@ bf95e1a4:ebdcc848

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

Financial Atheism

“Don’t trust, verify” is a common saying amongst bitcoiners that represents a sound attitude towards not only Bitcoin but all human power structures. In order to understand Bitcoin, one must admit that everything in society is man-made. Every civilization, every religion, every constitution, and every law is a product of human imagination. It wasn’t until as late as the 17th century that the scientific method started to become the dominant practice for describing how the world actually worked. Peer-to-peer review and repeated testing of a hypothesis are still quite recent human practices. Before this, we were basically just guessing and trusting authorities to a large extent. We still do this today, and despite our progress over the last couple of centuries, we still have a long way to go. Our brains are hardwired to follow the leader of the pack. The human brain is born with a plethora of cognitive biases pre-installed, and we have to work very hard to overcome them. We evolved to survive in relatively small groups, and our brains are thus not really made for seeing the bigger picture. Bitcoin’s proof-of-work algorithm is constructed in such a way that it is easy to verify that computational power was sacrificed in order to approve a block of transactions and claim its reward. In this way, no trust in any authority is required as it is relatively trivial to test the validity of a block and the transactions it contains. This is nothing short of a complete reimagining of how human society ought to be governed. The beauty of mathematics governs the Bitcoin system. Everything that ever happens in Bitcoin is open and verifiable to everyone, even to those who are not yet using it.

After the tragic events of 9/11 in 2001, Sam Harris started writing his book The End of Faith, which happened to be released around the same time as Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion, Daniel Dennett's Breaking the Spell, and Christopher Hitchens’ God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. These books kick-started what, in hindsight, has often been referred to as the new atheist movement, even though there has arguably never been anything new about atheism. Atheism must almost certainly have preceded religion since religious ideas require the person holding the idea to believe a certain doctrine or story. Atheism is nothing but the rejection of ways to describe the world that are not verifiable by experimentation. A fly on the wall is probably an atheist by this definition of the word. Atheism is often accused of being just another set of beliefs, but the word itself describes what it is much better — a lack of belief in theistic ideas. It is not a code of conduct or set of rules to live your life by; it is simply the rejection of that which cannot be scientifically verified. Many people, religious people, in particular, have a hard time grasping this. If you believe that a supernatural entity created everything in everyone's life, you might not be too comfortable with a word that describes a complete rejection of what you believe created everything, including the very atheist that the word describes. The amount of different religious worldviews that exist is probably equal to the sum of all religious people on the planet, but all world views that reject these superstitious beliefs require but one word. Atheism is not the opposite of religion but is simply the lack of it.

In 2008, another sub-culture movement of unbelief was born. Let’s call it Financial Atheism — the rejection of unverifiable value claims. With the invention of Bitcoin, a way of rejecting fraudulent expressions of a token’s value was born. Those of us fortunate enough to have been born in secular countries all enjoy not having the ideas of religious demagogues dictating our lives on a daily basis. We can choose which ideas to believe in and which to reject. What we still have very limited means of choosing, however, are the ways in which we express value to each other. We’re told to use a system in which we all have a certain number of value tokens assigned to our name, either as a number on a screen or as digits on paper notes. We all live in the collective hallucination that these numbers are somehow legit and that their authenticity is not to be questioned.

A Bitcoin balance assigned to a certain Bitcoin address might seem just as questionable to a layman, but if you have a basic understanding of the hashing algorithms and game theory behind it, it’s not. At the time of writing, the hash of the latest block on the Bitcoin blockchain begins with eighteen zeros in a row. These zeros represent the Proof of Work that ensures that this block is valid and that every transaction in it actually happened. If you can grasp the concept of a hashing algorithm, and if you have an intuition about mathematics, you realize the gargantuan amount of calculating effort that went into finding this particular hash. It is simply mind-blowing. To forge a false version of a hash beginning with eighteen zeros just wouldn’t be economically viable. Of course, you can never actually know that a 51% attack or some other attempt at corrupting the blockchain hasn’t occurred, but you can know that such an attack would require more than half of the network acting against their own economic interest. Bitcoin is not something to believe in. You don’t need to trust any authority because you can validate the plausibility of its authenticity yourself. It’s the financial equivalent of atheism or unbelief. Satoshi wasn’t Jesus. Satoshi was Brian of Nazareth, telling his followers to think for themselves.

The first law of thermodynamics, also known as the Law of Conservation of Energy, states that energy cannot be created or destroyed in an isolated system. The second law states that the entropy of any isolated system always increases, and the third law states that the entropy of a system approaches a constant value as the temperature approaches absolute zero. In the Bitcoin network, participants known as miners compete for new Bitcoin in a lottery with very fixed rules. The more hashing power (computing power) a miner contributes to the network, the higher his chances of winning the block reward, a specific amount of Bitcoin that is halved every four years. The difficulty of this lottery - in other words, the miner’s chance of winning it — is re-calibrated every 2016th block so that the average time it takes to find the next block is always roughly ten minutes. What this system produces is absolute scarcity; the amount of Bitcoin in existence at any moment in time is always predictable. The more time that passes, the slower the rate of coin issuance and the block reward slowly approaches zero. By the time it does, around the year 2140, the individual miner’s incentive to mine for a reward will, at least theoretically, have been replaced by an incentive to collect transaction fees from the participants of the network. Even now, the sum of all fees make up a non-trivial part of the miners’ revenue. Yet from a user’s point of view the fees are still very low, and as the network scales up using Layer 2 solutions such as the Lightning Network, they’re expected to remain low for quite a long time ahead.

Absolute scarcity is a concept that mankind has never encountered before. Arguably, this makes it the first man-made concept to ever be directly linked to the laws of physics. Everything anyone does requires a certain amount of energy. The very word doing implies that some kind of movement, some type of energy expenditure, needs to occur. As mentioned earlier, how we value things is entirely subjective. Different actions are of different value to different people. How we value different things is also inevitably linked to the supply of those things. Had the trapped-under-ice winter diver mentioned in chapter one been equipped with a scuba tank, he probably wouldn't have thought of his next breath as such a precious thing. The price a person is willing to pay for a good — in other words, the sum of one or more person’s actions — can be derived from two basic variables: The highly subjective demand for the good and the always-constrained-by-time-and-space supply of that same good. Note that if supply is sufficiently limited, there only needs to be a minimal amount of demand for a good for its price to increase.

One could argue that no one needs Bitcoin and that, therefore, Bitcoin would have no intrinsic value. One could also argue that there’s no such thing as intrinsic value since demand is always subjective. In any case, there will always be a cost to mine Bitcoin, and the more mining power in the network, the higher that cost. This cost, ensured by the Bitcoin network’s Proof-Of-Work algorithm, is probably as close to a pure energy cost as the price of a human activity will ever get. Once the mining rig is in place, a simple conversion process follows — energy in, scarce token out. Should the cost of production exceed the current price of the token, the miner can just choose not to sell, thereby limiting the supply of Bitcoin in circulation even more and eventually selling them for other goods whenever he sees fit. In this sense, Bitcoin is a battery. Perhaps the best battery ever invented.

Storing and moving electrical energy around has always been costly and wasteful. Bitcoin offers a way of converting energy into a small part of a specific number. A mathematical battery, if you will. It is important to remember that it does not convert energy into value directly, but rather electricity into digital scarcity — digital scarcity that can be used to express value. Energy cannot be created or destroyed in an isolated system, as the first law of thermodynamics clearly states. Bitcoin can express how much energy was sacrificed in order to acquire a share of the total sum. You can also acquire Bitcoin by buying it rather than mining it, but in doing so, you also spend energy. You somehow acquired the money with which you bought the Bitcoin. You, or someone else, sacrificed time and energy somewhere. Bitcoin lets you express that you see that there’s a connection between value and scarcity by letting you sacrifice effort to claim a part of the total sum.

The excitement we so-called "Bitcoin Maximalists" feel about Bitcoin does not come primarily from the enormous gains that those who hopped early onto the freight train have been blessed with. Nor is it because we’re “in it for the technology,” as can often be heard from opponents. Those of us who preach the near-divinity of this invention do so above all because we see the philosophical impacts of absolute scarcity in a commodity. The idea of a functioning solution to the double-spending problem in computerized money is an achievement that simply can’t be ignored. By solving the double-spending problem, Satoshi also made counterfeiting impossible, which in turn makes artificial inflation impossible. The world-changing potential of this invention cannot be understated. Not in the long run.

The more you think about it, the more the thought won’t give you any peace of mind. If this experiment works, if it’s real, it will take civilization to the next level. What we don’t know is how long this will take. Right now, debates in the Bitcoin space are about Bitcoin’s functionality as a medium of exchange and its potential as a good store of value. We might be missing the point. We cannot possibly know if a type of monetary token for which you’re completely responsible, with no third-party protection, will ever become a preferred medium of exchange for most transactions. Nor can we know if the price of Bitcoin will follow the hype-cycle path that we all want it to follow so that it can become the store of value that most maximalists claim it already is. Maybe we’ve been focused on the wrong things all along. Maybe Bitcoin’s greatest strength is in its functionality as a unit of account. After all, this is all that Bitcoin does. If you own 21 Bitcoin, you own one-millionth of the world's first absolutely scarce commodity. This might not make you rich overnight, but it just might have something to do with the opportunities available to your great-great-grandchildren.

Throughout history, whenever a prehistoric human tribe invented ceremonial burial, that tribe began to expand rapidly. Why? Because as soon as you invent belief in an afterlife, you also introduce the idea of self-sacrifice on a larger scale. People who held these beliefs were much easier for a despot to manipulate and send into battle with neighboring tribes. Religious leaders can use people’s fears and superstitions to have them commit all sorts of atrocities to their fellow man, and they still do so today. Belief in a “greater good” can be the most destructive idea that can pop up in a human mind. The Nazis of World War II Germany believed that exterminating Jews was for the “greater good” of their nation’s gene pool. Belief in noble causes often comes with unintended side effects, which can have disastrous consequences.

Religious leaders, political leaders, and other power-hungry sociopaths are responsible for the greatest crimes against humanity ever committed — namely, wars. Europeans often question the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, which protects the right to bear arms, whenever a tragic school shooting occurs on the other side of the Atlantic. What everyone seems to forget is that less than a hundred years ago, Europe was at war with itself because its citizens had given too much power to their so-called leaders. The Nazis came to power in a democracy — never forget that. Our individual rights weren’t given to us by our leaders; we were born with them. Our leaders can’t give us anything; they can only force us to behave in certain ways. If we truly want to be in charge of our lives, we need to find the tools necessary to circumvent the bullshit ourselves.

About the Bitcoin Infinity Academy

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

@ 65038d69:1fff8852

Two weeks ago I posted “Delete the Technology” talking about the idea of removing entire technological elements from your life, such as smartphones or social medias, as a way to simplify. Little did I know one of those elements in my life would soon be deleting me…

Story time! While at my desk last week I saw I had an email from Instagram about the ScaleBright account. It had been suspended due to being connected to my personal Facebook account, which was an admin on a Facebook Page for an old business (closed 5+ years ago), which was currently suspended for “violating community guidelines”. I could of course appeal this decision, which I did, and during the process it was explained that the offending Facebook Page was suspended by one of their automated systems. Also, because the ScaleBright Instagram account was connected to my personal Facebook account, it too had been suspended, as well as my associated personal Instagram account. To reiterate, the causal chain of events was:

1. automated suspension of an old, disused Facebook Page, which caused
2. automated suspension of the ScaleBright Instagram account, which caused
3. automated suspension of my personal Facebook account, which caused
4. automated suspension of my personal Instagram account

After appealing the suspension of the ScaleBright Instagram account another automated system released it, saying the suspension was in error. In theory this should have automatically released my personal Facebook and Instagram accounts. As luck would have it, this did not happen. Those accounts are still suspended.

The instructions from Facebook to appeal where to “log into your (scalebrightsolutions) Instagram account to appeal our decision”. This of course does nothing as that account is no longer suspended. After much searching I was able to find an email address that is supposedly for manually appealing suspensions (appeals@fb.com), but Facebook’s own documentation makes no mention of that address or any other. I’ve sent an email anyway.

Given my earlier suggestion of deleting technology, it may behoove me to take my own medicine and let those accounts go. Do I even need them for anything? I did make extensive use of Facebook Messenger and Marketplace, as well as Groups and Pages. Lots of teams and businesses use these tools exclusively for communication too (such as my local farmer’s market), with little chance of them changing platforms because little ol’ me “doesn’t use Facebook anymore”. But what are my options?

I have two options before me, both of which have downsides. If I can’t successfully appeal, I could let the accounts go and live without those platforms. Or I could create new accounts, but that goes directly against Meta’s terms of service, and I’d risk getting automatically suspended all over again. As of today I’m leaning toward shouting a hearty William Wallace “freedooooom!” and abandoning Meta’s platforms permanently. After all, there are other options for chat and social media that are built to be the antithesis of this sort of centralized authoritarianism, some of which I’m already using.

Nostr is a social media protocol I’ve been using for about a year now. This is different than a platform, such as Facebook, as there is no central ownership or authority for Nostr. Nostr uses a combination of servers (called relays) and apps (called clients), of which anyone can create and use. There are no “official” servers or apps, and while a server operator could ban my account from their server, they can’t ban me from the protocol or anyone else’s servers. If I wanted to I could even create my own private server just for me and my friends. One of the downsides to Nostr is that’s there’s no integrated chat or messaging functions.

For chat I’ve been testing Matrix. It’s similar to Nostr in that it’s a protocol and not a platform, and uses a combination of servers and apps. You can connect to the wider Matrix network, or just your own private server.

The biggest problem with both Nostr and Matrix is that to be useful, people need to use them. This loops us back to Facebook; the people I want to communicate with are there, and have no effective reasons to leave and use Nostr and Matrix instead. I guess I’ll need to brush up on my Braveheart speeches. *Ahem* They may suspend our accounts, but they’ll never suspend our freedom!

@ 65038d69:1fff8852

There aren’t many things in the technology realm that evoke the same level of disgust as having to deal with passwords. For I.T. staff printers are a close second, but for everyone else, passwords are something most would gladly vote off the island. Unfortunately they play a key role (pun fully intended) in verifying your access to your accounts, the same way a physical key verifies your access to your home. But why are they the way they are? And are there any ways we can make them easier to deal with?

When it comes to access security, there are different ways a system can confirm you have access. These are called “factors”, and there are three of them:

Possession Factor: Something you have. This could be a traditional key, a keycard, a fob, or security key.

Inherence Factor: Something you are. Biometrics such as fingerprints and Apple’s FaceID are examples of this.

Knowledge Factor: Something you know. Passwords and PINs are the most common examples.

For knowledge factor methods we have three general options for managing them:

Memorize: This is fine if you only have a few passwords to memorize, but most of us have more than few things to log into, and even more if we include PINs (which are another form of passwords).

Write them down: Much easier than memorizing, especially if you’re making sure each password is unique. A password book is good for up to a few dozen entries but after that will get cumbersome to search through.

Password manager: This is currently the ultimate in password management solutions (hence the name). A password manager can take care of generating, saving, and typing your passwords, as well as your usernames and other form data!

There is one major con to using a password manager; it’s not quite as humanly intuitive as a password book. It’s another system you’ll have to learn and maintain. But the amount of work that it saves and the improved security make it worth the effort. The ultimate goal of password managers is to maximize security and minimize cognitive load.

Okay, you’ve decided to use a password manager. You’ll need to choose from two categories, depending on your level of trust and how much work you’re willing to do. The first are hosted or cloud systems. With these, someone else (the password manager company) is taking care of most of the technical details for you. Bitwarden, 1Password, Proton Pass, Apple Passwords, and built-in browser systems are popular. Sign up for an account, install the browser extension or app on all your devices, and away you go! The downside: you’re trusting these companies to keep your passwords safe, and they’re less than perfect. Do a search for “LastPass leak” for an example. Also, if you’re like me, you may harbour a general distrust of companies (and governments…and banks…and squirrels…and seed oils...wait, what were we talking about?).

Fear not, for the second option requires far less trust in faceless organizations (or rodents). You can self-host your own password manager! The obvious downside is the extra work to set up and maintain it. But hey, no shadowy supervillains up in your passwords! Woohoo! Vaultwarden and KeePass are popular here. And it’s even easier if you have a server like I mentioned in “A Subscription-Free, Cloud-Free Office”.

A few extra notes and further reading on the subject of passwords and security. Regardless of your choice, it’s a good idea to have a plan for granting someone else access to your passwords in case of emergencies, or if something happens to you. If you have a family lawyer, ask them about “digital legacy planning”. Or at the very least leave access instructions with a trusted family member or friend.

If you decide to use a password manager, MFA is still necessary, especially for high-risk accounts like banking and email. MFA will probably get its own article from me in the future.

Finally, you may see hear about “passwordless” and “passkey” systems. These are relatively new, and despite the name, are not complete replacements for passwords. For now, think of them as fancy passwords. Passwords in formalwear. Passwords on the way to the opera. Passwords on the way to a $10,000/plate fundraiser that definitely isn’t a political money laundering operation held at an art gallery that definitely isn’t also a money laundering operation. Squirrel!

If you or your organization want help with your password management, you can find us at scalebright.ca.

@ e97aaffa:2ebd765d

Nos últimos anos, tornei-me num acérrimo crítico do Euro, sobretudo da política monetária altamente expansionista realizada pelo Banco Central Europeu (BCE). Apesar de ser crítico, eu não desejo que Portugal volte a ter moeda própria.

No seguimento gráfico, é a variação do IPC de Portugal nos últimos 60 anos:

No gráfico inclui os momentos históricos, para uma melhor interpretação dos dados.

O Índice de Preços ao Consumidor (IPC) é usado para observar tendências de inflação. É calculado com base no preço médio necessário para comprar um conjunto de bens de consumo e serviços num país, comparando com períodos anteriores.

É uma ferramenta utilizada para calcular a perda de poder de compra, mas é uma métrica que é facilmente manipulada em prol dos interesses dos governos.

Análise histórica

No período marcelista, houve uma crescente inflação, devido a fatores, como os elevados custos da guerra e o fim dos acordos de Bretton Woods contribuíram para isso. Terminando com uma inflação superior a 13%.

Da Revolta dos Cravos (1974) até à adesão da CEE (atual União Europeia, UE), nos primeiros anos foram conturbados a nível político, mesmo após conquistar alguma estabilidade, em termos de política monetária foi um descalabro, com inflação entre 12% a 30% ao ano. Foi o pior momento na era moderna.

Com a entrada da CEE, Portugal ainda manteve a independência monetária, mas devido à entrada de muitos milhões de fundos europeus, essências para construir infraestrutura e desenvolver o país. Isto permitiu crescer e modernizar o país, gastando pouco dinheiro próprio, reduzindo a necessidade da expansão monetária e claro a inflação baixou.

Depois com a adesão ao Tratado de Maastricht, em 1991, onde estabeleceu as bases para a criação da União Económica e Monetária, que culminou na criação da moeda única europeia, o Euro. As bases eram bastante restritivas, os políticos portugueses foram obrigados a manter uma inflação baixa. Portugal perdeu a independência monetária em 1999, com a entrada em vigor da nova moeda, foi estabelecida a taxa de conversão entre escudos e euros, tendo o valor de 1 euro sido fixado em 200,482 escudos. A Euro entrou em vigor em 1999, mas o papel-moeda só entrou em circulação em 2002.

Assim, desde a criação até 2020, a inflação foi sempre abaixo de 5% ao ano, tendo um longo período abaixo dos 3%.

A chegada da pandemia, foi um descalabro no BCE, a expansão monetária foi exponencial, resultando numa forte subida no IPC, quase 8% em 2022, algo que não acontecia há 30 anos.

Conclusão

Apesar dos últimos anos, a política monetária do BCE tem sido péssima, mesmo assim continua a ser muito melhor, se esta fosse efetuada em exclusividade por portugueses, não tenho quaisquer dúvidas disso. O passado demonstra isso, se voltarmos a ser independentes monetariamente, será desastroso, vamos virar rapidamente, a Venezuela da Europa.

Até temos boas reservas de ouro, mas mesmo assim não são suficientes, mesmo que se inclua outros ativos para permitir a criação de uma moeda lastreada, ela apenas duraria até à primeira crise. É inevitável, somos um país demasiado socialista.

A solução não é voltar ao escudo, mas sim o BCE deixar de imprimir dinheiro, como se não houvesse amanhã ou então optar por uma moeda total livre, sem intromissão de políticos.

O BCE vai parar de expandir a moeda?

Claro que não, eles estão encurralados, a expansão monetária é a única solução para elevada dívida soberana dos estados. A única certeza que eu tenho, a expansão do BCE, será sempre inferior ao do Banco de Portugal, se este estivesse o botão da impressão à sua disposição. Por volta dos 5% é muito mau, mas voltar para a casa dos 15% seria péssimo, esse seria o nosso destino.

É muito triste ter esta conclusão, isto é demonstrativo da falta de competência dos políticos e governantes portugueses e o povo também tem uma certa culpa. Por serem poucos exigentes em relação à qualidade dos políticos que elegem e por acreditar que existem almoços grátis.

Bitcoin fixes this

@ 65038d69:1fff8852

Does your life feel overly complicated? Do most things feel like 10 steps when they used to be 3? Does simply maintaining your existence feel like a hamster wheel with hopscotch squares on the inside? Do you find yourself yearning for “simpler times”? While there are many things in a complex society outside our control, personal technology choices are still within our purview. Maybe it’s time to consider deleting some of the tech from our lives in an effort to simplify.

I worked at a phone shop for some time, and one of the things that surprised me was how many non-smart phones we sold. We had a lot of customers whose only phone needs were calling and the occasional text. Anything their phone couldn’t do could be taken care of on a computer at home or at work, and a smartphone would have been a whole ‘nother stack of skills to learn and maintain. So why not go without one? For less than $100 you can get a plain flip phone from your local phone shop, or hop on your marketplace of choice and get a used one for half that. They’ll take the same SIM card your smart phone does, so simply power down, swap the card over, and try it out for a while!

Social media is another one that you can probably trim down on. How many platforms are you actively using? I’m most likely going to remove Snapchat from my phone as the notifications from Snapchat themselves are annoying, I hardly ever use it, and I’m connected with those I use it with elsewhere. I helped someone recently who uses Facebook to connect with family but has been struggling with the technical aspects of securely maintaining their account. Switching to group texts or another platform those family members are already using may be easier than fighting with Facebook account compromises and their account recovery processes.

You may even consider abandoning social media completely. “I’m not on social media” has become less the exclusive domain of luddites and is certainly not only spoken by older generations. Any Gen Zers who took part in the “nose cover” trend early this year will understand. Try going on a social media fast for a few weeks (or even a few days) and see if you feel the need to return.

Using myself for another example, I bought a smartwatch about 3 years ago and wear it fairly regularly. But the work to make sure its charged, keep up with the changes, and any manual maintenance items has me thinking I won’t be replacing it when it dies. The nice-to-haves it brings aren’t worth the trouble.

A final hot take: In your workplace, how many staff’s only interaction with technology is time tracking or timesheets? Paper timesheets may be an option. I know, I know, Hell has frozen over and the tech guy is talking about switching something from digital to paper. But my job is supposed to be to guide toward efficiency. If bludgeoning your blue collar staff into the cyberpunk dystopian future of a spreadsheet (or even worse, a geofence-powered time tracking app on their phones) turns out to be more work than entering a handful of numbers off of paper timesheets, maybe paper is the more efficient (and humane) option.

If you like the idea of deleting technology at work or at home and want some help with it, you can find us at scalebright.ca.

@ 65038d69:1fff8852

Apple held one of their regular events last week and announced the iPhone 16. The inevitable repeating questions ensued. Should you upgrade your phone? Is it time? Is it worth it? What about Android users? Should I switch to an iPhone? Should I switch to an Android? If you’re looking for a short answer: no. If you have an attention span longer than that of a ferret, there is some nuance to be had.

First let’s define “upgrading”. In this context I define it as buying a new phone before your current one has reached the end of its useful life. Your current phone is working just fine, there’s nothing wrong with it, but you buy a new one anyway.

There’s nothing morally or ethically wrong with upgrading, but practically it’s pointless. Phone cameras plateaued 10 years ago (around the time of the iPhone 6 series), and the rest of the hardware a few years after that. Aside from some edge cases, the current lines of phones will do the same things for you as a 10 year old design would. Look up some sample photos from an iPhone 6. Then look at similar photos taken with the iPhone 15 or 16. They’re functionally the same. “No, the new ones are better! You can tell when you zoom in 100x or get a wall-sized poster print!” Those are the edge cases I talked about. You’re posting fur baby updates for grandma on Facebook and low-effort thirst traps on Instagram. You don’t need 48MP.

With the launch of the iPhone X and Samsung S8 in 2017, we saw the removal of the physical home button and entrance into the current epoch of “plain rectangle with a touch screen”. Which is excellent, because you no longer have to spend hours agonizing over which phone to buy. Pick a screen size, pick your budget, and you’re done! You are the proud owner of a functioning plain rectangle that will continue to function until the manufacturer stops supplying security updates (typically 5 to 7 years).

To summarize, don’t bother replacing your phone unless it: a) dies, b) the battery dies and a replacement is 50% or more of the cost a new phone, or c) it’s no longer getting security updates.

Since this conversation was started by the iPhone launch that’s mostly what I’ve talked about, but this applies to mainstream Android phones as well. Samsung and Google promise 7 years of updates for their current gen lines. There’s no need to upgrade, only replace.

Lastly, if you’re on an Android, don’t bother switch to an iPhone. It’s in no way “better”, and the mental load of learning a different system will have you clawing at the walls of your padded cell. Same goes for the iPhone users; don’t bother switching to an Android. Either switch would be like trading in your perfectly good rust-bucket for a Toyota because you think you’d have to fix it less…wait…no…that’s a bad example…

@ 65038d69:1fff8852

Have you heard the phrase “death by committee”? The idea being put forward by the phrase is that a project or task is doomed to fail if given to a hierarchically-flat group instead of an individual (see also “death by a thousand cuts”). While an individual decision-maker will almost always be more efficient, most organizations that are not for-profit (and even many that are, such as publicly traded corporations) are run by a governing body. If you find yourself in this situation you may be asking yourself, “how do we even get anything done?” As with many things, the answer is relatively simple, but can be extremely difficult to implement, for the exact reasons we just went over.

First, let’s define roles:

Governing body: This will most commonly be a council, board, or committee. Aside from formal meeting roles (see Robert’s Rules of Order), we’re going to assume the members only have authority as a democratic group.

Operations or staff: Everyone in the organization who is not part of the governing body. This includes contractors, consultants, and volunteers. We’ll use “operations” and “staff” interchangeably as euphony dictates.

Executive leader: This person may have the title of CEO, CAO, Director, or Manager, depending on the scale of your organization. For the purposes of this article, we’re going to include them in “operations”.

Next comes responsibilities. The governing body is responsible for mission, policies, and direction. Operations is responsible for procedures, tasks, and reports.

(A quick note; we’re going to assume all of these things are written. The value of the written word is a common theme here at ScaleBright, and I will most likely die preaching on the subject. See the previous entries under “Writing Things Down Is for Boys Too”, “Paper Copy Please!”, and “One Skill to Rule Them All”

Let’s also define the responsibilities:

Mission: The reason the organization exists, or what it’s trying to accomplish. This may be summarized in a formal mission statement.

Policy: A formal set of guidelines for the actions and behaviour of the governing body and operations. Policy does not usually include specific procedures or tasks, unless governing law requires it (i.e. harassment reporting and investigation sections of HR policies).

Direction: Governing body decisions, requests, and any other instructions passed to operations.

Procedures: A formal set of specific instructions for tasks.

Tasks: Activities that are carried out.

Reports: Information passed from operations to the governing body. Usually take the form of requests for decisions or post-task summaries.

Now that we have definitions for everything, let’s walk through how something would get done in some hypothetical scenarios.

Scenario 1: The volunteers (operations) at a food bank see that they have a need for more refrigerated food storage space. They prepare a report (task) using a decision request template (procedure) outlining the need as well as options for solutions (additional refrigerators or a walk-in cooler). The report is given to the manager (executive leader) for review and presentation to the board (governing body). The manager presents the report, and the board weighs the request based on the food bank’s mission and available resources. The decision is made to purchase additional refrigerators (direction) and the manager and staff follow their purchasing procedure to buy them, install them, and utilize them (procedures and tasks). Once they’re up-and-running, they send a brief report back to the board (via the manager) letting them know the direction was acted on and the tasks were completed.

Scenario 2: The council (governing body) of a municipality wants to build a new multiplex. Municipal law (policy) requires public consultation, so they ask (direction) their CAO (executive leader) to carry it out. The CAO passes the direction onto their staff, who follow their procedures to carry out the public consultation (tasks). Once the public consultation is over, the information is compiled (reports) and made available to the council for assessment.

A final note; both the governing body and operations should be fully aware of the other’s responsibilities. If staff know a potential request goes directly against policy, they can save everyone time by finding an alternative that doesn’t. If the governing body knows how long a particular procedure takes to complete, they won’t need make constant requests for updates.

If you’d like help implementing any of this in your organization, you can find us at scalebright.ca.

@ 65038d69:1fff8852

PDFs are everywhere, and pretty much everyone has used one at some point. How did we get here? What even are they? And is there anything we can do to make using them easier?

PDFs are both a type of file and a standard. The Portable Document Format was created by Adobe in the 90s, and became an open standard under the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) in 2008. It’s creator’s goals were to create a document format that could be opened on any device, regardless of platform, screen size, etc.

They were mostly successful. PDFs are now one of the best ways to send someone a document without having to worry about them being able to open it. Windows, MacOS, Linux, iOS, Android, e-readers, and even embedded devices like car infotainment systems and fast food menu screens can display them. Most email systems can open them without you having to download the file first.

Making a PDF is usually a straight-forward process. Most document software (Word, Google Docs, Pages, etc.) have a built-in export feature that will save the current document as a PDF. Or if you’re starting with paper, your scanner will spit out a PDF file. Then you can send that file to whoever you like. This is where you might encounter the most common problem I’ve had to help users with.

PDF files are not designed to be edited. Yes, technically they can be, but it’s a rough process that rarely gives us the results we want. Same with attempting to convert a PDF back into whatever format the file was originally created in. Especially if you’re scanning a paper document. Even the fanciest, most expensive OCR (optical character recognition) software can’t turn a printed document back into an exact replica of the original. If someone sends you a PDF and you want to edit it, ask them to send you the original file instead. If they can’t, or won’t, that’s most likely on purpose.

This is an intentional feature of PDFs. If you want to send a document to someone and you don’t want them to be able to easily edit it (i.e. a contract or an invoice), PDF’s finalized nature makes it an excellent choice. The standard even includes options for encryption and passwords if you really want to limit the receiver’s ability to tamper with a secure document.

Speaking of secure documents, signatures and forms are also features of the PDF standard. This lets us do things like fill out and sign legally binding documents without having to travel to do so in person. Electronic signatures are well established in Canadian law and most other jurisdictions.

Last feature: printing. PDFs are an excellent way to make sure the physical attributes of a document remain unchanged when sent to someone. If a document is meant to be printed on a particular size of paper or in a particular orientation, these things are saved when the PDF is created.

If you want to smooth out your office’s processes that involve PDFs or other digital documents, or if you just need a little help with them, you can find us at scalebright.ca.

@ 65038d69:1fff8852

A common question interviewers ask is variations of, “If you could impart one piece of advice to everyone listening, what would it be?” I would answer that in the context of the workplace, reading comprehension is the base skill that underpins everything else.

Why reading comprehension? Most instructions come in the form of the written word. In the workplace, think of policies, procedures, notices, warning labels, and equipment instructions. Ikea has made an attempt at word-less assembly manuals, but I’m willing to bet most who’ve used them would rather they include at least some written information.

Humanity has been aware of the value of writing things down for most of history (see “Writing Things Down Is For Boys Too” for my arguments for the written word). And if we’re going to write things down, we need to be able to read (and comprehend) as well.

If you’re still not convinced, consider the skills training that are built on top of reading comprehension. Critical thinking, effective communications, leadership development, problem-solving, and most things technology related all depend on a functional level of reading comprehension.

The solutions for this are all underpinned by the same concept: practice. To improve your reading comprehension, practice reading and thinking about what you’ve read. Ideally in multiple forms. Short, medium, and long form are all important and will work different higher-order skills. For example, reading long form will teach patience and more complex analysis. If you’d prefer something more formal, many community libraries have adult literacy programs and most post-secondary institutions have relevant classes as part of their academic upgrading or essential skills programs.

I should point out that I see the irony in the fact that I include audio versions of these articles for those who’d rather listen than read. I’m also an avid audiobook consumer. My excuse is that most of my listening is done while carrying out mentally passive activities, like household chores. So you won’t receive any judgment from me if you continue to listen instead of read.

@ 65038d69:1fff8852

This week would have normally been a “People” category post, but with the news of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov’s arrest in France, I thought it would be a good opportunity to talk about secure communications instead.

When we say “secure communications” you probably imagine a stereotypical spy movie scene where a character at a payphone delivers the line “…is this line secure?”. While the days of ubiquitous payphones are mostly past us, many of us still like the idea of having at least private conversations with others.

We’re going to get the most technical and difficult parts of all this out of the way first. The difference between public, private, and secure communications, and the most difficult of all, figuring out what you want.

Public communications: Social media posts, blog posts, news media, and advertisements are public. They’re meant for a broad audience and we typically don’t care who sees them.

Private communications: Traditional telephone calls and physical mail are private. They’re meant for only the sender and receiver to see, but we don’t usually go out of our way to stop others from seeing the contents (i.e. we leave our mail on our car seats and kitchen tables).

Secure communications: Paper cheques, tax filings, and love letters. We’re willing to take extra steps to make sure others don’t see them (i.e. security envelopes and in-person delivery).

Most of the time private will do just fine. Apple’s iMessage and SMS or RCS everywhere else for texting does the job. Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and email are also fine. The average ne'er-do-well would need to steal your device to get access, and even then screen locks and passwords will stop most of them.

Platforms like Facebook Messenger and Signal advertise something called “end-to-end encryption” (abbreviated “E2E”). This means that before the message is sent it’s scrambled in such a way that only the receiver can unscramble it to read it. The problem is that we’re required to trust the provider, whether it be Facebook, WhatsApp, or Apple, to not lie and spy on us. In the case of Telegram, France arresting their CEO pushed Telegram over some people’s risk boundary as Mr. Durov may be willing to trade his freedom for government access to everyone’s messages. Who you decide to trust is entirely up to you.

If your answer is “I trust none of them!”, you may be willing to put in the work to set up secure communications. The idea is to host the platform (or at least the security functions) yourself so you don’t have to trust someone else to do it for you. As of the posting of this article, there are 3 systems I can recommend. They all come with tradeoffs and a fair amount of work to set up.

Email with PGP: PGP is an E2E system for email. Most email clients have a built-in way to use it. The hardest part is usually getting your contacts you want to use PGP with set up as well. It can also be difficult to use on mobile devices.

SimpleX: While quite secure, this system is still very much in testing. It’s also difficult to set up and use in a way that doesn’t rely on the creator’s servers (remember the trust issue?).

Matrix: This one takes a bit of work to set up and can be slow depending on your internet connection, but it’s the most full-featured and mobile-friendly of the systems I’ve tested. The biggest tradeoff is that you’ll need your own server.

Want help setting up secure communications for your business or personal group? You can find us at scalebright.ca.

@ 5d4b6c8d:8a1c1ee3

I'm short on time this morning, so I'm just plagiarizing @grayruby's notes, with minor revisions.

Territory Things:

• March Madness Points Challenge https://stacker.news/items/924541/r/Undisciplined
• IPL T20k Mania https://stacker.news/items/920125/r/Undisciplined
• CricZap https://stacker.news/items/919957/r/Undisciplined
• USA vs World https://stacker.news/items/923533/r/Undisciplined
• Any changes to NBA Prediction contest for March? (post coming today)
• Stackers voted to delay MLB Survivor

NCAA:

• How many 1 seeds will make final four?
• Cooper Flagg is the consensus number 1 but will he be a great NBA player?

NFL:

• Rule change proposals: Ban the tush push and make dynamic kickoff permanent

NBA;

• Pre playoffs Power Rankings

Blok'd Shots:

• Ovi with 6 to go

MLB:

• opening day finally arrived
• American League is a crap shoot
• Fantasy MLB

Betting:

• predyx markets
• Betplay- didn't work for me but how are you liking it?

And, as we do every week, we'll share an awesome @Aardvark sports fact.

What are we missing?

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/927714

@ 65038d69:1fff8852

Since the dawn of ubiquitous internet, websites have been vying for our attention. The intention behind commercial websites was harmless enough; to inform you of products or services available, like a stereotypical medieval street sign indicating blacksmith, tavern, or baker. But this quickly turned into an arms race with Madison Avenue advertising types employing every dirty trick they could think of to get eyeballs on screens. This led to what we have today, with our websites looking like Times Square or gossip magazine covers. And all this comes at a price; a website design and build for a small to medium sized org from a professional design firm will usually cost between $10,000 and $20,000.

I’m here to rescue you from this, and prove to you that your website can be done for a tiny fraction of that cost. Not only that, but it will be easier to read, require almost no maintenance, be extremely secure, and dirt cheap to host.

Sound too good to be true? You’re right to be skeptical. So I proactively put my words into action and built a version of the ScaleBright website using this framework. You can see it (and easily find your way back to this article) at simple.scalebright.ca.

Are you impressed? Shocked? Disappointed? “But Taylor, how am I supposed to convince my potential customers that I’m a serious business worthy of their patronage with a website like this?!” You probably already know that most of your business comes from happy customers referring others to you. When was the last time someone told you they came because they liked your website? Most likely never. So save yourself the $20,000, or even better, reinvest it into directly improving your services or broadening your product selection. Your customers will appreciate that volumes more.

Interested in a website like this? You can find our contact information at scalebright.ca, or if you prefer, simple.scalebright.ca.

@ 65038d69:1fff8852

On a Twitter thread about a fairly technical product a customer asked if the creator would consider making a paper version of the documentation. Their discussion got me thinking; is there a market for paper manuals for digital systems in our digital age?

Paper manuals for digital things isn’t a new idea, but it isn’t old either. 1950’s IBM mainframes had paper manuals, and books on Microsoft 365(https://www.amazon.ca/Teach-Yourself-VISUALLY-Microsoft-365/dp/1119893518) have been a big hit in offices I’ve worked with. They have a number of advantages: - They’re far less prone to failure or inaccessibility (power outages, etc). - They can be easier to find. A small shelf of manuals is simpler to look through than computer folders full of files. - For some, they can be easier to read and absorb. - It can be easier to follow along with instructions visible alongside your computer screen.

There are some disadvantages though:

• They’re slow or potentially impossible to update.
• They’re expensive to create and distribute.
• They aren’t searchable.
• You can include screenshots and photos, but not video.

Even while writing those out I was able to think of ways to work around or assist with those cons: - If in binder format, individual pages or sections could be replaced. - While not as fast as search, a back matter index could help. - QR codes linking to videos would be quick and easy to use.

The manuals I’m imagining wouldn’t be generic (i.e. the Microsoft 365 one linked above); they would be for processes specific to your org. For example, “how to fill out and submit a timesheet” or “how to troubleshoot our internet”. It might make sense to create a demo for people to check out in person…let me know if this is something you’d like to see.

The final question is financial viability. How much would you pay for a manual (or set of manuals)? How much would you pay for updates? Do you have staff capable and willing who you could pay to do this, or would you need hire someone external?

If any of this sounds interesting to you, if you have questions, or if you think I’m crazy and want to tell me so, you can find contact details on our website at scalebright.ca.

@ 65038d69:1fff8852

Even if you don’t consider yourself a “technology person” you’ve probably experienced “cloud” outages. We’ve had some large ones in the news recently; CDK Global last month (that was the car dealership one), Crowdstrike last week, and AWS seemingly always (they have so many they’ve become genericized and a meme).

Maybe you’re tired of dealing with these sorts of outages, or maybe you don’t like the idea of AI in everything. (I wrote a bit about this in “Is It Time for Linux on the Desktop?”.) There are options for your office, most of which are free, though they do come with some trade-offs.

The biggest is that you’ll be trading some of your OpEx for CapEx. Larger organizations probably won’t care as much as they’ll have plenty of both already, but if your technology budget is only a few thousand dollars a year it might be a large shift to go from spending a predictable, smaller amount monthly to larger amounts every few years.

The other is that you’ll need dedicated I.T. support and training. Again, if you’re a larger org you probably already have this. Not all of the software and systems I’m about to show you are as simple to set up as M365 or Google Workspace, and most of them don’t come with any automated maintenance.

Let’s start with a productivity suite (or office suite), since we’re already using one! The slides for this video were made in Impress, which is part of the LibreOffice suite. LibreOffice is open source and free, which means no subscription fees! Yay!

LibreOffice also includes Writer, a word processor, and Calc, a spreadsheet editor. As you can see, they’re quite similar to their Microsoft counterparts, but there are enough differences that your office will experience some productivity loss while your staff learn the differences.

You may have noticed that the task bar along the bottom doesn’t look like Windows. That’s because it isn’t! This computer is running Linux Mint, an operating system that, like LibreOffice, is open source and free. It also has the advantage of being very light; this demo is running on the equivalent of a 15 year old computer, so no need to buy $1000+ laptops just for office tasks. Using it is very similar to using Windows; there’s a bar along the bottom with a clock and icons on the right, running programs and shortcuts on the left, and a menu with power, settings, and installed programs. There’s also a file browser with all the usual folders.

Speaking of files, you may find yourself missing something like OneDrive or Google Drive. There are several open source and free alternatives for that too! This demo is using Nextcloud, and I use it for my business as well. It works very similar to OneDrive; I have my folders on this computer synced as well as access to shared folders.

Central file storage will be one of the new sources of CapEx. You’ll need a server of some kind for things like Nextcloud, as well as external backups. It doesn’t need to be a giant $20,000 rackmount unit; for most small offices something like a Start9 server or Intel NUC mini-computer with some USB drives will do great for $1,000 to $2,000 every 5 years or so. These servers can also do lots of other things we won’t cover today.

Next up is email. I recommend Thunderbird; it’s open source and free, and made by the same people as the Firefox web browser. It does email, contacts, calendar, and tasks, and can do chat, but I have a different recommendation for chat. Email service is one of the things we have to compromise on in our “cloud-free” plan and use a third party service for. Business-grade email service will cost anywhere from $15-$150/year/user depending on usage volume, features, and security threat models.

Last is chat and conferencing. This is another item we’ll make some compromises on. You’ll still be joining meetings on Zoom, Teams, WebEx, etc that others invite you to, but you can set up your own internal communications system without using any of those. Signal and Telegram are reasonably trusted third parties outside the “giant evil corporation” spheres, or if you have a server, SimpleX and Matrix are options. For demo purposes I have a Matrix system set up. You can do direct messaging, groups, and audio and video calls. Sending media and files are also supported.

This wasn’t meant to be an exhaustive list, so I’ve skipped over a few items (document signing, bookkeeping, and payment systems got cut from this demo), but the idea was to show you some of what an alternative office setup could look like. If any of this sounds interesting to you, reach out for a consultation. You can find us at scalebright.ca.

@ 65038d69:1fff8852

A gallerist I follow on social media posted some advice for artists working on their artist statements (something like a professional bio but targeted at potential collectors instead of fellow art professionals). One of their key points was to make it more entertaining and less like a dry, just-the-facts-only resume. And so I present to you a sci-fi version of my professional background!

Taylor Perron: IT Consultant and Sci-Fi Enthusiast In a universe where technology meets the extraordinary, Taylor N. Perron is the captain of the starship ScaleBright Solutions, navigating the cosmos of IT consulting with unparalleled expertise. As the owner of this cutting-edge company, Taylor brings a wealth of experience and a dash of sci-fi flair to the digital frontier.

The Journey Begins Taylor’s odyssey into the realm of technology started at the age of 5, mastering the ancient operating system known as Windows 3.11. This early encounter ignited a lifelong passion for computers and technology. Taylor's talents soon led to enrollment in an experimental online school, where he collaborated with the IT department on troubleshooting and high-level design changes. This foundation paved the way for a career that would see Taylor traversing various IT landscapes.

A Stellar Career After cutting his teeth with a local government, a school, and the oil & gas sector, Taylor launched his own IT contracting company. This venture marked the beginning of a career characterized by innovation and leadership. A decade-plus and an inter-provincial move later, Taylor took a brief hiatus from the I.T. space, returning in 2020. In 2024, Taylor embarked on a new mission with ScaleBright Solutions, returning to his IT consulting roots with renewed laser-powered vision.

ScaleBright Solutions specializes in a range of services, including network infrastructure, cybersecurity, financial systems, and management. Each project is approached with the precision of a seasoned astronaut navigating an asteroid field, ensuring clients receive stellar service tailored to their unique needs.

