@ ece127e2:745bab9c

vamos a ver que tal

@ 04c915da:3dfbecc9

There is something quietly rebellious about stacking sats. In a world obsessed with instant gratification, choosing to patiently accumulate Bitcoin, one sat at a time, feels like a middle finger to the hype machine. But to do it right, you have got to stay humble. Stack too hard with your head in the clouds, and you will trip over your own ego before the next halving even hits.

Small Wins

Stacking sats is not glamorous. Discipline. Stacking every day, week, or month, no matter the price, and letting time do the heavy lifting. Humility lives in that consistency. You are not trying to outsmart the market or prove you are the next "crypto" prophet. Just a regular person, betting on a system you believe in, one humble stack at a time. Folks get rekt chasing the highs. They ape into some shitcoin pump, shout about it online, then go silent when they inevitably get rekt. The ones who last? They stack. Just keep showing up. Consistency. Humility in action. Know the game is long, and you are not bigger than it.

Ego is Volatile

Bitcoin’s swings can mess with your head. One day you are up 20%, feeling like a genius and the next down 30%, questioning everything. Ego will have you panic selling at the bottom or over leveraging the top. Staying humble means patience, a true bitcoin zen. Do not try to "beat” Bitcoin. Ride it. Stack what you can afford, live your life, and let compounding work its magic.

Simplicity

There is a beauty in how stacking sats forces you to rethink value. A sat is worth less than a penny today, but every time you grab a few thousand, you plant a seed. It is not about flaunting wealth but rather building it, quietly, without fanfare. That mindset spills over. Cut out the noise: the overpriced coffee, fancy watches, the status games that drain your wallet. Humility is good for your soul and your stack. I have a buddy who has been stacking since 2015. Never talks about it unless you ask. Lives in a decent place, drives an old truck, and just keeps stacking. He is not chasing clout, he is chasing freedom. That is the vibe: less ego, more sats, all grounded in life.

The Big Picture

Stack those sats. Do it quietly, do it consistently, and do not let the green days puff you up or the red days break you down. Humility is the secret sauce, it keeps you grounded while the world spins wild. In a decade, when you look back and smile, it will not be because you shouted the loudest. It will be because you stayed the course, one sat at a time. \ \ Stay Humble and Stack Sats. 🫡

@ 5144fe88:9587d5af

The recent anomalies in the financial market and the frequent occurrence of world trade wars and hot wars have caused the world's political and economic landscape to fluctuate violently. It always feels like the financial crisis is getting closer and closer.

This is a systematic analysis of the possibility of the current global financial crisis by Manus based on Ray Dalio's latest views, US and Japanese economic and financial data, Buffett's investment behavior, and historical financial crises.

Research shows that the current financial system has many preconditions for a crisis, especially debt levels, market valuations, and investor behavior, which show obvious crisis signals. The probability of a financial crisis in the short term (within 6-12 months) is 30%-40%,

in the medium term (within 1-2 years) is 50%-60%,

in the long term (within 2-3 years) is 60%-70%.

Japan's role as the world's largest holder of overseas assets and the largest creditor of the United States is particularly critical. The sharp appreciation of the yen may be a signal of the return of global safe-haven funds, which will become an important precursor to the outbreak of a financial crisis.

Potential conditions for triggering a financial crisis Conditions that have been met 1. High debt levels: The debt-to-GDP ratio of the United States and Japan has reached a record high. 2. Market overvaluation: The ratio of stock market to GDP hits a record high 3. Abnormal investor behavior: Buffett's cash holdings hit a record high, with net selling for 10 consecutive quarters 4. Monetary policy shift: Japan ends negative interest rates, and the Fed ends the rate hike cycle 5. Market concentration is too high: a few technology stocks dominate market performance

Potential trigger points 1. The Bank of Japan further tightens monetary policy, leading to a sharp appreciation of the yen and the return of overseas funds 2. The US debt crisis worsens, and the proportion of interest expenses continues to rise to unsustainable levels 3. The bursting of the technology bubble leads to a collapse in market confidence 4. The trade war further escalates, disrupting global supply chains and economic growth 5. Japan, as the largest creditor of the United States, reduces its holdings of US debt, causing US debt yields to soar

---

---

Analysis of the similarities and differences between the current economic environment and the historical financial crisis Debt level comparison Current debt situation • US government debt to GDP ratio: 124.0% (December 2024) • Japanese government debt to GDP ratio: 216.2% (December 2024), historical high 225.8% (March 2021) • US total debt: 36.21 trillion US dollars (May 2025) • Japanese debt/GDP ratio: more than 250%-263% (Japanese Prime Minister’s statement)

Before the 2008 financial crisis • US government debt to GDP ratio: about 64% (2007) • Japanese government debt to GDP ratio: about 175% (2007)

Before the Internet bubble in 2000 • US government debt to GDP ratio: about 55% (1999) • Japanese government debt to GDP ratio: about 130% (1999)

Key differences • The current US debt-to-GDP ratio is nearly twice that before the 2008 crisis • The current Japanese debt-to-GDP ratio is more than 1.2 times that before the 2008 crisis • Global debt levels are generally higher than historical pre-crisis levels • US interest payments are expected to devour 30% of fiscal revenue (Moody's warning)

Monetary policy and interest rate environment

Current situation • US 10-year Treasury yield: about 4.6% (May 2025) • Bank of Japan policy: end negative interest rates and start a rate hike cycle • Bank of Japan's holdings of government bonds: 52%, plans to reduce purchases to 3 trillion yen per month by January-March 2026 • Fed policy: end the rate hike cycle and prepare to cut interest rates

Before the 2008 financial crisis • US 10-year Treasury yield: about 4.5%-5% (2007) • Fed policy: continuous rate hikes from 2004 to 2006, and rate cuts began in 2007 • Bank of Japan policy: maintain ultra-low interest rates

Key differences • Current US interest rates are similar to those before the 2008 crisis, but debt levels are much higher than then • Japan is in the early stages of ending its loose monetary policy, unlike before historical crises • The size of global central bank balance sheets is far greater than at any time in history

Market valuations and investor behavior Current situation • The ratio of stock market value to the size of the US economy: a record high • Buffett's cash holdings: $347 billion (28% of assets), a record high • Market concentration: US stock growth mainly relies on a few technology giants • Investor sentiment: Technology stocks are enthusiastic, but institutional investors are beginning to be cautious

Before the 2008 financial crisis • Buffett's cash holdings: 25% of assets (2005) • Market concentration: Financial and real estate-related stocks performed strongly • Investor sentiment: The real estate market was overheated and subprime products were widely popular

Before the 2000 Internet bubble • Buffett's cash holdings: increased from 1% to 13% (1998) • Market concentration: Internet stocks were extremely highly valued • Investor sentiment: Tech stocks are in a frenzy

Key differences • Buffett's current cash holdings exceed any pre-crisis level in history • Market valuation indicators have reached a record high, exceeding the levels before the 2000 bubble and the 2008 crisis • The current market concentration is higher than any period in history, and a few technology stocks dominate market performance

Safe-haven fund flows and international relations Current situation • The status of the yen: As a safe-haven currency, the appreciation of the yen may indicate a rise in global risk aversion • Trade relations: The United States has imposed tariffs on Japan, which is expected to reduce Japan's GDP growth by 0.3 percentage points in fiscal 2025 • International debt: Japan is one of the largest creditors of the United States

Before historical crises • Before the 2008 crisis: International capital flows to US real estate and financial products • Before the 2000 bubble: International capital flows to US technology stocks

Key differences • Current trade frictions have intensified and the trend of globalization has weakened • Japan's role as the world's largest holder of overseas assets has become more prominent • International debt dependence is higher than any period in history

@ 5d4b6c8d:8a1c1ee3

https://primal.net/e/nevent1qvzqqqqqqypzp6dtxy5uz5yu5vzxdtcv7du9qm9574u5kqcqha58efshkkwz6zmdqqszj207pl0eqkgld9vxknxamged64ch2x2zwhszupkut5v46vafuhg9833px

Some of my colleagues were talking about how they're even more scared of RFK Jr. than they are of Trump. I hope he earns it.

https://stacker.news/items/987685

@ bf47c19e:c3d2573b

Originalni tekst na antenam.net

22.05.2025 / Autor: Ana Nives Radović

---

Da nema besplatnog ručka sigurno ste čuli svaki put kad bi neko poželio da naglasi da se sve na neki način plaća, iako možda tu cijenu ne primjećujemo odmah. Međutim, kada govorimo o događaju od kojeg je prošlo tačno 15 godina onda o „ručku“ ne govorimo u prenešenom smislu, već o porudžbini pice čija tržišna vrijednost iz godine u godinu dostiže iznos koji je čini najskupljom hranom koja je ikad poručena.

Tog 22. maja 2010. godine čovjek sa Floride pod imenom Laslo Hanjec potrošio je 10.000 bitcoina na dvije velike pice. U to vrijeme, ta količina bitcoina imala je tržišnu vrijednost od oko 41 dolar. Ako uzmemo u obzir da je vrijednost jedne jedinice ove digitalne valute danas nešto više od 111.000 dolara, tih 10.000 bitcoina danas bi značilo vrijednost od 1,11 milijardi dolara.

Nesvakidašnji događaj u digitalnoj i ugostiteljskoj istoriji, nastao zbog znatiželje poručioca koji je želio da se uvjeri da koristeći bitcoin može da plati nešto u stvarnom svijetu, pretvorio se u Bitcoin Pizza Day, kao podsjetnik na trenutak koji je označio prelaz bitcoina iz apstraktnog kriptografskog eksperimenta u nešto što ima stvarnu vrijednost.

Hanjec je bio znatiželjan i pitao se da li se prva, a u to vrijeme i jedina kriptovaluta može iskoristiti za kupovinu nečeg opipljivog. Objavio je ponudu na jednom forumu koja je glasila: 10.000 BTC za dvije pice. Jedan entuzijasta se javio, naručio pice iz restorana Papa John’s i ispisao zanimljivu stranicu istorije digitalne imovine.

Taj inicijalni zabilježeni finansijski dogovor dao je bitcoinu prvu široko prihvaćenu tržišnu vrijednost: 10.000 BTC za 41 dolar, čime je bitcoin napravio svoj prvi korak ka onome što danas mnogi zovu digitalnim zlatom.

Šta je zapravo bitcoin?

Bitcoin je oblik digitalnog novca koji je osmišljen da bude decentralizovan, transparentan i otporan na uticaj centralnih banaka. Kreirao ga je 2009. godine anonimni autor poznat kao Satoši Nakamoto, neposredno nakon globalne finansijske krize 2008. godine. U svojoj suštini, bitcoin je protokol, skup pravila koja sprovodi kompjuterski kod, koji omogućava korisnicima da bez posrednika sigurno razmjenjuju vrijednost putem interneta.

Osnova cijelog sistema je blockchain, distribuisana digitalna knjiga koju održavaju hiljade nezavisnih računara (tzv. čvorova) širom svijeta. Svaka transakcija se bilježi u novi „blok“, koji se potom dodaje u lanac (otud naziv „lanac blokova“, odnosno blockchain). Informacija koja se jednom upiše u blok ne može da se izbriše, niti promijeni, što omogućava više transparentnosti i više povjerenja.

Da bi blockchain mreža u kojoj se sve to odvija zadržala to svojstvo, bitcoin koristi mehanizam konsenzusa nazvan dokaz rada (proof-of-work), što znači da specijalizovani računari koji „rudare“ bitcoin rješavaju kompleksne matematičke probleme kako bi omogućili obavljanje transakcija i pouzdanost mreže.

Deflatorna priroda bitcoina

Najjednostavniji način da se razumije deflatorna priroda bitcoina je da pogledamo cijene izražene u valuti kojoj plaćamo. Sigurno ste u posljednje vrijeme uhvatili sebe da komentarišete da ono što je prije nekoliko godina koštalo 10 eura danas košta 15 ili više. Budući da to ne zapažate kada je u pitanju cijena samo određenog proizvoda ili usluge, već kao sveprisutan trend, shvatate da se radi o tome da je novac izgubio vrijednost. Na primjer, kada je riječ o euru, otkako je Evropska centralna banka počela intenzivno da doštampava novac svake godine, pa je od 2009. kada je program tzv. „kvantitativnog popuštanja“ započet euro zabilježio kumulativnu inflaciju od 42,09% zbog povećane količine sredstava u opticaju.

Međutim, kada je riječ o bitcoinu, njega nikada neće biti više od 21 milion koliko je izdato prvog dana, a to nepromjenjivo pravilo zapisano je i u njegovom kodu. Ova ograničena ponuda oštro se suprotstavlja principima koji važe kod monetarnih institucija, poput centralnih banaka, koje doštampavaju novac, često da bi povećale količinu u opticaju i tako podstakle finansijske tokove, iako novac zbog toga gubi vrijednost. Nasuprot tome, bitcoin se zadržava na iznosu od 21 milion, pa je upravo ta konačnost osnova za njegovu deflatornu prirodu i mogućnost da vremenom dobija na vrijednosti.

Naravno, ovo ne znači da je cijena bitcoina predodređena da samo raste. Ona je zapravo prilično volatilna i oscilacije su česte, posebno ukoliko, na primjer, posmatramo odnos cijena unutar jedne godine ili nekoliko mjeseci, međutim, gledano sa vremenske distance od četiri do pet godina bilo koji uporedni period od nastanka bitcoina do danas upućuje na to da je cijena u međuvremenu porasla. Taj trend će se nastaviti, tako da, kao ni kada je riječ o drugim sredstvima, poput zlata ili nafte, nema mjesta konstatacijama da je „vrijeme niskih cijena prošlo“.

Šta zapravo znači ovaj dan?

Bitcoin Pizza Day je za mnoge prilika da saznaju ponešto novo o bitcoinu, jer tada imaju priliku da o njemu čuju detalje sa raznih strana, jer kako se ovaj događaj popularizuje stvaraju se i nove prilike za učenje. Takođe, ovaj dan od 2021. obilježavaju picerije širom svijeta, u više od 400 gradova iz najmanje 75 zemalja, jer je za mnoge ovo prilika da korisnike bitcoina navedu da potroše djelić svoje imovine na nešto iz njihove ponude. Naravno, taj iznos je danasd zanemarljivo mali, a cijena jedne pice danas je otprilike 0,00021 bitcoina.

No, dok picerije širom svijeta danas na zabavan način pokušavaju da dođu do novih gostiju, ovaj dan je za mnoge vlasnike bitcoina nešto poput opomene da svoje digitalne novčiće ipak ne treba trošiti na nešto potrošno, jer je budućnost nepredvidiva. Bitcoin Pizza Day je dan kada se ideja pretvorila u valutu, kada su linije koda postale sredstvo razmjene.

Prvi let avionom trajao je svega 12 sekundi, a u poređenju sa današnjim transkontinentalnim linijama to djeluje gotovo neuporedivo i čudno, međutim, od nečega je moralo početi. Porudžbina pice plaćene bitcoinom označile su početak razmjene ove vrste, dok se, na primjer, tokom jučerašnjeg dana obim plaćanja bitcoinom premašio 23 milijarde dolara. Nauka i tehnologija nas podsjećaju na to da sve počinje malim, zanemarivim koracima.

@ bf47c19e:c3d2573b

Zvanični vebsajt knjige

Srpski prevod knjige "The Little Bitcoin Book"

---

Zašto je Bitkoin bitan za vašu slobodu, finansije i budućnost?

Verovatno ste čuli za Bitkoin u vestima ili da o njemu raspravljaju vaši prijatelji ili kolege. Kako to da se cena stalno menja? Da li je Bitkoin dobra investicija? Kako to uopšte ima vrednost? Zašto ljudi stalno govore o tome kao da će promeniti svet?

"Mala knjiga o Bitkoinu" govori o tome šta nije u redu sa današnjim novcem i zašto je Bitkoin izmišljen da obezbedi alternativu trenutnom sistemu. Jednostavnim rečima opisuje šta je Bitkoin, kako funkcioniše, zašto je vredan i kako utiče na individualnu slobodu i mogućnosti ljudi svuda - od Nigerije preko Filipina do Venecuele do Sjedinjenih Država. Ova knjiga takođe uključuje odeljak "Pitanja i odgovori" sa nekim od najčešće postavljanih pitanja o Bitkoinu.

Ako želite da saznate više o ovom novom obliku novca koji i dalje izaziva interesovanje i usvajanje širom sveta, onda je ova knjiga za vas.

@ 9ca447d2:fbf5a36d

Gen Z (those born between 1997 and 2012) are not rushing to stack sats, and Oliver Porter, Founder & CEO of Jippi, understands the challenge better than most. His strategy revolves around adapting Bitcoin education to fit seamlessly into the digital lives of young adults.

“We need to meet them where they are,” Oliver explains. “90% of Gen Z plays games. 70% expect to earn rewards.”

So, what will effectively introduce them to Bitcoin? In Oliver’s mind, the answer is simple: games that don’t feel preachy but still plant the orange pill.

Learn more at Jippi.app

That’s exactly what Jippi is. Based in Austin, Texas, the team has created a mobile augmented reality (AR) game that rewards players in bitcoin and sneakily teaches them why sound money matters.

“It’s Pokémon GO… but for sats,” Oliver puts it succinctly.

Jippi is like Pokemon Go, but for sats

Oliver’s Bitcoin journey, like many in the space, began long before he was ready. A former colleague had tried planting the seed years earlier, handing him a copy of The Bitcoin Standard. But the moment passed.

It wasn’t until the chaos of 2020 when lockdowns hit, printing presses roared, and civil liberties shrank that the message finally landed for him.

“The government got so good at doing reverse Robin Hood,” Oliver explains. “They steal from the working population and reward the rich.”

By 2020, though, the absurdity of the covid hysteria had caused his eyes to be opened and the orange light seemed the best path back to freedom.

He left the UK for Austin “one of the best places for Bitcoiners,” he says, and dove headfirst into the industry, working at Swan for a year before founding Jippi on PlebLab’s accelerator program.

Jippi’s flagship game lets players roam their cities hunting digital creatures, Bitcoin Beasts, tied to real-world locations. Catching them requires answering Bitcoin trivia, and the reward is sats.

No jargon. No hour-long lectures. Just gameplay with sound money principles woven right in.

The model is working. At a recent hackathon in Austin, Jippi beat out 14 other teams to win first place and $15,000 in prize money.

Oliver of Jippi won Top Builder Season 2 — PlebLab on X

“We’re backdooring Bitcoin education,” Oliver admits. “And while we’re at it, encouraging people to get outside and touch grass.”

Not everyone’s been thrilled. When Jippi team members visited one of the more liberal-leaning places in Texas, UT Austin, to test interest in Bitcoin, they found some seriously committed no-coiners on the campus.

“One young woman told me, ‘I would rather die than talk about Bitcoin,'” Oliver recalls, highlighting the cultural resistance that’s built up among younger demographics.

This resistance is backed by hard data. According to Oliver, some of the Bitcoin podcasters they met with in the space to do market research reported that less than 1% of their listeners are from Gen Z and that number is dropping.

“Unless we find a way to capture their interest in a meaningful way, there’s going to be a big problem around trying to sway Gen Z away from the siren call of s***coins and crypto casinos and towards Bitcoin,” Oliver warns.

Jippi’s next big move is Las Vegas, where they’ll launch the Beast Catch experience at the Venetian during a major Bitcoin event. To mark the occasion, they’re opening up six limited sponsorship spots for Bitcoin companies, each one tied to a custom in-game beast.

Jippi looks to launch a special event at Bitcoin 2025

“It’s real estate inside the game,” Oliver explains. “Brands become allies, not intrusions. You get a logo, company name, and call to action, so we can push people to your site or app.”

Bitcoin Well—an automatic self-custody Bitcoin platform—has claimed Beast #1. Only five exclusive spots remain for Bitcoin companies to “beastify their brand” through Jippi’s immersive AR game.

“I love the Jippi mission. I think gamified learning is how we will onboard the next generation and it’s exciting to see what the Jippi team is doing! I love working with bitcoiners towards our common mission – bullish!” said Adam O’Brien, Bitcoin Well CEO.

Jippi’s sponsorship model is simple: align incentives, respect users, and support builders. Instead of throwing ad money at tech giants, Bitcoin companies can connect with new users naturally while they’re having fun and earning sats in the process.

For Bitcoin companies looking to reach a younger demographic, this represents a unique opportunity to showcase their brand to up to 30,000 potential customers at the Vegas event.

Jippi Bitcoin Beast partnership

While Jippi’s current focus is simple, get the game into more cities, Oliver sees a future where AR glasses and AI help personalize Bitcoin education even further.

“The magic is going to really happen when Apple releases the glasses form factor,” he says, describing how augmented reality could enhance real-world connections rather than isolate users.

In the longer term, Jippi aims to evolve from a free-to-play model toward a pay-to-play version with higher stakes. Users would form “tribes” with friends to compete for substantial bitcoin prizes, creating social connections along with financial education.

Unlike VC-backed startups, Jippi is raising funds pleb style via Timestamp, an open investment platform for Bitcoin companies.

“You don’t have to be an accredited investor,” Oliver explains. “You’re directly supporting the parallel Bitcoin economy by investing in Bitcoin companies for equity.”

Anyone can invest as little as $100. Perks include early access, exclusive game content, and even creating your own beast design with your name/pseudonym and unique game lore. Each investment comes with direct ownership of an early-stage Bitcoin company like Jippi.

For Oliver, this is more than just a business. It’s about future-proofing Bitcoin adoption and ensuring Satoshi’s vision lives on, especially as many people are lured by altcoins, NFTs, and social media dopamine.

“We’re on the right side of history,” he says firmly. “I want my grandkids to know that early on in the Bitcoin revolution, games like Jippi helped make it stick.”

In a world increasingly absorbed by screens and short attention spans, Jippi’s combination of outdoor play, sats rewards, and Bitcoin education might be exactly the bridge Gen Z needs.

Interested in sponsoring a Beast or investing in Jippi? Reach out to Jippi directly by heading to their partnerships page on their website or visit their Timestamp page to invest in Jippi today.

@ 05a0f81e:fc032124

I was discussing with my friend and few of his friends about the inflation of naira in Nigeria 🇳🇬. Our discussions was flowing until he said that lack of production and too much importations are the major reason that devalued currencies, naira to be precise. As a baby bitcioner, I disagree with him and that's where our discussion turn to argument.

People often think that when a country prioritize productions than consumption that it will boost the value of there currency, but that is wrong. Production have it's impart on the economy of the country.

Increased Economic Growth: A trade surplus indicates that a country's output is high, contributing to overall economic growth, as measured by GDP.

Stimulated Consumer Spending: The influx of foreign currency from exports can be used to import goods, stimulating domestic demand and boosting consumer spending.

Potential for Higher Wages and Living Standards: Increased productivity and economic growth can lead to higher wages and a better standard of living.

Savings and Investment: The surplus can be used for savings, investment in infrastructure, or to reduce debt, further strengthening the economy.

Comparative Advantage: A country may specialize in producing goods and services where it has a comparative advantage, leading to higher productivity and efficiency.

Moreover, too production and exportation also causes inflation. country exports too much and its domestic demand doesn't keep pace, it could lead to inflation as businesses raise prices to cover increased production cost.

Meanwhile, the head lead of currency inflation is the printing of money in the air!.

"Printing money in the air" likely refers to the concept of central banks creating new money digitally, often through quantitative easing. This process involves the central bank buying assets, such as government bonds, from banks and other financial institutions, thereby injecting new money into the economy.

How it Works:

• Digital Money Creation: The central bank creates new money electronically, rather than physically printing currency notes.

• Asset Purchases: The central bank buys assets from banks and other financial institutions, injecting new money into the economy.

• Increased Money Supply: This process expands the money supply, which can lead to lower interest rates and increased lending.

Key Points:

• Quantitative Easing (QE): A monetary policy tool used by central banks to stimulate economic growth by buying assets and injecting new money into the economy.

• No Physical Printing: Unlike traditional money printing, QE creates digital money, which is then used to purchase assets.

• Impact on Economy: QE can influence interest rates, inflation, and economic growth.

The role of Central Bank's.

The central bank plays a crucial role in managing the money supply and implementing monetary policies, including QE. By controlling interest rates and the money supply, central banks aim to promote economic growth, stability, and low inflation.

There are key 🔑 negative effects of printing currency notes on air!:

Printing money, also known as quantitative easing, can have several negative effects on the economy. Some of the key concerns include;

• Inflation: Excessive money printing can lead to inflation, as more money chases a constant amount of goods and services, driving up prices. This can erode the purchasing power of consumers and reduce the value of savings.

• Currency Devaluation: Printing money can cause a decline in the value of a currency, making imports more expensive and potentially leading to higher prices for consumers.

• Distorted Financial Markets: The injection of liquidity into the economy can artificially inflate asset prices, creating market distortions and potentially leading to asset bubbles.

• Uncertainty and Confusion: High inflation can create uncertainty and confusion for businesses and individuals, making it harder to make informed investment decisions.

• Reduced Incentive to Save: Inflation can reduce the incentive to save, as the value of money declines over time.

• Menu Costs: High inflation can lead to menu costs, where businesses incur expenses to update prices frequently.

• Inefficient Allocation of Resources: Government spending funded by printing money can lead to inefficient allocation of resources, as decisions are driven by politics rather than market forces.

• Addiction to Fiscal Stimulus: The ease of printing money can create a dependency on fiscal stimulus, making it challenging to reverse course when economic conditions change.

• Long-term Consequences: The long-term consequences of printing money can be severe, including reduced economic growth, higher inflation, and decreased confidence in the currency.

It's worth noting that the impact of printing money can vary depending on the economic context. In times of recession or deflation, moderate money printing might be used to stimulate economic growth without triggering significant inflation. However, excessive or prolonged money printing can lead to negative consequences.

@ 1c5ff3ca:efe9c0f6

Auto-Deployment on a VPS with GitHub Actions

Introduction

This tutorial describes how you can deploy an application on a VPS using GitHub Actions. This way, changes in your GitHub repository are automatically deployed to your VPS.

Prerequisites

• GitHub Account
• GitHub Repository
• Server + SSH access to the server

Step 1 - SSH Login to Server

Open a terminal and log in via SSH. Then navigate to the .ssh directory

ssh user@hostname cd ~/.ssh

Step 2 - Create an SSH Key

Now create a new SSH key that we will use for auto-deployment. In the following dialog, simply press "Enter" repeatedly until the key is created.

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "service-name-deploy-github"

Step 3 - Add the Key to the authorized_keys File

cat id_ed25519.pub >> authorized_keys

(If you named the key file differently, change this accordingly)

Step 4 - GitHub Secrets

In order for the GitHub Action to perform the deployment later, some secrets must be stored in the repository. Open the repository on GitHub. Navigate to "Settings" -> "Secrets And Variables" -> "Actions". Add the following variables:

• HOST: Hostname or IP address of the server
• USERNAME: Username you use to log in via SSH
• SSHKEY: The private key (copy the content from cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519)
• PORT: 22

Step 5 - Create the GitHub Action

Now create the GitHub Action for auto-deployment. The following GitHub Action will be used: https://github.com/appleboy/scp-action In your local repository, create the file .github/workflows/deploy.yml:

```yaml name: Deploy on: [push] jobs: build: runs-on: ubuntu-latest steps: - uses: actions/checkout@v1 - name: Copy repository content via scp uses: appleboy/scp-action@master with: host: ${{ secrets.HOST }} username: ${{ secrets.USERNAME }} port: ${{ secrets.PORT }} key: ${{ secrets.SSHKEY }} source: "." target: "/your-target-directory"

- name: Executing a remote command
  uses: appleboy/ssh-action@master
  with:
    host: ${{ secrets.HOST }}
    username: ${{ secrets.USERNAME }}
    port: ${{ secrets.PORT }}
    key: ${{ secrets.SSHKEY }}
    script: |
      ls

```

This action copies the repository files to your server using scp. Afterwards, the ls command is executed. Here you can add appropriate commands that rebuild your service or similar. To rebuild and start a docker service you could use something like this or similar: docker compose -f target-dir/docker-compose.yml up --build -d Now commit this file and in the "Actions" tab of your repository, the newly created action should now be visible and executed. With every future change, the git repository will now be automatically copied to your server.

Sources

I read this when trying out, but it did not work and I adapted the deploy.yml file: https://dev.to/knowbee/how-to-setup-continuous-deployment-of-a-website-on-a-vps-using-github-actions-54im

@ 8d34bd24:414be32b

In our culture today, people like to have “my truth” as opposed to “your truth.” They want to have teachers who tell them what they want to hear and worship in the way they desire. The Bible predicted these times.

For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. (2 Timothy 4:3)

My question is, “do we get to choose what we want to believe about God and how we want to worship Him, or does God tell us what we are to believe and how we are to worship Him?”

The Bible makes it clear that He is who He says He is and He expects obedience and worship according to His commands. We do not get to decide for ourselves.

The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:19-24) {emphasis mine}

In this passage, Jesus gently corrects the woman for worshipping what she does not know. He also says, “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” He states what God is (spirit) and how He must be worshipped “in spirit and truth.” We don’t get to define God however we wish, and we don’t get to worship Him any way we wish. God is who He has revealed Himself to be and we must obey Him and worship Him the way He has commanded.

In this next passage, God makes clear that He is holy and we do not get to worship Him any way we wish. We are to interact with Him in the prescribed manner.

Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. Then Moses said to Aaron, “It is what the Lord spoke, saying,

‘By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy,\ And before all the people I will be honored.’ ”

So Aaron, therefore, kept silent. (Leviticus 10:1-3) {emphasis mine}

God had prescribed a particular way to approach Him and only those whom He had chosen (priests of the lineage of Aaron). Nadab and Abihu chose to “do it their way” and paid the price for ignoring God’s command. God set an example with them.

God has been gracious enough to reveal Himself, His character, His power, and His commands to us. If we have truly submitted ourselves to His rule, we should hunger for God’s words so we can know Him better and honor Him in obedience.

But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves. I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. (John 17:13-17) {emphasis mine}

In today’s culture, everybody likes to claim their own personal truth, but that isn’t how truth works. The truth is not determined by an individual for themselves. It isn’t even determined by a consensus or majority vote. The truth is the truth even if not one person on earth believes it. God speaks truth and God is truth. Our belief or lack thereof doesn’t change the truth, but our lack of belief in the truth, especially the truth as revealed by God in His word, can negatively affect our relationship with God.

God expects us to study His word so we can obey His commands.

For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, that it may be well with you.’ Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and went backward and not forward. Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have sent you all My servants the prophets, daily rising early and sending them. Yet they did not listen to Me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck; they did more evil than their fathers. (Jeremiah 7:22-26) {emphasis mine}

Today you rarely see someone bowing down to a golden idol, but that doesn’t mean that we are any better at obeying God’s commands or submitting to His will. We still try to make God in our own image so He is a convenience to us and how we want to live our lives. We still put other things ahead of God — family, work, entertainment, fame, etc. Most of us aren’t any more faithful to God than the Israelites were. Just like the Israelites, we put on the trappings of faith but don’t live according to faith and faithfulness.

And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:

‘This people honors Me with their lips,\ But their heart is far away from Me.\ **But in vain do they worship Me,\ Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’\ Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.”

He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition. (Mark 7:6-9) {emphasis mine}

How many “churches” and “Christian” leaders teach people according to the culture instead of according to the Word of God? How many tell people what they want to hear and what makes them feel good instead of what they need to hear — the truth as spoken through the Bible? How many church attenders follow a “Christian” leader more than they follow their Creator, Savior, and God? How many church attenders can recite the words of their leaders better than the Holy Scriptures?

I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. (2 Timothy 4:1-5) {emphasis mine}

How can we know if a church leader is rightly preaching God’s word? We can only know if we have read the Bible and studied it. We should be like the Bereans:

Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. (Acts 17:11)

Honestly, I don’t trust any spiritual leader who doesn’t encourage me to search the Scriptures to see whether their words are true. Any leader who puts their own word above the Scriptures is a false teacher. Sadly there are many, maybe more than faithful teachers. Some false teachers are intentionally so, but many have been misled by other false teachers. Their guilt is less, but they don’t do any less harm than those who intentionally mislead.

We need to seek trustworthy teachers who speak according to the Word of God, who quote the Bible to support their opinions, and who seek the good of their followers rather than the submission of their followers.

Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,\ As in the day of Massah in the wilderness,

“When your fathers tested Me,\ They tried Me, though they had seen My work.\ For forty years I loathed that generation,\ And said they are a people who err in their heart,\ And they do not know My ways.\ Therefore I swore in My anger,\ Truly they shall not enter into My rest.” (Psalm 95:8-11) {emphasis mine} *Teach me good discernment and knowledge,\ For I believe in Your commandments*.\ Before I was afflicted I went astray,\ But now I keep Your word.\ You are good and do good;\ Teach me Your statutes.\ The arrogant have forged a lie against me;\ *With all my heart I will observe Your precepts*.\ Their heart is covered with fat,\ But I delight in Your law.\ It is good for me that I was afflicted,\ That I may learn Your statutes.\ The law of Your mouth is better to me\ Than thousands of gold and silver pieces. (Psalm 119:66-72) {emphasis mine}

May our Creator God teach us the truth. May He fill our hearts with the desire to be in His word daily and to seek His will. May He do what is necessary to get our attention and turn our hearts and minds fully to Him, so we can learn His statutes and serve Him faithfully, so one day we are blessed to hear, “Well done! Good and faithful servant.”

Trust Jesus.

FYI, I see lack of knowledge of truth and God’s word as one of the biggest problems in the church today; however, it is possible to know the Bible in depth, but not know God. As important as knowledge of Scriptures is, this knowledge (without faith, submission, obedience, and love) is meaningless. Knowledge doesn’t get us to heaven. Even obedience doesn’t get us to heaven. Only faith and submission to our creator God leads to salvation and heaven. That being said, we can’t faithfully serve our God without knowledge of Him and His commands. Out of gratefulness for who He is and what He has done for us, we should seek to know and please Him.

@ 9ca447d2:fbf5a36d

Ukraine is reportedly about to make history by becoming the first country in Europe to have a national bitcoin reserve, a move aimed at strengthening its economy during the war with Russia.

The plan is still in its early stages and Binance, the world’s largest digital asset exchange, is involved.

According to Incrypted, a Ukrainian digital asset news outlet, Ukrainian MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak, First Deputy Chairman of the Finance, Tax and Customs Policy Committee, confirmed that the draft law is almost ready and will be submitted to the parliament soon.

“We will soon submit a draft law from the industry allowing the creation of crypto reserves,” Zheleznyak told Incrypted.

Earlier discussions mentioned a broader “crypto reserve” but the current plan is focused on bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset. If approved, the law will allow the National Bank of Ukraine to hold bitcoin as part of the country’s official reserves.

Since the war with Russia started, Ukraine has become one of the most bitcoin-friendly countries in the world.

In 2022 and 2023 Ukraine raised over $100 million in digital asset donations for defense and humanitarian purposes. A report from Chainalysis ranked the country among the top 10 countries for bitcoin adoption globally.

A rather vague and unconfirmed report by BitcoinTreasuries.net states that “holdings of public officials” currently stand at 46,351 BTC.

Ukraine bitcoin holdings as reported by BitcoinTreasuries

Supporters of the bitcoin reserve say it will help Ukraine protect its economy from war-related instability, inflation and currency depreciation.

By going digital, the government is looking for modern tools to strengthen its financial system in uncertain times. This is not just about storing bitcoin, it’s about establishing clear laws for digital assets ownership, management and use.

Binance is playing an advisory role in the project. The company has worked with Ukraine on digital asset education and regulations in the past and is now helping to shape the legal framework for the bitcoin reserve.

Kirill Khomyakov, Binance’s regional head for Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Africa, confirmed the company’s support, but warned it won’t be fast or easy.

“The creation of such a reserve will require significant changes in legislation,” Khomyakov said. “Another positive aspect is that this initiative will likely lead to greater clarity in the regulation of crypto assets in Ukraine.”

Despite the support from some officials, there are legal hurdles. Ukrainian laws don’t allow bitcoin to be in the official reserves. So the government needs to pass new laws for it to happen.

Efforts to legalize bitcoin in general have been going on for years. In 2021, a draft law on virtual assets was approved by Finance Committee but was withdrawn after the President’s Office and financial regulators objected.

Up to now, over 80 amendments have been proposed, showing how complicated the process is.

The Ministry of Digital Transformation is leading a larger reform that could introduce rules for digital asset exchanges, tax laws and anti-money laundering standards in the country.

Ukraine isn’t alone in considering bitcoin as a national reserve asset. In March 2025, the U.S. announced its own Strategic Bitcoin Reserve using BTC seized in criminal cases.

@ 57d1a264:69f1fee1

Graphics materials for Bitcoin Knots https://github.com/bitcoinknots branding. See below guide image for reference, a bit cleaner and scalable:

Font family "Aileron" is provided free for personal and commercial use, and can be found here: https://www.1001fonts.com/aileron-font.html

Source: https://github.com/Blissmode/bitcoinknots-gfx/tree/main

https://stacker.news/items/986624

@ 05a0f81e:fc032124

The evolution of money has been a long journey, transforming from primitive bartering systems to sophisticated digital currencies. Here's a breakdown of the major stages:

1. Barter System (circa 6000 BCE).

In the early days, people exchanged goods and services without using money. This system had limitations, as it required a double coincidence of wants, where both parties had to want what the other offered. Bartering was used in ancient Mesopotamia, and it's still used today in some parts of the world.

1. Commodity Money (3000 BCE - 500 BCE).

As societies grew, commodity money emerged as a medium of exchange. Items like salt, cattle, grains, and shells were widely accepted due to their intrinsic value. These commodities were used to buy goods and services, but they had limitations due to their bulk and perishable nature.

1. Metal Coins (600 BCE)

The introduction of metal coins revolutionized trade. Coins were made from precious metals like gold, silver, and copper, and were stamped with symbols or images to guarantee their authenticity. The first coins were minted in ancient Lydia (modern-day Turkey) and quickly spread to other civilizations.

1. Paper Money (11th century CE)

Paper money was first introduced in China during the Song Dynasty. Initially, it was used as a convenient alternative to heavy metal coins. Over time, paper money evolved into fiat money, where its value was determined by government decree rather than a physical commodity.

1. Banking and Fiat Money (17th century CE).

The development of banking systems allowed for the issuance of banknotes and the facilitation of financial transactions. Fiat money emerged as a dominant form of currency, where its value was determined by government decree and public trust.

1. Digital Currencies (20th century CE).

The rise of digital technologies led to the emergence of digital currencies like cryptocurrencies (e.g., Bitcoin) and online payment systems. These digital currencies operate independently of central banks and offer a new way to conduct transactions.

Key Milestones:

• First coins: Ancient Lydia (modern-day Turkey), 600 BCE
• First paper money: China, 11th century CE.
• Gold standard: England, 1816.
• Fiat money: Global adoption, 20th century CE.
• Digital currencies: Emerged in the late 20th century CE, with Bitcoin launching in 2009.

The evolution of money reflects human innovation and the need for efficient and convenient ways to conduct transactions. From bartering to digital currencies, money has come a long way, shaping economies and societies along the way.

@ 0e9491aa:ef2adadf

I often hear "bitcoin doesn't interest me, I'm not a finance person."

Ironically, the beauty of sound money is you don't have to be. In the current system you're expected to manage a diversified investment portfolio or pay someone to do it. Bitcoin will make that optional.

— ODELL (@ODELL) September 16, 2018

At first glance bitcoin often appears overwhelming to newcomers. It is incredibly easy to get bogged down in the details of how it works or different ways to use it. Enthusiasts, such as myself, often enjoy going down the deep rabbit hole of the potential of bitcoin, possible pitfalls and theoretical scenarios, power user techniques, and the developer ecosystem. If your first touch point with bitcoin is that type of content then it is only natural to be overwhelmed. While it is important that we have a thriving community of bitcoiners dedicated to these complicated tasks - the true beauty of bitcoin lies in its simplicity. Bitcoin is simply better money. It is the best money we have ever had.

Life is complicated. Life is hard. Life is full of responsibility and surprises. Bitcoin allows us to focus on our lives while relying on a money that is simple. A money that is not controlled by any individual, company, or government. A money that cannot be easily seized or blocked. A money that cannot be devalued at will by a handful of corrupt bureaucrat who live hundreds of miles from us. A money that can be easily saved and should increase in purchasing power over time without having to learn how to "build a diversified stock portfolio" or hire someone to do it for us.

Bitcoin enables all of us to focus on our lives - our friends and family - doing what we love with the short time we have on this earth. Time is scarce. Life is complicated. Bitcoin is the most simple aspect of our complicated lives. If we spend our scarce time working then we should be able to easily save that accrued value for future generations without watching the news or understanding complicated financial markets. Bitcoin makes this possible for anyone.

Yesterday was Mother's Day. Raising a human is complicated. It is hard, it requires immense personal responsibility, it requires critical thinking, but mothers figure it out, because it is worth it. Using and saving bitcoin is simple -  simply install an app on your phone. Every mother can do it. Every person can do it.

Life is complicated. Life is beautiful. Bitcoin is simple.

---

If you found this post helpful support my work with bitcoin.

@ fa984bd7:58018f52

This post has been deleted.

@ 87e98bb6:8d6616f4

Use this guide if you want to keep your NixOS on the stable branch, but enable unstable application packages. It took me a while to figure out how to do this, so I wanted to share because it ended up being far easier than most of the vague explanations online made it seem.

I put a sample configuration.nix file at the very bottom to help it make more sense for new users. Remember to keep a backup of your config file, just in case!

If there are any errors please let me know. I am currently running NixOS 24.11.

Steps listed in this guide: 1. Add the unstable channel to NixOS as a secondary channel. 2. Edit the configuration.nix to enable unstable applications. 3. Add "unstable." in front of the application names in the config file (example: unstable.program). This enables the install of unstable versions during the build. 4. Rebuild.

Step 1:

• Open the console. (If you want to see which channels you currently have, type: sudo nix-channel --list)
• Add the unstable channel, type: sudo nix-channel --add https://channels.nixos.org/nixpkgs-unstable unstable
• To update the channels (bring in the possible apps), type: sudo nix-channel --update

More info here: https://nixos.wiki/wiki/Nix_channels

Step 2:

Edit your configuration.nix and add the following around your current config:

``` { config, pkgs, lib, ... }:

let unstable = import { config = { allowUnfree = true; }; }; in {

    #insert normal configuration text here

  } #remember to close the bracket!

```

At this point it would be good to save your config and try a rebuild to make sure there are no errors. If you have errors, make sure your brackets are in the right places and/or not missing. This step will make for less troubleshooting later on if something happens to be in the wrong spot!

Step 3:

Add "unstable." to the start of each application you want to use the unstable version. (Example: unstable.brave)

Step 4:

Rebuild your config, type: sudo nixos-rebuild switch

---

Example configuration.nix file:

```

Config file for NixOS

{ config, pkgs, lib, ... }:

Enable unstable apps from Nix repository.

let unstable = import { config = { allowUnfree = true; }; }; in {

#Put your normal config entries here in between the tags. Below is what your applications list needs to look like.

environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [ appimage-run blender unstable.brave #Just add unstable. before the application name to enable the unstable version. chirp discord ];

} # Don't forget to close bracket at the end of the config file!

``` That should be all. Hope it helps.

@ 3c389c8f:7a2eff7f

Web:

https://shopstr.store/

https://cypher.space/

https://plebeian.market/

Mobile:

https://www.amethyst.social/

@ 57d1a264:69f1fee1

Graphics materials for Bitcoin Knots https://github.com/bitcoinknots branding. See below guide image for reference, a bit cleaner and scalable:

Font family "Aileron" is provided free for personal and commercial use, and can be found here: https://www.1001fonts.com/aileron-font.html

Source: https://github.com/Blissmode/bitcoinknots-gfx/tree/main

https://stacker.news/items/986587

@ 91bea5cd:1df4451c

Em nota, a prefeitura justificou que essas alterações visam ampliar a segurança das praias, conforto e organização, para os frequentadores e trabalhadores dos locais. No entanto, Orla Rio, concessionária responsável pelos espaços, e o SindRio, sindicato de bares e restaurantes, ficou insatisfeita com as medidas e reforçou que a música ao vivo aumenta em mais de 10% o ticket médio dos estabelecimentos e contribui para manter os empregos, especialmente na baixa temporada.

De acordo com Paes, as medidas visam impedir práticas ilegais para que a orla carioca continue sendo um espaço ativo econômico da cidade: “Certas práticas são inaceitáveis, especialmente por quem tem autorização municipal. Vamos ser mais restritivos e duros. A orla é de todos”.

