@ 866e0139:6a9334e5

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

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

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Eine der wichtigste Säulen einer funktionierenden Demokratie ist die sogenannte „öffentliche Sphäre“ (1), ein Debattenraum, in den sich alle Menschen gleichberechtigt einbringen und über aktuelle, für die Gemeinschaft wichtige Fragen diskutieren können. In Deutschland ist die Offenheit dieses Debattenraumes eigentlich durch fundamentale Grundrechte wie die Meinungs- und Pressefreiheit geschützt. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHF6rjDbK9w

Soziale Medien im Visier

Dennoch wird der öffentliche Diskurs derzeit immer stärker eingeschränkt. Als Rechtfertigung dafür wird seit einigen Jahren der sogenannte Kampf gegen „Desinformation“ oder auch „Falschinformation“ (Misinformation) angeführt:  Unter dem Vorwand, die Bevölkerung vor schädlicher Einflussnahme von außen, beispielsweise aus Russland, schützen zu wollen, wird der öffentliche Diskurs mit Hilfe von „Faktencheckern“, „Trusted Flaggern“ oder durch das „Gesetz für Digitale Dienstleistungen“ (Digital Services Act) massiv eingeschränkt, wobei vor allem soziale Medien verstärkt ins Visier genommen werden. 

In der Propagandaforschung ergibt sich bei dem vorgeblichen Kampf gegen „Desinformation“ jedoch das Problem, dass die Begriffe selbst, die als Rechtfertigung dafür verwendet werden, um den öffentlichen Diskurs einzuschränken und bestimmte Inhalte zu löschen, nicht eindeutig definiert sind. Auch was „falsche Tatsachenbehauptungen“ sind, kann letztlich nur der offene, öffentliche Diskurs entscheiden. Wenn das, was „falsch“ oder „richtig“ ist, durch eine einzelne Instanz im Alleingang entschieden wird, dann landet man bei dem, was George Orwell in seinem bekannten Roman 1984 als „Wahrheitsministerium“ beschrieb: ein Ministerium, das auch noch nach Jahren alle verfügbaren Informationen dem aktuellen Stand der „Wahrheit“ anpasst – selbst wenn diese sich ständig ändern sollte. (2)

Auch heute steht immer wieder der Vorwurf im Raum, dass der Kampf gegen „Desinformation“ sowie der Kampf gegen „russische Desinformation“ gezielt genutzt werden, um im Kampf um die Deutungshoheit das eigene, westliche Narrativ durchzusetzen. Diesen Punkt habe ich ausführlich in meinem Artikel in der Berliner Zeitung dargelegt. 

Wie unehrlich der Kampf gegen falsche Informationen tatsächlich ist, kann folgendes konkrete Beispiel zeigen: Die deutsche Politikerin und ehemalige Vorsitzende des Verteidigungsausschusses im Bundestag, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, erklärte in einer am 24. März 2025 im ORF2 ausgestrahlten Sendung: 

„Wladimir Putin ist ein Mörder, ein Killer, der hunderte von Millionen Menschen unter die Erde gebracht hat.“

In der gleichen Sendung behauptete Strack-Zimmermann, dass die Ukraine 70 Milliarden Menschen ernähre. Besonders bemerkenswert dabei ist, dass ihr niemand in der Sendung widersprach.

Wenn man beide Zahlen einordnen möchte, dann sollte man sich einerseits bewusst machen, dass Strack-Zimmermann damit behauptet, dass der russische Präsident mehr Menschen „unter die Erde gebracht hat“, als laut offiziellen Zahlen im Ersten und Zweiten Weltkrieg zusammen gestorben sind. Andererseits sollte man wissen, dass die Weltbevölkerung insgesamt bei ca. 8,2 Milliarden Menschen liegt, die Ukraine laut dieser Aussage somit die gesamte Weltbevölkerung ca. 8,5 Mal ernähren könnte. 

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Hier können Sie die Friedenstaube abonnieren und bekommen die Artikel zugesandt, vorerst für alle kostenfrei, wir starten gänzlich ohne Paywall. (Die Bezahlabos fangen erst zu laufen an, wenn ein Monetarisierungskonzept für die Inhalte steht). Sie wollen der Genossenschaft beitreten oder uns unterstützen? Mehr Infos hier oder am Ende des Textes.

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Das Messen mit doppeltem Maß

Als der Autor daher beschloss, die Äußerungen von Strack-Zimmermann bei mehreren, einschlägigen Meldeportalen für „Desinformation“ als gefährliche Hassrede zu melden, war das Ergebnis umso erstaunlicher: entweder erklärten sich die Meldeportale für das öffentlich-rechtliche Fernsehen nicht zuständig, oder sie lehnten eine Bearbeitung des Falles und einen Faktencheck der getroffenen Aussagen ab, da es wichtigere Fälle zu bearbeiten gäbe und leider keine Kapazitäten zur Prüfung dieses Aussagen zur Verfügung stünden. 

Dieses konkrete Beispiel soll zeigen, wie wichtig es ist, den vorgeblichen Kampf gegen „Desinformation“ oder auch „russische Einflussnahme“ als das einzuordnen, was er in vielen Fällen ist: ein unehrlich Kampf um die Deutungshoheit und damit ein gefährlicher Bestandteil von dem, was man ehrlicherweise als Kriegspropaganda bezeichnet. 

Den Bürgerinnen und Bürgern bleibt somit nur, alle Informationen selbst kritisch auf ihren Wahrheitsgehalt hin zu prüfen und selbst zu entscheiden, was als wertvolle Information und was als manipulative „Desinformation“ eingestuft werden kann. Je besser es gelingt, tatsächliche Desinformation und Kriegspropaganda aller an einem Krieg beteiligten Nationen zu hinterfragen, umso schwerer wird es, diesen Krieg zu führen. Damit ist das Durchschauen von unehrlichen Schlagwörtern wie „Desinformation“ oder „Falschinformation“ ein erster, wichtiger Schritt zur Neutralisierung von Kriegspropaganda und bildet das Fundament, das den Weg zum Frieden dadurch möglich macht. Jeder einzelne hat somit die Möglichkeit, diesen Weg zum Frieden aktiv mitzugestalten. Hier kann der Mut, sich jeden Tag im persönlichen Umfeld in den öffentlichen Diskurs einzubringen und die Friedensbotschaft zu stärken, bereits einen wichtigen Beitrag leisten. 

(1)  Habermas, Jürgen. 1971/1962. Strukturwandel der Öffentlichkeit. Untersuchungen zu einer Kategorie der bürgerlichen Gesellschaft. 5th ed. Neuwied/Berlin.

(2)  Orwell, George (1948). 1984. Seite 193 ff. 

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Dr. Jonas Tögel ist Amerikanist, Propagandaforscher und *Bestsellerautor. Er hat zum Thema Soft Power und Motivation promoviert und arbeitet als wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter am Institut für Psychologie der Universität Regensburg. Seine Forschungsschwerpunkte sind unter anderem Motivation, der Einsatz von Soft-Power-Techniken, Nudging, Propaganda sowie Geostrategie. *

Zuletzt erschien sein Buch „Kriegsspiele“ im Westend-Verlag.

Website: *www.jonastoegel.de *

X (Twitter): *https://x.com/JonasToegel *

YouTube: *https://www.youtube.com/@DrJonasToegel *

Instagram: *https://www.instagram.com/drjonastoegel/ *

Telegram: https://t.me/drjonastoegel 

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LASSEN SIE DER FRIEDENSTAUBE FLÜGEL WACHSEN!

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

@ 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.

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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.

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

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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

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

@ 7f6db517:a4931eda

Humanity's Natural State Is Chaos
Without order there is chaos. Humans competing with each other for scarce resources naturally leads to conflict until one group achieves significant power and instates a "monopoly on violence."

Power Brings Stability
Power has always been the key means to achieve stability in societies. Centralized power can be incredibly effective in addressing issues such as crime, poverty, and social unrest efficiently. Unfortunately this power is often abused and corrupted.

Centralized Power Breeds Tyranny
Centralized power often leads to tyrannical rule. When a select few individuals hold control over a society, they tend to become corrupted. Centralized power structures often lack accountability and transparency, and rely too heavily on trust.

Distributed Power Cultivates Freedom
New technology that empowers individuals provide us the ability to rebuild societies from the bottom up. Strong individuals that can defend and provide for themselves will help build strong local communities on a similar foundation. The result is power being distributed throughout society rather than held by a select few.

