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@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1
2025-01-23 15:31:24
## Planning Alexandria
People keep asking what features nostr:npub1s3ht77dq4zqnya8vjun5jp3p44pr794ru36d0ltxu65chljw8xjqd975wz has planned for #Alexandria, but they're not set in stone because we're an agile project.
What we do have, is lots of tickets on our Kanban boards and a naming scheme, where we use a famous person's last name, to signify the release goals.
![Gutenberg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/33/Gutenberg.jpg/640px-Gutenberg.jpg)
### Gutenberg v 0.1.0
(after the inventor of the printing press)
will contain the features needed to read and write [NIP-62 Curated Publications](https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nips/pull/1600), as well as encompassing the complex infrastructure, architecture, documentation, and personnel we require to make this all run smoothly and look easy.
![Euler](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Leonhard_Euler_-_Jakob_Emanuel_Handmann_%28Kunstmuseum_Basel%29.jpg)
### Euler v 0.2.0
(after a mathematician credited with establishing graph theory)
will contain the features for deep-searching, visually exploring, and smartly navigating the data set, wiki page display, annotating and citing the publications, exporting to other formats (like PDF, ePUB, and LaTeX), and commenting/reviewing. To help with the heavy lifting, we will be swapping out the core with our own Nostr SDK called "Aedile".
![Defoe](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Daniel_Defoe_1706.jpg)
### Defoe v 0.3.0
(after an author who perfected the novel format)
will be all about our favorite writers. We will be focusing upon profile data, payment systems, book clubs and communities, and stylesheets.
That is everything we have planned, for the v1.0 edition, and we consider that version to be a true product.
As for after that, a teaser...
![Hildegard](https://media04.meinekirchenzeitung.at/article/2011/11/27/2/30892_L.jpg)
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@ e034d654:ca919814
2025-01-22 23:14:27
I stumbled into nostr end of March 2023. At that point already fully thrown into the hows, whys and whats of Bitcoin, never really interested in social apps, just recently playing around with Lightning, the only experience of which at the time was Muun (😬) and stacker.news custodial wallet.
Fairly inexperienced with technicals other than rough understandings of concepts. A crappy laptop node with a dangling SSD via USB, constantly having to resync to current blockheights whenever I was ready to make an on chain transaction to cold storage. My great success after over two years of delay, and a couple failed attempts.
Something about the breadth of information for nitty gritty specifics, the clash with all the things that I found interesting about Bitcoin, with others equally as focused, kept me interested in Nostr. Plus the lighthearted shit posting to break up plumbing the depths of knowledge appealed to me.
Cut to now. Through the jurisdictional removals and even deaths of LN wallet projects, using mobile LSPs, finding use cases with the numerous cashu implementations, moderate comfortability with NWC strings of various permissions, budgets for seemingly endless apps of Nostr clients, swapping relays, isolated wallets with Alby go for my wife and cousin (I told them both not to put much on there as I'm sure failure is imminent) Alby Hub and Zeus, now fully backended by my own persistently online lightning node. All of it adding to the fluidity of my movement around the protocol.
Nimble.
Gradual progress. Reading through notes and guides posted on Nostr learning little bits, circling back eventually, if even at a time it wasn't clicking for me. Either way. Glad i've stuck to it even if I still barely know what it is I'm doing.
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@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1
2025-01-19 12:10:10
I am so tired of people trying to waste my time with Nostrized imitations of stuff that already exists.
Instagram, but make it Nostr.
Twitter, but make it Nostr.
GitHub, but make it Nostr.
Facebook, but make it Nostr.
Wordpress, but make it Nostr.
GoodReads, but make it Nostr.
TikTok, but make it Nostr.
That stuff already exists, and it wasn't that great the first time around, either. Build something better than that stuff, that can only be brought into existence because of Nostr.
Build something that does something completely and awesomely new. Knock my socks off, bro.
Cuz, ain't nobody got time for that.
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@ 6871d8df:4a9396c1
2025-01-18 20:12:46
## 2024 Prediction Reflections
### Politics
#### **Democrats & 2024 Election**
- _“Democrats’ attempt to stifle democracy will likely put Trump in the White House. If not, some real sketchy stuff would need to happen to keep him out.”_
This prediction was *exactly right*. The assassination attempt on Trump seemed to be the final blow for the Democrats. Despite a heavy push my legacy media, Trump won handily.
The Democrats switched to Kamala Harris after Biden showed signs of incapacity, most notably in the first debate against Trump.
My prediction for the election also turned out to be [exactly right](https://cwilbzz.com/election-prediction-my-vote/), which, thank you [Robert Barnes and Richard Baris](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHe3u4zZfY7K8PqHcVM0iLjHKV9Sr7iDy).
#### **Evidence of Institutional Ideological Capture**
- _“People will continue to wake up to ideologically captured institutions, and DEI will be the main loser.”_
Trump’s resounding election victory underscores that the public is increasingly aware of (and rejecting) such institutional capture.
Of note, Boeing comes to mind as an institution that had a tough time in 2024, in large part to DEI. Nothing seemed to function correctly. The biggest story being how they [stranded people in space](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeremybogaisky/2023/01/17/boeing-spacex-nasa-artemis/)
### Media & Public Opinion
#### **Rise of Independent & Alternative Media**
- _“Independent and alternative media will continue to grow as people’s trust in legacy media declines.”_
Twitter (X), under Elon Musk, shattered mainstream media’s influence far more than expected. As Elon has said, “You are the media now.” Alternative sources are king.
- *Notable Example:* Kamala Harris’s decision _not_ to appear on the Joe Rogan podcast contrasted with Trump’s appearance, further highlighting the power shift to alternative media.
### Markets & IPOs
#### **Interest Rates & Public Markets**
- _“As interest rates come down, I expect public markets and IPOs to heat up.”_
This _did not_ play out. Companies that were expected to go public in 2024 remain private in 2025. The reasons are varied, but there is confidence that 2025 might see changes.
### Technology & AI
#### **LLMs & AI Adoption**
- _“AI and LLMs will continue to move at a rapid rate, increasing productivity. Tools like Bard will become more mainstream.”_
AI did *take off*. Usage among nontechnical users increased, and it’s no longer uncommon for people to default to AI-driven tools rather than Google search.
#### **Decentralized AI**
- _“I hope to see a rise in decentralized AI to counter big-player LLMs.”_
We didn’t see explicit ‘decentralized AI’ breakthroughs, but more players entered the AI market. ChatGPT still dominates, with Elon’s ‘Grok’ making moves. Google, Meta, and Microsoft remain active but slightly behind in usage.
### Bitcoin & Digital Assets
#### **Institutional Adoption of Bitcoin**
- _“2024 will bring more institutions to Bitcoin. Possibly another large company or nation-state. The ETF should help, likely pushing BTC to a new all-time high.”_
No *large* public company or nation-state placed a bet, but smaller public companies did. Michael Saylor presented to Microsoft’s Board, which was the closest instance to a major move.
- *Price Movement:* Bitcoin _did_ hit a new all-time high, rising to as much as $108k in 2024.
#### **Lightning Network**
- _“Lightning will improve but remain primarily used for acquiring Bitcoin, not everyday payments.”_
Still true. Lightning usage remains *tiny* relative to broader Bitcoin adoption.
#### **Nostr Adoption**
- _“Nostr will grow, and we’ll see new companies leverage this network beyond just social media.”_
Growth continues, but Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover slowed adoption. Nostr will remain niche until a major catalyst occurs (e.g., a big player joins or forced usage due to censorship).
#### **Stablecoin-Specific Regulations**
- _“Expect stablecoin regulations in 2024 that’ll be favorable to them.”_
This didn’t happen, largely due to the administration’s hostility. Expect potential change in 2025.
#### Miscellaneous 2024 Reflections
- **Return to Sanity**
- 2024 felt like sanity prevailed, largely due to the Democrats’ collapse behind Biden and Harris and Elon’s Twitter dominance.
- **Operation Chokepoint 2.0**
- Received a lot of attention, and I’m thankful it did because my experience at Strike was radicalizing and extreme.
- **Bryan Johnson & Anti-Aging**
- He burst onto the scene with his obsession over biomarkers. I see it as misguided—chasing markers in isolation doesn’t automatically yield a healthy system.
- **Apple’s Rough Year**
- Without a visionary leader, Apple appears to be scraping by on existing products rather than innovating.
- **Google Under Fire**
- Google is in a tough fight with the government, just as it seems they’re on their heels with AI competition.
---
## 2025 Predictions
1. **Bitcoin’s Performance**
Bitcoin will have a good year, but not better than 2024. To beat 2024, it must close above 206k on December 31, 2025. I’ll take the under on that.
- I am not ruling out it to be over that at some point in 2025.
2. **Twitter’s Success Continues to Stunt nostr**
- Nostr adoption will stay slow due to Elon’s dominant influence with X (Twitter).
- As long as it remains a beacon of free speech, I doubt we see an exodus.
- Rumble integrating Tether *might* help if they allow Nostr-like features (zaps), but that seems unlikely.
3. **Apple**
- Apple will continue its rent-seeking behavior and put out underwhelming products.
4. **Google’s Quantum & AI**
- Recent buzz about Google’s quantum chip and AI improvements won’t pan out as a big deal.
- Google will continue to trail OpenAI and xAI in practical LLM usage.
5. **Elon, Vivek & DOGE**
- I expect them to *deliver* more than critics think. They’ll expose bloat and inefficiencies in ways that will shake up norms. I greatly welcome this. I wouldn’t bet against them.
6. **Mainstream Media Reckoning**
- In Trump’s second term, mainstream news outlets will face a real reckoning, as I can’t see how their bias can continue.
- They’ll have to reduce their bias or risk bankruptcy.
- Alternative media’s growth trend continues, especially as Twitter keeps exposing mainstream outlets’ weaknesses.
7. **RFK Delivers**
- We will see big changes in the health space due to RFK at HHS. These are changes that I am very excited to see.
8. **Foreign Policy**
- With the transition to Trump, I expect some foreign policy wins that will buck the establishment but will deliver wins that are not thought possible by the “experts.”
---
### Closing Note
- **Overall 2024**: It was a year of major political upheaval, vindication for Bitcoin, and continued AI advances.
- **Outlook for 2025**: Bitcoin remains strong, AI competition heats up, and media institutions face existential challenges. I’m optimistic for continued decentralization and a more level playing field across tech, finance, and politics. I think the start of Trump’s second term will be very strong for the market, health, and culture. Accelerate.
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@ f7922a0a:82c34788
2025-01-17 23:06:56
Now that the 3rd Satellite Skirmish is complete I wanted to highlight some of the cool features on embrace.satskirmish.com
This is what the cutting edge of podcasting 2.0 looks like imo. Live video in an app that allows you to send sats to the artists in real time.
On the left hand side we have a Boost score borad that displays the total amount of sats that have come in during the show, live Boosts/Booastagrams as they come in, total amount of sats from each person Boosting and total amount sent from each app.
The middle is ovisaly the video of the band playing but with some graphics around it and Boost alerts that show up on the screen in the form of snow flakes for this one.
The righthand side is an IRC chat window that connects to an IRC server that the No Agenda community has used for 18+ years thanks to zoidzero++.
![image](https://yakihonne.s3.ap-east-1.amazonaws.com/f7922a0adb3fa4dda5eecaa62f6f7ee6159f7f55e08036686c68e08382c34788/files/1736985300946-YAKIHONNES3.png)
The bottom of the page is where things get cool. When you click the Boost the Crew button in the center you can send a Boost that gets split between everyone helping produce the show (hightlighted in yellow).
![image](https://yakihonne.s3.ap-east-1.amazonaws.com/f7922a0adb3fa4dda5eecaa62f6f7ee6159f7f55e08036686c68e08382c34788/files/1736986166749-YAKIHONNES3.png)
![image](https://yakihonne.s3.ap-east-1.amazonaws.com/f7922a0adb3fa4dda5eecaa62f6f7ee6159f7f55e08036686c68e08382c34788/files/1736987870636-YAKIHONNES3.png)
Each band also has their own Boost button so you can Boost them while they are playing or anytime you visit the page.
![image](https://yakihonne.s3.ap-east-1.amazonaws.com/f7922a0adb3fa4dda5eecaa62f6f7ee6159f7f55e08036686c68e08382c34788/files/1736988711705-YAKIHONNES3.png)
![image](https://yakihonne.s3.ap-east-1.amazonaws.com/f7922a0adb3fa4dda5eecaa62f6f7ee6159f7f55e08036686c68e08382c34788/files/1736989857092-YAKIHONNES3.png)
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@ dd664d5e:5633d319
2025-01-09 21:39:15
# Instructions
1. Place 2 medium-sized, boiled potatoes and a handful of sliced leeks in a pot.
![veggies](https://i.nostr.build/4uRAuNZOXAa8nyh3.jpg)
2. Fill the pot with water or vegetable broth, to cover the potatoes twice over.
3. Add a splash of white wine, if you like, and some bouillon powder, if you went with water instead of broth.
![wine](https://i.nostr.build/a5aJuPvqNT86b9od.jpg)
4. Bring the soup to a boil and then simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Puree the soup, in the pot, with a hand mixer. It shouldn't be completely smooth, when you're done, but rather have small bits and pieces of the veggies floating around.
![puree](https://i.nostr.build/mx3gApObWecomJ5O.jpg)
6. Bring the soup to a boil, again, and stir in one container (200-250 mL) of heavy cream.
7. Thicken the soup, as needed, and then simmer for 5 more minutes.
8. Garnish with croutons and veggies (here I used sliced green onions and radishes) and serve.
![soup](https://i.nostr.build/2WOAeFnriTH1gvFQ.jpg)
Guten Appetit!
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@ 7ed7d5c3:6927e200
2025-01-08 17:10:00
Can't decide if the terrible book you just read is a 1 or 1.5 star book? Look no further than this chart. Was it Shit or just Bad? Was that movie you watched Very Good or just Decent? How many things out there are really Life Changing?
Finally, a rating scale for humans. Use it for anything in your life that needs a rating out of 5 stars.
Rating / Description
0.5 – The worst
1.0 – Shit
1.5 – Bad
2.0 – Eh
2.5 – Entertaining, but not great
3.0 – Neutral
3.5 – Alright
4.0 – Decent
4.5 – Very good
5.0 – Life Changing
P.S. Do not use it to rate your wife's cooking. The author is not liable for any damages.
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@ dd664d5e:5633d319
2025-01-07 19:57:14
## Hodling Bitcoin does not make you a capitalist
I've noticed that Bitcoin-mindedness seems to lead some people to communistic thinking because it's a hard-limited form of capital. Marx, like most Bitcoiners, heavily discounted the possibility of economic growth or transformation changing the economy enough to undermine some minority's control of some form of capital.
What few today understand, is that many of the Dirty Capitalists of Marx's era actually agreed with him; they were just disdainful of labor and worried that the workers finding out that Marxism is correct about the nature of capitalism would cause unrest. They were the original HFSP crowd.
This was the basic idea, that Marx had, and that many Bitcoiners would agree with:
> Capital is strictly limited and the people that control it can keep labor from attaining any, except when their labor is necessary.
And, as we know, automation will make human labor increasingly unnecessary.
## The math doesn't check out
![impressive](https://i.nostr.build/nOEE81uBWO5H0WY2.jpg)
That underlies all of the calculations of "Well, if I just grab this Bitcoin wallet and hodl for twenty years, then it will grow in value to equal half of everything in existence and then I can just buy up half the planet and rule over everyone like a god."
This is economic nonsense because it assumes that:
1) the value of all things remains static over time,
2) purchasing something with money gives you ownership of it,
3) people will always use that specific money (or any money, at all!) for all transactions,
4) there is no such thing as opportunity cost,
5) people will always value money more than any other thing, and therefore be willing to always trade it for anything else,
6) humans are passive, defenseless, and easy to rule over,
7) someone who is preoccupied with hodling an asset steadily and sharply rising in price would ever be emotionally ready to part with it.
## All monies can die.
People use money for everything because it is easy, fast and cheap. If money becomes too precious or scarce, they will simply switch to using other things (as we saw with gold). Humans replace tools that aren't working well, with those that work better, and money is just another tool. Bitcoin is more divisible than gold, but that won't matter, if enough of it is held by too few.
This is why there's a natural cap on the price of a money and why human productivity _in the here and now_ is not irrelevant or in vain.
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@ dd664d5e:5633d319
2025-01-06 20:36:17
_Ingredients_
* 1 kg of pork roast with rind, such as shoulder or a lean belly
* 1 bottle of beer, light or dark
* chopped German-style mirepoix (best combination, for this recipe, includes celery root, carrot, red onion, and leeks)
* salt, pepper, nutmeg
* 1 diced garlic clove
_Directions_
1. Spread the vegetables on the bottom of the roasting pan.
2. Pour half the beer over the roast. (Drink the other half.)
3. Season the meat, to taste.
4. Roast the meat at 180 °C, until done (depends upon the weight of the roast).
5. Remove the meat from the oven, and wrap in aluminum foil.
6. Pour 2-3 cups of water into the roasting pan.
7. Pour/scrape everything from the pan into a sieve over a sauce pot.
8. Press the vegetables against the sieve, with the back of a spoon, to ensure that you get all that good dripping flavor into the sauce.
9. Defat the sauce with a grease separator, then pour it back into the pot.
10. Thicken the sauce, slightly (it should remain slightly watery, and not turn into a gravy), according to your usual method.
11. Open the foil and slice the roast.
12. Serve with the sauce.
![veggies](https://i.nostr.build/4Xnw05nrPnndTlrU.jpg)
![bier](https://i.nostr.build/9Lzs9imb3mKZNRqj.jpg)
![oven](https://i.nostr.build/m5NOBXvtwWzyzz4R.jpg)
![roasted](https://i.nostr.build/rUmYWXpSzwGudddJ.jpg)
![press](https://i.nostr.build/AhRaHDl8jYD9LjSx.jpg)
![defatted](https://i.nostr.build/OfnpZMWmCsdFi9jt.jpg)
![sauce](https://i.nostr.build/2FO1Nxlv0jSniBIr.jpg)
![meat](https://i.nostr.build/aG1pArR9uW4RYJwv.jpg)
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@ a42048d7:26886c32
2025-01-04 22:32:52
OP_CAT, Coffee, and keeping an open mind to Bitcoin soft forks
by an 80 IQ BTC Maxi Pleb
TLDR: CAT is both low risk and low appeal to the broader non-dev BTC community. I don’t care and you shouldn’t either. If I am an 80 IQ HODL pleb or a company that caters to that group, can you please give me 2-4 fifth grade level coherent english sentences that explain why I should support CAT? I’m still waiting… CTV or LNHANCE on the other hand have broad appeal.
Five years ago in the office we got a fancy $6,000 coffee maker. It was hooked up to wifi, showed TV on a giant screen, and could make every type of coffee/milkshake you could think of. I was captivated… for about 1 day. After trying a few times I realized almost all the drinks it made were of low quality. The wifi connection actually ended up just being annoying. Half the time I wanted a coffee, only had a 5 minute break, and the machine displayed some inscrutable error. I went back to the proverbial grind un-caffeinated and frustrated wishing we had the old reliable boring coffee maker back.
I also found myself only coming back to the 2 drinks I really cared about, espresso and maybe an occasional cappuccino. It was “cool” that new machine could make over 60 different drinks, but when I sat back and thought about it all I really needed or wanted were a few key options that I used constantly. Especially as those extra bells and whistles seemed to be the usual suspect in the coffee machine constantly breaking. I would’ve loved them upgrading from burnt starbucks coffee beans to a local specialty roaster, that would’ve greatly enhanced my daily coffee. Echoing this realization, my coffee setup at home became a simple machine that could only make espresso and a hand crank coffee bean grinder. Still have them years later and they work great. They’re robust and fit exactly what I wanted with no nonsense that created more headache than everyday value.
As you probably suspected, this is a loose comparison to OP_CAT. I’ve listened to podcast after podcast, read blog after blog, and sat through every CAT pitch I could find. I genuinely tried to approach with an open mind. However, ultimately what every pro OP_CAT argument boils down to is that there is no simple left curve elevator pitch a pleb will understand or care about. “But we can get this really cool ZK Rollup and have infinite DEFI bridging to altcoin chains! Look we sort of did it on this other altcoin chain.” And they did, they aren’t lying. They have live software on a shitcoin chain like ETH or SOL that does some modest volume. But the story quickly falls apart in the face of a few basic left curve questions:
“Why should I, as an 80 IQ left curve BTC maxi give a shit?”
“Does this enhance my everyday experience holding and using BTC?”
“Why do you have a non-BTC token for your rollup/sidechain/glorified multisig that is totally centralized?”
“Why is there only a hard to understand often ill-defined *path* to de-centralization? Why isn’t it just already decentralized?”
“What is a clear use case that the typical non-technical everyday BTC holder can understand and rally behind?”
“Why should I care about bridging to ETH, SOL, or whatever shitcoin chain? I only want BTC and don’t want to participate in all that shitcoin bullshit. Bitcoin is a store of value and money to me and it doesn’t help with those use cases in a clear direct way. It sounds like it maybe, kinda, sorta does help with a lot of caveats, ifs, and steps that I struggle to understand.” Sorry yeah I know, that one got a little personal. I’ll try to do better going forward guys.
ZK proofs or other Pro-CAT arguments, are undoubtedly cool and do factually enable potential cool new stuff. It just happens to all be stuff that sounds complex, esoteric, and unappealing to an 80 IQ HODL pleb - let alone a miner, ETF investor, or exchange exec. I don’t mean to say ZK or other tech has no potential and that we won’t eventually move there, but just to say that it’s not in the cards as currently dealt.
I really went out trying to keep an open mind and steelman the case for CAT. I came back firmly believing:
#1 Support is deep in the developer community, but **nonexistent** everywhere else. I have yet to find a single person that supports CAT who is not a dev or working at or sponsored by a company that stands to directly profit from something CAT enables. Which is fine, but I reserve the right to be skeptical of your direct incentive. I acknowledge rough consensus is very hard to judge, and am open to changing my mind on this over time but feel this is a currently accurate assessment.
#2 To get a soft fork you need rough consensus. Most people in that potential consensus are not highly technical developers. They care mostly or exclusively about BTC’s store of value use case. No one has yet articulated a clear compelling store of value enhancing use case that they can understand and care about. Without pull demand from potential users and paying customers, CAT will inevitably stall.
#3 Lots of factually inaccurate FUD has been thrown at CAT. People saw the Taproot Wizards or shitcoiners pushing CAT, and immediately dismiss CAT as an evil psyop without any real consideration for its technical merits. Frankly most people just hate Udi and say “Fuck CAT” based solely on that. Maybe not fair, but true.
#4 CAT is low risk, and it is not a catastrophe waiting to happen. Anything bad it potentially enables is enabled in such an inefficient and/or use hostile way that it is highly unlikely to pose any issues to Bitcoin. CAT’s technical risk is low and this is consistently proven by other chains enabling CAT and having no issues with it, such as Liquid.
#5 Lots of people who have no idea wtf they are talking about falsely claim CAT is the apocalypse without any ability whatsoever to explain why. Imho you are no better than Udi and the shitcoiners if you are willing to lie about CAT just because you dislike them. We as the BTC community need the ability to have a rational discussion on technical merits, and not to devolve into a cult of personality based political battle. The question should be, “Is CAT good or bad and why?” and not “I just hate Udi, therefore its a no from me dog.”
Summarizing CAT using TradFi language: those pushing CAT have technology in search of a problem and no clear product market fit. They are pushing their technology to an apathetic audience. Pushers of CAT are not pulled forward by customer demand. In the tech world these are some of the quintessential red flags that every good investor knows mean you need to sit this one out.
CTV or LNHANCE on the other hand are soft fork proposals that have clear use cases you can quickly explain to a broad swathe of the Bitcoin ecosystem:
“Hey HOLD pleb, worried about losing your coins? Wouldn’t it be nice to have a simple vault that reduces the chances your coins are lost or stolen? Let’s make self custody and BTC’s store of value use case strictly better, specifically without enabling any shitcoin-ery.”
“Hey Blackrock, Van Eck, ARK, Franklin Templeton, and every ETF investor - it would really suck if Coinbase lost all your Bitcoin and that ETF went to zero, right? What it we could create vaults to make that Bitcoin more secure?”
“Like Lightning but find it hard to use self-custodially? Let’s make Lightning better, easier, and more scalable with fewer onchain transactions and lower fees.”
“Tried or seen the ARK demos yet? They have real working code even without covenants. With covenants we get big ARK volumes and scaling while also making it easier.”
Signing off: See the difference? I, an 80 IQ pleb, can steelman multiple use cases for CTV/LNHANCE that have broad appeal. I have yet to see any such case for CAT, and until then I don’t think it’ll go anywhere.
*Pro-CAT Sources I’ve digested and would encourage others to consider:
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Covenants_support
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no_Nj-MX53w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yp4eYK9S6M
Pro-CTV/LNHANCE sources to consider which have CLEAR use cases with widespead appeal:
https://github.com/jamesob/simple-ctv-vault
https://github.com/stutxo/op_ctv_payment_pool
https://lnhance.org/
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/technical/how-ctv-can-help-scale-bitcoin
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@ a4a6b584:1e05b95b
2025-01-02 18:13:31
## The Four-Layer Framework
### Layer 1: Zoom Out
![](http://hedgedoc.malin.onl/uploads/bf583a95-79b0-4efe-a194-d6a8b80d6f8a.png)
Start by looking at the big picture. What’s the subject about, and why does it matter? Focus on the overarching ideas and how they fit together. Think of this as the 30,000-foot view—it’s about understanding the "why" and "how" before diving into the "what."
**Example**: If you’re learning programming, start by understanding that it’s about giving logical instructions to computers to solve problems.
- **Tip**: Keep it simple. Summarize the subject in one or two sentences and avoid getting bogged down in specifics at this stage.
_Once you have the big picture in mind, it’s time to start breaking it down._
---
### Layer 2: Categorize and Connect
![](http://hedgedoc.malin.onl/uploads/5c413063-fddd-48f9-a65b-2cd374340613.png)
Now it’s time to break the subject into categories—like creating branches on a tree. This helps your brain organize information logically and see connections between ideas.
**Example**: Studying biology? Group concepts into categories like cells, genetics, and ecosystems.
- **Tip**: Use headings or labels to group similar ideas. Jot these down in a list or simple diagram to keep track.
_With your categories in place, you’re ready to dive into the details that bring them to life._
---
### Layer 3: Master the Details
![](http://hedgedoc.malin.onl/uploads/55ad1e7e-a28a-42f2-8acb-1d3aaadca251.png)
Once you’ve mapped out the main categories, you’re ready to dive deeper. This is where you learn the nuts and bolts—like formulas, specific techniques, or key terminology. These details make the subject practical and actionable.
**Example**: In programming, this might mean learning the syntax for loops, conditionals, or functions in your chosen language.
- **Tip**: Focus on details that clarify the categories from Layer 2. Skip anything that doesn’t add to your understanding.
_Now that you’ve mastered the essentials, you can expand your knowledge to include extra material._
---
### Layer 4: Expand Your Horizons
![](http://hedgedoc.malin.onl/uploads/7ede6389-b429-454d-b68a-8bae607fc7d7.png)
Finally, move on to the extra material—less critical facts, trivia, or edge cases. While these aren’t essential to mastering the subject, they can be useful in specialized discussions or exams.
**Example**: Learn about rare programming quirks or historical trivia about a language’s development.
- **Tip**: Spend minimal time here unless it’s necessary for your goals. It’s okay to skim if you’re short on time.
---
## Pro Tips for Better Learning
### 1. Use Active Recall and Spaced Repetition
Test yourself without looking at notes. Review what you’ve learned at increasing intervals—like after a day, a week, and a month. This strengthens memory by forcing your brain to actively retrieve information.
### 2. Map It Out
Create visual aids like [diagrams or concept maps](https://excalidraw.com/) to clarify relationships between ideas. These are particularly helpful for organizing categories in Layer 2.
### 3. Teach What You Learn
Explain the subject to someone else as if they’re hearing it for the first time. Teaching **exposes any gaps** in your understanding and **helps reinforce** the material.
### 4. Engage with LLMs and Discuss Concepts
Take advantage of tools like ChatGPT or similar large language models to **explore your topic** in greater depth. Use these tools to:
- Ask specific questions to clarify confusing points.
- Engage in discussions to simulate real-world applications of the subject.
- Generate examples or analogies that deepen your understanding.
**Tip**: Use LLMs as a study partner, but don’t rely solely on them. Combine these insights with your own critical thinking to develop a well-rounded perspective.
---
## Get Started
Ready to try the Four-Layer Method? Take 15 minutes today to map out the big picture of a topic you’re curious about—what’s it all about, and why does it matter? By building your understanding step by step, you’ll master the subject with less stress and more confidence.
-
@ 79998141:0f8f1901
2025-01-02 05:04:56
Happy new year, Anon.
Thanks for tuning in to whatever this long form post will be. I hope to make these more regular, like journal entries as we travel through "real life" and the Nostrverse together. If I'm making time for this reflective writing, then things are going as planned.
2024 was a wildly transformative year for me for many reasons... there's no way I can possibly fit all of them here. They're not all related to Bitcoin and Nostr- I've got a beautiful life outside of all that which has its own independent arc. My wife and I celebrated 7 years of marriage together, stronger than ever (don't believe that "itch" bullshit). We let go of some negative relationships and embraced some positive ones. We cut some bad habits, and we made some good habits. We worked, we traveled, we saw family, and we partied.
But damn, these two technologies have become a huge part of my life. God willing, this trend will continue until they've both eclipsed my professional capacity through our startup, Conduit BTC.
This was the year I was truly orange pilled. Until late 2023, I had traded (quite profitably) Bitcoin, "crypto", stocks, options, prediction markets and whatever else I could get my hands on that felt undervalued. I did this all in my spare time, grinding out a little financial freedom while I hustled at my fiat ventures to support my little family. I wasn't a true believer- just an opportunist with a knack for spotting where and when a crowd might flock to next. That was right up until I ran face first into Lyn Alden's book "Broken Money".
Something about Lyn's engineer/macro-finance inspired prose clicked with me, lock and key. Total one way function. By the end of the book my laser eyes had burned a hole in my bedroom ceiling. I was all in- and acted accordingly both with my capital and my attention. It wasn't long before I discovered Nostr and dove in here too, falling deep into my current orange and purple polyamorous love affair.
> "If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles."
Despite the passion, through studying Bitcoin's criticisms (from the likes of Mike Green and Nassim Taleb) I found a hole in the utopian plot: none of this works without Bitcoin actually being used as money. Worldwide transactions must skyrocket demand for blockspace to keep the network secure/stable for the long term. Besides, if everyday folks aren't using Bitcoin as money then we haven't done shit to make the world a better place. In that world, we've only replaced old masters with new ones. Fuck that.
Whatever I did in this space needed to increase the usage of Bitcoin as money. Simple. This was bigger than passion, this was purpose. I knew that come hell or high water I would dedicate myself to this mission.
Lucky for me I found a partner and best friend in @aceaspades to go on this adventure with. I'm infinitely grateful for him. He's an incredible man who also happens to be an insanely creative and talented software developer. We'd tried for years to find the right project to focus on together, experimenting with all kinds of new techy ideas as they came across our field. Nothing had ever captured our attention like this. This was different. By March of 2024 we had formed a company and gotten to work iterating on how we could leverage these beautiful protocols and open-source tech to create something that served our mission. This is @ConduitBTC.
I've done well in my fiat career executing plans downstream of someone else's creative vision. I've learned the ins and outs of an established ecosystem and found ways to profit from it. I take plans developed by others, compete to win contracts to build them, and execute on them in a cashflow-positive way. I'm bringing this no bullshit blue collar skillset with me to the Nostrverse whether they like it or not.
The adventure we're embarking on now is totally different though. We're charting a new course - totally creative, highly intuitive and extremely speculative towards a future that doesn't exist yet. There are few established norms. The potential is vast but unknown. We're diving into a strange quest to sell a map to an imaginary place and to simultaneously architect its creation (alongside all the amazing builders here doing the same thing). This is insanely exciting to me.
We're barely getting started but a lot has been invested under the surface which will show itself in 2025. We'll be sharing updates in a proper post on @ConduitBTC soon.
As for my personal 2025 resolutions, here they are:
- zero alcohol for the entire year (did this in 2019 and had a great year, it's time for a rerun)
- more focused presence in the moment: especially with my wife
- more self care and prioritized mental/physical health - this includes daily: naps, prayer, self hypnosis or meditation, sweat, and stretching/massaging (overworked in 2024 with a fiat 9-5, a board/advisor role in a fiat business I have equity in, and my newfound passion here. Two serious burn out episodes experienced this year - zero is the only acceptable number of burnouts for long term health and success.)
- related to the above: get Conduit some mission-aligned funding partners and leave my fiat 9-5. Grow the Conduit team (have put in a serious amount of my personal capital already to get this going, which will show fruit in the new year... but I am not an island)
- more authentic and thoughtful posts on Nostr, with a solid amount of shitposting and organic home grown memes to balance it out... more zaps, more geniune connections and interactions with the curious forward thinking people on here
- more IRL Nostr/Bitcoin events
- more laughter, more jokes
Enough for now. Cheers to you and yours Anon, may 2025 bring you the magic you've been dreaming of.
-
@ dd664d5e:5633d319
2024-12-29 20:29:03
## The paparazzi are we
![Paparazzi](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-57651482.jpg)
One of the things that bothers me about social media, in general, is that it gives celebrities an air of approachability, that they don't actually offer.
Theoretically, a celebrity could respond to any one of the dozens or even hundreds of people asking them questions or lodging complaints or singing their praises, but they usually only respond very selectively and leave everyone else just sitting there, as a living monument to the ReplyGuy.
And, as a wise man once said, ReplyGuy is a hoe.
![ReplyGuy](https://i.nostr.build/gCEU6bN7UsXUMEpF.png)
## Death of a ReplyGuy
This is usually because of time and energy restrictions, but also due to distaste, disdain, or indifference. Regardless of motivation, it is simply the nature of things, when a larger number of people are clamboring for the attention of some particular person.
> Ooh, ooh! Can I have the next question?!
> Would you please address my bug?
> May I have a microsecond of your time?
![Press room](https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/joe-biden-3-rt-gmh-241004_1728072113942_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg)
Social media (and I include GitHub in this category) ups this game considerably, and potentially turns it all into a dangerous psychological torture, by making us all preoccupied with people who don't interact with us. The most irrational of groupies because we are forever making almost-contact with our stars.
If we can see them talking to _one_ person, we're supposed to feel like they've spoken with _all_ of us. But they haven't. They spoke with someone else, and we were allowed to watch. No different than on television, except that we might be disappointed and eager to return the next day, to renew our futile attempt.
The same intoxicating feeling that playing the lottery elicits. Everyone is a _potential_ winner, but there is only one jackpot. Come back next week. Buy another ticket. This next time, is your time. Promise.
## The view from the peanut gallery
![Peanut gallery](https://i.nostr.build/7HWCMG9BNaqwVr0E.jpg)
It is all an illusion that there is no hierarchy, where there clearly is one. Celebrities of the past had, at least, the decency to remain slightly aloof. But they all want to be one of the Common Folk, now, just as every multi-millionaire aspires to see himself as fundamentally working-class.
![McDonald's](https://www.fr.de/assets/images/36/245/36245466-donald-trump-robert-kennedy-minister-usa-gesundheit-foto-46e9.jpg)
All of celebrity social media is a stage, and most of us are merely spectators or commentators, to what is playing on it. This is why, if someone treats me like someone sitting in the peanut gallery, my instinct is to treat them like an actor.
Because, in reality, that is what they are.
-
@ a42048d7:26886c32
2024-12-27 16:33:24
DIY Multisig is complex and 100x more likely to fail than you think if you do it yourself:
A few years ago as an experiment I put what was then $2,000 worth Bitcoin into a 2 of 3 DIY multisig with two close family members holding two keys on Tapsigners and myself holding the last key on a Coldcard. My thought was to try and preview how they might deal with self custodied multisig Bitcoin if I died prematurely. After over a year I revisited and asked them to try and do a transaction without me. Just send that single Utxo to a new address in the same wallet, no time limit. It could not possibly have failed harder and shook my belief in multisig. To summarize an extremely painful day, there was a literally 0% chance they would figure this out without help. If this had been for real all our BTC may have been lost forever. Maybe eventually a family friend could’ve helped, but I hadn’t thought of that and hadn’t recommended a trusted BTC knowledge/help source. I had preached self sovereignty and doing it alone and my family tried to respect that. I should’ve given them the contact info of local high integrity bitcoiners I trust implicitly.
Regardless of setup type, I highly recommend having a trusted Bitcoiner and online resources your family knows they can turn to to trouble shoot. Bookmark the corresponding BTCSessions video to your BTC self custody setup.
Multisig is complicated as hell and hard to understand. Complexity is the enemy when it comes to making sure your BTC isn’t lost and actually gets to your heirs. Many Bitcoiners use a similar setup to this one that failed so badly, and I’m telling you unless you’re married to or gave birth to a seriously hardcore maxi who is extremely tech savvy, the risk your Bitcoin is lost upon your death is unacceptably high. My family is extremely smart but when the pressure of now many thousands of dollars was on the line, the complexity of multisig torpedoed them.
Don’t run to an ETF! There are answers: singlesig is awesome.
From observing my family I’m confident they would’ve been okay in a singlesig setup. It was the process of signing on separate devices with separate signers, and moving a PSBT around that stymied them. If it had been singlesig they would’ve been okay as one signature on its own was accomplished. Do not besmirch singlesig, it’s incredibly powerful and incredibly resilient. Resilience and simplicity are vastly underrated! In my opinion multisig may increase your theoretical security against attacks that are far less likely to actually happen, e.g. an Oceans Eleven style hack/heist. More likely your heirs will be fighting panic, grief, and stress and forget something you taught them a few years back. If they face an attack it will most likely be social engineering/phishing. They are unlikely to face an elaborate heist that would make a fun movie.
While I still maintain it was a mistake for Bitkey to not have a separate screen to verify addresses and other info, overall I believe it’s probably the best normie option for small BTC holdings(yes I do know Bitkey is actually multisig, but the UX is basically a single sig). This incident scared me into realizing the importance of simplicity. Complexity and confusion of heirs/family may be the most under-considered aspects of BTC security. If you’ve made a DIY multisig and your heirs can’t explain why they need all three public keys and what a descriptor is and where it’s backed up, you might as well just go have that boating accident now and get it over with.
Once you get past small amounts of BTC, any reputable hardware wallet in singlesig is amazing security I would encourage folks to consider.
In a singlesig setup - For $5 wrench attack concerns, just don’t have your hardware signer or steel backup at your home. You can just have a hot wallet on your phone with a small amount for spending.
If you get a really big stack collaborative multisig is a potentially reasonable middle ground. Just be very thoughtful and brutally honest about your heirs and their BTC and general tech knowledge. Singlesig is still great and you don’t have to move past it, but I get that you also need to sleep at night. If you have truly life changing wealth and are just too uncomfortable with singlesig, maybe consider either 1) Anchorwatch to get the potential benefits of multisig security with the safety net of traditional insurance or 2) Liana wallet where you can use miniscript to effectively have a time locked singlesig spending path to a key held by a third party to help your family recover your funds if they can’t figure it out before that timelock hits, 3) Bitcoin Keeper with their automatic inheritance docs and mini script enabled inheritance key. The automatic inheritance docs are a best in class feature no one else has done yet. Unchained charges $200 for inheritance docs on top of your $250 annual subscription, which imho is beyond ridiculous. 4) Swan vault, I’ve generally soured on most traditional 2 of 3 collaborative multisig because I’ve always found holes either in security (Unchained signed a transaction in only a few hours and has no defined time delay, and still doesn’t support Segwit, seriously guys, wtf?), only support signers that are harder to use and thus tough for noobs, or the overall setups are just too complex. Swan Vault’s focus on keeping it as simple as possible really stands out against competitors that tack on unneeded confusion complexity.
TLDR:
For small amounts of BTC use Bitkey.
For medium to large amounts use singlesig with a reputable hardware wallet and steel backup.
For life changing wealth where you just can no longer stomach sinsglesig maybe also consider Anchorwatch, Bitcoin Keeper, Sean Vault, or Liana.
Don’t forget your steel backups! Be safe out there!
Do your own research and don’t take my word for it. Just use this as inspiration to consider an alternative point of view. If you’re a family of software engineers, feel free to tell me to go fuck myself.
-
@ a4a6b584:1e05b95b
2024-12-26 17:13:08
### **Step 1: Secure Your Device**
1. **Install an Antivirus Program**
Download and install a trusted antivirus program to scan files for potential malware.
- For Linux: [Calm Antivirus](https://www.clamav.net/)
- For Windows: [CalmWin Antivirus](https://clamwin.com/)
2. **Install a VPN**
A VPN is essential for maintaining privacy and security. It will encrypt your internet traffic and hide your IP address.
- Recommended: [Mullvad VPN](https://mullvad.net/), which accepts Bitcoin for anonymous payment.
3. **Install a Torrent Program**
You’ll need a torrent client to download files.
- Recommended: [Deluge](https://deluge-torrent.org/)
4. **Install the Tor Browser**
To access The Pirate Bay or its proxies, you’ll need the privacy-focused [Tor Browser](https://www.torproject.org/).
---
### **Step 2: Prepare Your Setup**
- Ensure your **VPN is running and connected**.
- Open the **Tor Browser**.
- Launch **Deluge** to have your torrent client ready.
---
### **Step 3: Using Tor Go to The Pirate Bay via Onion Service or Find a Trusted Pirate Bay Proxy**
Accessing The Pirate Bay directly can be challenging due to restrictions in some regions. Proxy sites often fill the gap.
- The Pirate Bay Onion service: http://piratebayo3klnzokct3wt5yyxb2vpebbuyjl7m623iaxmqhsd52coid.onion
- Or find a trusted proxy: Use a site like [Pirateproxy](https://github.com/proxyninja/Pirateproxy) or a reliable Tor directory for updated lists.
---
### **Step 4: Search for Linux Distros**
1. On The Pirate Bay, navigate to the **"OtherOS"** category under the **Applications** section.
2. Enter your desired Linux distro in the search bar (e.g., "Ubuntu," "Arch Linux").
---
### **Step 5: Select a Torrent**
1. **Filter the Results**:
- Look for torrents with the **highest seeders (SE)** and the **fewest leechers (LE)**.
- Trusted users are marked with a green skull icon—these are usually safe uploads.
2. **Copy the Magnet Link**:
- Right-click on the magnet icon next to the trusted torrent and select "Copy Link."
---
### **Step 6: Start the Download**
1. In **Deluge**, paste the copied magnet link into the “Add Torrent” box.
2. Click **OK** to start the download.
3. Monitor the progress until the download completes.
---
### **Step 7: Scan the Downloaded File**
Once the file is downloaded:
1. **Scan for viruses**: Right-click the file and use Calm or CalmWin to verify its integrity.
2. If the file passes the scan, it’s ready for use.
---
### **Step 8: Manage Your File**
- **Seed or Remove**:
- To help the torrent community, keep seeding the file by leaving it in your torrent client.
- To stop seeding, right-click the file in Deluge and remove it.
- **Move for Long-Term Storage**: Transfer the file to a secure directory for regular use.
---
### **Notes on Safety and Ethics**
- **Verify Legitimacy**: Ensure the torrent you are downloading is for an official Linux distribution. Torrents with unusual names or details should be avoided.
- **Support the Developers**: Consider visiting the official websites of Linux distros ([Ubuntu](https://ubuntu.com/), [Arch Linux](https://archlinux.org/)) to support their work directly.
---
By following these steps, you can safely and privately download Linux distributions while contributing to the open-source community.
-
@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1
2024-12-26 07:02:59
I just read this, and found it enlightening.
> Jung... notes that intelligence can be seen as problem solving at an everyday level..., whereas creativity may represent problem solving for less common issues
> Other studies have used metaphor creation as a creativity measure instead of divergent thinking and a spectrum of CHC components instead of just g and have found much higher relationships between creativity and intelligence than past studies
https://www.mdpi.com/2079-3200/3/3/59
I'm unusually intelligent (Who isn't?), but I'm much more creative, than intelligent, and I think that confuses people. The ability to apply intelligence, to solve completely novel problems, on the fly, is something IQ tests don't even claim to measure. They just claim a correlation.
Creativity requires taking wild, mental leaps out into nothingness; simply trusting that your brain will land you safely.
And this is why I've been at the forefront of massive innovation, over and over, but never got rich off of it.
*I'm a starving autist.*
Zaps are the first time I've ever made money directly, for solving novel problems. Companies don't do this because there is a span of time between providing a solution and the solution being implemented, and the person building the implementation (or their boss) receives all the credit for the existence of the solution. At best, you can hope to get pawned off with a small bonus.
Nobody can remember who came up with the solution, originally, and that person might not even be there, anymore, and probably never filed a patent, and may have no idea that their idea has even been built. They just run across it, later, in a tech magazine or museum, and say, "Well, will you look at that! Someone actually went and built it! Isn't that nice!"
Universities at least had the idea of cementing novel solutions in academic papers, but that:
1) only works if you're an academic, and at a university,
2) is an incredibly slow process, not appropriate for a truly innovative field,
3) leads to manifestations of perverse incentives and biased research frameworks, coming from 'publish or perish' policies.
But I think long-form notes and zaps solve for this problem. #Alexandria, especially, is being built to cater to this long-suffering class of chronic underachievers. It leaves a written, public, time-stamped record of *Clever Ideas We Have Had*.
Because they are clever, the ideas.
And we have had them.
-
@ 6e468422:15deee93
2024-12-21 19:25:26
We didn't hear them land on earth, nor did we see them. The spores were not visible to the naked eye. Like dust particles, they softly fell, unhindered, through our atmosphere, covering the earth. It took us a while to realize that something extraordinary was happening on our planet. In most places, the mushrooms didn't grow at all. The conditions weren't right. In some places—mostly rocky places—they grew large enough to be noticeable. People all over the world posted pictures online. "White eggs," they called them. It took a bit until botanists and mycologists took note. Most didn't realize that we were dealing with a species unknown to us.
We aren't sure who sent them. We aren't even sure if there is a "who" behind the spores. But once the first portals opened up, we learned that these mushrooms aren't just a quirk of biology. The portals were small at first—minuscule, even. Like a pinhole camera, we were able to glimpse through, but we couldn't make out much. We were only able to see colors and textures if the conditions were right. We weren't sure what we were looking at.
We still don't understand why some mushrooms open up, and some don't. Most don't. What we do know is that they like colder climates and high elevations. What we also know is that the portals don't stay open for long. Like all mushrooms, the flush only lasts for a week or two. When a portal opens, it looks like the mushroom is eating a hole into itself at first. But the hole grows, and what starts as a shimmer behind a grey film turns into a clear picture as the egg ripens. When conditions are right, portals will remain stable for up to three days. Once the fruit withers, the portal closes, and the mushroom decays.
The eggs grew bigger year over year. And with it, the portals. Soon enough, the portals were big enough to stick your finger through. And that's when things started to get weird...
-
@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1
2024-12-20 06:58:48
# When the shit just don't work
Most open-source software is now so badly written and sloppily-maintained, that it's malware.
That's why the governments are getting involved. They try using OS, to save money and improve quality (and to market themselves as "hip"), and then it blows up their system or opens them up to hackers.
Now, they're pissed and want support (but the dev with the handle SucksToBeYou has disappeared) or someone to sue, but most OS projects have no identifiable entity behind them. Even well-known anon devs are often groups of anons or accounts that change hands.
# The software cracks have moved on
There is simply no evidence that OS alone produces higher-quality software. The reason it seemed that way, at the beginning, was because of the caliber of the developers working on the projects, and the limited number of projects. This resulted in experienced people actively reviewing each others' code.
OS used to be something the elite engaged in, but it's mostly beginners practicing in public, now. That's why there are now millions of OS projects, happily offered for free, but almost all of them are garbage. The people now building OS usually aren't capable of reviewing other people's code, and they're producing worse products than ChatGPT could. Their software has no customers because it has no market value.
# If everything is OS, then nothing is.
Another paradigm-changer is that all software is de facto OS, now that we can quickly reverse-engineer code with AI. That means the focus is no longer on OS/not-OS, but on the accountability and reputation of the builders.
It is, once again, a question of trust.
We have come full-circle.
-
@ 7ed7d5c3:6927e200
2024-12-18 00:56:48
There was a time when we dared not rustle a whisper. But now we write and read samizdat and, congregating in the smoking rooms of research institutes, heartily complain to each other of all _they_ are muddling up, of all _they_ are dragging us into! There’s that unnecessary bravado around our ventures into space, against the backdrop of ruin and poverty at home; and the buttressing of distant savage regimes; and the kindling of civil wars; and the ill-thought-out cultivation of Mao Zedong (at our expense to boot)—in the end we’ll be the ones sent out against him, and we’ll have to go, what other option will there be? And they put whomever they want on trial, and brand the healthy as mentally ill—and it is always “they,” while _we_ are—helpless.
We are approaching the brink; already a universal spiritual demise is upon us; a physical one is about to flare up and engulf us and our children, while we continue to smile sheepishly and babble:
“But what can we do to stop it? We haven’t the strength.”
We have so hopelessly ceded our humanity that for the modest handouts of today we are ready to surrender up all principles, our soul, all the labors of our ancestors, all the prospects of our descendants—anything to avoid disrupting our meager existence. We have lost our strength, our pride, our passion. We do not even fear a common nuclear death, do not fear a third world war (perhaps we’ll hide away in some crevice), but fear only to take a civic stance! We hope only not to stray from the herd, not to set out on our own, and risk suddenly having to make do without the white bread, the hot water heater, a Moscow residency permit.
We have internalized well the lessons drummed into us by the state; we are forever content and comfortable with its premise: we cannot escape the _environment,_ the social conditions; they shape us, “being determines consciousness.” What have we to do with this? We can do nothing.
But we can do—everything!—even if we comfort and lie to ourselves that this is not so. It is not “they” who are guilty of everything, but _we ourselves,_ only _we!_
Some will counter: But really, there is nothing to be done! Our mouths are gagged, no one listens to us, no one asks us. How can we make _them_ listen to us?
To make them reconsider—is impossible.
The natural thing would be simply not to reelect them, but there are no re-elections in our country.
In the West they have strikes, protest marches, but we are too cowed, too scared: How does one just give up one’s job, just go out onto the street?
All the other fateful means resorted to over the last century of Russia’s bitter history are even less fitting for us today—true, let’s not fall back on them! Today, when all the axes have hewn what they hacked, when all that was sown has borne fruit, we can see how lost, how drugged were those conceited youths who sought, through terror, bloody uprising, and civil war, to make the country just and content. No thank you, fathers of enlightenment! We now know that the vileness of the means begets the vileness of the result. Let our hands be clean!
So has the circle closed? So is there indeed no way out? So the only thing left to do is wait inertly: What if something just happens _by itself?_
But it will never come unstuck _by itself,_ if we all, every day, continue to acknowledge, glorify, and strengthen it, if we do not, at the least, recoil from its most vulnerable point.
From lies.
When violence bursts onto the peaceful human condition, its face is flush with self-assurance, it displays on its banner and proclaims: “I am Violence! Make way, step aside, I will crush you!” But violence ages swiftly, a few years pass—and it is no longer sure of itself. To prop itself up, to appear decent, it will without fail call forth its ally—Lies. For violence has nothing to cover itself with but lies, and lies can only persist through violence. And it is not every day and not on every shoulder that violence brings down its heavy hand: It demands of us only a submission to lies, a daily participation in deceit—and this suffices as our fealty.
And therein we find, neglected by us, the simplest, the most accessible key to our liberation: a _personal nonparticipation in lies!_ Even if all is covered by lies, even if all is under their rule, let us resist in the smallest way: Let their rule hold _not through me!_
And this is the way to break out of the imaginary encirclement of our inertness, the easiest way for us and the most devastating for the lies. For when people renounce lies, lies simply cease to exist. Like parasites, they can only survive when attached to a person.
We are not called upon to step out onto the square and shout out the truth, to say out loud what we think—this is scary, we are not ready. But let us at least refuse to say what we _do not_ think!
This is the way, then, the easiest and most accessible for us given our deep-seated organic cowardice, much easier than (it’s scary even to utter the words) civil disobedience à la Gandhi.
Our way must be: _Never knowingly support lies!_ Having understood where the lies begin (and many see this line differently)—step back from that gangrenous edge! Let us not glue back the flaking scales of the Ideology, not gather back its crumbling bones, nor patch together its decomposing garb, and we will be amazed how swiftly and helplessly the lies will fall away, and that which is destined to be naked will be exposed as such to the world.
And thus, overcoming our timidity, let each man choose: Will he remain a witting servant of the lies (needless to say, not due to natural predisposition, but in order to provide a living for the family, to rear the children in the spirit of lies!), or has the time come for him to stand straight as an honest man, worthy of the respect of his children and contemporaries? And from that day onward he:
· Will not write, sign, nor publish in any way, a single line distorting, so far as he can see, the truth;
· Will not utter such a line in private or in public conversation, nor read it from a crib sheet, nor speak it in the role of educator, canvasser, teacher, actor;
· Will not in painting, sculpture, photograph, technology, or music depict, support, or broadcast a single false thought, a single distortion of the truth as he discerns it;
· Will not cite in writing or in speech a single “guiding” quote for gratification, insurance, for his success at work, unless he fully shares the cited thought and believes that it fits the context precisely;
· Will not be forced to a demonstration or a rally if it runs counter to his desire and his will; will not take up and raise a banner or slogan in which he does not fully believe;
· Will not raise a hand in vote for a proposal which he does not sincerely support; will not vote openly or in secret ballot for a candidate whom he deems dubious or unworthy;
· Will not be impelled to a meeting where a forced and distorted discussion is expected to take place;
· Will at once walk out from a session, meeting, lecture, play, or film as soon as he hears the speaker utter a lie, ideological drivel, or shameless propaganda;
· Will not subscribe to, nor buy in retail, a newspaper or journal that distorts or hides the underlying facts.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of the possible and necessary ways of evading lies. But he who begins to cleanse himself will, with a cleansed eye, easily discern yet other opportunities.
Yes, at first it will not be fair. Someone will have to temporarily lose his job. For the young who seek to live by truth, this will at first severely complicate life, for their tests and quizzes, too, are stuffed with lies, and so choices will have to be made. But there is no loophole left for anyone who seeks to be honest: Not even for a day, not even in the safest technical occupations can he avoid even a single one of the listed choices—to be made in favor of either truth or lies, in favor of spiritual independence or spiritual servility. And as for him who lacks the courage to defend even his own soul: Let him not brag of his progressive views, boast of his status as an academician or a recognized artist, a distinguished citizen or general. Let him say to himself plainly: I am cattle, I am a coward, I seek only warmth and to eat my fill.
For us, who have grown staid over time, even this most moderate path of resistance will be not be easy to set out upon. But how much easier it is than self-immolation or even a hunger strike: Flames will not engulf your body, your eyes will not pop out from the heat, and your family will always have at least a piece of black bread to wash down with a glass of clear water.
Betrayed and deceived by us, did not a great European people—the Czechoslovaks—show us how one can stand down the tanks with bared chest alone, as long as inside it beats a worthy heart?
It will not be an easy path, perhaps, but it is the easiest among those that lie before us. Not an easy choice for the body, but the only one for the soul. No, not an easy path, but then we already have among us people, dozens even, who have for years abided by all these rules, who live by the truth.
And so: We need not be the first to set out on this path, Ours is but to join! The more of us set out together, the thicker our ranks, the easier and shorter will this path be for us all! If we become thousands—they will not cope, they will be unable to touch us. If we will grow to tens of thousands—we will not recognize our country!
But if we shrink away, then let us cease complaining that someone does not let us draw breath—we do it to ourselves! Let us then cower and hunker down, while our comrades the biologists bring closer the day when our thoughts can be read and our genes altered.
And if from _this also_ we shrink away, then we are worthless, hopeless, and it is of us that Pushkin asks with scorn:
Why offer herds their liberation?
.............................
Their heritage each generation
The yoke with jingles, and the whip.
February 12, 1974
—translated from the Russian by Yermolai Solzhenitsyn
-
@ c48e29f0:26e14c11
2024-12-17 16:33:04
# titcoin
_Rename Bitcoin to "Titcoin" and sats to "tits."_
Redefinition of Bitcoin into “Titcoin” and redefinition of sats into “tits” using that as the Unit Base of Denomination.
TitHub repository available here: [https://github.com/WalkerAmerica/titcoin](https://github.com/WalkerAmerica/titcoin)
# Abstract
This BIP proposes redefining the commonly recognized "bitcoin" and “sats” units so that what was previously known “bitcoin” becomes “titcoin” and what was previously known as “sats,” the smallest indivisible unit, becomes “tits.” The “Bitcoin” Network will be renamed to the “Titcoin” Network. Under this proposal, one tit is defined as that smallest unit, eliminating the need for decimal places, and 100,000,000 tits is defined as a titcoin. By making tits the standard measure, this BIP aims to simplify user comprehension, reduce confusion, and align on-chain values directly with their displayed representation.
Also, by aligning Bitcoin's brand with live-giving tits, we will supercharge adoption and inject humor into financial sovereignty. After all, every baby came into this world sucking on tits.
**Under this BIP:**
- Internally, the smallest indivisible unit remains unchanged.
- With this proposal, "1 tit" equals that smallest unit.
- What was previously referred to as "1 BTC" now corresponds to 100 million tits.
- Satoshis are permanently eliminated.
# Addressing the “Buttcoin” BIP:
Not much time need be wasted addressing the catastrophic “Button” BIP proposed by Rockstar Dev, but two points bear emphasizing:
1. “Butts” is shitcoin-adjacent terminology (where does shit come from? Exactly…)
2. Butts give you poop. Tits give you milk.
**Case closed.**
# Motivation
Bitcoin's branding is boring. Worse yet, critics think Bitcoin is already "a joke," so let’s own it, let's: Make Bitcoin Funny Again. Laughter is universal, irresistible, and much cheaper than marketing agencies and product roadmaps. Besides, basically everyone either has tits or likes tits. Additionally, renaming Bitcoin as “Titcoin” makes the common trope of “Bitcoin BROS” sound even more stupid. “Titcoin Bros”? Get a life, man…
By rebranding Bitcoin to Titcoin (.)(.), we achieve several key goals:
**1. Haters Become Users:**
People like tits. Tits give nourishment to babies. They can stack tits instead of just making fun of them. Adoption skyrockets as trolls turn into tit hodlers.
**2. Memetic Power:**
The word “tit” is both universally funny and ageless. “Send me 10 tits” is instantly iconic. “Nice tits” is a great compliment. “That’s gonna cost you a pair of tits” is hilarious. Try saying that without smiling. You can’t. (.)(.)
**3. Simplifying Denominations:**
Decimals are a blight on humanity. 0.00000001 BTC? Kill it. Under the Titcoin Standard:
- 1 Titcoin = 100,000,000 tits.
- Satoshis are gone. Forever. If you see Satoshi on the road, kill him - just like in Zen, where the teacher becomes the barrier. We transcend satoshis and achieve financial enlightenment.
**4. Aligning with the Ledger:**
Bitcoin’s base unit was always integers, but now they’re funny integers. No more fractions, decimals, or math anxiety. Just tits. (.)(.)
**5. Adoption via Humor:**
Titcoin lowers Bitcoin's intimidation factor. Newbies will feel at ease buying tits instead of serious-sounding fractions of BTC. Tits > Decimals.
# Specification
**Terminology Redefinitions:**
- "Bitcoin" → "Titcoin" (.)(.)
- "BTC" → "TIT" (ISO-friendly and hilarious)
- Satoshis → Gone. Eliminated. Defeated.
**Example:**
- Old: "I’ll send you 0.00010000 BTC."
- New: "I’ll send you 10,000 tits (.)(.)."
Wallet balances would display as:
- "You have 1,000,000 tits" instead of some boring fractional BTC amount.
# Adoption Strategy
**1. Memes First:**
Flood Twitter, Reddit, and Telegram with memes. Start with *“Hodl your tits”* and *“Stack tits”*.
**2. Titcoin Podcast:**
There is already a podcast called _“Titcoin Podcast”_ (which many people are saying is the fastest-growing Bitcoin (Titcoin) podcast in the world). Titcoin Podcast will be a driving force in the adoption of the Titcoin Standard. (.)(.)
Nostr: https://primal.net/titcoin
X: https://x.com/titcoinpodcast
Web: http://titcoin.org
**3. Kill Satoshis:**
Developers MUST remove all references to satoshis. Replace satoshis in GUIs, APIs, and block explorers with tits. Satoshis were a stepping stone - it’s time to let go.
**4. Emoji Standardization:**
Use the (.)(.) emoji universally to denote tits.
# Rationale
**1. Usability & Clarity:**
"Decimals are for nerds. Tits are for everyone." A common currency for humans should be easy to use, funny, and integer-based.
**2. Appealing to Critics:**
Bitcoin has endured years of attacks from all sides. By adopting the Titcoin Standard, we turn anyone who doesn’t like Titcoin into a tit-hating bigot. It’s an elegant financial counterattack. Additionally, everyone always says “we need more women in Bitcoin,” and now women will feel more represented by Titcoin, because they have tits. (.)(.)
**3. Transcending Satoshis:**
Satoshis served us well, but their time is over. True enlightenment comes when we abandon decimals, satoshis, and arbitrary denominations. If you meet Satoshi on the road, kill him.
**4. Memetic Durability:**
Everyone loves a good tit joke. It’s timeless.
# Backward Compatibility
There is no backward compatibility because Titcoin is the future. Applications must hard fork their UI to replace all references to Bitcoin and BTC with Titcoin and TIT.
# Implementation Timeline
- Phase 1 (1 month): Meme dissemination. Every wallet dev team is required to add (.)(.) emoji support.
- Phase 2 (3 months): Exchanges rebrand BTC tickers to tit. *Nostr zaps tits into hyperspace.*
- Phase 3 (6 months): Michael Saylor announces MicroStrategy now stacked 10 trillion tits, declaring it the superior currency. ETFs follow suit, ensuring Wall Street hodls tits en masse. Banks allow tit transfers via SWIFT.
# Test Vectors
- Old: 1.00000000 BTC → New: 100,000,000 tits (.)(.)
- Old: 0.00000001 BTC → New: 1 tit (.)(.)
- Old: 0.001 BTC → New: 100,000 tits (.)(.)
# Future-Proofing
Tits ensure we have infinite memes for infinite money.
**Example Phrases for the Future:**
- "Better hodl on to your tits."
- "This is the Titcoin Standard."
- "I’m sending you tits."
- “I’ve never seen so many tits!”
- “That’s the million tit question.”
- “We need more women in Titcoin.”
- “I’m a Titcoin Maximalist.”
- “Nice tits!”
- “I love tits.”
# Conclusion
By renaming Bitcoin to Titcoin and adopting a whole-number unit display, we align memetic dominance with financial sovereignty. Haters become adopters. Tits become wealth. And the world gets a little bit funnier. (.)(.)
Let’s hodl our tits and watch the world follow.
# Copyright:
This BIP is licensed under CC-🫱(.)(.)🫲-1.0 and the eternal blessing of tit (.)(.) memes.
-
@ dd664d5e:5633d319
2024-12-14 15:25:56
![Advent](https://d1csarkz8obe9u.cloudfront.net/posterpreviews/advent-greeting-card-video-wishes-candle-3-design-template-780d47af5b619a8008d7332c59a970d6_screen.jpg)
Christmas season hasn't actually started, yet, in Roman #Catholic Germany. We're in Advent until the evening of the 24th of December, at which point Christmas begins (with the Nativity, at Vespers), and continues on for 40 days until Mariä Lichtmess (Presentation of Christ in the temple) on February 2nd.
![Calendar](https://www.stpatrickchurch.us/portals/0/SiteFiles/LivingTheGospel/LiturgicalCalendar/Liturgical-Calendar.png?ver=2016-07-08-172202-947)
It's 40 days because that's how long the post-partum isolation is, before women were allowed back into the temple (after a ritual cleansing).
![Mariä](https://bistum-augsburg.de/var/plain_site/storage/images/_aliases/lightbox/pfarreien/st.-martin_lauingen/aktuelles/darstellung-des-herrn-mariae-lichtmess_id_0/3691659-1-ger-DE/Darstellung-des-Herrn-Mariae-Lichtmess.jpg)
That is the day when we put away all of the Christmas decorations and bless the candles, for the next year. (Hence, the British name "Candlemas".) It used to also be when household staff would get paid their cash wages and could change employer. And it is the day precisely in the middle of winter.
![](https://setonshrine.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Events.png)
Between Christmas Eve and Candlemas are many celebrations, concluding with the Twelfth Night called Epiphany or Theophany. This is the day some Orthodox celebrate Christ's baptism, so traditions rotate around blessing of waters.
![Diving](https://www.tovima.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/05/%CE%B8%CE%B5%CE%BF%CF%86%CE%B1%CE%BD%CE%B5%CE%B9%CE%B1-scaled.jpg)
The Monday after Epiphany was the start of the farming season, in England, so that Sunday all of the ploughs were blessed, but the practice has largely died out.
![Plough](https://bpb-eu-w2.wpmucdn.com/blogs.reading.ac.uk/dist/a/54/files/2016/01/Plough_Monday.jpg)
Our local tradition is for the altar servers to dress as the wise men and go door-to-door, carrying their star and looking for the Baby Jesus, who is rumored to be lying in a manger.
![Stern](https://www.erzbistum-paderborn.de/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/11/STEF0350.jpg)
They collect cash gifts and chocolates, along the way, and leave the generous their powerful blessing, written over the door. The famous 20 * C + M + B * 25 blessing means "Christus mansionem benedicat" (Christ, bless this house), or "Caspar, Melchior, Balthasar" (the names of the three kings), depending upon who you ask.
They offer the cash to the Baby Jesus (once they find him in the church's Nativity scene), but eat the sweets, themselves. It is one of the biggest donation-collections in the world, called the "Sternsinger" (star singers). The money goes from the German children, to help children elsewhere, and they collect around €45 million in cash and coins, every year.
![Groundhog](https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/624x351/p0h8c3sc.jpg)
As an interesting aside:
The American "groundhog day", derives from one of the old farmers' sayings about Candlemas, brought over by the Pennsylvania Dutch. It says, that if the badger comes out of his hole and sees his shadow, then it'll remain cold for 4 more weeks. When they moved to the USA, they didn't have any badgers around, so they switched to groundhogs, as they also hibernate in winter.
-
@ 65912a7a:5dc638bf
2024-12-08 05:33:02
## Chef's notes
This is my late partner's award winning Cajun rice & beans recipe. It's an updated take on the traditional Cajun comfort food.
Chef Darin was a classically trained chef who spent 30+ years in the kitchen perfecting his recipes, and delivering authentic Cajun and Creole food to his patrons. This is a 5-star dish that will earn the respect of the most discerning Cajun afficionado. You won't be disappointed.
I suggest making this recipe exactly as directed the first time, and then make whatever adjustments you want for future batches. Also, don't cheap out on the Andouille. No Johnsonville or Hillshire Farms. Chef Aidelle's is a good choice, as is Silva's from Whole Foods. They cost a few extra bucks, but it's absolutely worth it.
## Details
- ⏲️ Prep time: 30 min
- 🍳 Cook time: 3 hours
- 🍽️ Servings: 12
## Ingredients
- 16oz small red beans, dry
- 2 cups long grain white rice
- 14-16oz andouille sausage, sliced
- 8oz ham, cubed
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 2-3 stalks celery, chopped
- 2 tbsp garlic (12 cloves), minced
- 7 cups water
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 large bay leaves
- 1 tbsp parsley, dried
- 1 tsp thyme, dried
- 1 tsp Cajun seasoning
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper, dried
- ¼ tsp sage, rubbed
- 1½ tsp salt (more or less to taste)
## Directions
1. Soak beans in a large pot of water overnight.
2. Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Cook onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic in olive oil for 3 to 4 minutes (until onion is translucent).
3. Add beans, bay leaves, parsley, thyme, salt, MSG, Cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper, Sage, and water. Stir, bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium-low (btwn 2-3). Cover and simmer for 2½ hours.
4. Remove bay leaves. Mash some of the beans. Stir Andouille and ham into beans, and simmer uncovered for an additional 30 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, prepare the rice. Bring water and rice to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
6. Serve beans over steamed white rice.
-
@ 8fb140b4:f948000c
2024-12-08 05:21:39
After nuking my second LND node (the first one died due to hardware failure) by my own typo and lack of any thought in the design of the CLI of LND lightning node tools, I decided to take a plunge into the world of mature and complex implementation of the protocol, [Eclair by ACINQ](https://github.com/ACINQ/eclair). It has been almost one year (the birth of the node was on Christmas Day 2023), 50 thousand transactions routed, and over 30 BTC of routed value. In this post, I'd like to reflect on my experiences with Eclair, go over some of the gotchas and issues, and highlight some of the good choices that I've made since the beginning of my adventure.
## Learnings from the Past Experience
While I was learning Lightning network and had very little understanding of how things worked in the whole Bitcoin space, Umbrel was my go-to solution that helped me get off the ground. It proved to be easy and somewhat educational but was not something that I would continuously run for the production setup or trust with any significant amount of bitcoin that I could not afford to lose. Lightning is built on top of the L1 (Bitcoin) network but manages the state of the channels in its own database that is negotiated and agreed upon with its peers. Any failures in the state integrity may result in the complete loss of liquidity or hefty penalty transactions (significant loss of capital). A Lightning node that participates in routing public transactions is also required to be constantly online with as little downtime as possible and only short periods offline at a time. Otherwise, you may risk causing force-closure of the channel due to expired HTLC that is measured in number of blocks.
## The Setup
Taking all of my learnings into consideration, I decided to first invest in reliable enterprise-grade hardware:
- Server-grade hardware with ECC memory and reliable power supply and CPU
- UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) to avoid any headaches due to electrical spikes or drop-outs
- Reliable enterprise SSDs and NVMEs
- ZFS (filesystem) to mirror the critical storage and to ensure full integrity of the data (bit-rot prevention). You do need to tune ZFS for your specific workload and reliability
- Reliable and replicated database (PostgreSQL) with two local and one remote replica, and a requirement to have at least two replicas committing the transaction to the disk
- Backup! On-site and off-site backup of the critical configuration that you could use to restore the node if your house burns down
- Spare parts, redundancy, backup, monitoring
- Reliable and stable internet connectivity
The software is Eclair 0.11.0 (latest release as of today), PostgreSQL 16 with two replicas, Bitcoin Core 27.2 (with redundant storage of blocks), additional Bitcoin Core running on a separate node and in-sync with the chain (in case primary node fails), Ubuntu 22.04 with the latest docker software from the official Docker repo.
## All Major Gotchas That I Came Across
While Eclair is mature and very stable in itself, it does have some quirks and design choices that you need to account for when running your node. The software is written in Scala and requires a specific version of JVM to run it, as well as JRE and Maven to build it. It doesn't mean that other versions won't work, but you may find unpleasant bugs that may result in catastrophic failures of your node with nobody to help you. All of the requirements are listed in the release notes and installation guide. Whenever in doubt, **RTFM** first, then ask questions.
### Limited Support by the FOSS Community
Eclair is not the most popular implementation of the Lightning protocol, and therefore it is hard to find tools or plugins that could help you manage the node. GUI for the node so far is only supported by RTL and with a very limited number of features. For any sort of statistics, you are limited to either Prometheus (extensive metrics are available) or writing your own SQL on top of the Eclair tables.
### On-chain Fee Differences Between Yours and Partner Nodes
This one hit me hard, and many times. I've had more than a few force-closures of the channels because of the conservative and safe default settings. The worst part is, it strikes you when there is a huge spike in fees, which results in significant losses to force-close the channel due to high fees. I am still not 100% sure how the big difference can be exploited in practice, and opted for increase of the tolerance levels to avoid surprise FCs:
```
eclair.on-chain-fees {
feerate-tolerance {
ratio-low = <0.01~> // will allow remote fee rates as low as XX our local feerate (spikes)
ratio-high = <20.0~> // will allow remote fee rates as high as XX times our local feerate (drops)
}
}
```
It is up to you and your risk tolerance to define something reasonable and yet allow for secure and reliable node operation.
### Initial Lightning Network State Sync
When I just started running the node, I had very few channels and startup times were fast. Later, when I expanded the number of channels, I noted that it took my node up to 6-12 hours before it was fully in-sync and routing traffic fast. Given that ACINQ maintains one of the largest nodes on the network, I knew that there was something with my settings that caused the issue. After some research, I came across the setting that whitelisted node IDs for state sync, which immediately rang a bell since I knew from the LND days that not all peer nodes are used for the network sync. Setting the list to my most reliable and largest nodes reduced the startup settling times down to minutes again:
```
eclair.sync-whitelist = [
"03864ef025fde8fb587d989186ce6a4a186895ee44a926bfc370e2c366597a3f8f",
...
]
```
You do not need to have too many public keys in here, and should keep it between 5-10.
### Automatic MAX HTLC Adjustment for the Channel
One of the killer features of Eclair is its ability to automatically adjust MAX HTLC for the channel and reduce the number of failed transactions due to insufficient liquidity on the channel. It can be used to estimate your total channels' balances but with smart configuration and a little thinking, you can make it reasonably private while still maintaining a good transaction flow:
```
eclair.channel.channel-update.min-time-between-updates=1 hour # Allows for the adjustments to be made once every hour
eclair.channel.channel-update.balance-thresholds=[
{
available-sat = 10000
max-htlc-sat = 0 // 0% of 10000
},
...
]
```
You can have as many variations as you need, and ensure that the channel MAX HTLC is set well and within reasonable ranges. You would also want to account for multiple transactions going through the channel, but also account for the channel size and an average amount of sats per transaction.
### Max Accepted HTLCs
By design, the Lightning channel is limited to a specific number of in-flight HTLCs, and the setting is fixed during channel opening time with no way of changing it unless you close and reopen the channel with new settings. If you find your node routing a lot of small transactions (zaps), you may quickly fail many due to that limit (I think default was in single digit range):
```
eclair.channel.max-htlc-value-in-flight-percent=98 # Default I think is half or 50%
eclair.channel.max-accepted-htlcs = 50
```
The setting above will allow for the channel to be more fully utilized and have more concurrent transactions without clogging.
### CLTV Delta
This is basically a setting that is global for Eclair and sets the maximum number of remaining blocks (in time) before HTLC expires. Setting this too high may result in many HTLCs failing for the small nodes with not so great centrality, and reduce the number of routed transactions:
```
# CLTV delta
eclair.channel.expiry-delta-blocks = 60
```
Default is 144 but I found that setting this to 60 (minimum possible for my node setup and configuration) yields better results for routing. It does expose you to more risk of expired HTLCs that may cause force-closures, but I have seen only one so far on my node.
### Allocate Sufficient Memory
You will want to adjust the heap size for Eclair, since the default is too small to run any sizable node. Setting `JAVA_OPTS=-Xmx32g` (or half the size of your available RAM) would be a good start. I would advise having at least 32GB of RAM for the node, and allocating at least 16GB (`JAVA_OPTS=-Xmx16g`) for smooth and fast operations.
### And More Settings and Parameters to Tune
I have covered only some of the major settings that I felt were worth writing about, but there is much more you could configure and tweak. Read all of the [Guides](https://github.com/ACINQ/eclair/blob/master/docs/Guides.md) and especially focus on the [Configure](https://github.com/ACINQ/eclair/blob/master/docs/Configure.md) and a [sample reference configuration file](https://github.com/ACINQ/eclair/blob/master/eclair-core/src/main/resources/reference.conf).
## Good Decisions
First, going with Eclair was the right choice, along with using server-grade hardware with ECC RAM and reliable storage. Second, having a replicated database on three separate nodes with one off-site saved me from a sure destruction of all state and loss of funds. Third, deciding to only maintain channels with reliable and stable nodes saved me from some bad force-closures, where I would choose to close the channel if a peer node goes up and down too frequently, regardless of how well it routes. Even big nodes run by single operators fail badly, as do nodes operated by companies. Keeping your eyes on the node and its health, as well as the health of its peers, is something that very few operators do, which can cause failures and unnecessary loss of your and their funds.
Lastly, if you decide to run a routing node, you have a responsibility to maintain it well and monitor its health. There are many tools you could use, and with Eclair you can use Prometheus and Grafana. Keep your node's packages updated and monitor for any security-related issues that may appear from time to time, so you can mitigate them quickly.
## Conclusion
So far I am satisfied with Eclair despite all of the difficulties and headaches I've had with it. It is not perfect, and it requires me to create small tools to do some basic things, but I need a stable and reliable node that I can trust. Eclair has proved to be all that I wanted, and saved my bacon a few times when I nuked one of the PostgreSQL servers and all of its data, and managed to do the same for another replica, but was able to recover and recreate from the remaining replica. Eclair is also stateless during runtime and guarantees consistency of the node regardless of how it fails. Even if you pull a plug on the node's server, it will still be able to come up and recover its consistent state that is in agreement with its peers.
**Is it for everyone?** No, it is definitely not for everyone or for anyone who just wants a small node to run their online shop with a few channels. You could have a very reliable and trusted node for the online shop with Eclair, but you will need some technical skills to be able to set up, maintain and recover it if things go wrong.
In the end, it is all up to you, your skills, your willingness to learn, and your risk tolerance to make that decision. For me, it was the right choice, and I have no regrets despite not having access to the latest shiny features of the Lightning network.
-
@ dd664d5e:5633d319
2024-12-07 20:02:01
## Yeah, so... nah.
People keep trying to explain to me, that women will be better-off, if they become more dangerous. While I can see the inevitableness of women living in remote rural areas learning to shoot with a rifle, and similar, I'm generally against arming women with killing machines.
This is not because I'm averse to the idea of using violence to solve problems (albeit after exhausting better options), or because I don't like guns, or am unfamiliar with them. It's also not because I don't know I would look totally, mind-numbingly hot holding something long and spearlike, while dressed in camo and wearing a T-Shirt that appears to have shrunk in the wash.
![rifle](https://i.nostr.build/0E6Sce4oOWejixAK.jpg)
It's a more fundamental set of problems, that irks me.
## Bazooka Barbie
American gun manufacturers saturated the public and private male market so thoroughly, that they eventually turned to marketing firearms to women.
Men are scary and bad. There is Stranger Danger. We can't just make the neighborhood less dangerous because erm... reasons. Stay safe with a cute gun.
![cute](https://www.didierruef.com/img-get/I0000EIN5AHdNGZk/t/200/I0000EIN5AHdNGZk.jpg)
It has gone along with the predictable hypersexualization of the conservative feminine ideal. Since guns are considered aggressive, women with guns are perceived as more sexually available. Guns (and tanks, bombs, bows, etc.) make women "equal", "independent", "feisty", "hot", "freaky", "calculating", "empowered", etc.
![contrast](https://i.nostr.build/KxUP4zLEMXGGIHeP.jpg)
Sorta slutty, basically.
This Gun Girl is not like the helpless, hapless, harmless homemaker ideal, of yesteryear. A woman who was dependent, chaste, gentle, wise... and in need of protection. A woman who saw the men around her as people she could rely on for providing her with a safe environment. That woman is _au revoir_. Now, sistas are doing it for themselves. 💪🏻
The New Martial Missy needs a man, like a fish needs a bicycle... but make it country.
Yeah, it's marketing, but it sure has set the tone, and millions of men have been trained to prefer women who market themselves in this manner. Hard, mean, lean women. That will not remain without wider societal consequences.
You know, I liked that homemaker. I miss her. She's literally me.
![like me](https://i.nostr.build/tBM6nKF8uDLaF5xb.jpg)
## Those arms are for cuddling babies, not holding rocket launchers.
Now, that we've all become accustomed to imagery of women holding firearms, it wasn't much of a leap to condition us all to the sight of women in frontline police, guard, or military positions.
![IDF](https://cdn.jns.org/uploads/2018/07/DgxwBIyX0AE6zgw-1320x880.jpg)
Instead of war being a terrible, highly-lethal, territorial fight amongst men, it's now cute, hip, trendy and fun. It's a big party, and women are finally allowed to join in.
![Oprah](https://i.nostr.build/vcM9SF9W5yADWZOx.jpg)
Now, women have finally jettisoned the terrible burden of being society's life-bearers and caretakers, and we're just more potential enemy combatants. We know it's okay to punch women, shoot women, etc. since we've been watching it happen on screens, for decades. Women are now often assumed to be fighters, not lovers. Cavalry, not mothers.
## Girls on top
Not only does this undermine any female role -- and put female civilians under a cloud of suspicion -- it also reduces mens' claim to be paramount in governance. Why should a man be the Commander in Chief, if women are on the battlefield?
In fact, why should men be in charge of anything, anywhere? Look at them. There they are. Hiding at home. Cowering in their kitchens, wringing their hands and fretting, while courageous, dangerous women protect _them_ from dangers foreign and domestic.
Women are the better men, really.
Is this really where we want to go?
## The final bitterness
But one thing I find most disturbing is something more personal. The ubiquitous nature of firearms in American homes has made domestic violence increasingly deadly. Adding more guns, for the female residents, often serves to make such violence even more deadly for women.
It turns out, that women are usually reluctant to shoot people they know; even more than men. Women without this inhibition are prone to sharing their home with men missing the same trait. And, now, they have more guns.
-
@ 7ed7d5c3:6927e200
2024-12-03 15:46:54
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
 Thou art more lovely and more temperate;
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
 And summer’s lease hath all too short a date;
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
 And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
 By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;
```
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest;
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.
```
-
@ 9cb3545c:2ff47bca
2024-12-01 00:18:45
Hey there! So you’ve got a whopping 50+ Lightning Channels and you’re not keen on them Force Closing? Well, buckle up! This guide will be an additional resource as you navigate through daunting process.
In this post, we will go over some extra tips and tricks not covered in the official guide. While this guide does have some steps that are not covered by Umbrel, its main objective is to provide confidence in the process (not a replacement process), coming from someone who’s been there and done that, and some how came out with all Lightning Channels still running! **I highly recommend reading this post fully before starting the migration process.**
Before we dive in, [here](https://community.umbrel.com/t/how-to-update-from-umbrelos-0-5-to-umbrelos-1-1-on-linux-devices/16704#how-to-update-from-umbrelos-05-on-a-linux-device-3) is the Official Guide from the Umbrel team on how to update UmbrelOS from 0.5.4 to 1.x.x. Reference the steps all the time, and follow them carefully.
**With that out of the way. Here are some extra TIPs to fill in some gaps I encountered as I went through the process.**
## The Order of Steps
### Tip #1:
In the Official Umbrel Guide, the Umbrel team asks you to start by backing up your data. As a lightning Node Runner, I recommend against this. Because the Bash script will stop all Umbrel Services and your node will remain offline while you prepare a Bootable USB Stick. So definitely don't start with the backup, first get the bootable stick sorted out, then move on to backups.
## Creating the Bootable USB Stick
### TIP #2:
After many failed attempts to create a bootable USB stick from the link umbrel provides in their official guide. I ended up getting the ISO directly from Umbrels team through their Discord Channel. Unfortunately, I wont be able to share this link here. but just in case the umbrelOS-amd64-usb-installer.iso.xz didnt work for you as well, this could be an alternative route.
### TIP #3:
Since Umbrel is an actual full OS now. You might need to handle some BIOS quirks. The umbrelOS Kernal is not signed. So if you have Secure Boot turned on in the BIOS, your PC will try to protect you, and block you from booting into you USB Stick. Turn off Secure Boot and you should be able to bypass this issue. I also had to turn on Legacy Option ROMs as well.
![Enable Legacy Option ROMs](https://i2.wp.com/www.404techsupport.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/uefi-2.jpg)
### Tip #4:
Test your Bootable USB Stick on a secondary device before you go on trying to update your node. Since turning the node off and on is a hassle, its just easier to be certain the the Bootable Stick is ready before even attempting to upgrade your node.
**If all is good, you are ready to get back to the guide and walk through the steps.**
## Preparing the Hardware
### Tip #5:
In the official guide they as you to connect a Keyboard and Screen. This is of course needed. I would highly suggest you connect a mouse as well. My Bios was very stubborn and didn't comply with just a keyboard as I attempted to re-order Boot Sequences.
## The Migration Process
### Tip #6:
Remember, this is 10 times easier if you are not running a lightning node, but on a lightning node, the Channel.db file is being updated constantly. Once you start the backup process, the script will shutdown umbrel services and start copying. **you can''t turn your node back on after this stage. If you do, assume the backup you created through the Bash script is obsolete. and you will have to redo the backup process again.** If you really know what you are doing, you probably can surgically copy/paste the LND folder. But its easier not to do this.
But not to worry, if you start the process just keep going (especially if you checked all the TIPs I cover above). I say this out of experience, because after I started the first backup process, it took me about an hour to backup my SSD, but then the Bootable USB stick threw so many errors I gave up, and turned on the node again. Then later re-attempted the process from scratch. This time, since my external SSD was already full, it took 3.5 hours to backup all the files again.
### Tip #7:
This will take time, so just trust the migration process and wait for the files to get copied. you are probably copying more than a terabyte worth of data back and forth over USB, Leverage USB 3 if you have it.
### Tip #8:
If you have a custom name for your umbrel node. Meaning you do not access it by using umbrel.local, this will be reset to the default umbrel.local after the migration. I am not sure if this could be switched again to a custom name, but for now, this won't cause any issues.
### Tip #9:
During the last steps of the Migration process, and once Umbrel has copied the backup back into the SSD, it will finish the process with downloading your apps, and restarting. Don't freak out :D
### Tip #10:
I honestly don't have a tenth tip, but thought it would make this list look nicer with one. So my last tip for you is to relax and enjoy the process. And feel free to tag me if you faced any issues. Hopefully it will be something i experienced and will be able to help.
# Have Fun, and Good Luck!
-
@ df8f0a64:057d87a5
2024-11-29 13:58:48
# 2024年下半期の振り返り
あんまり変化はないんですが、進捗ありません!で終わっても仕方ないのでちょっとは無理やりでも振り返りましょう
#### 0. 退職した
上半期時点で決まってはいたんですが、 6年間ほど勤務した会社を退職しました
退職直前まで爆発物取扱みたいなタスクをこなして、なかなかひやひやした退職プロセス
静かに退職したいので送別会の類のイベントは無しにしてくれというお願いをきいてくれた各メンバーに感謝です
#### 1. 公開していたNostrリレーの設定を変更した
日本のみに公開していたリレーを、全世界に公開しました
当初はCloudflareでリレーをホストしていたのが、利用していたnosflareもcfrelayもクライアントに対してイベントを配布するコードがなく(R2だけではできない)
さてどうしたものかと悩んでいたタイミングで、Umbrelのおひとり様リレーのポートを公開する対応をしました。リレーのお引越し
で、公開してしばらくしたら、すごい勢いで日本国外からの投稿が着信するようになり大困惑
調べてみたら、Mutiny wallet(現在はサービス終了)が運営しているblastr.mutinywallet.com(たぶんまだ稼働している)が原因でした
Nostr.watchのAPIを利用して、世の中にあるNostrリレーすべてにイベントを送り込む凶悪な思想犯です
ヘッダー情報などでブロックできなかったので、blastrがホストされてるCloudflareのIPを全てブロックする力技で対処しました
ちなみに、nosflareもいつのまにかblastrのようなものをホストしているようです
なんなんでしょうね、Nostrの白人さんたちの、過激なほど分散というか対検閲をしようとするお節介さは
#### 2. 公開していたNostrリレーを潰した
上記のように折角いろいろやったリレーを潰しました
Reply guyというbotが猛威をふるった時期、クソみたいなイベントをばら撒かれてくることに私がキレたからです。クソが
NostrとしてはこれをきっかけにWoTを組み込んだリレーが開発されたりして、スパム対策が一歩前進した感があります。クソが
スパムばら撒きをBostrが助長してるみたいな批難を受けて、作者のYonleさんがブチ切れ、全Nostr関連リポジトリのメンテを放棄する事態も発生
ちょうどMutiny walletでGOXしたご本人の機嫌が悪かった時期に、クソスパムがぶつかったことによる悲しい出来事でした。ほんとクソ
#### 3. おわりに
他にもこまいことはいくつかあるんですが、主にはこんなとこでしょうか。来年も楽しくNostrしたいですね
-
@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1
2024-11-28 12:50:49
# GitHub is a software project graveyard
I think the main reason why we have so many lone wolf devs is an economic one. The fact that most FOSS devs aren't being paid for their code is making this worse, not better, as they work for fame, not fortune.
Nobody wants to use joint-repos because they don't want to give up or share the property rights to the contents. But because anything someone else does in a repo you own, also belongs to you, people are disincentized from contributing to your repo.
GitHub, especially, has incentivized this splintering and isolation. Everyone wants to have all changes in their own repo because they can profit best on repos listed directly under their own name, so long as they become popular. Maximize your 🟩 and ⭐ , like chips you can cash in for a prize.
And because forking other people's repos is the norm, rather than teamwork, requests for changes are usually ignored or responded to with "fork it, bro." Go away. Leave me alone. My repo is none of your business.
# Too autistic, even for me
So, the developers separate their efforts into a million tiny repos that are mostly redundant with other ones, there's little interaction, progress is often surprisingly slow and stalls for months at a time, it's hard to keep track of what other people are doing (so that you can review and test changes), most of the effort is headed straight for the bin, people build the same things over and over, and communication is extremely limited.
This is a work environment that is unattractive for anyone who isn't autistic and/or highly introverted. Half of the fun of open-source development used to be the esprit de corps. Much has been said about #Bluesky, but it all misses a major point: that's where you go, if you want to work with other people, to build something large, polished, and impressive. It doesn't actually matter how many developers Nostr has, if they all only stare at their own plates.
# Your repo coulda been a file folder.
Ironically, git was developed for collaboration on large projects with a distributed team. Now, everyone uses it for projects they work on alone. They put those projects on the Internet to market them. It's a cheap gimmick, not an earnest attempt at collaboration. Collaboration begins at the beginning.
-
@ 65912a7a:5dc638bf
2024-11-22 21:37:16
## Details
- ⏲️ Prep time: 5 min
- 🍳 Cook time: 30 min
- 🍽️ Servings: 12
## Ingredients
- 12-14oz fresh cranberries
- 1⅓ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 orange, peeled & chopped
- 1 cup water
## Directions
1. Using medium sauce pan, simmer cranberries and water for 5-6 min. Cranberries will start to pop.
2. Add brown sugar, raisins, and chopped orange to the berries.
3. Bring to a simmer and continue to cook for 20 min. Stir often to prevent sticking. Remove from heat.
4. Let set until room temp. Mixture will thicken as it cools.
5. Put in a covered container and keep refrigerated. Lasts for about 2 weeks.
-
@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1
2024-11-21 07:24:34
## The motherhood illusion
Growing up, I was always told that women wanted children, whilst men wanted sex. So, marriage was created, to unite these two urges, and men and women don't otherwise particularly differ. But, it turns out, that **women want protection and sex, and men want children and sex**.
This is why women tend to be attracted to more masculine men (they're associated with protection) and men tend to be attracted to more feminine women (they're associated with motherhood). Women who are attracted to men, who aren't overtly masculine, are looking for a different aspect of protection (reliability, steady income or wealth, emotional security, etc.)
This wasn't readily apparent, in earlier generations, as widespread, youthful marriage meant that there weren't any real decisions being made by the participants. Almost all women got married and had kids, and almost all men got married and had sex. *Math checks out.* But the number of women who could protect and provide for themselves was low, and the men marrying were often very young and libidinous, and not yet contemplating their own legacy.
Feminism, easy abortion, deindustrialization, delayed marriage, and reliable contraception have dissolved this illusion, completely. Millions of Western women quickly turned into cougars, careerists, party girls, and e-girls, and an entire army of childless men and sidelined dads bubbled up and began to make their pain known. Humanity's dirty underbelly has been exposed.