Saiba quais serão as 16 proibições nas praias do Rio de Janeiro

• Utilização de caixas de som, instrumentos musicais, grupos ou qualquer equipamento sonoro, em qualquer horário. Apenas eventos autorizados terão permissão.
• Venda ou distribuição de bebidas em garrafas de vidro em qualquer ponto da areia ou do calçadão.
• Estruturas comerciais ambulantes sem autorização, como carrocinhas, trailers, food trucks e barracas.
• Comércio ambulante sem permissão, incluindo alimentos em palitos, churrasqueiras, isopores ou bandejas térmicas improvisadas.
• Circulação de ciclomotores e patinetes motorizados no calçadão.
• Escolinhas de esportes ou recreações não autorizadas pelo poder público municipal.
• Ocupação de área pública com estruturas fixas ou móveis de grandes proporções sem autorização.
• Instalação de acampamentos improvisados em qualquer trecho da orla.
• Práticas de comércio abusivo ou enganosas, incluindo abordagens insistentes. Quiosques e barracas devem exibir cardápio, preços e taxas de forma clara.
• Uso de animais para entretenimento, transporte ou comércio.
• Hasteamento ou exibição de bandeiras em mastros ou suportes.
• Fixação de objetos ou amarras em árvores ou vegetação.
• Cercadinhos feitos por ambulantes ou quiosques, que impeçam a livre circulação de pessoas.
• Permanência de carrinhos de transporte de mercadorias ou equipamentos fora dos momentos de carga e descarga.
• Armazenamento de produtos, barracas ou equipamentos enterrados na areia ou depositados na vegetação de restinga.
• Uso de nomes, marcas, logotipos ou slogans em barracas. Apenas a numeração sequencial da prefeitura será permitida.

@ 06639a38:655f8f71

Nostr-PHP

Djuri submitted quite some pull requests in the last couple of week while he was implementing a Nostr connect / login on https://satsback.com. The backend of that platform is written in PHP so the Nostr-PHP library is used for several purposes while Djuri also developed quite some new features utilizing the following NIPs:

• NIP-04
• NIP-05
• NIP-17
• NIP-44

Thank you very much Djuri for these contributions. We now can do the basic private stuff with the library. 

PR for NIP-04 and NIP-44: https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/pull/84 and https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/pull/88 
Examples:

• https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/blob/main/src/Examples/nip04-encrypted-messages.php
• https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/blob/main/src/Examples/nip44-gift-wrapping.php

PR for NIP-05: https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/pull/89 
Example: https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/blob/main/src/Examples/nip05-lookup.php 

PR for NIP-17: https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/pull/90 
Example: https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/blob/main/src/Examples/nip17-private-direct-messages.php 

PR for adding more metadata profile fields: https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/pull/94
Example: https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/blob/main/src/Examples/fetch-profile-metadata.php 

Fetch 10050 event (dm relay list) of an given pubkey
Example: https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/blob/main/src/Examples/fetch-dm-relayslist.php 

The CLI tool is removed from the library, see PR https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/pull/93 

Nostr-PHP documentation

While new NIPs are implemented in the Nostr-PHP library, I'm trying to keep up with the documentation at https://nostr-php.dev. For now, things are still much work in progress and I've added the AI agent Goose using the Claude LLM to bootstrap new documentation pages. Currently I'm working on documentation for

• How to direct messages with NIP-04 and NIP-17
• Encrypted payloads for event content NIP-44
• Fetch profiledata of a given pubkey
• Lookup NIP-05 data of given pubkey
• Using the NIP-19 helper class

CCNS.news

I've moved CCNS to a new domain https://ccns.news and have partly implemented the new NIP-B0 for web bookmarks. When you post a bookmark there, a kind 39701 event is transmitted to some Nostr relays (take a look at this event for example). Optionally you can also publish this content as a note to the network.

As you can see at https://ccns.news/l/censorship-resistant-publishing-and-archiving, I've listed some todo's. All this stuff is done with Javascript using the NDK Typescript library (so I'm not using any PHP stuff for this with Nostr-PHP).

Also new: https://ccns.news/global now has a global feed which fetches all the web bookmark events with kind 39701 from several public Nostr relays. I had a rough idea to compare feeds generated with NDK and Nostr-PHP (for both using the same set of relays).

Building a njump clone for this Drupal website

You can now use this URL pattern to fetch Nostr events: https://nostrver.se/e/{event_id|nevent1|note1|addr1} where you can provide a plain Nostr event ID or NIP-19 encoded identifier. 

An example, this URL https://nostrver.se/e/nevent1qvzqqqqqqypzqmjxss3dld622uu8q25gywum9qtg4w4cv4064jmg20xsac2aam5nqqsqm2lz4ru6wlydzpulgs8m60ylp4vufwsg55whlqgua6a93vp2y4g3uu9lr fetches the data from one or more relays. This data is then being saved as a (Drupal) node entity (in a database on the server where this website is hosted, which is located in my office fyi). With this saved node, this data is now also available at https://nostrver.se/e/0dabe2a8f9a77c8d1079f440fbd3c9f0d59c4ba08a51d7f811ceeba58b02a255/1 where the (cached) data is server from the database instead. It's just raw data for now, nothing special about it. One of my next steps is to style this in a more prettier interface and I will need to switch the theme of this website to a custom theme. A custom theme where I will be using TailwindCSS v4 and DaisyUI v5. 

The module which is providing these Nostr features is FOSS and uses the Nostr-PHP library for doing the following:

• Request the event from one or more relays
• Decode the provided NIP-19 identifier

For now this module is way for me to utilize the Nostr-PHP library with Drupal for fetching events. This can be automated so in theory I could index all the Nostr events. But this is not my ambition as it would require quite some hardware resources to accomplish this. 
I hope I can find the time to build up a new theme first for this website, so I can start styling the data for the fetched events. On this website, there is also a small piece (powered by another module) you can find at https://nostrver.se/nostrides doing things with this NIP-113 around activity events (in my case that's cycling what interests me).

What's next

I'm already working on the following stuff:

• Implement a class to setup a persistent connection to a relay for requesting events continuously
• Extend the documentation with the recent added features

Other todo stuff:

• Review NIP-13 proof-of-work PR from Djuri
• Implement a NIP-65 lookup for fetching read and write relays for a given npub issue #91
• Build a proof-of-concept with revolt/event-loop to request events asynchronous with persistent relay connections
• Add comments to https://ccns.news

@ 3c389c8f:7a2eff7f

Clients:

https://untype.app

https://habla.news

https://yakihonne.com

https://cypher.space

https://highlighter.com

https://pareto.space/en

https://comet.md/

Plug Ins:

https://github.com/jamesmagoo/nostr-writer

https://threenine.co.uk/products/obstrlish

Content Tagging:

https://labelmachine.org

https://ontolo.social

Blog-like Display and Personal Pages:

https://orocolo.me

https://npub.pro

Personal Notes and Messaging:

https://app.flotilla.social There's an app, too!

https://nosbin.com

RSS Readers:

https://nostrapps.com/noflux

https://nostrapps.com/narr

https://nostrapps.com/feeder

@ bf47c19e:c3d2573b

Originalni tekst na bitcoin-balkan.com.

---

Pregled sadržaja

1. Šta uzrokuje Inflaciju?
2. Da li nam je infacija potrebna?
3. Kako se meri inflacija?
4. Da li inflacija pokreće ekonomski rast?
5. Da li inflacija pokreće ili umanjuje nejednakost bogatstva?
6. Gde se danas javlja inflacija?
7. Šta je deflacija?
8. Kakav uticaj inflacija ima na društvo?

Inflacija može da bude uznemirujuća tema, jer uključuje amorfni koncept novca. Međutim, inflacija je zapravo jednostavna tema koja je napravljena da bude složena razdvajanjem novca i drugih dobara. U ovom članku razlažemo inflaciju i njene uzroke.

Najjednostavnija definicija inflacije je rast cena dobara i usluga. Kada cene rastu, to takođe znači da vrednost jedinice novca – poput dolara – opada. Uzmimo primer McDonald’s hamburgera: 1955. ovaj skromni hamburger se prodavao za samo 15 centi. U 2018. godini se prodavao za 1,09 USD. U 2021. godini prodaje se za 2,49 USD – ogroman rast cene od 1650%.

To znači da je dolar izgubio dosta svoje vrednosti. 1955. godine mogli ste da kupite gotovo 7 hamburgera za novčanicu od jednog dolara. 2021. godine taj dolar vam ne bi kupio ni jedan hamburger. Zašto se čini da cene uvek rastu tokom vremena? I šta možete da učinite povodom toga? Ovaj članak ima za cilj da odgovori na ta pitanja.

Ekonomisti pokušavaju da sumiraju rast cena mnogih dobara i usluga kao jedan prosečan broj. Ovaj broj predstavlja promenu ukupnih troškova u godišnjim troškovima prosečnog potrošača, kao što su stanarina, hrana i gorivo.

U Sjedinjenim Državama ovaj broj je poznat kao Indeks Potrošačkih Cena, eng. Consumer Price Index (CPI). Kada se CPI poveća tokom određenog vremenskog perioda, ekonomisti kažu da imamo inflaciju. Kada se smanji, to se naziva deflacija.

Šta uzrokuje Inflaciju?

Mnogi izvori kažu da je stalna inflacija koju danas doživljavamo ili uzrokovana povećanjem potražnje (eng. demand-pull) ili smanjenjem ponude usled povećanih proizvodnih troškova (eng. cost-push).

Ovi razlozi nisu tačni – hajde da pogledamo zašto.

Da bismo razumeli pravi razlog inflacije, moramo da sagledamo dve vrste inflacije:

1. Inflacija Cena: Cene vremenom rastu.
2. Monetarna Inflacija: Količina valute u opticaju raste sa vremenom.

Prva, inflacija cena, retko se javlja tokom dužih perioda (decenije, vekovi) zbog povećane potražnje ili povećanih troškova. Zašto? Tržišta teže da se uravnoteže. Tokom istorije smo više puta videli da povećana potražnja za dobrom povećava njegovu cenu, što podstiče proizvođače da proizvode više tog dobra. Kada se ponuda poveća, cene se smanjuju.

Ovaj ciklus može da potraje nekoliko godina, i javlja se kod gotovo svake robe i „konačnog dobra“ (automobili, televizori, hrana itd.) na Zemlji. Izuzetak su retki metali poput zlata i srebra. Dokazi o tome su prikazani u nastavku.

Kada se poveća trošak za proizvodnju dobra, cena tog dobra često raste da bi pokrila te troškove. Ovaj rast cene dovodi do toga da potrošači tog dobra traže alternativu ili smanjuju potrošnju tog dobra, što dovodi do pada cena na prethodni nivo.

Tržište se prirodno uravnotežava, a cene se smanjuju ili povećanjem ponude ili smanjenjem potražnje.

Da li imamo dokaze da tržišta vremenom uravnotežuju ponudu i potražnju?

Podaci o cenama robe tokom vremena mogu nam dati bolje razumevanje da li tržišta zaista efikasno uravnotežuju ponudu i potražnju. Međutim, cene ne možemo da posmatramo u smislu nacionalnih valuta, jer naše vlade uvek štampaju više svojih nacionalnih valuta.

Oni sprovode monetarnu inflaciju, koja može da izazove inflaciju cena. Posmatranje tržišnih cena u smislu nacionalnih valuta, poput američkog dolara, je poput merenja visine lenjirom koji se neprestano smanjuje. Vaša visina u broju biće sve veća i veća, ali stvarna visina se ne menja.

Mi možemo da znamo da li tržišta uravnotežuju ponudu i potražnju gledajući cene dobara u smislu monetarnog dobra koje ima vrlo konzistentnu ponudu tokom vremena.

Vremenom se pokazalo da zlato ima najmanju monetarnu inflaciju od svih postojećih valuta i dobara. To čini zlato odličnim ‘lenjirom’ za merenje da li tržišta vremenom uravnotežuju ponudu i potražnju. Da bismo bolje razumeli inflaciju cena tokom vremena, pitaćemo koliko unci zlata nešto košta tokom vremena.

Cene u zlatu pokazuju nam da se tržišta vremenom uravnotežuju

Ako cene dobara posmatramo u obliku zlata, vidimo da cene robe prate srednje tačke tokom dužih vremenskih perioda.

Nafta, na primer, je vrlo nestabilna, ali ima tendenciju da se kreće oko 2,5 grama zlata po barelu.

WTI Sirova Nafta u gramima Zlata po Barelu

Cena nafte je promenljiva, ali tokom decenija ima tendenciju da se kreće po strani.

Cene kuća tokom proteklih 10 godina takođe su prilično stabilne, iako imamo fiksnu količinu zemlje na planeti. Vidimo da cene kuća u pogledu zlata imaju tendenciju da variraju oko indeksne cene od oko 80, prikazane na grafikonu.

Shiller-ov US indeks cena kuća u USD i zlatu

Ovaj grafikon je na logaritamskoj skali, što nam omogućava da vizualizujemo zapanjujuća povećanja u zelenoj liniji, koja predstavlja domove u dolarima.

Grafički izražene u američkim dolarima, cene ovih dobara uvek rastu – baš kao i McDonald’s hamburger. Da su povećana potražnja ili povećani troškovi odgovorni za konstantnu inflaciju cena, takođe bismo videli kako se cena ove robe povećava u smislu zlata. Podaci iznad pokazuju da su cene konstantne.

Moraju da postoje i drugi razlozi za upornu inflaciju cena koju smo videli u dolarskim iznosima tokom proteklog veka.

Evo šta znamo o tome šta dugoročno utiče na cene, kao u periodu od 1955. do 2018. godine:

1. Rast produktivnosti uzrokovan inovacijama, što dovodi do pada cena tokom vremena
2. Monetarna inflacija – štampanje velikih količina valute – koja uzrokuje porast cena denominovanih u toj valuti tokom vremena

Znamo da cene izražene u dolarima, eurima i ostalim valutama neprestano rastu. Ako ne mislimo da naša produktivnost kao društva ide unazad, postoji samo jedan jednostavan razlog za inflaciju cena: štampanje većih količina valute, iliti monetarna inflacija.

Naše vlade i banke su zapravo prilično iskrene u pogledu zapanjujućih količina valute koje štampaju. Oni nam svakodnevno govore da oni uzrokuju monetarnu inflaciju.

Da li nam je infacija potrebna?

Bez uporne monetarne inflacije (koja uzrokuje inflaciju cena), naša celokupna savremena ekonomija bi se srušila.

The Guardian

Dozvolite da vam objasnim. Sledeći odeljak može da bude šokantan, i ohrabrujem vas da i sami istražite ukoliko mislite da nisam u pravu.

Kada centralne banke i komercijalne banke daju zajmove, one stvaraju novu valutu.

Kada centralne banke daju zajmove vladama “kupujući državni dug”, one stvaraju novu valutu kada to urade. To omogućava vladama da vode budžetski deficit trošeći više nego što uzimaju od poreza. U tom procesu državni dug se nagomilava.

Komercijalne banke stvaraju novu valutu kada daju zajmove fizičkim licima i preduzećima. Jedino ograničenje koliko novog novca mogu da stvore je zakonski zahtev da banka ima na raspolaganju određeni procenat od ukupnog iznosa novca koji su ljudi deponovali. Zbog toga je naš bankarski sistem poznat kao delimična rezerva – banke pri ruci moraju da imaju samo deo vašeg novca.

Stvaranje valute je neophodno da bi održalo sistem u životu

Budući da se svi zajmovi uglavnom sastoje od novostvorene valute, mora se stvoriti još više valute da bi se taj dug otplatio. A evo i zašto:

Recimo da su prošle godine sve svetske kreditne aktivnosti dovele do stvaranja 100 milijardi dolara. Svih tih 100 milijardi dolara je novostvoreno, i one se duguju bankama sa nekom dodatnom vrednošću za kamate. Odakle dolazi ova dodatna valuta za plaćanje kamata? Budući da ovde govorimo o celokupnoj svetskoj ekonomiji, to plaćanje kamata mora da dodje iz nove količine novostvorene valute.

Sve jedinice današnjih valuta nastale su pozajmljivanjem, a isplata kamate na te zajmove znači da moramo stalno da stvaramo još više nove valute. To dovodi do beskrajne monetarne inflacije. Kada nova valuta cirkuliše kroz ekonomiju, to dovodi do porasta cena: inflacije cena.

Previše monetarne inflacije može dovesti do hiperinflacije cena. U Venecueli je krajem 2018. godine piletina koštala preko 14 miliona Bolivara. Izvor: NBC News

Monetarni sistem se raspada ako se ova monetarna inflacija zaustavi, jer bi to značilo da veliki broj onih koji su uzeli zajam širom sveta ne bi mogao da vrati novac koji su pozajmili – oni ne bi izmirili svoje dugove.

Banke ili zajmodavci koji drže dug tada bi imali bezvrednu imovinu. Budući da vrednost duga podupire vrednost valute, vrednost valute bi strmoglavo padala zajedno sa dugom.

Kada ljudi izgube poverenje u ’tradicionalnu’ valutu, ona brzo postane bezvredna. To se dogodilo u Nemačkoj nakon Prvog svetskog rata, u Peruu devedesetih, Jugoslaviji 1994. ,Zimbabveu, Venecueli i sa još bezbroj drugih tradicionalnih valuta. Da bi odložile ovaj neizbežni ishod dokle god mogu, centralne banke jačaju poverenje u sistem nastavljajući da štampaju valutu stabilnim kursom.

Ovo osigurava da većina ljudi koju su uzeli zajam ima valutu za otplatu svojih kredita. Upravo to se dešava kada vlada izvrši „spas“ kao 2008. ili 2020. – oni osiguravaju da svi imaju dovoljno novca za plaćanje dugova, tako da laž može da se nastavi.

Inflacija ne dolazi iz povećanja potražnje

Sa više valute u opticaju, monetarna inflacija može da izgleda kao povećanje potražnje. Međutim, ekonomisti koji kažu da povećana potražnja pokreće stabilnu inflaciju tokom decenija propuštaju suptilnu poentu: iako monetarna inflacija može da prouzrokuje veću potrošnju, to nije zato što su ljudi zaista bogatiji, već zato što veruju da su bogatiji.

Kada se puno novca ubrizga u ekonomiju, cene jednostavno rastu jer više valute pokriva istu količinu robe. Rast cena znači pad vrednosti valute, tako da nema realnog povećanja stvarnog bogatstva, iako ljudi možda “troše više” u nominalnom iznosu valute.

Uzmimo ovaj primer: vi mesečno zarađujete 1.500 EUR, i prema svom trenutnom načinu života vi mesečno trošite oko 1.500 EUR. Dolazi vlada i počinje da vam daje dodatnih 500 EUR svakog meseca – vi se osećate poprilično dobro, zar ne? Sada možete da izlazite češće u restoran.

Međutim, vlada daje svima po 500 EUR mesečno, i svi ostali takođe troše taj novac. Ekonomista u vladinoj kancelariji, vidi da sada svi troše tih dodatnih 500 EUR mesečno i zaključuje da je vlada ‘stimulisala ekonomiju’.

Ipak, kako sav taj dodatni novac kruži ekonomijom, cene prirodno rastu. Sada vam je potrebno 2.000 EUR da biste održali svoj trenutni način života.

Da li si nešto bogatiji?

Vi možda imate više eura na vašem bankovnom računu, ali svaki od njih vam kupuje manje. Sada trošite 2.000 EUR mesečno da biste živeli životnim stilom koji vas je nekada koštao samo 1.500 EUR mesečno.

Ovo je ono što monetarna inflacija radi, i zašto je toliko pametnih ekonomista zavarano da misle da povećana potražnja, radije nego štampanje novca, pokreće trajnu inflaciju cena.

Da li smo uvek imali inflaciju?

Stalna inflacija cena relativno je nedavna pojava u modernim ekonomijama i započela je u vreme kada su Sjedinjene Države počele da konstantno štampaju valutu. Ako bi promene ponude i potražnje zaista dugoročno uzrokovale inflaciju cena, videli bismo inflaciju cena tokom istorije. Podaci govore drugačiju priču.

Indeks potrošačkih cena, koji se povećava kada imamo inflaciju cena, bio je prilično konstantan pre početka našeg trenutnog tradicionalnog ’fiat’ monetarnog sistema.

Taj sistem je započeo Bretton Woods-ovim sporazumom iz 1945. godine, a ubrzao se kada je Nixon 1971. okončao svetski zlatni standard.

Indeks potrošačkih cena, Sjedinjene Države, 1790-2015

Kako se meri inflacija?

Inflacija cena se često prikazuje kao promena indeksa potrošačkih cena (CPI). CPI je prosek cena raznih dobara koje ljudi kupuju u svakodnevnom životu: hrane, goriva, stanovanja itd. U Sjedinjenim Državama, vladin odsek pod nazivom Biro za statistiku rada (BLS) meri promene cena. To rade tako što posećuju maloprodajne radnje, beleže cene, računaju prosek i izveštavaju godišnju inflaciju kao promenu u odnosu na prošlu godinu.

Stopa inflacije koja se izveštava, je važna svima jer se koristi za određivanje povećanja troškova života i socijalnih davanja, poput plaćanja socijalnog osiguranja. Kada se CPI prilagodi naniže, isplate zarada i naknada su manje nego što bi trebalo da budu.

Efekti su se vremenom sjedinili: osoba koja u svojoj prvoj godini rada zaradi 40.000 USD zarađivaće samo 52.000 USD u svojoj desetoj godini staža, sa povećanim troškovima života od 3% da bi se plata podudarala sa inflacijom. Ako bi vlada umesto toga prijavila inflaciju od 6%, ta osoba bi u svojoj desetoj godini zarađivala 67.500 USD – tj. oko 30% više. Način na koji izračunavamo i prijavljujemo inflaciju ima ogroman uticaj na zaradu većine zaposlenih i građana.

Ovo je inflacija (procentualna promena u CPI) izmerena u poslednjih 20 godina u Sjedinjenim Državama:

Prvobitno je BLS jednostavno beležio cenu korpe robe široke potrošnje svake godine. Međutim, istraživanje Boskinove Komisije 1996. godine dovelo je do novih alata koji Birou za statistiku rada omogućavaju prilagođavanje cena u CPI. Dva najvažnija alata su geometrijsko ponderisanje i hedonika.

Geometrijsko Ponderisanje

Geometrijsko ponderisanje znači da kupovne navike sada mogu da utiču na to koliko promena cene pojedinog dobra utiče na CPI. Ako potrošači kupe manje robe, ona ima manju težinu kada se ubaci u presek indeksa potrošačkih cena. Boskinova Komisija je tvrdila da bi ova promena pomogla da se promene sklonosti potrošača. Međutim, ne postoji način da se utvrdi da li ljudi menjaju svoje kupovne navike jer zapravo žele da kupuju različite stvari. Vrlo je moguće da ljudi kupuju manje određenog dobra jer ono raste u ceni. Stoga geometrijsko ponderisanje uzrokuje da roba sa velikim rastom cena ima manje uticaja na CPI, što dovodi do niže prijavljene inflacije.

Hedonika

Hedonika omogućava Birou za statistiku rada da menja cenu dobra na osnovu njegovog opaženog povećanja ‘korisnosti’ tokom vremena. Evo primera: recimo da se televizor sa rezolucijom od 720p 2009. godine prodavao za 200 USD. U 2010. godini isti model televizora sada ima rezoluciju od 1080p i prodaje se po istoj ceni: 200 USD. Međutim, pošto se tehnologija u televizoru poboljšala, zaposleni u Birou za statistiku rada mogu da izmisle ‘korisni’ broj i pomoću njega oduzmu deo vrednosti od cene televizora. Kao rezultat, BLS može da kaže da TV košta 180 USD u 2010. godini – iako je njegova cena 200 USD. Ovo dovodi do pada prijavljene inflacije.

Oba ova prilagođavanja smanjuju prijavljenu stopu inflacije, što smanjuje povećanje troškova života i isplate naknada za socijalno osiguranje. Koliko ta prilagođavanja inflacije pogađaju radničku klasu i penzionere? Neke procene, poput procena ekonomiste John Williams-a, sa koledža u Darmouthu, stavljaju stvarnu inflaciju u SAD na u proseku 3% – 6% više nego što je izveštavano od strane Bira za statistiku rada. To bi inflaciju u 2020 dovelo do 5% – 8%, umesto na prijavljenih 2%.

U 2021. godini prijavljena inflacija je 5.4%, u prvom kvartalu.

Da li inflacija pokreće ekonomski rast?

Mnogi ljudi veruju da stabilna inflacija pokreće ekonomski rast podstičući investicije i potrošnju umesto štednje. Međutim, osnovni ekonomski podaci pobijaju ovu uobičajenu tvrdnju.

Ako za primer uzmemo Sjedinjene Države, nacija je imala samo kratke periode inflacije od 1775. do oko 1950. godine, kao što pokazuje indeks potrošačkih cena koji je ostao nepromenjen. Inflacija dobija zamah tek nakon 1971. godine, pa bi bilo za očekivati da će i stopa rasta bruto domaćeg proizvoda (BDP) Sjedinjenih Država porasti nakon 1971. godine.

Indeks potrošačkih cena, Sjedinjene Države, 1790-2015

Međutim, vidimo da se bruto domaći proizvod (BDP) po stanovniku u Sjedinjenim Državama, uobičajena mera ekonomske snage, neprekidno povećavao od 1820. godine do danas po stopi od oko 1,85% godišnje. Ne postoji porast oko 1971. godine, uprkos rastućoj inflaciji koja je započela u to vreme.

Ovo je logaritamski grafikon, koji nam omogućava da bolje vizualizujemo rast tokom vremena: što više logaritamski grafikon podseća na pravu liniju, to je stopa promene konzistentnija. Za više detalja, ovde pogledajte naslov: Rast na tehnološkoj granici i rast dostizanja.

To pokazuje da inflacija ne pokreće ekonomski rast.

Nažalost, imamo dokaze da inflacija ima i druge neželjene posledice, poput nejednakosti bogatstva. Koncentracija bogatstva u top 1%, počela je da raste krajem 1970-ih, nekoliko godina nakon što su Sjedinjene Države skinule svet sa zlatnog standarda i pretvorile se u monetarni sistem zasnovan na dugovima koji zahteva monetarnu inflaciju, a time i inflaciju cena, da bi preživeo.

Za potpunu istoriju tranzicije novca sa robnog sistema na dužni sistem, pročitajte naš članak o novcu.

Da li inflacija pokreće ili umanjuje nejednakost bogatstva?

Veza između inflacije i nejednakosti bogatstva postaje jasna kada pogledamo kako novostvorena valuta ulazi u ekonomiju. Vlade, komercijalne banke, velike korporacije i bogati često koriste kredite da bi iskoristili prednosti svojih moći. Kada podignu kredite, oni novonastalu valutu dobijaju ranije od svih ostalih. Oni imaju koristi od inflacije trošenjem nove valute pre nego što cene počnu da rastu kao rezultat te nove valute koja kruži u ekonomiji. Veliki i bogati subjekti često mogu da dobiju kredite po nižim troškovima od prosečnog građanina ili malog preduzeća. To znači da mogu da povećaju svoje poslovanje i bogatstvo brže od manjih firmi.

Bogati mogu da dobiju jeftine zajmove, zahvaljujući Federalnim Rezervama koje zadržavaju niske kamatne stope. To im omogućava da koriste ovo prednost za ostvarivanje ogromne dobiti.

Inflacija pogadja one koji rade za platu i ne mogu da ulože veći deo svog prihoda. Zarade se polako menjaju, ponekad se uskladjuju samo jednom godišnje. Kao rezultat, cene osnovnih dobara i usluga često rastu mnogo pre nego što zarade porastu. Cena potrošačke korpe takođe se smanjuje sa manipulacijama indeksom potrošačkih cena (CPI) koji skriva rast inflacije.

Gde se danas javlja inflacija?

Rekordno visoka inflacija javlja se u zemljama kao što su Venecuela, Zimbabve, Turska, Iran, Kuba, Južna Afrika i Argentina. To dovodi do sloma trgovine i političke nestabilnosti.

U razvijenom svetu vlade izveštavaju o niskoj inflaciji cena. Međutim, globalni bankarski sistem stvara nove valute u tonama – u toku je velika monetarna inflacija. Centralne banke dovode do sve većeg stvaranja valuta snižavanjem kamatnih stopa. To dovodi do toga da korporacije i pojedinci mogu da uzimaju jeftinije kredite, a svaki kredit znači stvaranje nove valute. Od 2008. godine, gotovo sve glavne centralne banke postavile su kamatne stope blizu nule.

Mnoge centralne banke takođe su pozajmljivale ogromne iznose vladama i bankama koje su propale nakon finansijske krize 2008. godine. Za samo nekoliko meseci, ovo je udvostručilo (ponekad utrostručilo ili učetvorostručilo) novčanu masu mnogih nacija. Oni su ovo nazvali „kvantitativno ublažavanje“.

Ako banke koriste toliku monetarnu inflaciju, zašto onda mi ne vidimo inflaciju cena?

Jednostavno rečeno, većina nove valute nije dospela u ruke običnih ljudi. Kada obični ljudi budu mogli da potroše novoštampanu valutu na svoje svakodnevne potrebe, tada ćemo videti rast CPI i inflacije.

Danas većina valuta ulazi u svet putem bankarskih zajmova, pa banke igraju veliku ulogu u tome gde se dešava inflacija. Banke prvenstveno pozajmljuju vrlo ‘sigurnim’ klijentima poput bogatih pojedinaca, vlada i velikih korporacija. Ovi subjekti kupuju luksuznu robu, umetnička dela, finansijsku imovinu i državne obveznice.

Cene ovih vrsta imovine nisu uključene u CPI, tako da je prijavljena inflacija niska. Kao rezultat, povećanje plata i isplate socijalnog osiguranja su takođe na niskom nivou.

Bogati su uživali u periodu od 2008. do 2021. godine, kada je njihova imovina upumpavana sa velikom količinom novog novca proizvedenog od bankarskih kredita!

Šta se dešava kada nova valuta dodje u ruke običnih ljudi?

Nažalost, jednog dana će sva ova nova valuta da uđe u normalnu ekonomiju i time će se povećati cene svakodnevne robe. To je poćelo da se dešava 2021. godine kao rezultat stimulativnih programa COVID-19 u Sjedinjenim Državama, koji su ljudima distribuirali trilione dolara. Iako je ovo zasigurno poželjnije od spašavanja korporacija, svaka vrsta spašavanja koja uključuje štampanje novca ima gadne dugoročne efekte.

Ovo što sada doživljavamo dogodilo se u Nemačkoj tokom i posle Prvog svetskog rata. Cene u Nemačkoj su zapravo pale tokom Prvog svetskog rata uprkos velikom stvaranju valute od strane Nemačke centralne banke. Nisko poverenje u ekonomiju sprečavalo je nemački narod da troši novac. Međutim, kad se rat završio i kada su ljudi ponovo počeli da ga troše, cene su vrlo naglo skočile i valuta je postala bezvredna. To bi moglo da se dogodi 2020-ih u Sjedinjenim Državama, sa obzirom na predložene programe podsticaja.

Politike poput Univerzalnog Osnovnog Dohotka, eng. Universal Basic Income (UBI), koje izgledaju pogodne za njihova obećanja da će “spasiti ljude”, takođe mogu da pokrenu hiperinflaciju. Obični ljudi bi se osećali imućnije, trošili bi svoju novoštampanu valutu i doveli do brzog rasta cena. Ovo bi u suštini poništilo pozitivan uticaj građana koji dobijaju “besplatan novac” svakog meseca.

Pa kako onda vi možete da zaštitite svoju ušteđevinu od inflacije? Kupujte imovinu koja je retka, potcenjena i koju vlade teško mogu da prigrabe. Ova imovina su plemeniti metali poput zlata, i Bitcoin.

Šta je deflacija?

Deflacija znači pad cena tokom vremena. Mnogi ekonomisti kažu da će ovo dovesti do toga da ljudi gomilaju valutu i da će dovesti do ekonomskog kolapsa, jer ljudi prestaju da kupuju robu i ulažu u preduzeća. To jednostavno nije tačno, jer ljudi uvek imaju potrebe i želje zbog kojih kupuju odredjenu robu. Stalni pad cena tokom vremena jednostavno bi promenio psihologiju potrošačke kulture u kojoj živimo.

Potrošačka kultura potiče od inflacije

Kako je to istina? Pogledajmo na sledećem primeru. Recimo da želite novi auto i da imate dovoljno novca da ga kupite. Poznato je da u našem svetu zbog stalne inflacije vaš novac vremenom postaje sve manje i manje vredan. U paralelnom svemiru u kojem se javlja stalna deflacija, vaš novac vremenom postaje sve vredniji.

• Uz konstantnu inflaciju, auto će koštati nešto više sledeće godine, i nešto više naredne godine. Niste sigurni gde da uložite novac da biste sa vremenom sigurno očuvali njegovu kupovnu moć. Ako niste sigurni da li ćete da kupite auto, ima više finansijskog smisla da ga kupite odmah, da biste dobili najbolju ponudu.
• Uz konstantnu deflaciju, auto će koštati nešto manje sledeće, i još manje naredne godine. Ako samo čuvate vaš novac, sledeće godine ćete dobiti bolju ponudu za auto. Ako niste sigurni da li ćete da kupite auto, ima više finansijskog smisla da sačekate malo duže da biste dobili bolju ponudu.

Sada razmislite o ta dva scenarija, pomnožena bilionima ljudi i proizvoda. Uz konstantnu inflaciju, svako ima malo više razloga da kupuje stvari upravo sada. Uz konstantnu deflaciju, svi sada imaju malo manje razloga da kupuju. Upravo na taj način inflacija je u osnovi naše materijalističke, potrošačke kulture. Deflacija bi mogla da bude lek.

Inflacija uzrokuje loše investicije

Vaš novac godišnje gubi “2%” svoje vrednosti zbog inflacije. Sada, recimo da vas Stefan pita da investirate u njegov Fast food. Nakon uvida u brojeve, verujete da ćete ovom investicijom izgubiti 1% od vrednosti svog novca. Gubitak od 1% u Stefanovom poslu bolji je od gubitka od 2% zbog inflacije, pa se vi odlučujete da uložite. Ovo je loša investicija, eng. malinvestment – investirajući vi ćete da izgubite deo vrednosti. Međutim, čuvanje valute je još gore, zato ulažete.

Mnogi investitori, poput penzijskih fondova, danas su prisiljeni da investiraju u neprofitabilne biznise zbog investicionih mandata i same veličine njihove ‘imovine pod upravljanjem’.

Pristalice konstantno niske inflacije veruju da bi deflacija smanjila investicije. Međutim, to bi samo smanjilo ulaganje u preduzeća sa negativnim očekivanim prinosom poput Stefanovog Fast food-a. Na primer, recimo da je deflacija u proseku oko 2% godišnje. Na ovom tržištu investitori bi jednostavno prestali da ulažu u projekte za koje misle da će im zaraditi manje od 2% godišnjeg povrata ulaganja.

Neznatno deflaciona valuta obeshrabriće ulaganja u lažna i loša preduzeća i podstaći ulaganje u solidna preduzeća koja svetu dodaju vrednost.

Kakav uticaj inflacija ima na društvo?

Inflacija pokreće povećanu potrošnju, smanjenu štednju i povećani dug. Sve ove stvari dovode do toga da većina ljudi mora da radi više sati i duže u starosti. Iako inflacija kažnjava one koji rade za platu, ona obogaćuje vlasnike bilo koje imovine koja dobija na ceni kada nova valuta uđe u sistem. Ova imovina uključuje akcije, umetnička dela, nekretnine i drugu imovinu koju bogataši koriste za čuvanje svog bogatstva.

Vremenom ljudi i firme izmišljaju nove načine za jeftinije stvaranje dobara i usluga višeg kvaliteta. Ovo je poznato kao ‘rast produktivnosti’ i trebalo bi da uzrokuje da cene tokom vremena konstantno padaju, a ne da rastu. Samo konstantno stvaranje valute koje je neophodno zbog monetarnog sistema zasnovanog na dugu naše vlade uzrokuje stalnu inflaciju i njene loše efekte.

Ako vam se sviđa moj rad, molim vas da ga podelite sa svojim prijateljima i porodicom. Cilj mi je da svima pružim pogled u ekonomiju i na to kako ona utiče na njihov život.

@ 57d1a264:69f1fee1

You’ve probably seen it before.

You open an agency’s website or a freelancer’s portfolio. At the very top of the homepage, it says:

We design for startups.

You wait 3 seconds. The last word fades out and a new one fades in:

We design for agencies.

Wait 3 more seconds:

We design for founders.

I call this design pattern The Wheel of Nothing: a rotating list of audience segments meant to impress through inclusion and draw attention through motion… for absolutely no reason.

Revered brand studio Pentagram recently launched a new website. To my surprise, the homepage features the Wheel of Nothing front and center, boldly claiming:

We design Everything for Everyone…before cycling through more specific combinations every few seconds.

Dan Mall, a husband, dad, teacher, creative director, designer, founder, and entrepreneur from Philly. I share as much as I can to create better opportunities for those who wouldn’t have them otherwise. Most recently, I ran design system consultancy SuperFriendly for over a decade.

Read more at Dans' website https://danmall.com/posts/the-wheel-of-nothing/

https://stacker.news/items/986392

@ eb0157af:77ab6c55

A new study reveals: 4 out of 5 Americans would like the US to convert some of its gold into Bitcoin.

A recent survey conducted by the Nakamoto Project revealed that a majority of Americans support converting a portion of the United States’ gold reserves into Bitcoin. The survey, carried out online by Qualtrics between February and March 2025, involved 3,345 participants with demographic characteristics representative of US census standards. Most respondents expressed a desire to convert between 1% and 30% of the gold reserves into BTC.

Troy Cross, co-founder of the Nakamoto Project, stated:

“When given a slider and asked to advise the US government on the right proportion of Bitcoin and gold, subjects were very reluctant to put that slider on 0% Bitcoin and 100% gold. Instead, they settled around 10% Bitcoin.”

One significant finding from the research is the correlation between age and openness to Bitcoin: younger respondents showed a greater inclination toward the cryptocurrency compared to older generations.

A potential US strategy

Bo Hines, a White House advisor, is promoting an initiative for the Treasury Department to acquire Bitcoin by selling off a portion of its gold. Under the proposed plan, the government could acquire up to 1 million BTC over the next five years.

To finance these purchases, the government plans to sell Federal Reserve gold certificates. The proposal aligns with Senator Cynthia Lummis’ 2025 Bitcoin Act, which aims to declare Bitcoin a critical national strategic asset.

Currently, the United States holds 8,133 metric tons of gold, valued at over $830 billion, and about 200,000 BTC, valued at $21 billion.

The post The majority in the US wants to convert part of the gold reserves into Bitcoin appeared first on Atlas21.

@ 5d4b6c8d:8a1c1ee3

You'd think I'd be most excited to talk about that awesome Pacers game, but, no. What I'm most excited about this week is that @grayruby wants to continue Beefing with Cowherd.

Still, I am excited to talk about Tyrese Haliburton becoming a legendary Knicks antagonist. Unfortunately, the Western Conference Finals are not as exciting. Also, why was the MVP announcement so dumb?

The T20k cricket contest is tightening up, as we head towards the finish. Can @Coinsreporter hold on to his vanishing lead?

@Carresan has launched Football Madness. Let's see if we understand whatever the hell this is any better than we did last week.

On this week's Blok'd Shots, we'll ridicule Canada for their disgraceful loss in the World Championships and talk about the very dominant American Florida Panthers, who are favorites to win the Stanley Cup.

Are the Colorado the worst team in MLB history?

The Tush Push has survived another season. Will the NFL eventually ban it or will teams adjust?

Plus, whatever else Stackers want to talk about.

https://stacker.news/items/987399

@ 2b468756:7930dd9c

Agorisme is libertarisme in de praktijk: op legale wijze maximale economische en persoonlijke vrijheid. Samen ontdekken en delen we wat er allemaal mogelijk is. We doen dit door: - organiseren jaarlijks agorismefestival - organiseren meerdere themadagen / excursies per jaar - bundelen praktische kennis op Agorisme Wiki - online uitwisselen via (thema)appgroepen

Op deze site worden activiteiten aangekondigd en kun je je opgeven.

Binnenkort: - cursussen metselen, stucen en vloeren - reis naar libertarisch dorp Walden Woods en Liberstad in Noorwegen - introductie Krav Maga zelfverdediging

We zijn gelieerd aan de libertarische partij.

Graag tot ziens!

@ 86611181:9fc27ad7

It's time to secure user data in your identity system This post was also published with the Industry Association of Privacy Professionals.

It seems like every day there is a new report of a major personal data breach. In just the past few months, Neiman Marcus, Ticketmaster, Evolve Bank, TeamViewer, Hubspot, and even the IRS have been affected.

The core issue is that user data is commonly spread across multiple systems that are increasingly difficult to fully secure, including database user tables, data warehouses and unstructured documents.

Most enterprises are already running an incredibly secure and hardened identity system to manage customer login and authorization, commonly referred to as a customer identity access management system. Since identity systems manage customer sign-up and sign-in, they typically contain customer names, email addresses, and phone numbers for multifactor authentication. Commercial CIAMs provide extensive logging, threat detection, availability and patch management.

Identity systems are highly secure and already store customers' personally identifiable information, so it stands to reason enterprises should consider identity systems to manage additional PII fields.

Identity systems are designed to store numerous PII fields and mask the fields for other systems. The Liberty Project developed the protocols that became Security Assertion Markup Language 2.0, the architecture at the core of CIAM systems, 20 years ago, when I was its chief technology officer. SAML 2.0 was built so identity data would be fully secure, and opaque tokens would be shared with other systems. Using tokens instead of actual user data is a core feature of identity software that can be used to fully secure user data across applications.

Most modern identity systems support adding additional customer fields, so it is easy to add new fields like Social Security numbers and physical addresses. Almost like a database, some identity systems even support additional tables and images.

A great feature of identity systems is that they often provide a full suite of user interface components for users to register, login and manage their profile fields. Moving fields like Social Security numbers from your database to your identity system means the identity system can fully manage the process of users entering, viewing and editing the field, and your existing application and database become descoped from managing sensitive data.

With sensitive fields fully isolated in an identity system and its user interface components, the identity system can provide for cumbersome and expensive compliance with standards such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act for medical data and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard for payment data, saving the time and effort to achieve similar compliance in your application.

There are, of course, applications that require sensitive data, such as customer service systems and data warehouses. Identity systems use a data distribution standard called System for Cross-domain Identity Management 2.0 to copy user data to other systems. The SCIM is a great standard to help manage compliance such as "right to be forgotten," because it can automatically delete customer data from other systems when a customer record is deleted from the identity system.

When copying customer data from an identity system to another application, consider anonymizing or masking fields. For example, anonymizing a birthdate into an age range when copying a customer record into a data warehouse can descope the data warehouse from containing personal information.

Most enterprises already run an Application Programming Interface Gateway to manage web services between systems. By combining an API Gateway with the identity system's APIs, it becomes very easy to automatically anonymize and mask customer data fields before they are copied into other systems.

A new set of companies including Baffle, Skyflow, and Piiano have introduced services that combine the governance and field management features of an identity system with extensive field masking. Since these systems do not offer the authentication and authorization features of an identity system, it's important to balance the additional features as they introduce an additional threat surface with PII storage and permissions.

PII sprawl is an increasing liability for companies. The most secure, compliant and flexible central data store to manage PII is the existing CIAM and API Gateway infrastructure that enterprises have already deployed.

Move that customer data into your identity system and lock it down. https://peter.layer3.press/articles/3c6912eb-404a-4630-9fe9-fd1bd23cfa64

@ 10f7c7f7:f5683da9

While I’m going to stand by what I said in my previous piece, minimise capital gains payments, don’t fund the government, get a loan against your bitcoin, but the wheels in my left curve brain have continued to turn, well that, and a few more of my 40PW insights. I mentioned about paying attention to the risks involved in terms of borrowing against your bitcoin, and hopefully ending up paying less in bitcoin at the end of the loan, even if you ultimately sold bitcoin to pay off the loan. However, the idea of losing control of the bitcoin I have spent a good deal of time and effort accumulating being out of my control has led me to reconsider. I also realised I didn’t fully flesh out some other topics that I think are relevant, not least time preference, specifically in relation to what you’re buying. The idea of realising a lump some of capital to live your dreams, buy a house or a cool car may be important, but it may be worth taking a step back and looking at what you’re purchasing. Are you only purchasing those things because you had been able to get this new money “tax free”? If that is the case, and the fiat is burning a hold in your pocket, maybe you’ve just found yourself with the same fiat brained mentality you have been working so hard to escape from while you have sacrificed and saved to stack sats.

While it may no longer be necessary to ask yourself whether a particular product or service is worth selling your bitcoin for because you’ve taken out a loan, it may still be worth asking yourself whether a particular loan fuelled purchase is worth forfeiting control of your keys for? Unlike the foolish 18 year-old, released into a world with their newly preapproved credit card, you need to take a moment and ask yourself:

Is the risk worth it?

Is the purchase worth it?

But also take a moment to consider a number of other things, are there fiat options?

Where in the cycle might you be?

Or if I’m thinking carefully about this, will whatever I’m buying hold its value (experiences may be more difficult to run the numbers on)?

The reason for asking these things, is that if you still have a foot in the fiat world, dealing with a fiat bank account, fiat institutions may still be very willing to provide you with a loan at a lower rate than a bitcoin backed loan. Particularly if you’re planning on using that money to buy a house; if you can qualify for a mortgage, get a mortgage, but if you need cash for a deposit, maybe that is where the bitcoin backed loan may come in. Then, it may be worth thinking about where are you in the bitcoin cycle? No one can answer this, but with the historic data we have, it appears logical that after some type of run up, prices may retrace (Dan Held’s supercycle withstanding).

