed Bitcoin Transaction (PSBT) with the online watch-only wallet.
2. Transfer the file (or QR code) offline (via USB or QR scanner).
3. Sign the transaction offline with Electrum.
4. Bring the signed file/QR back to the online device and broadcast it.

✅ Your private keys never touch the internet!

---

Step 10: Stay Vigilant

• Always dismount the encrypted drive after use.
• Store your seed phrase securely (preferably in a metal backup).
• Regularly practice recovery drills.
• Update Electrum and VeraCrypt only after verifying new downloads.

---

🎯 Consider

Building your own DIY Bitcoin hardware wallet might seem complex, but security is never accidental — it is intentional.
By using VeraCrypt encryption and Electrum offline, you control your Bitcoin in a sovereign, verifiable, and bulletproof way.

⚡ Take full custody. No companies. No middlemen. Only freedom.

---

@ 1f79058c:eb86e1cb

I think we should agree on an HTML element for pointing to the Nostr representation of a document/URL on the Web. We could use the existing one for link relations for example:

html <link rel="alternate" type="application/nostr+json" href="nostr:naddr1qvzqqqr4..." title="This article on Nostr" />

This would be useful in multiple ways:

1. Nostr clients, when fetching meta/preview information for a URL that is linked in a note, can detect that there's a Nostr representation of the content, and then render it in Nostr-native ways (whatever that may be depending on the client)
2. User agents, usually a browser or browser extension, when opening a URL on the Web, can offer opening the alternative representation of a page in a Nostr client. And/or they could offer to follow the author's pubkey on Nostr. And/or they could offer to zap the content.
3. When publishing a new article, authors can share their preferred Web URL everywhere, without having to consider if the reader knows about or uses Nostr at all. However, if a Nostr user finds the Web version of an article outside of Nostr, they can now easily jump to the Nostr version of it.
4. Existing Web publications can retroactively create Nostr versions of their content and easily link the Nostr articles on all of their existing article pages without having to add prominent Nostr links everywhere.

There are probably more use cases, like Nostr search engines and whatnot. If you can think of something interesting, please tell me.

Proof of concept

In order to show one way in which this could be used, I have created a small Web Extension called Nostr Links, which will discover alternate Nostr links on the pages you visit.

If it finds one or more links, it will show a purple Nostr icon in the address bar, which you can click to open the list of links. It's similar to e.g. the Feed Preview extension, and also to what the Tor Browser does when it discovers an Onion-Location for the page you're looking at:

The links in this popup menu will be web+nostr: links, because browsers currently do not allow web apps or extensions to handle unprefixed nostr: links. (I hope someone is working on getting those on par with ipfs: etc.)

Following such a link will either open your default Nostr Web app, if you have already configured one, or it will ask you which Web app to open the link with.

Caveat emptor: At the time of writing, my personal default Web app, noStrudel, needs a new release for the links to find the content.

Try it now

Have a look at the source code and/or download the extension (currently only for Firefox).

I have added alternate Nostr links to the Web pages of profiles and long-form content on the Kosmos relay's domain. It's probably the only place on the Web, which will trigger the extension right now.

You can look at this very post to find an alternate link for example.

@ d34e832d:383f78d0

Operation

Central to this implementation is the utilization of Tails OS, a Debian-based live operating system designed for privacy and anonymity, alongside the Electrum Wallet, a lightweight Bitcoin wallet that provides a streamlined interface for secure Bitcoin transactions.

Additionally, the inclusion of advanced cryptographic verification mechanisms, such as QuickHash, serves to bolster integrity checks throughout the storage process. This multifaceted approach ensures a rigorous adherence to end-to-end operational security (OpSec) principles while simultaneously safeguarding user autonomy in the custody of digital assets.

Furthermore, the proposed methodology aligns seamlessly with contemporary cybersecurity paradigms, prioritizing characteristics such as deterministic builds—where software builds are derived from specific source code to eliminate variability—offline key generation processes designed to mitigate exposure to online threats, and the implementation of minimal attack surfaces aimed at reducing potential vectors for exploitation.

Ultimately, this sophisticated approach presents a methodical and secure paradigm for the custody of private keys, thereby catering to the exigencies of high-assurance Bitcoin storage requirements.

1. Cold Storage Refers To The offline Storage

Cold storage refers to the offline storage of private keys used to sign Bitcoin transactions, providing the highest level of protection against network-based threats. This paper outlines a verifiable method for constructing such a storage system using the following core principles:

• Air-gapped key generation
• Open-source software
• Deterministic cryptographic tools
• Manual integrity verification
• Offline transaction signing

The method prioritizes cryptographic security, software verifiability, and minimal hardware dependency.

---

2. Hardware and Software Requirements

2.1 Hardware

• One 64-bit computer (laptop/desktop)
• 1 x USB Flash Drive (≥8 GB, high-quality brand recommended)
• Paper and pen (for seed phrase)
• Optional: Printer (for xpub QR export)

2.2 Software Stack

• Tails OS (latest ISO, from tails.boum.org)
• Balena Etcher (to flash ISO)
• QuickHash GUI (for SHA-256 checksum validation)
• Electrum Wallet (bundled within Tails OS)

---

3. System Preparation and Software Verification

3.1 Image Verification

Prior to flashing the ISO, the integrity of the Tails OS image must be cryptographically validated. Using QuickHash:

plaintext SHA256 (tails-amd64-<version>.iso) = <expected_hash>

Compare the hash output with the official hash provided on the Tails OS website. This mitigates the risk of ISO tampering or supply chain compromise.

3.2 Flashing the OS

Balena Etcher is used to flash the ISO to a USB drive:

1. Insert USB drive.
2. Launch Balena Etcher.
3. Select the verified Tails ISO.
4. Flash to USB and safely eject.

---

4. Cold Wallet Generation Procedure

4.1 Boot Into Tails OS

• Restart the system and boot into BIOS/UEFI boot menu.
• Select the USB drive containing Tails OS.
• Configure network settings to disable all connectivity.

4.2 Create Wallet in Electrum (Cold)

• Open Electrum from the Tails application launcher.
• Select "Standard Wallet" → "Create a new seed".
• Choose SegWit for address type (for lower fees and modern compatibility).
• Write down the 12-word seed phrase on paper. Never store digitally.
• Confirm the seed.
• Set a strong password for wallet access.

---

5. Exporting the Master Public Key (xpub)

• Open Electrum > Wallet > Information
• Export the Master Public Key (MPK) for receiving-only use.
• Optionally generate QR code for cold-to-hot usage (wallet watching).

This allows real-time monitoring of incoming Bitcoin transactions without ever exposing private keys.

---

6. Transaction Workflow

6.1 Receiving Bitcoin (Cold to Hot)

1. Use the exported xpub in a watch-only wallet (desktop or mobile).
2. Generate addresses as needed.
3. Senders deposit Bitcoin to those addresses.

6.2 Spending Bitcoin (Hot Redeem Mode)

Important: This process temporarily compromises air-gap security.

1. Boot into Tails (or use Electrum in a clean Linux environment).
2. Import the 12-word seed phrase.
3. Create transaction offline.
4. Export signed transaction via QR code or USB.
5. Broadcast using an online device.

6.3 Recommended Alternative: PSBT

To avoid full wallet import: - Use Partially Signed Bitcoin Transactions (PSBT) protocol to sign offline. - Broadcast PSBT using Sparrow Wallet or Electrum online.

---

7. Security Considerations

| Threat | Mitigation | |-------|------------| | OS Compromise | Use Tails (ephemeral environment, RAM-only) | | Supply Chain Attack | Manual SHA256 verification | | Key Leakage | No network access during key generation | | Phishing/Clone Wallets | Verify Electrum’s signature (when updating) | | Physical Theft | Store paper seed in tamper-evident location |

---

8. Backup Strategy

• Store 12-word seed phrase in multiple secure physical locations.
• Do not photograph or digitize.
• For added entropy, use Shamir Secret Sharing (e.g., 2-of-3 backups).

---

9. Consider

Through the meticulous integration of verifiable software solutions, the execution of air-gapped key generation methodologies, and adherence to stringent operational protocols, users have the capacity to establish a Bitcoin cold storage wallet that embodies an elevated degree of cryptographic assurance.

This DIY system presents a zero-dependency alternative to conventional third-party custody solutions and consumer-grade hardware wallets.

Consequently, it empowers individuals with the ability to manage their Bitcoin assets while ensuring full trust minimization and maximizing their sovereign control over private keys and transaction integrity within the decentralized financial ecosystem..

10. References And Citations

Nakamoto, Satoshi. Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. 2008.
“Tails - The Amnesic Incognito Live System.” tails.boum.org, The Tor Project.
“Electrum Bitcoin Wallet.” electrum.org, 2025.
“QuickHash GUI.” quickhash-gui.org, 2025.
“Balena Etcher.” balena.io, 2025.
Bitcoin Core Developers. “Don’t Trust, Verify.” bitcoincore.org, 2025.

In Addition

🪙 SegWit vs. Legacy Bitcoin Wallets

⚖️ TL;DR Decision Chart

| If you... | Use SegWit | Use Legacy | |-----------|----------------|----------------| | Want lower fees | ✅ Yes | 🚫 No | | Send to/from old services | ⚠️ Maybe | ✅ Yes | | Care about long-term scaling | ✅ Yes | 🚫 No | | Need max compatibility | ⚠️ Mixed | ✅ Yes | | Run a modern wallet | ✅ Yes | 🚫 Legacy support fading | | Use cold storage often | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Depends on wallet support | | Use Lightning Network | ✅ Required | 🚫 Not supported |

---

🔍 1. What Are We Comparing?

There are two major types of Bitcoin wallet address formats:

🏛️ Legacy (P2PKH)

• Format starts with: 1
• Example: 1A1zP1eP5QGefi2DMPTfTL5SLmv7DivfNa
• Oldest, most universally compatible
• Higher fees, larger transactions
• May lack support in newer tools and layer-2 solutions

🛰️ SegWit (P2WPKH)

• Formats start with:
• Nested SegWit (P2SH): 3...
• Native SegWit (bech32): bc1q...
• Introduced via Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) 141
• Smaller transaction sizes → lower fees
• Native support by most modern wallets

---

💸 2. Transaction Fees

SegWit = Cheaper.
- SegWit reduces the size of Bitcoin transactions in a block.
- This means you pay less per transaction.
- Example: A SegWit transaction might cost 40%–60% less in fees than a legacy one.

💡 Why?
Bitcoin charges fees per byte, not per amount.
SegWit removes certain data from the base transaction structure, which shrinks byte size.

---

🧰 3. Wallet & Service Compatibility

| Category | Legacy | SegWit (Nested / Native) | |----------|--------|---------------------------| | Old Exchanges | ✅ Full support | ⚠️ Partial | | Modern Exchanges | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | | Hardware Wallets (Trezor, Ledger) | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | | Mobile Wallets (Phoenix, BlueWallet) | ⚠️ Rare | ✅ Yes | | Lightning Support | 🚫 No | ✅ Native SegWit required |

🧠 Recommendation:

If you interact with older platforms or do cross-compatibility testing, you may want to: - Use nested SegWit (address starts with 3), which is backward compatible. - Avoid bech32-only wallets if your exchange doesn't support them (though rare in 2025).

---

🛡️ 4. Security and Reliability

Both formats are secure in terms of cryptographic strength.

However: - SegWit fixes a bug known as transaction malleability, which helps build protocols on top of Bitcoin (like the Lightning Network). - SegWit transactions are more standardized going forward.

💬 User takeaway:
For basic sending and receiving, both are equally secure. But for future-proofing, SegWit is the better bet.

---

🌐 5. Future-Proofing

Legacy wallets are gradually being phased out:

• Developers are focusing on SegWit and Taproot compatibility.
• Wallet providers are defaulting to SegWit addresses.
• Fee structures increasingly assume users have upgraded.

🚨 If you're using a Legacy wallet today, you're still safe. But: - Some services may stop supporting withdrawals to legacy addresses. - Your future upgrade path may be more complex.

---

🚀 6. Real-World Scenarios

🧊 Cold Storage User

• Use SegWit for low-fee UTXOs and efficient backup formats.
• Consider Native SegWit (bc1q) if supported by your hardware wallet.

👛 Mobile Daily User

• Use Native SegWit for cheaper everyday payments.
• Ideal if using Lightning apps — it's often mandatory.

🔄 Exchange Trader

• Check your exchange’s address type support.
• Consider nested SegWit (3...) if bridging old + new systems.

---

📜 7. Migration Tips

If you're moving from Legacy to SegWit:

1. Create a new SegWit wallet in your software/hardware wallet.
2. Send funds from your old Legacy wallet to the SegWit address.
3. Back up the new seed — never reuse the old one.
4. Watch out for fee rates and change address handling.

---

✅ Final User Recommendations

| Use Case | Address Type | |----------|--------------| | Long-term HODL | SegWit (bc1q) | | Maximum compatibility | SegWit (nested 3...) | | Fee-sensitive use | Native SegWit (bc1q) | | Lightning | Native SegWit (bc1q) | | Legacy systems only | Legacy (1...) – short-term only |

---

📚 Further Reading

• Nakamoto, Satoshi. Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. 2008.
• Bitcoin Core Developers. “Segregated Witness (Consensus Layer Change).” github.com/bitcoin, 2017.
• “Electrum Documentation: Wallet Types.” docs.electrum.org, 2024.
• “Bitcoin Wallet Compatibility.” bitcoin.org, 2025.
• Ledger Support. “SegWit vs Legacy Addresses.” ledger.com, 2024.

@ b2caa9b3:9eab0fb5

Yesterday, I faced one of the most heartbreaking and frustrating experiences of my life. Between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM, I was held at the Taveta border, denied entry into Kenya—despite having all the necessary documents, including a valid visitor’s permit and an official invitation letter.

The Kenyan Immigration officers refused to speak with me. When I asked for clarification, I was told flatly that I would never be allowed to enter Kenya unless I obtain a work permit. No other reason was given. My attempts to explain that I simply wanted to see my child were ignored. No empathy. No flexibility. No conversation. Just rejection.

While I stood there for hours, held by officials with no explanation beyond a bureaucratic wall, I recorded the experience. I now have several hours of footage documenting what happened—a silent testimony to how a system can dehumanize and block basic rights.

And the situation doesn’t end at the border.

My child, born in Kenya, is also being denied the right to see me. Germany refuses to grant her citizenship, which means she cannot visit me either. The German embassy in Nairobi refuses to assist, stating they won’t get involved. Their silence is loud.

This is not just about paperwork. This is about a child growing up without her father. It’s about a system that chooses walls over bridges, and bureaucracy over humanity. Kenya, by refusing me entry, is keeping a father away from his child. Germany, by refusing to act under §13 StGB, is complicit in that injustice.

In the coming days, I’ll share more about my past travels and how this situation unfolded. I’ll also be releasing videos and updates on TikTok—because this story needs to be heard. Not just for me, but for every parent and child caught between borders and bureaucracies.

Stay tuned—and thank you for standing with me.

@ d34e832d:383f78d0

---

Goal

This analytical discourse delves into Jack Dorsey's recent utterances concerning Bitcoin, artificial intelligence, decentralized social networking platforms such as Nostr, and the burgeoning landscape of open-source cryptocurrency mining initiatives.

Dorsey's pronouncements escape the confines of isolated technological fascinations; rather, they elucidate a cohesive conceptual schema wherein Bitcoin transcends its conventional role as a mere store of value—akin to digital gold—and emerges as a foundational protocol intended for the construction of a decentralized, sovereign, and perpetually self-evolving internet ecosystem.

A thorough examination of Dorsey's confluence of Bitcoin with artificial intelligence advancements, adaptive learning paradigms, and integrated social systems reveals an assertion of Bitcoin's position as an entity that evolves beyond simple currency, evolving into a distinctly novel socio-technological organism characterized by its inherent ability to adapt and grow. His vigorous endorsement of native digital currency, open communication protocols, and decentralized infrastructural frameworks is posited here as a revolutionary paradigm—a conceptual

---

1. The Path

Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter and Square (now Block), has emerged as one of the most compelling evangelists for a decentralized future. His ideas about Bitcoin go far beyond its role as a speculative asset or inflation hedge. In a recent interview, Dorsey ties together themes of open-source AI, peer-to-peer currency, decentralized media, and radical self-education, sketching a future in which Bitcoin is the lynchpin of an emerging technological and social ecosystem. This thesis reviews Dorsey’s statements and offers a critical framework to understand why his vision uniquely positions Bitcoin as the keystone of a post-institutional, digital world.

---

2. Bitcoin: The Native Currency of the Internet

“It’s the best current manifestation of a native internet currency.” — Jack Dorsey

Bitcoin's status as an open protocol with no central controlling authority echoes the original spirit of the internet: decentralized, borderless, and resilient. Dorsey's framing of Bitcoin not just as a payment system but as the "native money of the internet" is a profound conceptual leap. It suggests that just as HTTP became the standard for web documents, Bitcoin can become the monetary layer for the open web.

This framing bypasses traditional narratives of digital gold or institutional adoption and centers a P2P vision of global value transfer. Unlike central bank digital currencies or platform-based payment rails, Bitcoin is opt-in, permissionless, and censorship-resistant—qualities essential for sovereignty in the digital age.

---

3. Nostr and the Decentralization of Social Systems

Dorsey’s support for Nostr, an open protocol for decentralized social media, reflects a desire to restore user agency, protocol composability, and speech sovereignty. Nostr’s architecture parallels Bitcoin’s: open, extensible, and resilient to censorship.

Here, Bitcoin serves not just as money but as a network effect driver. When combined with Lightning and P2P tipping, Nostr becomes more than just a Twitter alternative—it evolves into a micropayment-native communication system, a living proof that Bitcoin can power an entire open-source social economy.

---

4. Open-Source AI and Cognitive Sovereignty

Dorsey's forecast that open-source AI will emerge as an alternative to proprietary systems aligns with his commitment to digital autonomy. If Bitcoin empowers financial sovereignty and Nostr enables communicative freedom, open-source AI can empower cognitive independence—freeing humanity from centralized algorithmic manipulation.

He draws a fascinating parallel between AI learning models and human learning itself, suggesting both can be self-directed, recursive, and radically decentralized. This resonates with the Bitcoin ethos: systems should evolve through transparent, open participation—not gatekeeping or institutional control.

---

5. Bitcoin Mining: Sovereignty at the Hardware Layer

Block’s initiative to create open-source mining hardware is a direct attempt to counter centralization in Bitcoin’s infrastructure. ASIC chip development and mining rig customization empower individuals and communities to secure the network directly.

This move reinforces Dorsey’s vision that true decentralization requires ownership at every layer, including hardware. It is a radical assertion of vertical sovereignty—from protocol to interface to silicon.

---

6. Learning as the Core Protocol

“The most compounding skill is learning itself.” — Jack Dorsey

Dorsey’s deepest insight is that the throughline connecting Bitcoin, AI, and Nostr is not technology—it’s learning. Bitcoin represents more than code; it’s a living experiment in voluntary consensus, a distributed educational system in cryptographic form.

Dorsey’s emphasis on meditation, intensive retreats, and self-guided exploration mirrors the trustless, sovereign nature of Bitcoin. Learning becomes the ultimate protocol: recursive, adaptive, and decentralized—mirroring AI models and Bitcoin nodes alike.

---

7. Critical Risks and Honest Reflections

Dorsey remains honest about Bitcoin’s current limitations:

• Accessibility: UX barriers for onboarding new users.
• Usability: Friction in everyday use.
• State-Level Adoption: Risks of co-optation as mere digital gold.

However, his caution enhances credibility. His focus remains on preserving Bitcoin as a P2P electronic cash system, not transforming it into another tool of institutional control.

---

8. Bitcoin as a Living System

What emerges from Dorsey's vision is not a product pitch, but a philosophical reorientation: Bitcoin, Nostr, and open AI are not discrete tools—they are living systems forming a new type of civilization stack.

They are not static infrastructures, but emergent grammars of human cooperation, facilitating value exchange, learning, and community formation in ways never possible before.

Bitcoin, in this view, is not merely stunningly original—it is civilizationally generative, offering not just monetary innovation but a path to software-upgraded humanity.

---

Works Cited and Tools Used

Dorsey, Jack. Interview on Bitcoin, AI, and Decentralization. April 2025.
Nakamoto, Satoshi. “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.” 2008.
Nostr Protocol. https://nostr.com.
Block, Inc. Bitcoin Mining Hardware Initiatives. 2024.
Obsidian Canvas. Decentralized Note-Taking and Networked Thinking. 2025.

Dorseys talk Is available here and is very potent and an important signal to all building in this space

@ d34e832d:383f78d0

Idea

Through the integration of Optical Character Recognition (OCR), Docker-based deployment, and secure remote access via Twin Gate, Paperless NGX empowers individuals and small organizations to digitize, organize, and retrieve documents with minimal friction. This research explores its technical infrastructure, real-world applications, and how such a system can redefine document archival practices for the digital age.

---

Agile, Remote-Accessible, and Searchable Document System

In a world of increasing digital interdependence, managing physical documents is becoming not only inefficient but also environmentally and logistically unsustainable. The demand for agile, remote-accessible, and searchable document systems has never been higher—especially for researchers, small businesses, and archival professionals. Paperless NGX, an open-source platform, addresses these needs by offering a streamlined, secure, and automated way to manage documents digitally.