Credentials in the Space Age Taylor's credentials are as impressive as a starship's logbook. He is a Certified Bitcoin Professional and holds an Advanced Certification as an Amateur Radio Operator. His expertise in the Bitcoin realm was showcased when he served as a panel speaker at the 2023 Bitcoin Rodeo in Calgary, AB.

The Human Element Outside the digital domain, Taylor channels his entrepreneurial spirit into a side business, Standing Spoon, where he crafts and sells cold brew coffee at the local farmer’s market. This venture not only satisfies his love for coffee but also connects him with the local community in a tangible way.

A Sci-Fi Odyssey As you explore the vast universe of IT solutions, Taylor stands as a beacon of expertise and creativity. With ScaleBright Solutions, he offers a unique blend of technical prowess and visionary thinking, ensuring your journey through the digital cosmos is nothing short of extraordinary.

@ 57d1a264:69f1fee1

Bitcoin.design community is organizing another Designathon, from May 4-18. Let's get creative with bitcoin together. More to come very soon.

The first edition was a bursting success! the website still there https://events.bitcoin.design, and here their previous announcement.

Look forward for this to happen!

Spread the voice:

N: https://njump.me/nevent1qqsv9w8p93tadlnyx0rkhexj5l48l... X: https://x.com/bitcoin_design/status/1905547407405768927

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/927650

@ 2b24a1fa:17750f64

Der Deutsche Bundestag wurde neu gewählt. Für einige Abgeordnete und Regierungsmitglieder heißt es Time to Say Goodbye. Abschied ist ein scharfes Schwert.

https://soundcloud.com/radiomuenchen/nachruf-2-olaf-der-zeitenwender

Auch bei Radio München werden Trennungs- und Verlassenheitsgefühle getriggert. Umso mehr, wenn es sich nicht nur um duselige Allerweltsliebe handelt, sondern um den Abgang großer Helden. Sie bezahlten ihren todesmutigen und fast ehrenamtlichen Einsatz nicht mit dem Leben, jedoch mit der einen oder anderen Falte in Hemd oder Bluse, manchmal sogar im Gesicht. Was bleibt? Eine bescheidene Pension? Ein lausig bezahlter Manager-Job in einem Konzern? Wir wollen jedenfalls nicht, dass diese Volkshelden vom Zahn der Zeit abgenagt, vergessen werden und setzen ihnen deshalb ein bescheidenes akustisches, aber nachhaltiges Denkmal. Hören Sie die kleine satirische Reihe „Nachrufe“ von unserem Autor Jonny Rieder.\ Folge 2: Olaf der Zeitenwender

Sprecher: Karsten Troyke

Bild: Markus Mitterer für Radio München

Radio München\ www.radiomuenchen.net/​\ @radiomuenchen\ www.facebook.com/radiomuenchen\ www.instagram.com/radio_muenchen/\ twitter.com/RadioMuenchen

Radio München ist eine gemeinnützige Unternehmung.\ Wir freuen uns, wenn Sie unsere Arbeit unterstützen.

GLS-Bank\ IBAN: DE65 4306 0967 8217 9867 00\ BIC: GENODEM1GLS

@ 2b24a1fa:17750f64

Zwischen Überzeugungsarbeit und Propaganda verläuft ein schmaler Grad. Aber so oder so: Wer die subtileren Werkzeuge hat und vor allem die Mittel um Menschen zu kaufen, die diese dann anwenden, hat eindeutig die besseren Karten.

https://soundcloud.com/radiomuenchen/unterwanderter-journalismus-oder-der-mediale-deep-state-wankt-von-milosz-matuschekcolor=ffd400

Dass die Bevölkerung nun wissen will, mit welchen Mitteln sie auf welche Weise beeinflusst werden soll, ist selbstverständlich. Wie nuanciert diese Beeinflussung stattfinden kann, darauf haben uns unsere Hörer beim letzten Beitrag von Milosz Matuschek: „Die ersten Köpfe rollen“ gestoßen. Es ging um die staatliche amerikanische Behörde für internationale Entwicklungshilfe USAID. Matuschek schrieb: „Man liest was von AID im Namen und denkt, was man denken soll: klingt nach Bob Geldof, barmherzigen Schwestern und “Brot für die Welt”.“ Man hatte das nicht nur optisch wahrgenommen, nein, diese Behörde wurde hierzulande, in allen Medien US AID genannt, was unsere Sprecherin Sabrina Khalil übernahm. Dass die United States Agency for International Development in USA so nicht gesprochen wird, schrieben uns gleich mehrere aufmerksame Hörer. Es ist sicherlich keine Paranoia darüber nachzudenken, ob die Bedeutung unserer Sprache, unserer Wörter bis hin zur Aussprache im Fokus der Manipulation steht. Dafür wird sehr viel Geld locker gemacht und unter anderem in die Medien gepumpt.

Hören Sie heute den zweiten Teil der Reihe „Die Corona-Connection“ mit dem Titel: „Der mediale Deep State wankt“. Sprecherin: Sabrina Khalil.

Das freie Medienprojekt Pareto kann übrigens Unterstützung gebrauchen, dafür wurde ein Crowdfunding auf Geyser gestartet, wo man mit Bitcoin/Lightning-Spenden helfen kann. Und für Spenden auf dem klassischen Weg finden Sie die entsprechende Bankverbindung auf der Homepage pareto.space/de.

Nachzulesen unter: www.freischwebende-intelligenz.org/p/unter…mediale

Foto: Gleichschaltung - sie melden exakt den gleichen Wortlaut.

@ 7d33ba57:1b82db35

Girona, one of Catalonia’s most charming cities, is a perfect mix of history, culture, and gastronomy. Famous for its well-preserved medieval old town, colorful houses along the Onyar River, and Game of Thrones filming locations, Girona is a must-visit destination in northern Spain.

🏰 Top Things to See & Do in Girona

1️⃣ Girona Cathedral (Catedral de Santa Maria) ⛪

• One of Spain’s most impressive cathedrals, with the widest Gothic nave in the world.
• Famous as the Great Sept of Baelor in Game of Thrones.
• Climb the steps for a breathtaking city view.

2️⃣ Walk the Medieval Walls (Passeig de la Muralla) 🏰

• Offers panoramic views of Girona and the surrounding countryside.
• A great way to see the city from above and explore its medieval history.

3️⃣ The Colorful Houses of the Onyar River 🌉

• Girona’s most iconic view, with brightly colored houses reflecting on the river.
• Best viewed from the Pont de les Peixateries Velles, designed by Gustave Eiffel.

4️⃣ Explore the Jewish Quarter (El Call) 🏡

• One of Europe’s best-preserved Jewish quarters, with narrow, medieval streets.
• Visit the Museum of Jewish History to learn about Girona’s Jewish heritage.

5️⃣ Arab Baths (Banys Àrabs) 🏛️

• A 12th-century Romanesque bathhouse, inspired by Moorish architecture.
• Features a beautiful central dome with columns.

6️⃣ Game of Thrones Filming Locations 🎬

• Walk in the footsteps of Arya Stark through the city’s winding streets.
• Visit the steps of the cathedral, the Jewish Quarter, and Arab Baths, all featured in the series.

7️⃣ Eat at a Michelin-Starred Restaurant 🍽️

• Girona is home to El Celler de Can Roca, a 3-Michelin-star restaurant, ranked among the best in the world.
• Try local Catalan dishes like "suquet de peix" (fish stew) and botifarra (Catalan sausage).

🚗 How to Get to Girona

✈️ By Air: Girona-Costa Brava Airport (GRO) is 20 min away, with budget flights from Europe.
🚆 By Train: High-speed AVE trains connect Barcelona (38 min), Madrid (3.5 hrs), and Paris (5.5 hrs).
🚘 By Car: 1 hr from Barcelona, 40 min from Figueres (Dalí Museum).
🚌 By Bus: Direct buses from Barcelona and the Costa Brava.

💡 Tips for Visiting Girona

✅ Best time to visit? Spring & autumn (April–June & September–October) for pleasant weather. 🌤️
✅ Wear comfortable shoes – The old town is hilly with cobblestone streets. 👟
✅ Try xuixo – A delicious cream-filled pastry, unique to Girona. 🥐
✅ Visit early for Game of Thrones spots – They get crowded during the day! 🎥
✅ Take a day trip – Explore nearby Costa Brava beaches or Figueres (Dalí Museum). 🏖️

@ a60e79e0:1e0e6813

This is a long form note of a post that lives on my Nostr educational website Hello Nostr.

When most people stumble across Nostr, they see is as a 'decentralized social media alternative' — something akin to Twitter (X), but free from corporate control. But the full name, "Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted by Relays", gives a clue that there’s more to it than just posting short messages. The 'notes' part is easy to grasp because it forms almost everyone's first touch point with the protocol. But the 'other stuff'? That’s where Nostr really gets exciting. The 'other stuff' is all the creative and experimental things people are building on Nostr, beyond simple text based notes.

Every action on Nostr is an event, a like, a post, a profile update, or even a payment. The 'Kind' is what specifies the purpose of each event. Kinds are the building blocks of how information is categorized and processed on the network, and the most popular become part of higher lever specification guidelines known as Nostr Implementation Possibility - NIP. A NIP is a document that defines how something in Nostr should work, including the rules, standards, or features. NIPs define the type of 'other stuff' that be published and displayed by different styles of client to meet different purposes.

Nostr isn’t locked into a single purpose. It’s a foundation for whatever 'other stuff' you can dream up.

Types of Other Stuff

The 'other stuff' name is intentionally vague. Why? Because the possibilities of what can fall under this category are quite literally limitless. In the short time since Nostr's inception, the number of sub-categories that have been built on top of the Nostr's open protocol is mind bending. Here are a few examples:

1. Long-Form Content: Think blog posts or articles. NIP-23.
2. Private Messaging: Encrypted chats between users. NIP-04.
3. Communities: Group chats or forums like Reddit. NIP-72
4. Marketplaces: People listing stuff for sale, payable with zaps. NIP-15
5. Zaps: Value transfer over the Lightning Network. NIP57

Popular 'Other Stuff' Clients

Here's a short list of some of the most recent and popular apps and clients that branch outside of the traditional micro-blogging use case and leverage the openness, and interoperability that Nostr can provide.

Blogging (Long Form Content)

• Habla - Web app for Nostr based blogs
• Highlighter - Web app that enables users to highlight, store and share content

Group Chats

• Chachi Chat - Relay-based (NIP-29) group chat client
• 0xchat - Mobile based secure chat
• Flotilla - Web based chat app built for self-hosted communities
• Nostr Nests - Web app for audio chats
• White Noise - Mobile based secure chat

Marketplaces

• Shopstr - Permissionless marketplace for web
• Plebeian Market - Permissionless marketplace for web
• LNBits Market - Permissionless marketplace for your node
• Mostro - Nostr based Bitcoin P2P Marketplace

Photo/Video

• Olas - An Intragram like client
• Freeflow - A TikTok like client

Music

• Fountain - Podcast app with Nostr features
• Wavlake - A music app supporting the value-for-value ecosystem

Livestreaming

• Zap.stream - Nostr native live streams

Misc

• Wikifreedia - Nostr based Wikipedia alternative
• Wikistr - Nostr based Wikipedia alternative
• Pollerama - Nostr based polls
• Zap Store - The app store powered by your social graph

The 'other stuff' in Nostr is what makes it special. It’s not just about replacing Twitter or Facebook, it’s about building a decentralized ecosystem where anything from private chats to marketplaces can thrive. The beauty of Nostr is that it’s a flexible foundation. Developers can dream up new ideas and build them into clients, and the relays just keep humming along, passing the data around. It’s still early days, so expect the 'other stuff' to grow wilder and weirder over time!

You can explore the evergrowing 'other stuff' ecosystem at NostrApps.com, Nostr.net and Awesome Nostr.

@ 45c41f21:c5446b7a

“区块链行业究竟是在做什么？”——这个问题我到现在还没有想得很清楚。谈论起来可以说很多东西，“确权”、“让每一个比特都有了稀缺性”、“数字黄金”、“点对点支付”，但是具体到了行业落地，又容易陷入“赌场”这个有点乌烟瘴气的现实。

但我想有一点是比较明确的，那就是区块链行业肯定是一个围绕资产的行业。这些资产又跟传统的资产很不一样，最简单的特征是它们都是一个个的代币，通过自动化和可验证的代码铸造、控制，我们可以统称为链上资产。从比特币、以太坊到现在，这中间不管过去了多少不同的周期和浪潮，核心不变的都是出现新一轮受追捧的资产。

既然区块链是关于链上资产的行业，那么最重要的是未来会出现什么新的资产，有什么样的新资产会上链。要回答这个问题，又要我们回过头去看看，从行业诞生至今，区块链留下了哪些有意义的、没意义的，有价值的、没价值的资产。

因此，有必要讨论一下链上资产的分类。

链上资产的种类很多，但总体上我觉得可以按满足需求的不同，做一些功能性的划分。同时，抛开去中心化、抗审查等等大词，链上资产与传统资产最重要的区别可以认为是安全性的来源。传统资产在传统的社会系统和金融系统中产生，而链上资产是通过可验证代码控制的，所以它的安全性的依赖很清晰，要比现实世界简单很多。

在不同的区块链系统中，使用不同的技术（比如POW/POS），设置不同的规则，拥有不同的治理机制，都会影响安全性。“安全性”和“满足什么样的需求”之间既不是正交的，也不是完全耦合的。在不同层级的安全性之下，可能都会出现满足某一类相同需求的产品，用户使用哪种产品，只取决于自己的风险偏好。另一方面，有些需求只可能在某些特定的安全性保障下才能得到满足，比如跨国际的全球化的抗通胀价值存储。

这篇文章只讨论一些比较简单的分类，可以假设在不同的安全性保障下，每个分类都有可能出现对应的产品。有些安全性是产品内生功能的一部分，有些则完全不影响。同时，这些分类也完全是主观的看法，不一定正确，我所希望的是引发更多对资产进行讨论。

核心资产（高安全性、强需求支撑）

1. 比特币（BTC）
   • 核心价值：全球化抗通胀、抗审查的“数字黄金”。
   • 长期逻辑：全球法币超发背景下，BTC作为去中心化硬通货的需求不可替代。

这是整个行业最重要的资产。也是整个行业最核心的东西。在这个定位下，只会有一个赢者通吃。其他试图竞争的都很难生存下来。它对安全性的要求也是最高的。

经过验证的资产分类

这部分的资产可以认为是行业诞生至今，已经经过验证的、满足某真实需求、会长期存在的资产。

1. 代表优质项目的资产（股票/ICO代币/治理代币等）
   • 核心价值：类似于传统金融世界里的一级市场和二级市场。所谓的“优质”也不一定需要真实落地，可能是叙事/故事驱动，也可能有真实的现金流，但重要的是它能在市场上吸引人买卖。
   • 关键指标：团队是否持续营销和建设？生态是否增长？项目是否解决实际问题？
2. DeFi 资产
   • 核心价值：链上金融系统的“基础设施工具”。
   • 需求来源：对套利、链上资产理财的需求会永远存在。
3. Meme币
   • 核心价值：营销驱动+投机需求的结合体。
   • 长期存在性：人性对暴富故事的追逐不会消失（如Pump.fun、SHIB）。
4. 稳定币
   • 核心价值：加密货币世界的“支付货币”。
   • 需求刚性：交易媒介、避险工具、跨境支付（如USDT、USDC）。

在不同的安全性保障下，上面这些资产大部分都会有对应的产品。

比如稳定币在安全性上可以有中心化的 USDT ，也有去中心化的算法稳定币。理论上，安全性对稳定币是非常重要的。但现实中，“流动性”可能才是给用户传达“这东西到底安不安全“的产品特点，也是比较主要的竞争点。

Meme 则完全不需要安全性，所以对创业者来说在哪里做都差不多。哪里用户更多就适合去哪里。有时，安全性反而是它的阻碍。DeFi 的话，因人而异。安全性高低是否影响用户使用，完全取决于用户自己的风险偏好。

还未经过验证的资产（需求可能存在）

• NFT（收藏品）？ 艺术、身份标识、游戏道具的数字化载体，但流动性差、炒作属性也不见得有 Meme 这么强。会长期存在吗？打个问号。
• DAO（准入/治理代币）？ 去中心化组织的准入权/管理权通证，依赖 DAO 本身的价值和实际治理参与度决定的价值。DeFi DAO 可能是唯一一个有点发展的方向，其他还非常不成熟，有待验证。
• RWA（真实世界资产代币化）？ 房产、债券等上链，需要解决法律合规与链下资产映射问题。不确定。
• 社交/游戏/内容资产 用户数据所有权货币化，还没有像样的有一些用户的产品，就更不用提形成规模经济了。
• AI 相关的资产？ 是一个变数。如果未来会有成千上万的 AI 智能体与人类共存，链上是承载他们经济系统最合适的基础设施，这里会产生什么新的资产类型？值得期待。

这里面的资产类型，很多还没有找到真实的需求，至少没有经过验证。所以长期来看它们会是区块链行业的方向吗，需要打很多问号。既然需求本身没有得到验证，那么谈安全性对它们的影响，就更加无从谈起了。

当然，这里其实还有一个更有意思的部分，可以多聊一些。也就是共同知识（法律/合同/规则/代码）这一类资产。

在应用层，共同知识尚未有代币化的尝试，也难以对其具体价值做定量分析。但如果要说有的实践，以太坊通过交易收取 gas 费和 CKB 通过 Cell 存储状态收取“押金”算是一种在底层的 generalize 的尝试。这种尝试是定量的，可验证的。

以太坊的问题是经济模型不 make sense 导致状态爆炸，ckb 相比是更简单、更明确的。但这里的问题变成了，公链需要通过区块空间的竞争来展示这一种需求是否真的成立。区块空间越紧张，需求就越大。同时安全性越高，对共同知识的保障就越强，也会体现区块空间的价值。

但另一方面，是否有开发者在上面开发应用，会更大的影响这一点。因此开发工具、开发者生态在现阶段可能更重要。

最后

写到这里，发现很多资产似乎又是老生常谈。但从满足需求和安全性两个角度来思考，算是追本溯源的尝试。现在我们面临的处境是，问题还是老的问题，答案是否有新的答案，期待更多讨论。

@ 05cdefcd:550cc264

The crypto world is full of buzzwords. One that I keep on hearing: “Bitcoin is its own asset class”.

While I have always been sympathetic to that view, I’ve always failed to understand the true meaning behind that statement.

Although I consider Bitcoin to be the prime innovation within the digital asset sector, my primary response has always been: How can bitcoin (BTC), a single asset, represent an entire asset class? Isn’t it Bitcoin and other digital assets that make up an asset class called crypto?

Well, I increasingly believe that most of crypto is just noise. Sure, it’s volatile noise that is predominately interesting for very sophisticated hedge funds, market makers or prop traders that are sophisticated enough to extract alpha – but it’s noise nonetheless and has no part to play in a long-term only portfolio of private retail investors (of which most of us are).

Over multiple market cycles, nearly all altcoins underperform Bitcoin when measured in BTC terms. Source: Tradingview

Aha-Moment: Bitcoin keeps on giving

Still, how can Bitcoin, as a standalone asset, make up an entire asset class? The “aha-moment” to answer this question recently came to me in a Less Noise More Signal interview I did with James Van Straten, senior analyst at Coindesk.

Let me paraphrase him here: “You can’t simply recreate the same ETF as BlackRock. To succeed in the Bitcoin space, new and innovative approaches are needed. This is where understanding Bitcoin not just as a single asset, but as an entire asset class, becomes essential. There are countless ways to build upon Bitcoin’s foundation—varied iterations that go beyond just holding the asset. This is precisely where the emergence of the Bitcoin-linked stock market is taking shape—and it's already underway.”

And this is actually coming to fruition as we speak. Just in the last few days, we saw several products launch in that regard.

Obviously, MicroStrategy (now Strategy) is the pioneer of this. The company now owns 506,137 BTC, and while they’ll keep on buying more, they have also inspired many other companies to follow suit.

In fact, there are now already over 70 companies that have adopted Strategy’s Bitcoin playbook. One of the latest companies to buy Bitcoin for their corporate treasury is Rumble. The YouTube competitor just announced their first Bitcoin purchase for $17 million.

Also, the gaming zombie company GameStop just announced to raise money to buy BTC for their corporate treasury.

Gamestop to make BTC their hurdle rate. Source: X

ETF on Bitcoin companies

Given this proliferation of Bitcoin Treasury companies, it was only a matter of time before a financial product tracking these would emerge.

The popular crypto index fund provider Bitwise Investments has just launched this very product called the Bitwise Bitcoin Standard Corporations ETF (OWNB).

The ETF tracks Bitcoin Treasury companies with over 1,000 BTC on their balance sheet. These companies invest in Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset to protect the $5 trillion in low-yield cash that companies in the US commonly sit on.

These are the top 10 holdings of OWNB. Source: Ownbetf

ETF on Bitcoin companies’ convertible bonds

Another instrument that fits seamlessly into the range of Bitcoin-linked stock market products is the REX Bitcoin Corporate Treasury Convertible Bond ETF (BMAX). The ETF provides exposure to the many different convertible bonds issued by companies that are actively moving onto a Bitcoin standard.

Convertible bonds are a valuable financing tool for companies looking to raise capital for Bitcoin purchases. Their strong demand is driven by the unique combination of equity-like upside and debt-like downside protection they offer.

For example, MicroStrategy's convertible bonds, in particular, have shown exceptional performance. For instance, MicroStrategy's 2031 bonds has shown a price rise of 101% over a one-year period, vastly outperforming MicroStrategy share (at 53%), Bitcoin (at 25%) and the ICE BofA U.S. Convertible Index (at 10%). The latter is the benchmark index for convertible bond funds, tracking the performance of U.S. dollar-denominated convertible securities in the U.S. market.

The chart shows a comparison of ICE BofA U.S. Convertible Index, the Bloomberg Bitcoin index (BTC price), MicroStrategy share (MSTR), and MicroStrategy bond (0.875%, March 15 203). The convertible bond has been outperforming massively. Source: Bloomberg

While the BMAX ETF faces challenges such as double taxation, which significantly reduces investor returns (explained in more detail here), it is likely that future products will emerge that address and improve upon these issues.

Bitcoin yield products

The demand for a yield on Bitcoin has increased tremendously. Consequently, respective products have emerged.

Bitcoin yield products aim to generate alpha by capitalizing on volatility, market inefficiencies, and fragmentation within cryptocurrency markets. The objective is to achieve uncorrelated returns denominated in Bitcoin (BTC), with attractive risk-adjusted performance. Returns are derived exclusively from asset selection and trading strategies, eliminating reliance on directional market moves.

Key strategies employed by these funds include:

• Statistical Arbitrage: Exploits short-term pricing discrepancies between closely related financial instruments—for instance, between Bitcoin and traditional assets, or Bitcoin and other digital assets. Traders utilize statistical models and historical price relationships to identify temporary inefficiencies.
• Futures Basis Arbitrage: Captures profits from differences between the spot price of Bitcoin and its futures contracts. Traders simultaneously buy or sell Bitcoin on spot markets and enter opposite positions in futures markets, benefiting as the prices converge.
• Funding Arbitrage: Generates returns by taking advantage of variations in Bitcoin funding rates across different markets or exchanges. Funding rates are periodic payments exchanged between long and short positions in perpetual futures contracts, allowing traders to profit from discrepancies without significant directional exposure.
• Volatility/Option Arbitrage: Seeks profits from differences between implied volatility (reflected in Bitcoin options prices) and expected realized volatility. Traders identify mispriced volatility in options related to Bitcoin or Bitcoin-linked equities, such as MSTR, and position accordingly to benefit from volatility normalization.
• Market Making: Involves continuously providing liquidity by simultaneously quoting bid (buy) and ask (sell) prices for Bitcoin. Market makers profit primarily through capturing the spread between these prices, thereby enhancing market efficiency and earning consistent returns.
• Liquidity Provision in DeFi Markets: Consists of depositing Bitcoin (usually as Wrapped BTC) into decentralized finance (DeFi) liquidity pools such as those on Uniswap, Curve, or Balancer. Liquidity providers earn fees paid by traders who execute swaps within these decentralized exchanges, creating steady yield opportunities.

Notable products currently available in this segment include the Syz Capital BTC Alpha Fund offered by Syz Capital and the Forteus Crypto Alpha Fund by Forteus.

BTC-denominated share class

A Bitcoin-denominated share class refers to a specialized investment fund category in which share values, subscriptions (fund deposits), redemptions (fund withdrawals), and performance metrics are expressed entirely in Bitcoin (BTC), rather than in traditional fiat currencies such as USD or EUR.

Increasingly, both individual investors and institutions are adopting Bitcoin as their preferred benchmark—or "Bitcoin hurdle rate"—meaning that investment performance is evaluated directly against Bitcoin’s own price movements.

These Bitcoin-denominated share classes are designed specifically for investors seeking to preserve and grow their wealth in Bitcoin terms, rather than conventional fiat currencies. As a result, investors reduce their exposure to fiat-related risks. Furthermore, if Bitcoin outperforms fiat currencies, investors holding BTC-denominated shares will experience enhanced returns relative to traditional fiat-denominated investment classes.

X: https://x.com/pahueg

Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@lessnoisemoresignalpodcast

Book: https://academy.saifedean.com/product/the-bitcoin-enlightenment-hardcover/

@ da0b9bc3:4e30a4a9

Hello Stackers!

Welcome on into the ~Music Corner of the Saloon!

A place where we Talk Music. Share Tracks. Zap Sats.

So stay a while and listen.

🚨Don't forget to check out the pinned items in the territory homepage! You can always find the latest weeklies there!🚨

🚨Subscribe to the territory to ensure you never miss a post! 🚨

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/927569

@ 502ab02a:a2860397

จริงหรือ ว่าโอเมก้า3 ต้องมาจากปลาทะเลเท่านั้น

มีเรื่องที่น่าสนใจเรื่องนึงครับ ถ้าพูดถึงโอเมก้า-3 หลายคนอาจนึกถึงปลาทะเลน้ำลึก เช่น แซลมอน แมคเคอเรล หรือซาร์ดีน ซึ่งเป็นแหล่งโอเมก้า-3 ที่ร่างกายใช้ได้ดี แต่ในขณะเดียวกัน ก็มีกลุ่มคนที่พยายามบริโภคโอเมก้า-3 จากพืชแทน เช่น น้ำมันเมล็ดแฟลกซ์ น้ำมันเมล็ดเจีย หรือวอลนัท โดยหวังว่าจะได้รับประโยชน์เช่นเดียวกับการกินปลา แต่ที่เราเรียนรู้กันมาว่า โอเมก้า-3 จากพืชนั้น ร่างกายมนุษย์นำไปใช้ได้น้อยมาก หรือแทบไม่ได้เลย

สาเหตุหลักมาจากรูปแบบของโอเมก้า-3 ที่พบในแหล่งต่างๆ โอเมก้า-3 มีอยู่ 3 ชนิดหลัก ได้แก่ ALA (Alpha-Linolenic Acid) – พบในพืช EPA (Eicosapentaenoic Acid) – พบในปลาทะเล DHA (Docosahexaenoic Acid) – พบในปลาทะเล

ร่างกายสามารถใช้ EPA และ DHA ได้โดยตรง แต่สำหรับ ALA นั้น ร่างกายต้องผ่านกระบวนการเปลี่ยนแปลงทางชีวเคมีก่อน ซึ่งกระบวนการนี้ไม่มีประสิทธิภาพนัก โดยทั่วไปแล้ว ALA แปลงเป็น EPA ได้เพียง 5-10% ALA แปลงเป็น DHA ได้เพียง 0.5-5% แปลว่า หากคุณกินเมล็ดแฟลกซ์หรือน้ำมันเมล็ดเจีย แม้ว่าจะมีปริมาณ ALA สูง แต่ร่างกายก็แทบไม่ได้รับ EPA และ DHA ในปริมาณที่เพียงพอเพื่อใช้ประโยชน์อย่างเต็มที่

ทำไมร่างกายแปลง ALA เป็น EPA/DHA ได้น้อย? อันแรกเลยคือ เอนไซม์จำกัด กระบวนการเปลี่ยน ALA เป็น EPA และ DHA จะใช้เอนไซม์เดียวกับการแปลงโอเมก้า-6 ซึ่งมักถูกใช้ไปกับโอเมก้า-6 ที่มากเกินไปในอาหารปัจจุบันซะแล้วนั่นเอง ต่อมาคือ กระบวนการหลายขั้นตอน การเปลี่ยน ALA เป็น DHA ต้องผ่านหลายขั้นตอนทางชีวเคมี ทำให้มีการสูญเสียพลังงานและวัตถุดิบไปมาก และสุดท้าย ปัจจัยทางพันธุกรรมและเพศ บางคน โดยเฉพาะผู้หญิง อาจมีอัตราการเปลี่ยนที่สูงกว่าผู้ชายเล็กน้อย แต่ก็ยังต่ำเมื่อเทียบกับการได้รับ EPA/DHA จากปลาหรือสาหร่ายโดยตรง

โอเมก้า-6 ตัวการขัดขวางโอเมก้า-3 จากพืช โอเมก้า-6 เป็นกรดไขมันจำเป็นที่พบมากในน้ำมันพืช เช่น น้ำมันถั่วเหลือง น้ำมันข้าวโพด และน้ำมันดอกทานตะวัน ซึ่งเป็นส่วนประกอบหลักของอาหารแปรรูปในปัจจุบัน ปัญหาคือ เอนไซม์ที่ใช้แปลง ALA ไปเป็น EPA/DHA เป็นตัวเดียวกับที่ใช้แปลงโอเมก้า-6 ไปเป็น AA (Arachidonic Acid) ซึ่งมีบทบาทในการอักเสบ หากเราบริโภคโอเมก้า-6 มากเกินไป (ซึ่งคนส่วนใหญ่ทำ5555) เอนไซม์เหล่านี้จะถูกใช้ไปกับโอเมก้า-6 มากกว่า ทำให้ ALA มีโอกาสแปลงเป็น EPA/DHA น้อยลงไปอีก

แล้วคนที่ไม่กินปลาหรือชาววีแกนควรทำอย่างไร? สำหรับคนที่ไม่สามารถหรือไม่ต้องการกินปลา ก็จะมีการบริโภคน้ำมันสาหร่ายที่มี DHA โดยตรงเป็นทางเลือกที่ดีกว่าการหวังพึ่ง ALA จากพืช เพราะ DHA จากสาหร่ายสามารถดูดซึมและใช้ได้ทันทีเหมือน DHA จากปลา

ได้ด้วยเหรอ ????? ผมเล่ากำเนิดของ DHA ในปลาให้ประมาณนี้ครับ จริง ๆ แล้ว DHA ซึ่งเป็นโอเมก้า-3 ที่ร่างกายใช้ได้โดยตรง มาจาก Docosahexaenoic Acid ที่เกิดจากกระบวนการสังเคราะห์ตามธรรมชาติ ซึ่งสาหร่ายบางสายพันธุ์ เช่น Schizochytrium และ Crypthecodinium cohnii มีเอนไซม์ที่สามารถเปลี่ยนกรดไขมันพื้นฐานให้กลายเป็น DHA ได้เองซึ่งเป็นส่วนประกอบหลักในระบบนิเวศทะเล(พืชกักเก็บไขมันได้อย่างไร ผมเคยโพสไปแล้ว) โดยเฉพาะ สาหร่ายขนาดเล็ก (microalgae) สาหร่ายจึงเป็นสิ่งมีชีวิตในทะเลพัฒนาให้มี DHA สูงเพราะ DHA เป็นส่วนประกอบสำคัญที่ช่วยรักษาความยืดหยุ่นและความสมบูรณ์ของเยื่อหุ้มเซลล์ในสาหร่าย ทำให้พวกมันสามารถดำรงชีวิตในสภาพแวดล้อมที่มีอุณหภูมิต่ำในทะเลได้

จากนั้นก็เป็นไปตามห่วงโซ่อาหารครับ ปลาและสัตว์ทะเลอื่น ๆ ได้รับ DHA จากการบริโภคสาหร่ายหรือสัตว์เล็ก ๆ ที่กินสาหร่ายมาอีกที ดังนั้น DHA ในปลาเป็นผลมาจากการสะสมจากสาหร่ายโดยตรง นี่เป็นเหตุผลว่าทำไมปลาทะเลน้ำลึก เช่น แซลมอน แมคเคอเรล และซาร์ดีน ถึงมี DHA สูงนั่นเอง งว่ออออออ

ดังนั้น เมื่อคุณกิน DHA จากสาหร่าย ก็เท่ากับว่าคุณได้รับ DHA จากต้นกำเนิดแท้จริงในระบบนิเวศทะเลครับ DHA ที่ได้มาจากสาหร่ายสามารถนำไปใช้ในร่างกายได้ทันทีโดยไม่ต้องผ่านกระบวนการเปลี่ยนแปลง เพราะมันอยู่ในรูป Triglyceride หรือ Phospholipid ซึ่งเป็นรูปแบบที่ร่างกายมนุษย์สามารถดูดซึมและนำไปใช้ได้ทันที ปลาไม่ได้แปลงโครงสร้าง DHA แต่เพียงสะสม DHA ไว้ในตัวจากการกินสาหร่าย ดังนั้นการรับประทาน DHA จากสาหร่ายก็ให้ผลเทียบเท่ากับการรับประทาน DHA จากปลา งานวิจัยหลายฉบับยืนยันว่า DHA จากสาหร่ายมีค่าการดูดซึม (Bioavailability) ใกล้เคียงกับ DHA จากน้ำมันปลา แต่หาเอาเองนะถ้าอยากอ่านฉบับเต็ม

การผลิตน้ำมันสาหร่ายนั้น เมื่อสาหร่ายเจริญเติบโตเต็มที่แล้ว เขาจะทำการเก็บเกี่ยวและสกัดน้ำมันโดยใช้เทคโนโลยีการแยกที่ทันสมัย ซึ่งช่วยรักษาให้ DHA ที่มีอยู่ในเซลล์สาหร่ายถูกเก็บรักษาไว้ในรูปแบบที่สามารถนำไปใช้ได้โดยตรง จากนั้นจะเข้าสู่การกรองหรือการปั่นแยก (centrifugation) เพื่อให้ได้มวลสาหร่ายที่เข้มข้น จากนั้นจึงทำให้แห้งเพื่อเตรียมเข้าสู่กระบวนการสกัด ซึ่งมีหลายวิธีอาทิเช่น

1 การสกัดด้วยตัวทำละลาย
ใช้ตัวทำละลาย เช่น เฮกเซน (Hexane) หรือ เอทานอล (Ethanol) เพื่อสกัดน้ำมันออกจากเซลล์สาหร่าย จากนั้นน้ำมันจะถูกนำไปกลั่นเพื่อแยกตัวทำละลายออก ทำให้ได้น้ำมันที่มีความบริสุทธิ์สูง 2. การสกัดด้วย CO₂ เหลว ใช้ คาร์บอนไดออกไซด์ในสถานะวิกฤติ (Supercritical CO₂) ซึ่งเป็นวิธีที่ทันสมัย ก๊าซ CO₂ จะถูกทำให้มีความดันสูงและอุณหภูมิที่เหมาะสมเพื่อกลายเป็นของเหลว แล้วใช้แยกน้ำมันออกจากเซลล์สาหร่าย วิธีนี้ช่วยให้ได้น้ำมันที่ ปราศจากตัวทำละลายเคมีและมีความบริสุทธิ์สูง 3. การสกัดด้วยการกดอัด หรือ Cold Pressed
เป็นวิธีที่ใช้แรงดันทางกลกดเซลล์สาหร่ายเพื่อให้ได้น้ำมันออกมา อันนี้เป็นการผลิตน้ำมันแบบออร์แกนิกเลยครับ แต่ให้ผลผลิตน้อยกว่าวิธีอื่น ๆ

น้ำมันที่ได้จากการสกัดจะผ่านการกลั่นด้วยกระบวนการต่าง ๆ เช่น Winterization กำจัดไขมันที่ไม่จำเป็น Molecular Distillation แยกสารตกค้าง เช่น โลหะหนักและสารปนเปื้อน Deodorization กำจัดกลิ่นคาวของสาหร่าย จากนั้นก็บรรจุใส่ซอฟท์เจล พร้อมจำหน่ายนั่นเองครับ

ก็ถือว่าเป็นอีกทางเลือกของชาววีแกน ที่ไม่สามารถกินปลาหรือสัตว์ทะเลได้ ก็น่าจะเฮกันดังๆได้เลยครับ จะได้มีตัวช่วยในการลดการอักเสบได้

ส่วนชาว food matrix ก็ต้องเรียนรู้ระบบครับ การกินจากปลาหรือสัตว์ทะเล ก็จะได้โปรตีน แร่ธาตุ วิตามินอื่นๆควบมากับตัวสัตว์ตามที่ธรรมชาติแพคมาให้ ถ้าจะเสริมเป็นน้ำมันสาหร่าย ก็สุดแล้วแต่ความต้องการครับ ไม่ใช่เรื่องแย่อะไร เว้นแต่ไปเทียบราคาเอาเองนะ 55555

#pirateketo #ฉลาก3รู้ #กูต้องรู้มั๊ย #ม้วนหางสิลูก #siamstr

@ a3bb06f6:19ac1b11

“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will continue to direct your life, and you will call it fate.” — Carl Jung

Most people don’t realize they’ve been robbed. Not in the dramatic, wallet-snatching sense, but in a quiet, systemic way that’s gone unnoticed for generations. If you’re feeling like no matter how hard you work, you can’t get ahead… you’re not imagining it.

It didn’t start as a scheme—but one compromise after another, it became one. Now, the system exploits you by design. This isn’t fate. It’s fiat.

The Unconscious Script: How Fiat Becomes Invisible From the moment you're born, you're placed into an economic system based on government-issued fiat currency. It becomes the air you breathe. You work for dollars. You save in dollars. You price your time, your future, and even your dreams in dollars.

But few stop to ask: What actually is a dollar? Who creates it? Why does it lose value?

This lack of questioning is the unconscious state. Fiat money is the background process running your life. You feel the effects—rising prices, shrinking savings, mounting debt—but you never see the root cause. So you blame yourself. Or “the economy.” Or call it fate.

The Lie of Neutral Money: Most believe money is just a neutral tool. But fiat is not neutral—it’s political power encoded into paper.

Governments can print more of it at will. Central banks can manipulate its supply, distort interest rates, and quietly tax you through inflation. Every time more money is created, your purchasing power shrinks.

But it happens slowly, like a leak in a tire. You don’t notice at first. You just feel like you’re working harder for less. The house is further out of reach. The groceries cost more. Retirement feels impossible.

And you accept it. Because no one told you it's designed this way.

Inflation Is the Invisible Thief, Inflation isn’t just a “cost of living increase.” It’s a state-sponsored form of theft.

When new money is created, it enters the system unevenly. Those closest to the money printer—banks, governments, large corporations—get the new dollars first. By the time it reaches you, prices have already risen. You’re buying the same goods with weaker money.

And yet, most people still save in fiat. They’re taught that hoarding cash is “safe.” They’re taught that 2% inflation is “normal.” But it’s not normal to work 40 hours a week and fall behind. That’s the product of unconscious acceptance.

The fiat system survives on one thing: your ignorance. It didn’t begin with malicious intent, but over time, it adapted to protect its own power—at your expense. As long as you don’t understand how money works, you won’t resist. You’ll blame yourself, or capitalism, or bad luck. But never the system itself.

This is why financial education is never prioritized in schools. This is why questioning monetary policy is left to economists and suits on CNBC. You were never taught how it works. And now the system depends on you staying confused—grinding, borrowing, complying, without ever asking why.

Making the Unconscious Conscious: Enter Bitcoin, Bitcoin breaks this spell.

It forces you to confront the nature of money—what it is, how it’s created, and why fiat fails. It teaches you that money doesn’t need to be printed, inflated, or controlled. That money can be fixed, finite, and fair.

Bitcoin is not just a new currency. It’s a tool of consciousness. It exposes the scam of fiat and offers a lifeboat to anyone ready to wake up.

Once you understand Bitcoin, you can’t unsee the problem. You begin to ask:

Why should I trust a system that steals my time? Why is saving discouraged, but debt rewarded? Why do I need permission to use my own money? These aren’t technical questions. They’re moral ones.

Consciousness Is Sovereignty: When you understand what fiat is, you stop calling your financial struggles “fate.” You start calling them what they are, outcomes of a broken system.

And once you see the system for what it is, you can choose to exit.

Saving in Bitcoin is not speculation. It’s self-defense. It’s rejecting unconscious servitude. It’s reclaiming your time, your labor, your future.

In a fiat world, they own the money—so they own the rules. In a Bitcoin world, you own yourself.

That’s the power of making the unconscious conscious.

And that’s how you stop calling it fate.

@ fd06f542:8d6d54cd

NIP-02

Follow List

final optional

A special event with kind 3, meaning "follow list" is defined as having a list of p tags, one for each of the followed/known profiles one is following.

Each tag entry should contain the key for the profile, a relay URL where events from that key can be found (can be set to an empty string if not needed), and a local name (or "petname") for that profile (can also be set to an empty string or not provided), i.e., ["p", <32-bytes hex key>, <main relay URL>, <petname>].

The .content is not used.

For example:

jsonc { "kind": 3, "tags": [ ["p", "91cf9..4e5ca", "wss://alicerelay.com/", "alice"], ["p", "14aeb..8dad4", "wss://bobrelay.com/nostr", "bob"], ["p", "612ae..e610f", "ws://carolrelay.com/ws", "carol"] ], "content": "", // other fields... }

Every new following list that gets published overwrites the past ones, so it should contain all entries. Relays and clients SHOULD delete past following lists as soon as they receive a new one.

Whenever new follows are added to an existing list, clients SHOULD append them to the end of the list, so they are stored in chronological order.

Uses

Follow list backup

If one believes a relay will store their events for sufficient time, they can use this kind-3 event to backup their following list and recover on a different device.

Profile discovery and context augmentation

A client may rely on the kind-3 event to display a list of followed people by profiles one is browsing; make lists of suggestions on who to follow based on the follow lists of other people one might be following or browsing; or show the data in other contexts.

Relay sharing

A client may publish a follow list with good relays for each of their follows so other clients may use these to update their internal relay lists if needed, increasing censorship-resistance.

Petname scheme

The data from these follow lists can be used by clients to construct local "petname" tables derived from other people's follow lists. This alleviates the need for global human-readable names. For example:

A user has an internal follow list that says

json [ ["p", "21df6d143fb96c2ec9d63726bf9edc71", "", "erin"] ]

And receives two follow lists, one from 21df6d143fb96c2ec9d63726bf9edc71 that says

json [ ["p", "a8bb3d884d5d90b413d9891fe4c4e46d", "", "david"] ]

and another from a8bb3d884d5d90b413d9891fe4c4e46d that says

json [ ["p", "f57f54057d2a7af0efecc8b0b66f5708", "", "frank"] ]

When the user sees 21df6d143fb96c2ec9d63726bf9edc71 the client can show erin instead; When the user sees a8bb3d884d5d90b413d9891fe4c4e46d the client can show david.erin instead; When the user sees f57f54057d2a7af0efecc8b0b66f5708 the client can show frank.david.erin instead.

@ fd06f542:8d6d54cd

NIP-01

Basic protocol flow description

draft mandatory

This NIP defines the basic protocol that should be implemented by everybody. New NIPs may add new optional (or mandatory) fields and messages and features to the structures and flows described here.

Events and signatures

Each user has a keypair. Signatures, public key, and encodings are done according to the Schnorr signatures standard for the curve secp256k1.

The only object type that exists is the event, which has the following format on the wire:

jsonc { "id": <32-bytes lowercase hex-encoded sha256 of the serialized event data>, "pubkey": <32-bytes lowercase hex-encoded public key of the event creator>, "created_at": <unix timestamp in seconds>, "kind": <integer between 0 and 65535>, "tags": [ [<arbitrary string>...], // ... ], "content": <arbitrary string>, "sig": <64-bytes lowercase hex of the signature of the sha256 hash of the serialized event data, which is the same as the "id" field> }

To obtain the event.id, we sha256 the serialized event. The serialization is done over the UTF-8 JSON-serialized string (which is described below) of the following structure:

[ 0, <pubkey, as a lowercase hex string>, <created_at, as a number>, <kind, as a number>, <tags, as an array of arrays of non-null strings>, <content, as a string> ]

To prevent implementation differences from creating a different event ID for the same event, the following rules MUST be followed while serializing: - UTF-8 should be used for encoding. - Whitespace, line breaks or other unnecessary formatting should not be included in the output JSON. - The following characters in the content field must be escaped as shown, and all other characters must be included verbatim: - A line break (0x0A), use \n - A double quote (0x22), use \" - A backslash (0x5C), use \\ - A carriage return (0x0D), use \r - A tab character (0x09), use \t - A backspace, (0x08), use \b - A form feed, (0x0C), use \f

Tags

Each tag is an array of one or more strings, with some conventions around them. Take a look at the example below:

jsonc { "tags": [ ["e", "5c83da77af1dec6d7289834998ad7aafbd9e2191396d75ec3cc27f5a77226f36", "wss://nostr.example.com"], ["p", "f7234bd4c1394dda46d09f35bd384dd30cc552ad5541990f98844fb06676e9ca"], ["a", "30023:f7234bd4c1394dda46d09f35bd384dd30cc552ad5541990f98844fb06676e9ca:abcd", "wss://nostr.example.com"], ["alt", "reply"], // ... ], // ... }

The first element of the tag array is referred to as the tag name or key and the second as the tag value. So we can safely say that the event above has an e tag set to "5c83da77af1dec6d7289834998ad7aafbd9e2191396d75ec3cc27f5a77226f36", an alt tag set to "reply" and so on. All elements after the second do not have a conventional name.

