@ eb0157af:77ab6c55

The Spanish coffee chain follows in Strategy’s footsteps, aiming for a Bitcoin-first strategy.

Vanadi Coffee SA, a well-known Spanish coffee shop chain, is preparing for a major shift in its business model through a bitcoin investment worth over $1.1 billion. The company plans to transform itself from a simple coffee distributor into an entity centered around the leading cryptocurrency.

Salvador Martí, chairman of the board of directors, has outlined a clear vision for the company’s future, seeking authorization to implement a bitcoin accumulation strategy with a maximum budget of €1 billion, according to documentation submitted to BME Growth.

The strategy involves using convertible financing lines to support the bitcoin acquisition, following the model successfully pioneered by Strategy. Martí has already demonstrated his conviction by purchasing 5 BTC for approximately $500,000 two weeks ago.

Vanadi Coffee’s decision comes at a critical moment for the company, which reported losses of $3.7 million in 2024 — exceeding its annual revenues by nearly $600,000. The GameStop episode offers a relevant case study: the American company, facing similar difficulties, opted to purchase bitcoin through a debt securities issuance, acquiring a total of 4,710 bitcoins.

The corporate bitcoin trend

Vanadi Coffee’s initiative is part of a broader global movement, with companies from various industries embracing bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset. From Chinese logistics firms to football clubs, the phenomenon of corporate adoption is crossing both geographic and sectoral boundaries.

Strategy remains the pioneer of this approach, having demonstrated how a company can completely reinvent itself through bitcoin accumulation. Michael Saylor’s success story has inspired numerous other businesses to consider cryptocurrency not merely as an investment, but as a central pillar of their business strategy.

The next Vanadi Coffee board meeting, scheduled for June 29, will mark a pivotal moment for the Spanish company. Approval of the $1.1 billion strategy could trigger further investments from other corporations.

The post Spanish company Vanadi Coffee bets on Bitcoin: $1.1 billion investment appeared first on Atlas21.

@ 9ca447d2:fbf5a36d

El Salvador – June 3, 2025 — The grassroots Bitcoin community of El Salvador is proud to announce the return of Bitcoin Week, taking place this November with five dynamic events celebrating Bitcoin adoption, education, and community-led innovation.

Join us for a week of inspiration, collaboration, and impact.

Bitcoin Week 2025 calendar

📍 November 12 – Bitcoin Education Celebration Gala: Kick off the week in style with a luxurious and intimate evening at a high-class dinner, celebrating “proof of work” and the achievements of the Bitcoin education movement.
Expect major plans for the year(s) ahead but also a reflection to past proof-of-work—and don’t miss out on the Great Grassroots Giveaway, included with every ticket.

📍 November 13 – Bitcoin Educators Unconference: Hosted for the third time in San Salvador at Cadejo Montaña, this sixth edition of the Educators Unconference embodies our commitment to provide a space for decentralized, community-led conversations.
Join educators and leaders shaping the global Bitcoin conversation!

📍 November 14–15 – Adopting Bitcoin: The Network Effect: Now in its fifth year, Adopting Bitcoin returns with a powerful focus on real-world Bitcoin usage across global communities.
This year’s theme—The Network Effect—explores how interconnected local initiatives can spark exponential growth in adoption.

📍 November 16 – Visit Bitcoin Beach, El Zonte: Make your way to Bitcoin Beach, the heart of El Salvador’s Bitcoin story. Enjoy a day of connection and discovery in this iconic beachside town. Full details coming soon.

📍 November 22–23 – Economía Bitcoin, Berlín: Head to the town of Berlín, El Salvador for the second edition of Economía Bitcoin, a powerful, small-scale conference and festival focused on circular economies and practical Bitcoin use.
Spend sats freely in town and see how local action drives global impact.

With five unique events across three regions in Bitcoin Country, this edition of Bitcoin Week is your chance to experience El Salvador’s Bitcoin journey up close. Whether you’re an educator, builder, Bitcoiner, or simply curious—you’re invited.

Join us this November. Be part of the movement.

@ cae03c48:2a7d6671

Bitcoin Magazine

Moscow Exchange Launches Bitcoin Futures For Qualified Investors

The Moscow Exchange, Russia’s largest exchange group, announced the launch of Bitcoin futures contracts on June 4th, 2025. The new derivatives will allow qualified investors in Russia to gain exposure to bitcoin prices without directly owning it.

The bitcoin futures contracts are cash-settled in Russian rubles and will be tied to the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) that trades on U.S. exchanges. The IBIT ETF tracks the price of bitcoin, with each share representing 0.00068 bitcoin.

BREAKING: Russia’s largest exchange, Moscow Exchange launches #Bitcoin futures trading for qualified investors. pic.twitter.com/J9htJUWpLw

— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) June 4, 2025

Trading for the new bitcoin futures kicked off on Wednesday, with the first contracts expiring in September 2025. Each futures contract will be denominated in U.S. dollars per bitcoin but settled in rubles.

The launch of bitcoin futures on the Moscow Exchange comes after increased interest in Bitcoin exposure from Russian financial institutions. In May, Russia’s central bank formally permitted the offering of crypto-linked securities and derivatives to qualified investors. Prior to this, direct investment in Bitcoin was discouraged.

Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, also announced plans to unveil its own bitcoin futures product in addition to the Moscow Exchange’s offering. The bank is launching exchange-traded notes that track Bitcoin’s price without direct ownership.

Bitcoin futures and other crypto-derivatives have seen surging interest recently as the Bitcoin and crypto industry matures. The move comes as an increasing number of countries have started adding Bitcoin to their reserves.

As Bitcoin adoption increases, investors and financial institutions are seeking more routes to gain exposure to Bitcoin. The launch of futures on the Moscow Exchange provides regulated bitcoin exposure to qualified Russian investors. But direct ownership of “physical” bitcoin remains off limits for most in Russia’s traditional finance sector.

This post Moscow Exchange Launches Bitcoin Futures For Qualified Investors first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Vivek Sen.

@ cae03c48:2a7d6671

Bitcoin Magazine

Semler Scientific Acquires 185 Bitcoin, Increasing Total Holdings to 4,449 BTC

Today, Semler Scientific announced it has increased its Bitcoin holdings. The company acquired 185 Bitcoin between May 23 and June 3 for $20 million with an average purchase price of $107,974 per Bitcoin, using proceeds from its at-the-market (ATM) offering program.

JUST IN: Public company Semler Scientific purchases an additional 185 #bitcoin for $20 million. pic.twitter.com/Iir6NiNzc8

— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) June 4, 2025

“We continue to accretively grow our bitcoin arsenal using operating cash flow and proceeds from debt and equity financings,” said the chairman of Semler Scientific Eric Semler. “And we are excited to launch the Semler Scientific dashboard today on our website to provide the public with regularly updated information on our bitcoin holdings and other key metrics.”

Since launching the ATM program in April 2025, Semler has raised approximately $136.2 million under the sales agreement of over 3.6 million shares of its common stock.

As of June 3, 2025, Semler holds 4,449 Bitcoin which were acquired for an amount of $410.0 million, with an average purchase price of $92,158 per Bitcoin. At the time of writing, the market value of these holdings is around $446.2 million.

Eric Semler on X posted, “SMLR acquires 185 Bitcoins for $20 million and has generated BTC Yield of 26.7% YTD. Now holding 4,449 $BTC.”

$SMLR acquires 185 #Bitcoins for $20 million and has generated BTC Yield of 26.7% YTD. Now holding 4,449 $BTC.

— Eric Semler (@SemlerEric) June 4, 2025

Semler Scientific uses the BTC Yield as a key performance indicator (KPI) to help assess the performance of its strategy of acquiring Bitcoin. As of year-to-date, the company has achieved a BTC Yield of 26.7%.

“Semler Scientific believes this KPI can be used to supplement an investor’s understanding of Semler Scientific’s decision to fund the purchase of Bitcoin by issuing additional shares of its common stock or instruments convertible to common stock,” stated the 8-K form.

In Q1 FY2025, Semler Scientific reported a difficult quarter. Revenue came in at $8.8 million, a 44% decrease year-over-year. Operating expenses jumped to $39.9 million from $8.9 million last year, mainly due to a $29.8 million contingent liability tied to the potential settlement with the DOJ. This led to a $31.1 million operating loss, compared to a $7.0 million profit in Q1 2024.

“Our healthcare business is seeing green shoots from the cardiovascular product line that we introduced to our large enterprise customer base this year,” said the CEO of Semler Scientific  Doug Murphy-Chutorian. “We are expecting growth and cash generation from these FDA-cleared products and services, which will add to our bitcoin treasury strategy.”

This post Semler Scientific Acquires 185 Bitcoin, Increasing Total Holdings to 4,449 BTC first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Oscar Zarraga Perez.

@ cae03c48:2a7d6671

Bitcoin Magazine

BTCPay Server: The Backbone of Bitcoin Commerce, 2025

The genesis story of BTCPay Server is without a doubt one of the most iconic moments in Bitcoin history. A single developer, feeling betrayed by Bitpay, a bitcoin payments processing giant and its attempt at co-opting Bitcoin, declared economic war on the company in a tweet that will never be forgotten by the Bitcoin industry; “This is lies, my trust in you is broken, I will make you obsolete.”

Nicolas Dorier went on to create one of the most widely distributed open source projects in the Bitcoin industry and perhaps the invoicing and payments industry as a whole: BTCPay Server. Much has been written about the context and motivation behind Dorier’s founding of the project — there’s even a documentary about it. 

What’s seldom highlighted is how ambitious a project BTCPay Server is, how feature-rich it has become and how deeply integrated it is with the industry. In fact, it is easy to forget that as an open source project with no centralized database of users, BTCPay Server is both a massive privacy upgrade for its users and represents the removal of a fundamental middleman processing payments. As a result, Dorier and the BTCPay Server community have created a public goods infrastructure — a kind of commons of payment processing — that provides users real value by saving them fees, and providing them a much smoother user experience given that no personal information is required for the payments to flow.

Humbly described on their website as “a self-hosted, open-source cryptocurrency payment processor,” BTCPay Server is an invoicing and accounting system for merchants, a fully featured Bitcoin wallet with full node capabilities; on-chain, Lightning Network and Liquid Network support; hardware wallet support; and a modular plugin system. The plugins in particular extend the core of BTCPay Server into a wide range of niches. They also integrate into e-commerce giants such as WooCommerce and Shopify. 

It is somewhat difficult to gauge the success and scope of BTCPay Server. Because it is a self-hosted platform that does not capture customer data of any kind — it has no central cloud service as other payment processors do — our view into its success is somewhat limited. 

However, we can get a sense of their reach by proxy of other metrics, for example, their primary software repository has had over 170 open source contributors, with 8,393 commits at the time of writing. 

As of 2025, BTCPay Server has had one million downloads directly from its GitHub repository, which does not account for cloud providers of the software as hosted by companies like Voltage or Lunanode. It is also often the case that one instance of BTCPay Server serves multiple merchants and hosts multiple stores simultaneously. 

R0ckstardev, one of the top contributors to the project, told Bitcoin Magazine that there could be hundreds of thousands of instances of BTCPay Server running throughout the world. Tobe Chileta, a contributor to the project, also told Bitcoin Magazine that “of the seven continents of the world, I think it is only Antarctica that I haven’t seen someone run BTCPay server.” He added, “I’m certain we have merchants running in Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Europe and Australia.”

Companies

BTCPay Server’s website business directory, while far from exhaustive, covers hundreds of merchants onboarded. The BTCPay Server community also does regular case studies of user cohorts or major merchants that use the software, documenting their integration and story in their case studies page. It gives fantastic insights into a variety of Bitcoin communities throughout the world and includes useful guides on how to replicate various results and implementations.

Namecheap, for example, boasted over 70 million dollars’ of bitcoin volume since their integration of BTCPay Server. From May 18, 2020, to October 2024 they clocked in 1.1m transactions in total with over 500,000 users paying in bitcoin, resulting in over $73 million in revenue through payments made from over 200 countries. 

BTC Inc, the parent company of the biggest Bitcoin conference in the world, has for years been setting up BTCPay Server for its merchants, and even has a one-hour behind-the-scenes documentary on the complexities of setting up dozens of merchants at a conference (filmed during the Nashville 2024 Bitcoin conference). The event saw over 25,000 attendees, including the 47th president of the U.S., Donald J. Trump.

In this most recent Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas, BTCPay Server was used to process a new world record of Bitcoin transactions within an eight-hour period, with 4,187 transactions in total. The initial target was 4,000 transactions and was set by the Guinness World Records organization. 

Integrations and Plugins

One of the most important dimensions of BTCPay Server is its plugin system. Given the wide variety of ways companies can interact with Bitcoin, the developer community has optimized the BTCPay Server code toward a plugin model that developers can build for with a well-documented set of GitHub repos and an API. Today there are over 30 plugins available on BTCPay Server. Here are some of the greatest hits:

Boltz Swap Exchange Plugin

Boltz is an atomic swap exchange focused on the various Bitcoin layers such as Liquid, Lightning, Rootstock and of course Bitcoin on-chain. It has gained prominence of late as a very simple solution to the channel rebalancing challenges Lightning wallets face. R0ckstardev told Bitcoin Magazine that he is particularly impressed with the Boltz integration, and even tweeted as much earlier this year. 

I've recently been going through the code of @Boltzhq plugin for @BtcpayServer, what jackstar12 & @kilrau have done there is an absolutely l33t engineering.

It's a literal crime against humanity that what they've done was not featured more in Bitcoin media.

— Uncle Rockstar Developer (@r0ckstardev) April 24, 2025

Branded as a noncustodial Bitcoin Bridge, Boltz allows users to swap between different Bitcoin layers while retaining maximum control of their funds, using atomic swap technology that eliminates third-party trust across crypto-native payments. For example, you can use Boltz via BTCPay Server to make a Lightning payment, where the sats are initially held at rest in a Liquid network wallet and are pulled from that balance by the Boltz plugin. The L-BTC is atomically swapped for sats on the Lightning Network via the Boltz exchange and the satoshis flow to the end recipient. This whole process is effectively noncustodial.

This is the same type of “lightning service provider” style infrastructure with which Breez wallet recently announced integration. While it is not quite as cheap as a user-operated Lightning node can be in the best of cases, it is far easier to set up and run — only demanding a few clicks on the BTCPay Server interface. As far as BTCPay Server is concerned, this Boltz plugin represents a full Lightning node, integrating natively with the invoicing and accounting layers. 

This tech also scales quite well: One BTCPay Server admin can support many different merchants and not even have to run or manage a standard Lightning node, since the plugin supports automated liquidity management. 

The Bolt Cards Plugin

The Bolt card, a company and product created by the Coincenter exchange, has come into prominence recently thanks to its unique graphics and the laser-eyes that light up on tap-to-pay. They, too, have a BTCPay Server plugin that lets users manage and connect these cool NFC cards to their wallets via the plugin.

BITCOIN IS MONEY.

AND AT @THEBITCOINCONF WE WILL PAY IN STYLE, WITH @JACK LASER-EYES BOLT CARDS.

ONLY 1,000 AVAILABLE, GET YOURS ON MAY 28TH. [pic.twitter.com/fDrZW5TGCv](https:

@ cae03c48:2a7d6671

Bitcoin Magazine

JPMorgan to Offer Clients Financing Against Bitcoin & Crypto ETFs

JPMorgan Chase & Co. plans to allow its trading and wealth-management clients to use cryptocurrency-linked assets, including spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), as collateral for loans, according to Bloomberg.

JPMorgan Plans to Offer Clients Financing Against Crypto ETFs pic.twitter.com/QpausRiHxM

— matthew sigel, recovering CFA (@matthew_sigel) June 4, 2025

The bank will begin with BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), and additional ETFs are expected to be added over time. The policy will apply globally, spanning all client segments—from individual retail accounts to investors.  

In addition to the lending change, JPMorgan will begin factoring crypto holdings into overall net worth and liquid asset evaluations, placing them on par with stocks, vehicles, or fine art when determining loan eligibility, according to those familiar with the matter.

This development marks a formal expansion of what had previously been permitted on a limited, case-by-case basis. The bank’s new approach comes as other major financial institutions, including Morgan Stanley, explore ways to integrate crypto offerings more broadly. Last month, Bloomberg also reported that Morgan Stanley plans to bring crypto trading to its E*Trade platform.

The shift also reflects changes in the U.S. regulatory environment. Since returning to office, President Donald Trump’s administration has taken a more favorable stance toward digital assets. Spot Bitcoin ETFs, first introduced in January 2024, have seen rapid growth and now manage a combined $128 billion in assets, making them among the most successful ETF launches to date.

Bitcoin’s price has also risen significantly in recent months, reaching a record $111,980 in May 2025.

JPMorgan was among the first large U.S. banks to experiment with blockchain technology and maintains relationships with firms such as Coinbase. This latest decision allows more digital assets into the bank’s lending framework. 

While JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has remained publicly skeptical of Bitcoin, he has consistently emphasized clients’ right to access the asset. Speaking at the firm’s investor day in May, Dimon stated, “I’m not a fan of Bitcoin.” He went on to say, “I don’t think we should smoke, but I defend your right to smoke. I defend your right to buy Bitcoin, go at it.” 

This post JPMorgan to Offer Clients Financing Against Bitcoin & Crypto ETFs first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Jenna Montgomery.

@ da8b7de1:c0164aee

| Régió/Ország | Fő esemény/politika | Forrás | |------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------| | Egyesült Államok | Végrehajtási rendeletek a nukleáris termelés négyszeresére növeléséről; a nem létfontosságú K+F költségvetésének csökkentése; SMR és mikroreaktor kezdeményezések | world-nuclear-news, nucnet, aoshearman, ans | | Kanada | Engedélyezés új BWRX-300 SMR reaktor építésére Darlingtonban | world-nuclear-news, ans | | Európa | EU tervek az orosz nukleáris importok korlátozására; Westinghouse–Bulgária beszállítói megállapodások | nucnet, world-nuclear-news | | Globális/Világbank | A nukleáris finanszírozási tilalom esetleges feloldása a fejlődő országok számára | globalissues | | Egyesült Királyság| Új kiberbiztonsági jogszabályok a nukleáris szektorban | aoshearman | | Katonaság/Védelem| A védelmi minisztérium cégeket választott ki mikroreaktorok telepítésére | ans |

Források:
world-nuclear-news
nucnet
aoshearman
globalissues
ans

@ cae03c48:2a7d6671

Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin Layer 2: The Key To Scaling Bitcoin

Bitcoin, and for that matter all blockchains, do not scale. It is a fundamental limitation of blockchain based systems that they are incapable of facilitating transactional use at a truly global scale without completely sacrificing the decentralization and verifiability that make them valuable in the first place. 

This has been an existential issue that Bitcoiners have grappled with from the very beginning of Bitcoin. This is a comment from James A. Donald, a Canadian cypherpunk who was the first person to reply to Satoshi’s original post on the cryptography mailing list: 

Satoshi Nakamoto wrote:

“The bandwidth might not be as prohibitive as you
think. A typical transaction would be about 400 bytes
(ECC is nicely compact). Each transaction has to be
broadcast twice, so lets say 1KB per transaction.
Visa processed 37 billion transactions in FY2008, or
an average of 100 million transactions per day. That
many transactions would take 100GB of bandwidth, or
the size of 12 DVD or 2 HD quality movies, or about
$18 worth of bandwidth at current prices.”

The trouble is, you are comparing with the Bankcard
network.

But a new currency cannot compete directly with an old,
because network effects favor the old.

You have to go where Bankcard does not go.

At present, file sharing works by barter for bits. This,
however requires the double coincidence of wants. People
only upload files they are downloading, and once the
download is complete, stop seeding. So only active
files, files that quite a lot of people want at the same
time, are available.

File sharing requires extremely cheap transactions,
several transactions per second per client, day in and
day out, with monthly transaction costs being very small
per client, so to support file sharing on bitcoins, we
will need a layer of account money on top of the
bitcoins, supporting transactions of a hundred
thousandth the size of the smallest coin, and to support
anonymity, chaumian money on top of the account money.

Let us call a bitcoin bank a bink. The bitcoins stand
in the same relation to account money as gold stood in
the days of the gold standard. The binks, not trusting
each other to be liquid when liquidity is most needed,
settle out any net discrepancies with each other by
moving bit coins around once every hundred thousand
seconds or so, so bitcoins do not change owners that
often, Most transactions cancel out at the account
level. The binks demand bitcoins of each other only
because they don’t want to hold account money for too
long. So a relatively small amount of bitcoins
infrequently transacted can support a somewhat larger
amount of account money frequently transacted.

Despite the era of the Blocksize Wars, the big blockers, and the naive assumptions by many early Bitcoiners that simply raising the blocksize was a viable solution to scale the system, it has been understood by competent observers and engineers from the very beginning that this would undermine the core value proposition of that made it useful in the first place. Hal Finney also spoke of the need for such a settlement layer on top. 

Scaling in layers has always been the only rational plan to make Bitcoin work in the long term, but for a long period of Bitcoin’s early history how to do so without relying on trusted third parties was an elusive problem. 

One of the first ideas on how to do this was sidechains, independent blockchains with a peg to facilitate locking bitcoin on the mainchain to utilize on the sidechain, and at any point unlocking funds on the mainchain to move them back by proving legitimate control of bitcoin on the sidechain. These systems however have yet to achieve a way to operate a peg without either 1) introducing some form of trusted third party, no matter how well mitigated, or 2) creating centralization pressure for the primary Bitcoin network. 

Since those early days there have been many more ideas developed that have found better ways to peg into second layer systems, specifically schemes like the Lightning Network and Ark which allow end users to unilaterally exit back to the mainchain without needing the permission or approval of some operator. 

Scaling Bitcoin in a way that facilitates higher transactional volumes without degrading the security properties of Bitcoin to the point of being indistinguishable from third party operated custodians is one of the most critical problems to solve in order for Bitcoin to truly succeed in the long term. 

This article series will explore the architectures of different Layer 2 systems for Bitcoin, both those deployed live on the network right now and those that are simply design proposals at this point. 

Listed below are the systems I will be covering. The design space of Layer 2s is much more expansive than many people are familiar with, so this list should not be taken as comprehensive and complete, and will be updated over time to reflect additional Layer 2s that are covered. 

• Ark
• Statechains
• Lightning Network
• Sidechains
• Clique
• Rollups
• Client Side Validated Systems
• Ecash
• Custodial Systems
• Physical Bearer Instruments

This post Bitcoin Layer 2: The Key To Scaling Bitcoin first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Shinobi.

@ cae03c48:2a7d6671

Bitcoin Magazine

Support The Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA) To Protect Noncustodial Services

With a lot of regulatory talk centered around The GENIUS Act and The CLARITY Act (the market structure bill) right now, it’s important that Bitcoin enthusiasts also pay attention to and support The Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA) — H.R. 1747.

The act, which was reintroduced to Congress on May 21, 2025 by Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) and Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), provides “safe harbor from licensing and registration for certain non-controlling blockchain developers and providers of blockchain services.”

Critical Bitcoin legislation was introduced last week & it needs our support

The Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA) by @GOPMajorityWhip and @RitchieTorres protects self-custody developers, miners, and nodes from being classified as money transmitters.

Thread pic.twitter.com/cJ8Ogno3h5

— Nick Neuman (@Nneuman) May 30, 2025

It also stipulates that no blockchain developer or provider of a blockchain service shall be treated as a money transmitter unless the developers or providers behind the project have control over user funds.

This bill is relevant because the developers for both Samourai Wallet and Tornado Cash are currently facing charges for operating unlicensed money transmitter businesses, despite the fact that the developers for neither of these technologies ever had control over user funds.

It’s also important because, under the Biden administration, the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) didn’t just classify privacy services as money transmitters, but ancillary services such as Lightning nodes, rollup sequencers, and other Bitcoin and blockchain technology, as well.

If the BRCA isn’t enacted into law, there is a risk that all Bitcoin and crypto wallets as well as other noncustodial services and technologies will be made illegal and/or subject to KYC/AML laws.

While Rep. Emmer and Rep. Torres’ reintroducing this bill is a positive step, the congressmen need our help in making the BRCA a priority for this current Congress.

To help, go to SaveOurWallets.org and follow the directions on the website to contact the elected officials that represent your district and state in the federal government and tell them that you would like to see them support the BRCA.

But they need our help, we need to make clear that the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act is *the* priority this Congress for our space. Go to https://t.co/fXVqSQ2nUv, put in your ZIP code, and make a quick call. It works.

— saveourwallets (@saveourwalets) June 3, 2025

If this act doesn’t pass, we will face significant hurdles regarding the scaling of Bitcoin and other blockchains as well as around privacy.

Yes, yes, I know some of you are saying to yourselves Bitcoin will win regardless of our actions (or that it’s already won) and that we don’t need to engage with politicians in the process.

I’m here to say 1.) this isn’t necessarily true, 2.) there are four developers currently facing trial (the Samourai and Tornado Cash developers) and pushing to get this bill passed may help them, 3.) if this bill doesn’t pass, scaling Bitcoin may be much more difficult, and 4.) there’s a reality in which we give up a lot of our legal right to privacy when using Bitcoin if the bill doesn’t pass.

So, with these points in mind, pick up the phone and/or send an email to your elected representatives and tell them you’d like to see them support the BRCA.

This article is a Take. Opinions expressed are entirely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.

This post Support The Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA) To Protect Noncustodial Services first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Frank Corva.

@ cae03c48:2a7d6671

Bitcoin Magazine

Matador Technologies Raises C$1.64M To Invest in Their Bitcoin Reserve

Matador Technologies Inc. (TSXV: MATA, OTCQB: MATAF), a Bitcoin-focused tech company, announced that it has closed the second tranche of its non-brokered private placement, raising C$1,644,300 through the issuance of 2,652,097 units at a price of $0.62 per unit, with the proceeds going towards investing in their Bitcoin reserve.

Matador (TSXV: MATA | OTCQB: MATAF | FSE: IU3) closes $1.64M second tranche at $0.62/unit
Each unit: 1 share + ½ warrant @ $0.77
Proceeds:
Buy more Bitcoin
Expand gold & Grammies
General corporate growth

https://t.co/nUm0bFWtO0#Bitcoin #TreasuryStrategy…

— Matador Technologies (@buymatador) June 4, 2025

“Each Unit consists of one common share and one-half of one common share purchase warrant,” stated in the press release. “Each Warrant entitles the holder to acquire one additional common share of the Company at a price of $0.77 for a period of twelve months from the date of issuance.”

The warrants are subject to acceleration if Matador’s shares trade at or above $1.15 for five consecutive trading days at any time following the date which is four months and one day after the closing date. 

The securities from the second tranche are under a hold period that lasts until October 5, 2025.  As part of the deal, the company also paid finder’s fees totaling $95,582 and issued 152,165 broker warrants on the same terms.

This follows the first tranche of the offering, announced on May 30, 2025, which included a CAD$1.5 million investment from Arrington Capital, a digital asset management firm co-founded by Michael Arrington. 

“We’re thrilled to welcome Arrington Capital as a strategic investor,” said the CEO of Matador Technologies Inc. Deven Soni. “Their deep conviction in the Bitcoin ecosystem and global perspective on digital assets align perfectly with Matador’s vision. This investment enhances our ability to accelerate development of Bitcoin-native financial products and scale our platform globally.”

In that tranche, Matador issued 2,419,354 units under the same terms. Each including one common share and one-half warrant, with full warrants exercisable at $0.77 for one year. Like the second tranche, those warrants are also subject to acceleration if the share price hits $1.15 for five consecutive trading days following the initial four-month period.

“This is more than just a capital raise—it’s a signal that the world’s top digital asset investors see the same future we do,” said the Chief Visionary Officer of Matador Mark Moss.

“At Matador, we believe the next wave of global financial infrastructure will be built on digital assets,” commented Moss. “By aligning with HODL, we’re not just expanding geographically—we’re expanding the reach of the digital assets’ ecosystem into a key innovation hub.”

This post Matador Technologies Raises C$1.64M To Invest in Their Bitcoin Reserve first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Oscar Zarraga Perez.

@ 7f6db517:a4931eda

What is KYC/AML?

• The acronym stands for Know Your Customer / Anti Money Laundering.
• In practice it stands for the surveillance measures companies are often compelled to take against their customers by financial regulators.
• Methods differ but often include: Passport Scans, Driver License Uploads, Social Security Numbers, Home Address, Phone Number, Face Scans.
• Bitcoin companies will also store all withdrawal and deposit addresses which can then be used to track bitcoin transactions on the bitcoin block chain.
• This data is then stored and shared. Regulations often require companies to hold this information for a set number of years but in practice users should assume this data will be held indefinitely. Data is often stored insecurely, which results in frequent hacks and leaks.  
• KYC/AML data collection puts all honest users at risk of theft, extortion, and persecution while being ineffective at stopping crime. Criminals often use counterfeit, bought, or stolen credentials to get around the requirements. Criminals can buy "verified" accounts for as little as $200. Furthermore, billions of people are excluded from financial services as a result of KYC/AML requirements.

During the early days of bitcoin most services did not require this sensitive user data, but as adoption increased so did the surveillance measures. At this point, most large bitcoin companies are collecting and storing massive lists of bitcoiners, our sensitive personal information, and our transaction history.

Lists of Bitcoiners

KYC/AML policies are a direct attack on bitcoiners. Lists of bitcoiners and our transaction history will inevitably be used against us.

Once you are on a list with your bitcoin transaction history that record will always exist. Generally speaking, tracking bitcoin is based on probability analysis of ownership change. Surveillance firms use various heuristics to determine if you are sending bitcoin to yourself or if ownership is actually changing hands.  You can obtain better privacy going forward by using collaborative transactions such as coinjoin to break this probability analysis.

Fortunately, you can buy bitcoin without providing intimate personal information. Tools such as peach, hodlhodl, robosats, azteco and bisq help; mining is also a solid option: anyone can plug a miner into power and internet and earn bitcoin by mining privately.

You can also earn bitcoin by providing goods and/or services that can be purchased with bitcoin. Long term, circular economies will mitigate this threat: most people will not buy bitcoin - they will earn bitcoin - most people will not sell bitcoin - they will spend bitcoin.

There is no such thing as KYC or No KYC bitcoin, there are bitcoiners on lists and those that are not on lists.

---

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

@ cae03c48:2a7d6671

Bitcoin Magazine

Botanix Launches Federated Sidechain with 16 Members On Testnet

Botanix Labs has launched Botanix on testnet as a federated sidechain built on Bitcoin with a 16-node founding federation that includes XBTO, Fireblocks, Antpool, UTXO Management, and other entities (full list below).

The federation ensures that no single entity — including Botanix Labs — controls the network. Botanix Labs has relinquished operational responsibilities, transferring governance and consensus to the node operators. The network plans to evolve into a dynamic federation that supports hundreds of nodes, with the long-term goal of enabling anyone to run a Botanix node. The network’s mainnet is scheduled to launch later this quarter.

Willem Schroé, CEO and co-founder of Botanix Labs, stated in a press release that, “The Bitcoin economy cannot be built on centralized rails. With this 16-node founding federation, we’ve stripped out centralized control and laid the groundwork for a fully permissionless future.”

Botanix’s design emphasizes resilience, with geographically distributed nodes and different kinds of security hardware to minimize single points of failure. The goal is to support consistent availability and uncensorable transaction processing, aligning with Bitcoin’s principles of security and open access. Their use of what they call the “Spiderchain” protocol enables Ethereum Virtual Machine compatibility, allowing applications like lending and staking directly on the network without wrapped assets or bridges.

Philippe Bekhazi, co-founder and CEO of XBTO, commented, “Institutional interest in Bitcoin continues to grow, but that growth depends on secure, decentralized infrastructure that can meet the standards of professional markets.” 

Bekhazi also noted XBTO’s commitment to supporting Botanix.

Founded in 2023, Botanix Labs developed the Spiderchain protocol and initiated Botanix. With the network now independently operated, the lab focuses on research, developer tools, and ecosystem support. Botanix enables developers to build financial applications while maintaining Bitcoin’s base layer integrity.

The network’s decentralized structure supports scalability and security for Bitcoin-related applications. As Botanix prepares for its mainnet launch, it aims to expand its federation and move toward further decentralization.

The full founding Botanix federation includes Botanix, Galaxy, Fireblocks, Alchemy, XBTO, Antpool, UTXO Management, Kiln, Chorus One, UndefinedXBlockPI, DAIC, Pier Two, Stakin, Vertex, Stake.fish, and Hashkey Cloud.

Bitcoin Magazine is wholly owned by BTC Inc., which operates UTXO Management, a regulated capital allocator focused on the digital assets industry. UTXO invests in a variety of Bitcoin businesses, and maintains significant holdings in digital assets. 

This post Botanix Launches Federated Sidechain with 16 Members On Testnet first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Juan Galt.

@ cae03c48:2a7d6671

Bitcoin Magazine

President Trump’s Truth Social Files S-1 Form For Bitcoin ETF

Today, Trump Media and Technology Group Corp. (Nasdaq, NYSE Texas: DJT) filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) a Form S-1 for their upcoming Truth Social Bitcoin ETF.

The ETF, which will hold bitcoin directly, is designed to track the bitcoin’s price performance. 

“Truth Social Bitcoin ETF, B.T. is a Nevada business trust that issues beneficial interests in its net assets,” stated the Form S-1. “The assets of the Trust consist primarily of bitcoin held by a custodian on behalf of the Trust. The Trust seeks to reflect generally the performance of the price of bitcoin.”

The ETF is sponsored by Yorkville America Digital, LLC and will trade under NYSE Arca. The Trust’s assets primarily consist of bitcoin held by Foris DAX Trust Company, LLC, the designated bitcoin custodian. Crypto.com will act as the ETF’s prime execution agent and liquidity provider.

“Shares will be offered to the public from time to time at varying prices that will reflect the price of bitcoin and the trading price of the Shares on New York Stock Exchange Arca, Inc. at the time of the offer,” mentioned the Form S-1.

While the ETF offers investors a regulated avenue for bitcoin exposure, the Trust warned of several risks related to digital assets:

• Loss, theft, or compromise of private keys could result in permanent loss of bitcoin.
• Bitcoin’s reliance on blockchain and Internet technologies makes it vulnerable to disruptions and cyber threats.
• Environmental and regulatory pressures tied to high electricity use in bitcoin mining could impact market stability.
• Potential forks or protocol failures in the Bitcoin Network may lead to volatility and uncertainty in asset value.

Last week, during an interview at the 2025 Bitcoin Conference, Donald Trump Jr. announced that TMTG and Truth Social were forming a Bitcoin treasury with $2.5 billion. “We’re seriously on crypto—we’re seriously on Bitcoin,” said Trump Jr. “We’re in three major deals. I believe we’re at the beginning of what will be the future of finance. And the opportunity is massive.”

The day after that interview, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., joined by American Bitcoin Executive Chairman and Board Member Mike Ho, CEO Matt Prusak, and Altcoin Daily founder Aaron Arnold, discussed the future of Bitcoin.

“The whole system is broken and now all of the sudden you have crypto which solves all the problems,” commented Eric Trump. “It makes everything cheaper, it makes everything faster, it makes it safer, it makes it more transparent. It makes the whole system more functional.“

“Everybody wants Bitcoin. Everybody is buying Bitcoin,” Eric added.

This post President Trump’s Truth Social Files S-1 Form For Bitcoin ETF first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Oscar Zarraga Perez.

@ cae03c48:2a7d6671

Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin Life Insurer, Meanwhile, Becomes First Company to Publish Audited Financials Denominated in Bitcoin

Meanwhile Insurance Bitcoin (Bermuda) Limited (“Meanwhile”) announced it has become the first company in the world to release externally audited financial statements denominated entirely in Bitcoin. According to the announcement, the company reported 220.4 BTC in assets and 25.29 BTC in net income for 2024, a 300% year over year increase.

Today marks a global first & historic event for us, along with the public release of our 2024 audited financial statements, covering our 1st year of sales.

As the 1st company in the world to have Bitcoin-denominated financial statements externally audited, we are excited to…

— meanwhile | Bitcoin Life Insurance (@meanwhilelife) June 5, 2025

“We’ve just made history as the first company in the world to have Bitcoin-denominated financial statements externally audited,” said Zac Townsend, CEO of Meanwhile. “This is an important, foundational step in reimagining the financial system based on a single, global, decentralized standard outside the control of any one government.” 

The financial statements were audited by Harris & Trotter LLP and its digital asset division ht.digital. Meanwhile’s financials also comply with Bermuda’s Insurance Act 1978, noting that their BTC denominated financials were approved and comply with official guidelines. The firm, fully licensed by the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA), operates entirely in BTC and is prohibited from liquidating Bitcoin assets except through policyholder claims, positioning it as a long term holder. 

“As the first regulated Bitcoin life insurance company, we view the BTC held by Meanwhile as inherently long-term in nature—primarily held to support the Company’s insurance liabilities over decades,” Townsend added. “This makes it significantly ‘stickier’ and resistant to market pressures compared to the BTC held by other companies as part of their treasury management strategies.” 

Meanwhile’s 2024 financials also revealed 23.02 BTC in net premiums and 4.35 BTC in investment income, showing that its model not only preserves Bitcoin, but earns it. The company’s reserves (also held in BTC) were reviewed and approved by Willis Towers Watson (WTW). 

Meanwhile also offers a Bitcoin Whole Life insurance product that allows policyholders to save, borrow, and build legacy wealth—entirely in BTC, and has plans to expand globally in 2025.

“We are incredibly proud of today’s news as it underscores how Meanwhile is at the forefront of the next phase of the convergence between Bitcoin and institutional financial markets,” said Tia Beckmann, CFO of Meanwhile. “Now having generated net income in BTC, we have demonstrated that we are earning it through a sustainable insurance business model designed for the long term.” 

This post Bitcoin Life Insurer, Meanwhile, Becomes First Company to Publish Audited Financials Denominated in Bitcoin first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Jenna Montgomery.

@ 2f5de000:2f9bcef1

I've wanted to write this piece for months. Not because I have anything against Jack Mallers personally - quite the opposite. But because I've watched a pattern emerge in Bitcoin that mirrors one of the most chilling dynamics in Atlas Shrugged: the systematic destruction of our most productive builders by the very people who should be celebrating them.

We are the looters. And Jack might just be our Hank Rearden.

The Underdog's Dilemma

There's a cruel irony in how we treat success in Bitcoin. We champion the underdog, root for the builder in the garage, celebrate the cypherpunk taking on the establishment. But the moment that underdog succeeds - the moment they scale, grow, and inevitably have to navigate the messy realities of the existing system - we turn on them with the ferocity of the same establishment we claim to oppose.\ \ Jack began building Zap (which evolved into Strike) from his parents home in Chicago. Strike has grown into one of the most seamless fiat-to-bitcoin on-ramps for everyday users. No complexity, just pure utility. From day one, he's operated at a level of transparency that would make most CEO's uncomfortable. He's been building in public, taking feedback, admitting mistakes, and iterating - sometimes within hours of criticism.

The Rearden Parallel

In Atlas Shrugged, Hank Rearden creates Rearden Metal - a revolutionary alloy that's stronger, lighter, and more efficient than anything that came before. Instead of celebration, he faces endless scrutiny, regulation, and demands to prove is worthiness. The people who benefit from his innovation spend their time questioning his motives, dissecting his business practices, and demanding he justify his success.

Sound familiar?

Jack comes from a finance background - his father and grandfather were in the industry. This isn't a liability; it's an asset. He understands the beast we're fighting. He's been a Bitcoiner since 2013 with a spotless track record in a space littered with exit scams and broken promises. His values align with proof of work, individualism, and the radical idea that bitcoin is for everyone.

Yet when he helps launch 21 Capital, we don't see innovation - we see betrayal. When he navigates regulatory requirements to build products that can actually reach mainstream adoption, we don't see pragmatism - we see capitulation.

The Scarred Perspective

Our skepticism isn't entirely unfounded. We've been burned before. Mt. Gox, FTX, Three Arrows Capital, Celcius, Terra/ LUNA, BlockFi, Bitconnect, Voyager, QuadrigaCX - the graveyard of Bitcoin is littered with the corpses of trusted institutions. We've learned, painfully, that trust must be earned and verified.

But somewhere along the way, our healthy skepticism has metastasized into destructive paranoia. We've become so focused on protecting ourselves from the next SBF that we're attacking the people building the future we claim to want.

I'm guilty of this myself. I've made scathing attacks on my Nostr feed, comparing Jack to SBF, scrutinising contract clauses about re-hypothecation, and questioning his every move privately. I was viewing his actions through the lens of collective trauma rather than the reality of his long track record.

The Looters Paradox

Here's the uncomfortable truth: we're not just passive observers in this drama. We're active participants. We're the looters.

In Atlas Shrugged, the looters don't necessarily steal directly. They steal time, energy, and focus. They create bureaucracy, demnd endless justification, and burden the productive with the weight of constant explanation. They don't build competing products - they just tear down what others have built.

Everytime we demand Jack explain his business model for the hundredth time, we're stealing his time. Every time we scrutinize his partnerships without offering alternatives, we're creating bureaucracy . Everytime we attack his character rather than his arguments, we're furthering the system we claim to oppose.

The free market will create products whether we like them or not. People will build services that use bitcoin as collateral, create lending products, and navigate regulatory frameworks. The question isn't whether these products will exist - it's whether they'll be built by people who share our values or by those who don't.

The Atlantis Risk

The producers eventually withdraw from society in Atlas Shrugged, retreating to Galt's Gulch (Atlantis) and leaving the looters to face the consequences of their destructive behaviour. The economy collapses because the people who actually build things decided it wasn't worth the hassle anymore.

We're walking dangerously close to this precipice in Bitcoin. We're creating an environment where our most capable builders might just decide it's not worth it. Where the hassle of dealing with our constant scrutiny and bad-faith attacks outweighs the mission of building the future.

Jack has been more patient with our criticism than we deserve. He's addressed concerns publicly, changed the course when necessary, and continued building despite the noise. But patience has limits. At some point, even the most mission-driven builders will ask themselves: "Why am I doing this?"

The Path Forward

I don't know enough about finance to fully understand everything Jack is building with 21 Capital. Neither do most of his critics. But I know enough about Bitcoin to recognise someone who's been fighting the good fight for over a decade.

This doesn't mean we should trust blindly. It doesn't mean we should stop asking questions or demanding transparency. But it does mean we should approach our builders with the same benefit of the doubt we'd want for ourselves.

We need to distinguish between healthy skepticism and destructive paranoia. Between holding people accountable and tearing them down. Between being vigilant and being looters.

The fiat system is the real enemy here. It's massive, entrenched, and infinitely resourcesful. It will adapt, co-opt, and corrupt everything it touches. Fighting it requires builders who are willing to get their hands dirty, navigate imperfect systems, and make pragmatic compromises while holding onto their core values.

We can continue to be looters, tearing down what we don't understand and driving our best builders toward their own version of Atlantis. Or we can be what we claim to be: supporters of the free market, believers of proof of work, and champions of those building the future.

Don't trust. Verify. But remember: verification works both ways.

@ 7f6db517:a4931eda

People forget Bear Stearns failed March 2008 - months of denial followed before the public realized how bad the situation was under the surface.

Similar happening now but much larger scale. They did not fix fundamental issues after 2008 - everything is more fragile.

The Fed preemptively bailed out every bank with their BTFP program and First Republic Bank still failed. The second largest bank failure in history.

There will be more failures. There will be more bailouts. Depositors will be "protected" by socializing losses across everyone.

Our President and mainstream financial pundits are currently pretending the banking crisis is over while most banks remain insolvent. There are going to be many more bank failures as this ponzi system unravels.

Unlike 2008, we have the ability to opt out of these broken and corrupt institutions by using bitcoin. Bitcoin held in self custody is unique in its lack of counterparty risk - you do not have to trust a bank or other centralized entity to hold it for you. Bitcoin is also incredibly difficult to change by design since it is not controlled by an individual, company, or government - the supply of dollars will inevitably be inflated to bailout these failing banks but bitcoin supply will remain unchanged. I do not need to convince you that bitcoin provides value - these next few years will convince millions.

---

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

@ 7f6db517:a4931eda

---

"Privacy is necessary for an open society in the electronic age. Privacy is not secrecy.  A private matter is something one doesn't want the whole world to know, but a secret matter is something one doesn't want anybody to know. Privacy is the power to selectively reveal oneself to the world." - Eric Hughes, A Cypherpunk's Manifesto, 1993

---

Privacy is essential to freedom. Without privacy, individuals are unable to make choices free from surveillance and control. Lack of privacy leads to loss of autonomy. When individuals are constantly monitored it limits our ability to express ourselves and take risks. Any decisions we make can result in negative repercussions from those who surveil us. Without the freedom to make choices, individuals cannot truly be free.

Freedom is essential to acquiring and preserving wealth. When individuals are not free to make choices, restrictions and limitations prevent us from economic opportunities. If we are somehow able to acquire wealth in such an environment, lack of freedom can result in direct asset seizure by governments or other malicious entities. At scale, when freedom is compromised, it leads to widespread economic stagnation and poverty. Protecting freedom is essential to economic prosperity.

The connection between privacy, freedom, and wealth is critical. Without privacy, individuals lose the freedom to make choices free from surveillance and control. While lack of freedom prevents individuals from pursuing economic opportunities and makes wealth preservation nearly impossible. No Privacy? No Freedom. No Freedom? No Wealth.

Rights are not granted. They are taken and defended. Rights are often misunderstood as permission to do something by those holding power. However, if someone can give you something, they can inherently take it from you at will. People throughout history have necessarily fought for basic rights, including privacy and freedom. These rights were not given by those in power, but rather demanded and won through struggle. Even after these rights are won, they must be continually defended to ensure that they are not taken away. Rights are not granted - they are earned through struggle and defended through sacrifice.

---

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

@ e2c72a5a:bfacb2ee

The silent revolution: Ethereum's pivot to 'digital oil' could redefine crypto's future. While Bitcoin grabs headlines as digital gold, Ethereum is quietly transforming into something potentially more valuable—the essential infrastructure powering our digital economy. Ryan Berckmans reveals Ethereum's strategic shift from being just another cryptocurrency to becoming the foundation for stablecoins, tokenized assets, and global financial systems. With $480 billion in stablecoin volume and institutional players entering the space, Ethereum isn't just competing with Bitcoin—it's creating an entirely different value proposition. The question isn't whether ETH will hit $3K, but whether we're underestimating its long-term potential as the backbone of digital finance. Are you positioning yourself for the real crypto revolution happening right under our noses?

@ 8bad92c3:ca714aa5

Another week of conversations with sharp minds thinking about Bitcoin's future and the broader economic landscape. Here are the three most compelling predictions from recent episodes.

Bitcoin Core Will Face a Major Governance Crisis Over Covenant Proposals in 2025 - James O'Beirne

James made a prediction that sent chills through the Bitcoin development community - he believes Bitcoin Core's current governance structure will reach a breaking point this year over covenant proposals like CTV. After working as a Core developer for nearly a decade, he's convinced that the organization's inability to make progress on scaling solutions will force alternative implementations.

His timeline is specific and urgent. James believes that if Core doesn't show "substantive review discussion about how we get this stuff in" within six months, credible developers will start building alternate activation clients. The technical argument is compelling: covenants like CheckTemplateVerify have been thoroughly reviewed for seven years, with a 5 BTC bounty (worth over $500,000) still unclaimed for finding material bugs.

The stakes couldn't be higher for Bitcoin's future. James noted that currently "just over two and a half percent of Americans would be able to, on a monthly basis, buy Bitcoin on an exchange, withdraw it to self-custody, and then maybe make a spend." Without scaling solutions, this number won't improve meaningfully. His prediction reflects growing frustration with Core's de facto monopoly over protocol development. "You simply can't ignore that there is a social reality to being in that world," he said, referring to the concentrated funding and decision-making power that has created what he sees as an unsustainable bottleneck for Bitcoin's evolution.

The U.S. Will See Widespread Energy Blackouts as AI Data Centers Strain the Grid - Anas Alhajji

Dr. Anas delivered a sobering prediction about America's energy infrastructure failing to keep pace with exploding AI demand. He expects we'll see significant blackouts in major cities within the next few years, with a particularly concerning scenario where AI facilities maintain power while residential areas go dark. "I will not be surprised if we end up with a situation like this in some states and some cities," he warned.

The mathematics behind his prediction are stark. Energy consumption is skyrocketing due to multiple factors: urbanization, AI data centers, and simple population growth. When migrants move from rural areas to U.S. cities, their energy consumption increases by 30-70 times. Meanwhile, AI facilities require massive baseload power that renewable sources simply cannot provide reliably.

The infrastructure problems run deeper than just generation capacity. Anas explained that America's electrical grid is aging and wasn't designed for this level of demand. Even worse, we lack the manufacturing capacity to produce enough natural gas turbines - the only realistic solution for reliable baseload power at scale. He predicts this will create a dangerous political dynamic where tech companies with guaranteed power contracts maintain operations during blackouts while regular citizens lose electricity. "We might see a backlash from the population, and we will see politicians basically being forced to fight them because of that."

AI Will Force Millennials Into Career Reinvention Within the Next Decade - Bram Kanstein

Bram made a stark prediction about the collision between artificial intelligence and millennial career paths. He believes that traditional knowledge-based jobs will become obsolete much faster than people expect, forcing an entire generation to completely rethink their working lives. "If you think you're going to work for the next 30 years of your life, think again," he warned during our conversation.

His argument centers on the rapid advancement of AI capabilities that he's witnessed firsthand. After spending just 12 hours working with AI tools, Bram claims he developed what could be "a top 10 cybersecurity invention" - despite having no cybersecurity background. This experience convinced him that jobs requiring strict knowledge and logic are already dead. The implications are massive for millennials who built their careers around expertise that AI can now replicate instantly.

The timing couldn't be worse, as Bram notes that this technological disruption is happening precisely when millennials need stable income to support families and prepare for retirement. His solution? Use Bitcoin to create the time and space needed to figure out how to function in an AI-dominated world. "You need to be aware of that. This is where it's going. So how do you protect yourself in an age of AI? Bitcoin is the perfect way to do that."

---

Blockspace conducts cutting-edge proprietary research for investors.

New Bitcoin Mining Pool Flips Industry Model: "Plebs Eat First" Could Threaten Corporate Dominance

Parasite Pool's radical zero-fee structure challenges mining giants by guaranteeing payouts to small miners while rewarding block finders with instant Bitcoin. It disrupts traditional mining with a hybrid payout model that gives block discoverers 1 BTC immediately, while distributing remaining rewards (~2.125 BTC plus fees) among all pool participants. This "plebs eat first" approach targets the 22% discount miners typically accept in exchange for guaranteed income.