Matteo Pellegrini with Daniel Prince provided a new perspective on this for me. Rather the riding the bull market gains all the way through to the bear market bottom, what happens if I chose to buy an asset that didn’t lose quite as much fiat value as bitcoin, for example, a Swiss Watch, or a tasteful, more mature sports car? If that was the purchase of choice, they suggested that you could enjoy the car, “the experience” for a year or two, then realise the four door estate was likely always the better option, sell it and be able to buy back as many, if not slightly more bitcoin that you originally sold (not financial, classic car or price prediction advice, I’m not accredited to advise pretty much anything). Having said that, it is a scenario I think worth thinking about when the bitcoin denominated dream car begins to make financial sense.

Then, as we begin to look forward to the near inevitable bear market (they are good for both stacking and grinding), if we’ve decided to take out a loan rather than sell, we then may ultimately need to increase our collateral to maintain loan to value requirements, as well as sell more bitcoin to cover repayments (if that’s the route we’re taking). This then moves us back into the domain of saying, well in actual fact we should just sell our bitcoin when we can get most dollar for it (or the coolest car), with a little extra to cover future taxes, it is probably better to sell near a top than a bottom. The balance between these two rather extreme positions could be to take out a fiat loan to buy the item and maybe sell sufficient bitcoin so you’re able to cover the loan for a period of time (less taxable events to keep track of and also deals with future uncertainty of bitcoin price). In this case, if the loan timeframe is longer than the amount of loan your sale can cover, by the time you need to sell anymore, the price should have recovered from a cycle bottom.

In this scenario, apart from the smaller portion of bitcoin you have had to sell, the majority of your stack can remain in cold storage, the loan you took out will be unsecured (particularly against your bitcoin), but even if it isn’t, the value of what you purchase maintains its value, you can in theory exit the loan at any point by selling the luxury item. Then within this scenario, if you had sold near a top, realised the car gave you a bad back or made you realise you staying humble is more important, sold it, paid off the loan, there may even be a chance you could buy back more bitcoin with the money you had left over from selling your bitcoin to fund the loan.

I have no idea of this could actually work, but to be honest, I’m looking forward to trying it out in the next 6-12 months, although I may keep my daily driver outside of my bitcoin strategy (kids still need a taxi service). Having said that, I think there are some important points to consider in addition to not paying capital gains tax (legally), as well as the opportunities of bitcoin loans. They are still very young products and to quote every trad-fi news outlet, “bitcoin is still a volatile asset”, these thought experiments are still worth working through. To push back on the Uber fiat journalist, Katie Martin, “Bitcoin has no obvious use case”, it does, it can be a store of value to hold or sell, it can be liquid and flexible collateral, but also an asset that moves independently of other assets to balance against fiat liabilities. The idea of being able to release some capital, enjoy the benefits of the capital for a period, before returning that capital to store value feels like a compelling one.

The important thing to remember is that there are a variety of options, whether selling for cash, taking out a bitcoin backed loan, taking out a fiat loan or some combination of each. Saying that, what I would think remains an important question to ask irrespective of the option you go for:

Is what I’m planning on buying, worth selling bitcoin for?

If it cannot pass this first question, maybe it isn’t worth purchasing to start with.

@ eb0157af:77ab6c55

The exchange reveals the extent of the breach that occurred last December as federal authorities investigate the recent data leak.

Coinbase has disclosed that the personal data of 69,461 users was compromised during the breach in December 2024, according to documentation filed with the Maine Attorney General’s Office.

The disclosure comes after Coinbase announced last week that a group of hackers had demanded a $20 million ransom, threatening to publish the stolen data on the dark web. The attackers allegedly bribed overseas customer service agents to extract information from the company’s systems.

Coinbase had previously stated that the breach affected less than 1% of its user base, compromising KYC (Know Your Customer) data such as names, addresses, and email addresses. In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company clarified that passwords, private keys, and user funds were not affected.

Following the reports, the SEC has reportedly opened an official investigation to verify whether Coinbase may have inflated user metrics ahead of its 2021 IPO. Separately, the Department of Justice is investigating the breach at Coinbase’s request, according to CEO Brian Armstrong.

Meanwhile, Coinbase has faced criticism for its delayed response to the data breach. Michael Arrington, founder of TechCrunch, stated that the stolen data could cause irreparable harm. In a post on X, Arrington wrote:

“The human cost, denominated in misery, is much larger than the $400m or so they think it will actually cost the company to reimburse people. The consequences to companies who do not adequately protect their customer information should include, without limitation, prison time for executives.”

Coinbase estimates the incident could cost between $180 million and $400 million in remediation expenses and customer reimbursements.

Arrington also condemned KYC laws as ineffective and dangerous, calling on both regulators and companies to better protect user data:

“Combining these KYC laws with corporate profit maximization and lax laws on penalties for hacks like these means these issues will continue to happen. Both governments and corporations need to step up to stop this. As I said, the cost can only be measured in human suffering.”

The post Coinbase: 69,461 users affected by December 2024 data breach appeared first on Atlas21.

@ 3f770d65:7a745b24

I’m Derek Ross, and I’m all-in on Nostr.

I started the Grow Nostr Initiative to help more people discover what makes Nostr so powerful: ✅ You own your identity ✅ You choose your social graph and algorithms ✅ You aren't locked into any single app or platform ✅ You can post, stream, chat, and build, all without gatekeepers

What we’re doing with Grow Nostr Initiative: 🌱 Hosting local meetups and mini-conferences to onboard people face-to-face 📚 Creating educational materials and guides to demystify how Nostr works 🧩 Helping businesses and creators understand how they can plug into Nostr (running media servers, relays, and using key management tools)

I believe Nostr is the foundation of a more open internet. It’s still early, but we’re already seeing incredible apps for social, blogging, podcasting, livestreaming, and more. And the best part is that they're all interoperable, censorship-resistant, and built on open standards. Nostr is the world's largest bitcoin economy by transaction volume and I truly believe that the purple pill helps the orange pill go down. Meaning, growing Nostr will also grow Bitcoin adoption.

If you’ve been curious about Nostr or are building something on it, or let’s talk. Whether you're just getting started or you're already deep in the ecosystem, I'm here to answer questions, share what I’ve learned, and hear your ideas. Check out https://nostrapps.com to find your next social decentralized experience.

Ask Me Anything about GNI, Nostr, Bitcoin, the upcoming #NosVegas event at the Bitcoin Conference next week, etc.!

– Derek Ross 🌐 https://grownostr.org npub18ams6ewn5aj2n3wt2qawzglx9mr4nzksxhvrdc4gzrecw7n5tvjqctp424

https://stacker.news/items/984689

@ 04c915da:3dfbecc9

This piece is the first in a series that will focus on things I think are a priority if your focus is similar to mine: building a strong family and safeguarding their future.

---

Choosing the ideal place to raise a family is one of the most significant decisions you will ever make. For simplicity sake I will break down my thought process into key factors: strong property rights, the ability to grow your own food, access to fresh water, the freedom to own and train with guns, and a dependable community.

A Jurisdiction with Strong Property Rights

Strong property rights are essential and allow you to build on a solid foundation that is less likely to break underneath you. Regions with a history of limited government and clear legal protections for landowners are ideal. Personally I think the US is the single best option globally, but within the US there is a wide difference between which state you choose. Choose carefully and thoughtfully, think long term. Obviously if you are not American this is not a realistic option for you, there are other solid options available especially if your family has mobility. I understand many do not have this capability to easily move, consider that your first priority, making movement and jurisdiction choice possible in the first place.

Abundant Access to Fresh Water

Water is life. I cannot overstate the importance of living somewhere with reliable, clean, and abundant freshwater. Some regions face water scarcity or heavy regulations on usage, so prioritizing a place where water is plentiful and your rights to it are protected is critical. Ideally you should have well access so you are not tied to municipal water supplies. In times of crisis or chaos well water cannot be easily shutoff or disrupted. If you live in an area that is drought prone, you are one drought away from societal chaos. Not enough people appreciate this simple fact.

Grow Your Own Food

A location with fertile soil, a favorable climate, and enough space for a small homestead or at the very least a garden is key. In stable times, a small homestead provides good food and important education for your family. In times of chaos your family being able to grow and raise healthy food provides a level of self sufficiency that many others will lack. Look for areas with minimal restrictions, good weather, and a culture that supports local farming.

Guns

The ability to defend your family is fundamental. A location where you can legally and easily own guns is a must. Look for places with a strong gun culture and a political history of protecting those rights. Owning one or two guns is not enough and without proper training they will be a liability rather than a benefit. Get comfortable and proficient. Never stop improving your skills. If the time comes that you must use a gun to defend your family, the skills must be instinct. Practice. Practice. Practice.

A Strong Community You Can Depend On

No one thrives alone. A ride or die community that rallies together in tough times is invaluable. Seek out a place where people know their neighbors, share similar values, and are quick to lend a hand. Lead by example and become a good neighbor, people will naturally respond in kind. Small towns are ideal, if possible, but living outside of a major city can be a solid balance in terms of work opportunities and family security.

---

Let me know if you found this helpful. My plan is to break down how I think about these five key subjects in future posts.

@ 94215f42:7681f622

The promise of AI is intoxicating: slash operational costs by 50-80%, achieve software-style margins on service businesses and and watch enterprise value multiply overnight.

But this initial value creation contains a hidden trap that could leave businesses worth less than when they started. Understanding the "Value Trap" is key to navigating a transition to an AI economy.

What is the Value Trap?

Whilst the value trap is forward looking and somewhat theoretical at this point, there are strong financial incentives to drive investments (many $bns of are looking at the transformation opportunity) that mean this should be taken very seriously.

The Value Trap unfolds in distinct phases:

Phase 1: Status Quo A typical service business operates with 100 units of revenue and 90 units of cost, generating 10 units of profit, representing a standard 10% margin. A bog standard business we can all relate to, long term customers locked in, market fit a distant memory, but growth is hard at this point.

Phase 2: Cost Reduction Early AI adopters slash operational expenses from 90 to 20 units while maintaining 100 units of revenue. This is the very real promise when moving to a "Human at the Edge" model that we'll unpack in a future article. Suddenly, they're generating 80 units of profit at an 8x increase that can easily add multiple to the enterprise value! A venture style return on a business previously struggling for growth.

Phase 3: Growth Phase With massive profit margins comes pricing power. These businesses can undercut competitors while maintaining healthy margins, driving rapid revenue growth. Having removed the human constraint on scaling and the additional overheads and complexity this introduces we see seemingly unlimited expansion. The brakes are truly off at this point for early adopters to expand total market share.

Phase 4: Competition Emerges The extraordinary returns attract competitors. It's important to note there is no technical moat here, other businesses implement similar AI strategies, often from your own staff who may have been let go, new entrants launch AI-native operations, and pricing power erodes.

Phase 5: Mean Reversion After 3-7 years (our best guess given current investment interest in transformation led PE), competitive pressure drives revenue down from 100 to 25 units while costs remain at 20. The business ends up with similar margins to where it started but at much lower absolute revenue, potentially destroying enterprise value.

What you've done is just massively reduced costs in this industry by displacing jobs and those individuals can turn around and compete. You incentivise the competition which erodes your pricing power

Why This Pattern is Inevitable

The Value Trap isn't pure speculation, but based on market dynamics playing out given a set of financial incentives. We believe there are several key forces that make this cycle almost guaranteed:

The Arbitrage is Too Attractive When businesses can achieve "venture returns with no product-market fit risk," capital will flood in. Private equity and Venture Capital firms are already raising funds specifically to acquire traditional service businesses and apply AI transformation strategies .

Low Technical Barriers Unlike previous technological advantages, AI implementation doesn't require significant technical moats. Much of the technology is open source, and the real barrier is process redesign thinking rather than proprietary technology.

The "One Player" Principle In any market, it only takes one competitor to implement AI-native processes to force everyone else to adapt. You either "play the game or you get left behind".

Capital Abundance With global money supply expanding and traditional investment opportunities yielding lower returns, the combination of proven product-market fit and dramatic cost reduction potential represents an irresistible opportunity for investors.

Strategic Response for SMEs: The Netflix Model

Small and medium enterprises actually have a significant advantage in navigating the Value Trap, but they need to act strategically and start moving now.

Embrace the Incubation Approach Rather than gutting your existing business, adopt Netflix's strategy: build an AI-native version of your business alongside your current operations. This approach manages risk while positioning for the future.

The answer here is why not both. you don't necessarily have to gut your current business, but you should be thinking about what does my business look like in five years and how do I transition into that.

Leverage Your Natural Advantages Small businesses can adapt faster than large enterprises. While a 20,000-person company faces "political shockwaves" when reducing workforce, a 10-person business can double revenue without anyone noticing. You can focus on growth rather than painful cost-cutting.

Remove Growth Constraints Early AI removes the traditional constraint where "adding the next person" represents a significant capital investment. Small businesses can scale efficiently once they've redesigned their processes around AI-native workflows, avoid further capital outlay and scaling without increasing complexity in operations.

Focus on Local Networks For various reasons associated with the commoditisation of intelligence, we believe the future favours "hyper-localised" businesses serving customers who "know, like, and trust" them. As intelligence becomes commoditised, human relationships become more valuable, not less.

Strategic Response for Capital Allocators

For private equity and venture capital firms, the Value Trap presents both enormous opportunity and significant risk.

Target the Right Businesses Look for businesses with strong persistent moats that will slow mean reversion:

• Strong brand and customer relationships

• High customer acquisition costs in the industry

• Regulatory barriers to entry

• Capital-intensive startup requirements

• Long-term contracts and switching costs

Master the Timing The key is capturing value during the expansion phase and exiting before mean reversion accelerates, or finding an appropriate time arbitrage solution to retain value (see below). The optimal point if you're a capital allocator is almost when you've extracted the most cost out of the business.

Consider Hybrid Strategies Rather than just gutting existing businesses, consider acquiring for distribution and customer base while building AI-native operations alongside traditional ones. This provides multiple exit strategies and reduces execution risk.

Bitcoin: The Time Arbitrage Solution

Whenever I've talked to anybody about AI, my first point of advice is just buy bitcoin.

This isn't just evangelism, so much as a recognition of where you would want to hold value as the Value Trap plays out. In essence the value trap generates an arbitrage opportunity, hige profits are pulled forwards short-term balooning the balance sheet, but the second order consequences of this change risk destroying the value you just created!

We believe alongside rapid competition leading to price for services collapsing, the mass job displacement leads to political pressure for intervention.

This could take several forms, but UBI, mortgage bailouts, unemployment extensions, seizure of existing property.

"All roads lead to money printing," as Pete notes in Good Stuff 02 .

During Weimar Republic hyperinflation, "the cost of a newspaper in year five was the same nominal figure as all of the money that existed in year four." While extreme, this illustrates how quickly monetary systems can shift as inflation and money supply inflation begins to run.

To resolve these issues, Bitcoin allows you to conduct arbitrage across time in an asset that is inflation resistant (fixed supply), hard to seize, has no counter party risk (if someone holds your gold, stocks, cash they can take it without asking) and transportable. Capturing value today and preserving it through monetary system changes protecting against the second and third-order effects of massive economic disruption, that AI represents.

Opportunity, Not Fear: The Renaissance Ahead

The Value Trap isn't a reason to avoid AI, it's a roadmap for navigating inevitable change strategically.

The Entrepreneurial Renaissance This could be a Renaissance for entrepreneurs, if you're entrepreneurial minded, this is an amazing time to be alive because there's opportunity that exists in all fields and the barriers to entry have never been lower.

Liberation from Busy Work The displacement of administrative and routine cognitive work frees humans for higher-value creation.

Democratisation of Intelligence When you can "purchase intelligence in buckets of $0.02 API calls," the barriers to starting and scaling businesses collapse. Individual entrepreneurs can build businesses that previously required large teams, with much lower complexity and risk.

Cost Reduction Benefits Everyone The ultimate outcome of the Value Trap cycle benefits consumers through dramatically lower prices for goods and services.

"Who doesn't want cheaper stuff? Why don't we just reduce the cost of everything massively?"

Conclusion: Embrace the High Agency Era

The Value Trap represents a fundamental shift from employment-based to entrepreneurship-based wealth creation. Rather than fearing job displacement, we should prepare for "the age of the entrepreneur" a high agency era.

The businesses and individuals who thrive will be those who:

• Understand the cycle and position accordingly

• Focus on unique value creation rather than routine processing or middleman models

• Build local networks and relationships

• Preserve wealth through the monetary transition

• Embrace building and creating unique value

If you are high agency, you can make anything happen.

The Value Trap isn't just about AI transforming business, it won't do this on its own, its a description of how humans will use this technology to generate and capture value.

The future belongs to builders, creators, and entrepreneurs who can navigate transition periods and emerge stronger. The Value Trap is the map, use it wisely.

This article draws heavily on discussion between myself and business partner Andy in Episode 02 of The Good Stuff, if you prefer listening try that :)

@ bf47c19e:c3d2573b

Originalni tekst na bitcoin-balkan.com.

---

Pregled sadržaja

1. Definisanje novca
2. Šta je sredstvo razmene?
3. Šta je obračunska jedinica?
4. Šta je zaliha vrednosti?
5. Zašto su važne funkcije novca?
6. Novac Gubi Funkciju: Alhemičar iz Njutonije
7. Eksploatacija pomoću Novca: Agri Perle
8. Novac Gubi Funkciju 2. Deo: Kejnslandski Bankar
9. Da li nas novac danas eksploatiše?
10. Šta je novac, i zašto trebate da brinete?
11. Efikasnija Ušteda Novca
12. Zasluge
13. Molim vas da šerujete!

---

Google izveštava o stalnom povećanju interesa u svetu za pitanje „Šta je novac?“ koji se postavlja iz godine u godinu, od 2004. do 2021., a sa naglim porastom nakon finansijske krize 2008. godine.

I izgleda se da niko nema dobar odgovor za to.

Godišnji proseci mesečnih interesa za pretragu. 100 predstavlja najveći interes za pretragu tokom čitavog perioda, koji se dogodio u decembru 2019. Podaci sa Google Trends-a.

Međutim, odgovaranje na ovo naizgled jednostavno pitanje pomoći će vam da razjasnite ulogu novca u vašem životu. Jednom kada shvatite kako novac funkcioniše, tačno ćete videti i zašto svet danas ludi – i šta učiniti povodom toga. Zato hajde da se udubimo u to.

Na pitanje šta je novac, većina ljudi otvori svoje novčanike i pokaže nekoliko novčanica – “evo, ovo je novac!”

Ali po čemu se ove novčanice razlikuju od stranica vaše omiljene knjige? Pa, naravno, zavod za izradu novčanica te zemlje je odštampao te novčanice iz vašeg novčanika kako bi se oduprla falsifikovanju, i svi ih koriste da bi kupili odredjene stvari.

Međutim, Nemačka Marka imala je sva ova svojstva u prošlosti – ali preduzeća danas ne prihvataju te novčanice. Zapravo, građani Nemačke su početkom dvadesetih godina prošlog veka spaljivali papirne Marke kako bi grejali svoje domove. Marka je imala veću vrednost kao papir za potpalu nego kao novac!

1923. nemačka valuta poznata kao Marka bila je jeftinija od uglja i drveta!

Pa šta to čini novac, novcem?

Ispostavilo se da ovo nije pitanje na koje je lako dati odgovor.

Definisanje novca

Novac nije fizička stvar poput novčanice dolara. Novac je društveni sistem koji koristimo da bismo olakšali trgovinu robom i uslugama. Međutim, tokom istorije fizička monetarna dobra igrala su ključnu ulogu u društvenom sistemu novca, često kao znakovi koji predstavljaju vrednost u monetarnom sistemu. Ovaj sistem ima tri funkcije: 1) Sredstvo Razmene, 2) Obračunsku Jedinicu i 3) Zalihu Vrednosti.

Odakle dolaze ove funkcije, i zašto su one vredne?

Šta je sredstvo razmene?

Sredstvo razmene je neko dobro koje se obično razmenjuje za drugo dobro. Najčešće objašnjenje za to kako su se pojavila sredstva razmene glasi otprilike ovako: Boris ima ječam i želeo bi da kupi ovcu od Marka. Marko ima ovce, ali želi samo piliće. Ana ima piliće, ali ona ne želi ječam ili ovce.

To se naziva problem sticaja potreba: dve strane moraju da žele ono što druga ima da bi mogle da trguju. Ako se želje dve osobe ne podudaraju, oni moraju da pronađu druge ljude sa kojima će trgovati dok svi ne pronađu dobro koje žele.

Ljudi koji trguju robom i uslugama moraju da imaju potrebe koje se podudaraju.

Vremenom, veoma je verovatno da će se određena vrsta robe, poput pšenice, pojaviti kao sredstvo razmene jer su je mnogi ljudi želeli. Uzimajući pšenicu kao primer: pšenica je rešila “sticaje potreba” u mnogim zanatima, jer čak i ako onaj koji prima pšenicu a nije želeo da je koristi za sebe, znao je da će je neko drugi želeti.

Ovo nazivamo prodajnost imovine.

Pšenica je dobar primer dobra za prodaju jer svi moraju da jedu, a od pšenice se pravi hleb. Pšenica ima vrednost kao sastojak hleba i kao dobro koje olakšava trgovinu rešavanjem problema „sticaja potreba“.

Razmislite o svojoj želji da dobijete više novčanica u eurima ili drugoj valuti. Ne možete da jedete novčanice da biste preživeli, a i ne bi vam bile od velike koristi ako poželite da ih koristite kao građevinski materijal za vašu kuću. Međutim, znate da sa tim novčanicama možete da kupite hranu i kuću.

Stvarne fizičke novčanice su beskorisne za vas. Novčanice su vam dragocene samo zato što će ih drugi prihvatiti za stvari koje su vama korisne.

Tokom dugog perioda istorije, novac je evoluirao do te mere da monetarno dobro može imati vrednost, a da to dobro ne služi za bilo koju drugu ‘suštinsku’ upotrebu, poput hrane ili energije. Umesto toga, njegova upotreba je zaliha vrednosti i jednostavna zamena za drugu robu u bilo kom trenutku koji poželite.

Šta jedno dobro čini poželjnijim i prodajnijim od drugog dobra?

Deljivost

Definicija: Sposobnost podele dobra na manje količine.

Loš Primer: Dijamante je teško podeliti na manje komade. Za zajednicu od hiljada ljudi koji dnevno izvrše milione transakcija, dijamanti čine loše sredstvo razmene. Previše su retki i nedeljivi da bi se koristili za mnoge transakcije.

Potrebno je puno obuke da bi izrezali dijamant.

Ujednačenost

Definicija: Sličnost pojedinačnih jedinica odredjenog dobra.

Loš Primer: Krave nisu ujednačene – neke su veće, neke manje, neke bolesne, neke zdrave. Sa druge strane, unca čistog zlata je jednolična – jedna unca je potpuno ista kao sledeća. Ovo svojstvo se takođe često naziva zamenljivost.

Svaka je jedinstvena na svoj način.

Prenosivost

Definicija: Lakoća transporta dobra.

Loš Primer: Krava nije baš prenosiva. Zlatnici su prilično prenosivi. Papirne novčanice su još prenošljivije. Knjiga u kojoj se jednostavno beleži vlasništvo nad tim vrednostima (poput Rai kamenog sistema ili digitalnog bankovnog računa) je neverovatno prenosiva, jer nema fizičkog dobra koje treba nositi sa sobom za kupovinu. Postoji samo sistem za evidentiranje vlasništva nad tim vrednostima u nematerijalnom obliku.

Novac star 5000 godina VS novac star 13 godina

Kako dobro postaje sredstvo razmene?

Dobra postaju, i ostaju sredstva razmene zbog svoje univerzalne potražnje, takođe poznate kao njihova prodajnost, čemu pomažu svojstva koja su gore nabrojana.

Mnogo različitih dobara mogu u različitoj meri delovati kao sredstva razmene u ekonomiji. Danas, naša globalna ekonomija koristi valute koje izdaju države, zlato, pa čak i robu poput nafte kao sredstvo razmene.

---

Šta je obračunska jedinica?

Stvari se komplikuju kada u ekonomiji postoji mnogo robe koja se prodaje. Čak i sa samo 5 dobara, postoji 10 “kurseva razmene” između svake robe kojih svi u ekonomiji moraju da se sete: 1 svinja se menja za 15 pilića, 1 pile se menja za 15 litara mleka, desetak jaja se menja za 15 litara mleka, i tako dalje. Ako ekonomija ima 50 dobara, među njima postoji 1.225 “kurseva razmene”!

Sredstvo za merenje vrednosti

Zamislite obračunsku jedinicu kao sredstvo za merenje vrednosti. Umesto da se sećamo vrednosti svakog dobra u poredjenju sa drugim dobrima, mi samo treba da se setimo vrednosti svakog dobra u poredjenju sa jednim dobrom – obračunskom jedinicom.

Umesto da se setimo 1.225 kurseva razmene kada imamo 50 proizvoda na tržištu, mi treba da zapamtimo samo 50 cena.

Na primer, ne treba da se sećamo da litar mleka vredi 1/15 piletine ili desetak jaja, možemo da se samo setimo da litar mleka košta 1USD.

Mnogo opcija, sve u istoj obračunskoj jedinici.

Poređenje dobara je lakše sa obračunskom jedinicom

Obračunska jedinica takođe olakšava upoređivanje vrednosti i donošenje odluka. Zamislite da pokušavate da kupite par Nike Air Jordan patika kada ih jedan prodavac prodaje za jedno pile, a drugi za 50 klipova kukuruza.

Šta je zaliha vrednosti?

Do sada smo gledali samo primere transakcija koje se odvijaju u određenom trenutku u vremenu.

Međutim, ljudi vrše transakcije tokom vremena – oni štede novac i troše ga kasnije. Da bi odredjeno dobro moglo da funkcioniše pravilno kao monetarno dobro, ono treba da održi vrednost tokom vremena.

Novac koji vremenom dobro drži vrednost daje njegovom imaocu više izbora kada će taj novac da potroši.

To znači da prodajnost dobra uključuje njegovu sposobnost da održi vrednost tokom vremena.

Šta jedno dobro čini boljom zalihom vrednosti od drugog dobra?

Trajnost

Definicija: Sposobnost dobra da vremenom zadrži svoj oblik.

Loš Primer: Jagode čine lošu zalihu vrednosti jer se lako oštete i brzo trunu.

Odluka je daleko lakša ako jedan prodavac naplaćuje 150 USD, a drugi 200 USD – odmah je očigledno koja je bolja ponuda jer su vrednosti izražene u istoj jedinici.

Nije sjajna forma novca.

Teške za Proizvodnju

Definicija: Teškoće koje ljudi imaju u proizvodnji veće količine dobra.

Loš Primer: Papirne novčanice predstavljaju lošu zalihu vrednosti jer banke i vlade mogu jeftino da ih naprave.

Sa zlatom je suprotno – u ponudi se nalazi ograničena količina uprkos velikoj potražnji za njim, jednostavno zato što ga je vrlo teško iskopati iz zemlje. Ova ograničena ponuda osigurava da svaka jedinica zlata održi vrednost tokom vremena.

Traženje zlata je spora i teška aktivnost. Obično se ne pronađe puno!

Kako dobra postaju zalihe vrednosti?

Dobro postaje zaliha vrednosti ako se vremenom pokaže trajnim i teškim za proizvodnju.

Samo će vreme pokazati da li je neko dobro zaista trajno i da li ga je teško proizvesti. Zbog toga neki oblici novca su postojali vekovima pre nego što je neko otkrio način da ih proizvede više, i na kraju se to dobro više nije koristilo kao novac.

Ovo je priča o školjkama, Rai kamenju i mnogim drugim oblicima novca tokom istorije.

Zlato je primer dobra koje je hiljadama godina služilo kao dobra zaliha vrednosti. Zlato se ne razgrađuje tokom vremena i još uvek ga je teško proizvesti. Hiljadama godina alhemičari su bezuspešno pokušavali da sintetišu zlato iz jeftinih materijala.

Čak i sa današnjim naprednim rudarskim tehnikama, svake godine svi svetski rudnici zlata zajedno mogu da proizvedu samo 2% od ukupne ponude zlata u prometu.

Teškoće u proizvodnji zlata daju izuzetno visok odnos “zaliha i protoka”: zaliha je broj postojećih jedinica, a protok su nove jedinice stvorene tokom određenog vremenskog perioda. Svake godine se stvori vrlo malo novih jedinica zlata, iako je potražnja za zlatom obično vrlo velika.

Kombinujući ovo sa deljivošću, ujednačenošću i prenosivošću zlata, nije ni čudo što je zlato čovečanstvu služilo kao monetarno dobro tokom poslednjih 5.000 godina. Pošto je zlato teško proizvesti, možemo ga nazvati teškim novcem (hard money).

Kao rezultat toga, svoju vrednost je u velikoj meri zadržao kroz milenijume. Cena većine dobara i usluga u pogledu zlata zapravo se vremenom smanjivala kao rezultat tehnoloških inovacija, koje sve proizvode čine jeftinijim.

Uzmimo na primer cene hrane prema praćenju Kancelarije za hranu i poljoprivredu UN-a: sa obzirom na skokove u poljoprivrednoj tehnologiji tokom poslednjih 60 godina, cene hrane drastično su pale kada se procenjuju u zlatu. To čak i važi uprkos činjenici da obični ljudi retko koriste zlato za kupovinu stvari.

Cene hrane su padale u pogledu zlata tokom proteklih 60 godina, i mnogo pre toga (FAO Indeks Cena Hrane u Zlatu)

Zaliha vrednosti omogućava ljudima da uštede novac kako bi mogli da ga ulažu u pokretanje preduzeća i obrazovanje, povećavajući produktivnost društva.

Monetarna dobra koja dobro čuvaju vrednost takođe podstiču dugoročniji pogled na život, ili kratke vremenske preference. Pojedinac može da radi 10 godina, uštedi odredjeno monetarno dobro koje je dobra zaliha vrednosti, i nema potrebe da se plaši da će njegova ušteđevina biti izbrisana krahom tržišta ili povećanjem ponude tog dobra.

Zašto su važne funkcije novca?

Kada neki oblik novca izgubi bilo koju od svojih važnih funkcija kao što su sredstvo razmene, obračunska jedinica i zaliha vrednosti, celokupna ekonomija i društvo mogu da se rastrgnu.

Tokom istorije često vidimo grupe ljudi koje eksploatišu druge iskorišćavajući nesporazume o novcu i važnosti njegovih funkcija.

Sledeće, proći ću kroz istoriju novca, prvo hipotetički da bih ilustrovao poentu, a zatim ću preći na stvarne istorijske primere. Kroz ove primere videćemo štetne efekte na društva u slučajevima kada se izgubi samo jedna od tih ključnih funkcija novca.

Novac Gubi Funkciju: Alhemičar iz Njutonije

Kroz istoriju, mnoga dobra su dolazila i odlazila kao oblici novca. Na žalost, kada se neki oblik novca ukine, ponekad postoji grupa ljudi koja eksploatiše drugi oblik manipulišući tim novcem.

Hajde da pogledamo hipotetičko selo zvano Njutonija da bismo razumeli kako dolazi do ove eksploatacije.

Zelene perle postaju Novac

Tokom stotina godina ribolova u obližnjoj reci, stanovnici Njutonije sakupljali su zelene perle iz vode. Zrnca su mala, lagana, izdržljiva, jednolična i retko se pojavljuju u reci. Ljudi prvo priželjkuju perle zbog svoje lepote. Na kraju, seljani shvataju da svi drugi žele perle – one se vrlo lako mogu prodati. Zrnca uskoro postaju sredstvo razmene i obračunska jedinica u selu: pile je 5 zrna, vreća jabuka 2 zrna, krava 80 zrna.

Ukupna ponuda perli je prilično konstantna i cene se vremenom ne menjaju mnogo. Seoski starešina je uveren da može da se opustiti u poslednjim danima živeći od svoje velike zalihe perli.

Alhemičar stvara više perli

Seoski alhemičar je poželeo da bude bogat čovek, ali nije voleo da vredno radi na tome. Umesto da traži perle u reci ili da prodaje vrednu robu drugim seljanima, on sedeo je u svojoj laboratoriji. Na kraju je otkrio kako da lako stvori stotine perli sa malo peska i vatre.

Seljani koji su tragali za perlama u reci bili su srećni ako bi svaki dan pronašli po 1 zrno. Alhemičar je mogao da proizvede stotine uz malo napora.

Alhemičar troši svoje perle

Budući da je bio prilično zao, alhemičar nije svoj metod pravljenja zrna delio ni sa kim drugim. Stvorio je sebi još više perli i počeo da ih troši za dobra na tržištu u Njutoniji. Tokom sledećih meseci, alhemičar je kupio farmu pilića, nekoliko krava, finu svilu, posteljine i ogromno imanje. On je imao priliku da kupi ova dobra po normalnim cenama na tržištu.

Alhemičarevo trošenje ostavljalo je seljanima mnogo perli, ali malo njihove vredne robe.

Svi seljani su se osećali bogatima – imali su tone perli! Međutim, polako su primetili da i svi ostali takodje imaju tone.

Cene počinju da rastu

Uzgajivač pilića primetio je da sva roba koju je trebalo da kupi na pijaci poskupela. Džak jabuka sada se prodaje za 100 perli – 50 puta više od njihove cene pre nekoliko meseci!

Iako je sada imao hiljade perli, uskoro bi mogao da ostane bez njih zbog ovih cena. Pitao se – da li zaista može sebi da priušti da prodaje svoje piliće za samo 5 perli po komadu? Morao je i on da podigne svoje cene.

Jednostavno rečeno, kao rezultat alhemičarevog trošenja njegovih novostvorenih perli, bilo je previše perli koje su jurile premalo dobara – pa su cene porasle.

Kupci robe bili su spremni da potroše više perli da bi kupili potrebna dobra. Prodavci robe su trebali da naplate više da bi bili sigurni da su zaradili dovoljno da kupe potrebna dobra za sebe.

Budući da su cene svih dobara porasle, možemo reći da se vrednost svake perle smanjila.

Nejednakost bogatstva raste

Seoski starešina, koji je vredno radio da sačuva hiljade perli, sada se našao osiromašenim i gladnim. U međuvremenu, alhemičar je udobno sedeo na svom velikom imanju sa kravama, pilićima i slugama koji su se brinuli za svaki njegov hir.

Alhemičar je efikasno ukrao bogatstvo celog sela, tako što je jeftino proizvodio perle i koristio ih za kupovinu vredne robe.

Ono što je najvažnije, kupio je robu pre nego što je tržište shvatilo da je više perli u opticaju i da ima manje robe, što je dovelo do rasta cena. Ova dodatna proizvodnja perli nije dodala korisnu robu ili usluge selu.

Eksploatacija pomoću Novca: Agri Perle

Nažalost, priča o alhemičaru iz Njutonije nije u potpunosti hipotetička. Ovaj prenos bogatstva kroz stvaranje novca ima istorijske i moderne presedane.

Na primer, afrička plemena su nekada koristila staklene perle, poznate kao “agri perle”, kao sredstvo razmene. U to vreme plemenskim ljudima je bilo veoma teško da prave staklene perle, i one su predstavljale težak novac unutar njihovog plemenskog društva.

Niko nije mogao jeftino da proizvede perle i koristiti ih za kupovinu skupe, vredne robe poput kuća, hrane i odeće.

Perle proizvedene u Gani

Sve se promenilo kada su stigli Evropljani, i primetili upotrebu staklenih perli kao novca.

U to vreme, Evropljani su mogli jeftino da stvaraju staklo u velikim količinama. Kao rezultat toga, Evropljani su počeli tajno da uvoze perle i koriste ih za kupovinu dobara, usluga i robova od Afrikanaca.

Peć za izradu stakla u Muranu, Italija. Ovo ostrvo izvan Venecije proizvodi staklo od 15. veka.

Vremenom se iz Afrike izvlačila vredna roba i ljudi, dok je plemenima ostajalo mnogo perli i malo robe.

Perle su izgubile veći deo vrednosti zbog inflacije uzrokovane snabdevanjem od strane Evropljana.

Rezultat je bio osiromašenje afričkih plemena i bogaćenje Evropljana, kako to ovde objašnjava monetarni istoričar Bezant Denier.

Dragocena roba je kupljena jeftino proizvedenim monetarnim dobrom.

Profitiranje na proizvodnji novca: Emisiona dobit

Ova priča ilustruje kako se bogatstvo prenosi kada jedna grupa može jeftino da proizvodi monetarno dobro.

Razlika između troškova proizvodnje monetarnog dobra i vrednosti tog monetarnog dobra poznata je kao emisiona dobit, eng. seignorage.

Kada je monetarno dobro mnogo vrednije od troškova proizvodnje, ljudi će proizvesti više od monetarnog dobra da bi uhvatili profit od emisione dobiti.

Na kraju će ova povećana ponuda dovesti do pada vrednosti monetarnog dobra. To je zbog zakona ponude i potražnje: kada se ponuda povećava, cena (poznata i kao vrednost) dobra opada.

Novac Gubi Funkciju 2. Deo: Kejnslandski Bankar

U priči o Njutoniji, alhemičar je otkrio način da se od malo peska jeftino stvori više zelenih perli. To se u stvarnosti odigralo kroz trgovinu između Evropljana i Afrikanaca, pričom o agri perlama. Međutim, ove priče su pomalo zastarele – mi više ne trgujemo robom za perle.

Da bismo nas doveli do modernog doba, hajde da promenimo neka imena u našoj priči:

1. Selo Njutonija postaje država koja se zove Kejnsland
2. Alhemičar postaje bankar
3. Seoski starešina postaje penzioner
4. Zelene perle postaju zlato, koje niko ne može jeftinije da stvori – čak ni bankar.

Bankar Menja Papirne Novčanice za Zlato

Kao i u stvarnosti, bankar u ovoj priči nema formulu ili trik da stvori više zlata. Međutim, bankar bezbedno čuva zlato u vlasništvu svakog građanina Kejnslanda. Bankar daje svakom građaninu po jednu potvrdu za svaku uncu zlata koje ima u svom trezoru.

Te potvrde se mogu iskoristiti u bilo koje vreme za stvarno zlato. Papirne potvrde ili novčanice su mnogo pogodnije za plaćanje nego nošenje zlata kroz supermarket.

Građani su srećni – oni imaju prikladno sredstvo plaćanja u vidu bankarevih novčanica, i znaju da niko ne može da ukrade njihovo bogatstvo falsifikujući više zlata.

Građani na kraju počinju da plaćaju u potpunosti papirnim novčanicama, ne trudeći se nikad da zamene svoje novčanice za zlato. Na kraju, novčanice postaju “dobre kao i zlato” – svaka predstavlja fiksnu količinu zlata u bankarevom trezoru.

Ukupno kruži 1.000.000 novčanica, od kojih je svaka otkupljiva za jednu uncu zlata. 1.000.000 unci zlata sedi u bankarevom trezoru. Svaka novčanica je u potpunosti podržana u zlatu.

Starešina koji je sačuvao sve svoje perle u priči o Njutoniji sada je penzioner u Kejnslandu, koji svoje zlato drži u banci i planira da ugodno živi od novčanica koje je dobio zauzvrat.

Hajde da u ovu priču dodamo i novi lik: premijera Kejnslanda. Premijer naplaćuje porez od građana i koristi ga za plaćanje javnih usluga poput policije i vojske. Premijer takođe drži vladino zlato kod bankara.

Bankar Menja Papirne Novčanice za Dug

Premijer želi da osigura da nacionalno zlato ostane na sigurnom, pa banku štiti policijom. Bankar i premijer se zbog toga zbližavaju, pa premijer traži uslugu. Traži od bankara da kreira 200.000 novčanica za premijera, uz obećanje da će mu premijer vratiti za pet godina. Premijeru su novčanice potrebne za finansiranje rata. Građani Kejnslanda borili su se protiv većih poreza zbog finansiranja rata, pa je morao da se obrati bankaru.

Bankar se slaže da izradi novčanice, ali pod jednim uslovom: bankar uzima deo od 10.000 novčanica za sebe. Premijer prihvata posao kojim bankar ’kupuje državni dug’. Sada je u opticaju 1.200.000 novčanica, potpomognutih kombinacijom 1.000.000 unci zlata i ugovorom o dugu sa vladom za 200.000 novčanica.

Premijer troši svoje nove novčanice na bombe kupujući ih od dobavljača iz domaće vojne industrije, a bankar sebi kupuje veliki luksuzni stan.

Dobavljač iz vojne industrije koristi sve nove novčanice koje je dobio od premijera da kupi amonijum nitrat (đubrivo koje se koristi u bombama) za proizvodnju bombi. Sve njegove kupovine povećavaju cenu đubriva za uzgajivače pšenice u Kejnslandu, pa oni podižu cenu pšenice.

Kao uzrok toga, pekar koji kupuje pšenicu treba da podigne cenu svog hleba da bi ostao u poslu. Na taj način cene u Kejnslandu počinju da rastu, baš kao što su to činile u Njutoniji kada su nove perle ušle u opticaj.

Papirne Novčanice Više Ne Predstavljaju Zlato

Penzioner nailazi na finansijski časopis u kojem se pominje premijerov dogovor da se zaduži za finansiranje rata. Obzirom da je mudar, on zna da bombe loše vraćaju ulaganje i sumnja da će premijer ikada da vrati svoj dug.

Ako on ‘podmiri’ svoj dug, to bi ostavilo 1.200.000 novčanica u opticaju sa samo 1.000.000 unci zlata da bi ih podržalo, obezvređujući njegovu ušteđevinu. Već oseća stisak u džepu zbog porasta cena, i on odlučuje da se uputi u lokalnu banku i preda svoje novčanice i zameni ih za zlato, koje niko ne može da napravi u većoj količini.

Kada penzioner stigne u banku, on zatiče i mnoge druge okupljene oko banke. Svi oni se nadaju da će uzeti zlato koje predstavljaju njihove novčanice. Građani Kejnslanda sa pravom se plaše da njihove novčanice gube na vrednosti – oni to već osećaju zbog porasta cena.

Vrata su zaključana, sa obaveštenjem bankara na njima:

Po nalogu premijera, onom koji se plaši za stabilnost ove bankarske institucije, ova banka više neće podržavati konvertibilnost papirnih novčanica u zlato. Hvala vam!

Gomila se razilazi, ostavljena sa jednim izborom: da zadrže svoje novčanice, koje sada vrede manje od 1 unce zlata. Građani sa dovoljno finansijske stabilnosti odlučuju da ulože svoje novčanice u kupovinu akcija banke i kompanija vojne industrije, koje dobro posluju jer mogu da kupuju stvari pre nego što se povećaju tržišne cene.

Mnogi ljudi nisu u mogućnosti da investiraju – oni moraju da gledaju kako njihove zarade stagniraju i kako njihova ušteđevina polako ali sigurno gubi vrednost.

Penzioner, koji se nadao da će živeti od novčanica koje je zaradio tokom svojih 40 radnih godina, sada 40 sati nedeljno provodi iza kase u lokalnoj prodavnici, pitajući se gde je sve pošlo po zlu.

Dug Nikada Nije Otplaćen

Prošlo je nekoliko godina, a premijerov dug prema banci dolazi na naplatu. Budući da je potrošio svih 200.000 novčanica na bombe, koje nemaju baš dobar povraćaj ulaganja, on nema novčanice koje može da vrati banci. Plus, premijer želi da kupi još bombi za svoj rat.

Bankar uverava premijera da je sve u redu. Bankar će napraviti novi ugovor o dugu za 600.000 novčanica, koji bi trebao da stigne na naplatu u narednih 5 godina. Premijer može da iskoristi 200.000 od tih novih 600.000 novčanica da vrati svoj prvobitni dug prema banci, zadrži još 300.000 da kupi još bombi i da 100.000 bankaru da bi mu platio njegove usluge.

To nastavlja da se dešava – svaki put kada dug dospeva na naplatu, bankar stvara više novčanica za vraćanje starijih dugova i daje premijeru još više novca za trošenje. Ovaj ciklus se nastavlja.

Šta se dešava u Kejnslandu?

• Oni koji prvi dobiju nove novčanice, gledaju kako se njihovo bogatstvo povećava
• To uključuje bankara, premijera, vladu i sve one koji mogu da pristupe mogućnostima za investiranje u preduzeća koja prva dobiju nove novčanice (finansijske, vojne itd.).
• Cene roba rastu
• Cene se ne povećavaju ravnomerno – one se povećavaju gde god nove novčanice prvo uđu u ekonomiju i od tog trenutka imaju efekat talasa na tržišta. U našem primeru prvo raste cena amonijum nitrata, zatim cena pšenice, pa cena hleba. A tek na kraju zarade običnih ljudi.
• Štednja i životni standard opšte populacije se smanjuju
• Najviše pate oni koji žive od plate do plate i ne mogu da ulažu. Čak i oni koji su u mogućnosti da investiraju podložni su hirovima tržišta. Mnogi su prisiljeni da prodaju svoje investicije po niskim cenama tokom pada tržišta samo da bi platili svoje dnevne potrebe.
• Razlika u prihodima i bogatstvu između bogatih i siromašnih se povećava
• Bogatstvo opšte populacije se smanjuje, dok se bogatstvo onih koji su blizu mesta gde se troše nove novčanice povećava. Rezultat je disparitet koji se vremenom samo proširuje.