*Women aren't as sweet, as we thought, and men are much sweeter.*
![piggy-back](https://i.nostr.build/qPfTZHdBqBFSt7j8.jpg)
Women also want children, but not as intensely. In fact, they seem to often viscerally dislike children, and are jealous of the protection they are to give them. So, they are prone to offing their offspring because they are averse to having any in-house competition.
If you just left women up to their own devices and reduced the social pressure, at least a fifth of them wouldn't bother having children, at all, and another quarter will have one and then lose interest or age out. This is not a new phenomenon, as we can see.
![birth statistics](https://i.nostr.build/wef63a6GYL21AVa5.png)
The male competition for potential mothers turns out to be absolutely brutal, and more difficult than simply finding a woman to sleep with. And, now, we finally understand why men traditionally jumped through so many hoops, to attain a wife. It wasn't for the sex; we've always had brothels, masturbation, and pornography. It was for the familial comfort, and, especially, for the children.
## Good fathers make good mothers
Some women don't know if they are "potential mothers", until they meet a "potential father", and their urge to procreate suddenly kicks in. They didn't want children for their own sake, but now they want some for his sake. All of a sudden, they're imagining themselves rocking the cradle, googling "what to eat, when you're expecting", and find themselves gushing over anything that gives off Hint of Infant.
I'm pregnant! Look what I can do! Look what I can do!
For you, darling.
![young couple](https://i.nostr.build/pMKgMxiwkoS7GBfL.jpg)
Women married to men they are deeply in love with, are much more likely to desire to become mothers (and be devastated by infertility), and make for better mothers, because children are like individualized presents they can give to their husband.
They want to impress him. Most want to be decent parents in their own right, but the urge to impress seems to raise this to a much higher level because *women are vain*, and therefore focused on raising their own status and how they appear to others. And the greatest "other", of a happy wife, is her husband.
Because *men are narcissistic*, and therefore in love with anything associated with themselves (which underpins their obsession with owning property), men have an intense attachment to their children. What is more "yours", than your progeny?
![Holding hands](https://i.nostr.build/5Wq2AdHuaehHLlII.jpg)
Fathers seem to develop a special attachment to, or fondness for, the mothers of their children, that goes beyond lust or romantic love; they never forgot who gave them this new Mini Me. And they are often quite impressed by their own ability to perform this trick numerous times, which leads to the intense satisfaction they feel at "going into serial production" and churning out more of those Mini Mes until their adoring wife pleads for mercy.
Men want children. Women, who love a man, want to give him those children and gain the fidelity that comes along with those children. This is the actual "trade" underpinning the urge to marry.
![Family scene](https://i.nostr.build/g4EjiLASoPkdDemQ.jpg)
-
@ ddf03aca:5cb3bbbe
2024-11-20 22:34:52
Recently, I have been surrounded by people experimenting with various projects, and a common theme among them is the use of cashu as the payment layer. While this fact alone is already great, the best part is to identify users and implementers needs and combining forces to come up with novel solutions.
---
## Subscriptions with Cashu
One of the most remarkable aspects of cashu is that it is a bearer asset. This hands ownership and control back to the user. Even though mints back the tokens, they have no authority to move a token on behalf of a user or any other party. How cool is that?
However, this also introduces challenges when building subscription-based services. Subscriptions typically require periodic payments, and with cashu, users must renew these manually. Currently, there are two primary approaches to address this:
1. **Overpaying:**
To minimize the number of interactions, users can pay for longer periods upfront. For example, instead of paying 2,100 sats for one hour, they could pay 6,000 sats for three hours. If they realize they don’t need the full three hours, the excess payment is effectively wasted.
2. **Full Interactivity:**
In this setup, payers and receivers stay connected through a communication channel, and payments are made at small, regular intervals. While this avoids overpayment, it requires constant connectivity. If the connection is lost, the subscription ends.
---
## Enter Locking Scripts
One of the most powerful features of cashu is its locking scripts. Let’s take a quick refresher. A locking script defines the conditions under which a token (or "nut") becomes spendable. In essence, it’s similar to Bitcoin’s spending conditions, but instead of being enforced by the Bitcoin network, these conditions are enforced by the cashu mint alone.
A widely-used locking condition is Pay-to-Public-Key (P2PK). This locks a token to a specific public key, meaning it can only be spent when a valid signature from the key’s owner is provided. This mechanism is what enables NIP-61 nut zaps, where a token can be publicly shared but is only claimable by the intended recipient who holds the private key.
To address situations where a recipient loses access to their keys or simply doesn’t claim the token, P2PK includes additional options: locktime and a refund key. These options allow for the inclusion of a fallback mechanism. If the primary lock expires after a set time, a refund key can reclaim the token.
With these tools, we can now create non-interactive payment streams!
---
## One Missing Piece…
Before diving into payment streams, there’s one more crucial concept to cover: cashu tokens are not singular "things". Instead, they’re composed of multiple proofs, each carrying its own cryptographic data and spendability. For example, if you receive a cashu token made up of five proofs, you could choose to claim only three proofs and leave the other two untouched. This flexibility is rarely utilized but is vital for building payment streams.
---
## The Grand Finale: Payment Streams
Now that we have all the building blocks, let’s construct a payment stream using cashu. By leveraging locking scripts, refund keys, and multiple proofs, we can design a token that enables recipients to claim small portions of the total amount at regular intervals—without requiring any further interaction from the sender.
Even better, as the sender, you retain the ability to cancel the stream at any time and reclaim any unspent portions.
![Flowchart of payment streams](https://image.nostr.build/88fc3af12da7459dbeb09db1b03d2ba6302f5f05c01c48f77bdb8c2b78041322.png)
### Example: Renting a VPS
Imagine renting a VPS for a week, priced at 1,000 sats per day. Here’s how a payment stream could work:
1. Construct a token worth 7,000 sats to cover the entire week.
2. Divide the token into 7 proofs, each worth 1,000 sats.
3. Lock each proof using a P2PK script, locking to your key and adding the recipients key as a refund key.
- The first proof has a locktime of `now`.
- The second proof has a locktime of `now + 1 day`.
- The third proof has a locktime of `now + 2 days`, and so on.
When the token is sent, the receiver can immediately claim the first proof since its locktime has expired and the refund key is now able to claim. The second proof becomes claimable after one day, the third after two days, and so on.
At the same time, the sender retains the ability to reclaim any unclaimed proofs by signing with their key. If you decide to stop using the VPS midweek, you can cancel the stream and reclaim the remaining proofs; all without further interaction with the receiver.
---
With this approach, we can create robust, non-interactive payment streams that combine the autonomy of cashu with the flexibility to reclaim funds.
Thank you for reading. Make sure to leave a nut if you enjoyed this :)
-
@ 01d0bbf9:91130d4c
2024-11-19 14:46:24
**The Bitcoin community thrives on open-source innovation, but Coinkite’s move against BTClock risks stifling progress and alienating its core supporters.**
Open-source projects like BTClock typically aim to promote innovation and accessibility within the Bitcoin community. Suing the programmer for **trademark infringement** seems like an overly aggressive move by Coinkite, given the values that Bitcoin and its ecosystem often stand for: decentralization, collaboration, and open innovation.
### Why It’s Problematic:
1. **Chilling Effect on Open Source**:
- Actions like this discourage developers from creating alternative solutions or building on existing ideas, which stifles community-driven progress.
- Open-source projects thrive on shared knowledge, and this lawsuit could set a precedent for others to clamp down on grassroots efforts.
2. **Reputation Risk for Coinkite**:
- While Coinkite has long been respected for products like the Blockclock and Coldcard, this move could alienate its core audience—Bitcoiners who value freedom and decentralization.
- By targeting an open-source developer, Coinkite risks being perceived as prioritizing profits over community principles.
3. **Trademark Infringement Question**:
- If the issue is solely over the name "BTClock," a fair resolution could involve renaming the project rather than pursuing legal action.
- Lawsuits should ideally be a last resort, not the first response.
### A Better Approach:
- Coinkite could have worked with the BTClock developer to address concerns without legal action—perhaps through dialogue or collaboration.
- Open acknowledgment of BTClock’s differences (lower cost, open-source) would have shown confidence in their own premium product, while still respecting community-driven alternatives.
### **What NVK and Coinkite Should Do**
Even now, NVK could mitigate the damage:
- **Withdraw the Lawsuit**: Openly acknowledge the backlash and frame it as a misunderstanding or a "necessary step" that they’re now reconsidering due to the community’s response.
- **Collaborate with BTClock**: Find a way to coexist, perhaps by licensing certain Blockclock-specific elements if truly necessary, while leaving room for BTClock’s open-source innovation.
-
@ c48e29f0:26e14c11
2024-11-19 05:16:01
***TL;DR -- HIGHLIGHT THIS TRANSCRIPT TO CREATE NEW NOSTR EVENTS, GET ZAPS, AND EXPOSE MORE PEOPLE TO *THE* BITCOIN PODCAST IN THE PROCESS***
## WHY THE FUCK AM I DOING THIS?
Up until now I've been publishing transcripts for THE Bitcoin Podcast ([@Titcoin on Nostr](https://primal.net/titcoin)) on my website, [bitcoinpodcast.net/words](https://bitcoinpodcast.net/words), and, more recently, putting show notes/summaries on my newly-created Substack, [substack.com/@walkeramerica](https://substack.com/@walkeramerica), so people can sign up to get episodes delivered to their inbox (unfortunately I can't publish the full transcripts on Substack because they're too long). I also just hate doing this because it takes time and I don't think anyone actually reads them on my website or on my Substack. And Substack is a centralized shithole anyway.
But I've been thinking... **It would make a lot more sense to just publish the summaries and full transcripts directly on Nostr so people can search and highlight the text more easily, with each highlight creating a brand new Nostr event.** I'll also post the quotes I've already pulled from the episode in a section at the top, which will give people a taste of what they can expect in addition to giving them some low-hanging-fruit for highlighting. Most obviously, publishing on Nostr means I just need to publish ONCE and my post will be available to everyone on whatever client they use (huzzah for open protocols and fuck Substack).
**There are a few benefits to this Nostr-focused approach:**
1. People can easily search the full text transcripts and find quotes they find meaningful/funny/fucked up/insightful/etc.
2. When they create a highlight, they publish a new Nostr event which people can zap. People are incentivized to find the most valuable quotes because people like getting zapped.
3. If people see highlights they find valuable, they'll come check out the full version of the show notes and subsequently watch/listen to the episodes, in addition to searching the transcript for their own highlight-able material (more zaps ensue). Maybe they even use the transcript as they listen to the episode and highlight as they go. Who knows?!
4. As a content creator, I now have a new way to discover what parts of the episode speak to people most because I can see what people choose to highlight, and which highlights people choose to zap. This helps me decide which parts of an episode will make for the highest-signal short-form video clips, and of finding fire quotes I may have missed on my first pass-through. The highlights become a way to crowdsource signal and filter noise.
5. The episodes become more interactive as new conversations pop up around Nostr based on different highlights. Nostr events are created, thoughts are provoked, zaps are zapped, sats flow, community grows, and my episodes of THE Bitcoin Podcast get more visibility. #GrowNostr ?
6. Thanks to Zap Splits, I can add my podcast guests to a split list, ensuring that any zaps I received are also shared with them (which I did for HODL and Cason on this long-form note).
Anyway, that's enough chit chat for now. Let's see if this works or if it's just a late-night idea that doesn't seem as smart in the morning.
**The full transcript of the episode is below, in addition to some of the quotes I pulled already (feel free to highlight the shit out of them). But first, here are the links to watch/listen to my conversation with Hodl and Cason:**
* Fountain: [https://www.fountain.fm/episode/TO4YqCAm0k2zTdLIi7xl](https://www.fountain.fm/episode/TO4YqCAm0k2zTdLIi7xl)
* YouTube: [https://youtu.be/0Jy2QFRmhP4](https://youtu.be/0Jy2QFRmhP4)
* Apple: [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bitcoin-trump-freedom-the-american-idea-erik-cason/id1694392423?i=1000676077910](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bitcoin-trump-freedom-the-american-idea-erik-cason/id1694392423?i=1000676077910)
* Spotify: [https://open.spotify.com/episode/7rCjFeTCdXwgrX6jylj5jH](https://open.spotify.com/episode/7rCjFeTCdXwgrX6jylj5jH)
* Rumble: [https://rumble.com/v5mtk5t-bitcoin-trump-freedom-and-the-american-idea-erik-cason-and-american-hodl.html](https://rumble.com/v5mtk5t-bitcoin-trump-freedom-and-the-american-idea-erik-cason-and-american-hodl.html)
* Everywhere else: [https://bitcoinpodcast.net/podcast](https://bitcoinpodcast.net/podcast)
* SHOW NOTES: [https://open.substack.com/pub/walkeramerica/p/american-hodl-x-erik-cason-bitcoin](https://open.substack.com/pub/walkeramerica/p/american-hodl-x-erik-cason-bitcoin)
* Highlighter: [https://highlighter.com/walker/BITCOIN-TRUMP-FREEDOM-THE-AMERICAN-IDEA-ERIK-CASON-AMERICAN-HODL-THE-Bitcoin-Podcast-zmwmhj](https://highlighter.com/walker/BITCOIN-TRUMP-FREEDOM-THE-AMERICAN-IDEA-ERIK-CASON-AMERICAN-HODL-THE-Bitcoin-Podcast-zmwmhj)
*
## EXTREMELY HIGHLIGHT-ABLE QUOTES
**Erik Cason**
“Look, you dumb motherfuckers, you could have just doubled your fucking wealth over the last year, had you just shut the fuck up and been like, ‘maybe I'm poor and working at a dead end job that I fucking hate because I don't understand how money actually works. And maybe these Bitcoin guys who have made some money and some self-independence for themselves, maybe they have a point.’ But instead they go, this is a far right Psyop that's being played in order to try to destroy the wonderfulness of modern monetary theory. And the government needs to be able to print out money because how else can we spread the love and make sure that all people everywhere are always equal and have all of the equal opportunity always, particularly the brown people that we want to bomb out of existence because, you know, they need to use my fucking pronouns. And that's why we're bombing the shit out of them is because they're hateful, racist pieces of garbage that, you know, and then, and then there's just like the like, well, like fuck Israel, we can't like support them. But like Ukraine is great. Or the people doing the opposite one. I'm like, what, like, why the fuck is the red or the blue people telling you to bomb the right people?
**HODL (50:34.642)**
You can just do things. You don't have to wait for anybody. Nothing's decreed. Like, listen, fiat is a fucking disease of the mind. That's what it is. And every currency on earth that's not Bitcoin is fiat. Ethereum is fiat. Solana is fiat. Tether is fiat. They're all fiat, okay? And then obviously all the fiat currencies are fiat. But fiat is not just affecting the monetary supply and material goods like iPhones and shit. No, fiat affects YOU. It affects your mind. It affects the way you think. You think that the world is decreed to you from scribes on high. It's not. The world is built by people that get out and build the fucking world. So if you want to do something, just go do it. Get politically active if you want to be politically active. Build a business if you want to build a business. Build a family if you want to build a family. Build an estate if you want to build an estate. Go to Mars if you want to go to Mars. Fucking just go do it. Do what you want to do. That is the Bitcoin story. Not by decree. No one tells you to do it. You decree it. You fucking decree it. You go out and do what the fuck you're gonna do in the world. That's what we're doing here in Bitcoin.
**HODL**
“The state condemned a man to slow death, double life imprisonment. And we said, ‘no, you don't get to do that.’ We got to rewrite the rules of the game as the game was being played. And it shows that we don't have to just sit there and take it.”
**Erik Cason (01:01:49.037)**
the world fucking needs Americanism right now. Like shit is fucked up and there needs to be a renewal of this American spirit that pushes out into the world that, you know, is what 1776 was about, which was a global revolution that then swept through Europe because they're like, yo Europeans, look, we just like fucked up the British empire and we earned our own rights by fighting these assholes. Would you like that? They're like, yeah, this like monarchy shit is bullshit. Let's, let's fucking fight. And I hope that we're going to see a renewal of that same spirit that we're going to fight back against our federal government and their surveillance in the deep state and that we're going to push that shit out numb into Europe and that the Europeans are going to be like, yeah, you know what? turns out getting asked fucked by our government and getting global surveillance through a CBDC is bullshit. Let's fight these motherfuckers.
**HODL**
That is the Bitcoin story. Not by decree. No one tells you to do it. You decree it. You fucking decree it. You go out and do what the fuck you're gonna do in the world. That's what we're doing here in Bitcoin.
## TRANSCRIPT: AMERICAN HODL x ERIK CASON
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (00:00.07)
ground audio, but the new Macs do it like really fucking well shockingly, which is honestly quite nice. Okay. We are allegedly live on zap.stream. So I'm just going to fiddle with this for a second. Let's see here. But yeah, we were, Eric, we were just discussing that hodl is basically on team no sleep right now. and has been, yeah, just
HODL (00:01.4)
Mm-hmm.
Erik Cason (00:07.304)
It's just.
Erik Cason (00:11.184)
Alright.
HODL (00:24.418)
Well, ever since they stole the 2020 election, you gotta stay up all night now.
Erik Cason (00:24.72)
Are you?
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (00:29.668)
It's true. You got to keep them in check.
Erik Cason (00:32.525)
So is this like a young children thing or is this like your brain is all spun out from
HODL (00:38.808)
No, this is was it. No, it's because I was at Bitcoin mags live stream for like 12 hours yesterday and I didn't get home until like, you know, 1 30 a.m. and then I fucking didn't go to sleep until 2 a.m. And then because I have young children, I was up at 5 a.m. So it's like, you know, good times.
Erik Cason (00:54.893)
Good. No, I... My sleep got absolutely fucked a couple nights ago, because like I was like, I'm gonna stay up a little late and watch a movie. And then my brain was like, yeah, you want to stay up fucking late, asshole? How about you fall asleep at 4 a.m.? So this last night I was like, you know what? Like this shit isn't worth it anymore. Like I'm a fucking adult. I'm going to bed at nine o'clock. I'm going to get up at six o'clock and like work out and do all my like adult shit because...
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:07.735)
how you like that.
Erik Cason (01:18.866)
I'm just like fucking sick. Like I could do that shit when I was in my 20s, but like that's a long ways away from now. So now I gotta like take care of my body or it's gonna fuck me up.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:30.62)
it's I was out. I was fishing like this whole weekend, like a dude's trip with my, dad and my father-in-law and like some other older dudes. And just like, yeah, we were fishing, fishing for steelheads. It was a wonderful time. My first time fishing for steelheads had a fucking blast, but like you're out in the river all goddamn day. And by the time we got back, like, and I was like the young buck of the group and still I'm like, 7 P.M. It's about time to turn in like, fuck.
Erik Cason (01:42.099)
Drop.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (02:00.591)
But yeah, so I feel your pain. But then last night I got home from the trip and like was watching MSNBC for fun and stayed up until like three or something because I was.
HODL (02:08.802)
Yeah. did either of you watch the view this morning? It was, it was so good. I would highly recommend it. Well, they start whoopee Goldberg starts off with tears in her eyes and she's trying to be magnanimous and she, she goes, yeah, let's talk about, let's get into it. And then she passes it to Joy Behar and Joy Behar holds it together for like,
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (02:13.572)
No.
Erik Cason (02:13.819)
No, like-
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (02:19.915)
Describe it.
HODL (02:35.832)
90 % of the time and she's like, you know, we got it. It was a fair election and we got it just but he's a racist and then they just like rescinded. It's a full struggle session. It was amazing. Like honestly, it could have been pay-per-view. I would have paid $75 to watch it. It was one of the greatest things I've ever seen. It was amazing.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (02:47.081)
my god.
Erik Cason (02:56.683)
So like, what are they gonna do now other than just like malfunction and have a hard time? Like I'm just really enjoying getting to like sit in this space and being like democracy is super great, isn't it? Isn't it wonderful that we elected a fascist Hitler who's waited for his second term to implement the genocide against all of the people that are you? And they're like, the demogood, so I'm really.
HODL (03:20.024)
Yeah.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (03:24.54)
The glitching is real right now. you almost feel bad, or I would almost feel bad, if the people who are glitching, like, were glitching right now, weren't so insufferable for so long. Like, I would almost feel bad, you know what I mean? But I'm not quite there yet.
HODL (03:40.049)
Yeah, yeah. No, I don't feel a shred of guilt about anything. I'm just laughing at all the memes. It's hilarious.
Erik Cason (03:42.172)
One.
Erik Cason (03:47.146)
Like look, like fuck this voting and democracy nonsense, but like I'm, really enjoying these liberals that have used the last four years to try to cram all this fucking nonsense down everybody's throat and now have to deal with like the reactionary against that. in addition to the fact of that, like it's about fucking time. Like the last, the last four years were like really fucking wacky. And like we had, we, we still have this geriatric prison. Like what the fuck happened to Joe Biden? Did he just like vanish? Like what?
HODL (04:08.6)
Mm-hmm.
Erik Cason (04:16.862)
It's just so weird to me in that, like in the meanwhile, the whole liberal machine keeps marching on being like, like this is, so anyways, I'm just excited to watch this whole thing kind of break down and crash into flames and see what happens.
HODL (04:31.128)
I woke up feeling just proud of America. And the reason I was proud of America is not because America voted the way I wanted them to vote, which they did, like in a landslide victory. The reason I was proud of them, proud of the feeling of being American was that propaganda doesn't work on us. You tried to Psyop us and we just aren't fucking having it.
Because being an American means doing whatever the fuck we want and you are not allowed to tell us what to do. That's the feeling, that's the energy I woke up with. Like, the American people are exactly who I thought they were. You know, it's like that meme. They are who we thought they were! They are who we thought they were! You know, it's like, the American people are who I thought they were and they're just as fucking wild and untamed and fucking crazy.
and individualistic as I've always expected and needed them and wanted them to be and known that they were and I just fucking love it. I love seeing the results come in and then the people who are the professional propagandists, the Joe Scarborough, the MSNBCs, the Rachel Maddows, the Whoopi Goldbergs, right? Professional paid propagandists go, I can't believe calling them racist garbage didn't work. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck all of you. Fuck you.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (05:51.245)
It's fucking insane.
Erik Cason (05:51.287)
Well, it's interesting because like it's a it's this really reactionary hateful thing where and it's like super hypocritical where it's like, fuck you, you racist piece of goddamn shit. Like you need to go into the fucking concentration camp and be brutally raped and tortured because you won't tolerate other people. You fucking sick fucking pig. And it's like, you know, maybe there should be some self reflection here about some of those things you said and are expressing and like
HODL (06:20.642)
Yeah.
Erik Cason (06:20.715)
I don't know, like this is the thing that I've been trying to deal with kind of in the liberal bubble I'm in. It's like, hey, do you guys think that like all the hatred and vitriol that you're directing at white people and about like how useless men are and that they really obstruct everything that could have ever been done that's good might have a little something to do with this. In addition to like, perhaps we're in the position that we're in because of the way that you keep shitting on all these people that actually
might have some degree of value to society. And I'm not saying they're better or worse than anybody, but maybe trying to direct all your hate towards them could have something to do with the outcome that came here as opposed to you being like, hey, these people, we'd like to include them in the fold rather than just kind of doing the reverse hate thing. But you know, I don't know. I'm not, I'm not a politician.
HODL (07:07.96)
Yeah.
It's tough to tell people like, you know all that shit that's in your head? That's not real. It's just not real. None of it. You made it up. You're living in magical fairy princess land. Okay. And what I would, what I would want you to do is form a hypothesis and test it. You know I mean? Like experiment. Are you in magical fairy princess land? Can you fly? You know what I mean? Maybe you start on the ground first. Don't jump out of a window, but like, you know, maybe test your flap your wings little, see if it works.
If it doesn't, maybe we have the wrong hypothesis. I don't know. Weird. Just be calling here.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (07:42.586)
Whoa, that would require like critical thought though and actual self-reflection and like now they've just like they've gone the other way and they're like well actually the black and Latinos are racist too and they clearly like and you're like hold on hold on guys I was told because of the intersectional hierarchy that they couldn't be Racist but but now they are racist and the Arabs to some of those Arabs We don't like them the Cubans especially escaping communism coming here voting for a Republican. Who do they think they are? It's ridiculous
HODL (07:53.748)
Right.
HODL (08:00.876)
They can't be racist. Yeah, they can't.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (08:12.804)
Yeah, it's fucking will there be any self-reflection though like any like moment of inward like looking inward to say Maybe we were kind of part of the problem, huh? Hmm
HODL (08:23.448)
They're nowhere close to being ready to deal with reality. In a sense, kind of like, it's a huge miscarriage of American civil duty that's happened because these people have been so badly brainwashed and Psy-op by the mainstream media, these professional state propagandists that you can't help but feel a little bit bad for them. at the same time, mean,
There's nothing to do but to get out of your echo bubble. you, the only person who can crawl out of Plato's cave is you. And I don't know how to explain to you that the shadows aren't real. They're just not real. And so like those of us who are out of the cave, we, we all talk about how retarded you all are in the cave, but we don't know how to actually get you out of the cave. Cause every time we try and bring you out, you fucking bite us and go rabid, you know?
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (09:17.66)
And we can literally tell you the cave exit is right there. This is where you need to go to get out of the cave. And they're like, that exit looks not really like it's inclusive. I don't think I'm going to go out that way. Sorry, Kason. Go ahead,
Erik Cason (09:17.689)
It's a pretty sad situation overall.
Erik Cason (09:31.29)
Well, like with it being at a Bitcoin all time high right now, like that, you know, is what I came on with is that like, look, you dumb motherfuckers, like you could have, you could have just doubled your fucking wealth over, know, over the last year, had you just like shut the fuck up and been like, maybe I'm poor and working at a dead end job that I fucking hate because I don't understand how money actually works. And maybe these Bitcoin guys who have like made some money and some
self-independence for themselves, like maybe they have a point. But instead they go, this is a far right Psyop that's being played in order to try to destroy the wonderfulness of modern monetary theory. And the government needs to be able to print out money because how else can we spread the love and make sure that all people everywhere are always equal and have all of the equal opportunity always, particularly the brown people that we want to bomb out of existence because
You know, they need to use my fucking pronouns. And that's why we're bombing the shit out of them is because they're hateful, racist pieces of garbage that, you know, and then, and then there's just like the like, well, like fuck Israel, we can't like support them. But like Ukraine is great. Or the people doing the opposite one. I'm like, what, like, why the fuck is the red or the blue people telling you to bomb the right people? Regardless, like maybe you should just be upset that brown people are
you know, and in the case of Ukraine, white people too are getting blown up. Like the bombs are not racist. They will kill people whether they're white or brown. And I don't know, it would just be really great if people could be like, you know, maybe we should just kind of talk to people instead of murder them. But again, I'm not a politician. Maybe there's something I'm missing here. Maybe they need to be murdered.
HODL (11:07.501)
Yeah.
key on this is like the Bitcoin price as a lens by which to view the world. It's like last night when I was watching the election results. I was at Bitcoin Magazine studio and they had all the boards up and all the stuff, you know, and I'm watching it all. It's like the traditional media and I'm on my phone looking at the Bitcoin price and I'm like Trump's gonna win. Like it just got bid in the markets. This is gonna happen. I now know the future ahead of traditional media.
And it's the same thing with like, Polymarket was telling us Trump was going to win for months and months because people have been actually, you know, putting economic value behind those, those, you know, those votes that they're making with their economic capital, right? And so, you know, if you're listening to traditional media, you're trying to do sense making that way and you have like, you know, the, poll, the Nate Silvers of the world, the pollsters telling you, Ann Seltzer telling you like, he's going to win Iowa, whatever. they, these people have no skin in the game. So there's no.
proof of work to their predictions. you need to, once you have proof of work as a lens, you as a Bitcoiner, look for it and see it and find it everywhere and anything that you can attach proof of work to, you realize that this is a real thing and you can bank on it. But I mean, people that don't have that are doing everything proof of stake, right? Like they just don't understand that reality that unfortunately they are living in. There's nothing you can do about it. can't.
You can't escape that reality, right? Like you are inside that reality.
Erik Cason (12:42.853)
Well, it'd be clear like, proof of stake as a methodology that's like operable and like that's called socialism. Like I can actually like hijack the government and be like, Hey, Mr. Musk, like, fuck you. We're going to like steal all your shit. It's like, cool. Like now that we did that guys, like how much more runway we have? They're like, we have, we have four days. We got, we got four days to run the budget now. It's like, it's like the guy that's
Wait, wait, the guy that's getting us into space and like gave us like satellite internet and shit, like stealing everything from him got us four days of runway? And they're like, yeah. So we're out of time now. So who are we going to rob next? They're like, that Amazon guy. Yeah, like fuck him. He's like stealing from people and he's hateful. It's like, yeah. Why do you think he has better approval ratings than like the
and like everyone in like the US military. Like it seems like people really like him. They're like, cause, cause he's, he's racist, right? So let's steal his shit. And like, and like, that's what proof of stake is about. It's like, fuck these other people. We can like steal their shit and like remake the rules so that like stealing shit is okay when we steal shit for the right reasons.
And this is like the clusterfuck that's Ethereum. Like if you've watched like what their monetary policy has been like since the fucking Dow fork that happened, it's literally always been like, yeah, but like this is the one time it will ever happen. Well, maybe we'll change it again. You know what? Fuck it. We're just going to kind of do whatever we want. And like, that's fine, but it's not going to work out long-term and there's going to be very severe fucking consequences. So you...
could learn about how economics works and it turns out that like, nobody likes being stolen from and it turns out like, if I can steal from you, I can steal from other people too. And that's like a really big problem. So you should probably be invested in a system that goes, you know what? We're not gonna steal from anybody ever. But what about Hitler and Pol Pot? And it's like, yeah, it turns out that even fucking assholes, we like need to respect their right to property too.
Erik Cason (14:54.332)
And they're like, but if we do that, then like all of the racist and hateful people will win. And it's like, you know, maybe you need to expand your worldview beyond thinking that everybody's hateful and racist. And that's kind of their main problem. By the way, like I've never actually, like when I was younger, I had a couple of friends, dads who were like pretty racist and stuff, but it was always this like, I don't know. Like I've never met somebody who like really had as their like main thing. They're like, yeah, but like, fuck the Mexicans and the black people. It's it's like usually like.
Yeah, but what about Habib? Like he was helping us out early and they're like, well, yeah, he's brown and that's fine. But, I'm like, so you're like, not really that racist. And they're like, well, you know, they're trying to take our jobs. And it's like, well, but were you gonna, were you gonna do the gardening? And they're like, well, no, fuck no. I ain't gonna get wet today. It's like, maybe he, maybe Jesus is pretty good at what he does, you know? I'm just saying.
I don't think he's taking your job. You don't seem like you're gonna be gardening in the ring. I'm just saying.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (15:57.544)
I think so much this is like a it's it's it is a mirror right like What you see and everybody else tends to be more of a reflection of what you have going on in the inside? Than what is actually going on with them because you don't fucking know them you have no way of knowing what they're what their beliefs are whether or not they are a Giant bigot and a racist or whether they're just some man or woman trying to live their life Put food in the table for their kids and not get just absolutely bent over a barrel by the government
which is like a reasonable thing. Like nobody really wants to be bent over a barrel by the government, right? But apparently if you push back against that too hard, you are given one of these labels. But then it's like you have kind of this proof of concept here that this is just a reflection of what is going on in a lot of these, you know, bigot callers minds. When you see them say things like, you know, I can't like why would all of these Latinos vote for their own deportation? It's like, do you think the only Latinos in the country?
are here illegally? Like, is that what you think? That they're voting for their own deportation? Like, there's lots of Latinos here who came here legally, like a ton of them. And it turns out a lot of them were escaping the same sort of bullshit socialist verging on communist policies that you're trying to push on them now. And then you turn around and call them racist because they didn't agree with you. Like, it's this insane
paternalistic projection and I like but again the sad thing is I don't know if there is ever like a come to Jesus moment where they're like you know what you know guys we went too far we were wrong I was was pretty messed up for a few years there huh we're cool now let's keep things civil we're not gonna call everybody Nazis anymore especially you white lib or you white women you know you white suburban women you Nazis like it's just like turns out calling everybody a Nazi is a really bad campaign move like
I don't know who like how who could have known right shocking.
HODL (17:57.56)
I think you guys are both being charitable and trying to diagnose them. I spent a lot of time trying to do that too, get into their heads and understand their psychology. How could you think this way? It's so severely retarded. And now I'm just like, listen, we have now unfettered control of all three branches of government. it's like, I don't listen. At the Thanksgiving dinner table, I don't pay attention to the conversation at the kids table. I don't care what the kids are talking about. You know what mean? It doesn't matter. It's like...
What color crayon do you like? I don't know. like burnt umber. That's my favorite. Yeah. It's like no, who gives a fuck? We're at the adult table now and it's about stacking wins on the board and you know, like for instance, mean, Trump is the first Bitcoin president. Vance owns Bitcoin. We now have the opportunity to like see real Bitcoin appointments be made where like people who are being recommended for high purchase of power
will be people that are sympathetic to Bitcoin, if not Bitcoiners themselves from an ideological standpoint. And to me, that's the most fascinating thing that's going on. And whatever like woke mind virus is like eating the brains of like the liberal white women we all know. I don't give a single fuck like drink your Chardonnay bitch and like hopefully it cures it. I don't know what to tell you, you know, take some ivermectin.
Erik Cason (19:11.977)
Well, it's funny because I have a good friend who like, you know, he's like, deep barrier roots. So like everybody is like very, very liberal. And like he's a bit of the black sheep of family. So he, you know, he was like, I'm going to vote for Trump. And this, this is like very upsetting to his family. And like, you know, everyone was getting outraged with him. And he was like, look, he was like, look, like the only way we get to talk about politics now is like, you have to steel man my position. Like you don't get to come to me and be like,
But Trump's like a racist bigot. Like you need to actually come to me and be like, well, perhaps you want to elect Trump because like you feel different about economic policies or whatever. And I've found like, this is the best way to actually like force people to, like think in a meaningful way. Cause like, otherwise they'll do the same bullshit with you. But I've found like it really glitches people pretty hard. Cause I can be like, look, like I, I understand your position. Like you think Kamala as being the first black woman president.
is really going to create policies that champion and allow for, you know, people of various and diverse backgrounds to be able to have a real leg up in America. Totally hear that. I have a fundamentally different position that I don't believe that that actually helps people in a unique way. And I actually think there's a very discreet kind of racism that's going on with that. When you say, Hey, we need to give reparations to black people.
because they're not good enough to be able to compete with the white people. It's like, they're, you know, like I see something a bit racist in that. And like, again, I'm not trying to take away from that. There, there can be good reasoning behind that, but you know, particularly living in the state of California where this has actually been proposed as like a meaningful bill seems pretty fucking racist to me to steal a bunch of money from me and give it to a bunch of, of, you know, people, you know, I think in this case, just black people that are going to be getting that.
money directly when as far as I know they directly were not enslaved by me or my ancestors and I'm not sure what their relationship is to it either. I'm saying the with Kamala Harris like black woman this is this you know great that if she was elected that she would be the first black woman but let's be very clear she's not like African-American she's a Jamaican woman that's where she's descended from and again like doesn't take away from the fact that that is would be the first black woman president but
Erik Cason (21:35.851)
She is not an African-American and that's a bit misleading to kind of do that whole pitch. But most people are really uninterested in this just because they have a deep vested interest in what their emotional capacity is. And that's one of the things I've found deeply disturbing about a lot of liberal ideology is that like if something feels right, that means that like that is right. And when you try to pick that apart, they go, well, that's racist. And that doesn't feel like if I'm, that doesn't feel good. So we can't be that.
And like it turns out that like maybe there's a little bit of racism you have going on there with, you know, wanting to steal money from white people and give it to all the other people. Just saying.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (22:16.397)
It's you know, it's you mentioned like this friend who's bucking the trend in his Bay Area family, right? And something I just think is so genuinely sad is that we are at a place right now and and I'm sure you know people could come up with examples of like well in the Civil War families were broken up over that and it's like, okay, let's not please let's not compare the two the two moments in time, but the fact that people will literally stop speaking to their family basically, you know, diso you know disavow them like well my
My mom voted for Donald Trump. And so I can't I just I won't speak to her anymore. I can't possibly because it turns out even though this woman loved me and raised me my entire life and made so many sacrifices for me and did everything she possibly could to give me every advantage I could have. She's a racist bigot. And it's like people will literally stop like I'm sure you guys know people like I can think of a number of people within circles. I run it like off the top of my head that level like nope.
I won't be talking to them anymore. Like I like I'm out, you know, no more family Thanksgiving for me. I can't be around this racism. No more Christmas. I you're not going to see your grandchild. I don't know any of those examples personally out of no more grandchildren time. That'd be like especially fucked up. But the point is like how do you have so much hate in your heart that you cannot you cannot get over the fact that somebody that you love and that loves you may have a slightly different opinion than you.
And that the fact that their opinion is different is so offensive to you that you would break apart those ties that bind you for a fucking political candidate, for a fucking agent of the state apparatus. That is fucking insane. Like that truly blows my mind and I think that is really sad. If somebody by some chances listened to this who's like, well I haven't talked to my uncle Jim in two years because he voted for so-and-so on either side of the fucking aisle. Who cares?
Like you should be able to argue the most with the people you love the most. Because no matter what, at the end of the day, you guys fucking still love each other. Get the fuck over it. You're going to have disagreements. It's OK. That's a beautiful thing. And you should have people that challenge you.
Erik Cason (24:25.621)
What?
It's both about like a first of all, it's about like a really weak frame of individual reference that that that's very frankly, callow at the bottom. Because like if you you have to identify so strongly with a political party or a movement that that becomes definitive about you and that like you you need to break with other people because they're disagreeing with it. Because like, look, like I'm clearly like a freak Bitcoiner and like everyone in my life doesn't agree.
with the Bitcoin thing, despite the fact that they've seen me have very, very fat gains while they have lost lots of money. And I think that's sad and unfortunate. And like, I'm always like waiting, you know, at the dinner table at Thanksgiving for them to be like, so Eric, like Bitcoin's at an all time high. Like we were all totally fucking wrong and we could have, you know, doubled our portfolios had we actually listened to you. But like, nope, never fucking happens. And at best I try to bring up the Bitcoin thing.
Wow, like the, just don't understand this money thing. So how was the game last night? And I'm like, you you could like, you could have actually like rolled that into like a question being like, so Eric, like what is money? Like why is Bitcoin actually different from the dollar? Cause I don't understand and you seem to get it. But yeah, that never happens. And I find it pretty sad and unfortunate. And like the other one is like.
I'm still open to Bitcoin being fucking wrong. I'm certain it's not. I mean, like if you happen to be a top tier world cryptographer and you're like, check it out. There's this error in the sub 256 curve that was chosen. And turns out the whole thing's fucking broken. You know, I'd probably contact the US military first and like let them know and understand that fucking encryption standards don't work. I just find it pretty fascinating how deep.
Erik Cason (26:19.241)
Most people have fled into the them and like they don't actually have a definitive idea of who and what they are, their purpose in the world. that they're like much more interested in making sure everybody feels comfortable and safe rather than making a little bit of discomfort in a conversation that might force some thought and growth. Cause like, again, I don't want to be a fucking asshole, but
Why don't we think real hard about how things are going and what we would really desire for ourselves and others? And like, I don't know. It's, I know this Thanksgiving is going to get interesting with people being like, that hateful bigot Trump, he was elected and he's going to destroy America now. I'll be like, yeah, like it was pretty bad when Hitler was elected for the second non-consecutive term. And when he really made the choice to go after all of his political opponents at that point in time, that was a really weird.
time in history, huh guys? And they're like, yeah.
HODL (27:13.932)
Yeah, remember, remember Hitler's bipartisan coalition, you know, like the Tulsi Gavrids of the Weimar Germany were joining up with Hitler like, no, it's so stupid, dude. I think if we take it at face value, everything Eric said is and Walker said is true. But like, you know, I think a lot of these things are just that family members just really don't fuck with each other for deep, deep familial reasons like trauma, trauma reasons. And they're using the
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (27:24.998)
you
HODL (27:40.93)
the Trump thing is a convenient excuse, right? Rather than going to therapy and like hashing out their shit or having a frank and honest conversation. I mean, I have family members in my life who, you know, I've had these frictions with and the truth is like, our relationship was never good. It goes deep to the psyche of both individuals in the conflict. It relates back to our grandparents and their site and you know, it just goes back and back and you're like.
Okay, so I actually I've been like cast in a play here of like some deep familial trauma and I'm not even like really aware of what's going on and neither is the other participant. We just know that we don't like each other and then you have this flashpoint of Donald Trump's election in 2016 or in 2024 or whatever and then that becomes the the way to fissure like it creates the fissures in the relationship and whatever. So I think I think that's a lot of what's going on. But I also think that you know more on the
the topic that you were saying about, you were trying to talk to all these people and they wouldn't listen or whatever. I went through this myself and what I realized is that I had survivor's guilt. So I needed to fix them for me, had nothing to do with them. It was all about me. It had to do with my own feelings of inadequacy around not being able to save my own mother from her psychological issues. And then when I realized that I was like, okay, I can just stop doing that.
because it's not serving the other person. I thought it was my way into being a good person. Like I'm a good person. I care about these people. I really want to help them and whatever. But the truth is man that there are people with a growth mindset and there are people without a growth mindset. And I'm a person with a growth mindset. I want to continue growing in life and doing, you know, cause there's no, there's no stasis in nature, right? That's nature abhors a vacuum. Like there is no stasis.
everything's in constant flux. It's constant chaos and you're, basically either growing or decaying, right? That's how nature works. And so we are a part of nature. That's how we work. Also, that's how we work psychologically, but for some reason, people don't think or believe this and they like to, you know, have this sort of delusion that they're, they're a static element in a static system. makes no sense to me. And I can't stand people who are like that and I don't want to be around them. So for me, after I realized the survivor's guilt thing, I was like, okay, yeah.
HODL (29:58.432)
I don't want to be around people that don't have a growth mindset. And so now I just am not. So if you don't have that, if you don't think that way, I'm just not around you, bro. I don't know what you got going on and I don't care. And I wish you well. I hope you get out of it, but fuck off.
Erik Cason (30:13.977)
Yeah, I've, you know, it's taken me a while to learn it, but particularly family, it's as much as like, really want like deep connecting conversation and for like us to understand each other and for them to like meet me where I'm at. They have like zero fucking interest in that. Like they really want to talk about the weather, like anything that's like level one, maybe level two, but like level three, fuck no.
and it took me a long time to like button up against that wall being like, what, like, why aren't you guys turned on? Like, why don't you like, you know, I'm like, like COVID was like a great example of like trying to bring that stuff up and like lots of big conflict coming up. And it hurt me for a long time because I was like, why don't they want to understand me? Like, this is so difficult. I want to be loved in the way I want to be loved. And like, I finally just kind of got to the place of like, like this is their shit.
HODL (30:50.104)
Mm-hmm.
Erik Cason (31:04.262)
they're incapable of it. And like the more I rock the boat, the more that they're going to resist it, making capsize more likely. And like, I just need to be okay with doing the level one and level two thing with them. And the truth is I can, I can do level eight, nine, 10 shit with you guys. And like that's frankly, like that's why I really fucking love the Bitcoin community is cause like I can have real and sincere conversation where we actually think hard about shit and go deep and enjoy that. And like that's.
Kind of what friends are supposed to be for. Family can be for, you know, just loving them for who they're meant. you know, I love my mom, really great person. I'm never going to have a deep and thoughtful connecting conversation about the political nature of world and our reality with her. Gonna have a really great conversation about how beautiful the sky is. But, you know, that's about as far as it can go. And that's okay.
And so I just, I really welcome people who are going to go into this Thanksgiving ready to fist fight everybody. Just like eat like a fucking marijuana brownie before that. And just like enjoy staring at the vase or some shit. Like it's not worth fighting your family and their stupid ideas of what they believe is right. Cause the other is like, if you're a Bitcoiner, like it's pretty clear that the next cycle is getting pumping right now.
And so anybody who is even remotely smart in your family is going to come to you when Bitcoin's at $120,000 at Thanksgiving and be like, hey, you know, you like made like some money with this, right? And you can be like, yeah, I'm like really fucking high, but yeah, I made some money with this. And they'll be like, could you, could you tell me a bit about that? And maybe that'll be your opening. Don't, don't expect it, but
Yeah, I'm pretty sure that with what the Trump team is up to, they're about to like front run destroying the entire financial system. Cause that's like, that's kind of their MO. They're like good with this money shit and they all clearly hold Bitcoin and they're clearly going to be appointing people. So, look, like I'm not telling you what to do, but like, if you like money, you should probably buy Bitcoin and keep holding it for awhile. Cause I'm pretty sure it's going to keep going up for awhile here.
Erik Cason (33:15.035)
Although there is some fucking moron right now who's absolutely gonna slam their hand in the door and be like, it's going back to 15k. No way the bit going to keep up with this.
HODL (33:23.881)
58K is a lost universe. Otto said it's not static. Bullshit. 58K, stable coin, static, static system.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (33:31.261)
To fair, I love the 58k meme and I am guilty of using it so much, but now I've also implemented the 158k meme because it looks almost the same to the the unseeing eye. You just see 58k, but there's a one in there.
HODL (33:43.128)
Why not, why not 250 AK? Why not 350 AK? Why not 950 AK? Why not 1.258 K?
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (33:48.17)
Jesus I hadn't even gotten that far fuck why not
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (33:55.421)
5.8 you know, like fuck it. Let's let's roll it up. So first of all, I appreciate you guys because you and I appreciate that we can have level eight and nine conversation, maybe someday a level 10. I don't know how high these levels go. So like how the scale works exactly, but I appreciate that there exist people that we can have these kinds of fucking talks with because it's you're right. It's not always within the family. Sometimes it is. And that's very fortunate, but like
If that's not you out there listening like that's okay, too Like you know, that's why that's why you're in Bitcoin, right? Because you can go meet with a bunch of other strange people who want to talk about how fucked up our monetary system is like ad nauseum and like are Super fucking down with that and that's a beautiful thing But I'm curious cuz cuz Eric you mentioned just like the Trump team MO being Go in and kind of like fuck shit up a little bit in the in the financial system. Do you think?
Do you think, okay, like Trump is on board with that? Like, is Trump gonna go full on end the Fed? Like, is Ron Paul coming on here and we are fucking burning this thing down? Or is Trump, like, he's, I don't know about your, like, the vibes you've gotten from, but he seems more measured lately. Like, maybe it's, you know, almost getting assassinated. Maybe it's just a little, you know, couple extra years. Maybe it's Barron being nine and a half feet tall standing next to him. And he's like, you know what? I'm not the biggest guy in the room anymore. I don't know. We're like,
Where do you think we go? Where is Trump at on this? And do you think the team he's assembling is actually going to go in there and be like, no, we're going to bring the Fed down?
Erik Cason (35:34.077)
I think from the standpoint, it looks like that's a possibility, but like I, I am very, very deeply convinced that like, the deep state is absolutely and unequivocally in control. And there's no conceivable fucking way that anybody in any elected or any appointed position can like meaningfully stop any of this. Cause like, I, I can't really imagine the powers that be in the back room are like, you guys, they let, like got the right people in the right position to like do stuff like.
What are we gonna do now? And they're like, dang, guess we lost. We just gotta accept it. So no, and I think Ron Paul and Elon Musk and all the people who get in right position, they are absolutely going to try their best to do stuff. And then I'm pretty sure none of it's gonna happen. Same thing, totally holding my breath that Trump keeps his word about freeing Ross day one. Gonna be mum on the word until then. If it doesn't happen, I'm not gonna be shocked.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (36:28.371)
Yeah.
Erik Cason (36:32.094)
If it does happen, I will be the first to give alkylates to where they're due because that would be phenomenal. My hope is that everybody who's really full all the hopium of all this stuff will see the next two years play out. Very little will actually change in terms of it. Yeah, that's when I'm gonna launch my radical states rights movement to use the states to unilaterally fuck up the federal government.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (36:40.764)
Amen.
HODL (36:59.272)
Dude, let's talk about the Ross thing for a second because did anyone have more on the line yesterday than Ross Ulbricht? No. Like, mean, Ross Ulbricht's life hung in the balance. was double life, rot in a prison cell for all eternity until you die and are taken away in a casket or freedom in three months, freedom in two and a half months. I mean, that's a fucking crazy
crazy thing that he had to live through, you know, the potential that either one of these outcomes, was like, everyone was saying it was a 50-50 toss up between these outcomes. And luckily, we're in the good timeline. And, you know, I was hanging out with the production crew when I was at this thing last night, and, you know, basically they were asking me like, why do you guys all care so much about Ross? And I said, listen, Ross's story is a miscarriage of justice.
and Ross didn't deserve double life. did do something wrong. He did deserve some prison time. Like, that's just how it is. I know, like, the anarcho-capitalist would be like, no way, bro, but it's like, come on. I mean, we have a society that has rules. He broke the rules. Like, he does a little time. But he's, at this point in life, he has paid his, whatever debt he owed to society has been more than paid. He just created a website. He never hired hitmen. All that is bullshit. The man who allegedly,
he hired to have killed supports him as a vocal supporter of Ross Ulberg. I mean, you've been lied to about this case, the agents, the federal agents on the case were dirty. They were they were stealing. Yes. Yeah, FBI. Yep.
Erik Cason (38:33.375)
Like all of them from different agencies, like every single motherfucking federal agent in that goddamn agency stole money, like it's fucking insane. And most of them like got off the hook too. And this is what I'm so fucking angry about is the hypocrisy of
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (38:34.759)
Yeah.
HODL (38:43.352)
Yeah, they did last time that Ross last time that Ross exactly. No, and I mean what I'm saying is like this is this case is a miscarriage of justice and Ross deserves to be free and he will be free in two and a half months. I'm not one of these Bitcoiners who's like we'll see bro. We'll see if Trump does it like no, no, he's he's gonna be free. It's a campaign promise. We put up serious money and we went to bat for Trump and now we're gonna get Ross out and the reason it's important to us is what I told the production crew.
is because yes, all those things are truths of miscarriage of justice, et cetera. But what it shows is that we are ascendant politically, that we matter, that we're important. Things weren't supposed to happen this way. And then they happen this way. The state condemned a man to slow death, double life imprisonment. And we said, no, you don't get to do that. We got to rewrite the rules of the game as the game was being played. And it shows that we don't have to just sit there and take it. mean, imagine the timeline where Bitcoin goes to zero.
In that timeline, Ross rots in prison for the rest of his life. But we're in the good timeline where Bitcoin is at 76k and Ross is free in two and a half months. And I mean, it just shows that we are going to be players in the world. You're not going to be off in the woods with your cold card shoved up your ass. I mean, if you want to do that, like that's fine. Like get freaky. It's okay. Bitcoin is about freedom, but
Erik Cason (40:03.294)
You should really consider a ledger if you're doing that, you know.
HODL (40:05.41)
Go like that, open your eyes. Yeah, don't, the cold card is very square. Listen, you want to shove it up your ass, you be my guest, okay? But we're going to be playing.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (40:05.901)
Yeah, for real.
Erik Cason (40:14.43)
I really need to make a buttplug that is specifically designed for this.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (40:18.076)
How has no one made that yet? That's my question.
HODL (40:19.544)
I know right. We are going to be players in the world and we're going to have political power. And we're also going to make some butt plugs. Okay. That can accept a leg.
Erik Cason (40:25.255)
seed taker.
Erik Cason (40:32.606)
You want your engraved butt plug? Please read each other.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (40:37.95)
We're thinking of spinning up a little, a little shop for them. They're going to be super nice. Hypoallergenic, course, really smooth on entry. Not so much on exit. Cause you don't want that thing coming out necessarily, right? Like you got to keep it in there.
Erik Cason (40:41.129)
You
HODL (40:43.224)
I'm
HODL (40:51.938)
Just to wrap that up, I'm happy for Ross and I'm happy for us. think like this is a big moment in Bitcoin's history. Ross being for it is a big moment.
Erik Cason (41:02.625)
Well, and and, you know, I'm on the opposite side. I'm going to hold my breath till it happens. And when it does, I'm, you know, that'll bring you back in the fold from like crazy crypto anarchist land. Like I'm, might like move into like far right political activism or some shit. but it's really important to get that, like, we're an actual political force now. And like, I really hope that we're going to start behaving like it and that there's going to be like a real actual Bitcoin contingency because like,
HODL (41:09.698)
Just fair.
Erik Cason (41:30.175)
I actually think in the next four years, there's a real fucking shot of ending the Fed. And like, I don't think anybody inside the federal government will do it, but I do legitimately believe that like, if we got 35 states to push through their state legislature legislation to like end the Fed, that that shit would get amended to the constitution. And like the federal government would have to like flip the fuck out and figure out how to do that.
And I think it's really important because like the federal government is so out of fucking control at this point in time. We really need to start figuring out new and different methodologies to change how that can happen. So I'm just excited to see all the change that's happening and also like fucking 100K is like in play now. So it's to be really exciting when we get there. I haven't heard from Valis in like a year. Well, I've privately heard him from before, but like I hope his 100K party is still going to happen somewhere.
HODL (42:12.6)
dude, 100k by Thanksgiving.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (42:21.727)
Yeah, we're whether I mean I don't like to you know talk about price too much on this show because I'm not an open-mouthed YouTube shill But that being said caveat, you know, it is like above 70 say we're like 76 200 right now that's just like kind of a trip, you know, and I would I agree with you that like As I was watching the price last night again, I like I've been on the river these last like four days. I have like checked
Twitter a couple of times then I was like, nah, that's not really of interest to me. Like I'm out in fucking nature catching fish hanging out with like my dad. Like that's what I want to, this is what I want to be doing right at this moment. And, then I got back and of course I was like, yes, you know, like bring it in. And then, you know, stayed up until 2 AM watching MSNBC as one does, but like you could, you could feel something was happening and I think you can feel something is happening now. And I just wonder like,
HODL (43:00.93)
Yeah.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (43:17.916)
does Bitcoin like because I would say that Bitcoin is it is inherently partisan or excuse me it is inherently political it is not partisan right it is like money is always going to be political we're talking about separating fucking money in state of course that is going to be political it is not inherently partisan it is only partisan if partisans make it partisan and that's not to say the people that are pro Bitcoin are the partisans who are making it partisan it's the ones on the other side who are reactionary to it right
HODL (43:25.804)
Yes.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (43:46.343)
So I'm just interested to see like, I mean, fuck like there, it's a, it's a red fucking wave. Like Trump blew out the popular vote. He's got the mandate, right? He obviously won the electoral college. You've got a Republican majority in the house and the Senate by all rights. have no excuse not to do everything they claim they want to do. Right? Like they have, there's no excuse.
HODL (44:04.704)
interest rate. 100%. By the way, by the way, the Democrats going after us and brought and broader crypto markets was such in retrospect, such a massive unforced error on their part. There was no reason to make significant enemies of us. None. And all they did was suffer because of it. Now, like, I don't know how much we affected the election.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (44:21.554)
Yes.
HODL (44:32.62)
But we affected it some non-trivial amount, okay? And it just, it wasn't something they needed to do and they did it anyway because they were drunk with power. That's why they
Erik Cason (44:43.022)
I mean, they did it because like they believe their own retarded bullshit that they like they had literally pumped up their own ass intentionally where they're they're like, this is used for terrorism financing and it's it's so all the bros can get away with tax and like it was all bullshit that they just repeatedly kept convincing themselves like like the fucking Greenpeace nonsense and like the like I feel so bad for the guy that's running that Twitter because like
Like all he does is tweet something and is immediately, like provided all of the evidence of how fucking wrong he is. And like the other thing that's just so shameful is that like these people are supposed to actually like give a fuck about the environment and like, what's more important than making sure that we're actually getting clean hydro power from power plants that were going to be shut down otherwise, you know, like what's more important to people in sub-Saharan Africa who have never had access to
fucking electricity and can't have clean water and now they can. Like it's, it's just so disingenuous. And like, again, I would really hope that, you know, the Democrats would sit down and be like, wow, we like, we really fucked that one up. We should really like reconsider this. But, I very, very strong doubts that that's going to happen. And it's going to be really interesting to see kind of what the co what comes out of it. But yeah, I have a very strong expectation.
that they are going to continue to double down until essentially they fracture the Democrat party into like, there's either gonna be a renewed moderated democratic movement or it's gonna fracture out into like different parties. Either way, it's gonna be fucking entertaining.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (46:26.386)
Can I say something controversial guys? am, I am, I am glad Elizabeth Warren was reelected because honestly, I, she was, she was against what John Deaton, right? He was like the, yeah, he lost.
Erik Cason (46:28.546)
No.
HODL (46:30.962)
Yeah.
Erik Cason (46:36.254)
was she?
HODL (46:41.1)
Yeah, he lost. Yeah. He had an uphill battle. She's very well funded in her state and Massachusetts is a liberal shithole.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (46:46.202)
she is.
Erik Cason (46:47.973)
Huh, where'd that money come from? That's really interesting. Huh.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (46:50.723)
from but he was funded by crypto lobbyists. But no, the reason I'm happy that Elizabeth Warren won is because I would have missed her. I would have honestly missed reply guying her all the time when she says stupid fucking useless shit like that would have left a little bit of a hole in me. And I don't know how I would have filled it like I need something to butt up against. And like Pocahontas is the best.
HODL (46:55.65)
Yeah.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (47:18.52)
She's just the best for that. it's like when she talks about price gouging, I see Elizabeth Warren price gouging tweet. And I'm just like, yes, I know what I'm doing today. You know, like, it's nice to have that. And like, I also think to your point, Eric, like, she is going to their and to your point as well, like unforced errors, she's going to continue to fracture the Democratic Party. Because like, like one in fucking seven Americans owns Bitcoin, like owns Bitcoin.
This is according to the study that Troy Cross did. There's probably a margin of error there. But even if it's one in fucking five Americans, that's already a shitload. And we are not even in like number go up mania yet where people are like, I probably need some of that. This is a growing coalition. And to fight against it is just like, first of all, you're fighting against freedom and you're just fighting against people from all walks of life. It's not like these are just the crypto bros or all these, you know, like not every, you know,
Bitcoin bro is as fucking radical as case in over here, you know, and I mean that in honestly the most complimentary way possible just so know, Eric, but like that, like what the fuck are they fighting against? What are they anti your anti freedom? Your anti people being able to make decisions for themselves. But it's like, like it's like my body, my choice, like my fucking money, my choice. Fuck right off. Anyway, I'm so glad I was so glad she was reelected. That's it. That's
Erik Cason (48:25.289)
Thank you, I appreciate that.
HODL (48:38.968)
100 % no, I was gonna I was gonna say the same thing you said which is that it's such a it's such a bipartisan like coalition multi racial like pluralistic like I mean Bitcoin is a large tent like the Orange Party is the largest tent we have politically and they did they made a large mistake going after us because you know, first of all, it's like
Erik Cason (48:44.359)
back in a minute, gentlemen.
HODL (49:06.604)
Are you dumb? You're going after young millennials with money who are multi- like racially diverse? The fuck is- are you stupid? Like what's wrong? It doesn't even make sense. It doesn't even compute. But anyway, listen, there was a referendum on these people last night. I feel confident that this worldview is going to be dealt a hearty blow. And they're gonna realize that, you know, there's a new player in town and it's the crypto lobby and the Bitcoin lobby.
And David Bailey in some non-trivial fashion was responsible for freeing Ross Ulbrich from prison or will be responsible for freeing Ross Ulbrich from prison and for getting Donald Trump elected. He made a significant, you know, mark dent on this election and he's the MVP of Bitcoin in 2024. Like that goes to David Bailey, number one with a bullet. There's no one else that even came close this year. And, you know, I think
It just reminds me, I was talking with David Zell about this last night that you can just do things. You can just do things. Whatever you want to do, you can just do it. Just do it. Elon wanted to affect the election. He just went out and rounded up a bunch of Amish people and drove them to the polls because the Amish can't drive themselves to the polls. He was like, we will drive you to the polls. You hate the government, right? And the Amish were like, fuck yeah. They tried to shut down our raw milk and shit. And Elon was like, yeah, fuck that.
We will drive you there. Let's all go vote. You can just do things. You don't have to wait for anybody. Nothing's decreed. Like, listen, fiat is a fucking disease of the mind. That's what it is. And every currency on earth that's not Bitcoin is fiat. Ethereum is fiat. Solana is fiat. Tether is fiat. They're all fiat, okay? And then obviously all the fiat currencies are fiat. But fiat is not just affecting the monetary supply and material goods like iPhones and shit. No, fiat affects
You. It affects your mind. It affects the way you think. You think that the world is decreed to you from scribes on high. It's not. The world is built by people that get out and build the fucking world. So if you want to do something, just go do it. Get politically active if you want to be politically active. Build a business if you want to build a business. Build a family if you want to build a family. Build an estate if you want to build an estate. Go to Mars if you want to go to Mars. Fucking just go do it. Do what you want to do.
HODL (51:31.916)
That is the Bitcoin story. Not by decree. No one tells you to do it. You decree it. You fucking decree it. You go out and do what the fuck you're gonna do in the world. That's what we're doing here in Bitcoin.
Erik Cason (51:52.808)
the to elaborate on your point, like, this fucking disease has rotted out 95 % of all of the creative potential of people everywhere. And it's great to see that that 5 % is making the change for the other 90%. Like, what we're seeing being developed in this entire system is fucking phenomenal. And people are not asking for fucking permission anymore. And I really hope between what we're seeing in Bitcoin, and the renewal of this American spirit that like,
Like one of the things I didn't realize last night with that I was so excited about when I started watching the Bitcoin price go up and the markets go up. was like, yeah, like there's this entire economic engine that's sighing with relief now that they're not going to get fucked out of existence by a socialist government that fucking hates them. And that maybe there's real potential to actually create dynamic change. Like I actually, and I think it's really interesting that people like this tariff thing's going to destroy anything. Like fuck that, this tariff thing's going to supercharge the fucking economy.
Like it's gonna turn out that like people that are importing cheap shit from China and they have to pay twice as much, they're gonna go, you know, maybe I'm gonna buy the American made thing where I'm not gonna have to pay twice as much for the same thing, you know? And like that's a really great fucking thing. And I understand all the economic arguments about how tariffs work and otherwise, but like, let's be clear, cheap shit from China that's subsidized by slavery, like it's not good for fucking America. You know what's good for America? Shit made in America that paid American people.
HODL (53:17.067)
huh.
Erik Cason (53:18.59)
that give American salaries so that they can spend money in America. And like, not to get on the nationalistist thing, but like, the other thing is, like, the world fucking needs Americanism right now. Like shit is fucked up and there needs to be a renewal of this American spirit that pushes out into the world that, you know, is what 1776 was about, which was a global revolution that then swept through Europe because they're like, yo Europeans, look, we just like fucked up the British empire and we...
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (53:30.43)
Yes.
Erik Cason (53:47.21)
earned our own rights by fighting these assholes. Would you like that? They're like, yeah, this like monarchy shit is bullshit. Let's, let's fucking fight. And I hope that we're going to see a renewal of that same spirit that we're going to fight back against our federal government and their surveillance in the deep state and that we're going to push that shit out numb into Europe and that the Europeans are going to be like, yeah, you know what? turns out getting asked fucked by our government and getting global surveillance through a CBDC is bullshit. Let's fight these motherfuckers. And I would love to see more than anything.
See, a sincere German nationalist movement renew itself instead of them living in their fucking shame about Nazism and like, get that like that shit's over guys and that like Germans, you actually have some like really great shit about your culture that if you guys can protect in a meaningful way, very similar to Americans and still be able to be inclusive with that ideal, like there's something great to be done. But like living in all this shame about like, like.
we're bunch of racist Nazis because we believe German culture is great is the same kind of bullshit that they're trying to tell us about because you believe in America and what America means, it doesn't mean that you're a far right racist. It means that you're a fucking American that believes in the real values and ethics of what it means to be American. So, you know, fuck this fiat bullshit, fuck CBDCs and it's time for us to really start rebuilding in a meaningful and thoughtful way on top of a Bitcoin standard because that's really an American standard.
HODL (55:00.344)
Mm-hmm.
HODL (55:12.162)
Fuck yeah. Fuck yeah. Fuck yeah. Fuck No. No. No. No.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (55:12.479)
fucking it. Fuck. Yeah, Wait, can we talk about Europeans for a second? Because like, wait, wait, just for one second. Cause have you noticed that the only people more confused about what happened in the U S election than the Democrats are the Europeans. They're like, on. What do you, what do you mean? Don't you understand? He's mean and bad. And how sad is this? These Americans, how did like it's it's mind blowing. And then you're like, God,
HODL (55:24.822)
is the Europeans,
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (55:41.149)
Like your point Eric like yeah, like I'm like so I feel like sometimes I went through the state like a stage in my life where I was like not I love America I love America because I love the fucking American idea and I love the American people and I love the possibilities that the existence of the American idea Allows for people in this country because it allows people to fucking create and build and do meaningful things but I went through a stage where I was like, you know, this is on my my Bitcoin journey where I'm also like
Well, but the fucking military industrial fucking war machine, the fucking the fucking fiat monetary colonialism that's perpetuated by the IMF and the World Bank, like and the Federal Reserve. This is this is bad. Like and then I got to the point where naturally like five seconds later I was like, yeah, but that's not America. Like that's fucking institutions. That is US government institutions. Those are institutions of theft and destruction and death.
America is a fucking idea and it's the people who hold that idea up and use it as their fucking torch to bring light into darkness and That is what I think people can get behind and I think you should be able to fucking get behind that Like I don't give a fuck what political party you fucking identify with like this week or forever in your entire life like There I don't know if you guys have heard anybody say this before but there is no red. There is no blue There is the state and there is you
Yes, there are meaningful differences in political parties. Obviously, there's a difference between Kamala, like what Kamala's administration would have been and what Trump's will be. But ultimately, we are not a divided people. We are a people who are united around the idea that America is fucking amazing. That idea is fucking amazing. And we are going to be fucking damned if we will let the state usurp that idea for its own fucking death and destruction and theft. And I think
I hope that more people can get around that and realize that look we're all on the fucking same side. There are two sides. It is the people the independent individuals and it is the state. There is no other side like there's no there's no other sides. You can color the horse a different color but like it's still the state granted again. me caveat. There are some differences especially you get down to local governments. There's a lot of difference but like we have so much more not to sound fucking cheesy.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (58:02.634)
We have so much more that brings us together than divides us. And what brings us together is the idea that America is fucking special. And if it wasn't for fucking America, Europe would be still have been fucked from those fucking German Nazis, actual Nazis. Like we have literally pulled Europe's own head out of its ass so many times. And yet they still look at us like, well, these, you know, uncouth barbarians. It's like, you know, fucking right. We're uncouth and we're fucking barbarians. And there's a reason that you called us.
when you fucking got your panties in a twist and started murdering tr- like millions of people because you couldn't handle it on your fucking own, you pansies. Like, I love- for any Europeans listening, I fucking love you because you're listening to this and you obviously have a set of balls or maybe not balls, you know, you may be a lady European, but like, America is uniquely positioned to drive massive change in the world because of the American idea. That is what I would say.
HODL (58:58.392)
The American, by the way, the thing that's beautiful about America, the American ideal, what is it, right? Like people might not know, especially if you're from Europe, the American ideal is I am the king of my own castle. I am, I am the captain of myself. Okay. I do not have to do anything that you want me to do. I am in charge of me. And if what I'm doing doesn't harm anyone, I should be completely allowed. And I'm well within every right, my God given rights to continue doing that thing.
That is a new idea in the world. It's a baby idea. It's only 250 some odd years old and not quite 250 yet. It's only about 250 years old. And we have to protect that idea because that's the most important idea in the history of the world thus far. And every time I see Americans exercise it and say, a second. Sometimes Americans get caught up in this thing where they're listening to people they shouldn't be listening to.
You know, they're to the television, Rachel Maddow or whoever, Joy Reid, Whoopi Goldberg. And then they go, wait a second, why? They just wake up and they go, why have I been listening to this bitch? What the fuck am I doing listening to this person? I'm just gonna do whatever the fuck I want. No! I'm doing what I want!
Erik Cason (01:00:18.705)
Well, Hoddle's out now because he did what he wanted. Look, these are really important.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:00:23.144)
Wait, is your computer okay?
HODL (01:00:24.984)
I didn't mean to hit the computer, but it's okay, it's fine.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:00:28.072)
I thought that was for dramatic effect.
Erik Cason (01:00:28.409)
The, the, yeah, it was good. These are really important ideals and like, you know, to, reemphasize everything that you said, Walker, like it took me a long time on my own journey as an anarchist. So like, like I'm an, I'm an anarchist and I'm American. Like I fundamentally believe that Americans on a whole, like we have all of the same value sets. Like nobody wants to hurt other people. Nobody wants to be hurt. People want to respect each other's right to private property. People want to see innovative and creative solutions and
and like let people be freaky and do what they are. And so like, I see reactions on both sides. It's like, look, like if you want to be your gay transgender lizard or like whatever the fuck you want to identify as, like that's fucking great. Good for you. Like do not come into the fucking schools and try to teach kids that shit. Like I'm uninterested in that. In fact, like why the fuck are we doing this school thing? Like if you look at the fucking department of education, you know what every single standard has been measured to do each year?
It goes fucking down. That's what it does. It teaches kids to be fucking stupid little robots that can't think for themselves. Like it, I find it deeply disturbing when I, when my son has friends that are in public school come over and like how fucking remedial they are and how much they, don't, there's a certain creativity that they really lack that I find fucking disturbing, you know? And also on the same side, like just cause people want to be weirdos and freaks don't mean that we have to hate on them and remove their right to be fucking weirdos and freaks. It's just like, don't.
In the same way that like, I'm not going to put my shit in your face. Don't put your shit in my face and don't try to use public institutions to do that. There's no fucking need. Same thing. Like I have no fucking interest in deporting people from this country just because they disagree with me on different principles. Like we need to learn to live in fucking peace and have a radical modernism between us because without that, they're like that. That's what America is all about is about being able to figure out.
How do we live with these ideals that allow for us all to flourish despite how different we are? know, like Europeans like take a fucking cue from us. Like, you know, like we, we figured out how to make this shit work. You guys are trying to model the same thing, but to be very clear, like what you guys are doing with the European Central Bank and the EU and shit, like this is not going to end well for you guys. And so I really encourage
Erik Cason (01:02:47.665)
And like I've noticed this more coming from German specifically like you guys need to redouble in your own nationalism and so far of that like you guys are actual independent countries and you need to stop letting this fucked up institution that got created by a bunch of bureaucrats that told you that everything was gonna get better with it. You know like I have an uncle that's lived in Berlin since the 1970s and he knows the conversion of when they went from the mark to the euro fucked everybody over super hard and that's how it is kind of universally.
You guys should really consider taking back national sovereignty, destroying the European Central Bank, and probably, you know, the fact that the thing is ran by an actual fucking financial criminal who has been found guilty of financial crimes, that's pretty fucking ridiculous. And it's pretty ridiculous that you guys tolerate this bullshit being shoved down your throat from Brussels, so...
I really hope that you guys are gonna light shit on fire, cause like, when you guys commit yourself to burning shit down and like throwing shit at people and other stuff, you guys are really good at it. Like, into that. Like keep doing more of that. Like stop, stop with this other fucking nonsense. Cause you know, you guys are gonna get something pretty nasty out of it if you guys keep tolerating this bullshit.
HODL (01:04:03.836)
You know what I think the difference between the European mind and the American mind is is that in Europe for you know, thousands of years, if you talk back to the nobility, they could kill you with impunity, right? And in America, one day we took a look at the nobility and we were like, fuck you. We just killed everybody, bro. You know, and so that's different starting points, you know, inception.
Erik Cason (01:04:24.048)
Yup, fun f-
Erik Cason (01:04:27.868)
Fun fact is that there is an actual amendment to the United States Constitution that is still active to be ratified by states that if you are given a title of nobility in America, you will be stripped of all political rights and positions. think it was the, because there's like three outstanding articles that could be ratified by states, like aren't, like another is about like child labor. The other one's article the first, which.
HODL (01:04:49.706)
Yeah.
Erik Cason (01:04:53.424)
I've had another great radical plan of like forcing state legislatures to ratify article the first to be, and it's called that because it was the first article to ever be that passed through the congressional approval process. And it went to the States to get approved, but it was never approved. And what article the first stipulates is that no representative of the federal government shall ever represent any more than 50,000 people at a time. And to be clear, if that passed today, that would mean that the House of Representatives would be like,
7,000 people or some shit like that. So that would be really fun if we like got states to pass it just to fuck up the federal government. Cause this is my big thing that I want not only for Americans, but for Europeans and all people everywhere is that like, I believe very, very strongly it is about states, provinces and counties against their unified federal government. Like if you look at what's going on in Spain right now, after the crisis that happened in Valencia and how much the federal government is absolutely fucking those people over.
This is where the real war is at. So I'd like to see more radicalism of states' rights against federal governments across the board. And I think that would really help solve a lot of problems.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:06:02.717)
Eric, you mentioned something earlier about, like, just speaking of states' rights, that if, what was it, 35 states were to basically resolve internally, like, as independent states, that we should end the Fed, that the federal government would basically need to scramble. Can you elaborate on that a little bit more for those of us who are less constitutionally literate?
Erik Cason (01:06:20.71)
Yeah, so this is all a hypothetical way to be able to ratify the United States Constitution directly using state legislatures only. Nothing has to go through the federal government and it is not supposed to have any oversight. This has never happened in American history because every single time that this method has been used to amend the Constitution, when it's gotten within two or three states,
The federal government has essentially flipped the fuck out and Congress has passed that amendment to the United States with the same language directly so that this was all circumnavigated. There was a Supreme Court decision in 1908 that essentially said if states tried to do this, we wouldn't recognize it. But like this is all about creating constitutional crisis because the 10th Amendment is very explicit and that any powers that are not enumerated to the federal government directly in the Constitution are reserved for states alone. So.
The whole idea would be essentially be go state by state, get the exact same language passed saying that we are calling on an Article 5 convention to amend the United States Constitution to end the Federal Reserve and that the federal government shall have no oversight whatsoever around the issuance of a currency. And in theory, it could pass. For me, the big goal is to get it past 33 states or something.
federal government's gonna freak out. You're probably gonna have the judicial branch being like, no, this is illegitimate. There's no way to amend the constitution without the federal government. We're gonna be like, Texas, what do you think about that? They're trying to say that the sovereignty of your state and what you guys decide isn't okay. Is that something you agree with? How do you feel about that, Nevada, Wyoming? Is this okay with you guys?
Cause for me, the big crisis that happened in America, which is where fiat money started in America was during the civil war. And as much as everybody likes to suck Abraham Lincoln's dick and celebrate him as being a really great guy, good job with like ending slavery, but like you like really fucked up a lot of other stuff with what you did in that. Not to mention that like explicitly creating an amendment to the United States constitution that says that other people can't have slaves, but the
Erik Cason (01:08:28.913)
the state itself can have slaves is pretty fucked up. So with that, I really encourage everybody look into the Article 5 ratification process. I really have a boner for the idea using this to like fuck up the federal government across the board. Because to me, this is actually about a radical evolution of the political process that like I think federal politics is fundamentally broken. And if there's a way to lateralize a national movement that uses
only states and state legislatures to start amending the Constitution, or even calling for an Article 5 convention to rewrite the Constitution on a whole, which is also specifically reserved by Article 5 in the U.S. Constitution, there's actually an opportunity for us to roll back radical federal power, destroy the deep state, and renew the American dream throughout the globe by essentially creating the American dream with the federal government and the deep state stripped from it. So that's kind of my insane idea.
you know, let's have a couple lawyers and legal scholars come in here and tell me how I'm fucking insane or wrong or maybe even right, but as far as I know, this is an actual thing that could happen. It's just been kind of buried in history for a long time.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:09:41.32)
HODL your thoughts.
HODL (01:09:43.512)
I listen, I'm an Article 5 maxi as well. Eric has explained it to me multiple times. just, you know, I think like in practical terms, I just I just don't think we're gonna be able to do that. Yeah, it'd be cool. It'd be cool if it happened. You know, I would be for it.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:10:00.4)
Let's let's talk about some practical terms then because okay I want to want to get your guys take on this whole Bitcoin strategic reserve thing Senator okay, so you we remember at the Bitcoin conference in Nashville Trump gave what I think was honestly incredible stand-up performance like that dudes a dude he riffs like he's he's Like you cannot argue with the fact that the dude can fucking what does he call? He calls it the weave right? You know like he riffs. It's impressive. It's just
HODL (01:10:20.344)
It was funny. Yeah.
HODL (01:10:25.91)
leave.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:10:28.702)
very like nice routine. yeah. Yeah. Go save the delivery man. But, and he talked kind of like, we're going to keep the Bitcoin that we have, you know, we're not going to sell any of it. He didn't like explicitly say we are going to start, you know, printing fiat to acquire Bitcoin. He said he would protect the industry though. He said a lot of positive things. Then as everybody is leaving the stage, like after he finished, Lummis comes up and is like, I have a fucking bill right here. Like
Erik Cason (01:10:29.088)
My dogs are attacking the delivery man, so I gotta stop them.
HODL (01:10:31.416)
Nope.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:10:57.703)
I have a bill for the US to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve and like I felt bad because like again like people are like yelling like everyone's leaving the thing like and I'm sitting there like she just like this is fucking actually actually news that lumos is like I've got a fucking bill for this she's been on top of it since then Do what do you think is the most likely scenario that's gonna play out as far as the establishment of a strategic reserve? Is this something that like Trump is gonna be all for?
HODL (01:11:05.442)
Yeah.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:11:24.455)
Like once he gets a little more knowledge of it, where do you think we're going with this?
HODL (01:11:27.348)
So the way that Trump said it on stage initially is is wrong and can't happen. So the Bitcoin that have been seized, you know by whomever, whichever government authority sees them, then there are multiple government authorities that have seized them over time. They belong to somebody they have owners, right? So like most recently the Bitfinex hack there was four billion dollars worth of Bitcoin or something that was seized by the US government, but that Bitcoin all belongs to
people and it has to go back to them. So you can't use it for your national strategic stockpile. But in general, I think the idea of a national strategic stockpile is something that is going to happen one way or another. I think it's inevitable. Whether it goes on the central bank's balance sheet or whether it's put into the hands of the executive branch, I'm not sure. But America is going to acquire a large swath of Bitcoin at some point.
I think there's a the most interesting thing about it is the prisoners dilemma of the nation state level game theory around who goes first So if you go first, you're the most advantaged, right? But for some reason I don't think this is widely known and so nobody's gone first yet or maybe it's because we don't have Younger people who understand these things or have game this out Is Trump's administration administration where we we can do those things I think
Maybe I mean, JD Vance is a Bitcoin or Vivek is a Bitcoin or Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a Bitcoin or Tulsi Gabbard is a Bitcoin or Elon Musk is a Bitcoin or Trump owns a little bit of Bitcoin. He's dabbled in some crypto bullshit. He has his own shit coin. So yeah, I mean, there is a potential that it could happen this time around. I think the most important or the most interesting thing to me is the game theory between other nation states. And then the thing I was going to mention is in some
To some degree, I think the Bitcoin that's in the public markets is a honeypot for the US government. So MSTR is a honeypot for the US government. The ETFs are the public companies that have Bitcoin on treasury like Tesla. So those things are things that can be nationalized in a moment's notice if needed. But we're not on a Bitcoin standard. So the government doesn't need to seize your Bitcoin yet. If fiat starts to collapse, they may need to seize your Bitcoin.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:13:33.256)
Mm.
HODL (01:13:56.273)
They may seize your b- They'll never need to do it. I mean, they just will do it, right? And so, yeah, I think that's- Those are my high-level thoughts around everything, though.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:14:04.595)
Do you, I assume when you talk about a first mover advantage, you're discounting El Salvador in this particular instance because they do not print their own currency, because they are dollarized. Yeah.
HODL (01:14:12.756)
It's too small. Well, it's also too small. It's just too small. El Salvador is a very poor country. They're doing listen, they're doing great. They're on the upswing, but they're not a player in the world. They don't mean anything like I mean, El Salvador is a tiny nothing country with no resources like I love what's going on down there. You're always probably they're very small. If you looked at them on the map, it's like this big. It's yeah, it's Russia, China, America.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:14:28.105)
For now, for now, for now, let's let's let, yeah.
HODL (01:14:41.238)
France, Germany, those are the countries that one of them needs to go first. G7.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:14:45.897)
Do you so I mean like Russia has been shifting some of its stances around Bitcoin mining and Bitcoin more generally recently. mean do you think that like that is like we're going to see a lot more of that because Russia was for a while very like no we're you know not a fan of this. mean you know it's not the not the freest country in the world let's say and so freedom money tends to be a little bit.
It's like oil and water, like they don't mix well, right? But clearly they're realizing the geopolitical significance of Bitcoin, which is still sitting at like, I mean, I don't know what the market cap is right now after we're over, we're pamping, but like, we're not over 2 trillion yet. We're at like what, below a trillion and a half, like 1.5, which is fucking nothing. Like in the grand scheme of things, like we are still fucking early.
Erik Cason (01:15:31.04)
point five.
HODL (01:15:37.74)
Yep. Smaller than Apple Computer.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:15:42.303)
Yeah, Bitcoin did just pass meta though, right? I think like today like I believe so, but I don't know like
HODL (01:15:47.308)
Probably.
Erik Cason (01:15:52.717)
That piece of shit company is worth one and a half tru- Like what the fuck is wrong with this world? I'm sorry, like that- that is upsetting that so many fucking morons are on that goddamn surveillance platform giving away their information towards somebody that fucking hates them.
HODL (01:16:02.38)
It's.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:16:06.473)
to, it's just,
HODL (01:16:08.214)
Instagram is very popular with the hoes Eric very popular
Erik Cason (01:16:11.434)
I know. Bitches just be scrolling.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:16:12.551)
And Facebook's very popular with the boomers. Like I think boomers are the only ones left on Facebook. I'm honestly convinced, which is hilarious because the boomers were the same ones being like this, this, these Facebook's are going to melt your brains. And now they're like, you know, like this picture of Donald Trump and Jesus is incredible. Like when did they take this? This is amazing. Like, don't think boomer boomers have really bad AI detection skills. Also, that's a slight digression, but it leaves them very vulnerable to manipulation. I think
HODL (01:16:24.342)
It's, yeah.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:16:40.456)
It's also kind of cute and endearing. God bless you, you bought your house for two raspberries and now you're a multimillionaire.
Erik Cason (01:16:47.724)
look like in all honesty, like I see the next decade is like there's gonna be this really it's funny because I remember I was at Burning Man. I'd taken a bunch of acid and I was talking to a younger friend about this and I like went on this crazy diatribe. was like, yeah, in 30 years, we're gonna have like a youth fascist movement that's just gonna be all about like fucking stripping the boomers of their property and like sending them off to the prison camps for liquidation just because people are gonna be so fucking angry at the way that they feel like they were robbed and stolen from. So like
I don't know. It's very similar to that Junseth podcast where he talked to that young scammer where he was pretty indifferent to the way he was ripping people off. honestly, young people have a pretty good point. Yeah, if an AI boomer can't tell the difference between Donald Trump and an AI bot, and you can rip him off doing that, why shouldn't you? Yeah, he made his millions of dollars from watching his house inflate.
HODL (01:17:21.57)
of these cameras.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:17:23.049)
was amazing.
Erik Cason (01:17:46.102)
you know, because of how fucked up the monetary system is. So why shouldn't you just engage in outright graft? I'm not saying that that's right in any meaningful way. Like it's an honest and open-ended question that frankly, I've really struggled with, like meaningfully answering to them. Cause like, yeah, this system has absolutely fucked you and robbed you. And there is no meaningful way that you are going to crawl out of the hole that you've been forced to live in. So like, I don't, I don't know what you can really do to try to protect yourself other than get yourself on a Bitcoin standard.
HODL (01:18:15.108)
you? Do you that's Do you think that's true, though? Because like, didn't you feel that way when you were 1819? Because I did, I felt like the boomers had pulled up the ladder. They got rich selling houses back and forth to each other. We were never going to be able to do the same thing, etc, etc. And then God was just like, boom, here's, here's digital coins, bitch. And I was like, fuck. This is amazing. I'm richer than these guys could have ever dreamed. Yeah.
Erik Cason (01:18:15.414)
But you probably shouldn't be robbing people, because that's fucked up.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:18:18.344)
Yeah
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:18:38.045)
you
You
HODL (01:18:43.158)
So I mean, think there's always something on the horizon.
Erik Cason (01:18:43.567)
I mean, for me personally, for me personally, yeah, but like, I, and like, this is one of the things I always struggle with is that like, we're in an extremely unique position, you know, across, like, that's one of the reasons I didn't just like take the money and run is that like, feel a real obligation towards speaking to the very real power that this has to like, write the economy in a meaningful way again. And with that being said, like,
If I was 20 years old looking at the economy right now, like I would very sincerely be trying to build a career as probably both a drug dealer and a scammer just because I look at the world and be like, why the fuck should I participate in any of this goddamn non- like you want me to fork out $400,000 to get a fucking bachelor's degree while you got that shit for free? Like why the fuck shouldn't I just set fire to everything and watch it burn because
What do I have to win in this system? Like, like I can work for 30 fucking years so I can get a down payment on a home that then I'll spend the next 30 fucking years trying to pay off scraping by. Like, I think shit is really, really fucked up. And I think the only reason that kids aren't outraged is because they're so dopamine addicted to the scrolling that they can't even pull their head far enough out of the phone to stop and look around and go, gee, shit's really fucking bad. But that terrifies them. So they look back at the phone and keep scrolling.
so I think shit's kind of sad right now, but, you know, like I, I hope I'm wrong and that it's not actually that dark out there, but from the, from the young people that I speak to, like, there isn't a rage about it. There's like a very real defeat that like they have been beaten down into a cage that like, they're just doing their best to figure out how to be in. So, while I do agree that I did feel that way when I was younger, like I very sincerely feel like I just like found the fucking glitch in the system.
And I remember like picking it up and being like, there's no fucking way that like magic internet money is going to become the global standard of the future and like make a difference in the 2024 presidential election. And the funniest thing is, that like, there was no political conversation about Bitcoin in my opinion, up until about 2016. Like there were, there was no conceivable difference. know, like crypto didn't even exist on a whole. There was a bunch of shit coin copies, like Litecoin and Feathercoin and shit.
Erik Cason (01:21:07.812)
But it was only with the premiere of Ethereum that Bitcoiners were like, hang on, like, we're trying to like make a kind of money that you can't fuck with. And they're like, yeah, like I thought, I thought this was the whole thing that we could just like make up Clowncoin and like make a bunch of money. And I was like, I think we have like different ethics here. And they're like, huh. So like, you don't want any Clowncoin? And I was like, no.
Good luck with that though.
HODL (01:21:32.28)
No, mean, you know, I think that, okay, so one thing is, did you see the scammers who got caught for 250 million? They hit up a Genesis creditor for 250 million. Did you see that story?
Erik Cason (01:21:44.022)
yeah, yeah. Wasn't this a while ago that they just, you it was like, he had like fucking, like two FAA, like through texts or some shit and they just, just, yeah.
HODL (01:21:52.438)
Yeah, they posed as I think they pose as Genesis or so I can't remember how the scam worked. But anyway, like they got $250 million in Bitcoin off of this guy. And it wasn't that long ago. was like six months ago or something. And then what did they do? They went out to the clubs in Miami and LA and they started buying OnlyFans girls Birkin bags and Lamborghinis and whatever. And my favorite text message from the thread is by the way, and then the FBI caught them two months later because
Everybody who's ever seen Goodfellas knows you don't go out and buy a fucking pink Cadillac day one. Are you fucking retarded? Robert De Niro is gonna whack you, okay? Or they don't watch it? Yeah, it's like, the kid literally bought a pink, he bought a pink Lambo for a girl. That is in Goodfellas, the guy does that and then he gets whacked.
Erik Cason (01:22:29.509)
Kids don't watch oldies anymore.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:22:31.567)
No, the answers are all there. They gave you the answers.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:22:41.425)
Also, like she's not going to bang you either way, bro. Like, you know, seriously,
HODL (01:22:43.704)
Well, that's the point. That's the point I'm getting to. So there's a text message from the girl and he goes, hey, what's up? I bought you a fucking pink Lambo Urus. You want it? Let's be friends, whatever. And she's like, lol, I have a boyfriend. Sorry. And it's like, dude, you are going to get ass raped in federal prison for the next 10 years.
Erik Cason (01:22:44.377)
Yeah, that's like the most beta fucking move you can make.
HODL (01:23:09.568)
and you couldn't even get the girl to sleep with you after you bought her a fucking Lamborghini. You know why? It's because when you earn money that way, girls know. They know that you're a fucking loser. They can feel it. They can sense it. Right? And so like she didn't want to have anything to do with you. So it's like, what did you get out of the score, bro? You went to Rodeo Drive and wore some gay Louis Vuitton shit for a little bit and we're in the nightclub fucking sipping on fucking...
awesome, Migo, fucking Don Hoolit, whatever the fuck, like what the f- that's nothing. You threw away your life for nothing, bro. Come on.
Erik Cason (01:23:41.263)
Yeah, not to digress, but like if you want to like get rich and make a bunch of money to like get all the hot bitches, like I got news for you. Like it's not gonna work in any meaningful way. And like, you're actually gonna find yourself in like a super bitch beta position where you're gonna be like, huh, like I just like drove this girl in my Porsche over to this guy's house that she's like, that isn't my boyfriend. So.
HODL (01:24:06.808)
It's just her trainer dude, it's just her trainer dude. He's the only guy who can work her glutes right bro, it's a thing.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:24:09.639)
It's just Pilates instructor. It's cool, man.
Erik Cason (01:24:12.716)
Yeah.
I'm going to, you know, she needs me to pick her up in a half hour. So I'm just, I'm going to hang out at this coffee shop just cause I wonder why she's doing only a half hour of Pilate though. That's kind of weird.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:24:24.735)
That's strange. Doesn't seem like enough to get a good burn.
HODL (01:24:25.836)
was like a... No, dude, it's more intense sweat, dude. If you do it that way, it's what...
Erik Cason (01:24:31.644)
Well, and look, the... This is all part of the general nihilism that's playing out, because like when you get that money, when you get money that easily, that quickly through doing dumb shit like scamming, like you're not going to like stop and be like, whoa, like I finally got the lotto ticket to get out of here. Like I'm going to buy a couple of laundry mats and maybe like, you know, like a driving range and a couple other places that can really generate some cashflow for me.
No, you're gonna do like a bunch of retarded shit like that and you're gonna blow the money. like, this is one of the things I love the most about Bitcoin. It's like, Bitcoin doesn't solve cashflow problems or if like you don't have any meaningful like model that you're operating from the world from. if you can't save money, like you will not have any fucking Bitcoin. But like, if you're somebody who's like thoughtful and saving money and you have like a 401k and you've like played their game and gotten fucked by that, like.
Bitcoin's going to be hugely helpful for you because like now you're actually going to have a like savings that like does the thing it's supposed to do. So good on you. And also like, I'm sorry for all the younger kids that are getting fucked by this system that hates them. Like you really should be on only a Bitcoin standard. And if you're not, like I, I would love to hear your solution on why we're fucking dumb and you have the solution. Cause as far as I can tell.
You're gonna work at a Starbucks for the next 30 years and live in your mom's basement and like maybe, maybe if you want a family, you'll have like a chihuahua or something like, look, I got two dogs right now. Like these motherfuckers eat like nobody's business. So like get a really small dog that like you, you like don't need to like feed a lot of food to.
HODL (01:26:08.075)
Dude, you know what though, it's all mentality, truly. It's like, people don't, when you talk about like having children and caring about yourself for the future and you know, making money and how making money is a good thing, younger people are just straight up confused, right? And to us, that's like, that's the default that we grew up in. Those are our values. And yeah, but younger people are like, what? Is this some sort of like, trad, like trad?