Key innovations that matter:

• Lightning Network integration bypasses Bitcoin's 100-block maturity rule, delivering instant payouts to Lightning wallets
• 10-sat minimum withdrawal eliminates traditional barriers for small miners
• Block withholding protection through substantial honest-miner rewards reduces pool attacks

The pool currently commands just 5 PH/s (0.000006% of Bitcoin's network), meaning an expected 3+ years before hitting a block. But this represents a growing counterculture against Full Pay Per Share (FPPS) pools that dominate corporate mining.

Industry impact: If successful, Parasite Pool could attract commercial miners seeking downside protection while maintaining the lottery appeal that drives pleb participation. The model challenges the structural advantages of corporate mining pools.

What's next: ZK Shark plans to open-source components over time, with the current beta suggesting this is just "V1" of a broader disruption strategy.

Link to Full Article

Subscribe to them here (seriously, you should): https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com/

---

Ten31, the largest bitcoin-focused investor, has deployed $150M across 30+ companies through three funds. I am a Managing Partner at Ten31 and am very proud of the work we are doing. Learn more at ten31.vc/invest.

---

Get this newsletter sent to your inbox daily: https://www.tftc.io/bitcoin-brief/

STACK SATS hat: https://tftcmerch.io/

Subscribe to our YouTube channels and follow us on Nostr and X:

@media screen and (max-width: 480px) { .mobile-padding { padding: 10px 0 !important; } .social-container { width: 100% !important; max-width: 260px !important; } .social-icon { padding: 0 !important; } .social-icon img { height: 32px !important; width: 32px !important; } .icon-cell { padding: 0 4px !important; } } .mj-column-per-33-333333333333336 { width: 25% !important; max-width: 25%; } .moz-text-html .mj-column-per-33-333333333333336 { width: 25% !important; max-width: 25%; } /* Helps with rendering in various email clients */ body { margin: 0 !important; padding: 0 !important; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100% !important; -ms-text-size-adjust: 100% !important; } img { -ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic; } /* Prevents Gmail from changing the text color in email threads */ .im { color: inherit !important; }

@ e2c72a5a:bfacb2ee

The $220 million crypto heist that took just minutes reveals a fatal flaw in DeFi security. While blockchain tech promises trustless transactions, the Cetus DEX exploit on Sui exposed how a single undetected bug in a math library became catastrophic. What's truly alarming isn't the hack itself but the revelation from Curve's founder that professional hackers-for-hire are now coordinating sophisticated cross-platform attacks. This signals a dangerous evolution in crypto threats where vulnerabilities aren't just discovered—they're hunted by organized teams with specialized skills. The industry faces a stark choice: invest aggressively in preventative security or watch as billions more vanish in seconds. Is your crypto truly safe, or just waiting for the right hacker to find its weakness?

@ e2c72a5a:bfacb2ee

Forget Lambos, think real estate tokens.

A European fund just dropped $3.4 million on tokenized real estate, marking the first time big money directly bought retail available tokens. This isn't just about crypto hype; it's about institutions embracing regulated crypto assets. Real World Assets (RWAs) are booming, up 260% this year, fueled by clearer US crypto rules. This surge pushes the tokenization sector past $23 billion.

Is this the start of crypto's mainstream moment?

@ 7f6db517:a4931eda

Bank run on every crypto bank then bank run on every "real" bank.

— ODELL (@ODELL) December 14, 2022

Good morning.

It looks like PacWest will fail today. It will be both the fifth largest bank failure in US history and the sixth major bank to fail this year. It will likely get purchased by one of the big four banks in a government orchestrated sale.  

March 8th - Silvergate Bank
March 10th - Silicon Valley Bank
March 12th - Signature Bank
March 19th - Credit Suisse
May 1st - First Republic Bank
May 4th - PacWest Bank?

PacWest is the first of many small regional banks that will go under this year. Most will get bought by the big four in gov orchestrated sales. This has been the playbook since 2008. Follow the incentives. Massive consolidation across the banking industry. PacWest gonna be a drop in the bucket compared to what comes next.

First, a hastened government led bank consolidation, then a public/private partnership with the remaining large banks to launch a surveilled and controlled digital currency network. We will be told it is more convenient. We will be told it is safer. We will be told it will prevent future bank runs. All of that is marketing bullshit. The goal is greater control of money. The ability to choose how we spend it and how we save it. If you control the money - you control the people that use it.

---

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

@ 7f6db517:a4931eda

Nostr is an open communication protocol that can be used to send messages across a distributed set of relays in a censorship resistant and robust way.

---

If you missed my nostr introduction post you can find it here. My nostr account can be found here.

---

We are nearly at the point that if something interesting is posted on a centralized social platform it will usually be posted by someone to nostr.

We are nearly at the point that if something interesting is posted exclusively to nostr it is cross posted by someone to various centralized social platforms.

We are nearly at the point that you can recommend a cross platform app that users can install and easily onboard without additional guides or resources.

As companies continue to build walls around their centralized platforms nostr posts will be the easiest to cross reference and verify - as companies continue to censor their users nostr is the best censorship resistant alternative - gradually then suddenly nostr will become the standard. 🫡

Current Nostr Stats

---

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

@ dfa02707:41ca50e3

News

• Bitcoin mining centralization in 2025. According to a blog post by b10c, Bitcoin mining was at its most decentralized in May 2017, with another favorable period from 2019 to 2022. However, starting in 2023, mining has become increasingly centralized, particularly due to the influence of large pools like Foundry and the use of proxy pooling by entities such as AntPool.

Source: b10c's blog.

• OpenSats announces the eleventh wave of Nostr grants. The five projects in this wave are the mobile live-streaming app Swae, the Nostr-over-ham-radio project HAMSTR, Vertex—a Web-of-Trust (WOT) service for Nostr developers, Nostr Double Ratchet for end-to-end encrypted messaging, and the Nostr Game Engine for building games and applications integrated with the Nostr ecosystem.
• New Spiral grantee: l0rinc. In February 2024, l0rinc transitioned to full-time work on Bitcoin Core. His efforts focus on performance benchmarking and optimizations, enhancing code quality, conducting code reviews, reducing block download times, optimizing memory usage, and refactoring code.
• Project Eleven offers 1 BTC to break Bitcoin's cryptography with a quantum computer. The quantum computing research organization has introduced the Q-Day Prize, a global challenge that offers 1 BTC to the first team capable of breaking an elliptic curve cryptographic (ECC) key using Shor’s algorithm on a quantum computer. The prize will be awarded to the first team to successfully accomplish this breakthrough by April 5, 2026.
• Unchained has launched the Bitcoin Legacy Project. The initiative seeks to advance the Bitcoin ecosystem through a bitcoin-native donor-advised fund platform (DAF), investments in community hubs, support for education and open-source development, and a commitment to long-term sustainability with transparent annual reporting.
  • In its first year, the program will provide support to Bitcoin hubs in Nashville, Austin, and Denver.
  • Support also includes $50,000 to the Bitcoin Policy Institute, a $150,000 commitment at the University of Austin, and up to $250,000 in research grants through the Bitcoin Scholars program.

"Unchained will match grants 1:1 made to partner organizations who support Bitcoin Core development when made through the Unchained-powered bitcoin DAF, up to 1 BTC," was stated in a blog post.

• Block launched open-source tools for Bitcoin treasury management. These include a dashboard for managing corporate bitcoin holdings and provides a real-time BTC-to-USD price quote API, released as part of the Block Open Source initiative. The company’s own instance of the bitcoin holdings dashboard is available here.

Source: block.xyz

• Bull Bitcoin expands to Mexico, enabling anyone in the country to receive pesos from anywhere in the world straight from a Bitcoin wallet. Additionally, users can now buy Bitcoin with a Mexican bank account.

"Bull Bitcoin strongly believes in Bitcoin’s economic potential in Mexico, not only for international remittances and tourism, but also for Mexican individuals and companies to reclaim their financial sovereignty and protect their wealth from inflation and the fragility of traditional financial markets," said Francis Pouliot, Founder and CEO of Bull Bitcoin.

• Corporate bitcoin holdings hit a record high in Q1 2025. According to Bitwise, public companies' adoption of Bitcoin has hit an all-time high. In Q1 2025, these firms collectively hold over 688,000 BTC, marking a 16.11% increase from the previous quarter. This amount represents 3.28% of Bitcoin's fixed 21 million supply.

Source: Bitwise.

• The Bitcoin Bond Company for institutions has launched with the aim of acquiring $1 trillion in Bitcoin over 21 years. It utilizes secure, transparent, and compliant bond-like products backed by Bitcoin.
• The U.S. Senate confirmed Paul Atkins as Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). At his confirmation hearing, Atkins emphasized the need for a clear framework for digital assets. He aims to collaborate with the CFTC and Congress to address jurisdiction and rulemaking gaps, aligning with the Trump administration's goal to position the U.S. as a leader in Bitcoin and blockchain finance.
• Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith has been released from custody. Griffith, whose sentence was reduced to 56 months, is now seeking a pardon. He was initially sentenced to 63 months for allegedly violating international sanctions laws by providing technical advice on using cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology to evade sanctions during a presentation titled 'Blockchains for Peace' in North Korea.
• No-KYC exchange eXch to close down under money laundering scrutiny. The privacy-focused cryptocurrency trading platform said it will cease operations on May 1. This decision follows allegations that the platform was used by North Korea's Lazarus Group for money laundering. eXch revealed it is the subject of an active "transatlantic operation" aimed at shutting down the platform and prosecuting its team for "money laundering and terrorism."
• Blockstream combats ESP32 FUD concerning Jade signers. The company stated that after reviewing the vulnerability disclosed in early March, Jade was found to be secure. Espressif Systems, the designer of the ESP32, has since clarified that the "undocumented commands" do not constitute a "backdoor."

• Bank of America is lobbying for regulations that favor banks over tech firms in stablecoin issuance. The bank's CEO Brian Moynihan is working with groups such as the American Bankers Association to advance the issuance of a fully reserved, 1:1 backed "Bank of America coin." If successful, this could limit stablecoin efforts by non-banks like Tether, Circle, and others, reports The Block.
• Tether to back OCEAN Pool with its hashrate. "As a company committed to financial freedom and open access, we see supporting decentralization in Bitcoin mining as essential to the network’s long-term integrity," said Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino.
• Bitdeer to expand its self-mining operations to navigate tariffs. The Singapore-based mining company is advancing plans to produce machines in the U.S. while reducing its mining hardware sales. This response is in light of increasing uncertainties related to U.S. trade policy, as reported by Bloomberg.
• Tether acquires $32M in Bitdeer shares. The firm has boosted its investment in Bitdeer during a wider market sell-off, with purchases in early to mid-April amounting to about $32 million, regulatory filings reveal.
• US Bitcoin miner manufacturer Auradine has raised $153 million in a Series C funding round as it expands into AI infrastructure. The round was led by StepStone Group and included participation from Maverick Silicon, Premji Invest, Samsung Catalyst Fund, Qualcomm Ventures, Mayfield, MARA Holdings, GSBackers, and other existing investors. The firm raised to over $300 million since its inception in 2022.
• Voltage has partnered with BitGo to [enable](https://www.voltage.cloud/blog/bitgo-and-voltage-team-up-to-deliver-instant-bitcoin-and-stabl

@ e2c72a5a:bfacb2ee

Think your crypto is FDIC insured like your bank account? Big mistake. Crypto's wild west demands you be your own bank and security guard.

Crypto trading involves buying, selling, and exchanging digital currencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum, aiming to profit from price fluctuations. Security is paramount. Understand basic concepts like wallets (digital storage for your crypto), private keys (passwords to access your crypto), and blockchain (the technology that records all transactions).

Real world applications include using crypto for online purchases, international money transfers, and decentralized finance (DeFi) services like lending and borrowing. Current trends include the rise of DeFi, NFTs (non-fungible tokens), and increasing institutional investment.

Best practices? Use strong, unique passwords, enable two factor authentication (2FA) on all accounts, and store most of your crypto in cold wallets (offline storage) to protect against hacking. Be wary of phishing scams and fake websites. Never share your private keys or seed phrases.

Misconceptions? Crypto is not anonymous, transactions are not easily reversible, and past performance is not indicative of future results. Also, remember that regulations are evolving, so stay informed.

With crypto hacks on the rise, are you truly ready to secure your digital fortune, or are you leaving the door open for the next billion dollar heist?

@ dfa02707:41ca50e3

Headlines

• Twenty One Capital is set to launch with over 42,000 BTC in its treasury. This new Bitcoin-native firm, backed by Tether and SoftBank, is planned to go public via a SPAC merger with Cantor Equity Partners and will be led by Jack Mallers, co-founder and CEO of Strike. According to a report by the Financial Times, the company aims to replicate the model of Michael Saylor with his company, MicroStrategy.
• Florida's SB 868 proposes a backdoor into encrypted platforms. The bill and its House companion have both passed through their respective committees and are headed to a full vote. If enacted, SB 868 would require social media companies to decrypt teens' private messages, ban disappearing messages, allow unrestricted parental access to private messages, and likely eliminate encryption for all minors altogether.
• Paul Atkins has officially assumed the role of the 34th Chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This is a return to the agency for Atkins, who previously served as an SEC Commissioner from 2002 to 2008 under the George W. Bush administration. He has committed to advancing the SEC’s mission of fostering capital formation, safeguarding investors, and ensuring fair and efficient markets.
• Solosatoshi.com has sold over 10,000 open-source miners, adding more than 10 PH of hashpower to the Bitcoin network.

"Thank you, Bitaxe community. OSMU developers, your brilliance built this. Supporters, your belief drives us. Customers, your trust powers 10,000+ miners and 10PH globally. Together, we’re decentralizing Bitcoin’s future. Last but certainly not least, thank you@skot9000 for not only creating a freedom tool, but instilling the idea into thousands of people, that Bitcoin mining can be for everyone again," said the firm on X.

• OCEAN's DATUM has found 100 blocks. "Over 65% of OCEAN’s miners are using DATUM, and that number is growing every day. This means block template construction is making its way back into the hands of the miners, which is not only the most profitable for miners on OCEAN but also one of the best things for Bitcoin," stated the mining pool.

Source: orangesurf

• Arch Labs has secured $13 million to develop "ArchVM" and integrate smart-contract functionality with Bitcoin. The funding round, valuing the company at $200 million, was led by Pantera Capital, as announced on Tuesday.
• Tesla still holds nearly $1 billion in bitcoin. According to the automaker's latest earnings report, the firm reported digital asset holdings worth $951 million as of March 31.
• The European Central Bank is pushing for amendments to the European Union's Markets in Crypto Assets legislation (MiCA), just months after its implementation. According to Politico's report on Tuesday, the ECB is concerned that U.S. support for cryptocurrency, particularly stablecoins, could cause economic harm to the 27-nation bloc.
• TABConf 2025 is scheduled to take place from October 13-16, 2025. This prominent technical Bitcoin conference is dedicated to community building, education, and developer support, and it is set to return in October. Get your tickets here.
• Kaduna Lightning Development Bootcamp. From May 14th to 17th, the Bitcoin Lightning Developer Bootcamp will take place in Kaduna, Nigeria. Thisevent offers four dynamic days of coding, learning, and networking. Organized by Africa Free Routing and supported by Btrust, Tether, and African Bitcoiners, this bootcamp is designed as a gateway for African developers eager to advance their skills in Bitcoin and Lightning development. Apply here.

Source: African Bitcoiners.

Use the tools

• Core Lightning (CLN) v25.02.2 as been released to fix a broken Docker image. The issue was caused by an SQLite version that did not support an advanced query.
• Blitz wallet v0.4.4-beta introduces several updates and improvements, including the prevention of duplicate ecash payments, fixes for background ecash invoice handling, the ability for users to send payments to BOLT12 invoices from their Liquid balance, support for Blink QR codes, a lowered minimum amount for Lightning-to-Liquid payments to 100 sats, the option to initiate a node sync via a swipe gesture on the wallet's home screen, and the introduction of opt-in or opt-out functionality for newly implemented crash analytics via settings.
• Utreexo v0.5.0, a hash-based dynamic accumulator, is now available.
• Specter v2.1.1 is now available on StartOS. "This update brings compatibility with Bitcoin Core v28 and incorporates several upstream improvements," said developer Alex71btc.
• ESP-Miner (AxeOS) v2.7.0b1 is now available for testing.
• NodeGuard v0.16.1, a treasury management solution for Lightning nodes, has been released.
• The latest stacker.news updates include prompts to add a receiving wallet when posting or making comments (for new users), an option to randomize poll choices, improved URL search, and a few other enhancements. A bug fix for territories created after 9/19/24 has been implemented to reward 70% of their revenue to owners instead of 50%.

Other stuff

• The April edition of the 256 Foundation's newsletter is now available. It includes the latest mining news, Bitcoin network health updates, project developments, and a tutorial on how to update FutureBit's Apollo 1 to the Apollo 2 software.
• Siggy47 has posted a comprehensive RoboSats guide on stacker.news.
• Learn how to run your own Nostr relay using Citrine and Cloudflare Tunnels by following this step-by-step guide by Dhalism.
• Max Guise has written a Bitkey roadmap update for April 2025.

• PlebLab has uploaded a video on how to build a Rust wallet with LDK Node by Ben Carman.

• Do you want more? Subscribe and get No Bullshit GM report straight to your mailbox and No Bullshit Bitcoin on Nostr.

• Feedback or tips? Drop it here.
• #FREESAMOURAI

Sign up for No Bullshit Bitcoin

No Bullshit Bitcoin Is a Bitcoin News Desk Without Ads, Paywalls, or Clickbait.

Subscribe .nc-loop-dots-4-24-icon-o{--animation-duration:0.8s} .nc-loop-dots-4-24-icon-o *{opacity:.4;transform:scale(.75);animation:nc-loop-dots-4-anim var(--animation-duration) infinite} .nc-loop-dots-4-24-icon-o :nth-child(1){transform-origin:4px 12px;animation-delay:-.3s;animation-delay:calc(var(--animation-duration)/-2.666)} .nc-loop-dots-4-24-icon-o :nth-child(2){transform-origin:12px 12px;animation-delay:-.15s;animation-delay:calc(var(--animation-duration)/-5.333)} .nc-loop-dots-4-24-icon-o :nth-child(3){transform-origin:20px 12px} @keyframes nc-loop-dots-4-anim{0%,100%{opacity:.4;transform:scale(.75)}50%{opacity:1;transform:scale(1)}}

Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup.

No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

@ e2c72a5a:bfacb2ee

Think crypto is just magic internet money? Think again.

Tokenomics is the secret sauce that makes or breaks a crypto project. It is the study of how tokens are created, distributed, and used within a blockchain ecosystem. Imagine it as the economic policy of a digital nation, dictating everything from supply and demand to user incentives.

Key features include supply caps, distribution models, utility, and burn mechanisms. A well designed token economy incentivizes user behavior, secures the network, and fosters long term growth. Poor tokenomics? It can lead to manipulation and project failure.

Zero Knowledge Proofs are like showing you know a password without revealing the password itself. This tech allows for private and secure transactions, verifying data without exposing the data itself. Think of voting systems where your vote stays secret, or supply chains where product details are confirmed without revealing the supplier.

Want to dive deeper into the economics of crypto? What project has the most interesting tokenomics you have seen?

@ dfa02707:41ca50e3

Headlines

• Spiral renews support for Dan Gould and Joschisan. The organization has renewed support for Dan Gould, who is developing the Payjoin Dev Kit (PDK), and Joschisan, a Fedimint developer focused on simplifying federations.
• Metaplanet buys another 145 BTC. The Tokyo-listed company has purchased an additional 145 BTC for $13.6 million. Their total bitcoin holdings now stand at 5,000 coins, worth around $428.1 million.
• Semler Scientific has increased its bitcoin holdings to 3,303 BTC. The company acquired an additional 111 BTC at an average price of $90,124. The purchase was funded through proceeds from an at-the-market offering and cash reserves, as stated in a press release.
• The Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) Bill 2025 introduced in Kenya. The new legislation aims to establish a comprehensive legal framework for licensing, regulating, and supervising virtual asset service providers (VASPs), with strict penalties for non-compliant entities.
• Russian government to launch a cryptocurrency exchange. The country's Ministry of Finance and Central Bank announced plans to establish a trading platform for "highly qualified investors" that "will legalize crypto assets and bring crypto operations out of the shadows."
• All virtual asset service providers expect to be fully compliant with the Travel Rule by the end of 2025. A survey by financial surveillance specialist Notabene reveals that 90% of virtual asset service providers (VASPs) expect full Travel Rule compliance by mid-2025, with all aiming for compliance by year-end. The survey also shows a significant rise in VASPs blocking withdrawals until beneficiary information is confirmed, increasing from 2.9% in 2024 to 15.4% now. Additionally, about 20% of VASPs return deposits if originator data is missing.
• UN claims Bitcoin mining is a "powerful tool" for money laundering. The Rage's analysis suggests that the recent United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime report on crime in South-East Asia makes little sense and hints at the potential introduction of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) measures at the mining level.
• Riot Platforms has obtained a $100 million credit facility from Coinbase Credit, using bitcoin as collateral for short-term funding to support its expansion. The firm's CEO, Jason Les, stated that this facility is crucial for diversifying financing sources and driving long-term stockholder value through strategic growth initiatives.
• Bitdeer raises $179M in loans and equity amid Bitcoin chip push. The Miner Mag reports that Bitdeer entered into a loan agreement with its affiliate Matrixport for up to $200 million in April, as disclosed in its annual report filed on Monday.
• Federal Reserve retracts guidance discouraging banks from engaging in 'crypto.' The U.S. Federal Reserve withdrew guidance that discouraged banks from crypto and stablecoin activities, as announced by its Board of Governors on Thursday. This includes rescinding a 2022 supervisory letter requiring prior notification of crypto activities and 2023 stablecoin requirements.

"As a result, the Board will no longer expect banks to provide notification and will instead monitor banks' crypto-asset activities through the normal supervisory process," reads the FED statement.

• UAE-based Islamic bank ruya launches Shari’ah-compliant bitcoin investing. The bank has become the world’s first Islamic bank to provide direct access to virtual asset investments, including Bitcoin, via its mobile app, per Bitcoin Magazine.
• U.S. 'crypto' scam losses amounted to $9.3B in 2024. The US The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has reported $9.3 billion losses in cryptocurrency-related scams in 2024, noting a troubling trend of scams targeting older Americans, which accounted for over $2.8 billion of those losses.

Source: FBI.

• North Korean hackers establish fake companies to target 'crypto' developers. Silent Push researchers reported that hackers linked to the Lazarus Group created three shell companies, two of which are based in the U.S., with the objective of spreading malware through deceptive job interview scams aimed at individuals seeking jobs in cryptocurrency companies.
• Citrea deployed its Clementine Bridge on the Bitcoin testnet. The bridge utilizes the BitVM2 programming language to inherit validity from Bitcoin, allegedly providing "the safest and most trust-minimized way to use BTC in decentralized finance."
• Hesperides University offers a Master’s degree in Bitcoin. Bitcoin Magazine reports the launch of the first-ever Spanish-language Master’s program dedicated exclusively to Bitcoin. Starting April 28, 2025, this fully online program will equip professionals with technical, economic, legal, and philosophical skills to excel in the Bitcoin era.
• BTC in D.C. event is set to take place on September 30 - October 1 in Washington, D.C. Learn more about this initiative here.

Use the tools

• Bitcoin Keeper just got a new look. Version 2.2.0 of the mobile multisig app brought a new branding design, along with a Keeper Private tier, testnet support, ability to import and export BIP-329 labels, and the option to use a Server Key with multiple users.
  • Earlier this month the project also announced Keeper Learn service, offering clear and guided Bitcoin learning sessions for both groups and individuals.
• Keeper Desktop v0.2.2, a companion desktop app for Bitcoin Keeper mobile app, received a renewed branding update, too.

The evolution of Bitcoin Keeper logo. Source: BitHyve blog.

• Blockstream Green Desktop v2.0.25 updates GDK to v0.75.1 and fixes amount parsing issues when switching from fiat denomination to Liquid asset.
• Lightning Loop v0.31.0-beta enhances the loop listswaps command by improving the ability to filter the response.
• Lightning-kmp v1.10.0, an implementation of the Lightning Network in Kotlin, is now available.
• LND v0.19.0-beta.rc3, the latest beta release candidate of LND is now ready for testing.
• ZEUS v0.11.0-alpha2 is now available for testing, too. It's nuts.
• JoinMarket Fidelity Bond Simulator helps potential JoinMarket makers evaluate their competitive position in the market based on fidelity bonds.
• UTXOscope is a text-only Bitcoin blockchain analysis tool that visualizes price dynamics using only on-chain data. The

@ e2c72a5a:bfacb2ee

Think proving you're over 21 without showing your ID is impossible? Zero Knowledge Proofs make it real.

Zero Knowledge Proofs let you prove something is true without revealing the information itself. Imagine proving you know a password without saying it. It's like magic, but it's math.

They're used in crypto for private transactions, secure voting, and faster blockchains. Zcash and Aztec use them to hide transaction details. StarkWare uses them to make Ethereum faster.

But here's the twist: zk STARKs don't need a trusted setup, unlike zk SNARKs. This makes them more secure and decentralized.

Misconception alert: ZKPs aren't just for privacy. They also boost scalability and interoperability.

Want to dive deeper into this mind bending tech? What other secrets can ZKPs unlock?

@ dfa02707:41ca50e3

Contribute to keep No Bullshit Bitcoin news going.

News

• Spiral welcomes Ben Carman. The developer will work on the LDK server and a new SDK designed to simplify the onboarding process for new self-custodial Bitcoin users.
• Spiral renews support for Dan Gould and Joschisan. The organization has renewed support for Dan Gould, who is developing the Payjoin Dev Kit (PDK), and Joschisan, a Fedimint developer focused on simplifying federations.
• The Bitcoin Dev Kit Foundation announced new corporate members for 2025, including AnchorWatch, CleanSpark, and Proton Foundation. The annual dues from these corporate members fund the small team of open-source developers responsible for maintaining the core BDK libraries and related free and open-source software (FOSS) projects.
• The European Central Bank is pushing for amendments to the European Union's Markets in Crypto Assets legislation (MiCA), just months after its implementation. According to Politico's report on Tuesday, the ECB is concerned that U.S. support for cryptocurrency, particularly stablecoins, could cause economic harm to the 27-nation bloc.
• Slovenia is considering a 25% capital gains tax on Bitcoin profits for individuals. The Ministry of Finance has proposed legislation to impose this tax on gains from cryptocurrency transactions, though exchanging one cryptocurrency for another would remain exempt. At present, individual 'crypto' traders in Slovenia are not taxed.
• The Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) Bill 2025 introduced in Kenya. The new legislation aims to establish a comprehensive legal framework for licensing, regulating, and supervising virtual asset service providers (VASPs), with strict penalties for non-compliant entities.
• Circle, BitGo, Coinbase, and Paxos plan to apply for U.S. bank charters or licenses. According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, major crypto companies are planning to apply for U.S. bank charters or licenses. These firms are pursuing limited licenses that would permit them to issue stablecoins, as the U.S. Congress deliberates on legislation mandating licensing for stablecoin issuers.

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

• Paul Atkins has officially assumed the role of the 34th Chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This is a return to the agency for Atkins, who previously served as an SEC Commissioner from 2002 to 2008 under the George W. Bush administration. He has committed to advancing the SEC’s mission of fostering capital formation, safeguarding investors, and ensuring fair and efficient markets.
• Federal Reserve retracts guidance discouraging banks from engaging in 'crypto.' The U.S. Federal Reserve withdrew guidance that discouraged banks from crypto and stablecoin activities, as announced by its Board of Governors on Thursday. This includes rescinding a 2022 supervisory letter requiring prior notification of crypto activities and 2023 stablecoin requirements.

"As a result, the Board will no longer expect banks to provide notification and will instead monitor banks' crypto-asset activities through the normal supervisory process," reads the FED statement.

• Russian government to launch a cryptocurrency exchange. The country's Ministry of Finance and Central Bank announced plans to establish a trading platform for "highly qualified investors" that "will legalize crypto assets and bring crypto operations out of the shadows."
• Twenty One Capital is set to launch with over 42,000 BTC in its treasury. This new Bitcoin-native firm, backed by Tether and SoftBank, is planned to go public via a SPAC merger with Cantor Equity Partners and will be led by Jack Mallers, co-founder and CEO of Strike. According to a report by the Financial Times, the company aims to replicate the model of Michael Saylor with his company, MicroStrategy.
• Strategy increases Bitcoin holdings to 538,200 BTC. In the latest purchase, the company has spent more than $555M to buy 6,556 coins through proceeds of two at-the-market stock offering programs.
• Metaplanet buys another 145 BTC. The Tokyo-listed company has purchased an additional 145 BTC for $13.6 million. Their total bitcoin holdings now stand at 5,000 coins, worth around $428.1 million.
• Semler Scientific has increased its bitcoin holdings to 3,303 BTC. The company acquired an additional 111 BTC at an average price of $90,124. The purchase was funded through proceeds from an at-the-market offering and cash reserves, as stated in a press release.
• Tesla still holds nearly $1 billion in bitcoin. According to the automaker's latest earnings report, the firm reported digital asset holdings worth $951 million as of March 31.
• Spar supermarket experiments with Bitcoin payments in Zug, Switzerland. The store has introduced a new payment method powered by the Lightning Network. The implementation was facilitated by DFX Swiss, a service that supports seamless conversions between bitcoin and legacy currencies.

• Charles Schwab to launch spot Bitcoin trading by 2026. The financial investment firm, managing over $10 trillion in assets, has revealed plans to introduce spot Bitcoin trading for its clients within the next year.
• Arch Labs has secured $13 million to develop "ArchVM" and integrate smart-contract functionality with Bitcoin. The funding round, valuing the company at $200 million, was led by Pantera Capital, as announced on Tuesday.
• Citrea deployed its Clementine Bridge on the Bitcoin testnet. The bridge utilizes the BitVM2 programming language to inherit validity from Bitcoin, allegedly providing "the safest and most trust-minimized way to use BTC in decentralized finance."
• UAE-based Islamic bank ruya launches Shari’ah-compliant bitcoin investing. The bank has become the world’s first Islamic bank to provide direct access to virtual asset investments, including Bitcoin, via its mobile app, per Bitcoin Magazine.
• Solosatoshi.com has sold over 10,000 open-source miners, adding more than 10 PH of hashpower to the Bitcoin network.

"Thank you, Bitaxe community. OSMU developers, your brilliance built this. Supporters, your belief drives us. Customers, your trust powers 10,000+ miners and 10PH globally. Together, we’re decentralizing Bitcoin’s future. Last but certainly not least, thank you@skot9000 for not only creating a freedom tool, but instilling the idea into thousands of people, that Bitcoin mining can be for everyone again," said the firm on X.

• OCEAN's DATUM has found 100 blocks. "Over 65% of OCEAN’s miners are using DATUM, and that number is growing every day. This means block template construction is making its way back into the hands of the miners, which is not only the most profitable

@ dfa02707:41ca50e3

Contribute to keep No Bullshit Bitcoin news going.

• "Today we're launching the beta version of our multiplatform Nostr browser! Think Google Chrome but for Nostr apps. The beta is our big first step toward this vision," announced Damus.
• This version comes with the Dave Nostr AI assistant, support for zaps and the Nostr Wallet Connect (NWC) wallet interface, full-text note search, GIFs and fullscreen images, multiple media uploads, user tagging, relay list and mute list support, along with a number of other improvements."

"Included in the beta is the Dave, the Nostr AI assistant (its Grok for Nostr). Dave is a new Notedeck browser app that can search and summarize notes from the network. For a full breakdown of everything new, check out our beta launch video."

What's new

• Dave Nostr AI assistant app.
• GIFs.
• Fulltext note search.
• Add full screen images, add zoom, and pan.
• Zaps! NWC/ Wallet UI.
• Introduce last note per pubkey feed (experimental).
• Allow multiple media uploads per selection.
• Major Android improvements (still WIP).
• Added notedeck app sidebar.
• User Tagging.
• Note truncation.
• Local network note broadcast, broadcast notes to other notedeck notes while you're offline.
• Mute list support (reading).
• Relay list support.
• Ctrl-enter to send notes.
• Added relay indexing (relay columns soon).
• Click hashtags to open hashtag timeline.
• Fixed timelines sometimes not updating (stale feeds).
• Fixed UI bounciness when loading profile pictures
• Fixed unselectable post replies.

Announcement / Archive
GitHub Repo
Website

@ dfa02707:41ca50e3

Contribute to keep No Bullshit Bitcoin news going.

• Wasabi Wallet v2.6.0 "Prometheus" is a major update for the project, focused on resilience and independence from centralized systems.
• Key features include support for BIP 158 block filters for direct node synchronization, a revamped full node integration for easier setup without third-party reliance, SLIP 39 share backups for flexible wallet recovery (sponsored by Trezor), and a Nostr-based update manager for censorship-resistant updates.
• Additional improvements include UI bug fixes, a new fallback for transaction broadcasting, updated code signing, stricter JSON serialization, and options to avoid third-party rate providers, alongside various under-the-hood enhancements.

This new version brings us closer to our ultimate goal: ensuring Wasabi is future-proof," said the developers, while also highlighting the following key areas of focus for the project:

• Ensuring users can always fully and securely use their client.
• Making contribution and forks easy through a codebase of the highest quality possible: understandable, maintainable, and improvable.

"As we achieve our survival goals, expect more cutting-edge improvements in Bitcoin privacy and self-custody. Thank you for the trust you place in us by using Wasabi," was stated in the release notes.

What's new

• Support for Standard BIP 158 Block Filters. Wasabi now syncs using BIP 158 filters without a backend/indexer, connecting directly to a user's node. This boosts sync speed, resilience, and allows full sovereignty without specific server dependency.
• Full Node Integration Rework. The old integration has been replaced with a simpler, more adaptable system. It’s not tied to a specific Bitcoin node fork, doesn’t need the node on the same machine as Wasabi, and requires no changes to the node’s setup.
  • "Simply enable the RPC server on your node and point Wasabi to it," said the developers. This ensures all Bitcoin network activities—like retrieving blocks, fee estimations, block filters, and transaction broadcasting—go through your own node, avoiding reliance on third parties.
• Create & Recover SLIP 39 Shares. Users now create and recover wallets with multiple share backups using SLIP 39 standard.

"Special thanks to Trezor (SatoshiLabs) for sponsoring this amazing feature."

• Nostr Update Manager. This version implements a pioneering system with the Nostr protocol for update information and downloads, replacing reliance on GitHub. This enhances the project's resilience, ensuring updates even if GitHub is unavailable, while still verifying updates with the project's secure certificate.
• Updated Avalonia to v11.2.7, fixes for UI bugs (including restoring Minimize on macOS Sequoia).
• Added a configurable third-party fallback for broadcasting transactions if other methods fail.
• Replaced Windows Code Signing Certificate with Azure Trusted Signing.
• Many bug fixes, improved codebase, and enhanced CI pipeline.
• Added the option to avoid using any third-party Exchange Rate and Fee Rate providers (Wasabi can work without them).
• Rebuilt all JSON Serialization mechanisms avoiding default .NET converters. Serialization is now stricter.

Full Changelog: v2.5.1...v2.6.0

Announcement / Archive
GitHub Repo

@ dfa02707:41ca50e3

News

• Wallet of Satoshi teases a comeback in the US market with a non-custodial product. According to an announcement on X, the widely popular custodial Lightning wallet is preparing to re-enter the United States market with a non-custodial wallet. It is unclear whether the product will be open-source, but the project has clarified that "there will be no KYC on any Wallet of Satoshi, ever!" Wallet of Satoshi ceased serving customers in the United States in November 2023.

• Vulnerability disclosure: Remote crash due to addr message spam in Bitcoin Core versions before v29. Bitcoin Core developer Antoine Poinsot disclosed an integer overflow bug that crashes a node if spammed with addr messages over an extended period. A fix was released on April 14, 2025, in Bitcoin Core v29.0. The issue is rated Low severity.
• Coinbase Know Your Customer (KYC) data leak. The U.S. Department of Justice, including its Criminal Division in Washington, is investigating a cyberattack on Coinbase. The incident involved cybercriminals attempting to extort $20 million from Coinbase to prevent stolen customer data from being leaked online. Although the data breach affected less than 1% of the exchange's users, Coinbase now faces at least six lawsuits following the revelation that some customer support agents were bribed as part of the extortion scheme.
• Fold has launched Bitcoin Gift Cards, enabling users to purchase bitcoin for personal use or as gifts, redeemable via the Fold app. These cards are currently available on Fold’s website and are planned to expand to major retailers nationwide later this year.

"Our mission is to make bitcoin simple and approachable for everyone. The Bitcoin Gift Card brings bitcoin to millions of Americans in a familiar way. Available at the places people already shop, the Bitcoin Gift Card is the best way to gift bitcoin to others," said Will Reeves, Chairman and CEO of Fold.

• Corporate treasuries hold nearly 1.1 million BTC, representing about 5.5% of the total circulating supply (1,082,164 BTC), per BitcoinTreasuries.net data. Recent purchases include Strategy adding 7,390 BTC (total: 576,230 BTC), Metplanet acquiring 1,004 BTC (total: 7,800 BTC), Tether holding over 100,521 BTC, and XXI Capital, led by Jack Mallers, starting with 31,500 BTC.
  • Meanwhile, a group of investors has filed a class action lawsuit against Strategy and its executive Michael Saylor. The lawsuit alleges that Strategy made overly optimistic projections using fair value accounting under new FASB rules while downplaying potential losses.
• The U.S. Senate voted to advance the GENIUS stablecoin bill for further debate before a final vote to pass it. Meanwhile, the House is crafting its own stablecoin legislation to establish a regulatory framework for stablecoins and their issuers in the U.S, reports CoinDesk.
• French 'crypto' entrepreneurs get priority access to emergency police services. French Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, agreed on measures to enhance security for 'crypto' professionals during a meeting on Friday. This follows a failed kidnapping attempt on Tuesday targeting the family of a cryptocurrency exchange CEO, and two other kidnappings earlier this year.
• Brussels Court declares tracking-based ads illegal in EU. The Brussels Court of Appeal ruled tracking-based online ads illegal in the EU due to an inadequate consent model. Major tech firms like Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and X are affected by the decision, as their consent pop-ups fail to protect privacy in real-time bidding, writes The Record.
• Telegram shares data on 22,777 users in Q1 2025, a significant increase from the 5,826 users' data shared during the same period in 2024. This significant increase follows the arrest of CEO and founder Pavel Durov last year.
• An Australian judge has ruled that Bitcoin is money, potentially exempting it from capital gains tax in the country. If upheld on appeal, this interim decision could lead to taxpayer refunds worth up to $1 billion, per tax lawyer Adrian Cartland.

Use the tools

• Bitcoin Safe v1.3.0 a secure and user-friendly Bitcoin savings wallet for beginners and advanced users, introduces an interactive chart, Child Pays For Parent (CPFP) support, testnet4 compatibility, preconfigured testnet demo wallets, various bug fixes, and other improvements.
• BlueWallet v7.1.8 brings numerous bug fixes, dependency updates, and a new search feature for addresses and transactions.
• Aqua Wallet v0.3.0 is out, offering beta testing for the reloadable Dolphin card (in partnership with Visa) for spending bitcoin and Liquid BTC. It also includes a new Optical Character Recognition (OCR) text scanner to read text addresses like QR codes, colored numbers on addresses for better readability, a reduced minimum for spending and swapping Liquid Bitcoin to 100 sats, plus other fixes and enhancements.

Source: Aqua wallet.

• The latest firmware updates for COLDCARD Mk4 v5.4.3 and Q v1.3.3 are now available, featuring the latest enhancements and bug fixes.
• Nunchuk Android v1.9.68.1 and iOS v1.9.79 introduce support for custom blockchain explorers, wallet archiving, re-ordering wallets on the home screen via long-press, and an anti-fee sniping setting.
• BDK-cli v1.0.0, a CLI wallet library and REPL tool to demo and test the BDK library, now uses bdk_wallet 1.0.0 and integrates Kyoto, utilizing the Kyoto protocol for compact block filters. It sets SQLite as the default database and discontinues support for sled.
• publsp is a new command-line tool designed for Lightning node runners or Lightning Service Providers (LSPs) to advertise liquidity offers over Nostr.

"LSPs advertise liquidity as addressable Kind 39735 events. Clients just pull and evaluate all those structured events, then NIP-17 DM an LSP of their choice to coordinate a liquidity purchase," writes developer smallworlnd.

• Lightning Blinder by Super Testnet is a proof-of-concept privacy tool for the Lightning Network. It enables users to mislead Lightning Service Providers (LSPs) by making it appear as though one wallet is the sender or recipient, masking the original wallet. Explore and try it out here.

• Mempal v1.5.3, a Bitcoin mempool monitoring and notification app for Android, now includes a swipe-down feature to refresh the dashboard, a custom time option for widget auto-update frequency, and a

@ b1ddb4d7:471244e7

“Not your keys, not your coins” isn’t a slogan—it’s a survival mantra in the age of digital sovereignty.

The seismic collapses of Mt. Gox (2014) and FTX (2022) weren’t anomalies; they were wake-up calls. When $8.7 billion in customer funds vanished with FTX, it exposed the fatal flaw of third-party custody: your bitcoin is only as secure as your custodian’s weakest link.

Yet today, As of early 2025, analysts estimate that between 2.3 million and 3.7 million Bitcoins are permanently lost, representing approximately 11–18% of bitcoin’s fixed maximum supply of 21 million coins, with some reports suggesting losses as high as 4 million BTC. This paradox reveals a critical truth: self-custody isn’t just preferable—it’s essential—but it must be done right.

The Custody Spectrum

Custodial Wallets (The Illusion of Control)

• Rehypothecation Risk: Most platforms lend your bitcoin for yield generation. When Celsius collapsed, users discovered their “held” bitcoin was loaned out in risky strategies.
• Account Freezes: Regulatory actions can lock withdrawals overnight. In 2023, Binance suspended dollar withdrawals for U.S. users citing “partner bank issues,” trapping funds for weeks.
• Data Vulnerability: KYC requirements create honeypots for hackers. The 2024 Ledger breach exposed 270,000 users’ personal data despite hardware security.

True Self-Custody
Self-custody means exclusively controlling your private keys—the cryptographic strings that prove bitcoin ownership. Unlike banks or exchanges, self-custody eliminates:

• Counterparty risk (no FTX-style implosions)
• Censorship (no blocked transactions)
• Inflationary theft (no fractional reserve lending)

Conquering the Three Great Fears of Self-Custody

Fear 1: “I’ll Lose Everything If I Make a Mistake”

Reality: Human error is manageable with robust systems:

• Test Transactions: Always send a micro-amount (0.00001 BTC) before large transfers. Verify receipt AND ability to send back.
• Multi-Backup Protocol: Store seed phrases on fireproof/waterproof steel plates (not paper!). Distribute copies geographically—one in a home safe, another with trusted family 100+ miles away.
• SLIP39 Sharding: Split your seed into fragments requiring 3-of-5 shards to reconstruct. No single point of failure.

Fear 2: “Hackers Will Steal My Keys”

Reality: Offline storage defeats remote attacks:

• Hardware Wallets: Devices like Bitkey or Ledger keep keys in “cold storage”—isolated from internet-connected devices. Transactions require physical confirmation.
• Multisig Vaults: Bitvault’s multi-sig system requires attackers compromise multiple locations/devices simultaneously. Even losing two keys won’t forfeit funds.
• Air-Gapped Verification: Use dedicated offline devices for wallet setup. Never type seeds on internet-connected machines.

Fear 3: “My Family Can’t Access It If I Die”

Reality: Inheritance is solvable:

• Dead Man Switches: Bitwarden’s emergency access allows trusted contacts to retrieve encrypted keys after a pre-set waiting period (e.g., 30 days).
• Inheritance Protocols: Bitkey’s inheritance solution shares decryption keys via designated beneficiaries’ emails. Requires multiple approvals to prevent abuse.
• Public Key Registries: Share wallet XPUBs (not private keys!) with heirs. They can monitor balances but not spend, ensuring transparency without risk.

The Freedom Dividend

1. Censorship Resistance: Send $10M BTC to a Wikileaks wallet without Visa/Mastercard blocking it.
2. Privacy Preservation: Avoid KYC surveillance—non-custodial wallets like Flash require zero ID verification.
3. Protocol Access: Participate in bitcoin-native innovations (Lightning Network, DLCs) only possible with self-custodied keys.
4. Black Swan Immunity: When Cyprus-style bank bailins happen, your bitcoin remains untouched in your vault.

The Sovereign’s Checklist

1. Withdraw from Exchanges: Move all BTC > $1,000 to self-custody immediately.
2. Buy Hardware Wallet: Purchase DIRECTLY from manufacturer (no Amazon!) to avoid supply-chain tampering.
3. Generate Seed OFFLINE: Use air-gapped device, write phrase on steel—never digitally.
4. Test Recovery: Delete wallet, restore from seed before funding.
5. Implement Multisig: For > $75k, use Bitvault for 2-of-3 multi-sig setup.
6. Create Inheritance Plan: Share XPUBs/SLIP39 shards with heirs + legal documents.

“Self-custody isn’t about avoiding risk—it’s about transferring risk from opaque institutions to transparent, controllable systems you design.”

The Inevitable Evolution: Custody Without Compromise

Emerging solutions are erasing old tradeoffs:

• MPC Wallets: Services like Xapo Bank shatter keys into encrypted fragments distributed globally. No single device holds full keys, defeating physical theft.
• Social Recovery: Ethically designed networks (e.g., Bitkey) let trusted contacts restore access without custodial control.
• Biometric Assurance: Fingerprint reset protocols prevent lockouts from physical injuries.

Lost keys = lost bitcoin. But consider the alternative: entrusting your life savings to entities with proven 8% annual failure rates among exchanges. Self-custody shifts responsibility from hoping institutions won’t fail to knowing your system can’t fail without your consent.

Take action today: Move one coin. Test one recovery. Share one xpub. The path to unchained wealth begins with a single satoshi under your control.

@ 2e8970de:63345c7a

https://x.com/jburnmurdoch/status/1930203297396249067

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/1lp1dwzx608xdu8jfpkqk/FT_GENDER_DIVIDE_SXSW.pptx?rlkey=9gcwvn77zss3k5l5vgiquennl&e=1&st=apgyr3ug&dl=0

https://stacker.news/items/998014

@ dfa02707:41ca50e3

Contribute to keep No Bullshit Bitcoin news going.

• This release introduces Payjoin v2 functionality to Bitcoin wallets on Cake, along with several UI/UX improvements and bug fixes.
• The Payjoin v2 protocol enables asynchronous, serverless coordination between sender and receiver, removing the need to be online simultaneously or maintain a server. This simplifies privacy-focused transactions for regular users.

"I cannot speak highly enough of how amazing it has been to work with @bitgould and Jaad from the@payjoindevkit team, they're doing incredible work. None of this would be possible without them and their tireless efforts. PDK made it so much easier to ship Payjoin v2 than it would have been otherwise, and I can't wait to see other wallets jump in and give back to PDK as they implement it like we did," said Seth For Privacy, VP at Cake Wallet.

How to started with Payjoin in Cake Wallet:

1. Open the app menu sidebar and click Privacy.
2. Toggle the Use Payjoin option.
3. Now on your receive screen you'll see an option to copy a Payjoin URL

• Bull Bitcoin Wallet v0.4.0 introduced Payjoin v2 support in late December 2024. However, the current implementations are not interoperable at the moment, an issue that should be addressed in the next release of the Bull Bitcoin Wallet.

• Cake Wallet was one of the first wallets to introduce Silent Payments back in May 2024. However, users may encounter sync issues while using this feature at present, which will be resolved in the next release of Cake Wallet.

What's new

• Payjoin v2 implementation.
• Wallet group improvements: Enhanced management of multiple wallets.
• Various bug fixes: improving overall stability and user experience.
• Monero (XMR) enhancements.

Learn more about using, implementing, and understanding BIP 77: Payjoin Version 2 using the payjoin crate in Payjoin Dev Kit here.

Announcement
Blog Post / Archive
GitHub Repo

@ 8bad92c3:ca714aa5

Key Takeaways

In this episode of TFTC, energy economist Anas Alhajji outlines a profound shift in U.S. foreign policy under Trump—away from military intervention and toward transactional diplomacy focused on trade, reconstruction, and curbing Chinese and Russian influence in the Middle East. He highlights Trump’s quiet outreach to Syria as emblematic of the U.S.'s strategic flexibility in legitimizing former adversaries when economically beneficial. Alhajji dismisses BRICS as a fractured bloc incapable of rivaling the U.S.-led order and insists the dollar and petrodollar remain dominant. On energy, he warns that despite favorable fundamentals, prices are suppressed by political confusion, underinvestment, and an aging power grid ill-prepared for the AI and urbanization boom. He also contends that Iran is stalling negotiations to buy time for nuclear advancement and that any deal will be superficial. Finally, Alhajji debunks the myth of Trump being pro-oil, noting his long-standing hostility toward the industry and explaining why a repeat of his past energy boom is implausible given today’s financial and structural constraints.

Best Quotes

• “BRICS is a paper tiger. Everything about BRICS is what China does—and that’s it.”
• “The dollar is here to stay. The petrodollar is here to stay. End of story.”
• “Trump hates the oil industry. He always classified it as an enemy.”
• “Energy projects are 30- to 40-year investments, but politicians think in 4-year cycles. That’s where the disconnect lies.”
• “People think shale will boom again. It won’t. The model changed from ‘drill baby drill’ to ‘control baby control.’”
• “The real story of Trump’s trip wasn’t about politics—it was investment, investment, investment.”
• “Without massive investment in the grid and gas turbines, blackouts will become the norm—even in rich countries like Kuwait.”
• “Iran and China have perfected the game of oil exports. Sanctions are just theater at this point.”

Conclusion

Anas Alhajji’s conclusion challenges conventional narratives, arguing that global power is shifting from military dominance to economic leverage, infrastructure investment, and energy control. He presents a nuanced view of U.S. foreign policy under Trump, emphasizing the strategic importance of trade and reconstruction over regime change. As energy demand soars and geopolitical risks mount, Alhajji warns that the real dangers lie not in foreign adversaries, but in policy confusion, infrastructural lag, and complacency—making this episode a crucial listen for anyone seeking to understand the high-stakes intersection of energy, economics, and diplomacy.