This NIP defines 3 standard tags that can be used across all event kinds with the same meaning. They are as follows:

• The e tag, used to refer to an event: ["e", <32-bytes lowercase hex of the id of another event>, <recommended relay URL, optional>, <32-bytes lowercase hex of the author's pubkey, optional>]
• The p tag, used to refer to another user: ["p", <32-bytes lowercase hex of a pubkey>, <recommended relay URL, optional>]
• The a tag, used to refer to an addressable or replaceable event
  • for an addressable event: ["a", "<kind integer>:<32-bytes lowercase hex of a pubkey>:<d tag value>", <recommended relay URL, optional>]
  • for a normal replaceable event: ["a", "<kind integer>:<32-bytes lowercase hex of a pubkey>:", <recommended relay URL, optional>] (note: include the trailing colon)

As a convention, all single-letter (only english alphabet letters: a-z, A-Z) key tags are expected to be indexed by relays, such that it is possible, for example, to query or subscribe to events that reference the event "5c83da77af1dec6d7289834998ad7aafbd9e2191396d75ec3cc27f5a77226f36" by using the {"#e": ["5c83da77af1dec6d7289834998ad7aafbd9e2191396d75ec3cc27f5a77226f36"]} filter. Only the first value in any given tag is indexed.

Kinds

Kinds specify how clients should interpret the meaning of each event and the other fields of each event (e.g. an "r" tag may have a meaning in an event of kind 1 and an entirely different meaning in an event of kind 10002). Each NIP may define the meaning of a set of kinds that weren't defined elsewhere. NIP-10, for instance, especifies the kind:1 text note for social media applications.

This NIP defines one basic kind:

• 0: user metadata: the content is set to a stringified JSON object {name: <nickname or full name>, about: <short bio>, picture: <url of the image>} describing the user who created the event. Extra metadata fields may be set. A relay may delete older events once it gets a new one for the same pubkey.

And also a convention for kind ranges that allow for easier experimentation and flexibility of relay implementation:

• for kind n such that 1000 <= n < 10000 || 4 <= n < 45 || n == 1 || n == 2, events are regular, which means they're all expected to be stored by relays.
• for kind n such that 10000 <= n < 20000 || n == 0 || n == 3, events are replaceable, which means that, for each combination of pubkey and kind, only the latest event MUST be stored by relays, older versions MAY be discarded.
• for kind n such that 20000 <= n < 30000, events are ephemeral, which means they are not expected to be stored by relays.
• for kind n such that 30000 <= n < 40000, events are addressable by their kind, pubkey and d tag value -- which means that, for each combination of kind, pubkey and the d tag value, only the latest event MUST be stored by relays, older versions MAY be discarded.

In case of replaceable events with the same timestamp, the event with the lowest id (first in lexical order) should be retained, and the other discarded.

When answering to REQ messages for replaceable events such as {"kinds":[0],"authors":[<hex-key>]}, even if the relay has more than one version stored, it SHOULD return just the latest one.

These are just conventions and relay implementations may differ.

Communication between clients and relays

Relays expose a websocket endpoint to which clients can connect. Clients SHOULD open a single websocket connection to each relay and use it for all their subscriptions. Relays MAY limit number of connections from specific IP/client/etc.

From client to relay: sending events and creating subscriptions

Clients can send 3 types of messages, which must be JSON arrays, according to the following patterns:

• ["EVENT", <event JSON as defined above>], used to publish events.
• ["REQ", <subscription_id>, <filters1>, <filters2>, ...], used to request events and subscribe to new updates.
• ["CLOSE", <subscription_id>], used to stop previous subscriptions.

<subscription_id> is an arbitrary, non-empty string of max length 64 chars. It represents a subscription per connection. Relays MUST manage <subscription_id>s independently for each WebSocket connection. <subscription_id>s are not guaranteed to be globally unique.

<filtersX> is a JSON object that determines what events will be sent in that subscription, it can have the following attributes:

json { "ids": <a list of event ids>, "authors": <a list of lowercase pubkeys, the pubkey of an event must be one of these>, "kinds": <a list of a kind numbers>, "#<single-letter (a-zA-Z)>": <a list of tag values, for #e — a list of event ids, for #p — a list of pubkeys, etc.>, "since": <an integer unix timestamp in seconds. Events must have a created_at >= to this to pass>, "until": <an integer unix timestamp in seconds. Events must have a created_at <= to this to pass>, "limit": <maximum number of events relays SHOULD return in the initial query> }

Upon receiving a REQ message, the relay SHOULD return events that match the filter. Any new events it receives SHOULD be sent to that same websocket until the connection is closed, a CLOSE event is received with the same <subscription_id>, or a new REQ is sent using the same <subscription_id> (in which case a new subscription is created, replacing the old one).

Filter attributes containing lists (ids, authors, kinds and tag filters like #e) are JSON arrays with one or more values. At least one of the arrays' values must match the relevant field in an event for the condition to be considered a match. For scalar event attributes such as authors and kind, the attribute from the event must be contained in the filter list. In the case of tag attributes such as #e, for which an event may have multiple values, the event and filter condition values must have at least one item in common.

The ids, authors, #e and #p filter lists MUST contain exact 64-character lowercase hex values.

The since and until properties can be used to specify the time range of events returned in the subscription. If a filter includes the since property, events with created_at greater than or equal to since are considered to match the filter. The until property is similar except that created_at must be less than or equal to until. In short, an event matches a filter if since <= created_at <= until holds.

All conditions of a filter that are specified must match for an event for it to pass the filter, i.e., multiple conditions are interpreted as && conditions.

A REQ message may contain multiple filters. In this case, events that match any of the filters are to be returned, i.e., multiple filters are to be interpreted as || conditions.

The limit property of a filter is only valid for the initial query and MUST be ignored afterwards. When limit: n is present it is assumed that the events returned in the initial query will be the last n events ordered by the created_at. Newer events should appear first, and in the case of ties the event with the lowest id (first in lexical order) should be first. It is safe to return less events than limit specifies, but it is expected that relays do not return (much) more events than requested so clients don't get unnecessarily overwhelmed by data.

From relay to client: sending events and notices

Relays can send 5 types of messages, which must also be JSON arrays, according to the following patterns:

• ["EVENT", <subscription_id>, <event JSON as defined above>], used to send events requested by clients.
• ["OK", <event_id>, <true|false>, <message>], used to indicate acceptance or denial of an EVENT message.
• ["EOSE", <subscription_id>], used to indicate the end of stored events and the beginning of events newly received in real-time.
• ["CLOSED", <subscription_id>, <message>], used to indicate that a subscription was ended on the server side.
• ["NOTICE", <message>], used to send human-readable error messages or other things to clients.

This NIP defines no rules for how NOTICE messages should be sent or treated.

• EVENT messages MUST be sent only with a subscription ID related to a subscription previously initiated by the client (using the REQ message above).
• OK messages MUST be sent in response to EVENT messages received from clients, they must have the 3rd parameter set to true when an event has been accepted by the relay, false otherwise. The 4th parameter MUST always be present, but MAY be an empty string when the 3rd is true, otherwise it MUST be a string formed by a machine-readable single-word prefix followed by a : and then a human-readable message. Some examples:
• ["OK", "b1a649ebe8...", true, ""]
• ["OK", "b1a649ebe8...", true, "pow: difficulty 25>=24"]
• ["OK", "b1a649ebe8...", true, "duplicate: already have this event"]
• ["OK", "b1a649ebe8...", false, "blocked: you are banned from posting here"]
• ["OK", "b1a649ebe8...", false, "blocked: please register your pubkey at https://my-expensive-relay.example.com"]
• ["OK", "b1a649ebe8...", false, "rate-limited: slow down there chief"]
• ["OK", "b1a649ebe8...", false, "invalid: event creation date is too far off from the current time"]
• ["OK", "b1a649ebe8...", false, "pow: difficulty 26 is less than 30"]
• ["OK", "b1a649ebe8...", false, "restricted: not allowed to write."]
• ["OK", "b1a649ebe8...", false, "error: could not connect to the database"]
• CLOSED messages MUST be sent in response to a REQ when the relay refuses to fulfill it. It can also be sent when a relay decides to kill a subscription on its side before a client has disconnected or sent a CLOSE. This message uses the same pattern of OK messages with the machine-readable prefix and human-readable message. Some examples:
• ["CLOSED", "sub1", "unsupported: filter contains unknown elements"]
• ["CLOSED", "sub1", "error: could not connect to the database"]
• ["CLOSED", "sub1", "error: shutting down idle subscription"]
• The standardized machine-readable prefixes for OK and CLOSED are: duplicate, pow, blocked, rate-limited, invalid, restricted, and error for when none of that fits.

@ fd06f542:8d6d54cd

NIPs

NIPs stand for Nostr Implementation Possibilities.

They exist to document what may be implemented by Nostr-compatible relay and client software.

---

• List
• Event Kinds
• Message Types
• Client to Relay
• Relay to Client
• Standardized Tags
• Criteria for acceptance of NIPs
• Is this repository a centralizing factor?
• How this repository works
• Breaking Changes
• License

---

List

• NIP-01: Basic protocol flow description
• NIP-02: Follow List
• NIP-03: OpenTimestamps Attestations for Events
• NIP-04: Encrypted Direct Message --- unrecommended: deprecated in favor of NIP-17
• NIP-05: Mapping Nostr keys to DNS-based internet identifiers
• NIP-06: Basic key derivation from mnemonic seed phrase
• NIP-07: window.nostr capability for web browsers
• NIP-08: Handling Mentions --- unrecommended: deprecated in favor of NIP-27
• NIP-09: Event Deletion Request
• NIP-10: Text Notes and Threads
• NIP-11: Relay Information Document
• NIP-13: Proof of Work
• NIP-14: Subject tag in text events
• NIP-15: Nostr Marketplace (for resilient marketplaces)
• NIP-17: Private Direct Messages
• NIP-18: Reposts
• NIP-19: bech32-encoded entities
• NIP-21: nostr: URI scheme
• NIP-22: Comment
• NIP-23: Long-form Content
• NIP-24: Extra metadata fields and tags
• NIP-25: Reactions
• NIP-26: Delegated Event Signing
• NIP-27: Text Note References
• NIP-28: Public Chat
• NIP-29: Relay-based Groups
• NIP-30: Custom Emoji
• NIP-31: Dealing with Unknown Events
• NIP-32: Labeling
• NIP-34: git stuff
• NIP-35: Torrents
• NIP-36: Sensitive Content
• NIP-37: Draft Events
• NIP-38: User Statuses
• NIP-39: External Identities in Profiles
• NIP-40: Expiration Timestamp
• NIP-42: Authentication of clients to relays
• NIP-44: Encrypted Payloads (Versioned)
• NIP-45: Counting results
• NIP-46: Nostr Remote Signing
• NIP-47: Nostr Wallet Connect
• NIP-48: Proxy Tags
• NIP-49: Private Key Encryption
• NIP-50: Search Capability
• NIP-51: Lists
• NIP-52: Calendar Events
• NIP-53: Live Activities
• NIP-54: Wiki
• NIP-55: Android Signer Application
• NIP-56: Reporting
• NIP-57: Lightning Zaps
• NIP-58: Badges
• NIP-59: Gift Wrap
• NIP-60: Cashu Wallet
• NIP-61: Nutzaps
• NIP-62: Request to Vanish
• NIP-64: Chess (PGN)
• NIP-65: Relay List Metadata
• NIP-66: Relay Discovery and Liveness Monitoring
• NIP-68: Picture-first feeds
• NIP-69: Peer-to-peer Order events
• NIP-70: Protected Events
• NIP-71: Video Events
• NIP-72: Moderated Communities
• NIP-73: External Content IDs
• NIP-75: Zap Goals
• NIP-78: Application-specific data
• NIP-84: Highlights
• NIP-86: Relay Management API
• NIP-88: Polls
• NIP-89: Recommended Application Handlers
• NIP-90: Data Vending Machines
• NIP-92: Media Attachments
• NIP-94: File Metadata
• NIP-96: HTTP File Storage Integration
• NIP-98: HTTP Auth
• NIP-99: Classified Listings
• NIP-7D: Threads
• NIP-C7: Chats

Event Kinds

| kind | description | NIP | | ------------- | ------------------------------- | -------------------------------------- | | 0 | User Metadata | 01 | | 1 | Short Text Note | 10 | | 2 | Recommend Relay | 01 (deprecated) | | 3 | Follows | 02 | | 4 | Encrypted Direct Messages | 04 | | 5 | Event Deletion Request | 09 | | 6 | Repost | 18 | | 7 | Reaction | 25 | | 8 | Badge Award | 58 | | 9 | Chat Message | C7 | | 10 | Group Chat Threaded Reply | 29 (deprecated) | | 11 | Thread | 7D | | 12 | Group Thread Reply | 29 (deprecated) | | 13 | Seal | 59 | | 14 | Direct Message | 17 | | 15 | File Message | 17 | | 16 | Generic Repost | 18 | | 17 | Reaction to a website | 25 | | 20 | Picture | 68 | | 21 | Video Event | 71 | | 22 | Short-form Portrait Video Event | 71 | | 30 | internal reference | NKBIP-03 | | 31 | external web reference | NKBIP-03 | | 32 | hardcopy reference | NKBIP-03 | | 33 | prompt reference | NKBIP-03 | | 40 | Channel Creation | 28 | | 41 | Channel Metadata | 28 | | 42 | Channel Message | 28 | | 43 | Channel Hide Message | 28 | | 44 | Channel Mute User | 28 | | 62 | Request to Vanish | 62 | | 64 | Chess (PGN) | 64 | | 818 | Merge Requests | 54 | | 1018 | Poll Response | 88 | | 1021 | Bid | 15 | | 1022 | Bid confirmation | 15 | | 1040 | OpenTimestamps | 03 | | 1059 | Gift Wrap | 59 | | 1063 | File Metadata | 94 | | 1068 | Poll | 88 | | 1111 | Comment | 22 | | 1311 | Live Chat Message | 53 | | 1617 | Patches | 34 | | 1621 | Issues | 34 | | 1622 | Git Replies (deprecated) | 34 | | 1630-1633 | Status | 34 | | 1971 | Problem Tracker | nostrocket | | 1984 | Reporting | 56 | | 1985 | Label | 32 | | 1986 | Relay reviews | | | 1987 | AI Embeddings / Vector lists | NKBIP-02 | | 2003 | Torrent | 35 | | 2004 | Torrent Comment | 35 | | 2022 | Coinjoin Pool | joinstr | | 4550 | Community Post Approval | 72 | | 5000-5999 | Job Request | 90 | | 6000-6999 | Job Result | 90 | | 7000 | Job Feedback | 90 | | 7374 | Reserved Cashu Wallet Tokens | 60 | | 7375 | Cashu Wallet Tokens | 60 | | 7376 | Cashu Wallet History | 60 | | 9000-9030 | Group Control Events | 29 | | 9041 | Zap Goal | 75 | | 9321 | Nutzap | 61 | | 9467 | Tidal login | Tidal-nostr | | 9734 | Zap Request | 57 | | 9735 | Zap | 57 | | 9802 | Highlights | 84 | | 10000 | Mute list | 51 | | 10001 | Pin list | 51 | | 10002 | Relay List Metadata | 65, 51 | | 10003 | Bookmark list | 51 | | 10004 | Communities list | 51 | | 10005 | Public chats list | 51 | | 10006 | Blocked relays list | 51 | | 10007 | Search relays list | 51 | | 10009 | User groups | 51, 29 | | 10013 | Private event relay list | 37 | | 10015 | Interests list | 51 | | 10019 | Nutzap Mint Recommendation | 61 | | 10030 | User emoji list | 51 | | 10050 | Relay list to receive DMs | 51, 17 | | 10063 | User server list | Blossom | | 10096 | File storage server list | 96 | | 10166 | Relay Monitor Announcement | 66 | | 13194 | Wallet Info | 47 | | 17375 | Cashu Wallet Event | 60 | | 21000 | Lightning Pub RPC | Lightning.Pub | | 22242 | Client Authentication | 42 | | 23194 | Wallet Request | 47 | | 23195 | Wallet Response | 47 | | 24133 | Nostr Connect | 46 | | 24242 | Blobs stored on mediaservers | Blossom | | 27235 | HTTP Auth | 98 | | 30000 | Follow sets | 51 | | 30001 | Generic lists | 51 (deprecated) | | 30002 | Relay sets | 51 | | 30003 | Bookmark sets | 51 | | 30004 | Curation sets | 51 | | 30005 | Video sets | 51 | | 30007 | Kind mute sets | 51 | | 30008 | Profile Badges | 58 | | 30009 | Badge Definition | 58 | | 30015 | Interest sets | 51 | | 30017 | Create or update a stall | 15 | | 30018 | Create or update a product | 15 | | 30019 | Marketplace UI/UX | 15 | | 30020 | Product sold as an auction | 15 | | 30023 | Long-form Content | 23 | | 30024 | Draft Long-form Content | 23 | | 30030 | Emoji sets | 51 | | 30040 | Curated Publication Index | NKBIP-01 | | 30041 | Curated Publication Content | NKBIP-01 | | 30063 | Release artifact sets | 51 | | 30078 | Application-specific Data | 78 | | 30166 | Relay Discovery | 66 | | 30267 | App curation sets | 51 | | 30311 | Live Event | 53 | | 30315 | User Statuses | 38 | | 30388 | Slide Set | Corny Chat | | 30402 | Classified Listing | 99 | | 30403 | Draft Classified Listing | 99 | | 30617 | Repository announcements | 34 | | 30618 | Repository state announcements | 34 | | 30818 | Wiki article | 54 | | 30819 | Redirects | 54 | | 31234 | Draft Event | 37 | | 31388 | Link Set | Corny Chat | | 31890 | Feed | NUD: Custom Feeds | | 31922 | Date-Based Calendar Event | 52 | | 31923 | Time-Based Calendar Event | 52 | | 31924 | Calendar | 52 | | 31925 | Calendar Event RSVP | 52 | | 31989 | Handler recommendation | 89 | | 31990 | Handler information | 89 | | | 32267 | Software Application | | | | 34550 | Community Definition | 72 | | 38383 | Peer-to-peer Order events | 69 | | 39000-9 | Group metadata events | 29 |

Message types

Client to Relay

| type | description | NIP | | ------- | --------------------------------------------------- | ----------- | | EVENT | used to publish events | 01 | | REQ | used to request events and subscribe to new updates | 01 | | CLOSE | used to stop previous subscriptions | 01 | | AUTH | used to send authentication events | 42 | | COUNT | used to request event counts | 45 |

Relay to Client

| type | description | NIP | | -------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | ----------- | | EOSE | used to notify clients all stored events have been sent | 01 | | EVENT | used to send events requested to clients | 01 | | NOTICE | used to send human-readable messages to clients | 01 | | OK | used to notify clients if an EVENT was successful | 01 | | CLOSED | used to notify clients that a REQ was ended and why | 01 | | AUTH | used to send authentication challenges | 42 | | COUNT | used to send requested event counts to clients | 45 |

Standardized Tags

| name | value | other parameters | NIP | | ----------------- | ------------------------------------ | ------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- | | a | coordinates to an event | relay URL | 01 | | A | root address | relay URL | 22 | | d | identifier | -- | 01 | | e | event id (hex) | relay URL, marker, pubkey (hex) | 01, 10 | | E | root event id | relay URL | 22 | | f | currency code | -- | 69 | | g | geohash | -- | 52 | | h | group id | -- | 29 | | i | external identity | proof, url hint | 35, 39, 73 | | I | root external identity | -- | 22 | | k | kind | -- | 18, 25, 72, 73 | | K | root scope | -- | 22 | | l | label, label namespace | -- | 32 | | L | label namespace | -- | 32 | | m | MIME type | -- | 94 | | p | pubkey (hex) | relay URL, petname | 01, 02, 22 | | P | pubkey (hex) | -- | 22, 57 | | q | event id (hex) | relay URL, pubkey (hex) | 18 | | r | a reference (URL, etc) | -- | 24, 25 | | r | relay url | marker | 65 | | s | status | -- | 69 | | t | hashtag | -- | 24, 34, 35 | | u | url | -- | 61, 98 | | x | hash | -- | 35, 56 | | y | platform | -- | 69 | | z | order number | -- | 69 | | - | -- | -- | 70 | | alt | summary | -- | 31 | | amount | millisatoshis, stringified | -- | 57 | | bolt11 | bolt11 invoice | -- | 57 | | challenge | challenge string | -- | 42 | | client | name, address | relay URL | 89 | | clone | git clone URL | -- | 34 | | content-warning | reason | -- | 36 | | delegation | pubkey, conditions, delegation token | -- | 26 | | description | description | -- | 34, 57, 58 | | emoji | shortcode, image URL | -- | 30 | | encrypted | -- | -- | 90 | | expiration | unix timestamp (string) | -- | 40 | | file | full path (string) | -- | 35 | | goal | event id (hex) | relay URL | 75 | | image | image URL | dimensions in pixels | 23, 52, 58 | | imeta | inline metadata | -- | 92 | | lnurl | bech32 encoded lnurl | -- | 57 | | location | location string | -- | 52, 99 | | name | name | -- | 34, 58, 72 | | nonce | random | difficulty | 13 | | preimage | hash of bolt11 invoice | -- | 57 | | price | price | currency, frequency | 99 | | proxy | external ID | protocol | 48 | | published_at | unix timestamp (string) | -- | 23 | | relay | relay url | -- | 42, 17 | | relays | relay list | -- | 57 | | server | file storage server url | -- | 96 | | subject | subject | -- | 14, 17, 34 | | summary | summary | -- | 23, 52 | | thumb | badge thumbnail | dimensions in pixels | 58 | | title | article title | -- | 23 | | tracker | torrent tracker URL | -- | 35 | | web | webpage URL | -- | 34 | | zap | pubkey (hex), relay URL | weight | 57 |

Please update these lists when proposing new NIPs.

Criteria for acceptance of NIPs

1. They should be fully implemented in at least two clients and one relay -- when applicable.
2. They should make sense.
3. They should be optional and backwards-compatible: care must be taken such that clients and relays that choose to not implement them do not stop working when interacting with the ones that choose to.
4. There should be no more than one way of doing the same thing.
5. Other rules will be made up when necessary.

Is this repository a centralizing factor?

To promote interoperability, we need standards that everybody can follow, and we need them to define a single way of doing each thing without ever hurting backwards-compatibility, and for that purpose there is no way around getting everybody to agree on the same thing and keep a centralized index of these standards. However the fact that such an index exists doesn't hurt the decentralization of Nostr. At any point the central index can be challenged if it is failing to fulfill the needs of the protocol and it can migrate to other places and be maintained by other people.

It can even fork into multiple versions, and then some clients would go one way, others would go another way, and some clients would adhere to both competing standards. This would hurt the simplicity, openness and interoperability of Nostr a little, but everything would still work in the short term.

There is a list of notable Nostr software developers who have commit access to this repository, but that exists mostly for practical reasons, as by the nature of the thing we're dealing with the repository owner can revoke membership and rewrite history as they want -- and if these actions are unjustified or perceived as bad or evil the community must react.

How this repository works

Standards may emerge in two ways: the first way is that someone starts doing something, then others copy it; the second way is that someone has an idea of a new standard that could benefit multiple clients and the protocol in general without breaking backwards-compatibility and the principle of having a single way of doing things, then they write that idea and submit it to this repository, other interested parties read it and give their feedback, then once most people reasonably agree we codify that in a NIP which client and relay developers that are interested in the feature can proceed to implement.

These two ways of standardizing things are supported by this repository. Although the second is preferred, an effort will be made to codify standards emerged outside this repository into NIPs that can be later referenced and easily understood and implemented by others -- but obviously as in any human system discretion may be applied when standards are considered harmful.

Breaking Changes

Breaking Changes

License

All NIPs are public domain.

Contributors

@ fd06f542:8d6d54cd

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@ 84b0c46a:417782f5

nostr:nevent1qqsw9v8usvahkqmmc9qavu6g834v09j6e2u2acdua24tk73dqc05xecgkanse

@ 878dff7c:037d18bc

Australian Prime Minister Calls Election Amid Economic Challenges

Summary:

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced that Australia will hold federal elections on May 3. The election comes at a time when the nation faces significant economic uncertainties, including high inflation rates, elevated interest rates, and a housing crisis. Albanese's Labor government emphasizes plans for economic recovery, while opposition leader Peter Dutton's Coalition proposes public sector cuts and temporary fuel duty reductions. Both leaders are striving to address voter concerns over the cost-of-living crisis and economic stability.

Sources: The Guardian - March 28, 2025, AP News - March 28, 2025

Bill Gates Predicts AI to Replace Doctors and Teachers Within 10 Years

Summary:

Bill Gates forecasts that artificial intelligence (AI) will significantly reduce human involvement in fields like medicine and education over the next decade. He envisions AI providing free, high-quality medical advice and tutoring, thereby democratizing access to these services. While acknowledging concerns about misinformation and rapid AI development, Gates remains optimistic about AI's potential to drive breakthroughs in healthcare, climate solutions, and education. He encourages young people to engage in AI-centric ventures, highlighting its transformative impact on industries and society.​

Sources: New York Post - March 27, 2025

AI Poised to Transform Legal Profession by 2035

Summary:

Artificial general intelligence (AGI) is projected to render traditional lawyer roles obsolete by 2035. AI systems are advancing to perform complex legal tasks such as advising, negotiating, and dispute resolution. While some legal professionals argue that AI cannot replicate human judgment and creativity, the emphasis on efficiency and outcomes suggests a future where AGI dominates legal services with minimal human intervention. Legal industry leaders are urged to prepare for this disruptive shift.​

Sources: The Times - March 28, 2025

Queensland Faces Severe Flooding as Inland 'Sea' Emerges

Summary:

Severe weather conditions, including heavy rain and potential flash flooding, have impacted central and southern inland Queensland, with significant rainfall between 200 to 400mm recorded. Towns like Adavale are inundated, prompting emergency warnings and the establishment of refuges for affected residents. Authorities urge residents to stay updated and follow safety advice.

Sources: News.com.au - 28 March 2025, The Courier-Mail - 28 March 2025, The Guardian - 28 March 2025

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton Outlines Election Platform

Summary:

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has presented his vision for Australia, promising significant funding for defense and proposing a new gas reservation policy aimed at lowering electricity prices. The Coalition's plans include fast-tracking gas projects, investing $1 billion in gas infrastructure, reducing public service staffing by 41,000 while preserving essential services, and decreasing permanent migration intake by 25% to increase housing supply. Dutton also announced reinstating subsidized mental health visits and new spending on youth mental health.

Sources: The Guardian - March 28, 2025, The Australian - March 28, 2025

Opposition Leader Promises Significant Defense Funding

Summary:

Peter Dutton, in his budget reply, promised significant funding for defense and a new gas reservation policy for the east coast, aimed at lowering electricity prices. The Coalition also plans to fast-track gas projects and invest $1 billion in gas infrastructure. Dutton announced slashing 41,000 public service workers while preserving essential services, and criticized Labor's gas policy. Immigration plans include reducing the permanent migration intake by 25% to increase housing supply. Dutton also proposed reinstating subsidized mental health visits and new spending on youth mental health. Labor, represented by Jason Clare, argued that the Coalition's policies, including the nuclear plan, are costly and criticized the tax implications under Dutton.

Sources: The Guardian - March 28, 2025

Israeli Politicians Urge Australian MPs to Abandon Two-State Solution Policy

Summary:

A group of Israeli Knesset members has called on Australian MPs to drop support for a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine. The letter, presented during an event at Australia's Parliament House, argues that establishing a Palestinian state could lead to Israel's destruction, citing recent conflicts as evidence. This appeal reflects deep skepticism within Israeli political circles about the viability of the peace process.

Sources: The Guardian - March 27, 2025

Stephen Jones Criticizes U.S. Protectionist Trade Policies

Summary:

Outgoing Financial Services Minister Stephen Jones has criticized recent U.S. protectionist measures, including a 25% tariff on global car imports and Australian aluminum and steel. Jones emphasized the importance of open trade and a rules-based order for Australia's economic growth, highlighting concerns about the negative impact on Australian industries and the broader economy.

Sources: The Australian - March 28, 2025

New Anti-Smoking Warnings Criticized for Potential Backfire

Summary:

Starting April 1, Australia will implement legislation requiring health warnings on individual cigarettes, with messages like "causes 16 cancers" and "poisons in every puff." However, social media users have mocked these warnings, suggesting they might make smoking appear "cool" and collectible rather than serving as deterrents. Despite the criticism, health officials assert that such on-product messages are part of a broader strategy to reduce smoking rates, citing positive results from similar approaches in Canada. The initiative aims to decrease the annual tobacco-related deaths in Australia, which currently exceed 24,000.

Sources: The Courier-Mail - March 28, 2025

'Joe's Law' Introduced to Ban Future Hospital Privatization in NSW

Summary:

The New South Wales government has announced "Joe's Law," a reform to prohibit the future privatization of acute public hospitals. This decision follows the death of two-year-old Joe Massa, who suffered a cardiac arrest and died after a prolonged wait in the emergency department of the privately managed Northern Beaches Hospital. The legislation aims to ensure that critical public services like emergency and surgical care remain under public control, preventing privatization. Additionally, a parliamentary inquiry into the hospital's services and a coronial investigation into Joe's death have been initiated.

Sources: The Guardian - March 28, 2025, news.com.au - March 28, 2025, The Daily Telegraph - March 28, 2025

Determined Daisy Marks Major Milestone

Summary:

Daisy, born with a rare chromosomal disorder, has achieved a significant health milestone by having her tracheostomy removed and is now learning to communicate using sign language. Her inspiring journey is one of several highlighted by the Good Friday Appeal, which supports the Royal Children's Hospital (RCH). The 2025 Appeal aims to fund further programs, research, and vital equipment at RCH, with contributions from events like North Melbourne's SuperClash fundraiser bringing joy to young patients ahead of the marquee match.

Sources: Herald Sun - March 27, 2025

Indonesia Seeks to Calm Investors After Stocks, Rupiah Slide

Summary:

Indonesian officials are working to reassure investors following significant declines in the stock market and the rupiah. President Prabowo Subianto plans to meet with investors after the Eid-al-Fitr holiday to address concerns about government policies and fiscal stability. The rupiah recently hit its weakest level since 1998, and the main stock index fell 7.1%. Analysts attribute the selloff to poor communication on fiscal policies. The government aims to maintain the fiscal deficit within 3% of GDP and avoid political interference in its sovereign wealth fund. Efforts are also underway to deregulate the manufacturing sector and provide credits to labor-intensive industries. Bank Indonesia is prepared to intervene to stabilize the currency, emphasizing the economy's underlying strength. The rupiah has shown signs of recovery, and measures include easing buyback processes and offering more attractive investment instruments. Markets will monitor the mid-year budget update in July for signs of revenue shortfalls and spending adjustments.​

Sources: Reuters - 28 March 2025

Beijing to Escalate Taiwan Coercion in 2025

Summary:

A report by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence highlights growing cooperation among China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, posing significant challenges to U.S. global power. Closer ties between China and Russia, in particular, could present enduring risks to U.S. interests. The document points out China's military threat to the U.S., emphasizing its grey zone tactics and potential for stronger coercive action against Taiwan by 2025. The Ukraine conflict and its ongoing strategic risks, including nuclear escalation, are noted, as well as China's ambition to dominate AI by 2030 and its control over critical materials. The report also mentions the volatile Middle East, with Iran's expanding ties despite challenges, and North Korea's commitment to enhancing its nuclear capabilities. Additionally, threats from foreign drug actors and Islamic extremists, including Al-Qa'ida and a potential ISIS resurgence, are highlighted.​

Sources: The Australian - 28 March 2025

Fire Ant Infestation Could Cost Australian Households Over $1 Billion Annually

Summary:

New modeling predicts that if fire ants become established in Australia, households may incur approximately $1.03 billion annually in control measures and related health and veterinary expenses. The invasive species could lead to up to 570,800 medical consultations and around 30 deaths each year due to stings. The electorates of Durack, O'Connor, Mayo, and Blair are projected to be most affected. Experts emphasize the need for increased federal funding for comprehensive eradication programs to prevent environmental damage and significant economic burdens on households.

Sources: The Guardian - March 28, 2025

The Great Monetary Divide – Epi-3643

Summary:

In this episode, host Jack Spirko discusses the rapid changes occurring in the global financial landscape. He highlights the European Union's announcement, led by European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, to implement a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) across member states by the upcoming fall. Spirko expresses concern that such a move could pave the way for a social credit system similar to China's, potentially leading to increased governmental control over individual financial activities.​

Conversely, the episode explores developments in the United States, where the government is reportedly adopting Bitcoin as an economic reserve and integrating stablecoins into the financial system. Spirko suggests that these actions may indicate a divergent path from other global economies, potentially fostering a more decentralized financial environment.​

Throughout the episode, Spirko emphasizes the importance of understanding these shifts and encourages listeners to consider how such changes might impact personal financial sovereignty and the broader economic landscape.​

Please note that this summary is based on limited information available from the episode description and may not capture all the nuances discussed in the full podcast.

Sources: The Survival Podcast - 28 March 2025, Apple Podcasts - 28 March 2025

@ 4fe14ef2:f51992ec

Hey Bitcoiners,

Leave a comment below to share your hustles and wins. Let us know what you've sold this week. Have you sold it for #sats or #zaps? It doesn't matter how big or small your item is, solid or #digital, product or #service.

Just share below what you’ve listed, swapped, and sold. Let everyone rave on your latest #deals!

New to ~AGORA? Dive into the #marketplace and turn your dusty gears into shiny #BTC!

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/927256

@ 7d33ba57:1b82db35

Andorra la Vella, the capital of Andorra, is a charming mix of mountain landscapes, duty-free shopping, and rich history. Nestled in the Pyrenees, it’s a great destination for skiing, hiking, and relaxing in thermal spas. Whether you’re here for outdoor adventures, tax-free shopping, or cultural experiences, Andorra la Vella has something for everyone.

🏔️ Top Things to See & Do in Andorra la Vella

1️⃣ Shop in Avinguda Meritxell 🛍️

• One of Europe’s best duty-free shopping streets, filled with electronics, fashion, perfumes, and luxury goods.
• Find brands at lower prices than in Spain or France.

2️⃣ Relax at Caldea Spa ♨️

• The largest thermal spa in Southern Europe, with hot springs, saunas, and lagoon pools.
• A perfect place to unwind after skiing or hiking.

3️⃣ Visit the Church of Sant Esteve ⛪

• A beautiful Romanesque church dating back to the 12th century.
• Features stone carvings and medieval frescoes.

4️⃣ Explore the Historic Quarter (Barri Antic) 🏡

• Walk through narrow cobbled streets filled with traditional Andorran houses and charming cafés.
• Visit Casa de la Vall, a historic parliament building from the 16th century.

5️⃣ Go Skiing or Snowboarding 🎿

• Andorra is famous for its world-class ski resorts, Grandvalira and Vallnord, just 15-30 minutes away.
• Ideal for beginners and experienced skiers alike.

6️⃣ Hiking in the Pyrenees 🥾

• Summer & autumn offer incredible hiking trails with mountain lakes and scenic views.
• Rec del Solà Trail – A beautiful, easy path with panoramic views of the valley.
• L’Estany Blau – A moderate hike leading to a stunning blue lake.

7️⃣ Enjoy Andorran Cuisine 🍽️

• Escudella – A hearty Andorran stew with meat, beans, and vegetables 🍲
• Trinxat – A mountain dish made of potatoes, cabbage, and bacon 🥓🥔
• Embotits – Local cured meats and sausages, perfect as tapas 🍖
• Crema Andorrana – A creamy, local dessert similar to Catalan crema 🍮

🚗 How to Get to Andorra la Vella

✈️ By Air: The nearest airports are Barcelona-El Prat (Spain, 2.5 hrs) and Toulouse-Blagnac (France, 2.5 hrs).
🚘 By Car: 2.5 hrs from Barcelona, 2.5 hrs from Toulouse, 3 hrs from Perpignan.
🚌 By Bus: Direct buses from Barcelona, Toulouse, and Lleida.
🚆 By Train: No direct train, but you can take a train to L'Hospitalet-près-l'Andorre (France) and continue by bus.

💡 Tips for Visiting Andorra la Vella

✅ Best time to visit? Winter for skiing, summer for hiking & shopping ❄️🌞
✅ Bring a passport – Even though Andorra isn’t in the EU, border checks happen 🇦🇩
✅ Try duty-free shopping – Electronics, perfumes, and alcohol are cheaper 🛍️
✅ Book ski passes in advance – Resorts get busy in peak season 🎿
✅ Wear comfy shoes – The city has steep streets and cobblestone paths 👟

@ 7d33ba57:1b82db35

Peñíscola, known as the “Gibraltar of Valencia”, is a stunning coastal town on Spain’s Costa del Azahar. Famous for its medieval castle, beautiful beaches, and charming old town, Peñíscola is a perfect mix of history, culture, and seaside relaxation. It’s also known as a filming location for Game of Thrones!

🏖️ Top Things to See & Do in Peñíscola

1️⃣ Peñíscola Castle (Castillo del Papa Luna) 🏰

• A magnificent 13th-century castle sitting on a rocky peninsula.
• Built by the Knights Templar and later home to Pope Benedict XIII (Papa Luna).
• Offers breathtaking views of the Mediterranean and surrounding coastline.

2️⃣ Explore the Old Town 🏡

• Wander through narrow cobblestone streets, lined with whitewashed houses and flower-filled balconies.
• Discover hidden courtyards, charming shops, and seafood restaurants.
• Enjoy the picturesque sunset views over the sea.

3️⃣ Relax on Playa Norte & Playa Sur 🏖️

• Playa Norte: The main beach, known for its golden sand and clear waters.
• Playa Sur: Smaller and quieter, great for relaxing away from the crowds.
• Both beaches offer water sports, sunbeds, and beach bars.

4️⃣ Serra d’Irta Natural Park 🌿

• A stunning coastal nature reserve with hiking and biking trails.
• Offers hidden coves, rugged cliffs, and breathtaking sea views.
• Ideal for nature lovers and photographers.

5️⃣ Game of Thrones Filming Locations 🎬

• Peñíscola was featured in Game of Thrones (Season 6) as Meereen.
• Visit the castle walls, old town alleys, and city gates where key scenes were filmed.

6️⃣ Boat Trip Around the Castle ⛵

• Take a boat tour for unique views of the fortress from the sea.
• Sunset cruises offer magical golden-hour scenery.

🍽️ What to Eat in Peñíscola

• Arroz a Banda – A delicious seafood rice dish, typical of Valencia 🍚🐟
• Suquet de Peix – A traditional fish stew with potatoes and saffron 🍲
• Langostinos de Vinaròs – Famous local prawns, incredibly fresh 🍤
• Caragols Punxents – A local specialty of small spicy snails 🐌🌶️
• Coca de llanda – A sweet sponge cake, perfect with coffee 🍰

🚗 How to Get to Peñíscola

✈️ By Air: The nearest airport is Castellón Airport (40 min), Valencia (1.5 hrs), or Barcelona (2 hrs).
🚆 By Train: The nearest station is Benicarló-Peñíscola, just 7 km away.
🚘 By Car: 1.5 hrs from Valencia, 2 hrs from Barcelona, 45 min from Castellón.
🚌 By Bus: Direct buses from Barcelona, Valencia, and Castellón.

💡 Tips for Visiting Peñíscola

✅ Best time to visit? Spring & summer (April–September) for the best weather ☀️
✅ Visit the castle early – Mornings are less crowded and cooler 🏰
✅ Take a sunset walk along the beach – The views are stunning 🌅
✅ Try a boat trip – The castle looks incredible from the water ⛵
✅ Wear comfortable shoes – The old town streets are steep and cobbled 👟

@ 7d33ba57:1b82db35

Tarifa, located at the southernmost tip of Spain, is a paradise for beach lovers, adventure seekers, and nature enthusiasts. Known for its strong winds, golden beaches, and laid-back atmosphere, it’s a top destination for kite surfing, whale watching, and exploring Andalusian history. Plus, it’s the perfect gateway to Morocco, just a short ferry ride away.

🏖️ Top Things to See & Do in Tarifa

1️⃣ Playa de Los Lances 🏄‍♂️

• A long, sandy beach famous for kite surfing and windsurfing.
• One of the best spots in Europe for water sports enthusiasts.
• Lined with chiringuitos (beach bars) where you can relax and enjoy the views.

2️⃣ Punta de Tarifa – The Southernmost Point of Europe 🌍

• A unique spot where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Mediterranean Sea.
• Walk to Isla de las Palomas, a historic military zone (guided tours available).
• Incredible views of Morocco, just 14 km away.

3️⃣ Whale & Dolphin Watching Tours 🐬

• Join a boat trip to see orcas, dolphins, and sperm whales in the Strait of Gibraltar.
• Best time: April to October for whale migrations.

4️⃣ Explore the Historic Old Town 🏰

• Wander through narrow, whitewashed streets full of charm.
• Visit Guzmán el Bueno Castle, a 10th-century fortress with panoramic views.
• Enjoy lively tapas bars, boutique shops, and hidden courtyards.

5️⃣ Playa de Bolonia & Baelo Claudia Ruins 🏛️

• One of Spain’s most unspoiled beaches, with dunes and turquoise waters.
• Explore the Roman ruins of Baelo Claudia, an ancient fishing village from 2,000 years ago.
• Climb the Duna de Bolonia, a massive sand dune with breathtaking views.

6️⃣ Day Trip to Morocco 🇲🇦

• Take a 35-minute ferry to Tangier for a quick taste of North African culture.
• Explore medinas, souks, and local cuisine with a guided tour.
• Don’t forget your passport!

🍽️ What to Eat in Tarifa

• Atún Rojo (Red Tuna) – Tarifa is famous for its fresh bluefin tuna 🍣
• Tortillitas de Camarones – Crispy shrimp fritters, a local delicacy 🍤
• Choco Frito – Fried cuttlefish, a must-try for seafood lovers 🦑
• Andalusian Gazpacho – A refreshing cold tomato soup, perfect for hot days 🍅
• Mojama – Salt-cured tuna, often eaten as a tapa with almonds 🐟

🚗 How to Get to Tarifa

✈️ By Air: The nearest airports are Gibraltar (45 min), Málaga (2 hrs), and Seville (2.5 hrs).
🚆 By Train: No direct train, but you can take one to Algeciras (30 min drive from Tarifa).
🚘 By Car: 1.5 hrs from Málaga, 1 hr from Cádiz, 30 min from Gibraltar.
🚌 By Bus: Regular buses from Seville, Málaga, Cádiz, and Algeciras.
⛴️ To Morocco: Ferries run daily to Tangier, Morocco (35 min ride).

💡 Tips for Visiting Tarifa

✅ Best time to visit? Spring to early autumn (April–October) for great weather ☀️
✅ Book water sports lessons early – It’s a popular spot for kite surfing! 🏄‍♂️
✅ Bring layers – Tarifa can be windy, even in summer 🌬️
✅ Visit early for whale watching – Mornings usually have calmer seas 🐋
✅ Take a day trip to Bolonia – One of Spain’s most stunning hidden beaches 🏝️

@ fe9e99a0:5123e9a8

Can’t seem to update anything

@ 000002de:c05780a7

Regardless of what you have heard Capitalism isn't to blame for all the ills in modern life. Capitalism is simply free trade without centralize control. Of course there are many details I'm glossing over and degrees of freedom. Critics of capitalism rarely explain how it works. They complain about people buying too much stuff. People being over-weight. They complain about waste. People buying stuff they don't need. They complain that teachers aren't paid enough. They complain that professional athletes make too much money.

All of this boils down to two things.

1. People don't like what others choose to do
2. The products we see and world we live in is a result of the desires and values of the people

I agree with many of the critics of capitalism. There is a ton of crap. There's a ton of waste. There are professions I wish were more profitable and others I wish were less profitable. I'm going to ignore the state for once here. Obviously the state puts its thumb on the scales and distorts the market. But this isn't the main factor IMO. The main factor in the world we live in is us. The people. Our desires. Our values. The things we value are reflected in the market. People don't like to admit this because it is uncomfortable. We are spoiled, self-centered, brats that are desire machines. Yeah, you can blame advertising. You can blame "capitalism" but the alternative is starvation and death (socialism).