Chad movement thing, dude. And you're like, what? This is called being a normal person, retard. What are you talking about? And it's because it's so like they haven't heard it. They've been being dude, if you go to public school, you have been being lectured by cat ladies eight hours a day for a fucking 15 years. OK, like and they have like fucking unicorn fairy tattoos on them and stuff. And they're like, Donald Trump is a racist. That's what you've been dealing with.
Erik Cason (01:26:46.577)
You can't say that word anymore.
HODL (01:27:06.432)
Okay, so you come out of that and then Andrew Tate's like, if you want to be a fucking man, you gotta have a fucking Bugatti. And then you go, fuck, this is fucking speaking to me, dude. Right? Like, when we were young, that was just like common sense. It was like, yeah, sports cars and hot chicks. Like that's what we like, bro. Like, you know.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:27:26.162)
Nobody needs to tell you that dude. Like, yeah.
Erik Cason (01:27:26.46)
I feel...
I feel really fucking bad for younger people. Like particularly like if you're like a young guy going through puberty and like you want to like go talk to this girl, but you're all nervous because you've watched all this like cancel culture shit. Like now you're too terrified to ever go talk to her. And now like you haven't talked to any girls in your whole life and you want to, but you can't. So like you feel like total fucking wiener. And then like somebody was like, well, if you feel like a wiener and like being a man's really hard, like maybe you're a woman and they're like, maybe I am a woman. And like,
It's something, it's fucked up. It's really wrong. And like a lot of times these poor kids just need somebody to be like, yeah, like you need to go talk to the woman. She could possibly like get really upset and sue you or some shit, but chances are she's just going to think you're kind of weird and you'll feel uncomfortable and walk away, you know, being blown out and like, that's okay. That that's part of life. It's okay when a woman rejects you. doesn't define you as a human being.
HODL (01:28:17.56)
I'm not supposed to say this but if you're a teenage boy Go and get a little drunk and do donuts in a parking lot. Okay. I'm not supposed to say that you probably shouldn't do it, but you know You should probably do it. Yeah, like in an empty parking lot empty. Don't go on the road. Just Donuts you can do it in don't do
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:28:31.498)
Great advice. It's terrible advice, but it's great advice.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:28:41.608)
And honestly, you live in the mid-west, like wait until, like you've got a little bit of snow there, wait until it's a little bit slick, it's much safer to do the donuts when your wheels are actually sliding versus you're like burning rubber. So that, we're tempering the donut device with some good Midwestern, you know, logical advice there. You know, I think, and Hodel, know you've got a hard stop coming up soon. I think we may need to do an entire other...
HODL (01:28:57.653)
Absolutely.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:29:08.702)
show about the fact that you know who hates homeschooling and who has had homeschooling illegal for a long time. Germany. Thank you. It's it's I appreciate you knew where I was going with that. And you know who implemented that. It was the fucking Nazis. Why did they implement the fact that you can't it is illegal for you to homeschool your kids for you to raise and instruct your kids at home.
HODL (01:29:18.754)
Germany, right?
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:29:34.868)
because they wanted to fucking control the narrative and control your kids and indoctrinate them and make them good little fucking Hitler's youth Nazis. And then we can go back a little bit further to the Prussian system of education, which is like what kind of was the genesis of the Nazi system, which is we want to create great little worker bees and great little soldiers. And the only way we can do that is if we have control of them from the first time they're able to fucking formulate a word.
Until they are of a you an age where it's appropriate to send them off to fucking work until they die or fight until they die I digress a little bit but the point is that if you don't like homeschooling you're a nazi And I mean that literally not like the everyone's a nazi thing like you're literally agreeing with what the nazis wanted So congratulations. You're a literal nazi not a figurative nazi That's
I just wanted to get that off my chest a little bit guys as a homeschooled guy myself who then went to public school because my parents Said it's your fucking decision do what you want to do. They didn't swear at me at that time They just said it's your decision, but I added the fucking but That was a fucking trip getting into public school and realizing I thought I was gonna be real stupid That was like my big worry where I was like mom and dad I think I should go to public school like what if I'm not as smart as the other kids They're always all my friends that I play sports with they're always doing homework and all this extra work like they've to be way ahead of me
They're like, okay, that's your decision. You can decide to do that. But like you've got a you know, like it's your it's your choice So anything that comes with it's your you know your responsibility, okay? And then I got to school and I was like, my god, everybody is fucking stupid. shit They are catering to the lowest common denominator. And this is a fucking joke I dig and I'm not even like that smart like I was smart enough to be a valedictorian and like kind of a bumblefucky town but that's like, you know, like you're the
skinniest kid at fat camp. You know what I mean? Like it's like, okay, like nice, nice job, but like you're still fat. Like, Hey, Hey, you guys are, you know,
Erik Cason (01:31:31.689)
There are all these kids from her high school listening right now, and I'm like, hey, I'm not that dumb.
HODL (01:31:35.316)
Hey, I often walk here. I often walk in my glue and he sniffed it. I thought we were friends.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:31:42.305)
I knew some fucking great fucking people and there were also some great fucking teachers in there who actually were like fuck this administrative bullshit. I'm just going to actually teach these kids. They were also the teachers always getting in trouble with the administration for like you're not following the curriculum. know like but and like I fucking love the small town that I grew up in because there are fucking great people there. The point is that the public school system did no one any favors. And you know what you just don't fucking need it man. You should do like
An hour or two of school a day and you'll be fucking good. That's all I did And then I went and started fires like not pyro fires But like I like to start controlled fires who doesn't you know what I mean? That's part of it And if you're a young guy listening to this and you've never just gone and started a fire fucking a go and start a fire because No, self-respecting woman will marry you unless you can start a fire like and I'm just telling you Yeah
Erik Cason (01:32:31.926)
Yeah, do it on metal trash can though, or like somewhere that you're not gonna start forest fire. know, like Smokey the Bear had a point.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:32:37.258)
Well, yeah, don't do yet again not pyromaniac fires start controlled fires Learn how to control them and be a responsible member of society who knows how to make flame like fucking hey That's the only reason that we started drinking bone marrow that was actually cooked and had our brains grow and you want to spit on that I don't think so I've digressed a little bit but it felt like I needed to digress a little bit to get us off track enough for hodl for me to allow you to make a graceful exit here How much more time you got you got time for one last?
HODL (01:33:05.928)
got, yeah, I got like five more minutes. I can do five more minutes.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:33:06.81)
thought Okay, okay, so Okay, it first. I just want to say thank you to everybody who tuned in on this Noster only live stream fuck YouTube fuck live stream on Twitter fuck wherever else you can live stream like twitch I've never used it, but I hear the kids do all these sats that you guys have sent which is almost 50,000 sats which is awesome I'm gonna send them all to open sats and provide receipts. So thank you guys for doing that We're gonna fund some open source development while shitting on ridiculous people
Erik Cason (01:33:10.21)
diatribe.
HODL (01:33:34.072)
Yeah.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:33:36.352)
Closing thoughts, gentlemen. Hodel, you want to kick us off?
HODL (01:33:40.888)
Yeah, let me think about this here for a second. What are my closing thoughts? I think...
in general, you gotta just keep living, man. No, I got nothing.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:33:57.792)
Yeah, you don't have to have that. You already dropped so much wisdom. Well, Eric, what about you? What do want to leave people with?
HODL (01:34:04.561)
Come back to me. Do Eric first, then come back.
Erik Cason (01:34:10.474)
Look, Trump getting elected was like a the whole market was like waiting to see whether or not we're going to go into like socialism hell or if there's going to be an opportunity for something meaningful to happen. Now something meaningful is going to happen and Bitcoin is going to rip super fucking hard in the next six months. And so like if you've been like, I've been like, stacking a little here and there, but I got my 401k like you don't have enough fucking coin. You're going to want more coin later and you should stack harder. So you should really consider about like
Put, you know, like stop messing around, like fucking shove it in, like, like put the whole thing in and enjoy what it means and be like, fucking go for it. In addition to, you know, you should really think for yourself, you know, like no, nobody actually has all of the right fucking answers. And if you actually spend some time and energy thinking hard about what your values are and what you want for the world and for yourself, you're probably going to come to some great conclusions. you know,
So I really hope that more of you are going to fly your freak freak flags and like do your own thing. Walker, you're a great example. You're just doing the Bitcoin podcast to swipe the fact that Bitcoin podcasts were saturated as fuck. You were just like, you know what? I'm going to try my own fucking thing. Turns out people like you and like listen to you. So even if it seems in other people are like, hey, this is saturated. There's too many people like go do you and what you're supposed to like, that's what the world wants. That's where you're to find your power and that's where you're going to make the most money. Don't wait for somebody to be like,
You need to call a degree in to suck five dicks at this law firm to get a job to practice law. find, like, find the fucking hack. Figure out the way that you can actually go do the thing that you want to do. What is the world wants for you and other people want for you? The system does not fucking want for you. Like realize that right now, you're going to be way fucking ahead for yourself. So.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:35:36.02)
You
Erik Cason (01:35:53.28)
I hope to see all of you young entrepreneurs with the production of all of the great and wonderful things that you will be accepting only on a Bitcoin standard because you're smart enough that you don't want to get fucked holding a bunch of fiat that's going to go to zero. That's the end of what I have to
HODL (01:36:06.496)
I am. I actually do have something to say I was I was thinking about this. I think going into the bull market, an important message for people that they need to be aware of is that, yes, you should go hard. know, there's that clip of me on Walker show saying stack your fucking ass off and all that. And like, yes, you should go hard. You should you should be here. You should be fully committed to this and you should be, you know, investing a significant portion of what you have available. All true.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:36:06.728)
A fucking
HODL (01:36:34.648)
but you know in bull markets people take leverage and Leverage is something that people mistakenly think is a time machine to being an og And it's not and you know, we've seen a lot of people get wrecked So if you are gonna take leverage be extremely careful it's it's one of those things that like if you warn enough people about doing it the people that
you know, ignore all the warnings and walk through all the warning signs anyway, and then go do it and succeed. They were always meant to succeed. But for the vast majority of people like you won't succeed. You know what mean? So like you really should heed the warning and only you know if you're that person or not, and everybody thinks they are that person. But you only find out you're not that person who can walk through all the warning signs until you get fucking destroyed. So don't get destroyed. You know what I mean? Like
Erik Cason (01:37:24.676)
By the way, this is being said by the man who made a Bitcoin by betting the man who had the leverage platform that his leverage platform would go bankrupt within a year and it fucking did. just saying that Hoddle might actually know a little bit about what the fuck he's talking about. So with that, please don't go long and slam your fucking dick in the door because there's a 10 % drawdown, which could very well happen when we hit an all time high and your retarded ass did a 10X long and didn't realize.
HODL (01:37:32.728)
That's right.
Erik Cason (01:37:51.928)
that that's what happens. You get fucking liquidated when the price goes down. So don't be fucking retarded and lose the little bit of Bitcoin that you have because you thought that you could get more Bitcoin because you were smarter. You're not. You're a normal fucking person who will hurt yourself if you do that. So sorry, I just really wanted to add.
HODL (01:38:07.746)
So no, % 100 % and two cardinal sins here in Bitcoin you need to be aware of heading into the bull market is number one, not being bullish enough on Bitcoin. That's the biggest sin. It's the biggest sin anyone can make. Number two, unfortunately, is being too bullish on Bitcoin. So you got to strike the balance right in the middle there. Because if you're on either side, you're getting fucking wrecked. Okay, so the best way to do that, stack your Bitcoin, hodl your Bitcoin.
do it in self custody, do it in cold storage, do it with a multi sig. Don't go crazy on this, these products, these MSTU and BTU and fucking these leverage products you can now get access to in the markets. Don't go crazy on MSTR stock, don't go crazy on shit coins or meme coins. You know, everybody has a plan. I've met a lot of guys who had a plan to get to 100 Bitcoin, who ended up with zero Bitcoin, right? So like,
Try not to be one of those guys. If your plan has three elaborate steps that involve you hitting a million shot three times, you're not gonna execute that plan, man. I couldn't execute it. I don't know why you think you're good enough to. I don't know why anyone would ever think they're good enough to. Be smart.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:39:20.83)
got a fucking three step plan and it's called DCA and fucking like literally guys, none of us are as smart as we think we are. And like that's good. Like you being too smart is just a pain. That's why you know, that's why you need to drink and stuff. But like literally just like just fucking DCA. Like it's actually like just this GCO like you can just buy Bitcoin, set up a daily DCA buy and then set up an hourly DCA buy.
HODL (01:39:24.503)
Yes.
HODL (01:39:38.828)
Totally.
Walker (BitcoinPodcast.net) (01:39:49.492)
and it'll just split the difference and you will be in large profit in the long term. And I have not been around as long as you guys been around since 2020 and I just dollar cost average. And you know what? It works. And I try to create some value. And Eric, to your point, I appreciate that, that you see this journey that I'm on creating another fucking Bitcoin podcast. But I just want to say until there are more Bitcoin podcasts than insufferable fucking finance bro podcasts,
There are not enough Bitcoin podcasts. need to this needs to be the flippening where Bitcoin podcasts are more plentiful than fucking finance bro. Like here here's the real real estate stock stocks that you should buy that'll generate some passive income for you when you're 401k. It's like Jesus fucking Christ. Grow some balls and buy some Bitcoin guys. Yeah. I fucking appreciate you guys. Thanks for hopping on here. This this was a very enjoyable time.
And I know that people fucking love hearing from both of you guys because you are principal dudes who always laid out straight and We are we are very blessed to have you in this fucking strange community of people and it's great to fucking hang out with you guys And I hope we can do it in fucking person over a beer again soon But yeah, hold on get the fuck out of here case it I'm you guys for everyone listening I'm gonna kill this live stream now and we're gonna just to make sure these guys are uploaded. So fucking love you all. Thanks for joining
I'm killing it now.
-
@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1
2024-11-17 09:14:56
You don't understand how insidious open-borders propaganda is, until you realize that _it's an attempt to remove all differentiating traits from humans_. They call this "strengthening individuality by removing nationality" (hello, newspeak), but what makes humans individual is their particular collection of traits, and nationality (and ethnicity, religion, etc. -- nationality is just the first domino they want to topple) is one of those.
![Newspeak](https://i0.wp.com/wasmormon.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/image-1-3.jpg)
Humans are not blank slates. Like DNA or physiognomy, our personalities are differing jumbles of cultural "letters". Each person selects consciously and subconsciously from amongst these letters, adding to or rejecting them, amplifying or suppressing them, twisting or combining them, building on top of them... and that's what makes you into You.
Open borders is an attempt to reduce the number of cultural letters you can build your "You" out of. If you take away the word "German", I am not liberated. There is simply one less adjective, with which I can describe myself. You have merely eradicated information, crippled language, and reduced my choices. I can then no longer define myself according to "German things", but I can also no longer define myself in opposition to German things.
## Enter the Borg
![Borg Queen](https://d2thvodm3xyo6j.cloudfront.net/media/2020/01/ff5814c200adf361-600x338.jpg)
We are easier to control and brainwash and persecute, if we are centralized and homogenized. As if the entire world were one, big prison and we were all forced to undergo the same education, wear the same clothes, follow the same rules, eat the same foods, enjoy the same entertainment, live the same lifestyle, share the same diseases and cures, enjoy the same lockdowns, join in the same cancel culture, fight the same wars.
That is what globalization brings. That is the end game of Open Borders:
* No more cultural evolution or revolution.
* Genes, but no memes.
* You can go everywhere, but everywhere is the same, so you just stay home.
* You can meet people from all over, but they are all the same, so you just don't bother.
* One mass of humanity, that can be easily molded and manipulated.
-
@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1
2024-11-08 10:27:40
## You have no idea
I regularly read comments from people, on here, wondering how it's possible to marry -- or even simply be friends! -- with someone who doesn't agree with you on politics. I see this sentiment expressed quite often, usually in the context of Bitcoin, or whatever _pig is currently being chased through the village_, as they say around here.
![Pig racing](https://i.pinimg.com/564x/a2/d5/8a/a2d58ac249846854345f727e41984e6c.jpg)
It seems rather sensible, but I don't think it's as hard, as people make it out to be. Further, I think it's a dangerous precondition to set, for your interpersonal relationships, because the political field is constantly in flux. If you determine who you will love, by their opinions, do you stop loving them if their opinions change, or if the opinions they have become irrelevant and a new set of opinions are needed -- and their new ones don't match your new ones? We could see this happen to relationships en masse, during the Covid Era, and I think it happens every day, in a slow grind toward the disintegration of interpersonal discourse.
I suspect many people do stop loving, at that point, as they never really loved the other person for their own sake, they loved the other person because they thought the other person was exactly like they are. But no two people are alike, and the longer you are in a relationship with someone else, the more the initial giddiness wears off and the trials and tribulations add up, the more you notice how very different you actually are. This is the point, where best friends and romantic couples say, _We just grew apart._
But you were always apart. You were always two different people. You just didn't notice, until now.
![Separation](https://i.pinimg.com/564x/c3/05/a6/c305a6a95e809b0356ecb651c72f78b9.jpg)
I've also always been surprised at how many same-party relationships disintegrate because of some disagreement over some particular detail of some particular topic, that they generally agree on. To me, it seems like an irrelevant side-topic, but _they can't stand to be with this person_... and they stomp off. So, I tend to think that it's less that opinions need to align to each other, but rather that opinions need to align in accordance with the level of interpersonal tolerance they can bring into the relationship.
## I was raised by relaxed revolutionaries
Maybe I see things this way because my parents come from two diverging political, cultural, national, and ethnic backgrounds, and are prone to disagreeing about a lot of "important" (to people outside their marriage) things, but still have one of the healthiest, most-fruitful, and most long-running marriages of anyone I know, from that generation. My parents, you see, aren't united by their opinions. They're united by their relationship, which is something _outside_ of opinions. Beyond opinions. Relationships are what turn two different people into one, cohesive unit, so that they slowly grow together. Eventually, even their faces merge, and their biological clocks tick to the same rhythm. They eventually become one entity that contains differing opinions about the same topics.
It's like magic, but it's the result of a mindset, not a worldview.
Or, as I like to quip:
> The best way to stay married, is to not get divorced.
![elderly couple](https://i.pinimg.com/564x/f7/0f/d2/f70fd2963312236c60cac61ec2324ce8.jpg)
My parents simply determined early on, that they would stay together, and whenever they would find that they disagreed on something that _didn't directly pertain to their day-to-day existence with each other_ they would just agree-to-disagree about that, or roll their eyes, and move on. You do you. Live and let live.
My parents have some of the most strongly held personal opinions of any people I've ever met, but they're also incredibly tolerant and can get along with nearly anyone, so their friends are a confusing hodgepodge of _people we liked and found interesting enough to keep around_. Which makes their house parties really fun, and highly unusual, in this day and age of mutual-damnation across the aisle.
![Party time](https://i.pinimg.com/564x/4e/aa/2b/4eaa2bb199aa7e5f36a0dbc2f0e4f217.jpg)
The things that did affect them, directly, like which school the children should attend or which country they should live in, etc. were things they'd sit down and discuss, and somehow one opinion would emerge, and they'd again... move on.
And that's how my husband and I also live our lives, and it's been working surprisingly well. No topics are off-limits to discussion (so long as you don't drone on for too long), nobody has to give up deeply held beliefs, or stop agitating for the political decisions they prefer.
You see, we didn't like that the other always had the same opinion. We liked that the other always held their opinions strongly. That they were passionate about their opinions. That they were willing to voice their opinions; sacrifice to promote their opinions. And that they didn't let anyone browbeat or cow them, for their opinions, not even their best friends or their spouse. But that they were open to listening to the other side, and trying to wrap their mind around the possibility that they _might just be wrong about something_.
![Listening](https://i.pinimg.com/564x/69/ec/1b/69ec1b66fc58802de4d04bfb5f0f8dc6.jpg)
We married each other because we knew: this person really cares, this person has thought this through, and they're in it, to win it. What "it" is, is mostly irrelevant, so long as it doesn't entail torturing small animals in the basement, or raising the children on a diet of Mountain Dew and porn, or something.
Live and let live. At least, it's never boring. At least, there's always something to ~~argue~~ talk about. At least, we never think... we've just grown apart.
-
@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1
2024-11-07 07:28:06
## The newspaper barons are all into crypto, now
Watching the outsized-impact we crypto enthusiasts (I'm including Bitcoin in that category), had on the 2024 USA presidential election, was a sobering affair. At the moment, our impact is primarily over the voting box, but, already, indirectly, (over Elon Musik, Donald Trump, and Jack Dorsey, etc.) through our sheer wealth (and the ingenuity that brought us that wealth) being able to influence the voting population, by changing/shifting the communications channels and influencing what is written there.
Elon even reached deep into his foreign-learned bag of political tricks and started [handing out money, directly](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crlnjzzk919o), to petition signers.
![Petition surprise](https://media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com/image/upload/t_fit-560w,f_auto,q_auto:best/rockcms/2024-10/241021-elon-musk-petition-money-al-0911-184b9c.jpg)
## Survival of the fittest, ongoing
Now, you all know that I have full respect for an expert player, when I see one, so no hating the hustle, from my side. We all play the hand we are dealt, and the political game is now such a pigsty, that you have to get a bit dirty, to have a chance at winning. Trying to stay neat and above the fray cost Republicans the last election.
![It is, what it is.](https://i5.walmartimages.com/seo/Poster-Master-Vintage-Typography-Retro-Dictionary-Print-Definition-It-What-is-Book-Page-Funny-11x14-UNFRAMED-Wall-Art-Gift-Colleague-Friend-Decor-Hom_2b9adf5b-c99b-4340-abff-ff68d958afa2.d103d320f7d1de6464bc793220e82190.jpeg)
It was the most dramatic display of the greatest power following the best money, that has been seen, since the Medici family began minting gold coins. The entire world is in shock. Change is upon us.
He who has the best money, makes the rules.
On a smaller, but not insignificant scale, private wealth and access to Bitcoin funding, have allowed quite a few of us Nostriches, to dedicate time and energy toward promoting and developing the New Internet. Whereas, other people's hobby is increasingly the night shift at the gas station, or doing something mind-numbing, to escape the realities of their current economic misery.
You don't need money to be here, but you can spend more time here, if you have money.
And we are here, writing the rules. We call them NIPs.
![Innocent](https://media.tenor.com/DbcjrzcEv_0AAAAC/flirt-speechless.gif)
## Same ole, same ole
But back to us Bitcoiners...
I increasingly don't see us morally any different than the clever people crowding into any safe asset, during any financial crisis. Like the people who bought agricultural land, gold, and Swiss Francs, before the Reichsmark melted down. The people who had that stuff, mostly managed to keep it, and their children and grandchildren have inherited it. Or they managed to marry back into families, that have done so, by remaining in the same social class, through beauty or talent.
![young wife](https://i.nostr.build/jzn0rSWYSUxo3VkZ.jpg)
We Bitcoiners have a good narrative to go along with our flight to economic safety, but everyone has that narrative. Humans have a conscience and need to justify their own actions, to themselves. I'm also a goldbug, you see, and a stockholder, and all three assets are rife with the same virtuous narrative.
## How do we save our financial behinds, without being evil?
Some people are simply more situationally aware and have more agency, by nature and circumstances, and they adapt faster. It's not mere intelligence, rather, it also requires a willingness to act and take risks. There's an element of chance to it, but it's still always the same types of people ending up with the assets, with the winners slightly shifting with each round, due to evolution and changes in the environment.
Charity was invented, to get such people to willingly share their assets, or the fruits of their assets, for the common good. So, rather than fret over the morality of the asset, itself, the better response is to consider stepping up your charity (effort or payments), to balance out the inevitable negative impact of the coming _Age of Bitcoin Inequality_.
![the Mountains](https://i.nostr.build/Dw2nrsBHf0Hcgrsv.jpg)
## Coming down from the ATH
Even now, Bitcoin isn't the only safe asset; it's just the most-fungible and partitionable one, so that it's the one most akin to money. And lines are being blurred, as corporations, funds, governments, and insurers discharge dollars and stock up on harder reserve assets, including Bitcoin.
They can hear the money printers rolling out, already, because nobody can print-n-spend, like Trump can. Let's not forget that the money for the last big bump came from the infamous Trump stimmy checks, that lots of us stacked on crypto.
![Stimmy checks](https://i.nostr.build/dsLxBKanya66KOCN.png)
As Bitcoin flows into such markets, the power will rest with both groups (the direct-hodlers and the title-holders), although the hodlers will initially have the upper hand. I say, _initially_ because many hodlers will need to discharge or invest Bitcoin, to live off of it, but the others don't need to, so it should eventually even out. It could take dozens or even hundreds of years to rebalance. By then, the world will be a very different place, and we don't know if Bitcoin will even still be a part of it.
Assets come, assets go, and I'm just glad I didn't let down my forefathers, by leaving them with the first generation, who failed to adapt. Even if I'm a bit late, to the Bitcoin game, the ball is still in play.
May the best money win.
And may it be mine.
And may I do good with it.
-
@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1
2024-11-07 07:22:14
## Unsucking the feed is real
As a Nostrich with an interesting, thought-provoking, and informative feed... a feed so good, that we're creating clients just to look at that feed... a feed that puts a lie to the idea that Nostr is nothing, but people reposting from Twitter or rehashing worn-out Bitcoin memes... a feed that I personally and increasingly enjoy perusing... I am here to tell you that the feed is real.
![Yes, it's real.](https://i.nostr.build/eXAINZP6UjWTDnCA.jpg)
It's taken me over a year, to produce this feed. I literally spent hours and hours, day in and day out, scouring the Nostrverse for people worth introducing other people to. It was brutally difficult, as I was fighting the inherent nature of the Nostr clients and relays, in their current, most-popular form.
## It goes like so...
Here are the steps I took, that sometimes weren't possible to take, until I tried to take them, and that still will sometimes break your client because the clients are often _intentionally_ designed to steer you into having one particular feed:
1) **Make a screenshot** of your current relay list and copy your follows list.
2) **Unsubscribe from all the relays**, that you are currently subscribed to. Your feed should disappear. If it doesn't, or it doesn't allow for this, switch to a different client app because yours is corrupted.
3) **Unfollow everyone.** Delete the whole list. You are taking your follows private, which will invariably result in only following npubs whose stuff you actually want to see, since there's no longer any virtue-signaling going on. Also, it's easier to explain having no list, than a very short one. If your client doesn't allow for this, or starts throwing error messages and freezing up, then switch to a different client app because yours is corrupted.
4) **Curate your copied follows list.** Go line by line and look at the feed produced by the npub on that list.
* Do you want to see that in your feed, going forward?
* Do they produce original content and/or are they interesting conversationalists, in the replies?
* Have they been active, within the past three months?
* Are they simply good friends or real-life acquaintances, that you want to keep tabs on?
* If not, cross out their name.
* If you have been following someone because they repost or quote interesting things, **look at who they've been reposting** and follow them, instead.
5) Of the npubs remaining on your list, go through and select the 10 most interesting ones, and **look at the reposts and quotes** in their feed, and their topical lists like \"Favorites\", \"Devs\", \"Recipes\", etc. (Not their follows list, unless it's quite short, as follows tend to be full of people they follow for social-signaling or client-functional reasons, that they don't actively look at.) Find some new follows, there.
6) Now, set up a personal relay and add all the follows, that made the cut, to **your allowed-npubs list**. Do not add people to the list, just to make them feel better, or because you feel guilty, as they follow you, or to keep them from yelling at you. Remember, they can't see the list!
7) Think about the topics you find interesting, and add an **allowed-keywords list** (this is better than hashtags, as it searches the entire content of the notes), with the OR operator (these allowed npubs OR these allowed topics).
8) Make sure that you choose words likely to find the content you are most-interested in, and not people just ranting about it or spamming (those are great additions to your relay's block-list). If you are Muslim, for instance, instead of "Islam" or "shariah", choose "hadith" or "riba", as those are words more-likely to be used by people who know what they are talking about. If you are into bread baking, add "sourdough", "rye", "yeast", or "whisk", but don't add "bread" or "carbs". Once a note from those people shows up in your feed, and their feed looks like someone interesting, you can add their npub to your allow list. Remember: **The topics are there to find people to add to the allow list**, not merely for their own sake, as this is not a topical relay, but a personal one.
9) Open up a faucet (or relay syncing) with some of the big relays you previously unsubscribed from, some WoT relays, and some of the paid relays (nostr.land, nostr.wine, nostr21.com, and sovbit.host, for example). **Your relay will filter that feed** and only accept the events from the people and topics on your list. As your relay becomes more popular, npubs will begin writing directly to it, and the connections to other relays will sink in significance.
10) Go to your client of choice and **subscribe to your new relay**. Also subscribe to some topical relays, or curated neighborhood relays, you find interesting or your frens are running. This is an easy way to find new, interesting npubs, to add to your own relay.
![The end](https://i.pinimg.com/564x/e4/32/fc/e432fc1ce1fc8a5077e33290ec15e0ce.jpg)
That's a lot of work, you say? Yes, but the result is great, and you are now fully in-charge of your own feed. You also -- here's the cool part -- have a feed good enough, that other people can add your feed to theirs and enjoy your manual curation. As you refine and expand your feed, theirs will also be refined, in parallel. You are now an official Nostr Community Curator. My sincere congratulations.
![Certificate](https://i.nostr.build/FDtR0Z5VAJTxCGHL.png)
## Why is this so hard?
This is only a lot of work because the clients aren't designed to interact with relays, to this extent, as they were created to service mega-relays, download all their crap to your local cache, and adjust the feed over the follows/mutes lists. This was an idea borne of the axiom that Relays Are Hard, so there will only ever be a handful of them, where we'd all clump together and the relay operators would never judge the quality of someone's content. Then, some unusually clever people made relays increasingly easy, and the mailbox communication model was invented, and here we are.
What we have now, and that is slowly growing in popularity, among the #NostrIntelligentsia, are Nostr clients aimed at curating and viewing individual relays or personalized sets of smaller or more-specialized relays. The reigning client devs refused to give us those clients, and most of us aren't up to developing our own clients, so the relay devs took matters into their own hands and made the clients themselves. The free market remains undefeated.
This is a total game-changer. Last one to board this train is a rotten egg.
Originally, relays were supposed to be completely stupid and clients were supposed to be completely smart, but it's now actually the other way around, because most relay devs have a market-born incentive to make their content highly customizable and appealing to individuals (so that more people run relays).
## But what about algos?
Can't you just slap an algo on top of Damus, Lol, or Primal relays, and get the same result? I would argue... no. No, you can't. Or, rather, only in the short to medium term.
Running your own relay, is running your own server. You are now _intellectually independent_, at a machine-level, and therefore a fully sovereign consumer. If you then use algos to control your own server, or in a client that subscribes to your own server, then you can further-refine a feed that is already in a high-to-you-signal state, rather than risking an algo inching you toward the Consensus Feed.
I have noticed that my own feed is slowly drifting away from the ReplyGuy-Cryptobot-Porny-Bitcoin-Meme Dumpster Fire, that almost everyone else is looking at, and it's due to running my own relay. If I use DVMs, those algos sometimes refer to relays I intentionally avoid, so they return results according to those relays. The results are as underwhelming, as you would expect, and often are simply 31 flavors of the Trending List.
But, that isn't your problem, anymore.
From here, you can actively expand and refine your feed, over your whitelist, the topics, and your personally-managed algos.
Happy Nostr-ing!
-
@ 6871d8df:4a9396c1
2024-11-05 14:26:45
Today is Election Day here in the US, and it's a big deal.
As of now, this is my bet on the vote:
<a href="https://www.270towin.com/maps/Z4y6z"><img src="https://www.270towin.com/map-images/Z4y6z.png" width="800"></a>
For myself, as I did in 2020, I will be voting for Donald Trump.
My biggest reasons for this are as follows:
1. Dismantling the bureaucracy.
2. Financial Freedom
3. Food Freedom
There are others, but those are my top three.
For me, the fact that unelected bureaucrats essentially run our government (Joe Biden is still our President right now, though no one has seen or heard from him in months) is our largest red flag. I think it is our biggest priority to return to a place where the people we elect to run our government _actually_ run our government.
Trump swung and missed on this in his first term, but with his commitment to RFK and having people on his side like Vivek, I do not think he will sing and miss this time.
Next is financial freedom. The Biden-Harris administration has been incredibly hostile to what I am calling financial freedom. They mostly got their policies from the Warren camp, which hates digital currencies.
Being a part of Bitcoin startups for most of the Biden admin, I have seen this first hand. [Operation Chokepoint 2.0](https://www.piratewires.com/p/crypto-choke-point) was a real thing and it was scary living through it. Actively seeing the government try to de-bank you was something I never would have thought was possible in the 'Land of the Free.'
The fact that the gov could de-bank you at all was an even bigger catalyst of how necessary a neutral, open, digital, and global money was critical for not only freedom itself, but our future.
Trump _clearly_ is the better candidate regarding this. Yes, he may have launched a [grifting shitcoin](https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/16/trump-crypto-world-liberty-financial.html), but he doesn't want my industry — and financial freedom itself — dead. This is a no-brainer.
Andreessen Horowitz had a great [podcast](https://youtu.be/n_sNclEgQZQ?si=bwHh8jD2LVOYXVrS) summarizing this that is worth the listen. It sums up where I sit as opposed to the current administration.
Trump has also promised to [free Ross](https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/25/trump-commute-ross-ulbricht-sentence-libertarian-convention-00160025), which is _absolutely_ necessary.
Last is food freedom.
I think the US is going the absolute wrong direction when it comes to health and food. In the name of saving animals and climate, food guidelines have been captured by this horrible, anti-human ideology.
I personally think it's not only necessary but _good_ for humans to eat lots of beef and just meat in general. So much of what we've been told about nutrition and cholesterol is blatantly wrong.
Only one side of the aisle is trying to mandate this in the name of 'science.' I think they are wrong.
There is also only one side of the aisle that is anti-seed oils. I haven't eaten seed oils for almost four years, and bringing that mainstream, I think, is incredibly important. RFK is leading the way here. Trump putting him in a position of power to 'Make America Healthy Again,' I believe, is a fantastic initiative and one that is at the forefront for me for this election.
-
@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1
2024-11-03 21:51:39
## All memed out
It finally happened. I think it was October 25th, at circa 18:45 in the evening. I was doomscrolling my Nostr feed, and kept seeing the same Bitcoin memes repeated over and over, by different people. They weren't even reposts, they were copy-pasted versions of the same image. A very funny image. Well, it was very funny last year... and the year before that... and probably the year before that, when it appeared on a different network.
Because it's all just reposts, copy-pastes and rehashes of the Best of Bitcoin Twitter, just like the tiresome influencers, with their groupies and their Episode 498 of *Let's all eat a large chunk of lightly-burnt dead animal and count our stacks before jetting off to talk about how to save the poors by getting them to buy individual satoshis with money they don't have*.
![steak](https://www.tastingtable.com/img/gallery/10-minimum-best-large-cuts-of-meat-for-grilling/intro-1691424874.webp)
## I'm the poors your looking for
It's all so tiresome. It has little bearing on the real world I see around me, where most people are thinking all day about 99 problems and Bitcoin ain't one.
![It is me](https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1400/format:webp/1*xBh533R2Tp8MZzbVAoDLQQ.png)
Which is, of course, what the Bitcoin influencers would have you believe, is the reason that they're poor. What in the world could be more important, than thinking about Bitcoin? Why do these people not get with the program? Don't they know, that we are trying to save them?
![stop being poor](https://i.etsystatic.com/31473067/r/il/f019cc/5816289459/il_1588xN.5816289459_6efv.jpg)
Why are they worrying about OtherProblems? Don't they know that all OtherProblems can be fixed with Bitcoin? Really, if you just go back far enough, in any current, situational problem, you will discover that there was some slight, negative shift to the history record that involved soft money. It's the financial version of the Butterfly Effect.
![Bitcoin Effect](https://i.nostr.build/eo5CMa7hEvCUFvam.jpg)
That's why #BitcoinFixesThis. Bitcoin fixes everything, if you just think about it, for long enough.
The same way that we all actually come out of Africa, supposedly, if you go back enough generations. So, coming out of Africa, now, as a Real Life Person in The Present is supposed to have no significance. What does someone from Cameroon know about Africa, that someone from Alaska doesn't? Both people come out of Africa, if you just think about it, for long enough.
![older lady sipping](https://i.pinimg.com/564x/cf/8e/13/cf8e139c7d615724a073616b358c9249.jpg)
And maybe that really is true. Maybe Bitcoin will eventually end all vice and crimes, save the planet, and we will all just hold hands and sing kumbaya all day, while waiting for the Singularity to upload us to Satoshi.
## Bitcoin envelope budgeting
Or maybe it's not. Maybe it's just a really hard, digital money that incentivizes savings, functions as a reliable measure, and makes micropayments possible on a global scale. Those really are things that will help the poors, including myself. I can see it, already, when trying to organize pre-paid meetups or figure out what to do with our household's meager savings, when the stock market is looking particularly bubblicious.
![Weimar laesst gruessen](https://i.pinimg.com/564x/22/14/fa/2214faad59e41b57f4352a4269ec6515.jpg)
But this is what I would consider Boring Bitcoin. Bitcoin home economics. Penny-pinching Bitcoin. Bitcoin for homemakers. How to use the Bitcoin envelope budgeting system to beat inflation by a margin of 13%.
The actual use of Bitcoin as money, rather than as a mere investment gamble or hype machine. That's the part of Bitcoin that nobody seems to really talk about because it's incredibly practical, dull, and useful, and it can only be tested by -- Oh, the horror! -- actually spending Bitcoin.
But... perhaps I will begin talking about it. Perhaps those of us, Bitcoiners, who are having fun staying poor, while stacking sats, should speak up a bit more. Perhaps the boring stuff is actually the interesting stuff. Perhaps there is more to say about Bitcoin, than can fit into a meme.
-
@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1
2024-11-03 12:01:43
## It arrived!
I was feeling impatient, waiting for my snazzy, brand-spanking new mobile phone to arrive, but when it got here, I just stared at the box, in trepidation. Everyone kept walking by, asking how it is, but I just shook my head. After nearly four years, with my (originally Android 10), Moto G8 Power, which I loved to death, I wasn't yet ready to move on. I needed a moment, to grieve.
RIP, my trusty fren.
![Phone in retirement](https://files.refurbed.com/ii/motorola-moto-g8-power-1645784414.jpg)
## Anyways...
Around 10 pm, I managed to emotionally recover enough to begin the Big Transition, and I was up until 2 am, and still didn't finish.
My **SimpleX** database is sort of large, and slow to migrate. Also, took me a while to figure out how to do it, and the whole thing made me terribly nervous, that I'd accidentally get locked out. But it worked, after eight failed attempts, so yay.
**Telegram** was back online, almost immediately, since it's tied to the SIM card. Which was convenient, but sorta creeped me out.
Our family-internal favorite, **Threema**, was a snap. Took 5 minutes.
I had four failed starts with **Slack**, as it kept sending a login code to my Proton Mail, but I didn't have Proton app installed on my new phone, yet, and I was really sleepy, so I kept confirming on the old phone and then Slack would freeze up, and I had to kill the process and restart.
My **key manager** is cloud-based, so that went really fast, and I had the nos2x browser extension going in Firefox within 10 minutes, or so. Logged into Habla.News, Nostr.Build, Zap.Cooking, and Nostrudel.Ninja, immediately, so that I can get my Nostr fix.
Then I took a deep breath and mass-installed F-Droid, Minibits, **Amethyst**, Citrine, Orbot, and Amber. And breathed out, again, because MIRACLES NEVER CEASE: it seems to be actually working.
![Pinch me, I'm dreaming.](https://i.nostr.build/4oAdtXIN9y4QqvqE.png)
Everyone knows that this is the unbeatable Android Nostr setup, but it's also a resource-gobbling monster, that should only be tried at home, kids. Make sure you don't use Amethyst when out-and-about, unless you have a gigantic battery and an unlimited, high-speed, mobile plan. So, basically, everyone in the First World, who isn't me, can do it.
Oh, well. At least, I can now indulge over WiFi.
The phone itself is just like the old one, but thinner, faster, and doesn't freeze up or take a long time to start. The Motorola is dead. Long live the Motorola.
-
@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1
2024-11-03 09:20:33
# It's that season, again
I've been growing my hair out (too lazy to cut it) and it has -- once again -- quickly reached a length at which it draws unnecessary attention and sheds everywhere. I suppose it always sheds everywhere, but shedding short hairs is just generally less-gross than finding a 12-inch strand lying on the toast, you were about to consume.
So, I'm back to the _50 Shades of Updo_ stage, where I struggle to figure out how to best wear my head, usually defaulting to the _Messy Bun_ look, because it's still too short to do anything more elaborate and looks silly, as a ponytail.
![bun](https://i.nostr.build/YO8Aly0qUaPOJhCw.jpg)
![bun side-view](https://i.nostr.build/hCBjIxzfvbvR9iBy.jpg)
It's really not that great of a look for me, I know, especially, now that my chin is finally succumbing to gravity, but doing something more-elegant is usually more time-consuming and doesn't have that wonderful "swept up" feeling to it. You know that feeling, when you tie all of that heavy hair to a higher point on your skull and the roots just sigh with relief.
Another look, I tend to gravitate toward, at the moment, is head scarves, like this one:
![covering](https://image.nostr.build/1fad8ea595f64ea39f75b38b751aad89f90de3737110f4b5409556f5cf6be72f.jpg)
...or a Bavarian-style bandana, for gardening or hiking (don't have a selfie handy, so here is some random chick, who also suffers from poofy, dark hair).
![Not me](https://i.nostr.build/dsoKiqIVSgAGMBYE.png)
Hiking bare-headed, with flowing tresses, is not recommended, due to all of the Nature, that you have to comb back out of it.
Generally, just bored of my inbetween length and looking forward to braiding it, in a few months. Or giving up, in frustration, and cutting it all off.
-
@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1
2024-10-31 11:03:08
## Chef's notes
I got the recipe from the [byanjushka website](https://byanjushka.com/erdnussbutter-kekse-rezept-8177/). She includes a lot more information on there, and lots of pictures and instructions. But it's all in German, so here's my quickie, English version. I've doubled the amounts, as I first baked this for the #PurpleKonnektiv meetup, and I knew I'd have some hungry guests.
The cookies are vegan, but they're mostly just peanut, so it's sort of irrelevant. Just make sure you get the really high-quality peanut butter that is 100% peanut. You can usually identify it by the fact that the oil separates from the base, a bit. Everything else is probably with hardened palm oil, or something.
## Details
- ⏲️ Prep time: 15 min
- 🍳 Cook time: 10 min
- 🍽️ Servings: 30 cookies
## Ingredients
- 500 g peanut butter, normal or crunchy
- 300 g brown (or raw) sugar
- 160 ml plant-based milk (or cows' milk, if you don't care about vegan)
- 1 pkg vanilla sugar (bourbon is nice) or 1 tsp vanilla
- 250 g flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2/3 tsp salt
## Directions
1. Preheat oven to 180 °C (350 °F).
2. Beat together the peanut butter and the sugars, with an electric mixer.
3. Mix in milk and vanilla.
4. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, salt, and baking powder.
5. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, and then knead the dough a bit.
6. (At this point, I put the dough in the fridge overnight, and baked it the next day.)
7. Line your baking sheet with baking paper.
8. Form tbsp-spoon-sized balls of dough.
9. Press each one flat, with a fork, dipping the fork in water, before each press (to keep the dough from sticking to the fork).
-
@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1
2024-10-31 07:35:50
## You don't choose software. You choose software developers.
I've done lots of internal and external software project audits. The clue to a good audit, is that you are judging the building and the builder, because the former determines the present state of the code and the latter determines how things will be built going forward.
Here's what to look for in a good developer:
* _curious_ : eager to learn from others
* _humble_ : seems slightly embarrassed, when you report an issue, and tries to reproduce and fix the problem
* _responsive_ : they try to get back to you within 24 hours, or they arrange a sub or post a notice, when they'll be away for a while. They feel bad, if they leave someone waiting, so they'll send updates, even if it's just to ask them to be patient.
* _diligent_ : they don't leave websites rotting, abandoned. They either maintain it or pull it down. They check their repos regularly and actively manage the PRs and issues.
* _egalitarian_ : they care about all of their users, whether they are rich or poor, famous or unknown, premium or freewarers
* _agile_ : they don't let the system go stale, for months, and then dump a gigantic commit
* _honest_ : they don't lie, ever. Never ever. They're not sneaky or evasive. If something they promised won't work out, they announce it. They readily admit to things that make them look bad.
* _calm_ : they are not histrionic, hyperventilatory or prone to needing a Wellness Break, to recover from the stress of dealing with humans and code
* _centered_ : they have a plan, for their software, that they regularly refine, but they don't flit from one Next Big Thing, to another. They resist hype and examine concepts soberly and analytically.
* _concerned_ : they test their software before giving it to other people because they want them to have a positive experience, while using it. If something is just a prototype, they make that clear, when announcing it.
-
@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1
2024-10-29 08:52:42
## Yesterday was also a day
I'm still quite bullish about using Nostr to publish, and generally for OtherStuff, but I was feeling a bit pessimistic about the microblogging (kind 01) feeds on Nostr, yesterday. And, rightly so. Mine has been grinding slowly to a halt, and not for lack of effort, on my part. I regularly hear reports, from other npubs, that they sense the same phenomenon.
Most of the people I have whitelisted on the wss://theforest.nostr1.com relay (currently 302, in number) are beginning to give up on Kind 01 clients, except for occasionally making an announcement, and are increasingly moving their chatting off-Nostr. (I'm still privy to those conversations, but most of you no longer are.)
So, my feed has been getting quieter and quieter. Even adding new people doesn't help much, as they don't tend to stick around, for long, so it's a Sisyphean task.
![Relay curation](https://www.schule-und-familie.de/assets/images/wissen/ST09-Z66_sisyphus.jpg)
Some others are still bothering to show up, regularly, but they increasingly see it as a chore, or something they do to "keep up appearances". Add me to this group of wearied, diligent noters, holding down the microblogging feeds, with our exhausting attempt at #KeepingNostrWeird, while the influencers surround the gates and the Kind 01 feeds dissolve into nothing but warmed-over Bitcoin memes, GM notes, notifications from the OtherStuff, and Things Copied from X.
![Live view of us defending the microblogging feed.](https://i.etsystatic.com/12000271/r/il/85ed97/2160223296/il_1588xN.2160223296_lh8s.jpg)
The problem of barren, intellectually-emptying Kind 01 feeds is further exacerbated by the fact that new entrants to the Nostrverse find it increasingly easy to "find good follows", but they're all only finding the same follows: whoever is on the trending list.
## The See-Nothings
I keep complaining about this, but the responses I get are generally unhelpful. They are:
* mockery -- Oh, Miss Hoity-Toity wants more attention!
* insults -- Nobody is talking to you because you are boring and stupid, and nobody likes you.
* clueless -- You should try replying to other people, then they might reply to you.
* or they tell me to just stop looking at the list, if it upsets me.
![I see nothing.](https://i.pinimg.com/564x/99/a0/48/99a0486d006ef58eb76fbc243f94d9ec.jpg)
What people are missing, by telling me to just not look at the trending lists, is that the lists are a statistic of what real humans are looking at, on Nostr. The bizarrely-high concentration of npubs, on the list, so that their entries show up multiple times, suggests that what people are primarily looking at... is the trending list.
![Yes, the same npub 9 times.](https://i.nostr.build/OoiwW4KVnk76O172.png)
Either directly, because they use a client that has that built in, or indirectly, as they have been onboarded with the lists or told to "just follow the people I follow", which leads to a steadily-rising concentration of follows. This concentrating effect is accelerating.
The newly-popular WoT (web of trust) relays further exacerbate this effect, as they put a premium on the npubs that have the highest WoT score, which -- surprise, surprise! -- are the same people as on the trending list.
And this is why everyone on the trending list insists Nostr is a fun, happening place, full of human interaction. A place where replying reverently to Jack and posting GM religiously will make you a sought-after conversant. It is that place. For them.
In fact, they've reached that glorious state of #PeakSocialMedia, where they have become famous for being famous, and no longer have to even pretend to be trying to appeal to anyone with their content. They can post literal garbage, and their ~~fans~~ ~~groupies~~ ~~sycophants~~ commentariat will cheer them on, and flood their replies with ardent encouragement. Less because those other npubs actually cared about what they posted, than because they are hoping to pick up new followers in those threads, since they know that everyone is looking at those threads, because those threads are trending.
It's a pyramid scheme of following.
![Feeling blue](https://i.nostr.build/sttuMv5u9N4KpCAt.png)
For the rest of us... the vast majority of us... that blue line at the bottom is mostly how it feels.
## The trend is to trending.
What we no longer have, is people looking directly at relay feeds, to find new people, or even their own follow list feeds, to see npubs they've already subscribed to. Even when people follow me, they usually don't respond until I'm trending, which suggests that they're also seeing me on the trending list because that is what they're primarily looking at. This is why, as soon as you get on the trending list, your replies explode. And your replies will be concentrated in a hardcore few, otherwise.
Those few are the reason I keep coming back, but as they're also often chatting with me off-Nostr, I am facing the question of: _Why bother with Nostr microblogging?_
This is the question I am struggling with. If kind 01 isn't for plebs chatting, anymore, (and it increasingly isn't) then it's mostly a sort of bulletin board, where we post notifications of items we've added in OtherStuff clients, or make announcements of meetups, software releases, or conferences. This, however, is compounding the dullness of the feeds and turning it into a sort of "info flyer", except for a lucky few. But, perhaps, I am simply a #NostrBoomer, who is failing to move with the times and get with the program.
![In retrospect, it was inevitable.](https://gizmodo.com/app/uploads/2022/06/9ad13ee35e88ba8991d03936db27900b.jpg)
I'm slowly reaching the conclusion that Kind 01 in an open, centralized market of notes, will always coalesce around a small subset of #NostrElite and turn into a largely passive form of entertainment, or a frustratingly lonely place, for everyone else. There can only be so many people talking, at once, in a public square.
The only movement I currently see, that might end the slow slide of Kind 01 into irrelevance and tedium, is to create lots of smaller, public squares, through single-relay communities. This has been such a long time, in coming, and has been resisted by client devs so ferociously, that I worry that it's merely an attempt to close the barn door after the npubs have escaped.
I sincerely hope to be proven wrong, though. Perhaps the relay devs, who have valiantly taken up the fight, will #SaveKind01. We shall see.
-
@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1
2024-10-20 18:19:48
(Please note that this is not official financial or business advice, but rather a description of something we have done, on an informal basis.)
# A long, long time ago
It's been nearly a year, since nostr:nprofile1qydhwumn8ghj7argv4nx7un9wd6zumn0wd68yvfwvdhk6tcpypmhxue69uhkummnw3ezuetfde6kuer6wasku7nfvuh8xurpvdjj7qpqs3ht77dq4zqnya8vjun5jp3p44pr794ru36d0ltxu65chljw8xjqv5atj2 came into being, mostly as a lark, involving a couple of members of our private chat group. Our initial plan was to work toward bounties, but Nostr bounties are a bit of a biased, uncertain thing, and our enthusiasm for that quickly waned.
So, what to do? Here we are, we three (nostr:npub1ecdlntvjzexlyfale2egzvvncc8tgqsaxkl5hw7xlgjv2cxs705s9qs735, nostr:npub1wqfzz2p880wq0tumuae9lfwyhs8uz35xd0kr34zrvrwyh3kvrzuskcqsyn, and I): IT professionals with little time, but plenty of intellectual energy, a Slack chat, a [GitHub repo](https://github.com/ShadowySupercode), and lots of frustration with the Nostr status quo.
We were, you see, Nostr end-users. We loved the idea of the protocol, but we were being regularly stymied by the poor quality of many implementations.
* Why can I not login? Oh, they fixed the login! Nope, still can't login.
* If I press this button, it says it sent, but it didn't send. Where note?
* They announced a new feature, but I tried it and it didn't work. Oh well.
* I noticed a bug in the client, reported it, and the issue is just rotting away in the project repo. Ignored.
* The website/relay/repo was here... yesterday. Today it has disappeared, and taken my zaps with it.
It was enough to make us want to tear our hair out. We decided that what Nostr needed... what it _really_ needed... was a **Nostr Stable Version**. Nothing glamorous. Nothing exotic. Nothing busy or excitable. Just something that stayed where you initially found it, ran, and actually worked. Something where you could report a bug and receive a prompt response. Maybe even something, where you could pay a reasonable fee and be _allowed to have expectations_ of some particular service being returned. And who better to build such a version, than people who want to use it, themselves?
# Things working is an underrated concept
I know that the very idea of software _running as expected_ and websites not appearing and disappearing suddenly, based upon what some particular developer had for lunch, tends to be met with little but scorn, from hardened, seasoned Nostriches (who are convinced that bugs are _all_ features), but I think the majority of potential users would see it differently.
I'm with the majority, on this one.
I like to click "save" buttons and have them save. If I publish something, I want it to appear under my list of published somethings. I like to type in the website address I always type in, and have it magically appear on my screen, as if there were a little man sitting at controls in my laptop, just waiting for me to write H-T-T-P-S... and then jump to attention.
My unreasonable expectations have no bounds, it is true. But unreasonable people are also people, so we would also like to have our own unreasonable things to play with. Scorn away. My save button will save, and my published something will publish, and my website will load _every damn time_, just to spite you.
In the larger scheme of things, you see, we win even if we fail, if we at least increase the competition enough, that _things working_ becomes the new standard. We can simply prove, definitively, that it is possible for Nostr things to work, if they are built by people who care if they work. If we also have fun together, learn something new, and come up with some cool, novel use cases, then that's pure profit.
We can only win, at this endeavor.
# Where to start?
## Name that brand
So, we had a team, we had a business idea, and we had a heck of a lot of motivation. What we didn't have, is a name. (Never underestimate the importance of naming things.)
We decided to name ourselves "GitCitadel" because "git" sounds techy, hints at our GitRepublic project, and is reminiscent of open-source development, and "citadel" reminds us of Bitcoin. The republic is at home in the citadel, naturally. All other products also live in the same citadel, hence the naming-convention of prefacing everything with "GC" (i.e. "GC Alexandria", "GC Sybil", "GC Aedile", etc.).
## Brand yourself
The next thing we did, was rent a domain and run a webserver on it. This is an important step because it gives you an Internet presence, allows you to have company NIP-05 and email addresses (a form of promotion), and it's simply exciting to have one. Feels so much more "official" and it helps increase the name-recognition of your company.
## Define yourself
We then sat down, together, over the Internet, and figured out who we are. Not who we individually are, but who we are, as a company. A company, after all, (according to the Cambridge Dictionary) is "an organization that produces or sells goods or services in order to make a profit". Now, a company's profits don't have to be monetary, but they should be something tangible. A company, in other words, is a team of people working toward some defined goal.
What is our goal? Well, we decided to think it over, sat down with the newer additions to the company (you can see who they are, on our [project wiki page](https://wikistr.com/gitcitadel-project), and came up with a Vision and a Mission:
![Vision Statement](https://i.nostr.build/ZEKjKfm6LeJAIlnD.png)
The _vision_ is what the overall goals of the company are, whereas the _mission_ describes how those goals shall be achieved. Now, this is a sort of lofty, abstract statement, so it was important that we posted it someplace publicly (to keep ourselves accountable) and look at it regularly, so that we can ponder it and realign whatever we are currently working on, with this statement. We know the statement is well-designed, if considering it helps us make decisions about what to do next.
## Pay yourselves
(I'm going to switch from "we" to "you", here, as it's easier to write this part, but let's just pretend I didn't.)
![Shakespeare](https://i.nostr.build/Fn0eOJzesCXKNAWR.jpg)
The next thing on the list, is to arrange the finances, usually by setting up a Geyserfund, with an associated wallet, and then deciding how the funds from the wallet will be dispersed or stored. (I won't tell you how we are handling that, as that's internal company business, but I'm sure you'll think of something clever, yourselves. Or just google it.)
I would encourage you to arrange to pay yourselves profits. Not merely because your idea is going to make you all fabulously wealthy and internationally famous (although, that is obviously true), but because _profits are the most pure form of communication that consumers in the market have_ with its producers, and one of the best ways to make decisions and measure increases in efficiency (increasing profits and/or output, while keeping prices steady or falling).
Cutting off this signal, in order to look pious to outsiders, is to shoot yourself in your free-market foot. Nobody says that you have to spend your profits on the proverbial _lambo and a bimbo_. You could donate them to charity, reinvest them, or store them for your nephews to inherit, but **pay them out, you should**. You don't have to love money, to value it as a tool and use it shrewdly. Money is a measure, and companies should regularly measure themselves: against their previous state, against their potential state, and against their competition.
(Also, you can use money to buy a lambo and a bimbo, but you didn't hear that from me.)
## Organize yourselves
Once you've been working together, for a while, you'll find that you need to figure out how to organize yourselves. The first step is to...
### Form a board of directors.
Stop laughing. I'm serious.
Any company has at least two roles (President and Secretary), ideally held by two different people, so any single-proprietor company is a man down. Find a different person, to be your Second, even if they're just your confident, who lets you cry on your shoulder on The Bad Days, when your code refuses to compile, and can tell people that you've become a Bitcoin millionaire and have gone on a sabbatical to hike the Himalayas and will be back in 3 months on The Very Good Days.
Because business man was not meant to be alone.
If, like us, you're a small herd of people and have already been working together for a while, then this step is actually really, really fun. Just think about what people are already doing, and put a label on it. That role is now defined and it is clear who is in charge of what.
Scientists become "Chief Science Officer" or "Scientific Advisor". The person who always writes the _okay, so this is what we've decided_ comment in the thread becomes the Secretary, the one managing the Lightning wallet and worrying over paying for the servers is the CFO, the person running the remote server becomes the CTO, and so on and etc.
And everyone knows who the CEO is. Everyone always knows. They do. Just write it down.
### Agree how to disagree
Now, have the secretary write up a Member's Agreement. It's a contract between the members, about whatever the group thinks is important concerning the way the company will operate. According to [Investopedia](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/llc-operating-agreement.asp), common topics are:
![LLC Operating Agreement topics](https://i.nostr.build/F05SyoHJgd6mhVCB.png)
Is this legally binding? Probably not. Maybe. I don't know and wouldn't tell you, even if I did. But it's _emotionally binding_, which is arguably more important.
Writing things down is an advanced form of _naming things_ and it provides clarity, helps to manage expectations, and allows you to define a working agreement before Real Money shows up and taints your interaction. You're just accepting tips, at the moment. Everyone is calm and cheerful, so now is your best time to negotiate.
Keep it very simple and only address the most basic things. If you wish to incorporate, at a later date, then you just take this to a registered agent, or other experienced person, and have them tidy up any loose ends and add the fine print.
## Go forth, together
This has probably taken you weeks, or even months, but you're now a company. Get a logo and a company npub, start dropping the company name into your notes, and get on with the business of being in business.
-
@ df8f0a64:057d87a5
2024-10-10 15:18:39
## 書き散らす動機
残暑続きからの急な気温低下で鼻炎がひどくなる今日この頃、皆様お元気でしょうか
株主への抗議のために退職してから2ヶ月半、流石に暇を持て余してきました
時間がある上に能動的に働く気も起きず、ひたすらボーッとしたりうねうね考え事をする日々です
幸いにして人生も折り返しにさしかかる頃になり、時折「今、人生が終わって構わないのでは?」というようなことも考えたりします
(鬱病既往歴ありますが私は元気です)
子どものお迎えを終えて、いつもどおり夕食をとり、またうねうねしているうちに
ふと、6年前の年末に急死された、仕事でお世話になったTさんのことを思い出しました
子を寝かしつけてもまだ頭の中をぐるぐるしていたので、ここに吐き出してすっきりしようという魂胆です
## Tさんとの出会い
私のキャリアの(ほぼ)スタートはVC(ベンチャーキャピタル)でした
誰のせいでもないとある経緯もあり、周囲からは警戒され避けられ、わずか6年ではありますが、
インナーサークルに入り込めない時期を過ごし、当時の上司と二人、とにかくやれることをやり続ける毎日でした
いつものようにピッチイベントに参加しているとき、近くの席にいたスーツ姿の3人組と目が一瞬合います
「事業会社の人だ」
協調投資やファンド出資のきっかけを掴むべく、その3人に話かけます
「よろしければ弊社投資先のご紹介や御社の...」
ひととおりの挨拶を済ませ、この人たちにも避けられるんだろうと思いながらも要件を切り出します
「是非やりましょう」
いつもとは違う嬉しい返事をくれたのがTさんでした
## 面倒見の良い他社の先輩
そのときの3人組であるMさん・Iさん・Tさんには、私の仕事人生の中で最もお世話になったと言っても過言ではありません
ファンドの営業を受けていただき、協調投資を行い、VCからの転職後にも協業相手として他部署のキーマンをご紹介いただき...
社会人になったばかりの私の、今思い返せば恥ずかしい(部下がこんな提案したら卒倒する)レベルの提案を、
誰もが知る一流企業の多忙な役職持ちであるにも関わらず、毎回一時間も割いて丁寧に対応してくださる心の広い方でした
当時、VCと接点をもつような事業会社の対スタートアップ部隊は、本業でご活躍されている方が兼任で取り組むパターンが多く、Mさん・Iさん・Tさんももちろんそう
その後も昇進され、最後には本社の取締役に。今年遂に退任され、所謂「あがり」でしょうか、子会社の取締役に異動
長い社会人人生をほぼ走りきり、有終の美を飾ろうとする時期にさしかかっています
でもTさんはそこにはいません
## 残される側
冒頭触れたとおり、Tさんは6年前のこの時期に急死されました
死因については、Tさんのご友人がFBに投稿していた文章を読んでも、Iさんに聞いてもわからない
悲しいかな、四十年近く生きていると、死因が明かされない理由がわかるようになる機会が一度や二度はあります
Tさんもおそらくそうだったのでしょう
直前まで、Iさんと一緒にベイエリアに出張され、楽しそうなコメントと共に写真を投稿されていたのに
晩婚なのか再婚なのか、とにかくご結婚されて一年ちょっと。お子様も生まれたばかりだったのに
Tさんは近い人間に心中を隠して、静かにこの世を去りました
あなたの快い返事に、どれほど私が救われたのか
転職後の提案のとき、受付で顔を出してすぐ「元気?」と声をかけてくださったことがどれほど私を安心させてくれたか
あなたが声をかけてくれる度、私の社会人としての成果が生まれたことに、私は十分に感謝を伝えられていません
## まだしばらく残る理由
振り返って、Tさんのように誰かの人生をenhanceできたのか?と自分に問うと、まだできたとは思えません。残念ですが
今ここで死んでも私は構わないけど、まだもうちょっと頑張るべきかな、老いてから誰かに感謝をしてもらうまで生きてみてもいいかな
そうふと思い直しているうちに日付が変わりました
-
@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1
2024-10-09 12:27:53
## Why waste time, looking at other people's stuff?
I get this question a lot, on Nostr, and it feeds immediately back to the next question: *Why don't you just build your own client, if you're so smart?*
This was a completely new question for me, as I'm used to collaborating with at least one other person, even when doing FOSS stuff. (No, this isn't my first such project; we just used to call it "volunteering" and "sharing the code", which sounds way less glamorous.) It never occurred to me, that a habit of collaboration and interaction was some sign of my ignorance and incompetence, or somehow proof that I can't vomit up "Hello World!" in 5 different programming languages.
I also made the deadly political mistake, when I entered the Nostrsphere, of refusing to call myself a "dev". For me, "dev" is a special title, given to someone doing a specific type of programming (fiddling with GUIs, mostly, which I've only done occasionally, as a sub), whereas the types I've done are "test automation", "development operations", "database management and data curation", "requirements engineering", and "application administration". Because it's so much easier to find someone interested in building a GUI, rather than building AnythingElse, I tend to slide into AnythingElse and it eventually became my professional specialty to be the Girl Friday of every project.
![The Girl for AnythingElse](https://s3.amazonaws.com/criterion-production/images/7918-c2ea72b6fb210e7123bd9b83dd221a30/Current_27903id_104_medium.jpg)
But, in Nostr, there is no AnythingElse category. There are only (GUI) client devs and AllOfTheIdiotsWhoMustBowDownToTheDevs. Which merely doubled my instinct to distance myself from the term. I do not want to join some cargo cult and be pedestalized and regarded as some sort of superhuman everyone owes fealty to, in return for raining GUI presents down on my loyal subjects.
Software engineers are simply people who are skilled craftsman, not gods, and it is fair to point out that some are more skilled than others. It is also completely fair to criticize their products, report bugs, and wonder aloud at endemic low-quality.
Which brings me back to the initial question:
## What does the inquisitive dev know, that the others don't?
1) You learn an awful lot about an awful lot, by looking at specs, reviewing code, and trying out various implementations of concepts you are already familiar with. There are, in fact, n number of use cases for every event type, and I've seen so many of them, that I can conjure them up, or invent new ones, on the fly, rather than wasting time inventing similar events.
2) They don't have to explain their concept to you, later, when you interact. Each interaction brings you closer to parallel-levels of knowledge, which raises the signal-strength of the interaction, and widens your own knowledge base, for interacting with third parties.
3) You are increasingly-likely to contribute code or perform some other more-advanced task, for other people, as you don't face the hurdle of adjusting to a new repo or unfamiliar language, while being less-likely to merely fork-and-ignore because you have a standing business relationship with the other developer.
4) If the other dev stops maintaining the repo, you'll be inclined to continue on your own. You may even eventually receive administrative access, rather than needing to fork, as they trust you with their stuff. This means that the risk of the repo becoming abandoned falls, with each active dev snooping around it, even if that is not their primary project.
5) It helps you determine who to focus your energy on interacting with, further. Is this person new to software development, perhaps, but has some interesting transfer-knowledge from some other branch, that has resulted in a surprisingly novel concept? Is this person able to write very clean code, so that merely reading their code feels like mental training for your own craftsman's toolbox?
...and many more reasons, but this is getting too long, so, let's just cut to the chase.
## What does a craftswoman want?
But, this still doesn't answer the question of my private motivation. Why do I want to gather all of this knowledge, from those further ahead, than I?
I think Nostr has long moved past the initial stage, where mere speed was of the essence, so that one npub could _finally_ post a note and have it appear on the other npubs' client. That must have felt like a miracle, but it increasingly feels like a disaster, as the steadily-rising complexity of the Nostr ecosystem causes haphazardly-structured and largely-unexamined code bases to begin to atrophy, or result in developers running around at an exhausting speed, with their bug-extinguishers, to put out fire after fire.
I think the time has arrived, for a different kind of development. Maybe even for a different kind of developer. Not replacing the experimentalism that made Nostr fun, but adding the realm of production-quality software engineering. The sort of software development that requires relay administration, testing, support... collaboration, interaction, maybe even someone who does AnythingElse.
I want to build useful, elegant products people enjoy using and feel comfortable relying on. I want them to use them, naturally and happily, to accomplish tasks they consider worthwhile. I don't want them thinking about me, while they use it. The craftswoman should never be greater than her work.
I want them to feel free -- nay, be eager! -- to give me both positive and negative feedback. My assumption is _always_ that our production is imperfect because we are imperfect, so you do us a favor, by pointing out where we can improve. That's why we wish to integrate a feedback form that produces ngit issue events, putting your questions and comments straight on our board.
And there will be an AnythingElse person, reading that board, and responding promptly, rest assured.
-
@ bf95e1a4:ebdcc848
2024-10-08 16:34:23
This is the AI-generated full transcript of Bitcoin Infinity Show #129 with Max Hillebrand!
Check out the <https://bitcoininfinitystore.com/> for our books, merch, and more!
**Luke:** Max, welcome for the first time to the Bitcoin Infinity Show.
# The Lodging of Wayfaring Men
**Knut:** Yeah, so one of the first things, you have made the best book recommendations to me that I've ever gotten from anyone. And one was The Ethics of Liberty by Murray Rothbard, and the other one was Economic Science and the Austrian Method by Hans Hermann Hoppe. And now you recommended another book, which I haven't read yet, called The Lodging of Wayfaring Men.
what is that book about and why do you recommend it so much?
**Max:** It's a beautiful book. it's incredible. And it's written for us and for Bitcoiners, but it's over 20 years old. it was written in like 1997 to 2002 and that time period. And it's loosely based on real events, which is fascinating. the book is crazy. it goes about a group of cypherpunks who are, Building an anonymous marketplace, and the first attempts of an anonymous digital currency.
And again, this shit really happened. the story is quite wild. With, the freedom tech being built for very good reasons. people who understood the philosophical impact. and the deep reasons for why freedom is important. So they were very motivated, and, dedicated to make the world a better place in their lifetime.
And so they got their shit together and got organized and built something incredible, right? And it took them a couple attempts. and eventually they rolled it out and enabled people to trade right, to do their business, online in cyberspace, and encrypt it. And so that made a lot of people very happy because, you know, you get to live life free and undisturbed, so it got adopted by many users.
So much so that eventually the government started to notice that somehow they're making less tax revenue than before. And something's a bit fishy, you know. And then they started to investigate and You know, the NSA and FBI put a decent amount of people on the topic and tried to de anonymize the users of these services and infiltrate them.
And yeah, so the story is about this whole clash between the first and second realm, you know, people who built FreedomTag. And people who enslave others and how those two worlds kind of clash. it's a book that's very inspiring.
**Knut:** What was the website called?
**Max:** So, the author's name is Paul Rosenberg.
originally this book was published anonymously, years later, when it was safe to, associate their actual name with this, he did. he was, a teacher, an electrical engineer's teacher. He wrote 30 books on that subject, and is a very eloquent and practiced writer, but also a hardcore cypherpunk and freedom lover, and very well read,
So he has the freemansperspective. com. This is a newsletter. You can go back. It's going for, I don't know, 10, 20 years or something. And every week there's one or two short pieces of articles that he writes. And this book is actually also includes some writings that he did in the past and published. so it's somewhat a collection of his thought.
The Lodging of Wayfaring Men is a fiction book, right? It's basically a fictionalized story with, character arcs and such. the author is very technical, and he understands cryptography and how to apply it. He understands distributed networks and laying fiber optic cables and stuff like this.
So there's a lot of real computer science in this fictional world. And that makes it quite applicable to today where we're surrounded with cryptography much more than at the time when this book was written.
**Knut:** So, all right.
# Taxes
**Knut:** bit of a jump here, but why is, avoiding paying taxes the most altruistic thing you can do in life?
**Max:** this is actually one thing that gets covered in the book, right, where,
**Knut:** that was the case.
**Max:** because this is also why this book is so interesting to recommend to newcomers, to this philosophy, because at the beginning, not everyone is convinced that this is a good idea. Even the creators of this technology don't know the end result and how other people will use this tech.
There's a lot of ambiguity there. And so this book follows characters who reason through these very difficult questions. For example, I'm going to spoil this book a bit, but everyone should read it anyway. So, there's one character who was a lawyer, right? He works together with an ex FBI agent, who both of them share this common, seeking of justice, like real justice, to stop bad guys from doing bad things, to good people.
the ex FBI guy is somewhat disillusioned. With the institution of the FBI to actually provide and establish justice. so now he is somewhat like walking this line in between the institution and, the actual free realm, vigilant justice basically.
and here then when thinking of. this case. is there a wrong being done by the FBI trying to stop this project? Or is this project actually good? Do they have justice in doing what they do? then, he, reasoned of, is the avoidance of tax, of, of taxation evil.
And, and, of course then walks through the reasonable steps of thinking. No, if, two people transact voluntarily. both people are better off after the trade than before, right? Both people are happy, both say thank you and shake hands. that's trade. That's the market, right? and then you have coercion,
Where one guy says, give me that, and the other says, no, actually, I don't want to give you that, but the guy hits him and takes it anyway. And so that means afterwards that the guy who stole it is obviously better off. He's happy, right? He got the thing, but the guy who was the victim was being stolen from is worse off.
And so humans have the capacity to do mutually beneficial things, right? To literally create value, make both of us better off than we were before. And we also have the potential to destroy value and take from others. and one is beneficial and fosters the growth of civilization and the other destroys it.
**Knut:** And so, you know, avoiding being stolen from is a good thing. Reminds me of one thing we go into in the new book, about the difference between lawful and illegal. I don't remember the name of the guy now, but some Dutch libertarian thinker, who emphasized on the terms, made the point that something being lawful is like lawful in an ethical sense, like the basis in Don't Steal, whereas legal is the top down government imposed legal framework, and how the two don't always align, or rather, they almost never align.
# Natural vs Man Made Law
**Max:** Yeah, this is the difference between natural law and man made law. A natural law is one that is universal across time and space. It's always present, and it's immutable. It cannot be changed, at least not by us. And, you know, physics, for example, is a natural law. And arguably there is a natural law to ethics as well.
Specifically, as morality increases, freedom increases. And as morality decreases, freedom decreases. That's the law of gravity in the ethical realm. and, that man didn't make it, right? We just realize it because it is what it is. And then we have man made law on the other hand. this is depends on a certain territory, right?
The law in the U. S. is different from the law in Russia. And it also depends on time. I think the American law in the 1700s is very different from what it is today. and so there are these imaginary lines where these rules apply and there's Other places or times where they do not apply. So they're arbitrary, right?
And so they can be designed, to the benefit of some and at the expense of others. And that is ultimately what, politics is about.
**Knut:** Yeah, I think this is one of the key points that that quote unquote normies have such a hard time wrapping their head around. Natural law and like what, what makes don't steal a natural law? Like what, what is the very foundation of, libertarianism or anarcho capitalism or absolute property rights or whatever you may call it, consensualism?
And to my understanding, it has to do with homesteading. If you're the first person that acquired something, then no other person has a right to take that away from you. And you can logically deduct your way to that being true. Like, what's your view on that? And what's your understanding of that? And how would you explain that to a layman?
**Max:** Well, the reality is such that we have limited scarce resources. If we have one piece of steak on the table and three guys who are hungry, like some are gonna go home on an empty stomach, right? We literally don't have enough food to feed us all, right? And one piece of something can only be used by one person at one time, right?
We cannot duplicate one piece of steak into many and satisfy everyone. So this is a natural form part of reality, right? That's just how things are, you know? So there's a potential of conflict over who gets to allocate these scarce resources. And there's a couple solutions to it, right, that have been proposed.
Like one would be like, nobody owns it, right? Nobody gets to eat it because it's natural and it's not part of your body, so don't touch it, right? But then we die, you know, all
**Knut:** that's the problem with that.
**Max:** That's kind of a problem.
**Knut:** Yeah.
**Max:** so
**Knut:** Yeah.
# Resource Allocation
**Max:** So let's rule that option out. another solution is, of course, we all own it. Right?
And we all, get to use it. But, that doesn't really work either, right? Because, sure, we all own it, but who actually gets to eat it? Because there's three different mouths and the food only goes into one of them. we can't all actually own something if we cannot all use it.
It is limited and only a few can use it. So, everyone owns it isn't the solution to the problem. Because everyone cannot own it, there's not enough for everyone. So again, that's an issue. Ultimately, we all starve. And another option would be, we vote.
We somehow pick who gets to allocate these resources. But then, I mean, we're 8 billion people. How are we all going to vote on who gets to stake? Right? Like That's, that's going to be impractical. Like, how are we even going to communicate, all 8 billion of us, to get together in a vote? So again, until we have the result of the vote, nobody eats the steak, so we all starve again.
It's not really a good solution either. And then we have one option that, like, a small subset of the people gets to make the choice of, you know, how to allocate these resources. And we can just pick them, vote for them, for example. But here again, now other people are allocating the resources for others, right?
Like, and some bureaucrat, a hundred kilometers away, is not gonna know, like, who of us is vegetarian and doesn't want the meat. Right? and that just means that someone who's far off doesn't have the knowledge to actually allocate the resources in a proper manner. And that leads to misallocations, right?
We starve, again. Because the guy who doesn't want the meat gets it and then it rots. And the guys who would actually like it never get access to it and they starve. So that's the fundamental problem of socialism, basically, of some priest class allocating the resources for others. So again, the solution doesn't work either.
So we're not left with much. But one thing that seems to work is private property rights. Again, as you said, the person who creates something, the butcher, or the farmer who raised the cow, can now decide what to do with it. Does he butcher it himself? Does he sell it to a butcher? So the person who created something gets to own it, and gets to decide how to allocate this, and then he has the right to either consume it himself, or to abdicate the consumption of this good.
So to say, I won't use it, I will trade it, I will give it to you, right? And he can make it a gift. Just say here, half the entire cow, like, I like you, I like your family, you, like, I'm happy that you're happy, right? Great, that's possible, right? Or, of course, he would want something from you in return, like, give me a bar of gold, or, a bushel of wheat, or something else.
we now have a way that we can allocate resources in a clear, simple rule set, the person who created it. can decide what to do and have a contractual agreement to transfer this ownership to someone else. the people who actually have the problem now have the power to allocate the resources to solve those problems and not some guy far away, but just you and me who created stuff.
# Ownership of Information
**Knut:** And as you said, this only applies to scarce resources. So what, would be an example of a resource where you could eat the steak, but I could have it too. And, the thing that comes to mind, is information, of course. So, can you own information?
**Max:** No, like, because that, that doesn't really make sense, right? To own means to allocate, how to allocate these, to decide how to allocate these resources. All right. And then, that's a solution to a problem of a lack of resource allocation, right? or for a lack of resources that need to be allocated rather.
But with information, there is no lack. Like if I have a PDF, I can copy it to you and I can send it to you, and I can send it to a hundred other people, and I still have the exact same high fidelity version. Of the information that I shared with others, and of course it's the same with words, right? The words that I speak, they're not lost on me, right?
I still retain them and the information that they represent. and that means we don't need to be, stingy with information. We can give it to everyone. and it doesn't degrade the quality quite on the contrary, right? without information there is no production.
imagine yourself on an island, and you have all the raw materials, all the machinery, like everything there, but you don't know anything about physics, or material science, or just production stages of how to build things. If you don't know any of that, the raw material is worth nothing to you.
Nothing. Because you don't know how to allocate, how to shape this raw material into other things so that it actually solves your problems in the end. we need information in order to produce things. That's the theory behind it. The blueprints, so to say. the cool thing is, we don't have to be stingy with the blueprints.
We can give every human on this planet Equal access to all of the information that we as humans have accumulated, and now all of a sudden you will never be stranded on an island not knowing how to do something, because you can just look it up. In the grand database of accumulated human knowledge, of course, technology has made that much more possible and low cost.
Back in the day, in order to share an information, you needed to speak verbally to it, right? So you're limited to time and space, or you need to scratch it on some stone or clay or write it on a piece of paper, And then still, you have the scarcity of the paper, right? There's only one book.
And there's a hundred people who want to read it. So again, information is limited. Not because the information itself is limited, but because the medium of the information is scarce. And that was a big tragedy that we were never able to communicate at a large scale, and remember these conversations and easily access them.
Until the cypherpunks who came up with computers, right? And realized that we can build this realm of information That is so cheap to transfer and store information, that we can just basically do it for free, for anybody, for 8 billion people. And all they need is a rather cheap form of silicon, and like, nicely arranged.
but of course people try to hold on to the protection schemes that extract money from others, and capital from others, and You know, nation states have enforced intellectual property rights and patents and such, and that just harms people. It doesn't bring forward the best out of humanity. And that's a big shame.
**Knut:** Now, very well put. this has been Praxeology 101 with Max Hillebrand.
# Bitcoin and Praxeology
**Knut:** where I want to follow on, follow up here is, how does this apply to Bitcoin? Because Bitcoin is only information, so how can anyone theoretically ever own a Satoshi? Do you really own it, or what is it?
**Max:** What is actually a Satoshi? Look into the Bitcoin code base. There is no such thing as Satoshi, right? The transaction has a field that is an integer. But it's just an integer. It doesn't even have a unit associated to it, right? So, it's just a number. Satoshis are just numbers in a database.
And you don't own the number 270, 000 just because you have 270, 000 bitcoin. The actual number of satoshis, no, you don't control them. You don't own them. But information has another interesting thing that cypherpunks realized, right? That, once, like, when you have a secret, then you can choose to share it with others.
And then once you've shared it with one person, however, you cannot control what that person does with the information. He can keep it secret for himself, or he can tell it to the entire world. And so, there is such a thing as giving access rights to information. And this is an important part in Bitcoin, of course, right?
Our secret keys should be secret, privately kept just for us, because if you do share your secret key publicly, then all of a sudden anyone can, Signed messages, with this private key and therefore spent Bitcoin in the transaction chain of Bitcoin. and well, that's a critical part of it.
So Bitcoin basically relies on keeping information, hidden from others, in order to ensure that we, solve, like, basically Bitcoin. It's just a piece of software, right? So it is non scarce information, but it wants to be money. And money needs to be scarce, right? Because if I can spend a bar of gold first to you, and then the same bar of gold later to you, we have infinite inflation, right?
The money system just dies. so scarcity is required. It's a required feature for money and digital money therefore requires digital scarcity. And so what Bitcoin does is it establishes a set of computer code that defines the access, right? Two certain chunks of money, so to say, right? And the chunks of money are Bitcoin UTXOs, unspent transaction outputs, and the spending condition, so to say, or like the rule how to allocate this money, who gets to decide it.
Where this money goes next is defined by a script and a small computer program that evaluates either to true or to false, depending what input you provide. And so the script is the lock, and usually it's a single public key. And then the way to prove that You're actually authorized to spend this coin is by creating a valid witness.
You know, the input to the script, to the program that returns it to true rather than to false. And usually, again, that's a signature of a single private key over the transaction structure that you're actually spending the money. Bitcoin's genius realization is that. We just all have to check every transaction of everyone else.
And when we do that, we can be sure that, nobody's being stolen from, That nobody is, losing access to his money, that someone is spending the money with a wrong signature. he doesn't have the private key. He cannot produce a valid signature. So we have to make sure that such a transaction does never make it into the blockchain, right?
that's the first important aspect. And the second is we want to ensure that there's no inflation. that's Because if we can just create as many tokens as we want, then the value of the token goes to the marginal cost of production. If we can produce a token with the click of a button, then the marginal cost of that token, or the value of that token, will be zero, right?
So we need to make it, Difficult, or in fact, in Bitcoin, impossible to create additional units, you know, there's 21 million and that's it, right? That's the set of rules. And therefore, when we check each transactions, we also ensure that there is no transaction that has one Bitcoin on the input side and 10 Bitcoin on the output side, therefore increasing the total supply of Bitcoin.
And so Bitcoin is a massive verification machine to ensure that this computer system is this way of speaking to each other, actually balances the books of the system. of how many units of money are there, and who has the right to allocate these, and so it's basically a system that creates a natural resource, and then also manages the allocation of this natural resource.
**Knut:** so Bitcoin is almost a parallel universe where, in fact, you do own the Bitcoin, basically, but the ownership is not defined by you as a person. It's defined by the knowledge of a secret. so you prove that you have access to it by having access to the private key, which unlocks it.
# Ownership of Bitcoin
**Knut:** On earth that can prove that you own a Bitcoin except you, the holder of the private key.
**Max:** If the holder of the private key reveals information to others that indicates such, one very common way that this would be is you have a mobile wallet, that does not run a Bitcoin full node, That connects to someone else's full node to check if you have Bitcoin,
You don't use Tor, so there's an IP address linked from you to the server, and so the server operator knows that this IP address just asked how much money is on this address, and so we have, a very strong indication, that this IP address owner owns
**Knut:** It can be a very strong indication, but in my mind it can never be proof. Because you need to sign with the actual private key to prove. Otherwise it's boating accident time.
**Max:** guy with the gun doesn't need proof, right, he just needs a good enough guess. For him, he needs, like, there is a praxeology to violence. thieves are actors. They live in a state of uneasiness, they have problems, and they try to find a solution to that problem. They don't have ethics, they don't have morals, and so their solution to the problem harms other people.
But nevertheless, they are still actors. And so they think that they will be better off after the action of theft than before. That's a value judgment. And it's an entrepreneurial one. So they might be correct, they might not. They break into a house, hoping that there is a bar of gold hidden under the couch, right?
Turns out there's not, right? So, if they spend a lot of money breaking into the house, and there's no loot, they're not profitable thieves. And this means that they destroyed their capital, right? They spent 10 Bitcoin on getting the equipment, and they got 0 Bitcoin back. So, that means they're 10 Bitcoin poorer, and eventually they will run out of money and starve.
So, thieves need to be profitable in order to do their thieving, and that's the genius that cypherpunks realized. If we exponentially increase the cost of attack, and exponentially decrease the cost of defense, then we make thievery unprofitable. And that's the genius of private public key cryptography and encryption, right?
It's trivial to generate a private key and then generate a public key or a signature, right? But to brute force a private key or to forge a signature without it, like, requires more energy that would collapse into a black hole, you know? So that's kind of a problem.
And for thieves, right? It's really good for the people who want to defend themselves. Because they can very cheaply do it, and it just doesn't make sense to attempt to break the encryption. But nevertheless, computer systems are very complex, and there's a lot of metadata associated with, computing and communicating between computers.
And so, there are, microphones and radio frequency scanners that you can point on computers and see the computation happening in the machine because there's a lot of radiation outside of the computer that can be correlated to which bits are being flipped you can have all types of side channel attacks to extract secrets from a computer while it's running the problem is that the holistic technology stack we have is quite susceptible to revealing information that should have been kept secret.
And again, that is a critical part, of course, to communication encryption, but even more so for Bitcoin. If we lose the assurance that only we know the private key, the money system is broken. And that's why Bitcoiners were so paranoid and started this whole thing of hardware wallets and secure elements to Really ensure that we don't leak private key material, but it's an extremely difficult task, because, well, this reality is very observable, and the cards are, to some extent, quite in favor of surveillance, unfortunately.
the guy with the gun in this case could be the government, Yeah, exactly, it can just be like a poor guy who needs to provide for his children, you know, and, he sees a way for feeding his family for the next two years, and that's a good trade off for him.
**Knut:** Yeah, momentarily.
**Max:** right?
# Bitcoin and World Peace
**Knut:** So, if we manage to do this, on a grand scale, and if people in general manage To exponentially increase the cost of the attack while simultaneously decreasing the cost of defense. Does that lead to world peace at one point? Is that the end goal?
**Max:** Yeah, I think so. Oh, I mean, that makes sense. If every economically rational thief will realize that he is worse off if he does this stealing, right? Like, actually, because he needs to spend much more money in an attempted theft, and most likely he's not going to succeed. And, I mean, this exponential difference has to be huge, though, right?
Because, like, we had castles, you know? Like, castles are quite, like, quite extreme asymmetric protection. Like, if you're behind castle walls, with a well staffed militia that actually defends the walls, It's quite difficult to get to you if you just have, you know, like, humans and swords and ladders. that's, like, sieges are, in the favor of the defender.
But still, they happened a lot, right? And people were able to overcome these defenses. Because, I guess they weren't never holistically secure, you know? There was always some backdoor that enabled the attacker to go through, to get through, right? and that might just be brute force, right? You just bring a huge army and You're fine with tens of thousands of your own guys getting killed, but eventually, you know, after you throw a couple hundred thousand people at the problem, someone will succeed to break through.
Quite a brutal tactic, obviously, but it worked.
**Knut:** you get in.
**Max:** But then cryptographers came around and were like, well, but there's math.
**Luke:** Yeah, we can use RAM in another way. 1 plus 1 is 2. What? Are you sure?
**Knut:** that might be offensive.
**Luke:** That's a different kind of worms.
**Knut:** Yeah. . Yeah. So, the,
# Bitcoin For Attack
**Knut:** so Bitcoin being this perfect defense mechanism, because all it does is increase the cost of the attack, can Bitcoin ever be used for attack in your opinion? Like, can it be used in an aggressive way?
**Max:** I think directly not, because again, it is just, speech and such, but on the other hand, maybe yes. Because, let's say, if someone hacked your machine, and got access to your private key, and spends the Bitcoin, like, in the context of Bitcoin itself, it's a valid signature, it's a valid transaction, and it will be included.
So, in the legalities of Bitcoin, it is no theft, right? It is a valid transaction. but, On the ethical realm, you worked hard to get these Bitcoin and you didn't want to send them to the attacker, so he is definitely stealing them from you. So, Bitcoin can be stolen, certainly, in the human analysis.
Not on a technical level, we've never seen a transaction confirmed with an invalid signature, but on the human level, There have been a lot of people that got separated from their Bitcoin against their will, right, against their consent. and, and that is theft. So, thieves can use Bitcoin, thieves can get paid in Bitcoin, thieves can take your Bitcoin and pay them to themselves, right?
that's a fact of reality too.
# Aggression and Spam
**Knut:** Could that be used in an aggressive way?
**Max:** it is just the writing of bits and bytes, right? So there's, however, again, a limited amount of resources that are available specifically in Bitcoin. And not just do we have 21 million Bitcoin, we also have like, Two and a half slash four megabyte blocks, right?
And so this means there's only a certain number of transactions that can be fit into a single block. that means we have, again, a scarce resource and we need to allocate it. this is why there is a price for Bitcoin transactions, because that's how we solve the scarcity problem, right?
by whoever pays the most gets in. that's a, or it's not even whoever pays the most. It's like. You can choose who goes in by mining a block, right? You have full freedom of choice of which transaction do you include into your block. And if you don't mine, then you can propose to someone else, say, please include my transaction into a block.
But again, there's a large demand and a limited supply. so most likely people will start bribing each other and it's like, yeah, if you include my transaction in your block, I'll give you sats. And in fact, Bitcoin, the Bitcoin software launched with a anonymous peer to peer marketplace for the scarce good, which is Blockspace.
Satoshi didn't have to do that, right? Bitcoin would have totally worked, if, if you could not, like, if every input sum has to be exactly equal to every output sum, right?
There cannot be that outputs are smaller than inputs and the leftover goes to the miners, but that could have been a consensus rule, right? But then most likely we would have seen some third party external marketplace. Where people would do the bidding on please include my transaction into the block.
And then of course they would have to figure out how do we actually pay the miner to get our transaction in the block. So Satoshi had the genius to embed an anonymous marketplace. Into the core essence of the protocol, right, with the rule that outputs can be smaller than inputs, and the rule that we have this gossip peer to peer network, which like the whole peer to peer network is kind of optional, by the way, but it's just there to kind of make it easier so that we have this anonymous marketplace for Blockspace that we can propagate offers, right, and one person sends the offer and gets spread to the entire network.
So the demand side is no monopoly. Anyone can broadcast a message to the peer to peer network hoping to be included. And then on the supply side, the actual miners, there's also no monopoly. Anyone can spin up his computer and start SHA 256 hashing. On the most recent chain, right, with his own candidate block.
And nobody can stop you, right? That's the definition of no monopoly. New market participants are not hindered to enter the system. And so this is the most radical free market that we've seen probably ever. And it's been kind of hidden inside Bitcoin since the very beginning.
# Mining vs Hashing
**Knut:** Yeah, you can of course also pay the miner in something else than sats to get included into a block. And if a mining pool does this, the individual miners doesn't necessarily have a claim to a piece of the pie of whatever money was paid to the mining pool owner under the table and not on the system, right?
They can't even see it. So how big of a problem is that, and can you really call yourself a miner if you're just selling hash power to a pool and the pool isn't transparent?
**Max:** I mean, it's actually true that we, like, there could be in the future, A alternative marketplace for block space that's not inside the Bitcoin Core client. And by the way, arguably that's better, because we have a piece of software that does one thing really well, and then, you know, we just specialize and put the two modules together.
architecturally speaking, this might be better. we see things like, for example, the mempool. space explorer, or accelerator, right, is one. Marketplace that is now establishing that that seems to work now quite well. Of course, it has the issue of there's a central, like, order book, so to say, and probably custodian for the money as well.