Timestamps

0:00 - Intro
0:48 - Syria and US diplomacy in Middle East
12:50 - Trump in the Middle East
18:12 - Fold & Bitkey
19:48 - Iran - Nuclear program and PR
33:53 - Unchained
34:22 - Crude markets, trade war and US debt
54:28 - Trump's energy stance
1:05:46 - Energy sector challanges
1:14:44 - Policy recommendations
1:21:18 - AI and bitcoin

Transcript

(00:00) oil prices market fundamentals support higher price than where we are today. But because of this confusion, everyone is scared of low economic growth and that is a serious problem. The US media ignored part of Trump's speech when he said we are not about nation building and they refer to Afghanistan and Iraq.
(00:15) Look at them. This is a criticism of George W. Bush. We have groups that are talking about the demise of the dollar, the rise of bricks. Bricks is a paper tiger. Everything about bricks is what China does and that's it. The dollar is here to stay and the petro dollar is here to stay.
(00:31) The perception is that the Trump administration is cold but the reality Trump hates the oil [Music] indust. How are you? Very good. Very good. Thank you. As you were telling me, you've been a bit sleepd deprived this week trying to keep up with what's going on. Oh, absolutely. I mean, Trump keeps us on our toes uh all the time.
(01:06) In fact, I plan certain things for the weekend and Trump will say something or he will do something and all of a sudden we get busy again. Uh so clients are not going to wait for you until you finish your work. Basically, they want to know what's going on. So what is going on? What what how profound were the events in the Middle East? These are very uh very profound changes basically because it is very clear that if you look at the last 15 years uh and you look at the growth uh in the Middle East, you look at the growth of Saudi Arabia and uh the
(01:41) role of Turkey for example in the region uh it just just amazing be beyond any uh any thoughts. Uh in fact both of them Turkey and Saudi Arabia are part of the G20. Uh so they have economic influence and they have political influence. And of course the icing on the cake for those who are familiar with the region is to recognize the Syrian government and meet with the Syrian uh president.
(02:11) Uh this is a major a major change in economics and politics uh of the Middle East. Let's touch on that Syria uh topic for a while because I think a lot of people here in the United States were a bit shocked at how sort of welcoming President Trump was towards the new Syrian president considering the fact that uh he was considered an enemy not too long ago here in the United States.
(02:42) What first of all it's a fact of life for those who would like to check the history of politics. There were many people around the world who were classified or they were on the terrorism list and then they became friends of the United States or they were became heroes. I mean Nelson Mandela is one of them. You look at Latin America, there are presidents in Latin America who were uh the enemy of the United States and then they became uh uh cooperative with the United States and the United States recognized their governments and the result of their uh elections. Uh so
(03:15) we've seen this historically uh several uh several times around the world and as they say freedom fighters for some basically are the enemies and the terrorists for for others etc. So uh what we've seen that's why the the visit is very important that the recognition of this government is very important. uh the fact on the ground that uh the president of Syria had the power on the ground uh he had the the the people on the ground and he had the control on the ground and whatever he's been he's been doing since he came into power until now
(03:52) he done all the right steps u and people loved him I mean everyone who went to Syria whether the Syrians who left Syria 40 years ago or uh the visitors who are coming to Syria, they will tell you, "We have never seen the Syrian people as happy as we've seen them today, despite the fact that they they live in misery.
(04:17) They don't have um 8 million people without housing. Uh there is barely any electricity in most of the country. There is no internet. There is barely any food. The uh inflation is rampant, etc. But people are happy because they lived in fear for a very long time. And uh the steps they have taken. For example, the uh ministers in the previous government uh are still there and they are still in the housing of the government.
(04:49) They still have the drivers. They still have the cars from the previous government. They still have it until today. So uh they they were classified as enemies before. But all of a sudden now you have a new government that is uh accepting them. Uh so we we see some changes on the ground that are positive and we'll see how these things will go given that the area around them basically has been unstable for a very long time.
(05:17) how because I don't the the news when I was actually it was surreal for me because my first trip to the Middle East was last December when it was literally f flying over Syria to Abu Dhabi when uh um Assad was getting thrown out and it was pretty surreal to be in that region of the world.
(05:43) How as it pertains to like religious minorities within Syria moving forward is there protractions protections there? Um well let me just uh I want to emphasize one point that is very important. What did the interest of Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the United States in Syria if remember Syria was controlled by Iran and was controlled by the Russians.
(06:09) So in a sense it becomes uh kind of an imperative that taking it away from Iran and Russia and not bringing Iran or Russia back is extremely important. Now the Russians are still there and they have their own base but at least they are not bombing the Syrians and not killing them anymore. But the idea here is taking Syria out of Iran and Russia and probably later on if they kick the Russians out, Russians will not have access to the Mediterranean.
(06:37) Uh so there is an interest uh of all parties basically to take Russia out of Iran and um out of uh Syria regardless the country is uh devastated and it creates massive opportunities for US companies on all levels and uh we've seen a contract uh done recently with you mentioned Abu Dhabi uh uh a contract uh uh with the UA a basically to revamp all the Syrian ports and work on the Syrian ports.
(07:13) Uh so such contracts basically uh when you have a country that has nothing and it's completely devastated the whole infrastructure is devastated. Who is going to build it? If the uh what the Chinese, the Russians, so who who are going to build it? So, uh I think there is a a big room for US companies and others basically to come in and uh literally help on one side and make money on the other.
(07:38) Yeah, I think that that's what I'm trying to discern. What was this convoy from the United States to the Middle East this week signali

@ 7f6db517:a4931eda

Bank run on every crypto bank then bank run on every "real" bank.

— ODELL (@ODELL) December 14, 2022

Good morning.

It looks like PacWest will fail today. It will be both the fifth largest bank failure in US history and the sixth major bank to fail this year. It will likely get purchased by one of the big four banks in a government orchestrated sale.  

March 8th - Silvergate Bank
March 10th - Silicon Valley Bank
March 12th - Signature Bank
March 19th - Credit Suisse
May 1st - First Republic Bank
May 4th - PacWest Bank?

PacWest is the first of many small regional banks that will go under this year. Most will get bought by the big four in gov orchestrated sales. This has been the playbook since 2008. Follow the incentives. Massive consolidation across the banking industry. PacWest gonna be a drop in the bucket compared to what comes next.

First, a hastened government led bank consolidation, then a public/private partnership with the remaining large banks to launch a surveilled and controlled digital currency network. We will be told it is more convenient. We will be told it is safer. We will be told it will prevent future bank runs. All of that is marketing bullshit. The goal is greater control of money. The ability to choose how we spend it and how we save it. If you control the money - you control the people that use it.

---

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

@ 9ca447d2:fbf5a36d

Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), the company behind Truth Social and other Trump-branded digital platforms, is planning to raise $2.5 billion to build one of the largest bitcoin treasuries among public companies.

The deal involves the sale of approximately $1.5 billion in common stock and $1.0 billion in convertible senior secured notes.

According to the company, the offering is expected to close by the end of May, pending standard closing conditions.

Devin Nunes, CEO of Trump Media, said the investment in bitcoin is a big part of the company’s long-term plan.

“We view Bitcoin as an apex instrument of financial freedom,” Nunes said.

“This investment will help defend our Company against harassment and discrimination by financial institutions, which plague many Americans and U.S. firms.”

He added that the bitcoin treasury will be used to create new synergies across the company’s platforms including Truth Social, Truth+, and the upcoming financial tech brand Truth.Fi.

“It’s a big step forward in the company’s plans to evolve into a holding company by acquiring additional profit-generating, crown jewel assets consistent with America First principles,” Nunes said.

The $2.5 billion raise will come from about 50 institutional investors. The $1 billion in convertible notes will have 0% interest and be convertible into shares at a 35% premium.

TMTG’s current liquid assets, including cash and short-term investments, are $759 million as of the end of the first quarter of 2025. With this new funding, the company’s liquid assets will be over $3 billion.

Custody of the bitcoin treasury will be handled by Crypto.com and Anchorage Digital. They will manage and store the digital assets.

Earlier this week The Financial Times reported Trump Media was planning to raise $3 billion for digital assets acquisitions.

The article said the funds would be used to buy bitcoin and other digital assets, and an announcement could come before a major related event in Las Vegas.

Related: Bitcoin 2025 Conference Kicks off in Las Vegas Today

Trump Media denied the FT report. In a statement, the company said, “Apparently the Financial Times has dumb writers listening to even dumber sources.”

There was no further comment. However, the official $2.5 billion figure, which was announced shortly after by Trump Media through a press release, aligns with its actual filing and investor communication.

Trump Media’s official announcement

This comes at a time when the Trump family and political allies are showing renewed interest in Bitcoin.

President Donald Trump who is now back in office since the 2025 election, has said he wants to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the world.”

Trump Media is also working on retail bitcoin investment products including ETFs aligned with America First policies.

These products will make bitcoin more accessible to retail investors and support pro-Trump financial initiatives.

But not everyone is happy.

Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren recently expressed concerns about Trump Media’s Bitcoin plans. She asked U.S. regulators to clarify their oversight of digital-asset ETFs, warning of investor risk.

Industry insiders are comparing Trump Media’s plans to Strategy (MSTR) which has built a multi-billion dollar bitcoin treasury over the last year. They used stock and bond sales to fund their bitcoin purchases.

@ 7f6db517:a4931eda

Nostr is an open communication protocol that can be used to send messages across a distributed set of relays in a censorship resistant and robust way.

---

If you missed my nostr introduction post you can find it here. My nostr account can be found here.

---

We are nearly at the point that if something interesting is posted on a centralized social platform it will usually be posted by someone to nostr.

We are nearly at the point that if something interesting is posted exclusively to nostr it is cross posted by someone to various centralized social platforms.

We are nearly at the point that you can recommend a cross platform app that users can install and easily onboard without additional guides or resources.

As companies continue to build walls around their centralized platforms nostr posts will be the easiest to cross reference and verify - as companies continue to censor their users nostr is the best censorship resistant alternative - gradually then suddenly nostr will become the standard. 🫡

Current Nostr Stats

---

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

@ b1ddb4d7:471244e7

When Sergei talks about bitcoin, he doesn’t sound like someone chasing profits or followers. He sounds like someone about to build a monastery in the ruins.

While the mainstream world chases headlines and hype, Sergei shows up in local meetups from Sacramento to Cleveland, mentors curious minds, and shares what he knows is true – hoping that, with the right spark, someone will light their own way forward.

We interviewed Sergei to trace his steps: where he started, what keeps him going, and why teaching bitcoin is far more than explaining how to set up a node – it’s about reaching the right minds before the noise consumes them. So we began where most journeys start: at the beginning.

First Steps

• So, where did it all begin for you and what made you stay curious?

I first heard about bitcoin from a friend’s book recommendation, American Kingpin, the book about Silk Road (online drug marketplace). He is still not a true bitcoiner, although I helped him secure private keys with some bitcoin.

I was really busy at the time – focused on my school curriculum, running a 7-bedroom Airbnb, and working for a standardized test prep company. Bitcoin seemed too technical for me to explore, and the pace of my work left no time for it.

After graduating, while pursuing more training, I started playing around with stocks and maximizing my savings. Passive income seemed like the path to early retirement, as per the promise of the FIRE movement (Financial Independence, Retire Early). I mostly followed the mainstream news and my mentor’s advice – he liked preferred stocks at the time.

I had some Coinbase IOUs and remember sending bitcoin within the Coinbase ledger to a couple friends. I also recall the 2018 crash; I actually saw the legendary price spike live but couldn’t benefit because my funds were stuck amidst the frenzy. I withdrew from that investment completely for some time. Thankfully, my mentor advised to keep en eye on bitcoin.

Around late 2019, I started DCA-ing cautiously. Additionally, my friend and I were discussing famous billionaires, and how there was no curriculum for becoming a billionaire. So, I typed “billionaires” into my podcast app, and landed on We Study Billionaires podcast.

That’s where I kept hearing Preston Pysh mention bitcoin, before splitting into his own podcast series, Bitcoin Fundamentals. I didn’t understand most of the terminology of stocks, bonds, etc, yet I kept listening and trying to absorb it thru repetition. Today, I realize all that financial talk was mostly noise.

When people ask me for a technical explanation of fiat, I say: it’s all made up, just like the fiat price of bitcoin! Starting in 2020, during the so-called pandemic, I dove deeper. I religiously read Bitcoin Magazine, scrolled thru Bitcoin Twitter, and joined Simply Bitcoin Telegram group back when DarthCoin was an admin.

DarthCoin was my favorite bitcoiner – experienced, knowledgeable, and unapologetic. Watching him shift from rage to kindness, from passion to despair, gave me a glimpse at what a true educator’s journey would look like.

The struggle isn’t about adoption at scale anymore. It’s about reaching the few who are willing to study, take risks, and stay out of fiat traps. The vast majority won’t follow that example – not yet at least… if I start telling others the requirements for true freedom and prosperity, they would certainly say “Hell no!”

• At what point did you start teaching others, and why?

After college, I helped teach at a standardized test preparation company, and mentored some students one-on-one. I even tried working at a kindergarten briefly, but left quickly; Babysitting is not teaching.

What I discovered is that those who will succeed don’t really need my help – they would succeed with or without me, because they already have the inner drive.

Once you realize your people are perishing for lack of knowledge, the only rational thing to do is help raise their level of knowledge and understanding. That’s the Great Work.

I sometimes imagine myself as a political prisoner. If that were to happen, I’d probably start teaching fellow prisoners, doctors, janitors, even guards. In a way we already live in an open-air prison, So what else is there to do but teach, organize, and conspire to dismantle the Matrix?

Building on Bitcoin

• You hosted some in-person meetups in Sacramento. What did you learn from those?

My first presentation was on MultiSig storage with SeedSigner, and submarine swaps through Boltz.exchange.

I realized quickly that I had overestimated the group’s technical background. Even the meetup organizer, a financial advisor, asked, “How is anyone supposed to follow these steps?” I responded that reading was required… He decided that Unchained is an easier way.

At a crypto meetup, I gave a much simpler talk, outlining how bitcoin will save the world, based on a DarthCoin’s guide. Only one person stuck around to ask questions – a man who seemed a little out there, and did not really seem to get the message beyond the strength of cryptographic security of bitcoin.

Again, I overestimated the audience’s readiness. That forced me to rethink my strategy. People are extremely early and reluctant to study.

• Now in Ohio, you hold sessions via the Orange Pill App. What’s changed?

My new motto is: educate the educators. The corollary is: don’t orange-pill stupid normies (as DarthCoin puts it).

I’ve shifted to small, technical sessions in order to raise a few solid guardians of this esoteric knowledge who really get it and can carry it forward.

The youngest attendee at one of my sessions is a newborn baby – he mostly sleeps, but maybe he still absorbs some of the educational vibes.

• How do local groups like Sactown and Cleveland Bitcoiners influence your work?

Every meetup reflects its local culture. Sacramento and Bay Area Bitcoiners, for example, do camping trips – once we camped through a desert storm, shielding our burgers from sand while others went to shoot guns.

Cleveland Bitcoiners are different. They amass large gatherings. They recently threw a 100k party. They do a bit more community outreach. Some are curious about the esoteric topics such as jurisdiction, spirituality, and healthful living.

I have no permanent allegiance to any state, race, or group. I go where I can teach and learn. I anticipate that in my next phase, I’ll meet Bitcoiners so advanced that I’ll have to give up my fiat job and focus full-time on serious projects where real health and wealth are on the line.

Hopefully, I’ll be ready. I believe the universe always challenges you exactly to your limit – no less, no more.

• What do people struggle with the most when it comes to technical education?

The biggest struggle isn’t technical – it’s a lack of deep curiosity. People ask “how” and “what” – how do I set up a node, what should one do with the lightning channels? But very few ask “why?”

Why does on-chain bitcoin not contribute to the circular economy? Why is it essential to run Lightning? Why did humanity fall into mental enslavement in the first place?

I’d rather teach two-year-olds who constantly ask “why” than adults who ask how to flip a profit. What worries me most is that most two-year-olds will grow up asking state-funded AI bots for answers and live according to its recommendations.

• One Cleveland Bitcoiner shows up at gold bug meetups. How valuable is face-to-face education?

I don’t think the older generation is going to reverse the current human condition. Most of them have been under mind control for too long, and they just don’t have the attention span to study and change their ways.

They’re better off stacking gold and helping fund their grandkids’ education. If I were to focus on a demographic, I’d go for teenagers – high school age – because by college, the indoctrination is usually too strong, and they’re chasing fiat mastery.

As for the gold bug meetup? Perhaps one day I will show up with a ukulele to sing some bitcoin-themed songs. Seniors love such entertainment.

• How do you choose what to focus on in your sessions, especially for different types of learners?

I don’t come in with a rigid agenda. I’ve collected a massive library of resources over the years and never stopped reading. My browser tab and folder count are exploding.

At the meetup, people share questions or topics they’re curious about, then I take that home, do my homework, and bring back a session based on those themes. I give them the key takeaways, plus where to dive deeper.

Most people won’t – or can’t – study the way I do, and I expect attendees to put in the work. I suspect that it’s more important to reach those who want to learn but don’t know how, the so-called nescient (not knowing), rather than the ignorant.

There are way too many ignorant bitcoiners, so my mission is to find those who are curious what’s beyond the facade of fake reality and superficial promises.

That naturally means that fewer people show up, and that’s fine. I’m not here for the crowds; I’m here to educate the educators. One bitcoiner who came decided to branch off into self-custody sessions and that’s awesome. Personally, I’m much more focused on Lightning.

I want to see broader adoption of tools like auth, sign-message, NWC, and LSPs. Next month, I’m going deep into eCash solutions, because let’s face it – most newcomers won’t be able to afford their own UTXO or open a lightning channel; additionally, it has to be fun and easy for them to transact sats, otherwise they won’t do it. Additionally, they’ll need to rely on

@ b1ddb4d7:471244e7

It’s 3 AM, and you’re staring at your phone screen, watching bitcoin’s price fluctuate by thousands of dollars in real-time. Your heart races as you see green candles shooting upward, and suddenly you’re questioning every financial decision you’ve ever made. Should you buy? Should you sell? Are you already too late to the party?

Welcome to the wild psychological rollercoaster that is bitcoin investing, where emotions often override logic, and where the ancient human drives of fear and greed play out on digital exchanges 24/7.

Community Driven by Emotion

Recent research reveals just how deeply psychology permeates the bitcoin ecosystem. According to a comprehensive 2024 survey by Kraken, 84% of digital currency holders have made investment decisions based on FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), while 81% admitted to making choices driven by FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt). Perhaps most telling of all: 63% of holders acknowledged that emotional decisions have significantly damaged their portfolios.

With over 560 million digital currency users worldwide as of 2024, and bitcoin maintaining its position as the flagship digital asset, these psychological patterns affect hundreds of millions of investors globally. In the United States alone, approximately 36 million adults own bitcoin, making this psychological phenomenon a mainstream financial reality.

The FOMO Factor: When Missing Out Becomes an Obsession

FOMO in bitcoin isn’t just about missing a quick profit—it’s about missing what many believers see as a once-in-a-generation wealth transfer. The Kraken study found that 60% of bitcoin holders fear missing a significant price surge more than they fear missing a buying opportunity during dips. This reveals a fascinating bias: investors are more concerned with unrealized gains from assets they already own than with strategic accumulation during downturns.

This psychological quirk explains why bitcoin often experiences explosive rallies followed by sharp corrections. When FOMO kicks in, rational decision-making goes out the window. Investors chase green candles, buying at peaks instead of strategically accumulating during valleys. The irony? This behavior often ensures they miss the very opportunities they’re trying to catch.

Consider bitcoin’s journey past $100,000 in late 2024. As the price breached this psychological barrier, social media exploded with FOMO-driven content, creating a feedback loop where seeing others’ gains intensified the fear of being left behind. Yet historically, many of these late-stage buyers found themselves underwater when inevitable corrections followed.

The Fear and Greed Index

Bitcoin’s psychological state is so influential that it has its own emotional barometer: the Crypto Fear and Greed Index. This fascinating tool measures market sentiment on a scale from 0 (Extreme Fear) to 100 (Extreme Greed), incorporating factors like volatility, trading volume, social media sentiment, market dominance, and Google search trends.

The index reveals a counterintuitive truth: the best buying opportunities often occur during periods of “Extreme Fear,” while “Extreme Greed” frequently signals market tops. Yet human psychology drives us to do the opposite—buying when everyone’s greedy and selling when fear dominates.

This emotional inversion creates what researchers call “behavioral arbitrage”—opportunities for those who can master their psychology to profit from others’ emotional mistakes. The index serves as a mirror, reflecting our collective psychological state and often predicting market movements with surprising accuracy.

The HODL Culture

Perhaps nowhere is bitcoin’s unique psychology more evident than in its “HODL” culture. What began as a misspelled “hold” has evolved into a sophisticated psychological framework that shapes market dynamics in ways traditional finance has never seen.

Research into Bitcoin’s HODL phenomenon reveals that volatility actually strengthens conviction rather than weakening it. Unlike traditional investors who might panic-sell during 30-50% corrections, bitcoin holders often view these drops as validation of their long-term thesis rather than reasons to exit.

This creates a unique market structure where the supply of available bitcoin for trading continuously shrinks. Long-term holders remove coins from circulation, creating artificial scarcity that amplifies price movements in both directions. It’s not just code that makes bitcoin scarce—it’s psychology.

The HODL mentality represents a form of collective resistance to short-term market dynamics. Holders refuse to participate in what they see as irrational price discovery, instead betting on long-term adoption and monetary debasement. This isn’t passive investing; it’s active rebellion against traditional financial thinking.

Social Media: The Amplifier of Emotions

The role of social media in bitcoin psychology cannot be overstated. The Kraken study found a strong correlation between social media usage and FOMO-driven decisions: 85% of investors who rely on social media for investment information reported that emotional decisions had negatively impacted their portfolios.

Platforms like Twitter (now X), Reddit, and Discord function as emotional echo chambers where bullish sentiment gets amplified during rallies and bearish fears spread like wildfire during corrections. Memes become market-moving forces, and influential personalities can trigger massive buying or selling waves with single tweets.

This creates a fascinating paradox: the democratization of financial information through social media empowers individual investors, but it also makes them more susceptible to emotional manipulation and herd mentality. The speed and scale of information flow intensify psychological responses, compressing emotional cycles that might have taken weeks in traditional markets into mere hours or minutes.

The Gender and Age Divide in Bitcoin Psychology

Fascinating demographic patterns emerge when examining bitcoin’s psychological landscape. The Kraken research revealed significant gender differences in emotional investing: 66% of male bitcoin holders frequently made FOMO-driven decisions, compared to only 42% of female holders. Similarly, 83% of men reported FUD-influenced decisions versus 75% of women.

Age also plays a crucial role. Investors aged 45-60 showed the most extreme psychological patterns: 78% felt they had missed bitcoin’s biggest gains, yet 75% remained optimistic about future opportunities. This suggests that FOMO and hope can coexist, creating a complex emotional state that drives continued participation despite feelings of regret.

These demographic differences highlight how personal psychology intersects with market dynamics. Understanding these patterns can help investors recognize their own biases and develop more rational strategies.

The Neuroscience of Bitcoin Volatility

Recent academic research reveals the neurological basis of bitcoin’s psychological appeal. Studies on digital currency trading psychology show that bitcoin’s extreme volatility triggers the same reward pathways associated with gambling, creating potentially addictive patterns of behavior.

The unpredictability of bitcoin’s price movements creates what psychologists call “intermittent reinforcement”—the most powerful form of behavioral conditioning. Like slot machines, bitcoin provides irregular rewards that keep investors engaged far longer than consistent returns would.

This neurological response explains why many bitcoin investors check prices obsessively. The survey found that 55% of digital asset holders check markets significantly more frequently than traditional markets, suggesting an almost compulsive relationship with price monitoring.

Breaking Free from Emotional Cycles

Understanding bitcoin’s psychology isn’t just academic—it’s practical. Successful bitcoin investors develop strategies to counteract their emotional biases:

Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA) has emerged as the most popular emotion-neutral strategy, with 59% of U.S. digital currency users employing this approach. By making regular purchases regardless of price, DCA removes the emotional burden of timing the market.

Automated trading tools and scheduled purchases help investors stick to predetermined strategies without succumbing to FOMO or FUD. These tools essentially outsource emotional decision-making to algorithms, reducing the psychological burden of active trading.

Education and community engagement in healthy bitcoin communities can provide emotional anchoring during volatile periods. Understanding bitcoin’s long-term value proposition helps investors maintain perspective during short-term chaos.

Bitcoin investing isn’t just about understanding technology, economics, or market analysis—it’s about understanding yourself. The statistics are clear: emotional decision-making significantly damages portfolio performance, yet the vast majority of investors continue making emotion-driven choices.

The key insight? Bitcoin’s psychology isn’t a bug—it’s a feature. The emotional volatility that terrifies traditional investors creates opportunities for th

@ 8bad92c3:ca714aa5

Key Takeaways

In this episode, Bram Kanstein delivers a powerful exploration of how studying money for thousands of hours led him to a single, life-changing conclusion: Bitcoin is the key to preserving value and reclaiming personal agency in an increasingly unstable world. Through the lens of a disillusioned millennial generation—raised with technological optimism but betrayed by economic reality—Bram exposes the fiat system as one built on illusion, debt, and diminishing returns. He explains how Bitcoin’s transparent, rule-based design offers a principled alternative, especially for those wired to question systems and seek truth. Describing the fiat economy as a “high-velocity trash system” that undermines innovation and long-term planning, he argues Bitcoin creates the time and space to think, build, and live freely. As AI reshapes the labor market, Bram sees Bitcoin as a vital foundation for individuals to adapt, maintain sovereignty, and thrive in a future defined by rapid technological disruption.

Best Quotes

“Anything that you would want to fix in the world is broken because the money is broken.”

“You’re stacking nothing. Literal paper.”

“You have to red pill before you orange pill.”

“The only thing you need to do is move to the other money that they cannot mess with.”

“One Bitcoin is one Bitcoin. That’s the whole point.”

“Millennials are primed to understand Bitcoin.”

“Bitcoin lets you get out of the rat race and start walking your own path.”

“The fiat mindset is a zero-sum game. In Bitcoin, value is created.”

“We should stop asking how to value Bitcoin—and start asking how to value everything else in Bitcoin.”

“Even with a master’s in economics, people still don’t understand what money is.”

Conclusion

This episode delivers a powerful call to rethink everything we assume about money, arguing that understanding Bitcoin is less about profit and more about reclaiming personal agency in a world defined by uncertainty. Bram Kanstein shows how asking fundamental questions—like “What is money?”—can lead to a deeper sense of purpose and autonomy. As AI and systemic instability accelerate, Bitcoin emerges not just as sound money, but as a life tool for intentional living, long-term thinking, and individual sovereignty.

Timestamps

0:00 - Intro
0:36 - INTJ bitcoiners
4:58 - The millennial headspace is primed for bitcoin
7:25 - Bitcoin gives time and space to build
15:29 - Fold & Bitkey
17:05 - Seeing systemic problems
26:25 - Bitcoin’s positive feedback loop
33:55 - Recognize your agency
37:58 - Unchained
38:27 - Fiat money creates uncertainty
44:41 - What is money?
54:04 - Money and energy
1:03:43 - Bitcoin allows growth
1:09:02 - Bitcoin/AI
1:31:34 - Optimistic note

Transcript

(00:00) Let's say you're a millennial and mid-30s and you want to retire in 30 years. If you calculate the amount of dollar, pound the euro, yen units. You need way more units of that money than you think right now. They are funding pension funds, but the pension funds are using that money for the people that are actually retiring.
(00:17) No one knows about money. They don't know how debt works, how finance works. But that's kind of how it's designed, right? Like that's what eventually keeps the Ponzi alive. And I just started with the question, what do you think happens if you call the bank and say like, hey, can I get 100 or 200k in cash? Man, you got an editor like in house.
(00:39) That's That's pro. That's uh it's because this setup I'm so far away from the computer. I just need somebody to hit the button. Okay. Okay. the extent the extent of of Logan's job extends far beyond just hitting the button. But yeah, INTJ I think uh I think it was as we rear into what looks to be another bull market.
(01:05) I think getting back to first principles and discussing the challenges of studying and understanding Bitcoin, it's important to to highlight the archetype of individuals who have studied fallen down the rabbit hole and really dedicated their lives to Bitcoin. And this INTJ cohort that exists within Bitcoin seems pretty material apparently. Yeah.
(01:35) I mean, I have many moments where I just realize that I'm lucky that my brain is wired in a certain way, you know. I feel like crazy blessed that I figured out this Bitcoin thing, you know, and that when I ran into certain realizations along the way in my Bitcoin journey that I was like, hm, you know, how does this actually work? you know, do I actually understand the systems I'm participating in, the things that I believe, you know, the the the the people that I abstracted um or or outsourced certain responsibilities to to take care of, for example, my money
(02:10) in the bank. You know, I I think um being wired in a certain way definitely helps in grasping Bitcoin to a degree where you're like, okay, this is the only thing I need to pay attention to, you know, in my life. And yeah, we we jokingly started talking about this because I have the hat here, but there was this um I think it was like like a Twitter poll actually or someone shared it on Twitter and this is already like two or three years old where where someone investigated these MyersBriggs um personality types and I think there's
(02:42) only like 2% of people that have INTJ but like 20% of Bitcoiners have that personality type. So it um it apparently helps. So yeah, I just I just quickly Googled it actually. It says uh the INTJ is the architect. It's a personality type with the introverted intuitive thinking and judging traits. These thoughtful tacticians love perfecting the details of life, applying creativity and rationality to everything they do.
(03:09) I think the rationality part here is what um what uh I think helps you to to gro Bitcoin eventually. Yeah, it reminds me of I forget what the study was, but postco it was a similar distribution of just like 2% of people were highly skeptical of what was going on with the lockdowns and the attack on bodily autonomy.
(03:38) And there was a study that was done about I forget it was bees or some type of fly that they they have like the horde of um the horde of the particular fly I think it was bees has like 2% act as these sort of alarm bells that are on the outside the outskirts of the community and they'll start communicating like hey something's wrong here and people the other flies or bees will be skeptical at first but then eventually uh the alarm bells will be proven to be right that there was some sort of danger around the corner. That's fascinating.
(04:09) Yeah. Yeah, that's fascinating. I I think we're not that special eventually, you know, like we think we have all this autonomy, but but um yeah, we're we're just wired in a certain way. And I think I don't know where you want to take this conversation, but I think, you know, part of growing up and being an adult is figuring out, you know, how do I actually work and how do I work with how I work, you know? Yeah. No, it is.
(04:36) And as I get older, creep into my mid-30s, which is hard hard to come to grips with, it is uh really falling back on like, all right, I I feel like I have a good perspective on the world and my place in it, and how do I just optimize to make sure I'm aligning my my work and my career, I guess, if you call it that, with what I'm passionate about. Yeah.
(05:00) Well, I also think that is actually why our generation, you know, my my podcast is Bitcoin for millennials. I think uh the millennials are primed to understand Bitcoin. You know, we are in this life phase where big things happen, you know, starting a family or settling somewhere or or making big career moves or decide Yeah.
(05:25) like deciding what am I going to spend like the next 10 20 years on and uh I think it's an interesting phase actually I I don't know how that was for you but but for me like the the 30s were really where I dove more and more into Bitcoin like got got that stronger conviction and also yeah kind of was invited to go further down that that rabbit hole you know and like how I see it now is that that Bitcoin is really the foundation for the rest of my life, you know, like it it gives me time and space to look forward and enthusiasm, you know, like I sometimes lurk on the
(06:01) millennial subreddit, you know, or the finance sub subreddit. And many people in our generation are very nihilistic, you know, they're very unsure about the future. Like some people aren't even having kids because they think they cannot afford it, you know. And uh whenever I read that, I just think like, yeah, I I don't really have those things.
(06:22) But I know it's because of Bitcoin, you know. I I know that Bitcoin gives me, yeah, like I said, the time and space to figure out what's next, like what should I focus on? Like it gives time and space to to try out stuff, to build something, you know, to to to really attempt at at doing something. Where I see many people that don't see that, they are more in the consumer type, you know, like they they just spend the money that's worth the most today, you know, like that's what they're incentivized to do. Yeah.
(06:49) And is is that why you started Bitcoin for millennials is to number one put the put the message out there. Millennials come listen to this. One of you Yes. that is trying to educate you about this. But because this is something I think about a lot is somebody's like dead smack in the middle of the millennial generation and has observed many of the things you just described in my own life, my own network.
(07:13) And that's part of the reason why this podcast exists. And um what I'm trying to do at TFTC is just try to figure out a way to reach into the minds of millennials, hopefully c

@ 9ca447d2:fbf5a36d

President Donald Trump’s media company, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), is doubling down on its Bitcoin bet, partnering with Crypto.com and Yorkville America Digital to launch its own bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), called the Truth Social Bitcoin ETF.

On June 3, a division of the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Arca, filed a 19b-4 form with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

This is the final regulatory hurdle before an ETF can be launched. If approved, this new fund will allow everyday investors to buy shares tied to the price of bitcoin, without having to hold the asset themselves.

The Truth Social Bitcoin ETF will track the price of bitcoin and give investors a simple, regulated way to invest in the digital money.

It will be listed and traded on NYSE Arca, and Foris DAX Trust Company (the custodian for Crypto.com’s assets) has been named as the proposed custodian for this new fund.

According to the filings, the ETF is “designed to remove the obstacles represented by the complexities and operational burdens involved in a direct investment in bitcoin.”

This is part of a bigger plan by Trump Media to offer a full suite of digital-asset-based financial products.

The company has also applied to trademark six investment products and has plans for additional ETFs under its Truth.Fi fintech platform, which will focus on digital assets and energy sectors.

Trump Media also recently announced a $2.5 billion bitcoin treasury plan and raised $2.4 billion in stock and debt to support its bitcoin initiatives.

Related: Trump Media Will Raise $2.5 Billion to Build Bitcoin Treasury

Now that the 19b-4 has been filed, the SEC has 45 days to approve, reject or delay the application. This can be extended several times, but a final decision must be made by January 29, 2026.

In addition to the 19b-4, Yorkville America Digital must also file an S-1 registration statement. This will outline exactly how the ETF will work, what it offers to investors, how funds will be used, and the risks involved.

Since January 2024, bitcoin ETFs have been all the rage, with over $130 billion in assets. Big players like BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and Fidelity’s FBTC dominate the space. BlackRock alone has $69 billion in assets through its bitcoin ETF.

Even though Trump’s ETF is entering a crowded field, its name will get attention. The Truth Social bitcoin ETF is expected to generate media buzz, political controversy and divided investor opinions, making it a cultural and financial statement.

Donald Trump is the majority owner of Trump Media, although his shares are in a trust controlled by his son, Donald Trump Jr. The ETF filing doesn’t mention Trump by name, but most people see it as a Trump product.

The President is getting more and more involved in the digital asset space. He has NFT collections, meme coins, a bitcoin mining company, a digital asset wallet, and now a potential bitcoin ETF.

But not everyone is happy. Some argue that a sitting president’s involvement in regulated financial products, especially one that could benefit from political influence, is unethical.

An SEC-approved digital asset product from Trump could blur the lines between politics, personal gain and digital assets.

Others, however, see this as a calculated move to boost Trump’s image and position him as a leader in the digital asset and tech space.

@ cae03c48:2a7d6671

Bitcoin Magazine

Adam Back Invests SEK 21 Million to H100 Group Bitcoin Treasury Strategy

Today, H100 Group AB announced it has entered a SEK 21 million convertible loan from an investment agreement with Adam Back, with the option to expand his investment to SEK 277 million through a five-tranche convertible loan deal. The proceeds will be used to buy Bitcoin in alignment with H100 Group’s long-term Bitcoin treasury strategy.

H100 Group AB (Ticker: H100) secures a SEK 21M ($2.1M) commitment from @adam3us , with rights to invest an additional SEK 128M ($12.8M) in tranches—bringing the total contemplated raise to SEK 277M (~$27.7M). pic.twitter.com/c0HgMSRxut

— H100 (@H100Group) June 3, 2025

Under the agreement, Back may invest up to SEK 128 million across four additional tranches, with guaranteed participation of at least 50%. Each tranche is twice his committed amount, demonstrating his support for H100’s long-term growth.

The press release said, “Adam Back may request the Second Tranche within 90 days from signing of the Initial Tranche, the Third Tranche within 90 days from signing of the Second Tranche, the Fourth Tranche within 90 days from signing of the Third Tranche and the Fifth Tranche within ninety 90 days from signing of the Fourth Tranche. In the event Adam Back does not request a Future Tranche within the deadline, the right to request subsequent Future Tranches lapses.”

The convertible loans have no interest and have a five year maturity. At any time, Back may convert the loans into shares of the Company. Conversion prices are fixed per tranche: SEK 1.75 per share for the initial tranche, rising to SEK 5.00 by the fifth tranche. H100 retains the right to force conversion if the stock price exceeds the conversion rate by 33% over a 20 day period. Full conversion of the initial tranche would result in 12 million new shares and a 9.3% dilution.

“Upon request of a tranche Adam Back is obliged to invest in the relevant Tranche with SEK 15,750,000 in the second tranche, SEK 23,625,000 in the third tranche, SEK 35,437,500 in the fourth tranche, and SEK 53,156,250 in the fifth tranche,” stated the press release. “The contemplated size for each tranche is twice the entitled amount of Adam Back.”

Blockstream has “been around since 2014 and we work with our investors to put Bitcoin in a balance sheet back then and since then,” said Adam Back at the 2025 Bitcoin Conference. “I think the way to look at the treasury companies is that Bitcoin is effectively the hurdle rate; it’s very hard to outperform bitcoin. Most people that have invested in things since bitcoin has been around have thought, ‘oh, I should have put that in bitcoin and not in the other thing.”

This post Adam Back Invests SEK 21 Million to H100 Group Bitcoin Treasury Strategy first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Oscar Zarraga Perez.

@ 58537364:705b4b85

อารมณ์ คือ โลก - โลก คือ อารมณ์ อารมณ์ ในโลกปัจจุบันรวมอยู่ที่ วัตถุนิยม อารมณ์ จึงเป็นปัจจัยแห่งเหตุการณ์ทุกอย่างในโลก

…. “ เดี๋ยวนี้คําว่า “อารมณ์” ในภาษาไทยนั้น หมายถึงความรู้สึกในใจมากกว่า; เช่น พื้นเพของจิตใจในขณะนั้นเป็นอย่างไร, เรียกว่าอารมณ์ของเขาเป็นอย่างไร, อารมณ์กําลังดี อารมณ์กําลังไม่ดี, นี่ คําว่าอารมณ์ในภาษาไทยใช้กันไปเสียอย่างนี้ ; มันคนละเรื่องกับในภาษาบาลี ซึ่งคําว่า “อารมณ์” หมายถึง สิ่งที่จะเข้ามากระทบ ตา หู จมูก ลิ้น กาย ใจ.

…. ถ้ากระทบแล้วเกิดความรู้สึกอย่างไร งุ่นง่านอยู่ในใจ อันนั้นไม่ได้เรียกว่าอารมณ์; อันนั้นก็เรียกว่ากิเลสอย่างอื่น เช่น เรียกว่าตัณหาบ้าง อุปาทานบ้าง; ถ้าจัดเป็นพวกขันธ์ ก็เรียกว่า เวทนาขันธ์บ้าง สัญญาขันธ์บ้าง สังขารขันธ์บ้าง; ถ้าเป็นความคิดที่งุ่นง่านก็เรียกว่า “สังขารขันธ์” ทั้งนั้น ดังนั้น เราจะต้องถือเอาคําว่าอารมณ์ในบาลีมาเป็นหลัก …. คําว่า อารมณ์ ที่จะเข้าใจกันง่ายๆ ก็หมายความว่า รูป เสียง กลิ่น รส โผฏฐัพพะ ที่จะมากระทบ ตา หู จมูก ลิ้น กาย นี้ ๕ อย่าง แล้วก็ความรู้สึกเก่าแก่ที่จะมาผุดขึ้นในใจอีก เรียกว่า ธัมมารมณ์ ที่จะมากระทบใจในปัจจุบันนี้ นี้ก็เป็นอันหนึ่ง เลยได้เป็นอารมณ์ ๖. อารมณ์กระทบ ตา หู จมูก ลิ้น กาย ๕ อย่างข้างนอกนี้ก็สําคัญไปพวกหนึ่ง ที่ปรุงขึ้นภายในสําหรับกระทบใจโดยไม่ต้องอาศัย ตา หู จมูก ลิ้น กาย ใจ เลย ในเวลานั้นก็ยังมีอยู่นี้เรียกว่าธัมมารมณ์ นี้ก็ยิ่งสําคัญ: แต่ว่ารวมกันแล้วก็เรียกว่า อารมณ์ ได้ด้วยกันทั้งนั้น แปลว่า สิ่งที่จะมากระทบกับ ตา หู จมูก ลิ้น กาย ใจ นั่นเอง

…. นี้ ดูให้ละเอียดตามตัวหนังสือ คําว่า “อารมณ์” แปลว่า ที่หน่วงบ้าง แปลว่า ที่ยินดีบ้าง, มันมีความหมายละเอียดมาก. ถ้าถือเอาความหมายอย่างคนที่มีตัวตนเป็นหลัก ธรรมะในฝ่ายฮินดูหรือฝ่ายพรหมณ์เขาก็จะพูดว่า สําหรับจิตหรืออาตมันเข้าไปจับฉวยเอา. แต่ถ้าพูดอย่างภาษาชาวพุทธพูดอย่างนั้นไม่ได้ เพราะไม่มีจิตไม่มีอาตมันชนิดนั้น แล้วจิตนี้ก็เพิ่งเกิดขึ้นหลังอารมณ์กระทบแล้ว; เลยต้องพูดตามพระบาลีที่ว่า อาศัยตาด้วย อาศัยรูปด้วย ย่อมเกิดจักษุวิญญาณ; ตาอาศัยกับรูปคืออารมณ์นั้นได้แล้วจึงจะเกิดจักษุวิญญาณ วิญญาณหรือจิตนี้เกิดทีหลัง

…. ฉะนั้น จึงไม่พูดว่า อารมณ์นี้เป็นสิ่งสําหรับจิตหรือตัวตนเข้าไปจับฉวยยึดเอา; ถ้าพูดอย่างนั้นมันก็จะเป็นฮินดูหรือพราหมณ์ไป คือมีตัวตนไป. พูดอย่างพุทธไม่มีตัวตน ทุกอย่างไม่ใช่ตัวตน เป็นสักว่าธาตุ, ได้การปรุงแต่งที่เหมาะแล้วมันก็ปรุงแต่งเป็นสิ่งใหม่ขึ้นมา ในนั้นอาจจะมีความรู้สึกโง่ไปว่าเป็นตัวเราก็ได้

…. ฉะนั้น คําว่าอารมณ์ ถ้าถือตามหลักในทางพุทธศาสนา ก็แปลว่า สิ่งที่อาศัยกันกับจิต จะเรียกว่าเป็นที่หน่วงของจิตมันก็ยังได้: ถ้าเข้าใจผิดมันก็ผิดได้: เรียกว่าสิ่งที่อาศัยกับอายตนะ แล้วก็เกิดเป็นความรู้สึกเป็นจิตขึ้นมา จิตกําลังหน่วงสิ่งนั้นเป็นอารมณ์ก็ได้ แต่จะให้เป็นตัวตนนั้นไม่ได้

…. โดยพยัญชนะก็มีอยู่อย่างนี้ ตัวพยัญชนะก็ยังกํากวม อารมฺมณํ หรือที่มาจาก อาลมฺพนํ ก็แปลว่า ที่หน่วงของจิต. ถ้าจะถือว่ามาจาก รม ที่แปลว่า ยินดี ก็แปลว่า มันเป็นสิ่งที่หลงใหลยินดีของจิต อย่างนี้ก็ยังได้อีก

…. แต่ขอให้รู้จักจากภายในดีกว่าที่จะมารู้จักจากตัวหนังสือ เมื่อตากระทบรูป เมื่อหูกระทบเสียง เป็นต้น มันเกิดขึ้นในใจ, แล้วสังเกตเอาที่นั่นก็แล้วกัน ว่ารูปที่มากระทบตานั้นมันคืออะไร? เสียงที่มากระทบหูนั้นมันคืออะไร? จะค่อยเข้าใจแจ่มแจ้งขึ้นทีละน้อยๆ ว่าอารมณ์นั้นคืออะไร? แต่ให้เข้าใจไว้ทีหนึ่งก่อนว่าสิ่งที่เรียกว่าอารมณ์ๆที่มากระทบนี้ มันยังไม่ดีไม่ชั่ว ยังไม่จัดเป็นสิ่งดีสิ่งชั่ว มันต้องผสมปรุงแต่งเป็นความคิดอย่างนั้นอย่างนี้เสียก่อน จึงจะจัดเป็นดีเป็นชั่ว อารมณ์ล้วนๆยังไม่ดีไม่ชั่ว จะได้รู้จักป้องกัน อย่าให้เป็นไปในทางชั่ว, ให้เป็นไปแต่ในทางดีได้ตามปรารถนา

…. นี้เรียกว่าโดยพยัญชนะ โดยตัวหนังสือ คําว่า “อารมณ์” แปลว่า เป็นที่ยินดีแห่งจิต, เป็นที่ยึดหน่วงแห่งจิต; โดยเฉพาะภาษาอภิธรรมแล้วก็ใช้คําว่า “เป็นที่หน่วงเอาของจิต”, คือจิตย่อมหน่วงสิ่งใดสิ่งหนึ่งเป็นอารมณ์ แปลคําว่าอารมณ์บ้าง, อาลัมพนะ แปลว่า เป็นที่หน่วงเอา.

…. เดี๋ยวนี้เราเรียนพุทธศาสนาไม่ใช่เรามาเรียนหนังสือบาลี, เราจะเรียนพระธรรมคําสอนของพระพุทธเจ้า เราก็ต้องดูสิ่งที่เรียกว่าอารมณ์ โดยหลักของธรรมชาติที่ปรุงแต่งกันอยู่ในใจดีกว่า; ก็อย่างพระบาลีที่ได้ว่ามาแล้วข้างต้นว่า จกฺขุญฺจ ปฏิจฺจ รูเป จ อุปฺปชฺชติ จกฺขุวิญฺญาณํ = เพราะอาศัยตาด้วย รูปด้วย ย่อมบังเกิดจักษุวิญญาณ ติณฺณํ ธมฺมานํ สงฺคติ ผสฺโส - การประจวบกันของ ๓ สิ่งนี้เรียกว่า “ผัสสะ”, ผสฺสปจฺจยา เวทนา = เพราะผัสสะเป็นปัจจัยจึงเกิดเวทนา, อย่างนี้เรื่อยไปจนเกิดทุกข์ จนเกิดความทุกข์, นี้เรียกว่าโดยธรรมชาติ

…. สิ่งที่เรียกว่าอารมณ์มีอยู่โดยธรรมชาติที่จะเข้ามาอาศัยกันกับตาข้างใน ที่มีอยู่ในตัวคน. แล้วจะเกิดจักษุวิญญาณ เป็นต้น ขึ้นในตัวคน; จะเกิด ผัสสะ เวทนา ตัณหา อุปาทาน ภพ ชาติ ขึ้นในตัวคน; นี้โดยธรรมชาติ พระพุทธเจ้าท่านบันดาลอะไรไม่ได้ : ธรรมชาติเป็นอยู่อย่างนี้ แต่ท่านรู้เรื่องนี้ท่านจึงนํามาสอนว่า ธรรมชาติมันมีอยู่อย่างนี้ เราจะต้องเข้าใจให้ถูกต้อง โดยที่จะป้องกันความทุกข์ไม่ให้เกิดขึ้นมาได้, หรือถ้าเกิดขึ้นมาได้ก็จะดับเสียได้

…. เราควรจะรู้จักอารมณ์ในฐานะที่เป็นธรรมชาติอันหนึ่ง ที่มีอยู่ตามธรรมชาติ แล้วที่จะเข้ามาทําเรื่องทําราวขึ้นในจิตใจของคนเราให้เกิดปัญหายุ่งยากนี้ให้ดีๆ นี้เรียกว่ารู้จักอารมณ์จากธรรมชาติโดยตรงอย่างนี้ ดีกว่าที่จะรู้จักตามตัวหนังสือ, ดีกว่าที่จะรู้จักตามคําบอกเล่าบางอย่างบางประการที่มันไม่มีประโยชน์อะไร. รู้จักตามคําบอกเล่าก็รู้จักตามที่พระพุทธเจ้าท่านตรัสดีกว่า แต่แล้วยังไม่รู้จักตัวจริง จนกว่าจะมารู้จักจากที่เมื่ออารมณ์มากระทบตา หู จมูก ลิ้น กาย ใจ เข้าจริงๆ : นั่นจึงจะรู้จักอารมณ์ รู้จักผลที่เกิดขึ้นจากการกระทบของอารมณ์, รู้จักต่อไปตามลําดับ จนแก้ปัญหาต่างๆ ได้

…. นี่ ขอร้องให้รู้จักสิ่งที่เรียกว่า อารมณ์ ในฐานะที่เป็นธรรมชาติอันหนึ่ง ที่มีอยู่ตามธรรมชาติ ที่จะเข้ามากระทบอายตนะภายใน คือ กระทบ ตา หู จมูก ลิ้น กาย ใจ แล้วมีเรื่องมีราวมีปัญหา

อารมณ์ คือ โลก - โลก คือ อารมณ์ …. “ ที่นี้จะให้ดูต่อไปอีก ว่าโดยข้อเท็จจริงที่เป็นอยู่แล้ว อารมณ์นั้นคืออะไร? ถ้าจะพูดโดยข้อเท็จจริงหรือตามสถานการณ์ที่เป็นอยู่จริงในชีวิตของคนเรา อารมณ์มันก็คือ “โลก” นั่นเอง. เดี๋ยวนี้เราไม่รู้จักโลกในฐานะอย่างนี้, เราไปเข้าใจความหมายของคําว่าโลกแคบไปบ้าง หรือว่าเขวไปบ้าง.