In the short term, relying on trust and centralized power is an easy answer to mitigating chaos, but freedom tech tools provide us the ability to build on top of much stronger distributed foundations that provide stability while also cultivating individual freedom.

The solution starts with us. Empower yourself. Empower others. A grassroots freedom tech movement scaling one person at a time.

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

@ 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

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

@ 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

@ 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

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

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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
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• The newest LND release brings upgrades that empower developers with better on-chain management, significantly boost backend scalability for expanding services, and ensure a more seamless and dependable payment experience.

"We are excited to announce the release of LND v0.19.0 beta! This new release focuses on making LND more secure, scalable, and reliable for powering global bitcoin and stablecoin transactions," was announced in a blog post.

• Some highlights of this release include a Replace-By-Fee Cooperative Close for flexible channel closure fees, migration of invoices to SQL for faster startups, enhanced payment reliability through improved pathfinding, transaction sweeper improvements, the addition of Testnet4 support for stable testing, among other things.

"As always, we are grateful for the ongoing support of our external contributors across development, review, and testing. A total of 51 developers contributed to this release. For the complete list of changes included in this release, check out the full release notes."

What's new

• New RBF cooperative close flow. It uses RBF to enable either side to increase their fee rate using their own channel funds. Channel peers must support the option_simple_close for this new protocol to work. This new feature can be activated with a new config flag: --protocol.rbf-coop-close.
  • This feature isn't compatible with older LND versions; fee bumping with them uses CPFP. It already works with Eclair v0.12.0 or up, and should work with other implementations as they roll out support for this protocol. The protocol currently does not support Taproot channels and Taproot asset channels.
• Support for archiving channel backups in a specific folder for future reference. It comes with a new config option, disable-backup-archive (default: false), to control whether previous backups are archived.
• Support for experimental endorsement signal relay. Deployed experimentally to assist ongoing channel jamming research, it has no impact on routing.
• Initial support for quiescence. This protocol gadget is required for upcoming Dynamic Commitments and Splicing features.
• Historical Sync: Fixed a race condition blocking initial sync due to syncer's internal state handling.
• Max Fee Rate is now respected during cooperative close initiation for both parties, not just the remote party.
• Lots of other bug fixes.

• Performance Improvements:

  • Limit outbound gossip traffic bandwidth with --gossip.msg-rate-bytes and --gossip.msg-rate-burst. Set burst to the maximum bytes transmittable without rate limiting, and rate to the ongoing permitted rate.

• Ability to use ZSTD for log rotation.

• Remove redundant iteration over a node's persisted channels when updating the graph cache with a new node or node update.

• Functional Enhancements:

  • Add pagination for wallet transactions.
  • Make MaxWaitNumBlocksFundingConf configurable for faster test timeouts, with a default of 2016 blocks for production.
  • Change sweeper to attempt sweeps if the budget is partially covered, preventing delays and high fees.
  • Validate MPP parameters before payment to avoid path finding loops and timeouts.
• Functional Updates:
  • Enable log compression with ZSTD using the logging.file.compressor argument.
  • Enhance SCB file with more data for last-resort rescue when a peer is unavailable.
  • Update channel.backup file at shutdown in LND.
  • Introduce chainio subsystem to sync subsystems with the current best block, fixing delays in HTLC sweeping due to block height discrepancies in ChainArbitrator, UtxoSweeper, and TxPublisher. Click here to learn more.
  • Sweeper now uses configured budget values for HTLCs with --sweeper.budget.deadlinehtlcratio and --sweeper.budget.deadlinehtlc.
  • Consider blockbeat dispatcher height when checking if lnd is synced to chain.
  • Allocate restricted slots for peers via --num-restricted-slots.
  • Added support for bitcoin testnet4.
  • Removed x/exp/maps dependency.
  • Add --no-disconnect-on-pong-failure option (default: false) to manage peer disconnection on pong failure or mismatch.

• RPC Additions and Updates. Some RPCs that previously returned an empty response now provide a short status message to help command line users confirm successful execution or background initiation. The following CLI commands no longer return an empty response ({}):

  • lncli wallet releaseoutput (WalletKit.ReleaseOutput RPC)
  • lncli wallet accounts import-pubkey (WalletKit.ImportPublicKey RPC)
  • lncli wallet labeltx (WalletKit.LabelTransaction RPC)
  • lncli sendcustom (Lightning.SendCustomMessage RPC)
  • lncli connect (Lightning.ConnectPeer RPC)
  • lncli disconnect (Lightning.DisconnectPeer RPC)
  • lncli stop (Lightning.Stop RPC)
  • lncli deletepayments (Lightning.DeleteAllPaymentsResponse RPC)
  • lncli abandonchannel (Lightning.AbandonChannel RPC)
  • lncli restorechanbackup (Lightning.RestoreChannelBackups RPC)

  • lncli verifychanbackup (Lightning.VerifyChanBackup RPC)

  • The ForwardInterceptor's MODIFY option now merges custom range TLVs with existing HTLC records, overwriting conflicting values with API-supplied ones.

  • Make ProofMatureDelta in gossip configurable via --gossip.announcement-conf, defaulting to 6.
  • Add LockedIn boolean field to lnrpc.HTLC to show if an HTLC is locked in by the remote peer.
  • Allow custom lock ID and duration in FundPsbt RPC.
  • Extend lnrpc.RPCMiddlewareRequest to include gRPC metadata pairs from the initial request's context.Context.
  • Updated PendingSweeps to return all registered outputs in the RPC response, regardless of future locktime, enabling planning for upcoming sweeps and custom aggregation logic. Added MaturityHeight field to PendingSweep for absolute locktime value.
  • Add BumpForceCloseFee RPC endpoint, moving lncli functionality to LND for broader accessibility.
  • Enhance walletrpc.FundPsbt with an option to set fees as sat_per_kw for greater precision.
  • Add a new option in walletrpc.FundPsbt to specify the maximum fee-to-output amounts ratio.
  • Sort lnrpc.Invoice.Htlcs by InvoiceHTLC.HtlcIndex in the list invoices RPC response.
  • Set a default 60-second timeout for routerrpc.SendPaymentV2 when timeout_seconds is unset or 0.
  • Include custom_channel_data for custom channels in lnrpc.ClosedChannels response.
  • lncli updates and additions:
  • Allow pre-generated macaroon root key in lncli create and lncli createwatchonly for deterministic macaroon generation.
  • Add --sat_per_kw flag to lncli wallet fundpsbt for precise fee rate specification.
  • Include --max_fee_ratio argument in lncli wallet fundpsbt to set maximum fee-to-output amounts ratio.
  • Enhance lncli listchannels and lncli closedchannels output with human-readable short channel ID and BOLT02 channel ID; rename chan_id to scid for accuracy.
  • Initiate cooperative close flow in coop close case even with active HTLCs, disabling the channel for new HTLCs and starting the flow when no HTLCs remain.
  • Introduce macaroon constraint for IP range-based access restriction, expanding beyond spe

@ 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
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Marty's Bent

Sorry for the lack of writing over the last week. As many of you may already know, I was in Las Vegas, Nevada for the Bitcoin 2025 conference. It was my first time in Las Vegas. I had successfully avoided Sin City for the first 34 years of my life. But when duty calls, you have to make some personal concessions.

Despite what many say about this particular conference and the spectacle that it has become, I will say that having attended every single one of Bitcoin Magazine's conferences since 2019, I thoroughly enjoy these events, even if I don't agree with all the content. Being able to congregate with others in the industry who have been working extremely hard to push Bitcoin forward, all of whom I view as kindred spirits who have also dedicated their lives to making the world a better place. There's nothing better than getting together, seeing each other in person, shaking hands, giving hugs, catching up and reflecting on how much things have changed over the years while also focusing on the opportunities that lie ahead.

I think out of all the Bitcoin magazine conferences I've been to, this was certainly my favorite. If only because it has become abundantly clear that Bitcoin is here to stay. Many powerful, influential, and competent people have identified Bitcoin as an asset and monetary network that will play a large part in human society moving forward. And more importantly, Bitcoin is proving to work far better than anybody not paying attention expected. While at the same time, the fiat system is in woeful disrepair at the same time.

As a matter of reflection and surfacing signal for you freaks, here are the presentations and things that happened that I think were the most impactful.