This Idea explores how Paperless NGX facilitates the transition to a paperless workflow and proposes best practices for sustainable, scalable usage.

---

Paperless NGX: The Platform

Paperless NGX is an advanced fork of the original Paperless project, redesigned with modern containers, faster performance, and enhanced community contributions. Its core functions include:

• Text Extraction with OCR: Leveraging the ocrmypdf Python library, Paperless NGX can extract searchable text from scanned PDFs and images.
• Searchable Document Indexing: Full-text search allows users to locate documents not just by filename or metadata, but by actual content.
• Dockerized Setup: A ready-to-use Docker Compose environment simplifies deployment, including the use of setup scripts for Ubuntu-based servers.
• Modular Workflows: Custom triggers and automation rules allow for smart processing pipelines based on file tags, types, or email source.

---

Key Features and Technical Infrastructure

1. Installation and Deployment

The system runs in a containerized environment, making it highly portable and isolated. A typical installation involves: - Docker Compose with YAML configuration - Volume mapping for persistent storage - Optional integration with reverse proxies (e.g., Nginx) for HTTPS access

2. OCR and Indexing

Using ocrmypdf, scanned documents are processed into fully searchable PDFs. This function dramatically improves retrieval, especially for archived legal, medical, or historical records.

3. Secure Access via Twin Gate

To solve the challenge of secure remote access without exposing the network, Twin Gate acts as a zero-trust access proxy. It encrypts communication between the Paperless NGX server and the client, enabling access from anywhere without the need for traditional VPNs.

4. Email Integration and Ingestion

Paperless NGX can ingest attachments directly from configured email folders. This feature automates much of the document intake process, especially useful for receipts, invoices, and academic PDFs.

---

Sustainable Document Management Workflow

A practical paperless strategy requires not just tools, but repeatable processes. A sustainable workflow recommended by the Paperless NGX community includes:

1. Capture & Tagging
   All incoming documents are tagged with a default “inbox” tag for triage.
2. Physical Archive Correlation
   If the physical document is retained, assign it a serial number (e.g., ASN-001), which is matched digitally.
3. Curation & Tagging
   Apply relevant category and topic tags to improve searchability.
4. Archival Confirmation
   Remove the “inbox” tag once fully processed and categorized.

---

Backup and Resilience

Reliability is key to any archival system. Paperless NGX includes backup functionality via: - Cron job–scheduled Docker exports - Offsite and cloud backups using rsync or encrypted cloud drives - Restore mechanisms using documented CLI commands

This ensures document availability even in the event of hardware failure or data corruption.

---

Limitations and Considerations

While Paperless NGX is powerful, it comes with several caveats: - Technical Barrier to Entry: Requires basic Docker and Linux skills to install and maintain. - OCR Inaccuracy for Handwritten Texts: The OCR engine may struggle with cursive or handwritten documents. - Plugin and Community Dependency: Continuous support relies on active community contribution.

---

Consider

Paperless NGX emerges as a pragmatic and privacy-centric alternative to conventional cloud-based document management systems, effectively addressing the critical challenges of data security and user autonomy.

The implementation of advanced Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology facilitates the indexing and searching of documents, significantly enhancing information retrieval efficiency.

Additionally, the platform offers secure remote access protocols that ensure data integrity while preserving the confidentiality of sensitive information during transmission.

Furthermore, its customizable workflow capabilities empower both individuals and organizations to precisely tailor their data management processes, thereby reclaiming sovereignty over their information ecosystems.

In an era increasingly characterized by a shift towards paperless methodologies, the significance of solutions such as Paperless NGX cannot be overstated; they play an instrumental role in engineering a future in which information remains not only accessible but also safeguarded and sustainably governed.

In Addition

To Further The Idea

This technical paper presents an optimized strategy for transforming an Intel NUC into a compact, power-efficient self-hosted server using Ubuntu. The setup emphasizes reliability, low energy consumption, and cost-effectiveness for personal or small business use. Services such as Paperless NGX, Nextcloud, Gitea, and Docker containers are examined for deployment. The paper details hardware selection, system installation, secure remote access, and best practices for performance and longevity.

---

1. Cloud sovereignty, Privacy, and Data Ownership

As cloud sovereignty, privacy, and data ownership become critical concerns, self-hosting is increasingly appealing. An Intel NUC (Next Unit of Computing) provides an ideal middle ground between Raspberry Pi boards and enterprise-grade servers—balancing performance, form factor, and power draw. With Ubuntu LTS and Docker, users can run a full suite of services with minimal overhead.

---

2. Hardware Overview

2.1 Recommended NUC Specifications:

| Component | Recommended Specs | |------------------|-----------------------------------------------------| | Model | Intel NUC 11/12 Pro (e.g., NUC11TNHi5, NUC12WSKi7) | | CPU | Intel Core i5 or i7 (11th/12th Gen) | | RAM | 16GB–32GB DDR4 (dual channel preferred) | | Storage | 512GB–2TB NVMe SSD (Samsung 980 Pro or similar) | | Network | Gigabit Ethernet + Optional Wi-Fi 6 | | Power Supply | 65W USB-C or barrel connector | | Cooling | Internal fan, well-ventilated location |

NUCs are also capable of dual-drive setups and support for Intel vPro for remote management on some models.

---

3. Operating System and Software Stack

3.1 Ubuntu Server LTS

• Version: Ubuntu Server 22.04 LTS
• Installation Method: Bootable USB (Rufus or Balena Etcher)
• Disk Partitioning: LVM with encryption recommended for full disk security
• Security:
• UFW (Uncomplicated Firewall)
• Fail2ban
• SSH hardened with key-only login

bash sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade sudo ufw allow OpenSSH sudo ufw enable

---

4. Docker and System Services

Docker and Docker Compose streamline the deployment of isolated, reproducible environments.

4.1 Install Docker and Compose

bash sudo apt install docker.io docker-compose sudo systemctl enable docker

4.2 Common Services to Self-Host:

| Application | Description | Access Port | |--------------------|----------------------------------------|-------------| | Paperless NGX | Document archiving and OCR | 8000 | | Nextcloud | Personal cloud, contacts, calendar | 443 | | Gitea | Lightweight Git repository | 3000 | | Nginx Proxy Manager| SSL proxy for all services | 81, 443 | | Portainer | Docker container management GUI | 9000 | | Watchtower | Auto-update containers | - |

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5. Network & Remote Access

5.1 Local IP & Static Assignment

• Set a static IP for consistent access (via router DHCP reservation or Netplan).

5.2 Access Options

• Local Only: VPN into local network (e.g., WireGuard, Tailscale)
• Remote Access:
• Reverse proxy via Nginx with Certbot for HTTPS
• Twin Gate or Tailscale for zero-trust remote access
• DNS via DuckDNS, Cloudflare

---

6. Performance Optimization

• Enable zram for compressed RAM swap
• Trim SSDs weekly with fstrim
• Use Docker volumes, not bind mounts for stability
• Set up unattended upgrades:

bash sudo apt install unattended-upgrades sudo dpkg-reconfigure --priority=low unattended-upgrades

---

7. Power and Environmental Considerations

• Idle Power Draw: ~7–12W (depending on configuration)
• UPS Recommended: e.g., APC Back-UPS 600VA
• Use BIOS Wake-on-LAN if remote booting is needed

---

8. Maintenance and Monitoring

• Monitoring: Glances, Netdata, or Prometheus + Grafana
• Backups:
• Use rsync to external drive or NAS
• Cloud backup options: rclone to Google Drive, S3
• Paperless NGX backups: docker compose exec -T web document-exporter ...

---

9. Consider

Running a personal server using an Intel NUC and Ubuntu offers a private, low-maintenance, and modular solution to digital infrastructure needs. It’s an ideal base for self-hosting services, offering superior control over data and strong security with the right setup. The NUC's small form factor and efficient power usage make it an optimal home server platform that scales well for many use cases.

@ d34e832d:383f78d0

Idea

By instituting a robust network of conceptual entities, referred to as 'Obsidian nodes'—which are effectively discrete, idea-centric notes—researchers are empowered to establish a resilient and non-linear archival framework for knowledge accumulation.

These nodes, intricately connected via hyperlinks and systematically organized through the graphical interface of the Obsidian Canvas, facilitate profound intellectual exploration and the synthesis of disparate domains of knowledge.

Consequently, this innovative workflow paradigm emphasizes semantic precision and the interconnectedness of ideas, diverging from conventional, source-centric information architectures prevalent in traditional academic practices.

---

Traditional research workflows often emphasize organizing notes by source, resulting in static, siloed knowledge that resists integration and insight. With the rise of personal knowledge management (PKM) tools like Obsidian, it becomes possible to structure information in a way that mirrors the dynamic and interconnected nature of human thought.

At the heart of this approach are Obsidian nodes—atomic, standalone notes representing single ideas, arguments, or claims. These nodes form the basis of a semantic research network, made visible and manageable via Obsidian’s graph view and Canvas feature. This thesis outlines how such a framework enhances understanding, supports creativity, and aligns with best practices in information architecture.

---

Obsidian Nodes: Atomic Units of Thought

An Obsidian node is a note crafted to encapsulate one meaningful concept or question. It is:

• Atomic: Contains only one idea, making it easier to link and reuse.
• Context-Independent: Designed to stand on its own, without requiring the original source for meaning.
• Networked: Linked to other Obsidian nodes through backlinks and tags.

This system draws on the principles of the Zettelkasten method, but adapts them to the modern, markdown-based environment of Obsidian.

Benefits of Node-Based Note-Taking

• Improved Retrieval: Ideas can be surfaced based on content relevance, not source origin.
• Cross-Disciplinary Insight: Linking between concepts across fields becomes intuitive.
• Sustainable Growth: Each new node adds value to the network without redundancy.

---

Graph View: Visualizing Connections

Obsidian’s graph view offers a macro-level overview of the knowledge graph, showing how nodes interrelate. This encourages serendipitous discovery and identifies central or orphaned concepts that need further development.

• Clusters emerge around major themes.
• Hubs represent foundational ideas.
• Bridges between nodes show interdisciplinary links.

The graph view isn’t just a map—it’s an evolving reflection of intellectual progress.

---

Canvas: Thinking Spatially with Digital Notes

Obsidian Canvas acts as a digital thinking space. Unlike the abstract graph view, Canvas allows for spatial arrangement of Obsidian nodes, images, and ideas. This supports visual reasoning, ideation, and project planning.

Use Cases of Canvas

• Synthesizing Ideas: Group related nodes in physical proximity.
• Outlining Arguments: Arrange claims into narrative or logic flows.
• Designing Research Papers: Lay out structure and integrate supporting points visually.

Canvas brings a tactile quality to digital thinking, enabling workflows similar to sticky notes, mind maps, or corkboard pinning—but with markdown-based power and extensibility.

---

Template and Workflow

To simplify creation and encourage consistency, Obsidian nodes are generated using a templater plugin. Each node typically includes:

```markdown

{{title}}

Tags: #topic #field
Linked Nodes: [[Related Node]]
Summary: A 1-2 sentence idea explanation.
Source: [[Source Note]]
Date Created: {{date}}
```

The Canvas workspace pulls these nodes as cards, allowing for arrangement, grouping, and visual tracing of arguments or research paths.

---

Discussion and Challenges

While this approach enhances creativity and research depth, challenges include:

• Initial Setup: Learning and configuring plugins like Templater, Dataview, and Canvas.
• Overlinking or Underlinking: Finding the right granularity in note-making takes practice.
• Scalability: As networks grow, maintaining structure and avoiding fragmentation becomes crucial.
• Team Collaboration: While Git can assist, Obsidian remains largely optimized for solo workflows.

---

Consider

Through the innovative employment of Obsidian's interconnected nodes and the Canvas feature, researchers are enabled to construct a meticulously engineered semantic architecture that reflects the intricate topology of their knowledge frameworks.

This paradigm shift facilitates a transformation of conventional note-taking, evolving this practice from a static, merely accumulative repository of information into a dynamic and adaptive cognitive ecosystem that actively engages with the user’s thought processes. With methodological rigor and a structured approach, Obsidian transcends its role as mere documentation software, evolving into both a secondary cognitive apparatus and a sophisticated digital writing infrastructure.

This dual functionality significantly empowers the long-term intellectual endeavors and creative pursuits of students, scholars, and lifelong learners, thereby enhancing their capacity for sustained engagement with complex ideas.

@ d34e832d:383f78d0

A Knowledge Management Framework for your Academic Writing

Idea Approach

The primary objective of this framework is to streamline and enhance the efficiency of several critical academic processes, namely the reading, annotation, synthesis, and writing stages inherent to doctoral studies.

By leveraging established best practices from various domains, including digital note-taking methodologies, sophisticated knowledge management techniques, and the scientifically-grounded principles of spaced repetition systems, this proposed workflow is adept at optimizing long-term retention of information, fostering the development of novel ideas, and facilitating the meticulous preparation of manuscripts. Furthermore, this integrated approach capitalizes on Zotero's robust annotation functionalities, harmoniously merged with Obsidian's Zettelkasten-inspired architecture, thereby enriching the depth and structural coherence of academic inquiry, ultimately leading to more impactful scholarly contributions.

Doctoral research demands a sophisticated approach to information management, critical thinking, and synthesis. Traditional systems of note-taking and bibliography management are often fragmented and inefficient, leading to cognitive overload and disorganized research outputs. This thesis proposes a workflow that leverages Zotero for reference management, Obsidian for networked note-taking, and Anki for spaced repetition learning—each component enhanced by a set of plugins, templates, and color-coded systems.

---

2. Literature Review and Context

2.1 Digital Research Workflows

Recent research in digital scholarship has highlighted the importance of structured knowledge environments. Tools like Roam Research, Obsidian, and Notion have gained traction among academics seeking flexibility and networked thinking. However, few workflows provide seamless interoperability between reference management, reading, and idea synthesis.

2.2 The Zettelkasten Method

Originally developed by sociologist Niklas Luhmann, the Zettelkasten ("slip-box") method emphasizes creating atomic notes—single ideas captured and linked through context. This approach fosters long-term idea development and is highly compatible with digital graph-based note systems like Obsidian.

---

3. Zotero Workflow: Structured Annotation and Tagging

Zotero serves as the foundational tool for ingesting and organizing academic materials. The built-in PDF reader is augmented through a color-coded annotation schema designed to categorize information efficiently:

• Red: Refuted or problematic claims requiring skepticism or clarification
• Yellow: Prominent claims, novel hypotheses, or insightful observations
• Green: Verified facts or claims that align with the research narrative
• Purple: Structural elements like chapter titles or section headers
• Blue: Inter-author references or connections to external ideas
• Pink: Unclear arguments, logical gaps, or questions for future inquiry
• Orange: Precise definitions and technical terminology

Annotations are accompanied by tags and notes in Zotero, allowing robust filtering and thematic grouping.

---

4. Obsidian Integration: Bridging Annotation and Synthesis

4.1 Plugin Architecture

Three key plugins optimize Obsidian’s role in the workflow:

• Zotero Integration (via obsidian-citation-plugin): Syncs annotated PDFs and metadata directly from Zotero
• Highlighter: Enables color-coded highlights in Obsidian, mirroring Zotero's scheme
• Templater: Automates formatting and consistency using Nunjucks templates

A custom keyboard shortcut (e.g., Ctrl+Shift+Z) is used to trigger the extraction of annotations into structured Obsidian notes.

4.2 Custom Templating

The templating system ensures imported notes include:

• Citation metadata (title, author, year, journal)
• Full-color annotations with comments and page references
• Persistent notes for long-term synthesis
• An embedded bibtex citation key for seamless referencing

---

5. Zettelkasten and Atomic Note Generation

Obsidian’s networked note system supports idea-centered knowledge development. Each note captures a singular, discrete idea—independent of the source material—facilitating:

• Thematic convergence across disciplines
• Independent recombination of ideas
• Emergence of new questions and hypotheses

A standard atomic note template includes: - Note ID (timestamp or semantic UID) - Topic statement - Linked references - Associated atomic notes (via backlinks)

The Graph View provides a visual map of conceptual relationships, allowing researchers to track the evolution of their arguments.

---

6. Canvas for Spatial Organization

Obsidian’s Canvas plugin is used to mimic physical research boards: - Notes are arranged spatially to represent conceptual clusters or chapter structures - Embedded visual content enhances memory retention and creative thought - Notes and cards can be grouped by theme, timeline, or argumentative flow

This supports both granular research and holistic thesis design.

---

7. Flashcard Integration with Anki

Key insights, definitions, and questions are exported from Obsidian to Anki, enabling spaced repetition of core content. This supports: - Preparation for comprehensive exams - Retention of complex theories and definitions - Active recall training during literature reviews

Flashcards are automatically generated using Obsidian-to-Anki bridges, with tagging synced to Obsidian topics.

---

8. Word Processor Integration and Writing Stage

Zotero’s Word plugin simplifies: - In-text citation - Automatic bibliography generation - Switching between citation styles (APA, Chicago, MLA, etc.)

Drafts in Obsidian are later exported into formal academic writing environments such as Microsoft Word or LaTeX editors for formatting and submission.

---

9. Discussion and Evaluation

The proposed workflow significantly reduces friction in managing large volumes of information and promotes deep engagement with source material. Its modular nature allows adaptation for various disciplines and writing styles. Potential limitations include: - Initial learning curve - Reliance on plugin maintenance - Challenges in team-based collaboration

Nonetheless, the ability to unify reading, note-taking, synthesis, and writing into a seamless ecosystem offers clear benefits in focus, productivity, and academic rigor.

---

10. Consider

This idea demonstrates that a well-structured digital workflow using Zotero and Obsidian can transform the PhD research process. It empowers researchers to move beyond passive reading into active knowledge creation, aligned with the long-term demands of scholarly writing. Future iterations could include AI-assisted summarization, collaborative graph spaces, and greater mobile integration.

9. Evaluation Of The Approach

While this workflow offers significant advantages in clarity, synthesis, and long-term idea development, several limitations must be acknowledged:

• Initial Learning Curve: New users may face a steep learning curve when setting up and mastering the integrated use of Zotero, Obsidian, and their associated plugins. Understanding markdown syntax, customizing templates in Templater, and configuring citation keys all require upfront time investment. However, this learning period can be offset by the long-term gains in productivity and mental clarity.

• Plugin Ecosystem Volatility: Since both Obsidian and many of its key plugins are maintained by open-source communities or individual developers, updates can occasionally break workflows or require manual adjustments.

• Interoperability Challenges: Synchronizing metadata, highlights, and notes between systems (especially on multiple devices or operating systems) may present issues if not managed carefully. This includes Zotero’s Better BibTeX keys, Obsidian sync, and Anki integration.

• Limited Collaborative Features: This workflow is optimized for individual use. Real-time collaboration on notes or shared reference libraries may require alternative platforms or additional tooling.

Despite these constraints, the workflow remains highly adaptable and has proven effective across disciplines for researchers aiming to build a durable intellectual infrastructure over the course of a PhD.

9. Evaluation Of The Approach

While the Zotero–Obsidian workflow dramatically improves research organization and long-term knowledge retention, several caveats must be considered:

• Initial Learning Curve: Mastery of this workflow requires technical setup and familiarity with markdown, citation keys, and plugin configuration. While challenging at first, the learning effort is front-loaded and pays off in efficiency over time.

• Reliance on Plugin Maintenance: A key risk of this system is its dependence on community-maintained plugins. Tools like Zotero Integration, Templater, and Highlighter are not officially supported by Obsidian or Zotero core teams. This means updates or changes to the Obsidian API or plugin repository may break functionality or introduce bugs. Active plugin support is crucial to the system’s longevity.

• Interoperability and Syncing Issues: Managing synchronization across Zotero, Obsidian, and Anki—especially across multiple devices—can lead to inconsistencies or data loss without careful setup. Users should ensure robust syncing solutions (e.g. Obsidian Sync, Zotero WebDAV, or GitHub backup).

• Limited Collaboration Capabilities: This setup is designed for solo research workflows. Collaborative features (such as shared note-taking or group annotations) are limited and may require alternate solutions like Notion, Google Docs, or Overleaf when working in teams.

The integration of Zotero with Obsidian presents a notable advantage for individual researchers, exhibiting substantial efficiency in literature management and personal knowledge organization through its unique workflows. However, this model demonstrates significant deficiencies when evaluated in the context of collaborative research dynamics.

Specifically, while Zotero facilitates the creation and management of shared libraries, allowing for the aggregation of sources and references among users, Obsidian is fundamentally limited by its lack of intrinsic support for synchronous collaborative editing functionalities, thereby precluding simultaneous contributions from multiple users in real time. Although the application of version control systems such as Git has the potential to address this limitation, enabling a structured mechanism for tracking changes and managing contributions, the inherent complexity of such systems may pose a barrier to usability for team members who lack familiarity or comfort with version control protocols.

Furthermore, the nuances of color-coded annotation systems and bespoke personal note taxonomies utilized by individual researchers may present interoperability challenges when applied in a group setting, as these systems require rigorously defined conventions to ensure consistency and clarity in cross-collaborator communication and understanding. Thus, researchers should be cognizant of the challenges inherent in adapting tools designed for solitary workflows to the multifaceted requirements of collaborative research initiatives.

@ 6e0ea5d6:0327f353

Ascolta bene, amico mio!

There is a kind of solitude that doesn’t come from the absence of company, but from the weight of the role one must play.
I’m not talking about being admired, followed, or applauded by outsiders — but of being necessary to those of your own blood.
Of being the one upon whom everything rests, even if no one ever acknowledges it.