…. ถ้าจะรู้ตามหลักพระพุทธศาสนาแล้ว โลกทั้งหมดก็คือสิ่งที่จะมาปรากฏแก่ ตา หู จมูก ลิ้น กาย ใจ ของเรา, เรามีเพียง ๖ อย่าง, แล้วมันก็ ปรากฏได้เพียง ๖ ทาง, มากกว่านั้นมันปรากฏไม่ได้ ดังนั้น โลกก็คือสิ่งที่จะมาปรากฏแก่ ตา หู จมูก ลิ้น กาย ใจ ๖ อย่างของเรา. “โลก” ก็คือ รูป เสียง กลิ่น รส โผฏฐัพพะ ธัมมารมณ์ ๖ ประการเท่านั้น, ไม่มีอะไรมากไปกว่านั้น

…. ฉะนั้น รูป เสียง กลิ่น รส โผฏฐัพพะ ธัมมารมณ์ แต่ละอย่าง ๆ ก็คือ โลกในแต่ละแง่ละมุม นั่นเอง, ที่เป็น รูป เสียง กลิ่น รส โผฏฐัพพะ ก็อยู่ข้างนอก จะเรียกว่าอยู่ข้างนอกก็ได้, ที่เป็นอารมณ์เกิดขึ้นในใจ ปรุงขึ้นในใจก็เรียกว่าโลกข้างในก็ได้ แต่มันก็เป็นโลกอยู่นั่นแหละ เพราะมันเป็นสิ่งที่จิตจะต้องรู้สึก จิตรู้สึกก็เรียกว่าโลกสําหรับจิต ตา หู จมูก ลิ้น กาย รู้สึก ก็เรียกว่าโลกสำหรับ ตา หู จมูก ลิ้น กาย. นี้ขอให้มองให้เห็นชัดตามพระพุทธประสงค์ว่า โลก ก็คือ อารมณ์, อารมณ์ ก็คือ โลก.

…. แต่ทีนี้ พระพุทธเจ้าท่านมองลึกกว่านั้น ท่านตรัสถึงข้อที่ว่า ถ้ามันมาเกิดเป็นปัญหาแก่เราเมื่อไรจึงจะเรียกว่า “มันมี” พอมันมาเป็นปัญหาแก่เราเมื่อไรก็เรียกว่า “เป็นทุกข์”; เพราะว่าเราได้ไปจับฉวยยึดถือเอาตามประสาตามวิสัยของคนที่ไม่รู้จักโลก ถ้าพูดว่าไม่รู้จักโลกแล้วคนก็มักจะไม่ยอมรับ เพราะว่าเขาจะพูดว่าเขารู้จักโลกดี. ยิ่งพวกฝรั่งสมัยนี้ นักวิทยาศาสตร์ปราดเปรื่องนั้น เขาจะไม่ยอมรับว่าเขาไม่รู้จักโลก. แต่ถ้าพูดตามหลักพุทธศาสนาแล้วก็จะพูดได้ว่ายังไม่รู้จักโลกเลย เป็นคนตาบอดยิ่งกว่าตาบอด; เพราะว่าฝรั่งเหล่านั้นรู้จักโลกแต่ในแง่สําหรับจะยึดมั่นถือมั่นเป็น “ตัวกู ของกู” จะครองโลกจะอะไร เอาประโยชน์ทุกอย่าง; เขารู้จักโลกในแง่นี้ อย่างนี้พุทธบริษัทไม่เรียกว่า “รู้จักโลก”; แต่ถือว่าเป็นคนตาบอดต่อโลก, หลงยึดมั่นถือมั่นในโลก. เพราะว่าคนเหล่านั้นไม่รู้จักโลกโดยความเป็นอารมณ์ ๖ ประการ คือ รูป เสียง กลิ่นรส โผฏฐัพพะ ธัมมารมณ์, แล้วเป็น “มายา” คือ เอาจริงไม่ได้ เป็นของชั่วคราวๆ หลอกให้เกิดความรู้สึกยึดมั่นถือมั่น

…. นี้เรารู้จัก เราไม่ไปหลงยึดมั่นถือมั่นกับมัน นี้จึงเรียกว่า “คนที่รู้จักโลก” ไปตามหลักของพุทธศาสนา, ฉะนั้น จึงไม่ยึดมั่นถือมั่นสิ่งใดโดยความเป็นตัวตน หรือโดยความเป็นของตน, เรียกว่าเป็นผู้รู้จักอารมณ์ ๖ ประการนั้นก็คือรู้จักโลกทั้งปวง, แล้วก็ไม่หลงไปในโลกในแง่ใดแง่หนึ่ง นี้เรียกว่า อารมณ์ ก็คือ โลก นั่นเอง ในความหมายที่ลึกที่สุดของพระพุทธสาสนา ไม่ใช่โลกก้อนดิน, ไม่ใช่โลกก้อนกลมๆ นี้. แต่มันหมายถึงคุณค่าอะไรที่มันมีอยู่ในโลกกลมๆ นี้ ที่จะเข้ามามาทําให้เกิดปัญหา ที่ตา ที่หู ที่จมูก ที่ลิ้น ที่กาย ที่ใจ ของคน. นั่นแหละคือตัวร้ายกาจของสิ่งที่เรียกว่า โลก เราจะต้องรู้จักในส่วนนี้ให้เพียงพอ

อารมณ์ในโลกปัจจุบันมารวมที่วัตถุนิยม …. ทีนี้ ดูอีกแง่หนึ่งก็โดยปัญหาที่กําลังมีอยู่ อารมณ์ในโลกนี้ในฐานะที่มันเป็นตัวปัญหาที่กําลังมีอยู่ มันมารวมอยู่ที่คําว่า “วัตถุนิยม”: หมายความว่า ตา หู จมูก ลิ้น กาย ใจ นี้ มันเป็นฝ่ายชนะ ไปหลงใหลในอารมณ์ รูป เสียง กลิ่น รส โผฏฐัพพะ ฯลฯ, แล้วก็เกิดนิยมหลงใหลในวัตถุเหล่านั้น จนเกิดความคิดใหม่ๆ, ปรุงแต่งไปในทางที่จะให้หลงใหลในโลกยิ่งขึ้นๆ, ความเจริญก้าวหน้า ในโลกสมัยนี้เป็นไปแต่ในทางอย่างนี้ ฉะนั้น จึงไกลความสงบ, ไกลสันติภาพ ไกลอะไรออกไปทุกที. การที่มนุษย์ที่มีปัญญาในโลกสมัยนี้ โดยเฉพาะฝรั่งที่ก้าวหน้านั้นเขาก็จัดโลกไปแต่ในแง่ของวัตถุมากขึ้นๆ: มันก็ไกลจากสันติภาพ ไกลจากความสงบสุขยิ่งขึ้นทุกที

…. ความสะดวกสบายที่ทําให้เกิดขึ้นมาได้นั้น ไม่ได้ช่วยส่งเสริมเกิดสันติภาพ; แต่มันช่วยให้เกิดความหลงในโลกนั้นเองมากขึ้น แล้วก็ช่วยให้หลงใหลใน “ตัวกู ของกู”, ยึดมั่นถือมั่นเห็นแก่ตัวมากขึ้น รวมกันแล้วมันไม่มีทางที่จะเกิดสันติภาพหรือสันติสุขในโลกได้เลย, จึงกลายเป็นความหลอกลวงเหลือประมาณ โลกจึงกลายเป็นความหลอกลวง, หรือสิ่งที่หลอกลวงเหลือประมาณใน เวลานี้ เราเรียกกันว่า ติดบ่วง หรือว่า ติดเหยื่อของวัตถุนิยม. คําพูดทั้งหมดนี้ ล้วนแต่เป็นการแสดงให้เห็นว่า อารมณ์นี้คืออะไร สิ่งที่เรียกว่าอารมณ์นั้น คือตัวโลกที่กําลังหลอกลวงเราอยู่ทุกวันอย่างยิ่ง โดยเฉพาะในปัจจุบันนี้เป็นวัตถุนิยม นี้คืออารมณ์”

พุทธทาสภิกขุ ที่มา : ธรรมบรรยายภาคมาฆบูชา ครั้งที่ ๗ หัวข้อเรื่อง “อารมณ์ คือ ปัจจัยแห่งเหตุการณ์ทุกอย่างในโลก” เมื่อวันที่ ๑๖ กุมภาพันธ์ ๒๕๑๗ จากหนังสือชุดธรรมโฆษณ์ เล่มชื่อว่า “ก ข ก กา ของการศึกษาพุทธศาสนา”

หมายเหตุ

“อารมณ์ ” ในทางพุทธศาสนา มี ๖ คือ... * ๑. รูปะ = รูป, สิ่งที่เห็น หรือ วัณณะ คือ สี * ๒. สัททะ = เสียง * ๓. คันธะ = กลิ่น * ๔. รสะ = รส * ๕. โผฏฐัพพะ = สัมผัสทางกาย * ๖. ธรรมารมณ์ = สิ่งที่ใจนึกคิด, อารมณ์ที่เกิดกับใจ

…. ทั้ง ๖ อย่างนี้ เป็นสิ่งสำหรับให้จิตยึดหน่วง เรียกอีกอย่างว่า "อายตนะภานนอก" ก็ได้

“อายตนะภายใน ๖” คือ ที่เชื่อมต่อให้เกิดความรู้, แดนต่อความรู้ฝ่ายภายใน มี * ๖ อย่าง คือ... * ๑. จักษุ - ตา * ๒. โสตะ - หู * ๓. ฆานะ - จมูก * ๔. ชิวหา - ลิ้น * ๕. กาย - กาย * ๖. มโน - ใจ

… หรือจะเรียกอีกอย่างว่า “อินทรีย์ ๖” ก็ได้ เพราะเป็นใหญ่ในหน้าที่ของตนแต่ละอย่าง เช่น จักษุ เป็นเจ้าการ(เป็นใหญ่)ในการเห็น เป็นต้น

ท. ส. ปัญญาวุฑโฒ – รวบรวม.

@ 7460b7fd:4fc4e74b

比特币正在主动引诱量子计算“破解自己”

引言：危机还是契机？

比特币和量子计算，这两个看似对立的存在，正在酝酿一场耐人寻味的博弈。许多人担心未来强大的量子计算机将秒破比特币的密码学基石，从而令区块链安全灰飞烟灭。然而，本文想传达的核心观点却截然相反：比特币不仅不会被量子破解打败，反而正在通过协议层的巧妙设计来“引诱”量子计算进入自己的游戏规则之中。通过诸如BIP-360等提案，比特币有望将量子计算的威胁转化为动力，开启一个“后挖矿时代”的全新正反馈经济体系，让“破解”本身成为新的挖矿机制。

这样的观点听起来近乎狂想，但背后有着深厚的技术逻辑支撑。我们将从基本的密码学原理谈起，逐步剖析量子计算的能力与局限，以及比特币协议在抗量子方向做出的结构性准备。最后，我们探讨一种大胆的经济模型：当量子计算被诱导去参与“破解竞赛”时，或许正是比特币凤凰涅槃、新经济形态崛起之机。

非对称加密的数学本质：“上帝视角”的陷门答案

非对称加密（如RSA、椭圆曲线加密ECC等）的核心在于存在一种单向函数：正向计算容易，反向推导极难。公钥可以视作某个难题的题目，私钥则相当于“上帝视角”提前知道的答案。一旦掌握私钥，就能轻松完成从答案到题目的逆推；而只有公钥时，想要逆推出私钥则被设计为在现实中不可行。这类单向难题通常通过陷门函数来实现——对合法持有者（私钥）来说，存在隐藏的捷径（陷门）可以快速解题；而对局外人来说，题目看似无解。

举例来说，比特币当前采用的ECC加密：私钥与公钥的关系就像“一次难以逆推的乘法”。给定私钥x，乘以基点G可轻易得到公钥点P = x·G，但已知P却无法高效求出x。这种不对称确保了签名者可以用私钥生成签名，而验证者只能用公钥验证签名而无法伪造。私钥掌握了解题的“上帝答案”，公钥则只能用于验证答案是否正确。

这一点在新型的抗量子算法中同样体现。以格密码（lattice cryptography）为例：Falcon等基于NTRU格的签名算法，其公钥可以被视为一个高维长基，私钥是对应的短基。pqshield.com在二维格子上的示意说明了这种不对称性：拥有短基（私钥）时，我们可以高效地找到距离某个目标点很近的格点解；但只有长基（公钥）时，我们顶多能验证某个给定解是否有效，却很难自行找到足够优质的解pqshield.com。换言之，私钥提供了一个陷门，允许持有者快速逆推答案，而公钥持有者只能望“题”兴叹。

图：在二维格子中，签名者持有的短基（私钥）可以高效求解出距离目标点（黑色方块）极近的格点解（绿色圆点）。绿色平行四边形表示短基下求解空间很小，因而容易找到最优解。这直观展示了陷门函数的威力：私钥掌握短基就如同拿到了解题捷径。

图：仅持有长基（公钥）时，使用相同算法得到的格点解（红色圆点）可能距离目标（黑色方块）很远。红色平行四边形代表在无陷门情况下求解范围巨大，找到最佳解极其困难。但验证者仍可用长基检查出某个解（如绿色点）确实是有效解pqshield.com。这体现了公私钥在计算能力上的不对称：私钥可求解，公钥仅可验证。

总而言之，非对称加密的安全性源自数学难题的单向性质和陷门结构。私钥就是那个隐藏的逆向通道，“上帝视角”的答案；公钥则是不具备捷径的信息，只够验证而无法逆推。从RSA的整数分解、ECC的离散对数，到Falcon的近似最近矢量问题，每一种公钥体制都是在构造“题目易出答案难逆”的格局，让持有陷门者轻松，旁观破解者绝望。

量子计算的原理与极限：并行穷举的神话与现实

量子计算机令人畏惧之处，在于其并行计算能力。通过量子叠加态，n个量子比特（qubit）可同时表示2^n种状态——仿佛能把指数级的可能性同时考虑。配合量子干涉与算法设计，量子计算机能够以远胜传统计算机的效率解决某些特定问题。其中最著名的就是Shor算法，它能在多项式时间内完成对大整数的质因数分解和离散对数求解。这正是传统公钥加密（RSA、ECC）的命门：一旦有足够强大的量子计算机，基于这些数学问题的公钥体制将不再困难，私钥可以由公钥“解密”而出coindesk.com。

然而，“并行穷举”的神话背后有严格的物理和工程学限制。首先是量子比特数量和质量的限制：当前的量子芯片规模远未达到破解现代加密所需的级别。据风险研究机构与专家调查，目前我们只有几十到几百个物理qubit，而要威胁256位ECC或2048位RSA，需要数百万高质量qubitdeloitte.com。不仅数量上相差几个数量级，现有量子芯片的纠错和降噪技术也远不成熟。量子比特极其敏感，微小噪声都会引入错误，真正实用的量子计算机需要对成千上万的物理比特进行纠错编码，形成稳定的逻辑比特。这个工程挑战之巨大，使得可攻破密码的量子计算机仍是多年之后的前景——多数专家预测大概还需十几年时间才可能出现实质威胁deloitte.com。

其次，量子计算并非万能破解，仅对特定问题有指数级加速。Shor算法擅长因数分解和离散对数，Grover算法可以对无结构的穷举搜索加速（将时间复杂度平方根降低）。但许多新兴的抗量子算法依赖的问题（如格上的最短向量问题SVP、最近向量问题CVP，或多变量方程、哈希预像等）目前并无高效量子算法。这些问题大多属于NP难类，甚至找近似解也极为困难emerginginvestigators.org。尽管量子计算提供并行试探能力，但对这类高度复杂的问题也爱莫能助。正如一项研究指出：SVP和CVP问题即便在量子计算机上依然“极端困难”，在可预见的将来仍足以保证安全性emerginginvestigators.org。Falcon所使用的NTRU格就是这样的难题代表——没有已知算法可以像Shor之于RSA那样，高效攻破NTRU问题。

最后，我们还需注意量子攻击的实际条件。量子破解比特币主要有两种情景：存储攻击和传输攻击deloitte.com。存储攻击指利用量子计算找出已公开公钥对应的私钥，从而盗取静态存放于链上某地址的币；传输攻击则是当交易广播（公钥暴露）后，在被矿工打包上链前的短暂窗口内，量子计算抢先推导私钥并盗转。这两种攻击对量子能力要求不同：存储攻击允许耗时几周甚至数月破解一个密钥，只要在币移动前完成即可；而传输攻击要求在区块确认之前（比特币约10分钟内，以太坊更短）秒破私钥deloitte.com。显然，目前和可预见的中期内，量子计算都远达不到传输攻击所需的即时破解水平；即便存储攻击，由于比特币区块链的UTXO模型（稍后详述），真正高价值、长时间暴露公钥的币也相对有限deloitte.com。因此，量子威胁虽然现实存在，但并非一夜之间让比特币崩溃的魔法。这反倒给予我们部署抗量子方案、引导量子力量“为我所用”的时间窗口。

抗量子密码学的三大结构前提

要让比特币真正抵御量子威胁，并把量子计算纳入自身生态，需要满足几个结构性前提。经过多年社区讨论和研究，以下三点被认为是比特币走向抗量子的关键设计要素：

1. UTXO模型：隐藏公钥缩短攻击窗口 – 比特币采用UTXO模型，每次交易都会生成新地址，公钥通常以哈希形式隐藏在地址中，直到你花费时才公布。这意味着量子计算只有在你发起交易后的很短时间内（交易确认前）才能获得公钥并尝试破解，大大压缩了攻击窗口anduro.iodeloitte.com。相较之下，账户模型（如以太坊）重复使用固定地址，公钥一旦被提取或首次使用后就长久暴露，使得65%以上的以太币当前都处于量子暴露风险中，而比特币约只有25%处于类似风险deloitte.com。UTXO模型通过“一次性地址”和“不用则公钥不出”的原则，天然提供了对抗量子存储攻击的第一道屏障。

2. “见证隔离”（SegWit）：模块化升级签名算法 – 抗量子方案的发展日新月异，比特币必须保持签名算法的可插拔升级能力。2017年的见证隔离升级正是为此奠定基础：SegWit将签名等见证数据与交易本体分离，并引入版本化的见证脚本格式。这使得添加新签名类型成为可能——通过软分叉引入新的输出类型和见证版本，就能兼容地支持不同算法delvingbitcoin.org。正如BIP-341利用SegWit扩展出了Taproot的Schnorr签名，比特币也可以扩展出抗量子签名的新地址类型而无需硬分叉或显著增加区块体积delvingbitcoin.org。这一模块化特性对于迎接未来各类抗量子算法至关重要，没有SegWit的铺垫，抗量子改造将困难重重。

3. 分级安全机制：根据价值和时效选择算法强度 – 由于UTXO的性质，每笔交易在花费时都会暴露其公钥。因此，安全策略不能“一刀切”，应允许根据币值大小或持有时长采用不同强度的抗量子算法。高价值的UTXO、长期未移动的“老币”，应使用更高安全级别但可能更重型的签名方案；反之，小额频繁交易可用较轻量的方案以兼顾效率和区块容量。好比Falcon提供了512和1024两种参数版本：Falcon-1024安全级别更高但签名稍大，而Falcon-512签名更小速度更快，适合资源受限场景emerginginvestigators.org。未来比特币或可同时支持多种抗量子算法或参数，用户按需选用，让“安全性”成为一种可以权衡和市场定价的链上资源。每一次支付都在安全与成本之间找到平衡，这将促使一个分层的安全市场形成——进一步论述见后文经济模型部分。

上述三大前提缺一不可：UTXO模型提供了基础的_安全缓冲_，SegWit机制给予_升级弹性_，分级算法让_经济可行性_落地。在这方面，比特币的体系结构远优于某些后来的公链。例如，以太坊的账户模型天生缺乏隐藏公钥的机制，地址就是固定的公钥哈希，一旦使用过私钥签名就永久暴露公钥，同时其交易脚本（EVM）对签名算法固定死，没有灵活插拔空间。这意味着以太坊想转向抗量子算法，必须经过极其痛苦的整体迁移或硬分叉——开发者需要为每个账户引入新密钥，新老算法并行过渡，智能合约地址、签名验证逻辑全部推倒重来。这种难度令人生畏，以至于有人嘲讽以太坊“几乎不可能”实现真正的抗量子迁移。反观比特币，得益于其简单而弹性的UTXO+Script设计，只需通过新的输出类型软分叉，就可以逐步引入抗量子地址，让用户自愿迁移过渡，避免一次性硬分叉的系统性风险。

BIP-360：可选抗量子签名，引入量子博弈

面对量子威胁，比特币开发社区并未坐以待毙。2024年，由开发者Hunter Beast提出的BIP-360提案（又称P2QRH，意为“支付到抗量子哈希”）正式将抗量子签名引入了议事日程anduro.io。BIP-360核心思路是在比特币中增加新的地址类型，这些地址采用后量子密码学的签名算法（当前优先考虑Falcon，并备选CRYSTALS-Dilithium和SPHINCS+等）来取代易受量子攻击的ECDSA/Schnorr签名anduro.iogroups.google.com。换句话说，用户可以自愿选择生成一种“抗量子地址”，对应的UTXO需使用抗量子算法签名才能解锁。

为什么说BIP-360让比特币“引诱”量子计算加入博弈？这里有几层含义：

首先，BIP-360采用软分叉方式部署，可选而非强制。这意味着在量子计算真正成熟之前，绝大多数交易仍可继续使用原有签名算法，不平添负担；而有安全偏好的用户或机构可以提前迁移一部分资金到抗量子地址以高枕无忧。随着量子技术进展，逐步会有更多人选择这个选项，形成一个与量子威胁赛跑的过程。这种自愿迁移机制本身就是一种对量子黑客的诱导：网络主动暴露出一个“堡垒更坚固”的区域，鼓励守法用户往那里走，同时意味着留下的旧区域反而成为显眼的攻击目标和“诱饵”。

其次，BIP-360在算法选择和参数上充分考虑了区块链经济的承受力。起初提案曾讨论过一些前沿算法如SQIsign，但发现其验证开销高达ECDSA的15,000倍，若全网采用将使验证一块新区块从1秒暴涨到4小时，带来难以接受的性能瓶颈groups.google.com。最终的方案优选Falcon等NIST标准算法，它们签名体积较小、验证高效，可与当前区块大小和验证速度相容groups.google.com。例如Falcon-1024的签名约1.3KB、公钥1.7KB左右，这虽然比当前64字节的Schnorr签名大得多，但并非无法承受。通过配置灵活的安全级别（如重要交易才用Falcon-1024，一般小额用Falcon-512或普通Schnorr），比特币区块空间将被合理分配在安全性和费用之间。BIP-360精心设计了新的地址格式和见证结构，确保即便引入抗量子签名，区块验证和存储开销也在经济范围内，不会动摇挖矿和节点运行的成本平衡anduro.io。

最后也是最具前瞻性的一点，BIP-360为量子计算参与链上博弈打开了一扇门。通过提供抗量子和非抗量子地址并存的环境，比特币网络其实设置了一个对量子计算的挑战擂台：量子计算可以选择去攻击那些仍使用旧签名算法且价值巨大的UTXO，但同一时间，网络里的用户也在不断提升关键UTXO的签名强度来应对。量子计算不再是一个纯粹的外部敌人，而被巧妙地“请”进了系统，在规则内与用户和矿工互动。这为下一节将讨论的新经济模型奠定了基础——破解即挖矿的雏形由此孕育。

值得一提的是，BIP-360还提出了一个Taproot的量子安全补丁方案P2TRH，用哈希隐藏Taproot的公钥以弥补其“公钥长曝”缺陷groups.google.comgroups.google.com。因为现有的Taproot地址（见证v1）是直接以公钥生成地址，失去了UTXO模型隐藏公钥的优势，量子攻击者可以随时尝试破解Taproot资金。P2TRH通过将Taproot公钥再哈希一层，恢复“见证前隐藏公钥”的特性，代价是每笔此类输入增加8.25字节开销groups.google.com。这显示出比特币开发者未雨绸缪，连新升级的Taproot漏洞也在想办法弥补，使全局达到抗量子的结构性统一。

综上，BIP-360及相关提案不仅提供了技术方案，更释放出一种积极的信号：比特币正主动拥抱量子挑战，将其纳入规则之内。正如Anduro团队支持BIP-360时所言：“量子攻击的威胁严肃而迫近，我们不能坐等紧急关头才手忙脚乱。”anduro.ioanduro.io比特币社区选择了在危机到来前主动布局，以最小的代价换取最大的安全冗余和发展新契机。

“破解竞赛”经济模型：当量子成为新矿工

设想未来5-15年内，量子计算技术逐步成熟。在比特币网络中，可能会上演这样一幕令人惊叹的图景：量子计算矿工和抗量子验证者同时在线，围绕着尚未升级的老式UTXO展开一场你追我赶的“破解竞赛”。这将引发怎样的经济动力？我们大胆描绘一个后PoW时代的可能场景：

一方面，强大的量子计算机不再浪费算力去挖掘哈希谜题（传统PoW），而是直接瞄准那些“量子易攻”的UTXO，即尚使用老式ECDSA/Schnorr签名且公钥已暴露的地址。这些地址里的币对合法持有人来说如果迟迟未迁移到抗量子地址，实际上就变成了躺在链上的“悬赏”：谁能先算出私钥，谁就能转走这些币。在量子计算参与者眼中，这些币和早期比特币矿工眼中的区块奖励无异，都是凭借算力可竞争获取的收益。值得注意的是，根据分析，目前约有25%的比特币（按币量）处于公钥已暴露状态deloitte.com。随着时间推移，这个比例可能上升——除非持有人主动升级安全。这就像网络故意留出了一片“牧场”，让量子计算在其中竞相捕猎，以获得收益。量子攻击者之间形成竞争：更快的量子芯片、更好的算法意味着可以更早破解特定私钥，拿下那笔币。这几乎就是PoW的变体——过去矿工拼SHA-256算力抢区块奖励，未来量子矿工拼质因数分解/离散对数能力抢遗留UTXO。

另一方面，守护这片“牧场”的则是抗量子验证者和普通用户自身的防范行为。所谓抗量子验证者，可能是运行完整后量子节点或提供安全服务的专业机构。他们一方面帮助用户升级UTXO（例如提供一键迁移服务，把旧地址币转移到新PQ地址上，收取服务费），另一方面监测全网可疑交易。当量子攻击者尝试盗取某UTXO时，如果该UTXO持有者事先购买了“安全服务”，验证者可以抢先代为花费将币转移到更安全的地址（类似白帽黑客行为），或者提供更高级别签名升级以挫败攻击。总之，抗量子能力本身也成为一种商品，在市场上明码标价。你想让自己的币绝对安全？可以付费请量子安全服务团队定期轮换密钥、使用最高强度签名、监控链上异常。你的交易想确保不中途被截胡？可以支付更高矿工费甚至指定量子保险节点护送。在链上，一个根据签名难度和安全级别定价的市场逐渐形成：越高难度的签名（比如超长位的Falcon变种、多重签名方案结合等）需要支付越高的费用来存储和验证；反过来，这些费用补贴给保障网络安全的矿工/节点，激励他们投入更多资源提升抗量子能力。这种正反馈循环下，“安全”本身成为了新的经济激励。

如此一来，比特币生态迎来了“后挖矿时代”的转型：当区块补贴逐渐趋零，原本空缺的矿工激励由量子破解竞赛和安全服务市场所填补。量子计算加入竞争并非摧毁网络，反而扮演起类似矿工的角色，通过攻破薄弱环节来获得收益；而诚实的参与者则通过不断升级安全措施和支付安全费用来保护资产。这看似矛盾，却形成了动态平衡：正如生物进化中的“红后效应”，猎豹越快，羚羊也进化得更快，两者共同提升了系统的活力。

当然，这一模型中也充满戏剧性和讽刺意味——尤其当我们把眼光投向其他缺乏这种机制的公链。以太坊等账户制链若在量子时代陷入危机，很可能只能选择停机硬分叉、或者由中心化机构出面更换用户密钥，几乎无自动博弈的空间可言。而比特币网络则通过精妙的协议调整，把外部威胁内化为内部博弈，让市场机制去调节和应对。这种弹性与活力，正是比特币经久不衰的原因。

结语：危机催生新生，量子力量为我所用

当年互联网面对计算机病毒肆虐时，人们最终没有被动防守，而是发展出杀毒产业、安全协议，将病毒的威胁转化为推动网络更加健壮的动力。同样道理，比特币面对量子计算的冲击，并非只能筑高墙固步自封，而是选择了更具前瞻性的道路：拥抱威胁、化敌为友。通过提前布局抗量子基础设施（UTXO模型、SegWit扩展、PQ签名算法）、逐步推行BIP-360等方案，比特币正悄然改变游戏规则。在这个新规则中，量量对决、攻守博弈将上演全新篇章，网络安全不再是一成不变的盾牌，而是一套动态进化的生态系统。

或许若干年后回望，我们会发现量子计算并没有摧毁比特币，反而成就了比特币历史上的一次重大飞跃——开启了一个后工作量证明时代的新纪元。在这个纪元里，“破解就是新挖矿”不再只是戏谑之语，而成为链上真实上演的经济现象；“出售安全”也从附属服务变成每个节点和用户的日常考量。比特币将继续履行其角色：作为一个去中心化的、自我强化的金融体系，它有能力将任何挑战转化为自身进化的燃料。

正如BIP-360提案作者所言，这是一个“when 而非 if”的议题anduro.io。量子计算终将到来，而比特币已在主动邀请它参与一场精心设计的游戏。当量子计算机真的站上擂台，比特币早已不再是那个任人宰割的靶子，而更像是一位早已摆好阵势的棋手，静候对手入局。在这盘大棋中，没有永远的猎物，只有不断进化的猎人。比特币，会是那个始终笑到最后的“猎人”吗？让我们拭目以待。

参考文献：

• 【18】PQShield博客：《Falcon – A Post-Quantum Signature Scheme》 – 阐释格密码中长基（公钥）与短基（私钥）的不对称性pqshield.com。

• 【28】Deloitte报告：《Quantum risk to the Ethereum blockchain》 – 比较了比特币UTXO模型与以太坊账户模型在量子攻击下的差异，指出以太坊65%资产易受量子威胁，而比特币约25%deloitte.comdeloitte.com。

• 【23】Bitcoin开发者论坛：《Proposing a P2QRH BIP towards a quantum resistant soft fork》 – 描述了通过SegWit扩展新签名算法的思路，无需硬分叉且不增加区块大小delvingbitcoin.org。

• 【22】Emerging Investigators论文：《A meta-analysis on NIST post-quantum cryptographic primitive finalists》 – 说明Falcon-512与Falcon-1024在安全性和性能上的差异，并强调SVP/CVP等问题对量子计算依然极为困难emerginginvestigators.orgemerginginvestigators.org。

• 【36】Anduro博客：《Bitcoin Needs Quantum Resistant Addresses – We Support BIP360》 – 介绍了BIP-360提案内容，引入抗量子地址类型P2QRH，采用Falcon和Dilithium签名，软分叉兼容anduro.io。同时强调量子威胁需提早应对的紧迫性anduro.ioanduro.io。

• 【32】Bitcoin开发邮件列表：《P2QRH/BIP-360 Update》 – 提供了BIP-360提案的最新动态，算法选型从SQIsign转向Falcon、Dilithium、SPHINCS+，原因是前者验证开销过大（15,000倍）而不切实际groups.google.comgroups.google.com。

• 【30】CoinDesk报道：《Quantum Computing Could Break Bitcoin-Like Encryption Far Easier…》 – 提及比特币所用ECC也可被Shor算法破解，只要有足够强大的量子计算机coindesk.com。

• 【33】Deloitte报告：《Quantum risk to the Ethereum blockchain》 – 阐述当前量子计算的物理局限：需要上百万qubit且降低噪声量级，目前技术远不能攻击密码算法deloitte.com。

• 【38】Bitcoin开发邮件列表：《P2QRH/BIP-360 Update》 – 描述了针对Taproot的P2TRH抗量子方案，用哈希隐藏公钥以减小长时间暴露，并分析其开销和局限groups.google.comgroups.google.com。

@ 2cde0e02:180a96b9

pen & ink; monochromized

Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón[a] (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈfɾiða ˈkalo]; 6 July 1907 – 13 July 1954[1]) was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Inspired by the country's popular culture, she employed a naïve folk art style to explore questions of identity, postcolonialism, gender, class, and race in Mexican society.[2] Her paintings often had strong autobiographical elements and mixed realism with fantasy. In addition to belonging to the post-revolutionary Mexicayotl movement, which sought to define a Mexican identity, Kahlo has been described as a surrealist or magical realist.[3] She is also known for painting about her experience of chronic pain.[4]

wikipedia

https://stacker.news/items/997980

@ dfa02707:41ca50e3

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

Headlines

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

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

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

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

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

Use the tools

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

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

@ dfa02707:41ca50e3

Contribute to keep No Bullshit Bitcoin news going.

• The latest firmware updates for COLDCARD devices introduce two major features: COLDCARD Co-sign (CCC) and Key Teleport between two COLDCARD Q devices using QR codes and/or NFC with a website.

What's new

• COLDCARD Co-Sign: When CCC is enabled, a second seed called the Spending Policy Key (Key C) is added to the device. This seed works with the device's Main Seed and one or more additional XPUBs (Backup Keys) to form 2-of-N multisig wallets.
  • The spending policy functions like a hardware security module (HSM), enforcing rules such as magnitude and velocity limits, address whitelisting, and 2FA authentication to protect funds while maintaining flexibility and control, and is enforced each time the Spending Policy Key is used for signing.
  • When spending conditions are met, the COLDCARD signs the partially signed bitcoin transaction (PSBT) with the Main Seed and Spending Policy Key for fund access. Once configured, the Spending Policy Key is required to view or change the policy, and violations are denied without explanation.

"You can override the spending policy at any time by signing with either a Backup Key and the Main Seed or two Backup Keys, depending on the number of keys (N) in the multisig."

• A step-by-step guide for setting up CCC is available here.

• Key Teleport for Q devices allows users to securely transfer sensitive data such as seed phrases (words, xprv), secure notes and passwords, and PSBTs for multisig. It uses QR codes or NFC, along with a helper website, to ensure reliable transmission, keeping your sensitive data protected throughout the process.

  • For more technical details, see the protocol spec.

"After you sign a multisig PSBT, you have option to “Key Teleport” the PSBT file to any one of the other signers in the wallet. We already have a shared pubkey with them, so the process is simple and does not require any action on their part in advance. Plus, starting in this firmware release, COLDCARD can finalize multisig transactions, so the last signer can publish the signed transaction via PushTX (NFC tap) to get it on the blockchain directly."

• Multisig transactions are finalized when sufficiently signed. It streamlines the use of PushTX with multisig wallets.
• Signing artifacts re-export to various media. Users are now provided with the capability to export signing products, like transactions or PSBTs, to alternative media rather than the original source. For example, if a PSBT is received through a QR code, it can be signed and saved onto an SD card if needed.
• Multisig export files are signed now. Public keys are encoded as P2PKH address for all multisg signature exports. Learn more about it here.
• NFC export usability upgrade: NFC keeps exporting until CANCEL/X is pressed.
• Added Bitcoin Safe option to Export Wallet.
• 10% performance improvement in USB upload speed for large files.
• Q: Always choose the biggest possible display size for QR.

Fixes

• Do not allow change Main PIN to same value already used as Trick PIN, even if Trick PIN is hidden.
• Fix stuck progress bar under Receiving... after a USB communications failure.
• Showing derivation path in Address Explorer for root key (m) showed double slash (//).
• Can restore developer backup with custom password other than 12 words format.
• Virtual Disk auto mode ignores already signed PSBTs (with “-signed” in file name).
• Virtual Disk auto mode stuck on “Reading…” screen sometimes.
• Finalization of foreign inputs from partial signatures. Thanks Christian Uebber!
• Temporary seed from COLDCARD backup failed to load stored multisig wallets.
• Destroy Seed also removes all Trick PINs from SE2.
• Lock Down Seed requires pressing confirm key (4) to execute.
• Q only: Only BBQr is allowed to export Coldcard, Core, and pretty descriptor.

Blog Post / Archive
GitHub Repo
CCC Guide
Key Teleport site

@ dfa02707:41ca50e3

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

Headlines

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

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

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

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

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

Use the tools

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

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

@ dfa02707:41ca50e3

Contribute to keep No Bullshit Bitcoin news going.

• RoboSats v0.7.7-alpha is now available!

NOTE: "This version of clients is not compatible with older versions of coordinators. Coordinators must upgrade first, make sure you don't upgrade your client while this is marked as pre-release."

• This version brings a new and improved coordinators view with reviews signed both by the robot and the coordinator, adds market price sources in coordinator profiles, shows a correct warning for canceling non-taken orders after a payment attempt, adds Uzbek sum currency, and includes package library updates for coordinators.

Source: RoboSats.

• siggy47 is writing daily RoboSats activity reviews on stacker.news. Check them out here.
• Stay up-to-date with RoboSats on Nostr.

What's new

• New coordinators view (see the picture above).
• Available coordinator reviews signed by both the robot and the coordinator.
• Coordinators now display market price sources in their profiles.

Source: RoboSats.

• Fix for wrong message on cancel button when taking an order. Users are now warned if they try to cancel a non taken order after a payment attempt.
• Uzbek sum currency now available.
• For coordinators: library updates.
• Add docker frontend (#1861).
• Add order review token (#1869).
• Add UZS migration (#1875).
• Fixed tests review (#1878).
• Nostr pubkey for Robot (#1887).

New contributors

• @hexlorn made their first contribution in #1858.
• @umk0m1qk made their first contribution in #1864.

Full Changelog: v0.7.6-alpha...v0.7.7-alpha

GitHub Repo

@ dfa02707:41ca50e3

Contribute to keep No Bullshit Bitcoin news going.

• Version 1.3 of Bitcoin Safe introduces a redesigned interactive chart, quick receive feature, updated icons, a mempool preview window, support for Child Pays For Parent (CPFP) and testnet4, preconfigured testnet demo wallets, as well as various bug fixes and improvements.

• Upcoming updates for Bitcoin Safe include Compact Block Filters.

"Compact Block Filters increase the network privacy dramatically, since you're not asking an electrum server to give you your transactions. They are a little slower than electrum servers. For a savings wallet like Bitcoin Safe this should be OK," writes the project's developer Andreas Griffin.

• Learn more about the current and upcoming features of Bitcoin Safe wallet here.

What's new in v1.3

• Redesign of Chart, Quick Receive, Icons, and Mempool Preview (by @design-rrr).
• Interactive chart. Clicking on it now jumps to transaction, and selected transactions are now highlighted.

• Speed up transactions with Child Pays For Parent (CPFP).
• BDK 1.2 (upgraded from 0.32).
• Testnet4 support.
• Preconfigured Testnet demo wallets.
• Cluster unconfirmed transactions so that parents/children are next to each other.
• Customizable columns for all tables (optional view: Txid, Address index, and more)
• Bug fixes and other improvements.

Announcement / Archive
Blog Post / Archive
GitHub Repo
Website

@ 8bad92c3:ca714aa5

Marty's Bent

via levelsio

Over the weekend, prolific vibe coder levelsio took to X to complain about the state of housing affordability across Europe. Something that I was very happy to see considering the fact that there is a massive real estate affordability crisis across much of the world and it is important that people who are respected and have platforms speak out when they identify the problem as well. More eyes and focus on the problem is how something begins to get solved.

With that being said, I think levelsio is missing the forest for the trees by blaming institutionalized NIMBYism, burdensome regulations and governments hoarding land that should instead be given to developers to produce more housing supply. I quote tweeted this particular tweet on the subject from levelsio and wanted to take some time today to republish those thoughts here and expand on the topic.

It’s almost as if real estate is being used as a store of value asset instead of the consumable good that it is.

What @levelsio is observing here is called a “monetary premium”. A monetary premium is the value added on top of the consumable/aesthetic/location value of real estate.

This monetary premium exist because central banks and governments have distorted the market for money and people are forced to push value into assets that are scarce relative to dollars. Over the last 50 years real estate has been one of the relatively scarce assets of choice.

The housing affordability crisis is a negative externality of the market reaction to the corruption of money. It can only be fixed by re-introducing hard money into the economy that enables people to store value reliably. If that emerges they won’t have to store value in real estate, the monetary premium of real estate will dissolve and prices will correct to their proper valuations.

This is one of the problems that bitcoin solves.

It’s still early yet, but more and more people are recognizing the utility provided by a neutral reserve asset that can’t be manipulated by central planners. At scale, the effect on assets that have accumulated a monetary premium over decades will be material. All of these assets are significantly overvalued and their monetary premium are leaking into bitcoin.

Put another way, "It's the money, stupid." Now, this isn't to say that the supply of housing in certain areas being artificially restricted isn't having an effect on the price of housing. This is certainly true, especially in cities like San Francisco where there is a relatively strong demand because of the economic density of the area and the desire of many high agency and productive people to live there. But I would put forth that the monetary premium is still the bigger problem and no amount of de-regulation to enable the supply of housing to increase will solve the affordability crisis in the long-run. The only way to get to the root of this specific problem is via bitcoin's mainstream adoption as an apolitical uncontrollable asset with completely idiosyncratic risks when compared to any individual asset class.

Let's say the government did ease up regulations and local NIMBY sympathetics were shoved in a corner to allow new units to be built. This doesn't solve the problem in the short-run because there is a time-delay between when regulations are lifted and when new supply actually makes it to market. In the interim, governments and central banks are inevitably going to go further into debt and be forced to print money to monetize that debt. This will exacerbate inflation and even if new real estate units are brought to market, the builders/owners of those properties will likely have to demand elevated prices to attempt to keep up with inflation.

This also does nothing to solve the problem of real income and wage growth, which are significantly lagging real inflation. Even if prices came down because of a surge in supply, could the Common Man afford a down payment on the property? I'd be shocked if this was the case. And since it's likely not the case the only way to get people into these houses as "owners" would be to offer them zero-down financing, which makes people feel richer than they actually are and leads them to make financially ruinous decisions.

It's the money, stupid. People need a way to save so that they can buy in the first place. Fiat currency doesn't allow this and the only people who can save effectively are those who make enough money to funnel into substitute store of value assets like real estate.

As it stands today, the price-to-income ratio of real estate is 5.0x and the price-t0-rent index is 1.36. Up from 3.3x and 1.14x respectively where the metrics sat in the year 2000. The growth in these ratios is driven predominately via their monetary premium.

And guess what, it's about to get much worse. Donald Trump, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Elon Musk have all signaled that the plan moving forward is to attempt to drive growth and productivity as high as possible while also letting deficits and the debt increase unabated, which means that inflation is likely to continue unabated and potentially increase.

It might make sense to get some bitcoin if that is the case.

via me

"Whale in the Pool" Risk That Could Destroy MSTY Investors

Jessy Gilger raised serious concerns about MSTY and similar derivative products that promise eye-popping yields. He pointed to the COVID crash where gold mining ETFs using derivatives collapsed 95% and never recovered, despite gold itself performing well. Jessy noted that while his team calculated reasonable MicroStrategy covered call yields of 16-22%, MSTY advertises 120% annualized distributions - a red flag that suggests these aren't sustainable dividends from profits, but potentially just returning investors' own capital.

"If a whale pees in the pool, everyone is affected." - Jessy Gilger

Jessy explained that when large investors need to exit these pooled products during market stress, they must sell derivative positions into illiquid markets with no buyers, potentially triggering catastrophic losses for all participants. His solution? Private pools through separately managed accounts that achieve similar income goals without the contagion risk of being trapped with panicking whales.

Check out the full podcast here for more on Gannett Trust's multi-sig solution, Bitcoin retirement planning and corporate treasury strategies.

Headlines of the Day

World's Largest Bitcoin Conference Starts Tomorrow- via X

Remixpoint to Buy Additional ¥1 Billion in Bitcoin - via X

Get our new STACK SATS hat - via tftcmerch.io

Marty to Judge Bitcoin World Record Try in Vegas - via X

---

Take the First Step Off the Exchange

Bitkey is an easy, secure way to move your Bitcoin into self-custody. With simple setup and built-in recovery, it’s the perfect starting point for getting your coins off centralized platforms and into cold storage—no complexity, no middlemen.

Take control. Start with Bitkey.

Use the promo code *“TFTC20”* during checkout for 20% off

---

Ten31, the largest bitcoin-focused investor, has deployed 158,469 sats | $150.00M across 30+ companies through three funds. I am a Managing Partner at Ten31 and am very proud of the work we are doing. Learn more at ten31.vc/invest.

---

Final thought...

Looking forward to a fun, productive and wholesome week in Las Vegas, Nevada.

---

Get this newsletter sent to your inbox daily: https://www.tftc.io/bitcoin-brief/

Subscribe to our YouTube channels and follow us on Nostr and X:

@media screen and (max-width: 480px) { .mobile-padding { padding: 10px 0 !important; } .social-container { width: 100% !important; max-width: 260px !important; } .social-icon { padding: 0 !important; } .social-icon img { height: 32px !important; width: 32px !important; } .icon-cell { padding: 0 4px !important; } } .mj-column-per-33-333333333333336 { width: 25% !important; max-width: 25%; } .moz-text-html .mj-column-per-33-333333333333336 { width: 25% !important; max-width: 25%; } /* Helps with rendering in various email clients */ body { margin: 0 !important; padding: 0 !important; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100% !important; -ms-text-size-adjust: 100% !important; } img { -ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic; } /* Prevents Gmail from changing the text color in email threads */ .im { color: inherit !important; }

[](https://youtube.com/@T

@ dfa02707:41ca50e3

• This version introduces the Soroban P2P network, enabling Dojo to relay transactions to the Bitcoin network and share others' transactions to break the heuristic linking relaying nodes to transaction creators.

• Additionally, Dojo admins can now manage API keys in DMT with labels, status, and expiration, ideal for community Dojo providers like Dojobay. New API endpoints, including "/services" exposing Explorer, Soroban, and Indexer, have been added to aid wallet developers.
• Other maintenance updates include Bitcoin Core, Tor, Fulcrum, Node.js, plus an updated ban-knots script to disconnect inbound Knots nodes.

"I want to thank all the contributors. This again shows the power of true Free Software. I also want to thank everyone who donated to help Dojo development going. I truly appreciate it," said Still Dojo Coder.

What's new

• Soroban P2P network. For MyDojo (Docker setup) users, Soroban will be automatically installed as part of their Dojo. This integration allows Dojo to utilize the Soroban P2P network for various upcoming features and applications.
• PandoTx. PandoTx serves as a transaction transport layer. When your wallet sends a transaction to Dojo, it is relayed to a random Soroban node, which then forwards it to the Bitcoin network. It also enables your Soroban node to receive and relay transactions from others to the Bitcoin network and is designed to disrupt the assumption that a node relaying a transaction is closely linked to the person who initiated it.
  • Pushing transactions through Soroban can be deactivated by setting NODE_PANDOTX_PUSH=off in docker-node.conf.
  • Processing incoming transactions from Soroban network can be deactivated by setting NODE_PANDOTX_PROCESS=off in docker-node.conf.
• API key management has been introduced to address the growing number of people offering their Dojos to the community. Dojo admins can now access a new API management tab in their DMT, where they can create unlimited API keys, assign labels for easy identification, and set expiration dates for each key. This allows admins to avoid sharing their main API key and instead distribute specific keys to selected parties.
• New API endpoints. Several new API endpoints have been added to help API consumers develop features on Dojo more efficiently:
  • New:
    • /latest-block - returns data about latest block
    • /txout/:txid/:index - returns unspent output data
    • /support/services - returns info about services that Dojo exposes
  • Updated:
    • /tx/:txid - endpoint has been updated to return raw transaction with parameter ?rawHex=1
  • The new /support/services endpoint replaces the deprecated explorer field in the Dojo pairing payload. Although still present, API consumers should use this endpoint for explorer and other pairing data.

Other changes

• Updated ban script to disconnect inbound Knots nodes.
• Updated Fulcrum to v1.12.0.
• Regenerate Fulcrum certificate if expired.
• Check if transaction already exists in pushTx.
• Bump BTC-RPC Explorer.
• Bump Tor to v0.4.8.16, bump Snowflake.
• Updated Bitcoin Core to v29.0.
• Removed unnecessary middleware.
• Fixed DB update mechanism, added api_keys table.
• Add an option to use blocksdir config for bitcoin blocks directory.
• Removed deprecated configuration.
• Updated Node.js dependencies.
• Reconfigured container dependencies.
• Fix Snowflake git URL.
• Fix log path for testnet4.
• Use prebuilt addrindexrs binaries.
• Add instructions to migrate blockchain/fulcrum.
• Added pull policies.

#FREESAMOURAI

Learn how to set up and use your own Bitcoin privacy node with Dojo here.

Announcement / Archive
GitHub Repo

@ dfa02707:41ca50e3

Contribute to keep No Bullshit Bitcoin news going.

This update brings key enhancements for clarity and usability:

• Recent Blocks View: Added to the Send tab and inspired by Mempool's visualization, it displays the last 2 blocks and the estimated next block to help choose fee rates.
• Camera System Overhaul: Features a new library for higher resolution detection and mouse-scroll zoom support when available.
• Vector-Based Images: All app images are now vectorized and theme-aware, enhancing contrast, especially in dark mode.
• Tor & P2A Updates: Upgraded internal Tor and improved support for pay-to-anchor (P2A) outputs.
• Linux Package Rename: For Linux users, Sparrow has been renamed to sparrowwallet (or sparrowserver); in some cases, the original sparrow package may need manual removal.
• Additional updates include showing total payments in multi-payment transaction diagrams, better handling of long labels, and other UI enhancements.

• Sparrow v2.2.1 is a bug fix release that addresses missing UUID issue when starting Tor on recent macOS versions, icons for external sources in Settings and Recent Blocks view, repackaged .deb installs to use older gzip instead of zstd compression, and removed display of median fee rate where fee rates source is set to Server.