Miles Suter's Block Presentation

This presentation was awesome for many reasons, one of which being that we often forget just how dedicated Block, as an organization with many companies - including Cash App, Square, the open source organization known as Spiral and more recently, BitKey and Proto - has been to bitcoin over the last eight years. They've worked methodically to make Bitcoin a first-class citizen in their business operations and slowly but surely have built an incredibly integrated experience across their brands. The two big announcements from Block during the conference were the enablement of Bitcoin payments in Square point-of-sale systems and the amount of revenue they're making on their Lightning node, c=, from routing payments.

Right now, the Bitcoin payments and point of sale systems is in beta with many merchants testing it out for the next six months, but it will be available for all 4 million square merchants in 2026. This is something that many bitcoiners have been waiting for for many years now, and it is incredible to see that they finally brought it across the line. Merchants will have the ability to accept bitcoin payments and either convert every payment into fiat automatically, convert a portion of the bitcoin payment into fiat to keep the rest in sats, or simply keep all of the bitcoin they receive via payments in sats. This is an incredible addition to what Square has already built, which is the ability of their merchants to sweep a portion of their revenues into bitcoin if they desire. Square is focused on building a vertically integrated suite of bitcoin products for merchants that includes the ability to buy bitcoin, receive bitcoin, and eventually leverage financial services using bitcoin as collateral so that they can reinvest in and expand their businesses.

via Ryan Gentry

What went a bit underappreciated in the crowd was the routing node revenue that c= is producing, ~9.7% annualized. This is a massive validation of something that many bitcoiners have been talking about for quite some time, which is the ability to produce "yield" on bitcoin in a way that reduces risk significantly. Locking up bitcoin in a 2-of-2 multisig within Lightning channels and operating a Lightning routing node has been long talked about as one of the ways to produce more bitcoin with your bitcoin in a way that minimizes the threat of loss.

It seems that c= has found a way to do this at scale and is doing it successfully. 10% yield on bitcoin locked in Lightning channels is nothing to joke about. And as you can see from the chart above in the grainy picture taken by Ryan Gentry of Lightning Labs, this routing node "yield" is producing more return on capital than many of the most popular staking and DeFi protocols.

This is a strong signal to the rest of the market that this can be done. It may take economies of scale and a high degree of technical competency today. But this is incredibly promising for the future of earning bitcoin by providing valuable goods and services to the market of Bitcoiners. In this case, facilitating relatively cheap and instantly settled payments over the Lightning Network.

Saifedean Ammous' Bitcoin and Tether Presentation

This was one of the best presentations at the conference. Saifedean Ammous is a friend, he has been an incredible influence on my personal bitcoin journey, and I feel comfortable in saying he's been a strong influence on the journey of hundreds of thousands, at least, if not millions of people as they've attempted to understand bitcoin.

This presentation is a bit spicy because it puts a pin in the balloon of hopium that stablecoins like Tether are mechanisms that could bail out the market for US Treasuries in the medium to long-term if they take enough market share. As one always should do, Saif ran the numbers and clearly illustrates that even in the most optimistic case, Tether's impact on the market for treasuries, their interest rates, and curbing the growth of the debt held by the US federal government will be minimal at best.

One of the most interesting things that Saif points out that I'm a bit embarrassed I didn't recognize before is that much of the demand for Tether that we're seeing these days is replacement demand for treasuries. Meaning that many people who are turning to Tether, particularly in countries that have experienced hyperinflationary events, are using Tether as a substitute for their currencies, which are operated by central banks likely buying U.S. treasuries to support their monetary systems. The net effect of Tether buying those treasuries is zero for this particular user archetype.

Saif goes on to explain that if anything, Tether is a weapon against the US Treasury system when you consider that they're storing a large portion of the stablecoin backing in Treasuries and then using the yields produced by those Treasuries to buy bitcoin. Slowly but surely over time bitcoin as a percentage of their overall backing of Tether has grown quite significantly starting at 0% and approaching 10% today. It isn't hard to imagine that at some point within the next decade, Bitcoin could be the dominant reserve asset backing tethers and, as a result, Tether could be pegged to bitcoin eventually.

It's a fascinating take on Tether that I've never heard before.

Nothing Stops this Train from Lyn Alden

Lyn's been saying it loudly for quite some time now; "Nothing stops this train." She's even been on our podcast to explain why she believes this many times over the last five years. However, I don't think there is one piece of content out there that consolidates her thesis of why nothing stops the train of fiscal irresponsibility and unfettered debt expansion and why that's good for bitcoin than the presentation she gave at the conference. Definitely give this one a watch when you get a chance if you haven't already.

Overall, it was a great week in Vegas and I think it's safe to say that bitcoin has gone mainstream. Whether or not people who have been in the bitcoin industry and community for a while are okay with does not really matter. It's happening and all we can do is ride the wave as more and more people come to recognize the value prop of bitcoin and the social clout they can gain from supporting it. Our job here at TFTC is to help you discern the signal from the noise, continue to champion the self-sovereign usage of bitcoin and keep you abreast of developments in the space as they manifest.

Buckle up. Things are only going to get weirder from here on out.

Bitcoin's Mathematical Destiny

Sean Bill and Adam Back make a compelling case for Bitcoin's inevitable march toward $1 million. Sean points out that Bitcoin represents just a tiny fraction—2 trillion out of 900 trillion—of total financial assets, calling it a "tiny orange dot" on their presentation to Texas pensions. He emphasizes that reaching parity with gold alone would deliver a 10x return from current levels. Adam highlights the mathematical impossibility of current prices, noting that ETF buyers are absorbing 500,000 BTC annually while only 165,000 new coins are mined.

"Who's selling at these prices? It doesn't quite add up to me." - Adam Back

The institutional wave is just beginning. Sean revealed that while 50% of hedge fund managers personally own Bitcoin, only 3% have allocated institutional funds. Combined with emerging demand from nation states and corporate treasuries meeting Bitcoin's fixed supply, the price trajectory seems clear. Both guests stressed the importance of staying invested—missing just the 12 best performing days each year would turn Bitcoin into a losing investment.

Check out the full podcast here for more on pensions allocating to Bitcoin, cypherpunk banking, and commodity trading insight

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Key Takeaways

In this episode, host Marty speaks with Ken, a former CIA deputy chief and now head of government affairs at the Bitcoin Policy Institute, about Bitcoin’s growing relevance in U.S. national security and policy circles. Ken traces his Bitcoin journey from professional curiosity within the CIA, studying adversarial use cases like the Lazarus Group, to personal conviction following events like the Canadian trucker protests, which exposed the dangers of financial censorship. Contrary to popular belief, he reveals that many in the intelligence community support Bitcoin for its alignment with American values such as sovereignty and freedom. The conversation highlights a major cultural shift in Washington, where policymakers now view Bitcoin as a strategic asset rather than a criminal tool. Ken stresses that the future hinges on whether Bitcoin shapes institutions or is co-opted by them, and that political engagement is crucial to ensure the former. He argues Bitcoin can help solve systemic problems from fiscal irresponsibility to geopolitical instability, but only if the industry continues to organize, advocate, and embed its values into national policy.

Best Quotes

"Either institutions are going to win, or Bitcoin is going to win."

"Bitcoin naturally washes out leverage… it's what makes Bitcoin antifragile."

"The CIA didn’t create Bitcoin, but they sure are paying attention now."

"We were all Satoshi."

"Let’s not test the resistance-money thesis in the United States."

"Bitcoin strengthens U.S. values, freedom, private property, sovereignty."

"Bitcoin is political, but it doesn't have to be partisan."

"If you're in a federal agency, the only incentive is to spend more. Bitcoin changes that."

"Don't underestimate your voice. If you keep the phones ringing, they listen."

Conclusion

This episode offers a rare glimpse into how Bitcoin is increasingly viewed as a serious strategic asset within the U.S. intelligence and policy communities. Ken, with his high-level government background and current role in Bitcoin advocacy, underscores the shift from skepticism to engagement among policymakers. His message is clear: Bitcoiners are no longer outsiders, they have a seat at the table, and with sustained political action and education, they can shape the future of Bitcoin policy. The time to engage is now, because the battle for Bitcoin’s role in society is already in motion.