Da li nas novac danas eksploatiše?

Priča o Njutoniji i stvarna priča o agri perlama u Africi deluju pomalo zastarelo. Priča o Kejnslandu, međutim, deluje neobično poznato. U našem svetu cene robe uvek rastu, i vidimo rekordne nivoe nejednakosti u bogatstvu.

U poslednjem odeljku ovog našeg članka Šta je novac, proći ću kroz nastanak bankarstva i korake koji su bili potrebni da se dođe do današnjeg sistema, gde banke i vlade sarađuju u kontroli ekonomije i samog novca.

Šta su banke, i odakle su one došle?

Pojava bankarstva verovatno se dogodila da bi olakšala poljoprivrednu trgovinu i da bi povećala pogodnosti. Iako su se mnoga društva na kraju konvergirala ka upotrebi zlata i srebra kao novca, ovi metali su bili teški i opasni za nošenje kao tovar. Međutim, u mnogim slučajevima ih nije ni trebalo prevoziti. Uzmite ovaj primer:

Grad treba da plati poljoprivrednicima na selu za žito, a poljoprivrednici gradskoj vojsci za zaštitu od varvara. U ovom dogovoru zlato se kreće u oba smera: prema poljoprivrednicima u selu kako bi im se platilo žito, i nazad u grad da bi se platila vojska. Da bi olakšali ove transakcije, preduzetnici su stvorili koncept banke. Banka je zlato čuvala u sigurnom trezoru i izdavala novčanice od papira. Svaka priznanica je predstavljala potvrdu da njen imaoc poseduje određenu količinu zlata u banci. Imaoc novčanice je u svako doba mogao da uzme svoje zlato nazad vraćanjem te novčanice banci.

Korisnici banke mogli su lakše da trguju sa novčanicama od papira, i onaj koji poseduje novčanice mogao je da preuzme njihovo fizičko zlato u bilo kom trenutku. To je te novčanice učinilo “dobrim kao i zlato”.

Banke su izdržavale svoje poslovanje naplaćujući od kupaca naknadu za skladištenje zlata ili pozajmljivanjem dela zlata i zaračunavanjem kamata na njega. Trgovina na ovaj način je mogla da se odvija sa laganim novčanicama od papira umesto sa teškim vrećama zlatnika.

Ovakva praksa sa transakcijama, korišćenjem papirne valute potpomognute monetarnim dobrima, verovatno je započela u Kini u 7. veku.

Na kraju se proširila Evropom 1600-ih, a svoj zalet dobila je u Holandiji sa bankama poput Amsterdamske Wisselbanke. Novčanice Wisselbank-e često su vredele više od zlata koje ih je podržavalo, zbog dodane vrednosti njihovih pogodnosti.

Uspon nacionalnih ‘centralnih banaka’

Tokom vekova, zlato je počelo da se sakuplja u trezorima banaka, jer su ljudi više voleli pogodnosti transakcija sa novčanicama.

Na kraju, nacionalne banke u vlasništvu vlada preuzele su ulogu čuvanja zlata od privatnih banaka koje su započeli preduzetnici.

Nacionalne papirne valute potpomognute zlatnim rezervama u nacionalnim bankama zamenile su novčanice iz privatnih banaka. Sve nacionalne valute bile su jednostavno potvrde za zlato koje se nalazilo u trezoru nacionalne banke.

Ovaj sistem je poznat kao zlatni standard – sve valute su jednostavno predstavljale različite težine zlata.

U gornjem levom uglu novčanice možete videti da piše da je novčanica “zamenljiva za zlato”. Savremeni dolari nemaju ovaj natpis, ali inače izgledaju vrlo slično. Izvor

Zlatni sistem je postojao veći deo vremena, sve do Prvog svetskog rata. Vladama je bilo teško da prikupe novac za ovaj rat putem poreza, pa su morale da budu kreativne.

Kada vlade troše više nego što zarađuju na porezima, to se naziva deficitna potrošnja.

Kako vlade mogu ovo da urade? Vlade to rade tako što pozajmljuju novac prodavajući svoj dug.

Tokom Prvog svetskog rata, vlade su građanima i preduzećima prodavale vrstu duga koja se naziva ratna obveznica. Kada građanin kupi ratnu obveznicu, on preda svoj novac vladi i dobije papir u kojem je stajalo vladino obećanje da će vlasniku obveznice vratiti novac, plus kamate, za nekoliko godina.

Plakat koji obaveštava građane, tražeći od njih da kupe ratne obveznice – što predstavlja zajam vladi. Izvor

Centralne banke ‘monetizuju’ državni dug

Međutim, građani i preduzeća nisu bili voljni da kupe dovoljno ratnih obveznica za finansiranje Prvog svetskog rata.

Vlade se nisu predale – pa su zatražile od svojih nacionalnih ‘centralnih banaka’ da one kupe ove obveznice. Centralne banke su otkupile obveznice, ali ih nisu platile valutom potpomognutom postojećim zlatnim rezervama, kao što su to činili građani i banke prilikom kupovine obveznica.

Centralne banke su umesto toga davale vladi novu, sveže štampanu papirnu valutu potpomognutu samo obveznicom. Ovu valutu podržalo je samo obećanje da će im vlada vratiti dugove. Ovo je poznato kao monetizacija duga.

Budući da su ratne obveznice i valuta samo komadi papira, one su lake i jeftine za proizvodnju i mogu se napraviti u ogromnim količinama. Ono što ograničava proizvodnju i jednog i drugog je poverenje.

Ima smisla da se neko rastane od svog teško stečenog novca da kupi državnu obveznicu, samo ako veruje da će vlada da vrati svoj dug, plus kamate. Centralna banka je “krajnji kupac”, što znači da će ona da kupi državne obveznice kada to niko drugi neće da uradi.

Zapamtite, centralnu banku gotovo da ništa ne košta da kupi državne obveznice, jer oni sami štampaju valutu da bi ih kupili.

Zamislite da pridjete najskupljem automobilu u autosalonu – koji košta 100.000 USD. Mislite da je automobil lep, ali taj novac biste radije potrošili na lepši stan – tako da ste spremni da platite samo 40.000 USD za taj auto.

Sada, hajde da zamislimo da imate štampač za novac i da vas košta samo 50 USD za mastilo i papir da bi ištampali 1.000.000 USD. Vi biste odmah kupili auto, čak i ako biste morali da se cenkate sa drugim čovekom, i da ga na kraju platite 150.000 USD!

Ista stvar se dešava kada centralna banka kupuje obveznice (dugove) od vlade. Centralna banka može da stvori valutu toliko jeftino, da su spremni da plate i više nego što bi drugi platili ove obveznice i nastaviće da ih kupuju čak i kada niko drugi ne bude želeo.

Monetizacija duga uzrokuje inflaciju

Kada centralne banke monetizuju državni dug, funkcija novca kao zalihe vrednosti počinje da se nagriza. Vlada troši novi novac koji je dobila od svoje centralne banke na ratnu robu, obroke i još mnogo toga.

Cene roba rastu od ove novoštampane valute koja kruži kroz ekonomiju. Kada se cene povećavaju, to znači da se vrednost svake jedinice valute smanjuje. Svi koji drže valutu sada imaju manje vrednosti. Danas to nazivamo sporim gubitkom funkcije zalihe vrednosti u novčanoj inflaciji.

Za Nemačku nakon Prvog svetskog rata monetizacija duga izazvala je totalni slom Nemačke ekonomije i stvorila uslove za rast fašizma.

Kao deo sporazuma o prekidu vatre koji je okončao Prvi svetski rat, Nemačka je pobednicima morala da plati ogroman novac. Nemačkoj vladi je bio preko potreban novac, pa su prodale obveznice (dug) Rajhsbanci, nemačkoj centralnoj banci.

Ovaj postupak doveo je do toga da je vlada štampala toliko maraka (tadašnja nemačka valuta) da je tempo inflacije u Nemačkoj ubrzan u hiperinflaciju početkom 1920-ih. Cena vekne hleba za samo 4 godine popela se sa 1,2 marke na 428 biliona maraka.

Tokom i posle Prvog svetskog rata, SAD, Britanija, Francuska i mnoge druge vlade pratile su Nemačku u štampanju valute potpomognute državnim dugom.

To je dovelo do toga da su građani želeli da svoju papirnu valutu zamene za zlato, baš kao i penzioner iz priče o Kejnslandu.

Međutim, mnoge vlade su suspendovale konvertibilnost svojih valuta u zlato. Ovim potezom vlade su primorale svoje građane da drže nacionalnu papirnu valutu i gledaju kako se njihova ušteda smanjuje u vrednosti.

Da bi mogle da nastave da štampaju novac i da bi ga trošile na nepopularne programe za koje nisu mogle da skupljaju poreze za finansiranje – poput ratova.

Bretton Woods: Novi monetarni sistem

Nakon razaranja koja su donela dva svetska rata, vlade su uspostavile novi globalni monetarni sistem prema Bretton Woods-ovom sporazumu iz 1944. godine.

Prema ovom sporazumu, valuta svake države konvertovala se po fiksnom kursu sa američkim dolarom. Američki dolar je zauzvrat predstavljao zlato po stopi od 35 USD za jednu trojsku uncu zlata*.

Sve globalne valute su stoga još uvek bile jednostavna reprezentacija zlata, putem američkih dolara kao posrednika. Redovni građani više nisu mogli da otkupljuju svoje valute za zlato iz Sjedinjenih Država. Međutim, strane centralne banke mogle bi da dođu u Sjedinjene Države da bi zamenile dolare za zlato po stopi od 35 USD za jednu uncu zlata.

Međutim, vlada Sjedinjenih Država nije uvek držala dovoljno zlata da podrži sve dolare u opticaju. Američka vlada nastavila je da finansira proširene socijalne i vojne programe prodajom državnog duga svojoj centralnoj banci, Federalnim rezervama, koja je povećala ponudu dolara bez povećanja ponude zlata koja podupire te dolare.

*Trojna unca je standardna mera čistog zlata i ima malo veću težinu od normalne unce.

Propast Bretton Woods-a

Tokom 1970-ih, sve veći troškovi rata u Vijetnamu i stranih vlada koje su otkupljivale svoje dolare za zlato, stvorili su pritisak na Trezor Sjedinjenih Država.

Ponuda dolara je porasla, dok je zlato u posedu Sjedinjenih Država opalo. Od 1950. pa do početka 1970-ih, rezerve zlata koje je držala vlada Sjedinjenih Država smanjile su se za više od 50%, sa 20 metričkih tona na samo 8 metričkih tona.

Godine 1970. država je imala zlata u vrednosti od samo 12 biliona dolara po zvaničnom kursu od 35 dolara za trojsku uncu zlata. Tokom ovog istog vremenskog perioda, ukupna ponuda američkih dolara otišla je sa oko 32 biliona USD na skoro 70 biliona USD.

Zvanične rezerve zlata u SAD-u su naglo padale od 1950. do 1970. godine, dok su se dolari u opticaju povećavali. Izvor: Wikipedia, DollarDaze.org

Američka vlada nije bila u stanju da potkrepi dolare zlatom od 35 dolara po trojnoj unci, što dovelo do rizika za čitav globalni monetarni sistem.

Početkom sedamdesetih godina, trojna unca zlata trebala je da vredi 200 USD da bi u potpunosti podržala sve američke dolare u opticaju. Rečeno na drugi način, Sjedinjene Države su pokušavale da kažu svetu da jedan dolar vredi 1/35 trojne unce zlata, ali u stvarnosti dolar je vredeo samo 1/200 trojne unce.

Kad su strane vlade trebale da pribave dolare za međunarodnu trgovinu i rezerve, bile su opelješene. Francuska vlada je to shvatila šezdesetih godina prošlog veka i počela je da prodaje svoje američke dolare za zlato po zvaničnom kursu od 35 dolara za trojsku uncu zlata.

Zemlje su počinjale da se bude iz šeme američke vlade. SAD su krale bogatstvo putem emisione dobiti, prodajući dolare za 1/35 trojne unce zlata, kada su vredeli samo 1/200 trojske unce.

Nixonov Šok ulazi u ’tradicionalni’ novac

Da bi kuća od karata mogla da ostane na mestu, predsednik Nixon je 1971. najavio da će američka vlada privremeno da obustavi konvertibilnost dolara u zlato.

Strane vlade više nisu mogle da polažu pravo na zlato svojim papirnim dolarima, a dolar više nije bio “poduprt” zlatom. Nixon je tvrdio da će ovo stabilizovati dolar.

50 godina kasnije, kristalno je jasno da je ovo samo pomoglo dolaru da izgubi vrednost i da ovaj “privremeni” program još uvek traje.

Pre 1971. godine, sve globalne valute bile su vezane za američki dolar putem Bretton Woods-ovog sporazuma. Kada je Nixon promenio američki dolar iz dolara podržanog u zlatu u dolar podržan dugom, ovim je promenio i svaku drugu valutu na Zemlji.

Sam je učinio da se celokupna svetska ekonomija zasniva na dugovima. Valute više nisu predstavljale zlato, već su predstavljale vrednost državnog duga.

Zlatni Standard se nikada nije vratio

Konvertibilnost američkih dolara u zlato – zlatni standard – nikada se nije vratio.

Od 1971. godine, čitav globalni monetarni sistem pokreće se tradicionalnim “fiat” valutama: poverenjem u vladine institucije da održavaju valutni sistem.

Većina valuta podržana je kombinacijom duga njihove vlade i drugih tradicionalnih valuta poput dolara i evra. Papirne valute više nisu podržane zlatom, imovinom koja je više od 5000 godina služila kao težak novac.

Danas vas vlade prisiljavaju da plaćate porez u njihovoj valuti i manipulišu saznanjima oko novca kako bi osigurale da potražnja za njihovom valutom ostane velika.

To im omogućava da neprestano štampaju više valuta, da bi je potrošili na vladine projekte, uzrokujući inflaciju cena koja jede i smanjuje bogatstvo i plate.

Američka vlada sada prodaje državne obveznice (dugove), poznate kao obveznice Trezora SAD, eng. US Treasuries, komercijalnim bankama u zamenu za američke dolare.

Vlada koristi te dolare za finansiranje svog budžetskog deficita. Komercijalne banke prodaju mnoge obveznice Trezora SAD, koje su kupile, američkoj centralnoj banci, Federalnim Rezervama.

Federalne rezerve plaćaju komercijalnim bankama sveže štampanim novcem “pomoću računara i upisivanjem količine na račun”, kako je rekao bivši predsednik Fed-a Ben Bernanke.

Ove komercijalne banke često zarađuju samo kupujući obveznice Trezora SAD od države i prodajući ih centralnoj banci. Kupujte nisko, prodajte visoko.

Centralne banke ovaj proces kupovine državnog duga – odnosno pozajmljivanja novca državi – nazivaju operacijama otvorenog tržišta.

Kada centralna banka odjednom kupi velike iznose duga, oni to nazivaju kvantitativnim ublažavanjem. Centralne banke javno najavljuju kupovinu državnog duga, ali vrlo malo ljudi razume šta to zapravo znači.

Euro, jen i svaka druga valuta koja se danas koristi funkcionišu slično kao američki dolar.

Da li će SAD ikada vratiti svoj nacionalni dug? Neobična stvar u vezi sa državnim dugom SAD-a je ta što vlada poseduje štampariju potrebnu za njegovu otplatu.

Kao rezultat toga, kada vlada duguje novac, oni samo pozajme još više novca da bi otplatile taj dug, povećavajući nacionalni dug.

Ako vam ovo zvuči kao Ponzijeva piramidalna šema, to je zato što ona to i jeste – najveća Ponzijeva šema u istoriji. Kao i svaka Ponzijeva šema, nastaviće se sve dok su ljudi koji kupuju Ponzijevu šemu budu uvereni da će im biti plaćeno nazad.

Ako ljudi i nacije prestanu da se zadužuju i koriste američke dolare jer nemaju poverenja u američku vladu ili vide da cena robe raste (tj. dolar postaje sve manje vredan), potražnja za dolarom će opadati, što će izazvati začaranu spiralu.

Ova spirala često završi u hiperinflaciji, kao što smo videli u novijoj istoriji sa Jugoslavijom, Venecuelom, Argentinom, Zimbabveom i mnogim drugim državama.

Ovo je način kako funkcioniše novac na vašem bankovnom računu. Novac svake nacije na svetu pati od istih problema kao i perle i novčanice u pričama o Njutoniji i Kejnslandu.

Kako banke i vlade kradu tvoj novac?

Tokom vekova, stigli smo do monetarnog sistema u kojem banke i vlade mogu da štampaju novu valutu za finansiranje svojih operacija i svojih prijatelja u zločinu, dok kradu bogatstvo svojih građana.

Šta će se desiti sa svetom kada novac bude mogao da štampa svaki narod na planeti?

• Bogatstvo onih koji su blizu pravljenja nove valute se povećava
• Vlada i politički povlašćena klasa ljudi, imaju pristup novoštampanom novcu pre svih ostalih, pa mogu da ga potroše pre nego što cene porastu. Na ovaj efekat pokazao je ekonomista Richard Cantillon sredinom 1700-ih i poznat je kao Cantillonov Efekat.
• Cena robe raste (poznato kao inflacija)
• Ne raste sve roba istovremeno u ceni. Roba blizu mesta gde se proizvodi nova valuta – finansijski sektor i vlada – prva raste, i odatle uzrokuje efekt talasa na cene.
• Inflacija se često predstavlja kao promena cene potrošačke korpe, poznata kao Indeks Potrošačkih Cena, eng. Consumer Price Index (CPI). Vlada ima alate za manipulisanje ovim brojem kako bi osigurala da se ona čini niskom i stabilnom, kao što je objašnjeno u našem članku o inflaciji.
• Finansijska imovina često primećuje ogromnu inflaciju, ali bankari to ne nazivaju inflacijom – oni kažu da naša ekonomija cveta! Nakon što su američke Federalne rezerve učetvorostručile ponudu američkih dolara u šest godina nakon finansijske krize 2008. godine, banke koje su dobile te nove dolare, kupile su akcije i obveznice, stvarajući ogroman balon u cenama ove imovine.
• Štednja i životni standard stanovništva se smanjuju
• Plate su jedna od poslednjih “cena” u ekonomiji koja se prilagođava, jer se često povećavaju samo jednom godišnje. U međuvremenu, cene dnevnih potrepština te osobe koja zaradjuje platu neprestano rastu kako novi novac kruži ekonomijom.
• Najviše su pogođeni oni koji žive od plate do plate – a to je 70% Amerikanaca.
• Razlike u prihodima između bogatih i siromašnih se povećavaju, kao što se vidi na grafikonu ispod.

Koncentracija Dohotka na Vrhu Naglo je Porasla od 1970-ih (Udeo u ukupnom prihodu pre oporezivanja u domaćinstvima sa najvišim dohotkom (uključujući kapitalne dobitke), 1913-2018)

Zašto i dalje imamo isti monetarni sistem?

Ako ovaj sistem bogate još više obogaćuje, a siromašne još više osiromašuje, dovodeći do političke nestabilnosti, zašto ga onda ne bismo promenili?

Najveći razlog zašto se ništa ne menja je verovatno to što puno toga ne znamo o samom sistemu. Svi svakodnevno koristimo valute svojih vlada, ali većina nas ne razume kako sistem funkcioniše i šta on čini našim društvima.

Obrazovni sistem, mediji i finansijski stručnjaci neprestano nam govore da je monetarni sistem previše komplikovan da bi ga normalni ljudi razumeli. Mnogi od nas se zato i ne trude da pokušaju.

Još nekoliko razloga zašto ovaj sistem nastavlja da opstaje:

• Mnogo je ljudi koji imaju direktnu korist od štampanja novog novca.
• Ti ljudi ne žele nikakve promene i bore se da zadrže tu moć.
• Nacionalne valute su često pogodne
• Kreditne kartice, online bankarstvo i još mnogo toga čine upravljanje nacionalnim valutama i njihovo trošenje lakim i jednostavnim.
• Građani moraju da plaćaju porez u svojoj nacionalnoj valuti
• To stvara potražnju za tom valutom od svih građana, povećavajući njenu vrednost.
• Glavna međunarodna tržišta, poput nafte, denominirana su u dolarima.
• Nafta je potrebna svakoj zemlji na planeti, ali pošto mnogi ne mogu da je proizvode, moraju da je kupuju na međunarodnim berzama. Od 1970-ih na ovim berzama gotovo sva nafta se prodaje za dolare, što stvara potražnju za dolarima. Da bi se odmaknule od ovog sistema, zemlje bi trebale da pronađu novu valutu ili robu za trgovinu naftom, što zahteva vreme i rizike.
• Nije postojala dobra alternativa
• Uz globalnu ekonomiju u realnom vremenu, naš sistem digitalnog bankarstva koji koristi nacionalne valute je pogodan. Transakcija u tvrdom novcu poput zlata bila bi previše nezgrapna za današnji svet. Digitalna valuta pod nazivom Bitcoin, predstavljena 2009. godine, je rastuća alternativa koja nudi čvrst novac koji se kreće brzinom interneta.

Šta je novac, i zašto trebate da brinete?

Novac je alat koji olakšava razmenu dobara. Kao i svako drugo dobro, novac se pridržava zakona ponude i potražnje – povećanje potražnje povećaće njegovu vrednost, a povećanje ponude smanjiće njegovu vrednost.

Na ovaj način novac se ne razlikuje od kuće ili piletine. Međutim, velika prodajnost novca znači da je potražnja za njim uvek velika. Kao rezultat, novac mora biti težak za proizvodnju (a samim tim i ograničen u ponudi) ili će ga onaj ko ga može napraviti, stvoriti toliko, da vremenom više neće služiti kao zaliha vrednosti. Uskoro će izgubiti svoje funkcije kao sredstvo razmene i obračunske jedinice.

Najbolji novac u datoj ekonomiji je onaj koji se najslobodnije kreće – svi ga žele, lako je obaviti transakcije sa njim i koji sa vremenom dobro drži svoju vrednost. Nijedan novac nije savršen u svemu ovome, a neki ističu jednu funkciju novca na štetu drugih.

Iako se istorija ne ponavlja, ona se rimuje, a usponi i padovi monetarnih sistema imaju jasne ritmove. Uspon i pad monetarnog sistema često sledi opšti obrazac koji smo videli u pričama o agri perlama i Kejnslandu: pojavljuje se odredjenji oblik novca koji pomaže ljudima da efikasnije trguju i štede, ali na kraju gubi na vrednosti kada neko shvati kako da ga jeftino stvori u velikoj količini. Međutim, tokom dugog perioda vremena, monetarni sistemi su se poboljšali u sve tri funkcije novca.

Na primer, zlato je tokom vremena dobro služilo kao zaliha vrednosti. Međutim, naša međusobno povezana ekonomija ne bi mogla efikasno da funkcioniše ako bi trebalo da fizičko zlato zamenimo robom i uslugama. Mnogo je lakše kretati se na papirnom i digitalnom novcu, ali istorija nam govori da su vlade i bankari iskoristili ove oblike novca za krađu bogatstva putem inflacije.

Današnji globalni monetarni sistem je vrlo zgodan, a digitalna plaćanja i kreditne kartice olakšavaju trošenje novca. Ovo skriva stalnu inflaciju koja nagriza vrednost svake jedinice novca i dovodi do sve većeg jaza u bogatstvu.

Nadam se da je ovaj članak proširio vaše razumevanje novca i njegove uloge u društvu. Ovo je samo početak svega što treba istražiti o novcu: za kasnije su sačuvane teme o inflaciji, kamatnim stopama, pozajmljivanju, poslovnim ciklusima i još mnogo toga.

Efikasnija Ušteda Novca

Možda se pitate kako zaštititi svoju štednju kada svaki oblik često korišćenog novca i investicija pati od inflacije ponude – koja umanjuje vrednost i prenosi bogatstvo onima koji mogu da stvore novac ili investiciju. Možda se čini da se ništa na planeti danas ne može kvalifikovati kao ‘težak’ novac, ali dve stvari ipak ostaju: zlato i njegov noviji rođak Bitcoin. Obe ove stvari je neverovatno teško proizvesti, a jedna od njih se kreće brzinom interneta i može se čuvati u vašem mozgu.

Ako želite da saznate više o Bitcoin-u kao sredstvu za zaštitu vaše ušteđevine, pročitajte ovde. Ako ste već spremni za kupovinu Bitcoin-a, pogledajte moj vodič za kupovinu Bitcoin-a. Možete početi sa investiranjem sa samo 5 ili 10 €.

Zasluge

Hvala svima koji su pomogli u izradi i uređivanju ove serije o novcu: @ck_SNARKS, @CryptoRothbard, Neil Woodfine, Emil Sandstedt, Taylor Pearson, Parker Lewis, Jason Choi, mojoj porodici i mnogim drugima.

Hvala svima koji su ovo inspirisali i razvili ključne ideje koje su ovde primenjene: Friedrich Hayek, Carl Menger, Ludwig Von Mises, Murray Rothbard, Saifedean Ammous, Dan Held, Pierre Rochard, Stephan Livera, Michael Goldstein, i mnogi drugi.

Molim vas da šerujete! Ako vam je ovaj članak otvorio oči o tome kako funkcioniše naš novac i finansijski sistem, kontaktirajte me ili ostavite komentar!

Ako vam se sviđa moj rad, molim vas da ga podelite sa svojim prijateljima i porodicom. Cilj mi je da svima pružim pogled u ekonomiju i na to kako ona utiče na njihov život.

@ aa73d7f7:7f5a99ce

Com o avanço da tecnologia e a crescente demanda por entretenimento digital, plataformas de jogos online têm se tornado cada vez mais populares no Brasil. Uma das mais promissoras do momento é a 8143, um ambiente completo que une inovação, segurança e uma ampla variedade de jogos para todos os perfis de jogadores. Neste artigo, você vai conhecer melhor a proposta da plataforma, seus jogos de destaque e como ela proporciona uma experiência diferenciada aos usuários.

Uma Plataforma Moderna e Intuitiva A 8143foi desenvolvida com foco em oferecer praticidade, acessibilidade e diversão em um só lugar. Desde o primeiro acesso, o usuário encontra uma interface amigável e totalmente adaptada para dispositivos móveis e computadores. A navegação é fluida, com menus bem organizados que facilitam encontrar os principais jogos, promoções e serviços de suporte.

Além do design moderno, a plataforma investe fortemente em segurança digital, utilizando sistemas de criptografia avançados para proteger dados pessoais e transações financeiras dos jogadores. Isso proporciona um ambiente confiável, onde o usuário pode se concentrar apenas em sua diversão.

Diversidade de Jogos para Todos os Gostos Um dos grandes destaques da 8143 é sua biblioteca de jogos extremamente variada. A plataforma oferece opções para todos os estilos, desde os clássicos jogos de mesa, como pôquer e roleta, até máquinas de slots com gráficos modernos e temas envolventes.

Os jogos são desenvolvidos por fornecedores de renome internacional, garantindo alta qualidade visual, trilhas sonoras imersivas e uma jogabilidade fluida. Para quem gosta de jogos com mais interação, há também opções ao vivo, onde o jogador participa de partidas em tempo real com outros usuários e apresentadores reais.

Outro ponto positivo é a constante atualização do catálogo. A 8143 está sempre trazendo novidades, lançamentos e versões exclusivas, mantendo a plataforma dinâmica e sempre atrativa.

Experiência do Jogador: Imersiva e Recompensadora A 8143 entende que uma boa plataforma vai além dos jogos oferecidos — ela precisa criar uma experiência completa para o jogador. Por isso, investe em um sistema de recompensas atrativo, com bônus de boas-vindas, promoções diárias e programas de fidelidade que valorizam quem joga com frequência.

O atendimento ao cliente também é um diferencial. A equipe de suporte da plataforma está disponível 24 horas por dia, sete dias por semana, por meio de chat ao vivo, e-mail e redes sociais, sempre pronta para resolver dúvidas e oferecer auxílio.

Outro fator importante é a velocidade nos depósitos e saques. A 8143 trabalha com métodos de pagamento populares entre os brasileiros, como PIX, carteiras digitais e transferências bancárias, garantindo transações rápidas e seguras.

Conclusão A plataforma 8143 se destaca no mercado nacional por unir inovação, variedade de jogos e uma experiência de usuário de alto nível. É uma opção completa para quem busca diversão online com segurança, conforto e muitas possibilidades de ganho. Seja você um iniciante ou um jogador experiente, a 8143 oferece um ambiente perfeito para explorar o universo dos jogos digitais e se divertir com qualidade.

@ 21335073:a244b1ad

The other day, I had the privilege of sitting down with one of my favorite living artists. Our conversation was so captivating that I felt compelled to share it. I’m leaving his name out for privacy.

Since our last meeting, I’d watched a documentary about his life, one he’d helped create. I told him how much I admired his openness in it. There’s something strange about knowing intimate details of someone’s life when they know so little about yours—it’s almost like I knew him too well for the kind of relationship we have.

He paused, then said quietly, with a shy grin, that watching the documentary made him realize how “odd and eccentric” he is. I laughed and told him he’s probably the sanest person I know. Because he’s lived fully, chasing love, passion, and purpose with hardly any regrets. He’s truly lived.

Today, I turn 44, and I’ll admit I’m a bit eccentric myself. I think I came into the world this way. I’ve made mistakes along the way, but I carry few regrets. Every misstep taught me something. And as I age, I’m not interested in blending in with the world—I’ll probably just lean further into my own brand of “weird.” I want to live life to the brim. The older I get, the more I see that the “normal” folks often seem less grounded than the eccentric artists who dare to live boldly. Life’s too short to just exist, actually live.

I’m not saying to be strange just for the sake of it. But I’ve seen what the crowd celebrates, and I’m not impressed. Forge your own path, even if it feels lonely or unpopular at times.

It’s easy to scroll through the news and feel discouraged. But actually, this is one of the most incredible times to be alive! I wake up every day grateful to be here, now. The future is bursting with possibility—I can feel it.

So, to my fellow weirdos on nostr: stay bold. Keep dreaming, keep pushing, no matter what’s trending. Stay wild enough to believe in a free internet for all. Freedom is radical—hold it tight. Live with the soul of an artist and the grit of a fighter. Thanks for inspiring me and so many others to keep hoping. Thank you all for making the last year of my life so special.

@ eb0157af:77ab6c55

Vivek Ramaswamy’s company bets on distressed bitcoin claims as its Bitcoin treasury strategy moves forward.

Strive Enterprises, an asset management firm co-founded by Vivek Ramaswamy, is exploring the acquisition of distressed bitcoin claims, with particular interest in around 75,000 BTC tied to the Mt. Gox bankruptcy estate. This move is part of the company’s broader strategy to build a Bitcoin treasury ahead of its planned merger with Asset Entities.

According to a document filed on May 20 with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Strive has partnered with 117 Castell Advisory Group to “identify and evaluate” distressed Bitcoin claims with confirmed legal judgments. Among these are approximately 75,000 BTC connected to Mt. Gox, with an estimated market value of $8 billion at current prices.

Essentially, Strive aims to acquire rights to bitcoins currently tied up in legal disputes, which can be purchased at a discount by those willing to take on the risk and wait for eventual recovery.

In a post on X, Strive’s CFO, Ben Pham, stated:

“Strive intends to use all available mechanisms, including novel financial strategies not used by other Bitcoin treasury companies, to maximize its exposure to the asset.”

The company also plans to buy cash at a discount by merging with publicly traded companies holding more cash than their stock value, using the excess funds to purchase additional Bitcoin.

Mt. Gox, the exchange that collapsed in 2014, is currently in the process of repaying creditors, with a deadline set for October 31, 2025.

In its SEC filing, Strive declared:

“This strategy is intended to allow Strive the opportunity to purchase Bitcoin exposure at a discount to market price, enhancing Bitcoin per share and supporting its goal of outperforming Bitcoin over the long run.”

At the beginning of May, Strive announced its merger plan with Asset Entities, a deal that would create the first publicly listed asset management firm focused on Bitcoin. The resulting company aims to join the growing number of firms adopting a Bitcoin treasury strategy.

The corporate treasury trend

Strive’s initiative to accumulate bitcoin mirrors that of other companies like Strategy and Japan’s Metaplanet. On May 19, Strategy, led by Michael Saylor, announced the purchase of an additional 7,390 BTC for $764.9 million, raising its total holdings to 576,230 BTC. On the same day, Metaplanet revealed it had acquired another 1,004 BTC, increasing its total to 7,800 BTC.

The post Bitcoin in Strive’s sights: 75,000 BTC from Mt. Gox among its targets appeared first on Atlas21.

@ 7e6f9018:a6bbbce5

Governments and the press often publish data on the population’s knowledge of Catalan. However, this data only represents one stage in the linguistic process and does not accurately reflect the state of the language, since a language only has a future if it is used. Knowledge is a necessary step toward using a language, but it is not the final stage — that stage is actual use.

So what is the state of Catalan usage? If we look at data on regular use, we see that the Catalan language has remained stagnant over the past hundred years, with nearly the same number of regular speakers. In 1930, there were around 2.5 million speakers, and in 2018, there were 2.7 million.

Regular use of Catalan in Catalonia, in millions of speakers. The dotted segments are an estimate of the trend, based on the statements of Joan Coromines and adjusted according to Catalonia’s population growth.

These figures wouldn’t necessarily be negative if the language’s integrity were strong, that is, if its existence weren’t threatened by other languages. But the population of Catalonia has grown from 2.7 million in 1930 to 7.5 million in 2018. This means that today, regular Catalan speakers make up only 36% of Catalonia’s population, whereas in 1930, they represented 90%.

Regular use of Catalan in Catalonia, as a percentage of speakers. The dotted segments are an estimate of the trend, based on the statements of Joan Coromines and adjusted according to Catalonia’s population growth.

The language that has gained the most ground is mainly Spanish, which went from 200,000 speakers in 1930 to 3.8 million in 2018. Moreover, speakers of other foreign languages (500,000 speakers) have also grown more than Catalan speakers over the past hundred years.

Notes, Sources, and Methodology

The data from 2003 onward is taken from Idescat (source). Before 2003, there are no official statistics, but we can make interpretations based on historical evidence. The data prior to 2003 is calculated based on two key pieces of evidence:

• 1st Interpretation: In 1930, 90% of the population of Catalonia spoke Catalan regularly. Source and evidence: The Romance linguist Joan Coromines i Vigneaux, a renowned 20th-century linguist, stated in his 1950 work "El que s'ha de saber de la llengua catalana" that "In this territory [Greater Catalonia], almost the entire population speaks Catalan as their usual language" (1, 2).\ While "almost the entire population" is not a precise number, we can interpret it quantitatively as somewhere between 80% and 100%. For the sake of a moderate estimate, we assume 90% of the population were regular Catalan speakers, with the remaining 10% being immigrants and officials of the Spanish state.

• 2nd Interpretation: Regarding population growth between 1930 and 1998, on average, 60% is due to immigration (mostly adopting or already using Spanish language), while 40% is natural growth (likely to acquire Catalan language from childhood). Source and evidence: Between 1999 and 2019, when more detailed data is available, immigration accounted for 68% of population growth. From 1930 to 1998, there was a comparable wave of migration, especially between 1953 and 1973, largely of Spanish-speaking origin (3, 4, 5, 6). To maintain a moderate estimate, we assume 60% of population growth during that period was due to immigration, with the ratio varying depending on whether the period experienced more or less total growth.

@ aa73d7f7:7f5a99ce

A plataforma 5161 está conquistando o público brasileiro por sua proposta moderna, segura e repleta de entretenimento digital. Com uma interface intuitiva, variedade de jogos e suporte ao jogador de alta qualidade, o 5161 se posiciona como uma excelente escolha para quem busca diversão com praticidade e confiabilidade.

Uma Plataforma Moderna e Segura Desde sua chegada ao mercado, o 5161 tem chamado atenção por seu design responsivo e navegação simplificada. O site é totalmente otimizado para funcionar em qualquer dispositivo, seja computador, tablet ou smartphone, permitindo que o usuário acesse seus jogos preferidos a qualquer hora e em qualquer lugar. Outro diferencial é o compromisso com a segurança: a plataforma utiliza tecnologia de criptografia de ponta para proteger os dados dos jogadores, garantindo uma experiência confiável do início ao fim.

Além disso, o 5161oferece suporte multilíngue e atendimento ao cliente eficiente, disponível 24 horas por dia, 7 dias por semana. Isso demonstra o comprometimento da plataforma com a satisfação de seus usuários, sempre prontos para esclarecer dúvidas ou resolver qualquer situação.

Variedade de Jogos para Todos os Gostos Um dos grandes atrativos do 5161 é sua ampla biblioteca de jogos. A plataforma conta com títulos que vão desde os mais tradicionais até as novidades mais inovadoras do mercado. Os jogadores podem se divertir com jogos de roleta, cartas, slots, pescaria e muito mais — tudo em um único lugar.

Os jogos são fornecidos por desenvolvedores renomados, o que garante gráficos de alta qualidade, trilhas sonoras envolventes e mecânicas justas e empolgantes. Cada título foi cuidadosamente escolhido para proporcionar uma experiência única, capaz de agradar tanto os novatos quanto os veteranos do mundo dos jogos online.

Além da variedade, a plataforma também disponibiliza modos de demonstração gratuitos, ideais para quem deseja testar os jogos antes de fazer qualquer depósito. Isso permite que o jogador conheça melhor o funcionamento e escolha seus favoritos com mais confiança.

Experiência do Jogador em Primeiro Lugar No 5161, cada detalhe foi pensado para proporcionar a melhor experiência possível. Desde o momento do cadastro até a retirada de prêmios, tudo acontece de forma simples e rápida. O processo de registro é descomplicado, e o sistema de pagamentos oferece diversas opções, incluindo transferências bancárias, carteiras digitais e PIX — ideal para o público brasileiro, que busca agilidade nas transações.

Outro ponto de destaque é o sistema de recompensas. A plataforma conta com bônus de boas-vindas atrativos, promoções frequentes e um programa de fidelidade que valoriza os jogadores mais ativos. Isso significa mais chances de jogar e se divertir, com a possibilidade de aumentar os ganhos e explorar novos jogos com vantagens exclusivas.

Conclusão O 5161 se destaca como uma das plataformas de entretenimento digital mais completas e confiáveis disponíveis para o público brasileiro. Com uma interface moderna, biblioteca de jogos diversificada e foco total na experiência do usuário, a plataforma conquista cada vez mais fãs em todo o país. Se você está em busca de diversão segura, recompensadora e acessível, o 5161 é, sem dúvidas, uma excelente escolha para explorar novas emoções online.

@ dfa02707:41ca50e3

Good morning (good night?)! The No Bullshit Bitcoin news feed is now available on Moody's Dashboard! A huge shoutout to sir Clark Moody for integrating our feed.

Headlines

• Spiral welcomes Ben Carman. The developer will work on the LDK server and a new SDK designed to simplify the onboarding process for new self-custodial Bitcoin users.

• The Bitcoin Dev Kit Foundation announced new corporate members for 2025, including AnchorWatch, CleanSpark, and Proton Foundation. The annual dues from these corporate members fund the small team of open-source developers responsible for maintaining the core BDK libraries and related free and open-source software (FOSS) projects.
• Strategy increases Bitcoin holdings to 538,200 BTC. In the latest purchase, the company has spent more than $555M to buy 6,556 coins through proceeds of two at-the-market stock offering programs.
• Spar supermarket experiments with Bitcoin payments in Zug, Switzerland. The store has introduced a new payment method powered by the Lightning Network. The implementation was facilitated by DFX Swiss, a service that supports seamless conversions between bitcoin and legacy currencies.

• The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) wants to contain 'crypto' risks. A report titled "Cryptocurrencies and Decentralised Finance: Functions and Financial Stability Implications" calls for expanding research into "how new forms of central bank money, capital controls, and taxation policies can counter the risks of widespread crypto adoption while still fostering technological innovation."
• "Global Implications of Scam Centres, Underground Banking, and Illicit Online Marketplaces in Southeast Asia." According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report, criminal organizations from East and Southeast Asia are swiftly extending their global reach. These groups are moving beyond traditional scams and trafficking, creating sophisticated online networks that include unlicensed cryptocurrency exchanges, encrypted communication platforms, and stablecoins, fueling a massive fraud economy on an industrial scale.
• Slovenia is considering a 25% capital gains tax on Bitcoin profits for individuals. The Ministry of Finance has proposed legislation to impose this tax on gains from cryptocurrency transactions, though exchanging one cryptocurrency for another would remain exempt. At present, individual 'crypto' traders in Slovenia are not taxed.
• Circle, BitGo, Coinbase, and Paxos plan to apply for U.S. bank charters or licenses. According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, major crypto companies are planning to apply for U.S. bank charters or licenses. These firms are pursuing limited licenses that would permit them to issue stablecoins, as the U.S. Congress deliberates on legislation mandating licensing for stablecoin issuers.

"Established banks, like Bank of America, are hoping to amend the current drafts of [stablecoin] legislation in such a way that nonbanks are more heavily restricted from issuing stablecoins," people familiar with the matter told The Block.

• Charles Schwab to launch spot Bitcoin trading by 2026. The financial investment firm, managing over $10 trillion in assets, has revealed plans to introduce spot Bitcoin trading for its clients within the next year.

Use the tools

• Bitcoin Safe v1.2.3 expands QR SignMessage compatibility for all QR-UR-compatible hardware signers (SpecterDIY, KeyStone, Passport, Jade; already supported COLDCARD Q). It also adds the ability to import wallets via QR, ensuring compatibility with Keystone's latest firmware (2.0.6), alongside other improvements.
• Minibits v0.2.2-beta, an ecash wallet for Android devices, packages many changes to align the project with the planned iOS app release. New features and improvements include the ability to lock ecash to a receiver's pubkey, faster confirmations of ecash minting and payments thanks to WebSockets, UI-related fixes, and more.
• Zeus v0.11.0-alpha1 introduces Cashu wallets tied to embedded LND wallets. Navigate to Settings > Ecash to enable it. Other wallet types can still sweep funds from Cashu tokens. Zeus Pay now supports Cashu address types in Zaplocker, Cashu, and NWC modes.
• LNDg v1.10.0, an advanced web interface designed for analyzing Lightning Network Daemon (LND) data and automating node management tasks, introduces performance improvements, adds a new metrics page for unprofitable and stuck channels, and displays warnings for batch openings. The Profit and Loss Chart has been updated to include on-chain costs. Advanced settings have been added for users who would like their channel database size to be read remotely (the default remains local). Additionally, the AutoFees tool now uses aggregated pubkey metrics for multiple channels with the same peer.
• Nunchuk Desktop v1.9.45 release brings the latest bug fixes and improvements.
• Blockstream Green iOS v4.1.8 has renamed L-BTC to LBTC, and improves translations of notifications, login time, and background payments.
• Blockstream Green Android v4.1.8 has added language preference in App Settings and enables an Android data backup option for disaster recovery. Additionally, it fixes issues with Jade entry point PIN timeout and Trezor passphrase input.
• Torq v2.2.2, an advanced Lightning node management software designed to handle large nodes with over 1000 channels, fixes bugs that caused channel balance to not be updated in some cases and channel "peer total local balance" not getting updated.
• Stack Wallet v2.1.12, a multicoin wallet by Cypher Stack, fixes an issue with Xelis introduced in the latest release for Windows.
• ESP-Miner-NerdQAxePlus v1.0.29.1, a forked version from the NerdAxe miner that was modified for use on the NerdQAxe+, is now available.
• Zark enables sending sats to an npub using Bark.

• Erk is a novel variation of the Ark protocol that completely removes the need for user interactivity in rounds, addressing one of Ark's key limitations: the requirement for users to come online before their VTXOs expire.
• Aegis v0.1.1 is now available. It is a Nostr event signer app for iOS devices.
• Nostash is a NIP-07 Nostr signing extension for Safari. It is a fork of Nostore and is maintained by Terry Yiu. Available on iOS TestFlight.
• Amber v3.2.8, a Nostr event signer for Android, delivers the latest fixes and improvements.
• Nostur v1.20.0, a Nostr client for iOS, adds

@ b1ddb4d7:471244e7

Global fintech leader Revolut has announced a landmark partnership with Lightspark, a pioneer in blockchain infrastructure solutions, to integrate bitcoin’s Lightning Network into its platform.

This collaboration, now live for Revolut users in the UK and select European Economic Area (EEA) countries, marks a transformative leap toward frictionless, real-time transactions—eliminating delays and exorbitant fees traditionally associated with digital asset transfers.

Major update: @RevolutApp is now partnering with @lightspark pic.twitter.com/OUblgrj6Xr

— Lightspark (@lightspark) May 7, 2025

Breaking Barriers in Digital Currency Usability

By adopting Lightspark’s cutting-edge technology, Revolut empowers its 40+ million customers to execute bitcoin transactions instantly at a fraction of current costs.