Learn how to get started with Sparrow wallet:

Release notes (v2.2.0)

• Added Recent Blocks view to Send tab.
• Converted all bitmapped images to theme aware SVG format for all wallet models and dialogs.
• Support send and display of pay to anchor (P2A) outputs.
• Renamed sparrow package to sparrowwallet and sparrowserver on Linux.
• Switched camera library to openpnp-capture.
• Support FHD (1920 x 1080) and UHD4k (3840 x 2160) capture resolutions.
• Support camera zoom with mouse scroll where possible.
• In the Download Verifier, prefer verifying the dropped file over the default file where the file is not in the manifest.
• Show a warning (with an option to disable the check) when importing a wallet with a derivation path matching another script type.
• In Cormorant, avoid calling the listwalletdir RPC on initialization due to a potentially slow response on Windows.
• Avoid server address resolution for public servers.
• Assume server address is non local for resolution failures where a proxy is configured.
• Added a tooltip to indicate truncated labels in table cells.
• Dynamically truncate input and output labels in the tree on a transaction tab, and add tooltips if necessary.
• Improved tooltips for wallet tabs and transaction diagrams with long labels.
• Show the address where available on input and output tooltips in transaction tab tree.
• Show the total amount sent in payments in the transaction diagram when constructing multiple payment transactions.
• Reset preferred table column widths on adjustment to improve handling after window resizing.
• Added accessible text to improve screen reader navigation on seed entry.
• Made Wallet Summary table grow horizontally with dialog sizing.
• Reduced tooltip show delay to 200ms.
• Show transaction diagram fee percentage as less than 0.01% rather than 0.00%.
• Optimized and reduced Electrum server RPC calls.
• Upgraded Bouncy Castle, PGPainless and Logback libraries.
• Upgraded internal Tor to v0.4.8.16.
• Bug fix: Fixed issue with random ordering of keystore origins on labels import.
• Bug fix: Fixed non-zero account script type detection when signing a message on Trezor devices.
• Bug fix: Fixed issue parsing remote Coldcard xpub encoded on a different network.
• Bug fix: Fixed inclusion of fees on wallet label exports.
• Bug fix: Increase Trezor device libusb timeout.

Linux users: Note that the sparrow package has been renamed to sparrowwallet or sparrowserver, and in some cases you may need to manually uninstall the original sparrow package. Look in the /opt folder to ensure you have the new name, and the original is removed.

What's new in v2.2.1

• Updated Tor library to fix missing UUID issue when starting Tor on recent macOS versions.
• Repackaged .deb installs to use older gzip instead of zstd compression.
• Removed display of median fee rate where fee rates source is set to Server.
• Added icons for external sources in Settings and Recent Blocks view
• Bug fix: Fixed issue in Recent Blocks view when switching fee rates source
• Bug fix: Fixed NPE on null fee returned from server

Announcement / Archive
GitHub Repo

@ 8bad92c3:ca714aa5

Key Takeaways

In this episode, Bitcoin Core veteran James O’Beirne delivers a sharp critique of Bitcoin’s developmental stagnation, attributing it to political dysfunction, post-fork trauma, and resistance within Bitcoin Core to critical upgrades like CheckTemplateVerify (CTV). He argues that while institutional adoption accelerates, internal innovation is being stifled by misplaced controversies—such as the OP_RETURN policy debate—and a bottlenecked governance model. O’Beirne warns that without urgent progress on scaling solutions like CTV, congestion control, and vaulting systems, Bitcoin risks ossifying and becoming vulnerable to institutional capture. Advocating a more adversarial posture, he suggests forking or building alternative clients to pressure progress but remains hopeful, seeing rising momentum for protocol upgrades from developers outside the Core elite.

Best Quotes

“Everybody has mempool derangement syndrome… it’s such a small issue in the grand scheme of challenges Bitcoin is facing.”

“Bitcoin is as much an experiment in technical human organization as it is a pure technology.”

“If we don’t figure out how to scale trustless Bitcoin self-custody, we’re toast. Right now, only about 2.5% of Americans could actually use Bitcoin monthly in a meaningful way.”

“CTV isn’t sexy—it just works. It keeps getting reinvented because it's so useful. At this point, it’s essential.”

“If Core isn’t going to evaluate these proposals, someone has to. Otherwise, we need to build the social justification for forking.”

“Lightning didn’t scale Bitcoin the way we expected. Let’s stop assuming a silver bullet is coming and start building the bridges ourselves.”

“You could onboard someone with just a phone and a vault… and give them more security than most hardware wallets.”

Conclusion

While Bitcoin gains traction with institutions and governments, its internal development is stalling under political inertia and misplaced focus. James O’Beirne urges the community to prioritize impactful upgrades like CTV and CCV, challenge the bottleneck of Bitcoin Core if needed, and recommit to Bitcoin’s foundational principles. This episode underscores the urgent need to bridge technical and social divides to ensure Bitcoin remains a decentralized, censorship-resistant tool for global value transfer.

Timestamps

0:00 - Intro
0:41 - Multi axis issue
5:12 - Core governance
9:41 - Derailing productive discussions
17:05 - Fold & Bitkey
18:32 - CTV
29:24 - Unchained
29:53 - Magnitude of change
41:45 - Covenant proposals
50:16 - CTV benefits
57:56 - Institutional ownership
1:05:26 - Moving forward

Transcript

(00:00) I think I have a somewhat different take than 99% of the people in the discussion. What freaks me out is if you've got Sailor owning half million coins or whatever and Black Rockck owning however many, people forget that Bitcoin is as much an experiment in technical human organization as it is, you know, as a sort of pure technology.
(00:17) The undernowledged reality is I'm actually interested to see if we have like a black swan adoption event from the machines. the risk given the increased scrutiny that things like the strategic Bitcoin reserve introduce there's a shot clock on getting to trustless decentralized value storage technology and I think we really have to be thinking about that combination of physically tired and mentally tired it's also tiresome James it's it's I was looking at that picture today and I was actually going to tweet it absent any caption just because it's
(00:52) a really good Uh yeah, it's a really good epitome of uh of a lot of stuff. But I'm with you, man. I'm tired. It's Friday. Who is it? Is that a just some random Japanese guy? I think it's it's I actually think it's from a documentary about I don't know if it's Africa, but Oh, yes. Yes.
(01:13) It's there's a little bit of a kind of like racy connotation there. Um yeah, the uh it's been long. It was interesting for me. We had Texas Energy Mining Summit here in Austin the beginning of the week. It sort of blended with Bitcoin plus I was over at Bitcoin++ Wednesday and yesterday doing the live desk and obviously topic of conversation is OP return this policy decision and this policy change that that core wants to make and many people are uh angry about and it's just again it's also tiresome.
(01:52) spoke with people on both sides over the two days and I I think I came away more confused than than I entered entered the week like what is the optimal path and somebody who's worked on Bitcoin core worked on Bitcoin core for for many years I've seen you tweeting about it seems like I won't put words in your mouth I'll let you say like what is your perspective on this whole policy debate around op return yeah so in general I think I have a somewhat different take than um 99% of the people in in the discussion which is basically that this
(02:25) is a really stupid discussion um everybody has mempool derangement syndrome like at every layer um and uh what what frustrates me a little bit about the conversation not not to not to uh get like um grumpy right off the bat but it's just it's it's such a small issue in the in the grand scheme of challenges that are being presented to Bitcoin that like spending all this drama on it um is is really a silly use of time and uh kind of emotion, but I can break it down for you.
(03:02) I mean, I think I think like largely the argument is happening on a few layers. Um the change itself technically I'm totally in favor of it. It makes sense. you know, basically the rationale is like, well, you know, um, people want to include exogenous data into the chain. Um, you can't really stop them from doing that.
(03:23) Um and so let's basically minimize the damage by saying hey you know we're going to make it easier for people to actually make use of op return as a data carrier which uh lets us avoid bloat in the UTXO set which is like one of the precious resources we have to take care of for the node.
(03:44) Um, so that's all good and the and the other thing too is that as we've seen with the ordinal stuff is um, you know, data is going to wait make its way into the chain and actually it hurts the whole network when um, there are transactions that most nodes haven't seen yet but they come through a block. Basically that slows down block propagation time.
(04:06) And so the whole idea is if you bring policy closer to the actual consensus rules, closer to the actual transactions that are going to come through and be mined, then you're going to have better network performance. You're going to have lower latency when it comes to actually broadcasting a new block around. So that's like the the sort of technical layer of the discussion.
(04:25) It's it's really a minute non-controversial change if you kind of have fluency with the the technical end of the mempool. Um, but I think there's this this higher layer to the conversation which is sort of a readjudication of spam in Bitcoin. And it's, you know, I think a lot of the the old animal spirits and sentiments are emerging about like, well, we don't like spam.
(04:49) And I think for a lot of people who kind of get lost in the technical details, it's very easy to latch on to the sentiment of I don't like spam. Um and so uh so that makes the sort of ocean knots camp maybe more appealing. Uh so that's yeah that's I guess a summary if you want to jump in anything in particular we can that's what I was saying I came out more confused than I went in.
(05:20) So last week on RHR, hey, I agree. You want policy to be aligned with consensus. Like whether we like it or not, these transactions are getting into blocks. They're non-standard, but they are valid within consensus rules and policy just isn't aligning with that. And like you said, this is disrupting the P2P layer and potentially the fee uh estimation process that that many nodes use, many applications use.
(05:49) And it makes sense to me to align policy with consensus. These things are happening. And if you can make it so Bitcoin full nodes are operating as efficiently and optimally as possible by changing this, it makes sense to me. I think my one like push back was like makes sense to me. However, I think how it was communicated to people and the whole mess with the PR.
(06:12) I think it's I think it's it was it's it's just a tactical error. Like even if this change gets in the the the real benefit of is is not material. You know, nobody was really clamoring for it. um this stuff always, you know, gets the hackles up of everybody who cares at all about, you know, spamming Bitcoin. So, it was a real tactical error.
(06:36) And I think that's that's one place where I mean it's kind of I had a little bit of shot in Freud seeing it because I'm fairly critical of core as a project along you know a variety of axes at this point and it was just kind of a demonstration of the the disconnection and kind of ineptitude of um publicity management kind of on on their end.
(06:58) Um, and so like there's part of me that enjoys seeing that because I I'm kind of convinced that that group has a lot less efficacy than they have credibility. And so to to see that kind of catch up was was interesting. The uh let's dive into that like what you said multiple axes you have a problem. I think we've throughout the years like we've been discussing the issues that Bitcoin like yourself particularly as a Bitcoin core developer for many years trying to get things through not only in the context of the way core works from a governance
(07:35) structure but just the way Bitcoin works as a distributed open source protocol like trying to get changes in and I will say like

@ dfa02707:41ca50e3

Contribute to keep No Bullshit Bitcoin news going.

• The latest firmware updates for COLDCARD devices introduce two major features: COLDCARD Co-sign (CCC) and Key Teleport between two COLDCARD Q devices using QR codes and/or NFC with a website.

What's new

• COLDCARD Co-Sign: When CCC is enabled, a second seed called the Spending Policy Key (Key C) is added to the device. This seed works with the device's Main Seed and one or more additional XPUBs (Backup Keys) to form 2-of-N multisig wallets.
  • The spending policy functions like a hardware security module (HSM), enforcing rules such as magnitude and velocity limits, address whitelisting, and 2FA authentication to protect funds while maintaining flexibility and control, and is enforced each time the Spending Policy Key is used for signing.
  • When spending conditions are met, the COLDCARD signs the partially signed bitcoin transaction (PSBT) with the Main Seed and Spending Policy Key for fund access. Once configured, the Spending Policy Key is required to view or change the policy, and violations are denied without explanation.

"You can override the spending policy at any time by signing with either a Backup Key and the Main Seed or two Backup Keys, depending on the number of keys (N) in the multisig."

• A step-by-step guide for setting up CCC is available here.

• Key Teleport for Q devices allows users to securely transfer sensitive data such as seed phrases (words, xprv), secure notes and passwords, and PSBTs for multisig. It uses QR codes or NFC, along with a helper website, to ensure reliable transmission, keeping your sensitive data protected throughout the process.

  • For more technical details, see the protocol spec.

"After you sign a multisig PSBT, you have option to “Key Teleport” the PSBT file to any one of the other signers in the wallet. We already have a shared pubkey with them, so the process is simple and does not require any action on their part in advance. Plus, starting in this firmware release, COLDCARD can finalize multisig transactions, so the last signer can publish the signed transaction via PushTX (NFC tap) to get it on the blockchain directly."

• Multisig transactions are finalized when sufficiently signed. It streamlines the use of PushTX with multisig wallets.
• Signing artifacts re-export to various media. Users are now provided with the capability to export signing products, like transactions or PSBTs, to alternative media rather than the original source. For example, if a PSBT is received through a QR code, it can be signed and saved onto an SD card if needed.
• Multisig export files are signed now. Public keys are encoded as P2PKH address for all multisg signature exports. Learn more about it here.
• NFC export usability upgrade: NFC keeps exporting until CANCEL/X is pressed.
• Added Bitcoin Safe option to Export Wallet.
• 10% performance improvement in USB upload speed for large files.
• Q: Always choose the biggest possible display size for QR.

Fixes

• Do not allow change Main PIN to same value already used as Trick PIN, even if Trick PIN is hidden.
• Fix stuck progress bar under Receiving... after a USB communications failure.
• Showing derivation path in Address Explorer for root key (m) showed double slash (//).
• Can restore developer backup with custom password other than 12 words format.
• Virtual Disk auto mode ignores already signed PSBTs (with “-signed” in file name).
• Virtual Disk auto mode stuck on “Reading…” screen sometimes.
• Finalization of foreign inputs from partial signatures. Thanks Christian Uebber!
• Temporary seed from COLDCARD backup failed to load stored multisig wallets.
• Destroy Seed also removes all Trick PINs from SE2.
• Lock Down Seed requires pressing confirm key (4) to execute.
• Q only: Only BBQr is allowed to export Coldcard, Core, and pretty descriptor.

Blog Post / Archive
GitHub Repo
CCC Guide
Key Teleport site

@ 8bad92c3:ca714aa5

Marty's Bent

If you do one thing today, take the time to spend an hour to watch this YouTube video. As someone creating content who has become very cognizant of the effects of the algorithm and the pressures to cater to it, this video was unexpectedly and incredibly satisfying. We're coming up on the eight year anniversary of this newsletter and the podcast that accompanies it and over that eight year period, the pressures to compete in the world of ever increasing digital soy slop grow at an accelerating rate.

If you've seen our YouTube channel recently, you'll probably notice that we've bent the knee to the thumbnail and title clickbait game in an attempt to get our content out to a wider audience. This is something I've held out on for many years now at this point, but recently became convinced that it's something we simply have to do if we want to get our message out to a wider audience. As I write this, I'm thinking that maybe the fact that we have to do that in the first place says something about the content we're putting out there and whether or not it is actually valuable. But I do think the high velocity trash economy becoming completely saturated with digital soy slop has made it so people who truly want to get their message out have to play that game.

I want to make one thing clear. I certainly do not think I'm an artist, but I do like to think that over the last eight years we've been putting out information via content mediums that is valuable to you, dear reader. However, the informational content we put out there, particularly the audio and video content, is put on platforms where it is forced to compete with others who cater to the lowest common denominators of dopamine hijacking and in-group signaling that draws the masses like moths to a flame.

If you haven't watched the YouTube video yet, which I'm assuming 99.9% of you haven't, this may seem like a nonsensical ramble. So, I'll keep this one short and urge you to go watch the social commentary from comedian Jarrett Moore about the state of art, "content" and its effect on culture as it stands today. I'm assuming this isn't too much of a spoiler alert, but the situation is pretty dire. The world needs better art and people who are willing to support artists who are truly creative and take risks. This has nothing to do with bitcoin. But I think it highlights an interesting part of our society that is deteriorating at a rapid clip. And it's something that all of us should feel compelled to attend to lest we speed run into Idiocracy.

It made me feel uneasy about parts of my approach to this business, and that's a good thing.

Don't forget to buy a Bitkey!

Iran's Nuclear Ambitions Create a "Never-Ending Crisis"

In our latest discussion, energy expert Dr. Anas Alhajji described what he called Iran's "never-ending crisis" – a thesis he first published over 20 years ago that has proven remarkably accurate. As Alhajji explained, this crisis persists because of a fundamental contradiction: the U.S. sees any Iranian nuclear program (even peaceful) as strengthening a hostile regime, while Iran views nuclear energy as essential for domestic stability and economic survival.

"Iran is not going to negotiate over the bomb. They want to drag everything for the longest period until they get the bomb." - Dr. Anas Alhajji

What's particularly concerning is Iran's resilience against sanctions. Alhajji detailed how Iran has masterfully circumvented oil export restrictions through China, using a dedicated Chinese bank to process payments outside the international system. Iran's leadership appears willing to endure temporary geopolitical losses in Syria, Lebanon, and potentially Yemen, calculating that obtaining nuclear weapons will fundamentally transform regional politics and their treatment by the United States.

Check out the full podcast here for more on Trump's Middle East strategy, the future of BRICS, and critical challenges facing global energy infrastructure.

Headlines of the Day

Standard Chartered Predicts Bitcoin Will Reach $500K by 2028 - via X

Lummis: Genius Act Makes US Leader in Digital Asset Policy - via X

Get our new STACK SATS hat - via tftcmerch.io

Jake Tapper's Admission on Biden's Decline Sparks Media Ethics Debate - via X

---

Take the First Step Off the Exchange

Bitkey is an easy, secure way to move your Bitcoin into self-custody. With simple setup and built-in recovery, it’s the perfect starting point for getting your coins off centralized platforms and into cold storage—no complexity, no middlemen.

Take control. Start with Bitkey.

Use the promo code *“TFTC20”* during checkout for 20% off

---

Ten31, the largest bitcoin-focused investor, has deployed 158,469 sats | $150.00M across 30+ companies through three funds. I am a Managing Partner at Ten31 and am very proud of the work we are doing. Learn more at ten31.vc/invest.

---

Final thought...

My oldest is already at the "faking sick to get out of school" stage and I'm extremely proud.

---

Get this newsletter sent to your inbox daily: https://www.tftc.io/bitcoin-brief/

Subscribe to our YouTube channels and follow us on Nostr and X:

@media screen and (max-width: 480px) { .mobile-padding { padding: 10px 0 !important; } .social-container { width: 100% !important; max-width: 260px !important; } .social-icon { padding: 0 !important; } .social-icon img { height: 32px !important; width: 32px !important; } .icon-cell { padding: 0 4px !important; } } .mj-column-per-33-333333333333336 { width: 25% !important; max-width: 25%; } .moz-text-html .mj-column-per-33-333333333333336 { width: 25% !important; max-width: 25%; } /* Helps with rendering in various email clients */ body { margin: 0 !important; padding: 0 !important; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100% !important; -ms-text-size-adjust: 100% !important; } img { -ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic; } /* Prevents Gmail from changing the text color in email threads */ .im { color: inherit !important; }

@ 8bad92c3:ca714aa5

Another week of conversations with sharp minds thinking about Bitcoin's future and the broader economic landscape. Here are the three most compelling predictions from recent episodes.

Bitcoin Core Will Face a Major Governance Crisis Over Covenant Proposals in 2025 - James O'Beirne

James made a prediction that sent chills through the Bitcoin development community - he believes Bitcoin Core's current governance structure will reach a breaking point this year over covenant proposals like CTV. After working as a Core developer for nearly a decade, he's convinced that the organization's inability to make progress on scaling solutions will force alternative implementations.

His timeline is specific and urgent. James believes that if Core doesn't show "substantive review discussion about how we get this stuff in" within six months, credible developers will start building alternate activation clients. The technical argument is compelling: covenants like CheckTemplateVerify have been thoroughly reviewed for seven years, with a 5 BTC bounty (worth over $500,000) still unclaimed for finding material bugs.

The stakes couldn't be higher for Bitcoin's future. James noted that currently "just over two and a half percent of Americans would be able to, on a monthly basis, buy Bitcoin on an exchange, withdraw it to self-custody, and then maybe make a spend." Without scaling solutions, this number won't improve meaningfully. His prediction reflects growing frustration with Core's de facto monopoly over protocol development. "You simply can't ignore that there is a social reality to being in that world," he said, referring to the concentrated funding and decision-making power that has created what he sees as an unsustainable bottleneck for Bitcoin's evolution.

The U.S. Will See Widespread Energy Blackouts as AI Data Centers Strain the Grid - Anas Alhajji

Dr. Anas delivered a sobering prediction about America's energy infrastructure failing to keep pace with exploding AI demand. He expects we'll see significant blackouts in major cities within the next few years, with a particularly concerning scenario where AI facilities maintain power while residential areas go dark. "I will not be surprised if we end up with a situation like this in some states and some cities," he warned.

The mathematics behind his prediction are stark. Energy consumption is skyrocketing due to multiple factors: urbanization, AI data centers, and simple population growth. When migrants move from rural areas to U.S. cities, their energy consumption increases by 30-70 times. Meanwhile, AI facilities require massive baseload power that renewable sources simply cannot provide reliably.

The infrastructure problems run deeper than just generation capacity. Anas explained that America's electrical grid is aging and wasn't designed for this level of demand. Even worse, we lack the manufacturing capacity to produce enough natural gas turbines - the only realistic solution for reliable baseload power at scale. He predicts this will create a dangerous political dynamic where tech companies with guaranteed power contracts maintain operations during blackouts while regular citizens lose electricity. "We might see a backlash from the population, and we will see politicians basically being forced to fight them because of that."

AI Will Force Millennials Into Career Reinvention Within the Next Decade - Bram Kanstein

Bram made a stark prediction about the collision between artificial intelligence and millennial career paths. He believes that traditional knowledge-based jobs will become obsolete much faster than people expect, forcing an entire generation to completely rethink their working lives. "If you think you're going to work for the next 30 years of your life, think again," he warned during our conversation.

His argument centers on the rapid advancement of AI capabilities that he's witnessed firsthand. After spending just 12 hours working with AI tools, Bram claims he developed what could be "a top 10 cybersecurity invention" - despite having no cybersecurity background. This experience convinced him that jobs requiring strict knowledge and logic are already dead. The implications are massive for millennials who built their careers around expertise that AI can now replicate instantly.

The timing couldn't be worse, as Bram notes that this technological disruption is happening precisely when millennials need stable income to support families and prepare for retirement. His solution? Use Bitcoin to create the time and space needed to figure out how to function in an AI-dominated world. "You need to be aware of that. This is where it's going. So how do you protect yourself in an age of AI? Bitcoin is the perfect way to do that."

---

Blockspace conducts cutting-edge proprietary research for investors.

New Bitcoin Mining Pool Flips Industry Model: "Plebs Eat First" Could Threaten Corporate Dominance

Parasite Pool's radical zero-fee structure challenges mining giants by guaranteeing payouts to small miners while rewarding block finders with instant Bitcoin. It disrupts traditional mining with a hybrid payout model that gives block discoverers 1 BTC immediately, while distributing remaining rewards (~2.125 BTC plus fees) among all pool participants. This "plebs eat first" approach targets the 22% discount miners typically accept in exchange for guaranteed income.

Key innovations that matter:

• Lightning Network integration bypasses Bitcoin's 100-block maturity rule, delivering instant payouts to Lightning wallets
• 10-sat minimum withdrawal eliminates traditional barriers for small miners
• Block withholding protection through substantial honest-miner rewards reduces pool attacks

The pool currently commands just 5 PH/s (0.000006% of Bitcoin's network), meaning an expected 3+ years before hitting a block. But this represents a growing counterculture against Full Pay Per Share (FPPS) pools that dominate corporate mining.

Industry impact: If successful, Parasite Pool could attract commercial miners seeking downside protection while maintaining the lottery appeal that drives pleb participation. The model challenges the structural advantages of corporate mining pools.

What's next: ZK Shark plans to open-source components over time, with the current beta suggesting this is just "V1" of a broader disruption strategy.

Link to Full Article

Subscribe to them here (seriously, you should): https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com/

---

Ten31, the largest bitcoin-focused investor, has deployed $150M across 30+ companies through three funds. I am a Managing Partner at Ten31 and am very proud of the work we are doing. Learn more at ten31.vc/invest.

---

Get this newsletter sent to your inbox daily: https://www.tftc.io/bitcoin-brief/

STACK SATS hat: https://tftcmerch.io/

Subscribe to our YouTube channels and follow us on Nostr and X:

@media screen and (max-width: 480px) { .mobile-padding { padding: 10px 0 !important; } .social-container { width: 100% !important; max-width: 260px !important; } .social-icon { padding: 0 !important; } .social-icon img { height: 32px !important; width: 32px !important; } .icon-cell { padding: 0 4px !important; } } .mj-column-per-33-333333333333336 { width: 25% !important; max-width: 25%; } .moz-text-html .mj-column-per-33-333333333333336 { width: 25% !important; max-width: 25%; } /* Helps with rendering in various email clients */ body { margin: 0 !important; padding: 0 !important; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100% !important; -ms-text-size-adjust: 100% !important; } img { -ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic; } /* Prevents Gmail from changing the text color in email threads */ .im { color: inherit !important; }

@ dfa02707:41ca50e3

Contribute to keep No Bullshit Bitcoin news going.

• RoboSats v0.7.7-alpha is now available!

NOTE: "This version of clients is not compatible with older versions of coordinators. Coordinators must upgrade first, make sure you don't upgrade your client while this is marked as pre-release."

• This version brings a new and improved coordinators view with reviews signed both by the robot and the coordinator, adds market price sources in coordinator profiles, shows a correct warning for canceling non-taken orders after a payment attempt, adds Uzbek sum currency, and includes package library updates for coordinators.

Source: RoboSats.

• siggy47 is writing daily RoboSats activity reviews on stacker.news. Check them out here.
• Stay up-to-date with RoboSats on Nostr.

What's new

• New coordinators view (see the picture above).
• Available coordinator reviews signed by both the robot and the coordinator.
• Coordinators now display market price sources in their profiles.

Source: RoboSats.

• Fix for wrong message on cancel button when taking an order. Users are now warned if they try to cancel a non taken order after a payment attempt.
• Uzbek sum currency now available.
• For coordinators: library updates.
• Add docker frontend (#1861).
• Add order review token (#1869).
• Add UZS migration (#1875).
• Fixed tests review (#1878).
• Nostr pubkey for Robot (#1887).

New contributors

• @hexlorn made their first contribution in #1858.
• @umk0m1qk made their first contribution in #1864.

Full Changelog: v0.7.6-alpha...v0.7.7-alpha

GitHub Repo

@ 8bad92c3:ca714aa5

Key Takeaways

In this episode, Bram Kanstein delivers a powerful exploration of how studying money for thousands of hours led him to a single, life-changing conclusion: Bitcoin is the key to preserving value and reclaiming personal agency in an increasingly unstable world. Through the lens of a disillusioned millennial generation—raised with technological optimism but betrayed by economic reality—Bram exposes the fiat system as one built on illusion, debt, and diminishing returns. He explains how Bitcoin’s transparent, rule-based design offers a principled alternative, especially for those wired to question systems and seek truth. Describing the fiat economy as a “high-velocity trash system” that undermines innovation and long-term planning, he argues Bitcoin creates the time and space to think, build, and live freely. As AI reshapes the labor market, Bram sees Bitcoin as a vital foundation for individuals to adapt, maintain sovereignty, and thrive in a future defined by rapid technological disruption.

Best Quotes

“Anything that you would want to fix in the world is broken because the money is broken.”

“You’re stacking nothing. Literal paper.”

“You have to red pill before you orange pill.”

“The only thing you need to do is move to the other money that they cannot mess with.”

“One Bitcoin is one Bitcoin. That’s the whole point.”

“Millennials are primed to understand Bitcoin.”

“Bitcoin lets you get out of the rat race and start walking your own path.”

“The fiat mindset is a zero-sum game. In Bitcoin, value is created.”

“We should stop asking how to value Bitcoin—and start asking how to value everything else in Bitcoin.”

“Even with a master’s in economics, people still don’t understand what money is.”

Conclusion

This episode delivers a powerful call to rethink everything we assume about money, arguing that understanding Bitcoin is less about profit and more about reclaiming personal agency in a world defined by uncertainty. Bram Kanstein shows how asking fundamental questions—like “What is money?”—can lead to a deeper sense of purpose and autonomy. As AI and systemic instability accelerate, Bitcoin emerges not just as sound money, but as a life tool for intentional living, long-term thinking, and individual sovereignty.

Timestamps

0:00 - Intro
0:36 - INTJ bitcoiners
4:58 - The millennial headspace is primed for bitcoin
7:25 - Bitcoin gives time and space to build
15:29 - Fold & Bitkey
17:05 - Seeing systemic problems
26:25 - Bitcoin’s positive feedback loop
33:55 - Recognize your agency
37:58 - Unchained
38:27 - Fiat money creates uncertainty
44:41 - What is money?
54:04 - Money and energy
1:03:43 - Bitcoin allows growth
1:09:02 - Bitcoin/AI
1:31:34 - Optimistic note

Transcript

(00:00) Let's say you're a millennial and mid-30s and you want to retire in 30 years. If you calculate the amount of dollar, pound the euro, yen units. You need way more units of that money than you think right now. They are funding pension funds, but the pension funds are using that money for the people that are actually retiring.
(00:17) No one knows about money. They don't know how debt works, how finance works. But that's kind of how it's designed, right? Like that's what eventually keeps the Ponzi alive. And I just started with the question, what do you think happens if you call the bank and say like, hey, can I get 100 or 200k in cash? Man, you got an editor like in house.
(00:39) That's That's pro. That's uh it's because this setup I'm so far away from the computer. I just need somebody to hit the button. Okay. Okay. the extent the extent of of Logan's job extends far beyond just hitting the button. But yeah, INTJ I think uh I think it was as we rear into what looks to be another bull market.
(01:05) I think getting back to first principles and discussing the challenges of studying and understanding Bitcoin, it's important to to highlight the archetype of individuals who have studied fallen down the rabbit hole and really dedicated their lives to Bitcoin. And this INTJ cohort that exists within Bitcoin seems pretty material apparently. Yeah.
(01:35) I mean, I have many moments where I just realize that I'm lucky that my brain is wired in a certain way, you know. I feel like crazy blessed that I figured out this Bitcoin thing, you know, and that when I ran into certain realizations along the way in my Bitcoin journey that I was like, hm, you know, how does this actually work? you know, do I actually understand the systems I'm participating in, the things that I believe, you know, the the the the people that I abstracted um or or outsourced certain responsibilities to to take care of, for example, my money
(02:10) in the bank. You know, I I think um being wired in a certain way definitely helps in grasping Bitcoin to a degree where you're like, okay, this is the only thing I need to pay attention to, you know, in my life. And yeah, we we jokingly started talking about this because I have the hat here, but there was this um I think it was like like a Twitter poll actually or someone shared it on Twitter and this is already like two or three years old where where someone investigated these MyersBriggs um personality types and I think there's
(02:42) only like 2% of people that have INTJ but like 20% of Bitcoiners have that personality type. So it um it apparently helps. So yeah, I just I just quickly Googled it actually. It says uh the INTJ is the architect. It's a personality type with the introverted intuitive thinking and judging traits. These thoughtful tacticians love perfecting the details of life, applying creativity and rationality to everything they do.
(03:09) I think the rationality part here is what um what uh I think helps you to to gro Bitcoin eventually. Yeah, it reminds me of I forget what the study was, but postco it was a similar distribution of just like 2% of people were highly skeptical of what was going on with the lockdowns and the attack on bodily autonomy.
(03:38) And there was a study that was done about I forget it was bees or some type of fly that they they have like the horde of um the horde of the particular fly I think it was bees has like 2% act as these sort of alarm bells that are on the outside the outskirts of the community and they'll start communicating like hey something's wrong here and people the other flies or bees will be skeptical at first but then eventually uh the alarm bells will be proven to be right that there was some sort of danger around the corner. That's fascinating.
(04:09) Yeah. Yeah, that's fascinating. I I think we're not that special eventually, you know, like we think we have all this autonomy, but but um yeah, we're we're just wired in a certain way. And I think I don't know where you want to take this conversation, but I think, you know, part of growing up and being an adult is figuring out, you know, how do I actually work and how do I work with how I work, you know? Yeah. No, it is.
(04:36) And as I get older, creep into my mid-30s, which is hard hard to come to grips with, it is uh really falling back on like, all right, I I feel like I have a good perspective on the world and my place in it, and how do I just optimize to make sure I'm aligning my my work and my career, I guess, if you call it that, with what I'm passionate about. Yeah.
(05:00) Well, I also think that is actually why our generation, you know, my my podcast is Bitcoin for millennials. I think uh the millennials are primed to understand Bitcoin. You know, we are in this life phase where big things happen, you know, starting a family or settling somewhere or or making big career moves or decide Yeah.
(05:25) like deciding what am I going to spend like the next 10 20 years on and uh I think it's an interesting phase actually I I don't know how that was for you but but for me like the the 30s were really where I dove more and more into Bitcoin like got got that stronger conviction and also yeah kind of was invited to go further down that that rabbit hole you know and like how I see it now is that that Bitcoin is really the foundation for the rest of my life, you know, like it it gives me time and space to look forward and enthusiasm, you know, like I sometimes lurk on the
(06:01) millennial subreddit, you know, or the finance sub subreddit. And many people in our generation are very nihilistic, you know, they're very unsure about the future. Like some people aren't even having kids because they think they cannot afford it, you know. And uh whenever I read that, I just think like, yeah, I I don't really have those things.
(06:22) But I know it's because of Bitcoin, you know. I I know that Bitcoin gives me, yeah, like I said, the time and space to figure out what's next, like what should I focus on? Like it gives time and space to to try out stuff, to build something, you know, to to to really attempt at at doing something. Where I see many people that don't see that, they are more in the consumer type, you know, like they they just spend the money that's worth the most today, you know, like that's what they're incentivized to do. Yeah.
(06:49) And is is that why you started Bitcoin for millennials is to number one put the put the message out there. Millennials come listen to this. One of you Yes. that is trying to educate you about this. But because this is something I think about a lot is somebody's like dead smack in the middle of the millennial generation and has observed many of the things you just described in my own life, my own network.
(07:13) And that's part of the reason why this podcast exists. And um what I'm trying to do at TFTC is just try to figure out a way to reach into the minds of millennials, hopefully c

@ dfa02707:41ca50e3

Contribute to keep No Bullshit Bitcoin news going.

• Version 1.3 of Bitcoin Safe introduces a redesigned interactive chart, quick receive feature, updated icons, a mempool preview window, support for Child Pays For Parent (CPFP) and testnet4, preconfigured testnet demo wallets, as well as various bug fixes and improvements.

• Upcoming updates for Bitcoin Safe include Compact Block Filters.

"Compact Block Filters increase the network privacy dramatically, since you're not asking an electrum server to give you your transactions. They are a little slower than electrum servers. For a savings wallet like Bitcoin Safe this should be OK," writes the project's developer Andreas Griffin.

• Learn more about the current and upcoming features of Bitcoin Safe wallet here.

What's new in v1.3

• Redesign of Chart, Quick Receive, Icons, and Mempool Preview (by @design-rrr).
• Interactive chart. Clicking on it now jumps to transaction, and selected transactions are now highlighted.

• Speed up transactions with Child Pays For Parent (CPFP).
• BDK 1.2 (upgraded from 0.32).
• Testnet4 support.
• Preconfigured Testnet demo wallets.
• Cluster unconfirmed transactions so that parents/children are next to each other.
• Customizable columns for all tables (optional view: Txid, Address index, and more)
• Bug fixes and other improvements.

Announcement / Archive
Blog Post / Archive
GitHub Repo
Website

@ 8bad92c3:ca714aa5

Key Takeaways

Michael Goldstein, aka Bitstein, presents a sweeping philosophical and economic case for going “all in” on Bitcoin, arguing that unlike fiat, which distorts capital formation and fuels short-term thinking, Bitcoin fosters low time preference, meaningful saving, and long-term societal flourishing. At the heart of his thesis is “hodling for good”—a triple-layered idea encompassing permanence, purpose, and the pursuit of higher values like truth, beauty, and legacy. Drawing on thinkers like Aristotle, Hoppe, and Josef Pieper, Goldstein redefines leisure as contemplation, a vital practice in aligning capital with one’s deepest ideals. He urges Bitcoiners to think beyond mere wealth accumulation and consider how their sats can fund enduring institutions, art, and architecture that reflect a moral vision of the future.

Best Quotes

“Let BlackRock buy the houses, and you keep the sats.”

“We're not hodling just for the sake of hodling. There is a purpose to it.”

“Fiat money shortens your time horizon… you can never rest.”

“Savings precedes capital accumulation. You can’t build unless you’ve saved.”

“You're increasing the marginal value of everyone else’s Bitcoin.”

“True leisure is contemplation—the pursuit of the highest good.”

“What is Bitcoin for if not to make the conditions for magnificent acts of creation possible?”

“Bitcoin itself will last forever. Your stack might not. What will outlast your coins?”

“Only a whale can be magnificent.”

“The market will sell you all the crack you want. It’s up to you to demand beauty.”

Conclusion

This episode is a call to reimagine Bitcoin as more than a financial revolution—it’s a blueprint for civilizational renewal. Michael Goldstein reframes hodling as an act of moral stewardship, urging Bitcoiners to lower their time preference, build lasting institutions, and pursue truth, beauty, and legacy—not to escape the world, but to rebuild it on sound foundations.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:50 - Michael’s BBB presentation Hodl for Good
07:27 - Austrian principles on capital
15:40 - Fiat distorts the economic process
23:34 - Bitkey
24:29 - Hodl for Good triple entendre
29:52 - Bitcoin benefits everyone
39:05 - Unchained
40:14 - Leisure theory of value
52:15 - Heightening life
1:15:48 - Breaking from the chase makes room for magnificence
1:32:32 - Nakamoto Institute’s mission

Transcript

(00:00) Fiat money is by its nature a disturbance. If money is being continually produced, especially at an uncertain rate, these uh policies are really just redistribution of wealth. Most are looking for number to go up post hyper bitcoinization. The rate of growth of bitcoin would be more reflective of the growth of the economy as a whole.
(00:23) Ultimately, capital requires knowledge because it requires knowing there is something that you can add to the structures of production to lengthen it in some way that will take time but allow you to have more in the future than you would today. Let Black Rockck buy the houses and you keep the sats, not the other way around.
(00:41) You wait until later for Larry Frink to try to sell you a [Music] mansion. And we're live just like that. Just like that. 3:30 on a Friday, Memorial Day weekend. It's a good good good way to end the week and start the holiday weekend. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Thank you for having me here. Thank you for coming. I wore this hat specifically because I think it's I think it's very apppropo uh to the conversation we're going to have which is I hope an extension of the presentation you gave at Bitblock Boom Huddle for good. You were working on
(01:24) that for many weeks leading up to uh the conference and explaining how you were structuring it. I think it's a very important topic to discuss now as the Bitcoin price is hitting new all-time highs and people are trying to understand what am I doing with Bitcoin? Like you have you have the different sort of factions within Bitcoin.
(01:47) Uh get on a Bitcoin standard, get on zero, spend as much Bitcoin as possible. You have the sailors of the world are saying buy Bitcoin, never sell, die with your Bitcoin. And I think you do a really good job in that presentation. And I just think your understanding overall of Bitcoin is incredible to put everything into context. It's not either or.
(02:07) It really depends on what you want to accomplish. Yeah, it's definitely there there is no actual one-sizefits-all um for I mean nearly anything in this world. So um yeah, I mean first of all I mean there was it was the first conference talk I had given in maybe five years. I think the one prior to that uh was um bit block boom 2019 which was my meme talk which uh has uh become infamous and notorious.
(02:43) So uh there was also a lot of like high expectations uh you know rockstar dev uh has has treated that you know uh that that talk with a lot of reference. a lot of people have enjoyed it and he was expecting this one to be, you know, the greatest one ever, which is a little bit of a little bit of a uh a burden to live up to those kinds of standards.
(03:08) Um, but you know, because I don't give a lot of talks. Um, you know, I I I like to uh try to bring ideas that might even be ideas that are common. So, something like hodling, we all talk about it constantly. uh but try to bring it from a little bit of a different angle and try to give um a little bit of uh new light to it.
(03:31) I alsove I've I've always enjoyed kind of coming at things from a third angle. Um whenever there's, you know, there's there's all these little debates that we have in in Bitcoin and sometimes it's nice to try to uh step out of it and look at it a little more uh kind of objectively and find ways of understanding it that incorporate the truths of of all of them.
(03:58) uh you know cuz I think we should always be kind of as much as possible after ultimate truth. Um so with this one um yeah I was kind of finding that that sort of golden mean. So uh um yeah and I actually I think about that a lot is uh you know Aristotle has his his concept of the golden mean. So it's like any any virtue is sort of between two vices um because you can you can always you can always take something too far.
(04:27) So you're you're always trying to find that right balance. Um so someone who is uh courageous you know uh one of the vices uh on one side is being basically reckless. I I can't remember what word he would use. Uh but effectively being reckless and just wanting to put yourself in danger for no other reason than just you know the thrill of it.
(04:50) Um and then on the other side you would just have cowardice which is like you're unwilling to put yourself um at any risk at any time. Um, and courage is right there in the middle where it's understanding when is the right time uh to put your put yourself, you know, in in the face of danger um and take it on. And so um in some sense this this was kind of me uh in in some ways like I'm obviously a partisan of hodling.
(05:20) Um, I've for, you know, a long time now talked about the, um, why huddling is good, why people do it, why we should expect it. Um, but still trying to find that that sort of golden mean of like yes, huddle, but also what are we hodling for? And it's not we're we're not hodddling just merely for the sake of hodddling.
(05:45) There there is a a purpose to it. And we should think about that. And that would also help us think more about um what are the benefits of of spending, when should we spend, why should we spend, what should we spend on um to actually give light to that sort of side of the debate. Um so that was that was what I was kind of trying to trying to get into.
(06:09) Um, as well as also just uh at the same time despite all the talk of hodling, there's always this perennial uh there's always this perennial dislike of hodlers because we're treated as uh as if um we're just free riding the network or we're just greedy or you know any of these things. And I wanted to show how uh huddling does serve a real economic purpose.
(06:36) Um, and it does benefit the individual, but it also does uh it it has actual real social um benefits as well beyond merely the individual. Um, so I wanted to give that sort of defense of hodling as well to look at it from um a a broader position than just merely I'm trying to get rich. Um uh because even the person who uh that is all they want to do um just like you know your your pure number grow up go up moonboy even that behavior has positive ramifications on on the economy.
(07:14) And while we might look at them and have uh judgments about their particular choices for them as an individual, we shouldn't discount that uh their actions are having positive positive effects for the rest of the economy. Yeah. So, let's dive into that just not even in the context of Bitcoin because I think you did a great job of this in the presentation.
(07:36) just you've done a good job of this consistently throughout the years that I've known you. Just from like a first principles Austrian economics perspective, what is the idea around capital accumulation, low time preference and deployment of that capital like what what like getting getting into like the nitty-gritty and then applying it to Bitcoin? Yeah, it's it's a big question and um in many ways I mean I I even I barely scratched the surface.
(08:05) uh I I can't claim to have read uh all the volumes of Bombber works, you know, capital and interest and and stuff like that. Um but I think there's some some sort of basic concepts that we can look at that we can uh draw a lot out. Um the first uh I guess let's write that. So repeat so like capital time preference. Yeah. Well, I guess getting more broad like why sav

@ 9ca447d2:fbf5a36d

Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), the company behind Truth Social and other Trump-branded digital platforms, is planning to raise $2.5 billion to build one of the largest bitcoin treasuries among public companies.

The deal involves the sale of approximately $1.5 billion in common stock and $1.0 billion in convertible senior secured notes.

According to the company, the offering is expected to close by the end of May, pending standard closing conditions.

Devin Nunes, CEO of Trump Media, said the investment in bitcoin is a big part of the company’s long-term plan.

“We view Bitcoin as an apex instrument of financial freedom,” Nunes said.

“This investment will help defend our Company against harassment and discrimination by financial institutions, which plague many Americans and U.S. firms.”

He added that the bitcoin treasury will be used to create new synergies across the company’s platforms including Truth Social, Truth+, and the upcoming financial tech brand Truth.Fi.

“It’s a big step forward in the company’s plans to evolve into a holding company by acquiring additional profit-generating, crown jewel assets consistent with America First principles,” Nunes said.

The $2.5 billion raise will come from about 50 institutional investors. The $1 billion in convertible notes will have 0% interest and be convertible into shares at a 35% premium.

TMTG’s current liquid assets, including cash and short-term investments, are $759 million as of the end of the first quarter of 2025. With this new funding, the company’s liquid assets will be over $3 billion.

Custody of the bitcoin treasury will be handled by Crypto.com and Anchorage Digital. They will manage and store the digital assets.

Earlier this week The Financial Times reported Trump Media was planning to raise $3 billion for digital assets acquisitions.

The article said the funds would be used to buy bitcoin and other digital assets, and an announcement could come before a major related event in Las Vegas.

Related: Bitcoin 2025 Conference Kicks off in Las Vegas Today

Trump Media denied the FT report. In a statement, the company said, “Apparently the Financial Times has dumb writers listening to even dumber sources.”

There was no further comment. However, the official $2.5 billion figure, which was announced shortly after by Trump Media through a press release, aligns with its actual filing and investor communication.

Trump Media’s official announcement

This comes at a time when the Trump family and political allies are showing renewed interest in Bitcoin.

President Donald Trump who is now back in office since the 2025 election, has said he wants to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the world.”

Trump Media is also working on retail bitcoin investment products including ETFs aligned with America First policies.

These products will make bitcoin more accessible to retail investors and support pro-Trump financial initiatives.

But not everyone is happy.

Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren recently expressed concerns about Trump Media’s Bitcoin plans. She asked U.S. regulators to clarify their oversight of digital-asset ETFs, warning of investor risk.

Industry insiders are comparing Trump Media’s plans to Strategy (MSTR) which has built a multi-billion dollar bitcoin treasury over the last year. They used stock and bond sales to fund their bitcoin purchases.

@ 8bad92c3:ca714aa5

Marty's Bent

via me

I think we'll look back at last weekend as one of the most pivotal points in human history. Ukraine's Operation Spider Web is one of the more shocking things I've seen in terms of military operations in my life. It validates something that many bitcoiners, many cypherpunks, and many prescient individuals have been talking about for decades now at this point, which is asymmetric drone warfare.

The Sovereign Individual is a book that many bitcoiners have talked about throughout the years due to how prescient it was in terms of the inevitable emergence of a digital currency outside the control of central banks and governments. The book was written in the mid-90s, so the fact that the two authors were able to predict that something like bitcoin would emerge less than 20 years after writing the book is pretty incredible. However, digital currencies leveraging cryptography were not the sole focus of the book. Another portion of the book was dedicated to the idea of asymmetric drone warfare and its effects on society overall.

It seems pretty clear today that this is another call from The Sovereign Individual that is coming true. Obviously, unless you've been living under a rock, you've noticed that Ukraine has been using drones in the battlefield to target strategic Russian assets and individual soldiers over the last year. The amount of battlefield videos I've seen of Russian soldiers running from autonomous drones that are hunting them down has been increasing significantly over the last six months. The footage is truly harrowing. It is a death that I wouldn't wish on anybody. With Operation Spider Web Ukraine has increased the stakes of this type of drone warfare by going deep into Russian territory and targeting strategic long-range bombers, some of which had the ability to deploy nuclear warheads. This is sure to incite a reaction from Russia. No one will be surprised if, by the end of the week, Russia has started a shock and awe campaign that goes deep into Ukrainian territory in retaliation for the kamikaze drone strikes on their long-range aircraft. I pray for peace and a quick resolution to this war, and every other war for that matter.

I didn't come here to pontificate and give my thoughts on this particular war, but I would like to focus on this new tactic of war and what it means for military budgets moving forward. The Sovereign Individual laid it out clearly when they wrote in the 1990s that at some point in the future autonomous drones would be leveraged in the battlefield and prove to be asymmetric because of the fact that they are extremely cheap to produce. When you compare the price it cost to produce one of these drones to the price of the equipment they are destroying, things get pretty crazy. With tens of thousands of dollars of drone equipment the Ukrainian army destroyed tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars worth of long-range missile aircraft. And it did so without putting any Ukrainian military personnel in harm's way. Directly, at least.

When you consider the return on investment of deploying these drones compared to sending in soldiers, tanks, and your own aircraft, it becomes pretty obvious that this is going to quickly become the most logical way to fight a war moving forward. The question that remains is how quickly do other governments recognize this and implement it into their own defense strategies? As an American looking at our military budget, which is quickly approaching $1 trillion in annual spend, I'm forced to question whether or not most of that money is simply being wasted, considering the fact that we live in a time where these asymmetric battlefield strategies now exist. Why build new fighter jets when a Somali pirate, or nefarious individual for that matter, could use a $200 drone to destroy it in a matter of seconds with no threat of direct physical harm?

I'm no military expert, but if I were at the helm of the Defense Department, I would seriously be forcing those below me to focus a ton of effort on this problem and create plans to make sure that we are sufficiently protected from these risks. The only way to protect from these risks is to build the capabilities yourself. When it comes to the risk reward from a defense tech investment perspective I think a majority of the effort should be focused on defensive drone technologies and capabilities.

With that being said, it does seem like the US military is privy to this asymmetric reality that we currently live in. Defense contracts with Andruil make this pretty clear. Andruil is certainly ahead of the curve when it comes to autonomous drone warfare and defense against it. As an American, even though I don't like war, or the military industrial complex, knowing that the military is working with companies like Andruil does give me some comfort. However, the other side of that coin is that it is very unnerving when you consider that the government creating these public-private partnerships could lead to some Orwellian outcomes here at home. It may make some of you feel uncomfortable, but I believe the ideal scenario is that any individual has access to these types of defensive drone technologies in the future. The end goal being to create a nuclear game theoretical outcome where violence is reduced because one always has to assume that anyone they intend to attack has access to sufficient and formidable defensive technologies.

It's truly scary times we're living in as we transition further into the Digital Age. Part of the reason that I've dedicated my whole life to bitcoin is because I truly do believe that if you fix the money, you can fix the world. That is not to say that kinetic wars or physical violence will not exist in the future. It certainly will. But I believe sound money and open access to these systems and tools creates conditions which are much more suitable for cooperation and less so for conflict.

Multi-Signature Bitcoin Custody Is Replacing Single-Point Solutions

Jesse Gilger made a compelling case for why multi-signature Bitcoin custody represents the future of secure storage. He explained how Gannett Trust's approach ensures "not all of the keys are going to be at any one entity," fundamentally reducing the honeypot risk that plagues centralized custodians. This distributed model means no single point of failure can compromise your Bitcoin, whether through hacking, internal fraud, or regulatory seizure.

"I was on the list. I got the email. 'You were affected.'" - Jesse Gilger

Jesse's firsthand experience with the Coinbase data breach drives home why centralized custody is fundamentally flawed. While Coinbase holds keys for 10 of 12 Bitcoin ETFs, smart money is moving toward multi-institutional setups where Gannett holds a key, Unchained holds a key, and a third party holds a key. This alignment with Bitcoin's decentralized ethos isn't just philosophically pure—it's pragmatically superior for protecting generational wealth.

Check out the full podcast here for more on MSTY risks, Bitcoin retirement strategies and nation-state adoption dynamics.