Timestamps

0:00 - Intro
0:26 - Ken's background
6:58 - Tornado/Samourai, surveillance state
11:53 - Reestablishing trust
14:23 - Bitkey
15:18 - CIA bitcoin theory
18:42 - Neutral reserve asset
23:52 - Unchained
24:20 - BPI
29:49 - CLARITY and Secret Service message
33:54 - Withstanding a change in administration
40:03 - Institutions win or bitcoin wins
46:43 - Shrinking gov with bitcoin
57:47 - BPI summit

Transcript

00:00:00 compared to China or Russia, do we have a comparable advantage in gold? How do we compete with China? And this is what the kinds of things CI will think about. Bitcoin is a natural option. At the end of the day, Bitcoin undermines the authority of the Chinese Communist Party. Either institutions are going to win or Bitcoin is going to win. But we do fundamentally on some level need institutions to make the country run. We want those institutions to be properly incentivized. In 10 years, Bitcoin is

00:00:19 either at a million dollars or is zero dollars. Ken, it's great to have you on the show. Thank you for joining me. Marty, finally. We've been we've been kicking us around for a few weeks. I'm glad we uh glad we were finally able to make it work. As I was telling you, in the middle of a move, conference in the middle of that move. It's been a hectic week, so I think I'm finally settling in. As you can see, no bookshelf, but we have stacked books behind me. Hopefully, they will be on on shelves soon.

00:00:52 No, there there are definitely ways there are ways in the world to get you know to get credits on um you know uh what do you call it? Um uh we're good Catholics, you know, when you when you pass and don't go to heaven. Um come on. Thank you. Well, moving is purgatory credit. So, I've done it many times in my life. So, I uh I feel for you. Well, thank you. But I'm really excited for this conversation and likewise the event in a few weeks, the BPI event down in DC, the summit, we met about a month ago, two months ago now at

00:01:26 this point in Austin during the takeover. And Zach was very eager to introduce you to me considering the the history of the show, topics we covered. And I think I'm excited for this cuz I'm infinitely curious to learn how somebody with your pedigree and your resume got into Bitcoin is now working for the Bitcoin Policy Institute as a director of government affairs. So for anybody listening who was unaware of Ken's resume, he did 20 years in government culminating as deputy chief of operations at the CIA Center for Cyber

00:02:01 Intelligence. uh you've worked overseas for the US State Department and now you're advocating on behalf of Bitcoin on Capitol Hill. So, how does somebody with that resume go from statecraft to cipher punk sort of ideas? Yeah. No, so I um like everybody else, I uh I um my my Bitcoin journey is a little bit everybody everybody has a unique journey, right? Um mine actually started at CIA, believe it or not. And it was for purely professional reasons. I um so I was an operations officer. I spent most of my career overseas um as

00:02:37 most of us do. Um but my last two years, my last two turn tours at CIA, I was at the center for cyber intelligence, which is CIA's cyber unit. Um and my first job there, I was group ch I was a operations chief for a group that worked on cyber threat issues. And this was in 2018. So you remember this was when Lazarus group the North Koreans figured out that stealing crypto was a lot easier than like you know trying to rob banks. Um this is when ransomware broke out as a serious problem just preceded you may

00:03:04 remember the Colonial Pipeline hack that shut down you know gasoline shipments to the east coast. So in 2018 um and it's kind of funny like I this is people say did the CIA create Bitcoin. I can tell you in 2018 when policy makers first had to confront its use by actors as an issue like nobody was ready for it. Like if they created it, it was tucked away and hidden in the basement cuz the the bench for people with crypto knowledge in general, digital assets, certainly Bitcoin was really really really shallow. Um I remember we had two

00:03:33 guys um who kind of had background in it and then you they became superstars because all of a sudden we were calling upon them to teach us about Bitcoin and digital assets in general. Um, but yeah, that's so I learned and like everything else, I learned about it because I had to because people we cared people we cared about were using it. Um, but like everything else there there was sort of a mind virus to it. Um, and I I admit, you know, I during co I was in the uh I was in the altcoin casino. I was defying

00:04:00 and memecoining and it was it was fun, you know. No, I I I don't hold any hate for the uh for the alcoiners. People do what they want with their money. Um but I you know that that was when it was during co um I had been sort of buying in 2018 but during co when I really started learning because this is what everybody learned right um and I you know for me Bitcoin was immediately attracted me to it and I was sort of inspired by um I mean the co Kenny trucker protest was something really important to me um I saw how it was

00:04:29 being used um but also sort of in my day job you know I I had a pretty good understanding of how the government uses financial financial tools as a weapon. Um, freezing bank accounts, OFAC sanctions, that kind of thing. And if you're on the, you know, on the giving end of that, that's great. Those are great tools to have if you're the government. Uh, not so great if you're on the other end of it. And, you know, watching these Canadian truckers the first time, you know, you'll be able to, it's very easy

00:04:54 to say, "Yeah, sanction the Iranian, sanction North Korea, whatever." You know, I'm not Iranian. Um but when you see all of a sudden Kat and Trucker people you had some sympathy with being targets of financial you know weaposition of the financial system it you know it struck it struck a it struck a nerve like a really really profound stinging shot to my consciousness my conscious about this issue. Um so for me for the first thing about Bitcoin was um was permissionless transactions that that's that's what got me into it. Um

00:05:23 then of course you go from there and by the time I left the government 2022 I had I was f I was you know full boore I was you know attending meetups and um that's when I started doing some advocacy stuff on Capitol Hill and and and messing around with uh David and Granny PPI doing some advocacy stuff but yeah but it it comes from my time at CIA and yeah I think the um the uh I think what might surprise some people is there are a lot of Bitcoiners um not just at CIA but across the whole national

00:05:52 security establishment And I think they're into it for the same reason that you know that everybody most of your listeners are right like it's you see what's happening in the world. You see the challenges we're facing. You see how governments use financial tools to weaponize them against opposition. You know it's it's very natural that if you have that kind of insight that you look for things to protect yourself and Bitcoin is obvious. So I I I tell a funny story when I um when I was first into it there was um cubicle one of the

00:06:17 guys and he had a bumper

@ 8bad92c3:ca714aa5

Marty's Bent

Sup, freaks? Your Uncle Marty did a little vibe coding a couple months ago and that vibe coding project has turned into an actual product that is live in the Google Chrome web store and will soon to be live in the Firefox add-on store as well. It's called Opportunity Cost and it is an extension that enables you to price the internet in Bitcoin.

[

Opportunity Cost – See Prices in Bitcoin Instantly

Convert USD prices to Bitcoin (satoshis) as you browse. Dual display, privacy-first, and open source.

Opportunity CostTFTC

](https://www.opportunitycost.app/?ref=tftc.io)

Check it out!

This whole process has been extremely rewarding to me for many reasons. The first of which is that I've had many ideas in the past to launch a product focused on bitcoin education that simply never left my brain because I never felt comfortable paying a developer to go out and build a product that I wasn't sure would ultimately get product market fit.

Due to the advancements of AI, particularly ChatGPT and Replit, I was able to spend a few hours on a Saturday vibe coding a prototype for Opportunity Cost. It worked. I side loaded it into Chrome and Firefox, tested it out for a few days and decided, "Hey, I think this is something that's worthwhile and should be built."

Backtracking just a little bit, the initial idea for this app was to create an AR application that would enable you to take pictures of goods in the real world and have their prices automatically converted to bitcoin so that you could weigh the opportunity cost of whether or not you actually wanted to buy that good or decide to save in bitcoin instead. With the help of Justin Moon from the Human Rights Foundation and Anthony Ronning from OpenSecret and Maple AI, I was pointed in the right direction of vibe coding tools I could use to build a simple MVP. I took their advice, built the MVP, and demoed it at the Bitcoin Park Austin weekly AI meetup in mid-April.

The next week, I was talking with a friend, Luke Thomas, about the idea and during our conversation he made a simple quip, "You should make a Chrome extension. I really want a Chrome extension that does this." And that's what sent me down the vibe coding rabbit hole that Saturday which led to the prototype.

After I was comfortable with and confident in the prototype, I found a young hungry developer by the name of Moses on Nostr, I reached out to him, told him my idea, showed him the prototype and asked if he thought he could finish the application for me. He luckily agreed to do so and within a couple of weeks we had a fully functioning app that was officially launched today. We're about 12 hours into the launch and I must say that I'm pleasantly surprised with the reception from the broader Bitcoin community. It seems like something that people are happy exists and I feel extremely happy that people see some value in this particular application.