Truly, I learned throughout my life in the province of Sicily that the man who is held up by no one, yet holds up many — that man has no right to collapse. Not because he is stronger. But because if he falls, he doesn’t fall alone — he brings down the roof over those who live under his shadow.

And here lies the silent tragedy:
No one catches him when he falters.
But everyone collapses when he does.

He is the father who cannot fall ill,
The son who becomes the pillar for his parents,
The leader who must never hesitate,
The older brother who must not cry,
The man of honor who must do “whatever must be done.”

The exhaustion is real. The fatigue, daily.
But this kind of man learns to live with weariness as others live with pain:
It’s not about waiting for relief, but about continuing to walk despite the crushing weight.
That’s why, amico mio, never ask for lighter burdens — but always for stronger shoulders.

In this context, renunciation is not a personal choice.
It is a collective sentence.
It’s like demolishing a pillar and expecting the ceiling to remain intact.

Therefore, the man who carries this awareness does not allow himself the luxury of giving up.
He doesn’t grant himself the right to fail — not out of heroism, but out of clarity.
He knows that his collapse would cost a family.

Learn this: l’onore non è individuale.
True honor is collective and familial.
What you endure, you endure for your own.
What you face, you face for those who came before you, and those who will come after.
And what you cannot abandon is not about pride — it’s about responsibility.

There is no glory in it.
There are no medals.
But there is a silent, unshakable dignity that only a few ever understand:
To be the foundation — never the weight.

The name for this is honor, loyalty, and pride.

Thank you for reading, my friend!

If this message resonated with you, consider leaving your "🥃" as a token of appreciation.

A toast to our family!

@ d34e832d:383f78d0

1. The Ledger or Physical USD?

Bitcoin embodies a paradigmatic transformation in the foundational constructs of trust, ownership, and value preservation within the context of a digital economy. In stark contrast to conventional financial infrastructures that are predicated on centralized regulatory frameworks, Bitcoin operationalizes an intricate interplay of cryptographic techniques, consensus-driven algorithms, and incentivization structures to engender a decentralized and censorship-resistant paradigm for the transfer and safeguarding of digital assets. This conceptual framework elucidates the pivotal mechanisms underpinning Bitcoin's functional architecture, encompassing its distributed ledger technology (DLT) structure, robust security protocols, consensus algorithms such as Proof of Work (PoW), the intricacies of its monetary policy defined by the halving events and limited supply, as well as the broader implications these components have on stakeholder engagement and user agency.

2. The Core Functionality of Bitcoin

At its core, Bitcoin is a public ledger that records ownership and transfers of value. This ledger—called the blockchain—is maintained and verified by thousands of decentralized nodes across the globe.

2.1 Public Ledger

All Bitcoin transactions are stored in a transparent, append-only ledger. Each transaction includes: - A reference to prior ownership (input) - A transfer of value to a new owner (output) - A digital signature proving authorization

2.2 Ownership via Digital Signatures

Bitcoin uses asymmetric cryptography: - A private key is known only to the owner and is used to sign transactions. - A public key (or address) is used by the network to verify the authenticity of the transaction.

This system ensures that only the rightful owner can spend bitcoins, and that all network participants can independently verify that the transaction is valid.

---

3. Decentralization and Ledger Synchronization

Unlike traditional banking systems, which rely on a central institution, Bitcoin’s ledger is decentralized: - Every node keeps a copy of the blockchain. - No single party controls the system. - Updates to the ledger occur only through network consensus.

This decentralization ensures fault tolerance, censorship resistance, and transparency.

---

4. Preventing Double Spending

One of Bitcoin’s most critical innovations is solving the double-spending problem without a central authority.

4.1 Balance Validation

Before a transaction is accepted, nodes verify: - The digital signature is valid. - The input has not already been spent. - The sender has sufficient balance.

This is made possible by referencing previous transactions and ensuring the inputs match the unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs).

---

5. Blockchain and Proof-of-Work

To ensure consistency across the distributed network, Bitcoin uses a blockchain—a sequential chain of blocks containing batches of verified transactions.

5.1 Mining and Proof-of-Work

Adding a new block requires solving a cryptographic puzzle, known as Proof-of-Work (PoW): - The puzzle involves finding a hash value that meets network-defined difficulty. - This process requires computational power, which deters tampering. - Once a block is validated, it is propagated across the network.

5.2 Block Rewards and Incentives

Miners are incentivized to participate by: - Block rewards: New bitcoins issued with each block (initially 50 BTC, halved every ~4 years). - Transaction fees: Paid by users to prioritize their transactions.

---

6. Network Consensus and Security

Bitcoin relies on Nakamoto Consensus, which prioritizes the longest chain—the one with the most accumulated proof-of-work.

• In case of competing chains (forks), the network chooses the chain with the most computational effort.
• This mechanism makes rewriting history or creating fraudulent blocks extremely difficult, as it would require control of over 50% of the network's total hash power.

---

7. Transaction Throughput and Fees

Bitcoin’s average block time is 10 minutes, and each block can contain ~1MB of data, resulting in ~3–7 transactions per second.

• During periods of high demand, users compete by offering higher transaction fees to get included faster.
• Solutions like Lightning Network aim to scale transaction speed and lower costs by processing payments off-chain.

---

8. Monetary Policy and Scarcity

Bitcoin enforces a fixed supply cap of 21 million coins, making it deflationary by design.

• This limited supply contrasts with fiat currencies, which can be printed at will by central banks.
• The controlled issuance schedule and halving events contribute to Bitcoin’s store-of-value narrative, similar to digital gold.

---

9. Consider

Bitcoin integrates advanced cryptographic methodologies, including public-private key pairings and hashing algorithms, to establish a formidable framework of security that underpins its operation as a digital currency. The economic incentives are meticulously structured through mechanisms such as mining rewards and transaction fees, which not only incentivize network participation but also regulate the supply of Bitcoin through a halving schedule intrinsic to its decentralized protocol. This architecture manifests a paradigm wherein individual users can autonomously oversee their financial assets, authenticate transactions through a rigorously constructed consensus algorithm, specifically the Proof of Work mechanism, and engage with a borderless financial ecosystem devoid of traditional intermediaries such as banks. Despite the notable challenges pertaining to transaction throughput scalability and a complex regulatory landscape that intermittently threatens its proliferation, Bitcoin steadfastly persists as an archetype of decentralized trust, heralding a transformative shift in financial paradigms within the contemporary digital milieu.

---

10. References

• Nakamoto, S. (2008). Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.
• Antonopoulos, A. M. (2017). Mastering Bitcoin: Unlocking Digital Cryptocurrencies.
• Bitcoin.org. (n.d.). How Bitcoin Works

@ fd06f542:8d6d54cd

今天主要是更新了seo优化：

• 增加了 blog页面的预加载内容，这样搜索引起抓取blog页面的时候，能够看到的是渲染好的 blog 列表；
• 增加里 blog/[blogid] 页面的 显示原文静态链接，这个链接主要是给搜索引擎使用，他根据原文可以抓取content内容
• 在+page.svelte页面 增加了 raw 数据显示，用户也可以看到和搜索引擎一样的内容，这个取决于 svelte的页面访问路由机制，她发现是api访问就会调用 server.ts返回数据，她发现是浏览器访问就会返回+page.svelte渲染的内容。 这个设计让搜索引擎和 浏览器看到的有区别。所以我两个都做了。

接下来的工作计划

• 增加 blog的评论和点赞功能？
• 美化页面？
• 做一个electron的客户端？
• 给用户做一个 通过blog定制化自己的主页？

关于nostrbook的 想法

用户其实可以通过nostrbook 搭建自己的blog系统，或者写书系统。在公司内网或者自己的服务器上。

修改config.ts的面的三个配置就可以了。 ```js

export let booktag="createbook"; export let blogtag="createblog"; export let chaptertag="bookchapter"; ```

我也是通过这个开关测试了线上和测试的开发的内容区分开的。

昨天发现的bug

就是 30023 update问题，虽然可以通过dtag可以实现替换。但是部分服务器没有update到最新的。所以他会返回老的。 是不是通过服务器之间的同步可以解决呢？

@ 502ab02a:a2860397

ถ้า “นมปลอมเข้าโรงเรียน” กับเกม Lobby ระดับโลก ที่ซ่อน GMO ไว้ในแก้วของลูกหลานเรา

โอเค เรารู้จักคำว่า Precision Fermentation หรือ PF กันไปแล้ว กลับมาดูโลกปัจจุบันนี้กันครับ

ในวันที่ผู้ใหญ่ยังทะเลาะกันเรื่องราคาน้ำนมดิบ มีบางบริษัทที่กำลังยิ้มกว้าง เพราะแผนระยะยาวของเขา…คือการเปลี่ยนนมโรงเรียนจากของจริง ไปสู่นมปลอมที่ “จดสิทธิบัตรได้” และ “ควบคุมทั้ง supply chain”

เรื่องนี้อาจดูเหมือนนิยายไซไฟนะครับ แต่เฮียจะพาไปเจาะลึกเบื้องหลังการ lobby ที่พยายามผลัก “นมจาก Precision Fermentation” และ “นม Plant-Based” เข้าสู่ระบบโรงเรียน โดยอ้างว่า “เพื่อสุขภาพ เพื่อโลก และเพื่อเด็กๆ” แต่จริงๆ แล้วมันคือ เกมเปลี่ยนอาหารเป็นทรัพย์สินทางปัญญาแบบเงียบๆ

ทำไม “โรงเรียน” ถึงเป็นเป้าหมายสำคัญ? คำตอบง่ายมาก เพราะว่ามันกลับเข้าสู่ loop เดิมกับตอนที่เขาพยายามยัด นมสด เข้าไปในชีวิตเมื่อหลังสงครามโลกครั้งที่ 2 นั่นละครับ หนังม้วนเดิม มีเพิ่มเติมคือความทันสมัย 1.โรงเรียนคือฐานข้อมูลประชากรที่แน่นอน = จำนวนเด็กแน่ชัด งบประมาณแน่ชัด 2.พฤติกรรมการกินของเด็ก “ฝังได้ง่าย” = ถ้าเด็กเติบโตมากับนม Plant-Based หรือ Milk 2.0 ตั้งแต่เล็ก พอเขาโตขึ้น “ร่างกายจะลืมรสนมวัวไปเลย” และไม่เคยรู้ว่าเคยมี real food ให้เลือก เหมือนที่โลกของ เจเนอเรชั่น internet มือถือ หรือแม้แต่สมัยนี้คือ สตรีมมิ่ง 3.เป็นจุดที่รัฐมีบทบาทโดยตรง = ง่ายต่อการ lobby policy เพราะแค่เปลี่ยนนโยบายระดับกระทรวง ก็เปลี่ยนทั้งประเทศได้

ใครอยู่เบื้องหลังการล็อบบี้นี้? 1. องค์กรระดับโลกที่ขับเคลื่อน Plant-Based School Meals อย่างเช่น - GFI (Good Food Institute) เป็นองค์กรที่มีเป้าหมายชัดว่า “เปลี่ยนโปรตีนของโลกจาก animal-based ให้เป็น cell-based และ fermentation-based” สนับสนุนงานวิจัย ออกนโยบายผลักดันเมนูโรงเรียน - ProVeg International ซึ่งมีโครงการชื่อ “School Plates” ปรับเมนูโรงเรียนให้เป็น plant-based - EAT Forum & WEF (World Economic Forum) ที่มีการสนับสนุนนโยบาย global dietary shift ซึ่งแนะนำให้ลดการบริโภคเนื้อสัตว์และผลิตภัณฑ์จากสัตว์ เพื่อส่งเสริมสุขภาพและความยั่งยืนของสิ่งแวดล้อม

1. บริษัทยักษ์ใหญ่ด้าน Milk 2.0
2. Perfect Day ร่วมกับ Nestlé ที่พยายามผลักดันนม PF ให้เป็นนมทดแทนแห่งอนาคต

3. Oatly ผู้ผลิตนม plant-based และ lobby ให้ “รัฐบาลช่วยจัดซื้อในโรงเรียน” พร้อมกับแคมเปญประชาสัมพันธ์ว่านี่คือตัวเลือกที่ “รักษ์โลกและดีต่อสุขภาพ” และ NotCo / Danone ซึ่งอยู่ในตลาดประเภทเดียวกัน ก็อาจมีแนวโน้มเข้าสู่ตลาดโรงเรียนเช่นกัน

4. เช่นเดียวกับที่เคยเล่าเรื่องนมสดไว้ครับ เขาจะต้องมาพร้อมการวิจัยที่ออกแบบให้รองรับการเปลี่ยนนโยบาย ด้วยหลายงานวิจัยที่บอกว่า “นมวัวมีผลเสียต่อสุขภาพเด็ก” ถูกสนับสนุนโดยกลุ่มทุนที่อยู่ในวงการ plant-based หรือ biotech งานบางชิ้นลดความสำคัญของสารอาหารจาก animal-based ลง และ “ปั่นคะแนน” ของ Plant Milk หรือ PF Milk ให้ดูสูงกว่าความเป็นจริง

วิธีการ Lobby แบบแนบเนียนก็จะใช้กระบวนการประมาณนี้ครับ 1. แทรกผ่านโครงการ “นมโรงเรียนฟรี” หลายประเทศใช้เงินรัฐอุดหนุนนมโรงเรียน กลุ่ม Lobby เข้าไป “เสนอของถูกกว่า” และอ้างว่า “เหมาะกับเด็กแพ้นมวัว” ทำให้รัฐเริ่มพิจารณา Plant Milk หรือ PF Milk เป็นทางเลือก “ถูกกว่าและดูดี”

1. ล้างความคิดผ่านหลักสูตรสุขศึกษา เริ่มมีสื่อการสอนที่ใช้คำว่า “milk” แบบรวม Plant Milk เข้าไปด้วย ลดความต่างระหว่างนมวัวกับนมจากพืช และเริ่มพูดว่า “นมจากพืชดีกว่าต่อสิ่งแวดล้อม”

2. แจกทุนให้โรงเรียนที่ร่วมโครงการ มีการเสนอทุนวิจัย ทุนสนับสนุนเมนูโรงเรียน ถ้าโรงเรียนยอมทดลองใช้นม Plant-Based หรือ PF Milk สร้างภาพลักษณ์ว่าเป็นโรงเรียน “รักโลก รักสุขภาพ”

3. ใช้พลังอินฟูฯและดารา ดาราดังๆ ถูกใช้เป็นหน้าโครงการ (ในตปท.) เช่นโพสต์ภาพเด็กๆ กิน “นมไม่มีวัว” พร้อมคำบรรยายว่า “นี่คืออนาคตของการกินอย่างมีจริยธรรม” อะไรประมาณนี้ครับ

ผลกระทบที่จะเกิดขึ้นก็คือ เด็กๆ เสียโอกาสในการได้รับโภชนาการจาก real food โดยเฉพาะ B12, วิตามิน A, DHA, โคลีน, เคซีนจากธรรมชาติ ซึ่งนมเทียมต้อง “แต่งเติม” เข้ามาทั้งสิ้น รวมถึง เด็กโตมากับอาหารปลอม โดยไม่รู้ว่าเคยมีของจริงให้เลือก สุดท้ายจะกลายเป็น “ผู้ใหญ่ที่ต้องพึ่งบริษัท” เพื่อมีโปรตีนกินในชีวิตประจำวัน และท้ายสุด รัฐกลายเป็นผู้สนับสนุนสิทธิบัตรเอกชน เพราะเมื่อ Milk 2.0 เข้าสู่ระบบโรงเรียน มันจะกลายเป็น “ค่าใช้จ่ายประจำ” ที่รัฐบาลต้องจ่ายให้บริษัทตลอดไป ซึ่งตรงนี้ก็จะวนกลับมาที่พวกเราที่อยู่ภายใต้ระบบ fiat

ดังนั้นมันก็เลยสรุปได้ว่า นี่ไม่ใช่แค่เรื่องอาหาร แต่คือการเปลี่ยนโครงสร้างอำนาจ Milk 2.0 เข้าโรงเรียน ไม่ใช่เพราะมันดีกว่า แต่เพราะมัน “ล็อกห่วงโซ่คุณค่าไว้ในมือคนส่วนน้อย” และสร้างประชากรรุ่นใหม่ที่ไม่รู้จักอาหารจริงจากธรรมชาติ

หากเด็กวันนี้กินของปลอมจนชิน วันหนึ่งเขาอาจยอม “จ่ายเงินเช่าโปรตีน (subscribe) ” ไปตลอดชีวิต โดยไม่เคยรู้เลยว่า… วัวเคยให้นมได้โดยไม่ต้องใช้เทคโนโลยีใดๆ เลย

#pirateketo #กูต้องรู้มั๊ย #ม้วนหางสิลูก #siamstr

@ d34e832d:383f78d0

WebSocket communication is integral to modern real-time web applications, powering everything from chat apps and online gaming to collaborative editing tools and live dashboards. However, its persistent and event-driven nature introduces unique debugging challenges. Traditional browser developer tools provide limited insight into WebSocket message flows, especially in complex, asynchronous applications.

This thesis evaluates the use of Chrome-based browser extensions—specifically those designed to enhance WebSocket debugging—and explores how visual event tracing improves developer experience (DX). By profiling real-world applications and comparing built-in tools with popular WebSocket DevTools extensions, we analyze the impact of visual feedback, message inspection, and timeline tracing on debugging efficiency, code quality, and development speed.

The Idea

As front-end development evolves, WebSockets have become a foundational technology for building reactive user experiences. Debugging WebSocket behavior, however, remains a cumbersome task. Chrome DevTools offers a basic view of WebSocket frames, but lacks features such as message categorization, event correlation, or contextual logging. Developers often resort to console.log and custom logging systems, increasing friction and reducing productivity.

This research investigates how browser extensions designed for WebSocket inspection—such as Smart WebSocket Client, WebSocket King Client, and WSDebugger—can enhance debugging workflows. We focus on features that provide visual structure to communication patterns, simplify message replay, and allow for real-time monitoring of state transitions.

Related Work

Chrome DevTools

While Chrome DevTools supports WebSocket inspection under the Network > Frames tab, its utility is limited: - Messages are displayed in a flat, unstructured stream. - No built-in timeline or replay mechanism. - Filtering and contextual debugging features are minimal.

WebSocket-Specific Extensions

Numerous browser extensions aim to fill this gap: - Smart WebSocket Client: Allows custom message sending, frame inspection, and saved session reuse. - WSDebugger: Offers structured logging and visualization of message flows. - WebSocket Monitor: Enables real-time monitoring of multiple connections with UI overlays.

Methodology

Tools Evaluated:

• Chrome DevTools (baseline)
• Smart WebSocket Client
• WSDebugger
• WebSocket King Client

Evaluation Criteria:

• Real-time message monitoring
• UI clarity and UX consistency
• Support for message replay and editing
• Message categorization and filtering
• Timeline-based visualization

Test Applications:

• A collaborative markdown editor
• A multiplayer drawing game (WebSocket over Node.js)
• A lightweight financial dashboard (stock ticker)

Findings

1. Enhanced Visibility

Extensions provide structured visual representations of WebSocket communication: - Grouped messages by type (e.g., chat, system, control) - Color-coded frames for quick scanning - Collapsible and expandable message trees

2. Real-Time Inspection and Replay

• Replaying previous messages with altered payloads accelerates bug reproduction.
• Message history can be annotated, aiding team collaboration during debugging.

3. Timeline-Based Analysis

• Extensions with timeline views help identify latency issues, bottlenecks, and inconsistent message pacing.
• Developers can correlate message sequences with UI events more intuitively.

4. Improved Debugging Flow

• Developers report reduced context-switching between source code and devtools.
• Some extensions allow breakpoints or watchers on WebSocket events, mimicking JavaScript debugging.

Consider

Visual debugging extensions represent a key advancement in tooling for real-time application development. By extending Chrome DevTools with features tailored for WebSocket tracing, developers gain actionable insights, faster debugging cycles, and a better understanding of application behavior. Future work should explore native integration of timeline and message tagging features into standard browser DevTools.

Developer Experience and Limitations

Visual tools significantly enhance the developer experience (DX) by reducing friction and offering cognitive support during debugging. Rather than parsing raw JSON blobs manually or tracing asynchronous behavior through logs, developers can rely on intuitive UI affordances such as real-time visualizations, message filtering, and replay features.

However, some limitations remain:

• Lack of binary frame support: Many extensions focus on text-based payloads and may not correctly parse or display binary frames.
• Non-standard encoding issues: Applications using custom serialization formats (e.g., Protocol Buffers, MsgPack) require external decoding tools or browser instrumentation.
• Extension compatibility: Some extensions may conflict with Content Security Policies (CSP) or have limited functionality when debugging production sites served over HTTPS.
• Performance overhead: Real-time visualization and logging can add browser CPU/memory overhead, particularly in high-frequency WebSocket environments.

Despite these drawbacks, the overall impact on debugging efficiency and developer comprehension remains highly positive.

Developer Experience and Limitations

Visual tools significantly enhance the developer experience (DX) by reducing friction and offering cognitive support during debugging. Rather than parsing raw JSON blobs manually or tracing asynchronous behavior through logs, developers can rely on intuitive UI affordances such as live message streams, structured views, and interactive inspection of frames.