Headlines of the Day

MicroStrategy Copycats See Speculative Premiums Fade - via X

Square Tests Bitcoin Payments, Lightning Yields Beat DeFi - via X

Get our new STACK SATS hat - via tftcmerch.io

Bitfinex Moves $731M Bitcoin to Jack Mallers' Fund - via X

---

Take the First Step Off the Exchange

Bitkey is an easy, secure way to move your Bitcoin into self-custody. With simple setup and built-in recovery, it’s the perfect starting point for getting your coins off centralized platforms and into cold storage—no complexity, no middlemen.

Take control. Start with Bitkey.

Use the promo code *“TFTC20”* during checkout for 20% off

---

Ten31, the largest bitcoin-focused investor, has deployed $150.00M across 30+ companies through three funds. I am a Managing Partner at Ten31 and am very proud of the work we are doing. Learn more at ten31.vc/invest.

---

Final thought...

Trying to imagine the future my children are going to live in gets harder by the day.

---

Get this newsletter sent to your inbox daily: https://www.tftc.io/bitcoin-brief/

Subscribe to our YouTube channels and follow us on Nostr and X:

@media screen and (max-width: 480px) { .mobile-padding { padding: 10px 0 !important; } .social-container { width: 100% !important; max-width: 260px !important; } .social-icon { padding: 0 !important; } .social-icon img { height: 32px !important; width: 32px !important; } .icon-cell { padding: 0 4px !important; } } .mj-column-per-33-333333333333336 { width: 25% !important; max-width: 25%; } .moz-text-html .mj-column-per-33-333333333333336 { width: 25% !important; max-width: 25%; } /* Helps with rendering in various email clients

@ 8bad92c3:ca714aa5

Key Takeaways

Leon Wankum, a real estate expert turned Bitcoiner, presents a powerful argument that Bitcoin is emerging as the new “hurdle rate,” outpacing real estate as the preferred store of value in a shifting financial landscape. As the 18-year property cycle nears its end amid high interest rates and imbalanced markets, Bitcoin’s scarcity, performance, and optionality are prompting capital allocators to rethink traditional strategies. Institutions are beginning to reallocate cash flows and refinance properties into Bitcoin treasuries, while new yield-bearing Bitcoin instruments like Strike, Strife, and Stride offer compelling alternatives to bonds and property. Wankum envisions a gradual transition to a Bitcoin standard, facilitated by dual collateralization and designed to avoid economic disruption as Bitcoin steadily replaces legacy financial infrastructure.

Best Quotes

"Bitcoin is starting to become the new hurdle rate that all other financial products have to abide to."

“No asset—not even prime real estate—can compete with Bitcoin’s long-term performance and absolute scarcity.”

"You can refinance a property and allocate to Bitcoin without selling—this is how many are making the transition."

"Strategy (MicroStrategy) has enough Bitcoin to cover preferred stock dividends for over 200 years."

"20% of our property cash flow into Bitcoin outperformed the 80% left in fiat."

“Bitcoin is digital real estate—but better. Scarce, global, and doesn’t need maintenance or tax sheltering gimmicks.”

“If it’s just 1% of the real estate market, that’s $3 trillion. And that’s enough.”

"A smooth transition, not collapse, is the optimal path forward."

Conclusion

This episode explores how Bitcoin is overtaking real estate as the global store of value, with Leon Wankum offering a rational, experience-based framework for understanding this shift. While institutional inertia slows adoption, capital flows are beginning to reflect Bitcoin’s growing dominance, as new financial instruments and treasury strategies emerge. Leon advocates for a thoughtful, evolutionary transition to a Bitcoin standard—one that prioritizes stability, practical integration, and long-term value creation across the global economy.

Timestamps

0:00 - Intro
0:50 - Real Estate
12:36 - Bitcoin for real estate investors
17:44 - Bitkey
18:39 - MSTR products and opportunity cost
30:43 - Unchained
31:13 - Cash flow alternatives
37:40 - Strategy risks
44:41 - Smooth or chaotic transition
50:58 - Is this cycle different?
56:42 - Tradfi degeneracy
1:02:00 - Leon’s Book - Digital Real Estate

Transcript

(00:00) Other than real estate, there were little investments that performed better. Few were aware of the existence of Bitcoin. As people become more aware, they will likely also sell off their properties. Bitcoin as a near-perfect form of money is starting to become the new hurdle rate that all other financial products have to abide to.
(00:19) Instead of buying a regular bond issued by a nation state, you can actually buy a fixed income product issued by Strategy. This is a product that could potentially tap into the real estate market. If it's just 1%, that's 3 trillion. And that's enough. They are starting to weigh the opportunity cost of not putting money into Bitcoin.
(00:36) But very few are able to comprehend the necessity of quickly investing large part of the capital into Bitcoin. Every 18 years will have a correction on housing. We're bringing in a housing expert to talk about the real estate market and Bitcoin corporate adoption. in the crazy frenzy that's going on right now in public markets.
(01:04) Leon, welcome back to the show. Thanks for having me back. It was great seeing you even though it was briefly in Vegas last week. I caught you literally as I was running to the airport off the stage. Yeah. And uh look, I'm pull that back up because I think this is a good jumping off point. We'll start with like a personal story.
(01:24) I'm currently in the middle of a move right now, but decided to rent a house because I was looking at the prices for housing in the places I'm looking to buy and they were they were too high. Not only were they too high, we put a bid in on one house and it wound up going a million dollars over asking.
(01:44) And I think over here in the United States, this is a big topic of discussion right now, which is the real estate market feels a little toppy. Prices are still very high, very sticky. Rates are still very high. Uh, and that's one thing I'm trying to discern as somebody who would like to buy a house in the next few years, a forever house for my family, what is going on.
(02:08) And as we can see here, Red Red Fin reported earlier this week that 34% there are 34% more sellers in the market than buyers. At no other point in records dating back to 2013 have sellers outnumbered buyers this much. There are a total of $698 billion worth of homes for sale in the US, up 20.
(02:29) 3% from a year ago in the highest dollar amount ever. So, it seems like there's a ton of people who have rode the real estate market and they're being a bit stingy on pricing and we're waiting for a correction. Is that your take on this? Yeah, we definitely need to wait for price equilibrium to build because since 2008 really since we had low interest rates um prices were skyrocketing and now with a different interest rate environment.
(02:57) Um what I personally also feel is that people are not willing to sell their houses for a price that they believe is not what they could get because they still have the prices in mind that they were able to receive 2 three years ago and the buyers are not willing to pay prices that people want because interest rates are higher meaning the cost of capital and the cost of borrowing went up.
(03:21) So I think this is a healthy um and a healthy um development. We need a price equilibrium. We need um demand and supply prices to match. It's going to take a long time. I think it's also it also depends on interest rates. If Powell is going to um lower interest rates, which I don't think he will, even though that's something that the president would like him to do, but I don't think he will because it would cause inflation to go up again, especially in in goods and services and groceries.
(03:51) And um judging by that, I think interest rates will stay above 3% at least for the foreseeable future. Meaning I believe that real estate prices will come down a little bit till we meet that equilibrium. But something that's important to to remember which makes it a little bit odd that because as a Bitcoiner when you look at housing, I think you constantly think now it's going to crash, now it's going to crash.
(04:15) But the reason it's not really going to crash is as soon as new money is being introduced into your economy or as soon as interest rates are lowered that money is being funneled into real estate and also the existing system that is depending on real estate as collateral has an interest in propping prices up.
(04:34) So this can go on for another 10 or 20 years I think. I mean there could be there's definitely a correction that we can see right now and I personally wouldn't get into uh real estate development at this point if you'll ask me from the perspective what's the better investment of course that is Bitcoin but I just want to make a point that this can go can go on for longer than we think because housing is limited not as limited as Bitcoin but there's something called the 18-year property cycle and it says that every 18 years, we'll
(05:08) have a correction in housing. And the reason for that is if the money supply is expanded and that money goes into land, it's not going out of land because land is limited. It's similar to Bitcoin. But what happens is that after around 14 15 years, prices start to come down and then they find a new price equilibrium which is higher than when the cycle started.
(05:33) And we are at the end of this 18-year property cycle. and I had suggest that prices will fall until 2026 and then in 2026 if interest rates are lowered I think prices can find price equilibrium and then possibly move up in nominal value of course if you start now accounting for real estate and bitcoin it's a whole different story I know talked from the lens of a fiat um based system yeah that note on pal and the fed is interesting that it It's very obvious Trump's wanted him to lower rates since before he even got elected.
(06:09) But I was reading an article yesterday that made a lot of sense to me, which is he's not going to lower rates for multiple reasons. One of which you mentioned, which is it would it would reignite inflation, which nobody wants to see right now. And then number two, profit margins are going up because the productivity uh increases due to AI.
(06:32) I mean, and we're still at the early stages of that, um, where you have many of the big big tech, the MAG 7 beginning to lay off people because they're creating all these efficiencies via AI. So, we're able to increase productivity and profit margins and so there's no reason to to lower rates from that perspective, which agreed.
(06:58) Yeah, absolutely true. Yeah, which is uh you know it'll be it's crazy the confluence of events that are happening right now whether it's real estate market looking a little toppy at least temporarily the interest rate environment the progression of AI and the adoption uh by many large companies and small companies alike and then you have Bitcoin sitting over here sitting over $2 trillion establishing itself as a $2 trillion asset and it still seems a bit fringe where um where we are certainly as Bitcoiners, individuals

@ 8bad92c3:ca714aa5

Marty's Bent

J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon has long been an outspoken skeptic and critic of bitcoin. He has called Bitcoin a speculative asset, a fraud, a pet rock, and has opined that it will inevitably blow up. A couple of years ago, he was on Capitol Hill saying that if he were the government, he would "close it down". Just within the last month, he was on Fox Business News talking with Maria Bartiromo, proclaiming that the U.S. should be stockpiling bullets and rare earth metals instead of bitcoin. It's pretty clear that Jamie Dimon, who is at the helm of the most powerful and largest bank in the world, does not like bitcoin one bit.

Evidence below:

via Bitcoin Magazine

via me

via CNBC

via Trending Politics

Despite Dimon's distinguished disdain for Bitcoin, J.P. Morgan cannot deny reality. The CEO of the largest bank in the world is certainly a powerful man, but no one individual, even in the position that Jamie Dimon is in, is more powerful than the market. And the market has spoken very clearly, it is demanding bitcoin. The Bitcoin ETFs have been the most successful ETFs in terms of pace of growth since their launch. They've accumulated tens of billions of dollars in AUM in a very short period of time. Outpacing the previous record set by the gold ETF, GLD.

Whether or not Jamie Dimon himself likes Bitcoin doesn't matter. J.P. Morgan, as the largest bank in the world and a publicly traded company, has a duty to shareholders. And that duty is to increase shareholder value by any ethical and legal means necessary. Earlier today, J.P. Morgan announced plans to offer clients financing against their Bitcoin ETFs, as well as some other benefits, including having their bitcoin holdings recognized in their overall net worth and liquid assets, similar to stocks, cars, and art, which will be massive for bitcoiners looking to get mortgages and other types of loans.

via Bloomberg

I've talked about this recently, but trying to buy a house when most of your liquid net worth is held in bitcoin is a massive pain in the ass. Up until this point, if you wanted to have your bitcoin recognized as part of your net worth and count towards your overall credit profile, you would need to sell some bitcoin, move it to a bank account, and have it sit there for a certain period of time before it was recognized toward your net worth. This is not ideal for bitcoiners who have sufficient cash flows and don't want to sell their bitcoin, pay the capital gains tax, and risk not being able to buy back the amount of sats they were forced to sell just to get a mortgage.

It's not yet clear to me whether or not J.P. Morgan will recognize bitcoin in cold storage toward their clients' net worth and credit profile, or if this is simply for bitcoin ETFs only. However, regardless, this is a step in the right direction and a validation of something that many bitcoiners have been saying for years. Inevitably, everyone will have to bend the knee to bitcoin. Today, it just happened to be the largest bank in the world. I expect more of this to come in the coming months, years, and decades.

Lyn Alden likes to say it in the context of the U.S. national debt and the fiscal crisis, but it also applies to bitcoin adoption and the need for incumbents to orient themselves around the demands of individual bitcoiners; nothing stops this train.

Real Estate Correction Coming

Real estate expert Leon Wankum shared his perspective on why property prices need to find a new equilibrium by 2026. He pointed to the 18-year property cycle theory, noting we're at the end of the current cycle with a massive imbalance - 34% more sellers than buyers, the highest gap since records began in 2013. Leon explained that sellers still have unrealistic expectations based on 2021-2022 peaks, while buyers face a fundamentally different reality with higher borrowing costs.

"We need a price equilibrium. We need demand and supply prices to match. It's going to take a long time, I think." - Leon Wankum

Leon doesn't expect a catastrophic crash, however. He emphasized that the financial system depends too heavily on real estate as collateral for authorities to allow a complete collapse. With interest rates likely staying above 3% to combat inflation, he sees a healthy correction rather than devastation - a necessary adjustment that creates opportunities for patient buyers who understand the new market dynamics.

Check out the full podcast here for more on Bitcoin treasury strategies, dual collateralization, and corporate BTC adoption

---

Headlines of the Day

California May Seize Idle Bitcoin After 3 Years - via X

Semler Scientific Buys $20M More Bitcoin, Holds $467M - via X

US Home Sellers Surge as Buyers Hit 4-Year Low - via X

Get our new STACK SATS hat - via tftcmerch.io

---

Take the First Step Off the Exchange

Bitkey is an easy, secure way to move your Bitcoin into self-custody. With simple setup and built-in recovery, it’s the perfect starting point for getting your coins off centralized platforms and into cold storage—no complexity, no middlemen.

Take control. Start with Bitkey.

Use the promo code *“TFTC20”* during checkout for 20% off

---

Ten31, the largest bitcoin-focused investor, has deployed $150.00M across 30+ companies through three funds. I am a Managing Partner at Ten31 and am very proud of the work we are doing. Learn more at ten31.vc/invest.

---

Final thought...

I feel old.

---

Get this newsletter sent to your inbox daily: https://www.tftc.io/bitcoin-brief/

Subscribe to our YouTube channels and follow us on Nostr and X:

@media screen and (max-width: 480px) { .mobile-padding { padding: 10px 0 !important; } .social-container { width: 100% !important; max-width: 260px !important; } .social-icon { padding: 0 !important; } .social-icon img { height: 32px !important; width: 32px !important; } .icon-cell { padding: 0 4px !important; } } .mj-column-per-33-333333333333336 { width: 25% !important; max-width: 25%; } .moz-text-html .mj-column-per-33-333333333333336 { width: 25% !important; max-width: 25%; } /* Helps with rendering in various email clients */ body { margin: 0 !important; padding: 0 !important; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100% !important; -ms-text-size-adjust: 100% !important; } img { -ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic; } /* Prevents Gmail from changing the text color in email threads */ .im { color: inherit !important; }

@ 9ca447d2:fbf5a36d

Michael Saylor, executive chairman and co-founder of Strategy, wants to be on The Joe Rogan Experience to talk about Bitcoin. His recent post on X has the Bitcoin community and beyond stoked.

On May 31, Saylor replied to a Joe Rogan fan account that asked who they would like to see on the podcast. His response was simple but bold: “Hey @joerogan, let’s talk about Bitcoin.”

Saylor has been one of the most vocal Bitcoin supporters for a long time. He talks about bitcoin being a store of value and a hedge against inflation all the time.

Even when Bitcoin was a niche topic, Saylor was promoting it.

His company MicroStrategy (which was recently renamed to Strategy) has made headlines for investing billions in bitcoin. They currently hold around 580,250 BTC worth over $60 billion according to public trackers.

Saylor’s invitation to Joe Rogan was met with excitement from the Bitcoin community. Several well-known figures quickly chimed in.

Kook, a trader and analyst, said: “Saylor is going to Bitcoin pill Joe Rogan.”

Brandon MacDougal said he would watch The Joe Rogan Experience for the first time if Saylor was on the show, and The Bitcoin Therapist said the potential interview would “shatter the internet.”

The Bitcoin Therapist on X

It’s not just hardcore Bitcoiners who are excited. Many think the conversation could reach a much wider audience and push Bitcoin into the mainstream financial conversation.

Joe Rogan has one of the most popular podcasts in the world with millions of listeners. He’s discussed digital assets many times and has a special interest in Bitcoin.

In an October 2023 episode with OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Rogan said: “The real fascinating crypto is Bitcoin. That’s the one that I think has the most likely possibility of becoming a universal viable currency. It’s limited in the amount that it can be.”

Rogan previously had Bitcoin educator Andreas Antonopoulos on the show between 2014 and 2016 when bitcoin was under $1,000. Those early episodes introduced Bitcoin to many new listeners.

With Rogan’s history of being open to the topic and his massive audience, a new episode with Saylor could get a whole new group of people interested in Bitcoin.

The buzz around Saylor’s invite is a sign of a bigger trend — Bitcoin becoming a bigger part of the global conversation. Saylor has positioned himself as a thought leader in the space and often talks about how Bitcoin can change the way money and financial systems work.

He believes Bitcoin can create more transparent and efficient systems, reduce transaction costs and challenge traditional banking models. He also said we need smart regulation to protect consumers while encouraging innovation.

A conversation between Saylor and Rogan wouldn’t just be about Bitcoin’s price or investment strategies. It would likely go deeper into topics like inflation, digital privacy, government policy and the future of money.

So far Joe Rogan hasn’t publicly responded to Saylor’s invite, but fans are hoping he’ll say yes. Many think the timing is perfect. Bitcoin is hot again and more people than ever are trying to figure out what role it will play in the future of finance.

@ 8bad92c3:ca714aa5

Key Takeaways

In this episode of TFTC, Jessy Gilger, Managing Partner at Sound Advisory and architect of Ganet Trust, unpacks the complexities of retiring on Bitcoin, emphasizing that the “right” amount depends on spending habits, age, and minimizing withdrawal pressure. He introduces Ganet Trust as a Bitcoin-native fiduciary solution that leverages multisig custody to meet institutional compliance standards without sacrificing decentralization. Jessy also critiques high-yield derivative products like MSTY, warning of systemic risks and advocating for safer alternatives like SMAs. The conversation broadens into the emotional pitfalls of financial decision-making, the importance of aligning wealth with values, and the evolving macro landscape where Bitcoin’s intersection with traditional finance and tax policy will shape how individuals and institutions protect and grow their holdings across generations.

Best Quotes

"The most comfort comes from putting as little pressure as possible against that stack."

"Multisig is the upgrade from a honeypot to a distributed key setup."

"If a whale pees in the pool, everyone is affected."

"Everyone feels late to Bitcoin because they know someone who got in earlier."

"Stacking Saturdays is my new stack sats."

"Bitcoin doesn’t know about trust, it knows private keys."

"The money is there to serve your values—not the other way around."

"Some financial products will help, some will hurt, and some will fail. Our job is to help clients navigate them safely."

Conclusion

This episode offers a powerful blend of practical insight and philosophical reflection on long-term Bitcoin strategy, emphasizing the need for sound custody, inheritance planning, and emotional discipline in a volatile, financialized world. Jessy Gilger introduces Ganet Trust as a vital solution for secure, compliant Bitcoin ownership, while his “stacking Saturdays” mantra reframes wealth as a pursuit of time, freedom, and meaningful priorities. As Bitcoin moves further into the mainstream, the conversation urges listeners to stay grounded, think generationally, and build resilient systems for both assets and life.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
0:33 - Bitcoin Retirement Planning at New All-Time Highs
5:22 - How Gannett Trust Works
10:05 - High Net Worth Bitcoin Storage and Estate Planning Solutions
16:48 - MSTY Derivatives: Understanding MicroStrategy Product Risks
19:53 - Bitkey
20:56 - How MSTY Works and the Whale in the Pool Problem
30:16 - Unchained
30:37 - Bitcoin Financialization and Corporate Treasury Strategy
39:35 - Avoiding Ego-Driven Bitcoin Mistakes and Building Bridges
47:33 - Stack Saturdays
53:15 - Tax Policy Changes and Wild Times Ahead
57:18 - Where to Find Gannett Trust and Closing

Transcript

(00:00) We have people retiring with hundreds of Bitcoin. Do you need to be on a yacht every week or are you staying humble and keeping those stats? 10 of the 12 ETFs are at Coinbase means all the keys are at Coinbase and with the news of the last week like, hey, there could be cracks. Micro Strategy is built on Bitcoin.
(00:18) It's got all of the risks of Bitcoin, right? But then it's got its own set of risks. Let's call them Sailor and Profitability. Then you have derivatives which are on top of Micro Strategy and they retain the risks of everything underneath. meeting on a on a day when we hit new all-time highs. Bitcoin approached $110,000.
(00:43) Got Jesse back on the show to talk about many things, not just the price ripping. A lot of good things happening on the unch unchained side of things. Watching Ganet Trust. We'll get into it. Yeah, lot lots of stuff happening. I think um the price likes Ganet. I I think that's the uh the mover. What uh I mean that's been a big discussion in in the space right now is uh are we heading to new all-time highs? How should Bitcoiners be preparing? How much Bitcoin do people need to retire? How how are you thinking about all this as we approach what seems
(01:22) to be another bull cycle? Yeah, that's a common question, right? How much Bitcoin do I need to retire? I get it a lot and there's so many other questions I want to ask like, well, how much money are you spending, right? Do you do you need to be on a yacht every week or are you staying humble and keeping those stats? And so, the amount of Bitcoin can vary because the spending pressure you're putting against your Bitcoin stack is the the biggest factor, right? And age is probably the second.
(01:54) a 30-year-old retiring on Bitcoin is different than a 75year-old retiring on Bitcoin just because of the horizon. So, stacks vary. We've got people retiring with um less than seven figures of Bitcoin because they have other assets and then we have people retiring with hundreds of Bitcoin um and putting very little pressure against that portfolio.
(02:16) So, can go in a lot of different ways. Um but it is a question of the day as you're poking new all-time highs. Everyone's like, "Well, how high is it going to get?" And then huge question is do we have cycles again right if countries are buying what what would a downside look like and that's the big question in the retirees mind is how do I protect and not ride that downside all the way down if we do have another 70 80% drawback. Yeah. No.
(02:42) And I think particularly for younger people having in their mind like the perspective of 21 million Bitcoin, 8 billion people, what's the stat? 60 million millionaires in the world. Mhm. How much how many stats do I need to get to to feel comfortable that I have a sufficient slice of the Bitcoin pie? That feel comfortable concept is just so different, right? because Bitcoin is moving and shaking and all-time highs or down 30% and that's still within a bull market.
(03:15) Is that comfortable, right? Can you actually hang it up and like, all right, not going into work and I'm just going to continue to ride these adoption cycles. I don't know if it ever gets comfortable. The most comfort comes from putting as little pressure as possible against that stack, right? that you're not pushing these withdrawal rates of like 5 10 20% of my Bitcoin stack.
(03:38) I'm needing to live on every because then you're requiring Bitcoin to do something for you in the short term which is just not great at, right? What what's Bitcoin price going to be in a year? Far less reliable than what's Bitcoin price going to be in 30 years. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I I think one of the holdups too is the ability for people to get into Bitcoin and know where to put it and not only have certainty of what it will be valued at in 30 years, but will they have access to it? That's one thing that you guys
(04:10) have been very much focused. I know sound advisory is separate from Unchained technically but within the Unchained umbrella but Unchained focused on helping secure individuals and businesses and trust uh Bitcoin and I think today's announcement of Ganet Trust is a massive step in a direction towards more certainty for long-term holdings for particular entities.
(04:36) Yes, the unchained umbrella or or family of companies is growing and the intention will be for sound advisory to tuck under or be merged into folded into Ganet Trust Company as it gets stood up. But it is the most robust uh compliance offering that um is out there in the fiduciary space. And so that in my opinion was the one thing missing as people want to live on a Bitcoin standard.
(05:04) Sometimes they're in an entity or an organization or have a structure that requires a fiduciary standard. And these two coming together is solved by Ganet Trust Company. So it's going to be the most robust way to hold Bitcoin and have like true inheritance that can be um administered through generations. So how how does this work mechanically via Ganet? Mechanically.
(05:28) So as the first Bitcoin native trust company, other other trust companies do exist, right? but they don't build upon Bitcoin in the way that Unchained has. So Ganet in its um in its Unchained roots and using Unchained technology is going to be able to use multi-IG to achieve um trust company goals.
(05:50) And what that likely will mean is Ganet holding a key, Unchained holding a key, third party holding a key. Those three keys together ensure that the Bitcoin is not being held at any one spot, right? We could get into the Coinbase honeypot. We actually talked about this on our last episode like, "Hey, what do you think is the uh the risk out there that the industry might disagree with?" Said, "I'm launching a new segment.
(06:15) I'm going to ask you a prediction of what what's out there that the uh the industry doesn't see eye to eye with you at." And I was at conferences and they're saying, "Hey, Coinbase is the best. That's where we put all the cut." That means all the keys are at Coinbase and with the news of the last week like, hey, there could be cracks, right? If you've got exposure to Coinbase now, you could be questioning. I was on the list.
(06:37) I got the email. You were affected. That's not great. It doesn't feel good knowing that information that information could have been a lot worse. That headline could have been private keys being mismanaged. When you overlay what Ganet is going to offer to the custody space, it means that not all of the keys are going to be at any one entity.
(07:00) And so that gives the Bitcoiner who understands multisig the confidence that okay, I'm upgrading from a honeypot to a distributed key setup. But it has to be done in a fiduciary and compliant way to satisfy the the institutional and big money of the world, right? family offices, uh, Bitcoin treasury companies, they're going to need a structure that the CIO, the

@ b1ddb4d7:471244e7

The latest AI chips, 8K displays, and neural processing units make your device feel like a pocket supercomputer. So surely, with all this advancement, you can finally mine bitcoin on your phone profitably, right?

The 2025 Hardware Reality: Can You Mine Bitcoin on Your Phone

Despite remarkable advances in smartphone technology, the fundamental physics of bitcoin mining haven’t changed. In 2025, flagship devices with their cutting-edge 2nm processors can achieve approximately 25-40 megahashes per second when you mine bitcoin on your phone—a notable improvement from previous generations, but still laughably inadequate.

Meanwhile, 2025’s top-tier ASIC miners have evolved dramatically. The latest Bitmain Antminer S23 series and Canaan AvalonMiner A15 Pro deliver 200-300 terahashes per second while consuming 4,000-5,500 watts. That’s a performance gap of roughly 1:8,000,000 between when you mine bitcoin on your phone and professional mining equipment.

To put this in perspective that hits home: if you mine bitcoin on your phone and it earned you one penny, professional miners would earn $80,000 in the same time period with the same effort. It’s not just an efficiency problem—it’s a complete category mismatch.

According to Pocket Option’s 2025 analysis, when you mine bitcoin on your phone in 2025, you generate approximately $0.003-0.006 in daily revenue while consuming $0.45-0.85 in electricity through constant charging cycles. Factor in the accelerated device wear (estimated at $0.75-1.20 daily depreciation), and you’re looking at losses of $1.20-2.00 per day just for the privilege of running mining software.

Mining Economic Factor

Precise Value (April 2025)

Direct Impact on Profitability

Smartphone sustained hash rate

20-35 MH/s

0.00000024% contribution to global hashrate

Daily power consumption

3.2-4.8 kWh (4-6 full charges)

$0.38-0.57 at average US electricity rates

Expected daily BTC earnings

0.0000000086 BTC ($0.0035 at $41,200 BTC)

Revenue covers only 0.9% of electricity costs

CPU/GPU wear cost

$0.68-0.92 daily accelerated depreciation

Reduces smartphone lifespan by 60-70%

Annual profit projection

-$386 to -$412 per year

Guaranteed negative return on investment

Source: PocketOption

Bitcoin’s 2025 Network: Harder Than Ever

Bitcoin’s network difficulty in 2025 has reached unprecedented levels. After the April 2024 halving event that reduced block rewards from 6.25 to 3.125 BTC, mining became significantly more competitive. The global hash rate now exceeds 800 exahashes per second—that’s 800 followed by 18 zeros worth of computational power securing the network.

Here’s what this means in practical terms: Bitcoin’s mining difficulty adjusts every 2,016 blocks (roughly every two weeks) to maintain the 10-minute block time. As more efficient miners join the network, difficulty increases proportionally. In 2025, mining difficulty has increased compared to 2024, making small-scale mining even less viable.

The math is unforgiving:

• Global Bitcoin hash rate: 828.96 EH/s
• Your smartphone’s contribution: ~0.000000003%
• Probability of solo mining a block: Virtually zero
• Expected time to mine one Bitcoin: Several million years

Even joining mining pools doesn’t solve the economic problem. Pool fees typically range from 1-3%, and your minuscule contribution would earn proportionally tiny rewards—far below the electricity and device depreciation costs.

The 2025 Scam Evolution: More Sophisticated, More Dangerous

Fraudsters now leverage AI-generated content, fake influencer endorsements, and impressive-looking apps that simulate realistic mining activity to entice you to mine bitcoin on your phone.

New 2025 scam tactics include:

AI-Powered Fake Testimonials: Deepfake videos of supposed successful mobile miners showing fabricated earnings statements and encouraging downloads of malicious apps.

Gamified Mining Interfaces: Apps that look and feel like legitimate games but secretly harvest personal data while simulating mining progress that can never be withdrawn.

Social Media Manipulation: Coordinated campaigns across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube featuring fake “financial influencers” promoting mobile mining apps to younger audiences.

Subscription Trap Mining: Apps offering “free trials” that automatically charge $19.99-49.99 monthly for “premium mining speeds” while delivering no actual mining capability.

Recent cybersecurity research shows that over 180 fake mining apps were discovered across major app stores in 2025, with some accumulating more than 500,000 downloads before being removed.

Red flags that scream “scam” in 2025:

• Apps claiming “revolutionary mobile mining breakthrough”
• Promises of earning “$10-50 daily” from phone mining
• Requirements to recruit friends or watch ads to unlock withdrawals
• Apps that don’t require connecting to actual mining pools
• Testimonials that seem too polished or use stock photo models
• Apps requesting permissions unrelated to mining (contacts, camera, microphone)

The 2025 Professional Mining Landscape

To understand why, consider what professional bitcoin mining looks like in 2025. Industrial mining operations now resemble high-tech data centers with:

Cutting-edge hardware:

• Bitmain Antminer S23 Pro: 280 TH/s at 4,800W
• MicroBT WhatsMiner M56S++: 250 TH/s at 4,500W
• Canaan AvalonMiner A1566: 185 TH/s at 3,420W

Infrastructure requirements:

• Megawatt-scale power contracts with industrial electricity rates
• Liquid cooling systems maintaining 24/7 optimal temperatures
• Redundant internet connections ensuring zero downtime
• Professional facility management with 24/7 monitoring

For a small operation, you might need at least $10,000 to $20,000 to buy a few ASIC miners, set up cooling systems, and cover electricity costs. These operations employ teams of engineers, maintain relationships with power companies, and operate with margins measured in single-digit percentages.

2025’s Legitimate Mobile Bitcoin Strategies

While it remains impossible to mine bitcoin on your phone profitably, 2025 offers exciting legitimate ways to engage with bitcoin through your smartphone:

Lightning Network Participation: Apps like Phoenix, Breez, and Zeus allow you to run Lightning nodes on mobile devices, earning small routing fees while supporting bitcoin’s payment layer.

Bitcoin DCA Automation: Services enable automated dollar-cost averaging with amounts as small as $1 daily. Historical data shows $10 weekly bitcoin purchases consistently outperform any mobile mining attempt by 1,500-2,000%.

Educational Mining Simulators: Legitimate apps like “Bitcoin Mining Simulator” teach mining concepts without false earning promises. These educational tools help users understand hash rates, difficulty adjustments, and mining economics.

Stacking Sats Rewards: Apps offering bitcoin rewards for shopping, learning, or completing tasks.

Lightning Gaming: Bitcoin-native mobile games where players can earn sats through skilled gameplay, with some players earning $10 monthly.onfirm that even the most optimized mobile mining setups in 2025 lose money consistently and predictably.

The Bottom Line

When you mine bitcoin on your phone fundamental economics remain unchanged: it’s impossible to profit. The laws of physics, network competition, and energy efficiency create insurmountable barriers that no app can overcome.

However, 2025 offers unprecedented opportunities to engage with bitcoin meaningfully through your smartphone. Focus on education, legitimate earning opportunities, and strategic investment rather than chasing the impossible dream of phone-based mining.

The bitcoin community’s greatest strength lies in its commitment to truth over hype. When someone promises profits to mine bitcoin on your phone in 2025, they’re either uninformed or deliberately misleading you. Trust the mathematics, learn from the community, and build your bitcoin knowledge and holdings through proven methods.

The real opportunity in 2025 isn’t to mine bitcoin on your phone—it’s understanding bitcoin deeply enough to participate confidently in the most important monetary revolution of our lifetime. Your smartphone is the perfect tool for that education; it’s just not a mining rig.

@ cae03c48:2a7d6671

Bitcoin Magazine

How Strategy (MSTR) Built Their Capital Stack to Accelerate Bitcoin Accumulation

MicroStrategy—now operating as Strategy—has built the most aggressive Bitcoin treasury in the world. But its true innovation isn’t just holding Bitcoin. It’s in how it finances the accumulation of Bitcoin at scale without giving up control or diluting shareholder value.

The engine behind this? A meticulously designed capital stack—a multi-tiered structure of debt, preferred stock, and equity that appeals to different types of investors, each with unique risk, yield, and volatility preferences.

This is more than corporate finance—it’s a blueprint for Bitcoin-native capital formation.

What Is a Capital Stack?

A capital stack refers to the layers of capital a company uses to finance its operations and strategic goals. Each layer has its own return profile, risk level, and repayment priority in the event of liquidation.

Strategy’s capital stack is designed to do one thing exceptionally well: convert fiat capital into Bitcoin exposure—efficiently, at scale, and without compromise.

The Stack: Ordered by Priority

Strategy’s capital stack comprises five core instruments:

1. Convertible Notes
2. Strife Preferred Stock ($STRF)
3. Strike Preferred Stock ($STRK)
4. Stride Preferred Stock ($STRD)
5. Common Equity ($MSTR)

These layers are ranked from highest to lowest in repayment priority. What makes this structure unique is how each layer balances downside protection, yield, and Bitcoin exposure—offering institutional investors fixed-income alternatives with varying degrees of correlation to Bitcoin.

Strategy’s Capital Stack illustrated by Chris Millas

Convertible Notes: Senior Debt with Optional Upside

Strategy’s capital stack begins with convertible notes—senior unsecured debt that can convert into equity.

• Downside: Low risk, high priority in liquidation
• Upside: Modest unless converted
• Appeal: Institutional debt investors seeking protection with optional Bitcoin-adjacent upside

These notes were Strategy’s earliest fundraising tools, enabling the company to raise billions in low-interest environments to accumulate Bitcoin without issuing equity.

Strife ($STRF): Investment-Grade Yield

Strife is a perpetual preferred stock designed to mimic high-grade fixed income.

• 10% cumulative dividend, paid in cash
• $100 liquidation preference
• No conversion rights or Bitcoin upside
• Compounding penalties on unpaid dividends
• Low volatility, medium risk profile

Strife targets conservative capital—allocators who want predictable income without equity or crypto exposure. It’s senior to other preferreds and common stock, making it a high-quality fixed-income proxy built atop a Bitcoin treasury.

Strike ($STRK): Yield + Bitcoin Optionality

Strike is convertible preferred stock—bridging fixed income and equity upside.

• 8% cumulative dividend
• Convertible into $MSTR at $1,000 strike
• Paid in cash or Class A shares
• Bitcoin exposure via conversion option
• Medium volatility, low risk

Strike appeals to investors who want income with optional participation in Bitcoin upside. In bullish Bitcoin cycles, the conversion option becomes valuable—offering a hybrid between bond-like stability and equity-like potential.

Stride ($STRD): High Yield, High Risk

Stride is the most junior preferred—non-cumulative, perpetual stock issued with high yield and few protections.

• >10% dividend, only if declared
• No compounding, no conversion, no voting rights
• Highest relative risk among preferreds
• Liquidation priority above common equity, but below all others

Stride plays a crucial role. Its issuance improves the credit quality of Strife, adding a subordinate capital buffer beneath it—similar to how mezzanine debt protects senior tranches in structured finance.

Stride attracts yield-hungry investors, enabling Strategy to raise capital without compromising more senior layers.

Common Equity ($MSTR): Pure Bitcoin Beta

At the base is Strategy’s common equity—the most volatile, least protected, but highest potential instrument in the stack.

• Unlimited upside
• No dividend, no priority
• Full exposure to Bitcoin volatility
• Voting rights, long-term ownership

Common equity is for conviction-driven investors. Over the past four years, this layer has attracted capital from funds and individuals aligned with Strategy’s Bitcoin thesis—investors who want maximal upside from a corporate Bitcoin strategy.

The Big Picture: Saylor Is Targeting the Fixed Income Market

This isn’t just a financing mechanism—it’s a direct challenge to the $130 trillion global bond market.

By issuing instruments like $STRF, $STRK, and $STRD, Strategy is offering Bitcoin-adjacent yield vehicles that absorb demand from across the capital spectrum:

• Institutional investors seeking investment-grade yield
• Hedge funds chasing structured upside
• Yield hunters willing to go down the stack for returns

Each instrument behaves like a synthetic bond, yet all are backed by a Bitcoin accumulation engine.

As Director of Bitcoin Strategy at Metaplanet, Dylan LeClair put it: “Saylor is coming for the entire fixed income market.”

Rather than issue traditional bonds, Saylor is constructing a Bitcoin-native capital stack—one that unlocks liquidity without ever selling the underlying asset.

Why It Matters: A Model for Bitcoin Treasury Strategy

Strategy’s capital structure is more than innovation—it’s a financial operating system for any public company that wants to monetize Bitcoin’s rise while maintaining capital discipline.

Key takeaways:

• Every layer matches a specific investor need: From low-risk debt to speculative yield
• Capital flows in, Bitcoin stays put: Preserving treasury position while scaling
• No single instrument dominates: The stack is diversified by design
• Control is retained: Most securities are non-voting, non-convertible

For corporations serious about building a Bitcoin-native balance sheet, this is the playbook to study.

Saylor isn’t just stacking Bitcoin—he’s engineering the financial infrastructure for a monetary paradigm shift.

Disclaimer: This content was written on behalf of Bitcoin For Corporations. This article is intended solely for informational purposes and should not be interpreted as an invitation or solicitation to acquire, purchase, or subscribe for securities.

This post How Strategy (MSTR) Built Their Capital Stack to Accelerate Bitcoin Accumulation first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Nick Ward.

@ cae03c48:2a7d6671

Bitcoin Magazine

MARA Announces Over $100 Million in Bitcoin Mined in May 2025

Today, MARA Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: MARA) reported a record high month of bitcoin production in May 2025, mining 950 BTC worth over $100 million at the time of writing. A 35% increase from April and the highest monthly output since the April 2024 halving event. MARA did not sell any bitcoin in May.

JUST IN: MARA mined 950 #Bitcoin worth over $100 MILLION in May

They HODLed all of it pic.twitter.com/Z4v1zoEfga

— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) June 3, 2025

“May was a record-breaking month for MARA with 282 blocks won, a 38% increase over April and a new monthly high,” said the Chairman and CEO of MARA Fred Thiel. “Our total bitcoin holdings surpassed 49,000 BTC during May and the 950 bitcoin produced were the most since the halving event in April 2024.”

The company mined 282 blocks during the month, a 38% rise over the previous month, and now holds 49,179 BTC, worth roughly $5.23 billion at the time of writing.

“Our fully integrated tech stack is a key differentiator, and MARA Pool is the only self-owned and operated mining pool among public miners, offering greater control and efficiency,” stated Thiel. “Operating our pool means no fees to external operators and retention of the full value of block rewards. Production in May also benefitted from block reward luck. Since launch, MARA Pool’s block reward luck has outperformed the network average by over 10%, contributing to our industry-leading block production.”

Operational efficiency also improved, with energized hashrate rising 2% from 57.3 EH/s to 58.3 EH/s. MARA’s average daily bitcoin production hit 30.7 BTC, which is 31% more than the last month from April.

“We remain laser-focused on transforming MARA into a vertically integrated digital energy and infrastructure company,” commented Thiel. “We believe this model gives us tighter operational control, improves cost-efficiency, and makes us more resilient to shifts in the broader economy.”

Earlier this month, on May 8, MARA released its first quarter 2025 earnings, posting 213.9 million dollars in revenue. A 30 percent increase over the same period last year. The company’s bitcoin holdings surged 174 percent year over year, rising from 17,320 BTC to 47,531 BTC as of March 31, with an estimated value of 3.9 billion dollars at the time. In Q1, MARA mined 2,286 BTC and acquired an additional 340 BTC. Operational performance also strengthened, with energized hashrate nearly doubling from 27.8 EH/s to 54.3 EH/s, and cost per petahash per day improving by 25 percent.

This post MARA Announces Over $100 Million in Bitcoin Mined in May 2025 first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Oscar Zarraga Perez.

@ fbf0e434:e1be6a39

Hackathon 概要

ETHBratislava Hackathon Vol.2 汇聚 54 名开发者并审核通过 11 个项目，成为以太坊社区的重要盛事。此次黑客马拉松在斯洛伐克技术大学举办，参与者可免费参与 ETHBratislava 大会，这一安排助力开发者探索区块链技术的前沿进展。

项目在解决以太坊可扩展性与互操作性问题上成果显著，尤其在 “World Computer” 赛道表现突出。“Zircuit Restaking Track” 赛道也带来重要创新，聚焦通过 AI 驱动的 zk rollups 技术提升安全性与扩展性。“European Stablecoin EURØP Challenge” 则致力于开发欧元背书的稳定币，推动欧洲监管数字货币概念落地。

参与者不仅获得资深导师指导、与行业领袖建立连接的机会，现场更有招聘方挖掘技术人才。活动在兼具庆祝与社交属性的派对中落幕。总计 4,000 欧元奖金的设置，营造了开发者之间竞争与合作并存的创新氛围。ETHBratislava Vol.2 成功孵化出影响以太坊未来的创新构想，同时强化了社区联结。

Hackathon 获奖者

World Computer 奖项获奖者

此类别着重于利用以太坊能力的面向消费者的应用程序。开发者创建了解决方案，旨在增强包容性、金融工具和教育平台。获奖者包括：

• Zhar: 该去中心化平台使用AI和以太坊区块链来管理、执行和激励使用智能合约和代币的链上挑战。
• Ledger Lens: 一个Web应用程序，促进对以太坊多层生态系统的可视化和分析，强调代币流动和跨链桥使用等指标。

现实世界代币化奖项获奖者

此类别集中于在欧洲利用EUR锚定的稳定币EURØP构建效用。项目目标是在此数字货币之上部署初步技术增强。

• dEST: 一个去中心化平台，利用NFTs和智能合约来促进无中介的代币化房地产交易。
• EnergyHub: 一个提供去中心化平台以货币化多余绿色能源并通过智能合约和用户友好的仪表板实现能源捐赠的应用程序。

Restaking 奖项获奖者

此类别鼓励团队在Zircuit生态系统内的AI驱动zkEVM上进行构建，着重于支持AI增强安全性和创新zk rollup技术的项目。

• RestakerX: 一个仪表板应用程序，设计用于跟踪Zircuit网络上的数字资产，提供算法建议以最大化收益。

有关所有项目的更多详细信息和此次黑客马拉松中展示的创新理念的进一步见解，请访问 ETHBratislava Hackathon页面。

关于组织者

Ethereum Bratislava

Ethereum Bratislava 是中欧和东欧地区区块链和技术领域的一个重要社区，致力于推进以太坊的开发和整合。由一支专家团队支持，该组织在增强以太坊在中欧和东欧地区的可扩展性和安全性的项目中作出了重大贡献。积极参与社区活动和教育活动强调了他们在区块链领域促进技术创新和知识共享的承诺。Ethereum Bratislava 继续支持技术改进和生态系统增长，旨在增强以太坊的能力和跨各行业的采用。

@ dfa02707:41ca50e3

• This version introduces the Soroban P2P network, enabling Dojo to relay transactions to the Bitcoin network and share others' transactions to break the heuristic linking relaying nodes to transaction creators.

• Additionally, Dojo admins can now manage API keys in DMT with labels, status, and expiration, ideal for community Dojo providers like Dojobay. New API endpoints, including "/services" exposing Explorer, Soroban, and Indexer, have been added to aid wallet developers.
• Other maintenance updates include Bitcoin Core, Tor, Fulcrum, Node.js, plus an updated ban-knots script to disconnect inbound Knots nodes.

"I want to thank all the contributors. This again shows the power of true Free Software. I also want to thank everyone who donated to help Dojo development going. I truly appreciate it," said Still Dojo Coder.

What's new

• Soroban P2P network. For MyDojo (Docker setup) users, Soroban will be automatically installed as part of their Dojo. This integration allows Dojo to utilize the Soroban P2P network for various upcoming features and applications.
• PandoTx. PandoTx serves as a transaction transport layer. When your wallet sends a transaction to Dojo, it is relayed to a random Soroban node, which then forwards it to the Bitcoin network. It also enables your Soroban node to receive and relay transactions from others to the Bitcoin network and is designed to disrupt the assumption that a node relaying a transaction is closely linked to the person who initiated it.
  • Pushing transactions through Soroban can be deactivated by setting NODE_PANDOTX_PUSH=off in docker-node.conf.
  • Processing incoming transactions from Soroban network can be deactivated by setting NODE_PANDOTX_PROCESS=off in docker-node.conf.
• API key management has been introduced to address the growing number of people offering their Dojos to the community. Dojo admins can now access a new API management tab in their DMT, where they can create unlimited API keys, assign labels for easy identification, and set expiration dates for each key. This allows admins to avoid sharing their main API key and instead distribute specific keys to selected parties.
• New API endpoints. Several new API endpoints have been added to help API consumers develop features on Dojo more efficiently:
  • New:
    • /latest-block - returns data about latest block
    • /txout/:txid/:index - returns unspent output data
    • /support/services - returns info about services that Dojo exposes
  • Updated:
    • /tx/:txid - endpoint has been updated to return raw transaction with parameter ?rawHex=1
  • The new /support/services endpoint replaces the deprecated explorer field in the Dojo pairing payload. Although still present, API consumers should use this endpoint for explorer and other pairing data.

Other changes

• Updated ban script to disconnect inbound Knots nodes.
• Updated Fulcrum to v1.12.0.
• Regenerate Fulcrum certificate if expired.
• Check if transaction already exists in pushTx.
• Bump BTC-RPC Explorer.
• Bump Tor to v0.4.8.16, bump Snowflake.
• Updated Bitcoin Core to v29.0.
• Removed unnecessary middleware.
• Fixed DB update mechanism, added api_keys table.
• Add an option to use blocksdir config for bitcoin blocks directory.
• Removed deprecated configuration.
• Updated Node.js dependencies.
• Reconfigured container dependencies.
• Fix Snowflake git URL.
• Fix log path for testnet4.
• Use prebuilt addrindexrs binaries.
• Add instructions to migrate blockchain/fulcrum.
• Added pull policies.

#FREESAMOURAI

Learn how to set up and use your own Bitcoin privacy node with Dojo here.

Announcement / Archive
GitHub Repo

@ fbf0e434:e1be6a39

Hackathon 概要

Verifiable AI Hackathon 由 cheqd 主办，聚焦通过安全、可验证的道德系统构建可信 AI 生态。活动吸引 278 名开发者参与，共提交 21 个项目，致力于推动可信 AI 环境的建立。开发者针对 AI 技术滥用问题（如 deepfake 欺诈）及透明化、道德化 AI 系统构建挑战提出解决方案。

参与者围绕自主经济、AI 验证、安全数据应用等主题，借助 cheqd 的去中心化标识符（DID）与可验证凭证（VC）技术展开探索。核心成果包括内容认证创新方案，以及通过验证数据集防范虚假信息的应用实践。

本次黑客松凸显了 AI 解决方案需以透明度和用户权益为核心的发展方向，旨在通过区块链工具为开发者赋能，夯实安全可靠的 AI 应用基础。这一举措致力于将数字身份与 AI 的交互模式，升级为兼顾可持续性与隐私保护的新型范式。

Hackathon 获奖者

AI Agents 奖项获奖者

• Kith: 这个去中心化系统利用加密的可验证凭证，通过去中心化标识符（DIDs）确保 AI 代理的隐私、认证和可信度。
• Identone: 该项目通过在电话交谈中验证身份来保障人与AI语音代理之间的互动可信度。
• SNAILS.: 利用去中心化数字身份来验证内容的机器人，从而增强 AI 环境中的信任。

其他奖项获奖者

• CheqDeep: 利用区块链技术认证媒体内容，通过 DID 链接资源验证人类来源和真实性。
• Trusty Bytes: 为 AI 代理提供一个获取经过验证数据的市场，使用基于区块链的验证来确保可信交易。
• crdbl: 一个平台，通过可验证凭证、去中心化身份、加密签名和AI验证来提升在线可信度。

构建一个整合私人用户数据的Agent奖项获奖者

• Viskify: 一个AI辅助手的平台，用于人才验证，利用可验证凭证和确定性去中心化标识符，并与 Stripe 和 Verida 集成以进行账单和私人数据管理。

有关所有项目的更多信息，请访问 The Verifiable AI Hackathon。

关于主办方

cheqd

cheqd 是区块链行业的重要参与者，专注于数字身份解决方案。该组织以其在建立支持安全和注重隐私数据管理的去中心化身份基础设施中所扮演的角色而闻名。通过利用最前沿的区块链技术，cheqd 在身份生态系统的标准开发中发挥了关键作用。其努力包括建立战略合作伙伴关系，以创建可互操作的身份服务。秉承加强数字信任框架的承诺，cheqd 继续通过先进且有效的身份管理解决方案来赋能个人和组织。

@ b1ddb4d7:471244e7

When Sergei talks about bitcoin, he doesn’t sound like someone chasing profits or followers. He sounds like someone about to build a monastery in the ruins.

While the mainstream world chases headlines and hype, Sergei shows up in local meetups from Sacramento to Cleveland, mentors curious minds, and shares what he knows is true – hoping that, with the right spark, someone will light their own way forward.

We interviewed Sergei to trace his steps: where he started, what keeps him going, and why teaching bitcoin is far more than explaining how to set up a node – it’s about reaching the right minds before the noise consumes them. So we began where most journeys start: at the beginning.