Now that you have the backstory, let's get into why I think something like Opportunity Cost should exist. As someone who's been writing a newsletter and producing podcasts about bitcoin for eight years in an attempt to educate individuals from around the world about what bitcoin is, why it's important, and how they can leverage it, I've become convinced that a lot of the work that needs to be done still exists at the top of the funnel. You can scream at people. You can grab them by the shoulders. You can shake them. You can remind them at Thanksgiving that if they had listened to your advice during any Thanksgiving in the previous years they would be better off financially. But at the end of the day most people don't listen. They need to see things. Seeing things for yourself is a much more effective teaching mechanism than be lectured to by someone else.

My hope with Opportunity Cost is that it catches the eye of some bitcoin skeptics or individuals who may be on the cusp of falling down the bitcoin rabbit hole and they see the extension as a way to dip their toes into bitcoin to get a better understanding of the world by pricing the goods and services they purchase on a day-to-day month-to-month and year-to-year basis in bitcoin without having to download a wallet or set up an exchange account. The tippy top of the bitcoin marketing funnel.

That is not all though. I think Opportunity Cost can serve individuals at both ends of the funnel. That's why it's pretty exciting to me. It's as valuable to the person who is bitcoin curious and looking to get a better understanding as it is to the hardcore bitcoiner living on a bitcoin standard who is trying to get access to better tools that enable him to get a better grasp of their spending in bitcoin terms.

Lastly, after playing around with it for a few days after I built the prototype, I realized that it has incredible memetic potential. Being able to take a screenshot of goods that people are buying on a day-to-day basis, pricing them in bitcoin and then sharing them on social media is very powerful. Everything from houses to junk items on Amazon to the salaries of pro athletes to your everyday necessities. Seeing the value of those things in bitcoin really makes you think.

One day while I was testing the app, I tried to see how quickly I could find goods on the internet that cumulatively eclipsed the 21 million supply cap limit of bitcoin. To my surprise, even though I've been in bitcoin for 12 years now, it did not take me that long. The opportunity cost of everything I buy on a day-to-day basis becomes very clear when using the extension. What's even clearer is the fact that Bitcoin is completely mispriced at current levels. There is so much winning ahead of us.

Also, it's probably important to note that the extension is completely open source. You can check out our GitHub page here. Submit pull requests. Suggest changes to the app.

We've also tried to make Opportunity Cost as privacy preserving as possible. Everything within the extension happens in your browser. The only external data that we're providing is the bitcoin to fiat price conversion at any given point in time. We're not data harvesting the web pages you're browsing or the items you're looking at. We're not collecting data and sending it to third party marketers. We want to align ourselves with the open and permissionless nature of bitcoin while also preserving our users' privacy. We're not trying to monetize this in that way. Though, I will say that I'm thinking of ways to monetize Opportunity Cost if it does gain significant traction, but I promise it will be in a way that respects your privacy and is as unobtrusive as possible. We'll see how it goes.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk. Please download and use the extension. Let us know what you think.

Headlines of the Day

Saylor Says Bitcoin Is Perfect Money to Jordan Peterson - via X

Trump Won't Sell Tesla Despite Musk-Bessent Heated Exchange - via X

Bitcoin Gains Traction in Kenya's Largest Slum Kibera - via X

Get our new STACK SATS hat - via tftcmerch.io

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Final thought...

East Coast aesthetics over everything.

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Download our free browser extension, Opportunity Cost: https://www.opportunitycost.app/ start thinking in SATS today.

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@ eb0157af:77ab6c55

The involvement of America’s largest corporations with stablecoins has reached 29%.

According to the latest State of Crypto report published by Coinbase, interest in stablecoins among Fortune 500 executives has seen a significant surge, rising from 8% in 2024 to 29% in 2025.

The study, based on a sample of 100 executives from the 500 highest-revenue U.S. companies, reveals that nearly three in ten said their organization is either planning or seriously considering integrating stablecoins into their business processes.

The growing interest is mainly driven by inefficiencies in traditional payment systems. The executives surveyed identified slow transaction speeds and high fees as the main drawbacks of conventional payment methods.

The survey also found that 7% of Fortune 500 companies are already actively using or holding stablecoins in their corporate wallets.

And it’s not just large corporations getting on board. The study also surveyed 251 financial decision-makers at small and medium-sized businesses with fewer than 500 employees. Among them, 81% expressed interest in using stablecoins — a sharp rise from 61% the previous year. Meanwhile, 46% of these businesses plan to integrate cryptocurrencies into their operations within the next three years.

Transaction volume data confirms this growing interest. Stablecoins have seen significant monthly spikes, with $719 billion in December 2024 and $717 billion in April 2025.

Over the course of 2024, total stablecoin transaction volumes reached $27.6 trillion, surpassing the combined transaction volumes of Visa and Mastercard by 7.7%. At the same time, the number of stablecoin holders surpassed 161 million users as of May 2025, according to Coinbase.

The post Stablecoins: interest from major U.S. companies grows 260% in a year appeared first on Atlas21.

@ eb0157af:77ab6c55

A third of the bitcoins in circulation is now under the control of centralized entities, valued at $668 billion according to an analysis by Gemini.

A study conducted by Gemini in collaboration with Glassnode revealed that centralized actors currently hold 30.9% of bitcoin’s entire circulating supply.

These entities include national governments, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and publicly listed companies. Collectively, these players control 6.1 million BTC, equivalent to approximately $668 billion at current market prices. BlackRock alone holds around 665,635 BTC through its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) ETF, representing over 3% of bitcoin’s total supply, with a value close to $73 billion.

Source: Gemini

The accumulation of bitcoin by such entities has grown by 924% over the past decade. This increase coincides with bitcoin’s price evolution, which has surged from under $1,000 to over $100,000 during the same period.

Analysts interpret this trend as further confirmation that institutions increasingly view bitcoin as a strategic store-of-value asset. According to the report, the correlation between the rise in institutional holdings and bitcoin’s price appreciation reinforces the case for the cryptocurrency’s mainstream adoption.

One key takeaway from the research concerns the predominant role of centralized exchanges within Bitcoin treasury holdings. These platforms hold about half of the total, although a significant portion of those funds actually belongs to retail clients and individual investors.

Government bitcoin treasuries display distinctive characteristics compared to other institutional holders. According to the study, sovereign wallets show infrequent movements and limited correlation with Bitcoin’s price cycles.

However, the amount of bitcoins held by these governments remains large enough to significantly influence the markets whenever sales or transfers occur, the report states. The governments of the United States, China, and the United Kingdom have acquired most of their bitcoins through legal actions (seizures) rather than direct market purchases. In contrast, El Salvador and Bhutan accumulate bitcoin through intentional and ongoing purchases. According to analysts, while the volumes involved are smaller, these strategic allocations signal a long-term commitment and bolster investor confidence, encouraging broader institutional participation and contributing to market stability.

The research concludes that with nearly a third of bitcoin’s circulating supply now held by centralized entities, the market has undergone a structural transformation toward institutional maturity. According to the authors of the report, this evolution has made price action more predictable and less vulnerable to the speculative extremes that characterized Bitcoin’s early years.

The post Report: centralized entities control 31% of bitcoin’s total supply appeared first on Atlas21.

@ eb0157af:77ab6c55

Lightspark introduces a layer 2 for instant payments, stablecoins and interoperability with Lightning.

Spark is an open-source layer 2 protocol developed by Lightspark, designed to offer instant low-cost payments without the need for intermediaries. It allows the creation of wallets and applications that interact directly with the Bitcoin and Lightning networks. The company’s stated goal is to transform Bitcoin into a true global digital currency, solving the scalability limitations of the base layer.

Lightspark, a company led by David Marcus (former PayPal and former Facebook), officially launched Spark in beta version on April 29, 2025. Developers can already use Spark’s SDKs (Wallet and Issuer) to build self-custodial wallets compatible with Lightning and tokens (such as stablecoins) native to the Bitcoin network.

How it works

Spark adopts a statechain-based approach, allowing the transfer of ownership of a UTXO off-chain between different users without using the main blockchain, thus reducing costs and transaction times. Instead of executing an on-chain transaction that physically moves the asset, users acquire signing rights or control over a key that represents a bitcoin UTXO. Transfers occur through a chain of signatures and a mechanism that allows subsequent transactions to overwrite previous ones, ensuring that neither the user nor the service provider (Spark Service Provider, SSP) can lose funds during the operation.