This integration addresses longstanding pain points in digital currency adoption, positioning bitcoin as a practical tool for everyday payments. Users can now seamlessly send, receive, and store bitcoin with the same ease as traditional fiat currencies, backed by Revolut’s secure platform.

The partnership also advances Revolut’s integration into the open Money Grid, a decentralized network enabling universal interoperability between financial platforms.

This move aligns Revolut with forward-thinking fintechs adopting next-gen solutions like Lightning transactions and Universal Money Addresses (UMA), which simplify cross-border payments by replacing complex wallet codes with human-readable addresses (e.g., $john.smith).

Why This Matters

The collaboration challenges conventional payment rails, which often incur delays of days and high fees for cross-border transfers. By contrast, Lightning Network transactions settle in seconds for minimal cost, revolutionizing peer-to-peer payments, remittances, and merchant settlements. For Revolut users, this means:

• Instant transactions: Send bitcoin globally in under three seconds.
• Near-zero fees: Dramatically reduce costs compared to traditional crypto transfers.
• Enhanced utility: Use bitcoin for daily spending, not just as a speculative asset.

The Road Ahead

Revolut plans to expand Lightning Network access to additional markets in 2025, with ambitions to integrate UMA support for seamless fiat and digital currency interactions. Lightspark will continue optimizing its infrastructure to support Revolut’s scaling efforts, further bridging the gap between blockchain innovation and mainstream finance.

About Revolut
Revolut is a global financial app serving over 40 million customers worldwide. Offering services ranging from currency exchange and stock trading to digital assets and insurance, Revolut is committed to building a borderless financial ecosystem.

About Lightspark
Founded by former PayPal and Meta executives, Lightspark develops enterprise-grade solutions for the Lightning Network. Its technology stack empowers institutions to harness bitcoin’s speed and efficiency while maintaining regulatory compliance.

@ 04c915da:3dfbecc9

For years American bitcoin miners have argued for more efficient and free energy markets. It benefits everyone if our energy infrastructure is as efficient and robust as possible. Unfortunately, broken incentives have led to increased regulation throughout the sector, incentivizing less efficient energy sources such as solar and wind at the detriment of more efficient alternatives.

The result has been less reliable energy infrastructure for all Americans and increased energy costs across the board. This naturally has a direct impact on bitcoin miners: increased energy costs make them less competitive globally.

Bitcoin mining represents a global energy market that does not require permission to participate. Anyone can plug a mining computer into power and internet to get paid the current dynamic market price for their work in bitcoin. Using cellphone or satellite internet, these mines can be located anywhere in the world, sourcing the cheapest power available.

Absent of regulation, bitcoin mining naturally incentivizes the build out of highly efficient and robust energy infrastructure. Unfortunately that world does not exist and burdensome regulations remain the biggest threat for US based mining businesses. Jurisdictional arbitrage gives miners the option of moving to a friendlier country but that naturally comes with its own costs.

Enter AI. With the rapid development and release of AI tools comes the requirement of running massive datacenters for their models. Major tech companies are scrambling to secure machines, rack space, and cheap energy to run full suites of AI enabled tools and services. The most valuable and powerful tech companies in America have stumbled into an accidental alliance with bitcoin miners: THE NEED FOR CHEAP AND RELIABLE ENERGY.

Our government is corrupt. Money talks. These companies will push for energy freedom and it will greatly benefit us all.

@ f1989a96:bcaaf2c1

Good morning, readers!

Today, we begin in China, where the central bank injected $138 billion into the economy and expanded the money supply by 12.5% year-over-year. As the regime eases monetary conditions to prop up a decelerating economy, Chinese citizens are rushing to preserve their savings, evidenced by Bitcoin/CNY trading activity jumping over 20% on the news. But while some escape to harder money, others remain trapped. In Hunan, an elderly Chinese woman died outside a bank after being forced to appear in person in order to withdraw her own money for medical care.\ \ In Central America, Salvadoran President Bukele revived a “foreign agents” bill that would impose a 30% tax on foreign-funded NGOs, threatening to financially crush organizations that hold those in power accountable and protect journalists and civil society. The proposal mirrors laws used in Russia, China, Belarus, and beyond to suppress dissent. And it arrives amid Bukele’s authoritarian drift and increasing threats to independent journalists.\ \ In open-source news, we highlight a new tool called ChapSmart, a Bitcoin-powered remittance service that allows users to send Bitcoin to citizens and families in Tanzania and have it disbursed in Tanzanian shillings (TZS) via M-PESA. This tool is increasingly helpful as the Tanzanian regime tightens control over foreign currency, mandating that all transactions be conducted in TZS. ChapSmart provides an accessible way for nonprofits and dissidents to access value from abroad using Bitcoin.\ \ We end with an Ask Me Anything (AMA) with Bitcoin educator Anita Posch on Stacker News, who shares her thoughts, experiences, and views from her time conducting Bitcoin education in authoritarian regimes in Africa. We also feature an article from Togolese human rights advocate Farida Nabourema, who critiques Nigeria’s new investment act for classifying Bitcoin as a security and for the regulatory hurdles this will impose on the grassroots adoption of freedom tech in the country.

Be sure to tune in next week at 2 p.m. Oslo time on Wednesday, May 28, as the Oslo Freedom Forum’s Freedom Tech track airs on Bitcoin Magazine’s livestream channels, headlined by speakers Ziya Sadr, Abubakr Nur Khalil, Amiti Uttarwar, Calle, Sarah Kreps, Ben Perrin, and many more.

Now, let’s read on!

SUBSCRIBE HERE

GLOBAL NEWS

El Salvador | Bukele Reintroduces Foreign Agents Bill

In El Salvador, President Nayib Bukele revived a controversial “foreign agents” bill that threatens to severely restrict the finances and operations of NGOs. While the bill is not finalized, Bukele shared on X that the proposal would impose a 30% tax on donations to NGOs receiving foreign funding. This punitive financial measure alone would severely restrict Salvadoran organizations that protect independent journalism, advocate for human rights, and hold the government accountable. In neighboring Nicaragua, a similar foreign agents law has enabled the closure of more than 3,500 NGOs. El Salvador’s foreign agents bill arrives alongside other alarming moves, including arrest warrants against El Faro journalists, the arrest of human rights lawyer Ruth López, and the detention of more than 200 Venezuelan migrants under dubious claims of gang affiliation.

China | Injects Billions to Stabilize Economy

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has injected $138 billion in liquidity through interest rate cuts and a 0.5% reduction in banks’ reserve requirements, in effect expanding the money supply by 12.5% year-over-year. While the state eases monetary conditions to prop up a fragile system, ordinary citizens are left scrambling to preserve the value of their savings. Bitcoin/CNY trading volumes jumped over 20% in response, as people sought refuge from a weakening yuan. But while some can quietly escape to harder money, others are trapped in a system that treats access to money as a privilege. In Hunan, an elderly woman in a wheelchair died outside a bank after being forced to appear in person to withdraw her own money for medical care. Too weak to pass mandatory facial recognition scans, she collapsed after repeated failed attempts.

World | Authoritarian Regimes Lead CBDC Push, Study Finds

A new international study from the Nottingham Business School, part of Nottingham Trent University in England, set out to understand what is driving countries to pursue central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Researchers found the answer lies mostly in political motives. Analyzing 68 countries, the report revealed that authoritarian governments are pushing CBDCs most aggressively, using their centralized power to hastily roll out CBDCs that can monitor transactions, restrict the movement of money, and suppress dissent. On the other hand, the report found democracies are moving more cautiously, weighing concerns over privacy, transparency, and public trust. The study also noted a correlation: countries with high levels of perceived corruption are more likely to explore CBDCs, often framing them as tools to fight illicit finance. These findings are consistent with HRF’s research, revealing nearly half the global population lives under an authoritarian regime experimenting with a CBDC.

Thailand | Plans to Issue New “Investment Token”

Thailand’s Ministry of Finance plans to issue 5 billion baht ($151 million) worth of “G-Tokens,” a new digital investment scheme that allows Thais to buy government bonds for as little as 100 baht ($3). Officials claim the project will democratize access to state-backed investments and offer higher returns than traditional bank deposits. But in a country rapidly advancing central bank digital currency (CBDC) infrastructure, this initiative raises apparent concerns. The move closely follows Thailand’s repeated digital cash handouts via a state-run wallet app, which restricts spending, tracks user behavior, and enforces expiration dates on money, all clear hallmarks of a CBDC. Luckily, the Thai government postponed the latest handout, but the infrastructure remains. Framing this project as inclusionary masks the reality: Thailand is building state-run digital systems that give the regime more power over citizens’ savings and spending.

Russia | Outlaws Amnesty International

Russia officially banned Amnesty International, designating it as an “undesirable organization” and criminalizing cooperation with the global human rights group. Russian officials claim Amnesty promotes “Russophobic projects” and undermines national security. This adds to the Kremlin’s assault on dissent, targeting human rights advocates, independent journalists, and civil society in the years since the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The designation exposes anyone financially, publicly, or privately supporting Amnesty’s work to prosecution and imprisonment up to five years. With more than 220 organizations now blacklisted, Russia is systematically cutting off avenues for international accountability and isolating Russians from external support.

BITCOIN AND FREEDOM TECH NEWS

ChapSmart | Permissionless Remittances in Tanzania

ChapSmart is a Bitcoin-powered remittance service that allows users to send money to individuals and families in Tanzania while having it disbursed in Tanzanian shillings (TZS) via M-PESA. With ChapSmart, no account is needed: just enter your name, email, and the recipient’s M-Pesa details. Choose how much USD to send, pay in bitcoin via the Lightning Network, and ChapSmart delivers Tanzanian shillings instantly to the recipient's M-Pesa account with zero fees. This tool is especially useful as Tanzania’s regime enacts restrictions on foreign currencies, banning most citizens from quoting prices or accepting payment in anything other than TZS. ChapSmart offers a practical and accessible way for families, nonprofits, and individuals to access value from abroad using Bitcoin, even as the state tries to shut out financial alternatives.

Bitkey | Multisignature for Families Protecting Wealth from State Seizure

Decades ago, Ivy Galindo’s family lost their savings overnight when the Brazilian government froze citizens’ bank accounts to “fight inflation.” That moment shaped her understanding of financial repression and why permissionless tools like Bitcoin are essential. When her parents later chose to start saving in Bitcoin, Ivy knew a wallet with a single private key wasn’t enough, as it can be lost, stolen, or handed over under pressure or coercion from corrupt law enforcement or state officials. Multisignature (multisig) wallets, which require approval from multiple private keys to move funds, offer stronger protection against this loss and coercion and eliminate any single points of failure in a Bitcoin self-custody setup. But multisig setups are often too technical for everyday families. Enter Bitkey. This multisig device offered Ivy’s family a simple, secure way to share custody of their Bitcoin in the face of financial repression. In places where wealth confiscation and frozen bank accounts are a lived reality, multisignature wallets can help families stay in full control of their savings.

Parasite Pool | New Zero-Fee, Lightning Native Bitcoin Mining Pool

Parasite Pool is a new open-source Bitcoin mining pool built for home miners who want to contribute to Bitcoin’s decentralization without relying on the large and centralized mining pools. It charges zero fees and offers Lightning-native payouts with a low 10-satoshi threshold, allowing individuals to earn directly and instantly. Notably, it has a “pleb eat first” reward structure, which allocates 1 BTC to the block finder and splits the remaining 2.125 BTC plus fees among all non-winning participants via Lightning. This favors small-scale miners, who can earn outsized rewards relative to their hashpower, inverting the corporate bias of legacy mining pools. This makes Parasite Pool especially attractive for small scale miners, such as those operating in authoritarian contexts who need to mine discreetly and independently. In turn, these very same miners contribute to the Bitcoin network’s resistance to censorship, regulatory capture, and corporate control, ensuring it remains a tool for freedom and peaceful resistance for those who need it most. Learn more about the mining pool here.

Cake Wallet | Implements Payjoin V2

Cake Wallet, a non-custodial, privacy-focused, and open-source mobile Bitcoin wallet, released version 4.28, bringing Payjoin V2 to its user base. Payjoin is a privacy technique that allows two users to contribute an input to a Bitcoin transaction, breaking the common chain analysis heuristic that assumes a sender owns all inputs. This makes it harder for dictators to trace payments or link the identities of activists or nonprofits. Unlike the original Payjoin, which required both the sender and recipient to be online and operate a Payjoin server, Payjoin v2 removes both barriers and introduces asynchronous transactions and serverless communication. This means users can now conduct private transactions without coordination or technical setup, making private Bitcoin transactions much more accessible and expanding the tools dissidents have to transact in the face of censorship, extortion, and surveillance. HRF is pleased to have sponsored the Payjoin V2 specification with a bounty and is happy to see this functionality now in the wild.

Mi Primer Bitcoin | Receives Grant from startsmall

Mi Primer Bitcoin, a nonprofit organization supporting independent Bitcoin education in Central America, announced that it received a $1 million grant from Jack Dorsey’s startsmall public fund. This support will accelerate Mi Primer Bitcoin’s impartial, community-led, Bitcoin-only education. The initiative has trained tens of thousands of students while supporting over 65 grassroots projects across 35+ countries through its Independent Bitcoin Educators Node Network, pushing financial freedom forward where needed most. The Mi Primer Bitcoin (MPB) team stresses the importance of remaining free from government or corporate influence to preserve the integrity of their mission. As founder John Dennehy puts it, “Education will be captured by whoever funds it… We need to create alternative models for the revolution of Bitcoin education to realize its full potential.” MPB has been adopted by many education initiatives working under authoritarian regimes.

Phoenix Wallet | Introduces Unlimited BOLT 12 Offers and Manual Backup Options

Phoenix Wallet, a mobile Bitcoin Lightning wallet, introduced support for unlimited BOLT 12 offers in its v2.6.0 update, allowing users to generate as many reusable Lightning invoices as they like. These offers, which function like static Bitcoin addresses, remain permanently valid and can now include a custom description and amount — ideal for nonprofits or dissidents who need to receive regular donations discreetly. The update also introduces manual export and import of the payments database on Android, enabling users to securely transfer their payment history to new devices. These updates strengthen Phoenix’s position as one of the most user-friendly and feature-complete non-custodial Lightning wallets. BOLT 12 — once a pipe dream — is now a usable activist tool on popularly accessible mobile wallets.

RECOMMENDED CONTENT

Bitcoin Is Not a Security: Why Nigeria’s New Investment and Security Act Misses the Mark by Farida Nabourema

In this article, Togolese human rights advocate Farida Nabourema critiques Nigeria’s 2025 Investment and Securities Act for classifying Bitcoin as a security. Nabourema argues this approach is flawed, economically damaging, disconnected from the realities of Bitcoin usage and innovation across Africa, and an attempt to constrict a human rights tool. She warns that this regulatory framework risks stifling builders and harming the very communities that Bitcoin is helping in a context of widespread currency devaluations, inflation, and exclusion. Read it here.

Ask Me Anything with Anita Posch on Stacker News

After spending five months traveling through countries like Kenya and Zimbabwe, Bitcoin for Fairness Founder Anita Posch joined Stacker News for an Ask Me Anything (AMA) to discuss her view on Bitcoin adoption across the continent. She highlighted major progress since 2020, noting that several grassroots initiatives she supported have become self-sufficient and are now running their own education programs. Despite persistent challenges, like wallet usability, high on-chain fees, and Bitcoin’s misunderstood reputation, she shared stories of real-life impact, including cross-border remittances using mobile airtime and widespread Lightning use via apps like Tando in Kenya. Read 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.

Subscribe to newsletter

Apply for a grant

Support our work

Visit our website

@ 3c389c8f:7a2eff7f

I've sporadically been trying to spend some time familiarizing myself with Nostr marketplace listings and the clients that support them. I have been pleased with what I have encountered. The clients are simple to use, and people have been receptive to transacting with me. I've sold items to both people whom I consider to be close contacts, as well as to people that I barely know.

My first attempt was close to 2 years ago, when I listed one pound bags of coffee for sale. If I remember correctly, there was only one marketplace client then, and it only had support for extension signing. At the time, my old laptop had just died so I couldn't really interact with my listings through that client. (I have never had much luck with extensions on mobile browsers, so I have never attempted to use one for Nostr.) Instead, I used Amethyst to list my product and exchange messages with potential buyers. The Amethyst approach to handling different Nostr events is brilliant to me. You can do some part of each thing but not all. I view it as great introduction to what Nostr is capable of doing and a gateway to discovering other clients. Marketplace listings on Amethyst are handled in that fashion. You can list products for sale. You can browse and inquire about products listed by your contacts or by a more "global" view, which in the case of Nostr, would be products listed by anyone who publishes their listings to any of the relays that I connect with to read. There is no delete option, should a product sell out, and there is no direct purchase option. All sales need to be negotiated through direct messages. Though it has limited functionality, the system works great for items that will be listed for repeated sale, such as my coffee. If one were to list a one-off item and sell it, the flow to delete the listing would be easy enough. Copy the event ID, visit delete.nostr.com , and remove the product. Should there be a price change, it would be necessary to visit a full marketplace client to edit the listing, though one could easily delete and start over as well. Anyway, much to my surprise I sold more coffee than I had anticipated through that listing. People were eager to try out the feature and support a small business. This was an awesome experience and I see no reason to avoid buying or selling products on Nostr, even if the only client available to you is Amethyst. (Which I think might be the only mobile app with marketplace support.) It is completely manageable.

Later, I tried to list a pair of nearly new shoes. Those did not sell. I have a sneaking suspicion that there were very few people that wore size USw6 shoes using Nostr at the time. Even though no one wanted my shoes, I still ended up having some interesting conversations about different styles of running shoes, boots, and other footwear talk. I can't call the listing a total bust, even though I ended up deleting the listing and donating those shoes to the YWCA. After some number of months watching and reading about development in the Nostr marketplace space, I decided to try again.

This second approach, I started with niche rubber duckies that, for reasons unbeknownst to most, I just happen to have an abundance of. It occurred to me that day that I would most likely be creating most of my listings via mobile app since that is also my main method of taking pictures these days. I could sync or send them, but realistically it's just adding extra steps for me. I listed my ducks with Amethyst (all of which are currently still available, surprise, surprise.). I immediately went to check how the listing renders in the marketplace clients. There are 2 where I can view it, and the listing looks nice, clean, organized in both places. That alone is reason enough to get excited about selling on Nostr. Gone are the days of "this item is cross-posted to blah, blah, blah" lest risk being kicked out of the seller groups on silo'd platforms.

Knowing I can't take it personally that literally no one else on Nostr has an affinity for obscure rubber ducks (that they are willing to admit), I leave my duckies listed and move on. My next listing is for artisan bracelets. Ones that I love to make. I made my mobile listing, checked it across clients and this time I noticed that shopstr.store is collecting my listings into a personal seller profile, like a little shop. I spent some time setting up the description and banner, and now it looks really nice. This is great, since the current site acts as an open and categorized market for all sellers. Maybe someone will see the bracelets while browsing the clothing category and stumble upon the rubber ducky of their dreams in the process. That hasn't happened yet, but I was pretty jazzed to sell a few bracelets right away. Most of the sale and exchange happened via DM, for which I switched to Flotilla because it just handles messaging solidly for me. I made some bracelets, waited a few weeks, then visited Shopstr again to adjust the price. That worked out super well. I noticed that a seller can also list in their preferred currency, which is very cool. Meanwhile, back to my social feed, I can see my listing posted again since there was an edit. While not always the best thing to happen with edits, it is great that it happens with marketplace listings. It removes all the steps of announcing a price reduction, which would be handy for any serious seller. I am very happy with the bracelet experience, and I will keep that listing active and reasonably up to date for as long as any interest arises. Since this has all gone so well, I've opted to continue listing saleable items to Nostr first for a few days to a few weeks prior to marketing them anywhere else.

Looking at my listings on cypher.space, I can see that this client is tailored more towards people who are very passionate about a particular set of things. I might not fall into this category but my listings still look very nice displayed with my writing, transposed poetry, and recipes. I could see this being a great space for truly devotional hobbyists or sellers who are both deeply knowledgeable about their craft and also actively selling. My experience with all 3 of these marketplace-integrated clients had been positive and I would say that if you are considering selling on Nostr, it is worth the effort.

As some sidenotes:

• I am aware that Shopstr has been built to be self-hosted and anyone interested in selling for the long term should at least consider doing so. This will help reduce the chances of Nostr marketplaces centralizing into just another seller-silo.

• Plebeian Market is out there, too. From the best I could tell, even though this is a Nostr client, those listings are a different kind than listings made from the other clients referenced here. I like the layout and responsiveness of the site but I opted not to try it out for now. Cross-posting has been the bane of online selling for me for quite some time. If they should migrate to an interoperable listing type (which I think I read may happen in the future), I will happily take that for a spin, too.

• My only purchase over Nostr marketplaces so far was some vinyls, right around the time I had listed my coffee. It went well, the seller was great to work with, everything arrived in good shape. I have made some other purchases through Nostr contacts, but those were conversations that lead to non-Nostr seller sites. I check the marketplace often, though, for things I may want/need. The listings are changing and expanding rapidly, and I foresee more purchases becoming a part of my regular Nostr experience soon enough.

• I thought about including screenshots for this, but I would much rather you go check these clients out for yourself.

@ 95cbd62b:a5270126

Nếu bạn đang tìm kiếm một nền tảng cá cược trực tuyến uy tín, hỗ trợ tiếng Việt toàn diện, tích hợp nhiều tính năng hiện đại và mang lại cơ hội kiếm thưởng mỗi ngày thì 123BET chính là lựa chọn hoàn hảo. Được xây dựng với định hướng lấy người dùng làm trung tâm, 123BET mang đến trải nghiệm cá cược tối ưu với giao diện đơn giản, dễ thao tác, tương thích tốt trên mọi thiết bị từ máy tính đến điện thoại. Người chơi chỉ cần đăng ký một tài khoản duy nhất là có thể truy cập toàn bộ hệ sinh thái giải trí khổng lồ bao gồm slot game, casino trực tuyến, game bắn cá, mini game dân gian và cá cược thể thao. Bên cạnh đó, 123BET còn chú trọng đến bảo mật bằng cách tích hợp các phương thức đăng nhập hiện đại như OTP, nhận diện khuôn mặt và vân tay. Ứng dụng di động 123BET App được tối ưu hóa để truy cập mượt mà không bị chặn, đồng thời hỗ trợ thông báo khuyến mãi tức thời giúp người chơi không bỏ lỡ bất kỳ ưu đãi nào.

Kho game của 123BET là một thế giới giải trí đầy màu sắc, được cung cấp bởi các nhà phát hành danh tiếng toàn cầu như PG Soft, JILI, Pragmatic Play, Microgaming và Spadegaming cho dòng slot game. Tại đây, người chơi có thể trải nghiệm hàng trăm chủ đề phong phú, từ cổ điển đến hiện đại, với các tính năng đặc biệt như vòng quay miễn phí, hệ số nhân, jackpot lũy tiến và các mini game bonus đầy hấp dẫn. Với những ai yêu thích không khí sòng bài thật, mảng casino trực tiếp của 123BET mang đến trải nghiệm chân thực với video phát sóng trực tiếp chất lượng cao từ các studio như SA Gaming, Evolution, WM Casino và Dream Gaming. Game bắn cá cũng là điểm nhấn không thể bỏ qua với hình ảnh 3D sắc nét, hiệu ứng đạn sinh động, nhiều chế độ chơi từ cá nhân đến tổ đội, vũ khí đa dạng và đặc biệt là khả năng đổi xu thành tiền thật nhanh chóng. Với hàng loạt trò chơi hấp dẫn như Monster Awaken, Fishing War hay Bombing Fishing, người chơi có thể vừa giải trí vừa gia tăng thu nhập mỗi ngày.

Không chỉ nổi bật về mặt nội dung, 123BET còn ghi điểm mạnh với hệ thống nạp – rút tự động 24/7, tốc độ xử lý nhanh, không giới hạn số lần giao dịch và hoàn toàn miễn phí. Người chơi có thể linh hoạt nạp tiền qua nhiều kênh như chuyển khoản ngân hàng nội địa, ví điện tử (Momo, ZaloPay, ViettelPay) hoặc QR Code chỉ trong vòng 1–3 phút. Quy trình rút tiền đơn giản, hỗ trợ về tài khoản ngân hàng chính chủ, đảm bảo tiền về nhanh chỉ sau 5–10 phút kể cả vào ban đêm hoặc ngày lễ. Ngoài ra, 123BET còn thường xuyên triển khai các chương trình khuyến mãi hấp dẫn như thưởng 100% nạp đầu, hoàn tiền hàng ngày cho tất cả trò chơi, ưu đãi nạp lại cuối tuần, tặng quà sinh nhật và nâng hạng VIP với đặc quyền riêng. Đặc biệt, người chơi có thể kiếm thêm thu nhập thụ động thông qua chương trình giới thiệu bạn bè nhận hoa hồng không giới hạn. Với đội ngũ hỗ trợ kỹ thuật chuyên nghiệp 24/7 và chính sách chăm sóc khách hàng tận tình, 123BET đang khẳng định vị thế hàng đầu trong lĩnh vực cá cược trực tuyến tại thị trường Việt Nam, mang đến một sân chơi an toàn, công bằng và sinh lợi bền vững cho tất cả người chơi.

@ 8aa70f44:3073d1a6

Earlier this year I launched the asknostr.site project which has been a great journey and learning experience. I had wanted to write down my goals and ideas with the project but didn't get to it yet. Primal launching the article editor was a trigger for me to go for it.

Ever since I joined Nostr i was looking for ways to apply my skillset solve a problem and help with adoption. Around Christmas I figured that a Quora/Stackoverflow alternative is something that needs to exist on Nostr.

Before I knew it I had a pretty decent prototype. And because the network already had so much awesome content, contributors and authors I was never discouraged by the challenge that kills so many good ideas -> "Where do I get the first users?".

Since the initial announcement I have received so much encouragement through zaps, likes, DM's, and maybe most of all seeing the increase in usage of the site and #asknostr content kept me going.

Current State

The current version of the site is stable and most bugs are hashed out. After logging in (remote signer, extension or nsec) you can engage with content through votes, comments and replies. Or simply ask a new question.

All content is stored in the site's own private relay and preprocessed/computed into a single data store (postgres) so the site is fast, accessible and crawl-able.

The site supports browsing hashtags, voting/commenting on answers, asking new questions and every contributor get their own profile (example). At the time of writing the site has 41k questions, almost 200k replies/comments and upwards of 5 million sats purely for #asknostr content.

What to expect/On my list

There are plenty of things and UI bugs that need love and between writing the draft of this post and hitting publish I shipped 3 minor bug fixes. Little by little, bit by bit...

In addition to all those small details here is an overview of the things on my own wish list:

• Inline Zaps: Ability to zap from the asknostr.site interface. Click the zap button, specify or pick the number of sats zap away.

• Contributor Rank: A leaderboard to add some gamification. More recognition to those nostriches that spend their time helping other people out

• Search by Keyword: Search all content by keywords. Experiment with the index to show related questions or answers

• Better User Profiles: Improve the user profile so it shows all the profile questions and answers. Quick buttons to follow or zap that person. Better insights in the topics (hashtags) the profile contributes to

• Bookmarks: Ability to bookmark questions and answers. Increase bookmark weight as a signal to rank answers.

• Smarter Scoring: Tune how answers are scored (winning answer formula). Perhaps give more weight to the question author or use WoT. Not sure yet.

All of this is happening at some point so follow me if you want to stay up to date.

Goals

To manage expectations and keep me focussed I write down the mid and long term goals of the project.

Long term

Call me cheesy but I believe that humanity will flourish through an open web and sound money. My own journey started from with bitcoin but if you asked me today if it's BTC or nostr that is going to have the most impact I wouldn't know what to answer. Chicken or egg?

The goal of the project is to offer an open platform that empowers individuals to ask questions, share expertise and access high-quality information across different topics. The project empowers anyone to monetize their experience creating a sustainable ecosystem that values and rewards knowledge sharing. This will ultimately democratize access to knowledge for all.

Mid term

The project can help a lot with onboarding new users onto the network. Once we start to rank on certain topics we can get a piece of the search traffic pie (StackOverflows 12 million, and Quora 150 million visitors per month) which is a great way to expose people to the power of the network.

First time visitors do not need to know about nostr or zaps to receive value. They can browse around, discover interesting content and perhaps even create a profile without even knowing they are on Nostr now.

Gradually those users will understand the value of the network through better rankings (zaps beats likes), a cross-client experience and a profile that can be used on any nostr site or app.

In order for the site to do that we need to make sure content is browsable by language, (sub)topics and and we double down on 'the human touch' with real contributors and not LLMs.

Short Term Goal

The first goal is to make the site really good and an important resource for existing Nostr users. Enable visitors to search and discover what they are interested in. Integrate within the existing nostr eco system with 'open in' functionality and quick links to interesting projects (followerpacks?)

One of things i want to get right is to improve user retention by making the whole Q\&A experience more sticky. I want to run some experiments (bots, award, summaries) to get more people to use asknostr.site more often and come back.

What about the name?

Finally the big question: What about the asknostr.site name? I don't like the name that much but it's what people know. I think there is a high chance that people will discover Nostr apps like Olas, Primal or Damus without needing to know what NOSTR is or means.

Therefore I think there is a good chance that the project won't be called asknostr.site forever. I guess it all depends on where we all take this.

Onwards!

@ 57d1a264:69f1fee1

As a product builder over too many years to mention, I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen promising ideas go from zero to hero in a few weeks, only to fizzle out within months.

The problem with most finance apps, however, is that they often become a reflection of the internal politics of the business rather than an experience solely designed around the customer. This means that the focus is on delivering as many features and functionalities as possible to satisfy the needs and desires of competing internal departments, rather than providing a clear value proposition that is focused on what the people out there in the real world want. As a result, these products can very easily bloat to become a mixed bag of confusing, unrelated and ultimately unlovable customer experiences—a feature salad, you might say.

Financial products, which is the field I work in, are no exception. With people’s real hard-earned money on the line, user expectations running high, and a crowded market, it’s tempting to throw as many features at the wall as possible and hope something sticks. But this approach is a recipe for disaster.

Here’s why: https://alistapart.com/article/from-beta-to-bedrock-build-products-that-stick/

https://stacker.news/items/985285

@ ecda4328:1278f072

And what does it mean to withdraw back to Bitcoin Layer 1?

Disclaimer: This post was written with help from ChatGPT-4o. If you spot any mistakes or have suggestions — feel free to reply or zap in feedback!

Let’s break it down — using three popular setups:

---

1. Wallet of Satoshi (WoS)

Custodial — you don’t touch Lightning directly

Sending sats:

• You open WoS, paste a Lightning invoice, hit send.
• WoS handles the payment entirely within their system.
• If recipient uses WoS: internal balance update.
• If external: routed via their node.
• You never open channels, construct routes, or sign anything.

Withdrawing to L1:

• You paste a Bitcoin address.
• WoS sends a regular on-chain transaction from their custodial wallet.
• You pay a fee. It’s like a bank withdrawal.

You don’t interact with Lightning directly. Think of it as a trusted 3rd party Lightning “bank”.

---

2. Phoenix Wallet

Non-custodial — you own keys, Phoenix handles channels

Sending sats:

• You scan a Lightning invoice and hit send.
• Phoenix uses its backend node (ACINQ) to route the payment.
• If needed, it opens a real 2-of-2 multisig channel on-chain automatically.
• You own your keys (12-word seed), Phoenix abstracts the technical parts.

Withdrawing to L1:

• You enter your Bitcoin address.
• Phoenix closes your Lightning channel (cooperatively, if possible).
• Your sats are sent as a real Bitcoin transaction to your address.

You’re using Lightning “for real,” with real Bitcoin channels — but Phoenix smooths out the UX.

---

3. Your Own Lightning Node

Self-hosted — you control everything

Sending sats:

• You manage your channels manually (or via automation).
• Your node:
• Reads the invoice
• Builds a route using HTLCs
• Sends the payment using conditional logic (preimages, time locks).
• If routing fails: retry or adjust liquidity.

Withdrawing to L1:

• You select and close a channel.
• A channel closing transaction is broadcast:
• Cooperative = fast and cheap
• Force-close = slower, more expensive, and time-locked
• Funds land in your on-chain wallet.

You have full sovereignty — but also full responsibility (liquidity, fees, backups, monitoring).

---

Core Tech Behind It: HTLCs, Multisig — and No Sidechain

• Lightning channels = 2-of-2 multisig Bitcoin addresses
• Payments = routed via HTLCs (Hashed Time-Locked Contracts)
• HTLCs are off-chain, but enforceable on-chain if needed
• Important:
• The Lightning Network is not a sidechain.
• It doesn't use its own token, consensus, or separate blockchain.
• Every Lightning channel is secured by real Bitcoin on L1.

Lightning = fast, private, off-chain Bitcoin — secured by Bitcoin itself.

---

Summary Table

| Wallet | Custody | Channel Handling | L1 Withdrawal | HTLC Visibility | User Effort | |--------------------|--------------|------------------------|---------------------|------------------|--------------| | Wallet of Satoshi | Custodial | None | Internal to external| Hidden | Easiest | | Phoenix Wallet | Non-custodial| Auto-managed real LN | Channel close | Abstracted | Low effort | | Own Node | You | Manual | Manual channel close| Full control | High effort |

---

Bonus: Withdrawing from LN to On-Chain

• WoS: sends sats from their wallet — like PayPal.
• Phoenix: closes a real channel and sends your UTXO on-chain.
• Own node: closes your multisig contract and broadcasts your pre-signed tx.

---

Bitcoin + Lightning = Sovereign money + Instant payments.
Choose the setup that fits your needs — and remember, you can always level up later.

P.S. What happens in Lightning... usually stays in Lightning.

@ 7e6f9018:a6bbbce5

Per les xarxes socials es parla amb efusivitat de que Bitcoin arribarà a valer milions de dòlars. El mateix Hal Finney allà pel 2009, va estimar el potencial, en un cas extrem, de 10 milions $:

\> As an amusing thought experiment, imagine that Bitcoin is successful and becomes the dominant payment system in use throughout the world. Then the total value of the currency should be equal to the total value of all the wealth in the world. Current estimates of total worldwide household wealth that I have found range from $100 trillion to $300 trillion. Withn 20 million coins, that gives each coin a value of about $10 million. <https://satoshi.nakamotoinstitute.org/emails/bitcoin-list/threads/4/>

No estic d'acord amb els càlculs del bo d'en Hal, ja que no consider que la valoració d'una moneda funcioni així. En qualsevol cas, el 2009 la capitalització de la riquesa mundial era de 300 bilions $, avui és de 660 bilions $, és a dir ha anat pujant un 5,3% de manera anual, $$(660/300)^{1/15} = 1.053$$

La primera apreciació amb aquest augment anual del 5% és que si algú llegeix aquest article i té diners que no necessita aturats al banc (estalvis), ara és bon moment per començar a moure'ls, encara sigui amb moviments defensius (títols de deute governamental o la propietat del primer habitatge). La desagregació per actius dels 660 bilions és:

1. Immobiliari residencial = 260 bilions $

2. Títols de deute = 125 bilions $

3. Accions = 110 bilions

4. Diners fiat = 78 bilions $

5. Terres agrícoles = 35 bilions $

6. Immobiliari comercial = 32 bilions $

7. Or = 18 bilions $

8. Bitcoin = 2 bilions $

La riquesa mundial és major que 660 bilions, però aquests 8 actius crec que són els principals, ja que s'aprecien a dia d'avui. El PIB global anual és de 84 bilions $, que no són bromes, però aquest actius creats (cotxes, ordinadors, roba, aliments...), perden valor una vegada produïts, aproximant-se a 0 passades unes dècades.

Partint d'aquest nombres com a vàlids, la meva posició base respecte de Bitcoin, ja des de fa un parell d'anys, és que te capacitat per posar-se al nivell de capitalització de l'or, perquè conceptualment s'emulen bé, i perquè tot i que Bitcoin no té un valor tangible industrial com pot tenir l'or, sí que te un valor intangible tecnològic, que és pales en tot l'ecosistema que s'ha creat al seu voltant:

• Creació de tecnologies de pagament instantani: la Lightning Network, Cashu i la Liquid Network.

• Producció d'aplicacions amb l'íntegrament de pagaments instantanis. Especialment destacar el protocol de Nostr (Primal, Amethyst, Damus, Yakihonne, 0xChat...)

• Industria energètica: permet estabilitzar xarxes elèctriques i emprar energia malbaratada (flaring gas), amb la generació de demanda de hardware i software dedicat.

• Educació financera i defensa de drets humans. És una eina de defensa contra governs i estats repressius. La Human Rights Foundation fa una feina bastant destacada d'educació.

Ara posem el potencial en nombres:

• Si iguala l'empresa amb major capitalització, que és Apple, arribaria a uns 160 mil dòlars per bitcoin.

• Si iguala el nivell de l'or, arribaria a uns 800 mil dòlars per bitcoin.

• Si iguala el nivell del diner fiat líquid, arribaria a un 3.7 milions de dòlars per bitcoin.

Crec que igualar la capitalització d'Apple és probable en els pròxims 5 - 10 anys. També igualar el nivell de l'or en els pròxims 20 anys em sembla una fita possible. Ara bé, qualsevol fita per sota d'aquesta capitalització ha d'implicar tota una serie de successos al món que no sóc capaç d'imaginar. Que no vol dir que no pugui passar.

@ b1ddb4d7:471244e7

The upcoming Bitcoin 2025 conference, scheduled from May 27–29 at the Venetian Conference Center in Las Vegas, is set to make history with an official attempt to break the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS® title for the most Bitcoin point-of-sale transactions in an eight-hour period.

Organized by BTC Inc, the event will showcase Bitcoin’s evolution from a digital capital asset to a practical medium of exchange, leveraging the latest advancements in payment technology.

Tap-to-Pay with Lightning-Ready Bolt Cards

To facilitate this record-setting attempt, 4,000 Lightning-ready Bolt Cards will be distributed to conference attendees.

pic.twitter.com/Iy7P361u6u

— Uncle Rockstar Developer (@r0ckstardev) May 15, 2025

These NFC-enabled cards allow users to make instant, contactless Bitcoin payments at vendor booths throughout the expo-no apps or QR codes required, just a simple tap. 

The cards are available in four collectible designs, each featuring a prominent figure in Bitcoin’s history: Senator Cynthia Lummis, Michael Saylor, Satoshi Nakamoto, and Jack Dorsey. 

Each attendee will receive a randomly assigned card, making them both functional and collectible souvenirs.

Senator Lummis: A Playful Provocation

Notably, one of the card designs features Senator Cynthia Lummis with laser eyes-a playful nod to her reputation as a leading Bitcoin advocate in US politics. 

While Lummis is known for her legislative efforts to promote Bitcoin integration, she has publicly stated she prefers to “spend dollars and save Bitcoin,” viewing BTC as a long-term store of value rather than a daily currency. 

The choice to feature her on the Bolt Card, could be suggested by Rockstar Dev of the BTC Pay Server Foundation, perhaps a lighthearted way to highlight the ongoing debate about Bitcoin’s role in everyday payments.

Nothing cracks me up quite like a senator that wants the US to buy millions of Bitcoin use dollars to buy a beer at a Bitcoin bar.

This is how unserious some of you are. pic.twitter.com/jftIEggmip

— Magoo PhD (@HodlMagoo) April 4, 2025

How Bolt Cards and the Lightning Network Work

Bolt Cards are physical cards equipped with NFC (Near Field Communication) technology, similar to contactless credit or debit cards. When linked to a compatible Lightning wallet, they enable users to make Bitcoin payments over the Lightning Network by simply tapping the card at a point-of-sale terminal. 

The Lightning Network is a second-layer protocol built on top of Bitcoin, designed to facilitate instant, low-cost transactions ideal for everyday purchases. 

This integration aims to make Bitcoin as easy to use as traditional payment methods, eliminating the need for QR code scanning or mobile apps.

A Showcase for Bitcoin’s Real-World Usability

With over 30,000 attendees, 300 exhibitors, and 500 speakers expected, the Bitcoin 2025 conference is poised to be the largest Bitcoin event of the year-and potentially the most transactional. 

The event will feature on-site activations such as the Official Bitcoin Magazine Store, where all merchandise will be available at a 21% discount for those paying with Bitcoin via the Lightning Network-a nod to Bitcoin’s 21 million coin supply limit.

By deeply integrating Lightning payments into the conference experience, organizers hope to demonstrate Bitcoin’s readiness for mainstream commerce and set a new benchmark for its practical use as a currency.

Conclusion

The Guinness World Record attempt at Bitcoin 2025 is more than a publicity stunt-it’s a bold demonstration of Bitcoin’s technological maturity and its potential to function as a modern, everyday payment method.

Whether or not the record is set, the event will serve as a milestone in the ongoing journey to make Bitcoin a truly global, user-friendly currency

@ f6488c62:c929299d

ในวันที่ 23 พฤษภาคม 2568 The Wall Street Journal รายงานข่าวที่น่าสนใจว่า ธนาคารยักษ์ใหญ่ของสหรัฐฯ เช่น JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup และ Wells Fargo กำลังพิจารณาความเป็นไปได้ในการพัฒนา Stablecoin ร่วมกัน เพื่อก้าวเข้าสู่โลกของคริปโตเคอเรนซีอย่างเต็มตัว การเคลื่อนไหวครั้งนี้ไม่เพียงสะท้อนถึงการยอมรับสินทรัพย์ดิจิทัลในระบบการเงินกระแสหลัก แต่ยังเป็นก้าวสำคัญในการรักษาความเป็นผู้นำของเงินดอลลาร์สหรัฐในยุคการเงินดิจิทัล.

Stablecoin: อนาคตของการชำระเงินดิจิทัล Stablecoin เป็นสกุลเงินดิจิทัลที่ออกแบบมาเพื่อลดความผันผวนโดยผูกมูลค่ากับสินทรัพย์ที่มีเสถียรภาพ เช่น เงินดอลลาร์สหรัฐ ทำให้เหมาะสำหรับการใช้ในระบบการชำระเงิน การโอนเงินข้ามพรมแดน และการเงินแบบกระจายศูนย์ (DeFi). การที่ธนาคารใหญ่ของสหรัฐฯ หันมาสนใจ Stablecoin ร่วมกัน แสดงถึงความพยายามในการปรับตัวให้เข้ากับความต้องการของผู้บริโภคยุคใหม่ที่ต้องการความรวดเร็วและประหยัดต้นทุนในการทำธุรกรรมทางการเงิน.

ทำไมธนาคารถึงสนใจ Stablecoin? ในปี 2568 ตลาดคริปโตเคอเรนซีกำลังร้อนแรง โดยมูลค่าตลาดรวมของคริปโตทั่วโลกอยู่ที่ 3.64 ล้านล้านดอลลาร์ ซึ่งในจำนวนนี้ Bitcoin มีมูลค่าตลาดสูงสุดที่ 2.2 ล้านล้านดอลลาร์ และราคา Bitcoin ล่าสุดพุ่งแตะ 111,160.66 ดอลลาร์ (ข้อมูล ณ วันที่ 23 พฤษภาคม 2568 เวลา 16:44 น. ตามเขตเวลา +07) นอกจากนี้ ยังมีเม็ดเงินไหลเข้าสู่กองทุนสินทรัพย์ดิจิทัลในสหรัฐฯ กว่า 7.5 พันล้านดอลลาร์ การที่ธนาคารยักษ์ใหญ่ที่มีมูลค่ารวมกันถึง 8 ล้านล้านดอลลาร์เข้ามาในสนามนี้ แสดงถึงศักยภาพในการเปลี่ยนแปลงภูมิทัศน์ของอุตสาหกรรมการเงิน. นโยบายที่เอื้ออำนวยต่อคริปโตในยุคของประธานาธิบดีโดนัลด์ ทรัมป์ และการลดดอกเบี้ยนโยบายของ Fed ยังเป็นปัจจัยสนับสนุนที่สำคัญ.

โอกาสและความท้าทาย การพัฒนา Stablecoin ร่วมกันของธนาคารเหล่านี้เปิดโอกาสให้สหรัฐฯ รักษาความเป็นผู้นำในระบบการเงินดิจิทัล และเพิ่มประสิทธิภาพในระบบการชำระเงินทั่วโลก อย่างไรก็ตาม ความท้าทายที่รออยู่คือการแข่งขันกับ Stablecoin ที่ครองตลาด เช่น USDT และ USDC รวมถึงความไม่แน่นอนด้านกฎระเบียบและความผันผวนของเศรษฐกิจโลกจากนโยบายการค้าของสหรัฐฯ. ธนาคารจะต้องลงทุนในโครงสร้างพื้นฐานที่ปลอดภัยและสอดคล้องกับกฎหมาย เพื่อสร้างความไว้วางใจจากผู้ใช้.