However, some limitations exist:

• Security restrictions: Content Security Policy (CSP) and Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) can restrict browser extensions from accessing WebSocket frames in production environments.
• Binary and custom formats: Extensions may not handle binary frames or non-standard encodings (e.g., Protocol Buffers) without additional tooling.
• Limited protocol awareness: Generic tools may not fully interpret application-specific semantics, requiring context from the developer.
• Performance trade-offs: Logging and rendering large volumes of data can cause UI lag, especially in high-throughput WebSocket apps.

Despite these constraints, DevTools extensions continue to offer valuable insight during development and testing stages.

Applying this analysis to relays in the Nostr protocol surfaces some fascinating implications about traffic analysis, developer tooling, and privacy risks, even when data is cryptographically signed. Here's how the concepts relate:

---

🧠 What This Means for Nostr Relays

1. Traffic Analysis Still Applies

Even though Nostr events are cryptographically signed and, optionally, encrypted (e.g., DMs), relay communication is over plaintext WebSockets or WSS (WebSocket Secure). This means:

• IP addresses, packet size, and timing patterns are all visible to anyone on-path (e.g., ISPs, malicious actors).
• Client behavior can be inferred: Is someone posting, reading, or just idling?
• Frequent "kind" values (like kind:1 for notes or kind:4 for encrypted DMs) produce recognizable traffic fingerprints.

🔍 Example:

A pattern like: - client → relay: small frame at intervals of 30s - relay → client: burst of medium frames …could suggest someone is polling for new posts or using a chat app built on Nostr.

---

2. DevTools for Nostr Client Devs

For client developers (e.g., building on top of nostr-tools), browser DevTools and WebSocket inspection make debugging much easier:

• You can trace real-time Nostr events without writing logging logic.
• You can verify frame integrity, event flow, and relay responses instantly.
• However, DevTools have limits when Nostr apps use:
• Binary payloads (e.g., zlib-compressed events)
• Custom encodings or protocol adaptations (e.g., for mobile)

---

3. Fingerprinting Relays and Clients

• Each relay has its own behavior: how fast it responds, whether it sends OKs, how it deals with malformed events.
• These can be fingerprinted by adversaries to identify which software is being used (e.g., nostr-rs-relay, strfry, etc.).
• Similarly, client apps often emit predictable REQ, EVENT, CLOSE sequences that can be fingerprinted even over WSS.

---

4. Privacy Risks

Even if DMs are encrypted: - Message size and timing can hint at contents ("user is typing", long vs. short message, emoji burst, etc.) - Public relays might correlate patterns across multiple clients—even without payload access. - Side-channel analysis becomes viable against high-value targets.

---

5. Mitigation Strategies in Nostr

Borrowing from TLS and WebSocket security best practices:

| Strategy | Application to Nostr | |-----------------------------|----------------------------------------------------| | Padding messages | Normalize EVENT size, especially for DMs | | Batching requests | Send multiple REQ subscriptions in one frame | | Randomize connection times | Avoid predictable connection schedules | | Use private relays / Tor| Obfuscate source IP and reduce metadata exposure | | Connection reuse | Avoid per-event relay opens, use persistent WSS |

---

TL;DR for Builders

If you're building on Nostr and care about privacy, WebSocket metadata is a leak. The payload isn't the only thing that matters. Be mindful of event timing, size, and structure, even over encrypted channels.

@ 3c7dc2c5:805642a8

🧠Quote(s) of the week:

'The "Bitcoin Corporate Treasury" narrative is a foot gun if it's not accompanied by the sovereignty via self-custody narrative. Number Go Up folks are pitching companies to funnel their funds into a handful of trusted third parties. Systemic Risk Go Up.' - Jameson Lopp

Lopp is spot on!

The Bitcoin network is a fortress of digital power backed by 175 terawatt-hours (TWh)—equivalent to 20 full-scale nuclear reactors running continuously 24 hours per day, 365 days per year—making it nation-state-level resistant and growing stronger every day. - James Lavish

🧡Bitcoin news🧡

https://i.ibb.co/xSYWkJPC/Goqd-ERAXw-AEUTAo.jpg

Konsensus Network

On the 14th of April:

➡️ Bitcoin ETFs are bleeding out. Not a single inflow streak since March.

➡️'There are now just a bit less than 3 years left until the next halving. The block reward will drop from 3.125 BTC to 1.5625 BTC. Plan accordingly.' - Samson Mow

➡️Bitcoin is the new benchmark. Bitcoin has outperformed the S&P 500 over the past 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, 6-, 7-, 8-, 9-, 10-, 11-, 12-, 13-, and 14-year periods. https://i.ibb.co/GfBK6n2Z/Gof6-Vwp-Ws-AA-g1-V-1.jpg

You cannot consider yourself a serious investor if you see this data and ignore it. Never been an asset like it in the history of mankind. But that is from an investor's perspective...

Alex Gladstein: "While only certain credentialed individuals can own US stocks (a tiny % of the world population) — anyone in the world, dissident or refugee, can own the true best-performing financial asset. "

➡️New record Bitcoin network hashrate 890,000,000,000,000,000,000x per second.

➡️The Korea Exchange has experienced its first bitcoin discount in South Korea since December 2024.

➡️Every government should be mining Bitcoin, say Bhutan's Prime Minister - Al Jazeera "It's a simple choice that's earned billions of dollars. Mining makes tremendous sense."

On the 15th of April:

➡️'Owning 1 Bitcoin isn’t a trade... - It’s a power move. - A geopolitical hedge. - A once-per-civilization bet on the next monetary regime. If you have the means to own one and don’t… You’re not managing risk. You’re misreading history.' -Alec Bakhouche

Great thread: https://x.com/Alec_Bitcoin/status/1912216075703607448

➡️The only thing that drops faster than new ETH narratives is the ETH price. Ethereum is down 74% against Bitcoin since switching from PoW to PoS in 2022.

https://i.ibb.co/bR3yjqZX/Gos0kc-HXs-AAP-9-X.jpg

Piere Rochard: "The theory was that on-chain utility would create a positive fly-wheel effect of demand for holding ETH. The reality is that even if (big if) you need its chain utility, you don’t actually need to hold ETH, you can use stablecoins or wBTC. There’s no real value accrual thesis."

If you're still holding ETH, you're in denial. You watched it slide from 0.05 to 0.035. Now it's circling 0.02 and you're still hoping? That's not a strategy—that's desperation. There is no bounce. No cavalry. Just a crowd of bagholders waiting to offload on the next fool. Don’t be that fool. Everyone’s waiting to dump, just like you.

For example. Galaxy Digital deposited another 12,500 $ETH($20.28M) to Binance 10 hours ago. Galaxy Digital has deposited 37,500 $ETH($60.4M) to Binance in the past 4 days. The institutional guys that were pushing this fraud coin like the Winklevoss brothers and Novogratz (remember the Luna fiasco?!) are ejecting. If you're still holding, no one to blame but yourself.

Take the loss. Rotate to BTC.

Later, you can lie and say you always believed in Bitcoin. But right now, stop the bleeding.

You missed it. Accept that. Figure out why.

P.S. Don’t do anything stupid. It’s just money. You’ll recover. Move smarter next time.

➡️And it is not only against ETH, every other asset is bleeding against BTC because every other asset is inferior to BTC. Did you know Bitcoin's 200-week moving average never declines? It always rises. What does this suggest? 'This is the most significant chart in financial markets. It's Bitcoin - measured with a 200-week moving average (aka 4 years at a time). Zoom out, and the truth becomes crystal clear: Bitcoin has never lost purchasing power. What does this hint at? Bitcoin is the most reliable savings technology on Earth.' - Cole Walmsley

Proof: https://x.com/Cole_Walmsley/status/1912545128826142963

➡️SPAR Switzerland Pilots Bitcoin and Lightning Network Payments Zurich, Switzerland – SPAR, one of the world’s largest grocery retail chains, has launched a pilot program to accept Bitcoin and Lightning Network payments at select locations in Switzerland.

With a global presence spanning 13,900 stores across 48 countries, this move signals a significant step toward mainstream adoption of Bitcoin in everyday commerce.

➡️$110 billion VanEck proposes BitBonds for the US to buy more Bitcoin and refinance its $14 trillion debt.

➡️'A peer-reviewed study forecasts $1M Bitcoin by early 2027—and up to $5M by 2031.' -Simply Bitcoin

On the 17th of April:

➡️ Every one of these dots is flaring gas into the atmosphere and could be mining Bitcoin instead of wasting the gas and polluting the air.

https://i.ibb.co/d4WBjXTX/Gos-OHm-Nb-IAAO8-VT.jpg

Thomas Jeegers: 'Each of these flare sites is a perfect candidate for Bitcoin mining, where wasted methane can be captured, converted into electricity, and monetized on the spot. No need for new pipelines. No need for subsidies. Just turning trash into treasure. Yes, other technologies can help reduce methane emissions. But only Bitcoin mining can do it profitably, consistently, at scale, and globally. And that’s exactly why it's already happening in Texas, Alberta, Oman, Argentina, and beyond. Methane is 84x more harmful than CO₂ over 20 years. Bitcoin is not just a monetary revolution, it's an environmental one.'

➡️Bitcoin market cap dominance hits a new 4-year high.

➡️BlackRock bought $30 million #Bitcoin for its spot Bitcoin ETF.

➡️Multiple countries and sovereign wealth funds are looking to establish Strategic Bitcoin Reserves - Financial Times

Remember, Gold's market cap is up $5.5 TRILLION in 2025. That's more than 3x of the total Bitcoin market cap. Nation-state adoption of Bitcoin is poised to be a pivotal development in monetary history...eventually.

➡️'In 2015, 1 BTC bought 57 steaks. Today, 7,568. Meanwhile, $100 bought 13 steaks in 2015. Now, just 9. Stack ₿, eat more steak.' Priced in Bitcoin

https://i.ibb.co/Pz5BtZYP/Gouxzda-Xo-AASSc-M.jpg

➡️'The Math:

At $91,150 Bitcoin flips Saudi Aramco

At $109,650 Bitcoin flips Amazon

At $107,280 Bitcoin flips Google

At $156,700 Bitcoin flips Microsoft

At $170,900 Bitcoin flips Apple

At $179,680 Bitcoin flips NVIDIA

Over time #Bitcoin flips everything.' -CarlBMenger

➡️Will $1 get you more or less than 1,000 sats by the fifth Halving? Act accordingly. - The rational root Great visual: https://i.ibb.co/tPxnXnL4/Gov1s-IRWEAAEXn3.jpg

➡️Bhutan’s Bitcoin Holdings Now Worth 30% of National GDP: A Bold Move in the Bitcoin Game Theory

In a stunning display of strategic foresight, Bhutan’s Bitcoin holdings are now valued at approximately 30% of the nation’s GDP. This positions the small Himalayan kingdom as a key player in the ongoing Bitcoin game theory that is unfolding across the world. This move also places Bhutan ahead of many larger nations, drawing attention to the idea that early Bitcoin adoption is not just about financial innovation, but also about securing future economic sovereignty and proof that Bitcoin has the power to lift nations out of poverty.

Bhutan explores using its hydropower for green Bitcoin mining, aiming to boost the economy while maintaining environmental standards. Druk Holding's CEO Ujjwal Deep Dahal says hydropower-based mining effectively "offsets" fossil fuel-powered bitcoin production, per Reuters.

➡️Barry Silbert, CEO of Digital Currency Group, admits buying Coinbase was great, but just holding Bitcoin would’ve been better. Silbert told Raoul Pal he bought BTC at $7–$8 and, "Had I just held the Bitcoin, I actually would have done better than making those investments."

He also called 99.9% of tokens “worthless,” stressing most have no reason to exist.

No shit Barry!

➡️Bitcoin hashrate hits a new ATH.

https://i.ibb.co/1pDj9Ch/Gor2-Dd2ac-AAk-KC5.jpg

Bitcoin hashrate hit 1ZH/s. That’s 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 hashes every second. Good luck stopping that! Bitcoin mining is the most competitive and decentralized industry in the world.

➡️¥10 Billion Japanese Fashion Retailer ANAP Adds Bitcoin to Corporate Treasury Tokyo, Japan – ANAP Inc., a publicly listed Japanese fashion retailer with a market capitalization of approximately ¥10 billion, has officially announced the purchase of Bitcoin as part of its corporate treasury strategy.

“The global trend of Bitcoin becoming a reserve asset is irreversible,” ANAP stated in its announcement.

➡️El Salvador just bought more Bitcoin for their Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.

➡️Only 9.6% of Bitcoin addresses are at a loss, a rare signal showing one of the healthiest market structures ever. Despite not being at all-time highs, nearly 90% of holders are in profit, hinting at strong accumulation and potential for further upside.

On the 18th of April:

➡️Swedish company Bitcoin Treasury AB announces IPO plans, aiming to become the 'European version of MicroStrategy'. The company clearly states: "Our goal is to fully acquire Bitcoin (BTC)."

➡️Relai app (unfortunately only available with full KYC) with some great Bitcoin marketing. https://i.ibb.co/G4szrqXj/Goz-Kh-Hh-WEAEo-VQr.jpg

➡️Arizona's Bitcoin Reserve Bill (SB 1373) has passed the House Committee and is advancing to the final floor vote.

➡️Simply Bitcoin: It will take 40 years to mine the last Bitcoin. If you're a whole corner, your grandchildren will inherit the equivalent of four decades of global energy. You're not bullish enough. https://i.ibb.co/Hpz2trvr/Go1-Uiu7a-MAI2g-VS.jpg

➡️Meanwhile in Slovenia: Slovenia's Finance Ministry proposes to introduce a 25% capital gains tax on bitcoin profits.

➡️ In one of my previous Weekly Recaps I already shared some news on Breez. Now imagine a world where everyone can implement lightning apps on browsers...with the latest 'Nodeless' release Breez is another step towards bringing Bitcoin payments to every app. Stellar work!

Breez: 'Breez SDK Now Supports WASM We’re excited to announce that Nodeless supports WebAssembly (WASM), so apps can now add Bitcoin payments directly into browsers and node.js environments. Pay anyone, anywhere, on any device with the Breez SDK.

Our new Nodeless release has even more big updates → Minimum payment amounts have been significantly reduced — send from 21 sats, receive from 100. Now live in Misty Breez (iOS + Android). → Users can now pay fees with non-BTC assets like USDT. Check the release notes for all the details on the 0.8 update.'

https://github.com/breez/breez-sdk-liquid/releases/tag/0.8.0

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/takes/embed-bitcoin-into-everything-everywhere Shinobi: Bitcoin needs to be everywhere, seamlessly, embedded into everything. 

➡️Despite reaching a new all-time high of $872B, bitcoin's realized market cap monthly growth slowed to 0.9%, signaling continued risk-off sentiment, according to Glassnode.

On the 19th of April:

➡️Recently a gold bug, Jan Nieuwenhuijs (yeah he is Dutch, we are not perfect), stated the following: 'Bitcoin was created by mankind and can be destroyed by mankind. Gold cannot. It’s as simple as that.'

As a reply to a Saylor quote: 'Bitcoin has no counterparty risk. No company. No country. No creditor. No currency. No competitor. No culture. Not even chaos.'

Maybe Bitcoin can be destroyed by mankind, never say never, but what I do know is that at the moment Bitcoin is destroying gold like a manic.

https://i.ibb.co/ZR8ZB4d5/Go7d-KCqak-AA-D7-R.jpg

Oh and please do know. Gold may have the history, but Bitcoin has the scarcity. https://i.ibb.co/xt971vJc/Gp-FMy-AXQAAJzi-M.jpg

In 2013, you couldn't even buy 1 ounce of gold with 1 Bitcoin.

Then in 2017, you could buy 9 ounces of gold with 1 Bitcoin.

Today you can buy 25 ounces of gold with 1 Bitcoin.

At some point, you'll be able to buy 100 ounces of gold with 1 Bitcoin.

➡️Investment firm Abraxas Capital bought $250m Bitcoin in just 4 days.

On the 20th of April:

➡️The Bitcoin network is to be 70% powered by sustainable energy sources by 2030. https://i.ibb.co/nsqsfVY4/Go-r7-LEWo-AAt6-H2.jpg

➡️FORBES: "Converting existing assets like Fort Knox gold into bitcoin makes sense. It would be budget-neutral and an improvement since BTC does everything that gold can, but better" Go on Forbes, and say it louder for the people at the back!

On the 21st of April:

➡️Bitcoin has now recovered the full price dip from Trump's tariff announcement.

➡️Michael Saylor's STRATEGY just bought another 6,556 Bitcoin worth $555.8m. MicroStrategy now owns 2.7% of all Bitcoin in circulation. At what point do we stop celebrating Saylor stacking more?

On the same day, Metaplanet acquired 330 BTC for $28.2M, reaching 4,855 BTC in total holdings.

➡️'Northern Forum, a non-profit member organization of UNDP Climate Change Adaptation, just wrote a well-researched article on how Bitcoin mining is aiding climate objectives (stabilizing grids, aiding microgrids, stopping renewable waste)' -Daniel Batten

https://northernforum.net/how-bitcoin-mining-is-transforming-the-energy-production-game/

💸Traditional Finance / Macro:

On the 16th of April:

👉🏽The Nasdaq Composite is now on track for its 5th-largest daily point decline in history.

👉🏽'Foreign investors are dumping US stocks at a rapid pace: Investors from overseas withdrew ~$6.5 billion from US equity funds over the last week, the second-largest amount on record. Net outflows were only below the $7.5 billion seen during the March 2023 Banking Crisis. According to Apollo, foreigners own a massive $18.5 trillion of US stocks or 20% of the total US equity market. Moreover, foreign holdings of US Treasuries are at $7.2 trillion, or 30% of the total. Investors from abroad also hold 30% of the total corporate credit market, for a total of $4.6 trillion.' TKL

On the 17th of April:

👉🏽'Historically, the odds of a 10% correction are 40%, a 25% bear market 20%, and a 50% bear market 2%. That means that statistically speaking the further the market falls the more likely it is to recover. Yes, some 20% declines become 50% “super bears,” but more often than not the market has historically started to find its footing at -20%, as it appears to have done last week.' - Jurrien Timmer - Dir. of Global Macro at Fidelity

https://i.ibb.co/B2bVDLqM/Gow-Hn-PRWYAAX79z.jpg

👉🏽The S&P 500 is down 10.3% in the first 72 trading days of 2025, the 5th worst start to a year in history.

🏦Banks:

👉🏽 'Another amazing piece of reporting by Nic Carter on a truly sordid affair. Nic Carter is reporting that prominent Biden officials killed signature bank — though solvent — to expand Silvergate/SVB collapses into a national issue, allowing FDIC to invoke a “systemic risk exemption” to bail out SVB at Pelosi’s request.' - Alex Thorne

https://www.piratewires.com/p/signature-didnt-have-to-die-either-chokepoint-nic-carter

Signature, Silvergate, and SVB were attacked by Democrats to kneecap crypto and distance themselves from FTX. The chaos created unintended negative consequences. Signature was solvent but they forced a collapse to invoke powers which they used to clean up the mess they made.

🌎Macro/Geopolitics:

Every nation in the world is in debt and no one wants to say who the creditor is.

On the 14th of April:

👉🏽'US financial conditions are now their tightest since the 2020 pandemic, per ZeroHedge. Financial conditions are even tighter than during one of the most rapid Fed hike cycles of all time, in 2022. Conditions have tightened rapidly as stocks have pulled back, while credit spreads have risen. To put it differently, the availability and cost of financing for economic activity have worsened. That suggests the economy may slow even further in the upcoming months.' -TKL

👉🏽Global Repricing of Duration Risk... 'It opens the door to a global repricing of duration risk. This isn’t a blip. It’s a sovereign-level alarm bell.

"I find Japan fascinating on many levels not just its financial history. Just watch the Netflix documentary: Watch Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan 'I only discovered the other day that the Bank of Japan was the first to use Quantitative Easing. Perhaps that's when our global finance system was first broken & it's been sticking plasters ever since.' - Jane Williams

A must-read…the U.S. bond market is being driven down by Japanese selling and not because they want to…because they have to. It’s looking more and more dangerous.

BoJ lost its control over long-term bond yields. Since inflation broke out in Japan, BoJ can not suppress any longer...

EndGame Macro: "This is one of the clearest signals yet that the Bank of Japan has lost control of the long end of the curve. Japan’s 30-year yield hitting 2.845% its highest since 2004 isn’t just a local event. This has global knock-on effects: Japan is the largest foreign holder of U.S. Treasuries and a key player in the global carry trade. Rising JGB yields force Japanese institutions to repatriate capital, unwind overseas positions, and pull back on USD asset exposure adding pressure to U.S. yields and FX volatility. This spike also signals the end of the deflationary regime that underpinned global risk assets for decades. If Japan once the global anchor of low yields can’t suppress its bond market anymore, it opens the door to a global repricing of duration risk. This isn’t a blip. It’s a sovereign-level alarm bell."

https://i.ibb.co/LXsCDZMf/Gow-XGL8-Wk-AEDXg-P.jpg

You're distracted by China, but it's always been about Japan.

On the 16th of April:

👉🏽Over the last 20 years, gold has now outperformed stocks, up +620% compared to a +580% gain in the S&P 500 (dividends included). Over the last 9 months, gold has officially surged by over +$1,000/oz. Gold hit another all-time high and is now up over 27% in 2025. On pace for its best year since 1979.

https://i.ibb.co/9kZbtPVF/Goftd-OSW8-AA2a-9.png

Meanwhile, imports of physical gold have gotten so large that the Fed has released a new GDP metric. Their GDPNow tool now adjusts for gold imports. Q1 2025 GDP contraction including gold is expected to be -2.2%, and -0.1% net of gold. Gold buying is at recession levels.