Spark is designed to be fully interoperable with LN, supporting not only bitcoin transactions, but also stablecoins and other tokenized assets. SSPs facilitate Lightning payments by accepting funds on Spark and converting them into Lightning transactions or vice versa, eliminating the need for users to manage nodes or worry about channel liquidity. For example, a user can pay an LN invoice with a stablecoin on Spark, with the SSP converting the stablecoin to BTC in the background and sending the funds to the recipient.

Shared signature model (multisig 2-of-2)

Unlike the LN trust model, which is based on peer-to-peer bidirectional channels with smart contract logic, Spark involves a coordinating entity, the “Spark Service Provider” (SSP). This shifts part of the risk from channel liquidity management to trust in operators who sign off-chain transactions. The SSP’s task is to sign “blindly” (blindly) on behalf of the user, which means the SSP does not see the content of the signature and does not even know if it is signing a Bitcoin transaction or something else.

Bitcoin deposited on Spark always remains under the user’s control. When a user sends funds to Spark, they are initially transferred to a statechain. Once funds are on the statechain, payments on the Spark network occur instantly and at near-zero costs.

At the heart of Spark’s security is the use of a shared signature scheme, specifically a multisig 2-of-2 model. This means that two keys are required to authorize a transaction, and the user always holds one. When users deposit funds on Spark, they send them to a multisig address. Here, they maintain control of their funds and can perform a unilateral exit without the need to interact with other parties.

Each payment is enabled by a Spark Service Provider (SSP), which must co-authorize the transaction together with the user for it to be valid and successful.

Although the network is currently managed only by Lightspark and another operator (Flashnet), users do not risk losing funds even if these operators stopped cooperating. In fact, Spark offers the possibility to unilaterally force the return of bitcoin to the mainnet at any time. Users can exit Spark in two ways: through a cooperative exit (cheaper and faster) or a unilateral exit (slower, but possible in case of malfunction or loss of trust). Lightspark has declared its intention to add more operators in the future to increase decentralization.

Fee structure

Regarding fees, transactions within the Spark network are zero fee. The only fees users will have to bear are Bitcoin’s on-chain fees for depositing or withdrawing funds from Spark. Additionally, transferring bitcoin from Spark to LN involves a 0.25% fee plus routing fees. Conversely, a transaction from LN to Spark costs 0.15%.

The native LRC20 token protocol

Introduced in the summer of 2024, LRC20 is a token issuance protocol designed to be compatible with both Bitcoin’s mainnet and LN. Anyone can issue an LRC20 token. The protocol also supports freeze and burn operations, giving the original issuing wallet the power to freeze tokens at any address, preventing transactions until unlocked. LRC20 is primarily designed for issuing stablecoins and regulated assets.

After thoroughly testing it, the Lightspark team decided to run the LRC20 protocol natively on Spark, to enable token issuance on the network.

Ecosystem and partnerships

The birth of Spark has immediately attracted the interest of other Bitcoin projects. Among the various partnerships established, the multisig wallet Theya has integrated Spark to offer its users simpler and faster bitcoin and stablecoin payments.

Last May, Breez announced a new implementation of the Breez SDK based on Spark, which allows developers to integrate Lightning payments directly into their apps through Spark. As part of this collaboration, Breez will also act as a Spark Service Provider, helping to expand the ecosystem. According to the two companies, this partnership will provide developers with new Bitcoin-native tools for use cases such as streaming payments, international remittances and micro-payments for AI.

The post Spark: the layer 2 launched by Lightspark appeared first on Atlas21.

@ eb0157af:77ab6c55

The new communication protocol aims to improve the industry with measurable advantages in terms of efficiency and security.

A new study conducted by Hashlabs, in collaboration with the SRI (Stratum V2 Reference Implementation) team and figures like Matt Corallo, Alejandro De La Torre and others reveals how the Stratum V2 protocol can increase miner profitability compared to the current Stratum V1 standard, used for over a decade.

Speaking to Atlas21, Gabriele Vernetti, Stratum V2 maintainer, declared:

“This first case study demonstrates how much Stratum V2 can help miners as well, securing and increasing their profits, in addition to the rest of the network. It’s just a first study aimed at demonstrating how decentralization can be aligned with the profit dynamics typical of the mining sector.

In the future we will also focus on the benefits for mining pool operators, who can benefit from the protocol’s efficiency to lower their operating costs (such as those for bandwidth used by their servers).

The feedback has been very positive: this first study was a joint work with various market players, including miners and mining pool operators. As SRI we want to continue working together with the entire community as done in this case, becoming a reference point for all actors interested in innovating the Bitcoin mining field”.

The research, based on controlled tests with two identical ASIC S19k Pro, with stock firmware, demonstrates that Stratum V2 can increase net profits by up to 7.4%. For an industry that often operates with 10% margins, this could represent a substantial competitive advantage.

The V2 protocol reduces various inefficiencies that plague the current system. The latency in block switching, that is the waiting time created when a miner must change block template after a new block has been mined on the network, goes from 325 milliseconds to just 1.42 milliseconds, a speed 228 times higher. This translates to about 4.9 hours of completely wasted hash power less per year.

Another problem of modern mining concerns “stale shares” – proofs of work that arrive too late to be remunerated, often due to network latency or inefficient communication. However, not all stale shares depend on inefficiency problems. On average, about 2% are rejected for expected reasons, such as when the share doesn’t reach the minimum difficulty required by the pool. This value is considered normal in the sector. The remaining 98%, instead, is caused by avoidable delays. With Stratum V1, miners lose between 0.1% and 0.2% of their computing power this way. Stratum V2 with Job Declaration completely eliminates this waste, provided that the miner and the pool node have the same level of connectivity. This step could translate into a net profit increase of up to 2% by fully adopting Stratum V2 with Job Declaration.

In the Stratum V2 protocol, the Job Declaration Client (JDC) is software that allows miners to receive mining jobs directly from their local Bitcoin node, that is the block templates to work on. The JDC communicates directly with the miner’s local node, receiving updated data for new block construction and immediately sending them to the mining software via Stratum V2. This allows miners to receive jobs in real time from their own node, without having to wait for them from the pool, reducing latency and the risk of working on obsolete jobs. Furthermore, if the pool allows it, miners can build custom templates choosing which transactions to include in the block.

The research also highlights an often overlooked aspect: the loss of transaction fees. With the Stratum V1 protocol, miners lose about 0.75% of potential fees for each block due to the delay in receiving new jobs. Considering that about 52,560 blocks are mined each year, this loss per block adds up to a total of about 74 bitcoins per year, equivalent to over $8 million at current prices.

Beyond economic advantages, Stratum V2 solves a critical vulnerability of the current system: hashrate hijacking. The V1 protocol doesn’t encrypt communications, allowing attackers to intercept and steal up to 2% of computing power without the miner noticing. The new protocol eliminates this risk through end-to-end encryption and authentication.

According to the study, by reducing latency, optimizing share sending and improving security, Stratum V2 enables a potential net profit increase of 7.4%, derived exclusively from technical improvements.

The post Stratum V2 increases profits by 7.4%: “The study shows that profit and decentralization can coexist”, says Vernetti, SV2 maintainer appeared first on Atlas21.

@ 7f6db517:a4931eda

The former seems to have found solid product market fit. Expect significant volume, adoption, and usage going forward.

The latter's future remains to be seen. Dependence on Tor, which has had massive reliability issues, and lack of strong privacy guarantees put it at risk.

— ODELL (@ODELL) October 27, 2022

The Basics

• Lightning is a protocol that enables cheap and fast native bitcoin transactions.
• At the core of the protocol is the ability for bitcoin users to create a payment channel with another user.
• These payment channels enable users to make many bitcoin transactions between each other with only two on-chain bitcoin transactions: the channel open transaction and the channel close transaction.
• Essentially lightning is a protocol for interoperable batched bitcoin transactions.
• It is expected that on chain bitcoin transaction fees will increase with adoption and the ability to easily batch transactions will save users significant money.
• As these lightning transactions are processed, liquidity flows from one side of a channel to the other side, on chain transactions are signed by both parties but not broadcasted to update this balance.
• Lightning is designed to be trust minimized, either party in a payment channel can close the channel at any time and their bitcoin will be settled on chain without trusting the other party.