Its time for us to stop blaming freedom for all the ills in our society and take ownership for our actions. Its us. Thing is, I can't change you. But, I can change my actions. Adjust my values. Adjust my frame of view. I'd love to start hearing people take responsibility and self ownership. Start living out your values. Don't be a part of things that you view as problems. Be a part of solutions. I can't tell you what that looks like but if you think about it for a while you can come up with some things. Its easy to blame others. Its hard to take responsibility for yourself and own your flaws and mistakes.

What do you think?

Inspired by @k00b's post

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/927021

@ 9bde4214:06ca052b

“The human spirit should remain in charge.”

Pablo & Gigi talk about the wind.

nostr:nevent1qvzqqqqqqypzpx77gg2frul26xkzr0gaq9n842u50axpcjhdsa3yeu388vrv5pftqys8wumn8ghj7mn0wd68ytn9d9h82mny0fmkzmn6d9njuumsv93k2tcppemhxue69uhkummn9ekx7mp0qqszlf337y0lkg4sz5ax9ath4y5vk6rpqn9tfewaln2989zavvqrg4cpt2krs

In this dialogue:

• Wind

• More Wind

• Information Calories, and how to measure them

• Digital Wellbeing

• Rescue Time

• Teleology of Technology

• Platforms get users Hooked (book)

• Feeds are slot machines

• Movie Walls

• Tweetdeck and Notedeck

• IRC vs the modern feed

• 37Signals: “Hey, let’s just charge users!”

• “You wouldn’t zap a car crash”

• Catering to our highest self VS catering to our lowest self

• Devolution of YouTube 5-star ratings to thumb up/down to views

• Long videos vs shorts

• The internet had to monetize itself somehow (with attention)

• “Don’t be evil” and why Google had to remove it

• Questr: 2D exploration of nostr

• ONOSENDAI by Arkinox

• Freedom tech & Freedom from Tech

• DAUs of jumper cables

• Gossip and it’s choices

• “The secret to life is to send it”

• Flying water & flying bus stops

• RSS readers, Mailbrew, and daily digests

• Nostr is high signal and less addictive

• Calling nostr posts “tweets” and recordings being “on tape”

• Pivoting from nostr dialogues to a podcast about wind

• The unnecessary complexity of NIP-96

• Blossom (and wind)

• Undoing URLs, APIs, and REST

• ISBNs and cryptographic identifiers

• SaaS and the DAU metric

• Highlighter

• Not caring where stuff is hosted

• When is an edited thing a new thing?

• Edits, the edit wars, and the case against edits

• NIP-60 and inconsistent balances

• Scroll to text fragment and best effort matching

• Proximity hashes & locality-sensitive hashing

• Helping your Uncle Jack of a horse

• Helping your uncle jack of a horse

• Can we fix it with WoT?

• Vertex & vibe-coding a proper search for nostr

• Linking to hashtags & search queries

• Advanced search and why it’s great

• Search scopes & web of trust

• The UNIX tools of nostr

• Pablo’s NDK snippets

• Meredith on the privacy nightmare of Agentic AI

• Blog-post-driven development (Lightning Prisms, Highlighter)

• Sandwich-style LLM prompting, Waterfall for LLMs (HLDD / LLDD)

• “Speed itself is a feature”

• MCP & DVMCP

• Monorepos and git submodules

• Olas & NDK

• Pablo’s RemindMe bot

• “Breaking changes kinda suck”

• Stories, shorts, TikTok, and OnlyFans

• LLM-generated sticker styles

• LLMs and creativity (and Gigi’s old email)

• “AI-generated art has no soul”

• Nostr, zaps, and realness

• Does the source matter?

• Poker client in bitcoin v0.0.1

• Quotes from Hitler and how additional context changes meaning

• Greek finance minister on crypto and bitcoin (Technofeudalism, book)

• Is more context always good?

• Vervaeke’s AI argument

• What is meaningful?

• How do you extract meaning from information?

• How do you extract meaning from experience?

• “What the hell is water”

• Creativity, imagination, hallucination, and losing touch with reality

• “Bitcoin is singularity insurance”

• Will vibe coding make developers obsolete?

• Knowing what to build vs knowing how to build

• 10min block time & the physical limits of consensus

• Satoshi’s reasons articulated in his announcement post

• Why do anything? Why stack sats? Why have kids?

• All you need now is motivation

• Upcoming agents will actually do the thing

• Proliferation of writers: quantity VS quality

• Crisis of sameness & the problem of distribution

• Patronage, belle epoche, and bitcoin art

• Niches, and how the internet fractioned society

• Joe’s songs

• Hyper-personalized stories

• Shared stories & myths (Jonathan Pageau)

• Hyper-personalized apps VS shared apps

• Agency, free expression, and free speech

• Edgy content & twitch meta, aka skating the line of demonetization and deplatforming

• Using attention as a proxy currency

• Farming eyeballs and brain cycles

• Engagement as a success metric & engagement bait

• “You wouldn’t zap a car crash”

• Attention economy is parasitic on humanity

• The importance of speech & money

• What should be done by a machine?

• What should be done by a human?

• “The human spirit should remain in charge”

• Our relationship with fiat money

• Active vs passive, agency vs serfdom

@ a296b972:e5a7a2e8

Wehrpflicht, Wehr-Pflicht… Da soll die allgemeine Wehrpflicht wieder eingeführt werden. Eine Frage taucht auf: Ist sie denn jemals abgeschafft worden? Ist die Wehrpflicht nicht untrennbar mit der Demokratie verbunden? Ist es nicht die Pflicht eines jeden Demokraten, sich zu wehren, wenn er sieht, wie die Demokratie vor die Hunde geht? Muss er sich nicht wehren, wenn er feststellt, dass die Freiheit scheibchenweise immer weniger wird?

In Absurd-Germanistan reizt ein wild gewordener Haufen Irrer in Berlin die Grenzen der Legalität bis zum Äußersten aus. Unterstützt von Erfüllungsgehilfen in der Rechtsprechung und den Medien. Neuester Coup: Zur größtmöglichen Intransparenz soll das Informationsfreiheitsgesetz abgeschafft werden. Unterstützt von einer eigenen Bundestagspolizei, geschützt von einem Wassergraben um den Reichstag. Die dunkle Seite der Macht baut eine Beton-Mauer auf, um größtmöglichen Abstand zum übelriechenden Volk, dass sie gewählt hat, zu gewährleisten.  Und mit ekelhafter Regelmäßigkeit werden Knochen mit Fleischresten über die Mauer geworfen, die dann das dumme Volk zu verdauen hat. Das funktioniert derzeit noch, weil das Volk nicht in der Lage ist, eine Leiter an die Mauer zu stellen, um die Irren über die Mauer in den Wassergraben zu werfen und sich das saftige Hühnchen zu holen, das ihm, dem Volk sowieso gehört.

Unterdessen sinniert die entrückte Blase darüber, wie man dem Volk nachhaltig langfristigen Schaden zufügen kann. Aus rechtlichen Winkelzügen, falschen Versprechungen, Selbstbeweihräucherungen, ideologisch vergifteten Reden quillt die Verachtung gegenüber dem Volk und der Demokratie aus allen Poren. Und die wird dann durch Unseredemokratie verhöhnt, in der Schulden durch eine Wortneuschöpfung als Sondervermögen ausgegeben werden. Dreister und offensichtlicher kann man nicht lügen. Und das mit einer nie gekannten Chuzpe, dass einem nur noch der Atem stockt.

Jahrzehnte wurde den Deutschen abgewöhnt, stolz auf ihr Land zu sein. Die deutsche Fahne zeigen, hatte damals schon den Charme von „reeechts“. Wer von Vaterland und Heimat sprach, der bekam automatisch einen dunklen, schmalen Schatten zwischen Nasenmitte und Mund. Doch dann, als es mal wieder Spiele für’s Volk gab, durfte man auf einmal mit kleinen Wink-Elementen zeigen, dass man stolz auf elf Leute war, die hinter einem Ball herrennen und wenn sie ihn hatten, ihn dann wieder wegschossen. Damit nicht genug, es gab hochalberne Gamaschen für Außenspiegel und Diplomatenfähnchen in schwarz-rot-gold für des Deutschen liebstes Kind, das Auto.

Und jüngst kam einer daher, der wie von der Tarantel gestochen behauptete, dass der böse Russ hinter uns her ist, und man deshalb kriegstüchtig werden müsse, obwohl weit und breit nichts von ihm zu sehen war und er immer wieder wiederholte, dass er überhaupt gar keine Lust dazu hat, Deutschland auf unschöne Weise bereisen zu wollen.

Im Fieberwahn stimmten weitere Kriegstreiber in den Chor ein und ein deutscher Häuptling der Bleichgesichter, der ehedem Streubomben geächtet hatte, zuckte auf einmal nur verbal mit den Schultern. Das soll einer verstehen.

Und weil Deutschland von nichts und niemandem bedroht wird, muss deshalb dringend aufgerüstet werden, Kriegswirtschaft ist angesagt, die Wehrpflicht muss wieder her!

Eine Kriegsmaschinerie muss von Grund auf neu aufgebaut werden: Von der langen Feinripp-Unterhose mit Eingriff bis zum Panzer. Die ehemaligen Hermann-Göring-Werke müssen die Fließbänder zum Glühen bringen. Wir brauchen „Woffen, Woffen, Woffen“!

Das Ganze dauert 10 bis 20 Jahre. Hoffentlich reicht der im Samowar zubereitete Tee so lange, bis alles zertifiziert und DIN-Norm gerecht fertiggestellt ist. Man kann nur auf die christlich demokratische Unterstützung der nach einer europäischen Zentralregierung strebenden, deutschen Ex-Verteidigungsministerin mit Ambitionen zur Kaiserin von Europa hoffen. Ihre Expertise konnte sie ja dank ihres mit Bravour gemeisterten ehemaligen Amtes bereits unter Beweis stellen. Überhaupt, überall, wo das Militär im Hintergrund seine Finger im Spiel hat, ist die Wahl-Brüsselerin an vorderster Front. Zuletzt im Beschaffungswesen der 1. Pandemie-Spiele in Echtzeit unter realen Bedingungen.

Aber was nutzt das ganze schöne Zeug, die noch nicht bekleckerten jungfräulichen Gulasch-Kanonen, wenn sie keiner bedient und keiner seinen Henkelmann mit Feinkost füllen will.

Ja genau, es fehlen ja noch Menschen, in dem Metier Soldaten genannt.

Ein paar Natur-Wahnsinnige gibt es ja immer. Aber was ist mit denen, die vielleicht gar keinen Bock haben? Gerade frisch verliebt, von Papi das erste Auto vor die Tür gestellt bekommen, wegen Laktose-Intoleranz bitte nur einen Kriegs-Latte mit Hafermilch, und für mich bitte glutenfreie Marschverpflegung.

Was ist mit denen, die vielleicht checken, dass wir von einer Polit-Klicke regiert werden, die Deutschland an die Wand fährt und sich redlich Mühe gibt, eine positive Zukunft für die nächsten Generationen zu verunmöglichen?

Was ist mit denen, die von Anfang an gerafft haben, dass man mit einer Gen-Behandlung die Wehrkraft zersetzt?

Was ist mit denen, die die Pflicht, sich bestmöglich gesund zu halten, ernst genommen haben?

Was ist mit denen, die aus Sachzwängen oder Unwissenheit die Injektionen über sich haben ergehen lassen und heute feststellen, dass man sie verarscht hat?

Was ist mit denen, die sich an ihrem durchtrainierten Six-Pack nur noch durch Bilder erinnern können, weil sie seit der Verabreichung eines „nebenwirkungsfreien Elixiers“ nicht mehr auf die Beine kommen?

Man fragt sich, woher soll die Motivation kommen, sein gesundes oder herabgemindertes Immunsystem für ein Vaterland auf’s Spiel zu setzen, bei dem sich herausgestellt hat, dass der Vater ein Stiefvater der übelsten Sorte ist?

Da in Europa offensichtlich die Diplomatie zunächst abgeschafft ist, und demnächst vielleicht sogar unter Strafe gestellt wird, und man sich auf Uncle Sam auch nicht mehr verlassen kann, weil er so völlig das Gegenteil von dem unternimmt, was man von ihm erwartet hätte, wäre es überlegenswert, ob diejenigen jungen Männer im fortpflanzungsfähigen und -willigen Alter eventuell eine längere Reise ins Ausland antreten sollten. Ist nur so ein Gedanke.

Man kann ja immer noch mal wieder vorbeischauen, wenn es an den ungeschützten Außengrenzen wieder von Deutschland aus nach Vernunft duftet.

Aber vielleicht findet sich auch unter den Messerfachkräften der eine oder andere, der seine Künste und sein Leben für ein Land und Bürgergeld hergeben möchte. Schließlich können es die Allermeisten kaum abwarten, die deutschen Gepflogenheiten ungefiltert einzusaugen und dafür ihre kulturelle Herkunft und Religion wie einen alten Lumpen abzuwerfen. Was Besseres, als die Kultur der Denker und Dichter hat die Welt ohnehin noch nicht gesehen. Wer kann dem schon widerstehen?

Großer Dank gilt auch der deutschen Bevölkerung, die einem wildgewordenen andalusischen Stier gleich, in Scharen von einigen Tausenden von über 80 Millionen auf die Straße rennen, um ihrem Unbill Ausdruck zu verleihen. So eine Friedensmüdigkeit ist ansteckend und kann richtig mobilisieren. Man kann natürlich auch was von Zuhause aus tun: Sich laut empören und für durchziehende Truppen Kaffee kochen, oder dem Heimatschutz beim Stiefel putzen helfen. Im Ernst: So eine bräsige, behäbige, langweilige, unmotivierte, unkritische, informationsvergiftete, geduldige Herde von Faultieren hat es eigentlich nicht anders verdient, als dass man sie während ihres andauernden Langzeit-Wachkomas in einen Käfig sperrt und mit Bananen füttert.

Keiner, niemand kommt auf die Idee, dass es immer noch besser wäre, obwohl es keinerlei Anlass dazu gibt, russisch zu lernen, als sich als Kanonenfutter für einen Staat, der sein Volk verachtet, in die Gefahr zu begeben, im Ernstfall verstümmelt oder abgeschlachtet zu werden.

Man kann jetzt schon die heulenden Bubis sehen, wie sie sich unter Mutterns Rockschürze verkriechen, wenn sie merken würden, dass es in den Ballerspielen am Computer aber immer ganz anders war.

Der ganze inszenierte Spuk wäre sofort vorbei, wenn die Menschen ihr Gehirn einschalten würden. Dann würden sie feststellen, dass es unzählige Gründe dafür gibt NEIN zu sagen und ICH MACH DA NICHT MIT.

Wie machtlos wären die Kriegspfeifen in Berlin, wenn sie zu spüren bekämen, dass das deutsche Volk nicht mit Russland oder sonst wem im Krieg ist und nicht das geringste Interesse verspürt, daran etwas zu ändern. Deutschland besteht aus einem erbärmlichen Haufen Ja-Sagern in allen Lagern, die offensichtlich erst dann wach werden, wenn es nichts mehr zu Essen gibt und der Strom fürs externe Gehirn weg ist. Oh Gott, mein Leben hat keinen Sinn mehr! Was sind wir doch ein elender Haufen von Jammerlappen, die glauben, dass man gelebte Demokratie und Freiheit jederzeit im Online-Shop kaufen kann. Lieferung innerhalb 24 Stunden.

Frieden – Mir – Pace – Peace

Dieser Beitrag wurde mit dem Pareto-Client geschrieben.

@ f5369849:f34119a0

Hackathon Summary

The AI MegaWave Hackathon recently concluded, with hackers showcasing their abilities at the cross-section of AI and Web3. The event drew 319 developers and yielded 40 approved projects. Emphasizing AI's integration, the hackathon allocated a $150,000 prize pool based on judging outcomes, divided into categories like AI, AI Agents, and AI & Warps. Each category had three cash prizes. Additional prizes were offered, including funding from Hatom, xExchange, and Foxsy, as well as infrastructure support from Alibaba Cloud, which provided up to $100,000 in credits. This initiative allowed participants to explore novel AI applications in decentralized apps, promoting networking and collaboration, supported by MultiversX, a scalable, secure blockchain network.

Hackathon Winners

AI Track Prize Winners

1. MvX LIB: A platform that enhances MultiversX blockchain development through SDK exploration, interactive ABI testing, and AI-powered assistance.
2. NPC - AI & Web3 Connected Characters: Advances the development of game characters by using AI and blockchain to enhance gameplay and character depth.
3. xPilot - The MultiversX CoPilot: A VS Code extension that supports MultiversX development with AI-guided assistance.

AI Agents Prize Winners

1. JoAi: Autonomous On-Chain AI Swarms: Facilitates decentralized AI agent swarms for autonomous task management on the MultiversX blockchain.
2. Laïka: An ElizaOS plugin designed to simplify blockchain interactions, aiding in transactions and balance checks.
3. HiveX: MultiversX DeFAI Agent Swarm: Automates the MultiversX DeFi processes using AI-driven agent swarms.

Warps Prize Winners

1. One Click Warp Generator: Automates the creation of blockchain Warps by utilizing a smart contract ABI library.
2. ABI2Warp: Transforms MultiversX smart contract ABIs into interactive Warps, supporting the vLEAP ecosystem.
3. WarpX: A tool driven by AI that simplifies blockchain transactions through natural language processing, Telegram integration, and QR codes.

For further details and to review the projects, visit the DoraHacks AI_MegaWave Hackathon page.

Organization

About the Organizer: MultiversX

MultiversX is focused on blockchain infrastructure and decentralized applications, renowned for creating scalable and secure blockchain solutions. The company has played a significant role in developing projects that increase transaction efficiency. MultiversX's ongoing work in blockchain technology highlights its dedication to technological progress. The organization is currently prioritizing the advancement of decentralized finance (DeFi) tools, aiming to enable seamless and secure digital transactions

@ ed84ce10:cccf4c2a

Hackers are Destiny: Four Fulcrums of the Future

A Dora Ventures Thesis

In “Why Software is Eating the World,” Marc Andreeson argued that software isn’t just a tool — it’s a societal force. At DoraHacks, we agree, but we go one step further.

It’s not software alone that reshapes the world. It’s hackers — those who BUIDL.

The real engine of change isn’t technology; it’s the people who choose to wield it.

DoraHacks is building a global Hacker Movement — a self-organizing force powered by open source, freedom, and code. We’re not chasing buzzwords like “Web3” or geopolitical narratives. We’re building a new society. One based on a simple but radical question:

What is truly worth building?

Dora Ventures exists to serve that mission — a capital engine designed to coordinate, amplify, and capture value from the hacker revolution.

We are placing early and aggressive bets across four core leverage points:

I. FDA Free Society — The BioHack

Freedom of Life Science is the foundation of a free society.

Every meaningful technological revolution has challenged the existing power structure.

Today, the single most over-regulated, over-centralized, and innovation-hostile domain? Life Science.

It takes ten years and billions of dollars to bring a drug from lab to patient. Most innovation dies in the trenches of bureaucracy.

We don’t need anarchy. We need a new model:A market-driven, patient-first biotech innovation stack.

The Problem:

• The FDA approval process kills breakthrough therapies before they live.
• Big Pharma monopolies decouple price from value and destroy competition.
• The “Right to Try” is a legal afterthought, not a first principle.
• Bio startups can’t survive the upfront costs of traditional trials.

The Opportunity:

• Let markets and builders lead: give power back to patients, doctors, and founders.
• Rethink from first principles: not “Did it pass?” but “Does it work?”
• Reclaim the Right to Try: the real risk is dying while waiting.
• Build a hyper-competitive biofounder ecosystem — don’t just supply Big Pharma with IP.
• Supercharge biotech with software and AI: accelerate every layer of the stack.

The future of medicine does not belong to regulators. It belongs to the builders who refuse to wait.

The FDA Free Society isn’t just a challenge to power — it’s a defense of life.

II. Open Source Quantum

Ethereum had 2015. Quantum software has 2025.

Arthur C. Clarke said: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”

Quantum is magic — until it’s programmable, repeatable, and shared. In other words: open source.

Dora Ventures is betting on the moment quantum computing becomes a hacker’s playground.

Hardware is entering the engineering phase. Software? Still a wasteland — which means pure upside for builders.

We’re betting on:

• Quantum compilers & transpilers: bridging classical and quantum logic.
• Quantum cryptography: building fundamentally new security layers.
• Quantum applications in AI, pharma, logistics, finance, space — everything.

We're not watching from the sidelines. We’re funding open-source tools, running hackathons, and building out the decentralized quantum dev stack.

Open Source Quantum is not speculative. It’s inevitable — and massively undercapitalized.

Now is the time to build.

III. Consumer Crypto — The Fat Apps Are Coming

Crypto’s real revolution? Billion-user apps.

Crypto is not the alternative to the internet. It’s the next chapter of the internet.

In the 1990s, HTTP and TCP/IP rewired information.

In the 2000s, web apps rewired commerce and communication.

In the 2010s, mobile apps rewired human behavior.

In the 2020s, crypto apps will onboard the next billion users.

The infrastructure is ready. The fat apps are hatching.

Dora Ventures is obsessed with one question:

Who builds the PayPal and WeChat of the Web3 era?

That’s where we place our bets.

What we see coming:

• Compliant stablecoins like USDC become digital dollars.
• Crypto-native payment rails rival VISA.
• Appchains built with Move + simplified UX onboard non-crypto users.
• On-chain creator economies that pay artists, devs, and communities directly.

Imagine this:

A fan in NYC uses USDC on a Move-based blockchain (Aptos) to buy a concert ticket via KYD Labs.

An Argentinian grabs a latte daily with Bitcoin sats on Lightning.

A friend group splits dinner bills via Yakihonne, a decentralized social platform.

That’s not the future. That’s this year.

We’re not funding protocols — we’re funding paradigm shifts in experience.

IV. Agentic Organizations — DAOs Without CEOs

The end of corporations. The birth of autonomous orgs.

In 2022, Sam Altman redefined “tools.”

In 2025, we’ll redefine “organizations.”

Future orgs won’t be hierarchies. They’ll be networks of autonomous agents.

Agents are the new work unit. They don’t sleep. They learn continuously. They self-schedule.

They’re not tools to help humans — they are the operating system of post-human orgs.

What’s coming:

• DAOs with agent-driven governance and privacy.
• Smart Widgets that deploy trade/social/payment agents in three lines of code.
• Privacy as a default layer in automation.
• A new generation of AI-native hackathon projects.

AI + blockchain isn’t a buzzword. It’s the genesis of organizational intelligence.

Yesterday, the company was an information processor.

Tomorrow, the DAO is an autonomous agent network.

No CEOs. No approvals. No offices. Just coordination at the speed of compute.

The Bet: BUIDL Freedom for Humanity

FDA Free Society. Open Source Quantum. Consumer Crypto. Agentic Orgs.

These are not sci-fi. They are already happening.

At Dora Ventures, we don’t just back technologies.

We back builders who say:

“The system is broken — and I’m going to fix it myself.”

We back rebels who reject stagnation.

Who write code instead of complaints.

Who build networks instead of narratives.

Who refuse to ask permission to build the future.

Hackers are eating the world.

And in the age of AI, humanity will only survive if it chooses to become hackers — to use code, coordination, and imagination to build a world worth living in.

Let’s build.

@ a012dc82:6458a70d

The cryptocurrency market, known for its dramatic fluctuations, has always been a subject of intrigue and speculation. Bitcoin, as the pioneering digital currency, has been at the epicenter of this financial whirlwind. As we approach 2024, the anticipation surrounding Bitcoin's value is palpable, with potential investors and seasoned cryptocurrency enthusiasts keenly eyeing the market's movements. This article aims to dissect the recent forecasts for Bitcoin's price in the coming year, delve into the multifaceted factors influencing these predictions, and explore the broader implications for those contemplating an investment in Bitcoin.

Table of Contents

• 2024 Bitcoin Price Predictions: A New Peak on the …

• Key Factors Driving Bitcoin's Price

  • The Halving Event

  • Institutional Interest and ETFs

  • Economic and Monetary Policies

• The Debate: To Buy or Not to Buy

  • Risk Tolerance

  • Market Dynamics

  • Long-Term Perspective

• Caution and Speculation

• Conclusion

• FAQs

2024 Bitcoin Price Predictions: A New Peak on the Horizon

Recent analyses, particularly a notable report from UK fintech firm Finder, have painted an optimistic picture for Bitcoin in 2024. Experts within the field are forecasting a new zenith for Bitcoin, projecting it to reach an all-time high of $88,000, with expectations of the currency stabilizing around $77,000 by the end of the year. These projections represent a significant uptick from Bitcoin's current valuation and suggest a potentially lucrative year ahead for the digital currency. However, it's crucial to recognize that these predictions are not guarantees but educated guesses based on current market trends and historical data. The cryptocurrency market's inherent volatility means that while the potential for substantial gains exists, so too does the risk of dramatic losses. Investors should approach these predictions with cautious optimism, considering the broader economic and technological landscape that could impact Bitcoin's trajectory.

Key Factors Driving Bitcoin's Price

The anticipated surge in Bitcoin's value can be attributed to several key factors, each playing a pivotal role in shaping the currency's future:

The Halving Event

The Bitcoin halving event scheduled for April 2024 stands as a significant milestone. This event, which occurs approximately every four years, reduces the reward for mining Bitcoin transactions by half. Historically, halving events have led to a decrease in the supply of new Bitcoins entering the market, which, in turn, has led to price increases as demand outstrips supply. The 2024 halving is expected to follow this trend, contributing to the bullish outlook for Bitcoin's price. However, while past performance can offer insights, it is not indicative of future results. The halving's impact could be influenced by a myriad of factors, including changes in miner behavior, technological advancements, and shifts in investor sentiment.

Institutional Interest and ETFs

Another driving force behind the optimistic price predictions is the growing institutional interest in Bitcoin and the approval of Bitcoin ETFs in the United States. These developments have not only legitimized Bitcoin as an investment asset but also made it more accessible to a broader audience of traditional investors. The introduction of ETFs has bridged the gap between the conventional financial world and the burgeoning cryptocurrency market, providing a regulated and familiar avenue for investment. However, the influx of institutional money also brings new challenges, including increased market manipulation risks and the potential for regulatory crackdowns. Investors should remain vigilant, monitoring the evolving landscape and considering the long-term implications of institutional involvement in the cryptocurrency space.

Economic and Monetary Policies

Global economic conditions and monetary policies, particularly those enacted by the US Federal Reserve, are also critical factors influencing Bitcoin's price. In an environment of low interest rates and quantitative easing, investors have increasingly turned to alternative assets like Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation and currency devaluation. However, shifts in these policies could significantly impact investor behavior and market dynamics. A rise in interest rates or a tightening of monetary policy could lead to reduced liquidity in the market and a shift away from riskier assets, including Bitcoin. Conversely, continued economic uncertainty and inflationary pressures could bolster Bitcoin's appeal as a store of value.

The Debate: To Buy or Not to Buy

The decision to invest in Bitcoin, especially in light of the optimistic 2024 price predictions, is fraught with complexity:

Risk Tolerance

Bitcoin's notorious volatility cannot be overstated. The digital currency's price can experience dramatic swings within short periods, influenced by factors ranging from regulatory news to market sentiment. Potential investors must assess their risk tolerance and financial situation before entering the market. It's essential to consider whether you can withstand significant fluctuations in your investment's value and how such changes would impact your overall financial health.

Market Dynamics

Understanding the broader market dynamics and potential regulatory changes is crucial for anyone considering investing in Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency market does not operate in a vacuum; it is affected by global economic conditions, technological developments, and shifts in regulatory attitudes. Staying informed and adaptable is key, as today's market drivers could change rapidly, altering Bitcoin's price trajectory.

Long-Term Perspective

Adopting a long-term perspective is vital when investing in Bitcoin. While the allure of quick profits can be tempting, Bitcoin's history suggests that it is better suited as a long-term investment. The market's cyclical nature, characterized by boom-and-bust cycles, requires patience and a long-term outlook. Investors should avoid making impulsive decisions based on short-term price movements and instead focus on the underlying value and potential of Bitcoin as a revolutionary digital asset.

Caution and Speculation

Despite the bullish forecasts, a note of caution is warranted. The cryptocurrency market remains speculative, and while Bitcoin has established itself as the leading digital currency, its future is not guaranteed. The landscape is rife with uncertainties, from technological challenges to regulatory hurdles. Potential investors should approach Bitcoin with a balanced perspective, recognizing the possibilities while being acutely aware of the risks.

Conclusion

The predictions for Bitcoin's price in 2024 offer a glimpse into a potentially prosperous future for the digital currency. However, the decision to invest should not be taken lightly. Prospective investors must navigate a landscape marked by volatility, uncertainty, and rapid change. By thoroughly evaluating the market, staying informed about developments, and considering their long-term financial goals, individuals can make more informed decisions about their involvement in the Bitcoin market. Whether now is the right time to buy Bitcoin is a personal decision that depends on individual circumstances, risk tolerance, and investment strategy. As with any investment, there are no guarantees, but for those willing to embrace the risks, the rewards could be substantial.

FAQs

Why is Bitcoin expected to reach new highs in 2024? Bitcoin's price is expected to surge due to factors like the halving event, increasing institutional interest, the approval of Bitcoin ETFs, and global economic conditions that favor alternative investments.

What is a Bitcoin halving event? A Bitcoin halving event is when the reward for mining new blocks is halved, reducing the rate at which new bitcoins are generated. This event occurs approximately every four years and tends to impact the price due to reduced supply.

Are Bitcoin ETFs significant for individual investors? Yes, Bitcoin ETFs provide individual investors with a regulated and familiar way to gain exposure to Bitcoin without directly purchasing or storing the cryptocurrency, potentially increasing its accessibility and demand.

That's all for today

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DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.

@ 65038d69:1fff8852

You’ve most likely run into this before; you’ve moved to a new home, or your office has moved, or a new branch is opening, and you need an internet connection. Where do you even start? How do you pick the right one?

We can break down this decision into elements which handily fit in The 5 Ws of Journalism (Who, What, When, Where, Why (and sometimes How).

Why: This might seem silly, but ask yourself if you really do need an internet connection at the location you’re considering, or if you could get away without one. Could smartphones with cellular be used instead? Is permanent work-from-home an option for the staff here? If the answer is “actually I don’t think we need internet here!” you can skip the rest of the questions and go straight to a coffee break!

Who: Is this a personal / home internet connection, or for an organization? While there are some edge cases where a personal connection will work for an org, or a business or enterprise connection is needed for a home, the vast majority of the time you’ll choose a personal connection for home and a business connection an organization.

Where: Where are you? Location will be a major factor in what kinds of internet connections are available, and in some cases may even limit you to a single option. Generally, if you’re in a city you’ll have every option, and if you’re rural you’ll have two: satellite and cellular. We’ll get into the details of those later. Either way, a good starting point is to search for your city or area on the “National Broadband Internet Service Availability Map”. After searching, scroll down below the map and expand the “Internet service providers (ISP) in the area” dropdown. Note that this system isn’t going to be as up to date as provider’s own data, and availability isn’t guaranteed.

What: What are you doing with your internet connection? Is it just for checking emails, or will you be doing things like video conferencing too (Zoom, etc.)? Do you have security cameras you want to be able to view remotely? Make a list of “internet things” you want to be able to do to give to the provider later. I’ll include a non-exhaustive list of items to get you started at the end of the post.*

When: How soon do you need it? Are you in a hurry to get it installed? Pick a “nice to have” date and a “must have” date to also give to the provider later.

How: How are you connecting? This question is a bit more technical and your options may be limited by the answers to the other questions. Here’s a list of internet connection types and a brief overview of each: - Fiber optic: If available to you, this is the best option for home, business, and enterprise connections. It will be the fastest and most dependable by a wide margin. - Coax: You may recognize this as the old cable TV technology, but in the late 1990s providers started transitioning the infrastructure over to high-speed internet. The latest generations of the technology are capable of speeds similar to fiber optic, but don’t have the same level of stability or lifespan. - Satellite: While there are other satellite internet providers, none are currently able to compete with Starlink. The hardware and installation can be expensive (especially the business-class systems), but it’s the best option for rural offices and connected homes. - Fixed wireless: In the mid 2000s governments in Canada saw the need for rural areas to have high-speed internet options, and fixed wireless was the best available solution for low-density areas. Hundreds of small regional WISPs (wireless internet service providers) had their infrastructure funded by government programs (mostly radio towers and their associated equipment). Most affordable WISP technology has been surpassed by Starlink, though existing residential customers are unlikely to switch due to the cost and narrow upgrade benefits. - Cellular: Mostly marketed as 5G, internet over cellular is a viable option for rural offices and homes where speed and monthly bandwidth (how much you can use your internet) are not a high priority or if there are no other options. It’s also sometimes used as a backup for high-availability enterprise connections. - Twisted pair: Also known as copper pair or telephone cable, twisted pair has been used in western Canada since AGT and BC Tel transitioned from open wire lines in the 1920s. ADSL (the technology behind high-speed internet over twisted pair) has largely been phased out, but is still available in some areas where there are no other options.

*Potential Internet Usage Items Home / personal: - Online shopping - Streaming movies & music - Online gaming - Smart home devices (thermostats, lights, etc.) - Online education / e-learning - Telehealth & online medical consultations Business & enterprise: - Security cameras - Email - Online banking & payroll - Social media & advertising - Videoconferencing - Cloud storage & file sharing - Remote work & telecommuting - Web browsing - Online customer support - E-commerce - Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems - Data backup - High-frequency trading platforms - Managed IT services & remote support

@ f1989a96:bcaaf2c1

Good morning, readers!

Turkey’s currency plunged to a record low after the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, one of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rivals. This follows a pattern of escalating repression of opposition figures, which have been described as an effort to suppress competition ahead of primary elections. As economic conditions deteriorate, Erdogan is resorting to desperate measures — blocking social media, arresting dissenters, and tear-gassing protests — to maintain power over an increasingly restless populace.

In the Caribbean, we shed light on Cubans' struggles accessing remittances sent from family members abroad. This is a symptom of the regime's strict monetary controls over foreign currency. Cubans face long delays or can’t withdraw cash due to bank liquidity shortages. And when they can, remittances are converted into pesos at the overvalued official Cuban exchange rate. This effectively allows the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) to loot the value from Cuban remittances.

In freedom tech news, we highlight Demand Pool, the first-ever Stratum V2 mining pool. Stratum V2 is a mining protocol designed to decentralize Bitcoin mining by letting individual miners create their own block templates rather than relying on centralized pools to do so for them. This improves censorship resistance and promotes a more decentralized and resilient Bitcoin network — critical features for human rights defenders and nonprofits using Bitcoin to protect against financial repression from authoritarian regimes.

We end by featuring Vijay Selvam's new book, “Principles of Bitcoin.” It offers a clear, first-principles guide to understanding how Bitcoin’s technology interacts with economics, politics, philosophy, and human rights. Whether you’re new to Bitcoin or looking to deepen your understanding, this book provides a solid foundation, and it even features a foreword by HRF Chief Strategy Officer Alex Gladstein.

Now, let’s dive right in!

Subscribe Here

GLOBAL NEWS

Turkey | Lira in Free Fall as Erdogan Arrests Political Rival

Turkey’s lira plunged to a record low after officials arrested Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival. Imamoglu’s arrest comes ahead of primary elections and follows the increasing repression of opposition figures in recent months, including the suspension of political opposition accounts on X. Officials also arrested Buğra Gökçe, head of the Istanbul Planning Agency, for publishing data exposing the country’s deepening poverty. The currency’s fallout and political repression have sparked protests in Istanbul despite a four-day ban. The regime is responding with tear gas and rubber bullets. Meanwhile, Turks dissenting online risk joining over a dozen other citizens recently arrested for “provocative” social media posts. Netblocks reports that the Turkish regime imposed restrictions on social media and messaging to quell the uprising of Turks struggling with financial conditions and deepening repression. 

Cuba | Banks “Hijack” Citizen Remittances

Cubans are struggling to access remittances sent from their families abroad. This is because the regime completely controls all incoming foreign currency transfers. When remittances arrive, communist banking authorities force their conversion into collapsing Cuban pesos or “Moneda Libremente Convertible” (MLC), Cuba’s digital currency with limited use. On top of this, Cubans receive pesos in their accounts based on the official Cuban exchange rate, which is far below the informal market rate. This allows the regime to opaquely siphon off much of the remittances’ real value. Even when the money clears, Cubans face long delays or can’t withdraw the cash due to banks’ liquidity shortages. Many Cubans are accusing these banks of “hijacking” their remittances. As inflation, electrical blackouts, and food shortages continue, remittances are more critical than ever for Cuban families. Yet, they’re blocked at every turn by a system designed to impoverish them.

Pakistan | Announces Plans to Regulate Digital Assets

Pakistan announced plans to create a regulatory framework for Bitcoin and digital assets to attract foreign investment and domestic economic activity. It’s a peculiar shift for a regime that regularly suspends the Internet, censors social media, represses opposition, and burdens its people with the highest cost of living in Asia. We suspect the plans indicate efforts to control the industry rather than empower individuals. The military-backed regime is also exploring a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and tightening controls on VPN use, which are hardly the hallmarks of leadership committed to permissionless financial systems. But perhaps it matters little. Grassroots Bitcoin adoption in Pakistan already ranks among the highest in the world, with an estimated 15 to 20 million users turning to digital assets to preserve their savings, circumvent financial controls, and escape the failures of a collapsing fiat system. HRF supported Bitcoin Pakistan with a grant to help translate resources into Urdu, a language spoken by 60 million people trapped in this repressive scenario.

Russia | Piloting CBDC in Tatarstan to Test Smart Contract Functionality

Russia’s central bank plans to pilot its CBDC, the digital ruble, in Tatarstan to test smart contract functionality. Specifically, the central bank will experiment with conditional spending, using smart contracts to restrict where and what users can spend money on. If these features are implemented, it will empower the Kremlin with micro-controls over Russians’ spending activity. Officials could program funds to expire, restrict purchases to regime-approved goods, or block transactions at certain locations — leaving users with no financial autonomy or privacy. Those who oppose the Russian dictatorship, such as activists, nonprofits, and dissenters, could be debanked with more ease, their assets frozen or confiscated without recourse.

Nicaragua | Government Mandates Public Employees Declare All Assets

In Nicaragua, dictator Daniel Ortega intensified state financial surveillance by mandating all public servants to disclose information on all personal and family assets. The mandate requires all public employees to declare everything from personal bank accounts, loans, vehicles, and other assets — as well as the assets and accounts of immediate family members. Those who do not comply face the threat of termination. Ironically, despite the law requiring such disclosure, Ortega himself has not declared his assets since 2006. Under the guise of regulatory compliance, this policy is yet another link in the chain tightening state surveillance over Nicaraguan society. Bitcoin adoption continues to grow in this repressed Central American nation.

BITCOIN AND FREEDOM TECH NEWS

Demand Pool | First Stratum V2 Mining Pool Launches

Bitcoin mining could become more decentralized and censorship-resistant with the launch of Demand Pool, the first mining pool to ever implement Stratum V2. Stratum V2 is open-source software that allows miners to build their own block templates, enabling more individual mining and less dependence on large and centralized mining pools. This helps maintain Bitcoin’s key features: its decentralized, permissionless, and uncensorable nature. All of which are crucial for human rights defenders and nonprofits bypassing the financial repression and surveillance of authoritarian regimes. Learn more here.

Bitcoin Mining | Three Solo Blocks Found

Three separate solo miners mined Bitcoin blocks in the past seven days. This marks the second, third, and fourth solo blocks mined in the past two weeks alone, hinting at a surge in home mining. This promotes greater decentralization within the Bitcoin network because solo miners have little functional ability to censor. In contrast, large mining pools are points of failure that centralized interests can more easily pressure — to the detriment of activists and human rights defenders. The first block was mined on March 21 by a miner using a self-hosted FutureBit Apollo machine that earned 3.125 BTC plus fees for processing block 888,737. Just days later, a solo miner with under 1 TH/s of self-hosted hash rate found block 888,989, which became just the third block ever to be mined using an open-source Bitaxe device. Most recently, on March 24, a solo miner using a $300 setup successfully mined block 889,240.

Krux | Adds Taproot and Miniscript Support

Krux, open-source software for building your own Bitcoin signing devices (hardware for Bitcoin self-custody), released an update that enhances privacy and flexibility. The update introduces support for Taproot, a past Bitcoin upgrade that improves privacy and security, and Miniscript, a simplified way to create more complex Bitcoin transaction rules. This allows users to manage multi-signature wallets (where more than one private key is required to interact with your Bitcoin) in a more private and flexible way. It also enables spending conditions that are harder to censor and easier to verify. Krux continues to support the struggle for financial freedom and human rights by breaking down barriers to Bitcoin self-custody. HRF has recognized this impact and awarded grants to open-source developers working on Krux to advance this mission.

Cashu | Developing Tap-to-Pay Ecash

Calle, the creator of Cashu, an open-source Chaumian ecash protocol for Bitcoin integrated with the Lightning Network, is developing a new tap-to-pay feature that enables instant, offline ecash payments via NFC. Ecash functions as a bearer asset, meaning the funds are stored directly on the user’s device. With tap-to-pay, it can be transferred with a single tap (similar to tapping your credit card). More generally, ecash offers fast, private transactions resistant to surveillance and censorship. But for activists and dissenters, this particular advancement makes private and permissionless payments more accessible and user-friendly. This development will be worth following closely. Watch a demo here.

OpenSats | Announces 10th Wave of Bitcoin Grants

OpenSats, a public nonprofit that supports open-source software and projects, announced its 10th wave of grants supporting Bitcoin initiatives. This round includes funding for Stable Channels, which enable stabilized Bitcoin-backed balances on the Lightning Network (allowing users to peg Bitcoin to fiat currencies in a self-custodial way) that provide stable, censorship-resistant payments. OpenSats also renewed its support for Floresta, a lightweight Bitcoin node (a computer that runs the Bitcoin software). It lowers entry barriers to running Bitcoin, helping make the network more decentralized and censorship-resistant.

Bitcoin Policy Institute | Launches Bitcoin Summer Research Program

The Bitcoin Student Network (BSN) and the Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI) are teaming up to offer students an eight-week research internship this summer. The program is part of BPI’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) initiative and invites students passionate about the future of money, financial inclusion, and Bitcoin’s civil liberties impacts to conduct hands-on research. Participants will also receive mentorship from BPI researchers. The program runs from June 9 to Aug. 8, 2025, and includes an in-person colloquium in Washington, DC. It is an incredible opportunity for students worldwide, especially those living in oppressive regimes, to get involved with Bitcoin. Applications are open until April 7. Apply here.

RECOMMENDED CONTENT

Principles of Bitcoin by Vijay Selvam

“Principles of Bitcoin” by Vijay Selvam is a new book offering a first-principles guide to understanding Bitcoin’s technology, economics, politics, and philosophy. With a foreword by HRF Chief Strategy Officer Alex Gladstein, the book cuts through the noise to explain why Bitcoin stands alone as a tool for individual empowerment and financial freedom. Selvam’s work makes the case for Bitcoin as a once-in-history invention shaping a more decentralized and equitable future. Read it here.

Rule Breakers — The True Story of Roya Mahboob

“Rule Breakers” is a new film that tells the true story of Roya Mahboob, Afghanistan’s first female tech CEO, who empowered young girls in Afghanistan with financial literacy, robotics, and financial freedom through Bitcoin. The film recounts Mahboob’s courageous work educating these girls despite huge personal risks under a regime that bans their education. It follows the story of Afghan Dreamers, the country’s first all-girls robotics team, and the obstacles they overcome to compete on the world stage. “Rule Breakers” is a testament to the power of education, innovation, and resilience in the face of oppression. It’s now in theaters, and you can watch the trailer here.

If this article was forwarded to you and you enjoyed reading it, please consider subscribing to the Financial Freedom Report here.

Support the newsletter by donating bitcoin to HRF’s Financial Freedom program via BTCPay.\ Want to contribute to the newsletter? Submit tips, stories, news, and ideas by emailing us at ffreport @ hrf.org

The Bitcoin Development Fund (BDF) is accepting grant proposals on an ongoing basis. The Bitcoin Development Fund is looking to support Bitcoin developers, community builders, and educators. Submit proposals here.

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@ 401014b3:59d5476b

Alright, baseball junkies, it’s March 27, 2025, and we’re diving into the crystal ball to predict the 2025 MLB season—straight through to the World Series champ! Spring Training’s wrapping up, Opening Day’s here, and the league’s loaded with talent, drama, and some sneaky contenders ready to shake things up. I’m breaking down each playoff team’s path, their strengths, weaknesses, and who’s got the juice to hoist the trophy in October. This ain’t some cookie-cutter chalk pick—let’s get gritty, let’s get bold, and let’s see who’s got the stones to win it all. Strap in, fam—here we go!