And so, I'm not sure, but it's one approach of doing such an alternative marketplace and there can be downsides. it's not really public of how much Volume is going through here, right? how much are people speeding up their transactions, And I guess the same goes to much earlier where we just had mining pools offering this in their own API, or a webpage.
so at least now, like we, we have a dedicated service provider. That's not a mining pool doing this, which I think is an improvement. but we could also, you know, build. A, like, off chain peer to peer network, so to say, that's not related to Bitcoin per se, but that has all of the aspects that we want just dedicated for an optimized market book for this resource.
And Bitcoin should still work, I think. Like, the marketplace inside Bitcoin Core is not essential in the long run. It was just very convenient to bootstrap it. But, you know, in 50, 100 years, I wouldn't be surprised if we have Dedicated systems for, for these things that potentially are in different repositories and such different softwares.
**Knut:** So, in your opinion, how damaging is a temporary fee spike over a weekend or something where it goes up to like, 2000 SATs per transaction. what impact does it have on lightning channels and lightning providers and so on? Like do you consider it an attack or what is it?
**Max:** it's an inevitability almost, right? If you have a hard, extremely limited supply, right? there is only two and a half megabytes in the usual block, and you have extremely fluctuating demand, and there is no way to speed up production of the good. there is bound to be extreme, differences of we have way more demand than supply or way less, right?
But it will be very rare that we will fill just exactly everyone who wanted to gets in. So to actually clean out every transaction that wanted to be made is quite rare already now and in the future, if Bitcoin continues to be used, this is even more unlikely, right?
So then the question is just how, like, do you get into the top, like, the top payers to get included in the block still? And this is where just the technology is quite difficult, because this is like, you're, you're, you're, it's an order book, right? You're trading, basically, and you don't know if the price goes up or price goes down.
And this is all at least supposed to be automated. Bitcoin wallet developers are building trading bots, block space accountants charged to purchase block space on behalf of the user. the user just clicks send and that's it. the software does all of the complexities of constructing a transaction that is of a size acceptable, right?
Because if fees are super high, you don't want to build a transaction with a hundred inputs and one output, right? You would want to have a transaction with one input, one output. It would be way cheaper if the fee spike is currently high. a smart robot should build a different structured transaction with more or fewer inputs and outputs to accommodate the current fluctuation of the market.
And of course, the fee rate is another, like what's actually your bid that you put into this marketplace? And that's trading like. How much are you going to pay for the stock? Nobody really knows, right? And so it's kind of good luck and you don't know if it goes up or goes down. And sometimes you overpay, right?
And you pay way more than was actually needed to get into that block. And so you lose money, you lose capital. And sometimes you don't pay enough and you don't get included for months, right? but there's better software that can alleviate a lot of these problems.
# Spam Making Bitcoin Worse as Money
**Luke:** Well, so I guess another side to this question, because everything you're saying makes makes total sense from the perspective of that this stuff is definitely going to happen from from hyperbitcoinization side. There's just going to be more demand than there is supply of block space. But I think the issue that we've been exploring a lot.
Lately, is, is that when there are transactions that aren't really being made for the purpose of moving value from one person to another in the form of Satoshis, they're, they're another form of value, subjective value that is communicated through arbitrary data, or at least some other type of, of data.
Does that change the property of Bitcoin as money? That's essentially, I think the, the root of the, the argument any, anyone talking
**Knut:** Yeah, exactly.
**Luke:** the functionality of Bitcoin is
**Max:** Well, I think. There's a couple aspects to this, right? We have again a scarce resource block space, and there's the problem of how do we allocate this block space. And there are very stringent rules on this, right? You cannot have arbitrary data in blocks, right? There needs to be, for example, the transaction structure.
There needs to be inputs that point to previous outputs, and there need to be outputs, the sum of the inputs, sum of outputs, hashes, transaction headers, all of the stuff needs to be followed in order for this to be considered a valid block. So the Bitcoin developers have, from the very beginning, had a very, I guess, authoritarian regime to allocating these resources, which makes sense.
If you don't put stringent, like, structure in a protocol, then people just fill it with garbage and every software breaks, right? So it's like a practicality thing that we need to have a very opinionated, kind of thing. Set of rules and we need to pick one of them and like just do it because if we don't pick any then it won't work and also if we pick the wrong one it won't work either.
imagine the rules would have been like a broken hashing algorithm, for example, not SHA 256 but SHA 1 or something that's broken. People can create collisions, right? So there could be two transactions that have the exact same transaction ID. breaks the system, right? So if that would have been the set of rules, Bitcoin would have broken, right?
And now also, again, if we allow arbitrary things to be built, then people will just use it as data storage, for example, and just fill it up with megabytes of images. And again, limited amount of resources. If all of it is used for, for pictures, then none of it can be used for money transfer, right? So this is again, an inherent conflict.
the tricky thing though is, now we have this. established set of rules in the Bitcoin consensus and how do we change it, right? And that's the really tricky part of, making up man made rules. Bitcoin is not Natural in the sense, right? Like, humans came up with this shit.
Like, this is our creativity that made this happen. and so, it's not nature made, right? It's man made. Of course, men are part of nature and such. So it's a bit, wishy washy here, but ultimately, we made it, we can change it, we can make it better, and we can break it. And that's a really scary position, because I think we all realize that this is quite an important project, and we definitely have it in our power to break this thing.
I hope we do our best effort.
# Caution When Changing Bitcoin
**Luke:** my interpretation of that is, is that, caution when making changes to Bitcoin is paramount. Would you agree with that?
**Max:** Well, inaction is an action too, right? And that might be even more dangerous. So, there might be critical bugs in the protocol that if not addressed will break the system and potentially they are currently being exploited, right? And so, in such a case, we should do our best to fix it as soon as possible.
Satoshi knew that from the very beginning, right? So, how exactly we do that? Who knows?
**Knut:** Well, if it's up to the individual miners, which it is, what blocks they want to mine, what transactions they want to include in a block. And it can be fixed that way, a sly roundabout way, if you will.
**Max:** Well, if we could trust the miners with stuff like this, then we could trust the miners with enforcing the 21 million, right? But we can't, right? We don't rely on anyone. We verify it ourselves, right? And so the reason why we don't have actual JPEGs in Bitcoin blocks is because your node says no to any block that actually has a JPEG in it, right?
Blocks have to have transaction in it. If not, you kick them out, right? So even if there's valid proof of work Proof of Work doesn't solve the problem of integrity of the block, right? This has nothing to do with Proof of Work. In fact, Proof of Work is one part of the rules of the integrity of the block that is defined, enforced, and verified by the full nodes itself, right?
Specifically, if you want to get rid of inscriptions, that's certainly a hard fork. Like, taproot transactions are currently valid, and if we make these taproot transactions in the future invalid, that's a hard fork, right?
It would be great to hard fork Bitcoin. We could clean so much stuff. It's just a practical reality that breaking the hard fork use of a running protocol is extremely difficult and arguably, unethical. Because people have signed up to the previous system, built businesses and, stored their money in these types of scripts.
If we now make them unspendable, what is that? No?
# Mining Incentives
**Knut:** so, when it comes to mining, there's, minor incentives, like, the thing we talked about before, about, under the table payments to big mining pools, To me, the obvious fix to this problem is to get it into the brains of the hash salesmen, that they ought not be mere hash salesmen, but actual miners and know what block they're mining on.
Because I think the ethos among the individual miners is, better than, these bigger pools that might not be, as, concerned with the longevity of the Bitcoin experiment, but, more fiat minded and wanting a quick buck now rather than save the system in the long run.
So, right now it feels like we're trusting these bigger entities to have as much of a disincentive to destroy Bitcoin so that they won't, it's tricky. Like it's a gray zone, right? What's your thoughts?
**Max:** I think Satoshi's genius in designing the Bitcoin protocol was that he did his best to separate different tasks that need to be done in the system into different like conceptual entities, and then to ensure that each of these aspects is distributed as widely as possible. And this is ultimately what it means that Bitcoin is decentralized, right?
There is not one person that defines the set of rules, for example, or one person that writes the candidate block, Or one person that provides the proof of work for the candidate block, or one person that provides the signature for each transaction, right? Each of these things is distributed. And in the ideal case, in the original Bitcoin client, to every user, right?
Like, the Bitcoin software in 2009 was mining by default for everyone, right? So, literally the entire stack of the operation was at 100 percent of the users, right? There was no non validating, non mining users. In the beginning, right? We had perfect decentralization, so to say, right? And then if efficiencies kick in and economies of scale and division of labor, and we start to optimize each of these things kind of on its own and split it out into different branches of government.
Yeah, specialized entities, so to say. And if you specialize on being the best hasher that you could possibly be, you just give up on being the best block candidate creator that you could possibly be. Because if you do the one thing that you're marginally better at and focus all your attention on that, you will be the most profitable.
so, yes, it is. It is an issue. and we, Bitcoin would be better off if we further distribute the risk and responsibility of each of these tasks to as many people as possible. And I think we've done a really good job, for example, of distributing the ownership of private keys.
And like, there's, I don't know, many millions of private key holders on the Bitcoin blockchain, right? So that's, that's great. but, and we have. Probably done this as well with hashers, right? There's a decent amount of quite large independent hashing institutions, right? Not so well with mining pools and actual block candidate creation, like, that's pretty bad.
Like, there's two or three of them, so that's scary as fuck. Right there we've utterly failed and we've made Bitcoin way worse than it was before. in this one metric of resilience, of decentralization, of distribution of risks, we made it a lot more efficient, but we made it much more vulnerable to attack.
that is a problem. Thankfully, a lot of people are working on fixing it. It's a really difficult problem, right? It's not that there's some malicious, attempt of trying to break it. I mean, maybe there is, but the more likely answer is just bloody difficult computer science. it just needs an insane amount of research and development before we will have tools that are even coming close to being actually adequate.
Right? I'm not praising Satoshi's 2009 code as being perfect, because it was a pile of shit, right? And you could break it in a million ways. so we've improved a lot, but we're very far from done because to some extent the realities of the difficulty of the situation have caught on much faster than our ability to solve these.
Yeah, I mean, the problems that are currently existent in Bitcoin and that now we're at Nostriga today and talking about Nostr, this sort of related communication layer in relation to Bitcoin, you mentioned at the very beginning, Freedom Tech.
# Freedom Tech and Nostr
**Luke:** So, we, when we last talked to you, you were focusing on Wasabi Wallet and now obviously that project has just been made open source, essentially, and so my question to you on that is, what are you focusing on in terms of Freedom Tech now?
**Max:** Nostr is definitely a highlight, right? Nostr is just incredibly cool. And it's so wild to think that Nostr is like two years old. it's not old, but look at the amount of stuff that we've built. In this short time frame, how powerful are we? It's incredible, right? If we get our act together and actually build on, such an open protocol and get people excited about it and people using it, it doesn't take us long to fundamentally change the pattern of speech on this planet.
Wow, that's incredible. Like, we did that. And we're just getting started. think about where Nostr is going to be in five years. It will be wild. Absolutely insane. that's very bullish and very encouraging. And it's super exciting to work at such an early stage in the protocol, because there's so many obvious improvements.
There's so many obvious use cases. There's so many low hanging fruits of how we can make it even better than it currently is. Alright, so we have something that's already great, and we know a million ways on how we can make it even better. and you can be part of making a meaningful improvement in getting this to like an exponential blow off of awesomeness.
**Knut:** Meaningful improvement of humanity, really.
**Max:** Yeah. Yeah, that's the other thing, like, that's why Freedom Tech is so exhilarating to work at, because we're ending slavery. That's kind of a big deal, you know,
**Knut:** Yeah, it should have been done at least 300 years ago.
**Max:** Yeah.
**Luke:** No, it's, it's amazing. And well, and actually, so a couple of things here. First of all, we've talked about this a little bit, how Nostr seems like it's the playground that people wanted as an alternative to Bitcoin. In other words, people who went and started making shitcoins were basically just wanting a playground to do all this stuff.
But now is, is, is Nostr basically the place where people can do that and channel their energies in a way that isn't going to break money?
**Max:** Yeah. I absolutely agree. So I'm very bullish on a lot of these use cases and one other area that currently interests me a lot, is just zero knowledge cryptography. it's wild what's possible. it's absolutely wild. Within the last five years or so. The theory has developed.
And again, a lot of shitcoin projects putting zero knowledge proofs on blockchains and such, and I'm not quite convinced that we actually need a blockchain for that. I think relays are just fine. And so I'm quite bullish on having actual zero knowledge proofs much more integrated in Nostr clients. Like, you can do amazing things with this.
Like, for example, anonymous web of trust, right? You could prove to me under an ephemeral anonymous identity, right, that you are in fact, On my follower list. Like, I'm following you, but I don't know who you are. Right? So, these types of things are trivial with zero knowledge stuff. And we don't have any size constraints or computation constraints in Nostr.
Because it is not a global consensus system. Only the people who are interested in this proof actually have to, like, download it and verify it and such. so, it's, I think we can do a lot of amazing stuff here. it seems pretty obvious wins here.
**Knut:** driving these 180 IQ young developers into Nostr instead of shitcoin development is, is like moving them? To do, to think more of what they should rather than what they could, because I think that's, that's sort of the main problem with this nerdy set of shitcoin developers is that they, oh, I could do this if I just do this and they, they focus on what they can do rather than what they should do.
And it's Nostr, Changing the direction of that, are people thinking more of ethical things while developing on this than
**Max:** it's a big claim, right? That like a piece of tech can
**Knut:** it's hopium
**Max:** improve the morality of people. it's definitely a big claim, but it seems true. Like, if you think about it in Bitcoin, like probably each of us, our level of morality before we discovered Bitcoin and what it is now.
And our understanding of morality has substantially, improved, right? And I'm not sure if it would have happened, at least to this extent, without being exposed to the Bitcoin technology. and Bitcoin is just money, you know, like, humans do a lot more than buy stuff, sure, money is incredibly important, but it's far from everything of the human experience.
And I think Nostr. We'll do a lot of the other stuff and Nostr has this freedom mindset embedded into the protocol just as Bitcoin has. And so I'm extremely bullish on seeing the people who get exposed to Nostr and what it does to them in the long run.
# Hyperbitcoinization vs Hypernostrification
**Max:** So what happens first? Hyper ossification or hyper ization both at the same time.
**Knut:** does one lead to the other?
**Max:** there's definitely synergies here, right? and, yes, one leads to the other. there's, I met a bunch of people who got interested into Nostr first, and then used Bitcoin for the first time. It's a very common theme, actually. again, because Like, social, like, think of the, think of the, like, average screen time of people, right?
it, for sure.
I think Nostr is going to be way bigger than Bitcoin in the improvement of the human condition.
**Knut:** Then again, every time you press the like button or the retweet button or whatever on your social media app, even the legacy system, you are providing someone with some value. That's why your account is valuable to, Facebook's and the Twitters of the world. There is a value thing embedded into everything you do on the internet.
**Max:** It's just, you don't get a tradable good.
**Knut:** No, no,
**Max:** sell the like to someone else.
**Knut:** not at this point.
**Max:** They have now a star emoji. If you send the star emoji, you can send the star emoji back to the company, and they will give you money. So, voila. It's basically a shitcoin, but it's a star.
**Luke:** is it more important to fix money or the other stuff?
**Max:** Well, that's a big one. Both again, because money is only half of every transaction, right? And so maybe the earlier example of the marketplace for Bitcoin block space is perfect because why did Satoshi include the marketplace, the other stuff together with the money? Because it was kind of essential, right?
you need to have both at the same time in order to live, right? You need to speak, you need to advertise your products, you need to negotiate with the customers, right? You need to convince them of the value that you will provide to them, and then you need to receive the money and tell them that you've received it, and ultimately hand over the goods, right?
So there's a lot of human interaction into every trade, and the money aspect is just Like, one small part of this long interactive chain of protocol, basically. I think we need both at the same time. And we're just discovering upgrades to each of them as we move along. But this has always been in synergy.
Like, the internet is way older than Bitcoin, right? So arguably, we need the other stuff first, right? We needed like 20, 30 years of other stuff before we could actually come up with the money.
**Knut:** so fix the money, fix the world then fix the world and you fix the money.
**Luke:** No, but seriously, we actually talked about this. in that, maybe an analogy to, that the internet needed to develop in a centralized way because the, literally the hardware and everything, the architecture, the client server model was literally a centralized and centralizing system. Model and that needed to exist first.
And then the analogy is that gold was centralized naturally in the sense that physically the physical constraints of gold made it so that it naturally centralized into banks and then fiat solved that problem to sort of decentralize it, but it broke everything. So now the mechanism of fixing the money and decentralizing the money was gold.
Bitcoin, but the corollary for decentralizing the communication is Nostr. So both things have kind of happened in a parallel. That's, what we were discussing.
# Wrapping Up
**Luke:** That is the alarm Oh,
**Knut:** Oh, okay.
**Max:** so we'll wrap it up.
**Knut:** Well, I'm
**Max:** Nostr for sure. Max at TowardsLiberty. com. You can send me mail, notes and sats to that, which is, by the way, crazy, right? That we can have like this unique identifier to get, like, all of your needs settled is wild. Check out, lodging of Wayfaring Men. That's, the main shill of this video.
And I made the audiobook for it. it's on a podcast. The podcast is by the author, Paul Rosenberg. And, it's called Parallel Society, right? So check that out. right now we've released the first episode. the others will come shortly thereafter. the other book recommendation I should highlight, which we haven't mentioned yet, is Cryptoeconomics by Eric Voskuhl.
Most of what I said here was very much inspired by that book. He has the most rigorous understanding of Bitcoin. It's by far the best Bitcoin book. So I also did the audiobook for that. Just search for Cryptoeconomics in your
**Knut:** audio book though.
**Max:** when you have to read tables of math formulas, it's starting to fall apart.
But there's a lot of verbal logic in the book that goes very well. Just get the free PDF for the actual graphs and
**Knut:** And keep using Wasabi and fire up your own coordinators and whatnot, right?
**Luke:** Now get on stage, Max. Don't want to make you late.
**Max:** Bye
the book, that's not what I said.
**Luke:** right, that's it.
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@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1
2024-10-08 13:37:28
There was once a man, who missed an important meeting because his alarm clock didn't ring. He was a bit upset, and wished for it to be corrected, so he promptly got up, got dressed, and took the alarm clock back to the store, where he'd gotten it from.
He stood in line, patiently, at the service counter, and waited his turn. When he got to the front, the clerk asked, "How may I help you?"
"Oh, I'm having trouble with this alarm clock. You see, it doesn't ring, when the time is reached. I was wondering if that could be fixed."
"Why should we fix that? We're actually very busy building the new model. Should be out in a few weeks. Just wait for that one. Goodbye."
"What? Wait! You can't just leave it broken, like this."
"Why not? What right do you have, to demand an alarm clock that rings? Besides, how many alarm clocks have you built?"
The customer was now quite flustered and a bit ashamed of his self, "Well, none. I admit that, but..."
"Well, there you go! Outrageous, that you should criticize something someone else has accomplished, that you have not.
Besides, you are incompetent to tell if anything is even wrong. Maybe this is some sort of non-ringing alarm clock. Perhaps it has lights or wave sounds..."
The second customer in line suddenly piped up, "Ahem. I'm sorry to interrupt. I must admit, I've also never built an alarm clock, but I'm a jeweler, who sells and repairs watches, and I must agree with you, sir," nods to first customer, "This is most definitely a ringing alarm clock and... See here? This bit of the bell arm has rusted through and broken off. Shoddy craftmanship, I'd say."
"Oh, Mr High-n-Mighty jeweler, claims to know how a good alarm clock is to be made, while having zero experience. I've had enough of this outrage. I'm getting the vapors and need at least a two-week sabbatical, to recover from such gross mistreatment. The store is closing immediately. Everyone out!"
"But my clock, sir!"
The door slams in his face, and he heads home, dumping his clock in the garbage bin down the street. Next time, he will simply use the alarm on his cell phone. That always rings.
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@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1
2024-10-08 11:51:50
## The 4P's
Remember the Four "P"s of Marketing? Let's look at them, in relation to digital creative work on Nostr.
### Product
The product needs to be designed to fulfill a need or desire in the market. If you are writing things nobody wants to read, singing songs nobody wants to hear, or posting pictures that nobody wants to see, then you need to reevaluate your product choices because *you are spam*.
You are wasting your time, which means you bear a cost for the production of these goods. Is it really worth it? Maybe, maybe not. Maybe you could do something else, or do something in addition, to make the product more appealing.
On the other hand, if you are producing something valuable to a niche audience, you might want to think more about specifically aiming for and catering to that audience, rather than wasting your energy trying to appeal to a larger, indifferent group. It is better to be loved by a few and hated by many, than to be uninteresting to nearly everyone and ignore those who love you.
### Price
People should have some anchor for the price, even if you have not explicitly named a price, so that they can know what such effort is "normally" worth and orient your value-provided up or down from there. It should also be clear what they are paying for, so that they know what the scope of the payment covers.
If there is no such anchor available, you can help create one by coming up with your own personal scale for other people's works and discussing it, in public. Any listeners will react positively or negatively, but they will all now have a mental "price point" to orient their own prices around.
If you have fixed and/or variable costs, the price you name should at least cover them, otherwise you need to lower the costs or raise the price. If you name no price, expect to get nothing, and you will never be disappointed. But you may also occasionally get a lot, and have it nearly knock you off your feet, so be prepared for that, too.
Generally, things that are free are of lower quality because producers have no incentive to expend great effort to produce things nobody values enough to pay for. The only major exceptions to this are cross-financing, such as freemium or preview models (typical for things like Substack or OnlyFans), or production funded by third parties (as is the case with Linux and GitHub). In both these cases, the payment exists, but is deferred or distanced.
Many products or services therefore start off "free", during an introductory period, but if they aren't getting enough income from it, they'll eventually give up and wander off. We pay creatives for their _continued efforts_ and _continued presence_.
### Placement
It is of vital importance that you place your products efficiently. Things you should consider:
1. What relays will this work be accessible from? Large relays will extend your reach, but your product will appear within a sea of spam, so its relative value will decline, the same way the perceived worth of the nicest house on the block is dragged down by the houses around it.
2. Writing to large relays also destroys the perceived exclusivity of the offer, although this can be partially mitigated by encryption. A mix of wide/exclusive is probably best, since exclusive access to someone unknown is less valuable than to someone well-known.
3. Remember that the people paying for exclusive access, aren't necessarily paying for access to "better" material, they're paying for access to *you*, as a person, and/or they are trying to encourage you to continue your work. Rather than having your blockbusters behind a paywall, have the more personal items there and spend more time responding to the people who actually care about you and your art.
4. Do you even want the work directly accessible over Nostr? Perhaps you prefer to store the work off-Nostr and simply expand access to that, to npubs.
5. Something that covers price and placement is what sort of payment rails the hosting platform provides and/or you will accept. Some people only want to accept Lightning zaps, but others might be okay with fiat transactions of some sort, on-chain Bitcoin, gift cards, badge or NIP-05 sales, or some other method. Generally, the more payment options available, the less friction preventing payment. Lightning is arguably the payment method with the least friction, so it should go first in the list.
### Promotion
#### Get Noticed
Who is your target audience and how can you get their attention, so that they find out which product you are offering? This one is extremely difficult, on Nostr. Mostly, everyone just screams things into the void, and people with more followers scream louder and are more-likely to be heard. So, I'd say:
* try to have more followers,
* find someone with lots of followers to help you with marketing, or
* join a "boost cooperative", where you join forces with other smaller accounts, to promote each other's notes.
#### Find your tribe
Use hashtags, but limit yourself to those that are truly relevant, and never have more than 3 in a note.
Post to communities/topic-relays or groups, or write an article or wiki page or etc. and then cross-post to your kind 01 feed, with a hyperlink to a website that displays your work properly.
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@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1
2024-10-02 05:04:55
I entered STEM in the late 90s and women weren't discouraged (much), but we also weren't actively encouraged. Neither were the guys. The head of our IT department was a woman, and that was actually not that rare, back then. In fact, the % of women getting comp sci or IT majors has been steadily _falling_, as this article by [Texas Tech University magazine](https://today.ttu.edu/posts/2021/09/Stories/why-is-computer-science-unpopular-among-women) notes.
![chart, % of women in CS majors](https://thesocietypages.org/socimages/files/2014/11/12-500x394.png)
I've long been puzzled by the big "Girls Coding" push, that the corporations have been engaging in. It accomplished nothing in my workspace, except causing potential colleagues to view me with increasing suspicion. Entering IT teams in the 90s, everyone assumed I must be a genius because everyone there was some sort of genius. Now, they assume that I'm there to fix their "lack of diversity". This starts me off on the wrong foot, every time.
People went into IT because they cared about the subject matter. There wasn't much money in it, so the work atmosphere wasn't cutthroat or dominated by venture capitalistic intentions. We were just a bunch of middle class mathematicians and engineers, basically, hiding out in the computer room with our nerdy friends, building stuff we thought would be useful and cracking our dorky jokes.
Destroying this wholesome atmosphere with divisive company politics, turning it into a high-stakes game for gamblers, and the constant economic precariousness of software projects, is what made women leave IT and it is what is keeping women away.
We've managed to recreate that familial atmosphere, in our nostr:npub1s3ht77dq4zqnya8vjun5jp3p44pr794ru36d0ltxu65chljw8xjqd975wz team, and that's probably why we girls like being there. Turns out, the people who are best at recognizing your talents and accomodating your personal responsibilities, are your friends on the team, who are simply happy that you're there and want you to keep showing up.
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@ bf95e1a4:ebdcc848
2024-10-01 13:30:18
This is the full AI-generated transcript of Bitcoin Infinity Show #127 featuring George Manolov!
If you'd like to support us, check out <https://bitcoininfinitystore.com/> for our books, merch, and more!
BIS128 - Ben Perrin - Transcript
**Knut:** Ben, welcome to the Bitcoin Infinity Show. Thanks for having me, guys. Yeah, this is where we first met, in Riga, five years ago.
Yeah, that's wild. Yeah, and our lives took a turn.
**Ben:** Yeah. I mean, it's amazing what can happen in a seemingly short period of time. Everything is markedly different, I think, on both ends.
**Knut:** Yeah, but I mean, I can't believe how you do what you do, like, you do like the double amount of conferences that I do.
**Ben:** I think I need to slow myself down a bit.
**Knut:** but you've been traveling around a lot, like, with the family as well.
**Ben:** Yeah, we try to strike a balance. Sometimes I go solo, sometimes it's the full family. Sometimes it's, me and the missus. It really depends, but, a little bit of both all through the year.
how's it been, like, what's your, well, Yeah. I mean, the travel aspect of it is fantastic. I love seeing all these places and it's kind of cool. To be honest, seeing all the Bitcoiners just in different parts of the globe all through the year, it's like every time it's a quasi family reunion, right? In cool locations.
**Knut:** Who was that that called us a traveling circus? Joe, yeah, it's Joe Hall.
**Ben:** Yeah. Yeah. That's, I mean, accurate. I think it's based, I was just saying outside that we should just collectively, you know, buy a jet, put all the necessary stuff in it and just hop around the globe and host a bunch of events and then get it all done in a couple of months and then
**Luke:** It's not a bad strategy.
**Knut:** no, it's a low time preference
**Ben:** are we going to start a geyser fund for the jet,
**Knut:** yeah, what private jet wanted, like,
**Luke:** If anything, it would be a good meme anyway, right?
**Ben:** How many bitcoin do you think we need for a jet? Sats.
**Knut:** Yeah, well, it'll take a while to gather the funds and we'll call that a jet lag.
**Ben:** I all enjoy seeing the exorbitant amount of Bitcoin required. And then like, you know, 5, 000 sats raised so far.
**Knut:** Yeah, and then five years later, 5, 000 sats is enough for a jet.
**Luke:** there we go. Oh, absolutely.
# The Origins of BTC Sessions
**Luke:** So can you give us a little bit of, your story, how this all started? how did you get into Bitcoin and how did you become a, cause you're not actually Mr. Sessions, but you are, you get confused for that all the
**Ben:** Yeah. so, prior to Bitcoin, I actually, taught kids how to breakdance for years.
**Knut:** Australian ladies,
**Ben:** Yeah, non Australian ladies, no, no, I, I taught, I was basically doing in school residencies. So, like, in, in phys ed, instead of the phys ed teacher, you know, helming the, the dance unit, I would come in as a novelty and, You know, teach the kids a routine over the course of a week and then they'd perform at the end of the week.
And, so it was a fun job, but it didn't particularly, pay the bills. So I needed a side hustle. And that side hustle for a while was, I went on a bunch of tech blogs and I just kind of learned how to tear, tear apart a MacBook and like swap out the hard drive and the RAM and things like that.
And then, so I would flip MacBooks because everybody wanted a MacBook, but you could get it used. And so I would upgrade it and then sell it and earn a few hundred bucks in an afternoon. And that felt pretty decent. But because I was on those tech blogs, the Bitcoin articles would be in front of me from time to time.
it took about a year of saying, ah, crap, I missed the boat over and over again, to finally say, maybe I should actually read into this and figure out what it was. And, I spent the better part of two years trying to learn how to use it. And searching desperately for video tutorials because I'm a very visual learner.
It was always like, Oh, go to this blog and, or, or go to this forum and halfway down in the comments, some dude described in point form how to do this. And I was like, I, I can't learn like this, but I had to. And so the channel was more like a response to the itch I couldn't scratch for myself.
And I figured if, if I wanted that, somebody might find Bitcoin tutorials useful, and, that was eight years ago. And so now, yeah, eight, eight years worth of, doing tutorials.
**Knut:** So, do you have any other, educational background? university studies or anything like
**Ben:** this was just like, it was a com, so the skills that kind of came together were, even though I was teaching dance, like, teaching a concept that can be complex to like a school kid. As long as you can break it down in a simple manner, like I had to get used to sometimes five year olds trying to learn and memorize a routine.
With very foreign movements to them. regardless of subject matter, it translates if you can break something down. And the tech aspect of it, like I was not technical whatsoever before Git. Other than like, I mean, yeah I said I tore up Macbooks, but like, if you can, put in a Nintendo cartridge.
That's like the skillset that you needed to do that. and so that was just like trial and error, you know, tearing your hair out, doing it again, trying again, learning what not to do. and then just the being comfortable, like in front of a camera, I guess, over time.
**Knut:** So, the stripe from tearing your hair out?
**Luke:** Yeah, it grew back eventually, but turned color. Yes. did you realize that you're never allowed to change your hairstyle ever again?
**Ben:** The first time going to a conference and, somebody coming up and saying like, Oh, I saw you from across the parking lot. And I was like, Oh crap, I'm stuck with this forever. Yeah, now it's like, I literally, but this is going to be the OPSEC thing. Cause when it's time to disappear, I just have to die this back.
And I, I'm a ghost.
**Luke:** Yeah, Nobody will know who I am. It's like if Knut shaves his
**Ben:** Yeah,
**Knut:** yeah, yeah, yeah.
**Ben:** Yeah.
**Luke:** Although actually the beard hasn't even been going that long, but now you're used to it.
**Ben:** Yeah, yeah.
# What Has Changed in Bitcoin?
**Luke:** So, what's changed over this eight years? Because I imagine early days that you're teaching vastly different things from now in the space.
**Ben:** Yes and no. there's a lot more to teach now than there ever was. like the early days, I was more or less confined to whatever phone app happened to be out as a wallet, there was very limited option for hardware, like it just kind of started to pop up as I was early days. and then like Bitcoin ATMs or online exchanges, that was kind of the crop of what I could do.
And now, the list of things I would like to cover is growing faster than I can cover it. It's an impossible task to teach everything. And so, that's a great thing, because there's so much optionality out there for people. I think because of that now, we're seeing a lot more people do tutorial videos, which is fantastic.
every time I see a new person throw their hat in the ring and start making video tutorials, I'm like a mini victory. I've treated the opposite of. Competition because you can never have too much education, just as everybody should have a Bitcoin podcast.
# Neutrality
**Knut:** Yeah, so speaking of podcasts and video tutorials, like, how do you stay neutral in terms of the products? I mean, you must be getting offers from everyone here and there, like, can you promote this for me? Can you do that for me?
**Ben:** so there's two aspects to it. I mean, number one, obviously the only way that I can do this full-time is to have sponsors on the show. But the sponsors that I usually have, it's typically not them coming to me. Not to say there isn't people coming to me, but the ones that come to me typically are like shitcoin casinos and stuff like that.
And saying it's a default. No. but the sponsors that I tend to have typically it's me saying, Oh, I use this and it's great. And then I reach out to that entity and say, would you like to sponsor the show? But that comes with a caveat of no matter what, The whole point of the channel is to educate people how to use things, so I will be covering your competitors and teaching people how to use them as well.
So, it's just, you gotta just be forthcoming with, like, the pros and cons of everything, and be realistic about how things work, and, yeah.
**Knut:** yeah, yeah. Oh, can I have that water? Sorry. yeah, this is a tricky thing, like, especially for consumers, like, how can you trust the content you're consuming, but I think, the essence of that is that, authenticity is the currency of the future, whoever said that, but, it's such a great.
Like your reputation is everything. if you're discovered to be a sellout or if people discover you're a sellout, you lose, or your sponsors too, at certain point, right. So,
**Ben:** It's, especially in Bitcoin, I feel like, Bitcoiners hold each other to a higher standard than fiat world does. and, Bitcoiners it's not so easy to forget, somebody. not that you can't, redeem yourself when you make a mistake as long as you own it.
I think the worst thing that you can do is just double down instead of being like, you know, fucked up kind of thing. So, yeah.
# Early Days
**Luke:** No, exactly, and I mean, I was actually curious about this. Did you ever go to, like, when you're getting into Bitcoin, were you ever curious about some of the, checkcoins and
**Ben:** Oh yeah, like, especially early on, because, there was no good resources, that succinctly described the difference between Bitcoin and everything else. It wasn't until, I spent most of my time learning about Bitcoin specifically, and then, I heard little things about other shitcoins but I never gained any conviction with any of the other ones, and to me it was always considered gambling, if I had anything like that.
And so it took working at an OTC desk in 2017, like a physical walk in with cash and buy Bitcoin or shitcoins to open my eyes to just how degenerate all of that stuff was. like my experience at the peak of the 2017 bull run. Was being in a room probably about double or triple the size of this.
we had three desks, with money counters on them, and it was shoulder to shoulder people in this room, all standing with stacks of cash, Ready to buy whatever coin had gone up the most that day. Ripple hit 3. 50. I'd love 10, 000 worth of Ripple, please. and it was just that day after day after day.
And people convinced that like, oh, this is the future. This is how it's gonna be. And after going through all that and seeing the ICO craze and everything, it just put such a bad taste in my mouth witnessing that and in a way being party to it, like working and being on the other side of the desk from that, that, discussions with and working with Francis Pouliot, with BullBitcoin.
He actually poached me from that company that I was at and it was a breath of fresh air to get somewhere and focus on Bitcoin. And so that was the formation of where I'm at now.
# Bull Bitcoin
**Knut:** In 2019, you were here with the bull Bitcoin
**Ben:** Mm hmm.
how many of you were here? was a lot of us. 15 Yeah, there was, there was a lot. it was like they brought a bunch of the Debs and like Madex was here. 'cause he did the shirts and everything. Yeah. Francis Dave, like, yeah.
We were all out here and it was a good time.
**Knut:** Bull Bitcoin is definitely the most based exchange in the world, I think. think there are exchanges nowadays that are on par with them, but if you take the historical perspective, there is no second
**Ben:** Yeah, well it was such a departure for Francis to come out and be like, his announcement of what BullBitcoin was going to be and to say, we are actively Bitcoin only I remember people in the room as he announced it being like, Seriously, you guys are only doing Bitcoin.
You're actively choosing not to do anything else. And, it seemed like a crazy move to a number of people that watched that announcement and it was the best thing that they could have done.
**Knut:** Of course. I mean, I love that before and after picture of Francis, you know, when he's in his corporate suit and everything. The before picture and the second picture, it looks like something out of Commando or
Yeah. Rolled out of the jungle. No, it's great.
**Ben:** Yeah, that was a formative time for sure.
# Calgary Community Building
**Luke:** Yeah, and I mean, those were my first touch points with crypto, the 2017 run, and I mean, in the offices in Calgary, because I'm just starting my career, just out of school, and I'm working at an oil and gas company, and it's like, everyone's talking about Ethereum or Ripple,
Yeah, and so that was the only thing that I got off my ass and went and bought a little bit for a little while with some Ethereum, and as soon as everything crashed in 2017, it's just like, I'm like, Yeah, I forgot about it for four years until things started to climb again.
And so no, no regrets, like, what ifs or anything like that. But, but yeah, that, that was, that was the culture at the time though, is, is, is what I'm saying. and this, this was all like, I had no idea this was all going on around me, the Bitcoin community, in, in Calgary. Right. and so this is, this is now where.
You're active in building the community in Calgary, right?
**Ben:** yeah, so, we're now kind of, you know, I've reached a point where, you know, it's great using Bitcoin as a savings mechanism and all that, but, I think it was late last year. there was some announcement in and around like exchanges, basically sending out the warnings to everybody, like, Hey, if you coin join and then send to the exchange, we'll have to shut your account.
Like you've got to at least add a hop and every, and people were. We're getting angry and almost like shooting the messenger, like, Oh, like, why don't you just not comply? And it's like, well, then the business doesn't exist. So I, like, I kind of get it. But at the end of the day, I got annoyed because people were, again, shooting the messenger rather than like just trying to do something about it.
And, and so that kind of, spurred me into. You know, recognizing that the only way around that is to actively use Bitcoin peer to peer, right? Like, not just save it. Cause like, if you're, if you're saving your Bitcoin and you're putting it away and everything, and then all of a sudden, every on and off ramp, it just Disappears overnight because of regulatory overreach.
What the hell do you do? Like, yeah, you can find your, your, your peer to peer exchanges and stuff like that, but like, isn't it so much better if you can just know the place where you can get beef or, you know, your barber, if you, if you can just use your money for everything that you need and then also just save it.
Like, isn't that a far better world than having to rely on somebody somewhere to exchange for a worse money?
# Vexl
**Knut:** Are you familiar with Vexl? Yes. looks really promising, I think. yeah, we had Grafton on. Weeks ago. And, it's great. most of the users are in Prague at the moment, but still, if we can get that going, it's like, I view it as VL being is to local Bitcoins what B2C pay server is to BitPay you're taking these centralized models and.
making them peer to peer and more decentralized.
**Ben:** it, yeah, it's needed, whatever the, I really like the idea of what Vexel's doing, again, like, it's thin in my area for people listing stuff on there, but, again, at the end of the day, I think in, however we can do it to kind of build out, starting from the Bitcoiners themselves, ways to meet our daily needs, just using Bitcoin, like, I've been, I've been basically living on a Bitcoin standard since 2020.
Now, 90 something percent of my income is all Bitcoin. and I use it, like I, by default, don't have dollars beyond, like, exactly what needs to come out of a bank account each month for some specific payments that I can't do externally.
**Knut:** So what is your reaction when people say that Bitcoin isn't money?
**Ben:** So you can say it, but you're fucking wrong. it's puzzling when somebody says that to me because my entire life is a refutation of that statement. Like,
**Knut:** that's a clip right
**Ben:** Yeah.
# Sats Market
**Luke:** that's fantastic. I had no idea any of this stuff existed. I literally got into Bitcoin as I was leaving Canada and I haven't been back to Calgary in three years now. I'm super looking forward to next summer.
I'll make it to your sats market and the Bitcoin rodeo and everything. So can you tell us a little bit about the sats market
**Ben:** Yeah, so, I guess I kinda went off the rails when I was about to dive into that, but that knee jerk of me getting angry that people weren't doing anything about it, that spurred me into doing the first sat market, and So I was like, guys, the only way around this is to just start using Bitcoin.
And so I put out the word online and said let's do this in three weeks, let's do a market. And we got 35 merchants together in that period of time, put on a big, Christmas market. And it was great. I was surprised how many people got together and made that happen. And so now we've done three of them.
we did a spring one as kind of like a dry run, to prep for the Bitcoin rodeo one that we did in July. but now I think we're going to do two per year so that it's kind of more of an event. but then we want to actually form relationships with each other so that, you don't need the market to get the things that you want.
So like, you know, my kid shoved something in the toilet, I called the Bitcoin plumber. And he came and I paid him in sats for sorting out my shit coin problem. and I think a big part of the market was, yes, it's great having, Bitcoin related merch and goodies and stuff like that.
But like, It shouldn't be all that. It needs to be stuff that people actually need. So we have local farmers come in, and you know, they've got beef and eggs and chickens and all that. We have a lot of tradesmen, like roofers, people doing flooring, people doing all kinds of different stuff.
We've got a guy who, one of the services he's offering is teaching people how to homestead. so like there's, there's a wide variety, there's a children's author, there's a whole bunch of different stuff. and it's a very eclectic mix of a lot of different things. but also like the useful, like, oh, I need food, you know, I need my haircut.
# Canada and Alberta
**Knut:** so, do you expect, I mean, if you look up government overreach during the early 2020s in the dictionary, you'll get a picture of a Castro's bastard doing, do you expect some kind of clamp down or like problems with this from a government side in Canada?
**Ben:** Well, the nice thing about it is that it's the hardest thing to prevent when I know the guy I get my eggs from. When, you know, what are you going to say? you guys can't be friends anymore. Go fuck yourself. like if I happen to go visit my buddy at his house And he happens to give me some eggs, and I happen to slip and scan a QR code then like I was to stop that Yeah
**Luke:** would go, Well, I mean, some calibration on this as well. I think for people who aren't familiar with how Canada is basically, Alberta and Calgary is like the heart of freedom country in Canada. Quebec is also a little bit, it's got its own flavor of that essentially, but Alberta has been going through some really interesting times in the last decade.
**Ben:** so It's very different from the US in that the individual states have so much more, free reign to set things how they like, and you can freely move around between states. But in Canada, the federal government has a lot more power over each individual province than I would like.
But Alberta, as of late, has been really pushing back against federal overreach, in particular, and around energy, health, and education. so there's been all of these things that have culminated in, we created the Alberta Sovereignty Act, which Gives us a conduit to any time the federal government tries to do something where they're stepping out of their wheelhouse, we basically can now refer to that and flip them the bird and say, tough.
We saw that province next to us, Saskatchewan, when they tried to impose a carbon tax, the entire province, the government just said, we're not collecting it. And so like, you're starting to see, and it's very interesting because The sovereign individual, the book, when they were discussing, the idea of local governance and the breakdown of larger nation states, when they were talking about Canada, it was written in the 90s when Quebec was voting whether it wanted to remain part of Canada.
And so one would have assumed at the time they would have said Quebec will be the first to separate from Canada. But they said no, it's more likely to be Alberta because it's so energy heavy. and we get kind of screwed by the rest of Canada, so there's what's known as equalization payments, if we produce and have a lot of industry, rather than using that as a mechanism to incentivize people to move away from areas where industry may not justify so many people living towards where the good jobs and the resources are.
they just say, Oh, you guys are doing pretty well. We're going to take, however many billions of dollars of that, and we're going to pepper it over here.
**Knut:** Yeah.
**Ben:** when you look at say Quebec versus Alberta, Alberta, I can't remember what this is. Very recently, in the past few years, there was a year where I think Alberta paid 10 billion dollars in equalization payments, and, Quebec received 11.
And, and, and so basically we just gave Quebec all the money, and that's like 40 percent of their GDP.
**Knut:** yeah, it's socialism. That's how socialism works. The problem with socialism is that eventually you'll run out of other people's money.
**Ben:** Yeah. and so, but I mean, what would have happened if that wasn't in place is there wouldn't be as many jobs in Quebec and a number of people might have said, Oh, there's more jobs over here. We're going to move to where the industry is.
**Luke:** Yeah. Free market. It's natural. It's what happens when you leave things be and let people cooperate and collaborate the way they want. but instead we're incentivizing people to stay put Well, and I mean, the other thing, not just the equalization, right, is that the energy is literally landlocked in Alberta, and to get the oil to market, you have to take it to a coast, that's how this stuff gets sold, and there's just been fights over building pipelines within Canada or into the United States, Barack Obama cancelled the Keystone pipeline, the Keystone XL pipeline the first time, Then Trump re approved it, and then Biden finally cancelled it, and I think they're actually giving up on it now.
But even within Canada, that's the problem, is that Quebec, who gets all of this money from Alberta, says they will not let a pipeline through their province.
**Knut:** yeah, it's, in the book.
yeah. yeah,
**Luke:** your feeling on just the political situation in general in Alberta and Canada as a whole?
**Ben:** it's interesting because I don't put Too much or really any trust in politicians, but the political pendulum making it's I feel like it already peaked to one side and it's about to swing back and they'll be that degree of What seems like normalcy for a while and then it'll swing too far the other direction again in the 90s growing up I felt as if These conservatives are gonna censor everything and, it was always like, Oh, we need to take this off TV and off the radio and we don't want anybody to see this In my head, I was always like, well, just don't watch it.
Don't listen to it. If you don't like Like, why are you telling others what they can or can't do or watch? And so I always grew up thinking that's where the pressure's gonna come from. But as that political pendulum swung to the left, it doesn't matter who's in power, it's just what are they censoring, right?
And so I think I leaned left, politically speaking, early in my life because it was just like a knee jerk. Against whoever was telling me not to do things, and so I felt like I swung left, and then it got to a point where I was just insufferable, like, actively, trumpeting whatever the leftist politicians would say, and it wasn't until a friend of mine actually said to me, I asked him about the election when Trudeau got elected for the first time, which I voted for, and,
**Luke:** Sorry.
**Ben:** The thing that opened my eyes to how insane I had gotten was, a friend of mine that I would have assumed for like the, who he was and kind of his lifestyle and everything like that would have, definitely been voting for Trudeau. So I asked him what he thought of the election. And he said, you made me vote conservative. And I was like, I stepped away from that conversation and took a long hard look in the mirror and realized the person that I thought I was helping by voting this way voted the opposite because I was such a loud mouth. what I ended up doing is I started searching for the exact opposite of what I would have searched for on like YouTube and all that.
And it was my first peek into how bad the algorithms get you. And because all of a sudden I was getting served inside of a couple of weeks, I was getting served the polar opposite end of the spectrum and nothing but that, and like rage bait. it made me realize like.
There's, there's no winner in that scenario.
# Pendulum
**Knut:** it's so funny that they use the word pendulum because that's one of the chapter names from the new book. And we describe exactly that process of left and right, but also how this dynamic happens in smaller communities as well. And the danger we see in the Bitcoin community here is that, I've noticed this effect that Whenever people discover Bitcoin and realize that the government is lying to them.
The lazy thing to do is just to buy the opposite narrative and buy into all the conspiracy theories, and all of a sudden Alex Jones is not a liar, have you noticed that too, and like, are you worried about the Bitcoin community, that we're getting sloppy, buying into stuff?
**Ben:** Yeah, I think it's inevitable that people have that reaction in that we're at that point in time where people are deeply distrustful of every single institution. And I think it's exactly what you're saying, is that the knee jerk reaction is, so everything's a conspiracy, or everything's a scam. And, you know, kudos to the people that are a little bit more nuanced with the thinking. I can fall into that trap too. And, I think it's also, to go back to one of the other formative moments in Bitcoin for me was, as I first started getting involved. Seeing the coverage of Mt.
Gox, on the news because I had, I still knew very, very little about Bitcoin at that point. I had just started learning, but even with, a month or two of reading, I knew that all of the reporting was completely wrong. where they were saying Bitcoin got hacked. And I knew it was just a bad company, lost people's money.
And, to see every news outlet report it the same and all be wrong, and know that I've done effectively the minimal viable research, and I know that you're incorrect. It made me step back and say, well, God, like, what if other things that I know even less about are being reported incorrectly?
**Knut:** I know exactly what I reacted to the most, that they describe Bitcoin ma mining as solving this super complex
**Ben:** Yes.
**Knut:** Yes. When it's really just guessing a number over and over again. so it's portrayed as something that's absolutely isn't
**Ben:** Yeah. it's blindly throwing a dart at a dart board somewhere.
**Knut:** I had experiences with this earlier on where, you know, being interviewed for smaller things and just reading the interview afterwards and seeing how much they got wrong. this is so often everything.
**Ben:** Yeah. Cause I mean, there's people in society that are tasked with trying to distill information and present it in a friendly public facing manner. And, when you're trying to do that, it's difficult to do that accurately and also in an entertaining way that drives clicks and views and all that kind of stuff.
so I think a lot of people by default just use some of those bad habits and, you know, go for the clicks, I suppose.
# Nostr
**Luke:** Well, and how do you feel about an antidote to this in Nostr, decentralizing communication?
**Ben:** Yeah, I think. With this, it definitely puts us in the right direction in that, you know, previously, the way, we've seen dissenting opinions dealt with is just shutting them down. you know, now, I still very much think that the entire world has not yet grappled with the fact that you can instantly communicate with anybody, anywhere, and get a megaphone to tell the world whatever you think.
and people have not been great at learning how to distill information and decide if the information is right and true. we're still as a species not great at that, but I think having Absolute censorship resistance puts us towards that because then the only tool you have to fight against bad information is better information.
And so people need to stop being babysat and actually be forced into a space where they have to distill information and think critically. and that's a muscle that most people haven't exercised and even myself, at times just, you know, it's easy to go the lazy way. But I think, yeah, with something like Nostr where, you can say whatever you want.
Nobody can remove it afterwards. it forces hard conversations to be had rather than trying to silence them. So I think it's a slow process and it's not gonna happen anytime soon. But it gets us stepping in the right direction.
**Knut:** I think communication is the thing that elevates us from barbarism to civilization, really. Because if you go down to first principles and what this is all about, it's like humans have two ways of resolving conflict, and the one is violence, And the other is communication. You agree and you argue and you come up with a solution.
And the latter is obviously preferable to the former, because we don't want violence. seeing things that way makes everything so much clearer, you realize that even without the internet communication would have won out in the long run, because it's more efficient than violence.
Violence is costly. so, and it did sort of like there were fewer wars, like in, Early 90s when the internet wasn't a thing than ever before. So like, fewer people were killed in wars. So the internet has just sped up the process. And right now you can communicate with anyone in the entire world at an instant.
And it's not only text, it's video, like without a lag. And on top of that you have bitcoin, which is, part of that, because it is communication. What bitcoin pointed out was that money doesn't have to be anything but communication. That's why I'm so extremely optimistic about it, because it is the cure all, in that sense, because it's so damn powerful,
# Why Are You Bullish?
**Knut:** so Ben Sessions, why are you bullish?
**Ben:** am I bullish? in this moment, I think I'm most bullish because people haven't stopped building and they're doing so at such a breakneck pace that I guess alluding to earlier in the conversation, how that list of things for me to teach people about is growing faster than I can teach it.
And, and that's a great place to be in, given that when I started, the most common question I got from people hearing, Oh, you're doing a Bitcoin tutorial channel. I mean, you're going to run out of stuff to do, aren't you? And it's the exact opposite. and so I, when there's that much of a brain drain and, and there's so many people Interested in somehow being involved and contributing and seeing this as the seismic shift that it is.
how can you not be bullish about that? I mean, we started a company a few months ago called Bitcoin Mentor. Educators, one on ones and all that. But we put out the word that we were looking for people that wanted to be Bitcoin educators. We had 350 applicants. Isn't that insane?
**Luke:** It's amazing.
**Knut:** Yeah,
**Ben:** Obviously we couldn't take all 350, but we built a solid team from the people that were there and there was some really talented people there.
# The Bitcoin Mentor
**Ben:** So can you talk us through what this is? what is the Bitcoin? It's the Bitcoin Mentors. Yeah, Bitcoin Mentor. I, have previously for a number of years done, Private one on ones with people, typically, you know, Zoom or whatever, video call. those were usually people that had gone to the free tutorials on YouTube, but they need a little bit of extra hand holding.
Maybe, like, it's either just their confidence in doing it themselves, and they just want somebody to kind of walk them through it the first time, or they hit a snag and I didn't cover it as in depth as I should have or, there's a lot of moving parts. I got to the point where I was so busy with these sessions, these one on ones, that I wasn't having time to make the tutorials anymore.
And, you know, I can't not have that. You know, that's like, it's such an important thing to have the free resource out there as well. So, I met, my co founder now, Mike, and, we just kind of formulated an idea of building a team and, yeah, so it's basically for anybody that's either like brand new and is just trying to wrap their head around, key management or hardware or whatever, or for the, you know, What I would refer to as the Bitcoin luddites, the ones that have, and this isn't at all a dig because this happens to everybody, but.
Where you come in, you learn the few things you're comfortable with, and then you stand still for a long time and you begin wondering like, is my setup still as good as I thought it was when I originally did it? Should I add to it? Should I learn something new? Or I just wanna level up and learn some new things?
We get a lot of people coming in like that, being like. Yo, I, I don't know, I got a ledger like five years ago and I set it up and I haven't done anything since. And now I think I want to try a cold card or whatever else, or now I want to run a node or now I want to, you know, I want to learn again.
**Luke:** And so we get a lot of those people coming in the door saying, help walk me through this. And once they've done it once, then, okay, that's a skill they've attained and they can do it themselves without any assistance after that. Oh, awesome initiative. And I mean, yeah, like obviously there's a need there for people to get involved in this stuff. And I mean, the user experience in Bitcoin is still very much, you have to do the things or else it's not quite going to work. And I mean, do you think it's ever going to be?
So simple that anyone can just quickly get on to Bitcoin in a self sovereign way. I don't, I don't think that there's ever going to
**Knut:** always a trade
**Luke:** there's
always a trade off. do you think about that?
**Ben:** there's always a trade off. I think, and it also depends on what our interactions with Bitcoin look like in the future, like in terms of what is the average person's experience using Bitcoin. Bitcoin, I would venture to say that their initial interaction with Bitcoin inside of Five years or less is not going to be on chain.
Like people aren't going to be onboarded directly to on chain. They're going to, I think the way that we teach needs to be completely inverted because the way I used to teach was, okay, let's attack a regular on chain Bitcoin wallet first. here's how you set it up. Here's your seed phrase on chain transactions work like this, you know, every 10 minutes, all like, here's how the fees work.
That was typically the first thing you wrapped your head around and then you would say, Oh, and now there's this thing called lightning. And this allows you, you know, for more day to day, smaller trends. And so you'd, you'd start at the base and you'd build the knowledge to the upper layers. But that's not going to be how people interact with Bitcoin because, economically speaking, that's not going to make sense.
They're going to come in from a top layer first with their first few sats.
custodial lightning. exactly. But what will be the goal is working your way down through the self sovereignty stack to hopefully get as close to the base as you can for that person. And so it's gonna be like, oh, I came in through a Fediment, or I came in through a Cashument, or I came in through a Custodial Lightning Wallet.
**Knut:** You'd be like, okay, great. Transactionally, you now know what you're doing, but let's see if we can give you more control. And move that direction. had a thought about the 350 applicants, because they all want to be Bitcoin mentors. I think they probably all are, just on a smaller scale. Like, all of those people are teaching their friends and family how to use things.
It's already amazing. Because you're right, all of those applicants were vying to be part of a specific group but nothing precludes them from continuing to be the bitcoin person in their group of friends that people come to for advice and help. beautiful.
# What is Ben Most Excited About - Fedi(Mint)
**Luke:** And so you mentioned a couple of things like, Fedimint and Cashew as one example, like just new stuff that's been coming up. What are you most excited about that's, like projects that look really exciting to you right now?
**Ben:** I'm very interested in the Fediment stuff. I think it's really cool. Now, again, you gotta recognize that it's a trade off. But, I tend to look at things from the perspective of What is available to us right now? No, I recognize that things can change and maybe you have the ability to have shared, you know, UTXO custody in a way,
But with how Bitcoin works right now and the tools that are available to us, I think FedAmends are pretty damn good trade off, to enable a number of things that are very attractive. So like, instant, peer to peer free and perfectly private transactions within a mint. Gaining the privacy of the crowd if you spend to another mint.
and what I mean by that is, maybe you have a mint that has a thousand people in it, and another mint that has a thousand people in it. When you go to send money to somebody in the other mint, it's a lightning transaction between the two. federations, but nobody knows which person in this mint initiated the transaction and nobody knows which person in that mint received it.
yeah, it's beautiful.
so I love that. there's things like you can do offline payments. there's a lot of really cool things. and Feddy app is doing is something that I think it would be super. Useful in the context of what we're doing with the sat market in Calgary is if we had, you know, within, if we had everybody sound like a mint.
And within the Feddy app, we could have a community that in that same app with their wallet management, they also see all of the resources needed to use said Bitcoin locally. So maybe it, it, by default, we have built in there, the btcmap. org that will center in on Calgary when you tap on it within the app, maybe it has bit refill or whatever to get your gift cards.
Maybe it has whatever other, because It's like a whole ecosystem in a singular app that you can tailor for your specific community, which is, so useful, and I didn't know exactly what it was going to be until I actually physically saw it.
Yeah, Yeah, so I love it.
Now, yeah, we still have some questions about it, but we'll talk to Obi one of these, like, tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. So we're looking forward to interrogate him about the nooks and crannies about Fede. But, yeah, it's very, very promising. yeah, it's, I think that particular ecosystem is gonna make leaps and bounds in the coming years and it'll be very interesting to see how it's used and how resilient it is, in the way that they're trying to flesh out that ecosystem because at this point anybody can make a mint. And so, and that's a double edged sword, because anybody will make a mint, and some will be, they won't all be created equally.
Some will rug, for sure, some will rug pull, but others will, you know, It'll likely be done well and stand the test of time and kind of, it'll be more of a reputation based thing rather than,
**Knut:** that's reputation based is, is, is based. I mean it's, that's what we're excited about, about Nostr, a lot of the You know, web of trust things so that you get all the, the reputation score is basically your, you own your social graph and your friends and your connections and your posts and everything.
And that's where you get your recommendation is from. So I think that ends up, you know, killing woke disney one day because there won't be a discrepancy between user scores and critics
**Ben:** yes,
**Knut:** like so
**Ben:** yeah,
**Knut:** much going on
**Ben:** yeah, that's fantastic.
**Luke:** It's fantastic to get your perspective on this because you're probably one of the people who really actually gets in there and tries the most things
Amplifying, right? like that
**Ben:** I tend to tinker around with pretty much everything that I can get my hands on. there's more people that are starting to be that as well. if you were to look at my apps on my phone, it's just like a disgusting amount of different Bitcoin wallets and everything.
and those are just the ones that I have put in a folder. If you go through the entire app drawer, it's just, I don't remember when I downloaded this
# Outlook for Canada and Alberta
**Luke:** No, it's funny, but, you're clearly bullish on Bitcoin. And what about Canada? What's your feelings on Canada, Alberta as well?
**Ben:** I hope Alberta secedes. So that's that would be, I'm, I'm, I'm very pro, smaller and more local governance. I, you know, I, I think that you become disconnected from, your constituents when you try to govern too many of them all at once, it's very difficult when you have. a large group of people in very, very different conditions and trying to say, you guys are all gonna live by the exact same rules.
I think more local governance is great. I feel like Trudeau will be gone next year. everybody's sick of him, including his own party, but at the same time, if I had to guess, I would say that, he'll be stubborn enough to run again. And that Polyev will probably win he's a bitcoiner but at the same time, I don't think that he'll do anything, in terms of regulatory that would be super favorable.
**Luke:** I think it'll just kind of be status quo. if anything, it'll at least buy some time. To build out things that make Bitcoin more resilient in the face of the next tyrant. I've still got all my family in Canada, tons of friends in Canada, I hope for the best in Canada, I'm the coward, sort of, and left, but no, no, it was more of a pull than a push, I mean, as much as things were difficult a few years ago in Alberta, I mean, like, yeah, it was other reasons, but still, of course, close to my
**Knut:** voted with your feet. It's good. you made a freedom footprint. That's what you
**Luke:** Well, yeah, awesome to have you and other great people in, in Calgary and, and Canada, you know, still bearing the torch and everything. So,
**Ben:** Yeah, there's a good, there's a solid group there, and yeah, the Calgary, the Alberta, generally, like all the Alberta Bitcoiners, there's something there, and I can't wait to see that blossom into what it seems to be becoming.
**Luke:** well, sign us up for the sats market, in June, July, next year. Cause, yeah, well, a hundred percent
**Knut:** We need Knut to come stampeding I can do the stampeding. yeah, apparently it's not optional.
# Wrapping Up
**Knut:** anyway, where do you want to send our listeners? Like with btc sessions. com? Is that a thing now? Dot ca,
**Ben:** flair on there. if somebody's listening or watching this that is unfamiliar, and you need to learn anything, just search BTC Sessions on YouTube. you'll find it there. I'm on, Nostr, I'm on X still. you gotta be where the normies are at when you're trying to orange pill and educate, I suppose, too.
the Bitcoin Mentor stuff, you can check out at bitcoinmentor. io if you need some more hand holding on anything. There's a solid group of educators there.
**Luke:** fantastic. And I'm going to look at this camera now to my friends from Calgary, who I've been telling you to go attend the sats market. Get to it, talk to this guy, you won't regret it, and you know who you are.
Thanks for everything you do, and thanks for being on the show.
thanks for having me, guys. Appreciate it. Ben, thanks again. This has been the Bitcoin Infinity Show.
-
@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1
2024-09-27 11:32:25
# A fortnight of being real on Nostr
![MVC pattern](https://i.nostr.build/CetoKl21ReLIBIeC.png)
It's been over two weeks, since I announced that I would primarily be noting from my lesser-known [Silberengel npub](nostr:nprofile1qydhwumn8ghj7argv4nx7un9wd6zumn0wd68yvfwvdhk6tcpr3mhxue69uhhg6r9vd5hgctyv4kzumn0wd68yvfwvdhk6tcqyr7jprhgeregx7q2j4fgjmjgy0xfm34l63pqvwyf2acsd9q0mynuzlmgw80), and it's been an interesting experience. As with anything I ever do, I clicked around a lot, tested out a lot, and tried out a lot. Mostly, I observed.
## Let me share, what I've learned
1. Nostr-related products are increasingly useless, if you don't follow anyone, or only follow a handful of people. **Everything is geared to follows** and you usually really do need to follow gobs of people, to have an interesting feed, by capturing the most-active people (about 10% of the people you follow). Those people tend to quote and boost other people's notes into your stream, allowing you to follow those additional people and so on, like a snowball scheme. This means that follows are actually a feed-management mechanism, rather than any indication of a relationship between npubs. It also means that 10% of the npubs decide what everyone will look at.
2. Many people collect followers, by being active for a very short time, following lots and lots of people and getting follow-backs, then they unfollow the smaller npubs or abruptly change their tone or the content (this is common with spammers and scammers). Then they have a high WoT score. **What, precisely, is being trusted here?** (Also, centering WoT on follows is influencer-maxxing for plebs, KWIM?)
3. Why are individuals never unfollowing these npubs? Because nobody unfollows anyone who hasn't seriously upset them. **Follow-inertia is rampant** and the follow lists are so long that most people don't even know who they are following. So long as the "bad npub" doesn't spam the people who are following them directly, they don't notice anything. That means following spam can inadvertently protect you from spam, whilst the same spammers throw crap at your own frens, all damned day.
4. Most relay owners/operators don't ever look directly at the feed from their own relay, so it's usually full of enormous amounts of garbage. Your clients and personal/private relays are often downloading and broadcasting all of that garbage indiscriminately, so **the garbage gets passed around, like a social media virus**. Many of you just haven't noticed, because you also don't look at the feed from your relays (see 1).
5. Almost all business logic (the controls, in the classic model-view-controller setup) has been placed on the client-side. This is great, if you're a client developer, as it makes relays superfluous and traps your customers in your app, by **making moving to a different app more onerous**. Every move requires a period of readjustment and fiddling, before they can see their feed the way that they are used to seeing it. This is less great, if you're a user and are interested in trying out a different app.
6. When I began, two weeks ago, the concept of topical, private, and personal relays interacting were mostly a pipe dream (pun intended), but I've been pleased to see, that some other people are beginning to catch on to **the appeal of decentralizing and specializing the model layer**. A diverse, sprawling network of relays, connected through the [outbox model](https://mikedilger.com/gossip-model/) and [negentropy syncing](https://github.com/hoytech/strfry/blob/master/docs/negentropy.md), is really next-generation communication, and essential for ensuring censorship-resistance, while supporting smooth interaction.
7. Once you get above a few hundred followers (which I already have, *That went fast!*), additional followers are increasingly spam or inactive/bot npubs, and once you get a few thousand followers, **that Bot Effect goes parabolic**, as your notes are spread more widely onto spammy relays. You won't notice, yourself, as anything over a few hundred becomes Some Big Number and you'll eventually stop even looking to see who they are, or caring about them, at all. Which leads directly to my next point...
8. The number of followers a person has, **correlates with an increase in their disdain for people who care** about follower counts, likes, reactions, or even zaps. This *noblesse oblige* says nothing about the usefulness or information any of these signals carry. You will please also notice that they never change npubs and rarely change profile pics because of reasons I don't need to elaborate on, further.
9. On-boarding is a lonely experience because **nobody looks at the feed, and you initially have no followers**. Even if you reply to people, they often can't see what you wrote because of your low WoT score. That is, unless you already know someone there, who can vouch for you. Or are lucky to get discovered by the Nostr Welcoming Committee and end up one of the biggest npubs overnight, which is like winning the follower lottery.
For most new npubs, the experience is terrible and they eventually give up, for a handful the experience is absolutely fantastic and they are hooked. Obvious lesson: nobody should onboard, who doesn't know at least 1 other person: so invites only. Unlike Those Other Protocols, Nostr doesn't need a centrally-determined invite, as every client or relay can offer their own version, geared to a different audience. The goal simply needs to be: get off 1.
10. I don't get many zaps or reactions, anymore, but **I still have interesting conversations**, and I no longer face the surreal situation of every cough, hiccup, or sneeze I emit being front-page news. Nostr feels more like Nostr, again, and less like Twitter, and now I want communities and forums even harder.
![Laeserin](https://image.nostr.build/58999452123e75d400344eb71d09abe1e704c5113c03e808dd2ef5954862bb65.png)
![Silberengel](https://image.nostr.build/cee6d675ff3acd57b74dde50d93910c3b336c311a348d77f60c2e6f69f4b6a7e.png)
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@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1
2024-09-27 07:10:40
# Let's talk about baking bread
I've mentioned a few times, how large-scale central planning leads inevitably to artificial scarcity and rising prices. Allow me to illustrate -- using a completely invented allegory about bread -- that has absolutely no parallels to any economy you may already be familiar with.
## We start with 20
Let us say, there is a group of 20 people in a village doing something that requires some niche skill and interest, but not inordinate amounts of talent or uncommon knowledge, such as baking loaves of bread containing emmer wheat. This is not an easy thing to do, and you'd have to read up on it and practice, to begin with, but it's not an insurmountably-high barrier for anyone who already knows how to bake.
Now, they're not baking all that much of this bread, as the market for people who want to eat it, is still rather small. But, they're happy to bake the bread, and sell it below cost (at $10), as they can see that the market is steadily growing and they know that there is a possibility of recuperating their investments, and maybe even turning some profit. They hope to eventually profit either directly (through the selling of the bread), or indirectly (as A Person Who Helped Invent Emmer Bread), or ideally some combination of the two.
They are baking away, and honing their baking skills, and scrounging up the money for bigger and better ovens or cleverly-arranging discounted contracts for slightly-larger deliveries of wheat, and more and more bakers see this activity and wander over to their village, to see how this bread is made. Well, the current bakers are starting to sink under all of the bread orders they are receiving, and customers are complaining of late deliveries, so they start to ask the 10 visiting bakers, if they would like to also set up a bakery and take some of the production off of their hands.
## We now have 25 bakers
The visiting bakers consider it and 5 agree and the rest wander off again, as they already are quite busy baking the bread they've always baked, and they aren't as certain of the possibility of growth, for this new type of bread.
The 5 additional bakers take a while to setup shop and assemble staff and place wheat orders and etc., but after a few weeks or months, they are also adding to the bread supply. There are now 25 bakers, all completely booked-out, producing bread. The price of bread has fallen, to $8/loaf.
And the bread they produced! All of the bakers competing for orders and expanding their product lines and customer base quickly lead to the white emmer bread being followed by whole-grain emmer bread, emmer dinner rolls, emmer-raisin bread, and even one rebel daring to bake spelt-emmer pretzels because... Well, why not? The customer, (who, at this point, is the person eating the bread), gets to decide which bread will be baked, and the pretzels sell like hotcakes.
The emmer hotcakes also sell like hotcakes.
No baker is making much (or any) money off of the baking, but they all can see where this will end up, so they are still highly motivated and continue to invest and innovate at breathtaking speed. We now have emmer baking mixes, "We luv emmer" t-shirts, emmer baking crowd-sourcing, all-about-emmer recipe books and blogs, etc. The bakers see this all as an investment, and cross-finance their fledgling businesses through selling other bread types, their spouse's day job, burning through their savings, or working Saturday night, stocking shelves at the grocery.
Everyone can be a winner! Everyone can find their niche-in-niche! Everyone can specialize!
Private enterprise for every baker, who rises and falls on his own efforts alone! And although everyone was competing with everyone else, there was no bitterness, as everyone could clearly see that effort and reward were in some sort of balance.
## We are now short 3
But, alas, that was not meant to be. The joy and harmony is short-lived.
A gigantic, wealthy foundation, who is dedicated to "ensuring much emmer bread will be baked, by financially supporting emmer bakers" enters the chat.
"We have seen that there is much baking going on, here, but just think how much better and more baking could be done, if we financed your baking! Isn't that clever? Then you could really concentrate on baking, instead of having to worry about financing your business or marketing your products. All you have to do, is apply to receive our baker's grant, by signing this form, acknowledging that you will only bake products containing nothing but emmer and you will otherwise support our mission. We promise to pay you $100/loaf."
The 2 people making spelt-emmer pretzels, and the 1 person making spelt-emmer cookies, refuse to sign on, and slink off, as they are very convinced of the rightness of including spelt. One emmer-purist baker refuses on some economic principle that nobody comprehends, and immediately turns around and goes back to work in their bakery, with their shoulders hunched. But the remaining 21 bakers happily apply for a baker's grant. The mixed-grain bakers are upset about the breakup of the emmer market, and spend some time sulking, before wandering off to the new, much-smaller, spelt bread market, that is setting up, down the street. Where they sell their bread for $6 and slowly go bankrupt.
## And then there were 10
2 weeks go by. 4 weeks go by. Baking has slowed. The grant hopefuls hold a meeting, where they discuss the joys of baking. Baking slows further.
Everyone is too excited, to find out if their new Universal Customer will be paying for the bread they bake. $100 a loaf! Just think of it! All of the bakers quickly do the math and realize that they not only will turn a profit, they can buy themselves a nice house and a new car and...
Nobody listens to the complaints from The Old Customers, who are the useless individual people only paying $8, despite them slaving away, all day, in front of a hot oven. They should be happy that they are getting bread, at all! Instead they complain that the bread is dry, that the delivery is late, that the bottoms are burnt. Ingrates.
And, then, the big day arrives, and the foundation happily announces that they will be giving 10 lucky bakers a grant.
The bakers are stunned. It had seemed that all of the bakers would be getting the grants, not only part of them. But, of course, the Universal Customer looked through the applications and tried to spend its money wisely. Why give grants to 5 bakers, who all produce the same type of olive-emmer bread? Give it to one, and then tell him to produce 5 times as much bread. He is then the olive-emmer bread expert and they will simply keep loose tabs on him, to nudge him to bake the bread in a sensible manner. And, of course, he shall always focus on baking olive bread, as that is what the grant is for.
The bakers stroll off, to their bakeries. Those who baked olive bread and received no grant, close up shop, as they can see which way the wind is blowing. The other grantless bakers reformulate their bakery plans, to see if they can somehow market themselves as "grant-free bakers" and wonder at how long they can stand the humiliation of selling to demanding, fickle customers at $8/loaf, when others are selling at $100/loaf, to an indifferent customer who doesn't even eat it.
The happiest 10 bakers leave for another conference, and while they are gone, their bakeries burn down. Their grants continue to flow, regardless, and the actual bread eaters are now standing in line at the last few bakeries, paying $20/loaf.
The End.
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@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1
2024-09-27 07:09:57
Young people, in Europe and America, started moving out at the turn of the last century. It wasn't a tradition, in those countries. Housing was formerly multigenerational, but people became steadily more transient, with industrialization and the following rise of office work and the concentration closer to cities.
![cottage scene](https://i.nostr.build/7FLNx27limpI5lHg.jpg)
Prior to then, housing (including rents) was prohibitively expensive, so everyone tried to stay in their parents' or employers' home, for as long, as possible. Both the "Go west!" and "Lebensraum!" slogans hint at that crowded past. People risked their lives, en mass, trying to find enough cheap land, to build their own home. Many people left Germany, and similarly crowded countries, to move to places like Texas, where you could own your own home and therefore marry without your employers' or parents' permission.
It is still common to have inheritance fueds, here, in Bavaria, with the children squabbling over who gets to "keep" the house and how much "payout" the other children will receive, as compensation. Because you cannot always simply move to a different home in the same area (there is little available land for building and nothing to rent), leaving the ancestral home can result in de facto banishment from the entire region.
Wages increased, after WWI created a tighter labor market, and governments and large corporations (receiving government subsidies) began building or subsidizing massive amounts of homes, while the size of each home shrank dramatically. Those factors combined to lower the *relative* cost of housing, to the individual purchaser.
![poor Millenials](https://www.personalfinanceclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/434406471_946893674113462_1766979979566026927_n.jpg)
But the resulting Baby Boom construction explosion so overwhelmed the housing and mortgage markets, that housing is a very unappealing long-term investment, now, as there is hardly anyone around, to move into those many homes, when the Boomers pass. Their children and grandchildren (if they have any) are much poorer than they are, and much fewer in number, which guarantees that the housing market in most areas will eventually begin to collapse, in real terms, as Boomers pass away, or attempt to downsize.
To stabilize prices and prevent fires or delinquency, governments will begin demolishing empty houses, as they already sometimes do, in the former East Germany. Former West Germany dealt with steadily-falling house prices by mass-importing foreigners and paying for their rent at above-market prices, to artificially reinflate the housing market, but it appears that the easterners had a more politically- and economically- sustainable model for ridding themselves of excess homes.
!["Wir haben Platz!" sign](https://i.nostr.build/R59ox5voA8A9qLNf.png)
But the era of cheap housing is over, and will continue to be so, for the next 10-15 years, so young people increasingly stay home, well into adulthood. As some cultures now have "moving out", as a prerequisite to dating, their childrens' marriage rate has plummeted and, consequently, so has the birth rate.
![UK chart house price relative to wages](https://image.nostr.build/5dce7935758a2be86fce712509f6af55da4866dbf35fff3f81c947f94491b67a.jpg)
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@ 01d0bbf9:91130d4c
2024-09-26 17:58:10
## Chef's notes
Amazingly tangy, firey hot, but still mellow and bright.
I use this on everything– Use it to dress salads, dip (honey mustard) for fried chicken, elevate your taco nights, heck a spoonful first thing in the morning will wake you up better than coffee!
Don't forget to use up those delicious chilis and garlic, they are so good!
## Details
- ⏲️ Prep time: 20 min
- 🍳 Cook time: 1-2 weeks
- 🍽️ Servings: (12x) 8oz jars
## Ingredients
- 16oz fresh chili peppers
- 8oz red onion
- 8oz garlic
- 96oz honey
- Fresh thyme
## Directions
1. Thinly slice peppers, garlic, shallots and fresh thyme
2. Add chopped ingredients to the honey
3. Leave to ferment (loosely covered) for 1-2 weeks
4. Drizzle that amazing pungent firey gold liquid over EVERYTHING. (Don't forget to use up those amazing chilis and garlic too.)
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@ a9434ee1:d5c885be
2024-09-26 10:42:52
## 1. Relay = Community?
If spinning up a relay is getting easier and cheaper by the day, why can't the relays literally **be** the group/community?
Then:
* Any relay is by default a public community. The more restricted read- or write-access is, the more it becomes a private group.
* Any publication targeted at (h-tag) and stored, and thus accepted, by a relay can be seen as a publication in that community.
* All-in-1 hosting solutions (integrated blossom servers, lightning nodes, ...) are made easier.
## 2. Why invent new kinds?
Why can't Kind 1 posts that are targeted and accepted by a relay (i.e. community) just be the forum-posts of that community? Why create new kinds for this? And even weirder, why create a new kind with that exclusively serves as a reply to that new kind?
Why not just use generic replies (kind 1111) and take the #otherstuff (event kinds and apps) as an opportunity to introduce those?
For chat messages, however, I get it. You need a kind + reply-kind for those.
## 3. Community VS Private group
It seems like the only distinction you really need, both for the user and the apps implementing all this, is:
1. **Public Community**: anyone can read and follow this community but for writing the admins can set limits (pricing, white listings, ...)
2. **Private group**: only the profiles that even know this relay (i.e. group) exists can interact with it. Read-access has to be granted (invite, pricing, ...) and admins can set limits for writing too.
Beyond this distinction it's a bit naive to try to categorize them. Open vs Closed doesn't really mean much for example, since technically all groups/communities set limits and are thus closed. It's more interesting to look the ways in which they can be closed and build on the simplest distinctions you can make there.
The difference between Public communities and private groups is the most important one because they both have very different UX and specification requirements:
### Memberlist
**Communities**: None existent
Anyone can read and follow. It just has limits on who can publish what, when. So the most interesting thing to surface is probable something like a list of most active members or a highlighted set of profiles that have special characteristics within this community (top supporter, god-mode, resident artist, ...).
**Private Groups**: Necessary for it's existence
The whitelisted npubs for read-access are the members.
### Moderation actions
**Both types of groups** need a way for the admin(s) to:
* Block/remove users
* Remove events
* Edit metadata (name, description, guidelines...)
* Specify who can write publish what, under what condition
**Only private groups** need a way for the admin(s) to:
* Add/approve new members → specify who has read-access, under what condition
Generalizing too many actions like `add member`, `join request`, etc... that are only applicable to one of these categories just creates bad UX for the other one. You don't "add a member" to a public community. People can follow it without asking anyone's permission (ok yes, some will AUTH for reading but that's besides the point). Some of its followers will then just choose to publish something there and the admin either allows them or not.
Having a common protocol for specifying the **conditions for this write-access interoperably** (as mentioned above) is what I would like to see instead:
* Both Communities and Private groups need it anyway
* You have to assume admins need granularity in the conditions they set for publishing in their group/community: Who, what, under what condition, ...
* You don't want to link out to custom websites (or similar) explaining their allowance schemes
*Sidenote*: we need a similar kind of spec for the services that allow you to spin up your hosting solution (relay, server, node, ...) so that, when you click "Create new community" in an app, those services can be surfaced. With their business models (including options to self-host parts of it) just there, in the app, without linking out. Same for the lines of communication and payments that are needed to make those business models work from within any app.
### Publication and Discovery
**Only Communities** allow for the exciting possibility of publishing
something in multiple overlapping communities at once. Someone writing about how [Bees are Capitalists](nostr:naddr1qvzqqqr4gupzp22rfmsktmgpk2rtan7zwu00zuzax5maq5dnsu5g3xxvqr2u3pd7qqfyyet9wdqhye2rv9cxjarpd35hxarna3k565) can target their article at the communities that most overlap with its content (and with the author's means and write-access of course). Members of a community around beekeeping can organically discover content and communities on Austrian economics relevant to them.
With **Private groups** publication happens only in the group and discovery is blocked on purpose.
-
@ 1d5357bf:1bdf0a52
2024-09-24 15:49:11
**If Bitcoin Is in Its Infancy, Nostr Is Still in Its Nursing Stage**
Skepticism is healthy, especially within the Bitcoin community. At the moment, Nostr users are predominantly Bitcoiners, and it's understandable that people are cautious about adopting new technologies. However, based on my limited experience over the last few months, Nostr has shown immense potential and is evolving at a breakneck pace.
**The Speed of Development: A Double-Edged Sword**
The rate at which new functionality is being rolled out on Nostr is staggering. On the one hand, this rapid development brings constant innovation and new tools for users to explore. On the other hand, it often means that many implementations still need refinement, or at the very least, better documentation. It's exciting, but there are still bumps in the road that need to be ironed out.
Censorship Resistance and Relay-Based Architecture
One of Nostr’s most appealing features is its decentralized architecture, which revolves around relays. This design ensures that the protocol is censorship-resistant. If you’re tech-savvy enough, you can even run your own relay, allowing you to retain full control of your notes. This distributed system empowers users by giving them the tools to protect their content and stay independent of centralized entities.
**A Protocol, Not a Platform**
Nostr is not a platform—it's a protocol. This distinction is crucial because it enables a high degree of interoperability, which can pave the way for a diverse ecosystem of applications. This opens up a world of possibilities and allows for network effects to take hold as more people and applications begin to interact with the protocol.
**Privacy and Control**
Another advantage is the ability to manage your privacy more effectively. With Nostr, you can use multiple nsec/npub keys, giving you more control over your identity and interactions. This flexibility is a game-changer in a world where privacy is often compromised by centralized platforms.
**Areas for Improvement**
Of course, Nostr is not without its challenges. Many of the available applications feel unpolished, and spam is a growing issue (the infamous "reply guy" problem). The ephemeral nature of the content also presents a challenge—once you post something, you can't "put the toothpaste back in the tube," sort to speak.
**Enjoying the Ride**
Despite its growing pains, I’ve found Nostr to be an enjoyable experience so far. There are no algorithms dictating what you see, which results in a signal-rich environment with minimal toxicity—for now, at least. It’s refreshing to engage in conversations that aren’t manipulated by unseen forces, and I look forward to seeing where Nostr goes from here.
-
@ bf95e1a4:ebdcc848
2024-09-24 13:40:45
This is the full AI-generated transcript of Bitcoin Infinity Show #127 featuring George Manolov!
If you'd like to support us, check out <https://bitcoininfinitystore.com/> for our books, merch, and more!
# Welcoming George Manolov
**Luke:** George, welcome to the Bitcoin Infinity Show, thank you for joining us.
**George:** Thank you, Knut.
**Knut:** Good to have you here, George.
**George:** to be here, yeah.
you're here to tell us about the city that I was most surprised by ever. Like, I've never heard of the city before I went to Bulgaria, Yeah, time flies.
**Knut:** So Plovdiv, Bulgaria, which was amazing, this rich, Thousands of years of history plays with a lot of different eras and different styles of architecture and stuff, really enjoyed Plovdiv, and you have a football team there.
**George:** yeah, indeed.
# George Manolov and Botev Plovdiv
**George:** Please give us the story about George and Plovdiv Yeah, sure.
**Knut:** Plovdiv.
**George:** Sure, sure. So, Plovdiv is, well, I would say it's the oldest living city in Europe, so continuously inhabited. Like you say, not many people know it. I guess, like, we don't have good enough marketing, but, that's probably part of my job right now, right? To spread the word about it. so it's, like the second largest city in the country.
And, yeah, it's just this, it's very, like, I love how you put it because almost nobody has really heard of Plovdiv, right? Most people, when they hear of Bulgaria, they've probably heard of Sofia but Sofia is, okay, but Plovdiv is kind of the chill place, Plovdiv is the place that is actually worth visiting, the place where, people just enjoy going there.
I was born there, right? and, grew up there till 18 or so, then, Studied, lived in Sofia most of the time. And, last year, in kind of summer, I was already kind of way deeper into Bitcoin. I decided I'm going to go full time into Bitcoin, just commit all my time in Bitcoin at the time, educating, publishing books in Bulgarian about Bitcoin, creating my own educational platform.
And then I got, reached out and connected really to the owner of the football club in the city, which is also the oldest football club in the country, Botev Plovdiv, who was, well, he got introduced into Bitcoin himself and he realized it's going to be a very big, project. You know, going to play a central role in where the world is going.
**Knut:** What is this the owner of the club?
**George:** That's right. The owner of the club. was like, Hey, I think we can do something unique with Bitcoin because, you know, the club is really a company, right? It's a business on the one hand, but it's a special type of business, it's not where just you produce a certain product or service.
It's really a living organism where people are involved into it, for very emotional reasons. people feel like it's their own and it's not like a small group of people. It's a very large group of people. In our case, we have tens of thousands, arguably more than a hundred, 200, 000 people who care, who watch, who follow the club.
And so on the one hand, like there's many different ways in which we can look into this, but on the one hand. It's for me, what really inspired me and what got me like, Oh my God, like, is this really happening is that we can bring the conversation about Bitcoin from a completely different angle into society to a group of people who for the most part would never really They would like this, they would never listen to podcasts like this, they would never get to any of the kind of places and things we listen to, watch, consume, right?
and people go, You know, people go kind of for bread and circus, right,
**Knut:** yeah, yeah.
**George:** for the games. That's what really football is, right? It's fun and it's emotion, it's enjoyment, but then we push them censorship resistance and hard money, right?
And we don't really push it, you know, that's the thing, right? Because are like consistently, progressively, gradually over time, introducing it and finding the best way and the most appropriate way to, yeah, plant that seed. To the minds of the people, into the views of the people and so on and so forth.
so it's really like, you know, what we're trying to build is, we feel we're in a very privileged position, right? because we've been, the first really professional sports club globally, I would say, to have, uh, crypto Bitcoin, you know, people, departments, who is actually full time employed to, you know, think of a way to grow the business, to think of a way to integrate Bitcoin natively, within the various aspects of, of, of the organization, which obviously initially includes like accepting payments and so on and so forth.
But, um, but there's so much more you can do exactly with this type of, Like organization, again, like not, not, not just a business in a traditional sense.
**Knut:** Yeah. And, uh, won the league, right? Is that, is that right?
**George:** Yeah, man, like it's, uh, yeah, so we, um, when I started last year, things were super bad. Like exactly one year ago, I was there for the, for one of the first games. It was horrible. Like, I was like, okay, this is a great idea, but if the team is doing so bad and if, uh, if they keep losing and if the fans keep getting, you know, being unhappy, Um, it's not gonna go anywhere, but still, I gave it a, I gave it a go, right, because I was like, okay, I just hope that the sports side guys are going to do their, their part, and I have my opportunity here, um, to, to just like push, to educate, to, To do what, what, what life is giving me an opportunity to do.
And, uh, very fortunately, as we started working, the team started performing better and better and better. We got a completely new coach. We got a new sports director. We, we had a lot of key staff changes across the organization, which, Um, relatively quickly started showing results. So, uh, yeah, like, 10 months later in May, we won the Bulgarian Cup.
**Luke:** Is that the cup or the league? Like, uh,
**George:** it's the cup, it's the cup. So, so, I was saying, like, we started very bad in the league. And so, we were doing better and better, but still, like, we finished 9th in the league out of 16 clubs at the end of the day. But which was still okay, because, like, when I joined, like, we were, like,
**Luke:** Worried about relegation or something like that?
**George:** there. I mean,
**Knut:** We're complete, uh, like I've tried to take an interest to football, but like, uh, my ADD just, the brain just wanders away after five minutes and I can't concentrate anymore. So I don't
**Luke:** a basketball fan.
**Knut:** Am I now?
# Football for Noobs
**Knut:** Uh, so, uh, what's the difference between the cup and the league? Let's begin there. That's, that's how much of a football noob I
**George:** So, so pretty much in every country is the same, right? You have a league or a championship where you have, in our case, 16 teams, and every team plays twice against every other team. So home game, away game, and then, you know, you either win three points when you win, or you lose, or you draw, and you, you, you win one point.
And then, so after you play, after you play, in our case, this, what is it, games? You know,
**Luke:** 30.
**George:** yeah, about 30. Yeah, right. You're better than Matt, it's obvious. So, um, so once you play these 30 games, um, you, um, yeah, like the team with the most points wins, right? Whereas, uh, the cup is direct elimination
**Knut:** So quarterfinals, semifinals, all that.
**George:** exactly. So it's the easier way. So this was the way for us to due to the bad start of the season. This was the way for us to, to achieve something in this season and to achieve something important because what the Cubs gives us as an opportunity and gave us was to play in the European Leagues.
So UEFA Leagues. And we just did that. We played six games. Uh, for the Europe, uh, Europe League and the Europe Conference League.
**Knut:** Okay. But to, to be in the champions league, that's a totally, you have to, yeah, yeah. You have to win the league and you have to win all sorts of stuff. Like how does that work?
**George:** yeah. You have to win the league. And then in our case, so in every country it's different, but in our case, we have to win, like we go to qualifications for the Champions League. So it's like, I mean, three to four games. And if we win that, we go to the Champions League.
**Knut:** Alright,
**George:** That's the current state of affairs, although that can change over the years.
**Knut:** alright, uh, it all makes sense to me now, that's a lie, but anyway.
**Luke:** No, uh, I'll definitely, we'll acknowledge here that I'm more of the, the sports fan, uh, generally here, and I, I follow football, I like, uh, I like European, uh, football, uh, well, and obviously I'm using the correct, uh, term despite my, um, my pseudo American accent, uh. Yeah, anyway, um, uh, no, it's fantastic to see, and I mean, yeah, for the non sports fans, uh, listening to this, I get that
**Knut:** Well, I am a sports fan, it's just that Starcraft 2 is my sport, and yeah, yeah,
**Luke:** yeah,
**George:** eSports.
**Knut:** yeah, yeah, so I watch, watch Starcraft 2 games. That's what I do for procrastination sometimes.
**Luke:** valid sports, I'm not going to compare it to other things that aren't
**Knut:** breakdancing? Is that a valid sport?
**Luke:** Breakdancing is, um, hmm, interesting. I think anything with points, that judges give points, is kind of not a sport, it's an activity.
**Knut:** yeah.
**Luke:** but, yeah, anyway,
**Knut:** thing to do.
**Luke:** is a thing to do, yes, definitely, but back to, back to, um, um, Botev Plod, is it Botev, Botev, what's, what's, Botev, Botev Plod, yeah, so, so, um, yeah, yeah, like, the, the, the achievement, winning, winning the cup, I mean, the, The cups are sort of more difficult.
They're both difficult in their own way, right? Like, the cup, you lose one game, you're out, basically, right? But, I mean, the league is like this endurance, achievement, right? You have to perform well over the course of the whole season. But the cheat code, so to say, and I probably subconsciously used the other football team's terminology, who's in the space, Real Bedford, um,
# Botev Plovdiv's Bitcoin Strategy
**Luke:** The, the idea right, if, if I'm getting it, is that you guys would, would keep the Bitcoin in the, in the, the treasury, the, the company, and then over the course of time it's just gonna do the number go up thing and, and the, the club will have more resources.
Right. Is that, is that the idea you're thinking with the, the bitcoin strategy?
**George:** There's actually many, many things to it. And this is kind of the most, let's say, vanilla type of approach. Yeah, like just buy Bitcoin and hold it on the balance sheet, which is, which is great. But there's actually so many other things you can do. And that's where, because if you just do that, frankly, like, I mean, you don't need me involved, right, much.
I mean, just call Coinbase, whatever, wire the money, crack in and, buy. but with us it's like, really, uh, we see a huge opportunity to, first of all, align our brand with the Bitcoin brand, which is a royalty free, uh, The biggest brand in finance, for sure. One, uh, like it's going to be the biggest brand in the world for sure at some point.
Right. So that's, that's one play. And to do this, it's not enough for you to just buy Bitcoin and hold it on a balance sheet. It's what you need to do is proof of work, right? You need to do things that nobody has ever done. You need to really kind of be creative. Uh, and, and, um, to push the boundaries of what anyone has ever done before, right?
So, so that is, uh, that is my kind of job and it's a lot of, um, a lot of just like, let's, let's think of what, what new things we can do with Bitcoin and sports and football that nobody has ever done. Just because others are focused on the short term things, they're focused on, hitting those, those quick wins, those quick goals, which is why, for example, like a lot of the sports and, and that have, you know, interact, they haven't really interacted outside of Bedford with Bitcoin, right?
It's mostly been crypto because it's just, okay, let's make some quick money. Um,
**Luke:** usually, it's usually just sponsorships, right?
**Knut:** yeah,
**George:** yes. Um, and for us, because on the one hand, like, we're not like Manchester United, right? We're not Chelsea. So we don't have that much to monetize immediately. Like we're a large club, but.