👉🏽Von der Leyen: "The West as we knew it no longer exists. [..] We need another, new European Union ready to go out into the big wide world and play a very active role in shaping this new world order"

Her imperial aspirations have long been on display. Remember she was not elected.

👉🏽Fed Chair Jerome Powell says crypto is going mainstream, a legal framework for stablecoins is a good idea, and there will be loosening of bank rules on crypto.

On the 17th of April:

👉🏽The European Central Bank cuts interest rates by 25 bps for their 7th consecutive cut as tariffs threaten economic growth. ECB's focus shifted to 'downside risk to the growth outlook.' Markets price in the deposit rate will be at 1.58% in Dec, from 1.71% before the ECB's statement. Great work ECB, as inflation continues to decline and economic growth prospects worsen. Unemployment is also on the rise. Yes, the economy is doing just great!

On the same day, Turkey reversed course and hiked rates for the first time since March 2024, 350 bps move up to 46%.

👉🏽'Global investors have rarely been this bearish: A record ~50% of institutional investors intend to reduce US equity exposure, according to a Bank of America survey released Monday. Allocation to US stocks fell 13 percentage points over the last month, to a net 36% underweight, the lowest since the March 2023 Banking Crisis. Since February, investors' allocation to US equities has dropped by ~53 percentage points, marking the largest 2-month decline on record. Moreover, a record 82% of respondents are now expecting the world economy to weaken. As a result, global investor sentiment fell to just 1.8 points, the 4th-lowest reading since 2008. We have likely never seen such a rapid shift in sentiment.' -TKL

👉🏽'US large bankruptcies jumped 49 year-over-year in Q1 2025, to 188, the highest quarterly count since 2010. Even during the onset of the 2020 pandemic, the number of filings was lower at ~150. This comes after 694 large companies went bankrupt last year, the most in 14 years. The industrial sector recorded the highest number of bankruptcies in Q1 2025, at 32. This was followed by consumer discretionary and healthcare, at 24 and 13. Bankruptcies are rising.' -TKL

👉🏽DOGE‘s success is simply breathtaking.

https://i.ibb.co/zV45sYBn/Govy-G6e-XIAA8b-NI.jpg

Although it would've been worse without DOGE, nothing stops this train.

👉🏽GLD update: Custodian JPM added 4 tons, bringing their total to a new all-time high of 887 tons. JPM has added 50 tons in a month and is 163 tons from surpassing Switzerland to become the 7th largest gold holder in the world.

Now ask yourself and I quote Luke Gromen:

a) why JPM decided to become a GLD custodian after 18 years, & then in just over 2 years, shift 90%+ of GLD gold to its vaults, &;

b) why the Atlanta Fed has continued to report real GDP with- and without (~$500B of) gold imports YTD?

👉🏽Sam Callahan: After slowing the pace of QT twice—and now hinting at a potential return to QE—the Fed’s balance sheet is settling into a new higher plateau. "We’ve been very clear that this is a temporary measure...We’ll normalize the balance sheet and reduce the size of holdings...It would be quite a different matter if we were buying these assets and holding them indefinitely. It would be a monetization. We are not doing that." - Ben Bernake, Dec. 12, 2012

Temporary measures have a funny way of becoming structural features. The balance sheet didn’t ‘normalize’.. it evolved. What was once an ‘emergency’ is now a baseline. This isn’t QE or QT anymore. It’s a permanent intervention dressed as policy. Remember, 80% of all dollars were created in the last 5 years.

👉🏽Global Fiat Money Supply Is Exploding 🚨

The fiat system is on full tilt as central banks flood markets with unprecedented liquidity:

🇺🇸 U.S.: Money supply nearing new all-time highs

🇨🇳 China: At record levels

🇯🇵 Japan: Close to historic peaks

🇪🇺 EU: Printing into new ATHs https://i.ibb.co/Cp4z97Jx/Go4-Gx2-MXIAAzdi9.jpg

This isn’t growth—it’s monetary debasement. Governments aren’t solving problems; they’re papering over them with inflation.

Bitcoin doesn’t need bailouts. It doesn’t print. It doesn’t inflate.

As fiat currencies weaken under the weight of endless expansion, Bitcoin stands alone as a fixed-supply, incorruptible alternative.

👉🏽Fed Funds Rate: Market Expectations...

-May 2025: Hold

-Jun 2025: 25 bps cut to 4.00-4.25%

-July 2025: 25 bps cut to 3.75-4.00%

-Sep 2025: 25 bps cut to 3.50-3.75%

-Oct 2025: Hold

-Dec 2025: 25 bps cut to 3.25-3.50%

Anyway, shortterm fugazi....500 years of interest rates, visualized: https://i.ibb.co/84zs0yvD/Go7i7k-ZXYAAt-MRH.jpg

👉🏽'A net 49% of 164 investors with $386 billion in assets under management (AUM) believe a HARD LANDING is the most likely outcome for the world economy, according to a BofA survey. This is a MASSIVE shift in sentiment as 83% expected no recession in March.' -Global Markets Investor

👉🏽The EU’s New Role as Tax Collector: A Turning Point for Sovereignty

Beginning in 2027, a new chapter in the European Union’s influence over national life will begin. With the introduction of ETS2, the EU will extend its Emissions Trading System to include not just businesses, but private individuals as well. This means that CO₂ emissions from household gas consumption and vehicle fuel will be taxed—directly impacting the daily lives of citizens across the continent.

In practice, this shift transforms the EU into a (in)direct tax collector, without national consent, without a democratic mandate, and without the explicit approval of the people it will affect. The financial burden will be passed down through energy suppliers and fuel providers, but make no mistake: the cost will land squarely on the shoulders of European citizens, including millions of Dutch households.

This raises a fundamental question: What does sovereignty mean if a foreign or supranational entity can 'tax' your citizens? When a people are 'taxed' by a power beyond their borders—by an unelected body headquartered in Brussels—then either their nation is no longer sovereign, or that sovereignty has been surrendered or sold off by those in power.

There are only two conclusions to draw: We are living under soft occupation, with decisions made elsewhere that bind us at home. Or our sovereignty has been handed away voluntarily—a slow erosion facilitated by political elites who promised integration but delivered subordination. Either way, the more aggressively the EU enforces this trajectory, the more it reveals the futility of reforming the Union from within. The democratic deficit is not shrinking—it’s expanding. And with every new policy imposed without a national vote, the case for fundamental change grows stronger.

If Brussels continues down this path, there will come a point when only one option remains: A clean and decisive break. My view: NEXIT

Source: https://climate.ec.europa.eu/eu-action/eu-emissions-trading-system-eu-ets/ets2-buildings-road-transport-and-additional-sectors_en

For the Dutch readers:

https://www.businessinsider.nl/directe-co2-heffing-van-eu-op-gas-en-benzine-kan-huishoudens-honderden-euros-per-jaar-kosten-er-komt-ook-een-sociaal-klimaatfonds/?tid=TIDP10342314XEEB363B26CB34FB48054B929DB743E99YI5

On the 18th of April:

👉🏽'Two lost decades. Grotesque overregulation, bureaucracy, lack of innovation, and left redistribution mindset have their price. Europe is on its way to becoming an open-air museum. What a pity to watch.' -Michael A. Arouet

https://i.ibb.co/PsxdC3Kw/Goz-Ffwy-XMAAJk-Af.jpg

Looking at the chart, fun fact, the Lisbon Treaty was signed in 2007. That treaty greatly empowered the European bureaucracy. Reforms are needed in Europe, as soon as possible.

👉🏽CBP says latest tariffs have generated $500 million, well below Trump’s estimate — CNBC

Yikes! 'Probably one the biggest economic blunders in history. $500 million in 15 days means $12 billion a year in additional tax revenue. Literal trillions in wealth destroyed, interest on the debt increased, the dollar weakened, businesses wiped out all over the world, and literally every single country in the world antagonized... all for raising a yearly amount of taxes that can fund the US military budget for just 4 days. $500 million pays for exactly 37 minutes of the US budget.' - Arnaud Bertrand

YIKES!!

👉🏽Belarus to launch a "digital ruble" CBDC by the end of 2026.

On the 20th of April:

👉🏽'China’s central bank increased its gold holdings by 5 tonnes in March, posting its 5th consecutive monthly purchase. This brings total China’s gold reserves to a record 2,292 tonnes. Chinese gold holdings now reflect 6.5% of its total official reserve assets. According to Goldman Sachs, China purchased a whopping 50 tonnes of gold in February, or 10 times more than officially reported. Over the last 3 years, China's purchases of gold on the London OTC market have significantly surpassed officially reported numbers. China is accumulating gold at a rapid pace.' -TKL

On the 21st of April:

👉🏽Gold officially breaks above $3,400/oz for the first time in history. Gold funds attracted $8 BILLION in net inflows last week, the most EVER. This is more than DOUBLE the records seen during the 2020 CRISIS. Gold is up an impressive 29% year-to-date.

https://i.ibb.co/Nn7gr45q/Goq7km-PW8-AALegt.png

👉🏽I want to finish this segment and the weekly recap with a chart, a chart to think about! A chart to share with friends, family, and co-workers:

https://i.ibb.co/9xFxRrw/Gp-A3-ANWbs-AAO5nl.jpg

side note: 'Labeled periods like the "Era of Populism" (circa 2010-2020) suggest a link between growing wealth disparity and populist movements, supported by studies like those http://on.tandfonline.com, which note income inequality as a driver for populist party support in Europe due to economic insecurities and distrust in elites.'

The fiat system isn’t broken. It’s doing exactly what it was designed to do: Transfer wealth from savers to the state. This always ends in either default or debasement There’s one exit - Bitcoin.

Great thread: https://x.com/fitcoiner/status/1912932351677792703 https://i.ibb.co/84sFWW9q/Gow-Zv-SFa4-AAu2-Ag.jpg

🎁If you have made it this far I would like to give you a little gift, well in this case two gifts:

Bitcoin Nation State Adoption Paradox - A Trojan Horse with Alex Gladstein. Exploring the paradoxes of Bitcoin adoption in nation-states and its radical role in human rights, freedom, and financial sovereignty. https://youtu.be/pLIxmIMHL44

Credit: I have used multiple sources!

My savings account: Bitcoin The tool I recommend for setting up a Bitcoin savings plan: PocketBitcoin especially suited for beginners or people who want to invest in Bitcoin with an automated investment plan once a week or monthly.

Use the code SE3997

Get your Bitcoin out of exchanges. Save them on a hardware wallet, run your own node...be your own bank. Not your keys, not your coins. It's that simple. ⠀ ⠀

⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀

Do you think this post is helpful to you?

If so, please share it and support my work with a zap.

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⭐ Many thanks⭐

Felipe - Bitcoin Friday!

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@ ebdee929:513adbad

Screen flicker is a subtle and often overlooked cause of eye strain that many of us deal with daily. We understand this issue firsthand and are working hard to solve it, which is why we build for a different, more caring screen technology. This guide will help you understand screen flicker, how it affects you, and why better screen technology can make a real difference.

A silent epidemic in a LED-driven world

Tired eyes and a drained mind are almost a universal feeling at the end of a work day. That is, if you work a job that requires you to be in front of a computer screen all day… which today is most of us.

Slow motion shows flicker: It's not just screens; nearly all LED environments could flicker. Reddit: PWM_Sensitive

"Digital eye strain" refers to the negative symptoms (dry eyes, blurred vision, headaches, eye fatigue, light sensitivity, neck pain, etc.) that arise from use of digital devices for a prolonged period of time. It is also known as computer vision syndrome. Numbers are hard to pin down for such a commonly occurring issue, but pre COVID (2020) researchers estimated up to 70% prevalence in modern society.

Since COVID-19, things have gotten much worse.

"Digital eye strain has been on the rise since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. An augmented growth pattern has been experienced with prevalence ranging from 5 to 65% in pre-COVID-19 studies to 80–94% in the COVID-19 era. The sudden steep increase in screen and chair time has led way to other silent pandemics like digital eye strain, myopia, musculoskeletal problems, obesity, diabetes etc."

The most common cause outlined by the researchers compiling these digital eye strain reviews is excessive screen time. And they outline the reason for screen time being an issue for the following reasons:

• Technological devices being in a short field of vision
• Devices causing a reduced blink rate
• Poor ergonomics

These are certainly all reasonable causes to highlight, but from our perspective two other key potential causes of digital eye strain are missing: screen flicker and blue light.

Multiple studies show that blue light in isolation can cause mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress in the retina. To learn more about blue light, its potentially harmful effects, and how to mitigate them, read our "Definitive Guide on Blue Light".

In this discussion we are going to focus on screen flicker only.

FLICKER: AN INVISIBLE ISSUE

Flicker could be one of the most underrated stressors to our biology, as it is something we are exposed to constantly due to the nature of modern lighting and screens. It is widely agreed upon by both electrical/electronic engineers and scientific researchers that light flicker can cause:

• Headaches, eye strain, blurred vision and migraines
• Aggravation of autism symptoms in children
• Photo epilepsy

This is documented in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1789 standard for best practice in LED lighting applications, amongst other scientific reviews.

The P1789 committee from IEEE identified the following major effects of flicker:

• Photo epilepsy
• Increased repetitive behaviour among people suffering from autism
• Migraine or intense paroxysmal headache
• Asthenopia (eye strain); including fatigue, blurred vision, headache and diminished sight-related task performance
• Anxiety, panic attacks
• Vertigo

Light flicker is pervasive, mainly due to the ubiquitous nature of LEDs in our modern indoor work environments. We are being exposed to light flicker constantly from both light bulb sources and the screens that we stare at all day. This is a main reason why indoor, screen based work seems so draining. The good news is that this can be avoided (from an engineering perspective).

What is flicker?

We must first understand what "flicker actually is" before we can discuss how to avoid it or how to engineer flicker free light solutions.

In its most simple form, flicker can be defined as "a rapid and repeated change in the brightness of light over time (IEEE - PAR1789)".

Flicker can be easily conceptualized when it is visible, however the flicker we are talking about in regards to modern lighting & LEDs is unfortunately invisible to the human eye…which is part of the problem.

Most humans are unable to perceive flicker in oscillation rates above 60-90Hz (60-90 cycles per second). When we can't see something, we have a much more challenging time as a species grasping its effect on how we feel. The above mentioned health effects are directly related to the invisible flicker in terms of its effects on our biology. We can't see it, but our eyes and our brains react to it.

Slow-motion footage comparing DC-1's DC Dimming versus regular PWM Dimming.

For this article, we want to focus specifically on the flicker coming from LEDs used in modern personal electronics. This type of flicker can be shown in the above video of multiple smartphones being filmed with a slow motion camera.

What causes flicker in smartphones and computers?

There are a few different characteristics of a modern electronic display that cause flicker, but the main culprit is something called "PWM dimming".

PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) is an electronics control mechanism that uses pulsed signals as the LED driver function to control the brightness of the device display.

PWM dimming has become the standard way to drive LEDs because it has specific advantages when it comes to retaining color consistency at lower brightness, and is also typically more power efficient. In a PWM dimming application, the diodes are being modulated to turn on and off very rapidly (faster than our eyes can perceive) to reduce the overall appearance of brightness of the light emission of the LEDs (aka luminance).

Brightness control in regular devices is just rapid flickering that looks steady to our eyes.

The lower the brightness setting, the longer the "off time". The "duty cycle" refers to the ratio of the LED being modulated "on" vs the total period of the cycle. Higher screen brightness setting = higher % duty cycle = more "time on" for the LED. This can be visualized in the graphic below.

PWM dimming controls brightness by quickly pulsing the backlight on and off.

PWM dimming has been chosen as the industry standard because of the intrinsic characteristics of the semiconductors in a light-emitting diode (LED) making it challenging to retain color consistency when modulating output illuminance with direct current, also known as Constant Current Reduction (CCR). CCR or "DC dimming" can utilize simpler control circuitry, but at the cost of less precision over the LED performance, especially at low brightness/luminance settings. PWM dimming can also save on overall power consumption.

DC Dimming maintains consistent light output by adjusting direct electrical current.

The downside of PWM dimming is obvious when you see the slow motion videos of the implementation in smartphone displays. The less obvious downside is that a PWM dimmed light means that we are consuming light at its peak output no matter the brightness setting. Because PWM is turning the light on/off constantly, the "ON" portion is always at peak intensity. This combined with the imbalanced light spectrum (blue heavy) can further exacerbate potential concerns of negatively affecting eye health and sleep quality.

The question we must ask then: is it more important for better LED and electronics performance, or is it more important to have screens that are not causing immense stress to our biology?

PWM Flicker on OLED screens vs LCD screens

Not all PWM flicker is created equal. The flicker frequency used for PWM dimming is directly related to how potentially stressful it can be to our eyes and brains. It is well agreed upon that the lower the frequency is, the more it can stress us out and cause eye strain. This is because at a high enough frequency, the oscillations are happening so rapidly that your brain basically perceives them as a continuous signal.

The "risk factor" of flicker is also dependent on the modulation % (similar to duty cycle) of the flicker as well, but since we all use our devices across different brightness settings and modulation % 's, it is best to focus on the frequency as the independent variable in our control.

Left: Non-PWM Flicker Device | Right: PWM Dimming Device. Nick Sutrich YouTube

Up to and including the iPhone 11, liquid crystal displays (LCD) were the standard for smartphones. A big switch was made to OLED display technology and the tech giants have never looked back. When it comes to PWM dimming frequency, there was a big shift when this swap occurred:

• Most LCD display use a PWM frequency of 1000Hz+ or no PWM at all.
• Nearly all OLED smartphone use a PWM frequency of 240Hz or 480Hz.

THE HEALTH RISK OF FLICKERING DEVICES

So why don't OLED screens use higher PWM frequencies? Because of the nature of OLEDs being controlled as singular pixels, they need the lower PWM frequency to maintain that extremely precise color consistency at low brightness settings. This is of course why they use PWM in the first place.

According to the IEEE1789 flicker risk chart for negative health effects, a 480Hz PWM smartphone (iPhone 15 Pro) would be high risk at any level above 40% modulation and a 240Hz PWM phone (Google Pixel 7) would be high risk above 20%. Whereas a phone that used 1000Hz-2000Hz PWM frequency (Nothing, Xiaomi 15) would only be "low risk".

• California law (Title 24), requires that LEDs used in certain applications have a "reduced flicker operation," meaning the percent amplitude modulation (flicker) must be less than 30% at frequencies below 200 Hz → The Google Pixel 7, Galaxy S23 and many iPhones operate at 240Hz and and 60-95% flicker...just above the legal limit!
• The report that recommended these levels states that: "Excessive flicker, even imperceptible flicker, can have deleterious health effects, and lesser amounts can be annoying or impact productivity."

For PWM frequencies above 3000Hz, there is "no risk" according to IEEE1789. If you have ever felt that staring at your iPhone is far more "straining on the eyes" compared to your MacBook, the PWM flicker is likely a large reason for that (alongside the size of the display itself and distance held from the eyes)...because MacBooks have an LCD display and a PWM flicker frequency of 10-20kHz. At that PWM frequency, your brain is perceiving the oscillating light as a continuous signal.

Other causes of flicker

Although PWM dimming is widely agreed upon as the main cause of light flicker in modern consumer electronics displays, it is not the only cause. There are two other potential causes of light flicker we are aware of:

TEMPORAL DITHERING (AKA FRAME RATE CONTROL)

• "Pixel" dithering is a technique used to produce more colors than what a display's panel is capable of by rapidly changing between two different pixel colors. This technique unlocks a tremendous amount of more color possibilities - for example showing colors with 10 bit color depth results in billions of colors vs an 8 bit color depth results in millions of colors. Temporal dithering helps bridge the gap for 8 bit color depth displays.
• OLED displays are more likely to have better (10-bit) color depth vs LCD displays but use of temporal dithering can certainly vary across display technologies.
• Temporal dithering example (video)

AMORPHOUS SILICON (A-SI) THIN FILM TRANSISTOR (TFT) BACKPLANES

• Most commercial displays use a-Si TFT semiconductor technology in their backplanes of their LCD panels.
• This technology works well, but can have a high amount of photo-induced leakage current under back light illumination conditions, which can cause non uniformity of the light output and flicker.
• In simple language, the standard a-Si transistors are less "efficient" in a backlight application…which can lead to inconsistent light output and thus flicker.

The Daylight Computer: 100% Flicker Free

The DC-1 was designed and built purposefully to be flicker free. We wanted to provide a solution both for those suffering with severe eye strain and also to prevent negative optical and cognitive repercussions of flicker for any end consumer.