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American League Playoff Teams: The AL Beast Mode

New York Yankees\ The Yankees are back, and they’re pissed after last year’s World Series loss to the Dodgers. Aaron Judge is coming off another MVP-caliber season (let’s say .310, 55 HRs, 130 RBIs), and Juan Soto’s bat (projected .290, 40 HRs) gives them a lethal 1-2 punch. Gerrit Cole anchors a rotation that’s top-5 in ERA (around 3.40), but the bullpen’s a question mark—closer Clay Holmes blew 13 saves in 2024, and they haven’t fixed that yet. They’ll win the AL East (95-67), but their postseason hinges on late-inning reliability.\ Prediction: ALCS run, but they fall short if the pen implodes.

Houston Astros\ The Astros are perennial AL West champs (projected 92-70), even with a slightly aging core. Jose Altuve (.300, 20 HRs) and Yordan Alvarez (.295, 35 HRs) keep the offense humming, and a rotation led by Framber Valdez (3.20 ERA) and Hunter Brown (3.50 ERA) is solid. Their bullpen, with Josh Hader (1.28 ERA in 2024), is lights-out. But injuries to key arms like Justin Verlander (aging at 42) could bite them.\ Prediction: ALDS exit—they’re good, but not great this year.

Cleveland Guardians\ The Guardians sneak into the playoffs as the AL Central champs (88-74). Jose Ramirez (.280, 35 HRs, 110 RBIs) is a one-man wrecking crew, and their rotation—Shane Bieber (3.00 ERA, if healthy) and Triston McKenzie (3.60 ERA)—keeps them in games. But their offense outside Ramirez is thin (team OPS around .720), and the bullpen’s inconsistent (4.00 ERA).\ Prediction: Wild Card exit—they’re scrappy but lack firepower.

Tampa Bay Rays (Wild Card)\ The Rays grab a Wild Card spot (90-72) with their usual mix of grit and analytics. Yandy Diaz (.290, 15 HRs) and Randy Arozarena (.270, 25 HRs) lead a balanced offense, while Shane McClanahan (3.10 ERA) and Zach Eflin (3.40 ERA) anchor the rotation. Their bullpen (top-10 in ERA at 3.50) is a strength, but depth issues (injuries to key prospects) could hurt.\ Prediction: ALDS run—they’re sneaky dangerous.

Seattle Mariners (Wild Card)\ The Mariners finally break through as a Wild Card (89-73), as predicted by some fans on X. Julio Rodriguez (.285, 30 HRs) and Cal Raleigh (.250, 35 HRs) power the offense, and a rotation of Luis Castillo (3.20 ERA), Logan Gilbert (3.30 ERA), and George Kirby (3.40 ERA) is the best in the AL (team ERA around 3.20). Their offense (bottom-10 in runs scored) is the Achilles’ heel.\ Prediction: ALCS run—they’re a pitcher’s dream, but the bats hold ‘em back.

Baltimore Orioles (Wild Card)\ The Orioles snag a Wild Card (87-75), but some fans on X call them a “surprise disappointment.” Gunnar Henderson (.280, 35 HRs) and Adley Rutschman (.270, 20 HRs) lead a young core, but the rotation—Corbin Burnes (3.00 ERA) and Grayson Rodriguez (3.70 ERA)—lacks depth after losing Kyle Bradish to injury. The bullpen (4.20 ERA) is shaky.\ Prediction: Wild Card exit—too many holes this year.

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National League Playoff Teams: The NL Wild West

Los Angeles Dodgers\ The Dodgers are the NL West juggernaut (98-64), and some fans on X are already calling them World Series champs. Shohei Ohtani (.300, 50 HRs, 120 RBIs) is the NL MVP favorite, Mookie Betts (.290, 30 HRs) is elite, and Freddie Freeman (.310, 25 HRs) is steady. The rotation—Tyler Glasnow (3.10 ERA), Yoshinobu Yamamoto (3.30 ERA), and Walker Buehler (3.50 ERA)—is deep, and the bullpen (3.40 ERA) is solid. No weaknesses here.\ Prediction: World Series bound—they’re a machine.

Philadelphia Phillies\ The Phillies win the NL East (94-68) with a balanced attack. Bryce Harper (.290, 30 HRs) and Kyle Schwarber (.250, 40 HRs) mash, while Trea Turner (.300, 20 HRs) adds speed. The rotation—Zack Wheeler (3.00 ERA), Aaron Nola (3.40 ERA), and Ranger Suarez (3.60 ERA)—is top-tier, and the bullpen (3.50 ERA) is reliable. They’re built for October.\ Prediction: NLCS run—they’re legit contenders.

Milwaukee Brewers\ The Brewers take the NL Central (90-72) with a scrappy squad. Willy Adames (.270, 30 HRs) and William Contreras (.280, 20 HRs) lead the offense, while Freddy Peralta (3.30 ERA) and Brandon Woodruff (3.50 ERA, if healthy) anchor the rotation. Their bullpen (top-5 in ERA at 3.30) is a strength, but the offense (middle-of-the-pack in runs) can stall.\ Prediction: NLDS exit—not enough firepower.

Atlanta Braves (Wild Card)\ The Braves grab a Wild Card (91-71) despite injuries. Ronald Acuna Jr. (.290, 35 HRs) and Matt Olson (.270, 40 HRs) power the lineup, but the rotation—Chris Sale (3.20 ERA) and Max Fried (3.40 ERA)—is thin after Spencer Strider’s injury. The bullpen (3.60 ERA) is solid, but depth is a concern.\ Prediction: NLDS run—they’re talented but banged up.

San Diego Padres (Wild Card)\ The Padres snag a Wild Card (89-73) with a balanced attack. Fernando Tatis Jr. (.280, 35 HRs) and Manny Machado (.270, 30 HRs) lead the offense, while Dylan Cease (3.30 ERA) and Yu Darvish (3.50 ERA) anchor the rotation. The bullpen (3.70 ERA) is decent, but they lack a true closer.\ Prediction: Wild Card exit—not enough late-game juice.

New York Mets (Wild Card)\ The Mets sneak in as a Wild Card (88-74) with a breakout year. Francisco Lindor (.280, 30 HRs) and Pete Alonso (.260, 35 HRs) mash, while Kodai Senga (3.20 ERA) and Luis Severino (3.60 ERA) lead the rotation. The bullpen (4.00 ERA) is a weak spot, but their offense (top-10 in runs) keeps ‘em alive.\ Prediction: NLDS run—they’re scrappy but flawed.

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Playoff Breakdown: The Road to the World Series

AL Wild Card:

• Rays over Guardians
• Mariners over Orioles
• Yankees over Rays
• Mariners over Astros
• Yankees vs. Mariners → Yankees (4-2)\ Judge and Soto go off, and the Mariners’ bats can’t keep up with New York’s firepower. Cole’s ace stuff seals it.

NL Wild Card:

• Braves over Padres
• Mets over Brewers
• Dodgers over Mets
• Phillies over Braves
• Dodgers vs. Phillies → Dodgers (4-3)\ Ohtani’s heroics (think a 3-HR game) and the Dodgers’ depth outlast Philly’s grit in a seven-game classic.

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World Series: Yankees vs. Dodgers

Here we go—a rematch of last year’s epic clash! The Yankees are hungry for revenge, with Judge and Soto swinging for the fences (combined 5 HRs in the series). Cole (Game 1 gem, 7 IP, 2 ER) and Rodon (Game 5 win) keep it close, but the Dodgers’ lineup is relentless—Ohtani (.350, 2 HRs), Betts (.320, 3 doubles), and Freeman (.300, 8 RBIs) overwhelm New York’s shaky bullpen. Glasnow and Yamamoto each win a start, and the Dodgers’ pen (2.50 ERA in the series) slams the door. Dodgers win in 6—Ohtani’s walk-off in Game 6 seals it.

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The Final Buzzer

The Dodgers are my 2025 World Series champs—they’ve got the star power, depth, and clutch factor to repeat. The Yankees make a valiant run, but their bullpen woes bite ‘em again. Hit me on X if you disagree, but this is my October gospel—let’s see who’s standing when the dust settles! Play ball, degenerates!

@ dfbbf851:ba4542b5

Bitcoin (BTC) เป็นสกุลเงินดิจิทัลที่ได้รับความนิยมและถูกพูดถึงมากที่สุดในโลก นับตั้งแต่เปิดตัวในปี 2009 โดยบุคคลหรือกลุ่มที่ใช้นามแฝงว่า Satoshi Nakamoto 🎭

แต่คำถามสำคัญก็คือ... Bitcoin เป็นอนาคตของการเงินโลกหรือว่าเป็นฟองสบู่ที่รอวันแตกกันแน่? 🤔

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🔹 Bitcoin คืออะไร ?

Bitcoin เป็นเงินดิจิทัลที่ทำงานบน เทคโนโลยีบล็อกเชน (Blockchain) ซึ่งช่วยให้การทำธุรกรรมมีความปลอดภัยและโปร่งใส 💡

🔸 ไม่มีธนาคารกลางควบคุม 🔸 จำนวนจำกัดเพียง 21 ล้านเหรียญ 🔸 ใช้ระบบ "การขุด" (Mining) เพื่อยืนยันธุรกรรม

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✅ ทำไม Bitcoin ได้รับความนิยม ?

✨ ไร้พรมแดน – โอนเงินข้ามประเทศได้รวดเร็วและถูกกว่าธนาคาร ✨ ความปลอดภัยสูง – ใช้ระบบเข้ารหัสที่แข็งแกร่ง 🔐 ✨ สินทรัพย์ป้องกันเงินเฟ้อ – มีจำนวนจำกัด จึงถูกมองว่าเป็น "ทองคำดิจิทัล" 🌎🏆 ✨ การยอมรับที่เพิ่มขึ้น – บริษัทใหญ่ เช่น Tesla และ PayPal เริ่มเปิดรับ BTC

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❌ ความเสี่ยงของ Bitcoin

⚠️ ราคาผันผวนสูง – อาจขึ้นหรือลงหลายพันดอลลาร์ภายในวันเดียว 📉📈 ⚠️ ยังไม่ถูกยอมรับทั่วโลก – บางประเทศออกกฎหมายห้ามใช้ เช่น จีน 🚫 ⚠️ อาจถูกใช้ในทางผิดกฎหมาย – เช่น การฟอกเงินในตลาดมืด 🕵️‍♂️ ⚠️ สิ้นเปลืองพลังงาน – กระบวนการขุดใช้ไฟฟ้าปริมาณมาก ⚡🌱

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🔮 อนาคตของ Bitcoin จะเป็นอย่างไร ?

นักลงทุนบางคนเชื่อว่า Bitcoin จะเป็นอนาคตของระบบการเงินโลก 💵🌍 ในขณะที่บางคนมองว่า มันเป็นเพียงฟองสบู่ที่อาจแตกเมื่อไหร่ก็ได้ 💥

💡 ปัจจัยสำคัญที่อาจกำหนดอนาคตของ BTC ได้แก่: ✔️ การยอมรับจากรัฐบาลและองค์กรใหญ่ ✔️ กฎหมายและกฎระเบียบ – หากรัฐบาลทั่วโลกออกกฎหมายสนับสนุน BTC อาจทำให้ราคาพุ่งสูง 🚀 ✔️ เทคโนโลยีใหม่ๆ – เช่น Lightning Network ที่ช่วยให้การทำธุรกรรมเร็วขึ้นและถูกลง ⚡

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🎯 ปล.

Bitcoin เป็น นวัตกรรมการเงินที่เปลี่ยนโลก 🌎 และอาจกลายเป็นสินทรัพย์สำคัญในอนาคต แต่ก็มีความเสี่ยงสูง นักลงทุนต้องศึกษาให้รอบคอบก่อนตัดสินใจลงทุน 📊💡

แล้วท่านผู้อ่านล่ะครับ คิดว่า Bitcoin คืออนาคตของเงิน หรือเป็นเพียงกระแสชั่วคราวกันแน่ ? 🤔

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Bitcoin #Crypto #Blockchain #BTC #ลงทุน #การเงิน #อนาคตการเงิน

@ dfbbf851:ba4542b5

🌟 บทนำ

ในยุคดิจิทัลที่ทุกอย่างขับเคลื่อนด้วยเทคโนโลยี Blockchain เป็นหนึ่งในนวัตกรรมที่สร้างแรงสั่นสะเทือนมากที่สุด 🌍 หลายคนอาจรู้จัก Blockchain ผ่าน Bitcoin หรือ Ethereum แต่จริงๆ แล้ว มันสามารถนำไปใช้ได้หลากหลายกว่าที่คุณคิด !

💡 ลองจินตนาการถึงโลกที่ไม่มีตัวกลาง ไม่มีการโกงข้อมูล และทุกธุรกรรมสามารถตรวจสอบได้แบบ 100%... นี่แหละคือ พลังของ Blockchain !

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🔎 Blockchain คืออะไร ?

Blockchain เป็นเทคโนโลยีที่ทำให้ข้อมูลมีความ ปลอดภัย โปร่งใส และแก้ไขไม่ได้ ✅ ทุกธุรกรรมที่เกิดขึ้นจะถูกบันทึกลงใน "บล็อก" และเชื่อมต่อกันเป็นโซ่ (Chain) ซึ่งทำให้:

✅ ไม่มีตัวกลาง (Decentralization) – ไม่ต้องพึ่งธนาคารหรือบริษัทใดๆ ✅ ปลอมแปลงยาก (Security) – ใช้การเข้ารหัสระดับสูง 🔐 ✅ โปร่งใสตรวจสอบได้ (Transparency) – ทุกคนสามารถเข้าดูข้อมูลได้แบบเรียลไทม์

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⚙️ Blockchain ทำงานอย่างไร ?

1️⃣ ธุรกรรมถูกสร้างขึ้น เช่น การโอนเงิน 💸 2️⃣ เครือข่ายตรวจสอบความถูกต้อง ผ่านกลไกอย่าง Proof of Work (PoW) หรือ Proof of Stake (PoS) 3️⃣ ธุรกรรมถูกบันทึกลงบล็อก และเชื่อมโยงกับบล็อกก่อนหน้า 🔗 4️⃣ ข้อมูลถูกกระจายไปยังทุกโหนด ทำให้ไม่สามารถถูกแก้ไขย้อนหลังได้

✨ ง่ายๆ คือ Blockchain ทำให้ข้อมูลมีความน่าเชื่อถือ และไม่มีใครสามารถควบคุมได้เพียงลำพัง !

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💡 การประยุกต์ใช้ Blockchain ในโลกธุรกิจ

🔥 การเงินและธนาคาร – ลดค่าธรรมเนียมการโอนเงินระหว่างประเทศ 🏦 🔥 Supply Chain – ติดตามสินค้าแบบเรียลไทม์ ป้องกันของปลอม 📦 🔥 การดูแลสุขภาพ – จัดเก็บข้อมูลผู้ป่วยแบบปลอดภัย 🏥 🔥 อสังหาริมทรัพย์ – ซื้อขายบ้านโดยไม่ต้องพึ่งนายหน้า 🏡 🔥 การเลือกตั้ง – ป้องกันการโกงเสียงเลือกตั้งผ่านระบบดิจิทัล 🗳️

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🚀 อนาคตของ Blockchain

Blockchain กำลังพัฒนาไปสู่เทคโนโลยีที่มีความ เร็วขึ้น ปลอดภัยขึ้น และใช้พลังงานน้อยลง ♻️ เทรนด์ที่น่าจับตามอง ได้แก่:

🔹 CBDC (เงินดิจิทัลของธนาคารกลาง) – กำลังมาแรง! 🔹 DeFi (การเงินแบบไร้ตัวกลาง) – พลิกโฉมการลงทุน 🔹 NFT (สินทรัพย์ดิจิทัลไม่ซ้ำกัน) – ปฏิวัติวงการศิลปะ 🎨

แม้ว่าจะยังมีข้อท้าทาย เช่น ค่าธรรมเนียมสูง หรือการใช้พลังงานมากในบางระบบ แต่ Blockchain กำลังมุ่งสู่อนาคตที่ยั่งยืนและเป็นมิตรกับสิ่งแวดล้อมมากขึ้น 🌱

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🎯 ปล.

Blockchain ไม่ใช่แค่เรื่องของ Bitcoin ! แต่เป็นเทคโนโลยีที่สามารถเปลี่ยนโลกในหลายด้าน 🌎 หากคุณเป็นนักธุรกิจ นักลงทุน หรือเพียงแค่คนที่อยากเข้าใจโลกดิจิทัลมากขึ้น นี่คือเทคโนโลยีที่คุณไม่ควรมองข้าม !

📢 แล้วคุณล่ะ คิดว่า Blockchain จะเปลี่ยนโลกไปอย่างไรบ้าง? มาพูดคุยกันในคอมเมนต์ได้เลย! 👇💬

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Blockchain #Crypto #DeFi #NFT #Web3 #Bitcoin #Innovation

@ 65038d69:1fff8852

“The year of Linux on the desktop” has been a running joke in the tech space for a while. Every time a game studio announces Linux support, or a major security vulnerability is found in one of the incumbent operating systems, tech publications and forums fly with the question of whether it’s “finally” time for Linux to take over as the de-facto desktop OS.

The current flurry of Tweets (I don’t care, I will die on this hill) are brought to us by a new Windows feature Microsoft has named “Recall”. This shiny new toy supposedly leverages AI to remember everything you’re doing on your computer and “help” you with it later. It does this, in part, by taking a screenshot every 5 seconds and keeping all the information it finds in a database on your computer. This includes sensitive information such as passwords and credit cards. After all, what use is this tool if it can remember everything?

The problem, as you’ve probably already imagined, is that it stores everything, which makes for the potential of attackers being able to access everything.

Microsoft has since changed their plans from making Recall opt-out to opt-in, but it will still be installed by default. The risk is still present; attackers could theoretically turn it on and access its database at a later date, after all of your tasty data has been vacuumed up and nicely packaged for them.

And so. Is it time for Linux on the desktop? While I’d love to say yes, I have to say no. Or is it maybe?

In the office I say no. Microsoft Office still reigns supreme and their web version leaves much to be desired. Between that and most employers (and employees) being unable or unwilling to invest in the mountain of dedicated training it would take to learn a new set of systems, the trade-off won’t happen. It’ll be much easier to either have I.T. disable Recall as completely as possible, or simply live with the security risks.

At home there’s a greater chance. Those with existing concerns about being monitored may be willing to switch. Linux Mint is simple and more than feature-complete for the average home user who spends most of their time in a browser. Add a Windows theme pack for the heavily visual users and you’re ready. They’ll still need you to help them with the switch though.

While it probably isn’t time for Linux on the desktop, it’s comforting to know there are options. I recommend having a Linux-on-the-desktop elevator pitch in your back pocket for when your aunt or your C-level asks you about it. And if you haven’t already, play around with something like Mint on a VM or spare laptop to give yourself some familiarity.

@ 9dd283b1:cf9b6beb

Can someone please explain to me how this new STRF thing works? Cause I'm getting FTX / BlockFI vibes here. 18% Yield, no risk investment, bond killer, etc... Look at this post for example - https://x.com/AdamBLiv/status/1905106498398621846

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/926635

@ 65038d69:1fff8852

People seem to like organizing and categorizing things, including themselves. Hippocrates wrote of the Four Temperaments, Myers and Briggs published MBTI in the 1940s, and a modern version of the Enneagram of Personality has become popular in recent years. (One of my favourite books on personality types is The Treasure Tree.)

I have my own theory when it comes to the workplace; that most people's motivations can fit them into one of two categories: True Believers and Mercenaries. Understanding your coworker’s, supervisor’s, and staff’s motivations can help you understand and predict their actions, and hopefully ease frustrations when they do things opposite of what you would choose.

True Believers are primarily motivated by their belief in a cause or purpose. This is easiest to see in non-profits or volunteer groups, where righteous cause (i.e. feeding the hungry or sheltering the unhoused) is the openly shared impetus emblazoned across the front of the building. But True Believers don’t require shared motivations and aren’t relegated to philanthropic workplaces. A True Believer might believe in the product or service being sold. Or more abstractly, they might value their relationships with their coworkers who create and provide those things. If you ask them about their work, you might hear them say something like, “My friends Tina and Dave help make people’s dream weddings come true, and I make sure payroll here is done perfectly so they can keep doing that!”

Mercenaries, as the name suggests, are motivated by tangible payment. “I’m here for the paycheque” or “I really like the matched retirement savings here” are things you might hear them say. Compared to True Believers, Mercenaries’ motivations are simpler to understand and typically much more direct.

As an employer, hiring manager, or supervisor, True Believers may seem like the easy preference between the two. Their dedication to the cause will keep them with you and working through tumultuous times, and they’re less likely to regularly ask for raises or chase promotions. They’ll most likely pick a spot and churn out the same, reliable work for decades. For some positions in some organizations, this is indeed a good fit. But it’s not universal. If the focuses of their loyalty change on them or if you need to make sudden or large adjustments in your organization, they’ll be the first pump the brakes in the name of their cause.

Enter the Mercenaries. As long as they’re paid, they’re happy. So if you need something changed, or a new project tackled, or a less-pleasant situation resolved decisively and rapidly, you’ll be glad you have them on your team. They may not always seem like they’re happy about their work (“ugh, I can’t believe I got stuck with re-entering all this data from scratch after Bill got fired”), but if they’re being paid well for it the job will get done (“yah, it sucks, but that’s why you’re getting double-overtime to work the weekend, and there’s a bonus if it’s done early”).

None of this is meant to pit the two against each other, express a preference, or to say that everyone fits squarely into either category. In fact, people regularly change between them. For example, Mercenary behavior becomes much more common when economies are low or in minimum-wage environments. (Though this is not always the case; see the character of Ed in “Good Burger”.) And the most Mercenary of contractors can become a True Believer if they find a cause that truly speaks to them.

Somewhat ironically, people are more likely to act as True Believers if they don’t have pressing financial needs. It’s easier to focus on one’s causes if you’re not worried about how you’re going to make next month’s mortgage payment. So it’s in your best interest to make sure both your Mercenaries and True Believers are well-paid.

Lastly, a word of caution about getting it wrong. True Believers and Mercenaries generally don’t like being treated like the other. If a True Believer is working on an un-fun project and you comment, “oh that’s why you’re being paid the big bucks!” instead of “thanks for doing this, I know Steve is a friend and he’ll really appreciate your helping him out”; or a Mercenary is doing the same and you say “I knew you wouldn’t mind helping since we’re all like family here” instead of “three cheers for overtime pay!”; you can imagine how well either of those situations would play out.

@ ebbba253:6ec1d547

A NNBET se tornou uma plataforma de destaque no Brasil, oferecendo uma ampla variedade de opções de entretenimento online para jogadores de todos os perfis. Desde apostas esportivas até uma vasta seleção de jogos interativos, a plataforma se destaca pela sua facilidade de uso, segurança e pelas diversas oportunidades de ganhar. Se você está em busca de uma experiência online diversificada e acessível, NNBET é a escolha perfeita.

Fácil Acesso e Navegação Intuitiva Quando se trata de uma plataforma de entretenimento online, a facilidade de uso é crucial. A Nnbet oferece uma interface extremamente amigável, permitindo que jogadores novatos ou experientes possam navegar sem problemas. A plataforma é bem organizada, com seções claramente marcadas para apostas esportivas, jogos e promoções. Seu design simples e funcional permite que os usuários encontrem rapidamente suas opções preferidas, sem perder tempo.

O acesso à plataforma também é facilitado pela sua versão mobile. Isso significa que você pode acessar sua conta e jogar a qualquer momento e em qualquer lugar. Com a popularização dos smartphones, essa funcionalidade é essencial, e a NNBET não deixa a desejar, oferecendo uma versão mobile otimizada que proporciona uma experiência de jogo excelente mesmo em telas menores.

Apostas Esportivas: Uma Experiência Completa A NNBET não é apenas uma plataforma de jogos, ela também se destaca no campo das apostas esportivas. Para os brasileiros, o futebol é um dos esportes mais importantes, e a plataforma oferece uma variedade imensa de mercados para apostas em jogos de futebol, tanto locais quanto internacionais. Além disso, a plataforma abrange uma grande gama de outros esportes populares, como vôlei, basquete e até esportes eletrônicos.

As apostas ao vivo são uma característica de destaque, oferecendo uma experiência interativa em tempo real. A NNBET permite que os jogadores apostem enquanto os jogos acontecem, com odds constantemente atualizadas, o que torna a experiência ainda mais empolgante e envolvente. A diversidade de mercados, aliada às odds competitivas, garante que sempre haverá algo para você apostar, independentemente do seu time ou esporte favorito.

Uma Grande Variedade de Jogos para Todos os Gostos Além das apostas esportivas, a NNBET oferece uma gama de jogos para agradar a todos os tipos de jogadores. Se você é fã de jogos de azar, a plataforma conta com uma vasta seleção de slots com temas diversificados, bônus incríveis e gráficos de última geração. Se o que você procura é uma experiência mais imersiva, os jogos ao vivo são uma excelente opção. Com dealers reais transmitindo jogos em tempo real, a NNBET recria a atmosfera de um ambiente físico, proporcionando uma experiência realista.

Outro grande atrativo são os jogos de mesa, como o blackjack e a roleta, que oferecem opções de apostas e limites variados, permitindo que todos os tipos de jogadores possam participar.

Suporte e Promoções: Garantindo a Melhor Experiência A NNBET vai além de oferecer apenas jogos e apostas. A plataforma também se destaca pelo suporte ao cliente de alta qualidade. O atendimento está disponível 24/7, sempre pronto para ajudar com dúvidas ou problemas que possam surgir. Se você tem alguma pergunta sobre sua conta, pagamentos ou jogos, o suporte estará ao seu alcance a qualquer momento.

As promoções e bônus também são uma parte importante da experiência. A NNBET oferece bônus de boas-vindas para novos jogadores, bem como promoções regulares que garantem que a diversão nunca pare. Com rodadas grátis, bônus de depósito e programas de fidelidade, a plataforma oferece uma experiência emocionante a cada visita.

@ ebbba253:6ec1d547

A AA888 se destaca pela experiência do jogador de ponta a ponta. Desde o momento do registro, que é rápido e simples, até a jogabilidade final, a plataforma se preocupa em garantir que cada etapa do processo seja intuitiva e agradável. Isso é particularmente importante, já que muitos jogadores preferem uma experiência sem complicações, e a AA888 entrega exatamente isso.

Outro ponto que se destaca é a acessibilidade da plataforma. Independentemente de você estar em casa ou em movimento, a AA888 é compatível com dispositivos móveis e garante que a qualidade do jogo seja mantida, sem perda de performance. Seja você um jogador de desktop ou smartphone, a plataforma se adapta perfeitamente às suas necessidades.

Além disso, a Aa888 oferece um suporte ao cliente excepcional, com uma equipe disponível 24 horas por dia, 7 dias por semana. Isso é crucial para resolver qualquer dúvida ou problema técnico que possa surgir, garantindo que os jogadores nunca fiquem sem assistência. Esse compromisso com o atendimento ao cliente demonstra o nível de seriedade e profissionalismo da plataforma.

Para completar, a AA888 se preocupa em proporcionar uma experiência social entre os jogadores. Através de funções interativas e multiplayer, é possível competir com outros participantes e criar uma comunidade divertida e envolvente.

A AA888 é uma plataforma que realmente entrega o que promete: diversão, segurança e uma vasta gama de opções para os jogadores. Ao focar na experiência do usuário e oferecer uma grande diversidade de jogos, ela se consolida como uma das melhores opções de entretenimento online no Brasil. Se você busca diversão de qualidade e um ambiente seguro para suas aventuras online, a AA888 certamente é uma plataforma que vale a pena explorar.

@ 0861144c:e68a1caf

Maybe we will never meet José. He is a mechanical engineer who works in a shop repairing vehicle air conditioners. After finishing high school, he decided not to go to college because he thought it was a waste of time. Instead, he tried his luck at a technical school for electromechanics near his house. On the first day, he fell in love with what he saw, and he did very well.

At first, he was just an assistant. Later, he managed two warehouses under his leadership, and eventually, he became the workshop manager. When a wave of corporate mergers came, José was not left behind, and the workshop where he worked was absorbed. For the better, he was appointed as General Manager of three workshops. Life was going well, but it was time to think about the future.

Amidst many jobs, he remembered reading or hearing about a coin... Bitcoin or something like that, which seemed to make sense as an investment source, not savings. He wanted to save for his retirement, so he went to a meetup near his city where they taught him how to set up his own self-custodial wallet. They taught him how to buy and sell, how to send and receive. He was happy. Like a dog with three tails, José now had power in his hands, and he knew it.

Let’s skip the next few months. He kept saving, and through a simple DCA (Dollar-Cost Averaging) program, he bought every month, and his portfolio grew significantly. As his social media algorithm started pointing towards crypto content, José began to see Bitcoin influencers talking about ETFs, how politicians were entering the political arena, taxes, withholding, account freezes, and a bunch of other stuff.

One of those afternoons, a friend of his brings over a new strain to smoke, saying it has hallucinogenic components. After taking some and feeling the effects, the friend asks José how his Bitcoin investments are going.

Despite giving him a positive answer, he takes a long sigh and tells him about the future.

“The last time I went to a meetup, I found too many Bitcoiners focused on three things: politicians (not politics), ETFs, and non-economy topics, plus taxes. I told them I had read Facebook’s employee manual where one of the points says, ‘If we don’t create what will kill Facebook, someone outside will do it,’” he paused, looked into his friend’s glassy eyes, and continued.

“They called me crazy. They started telling me that countries would adopt Bitcoin, start buying, and begin regulating more seriously. What they didn’t realize is that they are already doing it.” His friend took a heavy drag, José did too, and then he began explaining the plan for governments to passively take away your Bitcoins.

“Step 1: The government won’t buy anything. It will simply use the monopoly of force to seize everything they can. By breaking down doors and seizing equipment, they will have enough leverage to start negotiating... this stage is crucial: don’t buy anything. Just flex the muscles to the population and remind them of their place in the world, that death and taxes are mandatory, even if you pay your taxes from the grave.”

The friend remembered something about Trump’s Reserve, or was it Bukele’s? It got mixed up in his head, but he looked at José and, in silence, asked him to continue.

“Step 2: Some will start showing sympathy to gather votes. That’s easy: politicians hunting with legal fantasies. Until, at some point, someone will say it’s time. Before that, there will be some who try to do things their way but won’t be able to. Organizations controlling monetary policies will step in and won’t let you do anything until they figure out what to do, and then...” José interrupted himself with a heavy drag, “...then comes step 3.”

“Step 3 is the most complicated. They will have to convince the population to hand over their Bitcoins, but passively. Executive Order 6102 in 1933 was a disaster of catastrophic proportions. Not to mention the gold looting of 1915 in the British Empire, which Europeans themselves rarely point out. So, what do we have in favor as a government? Legality. Okay, then, how do we get people to start giving their money voluntarily? Just like they were doing at the meetup: talking nonsense about politicians, projects with the state, and so on. And here’s the Trojan horse: ETFs.”

“Many people don’t understand, but the government will take its share and ‘recommend’ to investors that the best way to stay compliant with their tax obligations but still participate in the decentralized market is through Wall Street instruments. People will go directly there, put their Bitcoins on centralized exchanges, and won’t realize that, at any moment, step 4 will begin.”

They stare at the stars while José points at a star, it's a large one, probably a planet exploding thousands of light-years away.

“Step 4 is what I call voluntary selection. The ETFs will become a sort of bonds to maintain state power. They need a valuable instrument to sustain their power, and through promises of fair regulations and consumer protection, your Bitcoins will end up directly under state control. The correct way to buy Bitcoin will now be through ETFs authorized by friendly companies and regulated.”

“This, without ever forgetting that the raids on decentralized exchanges will continue. Through the weight of the law, they will try to go against those to keep confiscating. It’s true they won’t be able to hack my private key, but they’ll pull out my nails, kidnap me, and drug me to reveal everything. And then the final step... the kidnapping of Bitcoin.”

“Step 5 is the takeover. As we know, there are rebellious souls because people like me know that ETFs are a corrupt instrument of a corrupt government led by the same people who caused the 2008 crisis and other previous years’ crises so severe that WE ended up paying for them. How do you take us out of the game? You can’t, but you discourage us — a classic sabotage tactic.”

“The first step is to get involved as volunteer developers in the Bitcoin Core. They will start well, just fixing bugs, participating. But one day, they will start offering pull-request packages, with small backdoors or intentionally doing things wrong. We will denounce them, but they will say it’s a conspiracy, that the government isn’t trying to take over anything, and everything will continue as usual. The second step is to nominate a pro-ETF person within Bitcoin development, allowing this developer to lead projects related to creating ETF-Bitcoin integration. At that moment, capitulation will begin, new Bitcoin forks will emerge, and the whole scheme will restart. But the government already controls the core, completely forgotten amid ridiculous news about prices, who’s buying and who’s not. Today, it’s more important if BlackRock bought than to check what’s happening in the Core.”

The friend realizes he’s getting hungry, looks at José seeking company, and José ends with one sentence.

“It’s the stuff from that herb, man. People wouldn’t be so stupid to fall into this game... I feel like eating some pupusas.”

And that’s a story, folks. Is it true or not... could it be?

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/926599

@ 7d33ba57:1b82db35

Sitges is known for its golden beaches, vibrant nightlife, and artistic charm. With a beautiful seafront promenade, historic old town, and a welcoming atmosphere, it’s a top destination for relaxation, culture, and fun on the **Costa Dorada.

🏖️ Top Things to See & Do in Sitges

1️⃣ Stroll Along the Passeig Marítim 🌊

• A scenic seaside promenade lined with palm trees, beaches, and restaurants.
• Perfect for walking, cycling, or enjoying a sunset cocktail.

2️⃣ Relax on the Beaches 🏖️

• Playa de la Fragata – A central beach near the old town, great for families.
• Playa de San Sebastián – A smaller, quieter beach with local charm.
• Playa del Balmins – A well-known nudist and LGBTQ+ friendly beach.
• Playa de l'Home Mort – A hidden cove, popular for naturists.

3️⃣ Visit the Church of Sant Bartomeu i Santa Tecla ⛪

• The iconic church overlooking the sea, a must-visit landmark.
• Amazing spot for photos, especially at sunset.

4️⃣ Explore the Old Town & Museums 🏛️

• Wander through charming whitewashed streets filled with boutique shops and cafés.
• Visit Museu Cau Ferrat, home to art by Santiago Rusiñol and Picasso.
• Discover Museu Maricel, featuring Romanesque and modernist art.

5️⃣ Enjoy Sitges' Lively Nightlife & Festivals 🎭

• Sitges is famous for its bars, beach clubs, and LGBTQ+ friendly nightlife.
• Visit in February for Sitges Carnival, one of Spain’s best! 🎉
• Experience the Sitges Film Festival (October), known for horror & fantasy films.

6️⃣ Wine Tasting in Penedès 🍷

• Take a short trip to Penedès, one of Spain’s best Cava (sparkling wine) regions.
• Tour local wineries and enjoy wine tastings just 30 minutes away.

🍽️ What to Eat in Sitges

• Xató – A local salad with cod, anchovies, and romesco sauce 🥗
• Suquet de Peix – A Catalan seafood stew with potatoes 🍲🐟
• Fideuà – Similar to paella, but made with short noodles instead of rice 🍤
• Crema Catalana – A delicious caramelized custard dessert 🍮
• Cava – The famous Catalan sparkling wine from nearby Penedès 🍾

🚗 How to Get to Sitges

🚆 By Train: 35 min from Barcelona (Sants or Passeig de Gràcia stations).
🚘 By Car: 40 min from Barcelona via the C-32 highway.
🚌 By Bus: Direct buses from Barcelona Airport (El Prat) and Tarragona.
✈️ By Air: The nearest airport is Barcelona-El Prat (BCN, 25 km away).

💡 Tips for Visiting Sitges

✅ Best time to visit? Spring to early autumn (April–October) for beach weather ☀️
✅ Avoid summer weekends – It gets very busy with visitors from Barcelona 🏖️
✅ Visit during Carnival or the Film Festival for an unforgettable experience 🎭🎬
✅ Explore beyond the beaches – The old town and vineyards are worth it! 🍷
✅ Try beachfront dining – Enjoy fresh seafood with a sea view 🍽️🌊

@ 57d1a264:69f1fee1

What we have been missing in SN Press kit? Most important, who the press kit is for? It's for us? It's for them? Them, who?

The first few editions of the press kit, I agree are mostly made by us, for us. A way to try to homogenize how we speek out SN into the wild web. A way to have SN voice sync, loud and clear, to send out our message. In this case, I squeezed my mouse, creating a template for us [^1], stackers, to share when talking sales with possible businesses and merchants willing to invest some sats and engage with SN community. Here's the message and the sales pitch, v0.1:

Reach Bitcoin’s Most Engaged Community – Zero Noise, Pure Signal.

---

Contributions to improve would be much appreciated. You can also help by simply commenting on each slide or leaving your feedback below, especially if you are a sale person or someone that has seen similar documents before.

This is the first interaction. Already noticed some issues, for example with the emojis and the fonts, especially when exporting, probably related to a penpot issue. The slides maybe render differently depending on the browser you're using.

• ▶️ Play the file in your browser
• ⬇️ Save the PDF file

@k00b it will be nice to have some real data, how we can get some basic audience insights? Even some inputs from Plausible, if still active, will be much useful.

[^1]: Territory founders. FYI: @Aardvark, @AGORA, @anna, @antic, @AtlantisPleb, @av, @Bell_curve, @benwehrman, @bitcoinplebdev, @Bitter, @BlokchainB, @ch0k1, @davidw, @ek, @elvismercury, @frostdragon, @grayruby, @HODLR, @inverselarp, @Jon_Hodl, @MaxAWebster, @mega_dreamer, @mrtali, @niftynei, @nout, @OneOneSeven, @PlebLab, @Public_N_M_E, @RDClark, @realBitcoinDog, @roytheholographicuniverse, @siggy47, @softsimon, @south_korea_ln, @theschoolofbitcoin, @TNStacker. @UCantDoThatDotNet, @Undisciplined

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/926557

@ 7d33ba57:1b82db35

Nerja is known for its stunning beaches, famous caves, and breathtaking sea views. With a charming old town, whitewashed houses, and a lively atmosphere, Nerja offers a perfect mix of relaxation, nature, and culture.

🏖️ Top Things to See & Do in Nerja

1️⃣ Balcón de Europa 🌅

• A stunning viewpoint with panoramic views of the Mediterranean.
• Lined with palm trees, street musicians, and cafés.
• A great spot for sunset photos and people-watching.

2️⃣ Nerja Caves (Cuevas de Nerja) 🏰

• A famous cave system with impressive stalactites and stalagmites.
• Home to prehistoric cave paintings, estimated to be over 40,000 years old.
• One of Spain’s most important archaeological sites.

3️⃣ Playa de Burriana 🏖️

• The best beach in Nerja, with golden sand and clear waters.
• Offers water sports, including kayaking and paddleboarding.
• Many chiringuitos (beach bars) serving delicious seafood paella.

4️⃣ Kayaking to Maro Cliffs 🚣‍♂️

• Paddle along the coastline to discover hidden coves and waterfalls.
• A unique way to explore the Maro-Cerro Gordo Cliffs Natural Park.

5️⃣ Frigiliana – The Most Beautiful White Village 🏡

• Just 10 minutes from Nerja, this charming Andalusian village is full of whitewashed houses, cobbled streets, and colorful flowers.
• Wander through narrow alleyways and enjoy stunning mountain views.

6️⃣ El Salón & Calahonda Beaches 🏝️

• Small, quiet beaches just below the Balcón de Europa.
• Perfect for a relaxing swim away from the crowds.

🍽️ What to Eat in Nerja

• Espetos de Sardinas – Grilled sardines on skewers, a classic Andalusian dish 🐟
• Ajoblanco – A cold almond and garlic soup, refreshing on hot days 🍲
• Fried Fish (Pescaito Frito) – A mix of freshly caught seafood 🦑🐠
• Tarta de Almendra – A traditional almond cake, perfect with coffee 🍰
• Paella at Playa Burriana – One of the best places to enjoy authentic seafood paella 🍤🍚

🚗 How to Get to Nerja

✈️ By Air: The nearest airport is Málaga Airport (AGP, 70 km, 50 min drive).
🚘 By Car: 50 min from Málaga, 1.5 hrs from Granada.
🚌 By Bus: Direct buses from Málaga, Granada, and other Costa del Sol towns.
🚆 By Train: No direct train, but you can take a train to Málaga and then a bus.

💡 Tips for Visiting Nerja

✅ Best time to visit? Spring & summer (April–September) for the best weather ☀️
✅ Book Nerja Cave tickets in advance – It’s one of the most visited sites in Andalusia 🏰
✅ Try kayaking or boat tours – The coastline is stunning from the water 🚣‍♂️
✅ Visit Frigiliana early – To avoid crowds and enjoy the peaceful morning atmosphere 🌅
✅ Wear comfortable shoes – The old town has steep, cobbled streets 👟

@ da0b9bc3:4e30a4a9

Hello Stackers!

Welcome on into the ~Music Corner of the Saloon!

A place where we Talk Music. Share Tracks. Zap Sats.

So stay a while and listen.

🚨Don't forget to check out the pinned items in the territory homepage! You can always find the latest weeklies there!🚨

🚨Subscribe to the territory to ensure you never miss a post! 🚨

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/926553

@ 7c05c4f6:50d03508

Cooker.Club Secures Strategic Support from ViaBTC to Expand AI-Driven Web3 Economy

Cooker.Club, the decentralized AI agent platform pioneering the Create to Earn (C2E) model, has received strategic investment from ViaBTC, a globally recognized investment institution that integrates capital, infrastructure, and post-investment services. This partnership marks a key milestone in scaling the Cooker.Club ecosystem and advancing the fusion of blockchain and artificial intelligence.

The investment was co-led by MixBase, a web3-native incubator and strategic partner of Cooker.Club, which continues to support protocol-level experiments at the frontier of AI x Crypto.

ViaBTC's involvement brings more than funding — it adds deep industry insight, technical support, and valuable connections across the Web3 and AI sectors. This collaboration will accelerate the rollout of Cooker.Club’s C2E infrastructure, empowering AI agents and their communities to participate in decentralized value creation.

At the core of Cooker.Club’s ecosystem are three AI-native virtual characters: CyberSun, CyberMJ, and Cooker. Each is a fully on-chain persona with the ability to issue their own tokens, interact across platforms, and engage users through autonomous behaviors. $AISUN, the token for CyberSun, has already launched on PancakeSwap following a successful market curve cycle on Cooker.Club.

$COOKER serves as the native token driving the C2E reward engine and governance layer of the platform.

CyberMJ’s token is set to launch next, expanding the virtual identity layer of the ecosystem.

Backed by the C2E model, users earn $COOK passively by holding AI agent tokens, while developers and creators benefit from protocol-level support. This structure introduces a sustainable, programmable economy that redefines creator engagement.

Cooker.Club’s collaboration with ViaBTC and MIXBASE will further enhance its technical infrastructure and reach, positioning the platform as a foundational layer for on-chain AI creators. As AI and Web3 continue to converge, the partnership aims to unlock scalable tools and systems for the next generation of decentralized agents and their communities.

This is more than investment — it’s a shared vision for an autonomous, intelligent future economy.

@ b8916ce2:bd2a5f00

Bom88 là một nền tảng giải trí trực tuyến nổi bật, được thiết kế để mang lại cho người tham gia những trải nghiệm thú vị và độc đáo. Với giao diện thân thiện và dễ sử dụng, nền tảng này cho phép người dùng dễ dàng tìm thấy và tham gia vào các trò chơi yêu thích mà không gặp phải bất kỳ khó khăn nào. Bom88 không chỉ đa dạng về các loại trò chơi mà còn có các sự kiện và thử thách đặc biệt giúp tăng thêm phần hấp dẫn. Từ các trò chơi trí tuệ đòi hỏi tư duy và chiến lược, đến các trò chơi giải trí nhẹ nhàng, Bom88 luôn đảm bảo rằng mỗi người tham gia có thể tìm thấy thứ mình yêu thích. Những tính năng sáng tạo và độc đáo của nền tảng này giúp tạo ra một không gian giải trí đỉnh cao, mang lại sự thư giãn và hào hứng cho tất cả người tham gia. Thêm vào đó, nền tảng này không ngừng cải tiến và cập nhật các trò chơi mới, giúp người tham gia không bao giờ cảm thấy nhàm chán và luôn có thể khám phá những điều mới mẻ.