**Luke:** You're a large club in a local league, which is, which is different from the, it's not one of the leagues that is internationally positioned like that. But, but, I mean, the, the difference between you guys and Bedford that I, that I think is, is really interesting. Like, McCormack, what he, Peter McCormack, what he's doing, I mean, he's, he's taking a club from the bottom and aiming for the top.
But who knows how long that's going to take him to get there, right? But you guys are already in the top of your league, right? Like, in the top league.
**George:** right, yeah, and also there's, there's different in this, we're in the top of our league. My goal, personally, is to go to Champions League, but this is very hard, right? Because, like, okay, when you start from Peter's ground, like, it's easy, okay, every year you level up, you level up, or, I mean, I'm not gonna say it's easy, but it's easier than, uh, than once you're, you know, at our level.
For us, it's important to play currently every year in European leagues like we've done so far and to every year consistently, like, increase the level of the sports, level of the business department bit by bit, and, but like breaking that point where we, you know, win the league, Where we win several more games and enter the Champions League, that, that's really hard.
I mean, because you're already at that stage where everybody, like, so many teams are so strong, right? So it's um, it takes just a lot of ingredients for you to, to, to hit, uh, in order to win. But we're gonna get there.
**Knut:** and does the club self custody it's bitcoin? And if so, is it a something out of 11 multisig, that sounds like a football thing?
**George:** Why so? Ah, yeah, an 11? Nah, nah, fuck that. I mean Nah, even, even 7 Motosick is a, is a killer, but no. Um, yeah, I can't really speak too much about this at this point. Yeah. Um, but, um, but yeah, I mean, we do, of course we do self custody. So that's, that's the approach that we've chosen with kind of a lot of, um, we've chosen to go really pure, pure Bitcoin in terms of the strategy.
And that's how we set ourselves apart. That's how we believe we win the long game because for instance, like we Bitcoin with BTC pay server. Which in my mind they don't even have competition. It's the only like, real, solid, autonomous, sovereign way to accept payments. And it's also the way which makes sense for like, Frankly, any standard business, because like, man, we're selling scarves, we're selling, um, membership boat cards, we're selling jerseys, we're selling basic merch, and if we are to sell it with basically any other service out there, outside of BTC Pay Server, we have to basically, uh, indirectly do KYC, right?
Like, we have to go through KYC, we have to go through KYB, which is ridiculous, um, in my mind. And so, um, so that's why we're exceptionally thankful to B2C Pay Server guys, uh, for what they've built. Uh, it's been like an absolute pleasure to, um, to use their product, to use their service. Uh, we have, you know, outside of B2C Pay, we, uh, we are the first, uh, sports club on Nostr.
Where, uh, we have, uh, actively been posting, exploring, you know, meeting people here. Kind of thinking of what we could do from our angle again, like first, first time on Nostr.
# Aqua WAllet
**George:** Um, we have partnered with, uh, Aqua, JAN3's Aqua wallet, which has a, a Botive skin mode now. So if you go to settings, you can turn Botive mode and then it turns into the colors of the club and, you know, have the picture of the stadium there.
Um,
**Luke:** I'm using Aqua right now because, uh, uh, usually I like to use Aqua as like a sort of a middle wallet, uh, uh, because it's still slightly slower than other lightning wallets because they, they, the, everything actually lives on, on liquid and then they, they, uh, go out via bolts. Uh, so it's slightly slower than a faster, um, like, like than other, um, more direct lightning wallets.
And so usually when I come to a conference, I'm going to load up a, like a temporary. I don't know, Blink or something like that, but I forgot to do that, so I'm just using my Aqua wallet, and you know what, it's been great here, it's been working, uh, so yeah, we're big fans of Aqua wallet and what
**Knut:** Yeah, and a BTC pay server. I mean, uh, we can echo everything you said that we, BitcoinInfinity. com, like, and the store here We just fired up. Everything is powered by a BTC pay server, and we just love it. Yes.
**Luke:** So what was your question about, uh, Aqua?
**George:** If yours is on BOTEV mode.
**Luke:** Uh, I don't think I've gone into the settings and changed it to Vaudev mode, I'll have to do that, maybe we'll take
**George:** It's dark mode,
but cooler.
**Luke:** Doc dark mode, but cooler. Okay. Okay. Actually that's a, that's a, that's a good point. That's a good point. Yeah. We'll take a, we'll take a picture after, uh, after the episode and we'll de proof, bot, uh, bot e mode, and, uh, uh, post that on Nostr.
How does that sound?
**George:** Let's go.
**Knut:** Yeah. Nostr. Um, is there a connection there between both a plot and Nostr while you're doing Nostr stuff as well?
# History and Freedom
**George:** Yeah. Well, look, um, a lot of these things is like, so What Botev Plovdiv stands for, um, very importantly, so the club was named after Hristo Botev, who's, uh, like, one of the most Bulgarians, if the most famous Bulgarian revolutionaries, like, historical figure, uh, he was a poet, he was a revolutionary, he fought for Bulgaria's freedom back in the day,
**Luke:** Which, which day, which, what day did you
**George:** uh, 110, uh, what is it, like, 50 years ago or so?
Yeah.
**Knut:** Mm-Hmm?
**Luke:** Okay. So, so
**Knut:** before the Commes.
**Luke:** ottoman, uh,
**George:** Yeah, yeah, yeah. He, he, he, he fought for the, for the liberation of Bulgaria from, from the Ottoman Empire. And a lot of what he stands for is this fight for freedom, his fight for liberty. Um, and this, this lives until this very day into the identity of the club and to what we stand for into the songs, into the, into the music.
Um, you know, um, the kind of like what, what our fans also resonate with, um, and, and what they sing like in many, in many ways. Right. So, um, Freedom of speech, freedom of, uh, of like freedom in general is, is a value that is deeply ingrained into kind of like what the club stands for. Um, and, uh, you know, that's why I'm into Bitcoin.
That's why I believe. And that's, that's why I saw this even bigger opportunity. Oh my God, like, how is this happening? There's so many, sometimes, you know, some like weird things happen in life and you have no explanation why and how all these things align. But, but for me, it's like this club was made really to.
to be aligned with BOTEF and to be, uh, to, to, to be aligned with Bitcoin and with Nostr. If I look at all the other clubs in Bulgaria, right, like just in Bulgaria, none of the others, like, there's no this contextual historical background that you can make these connections. But with us, we have it, and what a chance that, like, we have this owner, and he got, like, introduced to it, and then we got connected.
Like, how the hell does this happen, man? I don't know,
**Luke:** We like to say this, the surreal doesn't end, you know, and like, uh, my, my whole story, I've been talking about this, uh, at the, the conference here is like two years ago was the first time I ever met Bitcoiners here in Baltic Honeybadger. We, we met for the, for the first time, uh, all three of us, uh, met for the first time two years ago, I've been in Baltic Honeybadger and it's like, things, things happen so fast.
Uh, I've, I've, uh, I've thought it was been awesome just following, uh, what you've been doing with the, the club and the story. So great to, Great to get to talk about it, but, uh,
# Bitcoin in Football
**George:** Yeah. No, for, for me, like really the, the most exciting part is really even coming forward. So, uh, because, so now it's been, so we, a long, we announced, uh, publicly that we're doing this, uh, 31st October last year. So the anniversary of the, of the, uh, Bitcoin White paper, um, we've built a lot right. And very, very importantly, I'm super proud, like, I don't know if you saw this, but like a month ago, we played on European League, the UEFA League with Bitcoin straight on our jerseys, which was like, like, when I saw this, I'm like, dude, it's crazy that this is happening.
But, but the best is really yet to come, like, like we like to say. Um, so I, I think we, we're, we have, um, we have still so much more to do. So for me, the next big part, which I'm super excited about literally in the coming month as, uh, as I go back. So is to finally get some of our. Players or at least one or two to get to do something publicly about this, because at the end of the day, that's why for me, the more I do, the more I, uh, play in this arena, I realized this is really a Trojan horse for us to bring Bitcoin into the conversation, into the minds, like I said, of people who otherwise wouldn't and, and our players, you know, especially a few of them, they're really influencers, right?
Um, a lot of people follow them. A lot of people respect them. And, um, and if they do, uh, you know, something meaningful, something cool, something impactful, this is going to have a huge impact onto our forwards. This could very well have impact onto, um, other sportsmen, other football people, other football clubs, right?
Uh, so that's why I'm doing it, right? Really?
**Luke:** No, this is fantastic, and actually this was exactly where I was hoping to go next, so thank you for queuing that up. But, no, no, the game theory of all this, right? Like, one club getting, Positioning as the, as the Bitcoin club in a league, uh, really means that eventually all the other clubs are going to need to adopt Bitcoin.
If they're going to be able to compete, because if play playing out the game theory, number go up, whatever it is, Bitcoin strategy plays out, you guys are going to be the most financially capable club. Financially sustainable in not very long, you know, assuming everything plays out the way we're thinking it will, right?
So, so other, other clubs then would become incentivized to also adopt Bitcoin. So what, what do you, what do you think about that? Like you, do you, do you see that, uh, happening as well?
**George:** Yeah, I'm not really sure if it would happen to me. That fast, to be fair. Like, I think it's inevitable, right, obviously, but I think it, yeah, like, I think this definitely takes at least three, four years, maybe more. Um,
**Luke:** That's, that's still pretty fast.
**George:** yeah, I guess. I mean, I mean, like, okay, let me define it better. It takes three, four years.
So, for other clubs within our league to start doing something like this, uh, maybe it takes less time for other clubs to realize it, but I think for them to do it, it also depends on our actions, right? So because like, we don't have like a treasury of microstrategy or something, so it's not, and we're not doing like a
**Luke:** you don't?
**George:** monthly like leverage on top of leverage on top of another leverage, you know, uh, we're not in, in Michael's privileged position. but we can do other cool things, right? Uh, one of the, um, so this is not yet live and this is not yet happening, but one of the, like two, two projects, let's say, I'm gonna briefly, like, tease here that, that I'm working on that I hope to have very large impact is first, uh, building this, uh, simple tool Uh, called like a Bitcoin, uh, football salary calculator that, uh, it's like really a DCA tool, but like looking back and like tailoring it to our niche where I want to, for us to visually and emotionally Show, um, to players, but also to fans of ours, like what Bitcoin could have done for their remuneration, if you look one year back in time, two years back in time, three years back in time, four years back in time, and for them to really realize, Oh my God, this is a no brainer.
Right? I want to make this mess. And this is hard, right? Um, because like, there's so many tools and like, but I want to be, because the audience is very wide, very different types of audience. I want to make this so that you can consume it in like two, three, four minutes. And you're like, okay, I need to learn more about this.
This actually is interesting. There's like, that's so much dense and emotional and compact information that you're like, Whoa. Why am I not doing this? How did I miss this?
**Knut:** What, what, what was the name of that website? I, I don't know if it's still up, but bitcoin or [shit.com](http://shit.com) or something like that. So, so it lists if you bought this item when it came out, an iPhone five or whatever, uh, and if you had bought b bitcoin [instead.com](http://instead.com), I think that that's the, that's the name. So if you bought, uh, if you bought Bitcoin instead, it shows you how much, how much more money you'd have now and how many iPhones you
**George:** Yeah. Yeah. And of course there's many of these tools, obviously like we've all see them and we all like like them and retweet them and repost them. And it's all great. But I think, at least I hope that we can do something impactful with this. If we really tailor it, compact it to a specific type of niche audience with a specific message designed for them.
And because this audience is also like. A type of audience who can also like, um, you know, bring it to other bubbles that we ourselves are not part of, right? So that's, for example, one like, uh, one like project I'm very, very excited about and I hope we can, um, yeah, we'll bring forward relatively soon.
There's a few moving elements, but definitely in the coming month or two, uh, at most. And then, uh, and then, you know, speaking of the other clubs, what, what I want us to do is what we're working is next year, we're targeting to do, I hope we could do the world's first, uh, Bitcoin, uh, Cup tournament. Uh, for youth players, 70 year old boys who are, you know, right there before they sign their first professional contract, start earning money, for them, first of all, like, it's a Bitcoin football cup, like, it's the first time this, this could potentially ever happen And then it's, it's a football first tournament, right?
This is the, we want to make it like top quality, like really the highest quality when it comes to sports, but then you have Bitcoin involved all over the place, right? In terms of brand, in terms of rewards, in terms of, um, in terms of like plays, um, like, like games and, and interactions, activations, uh, throughout, before, throughout, and after the, And after the event, and for this, I'm targeting to get really like, like big clubs.
I mean, because it's academies, right? I mean, I cannot get the Manchester United first team, just maybe we could get the Manchester United 17 year old team or, you know, another big club. We get some of these, and then like we get their brands, we get them on the focus of Bitcoin. And we drive the conversation faster, you know, not three, four years from now, but Less
**Knut:** what about, um, like right now there's you and there's, um, you guys and there's a real bed for it, right? Those are the two I know of in Europe. Are you aware of any other clubs that are doing a Bitcoin strategy? I mean, is this virus spreading? Like, have you heard anything like,
**George:** Um, Oh, there's, uh, there's the Austrian Admira Vakir who have done some integration. So it's a second tier, uh, second league, uh, second league, uh, club that have, uh, that have, uh, you know, they've also had Bitcoin on the, their second team jersey. And, um, and they, they also accept Bitcoin payments, uh, here and there, but you know, the thing is, there's some other clubs, um, there's a Miami, um, not Miami, um, a Hawaiian club that, that is doing, uh, that is doing like their Bitcoin gig,
**Knut:** yeah, there are other, other sports, right, other sports team and sports teams in other sports that are doing it. But, but for football specifically,
**George:** which ones?
**Knut:** Uh, I'm so bad with sports, but wasn't there like a hockey team or a basketball team or
**Luke:** I'm not aware of any others, actually. Yeah, like, uh, there's been some attempts at
**Knut:** it's
**Luke:** an orange colored team or something like
**Knut:** more the individual athletes,
**Luke:** Yeah, yeah, there have been individual
**Knut:** for instance, a
**Luke:** have been individual
**Knut:** player, and there was some American football player.
**George:** There's been individual athletes, a lot of them. There's been, I was asking if you know, but there's been a baseball club in Australia, the Port Heat. Uh, who did kind of a Bitcoin strategy. Uh, but very unfortunately that didn't work out. They kind of started this at the peak of the last bull cycle. And, um, and as I understand, uh, there wasn't like a strong alignment between the owners and the management in terms of like understanding that this is a long game.
So that's why this kind of flopped. Um, but yeah, like I, I think the reason why it's not happening in more, unfortunately, and, and, and I see this even, even within our club, uh, you know, but, but definitely no other clubs because Fiat has permitted sports as well. Right. So all the sports club, uh, clubs or the vast majority in football, for sure.
They're like, you know, on the hamster wheel themselves.
**Knut:** They're indebted,
**George:** They're indebted.
**Knut:** to an extreme level,
**George:** yeah, like, like fighting for every dollar for every income. So it's, it's hard for you to like, Oh yeah, we're going to have this long term Bitcoin strategy that's going to take like two, three, four, five years to play out.
And we can benefit a lot from it. It's very, very hard in, you know, unfortunately for a large organizations, sports club in particular to To have this realization, to map this out, to get others on board. That's why it's not so popular and uh, and that's why I'm grateful and keep pushing that we have this chance.
**Luke:** I mean, you make a great point here about essentially the, it's the organizational alignment, right? Like the, the, these are companies, sports clubs are companies. They just have this large, the business is involved around getting fans to come in and consume this sort of marketing. Product, essentially. So it's, it's a certain kind of company that's run a certain way, but just like any other company, you need, you need alignment from the management.
So it's, it's fantastic that, uh, Boteb Plovdiv has, has the, uh, alignment and is, is putting their, their trust in you to, to move this thing forward. And I mean, from the, from the perspective of this thing, Playing out, right? The, the best part that, uh, I think one of the best parts that you, you mentioned again was the, the influencers.
Like you get, you get some players, there's, there's so many angles to, to reach people through this. I think it's, I think it's fantastic. The, uh, orange pilling a player and then they move to another club, but they, they, maybe they don't get to get paid in Bitcoin, but maybe they still put, put their money in, in Bitcoin.
Maybe they even ask their club to, to, uh, pay them in Bitcoin, something like that. And then the, the Questions start getting, uh, asked and all this.
# 5 Year Goals
**Luke:** So what, what is the, the goal in, in five years, for example, where, where do you see the club in the five year mark?
**George:** Oh man. Yeah, in five years, I think we definitely have to be in Champions League. Like in my mind, you know, like people around me like, oh, you're too ambitious. I'm like, man, yeah, like in five years, we definitely have to be in Champions League. Uh, that's, that's my personal goal. On our internal Slack, I have the Champions League icon there.
That's why I'm there, right? Um, so, uh, it's a lot of hard work. Like, it's really a lot of hard work. And it's also not completely dependent on me and my work, to be fair. Like, because, at all. I mean, really, like, uh, I mean, at the end of the day, the most important part is the sports department, right? Uh, in the club.
Um, so that has to continue going well. But, but I think We're going in a good direction there too, because we have the, they're the long term view as well, right. We have our academy internally, which is, yeah, it's one of the best academies. It's the best really academy in terms of infrastructure in the country.
That's why we're also can't afford to think of this Bitcoin Cup tournament, because we have the infrastructure, we have like a super cool stadium, that's crazy. If we can, if we can do a final for, for such a tournament there. Um, so, so we have all the things in place in terms of In terms of assets, I would say, uh, it's just a lot of moving parts.
a lot of work, consistency, and a bit of luck. Always it comes, you know, when, when it comes to, when it comes to football and sports, but, but five years from now, I want us to be in the champions league. I want us to be the absolute, you know, international professional level, uh, Bitcoin level, Bitcoin sports club.
and, uh, and I want for this tournament that I start to be like a, like, like to have the fourth edition by then. Uh, and, and I want to have clubs, but five years is a lot of time, you know, as you say, like, I also want to have other clubs following us by then. I think that's absolutely, absolutely is going to be doable.
**Knut:** What, what are the, what are the tax laws around Bitcoin in Bulgaria? Like what, are there any issues there? Or like what, is it easy enough,
**George:** It's kind of okay. Uh, it's kind of okay. So if you just buy Bitcoin and hold it, like you don't, uh, you don't, uh, incur taxes, uh, until you sell it, if you accept Bitcoin for payments, um, and if you don't sell it, you can just, uh, keep it as inventory on your balance sheet. So again, no,
**Knut:** but there's a capital gains tax or something if you sell it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Alright.
**George:** 10%. So it's, it's, uh,
**Knut:** Pretty good.
**George:** Yeah, I mean, it's not like El Salvador. Okay. Uh, but, but it's, uh, it's, it's way better than many other places. Um, and, uh, yeah, so we've been looking, looking actually, so I was in El Salvador a couple of months ago, because we've been looking very much to do stuff there.
And we've been, uh, yeah. Um, because we've been, we've been thinking of what to do more with Bitcoin, right? So that's why I said, like, it's not just about buying and accepting Bitcoin. It's about corporate strategies, about branding strategies, about how to make money. Um, it's about education strategies. It's, there's so much around it.
So in terms of corporate strategy, I was, uh, we're very attracted by El Salvador, um, and their, uh, capital markets regulation, because they're basically striving to build capital markets on top of Bitcoin. Bitcoin is legal tender there. They have all kinds of, tax incentives for companies to issue debt or to sell equity.
on their capital, on their, um, well, let's say nascent upcoming capital markets, because it's not like it's, you know, hustling and bustling yet. Um, but, but they're, they've put a lot of the rails, uh, um, or they're building a lot of the rails to, um, to really enable the, the, the creation of Bitcoin based capital markets.
So, um, we've had great talks there. We have meetings with, uh, um, we have. Yeah, with the Bitcoin office, right? Um, so, ideally, like, we're striving to build some connection there and to do something, interesting and world first again from a corporate perspective. It's just that, as many things, it's a little harder than you would expect it to be, or it takes a little more time than, Then you would hope to do it.
But my idea or long term vision, frankly, like what we want to do with Bitcoin, uh, and with the club is to enable our current fans and global fans to become co owners of the club. And that's why, you know, I have big hopes for, uh, for us being able to do this out of El Salvador and through El Salvador, because this would, like from a tax perspective, from a branding perspective, from legal security perspective would be, would be ideal.
It's just that, again, um, my enthusiasm is a little over, uh, ahead of kind of like how, uh, how, how advanced and set up everything there is, but, uh, but we're, we're very actively talking to them. We're working with many parties there, so. Just maybe we can have big news there too.
# International and Local Effects
**Luke:** Well, no, and, and you actually said something great about global fans. I think this is a, a fantastic thing, right? A a again, Bedford is, is similar. They've, they've got, they've got fans all over the world and, and I think for you guys it's like who is going to tune into the Bulgarian football league outside of Bulgaria before, well, not too many people, but now a bunch of Bitcoiners.
If they're into, if they're into football or, or not even, because this is the funny thing. There were, there were a lot of people posting about that. They, they've got, they, they don't usually follow, follow sports at all, but, but they'll follow the Bitcoin team. So the, the funny thing is, I think, I think the first, the first club to adopt Bitcoin in every league is going to get all of these global fans.
And maybe the, maybe the, the second one, the third one, maybe can get some kind of other support, but it's really the first one in every
**George:** really.
**Luke:** That, that
**George:** Not
**Luke:** That's that. I, I completely agree with you there. It's the, it's the first one
**Knut:** first mover advantage.
**Luke:** mover advantage. It's gonna get, it is gonna get all of the, all of the Bitcoiners are gonna now be, be supporting and, uh, uh, yeah.
I mean, have, have you seen, uh, some, some uptick in, uh, kind of international
**George:** yeah, yeah. So, international but also local. Like, local is very important. Like, we have, like, so many people in the country who's like, just what you say, like, I didn't care about sports or football, like, forever, or at all, ever, but now I follow, now I buy merch, now I come, you know, every now and then they come to games, so
**Luke:** Well, because there's the bread and circuses thing that you said, it gets tossed around in the Bitcoin world and also some other places on kind of the Twitter sphere and whatever, it's like it's a distraction, that sports is sort of a distraction from clown world basically and it's a way of people to sort of Uh, forget about what's going on around them, but I think that's also missing the, the positives, which it, it's a, it's a community builder, it brings people together, there's a, there's a sense of, of pride in, in something local succeeding, everyone, everyone's happy, there's, there's real economic, uh, effects usually when a, when a local sports team wins, and so, so from, from my perspective, I, I, I think, I think sport is a good thing, and it's, and it's, it's something that, that people can rally around, and so,
**George:** an amazing thing.
**Luke:** Yeah.
And, and so what, what are, what are you looking at locally? Like what, what do you hope to have the effect, uh, uh, locally in, in piv?
**George:** Yeah. Um, yeah, no, look, uh, for me, sports, like, for us, the, the, the, the, about Plovdiv, for me, that's what I realized, like, we're kind of very much into Bitcoin and stuff, obviously, that's our interest, but I think when we go on a Bitcoin standard, Right. And, uh, in general, people start feeling wealthier, opposed to, like, being in the grind.
You're just going to have more time for fun stuff, right? Like playing football, I mean, or volleyball, or whatever your sport is, or, like, going and cheering your team, and, uh, and being part of such a community. And I think that's really what, you know, even Nostr is about. Like it's, Being part of these communities, because that's fun, and like, we as humans, at the end of the day, we are living to be part of communities, right?
And you find your community, you're an active part of it, you contribute to it, you evolve it, right? You build it in one way or another. And unfortunately, you know, today in the fiat world, this is just like A stress valve in many ways, or like you say, like Brothers and Sisters, whatever. Um, but, uh, but I think it can be so much more, right?
It is, but it can be so much more for a larger amount of people and so on and so forth. uh, but yeah, well, back in Plovdiv, man, like, I have big hopes. I really have big, big ambitions there. I want to get Bitcoin into the wallets of, uh, of like tens of thousands of people. I want people to wake up. I want people to see.
**Luke:** big is piv? How many
**George:** It's like three, four hundred thousand people. So it's a lot. Uh, our stadium is, uh, 21, 000 seats stadium. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. It's, it's 19. I wish it was 21.
**Luke:** Yeah. You'll have to add 2000 more
**George:** Maybe, yeah, we'll, we'll think of some additional construction.
**Luke:** the, make the infinity stand when
**George:** Right. Right. But, uh, but yeah, like the setting was super cool. Like, it's really cool.
Like when it's feel like, man, the atmosphere is amazing. Um, and so it's, and it's really this community that you can feel that people are involved. So it's, it's like consistency and it's social engineering in one way or another, right?
**Knut:** one of our favorite words,
**George:** but in a positive way.
**Knut:** in a positive way, okay.
**George:** So it's social engineering for us to ingrain Bitcoin and make it part of kind of what people see, do, have, own, interact with, right?
So, uh, I think exactly because of this community element, exactly because, Because, you know, football is a football club and there's this unique living organism we can, we can create this and, you know, it's fascinating. I'm so much into this and there's other people who are so much into this. Oh my god, like, we can make such a big difference.
And, and like in the country. You know, on a political and economic level, they don't get it. Like, they don't see it. They just are in their, you know, like, oh, are we going to accept the euro? Oh, what's happening with the war? I'm like, who cares? Let's build.
# Bulgarian Currency Situation
**Knut:** Yeah, Bulgaria has its own shitcoin, I almost forgot about that, but uh, what's it called again?
**George:** Kinda. Um, but not quite, to be fair. It's, it's a good coin, uh, not for investing, but, but for medium of exchange is actually decent. Uh, Lev, Lev
**Knut:** Lev, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah,
**George:** and I recently got educated about this. So, uh, the lev is pegged to the euro. So, um, uh, so, so that, that is super cool for, for us, for me as a consumer, for businesses, because like the fixed rate.
So for trade is, um, It's, it's good, right? As the world would be in the future. You have one currency, Bitcoin, you don't have the currency exchange risk, right? We don't have it only with the European Union. And the good part with this, so, we got, we got hyperinflation back in 1997. Was really bad. People lost almost everything, everything, in many cases.
Um, and then we got this so called currency board introduced and the currency board is like we have the left, but the left has to be backed up by other currencies. So it's like a stable coin, kind of like how Tether is backed by, by dollars. You know, the levy is backed by euro and like a basket of, I think they have some other currencies and assets, which is cool because the local politicians, they cannot print, they cannot, you know, so, so it's been, it's been, I think, way better than Hungary, Sweden, uh, Finland, you have your, oh
but Sweden I've heard it's kind of bad,
**Knut:** It's kinda bad, Norway too, like, both Swedish and Norwegian crown, and the crown in Czechia, like the Czech Republic, it's also
**George:** Yeah.
**Knut:** I mean, they're all going to shit the smaller
**George:** So, so for us, it's like, I would say we're better than, than the Corona, the, and, and all these like local currencies, because we kind of just are there to the, peg to the Euro. The local politicians don't have the opportunity to print. So it's, it's a very good position for us to be.
**Luke:** You, you get the, the negatives of the, the euro. But, but still, I mean, I mean the, the realistically, the dollar at the Euro and maybe the, the Chinese currency are the only, are the only ones that are in the, sort of within our own, within our own lifetimes are, are going to be not as terribly bad against Bitcoin.
But all the other ones are just, are. All the other ones are
**Knut:** Yeah, I think it's just a matter of time before both, uh, at least Sweden, uh, switches to Euro standard. If not switching to Bitcoin standard happens first, but well, we'll see, we'll see what happens.
**George:** man. I'm very bearish about the Euro.
**Knut:** yeah, yeah, it's like,
**Luke:** It'll be the second last to fall or third last but but yeah it's it's it's it's not going to be the the last and so it's yeah.
**Knut:** So that is what it is. I mean, speaking of Bulgaria and currencies and stuff,
# Bitcoin Adoption in Bulgaria
**Knut:** like, how is the rest of, how is Bitcoin adoption in general in Bulgaria? What's happening in other places? Like, Plamen opened a bar, I saw, and like, what are the connections? What's happening?
**George:** It's actually quite cool. I'm, I'm, I'm quite happy with, with how the ecosystem is evolving. There's, there's Plamen, um, with his whole community, like content creation, the conferences he's been doing, which has been like a very, I think he's responsible for like, I don't know, probably like, 000, maybe several 10, 000s of people who have opened their eyes and even if they're not hard bitcoiners, they now own bitcoin.
Uh, so that's huge. We have other content creators also who've had an impact. We have now once or twice per, yeah, about twice per year we have like, uh, A small, uh, merchant, uh, like, conference events, so for merchants to accept Bitcoin. we have these people who are active and who are doing things. Now, actually, yeah, there's something new that's coming up here, uh, literally in Plovdiv is we have this, um, this, uh, great dudes who have this, um, um, it's an application for, uh, ordering food, like takeaway and, uh, what is it, like,
**Knut:** like Glovo or
**George:** yeah, yeah, like Glovo, um, but, um, but, um, But it's not like this big corporate thing that, but, but still, it's a very good product and they've integrated accepting Bitcoin there for quite some time now they've made it even easier and they've introduced.
So we have like about, I think it's 15 restaurants in Sofia and like five or so in Plovdiv where through their system, you can order food. And pay with Bitcoin online, or you can also go in the restaurant and pay in Bitcoin online, and they just, um, they just won a, uh, grant from, uh, Bitcoin Beach, uh, and, uh, they're going to use the grant, uh, to, well, the attempt is really to start like a small circular economy, if you would Um, where, so if you go, uh, to one of those restaurants and pay with Bitcoin, you're going to get sats back 10%, and then, um, the restaurant is also going to get 10 percent sats back.
And if you order food, um, through their app, also the driver is going to get, uh, some sats back. And, uh, we've just been discussing, because obviously we're partnering with them, with the football club, so we'll push this out, because some of the restaurants that are there are our, I mean, basically, like, we have two restaurants locally that are partners, we got them in, right, obviously, in the deal, um, So, so that is also like, for me, it's like super cool because now for so far, the club has been pushing Bitcoin.
Now we have two of our restaurant partners who are themselves like hard Botevists, Botefans, and like they're popular. Now they're starting to accept Bitcoin in their, in their two restaurants, right? And they're going to have their campaigns. We're going to push them more. So, um, so I'm really excited about this and fingers crossed this goes well.
We have good metrics because if we have good metrics. Yeah, we'll look for ways to grow this. So there's a lot of grassroots things happening, which I love. On the top, nothing.
**Knut:** It's the way it's supposed to be.
**George:** But it's the way it is. Yeah, it's a better
**Luke:** Yeah it really seems like that you get one or two of these big anchors like like for example you you guys have had that had that conference last couple of years but now with both of Plavdev now Bulgaria is really got a couple of big anchors. Big relative in relative terms, uh, and all of this other stuff can, can start coming up around it.
And, uh, love, love to see it. I mean, he, I mean here, here with Rega, there's Honey Budger has been going for a really long time, and I, and I even think that they are honest about, we, we would, we just talked to, to Max, uh, about this, uh, from Defi and like yeah, there's not much other adoption in, in Lavia and this conference has been going on for a long time.
Exactly. And so it's just like, uh, it's, it's, it's great to see, uh, in, in your case, in Bulgaria's case, that there's, there's more of this, uh, picking up. So, yeah,
**George:** Well, I think it's really, in our case, I don't know, like it's grassroots, like I said, and I really believe grassroots and then Rio or for the vast majority, Rio adoption comes permissionless life. It comes like it's not forced. You know, there is this point where, okay, there's Plamen, like, he got the inspiration, he makes his content, he does the conferences, Like, our owner, he sees this opportunity for Bitcoin, for the club. He takes the action, right? So it's, it's not like, so it's individuals, right? Taking actions and then, as you have, you know, several of them, maybe others get inspired or get ideas going and that's how the magic happens. And, uh, yeah. Excited about it.
# Wrapping Up
**Luke:** it's awesome, man. Great hear your story. So, was, uh, was there anything else that you wanted to discuss or bring up on this topic?
**George:** no, I mean, what I would say is absolutely, uh, Please, uh, you know, Knut, you've been, but please, you're absolutely welcome, Luke, join as well, like, both of you should come
**Knut:** Absolutely. Highly recommend it. I had a great time in Bulgaria, and it's such a fascinating country, it's such a rich history and such a beautiful place, and the food is great, and it's very affordable, it's very, yeah, very
**George:** like, I have people who come in Plogis specifically to, like, nomads, spend, like, a or a month. So, so please enjoy, visit the game. come spend in the restaurants where they accept Bitcoin, follow us on social media for sure, so, X and Nostr,
**Luke:** Yes, all the details, please.
**Knut:** And also like one of the eras, uh, infamous eras of Bulgaria is the commie era, right? Where you can see the impact that system had on the country and how horrid it is. Uh, so it's, it's, uh, that might not be a good pitch for, uh, but that's
**Luke:** Let him, let him share his social medias, Knut.
**George:** wait, do you have, do you have something
**Knut:** no, no, I think like the, The point I was getting to is, if you get to Bulgaria, don't only go to Sofia, go around the rest of the country, because it's not as raped as that town was by, as that city was by communism, all this concrete, yeah, yeah,
**George:** yeah, the,
**Knut:** you can really see the impact there. I'm not, um, yeah, this came out totally wrong, but I'm trying to, I'm trying to, To hype Bulgaria here, but also there's a historical lesson to be learned in the country, for sure,
**George:** sure. It's really like, there's so many different things there. So there's the communist part, there's like fucking amazing nature, there's like
**Knut:** is everything, yeah.
**George:** if you're into hiking, there's like, just like from Sofia, what I love about Sofia, like just last week, twice, end of the day, I'm like fucked up, like tired of computer.
40 minutes up and I'm up in the mountains, hiking, in like 2000 meters altitude. Uh, so, so there's all these like super cool things, but on the socials, yeah, we're on Twitter. we're on Nostr, uh, so Twitter is, um, botif underscore, uh, en, on Nostr, uh, we are just botif. Yeah, you can find us.
**Luke:** going say you're NPUB? No, no, no,
**George:** I'm still learning it, okay?
**Luke:** we'll post, you're still learning, we'll post all the details in the show
**George:** Yes. Yes. And feel free to also check out our website. We have, due to our El Salvadorian, um, kind of project, we already have a Salvadorian website, which is very easy to remember, botif. sv. So you can go there and from there you'll find all the links and information.
**Luke:** Absolutely fantastic.
**Knut:** Great! Get the inverse of Clown World. This is a shill. BitcoinInfinityStore. com And thank you very much for coming on,
**George:** was great having
**Knut:** Great to have
**Luke:** George, thanks so much. This has been Bitcoin Infinity Show. Thank you for
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@ bf95e1a4:ebdcc848
2024-09-24 13:38:58
This is the cleaned, AI-generated transcript of Bitcoin Infinity Show #127
If you'd like to support us, check out <https://bitcoininfinitystore.com/> for all our books, merch, and more!
# Welcoming George Manolov
**Luke:** George, welcome to the Bitcoin Infinity Show, thank you for joining us.
**George:** Thank you, Knut.
**Knut:** Good to have you here, George.
**George:** to be here, yeah.
you're here to tell us about the city that I was most surprised by ever. Like, I've never heard of the city before I went to Bulgaria, Yeah, time flies.
**Knut:** So Plovdiv, Bulgaria, which was amazing, this rich, Thousands of years of history plays with a lot of different eras and different styles of architecture and stuff, really enjoyed Plovdiv, and you have a football team there.
**George:** yeah, indeed.
# George Manolov and Botev Plovdiv
**George:** Please give us the story about George and Plovdiv Yeah, sure.
**Knut:** Plovdiv.
**George:** Sure, sure. So, Plovdiv is, well, I would say it's the oldest living city in Europe, so continuously inhabited. Like you say, not many people know it. I guess, like, we don't have good enough marketing, but, that's probably part of my job right now, right? To spread the word about it. so it's, like the second largest city in the country.
And, yeah, it's just this, it's very, like, I love how you put it because almost nobody has really heard of Plovdiv, right? Most people, when they hear of Bulgaria, they've probably heard of Sofia but Sofia is, okay, but Plovdiv is kind of the chill place, Plovdiv is the place that is actually worth visiting, the place where, people just enjoy going there.
I was born there, right? and, grew up there till 18 or so, then, Studied, lived in Sofia most of the time. And, last year, in kind of summer, I was already kind of way deeper into Bitcoin. I decided I'm going to go full time into Bitcoin, just commit all my time in Bitcoin at the time, educating, publishing books in Bulgarian about Bitcoin, creating my own educational platform.
And then I got, reached out and connected really to the owner of the football club in the city, which is also the oldest football club in the country, Botev Plovdiv, who was, well, he got introduced into Bitcoin himself and he realized it's going to be a very big, project. You know, going to play a central role in where the world is going.
**Knut:** What is this the owner of the club?
**George:** That's right. The owner of the club. was like, Hey, I think we can do something unique with Bitcoin because, you know, the club is really a company, right? It's a business on the one hand, but it's a special type of business, it's not where just you produce a certain product or service.
It's really a living organism where people are involved into it, for very emotional reasons. people feel like it's their own and it's not like a small group of people. It's a very large group of people. In our case, we have tens of thousands, arguably more than a hundred, 200, 000 people who care, who watch, who follow the club.
And so on the one hand, like there's many different ways in which we can look into this, but on the one hand. It's for me, what really inspired me and what got me like, Oh my God, like, is this really happening is that we can bring the conversation about Bitcoin from a completely different angle into society to a group of people who for the most part would never really They would like this, they would never listen to podcasts like this, they would never get to any of the kind of places and things we listen to, watch, consume, right?
and people go, You know, people go kind of for bread and circus, right,
**Knut:** yeah, yeah.
**George:** for the games. That's what really football is, right? It's fun and it's emotion, it's enjoyment, but then we push them censorship resistance and hard money, right?
And we don't really push it, you know, that's the thing, right? Because are like consistently, progressively, gradually over time, introducing it and finding the best way and the most appropriate way to, yeah, plant that seed. To the minds of the people, into the views of the people and so on and so forth.
so it's really like, you know, what we're trying to build is, we feel we're in a very privileged position, right? because we've been, the first really professional sports club globally, I would say, to have, uh, crypto Bitcoin, you know, people, departments, who is actually full time employed to, you know, think of a way to grow the business, to think of a way to integrate Bitcoin natively, within the various aspects of, of, of the organization, which obviously initially includes like accepting payments and so on and so forth.
But, um, but there's so much more you can do exactly with this type of, Like organization, again, like not, not, not just a business in a traditional sense.
**Knut:** Yeah. And, uh, won the league, right? Is that, is that right?
**George:** Yeah, man, like it's, uh, yeah, so we, um, when I started last year, things were super bad. Like exactly one year ago, I was there for the, for one of the first games. It was horrible. Like, I was like, okay, this is a great idea, but if the team is doing so bad and if, uh, if they keep losing and if the fans keep getting, you know, being unhappy, Um, it's not gonna go anywhere, but still, I gave it a, I gave it a go, right, because I was like, okay, I just hope that the sports side guys are going to do their, their part, and I have my opportunity here, um, to, to just like push, to educate, to, To do what, what, what life is giving me an opportunity to do.
And, uh, very fortunately, as we started working, the team started performing better and better and better. We got a completely new coach. We got a new sports director. We, we had a lot of key staff changes across the organization, which, Um, relatively quickly started showing results. So, uh, yeah, like, 10 months later in May, we won the Bulgarian Cup.
**Luke:** Is that the cup or the league? Like, uh,
**George:** it's the cup, it's the cup. So, so, I was saying, like, we started very bad in the league. And so, we were doing better and better, but still, like, we finished 9th in the league out of 16 clubs at the end of the day. But which was still okay, because, like, when I joined, like, we were, like,
**Luke:** Worried about relegation or something like that?
**George:** there. I mean,
**Knut:** We're complete, uh, like I've tried to take an interest to football, but like, uh, my ADD just, the brain just wanders away after five minutes and I can't concentrate anymore. So I don't
**Luke:** a basketball fan.
**Knut:** Am I now?
# Football for Noobs
**Knut:** Uh, so, uh, what's the difference between the cup and the league? Let's begin there. That's, that's how much of a football noob I
**George:** So, so pretty much in every country is the same, right? You have a league or a championship where you have, in our case, 16 teams, and every team plays twice against every other team. So home game, away game, and then, you know, you either win three points when you win, or you lose, or you draw, and you, you, you win one point.
And then, so after you play, after you play, in our case, this, what is it, games? You know,
**Luke:** 30.
**George:** yeah, about 30. Yeah, right. You're better than Matt, it's obvious. So, um, so once you play these 30 games, um, you, um, yeah, like the team with the most points wins, right? Whereas, uh, the cup is direct elimination
**Knut:** So quarterfinals, semifinals, all that.
**George:** exactly. So it's the easier way. So this was the way for us to due to the bad start of the season. This was the way for us to, to achieve something in this season and to achieve something important because what the Cubs gives us as an opportunity and gave us was to play in the European Leagues.
So UEFA Leagues. And we just did that. We played six games. Uh, for the Europe, uh, Europe League and the Europe Conference League.
**Knut:** Okay. But to, to be in the champions league, that's a totally, you have to, yeah, yeah. You have to win the league and you have to win all sorts of stuff. Like how does that work?
**George:** yeah. You have to win the league. And then in our case, so in every country it's different, but in our case, we have to win, like we go to qualifications for the Champions League. So it's like, I mean, three to four games. And if we win that, we go to the Champions League.
**Knut:** Alright,
**George:** That's the current state of affairs, although that can change over the years.
**Knut:** alright, uh, it all makes sense to me now, that's a lie, but anyway.
**Luke:** No, uh, I'll definitely, we'll acknowledge here that I'm more of the, the sports fan, uh, generally here, and I, I follow football, I like, uh, I like European, uh, football, uh, well, and obviously I'm using the correct, uh, term despite my, um, my pseudo American accent, uh. Yeah, anyway, um, uh, no, it's fantastic to see, and I mean, yeah, for the non sports fans, uh, listening to this, I get that
**Knut:** Well, I am a sports fan, it's just that Starcraft 2 is my sport, and yeah, yeah,
**Luke:** yeah,
**George:** eSports.
**Knut:** yeah, yeah, so I watch, watch Starcraft 2 games. That's what I do for procrastination sometimes.
**Luke:** valid sports, I'm not going to compare it to other things that aren't
**Knut:** breakdancing? Is that a valid sport?
**Luke:** Breakdancing is, um, hmm, interesting. I think anything with points, that judges give points, is kind of not a sport, it's an activity.
**Knut:** yeah.
**Luke:** but, yeah, anyway,
**Knut:** thing to do.
**Luke:** is a thing to do, yes, definitely, but back to, back to, um, um, Botev Plod, is it Botev, Botev, what's, what's, Botev, Botev Plod, yeah, so, so, um, yeah, yeah, like, the, the, the achievement, winning, winning the cup, I mean, the, The cups are sort of more difficult.
They're both difficult in their own way, right? Like, the cup, you lose one game, you're out, basically, right? But, I mean, the league is like this endurance, achievement, right? You have to perform well over the course of the whole season. But the cheat code, so to say, and I probably subconsciously used the other football team's terminology, who's in the space, Real Bedford, um,
# Botev Plovdiv's Bitcoin Strategy
**Luke:** The, the idea right, if, if I'm getting it, is that you guys would, would keep the Bitcoin in the, in the, the treasury, the, the company, and then over the course of time it's just gonna do the number go up thing and, and the, the club will have more resources.
Right. Is that, is that the idea you're thinking with the, the bitcoin strategy?
**George:** There's actually many, many things to it. And this is kind of the most, let's say, vanilla type of approach. Yeah, like just buy Bitcoin and hold it on the balance sheet, which is, which is great. But there's actually so many other things you can do. And that's where, because if you just do that, frankly, like, I mean, you don't need me involved, right, much.
I mean, just call Coinbase, whatever, wire the money, crack in and, buy. but with us it's like, really, uh, we see a huge opportunity to, first of all, align our brand with the Bitcoin brand, which is a royalty free, uh, The biggest brand in finance, for sure. One, uh, like it's going to be the biggest brand in the world for sure at some point.
Right. So that's, that's one play. And to do this, it's not enough for you to just buy Bitcoin and hold it on a balance sheet. It's what you need to do is proof of work, right? You need to do things that nobody has ever done. You need to really kind of be creative. Uh, and, and, um, to push the boundaries of what anyone has ever done before, right?
So, so that is, uh, that is my kind of job and it's a lot of, um, a lot of just like, let's, let's think of what, what new things we can do with Bitcoin and sports and football that nobody has ever done. Just because others are focused on the short term things, they're focused on, hitting those, those quick wins, those quick goals, which is why, for example, like a lot of the sports and, and that have, you know, interact, they haven't really interacted outside of Bedford with Bitcoin, right?
It's mostly been crypto because it's just, okay, let's make some quick money. Um,
**Luke:** usually, it's usually just sponsorships, right?
**Knut:** yeah,
**George:** yes. Um, and for us, because on the one hand, like, we're not like Manchester United, right? We're not Chelsea. So we don't have that much to monetize immediately. Like we're a large club, but.
**Luke:** You're a large club in a local league, which is, which is different from the, it's not one of the leagues that is internationally positioned like that. But, but, I mean, the, the difference between you guys and Bedford that I, that I think is, is really interesting. Like, McCormack, what he, Peter McCormack, what he's doing, I mean, he's, he's taking a club from the bottom and aiming for the top.
But who knows how long that's going to take him to get there, right? But you guys are already in the top of your league, right? Like, in the top league.
**George:** right, yeah, and also there's, there's different in this, we're in the top of our league. My goal, personally, is to go to Champions League, but this is very hard, right? Because, like, okay, when you start from Peter's ground, like, it's easy, okay, every year you level up, you level up, or, I mean, I'm not gonna say it's easy, but it's easier than, uh, than once you're, you know, at our level.
For us, it's important to play currently every year in European leagues like we've done so far and to every year consistently, like, increase the level of the sports, level of the business department bit by bit, and, but like breaking that point where we, you know, win the league, Where we win several more games and enter the Champions League, that, that's really hard.
I mean, because you're already at that stage where everybody, like, so many teams are so strong, right? So it's um, it takes just a lot of ingredients for you to, to, to hit, uh, in order to win. But we're gonna get there.
**Knut:** and does the club self custody it's bitcoin? And if so, is it a something out of 11 multisig, that sounds like a football thing?
**George:** Why so? Ah, yeah, an 11? Nah, nah, fuck that. I mean Nah, even, even 7 Motosick is a, is a killer, but no. Um, yeah, I can't really speak too much about this at this point. Yeah. Um, but, um, but yeah, I mean, we do, of course we do self custody. So that's, that's the approach that we've chosen with kind of a lot of, um, we've chosen to go really pure, pure Bitcoin in terms of the strategy.
And that's how we set ourselves apart. That's how we believe we win the long game because for instance, like we Bitcoin with BTC pay server. Which in my mind they don't even have competition. It's the only like, real, solid, autonomous, sovereign way to accept payments. And it's also the way which makes sense for like, Frankly, any standard business, because like, man, we're selling scarves, we're selling, um, membership boat cards, we're selling jerseys, we're selling basic merch, and if we are to sell it with basically any other service out there, outside of BTC Pay Server, we have to basically, uh, indirectly do KYC, right?
Like, we have to go through KYC, we have to go through KYB, which is ridiculous, um, in my mind. And so, um, so that's why we're exceptionally thankful to B2C Pay Server guys, uh, for what they've built. Uh, it's been like an absolute pleasure to, um, to use their product, to use their service. Uh, we have, you know, outside of B2C Pay, we, uh, we are the first, uh, sports club on Nostr.
Where, uh, we have, uh, actively been posting, exploring, you know, meeting people here. Kind of thinking of what we could do from our angle again, like first, first time on Nostr.
# Aqua WAllet
**George:** Um, we have partnered with, uh, Aqua, JAN3's Aqua wallet, which has a, a Botive skin mode now. So if you go to settings, you can turn Botive mode and then it turns into the colors of the club and, you know, have the picture of the stadium there.
Um,
**Luke:** I'm using Aqua right now because, uh, uh, usually I like to use Aqua as like a sort of a middle wallet, uh, uh, because it's still slightly slower than other lightning wallets because they, they, the, everything actually lives on, on liquid and then they, they, uh, go out via bolts. Uh, so it's slightly slower than a faster, um, like, like than other, um, more direct lightning wallets.
And so usually when I come to a conference, I'm going to load up a, like a temporary. I don't know, Blink or something like that, but I forgot to do that, so I'm just using my Aqua wallet, and you know what, it's been great here, it's been working, uh, so yeah, we're big fans of Aqua wallet and what
**Knut:** Yeah, and a BTC pay server. I mean, uh, we can echo everything you said that we, BitcoinInfinity. com, like, and the store here We just fired up. Everything is powered by a BTC pay server, and we just love it. Yes.
**Luke:** So what was your question about, uh, Aqua?
**George:** If yours is on BOTEV mode.
**Luke:** Uh, I don't think I've gone into the settings and changed it to Vaudev mode, I'll have to do that, maybe we'll take
**George:** It's dark mode,
but cooler.
**Luke:** Doc dark mode, but cooler. Okay. Okay. Actually that's a, that's a, that's a good point. That's a good point. Yeah. We'll take a, we'll take a picture after, uh, after the episode and we'll de proof, bot, uh, bot e mode, and, uh, uh, post that on Nostr.
How does that sound?
**George:** Let's go.
**Knut:** Yeah. Nostr. Um, is there a connection there between both a plot and Nostr while you're doing Nostr stuff as well?
# History and Freedom
**George:** Yeah. Well, look, um, a lot of these things is like, so What Botev Plovdiv stands for, um, very importantly, so the club was named after Hristo Botev, who's, uh, like, one of the most Bulgarians, if the most famous Bulgarian revolutionaries, like, historical figure, uh, he was a poet, he was a revolutionary, he fought for Bulgaria's freedom back in the day,
**Luke:** Which, which day, which, what day did you
**George:** uh, 110, uh, what is it, like, 50 years ago or so?
Yeah.
**Knut:** Mm-Hmm?
**Luke:** Okay. So, so
**Knut:** before the Commes.
**Luke:** ottoman, uh,
**George:** Yeah, yeah, yeah. He, he, he, he fought for the, for the liberation of Bulgaria from, from the Ottoman Empire. And a lot of what he stands for is this fight for freedom, his fight for liberty. Um, and this, this lives until this very day into the identity of the club and to what we stand for into the songs, into the, into the music.
Um, you know, um, the kind of like what, what our fans also resonate with, um, and, and what they sing like in many, in many ways. Right. So, um, Freedom of speech, freedom of, uh, of like freedom in general is, is a value that is deeply ingrained into kind of like what the club stands for. Um, and, uh, you know, that's why I'm into Bitcoin.
That's why I believe. And that's, that's why I saw this even bigger opportunity. Oh my God, like, how is this happening? There's so many, sometimes, you know, some like weird things happen in life and you have no explanation why and how all these things align. But, but for me, it's like this club was made really to.
to be aligned with BOTEF and to be, uh, to, to, to be aligned with Bitcoin and with Nostr. If I look at all the other clubs in Bulgaria, right, like just in Bulgaria, none of the others, like, there's no this contextual historical background that you can make these connections. But with us, we have it, and what a chance that, like, we have this owner, and he got, like, introduced to it, and then we got connected.
Like, how the hell does this happen, man? I don't know,
**Luke:** We like to say this, the surreal doesn't end, you know, and like, uh, my, my whole story, I've been talking about this, uh, at the, the conference here is like two years ago was the first time I ever met Bitcoiners here in Baltic Honeybadger. We, we met for the, for the first time, uh, all three of us, uh, met for the first time two years ago, I've been in Baltic Honeybadger and it's like, things, things happen so fast.
Uh, I've, I've, uh, I've thought it was been awesome just following, uh, what you've been doing with the, the club and the story. So great to, Great to get to talk about it, but, uh,
# Bitcoin in Football
**George:** Yeah. No, for, for me, like really the, the most exciting part is really even coming forward. So, uh, because, so now it's been, so we, a long, we announced, uh, publicly that we're doing this, uh, 31st October last year. So the anniversary of the, of the, uh, Bitcoin White paper, um, we've built a lot right. And very, very importantly, I'm super proud, like, I don't know if you saw this, but like a month ago, we played on European League, the UEFA League with Bitcoin straight on our jerseys, which was like, like, when I saw this, I'm like, dude, it's crazy that this is happening.
But, but the best is really yet to come, like, like we like to say. Um, so I, I think we, we're, we have, um, we have still so much more to do. So for me, the next big part, which I'm super excited about literally in the coming month as, uh, as I go back. So is to finally get some of our. Players or at least one or two to get to do something publicly about this, because at the end of the day, that's why for me, the more I do, the more I, uh, play in this arena, I realized this is really a Trojan horse for us to bring Bitcoin into the conversation, into the minds, like I said, of people who otherwise wouldn't and, and our players, you know, especially a few of them, they're really influencers, right?
Um, a lot of people follow them. A lot of people respect them. And, um, and if they do, uh, you know, something meaningful, something cool, something impactful, this is going to have a huge impact onto our forwards. This could very well have impact onto, um, other sportsmen, other football people, other football clubs, right?
Uh, so that's why I'm doing it, right? Really?
**Luke:** No, this is fantastic, and actually this was exactly where I was hoping to go next, so thank you for queuing that up. But, no, no, the game theory of all this, right? Like, one club getting, Positioning as the, as the Bitcoin club in a league, uh, really means that eventually all the other clubs are going to need to adopt Bitcoin.
If they're going to be able to compete, because if play playing out the game theory, number go up, whatever it is, Bitcoin strategy plays out, you guys are going to be the most financially capable club. Financially sustainable in not very long, you know, assuming everything plays out the way we're thinking it will, right?
So, so other, other clubs then would become incentivized to also adopt Bitcoin. So what, what do you, what do you think about that? Like you, do you, do you see that, uh, happening as well?
**George:** Yeah, I'm not really sure if it would happen to me. That fast, to be fair. Like, I think it's inevitable, right, obviously, but I think it, yeah, like, I think this definitely takes at least three, four years, maybe more. Um,
**Luke:** That's, that's still pretty fast.
**George:** yeah, I guess. I mean, I mean, like, okay, let me define it better. It takes three, four years.
So, for other clubs within our league to start doing something like this, uh, maybe it takes less time for other clubs to realize it, but I think for them to do it, it also depends on our actions, right? So because like, we don't have like a treasury of microstrategy or something, so it's not, and we're not doing like a
**Luke:** you don't?
**George:** monthly like leverage on top of leverage on top of another leverage, you know, uh, we're not in, in Michael's privileged position. but we can do other cool things, right? Uh, one of the, um, so this is not yet live and this is not yet happening, but one of the, like two, two projects, let's say, I'm gonna briefly, like, tease here that, that I'm working on that I hope to have very large impact is first, uh, building this, uh, simple tool Uh, called like a Bitcoin, uh, football salary calculator that, uh, it's like really a DCA tool, but like looking back and like tailoring it to our niche where I want to, for us to visually and emotionally Show, um, to players, but also to fans of ours, like what Bitcoin could have done for their remuneration, if you look one year back in time, two years back in time, three years back in time, four years back in time, and for them to really realize, Oh my God, this is a no brainer.
Right? I want to make this mess. And this is hard, right? Um, because like, there's so many tools and like, but I want to be, because the audience is very wide, very different types of audience. I want to make this so that you can consume it in like two, three, four minutes. And you're like, okay, I need to learn more about this.
This actually is interesting. There's like, that's so much dense and emotional and compact information that you're like, Whoa. Why am I not doing this? How did I miss this?
**Knut:** What, what, what was the name of that website? I, I don't know if it's still up, but bitcoin or [shit.com](http://shit.com) or something like that. So, so it lists if you bought this item when it came out, an iPhone five or whatever, uh, and if you had bought b bitcoin [instead.com](http://instead.com), I think that that's the, that's the name. So if you bought, uh, if you bought Bitcoin instead, it shows you how much, how much more money you'd have now and how many iPhones you
**George:** Yeah. Yeah. And of course there's many of these tools, obviously like we've all see them and we all like like them and retweet them and repost them. And it's all great. But I think, at least I hope that we can do something impactful with this. If we really tailor it, compact it to a specific type of niche audience with a specific message designed for them.
And because this audience is also like. A type of audience who can also like, um, you know, bring it to other bubbles that we ourselves are not part of, right? So that's, for example, one like, uh, one like project I'm very, very excited about and I hope we can, um, yeah, we'll bring forward relatively soon.
There's a few moving elements, but definitely in the coming month or two, uh, at most. And then, uh, and then, you know, speaking of the other clubs, what, what I want us to do is what we're working is next year, we're targeting to do, I hope we could do the world's first, uh, Bitcoin, uh, Cup tournament. Uh, for youth players, 70 year old boys who are, you know, right there before they sign their first professional contract, start earning money, for them, first of all, like, it's a Bitcoin football cup, like, it's the first time this, this could potentially ever happen And then it's, it's a football first tournament, right?
This is the, we want to make it like top quality, like really the highest quality when it comes to sports, but then you have Bitcoin involved all over the place, right? In terms of brand, in terms of rewards, in terms of, um, in terms of like plays, um, like, like games and, and interactions, activations, uh, throughout, before, throughout, and after the, And after the event, and for this, I'm targeting to get really like, like big clubs.
I mean, because it's academies, right? I mean, I cannot get the Manchester United first team, just maybe we could get the Manchester United 17 year old team or, you know, another big club. We get some of these, and then like we get their brands, we get them on the focus of Bitcoin. And we drive the conversation faster, you know, not three, four years from now, but Less
**Knut:** what about, um, like right now there's you and there's, um, you guys and there's a real bed for it, right? Those are the two I know of in Europe. Are you aware of any other clubs that are doing a Bitcoin strategy? I mean, is this virus spreading? Like, have you heard anything like,
**George:** Um, Oh, there's, uh, there's the Austrian Admira Vakir who have done some integration. So it's a second tier, uh, second league, uh, second league, uh, club that have, uh, that have, uh, you know, they've also had Bitcoin on the, their second team jersey. And, um, and they, they also accept Bitcoin payments, uh, here and there, but you know, the thing is, there's some other clubs, um, there's a Miami, um, not Miami, um, a Hawaiian club that, that is doing, uh, that is doing like their Bitcoin gig,
**Knut:** yeah, there are other, other sports, right, other sports team and sports teams in other sports that are doing it. But, but for football specifically,
**George:** which ones?
**Knut:** Uh, I'm so bad with sports, but wasn't there like a hockey team or a basketball team or
**Luke:** I'm not aware of any others, actually. Yeah, like, uh, there's been some attempts at
**Knut:** it's
**Luke:** an orange colored team or something like
**Knut:** more the individual athletes,
**Luke:** Yeah, yeah, there have been individual
**Knut:** for instance, a
**Luke:** have been individual
**Knut:** player, and there was some American football player.
**George:** There's been individual athletes, a lot of them. There's been, I was asking if you know, but there's been a baseball club in Australia, the Port Heat. Uh, who did kind of a Bitcoin strategy. Uh, but very unfortunately that didn't work out. They kind of started this at the peak of the last bull cycle. And, um, and as I understand, uh, there wasn't like a strong alignment between the owners and the management in terms of like understanding that this is a long game.
So that's why this kind of flopped. Um, but yeah, like I, I think the reason why it's not happening in more, unfortunately, and, and, and I see this even, even within our club, uh, you know, but, but definitely no other clubs because Fiat has permitted sports as well. Right. So all the sports club, uh, clubs or the vast majority in football, for sure.
They're like, you know, on the hamster wheel themselves.
**Knut:** They're indebted,
**George:** They're indebted.
**Knut:** to an extreme level,
**George:** yeah, like, like fighting for every dollar for every income. So it's, it's hard for you to like, Oh yeah, we're going to have this long term Bitcoin strategy that's going to take like two, three, four, five years to play out.
And we can benefit a lot from it. It's very, very hard in, you know, unfortunately for a large organizations, sports club in particular to To have this realization, to map this out, to get others on board. That's why it's not so popular and uh, and that's why I'm grateful and keep pushing that we have this chance.
**Luke:** I mean, you make a great point here about essentially the, it's the organizational alignment, right? Like the, the, these are companies, sports clubs are companies. They just have this large, the business is involved around getting fans to come in and consume this sort of marketing. Product, essentially. So it's, it's a certain kind of company that's run a certain way, but just like any other company, you need, you need alignment from the management.
So it's, it's fantastic that, uh, Boteb Plovdiv has, has the, uh, alignment and is, is putting their, their trust in you to, to move this thing forward. And I mean, from the, from the perspective of this thing, Playing out, right? The, the best part that, uh, I think one of the best parts that you, you mentioned again was the, the influencers.
Like you get, you get some players, there's, there's so many angles to, to reach people through this. I think it's, I think it's fantastic. The, uh, orange pilling a player and then they move to another club, but they, they, maybe they don't get to get paid in Bitcoin, but maybe they still put, put their money in, in Bitcoin.
Maybe they even ask their club to, to, uh, pay them in Bitcoin, something like that. And then the, the Questions start getting, uh, asked and all this.
# 5 Year Goals
**Luke:** So what, what is the, the goal in, in five years, for example, where, where do you see the club in the five year mark?
**George:** Oh man. Yeah, in five years, I think we definitely have to be in Champions League. Like in my mind, you know, like people around me like, oh, you're too ambitious. I'm like, man, yeah, like in five years, we definitely have to be in Champions League. Uh, that's, that's my personal goal. On our internal Slack, I have the Champions League icon there.
That's why I'm there, right? Um, so, uh, it's a lot of hard work. Like, it's really a lot of hard work. And it's also not completely dependent on me and my work, to be fair. Like, because, at all. I mean, really, like, uh, I mean, at the end of the day, the most important part is the sports department, right? Uh, in the club.
Um, so that has to continue going well. But, but I think We're going in a good direction there too, because we have the, they're the long term view as well, right. We have our academy internally, which is, yeah, it's one of the best academies. It's the best really academy in terms of infrastructure in the country.
That's why we're also can't afford to think of this Bitcoin Cup tournament, because we have the infrastructure, we have like a super cool stadium, that's crazy. If we can, if we can do a final for, for such a tournament there. Um, so, so we have all the things in place in terms of In terms of assets, I would say, uh, it's just a lot of moving parts.
a lot of work, consistency, and a bit of luck. Always it comes, you know, when, when it comes to, when it comes to football and sports, but, but five years from now, I want us to be in the champions league. I want us to be the absolute, you know, international professional level, uh, Bitcoin level, Bitcoin sports club.
and, uh, and I want for this tournament that I start to be like a, like, like to have the fourth edition by then. Uh, and, and I want to have clubs, but five years is a lot of time, you know, as you say, like, I also want to have other clubs following us by then. I think that's absolutely, absolutely is going to be doable.
**Knut:** What, what are the, what are the tax laws around Bitcoin in Bulgaria? Like what, are there any issues there? Or like what, is it easy enough,
**George:** It's kind of okay. Uh, it's kind of okay. So if you just buy Bitcoin and hold it, like you don't, uh, you don't, uh, incur taxes, uh, until you sell it, if you accept Bitcoin for payments, um, and if you don't sell it, you can just, uh, keep it as inventory on your balance sheet. So again, no,
**Knut:** but there's a capital gains tax or something if you sell it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Alright.
**George:** 10%. So it's, it's, uh,
**Knut:** Pretty good.
**George:** Yeah, I mean, it's not like El Salvador. Okay. Uh, but, but it's, uh, it's, it's way better than many other places. Um, and, uh, yeah, so we've been looking, looking actually, so I was in El Salvador a couple of months ago, because we've been looking very much to do stuff there.
And we've been, uh, yeah. Um, because we've been, we've been thinking of what to do more with Bitcoin, right? So that's why I said, like, it's not just about buying and accepting Bitcoin. It's about corporate strategies, about branding strategies, about how to make money. Um, it's about education strategies. It's, there's so much around it.
So in terms of corporate strategy, I was, uh, we're very attracted by El Salvador, um, and their, uh, capital markets regulation, because they're basically striving to build capital markets on top of Bitcoin. Bitcoin is legal tender there. They have all kinds of, tax incentives for companies to issue debt or to sell equity.
on their capital, on their, um, well, let's say nascent upcoming capital markets, because it's not like it's, you know, hustling and bustling yet. Um, but, but they're, they've put a lot of the rails, uh, um, or they're building a lot of the rails to, um, to really enable the, the, the creation of Bitcoin based capital markets.
So, um, we've had great talks there. We have meetings with, uh, um, we have. Yeah, with the Bitcoin office, right? Um, so, ideally, like, we're striving to build some connection there and to do something, interesting and world first again from a corporate perspective. It's just that, as many things, it's a little harder than you would expect it to be, or it takes a little more time than, Then you would hope to do it.
But my idea or long term vision, frankly, like what we want to do with Bitcoin, uh, and with the club is to enable our current fans and global fans to become co owners of the club. And that's why, you know, I have big hopes for, uh, for us being able to do this out of El Salvador and through El Salvador, because this would, like from a tax perspective, from a branding perspective, from legal security perspective would be, would be ideal.
It's just that, again, um, my enthusiasm is a little over, uh, ahead of kind of like how, uh, how, how advanced and set up everything there is, but, uh, but we're, we're very actively talking to them. We're working with many parties there, so. Just maybe we can have big news there too.
# International and Local Effects
**Luke:** Well, no, and, and you actually said something great about global fans. I think this is a, a fantastic thing, right? A a again, Bedford is, is similar. They've, they've got, they've got fans all over the world and, and I think for you guys it's like who is going to tune into the Bulgarian football league outside of Bulgaria before, well, not too many people, but now a bunch of Bitcoiners.
If they're into, if they're into football or, or not even, because this is the funny thing. There were, there were a lot of people posting about that. They, they've got, they, they don't usually follow, follow sports at all, but, but they'll follow the Bitcoin team. So the, the funny thing is, I think, I think the first, the first club to adopt Bitcoin in every league is going to get all of these global fans.
And maybe the, maybe the, the second one, the third one, maybe can get some kind of other support, but it's really the first one in every
**George:** really.
**Luke:** That, that
**George:** Not
**Luke:** That's that. I, I completely agree with you there. It's the, it's the first one
**Knut:** first mover advantage.
**Luke:** mover advantage. It's gonna get, it is gonna get all of the, all of the Bitcoiners are gonna now be, be supporting and, uh, uh, yeah.
I mean, have, have you seen, uh, some, some uptick in, uh, kind of international
**George:** yeah, yeah. So, international but also local. Like, local is very important. Like, we have, like, so many people in the country who's like, just what you say, like, I didn't care about sports or football, like, forever, or at all, ever, but now I follow, now I buy merch, now I come, you know, every now and then they come to games, so
**Luke:** Well, because there's the bread and circuses thing that you said, it gets tossed around in the Bitcoin world and also some other places on kind of the Twitter sphere and whatever, it's like it's a distraction, that sports is sort of a distraction from clown world basically and it's a way of people to sort of Uh, forget about what's going on around them, but I think that's also missing the, the positives, which it, it's a, it's a community builder, it brings people together, there's a, there's a sense of, of pride in, in something local succeeding, everyone, everyone's happy, there's, there's real economic, uh, effects usually when a, when a local sports team wins, and so, so from, from my perspective, I, I, I think, I think sport is a good thing, and it's, and it's, it's something that, that people can rally around, and so,
**George:** an amazing thing.
**Luke:** Yeah.
And, and so what, what are, what are you looking at locally? Like what, what do you hope to have the effect, uh, uh, locally in, in piv?
**George:** Yeah. Um, yeah, no, look, uh, for me, sports, like, for us, the, the, the, the, about Plovdiv, for me, that's what I realized, like, we're kind of very much into Bitcoin and stuff, obviously, that's our interest, but I think when we go on a Bitcoin standard, Right. And, uh, in general, people start feeling wealthier, opposed to, like, being in the grind.
You're just going to have more time for fun stuff, right? Like playing football, I mean, or volleyball, or whatever your sport is, or, like, going and cheering your team, and, uh, and being part of such a community. And I think that's really what, you know, even Nostr is about. Like it's, Being part of these communities, because that's fun, and like, we as humans, at the end of the day, we are living to be part of communities, right?
And you find your community, you're an active part of it, you contribute to it, you evolve it, right? You build it in one way or another. And unfortunately, you know, today in the fiat world, this is just like A stress valve in many ways, or like you say, like Brothers and Sisters, whatever. Um, but, uh, but I think it can be so much more, right?
It is, but it can be so much more for a larger amount of people and so on and so forth. uh, but yeah, well, back in Plovdiv, man, like, I have big hopes. I really have big, big ambitions there. I want to get Bitcoin into the wallets of, uh, of like tens of thousands of people. I want people to wake up. I want people to see.
**Luke:** big is piv? How many
**George:** It's like three, four hundred thousand people. So it's a lot. Uh, our stadium is, uh, 21, 000 seats stadium. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. It's, it's 19. I wish it was 21.
**Luke:** Yeah. You'll have to add 2000 more
**George:** Maybe, yeah, we'll, we'll think of some additional construction.
**Luke:** the, make the infinity stand when
**George:** Right. Right. But, uh, but yeah, like the setting was super cool. Like, it's really cool.
Like when it's feel like, man, the atmosphere is amazing. Um, and so it's, and it's really this community that you can feel that people are involved. So it's, it's like consistency and it's social engineering in one way or another, right?
**Knut:** one of our favorite words,
**George:** but in a positive way.
**Knut:** in a positive way, okay.
**George:** So it's social engineering for us to ingrain Bitcoin and make it part of kind of what people see, do, have, own, interact with, right?
So, uh, I think exactly because of this community element, exactly because, Because, you know, football is a football club and there's this unique living organism we can, we can create this and, you know, it's fascinating. I'm so much into this and there's other people who are so much into this. Oh my god, like, we can make such a big difference.
And, and like in the country. You know, on a political and economic level, they don't get it. Like, they don't see it. They just are in their, you know, like, oh, are we going to accept the euro? Oh, what's happening with the war? I'm like, who cares? Let's build.
# Bulgarian Currency Situation
**Knut:** Yeah, Bulgaria has its own shitcoin, I almost forgot about that, but uh, what's it called again?
**George:** Kinda. Um, but not quite, to be fair. It's, it's a good coin, uh, not for investing, but, but for medium of exchange is actually decent. Uh, Lev, Lev
**Knut:** Lev, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah,
**George:** and I recently got educated about this. So, uh, the lev is pegged to the euro. So, um, uh, so, so that, that is super cool for, for us, for me as a consumer, for businesses, because like the fixed rate.
So for trade is, um, It's, it's good, right? As the world would be in the future. You have one currency, Bitcoin, you don't have the currency exchange risk, right? We don't have it only with the European Union. And the good part with this, so, we got, we got hyperinflation back in 1997. Was really bad. People lost almost everything, everything, in many cases.
Um, and then we got this so called currency board introduced and the currency board is like we have the left, but the left has to be backed up by other currencies. So it's like a stable coin, kind of like how Tether is backed by, by dollars. You know, the levy is backed by euro and like a basket of, I think they have some other currencies and assets, which is cool because the local politicians, they cannot print, they cannot, you know, so, so it's been, it's been, I think, way better than Hungary, Sweden, uh, Finland, you have your, oh
but Sweden I've heard it's kind of bad,
**Knut:** It's kinda bad, Norway too, like, both Swedish and Norwegian crown, and the crown in Czechia, like the Czech Republic, it's also
**George:** Yeah.
**Knut:** I mean, they're all going to shit the smaller
**George:** So, so for us, it's like, I would say we're better than, than the Corona, the, and, and all these like local currencies, because we kind of just are there to the, peg to the Euro. The local politicians don't have the opportunity to print. So it's, it's a very good position for us to be.
**Luke:** You, you get the, the negatives of the, the euro. But, but still, I mean, I mean the, the realistically, the dollar at the Euro and maybe the, the Chinese currency are the only, are the only ones that are in the, sort of within our own, within our own lifetimes are, are going to be not as terribly bad against Bitcoin.
But all the other ones are just, are. All the other ones are
**Knut:** Yeah, I think it's just a matter of time before both, uh, at least Sweden, uh, switches to Euro standard. If not switching to Bitcoin standard happens first, but well, we'll see, we'll see what happens.
**George:** man. I'm very bearish about the Euro.
**Knut:** yeah, yeah, it's like,
**Luke:** It'll be the second last to fall or third last but but yeah it's it's it's it's not going to be the the last and so it's yeah.
**Knut:** So that is what it is. I mean, speaking of Bulgaria and currencies and stuff,
# Bitcoin Adoption in Bulgaria
**Knut:** like, how is the rest of, how is Bitcoin adoption in general in Bulgaria? What's happening in other places? Like, Plamen opened a bar, I saw, and like, what are the connections? What's happening?
**George:** It's actually quite cool. I'm, I'm, I'm quite happy with, with how the ecosystem is evolving. There's, there's Plamen, um, with his whole community, like content creation, the conferences he's been doing, which has been like a very, I think he's responsible for like, I don't know, probably like, 000, maybe several 10, 000s of people who have opened their eyes and even if they're not hard bitcoiners, they now own bitcoin.
Uh, so that's huge. We have other content creators also who've had an impact. We have now once or twice per, yeah, about twice per year we have like, uh, A small, uh, merchant, uh, like, conference events, so for merchants to accept Bitcoin. we have these people who are active and who are doing things. Now, actually, yeah, there's something new that's coming up here, uh, literally in Plovdiv is we have this, um, this, uh, great dudes who have this, um, um, it's an application for, uh, ordering food, like takeaway and, uh, what is it, like,
**Knut:** like Glovo or
**George:** yeah, yeah, like Glovo, um, but, um, but, um, But it's not like this big corporate thing that, but, but still, it's a very good product and they've integrated accepting Bitcoin there for quite some time now they've made it even easier and they've introduced.
So we have like about, I think it's 15 restaurants in Sofia and like five or so in Plovdiv where through their system, you can order food. And pay with Bitcoin online, or you can also go in the restaurant and pay in Bitcoin online, and they just, um, they just won a, uh, grant from, uh, Bitcoin Beach, uh, and, uh, they're going to use the grant, uh, to, well, the attempt is really to start like a small circular economy, if you would Um, where, so if you go, uh, to one of those restaurants and pay with Bitcoin, you're going to get sats back 10%, and then, um, the restaurant is also going to get 10 percent sats back.
And if you order food, um, through their app, also the driver is going to get, uh, some sats back. And, uh, we've just been discussing, because obviously we're partnering with them, with the football club, so we'll push this out, because some of the restaurants that are there are our, I mean, basically, like, we have two restaurants locally that are partners, we got them in, right, obviously, in the deal, um, So, so that is also like, for me, it's like super cool because now for so far, the club has been pushing Bitcoin.
Now we have two of our restaurant partners who are themselves like hard Botevists, Botefans, and like they're popular. Now they're starting to accept Bitcoin in their, in their two restaurants, right? And they're going to have their campaigns. We're going to push them more. So, um, so I'm really excited about this and fingers crossed this goes well.
We have good metrics because if we have good metrics. Yeah, we'll look for ways to grow this. So there's a lot of grassroots things happening, which I love. On the top, nothing.
**Knut:** It's the way it's supposed to be.
**George:** But it's the way it is. Yeah, it's a better
**Luke:** Yeah it really seems like that you get one or two of these big anchors like like for example you you guys have had that had that conference last couple of years but now with both of Plavdev now Bulgaria is really got a couple of big anchors. Big relative in relative terms, uh, and all of this other stuff can, can start coming up around it.
And, uh, love, love to see it. I mean, he, I mean here, here with Rega, there's Honey Budger has been going for a really long time, and I, and I even think that they are honest about, we, we would, we just talked to, to Max, uh, about this, uh, from Defi and like yeah, there's not much other adoption in, in Lavia and this conference has been going on for a long time.
Exactly. And so it's just like, uh, it's, it's, it's great to see, uh, in, in your case, in Bulgaria's case, that there's, there's more of this, uh, picking up. So, yeah,
**George:** Well, I think it's really, in our case, I don't know, like it's grassroots, like I said, and I really believe grassroots and then Rio or for the vast majority, Rio adoption comes permissionless life. It comes like it's not forced. You know, there is this point where, okay, there's Plamen, like, he got the inspiration, he makes his content, he does the conferences, Like, our owner, he sees this opportunity for Bitcoin, for the club. He takes the action, right? So it's, it's not like, so it's individuals, right? Taking actions and then, as you have, you know, several of them, maybe others get inspired or get ideas going and that's how the magic happens. And, uh, yeah. Excited about it.
# Wrapping Up
**Luke:** it's awesome, man. Great hear your story. So, was, uh, was there anything else that you wanted to discuss or bring up on this topic?
**George:** no, I mean, what I would say is absolutely, uh, Please, uh, you know, Knut, you've been, but please, you're absolutely welcome, Luke, join as well, like, both of you should come
**Knut:** Absolutely. Highly recommend it. I had a great time in Bulgaria, and it's such a fascinating country, it's such a rich history and such a beautiful place, and the food is great, and it's very affordable, it's very, yeah, very
**George:** like, I have people who come in Plogis specifically to, like, nomads, spend, like, a or a month. So, so please enjoy, visit the game. come spend in the restaurants where they accept Bitcoin, follow us on social media for sure, so, X and Nostr,
**Luke:** Yes, all the details, please.
**Knut:** And also like one of the eras, uh, infamous eras of Bulgaria is the commie era, right? Where you can see the impact that system had on the country and how horrid it is. Uh, so it's, it's, uh, that might not be a good pitch for, uh, but that's
**Luke:** Let him, let him share his social medias, Knut.
**George:** wait, do you have, do you have something
**Knut:** no, no, I think like the, The point I was getting to is, if you get to Bulgaria, don't only go to Sofia, go around the rest of the country, because it's not as raped as that town was by, as that city was by communism, all this concrete, yeah, yeah,
**George:** yeah, the,
**Knut:** you can really see the impact there. I'm not, um, yeah, this came out totally wrong, but I'm trying to, I'm trying to, To hype Bulgaria here, but also there's a historical lesson to be learned in the country, for sure,
**George:** sure. It's really like, there's so many different things there. So there's the communist part, there's like fucking amazing nature, there's like
**Knut:** is everything, yeah.
**George:** if you're into hiking, there's like, just like from Sofia, what I love about Sofia, like just last week, twice, end of the day, I'm like fucked up, like tired of computer.
40 minutes up and I'm up in the mountains, hiking, in like 2000 meters altitude. Uh, so, so there's all these like super cool things, but on the socials, yeah, we're on Twitter. we're on Nostr, uh, so Twitter is, um, botif underscore, uh, en, on Nostr, uh, we are just botif. Yeah, you can find us.
**Luke:** going say you're NPUB? No, no, no,
**George:** I'm still learning it, okay?
**Luke:** we'll post, you're still learning, we'll post all the details in the show
**George:** Yes. Yes. And feel free to also check out our website. We have, due to our El Salvadorian, um, kind of project, we already have a Salvadorian website, which is very easy to remember, botif. sv. So you can go there and from there you'll find all the links and information.
**Luke:** Absolutely fantastic.
**Knut:** Great! Get the inverse of Clown World. This is a shill. BitcoinInfinityStore. com And thank you very much for coming on,
**George:** was great having
**Knut:** Great to have
**Luke:** George, thanks so much. This has been Bitcoin Infinity Show. Thank you for
-
@ 9358c676:9f2912fc
2024-09-24 12:29:11
### **OBJECTIVES**
To establish a guideline for the management of Acute Community-Acquired Pneumonia (CAP) in our center, for both outpatient and hospitalized patients, with the aim of:
* Reducing morbidity and mortality associated with the condition.
* Improving the quality of medical care and optimizing hospital resources.
* Delaying the progression of antimicrobial resistance.
### **SCOPE**
All patients over 16 years of age diagnosed with Acute Community-Acquired Pneumonia who are being followed by our institution in an outpatient or inpatient setting.
### **RESPONSIBILITIES**
Physicians from the Medical Clinic, Medical Emergency, Coronary Unit, and Intensive Care Service. Nursing Coordination. Pharmacy Service. Infection Control Committee.
### **REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY**
1. Community-Acquired Pneumonia in Adults. Recommendations for its management. Lopardo et al. MEDICINA (Buenos Aires) 2015; 75: 245-257. Argentine Society of Infectiology. ISSN 0025-7680
2. Diagnosis and Treatment of Adults with Community-acquired Pneumonia. An Official Clinical Practice Guideline of the American Thoracic Society and Infectious Diseases Society of America. 2019. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine Volume 200 Number 7 | October 1, 2019. DOI: 10.1164 rccm.201908-1581ST
3. ERS/ESICM/ESCMID/ALAT guidelines for the management of severe community-acquired pneumonia. Intensive Care Med (2023) 49:615–632 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00134-023-07033-8
4. Antimicrobial resistance. WHO. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/antimicrobial resistance
5. Internal Medicine. Farreras-Rosman. Volume I. Elsevier. 2008 Edition.
6. Considerations for the Responsible Use of Antibiotics in COVID-19. Argentine Society of Infectiology. 2020. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BmXD5x6rEpSqDIc8urccdqLcZKkP3U7X/view
7. Penicillin Allergy. Castells M. New England Journal of Medicine, 381(24), 2338–2351. doi:10.1056 nejmra1807761
### **INTRODUCTION**
Pneumonia is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, affecting patients of all ages and with various risk factors. Proper management in both outpatient and hospital settings is crucial for improving clinical outcomes and reducing associated complications.
This document aims to standardize and optimize the treatment of pneumonia based on the most current evidence and recommendations from leading scientific organizations. It seeks to be a practical tool for healthcare professionals, providing a clear and concise approach to the diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of patients with pneumonia.
### **FOUNDATIONS. HOSPITAL SITUATION ANALYSIS:**
* Pneumonias represent a significant burden on the healthcare system due to their high prevalence and potential severity, underscoring the need for a standardized approach.
* A clinical guideline facilitates decision-making, ensuring that all healthcare professionals follow a uniform protocol that integrates best practices, thereby reducing variability in treatments. This allows for better resource utilization, optimizing antibiotic use and reducing the emergence of antimicrobial resistance.
* Antimicrobial resistance has been proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and related organizations as the leading cause of death and hospital expenditure by the year 2050.
* Pneumonias in our center, in their various presentations, have shown significant prevalence in hospitalizations according to measurements taken in 2024.
* In our center, antibiotics, as a whole, have been the main source of financial losses related to drugs during the billing cycle from June 2023 to July 2024.
### **EPIDEMIOLOGICAL SITUATION:**
Pneumonias represent a global incidence of 1.26 cases per 1000 inhabitants. It has been documented in some centers that this incidence can increase in patients over 65 years of age, representing 34 cases per 1000 inhabitants. Outpatient mortality varies between 0.1% and 5%, but can reach up to 50% in hospitalized patients, especially those requiring Intensive Care Unit stay.
The main risk factors for developing pneumonia are:
* Chronic Heart Disease.
* Chronic Respiratory Disease.
* Chronic Kidney Disease.
* Advanced-stage HIV infection.
* Immunosuppressed. Solid Organ Transplant. Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation.
* Diabetes mellitus.
* Neoplasms.
* Smoking.
* Chronic use of Corticosteroids or Proton Pump Inhibitors.
* Multiple Myeloma and Hypogammaglobulinemia.
* Anatomical or Functional Asplenia.
The main causative agents of acute community-acquired pneumonia in our setting are:
* Respiratory Viruses (Influenza, SARS-CoV2, RSV).
* Streptococcus pneumoniae.
* Haemophilus influenzae.
* Staphylococcus aureus.
* Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Chlamydophila pneumoniae.
It should be noted that Streptococcus pneumoniae shows a good sensitivity pattern to penicillin and continues to be the most frequent causative microorganism. Haemophilus influenzae only shows beta-lactamase production in 10% to 23% of cases. Staphylococcus aureus in our setting has a low incidence of methicillin resistance, although this possibility should be considered in certain situations and severe clinical presentations. Given these considerations, beta-lactams remain the first-line treatment.
Regarding Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates, they will only be relevant in patients with risk factors such as bronchiectasis, cystic fibrosis, prior treatment with corticosteroids, or broad-spectrum antibiotics.
Emerging pathogens of some relevance include the eventual emergence of cases caused by Leptospira interrogans, Legionella pneumophila, and Hantavirus. These cases should always be associated with a specific epidemiological link.
### **DIAGNOSIS**
The diagnosis of pneumonia is based on clinical and imaging criteria. For the diagnosis of Acute Community-Acquired Pneumonia, we will consider:
Symptoms and Clinical Signs (at least 1 of the following):
* Fever.
* Altered general condition.
* Cough.
* Sputum production.
* Chest pain.
* Dyspnea.
* Hemoptysis.
plus
Radiopacity on Chest X-ray (Alveolar consolidation with or without air bronchogram, interstitial pattern, bronchiectasis, cavitation, pleural effusion, new radiopacity, etc.). It is always recommended to request both frontal and lateral views.
Chest CT remains a method with greater sensitivity and specificity for evaluating lung parenchyma compared to conventional X-ray in infectious pathology. However, a simple chest X-ray is an adequate method for the initial evaluation of the condition and its complications, which is why a CT scan is not recommended as an initial method for evaluating pneumonia and should always be preceded by a conventional chest X-ray.
CT studies should be considered in the following situations:
* Respiratory failure.
* Evaluation or suspicion of differential diagnoses to Acute Community-Acquired Pneumonia.
* Evaluation or suspicion of complications of Acute Community-Acquired Pneumonia.
* Evaluation of radiological patterns that are not entirely clear on the chest X-ray.
### **CHOICE OF CARE SITE AND TREATMENT**
For the choice of care site and treatment of pneumonia, it is recommended to complement clinical criteria with validated mortality scores associated with risk factors and clinical status.
CURB-65 (1 point for each item):
* Confusion
* Elevated urea greater than 90 mg/dl
* Respiratory rate greater than 30/minute
* Systolic blood pressure < 90 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure < 60 mmHg
* Age equal to or greater than 65 years
Results:
* Groups 0 to 1: Outpatient management.
* Groups 1-2: Admission to General Ward.
* Groups 3-5: Admission to Intensive Care Unit.
* Appendix: A pulse oximetry reading of less than 92% is recommended as an independent factor for inpatient management under expert recommendation to complement the score.
### **COMPLEMENTARY STUDIES AND CULTURE SAMPLING**
Once the diagnosis is completed, the patient's risk stratification and the choice of admission site are made, the following complementary studies and culture sampling are recommended to proceed with the patient's study during treatment.
Outpatient patient:
* Pulse Oximetry.
* Laboratory routine (complete blood count, glucose, urea, creatinine, liver function tests).
Inpatient patient in general ward:
* Pulse Oximetry.
* Laboratory routine (complete blood count, glucose, urea, creatinine, liver function tests). Acid-base status if pulse oximetry is less than 92%.
* Sputum sample (Gram stain, culture, antibiogram).
* Blood cultures.
* In the presence of pleural effusion: Thoracentesis. Physical-chemical study for Light's Criteria. Direct and Culture of Pleural Fluid.
Inpatient patient in intensive care unit:
* Pulse Oximetry.
* Laboratory routine (complete blood count, glucose, urea, creatinine, liver function tests) plus acid-base status.
* Sputum sample (Gram stain, culture, antibiogram). Tracheal aspirate, Mini-BAL, or BAL sampling for patients requiring ARM upon admission.
* Blood cultures.
* Urinary antigen for detection of Streptococcus pneumoniae, if available in microbiology.
* In the presence of pleural effusion: Thoracentesis. Physical-chemical study for Light's Criteria. Direct and Culture of Pleural Fluid.
Special considerations for Viral Pneumonias:
* We recommend performing a viral panel for Influenza A/B for any pneumonia presenting at least 1 risk factor mentioned during periods of viral circulation in the community.
* We recommend performing a viral panel for SARS-CoV2 for any pneumonia presenting at least 1 risk factor mentioned during periods of viral circulation in the community or having epidemiological criteria of a suspected COVID-19 case.
* The Infection Control Committee will timely inform based on the National Epidemiological Bulletin about the presence of circulating respiratory viruses in our setting.
Special considerations for Atypical Pneumonias and HIV Testing:
* We recommend serological testing for IgM/IgG for Chlamydia and Mycoplasma for any pneumonia presenting a subacute evolution at the time of clinical presentation or clinical-radiological dissociation in its presentation.
* In the suspicion of pneumonia caused by emerging pathogens (Legionella pneumophila, Leptospira interrogans, Hantavirus), consider the necessary epidemiological link as a prior epidemiological background before requesting specific diagnostic tests.
* HIV testing is recommended for all pneumonias, with special emphasis on those that do not present the conventional risk factors mentioned.
### **ANTIMICROBIAL TREATMENT AND DURATION OF TREATMENT:**
Directed antimicrobial treatment will be based on the present risk factors and the choice of care site and treatment.
**Outpatient patient <65 years and without risk factors:**
First choice:
* Amoxicillin 875mg/12h orally for 5-7 days.
Scheme for history of allergy to Beta-Lactams:
* Clarithromycin 500mg/12h orally for 5 days or
* Azithromycin 500-1000mg/day for 5 days.
**Outpatient patient >65 years or with at least 1 risk factor:**
First choice:
* Amoxicillin-Clavulanate 1g/12h orally for 7 days.
Scheme for history of allergy to Beta-Lactams:
* Clarithromycin 500mg/12h orally for 5 days or
* Azithromycin 500-1000mg/day orally for 5 days.
**Inpatient patient in General Ward <65 years and without risk factors:**
First choice:
* Ampicillin-Sulbactam 1.5g/6h IV +/- Clarithromycin 500mg/12h orally/IV for 5-7 days.
Scheme for history of allergy to Beta-Lactams:
* Ceftriaxone 1g/day IV for 5-7 days.
**Inpatient patient in General Ward >65 years or with at least 1 risk factor:**
First choice:
* Ampicillin-Sulbactam 1.5g/6h IV for 7 days +/- Clarithromycin 500mg/12h orally/IV for 5 days.
Scheme for history of allergy to Beta-Lactams:
* Ceftriaxone 1g/day IV for 7 days.
**Inpatient patient in Intensive Care Unit:**
First choice:
* Ampicillin-Sulbactam 1.5g/6h IV for 7 days +/- Clarithromycin 500mg/12h orally/IV for 5 days.
Scheme for history of allergy to Beta-Lactams:
* Ceftriaxone 1-2g/day IV for 7 days.
**Special Considerations for Inpatients:**
Scheme for risk factors for Pseudomonas aeruginosa*:
* Piperacillin/Tazobactam 4.5g/6h IV or Cefepime 2g/8h IV for 7 days +/- Clarithromycin 500mg/12h orally/IV for 5 days.
Scheme for risk factors for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus**:
* Add to conventional scheme: Vancomycin 15-20mg/kg/8-12h IV +/- Clindamycin 600mg/8h IV for 7-14 days.
**Aspiration Pneumonia:**
First choice:
* Ampicillin-Sulbactam 1.5g/6h IV for 5-7 days.
*Risk factors for Pseudomonas aeruginosa: Bronchiectasis, cystic fibrosis, prior treatment with corticosteroids or broad-spectrum antibiotics. Documented isolates in respiratory cultures of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
**Risk factors for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus: Previously healthy young patients with severe, necrotizing, and rapidly progressive pneumonia, cavitary infiltrates, hemoptysis, prior influenza, intravenous drug users, rash, leukopenia, recent or concomitant skin and soft tissue infections.
The routine use of corticosteroids in pneumonia is not recommended.
### **CONSIDERATIONS ON ANTIMICROBIALS IN VIRAL AND ATYPICAL PNEUMONIAS:**
In the case of a concomitant antigen test or PCR for Influenza A/B or SARS-CoV2, the following treatment recommendations are made:
**Influenza Virus A/B:**
First choice:
* Oseltamivir 75mg every 12 hours orally for 5 days.