First Steps

• So, where did it all begin for you and what made you stay curious?

I first heard about bitcoin from a friend’s book recommendation, American Kingpin, the book about Silk Road (online drug marketplace). He is still not a true bitcoiner, although I helped him secure private keys with some bitcoin.

I was really busy at the time – focused on my school curriculum, running a 7-bedroom Airbnb, and working for a standardized test prep company. Bitcoin seemed too technical for me to explore, and the pace of my work left no time for it.

After graduating, while pursuing more training, I started playing around with stocks and maximizing my savings. Passive income seemed like the path to early retirement, as per the promise of the FIRE movement (Financial Independence, Retire Early). I mostly followed the mainstream news and my mentor’s advice – he liked preferred stocks at the time.

I had some Coinbase IOUs and remember sending bitcoin within the Coinbase ledger to a couple friends. I also recall the 2018 crash; I actually saw the legendary price spike live but couldn’t benefit because my funds were stuck amidst the frenzy. I withdrew from that investment completely for some time. Thankfully, my mentor advised to keep en eye on bitcoin.

Around late 2019, I started DCA-ing cautiously. Additionally, my friend and I were discussing famous billionaires, and how there was no curriculum for becoming a billionaire. So, I typed “billionaires” into my podcast app, and landed on We Study Billionaires podcast.

That’s where I kept hearing Preston Pysh mention bitcoin, before splitting into his own podcast series, Bitcoin Fundamentals. I didn’t understand most of the terminology of stocks, bonds, etc, yet I kept listening and trying to absorb it thru repetition. Today, I realize all that financial talk was mostly noise.

When people ask me for a technical explanation of fiat, I say: it’s all made up, just like the fiat price of bitcoin! Starting in 2020, during the so-called pandemic, I dove deeper. I religiously read Bitcoin Magazine, scrolled thru Bitcoin Twitter, and joined Simply Bitcoin Telegram group back when DarthCoin was an admin.

DarthCoin was my favorite bitcoiner – experienced, knowledgeable, and unapologetic. Watching him shift from rage to kindness, from passion to despair, gave me a glimpse at what a true educator’s journey would look like.

The struggle isn’t about adoption at scale anymore. It’s about reaching the few who are willing to study, take risks, and stay out of fiat traps. The vast majority won’t follow that example – not yet at least… if I start telling others the requirements for true freedom and prosperity, they would certainly say “Hell no!”

• At what point did you start teaching others, and why?

After college, I helped teach at a standardized test preparation company, and mentored some students one-on-one. I even tried working at a kindergarten briefly, but left quickly; Babysitting is not teaching.

What I discovered is that those who will succeed don’t really need my help – they would succeed with or without me, because they already have the inner drive.

Once you realize your people are perishing for lack of knowledge, the only rational thing to do is help raise their level of knowledge and understanding. That’s the Great Work.

I sometimes imagine myself as a political prisoner. If that were to happen, I’d probably start teaching fellow prisoners, doctors, janitors, even guards. In a way we already live in an open-air prison, So what else is there to do but teach, organize, and conspire to dismantle the Matrix?

Building on Bitcoin

• You hosted some in-person meetups in Sacramento. What did you learn from those?

My first presentation was on MultiSig storage with SeedSigner, and submarine swaps through Boltz.exchange.

I realized quickly that I had overestimated the group’s technical background. Even the meetup organizer, a financial advisor, asked, “How is anyone supposed to follow these steps?” I responded that reading was required… He decided that Unchained is an easier way.

At a crypto meetup, I gave a much simpler talk, outlining how bitcoin will save the world, based on a DarthCoin’s guide. Only one person stuck around to ask questions – a man who seemed a little out there, and did not really seem to get the message beyond the strength of cryptographic security of bitcoin.

Again, I overestimated the audience’s readiness. That forced me to rethink my strategy. People are extremely early and reluctant to study.

• Now in Ohio, you hold sessions via the Orange Pill App. What’s changed?

My new motto is: educate the educators. The corollary is: don’t orange-pill stupid normies (as DarthCoin puts it).

I’ve shifted to small, technical sessions in order to raise a few solid guardians of this esoteric knowledge who really get it and can carry it forward.

The youngest attendee at one of my sessions is a newborn baby – he mostly sleeps, but maybe he still absorbs some of the educational vibes.

• How do local groups like Sactown and Cleveland Bitcoiners influence your work?

Every meetup reflects its local culture. Sacramento and Bay Area Bitcoiners, for example, do camping trips – once we camped through a desert storm, shielding our burgers from sand while others went to shoot guns.

Cleveland Bitcoiners are different. They amass large gatherings. They recently threw a 100k party. They do a bit more community outreach. Some are curious about the esoteric topics such as jurisdiction, spirituality, and healthful living.

I have no permanent allegiance to any state, race, or group. I go where I can teach and learn. I anticipate that in my next phase, I’ll meet Bitcoiners so advanced that I’ll have to give up my fiat job and focus full-time on serious projects where real health and wealth are on the line.

Hopefully, I’ll be ready. I believe the universe always challenges you exactly to your limit – no less, no more.

• What do people struggle with the most when it comes to technical education?

The biggest struggle isn’t technical – it’s a lack of deep curiosity. People ask “how” and “what” – how do I set up a node, what should one do with the lightning channels? But very few ask “why?”

Why does on-chain bitcoin not contribute to the circular economy? Why is it essential to run Lightning? Why did humanity fall into mental enslavement in the first place?

I’d rather teach two-year-olds who constantly ask “why” than adults who ask how to flip a profit. What worries me most is that most two-year-olds will grow up asking state-funded AI bots for answers and live according to its recommendations.

• One Cleveland Bitcoiner shows up at gold bug meetups. How valuable is face-to-face education?

I don’t think the older generation is going to reverse the current human condition. Most of them have been under mind control for too long, and they just don’t have the attention span to study and change their ways.

They’re better off stacking gold and helping fund their grandkids’ education. If I were to focus on a demographic, I’d go for teenagers – high school age – because by college, the indoctrination is usually too strong, and they’re chasing fiat mastery.

As for the gold bug meetup? Perhaps one day I will show up with a ukulele to sing some bitcoin-themed songs. Seniors love such entertainment.

• How do you choose what to focus on in your sessions, especially for different types of learners?

I don’t come in with a rigid agenda. I’ve collected a massive library of resources over the years and never stopped reading. My browser tab and folder count are exploding.

At the meetup, people share questions or topics they’re curious about, then I take that home, do my homework, and bring back a session based on those themes. I give them the key takeaways, plus where to dive deeper.

Most people won’t – or can’t – study the way I do, and I expect attendees to put in the work. I suspect that it’s more important to reach those who want to learn but don’t know how, the so-called nescient (not knowing), rather than the ignorant.

There are way too many ignorant bitcoiners, so my mission is to find those who are curious what’s beyond the facade of fake reality and superficial promises.

That naturally means that fewer people show up, and that’s fine. I’m not here for the crowds; I’m here to educate the educators. One bitcoiner who came decided to branch off into self-custody sessions and that’s awesome. Personally, I’m much more focused on Lightning.

I want to see broader adoption of tools like auth, sign-message, NWC, and LSPs. Next month, I’m going deep into eCash solutions, because let’s face it – most newcomers won’t be able to afford their own UTXO or open a lightning channel; additionally, it has to be fun and easy for them to transact sats, otherwise they won’t do it. Additionally, they’ll need to rely on

@ dfa02707:41ca50e3

Contribute to keep No Bullshit Bitcoin news going.

This update brings key enhancements for clarity and usability:

• Recent Blocks View: Added to the Send tab and inspired by Mempool's visualization, it displays the last 2 blocks and the estimated next block to help choose fee rates.
• Camera System Overhaul: Features a new library for higher resolution detection and mouse-scroll zoom support when available.
• Vector-Based Images: All app images are now vectorized and theme-aware, enhancing contrast, especially in dark mode.
• Tor & P2A Updates: Upgraded internal Tor and improved support for pay-to-anchor (P2A) outputs.
• Linux Package Rename: For Linux users, Sparrow has been renamed to sparrowwallet (or sparrowserver); in some cases, the original sparrow package may need manual removal.
• Additional updates include showing total payments in multi-payment transaction diagrams, better handling of long labels, and other UI enhancements.

• Sparrow v2.2.1 is a bug fix release that addresses missing UUID issue when starting Tor on recent macOS versions, icons for external sources in Settings and Recent Blocks view, repackaged .deb installs to use older gzip instead of zstd compression, and removed display of median fee rate where fee rates source is set to Server.

Learn how to get started with Sparrow wallet:

Release notes (v2.2.0)

• Added Recent Blocks view to Send tab.
• Converted all bitmapped images to theme aware SVG format for all wallet models and dialogs.
• Support send and display of pay to anchor (P2A) outputs.
• Renamed sparrow package to sparrowwallet and sparrowserver on Linux.
• Switched camera library to openpnp-capture.
• Support FHD (1920 x 1080) and UHD4k (3840 x 2160) capture resolutions.
• Support camera zoom with mouse scroll where possible.
• In the Download Verifier, prefer verifying the dropped file over the default file where the file is not in the manifest.
• Show a warning (with an option to disable the check) when importing a wallet with a derivation path matching another script type.
• In Cormorant, avoid calling the listwalletdir RPC on initialization due to a potentially slow response on Windows.
• Avoid server address resolution for public servers.
• Assume server address is non local for resolution failures where a proxy is configured.
• Added a tooltip to indicate truncated labels in table cells.
• Dynamically truncate input and output labels in the tree on a transaction tab, and add tooltips if necessary.
• Improved tooltips for wallet tabs and transaction diagrams with long labels.
• Show the address where available on input and output tooltips in transaction tab tree.
• Show the total amount sent in payments in the transaction diagram when constructing multiple payment transactions.
• Reset preferred table column widths on adjustment to improve handling after window resizing.
• Added accessible text to improve screen reader navigation on seed entry.
• Made Wallet Summary table grow horizontally with dialog sizing.
• Reduced tooltip show delay to 200ms.
• Show transaction diagram fee percentage as less than 0.01% rather than 0.00%.
• Optimized and reduced Electrum server RPC calls.
• Upgraded Bouncy Castle, PGPainless and Logback libraries.
• Upgraded internal Tor to v0.4.8.16.
• Bug fix: Fixed issue with random ordering of keystore origins on labels import.
• Bug fix: Fixed non-zero account script type detection when signing a message on Trezor devices.
• Bug fix: Fixed issue parsing remote Coldcard xpub encoded on a different network.
• Bug fix: Fixed inclusion of fees on wallet label exports.
• Bug fix: Increase Trezor device libusb timeout.

Linux users: Note that the sparrow package has been renamed to sparrowwallet or sparrowserver, and in some cases you may need to manually uninstall the original sparrow package. Look in the /opt folder to ensure you have the new name, and the original is removed.

What's new in v2.2.1

• Updated Tor library to fix missing UUID issue when starting Tor on recent macOS versions.
• Repackaged .deb installs to use older gzip instead of zstd compression.
• Removed display of median fee rate where fee rates source is set to Server.
• Added icons for external sources in Settings and Recent Blocks view
• Bug fix: Fixed issue in Recent Blocks view when switching fee rates source
• Bug fix: Fixed NPE on null fee returned from server

Announcement / Archive
GitHub Repo

@ 7f6db517:a4931eda

Bank run on every crypto bank then bank run on every "real" bank.

— ODELL (@ODELL) December 14, 2022

The four main banks of bitcoin and “crypto” are Signature, Prime Trust, Silvergate, and Silicon Valley Bank. Prime Trust does not custody funds themselves but rather maintains deposit accounts at BMO Harris Bank, Cross River, Lexicon Bank, MVB Bank, and Signature Bank. Silvergate and Silicon Valley Bank have already stopped withdrawals. More banks will go down before the chaos stops. None of them have sufficient reserves to meet withdrawals.

Bitcoin gives us all the ability to opt out of a system that has massive layers of counterparty risk built in, years of cheap money and broken incentives have layered risk on top of risk throughout the entire global economy. If you thought the FTX bank run was painful to watch, I have bad news for you: every major bank in the world is fractional reserve. Bitcoin held in self custody is unique in its lack of counterparty risk, as global market chaos unwinds this will become much more obvious.

The rules of bitcoin are extremely hard to change by design. Anyone can access the network directly without a trusted third party by using their own node. Owning more bitcoin does not give you more control over the network with all participants on equal footing.

Bitcoin is:
- money that is not controlled by a company or government
- money that can be spent or saved without permission
- money that is provably scarce and should increase in purchasing power with adoption

Bitcoin is money without trust. Whether you are a nation state, corporation, or an individual, you can use bitcoin to spend or save without permission. Social media will accelerate the already deteriorating trust in our institutions and as this trust continues to crumble the value of trust minimized money will become obvious. As adoption increases so should the purchasing power of bitcoin.

A quick note on "stablecoins," such as USDC - it is important to remember that they rely on trusted custodians. They have the same risk as funds held directly in bank accounts with additional counterparty risk on top. The trusted custodians can be pressured by gov, exit scam, or caught up in fraud. Funds can and will be frozen at will. This is a distinctly different trust model than bitcoin, which is a native bearer token that does not rely on any centralized entity or custodian.

Most bitcoin exchanges have exposure to these failing banks. Expect more chaos and confusion as this all unwinds. Withdraw any bitcoin to your own wallet ASAP.

Simple Self Custody Guide: https://werunbtc.com/muun
More Secure Cold Storage Guide: https://werunbtc.com/coldcard

---

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

@ 7f6db517:a4931eda

The newly proposed RESTRICT ACT - is being advertised as a TikTok Ban, but is much broader than that, carries a $1M Fine and up to 20 years in prison️! It is unconstitutional and would create massive legal restrictions on the open source movement and free speech throughout the internet.

The Bill was proposed by: Senator Warner, Senator Thune, Senator Baldwin, Senator Fischer, Senator Manchin, Senator Moran, Senator Bennet, Senator Sullivan, Senator Gillibrand, Senator Collins, Senator Heinrich, and Senator Romney. It has broad support across Senators of both parties.

Corrupt politicians will not protect us. They are part of the problem. We must build, support, and learn how to use censorship resistant tools in order to defend our natural rights.

The RESTRICT Act, introduced by Senators Warner and Thune, aims to block or disrupt transactions and financial holdings involving foreign adversaries that pose risks to national security. Although the primary targets of this legislation are companies like Tik-Tok, the language of the bill could potentially be used to block or disrupt cryptocurrency transactions and, in extreme cases, block Americans’ access to open source tools or protocols like Bitcoin.

The Act creates a redundant regime paralleling OFAC without clear justification, it significantly limits the ability for injured parties to challenge actions raising due process concerns, and unlike OFAC it lacks any carve-out for protected speech. COINCENTER ON THE RESTRICT ACT

Full Text of Bill

---

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

@ eb0157af:77ab6c55

The crypto platform had been aware of the data breach for months before the official announcement, internal sources reveal.

A Reuters investigation uncovered that Coinbase had been informed as early as January 2025 about a data breach involving outsourced customer support agents in India. Six sources familiar with the matter confirmed that the exchange knew sensitive user information had been compromised through its contractor, TaskUs, months before the formal disclosure in May.

On May 14, in a filing with the SEC, TaskUs documented part of the breach, in which an employee at its Indian office was caught photographing his work computer screen with a personal phone. Five former TaskUs workers confirmed that this employee and an alleged accomplice had been bribed by hackers to obtain Coinbase user data.

Coinbase had a long-standing partnership with TaskUs, a Texas-based outsourcing company, to reduce labor costs by assigning customer support functions to offshore teams. Since 2017, TaskUs agents handled Coinbase customer inquiries, often from lower-wage countries like India, where employees earned between $500 and $700 per month.

The financial impact of the breach

The exchange estimated that the breach could cost the company up to $400 million. In its May filing, Coinbase admitted it hadn’t fully grasped the extent of the attack until May 11, when it received a $20 million extortion demand. In response, the company terminated the TaskUs employees responsible for the breach, along with several other unnamed foreign contractors.

The post Coinbase data breach: the exchange knew about the theft since January appeared first on Atlas21.

@ 9ca447d2:fbf5a36d

Metaplanet Inc. has bought 1,088 more bitcoin (BTC), and now holds 8,888 BTC worth over $930 million. This puts Metaplanet in the top 10 corporate bitcoin holders, ahead of Galaxy Digital and Block Inc.

Metaplanet Inc. on X

The company’s CEO Simon Gerovich announced the purchase on X on June 2, 2025. The company bought the new BTC at an average price of around $107,771 per coin, costing the company approximately $117.3 million.

The company said this purchase brings them 90% of the way to their 2025 goal of 10,000 BTC.

Metaplanet only started its bitcoin treasury policy in April 2024 but has been moving fast. At the start of 2025, it had less than 2,000 BTC, and now it has over 8,800.

This has been done through a combination of stock rights exercises and bond issuances, raising capital without diluting existing shareholders. In May 2025 alone, Metaplanet issued zero-coupon, non-interest-bearing bonds for a combined value of $71 million.

According to the filings, the company recently completed its “21 Million Plan” which was a program that involved the full exercise of 210 million stock acquisition rights.

These stock rights allowed Metaplanet to raise capital through equity sales while limiting dilution risk.

Metaplanet’s Bitcoin strategist, Dylan LeClair, said the company views bitcoin as a core part of its financial strategy and is all in, not just making small allocations.

Metaplanet’s buying has paid off in more ways than one.

Its BTC Yield, a company metric that compares bitcoin holdings to total shares, has impressed investors. In Q2 2025 it had a 66.3% BTC Yield, year-to-date it has a 225% BTC Yield.

Metaplanet BTC Yield over time — Vincent on X

The stock is up 155% in the last month and is currently trading at 1,149 JPY, despite the overall volatility in the Tokyo Stock Exchange—where many other companies are under pressure due to the rising Japanese bond yields.

Analysts say the company still has more room to run.

Analysts say the company’s mNAV is back to 4.75 and the stock is undervalued compared to Strategy.

mNAV is short for “multiple of Net Asset Value” and is a metric used to compare the market’s valuation of a company to the actual value of its assets, primarily its bitcoin holdings.

Metaplanet is called “Japan’s Strategy”, a reference to Michael Saylor’s Strategy, the U.S.-based company that holds over 580,000 BTC—the most of any company in the world.

The corporate bitcoin boom isn’t stopping with Strategy and Metaplanet. On May 28, 2025 GameStop announced it had bought 4,710 BTC, worth over $512 million, its first foray into bitcoin after updating its investment policy this year.

@ b1ddb4d7:471244e7

This article was originally published on aier.org

Even after eleven years experience, and a per Bitcoin price of nearly $20,000, the incredulous are still with us. I understand why. Bitcoin is not like other traditional financial assets.

Even describing it as an asset is misleading. It is not the same as a stock, as a payment system, or a money. It has features of all these but it is not identical to them.

What Bitcoin is depends on its use as a means of storing and porting value, which in turn rests of secure titles to ownership of a scarce good. Those without experience in the sector look at all of this and get frustrated that understanding why it is valuable is not so easy to grasp. 

In this article, I’m updating an analysis I wrote six years ago. It still holds up. For those who don’t want to slog through the entire article, my thesis is that Bitcoin’s value obtains from its underlying technology, which is an open-source ledger that keeps track of ownership rights and permits the transfer of these rights. Bitcoin managed to bundle its unit of account with a payment system that lives on the ledger. That’s its innovation and why it obtained a value and that value continues to rise. 

Consider the criticism offered by traditional gold advocates, who have, for decades, pushed the idea that sound money must be backed by something real, hard, and independently valuable. Bitcoin doesn’t qualify, right? Maybe it does. 

Bitcoin first emerged as a possible competitor to national, government-managed money in 2009. Satoshi Nakamoto’s white paper was released October 31, 2008. The structure and language of this paper sent the message: This currency is for computer technicians, not economists nor political pundits. The paper’s circulation was limited; novices who read it were mystified. 

But the lack of interest didn’t stop history from moving forward. Two months later, those who were paying attention saw the emergence of the “Genesis Block,” the first group of bitcoins generated through Nakamoto’s concept of a distributed ledger that lived on any computer node in the world that wanted to host it.

Here we are all these years later and a single bitcoin trades at $18,500. The currency is held and accepted by many thousands of institutions, both online and offline. Its payment system is very popular in poor countries without vast banking infrastructures but also in developed countries. And major institutions—including the Federal Reserve, the OECD, the World Bank, and major investment houses—are paying respectful attention and weaving blockchain technology into their operations.

Enthusiasts, who are found in every country, say that its exchange value will soar even more in the future because its supply is strictly limited and it provides a system vastly superior to government money. Bitcoin is transferred between individuals without a third party. It is relatively low-cost to exchange. It has a predictable supply. It is durable, fungible, and divisible: all crucial features of money. It creates a monetary system that doesn’t depend on trust and identity, much less on central banks and government. It is a new system for the digital age.

Hard lessons for hard money

To those educated in the “hard money” tradition, the whole idea has been a serious challenge. Speaking for myself, I had been reading about bitcoin for two years before I came anywhere close to understanding it. There was just something about the whole idea that bugged me. You can’t make money out of nothing, much less out of computer code. Why does it have value then? There must be something amiss. This is not how we expected money to be reformed.

There’s the problem: our expectations. We should have been paying closer attention to Ludwig von Mises’ theory of money’s origins—not to what we think he wrote, but to what he actually did write. 

In 1912, Mises released The Theory of Money and Credit. It was a huge hit in Europe when it came out in German, and it was translated into English. While covering every aspect of money, his core contribution was in tracing the value and price of money—and not just money itself—to its origins. That is, he explained how money gets its price in terms of the goods and services it obtains. He later called this process the “regression theorem,” and as it turns out, bitcoin satisfies the conditions of the theorem.

Mises’ teacher, Carl Menger, demonstrated that money itself originates from the market—not from the State and not from social contract. It emerges gradually as monetary entrepreneurs seek out an ideal form of commodity for indirect exchange. Instead of merely bartering with each other, people acquire a good not to consume, but to trade. That good becomes money, the most marketable commodity.

But Mises added that the value of money traces backward in time to its value as a bartered commodity. Mises said that this is the only way money can have value.

The theory of the value of money as such can trace back the objective exchange value of money only to that point where it ceases to be the value of money and becomes merely the value of a commodity…. If in this way we continually go farther and farther back we must eventually arrive at a point where we no longer find any component in the objective exchange value of money that arises from valuations based on the function of money as a common medium of exchange; where the value of money is nothing other than the value of an object that is useful in some other way than as money…. Before it was usual to acquire goods in the market, not for personal consumption, but simply in order to exchange them again for the goods that were really wanted, each individual commodity was only accredited with that value given by the subjective valuations based on its direct utility.

Mises’ explanation solved a major problem that had long mystified economists. It is a narrative of conjectural history, and yet it makes perfect sense. Would salt have become money had it otherwise been completely useless? Would beaver pelts have obtained monetary value had they not been useful for clothing? Would silver or gold have had money value if they had no value as commodities first? The answer in all cases of monetary history is clearly no. The initial value of money, before it becomes widely traded as money, originates in its direct utility. It’s an explanation that is demonstrated through historical reconstruction. That’s Mises’ regression theorem.

Bitcoin’s Use Value

At first glance, bitcoin would seem to be an exception. You can’t use a bitcoin for anything other than money. It can’t be worn as jewelry. You can’t make a machine out of it. You can’t eat it or even decorate with it. Its value is only realized as a unit that facilitates indirect exchange. And yet, bitcoin already is money. It’s used every day. You can see the exchanges in real time. It’s not a myth. It’s the real deal.

It might seem like we have to choose. Is Mises wrong? Maybe we have to toss out his whole theory. Or maybe his point was purely historical and doesn’t apply in the future of a digital age. Or maybe his regression theorem is proof that bitcoin is just an empty mania with no staying power, because it can’t be reduced to its value as a useful commodity.

And yet, you don’t have to resort to complicated monetary theory in order to understand the sense of alarm surrounding bitcoin. Many people, as I did, just have a feeling of uneasiness about a money that has no basis in anything physical. Sure, you can print out a bitcoin on a piece of paper, but having a paper with a QR code or a public key is not enough to relieve that sense of unease.

How can we resolve this problem? In my own mind, I toyed with the issue for more than a year. It puzzled me. I wondered if Mises’ insight applied only in a pre-digital age. I followed the speculations online that the value of bitcoin would be zero but for the national currencies into which it is converted. Perhaps the demand for bitcoin overcame the demands of Mises’ scenario because of a desperate need for something other than the dollar.

As time passed—and I read the work of Konrad Graf, Peter Surda, and Daniel Krawisz—finally the resolution came. Bitcoin is both a payment system and a money. The payment system is the source of value, while the accounting unit merely expresses that value in terms of price. The unity of money and payment is its most unusual feature, and the one that most commentators have had trouble wrapping their heads around.

We are all used to thinking of currency as separate from payment systems. This thinking is a reflection of the technological limitations of history. There is the dollar and there are credit cards. There is the euro and there is PayPal. There is the yen and there are wire services. In each case, money transfer relies on third-party service providers. In order to use them, you need to establish what is called a “trust relationship” with them, which is to say that the institution arranging the deal has to believe that you are going to pay.

This wedge between money and payment has always been with us, except for the case of physical proximity.

If I give you a dollar for your pizza slice, there is no third party. But payment systems, third parties, and trust relationships become necessary once you leave geographic proximity. That’s when companies like Visa and institutions like banks become indispensable. They are the application that makes the monetary software do what you want it to do.

The hitch is that

@ f5369849:f34119a0

Hackathon Summary

The ETHBratislava Hackathon Vol.2 convened 54 developers and approved 11 projects, representing a noteworthy event within the Ethereum community. Hosted at the Slovak Technical University, the hackathon offered participants complimentary access to the ETHBratislava Conference. This setting promoted the exploration of current advancements in blockchain technology.

Key achievements were evident in projects that addressed issues of scalability and interoperability within Ethereum, particularly in the "World Computer" track. Significant innovations also emerged from the "Restaking Track by Zircuit," which focused on AI-enabled zk rollups to enhance security and scalability. The "European Stablecoin EURØP Challenge" aimed to develop a stablecoin backed by the euro, advancing the concept of regulated digital currency in Europe.

Participants gained from high-level mentorship, networking opportunities with industry leaders, and the presence of onsite recruiters searching for tech talent. The event ended with an afterparty that served as a venue for celebration and additional networking. A total of 4,000 EUR in prizes was distributed, fostering a competitive yet collaborative environment among innovative developers. ETHBratislava Vol.2 successfully propelled ideas to influence the future of Ethereum while reinforcing community connections.

Hackathon Winners

World Computer Prize Winners

This category highlighted consumer-facing applications that harness Ethereum's capabilities. Developers created solutions aimed at enhancing inclusivity, financial tools, and educational platforms. The winners included:

• Zhar: This decentralized platform employs AI and Ethereum blockchain to manage, execute, and incentivize on-chain challenges using smart contracts and tokens.
• Ledger Lens: A web application that facilitates visualization and analysis of Ethereum's multilayer ecosystem, emphasizing metrics such as token flows and bridge usage.

Real World Tokenization Prize Winners

This category concentrated on building utility on regulated digital money in Europe, specifically utilizing the EUR-pegged stablecoin, EURØP. Projects targeted the deployment of the initial technological enhancements atop this digital currency.

• dEST: A decentralized platform that utilizes NFTs and smart contracts to facilitate tokenized real estate transactions without intermediaries.
• EnergyHub: An application providing a decentralized platform to monetize surplus green energy and enable energy donations through smart contracts and a user-friendly dashboard.

Restaking Prize Winners

This category encouraged teams to build on the AI-powered zkEVM within the Zircuit ecosystem, focusing on projects that support AI-enabled security using innovative zk rollup technology.

• RestakerX: A dashboard application designed to track digital assets on the Zircuit network, offering algorithmic suggestions to maximize returns.

For more detailed information about all projects and further insights into the innovative ideas presented at the hackathon, please visit the ETHBratislava Hackathon page.

Organization

About the Organizer: Ethereum Bratislava

Ethereum Bratislava is a prominent community in the CEE region in the blockchain and technology sector, dedicated to advancing Ethereum development and integration. Supported by a team of experts, the organization has substantially contributed to projects that enhance Ethereum's scalability and security in the CEE region. Active participation in community initiatives and educational events underscores their commitment to fostering technological innovation and knowledge sharing within the blockchain realm. Ethereum Bratislava continues to support technological improvements and ecosystem growth, aiming to bolster Ethereum's capabilities and adoption across various industries.

@ f5369849:f34119a0

Hackathon Summary

The Verifiable AI Hackathon from cheqd concentrated on trustworthy AI through secure, verifiable, and ethical systems. The event engaged 278 developers, leading to the submission of 21 projects aimed at fostering trustworthy AI environments. Developers addressed issues related to the misuse of AI technologies, such as deepfake scams, and the challenge of creating transparent, ethical AI systems.

Participants explored themes such as agentic economies, AI verification, and secure data usage, utilizing cheqd’s technologies, including Decentralized Identifiers and Verifiable Credentials. Key accomplishments included innovations in content authentication and the application of verified datasets to prevent disinformation.

The hackathon highlighted the pressing necessity for AI solutions that prioritize transparency and user interests, promoting a trust-focused ecosystem. By equipping developers with blockchain-based tools, the event sought to establish a foundation for more secure and credible AI applications. This initiative aims to transform interactions between digital identities and AI into sustainable and privacy-respecting processes.

Hackathon Winners

AI Agents Prize Winners

• Kith: This decentralized system employs cryptographic verifiable credentials to ensure privacy, authenticate, and maintain the trustworthiness of AI agents through decentralized identifiers (DIDs).
• Identone: This project secures interactions between humans and AI-powered voice agents by verifying identities during phone calls to ensure trustworthiness.
• SNAILS.: A bot that uses decentralized digital identities to verify content, enhancing trust within AI environments.

Other Prize Winners

• CheqDeep: Utilizes blockchain technology to authenticate media content, using DID Linked Resources to verify human origin and authenticity.
• Trusty Bytes: Provides a marketplace for AI agents to access verified data, employing blockchain-based verification for trustworthy transactions.
• crdbl: An open-source platform that improves online credibility using verifiable credentials, decentralized identity, cryptographic signatures, and AI verification.

Build an Agent Incorporating Private User Data Prize Winner

• Viskify: An AI-assisted platform for talent verification, employing verifiable credentials and deterministic decentralized identifiers, and integrating with Stripe and Verida for billing and private data management.

For more information on all projects, please visit The Verifiable AI Hackathon.

Organization

About the Organizer: cheqd

cheqd is a key player in the blockchain industry, focusing on digital identity solutions. The organization is known for its role in establishing decentralized identity infrastructure that supports secure and privacy-focused data management. By leveraging cutting-edge blockchain technologies, cheqd has been pivotal in developing standards within the identity ecosystem. Its efforts include forming strategic partnerships to create interoperable identity services. With a commitment to bolstering digital trust frameworks, cheqd continues to empower both individuals and organizations through advanced and effective identity management solutions.

@ 8bad92c3:ca714aa5

Key Takeaways

In this landmark episode of TFTC, Adam Back and Sean Bill explore Bitcoin’s path to $1 million, focusing on its growing role as pristine collateral in a faltering financial system. Back highlights Blockstream’s infrastructure efforts, from mining operations to tokenized securities, designed to support this transformation, while Bill shares how he navigated institutional skepticism to bring Bitcoin exposure to a U.S. pension fund. Together, they unpack how institutions are entering the space through structured products and Bitcoin-backed credit, with Blockstream’s mining notes offering a glimpse of this new financial architecture. Amid rising debt, inflation, and fiat fragility, the duo presents Bitcoin not just as sound money, but as a strategic reserve asset gaining traction from El Salvador to Wall Street.

Best Quotes

"It's not a stretch to say that Bitcoin could reach parity with gold. That would imply something closer to a million dollars a coin."

"Digital gold vastly understates Bitcoin’s potential, but it’s where the conversation had to start."

"We’re not just building software, we’re solving financial market gaps, one at a time."

"You can wipe out an entire pension fund’s unfunded liability with a 2% allocation to Bitcoin, if it performs as we expect."

"ETF buyers are the new hodlers. They’re not day traders; they’re five-year pocket investors."

"Bitcoin is becoming super collateral, its role in structured credit could help engineer the soft landing everyone hopes for."

"In a world of financial repression, Bitcoin is how the have-nots finally access property rights and savings."

"Emerging markets will be the early adopters of Bitcoin finance because they need it the most."

"You worked for your money. To systematically steal it through hidden inflation is perverse."

"Bitcoin could be the story that saves public pensions, and the people relying on them."

Conclusion

This episode presents a bold vision of Bitcoin as more than sound money, it’s the foundation of a new global financial system. Adam Back and Sean Bill argue that Bitcoin’s role as “super collateral” is reshaping credit, pensions, and sovereign reserves, while a robust infrastructure of financial tools quietly prepares it to absorb institutional capital. As fiat trust erodes, Bitcoin’s adoption will be driven not by hype, but by necessity, and when the shift becomes undeniable, $1 million per coin will mark the start of a new financial era.

Timestamps

00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:38 - New ATH
00:02:06 - Sean's Journey Getting Bitcoin Into Pensions
00:03:15 - Blockstream's Evolution Into Finance
00:08:30 - Building Bitcoin Financial Infrastructure
00:14:30 - The Challenge of Conservative Pension Boards
00:17:02 - Bitkey
00:18:10 - Bitcoin's Current Price and Market Cycle
00:24:05 - Bitcoin as Super Collateral
00:27:24 - Unchained
00:30:09 - Cypherpunk Ideals vs Financial Reality
00:34:55 - Pension Fund Crisis and Bitcoin Solution
00:42:29 - The Cypherpunk Banking Stack
00:49:54 - Digital Cash and Free Banking
00:57:06 - Liquid Network and Institutional Rails
01:07:49 - Sean At CBOT
01:22:16 - Bitcoin Futures and Market Structure
01:25:53 - 2025 Bitcoin Price Predictions

Transcript

(00:00) I'm uh permeable, so I'm always astounded that it's not, you know, 10 or 100 times higher. If everybody saw it, the addressable mark, I mean, it would already be 100 200 trillion asset class, right? That's not a stretch to say that Bitcoin could reach parody with gold. That would imply something closer to a million dollars a coin.
(00:18) You see some established public market companies in different countries saying, "Oh, we're going to buy a billion of Bitcoin. We're going to raise and buy 500." Black Rockck ETF. They're even talking about recommended allocations to portfolio managers in the 2% range. Obviously, digital gold would vastly understate the potential of Bitcoin.
(00:38) Gentlemen, thank you for joining me. Of course. Thanks for having us on. Uh Adam, I was just saying I'm woefully embarrassed. This podcast is almost 8 years old and this is your first time on the show. Oh, okay. This is uh but it's an exciting time. Yeah. And you uh really dedicated to podcast. It's been a lot of years, a lot of episodes, right? It has been. Cool.
(00:59) I think we're approaching 700, which is crazy to think. Wow, that is impressive. The uh No, we're talking hit a new alltime high today. Yeah, Bitcoin doing Bitcoin things just as we were on stage uh at the talking hedge kind of asset manager conference uh trying to explain to them why they should put Bitcoin in their uh fund allocations.
(01:23) Yeah, we were discussing it before we hit record and I saw Tur's tweet looked like Tur was at the event, too. Yeah, he was. M so 50% held up they have Bitcoin in their personal account but only 2% or 4% of the funds very few that actually had allocated to Bitcoin. So a lot of them are believers at a personal level but they haven't been able to sell it within their institution you know so they own it themselves uh but they haven't quite gotten the boards to agree yet.
(01:53) So which was a similar situation I was in in 2019 when I first proposed it. You know, I had my experience with Bitcoin. I had a very good experience and was trying to convince uh the pensions in California that they should be looking at adding Bitcoin to the portfolio. Yeah. And it was great to hear some of your background last night, Sean.
(02:11) So, Sean, for those of you watching, uh is the CIO at Blockstream now. Yeah. I am really excited to have both of you here because I've got into Bitcoin in 2013 and nerded out uh on the tech side of Bitcoin distributed system mining full nodes the layered stack that's been built out and so I followed probably all the work that you guys have done at Blockstream since you've been around and it's been really cool to see everything you've done from the Blockstream satellite.
(02:42) I've broadcast some transactions through that before. It's a Jade um uh CLN or excuse me, Core Lightning now. Um the uh liquid and now over the last few years really sort of leaning into the financialization of finance as I like to um to reference it. And so Adam, like how's that transition from being hypert focused towards a more financial perspective on Bitcoin been? Well, actually in our 2014 uh kickoff meeting, you know, with the founders sitting around big whiteboard, we were trying to forward cast what we'd have to do to get
(03:28) a Bitcoin layer 2 for, you know, settlement of assets and Bitcoin working. And one of the risk you know so we thought we'll build the tech and other people issue the assets but like well they might be lazy they might not do it if that happens we'll have to do it ourselves. So there was a lot of situations like that actually where you know you would think there would be lots of people building applications but many people are really just more in business development and a technology is basically a website and a database and
(03:55) you know Bitcoin core wallet on a server or something like that right so we actually ended up building a lot of middleware and getting into asset management a couple earlier steps one was the mining note so we're doing hosting and mining in our own account and what we did when when it was public that we were hosting initially Fidelity was the uh launch customer.
(04:16) They kept coming back to us and saying, "No, we need we need some hosting." And you know, uh, they'd looked around and decided that we were the best. We were we were like, "No, no, we're prop mining. We don't do hosting." But they persuaded us to host them. And then we're like, "Okay, maybe we should expand and host for other people.
(04:31) " And then that became news. And so then a lot of Bitcoiners contacted us and says, you know, I've got like a dozen miners. Can you host them for me? And of course, if you're if you're hosting for thousands of customers, that's a whole you need need a support team. Somebody has got two miners and one of them's crashed or failed, they're very upset, right? It's half the revenue.
(04:52) Whereas somebody's got, you know, 10,000 per client, it's just part of the, you know, maintenance cycle like a big data center. Discs fail 1% a year, you replace them when they die, they raid, it doesn't matter, right? So, it's kind of that phenomena. So we try to figure out well how can we help you know how can we help people do this without creating a you know that painoint and so we designed this mining note concept where it's kind of socialized so that collectively they look like one of the enterprise customers and then we put a 10% buffer in it so that we would eat
(05:22) the first 10% of equipment failure so they wouldn't get you know the drooping hash rate as miners like failed due to age uh for the for the onset And we also figured out how to try and make them a unified market. So, you know, we're selling more tranches into the market. This started in 2021, a three-year product.
(05:45) And um you know, there was some people on the launch branch and then some people 3 months later. So, what we do is look at how many Bitcoin it had mined in the first three months. We buy that and then match it with a 33month contract for the next one. And so the economically equivalent neither dilutive or anti-dilutive for the buyer and therefore they could trade in a unified market even though there were eight sales tranches over the first I don't know like 12 months or something like that and that that market you know it was using initially using uh liquid
(06:17) security tokens uh with uh stalker a European company that does the securitization I mean the legal p

@ 975e4ad5:8d4847ce

What is the Fiat System and How Do Central Banks Set Interest Rates?

When central banks expand credit, they often increase the money supply by creating new money through mechanisms like quantitative easing (QE). For instance, a central bank may purchase government bonds, injecting money into the economy. This boosts liquidity but can lead to inflation when too much money chases limited goods and services.

Low interest rates make borrowing cheaper, encouraging spending and investment. However, this can overheat the economy, create speculative bubbles (e.g., in real estate), and drive inflation. Conversely, high interest rates restrict borrowing, slow the economy, and curb inflation but may trigger recessions.

How Would Interest Rates Work Under a Bitcoin Standard?

Under a Bitcoin standard, the money supply is fixed—only 21 million bitcoins will ever exist, with the last one mined around 2140. Unlike the fiat system, no central authority can manipulate the money supply or set interest rates. Instead, interest rates would be determined entirely by the market—by the supply and demand for capital.

If someone wants to borrow bitcoins, the interest rate would depend on negotiations between the lender and borrower. For example, if demand for loans is high and available bitcoins are scarce, interest rates would rise. Conversely, if there are ample bitcoin savings, rates might fall. This process would be fully decentralized and reflect real market conditions, not central bank decisions.

Since new bitcoins cannot be “printed,” there would be no inflation caused by an expanding money supply. Instead, bitcoin’s value would likely rise over time (deflation) as its fixed supply competes with growing demand. This could encourage saving over reckless spending, reshaping economic behavior.

Advantages of a Bitcoin Standard

1. Protection Against Inflation: Bitcoin’s fixed supply prevents currency devaluation, a common issue with fiat money. This safeguards savings and promotes long-term planning.

2. Decentralization: Without a central bank manipulating the market, economic decisions are made by individuals, not bureaucrats. This aligns with free-market principles where competition and innovation thrive.

3. Transparency and Security: The Bitcoin blockchain is public and immutable, ensuring transactions are transparent and secure from tampering.

4. Financial Freedom: Under a Bitcoin standard, individuals have full control over their money without government or bank interference, which is especially crucial in countries with unstable regimes or currencies.

5. Discipline in Lending: Without the ability to print money, lenders would be more cautious, reducing risky investments and speculative bubbles.

Potential Drawbacks and Why a Bitcoin Standard is Superior

One major argument against a Bitcoin standard is that it could slow economic growth. Low interest rates in the fiat system encourage borrowing and spending, driving economic activity. Under a Bitcoin standard, where interest rates are market-driven and likely higher, borrowing would be costlier, potentially limiting investments in new projects.

However, this critique misses a key point: economic growth fueled by artificially low interest rates and money printing is often unsustainable. It leads to debt crises, inflation, and bubbles that eventually burst, as seen in 2008. A Bitcoin standard promotes healthy economic discipline, where investments are based on real value, not artificial capital.

Moreover, bitcoin’s deflationary nature could shift how people view money. Instead of chasing endless growth, societies might prioritize sustainability, innovation, and efficiency. This could lead to a more stable and equitable economy in the long run.

Additional Considerations

A Bitcoin standard could transform global trade. Today, countries with fiat currencies often manipulate exchange rates to gain trade advantages. With bitcoin as a universal currency, such manipulations would vanish, fostering fairer competition.

Another aspect is energy efficiency. While bitcoin mining consumes energy, it incentivizes the development of renewable sources as miners seek cheap, sustainable energy. This could accelerate the transition to a green economy.

Conclusion

The Bitcoin standard offers a vision of an economy rooted in sound money, free markets, and financial freedom. While it may slow certain aspects of economic growth, it creates a more stable and sustainable system that protects individuals from inflation and centralized control. In a world where trust in institutions is waning, the Bitcoin standard is a step toward a fairer and more transparent future.

@ 31a4605e:cf043959

Nos últimos anos, o Bitcoin tem sido frequentemente comparado ao ouro, ganhando o nome de "ouro digital". Essa comparação ocorre porque ambas as formas de valor têm características em comum, como escassez, durabilidade e aceitação mundial. Contudo, o Bitcoin também representa uma novidade tecnológica que muda a ideia de dinheiro e investimento, se destacando como uma alternativa moderna e eficaz ao ouro físico.

Uma das razões pelas quais o Bitcoin é comparado ao ouro é a sua escassez programada. Enquanto o ouro é um recurso natural limitado, cuja oferta depende da mineração, o Bitcoin tem um teto máximo de 21 milhões de unidades, definido em seu código. Esse teto faz com que o Bitcoin seja protegido contra a inflação, ao contrário das moedas tradicionais, que podem ser criadas sem limites pelos bancos centrais.

Essa característica traz um valor duradouro, parecido com o ouro, já que a oferta limitada ajuda a manter o poder de compra ao longo do tempo. Com o aumento da procura por Bitcoin, sua quantidade reduzida reforça seu papel como reserva de valor.

Outro aspecto que aproxima o Bitcoin do ouro é a durabilidade. Enquanto o ouro resiste à corrosão e pode ser guardado por séculos, o Bitcoin é um ativo digital protegido por criptografia avançada e armazenado na blockchain — um livro-razão imutável e descentralizado.

Além disso, o Bitcoin é mais fácil de transportar do que o ouro. Mover ouro físico envolve custos e segurança, tornando o transporte complicado, principalmente em transações internacionais. Por outro lado, o Bitcoin pode ser enviado digitalmente para qualquer parte do mundo em minutos, com taxas baixas e sem intermediários. Essa vantagem tecnológica torna o Bitcoin mais eficaz para um mundo globalizado e digital.

A segurança é outra característica que o Bitcoin e o ouro têm em comum. O ouro é difícil de falsificar, fazendo dele uma reserva de valor confiável. Da mesma forma, o Bitcoin usa protocolos de criptografia que asseguram transações seguras e protegidas contra fraudes.

Além disso, todas as transações feitas com Bitcoin são registradas na blockchain, fornecendo um nível de transparência que o ouro físico não oferece. Qualquer pessoa pode revisar as transações na rede, aumentando a confiança e a rastreabilidade.

EconômicaHistoricamente, o ouro tem sido utilizado como proteção contra a inflação e crises econômicas. Durante momentos de instabilidade, os investidores buscam o ouro como uma maneira de preservar seu patrimônio. O Bitcoin, por sua vez, está surgindo como uma alternativa digital com o mesmo propósito.

Em países com alta inflação ou instabilidade política, o Bitcoin tem sido usado como uma proteção contra a desvalorização das moedas locais. Sua natureza descentralizada impede que governos confisquem ou controlem diretamente o ativo, garantindo maior liberdade financeira para os usuários.

Apesar de suas semelhanças com o ouro, o Bitcoin ainda enfrenta desafios. Sua volatilidade é muito maior, o que pode causar incertezas a curto prazo. No entanto, muitos especialistas afirmam que essa volatilidade é uma característica comum em ativos novos e tende a diminuir com o tempo, à medida que a aceitação cresce e o mercado se desenvolve.

Outro desafio é a regulamentação. Enquanto o ouro já é reconhecido globalmente como um ativo financeiro, o Bitcoin ainda enfrenta resistência de governos e instituições financeiras, que procuram formas de controlá-lo e regulá-lo.

Resumindo, o Bitcoin, muitas vezes chamado de "ouro digital", oferece uma nova forma de valor que combina as melhores características do ouro com a eficiência e a inovação da tecnologia digital. Sua escassez planejada, segurança criptográfica, portabilidade e resistência à censura fazem dele uma alternativa viável para preservar riqueza e realizar transações no mundo moderno.

Mesmo com muita volatilidade, o Bitcoin está se firmando como uma reserva de valor e como um ativo de proteção contra crises econômicas. Assim, ele representa não apenas uma evolução do sistema financeiro, mas também um símbolo da mudança para uma economia digital descentralizada e global.

Muito obrigado por teres lido o texto até aqui, espero que esteja tudo bem contigo e um abraço enorme do teu madeirense bitcoiner maximalista favorito. Viva a liberdade!

@ eb0157af:77ab6c55

French authorities have identified a 24-year-old Franco-Moroccan man as the mastermind behind a series of attacks targeting crypto entrepreneurs, including the co-founder of Ledger.

The suspect, Badiss Mohamed Amide Bajjou, was captured in Tangier by Moroccan authorities following an international arrest warrant issued by Interpol.

The arrest marks a major breakthrough in the investigations into a wave of kidnappings that targeted several figures in the French crypto sector. According to Le Parisien, the suspect was wanted for multiple crimes, including armed extortion and kidnapping.

Bajjou is accused of remotely orchestrating a sophisticated criminal network specializing in targeting wealthy individuals in the crypto world. His alleged criminal activity dates back to July 2023, when he began coordinating abductions and extortion attempts against industry entrepreneurs.

The Ledger case and a wave of kidnappings

Among the most shocking incidents was the attack on David Balland, co-founder of Ledger. The kidnappers subjected him to extreme torture, amputating one of his fingers to increase psychological pressure while demanding a €10 million ransom in cryptocurrency. Investigations suggest a direct link between Bajjou and this case.

Another high-profile incident involved an attempted abduction of the family of Pierre Noizat, CEO of Paymium. In May, masked men tried to kidnap Noizat’s daughter, her husband, and their child in broad daylight. Subsequent investigations led to the indictment of 25 suspects, including teenagers and minors.

Capture operation and seizure of evidence

During Bajjou’s arrest, Moroccan authorities seized materials connected to the kidnappings. According to local media, multiple bladed weapons, dozens of mobile phones, and a substantial amount of cash allegedly linked to the criminal activities were confiscated.

International cooperation and the search for accomplices

French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin publicly thanked Moroccan authorities for their cooperation in the arrest. However, investigations remain ongoing as another Franco-Moroccan man, believed to be the leader of the group and around 40 years old, is still at large. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau has vowed to track down all those responsible and protect crypto entrepreneurs during meetings with industry leaders.

The post Suspected organizer of France’s crypto kidnapping spree arrested in Morocco appeared first on Atlas21.

@ 812cff5a:5c40aeeb

Chorus: تجربة في البرمجة الانسداحية

كيفية بناء تطبيق Nostr بسرعة البرق باستخدام الذكاء الاصطناعي.

في 26 مايو، تم إطلاق تطبيق Chorus في منتدى أوسلو للحرية. صُمم هذا التطبيق للناشطين والمعارضين ومنظمي المجتمع، ويتميز بمجموعات تشبه تلك الموجودة في فيسبوك مع محفظة eCash مدمجة لجمع التبرعات.

Chorus مبني على Nostr، وهو بروتوكول لامركزي ومفتوح مصمم ليكون مقاومًا للرقابة. يمكن لأي شخص في العالم إنشاء حساب Nostr والنشر إلى خوادم Nostr، أو حتى بناء تطبيق Nostr خاص به — ولا يمكن لأحد إيقافه. هذا ما يجعل Nostr المكان المثالي للمقاتلين من أجل الحرية، الذين غالبًا ما يواجهون الرقابة من الحكومات الاستبدادية أو الشركات التي تتحكم في المنصات الاجتماعية الرئيسية.

يمكن للمستخدمين إنشاء حساب Chorus (أو تسجيل الدخول باستخدام حساب Nostr موجود) في ثوانٍ والبدء فورًا في استلام eCash، وإنشاء مجموعات، ومشاركة المحتوى. يتضمن التطبيق ميزات قوية لإدارة المجتمع، بحيث يمكن للمجموعات اختيار أنواع المحتوى التي تسمح بها وفقًا لشروطها الخاصة. يمكن للمستخدمين إرسال eCash على الفور إلى المجموعات التي يرغبون في دعمها، مما يوفر أداة لجمع التبرعات عبر الحدود لا يمكن لأي حكومة إيقافها.