### HOW THE DC-1 ACHIEVES A FLICKER FREE DISPLAY:

• Using DC dimming instead of PWM dimming
• The most deliberate change made in our electrical design was centered around using a DC/CCR LED driver (aka Constant Current Reduction) instead of a PWM driver. This means that there is no pulsed circuit control around our LED backlight, and therefore no flicker from PWM lightning control.
• Has zero temporal dithering, as is a monochrome display
• The benefit of being black and white is there is no need to have intense pixel switching to create the mirage of billions of different color combinations.
• Uses Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide (IGZO) TFT Technology
• New semiconductor technology that provides better and more efficient performance vs a-Si TFT panels. Results in no flicker at the transistor level.
• Verified by light experts to be flicker free
• "Flicker testing yielded a perfect result using my highly sensitive audio-based flicker meter and the photodiode based FFT testing method: not even a trace of light modulation could be demonstrated with both methods!" — Dr. Alexander Wunsch (M.D., P.hD), Light Scientist

This commitment to a flicker-free experience isn't just theoretical; it's changing lives. We're incredibly moved by stories from users like Tiffany and Juan Diego, who found relief and regained possibilities with the DC-1:

For someone with eye disability, the DC-1 is a dream device. The display is so soft and smooth on my eyes that I was able to take my life back off of hold and return to medical school after a multi year absence.

— Tiffany Yang, Medical student

It took a couple of weeks to transition all my work screen time to the DC-1, but when I did, my eye strain completely went away. Plus, it let me work outside on my terrace.

— Juan Diego

Our eye-strain pilot study

Here at Daylight, we are all about proof of work. That is why we have already kicked off an initial pilot study to see if the DC-1 is actually more "eye friendly" than standard consumer electronic devices…specifically for those suffering from severe digital eye strain.

We have partnered with Dr. Michael Destefano, a neuro-optometrist at the Visual Symptoms Treatment Center in Illinois, to coordinate this pilot study.

MORE PARTICIPANTS NEEDED

Do you suffer from severe digital eye strain, computer vision syndrome, or visual snow syndrome? If you are interested in trying a DC-1 for 30 days as part of the Eye Strain Pilot Study, please send an email to drdestefanoOD@gmail.com with a background on your visual affliction.

Our favorite ways to reduce digital eye strain

Cutting screen time is not always possible, so here are some options that can help:

• Use DC dimming devices whenever possible
• Try minimizing screen time on your smartphone, utilizing a PWM laptop instead
• Try switching to an LCD smartphone or OLED smartphone with a high PWM frequency
• Turn "White Point" mode ON on your smartphone to increase the duty cycle and reduce the PWM dimming effect

Dive deeper with our curated resources

RESEARCH

#### Potential Biological and Ecological Effects of Flickering Artificial Light - PMC

Research shows that animals can detect flicker in common lighting that humans cannot see, which may affect their behavior and well-being in ways we had not considered.

Light Emitting Diode Lighting Flicker, its Impact on Health and the Need to Minimise it

The existing technologies in Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting sometimes cause flicker at frequencies that may have adverse health effects.

Digital Eye Strain- A Comprehensive Review

A comprehensive review of digital eye strain, its prevalence, risk factors, and management strategies in the modern digital era.

VIDEO

Nick Sutrich (Youtube) - Screen PWM Testing and Reviews

YouTube channel dedicated to testing and reviewing screens for PWM flicker, helping users find flicker-free displays.

WEBSITE

Eye Phone Review - Screen Health Reviews

Independent reviews focusing on smartphone displays and their impact on eye health, including PWM measurements and flicker analysis.

RESEARCH

Flicker Measurement NEMA77 and IEEE1789 White Paper

Technical white paper from Signify discussing flicker measurement standards and their implications for LED lighting and displays.

@ 6e64b83c:94102ee8

How to Import and Export Your Nostr Notes

This guide will help you import your notes from various Nostr relays and export them into your own relay. This is particularly useful when you want to ensure your content is backed up or when you're setting up your own relay.

Prerequisite

Your own Nostr relay (if you don't have one, check out Part 1: How to Run Your Own Nostr Relay)

Installing nak

nak is a command-line tool that helps you interact with Nostr relays. Here's how to install it:

For Windows Users

1. Visit the nak releases page
2. Download the latest nak-windows-amd64.exe
3. Rename it to nak.exe
4. Move it to a directory in your PATH or use it from its current location

For macOS Users

1. Visit the nak releases page
2. Download the latest nak-darwin-amd64
3. Open Terminal and run: bash chmod +x nak-darwin-amd64 sudo mv nak-darwin-amd64 /usr/local/bin/nak

For Linux Users

1. Visit the nak releases page
2. Download the latest nak-linux-amd64
3. Open Terminal and run: bash chmod +x nak-linux-amd64 sudo mv nak-linux-amd64 /usr/local/bin/nak

Getting Your Public Key in Hex Format

Before downloading your notes, you need to convert your npub (public key) to its hex format. If you have your npub, run:

bash nak decode npub1YOUR_NPUB_HERE

This will output your public key in hex format, which you'll need for the next steps.

Downloading Your Notes

To download your notes, you'll need your public key in hex format and a list of reliable relays. Here are some popular relays you can use:

• wss://eden.nostr.land/
• wss://nos.lol/
• wss://nostr.bitcoiner.social/
• wss://nostr.mom/
• wss://relay.primal.net/
• wss://relay.damus.io/
• wss://relay.nostr.band/
• wss://relay.snort.social/

Note: You should check your Nostr client's settings to find additional relays where your notes are published. Add these to the list above.

Important Event Kinds

Here are some important event kinds you might want to filter for:

• 0: User Metadata (profile information)
• 1: Short Text Notes
• 3: Follow List
• 4: Encrypted Direct Messages

Get the full list from: https://nips.nostr.com/#event-kinds

Downloading with Event Kind Filters

To download your notes with specific event kinds, use the -k flag followed by the kind number, use multiple if you need to. For example, to download your profile, short notes, follow list, and direct messages:

bash nak req -a YOUR_HEX_PUBKEY -k 0 -k 1 -k 3 -k 4 wss://eden.nostr.land/ wss://nos.lol/ wss://nostr.bitcoiner.social/ wss://nostr.mom/ wss://relay.primal.net/ wss://relay.damus.io/ wss://relay.nostr.band/ wss://relay.snort.social/ > events_filtered.json

Or to download all your content, just don't provide any k flag:

bash nak req -a YOUR_HEX_PUBKEY wss://eden.nostr.land/ wss://nos.lol/ wss://nostr.bitcoiner.social/ wss://nostr.mom/ wss://relay.primal.net/ wss://relay.damus.io/ wss://relay.nostr.band/ wss://relay.snort.social/ > events.json

This will create a file containing all your notes in JSON Lines format.

Uploading Your Notes to Your Relay

Once you have your events.json or events_filtered.json file, you can upload it to your own relay. Replace YOUR_RELAY with your relay's WebSocket URL (e.g., wss://my-relay.nostrize.me).

bash nak event YOUR_RELAY < events.json

Important Notes: 1. Make sure your relay is running and accessible 2. The upload process might take some time depending on how many notes you have 3. You can verify the upload by querying your relay for your notes

Verifying the Upload

To verify that your notes were successfully uploaded to your relay, run:

bash nak req -a YOUR_HEX_PUBKEY YOUR_RELAY

This should return the same notes that were in your events.json file.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter any issues:

1. Make sure your relay is running and accessible
2. Check that you're using the correct public key
3. Verify that the relays in your download list are working
4. Ensure you have proper permissions to write to your relay

Next Steps

• Remember to regularly backup your notes to ensure you don't lose any content.
• If you want to keep your friends' notes as well, add npubs that you want to import into your relay's settings (for Citrine it is "Accept events signed by" list), and run the commands for their pubkeys.

@ a296b972:e5a7a2e8

Aus der Ferne sieht man nur ein Gefängnis aus Beton. Doch wenn man näher herankommt, sieht man, dass die Mauern schon sehr brüchig sind und das Regenwasser mit jedem Schauer tiefer in das Gemäuer eindringt. Da bleibt es. Bis die Temperaturen unter Null gehen und das Wasser gefriert. Jetzt entfaltet das Eis seine physikalische Kraft, es rückt dem Beton zu leibe, es dehnt sich aus und sprengt ihn.

Das geht nun schon fünf Jahre so. Fünf Jahre immer wieder Regen, abwechselnd mit Frost und Eis. Die Risse werden größer, der Beton immer morscher. So lange, bis die Mauern ihre Tragfähigkeit verlieren und einstürzen.

Was soll das? Fängt da einer an zu spinnen? Wozu diese Metapher?

Hätte man zu Anfang gleich geschrieben: Wir, die kritischen Menschen, die sich der Wahrheit verpflichtet haben, sitzen in unserer Blase wie in einem Gefängnis und erreichen die da draußen nicht. Da hätten sicher viele gesagt: Oh, da will aber jemand die Opferrolle in vollen Zügen auskosten. Nee, nee, wir sind keine Opfer, wir sind Täter. Wir sammeln und bewahren die ständig neu dazukommenden Erkenntnisse der Wissenschaft und politischen Lügereien. Wir lernen Bücher auswendig, bevor die Feuerwehr kommt und sie verbrennt.

„Fahrenheit 451“

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3Kx-uiP0bY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsNMxUSCKWo

„Das Haus ist für unbewohnbar erklärt worden und muss verbrannt werden.“

So primitiv geht man heute nicht mehr vor. Heute stehen die Feuerwehrmänner und ihre Erfüllungsgehilfen um 6 Uhr morgens im Türrahmen, nehmen Mobiltelefon und Laptop mit, betreiben De-Banking und vernichten die wirtschaftliche Existenz.

Und ja, es gibt Tage, da fühlt man sich trotzdem wie im Informationsgefängnis. Das hängt von der Tageskondition ab. Der öffentlich-rechtliche Rundfunk ist die Gefängnisküche. Zubereitet werden fade Speisen mit sich ständig wiederholenden Zutaten. Heraus kommt ein Gericht, eine Pampe, wie die tagesschau. LAAAANGWEILIG!

Man glaubt, Informationen und kritische Äußerungen gegenüber dem Mainstream-Einheitsbrei bleiben in den Gefängnismauern, der Blase, schaffen es nicht über die Mauer nach draußen, in die vermeintliche Freiheit. Neue Erkenntnisse werden nur innerhalb der Mauern weitergegeben. Ein neuer Kanal, steigende Abonnenten. Doch wer sind die? Welche von da draußen, in der sogenannten Freiheit, oder doch wieder immer dieselben üblichen Verdächtigen? Die da draußen haben uns doch schon längst geblockt oder gleich gelöscht. Mit Gedankenverbrechern will man nichts zu tun haben.

Hallo, ihr da draußen: Wir sind unschuldig. Unser einziges Verbrechen ist, dass wir Informationen verbreiten, die euch da draußen nicht gefallen, weil sie euch nicht in den Kram passen. Für euch sind wir eine Bedrohung, weil diese Informationen auf euch weltbilderschütternd wirken. Wir sprechen das aus, was viele sich nicht einmal trauen zu denken. Ihr habt Angst vor der Freiheit. Nicht wir sitzen ein, sondern ihr. In einem Freiluft-Gefängnis. Wir decken die Lügen auf, die da draußen, außerhalb der Mauern verbreitet werden. Wir sind nicht die Erfinder der Lügen, sondern nur die Überbringer der schlechten Botschaften.

Es ist leichter Menschen zu lieben, von denen man belogen wird, als Menschen zu lieben, die einem sagen, dass man belogen wird.

Mit aller Kraft wird versucht, die Menschen in Einzelhaft zu setzen. In der Summe ist das die gesellschaftliche Spaltung. Gleichzeitig wird an den Zusammenhalt appelliert, obwohl man genau das Gegenteil davon vorantreibt.

Es geht auch nicht um Mitleid. Es geht um das Verdeutlichen der vorhandenen medialen Axt, mit der ganze Nationen in zwei Teile zerhackt werden. Auf politischer Ebene wird viel dafür getan, dass sich das auch ja nicht ändert. Ein Volk in Angst ist gut zu regieren. Teile und herrsche. Die Sprüche können wir alle schon rückwärts auf der Blockflöte pfeifen.

An den vier Ecken des Informations-Gefängnisses stehen Wachtürme, mit Wärtern, ausgebildet vom DSA, vom Digital Services Act, finanziert vom Wahrheitsministerium, dass ständig aktualisierend darüber befindet, was heute gerade aktuell als „Hass und Hetze“ en vogue ist. Es kommt eben immer darauf an, wer diese Begriffe aus der bisher dunkelsten Zeit in der deutschen Geschichte benutzt. Das hatten wir alles schon einmal. Das brauchen wir nicht mehr!

Schon in der Bibel steht das Gebot: Du sollst nicht lügen. Da steht nicht: Lügen verboten! Das Titelbild gehört leider auch zur deutschen Vergangenheit. Ist es jetzt schon verboten, darauf hinzuweisen, dass sich so etwas nicht wiederholen darf? Und in einer Demokratie, die eine sein will, schon gar nicht. Eine Demokratie, die keine ist, wenn die Meinungsfreiheit beschnitten wird und selbsternannte Experten meinen darüber entscheiden zu müssen, was als wahr und was als Lüge einzustufen ist. Die Vorgabe von Meinungs-Korridoren delegitimieren das Recht, seine Meinung frei äußern zu dürfen. In einer funktionierenden Demokratie dürfte sogar gelogen werden. Jedem, der noch zwei gesunde Gehirnzellen im Kopf hat, sollte doch klar sein, dass all das erbärmliche Versuche sind, sich mit allen Mitteln an der Macht festzuklammern.

Noch einmal zurück zur anfänglichen Metapher. So lange wir leben, befinden wir uns in einem fließenden Prozess. Nichts ist in Stein gemeißelt, nichts hält für immer. Betrachtet man die jüngste Vergangenheit als einen lebendigen Prozess, der noch nicht abgeschlossen ist, der sich ständig weiterentwickelt, dann ist all dieser Wahnsinn der Regen, der bei Frost zu Eis wird und die Mauer immer maroder macht. Die Temperaturen gehen wieder über Null, das Eis taut auf, das Wasser versickert, der nächste Regen, der nächste Frost. Alles neigt dazu kaputt zu gehen.

Wir brauchen eigentlich nur zu warten, während wir fleißig weiter Erkenntnisse sammeln und dabei zusehen, wie ein Frost nach dem anderen, in Form von immer neuen und weiteren Informationen, die all die Lügen zu Corona und den aktuellen Kriegen in der Welt, die Gefängnismauer früher oder später zum Einsturz bringen wird. Und das ist wirklich so sicher, wie das Amen in der Kirche. Die Wahrheit hat immer gesiegt!

Und wenn der Damm erst einmal gebrochen ist, das Wasser schwappt bereits über die Staumauer, dann wird sich die Wahrheit wie ein Sturzbach über die Menschen ergießen. Manche wird sie mitreißen, Schicksal, wir haben genug Rettungsboote ausgesetzt in den letzten Jahren.

Spricht so ein pessimistischer Optimist mit realistischen Tendenzen?

Ihr da draußen, macht nur so weiter. Immer mehr von demselben, und fleißig weiter wundern, dass nichts anderes dabei herauskommt. Überall ist bereits euer eigenes Sägen zu hören, an dem Ast, auf dem ihr selber sitzt. Mit verschränkten Armen, leichtgeneigtem Kopf und einem Schmunzeln auf den Lippen schauen wir dabei zu und fragen uns, wie lange der Ast wohl noch halten wird und wann es kracht. Wir können warten!

Dieser Artikel wurde mit dem Pareto-Client geschrieben

* *

(Bild von pixabay)

@ df478568:2a951e67

If you've made one single-sig bitcoin wallet, you've made then all. The idea is, write down 12 or 24 magic words. Make your wallet disappear by dropping your phone in the toilet. Repeat the 12 magic words and do some hocus-pocus. Your sats re-appear from realms unknown. Or...Each word represents a 4 digit number from 0000-2047. I say it's magic.

I've recommended many wallets over the years. It's difficult to find the perfect wallet because there are so many with different security tailored for different threat models. You don't need Anchorwatch level of security for 1000 sats. 12 words is good enough. Misty Breez is like Aqua Wallet because the sats get swapped to Liquid in a similar way with a couple differences.

1. Misty Breez has no stableshitcoin¹ support.
2. Misty Breez gives you a lightning address. Misty Breez Lightning Wallet.

That's a big deal. That's what I need to orange pill the man on the corner selling tamales out of his van. Bitcoin is for everybody, at least anybody who can write 12 words down. A few years ago, almost nobody, not even many bitcoiners had a lightning address. Now Misty Breez makes it easy for anyone with a 5th grade reading level to start using lightning addresses. The tamale guy can send sats back home with as many tariffs as a tweet without leaving his truck.

How Misty Breez Works

Back in the day, I drooled over every word Elizabeth Stark at lightning labs uttered. I still believed in shitcoins at the time. Stark said atomic swaps can be made over the lightning network. Litecoin, since it also adopted the lightning network, can be swapped with bitcoin and vice-versa. I thought this was a good idea because it solves the coincidence of wants. I could technically have a sign on my website that says, "shitcoin accepted here" and automatically convert all my shitcoins to sats.

I don't do that because I now know there is no reason to think any shitcoin will go up in value over the long-term for various reasons. Technically, cashu is a shitcoin. Technically, Liquid is a shitcoin. Technically, I am not a card carrying bitcoin maxi because of this. I use these shitcoins because I find them useful. I consider them to be honest shitcoins(term stolen from NVK²).

Breeze does ~atomic swaps~~ peer swaps between bitcoin and Liquid. The sender sends sats. The receiver turns those sats into Liquid Bitcoin(L-BTC). This L-BTC is backed by bitcoin, therefore Liquid is a full reserve bank in many ways. That's why it molds into my ethical framework. I originally became interested in bitcoin because I thought fractional reserve banking was a scam and bitcoin was(and is) the most viable alternative to this scam.

Sats sent to Misty Breez wallet are pretty secure. It does not offer perfect security. There is no perfect security. Even though on-chain bitcoin is the most pristine example of cybersecurity on the planet, it still has risk. Just ask the guy who is digging up a landfill to find his bitcoin. I have found most noobs lose keys to bitcoin you give them. Very few take the time to keep it safe because they don't understand bitcoin well enough to know it will go up forever Laura.

She writes 12 words down with a reluctant bored look on her face. Wam. Bam. Thank you m'am. Might as well consider it a donation to the network because that index card will be buried in a pile of future trash in no time. Here's a tiny violin playing for the pre-coiners who lost sats.

"Lost coins only make everyone else's coins worth slightly more. Think of it as a donation to everyone." --Sathoshi Nakamoto, BitcoinTalk --June 21, 2010

The same thing will happen with the Misty Wallet. The 12 words will be written down my someone bored and unfulfilled woman working at NPC-Mart, but her phone buzzes in her pocket the next day. She recieved a new payment. Then you share the address on nostr and five people send her sats for no reason at all. They say everyone requires three touch points. Setting up a pre-coiner with a wallet which has a lightning address will allow you to send her as many touch points as you want. You could even send 21 sats per day for 21 days using Zap Planner. That way bitcoin is not just an "investment," but something people can see in action like a lion in the jungle chasing a gazelle.

Make Multiple Orange Pill Touch Points With Misty The Breez Lightning Address

It's no longer just a one-night stand. It's a relationship. You can softly send her sats seven days a week like a Rabbit Hole recap listening freak. Show people how to use bitcoin as it was meant to be used: Peer to Peer electronic cash. Misty wallet is still beta software so be careful because lightning is still in the w reckless days. Don't risk more sats that you are willing to lose with it just yet, but consider learning how to use it so you can teach others after the wallet is battle tested. I had trouble sending sats to my lightning address today from Phoenix wallet. Hopefully that gets resovled, but I couldn't use it today for whatever reason. I still think it's an awesome idea and will follow this project because I think it has potential.

npub1marc26z8nh3xkj5rcx7ufkatvx6ueqhp5vfw9v5teq26z254renshtf3g0

¹ Stablecoins are shitcoins, but I admit they are not totally useless, but the underlying asset is the epitome of money printer go brrrrrr. ²NVK called cashu an honeset shitcoin on the Bitcoin.review podcast and I've used the term ever sense.

@ 6e64b83c:94102ee8

How to Run Your Own Nostr Relay on Android with Cloudflare Domain

Prerequisites

1. Install Citrine on your Android device:
2. Visit https://github.com/greenart7c3/Citrine/releases
3. Download the latest release using:
   • zap.store
   • Obtainium
   • F-Droid
   • Or download the APK directly

4. Note: You may need to enable "Install from Unknown Sources" in your Android settings

5. Domain Requirements:

6. Purchase a domain if you don't have one

7. Transfer your domain to Cloudflare if it's not already there (for free SSL certificates and cloudflared support)

8. Tools to use:

9. nak (the nostr army knife):
   • Download from https://github.com/fiatjaf/nak/releases
   • Installation steps:

   • For Linux/macOS: ```bash # Download the appropriate version for your system wget https://github.com/fiatjaf/nak/releases/latest/download/nak-linux-amd64 # for Linux # or wget https://github.com/fiatjaf/nak/releases/latest/download/nak-darwin-amd64 # for macOS

     # Make it executable chmod +x nak-*

     # Move to a directory in your PATH sudo mv nak-* /usr/local/bin/nak - For Windows:batch # Download the Windows version curl -L -o nak.exe https://github.com/fiatjaf/nak/releases/latest/download/nak-windows-amd64.exe

     # Move to a directory in your PATH (e.g., C:\Windows) move nak.exe C:\Windows\nak.exe - Verify installation:bash nak --version ```

Setting Up Citrine

1. Open the Citrine app
2. Start the server
3. You'll see it running on ws://127.0.0.1:4869 (local network only)
4. Go to settings and paste your npub into "Accept events signed by" inbox and press the + button. This prevents others from publishing events to your personal relay.