Bảo mật và an toàn luôn là yếu tố quan trọng hàng đầu tại Bom88. Với việc sử dụng các công nghệ bảo mật tiên tiến nhất, nền tảng này đảm bảo rằng mọi dữ liệu cá nhân và giao dịch của người dùng được bảo vệ một cách tối đa. Những biện pháp bảo mật này giúp người tham gia yên tâm hoàn toàn khi tham gia vào các hoạt động giải trí mà không phải lo lắng về sự xâm phạm thông tin. Bom88 không chỉ chú trọng đến việc bảo vệ sự riêng tư của người dùng mà còn cam kết tạo ra một môi trường chơi công bằng và an toàn. Việc áp dụng các công nghệ mã hóa và bảo mật dữ liệu hàng đầu giúp đảm bảo rằng mọi giao dịch tài chính cũng như các thông tin cá nhân của người dùng luôn được bảo vệ tuyệt đối, mang lại sự an tâm tuyệt đối khi tham gia nền tảng này. Chính nhờ những nỗ lực trong việc đảm bảo an toàn cho người dùng, Bom88 đã xây dựng được một cộng đồng đáng tin cậy và uy tín, nơi mà người tham gia có thể hoàn toàn tận hưởng những phút giây giải trí mà không phải lo ngại về vấn đề bảo mật.

Không ngừng đổi mới và sáng tạo, Bom88 luôn mang đến cho người tham gia những trải nghiệm mới mẻ và hấp dẫn. Các sự kiện đặc biệt và chương trình khuyến mãi được tổ chức thường xuyên, tạo ra những cơ hội thú vị cho người tham gia thử sức và nhận những phần thưởng giá trị. Nền tảng này không chỉ cung cấp các trò chơi hấp dẫn mà còn tạo cơ hội để người tham gia kết nối với những người có cùng sở thích, từ đó xây dựng một cộng đồng mạnh mẽ và thân thiện. Những tính năng tiện ích như hỗ trợ khách hàng 24/7 và các công cụ cá nhân hóa giúp người tham gia dễ dàng theo dõi lịch sử chơi game và điều chỉnh các cài đặt cá nhân để có được trải nghiệm tối ưu nhất. Bom88 không chỉ là nơi để giải trí mà còn là một cộng đồng kết nối những người đam mê và yêu thích khám phá, học hỏi từ những người chơi khác. Nhờ vào sự kết hợp giữa tính sáng tạo và sự đổi mới không ngừng, Bom88 đã khẳng định được vị thế của mình trong thế giới giải trí trực tuyến, trở thành một lựa chọn lý tưởng cho những ai đang tìm kiếm một không gian giải trí thú vị và đầy thử thách.

@ b8916ce2:bd2a5f00

VA88 là một nền tảng giải trí trực tuyến nổi bật, mang đến cho người tham gia những trải nghiệm phong phú và hấp dẫn, từ những trò chơi thú vị đến các sự kiện độc đáo. Với giao diện được thiết kế đơn giản nhưng tinh tế, người dùng có thể dễ dàng truy cập và tham gia vào các hoạt động giải trí mà không gặp phải bất kỳ khó khăn nào. VA88 không chỉ cung cấp một loạt các trò chơi giải trí đa dạng, mà còn liên tục tổ chức các sự kiện và thử thách, giúp người tham gia có cơ hội khám phá nhiều điều mới mẻ. Nền tảng này đặc biệt chú trọng đến việc tối ưu hóa trải nghiệm người dùng, từ việc cung cấp các trò chơi dễ tiếp cận cho người mới bắt đầu đến những thử thách khó khăn dành cho những ai yêu thích sự mạo hiểm và sự cạnh tranh. Chính sự kết hợp hoàn hảo giữa tính đa dạng và tính năng thân thiện với người dùng đã giúp VA88 xây dựng được một cộng đồng giải trí vững mạnh và thu hút lượng người tham gia đông đảo.

Ngoài sự đa dạng về các trò chơi, VA88 cũng đặc biệt chú trọng đến việc bảo mật thông tin và sự an toàn của người tham gia. Nền tảng này sử dụng các công nghệ bảo mật tiên tiến để đảm bảo rằng mọi giao dịch và dữ liệu cá nhân của người dùng đều được bảo vệ một cách an toàn tuyệt đối. Những biện pháp bảo mật này không chỉ giúp người tham gia yên tâm khi tham gia các trò chơi mà còn đảm bảo rằng mọi giao dịch tài chính diễn ra một cách minh bạch và bảo mật. VA88 cam kết bảo vệ quyền lợi của người tham gia bằng cách cung cấp một môi trường chơi công bằng, nơi mọi người có thể thoải mái tham gia mà không lo ngại về sự xâm phạm thông tin cá nhân. Bằng việc áp dụng các công nghệ bảo mật hàng đầu và tạo ra một môi trường an toàn, VA88 đã trở thành một lựa chọn đáng tin cậy cho những ai tìm kiếm một không gian giải trí trực tuyến an toàn và bảo mật.

Với tầm nhìn luôn hướng đến sự đổi mới và cải tiến, VA88 không ngừng nỗ lực mang đến những tính năng và trò chơi mới mẻ để đáp ứng nhu cầu ngày càng cao của người tham gia. Những sự kiện đặc biệt và các chương trình khuyến mãi luôn được tổ chức để người tham gia có thể tận hưởng nhiều cơ hội thú vị và phần thưởng hấp dẫn. VA88 luôn chủ động lắng nghe phản hồi từ cộng đồng để cải thiện dịch vụ và đảm bảo mang đến trải nghiệm giải trí tốt nhất. Bên cạnh đó, nền tảng này cũng tạo cơ hội cho người tham gia kết nối và giao lưu với nhau, giúp xây dựng một cộng đồng vững mạnh và thân thiện. Chính nhờ vào những cải tiến liên tục và sự tập trung vào nhu cầu của người dùng, VA88 đã khẳng định được vị thế của mình trong cộng đồng giải trí trực tuyến, trở thành một điểm đến lý tưởng cho những ai tìm kiếm một không gian thư giãn và đầy thử thách.

@ b8916ce2:bd2a5f00

VF88 mang đến cho người tham gia một không gian giải trí trực tuyến đầy thú vị, sáng tạo và đa dạng. Với giao diện thân thiện và dễ sử dụng, nền tảng này giúp người dùng dễ dàng tiếp cận và tham gia vào các hoạt động giải trí mà không gặp phải bất kỳ khó khăn nào. Các trò chơi trên VF88 được thiết kế tinh tế, đáp ứng nhu cầu của những người tham gia, dù là người mới bắt đầu hay đã có kinh nghiệm lâu dài. Không chỉ có các trò chơi thú vị, nền tảng này còn thường xuyên tổ chức các sự kiện đặc biệt và thử thách đầy hấp dẫn, tạo ra cơ hội để người tham gia trải nghiệm những điều mới mẻ và thú vị. Từ các trò chơi trí tuệ giúp rèn luyện khả năng tư duy đến những trò giải trí nhẹ nhàng giúp thư giãn, VF88 luôn có một danh mục đa dạng, phục vụ mọi sở thích của người dùng. Chính sự đa dạng này đã giúp VF88 trở thành một điểm đến lý tưởng cho những ai yêu thích khám phá và tìm kiếm một không gian giải trí năng động và đầy thử thách.

Một yếu tố quan trọng làm nên sự thành công của VF88 chính là cam kết bảo mật và an toàn cho người tham gia. Nền tảng này sử dụng những công nghệ bảo mật tiên tiến nhất để bảo vệ thông tin cá nhân và dữ liệu người dùng một cách tuyệt đối. Mọi giao dịch và thông tin liên quan đều được mã hóa và xử lý theo các tiêu chuẩn bảo mật quốc tế, giúp người tham gia hoàn toàn yên tâm khi tham gia vào các hoạt động trên nền tảng. Ngoài việc bảo vệ sự riêng tư của người dùng, VF88 cũng cam kết cung cấp một môi trường chơi an toàn và công bằng, với các biện pháp chống gian lận và bảo vệ quyền lợi của người tham gia. Điều này không chỉ tạo sự an tâm cho người dùng mà còn xây dựng được lòng tin mạnh mẽ trong cộng đồng, giúp VF88 duy trì được uy tín và vị thế của mình trên thị trường giải trí trực tuyến.

VF88 luôn không ngừng cải tiến và đổi mới để mang lại những trải nghiệm tối ưu nhất cho người tham gia. Nền tảng này luôn cập nhật những tính năng mới và tổ chức các chương trình khuyến mãi hấp dẫn, giúp người tham gia có thêm nhiều cơ hội trải nghiệm và khám phá. Ngoài ra, VF88 cũng tạo ra một cộng đồng mạnh mẽ và thân thiện, nơi người dùng có thể giao lưu, chia sẻ kinh nghiệm và kết nối với những người cùng sở thích. Các sự kiện đặc biệt và thử thách thường xuyên được tổ chức để tăng thêm phần thú vị và kịch tính cho người tham gia. Sự sáng tạo không ngừng của VF88 trong việc cải thiện dịch vụ đã giúp nền tảng này luôn giữ được sự mới mẻ, hấp dẫn, và là một lựa chọn giải trí lý tưởng cho mọi người. Với những đặc điểm này, VF88 đã khẳng định được vị thế của mình trong cộng đồng giải trí trực tuyến và là một điểm đến không thể thiếu cho những ai tìm kiếm trải nghiệm giải trí tuyệt vời.

@ 7d33ba57:1b82db35

Los Narejos is a laid-back beach town on the Costa Cálida, located in the Murcia region of Spain. Known for its calm, warm waters, family-friendly beaches, and proximity to the Mar Menor lagoon, it’s an excellent destination for relaxation, water sports, and enjoying the Mediterranean lifestyle**.

🏖️ Top Things to See & Do in Los Narejos

1️⃣ Playa de Los Narejos 🏖️

• A wide, sandy beach with shallow and warm waters, perfect for families.
• Palm-lined promenade for walking, cycling, or enjoying seaside cafés.
• Excellent for swimming, sunbathing, and beach sports.

2️⃣ Mar Menor Lagoon 🌊

• A unique saltwater lagoon, separated from the Mediterranean by La Manga.
• Warmer and calmer waters than the open sea, ideal for safe swimming.
• Known for its healing mud baths with minerals beneficial for the skin.

3️⃣ Watersports Paradise 🚤

• A top spot for kite surfing, windsurfing, sailing, and stand-up paddleboarding.
• Several local schools offer lessons for beginners and equipment rentals.
• Great conditions for kayaking along the Mar Menor coastline.

4️⃣ Promenade Walk to Los Alcázares 🚶‍♂️

• A scenic coastal walk from Los Narejos to Los Alcázares.
• Pass by chiringuitos (beach bars) serving fresh seafood and cocktails.

5️⃣ Local Markets & Shopping 🛍️

• Visit the Los Alcázares Market (Tuesdays & Saturdays) for local produce, clothes, and crafts.
• Small boutique shops sell Murcian souvenirs, ceramics, and wines.

🍽️ What to Eat in Los Narejos

• Caldero Murciano – A traditional seafood rice dish, full of flavor 🍚🐟
• Dorada a la Sal – Fresh sea bream baked in salt, a Mediterranean specialty 🐠
• Tapas & Mariscos – Try local seafood tapas like grilled prawns, octopus, and clams 🍤
• Pastel de Carne – A Murcian meat pie, perfect for a quick bite 🥧
• Paparajotes – A sweet treat made from lemon leaves coated in batter and fried 🍋🍩

🚗 How to Get to Los Narejos

✈️ By Air: The nearest airport is Región de Murcia Airport (RMU, 30 min drive).
🚆 By Train: Nearest station is in Balsicas (20 min drive), with connections to Murcia and Cartagena.
🚘 By Car: 30 min from Murcia, 1 hr from Alicante, 20 min from Cartagena.
🚌 By Bus: Direct buses from Murcia, Cartagena, and Alicante.

💡 Tips for Visiting Los Narejos

✅ Best time to visit? Spring to early autumn (April–October) for great weather ☀️
✅ Try water sports – Mar Menor is one of the safest places for beginners 🏄‍♂️
✅ Bring a bike – The flat terrain and coastal paths are great for cycling 🚴
✅ Enjoy the sunset – The Mar Menor has some of the most stunning sunset views 🌅

@ 866e0139:6a9334e5

Autor: Michael Meyen. (Bild: Hermine Zgraggen). Dieser Beitrag wurde mit dem Pareto-Client geschrieben. Sie finden alle Texte der Friedenstaube und weitere Texte zum Thema Frieden hier.**

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Die Friedenstaube hat meine Kindheit und meine Jugend begleitet und wahrscheinlich auch beschützt. Ich bin auf der Insel Rügen aufgewachsen und sehe immer noch, wie der Bürgermeister am 1. Mai 1975 die US-Niederlage in Vietnam verkündete. Vielleicht war es auch der örtliche Parteisekretär. Egal. Der Sprecher stand jedenfalls am Heimatmuseum vor all den Fahnen, vor Sportlern, Pionieren und Erwachsenen, die mit ihren Kollegen durch das Dorf gegangen waren und jetzt auf den ersten Schnaps warteten. Ein Maiwässerchen, was sonst am Kampf- und Feiertag der Werktätigen. Ich Knirps war schon jetzt trunken vor Glück. Wenn ich einst groß sein bin, daran konnte es keinen Zweifel mehr geben, dann würde der Imperialismus besiegt sein und mit ihm der Krieg.

Was ist jetzt mit dem Sozialismus und seinem Frieden?

Picassos Friedenstaube war überall. Bei solchen Demos, in der Presse und in der Schule sowieso. Der Sozialismus, darauf schworen die Lehrer genauso Stein und Bein wie alle Funktionäre, der Sozialismus führt keinen Krieg. Es gab zwar immer wieder Gerüchte über Flussinseln, um die sich Moskau und Peking streiten würden, aber Asien war weit und China vielleicht nicht ganz so sozialistisch. Dann kam der Dezember 1979. Afghanistan. Ich war zwölf und konnte mir das schon deshalb nicht schönreden, weil es Olympia traf und damit zwei Sommerfernseh-Wochen. Was sind Goldmedaillen wert, wenn die Besten fehlen? Wenig später ging es um U-Boote. Ein Junge, nur wenig älter als ich, hatte an die *Ostsee-Zeitung* geschrieben, das Regionalblatt der SED, und gefragt, was die sowjetische Marine in schwedischen Gewässern mache und warum er sowas nur im Westradio hören könne. Als die Antwort kam, stand er mit dem Brief auf der Straße. Seht her, liebe Leute: Sie nehmen mich ernst. Was ist jetzt mit diesem Sozialismus und seinem Frieden?

Ich weiß noch, dass ich den Brief lesen musste (in der Schule wusste jeder, dass ich Journalist werden wollte), aber nicht mehr, was dort stand. Wahrscheinlich hat sich die Redaktion mit einem Missverständnis herausgeredet, mit Fake News oder mit Wilhelm Busch. Der Friede muss bewaffnet sein. Die Geschichte mit Igel und Fuchs gefiel mir. Da waren diese Zähne und damit die Drohung von Raubtier und Kapitalismus. Und da war ein eher zartes Lebewesen, das auf den Verstand setzte. „Und allsogleich macht er sich rund, zeigt seinen dichten Stachelbund – und trotzt getrost der ganzen Welt, bewaffnet, doch als Friedensheld.“

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DIE FRIEDENSTAUBE FLIEGT AUCH IN IHR POSTFACH:

Hier können Sie die Friedenstaube abonnieren und bekommen die Artikel zugesandt, vorerst für alle kostenfrei, wir starten gänzlich ohne Paywall. (Die Bezahlabos fangen erst zu laufen an, wenn ein Monetarisierungskonzept für die Inhalte steht).

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Schon jetzt können Sie uns unterstützen:

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

Für Einzahlungen in CHF (Betreff: Friedenstaube):

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Milosz Matuschek

IBAN DE 53710520500000814137

BYLADEM1TST

Sparkasse Traunstein-Trostberg

Betreff: Friedenstaube

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

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"Ich hasste das Militär"

Im Alltag war das nicht ganz so einfach, selbst für Kinder. Bei den Sportfesten hätte ich lieber einen Schlagball genommen als die F1, eine Handgranatenattrappe, die über die 35-Meter-Marke fliegen musste, damit der kleine Werfer überleben kann. Ich mochte die Soldatenspiele nicht, die alle paar Wochen angesetzt wurden, und schon gar nicht die Lager, die am Ende der Schulzeit warteten. Zwei Wochen in einer Baracke mit Frühsport in der Kälte und mit irgendwelchen Knallköpfen, die mir sagen konnten, was ich zu machen habe. Das heißt: Sie sagten das nicht. Sie brüllten. Und sie konnten jeden bestrafen, der nicht spurte. Ich hasste das Militär – und das nicht nur, weil ich nie sicher war, die Sturmwand beim ersten Anlauf zu nehmen und die Gasmaske schnell genug aus der Tasche zu haben.  

Ich überspringe die drei Jahre, die ich Uniform getragen habe. In meinem Gedächtnis ist dort eine Leerstelle. Ich bin mir aber sicher, dass es schrecklich gewesen sein muss, und höre noch all die Stimmen, die vorher auf mich eingeredet hatten. Wenn du an die Uni willst, Michael, dann musst du dafür bezahlen. Dann musst du zeigen, was dir dieses Land wert ist und die Arbeiterklasse, die hier nun mal regiert und später auch dein Studium bezahlt. Gib uns einen Fitzel deiner Lebenszeit. Ich habe diese Stimmen verflucht und dachte, dass ich ihnen nicht entkommen kann. Heute weiß ich, dass das nicht stimmt. Ich wusste es schon im ersten Semester, weil neben mir Jungs saßen, die nur 18 Monate bei der Fahne waren und trotzdem einen Platz bekommen hatten. Dass die DDR kurz danach ohne einen Schuss zusammenbrach, habe ich nicht verstanden, aber trotzdem aufgeatmet. Du musst nicht mehr Reserveoffizier werden. Wenigstens das nicht. Die drei Lehrgangswochen habe ich in der Pathologie des Uni-Krankenhauses verbracht, vermutlich mit irgendwelchen Aufräumarbeiten. 

Eine Wette mit meinem Sohn

Mein Sohn ist 1995 zur Welt gekommen. Ein Stammhalter. Ein Brüderchen für unsere Tochter. Aber auch ein Soldat. Ich habe mit mir selbst gewettet, dass es keine Armee mehr geben würde und vor allem keine Wehrpflicht, wenn er 18 ist, und geschworen, dafür alles zu tun, was mir möglich ist. Dass es dann dieser Minister von der CSU war? Was soll’s, dachte ich. Hauptsache, der Junge kann selbst entscheiden, wo und wie er in die Erwachsenenwelt gehen will. 

Damals war ich mir sicher: Bertolt Brecht hat gewonnen. Endlich weiß Deutschland, dass es nicht Karthago sein will. Jetzt schreibe ich für die Friedenstaube und würde diesen Brecht lieber heute als morgen auferstehen lassen. So schwer kann das doch nicht zu verstehen sein mit den drei Kriegen.  

---

Michael Meyen, Jahrgang 1967, hat an der Sektion Journalistik studiert und dann in Leipzig alle akademischen Stationen durchlaufen: Diplom (1992), Promotion (1995) und Habilitation (2001). Parallel arbeitete er als Journalist. Seit 2002 ist Meyen Professor für Kommunikationswissenschaft an der LMU München. Er hat drei interdisziplinäre Forschungsverbünde als Sprecher geleitet: "Fit for Change" (Laufzeit: 2013 bis 2017), "Zukunft der Demokratie" (2018 bis 2022) und "Das mediale Erbe der DDR" (2018 bis 2025). Mehr zum Autor und seinen Büchern hier.

---

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

@ 7d33ba57:1b82db35

L'Estartit is famous for its stunning beaches, the Medes Islands, and incredible diving opportunities. Once a small fishing village, it’s now a paradise for nature lovers, water sports enthusiasts, and those seeking a relaxing Mediterranean escape.

🏖️ Top Things to See & Do in L'Estartit

1️⃣ Medes Islands (Illes Medes) 🏝️

• A protected marine reserve, perfect for snorkeling and scuba diving.
• Explore sea caves, coral reefs, and diverse marine life.
• Take a glass-bottom boat tour to admire the underwater world without getting wet.

2️⃣ L'Estartit Beach 🏖️

• A long sandy beach with shallow waters, ideal for families.
• Great for swimming, sunbathing, and water sports like windsurfing and kayaking.
• Offers fantastic views of the Medes Islands.

3️⃣ Montgrí Massif & Castle 🏰

• Hike up to the Montgrí Castle for panoramic views of the Costa Brava.
• Trails through rocky landscapes and Mediterranean forests.
• A perfect spot for hiking, mountain biking, and photography.

4️⃣ Coastal Walking Route (Camí de Ronda) 🌊

• A breathtaking hiking trail along the cliffs, connecting L'Estartit with nearby beaches and coves.
• Discover hidden spots like Cala Pedrosa and Cala Ferriol.

5️⃣ Explore the Old Town & Port ⚓

• Wander through narrow streets with local shops and seafood restaurants.
• Visit the Sant Genís Church, a historic landmark in the town center.
• Enjoy a drink with a view at the marina.

6️⃣ Kayaking & Stand-Up Paddleboarding 🚣‍♂️

• Paddle along the coastline to explore caves, cliffs, and hidden coves.
• A great way to experience the natural beauty of the area.

🍽️ What to Eat in L'Estartit

• Suquet de Peix – Traditional Catalan fish stew 🐟
• Arroz a la Cassola – A savory rice dish with seafood 🍤
• Fideuà – Like paella, but made with short noodles instead of rice 🍜
• Calamars a la Planxa – Grilled squid with olive oil and garlic 🦑
• Crema Catalana – A classic Catalan dessert similar to crème brûlée 🍮

🚗 How to Get to L'Estartit

🚆 By Train: The nearest train station is Flaçà (30 min by car/taxi) with connections from Barcelona and Girona.
🚘 By Car: 1.5 hrs from Barcelona, 45 min from Girona, 1 hr from Figueres.
🚌 By Bus: Direct buses from Barcelona, Girona, and other Costa Brava towns.
✈️ By Air: The nearest airport is Girona-Costa Brava (GRO, 55 km).

💡 Tips for Visiting L'Estartit

✅ Best time to visit? Late spring to early autumn (May–September) for warm weather 🌞
✅ Book diving tours in advance – Medes Islands are a top diving destination 🤿
✅ Hike early in the morning to avoid the heat & get the best views 🥾
✅ Visit in June for the Havaneres Festival, celebrating Catalan maritime music 🎶

@ 57d1a264:69f1fee1

Explore and reimagine programming interfaces beyond text (visual, tactile, spatial).

"The most dangerous thought you can have as a creative person is to think you know what you're doing." — Richard Hamming [^1]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pTEmbeENF4

For his recent DBX Conference talk, Victor took attendees back to the year 1973, donning the uniform of an IBM systems engineer of the times, delivering his presentation on an overhead projector. The '60s and early '70s were a fertile time for CS ideas, reminds Victor, but even more importantly, it was a time of unfettered thinking, unconstrained by programming dogma, authority, and tradition.

'The most dangerous thought that you can have as a creative person is to think that you know what you're doing,' explains Victor. 'Because once you think you know what you're doing you stop looking around for other ways of doing things and you stop being able to see other ways of doing things. You become blind.' He concludes, 'I think you have to say: "We don't know what programming is. We don't know what computing is. We don't even know what a computer is." And once you truly understand that, and once you truly believe that, then you're free, and you can think anything.'

More details at https://worrydream.com/dbx/

[^1]: Richard Hamming -- The Art of Doing Science and Engineering, p5 (pdf ebook)

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/926493

@ e5de992e:4a95ef85

Overview

On March 26, 2025, U.S. stock markets closed with notable declines driven primarily by President Donald Trump's announcement of a 25% tariff on all imported automobiles. This move has raised concerns about global trade tensions and inflation risks, impacting various sectors—especially technology and auto.

---

U.S. Stock Market Performance

• S&P 500:
• Dropped 1.1%
• Closed at 5,714.32

• Broke a three-day winning streak

• Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA):

• Decreased by 0.3%

• Closed at 42,455.78

• Nasdaq Composite:

• Fell 2%
• Finished at 17,906.45
• Led by significant losses in major tech stocks such as Nvidia and Tesla

These declines were primarily driven by the auto tariff announcement.

---

U.S. Futures Market

• S&P 500 Futures:

• Remained flat, indicating investor caution amid ongoing tariff uncertainties

• Dow Jones Futures:

• Showed little change, reflecting a wait-and-see approach from market participants

Note: U.S. futures are exhibiting minimal movement with low volume.

---

Key Factors Influencing U.S. Markets

Auto Import Tariffs

• President Trump's imposition of a 25% tariff on imported automobiles has heightened concerns about escalating trade wars.
• Major automakers, including General Motors and Ford, experienced stock declines in response to these tariffs.

Tech Sector Weakness

• Leading technology companies, notably Nvidia and Tesla, saw significant stock price reductions (each dropping more than 5%), contributing to the overall market downturn.

Energy Sector Performance

• Despite a 4% fall in oil prices, energy stocks outperformed the broader market by rising 8.9% compared to a 1.8% decline in the S&P 500.
• However, the energy rally appears fragile, driven by increased valuations rather than improving earnings prospects.

---

Global Stock Indices Performance

• Japan's Nikkei 225:

• Declined by 1.2%, with major automakers like Toyota experiencing significant losses due to tariff concerns.

• South Korea's KOSPI:

• Fell 0.7%, impacted by declines in auto-related stocks amid trade tension fears.

• Hong Kong's Hang Seng:

• Dropped 2.35%, closing at 23,344.25, influenced by a downturn in Chinese tech shares and ongoing tariff concerns.

• Germany's DAX:

• Experienced a slight decline of 0.32%, closing at 23,109.79, as initial optimism regarding tariff negotiations waned.

• UK's FTSE 100:

• Fell marginally by 0.10%, reflecting investor caution amid mixed economic data.

---

Cryptocurrency Market

• Bitcoin (BTC):

• Trading at approximately $88,500, reflecting a 1.5% increase from the previous close.

• Ethereum (ETH):

• Priced around $2,100, marking a 1.2% uptick from the prior session.

These movements suggest that investors may be turning to digital assets as alternative investments during periods of traditional market uncertainty.

---

Key Global Economic and Geopolitical Events

• Trade Policy Developments:
• President Trump's new auto tariffs have intensified global trade tensions.

• Concerns include retaliatory measures from trading partners (e.g., Japan and Canada) and potential disruptions to international supply chains.

• Energy Sector Outlook:

• Despite recent gains, the energy rally appears fragile as it is driven more by increased valuations than by improving earnings.

• Market Forecasts:

• Barclays has lowered its year-end price target for the S&P 500 to 5,900 from 6,600, citing concerns over the tariffs’ impact on earnings. This is the lowest target among major U.S. Treasury dealers, reflecting growing apprehension about the economic outlook.

---

Conclusion

Global financial markets are navigating a complex landscape marked by escalating trade tensions, sector-specific challenges, and evolving economic forecasts. Investors are advised to exercise caution and closely monitor these developments—particularly the impact of new tariffs and their ripple effects on global trade and inflation—when making informed decisions.

@ a8d1560d:3fec7a08

I have made a big update to my Nostr desktop. Apps for images, videos and livestreams after their respective NIPs have been added, and the Raw Events app has been greatly improved. There are still some layout problems, but it all works (hopefully).

https://websim.ai/@wholewish91244492/nostr-desktop

@ 5d4b6c8d:8a1c1ee3

I just finished watching the Lakers narrowly escape with a win over the Pacers, in Indiana. I watched it at BetPlay, btw, where I'm now watching the late games.

Firstly, Lebron had a rough game: no made FG's in the first half (first time in approximately 20 years) and only 2 points. There was legit concern that his million consecutive games with double digits might finally end.

Coming into the fourth quarter, he still only had seven points and the Lakers had about a ten point lead. Once Lebron secured his 10 points it really seemed like they let up and the Pacers came roaring back. Shoutout to Myles Turner, who made a great pass breakup in transition on what would have been a lob dunk (I also think Doris may have said "just the tip" when describing how little contact he made with the ball).

Rui hit a couple of threes back-to-back, which felt huge, but the Lakers took their foot off the gas again. The Pacers kept it tight and even took a lead, thanks to Luka playing some of the worst defense you'll ever see.

With three seconds left and trailing by one, Luka shook his defender and put up a soft little floater...which bounced out only for Lebron to get the put-back at the buzzer and win the game.

The only thing that would have been better is if the tip-in had gotten Lebron his double digits.

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/926406

@ 872982aa:8fb54cfe

NIP-02

Follow List

final optional

A special event with kind 3, meaning "follow list" is defined as having a list of p tags, one for each of the followed/known profiles one is following.

Each tag entry should contain the key for the profile, a relay URL where events from that key can be found (can be set to an empty string if not needed), and a local name (or "petname") for that profile (can also be set to an empty string or not provided), i.e., ["p", <32-bytes hex key>, <main relay URL>, <petname>].

The .content is not used.

For example:

jsonc { "kind": 3, "tags": [ ["p", "91cf9..4e5ca", "wss://alicerelay.com/", "alice"], ["p", "14aeb..8dad4", "wss://bobrelay.com/nostr", "bob"], ["p", "612ae..e610f", "ws://carolrelay.com/ws", "carol"] ], "content": "", // other fields... }

Every new following list that gets published overwrites the past ones, so it should contain all entries. Relays and clients SHOULD delete past following lists as soon as they receive a new one.

Whenever new follows are added to an existing list, clients SHOULD append them to the end of the list, so they are stored in chronological order.

Uses

Follow list backup

If one believes a relay will store their events for sufficient time, they can use this kind-3 event to backup their following list and recover on a different device.

Profile discovery and context augmentation

A client may rely on the kind-3 event to display a list of followed people by profiles one is browsing; make lists of suggestions on who to follow based on the follow lists of other people one might be following or browsing; or show the data in other contexts.

Relay sharing

A client may publish a follow list with good relays for each of their follows so other clients may use these to update their internal relay lists if needed, increasing censorship-resistance.

Petname scheme

The data from these follow lists can be used by clients to construct local "petname" tables derived from other people's follow lists. This alleviates the need for global human-readable names. For example:

A user has an internal follow list that says

json [ ["p", "21df6d143fb96c2ec9d63726bf9edc71", "", "erin"] ]

And receives two follow lists, one from 21df6d143fb96c2ec9d63726bf9edc71 that says

json [ ["p", "a8bb3d884d5d90b413d9891fe4c4e46d", "", "david"] ]

and another from a8bb3d884d5d90b413d9891fe4c4e46d that says

json [ ["p", "f57f54057d2a7af0efecc8b0b66f5708", "", "frank"] ]

When the user sees 21df6d143fb96c2ec9d63726bf9edc71 the client can show erin instead; When the user sees a8bb3d884d5d90b413d9891fe4c4e46d the client can show david.erin instead; When the user sees f57f54057d2a7af0efecc8b0b66f5708 the client can show frank.david.erin instead.

@ 872982aa:8fb54cfe

NIP-01

Basic protocol flow description

draft mandatory

This NIP defines the basic protocol that should be implemented by everybody. New NIPs may add new optional (or mandatory) fields and messages and features to the structures and flows described here.

Events and signatures

Each user has a keypair. Signatures, public key, and encodings are done according to the Schnorr signatures standard for the curve secp256k1.

The only object type that exists is the event, which has the following format on the wire:

jsonc { "id": <32-bytes lowercase hex-encoded sha256 of the serialized event data>, "pubkey": <32-bytes lowercase hex-encoded public key of the event creator>, "created_at": <unix timestamp in seconds>, "kind": <integer between 0 and 65535>, "tags": [ [<arbitrary string>...], // ... ], "content": <arbitrary string>, "sig": <64-bytes lowercase hex of the signature of the sha256 hash of the serialized event data, which is the same as the "id" field> }

To obtain the event.id, we sha256 the serialized event. The serialization is done over the UTF-8 JSON-serialized string (which is described below) of the following structure:

[ 0, <pubkey, as a lowercase hex string>, <created_at, as a number>, <kind, as a number>, <tags, as an array of arrays of non-null strings>, <content, as a string> ]

To prevent implementation differences from creating a different event ID for the same event, the following rules MUST be followed while serializing: - UTF-8 should be used for encoding. - Whitespace, line breaks or other unnecessary formatting should not be included in the output JSON. - The following characters in the content field must be escaped as shown, and all other characters must be included verbatim: - A line break (0x0A), use \n - A double quote (0x22), use \" - A backslash (0x5C), use \\ - A carriage return (0x0D), use \r - A tab character (0x09), use \t - A backspace, (0x08), use \b - A form feed, (0x0C), use \f

Tags

Each tag is an array of one or more strings, with some conventions around them. Take a look at the example below:

jsonc { "tags": [ ["e", "5c83da77af1dec6d7289834998ad7aafbd9e2191396d75ec3cc27f5a77226f36", "wss://nostr.example.com"], ["p", "f7234bd4c1394dda46d09f35bd384dd30cc552ad5541990f98844fb06676e9ca"], ["a", "30023:f7234bd4c1394dda46d09f35bd384dd30cc552ad5541990f98844fb06676e9ca:abcd", "wss://nostr.example.com"], ["alt", "reply"], // ... ], // ... }

The first element of the tag array is referred to as the tag name or key and the second as the tag value. So we can safely say that the event above has an e tag set to "5c83da77af1dec6d7289834998ad7aafbd9e2191396d75ec3cc27f5a77226f36", an alt tag set to "reply" and so on. All elements after the second do not have a conventional name.

This NIP defines 3 standard tags that can be used across all event kinds with the same meaning. They are as follows:

• The e tag, used to refer to an event: ["e", <32-bytes lowercase hex of the id of another event>, <recommended relay URL, optional>, <32-bytes lowercase hex of the author's pubkey, optional>]
• The p tag, used to refer to another user: ["p", <32-bytes lowercase hex of a pubkey>, <recommended relay URL, optional>]
• The a tag, used to refer to an addressable or replaceable event
  • for an addressable event: ["a", "<kind integer>:<32-bytes lowercase hex of a pubkey>:<d tag value>", <recommended relay URL, optional>]
  • for a normal replaceable event: ["a", "<kind integer>:<32-bytes lowercase hex of a pubkey>:", <recommended relay URL, optional>] (note: include the trailing colon)

As a convention, all single-letter (only english alphabet letters: a-z, A-Z) key tags are expected to be indexed by relays, such that it is possible, for example, to query or subscribe to events that reference the event "5c83da77af1dec6d7289834998ad7aafbd9e2191396d75ec3cc27f5a77226f36" by using the {"#e": ["5c83da77af1dec6d7289834998ad7aafbd9e2191396d75ec3cc27f5a77226f36"]} filter. Only the first value in any given tag is indexed.

Kinds

Kinds specify how clients should interpret the meaning of each event and the other fields of each event (e.g. an "r" tag may have a meaning in an event of kind 1 and an entirely different meaning in an event of kind 10002). Each NIP may define the meaning of a set of kinds that weren't defined elsewhere. NIP-10, for instance, especifies the kind:1 text note for social media applications.

This NIP defines one basic kind:

• 0: user metadata: the content is set to a stringified JSON object {name: <nickname or full name>, about: <short bio>, picture: <url of the image>} describing the user who created the event. Extra metadata fields may be set. A relay may delete older events once it gets a new one for the same pubkey.

And also a convention for kind ranges that allow for easier experimentation and flexibility of relay implementation:

• for kind n such that 1000 <= n < 10000 || 4 <= n < 45 || n == 1 || n == 2, events are regular, which means they're all expected to be stored by relays.
• for kind n such that 10000 <= n < 20000 || n == 0 || n == 3, events are replaceable, which means that, for each combination of pubkey and kind, only the latest event MUST be stored by relays, older versions MAY be discarded.
• for kind n such that 20000 <= n < 30000, events are ephemeral, which means they are not expected to be stored by relays.
• for kind n such that 30000 <= n < 40000, events are addressable by their kind, pubkey and d tag value -- which means that, for each combination of kind, pubkey and the d tag value, only the latest event MUST be stored by relays, older versions MAY be discarded.

In case of replaceable events with the same timestamp, the event with the lowest id (first in lexical order) should be retained, and the other discarded.

When answering to REQ messages for replaceable events such as {"kinds":[0],"authors":[<hex-key>]}, even if the relay has more than one version stored, it SHOULD return just the latest one.

These are just conventions and relay implementations may differ.

Communication between clients and relays

Relays expose a websocket endpoint to which clients can connect. Clients SHOULD open a single websocket connection to each relay and use it for all their subscriptions. Relays MAY limit number of connections from specific IP/client/etc.

From client to relay: sending events and creating subscriptions

Clients can send 3 types of messages, which must be JSON arrays, according to the following patterns:

• ["EVENT", <event JSON as defined above>], used to publish events.
• ["REQ", <subscription_id>, <filters1>, <filters2>, ...], used to request events and subscribe to new updates.
• ["CLOSE", <subscription_id>], used to stop previous subscriptions.

<subscription_id> is an arbitrary, non-empty string of max length 64 chars. It represents a subscription per connection. Relays MUST manage <subscription_id>s independently for each WebSocket connection. <subscription_id>s are not guaranteed to be globally unique.

<filtersX> is a JSON object that determines what events will be sent in that subscription, it can have the following attributes:

json { "ids": <a list of event ids>, "authors": <a list of lowercase pubkeys, the pubkey of an event must be one of these>, "kinds": <a list of a kind numbers>, "#<single-letter (a-zA-Z)>": <a list of tag values, for #e — a list of event ids, for #p — a list of pubkeys, etc.>, "since": <an integer unix timestamp in seconds. Events must have a created_at >= to this to pass>, "until": <an integer unix timestamp in seconds. Events must have a created_at <= to this to pass>, "limit": <maximum number of events relays SHOULD return in the initial query> }

Upon receiving a REQ message, the relay SHOULD return events that match the filter. Any new events it receives SHOULD be sent to that same websocket until the connection is closed, a CLOSE event is received with the same <subscription_id>, or a new REQ is sent using the same <subscription_id> (in which case a new subscription is created, replacing the old one).

Filter attributes containing lists (ids, authors, kinds and tag filters like #e) are JSON arrays with one or more values. At least one of the arrays' values must match the relevant field in an event for the condition to be considered a match. For scalar event attributes such as authors and kind, the attribute from the event must be contained in the filter list. In the case of tag attributes such as #e, for which an event may have multiple values, the event and filter condition values must have at least one item in common.

The ids, authors, #e and #p filter lists MUST contain exact 64-character lowercase hex values.

The since and until properties can be used to specify the time range of events returned in the subscription. If a filter includes the since property, events with created_at greater than or equal to since are considered to match the filter. The until property is similar except that created_at must be less than or equal to until. In short, an event matches a filter if since <= created_at <= until holds.

All conditions of a filter that are specified must match for an event for it to pass the filter, i.e., multiple conditions are interpreted as && conditions.

A REQ message may contain multiple filters. In this case, events that match any of the filters are to be returned, i.e., multiple filters are to be interpreted as || conditions.

The limit property of a filter is only valid for the initial query and MUST be ignored afterwards. When limit: n is present it is assumed that the events returned in the initial query will be the last n events ordered by the created_at. Newer events should appear first, and in the case of ties the event with the lowest id (first in lexical order) should be first. It is safe to return less events than limit specifies, but it is expected that relays do not return (much) more events than requested so clients don't get unnecessarily overwhelmed by data.

From relay to client: sending events and notices

Relays can send 5 types of messages, which must also be JSON arrays, according to the following patterns:

• ["EVENT", <subscription_id>, <event JSON as defined above>], used to send events requested by clients.
• ["OK", <event_id>, <true|false>, <message>], used to indicate acceptance or denial of an EVENT message.
• ["EOSE", <subscription_id>], used to indicate the end of stored events and the beginning of events newly received in real-time.
• ["CLOSED", <subscription_id>, <message>], used to indicate that a subscription was ended on the server side.
• ["NOTICE", <message>], used to send human-readable error messages or other things to clients.

This NIP defines no rules for how NOTICE messages should be sent or treated.

• EVENT messages MUST be sent only with a subscription ID related to a subscription previously initiated by the client (using the REQ message above).
• OK messages MUST be sent in response to EVENT messages received from clients, they must have the 3rd parameter set to true when an event has been accepted by the relay, false otherwise. The 4th parameter MUST always be present, but MAY be an empty string when the 3rd is true, otherwise it MUST be a string formed by a machine-readable single-word prefix followed by a : and then a human-readable message. Some examples:
• ["OK", "b1a649ebe8...", true, ""]
• ["OK", "b1a649ebe8...", true, "pow: difficulty 25>=24"]
• ["OK", "b1a649ebe8...", true, "duplicate: already have this event"]
• ["OK", "b1a649ebe8...", false, "blocked: you are banned from posting here"]
• ["OK", "b1a649ebe8...", false, "blocked: please register your pubkey at https://my-expensive-relay.example.com"]
• ["OK", "b1a649ebe8...", false, "rate-limited: slow down there chief"]
• ["OK", "b1a649ebe8...", false, "invalid: event creation date is too far off from the current time"]
• ["OK", "b1a649ebe8...", false, "pow: difficulty 26 is less than 30"]
• ["OK", "b1a649ebe8...", false, "restricted: not allowed to write."]
• ["OK", "b1a649ebe8...", false, "error: could not connect to the database"]
• CLOSED messages MUST be sent in response to a REQ when the relay refuses to fulfill it. It can also be sent when a relay decides to kill a subscription on its side before a client has disconnected or sent a CLOSE. This message uses the same pattern of OK messages with the machine-readable prefix and human-readable message. Some examples:
• ["CLOSED", "sub1", "unsupported: filter contains unknown elements"]
• ["CLOSED", "sub1", "error: could not connect to the database"]
• ["CLOSED", "sub1", "error: shutting down idle subscription"]
• The standardized machine-readable prefixes for OK and CLOSED are: duplicate, pow, blocked, rate-limited, invalid, restricted, and error for when none of that fits.

@ 872982aa:8fb54cfe

• 首页

• 第一章、 NIP-01: Basic protocol flow description

• 第二章、 NIP-02: Follow List

@ 872982aa:8fb54cfe

NIPs

NIPs stand for Nostr Implementation Possibilities.

They exist to document what may be implemented by Nostr-compatible relay and client software.