There is no 'Lightning Network'

• Many people refer to the aggregate of all lightning channels as 'The Lightning Network' but this is a false premise.
• There are many lightning channels between many different users and funds can flow across interconnected channels as long as there is a route through peers.
• If a lightning transaction requires multiple hops it will flow through multiple interconnected channels, adjusting the balance of all channels along the route, and paying lightning transaction fees that are set by each node on the route.

Example: You have a channel with Bob. Bob has a channel with Charlie. You can pay Charlie through your channel with Bob and Bob's channel with User C.

• As a result, it is not guaranteed that every lightning user can pay every other lightning user, they must have a route of interconnected channels between sender and receiver.

Lightning in Practice

• Lightning has already found product market fit and usage as an interconnected payment protocol between large professional custodians.
• They are able to easily manage channels and liquidity between each other without trust using this interoperable protocol.
• Lightning payments between large custodians are fast and easy. End users do not have to run their own node or manage their channels and liquidity. These payments rarely fail due to professional management of custodial nodes.
• The tradeoff is one inherent to custodians and other trusted third parties. Custodial wallets can steal funds and compromise user privacy.

Sovereign Lightning

• Trusted third parties are security holes.
• Users must run their own node and manage their own channels in order to use lightning without trusting a third party. This remains the single largest friction point for sovereign lightning usage: the mental burden of actively running a lightning node and associated liquidity management.
• Bitcoin development prioritizes node accessibility so cost to self host your own node is low but if a node is run at home or office, Tor or a VPN is recommended to mask your IP address: otherwise it is visible to the entire network and represents a privacy risk.
• This privacy risk is heightened due to the potential for certain governments to go after sovereign lightning users and compel them to shutdown their nodes. If their IP Address is exposed they are easier to target.
• Fortunately the tools to run and manage nodes continue to get easier but it is important to understand that this will always be a friction point when compared to custodial services.

The Potential Fracture of Lightning

• Any lightning user can choose which users are allowed to open channels with them.
• One potential is that professional custodians only peer with other professional custodians.
• We already see nodes like those run by CashApp only have channels open with other regulated counterparties. This could be due to performance goals, liability reduction, or regulatory pressure.

• Fortunately some of their peers are connected to non-regulated parties so payments to and from sovereign lightning users are still successfully processed by CashApp but this may not always be the case going forward.

Summary

• Many people refer to the aggregate of all lightning channels as 'The Lightning Network' but this is a false premise. There is no singular 'Lightning Network' but rather many payment channels between distinct peers, some connected with each other and some not.
• Lightning as an interoperable payment protocol between professional custodians seems to have found solid product market fit. Expect significant volume, adoption, and usage going forward.
• Lightning as a robust sovereign payment protocol has yet to be battle tested. Heavy reliance on Tor, which has had massive reliability issues, the friction of active liquidity management, significant on chain fee burden for small amounts, interactivity constraints on mobile, and lack of strong privacy guarantees put it at risk.

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If you have never used lightning before, use this guide to get started on your phone.

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

@ 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

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@ 9ca447d2:fbf5a36d

CANNES, FRANCE – May 2025 — Bitcoin mining made its mark at the world’s most prestigious film gathering this year as Puerto Rican director and producer Alana Mediavilla introduced her feature documentary Dirty Coin: The Bitcoin Mining Documentary at the Marché du Film during the Cannes Film Festival.

The film puts bitcoin mining at the center of a rising global conversation about energy, technology, and economic freedom.

Dirty Coin is the first feature-length documentary to explore bitcoin mining through immersive, on-the-ground case studies.

From rural towns in the United States to hydro-powered sites in Latin America and the Congo, the film follows miners and communities navigating what may be one of the most misunderstood technologies of our time.

The result is a human-centered look at how bitcoin mining is transforming local economies and energy infrastructure in real ways.

To mark its Cannes debut, Mediavilla and her team hosted a packed industry event that brought together leaders from both film and finance.

Dirty Coin debut ceremony at the Marché du Film

Sponsors Celestial Management, Sangha Renewables, Nordblock, and Paystand.org supported the program, which featured panels on mining, energy use, and decentralized infrastructure.

Attendees had the rare opportunity to engage directly with pioneers in the space. A special session in French led by Seb Gouspillou spotlighted mining efforts in the Congo’s Virunga region.

Dirty Coin builds on Mediavilla’s award-winning short film Stranded, which won over 20 international prizes, including Best Short Documentary at Cannes in 2024.

That success helped lay the foundation for the feature and positioned Mediavilla as one of the boldest new voices in global documentary filmmaking.

Alana Mediavilla speaks at the Marché du Film — Cannes Film Festival

“If we’ve found an industry that can unlock stranded energy and turn it into real power for people—especially in regions with energy poverty—why wouldn’t we look into it?” says Mediavilla. “Our privilege blinds us.

“The same thing we criticize could be the very thing that lifts the developing world to our standard of living. Ignoring that potential is a failure of imagination.”

Much like the decentralized network it explores, Dirty Coin is spreading globally through grassroots momentum.

Local leaders are hosting independent screenings around the world, from Roatán and Berlin to São Paulo and Madrid. Upcoming events include Toronto and Zurich, with more cities joining each month.

Mediavilla, who previously worked in creative leadership roles in the U.S. — including as a producer at Google — returned to Puerto Rico to found Campo Libre, a studio focused on high-caliber, globally relevant storytelling from the Caribbean.

She was also accepted into the Cannes Producers Network, a selective program open only to producers with box office releases in the past four years.

Mediavilla qualified after independently releasing Dirty Coin in theaters across Puerto Rico. Her participation in the network gave her direct access to meetings, insights, and connections with the most active distributors and producers working today.

The film’s next public screening will take place at the Anthem Film Festival in Palm Springs on Saturday, June 14 at 2 PM. Additional screenings and market appearances are planned throughout the year at Bitcoin events and international film platforms.

Dirty Coin at the Cannes Film Festival

Watch the Trailer + Access Press Materials

📂 EPK
🎬 Screener
🌍 Host a Screening

Follow the Movement

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dirty_coin_official/
Twitter: https://x.com/DirtyCoinDoc
Website: www.dirtycointhemovie.com

@ 9ca447d2:fbf5a36d

Paris, France – June 6, 2025 — Bitcoin payment gateway startup Flash, just announced a new partnership with the “Bitcoin Only Brewery”, marking the first-ever beverage company to leverage Lightning payments.

Flash enables Bitcoin Only Brewery to offer its “BOB” beer with, no-KYC (Know Your Customer) delivery across Europe, priced at 19,500 sats (~$18) for the 4-pack, shipping included.

The cans feature colorful Bitcoin artwork while the contents promise a hazy pale ale: “Each 33cl can contains a smooth, creamy mouthfeel, hazy appearance and refreshing Pale Ale at 5% ABV,” reads the product description.

Pierre Corbin, Co-Founder of Flash, commented:

“Currently, bitcoin is used more as a store of value but usage for payments is picking up. Thanks to new innovation on Lightning, bitcoin is ready to go mainstream for e-commerce sales.”

Flash, launched its 2.0 version in March 2025 with the goal to provide the easiest bitcoin payment gateway for businesses worldwide. The platform is non-custodial and can enable both digital and physical shops to accept bitcoin by connecting their own wallets to Flash.

By leveraging the scalability of the Lightning Network, Flash ensures instant, low-cost transactions, addressing on-chain Bitcoin bottlenecks like high fees and long wait times.

For businesses interested in adopting Bitcoin payments, Flash offers a straightforward onboarding process, low fees, and robust support for both digital and physical goods. To learn more, visit paywithflash.com.

Media Contact:
Pierre Corbin
Co-Founder, Flash
Email: press@paywithflash.com
Website: paywithflash.com

About Flash

Flash is the easiest Bitcoin payment gateway for businesses to accept payments. Supporting both digital and physical enterprises, Flash leverages the Lightning Network to enable fast, low-cost Bitcoin transactions. Launched in its 2.0 version in March 2025, Flash is at the forefront of driving Bitcoin adoption in e-commerce.

About Bitcoin Only Brewery

Bitcoin Only Brewery (@Drink_B0B) is a pioneering beverage company dedicated to the Bitcoin ethos, offering high-quality beers payable exclusively in Bitcoin. With a commitment to personal privacy, the brewery delivers across Europe with no-KYC requirements.