มองไปข้างหน้า การที่ธนาคารชั้นนำของสหรัฐฯ หันมาสนใจ Stablecoin เป็นสัญญาณที่ชัดเจนว่าโลกการเงินกำลังเปลี่ยนผ่านสู่ยุคดิจิทัลอย่างเต็มรูปแบบ การเคลื่อนไหวครั้งนี้อาจเป็นจุดเปลี่ยนที่ทำให้คริปโตเคอเรนซีกลายเป็นส่วนสำคัญของระบบการเงินกระแสหลัก อย่างไรก็ตาม ความสำเร็จจะขึ้นอยู่กับความสามารถในการสร้างนวัตกรรมที่ตอบโจทย์ผู้บริโภคและการจัดการกับความท้าทายด้านกฎระเบียบและการแข่งขันในตลาด. ในอนาคตอันใกล้ Stablecoin จากธนาคารยักษ์ใหญ่อาจกลายเป็นตัวเปลี่ยนเกมในวงการการเงินโลก และเป็นเครื่องมือสำคัญในการเชื่อมโยงระบบการเงินแบบดั้งเดิมเข้ากับโลกดิจิทัล นักลงทุนและผู้บริโภคควรจับตาดูความคืบหน้าของโครงการนี้อย่างใกล้ชิด เพราะมันอาจเป็นก้าวแรกสู่การปฏิวัติครั้งใหญ่ในวงการการเงิน.

@ b1ddb4d7:471244e7

Flash, an all-in-one Bitcoin payment platform, has announced the launch of Flash 2.0, the most intuitive and powerful Bitcoin payment solution to date.

With a completely redesigned interface, expanded e-commerce integrations, and a frictionless onboarding process, Flash 2.0 makes accepting Bitcoin easier than ever for businesses worldwide.

We did the unthinkable!

Website monetization used to be super complicated.

"Buy me a coffee" — But only if we both have a bank account.

WHAT IF WE DON'T?

Thanks to @paywflash and bitcoin, it's just 5 CLICKS – and no banks!

Start accepting donations on your website… pic.twitter.com/uwZUrvmEZ1

— Flash • The Bitcoin Payment Gateway (@paywflash) May 13, 2025

Accept Bitcoin in Three Minutes

Setting up Bitcoin payments has long been a challenge for merchants, requiring technical expertise, third-party processors, and lengthy verification procedures. Flash 2.0 eliminates these barriers, allowing any business to start accepting Bitcoin in just three minutes, with no technical set-up and full control over their funds.

The Bitcoin Payment Revolution

The world is witnessing a seismic shift in finance. Governments are backing Bitcoin funds, major companies are adding Bitcoin to their balance sheets, and political figures are embracing it as the future of money. Just as Stripe revolutionized internet payments, Flash is now doing the same for Bitcoin. Businesses that adapt today will gain a competitive edge in a rapidly evolving financial landscape.

With Bitcoin adoption accelerating, consumers are looking for places to spend it. Flash 2.0 ensures businesses of all sizes can seamlessly accept Bitcoin and position themselves at the forefront of this financial revolution.

All-in-One Monetization Platform

More than just a payment gateway, Flash 2.0 is a complete Bitcoin monetization suite, providing multiple ways for businesses to integrate Bitcoin into their operations. Merchants can accept payments online and in-store, content creators can monetize with donations and paywalls, and freelancers can send instant invoices via payment links.

For example, a jewelry designer selling products on WooCommerce can now integrate Flash for online payments, use Flash’s Point-of-Sale system at trade shows, enable Bitcoin donations for her digital artwork, and lock premium content behind Flash Paywalls. The possibilities are endless.

E-Commerce for Everyone

With built-in integrations for Shopify, WooCommerce, and soon Wix and OpenCart, Flash 2.0 enables Bitcoin payments on 95% of e-commerce stores worldwide. Businesses can now add Bitcoin as a payment option in just a few clicks—without needing developers or external payment processors.

And for those looking to start selling, Flash’s built-in e-commerce features allow users to create online stores, showcase products, and manage payments seamlessly.

No Middlemen, No Chargebacks, No Limits

Unlike traditional payment platforms, Flash does not hold or process funds. Businesses receive Bitcoin directly, instantly, and securely. There are no chargebacks, giving merchants full control over refunds and eliminating fraud. Flash also remains KYC-free, ensuring a seamless experience for businesses and customers alike.

A Completely Redesigned Experience

“The world is waking up to Bitcoin. Just like the internet revolutionized commerce, Bitcoin is reshaping finance. Businesses need solutions that are simple, efficient, and truly decentralized. Flash 2.0 is more than just a payment processor—it’s a gateway to the future of digital transactions, putting financial power back into the hands of businesses.”

— Pierre Corbin, CEO at Flash.

Flash 2.0 introduces a brand-new user interface, making it easier than ever to navigate, set up payments, and manage transactions. With an intuitive dashboard, streamlined checkout, and enhanced mobile compatibility, the platform is built for both new and experienced Bitcoin users.

About Flash

Flash is an all-in-one Bitcoin payment platform that empowers businesses, creators, and freelancers to accept, manage, and grow with Bitcoin. With a mission to make Bitcoin payments accessible to everyone, Flash eliminates complexity and gives users full control over their funds.

To learn more or get started, visit www.paywithflash.com.

Press Contact:

Julien Bouvier
Head of Marketing
+3360941039

@ c9badfea:610f861a

1. Install Sky Map (it's free and open source)
2. Launch the app and tap Accept, then tap OK
3. When asked to access the device's location, tap While Using The App
4. Tap somewhere on the screen to activate the menu, then tap ⁝ and select Settings
5. Disable Send Usage Statistics
6. Return to the main screen and enjoy stargazing!

ℹ️ Use the 🔍 icon in the upper toolbar to search for a specific celestial body, or tap the 👁️ icon to activate night mode

@ 6d5c826a:4b27b659

• DefGuard - True enterprise WireGuard with MFA/2FA and SSO. (Source Code) Apache-2.0 Rust
• Dockovpn - Out-of-the-box stateless dockerized OpenVPN server which starts in less than 2 seconds. (Source Code) GPL-2.0 Docker
• Firezone - WireGuard based VPN Server and Firewall. (Source Code) Apache-2.0 Docker
• Gluetun VPN client - VPN client in a thin Docker container for multiple VPN providers, written in Go, and using OpenVPN or Wireguard, DNS over TLS, with a few proxy servers built-in. MIT docker
• Headscale - Self-hostable fork of Tailscale, cross-platform clients, simple to use, built-in (currently experimental) monitoring tools. BSD-3-Clause Go
• Nebula - A scalable p2p VPN with a focus on performance, simplicity and security. MIT Go
• ocserv - Cisco AnyConnect-compatible VPN server. (Source Code) GPL-2.0 C
• OpenVPN - Uses a custom security protocol that utilizes SSL/TLS for key exchange. (Source Code) GPL-2.0 C
• SoftEther - Multi-protocol software VPN with advanced features. (Source Code) Apache-2.0 C
• sshuttle - Poor man's VPN. LGPL-2.1 Python
• strongSwan - Complete IPsec implementation for Linux. (Source Code) GPL-2.0 C
• WireGuard - Very fast VPN based on elliptic curve and public key crypto. (Source Code) GPL-2.0 C

@ 6d5c826a:4b27b659

• Ganeti - Cluster virtual server management software tool built on top of KVM and Xen. (Source Code) BSD-2-Clause Python/Haskell
• KVM - Linux kernel virtualization infrastructure. (Source Code) GPL-2.0/LGPL-2.0 C
• OpenNebula - Build and manage enterprise clouds for virtualized services, containerized applications and serverless computing. (Source Code) Apache-2.0 C++
• oVirt - Manages virtual machines, storage and virtual networks. (Source Code) Apache-2.0 Java
• Packer - A tool for creating identical machine images for multiple platforms from a single source configuration. (Source Code) MPL-2.0 Go
• Proxmox VE - Virtualization management solution. (Source Code) GPL-2.0 Perl/Shell
• QEMU - QEMU is a generic machine emulator and virtualizer. (Source Code) LGPL-2.1 C
• Vagrant - Tool for building complete development environments. (Source Code) BUSL-1.1 Ruby
• VirtualBox - Virtualization product from Oracle Corporation. (Source Code) GPL-3.0/CDDL-1.0 C++
• XCP-ng - Virtualization platform based on Xen Source and Citrix® Hypervisor (formerly XenServer). (Source Code) GPL-2.0 C
• Xen - Virtual machine monitor for 32/64 bit Intel / AMD (IA 64) and PowerPC 970 architectures. (Source Code) GPL-2.0 C

@ 7e6f9018:a6bbbce5

Over the last decade, birth rates in Spain have dropped by 30%, from 486,000 births in 2010 to 339,000 in 2020, a decline only comparable to that seen in Japan and the Four Asian Tigers.

The main cause seems to stem from two major factors: (1) the widespread use of contraceptive methods, which allow for pregnancy control without reducing sexual activity, and (2) women's entry into the labor market, leading to a significant shift away from traditional maternal roles.

In this regard, there is a phenomenon of demographic inertia that I believe could become significant. When a society ages and the population pyramid inverts, the burden this places on the non-dependent population could further contribute to a deeper decline in birth rates.

The more resources (time and money) non-dependent individuals have to dedicate to the elderly (dependents), the less they can allocate to producing new births (also dependents):

• An only child who has to care for both parents will bear a burden of 2 (2 ÷ 1).
• Three siblings who share the responsibility of caring for their parents will bear a burden of 0.6 (2 ÷ 3).

This burden on only children could, in many cases, be significant enough to prevent them from having children of their own.

In Spain, the generation of only children reached reproductive age in 2019(*), this means that right now the majority of people in reproductive age in Spain are only child (or getting very close to it).

If this assumption is correct, and aging feeds on itself, then, given that Spain has one of the worst demographic imbalances in the world, this phenomenon is likely to manifest through worsening birth rates. Spain’s current birth rate of 1.1 may not yet have reached its lowest point.

(*)Birth rate table and the year in which each generation reaches 32 years of age, Spain.

| Year of birth | Birth rate | Year in which the generation turns 32 | | ------------------ | -------------- | ----------------------------------------- | | 1971 | 2.88 | 2003 | | 1972 | 2.85 | 2004 | | 1973 | 2.82 | 2005 | | 1974 | 2.81 | 2006 | | 1975 | 2.77 | 2007 | | 1976 | 2.77 | 2008 | | 1977 | 2.65 | 2009 | | 1978 | 2.54 | 2010 | | 1979 | 2.37 | 2011 | | 1980 | 2.21 | 2012 | | 1981 | 2.04 | 2013 | | 1982 | 1.94 | 2014 | | 1983 | 1.80 | 2015 | | 1984 | 1.72 | 2016 | | 1985 | 1.64 | 2017 | | 1986 | 1.55 | 2018 | | 1987 | 1.49 | 2019 | | 1988 | 1.45 | 2020 | | 1989 | 1.40 | 2021 | | 1990 | 1.36 | 2022 | | 1991 | 1.33 | 2023 | | 1992 | 1.31 | 2024 | | 1993 | 1.26 | 2025 | | 1994 | 1.19 | 2026 | | 1995 | 1.16 | 2027 | | 1996 | 1.14 | 2028 | | 1997 | 1.15 | 2029 | | 1998 | 1.13 | 2030 | | 1999 | 1.16 | 2031 | | 2000 | 1.21 | 2032 | | 2001 | 1.24 | 2033 | | 2002 | 1.25 | 2034 | | 2003 | 1.30 | 2035 | | 2004 | 1.32 | 2036 | | 2005 | 1.33 | 2037 | | 2006 | 1.36 | 2038 | | 2007 | 1.38 | 2039 | | 2008 | 1.44 | 2040 | | 2009 | 1.38 | 2041 | | 2010 | 1.37 | 2042 | | 2011 | 1.34 | 2043 | | 2012 | 1.32 | 2044 | | 2013 | 1.27 | 2045 | | 2014 | 1.32 | 2046 | | 2015 | 1.33 | 2047 | | 2016 | 1.34 | 2048 | | 2017 | 1.31 | 2049 | | 2018 | 1.26 | 2050 | | 2019 | 1.24 | 2051 | | 2020 | 1.19 | 2052 |

@ 3eba5ef4:751f23ae

The article below brings together some of the Q&A from our recent AMA on Reddit. Thanks so much for sending in your questions—we love chatting with you and being part of this awesome community!

Meepo Hardfork Features

What does Meepo bring to CKB, in simple terms?

Imagine upgrading from wooden blocks to LEGO bricks. That’s what the spawn syscall in Meepo does for CKB smart contracts, enabling script interoperability.

Spawn and a series of related syscalls are introduced as a major upgrade to CKB-VM, enabling interoperability, modularity, and better developer experience, by letting scripts call other scripts, like modular apps in an operating system.

Key features of the upgraded VM?

The upgraded CKB-VM Meepo version unlocks true decoupling and reuse of CKB scripts, enhancing modularity and reusability in smart contract development.

For instance, before Meepo, if developers wanted to build a new time lock in CKB, they had to bundle all necessary functionalities—like signature algorithms—directly into a single lock or type script. This often led to bloated scripts where most of the code was unrelated to the developer's original design goal (time lock). With the spawn syscall, scripts can now delegate tasks—such as signature checks—to other on-chain scripts. As new algorithms emerge, the time lock can adopt them without being redeployed—just by calling updated signature scripts, as long as a shared protocol is followed.

This separation allows developers to: - Focus solely on their core logic. - Reuse independently deployed signature verification scripts. - Upgrade cryptographic components without modifying the original script. - Embrace a more OS-like model where smart contracts can call each other to perform specialized tasks.

By enabling true decoupling and reuse, the spawn syscall makes CKB scripts significantly more composable, maintainable, and adaptable.

Besides Spawn, other improvements in Meepo include:

• Block Extension Fields: Enables reading extension fields in blocks, opening new possibilities like community voting on hardforks (as this ckb-zero-lock prototype). More use cases are expected.
• CKB-VM Optimization: Reduces cycle consumption for common compiler-generated code, making scripts faster and more efficient.

A practical example: IPC on Spawn

Here's an example building an entire Inter-Process Communication (IPC) layer on top of spawn syscalls: - GitHub Repo - Blog post: Transforming IPC in CKB On-Chain Script: Spawn and the Custom Library for Simplified Communication

What does “every wallet will become a CKB wallet because of ckb-auth” mean?

Current CKB-VM already comes with the power to build omnilock / ckb-auth, spawn just makes them easier to reuse in new scripts through decoupling and improved modularity.

Upgrade Compatibility Concerns

Will Meepo require a new address format?

No. Meepo does not introduce breaking changes like address format switching. The only required upgrade is support for a new hash type (data2). We aim to keep upgrades smooth and backwards-compatible wherever possible.

RISC-V & CKB’s Long-Term Design Philosophy

Ethereum is exploring RISC-V—CKB has been doing this for years. What’s your take?

The discussion about RISC-V in Ethereum, is partly about the ease of building zk solutions on Ethereum. And it's easy to mix two different use cases of RISC-V in zk:

1. Use RISC-V as the language to write programs running in a zk engine. In this case, we use zero knowledge algorithms to build a RISC-VM and prove programs running inside these RISC-V VMs.
2. Use RISC-V as the underlying engine to run cryptographic algorithms, we then compile the verifier / prover code of zero knowledge algorithm into RISC-V, then we run those verifiers / provers inside RISC-V. Essentially, we run the verifying / proving algorithms of zero knowledge algorithms in RISC-V, the programs running inside ZK VMs can be written in other languages suiting the zk algorithms.

When most people talk about RISC-V in zk, they mean the first point above. As a result, we see a lot of arguments debating if RISC-V fits in zk circuits. I couldn't get a direct confirmation from Vitalik, but based on what I read, when Vitalik proposes the idea of RISC-V in Ethereum, he's at least partly thinking about the second point here. The original idea is to introduce RISC-V in Ethereum, so we can just compile zk verifiers / provers into RISC-V code, so there is no need to introduce any more precompiles so as to support different zk algorithms in Ethereum. This is indeed a rare taken path, but I believe it is a right path, it is also the path CKB chose 7 years ago for the initial design of CKB-VM.

CKB believes that a precompile-free approach is the only viable path if we’re serious about building a blockchain that can last for decades—or even centuries. Cryptographic algorithms evolve quickly; new ones emerge every few years, making it unsustainable for blockchains to keep adding them as precompiles. In contrast, hardware evolves more slowly and lives longer.

By choosing RISC-V, we’ve committed to a model that can better adapt to future cryptographic developments. CKB may be on an uncommon path, but I believe it's the right one—and it's encouraging to see Ethereum now moving in a similar direction. Hopefully, more will follow.

CKB already stands out as the only blockchain VM built on RISC-V and entirely free from cryptographic precompiles. Meepo, with its spawn syscall, builds on this foundation—pushing for even greater modularity and reuse. We're also closely watching progress in the RISC-V ecosystem, with the goal of integrating hardware advances into CKB-VM, making it even more future-proof and a state-of-the-art execution environment for blockchain applications.

Will CKB run directly on RISC-V chips? What are the implications?

The "CKB on RISC-V"comes in several stages:

• For now, CKB-VM can already be compiled into RISC-V architecture and run on a RISC-V CPU (e.g. StarFive board), though optimized native implementations are still in development.
• That said, one key issue in the previous stage was that CKB-VM lacks a high-performance, assembly based VM on RISC-V architecture. Ironically, despite CKB-VM being based on RISC-V, we ended up running a Rust-based VM interpreter on RISC-V CPUs—which is far from ideal.

The root of the problem is that RISC-V CPUs come in many configurations, each supporting a different set of extensions. Porting CKB-VM to run natively on real RISC-V chips isn’t trivial—some extensions used by CKB-VM might not be available on the target hardware. With enough time and effort, a performant native implementation could be built, but it’s a non-trivial challenge that still needs significant work.

How do you see the RISC-V narrative expanding?

We are delighted to see the growing recognition of RISC-V in the blockchain space. For CKB, we firmly believe RISC-V is the best choice. Consensus is costly, so only essential data should be on-chain, with the chain serving as a universal verification layer—this is CKBʼs philosophy, and we have consistently designed and developed in this direction.

CKB Roadmap & Ecosystem Growth

Any plan to boost the usage of the CKB network in the next 6 - 24 months?

Growth starts with better developer experience. Spawn in Meepo significantly lowers the barrier to building complex apps. With better tools and documentation, more devs can experiment on CKB, leading to better apps and more users.

What would you focus on if the secondary issuance budget was huge?

If funding were abundant, we'd expand the Spark Program, support more grassroots projects, and even evolve toward a fully decentralized DAO structure—aligning with our long-term vision of a permissionless, community-owned network.

What’s next for Nervos after Meepo?

We're exploring new RISC-V extensions like CFI, which could boost script security and defend against ROP attacks. Still early-stage, but promising. Check out this: Against ROP Attacks: A Blockchain Architect’s Take on VM-Level Security.

Resources

Take a deeper look at the VM upgrades introduced in the Meepo hardfork:

• RFC 49: CKB-VM Version 2
• RFC 50: VM Syscalls 3

Explore the CFI (Control Flow Integrity) extension on RISC-V:

• Against ROP Attacks: A Blockchain Architect’s Take on VM-Level Security

Check out the Inter-Process Communication (IPC) layer built on top of spawn syscalls:

• Transforming IPC in CKB On-Chain Script: Spawn and the Custom Library for Simplified Communication
• GitHub Repo

@ 04c915da:3dfbecc9

Here’s a revised timeline of macro-level events from The Mandibles: A Family, 2029–2047 by Lionel Shriver, reimagined in a world where Bitcoin is adopted as a widely accepted form of money, altering the original narrative’s assumptions about currency collapse and economic control. In Shriver’s original story, the failure of Bitcoin is assumed amid the dominance of the bancor and the dollar’s collapse. Here, Bitcoin’s success reshapes the economic and societal trajectory, decentralizing power and challenging state-driven outcomes.

Part One: 2029–2032

• 2029 (Early Year)\ The United States faces economic strain as the dollar weakens against global shifts. However, Bitcoin, having gained traction emerges as a viable alternative. Unlike the original timeline, the bancor—a supranational currency backed by a coalition of nations—struggles to gain footing as Bitcoin’s decentralized adoption grows among individuals and businesses worldwide, undermining both the dollar and the bancor.

• 2029 (Mid-Year: The Great Renunciation)\ Treasury bonds lose value, and the government bans Bitcoin, labeling it a threat to sovereignty (mirroring the original bancor ban). However, a Bitcoin ban proves unenforceable—its decentralized nature thwarts confiscation efforts, unlike gold in the original story. Hyperinflation hits the dollar as the U.S. prints money, but Bitcoin’s fixed supply shields adopters from currency devaluation, creating a dual-economy split: dollar users suffer, while Bitcoin users thrive.

• 2029 (Late Year)\ Dollar-based inflation soars, emptying stores of goods priced in fiat currency. Meanwhile, Bitcoin transactions flourish in underground and online markets, stabilizing trade for those plugged into the bitcoin ecosystem. Traditional supply chains falter, but peer-to-peer Bitcoin networks enable local and international exchange, reducing scarcity for early adopters. The government’s gold confiscation fails to bolster the dollar, as Bitcoin’s rise renders gold less relevant.

• 2030–2031\ Crime spikes in dollar-dependent urban areas, but Bitcoin-friendly regions see less chaos, as digital wallets and smart contracts facilitate secure trade. The U.S. government doubles down on surveillance to crack down on bitcoin use. A cultural divide deepens: centralized authority weakens in Bitcoin-adopting communities, while dollar zones descend into lawlessness.

• 2032\ By this point, Bitcoin is de facto legal tender in parts of the U.S. and globally, especially in tech-savvy or libertarian-leaning regions. The federal government’s grip slips as tax collection in dollars plummets—Bitcoin’s traceability is low, and citizens evade fiat-based levies. Rural and urban Bitcoin hubs emerge, while the dollar economy remains fractured.

Time Jump: 2032–2047

• Over 15 years, Bitcoin solidifies as a global reserve currency, eroding centralized control. The U.S. government adapts, grudgingly integrating bitcoin into policy, though regional autonomy grows as Bitcoin empowers local economies.

Part Two: 2047

• 2047 (Early Year)\ The U.S. is a hybrid state: Bitcoin is legal tender alongside a diminished dollar. Taxes are lower, collected in BTC, reducing federal overreach. Bitcoin’s adoption has decentralized power nationwide. The bancor has faded, unable to compete with Bitcoin’s grassroots momentum.

• 2047 (Mid-Year)\ Travel and trade flow freely in Bitcoin zones, with no restrictive checkpoints. The dollar economy lingers in poorer areas, marked by decay, but Bitcoin’s dominance lifts overall prosperity, as its deflationary nature incentivizes saving and investment over consumption. Global supply chains rebound, powered by bitcoin enabled efficiency.

• 2047 (Late Year)\ The U.S. is a patchwork of semi-autonomous zones, united by Bitcoin’s universal acceptance rather than federal control. Resource scarcity persists due to past disruptions, but economic stability is higher than in Shriver’s original dystopia—Bitcoin’s success prevents the authoritarian slide, fostering a freer, if imperfect, society.

Key Differences

• Currency Dynamics: Bitcoin’s triumph prevents the bancor’s dominance and mitigates hyperinflation’s worst effects, offering a lifeline outside state control.
• Government Power: Centralized authority weakens as Bitcoin evades bans and taxation, shifting power to individuals and communities.
• Societal Outcome: Instead of a surveillance state, 2047 sees a decentralized, bitcoin driven world—less oppressive, though still stratified between Bitcoin haves and have-nots.

This reimagining assumes Bitcoin overcomes Shriver’s implied skepticism to become a robust, adopted currency by 2029, fundamentally altering the novel’s bleak trajectory.

@ 6ad3e2a3:c90b7740

I’ve written about MSTR twice already, https://www.chrisliss.com/p/mstr and https://www.chrisliss.com/p/mstr-part-2, but I want to focus on legendary short seller James Chanos’ current trade wherein he buys bitcoin (via ETF) and shorts MSTR, in essence to “be like Mike” Saylor who sells MSTR shares at the market and uses them to add bitcoin to the company’s balance sheet. After all, if it’s good enough for Saylor, why shouldn’t everyone be doing it — shorting a company whose stock price is more than 2x its bitcoin holdings and using the proceeds to buy the bitcoin itself?

Saylor himself has said selling shares at 2x NAV (net asset value) to buy bitcoin is like selling dollars for two dollars each, and Chanos has apparently decided to get in while the getting (market cap more than 2x net asset value) is good. If the price of bitcoin moons, sending MSTR’s shares up, you are more than hedged in that event, too. At least that’s the theory.

The problem with this bet against MSTR’s mNAV, i.e., you are betting MSTR’s market cap will converge 1:1 toward its NAV in the short and medium term is this trade does not exist in a vacuum. Saylor has described how his ATM’s (at the market) sales of shares are accretive in BTC per share because of this very premium they carry. Yes, we’ll dilute your shares of the company, but because we’re getting you 2x the bitcoin per share, you are getting an ever smaller slice of an ever bigger overall pie, and the pie is growing 2x faster than your slice is reducing. (I https://www.chrisliss.com/p/mstr how this works in my first post.)

But for this accretion to continue, there must be a constant supply of “greater fools” to pony up for the infinitely printable shares which contain only half their value in underlying bitcoin. Yes, those shares will continue to accrete more BTC per share, but only if there are more fools willing to make this trade in the future. So will there be a constant supply of such “fools” to keep fueling MSTR’s mNAV multiple indefinitely?

Yes, there will be in my opinion because you have to look at the trade from the prospective fools’ perspective. Those “fools” are not trading bitcoin for MSTR, they are trading their dollars, selling other equities to raise them maybe, but in the end it’s a dollars for shares trade. They are not selling bitcoin for them.

You might object that those same dollars could buy bitcoin instead, so they are surely trading the opportunity cost of buying bitcoin for them, but if only 5-10 percent of the market (or less) is buying bitcoin itself, the bucket in which which those “fools” reside is the entire non-bitcoin-buying equity market. (And this is not considering the even larger debt market which Saylor has yet to tap in earnest.)

So for those 90-95 percent who do not and are not presently planning to own bitcoin itself, is buying MSTR a fool’s errand, so to speak? Not remotely. If MSTR shares are infinitely printable ATM, they are still less so than the dollar and other fiat currencies. And MSTR shares are backed 2:1 by bitcoin itself, while the fiat currencies are backed by absolutely nothing. So if you hold dollars or euros, trading them for MSTR shares is an errand more sage than foolish.

That’s why this trade (buying BTC and shorting MSTR) is so dangerous. Not only are there many people who won’t buy BTC buying MSTR, there are many funds and other investment entities who are only able to buy MSTR.

Do you want to get BTC at 1:1 with the 5-10 percent or MSTR backed 2:1 with the 90-95 percent. This is a bit like medical tests that have a 95 percent accuracy rate for an asymptomatic disease that only one percent of the population has. If someone tests positive, it’s more likely to be a false one than an indication he has the disease*. The accuracy rate, even at 19:1, is subservient to the size of the respective populations.

At some point this will no longer be the case, but so long as the understanding of bitcoin is not widespread, so long as the dollar is still the unit of account, the “greater fools” buying MSTR are still miles ahead of the greatest fools buying neither, and the stock price and mNAV should only increase.

. . .

One other thought: it’s more work to play defense than offense because the person on offense knows where he’s going, and the defender can only react to him once he moves. Similarly, Saylor by virtue of being the issuer of the shares knows when more will come online while Chanos and other short sellers are borrowing them to sell in reaction to Saylor’s strategy. At any given moment, Saylor can pause anytime, choosing to issue convertible debt or preferred shares with which to buy more bitcoin, and the shorts will not be given advance notice.

If the price runs, and there is no ATM that week because Saylor has stopped on a dime, so to speak, the shorts will be left having to scramble to change directions and buy the shares back to cover. Their momentum might be in the wrong direction, though, and like Allen Iverson breaking ankles with a crossover, Saylor might trigger a massive short squeeze, rocketing the share price ever higher. That’s why he actually welcomes Chanos et al trying this copycat strategy — it becomes the fuel for outsized gains.

For that reason, news that Chanos is shorting MSTR has not shaken my conviction, though there are other more pertinent https://www.chrisliss.com/p/mstr-part-2 with MSTR, of which one should be aware. And as always, do your own due diligence before investing in anything.

* To understand this, consider a population of 100,000, with one percent having a disease. That means 1,000 have it, 99,000 do not. If the test is 95 percent accurate, and everyone is tested, 950 of the 1,000 will test positive (true positives), 50 who have it will test negative (false negatives.) Of the positives, 95 percent of 99,000 (94,050) will test negative (true negatives) and five percent (4,950) will test positive (false positives). That means 4,950 out of 5,900 positives (84%) will be false.

@ 6d5c826a:4b27b659

• Darcs - Cross-platform version control system, like git, mercurial or svn but with a very different approach: focus on changes rather than snapshots. (Source Code) GPL-2.0 Haskell
• Fossil - Distributed version control with built-in wiki and bug tracking. (Source Code) BSD-2-Clause C
• Git - Distributed revision control and source code management (SCM) with an emphasis on speed. (Source Code) GPL-2.0 C
• Mercurial - Distributed source control management tool. (Source Code) GPL-2.0 Python/C/Rust
• Subversion - Client-server revision control system. (Source Code) Apache-2.0 C

@ 6ad3e2a3:c90b7740

I https://www.chrisliss.com/p/mstr a few months ago with the subtitle “The Only Stock,” and I’m starting to regret it. Now, it was trading at 396 on January 20 when I posted it and 404 now (even if it dipped 40 percent to 230 or so in between), but that’s not why I regret it. I pointed out it was not investable unless you’re willing to stomach large drawdowns, and anyone who bought then could exit with a small profit now had they not panic-sold along the way.

The reason I regret it is I don’t want to make public stock predictions because it adds stress to my life. I have not sold any of my shares yet, but something I’ve noticed recently has got me thinking about it, and stock tips are like a game of telephone wherein whoever is last in the chain might find out the wrong information and too late. And while every adult has agency and is responsible for his own financial decisions, I don’t want my readers losing money on account of anything I write.

My base case is still that MSTR becomes a trillion-dollar company, destroys the performance of the S&P, the Mag-7 and virtually any other equity portfolio most people would assemble. Michael Saylor is trading an infinitely-printable asset (his shares) for humanity’s best-ever, finite-supply digital gold, and that trade should be profitable for him and his shareholders in perpetuity.

I don’t know exactly what he plans to do when that trade is no longer available to him — either because no one takes fiat currency for bitcoin anymore or because his mNAV (market-cap-to-bitcoin-holding ratio) goes below one — but that’s not my main concern, either. At that point he’ll have so much bitcoin, he’ll probably become the world’s first and largest bitcoin bank and profit by making his pristine collateral available to individuals and institutions. Even at five percent interest, half a trillion in bitcoin would yield $25B in profits every year. Even at a modest 10x valuation, the stock would more than double from here.

I am also not overly concerned with Saylor’s present amount of convertible debt which is at low or zero rates and is only https://www.strategy.com/. He’s been conservative on that front and only issuing on favorable terms. I don’t doubt Saylor’s prescience, intelligence or business sense one bit.

What got me thinking were some Twitter posts by a former Salomon Brothers trader/prophet Josh Mandell https://x.com/JoshMandell6/status/1921597739458339193 recently. In November when bitcoin was mooning after the election, he predicted that on March 14th it would close at $84,000, and if it did it would then go on an epic run up to $444,000 this cycle.

A lot of people make predictions, a few of them come true, but rarely do they come true on the dot (it closed at exactly $84K according to some exchanges) and on such a specific timeframe. Now, maybe he just got lucky, or maybe he is a skilled trader who made one good prediction, but the reason he gave for his prediction, insofar as he gave one, was not some technical chart or quantitative analysis, but a memory he had from 30 years ago that got into his mind that he couldn’t shake. He didn’t get much more specific than that, other than that he was tuned into something that if he explained fully would make too many people think he had gone insane. And then the prediction came true on the dot months later.

Now I believe in the paranormal more than the average person. I do not think things are random, and insofar as they appear that way it’s only because we have incomplete information — even a coin toss is predictable if you knew the exact force and spin that was put on the coin. I think for whatever reason, this guy is plugged into something, and while I would never invest a substantial amount of money on that belief — not only are earnestly-made prophecies often delusions or even if correct wrongly interpreted — that he sold makes me think.

He gave more substantive reasons for selling than prophecy, by the way — he seems to think Saylor’s perpetual issuance of shares ATM (at the market) to buy more bitcoin is putting too much downward pressure on the stock. Obviously, selling shares — even if to buy the world’s most pristine collateral at a 2x-plus mNAV — reduces the short-term appreciation of those shares.

His thesis seems to be that Saylor is doing this even if he would be better off letting the price appreciate more, attracting more investors, squeezing more shorts, etc because he needs to improve his credit rating to tap into the convertible debt market to the extent he has promised ($42 billion more over the next few years) at favorable terms. But in doing this, he is souring common stock investors because they are not seeing the near-term appreciation they should on their holdings.

Now this is a trivial concern if over the long haul MSTR does what it has the last couple years which is to outperform by a wide margin not only every large cap stock and the S&P but bitcoin itself. And the bigger his stack of bitcoin, the more his stock should appreciate as bitcoin goes up. But markets do not operate linearly and rationally. Should he sour prospective buyers to a great enough extent, should he attract shorts (and supply them with available shares to borrow) to a great enough extent, perhaps there might be an mNAV-crushing cascade that drives people into other bitcoin treasury companies, ETFs or bitcoin itself.

Now Saylor as first mover and by far the largest publicly-traded treasury company has a significant advantage. Institutions are far less likely to invest in size in smaller treasury companies with shorter track records, and many of them are not allowed to invest in ETFs or bitcoin at all. And even if a lot of money did go into any of those vehicles, it would only drive the value of his assets up and hence his stock price, no matter the mNAV. But Josh Mandell sold his shares prior to a weekend where bitcoin went from 102K to 104K, the US announced a deal with China, the mag-7 had a big spike (AAPL was up 6.3 percent) and then MSTR’s stock went down from 416 to 404. As I said, he is on to something.

So what’s the real long-term risk? I don’t know. Maybe there’s something about the nature of bitcoin that long-term is not really amenable to third-party custody and administration. It’s a bearer asset (“not your keys, not your coins”), and introducing counterparty risk is antithetical to its core purpose, the separation of money and state, or in this case money and bank.

With the bitcoin network you can literally “be your own bank.” To transact in digital dollars you need a bank account — or at least a stable coin one mediated by a centralized entity like Tether. You can’t hold digital dollars in your mind via some memorized seed words like you can bitcoin, accessible anywhere in the world, the ledger of which is maintained by tens of thousands of individually-run nodes. This property which democratizes value storage in the way gold did, except now you can wield your purchasing power globally, might be so antithetical to communal storage via corporation or bank that doing so is doomed to catastrophe.

We’ve already seen this happen with exchanges via FTX and Mt. Gox. Counterparty risk is one of the problems bitcoin was created to solve, so moving that risk from a fractionally reserved international banking system to corporate balance sheets still very much a part of that system is probably not the seismic advancement integral to the technology’s promise.

But this is more of a philosophical concern rather than a concrete one. To get more specific, it’s easy to imagine Coinbase, if indeed that’s where MSTR custodies its coins, gets hacked or https://www.chrisliss.com/p/soft-landing, i.e., seized by an increasingly desperate and insolvent government. Or maybe Coinbase simply doesn’t have the coins it purports like FTX, or a rogue band of employees, working on behalf of some powerful faction for “https://www.chrisliss.com/national-security-and-public-healt” executes the rug pull. Even if you deem these scenarios unlikely, they are not unfathomable.

Beyond outright counterparty malfeasance, there are other risks — what if owning common stock in an enterprise that simply holds bitcoin falls out of favor? Imagine if some new individual custody solution emerges wherein you have direct access to the coins themselves in an “even a boomer can do this” kind of way wherein there’s no compelling reason to own common stock with its junior claims to the capital stack in the event of insolvency? Why stand in line behind debt holders and preferred shares when you can invest in something that’s directly withdrawable and accessible if world events spike volatility to a systemic breaking point?

Things need not even get that rocky for this to be a concern — just the perception that they might could spook people into realizing common stock of a corporate balance sheet might be less than ideal as your custody solution.

Moreover, Saylor himself presents some risk. He could be compromised or blackmailed, he could lose his cool or get into an accident. These are low-probability scenarios, but also not unfathomable as any single point of failure is a target, especially for those factions who stand to lose unimaginable wealth and power should his speculative attack on the system succeed at scale.

Finally, even if Saylor remains free to operate as he sees fit, there is what I’d call the Icarus risk — he might be too ambitious, too hell-bent on acquiring bitcoin at all costs, too much of a maniac in service of his vision. Remember, he initially bought bitcoin during the covid crash and concomitant massive money print upon his prescient realization that businesses providing goods and services couldn’t possibly keep pace with inflation over the long haul. He was merely playing defense to preserve his capital, and now, despite his sizable lead and secured position is still throwing forward passes in the fourth quarter rather than running out the clock and securing the W.

Saylor is now arguably less a bitcoin maximalist and advocate, articulately making the case for superior money and individual sovereignty, but a corporate titan hell-bent on world domination via apex-predator-status balance sheet. When is enough enough? Many of the greatest conquerors in history pushed their empires too far until they fractured. In fact, 25 years ago MSTR was a big winner before the dot-com crash during which its stock price and most of Saylor’s fortune were wiped out when he was sued by the SEC for accounting fraud (he subsequently settled).

Now it’s possible, he learned from that experience, got up off the mat and figured out how to avoid his youthful mistakes. But it’s also possible his character is such that he will repeat it again, only this time at scale.

But as I said, my base case is MSTR is a trillion-dollar market cap, and the stock runs in parallel with bitcoin’s ascendance over the next decade. Saylor has been https://www.strategy.com/, prescient, bold and responsible so far over this iteration. I view Mandell’s concerns as valid, but similar to Wall St’s ones about AMZN’s Jeff Bezos who relentlessly ignored their insistence on profitability for a decade as he plowed every dollar into building out productive capacity and turned the company into the $2T world-dominating retail giant it is now.

Again, I haven’t (yet) sold any of my shares or even call options. But because I posted about this in January I felt I should at least follow-up with a more detailed rundown of what I take to be the risks. As always, do your own due diligence with any prospective investment.

@ 6d5c826a:4b27b659

• grml - Bootable Debian Live CD with powerful CLI tools. (Source Code) GPL-3.0 Shell
• mitmproxy - A Python tool used for intercepting, viewing and modifying network traffic. Invaluable in troubleshooting certain problems. (Source Code) MIT Python
• mtr - Network utility that combines traceroute and ping. (Source Code) GPL-2.0 C
• Sysdig - Capture system state and activity from a running Linux instance, then save, filter and analyze. (Source Code) Apache-2.0 Docker/Lua/C
• Wireshark - The world's foremost network protocol analyzer. (Source Code) GPL-2.0 C

@ a3c6f928:d45494fb

As artificial intelligence becomes more embedded in our lives, it reshapes the way we understand and exercise freedom. AI holds immense potential to enhance liberty—by automating tasks, expanding access to information, and enabling personalized experiences. Yet it also introduces complex challenges that demand careful consideration.

The Promises of AI for Freedom

1. Empowerment through Information: AI democratizes knowledge by curating and delivering information more effectively than ever before. This helps individuals make informed decisions and engage more deeply with society.

2. Efficiency and Liberation: By handling repetitive tasks, AI frees humans to focus on creativity, strategic thinking, and emotional intelligence—areas where freedom of thought thrives.

3. Accessibility and Inclusion: AI-powered tools can break down barriers for people with disabilities, improve language translation, and provide personalized education—broadening freedom for all.

Risks and Responsibilities

1. Surveillance and Privacy: When AI is used for mass surveillance, it threatens personal freedom and autonomy. The right to privacy must be protected.

2. Bias and Discrimination: AI systems can reflect and amplify societal biases, leading to unfair outcomes. Ensuring fairness and transparency is crucial.

3. Autonomy and Control: As AI makes more decisions on our behalf, we risk ceding control. Freedom means preserving human agency in AI-driven systems.

Building an Ethical AI Future

1. Transparent Design: Developers must prioritize clarity and accountability in how AI systems make decisions.

2. Inclusive Development: Involving diverse voices ensures AI serves all communities, not just a privileged few.

3. Regulation and Oversight: Thoughtful policy can protect rights while fostering innovation.

The Road Ahead

AI is neither inherently liberating nor oppressive—it depends on how we use it. The challenge before us is to shape AI in ways that support freedom rather than constrain it. This requires vision, vigilance, and values.

---

“Technology is a useful servant but a dangerous master.” — Christian Lous Lange

Let’s ensure AI remains a tool for expanding freedom, not restricting it.

@ b1ddb4d7:471244e7

Bitcoin FilmFest (BFF25) returns to Warsaw for its third edition, blending independent cinema—from feature films and commercials to AI-driven experimental visuals—with education and entertainment.

Hundreds of attendees from around the world will gather for three days of screenings, discussions, workshops, and networking at the iconic Kinoteka Cinema (PKiN), the same venue that hosted the festival’s first two editions in March 2023 and April 2024.

This year’s festival, themed “Beyond the Frame,” introduces new dimensions to its program, including an extra day on May 22 to celebrate Bitcoin Pizza Day, the first real-world bitcoin transaction, with what promises to be one of Europe’s largest commemorations of this milestone.

BFF25 bridges independent film, culture, and technology, with a bold focus on decentralized storytelling and creative expression. As a community-driven cultural experience with a slightly rebellious spirit, Bitcoin FilmFest goes beyond movies, yet cinema remains at its heart.

Here’s a sneak peek at the lineup, specially curated for movie buffs:

Generative Cinema –  A special slot with exclusive shorts and a thematic debate on the intersection of AI and filmmaking. Featured titles include, for example: BREAK FREE, SATOSHI: THE CREATION OF BITCOIN, STRANGE CURRENCIES, and BITCOIN IS THE MYCELIUM OF MONEY,  exploring financial independence, traps of the fiat system, and a better future built on sound money.

Upcoming Productions Preview – A bit over an hour-long block of unreleased pilots and works-in-progress. Attendees will get exclusive first looks at projects like FINDING HOME (a travel-meets-personal-journey series), PARALLEL SPACES (a story about alternative communities), and THE LEGEND OF LANDI (a mysterious narrative).

Freedom-Focused Ads & Campaigns – Unique screenings of video commercials, animations, and visual projects, culminating in “The PoWies” (Proof of Work-ies)—the first ever awards show honoring the best Bitcoin-only awareness campaigns.

To get an idea of what might come up at the event, here, you can preview 6 selected ads combined into two 2 videos:

• Unique Bitcoin-Video Ads: Part One
• Unique Bitcoin-Video Ads: Part Two

Open Pitch Competition – A chance for filmmakers to present fresh ideas and unfinished projects to an audience of a dedicated jury, movie fans and potential collaborators. This competitive block isn’t just entertaining—it’s a real opportunity for creators to secure funding and partnerships.

Golden Rabbit Awards: A lively gala honoring films from the festival’s Official Selection, with awards in categories like Best Feature, Best Story, Best Short, and Audience Choice.

BFF25 Main Screenings

Sample titles from BFF25’s Official Selection:

REVOLUCIÓN BITCOIN – A documentary by Juan Pablo, making its first screening outside the Spanish-speaking world in Warsaw this May. Three years of important work, 80 powerful minutes to experience. The film explores Bitcoin’s impact across Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, El Salvador, and Spain through around 40 diverse perspectives. Screening in Spanish with English subtitles, followed by a Q&A with the director.

UNBANKABLE – Luke Willms’ directorial debut, drawing from his multicultural roots and his father’s pioneering HIV/AIDS research. An investigative documentary based on Luke’s journeys through seven African countries, diving into financial experiments and innovations—from mobile money and digital lending to Bitcoin—raising smart questions and offering potential lessons for the West. Its May appearance at BFF25 marks its largest European event to date, following festival screenings and nominations across multiple continents over the past year.

HOTEL BITCOIN – A Spanish comedy directed by Manuel Sanabria and Carlos “Pocho” Villaverde. Four friends, 4,000 bitcoins , and one laptop spark a chaotic adventure of parties, love, crime, and a dash of madness. Exploring sound money, value, and relationships through a twisting plot. The film premiered at the Tarazona and Moncayo Comedy Film Festival in August 2024. Its Warsaw screening at BFF25 (in Spanish with English subtitles) marks its first public showing outside the Spanish-speaking world.

Check out trailers for this year’s BFF25 and past editions on YouTube.

Tickets & Info:

• Detailed program and tickets are available at bitcoinfilmfest.com/bff25.
• Stay updated via the festival’s official channels (links provided on the website).
• Use ‘LN-NEWS’ to get 10% of tickets

@ b1ddb4d7:471244e7

Starting January 1, 2026, the United Kingdom will impose some of the world’s most stringent reporting requirements on cryptocurrency firms.

All platforms operating in or serving UK customers-domestic and foreign alike-must collect and disclose extensive personal and transactional data for every user, including individuals, companies, trusts, and charities. 

This regulatory drive marks the UK’s formal adoption of the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), a global initiative designed to bring crypto oversight in line with traditional banking and to curb tax evasion in the rapidly expanding digital asset sector.