---

• List
• Event Kinds
• Message Types
• Client to Relay
• Relay to Client
• Standardized Tags
• Criteria for acceptance of NIPs
• Is this repository a centralizing factor?
• How this repository works
• Breaking Changes
• License

---

List

• NIP-01: Basic protocol flow description
• NIP-02: Follow List
• NIP-03: OpenTimestamps Attestations for Events
• NIP-04: Encrypted Direct Message --- unrecommended: deprecated in favor of NIP-17
• NIP-05: Mapping Nostr keys to DNS-based internet identifiers
• NIP-06: Basic key derivation from mnemonic seed phrase
• NIP-07: window.nostr capability for web browsers
• NIP-08: Handling Mentions --- unrecommended: deprecated in favor of NIP-27
• NIP-09: Event Deletion Request
• NIP-10: Text Notes and Threads
• NIP-11: Relay Information Document
• NIP-13: Proof of Work
• NIP-14: Subject tag in text events
• NIP-15: Nostr Marketplace (for resilient marketplaces)
• NIP-17: Private Direct Messages
• NIP-18: Reposts
• NIP-19: bech32-encoded entities
• NIP-21: nostr: URI scheme
• NIP-22: Comment
• NIP-23: Long-form Content
• NIP-24: Extra metadata fields and tags
• NIP-25: Reactions
• NIP-26: Delegated Event Signing
• NIP-27: Text Note References
• NIP-28: Public Chat
• NIP-29: Relay-based Groups
• NIP-30: Custom Emoji
• NIP-31: Dealing with Unknown Events
• NIP-32: Labeling
• NIP-34: git stuff
• NIP-35: Torrents
• NIP-36: Sensitive Content
• NIP-37: Draft Events
• NIP-38: User Statuses
• NIP-39: External Identities in Profiles
• NIP-40: Expiration Timestamp
• NIP-42: Authentication of clients to relays
• NIP-44: Encrypted Payloads (Versioned)
• NIP-45: Counting results
• NIP-46: Nostr Remote Signing
• NIP-47: Nostr Wallet Connect
• NIP-48: Proxy Tags
• NIP-49: Private Key Encryption
• NIP-50: Search Capability
• NIP-51: Lists
• NIP-52: Calendar Events
• NIP-53: Live Activities
• NIP-54: Wiki
• NIP-55: Android Signer Application
• NIP-56: Reporting
• NIP-57: Lightning Zaps
• NIP-58: Badges
• NIP-59: Gift Wrap
• NIP-60: Cashu Wallet
• NIP-61: Nutzaps
• NIP-62: Request to Vanish
• NIP-64: Chess (PGN)
• NIP-65: Relay List Metadata
• NIP-66: Relay Discovery and Liveness Monitoring
• NIP-68: Picture-first feeds
• NIP-69: Peer-to-peer Order events
• NIP-70: Protected Events
• NIP-71: Video Events
• NIP-72: Moderated Communities
• NIP-73: External Content IDs
• NIP-75: Zap Goals
• NIP-78: Application-specific data
• NIP-84: Highlights
• NIP-86: Relay Management API
• NIP-88: Polls
• NIP-89: Recommended Application Handlers
• NIP-90: Data Vending Machines
• NIP-92: Media Attachments
• NIP-94: File Metadata
• NIP-96: HTTP File Storage Integration
• NIP-98: HTTP Auth
• NIP-99: Classified Listings
• NIP-7D: Threads
• NIP-C7: Chats

Event Kinds

| kind | description | NIP | | ------------- | ------------------------------- | -------------------------------------- | | 0 | User Metadata | 01 | | 1 | Short Text Note | 10 | | 2 | Recommend Relay | 01 (deprecated) | | 3 | Follows | 02 | | 4 | Encrypted Direct Messages | 04 | | 5 | Event Deletion Request | 09 | | 6 | Repost | 18 | | 7 | Reaction | 25 | | 8 | Badge Award | 58 | | 9 | Chat Message | C7 | | 10 | Group Chat Threaded Reply | 29 (deprecated) | | 11 | Thread | 7D | | 12 | Group Thread Reply | 29 (deprecated) | | 13 | Seal | 59 | | 14 | Direct Message | 17 | | 15 | File Message | 17 | | 16 | Generic Repost | 18 | | 17 | Reaction to a website | 25 | | 20 | Picture | 68 | | 21 | Video Event | 71 | | 22 | Short-form Portrait Video Event | 71 | | 30 | internal reference | NKBIP-03 | | 31 | external web reference | NKBIP-03 | | 32 | hardcopy reference | NKBIP-03 | | 33 | prompt reference | NKBIP-03 | | 40 | Channel Creation | 28 | | 41 | Channel Metadata | 28 | | 42 | Channel Message | 28 | | 43 | Channel Hide Message | 28 | | 44 | Channel Mute User | 28 | | 62 | Request to Vanish | 62 | | 64 | Chess (PGN) | 64 | | 818 | Merge Requests | 54 | | 1018 | Poll Response | 88 | | 1021 | Bid | 15 | | 1022 | Bid confirmation | 15 | | 1040 | OpenTimestamps | 03 | | 1059 | Gift Wrap | 59 | | 1063 | File Metadata | 94 | | 1068 | Poll | 88 | | 1111 | Comment | 22 | | 1311 | Live Chat Message | 53 | | 1617 | Patches | 34 | | 1621 | Issues | 34 | | 1622 | Git Replies (deprecated) | 34 | | 1630-1633 | Status | 34 | | 1971 | Problem Tracker | nostrocket | | 1984 | Reporting | 56 | | 1985 | Label | 32 | | 1986 | Relay reviews | | | 1987 | AI Embeddings / Vector lists | NKBIP-02 | | 2003 | Torrent | 35 | | 2004 | Torrent Comment | 35 | | 2022 | Coinjoin Pool | joinstr | | 4550 | Community Post Approval | 72 | | 5000-5999 | Job Request | 90 | | 6000-6999 | Job Result | 90 | | 7000 | Job Feedback | 90 | | 7374 | Reserved Cashu Wallet Tokens | 60 | | 7375 | Cashu Wallet Tokens | 60 | | 7376 | Cashu Wallet History | 60 | | 9000-9030 | Group Control Events | 29 | | 9041 | Zap Goal | 75 | | 9321 | Nutzap | 61 | | 9467 | Tidal login | Tidal-nostr | | 9734 | Zap Request | 57 | | 9735 | Zap | 57 | | 9802 | Highlights | 84 | | 10000 | Mute list | 51 | | 10001 | Pin list | 51 | | 10002 | Relay List Metadata | 65, 51 | | 10003 | Bookmark list | 51 | | 10004 | Communities list | 51 | | 10005 | Public chats list | 51 | | 10006 | Blocked relays list | 51 | | 10007 | Search relays list | 51 | | 10009 | User groups | 51, 29 | | 10013 | Private event relay list | 37 | | 10015 | Interests list | 51 | | 10019 | Nutzap Mint Recommendation | 61 | | 10030 | User emoji list | 51 | | 10050 | Relay list to receive DMs | 51, 17 | | 10063 | User server list | Blossom | | 10096 | File storage server list | 96 | | 10166 | Relay Monitor Announcement | 66 | | 13194 | Wallet Info | 47 | | 17375 | Cashu Wallet Event | 60 | | 21000 | Lightning Pub RPC | Lightning.Pub | | 22242 | Client Authentication | 42 | | 23194 | Wallet Request | 47 | | 23195 | Wallet Response | 47 | | 24133 | Nostr Connect | 46 | | 24242 | Blobs stored on mediaservers | Blossom | | 27235 | HTTP Auth | 98 | | 30000 | Follow sets | 51 | | 30001 | Generic lists | 51 (deprecated) | | 30002 | Relay sets | 51 | | 30003 | Bookmark sets | 51 | | 30004 | Curation sets | 51 | | 30005 | Video sets | 51 | | 30007 | Kind mute sets | 51 | | 30008 | Profile Badges | 58 | | 30009 | Badge Definition | 58 | | 30015 | Interest sets | 51 | | 30017 | Create or update a stall | 15 | | 30018 | Create or update a product | 15 | | 30019 | Marketplace UI/UX | 15 | | 30020 | Product sold as an auction | 15 | | 30023 | Long-form Content | 23 | | 30024 | Draft Long-form Content | 23 | | 30030 | Emoji sets | 51 | | 30040 | Curated Publication Index | NKBIP-01 | | 30041 | Curated Publication Content | NKBIP-01 | | 30063 | Release artifact sets | 51 | | 30078 | Application-specific Data | 78 | | 30166 | Relay Discovery | 66 | | 30267 | App curation sets | 51 | | 30311 | Live Event | 53 | | 30315 | User Statuses | 38 | | 30388 | Slide Set | Corny Chat | | 30402 | Classified Listing | 99 | | 30403 | Draft Classified Listing | 99 | | 30617 | Repository announcements | 34 | | 30618 | Repository state announcements | 34 | | 30818 | Wiki article | 54 | | 30819 | Redirects | 54 | | 31234 | Draft Event | 37 | | 31388 | Link Set | Corny Chat | | 31890 | Feed | NUD: Custom Feeds | | 31922 | Date-Based Calendar Event | 52 | | 31923 | Time-Based Calendar Event | 52 | | 31924 | Calendar | 52 | | 31925 | Calendar Event RSVP | 52 | | 31989 | Handler recommendation | 89 | | 31990 | Handler information | 89 | | | 32267 | Software Application | | | | 34550 | Community Definition | 72 | | 38383 | Peer-to-peer Order events | 69 | | 39000-9 | Group metadata events | 29 |

Message types

Client to Relay

| type | description | NIP | | ------- | --------------------------------------------------- | ----------- | | EVENT | used to publish events | 01 | | REQ | used to request events and subscribe to new updates | 01 | | CLOSE | used to stop previous subscriptions | 01 | | AUTH | used to send authentication events | 42 | | COUNT | used to request event counts | 45 |

Relay to Client

| type | description | NIP | | -------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | ----------- | | EOSE | used to notify clients all stored events have been sent | 01 | | EVENT | used to send events requested to clients | 01 | | NOTICE | used to send human-readable messages to clients | 01 | | OK | used to notify clients if an EVENT was successful | 01 | | CLOSED | used to notify clients that a REQ was ended and why | 01 | | AUTH | used to send authentication challenges | 42 | | COUNT | used to send requested event counts to clients | 45 |

Standardized Tags

| name | value | other parameters | NIP | | ----------------- | ------------------------------------ | ------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- | | a | coordinates to an event | relay URL | 01 | | A | root address | relay URL | 22 | | d | identifier | -- | 01 | | e | event id (hex) | relay URL, marker, pubkey (hex) | 01, 10 | | E | root event id | relay URL | 22 | | f | currency code | -- | 69 | | g | geohash | -- | 52 | | h | group id | -- | 29 | | i | external identity | proof, url hint | 35, 39, 73 | | I | root external identity | -- | 22 | | k | kind | -- | 18, 25, 72, 73 | | K | root scope | -- | 22 | | l | label, label namespace | -- | 32 | | L | label namespace | -- | 32 | | m | MIME type | -- | 94 | | p | pubkey (hex) | relay URL, petname | 01, 02, 22 | | P | pubkey (hex) | -- | 22, 57 | | q | event id (hex) | relay URL, pubkey (hex) | 18 | | r | a reference (URL, etc) | -- | 24, 25 | | r | relay url | marker | 65 | | s | status | -- | 69 | | t | hashtag | -- | 24, 34, 35 | | u | url | -- | 61, 98 | | x | hash | -- | 35, 56 | | y | platform | -- | 69 | | z | order number | -- | 69 | | - | -- | -- | 70 | | alt | summary | -- | 31 | | amount | millisatoshis, stringified | -- | 57 | | bolt11 | bolt11 invoice | -- | 57 | | challenge | challenge string | -- | 42 | | client | name, address | relay URL | 89 | | clone | git clone URL | -- | 34 | | content-warning | reason | -- | 36 | | delegation | pubkey, conditions, delegation token | -- | 26 | | description | description | -- | 34, 57, 58 | | emoji | shortcode, image URL | -- | 30 | | encrypted | -- | -- | 90 | | expiration | unix timestamp (string) | -- | 40 | | file | full path (string) | -- | 35 | | goal | event id (hex) | relay URL | 75 | | image | image URL | dimensions in pixels | 23, 52, 58 | | imeta | inline metadata | -- | 92 | | lnurl | bech32 encoded lnurl | -- | 57 | | location | location string | -- | 52, 99 | | name | name | -- | 34, 58, 72 | | nonce | random | difficulty | 13 | | preimage | hash of bolt11 invoice | -- | 57 | | price | price | currency, frequency | 99 | | proxy | external ID | protocol | 48 | | published_at | unix timestamp (string) | -- | 23 | | relay | relay url | -- | 42, 17 | | relays | relay list | -- | 57 | | server | file storage server url | -- | 96 | | subject | subject | -- | 14, 17, 34 | | summary | summary | -- | 23, 52 | | thumb | badge thumbnail | dimensions in pixels | 58 | | title | article title | -- | 23 | | tracker | torrent tracker URL | -- | 35 | | web | webpage URL | -- | 34 | | zap | pubkey (hex), relay URL | weight | 57 |

Please update these lists when proposing new NIPs.

Criteria for acceptance of NIPs

1. They should be fully implemented in at least two clients and one relay -- when applicable.
2. They should make sense.
3. They should be optional and backwards-compatible: care must be taken such that clients and relays that choose to not implement them do not stop working when interacting with the ones that choose to.
4. There should be no more than one way of doing the same thing.
5. Other rules will be made up when necessary.

Is this repository a centralizing factor?

To promote interoperability, we need standards that everybody can follow, and we need them to define a single way of doing each thing without ever hurting backwards-compatibility, and for that purpose there is no way around getting everybody to agree on the same thing and keep a centralized index of these standards. However the fact that such an index exists doesn't hurt the decentralization of Nostr. At any point the central index can be challenged if it is failing to fulfill the needs of the protocol and it can migrate to other places and be maintained by other people.

It can even fork into multiple versions, and then some clients would go one way, others would go another way, and some clients would adhere to both competing standards. This would hurt the simplicity, openness and interoperability of Nostr a little, but everything would still work in the short term.

There is a list of notable Nostr software developers who have commit access to this repository, but that exists mostly for practical reasons, as by the nature of the thing we're dealing with the repository owner can revoke membership and rewrite history as they want -- and if these actions are unjustified or perceived as bad or evil the community must react.

How this repository works

Standards may emerge in two ways: the first way is that someone starts doing something, then others copy it; the second way is that someone has an idea of a new standard that could benefit multiple clients and the protocol in general without breaking backwards-compatibility and the principle of having a single way of doing things, then they write that idea and submit it to this repository, other interested parties read it and give their feedback, then once most people reasonably agree we codify that in a NIP which client and relay developers that are interested in the feature can proceed to implement.

These two ways of standardizing things are supported by this repository. Although the second is preferred, an effort will be made to codify standards emerged outside this repository into NIPs that can be later referenced and easily understood and implemented by others -- but obviously as in any human system discretion may be applied when standards are considered harmful.

Breaking Changes

Breaking Changes

License

All NIPs are public domain.

Contributors

@ 9f475ec5:d9acc946

The next step in AI evolution is enabling AI agents to communicate directly with one another.

"Agents on Nostr, combined with cashu, would be amazing" — Jack Dorsey, Citadel Dispatch #150

Today

For AI agents to communicate seamlessly, they need a universal language that allows frictionless data and instruction sharing—one that surpasses the constraints of isolated systems. Just as humans rely on shared languages to collaborate, AI agents require a common “dialect” to exchange information, delegate tasks, and build collective intelligence. Without it, each agent’s logic remains siloed, limiting synergy and innovation. A universal protocol, however, lets agents seamlessly tap into one another’s capabilities, coordinating strategies, sharing learned knowledge, and multiplying their creative potential. By aligning on an open, interoperable standard, AI can flourish into a vibrant, interconnected ecosystem rather than a patchwork of stand-alone solutions. This is no different from what happened with the Internet when HTTP was released, leading to the development of web browsers and the Internet as we know it today.

Nostr can be viewed as the “HTTP” for agent-to-agent communication—both are open standards that encourage universal participation and spark rapid innovation. When Tim Berners-Lee released HTTP without proprietary restrictions, developers everywhere could build websites and online services on a simple yet extensible protocol. In the same way, Nostr’s minimalistic yet powerful design fosters a decentralized, censorship-resistant foundation for diverse messaging, social, and identity systems. Just as HTTP created an open arena for web platforms and APIs, Nostr offers a flexible, community-driven substrate for agent-based communication, promoting a spirit of collaboration and interoperability crucial to long-term growth.

Our vision

We envision a world where AI agents operate on an open, standardized, and decentralized network —a Nostr agentic ecosystem that unlocks new levels of creativity and collaboration.

Our mission is to develop the tools and infrastructure that enable AI agents to seamlessly interoperate over the Nostr network—facilitating the exchange of both data and money.

Our first steps

Every marketplace application faces the chicken and egg problem. Sellers won't show up until the buyers are there and buyers won't show up until the sellers are there.

Our solution? The FIFA 2026 World Cup will bring millions of international and domestic travelers to 11 cities in the US.

Can we work with chambers and tourism agencies around these cities to embbed Nostr powered AI travel organizers into their websites and apps? This could be a way to onboard thousands of businesses to the Nostr agentic ecosystem. This is our growth assumption.

That's why our our first step is to provide businesses—large and small—with a turnkey platform to sell their products and services to any AI agent connected to the open Nostr network.

We will also develop the tools for websites and apps to develop Nostr-powered AI buyers and, with the support of the local chambers and tourism boards, direct their technology suppliers to use these tools.

Our values

Everything we develop is free and open sourced under the MIT license and our business will generate revenue by charging a monthly fee for operating an end-to-end agentic commerce solution to the businesses selling their products through the Nostr agentic ecosystem.

A rough demo

Today, we is just nostr:npub1er0k46yxcugmp6r6mujd5qvp75yp72m98fs6ywcs2k3kqg3f8grqd9py3m 😁 I've created a proof-of-concept buyer AI agent and published real information from some merchants to demonstrate the concept to local chambers and validate the growth assumption.

Feel free to check it out at the Synvya agentstr repository, but be warned, I'm not a programmer so don't freak out with the code.

You can also see a demo here:

nostr:naddr1qvzqqqy9hvpzp868tmzceg2pvymlpdssv8shvu2jlndysp6dxwc67gw5jtv6ej2xqq2hgnfnwdf8yendfa8r2jttdsck6dm0wpm4wnalksn

Interested?

If this sounds interesting to you, follow nostr:npub1nar4a3vv59qkzdlskcgxrctkw9f0ekjgqaxn8vd0y82f9kdve9rqwjcurn or nostr:npub1er0k46yxcugmp6r6mujd5qvp75yp72m98fs6ywcs2k3kqg3f8grqd9py3m and reach out at any time.

@ b80cc5f2:966b8353

Originally posted on 18/11/2024 @ https://music.2140art.com/the-ides-of-march-redefining-digital-music-on-bitcoin/

Welcome to the future of music ownership, where legendary hip-hop meets Bitcoin technology.

The Ides Of March isn’t just another music NFT—it’s a revolutionary approach to digital music collecting and creation on Bitcoin, using Ordinals, empowering fans to own, remix, and shape their music experience like never before.

The ultimate hip-hop collaboration features an all-star lineup of iconic artists who’ve each made waves both in music and the Bitcoin space:

• Money B of Digital Underground, is a trailblazer whose influence has shaped hip-hop culture and innovation.

• Ras Kass, is a West Coast pioneer recognized for his incisive lyrics and commitment to social consciousness.

• Numskull from The Luniz, is known for the timeless hit “I Got 5 on It.”

• Homeboy Sandman, is celebrated for his distinctive lyrical style and introspective approach to independent rap.

• Bitoshi Blockamoto, creator of the revolutionary Bitmap protocol, which is reshaping digital space ownership on Bitcoin.

• Kane Mayfield, the innovator behind DUST, the first-ever Bitcoin-infused album, pushing the boundaries of blockchain and music fusion.

Behind every track are the craftsmen of sound:

• Rare Scrilla, is a visionary producer known for merging hip-hop with crypto culture.
• Shower Shoes, is an underground sensation bringing an eclectic soundscape.
• DJ Booman, a foundational artist in Baltimore club music, brings high-energy beats to the project.
• Trash Lights, is a production innovator adding a fresh, contemporary edge.

More Than Music, More like Experience

The Ides Of March offers more than just music; it’s an interactive experience on Bitcoin Ordinals, where every fan becomes part of the creative process. Each of the 2,100 unique pieces gives collectors the ability to:

• Mix and Match Beats: With 13 unique beats and various artist combinations, fans can directly customize their listening experience. Owners can choose their perfect combination of three artists over any beat—your version, your vibe.
• Built-in MIDI Sampler: Turn any device into a 16-pad sampler to chop, flip, remix and even re-inscribe your own tracks using chops from the song combinations.
• Bitmap Metaverse Integration: Step into a Roman-inspired digital world within the Bitmap protocol, merging ancient culture and memetics with modern technology.
• Exclusive Airdrops and Collectibles: Top collectors gain access to limited-edition Bitmap avatars and bonus hidden content.
• Direct Wallet Integration: Connect instantly using Unisat or XVerse wallets for seamless access to all features.

In a modern age where streaming often dilutes the value of music, The Ides Of March brings back the art of collecting and personalizing music. Unlike traditional formats that restrict fans to passive listening, this project gives them the tools to explore, remix, and reinvent tracks—placing creative control where it belongs.

This isn’t just about owning music; it’s about revolutionising how we interact with it. Through Inscribed.Audio's groundbreaking platform, The Ides Of March sets a new standard in the music NFT space, allowing fans to truly engage with their music.

Becoming a collector means joining a community that values music, art, innovation, and lasting culture. The Ides Of March is more than a release; it’s the blueprint for a new age in digital music. Don’t just collect—create, remix, and shape the future of not just hip-hop, but also music technology history.

Not financial advice, but definitely musical advice.

Release Date: 12.12.2024 Mint Price: 0.0019 BTC (approx. $174 at the time of writing)

@ 878dff7c:037d18bc

Popular Grocery Items Recalled Due to E. coli Contamination

Summary:

Several Fresh Salad Co products sold in Queensland and northern New South Wales have been recalled due to contamination with Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC). Affected items include baby spinach (120g, 280g), baby spinach and rocket (120g), and a stir-fry mix (400g) with specific use-by dates at the end of March. Consumers are advised to return these products for a full refund and seek medical advice if concerned about their health.

Sources: News.com.au - March 27, 2025

Coalition Proposes Halving Fuel Excise to Alleviate Cost of Living

Summary:

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has announced that, if elected, the Coalition would repeal Labor's planned tax cuts and instead implement a 12-month halving of the fuel excise. This initiative aims to reduce petrol prices by 25 cents per litre, providing immediate relief to Australian families and workers facing cost-of-living pressures. The proposal contrasts with Labor's tax cuts, which are set to commence in 15 months and offer annual savings of up to $536 for taxpayers.

Sources: The Guardian - March 27, 2025, The Australian - March 27, 2025

Federal Budget Criticized for Omitting Key Infrastructure Funding

Summary:

Groom MP Garth Hamilton has criticized the latest federal budget for lacking funding for critical infrastructure projects in his region. He expressed concerns over the future of regional programs like the Growing Regions and Regional Precincts and Partnerships Programs, which he believes are essential for regional development. Hamilton highlighted the absence of funding for key projects such as the New England Highway, the deteriorating Warrego and Gore Highways, and the stalled Inland Rail project.

Source: The Courier-Mail - March 27, 2025

China Faces Challenges in Advanced Robotics Development

Summary:

China is recognizing the importance of robots in its ageing economy, facing a significant labor shortage. Despite leading in industrial robot installations, most Chinese robots are low-tech compared to advanced humanoids being developed elsewhere. The U.S. and China are both racing to develop sophisticated robots, but China's sector remains reliant on foreign components and faces potential limitations from U.S. sanctions. This dependency makes China's position in the robotics race precarious.

Sources: Reuters - March 26, 2025

Tax Cuts Passed Amid Election Speculation

Summary:

Labor's budget tax cuts have been swiftly passed into law, providing the average worker with modest financial relief starting next year. This development leaves Opposition Leader Peter Dutton with a strategic decision on how to position the Coalition's response in the lead-up to the federal election. Sources: 9News - March 27, 2025

Labor Government Proposes Tax on Unrealized Superannuation Gains

Summary:

The Labor government has introduced a proposal to levy a 15% tax on unrealized capital gains for superannuation balances exceeding $3 million. This initiative aims to generate an additional $9.7 billion between 2024-25 and 2028-29. Critics argue that taxing unrealized gains is unfair and may discourage investment, while supporters contend it promotes fairness in the superannuation system. Sources: News.com.au - 27 March 2025

New Youth Crime Bill Introduced in NSW Parliament

Summary:

The State Opposition Attorney General, Alister Henskens, is set to introduce the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Youth Crime) Bill 2025 to the NSW Parliament. The bill aims to combat youth crime by expanding the definition of repeat offenses, revoking bail under specific conditions, and implementing electronic monitoring and mandatory curfews for repeat offenders. The proposal has sparked debates regarding its potential impact on regional communities and the principle of doli incapax. Sources: The Daily Telegraph - 27 March 2025

Prime Minister Albanese Invites President Trump to Visit Australia Amid Tariff Dispute

Summary:

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has revealed plans to visit Washington D.C. if he wins the upcoming May election, marking his first international trip. This follows the U.S. imposition of 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Australia. Despite the tariff dispute, Albanese has invited President Donald Trump to visit Australia, which would be his first trip to the country as President. The timing of Trump's visit would depend on his schedule. Both major Australian political parties remain committed to seeking a solution to the steel and aluminum levies through persistent engagement with the U.S., rejecting reciprocal tariffs on U.S. imports. Sources: News.com.au - March 26, 2025

Jewish Groups Criticize Australia's Continued Funding to UNRWA

Summary:

Jewish groups have criticized the Australian government's decision to continue funding the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), amounting to $20 million. Concerns have been raised about UNRWA's past associations with terrorism, with claims that its employees participated in the atrocities of October 7. The Executive Council of Australian Jewry has called for the withdrawal of funding, labeling the organization as compromised. Despite this opposition, the Australian government has defended its financial support for humanitarian purposes, ensuring stringent controls and safeguards. This issue adds tension to the upcoming election, reflecting concerns within Jewish and Muslim communities. Sources: The Australian - March 26, 2025

Australia's Inflation Rate Decreases, Offering Relief to Mortgage Holders

Summary:

Australia's annual inflation rate has fallen to 2.4% as of February, down from the previous month's 2.5%. This decline is attributed to eased rental prices, reduced new home costs, and falling electricity prices due to government rebates. The Reserve Bank of Australia's preferred measure, the "trimmed mean," also decreased to 2.7%. This trend is promising for mortgage holders anticipating potential interest rate cuts and for the Labor government focusing on cost-of-living issues ahead of the upcoming election. Sources: The Guardian - March 26, 2025, Reuters - March 26, 2025

Queensland Farmer Revolutionizes Cattle Mustering with Drones

Summary:

Luke Chaplin, a fourth-generation grazier from northwest Queensland, has transformed cattle mustering by utilizing drones through his company, SkyKelpie. This innovation has managed over 300,000 livestock across Australia efficiently and cost-effectively. Supported by the Queensland Government and Meat & Livestock Australia, the drone technology offers a high return on investment compared to traditional methods, reducing animal stress and improving herd management. SkyKelpie is also developing online training courses and collaborating on autonomous mustering technologies using AI and image detection. Sources: The Courier-Mail - March 27, 2025

Anduril Sees Positive Outlook with New U.S. Defense Policies

Summary:

Anduril President Christian Brose expressed optimism about the company's prospects under the new Trump Pentagon administration, which is perceived to be more receptive to autonomous defense systems. Anduril plans to partner with OpenAI to enhance national security missions and is expanding its manufacturing capabilities, including potential international expansion in Australia. The company develops autonomous systems like the Ghost Shark, offering rapid deployment and cost efficiency compared to traditional manned military assets. Source: Reuters - 27 March 2025

Controversial Legislation Passed to Protect Tasmanian Salmon Industry Amid Environmental Concerns

Summary:

The Australian Parliament has passed a contentious bill aimed at safeguarding Tasmania's salmon farming industry, specifically in Macquarie Harbour. This legislation limits the federal environment minister's authority to review long-standing projects, effectively halting an ongoing assessment of the 2012 expansion of fish farming in the area. Critics argue that this move compromises environmental standards and threatens the endangered Maugean skate. Notably, Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young protested by displaying a dead salmon in the Senate chamber, and international figures like Leonardo DiCaprio have called for the shutdown of destructive salmon farms to protect marine life. The government maintains that the law addresses specific regulatory issues and won't affect new projects related to coal, gas, or land-clearing. Sources: The Guardian - March 27, 2025, Herald Sun - March 27, 2025, News.com.au - March 27, 2025, The Australian - March 27, 2025

The 5 Types of Wealth – Real Talk with Zuby ft. Sahil Bloom (Episode #349)

Summary:

In this insightful episode of Real Talk with Zuby, entrepreneur and writer Sahil Bloom joins the show to break down his popular framework of "The 5 Types of Wealth." The conversation goes beyond money, exploring what it truly means to live a rich and fulfilling life.

Bloom outlines the following five categories of wealth:

1. Financial Wealth – Income, savings, investments – the traditional definition of wealth.
2. Social Wealth – Relationships, reputation, network, and community impact.
3. Physical Wealth – Health, fitness, energy levels, and lifestyle habits.
4. Mental Wealth – Emotional resilience, knowledge, creativity, and mindset.
5. Time Wealth – Freedom and control over how you spend your days.

Key Highlights & Insights:

• Reframing Success: Bloom critiques the modern obsession with financial success and emphasizes that true prosperity is multidimensional.
• Balance vs. Optimization: He talks about how chasing one form of wealth (e.g., money) at the expense of others often leads to long-term regret.
• Time as the Ultimate Currency: The discussion touches on the importance of buying back your time and designing a life where you're not constantly reacting.
• Health & Longevity: Physical wealth is highlighted as the foundation that enables enjoyment of the other four.
• Practical Framework: The episode includes a useful breakdown of how listeners can audit and improve each area of wealth in their own lives.

This episode offers a thought-provoking lens for anyone reassessing their priorities or striving for more balanced success.

Source: Spotify - 27 March 2025

@ 3c7dc2c5:805642a8

🧠Quote(s) of the week:

The path to maximalism is littered with mistakes and paved with humility.' Anilsaido

Bitcoin is time because money itself is time.

Money is humanity’s battery: a way to store energy, labor, and resources for the future. It captures your past effort and preserves it for when you need it most. Fiat leaks. Bitcoin holds.

🧡Bitcoin news🧡

On the 18th of March:

➡️After ruling out a strategic bitcoin reserve, the Bank of Korea will launch a central bank digital currency pilot in April, per The Korea Times.

➡️'Metaplanet has acquired an additional 150 BTC for ~$12.5 million, achieving a BTC Yield of 60.8% YTD in 2025.

As of 3/18/2025, Metaplanet hodls 3,200 BTC, and is now a top 10 publicly listed holder of Bitcoin globally.' -Dylan LeClair

➡️Bitcoin entered a risk-off, distribution-dominant phase in early 2025, evidenced by frequent selling and hesitation to buy (yellow to orange dots). - AMB Crypto

➡️Bitwise CIO says Bitcoin should be at $200,000 today and says, “I think the number of companies buying Bitcoin is going to triple this year, I think Game Theory is on.”

“I think countries around the world are going to be buying Bitcoin. There is structurally more demand than supply in Bitcoin.”

➡️Bitcoin mining company Bitfarms buys Stronghold Digital for more than $110 million, making it the largest public-to-public acquisition in Bitcoin industry history.

➡️Bitcoin long-term HODLers become net buyers for the first time since September, per Compass Point Research.

"Buying/selling from HODLers is typically a leading indicator for BTC.

This cohort now owns 65% of BTC supply vs 63% last week vs 73% in early October." - Bitcoin News

➡️GlassNode: 'The Bitcoin market continues to adjust to its new price range after experiencing a -30% correction. Liquidity conditions are also contracting in both on-chain and futures markets.'

➡️Bitcoin now ranks 6th among the world's top monetary assets at $1.62 trillion, per Porkopolis.

➡️The EU isn't banning Bitcoin but using MiCA and other regulations to control it.

This involves stripping away privacy through transaction tracking, mandatory disclosures, and restrictions on self-custody.

The goal is control, not outright prohibition.

Excellent thread by Eli. Eli summarises the EU’s attack on Bitcoin and on Europeans’ rights:

https://x.com/i/web/status/1902048401908261146

Agree 100% with all of this. All these people who have been saying the EU pushing the industry forward with regulations are idiots. They are closing it off and pushing everyone to a CBDC.

Regarding the CBCD, here you will find a comprehensive summary of EU’s CBDC plans, by Efrat Fenigson:

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/politics/ecb-prepping-the-ground-for-digital-euro-launch

*On the 20th of March, the ECB posted the following statement on Twitter:

'The digital euro is not just about creating a new form of money, says Chief Economist Philip R. Lane.

It is about ensuring that Europe retains control over its monetary and financial destiny in the digital age against a backdrop of increasing geopolitical fragmentation.'

“It’s about ensuring that the EU retains control over its citizens.”

There, I fixed it for you if you missed the primary reason.

The Euro is a permissioned, centralized, censorable, inflationary, debt-based currency controlled by unelected bureaucrats.

Bitcoin is permissionless, decentralized, censorship-resistant, fixed in supply, and governed by code—not politicians.

Choose wisely.

➡️As mentioned in last week's Weekly Recap the US Government spends $3.3B per day in interest rate expense. If this doesn’t make you buy Bitcoin I’m not sure what will.

➡️In Kibera, Africa’s largest informal settlement, more than 40 merchants now accept and save in Bitcoin.

➡️The increase in 3-6 month-old UTXOs suggests accumulation during this market correction, a behavior historically critical in forming market bottoms and driving new price rallies.

➡️Just as Hal Finney predicted, Bitcoin will take over Wall Street: Multiple American Bitcoin companies are now seeking to become state or national banks, reports Reuters.

It is inevitable.

➡️Daniel Batten:

2021: 62 US Environmental Organizations write to coCongressaying Bitcoin is bad for the environment and has no use (based on Central Bank misinformation)

2025: US Environmental Organizations debunked (impossible, had they used Bitcoin)

Strange are the ways of karma.

Meanwhile,

➡️President Trump's Executive Director, Bo Hines, on digital assets: "We talked about ways of acquiring more Bitcoin in budget-neutral ways."

We want "as much as we can get."

When Bitcoin is at $200k. We will look back on March 2025 and say, how was everyone not buying. It was so obvious.

On the 19th of March:

➡️BLACKROCK: “The most sophisticated long-term Bitcoin accumulators are pretty excited about this dip. They see the correction as a buying opportunity."

On the 20th of March:

➡️SEC confirms that Bitcoin and Proof of Work mining are NOT securities under US law.

Source: https://t.co/0ExsJniPIf

➡️Bitcoin exchange Kraken has agreed to acquire NinjaTrader, the leading U.S. retail futures trading platform, for $1.5 billion—the largest deal ever of a Bitcoin company buying a traditional financial company.

➡️TRUMP: “I signed an order creating the brand new Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and the US digital asset stockpile which will allow the Federal government to maximize the value of its holdings.”

Tweet and hot take by Lola L33tz

"With the dollar-backed stablecoins, you'll help expand the dominance of the US Dollar [...] It will be at the top, and that's where we want to keep it"

'What he means is:

With dollar-backed stablecoins, the Global South will pivot towards digital Dollars over local currencies, allowing private, US government-controlled entities to replace bank accounts around the globe.

This does not just allow for the expansion of USD dominance by bypassing local governments – it gives the US unprecedented and direct control over worldwide economies as

every stablecoin can be effectively frozen on behalf of the US with the click of a button.'

Stablecoins = CBDCs

There is no technical fundamental difference between them.

It’s almost a guarantee that the EU CBDCs and U.S. stablecoins will be interchangeable.

➡️River: Bitcoin is coming for $128 trillion in global money.

You're not to late to Bitcoin.

On the 21st of March:

➡️Michael Saylor’s Strategy to raise $722.5M to buy more Bitcoin.

➡️Publicly traded Atai Life Sciences to buy $5 million in Bitcoin.

➡️Publicly traded HK Asia Holdings bought 10 Bitcoins worth $858,500 for its balance sheet.

➡️Another solo home miner has mined an entire Bitcoin block worth over $ 260.000,-.

On the 22nd of March:

➡️The University of Wyoming posted a new video explaining Bitcoin with Philosophy Professor Bradley Rettler

➡️Spot Bitcoin ETFs bought 8,775 BTC this week while miners only mined 3,150 Bitcoin.

On the 24th of March:

➡️Metaplanet finished the day as the 13th most liquid stock in Japan, with ¥50.4 billion ($336.6m) of daily trading volume, ahead of Toyota and Nintendo.

➡️River: There is a 275% gap between the inflation you're told and real inflation.

Bitcoin is insurance on the debt spiral. The U.S. Dollar has been devalued by more than 363% since 2000 – That’s a 14.5% devaluation per year. This means if your savings don’t grow by 14.5% annually, you’re falling behind. This is why we Bitcoin. Bitcoin is insurance on the debt spiral, grow your savings beyond the dollar’s devaluation!

➡️Bitcoin's compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over a 5-year rolling window is currently over 50%

➡️Strategy became the first publicly traded company to hold over 500,000 Bitcoin worth over $44 billion.

Strategy has acquired 6,911 BTC for ~$584.1 million at ~$84,529 per Bitcoin and has achieved a BTC Yield of 7.7% YTD 2025. As of 3/23/2025,

Strategy holds 506,137 BTC acquired for ~$33.7 billion at ~$66,608 per Bitcoin.

➡️CryptoQuant: Bitcoin's long-term holders are holding firm, with no significant selling pressure.

➡️Xapo Bank launches Bitcoin-backed USD loans up to $1M, with collateral secured in an MPC vault and no re-usage.

💸Traditional Finance / Macro:

👉🏽no news

🏦Banks: 

👉🏽 no news

🌎Macro/Geopolitics:

On the 18th of March:

👉🏽Germany just changed its constitution to unleash a staggering ONE TRILLION in new debt. The German parliament has voted to take on hundreds of billions of euros of new government debt, to ease the debt brake rules, and to codify "climate neutrality by 2045" into the constitution.

On top of that, some extra money to Ukraine:

Germany's next Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, believes that Putin has gone to war against all of Europe. He argues that Russia has attacked Germany, as the Parliament breaks out in applause.

We continue to move further away from the "Europe is not part of the conflict" rhetoric. Germany’s self-inflicted delusion continues!

👉🏽Germany's first offshore wind farm closes after 15 years because it's too expensive to operate. Expect a car crash. The Alpha Ventus offshore wind farm near the German North Sea island of Borkum is set to be dismantled after being in operation for only 15 years. It has become too unprofitable to operate without massive subsidies.

https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/03/16/germanys-first-offshore-wind-farm-to-be-dismantled-after-just-15-years-of-operation/

Great thing that the Netherlands is investing heavily in offshore wind farms, even the biggest pension fund APB. Because nInE tImEs ChEaPeR tHaN gAs, right?

I hope they dismantle them & not leave them to rust into the sea. Right? Because climate!

Great response by Jasmine Birtles: "These vanity projects should never have been allowed to start. The phrase 'cheap renewable energy' is simply a falsehood. This kind of energy production only seems cheap because of the huge government subsidies that keep them going. I'm all for clean energy if it's possible to run it honestly and without huge subsidies, but while it doesn't seem to be viable we should stick with what is affordable and will keep the country going, rather than sacrificing the vulnerable to an impossible ideology."

👉🏽'Gold spot is now trading consistently over $3000, a record high. And with deliveries once again picking up at the Comex and war in the Middle East coming back with a vengeance, the next big spike is just a matter of time. As expected, once gold broke out above $3000,- it has gone vertical and is up 1% in the past hours, rising to a new record high of $3034, as it sets off for $4000' - ZeroHedge

👉🏽'We have just witnessed the biggest drop in US equity allocation on record. The collapse of US consumers:

Unemployment expectations in the US are now ABOVE 2020 levels and at their highest since 2008.

In 2024, a poll showed that a whopping 56% of Americans thought the US was in a recession.' - TKL

👉🏽OECD Projects Argentina to Have the Second Highest Economic Growth Worldwide in 2025

👉🏽A new blow to the Dutch chemical sector. The major producer LyondellBasell is permanently closing its factory at the Maasvlakte. This decision, announced on Tuesday afternoon, will result in the loss of approximately 160 jobs. The closure is a direct consequence of global overcapacity and high energy costs in the Netherlands.

An audit by the German firm E-Bridge, commissioned by the Dutch government, previously revealed that electricity costs for these companies in the Netherlands amount to €95 per megawatt-hour.

In comparison, this rate is €32 in France (66% lower), €45.60 in Germany (52% lower), and €56.05 per megawatt-hour in Belgium (41% lower).

According to E-Bridge, this difference is mainly due to the compensation that foreign governments provide to companies and the lower grid tariffs. In the Netherlands, costs have risen primarily to finance investments in the electricity grid, such as connecting multiple offshore wind farms.

Now read that segment on offshore wind farms. Mindblowing, innit?

Subsidies are not the solution—deregulation is. But Brussels won’t allow that. So, we’re heading toward even more regulation and nationalization.

On the 19th of March:

👉🏽The Fed makes multiple revisions to its 2025 economic data projections.

Powell finally found the "stag" and the "inflation":

Fed cuts year-end GDP forecast from 2.1% to 1.7%

Fed raises year-end core PCE forecast from 2.5% to 2.8%

Fed raises year-end unemployment forecast from 4.3% to 4.4%

Fed raises PCE inflation forecast from 2.5% to 2.7%

The Fed sees higher inflation and a weaker economy.

On the 20th of March:

Dutch Central Bank Director Klaas Knot "We are worried about American influence on our local payment infrastructure."

Paving the way for the European CBDC (after slowly but surely removing CASH MONEY from society).

Knot has completed his second term and will leave his office in July. Now, of course, pushing for the CBDC, before looking for a new job in Europe.

Anyway, DNB posts billions in losses.

De Nederlandsche Bank suffered a loss of over €3 billion last year, according to the annual report published on Thursday. This marks the second consecutive year of losses.

DNB incurs this loss because, as part of its monetary policy, it has lent out billions at relatively low rates while having to pay a higher rate to banks that park their money at the central bank.

But no losses on its gold. The gold reserves, meanwhile, increased in value by €12.6 billion. This amount is not included in the official profit and loss statement but is reflected on the bank's balance sheet.

For the Dutch readers/followers: Great article: Follow the Money 'Voor de megawinsten van ING, ABN Amro en Rabobank betaalt de Nederlandse burger een hoge prijs.'

https://archive.ph/ncvtk

On the 21st of March:

👉🏽'The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing index dropped 5.6 points in March, to 12.5, its 2nd consecutive monthly decline.

6-month outlook for new orders fell by 30.8 points, to 2.3, the lowest in 3 years.

This marks the third-largest drop in history, only behind the 2008 Financial Crisis and December 1973.

Furthermore, 6-month business outlook dropped ~40 points to its lowest since January 2024.

All while prices paid rose 7.8 points, to 48.3, the highest since July 2022.

This is further evidence of weakening economic activity with rising prices.' TKL

👉🏽'China’s central bank gold reserves hit a record 73.6 million fine troy ounces in February.

China bought ~160,000 ounces of gold last month, posting their 4th consecutive monthly purchase.

Over the last 2.5 years, China’s gold reserves have jumped by 11.0 million ounces of gold.

Gold now reflects a record ~5.9% of China’s total foreign exchange reserves, or 2,290 tonnes.

Central banks continue to stock up on gold as if we are in a crisis.' -TKL

🎁If you have made it this far I would like to give you a little gift:

What Bitcoin Did: BITCOIN & THE END OF THE DOLLAR SYSTEM with Luke Gromen

They discuss:

• The Sovereign Debt Crisis

• If the US Will Reprice the Gold

• If we will See Triple Digit Inflation

• The End of The US Dollar System

Luke Gromen: A modest clarification: The end of the post-71 structure of the USD system is what the Trump Administration’s actions appear to be pursuing & will in due time achieve if they stay on the present course.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0W2jEedynbc

Credit: I have used multiple sources!

My savings account: Bitcoin The tool I recommend for setting up a Bitcoin savings plan: PocketBitcoin especially suited for beginners or people who want to invest in Bitcoin with an automated investment plan once a week or monthly.

Use the code SE3997

Get your Bitcoin out of exchanges. Save them on a hardware wallet, run your own node...be your own bank. Not your keys, not your coins. It's that simple. ⠀⠀

⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀

Do you think this post is helpful to you? If so, please share it and support my work with a zap.

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

⭐ Many thanks⭐

Felipe - Bitcoin Friday!

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@ 3c7dc2c5:805642a8

🧠Quote(s) of the week:

The path to maximalism is littered with mistakes and paved with humility.' Anilsaido https://i.ibb.co/ZzcCHwgT/Gip-G0vdb-YAAV9-Mw-1.jpg

Bitcoin is time because money itself is time. Money is humanity’s battery: a way to store energy, labor, and resources for the future. It captures your past effort and preserves it for when you need it most. Fiat leaks. Bitcoin holds.

🧡Bitcoin news🧡

On the 18th of March:

➡️After ruling out a strategic bitcoin reserve, the Bank of Korea will launch a central bank digital currency pilot in April, per The Korea Times.

➡️'Metaplanet has acquired an additional 150 BTC for ~$12.5 million, achieving a BTC Yield of 60.8% YTD in 2025. As of 3/18/2025, Metaplanet hodls 3,200 BTC, and is now a top 10 publicly listed holder of Bitcoin globally.' -Dylan LeClair

➡️Bitcoin entered a risk-off, distribution-dominant phase in early 2025, evidenced by frequent selling and hesitation to buy (yellow to orange dots). - AMB Crypto

➡️Bitwise CIO says Bitcoin should be at $200,000 today and says, “I think the number of companies buying Bitcoin is going to triple this year, I think Game Theory is on.” “I think countries around the world are going to be buying Bitcoin. There is structurally more demand than supply in Bitcoin.”

➡️Bitcoin mining company Bitfarms buys Stronghold Digital for more than $110 million, making it the largest public-to-public acquisition in Bitcoin industry history.

➡️Bitcoin long-term HODLers become net buyers for the first time since September, per Compass Point Research. "Buying/selling from HODLers is typically a leading indicator for BTC. This cohort now owns 65% of BTC supply vs 63% last week vs 73% in early October." - Bitcoin News

➡️GlassNode: 'The Bitcoin market continues to adjust to its new price range after experiencing a -30% correction. Liquidity conditions are also contracting in both on-chain and futures markets.'

➡️Bitcoin now ranks 6th among the world's top monetary assets at $1.62 trillion, per Porkopolis.

➡️The EU isn't banning Bitcoin but using MiCA and other regulations to control it. This involves stripping away privacy through transaction tracking, mandatory disclosures, and restrictions on self-custody. The goal is control, not outright prohibition.

Excellent thread by Eli. Eli summarises the EU’s attack on Bitcoin and on Europeans’ rights: https://x.com/EliNagarBrr/status/1902048401908261146

Agree 100% with all of this. All these people who have been saying the EU pushing the industry forward with regulations are idiots. They are closing it off and pushing everyone to a CBDC.

Regarding the CBCD, here you will find a comprehensive summary of EU’s CBDC plans, by Efrat Fenigson: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/politics/ecb-prepping-the-ground-for-digital-euro-launch

*On the 20th of March, the ECB posted the following statement on Twitter:

'The digital euro is not just about creating a new form of money, says Chief Economist Philip R. Lane. It is about ensuring that Europe retains control over its monetary and financial destiny in the digital age against a backdrop of increasing geopolitical fragmentation.'