Other considerations:
* In cases of Respiratory Failure in ARM or Obesity: Oseltamivir 150mg every 12 hours orally for 5 days.
* Concomitant antimicrobial treatment is recommended as there is documented frequent association of Influenza Virus and Streptococcus pneumoniae.
**COVID-19:**
* First choice is conventional treatment with dexamethasone 8 mg IV for 10 days in the event of respiratory failure.
* Routine antimicrobial treatment is not recommended for COVID-19; therefore, upon a positive SARS-CoV2 test, it is recommended to discontinue antimicrobials.
Consider maintaining concomitant antimicrobial treatment only in suspected bacterial infection due to severe presentation:
* Focal alveolar consolidation +/- air bronchogram in imaging studies plus 1 of the following: sepsis, risk factors, and/or immunosuppression.
**Atypical Pneumonias with Seroconversion for Chlamydia or Mycoplasma:**
First choice:
* Clarithromycin 500mg every 12 hours IV/orally for 14 days.
* Azithromycin 500-1000mg/day IV/orally for 14 days.
* Doxycycline 100mg every 12 hours IV/orally for 14 days.
### **CONSIDERATIONS ON PENICILLIN AND OTHER BETA-LACTAM ALLERGIES:**
Patients who report penicillin allergy are often misclassified. It is documented that more than 95% of patients who report penicillin allergy can receive beta-lactams without any complications. Additionally, penicillin hypersensitivity diminishes over the years.
Allergy to one beta-lactam does not imply the impossibility of using the entire spectrum of beta-lactams, as there are only a few cases of cross-hypersensitivity.
Therefore, we recommend the safe use of beta-lactams except in cases of a reported or documented history of severe allergy to penicillin (anaphylaxis).
In doubtful cases or confirmed allergy events during hospitalization, a consultation with an Allergy Specialist is available to evaluate the case.
### **FOLLOW-UP IN OUTPATIENT TREATMENT MODALITY**
Patients undergoing pneumonia treatment in an outpatient setting can continue their treatment at home, considering advising them to seek further consultation in case of alarm signs (fever that does not subside after 48 to 72 hours, dyspnea, hemoptysis, chest pain, etc.). Nevertheless, it is good practice to consider a follow-up consultation in the emergency department or clinic after 48 to 72 hours of starting antibiotic therapy.
It is not routinely recommended to repeat a chest X-ray or CT scan to evaluate the evolution of pneumonia under outpatient treatment. Only in the case of suspected complications or unfavorable evolution. A follow-up at the end of treatment with the primary care physician is suggested.
### **FOLLOW-UP IN INPATIENT TREATMENT MODALITY**
For hospitalized patients, we should consider transitioning from parenteral medication to oral when the following conditions are met
* Completion of 48 hours of parenteral treatment.
* Presence of a 24-hour afebrile period, with hemodynamic stability and significant clinical improvement.
* Availability of the oral route.
It is not routinely recommended to repeat a chest X-ray or CT scan to evaluate the evolution of pneumonia under outpatient or inpatient treatment. Only in the case of suspected complications or unfavorable evolution.
### **PREVENTION**
The prevention of pneumonia is based on timely immunization with pneumococcal vaccines, influenza vaccination, and COVID-19 vaccination according to the immunization recommendations and current schedule from the Ministry of Health.
### **ICD-11 CODING**
* CA40 - Pneumonia.
* CA40.0 - Bacterial Pneumonia.
* CA40.1 - Viral Bronchopneumonia.
* CA40.2 - Fungal Pneumonia.
* CA40.Z - Pneumonia, organism unspecified.
### Autor
**Kamo Weasel - MD Infectious Diseases - MD Internal Medicine - #DocChain Community**
npub1jdvvva54m8nchh3t708pav99qk24x6rkx2sh0e7jthh0l8efzt7q9y7jlj
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@ bf95e1a4:ebdcc848
2024-09-17 12:46:24
This is the AI-generated transcript from Bitcoin Infinity Show #126 with Derek Ross, lightly cleaned up for clarity and readability. It might not be perfect, but it's pretty good!
Check out <http://bitcoininfinity.com/> for all our books, merch, and more!
# Welcoming Derek
**Luke:** Derek, welcome to the Bitcoin Infinity Show. Thanks so much for joining us.
**Derek:** Thanks for having me.
**Knut:** Yeah. Hi. Glad to have you here, Derek. so let's start off with, the TLDR. who are you and why
**Derek:** Well, it's, my dad liked Bo Derek, so he chose the name Derek. I don't know if we want to go that far back.
# Introducing Derek Ross
**Derek:** I fell in love with Nostr, back in December of, 2022 when Jack Dorsey, discovered Nostr when he was looking for projects to fund and a bunch of Bitcoin developers and Bitcoiners said, Hey, you should fund Nostr and check out Nostr.
So a lot of Bitcoiners checked out Nostr at the same time too, and I found out that I could build Basic services on Nostr, because it was pretty simple to do so and add a few bells and whistles for people. I just really embraced the technology, really embraced what Nostr could mean for the world and started talking about Nostr And now, that's my passion.
I love going around to conferences, Bitcoin conferences, building and growing Nostr, and that's kind of, I guess, brought me to you guys today.
**Luke:** Yeah, I mean, we're here at Nostriga, basically the beginning of Nostriga. Still the morning has happened. Yes. But, this place is awesome. We had the Noob day yesterday, and you gave. Nostr 101 at the Noob Day, and so I don't think we need Nostr 101 for this audience necessarily, but can you at least do like a broad strokes of the important points of Nostr just so we have a little bit of a baseline?
**Knut:** And
# The Basics of Nostr
**Derek:** Well, Nostr is decentralized and censorship resistant, and if that sounds familiar, it's because it shares a lot of the same ethos that Bitcoin shares. So I recognized immediately, you know, how important Bitcoin is for the world. Like I've been a Bitcoiner for a few years now, and I recognize that Nostr shares a lot of the same ethos, where it is censorship resistant, decentralized.
You can control your social information similarly to Bitcoin, where you can control which financial rules you decide to run on your own node. So it gives you A lot of ownership over your financial transactions for Bitcoin. Nostr gives you a lot of ownership over your social transactions, so I really liked the correlation to the two that really resonated with me.
it was really easy to understand if Bitcoin is the freedom to transact, then Nostr is the freedom to communicate, and I really liked that relationship. I really recognized that social media is broken and Nostr fixes a lot of that by giving the power and the choice back to users. I really think that that paired with a portable digital social identity that you own and you control for the very first time that you can take with you.
To whatever application, whatever social application you want to use, it's just really unique because you can't log into Twitter, take your social graph and then log into TikTok with it. You know, you just can't do that now. Nostr, you could technically do that. You could have a video streaming app and you log into an audio streaming app or a podcast app or your general social app, and you have the same followers, the same social graph, your contact list, everything is all there.
And that, that's really, really neat. And I think that that's a unique thing that we've never had before.
you explain the social graph in a little bit of detail? Yeah. So your, your social graph is basically who you are social with. It's your, you know, your circle of friends, your followers, the people you interact with on a daily basis in traditional social media that varies from different app to app. You had, you would have to ask everybody. Hey, what's your Instagram account?
I want to follow you there. What's your Twitter account? I want to follow you there. So your social graph is all of your, the people you interact with, the people you follow, the people that follow you. you're able to bring that with you with Nostr, no matter what app you sign into, all of that comes with you.
that's all portable. your social circle, your social experience.
**Luke:** Yeah. so the key feature of Nostr in that respect is this portability, but this is all still tied down by the, public private key cryptography similar to Bitcoin. In fact, it's the same, cryptography setup as Bitcoin.
**Derek:** Yes. Yeah. Yeah. So just like Bitcoin, you know, you, you want to keep your private key safe. Nostr is the same way. Your private key unlocks access to your social identity, just like your Bitcoin private key unlocks access to your Bitcoin. So you want to keep them safe. You want to make sure that you're, you're practicing safe nsex and you're, you're storing your, Yeah, like, I like that dad joke.
It's a good one.
But you make sure that key is secure and you're not putting that key into random applications because like I said, it unlocks your identity.
**Luke:** Yeah. I mean, I think on a practical level, that actually is kind of a scary thing in this early days of Nostr, because first of all, people who are into the Nostr environment early are going to get this extremely strong web of trust with other early Nostr users.
**Derek:** Oh man, this is a fighting point. Like the Nostr is decentralized. So there's no correct way to say it. I've heard Nostr, Nostr, Nostra, like whatever you want. It's just like the logo. There's no official logo. You know, you can make a logo and you can use it. You can make your own saying and use it.
**Luke:** Nostr actually seems like the
**Derek:** say,
**Knut:** we'll go with no
**Derek:** I, you know, the next time you're gonna have somebody else in your show, they're gonna say Nostr. It's just how it is.
**Luke:** Totally.
# Trust, Reputation, and Identity
**Luke:** I mean, the decentralization aspect of it, that's good. But the, so, okay, I think that the point I was getting at is that, yeah, these NSECs are really actually valuable in the sense of that, nothing is going to, from this point onward, if someone loses their NSEC, you're not really going to get back the same kind of network in the same way.
**Derek:** yeah, that's a valid point. If I spent, let's say, a year building my reputation, building my web of trust, my social graph. And then I leak my NSEC accidentally, I have to start all over again, and that's going to be hard because I essentially lost the last year's worth of work. I lost all that proof of work.
Now, people that know you and interact with you, people you've met in person, they'll immediately, transfer that trust to the new identity, but everybody else that doesn't physically know you, that's going to take time to rebuild that.
**Luke:** Yeah, and, okay, this is, a point here. Why is it important to have this trust and reputation? Why does Nostr need that to work?
**Derek:** Well, I think that, in Bitcoin, we say, don't trust verify. But, I think that a certain level of trust for certain social interactions has to happen. You know, if we're constantly afraid of interacting with other humans or, you know, stepping outside our comfort zone and being social with humans because we need verification, it just, paints a negative picture.
It, I think that a certain level of Trust will allow us to be more human, more social because we do have to trust for certain aspects of life. And if we don't want a third party to have to KYC us and we have to play by all sorts of other rules, I think that our reputation becomes our identity.
And that allows us to have all these new types of experiences, new types of interactions. Like if I wanted to sell something on Nostr. I have a lot of people that follow me and they say, Hey, I tried to sell something on Nostr and I wasn't able to do it. I said, Oh, I've sold stuff on Nostr.
They're like, yeah, but you're Derek. And you have a lot of people that follow you. And then I've had people. Come to me and say, hey, can you reshare this item that I'm selling to gain exposure because I have a lot of people that follow me and I say, well, I don't know if I want to do that.
I told a guy recently, I didn't know if I wanted to do that because I didn't know them. He wasn't in my web of trust and I didn't want to promote essentially his item that he was selling. Because I didn't know who he was. Now, if he was in my web of trust, maybe Luke, if you were selling something and you wanted me to, I know you, I I've interacted with you.
Sure. You're in my web of trust. I will help you out. I will reshare the item you're selling. And I think that that type of trust in. You know, human interactions is okay.
# Breaking Nostr
**Knut:** one question I have about this whole thing and that, I still haven't wrapped my head around is like. It's super simple to fire up a cryptographic key pair. So, what's preventing basically DDoS attacks and someone firing up a ton of these and like,
**Derek:** there's essentially really nothing preventing it. We had a Bitcoin Core developer. Ron Stoner, I believe, recently. He decided to show this exact example. And he mined like four million end pubs and he sent a million of them to follow Will from Damus and just to show that, this is essentially an exploit. maybe, we need clients to start to look at low, I'll call them low value key, accounts that don't really follow anybody that have no credit. interactions, that look like they're spam because ultimately anybody can create an infinite number of new keys. Like that's just, that's kind of how it works.
**Knut:** Yeah, I know Twitter's way of mitigating that is probably the blue check nowadays, like where they, I love that they kick the celebrities off of their high horses and like now everyone can get a blue check. It's just a small payment per month. I don't know if it's 8 or something, but as I understand it, that's the way to fight the bots because like you need to get above a threshold.
**Derek:** And that kind of exists, in a way on Nostr. So Nostr has, it's not the same type of verification that you would have on Twitter because nothing is truly being verified except for A website exists that says this person has some way of updating a file on this webpage, it's a NIP05 Nostr address.
**Luke:** Nostr Improvement Protocol,
**Derek:** Improvement Protocol, or no, Nostr Implementation Possibility.
Yes. because you don't have to implement it if you don't want to. If you don't want to implement it, you don't have to.
And possibility was a miss, it was proposal I was thinking of, but yeah, possibility. Proposal. Yeah. that rings a bell. . Yeah, so, with these Nostr addresses, like, you can kind of have Some type of verification that somebody exists, but then bots could sit there and just spin up new accounts and constantly just verify themselves over and over and over again. So that's not a really good spam, mitigation technique.
I think the best that we have right now is rate limiting and relays. being paid. It's kind of a paywall. So there's free relays that are public that anybody can write to. But then there is also the paid relays where maybe it's a monthly fee. Maybe it's a one time fee, yearly fee, but it's some type of paywall.
# Nostr's Relay Architecture
**Luke:** Can you lightly refresh the relay client,
**Derek:** Sure, sure. So Clients are just like your web browser, or just like your email browser, your email client, your email application. They connect to relays that store all of your Nostr data. Relays are just like, servers, they're nodes, and they store all of your events, all your nodes, all your Nostr content.
A client then connects to, All these different relays that a user would be utilizing and downloads or pulls the content from the relays. And then the user sends the content to the relays for other people to pull, to pull down. The relays are the real, real, like dumb part of Nostr. They don't really do anything overly exciting besides store and house information where clients are the power houses.
Clients are the ones that are unique and doing all the, Unique, features and displaying the content differently.
**Knut:** so is there a risk that it goes the same route as SMTP and email and we end up with your Hotmail and your Gmails are
**Derek:** centralized servers. Like there's like, what I can remember running email servers, you know, two decades ago and it was like no big deal. And now it's a lot harder. you basically get blacklisted by all the big, all the big companies, for, for being an unknown new host, essentially.
Could we see that? Maybe, but there's a new methodology that clients are starting to adopt that drastically improves decentralization. Right now, we would have to, on the majority of clients right now, for us to communicate and know each other exists on Nostr, we would have to share at least one relay in common.
So that way our content is both sent to and pulled from at least one server that we have in common. So we know each other exists and we can communicate that way. Which means you could then have centralization issues where everybody could be using the same Ten whatever relays in common, and you really don't want that in a true decentralized model.
So there's a new methodology that developers are slowly starting to implement in their clients. It's referred to as the outbox model, and the way that this works is that the client will look at all of the people, or all the end pubs, the profiles that A user is following and go out to that user's relays where they're publishing their content and pull the content down from that user's relays instead of the initial user's relays.
So it drastically improves decentralization because the two users don't have to share a relay in common. The client does all the work pulling the content down from whichever the relays are. So I could, in theory, publish all of my content to just like the Derek relay. And if your client supports this new type of outbox model and you don't use the Derek relay, you could still see my content because your client knows to go to the Derek relay to get Derek's content.
**Knut:** but nothing is forcing people to implement this model. Right.
**Derek:** No, no, no, exactly. So that, that's why right now we don't have every single client across Nostr using it, but if clients are built with the, NDK, the Nostr development toolkit, Outbox is supported by default now. Snort, Iris, Amethyst, Coracle, I believe. There's a handful of clients that support it now.
And Dalmas doesn't have it yet. Primal doesn't have it yet, but their developers are both committed to adding it in the future. Once all the major clients are doing it, it's like a social consensus at that point.
And just a quick follow on, on this. I think the distinction, the reason this works in my understanding, right. Is that most of these relays would be anyone can read, but you have to have access to write to it. is that correct? Yeah. Well, yeah. For example, like for my relay, anybody can read from my relay, but only, I only allow my wife and I to write to my relay, but since everybody in the world can read from it with the outbox model, you don't have to specifically tell your client.
Your client will know where my content is and go to my relay to get it for
**Luke:** right? So a model that actually would in fact work in this scenario is someone signs up for maybe one or two big paid relays, something like that. And that relay just lets anyone read from it. Then this outbox model would just let people pull down from those paid relays.
I think we'll see in the future a lot more smaller community based relays just because that methodology will just work like right now. If you have all sorts of smaller community relays, you have to know where the people you follow publish their content.
**Derek:** And then if they would start publishing it on a new relay and no longer use that relay, you could lose contact with that person. So this new method will fix that.
# Nostr User Experience and Adoption
**Knut:** It's, I mean, all of this sounds complicated, and I think like, do, does Nostr get the masses, like, and can it be fixed with, improved user interfaces and stuff? Like how? there's always a trade off between usability and security, right? So like, how do you see that
**Derek:** I like to say that technology works best once it fades into the background. You should not know The protocol that you're using. You shouldn't know how all of the sausage is made. You should just know, man, I like sausage. It's delicious. Like, that's all you need to know. Right? and Nostr needs to, to get to that level.
Are we there yet? Definitely not. relays are important, but maybe in the future, whenever a new user signs in, they don't actually really need to choose the relays that often. Maybe it's just going to randomize. You know, there's a thousand relays out there just randomly picks, six relays or something, a half a dozen relays at random.
So it's drastically increasing decentralization. And it does all this in the background. And then under an advanced setting, you can add your own personal one or something like that. most people won't ever go into advanced settings. they'll just use their app because everything else just fades into the background.
They'll just use it. They won't need to know to go in to add media servers or they won't know to go in and configure relays. The clients will just do all of this for them because the technology stack has improved to the point where this can be done.
**Knut:** yeah, I'm going to continue on the devil's advocate, like
**Derek:** Fire away. We need
**Knut:** attack vectors here.
# Ethical Concerns and Open Protocols
**Knut:** so since it's so open and anyone can develop Nostr stuff, like right now you have the ethos and like all the developers, like, I love that all of these young 180 IQ developers are now, they're not making shitcoins anymore and They're all on Nostr, and like, I love that fact, because that's, that's the right usage of that brainpower.
But going forward, and if this really takes off, or when this really takes off, don't you see, don't you think you'll see, people with not as ethical intentions get into the space and try to like, take over?
**Derek:** Yeah, I mean, sure. I think that, you know, Nostr is an open protocol. So anything will be tried because it can be tried because it's open. But then we need to look at the free market and we need to look at staying open. If Nostr is truly permissionless, then yes, shitcoiners should be able to come build on Nostr.
I don't want to use their clients. I won't recommend anybody. they should be able to come and try to build something because Nostr is open and maybe they'll only have their shitcoin corner of Nostr and they'll have their own community over here. The rest of us won't be using that.
And that's probably okay. Well,
**Knut:** It's all about optionality, right?
**Derek:** that I think is the issue that Nostr really solves is because it's giving people choice. And in legacy social media, you don't really have a lot of choice. You need to use what is spoon fed to you. So if somebody wants to come build, you know, Ethereum tipping or Solana tipping or something on Nostr, I mean, that's,
Cool. Like I'm not going to use it. I'm not going to tell my wife that she now needs to Ethereum zap me, but the fact that somebody could do it would prove that Nostr really is permissionless and open.
**Knut:** Yeah, this leads me directly to a deeper philosophical question.
# Hypernostrification vs. Hyperbitcoinization
**Derek:** Yeah. Because, in your mind, what happens first? Hypernostrification or hyperbitcoinization? And the reason I ask this now is like, because if we get hyperbitcoinization first, then it might be harder for, for shitcoins Oh yeah.
**Knut:** But in your mind, what happens first of the two?
**Knut:** I don't know. Again, we're going to go to a Derekism, another saying I like to say. I like to say that the purple pill helps the orange pill go down. So it's lube.
**Derek:** I think that we see more Nostr adoption first, and that helps with Bitcoin adoption through just ease of use and fun and frictionless manners.
I really think that, we know the money's broken, but social's also broken too. I don't think, The world is entirely going to move to Bitcoin. we're going to see hyperbitcoinization in the next couple of years, but maybe we'll see hyper Nostrification in the next couple of years as applications slowly start to rebuild and try out Nostr and see how that works for them.
And then from there, they get on boarded to Bitcoin through that.
**Knut:** So the reason that the web is broken, and the reason social media is broken, is that because of bad money. Like, what's the correlation there? Like, have you thought about that?
**Derek:** Maybe I like to think back to, you know, two decades ago, if you wanted to run a server out of your house to run your own media server, your own, you know, photos, your own documents, you know, movies, music, whatever you wanted to do, any type of social. you really couldn't do it. Like we didn't really have the infrastructure or the technology to really do it.
It was very expensive to run a server at home. we didn't have point and click installs for the average person. We didn't have point and click, you know, setups for in configurations for routers, we just didn't have the technology. For the average person to do it, you know, if, if you're a, you know, systems administrator, network engineer, sure, you can do all that stuff.
I mean, I was doing that 20 years ago too, but nobody else, you know, besides people in that like profession really did that. Nowadays, you can spend 50 and buy a raspberry pi and Install piece of software on it and touch a couple buttons and boom, you can deploy all these home services.
I think that since we couldn't do that 20 years ago, 30 years ago, we moved the technology stack into these large data centers where. The technology existed for people to run these services because they had the software, they had the high bandwidth, they had the fast servers, computers.
So we moved everything into these data centers and we trusted these large technology companies because they had the resources to do that. But then as technology improves, the infrastructure improves. Software improves and becomes easier. Now we can start pulling that out of the data center and the users can do it at home.
I don't think it's related to bad money. I just think it's related to, you know, we were early, so we moved to centralization because we had to, and now that we've advanced enough, now we can kind of. Recapture that and pull it back.
**Knut:** Yeah.
**Luke:** I actually like that argument for this because I mean, it's the gold thing, right? Like the gold physically couldn't do these things, but now Bitcoin does that. so gold centralized into vaults. Because that was just the way that
**Knut:** And fiat solved that problem.
**Luke:** exactly. so now maybe what you're saying is that, yeah, at the time, the actual server infrastructure had to be centralized like that.
And now there's a decentralized alternative. I can buy that.
**Derek:** and here's, a thought on this, maybe fiat money and, you know, our kids take the bill and pushing things forward faster and faster, that led to the computer revolution and the internet revolution. If that had been done in a sounder way, then maybe the internet would have developed slower, but in a more sound way, maybe, you know, technology bills getting published And money printing to fund, you know, so they just build fast and quick and they built too fast. Maybe it wasn't sustainable. The only way to be sustainable was to centralize who knows. It's all related to bad money.
I get it.
**Knut:** My tip is to not spend 50 on a raspberry pi, but spend a couple of hundred bucks and buy a start 9 instead.
**Luke:** something that, Definitely has the slightly more resources. And I mean, I think definitely, we, we had, someone asked the question at the noob day about, about running relays and everything. And I mean, it's great that people are actually wanting to do the self sovereign thing with Nostr the same way as they, Do with the Bitcoin nodes and stuff.
And it's great to see that these like node in the box
**Derek:** Yeah.
**Luke:** are making that easy for people.
# Running Your Own Relay
**Luke:** So maybe, maybe here's like a, like a practical thing, just like a little bit on running your own relay and being as self sovereign as possible. And Nostr, do you have some thoughts on that?
**Derek:** Yeah. So I personally run two different relays. I run a relay on my phone just to basically act as a place for my DMs and my offline notes to go. So I can have my, I'm sorry, not DMs. I meant drafts. The other D with drafts for my drafts to go. And then for my offline notes to go, I run a relay in my house for my wife and I to use, as I had mentioned earlier.
And I do a little bit more of a complicated method because I want my relay in my house to be accessible from the outside world. That piece of the puzzle was still a little bit technical because you have to configure some network settings to allow the outside world to connect in to a computer that you're running at home.
So that, portion of it isn't like point and click easy yet. But, if you do have a start nine or you do have an umbral, you can point and click to have a relay at home installed. And then while you're at home on, Wi Fi or if you have a desktop, it's hardwired, whatever, anything that's on your home network can easily use those local relays.
And then if you want to access them from the outside world, you have to know that networking piece that I was just talking about, or you need to use like a home VPN. Or something like tail scale. And then you can accomplish that.
# Onboarding and User Accessibility
**Knut:** so when will my 78 year old mother, fire up a Nostr, keep her?
**Derek:** I don't know. Maybe does she use social media now?
**Knut:** Yeah, she does.
**Derek:** What does she use?
**Knut:** Facebook, mainly.
**Derek:** Okay. Well, maybe someday I think Facebook's going to be a holdout on this. Maybe we'll see Elon do it in the next, two or three years, but I think someday we'll see a large legacy.
Traditional social media client turn into a very highly customized Nostr client and users really won't even know it. They'll custody the keys for the user, give you a username and password. They'll do all of that stuff. It'll be a, filtered relay, maybe moderated relay, who knows. But it'll essentially look the same and function the same for users, except they'll be connected to the Nostrverse.
they'll be publishing publicly to Nostr, and they won't even know it yet. So maybe when that happens, then she'll have her keys. Otherwise, I think the onboarding process needs to be improved a little bit
**Knut:** Mm hmm.
**Derek:** We can have 78 year olds, actively using Nostr.
I think it needs to be easier.
**Knut:** Boomer.
**Derek:** Yeah.
**Luke:** Well, some 78 year olds are more tech savvy than others,
**Knut:** yes, most of them are more tech savvy than my mother for sure.
**Luke:** there you go.
# Beyond Twitter Alternatives
**Luke:** But this actually leads to another point here, is that the Twitter alternatives are really the clients that are the big thing. And actually, I think even people who are in the Nostr ecosystem already, Don't really do much outside of these Twitter alternatives, but there are other ways to display the Nostr information that looks a lot different, right?
Can you go into that a little bit?
**Derek:** yeah, I think that the reasons that Twitter alternatives are the most popular is because that's what we needed most, you know, and that's what was the most popular use case in the beginning, and it still holds true today, but it's also because These applications kind of manage the key for you, like on your device.
And a lot of this other stuff, a lot of these new unique use cases are web applications, they're websites, and people don't want to just go and paste their private key, their NSEC into a random website, which you should never do anyways. I found out that using extensions is something a lot of people don't use.
Like, with my app, NostrNest. com, so many people just don't use extensions. And you need to use an extension to sign in. The extension manages your key for you on the web. It acts as like your key management signing device. And a lot of people just don't use it. I would tell them, oh, you need to use an extension.
They're like, well, how do I use an extension? It's like, oh, you just need to go here and install that. And so many people just aren't familiar with it. It's really, that was really surprising to me. my point is that the other stuff, while it can be exciting unique and cool, it's not used as much because I think signing into all these web apps is, Very different from the average user.
They're used to using a username and password. They're not used to having to go and install an extension in Safari or install a whole nother web browser on Android or a whole nother app, to access a website. That's weird. it's a little too different. And once that workflow improves, then maybe we'll see, your Twitch alternative or your, medium alternative, blow up.
And become more popular.
**Luke:** Well, and actually the funny thing is the experience. Once you have the extension set up and you just go
**Derek:** Oh, it's easy
clients, like frictionless, it's perfect. But once you get over that hurdle of installing the extension, putting your private key into it and logging into that first website where it says, Hey, you're trying to log in and this website wants to know who you are. Do you want to allow it? Yes. you're going to post something and you know, do you want to have this post to your profile?
Yes. Once you understand how that works, then it's a no brainer, but it's just that first technical hurdle that so many people struggle with. But hopefully we Nostr developers can make this easier, in the coming future.
**Luke:** it's the natural innovation beyond because, a lot of services had been adopting a password lists, authentication model, basically just send a code to your email address. and I like that model. I think that's a lot more secure. You just have to worry about your email being secure
But then you go, one, next level, and it's everything is from that key pair. we are Nostr pilled as far as the use case and what it is. But it comes down to, I think, a little more of the pain points and the usability of it,
# Nostr Algorithms
**Luke:** I will use Nostr, like the, the feed and everything, but I'll also use the, the Twitter feed as well because there's just so much more information on that. and the thing is, my current thing that I would like to see improvement on, or at least my ability to make my own improvements on is the algorithm selection.
and I know you've got a talk, coming up about this, like how to tailor your own algorithm, basically. And so before I give any other specific questions on this topic, could you preview, what you're going to talk about in terms of how to
**Derek:** Sure. So even though there is no blockchain, time chain, whatever for Nostr, I like to say that Nostr is a proof of work protocol because there are no algorithms at the protocol level. And the content isn't necessarily all the time brought forward for you. You're not spoonfed content.
So that means you have to do the work. You have to put in the work to be social. You have to do the work to get discovered and to discover content. And people aren't so much used to that anymore because they're used to being spoonfed a fire hose of content from your major platform. So with Nostr, we have the ability to regain and control our attention.
And we can control our social experience. So you have to do the work. You have to go out and comment on people's posts and you have to socially engage. You need to let people know that you're here. You have to make your voice heard. You have to interact with people. You have to just be social.
And it's really, it's just an interesting take because right now on these traditional platforms, you can kind of just lurk and have a decent experience because you're fed content. And on Nostr, that isn't the case most of the time, but now we have these, algorithm stores that are starting to pop up, where you can use them if you want to, it's not a requirement, which is, you know, like, maybe on, Twitter or Instagram or something like that, like, the algorithm is there, and maybe you can view a different feed, but It's, not the default.
and right now, like Nostr clients, the default is your chronological feed. if that's what you want, you can always have it. But if you want to do some algorithm, you can choose to do that. And it's open and transparent. So you could go and look at the algorithm to see what it's doing.
And that's just unique. We don't really have that type of user choice. So you can be your own algorithm socially. Or you can use an algorithm that somebody else built.
**Knut:** All right. so I think this was sort of, at least partially, an answer to my next question. And this is something I talked to Giacomo about, but because of the very reasons you just mentioned, you get very high quality people on Nostr and people who agree with one another and are nice and friendly to one another and you take care, it's your reputational capital and so on.
But. Many people are on Twitter for the opposite reason, that they want to argue with people. So how do we get more assholes on Nostr that are wrong on the internet, you know, and
you know, Yeah.
**Derek:** but I like to say that these algorithms on these traditional platforms were built to keep us enraged and engaged because if we're constantly upset and engaged, we're going to be using the application more.
We're going to see more ads. Ads are going to make more money. And it's going to fuel them to build bigger, better, more algorithms. We're going to use the app more. We're going to be more engaged and enraged. And it's just a never ending cycle.
I think that sure, if somebody wanted to build an asshole algorithm and just only show you controversial, mean content on Nostr, it's open. You can do that. And then they can have their asshole feed, I guess.
# Nostr's Competitiveness
**Knut:** but, okay, this ties into a more serious point, if the, traditional platforms are optimized for engagement and, you know, to keep you on, how does Nostr take off if it doesn't have that drug,
**Derek:** Yeah, sure. I think most humans generally, want to be good people and don't want to be bad and negative all the time. It's just that, media really fuels that clown world also is very upsetting to people sometimes too.
And it drives their social experiences that way. another Derek ism is that, we're doom scrolling on other platforms. But humans weren't born to doom scroll, they should bloom scroll, people want to be good, I hope, If you're surrounded by good content, it's going to make you more positive.
If you're surrounded by negative content, it's going to make you more negative.
**Knut:** yeah, I certainly hope that people will use it more, because it ties into why newspapers that have aggressive headlines and like fearful headlines sell better, because our brains are wired for fear,
**Derek:** Yeah, exactly. we need to change that. We need to take it back. We need to use Nostr to take it back. we should be selling good stuff, not bad stuff.
I totally agree, Is it going to work in practice?
**Knut:** we'll see.
**Luke:** actually, so part of the practical thing on this, you can scroll virtually infinitely on these, Twitter apps. But Nostr, there always is some kind of limit. And let me explain what I mean by that. So in Primal, for example, Primal being the app that I use mostly on the web and the phone now, I do like, some others such as, Amethyst, and I've tried other, clients for the web, great to have the variety, but mostly I use Primal for the ease of use factor.
You got into this, at the noob day a little bit. but the, the two styles of feed that I get there through Primal is basically a latest. a version of latest and a version of, trending and the ways that, so, okay, not to overcomplicate this exactly, but I like, for example, concepts of, your tribe, the people who you follow and who follow you
Li limits based on the web of trust, I think. I think that's good And primal gives you tools to limit. So if you decide you want to see a wider feed, maybe you get the people who your followers follow. And then when I click that, I always get a whole ton of Japanese and Thai stuff like that, right? So, it's funny that it's not quite perfect at that level.
To be able to discover new stuff. Okay. I'm, this is actually going to be multiple questions. So maybe we'll start with that one. But how do you discover new stuff on Nostr that isn't the top, top, top most trending thing? Cause this is another side of the problem. but isn't someone that you already know and already follow.
# Data Vending Machines (DVMs)
**Derek:** so I use my main client is Amethyst and there's several clients now that support these things called DVMs. It stands for Data Vending Machine. it sounds kinda, you know, nerdy but all it is, is an algorithm, really. I mean, an algorithm that is executed when somebody says, hey, I want to obtain this piece of data from you, give it to me.
Some of these data vending machines may be free. Some of them may be like a vending machine where you pay it some sats, and then it gives you the data, the algorithms executed after it gets paid. So I use DVMs to find new content. Like that's part of that whole algorithm to discover content.
There's all sorts of different ones. Like maybe I want to. Find, popular notes of cats or dogs, fluffy friends is what I think it's called. Or maybe I want to find, a trending, or there's a new DVM that was suggested recently. It's really cool. it finds the latest note from people you follow.
So if you constantly are posting in the feed every single day, all day long, and then there's other people that maybe post once a week or something, you would never see their content because they're always drowned out by more active users. So this new data vending machine, like algorithm, it'll go out there and find just the top latest note from somebody you follow.
So it's just a feed of like latest notes and that's a way to find content that you. Might generally miss, and that there's actually one called, something like what, while you were away or find content while you weren't active, or something like that on Nostr. And it tries to find content for you that way.
There's all these unique ways to find content and now that they're showing up more and more clients like no strudel and cortical. Coracle does some really neat stuff on, discoverability, finding content now. And this gets back to building your own algorithm. If you want that and you use these clients and it helps you, you find content and you're right.
Like sometimes they're not perfect. Like maybe you'll see some, content from other languages, you know, but you know, that, yeah.
**Luke:** It's fine that that exists. It's just not relevant to me at all. I mean, I know there are
**Derek:** that's a feature, maybe that's a filter or something like that on a client that needs to be built in is only show content from my native, or from my language that I normally post in, or my locale, or something like that is a way to maybe that's a new DVM right there.
If we just figured it out, we need,
Well, how do users find information on DVMs? yeah, well, if you're at, this gets back to the, we're early and Nostr is very technical. They're onboarding on Nostr as a whole generally sucks. It does because it's technical. We need more explanations or we need things to be simpler. And because these things, neither of these exist, there's probably a lot of people that use maybe Amethyst or maybe use.
Nostrudel or Coracle that have no clue what these things are. today, Primal announced their DVM store. Their, algorithm marketplace, essentially. And they do it very, very well. It's gonna be, it looks like it's gonna be kind of front and center for you to choose. And you can configure your feed with just a toggle radio button.
It looks like it's designed really, really nice. And maybe we'll see some of this user experience slip over to other clients, because right now you can get to them on several other clients, but they need a little bit more work, I think, to be, more user friendly.
**Luke:** Sure, and well, okay, and so, you find this stuff even by asking where to find this stuff on Nostr?
**Derek:** I can give you a website, I don't know the name of it, but it's something like datavendingmachines. com or nostrdvms. com, I don't remember the exact domain name, but it lists them all and explains what they are and how they work.
You should, we should have some of that in app, I think, to have a better user experience.
**Luke:** And how difficult is it to make your own?
**Derek:** to make your own DVM or to use one.
**Luke:** even, for example, just configure it
**Derek:** To make your own DVM, you probably need to be a Nostr developer. You need to know how to do some development programming. But if you want to utilize one, it's just a few clicks of a button. The most configurable one that exists today, Coracle. You can build these custom feeds with DVMs, with hashtags, with lists of people, with all sorts of stuff, and you can build a very, very user customized, feed, and I believe Damus NoteDeck is going to have something similar like that, too, where in the future, they'll have these algorithm stores and all these different types of feeds that you're going to be able to very easily point and click and build these feeds, but to build your own feed, Custom DVM, yeah, you should probably be a developer for that.
Otherwise, you'll just use somebody else's DVM that they built.
**Luke:** Okay, and then, so, I guess the engagement side of it. That's the other way to so called build your own feed?
**Derek:** right, like if, and this kind of mimics the real world, right, if we're standing outside in the conference hall and you and Knut are talking and I want to interject in the conversation, I'm not gonna just stand there off to the side and hope that you look at me and say, hey, do you want to talk?
I gotta go over and stand there and I gotta join the conversation. And that's really what you need to do on Nostr. if somebody is posting, commenting, replying, whatever, if you want to join the conversation, you need to join the conversation. You need to comment and talk too. And then those people are going to be like, Oh, hey, look, Derek's replying.
**Luke:** I don't know who he is, but now he's joined the conversation. I liked his reply. Maybe I want to follow him. And it just mimics real world in that. and as I understand it, the primal algorithm is largely reply based, like, the, the trending is, is, notes that get a lot of, replies, and, that, that's, that's important for that algorithm, and that's, this is actually one of these things I would like to personally be able to, to, to toggle, is, is, I don't necessarily look for the things that have the most interest.
replies, maybe I want it, maybe I want, because that's engagement, maybe I want the things that, that have the most likes, or, the most zaps, that one, that one's easy, I like that, that one's usually, pretty available and all this,
**Derek:** yeah, the mentioning the Primal algorithm for their trending is an interesting topic because over the past year, like when they first announced trending I think their signal indicator might have been zaps and people were doing like fake zaps just to show that this could be gamed and then Primal went back and retooled a little bit and then it was people were doing like spamming like thousands and thousands of reactions and then hitting trending again.
It's an open protocol. Anybody's going to do anything. And then, you know, Primal went back again and retooled and made their algorithm better and, then they, once they, hit a working model that couldn't be gamed as easily, then they published it very transparent. This is how our algorithm works.
You can go review it all on GitHub, yada, yada, yada. And, you know, that's kind of where we're at today. I think that, having an algorithm or having a DVM or something that, You could customize, Hey, I want to see most likes or most zaps or most replies. I think that's cool with it. Cause maybe your signal indicator is different than mine.
And you'll have the one from, the client, like however their algorithm is configured, but maybe you can go in and configure your algorithm just a little bit differently because you like comments, but you want to see those big zaps and there actually is a DVM for top zaps or something like that.
**Luke:** It sounds like there's something for everyone here, it's just a matter of figuring out how to use it
**Knut:** It's sort of like the saying with Bitcoin. Bitcoin is for everyone and people pointing out that no, it's not. It's for anyone. Yeah, and that's a better description.
**Luke:** Well, and actually this is another philosophical question here, right, because still we're going to get people that come into this who aren't going to want to do any customization. They just want to come in and have it work and be like their Twitter.
And then what happens is that the default algorithm of the largest app turns into the new
**Derek:** into like the default.
**Luke:** yeah, which also turns into the things that people see and all of this.
**Derek:** well, right now, as far as I know, there are no clients that the default feed that you get is an algorithm. I think you have to go in and configure that and change that and choose to do that. As long as that stays the case. You know, the chronological, some people might say chronological order is its own algorithm, but as long as the, chronological algorithm is the default one, I really don't see that's that big of a deal, but even if it is, we have user choice, you're right.
If the most popular client would automatically say, Hey, We're gonna switch to using this algorithm. Whenever Facebook makes a feed change, or Twitter would make a feed change, you know people are up in arms and they yell and they complain, but you can't do anything about it. Well, Nostr's different. You, you literally can, you can say, well, I'm going to use a new client.
So I'm curious what would happen if, the most popular client makes a major change like this, they change the algorithm, the default algorithm, would everybody really do what they say they want to do on Facebook? Like I'm never using Facebook again because you changed my feed. Well, they can't go anywhere else.
So they stick to Facebook, but now you could. So would people actually move to another app?
Funny that you should say that, because that's one of the things that made me leave Facebook, right? Because they actually did some social experiment by pissing people off but now you would have a choice, right? Like, so that opens up a whole new
**Knut:** yeah, and I could take my posts with me.
**Derek:** You take your content, your social graph with you. so maybe we won't see that, or maybe once someone does it, they shoot some self in the foot and they're like, Oh, we don't, maybe we shouldn't do this.
We should give users a choice.
# The Permanency of Online Content
**Knut:** There's another thing about the social graph and the permanency of it, like how permanent it is, because everyone should know that anything you do on the internet is as permanent as a tattoo. And that's why you can't delete posts from Nostr, like the whole deleting of data is a mirage.
It's not real.
you can delete, but not every relay is going to honor that request. but what I'm coming to here is that, is that going to scare people that their stupid post from when they were 15 years old will be there forever?
**Derek:** Well, what I'd be curious about is, on legacy social platforms, when you hit delete, Is it actually deleted from a database or is it just flagged as deleted and don't show again?
probably the latter. Yeah, so probably, you can screenshot stuff. Like if you post something on the internet, it's literally never going to go away.
**Knut:** People just need to learn this. So maybe Nostr is the way that they learn that, because it's more honest.
**Derek:** it is more honest. Like I can make a request for a deletion from every relay that my content exists on.
**Knut:** Yeah.
**Derek:** If I, you know, let's say there's a thousand relays and 999 of them delete the content, but one of them says, yeah, I'm going to archive everything, I'm not deleting it.
Well, then it still exists on the internet, like it just, so that's why we say there's no delete. Yeah, maybe you're right, maybe it is the most honest that you can request it to be deleted, but there's no guarantee that the request is going to be honored.
**Luke:** Good. Yeah. okay.
# Getting the Most Out of Nostr
**Luke:** So, the principles of Nostr seem to be getting pretty clear here that, it's all about this portability, this decentralization, this new way of doing things, and yes, there is going to be some. Switchover, that people have to do to, really get the most out of it.
But, that said, there's so much cool stuff going on, that once you make that switch, there's this whole new world of it. And, for me personally, the biggest thing that's prevented me from going all in is, I guess I just, haven't got quite The right thing, the right feed, the engagement. I mean, I think timezone right now plays a big role here, because when is everyone actually active?
How do you get involved in conversations? For Europe, it's a bit tough. You almost have to post on Nostr in the European evening to get any engagement with North American users, which at the moment are the majority. At least in the English speaking world.
**Derek:** That doesn't really happen unless you specifically seek. That on Nostr. So a little hack about being your own algorithm that I've used over the past, year and a half or so is, you know, people used to say it was bad form to retweet your own tweets, but you need to do that.
You need to boost your own content on Nostr. You need to, I do it specifically for different time zones. Like you said, you know, maybe I posted something really good. In 8 o'clock in the morning and then six hours later, I'm like, you know what? There's more people up and out and about in the world right now.
I'm going to boost that because I thought that was really good. I don't do it for every single one of my notes because that's probably overkill. But maybe once or twice a day, if I thought I did something, I think, man, that needs more views.
So this gets back to being your own algorithm. So I would say try that. People aren't going to hate on you for it. people understand that you need to be your own algorithm and bring your own content forward.
**Knut:** know how Nostr reminds me that I should be more careful on the internet because like sometimes I accidentally like posts that I want to, I want to declick the button and make the like go away, but it doesn't.
**Derek:** But well, so that depends on the client. So what that would do is that would send a delete request
**Knut:** yeah, exactly what we talked about before.
Yeah, to all like amethyst supports on, you know, unliking, but it sends a delete request to all the relays saying, Hey, delete that, that reaction. that's the thing. It's, it reminds me of what's actually going on under the hood while the other social media platforms just are optimized for make it simple for the user. Yeah.
# Nostr vs Bitcoin
**Knut:** to take this in a slightly different direction and, a final point here, we've found out why you're so bullish on Nostr.
Why are you bullish on Bitcoin? Like what's, what's your, what are you most excited for in the Bitcoin space right now?
**Derek:** The most exciting thing about Bitcoin for me is to see these developing communities around the world, like using Bitcoin because it's better than their corrupt money. they're inflated money. And seeing them being able to save for the very first time and being able to essentially like be their own bank, you know, banking the unbanked and just being better money for them.
I think that is so cool. Like I absolutely love watching all these videos of Communities around the world bettering themselves and educating their youth or children on money and finances and seeing the kids being able to have better lives because of this. Like that's the use case. It's cool.
wealth preservation is cool. I understand, sound money Everything is broken, after reading, Safedine's, the fiat standard. thinking about Bitcoin is another element there's a lot of interesting use cases and ways to think about it.
But my favorite is, communities having these circular economies and bettering themselves.
**Knut:** Great.
**Luke:** Yeah, fantastic answer and very much aligned with us. And, since we've been, poking at different bits of Nostr this whole time, I also was hoping to end on a, on a optimistic note on the Nostr side as, as well.
# Most Exciting Projects on Nostr
**Luke:** So what are you most excited about that's coming up right now? What do you think is going to make the biggest impact in what you're aware of?
**Derek:** There's so many really cool projects out there. Oh man. there's probably ones being demonstrated right now that I've never even, you know, wasn't aware of. I really like the ability to have, so the, There's a Nostr app called zap. store. It is a Google Play or App Store, replacement, FOSS, built on Nostr.
It allows us to see, applications that are reviewed and installed by our web of trust. So An application that's really popular and has good reviews by people, you know, people that are in your web of trust versus who knows who they are, if they're bots or whatever on, you know, these other app stores. I think that that's a very neat use case.
You know, we see problems in the Bitcoin ecosystem where apps get removed from app stores all the time, And it just seems that everything is getting choked in this regard. So I think that's a neat use case, especially what's been going on in the Bitcoin ecosystem. I'm really excited to see that continue to grow and get fleshed out.
I think just. Everything being able to be more interoperable on Nostr. I'm really bullish for the next big thing to be built on Nostr and then all these other clients to be like, wow, I want to implement it. And then they all implement it. And that feature then is used everywhere, but there's just so much stuff.
It's hard to be bullish on one thing. Like, you know, Pablo's, Nutsack, Cashew wallet is really cool.
**Luke:** Yeah. What a
**Derek:** It takes balls to decide the kind of name. does.
**Knut:** All right.
# Wrapping Up
**Derek:** So other than Nostr, where can people find you on the internet know what? I got tired of Odell yelling about Nostr only and me being a huge Nostr bull, not being Nostr only. So a couple of months ago I deleted everything. It's all gone. I have no Twitter. I have no Facebook. I have no Instagram, no LinkedIn. I'm Nostr only.
**Knut:** All right.
**Derek:** you want to find me, You need to go to Nostr because I don't exist anywhere else anymore.
**Luke:** any specific things that you're working on that you'd like to tell us
**Derek:** So the most exciting thing that I've personally done recently is I organized a community led Nostr booth at BTC Prague, where I basically said to the community, Hey, Nostr needs to have a big presence so we can purple pill Prague. Let's have a booth. I want developers to be able to come to the booth, talk to their users, talk about their products.
Getting a booth is expensive. And a lot of these indie, smaller developers, can't afford that. So what if they just donate a little bit of Bitcoin? We pooled those funds together. We had maybe a couple larger, Developers, sponsors, and we pull all these funds together. We have this Nostr booth.
it was great. I think it was one of the most well received booths. I'm a little biased there, but it was busy for three days straight. We had tons of people there all the time. everybody that I talked to absolutely loved it. It was great to see. the whole Nostr community come together for this, essentially an educational slash marketing effort really to help grow Nostr and teach and educate people about Nostr.
I'm excited to do it again. Like I don't know when and where, but I want to do it again. I think it was great and I would love to have the same initiative at some point in the near future.
**Luke:** thanks a lot for coming on.
**Derek:** for having me.
**Luke:** We could probably continue to try and pick your encyclopedic brain on the Nostr stuff, but we'll give you a break. We know you've got another panel
**Derek:** So enjoy the rest of the conference. Thanks again, Derek. This has been the Bitcoin Infinity Show. All right. Thank you
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@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1
2024-09-17 10:35:57
## But who will identify the spam?
Any relay will get hit with spam. That's just the cost of being a server admin. (Of course, we're all going to end up server admins, now that local and private relays are becoming ubiquitous, but I digress.)
The question is more: *What is spam?* Who gets to determine which events are spam?
That's actually a completely subjective decision, so I think individual npubs should be determining it. nostr:npub1494rtg3ygq4cqawymgs0q3mcj6hucvu4kmadv03s5ey2sg32df5shtzmp0 was heading in the direction of individually-trained, intelligent spam filters, with Minitru, but npubs need more standardized information, to make effective decisions and to calibrate their personal filters.
## 6 Confirmations
Information about an unknown npub is gathered by
Examining it in isolation
* interacting with it (such as in a conversation),
* reading what it has already published,
* asking it to pay money
* requesting it to perform some task
... and by examining it within a group
* asking other npubs if they follow it (the basis of WoT)
* or asking others if the npub is already known to them (community membership, articles they've zapped, replies they've given, etc.)
All of these things should leave a sort of audit trail, so that the next evaluator can judge accordingly, or ask for more information. Then the confirmations build up, without someone needing to be followed.
Like with Bitcoin. The transactions aren't "followed", they're confirmed.
This npub has had 3 confirmations... 6 confirmations... 10470 confirmations.
You could have 10 followers, but 12000 confirmations, because you manage to meet everyone's minimum, but didn't make the hurdle to the "follow" list.
## Hit two birds with one stone
This would also allow follow lists to become friend lists, again, eliminate the need for an additional "favorites" list, and raise the information value of following.
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@ bf95e1a4:ebdcc848
2024-09-11 06:31:05
This is the lightly-edited AI generated transcript of Bitcoin Infinity Show #125. The transcription isn't perfect, but it's usually pretty good!
If you'd like to support us, send us a zap or check out the Bitcoin Infinity Store for our books and other merchandise! <https://bitcoininfinitystore.com/>
# Intro
**Luke:** Paolo, Mathias, welcome to the Bitcoin Infinity Show. Thank you for joining us.
**Paolo:** Thank you for having us.
**Knut:** Yeah, good to have you here, guys. We're going to talk a bit about Keet and Holepunch and a little bit about Tether today, aren't we?
**Luke:** Sounds like that's the plan. So thank you again, both for joining us.
# Introducing Paolo and Mathias
**Luke:** would you both mind giving a quick introduction on yourselves just so our listeners have the background on you
**Paolo:** Sure, I'm Paolo Arduino, I'm the CEO at Tether. I started my career as a developer, I pivoted towards more, strategy and execution for, Tether and Bitfinex. And, co founded with Matthias, Holepunch, that is, building very, crazy and awesome technology, that is gonna be disrupting the way people communicate.
**Luke:** And, Mathias, over to you.
**Mathias:** Yeah, thank you. Yeah, I've been, so I come from a peer-to-peer background. I've been working with peer-to-peer technology. The last, I always say five, but it's probably more like 10 years. I did a lot of work on BitTorrent and I did a lot of work on JavaScript. and a little bit later to, Bitcoin and I saw a lot of potential on how we can use Bitcoin with pureology and like how we can use.
P2P technology to bring the same mission that Bitcoin has, but to all kinds of data, setting all data free and, making everything private per default and self sovereignty and that kind of thing. I'm very into that. and I've been lucky to work with, like I said, with Paolo for, many years now and, Get a lot of, valuable, feedback and, idea sharing out of that.
And we're on a mission to, build some, really cool things. In addition to all the things we've already been building. So it's super exciting and glad to be here.
**Luke:** Oh, fantastic.
# Introduction to Holepunch
**Luke:** Matthias, that was a perfect segue into basically, an introduction to, can you tell us about, Holepunch.
What is Holepunch and what are you doing?
**Mathias:** Yeah, sure. like I said, we co founded the company a couple of years ago. Now, we've been building up a team of really talented peer to peer engineers. we're always hiring also. So if anybody's listening and want to join our mission, please, apply. we have some really smart people working with us.
but we teamed up to basically. like I said in my introduction, I've been working on peer to peer technology for many years now and thinking ahead how we can, stop using all that technology when I started it was only used for basically piracy. I'm from the Nordics, and I think Knut is from the Nordics also, so he knows all about, the Nordics know about piracy.
It wasn't back in the day. A lot of very interesting technologies came out of that. But basically, how can we use those ideas that were proven by piracy back then to be really unstoppable, because a lot of people wanted to stop it, but apply that same kind of mindset to the general data, so we can build actual applications that has that kind of quality, that can withstand the wrath of God.
that can work without any centralization. Actually, nobody can shut down, not even the authorities if they wanted to. Basically unkillable and make that general enough that it can basically run any kind of application, solve a lot of really hot problems. it works on your own computers, your own networks.
Mobile phones, and tie that up. I'm a developer by heart, into a software stack that people can just build on. So not everybody has to go in and tackle all these problems individually, but just give them some software to solve all this so they can, as much as possible, just worry about making really cool applications that we use,
Yeah, like I said, we've been working really intensely on this, for a long time and in Holepunch, we made this our co mission to scale this up and, deliver a software stack on that. it's been really exciting and it's been really fun and it's been very, challenging, but if it's not challenging, then why, do it?
and, especially, with the backing of, Tether, through Paolo and also just expertise from there, we have a good hand built to deliver this to the world. And, the first thing we did was, like, think about what's, a good first application that we can build that can showcase this, but also something we really want to use ourself and see scale have also have on the world.
And obviously that was a communications app, keyed, which we was our first project. And, we're still in beta and we're still lots of work to do. And we're still iterating that really heavily, but I like to show that you can build these kind of apps without any kind of. central points. and we released that also, like the first thing we released when we launched the company.
And like I said, we're still, building and still iterating it. A lot of fun. and then take the software stack from that, which we call the pair runtime and then split that out. So anybody else can build similar apps on top. With that same technology stack, and, yeah, that's, we launched that earlier this year also, and, it's been really exciting so far, and it's, I love going to work every day and solve, even though, you can see on my hair that it's not really good for, the head scratching, but, but, it's really fun, and it's really challenging, and it's interesting thing. goal as a company, basically to have that if we go out of business tomorrow, our technology continues to exist because we're not in the loop of anything. It's also sometimes really hard to explain that we don't have any, chip coins involved or any kind of limitations on the stack because we're basically engineering it not to be part of it, because that's the only way you can actually engineer these things that they can understand.
anything, super exciting and, encourage everybody to try to check it out.
**Luke:** we've both used Keet and I've certainly enjoyed the experience. I, think, the, basics of this, as I understand it, is that it's, entirely on both sides. The communicators end, or a group of communicators, it's all on their end, and the communication is entirely peer to peer, what is Keet really, what is the basics of Keet as, say, a product?
What is the easiest way that you would explain what it is?
# The Vision Behind Keet
**Mathias:** But We're basically trying to just build a world class communications app that works to a large degree, like normal communication apps that you know, like Signal, Telegram, WhatsApp. Just with all the centralization tucked away, with all the costs of running it tucked away, and then adding all the features that also we can, because we're peer to peer
People don't care about technology. We loved it, but don't have that surface off too much to the user.
Just have the user use it as any other app, but then just have it be 100 percent private per default, 100 percent like no strings attached. It just works. if we get caught off by a. From the internet tomorrow, it will still work, that kind of thing, but deliver that in a way, and this is always our mission where users don't really need to worry about it.
It just works. And, it works the same way to a large degree as their other apps work, except obviously, there's no phone numbers and things like that. Very cryptographically sound and, but trying always not to bubble it up. And I think that's, so it's actually a really simple mission, but it's obviously really hard.
And that requires a lot of smart people, but luckily our users in a good way, don't need to be very smart about that.
# Keet vs Nostr
**Knut:** Yeah, a quick one there. No strings attached starts with the letters Nostr, so is, Keet and Nostr, do they go mix well together or, is there an integration there between the two? I see a lot of similarities here.
**Paolo:** I tried to explain the differences between Kit and Nostr. I think Nostr is a very interesting protocol, but also is very, simple. the way I like to describe it is that, if you are familiar with the history of filesharing, Starting from the first one, super centralized, and then eventually every single step, you get to a decentralized platform.
And the last one, the most decentralized one, that is BitTorrent. the history of file sharing proved that every time you try to centralize something, it ends up badly, right? if you have any special node in the system that does a little bit more than others and requires more resources than others to run, that will end up badly.
You might end up in a small room with a lamp in your room. Point it to your face, and then everyone suddenly will stop running an indexer. That reminds me about Nostr structure. if you are building a peer to peer system, or if you are building a very resilient communication system, if you think about Nostr, you would imagine that if you have, 10 million or 100 million users, the number of relays would be probably less than the square root of the number of users.
So that surface, although a hundred million users is very, they're not attackable, right? But the surface of, the relays is much more attackable. look at what is happening with, the coin joinin platforms, right? very similar. the beauty of KIT versus Nostr is that in KIT you have number of relays is actually equal to the number of users because the users are their own relays.
and they can act as relays for others to, further their connectivity. That is how we think a technology that, has to be ready for the apocalypse and resilient to the wrath of God should, work. if you have, a log number of users or square root of number of users as relates, I don't think it's cool technology.
It will work better than centralized, Technologies like WhatsApp and so on, or Twitter, but eventually will not work when you will need it the most. Because the point is that we will not know what will happen when we will need this technology the most. Today, not for everyone, but the world is still almost at peace.
Things might unfold, in the future, maybe sooner rather than later. But when things unfold, you will need the best technology, the one that is truly independent, the one that is truly peer to peer. it's not really peer to peer if you have specialized relays, but where you have super peers randomly.
**Luke:** Yeah, the difference here, between the Realize and not having any other centralized infrastructure in the picture is certainly an interesting distinction. I hadn't heard anything about that you can act as a next connector or something like that.
# Pear Runtime
**Luke:** So there's a couple of related things. I know there was an announcement about the, pair runtime, is that right? can you talk a little bit about that or any other, ways that this is growing in your whole, platform,
**Mathias:** Yeah, sure. so basically when we talk about ideas, internally, also from our software background, We want to solve a small problem that then can solve it for everybody. So
We want to build technology that can just send data around efficiently, so you can build any kind of app on top. We're all about modularity and taking these things to the extreme so we can repurpose it into any kind of application and other people can, get value out of it.
And, that's been our mission from the get go. So basically, like Paolo said, when we built Keed. We took all of these primitives we have, it's all open source on our GitHub, that can do various things, relay encrypted data in a way that's completely private, nobody can read it, and in a generalizable way, so it can run on any applications.
We have databases that can interpret, work with this data on device, but still in a way where nobody else knows what's going on, fully private, and we spent many years perfecting this, and it's still ongoing. And we, similar to like connectivity, it might seem really easy if you don't know what's going on that, connecting this computer to another computer and another place, but it's really hard because ISPs and, your internet providers, et cetera, they don't really want you to do that.
So there's a lot of firewalls involved that you have to work around to get around This is all really, hard problems that took a long time to solve.
But luckily, all of these are like generalizable problems where you just solve them once to a large degree, and then it's solved for everybody. If you put them in a modular framework where anybody can put the Legos together on top. And that's what we've been heavily invested in. And then as we were building Keed, we realized that Keete is just like 95 percent of these Lego blocks that are applicable for anything.
So why not take all this stuff, pack it up for free, we don't make any money on it. and an open source runtime that we're just giving away so other people can contribute to it, but also build their own apps. the more peer to peer apps the world has, the better from my point of view.
and document it and make it really easy to install. And I think actually Paolo said something interesting because as soon as you have, one point of centralization, you can always unravel it. coming from the Bitcoin days, I remember how quickly things can unravel. people went to jail for linking to things because authorities, when they crack down, really hard.
so if you have one weak spot, it will be taken advantage of at some point by somebody. And so even things like distributing updates to your software can be really hard because this often requires a central point, like you go to a website and you don't download it. And so all apps built on our runtime, for example.
It's distributed through the runtime, which is a little bit mind bending. So all apps are peer to peer data applications themselves, and the network doesn't care, which means that we can continue to distribute updates even, if everything gets shut down, you only need like a bootstrap for the first install when you get the app.
So we're thinking that in. At every level, because it's really, important to us to, basically learn from everything that happened in the past and then actually build things that are resilient. And we take this to a degree where I'm sure we could move 10 times faster if we just let go a little bit of that idea, because it is easier to just put all the data in one place or put all the updates in one place.
But then it's then we're just building the same old thing that's going to die eventually anyway. So we're very, uncompromising in that mission of actually decentralizing everything from updates to data, and then also always solving in a way where everybody can take advantage of that.
And then the final thing I'll say about that is that, every time we update. That runtime, those building blocks of that runtime, every time we fix a bug, every time we make it faster, every app becomes faster. That's also very exciting. It's because you're building the whole infrastructure into this layer that runs on your phone.
And it's all somewhat generalizable. Every time we fix something, it's just better for the entire ecosystem. And that's obviously really, exciting. And like I said, actually, no strings attached.
Yeah, so I think you were referring to the trial of the Pirate Bay people there In Sweden, right? lucky enough to meet a couple of them in Denmark and it's been very fun to hear about their journey and, yeah, like
**Knut:** and there, there's, there was a great documentary made about it called TPBAFK. So the Pirate Bay Away From Keyboard, about that whole trial and how, corrupt the system was even back then. And, throwing people in jail for providing links. they didn't do any more wrong than Google did, from a certain perspective.
And, I remember even, before BitTorrents, there was a program called. DC or Direct Connect Do you remember that?
**Mathias:** I used to, it was one of my first introductions to decentralization. it as you just shared your, like a Google Drive for everyone or something. Like you just shared parts of your file tree to everyone who wanted to peek into it, Yeah, anyway. Oh, that's good that you didn't know you were going with that. it interesting what you said, because I think it's interesting to think that I think to a large degree, the whole decentralization movement that was happening with BitTorrent back in the day got shut down because At some point, authorities figured out that they could just block DNS requests to shut it down for normal people, and as soon as they did that, it was actually effective.
And to Paolo's point, no matter how weak it is, they're done. and they tried to kill the technology elsewhere, but that's actually what killed them. Then, obviously, alternatives came that people could pay for, and it also shows that people actually want, to stay on the right side of things.
I think, now it's going very much in the wrong direction again, because now we're back at abusing that centralization again. the cycle will repeat. But, yeah, like any point of weakness will be attacked at any point.
# Decentralization vs. Centralization
**Luke:** So what are the drawbacks to decentralization? I think we and our audience certainly understand the benefit of decentralization, what you gain by decentralizing, but what do you naturally give up in terms of the user experience and the convenience factor?
**Mathias:** yeah, I'm sure Paola has stuff to say here, but I'm just, I love talking about this stuff, so I'll go first. Mattias.
I think it's a really interesting question, first of all, because it's one of those questions where You know, obviously I want to say there's no drawbacks, but like anything, it's a balance, right?
Because it's not that there's drawbacks and advantages, there obviously is, but it's also just a different paradigm. first of all, with sensitization, I think one of the biggest thing I noticed also with developers is that we all come out of systems, education systems. That teaches how to think centralized, which makes us biased towards centralized solutions.
and that's, I remember my whole curriculum was about servers and clients and stuff like that. it's actually really hard to think about decentralization as a developer. And I think that's actually part of why a lot of people think it's hard. It's complex because it is complex, but also because we're just like, we've been trained massively in the other direction, and it's really hard to go back because decentralization can be as simple as what Knut said about DC Connect, DC where it's just, oh, I'm just browsing other people's computers.
That's amazing. That's a really, simple experience, and it's like something you can never do But like in today's world, people, the first thing I always get asked is like, how do I get a username? And I'm like, usernames have an inherent centralization and there's trade offs there.
And we need to think that through and stuff. and most applications don't necessarily require usernames. I'm not saying that's a bad feature, but it's that's where you need to think more about the trade offs because there's governance involved to some degree. But for the core experience, and I think that's what we've shown in Keith so far.
Then, there's obviously tons of upsides also, it's much easier to do big data transfers. Money is less of a concern, which actually changes the thinking, how you think about features.
And that, again, is something we've been trained in a lot as developers, because we think centralized. When we talk about features at Holepunch, hey, we should add podcast recording to Keed. Normally somebody would say, that's going to cost a lot of money to host that data. And we just always we don't even have that discussion because it doesn't matter because it's just between the users.
And then it's more about like the UX. But then other simple, like I said, other simple discussions, let's add a username index. That's where we're like, okay, let's think that through because there's like various things to think about there because there's no centric governance, and we don't want to introduce that because again, one point is.
It's bad. so it's, more like you really need to think differently and it's really hard to wire your brain to think differently. but once you get past that point, I think it's, super interesting. And I, think actually developers care way more than normal people because, developers care a lot about how links look and links and structure and that.
And normal people are just used to just clicking buttons and apps and going with the flow on that. And that's also what we're seeing, I think, with, a lot of key
**Paolo:** I think the hiring has proven a little bit more challenging, as Matthias was saying, when you are told that the cloud is your friend, hosting, on, Google Cloud or AWS is the right thing to do. And, of course, it got cheaper and cheaper, so now everyone can host their websites.
But the reality is that 70 percent of, the entire internet knowledge is hosted in the data centers of three companies. developers should think about that, should think about the fact that internet was born to be point to point and peer to peer. And, we are very far away from that initial concept.
over the years, especially with the boom in, in the year 2000 for the internet boom, and bubble, then, realized that, holding people's data is the way to go, with social media and social network. That is even worse. And so you have these friendly advertisements that are telling you, That, with a smiley face that, you know, yeah, you should, upload all your data on, Apple cloud or Google cloud.
And in general, cloud backups are great, right? You want to have some sort of redundancy in your life, but the reality is that you should be able to upload those. In an encrypted way, and yet most of this data sits unencrypted because, the big tech companies have to decrypt it and use it for, to milk the information to pay for, for, another month of their new data centers.
the, issue is, we have so much power in our hands through our phones. the phones that we have today are much more powerful than the phones that we, or even the computers that we have 10 years ago or 5 years ago. And so We should, we are at a stage where we can use this hardware, not only for communicating, but also for in the future for AI processing and inference and so on.
is, we need to, understand that the word cannot be connected to Google. I mean we cannot be a function of Google. We cannot be a function of AWS. And so I think that, there is, escalating pace of, towards centralization and it's almost a black hole.
And eventually, the, we'll attract all the lights and if we are too close to it, no lights will come out anymore. And, that's why we want to really to double down on this technology, because it's not going to be easy, right? It's going to be very challenging, and most of the people don't care, as Maite has said before.
Most of the people will think, everything works with WhatsApp and, Signal, but Signal announced that their 2023 costs for data centers and data center costs are around 50 million, and they, apart from the mobile coin that was not The best thing that they could do, there is, it's not easy for them to monetize.
And the problem is that if you are, you're basically almost the only way to monetize it is to sell your customer's data. So if you don't want to sell your customer data, eventually your service will not be sustainable. So the only way to make it sustainable is actually going back to peer, where you can leverage people, infrastructure, people, connectivity, people, phones, people, processing power, Deliver very high quality communication system.
And when they will care, it will be probably usually too late if nothing exists yet. when people will care is because shit is hitting the fan. And, you really want to have a solution that is not, that will survive if, the countries around you or around the country where you live are not going to be nice to your own country.
So that's the view to peer-to-peer. The peer-to-peer wheel system will keep working if your neighbor countries are not going to be nice towards you. That's independence, that's resiliency, those are terms that, we need to take very seriously, especially seeing where the, world is going to.
**Knut:** Yeah, I think we're all primed for, centralized solutions, from a very young age. this is the state, this is what it is like, state funded schooling. state funders or state subsidized media. We are, like brainwashed into, trusting, institutions all our lives.
So I think that is somewhat connected to why people are so reluctant to be vigilant about this on the internet. I think the two go hand in hand that we, take the comfortable way, or most people take the comfortable route of, not taking responsibility for their own stuff. not only on the internet, but outsourcing responsibility to the government is basically the, another side of the same coin, right?
**Mathias:** I also find it very interesting, especially being from a small country like Denmark that doesn't have a lot of homegrown infrastructure. And I'm just seeing how much communication with some of the public entities is happening through centralized platforms like Facebook and things like that, where even though we centralize it, we also centralize it in companies that we don't even have any control over in different countries where we probably have, no rights at all.
So it's like hyper centralization, especially from the weakest point of view. And I think that's super problematic. And I'm always. Thinking it's, weird that we're not talking about that more especially when you look at the things that they're trying to do in the EU, they're almost trying to just push more in that direction, which I find even more interesting.
yeah, definitely. it's, a huge problem and it's only getting bigger. And that's, why
# Challenges and Future of Decentralization
**Luke:** So to what level can decentralization actually get there? What is the limit to decentralization? And I'll calibrate this with an example. The internet itself, you said it was built to essentially originally be decentralized, but we don't have it. For physical links, like individual physical links between each other, the fiber or whatever the wire is goes together into another group of wires, which eventually go into some backbone, which is operated by a company.
And then that goes into the global Internet. And so somewhere it centralizes into telecom companies and other services. It might be decentralized on one level, but there is a layer of centralized services that make the internet work that isn't necessarily the so called cloud providers and that sort of thing.
So is there a limitation to how far this can go?
**Paolo:** I think the, in general, sure, there are the ISPs and, their physical infrastructure is in part centralized, but also you start having redundancy, right? So for example, the backbones are redundant. There are multiple companies running, cross connects across different areas of the world.
Now you have Starlink if you want. that is a great way to start decentralizing connectivity because Starlink will not be the only one that will run satellites, so there will be multiple companies that will allow you to connect through satellites, plus you have normal cabling.
So you will have, it will become a huge mesh network, it's already in part, but it will become more and more a huge mesh network. in general, you will always find a way, even with a pigeon, to start sending bits out of your house.
I think the most important part is, you have to be in control of your own data, and then, you need to send this data with the shortest path to the people that you want to talk to. Right now, I usually make this example, because I think it's When we do this presentation, we try to make people think about how much waste also centralized systems have created.
imagine you live in Rome, you live in Rome and you have your family. Most people live nearby their families. That is a classic thing among humans. 90 percent of the people live nearby their families. Maybe nearby, like 10km, 50km nearby. If you talk to your family, every single message, every single photo that you will send to your family, that message will travel, instead of going 50 kilometers in a nearby town where your mother lives or your father lives, it will travel every single message, every single bit of every single video call or every single bit of every photo will travel 5, 000 miles to Frankfurt just to go back 50 kilometers from you.
Imagine how much government spent in order to create these internet lines and to empower them to make it bigger, more, with more capacity Peer to peer allows with a lower latency, allows to save on bandwidth, allows to save on cost of global infrastructure.
So that's how, actually, We can create better mesh networks, more resilient mesh networks, just because data will always find the shortest path from one point to another.
And still all roads lead to Rome. I'm Italian, so I need to use Rome as an example.
**Knut:** Yeah.
**Mathias:** I think the discussion here is really interesting compared to Bitcoin, because it's actually the scaling longer term. Sovereignty, like how, Bitcoin kind of told us very direct terms that if you have a key pair, you have your money.
And it doesn't matter where you are in the world. If you have that key pair, you have a way to get to that money. the means of transportation, it's actually very uninteresting in that sense, because you have it with you. The Internet today, the centralized Internet is designed in a way where, what does it mean to go to Facebook?
it's really hard to explain because it's like some certificate that issued by somebody, and there's. Some, cabal of companies that manages them, there's some regulations around it, but we don't really actually understand it that well as normal people. Technically, we can understand it, but it's very, centralized and it's very, opaque and it's built into the infrastructure in that way, in a bad way.
And, with Pure Technology, we're taking the same approach as Bitcoin here and saying, You're just a key pair, and the other person is just a key pair, and there's a bunch of protocols around that, but the transportation is actually not that interesting. Right now, we use the internet to do it.
We'll probably do that for a long time, but there's no reason why we can take the same technology we have right now and in 50 years run it on, laser beams or something else, because we're taking the software and feedback.
# Bitcoin and Holepunch: Drawing Parallels
**Mathias:** I think, that's the main thing to think about in that. Discussion.
**Luke:** when, Paolo, when you were talking about that people don't care, when you were saying that people don't care because WhatsApp just works, I was at the same time thinking that's the parallel of people saying that, I don't care because Visa just works, right? And so the parallel between Bitcoin and what you're doing at Holepunch, Keet, everything else here, really seems to be tracking along the same line.
And I guess there's the connection that, I won't say all, but a lot of the people involved are already in the Bitcoin ecosystem. But can you comment on is there a little more of a connection there between Holepunch and Keet and Bitcoin?
**Paolo:** Yeah, Bitcoin definitely is working and servicing, I think, in a good way, many, people in communities. The users of Bitcoin today are, unfortunately, and also that relates to Tether, mostly, in the Western world, in the richer countries, as a way to save wealth and, as a store of value, more than a means of exchange.
For different reasons, right? We'd like a network that would improve, of course, over time, and there will be different approaches, but, still, the world is not yet using Bitcoin, but the world will use Bitcoin when shit will hit the fan. but the beauty of Bitcoin is that an option is already there, is available, and when something bad will happen, people immediately, with a snap of a finger, will turn to Bitcoin, and will have it and can use it. don't have that in communications. What is our communica our parallel with communications, if we don't have it? I don't know, because if, if suddenly centralized communications will, be blocked, then, or privacy in communications will be blocked, and you cannot, you cannot use Whatsapp, or Whatsapp has to start giving all the information to every single government.
and the government will become more evil than what they are today, also western governments then. don't, we wanted to build the exact parallel as we said it, we just tried to describe it, that with Bitcoin, for communications. We need to have something that, since there are so many alternatives that are working as with your, you can make the parallel with Visa, right?
Visa is working today, so people are still using a lot of Visa, but if something will happen, they will use Bitcoin from one day to another. Whatsapp is working, and Zoom is working, and Google Meet is working, so people don't feel the urge, but there will be a trigger point when people will feel the urge at some point in their lives, because something happened around them, and we need to make sure that kit will be available to them.
and will be an option, will be stable, will be well designed so that when they will need it the most that option will be available to them.
**Luke:** Yeah, fantastic.
# The Future of Decentralized Communication
**Luke:** And so I think the follow up I have, and just to get back to the earlier discussion a little bit with Nostr, the communication in terms of messaging, I absolutely see that and directly in what Keet is, I already absolutely see that. Is there a goal to get somewhere towards more like Social media, social networking, things like that in a, in certainly a decentralized way, but right now there isn't something like that as I understand it, coming from, Keet.
So is, that a goal? Is that on the roadmap?
**Paolo:** Yeah, it is on the roadmap, it's something that, so we had to start with the thing that we thought was more urgent and also the thing that could have been, would have been a game changer. social media is very important, especially In difficult situation, you want to get news, and you want to get unbiased news, so you want to use, social networks to see what's happening in the world.
But we, think that the most sacrosanct thing that you need in your life is to be able to talk to your family and friends in any situation with the highest privacy possible. that's the first thing that we tackled, and also was a way to battle test the technology with, KIT you can do high quality video calls as well, so if we are able to tackle in the best way possible privacy and extreme scalability of peer to peer communications, then on top of that foundation we can build also social media and every single other application that we have in mind.
**Mathias:** But first, we wanted to tackle the hardest problem. No, I think it makes a lot of sense. And I also just want to say, as a, probably like one of the most prolific KEET users, I use KEET right now also as a very, like a social media, we have big public rooms where we talk about KEET and talk about technology. I get a lot of the value I would get otherwise on Twitter X from that because I, it's like a public platform for me to, get ideas out there, but also interact with users directly.
And I think, there's many ways to take them as a young app. And we're talking about this a lot, obviously it has to be simple, has to be parent approved. My parents can figure it out, but I think, to a large degree, all really healthy social networks that are actually, to some degree, a communication app.
And it's also just a really good way to get local news and to get this locality that Peter is good at. That doesn't mean that we might not also make other things, but I think it's a hard line to set the difference between a social network and a communications app when it's structured correctly,
# Interoperability and User Experience
**Luke:** Yeah, and this, another thing that came to mind just as, you were talking about these parallels, as, I understand it, the account system with Keet is, essentially still just a, Key pair. Correct me if I'm, wrong,
**Mathias:** Very, true.
**Luke:** you backups with the same 1224 words.
Is, that fully interoperable as well? Is that, could be your Bitcoin key. That could be
**Mathias:** We use the, same, I can't remember the date, the BIP, but there's a BIP for like during key generation. So we can use it also in the future for other things. and you have those words, you have your account, and that's, we never store that. And that's like your sovereignty and, no, I was just going to say that lets you use it seamlessly on different devices also. It's one of those things that I love because I know what's going on when you use keyed Insanely hard problem, but it's solved by the runtime, and it just works seamlessly and I think that's, the beauty of it.
**Paolo:** I think there's some UX stuff to figure out about onboarding that stuff a little bit easier for normal people. That's probably to a large degree the same for Bitcoin. The other part that I would do with Bitcoin is that, with Bitcoin, with your 12, 24 words, you can access your private wealth. the beauty of Bitcoin is that you can remember 12 24 words, you cross borders, and you carry with you your wealth. You can do the same thing with your digital private life.
You remember 12 24 words, they could be the same by the way. whatever happens, you can spawn back your digital private life fully encrypted from, one of your other devices that you connected that is somewhere else in the world. So when you start seeing and understanding the unlock in terms of also human resilience that this creates is very, insane and can create a very powerful, that can be used for, to create a very, powerful applications, not just communications, but you can build.
Really any sort of interaction, even mapping. Imagine peer to peer mapping, where basically data is not stored in one single location. You can access, tiles of the maps, from, local people that curate them in a better way. So the, level of applications that you can build, All unlocked by the same technology that is being used by Bitcoin is very, incredible.
**Luke:** Yes, absolutely it is. And what do you think of the idea that all of this stuff is just interoperable now based on essentially you have your private key and there you go. It doesn't matter the technology stack. Is that sort of an agnostic thing where you can take your data to any one of these systems?
What you're building with Keith being one, Nostr being another, Bitcoin being a third, what do you think of that?
**Paolo:** Yeah, the fact that, data is yours, right? So you should do whatever you want with your data. That is, I think, an axiom that we should assume. And, it shouldn't even, we shouldn't even discuss about this, right? We are discussing about it because people are trying to take away this axiom from us.
The, you are a key pair, and you're basically, unique, and uniqueness is expressed by the cryptography around those 24 words, and that's, that also is a way to prove your identity, it's a mathematical way to prove your identity.
No one can steal that from you, of course, but no one can track it as no one can impersonate, should not be able to impersonate you. So it's truly powerful.
**Mathias:** also think it's like worth remembering here also in this discussion that a lot of very high valuable data for yourself is actually not that big, but centralized platforms take it hostage anyway. if you take all my chat history and, I have pictures, but like a couple of the pictures would probably be bigger than all my chat history ever.
but a lot of that, those messages have a lot of value for me, especially personally and also being able to search through it and have infinite history, it's very valuable for me personally. But it's very scary for me if that's on some other platform where it gets leaked at some point, et cetera, et cetera.
But we already have the devices, just normal consumer devices that we buy, that we all have, phones, computers, whatever, that have more than enough capacity to store multiple copies of this. In terms of like per user, data production, it's a manageable problem.
And I think it's interesting how, providers force us to think in terms of giving that data away, even though we could easily store it.
**Paolo:** And this is even more important when we think about potential, AI applications, right? So imagine your best assistant. Paolo's assistant should go through all my emails, my kids chats, my old social stuff, and be able to be my best assistant. But in order to do that, I have two options.
Either, I imagine that OpenAI would come with an assistant. They would upload, All the information on their servers, crunch that information, and then, use it to serve, me, but also service their own needs. And that can become very scary, also because they wear a hat. It's public, right?
you don't want your most intimate codes that your best personal assistant could know, to be on somewhere else, rather than your devices. And so people were, people never uploaded, at least most of the people would never upload medical, information on Facebook, right? But they are uploading it on ChatGPT to get a second opinion.
so things can be, get even scarier than what we described today because, we, discussed about social media, that is basically, the fun part where we upload photos, But, things can become scarier when it comes to privacy and data control with ai.
So I want to see a future where I have a local AI that can read all key messages that I have from my local phone on my local device, and can become the best powers assistant possible without renouncing to my privacy, and also still governed by the same 24 words. the fine tuning that is applied on that LLM should stay local to my own device, and it should be in control of that.
And still, the current power of the devices that we have makes it possible. We should not fall for the same lie. We don't need, of course, big data centers with GPUs are important for training a huge LLM, but that is a generic LLM. You can take that one and then fine tune it with your own data and run it by yourself.
And for most of it, unless you want to do crazy things, that is more than enough and can run on modern GPUs or local GPUs or your phones. We should start thinking that we can build local experiences without having an API all the time connected to someone else's data center.
**Knut:** Yeah.
# The Role of Tether in the Crypto Ecosystem
**Knut:** It's super interesting. you briefly just briefly mentioned tether before and I think we need to get into this. what is it and how much of a maxi are you, Paolo?
And, what, made this thing happen? Can you give us the story here about Tether?
# Tether's Origin and Evolution
**Paolo:** Tether started in 2014. I consider myself a maxi, but running Tether, you could say that, I'm a shit coiner. I don't mind, right? I like what I do, and I think I'm net positive, so it's okay. Tera was born in 2014 with a very simple idea. there were a few crypto exchanges in, 2014.
it was Bitfinex, Coinbase, Kraken, Bitstamp. OKCoin, there was BTCChina, and just a few others, right? Around 10 that were meaningful. The problem back then was to do, trading arbitrage, you sell Bitcoin on the exchange where the price is higher, you take the dollars. From that sale, you move the dollars on the exchange where the price is lower and rinse and repeat.
That is called arbitrage. It is a property of every single efficient financial system. And that also helps to keep the price of Bitcoin in line across different exchanges. But, that was very, hard in 2014. If you remember in 2013 was the first year that Bitcoin broke the 1, 000.
But on some exchanges the price was 1. 2, on others was 900. in order to arbitrage that price difference, you have to move dollars from one exchange to another and Bitcoin from one exchange to another. You can move Bitcoin from one exchange to another. 10 minutes, but dollars would take days, right?
International wires. And so of course the opportunity arbitrage was, fully gone by, the, time the wire was hitting the, receiving exchange. the reason why we created that was, USDT was simply to put the dollar on a blockchain so that we could have the same user experience that we had with bitcoin.
For the first two years, almost no exchange apart Bitfinex understood USDT. Then Poloniex in 2016 started to add the USDT across for against every single trading pair. There was the start of the ICO boom. 2017 was the peak of the ICO boom and, USDT reached 1 billion in market cap. Fast forward in 2020, we had around 10 billion in market cap, and then the bull run started, but also another important thing started, that was the pandemic.
# USDT's Impact on Emerging Markets
**Paolo:** So the pandemic had a huge effect on many economies around the world, in all the economies around the world, but especially in emerging markets, developing countries.
Basically pandemic also killed entire economies. And so as a Bitcoin you would think, oh, all these people that are in countries like Argentina and Venezuela and Turkey and so on, they should use Bitcoin and they should, they should, only use Bitcoin because everything else is cheap.
So that is pretty much, the approach that we have as Bitcoiners that, I believe in. But the problem is that. Not everyone is ready, so not everyone has our time to understand Bitcoin. Not everyone has yet the full skill set to understand Bitcoin at this stage, at this moment in time.
we as Bitcoiners didn't build the best user experience in the world, right? So one of the best wallets for Bitcoin is still Electrum. That, is not necessarily nice and well done for and simple to be used for, a 70 year old lady. so we need to do a better job as Bitcoiners to build better user experiences we want Bitcoin to be more used around the world.
At the same time, 99 percent of the population knows, especially the ones that are living in high inflation areas, knows that there is the dollar that is usually Much better currency than what they hold in their hands. the US dollar is not, definitely not perfect. It's not the perfect fiat currency. but it's like the tale of the two friends running away from the lion, right?
you have, one friend tells to the other, Oh, the lion is gonna kill us. We have to run really fast. And one of the two friends says to the other, I just have to run faster than you, right? So the US dollar is the friend that is running faster, in a sense that is the one that is likely better than the others.
And so being better than the others is creating a sort of safety feeling among 5 billion people in the world that live in high inflation countries. And for those people that, they don't have yet the time, they didn't have the luck also, maybe, to understand Bitcoin, they are, in fact, using USDT.
If you live in Argentina, peso lost 98% against the US dollar in the last five years. The Turkish L lost 80% against the US dollar in, the last five years. So of course, Bitcoin would be better than the US dollar, but even already, if you hold the dollar, you are the king of the hill there, right?
So because it's, you are able to preserve your wealth much, better than almost anyone else in the region. I think, USDT is offering a temporary solution and is providing a service, a very good service to people that don't have alternatives and good alternatives and they are very, familiar with the U.
S. dollar already. so eventually, the hyperbitcoinization, I think it will happen. there is no way it won't happen. It's hard to pinpoint on a time when, that will happen. But it's all about the turning point. What the economy will look like in the next, 10, 20 years and what trigger point there will be for fiat currencies to blow up and become irrelevant.
# Bitcoin as a Savings Account
**Paolo:** the way I see it is that it's likely that the U. S. dollar will stay around for a while, and people might still want to use, the U. S. dollar as a checking account, but they, should start to use, Bitcoin as their savings account, in the checking account, you, are happy to not make interest, It's something that you use for payments, it's something that you are okay to detach from because it's the money that you are ready to spend.
The savings account is the thing that we should fight for. This thing is the thing that matter the most, and, it's the thing that will is protecting people wealth. And so in the long term. And in the medium term, we should push for this savings account to be Bitcoin. also with Tether, we are heavily investing in companies, in Bitcoin companies.
we support the Blockstream. We supported so many in the space that are, we, are supporting RGB. That is a protocol that is building, assets on top of, like network, style channels. Thank you for listening. and we buy Bitcoin ourselves. We do a lot of Bitcoin mining.
We develop, I think, the best and most sophisticated Bitcoin mining software, by the way, based on hole punch technology. It's like IoT for Bitcoiners and Bitcoin mining. It's very cool. we are relying on the dollar and, you could say that USDT is helping the dollar, expansion, but the same way I don't think Dollar and Bitcoin aren't necessarily opposed to one or the other.
I think that Bitcoin has its own path. And no matter what happens, there is no way to slow it down. I think, it's going to be inevitable success. It's going to be inevitable that it will become global internet money and global words money. No country will trust to each other with, with each other currencies for, for a longer time, and so the only viable solution is a currency that is governed by math.
That is the only objective way, objective thing that we have in the universe. that's my train of thoughts on, Tether and Bitcoin.
**Knut:** Oh, thank you. Thank you for that explanation. It explains a lot of things. To me, it sounds a bit like you're a lubrication company, like selling lubrication for the transition between the rape of the dollar to the love fest of the hyperbitcoinized world, to make the transition a little smoother.
**Paolo:** we are more than, at Tether we have also this educational arm and, believe it or not, the majority of the creation we do is actually on Bitcoin, right? So we are supporting the Plan B network led by the great Giacomo Zucco. The unfortunate thing is that USDT, didn't have a marketing team up to, 2022 with Tether.
So basically, I wish I could say that success of Tether is because we were super intelligent and great. but actually the success of Tether, unfortunately is a symptom of the success of, of, national economies. And it's sad if you think about it, right? So the success of your main product U as it is, They're actually proportional to the FACAP of many central banks. And, but it is what it is, right? So we need to do what we do at, really, at DataRace, creating all these educational contents to try to explain that, sure, we are providing a tool for today, but, For tomorrow you probably need, you need to understand that you have other options, you need to understand Bitcoin, because as we said for, Keith, right?
So the moment when you will need the most Bitcoin, it has to be available, you need to understand it, so that is a true option for you. The way we, see bitcoin education.
**Knut:** No, and, something like Tether would have, emerged, either way, and it's very comforting to know that it's run by Bitcoiners and not by a central bank itself or something. yeah, and the Plan B Network, I was a guest lecturer there in Logano and it was fantastic.
I love what you're doing there with the educational hub. And we even got Giacomo to write the foreword to our new book here that you can see here behind Luke.
**Luke:** Always say the title, Knut. Always say the title.
**Knut:** Bitcoin, the inverse of Clown World. It's, you, if, you're good at maths and emojis, you might be able to figure out the title from the cover, but it's one divided by Clown World anyway, which is on the opposite side of the everything divided by 21 million equation, So anyway, looking forward to seeing you in Lugano and giving you both a copy of the book, of course.
**Paolo:** Oh, with pleasure, with great pleasure, with a nice, education.
**Luke:** Absolutely. Yep.
# Plan B Forum and Future Events
**Luke:** 100%. And we have to wind things down, but I'll just say as well, yeah, absolutely looking forward to Lugano Plan B Forum. Always a highlight of the year. It was my first time last year. I absolutely loved it. can't wait to attend this year.
so it's the 25th, 2020 6th of October, 2024. this year, it's a Bitcoin event that is not made to make money. So the problem with events is that. You have to find sponsors, and usually, sponsor might not be well aligned with the message you want to give, right? I think Tether is lucky enough, to not have to make money on the event.
**Paolo:** I want to have, good, guests. I want to have great speakers. I want to have the messaging. That is not only about Bitcoin, it's about, freedom of speech as well. We had the family of Assange for the last few years, and I think that they will come also this year.
I'm going to be probably killed by the By our marketing team, I'm not sure if they announced it, but we are going to have another Plan B event also in El Salvador next year, so we're trying to create this network of cities and countries that have things in common and, invite people that want to share knowledge around the world.
And, yeah, and of course we, are very proud of the good food that we, serve in Lugano. So that is another thing that, not all the bands can say the same thing.
**Knut:** No, it's fantastic. And we happened to bump into the Assange family at the cocktail bar in a fancy hotel and, had a very interesting conversation with them there. So if you're listening. Anyone from the Assange family is welcome on the show any time. So yeah, no looking forward to that event for sure, we had a great time.
And I think we're even playing this year, aren't we, Luke?
**Paolo:** You're
**Luke:** yeah, the Satoshi Rakamoto is in the event there, we, played, back in Prague, it was my first, time, but Knut is a regular at the Rakamotos.
Yeah, we played at Lugano last year Oh, anything and everything, what did we do in Prague?
**Knut:** paranoid and,
**Paolo:** Can I commission a
**Knut:** What song would you like to hear?
**Paolo:** I have two that I would suggest. One is Nothing Else Matters.
**Knut:** Alright.
**Paolo:** So I think that, is very inspiring, right?
**Knut:** Bitcoin, for sure.
Nothing Else Matters. it's perfectly aligned with Bitcoin. And, the other one is Sad But True. Oh, that would be fun. We'll squeeze in some Metallica there, won't we, Luke?
**Mathias:** we'll 100% have those songs ready to go. We also have, a big peer to peer track at the conference,
**Knut:** Yeah.
**Mathias:** not so much music, but yeah, that's peer to
**Knut:** Nothing else matters.
**Luke:** looking forward to that.
**Knut:** Sorry, brain fart. Sad but true is about the dollar still being around,
**Paolo:** Yeah, you can say that.
**Luke:** Okay.
# Final Thoughts and Closing Remarks
**Luke:** Hey, we have to wind things down here because, we're, almost, out of time. So I'll just hand this, back to you both. Is there anything else you'd like to, mention about, your plans in the upcoming couple of years, in, key, toll, punch, anything like that?
**Mathias:** only that we're, like I said, we're integrating really hard right now, and it's a really fun time to, join the company because, we're small and efficient We get to work with Tether, which has a lot of benefits and it's getting really fast, so definitely check that out. And it's also a really fun time to join Keith in our public rooms.
There's a lot of very personal, in a good way, intense chats where you get to be part of the loop. I love to be part of those early communities and I would suggest everybody to check that out and go to the website and try it out.
**Paolo:** we will certainly do that. Yeah, I couldn't agree more. So go check out Keith and Holepunch and the Plan B forum in Lugano, You could visit tether. io, that is, the website where we are trying to explain what we have in our minds between, finance, bitcoin mining, energy production, AI, communications, brain chips and stuff, right? I think it's more exciting.