What Will Be Reported?

Crypto firms must gather and submit the following for each transaction:

• User’s full legal name, home address, and taxpayer identification number
• Detailed data on every trade or transfer: type of cryptocurrency, amount, and nature of the transaction
• Identifying information for corporate, trust, and charitable clients

The obligation extends to all digital asset activities, including crypto-to-crypto and crypto-to-fiat trades, and applies to both UK residents and non-residents using UK-based platforms. The first annual reports covering 2026 activity are due by May 31, 2027.

Enforcement and Penalties

Non-compliance will carry stiff financial penalties, with fines of up to £300 per user account for inaccurate or missing data-a potentially enormous liability for large exchanges. The UK government has urged crypto firms to begin collecting this information immediately to ensure operational readiness.

Regulatory Context and Market Impact

This move is part of a broader UK strategy to position itself as a global fintech hub while clamping down on fraud and illicit finance. UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves has championed these measures, stating, “Britain is open for business – but closed to fraud, abuse, and instability”. The regulatory expansion comes amid a surge in crypto adoption: the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority reported that 12% of UK adults owned crypto in 2024, up from just 4% in 2021.

Enormous Risks for Consumers: Lessons from the Coinbase Data Breach

While the new framework aims to enhance transparency and protect consumers, it also dramatically increases the volume of sensitive personal data held by crypto firms-raising the stakes for cybersecurity.

The risks are underscored by the recent high-profile breach at Coinbase, one of the world’s largest exchanges.

In May 2025, Coinbase disclosed that cybercriminals, aided by bribed offshore contractors, accessed and exfiltrated customer data including names, addresses, government IDs, and partial bank details. 

The attackers then used this information for sophisticated phishing campaigns, successfully deceiving some customers into surrendering account credentials and funds.

“While private encryption keys remained secure, sufficient customer information was exposed to enable sophisticated phishing attacks by criminals posing as Coinbase personnel.”

Coinbase now faces up to $400 million in compensation costs and has pledged to reimburse affected users, but the incident highlights the systemic vulnerability created when large troves of personal data are centralized-even if passwords and private keys are not directly compromised. The breach also triggered a notable drop in Coinbase’s share price and prompted a $20 million bounty for information leading to the attackers’ capture.

The Bottom Line

The UK’s forthcoming crypto reporting regime represents a landmark in financial regulation, promising greater transparency and tax compliance. However, as the Coinbase episode demonstrates, the aggregation of sensitive user data at scale poses a significant cybersecurity risk.

As regulators push for more oversight, the challenge will be ensuring that consumer protection does not become a double-edged sword-exposing users to new threats even as it seeks to shield them from old ones.

@ 57d1a264:69f1fee1

Deliberate (?) trade-offs we make for the sake of output speed.

... By sacrificing depth in my learning, I can produce substantially more work. I’m unsure if I’m at the correct balance between output quantity and depth of learning. This uncertainty is mainly fueled by a sense of urgency due to rapidly improving AI models. I don’t have time to learn everything deeply. I love learning, but given current trends, I want to maximize immediate output. I’m sacrificing some learning in classes for more time doing outside work. From a teacher’s perspective, this is obviously bad, but from my subjective standpoint, it’s unclear.

Finding the balance between learning and productivity. By trade, one cannot be productive in specific areas without first acquire the knowledge to define the processes needed to deliver. Designing the process often come on a try and fail dynamic that force us to learn from previous mistakes.

I found this little journal story fun but also little sad. Vincent's realization, one of us trading his learnings to be more productive, asking what is productivity without quality assurance?

Inevitably, parts of my brain will degenerate and fade away, so I need to consciously decide what I want to preserve or my entire brain will be gone. What skills am I NOT okay with offloading? What do I want to do myself?

Read Vincent's journal https://vvvincent.me/llms-are-making-me-dumber/

https://stacker.news/items/984361

@ 57d1a264:69f1fee1

Digital Psychology ↗

Wall of impact website showcase a collection of success metrics and micro case studies to create a clear, impactful visual of your brand's achievements. It also displays a Wall of love with an abundance of testimonials in one place, letting the sheer volume highlight your brand's popularity and customer satisfaction.

And like these, many others collections like Testimonial mashup that combine multiple testimonials into a fast-paced, engaging reel that highlights key moments of impact in an attention-grabbing format.

Awards and certifications of websites highlighting third-party ratings and verification to signal trust and quality through industry-recognized achievements and standards.

View them all at https://socialproofexamples.com/

https://stacker.news/items/984357

@ 6d5c826a:4b27b659

• Docker Compose - Define and run multi-container Docker applications. (Source Code) Apache-2.0 Go
• Docker Swarm - Manage cluster of Docker Engines. (Source Code) Apache-2.0 Go
• Docker - Platform for developers and sysadmins to build, ship, and run distributed applications. (Source Code) Apache-2.0 Go
• LXC - Userspace interface for the Linux kernel containment features. (Source Code) GPL-2.0 C
• LXD - Container "hypervisor" and a better UX for LXC. (Source Code) Apache-2.0 Go
• OpenVZ - Container-based virtualization for Linux. (Source Code) GPL-2.0 C
• Podman - Daemonless container engine for developing, managing, and running OCI Containers on your Linux System. Containers can either be run as root or in rootless mode. Simply put: alias docker=podman. (Source Code) Apache-2.0 Go
• Portainer Community Edition - Simple management UI for Docker. (Source Code) Zlib Go
• systemd-nspawn - Lightweight, chroot-like, environment to run an OS or command directly under systemd. (Source Code) GPL-2.0 C

@ 502ab02a:a2860397

แหม่ ต้องรีบแวะมาเขียนไว้ก่อน ของกำลังร้อนๆ #ตัวหนังสือมีเสียง เพลง ลานกรองมันส์ นั้นเรื่องที่มาที่ไปน่าจะไปตามอ่านในเพจ ลานกรองมันส์ ได้ครับ recap คร่าวๆคือมันคือ พื้นที่สร้างสรรค์ที่เปิดให้มาทำกิจกรรมต่างๆนานากันได้ครับ

วันนี้เลยจะมาเล่าเรื่องวิธีการใช้คำ ซึ่งมันส์ดีตามชื่อลาน ฮาๆๆๆ ผมตั้งโจทย์ไว้เลยว่า ต้องมีคำว่า ลานกรองมันส์ แน่ๆแล้ว เพราะเป็นชื่อสถานที่ จากนั้นก็เอาคำว่า ลานกองมัน มาแตกขยายความเพราะมันคือต้นกำเนิดเดิมของพื้นที่นั้น คือเป็นลานที่เอาหัวมันมากองกันเอาไว้ รอนำไปผลิตต่อเป็นสินค้าการเกษตรต่างๆ

ตอนนี้เขาเลิกทำไปแล้ว จึงกลายมาเป็น ลานกรองมันส์ ที่เอาชื่อเดิมมาแปลง

เมื่อได้คำหลักๆแล้วผมก็เอาพยัญชนะเลย ลอลิง กอไก่ มอม้า คือตัวหลักของเพลง

โทนดนตรีไม่ต้องเลือกเลยหนีไม่พ้นสามช่าแน่นอน โทนมันมาตั้งแต่เริ่มคิดจะเขียนเลยครับ ฮาๆๆๆ

ผมพยายามแบ่งวรรคไว้ชัดๆ เผื่อไว้เลยว่าอนาคตอาจมีการทำดนตรีแบบแบ่งกันร้อง วรรคของมันเลยเป็น หมู่ เดี่ยว หมู่ เดี่ยว หมู่ เดี่ยว หมู่ แบบสามโทนเลย

ท่อนหมู่นั้น คิดแบบหลายชั้นมากครับ โดยเฉพาะคำว่า มัน เอามันมากอง มันที่ว่าได้ทั้งเป็นคำกิริยา คือ เอามันมากองๆ หรือ มันที่ว่าอาจหมายถึงตัวความฝันเองเป็นคำลักษณะนามเรียกความฝัน "ลานกรองมันส์ เรามาลองกัน มาร่วมกันมอง ลานกรองมันส์ มาร่วมสร้างฝัน เอามันมากอง"

หรือแม้แต่ท่อนต่างๆ ก็เล่นคำว่า มัน กอง เพื่อให้รู้สึกย้ำท่อนหมู่ ที่มีคำว่ามัน เป็นพระเอกหลายหน้า ทั้งความสนุก ทั้งลักษณะนามความฝัน ทั้งกิริยา "ทุกคน ต่างมี ความฝัน เอามา รวมกัน ให้มันเป็นกอง"

อีกท่อนที่ชอบมากตอนเขียนคือ ทำที่ ลานกรองมันส์ idea for fun everyone can do เพราะรู้สึกว่า การพูดภาษาอังกฤษสำเนียงไทยๆ มันตูดหมึกดี ฮาๆๆๆๆ

หัวใจของเพลงคือจะบอกว่า ใครมีฝันก็มาเลย มาทำฝันกัน เรามีที่ให้คุณ ไม่ต้องกลัวอะไรที่จะทำฝันของตัวเอง เล็กใหญ่ ผิดถูก ขอให้ทำมัน อย่าให้ใครหยุดฝันของคุณ นอกจากตัวคุณเอง

เพลงนี้ไม่ได้ลงแพลทฟอร์ม เพราะส่งมอบให้ทาง ลานกรองมันส์เขาครับ ใช้ตามอิสระไปเลย ดังนั้นก็อาจต้องฟังในโพสนี้ หรือ ในยูทูปนะครับ https://youtu.be/W-1OH3YldtM?si=36dFbHgKjiI_9DI8

เนื้อเพลง "ลานกรองมันส์"

ลานกรองมันส์ ขอเชิญทุกท่าน มามันกันดู นะโฉมตรู มาลองดูกัน อ๊ะ มาลันดูกอง

มีงาน คุยกัน สังสรรค์ ดื่มนม ชมจันทร์ ปันฝัน กันเพลิน ทุกคน ต่างล้วน มีดี เรานั้น มีที่ พี่นี้มีโชว์ เอ้า

ลานกรองมันส์ เรามาลองกัน มาร่วมกันมอง ลานกรองมันส์ มาร่วมสร้างฝัน เอามันมากอง

จะเล็ก จะใหญ่ ให้ลอง เราเป็น พี่น้อง เพื่อนพ้อง ต้องตา ทุกคน ต่างมี ความฝัน เอามา รวมกัน ให้มันเป็นกอง เอ้า

ลานกรองมันส์ เรามาลองกัน มาร่วมกันมอง ลานกรองมันส์ มาร่วมสร้างฝัน เอามันมากอง

ชีวิต เราคิดเราทำ ทุกสิ่งที่ย้ำ คือทำสุดใจ จะเขียน จะเรียน จะรำ ทำที่ ลานกรองมันส์ idea for fun everyone can do

ลานกรองมันส์ เรามาลองกัน มาร่วมกันมอง ลานกรองมันส์ มาร่วมสร้างฝัน เอามันมากอง

เรามา ลั่นกลองให้มัน เฮไหนเฮกัน ที่ลานกรองมันส์ ให้ฝัน บันเทิง…

ตัวหนังสือมีเสียง #pirateketo #siamstr

@ 1bc70a01:24f6a411

{"url":"https://github.com/damus-io/damus","createdAt":1747812849570}

@ 9c9d2765:16f8c2c2

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

"The streets teach you a lot. It teaches you how to survive, how to fight, how to bend the world to your will. But there’s something else it teaches you how to rise above the petty battles and claim the empire that’s rightfully yours."

Just then, the door opened again, and Charles entered, his usual calm demeanor replaced with a rare air of urgency.

"James," he said, his voice serious. "There’s something you need to know. The press is getting more aggressive. They’ve caught wind of your plans, and they’re pushing for an exclusive interview. They want the story of how you rose from nothing to everything. It’s becoming a media frenzy."

James didn’t flinch. His eyes remained steady as he absorbed the news.

"Let them come," he said. "They can write whatever they want. Let the world see how I turned my destiny around. But they’ll never write the full story. They’ll never know the price I paid to get here."

Charles raised an eyebrow, impressed by James’s unshakable resolve. "And what about Mark and Helen?"

James’s expression darkened, the calm facade cracking just enough to reveal the fire beneath. "They’ll face the consequences of their actions. And I’ll make sure they do."

Rita stepped forward, her tone soft yet firm. "But there’s still a part of you that wants more than just their downfall. You want to rebuild this company, don’t you?"

James glanced at her, his eyes hardening.

"Rebuilding is just the beginning," he replied. "I didn’t fight for what’s mine just to watch it crumble. JP Enterprises will become something greater. Something unbreakable. A legacy that no one can touch, no one can tarnish."

The sound of footsteps echoed through the hallway, and moments later, Mrs. JP entered the room. There was a subtle weight in her posture, but also a sense of pride in her eyes.

"You’ve handled this situation with strength and wisdom, James," she said, her voice full of warmth. "Your father and I could never be prouder. You’ve surpassed every expectation we ever had."

James met her gaze and nodded. "Thank you. But this isn’t just about your approval. It’s about proving to myself in the world that I’m not the man I was before. I’m the man I’ve chosen to be."

Mrs. JP smiled, her eyes softening. "And you’ve become that man with grace. You’ve earned everything that’s come your way."

James’s gaze lingered for a moment before he spoke again. "It’s not over yet. There’s still work to be done. We have to ensure that JP Enterprises remains strong, remains untouchable. This is just the first step."

Charles exchanged a knowing look with Rita, then turned back to James. "We’re with you, every step of the way."

The room fell into a brief, heavy silence. Outside, the city continued to hum, indifferent to the dramatic shifts taking place within the walls of JP Enterprises. But James knew that the storm was far from over. He had won the battle, but the war was only just beginning.

As he looked around at the people who now stood by him, he realized that this victory was more than just personal; it was a turning point for the entire legacy of the JP name.

"James, how does it feel to be the talk of an entire city?" Charles asked, leaning against the polished oak desk in James’s expansive office.

James stood by the window, his hands clasped behind his back, watching the sun descend beyond the city skyline. The room was silent for a moment, filled only with the distant hum of the city below.

"It feels... inevitable," James replied, his tone calm but layered with meaning. "People always talk when someone they counted out rewrites the rules of the game."

Charles chuckled lightly, walking over to pour himself a glass of water. "Well, you haven’t just rewritten the rules, James. You’ve rewritten the entire playbook."

James turned, a shadow of a smile on his face. "And yet, some still believe they can undermine me. Manipulate the truth. Twist it until the entire narrative collapses."

Just then, Rita entered, holding a folder tightly in her hands. There was tension in her posture, controlled, but evident.

"You need to see this," she said, handing James the folder. "It's an internal memo that was intercepted. Apparently, Mark and Helen aren’t done. They’ve secured a secret meeting with a major competitor Wellington Holdings."

James flipped through the documents, his eyes narrowing. "Wellington? So, they’ve moved from sabotage to outright betrayal.

"They’re desperate," Rita added. "Their reputations are in ruins, and with the public backlash after the failed stunt at the anniversary, they’re looking for anything to reclaim their influence."

James’s jaw tightened. "Let them try. I’ve weathered storms far greater than the games of disgraced traitors."

Rita hesitated before continuing. "There’s more. Tracy’s gone quiet. She’s removed all traces of her involvement. But I have reason to believe she’s still communicating with Helen... through an encrypted channel."

James closed the folder and walked slowly to his desk. His movements were deliberate, filled with the confidence of someone who had faced betrayal before and emerged stronger.

"Then it’s time we end this," he said. "Not with anger. Not with revenge. But with undeniable, irreversible justice."

He looked up at Charles and Rita. "I want full surveillance on Wellington. Legal is to prepare a formal complaint if they attempt to interfere with any JP enterprise contract. And I want every associate of Mark and Helen cross-checked. If there’s even a whisper of conspiracy, I want it recorded."

Charles nodded. "Consider it done. We’ll strike with precision."

As they left the room to carry out their tasks, James sat behind his desk, momentarily still. His mind drifted to the days when he had nothing, no name, no wealth, no influence. How far he had come. And yet, how familiar the shadows still felt.

Later that evening, as the city lights glowed brighter, a new headline took over the news:

“JP Enterprises President Set to Announce Major Expansion, Exclusive Projects to Redefine the City’s Economic Landscape.”

It wasn’t about the slander anymore. It wasn’t about revenge. It was about legacy.

The silence in Mark’s penthouse was nearly deafening. Once a space of elite grandeur and sophisticated indulgence, it now felt hollow like the echo of a reputation lost. Mark sat slouched on his couch, the flickering television casting shadows across his unshaven face. He clenched a glass of scotch, half-empty, its contents trembling ever so slightly with each beat of his agitated heart.

The news was relentless. Story after story painted him in a less-than-flattering light. What had once been a carefully crafted image of charm and corporate poise had been shredded by public disgrace. And now, the city wasn’t just ignoring him, they were laughing at him.

“This can’t be it,” he muttered under his breath, his voice raspy. “It can’t end like this.”

Just then, Helen burst into the room. Her heels clicked loudly on the marble floor, a sharp contrast to the dull haze Mark had wrapped himself in. She threw a tabloid magazine onto the coffee table. The headline screamed at them:

“Ray Empire Architect of Scandal: Helen Ray and Ex-Exec Mark Linked to Fraud, Defamation and Bribery.”

@ 6d5c826a:4b27b659

• Consul - Consul is a tool for service discovery, monitoring and configuration. (Source Code) MPL-2.0 Go
• etcd - Distributed K/V-Store, authenticating via SSL PKI and a REST HTTP Api for shared configuration and service discovery. (Source Code) Apache-2.0 Go
• ZooKeeper - ZooKeeper is a centralized service for maintaining configuration information, naming, providing distributed synchronization, and providing group services. (Source Code) Apache-2.0 Java/C++

@ 58537364:705b4b85

“สุขเวทนา” ที่แท้ก็คือ “มายา”
เป็นเหมือนลูกคลื่นลูกหนึ่ง
ที่เกิดขึ้นเพราะน้ำถูกลมพัด
เดี๋ยวมันก็แตกกระจายไป

---

หากต้องการจะมีชีวิตอย่างเกษมแล้ว
ก็ต้องอาศัยความรู้เรื่อง อนิจจัง ทุกขัง อนัตตา ให้สมบูรณ์
มันจะต่อต้านกันได้กับอารมณ์ คือ รูป เสียง กลิ่น รส สัมผัส ที่มากระทบ
ไม่ให้ไปหลงรัก หรือหลงเกลียด

เรื่องวุ่นวายมีอยู่ ๒ อย่างเท่านั้น

1. ไปหลงรัก อย่างหนึ่ง
2. ไปหลงเกลียด อย่างหนึ่ง

ซึ่งเป็นเหตุให้หัวเราะและต้องร้องไห้
ถ้าใครมองเห็นว่า หัวเราะก็กระหืดกระหอบ มันเหนื่อยเหมือนกัน
ร้องไห้ก็กระหืดกระหอบ เหมือนกัน
สู้อยู่เฉย ๆ ดีกว่า อย่าต้องหัวเราะ อย่าต้องร้องไห้
นี่แหละ! มันเป็นความเกษม

เราอย่าได้ตกไปเป็นทาสของอารมณ์
จนไปหัวเราะหรือร้องไห้ตามที่อารมณ์มายั่ว
เราเป็นอิสระแก่ตัว หยุดอยู่ หรือเกษมอยู่อย่างนี้ดีกว่า

---

ใช้ อนิจจัง ทุกขัง อนัตตา เป็นเครื่องมือกำกับชีวิต

• รูป เสียง กลิ่น รส สัมผัส เป็น มายา เป็น illusion
• "ตัวกู-ของกู" ก็เป็น illusion
• เพราะ "ตัวกู-ของกู" มันเกิดมาจากอารมณ์
• "ตัวกู-ของกู" เป็นมายา อารมณ์ทั้งหลายก็เป็นมายา

เห็นได้ด้วยหลัก อนิจจัง ทุกขัง อนัตตา
...ความทุกข์ก็ไม่เกิด

---

เราจะตัดลัดมองไปดูสิ่งที่เป็น “สุขเวทนา”

สุขเวทนา คือ ความสุขสนุกสนาน เอร็ดอร่อย
ที่เป็นสุขนั้นเรียกว่า “สุขเวทนา”

แต่สุขเวทนา เป็นมายา
เพราะมันเป็นเหมือนลูกคลื่นที่เกิดขึ้นเป็นคราว ๆ
ไม่ใช่ตัวจริงอะไร

ที่พูดดังนี้ก็เพราะว่า
ในบรรดาสิ่งทั้งปวงในโลกทั้งหมดทุกโลก
ไม่ว่าโลกไหน มันมีค่าอยู่ก็ตรงที่ให้เกิดสุขเวทนา

ลองคิดดูให้ดีว่า...
- ท่านศึกษาเล่าเรียนทำไม?
- ท่านประกอบอาชีพ หน้าที่การงานทำไม?
- ท่านสะสมทรัพย์สมบัติ เกียรติยศ ชื่อเสียง พวกพ้องบริวารทำไม?

มันก็เพื่อสุขเวทนาอย่างเดียว
เพราะฉะนั้น แปลว่า อะไร ๆ มันก็มารวมจุดอยู่ที่สุขเวทนาหมด

ฉะนั้น ถ้าเรามีความรู้ในเรื่องนี้
จัดการกับเรื่องนี้ให้ถูกต้องเพียงเรื่องเดียวเท่านั้น
ทุกเรื่องมันถูกหมด

เพราะฉะนั้น จึงต้องดูสุขเวทนาให้ถูกต้องตามที่เป็นจริงว่า
มันก็เป็น “มายา” ชนิดหนึ่ง

เราจะต้องจัดการให้สมกันกับที่มันเป็นมายา
ไม่ใช่ว่า จะต้องไปตั้งข้อรังเกียจ เกลียดชังมัน
อย่างนั้นมันยิ่ง บ้าบอที่สุด

ถ้าเข้าไปหลงรัก หลงเป็นทาสมัน
ก็เป็นเรื่อง บ้าบอที่สุด

แต่ว่าไปจัดการกับมันอย่างไรให้ถูกต้อง
นั้นแหละเป็นธรรมะ
เป็น ลูกศิษย์ของพระพุทธเจ้า
ที่จะเอาชนะความทุกข์ได้ และไม่ต้องเป็น โรคทางวิญญาณ

---

สุขเวทนา ที่แท้ก็คือ มายา

มันก็ต้องทำโดยวิธีที่พิจารณาให้เห็นว่า
“สุขเวทนา” นี้ ที่แท้ก็คือ “มายา”

เป็นเหมือน ลูกคลื่นลูกหนึ่ง
ที่เกิดขึ้นเพราะ น้ำถูกลมพัด

หมายความว่า
เมื่อ รูป เสียง กลิ่น รส ฯ เข้ามา
แล้ว ความโง่ คือ อวิชชา โมหะ ออกรับ
กระทบกันแล้วเป็นคลื่น

กล่าวคือ สุขเวทนาเกิดขึ้นมา
แต่ เดี๋ยวมันก็แตกกระจายไป

---

ถ้ามองเห็นอย่างนี้แล้ว
เราก็ไม่เป็นทาสของสุขเวทนา
เราสามารถ ควบคุม จะจัด จะทำกับมันได้
ในวิธีที่ ไม่เป็นทุกข์

• ตัวเองก็ไม่เป็นทุกข์
• ครอบครัวก็ไม่เป็นทุกข์
• เพื่อนบ้านก็ไม่เป็นทุกข์
• คนทั้งโลกก็ไม่พลอยเป็นทุกข์
  เพราะมีเราเป็นมูลเหตุ

ถ้าทุกคนเป็นอย่างนี้
โลกนี้ก็มีสันติภาพถาวร
เป็นความสุขที่แท้จริงและถาวร

นี่คือ อานิสงส์ของการหายโรคโดยวิธีต่าง ๆ กัน
ไม่เป็นโรค “ตัวกู” ไม่เป็นโรค “ของกู”

---

พุทธทาสภิกขุ
ที่มา : คำบรรยายชุด “แก่นพุทธศาสน์”
ปีพุทธศักราช ๒๕๐๔
ครั้งที่ ๑
หัวข้อเรื่อง “ใจความทั้งหมดของพระพุทธศาสนา”
ณ ศิริราชพยาบาล มหาวิทยาลัยมหิดล
เมื่อวันที่ ๑๗ ธันวาคม ๒๕๐๔

@ 502ab02a:a2860397

น้ำนมมนุษย์ที่ไม่ง้อมนุษย์ หรือนี่กำลังจะกลายเป็นเรื่องจริงเร็วกว่าที่เราคิดนะครับ

ในยุคที่อุตสาหกรรมอาหารหันหลังให้กับปศุสัตว์ ไม่ว่าจะด้วยเหตุผลด้านสิ่งแวดล้อม จริยธรรม หรือความยั่งยืน “น้ำนมจากห้องแล็บ” กำลังกลายเป็นแนวหน้าของการปฏิวัติอาหาร โดยเฉพาะเมื่อบริษัทหนึ่งจากสิงคโปร์นามว่า TurtleTree ประกาศอย่างชัดเจนว่า พวกเขากำลังจะสร้างโปรตีนสำคัญในน้ำนมมนุษย์ โดยไม่ต้องมีมนุษย์แม่เลยแม้แต่น้อย

TurtleTree ก่อตั้งในปี 2019 โดยมีเป้าหมายอันทะเยอทะยานคือการผลิตโปรตีนในนมแม่ให้ได้ผ่านเทคโนโลยีที่เรียกว่า precision fermentation โดยใช้จุลินทรีย์ที่ถูกดัดแปลงพันธุกรรมให้ผลิตโปรตีนเฉพาะ เช่น lactoferrin และ human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) ซึ่งเป็นองค์ประกอบล้ำค่าที่พบในน้ำนมมนุษย์แต่แทบไม่มีในนมวัว หรือผลิตภัณฑ์นมทั่วไป

โปรตีนตัวแรกที่ TurtleTree ประสบความสำเร็จในการผลิตคือ LF+ หรือ lactoferrin ที่เลียนแบบโปรตีนในนมแม่ ซึ่งมีหน้าที่ช่วยระบบภูมิคุ้มกันของทารก ต่อต้านแบคทีเรีย และช่วยให้ร่างกายดูดซึมธาตุเหล็กได้ดีขึ้น โปรตีนนี้เป็นหนึ่งในหัวใจของนมแม่ ที่บริษัทต้องการนำมาใช้ในอุตสาหกรรมนมผงเด็กและอาหารเสริมสำหรับผู้ใหญ่ ล่าสุดในปี 2024 LF+ ได้รับการรับรองสถานะ GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) จากองค์การอาหารและยาสหรัฐฯ (FDA) อย่างเป็นทางการ เป็นหมุดหมายสำคัญที่บอกว่า นี่ไม่ใช่แค่ไอเดียในแล็บอีกต่อไป แต่กำลังกลายเป็นผลิตภัณฑ์เชิงพาณิชย์จริง

เบื้องหลังของโปรเจกต์นี้คือการลงทุนกว่า 30 ล้านดอลลาร์สหรัฐจากกลุ่มทุนทั่วโลก รวมถึงบริษัท Solar Biotech ที่จับมือกับ TurtleTree ในการขยายกำลังการผลิตเชิงอุตสาหกรรมในสหรัฐอเมริกา โดยตั้งเป้าว่าจะสามารถผลิตโปรตีนเหล่านี้ได้ในระดับราคาที่แข่งขันได้ภายในไม่กี่ปีข้างหน้า

สิ่งที่น่าสนใจคือ TurtleTree ไม่ได้หยุดแค่ lactoferrin พวกเขายังวางแผนพัฒนา HMO ซึ่งเป็นน้ำตาลเชิงซ้อนชนิดพิเศษที่มีอยู่เฉพาะในน้ำนมแม่ เป็นอาหารเลี้ยงแบคทีเรียดีในลำไส้ทารก ช่วยพัฒนาระบบภูมิคุ้มกันและสมอง ปัจจุบัน HMOs เริ่มเป็นที่นิยมในวงการ infant formula แต่การผลิตยังจำกัดและมีต้นทุนสูง การที่ TurtleTree จะนำเทคโนโลยี precision fermentation มาใช้ผลิต HMO จึงถือเป็นความพยายามในการลดช่องว่างระหว่าง "นมแม่จริง" กับ "นมผงสังเคราะห์"

ทั้งหมดนี้เกิดขึ้นภายใต้แนวคิดใหม่ของอุตสาหกรรมอาหารที่เรียกว่า "functional nutrition" หรือโภชนาการที่ออกแบบเพื่อทำงานเฉพาะทาง ไม่ใช่แค่ให้พลังงานหรือโปรตีน แต่เล็งเป้าหมายเฉพาะ เช่น เสริมภูมิคุ้มกัน ซ่อมแซมสมอง หรือฟื้นฟูร่างกาย โดยมีรากฐานจากธรรมชาติ แต่ใช้เทคโนโลยีสมัยใหม่ในการผลิต

แม้จะฟังดูเป็นความก้าวหน้าทางวิทยาศาสตร์ที่น่าตื่นเต้น แต่น้ำเสียงที่ดังก้องในอีกมุมหนึ่งก็คือคำถามเชิงจริยธรรม TurtleTree กำลังสร้างโปรตีนที่มีอยู่เฉพาะในมนุษย์ โดยอาศัยข้อมูลพันธุกรรมของมนุษย์เอง แล้วนำเข้าสู่ระบบอุตสาหกรรมเพื่อการค้า คำถามคือ เมื่อใดที่การจำลองธรรมชาติจะกลายเป็นการผูกขาดธรรมชาติ? ใครควรเป็นเจ้าของข้อมูลพันธุกรรมของมนุษย์? และถ้าวันหนึ่งบริษัทใดบริษัทหนึ่งสามารถควบคุมการผลิต “นมแม่จำลอง” ได้แต่เพียงผู้เดียว นั่นจะส่งผลต่อเสรีภาพของสังคมในมุมไหนบ้าง?

นักชีวจริยธรรมหลายคน เช่น ดร.ซิลเวีย แคมโปเรซี จาก King's College London ตั้งข้อสังเกตไว้ว่า เทคโนโลยีแบบนี้อาจแก้ปัญหาการเข้าถึงนมแม่ในพื้นที่ห่างไกลหรือในกลุ่มแม่ที่ให้นมไม่ได้ แต่ขณะเดียวกันก็อาจกลายเป็นการสร้าง "ระบบอาหารทางเลือก" ที่ควบคุมโดยบริษัทไม่กี่ราย ที่มีอำนาจเกินกว่าผู้บริโภคจะตรวจสอบได้

เมื่อเทคโนโลยีสามารถจำลองสิ่งที่เคยสงวนไว้เฉพาะธรรมชาติ และมนุษย์ได้ใกล้เคียงจนแทบแยกไม่ออก บางทีคำถามที่ควรถามอาจไม่ใช่แค่ว่า “มันปลอดภัยหรือไม่?” แต่อาจต้องถามว่า “เราไว้ใจใครให้สร้างสิ่งนี้แทนธรรมชาติ?” เพราะน้ำนมแม่เคยเป็นสิ่งที่มาจากรักและชีวิต แต่วันนี้มันอาจกลายเป็นเพียงสิ่งที่มาจากห้องแล็บและโมเลกุล... และนั่นคือสิ่งที่เราต้องคิดให้เป็น ก่อนจะกินให้ดี เต่านี้มีบุญคุณอันใหญ่หลวงงงงงงง

เสริมจุดน่าสนใจให้ครับ KBW Ventures ถือเป็นผู้ลงทุนรายใหญ่ที่สุดใน TurtleTree Labs โดยมีบทบาทสำคัญในหลายรอบการระดมทุนของบริษัท KBW Ventures เป็นบริษัทลงทุนจากสหรัฐอาหรับเอมิเรตส์ ก่อตั้งโดย สมเด็จพระราชโอรสเจ้าชายคาเล็ด บิน อัลวาลีด บิน ตาลาล อัล ซาอุด (HRH Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud) ในรอบการระดมทุน Pre-A มูลค่า 6.2 ล้านดอลลาร์สหรัฐฯ ซึ่งปิดในเดือนธันวาคม 2020 KBW Ventures ได้ร่วมลงทุนพร้อมกับ Green Monday Ventures, Eat Beyond Global และ Verso Capital . นอกจากนี้ เจ้าชาย Khaled ยังได้เข้าร่วมเป็นที่ปรึกษาให้กับ TurtleTree Labs เพื่อสนับสนุนการขยายตลาดและกลยุทธ์การเติบโตของบริษัท

ซึ่งในตัว KBW Ventures นั้น เป็นบริษัทลงทุนที่มุ่งเน้นการสนับสนุนเทคโนโลยีที่ยั่งยืนและนวัตกรรมในหลากหลายอุตสาหกรรม เช่น เทคโนโลยีชีวภาพ (biotech), เทคโนโลยีพลังงานสะอาด, เทคโนโลยีการเงิน (fintech), เทคโนโลยีการขนส่ง, และเทคโนโลยีอาหาร (food tech) โดยเฉพาะ และในส่วนของเจ้าชาย Khaled มีความสนใจอย่างลึกซึ้งในด้านเทคโนโลยีอาหาร โดยเฉพาะในกลุ่มโปรตีนทางเลือก เช่น Beyond Meat ซึ่งเป็นการลงทุนที่สะท้อนถึงความมุ่งมั่นชัดเจนในการส่งเสริมอาหารที่ยั่งยืนและมีจริยธรรมครับ และแน่นอนเลยว่า โดยมีส่วนร่วมในรอบระดมทุนหลายครั้งของ Beyond Meat รวมถึงตอนที่ Beyond Meat เข้าตลาดหุ้น Nasdaq ครั้งแรกในปี 2019

เจ้าชาย Khaled เชื่อมั่นว่าอาหารทางเลือกแบบพืชจะถูกลงและแพร่หลายมากขึ้น จนอาจถูกกว่าราคาเนื้อสัตว์จากสัตว์จริงภายในปี 2025 ตามข้อมูลที่ได้มาแสดงว่า ปีนี้นี่หว่าาาาาาาาาา

#pirateketo #กูต้องรู้มั๊ย #ม้วนหางสิลูก #siamstr

@ b1ddb4d7:471244e7

This article was originally published on aier.org

Even after eleven years experience, and a per Bitcoin price of nearly $20,000, the incredulous are still with us. I understand why. Bitcoin is not like other traditional financial assets.

Even describing it as an asset is misleading. It is not the same as a stock, as a payment system, or a money. It has features of all these but it is not identical to them.

What Bitcoin is depends on its use as a means of storing and porting value, which in turn rests of secure titles to ownership of a scarce good. Those without experience in the sector look at all of this and get frustrated that understanding why it is valuable is not so easy to grasp. 

In this article, I’m updating an analysis I wrote six years ago. It still holds up. For those who don’t want to slog through the entire article, my thesis is that Bitcoin’s value obtains from its underlying technology, which is an open-source ledger that keeps track of ownership rights and permits the transfer of these rights. Bitcoin managed to bundle its unit of account with a payment system that lives on the ledger. That’s its innovation and why it obtained a value and that value continues to rise. 

Consider the criticism offered by traditional gold advocates, who have, for decades, pushed the idea that sound money must be backed by something real, hard, and independently valuable. Bitcoin doesn’t qualify, right? Maybe it does. 

Bitcoin first emerged as a possible competitor to national, government-managed money in 2009. Satoshi Nakamoto’s white paper was released October 31, 2008. The structure and language of this paper sent the message: This currency is for computer technicians, not economists nor political pundits. The paper’s circulation was limited; novices who read it were mystified. 

But the lack of interest didn’t stop history from moving forward. Two months later, those who were paying attention saw the emergence of the “Genesis Block,” the first group of bitcoins generated through Nakamoto’s concept of a distributed ledger that lived on any computer node in the world that wanted to host it.

Here we are all these years later and a single bitcoin trades at $18,500. The currency is held and accepted by many thousands of institutions, both online and offline. Its payment system is very popular in poor countries without vast banking infrastructures but also in developed countries. And major institutions—including the Federal Reserve, the OECD, the World Bank, and major investment houses—are paying respectful attention and weaving blockchain technology into their operations.

Enthusiasts, who are found in every country, say that its exchange value will soar even more in the future because its supply is strictly limited and it provides a system vastly superior to government money. Bitcoin is transferred between individuals without a third party. It is relatively low-cost to exchange. It has a predictable supply. It is durable, fungible, and divisible: all crucial features of money. It creates a monetary system that doesn’t depend on trust and identity, much less on central banks and government. It is a new system for the digital age.

Hard lessons for hard money

To those educated in the “hard money” tradition, the whole idea has been a serious challenge. Speaking for myself, I had been reading about bitcoin for two years before I came anywhere close to understanding it. There was just something about the whole idea that bugged me. You can’t make money out of nothing, much less out of computer code. Why does it have value then? There must be something amiss. This is not how we expected money to be reformed.

There’s the problem: our expectations. We should have been paying closer attention to Ludwig von Mises’ theory of money’s origins—not to what we think he wrote, but to what he actually did write. 

In 1912, Mises released The Theory of Money and Credit. It was a huge hit in Europe when it came out in German, and it was translated into English. While covering every aspect of money, his core contribution was in tracing the value and price of money—and not just money itself—to its origins. That is, he explained how money gets its price in terms of the goods and services it obtains. He later called this process the “regression theorem,” and as it turns out, bitcoin satisfies the conditions of the theorem.

Mises’ teacher, Carl Menger, demonstrated that money itself originates from the market—not from the State and not from social contract. It emerges gradually as monetary entrepreneurs seek out an ideal form of commodity for indirect exchange. Instead of merely bartering with each other, people acquire a good not to consume, but to trade. That good becomes money, the most marketable commodity.

But Mises added that the value of money traces backward in time to its value as a bartered commodity. Mises said that this is the only way money can have value.

The theory of the value of money as such can trace back the objective exchange value of money only to that point where it ceases to be the value of money and becomes merely the value of a commodity…. If in this way we continually go farther and farther back we must eventually arrive at a point where we no longer find any component in the objective exchange value of money that arises from valuations based on the function of money as a common medium of exchange; where the value of money is nothing other than the value of an object that is useful in some other way than as money…. Before it was usual to acquire goods in the market, not for personal consumption, but simply in order to exchange them again for the goods that were really wanted, each individual commodity was only accredited with that value given by the subjective valuations based on its direct utility.

Mises’ explanation solved a major problem that had long mystified economists. It is a narrative of conjectural history, and yet it makes perfect sense. Would salt have become money had it otherwise been completely useless? Would beaver pelts have obtained monetary value had they not been useful for clothing? Would silver or gold have had money value if they had no value as commodities first? The answer in all cases of monetary history is clearly no. The initial value of money, before it becomes widely traded as money, originates in its direct utility. It’s an explanation that is demonstrated through historical reconstruction. That’s Mises’ regression theorem.

Bitcoin’s Use Value

At first glance, bitcoin would seem to be an exception. You can’t use a bitcoin for anything other than money. It can’t be worn as jewelry. You can’t make a machine out of it. You can’t eat it or even decorate with it. Its value is only realized as a unit that facilitates indirect exchange. And yet, bitcoin already is money. It’s used every day. You can see the exchanges in real time. It’s not a myth. It’s the real deal.

It might seem like we have to choose. Is Mises wrong? Maybe we have to toss out his whole theory. Or maybe his point was purely historical and doesn’t apply in the future of a digital age. Or maybe his regression theorem is proof that bitcoin is just an empty mania with no staying power, because it can’t be reduced to its value as a useful commodity.

And yet, you don’t have to resort to complicated monetary theory in order to understand the sense of alarm surrounding bitcoin. Many people, as I did, just have a feeling of uneasiness about a money that has no basis in anything physical. Sure, you can print out a bitcoin on a piece of paper, but having a paper with a QR code or a public key is not enough to relieve that sense of unease.

How can we resolve this problem? In my own mind, I toyed with the issue for more than a year. It puzzled me. I wondered if Mises’ insight applied only in a pre-digital age. I followed the speculations online that the value of bitcoin would be zero but for the national currencies into which it is converted. Perhaps the demand for bitcoin overcame the demands of Mises’ scenario because of a desperate need for something other than the dollar.

As time passed—and I read the work of Konrad Graf, Peter Surda, and Daniel Krawisz—finally the resolution came. Bitcoin is both a payment system and a money. The payment system is the source of value, while the accounting unit merely expresses that value in terms of price. The unity of money and payment is its most unusual feature, and the one that most commentators have had trouble wrapping their heads around.

We are all used to thinking of currency as separate from payment systems. This thinking is a reflection of the technological limitations of history. There is the dollar and there are credit cards. There is the euro and there is PayPal. There is the yen and there are wire services. In each case, money transfer relies on third-party service providers. In order to use them, you need to establish what is called a “trust relationship” with them, which is to say that the institution arranging the deal has to believe that you are going to pay.

This wedge between money and payment has always been with us, except for the case of physical proximity.

If I give you a dollar for your pizza slice, there is no third party. But payment systems, third parties, and trust relationships become necessary once you leave geographic proximity. That’s when companies like Visa and institutions like banks become indispensable. They are the application that makes the monetary software do what you want it to do.

The hitch is that

@ b1ddb4d7:471244e7

Breez, a leader in Lightning Network infrastructure, and Spark, a bitcoin-native Layer 2 (L2) platform, today announced a groundbreaking collaboration to empower developers with tools to seamlessly integrate self-custodial bitcoin payments into everyday applications.

The partnership introduces a new implementation of the Breez SDK built on Spark’s bitcoin-native infrastructure, accelerating the evolution of bitcoin from “digital gold” to a global, permissionless currency.

The Breez SDK is expanding

We’re joining forces with @buildonspark to release a new nodeless implementation of the Breez SDK — giving developers the tools they need to bring Bitcoin payments to everyday apps.

→ https://t.co/iWjZhWRwsx

Bitcoin-Native
Powered by Spark’s…

— Breez (@Breez_Tech) May 22, 2025

A Bitcoin-Native Leap for Developers

The updated Breez SDK leverages Spark’s L2 architecture to deliver a frictionless, bitcoin-native experience for developers.

Key features include:

• Universal Compatibility: Bindings for all major programming languages and frameworks.
• LNURL & Lightning Address Support: Streamlined integration for peer-to-peer transactions.
• Real-Time Interaction: Instant mobile notifications for payment confirmations.
• No External Reliance: Built directly on bitcoin via Spark, eliminating bridges or third-party consensus.

This implementation unlocks use cases such as streaming content payments, social app monetization, in-game currencies, cross-border remittances, and AI micro-settlements—all powered by Bitcoin’s decentralized network.

Quotes from Leadership

Roy Sheinfeld, CEO of Breez:
“Developers are critical to bringing bitcoin into daily life. By building the Breez SDK on Spark’s revolutionary architecture, we’re giving builders a bitcoin-native toolkit to strengthen Lightning as the universal language of bitcoin payments.”

Kevin Hurley, Creator of Spark:
“This collaboration sets the standard for global peer-to-peer transactions. Fast, open, and embedded in everyday apps—this is bitcoin’s future. Together, we’re equipping developers to create next-generation payment experiences.”

David Marcus, Co-Founder and CEO of Lightspark:
“We’re thrilled to see developers harness Spark’s potential. This partnership marks an exciting milestone for the ecosystem.”

Collaboration Details
As part of the agreement, Breez will operate as a Spark Service Provider (SSP), joining Lightspark in facilitating payments and expanding Spark’s ecosystem. Technical specifications for the SDK will be released later this year, with the full implementation slated for launch in 2025.

About Breez
Breez pioneers Lightning Network solutions, enabling developers to embed self-custodial bitcoin payments into apps. Its SDK powers seamless, secure, and decentralized financial interactions.

About Spark
Spark is a bitcoin-native Layer 2 infrastructure designed for payments and settlement, allowing developers to build directly on Bitcoin’s base layer without compromises.

@ 6ad3e2a3:c90b7740

When I was a kid, I wanted to be rich, but found the prospect of hard work tedious, pointless and soul-crushing. Instead of studying for exams, getting some job and clawing your way up the ladder, I wondered why we couldn’t just build a device that measured your brain capacity and awarded you the money you would have made had you applied yourself. Eliminate the middleman, so to speak, the useless paper pushing evoked by the word “career.”

But when you think about it, it’s not really money you’re after, as money is but purchasing power, and so it’s the things money can provide like a nice lifestyle and the peace of mind that comes from not worrying about it. And it’s not really the lifestyle or financial independence, per se, since moment to moment what’s in your bank account isn’t determining your mental state, but the feeling those things give you — a sense of expansiveness and freedom.

But if you did have such a machine, and it awarded you the money, you probably wouldn’t have that kind of expansiveness and freedom, especially if you did nothing to achieve those things. You would still feel bored, distracted and unsatisfied despite unrestricted means to travel or dine out as you saw fit. People who win the lottery, for example, tend to revert to their prior level of satisfaction in short order.