Installing Required Tools

1. Install Termux from Google Play Store
2. Open Termux and run:

bash pkg update && pkg install wget wget https://github.com/cloudflare/cloudflared/releases/latest/download/cloudflared-linux-arm64.deb dpkg -i cloudflared-linux-arm64.deb

Cloudflare Authentication

1. Run the authentication command: bash cloudflared tunnel login
2. Follow the instructions:
3. Copy the provided URL to your browser
4. Log in to your Cloudflare account
5. If the URL expires, copy it again after logging in

Creating the Tunnel

1. Create a new tunnel: bash cloudflared tunnel create <TUNNEL_NAME>
2. Choose any name you prefer for your tunnel

3. Copy the tunnel ID after creating the tunnel

4. Create and configure the tunnel config: bash touch ~/.cloudflared/config.yml nano ~/.cloudflared/config.yml

5. Add this configuration (replace the placeholders with your values): ```yaml tunnel: credentials-file: /data/data/com.termux/files/home/.cloudflared/.json ingress:

6. hostname: nostr.yourdomain.com service: ws://localhost:4869
7. service: http_status:404 ```
8. Note: In nano editor:
   • CTRL+O and Enter to save
   • CTRL+X to exit

9. Note: Check the credentials file path in the logs

10. Validate your configuration: bash cloudflared tunnel validate

11. Start the tunnel: bash cloudflared tunnel run my-relay

Preventing Android from Killing the Tunnel

Run these commands to maintain tunnel stability: bash date && apt install termux-tools && termux-setup-storage && termux-wake-lock echo "nameserver 1.1.1.1" > $PREFIX/etc/resolv.conf

Tip: You can open multiple Termux sessions by swiping from the left edge of the screen while keeping your tunnel process running.

Updating Your Outbox Model Relays

Once your relay is running and accessible via your domain, you'll want to update your relay list in the Nostr network. This ensures other clients know about your relay and can connect to it.

Decoding npub (Public Key)

Private keys (nsec) and public keys (npub) are encoded in bech32 format, which includes: - A prefix (like nsec1, npub1 etc.) - The encoded data - A checksum

This format makes keys: - Easy to distinguish - Hard to copy incorrectly

However, most tools require these keys in hexadecimal (hex) format.

To decode an npub string to its hex format:

bash nak decode nostr:npub1dejts0qlva8mqzjlrxqkc2tmvs2t7elszky5upxaf3jha9qs9m5q605uc4

Change it with your own npub.

bash { "pubkey": "6e64b83c1f674fb00a5f19816c297b6414bf67f015894e04dd4c657e94102ee8" }

Copy the pubkey value in quotes.

Create a kind 10002 event with your relay list:

• Include your new relay with write permissions
• Include other relays you want to read from and write to, omit 3rd parameter to make it both read and write

Example format:

json { "kind": 10002, "tags": [ ["r", "wss://your-relay-domain.com", "write"], ["r", "wss://eden.nostr.land/"], ["r", "wss://nos.lol/"], ["r", "wss://nostr.bitcoiner.social/"], ["r", "wss://nostr.mom/"], ["r", "wss://relay.primal.net/"], ["r", "wss://nostr.wine/", "read"], ["r", "wss://relay.damus.io/"], ["r", "wss://relay.nostr.band/"], ["r", "wss://relay.snort.social/"] ], "content": "" }

Save it to a file called event.json

Note: Add or remove any relays you want. To check your existing 10002 relays: - Visit https://nostr.band/?q=by%3Anpub1dejts0qlva8mqzjlrxqkc2tmvs2t7elszky5upxaf3jha9qs9m5q605uc4+++kind%3A10002 - nostr.band is an indexing service, it probably has your relay list. - Replace npub1xxx in the URL with your own npub - Click "VIEW JSON" from the menu to see the raw event - Or use the nak tool if you know the relays bash nak req -k 10002 -a <your-pubkey> wss://relay1.com wss://relay2.com

Replace `<your-pubkey>` with your public key in hex format (you can get it using `nak decode <your-npub>`)

1. Sign and publish the event:
2. Use a Nostr client that supports kind 10002 events
3. Or use the nak command-line tool: bash nak event --sec ncryptsec1... wss://relay1.com wss://relay2.com $(cat event.json)

Important Security Notes: 1. Never share your nsec (private key) with anyone 2. Consider using NIP-49 encrypted keys for better security 3. Never paste your nsec or private key into the terminal. The command will be saved in your shell history, exposing your private key. To clear the command history: - For bash: use history -c - For zsh: use fc -W to write history to file, then fc -p to read it back - Or manually edit your shell history file (e.g., ~/.zsh_history or ~/.bash_history) 4. if you're using zsh, use fc -p to prevent the next command from being saved to history 5. Or temporarily disable history before running sensitive commands:

bash unset HISTFILE nak key encrypt ... set HISTFILE

How to securely create NIP-49 encypted private key

```bash

Read your private key (input will be hidden)

read -s SECRET

Read your password (input will be hidden)

read -s PASSWORD

encrypt command

echo "$SECRET" | nak key encrypt "$PASSWORD"

copy and paste the ncryptsec1 text from the output

read -s ENCRYPTED nak key decrypt "$ENCRYPTED"

clear variables from memory

unset SECRET PASSWORD ENCRYPTED ```

On a Windows command line, to read from stdin and use the variables in nak commands, you can use a combination of set /p to read input and then use those variables in your command. Here's an example:

```bash @echo off set /p "SECRET=Enter your secret key: " set /p "PASSWORD=Enter your password: "

echo %SECRET%| nak key encrypt %PASSWORD%

:: Clear the sensitive variables set "SECRET=" set "PASSWORD=" ```

If your key starts with ncryptsec1, the nak tool will securely prompt you for a password when using the --sec parameter, unless the command is used with a pipe < > or |.

bash nak event --sec ncryptsec1... wss://relay1.com wss://relay2.com $(cat event.json)

1. Verify the event was published:
2. Check if your relay list is visible on other relays

3. Use the nak tool to fetch your kind 10002 events: bash nak req -k 10002 -a <your-pubkey> wss://relay1.com wss://relay2.com

4. Testing your relay:

5. Try connecting to your relay using different Nostr clients
6. Verify you can both read from and write to your relay
7. Check if events are being properly stored and retrieved
8. Tip: Use multiple Nostr clients to test different aspects of your relay

Note: If anyone in the community has a more efficient method of doing things like updating outbox relays, please share your insights in the comments. Your expertise would be greatly appreciated!

@ d34e832d:383f78d0

A Look into Traffic Analysis and What WebSocket Patterns Reveal at the Network Level

While WebSocket encryption (typically via WSS) is essential for protecting data in transit, traffic analysis remains a potent method of uncovering behavioral patterns, data structure inference, and protocol usage—even when payloads are unreadable. This idea investigates the visibility of encrypted WebSocket communications using Wireshark and similar packet inspection tools. We explore what metadata remains visible, how traffic flow can be modeled, and what risks and opportunities exist for developers, penetration testers, and network analysts. The study concludes by discussing mitigation strategies and the implications for privacy, application security, and protocol design.

Consider

In the age of real-time web applications, WebSockets have emerged as a powerful protocol enabling low-latency, bidirectional communication. From collaborative tools and chat applications to financial trading platforms and IoT dashboards, WebSockets have become foundational for interactive user experiences.

However, encryption via WSS (WebSocket Secure, running over TLS) gives developers and users a sense of security. The payload may be unreadable, but what about the rest of the connection? Can patterns, metadata, and traffic characteristics still leak critical information?

This thesis seeks to answer those questions by leveraging Wireshark, the de facto tool for packet inspection, and exploring the world of traffic analysis at the network level.

Background and Related Work

The WebSocket Protocol

Defined in RFC 6455, WebSocket operates over TCP and provides a persistent, full-duplex connection. The protocol upgrades an HTTP connection, then communicates through a simple frame-based structure.

Encryption with WSS

WSS connections use TLS (usually on port 443), making them indistinguishable from HTTPS traffic at the packet level. Payloads are encrypted, but metadata such as IP addresses, timing, packet size, and connection duration remain visible.

Traffic Analysis

Traffic analysis—despite encryption—has long been a technique used in network forensics, surveillance, and malware detection. Prior studies have shown that encrypted protocols like HTTPS, TLS, and SSH still reveal behavioral information through patterns.

Methodology

Tools Used:

• Wireshark (latest stable version)
• TLS decryption with local keys (when permitted)
• Simulated and real-world WebSocket apps (chat, games, IoT dashboards)
• Scripts to generate traffic patterns (Python using websockets and aiohttp)

Test Environments:

• Controlled LAN environments with known server and client
• Live observation of open-source WebSocket platforms (e.g., Matrix clients)

Data Points Captured:

• Packet timing and size
• TLS handshake details
• IP/TCP headers
• Frame burst patterns
• Message rate and directionality

Findings

1. Metadata Leaks

Even without payload access, the following data is visible: - Source/destination IP - Port numbers (typically 443) - Server certificate info - Packet sizes and intervals - TLS handshake fingerprinting (e.g., JA3 hashes)

2. Behavioral Patterns

• Chat apps show consistent message frequency and short message sizes.
• Multiplayer games exhibit rapid bursts of small packets.
• IoT devices often maintain idle connections with periodic keepalives.
• Typing indicators, heartbeats, or "ping/pong" mechanisms are visible even under encryption.

3. Timing and Packet Size Fingerprinting

Even encrypted payloads can be fingerprinted by: - Regularity in payload size (e.g., 92 bytes every 15s) - Distinct bidirectional patterns (e.g., send/ack/send per user action) - TLS record sizes which may indirectly hint at message length

Side-Channel Risks in Encrypted WebSocket Communication

Although WebSocket payloads transmitted over WSS (WebSocket Secure) are encrypted, they remain susceptible to side-channel analysis, a class of attacks that exploit observable characteristics of the communication channel rather than its content.

Side-Channel Risks Include:

1. User Behavior Inference
Adversaries can analyze packet timing and frequency to infer user behavior. For example, typing indicators in chat applications often trigger short, regular packets. Even without payload visibility, a passive observer may identify when a user is typing, idle, or has closed the application. Session duration, message frequency, and bursts of activity can be linked to specific user actions.

2. Application Fingerprinting
TLS handshake metadata and consistent traffic patterns can allow an observer to identify specific client libraries or platforms. For example, the sequence and structure of TLS extensions (via JA3 fingerprinting) can differentiate between browsers, SDKs, or WebSocket frameworks. Application behavior—such as timing of keepalives or frequency of updates—can further reinforce these fingerprints.

3. Usage Pattern Recognition
Over time, recurring patterns in packet flow may reveal application logic. For instance, multiplayer game sessions often involve predictable synchronization intervals. Financial dashboards may show bursts at fixed polling intervals. This allows for profiling of application type, logic loops, or even user roles.

4. Leakage Through Timing
Time-based attacks can be surprisingly revealing. Regular intervals between message bursts can disclose structured interactions—such as polling, pings, or scheduled updates. Fine-grained timing analysis may even infer when individual keystrokes occur, especially in sparse channels where interactivity is high and payloads are short.

5. Content Length Correlation
While encrypted, the size of a TLS record often correlates closely to the plaintext message length. This enables attackers to estimate the size of messages, which can be linked to known commands or data structures. Repeated message sizes (e.g., 112 bytes every 30s) may suggest state synchronization or batched updates.

6. Session Correlation Across Time
Using IP, JA3 fingerprints, and behavioral metrics, it’s possible to link multiple sessions back to the same client. This weakens anonymity, especially when combined with data from DNS logs, TLS SNI fields (if exposed), or consistent traffic habits. In anonymized systems, this can be particularly damaging.

Side-Channel Risks in Encrypted WebSocket Communication

Although WebSocket payloads transmitted over WSS (WebSocket Secure) are encrypted, they remain susceptible to side-channel analysis, a class of attacks that exploit observable characteristics of the communication channel rather than its content.

1. Behavior Inference

Even with end-to-end encryption, adversaries can make educated guesses about user actions based on traffic patterns:

• Typing detection: In chat applications, short, repeated packets every few hundred milliseconds may indicate a user typing.
• Voice activity: In VoIP apps using WebSockets, a series of consistent-size packets followed by silence can reveal when someone starts and stops speaking.
• Gaming actions: Packet bursts at high frequency may correlate with real-time game movement or input actions.

2. Session Duration

WebSocket connections are persistent by design. This characteristic allows attackers to:

• Measure session duration: Knowing how long a user stays connected to a WebSocket server can infer usage patterns (e.g., average chat duration, work hours).
• Identify session boundaries: Connection start and end timestamps may be enough to correlate with user login/logout behavior.

3. Usage Patterns

Over time, traffic analysis may reveal consistent behavioral traits tied to specific users or devices:

• Time-of-day activity: Regular connection intervals can point to habitual usage, ideal for profiling or surveillance.
• Burst frequency and timing: Distinct intervals of high or low traffic volume can hint at backend logic or user engagement models.

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Example Scenario: Encrypted Chat App

Even though a chat application uses end-to-end encryption and transports data over WSS:

• A passive observer sees:
• TLS handshake metadata
• IPs and SNI (Server Name Indication)
• Packet sizes and timings
• They might then infer:
• When a user is online or actively chatting
• Whether a user is typing, idle, or receiving messages
• Usage patterns that match a specific user fingerprint

This kind of intelligence can be used for traffic correlation attacks, profiling, or deanonymization — particularly dangerous in regimes or situations where privacy is critical (e.g., journalists, whistleblowers, activists).

Fingerprinting Encrypted WebSocket Applications via Traffic Signatures

Even when payloads are encrypted, adversaries can leverage fingerprinting techniques to identify the specific WebSocket libraries, frameworks, or applications in use based on unique traffic signatures. This is a critical vector in traffic analysis, especially when full encryption lulls developers into a false sense of security.

1. Library and Framework Fingerprints

Different WebSocket implementations generate traffic patterns that can be used to infer what tool or framework is being used, such as:

• Handshake patterns: The WebSocket upgrade request often includes headers that differ subtly between:
• Browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari)
• Python libs (websockets, aiohttp, Autobahn)
• Node.js clients (ws, socket.io)
• Mobile SDKs (Android’s okhttp, iOS Starscream)
• Heartbeat intervals: Some libraries implement default ping/pong intervals (e.g., every 20s in socket.io) that can be measured and traced back to the source.

2. Payload Size and Frequency Patterns

Even with encryption, metadata is exposed:

• Frame sizes: Libraries often chunk or batch messages differently.
• Initial message burst: Some apps send a known sequence of messages on connection (e.g., auth token → subscribe → sync events).
• Message intervals: Unique to libraries using structured pub/sub or event-driven APIs.

These observable patterns can allow a passive observer to identify not only the app but potentially which feature is being used, such as messaging, location tracking, or media playback.

3. Case Study: Identifying Socket.IO vs Raw WebSocket

Socket.IO, although layered on top of WebSockets, introduces a handshake sequence of HTTP polling → upgrade → packetized structured messaging with preamble bytes (even in encrypted form, the size and frequency of these frames is recognizable). A well-equipped observer can differentiate it from a raw WebSocket exchange using only timing and packet length metrics.

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Security Implications

• Targeted exploitation: Knowing the backend framework (e.g., Django Channels or FastAPI + websockets) allows attackers to narrow down known CVEs or misconfigurations.
• De-anonymization: Apps that are widely used in specific demographics (e.g., Signal clones, activist chat apps) become fingerprintable even behind HTTPS or WSS.
• Nation-state surveillance: Traffic fingerprinting lets governments block or monitor traffic associated with specific technologies, even without decrypting the data.

Leakage Through Timing: Inferring Behavior in Encrypted WebSocket Channels

Encrypted WebSocket communication does not prevent timing-based side-channel attacks, where an adversary can deduce sensitive information purely from the timing, size, and frequency of encrypted packets. These micro-behavioral signals, though not revealing actual content, can still disclose high-level user actions — sometimes with alarming precision.

1. Typing Detection and Keystroke Inference

Many real-time chat applications (Matrix, Signal, Rocket.Chat, custom WebSocket apps) implement "user is typing..." features. These generate recognizable message bursts even when encrypted:

• Small, frequent packets sent at irregular intervals often correspond to individual keystrokes.
• Inter-keystroke timing analysis — often accurate to within tens of milliseconds — can help reconstruct typed messages’ length or even guess content using language models (e.g., inferring "hello" vs "hey").

2. Session Activity Leaks

WebSocket sessions are long-lived and often signal usage states by packet rhythm:

• Idle vs active user patterns become apparent through heartbeat frequency and packet gaps.
• Transitions — like joining or leaving a chatroom, starting a video, or activating a voice stream — often result in bursts of packet activity.
• Even without payload access, adversaries can profile session structure, determining which features are being used and when.

3. Case Study: Real-Time Editors

Collaborative editing tools (e.g., Etherpad, CryptPad) leak structure:

• When a user edits, each keystroke or operation may result in a burst of 1–3 WebSocket frames.
• Over time, a passive observer could infer:
• Whether one or multiple users are active
• Who is currently typing
• The pace of typing
• Collaborative vs solo editing behavior

4. Attack Vectors Enabled by Timing Leaks

• Target tracking: Identify active users in a room, even on anonymized or end-to-end encrypted platforms.
• Session replay: Attackers can simulate usage patterns for further behavioral fingerprinting.
• Network censorship: Governments may block traffic based on WebSocket behavior patterns suggestive of forbidden apps (e.g., chat tools, Tor bridges).

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Mitigations and Countermeasures

While timing leakage cannot be entirely eliminated, several techniques can obfuscate or dampen signal strength:

• Uniform packet sizing (padding to fixed lengths)
• Traffic shaping (constant-time message dispatch)
• Dummy traffic injection (noise during idle states)
• Multiplexing WebSocket streams with unrelated activity

Excellent point — let’s weave that into the conclusion of the thesis to emphasize the dual nature of WebSocket visibility:

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Visibility Without Clarity — Privacy Risks in Encrypted WebSocket Traffic**

This thesis demonstrates that while encryption secures the contents of WebSocket payloads, it does not conceal behavioral patterns. Through tools like Wireshark, analysts — and adversaries alike — can inspect traffic flows to deduce session metadata, fingerprint applications, and infer user activity, even without decrypting a single byte.

The paradox of encrypted WebSockets is thus revealed:
They offer confidentiality, but not invisibility.

As shown through timing analysis, fingerprinting, and side-channel observation, encrypted WebSocket streams can still leak valuable information. These findings underscore the importance of privacy-aware design choices in real-time systems:

• Padding variable-size messages to fixed-length formats
• Randomizing or shaping packet timing
• Mixing in dummy traffic during idle states
• Multiplexing unrelated data streams to obscure intent

Without such obfuscation strategies, encrypted WebSocket traffic — though unreadable — remains interpretable.

In closing, developers, privacy researchers, and protocol designers must recognize that encryption is necessary but not sufficient. To build truly private real-time systems, we must move beyond content confidentiality and address the metadata and side-channel exposures that lie beneath the surface.

Absolutely! Here's a full thesis-style writeup titled “Mitigation Strategies: Reducing Metadata Leakage in Encrypted WebSocket Traffic”, focusing on countermeasures to side-channel risks in real-time encrypted communication:

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Mitigation Strategies: Reducing Metadata Leakage in Encrypted WebSocket Traffic

Abstract

While WebSocket traffic is often encrypted using TLS, it remains vulnerable to metadata-based side-channel attacks. Adversaries can infer behavioral patterns, session timing, and even the identity of applications through passive traffic analysis. This thesis explores four key mitigation strategies—message padding, batching and jitter, TLS fingerprint randomization, and connection multiplexing—that aim to reduce the efficacy of such analysis. We present practical implementations, limitations, and trade-offs associated with each method and advocate for layered, privacy-preserving protocol design.

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1. Consider

The rise of WebSockets in real-time applications has improved interactivity but also exposed new privacy attack surfaces. Even when encrypted, WebSocket traffic leaks observable metadata—packet sizes, timing intervals, handshake properties, and connection counts—that can be exploited for fingerprinting, behavioral inference, and usage profiling.

This Idea focuses on mitigation rather than detection. The core question addressed is: How can we reduce the information available to adversaries from metadata alone?

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2. Threat Model and Metadata Exposure

Passive attackers situated at any point between client and server can: - Identify application behavior via timing and message frequency - Infer keystrokes or user interaction states ("user typing", "user joined", etc.) - Perform fingerprinting via TLS handshake characteristics - Link separate sessions from the same user by recognizing traffic patterns

Thus, we must treat metadata as a leaky abstraction layer, requiring proactive obfuscation even in fully encrypted sessions.

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3. Mitigation Techniques

3.1 Message Padding

Variable-sized messages create unique traffic signatures. Message padding involves standardizing the frame length of WebSocket messages to a fixed or randomly chosen size within a predefined envelope.

• Pro: Hides exact payload size, making compression side-channel and length-based analysis ineffective.
• Con: Increases bandwidth usage; not ideal for mobile/low-bandwidth scenarios.

Implementation: Client libraries can pad all outbound messages to, for example, 512 bytes or the next power of two above the actual message length.

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3.2 Batching and Jitter

Packet timing is often the most revealing metric. Delaying messages to create jitter and batching multiple events into a single transmission breaks correlation patterns.

• Pro: Prevents timing attacks, typing inference, and pattern recognition.
• Con: Increases latency, possibly degrading UX in real-time apps.