**Mathias:** Just those things, that's all.
**Paolo:** Yeah, we can piss off more than this. Thanks.
**Mathias:** a
**Luke:** No, It's just perfect. and is on that note, is there anywhere else specific you'd like to direct our listeners?
**Paolo:** just follow the social channels and give us feedback on kit all the time because these technologies, needs everyone's help to be nailed them.
**Mathias:** We love technical feedback. We love UX feedback. We're trying to make something that works for the masses, so anything is good.
**Luke:** So that's, all at Keet. Is that correct? For Keet?
**Mathias:** Key. io and pairs. com for our runtime. It's all peer to peer.
**Knut:** Alright,
**Mathias:** Wonderful. And you're also still on the legacy social media platforms, right? Yeah.
**Knut:** we'll make sure to include links to your handles so people can find you there if they would like. forward to seeing you in Lugano.
**Paolo:** Likewise, I
**Knut:** But yeah, worth saying again.
**Paolo:** Thank you for having an invitation.
**Luke:** Yes, we'll wrap things up here. This has been the Bitcoin Infinity Show.
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@ dd664d5e:5633d319
2024-09-10 15:04:43
## What is 3 minutes worth?
I think I've run into the problem that the sort of work I do on here is only efficient and effective, if I spend all day doing it and really concentrate on it. It's not like being a developer or an influencer, where you can allot 2 hours in the morning to it, and then spend all day doing something else and talking about touching grass.
I either have to do it all day or completely stop because 99% of the work is absorbing and digesting information and interacting in real time; pausing is like pulling a mental break and slamming to a stop. It's more of a performance art than a durable good. I have to practice all damn day, every day, for a week, producing only ephemeral products, just to get up and sing for 3 minutes.
## Shut up and sing
But with singing, the value is obvious, since most people have tried to sing and know that they aren't very good at it. Most people haven't tried to manage, design, or test systems on an open software protocol, but they all figure they can spontaneously do it, at some point, with little knowledge and no preparation, and be really great at it. That means that hardly anyone sees any value in it, especially as I make it look so easy, that watching me do it merely enhances the idea that the effort can be performed on a whim. The difference in enthusiasm between my dev work and my other work is palpable, but contains no signal.
That is the opposite of development or system administration, that is mostly done off in a hidey-hole, and no one can tell how much effort you personally expended, but they know you did something they can't fully understand, so they get all excited about it.
## The indifferent bleating at the uninterested
But we can see that this differentiation is unfounded. Auxiliary software development is highly-skilled labor, it's tedious and exhausting, and it brings no status or prestige, which is why hardly anyone does it or their efforts are of low-quality and relatively pointless. Most developers and funders are regularly encouraging people to "step up" and do it spontaneously and on a purely volunteer basis because they feel obliged to pretend to care about software quality, but actually think it has little value.
Well, the people they are speaking to, agree with them. So, they ignore them.
-
@ dd664d5e:5633d319
2024-09-10 10:21:42
I hate to be the one to tell y'all this, but my profile pic doesn't matter to me. And it shouldn't matter to you.
My handle also shouldn't matter, except as a pet name for display.
My NIP-05 matters, for human-typed discoverability and link/mention-readability, but it can be changed.
My npub matters, but I could have more than one or stop using one, like I have done and will continue to do.
A profile on the Internet is not a person. Who is writing this article? Is it Stella? Oh, yeah? You know that? How? Did you sit there and watch me type it in?
I don't need PfP-recognition because I post stuff a lot of people like to look at (even if they have no idea who I am, imagine that!), and my npub therefore has high WoT.
Here's what I think:
Y'all are trying to change a communication protocol into Twitter 2.0, where everyone needs to self-brand and stay on-script, on-camera, and in-their-lane.
But if I were that sort of person, I'd be terrible at my job. The whole point of my job is to do all the stuff most users won't do, but some might, and to tell you how it went.
How about we just turn off all of the profile pics and people have to be interesting, entertaining, and/or knowledgeable again? How many of the people getting engagement, now, wouldn't get as much? How many people getting little engagement, now, would get more?
I have questions.
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@ 9358c676:9f2912fc
2024-09-07 18:50:14
## Introduction
The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) began as a pandemic in the 1980s. In its early days, it was seen as a certain death sentence, a taboo associated with marginalized groups, and it highlighted the failures of poverty in accessing healthcare. Gradually, the struggle for life and the suffering of those who are no longer with us, including both famous and anonymous individuals, became visible.
Today, 40 years later, HIV is presented as a chronic disease with effective treatment. **Patients living with HIV who receive appropriate treatment have no detectable virus in their circulating blood, enjoy a good quality of life, and are more concerned about other aspects of their health during medical consultations, almost forgetting their condition.** For these patients, daily treatment is the cure, similar to someone taking a pill every day for high blood pressure or diabetes.
## The Global Impact
HIV is a lentivirus, a subgroup of retroviruses composed of RNA. The natural history of HIV infection involves an attack on the immune system, particularly targeting CD4 cells, where chronic deterioration can lead to the acquisition of infectious and oncological diseases that may be fatal over the years, resulting in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
Interestingly, there is a small group of people known as "elite controllers" who manage to control HIV infection without treatment and remain healthy for much of their lives, despite having a hidden deep viral reservoir. The primary modes of transmission are sexual, followed by blood and vertical transmission from mother to child, with the first mode predominating today.
Today, in the downward trend of the HIV epidemic, **it is estimated that 39 million people are living with HIV worldwide.** Depending on the region, nearly half of this population belongs to at-risk groups, such as men who have sex with men (MSM), transgender individuals, sex workers, and people who inject drugs. These vulnerable groups are especially important for prevention efforts. However, little is done for prevention in the general population, which sometimes represents the other half of the cake of people living with HIV (PLWH).
## Breaking the Dogma: The Concept of Undetectable = Untransmittable (U=U)
The introduction of highly effective antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in 1994 broke the curve of the HIV epidemic. The introduction of new medications with fewer side effects and greater effectiveness in controlling the virus has been crucial. In 2007, the launch of Raltegravir as the first viral integrase inhibitor marked a milestone in current treatments, **allowing patients to effectively control the virus within 3 to 6 months.**
The positive impact of these treatments led health organizations to launch the concept of **undetectable = untransmittable (U=U)** to impact the general population and at-risk groups, updating the dogma and eradicating stigma: **a patient living with HIV who maintains an undetectable viral load in their blood through treatment will not transmit HIV sexually.**
Although this concept has transformed the social dynamics and stigma surrounding the disease, adherence to treatment must be complete to achieve this new paradigm.
## Prophylaxis as a Method to Prevent HIV in Healthy Populations
The correct use of condoms has been the cornerstone of HIV prevention and other sexually transmitted infections over the years. However, it is not the only tool available today and can be complemented for comprehensive sexual health.
**Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)** is a novel strategy that involves administering antiretroviral medication to vulnerable groups before they are exposed to HIV (MSM, transgender individuals, sex workers, people who inject drugs). It involves taking medication daily, effectively reducing the risk of contracting HIV and providing protection to these groups. It is similar to taking a contraceptive pill daily. It has had a very positive impact on protecting these populations. In the Americas, it has been successfully implemented in the United States, Mexico, Peru, and Brazil. Other countries, although with some delay, are now implementing this strategy.
**Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP),** on the other hand, is a strategy that involves administering antiretroviral treatment after a potential exposure to HIV. If the treatment is administered within the first 72 hours and maintained for 4 weeks, the chances of contracting HIV decrease substantially.
Both strategies have been remarkably successful in preventing HIV in at-risk populations and healthy populations, although their dissemination and awareness remain limited.
https://image.nostr.build/08682bf763ade56741d8e4c8c6d870cb8d71ab7d72c605b9aa805af2234348ff.jpg
## The New Horizon: Long-Acting Antiretrovirals, HIV Vaccines, and Promising Therapies
The introduction of viral integrase inhibitors and new nucleoside analogs in the last 15 years has allowed for the availability of safe drugs with minimal side effects in the treatment of HIV, **many of which are included in a single pill regimen per day.** However, the pharmaceutical industry continues to diversify the offerings in a healthy manner.
**Cabotegravir is a new long-acting integrase inhibitor that is administered via injection.** Combined with Rilpivirine, it has proven to be effective and safe in the treatment of HIV, with injections every 2 months. This has revolutionized treatment for people who are tired of taking pills daily, as well as in PrEP, where effective prevention against HIV can be achieved with injections every 2 months for at-risk groups.
Additionally, **subdermal implants of Islatravir,** a new long-acting nucleoside analog, are being tested as a PrEP strategy. Similar to monthly hormonal contraceptive injections or hormonal contraceptive implants, this strategy has proven effective in at-risk groups.
Regarding the **HIV vaccine,** we have been developing it for over two decades, with advances and setbacks. While vaccines have shown promising results in terms of safety and antibody generation, we still need to await conclusive phase III results demonstrating their effectiveness in at-risk groups and the general population.
## The Eradication of HIV and Patients Cured Without Treatment
While current treatment allows for the elimination of HIV from the bloodstream and sexual transmission, there remains a reservoir in some deep immune cells that have been infected by the retrovirus, which contain latent HIV DNA and have the potential to reactivate if daily treatment is interrupted.
However, **there are patients who have managed to eliminate HIV from their bodies, including these deep cells, and HIV is undetectable upon discontinuation of treatment.** These cases are very rare, with only 7 to 8 individuals being the subject of intensive scientific study. Among them are the "Berlin patient" of Germany and "City of Hope patient" from Argentina. Some of these cases involved patients under effective HIV treatment who underwent suppressive chemotherapy for bone marrow transplants and managed to eliminate these deep cells with latent HIV DNA.
Unfortunately, this treatment is not scalable for the entire HIV-positive population, both due to its cost and potential side effects. However, **"Shock and Kill" strategies** have been proposed, aiming to use monoclonal antibodies to activate these latent cells during HIV treatment, exposing them to antiretroviral medication for elimination, thereby eradicating these small reservoirs of HIV.
## WHO Goals
The World Health Organization (WHO) has established clear objectives that are constantly updated to achieve the eradication of HIV in the population.
**The updated goals of the WHO propose that, to end the HIV epidemic, three objectives must be met by the year 2025-2030:**
1. 95% of people living with HIV must be diagnosed through testing.
2. 95% of diagnosed individuals must be on highly effective antiretroviral therapy (HAART).
3. 95% of those on HAART must have an undetectable viral load in their blood.
Developing and underdeveloped countries currently have an effectiveness rate for these strategies that disagree significantly.
https://image.nostr.build/ac6693df57aaca6dac0b06b5db9eb1a2757e7c08511edb0f11617e12653d3db5.png
## Key Takeaways
* HIV has a cure, and the cure is permanent treatment.
* Treatment for HIV is free and accessible to the population, as it is a public health impact disease.
* A person living with HIV who receives appropriate treatment will not transmit the virus sexually, will enjoy a full life without the disease, and can have children without HIV.
* In the event of a potential HIV exposure (such as unprotected sexual contact with an infrequent partner), you can go to a hospital within the first 72 hours to receive treatment that will prevent HIV infection.
* Just as we witnessed the eradication of smallpox from the face of the earth in 1978 due to scientific advances, we will live to see the eradication of HIV.
## Autor
**Kamo Weasel - MD Infectious Diseases - MD Internal Medicine - #DocChain Community**
npub1jdvvva54m8nchh3t708pav99qk24x6rkx2sh0e7jthh0l8efzt7q9y7jlj
## Resources
1. [World Health Organization (WHO)](https://www.who.int/en/health-topics/hiv-aids#tab=tab_1)
2. [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)](https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/default.html)
3. [UNAIDS](https://www.unaids.org/en)
## Bibliography
1. The natural history of HIV infection. DOI: 10.1097/COH.0b013e328361fa66
2. Changing Knowledge and Attitudes Towards HIV Treatment-as-Prevention and "Undetectable = Untransmittable": A Systematic Review. DOI: 10.1007/s10461-021-03296-8
3. Challenges of HIV diagnosis and management in the context of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), test and start and acute HIV infection: a scoping review. DOI: 10.1002/jia2.25419
4. Long-acting cabotegravir and rilpivirine dosed every 2 months in adults with HIV-1 infection (ATLAS-2M), 48-week results: a randomised, multicentre, open-label, phase 3b, non-inferiority study. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)32666-0
5. Efficacy and safety of long-acting cabotegravir compared with daily oral tenofovir disoproxil fumarate plus emtricitabine to prevent HIV infection in cisgender men and transgender women who have sex with men 1 year after study unblinding: a secondary analysis of the phase 2b and 3 HPTN 083 randomised controlled trial. DOI: 10.1016/S2352-3018(23)00261-8
6. Safety and immunogenicity of a subtype C ALVAC-HIV (vCP2438) vaccine prime plus bivalent subtype C gp120 vaccine boost adjuvanted with MF59 or alum in healthy adults without HIV (HVTN 107): A phase 1/2a randomized trial. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1004360
7. Shock and kill within the CNS: A promising HIV eradication approach?. DOI: 10.1002/JLB.5VMR0122-046RRR
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@ 113958ea:f1ce9557
2024-09-06 14:27:03
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@ bf95e1a4:ebdcc848
2024-09-03 14:35:12
This is the first time we're releasing our episode transcripts on Nostr! Up until now, the transcripts have been available on our show website, but now we're going to add them here on Nostr, too!
The transcripts aren't perfect - we've cleaned up obvious mistakes and repetitive chatter that nobody wants to read, but sometimes the transcript doesn't pick something up properly or doesn't understand somebody's name or a niche word. But hopefully the transcript is still useful, as is!
**Check out Bitcoin: The Inverse of Clown World!** Out now at <https://bitcoininfinitystore.com/>
# BIS124 - Peter Dunworth
## Welcoming Peter Dunworth Back
**Luke:** Peter, welcome to the Bitcoin Infinity Show.
**Knut:** It's a pleasure to be with you two. Likewise, how are you doing down in Australia?
**Peter:** Life is beautiful down here. They've lifted the jail like restrictions, so we're free to move around. We can leave the country when we want to, which is nice, and I've got to say it's a cold time of year in the southern hemisphere. It's our winter time and it's been a wet and a cold one relative to what we normally have, but I'd like to say that life is beautiful.
**Knut:** Good to hear.
**Luke:** Can you quantify the cold? Because, we've got cold here.
**Knut:** Yeah, we got proper cold.
**Peter:** I'm talking about 13 degrees Celsius.
**Knut:** yeah.
**Luke:** Yeah, you might be warmer than me right now, in, the middle of July here in Finland, All good.
**Peter:** move in, it's good.
**Luke:** Hey,
**Knut:** saw Dave Grohl on the Foo Fighters play in Bergen, Norway once, and the first thing he said was, this is summer to you? He couldn't believe it, that the people considered that weather to be summer.
**Peter:** yeah, we need to work on that.
**Knut:** Yeah.
# Bitcoin and Incentive Structures
**Knut:** What rabbit hole, what sub cavern of the rabbit hole are we exploring today?
**Peter:** I was hoping you'd help me on this, but one thing that's been, running around my head, is thinking about why Bitcoin has the incentive structure that it does, and its ability, to unite, more of mankind than anything else.
And there are a few things that sort of Running around my head in that we've got the tragedy of the commons, which is a major problem when there's a common good. No one looks after it. Yet, here we have Bitcoin, which is for 8 billion people. And it seems to be looked after pretty well by, all accounts.
The other thing with that, and this is what I find really interesting about the incentive structures with Bitcoin, is that Bitcoin, for a lot of people, takes on a religious type quality. And where a lot of people become obsessed by and one of the things that's sort of been playing around in my head is why is that so?
And I can't help but come back to the Maslow's needs hierarchy that it fulfills a whole host of those base layer needs. And once you've got those base layer needs felt, All looked after, then you can grow spiritually and mentally, to fulfill those other needs that are at a higher scale. And because so many people in the Bitcoin community are relying on that foundational principle of those base layers being built on Bitcoin, it really doesn't matter which side of the political aisle you come from or religious spectrum that you, you want to adopt.
foundational base layer of being. You know, your money is basically Bitcoin, and that sorts out and lays the foundation for you to achieve greater things. Then, everything else is downstream of that. You know, Bitcoin fixes this again.
**Knut:** Yeah, I think Maslov's, Ladder of Needs is now on a Bitcoin standard, it's Maslow's escalator.
**Peter:** We talked about that last time. And this is where So, one of the conversations, listening back to our last conversation was, you know, you've got the easiest job in the world, I think you said, as a financial advisor or investment advisor, talking about Bitcoin.
It's like, just buy Bitcoin and do nothing, and that ironically is the hard part though, the doing nothing.
# Bitcoin Mining
**Knut:** Yeah, some people have a hard time doing nothing, myself included. about the incentive structure, the only part of that, that I'm not fully, you know, the whole thesis of Bitcoin, when they're in your head, anyone, trying to steal them, if you simply just keep them in your head, they'll get nothing.
So the incentive to attack someone goes down, right? The, peaceful revolution thing. However, for miners, still, or mining pool owners, let's say, or big mining farms still do have an incentive to attack one another. At least, if they grow large enough and you have structural, like, nation level big things.
so, is there a problem there? And also with miner centralization and all of this, like, I'd love to hear your take on, these, spammy miners that, or the mining pools allowing for spam. so that the individual miners are merely hash salesmen and not really miners at all, since they don't know what block they're mining on.
so is there a problem there and how big is that problem? Is it?
**Peter:** Good question. Personally, I'd like to think that I'm a free market guy, so I'd like to see the market solve that problem. And I think in some way, shape, or form, we are seeing the market solve that. if we look at the cost of transacting around the halving.
we were up over 1, 000 sat VBITE for those early blocks after block 840, 000. And now, we did some transactions this week that were sub 6 sat VBITE. So that is a 99 percent drop or 98 percent drop in fees. And that's all been sorted out by the market. We haven't had to coerce. Any of the minors, it's all been sorted out through natural market attrition.
**Knut:** And this is where I think the spam problem, in a broader sense, it really gets solved by the market Yeah, that's the hopeful take. but if you go to mempool space and look at the latest block and how much of it is this data is quite a lot still. And all of that data is making the Initial cost of firing up a node more expensive for the node runner. and the downloading of the time chain.
when you syn it now you go up to, 2022 and then it gets slow
**Peter:** Yeah, really slow. And if anyone's out there watching mempool or like just pull it up and have a look, it's actually, it's mesmerizing to watch. And I sound like such a dork saying this, but I sincerely love watching. Cools, but like blocks being created and to conceptualize this without a mempool in front of us, what you're referring to there.
Is what you see is these tiny little blocks, that typically have 0. 0001 of a bitcoin in it, but they take up an improportionate amount of the block space because there's so much data attached to it. And that's the spamming that you referred to. I think the Node Runners, the technology's getting better and the rest of it, and hey, you know, if you look at the nodes, the number of nodes that are on the network, they continually and steadily rise, so I think that's probably proportionate to an improvement in technology and, you know, maybe bandwidth is getting better, so that's going to be less of a problem, but the other question that you posed on the mining front, mining is the fiercest competition on earth.
Open to anyone with electricity and miners to do it, or, you know, as you guys like to say, someone with a pen and pad who can add up quickly, that, to me, is the competition. I'm really fearful for a lot of Bitcoin miners because I think it's the most intense competition that we see.
And if you look in the market, you have a host of the Bitcoin miners moving to AI. Why are they moving to AI? Because there's more predictable revenues and there's, Probably a more predictable future, and when it comes to the listed miners anyway, they want to see predictability in revenues, whereas when it comes to Bitcoin mining, it's a wild ride, and this is where I look at the cost structure, the OPEX and CAPEX structure of the Bitcoin mining network.
It realistically will end up being a state owned enterprise, is what I think, like an infrastructure asset that every country will run for themselves, so that they're assured of getting their piece of the block or having their transactions loaded on the block. And this is where, from a free market perspective, I think governments around the world will start subsidizing that as a way to compete.
And that competition gets fiercer. It doesn't get any easier. It gets much more intense, I think, when the nation states enter and they've got free energy.
**Knut:** huh? Let's, let's think about that for a while because that's sort of allows for those, government miners to, To do all the ESG bullshit and accept payments, offline and all of the trash that the inscriptions and ordinance people are doing right now, like paying miners off band and, the mining pools not paying out the entire, fee to the miners, but keeping a lot for themselves and stuff like that. I think you get all these, external influences, when you have the state level mining. So, now in a high fee environment well, it's lower right now, but like rewind the clock six months, you have Bitcoin still functioning, but. Only every 100 block or something do you get your transaction through because it's all filled up with these, other transactions from players that have less of an incentive to have Bitcoin's longevity in the back of their minds.
# Nation-State Game Theory
**Knut:** Do you see a risk there with state owned mining?
**Peter:** in the short term, yes. In the long term, no. Short term, those incentives can be corrupted, but long term, I think everyone will be incentivized to play by the rules and maximize the outcomes that they're looking to do, because at the end of the day, if the governments aren't going to make an investment in Bitcoin, that concern that you've got, is alleviated dramatically when you look at the fact that they could put Bitcoin on the balance sheet, because then they've got a counterweight to the investment that they're making in the mining network, in that they could just stop investing in the mining and actually buy the underlying and be far more profitable at it.
So it's a counterweight to the concern that. It's going to be a runaway mess with a network full of spam because at the end of the day, I think the governments are going to have to maximize the outcomes that they want to do because there are going to be, rational players in the marketplace who, if the governments don't compete on a rational level, they're going to get outplayed and they're going to have less Bitcoin and they'll lose power.
And I look at this and think, the obvious example that, you know, holds a light for Bitcoin at the moment is El Salvador and what Bukele's done with his Bitcoin mining and you look at his policy when it comes to, not only is he wanting to mine Bitcoin, but he's putting that on the balance sheet.
So he needs to assess, is the mining going to be more beneficial or do we need to just buy more Bitcoin with it? Because there's a cost associated with both of those things. And from a government perspective, globally, I look at El Salvador and think, I would really like to see him in Australia, running Australia, and he seems like one of the most logical leaders that we've got globally, who understands the game theory of Bitcoin, and he's winning.
And so, he doesn't really have any competition now, though, but when competition enters the market, then there's a decision to make. And then there's probably a constriction on his decisions as to, you know, what he has to maximize for. And then that's another decision making, and this is where the forcing function of good decision making is absolutely brutal in Bitcoin.
And I dare say we've all suffered the fate of selling Bitcoin. And then looking at the cost of that and we still calculate how much the 5 bitcoin or 10 bitcoin we sold 10 years ago would be worth today. And the governments are no different. They just haven't been playing the game as long as we have. So everyone plays the game at some point in time and we'll learn those lessons.
**Knut:** Yeah. That's the game theory. how do El Salvador custody their Bitcoin? I can't remember. they do use a custodian, I believe. how will a government, take control of their keys? A government is just a group of people, right?
those coins do not belong to the people of the country, they belong to an X amount of people. Keyholders and like, will they have multi sig solutions or will they just use a custodian? not your keys, not your coins, right? So some guy owns the Bitcoin and not the government of country X.
And some guy can fuck off and go buy an island somewhere. I foresee a lot of chaos, when banks and governments and stuff try to, acquire Bitcoin, because they don't know how to do it properly. I mean, paper Bitcoin is paper Bitcoin, right?
So that, so, how do you see that?
**Peter:** I see it being chaotic, just like all of our experiences up until this date with our own experience with Bitcoin. And this is the problem with Bitcoin is that there is not only a proof of work required to prove and claim a block reward, but there is a proof of work required to be a responsible Bitcoiner and be capable of looking after your own Bitcoin
And this is where, The institutions coming to Bitcoin, are going to have to learn very quickly or leverage off the experience of others in this space, and if they don't, they're going to learn, a very costly lesson that the kind of fuck around and find out is going to happen at a nation state level, it's going to happen at a corporate level, it will happen at a bank level, there are going to be these failures, and this is where, as Bitcoiners who have been in this space for a long time, I think we have a responsibility to talk about this because We've seen it all before and sadly our little goldfish memories that we're all operating on, you know, we don't really have a memory past four years, we kind of forget things.
We laugh at goldfish having a five second memory, but, humans are operating with about a four year memory for pain, so, yeah, ironically four years is the same time it takes to, go through a full Bitcoin epoch, and the same mistakes are going to get basically rehashed over and over again, but probably on a much bigger scale because you've got much Bigger entrance to the market.
So I hope that's not the case, but I just don't see how people are going to learn at those different levels unless these mistakes are made.
**Knut:** No, I totally agree. It's going to be fun to see it play out. I might disagree with we having a responsibility to make governments, to help governments hold Bitcoin. I'm kind of looking forward to seeing governments finding out after fucking up.
**Peter:** Oh no, I've got no responsibility to the government. I've got none whatsoever, but if anyone asks for my help, a fellow bitcoiner asks for my help, I feel a responsibility, a sense of duty, that if they've gotten this far and they've found me and say, hey, I want help, it's like, great, we definitely want to help.
# Incentives and Investing
**Peter:** there's another incentive structure at play here that is very beautiful. And that's like all the people potentially involved in making this decision that my government, our government or our corporation is going to adopt Bitcoin. They do all have an incentive to front run that, you know, and acquire Bitcoin as individuals themselves first.
**Knut:** And probably more of it than what they are buying for the institution. so even if a president of country X decides that I'm gonna use this tax money to buy Bitcoin, to put Bitcoin on the balance sheet, he has probably Acquired some himself first and told all his friends and family first.
and I think that's, that's just beautiful because like you can't get around that everyone's an individual and that Bitcoin's for enemies and all that.
**Peter:** like that idea and one of my favorite sites is the Nancy Pelosi Tracker. And to digress for a minute, which is exactly that point, we've had clients invested in NVIDIA for a long time, to the point where they're sitting on a 4, 000 percent return. And NVIDIA terrifies me. So, although we've been very lucky or fortunate to, I've put client money to work in NVIDIA and seen outrageous returns, which is about the only thing that has outperformed Bitcoin in that period, but it has.
I've been terrified that on a balance of probabilities, the chart looks outrageous and it kind of needs to come off. And I was talking to clients in the last two weeks and said, look, we need to take some money off the table here. they agreed, we all agreed, and then last week, or it might have been earlier this week, the Nancy Pelosi tracker said that Nancy has bought a lot of NVIDIA.
And it's totally changed my thinking on NVIDIA. Now I'm like, Oh, dammit, what, what does she know?
so I'm sitting here having conversations with clients over millions of dollars of decisions to be made about this one single stock and we've all agreed to get rid of it. And they said, is there any reason we wouldn't do this? And I'm like, well, there is one and she's proven to be the best fund manager on earth and her trades very rarely lose and she outperforms the market by, you know, she beats every hedge fund by a mile.
maybe we should tone down the decision not to sell all of it. We'll just sell half of it. So, you know, I make light of it, but it was a serious conversation and consideration to the point that, you know, if we have the ability to see what, these decision makers are doing, and they will be doing it at scale with much larger sums that they're in charge of, boy oh boy, that's the game theory that they're going to help their friends and family and say, yeah, we're putting into work, You know, a trillion dollars tomorrow, you might want to buy some.
**Knut:** we have a German friend that, told me about his, career as an investor in various stocks. He was day trading for like 15 years. Every day, just looking at the charts and trying to play them as best as he could. And then, he calculated how much money he had made being honest to himself, like 15 years down the line and made a giant spreadsheet and included all the taxes and all the banking fees and whatnot.
And he figured out that he made a hundred euros.
**Peter:** Damn!
**Knut:** so then he thought, why is that? Why is it damn near zero? And, yeah, his thesis is that You need, either you need, to know a regulator, like if you do this over a long time, it's just like, if you take the risks and the probability that it will play out that way is extremely high because the only thing that can, you basically need insider information to be able to win, over this casino that we call the markets over the long run, right?
So you need either to, be an insider in the actual company that you're buying stocks from, or you need to be a regulator, or you need to be insanely lucky, and that's unfortunately how the game is rigged when we're, especially when we have a money printer, skewing all of this and creating all of this artificial monopolies and whatnot, the regulators having too much power.
**Peter:** I agree with that, and particularly, if your friend was day trading, that's an impossibility. You're never beating the market in that, because you're dealing with flash trades, you're dealing with market insiders, and there's no edge in that time frame.
**Knut:** no, but this was, quite a while ago. So I think that during maybe the last couple of years there, the algorithms started taking over and out competing the individual day traders.
**Peter:** this is what I love about Bitcoin and one of my all time favorite books was a book on Jesse Livermore's life called Reminiscences of a Stock Operator and it was written over a hundred years ago. If you haven't read it and you're curious about the stock market, it's a fabulous book and it talks about the world's best short seller and the two pieces of information I gleaned out of that was outside of being it's extremely difficult to be successful at it, he said that the money wasn't in the buying or the selling, the money was made in the sitting.
And I can't think of a more perfect analogy to what, you know, the money is made in the sitting when it comes to Bitcoin. It's not made in the trading, it's made in the sitting there for eight years and, you know, taking your punishment and dealing with the cortisol. Ups and downs of, you know, the most volatile asset ever invented and then waking up eight years later where it's gone 100x.
That's where the money's made. And the other thing that came out of this book where I just kind of put the book down and thought, well, that ends all hopes and aspirations of being a trader and making a fortune out of it. So, Note to self, like, if the best can't make money out of it, like,
**Knut:** well, that was Warren Buffett's key to success, right? Not selling for a couple of decades.
**Peter:** he didn't.
**Knut:** and no, that's fascinating, where was I? I had a thought here.
# Stay Humble and Stack Sats
**Luke:** I think this is an interesting one about the sort of stay humble and stack sats thing. I saw a critique today on on Twitter about the stay humble stack sats thing.
**Knut:** That's it.
**Luke:** The critique was basically that you need to sell your Bitcoin to do stuff with it at some point. Yeah, obviously. The point of stay humble, stack sats is not stay humble, stack sats, and never touch the sats ever. it's don't trade.
that's basically what stay humble, stack sats is. It's don't trade, don't shitcoin, don't try and beat the market, but when you plan to save some money for the future, whether that's six months or eternity, just stay humble and stack sats. That's it.
**Knut:** this is the same tweet I saw, and my reaction to it is exactly that, like, yeah, sure. Use your Bitcoin to create the life you want to lead, like, but the way to do that is to stay humble and sack sass for like 10 years and then do it. You don't do it right away. first you let the purchasing power go up and then you can use a minuscule amount of your net worth to live your dream life.
and I think that's the way the best way to go about it.
**Peter:** I couldn't agree more, and this is where Bitcoin, I think, offers the opportunity to do this better than any other asset I've seen, and I had this analogy the other day that Bitcoin is Analogous to, or creating wealth is analogous to being shot out of a cannon, and Bitcoin is the biggest cannon that you can find that will shoot you the furthest.
And if you think about it, they've hodled Bitcoin for eight years. And now they're sitting on a ton of Bitcoin that they want to make lifestyle investment decisions with and they've elevated themselves to a new level of economic reality that they never would have been able to achieve without Bitcoin.
And I think it's analogous to being shot out of a cannon and all of a sudden you go from being at sea level to a thousand feet in the air. And you're looking down thinking, oh my goodness, it's a long way down. I want to take some chips off the table to buy a house or pay off debt or make sure that, you know, I can basically not hurt myself when I fall.
And this is where you, you know, if you want to go up, you want to concentrate your decision into the best asset that you can find. Personally, I think that's Bitcoin. But when you've reached a level that you don't want to fall from, then taking chips off the table to pay a home or, or do some of the lifestyle things that you talk about is akin to literally deploying a parachute when you've reached where you want to get to, to make sure that you can come down and land safely if something catastrophic were to happen.
And this is where, for me, Bitcoin represents the opportunity to move up as, Maslow's Needs Hierarchy in the fastest way possible, and there's a common misconception here in the investment community that most investment advisors want to talk to you about a diversified portfolio, and I'm sitting there thinking, oh, why?
If you want to ascend that wealth Ladder. The fastest way to do it is to find the best asset and put as much as you can stomach into it. Once you've gotten to the level that you want to, then you think about diversifying because no one has made money diversifying.
Well, not no one has made money diversifying. A lot of people have gotten very comfortable diversifying and for the broader population that is the best thing to do from a long term basis. The extreme wealth is through concentrated bets. I look at all the wealthiest people on earth. They've all done it through their own endeavor.
Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, they're concentrated bets.
**Knut:** Yeah, and the diversification is sort of a, it's for security, once you're there. So it's not the path, it's what you do when you reach the destination, sort of.
**Peter:** Yep. And this is the thing with, say, Warren Buffett. Everyone always references Warren Buffett diversification. That's not what he does. He put, he took concentrated bets in the best companies he could find and he put all his money in there. And then sadly, he got so good at doing that, that when he put money to work in a company, it changed the market.
And it totally redefined the dynamics of the investment decision that he was making. So now, all of a sudden, he becomes the market, and the only thing that he can do is invest in Apple. And ironically, in the 60 years investing career that he's had, 50 percent or more of his returns have come in the last six or seven years from investing in Apple.
That's outrageous.
# Stock Market Speculation
**Knut:** so how much of the problems with the stock market in general in the world, and these inflated, stocks that are worth way too much, probably because everyone's speculating on the same assets and so on. How much of that, to do with broken money? how much does broken money gets The blame for that and why
**Peter:** I think the large majority of it is. In the Bitcoin community, it's well, well understood. It's a very clearly defined problem that there is an easy solution for, but in the broader, the broader consensus is very slow to understand that. And this is where the increased liquidity over the last 50 years, the moving off the gold standard, and then the ability to print ad infinitum is, is a huge concern because it dilutes everyone.
And if we take it down to our most basic of needs. Let's just say we were all at a pub together, and it was, you know, we were having beers, having a drink, and the publican, when he was pouring beers, decided to top our beer up with 40 percent water and dilute our drink. We would be rioting in the streets.
We would be so filthy that someone would try and rip us off of our hard earned money
**Knut:** the analogy is flawed
**Peter:** But with money, you don't feel better the day after.
**Knut:** No, no, it's
**Peter:** don't even know you're getting robbed. That's the problem. So, I look at this and think, if it was a broadly understood problem, then Bitcoin would, it wouldn't be at the levels that it is now.
We would be, fighting for a Satoshi. That's the kind of level that Bitcoin would go to and I look at all of the functions of store of value at the moment are, properties, shares, the rest of it. There's no ability to save money anymore because there's a negative real return.
# Medium of Exchange vs Store of Value vs Unit of Account
**Knut:** We go into this in the book, like, what Bitcoiners understand, I think is that, gold was good at storing value and fiat is good as a medium of exchange. But Bitcoin does both better, but I think it goes even deeper than that because I think the very term store of value is very misguided.
in research for the book, I looked up the Misesian definition of money and it's just the most common medium of exchange in society. And he pushes the medium of exchange narrative sort of, it's sort of implied that it needs to store value, but it still sees money. As a medium of exchange.
So I was thinking about that and I realized that the term medium of exchange is enough. It's just medium of exchange over time and medium of exchange over space because it's not really a store of values and values subjective, but it is a medium of exchange over time. What you're doing when you're saving is that you're trading with your future self.
So you're just using money, and you are making an exchange because that money, if it's proper money that holds its value, then it does provide you with some financial security during that time period. it's never idle, it always, Serves a function to you, the holder of the money.
But I think this is, this also ties into this whole, you know, that tweet we talked about just five minutes ago with, how to, you should stay humble and stack sats is wrong. Well, it's not because. It's all a medium of exchange. It's just that you have to account for all four dimensions and you can't have the spatial dimensions without having the temporal dimension sorted first.
**Peter:** he would love it. You're speaking to the wrong Dudworth. On that, it's funny, the money with the sort of the three functions of money, and this is where I think there is a distortion to that. The three functions kind of does distort what this is, and the study that I've looked at and done on this, I look at, and maybe this is a, quite a conservative way to look at this.
I think Bitcoin as a store of value and a unit of account, excluding the medium exchange, is, to me, the killer use case. And if I break it down from a market cap perspective, and total market share of store of value medium exchange unit of account. And when it comes to functions of money, the store of value has maybe a, maybe a 15 trillion market cap with gold, give or take.
Now, the definition I'm using for store of value is gold. Medium exchange might be a 100 trillion market. And unit of account, to me, some people will say it's, you know, 800 trillion, but I think it's more like 2, 000 trillion. And I look at this and I think, if you capture the store of value and the unit of account markets, then by default you get the mean of exchange.
And this is where you come in and talk about spatial and temporal. If you capture over time, store a value and unit of account, by definition, everyone will end up using Bitcoin as the medium exchange. So it's a fait accompli that we will get medium exchange if you have those two corner posts. And from an immediate perspective, and this bringing it down to the personal level, because I think all decisions resonate from the personal up, not from a top down decision.
if you. Capture the store value market and the unit of account market. You've effectively captured 95 percent of the value accretion in the marketplace for money. And then that little bit in the middle, 100 trillion dollars, the 5 percent that's remaining is your medium of exchange.
But this is where it gets very complicated when you look at the temporal and spatial effects on that interaction.
**Knut:** How is unit of account a market though? How can it be like, because you're measuring from. The very thing you're trying to measure the value of,
**Peter:** A circumstantial,
**Knut:** Is that the market for the US dollar or because that's the most common unit of account?
**Peter:** Well, yes, but I think it's everything. I think it's every, all value that needs to be captured, and I look at this on, a personal level, how I think about it, and this is a conversation that we had last time, was, we play the simplest game on earth, stack sats, all we have to do is have one more sat than this time last
**Knut:** Yeah, yeah. let me guess how you think about this and the market for unit of account, everything divided by something, right?
**Peter:** Ah, let me think, yeah, exactly. That's exactly what it is. this is where, to me, things get really interesting, because everything divided by 21 million, people think, if say there's, let's just agree that there's a thousand trillion dollars of value in the world that needs to be accounted for.
We divide it by 21 million and we Get that. But what I think a lot of people miss in valuing Bitcoin, I personally think that it can be a lot more than a trillion dollars divided by 21 million because you need to value the future value of that Bitcoin. And this is where your point is outstanding in that it's not just everything now, it's everything in the future that will be.
And if you look at that, there's a time preference and a monetary premium given to that future value. Now, when you have all of your base layers on that Maslow's Needs Hierarchy covered, you can think further into the future. It allows you to have a lot less and spend a lot less of your proportionate stack.
And this is where that escalator, I think, is such a novel term in that Bitcoin can account for hundreds of quadrillions of dollars.
**Knut:** the problem there is like now we're into scaling territory, but I have my most misinterpreted article ever was one about the scaling and how the real scaling solution is just that we will use money less and, I think most people misinterpreted that and saying that it was a bit too much on the Kumbaya side of things, but I think that's why we don't see retail adoption and stuff, galore everywhere because most people Don't want to spend their Bitcoin.
And like most people want to do the stay humble stack sets and then maybe spend a little on top 10 years down the line. but there is a problem there because like, transaction fees will inevitably go up and it will highly, it's highly unlikely that it will ever be worth the time or the effort or the money to, to buy a cup of coffee on chain anymore.
there is something to the scaling thing, but my thesis from that article was that when you have that, everything else becomes money first, you have some sort of Gresham's law thing going on, including your reputational capital, if you have 10 wealthy people, that go and eat together every night, then there's probably 10 transactions being made because someone picks up the bill every night, right?
So there's 10 transactions. If you have 10 very poor people eating every night, then they probably sit at home and buy their own noodles. So there's a hundred transactions going on, like over 10 days. for the poor, there's probably a need for more transactions with functioning money, that's what the, MMT people, view as a successful economy when people spend, spend, spend, spend, spend. But I think that this, perfectly sound money and this absolutely finite supply makes it so that You will be really, really careful with what you use that for.
And you will use it a few times and those times will be far apart. And that's a feature, not a bug, like, for instance, I view this as a trade we're in, we're in a trade right now, we're trading information with one another, and if you come over to Europe or if I come to Australia, then we'll probably buy each other dinners and stuff, you know, and that is, Because we know deep inside this thing about Bitcoin is being incentivized to help one another that there's no real need for greed or needs to, spend your stack when you can just spend your reputation and get a reputational gain by spending something else like your fiat or whatever.
So there is a scenario where barter and stuff like this becomes More common, I think. It's kind of hard to articulate this thought, but I see the need for many transactions going down on a Bitcoin standard and not up.
# Timelocking
**Peter:** I agree with you. And this is where, I've had a conversation with my brother on this. And you know how he time locked the Bitcoin into the future?
**Knut:** Yeah. Based.
**Peter:** I think that's a wild idea and I'll talk more about that because it's resurfacing on a geopolitical level too.
He talks about the fact that because he's given a contribution to humanity into the future, and that, will be worth an absolute, unseemly amount of money. He talks about the reputational capital that goes with having made that contribution into the future. It's like, oh my goodness, there's Michael Dunworth, who basically put a whole bitcoin into the future to solve a mining problem or whatever he perceived to be a problem, but he made a contribution to the network.
We should either elevate his opinion or be grateful that he's contributed to humanity on some way, shape or form. And bitcoin's the most objective way to do that. And this is where, what's interesting with that whole time locking concept, it's starting to get a second run with, Trump talking about having a Bitcoin strategic reserve asset for the U.
S. And I think, someone's floated the notion that they should buy a trillion dollars worth of Bitcoin, time lock it into the future, and that is a way of solving the U. S. national debt problem. And I look at this and think, well, that's really interesting because that's one way to ensure that they can't spend it.
So, it's time locked for 30 years and who knows, maybe there's a chance that they can actually get out of the debt problem that they've got by actually buying Bitcoin and time locking it. It also sends a really clear message to the rest of the world that, hey, we're serious about Bitcoin and this is where, to one of the points you raised earlier, I think, in thinking about Bitcoin as a store of value we just don't have the ability to pay off the debts that we've got right now.
And the only way I see us being able to get out of this hole, is to recapitalize the markets. And so how do you recapitalize the markets? At this point in time, you either have to pump money into different asset classes. If you pump money into commodities, that's going to be highly inflationary for every other sector because it's a base, base cost in the economy.
If you pump money into the property sector, firstly you've got to pump a lot of money into the property sector and secondly it affects cost of housing, cost of living. So that's another area that you don't really want to pump money into. Then you've got the speculative degen stock market, which ironically is moving closer and closer to meme coin
DGN trading than it is to a, you know, a responsible profession of investing. And if you pump money into the stock market, then you're going to incentivize all these DGNs to trade harder. I look at this across the board and think the only realistic outcome of pumping money into to recapitalize the market is to pump money into Bitcoin and have Bitcoin recapitalize the entire sector, because putting 1 into the Bitcoin market will give you a 10 or a 50 or a 100x return on that by way of market cap, whereas if you put 1 into the property market it might go up by Half a half, a half a percent.
It's not a big return, but you get a hundred thousand or you get a 10000% return by putting a dollar into Bitcoin, you get maybe a 50% return by putting a dollar into the stock market. And I look at this and think a lot of people looking at this problem and thinking that we've got a debt problem. And yes, we do have a debt problem, but the other side of the coin of a debt problem is that we, we've got a collateral problem.
So how do you solve that? You either fix one of the two things. You either fix the debt or you fix the collateral. And it's far easier to fix the collateral side of things with a globally ubiquitous asset in Bitcoin than it is to fix the debt. So I look at this as a way of sort of getting balance back into the broader economics of what we're dealing with.
# Bitcoin vs Fiat
**Knut:** Yeah. And it's so fascinating because all money, not only Bitcoin, The reason we value it, I mean, we still vote for the value of fiat currencies by choosing to buy or not buy different sorts of stuff, right? and goods and services. so it's all just, In the back of our heads, like it's all in our heads, all of it, all the trillions of dollars in debt that the world is in.
At the end of the day, it's just like some sort of intersubjective valuation mechanism going on. And the fiat isn't working because it's the rules are broken, but Bitcoin is just rules that are working. And we're just facing out of this old flawed mental state into a mental state that actually works and that it's all happening in our heads.
That's the most mind blowing part. I mean, yeah, I know how money is not a collective illusion and there's a Harari narrative and that's, it has to be attached to something, it's all in our heads and like, this is what I push all the time in terms of narratives is that, Bitcoin is you, like there's no difference and the ASIC is just a fancy abacus to help us calculate, to verify what's going on.
so the energy expenditure is just like a side effect, but it's a side effect that makes this. A competition of minds possible, but still at the end of the day, all of the information, it's in our head. you can't get around that. And that's what I find so insanely mind blowing.
**Peter:** I think it's a paradigm shift because for the first time in history we've got, we're not playing a zero sum game. this is back to that incentives conversation earlier, because it's the first thing that is not a zero sum game. This is the first game we can play where we have a collective benefit.
**Knut:** That's a tweet. Bitcoin is an everything divided by 21 million some game.
**Peter:** It's true though, like, it's the first time that, you know, we can all benefit. And this is where, you know, finance up until this point in time has been, you know, you either win or you lose. Someone's either winning or losing and you're on the wrong side of it and for the first time maybe this comes back to that incentives that we talked about at the start that to me the fact that we're not playing a zero sum game is How we can all align and get behind this thing.
**Luke:** Of course, Knut is actually tweeting during a
**Peter:** Yeah, nice.
**Luke:** Yes, save me here, Luke, We've all agreed to that. Very this is awesome. I mean, Yeah. I love the optimism whenever we talk to you or whenever you go on other pods, it's always like, you are in competition for the most bullish person in the entire space. Basically, you and Luke Broyles together is, like trying to one up each other a little bit.
Mch also does the same thing. There's something about the loop.
Exactly. I've got you, Knut. Yeah, but I think we're a little more understated than those other guys. But anyway, not in a, not like that's a negative. It's just, you know, we're the philosophizers. Those guys are the, hype men. I think something like that. but yeah,
**Knut:** equals 1BTC.
**Luke:** exactly.
**Peter:** So true.
# Peter's Short-Term Outlook
**Luke:** But, yeah, Peter, what's your thinking on, the short term here, because, the having happened and everything, kind of maybe was a little disappointing from the perspective of anyone who wanted to see everything go to the moon right away, are you at all worried or just waiting for the rip?
what's going on?
**Peter:** I'll probably say something which is probably not going to be so popular, but it's just where we're at at this point in time, given current market dynamics, but it would not surprise me to see this sideways action continue for the next three months. And I know that's not what people want. It's definitely not what I want.
But I think about this, that a lot of. The previous cycles had, sort of three months after the halving was the bottom in, in past cycles. And that was typically caused because there was a lot of minor cell pressure, maybe people got overexcited, got, you know, ahead of themselves. And then there was that sort of realization that, oh, there's a lot more heavy lifting that needs to be done in order to get to where we need to go to.
And if you buy into that minor capitulation theory, we could be waiting a lot longer for that to happen. And that's a lot more than what we've seen in the past, because if you remember back in February, basically since the beginning of the year, we had huge fees. March was a bumper month. You couldn't get a transaction on there because we had, you know, the network was just out of control from a fee perspective.
And then it died down a little bit, then came into the halving, and then first, call it week after the halving, fees went down. Absolutely mental. Like, that first block mine, block 840, 000, I think, was the first block in the epoch. Like, there was 39 million in fees in that one single block, which was just outrageous.
And I think about this, and I think the other thing that adds to this is that All of these miners have benefited from these additional fees prior to the halving, and we've also got all time highs before the halving. That never happened before as well. So these businesses are very well capitalized, and so they haven't had to puke up all their Bitcoin yet.
So I look at this and think, oh, we could be extended here for another three months, and it wouldn't surprise me. Having said that, I'd love Trump to come out and just say, yeah, we're buying a trillion dollars of Bitcoin and we just send it to a million dollars overnight would be, you know, my preferred outcome.
But do I think that happens? No. I'd prefer to prepare for the worst, hope for the best and be pleasantly surprised in between.
# Pro vs Anti-Bitcoin Politicians
**Knut:** What would you prefer? A pro Bitcoin president or an anti Bitcoin president?
**Peter:** Oh, great question.
**Knut:** Because it's not an easy one, you know, because you want people to be proper Bitcoiners, run their nodes and, not because they have permission to do so, like it needs to be black market money, because that's what permissionless means, like, it needs to be uncensorable, it needs to be all of these things, otherwise the value proposition is gone.
Like, it needs to be non controlled, not controlled by humans in any way, shape, or form. So this is, yeah, I struggle with this. It is game theory playing out, and Trump is starting to talk about it. It's exciting, of course, it means something,
**Peter:** here's a question to you on that note. What would you think of Xi adopting it?
**Knut:** of who?
**Peter:** President Xi from China.
**Knut:** Ah, GEOP, yeah.
**Peter:** about Trump adopting it. Okay, great for the US to adopt it, but like, think about, our enemy's money or whatever. Like, or Putin comes out tomorrow and says, hey, I'm doing Bitcoin.
**Knut:** Well I think the chaos theory, we discussed before still plays out these people are going to fuck this up so bad and it's going to end up with some guy and I root for some guy, you know, but the thing is, it doesn't matter because like once they have the Bitcoin and once they have Bitcoin on the balance sheet or whatever you may call it, Then the only way for them to leverage that in any way, shape, or form is to spend the Bitcoin.
You can't, you can't do anything else with it. And that's, that's the beautiful part. So, so in the end, it benefits individuals and that's great. And even if they hoard. all that happens if they hoard it and keep, and you know, put it away in a vault somewhere, however you may do that, is, is number go up.
That's the, that's the outcome of that. So, no, I, I, I don't have a problem with, you know, buying Bitcoin. Not at all.
**Peter:** I don't have a problem with it either. And in a twisted way, I think it would incentivize that other nations adopt it quicker, just in case it was the thing that was going to catch on. But to another point on that is, I think Bitcoin requires a learning process for every Bitcoiner to go through. And so, back to what we discussed earlier, it's almost like a hero's journey that every Bitcoiner has to go through.
So everyone will go through their own learning, and to me, if it's someone I like, someone I don't like, hey, who cares? Everyone's going to have to go through this at some point in time, so if you know it's an inevitability, and this is probably one thing that gets overlooked, I think, Bitcoin, is an inevitability.
But if you know it's an inevitability, then you should probably get on the train sooner rather than later.
**Knut:** Yeah, absolutely. but at the end of the day, if you take the thought vector and you follow it to its inevitable end, the whole notion of a nation state is sort of gone. You know, all aggression is gone in the end, because a nation state is basically just a monopoly of violence in a geographical area.
and you may think that's a good or a bad thing. You may think that if there wasn't a government, something worse would, but still, that's what it is. But if you can keep 99 percent of your wealth in your head, then you cannot extract that wealth, if you're an attacker, the best way to extract that wealth from someone else is to trade with them and exchange something of value back to them and not to threaten to kill them.
Because if you kill them, the Bitcoin is gone. so like, this is the peaceful revolution, train of thought here. But at the end of the day, Bitcoin obsoletes the nation state. That's, it, it just does, there's no way around that.
**Peter:** So we turned into 8 billion nations.
**Knut:** Self sovereign, the sovereign individual, literally. I'm looking forward to it and I'm looking forward to trading with other nations, you know, trading, a couple of pints with another self sovereign nation next to me.
# Number Salad
**Peter:** I've got to say, I look forward to that day. In light of everything that's gone on here and what's, what's gone on throughout the world in the last few years, that degradation of trust, has been enormous. And this is one of the fundamental premises of why I'm so enamored with Bitcoin is that I think it has the ability for us to, to build that trust back within society that has been utterly lost.
And I look at, say, if I just confine that lack of trust to the financial sphere where I spend most of my time. We've had the Central Bank, the Federal Reserve, the most esteemed prestigious institution on earth when it comes to finance. You've had insider trading allegations. You had the JPOW say that he didn't think that inflation was, Here to stay, it was transitory.
And then he said, oh hang on, we've got a problem. And then he jacked rates from 0 percent to 5%. These banks in the US that had treasuries on their balance sheet, who just bought US treasuries, which are classified by the accounting standards as risk free, ended up blowing up the banks. All of those Silicon Valley banks that blew up last year were a direct result of holding the risk free treasuries.
And then we're getting, gas lit into telling us that the economy is fantastic, GDP is good. They redefined the term recession to say that, oh no, recession isn't two negative GDP quarters. It's actually two negative GDP quarters and higher unemployment. And I'm like, in my nearly 50 years on earth, it's never been defined with the unemployment vector to it.
It's always been, you know, GDP. Is it up or down? It's down for two quarters. So I'm just like, and then the revision of the unemployment numbers. Always after the fact, six months after the fact, they tell us, oh yeah, they're a lot worse than what they thought they were.
Like, it's just, they're telling you a story and there's no objective way to tell, like, To figure out what they're doing.
**Knut:** And the word, the word unemployment itself, let's start by GDP is a, a bullshit metric to begin with because what does it measure? You include like, sales of medicine to the population in GDP. what is that? That's not a sinus of success. the metrics are all wrong.
even the notion of unemployment. It's fictitious, like the government came up with the word unemployment because on a totally free market without interventionism, there is no such thing as unemployment. It is not a condition, it's just someone choosing not to work, and there will always be someone willing to pay something for someone to work.
It's just when you introduce these social security schemes and stuff, that unemployment is a thing. in a functioning market, it can't be. So, it's all false.
**Peter:** Well, they put those sort of false dichotomies in place and, they sort of try and underpin the value of labor by putting in the minimum wages. And it's like, look, if someone's not worth 15, you shouldn't have to pay them 15. They should be willing to work for whatever you're prepared to pay them so that they can learn the skill to get on the ladder of being employable and up to that 15 mark.
And then when they get to 15, move to 20, 30, 50, whatever.
**Knut:** Yeah, and minimum wage is so easy to debunk, and you can even, like, I hate using empiricism in economics, but where the hell do you think the touchscreens at McDonald's come from? They come from minimum wage laws, because they can't afford staff to do that stuff for you.
it's because of the minimum wage law, not because the robot is so great. It's just that it's cheaper.
**Peter:** So, I mean, these are all the challenges that we face and I look at, you know, the one bright spot in the finance world that I look at is Bitcoin, but it's completely misunderstood by the broader, you know, broader community of finance acolytes and this is where the opportunity for the pleb to stack sats comes in because while it's misunderstood and we do our best to explain it, therein lies the opportunity.
**Knut:** Exactly. They're just not aware of what we're transitioning into.
**Peter:** Touche.
# The Bitcoin Adviser
**Luke:** point here. Haha. Anyway, so hey, it's been a while since we last caught up. It was actually a while since we caught up generally, but since we've had you on the pod, and there's been a lot going on, we've had a couple of other people in the Bitcoin advisor sphere. And as everyone knows, we are Bitcoin advisors ourselves, If someone wanted to be advised by us, we would absolutely do it, but we've been, finishing our book and everything, but, we're ready and raring to go, from the horse's mouth itself, can we get the TLDR and everything you've been up to in the last year and, the Bitcoin advisor and everything, because you can explain it so much better than we can, I think.
**Peter:** You know what, it's been an absolute blast. Boy, what's happened in the last 12 months, and I've got to say, I'm absolutely delighted you two are on the team. We literally have a team of rock stars. I think the best Bitcoin team in the world. And, you know, we've got a mission to get every Bitcoin off exchange, which I think is a very noble mission.
the team's grown dramatically. You know, we started off, Andy and I, Circa 18 months ago and that's now a team of 40 globally and we basically get to help Bitcoiners all over the globe get their Bitcoin off exchange and I've got to say it is such a fun feeling watching the coins. Get ripped off the exchange into self custody.
And for me, that I think is the highest purpose I can serve the Bitcoin community. And I'm thrilled that we've got, you know, nearly 40 advisors now globally who share that mission to help anyone who wants help getting coins off exchange where we're there to help. And, you know, we provide a stack of free resources.
There's a whole host of IP, we share literally our entire IP catalogue, how you want to do it, how we do it, it's there for anyone to take and, you know, one thing that I've got to say I'm so happy to see is that there's a whole host of other services popping up that are adjacent to what we do or similar to what we do, I think, the Bitcoin Way and Tony and, you know, you've had him on and what a fabulous story that is.
great service, Bitcoin Mentor with BTC Sessions. These services are really invaluable and I look at this and think, Some people look at this as competition, and I think, no, we're all on the same team, we're all trying to achieve the same outcome, it's just a different way of doing it, so, for me, I'm thrilled that I get to work in Bitcoin, I'm thrilled that I get to work with the best Bitcoiners in the world, and something that's, you know, an absolute privilege.
Pleasure and a delight, and it really is a treasure for me, is that I get to talk about Bitcoin, all day. So, the novelty of working with your passion hasn't worn off yet. It's still a pleasure and an honor to be able to talk about Bitcoin all day, because I know there's a whole host of Bitcoiners out there who are living, basically, separate lives.
they're living the day to day mundane going to work and doing what they do and then, you know, at any spare moment, they're sitting there listening to podcasts like this and trying to learn about Bitcoin and, want to go down that rabbit hole and get a really deep understanding this is where, I think, one of the things that's been really fun for me to watch as well is the advisors who come on the team and being able to grow with them as well Hearing their stories and success around talking to clients it's a lot of fun having an impact on someone's life and Relieving a real world problem for them that we've been able to solve It's a really satisfying level on a, like, a really heartwarming level, regardless of what financial outcomes are achieved, it's still a wonderful feeling to help another human being solve a big problem for them.
So, for me, I think a lot of the teams starting to experience, The joy of being able to solve Bitcoiners problems and this is the fun part that I think as, as the price grows, the need for these type of services is going to continue to grow because the sudden realization of someone being responsible for millions or tens of millions of dollars of Bitcoin without any redundancies or fail safes in place, it's a very rare breed where people can deal with that, so I think the more services we have in this space, the better.
This is where I'm thrilled that, you boys are on the team and gonna get to experience all of this in the very near future.
**Knut:** No, I know the feeling. I still pinch myself that I'm able to do this. any Bitcoin stuff really. it's just the journey is also real.
**Peter:** Yeah, I've gotta say it's fun and, you know, I think back to some of those early conversations, Knut, that you had with our clients probably a couple of years ago now. And I think, you know, in the early days of you transitioning to full time Bitcoin. To me, any Bitcoiner being able to do Bitcoin full time is Pretty much the end goal.
And this is where say, from a, from a, interestingly, from an advice perspective and a business perspective, it's far easier for me to take a bitcoiner and turn them into an advisor than it is to take an advisor and turn them into a bitcoiner.
**Knut:** Yeah, I mean, transitioning into a full time Bitcoiner, I'm thinking tender reveal, like you're changing your tender, right? That's, switch tenders.
**Peter:** What you're tethered to, right?
**Knut:** Yeah.
**Peter:** Yeah, so it's a lot of fun and, we get to have a good laugh with the team and, catch up on everyone's news. one of the things that I think is really valuable is that we all get to learn together and it's a source of constant improvement.
It's not like, okay, here's the best solution and we're just going to do this. It's like, no. we want to have continual improvement and, one thing when you're dealing with Bitcoin security and custody, it's eternal vigilance. Because you don't get a second chance at putting the genie back in the bottle.
Once it's out, it's done. So, from a service level perspective, perfection when it comes to helping clients custody their Bitcoin. It's the bare minimum that we can deliver and I've been very fortunate that, you know, we haven't lost a single Satoshi, that collaborative security protocol is a really important way of being able to deliver that and, quite sadly, we've had a number of clients who have passed and they've been self casting their Bitcoin and we've still been able to recover that.
That Bitcoin for the family. And this is where to anyone who's listening about that, that's a very serious thing that, you know, you need to consider. if you go home after listen to this and ask your wife, hey, or your partner, hey, can you move my Bitcoin?
If you don't get a satisfactory answer, then you've got some work to do on making sure that you don't die with the music inside you. And that's, that's a really big deal to your point earlier, Knut, that this is the first asset that you can't extract. TrueForce. It sits in your head and if you don't have a map to that bitcoin, then it's lost forever.
Or until someone breaks SHA 256 and we can access it.
**Knut:** Yeah, I love all this, the way of framing it, because it's so hard to debunk those theories, and, what play, another way of looking at it is that Bitcoin was always there, and it's just that the hashing power was zero up until 2009,
**Peter:** I love that thought. It's wild.
**Knut:** but it's true, it's 100 percent true,
**Peter:** Yeah.
**Knut:** the numbers were there somewhere.
So yeah, it's goes back to the, the thing only being information and like even deeper. It's just data ones and zeros and, data interpreted, can be called information. And yeah, that's what Bitcoin is.
# The Inverse of Clown World
**Peter:** Can I ask a question of you boys? I want you to show me your latest and greatest. This book that's coming out. Hit me.
**Knut:** it's the best Bitcoin book I've ever read.
No, like, so Bitcoin, the inverse of clown world, started as an idea and it started with a long, long period of writer's block for me. So I knew I wanted to write something and I knew I wanted to write another Bitcoin book, but I couldn't get started. And then sometime during last December, like early December last year, it just started pouring out of me and it's, inspired by the two years, almost two years of conversations we've had with excellent Bitcoiners now, all of those ideas, started pouring out.
And then I wanted to look on board as some sort of editor or something. We hadn't really decided what your role was going to be. as we started looking at the text together, we realized that you're not the editor, you're the co author here, like we should write this as a team, which turned it into a bigger project.
And we, I had written around 10 chapters, I think, but then we saw, we looked at the chapters at one point and realized that, it's sort of a hero's journey thing, I looked up the conceptual hero's journey
and we realized that if we just order these chapters correctly, we can sort of have it in the back of our minds that they fit into this, Heroes Journey template, and then the reader is the hero, that removes Clown World by, focusing on Bitcoin.
so that's what we did. The first part of the book describes, the reality we find ourselves in, and clown world, and what makes, why clown world exists, and why politicized money turns into completely arbitrary issues being focused on, and bullshit, being emphasized everywhere, Then, the midsection of the book is a journey of introspection and this whole concept of your satoshis and how much, the mind creates reality and how you remove that old world by, focusing on different things.
and then the last part of a book is sort of hinting at what's on the other side there. The funniest book yet, I'd say, and a bit more thorough this time, or we have, since that's sort of what Luke added, is like, coherency to the thing and, and us reading, we did like three passes with the book, so we read it one time first, like my, my original outline, and then decided this goes here, that goes there, and then we read it when the last chapters were, Done.
So we had another pass and then we had a third pass and we've had our editor Mel, who's fantastic, look through it too and, change a synonym here and there and a paragraph here and there, making it look nicer. it is what's on the other side of the, everything divided by 21 million equation.
Everything divided by 21 million equals the inverse of clown world. it is the natural follow up to that book, and we're doing a pass with everything divided at the moment. a readability pass, I'd say. So we are doing a light edit to make the ultimate version of that book. And it's, the sentences are a bit less choppy.
It was quite a choppy book, so we're making it a bit more readable. And it's good to look back on that because we see so much mirrored in the new book. It's just, the other side of the equation. So we're very proud of it and we're excited to release it. We can't wait.
What's your take, Luke?
**Luke:** Well, I was, I was going to let, Peter, I was gonna let you respond a little bit, but sure, I'll just, I'll add, I'll add one thing. it's definitely funnier and more toxic than the previous Knut books. And this was from, I hadn't realized this, actually, because it sort of felt like everything that we've been doing for the last two years, this crazy show, this, formerly Freedom Footprint show, now Bitcoin Infinity show.
the Freedom Footprint years are the input to this book, but, we just have a blast, joking together and, talking together about anything and everything. what actually went into this book is, there's jokes everywhere and, the toxicity is turned up a level then it was, the process of going back and re reading everything divided.
you weren't nearly as toxic or, even nearly as intentionally funny. There aren't as many jokes in Everything Divided and it's different. I'm proud of my contribution. I mean, I'm honored to be here, really.
And, as with everything in Bitcoin, it's, the surreal doesn't end. It's less than two years since I first. Met any bitcoiners face to face. Riga, 2022 is my first time. and so Riga 2024 we're launching this book together. And, for me, it's just surreal.
can you explain all of it? thanks Peter, for asking, and I think this is the first time we've really gone in depth about the book on this show,
**Peter:** I'm so excited for you. I sincerely love you boys and think you are a great team. Quirky as hell. And I, I'm really looking forward to this book. Like, the second I saw it I was like, ah, I cannot wait. And then, to me, like, being a fan of your work, I'm like, yeah. Oh, you're going to release a box set? Sweet!
Another thing to just put on the shelf! I can't wait. Literally, call me and let me know when I can buy it, because I would love to buy not only Clown World, I want to get the rehashed box set. And I think, like I shared with you, the reading everything divided by 21 million, the thoughts in that were so dense.
It was like the gravity of the sun relative to other books because and I remember reading it and I sat down and I'd like a dedicated time, it was a book that I was really looking forward to reading and I'd set time aside to focus on this and I thought, oh, it's a little book, you know, I'll get through this in no time.
And. We talked about this, that the density of thought in that little book had me reading like a paragraph at a time and then I'd just sit back and I'd be like, Damn, and I'd have to think about one little paragraph in there for moments, like minutes, maybe even 10 minutes and what ended up happening was it took me probably five times longer to read that book than I had anticipated.
Because it was so thought provoking for me. I was like, man, like, the things you've thought about in here are so deep and profound. I wanted to, you know, ponder on what, what the significance of it was, a question I've got on the release of Clown World. one thing I love doing with everything divided by 21 million was going back and listening to it because then I couldn't stop and ponder because I had to keep the train of thought going.
And I'm wondering, at the time of release of Clown World, Are you going to release an audio version of it as well? Like, can you get both at the same time?
**Luke:** Same time, probably not. The manuscript is done now, but we're still waiting on our forward, hopefully by the time this is released, Giacomo has given us our forward, and so we need that for the audio version, but we'll get it to Guy right away once we have that done. This is like a little snapshot in time here when we've got the thing done, but it's not 100 percent done yet.
So yeah, we'll have the audio book, but it might not be quite immediately at launch. Bitcoin Infinity Day is a pretty specific day on the calendar and we can't move the launch date. I hope you understand.
**Peter:** Totally.
**Knut:** you want a paragraph, Peter?
**Peter:** Yeah, come on, hit me.
**Knut:** This is from a chapter called Freedom Footprint. The fight for freedom is never ending. Every generation must participate or be forever shackled to its hamster's wheels. The siren's song of the government has led many adventurers to a state of perpetual Stockholm syndrome.
Even though the beaches are littered with human skulls, her song seduces new sailors daily. Free healthcare, universal basic income, fixed weather, free lunches abound. The government's anaconda grip over your life tightens every time another freedom is sacrificed on the altar of perceived safety.
She is a cunning snake that grows stronger whenever we forget to resist. The history of human civilization is one of repeating cycles over the centuries. Property rights lead to perspective. Prosperity. Prosperity leads to more government spending. More government spending leads to bigger government. Big government leads to dilutions of grandeur and totalitarianism.
And totalitarianism leads to civil wars and revolutions. Are you prepared to take matters into your own hands? Probably not. You still live in the world you were born into and idealistic martyrdom is not on most people's bucket lists, but whatever small step you take to increase your personal freedom footprint increases the total level of freedom dioxide in the atmosphere.
Freedom dioxide is essential to life. It prevents political climate change and global laming.
# Authoritarian Australia
**Peter:** I love it. I've got to say, that just resonates so deeply with me at the moment because in Australia we have A change in law coming into our tax code next year, 1st of July, for balances over a certain threshold in our pension system will now suffer the fate of unrealized capital gains tax.
**Knut:** Oh, holy fuck.
**Peter:** So, I cannot tell you the amount of stress and sleep that I have lost over this, but it affects a big part of my life. Maybe 70, 000 Australians presently, but if you've got a couple of Bitcoin in your super fund, it's going to affect every Australian who's got a couple of Bitcoin in their super fund before too long.
And this to me is the encroachment that is just beyond the pale for me. That's
like theft straight up.
**Knut:** yeah, even if you don't believe tax is theft, which it is, or that inflation is theft, which it is, taking an unrealized gain from someone is definitely theft. Like, how is it not?
**Peter:** it's insane. And to give you some examples of this, because I've done the numbers on it, I'm not allowed to touch my retirement money till, till I turn, 63, I think it is, or 62, but by the time I get there, it'll be 65 or 70. Let's assume it's 16 years before I can touch it. By my calculations, I will have 86 percent less Bitcoin on my retirement than I do now through this unrealized capital gains tax.
**Knut:** We need to set up a voting accident for you, Peter.
**Peter:** I don't think that's possible. I'm pretty good at custody.
**Knut:** I like the way you're thinking, but it's, it really is perplexing to me. We've had this discussion before about, you know, completely clean government approved Bitcoin and, coin joined the sneaky shadow super recoder Bitcoin. And you've been a proponent of the former
**Peter:** that's true.
**Knut:** yeah, it's, I hate to tell you, but this is a case of fuck around and find out, I think,
**Peter:** Yeah, I've got to say, it's particularly disturbing because it skews the incentives dramatically, and I had a conversation, about this, but what it does is it robs you of the ability to compound your return through time, and you end up poor. But the best thing, That can happen to you. And this is doing the numbers, and this is the crazy part.
The best outcome that I can hope for, is to end up with 14% of the Bitcoin that I've got now that's the best outcome.
**Knut:** but it is an argument for not doing KYC Bitcoin ever, like doing it all under the table, all black market.
**Peter:** But if, if you want to catch a, that Bitcoin in your, in your superannuation or pension system in Australia, it, it is all documented. So, there's no getting out of it that I'm aware of. So, it's an encroachment I am, I am none too happy about. And I kind of feel like, in light of how orchestrated the governments across the globe have been, or Western democracies anyway, it feels like a trial balloon in Australia to see if they can get away with it and then they'll implement it in Australia.
All of the other nations once they've got, got that tick off, tick of approval.
**Knut:** So how do you get out of it?
**Peter:** You
**Knut:** off somewhere?
**Peter:** No. I need a 30 percent unrealized gain per annum, so I'm just sitting there properly disturbed by the fact that our government thinks it's acceptable to take unrealized capital gains, and what I'm more concerned about is because of the volatility of Bitcoin, what will end up happening at some point in time is when you get a 10x return on your Bitcoin, It'll go from, say, a balance of 3 million to 30 million in a year.
that represents a 9 million unrealized capital gains tax bill payable. After a 10x year in Bitcoin, you know what happens. You usually have an 80 percent drop. And so 30 million will drop to 6 million, but you'll have a 9 million outstanding tax bill payable and they'll take all of your super fund, all of your pension money because you've got 9 million outstanding for their tax bill and you only have 6 million to pay it.
So, unless I can pick the top of every market between now and the next 20 years, which is an impossible feat. I'll probably have no pension money left by the time I get to retirement. So, I've got to say, to say I'm particularly upset about it would be an understatement.
**Knut:** Sucks.
**Peter:** So, if you find a solution over there, in Scandinavia, ship it in.
**Luke:** I mean, we just have the capital gains, the regular kind, but, yeah, if there was talk of putting in unrealized capital gains, I think you'd see a lot of Bitcoiners leaving pretty quickly and, craziness, jurisdictions, doing things differently, doing things unintelligently will be, over the next 20, 30 years, I guess.
Probably lots of differences between jurisdictions.
# Conferences and Wrapping Up
**Peter:** So, anyway, we've got all that to look forward to. On brighter note, I'm really looking forward to your new book. I can't wait to get it, can't wait to read it. Are you celebrating Bitcoin Infinity Day, hosting an event? Bitcoin Infinity Day
**Knut:** Yeah. In Riga, at the basement bar, which is the first bar in Riga that accepts Bitcoin and Bitcoin only. So yeah, looking forward to that a lot. We have a lot to look forward to in Riga, there's the Nostriga conference, big Nostr event, there's Noob Day Wiz's thing there, where we're both speaking and we're both speaking at the regular conference as well and doing interviews and all this stuff, so really looking forward to it, we love Riga and the team over there,
**Peter:** I'm hoping to make it to Rega next year.
**Knut:** Yeah, I might make it to Sydney next year.
**Peter:** Oh
**Knut:** we'll see. I'd love to return. Like I think every two years is, I could live with that.
**Peter:** You were, Very, very popular, I've got to say, and sort of speaking to, the crew at, the Sydney Bitcoin Meetup, I can tell you before you arrived, everyone was so excited to see you here. And we understand it's a really long way from the rest of the world and, the fact you guys, or, Knut, you made it out here, Luke, hopefully you can jump on the next time and come out as a two for one.
any Bitcoin talent that comes out here, we're thrilled to see, but, to have you. Still one of my favorite memories in Bitcoin is your rendition of Fuck You Money with Daz.
**Knut:** yeah, that was a great moment.
**Peter:** Loved
**Knut:** that's, it's great. And it's so fun to play. Music with, and yeah, no, just the community down there in general is great. And, I'd love to see it. I'd love to, love to come again.
**Peter:** well, anytime,
**Luke:** Fantastic. Peter, I think we're winding down here. I'm feeling the energy and, so anything else you had on your mind before we sign off for today?
**Peter:** No, I just want to thank you guys for, you know, just being great citizens in the Bitcoin community and doing what you do. I have enjoyed immensely the work you guys put out. big fan of the show, big fan of your books. And I can't wait to see what the new iteration looks like with the new co authors. So, Luke, I can't wait to read it.
**Knut:** We'll send you a copy as soon as we can.
**Peter:** no, I'll pay.
**Knut:** all right, Peter, thank you very much.
**Peter:** Thank you, boys.
**Luke:** Thanks, Peter.
**Knut:** Use code freedom.
**Luke:** This has been the Bitcoin Infinity Show. Thank you for listening.
-
@ b2d670de:907f9d4a
2024-08-30 22:52:53
# onion-service-nostr-relays
A list of nostr relays exposed as onion services.
## The list
| Relay name | Description | Onion url | Operator | Payment URL | Payment options |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| nostr.oxtr.dev | Same relay as clearnet relay nostr.oxtr.dev | ws://oxtrdevav64z64yb7x6rjg4ntzqjhedm5b5zjqulugknhzr46ny2qbad.onion | [operator](nostr:nprofile1qqst94nsmefmya53crp5qq39kewrtgndqcynhnzp7j8lcu0qjple6jspz3mhxue69uhkummnw3ezummcw3ezuer9wcq3gamnwvaz7tmjv4kxz7fwv3sk6atn9e5k7jxrgyy) | N/A | N/A |
| relay.snort.social | Same relay as clearnet relay relay.snort.social | wss://skzzn6cimfdv5e2phjc4yr5v7ikbxtn5f7dkwn5c7v47tduzlbosqmqd.onion | [operator](nostr:nprofile1qqsx8lnrrrw9skpulctgzruxm5y7rzlaw64tcf9qpqww9pt0xvzsfmgpzpmhxue69uhkummnw3ezuamfdejszxrhwden5te0wfjkccte9eekummjwsh8xmmrd9skct9tyup) | N/A | N/A |
| nostr.thesamecat.io | Same relay as clearnet relay nostr.thesamecat.io | ws://2jsnlhfnelig5acq6iacydmzdbdmg7xwunm4xl6qwbvzacw4lwrjmlyd.onion | [operator](nostr:npub1wtuh24gpuxjyvnmjwlvxzg8k0elhasagfmmgz0x8vp4ltcy8ples54e7js) | N/A | N/A |
| nostr.land | The nostr.land paid relay (same as clearnet) | ws://nostrland2gdw7g3y77ctftovvil76vquipymo7tsctlxpiwknevzfid.onion | [operator](nostr:npub12262qa4uhw7u8gdwlgmntqtv7aye8vdcmvszkqwgs0zchel6mz7s6cgrkj) | [Payment URL](http://nostrland2gdw7g3y77ctftovvil76vquipymo7tsctlxpiwknevzfid.onion) | BTC LN |
| bitcoiner.social | No auth required, currently | ws://bitcoinr6de5lkvx4tpwdmzrdfdpla5sya2afwpcabjup2xpi5dulbad.onion | [operator](nostr:npub1an3nz7lczcunpdw6ltjst94hgzcxpppnk7zk3zr2nfcj4yd96kdse6twjd) | N/A | N/A |
| relay.westernbtc.com | The westernbtc.com paid relay | ws://westbtcebhgi4ilxxziefho6bqu5lqwa5ncfjefnfebbhx2cwqx5knyd.onion | [operator](nostr:npub1pc57ls4rad5kvsp733suhzl2d4u9y7h4upt952a2pucnalc59teq33dmza) | [Payment URL](hjar34h5zwgtvxr345q7rncso3dhdaryuxgri3lu7lbhmnzvin72z5ad.onion) | BTC LN |
| freelay.sovbit.host | Free relay for sovbit.host | ws://sovbitm2enxfr5ot6qscwy5ermdffbqscy66wirkbsigvcshumyzbbqd.onion | [operator](nostr:npub1gnwpctdec0aa00hfy4lvadftu08ccs9677mr73h9ddv2zvw8fu9smmerrq) | N/A | N/A |
| nostr.sovbit.host | Paid relay for sovbit.host | ws://sovbitgz5uqyh7jwcsudq4sspxlj4kbnurvd3xarkkx2use3k6rlibqd.onion | [operator](nostr:npub1gnwpctdec0aa00hfy4lvadftu08ccs9677mr73h9ddv2zvw8fu9smmerrq) | N/A | N/A |
| nostr.wine | 🍷 [nostr.wine](https://nostr.wine) relay | ws://nostrwinemdptvqukjttinajfeedhf46hfd5bz2aj2q5uwp7zros3nad.onion | [operator](nostr:npub1fyvwkve2gxm3h2d8fvwuvsnkell4jtj4zpae8w4w8zhn2g89t96s0tsfuk) | [Payment URL](http://nostrwinemdptvqukjttinajfeedhf46hfd5bz2aj2q5uwp7zros3nad.onion) | BTC LN, BTC, Credit Card/CashApp (Stripe) |
| inbox.nostr.wine | 🍷 [inbox.nostr.wine](https://inbox.nostr.wine) relay | ws://wineinboxkayswlofkugkjwhoyi744qvlzdxlmdvwe7cei2xxy4gc6ad.onion | [operator](nostr:npub1fyvwkve2gxm3h2d8fvwuvsnkell4jtj4zpae8w4w8zhn2g89t96s0tsfuk) | [Payment URL](http://wineinboxkayswlofkugkjwhoyi744qvlzdxlmdvwe7cei2xxy4gc6ad.onion) | BTC LN, BTC |
| filter.nostr.wine | 🍷 [filter.nostr.wine](https://filter.nostr.wine) proxy relay | ws://winefiltermhqixxzmnzxhrmaufpnfq3rmjcl6ei45iy4aidrngpsyid.onion | [operator](nostr:npub1fyvwkve2gxm3h2d8fvwuvsnkell4jtj4zpae8w4w8zhn2g89t96s0tsfuk) | [Payment URL](http://nostrwinemdptvqukjttinajfeedhf46hfd5bz2aj2q5uwp7zros3nad.onion/add-time) | BTC LN, BTC |
| N/A | N/A | ws://pzfw4uteha62iwkzm3lycabk4pbtcr67cg5ymp5i3xwrpt3t24m6tzad.onion:81 | [operator](nostr:nprofile1q9z8wue69uhky6t5vdhkjmnjxejx2dtvddm8sdr5wpmkgmt6wfjxversd3sn2umevyexzenhwp3kzcn2w4cry7rsdy6kgatvvfskgtn0de5k7m30q9z8wue69uhk77r5wfjx2anpwcmrg73kx3ukydmcxeex5ee5de685ut2dpjkgmf4vg6h56n3w4k82emtde585u35xeh8jvn3vfskgtn0de5k7m30qqs93v545xjl0w8865rhw7kte0mkjxst88rk3k3xj53q4zdxm2zu5ectdn2z6) | N/A | N/A |
| nostr.fractalized.net | Free relay for fractalized.net | ws://xvgox2zzo7cfxcjrd2llrkthvjs5t7efoalu34s6lmkqhvzvrms6ipyd.onion | [operator](nostr:npub1ky4kxtyg0uxgw8g5p5mmedh8c8s6sqny6zmaaqj44gv4rk0plaus3m4fd2) | N/A | N/A |
| nfrelay.app | [nfrelay.app](https://nfrelay.app) aggregator relay (nostr-filter-relay) | ws://nfrelay6saohkmipikquvrn6d64dzxivhmcdcj4d5i7wxis47xwsriyd.onion | [operator](nostr:npub19dn7fq9hlxwjsdtgf28hyakcdmd73cccaf2u7a7vl42echey7ezs2hwja7) | N/A | N/A
| relay.nostr.net | Public relay from nostr.net (Same as clearnet) | ws://nostrnetl6yd5whkldj3vqsxyyaq3tkuspy23a3qgx7cdepb4564qgqd.onion | [operator](https://nostr.at/aljaz@nostr.si) | N/A | N/A |
| nerostrator | Free to read, pay XMR to relay | ws://nerostrrgb5fhj6dnzhjbgmnkpy2berdlczh6tuh2jsqrjok3j4zoxid.onion | [operator](nostr:npub19j7zhftjfjnep4xa7zxhevschkqdvem9zr26dq4myhu6d62p3gqs3htnca) |[Payment URL](http://nerostrrgb5fhj6dnzhjbgmnkpy2berdlczh6tuh2jsqrjok3j4zoxid.onion) | XMR |
## Contributing
Contributions are encouraged to keep this document alive. Just open a PR and I'll have it tested and merged. The onion URL is the only mandatory column, the rest is just nice-to-have metadata about the relay. Put `N/A` in empty columns.
If you want to contribute anonymously, please contact me on [SimpleX](https://simplex.chat/contact#/?v=2&smp=smp%3A%2F%2F0YuTwO05YJWS8rkjn9eLJDjQhFKvIYd8d4xG8X1blIU%3D%40smp8.simplex.im%2FZ_4q0Nv91wCk8Uekyiaas7NSr-nEDir7%23%2F%3Fv%3D1-2%26dh%3DMCowBQYDK2VuAyEAvdSLn5QEwrfKQswQGTzlwtXeLMXbzxErv-zOJU6D0y8%253D%26srv%3Dbeccx4yfxxbvyhqypaavemqurytl6hozr47wfc7uuecacjqdvwpw2xid.onion) or send a DM on nostr using a disposable npub.
### Operator column
It is generally preferred to use something that includes a NIP-19 string, either just the string or a url that contains the NIP-19 string in it (e.g. an njump url).
-
@ c230edd3:8ad4a712
2024-08-26 01:13:49
## Chef's notes
Allow meat to soak for 1-24 hours. The rougher the cut, the longer the soak. This is great for open flame grilling, as well as pan seared, though the latter is preferable. Petit Sirloin can marinade for approximately 1 hour and still develop tenderness. I like to score the steaks if they will only be resting in the mix for a short time. All seasonings can be adjusted to taste. Base ingredients scale well, for any number of steaks. Equal parts, enough to coat the meat is really all that matters.
I'm terrible at remembering cooking pictures, so image is a random steak. I will try to remember to update that next time I make these.
## Details
- ⏲️ Prep time: 10
- 🍳 Cook time: However long you usually cook your steak to preferred doneness
## Ingredients
- 4 petite sirloin steaks or other cut
- 1/4 cup yellow mustard
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 3-5 cloves garlic, depending on size, minced and salted
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1\2 tsp crushed red pepper
## Directions
1. Mix ingredients and marinade 1-24 hours.
2. Grill or pan sear to your preferred doneness
3. Enjoy!
-
@ dd664d5e:5633d319
2024-08-25 10:41:04
# The user is never wrong
## Here are some non-suspect ways a dev team can respond to a bug report
1) Thank you for reporting. We already opened issue ABC123 to track that and you can follow the progress on [our issues board](nostr:naddr1qq9yzmr90pskuerjd9sszrthwden5te0dehhxtnvdakqyg8ayz8w3j8jsduq492j39hysg7vnhrtl4zzqcugj4m3q62qlkf8cypsgqqqw7vszahgpn).
2) Oh, wow! That's an odd behavior. 🤔 Can you give me more information about your setup and the precise steps you took to find that, so that we can track down the cause?
3) Yeah, that's a known flaw, I'm afraid. We've got this workaround available...
4) Oh, that's actually a path/use-case/feature we hadn't considered, yet. I'll discuss it with the team and get back to you, concerning the possible implementation.
## Sus ways a dev team can respond to a bug report
1) User error.
2) No one else has reported that.
3) Do I look like I have all day to deal with your whining? The road map. Read it.
4) 🦗🦗🦗🦗
-
@ dd664d5e:5633d319
2024-08-24 07:57:16
# We can talk about something else, now.
Making boosts/quotes the primary way new users find a variety of topics is a fundamental flaw. We don't need boosts (which merely results in the main trending list trending even harder, as people feel safer boosting something that is already popular), and hashtags have become the mess they naturally will become.
## We need topical forums and relay-based community boards.
This would actively encourage those of us who want to write on OtherTopics to write more on them, as we would have some chance of the material being found by those interested in it. And it would spare us having to win some general popularity contest, just to be able to converse about golfing, Hinduism, or veganism.
Scrollable "timeline" feeds, even with AI assistance (like DVMs), don't accomplish this as well, as they eliminate the ability to skim the top-level and selectively read. You have to scroll, scroll, scroll.
It would also reduce the overloading of the original posts with videos, which is starting to give Nostr a Tik-Tok vibe. There's nothing wrong with that, per se, and we should probably have clients like that, but it makes life hard for anyone who wants to have a deeper discussion. People scrolling have trouble even "seeing" a text-based OP, but using the written word is a true signal to the other people, that you are capable of carrying a conversation through text.
## Examples for other styles of client
(I am including the Communities in Nostrudel and Satellite, even though they don't yet work, effectively.)
Some of the things that set these clients apart, is that:
1. they are topic-first or thread-first, not person-first,
2. they sometimes allow voting (I suppose we could rank by zaps),
3. they often allow the user to override the default order and simply look at whatever is newest, most popular, or where their friends are currently active (i.e. they allow for easy sorting and filtering),
4. they cap the depth of threads to one or two levels, keep the indentation tiny, or offer a "flat" view,
5. they are primarily text-based (Reddit broke with this and now their main pages look really spammy),
6. they allow you to see all of the entries in the thread, at once, and simply actualize to display the entries that pop up in-between,
7. they often have some indication of what you have already read (this is application data) and allow you to sort for "stuff I haven't looked at, yet".
https://i.nostr.build/uCx5YKMOsjhKBU5c.png
https://i.nostr.build/hMkm2oKpos0pWaV9.png
https://i.nostr.build/mGQONMw5RC8XKtph.png
https://i.nostr.build/TCSkG1bPuMOL0jja.webp
https://i.nostr.build/3fLjCSNdtefiZmAH.png
https://i.nostr.build/BHgo7EKTK5FRIsVl.png
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@ 46fcbe30:6bd8ce4d
2024-08-16 19:29:04
Opinion about BitWallet - Buy & Sell Bitcoin (android)
<!--HEADER END-->
On trustpilot, 20% of reviews are complaining about KYC only after trying to withdraw, with some claims of outright disappearing money.
<!--FOOTER START-->
#WalletScrutiny #nostrOpinion
[Join the conversation!](https://walletscrutiny.com/android/com.Android.Inc.bitwallet)
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@ dd664d5e:5633d319
2024-08-15 20:52:04
## Here's how people use OtherStuff apps.
1) They usually go there to write or post, not to read or view, unless someone they _closely_ follow wrote about it in a Kind 01 note, SimpleX chat, Slack Channel, Telegram group, etc.
2) While they are there, they sometimes look around at what their frens have posted, zap them, leave a comment or a reply, etc. Sometimes they spend hours there. They really like it!
3) Then they leave.
4) If someone responds to anything they posted or wrote there, with anything other than a Kind 01 reply, they do not know about it, because it does not show up in their normal feed or notifications.
5) They do not come back until 1) happens again.
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@ dbc828cc:ed78a663
2024-08-15 05:05:51
# El nuevo continente
---
La siguiente es la carta de respuesta a mi amigo de Japón, Yamaguchi, quien me ha preguntado acerca de la vida en el "nuevo continente". Para ser más precisos, la relación que el continente tiene con bitcoin. Su servidor solamente ha conocido algunas partes de México y El Salvador así que por esta ocasión solo voy a escribir acerca del segundo país, al cuál ya considero un segundo hogar.
A continuación algunas fotografías con descripciones que ayuden a comunicar ideas de medianoche acerca del nuevo continente y bitcoin. Por otro lado, este escrito se ha procurado intencionalmente con el idioma Español en mente, mi lengua nativa, para fines de hacerle la tarea más fácil a ChatGPT, quien nos ayuda a traducir nuestras conversaciones.
---
## ¿Nuevo y viejo; este, y oeste?
![El Escalón, San Salvador, El Salvador](https://image.nostr.build/5ea976f1754e4f718fe0a622b953d8be4bdc0c2217d974af529c5d06a609fead.jpg)
Yamaguchi se ha referido al continente Americano como el "nuevo continente". Esto me ha sorprendido pues, desde mi experiencia, el continente Asiático, —para nosotros al menos—, es más comúnmente conocido como el continente del Este. (Eastern and Western). Llamarlo "nuevo" acarrea ya una connotación distinta a la geográfica, y la traslada a la temporal. Pues bien, para honrar la idea a propósito de una connotación temporal que mejor describa el carácter jovial de de Latinoamérica, ciertamente puedo confirmar que la vida de experiencia en El Salvador se aprecia temprana, pero llena de entusiasmo.
![Colonia El Escalón, San Salvador, El Salvador](https://image.nostr.build/ff46ac60c9b37c7dbeffbf5d48cb0419c6960552e3d5f01ed90bdd0508bcaf70.jpg)
Para todos fue una sorpresa el anuncio de bitcoin como moneda de recurso legal en El Salvador. La siguiente sorpresa para la gente Salvadoreña fue presenciar el ir y venir de extranjeros curiosos, energéticos y en algunas ocasiones, faltos de vergüenza. ¿Qué se le va a hacer?, por eso y por otras cosas son conocidos los bitcoineros :).
![Pelicano Surfing Camp, Conchalío, La Libertad, El Salvador](https://image.nostr.build/5bad0dcaaa4fe19d5595d71eef122e8b755d5bb767af6f5456dad58badc4babe.jpg)
Como tal parece que sucede en otros lugares del mundo, las grandes ciudades parecen más precavidas acerca del uso de bitcoin; desconfiadas, en algunos otros casos. No es para menos; en la ciudad a menudo las estafas y la criminalidad le hacen pasar malos ratos a las personas, y lamentablemente, el costo es la confianza.
![La Libertad, El Salvador](https://image.nostr.build/beedc13452930c37bfd16300a68054784e1975b35dbce6612a6565572c2fe785.jpg)
En la playa y en las montañas, sin embargo, las cosas mejoran. Bitcoin Beach es el nombre de la iniciativa que ha inaugurado un sueño parecido en muchos de nosotros; aún sin poder responder precisamente ¿cuál es ese sueño?, es posible asegurar que se puede "sentir" y que de este modo, el valor de la confianza puede ser reconstruido.
![Hope House, Punta Mango, El Salvador](https://image.nostr.build/e8f2fe447ac8f0bca597a52d97f328a01301ab4926c5f04486296b6c923fd934.jpg)
La gente Salvadoreña es muy trabajadora y de buen humor. El pueblo de El Salvador ha tenido que hacer frente a periodos de guerra, de violencia y carestía; pero a pesar de las adversidades, en sus corazones no se ha acomodado el resentimiento y en cambio, se ha permitido lugar a la bondad, el compañerismo y el esfuerzo.
![Punta Mango, El Salvador](https://image.nostr.build/7160fef13a54d46f7be127de2b08884edb94bcd8062d31d392c3bb645d005e70.jpg)
Por un lado más generalizado; tal parece que las oportunidades de inversión y empleo lucen optimistas. El Salvador tiene reconocidas producciones de café, caña, y energía volcánica ;). Mejor conocido por ser un destino clave para quiénes practican surf, El Salvador parece comenzar a abrir sus puertas a nuevas ideas.