The feeling you really want then is the sense of rising to a challenge, negotiating and adapting to your environment, persevering in a state of uncertainty, tapping into your resourcefulness and creativity. It’s only while operating at the edge of your capacity you could ever be so fulfilled. In fact, in such a state the question of your satisfaction level would never come up. You wouldn’t even think to wonder about it you’d be so engrossed.

So what you really crave is a mind device that encourages you to adapt to your environment using your full creative capabilities in the present moment, so much so you realize if you do not do this, you have the sense of squandering your life in a tedious, pointless and soul-crushing way. You need to be totally stuck, without the option of turning back. In sum, you need to face reality exactly as it is, without any escape therefrom.

The measure of your mind in that case is your reality itself. The device is already with you — it’s the world you are presently creating with the consciousness you have, providing you avenues to escape, none of which are satisfactory, none that can lead to the state you truly desire. You have a choice to pursue them fruitlessly and wind up at square one, or to abandon them and attain your freedom. No matter how many times you go down a false road, you wind up at the same place until you give up on the Sisyphean task and proceed in earnest.

My childhood fantasy was real, it turns out, only I had misunderstood its meaning.

@ 472f440f:5669301e

Marty's Bent

via me

Don't sleep on what's happening in Japan right now. We've been covering the country and the fact that they've lost control of their yield curve since late last year. After many years of making it a top priority from a monetary policy perspective, last year the Bank of Japan decided to give up on yield curve control in an attempt to reel inflation. This has sent yields for the 30-year and 40-year Japanese government bonds to levels not seen since the early 2000s in the case of the 30-year and levels never before seen for the 40-year, which was launched in 2007. With a debt to GDP ratio that has surpassed 250% and a population that is aging out with an insufficient amount of births to replace the aging workforce, it's hard to see how Japan can get out of this conundrum without some sort of economic collapse.

This puts the United States in a tough position considering the fact that Japan is one of the largest holders of U.S. Treasury bonds with more than 1,135 sats | $1.20 trillion in exposure. If things get too out of control in Japan and the yield curve continues to drift higher and inflation continues to creep higher Japan can find itself in a situation where it's a forced seller of US Treasuries as they attempt to strengthen the yen. Another aspect to consider is the fact that investors may see the higher yields on Japanese government bonds and decide to purchase them instead of US Treasuries. This is something to keep an eye on in the weeks to come. Particularly if higher rates drive a higher cost of capital, which leads to even more inflation. As producers are forced to increase their prices to ensure that they can manage their debt repayments.

It's never a good sign when the Japanese Prime Minister is coming out to proclaim that his country's financial situation is worse than Greece's, which has been a laughing stock of Europe for the better part of three decades. Japan is a very proud nation, and the fact that its Prime Minister made a statement like this should not be underappreciated.

As we noted last week, the 10-year and 30-year U.S. Treasury bonds are drifting higher as well. Earlier today, the 30-year bond yield surpassed 5%, which has been a psychological level that many have been pointed to as a critical tipping point. When you take a step back and look around the world it seems pretty clear that bond markets are sending a very strong signal. And that signal is that something is not well in the back end of the financial system.

This is even made clear when you look at the private sector, particularly at consumer debt. In late March, we warned of the growing trend of buy now, pay later schemes drifting down market as major credit card companies released charge-off data which showed charge-off rates reaching levels not seen since the 2008 great financial crisis. At the time, we could only surmise that Klarna was experiencing similar charge-off rates on the bigger-ticket items they financed and started doing deals with companies like DoorDash to finance burrito deliveries in an attempt to move down market to finance smaller ticket items with a higher potential of getting paid back. It seems like that inclination was correct as Klarna released data earlier today showing more losses on their book as consumers find it extremely hard to pay back their debts.

via NewsWire

This news hit the markets on the same day as the average rate of the 30-year mortgage in the United States rose to 7.04%. I'm not sure if you've checked lately, but real estate prices are still relatively elevated outside of a few big cities who expanded supply significantly during the COVID era as people flooded out of blue states towards red states. It's hard to imagine that many people can afford a house based off of sticker price alone, but with a 7% 30-year mortgage rate it's becoming clear that the ability of the Common Man to buy a house is simply becoming impossible.

via Lance Lambert

The mortgage rate data is not the only thing you need to look at to understand that it's becoming impossible for the Common Man of working age to buy a house. New data has recently been released that highlights That the median home buyer in 2007 was born in 1968, and the median home buyer in 2024 was born in 1968. Truly wild when you think of it. As our friend Darth Powell cheekily highlights below, we find ourselves in a situation where boomers are simply trading houses and the younger generations are becoming indentured slaves. Forever destined to rent because of the complete inability to afford to buy a house.

via Darth Powell

via Yahoo Finance

Meanwhile, Bitcoin re-approached all-time highs late this evening and looks primed for another breakout to the upside. This makes sense if you're paying attention. The high-velocity trash economy running on an obscene amount of debt in both the public and private sectors seems to be breaking at the seams. All the alarm bells are signaling that another big print is coming. And if you hope to preserve your purchasing power or, ideally, increase it as the big print approaches, the only thing that makes sense is to funnel your money into the hardest asset in the world, which is Bitcoin.

via Bitbo

Buckle up, freaks. It's gonna be a bumpy ride. Stay humble, Stack Sats.

Trump's Middle East Peace Strategy: Redefining U.S. Foreign Policy

In his recent Middle East tour, President Trump signaled what our guest Dr. Anas Alhajji calls "a major change in US policy." Trump explicitly rejected the nation-building strategies of his predecessors, contrasting the devastation in Afghanistan and Iraq with the prosperity of countries like Saudi Arabia and UAE. This marks a profound shift from both Republican and Democratic foreign policy orthodoxy. As Alhajji noted, Trump's willingness to meet with Syrian President Assad follows a historical pattern where former adversaries eventually become diplomatic partners.

"This is really one of the most important shifts in US foreign policy to say, look, sorry, we destroyed those countries because we tried to rebuild them and it was a big mistake." - Dr. Anas Alhajji

The administration's new approach emphasizes negotiation over intervention. Rather than military solutions, Trump is engaging with groups previously considered off-limits, including the Houthis, Hamas, and Iran. This pragmatic stance prioritizes economic cooperation and regional stability over ideological confrontation. The focus on trade deals and investment rather than regime change represents a fundamental reimagining of America's role in the Middle East.

Check out the full podcast here for more on the Iran nuclear situation, energy market predictions, and why AI development could create power grid challenges. Only on TFTC Studio.

Headlines of the Day

Bitcoin Soars to 100,217 sats | $106.00K While Bonds Lose 40% Since 2020 - via X

US Senate Advances Stablecoin Bill As America Embraces Bitcoin - via X

Get our new STACK SATS hat - via tftcmerch.io

Texas House Debates Bill For State-Run Bitcoin Reserve - via X

---

Take the First Step Off the Exchange

Bitkey is an easy, secure way to move your Bitcoin into self-custody. With simple setup and built-in recovery, it’s the perfect starting point for getting your coins off centralized platforms and into cold storage—no complexity, no middlemen.

Take control. Start with Bitkey.

Use the promo code “TFTC20” during checkout for 20% off

---

Ten31, the largest bitcoin-focused investor, has deployed 158,469 sats | $150.00M across 30+ companies through three funds. I am a Managing Partner at Ten31 and am very proud of the work we are doing. Learn more at ten31.vc/invest.

---

Final thought...

Don't let the noise consume you. Focus on making your life 1% better every day.

---

Get this newsletter sent to your inbox daily: https://www.tftc.io/bitcoin-brief/

Subscribe to our YouTube channels and follow us on Nostr and X:

@ 6d5c826a:4b27b659

• DD-WRT - A Linux-based firmware for wireless routers and access points, originally designed for the Linksys WRT54G series. (Source Code) GPL-2.0 C
• OpenWrt - A Linux-based router featuring Mesh networking, IPS via snort and AQM among many other features. (Source Code) GPL-2.0 C
• OPNsense - An open source FreeBSD-based firewall and router with traffic shaping, load balancing, and virtual private network capabilities. (Source Code) BSD-2-Clause C/PHP
• pfSense CE - Free network firewall distribution, based on the FreeBSD operating system with a custom kernel and including third party free software packages for additional functionality. (Source Code) Apache-2.0 Shell/PHP/Other

@ 000002de:c05780a7

I'm mostly curious about how Tapper can do this with a straight face.

https://stacker.news/items/986926

@ cefb08d1:f419beff

https://stacker.news/items/986402

@ 000002de:c05780a7

I enjoy Jonathan Pageau's perspectives from time to time. He is big on myth and symbolic signs in culture and history. I find this stuff fascinating as well. I watched this video last week, and based on the title, I was thinking... hmm, I wonder if it is a review of Return of the Strong Gods. It wasn't, but it really flows with the thesis of that book. You should read it if you haven't, and before you do, go check out @SimpleStacker's review of it.

Pageau starts the video by talking about the concept of "watching the clown." He uses Ye as the clown. Ye has been a leading indicator in the past when he publicly claimed he was a Christian and began making music and holding church services. Now he's going "off the rails" seemingly with his Hitler songs and art. Clearly, the stigma of Hitler will not last forever. It's hard for us to realize this. At least for someone of my age, but Pageau points out that eventually, the villains of history become less of a stand-in for Satan and more of a purely historical figure. He mentions Alexander the Great as a man who did incredibly evil things, but today we just read about him in school and don't really think about it too much. One day, that will be the way Hitler is viewed. Sure, evil, but the power of using him as the mythical Satan will wane.

The most interesting point I took away from this video, though, was that the post-war consensus was built on a dark secret. Now, it's not a secret to me, but at some point, it was. And this secret is a deep flaw in the current state of the West that keeps affecting us in negative ways. The secret is that in order to defeat Hitler and the Nazis, the West allied itself with the Soviets. Stalin. An incredibly evil man and an ideology that has led to the death and suffering of more humans than the Nazis. This is just a fact, but it's so dark that we don't talk about it.

For many years as I began to study Communism and the Soviet Union I began to question why on earth did the allies align themselves with Stalin. Obviously it was for stratigic reasons. I get it. But the fact that this topic is not really discussed in our culture has had a dark effect. Now, I'm not interested in figuring out if Stalin was more evil than Hitler or if Fascism is worse that Communism. I think this misses the point. The point is that today if soneone has Nazi symbols it is very likely not gonna go well for them but Communist symbols are usually just fine. We see the ideas of Socialism discussed openly without concern. Its popular even. Fascism on the other hand is always (until recently) masked at best.

Today we are seeing more and more people openly talk about this reality, and it is a signal that the WW2 consensus is breaking. As people age out and our collective memory fades, this lie will become more visible because the mythical view of Hitler will fade. This will allow people to be more objective about viewing the decisions of the past. I don't recall the book discussing this directly, but it is an interesting connection for sure.

I recommend watching The World War II Consensus is Breaking Down by Jonathan Pageau.

https://stacker.news/items/985962

@ 472f440f:5669301e

Marty's Bent

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0Sj1sG05VQ

Here's a great presentation from our good friend nostr:nprofile1qyx8wumn8ghj7cnjvghxjmcpp4mhxue69uhkummn9ekx7mqqyz2hj3zg2g3pqwxuhg69zgjhke4pcmjmmdpnndnefqndgqjt8exwj6ee8v7 , President of The Nakamoto Institute titled Hodl for Good. He gave it earlier this year at the BitBlockBoom Conference, and I think it's something everyone reading this should take 25 minutes to watch. Especially if you find yourself wondering whether or not it's a good idea to spend bitcoin at any given point in time. Michael gives an incredible Austrian Economics 101 lesson on the importance of lowering one's time preference and fully understanding the importance of hodling bitcoin. For the uninitiated, it may seem that the hodl meme is nothing more than a call to hoard bitcoins in hopes of getting rich eventually. However, as Michael points out, there's layers to the hodl meme and the good that hodling can bring individuals and the economy overall.

The first thing one needs to do to better understand the hodl meme is to completely flip the framing that is typically thrust on bitcoiners who encourage others to hodl. Instead of ceding that hodling is a greedy or selfish action, remind people that hodling, or better known as saving, is the foundation of capital formation, from which all productive and efficient economic activity stems. Number go up technology is great and it really matters. It matters because it enables anybody leveraging that technology to accumulate capital that can then be allocated toward productive endeavors that bring value to the individual who creates them and the individual who buys them.

When one internalizes this, it enables them to turn to personal praxis and focus on minimizing present consumption while thinking of ways to maximize long-term value creation. Live below your means, stack sats, and use the time that you're buying to think about things that you want in the future. By lowering your time preference and saving in a harder money you will have the luxury of demanding higher quality goods in the future. Another way of saying this is that you will be able to reshape production by voting with your sats. Initially when you hold them off the market by saving them - signaling that the market doesn't have goods worthy of your sats - and ultimately by redeploying them into the market when you find higher quality goods that meet the standards desire.

The first part of this equation is extremely important because it sends a signal to producers that they need to increase the quality of their work. As more and more individuals decide to use bitcoin as their savings technology, the signal gets stronger. And over many cycles we should begin to see low quality cheap goods exit the market in favor of higher quality goods that provide more value and lasts longer and, therefore, make it easier for an individual to depart with their hard-earned and hard-saved sats. This is only but one aspect that Michael tries to imbue throughout his presentation.

The other is the ability to buy yourself leisure time when you lower your time preference and save more than you spend. When your savings hit a critical tipping point that gives you the luxury to sit back and experience true leisure, which Michael explains is not idleness, but the contemplative space to study, create art, refine taste, and to find what "better goods" actually are. Those who can experience true leisure while reaping the benefits of saving in a hard asset that is increasing in purchasing power significantly over the long term are those who build truly great things. Things that outlast those who build them. Great art, great monuments, great institutions were all built by men who were afforded the time to experience leisure. Partly because they were leveraging hard money as their savings and the place they stored the profits reaped from their entrepreneurial endeavors.

If you squint and look into the future a couple of decades, it isn't hard to see a reality like this manifesting. As more people begin to save in Bitcoin, the forces of supply and demand will continue to come into play. There will only ever be 21 million bitcoin, there are around 8 billion people on this planet, and as more of those 8 billion individuals decide that bitcoin is the best savings vehicle, the price of bitcoin will rise.

When the price of bitcoin rises, it makes all other goods cheaper in bitcoin terms and, again, expands the entrepreneurial opportunity. The best part about this feedback loop is that even non-holders of bitcoin benefit through higher real wages and faster tech diffusion. The individuals and business owners who decide to hodl bitcoin will bring these benefits to the world whether you decide to use bitcoin or not.

This is why it is virtuous to hodl bitcoin. The potential for good things to manifest throughout the world increase when more individuals decide to hodl bitcoin. And as Michael very eloquently points out, this does not mean that people will not spend their bitcoin. It simply means that they have standards for the things that they will spend their bitcoin on. And those standards are higher than most who are fully engrossed in the high velocity trash economy have today.

In my opinion, one of those higher causes worthy of a sats donation is nostr:nprofile1qyfhwumn8ghj7enjv4jhyetvv9uju7re0gq3uamnwvaz7tmfdemxjmrvv9nk2tt0w468v6tvd3skwefwvdhk6qpqwzc9lz2f40azl98shkjewx3pywg5e5alwqxg09ew2mdyeey0c2rqcfecft . Consider donating so they can preserve and disseminate vital information about bitcoin and its foundations.

The Shell Game: How Health Narratives May Distract from Vaccine Risks

In our recent podcast, Dr. Jack Kruse presented a concerning theory about public health messaging. He argues that figures like Casey and Callie Means are promoting food and exercise narratives as a deliberate distraction from urgent vaccine issues. While no one disputes healthy eating matters, Dr. Kruse insists that focusing on "Froot Loops and Red Dye" diverts attention from what he sees as immediate dangers of mRNA vaccines, particularly for children.

"It's gonna take you 50 years to die from processed food. But the messenger jab can drop you like Damar Hamlin." - Dr Jack Kruse

Dr. Kruse emphasized that approximately 25,000 children per month are still receiving COVID vaccines despite concerns, with 3 million doses administered since Trump's election. This "shell game," as he describes it, allows vaccines to remain on childhood schedules while public attention fixates on less immediate health threats. As host, I believe this pattern deserves our heightened scrutiny given the potential stakes for our children's wellbeing.

Check out the full podcast here for more on Big Pharma's alleged bioweapons program, the "Time Bank Account" concept, and how Bitcoin principles apply to health sovereignty.

Headlines of the Day

Aussie Judge: Bitcoin is Money, Possibly CGT-Exempt - via X

JPMorgan to Let Clients Buy Bitcoin Without Direct Custody - via X

Get our new STACK SATS hat - via tftcmerch.io

Mubadala Acquires 384,239 sats | $408.50M Stake in BlackRock Bitcoin ETF - via X

---

Take the First Step Off the Exchange

Bitkey is an easy, secure way to move your Bitcoin into self-custody. With simple setup and built-in recovery, it’s the perfect starting point for getting your coins off centralized platforms and into cold storage—no complexity, no middlemen.

Take control. Start with Bitkey.

Use the promo code “TFTC20” during checkout for 20% off

---

Ten31, the largest bitcoin-focused investor, has deployed 158,469 sats | $150.00M across 30+ companies through three funds. I am a Managing Partner at Ten31 and am very proud of the work we are doing. Learn more at ten31.vc/invest.

---

Final thought...

I've been walking from my house around Town Lake in Austin in the mornings and taking calls on the walk. Big fan of a walking call.

---

Get this newsletter sent to your inbox daily: https://www.tftc.io/bitcoin-brief/

Subscribe to our YouTube channels and follow us on Nostr and X:

@ 3eba5ef4:751f23ae

Crypto Insights

Introducing Generalized Program Composition and Coin Delegation into Bitcoin

Joshua Doman proposed a proof-of-concept called Graftleaf, aiming to achieve generalized program composition and delegation in Taproot in a simple and secure way. Graftleaf is a new Taproot leaf version (0xc2) that uses the annex to perform delegation. It adds two key features:

• Composition: The ability to sequentially execute zero, one, or multiple witness programs, including a locking script.

• Delegation: The ability to add additional spending conditions at signing time, which can include arbitrary combinations of programs and scripts.

This design overcomes the limitations of previous proposals by supporting complex script composition and delegation, promising backward compatibility, improved privacy and fungibility with the existing P2TR addresses.

Why OP_CHECKCONTRACTVERIFY (CCV) Will Replace OP_VAULT

A post mainly discusses the current status of Bitcoin script opcode OP_VAULT (BIP-345) and the possibility of it being replaced by OP_CHECKCONTRACTVERIFY (CCV, BIP-443). Key factors include:

• CCV is a more general version of OP_VAULT, inheriting some features such as amount modes and deferred (cross-input) checks.

• CCV supports replacing multiple script tapleaf nodes, has a simpler interface, and a lighter script interpreter implementation.

The author also points out CCV’s shortcomings and possible future extensions:

• Currently, there is a lack of supporting documentation and tools, and the BIP is not yet fully completed.

• A VAULT-decorator opcode may be needed to implement certain advanced features, such as requiring collateral lockup when unvaulting, or adding some rate-limiting behavior. These features are currently difficult to achieve.

Despite this, CCV remains a better foundation for building vault functionality.

Enabling Recursive Covenants via Self-Replication

Bram Cohen proposed adding a few simple opcodes to Bitcoin Script to enable recursive covenants in a natural and straightforward way. He illustrated with examples that a practical and useful script can be achieved through Quine, without other more complex tricks; developers writing recursive covenants must be aware of the importance of this approach.

UTXO Set Report from Mempool Research: Nearly Half of Bitcoin UTXOs Are Less Than 1,000 Sats

During the OP_RETURN debate in April-May 2025, the impact of inserting arbitrary data into transactions on the UTXO set sparked much discussion. In this report, Mempool studied the UTXO set, highlighting the fragmentation and bloat issues, especially due to small transactions and data embedding, which increase the storage and validation burden for node operators.

Key findings include:

• Severe Bloat: Currently, about 49% of UTXOs are less than 1,000 satoshis (about $1). Most of these use Taproot address format and may be related to data embedding schemes (like Ordinals) or related transfer mechanisms. Although these UTXOs can usually be spent, before they are, they increase the storage and validation burden for all node operators.

• Significant Proportion of Inscription-Related UTXOs: About 30% of UTXOs are related to inscription.

• Large Number of Long-Unspent UTXOs: There are over 100,000 old Counterparty UTXOs using Pay to Multisig (p2ms) scripts, which have existed for over 10 years. Although they make up a small proportion of the total (about 173 million UTXOs), they are a typical example of UTXO bloat.

• Taproot Becomes the Most Common UTXO Type: Among all UTXO types, Taproot (p2tr) has the highest proportion at 34.2%, followed by traditional p2pkh (28.8%) and p2wpkh (26.5%). However, in terms of total value stored, Taproot’s share is relatively low, indicating it is mainly used for small transactions or data embedding.

The report concludes by mentioning that as the UTXO sets continue to grow, Utreexo and SwiftSync are two scaling methods for maintaining Bitcoin’s accessibility to a wide range of node operators.

Visualization of Bitcoin Mainnet Data

mainnet-observer, built and maintained by developer @0xB10C, visualizes multiple data points from the Bitcoin mainnet, including:

• Mining a single block currently requires over ~500,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (500 zeta or 5×10²³) hash attempts.

• Over 42 BTC are now permanently lost in provably unspendable OP_RETURN outputs.

• Daily updated “Mining Centralization Index” (with proxy pools)

• Bitcoin mining is currently highly centralized, with 6 pools producing and mining over 95% of block templates.

Path Queries: Addressing Payment Reliability and Routing Limitations

brh28 initiated a discussion on Lightning Network payment routing, focusing on issues like liquidity uncertainty and inefficient path discovery. He proposed a new path query mechanism—allowing nodes to dynamically share information through path queries, fostering a more decentralized routing ecosystem. This can improve the success rate of large payments and reduce reliance on a completely synced channel graph. Although there are still some privacy concerns, this method provides nodes with a controllable information disclosure mechanism and is expected to revolutionize current payment routing approaches.

Bitlayer and Sui Achieve Trust-Minimized BitVM Bridge

Bitlayer and Sui integrated the BitVM Bridge, launching Peg-BTC (YBTC)—bridging native Bitcoin to the Sui ecosystem via BitVM Bridge. BitVM Bridge is a trust-minimized bridge powered by Bitlayer and supported by the advanced BitVM smart contract framework.

Ark Protocol Litepaper

Ark recently released its litepaper: Ark: A UTXO-based Transaction Batching Protocol, outlining its technical foundation. As an innovative Bitcoin scaling protocol, Ark enables off-chain transaction execution while allowing users full control over their funds. This is achieved by introducing “virtual UTXOs” (VTXOs), allowing users to transact off-chain while retaining the ability to unilaterally exit to the Bitcoin main chain. Coordinated by an operator who batches user activities into on-chain commitments, Ark achieves high transaction throughput with minimal on-chain footprint. This provides Bitcoin with a simple and user-friendly scaling solution that offers a practical path for Layer 2 solutions that are inefficient or costly to execute on the main chain.

Top Reads on Blockchain and Beyond

List of Known Real-World Bitcoin Attack Incidents

Here is a list of real-world attacks against Bitcoin/crypto asset holders over the years.

The Internet Capital Market: Free Avenue for Developers, or Another Wave of FOMO?

This post discusses Internet Capital Markets (ICM)—decentralized platforms where funds flow directly to app builders and creators. ICM combines crowdfunding, token issuance, and equity speculation, eliminating the need for VCs, banks, or app stores. In 2025, more independent developers are issuing app tokens directly via X and tools like Believe and Launchcoin, attracting mass investment.

ICM Proponents argue this model breaks traditional funding barriers, making innovation more democratic and accessible; while critics warn that ICM is becoming a hotbed for hype and short-term speculation, with many projects lacking real products or long-term value. The author believes whether ICM can become the next milestone for Web3 hinges on whether it can break free from the cycle of “speculation becomes product traction” and deliver real user value and sustained innovation.

@ eb0157af:77ab6c55

According to the ECB Executive Board member, the launch of the digital euro depends on the timing of the EU regulation.

The European Central Bank (ECB) is making progress in preparing for the digital euro. According to Piero Cipollone, ECB Executive Board member and coordinator of the project, the technical phase “is proceeding quickly and on schedule,” but moving to operational implementation still requires political approval of the regulation at the European level.

Speaking at the ‘Voices on the Future’ event organized by Ansa and Asvis, Cipollone outlined a possible timeline:

“If the regulation is approved at the start of 2026 — in the best-case scenario for the European legislative process — we could see the first transactions with the digital euro by mid-2028.”

Cipollone also highlighted Europe’s current dependence on electronic payment systems managed by non-European companies:

“Today in Europe, whenever we don’t use cash, any transaction online or at the supermarket has to go through credit cards, with their fees. The payment system relies on companies that aren’t based in Europe. You can see why it would make sense to have a system fully under our control.”

For the ECB board member, the digital euro would act as a direct alternative to cash in the digital world, working like “a banknote you can spend anywhere in Europe for any purpose.”

The digital euro project is part of the ECB’s broader strategy to strengthen the independence of Europe’s financial system. According to Cipollone and the Central Bank, Europe’s digital currency would be a key step toward greater autonomy in electronic payments, reducing reliance on infrastructure and services outside the European Union.

The post ECB: digital euro by mid-2028, says Cipollone appeared first on Atlas21.

@ 3eba5ef4:751f23ae

加密洞见

在比特币中引入通用程序组合与币委托机制

Joshua Doman 提出了一个 Graftleaf 的概念验证，旨在用一种简单而安全的方法在 Taproot 中实现通用程序组合和代笔委托。Graftleaf 是一个新的 Taproot 叶子版本（0xc2），使用附件来执行委托。Graftleaf 增加了两个关键功能：

• 组合：按顺序执行零个、一个或多个见证程序的能力，包括一个锁定脚本。

• 委派：在签名时添加其他支出条件的能力，可以包括程序和脚本的任意组合。

它们旨在通过支持复杂的脚本组合和委托来克服以前提案的局限性，承诺提高隐私性、可替代性以及与现有 P2TR 地址的向后兼容性。

为什么说 OP_CHECKCONTRACTVERIFY (CCV) 将会取代 OP_VAULT

帖子主要讨论了比特币脚本操作码 OP_VAULT（BIP-345）的现状，及其被OP_CHECKCONTRACTVERIFY（CCV，BIP-443）取代的可能。重要因素有：

• CCV 是 OP_VAULT 的更通用版本，继承了部分功能，如金额模式（amount modes）、延迟跨输入检查（deferred cross-input checks）。

• CCV支持替换多个脚本叶子节点（tapleaf），接口更简洁，脚本解释器实现更轻量。

同时作者也指出 CCV 的不足与未来可能的扩展：

• 当前缺少部分配套文档和工具，BIP 尚未完全完成。

• 可能需要 VAULT-decorator 操作码来实现某些高级功能，如解锁金库时必须抵押锁定、速率限制等。

尽管如此，CCV仍然是构建金库功能的更优基础。

通过自复制方式启用递归契约

Bram Cohen 提出通过向比特币脚本添加一些简单的操作码，以一种自然而直接的方式实现递归契约（recursive covenants）。他通过例子说明，一个实用且有用的脚本通过 Quine 自复制就可以实现，无需其他更复杂的技巧；编写递归契约的开发者必须意识到该方式的重要性。

Mempool Research 发布 UTXO 集的报告：比特币中近一半 UTXO 金额小于 1000 聪

在 2025 年 4 至 5 月期间的 OP_RETURN 大辩论中，将任意数据插入交易对 UTXO 集的影响的问题引发了大量讨论。Mempool 在这份报告中，对 UTXO 集进行了研究，强调了比特币 UTXO 集合碎片化和膨胀的问题，特别是由于小额交易和数据嵌入导致的 UTXO 增长，增加了节点运营者的存储和验证负担。关键结论有：

• UTXO 集合的碎片化严重：目前约有 49% 的 UTXO 金额低于 1000 聪（约合 1 美元），这些小额 UTXO 大多采用 Taproot 地址格式，可能与数据嵌入方案（如 Ordinals 铭文）或相关的转移机制有关。尽管这些 UTXO 通常可被花费，但在被使用之前，它们会增加所有节点运营者的存储和验证负担。

• 铭文相关的 UTXO 占比显著：约 30% 的 UTXO 与铭文相关。

• 存在大量长期未动用的 UTXO：有超过 10 万个使用 Pay to Multisig (p2ms) 脚本的旧 Counterparty UTXO，且存在超过 10 年。尽管在总数（约 1.73 亿个 UTXO）中所占比例较小，但依然是 UTXO 膨胀的典型问题。

• Taproot 成为最常见的 UTXO 类型：在所有 UTXO 类型中，Taproot（p2tr）占比最高，为 34.2%，其次是传统的 p2pkh（28.8%）和 p2wpkh（26.5%）。但是从 UTXO 所存储的总价值来看，Taproot 的占比相对较低，表明其主要用于小额交易或数据嵌入。

报告最后也提到，对于继续增长的 UTXO 集，Utreexo 和 SwiftSync 是两种对保持比特币对广泛节点运营者可访问性的扩容方法。

比特币网络各项数据的可视化呈现

mainnet-observer 由开发者 @0xB10C 搭建并维护，将比特币链的多项数据呈现出来，可以看到：

• 目前挖掘一个区块所需要的平均哈希尝试：超过 ~500000000000000000000000000（500 zeta 或 5×10²³）次

• 超过 42 个 BTC 现在永远丢失在可证明无法花费的 OP_RETURN 输出中

• 每日更新的「挖矿中心化指数」（带有代理池）

• 比特币挖矿高度集中，6 个矿池生产并挖掘了超过 95%的区块模板（截止 2025 年 4 月）

闪电网络路径查询：解决支付可靠性和路由限制

brh28 发起了关于闪电网络路由支付的讨论，聚焦「流动性的不确定性」（liquidity uncertainty）和路径发现效率低的问题，提出了一种新的路径查询机制——允许节点以路径查询的形式，实现动态信息共享，推动了一个更加分布式的路由生态。这可以提高了大额支付的成功率，并减少对完整通道图的依赖。尽管在隐私方面仍存在一定担忧，但该方法为节点提供了一种可控的信息披露机制，有望革新现有的支付路由方式。

Bitlayer 和 Sui 实现了信任最小化的 BitVM 桥

Bitlayer 和 Sui 整合了 BitVM Bridge，推出 Peg-BTC（YBTC）——通过 BitVM Bridge 将原生比特币桥接到 Sui 生态中。BitVM Bridge 是一个由 Bitlayer 提供支持并由先进的 BitVM 智能合约框架支持的信任最小化桥。

Ark 协议的正式规范

Ark 近日发布 Litepaper: Ark: A UTXO-based Transaction Batching Protocol，阐述其技术基础。作为一种新颖的比特币扩容协议，Ark 实现了链下交易执行，同时让用户能完全掌控自己的资金。这一点通过引入「虚拟UTXO」（VTXO）得以实现，用户在链下交易，同时保留单方面退出至比特币主链的能力。Ark 同一个 operator 协作，将用户操作打包成链上承诺，在保持极小链上负担的前提下实现高交易吞吐量。这为比特币提供了一种简单易用的扩容方案，也为那些在主链上执行效率低下或成本过高的二层方案提供了落地空间。

精彩无限，不止于链

已知真实发生过的比特币攻击事件列表

这里列出了历年来在真实世界中发生过的、针对比特币/加密资产拥有者的攻击事件。

互联网资本市场：是开发者的自由通道，还是另一波 FOMO?

帖子讨论了互联网资本市场（ ICM, Internet Capital Markets ），即去中心化平台——资金直接流向应用程序构建者和创建者。ICM 集众筹、代币发行和股权投机于一体，无需VC、银行或应用商店。2025年，越来越多独立开发者通过 X 和 Believe、Launchcoin 等工具直接发行应用代币，吸引大众投资。ICM 的支持者认为，这种模式打破了传统融资壁垒，让创新更民主、门槛更低；但批评者警告，ICM 正沦为炒作和短期投机的温床，许多项目缺乏实际产品和长期价值。作者认为，ICM 模式能否成为 Web3 的下一个里程碑，关键在于其能否走出「投机成了产品增长动力」（speculation becomes product traction）的怪圈，实现真正的用户价值和持续创新。

@ 3f770d65:7a745b24

🏌️ Monday, May 26 – Bitcoin Golf Championship & Kickoff Party

Location: Las Vegas, Nevada\ Event: 2nd Annual Bitcoin Golf Championship & Kick Off Party"\ Where: Bali Hai Golf Clubhouse, 5160 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89119\ 🎟️ Get Tickets!

Details:

• The week tees off in style with the Bitcoin Golf Championship. Swing clubs by day and swing to music by night.

• Live performances from Nostr-powered acts courtesy of Tunestr, including Ainsley Costello and others.

• Stop by the Purple Pill Booth hosted by Derek and Tanja, who will be on-boarding golfers and attendees to the decentralized social future with Nostr.

---

💬 May 27–29 – Bitcoin 2025 Conference at the Las Vegas Convention Center

Location: The Venetian Resort\ Main Attraction for Nostr Fans: The Nostr Lounge\ When: All day, Tuesday through Thursday\ Where: Right outside the Open Source Stage\ 🎟️ Get Tickets!

Come chill at the Nostr Lounge, your home base for all things decentralized social. With seating for \~50, comfy couches, high-tops, and good vibes, it’s the perfect space to meet developers, community leaders, and curious newcomers building the future of censorship-resistant communication.

Bonus: Right across the aisle, you’ll find Shopstr, a decentralized marketplace app built on Nostr. Stop by their booth to explore how peer-to-peer commerce works in a truly open ecosystem.

Daily Highlights at the Lounge:

• ☕️ Hang out casually or sit down for a deeper conversation about the Nostr protocol

• 🔧 1:1 demos from app teams

• 🛍️ Merch available onsite

• 🧠 Impromptu lightning talks

• 🎤 Scheduled Meetups (details below)

---

🎯 Nostr Lounge Meetups

Wednesday, May 28 @ 1:00 PM

• Damus Meetup: Come meet the team behind Damus, the OG Nostr app for iOS that helped kickstart the social revolution. They'll also be showcasing their new cross-platform app, Notedeck, designed for a more unified Nostr experience across devices. Grab some merch, get a demo, and connect directly with the developers.

Thursday, May 29 @ 1:00 PM

• Primal Meetup: Dive into Primal, the slickest Nostr experience available on web, Android, and iOS. With a built-in wallet, zapping your favorite creators and friends has never been easier. The team will be on-site for hands-on demos, Q\&A, merch giveaways, and deeper discussions on building the social layer of Bitcoin.

---

🎙️ Nostr Talks at Bitcoin 2025

If you want to hear from the minds building decentralized social, make sure you attend these two official conference sessions:

1. FROSTR Workshop: Multisig Nostr Signing

• 🕚 Time: 11:30 AM – 12:00 PM

• 📅 Date: Wednesday, May 28

• 📍 Location: Developer Zone

• 🎤 Speaker: nostr:nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7etyv4hzumn0wd68ytnvv9hxgqgdwaehxw309ahx7uewd3hkcqpqs9etjgzjglwlaxdhsveq0qksxyh6xpdpn8ajh69ruetrug957r3qf4ggfm (Austin Kelsay) @ Voltage\ A deep-dive into FROST-based multisig key management for Nostr. Geared toward devs and power users interested in key security.

2. Panel: Decentralizing Social Media

• 🕑 Time: 2:00 PM – 2:30 PM

• 📅 Date: Thursday, May 29

• 📍 Location: Genesis Stage

• 🎙️ Moderator: nostr:nprofile1qyxhwumn8ghj7mn0wvhxcmmvqy08wumn8ghj7mn0wd68yttjv4kxz7fwv3jhyettwfhhxuewd4jsqgxnqajr23msx5malhhcz8paa2t0r70gfjpyncsqx56ztyj2nyyvlq00heps - Bitcoin Strategy @ Roxom TV

• 👥 Speakers:

• nostr:nprofile1qyt8wumn8ghj7etyv4hzumn0wd68ytnvv9hxgtcppemhxue69uhkummn9ekx7mp0qqsy2ga7trfetvd3j65m3jptqw9k39wtq2mg85xz2w542p5dhg06e5qmhlpep – Early Bitcoin dev, CEO @ Sirius Business Ltd

• nostr:nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7mn0wd68ytndv9kxjm3wdahxcqg5waehxw309ahx7um5wfekzarkvyhxuet5qqsw4v882mfjhq9u63j08kzyhqzqxqc8tgf740p4nxnk9jdv02u37ncdhu7e3 – Analyst & Partner @ Ego Death Capital

Get the big-picture perspective on why decentralized social matters and how Nostr fits into the future of digital communication.

---

🌃 NOS VEGAS Meetup & Afterparty

Date: Wednesday, May 28\ Time: 7:00 PM – 1:00 AM\ Location: We All Scream Nightclub, 517 Fremont St., Las Vegas, NV 89101\ 🎟️ Get Tickets!

What to Expect:

• 🎶 Live Music Stage – Featuring Ainsley Costello, Sara Jade, Able James, Martin Groom, Bobby Shell, Jessie Lark, and other V4V artists

• 🪩 DJ Party Deck – With sets by nostr:nprofile1qy0hwumn8ghj7cmgdae82uewd45kketyd9kxwetj9e3k7mf6xs6rgqgcwaehxw309ahx7um5wgh85mm694ek2unk9ehhyecqyq7hpmq75krx2zsywntgtpz5yzwjyg2c7sreardcqmcp0m67xrnkwylzzk4 , nostr:nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7etyv4hzumn0wd68ytnvv9hxgqgkwaehxw309anx2etywvhxummnw3ezucnpdejqqg967faye3x6fxgnul77ej23l5aew8yj0x2e4a3tq2mkrgzrcvecfsk8xlu3 , and more DJs throwing down

• 🛰️ Live-streamed via Tunestr

• 🧠 Nostr Education – Talks by nostr:nprofile1qy88wumn8ghj7mn0wvhxcmmv9uq37amnwvaz7tmwdaehgu3dwfjkccte9ejx2un9ddex7umn9ekk2tcqyqlhwrt96wnkf2w9edgr4cfruchvwkv26q6asdhz4qg08pm6w3djg3c8m4j , nostr:nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7etyv4hzumn0wd68ytnvv9hxgqg7waehxw309anx2etywvhxummnw3ezucnpdejz7ur0wp6kcctjqqspywh6ulgc0w3k6mwum97m7jkvtxh0lcjr77p9jtlc7f0d27wlxpslwvhau , nostr:nprofile1qy88wumn8ghj7mn0wvhxcmmv9uq3vamnwvaz7tmwdaehgu3wd33xgetk9en82m30qqsgqke57uygxl0m8elstq26c4mq2erz3dvdtgxwswwvhdh0xcs04sc4u9p7d , nostr:nprofile1q9z8wumn8ghj7erzx3jkvmmzw4eny6tvw368wdt8da4kxamrdvek76mrwg6rwdngw94k67t3v36k77tev3kx7vn2xa5kjem9dp4hjepwd3hkxctvqyg8wumn8ghj7mn0wd68ytnhd9hx2qpqyaul8k059377u9lsu67de7y637w4jtgeuwcmh5n7788l6xnlnrgssuy4zk , nostr:nprofile1qy28wue69uhnzvpwxqhrqt33xgmn5dfsx5cqz9thwden5te0v4jx2m3wdehhxarj9ekxzmnyqqswavgevxe9gs43vwylumr7h656mu9vxmw4j6qkafc3nefphzpph8ssvcgf8 , and more.

• 🧾 Vendors & Project Booths – Explore new tools and services

• 🔐 Onboarding Stations – Learn how to use Nostr hands-on

• 🐦 Nostrich Flocking – Meet your favorite nyms IRL

• 🍸 Three Full Bars – Two floors of socializing overlooking vibrant Fremont Street

| | | | | ----------- | -------------------- | ------------------- | | Time | Name | Topic | | 7:30-7:50 | Derek | Nostr for Beginners | | 8:00-8:20 | Mark & Paul | Primal | | 8:30-8:50 | Terry | Damus | | 9:00-9:20 | OpenMike and Ainsley | V4V | | 09:30-09:50 | The Space | Space |

This is the after-party of the year for those who love freedom technology and decentralized social community. Don’t miss it.

---

Final Thoughts

Whether you're there to learn, network, party, or build, Bitcoin 2025 in Las Vegas has a packed week of Nostr-friendly programming. Be sure to catch all the events, visit the Nostr Lounge, and experience the growing decentralized social revolution.

🟣 Find us. Flock with us. Purple pill someone.

@ 000002de:c05780a7

I've been trying out Arch Linux again and the thing that always surprises me is pacman. The way it works seems so unintuitive to me coming from the apt, yum, and dnf worlds.

I know I will get it and it will become internalized but I just wonder what the designer was thinking when making the flags/commands.

https://stacker.news/items/985808

@ 6d5c826a:4b27b659

• Remmina - Feature-rich remote desktop application for linux and other unixes. (Source Code) GPL-2.0 C
• Tiger VNC - High-performance, multi-platform VNC client and server. (Source Code) GPL-2.0 C++
• X2go - X2Go is an open source remote desktop software for Linux that uses the NoMachine/NX technology protocol. (Source Code) GPL-2.0 Perl

@ 3f68dede:779bb81d

@ 000002de:c05780a7

I completely missed this until yesterday. I was listening to our local news talk station and it came up. They had some people that were pretty knowledgeable about prostate cancer on. They talked about other presidents being tested while in office for it. They came to conclusion that it is possible that Biden wasn't having his PSA checked. This is pretty normal for a old dude his age. But it is not normal for a President his age.

My thought is much simpler.

We know his doctors, the media, and his admin were lying about his health when he was in office. Hello! Anyone paying attention and not invested in his regime knew he was declining mentally in front of our very eyes. They covered for him over and over again. Only those that don't pay attention or discounted his critics completely was surprised by his debate performance.

To be clear though, Biden is far from the first president to do this. Wilson, FDR, Kennedy, and Reagan all had issues and they were kept from the public. If we learned these things in school we might actually have a public that thinks critically once and a while.

So, with that in mind do you really think the regime would not withhold medical info about this cancer? Come on. Don't be naive. He clearly was not in charge 100% of the time while in office and the regime wanted to maintain power. Sharing that he had prostate cancer would not be on the menu.

Politics is like a drug that numbs the brain. Because people don't like one party or person they retard their thinking. Its the same thing as happens in sports. Fans of one team see the same play completely differently from the other team's fans. Politics and the investment into parties kills most people's objectivity.

I don't trust liars. It honestly blows my mind how trusting people can be of professional liars. Both parties are full of liars. Trump is a liar and those opposing him are liars. We are drowning in lies. You can vote for a lessor of two evils but never forget what they are.

https://stacker.news/items/985791

@ f85b9c2c:d190bcff

I’ve always believed that truth doesn’t bend to the will of the crowd. Growing up, I watched people nod along to ideas they didn’t even agree with, just because everyone else seemed to. It baffled me then, and it still does now. There’s something powerful about standing firm when you know you’re right—even if it means standing alone.

It’s not easy, though. The pressure to conform can feel like a tidal wave, crashing down with judgment, whispers, and rolled eyes. I’ve been there, heart pounding, wondering if I’m the crazy one. But here’s what I’ve learned: the majority isn’t always right. History backs me up—think of Galileo, shunned for saying the Earth wasn’t the center of the universe, or the countless voices drowned out before they were proven true. Numbers don’t guarantee wisdom.

For me, it’s about integrity. If I’ve wrestled with the facts, questioned myself, and still landed on solid ground, I’m not backing down just to keep the peace. It’s not arrogance—it’s conviction. I’d rather be the lone voice in a sea of noise than a silent echo of a lie. Because in the end, truth doesn’t care about headcounts. It cares about courage.

@ f85b9c2c:d190bcff

Hey, it’s me again, and let me tell you about the wildest thing that happened to me recently. I swear, my life could be a comedy show sometimes😂. Picture this: me and my buddies were out messing around in the woods near campus, just kicking it like we always do. The sun was out, the vibes were good, and we were probably being louder than we needed to be. Then, out of nowhere, I spotted something slithering near my friend benji leg.

A snake. A legit, no-joke snake!

I yelled, “SNAKE!” at the top of my lungs—probably sounded like a total lunatic —and before I could even blink, those dudes were GONE. I mean, faster than their shadows, Olympic-sprinter-level gone. I’m standing there, heart pounding, looking at this snake like, “Bruh, did I just get ditched?” Turns out, I did. My so-called friends bolted back to the dorms without a second thought, leaving me to face the scaly intruder solo. Luckily, the snake wasn’t in the mood for drama. It just gave me this lazy side-eye and slithered off, like it was too cool to deal with me. I hightailed it back to the dorms too, and when I got there, benji and the crew were already laughing their heads off. “Bro, you screamed like a horror movie victim!” they said. Yeah, real funny, guys.

Honestly, though? I’m just glad that snake didn’t get too cozy with my backside. A near miss like that deserves a medal—or at least a good story. We’ve been cracking up about it ever since, and now every time we’re out, I’m the designated “snake spotter. Lesson learned: friends are great until nature throws a curveball. Phew, that was close! Never be afraid to stand against everyone if you know you’re right.