Implementation: Use an event queue with randomized intervals for dispatching messages (e.g., 100–300ms jitter windows).

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3.3 TLS Fingerprint Randomization

TLS fingerprints—determined by the ordering of cipher suites, extensions, and fields—can uniquely identify client libraries and platforms. Randomizing these fields on the client side prevents reliable fingerprinting.

• Pro: Reduces ability to correlate sessions or identify tools/libraries used.
• Con: Requires deeper control of the TLS stack, often unavailable in browsers.

Implementation: Modify or wrap lower-level TLS clients (e.g., via OpenSSL or rustls) to introduce randomized handshakes in custom apps.

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3.4 Connection Reuse or Multiplexing

Opening multiple connections creates identifiable patterns. By reusing a single persistent connection for multiple data streams or users (in proxies or edge nodes), the visibility of unique flows is reduced.

• Pro: Aggregates traffic, preventing per-user or per-feature traffic separation.
• Con: More complex server-side logic; harder to debug.

Implementation: Use multiplexing protocols (e.g., WebSocket subprotocols or application-level routing) to share connections across users or components.

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4. Combined Strategy and Defense-in-Depth

No single strategy suffices. A layered mitigation approach—combining padding, jitter, fingerprint randomization, and multiplexing—provides defense-in-depth against multiple classes of metadata leakage.

The recommended implementation pipeline: 1. Pad all outbound messages to a fixed size 2. Introduce random batching and delay intervals 3. Obfuscate TLS fingerprints using low-level TLS stack configuration 4. Route data over multiplexed WebSocket connections via reverse proxies or edge routers

This creates a high-noise communication channel that significantly impairs passive traffic analysis.

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5. Limitations and Future Work

Mitigations come with trade-offs: latency, bandwidth overhead, and implementation complexity. Additionally, some techniques (e.g., TLS randomization) are hard to apply in browser-based environments due to API constraints.

Future work includes: - Standardizing privacy-enhancing WebSocket subprotocols - Integrating these mitigations into mainstream libraries (e.g., Socket.IO, Phoenix) - Using machine learning to auto-tune mitigation levels based on threat environment

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6. Case In Point

Encrypted WebSocket traffic is not inherently private. Without explicit mitigation, metadata alone is sufficient for behavioral profiling and application fingerprinting. This thesis has outlined practical strategies for obfuscating traffic patterns at various protocol layers. Implementing these defenses can significantly improve user privacy in real-time systems and should become a standard part of secure WebSocket deployments.

@ 4c96d763:80c3ee30

Changes

William Casarin (28):

• dave: constrain power for now
• ci: bump ubuntu runner
• dave: initial note rendering
• note: fix from_hex crash on bad note ids
• dave: improve multi-note display
• dave: cleanly separate ui from logic
• dave: add a few docs
• dave: add readme
• dave: improve docs with ai
• docs: add some ui-related guides
• docs: remove test hallucination
• docs: add tokenator docs
• docs: add notedeck docs
• docs: add notedeck_columns readme
• docs: add notedeck_chrome docs
• docs: improve top-level docs
• dave: add new chat button
• dave: ensure system prompt is included when reset
• enostr: rename to_bech to npub
• name: display_name before name in NostrName
• ui: add note truncation
• ui: add ProfilePic::from_profile_or_default
• dave: add query rendering, fix author queries
• dave: return tool errors back to the ai
• dave: give present notes a proper tool response
• dave: more flexible env config
• dave: bubble note actions to chrome
• chrome: use actual columns noteaction executor

kernelkind (13):

• remove unnecessary #[allow(dead_code)]
• extend ZapAction
• UserAccount use builder pattern
• Wallet token parser shouldn't parse all
• move WalletState to UI
• add default zap
• introduce ZapWallet
• use ZapWallet
• propagate DefaultZapState to wallet ui
• wallet: helper method to get current wallet
• accounts: check if selected account has wallet
• ui: show default zap amount in wallet view
• use default zap amount for zap

pushed to notedeck:refs/heads/master

@ 866e0139:6a9334e5

Autor: René Boyke. Dieser Beitrag wurde mit dem Pareto-Client geschrieben. Sie finden alle Texte der Friedenstaube und weitere Texte zum Thema Frieden hier. Die neuesten Pareto-Artikel finden Sie in unserem Telegram-Kanal.

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Die neuesten Artikel der Friedenstaube gibt es jetzt auch im eigenen Friedenstaube-Telegram-Kanal.

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Das völkerrechtliche Gewaltverbot ist das völkerrechtliche Pendant zum nationalen Gewaltmonopol. Bürgern ist die Ausübung von Gewalt nur unter engen Voraussetzungen erlaubt, ähnlich sieht es das Völkerrecht für Staaten vor. Das völkerrechtliche Gewaltverbot gemäß Art. 2 Abs. 4 der VN-Charta ist damit eines der fundamentalsten Prinzipien des modernen Völkerrechts. Ein echtes Gewaltmonopol, wie es innerhalb eines Staates existiert, besteht auf internationaler Ebene allerdings nicht, denn dies kann rein faktisch – zumindest derzeit noch – nur sehr schwer bzw. gar nicht umgesetzt werden.

Das Verbot von Gewalt ist eine Sache, aber wer sollte bei einem Verstoß Polizei spielen dürfen? Das Gewaltverbot verbietet den Staaten die Androhung oder Anwendung von Gewalt gegen die territoriale Integrität oder politische Unabhängigkeit eines anderen Staates. Obwohl 193 und damit fast alle Staaten Mitglied der Vereinten Nationen sind, kann man ganz und gar nicht davon sprechen, dass das Gewaltverbot Kriege beseitigt hätte. Nüchtern betrachtet liegt seine Funktion daher nicht in der Verhinderung von Kriegen, sondern in der Legitimation rechtlicher Konsequenzen: Wer gegen das Verbot verstößt, ist im Unrecht und muss die entsprechenden Konsequenzen tragen. Die Reichweite des Gewaltverbots wirft zahlreiche Fragen auf. Diesen widmet sich der vorliegende Beitrag überblicksartig.

Historische Entwicklung des Gewaltverbots

Vor dem 20. Jahrhundert war das „Recht zum Krieg“ (ius ad bellum) weitgehend unreguliert; Staaten konnten aus nahezu beliebigen Gründen zu den Waffen greifen, ja, Krieg galt zwar nicht ausdrücklich als erlaubt, aber eben auch nicht als verboten. Mit dem Briand-Kellogg-Pakt von 1928 wurde rechtlich betrachtet ein weitgehendes Gewaltverbot erreicht. Doch statt warmer Worte hat der Pakt nicht viel erreicht. Deutschland war bereits damals und ist noch immer Mitglied des Pakts, doch weder den Zweiten Weltkrieg noch unzählige andere Kriege hat der Pakt nicht verhindern können.

Ein gewisser Paradigmenwechsel erfolgte nach dem zweiten Weltkrieg mit der Gründung der Vereinten Nationen 1945 und der VN-Charta, welche ein umfassendes Gewaltverbot mit nur wenigen Ausnahmen etablierte. Das Gewaltverbot wurde im Laufe der Zeit durch Gewohnheitsrecht und zahlreiche Resolutionen der Vereinten Nationen gefestigt und gilt heute als „jus cogens“, also als zwingendes Völkerrecht, von dem nur wenige Abweichung zulässig sind. Es ist jedoch leider festzustellen, dass nicht die Einhaltung des Gewaltverbots die Regel ist, sondern dessen Bruch. Nicht wenige Völkerrechtler halten das Gewaltverbot daher für tot. In der deutschen völkerrechtlichen Literatur stemmt man sich jedoch gegen diese Einsicht und argumentiert, dass es zwar Brüche des Gewaltverbots gebe, aber jeder rechtsbrüchige Staat versuche hervorzuheben, dass seine Gewaltanwendung doch ausnahmsweise erlaubt gewesen sei, was also bedeute, dass das Gewaltverbot anerkannt sei.

Dass dies lediglich vorgeschobene Lippenbekenntnisse, taktische Ausreden bzw. inszenierte Theaterstücke sind und damit eine Verhöhnung und gerade keine Anerkennung des Gewaltverbots, wird offenbar nicht ernsthaft in Betracht gezogen. Betrachtet man das von den USA 2003 inszenierte Theaterstück, die Erfindung der „weapons of mass destruction,“ um einen Vorwand zum Angriff des Irak zu schaffen, dann ist erstaunlich, wie man zu der Ansicht gelangen kann, die USA sähen ein Gewaltverbot für sich als bindend an.

Wenn das Gewaltverbot schon nicht in der Lage ist, Kriege zu verhindern, so ist es dennoch Gegenstand rechtlicher Konsequenzen, insbesondere nach Beendigung bewaffneter Auseinandersetzungen. Zudem legt die Beachtung oder Nichtbeachtung des Gebots offen, welcher Staat es damit tatsächlich ernst meint und welcher nicht. Dazu muss man jedoch den Inhalt des Gebots kennen, weshalb sich eine Beschäftigung damit lohnt.

Rechtliche Grundlagen des Gewaltverbots

Das Gewaltverbot gilt nur für Gewalt zwischen Staaten, nicht für private Akte, es sei denn, diese sind einem Staat zurechenbar (z. B. durch Unterstützung wie Waffenlieferungen).

Terrorismus wird nicht automatisch als Verletzung des Gewaltverbots gewertet, sondern als Friedensbedrohung, die andere völkerrechtliche Regeln auslöst. Bei Cyberangriffen ist die Zurechnung schwierig, da die Herkunft oft unklar ist und Sorgfaltspflichten eines Staates nicht zwangsläufig eine Gewaltverletzung bedeuten. Das Verbot umfasst sowohl offene militärische Gewalt (z. B. Einmarsch) als auch verdeckte Gewalt (z. B. Subversion). Es gibt jedoch Diskussionen über eine notwendige Gewaltintensität: Kleinere Grenzverletzungen fallen oft nicht darunter, die Schwelle ist aber niedrig. Nicht jede Verletzung des Gewaltverbots gilt als bewaffneter Angriff.

Nicht-militärische Einwirkungen wie wirtschaftlicher Druck oder Umweltverschmutzung gelten nicht als Gewalt im Sinne des Verbots. Entscheidend ist, dass die Schadenswirkung militärischer Gewalt entspricht, was z. B. bei Cyberangriffen relevant wird, die kritische Infrastruktur lahmlegen.

Ausnahmen vom Gewaltverbot

Trotz Reichweite des Gewaltverbots existieren anerkannte Ausnahmen, die unter bestimmten Umständen die Anwendung von Gewalt legitimieren:

1. Recht auf Selbstverteidigung (Art. 51 VN-Charta): Staaten dürfen sich gegen einen bewaffneten Angriff verteidigen, bis der VN- Sicherheitsrat die notwendigen Maßnahmen zur Wiederherstellung des Friedens ergriffen hat. Diese Selbstverteidigung kann individuell (der angegriffene Staat wehrt sich selbst) oder kollektiv (ein anderer Staat kommt dem angegriffenen Staat zur Hilfe) ausgeübt werden. Ob eine Selbstverteidigung zulässig ist, hängt folglich in erster Linie davon ab, ob ein bewaffneter Angriff vorliegt. Nach der Rechtsprechung des IGH setzt ein bewaffneter Angriff eine Mindestintensität voraus, also schwerwiegende Gewalt und nicht lediglich Grenzzwischenfälle. Ferner muss es sich um einen gegenwärtigen Angriff handeln, was präventive Selbstverteidigung grundsätzlich ausschließt – was nicht bedeutet, dass sie nicht ausgeführt würde (siehe Irak- Krieg 2003). Zudem muss der Angriff von einem Staat ausgehen oder ihm zumindest zurechenbar sein. Schließlich muss der Angriff sich gegen die territoriale Integrität, politische Unabhängigkeit oder staatliche Infrastruktur eines Staates richten, wobei Angriffe auf Flugzeuge oder Schiffe außerhalb seines Territoriums ausreichend sind. Maßnahmen des VN-Sicherheitsrats (Kapitel VII VN-Charta): Der Sicherheitsrat kann bei Vorliegen einer Bedrohung oder eines Bruchs des Friedens oder einer Angriffshandlung Zwangsmaßnahmen beschließen, die auch den Einsatz militärischer Gewalt umfassen können. Diese Ausnahmen sind eng gefasst und unterliegen strengen Voraussetzungen, um Missbrauch zu verhindern.

Neben diesen anerkannten Ausnahmen vom Gewaltverbot wird weiter diskutiert, ob es weitere Ausnahmen vom Gewaltverbot gibt, insbesondere in Fällen humanitärer Interventionen und Präventivschläge.

• Humanitäre Interventionen: Verübt ein Staat gegen einen Teil seiner Bevölkerung schwere Verbrechen wie Völkermord oder Kriegsverbrechen, so sehen einige ein fremdes Eingreifen ohne VN-Mandat als gerechtfertigt an. Das Europäische Parlament beispielsweise hat humanitäre Interventionen bereits 1994 für zulässig erklärt.1 Ein Beispiel dafür ist der NATO-Einsatz im Kosovo 1999, der jedoch überwiegend als völkerrechtswidrig bewertet wird, während NATO-Staaten ihn jedoch als moralisch gerechtfertigt betrachteten. Wie wenig allerdings eine humanitäre Intervention als Ausnahme vom Gewaltverbot anerkannt ist, zeigt der Ukrainekrieg, speziell seit dem massiven Einschreiten Russlands 2022, welches sich ebenfalls auf humanitäre Gründe beruft, damit jedoch – zumindest bei den NATO-Staaten – kein Gehör findet. Gegen „humanitäre Interventionen“ als Ausnahmen vom Gewaltverbot sprechen nicht nur deren mangelnde Kodifikation oder gewohnheitsrechtliche Etablierung, sondern auch ganz praktische Probleme: Wie beispielsweise kann ein eingreifender Staat sich sicher sein, ob innerstaatliche Gewalthandlungen Menschenrechtsverletzungen darstellen oder gerechtfertigtes Vorgehen gegen beispielsweise aus dem Ausland finanzierte Terroristen? Zudem besteht die Gefahr, dass bewusst derartige Verhältnisse in einem Land geschaffen werden, um einen Vorwand für ein militärisches Eingreifen zu schaffen. Dieses erhebliche Missbrauchspotential spricht gegen die Anerkennung humanitärer Interventionen als Ausnahme vom Gewaltverbot.

• Schutz eigener Staatsangehöriger im Ausland: Auch der Schutz eigener Staatsangehöriger im Ausland wird als gerechtfertigte Ausnahme vom Gewaltverbot diskutiert, sie ist allerdings keineswegs allgemein anerkannt. Mit Blick in die Vergangenheit und den gemachten Erfahrungen (z.B. US-Interventionen in Grenada 1983 und Panama 1989) wird vor dem erheblichen Missbrauchspotential gewarnt.

• Präventivschläge: Wie bereits erwähnt, werden präventive Angriffe auf einen Staat von einigen als Unterfall der Selbstverteidigung als berechtigte Ausnahme vom Gewaltverbot betrachtet. lediglich eine kurze Zeitspanne zur Ausschaltung der Bedrohung bestehen und das Ausmaß des zu erwartenden Schadens berücksichtigt werden. Zu beachten ist dabei, dass die genannten Kriterien dabei in Wechselwirkung stünden, was bedeute: Selbst wenn ein Angriff gar nicht so sehr wahrscheinlich sei, so solle dies dennoch einen Präventivschlag rechtfertigen, falls der zu erwartende Schaden groß sei und in einem kurzen Zeitfenster erfolgen könne (z.B. Atomschlag). Mit anderen Worten: Die Befürwortung von Präventivschlägen weicht das Gewaltverbot auf und führt zu einer leichteren Rechtfertigung militärischer Einsätze. Die konkreten Auswirkungen lassen sich sowohl durch den völkerrechtswidrigen Angriff der USA gegen den Irak und später durch den völkerrechtswidrigen Angriff Russlands gegen die Ukraine betrachten – beide Staaten beriefen sich jeweils auf Präventivschläge.

  Konsequenzen der Verletzung des Gewaltverbots

  Aus dem Vorstehenden ergibt sich bereits, dass eine Verletzung des Gewaltverbots das Recht zur Selbstverteidigung auslöst. Doch gibt es noch weitere Konsequenzen? Blickt man auf die Menge der weltweiten bewaffneten Konflikte, darf man daran zweifeln. Jedenfalls scheint das Kosten-Nutzen-Verhältnis nicht gegen eine bewaffnete Auseinandersetzung zu sprechen. Wie bereits erwähnt, existiert auf internationaler Ebene kein dem innerstaatlichen Recht vergleichbares Gewaltmonopol. Ohne dies bewerten zu wollen, lässt sich ganz objektiv feststellen, dass es keine Instanz gibt, die Zwangsmaßnahmen effektiv durchsetzen könnte. Ob dies wünschenswert wäre, darf bezweifelt werden. Aus den bisherigen Ausführungen geht ebenfalls hervor, dass der Sicherheitsrat der Vereinten Nationen Maßnahmen ergreifen kann – einschließlich des Einsatzes militärischer Gewalt. Wenn es dazu kommt, dann ist dies eines der schärfsten Schwerter, die gegen eine Verletzung des Gewaltverbots geführt werden können, weil es sich um unmittelbare Zwangsmaßnahmen handelt. Allerdings kam es bisher lediglich zwei Mal dazu (Koreakrieg 1950-19534; Golkrieg II 19915). Neben diesen tatsächlichen Zwangsmaßnahmen hat ein Verstoß gegen das Gewaltverbot rechtliche Auswirkungen:

  • Nichtigkeit von Verträgen: Gemäß Art. 52 der Wiener Vertragsrechtskonvention (WVK) ist ein Vertrag nichtig, wenn sein Abschluss durch Androhung oder Anwendung von Gewalt unter Verletzung der in der Charta der Vereinten Nationen niedergelegten Grundsätze des Völkerrechts herbeigeführt wurde.

  • Nichtanerkennung von Gebietserwerben (Stimson-Doktrin): Gemäß dem Rechtsgedanken des Art. 52 WVK werden die eroberten Gebiete nicht als Staatsgebiete des Staats angesehen, der sie unter Brechung des Gewaltverbots erobert hat.

  • Strafrechtliche Verantwortlichkeit für Staatschefs und Befehlshaber gemäß Art. 8bis des Statuts des Internationalen Strafgerichtshofs – allerdings nur für die Personen, deren Staaten, den IStGH anerkennen. Nichts zu befürchten haben also Staatschefs und Befehlshaber der USA, Russlands oder Chinas sowie Frankreichs und Großbritanniens, denn diese Staaten haben der Ahnung der Verletzung des Gewaltverbots nicht zugestimmt. Zwar könnte der Sicherheitsrat der VN eine Überweisung an den IStGH beschließen, allerdings stünde jedem der genannten Staaten ein Vetorecht dagegen zu.

  Schlussfolgerungen

  Ein Verbot der Gewalt zwischen Staaten ist grundsätzlich zu begrüßen. Doch ein Verbot allein ist erstmal nicht mehr als bedrucktes Papier. Ob hingegen wirksamere Mechanismen geschaffen werden sollten, dieses Verbot zu ahnden ist zweifelhaft. Denn stets wurde und wird noch immer mit erheblichem Aufwand für unterschiedlichste Narrative die eigene Intervention als „gerechter Krieg“ verkauft und von der Gegenpartei als ebenso ungerecht verteufelt.

  Tatsache ist: Einen gerechten Krieg gibt es nicht. Ein schärferer Mechanismus zur Durchsetzung des Gewaltverbots würde genau darauf – einen angeblich gerechten Krieg – hinauslaufen, was ein enormes Missbrauchspotential mit sich brächte. Und die Erfahrung zeigt, dass der Missbrauch des Völkerrechts und Verstöße gegen das Völkerrecht keineswegs die Ausnahme, sondern die Regel darstellen – leider auch durch die sogenannte „westliche Wertegemeinschaft“. Und würde diese Missbrauchsmöglichkeit nicht auf noch mehr militärische Auseinandersetzungen hinauslaufen? Auseinandersetzungen, deren Folgen nicht die verantwortlichen Politiker zu spüren bekämen, sondern, in Form von Tod und Verstümmelung, die Bevölkerung zu tragen hätte?

  Leidtragende ihrer „gerechten Kriege“ sind nicht die agierenden Politiker, sondern immer die einfachen Menschen – die leider nicht selten zuvor mit „Hurra“-Geschrei dem Krieg entgegenfiebern, um als „Helden“ ihrem Land zu „dienen“. In Wahrheit dienen sie jedoch nur finanziellen Interessen reicher Menschen.

  Daraus folgt, dass die Durchsetzung eines Gewaltverbots nicht in den Händen einiger weniger Staatslenker und Berufspolitiker liegen darf, sondern in den Händen der unmittelbar Betroffenen selbst. Der Familienvater, der für seine Frau und Kinder zu sorgen hat, muss aktiv den Dienst an der Waffe verweigern. Ebenso der Schüler, der Student, der Junggeselle und sämtliche Mitglieder der Gesellschaft. Die Bevölkerung ist es, die das Gewaltverbot tatsächlich und effektiv vom bedruckten Papier als ein Friedensgebot ins Leben bringen und in Vollzug setzen kann.

  (Dieser Artikel ist auch mit folgendem Kurzlink aufrufbar und teilbar)

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