“It’s about ensuring that the EU retains control over its citizens.”

There, I fixed it for you if you missed the primary reason.

The Euro is a permissioned, centralized, censorable, inflationary, debt-based currency controlled by unelected bureaucrats.

Bitcoin is permissionless, decentralized, censorship-resistant, fixed in supply, and governed by code—not politicians.

Choose wisely.

➡️As mentioned in last week's Weekly Recap the US Government spends $3.3B per day in interest rate expense. If this doesn’t make you buy Bitcoin I’m not sure what will. https://i.ibb.co/sdt1GvfM/Gm-Vd-FBz-XQAA3t3-M-1.jpg

➡️In Kibera, Africa’s largest informal settlement, more than 40 merchants now accept and save in Bitcoin.

➡️The increase in 3-6 month-old UTXOs suggests accumulation during this market correction, a behavior historically critical in forming market bottoms and driving new price rallies.

➡️Just as Hal Finney predicted, Bitcoin will take over Wall Street: Multiple American Bitcoin companies are now seeking to become state or national banks, reports Reuters. It is inevitable.

➡️Daniel Batten: 2021: 62 US Environmental Organizations write to coCongressaying Bitcoin is bad for the environment and has no use (based on Central Bank misinformation) 2025: US Environmental Organizations debunked (impossible, had they used Bitcoin) Strange are the ways of karma.

Meanwhile,

➡️President Trump's Executive Director, Bo Hines, on digital assets: "We talked about ways of acquiring more Bitcoin in budget-neutral ways." We want "as much as we can get."

When Bitcoin is at $200k. We will look back on March 2025 and say, how was everyone not buying. It was so obvious.

On the 19th of March:

➡️BLACKROCK: “The most sophisticated long-term Bitcoin accumulators are pretty excited about this dip. They see the correction as a buying opportunity."

On the 20th of March:

➡️SEC confirms that Bitcoin and Proof of Work mining are NOT securities under US law. https://i.ibb.co/nWRHjnk/Gmg-Yxv-QWEAAgwx8.png

Source: https://t.co/0ExsJniPIf

➡️Bitcoin exchange Kraken has agreed to acquire NinjaTrader, the leading U.S. retail futures trading platform, for $1.5 billion—the largest deal ever of a Bitcoin company buying a traditional financial company.

➡️TRUMP: “I signed an order creating the brand new Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and the US digital asset stockpile which will allow the Federal government to maximize the value of its holdings.”

Tweet and hot take by Lola L33tz

"With the dollar-backed stablecoins, you'll help expand the dominance of the US Dollar [...] It will be at the top, and that's where we want to keep it"

'What he means is: With dollar-backed stablecoins, the Global South will pivot towards digital Dollars over local currencies, allowing private, US government-controlled entities to replace bank accounts around the globe. This does not just allow for the expansion of USD dominance by bypassing local governments – it gives the US unprecedented and direct control over worldwide economies as every stablecoin can be effectively frozen on behalf of the US with the click of a button.'

Stablecoins = CBDCs There is no technical fundamental difference between them. It’s almost a guarantee that the EU CBDCs and U.S. stablecoins will be interchangeable.

➡️River: Bitcoin is coming for $128 trillion in global money. You're not late to Bitcoin. https://i.ibb.co/7thzHJMx/Gmf-Uvra-EAEV4-U0.png

On the 21st of March:

➡️Michael Saylor’s Strategy to raise $722.5M to buy more Bitcoin.

➡️Publicly traded Atai Life Sciences to buy $5 million in Bitcoin.

➡️Publicly traded HK Asia Holdings bought 10 Bitcoins worth $858,500 for its balance sheet.

➡️Another solo home miner has mined an entire Bitcoin block worth over $ 260.000,-.

On the 22nd of March:

➡️The University of Wyoming posted a new video explaining Bitcoin with Philosophy Professor Bradley Rettler

➡️Spot Bitcoin ETFs bought 8,775 BTC this week while miners only mined 3,150 Bitcoin.

On the 24th of March:

➡️Metaplanet finished the day as the 13th most liquid stock in Japan, with ¥50.4 billion ($336.6m) of daily trading volume, ahead of Toyota and Nintendo.

➡️River: There is a 275% gap between the inflation you're told and real inflation.

https://i.ibb.co/mCs2Lgcc/Gmz-4qc-WMAAzx-z.png

Bitcoin is insurance on the debt spiral. The U.S. Dollar has been devalued by more than 363% since 2000 – That’s a 14.5% devaluation per year. This means if your savings don’t grow by 14.5% annually, you’re falling behind. This is why we Bitcoin. Bitcoin is insurance on the debt spiral, grow your savings beyond the dollar’s devaluation!

➡️Bitcoin's compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over a 5-year rolling window is currently over 50%

➡️Strategy became the first publicly traded company to hold over 500,000 Bitcoin worth over $44 billion. Strategy has acquired 6,911 BTC for ~$584.1 million at ~$84,529 per Bitcoin and has achieved a BTC Yield of 7.7% YTD 2025. As of 3/23/2025, Strategy holds 506,137 BTC acquired for ~$33.7 billion at ~$66,608 per Bitcoin.

➡️CryptoQuant: Bitcoin's long-term holders are holding firm, with no significant selling pressure.

➡️Xapo Bank launches Bitcoin-backed USD loans up to $1M, with collateral secured in an MPC vault and no re-usage.

💸Traditional Finance / Macro:

👉🏽no news

🏦Banks:

👉🏽 no news

🌎Macro/Geopolitics:

On the 18th of March:

👉🏽Germany just changed its constitution to unleash a staggering ONE TRILLION in new debt. The German parliament has voted to take on hundreds of billions of euros of new government debt, to ease the debt brake rules, and to codify "climate neutrality by 2045" into the constitution.

On top of that, some extra money to Ukraine: Germany's next Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, believes that Putin has gone to war against all of Europe. He argues that Russia has attacked Germany, as the Parliament breaks out in applause.

-  We continue to move further away from the "Europe is not part of the conflict" rhetoric. Germany’s self-inflicted delusion continues!

👉🏽Germany's first offshore wind farm closes after 15 years because it's too expensive to operate. Expect a car crash. The Alpha Ventus offshore wind farm near the German North Sea island of Borkum is set to be dismantled after being in operation for only 15 years. It has become too unprofitable to operate without massive subsidies.

https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/03/16/germanys-first-offshore-wind-farm-to-be-dismantled-after-just-15-years-of-operation/

Great thing that the Netherlands is investing heavily in offshore wind farms, even the biggest pension fund APB. Because nInE tImEs ChEaPeR tHaN gAs, right?

I hope they dismantle them & not leave them to rust into the sea. Right? Because climate!

Great response by Jasmine Birtles: "These vanity projects should never have been allowed to start. The phrase 'cheap renewable energy' is simply a falsehood. This kind of energy production only seems cheap because of the huge government subsidies that keep them going. I'm all for clean energy if it's possible to run it honestly and without huge subsidies, but while it doesn't seem to be viable we should stick with what is affordable and will keep the country going, rather than sacrificing the vulnerable to an impossible ideology."

👉🏽'Gold spot is now trading consistently over $3000, a record high. And with deliveries once again picking up at the Comex and war in the Middle East coming back with a vengeance, the next big spike is just a matter of time. As expected, once gold broke out above $3000,- it has gone vertical and is up 1% in the past hours, rising to a new record high of $3034, as it sets off for $4000' - ZeroHedge

👉🏽'We have just witnessed the biggest drop in US equity allocation on record. The collapse of US consumers: Unemployment expectations in the US are now ABOVE 2020 levels and at their highest since 2008. In 2024, a poll showed that a whopping 56% of Americans thought the US was in a recession.' - TKL

https://i.ibb.co/ycnRDpdf/Gm-VZMnb-XAAAt76r.png

👉🏽OECD Projects Argentina to Have the Second Highest Economic Growth Worldwide in 2025

👉🏽A new blow to the Dutch chemical sector. The major producer LyondellBasell is permanently closing its factory at the Maasvlakte. This decision, announced on Tuesday afternoon, will result in the loss of approximately 160 jobs. The closure is a direct consequence of global overcapacity and high energy costs in the Netherlands. An audit by the German firm E-Bridge, commissioned by the Dutch government, previously revealed that electricity costs for these companies in the Netherlands amount to €95 per megawatt-hour.

In comparison, this rate is €32 in France (66% lower), €45.60 in Germany (52% lower), and €56.05 per megawatt-hour in Belgium (41% lower).

According to E-Bridge, this difference is mainly due to the compensation that foreign governments provide to companies and the lower grid tariffs. In the Netherlands, costs have risen primarily to finance investments in the electricity grid, such as connecting multiple offshore wind farms.

Now read that segment on offshore wind farms. Mindblowing, innit?

Subsidies are not the solution—deregulation is. But Brussels won’t allow that. So, we’re heading toward even more regulation and nationalization.

On the 19th of March:

👉🏽The Fed makes multiple revisions to its 2025 economic data projections.

Powell finally found the "stag" and the "inflation":

Fed cuts year-end GDP forecast from 2.1% to 1.7%

Fed raises year-end core PCE forecast from 2.5% to 2.8%

Fed raises year-end unemployment forecast from 4.3% to 4.4%

Fed raises PCE inflation forecast from 2.5% to 2.7%

The Fed sees higher inflation and a weaker economy.

On the 20th of March:

Dutch Central Bank Director Klaas Knot "We are worried about American influence on our local payment infrastructure."

Paving the way for the European CBDC (after slowly but surely removing CASH MONEY from society). Knot has completed his second term and will leave his office in July. Now, of course, pushing for the CBDC, before looking for a new job in Europe.

Anyway, DNB posts billions in losses.

De Nederlandsche Bank suffered a loss of over €3 billion last year, according to the annual report published on Thursday. This marks the second consecutive year of losses.

DNB incurs this loss because, as part of its monetary policy, it has lent out billions at relatively low rates while having to pay a higher rate to banks that park their money at the central bank.

But no losses on its gold. The gold reserves, meanwhile, increased in value by €12.6 billion. This amount is not included in the official profit and loss statement but is reflected on the bank's balance sheet.

For the Dutch readers/followers: Great article: Follow the Money 'Voor de megawinsten van ING, ABN Amro en Rabobank betaalt de Nederlandse burger een hoge prijs.'

https://archive.ph/ncvtk

On the 21st of March:

👉🏽'The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing index dropped 5.6 points in March, to 12.5, its 2nd consecutive monthly decline. 6-month outlook for new orders fell by 30.8 points, to 2.3, the lowest in 3 years. This marks the third-largest drop in history, only behind the 2008 Financial Crisis and December 1973.

Furthermore, 6-month business outlook dropped ~40 points to its lowest since January 2024. All while prices paid rose 7.8 points, to 48.3, the highest since July 2022. This is further evidence of weakening economic activity with rising prices.' TKL

👉🏽'China’s central bank gold reserves hit a record 73.6 million fine troy ounces in February. China bought ~160,000 ounces of gold last month, posting their 4th consecutive monthly purchase. Over the last 2.5 years, China’s gold reserves have jumped by 11.0 million ounces of gold. Gold now reflects a record ~5.9% of China’s total foreign exchange reserves, or 2,290 tonnes. Central banks continue to stock up on gold as if we are in a crisis.' -TKL

🎁If you have made it this far I would like to give you a little gift:

What Bitcoin Did: BITCOIN & THE END OF THE DOLLAR SYSTEM with Luke Gromen They discuss: - The Sovereign Debt Crisis - If the US Will Reprice the Gold - If we will See Triple Digit Inflation - The End of The US Dollar System Luke Gromen: A modest clarification: The end of the post-71 structure of the USD system is what the Trump Administration’s actions appear to be pursuing & will in due time achieve if they stay on the present course.

https://t.co/IpakFaYqbL

Credit: I have used multiple sources!

My savings account: Bitcoin The tool I recommend for setting up a Bitcoin savings plan: PocketBitcoin especially suited for beginners or people who want to invest in Bitcoin with an automated investment plan once a week or monthly.

Use the code SE3997

Get your Bitcoin out of exchanges. Save them on a hardware wallet, run your own node...be your own bank. Not your keys, not your coins. It's that simple. ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀

Do you think this post is helpful to you? If so, please share it and support my work with a zap.

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

⭐ Many thanks⭐

Felipe - Bitcoin Friday!

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

@ 3c7dc2c5:805642a8

🧠Quote(s) of the week:

The path to maximalism is littered with mistakes and paved with humility.' Anilsaido https://i.ibb.co/ZzcCHwgT/Gip-G0vdb-YAAV9-Mw-1.jpg

Bitcoin is time because money itself is time. Money is humanity’s battery: a way to store energy, labor, and resources for the future. It captures your past effort and preserves it for when you need it most. Fiat leaks. Bitcoin holds.

🧡Bitcoin news🧡

On the 18th of March:

➡️After ruling out a strategic bitcoin reserve, the Bank of Korea will launch a central bank digital currency pilot in April, per The Korea Times.

➡️'Metaplanet has acquired an additional 150 BTC for ~$12.5 million, achieving a BTC Yield of 60.8% YTD in 2025. As of 3/18/2025, Metaplanet hodls 3,200 BTC, and is now a top 10 publicly listed holder of Bitcoin globally.' -Dylan LeClair

➡️Bitcoin entered a risk-off, distribution-dominant phase in early 2025, evidenced by frequent selling and hesitation to buy (yellow to orange dots). - AMB Crypto

➡️Bitwise CIO says Bitcoin should be at $200,000 today and says, “I think the number of companies buying Bitcoin is going to triple this year, I think Game Theory is on.” “I think countries around the world are going to be buying Bitcoin. There is structurally more demand than supply in Bitcoin.”

➡️Bitcoin mining company Bitfarms buys Stronghold Digital for more than $110 million, making it the largest public-to-public acquisition in Bitcoin industry history.

➡️Bitcoin long-term HODLers become net buyers for the first time since September, per Compass Point Research. "Buying/selling from HODLers is typically a leading indicator for BTC. This cohort now owns 65% of BTC supply vs 63% last week vs 73% in early October." - Bitcoin News

➡️GlassNode: 'The Bitcoin market continues to adjust to its new price range after experiencing a -30% correction. Liquidity conditions are also contracting in both on-chain and futures markets.'

➡️Bitcoin now ranks 6th among the world's top monetary assets at $1.62 trillion, per Porkopolis.

➡️The EU isn't banning Bitcoin but using MiCA and other regulations to control it. This involves stripping away privacy through transaction tracking, mandatory disclosures, and restrictions on self-custody. The goal is control, not outright prohibition.

Excellent thread by Eli. Eli summarises the EU’s attack on Bitcoin and on Europeans’ rights: https://x.com/EliNagarBrr/status/1902048401908261146

Agree 100% with all of this. All these people who have been saying the EU pushing the industry forward with regulations are idiots. They are closing it off and pushing everyone to a CBDC.

Regarding the CBCD, here you will find a comprehensive summary of EU’s CBDC plans, by Efrat Fenigson: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/politics/ecb-prepping-the-ground-for-digital-euro-launch

*On the 20th of March, the ECB posted the following statement on Twitter: The digital euro is not just about creating a new form of money, says Chief Economist Philip R. Lane.

It is about ensuring that Europe retains control over its monetary and financial destiny in the digital age against a backdrop of increasing geopolitical fragmentation.

“It’s about ensuring that the EU retains control over its citizens.”

There, I fixed it for you if you missed the primary reason.

The Euro is a permissioned, centralized, censorable, inflationary, debt-based currency controlled by unelected bureaucrats.

Bitcoin is permissionless, decentralized, censorship-resistant, fixed in supply, and governed by code—not politicians. Choose wisely.

➡️As mentioned in last week's Weekly Recap the US Government spends $3.3B per day in interest rate expense. If this doesn’t make you buy Bitcoin I’m not sure what will.

https://i.ibb.co/sdt1GvfM/Gm-Vd-FBz-XQAA3t3-M-1.jpg

➡️In Kibera, Africa’s largest informal settlement, more than 40 merchants now accept and save in Bitcoin.

➡️The increase in 3-6 month-old UTXOs suggests accumulation during this market correction, a behavior historically critical in forming market bottoms and driving new price rallies.

➡️Just as Hal Finney predicted, Bitcoin will take over Wall Street: Multiple American Bitcoin companies are now seeking to become state or national banks, reports Reuters. It is inevitable.

➡️Daniel Batten: 2021: 62 US Environmental Organizations write to coCongressaying Bitcoin is bad for the environment and has no use (based on Central Bank misinformation) 2025: US Environmental Organizations debunked (impossible, had they used Bitcoin) Strange are the ways of karma.

Meanwhile,

➡️President Trump's Executive Director, Bo Hines, on digital assets: "We talked about ways of acquiring more Bitcoin in budget-neutral ways." We want "as much as we can get." When Bitcoin is at $200k. We will look back on March 2025 and say, how was everyone not buying. It was so obvious.

On the 19th of March:

➡️BLACKROCK: “The most sophisticated long-term Bitcoin accumulators are pretty excited about this dip. They see the correction as a buying opportunity."

On the 20th of March: ➡️SEC confirms that Bitcoin and Proof of Work mining are NOT securities under US law. https://i.ibb.co/nWRHjnk/Gmg-Yxv-QWEAAgwx8.png

Source: https://t.co/0ExsJniPIf

➡️Bitcoin exchange Kraken has agreed to acquire NinjaTrader, the leading U.S. retail futures trading platform, for $1.5 billion—the largest deal ever of a Bitcoin company buying a traditional financial company.

➡️TRUMP: “I signed an order creating the brand new Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and the US digital asset stockpile which will allow the Federal government to maximize the value of its holdings.”

Tweet and hot take by Lola L33tz

"With the dollar-backed stablecoins, you'll help expand the dominance of the US Dollar [...] It will be at the top, and that's where we want to keep it" 'What he means is: With dollar-backed stablecoins, the Global South will pivot towards digital Dollars over local currencies, allowing private, US government-controlled entities to replace bank accounts around the globe.

This does not just allow for the expansion of USD dominance by bypassing local governments – it gives the US unprecedented and direct control over worldwide economies as every stablecoin can be effectively frozen on behalf of the US with the click of a button.'

Stablecoins = CBDCs There is no technical fundamental difference between them. It’s almost a guarantee that the EU CBDCs and U.S. stablecoins will be interchangeable.

➡️River: Bitcoin is coming for $128 trillion in global money. You're not late to Bitcoin. https://i.ibb.co/7thzHJMx/Gmf-Uvra-EAEV4-U0.png

On the 21st of March:

➡️Michael Saylor’s Strategy to raise $722.5M to buy more Bitcoin.

➡️Publicly traded Atai Life Sciences to buy $5 million in Bitcoin.

➡️Publicly traded HK Asia Holdings bought 10 Bitcoins worth $858,500 for its balance sheet.

➡️Another solo home miner has mined an entire Bitcoin block worth over $ 260.000,-.

On the 22nd of March:

➡️The University of Wyoming posted a new video explaining Bitcoin with Philosophy Professor Bradley Rettler

➡️Spot Bitcoin ETFs bought 8,775 BTC this week while miners only mined 3,150 Bitcoin.

On the 24th of March:

➡️Metaplanet finished the day as the 13th most liquid stock in Japan, with ¥50.4 billion ($336.6m) of daily trading volume, ahead of Toyota and Nintendo.

➡️River: There is a 275% gap between the inflation you're told and real inflation. https://i.ibb.co/mCs2Lgcc/Gmz-4qc-WMAAzx-z.png

Bitcoin is insurance on the debt spiral. The U.S. Dollar has been devalued by more than 363% since 2000 – That’s a 14.5% devaluation per year. This means if your savings don’t grow by 14.5% annually, you’re falling behind. This is why we Bitcoin. Bitcoin is insurance on the debt spiral, grow your savings beyond the dollar’s devaluation!

➡️Bitcoin's compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over a 5-year rolling window is currently over 50%

➡️Strategy became the first publicly traded company to hold over 500,000 Bitcoin worth over $44 billion.

Strategy has acquired 6,911 BTC for ~$584.1 million at ~$84,529 per Bitcoin and has achieved a BTC Yield of 7.7% YTD 2025. As of 3/23/2025, Strategy holds 506,137 BTC acquired for ~$33.7 billion at ~$66,608 per Bitcoin.

➡️CryptoQuant: Bitcoin's long-term holders are holding firm, with no significant selling pressure.

➡️Xapo Bank launches Bitcoin-backed USD loans up to $1M, with collateral secured in an MPC vault and no re-usage.

💸Traditional Finance / Macro:

👉🏽no news

🏦Banks: 

👉🏽 no news

🌎Macro/Geopolitics:

On the 18th of March:

👉🏽Germany just changed its constitution to unleash a staggering ONE TRILLION in new debt. The German parliament has voted to take on hundreds of billions of euros of new government debt, to ease the debt brake rules, and to codify "climate neutrality by 2045" into the constitution.

On top of that, some extra money to Ukraine:

Germany's next Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, believes that Putin has gone to war against all of Europe. He argues that Russia has attacked Germany, as the Parliament breaks out in applause. -  We continue to move further away from the "Europe is not part of the conflict" rhetoric. Germany’s self-inflicted delusion continues!

👉🏽Germany's first offshore wind farm closes after 15 years because it's too expensive to operate. Expect a car crash. The Alpha Ventus offshore wind farm near the German North Sea island of Borkum is set to be dismantled after being in operation for only 15 years. It has become too unprofitable to operate without massive subsidies.

https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/03/16/germanys-first-offshore-wind-farm-to-be-dismantled-after-just-15-years-of-operation/

Great thing that the Netherlands is investing heavily in offshore wind farms, even the biggest pension fund APB. Because nInE tImEs ChEaPeR tHaN gAs, right? I hope they dismantle them & not leave them to rust into the sea. Right? Because climate!

Great response by Jasmine Birtles: "These vanity projects should never have been allowed to start. The phrase 'cheap renewable energy' is simply a falsehood. This kind of energy production only seems cheap because of the huge government subsidies that keep them going. I'm all for clean energy if it's possible to run it honestly and without huge subsidies, but while it doesn't seem to be viable we should stick with what is affordable and will keep the country going, rather than sacrificing the vulnerable to an impossible ideology."

👉🏽'Gold spot is now trading consistently over $3000, a record high. And with deliveries once again picking up at the Comex and war in the Middle East coming back with a vengeance, the next big spike is just a matter of time. As expected, once gold broke out above $3000,- it has gone vertical and is up 1% in the past hours, rising to a new record high of $3034, as it sets off for $4000' - ZeroHedge

👉🏽'We have just witnessed the biggest drop in US equity allocation on record. The collapse of US consumers: Unemployment expectations in the US are now ABOVE 2020 levels and at their highest since 2008. In 2024, a poll showed that a whopping 56% of Americans thought the US was in a recession.' - TKL

https://i.ibb.co/ycnRDpdf/Gm-VZMnb-XAAAt76r.png

👉🏽OECD Projects Argentina to Have the Second Highest Economic Growth Worldwide in 2025

👉🏽A new blow to the Dutch chemical sector. The major producer LyondellBasell is permanently closing its factory at the Maasvlakte. This decision, announced on Tuesday afternoon, will result in the loss of approximately 160 jobs. The closure is a direct consequence of global overcapacity and high energy costs in the Netherlands. An audit by the German firm E-Bridge, commissioned by the Dutch government, previously revealed that electricity costs for these companies in the Netherlands amount to €95 per megawatt-hour. In comparison, this rate is €32 in France (66% lower), €45.60 in Germany (52% lower), and €56.05 per megawatt-hour in Belgium (41% lower).

According to E-Bridge, this difference is mainly due to the compensation that foreign governments provide to companies and the lower grid tariffs. In the Netherlands, costs have risen primarily to finance investments in the electricity grid, such as connecting multiple offshore wind farms.

Now read that segment on offshore wind farms. Mindblowing, innit?

Subsidies are not the solution—deregulation is. But Brussels won’t allow that. So, we’re heading toward even more regulation and nationalization.

On the 19th of March:

👉🏽The Fed makes multiple revisions to its 2025 economic data projections.

Powell finally found the "stag" and the "inflation":

Fed cuts year-end GDP forecast from 2.1% to 1.7%

Fed raises year-end core PCE forecast from 2.5% to 2.8%

Fed raises year-end unemployment forecast from 4.3% to 4.4%

Fed raises PCE inflation forecast from 2.5% to 2.7%

The Fed sees higher inflation and a weaker economy.

On the 20th of March:

Dutch Central Bank Director Klaas Knot "We are worried about American influence on our local payment infrastructure."

Paving the way for the European CBDC (after slowly but surely removing CASH MONEY from society).

Knot has completed his second term and will leave his office in July. Now, of course, pushing for the CBDC, before looking for a new job in Europe.

Anyway, DNB posts billions in losses. De Nederlandsche Bank suffered a loss of over €3 billion last year, according to the annual report published on Thursday. This marks the second consecutive year of losses.

DNB incurs this loss because, as part of its monetary policy, it has lent out billions at relatively low rates while having to pay a higher rate to banks that park their money at the central bank.

But no losses on its gold. The gold reserves, meanwhile, increased in value by €12.6 billion. This amount is not included in the official profit and loss statement but is reflected on the bank's balance sheet.

For the Dutch readers/followers: Great article: Follow the Money 'Voor de megawinsten van ING, ABN Amro en Rabobank betaalt de Nederlandse burger een hoge prijs.'

https://archive.ph/ncvtk

On the 21st of March:

👉🏽'The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing index dropped 5.6 points in March, to 12.5, its 2nd consecutive monthly decline. 6-month outlook for new orders fell by 30.8 points, to 2.3, the lowest in 3 years. This marks the third-largest drop in history, only behind the 2008 Financial Crisis and December 1973.

Furthermore, 6-month business outlook dropped ~40 points to its lowest since January 2024.

All while prices paid rose 7.8 points, to 48.3, the highest since July 2022. This is further evidence of weakening economic activity with rising prices.' TKL

👉🏽'China’s central bank gold reserves hit a record 73.6 million fine troy ounces in February. China bought ~160,000 ounces of gold last month, posting their 4th consecutive monthly purchase. Over the last 2.5 years, China’s gold reserves have jumped by 11.0 million ounces of gold. Gold now reflects a record ~5.9% of China’s total foreign exchange reserves, or 2,290 tonnes. Central banks continue to stock up on gold as if we are in a crisis.' -TKL

🎁If you have made it this far I would like to give you a little gift:

What Bitcoin Did: BITCOIN & THE END OF THE DOLLAR SYSTEM with Luke Gromen They discuss: - The Sovereign Debt Crisis - If the US Will Reprice the Gold - If we will See Triple Digit Inflation - The End of The US Dollar System Luke Gromen: A modest clarification: The end of the post-71 structure of the USD system is what the Trump Administration’s actions appear to be pursuing & will in due time achieve if they stay on the present course. https://t.co/IpakFaYqbL

Credit: I have used multiple sources!

My savings account: Bitcoin The tool I recommend for setting up a Bitcoin savings plan: PocketBitcoin especially suited for beginners or people who want to invest in Bitcoin with an automated investment plan once a week or monthly.

Use the code SE3997

Get your Bitcoin out of exchanges. Save them on a hardware wallet, run your own node...be your own bank. Not your keys, not your coins. It's that simple. ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀

Do you think this post is helpful to you? If so, please share it and support my work with a zap.

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

⭐ Many thanks⭐

Felipe - Bitcoin Friday!

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

@ 3c7dc2c5:805642a8

🧠Quote(s) of the week:

The path to maximalism is littered with mistakes and paved with humility.' Anilsaido https://i.ibb.co/ZzcCHwgT/Gip-G0vdb-YAAV9-Mw-1.jpg

Bitcoin is time because money itself is time. Money is humanity’s battery: a way to store energy, labor, and resources for the future. It captures your past effort and preserves it for when you need it most. Fiat leaks. Bitcoin holds.

🧡Bitcoin news🧡

On the 18th of March:

➡️After ruling out a strategic bitcoin reserve, the Bank of Korea will launch a central bank digital currency pilot in April, per The Korea Times.

➡️'Metaplanet has acquired an additional 150 BTC for ~$12.5 million, achieving a BTC Yield of 60.8% YTD in 2025. As of 3/18/2025, Metaplanet hodls 3,200 BTC, and is now a top 10 publicly listed holder of Bitcoin globally.' -Dylan LeClair

➡️Bitcoin entered a risk-off, distribution-dominant phase in early 2025, evidenced by frequent selling and hesitation to buy (yellow to orange dots). - AMB Crypto

➡️Bitwise CIO says Bitcoin should be at $200,000 today and says, “I think the number of companies buying Bitcoin is going to triple this year, I think Game Theory is on.” “I think countries around the world are going to be buying Bitcoin. There is structurally more demand than supply in Bitcoin.”

➡️Bitcoin mining company Bitfarms buys Stronghold Digital for more than $110 million, making it the largest public-to-public acquisition in Bitcoin industry history.

➡️Bitcoin long-term HODLers become net buyers for the first time since September, per Compass Point Research. "Buying/selling from HODLers is typically a leading indicator for BTC. This cohort now owns 65% of BTC supply vs 63% last week vs 73% in early October." - Bitcoin News

➡️GlassNode: 'The Bitcoin market continues to adjust to its new price range after experiencing a -30% correction. Liquidity conditions are also contracting in both on-chain and futures markets.'

➡️Bitcoin now ranks 6th among the world's top monetary assets at $1.62 trillion, per Porkopolis.

➡️The EU isn't banning Bitcoin but using MiCA and other regulations to control it. This involves stripping away privacy through transaction tracking, mandatory disclosures, and restrictions on self-custody. The goal is control, not outright prohibition.

Excellent thread by Eli. Eli summarises the EU’s attack on Bitcoin and on Europeans’ rights: https://x.com/EliNagarBrr/status/1902048401908261146

Agree 100% with all of this. All these people who have been saying the EU pushing the industry forward with regulations are idiots. They are closing it off and pushing everyone to a CBDC.

Regarding the CBCD, here you will find a comprehensive summary of EU’s CBDC plans, by Efrat Fenigson: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/politics/ecb-prepping-the-ground-for-digital-euro-launch

*On the 20th of March, the ECB posted the following statement on Twitter: The digital euro is not just about creating a new form of money, says Chief Economist Philip R. Lane.

It is about ensuring that Europe retains control over its monetary and financial destiny in the digital age against a backdrop of increasing geopolitical fragmentation.

“It’s about ensuring that the EU retains control over its citizens.”

There, I fixed it for you if you missed the primary reason.

The Euro is a permissioned, centralized, censorable, inflationary, debt-based currency controlled by unelected bureaucrats.

Bitcoin is permissionless, decentralized, censorship-resistant, fixed in supply, and governed by code—not politicians. Choose wisely.

➡️As mentioned in last week's Weekly Recap the US Government spends $3.3B per day in interest rate expense. If this doesn’t make you buy Bitcoin I’m not sure what will.

https://i.ibb.co/sdt1GvfM/Gm-Vd-FBz-XQAA3t3-M-1.jpg

➡️In Kibera, Africa’s largest informal settlement, more than 40 merchants now accept and save in Bitcoin.

➡️The increase in 3-6 month-old UTXOs suggests accumulation during this market correction, a behavior historically critical in forming market bottoms and driving new price rallies.

➡️Just as Hal Finney predicted, Bitcoin will take over Wall Street: Multiple American Bitcoin companies are now seeking to become state or national banks, reports Reuters. It is inevitable.

➡️Daniel Batten: 2021: 62 US Environmental Organizations write to coCongressaying Bitcoin is bad for the environment and has no use (based on Central Bank misinformation) 2025: US Environmental Organizations debunked (impossible, had they used Bitcoin) Strange are the ways of karma.

Meanwhile,

➡️President Trump's Executive Director, Bo Hines, on digital assets: "We talked about ways of acquiring more Bitcoin in budget-neutral ways." We want "as much as we can get." When Bitcoin is at $200k. We will look back on March 2025 and say, how was everyone not buying. It was so obvious.

On the 19th of March:

➡️BLACKROCK: “The most sophisticated long-term Bitcoin accumulators are pretty excited about this dip. They see the correction as a buying opportunity."

On the 20th of March: ➡️SEC confirms that Bitcoin and Proof of Work mining are NOT securities under US law. https://i.ibb.co/nWRHjnk/Gmg-Yxv-QWEAAgwx8.png

Source: https://t.co/0ExsJniPIf

➡️Bitcoin exchange Kraken has agreed to acquire NinjaTrader, the leading U.S. retail futures trading platform, for $1.5 billion—the largest deal ever of a Bitcoin company buying a traditional financial company.

➡️TRUMP: “I signed an order creating the brand new Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and the US digital asset stockpile which will allow the Federal government to maximize the value of its holdings.”

Tweet and hot take by Lola L33tz

"With the dollar-backed stablecoins, you'll help expand the dominance of the US Dollar [...] It will be at the top, and that's where we want to keep it" 'What he means is: With dollar-backed stablecoins, the Global South will pivot towards digital Dollars over local currencies, allowing private, US government-controlled entities to replace bank accounts around the globe.

This does not just allow for the expansion of USD dominance by bypassing local governments – it gives the US unprecedented and direct control over worldwide economies as every stablecoin can be effectively frozen on behalf of the US with the click of a button.'

Stablecoins = CBDCs There is no technical fundamental difference between them. It’s almost a guarantee that the EU CBDCs and U.S. stablecoins will be interchangeable.

➡️River: Bitcoin is coming for $128 trillion in global money. You're not late to Bitcoin. https://i.ibb.co/7thzHJMx/Gmf-Uvra-EAEV4-U0.png

On the 21st of March:

➡️Michael Saylor’s Strategy to raise $722.5M to buy more Bitcoin.

➡️Publicly traded Atai Life Sciences to buy $5 million in Bitcoin.

➡️Publicly traded HK Asia Holdings bought 10 Bitcoins worth $858,500 for its balance sheet.

➡️Another solo home miner has mined an entire Bitcoin block worth over $ 260.000,-.

On the 22nd of March:

➡️The University of Wyoming posted a new video explaining Bitcoin with Philosophy Professor Bradley Rettler

➡️Spot Bitcoin ETFs bought 8,775 BTC this week while miners only mined 3,150 Bitcoin.

On the 24th of March:

➡️Metaplanet finished the day as the 13th most liquid stock in Japan, with ¥50.4 billion ($336.6m) of daily trading volume, ahead of Toyota and Nintendo.

➡️River: There is a 275% gap between the inflation you're told and real inflation. https://i.ibb.co/mCs2Lgcc/Gmz-4qc-WMAAzx-z.png

Bitcoin is insurance on the debt spiral. The U.S. Dollar has been devalued by more than 363% since 2000 – That’s a 14.5% devaluation per year. This means if your savings don’t grow by 14.5% annually, you’re falling behind. This is why we Bitcoin. Bitcoin is insurance on the debt spiral, grow your savings beyond the dollar’s devaluation!

➡️Bitcoin's compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over a 5-year rolling window is currently over 50%

➡️Strategy became the first publicly traded company to hold over 500,000 Bitcoin worth over $44 billion.

Strategy has acquired 6,911 BTC for ~$584.1 million at ~$84,529 per Bitcoin and has achieved a BTC Yield of 7.7% YTD 2025. As of 3/23/2025, Strategy holds 506,137 BTC acquired for ~$33.7 billion at ~$66,608 per Bitcoin.

➡️CryptoQuant: Bitcoin's long-term holders are holding firm, with no significant selling pressure.

➡️Xapo Bank launches Bitcoin-backed USD loans up to $1M, with collateral secured in an MPC vault and no re-usage.

💸Traditional Finance / Macro:

👉🏽no news

🏦Banks: 

👉🏽 no news

🌎Macro/Geopolitics:

On the 18th of March:

👉🏽Germany just changed its constitution to unleash a staggering ONE TRILLION in new debt. The German parliament has voted to take on hundreds of billions of euros of new government debt, to ease the debt brake rules, and to codify "climate neutrality by 2045" into the constitution.

On top of that, some extra money to Ukraine:

Germany's next Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, believes that Putin has gone to war against all of Europe. He argues that Russia has attacked Germany, as the Parliament breaks out in applause. -  We continue to move further away from the "Europe is not part of the conflict" rhetoric. Germany’s self-inflicted delusion continues!

👉🏽Germany's first offshore wind farm closes after 15 years because it's too expensive to operate. Expect a car crash. The Alpha Ventus offshore wind farm near the German North Sea island of Borkum is set to be dismantled after being in operation for only 15 years. It has become too unprofitable to operate without massive subsidies.

https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/03/16/germanys-first-offshore-wind-farm-to-be-dismantled-after-just-15-years-of-operation/

Great thing that the Netherlands is investing heavily in offshore wind farms, even the biggest pension fund APB. Because nInE tImEs ChEaPeR tHaN gAs, right? I hope they dismantle them & not leave them to rust into the sea. Right? Because climate!

Great response by Jasmine Birtles: "These vanity projects should never have been allowed to start. The phrase 'cheap renewable energy' is simply a falsehood. This kind of energy production only seems cheap because of the huge government subsidies that keep them going. I'm all for clean energy if it's possible to run it honestly and without huge subsidies, but while it doesn't seem to be viable we should stick with what is affordable and will keep the country going, rather than sacrificing the vulnerable to an impossible ideology."

👉🏽'Gold spot is now trading consistently over $3000, a record high. And with deliveries once again picking up at the Comex and war in the Middle East coming back with a vengeance, the next big spike is just a matter of time. As expected, once gold broke out above $3000,- it has gone vertical and is up 1% in the past hours, rising to a new record high of $3034, as it sets off for $4000' - ZeroHedge

👉🏽'We have just witnessed the biggest drop in US equity allocation on record. The collapse of US consumers: Unemployment expectations in the US are now ABOVE 2020 levels and at their highest since 2008. In 2024, a poll showed that a whopping 56% of Americans thought the US was in a recession.' - TKL

https://i.ibb.co/ycnRDpdf/Gm-VZMnb-XAAAt76r.png

👉🏽OECD Projects Argentina to Have the Second Highest Economic Growth Worldwide in 2025

👉🏽A new blow to the Dutch chemical sector. The major producer LyondellBasell is permanently closing its factory at the Maasvlakte. This decision, announced on Tuesday afternoon, will result in the loss of approximately 160 jobs. The closure is a direct consequence of global overcapacity and high energy costs in the Netherlands. An audit by the German firm E-Bridge, commissioned by the Dutch government, previously revealed that electricity costs for these companies in the Netherlands amount to €95 per megawatt-hour. In comparison, this rate is €32 in France (66% lower), €45.60 in Germany (52% lower), and €56.05 per megawatt-hour in Belgium (41% lower).

According to E-Bridge, this difference is mainly due to the compensation that foreign governments provide to companies and the lower grid tariffs. In the Netherlands, costs have risen primarily to finance investments in the electricity grid, such as connecting multiple offshore wind farms.

Now read that segment on offshore wind farms. Mindblowing, innit?

Subsidies are not the solution—deregulation is. But Brussels won’t allow that. So, we’re heading toward even more regulation and nationalization.

On the 19th of March:

👉🏽The Fed makes multiple revisions to its 2025 economic data projections.

Powell finally found the "stag" and the "inflation":

Fed cuts year-end GDP forecast from 2.1% to 1.7%

Fed raises year-end core PCE forecast from 2.5% to 2.8%

Fed raises year-end unemployment forecast from 4.3% to 4.4%

Fed raises PCE inflation forecast from 2.5% to 2.7%

The Fed sees higher inflation and a weaker economy.

On the 20th of March:

Dutch Central Bank Director Klaas Knot "We are worried about American influence on our local payment infrastructure."

Paving the way for the European CBDC (after slowly but surely removing CASH MONEY from society).

Knot has completed his second term and will leave his office in July. Now, of course, pushing for the CBDC, before looking for a new job in Europe.

Anyway, DNB posts billions in losses. De Nederlandsche Bank suffered a loss of over €3 billion last year, according to the annual report published on Thursday. This marks the second consecutive year of losses.

DNB incurs this loss because, as part of its monetary policy, it has lent out billions at relatively low rates while having to pay a higher rate to banks that park their money at the central bank.

But no losses on its gold. The gold reserves, meanwhile, increased in value by €12.6 billion. This amount is not included in the official profit and loss statement but is reflected on the bank's balance sheet.

For the Dutch readers/followers: Great article: Follow the Money 'Voor de megawinsten van ING, ABN Amro en Rabobank betaalt de Nederlandse burger een hoge prijs.'

https://archive.ph/ncvtk

On the 21st of March:

👉🏽'The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing index dropped 5.6 points in March, to 12.5, its 2nd consecutive monthly decline. 6-month outlook for new orders fell by 30.8 points, to 2.3, the lowest in 3 years. This marks the third-largest drop in history, only behind the 2008 Financial Crisis and December 1973.

Furthermore, 6-month business outlook dropped ~40 points to its lowest since January 2024.

All while prices paid rose 7.8 points, to 48.3, the highest since July 2022. This is further evidence of weakening economic activity with rising prices.' TKL

👉🏽'China’s central bank gold reserves hit a record 73.6 million fine troy ounces in February. China bought ~160,000 ounces of gold last month, posting their 4th consecutive monthly purchase. Over the last 2.5 years, China’s gold reserves have jumped by 11.0 million ounces of gold. Gold now reflects a record ~5.9% of China’s total foreign exchange reserves, or 2,290 tonnes. Central banks continue to stock up on gold as if we are in a crisis.' -TKL

🎁If you have made it this far I would like to give you a little gift:

What Bitcoin Did: BITCOIN & THE END OF THE DOLLAR SYSTEM with Luke Gromen They discuss: - The Sovereign Debt Crisis - If the US Will Reprice the Gold - If we will See Triple Digit Inflation - The End of The US Dollar System Luke Gromen: A modest clarification: The end of the post-71 structure of the USD system is what the Trump Administration’s actions appear to be pursuing & will in due time achieve if they stay on the present course. https://t.co/IpakFaYqbL

Credit: I have used multiple sources!

My savings account: Bitcoin The tool I recommend for setting up a Bitcoin savings plan: PocketBitcoin especially suited for beginners or people who want to invest in Bitcoin with an automated investment plan once a week or monthly.

Use the code SE3997

Get your Bitcoin out of exchanges. Save them on a hardware wallet, run your own node...be your own bank. Not your keys, not your coins. It's that simple. ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀

Do you think this post is helpful to you? If so, please share it and support my work with a zap.

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⭐ Many thanks⭐

Felipe - Bitcoin Friday!

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@ 04c915da:3dfbecc9

Capitalism is the most effective system for scaling innovation. The pursuit of profit is an incredibly powerful human incentive. Most major improvements to human society and quality of life have resulted from this base incentive. Market competition often results in the best outcomes for all.

That said, some projects can never be monetized. They are open in nature and a business model would centralize control. Open protocols like bitcoin and nostr are not owned by anyone and if they were it would destroy the key value propositions they provide. No single entity can or should control their use. Anyone can build on them without permission.

As a result, open protocols must depend on donation based grant funding from the people and organizations that rely on them. This model works but it is slow and uncertain, a grind where sustainability is never fully reached but rather constantly sought. As someone who has been incredibly active in the open source grant funding space, I do not think people truly appreciate how difficult it is to raise charitable money and deploy it efficiently.

Projects that can be monetized should be. Profitability is a super power. When a business can generate revenue, it taps into a self sustaining cycle. Profit fuels growth and development while providing projects independence and agency. This flywheel effect is why companies like Google, Amazon, and Apple have scaled to global dominance. The profit incentive aligns human effort with efficiency. Businesses must innovate, cut waste, and deliver value to survive.

Contrast this with non monetized projects. Without profit, they lean on external support, which can dry up or shift with donor priorities. A profit driven model, on the other hand, is inherently leaner and more adaptable. It is not charity but survival. When survival is tied to delivering what people want, scale follows naturally.

The real magic happens when profitable, sustainable businesses are built on top of open protocols and software. Consider the many startups building on open source software stacks, such as Start9, Mempool, and Primal, offering premium services on top of the open source software they build out and maintain. Think of companies like Block or Strike, which leverage bitcoin’s open protocol to offer their services on top. These businesses amplify the open software and protocols they build on, driving adoption and improvement at a pace donations alone could never match.

When you combine open software and protocols with profit driven business the result are lean, sustainable companies that grow faster and serve more people than either could alone. Bitcoin’s network, for instance, benefits from businesses that profit off its existence, while nostr will expand as developers monetize apps built on the protocol.

Capitalism scales best because competition results in efficiency. Donation funded protocols and software lay the groundwork, while market driven businesses build on top. The profit incentive acts as a filter, ensuring resources flow to what works, while open systems keep the playing field accessible, empowering users and builders. Together, they create a flywheel of innovation, growth, and global benefit.

@ 000002de:c05780a7