قبل عام فقط، ربما استغرق بناء النسخة التي تم إطلاقها الأسبوع الماضي من Chorus أسابيع. ولكن بفضل أدوات الذكاء الاصطناعي الحالية، قمنا بذلك في خمسة أيام فقط.

⸻

كيفية القيام بذلك: بناء تطبيق في أيام باستخدام وكلاء الذكاء الاصطناعي

الخطوة 1: تجميع الفريق

تم بناء Chorus بواسطة And Other Stuff، وهي مجموعة جديدة مكرسة لتعزيز Nostr في خمسة مجالات رئيسية: تجربة المستخدم والتسجيل، المجتمعات، الاتصالات الخاصة، التجارة، والذكاء الاصطناعي. شمل فريق هذا المشروع: • Calle، منشئ Cashu (eCash) • JeffG، منشئ White Noise (الاتصالات الخاصة) • Rabble و Liz Swiegart من Nos (تجربة المستخدم والتسجيل) • Alex Gleason و MK Fain، منشئو Soapbox (المجتمعات) • و Jack Dorsey (مستشار)

الخطوة 2: البدء بقالب قوي

عند البرمجة بالانسداح، السياق هو الملك. إذا بدأت بمجلد فارغ وطلبت من وكيل ذكاء اصطناعي “بناء تطبيق مجموعات Nostr”، فلا يزال أمامك الكثير من العمل للحصول على شيء وظيفي حتى بشكل بسيط. من المحتمل أن تكون تنفيذات Nostr محاكاة، لا تتصل بخوادم حقيقية، أو تم تنفيذها بشكل غير صحيح. قد تكون أنواع الأحداث خاطئة، وقد لا يتم تحميل واجهة المستخدم، وحظًا سعيدًا في محاولة معرفة الخطوة التالية لإصلاح الفوضى.

هذا لأن الذكاء الاصطناعي يفتقر إلى بعض السياقات الرئيسية للبدء: • وثائق صديقة للذكاء الاصطناعي حول بروتوكول Nostr • أمثلة عالية الجودة على تنفيذ Nostr • أساسيات حول تكديس التكنولوجيا المفضل • سياق حول كيفية بناء المشروع وتشغيله وتصحيحه

الحل هو توفير المزيد من السياق، وسيكون العديد من مبرمجي الانسداح المخضرمين على دراية بالصراع في محاولة جعل الوكيل يقرأ روابط مختلفة للوثائق ويتبع 500 كلمة من السياق المصاغ بعناية في مطالبتهم الافتتاحية. ومع ذلك، غالبًا ما يربك هذا الوكلاء الذين يعملون بشكل أفضل مع مطالبات بسيطة. الحل لهذه المشكلة هو Stacks.

Stacks: بدء البرمجة الانسداحية بسرعة

Stacks تحل مشكلة نقص السياق الأولي من خلال إنشاء قوالب جاهزة مصممة خصيصًا لاستخدام وكلاء الذكاء الاصطناعي. يمكن استخدام “stack” لبناء أي نوع من المشاريع بأي لغة برمجة مع أي هدف نهائي في الاعتبار. بالنسبة لـ Chorus، استخدمنا MKStack، وهو قالب مصمم خصيصًا لبناء تطبيقات Nostr.

يتميز MKStack بعدة حلول للمشاكل الشائعة في الذكاء الاصطناعي: • Nostrbook MCP للاستعلام عن وثائق Nostr • مكونات بداية لميزات Nostr الشائعة مثل تسجيل الدخول • دعم Blossom لتحميل الوسائط • ملفات سياقية لتوجيه الوكيل خلال العقبات الشائعة وسير عمل التصحيح • نشر موقعك على الفور باستخدام Surge

النتيجة هي موقع جميل يعمل مباشرة مع Nostr في مطالبة واحدة:

“بناء تطبيق مجموعات على غرار فيسبوك على Nostr باستخدام NIP 72.”

كان هذا هو نتيجة تلك المطالبة الواحدة: http://groups72.surge.sh

الخطوة 3: إضافة الميزات باستخدام وكلاء الذكاء الاصطناعي

Stacks بدأت تطوير Chorus بسرعة. بعد ذلك، استخدمنا وكلاء الذكاء الاصطناعي لإضافة ميزات إضافية مثل: • محفظة eCash مدمجة • ميزات إدارة المجتمع • دعم الوسائط المتعددة

كل ذلك تم باستخدام مطالبات بسيطة وتوجيهات للذكاء الاصطناعي، مما سمح لنا ببناء تطبيق كامل الوظائف في أيام قليلة فقط.

⸻

ملاحظة:تم استخدام مصطلح برمجة الانسداحية بهدف الطرفة كترجمة لمصطلح Vibe coding تم كتابة هذه المقال من قبل المبدعة nostr: npub1jvnpg4c6ljadf5t6ry0w9q0rnm4mksde87kglkrc993z46c39axsgq89sc

@ 31a4605e:cf043959

O surgimento do Bitcoin trouxe uma nova visão para o conceito de dinheiro, desafiando o sistema financeiro convencional baseado em moedas fiduciárias. Enquanto as moedas fiduciárias, como o real, o dólar e o euro, são amplamente usadas e reconhecidas como métodos de troca, o Bitcoin representa uma inovação digital que propõe descentralização e autonomia financeira. Embora ambos desempenhem funções básicas como meio de troca e reserva de valor, suas diferenças principais estão na maneira como são emitidos, geridos e transacionados.

Uma das principais distinções entre o Bitcoin e as moedas fiduciárias é a maneira como são emitidos e administrados. As moedas fiduciárias são emitidas por bancos centrais, que têm o poder de regular sua quantidade em circulação. Esse modelo permite a aplicação de políticas monetárias, como o aumento da oferta de dinheiro para estimular a economia ou a diminuição para controlar a inflação. No entanto, essa capacidade também pode resultar na desvalorização da moeda, se for emitida em excesso.

O Bitcoin, por outro lado, tem um sistema de emissão totalmente descentralizado. Ele é criado por meio de um processo chamado mineração, no qual computadores resolvem problemas matemáticos complexos para validar transações na rede. Além disso, a oferta total de bitcoins é limitada a 21 milhões de unidades, tornando-o um ativo deflacionário, ou seja, sua escassez pode aumentar seu valor ao longo do tempo. Essa limitação contrasta fortemente com a natureza ilimitada da impressão de moedas fiduciárias.

Moedas fiduciárias são centralizadas, o que significa que sua emissão e controle são decididos por autoridades governamentais. Isso também implica que transações feitas com essas moedas passam por intermediários, como bancos, que podem aplicar taxas e limites, além de estarem sujeitos a regulamentações e auditorias.

O Bitcoin, por sua vez, é descentralizado. Ele opera em uma rede peer-to-peer, onde as transações são verificadas por participantes chamados mineradores e registradas em um livro público conhecido como blockchain. Essa descentralização elimina a necessidade de intermediários, tornando o Bitcoin mais resistente à censura e ao controle governamental. Isso também proporciona maior transparência, já que qualquer pessoa pode verificar as transações na rede.

Outra diferença importante está na maneira como as transações são feitas. Com moedas fiduciárias, as transações geralmente dependem de bancos ou sistemas de pagamento, que podem impor restrições de horários e taxas altas, especialmente para transferências internacionais.

O Bitcoin, por outro lado, permite transferências diretas entre pessoas, em qualquer lugar do mundo e a qualquer momento, sem a necessidade de intermediários. Isso torna o sistema mais acessível, especialmente para aqueles que não possuem contas bancárias ou vivem em países com sistemas financeiros restritivos. Além disso, as taxas de transação do Bitcoin podem ser menores do que as taxas cobradas por bancos tradicionais.

As moedas fiduciárias proporcionam segurança baseada em leis governamentais e no sistema bancário, mas os usuários precisam confiar nesses intermediários. O Bitcoin, em contrapartida, oferece um alto nível de segurança através de criptografia avançada. As carteiras digitais, que guardam bitcoins, são protegidas por chaves privadas, assegurando que somente o dono possa acessá-las.

No entanto, a privacidade funciona de maneira diferente. Transações em moedas fiduciárias normalmente estão ligadas à identidade do usuário, enquanto o Bitcoin oferece um certo nível de anonimato, já que os endereços das carteiras não requerem identificação pessoal. Ainda assim, todas as transações são públicas e registradas no blockchain, o que pode ser um ponto de monitoramento para autoridades.

O valor das moedas fiduciárias é sustentado pela confiança no governo que as emite e na economia do país. Por outro lado, o Bitcoin não é apoiado por nenhum governo ou ativo físico. Seu valor é definido pela oferta e demanda no mercado, fazendo com que seja altamente volátil. Embora essa volatilidade apresente um risco, também atrai pessoas que veem o Bitcoin como uma possibilidade de valorização a longo prazo.

Resumindo, o Bitcoin e as moedas fiduciárias diferem significativamente em sua estrutura, controle e funcionalidade. Enquanto as moedas fiduciárias são controladas por governos e dependem de intermediários, o Bitcoin oferece descentralização, transparência e liberdade financeira. Apesar de sua volatilidade e alguns desafios relacionados à regulamentação, o Bitcoin representa uma alternativa nova ao sistema financeiro tradicional.

Muito obrigado por teres lido o texto até aqui, espero que esteja tudo bem contigo e um abraço enorme do teu madeirense bitcoiner maximalista favorito. Viva a liberdade!

@ 90c656ff:9383fd4e

When people talk about Bitcoin, it’s often described as a digital currency or a “speculative investment.” However, one of Bitcoin’s most fundamental and least understood roles is its function as a settlement network. To understand this, it’s worth comparing it with traditional settlement systems like SWIFT and exploring how Bitcoin offers a foundational layer for global value transfer decentralized and censorship-resistant.

First, let’s explain the difference between liquidity and settlement:

• Liquidity refers to the ease with which an asset can be converted into “money” without losing value.

• Settlement is the process of completing a transaction (actual transfer of value between parties).

SWIFT: The communication layer of the traditional financial system

The SWIFT system (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) is a network for communication between banks. It doesn’t move money directly but sends standardized messages that instruct financial institutions to perform transfers. The process involves multiple intermediaries, is costly, slow (can take days), and depends on trust between parties and local regulations.

Unlike SWIFT, Bitcoin is a self-sufficient network that enables the direct settlement of value between two parties, without the need for intermediaries. With each block mined, transactions are validated and recorded immutably in a global, transparent, and secure database: the timechain or "blockchain".

01 - Final settlement: Once a transaction is confirmed by a sufficient number of blocks, it is considered final and irreversible.

02 - Censorship resistance: There is no central entity that can block or reverse a valid transaction.

03 - Global availability: The network is accessible 24/7 anywhere in the world with internet access.

Just as gold once served as the foundation of monetary systems, Bitcoin is establishing itself as a base layer of digital value. This layer can support others, such as:

01 - The Lightning Network, which enables near-instant transactions with extremely low fees;

02 - Tokenized financial services, which can use Bitcoin as collateral or for inter-institutional settlement.

By functioning as a public and neutral settlement network, Bitcoin offers an alternative to the traditional system, which is fragmented, closed, and reliant on trust between institutions.

In summary, more than just a speculative asset, Bitcoin is emerging as a global financial infrastructure. As a settlement network, it removes intermediaries, reduces costs, increases security, and democratizes access to value transfer. In an increasingly interconnected and digital world, understanding Bitcoin’s role as a base layer may be key to understanding the future of money.

Thank you very much for reading this far. I hope everything is well with you, and sending a big hug from your favorite Bitcoiner maximalist from Madeira. Long live freedom!

@ 87fedb9f:0da83419

So Much… and Still, Not Feeling It

So much abundance. It’s everywhere—overflowing around me. My six-year-old car would be a magical carriage to kings and queens of old. And yet, I get in, turn the key, and don’t often Feel The Magic.

Do I let myself feel how abundant life is? Eh. That does not come by default for me.

Adapting Is Normal. Savoring Is Not.

I adapt. I’m good at it. Weather shifts 40 degrees? No problem. A new location? I’ll adjust. And that’s useful—it keeps me moving. But it also numbs me. If I only adapt, life flattens out. That’s not thriving. That’s functioning.

Thriving, I’ve come to feel, asks for something more.

Our ancestors had rituals. They didn’t just adapt… they paused to feel the blessings, to name them. That created richness—not just survival. And today? I can have food delivered to my door. Are you a king? No—just have Amazon Prime.

Still, I want more than convenience. I want connection. To the food I eat. The flowers that bloom. The people I love. I want to feel that connection in my bones.

My Engineer Brain Doesn’t Celebrate

And yet, my mind often slips into improvement mode. I see what could be better. Smoother. More efficient. Useful? Sure. Celebratory? Not so much.

So I’ve started something: at the end of each day, when I look at my to-do list, I take a breath. I ask: what were the blessings today? Not just the big ones—because we adapt to those too. A new car? A new house? We get used to it. Quickly. But the micro-blessings… those are different.

My daughter’s laugh at a silly face I made yesterday. That memory settles deeper when I notice it and write it down. That’s a micro-blessing. I want to feel more of those.

rickthrivingnow_a_split-scene_one_side_shows_a_person_in_motion_0daf50d4-20a3-4365-aefa-e85b5db6f4ad1920×1076 199 KB

A New Practice, A Shift in Dreams

And after about 75 days of doing this nightly pause, I’m noticing something surprising: my dreams are changing. They’re weaving in those sweet, ordinary moments. They say, “Yes. Adapt. And also savor.”

rickthrivingnow_a_person_sitting_quietly_in_bed_at_night_with_a_79ecade9-f5ee-46ae-9dbe-fa3d16c952961920×1076 153 KB

The Confusion Between Privilege and Blessing

But here’s something raw. Something I’ve hesitated to share.

I’m a white man. An older one. And I’ve been in spaces where “white male privilege” is spoken as a curse. I absorbed that. My body did. And it twisted something deep inside me. Because in my system, “privileged” and “blessing” are linked.

So I started feeling that feeling blessed was wrong. Like I should shrink from it. That it was unfair, maybe even immoral.

I’ve had to tap through that.

Is it okay to feel blessed? Not above anyone—but blessed to have food. Skill. Mobility. A car that works. Is it okay?

Yes.

I Don’t Want to Shrink or Perform

Scarcity and guilt are real energies, but I don’t want them steering my experience of life. I want to choose presence. Connection. I want to know in my body: I am blessed. And I can feel that without disconnecting from those who are struggling.

I don’t want to perform gratitude out of duty. But I also don’t want to avoid it out of shame.

Practicing Our Birthright

Abundance is our birthright. Many of us are born with protections our ancestors could barely dream of—shelter, clean water, safety from predators. And if we want to truly be thriving, not just surviving, it feels essential to practice remembering that.

Because adaptation will keep us alive.

But only conscious attention to blessings—only savoring—will let us thrive.

rickthrivingnow_a_newborn_held_gently_in_the_arms_of_a_caregive_87b6c0be-bc29-4bc7-a7c5-b2cf323a82e51920×1076 398 KB

Useful Concepts for Thriving in This Story

• Abundance\ Abundance is the felt experience of more-than-enoughness, when we pause to really receive what surrounds and sustains us.

• Adapting\ Adapting keeps us functional, but thriving asks us to adapt and engage with what truly nourishes us.

• Awareness\ Awareness brings the blessings into view—even the ones so small they almost disappear without it.

• Allowing\ Allowing lets us stay open to blessings, even when shame or guilt try to close the door.

• Thriving\ Thriving means more than surviving—it’s about feeling, savoring, and aligning with life’s richness.

@ 8bad92c3:ca714aa5

Key Takeaways

Michael Goldstein, aka Bitstein, presents a sweeping philosophical and economic case for going “all in” on Bitcoin, arguing that unlike fiat, which distorts capital formation and fuels short-term thinking, Bitcoin fosters low time preference, meaningful saving, and long-term societal flourishing. At the heart of his thesis is “hodling for good”—a triple-layered idea encompassing permanence, purpose, and the pursuit of higher values like truth, beauty, and legacy. Drawing on thinkers like Aristotle, Hoppe, and Josef Pieper, Goldstein redefines leisure as contemplation, a vital practice in aligning capital with one’s deepest ideals. He urges Bitcoiners to think beyond mere wealth accumulation and consider how their sats can fund enduring institutions, art, and architecture that reflect a moral vision of the future.

Best Quotes

“Let BlackRock buy the houses, and you keep the sats.”

“We're not hodling just for the sake of hodling. There is a purpose to it.”

“Fiat money shortens your time horizon… you can never rest.”

“Savings precedes capital accumulation. You can’t build unless you’ve saved.”

“You're increasing the marginal value of everyone else’s Bitcoin.”

“True leisure is contemplation—the pursuit of the highest good.”

“What is Bitcoin for if not to make the conditions for magnificent acts of creation possible?”

“Bitcoin itself will last forever. Your stack might not. What will outlast your coins?”

“Only a whale can be magnificent.”

“The market will sell you all the crack you want. It’s up to you to demand beauty.”

Conclusion

This episode is a call to reimagine Bitcoin as more than a financial revolution—it’s a blueprint for civilizational renewal. Michael Goldstein reframes hodling as an act of moral stewardship, urging Bitcoiners to lower their time preference, build lasting institutions, and pursue truth, beauty, and legacy—not to escape the world, but to rebuild it on sound foundations.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:50 - Michael’s BBB presentation Hodl for Good
07:27 - Austrian principles on capital
15:40 - Fiat distorts the economic process
23:34 - Bitkey
24:29 - Hodl for Good triple entendre
29:52 - Bitcoin benefits everyone
39:05 - Unchained
40:14 - Leisure theory of value
52:15 - Heightening life
1:15:48 - Breaking from the chase makes room for magnificence
1:32:32 - Nakamoto Institute’s mission

Transcript

(00:00) Fiat money is by its nature a disturbance. If money is being continually produced, especially at an uncertain rate, these uh policies are really just redistribution of wealth. Most are looking for number to go up post hyper bitcoinization. The rate of growth of bitcoin would be more reflective of the growth of the economy as a whole.
(00:23) Ultimately, capital requires knowledge because it requires knowing there is something that you can add to the structures of production to lengthen it in some way that will take time but allow you to have more in the future than you would today. Let Black Rockck buy the houses and you keep the sats, not the other way around.
(00:41) You wait until later for Larry Frink to try to sell you a [Music] mansion. And we're live just like that. Just like that. 3:30 on a Friday, Memorial Day weekend. It's a good good good way to end the week and start the holiday weekend. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Thank you for having me here. Thank you for coming. I wore this hat specifically because I think it's I think it's very apppropo uh to the conversation we're going to have which is I hope an extension of the presentation you gave at Bitblock Boom Huddle for good. You were working on
(01:24) that for many weeks leading up to uh the conference and explaining how you were structuring it. I think it's a very important topic to discuss now as the Bitcoin price is hitting new all-time highs and people are trying to understand what am I doing with Bitcoin? Like you have you have the different sort of factions within Bitcoin.
(01:47) Uh get on a Bitcoin standard, get on zero, spend as much Bitcoin as possible. You have the sailors of the world are saying buy Bitcoin, never sell, die with your Bitcoin. And I think you do a really good job in that presentation. And I just think your understanding overall of Bitcoin is incredible to put everything into context. It's not either or.
(02:07) It really depends on what you want to accomplish. Yeah, it's definitely there there is no actual one-sizefits-all um for I mean nearly anything in this world. So um yeah, I mean first of all I mean there was it was the first conference talk I had given in maybe five years. I think the one prior to that uh was um bit block boom 2019 which was my meme talk which uh has uh become infamous and notorious.
(02:43) So uh there was also a lot of like high expectations uh you know rockstar dev uh has has treated that you know uh that that talk with a lot of reference. a lot of people have enjoyed it and he was expecting this one to be, you know, the greatest one ever, which is a little bit of a little bit of a uh a burden to live up to those kinds of standards.
(03:08) Um, but you know, because I don't give a lot of talks. Um, you know, I I I like to uh try to bring ideas that might even be ideas that are common. So, something like hodling, we all talk about it constantly. uh but try to bring it from a little bit of a different angle and try to give um a little bit of uh new light to it.
(03:31) I alsove I've I've always enjoyed kind of coming at things from a third angle. Um whenever there's, you know, there's there's all these little debates that we have in in Bitcoin and sometimes it's nice to try to uh step out of it and look at it a little more uh kind of objectively and find ways of understanding it that incorporate the truths of of all of them.
(03:58) uh you know cuz I think we should always be kind of as much as possible after ultimate truth. Um so with this one um yeah I was kind of finding that that sort of golden mean. So uh um yeah and I actually I think about that a lot is uh you know Aristotle has his his concept of the golden mean. So it's like any any virtue is sort of between two vices um because you can you can always you can always take something too far.
(04:27) So you're you're always trying to find that right balance. Um so someone who is uh courageous you know uh one of the vices uh on one side is being basically reckless. I I can't remember what word he would use. Uh but effectively being reckless and just wanting to put yourself in danger for no other reason than just you know the thrill of it.
(04:50) Um and then on the other side you would just have cowardice which is like you're unwilling to put yourself um at any risk at any time. Um, and courage is right there in the middle where it's understanding when is the right time uh to put your put yourself, you know, in in the face of danger um and take it on. And so um in some sense this this was kind of me uh in in some ways like I'm obviously a partisan of hodling.
(05:20) Um, I've for, you know, a long time now talked about the, um, why huddling is good, why people do it, why we should expect it. Um, but still trying to find that that sort of golden mean of like yes, huddle, but also what are we hodling for? And it's not we're we're not hodddling just merely for the sake of hodddling.
(05:45) There there is a a purpose to it. And we should think about that. And that would also help us think more about um what are the benefits of of spending, when should we spend, why should we spend, what should we spend on um to actually give light to that sort of side of the debate. Um so that was that was what I was kind of trying to trying to get into.
(06:09) Um, as well as also just uh at the same time despite all the talk of hodling, there's always this perennial uh there's always this perennial dislike of hodlers because we're treated as uh as if um we're just free riding the network or we're just greedy or you know any of these things. And I wanted to show how uh huddling does serve a real economic purpose.
(06:36) Um, and it does benefit the individual, but it also does uh it it has actual real social um benefits as well beyond merely the individual. Um, so I wanted to give that sort of defense of hodling as well to look at it from um a a broader position than just merely I'm trying to get rich. Um uh because even the person who uh that is all they want to do um just like you know your your pure number grow up go up moonboy even that behavior has positive ramifications on on the economy.
(07:14) And while we might look at them and have uh judgments about their particular choices for them as an individual, we shouldn't discount that uh their actions are having positive positive effects for the rest of the economy. Yeah. So, let's dive into that just not even in the context of Bitcoin because I think you did a great job of this in the presentation.
(07:36) just you've done a good job of this consistently throughout the years that I've known you. Just from like a first principles Austrian economics perspective, what is the idea around capital accumulation, low time preference and deployment of that capital like what what like getting getting into like the nitty-gritty and then applying it to Bitcoin? Yeah, it's it's a big question and um in many ways I mean I I even I barely scratched the surface.
(08:05) uh I I can't claim to have read uh all the volumes of Bombber works, you know, capital and interest and and stuff like that. Um but I think there's some some sort of basic concepts that we can look at that we can uh draw a lot out. Um the first uh I guess let's write that. So repeat so like capital time preference. Yeah. Well, I guess getting more broad like why sav

@ b1ddb4d7:471244e7

Jason Lowery’s thesis, Softwar: A Novel Theory on Power Projection and the National Strategic Significance of Bitcoin, reframes bitcoin not merely as digital cash but as a transformative security technology with profound implications for investors and nation-states alike.

For centuries, craft brewers understood that true innovation balanced tradition with experimentation—a delicate dance between established techniques and bold new flavors.

Much like the craft beer revolution reshaped a global industry, bitcoin represents a fundamental recalibration of how humans organize value and project power in the digital age.

The Antler in the Digital Forest: Power Projection

Lowery, a U.S. Space Force officer and MIT scholar, anchors his Softwar theory in a biological metaphor: Bitcoin as humanity’s “digital antler.” In nature, antlers allow animals like deer to compete for resources through non-lethal contests—sparring matches where power is demonstrated without fatal consequences. This contrasts sharply with wolves, who must resort to violent, potentially deadly fights to establish hierarchy.

The Human Power Dilemma: Historically, humans projected power and settled resource disputes through physical force—wars, seizures, or coercive control of assets. Even modern financial systems rely on abstract power structures: court orders, bank freezes, or government sanctions enforced by legal threat rather than immediate physical reality.

Lowery argues this creates inherent fragility: abstract systems can collapse when met with superior physical force (e.g., invasions, revolutions). Nature only respects physical power.

Bitcoin’s Physical Power Engine: Bitcoin introduces a novel solution through its proof-of-work consensus mechanism. Miners compete to solve computationally intense cryptographic puzzles, expending real-world energy (megawatts) to validate transactions and secure the network.

This process converts electricity—a tangible, physical resource—into digital security and immutable property rights. Winning a “block” is like winning a sparring match: it consumes significant resources (energy/cost) but is non-destructive.

The miner gains the right to write the next page of the ledger and collect rewards, but no participant is physically harmed, and no external infrastructure is destroyed.

Table: Traditional vs. Bitcoin-Based Power Systems

Power System

Mechanism

Key Vulnerability

Resource Cost

Traditional (Fiat/Banking)

Legal abstraction, threat of state force

Centralized points of failure, corruption, political change

Low immediate cost, high systemic risk

Military/Economic Coercion

Physical force, sanctions

Escalation, collateral damage, moral hazard

Very high (lives, capital, instability)

Bitcoin (Proof-of-Work)

Competition via energy expenditure

High energy cost, concentration risk (mining)

High energy cost, low systemic risk

Softwar Theory National Strategic Imperative: Governments Are Taking Notice

Lowery’s Softwar Theory has moved beyond academia into the corridors of power, shaping U.S. national strategy:

1. The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve: Vice President JD Vance recently framed bitcoin as an instrument projecting American values—”innovation, entrepreneurship, freedom, and lack of censorship”. State legislation is now underway to implement this reserve, preventing easy reversal by future administrations.
2. Regulatory Transformation: The SEC is shifting from an “enforcement-first” stance under previous leadership. New initiatives include:
   • Repealing Staff Accounting Bulletin 121 (SAB 121), which discouraged banks from custodying digital currency by forcing unfavorable balance sheet treatment.
   • Creating the Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit (CETU) to develop clearer crypto registration/disclosure rules.

The Investor’s Lens: Scarcity, Security, and Asymmetric Opportunity

For investors, understanding “Softwar” validates bitcoin’s unique value proposition beyond price speculation:

• Digital Scarcity as Strategic Depth: Bitcoin’s fixed supply of 21 million makes it the only digital asset with truly inelastic supply, a programmed scarcity immune to political whims or central bank printing.

  This “scarcity imperative” acts as a natural antidote to global fiat debasement. As central banks expanded money supplies aggressively (Global M2), bitcoin’s price has shown strong correlation, acting as a pressure valve for inflation concerns. The quadrennial “halving” (latest: April 2024) mechanically reduces new supply, creating built-in supply shocks as adoption grows. * The Antifragile Security Feedback Loop: Bitcoin’s security isn’t static; it’s antifragile. The network strengthens through demand: * More users → More transactions → Higher fees → More miner revenue → More hashpower (computational security) → Greater network resilience → More user confidence.
  This self-reinforcing cycle contrasts sharply with traditional systems, where security is a cost center (e.g., bank security budgets, military spending). Bitcoin turns security into a profitable, market-driven activity. * Institutionalization Without Centralization: While institutional ownership via ETFs (like BlackRock’s IBIT) and corporate treasuries (MicroStrategy, Metaplanet) has surged, supply remains highly decentralized.

  Individuals still hold the largest share of bitcoin, preventing a dangerous concentration of control. Spot Bitcoin ETFs alone are projected to see over $20 billion in net inflows in 2025, demonstrating robust institutional capital allocation.

The Bitcoin Community: Building the Digital Antler’s Resilience

Lowery’s “Softwar” theory underscores why bitcoin’s decentralized architecture is non-negotiable. Its strength lies in the alignment of incentives across three participant groups:

1. Miners: Provide computational power (hashrate), validating transactions and securing the network. Incentivized by block rewards (newly minted BTC) and transaction fees. Their physical energy expenditure is the “muscle” behind the digital antler.
2. Nodes: Independently verify and enforce the protocol rules, maintaining the blockchain’s integrity. Run by users, businesses, and enthusiasts globally. They ensure decentralized consensus, preventing unilateral protocol changes.
3. Users: Individuals, institutions, and corporations holding, transacting, or building on bitcoin. Their demand drives transaction fees and fuels the security feedback loop.

This structure creates “Mutually Assured Preservation”. Attacking bitcoin requires overwhelming its global, distributed physical infrastructure (miners/nodes), a feat far more complex and costly than seizing a central bank’s gold vault or freezing a bank’s assets. It transforms financial security from a centralized liability into a decentralized, physically-grounded asset.

Risks & Responsibilities

Investors and policymakers must acknowledge persistent challenges:

• Volatility: Bitcoin remains volatile, though this has decreased as markets mature. Dollar-cost averaging (DCA) is widely recommended to mitigate timing risk.
• Regulatory Uncertainty: While U.S. policy is increasingly favorable, global coordination is lacking. The EU’s MiCAR regulation exemplifies divergent approaches.
• Security & Custody: While Bitcoin’s protocol is robust, user errors (lost keys) or exchange hacks remain risks.
• Environmental Debate: Proof-of-Work energy use is scrutinized, though mining increasingly uses stranded energy/renewables. Innovations continue.

Jason Lowery’s “Softwar” theory elevates bitcoin from a financial instrument to a socio-technological innovation on par with the invention of the corporation, the rule of law, or even the antler in evolutionary biology. It provides a coherent framework for understanding why:

• Nations like the U.S. are looking to establish bitcoin reserves and embracing stablecoins—they recognize bitcoin’s role in projecting economic power non-violently in the digital age.
• Institutional Investors are allocating billions via ETFs—they see a scarce, secure, uncorrelated asset with antifragile properties.
• Individuals in hyperinflationary economies or under authoritarian regimes use bitcoin—it offers self-sovereign wealth storage immune to seizure or debasement.

For the investor, bitcoin represents more than potential price appreciation. It offers exposure to a fundamental reorganization of how power and value are secured and exchanged globally, grounded not in abstract promises, but in the unyielding laws of physics and mathematics.

Like the brewers who balanced tradition with innovation to create something enduring and valuable, bitcoin pioneers are building the infrastructure for a more resilient digital future—one computationally secured block at a time. The “Softwar” is here, and it is reshaping the landscape of p

@ b1ddb4d7:471244e7

Square, the payments platform operated by Block (founded by Jack Dorsey), is reporting 9.7% bitcoin yield on its bitcoin holdings by running a Lightning Network node.

The announcement was made by Miles Suter, Bitcoin product lead at Block, during the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas. Suter explained that Square is earning “real bitcoin from our holdings” by efficiently routing payments across the Lightning Network.

Square’s yield comes from its role as a Lightning service provider, a business it launched two years ago to boost liquidity and efficiency on the Lightning Network. According to Lightning Labs’ Ryan Gentry, Square’s 9% yield could translate to roughly $1 million in annual revenue.

The Lightning Network, a Bitcoin layer-2 protocol, has long been promoted as a solution to Bitcoin’s scalability and transaction speed issues. It enables micropayments and off-chain transactions, reducing congestion on the main blockchain. However, the network faces challenges, including the need for inbound liquidity—users must lock up BTC to receive BTC—potentially limiting participation by smaller nodes and raising concerns about decentralization.

Despite these hurdles, Square remains committed to advancing Bitcoin payments via Lightning. Suter revealed that 25% of Square’s outbound bitcoin transactions now use the Lightning Network. The company is actively testing Lightning-based payments at the Bitcoin 2025 event and plans to roll out the service to all eligible Square merchants by 2026.

Suter emphasized the transformative potential of Lightning:

“When you enable real payments by making them faster and more convenient, the network becomes stronger, smarter, and more beneficial. So if you’re questioning whether bitcoin is merely an asset, the response is no. It has already evolved into both an asset and a protocol, and now Block is spearheading the initiative to transform it into the world’s premier payment system.”

Square’s ongoing investment in Lightning signals its belief in Bitcoin’s future not just as a store of value, but as a global payments protocol.

@ 8bad92c3:ca714aa5

Key Takeaways

Michael Goldstein, aka Bitstein, presents a sweeping philosophical and economic case for going “all in” on Bitcoin, arguing that unlike fiat, which distorts capital formation and fuels short-term thinking, Bitcoin fosters low time preference, meaningful saving, and long-term societal flourishing. At the heart of his thesis is “hodling for good”—a triple-layered idea encompassing permanence, purpose, and the pursuit of higher values like truth, beauty, and legacy. Drawing on thinkers like Aristotle, Hoppe, and Josef Pieper, Goldstein redefines leisure as contemplation, a vital practice in aligning capital with one’s deepest ideals. He urges Bitcoiners to think beyond mere wealth accumulation and consider how their sats can fund enduring institutions, art, and architecture that reflect a moral vision of the future.

Best Quotes

“Let BlackRock buy the houses, and you keep the sats.”

“We're not hodling just for the sake of hodling. There is a purpose to it.”

“Fiat money shortens your time horizon… you can never rest.”

“Savings precedes capital accumulation. You can’t build unless you’ve saved.”

“You're increasing the marginal value of everyone else’s Bitcoin.”

“True leisure is contemplation—the pursuit of the highest good.”

“What is Bitcoin for if not to make the conditions for magnificent acts of creation possible?”

“Bitcoin itself will last forever. Your stack might not. What will outlast your coins?”

“Only a whale can be magnificent.”

“The market will sell you all the crack you want. It’s up to you to demand beauty.”

Conclusion

This episode is a call to reimagine Bitcoin as more than a financial revolution—it’s a blueprint for civilizational renewal. Michael Goldstein reframes hodling as an act of moral stewardship, urging Bitcoiners to lower their time preference, build lasting institutions, and pursue truth, beauty, and legacy—not to escape the world, but to rebuild it on sound foundations.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:50 - Michael’s BBB presentation Hodl for Good
07:27 - Austrian principles on capital
15:40 - Fiat distorts the economic process
23:34 - Bitkey
24:29 - Hodl for Good triple entendre
29:52 - Bitcoin benefits everyone
39:05 - Unchained
40:14 - Leisure theory of value
52:15 - Heightening life
1:15:48 - Breaking from the chase makes room for magnificence
1:32:32 - Nakamoto Institute’s mission

Transcript

(00:00) Fiat money is by its nature a disturbance. If money is being continually produced, especially at an uncertain rate, these uh policies are really just redistribution of wealth. Most are looking for number to go up post hyper bitcoinization. The rate of growth of bitcoin would be more reflective of the growth of the economy as a whole.
(00:23) Ultimately, capital requires knowledge because it requires knowing there is something that you can add to the structures of production to lengthen it in some way that will take time but allow you to have more in the future than you would today. Let Black Rockck buy the houses and you keep the sats, not the other way around.
(00:41) You wait until later for Larry Frink to try to sell you a [Music] mansion. And we're live just like that. Just like that. 3:30 on a Friday, Memorial Day weekend. It's a good good good way to end the week and start the holiday weekend. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Thank you for having me here. Thank you for coming. I wore this hat specifically because I think it's I think it's very apppropo uh to the conversation we're going to have which is I hope an extension of the presentation you gave at Bitblock Boom Huddle for good. You were working on
(01:24) that for many weeks leading up to uh the conference and explaining how you were structuring it. I think it's a very important topic to discuss now as the Bitcoin price is hitting new all-time highs and people are trying to understand what am I doing with Bitcoin? Like you have you have the different sort of factions within Bitcoin.
(01:47) Uh get on a Bitcoin standard, get on zero, spend as much Bitcoin as possible. You have the sailors of the world are saying buy Bitcoin, never sell, die with your Bitcoin. And I think you do a really good job in that presentation. And I just think your understanding overall of Bitcoin is incredible to put everything into context. It's not either or.
(02:07) It really depends on what you want to accomplish. Yeah, it's definitely there there is no actual one-sizefits-all um for I mean nearly anything in this world. So um yeah, I mean first of all I mean there was it was the first conference talk I had given in maybe five years. I think the one prior to that uh was um bit block boom 2019 which was my meme talk which uh has uh become infamous and notorious.
(02:43) So uh there was also a lot of like high expectations uh you know rockstar dev uh has has treated that you know uh that that talk with a lot of reference. a lot of people have enjoyed it and he was expecting this one to be, you know, the greatest one ever, which is a little bit of a little bit of a uh a burden to live up to those kinds of standards.
(03:08) Um, but you know, because I don't give a lot of talks. Um, you know, I I I like to uh try to bring ideas that might even be ideas that are common. So, something like hodling, we all talk about it constantly. uh but try to bring it from a little bit of a different angle and try to give um a little bit of uh new light to it.
(03:31) I alsove I've I've always enjoyed kind of coming at things from a third angle. Um whenever there's, you know, there's there's all these little debates that we have in in Bitcoin and sometimes it's nice to try to uh step out of it and look at it a little more uh kind of objectively and find ways of understanding it that incorporate the truths of of all of them.
(03:58) uh you know cuz I think we should always be kind of as much as possible after ultimate truth. Um so with this one um yeah I was kind of finding that that sort of golden mean. So uh um yeah and I actually I think about that a lot is uh you know Aristotle has his his concept of the golden mean. So it's like any any virtue is sort of between two vices um because you can you can always you can always take something too far.
(04:27) So you're you're always trying to find that right balance. Um so someone who is uh courageous you know uh one of the vices uh on one side is being basically reckless. I I can't remember what word he would use. Uh but effectively being reckless and just wanting to put yourself in danger for no other reason than just you know the thrill of it.
(04:50) Um and then on the other side you would just have cowardice which is like you're unwilling to put yourself um at any risk at any time. Um, and courage is right there in the middle where it's understanding when is the right time uh to put your put yourself, you know, in in the face of danger um and take it on. And so um in some sense this this was kind of me uh in in some ways like I'm obviously a partisan of hodling.
(05:20) Um, I've for, you know, a long time now talked about the, um, why huddling is good, why people do it, why we should expect it. Um, but still trying to find that that sort of golden mean of like yes, huddle, but also what are we hodling for? And it's not we're we're not hodddling just merely for the sake of hodddling.
(05:45) There there is a a purpose to it. And we should think about that. And that would also help us think more about um what are the benefits of of spending, when should we spend, why should we spend, what should we spend on um to actually give light to that sort of side of the debate. Um so that was that was what I was kind of trying to trying to get into.
(06:09) Um, as well as also just uh at the same time despite all the talk of hodling, there's always this perennial uh there's always this perennial dislike of hodlers because we're treated as uh as if um we're just free riding the network or we're just greedy or you know any of these things. And I wanted to show how uh huddling does serve a real economic purpose.
(06:36) Um, and it does benefit the individual, but it also does uh it it has actual real social um benefits as well beyond merely the individual. Um, so I wanted to give that sort of defense of hodling as well to look at it from um a a broader position than just merely I'm trying to get rich. Um uh because even the person who uh that is all they want to do um just like you know your your pure number grow up go up moonboy even that behavior has positive ramifications on on the economy.
(07:14) And while we might look at them and have uh judgments about their particular choices for them as an individual, we shouldn't discount that uh their actions are having positive positive effects for the rest of the economy. Yeah. So, let's dive into that just not even in the context of Bitcoin because I think you did a great job of this in the presentation.
(07:36) just you've done a good job of this consistently throughout the years that I've known you. Just from like a first principles Austrian economics perspective, what is the idea around capital accumulation, low time preference and deployment of that capital like what what like getting getting into like the nitty-gritty and then applying it to Bitcoin? Yeah, it's it's a big question and um in many ways I mean I I even I barely scratched the surface.
(08:05) uh I I can't claim to have read uh all the volumes of Bombber works, you know, capital and interest and and stuff like that. Um but I think there's some some sort of basic concepts that we can look at that we can uh draw a lot out. Um the first uh I guess let's write that. So repeat so like capital time preference. Yeah. Well, I guess getting more broad like why sav

@ eb0157af:77ab6c55

Speaking to Atlas21 microphones, Marco Argentieri, CEO of Ark Labs, talked about the Ark protocol, its synergy with LN and the debate on OP_RETURN.

During the Tuscany Lightning Summit 2025 in Viareggio, Marco Argentieri, CEO of Ark Labs, explained to Atlas21 microphones why Ark is not a competitor to the Lightning Network and discussed the role that the protocol can play in the ecosystem.

The conversation opened with a reflection on Bitcoin’s role as programmable money: “I believe Bitcoin must be programmable money not only because Satoshi himself put a script in Bitcoin, therefore a programming language, but also because when you start working with merchants, companies, payment processors, we realize that we need Bitcoin to be programmable to make payments effective,” Argentieri explained.

According to the CEO of Ark Labs, the success of the swap model that made wallets like Muun popular shows users’ desire to use LN, but without its technical complexity. “Muun was one of the first wallets to use this model and is still today among the most downloaded precisely for its simplicity,” the CEO observed.

But programmability doesn’t only serve end users. Argentieri draws attention to merchants, who represent the other side of the coin in payments. “Those who receive payments – merchants – for accounting reasons and to have regularity of cash flow, would like to have a less volatile currency,” he explained. The solution, for Argentieri, could be represented by derivative contracts that allow accepting bitcoin without suffering volatility, exploiting hedging strategies, and to do this “you need Bitcoin to be programmable.”

Ark as complementary technology

Regarding the initial perception of Ark as a “Lightning killer,” Argentieri clarified: “It was short-term marketing” that generated misunderstandings. “From the beginning I have always seen Ark and Lightning as two completely different and complementary technologies.”

Ark Labs’ strategy demonstrates this: “The first thing we did was a partnership with swap provider Boltz,” Argentieri recounted. Lightning channel managers need continuous swaps to rebalance channels: in this way Ark helps Boltz not to have to introduce an additional blockchain, the CEO of Ark Labs commented.

According to Argentieri, the synergy relationship works in both directions: “Lightning helps Ark because Ark is based on a client-server approach with operators, and Lightning can be used as a lingua franca to go from one ark to another.” The result is a system that Argentieri describes as “banks that cannot confiscate your funds.”

On the issue of self-custody scalability, the CEO of Ark Labs provided a realistic assessment of current limits: “It is mathematically impossible for every user to have their own UTXO. Ark offers a solution through VTXOs (Virtual Transaction Output).” Argentieri used a comparison to clarify the difference: “I always describe a UTXO as having your own land, like buying a beachfront house in Miami in the sixties. It’s your property, but if you want to sell it will be slow and expensive.” VTXOs, instead, are “like an airbnb – very simple to enter and exit, but you have to pay rent.”

The crucial aspect is unilateral exit from the network: “Ark gives the possibility of not doing vendor lock-in. It’s like a rental where I know that eventually I can always transform it into a house. I won’t do this with a few satoshis, I’ll wait to accumulate enough to afford a whole UTXO,” Argentieri stated.

B2B before retail

Argentieri sees Ark primarily as B2B infrastructure rather than retail: “Initially there was the idea of Ark as a mobile wallet for coffee payments, but I think it’s the opposite.”

“Doing the same things that can already be done with traditional fintech systems is a mistake.” The real opportunity, according to the CEO of Ark Labs, lies in use cases that only Bitcoin can enable: “When there are still Bitcoin startups that would like to pay their employees in bitcoin but cannot due to lack of infrastructure, there is the potential.”

The approach foresees initial adoption oriented to the corporate world: “Bitcoin must first take companies and sophisticated operators. There are the new use cases that you couldn’t do before Bitcoin.” The famous “coffee paid with bitcoin”? It’s not a technological problem, it’s an adoption problem, Argentieri commented.

Arkade: platform for off-chain contracts

Arkade, “the name of our online platform,” represents the practical implementation of this vision, Argentieri explained, specifying that it is “a set of technologies and approaches.” The goal is to create “the first platform to execute Bitcoin contracts off-chain instead of on-chain, using Ark to give unilateral exit from the network.”

The architecture maintains Bitcoin philosophy: “I believe the UTXO model is much better than the Ethereum model, but obviously we have to make these contracts off-chain.”

The OP_RETURN case

On the OP_RETURN debate, Argentieri expressed two positions: “At a technological level I am in favor of removal because we are seeing that the ecosystem is looking for other approaches,” he explains. But the problem is not technical, it’s political: “Bitcoin is not just technology but also people, humans, culture.”

The criticism of the CEO of Ark Labs concerns timing: “I am against the fact that Bitcoin Core in version 29 has this modification because many people are not in favor currently. There’s no hurry, let’s do it in version 30 so we have another six months to deepen the debate.”

For Argentieri, the discussion revealed a governance problem: “From a political point of view, this shows a communication error. Bitcoin is no longer a toy for kids but an industry.” And like every mature industry, it needs adequate governance structures, the CEO of Ark Labs suggested. Argentieri’s proposal includes the introduction of specialized figures: “Just as there are core developers, there could be core communicators who say ‘wait, let’s think about it’ before making decisions that impact the community.”

The post Marco Argentieri: “Ark will make Lightning more efficient, it’s not a competitor” appeared first on Atlas21.

@ 9ca447d2:fbf5a36d

H100 Group AB, a Swedish publicly listed health technology company, has made the headlines after investing in bitcoin as part of a new financial strategy.

The move has caused a stir in Sweden and beyond, with H100’s stock price rising 40% after the announcement.

The company has bought 4.39 bitcoin for 5 million Norwegian Krone (around $475,000–$492,000).

This is the company’s first foray into the digital asset space and makes H100 Group the first publicly-listed health tech company in Sweden to hold bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset.

The bitcoin was bought at an average price of 1,138,737 NOK (around $108,000) per coin.

The bitcoin purchase is part of H100 Group’s new “Bitcoin Treasury Strategy” to diversify its financial assets and strengthen its balance sheet. Instead of holding idle cash, the company decided to invest in what it sees as a long-term asset.

“This addition to H100’s Bitcoin Treasury Strategy follows an increasing number of tech-oriented growth companies holding bitcoin on their balance sheet,” said CEO Sander Andersen.

“And I believe the values of individual sovereignty highly present in the Bitcoin community aligns well with, and will appeal to, the customers and communities we are building the H100 platform for.”

Andersen said they will “build and hold” bitcoin long-term, viewing it as a savings tool, not a short-term trade.

The market reacted fast. On May 22, the company’s stock went up 39.27%, seeing highs of 1.620 SEK on the Nordic Growth Market.

This helped the company to recover a big part of the losses from the last two months, during which the stock fell 46%.

And now, after the purchase, the firm’s market cap is around $150.46 million.

H100 has said this might not be the only purchase. The company has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to set up a convertible loan facility of up to 10 million SEK with an undisclosed investor.

H100 Group’s announcement — Source

The funds will be used for general corporate purposes and to potentially increase bitcoin holdings. The loan will have a 3-year term and can be converted into shares at 1.3 SEK per share.

If H100’s stock price is more than 33% above the conversion price for more than 60 days, H100 will have the right to force conversion.

The company also announced today that it has successfully raised 21 million SEK ($2.21 million) through a convertible round led by Blockstream founder and CEO Adam Back.

Despite the Bitcoin pivot, H100 Group has made it clear that the core business remains the same.

They will continue to develop AI-powered automation tools and digital platforms to help healthcare providers deliver better services, especially in the health and longevity space.

Andersen said they are committed to healthy living, and adopting a bitcoin strategy is a smarter financial move that aligns with their values.

H100’s move comes as corporate adoption of bitcoin accelerates globally.

According to BitcoinTreasuries over 109 public companies now list bitcoin on their balance sheets. Among those are companies like Twenty One Capital, Strive and Metaplanet.

@ 9ca447d2:fbf5a36d

Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has voted down a shareholder proposal to add bitcoin to its treasury. The vote took place at the company’s annual shareholder meeting on May 30, 2025.

The proposal, known as Proposal 13, was submitted by investor Ethan Peck on behalf of the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR).

It asked Meta to convert a portion of its $72 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities into bitcoin. The idea was to hedge against inflation and low returns from traditional bond investments.

But the company’s shareholders said no.

According to the official count, more than 4.98 billion shares were voted against the proposal, while 3.92 million shares were for it—less than 0.1% of total votes. 8.86 million shares were abstentions and over 204 million were broker non-votes.

Meta shareholders rejected bitcoin reserve proposal — SEC

So now, Meta joins Microsoft and Amazon in rejecting calls to add bitcoin to their balance sheets.

Related: Microsoft Shareholders Reject Bitcoin Investment Proposal

Proponents of the proposal argued that bitcoin would help protect Meta’s reserves from inflation and weak bond returns. Peck and others pointed to bitcoin’s strong performance in 2024 and growing institutional interest in the scarce digital asset.

The proposal said bitcoin’s fixed supply and track record make it a long-term store of value.

High-profile supporters, including Matt Cole, CEO of Strive Asset Management, brought the issue to the forefront. At the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas, Cole addressed Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg directly:

“You have already done step one. You have named your goat Bitcoin,” he said. “My ask is that you take step two and adopt a bold corporate bitcoin treasury strategy.”

Others, like Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, said if Meta added bitcoin to its balance sheet it would be a big deal. “If Meta or Microsoft adds BTC to the balance sheet, it will be like when Tom Hanks got COVID—suddenly, it feels real,” Balchunas said.

Despite all the hype and arguments for Bitcoin, the tech giant’s board of directors opposed the measure. The board said the company already has a treasury management process in place that prioritizes capital preservation and liquidity.

“While we are not opining on the merits of cryptocurrency investments compared to other assets, we believe the requested assessment is unnecessary given our existing processes to manage our corporate treasury,” Meta’s board noted.

The board also noted that it reviews many investment options and sees no need for a separate review process specific to Bitcoin.

Meta’s decision shows the broader hesitation of large-cap companies to get into bitcoin as part of their financial strategy.

While companies like Michael Saylor’s Strategy are adding bitcoin to their treasuries every chance they get, companies like Microsoft, Amazon and now Meta, are taking a more cautious approach.

According to recent reports, Meta is exploring ways to integrate stablecoins into its platforms to enable global payouts.

This would be a re-entry into the digital asset space after the company shelved its Diem project due to regulatory issues—a step that bitcoin advocates deem unnecessary, insufficient, and irrelevant to protecting the company’s finances.