![Región Cafetalera. Camino hacia Concepción de Ataco, El Salvador]( https://image.nostr.build/5556cc4b6058934dd886f76a78af1feae5d75b3f9b3eb7e8d6b367dbd4f2c189.jpg )
Ahora bien, personalmente hablando, para mi El Salvador es como un pequeño México. Las regiones climáticas y culturales son bastante parecidas, pero sin duda parece una buena ventaja tener las montañas y las playas a poca distancia; es posible cambiar de atmósfera en un mismo día.
![Concepción de Ataco, El Salvador](https://image.nostr.build/00c3163cd14db8ee3abb66c06e03227adefc7bdd3fca165209704dd8e37e6fd7.jpg)
Finalmente, me despido con un viejo refrán que viene a propósito del entusiasmo que bitcoin irradia no solamente hacia Latinoamérica, sino al mundo entero: "con calma, que llevo prisa". Es decir, si bien los sentimientos de energía, ímpetu y entusiasmo son alimento nutritivo para el espíritu; cuando se abusa de sus bendiciones se puede también propiciar la generación de malos hábitos o accidentes. Es mejor ir con con calma pero con confianza ;). Buenas noches.
![Punta Mango, El Salvador](https://image.nostr.build/f76b48b766c6cd457db8ca58b6ef9561645246cd05d74606526c32995954556b.jpg)
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@ 30ceb64e:7f08bdf5
2024-08-14 11:51:36
Heres a scenario:
Imagine you have a nostr e-cash/Lightning Wallet and you would like to have a maximum receive balance of 20k split in between 5 mints that enable multipath payments.
Pick 5 mints below to store 4k sats each, the funds are automatically withdrawn to your lightning node at the end of the day.
Stacker News
Robosats
Sparrow
Coinkite
Start9
Rabbit Hole Recap
@siggy47
Damus
LND
Your own mint
originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/648298
-
@ 30ceb64e:7f08bdf5
2024-08-14 11:15:27
>It's wild. I just proved I can build #nostr 'wallet' where I can store the encrypted tokens in a Germany relay and make the lightning payment out of a Singapore mint. All using a #nsec that never leaves my machine.
https://primal.net/e/note15l02rf4r474ck04mlrxxfagyl0z6t04ltsugf9dtph4xxhzfnd4sqpk74n
>I’ve proven to myself that a #nostr wallet can exist across time and space, independently of any one app, server or custodian. The only thing which controls the ‘wallet’ is the generation and control of an #nsec which is free to exist within or flee any jurisdiction.
>In my mind, this lays to rest the notion that a wallet needs to be an app, service, or anything that can be captured commercially or by the state. https://primal.net/e/note13nwsh852x9tfex2jade6vwymhhct8zussxr4zwy7uag24hjc9stq0xsxaf
https://image.nostr.build/07dd1b56d6bb60b13cfe6c19d9384bc3ef198d01af4be9a5c544f791b80b746a.png
>I am thinking about coining the term “nsac” to refer to a wallet-like thing that can exist on #nostr holding your valuable things, such as ecash tokens. I have already implemented a prototype #cashu ecash wallet which looks to be promising.
>So you would have:
#npub - your identity
#nsec - your private key
#nsac - your valuables
>Your #nsac could be the same as your #nsec but better case is to generate as many #nsacs as required.
>Happy to hear feedback!
>For reference, what a ‘sac’ is in the biological sense:
>A **sac** is a biological term referring to a pouch or cavity in an organism that is typically enclosed and may contain fluid, air, or other substances. Sacs can serve various functions depending on their location and role in the body, such as protecting a developing embryo, facilitating the exchange of gases in the lungs, or reducing friction between moving parts in joints
https://primal.net/e/note1snj7y9m6f7lhfzkd2ujzqcvparpgddzmgcgwsgghqvkcyd0rkqhsmmlyla
npub1q6mcr8tlr3l4gus3sfnw6772s7zae6hqncmw5wj27ejud5wcxf7q0nx7d5
Wild stuff freaks, will nostr become the best lightning/E-Cash wallet? Let me know what you think.
originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/648270
-
@ a9434ee1:d5c885be
2024-08-13 15:50:57
***Markdown + X, Y, Z*** is a problem, but ***Markdown + N*** can fix that.
Where ***N*** = any type of Nostr event.
Whatever Markup language you choose, people will be referencing other Nostr events in it all the time. Since apps have to find ways to display those events (or the links to them) anyway, we mights as well use that as an opportunity.
Why can't Tables, for example, be embedded Nostr events?
Switching from Markdown to Asciidocs (because it has tables and some more technical stuff) still doesn’t make Tables a great experience. On mobile, Tables are [notoriously hard to display](https://medium.com/appnroll-publication/5-practical-solutions-to-make-responsive-data-tables-ff031c48b122
) in a useful way. It depends on the use case, size of the table, etc….
Creators need guarantees on these things being displayed the way they intended.
There’s a reason why most authors just embed pictures of tables instead. It has little to do with Markdown not really supporting tables and more with them ensuring readability and appropriate styling.
So what if you enhance Markdown not only with embedded Nostr Events but also with something like [Hypernotes Widgets ](nostr:naddr1qvzqqqrcvgpzp22rfmsktmgpk2rtan7zwu00zuzax5maq5dnsu5g3xxvqr2u3pd7qydhwumn8ghj7argv4nx7un9wd6zumn0wd68yvfwvdhk6tcqp458jur9wfhx7ar994hxjuqedcy97) that serve as a preview/display for those Nostr Events?
That way:
- you are still using the most simple and popular markup language
- devs “only” have to implement one extra thing (Hypernotes) that handles all the complexity and extensibility from there
- authors can create articles and wiki entries with interactive elements in them, can have the guarantee that they display properly, can use any styling that suits them, etc…
- the worst case scenario of reading it in a random crappy app still displays the link to the event (including it's explanatory metadata)
Imagine custom interactive graphs, polls, media players, products, … embedded in articles BUT limited to the Nostr-verse for all interaction and data fetching.
(this article will be updated with UI prototypes and further thoughts)
-
@ 5d1d83de:d0db5aa0
2024-08-10 12:23:15
Encouraging everyone to embrace stacker news RSS feed. Using RSS has being a great way to move off of twitter and other algorithmic feeds. Create a feedbin account. Use that account on multiple devices and put the stacker news RSS feed there go get a raw feed of news and topics without any algorithmic curation. It is easy to mark posts as read later and also bookmark great content. Then pair that with pinboard.in archiving and you have great content cached forever
originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/642938
-
@ c8383d81:f9139549
2024-08-09 09:21:45
Test Completed
:Lighningbutton{lud16=cypher@npub.cash}
-
@ dbc828cc:ed78a663
2024-08-08 21:43:52
# *Drugs* since the lens of *habitus*
## present
Good day everyone. Thanks for coming to this mesh talk. Before start I want to give special love to the Meshtadel, not only for having me grab this opportunity to share some of the experience I have about life, but also for being that digital place that resonates at the in-real-life place.
## intro
Having said that, my professional experience is about places, to be more precise, the experience of places. Architecture, you see, is not only about if a building is pretty or if it is functional; it is about living places, that is, to inhabit. Here is where my trench of expertise might be colliding with those of psychology and physiology; granted by the favors of philosophy. Saying it like this, the "adversary" I want to bring attention this day to you is the one named as "addiction".
The middle ground I would like to propose for this talk are founded on-and-by the *terms of perception*; granted that, "term" and "perception", each, can be criticized by their own merits, however the idea I want to expose this day to you is that the "terms of perception" can be considered as the signature of *drugs*. In other words, *drugs* have the ability to drive *perception*; in architecture, for example, could be said that experience is driven by our walk through the arrangement of the building, —namely the structure, furniture and ornament—, the very definition of a *drug* in architecture lies thus in the objects, as well as in the use we humans make of them.
The object, and the experience of the object thus con-forms *perception*. *Habitus* is the particular way each individual arranges it's own *terms of perception*. Or to put it over a fashion apart, *habitus* can be understood alike traditions, culture, or rituals. Thus, a natural question surges towards the whereabouts of the origins of these habits.
Now then, here is precisely where we can draw a first line that describes the form of an addiction. Simply put, an addiction is an habit that went wrong. Or to say it otherwise, it is an habit that is detrimental to human existence by the terms of the healthiness of both, the body and the mind.
With these sentences I would like then to advance to the discussion or mezzanine of the talk.
## mid
If there could ever be a common law for *perception*, I would like to lie it, —for this occasion at least—, with the following sentence: *perception* lets itself be the pray of the living experience. This means that, —in a healthy condition—, the identification of the state of awareness can be exercised, or saying it like this, a recognition can be drawn between a "natural" and a "distorted" state awareness. Precisely, it could be said that this late is the very definition of an addiction, that is, the placement of oneself in state of distortion.
The handshake of a *drug* usually is also the first time for an individual to notice that there's a "*perception* apart" than the one experienced all along the time of being alive. Taking a personal example for consideration, the years of college, —or well discussed, the years of social interaction—, usually are also the years where the coincidence with *drugs* happen. I mention this precisely to have in mind the importance of context, and even so for the little coincidences, if one like it to have it like that.
To describe the conventional definition of an habit that went wrong, imaging the following sentences: "*Where* precisely the *drug* is injected?, well it depends of the desired effect..."
To offer an alternative for an habit that "works OK", I will dare to say that a good habit is that one that you don't notice. It is there, that say, it exists; it can be at the sight of others, but at the same time can be out of the mere recognition of one. Here precisely is where the terms of habit coincides with ideas of the terms of character, —namely style, temperament, or likelihood— of a person. The habit and the person justifies each other at all moment for the sake of reach an agreement of terms.
To offer an example, a person that commutes everyday to his workplace might likely reach a point where it does it "by default", without ever noticing or thinking about it. Later, by whatever reason, a deviation of the usual commute happens, either a shortcut, a better skilled chauffeur, or getting distracted by the infatuation of a pretty smile. The *habitus* takes a new reform, even if momentarily just to disrupt the usual. Sometimes it can be of good outcomes, some other times maybe not so much.
This may be the opportunity then to lead to the description of the capitulation of an habit, simply put: it can hardly be appreciated or taken nor even with two grains of salt. In other words, to try measure the start and the end of an habit might very well be as to try playing speculation. Needless to say that every *drug* has his trade offs, not so obvious often is that the worst outcome can strike as disruptive as a thunder to life experience.
But what does that mean in layman terms?. What I try to tell you here, meshtadelian, is that a *drug* is a thing as well as an idea, and even more than that, it is always a mix of both the thing and the idea.
You see, when knowing people one might get to see their character not only by their wearings but also by their behavior, that is, the things they do and how they do it, in the same sense a person likes to consume cannabis either by edibles or by cigarettes, an architect can decides, —following the wishes of the inhabitants at best—, to use traditional style or modern style of buildings. The problem often becomes evident when the character gets out of place, when the people doesn't match what at is also seen by others.
Does this mean that there's no way out of an addiction? The answer at least, can not be located at the terms of the addiction itself. To elaborate, a person that looks so hard to stop "doing a *drug*" might soon or later find that the effort can become as important as the *drug* itself, that being, as if the addiction gets displaced from a *drug* to another.
By this terms sobriety is hard to define. The simply usual would be that sobriety is the "default settings" of *perception*. But also by the terms of aesthetics, —taking help of professor Adorno here—, "a lack of style becomes and style itself".
Hoping to having ignited a spark of good will. I would like to go then to the closure of this lecture. I would like to offer a paragraph to the discussion that is held between psychology and physiology towards the definition and treatment of addictions.
## closure
At first, I would like to express that *drug* are not only the prescribed ones, the natural that growths from soil; as well as *drugs* is not only that miracle that brings health, as much as I can say for the sing of a mother can heal a son. It is the combination of both; the whole plot is for people to be experienced and an emphasis should be put on the fact that a person can choice the terms of how the plot is arranged.
In other words, I want to bring the idea that we might be having to pay attention to the possibility that an addiction, —or a disease daring to say so—, not only ca be treated with that or that *drug*. It also matters the place the person's individuality, in which nonetheless, places are also involved.
Finally. I would like to offer you an experience of a dear friend that struggled to stop smoking tobacco but so far has accomplished twenty years more or so of not smoking. He made a bet. He and a friend of his bet to stop smoking. I can not enter in the details of their relationship but I dare to assume is one that has a mix of friendship and rivalry. The trick, if you like to name it, is that the bet can not really have a settle until... yes, it has a morbid sense... someone capitulates. For now I'd lead to tanatology to deal with the terms of how one does face capitulation. However I would like to remind you that as long as there is live, as long as there could be choices.
Thanks now, I have to go fix my own dankruptness.
-
@ 30ceb64e:7f08bdf5
2024-08-08 16:38:33
SN and Nostr are a match made in heaven. Here are some thoughts on further integration:
## 1. Splash Zapvertising Integration
Both SN and Nostr clients should consider integrating splash zapvertising features, similar to:
- [ZapAdd](https://www.zapadd.com/)
- [Zapper Nostrapps](https://zapper.nostrapps.org/)
These platforms could charge a small fee for coordinating transactions, creating a new revenue stream while promoting content across the Nostr network.
## 2. Transforming SN Territories into Npubs
Stacker News Territories have the potential to become more than just internal communities. By converting them into Npubs (Nostr public keys), we can expand their reach and engagement. A portion of the monthly territory fee could be allocated towards zapvertising the Npub/Territory to the wider Nostr ecosystem.
Here's a visualization of how SN could interact with other Nostr platforms:
https://image.nostr.build/3ba24a8db8bdca6a4cd32fc25139fead4512b783ceb4f94e505eeea21e8167e5.png
## Example: SN Music Territory Npub
Let's consider how an SN Music Territory could function as an Npub:
1. **Automatic Crossposting**: Top daily content is shared to Satlantis, Fountain, and Damus.
2. **Zapvertising**: Promotes engagement, gains followers, and attracts zaps.
3. **Wide Engagement**: Users from Primal, Yakihonne, and Mastodons bridge can like, repost, and zap content.
4. **Referral System Integration**: Works really well with SN's new referral system.
5. **Content Aggregation**: All posts are automatically compiled into an SN Music Territory blog for wider public sharing.
## Benefits and Considerations
While this approach may not immediately make territory ownership profitable, it offers several advantages:
- Enhanced engagement across multiple platforms
- Increased monetization opportunities
- Simplified management for territory owners (no direct Nostr interaction required)
- Expanded reach into the broader Nostr ecosystem
By implementing these ideas, Stacker News can position itself as a central hub within the Nostr universe, facilitating content sharing and engagement across multiple platforms while providing value to both users and territory owners.
It would also be cool to add....
something like shipyard autoposting
something that will allow you to see comments Nostr comments on SN
WOT scores
and an option to use your unified balance nostr wallet.
originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/640607
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@ 30ceb64e:7f08bdf5
2024-08-05 20:14:03
I feel sorry for the laggards who would pile into bitcoin at the last moment.
They'll be fleeing into bitcoin through crypto scams, fake L2's, AI social engineering attacks, misinformation from trusted sources and cognitive dissonance. In a rapidly shifting open source environment niched in topics that they hardly understand. And at the bottom of the rabbit hole you have personal responsibility and hard work waiting for you.
I'm assuming uncle jims will do well. They essentially become financial advisors (Recommending Bitcoin products and services, Helping them understand and move up the sovereignty ladder, Holding Keys, Running LSP's, Mints, and Relays).
Its just crazy to imagine that we're entering a world were 20 year olds have a better grasp on how to use money, how money works, and why it works that way.....than most studied economics professionals.
Understanding money is a key piece to human flourishing and survival, many will succumb to being slaves of their own ignorance, doomed to live out the rest of their days as hungry ghosts, pulling knobs and levers of which have no real meaning or consequence.
https://cdn.satellite.earth/40f7fa81b77c2097ee499cd63d47e66b245aedb20d9a782f33622427c5179dab.webp
originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/636597
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@ 4b20a602:b57153f5
2024-07-29 17:50:45
[https://image.nostr.build/22a382006d349c4201a7c5b676b032c60c1160f4909c822f24e7ab25bc143cf1.jpg]()
As I approach my 40th birthday, I find myself in a peculiar position. I'm a self employed entrepreneur, and a leader in my family and my company. I'm part of a generation that's supposedly destined to be worse off than our parents. It's a sobering thought, and one that was recently brought into sharp focus during an interview with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Kennedy, an independent candidate for the U.S. presidency, mentioned something that hit close to home. He has a son who's 40 years old – just a year older than me. This son, Kennedy proudly stated, owns a home. But then came the kicker: his six younger children, all with great jobs and educated at top schools, have no hope of getting into the housing market.
As I read through the transcript of Kennedy's interview, I couldn't help but see parallels with my own life and those of my peers. So, let's dive into this generational economic conundrum and see if there's a way out – possibly through the very technology we discuss every day in this newsletter.
[https://image.nostr.build/d98605c21e13af7aa54453e003a7e54495d776ba81faf2ed441da54f347aeedb.jpg]()
**The Housing Nightmare**
Kennedy paints a grim picture of the housing market:
* Mortgage rates have doubled in just four years
* The average home price has exploded from $215,000 two years ago to over $400,000 today
* Interest rates have soared from 3% to over 7%
Reading these statistics, I'm reminded of my own struggles with housing. Despite running a successful business, the idea of owning a home sometimes feels like a pipe dream. And I know I'm not alone.
**The Equity Trap**
Without home ownership, we're missing out on a crucial source of equity. It's not just about having a place to call our own; it's about having a stake in our communities and a launching pad for our ambitions. As Kennedy points out, this equity gap is closing doors for entrepreneurship and full participation in the capitalist system.
I can't help but wonder: how many potential world-changing businesses are never started because their founders can't access the equity in a home?
[https://image.nostr.build/a7c7e864966d0f8617525e934c126d1d94a49210380f92da58930010002f7896.jpg]()
**The Corporate Land Grab**
As if the situation wasn't dire enough, Kennedy highlights how large investment firms like BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard are snapping up single-family homes. Are we destined to become a "nation of renters," as Kennedy fears? The thought sends a shiver down my spine.
**A Bitcoin-Shaped Light at the End of the Tunnel?**
Now, here's where things get interesting for us Bitcoin enthusiasts. Kennedy proposes a solution that's music to my ears: leveraging Bitcoin to restore economic strength. His ideas include:
* Having the Federal Reserve and Treasury purchase millions of Bitcoins
* Using Bitcoin as a basis for the American dollar
* Making Bitcoin transactions non-taxable
As someone who's been in the Bitcoin space for years, these proposals are exciting. But there's more to the story that gives me hope, and it's hidden in plain sight within Bitcoin's price action.
[https://image.nostr.build/616e0f35271ba8525cf044feeada54ef73f576eeb6dba74f06b456be1513b7ad.jpg]()
**The Bitcoin Housing Phenomenon**
While researching for this article, I stumbled upon a fascinating trend that made me sit up straight in my chair. Despite the gloomy housing market statistics, there's a silver lining for those of us who've been stacking sats:
* Since 2020, average U.S. home prices have increased by about 28% in dollar terms, according to the St. Louis Fed.
* But here's the kicker: In the same period, Bitcoin's price skyrocketed by over 600%, from around $10,000 to over $60,000.
What does this mean for us? Even though dollar-denominated house prices have gone up, the price of houses in Bitcoin has actually decreased significantly!
Let that sink in for a moment. While we've been lamenting our inability to get on the property ladder, those of us who invested in Bitcoin have actually seen our housing purchasing power increase dramatically.
This phenomenon illustrates two crucial points:
1. Bitcoin's potential as a hedge against inflation and asset price increases
2. The importance of thinking beyond traditional financial metrics
It's a stark reminder that while the rules of the game might be stacked against us in the traditional financial system, Bitcoin offers an alternative playing field where the odds might be more in our favor.
[https://image.nostr.build/90a3b9490341718c9c99adcd8c62fa5a3c7a739ff92a75ed4d35d067a824650c.jpg]()
**So, Is It Really Too Late for Us?**
As I sit here, on the cusp of 40, I can't help but feel a renewed sense of hope. Yes, the challenges we face are real and daunting. The traditional paths to financial security seem increasingly out of reach. But the Bitcoin housing phenomenon shows us that there might be alternative routes to achieving our financial goals.
The question is no longer just about whether we can push for policies that will give us a fighting chance at the economic security our parents enjoyed. It's also about whether we're ready to embrace a new paradigm of wealth and value storage that Bitcoin represents.
Are we, as a generation, prepared to think differently about money, savings, and investment? Can we leverage the unique properties of Bitcoin to create our own path to financial security?
[https://image.nostr.build/9cc67f89b044c49f6bdf75d086e64e40e28a4870c165e7a1677d26a1707834eb.jpg]()
As we navigate these uncertain waters, one thing is clearer than ever: we need bold, innovative thinking. Whether it's through Bitcoin adoption, reimagining our relationship with traditional assets, or finding entirely new ways to build and preserve wealth, we must find a way to ensure a prosperous future not just for ourselves, but for the generations that follow.
So, dear readers, I put it to you: How has your perspective on Bitcoin changed in light of these housing market comparisons? Are you viewing your sat stacking as a potential path to homeownership? And more broadly, how are you leveraging Bitcoin to secure your financial future in these challenging times?
Let's continue this conversation in the comments below. After all, if we're going to change our economic destiny, it's going to take all of us working together and thinking outside the box.
**A Final Note**
Before I sign off, I want to address something important. You might be wondering why you haven't heard more about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s stance on Bitcoin and his economic proposals in the mainstream media. The truth is, as an independent candidate, Kennedy doesn't receive as much press coverage as some of the other presidential hopefuls.
That's why I believe it's crucial for us, as informed citizens and Bitcoin enthusiasts, to seek out information from various sources. If you're interested in hearing more about Kennedy's views on Bitcoin, the economy, and the challenges facing our generation, I highly recommend checking out the full interview conducted by Natalie Brunell.
You can watch the interview here: [RFK Jr. interviewed by Natalie Brunell](https://youtu.be/rZxMWY-SK9E?si=nGKR_mbKGsALFIuq)
@npub1ahxjq4v0zlvexf7cg8j9stumqp3nrtzqzzqxa7szpmcdgqrcumdq0h5ech
Regardless of your political leanings, I think you'll find the discussion thought-provoking and relevant to the economic issues we've explored in this article.
As always, stay curious, stay informed, and keep the conversation going. Your voice and your votes matter in shaping the future of our economy.
Until next time, keep stacking sats and holding onto hope. The future might be brighter than we think.
Joe Thomas
Founder, The Bitcoin Blok
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@ 4b20a602:b57153f5
2024-07-27 12:26:02
[](https://image.nostr.build/5538d57d01705841fe338059630c7449b987a8b67e4af536bdd547a1985edce3.jpg)
Dear Bitcoin Blok Community,
We're back with another masterclass, this time bringing you insights from Michael Saylor's most recent presentation at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville. Prepare for another thought provoking lecture about the impact and the benefitsof Bitcoin!
Saylor's vision of Bitcoin as the ultimate "digital capital" is more compelling than ever. Here are the key takeaways:
1. Immortal Capital: Saylor argues that Bitcoin represents a leap in capital preservation, potentially lasting thousands of years compared to traditional assets' 30-50 year lifespan.
2. $270 Trillion Opportunity: The potential market for digital capital is estimated at $270 trillion, based on current global wealth and preservation costs.
3. 2045 Bitcoin Forecast: Saylor projects Bitcoin could reach $13 million per coin by 2045 in his base case, representing about 7% of global assets.
4. Tiered Investment Strategies: From "Normie" to "Triple Maxi," Saylor outlines Bitcoin strategies for individuals, corporations, and even nations.
5. National Bitcoin Adoption: Countries embracing Bitcoin aggressively could potentially turn national debts into surpluses.
6. U.S. Economic Impact: Saylor demonstrates how various levels of Bitcoin adoption could reshape the U.S. economy, potentially solving "half our problems."
7. Cyber Manhattan: Bitcoin is likened to "cyber Manhattan," with Saylor predicting a massive capital influx and demonetization of less efficient value stores.
While Saylor's optimism is infectious, we encourage critical thinking and thorough research. If even a fraction of his vision materializes, we're witnessing the dawn of an economic revolution.
What's your take on Saylor's predictions? Hit reply and share your thoughts!
Stay sovereign,
The Bitcoin Blok Team
P.S. Recall Satoshi's words: "It might make sense just to get some in case it catches on." Saylor argues we're now staring at a trillion dollars of proof that it has.
P.P.S. Don't miss Saylor's full Bitcoin 2024 presentation here: https://youtu.be/O9KnBcWMkpw?si=7Szn-pvBMgR5Pw8S. It's a masterclass in Bitcoin strategy you'll want to watch!
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@ dd664d5e:5633d319
2024-07-21 10:46:33
# My suggestion for scaling up and staying humble
## The original protocol design was "good enough for now"
When Nostr was invented and got started with developing implementations, the *Original Devs* (ODs) were convinced this was going to be big... maybe... someday... hopefully.
But, whatever they did at the moment should definitely scale up a bit and be a bit flexible, to attract innovators and keep up the momentum. So, they designed the protocol to be open and left the specifications a bit vague and very high-level, so that nobody was forced into a particular implementation, in order to adhere to the spec. And they put the specs into a GitHub repository and managed them by a committee of collaborators, who were generally open to changes to the specs, including breaking changes.
That was smart. And it was "good enough for now"... back then. After all, Nostr (and the associated wiki and modular article specs) hadn't been invented, yet, so they couldn't write the protocol in the protocol before the protocol existed. They're good, but not _that_ good.
What they specifically wrote, into the [Nostr Protocol](https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nips) was:
> To promote interoperability, we standards (sic) 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...
>
> 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.
# I disagree with this statement.
I don't disagree with what they _meant_, or what they _wanted_, I disagree with what they specifically wrote.
Standards (defined as prose specifications) are not the only -- or even best -- way to ensure interoperability or to check for backwards-compatibility. And, as they later note, basing a protocol off of implementations is arguably worse (but faster) than using specifications, as implementations have a life of their own and are sometimes simply shoddy or buggy, their content eventually differs from what ends up in the final standard, or there are soon multiple implementations covering the same spec "in theory", but not in practice, so that their events are incompatible.
And then the inevitable, heated discussion begins:
* Which implementation is the Real Standard™?
* Who controls the Real Standard™?
* How is the Real Standard™ spec supposed to be written?
* Does everything have to be in the same file type or markup language? If not, how can we ensure compatibility?
* What is realistic content for the data files?
* Is the Real Standard™ including all of the information needed to ensure interoperability, but not anything more, without reducing innovation and artificially forcing consensus by encouraging copy-paste or forking of product code?
## There is a third way: write the test first
We actually do not need standards to define a single way of doing each thing. A *test* is another way, and I think it is the best (i.e. the most-efficient and most-effective) way.
Specifically, I think we can borrow the simple behavior-driven design (BDD) language called Gherkin (or something similar), which is used to write dynamic specifications: i.e. implementations that test adherence to a set of rules, rather than an implementation that uses the rules to perform some task for an end user.
Gherkin simply allows you to create standard scenarios and test data and write the tests up in a way that can be performed manually or through automation. For example ( [source](https://www.pragmaticapi.com/blog/2013/01/21/bdd-atdd-for-your-agile-rest-api-part-2/) ):
![Gherkin example](https://res.cloudinary.com/jhrmn/image/upload/v1362658828/groovy_cucumber_twitter_lpg6yj.png)
(For a concrete example of such a TDD Protocol for Nostr, please see the [nostr-voliere repo](https://github.com/schmijos/nostr-voliere/tree/main/features) from nostr:npub1axy65mspxl2j5sgweky6uk0h4klmp00vj7rtjxquxure2j6vlf5smh6ukq .)
## This really is better
This TDD Protocol design would have some downsides and some upsides, of course, like any change.
### Downsides
* You can't write a TDD spec by yourself unless you understand basic software functionality, how to define an acceptance test, and can formulate a use case or user story.
* The specs will be more informative and agnostic, but also longer and more detailed.
* Someone will have to propose concrete test data (i.e. a complete json event) and spec interlinking will be explicit, rather than writing "...", "etc.", or "sorta like in that other section/doc, but not really" all over the place.
* The specs will tend to focus on positive cases, and leave off error-handling or most edge-cases, so developers can't use them to replace unit tests or other verification of their product.
### Upsides
* The specs will be concrete and clear, in a type of pseudocode, while leaving the actual implementation of any feature up to the individual developer, who uses the spec.
* The specs will be orderly and uniquely-identifiable, and can have hierarchy and granularity (major and minor tests, optional tests, tests only under certain conditions, etc.)
* Deciding whether changes to the spec are breaking changes to the protocol would be simple to determine: Does the previous test still pass?
* Specs will always be final, they will simply be versioned and become more or less defined over time, as the tests are adjusted.
* Product developers will feel less like they "own" particular specs, since their implementation is actually what they own and the two remain permanently separate.
* Developers can create an implementation list, defining specific tests in specific versions, that they adhere to. This makes it more transparent, what their product actually does, and lowers their own documentation burden.
* Rather than stalking the NIPs for changes, or worrying about what some other implementation someplace has built, developers can just pull the repo and try running the relevant tests.
* Each product developer can test the spec by trying to perform or automate/run it, and request changes to ensure testability, raising the quality of the spec review process.
This is already a lot to think about, so I'm just going to end this here.
Thank you for reading.
-
@ a9434ee1:d5c885be
2024-07-18 14:34:09
What makes Nostr and Bitcoin so extremely exciting to me, as a designer, is that they offer an entirely new design space. Something we never had before. Something that we can, for the first time ever, call…
A Free Market.
And not just that, but one where everyone speaks the same language. One that acknowledges that Sovereignty doesn’t go that far without Interoperability.
Since this is literally a first, it seems terribly naïve to assume that we can just copy what works for Big Tech’s walled gardens and add some Freedom sauce on top. I’ve been sketching out things like “Twitter but with Zaps”, “Youtube but with many algo’s”, “Patreon but with Bitcoin”, etc... for long enough to realize the harsh limits of such an approach.
Instead I’ve found it more fruitful to start by looking at the characteristics of this new digital, interoperable free market and, only then, look for similar existing benchmarks that can serve as inspiration.
Because the convergence of the various Freedom Tech protocols (Nostr, Bitcoin, Cashu, …) are such a huge game changer for online monetization specifically, it seems even more naïve to just start copying Big Tech on that front, without proper examination.
If we did just play copycat, Monthly Subscriptions and Paywalls would be the obvious answer. This article dives into why they’re not.
## Free as in Competition
In a free market, it’s going to be hard for you to set a price if you don’t have something scarce to sell. Unlike in a Big Tech walled garden, there’s no one blocking competitors from entering the market. That includes competitors that offer your stuff!
If what you create can easily be copied, it will.
Yes, Content creators, FOSS devs, Designers, … that’s you.
Charging for your article, podcast, app or movie doesn’t end well when people can find a free upload right next to yours. Open protocols remove the friction of having to go PirateBay for that sort of stuff. Luckily, they also remove the friction for people to value your content directly (#V4V Zaps) and for you to launch unique and scarce products related to what you do (Community, Merch, …).
Even if you have a scarce product to sell though, Nostr sets the bar lower than ever for others to start competing with your product. Every part of your product!
Interoperability breaks products and services down to their constituents and opens up every layer of the stack to competition. Currently most SAAS business models are basically very expensive monthly subscriptions for some hosting and computation. And guess what Nostr is extremely good at → Discovering and switching providers of hosting and computation.
In a competitive context like that, you need a monetization model that lets you adapt fast.
If you choose to monetize with monthly subscriptions, you’ll be updating your subscription tiers every month, if not every week, just to remain competitive. If that’s the case, then what’s the point? Why not just have a cash price list?
## Free as in Volatile
The reality of a free market is that price-discovery never takes a break. This is especially true for a market that uses a money that is still being discovered as money by 99% of the world. A money that, just like Nostr, only saw the light of day because its creators saw total chaos ahead without it.
Bitcoin and Nostr do #fixthemoney and do #fixtheinternet, but all that fixing isn’t exactly taking us on a smooth ride.
Smooth rides are stable rides, stable prices, stable amounts of locked-in users, stable ties with the state, etc… They are everything Freedom Tech is taking us on exciting journey away from.
Again, adaptability is key and your business model needs to reflect that. Monthly subscriptions don’t handle volatility well. It takes a lot of confidence, extremely loyal customers and liquid reserves to survive bumpy roads. That’s a lot of capital that probably has better uses. Better uses that Big Tech monopolies can ignore, but your competitors won’t.
## Free as in “Number Go Up”
Denominating your subscriptions in “stable” fiat-currencies isn’t going to help neither.
The mental cost for customers is only low as long you don’t have juggle more than 21 subscriptions. (yes, I completely made up that number but it’s somewhere around that, so bear with me).
Given that Subscription Hell is already a thing in Fiat-land once you go beyond that number, just try to imagine the amount of subscriptions you’d be handling in Nostr-land. Your 1 Netflix subscription suddenly became 6, to different service providers, plus 20 to all your favorite creators. Then add the subscriptions for all other internet use cases you can think of. Then add some more for the ones that you can’t even imagine yet.
This is not an overstatement. It is very very unlikely that your service happens to be the only one that subscriptions would work for. If they appear to work for you, every competitor or similar use case will be copying that model in no time.
So if they work, there would be a loooot of subscriptions.
That’s also a looot of:
- recurring payments to forget about
- different time periods to oversee
- extra effort to go and unsubscribe or switch tiers
- users thinking ‘I didn’t even really use this!”
- users also thinking “What am I paying for exactly?”
In short, that’s asking for frustrated, disappointed and confused customers.
These subscriptions would then also need to be handled on top of all the #V4V Zaps and cash payments that are inevitably happening as well. Unlike Big Tech products you don’t get to just pick Subscriptions as the only option. You will have to be optimizing both the Wallet and Social UX/UI for all of these types of payments. Something I naïvely tried and quickly gave up on. It overcrowds interfaces, makes different applications less interoperable and creates a very confusing user experience.
And if you denominate everything in fiat, you add even more confusion since the Zaps from others are denominated in Bitcoin. That suddenly makes them variable from the fiat-denominator’s perspective. Other denominations work when you only have two parties (f.e. seller and buyer), not when you have groups of people zapping away at an article.
For #V4V to gain traction zappers need recognition. If it’s completely variable, and thus unclear, who the top zappers of a piece of content are or if the biggest patrons of a creator are only visible if you go to some specific subscriber dashboard, you’re creating confusion and diluting recognition.
Zaps are awesome, nearly universally implemented, very simple to design for and they might just be enough. We’re mostly still early. Creators can’t even reply to Zaps yet. The first prototypes for frictionless Cashu zaps are only just coming out. Let’s explore all that further before we start adding subscriptions to the UI, the users’ mental load and the app developers endless list of “things to implement”.
If the current zap-rate of daily Nostr users (myself included) tells me anything, it’s that sending around small payments all the time isn’t really the issue. The mental cost for the user happens mostly at the level of:
”How the f*ck do I keep track of all this?”
“How do I fit this in with my regular monthly expenses?”
Subscriptions are only one answer to this. If they happen to still somehow solve the above issues for some use cases, we still have to find solutions anyway for the micro-payments side of things.
My point is thus mainly: we might as well start there and, who knows, we don’t even need subscriptions. Or at least not as a standard to strive towards. No one is stopping you from using time-based pricing for things that are actually time-based or from creating micro-apps that let you set up recurring zaps and other fun stuff like that. Just don’t promise creators and merchants that they can base their business models on them.
If you’re talking to people that will only consider Freedom Tech if they can have the stability of a group of monthly subscribers, you’re probably not talking to the right people (yet!).
Freedom Tech = Responsibility Tech.
Both seller and buyers need tools that help them take that responsibility. Especially regarding payments, the currently available tools are far from optimal and have barely scratched the surface of what’s possible in the interoperable ocean of possibilities. I say this more as an invitation than as a complaint of course. We are — yes, I’m saying it again — sooooo early.
So how can we help buyers be responsible while “not having to think about every little payment”?
For rich npubs on a network denominated in #NGU technology the answer can be quite simple: They simply don’t have to really think about it.
In fact, poor npubs neither as long they can set a spending budget and have great tools and transparency to help them manage it.
They need something a bit like their “lives left” in a video game. Or something that resembles envelope budgeting: like going to the farmers market with only a limited amount of cash.
## Talking about farmers markets
Let’s look at what currently comes close to an interoperable free market in meat-space: Restaurant & Farmers markets.
- No one has copyrights on pizza Margherita or chicken eggs
- Entering the market is relatively cheap (food trucks, farmer stands, …)
- Customers can pick and choose where they get “every layer of the stack” (drinks here, main dish there and ice cream over there)
![Market Prices](https://cdn.satellite.earth/63cb408d80f354fa8adbf5260e6d2c37aa81d3cf2a8d890f24508d44d19c752a.png)
Now look at how these businesses monetize:
- Cash price lists
- Discounts (for special occasions, loyal customers, ..)
- Bundles (lunch menus, vegetable baskets, …)
Both restaurant owners and farmers have been trying out monthly subscriptions since forever, mostly because it would benefit them. But in places with high competition this has had exactly zero success.
What did have success is services that bundle farmers market food items for you and deliver it at your doorstep on a weekly basis. That’s what lower mental cost looks like.
Ironically, these services often started out with the monthly subscription model and have had to switch because customers needed more flexibility. Now, in their apps, they let users pick what day they want what, at what price.
And these apps are not even Nostr yet.
## Talking about Nostr markets
Nostr markets are not exactly farmers markets of course. But that is mostly good news.
Nostr, Bitcoin and Cashu, in particular, remove a lot of the friction that cash still has in the physical world. They enable seamless micro-payments. That’s an innovation worth embracing, not something to hide away behind subscriptions.
Embracing micro-payments means that every little thing can have a real-time price. A price that, once payed, you never have to think about again. And some, if not most, micro-payments are so micro that you don’t have to really think about them in the first place.
Especially if we’re talking about recurring events (pun intended).
If a chat message in a certain Community costs 2 sats, after your third message your added mental cost will likely be close to zero. At that point, the price is mostly a matter of transparency, fairness and spam prevention. When the Admin suddenly changes this price to 1000 sats however, you will need to think twice about posting such a message. But again, that is a good thing. That’s exactly what the Admin is monetizing.
He is curating for high signal content and conversations around a certain interest. His price list is one of his top tools for doing so. You pay him for being able to publish in his unique community. You “Pay Per Use” of that Community as a broadcasting channel for your messages, articles, videos, … You know everyone else does too.
Using monthly subscriptions for such a community would just invite abuse and poor quality.
It would be like an all-you-can-eat restaurant where everyone has an infinite stomach size, you’re all at the same table and only the loudest screamers get heard.
So the Admin would put limits on what you specifically get for your subscription (100 messages per month, 210MB of hosting, etc etc…). The members would then demand flexibility or go elsewhere.
The admin would then provide different tiers.
Yet, most members would still need flexibility more than they need flat rate monthly pricing.
At the same time, the Admin’s “Pay Per Use” competitors will still be cheaper. They don’t have the overhead of handling the uncertainty that comes with providing stable pricing for several months. Trying their offer out is also way cheaper than immediately having to pay a subscription. The admin, on the other hand, cannot really offer free trials if he doesn’t have the locked-in users to pay for them.
In the end, just like restaurants, the Admin will switch to “Pay Per Use” and will use discounts and bundles to his advantage.
As long as users have great tools to keep an eye their spending, this sort of outcome is a win-win for the whole ecosystem. What users tend to like most about monthly subscriptions for something is the guarantee that they will not exceed XXX amount of money on that thing for the month. Nothing is stopping us from building tools that provide the same guarantee without the complications of handling monthly subscriptions.
Since most Bitcoin wallets are not daily-spending wallets and most Nostr projects aren’t monetizing yet, hardly any attention has been spent on tools like this. They all copied bank apps and display your total amount of money and a chronological feed of your transaction history. There are several problems with this:
1. You don’t want to openly showcase your total balance to everyone around you when you open the app
2. Your total balance shows “everything you have”. That is a terrible benchmark for determining “what you can sustainably spend”.
3. It’s also a terrible benchmark for determining “what you earned this month”
4. Micro-payments make a chronological feed of all your transactions completely unusable
5. Zaps make a lot of your transactions social. Zaps and eCash blur the line between money and message. And messages require interaction that transactions don’t.
I think we can do better.
So, let’s try!
## Cash Budgets
Just like the previously mentioned “lives” in a game or the cash in your wallet for a night out, the first thing users will want to see is “How much do I have left?”. Since most people organize their budgets per month we can more specifically turn this into “How much do I have left this month?”. This means we need to allow users to set a monthly budget in the first place. Once that budget is set for the month, it facilitates all the rest.
This budget is their subscription now. Their Nostr subscription.
An interoperable subscription they can interact with in any trusted app.
![I’m the subscription now!](https://cdn.satellite.earth/cf45e83c47835dbf5e718a3cdd6c3fd19de119b007e3171a77622ec1f4385343.png)
And the best part: They pick the price.
They’re taking their responsibility and lowering their mental cost with one action.
Now, you can start playing with wallet and home screen Interfaces that show the user at a glance:
- What they’ve got left to spend for that month
- What they already spent
- What they earned (relative to that budget and/or a specific earnings goal)
I’m currently exploring this design space myself and the extent to which Freedom Tech budgeting can be gamified in novel ways will make TikTok look boring.
![Baby UI steps](https://cdn.satellite.earth/6532d52485e54d079f55c0b872b70cb399522d031cef1b314f0fb0f621cd6100.png)
> Some baby UI steps in this direction
But that’s just the budget part of course. We still need non-intrusive ways to display all these little price-tags for things if we’re not hiding them away behind a subscription.
The good news is that, when it comes to movies, music, articles, posts, FOSS apps and all other types of information that can easily be copied, it doesn’t have a price tag. It just has people zapping it. People that can use a lot more context and recognition than they currently get. (showing top zappers everywhere and letting creators reply to zaps being just a humble start for that)
For the stuff that does have price-tag, even the most obvious answer isn’t as bad I though it would be:
Just put it on the button.
The bigger the sum, the bigger the button.
![Bigger sum = Bigger button](https://cdn.satellite.earth/c6893502abae2183987dc01ec7b5b62e3bf4838a80b162c8643f8cb758653843.png)
eCash is what can make all of this work as a one-button action anyway, removing most of the friction. A budget, on the other hand, is what can remove most of the worrying. Color indications, permission prompts for higher amounts, etc etc… can all work in tandem for this.
With these examples I’m mostly trying to give you an idea of what is still left largely unexplored territory.
A territory that we will have to go and explore in any case.
A territory where Communities are easier to monetize then Content is.
A territory where I can count the current number of active designers on both hands.
A territory that can desperately use a Design Community.
You can guess twice what’s next on my todo-list….
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@ 124b23f2:02455947
2024-07-15 15:36:19
Stacker.News if a website that may be familiar to most nostriches. But in case it is not, stacker.news is effectively a forum-style website that functions similar to reddit. But, with the very cool feature that sending sats works as the 'upvote' function. It's a great site, so check it out regardless of what I am about to break down.
One of the great features of Stacker News is that you get a custodial lightning wallet with your account. This wallet comes with a lightning address as well. Now, this alone is not unique or entirely useful. What makes Stacker News stand out is the way you can configure this wallet to interact with your self-hosted lightning stack. Now, I'm not just talking about the power user that is running their own node (although they do have useful configuration for those users). But, the lighter users that may be using a mobile wallet, such as mutiny, zeus, blixt, phoenix can use Stacker News to improve their zap receiving game.
Before I get into how, I want to highlight two great options to receive zaps via ln address if you are using a 'node in the phone solution.' The two options are zaplocker, provided as a solution for users of Zeus' embedded lightning node wallet, and lightning box, provided as a solution for users of the Blixt embedded lightning node wallet. Here is a summary of these two ln address solutions:
- Zaplocker: Zaplocker is an ln address provided for Zeus embedded node users. The way zaplocker works is that the sats are held temporarily in Zeus' node (for up to 24 hours), and once you log into your Zeus app and access the embedded node, you can redeem the sats. This can be made easier by setting your Zeus app to automatically redeem and sats awaiting redemption upon logging in, and there is also a persistent mode that can help the app stay on in the background. If the app is on in the background and you have turned on the auto redemption feature, it will function more or less to automatically receive sats much like a custodial wallet or a node you are running on a server
- Lightning Box: Lightning Box is an ln address provided for users of Blixt wallet. The way lightning box works is that, as long as you have a channel opened with the blixt wallet node and it has inbound liquidity, you can receive sats to the lightning box ln address. You have to set blixt wallet to persistent mode as part of using lightning box, which makes it more likely that your app will be running in the background and will successfully facilitate receipt of sats sent to the lightning box ln address. Unlike zaplocker, there is no 24 hour redemption time ; if your blixt wallet is not running in the background when the send is attempted, you will not receive the sats.
So, these both sound like great solutions and a pleb need not do anything else, right ? Wrong. Both are not perfect solutions, with the main issue being that even with persistent app settings, the apps will inevitably close because phones seem to do that for one unknown reason or another. Or a connection will be lost, and your app will not be running to receive the sats. Or if you want t run the apps over tor, your very likely to have a connection inturrupted. Now, with zeus you still have 24 hours to open it up, sync up your node and receive but we want to up our game so that a user does not have a chance to lose zaps.
Enter Stacker News. By Creating a stacker news account (you can even do so with using your blixt or zeus wallet to log in and create your account!), you now have an ln address you can use in place of your zaplocker or lightning box address. Use that stacker news address for receiving zaps on your nostr account. In your stacker news account, go to the wallet link, and click 'Attach Wallets'. Next, click 'configure' under the ln address option. Input your zaplocker or lightning box address. If you want, you can configure stacker news to withdraw automatically by setting the 'desired balance' to 0 sats. There will be a moment of custody, but it is a few seconds in my experience.
So, what have we just done and what's the improvement? Well, zaps you receive are going to be received to your stacker news ln address now. The improvement is that the stacker news node is on all the time, and you do not risk missing payments much like one can expect from say a Wallet of Satoshi ln address. With the configuration we made, the stacker news wallet is going to automatically withdraw sats received to your custody in your zaplocker or lightning box. For example: In the event that you are asleep, and your zeus or blixt wallet is not online for hours while nostriches across the globe are zapping the crap out of your viral post, your sats are sitting comftorably in your stacker news wallet. You will fire up your Zeus or Blixt app, and proceed to watch the sats flow into your custody from your stacker news wallet.
The result of this setup is a pleb who is not running an 'on all the time' node can experience a comparable receiving experience with minimal custodial exposure. I encourage any pleb, especially those using zaplocker due to the potential harm it can cause to the lightning network, to consider this setup. Let me know what your experience is or, for users already leveraging the Stacker News ln address, I'd be curious to hear about your configuration. Thanks for reading, hopefully someone finds this article helpful!
#bitcoin #lightning #zeus #blixt
originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/609313
-
@ 1739d937:3e3136ef
2024-07-12 10:11:42
This is the third in a series of weekly updates detailing progress on bringing MLS protocol DMs and group messaging to Nostr.
## Previous Updates
- [June 28th 2024](https://habla.news/u/jeffg.fyi/1719562889267)
- [July 6th 2024](https://habla.news/u/jeffg.fyi/1720256910765)
## Progress this week
Short update post this week but I made solid progress updating several OpenMLS dependencies and building a new library that implements all the OpenMLS crypto requirements for Nostr.
### HPKE-RS
I mentioned a PR last week on the `rust-hpke` library, that PR is still waiting on review. However, in the meantime, the OpenMLS library depends on a slightly different hpke library, the `hpke-rs` library.
This library didn't support the secp256k1 curve either so I've [opened a PR](https://github.com/franziskuskiefer/hpke-rs/pull/66) to add support for secp256k1. That PR uses the `RustCrypto` library that is the default in the the `hpke-rs` library. However, because this library is built to allow for swapping out the underlying crypto library (using traits), I was also able to create a new library that uses the `secp256k1` library instead of the `RustCrypto` library. This is the main crypto library that almost all Bitcoin and Nostr apps use so it's important we use that instead of `RustCrypto`.
### OpenMLS Nostr Crypto
The library that I've created ([openmls-nostr-crypto](https://github.com/erskingardner/openmls_nostr_crypto)) does a few things via separate sub-libraries (crates). The entire library tries to do as little as possible; only implementing the one required ciphersuite for all MLS implementations and the `secp256k1` schnorr signatures ciphersuite I've created for Nostr. It's also using the right `secp256k1` library to do it.
**openmls-nostr-crypto:** implementes the crypto traits that the OpenMLS library expects to find for a given provider and removes all the ciphersuites that we don't care about supporting.
**hpke-rs-nostr-crypto:** This implements the crypto traits that the hpke-rs library expects to find. Again removing all the ciphersuites we don't care about supporting.
I've not yet written any tests for these libraries (which needs to be done) but I've gotten some very simple demos working with OpenMLS using this new set of libraries to handle the crypto.
I've been really impressed with the simplicity of the OpenMLS interface as well. While there is A LOT going on under the hood, the public interface that client developers have to use is clean and simple.
## Onward and Upward
Next week I'll continue working on these libraries; adding tests and continuing to build out my small demo app. I've been in touch with the maintainers of the OpenMLS library and I'm hoping to get a review done with them on my PRs and on my new library.
One thing I'll call out here: The review of my library and getting them to review the direction of the project overall will be paid consulting so I'm making sure that I've got as much done as possible before scheduling that time and paying their rates. I'm a strong believer that the right conversation can save you months of wasted time, but I'm also a believer in making sure you're prepared if you're going to drop money on that conversation. 😅
-
@ dd664d5e:5633d319
2024-07-10 15:00:40
## The Law Giver
In my [previous article](https://habla.news/u/laeserin@getalby.com/1720611419942), I briefly went into the topic of how contract law is holy law.
The Father of the Christians, you see, is a God of Covenants, and He sent His Son to Earth to fulfill the Law and pay a Price for our salvation. The Father also created the Natural Order to confirm His Laws through our observation of that Law in action.
That is why Christians have a deep respect for honest contracts, true prices, fair measures, natural systems, and good laws. Not merely for their own sake, but also because understanding them helps us to understand and emulate the Law Giver.
The tired *What would Jesus do?* meme is actually an attempt to capture this emulation of the Highest Judge. Jesus knows the Law, since His Father defined it and He is One with the Father, so how would He apply the Law best, in this situation?
## The Last Things
> Working together with him, then, we entreat you not to accept the grace of God in vain. For he says,
> “At the acceptable time I have listened to you, and helped you on the day of salvation.”
>
> **Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.**
-- [2 Corinthians 6:1-2](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+6%3A1-2&version=RSVCE) New Testament, RSV Bible
One of the things most devout Christians frequently ruminate over, is when Christ will return.
Every day, we ponder. We go for a walk, and ponder. We cook dinner, and ponder.
At the same time, we are called upon to live each day in a productive manner, and to not simply lie around, vegetating, and staring at the heavens. Not only for our own sake, but also because to do so would be to limit our ability to inform others about the Good News, so that they can take to pondering with us. We are called to ponder with as many people as we can produce, adopt, convert, or simply collect through our daily interactions.
This means that we are not *of* the world (as our eyes are watching God and baptism has made us Immortals), but we are definitely *in* the world (involved in, and effected by, the everyday dealings around us.) It is a very difficult balancing act to know when we are paying too much attention to the one or the other, or to know where to store up our treasures, if we can't put them all immediately into the Final Treasury.
So, we worked today and earned a bit of fiat cash and we have no immediate usage for it. What to do with it?
Well, some of it should go to charity or be invested in a business that provides important goods, services, and employment. Some of it will be needed to simply cover the day-to-day costs of our own life, or that of those dependent upon us. But it might be prudent to store up some of it, for the mysterious length of time between receipt of the monies and our own ascent into Heaven.
Typically, that store was the local currency, but that's being inflated away at an alarming rate. Then we all began to move to precious metals, and many of us still do, but they are so difficult to spend and can't be broken into small bits or transported over wide distances at low cost.
Enter Bitcoin.
## The Great Ledger
In our frustration, more and more Christians are turning to a new technology, to save up some treasure in a liquid asset, for the mid-term. And, once we begin using it, and begin to understand how it works, we quickly grow fond of it.
Bitcoin is a beautiful money because it is a money based upon keeping precise accounts, using a fair measure, and obeying the Laws of Nature.
In essence, Bitcoin is a debt note emitted by a universal debtor (the network) in exchange for some good or service. This frees the individual people using it from ever needing to carry debt, as the debt stays in the network, the value and enforceability of that debt note is protected by the effort used to create and maintain the network, and the eagerness with which other people wish to store their efforts up in that same network. The debt still exists, but it can be so thinly and widely spread that it no longer rests as a burden upon one particular person.
The debt, in other words, has been *disassociated* from humans and the management has been *distributed* to machines.
This is the precise opposite process of a "fiat" (by decree) currency, which only has value so long as it is *associated* with some particularly solvent group of humans (who personally vouch for repayment of any debts denominated in the currency), and where management is *centralized* to some other group of humans.
## Have you accepted Bitcoin as your personal money and store of value?
You have invested $10 to buy the electricity to mine Bitcoin? Then you receive $10 of Bitcoin in return. The Bitcoin network now owes you the $10 purchasing power equivalent of that electricity.
If someone then gives you $5 worth of pizza, then you can then give them a $5 portion of your $10 worth of Bitcoin. You have taken a part of your Bitcoin debt note and shared it with them.
They now hold $5 worth of Bitcoin invested in the network and can spend it on some other good or service. Or they can simply hold it and wait for it to rise in value, as more people "mine" more of it (and produce more notes, paradoxically making the existing notes more useful and therefore valuable) and more people try to gain the notes in order to manage their own finances by storing their energy in the network or transporting their energy using the network.
Bitcoin, in other words, is an accounting book that needs no accountant because it stores, tracks, and controls the ledger on its own. It is a Natural Ledger that runs according to the Laws.
It is the only human-made ledger that allows for true and immediate Final Settlement. This Final Settlement is what allows people to trade using the convenience of digital debt notes, with neither person occurring or even risking any personal debt. We Christians know that all debt is a burden, including monetary debts, which is why we are called to forgive each other's debt and to hope that our own debts are forgiven. Better still, is to avoid the accumulation of debts, altogether.
So, Final Settlement?
Final Settlement is what Jesus would do.
-
@ 124b23f2:02455947
2024-07-10 05:24:33
**I'm reposting this in order to fix the images and get it correctly onto my npub.pro site**
What is this ?
![](https://m.stacker.news/38961)
_My Futurebit Apollo Miner in action_
Futurebit is a company that manufactures home miners for retail users (see futurebit.io) - you can check out details on their website. These are targeted at individuals that want to participate in mining with an easy to use, quiet miner that does not use a ton of electricity.
The idea here is to try and stay true to the original bitcoin concept of a computer which runs the bitcoin software and mines bitcoin, all in one. While mining has obviously evolved into a commercial industry and the mining process has long been separated from running a bitcoin node, I think there are still some valid reasons to want to participate in the mining process and attempt to keep this original ethos alive:
1. You learn a lot about bitcoin from mining. Reading about the process is one thing, but actually getting a machine running, pointing it towards the pool of your choice, and seeing the bitcoin process from this perspective is something I've found very enjoyable (mining is probably my favorite part of bitcoin, if I had to choose one). It can also be a gateway drug to more advanced mining, so...heavy care.
2. It is marginally valuable to the network. Sure, one person running a futurebit miner is nothing compared to the hashrate of MARA. But, if you have tens of thousands of plebs all running their own miners from home, pointing their hashpower to the pool of their choice, it does provide a legitimate decentralizing anchor to large mining actors. Every pleb should be participating in mining, in my opinion, and the Futurebit Apollo miner offers a casual and unobtrusive avenue to do just that.
Now, the Futurebit Apollo Miner you most commonly see is the 'Full Package.' The Full Package is an Orange Pi computer running on a custom linux distribution. You basically boot it up, and it starts running bitcoin core and mining in a few clicks. That is very cool, and I did own one. However, I will say that the Full Package is, unfortunately, not a great product. I won't go into too much detail, but its a very poor quality computer, the security upkeep of the custom linux distribution is lacking, and I found connecting to the node to use with wallets to be very difficult. The mining was also consistently inturrupted due to the pi freezing up. You are better off going with a different option for running a bitcoin node.
This is simply to say, I dislike the Full Package Futurebit Apollo Unit. With that said, I very much like the 'Standard Unit'. The Standard Unit is simply a mining hashboard without the computer OS that comes with the Full Package. I've been running two Standard Units in my house for 18 months now and they just quietly hum along in my house, I barely notice them and they rarely need to be restarted (honestly I can't think of more than 3 times that I needed to troubleshoot and even then it was typically restarting the miner). They are a great way to make your personal contribution to the security of the bitcoin network.
(Please Note: These things are pretty pricey brand new, so don't even think about buying one as being a profitable choice. You can sometimes find decent deals for them used, but buyer beware I can't speak to that experience. This is about hands-on learning about bitcoin mining and participating in the security of the network with a machine that won't drive your family crazy and that I believe is well-built enough to last you a long time. Heck, you could even set one up at your office and I doubt anyone would notice and mine with free electricity.)
So, that's some background. Now, a standard unit is not the most friendly user experience if you are not used to using command line. I wasn't, but I spent a lot of time figuring it out. With this guide, any user should be able to get a Standard Unit hashing :) Here is the step by step process guide on how to run a standard unit, in use with both a Windows OS computer and a Linux OS computer (Ubuntu is what I use)...enjoy.
**I. Linux**
Your Futurebit Apollo Standard Unit (referred to from here as 'the Unit') miner comes with a power supply and a usb cable. It's pretty straight forward, but you will want to connect the Unit to the computer of your choice (the computer needs to be on and running while you are mining, so a low power consumption computer and/or a computer that you are already running all the time for some other reason would be best). Also, plug in the power supply to your unit and turn it on (there are instructions in the Unit's manual for how to hook up the power supply correctly).
1. Go to https://github.com/jstefanop/Apollo-Miner-Binaries
2. You'll land on a page that looks like this:
![](https://m.stacker.news/38962)
For the purposes of this guide, I am going to be using the 'linux-x86_64' package as it is most appropriate for my computer. But, you would need to select the appropriate binaries for your computer. Odds are, if you are running ubuntu on your laptop or desktop, you are going to use the 'linux-x86_64' package.
3. Once you have clicked on the linux-x86_64 folder, you will land here:
![](https://m.stacker.news/38963)
Open each of these 4 files and download them using the 'Download Raw File' link in each file's page. Here is an example:
![](https://m.stacker.news/38964)
Once you have downloaded, I'd recommend making a folder and putting all 4 of the files into that folder. I am going to make a folder with the name 'Mining Files'. I am also going to move the folder out of my Downloads folder (not necessary, but I'd recommend as it's not a great place to park a folder you want to hold onto). I am going to move it to my Documents Folder:
![](https://m.stacker.news/38965)
4. Now, if you do not have a mining pool account, you will need to make one, otherwise you should be able to use your pool credentials in the next step. Alternatively, you can solo mine using solo.ckpool.org with only a btc address. However, for the purposes of this guide I am going to assume that you are using Braiins pool. If necessary, go ahead and make a login at braiins.com/pool. Note the username and password as we will need that later.
5. From the files that you downloaded in step 3, we are going to double-click on 'start_apollo.sh' and open it up in Text Editor. The first 60 lines or so are explanations on how to prepare this script for your use. However, I am going to run you through all the options to update, so you shouldn't need to read the description. Instead, we are going to focus on the text in black font at the bottom of the file:
![](https://m.stacker.news/38966)
We need to update the info in the following fields as follows
-host = stratum.braiins.com
-port = 3333
-user = username for your Braiins login. I'll use "braiinsexample" for now.
-pswd = password for your Braiins login. I'll use "Password123" for now.
-comport = Most likely "/dev/ttyACM0" or "/dev/ttyACM1" or "/dev/ttyACM2"
-brd_ocp = 48
-osc = 30
-ao_mode = 1
So, when our file is set up correctly, it will look like:
![](https://m.stacker.news/38967)
Make sure to save, then close out of text editor.
6. Now, start up terminal on your computer. First, we are going to want to get into the correct directory. In our case, our file is in Documents > Mining Files. So, you would input the following command:
cd ~/Documents/Mining Files
Once you are in the correct directory, we will run the following command:
sudo ./start_apollo.sh
You will likely be prompted to enter your computer's password, input the password and, if all goes well, you should see a result like this in your terminal:
![](https://m.stacker.news/38968)
You are now mining! The setting we use run the Unit ins 'eco mode', which should yield 2 terahash per second in terms of mining power (you can monitor the performance from your respective mining pool dashboard). As long as you keep this terminal window open and the computer on that is connected to the miner, and you will be mining away :)
**II. Windows**
Your Futurebit Apollo Standard Unit (referred to from here as 'the Unit') miner comes with a power supply and a usb cable. It's pretty straight forward, but you will want to connect the Unit to the computer of your choice (the computer needs to be on and running while you are mining, so a low power consumption computer and/or a computer that you are already running all the time for some other reason would be best). Also, plug in the power supply to your unit and turn it on (there are instructions in the Unit's manual for how to hook up the power supply correctly).
1. Go to https://github.com/jstefanop/Apollo-Miner-Binaries
2. You'll land on a page that looks like this:
![](https://m.stacker.news/38969)
For Windows, you will click on the folder titled 'msvc19'. You'll see 2 files to download, go ahead and click on each and click 'Download Raw File' for each.
Please Note: Windows may see this file as a virus, so you may need to 'allow on device' in your virus & threat protection of your windows security service.
![](https://m.stacker.news/38970)
3. Once you have downloaded each file, I'd recommend making a folder and putting all of the files into that folder. I am going to make a folder with the name 'Mining Files'. I am also going to move the folder out of my Downloads folder (not necessary, but I'd recommend as it's not a great place to park a folder you want to hold onto). I am going to move it to my Documents Folder:
![](https://m.stacker.news/38971)
4. Now, if you do not have a mining pool account, you will need to make one, otherwise you should be able to use your pool credentials in the next step. Alternatively, you can solo mine using solo.ckpool.org with only a btc address. However, for the purposes of this guide I am going to assume that you are using Braiins pool. If necessary, go ahead and make a login with at braiins.com/pool. Note the username and password as we will need that later.
5. From the files that you downloaded in step 3, we are going to right click on 'start_apollo' and select 'edit'. The file will open up in notepad. The first 60 lines or so are explanations on how to prepare this script for your use. However, I am going to run you through all the options to update, so you shouldn't need to read the description. Instead, we are going to focus on the text in black font at the bottom of the file:
![](https://m.stacker.news/38972)
We need to update the info in the following fields as follows
-host = stratum.braiins.com
-port = 3333
-user = username for your Braiins login. I'll use "braiinsexample" for now.
-pswd = password for your Braiins login. I'll use "Password123" for now.
-comport = go to the 'Device Manager' service on your computer, expand the 'Ports' section, and you should find a 'USB serial device' with COM#. Update with your COM# (COM1, COM2, COM3, etc).
-brd_ocp = 48
-osc = 30
-ao_mode = 1
So, when our file is set up correctly, it will look like:
![](https://m.stacker.news/38973)
6. Now that the file is ready, save the file and exit out of notepad. You should be able to simply double-click on the file. The command prompt services will pop-up on your desktop, and should reflect this, indicating your connection is successful and mining has begun:
![](https://m.stacker.news/38974)
You are now mining! The setting we use run the Unit ins 'eco mode', which should yield 2 terahash per second in terms of mining power (you can monitor the performance from your respective mining pool dashboard). As long as you keep this terminal window open and the computer on that is connected to the miner, and you will be mining away :)
originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/603076
-
@ 124b23f2:02455947
2024-07-10 04:54:00
***I'm reposting this article I wrote some time ago again to fix the images for it on my npub.pro site***
In my previous post, I explained how to use your getalby ln address to receive zaps directly to your LND node. Similarly, there is an additional option that one can utilize to receive zaps directly to your lightning node: lnaddress.com.
Lnaddress.com is a federated lightning address server that you can use to create a custom ln address. Unlike using getalby, lnaddress.com can be used with any lightning implementation (not just LND). For the purposes of this write-up, I am going to use LNBits to connect an lnaddress.com lightning address with my node. And as will be the case with most of my write-ups, I am going to be using Start9 OS, so users of that OS will likely find this write-up most useful, but I'm sure people using other node interfaces can infer how to complete this set up as well.
With that said, let's dive into the step-by-step on how to create your own custom ln address with lnaddress.com and set it up to receive zaps directly to your lightning node:
*Users should have lnbits set up with their lightning node before proceeding.
1. Go to lnaddress.com. Input your desired username, select 'Node Backend Type' = LNBits, and if necessary check the box 'This is a new lightning address'. Keep this page open in one tab as we will be returning to it to input info.
2. From your Start9 OS services page, go to your LNBits service. Open the 'Properties' page, and in a new tab, open the (Tor) Superuser Account. Page will look like this:
![](https://m.stacker.news/38957)
From this LNbits page, you can choose to 'add a new wallet' and use that wallet instead of your superuser account. That is up to you but the steps will be the same.
3. Now, we need to grab the info needed for the 'Host Protocol + IP or Domain + Port' field on the lnaddress.com page. On the lnbits page, expand the 'Api Docs' field, and the 'Get Wallet Details' field found on the right hand side menu. In this 'Get Wallet Details' section, you will want to copy some of the URL found in the 'curl example' section. Copy 'http://xxxxxx.onion' (don't copy any more!), and paste this into the 'Host (Protocol + IP or Domain + Port' field found on the lnaddress.com page.
![](https://m.stacker.news/38958)
4. Next, we need to grab the key for your lnbits wallet. From the lnbits page, expand the API docs section found on the right hand side menu. Copy the 'Invoice/read key' (make sure to use the invoice/read key and not your Admin key), and paste it into the key field found on the lnaddress.com page. Upon pasting in that last piece of info, click 'submit' at the bottom of the page.
5. If all info was input correctly, your connection will be successful. If successful, you will be brought to a page that looks like this:
![](https://m.stacker.news/38959)
You will want to save this secret PIN in case you need to update info in your ln address. You'll also find a test lightning invoice of 1 sat. Using a wallet not connected to the node we connected to our new ln address, you can test the ln address out by paying the 1 sat test invoice.
Users of Start9 OS might find the following info particularly useful: This ln address via lnaddress.com comes with a couple advantages aside from self-custodial zap receiving:
- One, you can have a custom ln address username to go with your nym or nostr username. Users of Start9 may be familiar with the ln address one can generate in the btcpay server service. This ln address is not customizable.
- Two, if you are running a tor only lightning node, you will be able to receive zaps from both tor and clear net lightning nodes. Users of Start9 may be familiar with the ln address one can generate in the btcpay server service. This ln address can only receive zaps from other tor nodes and can't receive zaps from clear net nodes.
That is it, you should now be all set up with your new ln address hosted on lnaddress.com, and you should be all ready to receive zaps or lightning payments of any kind :)
originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/603061
-
@ 69a0a091:c968228d
2024-07-07 19:10:07
Radicale is a self-hosted calendar and contact solution that is "lightweight solution, easy to use, easy to install, easy to configure."
https://radicale.org/v3.html#about
I can finally dump my NextCloud, which was a sprawling mess of PHP scripts. Managing a NextCloud instance over a long period of a time requires the sysadmin to be mindful of the stateful configuration, which can only be upgraded one major version at a time.
I stumbled over Radicale a couple years ago right after I had spent an entire day writing a playbook to build a dockerless NextCloud container. I should have switched immediately, I've wasted numerous hours over that period making sure my container was up to date, or needlessly fiddling with settings just to feel like I had a handle on how the thing was going to operate.
Running radicale on NixOS:
```
service.radicale = {
enable = true;
settings = {
server = {
hosts = [ "127.0.0.1:5232" "[::]:5232" ];
};
auth = {
type = "htpasswd";
htpasswd_filename = "/etc/radicale/users";
htpasswd_encryption = "bcrypt";
};
storage = {
filesystem_folder = "/var/lib/radicale/collections";
};
};
};
```
Nginx configuration snippet from:
```
locations."/radicale/" = {
proxyPass = "http://127.0.0.1:5232/";
extraConfig = ''
proxy_set_header X-Script-Name /radicale;
proxy_pass_header Authorization;
'';
};
```
Creating my account after `nixos-rebuild switch`:
```
nix-shell -p apacheHttpd --run "htpasswd -B -c /etc/radicale/users pleb"
```
The web interface is dead simple and let's you create, import, or export calendars or addressbooks. I exported the vcf addressbook and ics calendar from my NextCloud instance and imported them into Radicale. The UI gives you URIs for the calendar or contacts, and I pasted that in along with my username in the relevant add dialog in Thunderbird.
Likewise, I added the account in davx5 on Android using the first "Login with URL and user name" option. For the URL this time, I appended my username, so it was `https://example.com/radicale/myusername` and davx was able to sync both the calendar and the contacts from that endpoint.
-
@ 1739d937:3e3136ef
2024-07-06 09:22:17
This is the second in a series of weekly updates detailing progress on bringing MLS protocol DMs and group messaging to Nostr.
## Previous Updates
- [June 28th 2024](nostr:naddr1qvzqqqr4gupzq9eemymaerqvwdc25f6ctyuvzx0zt3qld3zp5hf5cmfc2qlrzdh0qqxnzde38y6nvv3c8qunyd3hakfln0)
## Progress this week
This week was mostly spent on the topic of how to properly publish prekey bundles and what would be needed in the bundle itself to make it workable. I've included an early version of the spec below for prekeys, and would love thoughts on it. Treat this as an alpha version, very subject to change.
The other thing I spent time on was making changes to the OpenMLS library to add support for our custom ciphersuite. One issue that I've run into is that the IETF standard for HPKE doesn't include the secp256k1 curve. Because of this, the library being used in the OpenMLS library doesn't implement the necessary methods using our curve. Thankfully, there is another library with [an open PR](https://github.com/rozbb/rust-hpke/pull/59) (shout out to nostr:npub1yevrvtp3xl42sq06usztudhleq8pdfsugw5frgaqg6lvfdewfx9q6zqrkl for that!) that would fix this. Additionally, there's an [expired proposal](https://www.ietf.org/archive/id/draft-wahby-cfrg-hpke-kem-secp256k1-01.html) to add secp256k1 to the HPKE spec itself. I've bumped both of these and will continue to follow up. Even without the formal addition to the spec, if we have a working library, I can add that to the OpenMLS library.
## Spec Draft for Prekeys
### Initial keying material (Prekey Event)
Each user that wishes to be reachable via MLS-based messaging MUST first publish a prekey event. Prekeys are used to authenticate and add members to groups (one-to-one DMs or groups with more than two participants) in an asynchronous way. The prekey event is a simple replaceable event and contains all the information needed to add a user to a group.
Prekeys SHOULD be used only once. Resuse of prekeys can lead to replay attacks.
In most cases, clients that implement this NIP will manage the creation and rotation of the prekey event. It's recommended that clients do so interactively with user consent in order to avoid overwriting prekeys created by other clients.
#### Derived vs Ephemeral Prekeys
Since prekeys are generated on a single device/client pair, the private key of the prekey must be either stored or generated in a way that can be deterministically recovered.
The recommended approach is to use derived keys, generated in the manner described in [NIP-06](https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nips/blob/master/06.md). In this way, the user can respond to a new group request from any device/client pair, not just from the same device/client pair that created the initial prekey event. If using derived keys;
* Clients MUST use `104` as the `account` level value and `0` at the `change` level value (e.g. `m/44'/1237'/104'/0/0`).
* Keys are then generated using public derivation by incrementing the `address_index` level value.
* Clients MUST include the full derivation path corresponding to the key used in the `content` field on the prekey event.
* The `content` field MUST be encrypted using standard [NIP-44](https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nips/blob/master/44.md) encryption (encrypted to themselves).
However, for added security (and consequently a more restrictive user experience), clients can chose to generate an ephemeral key and store the private key locally. This means that users will only be able to respond to new group requests from the same device/client pair and won't be able to respond at all if the prekey's private key is lost. Ephemeral keys can also be used with minimal degredation of UX if you're using a remote signer that can manage these keys.
If using an ephemeral key;
* The `content` field on the prekey event MUST be filled in with `EPHEMERAL` and then encrypted using standard [NIP-44](https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nips/blob/master/44.md) encryption (encrypted to themselves). This ensures that anyone looking at prekey events cannot tell whether it's a derived or an ephemeral prekey.
#### Example Prekey Event
```json
{
"id": <id>,
"kind": 10443,
"created_at": <unix timestamp in seconds>,
"pubkey": <main identity pubkey>,
"content": <encrypted derivation path | EPHEMERAL>,
"tags": [
["mls_protocol_version", "1.0"],
["ciphersuite", "MLS_256_DHKEMK256_CHACHA20POLY1305_SHA256_K256"],
["pubkey", <prekey pubkey>],
["prekey_sig", <signature generated from hex encoded pubkey of the prekey>],
["r", "wss://nos.lol"],
["r", "wss://relay.primal.net"]
],
"sig": <signed with main identity key>
}
```
#### Tags
* The `mls_protocol_version` tag identifies the MLS protocol version being used. For now, this MUST be `1.0`
* The `ciphersuite` tag identifies the ciphersuite supported. For now on Nostr, we're using a custom ciphersuite, `MLS_256_DHKEMK256_CHACHA20POLY1305_SHA256_K256`. [Read more about ciphersuites in MLS](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9420.html#name-mls-cipher-suites).
* `pubkey` is the derived or ephemeral prekey pubkey.
* The `prekey_sig` tag value is a Schnorr signature (over the secp256k1 curve) of the SHA-256 hashed value of the prekey's pubkey, signed with the prekey's private key.
```js
const privKey = schnorr.utils.randomPrivateKey();
const pubKey = schnorr.getPublicKey(privKey);
const prekeySig = bytesToHex(
schnorr.sign(bytesToHex(sha256(pubKey)), privKey)
);
const prekeyTag = ["prekey_sig", prekeySig];
```
Finally, clients SHOULD include `r` tags to identify each of the relays that they will attempt to publish this prekey event to. This allows for more complete replacement of prekey events at a later date.
### Replacing Prekey Events
Clients MUST replace the prekey event on all the listed relays any time they successfully process a group welcome event. If the prekey was a derived prekey, clients SHOULD increment the derivation path by 1 for the next key.
## Onward and Upward
This next week I'll continue to work on getting the right curves and code added to the OpenMLS library and start work on a simple demo app. The focus is on better understanding what we need from the control and message events and how we can make those as simple as possible for Nostr clients and relays while also preserving as much privacy as possible.
-
@ a9434ee1:d5c885be
2024-07-04 08:03:53
## Alice is a Capitalist
Alice has been falling down several rabbit holes lately and decides it’s time for a break. She takes a long overdue shower and gets her thoughts straight on some of her experiences.
She writes a post about how “Bees are Capitalists".
However, like any real Lady, she’s got some criteria:
- She wants to have some great conversations around this topic
- She wants her post to be publicly readable by anyone
- She doesn't want to be bothered by a bunch of trolls though
- She doesn't want to be the main moderator for these conversations
- She wants zaps and doesn't care where they come from
In short: she wants to get the most out of her post with the least amount of overhead.
Luckily, she has Nostr profile and is part of several communities (publicly readable [NIP-29](https://wikifreedia.xyz/nip-29/laeserin@getalby.com) groups). So, she just selects the communities that overlap with this topic (let's say "₿-keepers", "Austrian Economy Class" and "Permaculture Pirates") and publishes her post ...
In all of them at the same time!
## Communities are Capitalists
Now, anyone that is a member of any of these communities can join in on the conversation. The same conversation. One post, one event ID.
Just like for a real life event, Alice didn’t invite the whole universe but she selected certain groups of people. That way, she set the stage for rich discussions with perspectives from Beekeepers and hardcore Austrian economists alike. Discussions that are still readable by anyone, but that do require membership of a selected community for write-access.
The incentives play out into a win-win-win for everyone involved.
Alice’s criteria are met and her post doesn’t have to fit into one neat category. She isn’t left with the current internet’s false choice between “pick 1 community” or “blast bluntly into the universe and pay Big Tech to maybe get it to the RiGhT people”.
Here, she gets to publish to selected lists of recipients that she doesn’t have to curate herself, while also adding it to her feed for her followers to pick up on.
Her Followers can be watching her every post, they can only pick up on certain location- or hashtags, or they can let algo’s filter for posts that have proven to be high signal in the relevant communities first.
Community members get to organically discover adjacent communities, following links they’d never have considered themselves. (Beekeepers getting into Mises in this example).
Lurkers can still read, share, embed and get a quick idea of the value prop of joining communities, following certain members, etc…
Bob, the Community Admin for ₿-keepers, makes money by providing Curation, Computation & Hosting. He gets free marketing and exposure to people that actually might be interested. As in: he doesn’t really need Facebook Ads when he’s got plenty of Alices, writing posts with overlapping interests of the one his community is built around.
He also gets more people posting to his niche community, since creators are not forced to pick just one.
## Relays are Capitalists
Since Bob is in the business of Curating, Computing & Hosting stuff, he prefers doing that in the most efficient way. He prefers handling everything from 1 Relay (and maybe even 1 Blossom server, 1 GPU set-up, 1 mint, … ).
Yes, Bob likes it simple. When the Community is the Relay, every part of his service gets easier:
- fast loading of messages and media
- content moderation
- handling memberships
- curating things like custom community, GIF’s, emoji, …
- curating other relays he does or doesn’t want to be involved with
- self-hosting the entire thing
- handing over Admin rights
- letting others fork the entire thing
- handling back ups in whatever way suits him
- handling fast access the collective preferences of his members (favorite movies of this group of people, most valued apps, …)
- having a clear overview of his own costs, attack vectors, …
- giving members guarantees in terms of pricing, privacy, …
## Bob is a Capitalist
Bob got great value out of the conversations that followed Alice’s first post in his community. So much so, that some real-life rendez-vous’ and home-brewed mead later, they now call each other …
"Honey".
#### The End
-
@ dd664d5e:5633d319
2024-06-28 13:04:48
# An immodest proposal
It is grant season again, and -- as every grant season -- there is some cheering, some complaining, and much bewilderment, as the grants are announced and monies are dispersed.
I'm mostly a bystander to this spectacle, but it's impossible to ignore it, or to not become emotionally entangled in the general circus of it, so I've decided to write about it -- again -- as it is effecting me and interrupting my own efforts -- again.
What I'm about to suggest here is something that has never been done before (at least, not on a grant system of this scale), but it's always easy to criticize, whine, or fall into conspiracy-theorizing, so I've decided to try something more constructive and propose a solution.
## The Five Whys
Why do some projects get turned down for grants?
Why do some people receive grants over and over and over?
Why do others refuse to apply for grants?
Why is an enormous amount of money being spent, but nobody knows how much is left over?
Why is it not really clear who is receiving what?
Why, why, why?!
## Doctor, heal thyself!
Leaving this many whys lying around, or responding to them defensively or with small information-leaks, is an open communication fail on our open communication protocol.
We don't really have the excuse of not knowing how to communicate transparently and publicly, since that is our professional specialty. If we can't figure out how to run a grant program in the most _continuously innovative and traceable_ way possible, even though we are a collection of some of the most talented perpetual innovators on the planet, then who can?
We are all process engineers, so let's engineer our own processes.
## The application process
The main problem with the grant application process is that there is a grant application process. There shouldn't be. Everyone who is working in our space is working transparently, actively marketing their ideas, and everything they do is a matter of public record.
We know who the builders are. We know what they are doing. We can interact with them about what they are doing. We can turn on our computers, pull out some popcorn, and entertain ourselves all day, every day, just watching them labour and think aloud and debate, and fork various repositories or Nostr notes.
There is, at most, a loss of information, as there are so many people working on so many things, that it can become difficult to even track one particular person. That means it is not too much for us to ask, to suggest that anyone interested in a grant at least make their interest known in some small way.
## Wave if you want a grant
That way should be as small as possible. Tiny. Ideally, they shouldn't even have to go that way themself; others should be able to nominate them. A 10-minute barrier to entry is already high, if it requires some formal, explicit act of supplication.
Does that sound silly to you?
Then you do not understand how profoundly logical, forward-thinking, and diligent software developers can be. If they "just fill out a form" and/or "have an informal discussion", in order to receive money, it smacks disturbingly of "job interview" and "contract". These are people for whom contract law is holy law, so many will agonize over the decision.
- Some already have a job and they don't know how it will be in the future. What if they have to work overtime?
- Or they have a family and worry that they can't promise to deliver within some particular time. The wife could get pregnant, the baby could get sick, they might have to move house.
- Maybe they are students and exam time is approaching. Or they are simply shy or very young, and therefore reluctant to be seen "tooting their own horn". There is probably someone more worthy, and they are taking away the money he would get.
- Maybe they were hit with such an inner building passion that they hacked the whole implementation out their last vacation and... well... it's now already there. Everyone is already using it. Darn. Why apply for a grant, for something you've already finished? Seems sort of silly. Is that even allowed? What are the grants even for?
- What if they already have such a well-publicized project, that everyone is already watching them and keeping tabs? Then it's embarrassing to apply, on a lark, and get turned down. But if they don't apply, then everyone encourages them to apply. What to do?
- Many prefer to keep their head down and keep building, for months or years at a time, and clap politely when others are awarded a grant. In fact, they happily zap the recipients and then go right back to building and releasing. They're often grateful to just bathe in other people's joy, by proxy, while they stack sats and stay humble and keep coding.
**That is why a large subset of potential grant recipients never even apply. That is also why those who have received a grant are less reluctant to apply for another.** Successful application breeds successful application. The emotional barrier to entry has fallen. To those that have, shall be given.
## Let's use Nostr to run Nostr grants
We should turn the tables around completely. We want the developers to keep developing, not jumping through hoops. We don't want them to be distracted and internally torn over the ethics of requesting funding. We don't want them to be afraid to apply for grants or be mystified by the grant-giving process, or be humiliated or frustrated by a declined grant.
1. Let us come up with very clear, understandable criteria for rewarding grants, write them down, and publish them on Nostr Wiki. Accept comments and critiques of the criteria. After every round of grants, we should review the criteria, suggest improvements, and publish the new version in the same place.
2. Let every application be judged according to this criteria and the results should be published after every round. The results should include a rating for each criteria and (if the grant is given) the amount of the grant awarded or (if the grant is declined) the reasons for the decline and what the applicant can improve to have a better chance of receiving a grant in the future.
3. Ideally, **no applicant should walk away from a declined grant feeling hopeless or slighted.** Every applicant should feel like the grant process gave them valuable feedback on their own efforts and expert guidance on what they should maybe focus more on.
4. Every application should be a standing application that has to be explicitly removed from the list by the person listed as an applicant. Anything not removed automatically enters the next round. If there is no further development on the project, then the application should be paused and removed after 2 rounds of being paused.
5. The application process should consist of adding yourself or someone else to a Wiki Grant Application List and linking to some documentation of the project. Any npub that trolls or spams the list should be prohibited from further contribution. The quality and completeness of that documentation should be a factor in grant acceptance.
6. Grant decisions should include a "handicap" (like in golf), that take into account how Nostr-experienced the applicant is and how easy it was for them to add a new implementation to some already-existing system. The tendency should be to award newer applicants such grants, with more-experienced applicants competing for long-term funding or being offered a paid(!) place on the grant board, but not both.
7. Each grant round should be proceeded by a grant scope declaration (we shall be awarding X number of grants with an average of X Bitcoin per grant) accompanied by a funding overview and update (How much money was collected since the last round? How much did we spend? How much do we have now? etc.).
## Okay, this is just a prototype
I'm sure that I'm going to be bombarded with naysayers, critics, and people who think I am "writing above my pay grade", but I wouldn't be me if I let that daunt me.
All I am trying to do is change the discussion into one focused on uncovering the grant problems and offering grant solutions, rather than debates about whether some particular person was grant-worthy, or long rants on some particular person's real motives.
It's a lot of Real Money. It's worth talking about, but it's not worth fighting over. Let's talk.
-
@ 1739d937:3e3136ef
2024-06-28 08:27:59
This is the first in a series of weekly updates I'm publishing on my process around secure messaging. Since it's the first, let's start with a bit of historical context.
## How this started
On April 29th I published [a PR](https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nips/pull/1206) on the NIPs repo detailing how we could achieve "Double Ratchet" DMs on Nostr. There was also a [video](https://share.cleanshot.com/nMKk6cn0) and [demo app](https://drdm-demo.vercel.app/) that went along with the PR. The basic premise was to use an adapted version of the Signal protocol. This would result in DMs that were truly private and confidential, even in the case where you leaked your main private key (your nsec).
I got a lot of great feedback from folks on that PR. Interestingly, nearly all of it focused on two points, both of which I'd deliberately scoped out. Group messaging and multi-device/client support. While I knew these were important, and I'd figured out how these might be accomplished, I'd scoped them out to try and keep the footprint of the spec as small as possible But, the more I talked to people, the more it became clear that this was one problem to be solved and given the complexity, it'd be better to do it in one shot.
At the same time, I'd seen that Messaging Layer Security (MLS) had recently made a lot of progress on becoming an internet standard with their RFC proposal and, goaded on by Vitor, decided to take a closer look.
## Enter MLS
[Messaging Layer Security](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9420.html) (MLS) is a new protocal that is basically a modern extension of the Signal protocol that makes group messaging way more efficient (log vs linear) and was built to be used in centralized or federated environments. I'd heard other Nostr devs talk about it in the past but it was always overlooked as being too complicated or too early.
After spending a couple weeks reading hundreds of pages of RFC docs and reading through a few implementations of the MLS spec, I believe it's the best solution for secure direct and group messaging in Nostr. It also has the added benefit that we can upgrade the underlying crypto primitives over time in a sane way.
The MLS protocol specifies "a key establishment protocol that provides efficient asynchronous group key establishment with forward secrecy (FS) and post-compromise security (PCS) for groups in size ranging from two to thousands."
The spec I'm working on will detail the ways that we implement this protocol into the Nostr environment (namely, how do we use our crypto primitives, use events as control mechanisms, and use relays for storage, while obfuscating metadata).
## Goals
It's important to be clear about what we're aiming for here. Engineering is all about tradeoffs, always.
- Private and Confidential DMs and Group messages
- **Private** means that an observer cannot tell that Alice and Bob are talking to one another, or that Alice is part of a specific group. This necessarily requires protecting metadata.
- **Confidential** means that the contents of conversations can only be viewed by the intended recipients.
- Forward secrecy and Post-compromise security (PCS) in the case of any key material being leaked, whether that's your main Nostr identity key (your nsec) or any of the keys used in the MLS ratchet trees.
- **Forward secrecy** means that encrypted content in the past remains encrypted even if key material is leaked.
- **Post compromise security** means that leaking key material doesn't allow an attacker to continue to read messages indefinitely into the future.
- Scales well for large groups. MLS provides this from a computational standpoint, but we need to make sure this works in a scalable way when multiple relays are involved.
- Allows for the use of multiple device/clients in a single conversation/group. Importantly, we're _not_ aiming to enable a device/client to be able to reconstruct the full history of a conversation at any point.
## Progress this week
Ok, finally, what what I been up to?
### Reading
I've spent most of the last few weeks reading the [MLS spec](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9420.html) and [architectural doc](https://www.ietf.org/archive/id/draft-ietf-mls-architecture-13.html) (multiple times), learning some Rust, and beefing up my knowledge of cryptography (which was, if I'm being generous, paltry before starting this project).
### Ciphersuites
Nostr is built around the same crypto primitives that Bitcoin is, namely Schnorr signatures over the secp256k1 curve and SHA-256 hashes. This curve isn't currently supported officially in the MLS spec. I've been in touch with the MLS working group to better understand the process of adding a new ciphersuite to the set of ciphersuites in the MLS spec. The outcome here is that we're going to start out using our custom ciphersuite that isn't part of the formal spec. The only drawback being that Nostr's MLS implementation won't be immediately interoperable with other MLS implementations. We can always add it later via the formal channels if we want.
### MLS Implementations
Given the complexity of the MLS spec itself (the RFC is 132 pages long), having a well vetted, well tested implementation is going to be key to adoption in the Nostr ecosystem. [OpenMLS](https://github.com/openmls/openmls) is an implementation created by several of the RFC authors and written in Rust with bindings for nearly all the major languages we would want to support.
I've been in touch with the maintainers to talk about adding support to their library for our new ciphersuite and to better understand the bindings that are there. Some (WASM) are very barebones and still need a lot of work. They are generally open to the idea of working with me on adding the missing pieces we'd need.
### Double Ratchet NIP 2.0
I've also started to write up the new version of the NIP that will detail how all of this will work when plugged into Nostr. It's not yet ready to share but it's getting closer.
### Onward & Upward
Hopefully that's a helpful recap. I'll keep doing these weekly and welcome any questions, feedback, or support. In particular, if you're keen on working on this with me, please reach out. More eyes and more brains can only make this better. 🤙
-
@ dd664d5e:5633d319
2024-06-25 09:28:03
Should show up here as content
nostr:note1m9jdd9w9qxwa8gfda6n3sku7nf6mjnxylhaaa8wpnvdz85xajrasrrpj2a
-
@ dd664d5e:5633d319
2024-06-24 06:05:05
# The new Great Library
We have all heard tales of Amazon or other booksellers banning customers from their bookstores or censoring/editing purchased books. The famous [Project Gutenberg](https://www.gutenberg.org/), and similar organizations, are performing a good work, to help protect many of our precious books from this fate, but it is merely a centralized website and therefore not censorship resistant. Also, it mostly posts books in English or German.
So, we at nostr:npub1s3ht77dq4zqnya8vjun5jp3p44pr794ru36d0ltxu65chljw8xjqd975wz have decided to move Project Gutenberg to Nostr and house it in the most distributed way possible: on relays. Specifically, our new, public [Citadel relay](https://thecitadel.nostr1.com/) for out-of-print books (and other documents), but also on any relay, anywhere.
And, because we are a very humble group, we're naming the effort "Alexandria". And the first book to be printed on Nostr is the Bible because *obviously*.
## Why on relays?
Well, why not on relays? Relays are one of the few widely-distributed databases for documentation in existence. The relay database spans the entire globe and anyone can maintain their own relay on their personal computer or mobile phone.
That means that anyone can house *their own* books.
Which books are their own? Any books they have in their own possession. Any books someone would have to physically pry out of their cold, dead, computer.
## Notes are perfect for publishing
Once we begin generating eBooks from notes with an associated header (which will be quite easy to do, so long as they are written in markdown or similar), they will also be readable, downloadable, and storable in ePub format (see [Pandoc](https://pandoc.org/epub.html)). And it is, after all, only a matter of time until someone enterprising makes an ePaper Nostr client for calmer reading of notes, and then you can download and read them, without having to bother converting beforehand, which maintains their Nostr-navigation.
The new event kind [30040](https://wikifreedia.xyz/nkbip-01/) allows us to take any sort of note containing any sort of characters and create a type of "note collection" or "book of notes", "journal of notes", "magazine of notes". And it can be nested or embedded in other notes, creating any sort of note-combination and note-hierarchy you can think of, only limited in size by the ability of your computer to processes the relationships.
## Save the Zettels
The associated kind 30041 adds the prospect of breaking longer texts or articles up into sections or snippets (called "Zettel" in German). We can then collect or refer to particular bits of a longer text (like a chart, elegant paragraph or definition, data table), directly. Anyone can create such snippets, even of texts they didn't write, as they can add a reference to the original publication in the tags of the new event.
This means we no longer have to "copy-paste" or quote other people's works, we can simply tie them in. If we worry about them being deleted, we can fork them to create our own, digitally-linked version, and then tie that in. This means that source material can be tied to the new material, and you can trace back to the source easily (using Nostr IDs and tags, which are signed identifiers) and see who else is branching out from that source or discussing that source.
## It's gonna be HUGE!
We are making a big, beautiful library... and you are going to build it for us. Anyone, anywhere can therefore publish or republish any document they wish, with Nostr, and store it wherever they have a relay, and view it on any client willing to display it.
You will own something and be happy.