@ 9ca447d2:fbf5a36d

Bitcoin Core Github page announced yesterday that Core Developers have merged pull request #32406, removing support for “-datacarrier” argument for Bitcoin Core software in their next release, expected to be published in October.

Pull request #32406 has been merged — Github

This is the latest development regarding the initiative brought forth by Bitcoin Core developer Peter Todd, which has caused intense debate among Bitcoiners, now known as the “spam wars”.

The disagreement is over a change to Bitcoin Core’s transaction relay policy that removes the OP_RETURN data limit, which some see as a threat to Bitcoin’s very purpose, while others see it as a necessary step to preserve decentralization and censorship resistance.

OP_RETURN is an arbitrary piece of data that can be amended to a bitcoin transaction, and used to be limited to 80 bytes. Users have found ways to go around this limit already and have uploaded larger data to the Bitcoin blockchain, including photos, audio, and even entire computer games.

Bitcoin Core allows for extra arguments when running the application, one of which is the “-datacarrier” argument, which tells the application to not accept transactions including larger OP_RETURN data into its mempool.

Now this argument is marked as “deprecated”, meaning it is not supported or developed anymore, and is expected to be completely removed in future versions.

This will make accepting Bitcoin transactions that contain non-financial data mandatory for anyone running future versions of the Core software.

Prior to the merging of the mentioned pull request on the morning of Monday June 9, a joint statement from 31 Bitcoin Core devs was released on June 6, reheating the already controversial debate in the Bitcoin community.

In the June 6 statement, Bitcoin Core devs explained how they think Bitcoin nodes should handle transactions that include non-financial data, like digital art or messages. This type of data has become more common with Ordinals and inscriptions.

Related: Discussions Heat Up Among Bitcoin Devs Over OP_RETURN Proposal

Core developers said they are not endorsing non-financial use of Bitcoin, but also won’t stop it. Their main point is that Bitcoin’s strength is in being open and censorship-resistant. They wrote:

“This is not endorsing or condoning non-financial data usage, but accepting that as a censorship-resistant system, Bitcoin can and will be used for use cases not everyone agrees on.”

They say it’s up to users and node operators to decide what kind of Bitcoin software they run. Bitcoin Core won’t block transactions that have economic demand and will be mined.

“Being free to run any software is the network’s primary safeguard against coercion,” the statement added.

The policy change goes back to a May 8th upgrade (announced by Core contributor and Engineer at Blockstream, Greg Sanders), where devs removed the long-standing 80-byte limit on OP_RETURN output size.

This limit was meant to discourage non-payment data usage, but devs say it no longer serves that purpose.

“Retiring a deterrent that no longer deters” makes sense, they argue, because people have already found ways to add large data to the blockchain.

They also point out that removing the cap may help miners and users more than it hurts. They claim the new approach helps predict which transactions will be mined, speeds up block propagation and helps miners find fee-paying transactions.

“Knowingly refusing to relay transactions that miners would include in blocks anyway forces users into alternate communication channels,” they explained, warning this could harm decentralization.

The response has been mixed.

The announcement of the merge received 64 upvotes and 93 downvotes from reviewers, showing the community is mostly against this action. Comments explaining their dissatisfaction with the merge also received the support of the majority.

Reviewers who voted ACK (acknowledgment and agreement) were downvoted, and the comments voting NACK (disagreement) received more upvotes.

Comments regarding the recent merge — Bitcoin Core Github page

Critics say it opens the door to blockchain spam, higher fees and more bloat on the blockchain with non-financial content. They say Bitcoin should stick to its original purpose as a “peer-to-peer electronic cash system”.

Samson Mow, CEO of JAN3, was one of the most vocal critics. He said the devs are removing the barriers that protect the network from spam.

“Bitcoin Core devs have been changing the network gradually to enable spam,” Mow said. “It’s disingenuous to just say ‘It is what it is now, too bad’.”

Bitcoin dev Luke Dashjr also criticized the move, saying it undermines Bitcoin’s core function. He called the devs’ goals “basically all wrong” and said expecting spam to be mined is “defeatism”.

Luke Dashjr on X

One user said: “It’s Bit”Coin” not Bit”Bucket” or Bit”Store” or whatever general purpose data store you have in mind. It’s a peer to peer electronic cash system”.

Another user chimed in, warning it could increase costs, reduce efficiency and even hurt long-term scalability.

Their argument is simple: if nonfinancial data is allowed to be stored on the blockchain, it will increase its size over time, storing useless data, and it will hurt decentralization, as fewer individuals will be able to host the entire blockchain on their computers.

They argue allowing people to store whatever they want on the blockchain because transactions shouldn’t be censored, will lead to hurting bitcoin in the long run. Many even argue no additional information should be allowed on the blockchain at all.

But not everyone is unhappy.

Some like Jameson Lopp, co-founder of Bitcoin wallet provider Casa, praised the devs for being transparent and consistent.

“Core Devs are a group saying we can’t force anyone to run code they don’t like,” Lopp said. “Here is our thinking on relay policy and network health.”

Lopp believes a joint statement helps the public understand what the devs stand for.

Supporters also say in a truly decentralized system, devs shouldn’t be gatekeepers. Instead users and miners should be able to decide what goes on the blockchain.

With opinions so divided, the future of Bitcoin may be more contentious. Some predict a fork to create a version of Bitcoin that only deals with monetary use. Others expect new wallet and node software that lets users choose to filter out large data or allow it.

Despite the controversy, the devs are standing by their decision. “While we recognize that this view isn’t held universally,” they said. “it is our sincere belief that it is in the best interest of Bitcoin and its users.”

@ 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

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@ 7f6db517:a4931eda

@matt_odell don't you even dare not ask about nostr!

— Kukks (Andrew Camilleri) (@MrKukks) May 18, 2021

Nostr first hit my radar spring 2021: created by fellow bitcoiner and friend, fiatjaf, and released to the world as free open source software. I was fortunate to be able to host a conversation with him on Citadel Dispatch in those early days, capturing that moment in history forever. Since then, the protocol has seen explosive viral organic growth as individuals around the world have contributed their time and energy to build out the protocol and the surrounding ecosystem due to the clear need for better communication tools.

nostr is to twitter as bitcoin is to paypal

As an intro to nostr, let us start with a metaphor:

twitter is paypal - a centralized platform plagued by censorship but has the benefit of established network effects

nostr is bitcoin - an open protocol that is censorship resistant and robust but requires an organic adoption phase

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.
 - Anyone can run a relay.
 - Anyone can interact with the protocol.
 - Relays can choose which messages they want to relay.
 - Users are identified by a simple public private key pair that they can generate themselves.

Nostr is often compared to twitter since there are nostr clients that emulate twitter functionality and user interface but that is merely one application of the protocol. Nostr is so much more than a mere twitter competitor. Nostr clients and relays can transmit a wide variety of data and clients can choose how to display that information to users. The result is a revolution in communication with implications that are difficult for any of us to truly comprehend.

Similar to bitcoin, nostr is an open and permissionless protocol. No person, company, or government controls it. Anyone can iterate and build on top of nostr without permission. Together, bitcoin and nostr are incredibly complementary freedom tech tools: censorship resistant, permissionless, robust, and interoperable - money and speech protected by code and incentives, not laws.

As censorship throughout the world continues to escalate, freedom tech provides hope for individuals around the world who refuse to accept the status quo. This movement will succeed on the shoulders of those who choose to stand up and contribute. We will build our own path. A brighter path.

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My Nostr Public Key: npub1qny3tkh0acurzla8x3zy4nhrjz5zd8l9sy9jys09umwng00manysew95gx

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@ 7f6db517:a4931eda

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"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

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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.

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@ 9ca447d2:fbf5a36d

In a move that diverges from many other U.S. states, Connecticut has passed a new law that bars state and local governments from investing in bitcoin or any other digital currency.

The bill, HB7082, passed unanimously in both the House and Senate with zero opposing votes.

The law, officially titled “An Act Concerning the Regulation of Virtual Currency and State Investments,” was signed into law recently and is causing a stir in the Bitcoin and financial communities.

HB7082 prohibits the state of Connecticut and its political subdivisions from accepting, holding or investing in digital currencies. This includes bitcoin, ethereum and other digital assets. It also bars the state from creating a bitcoin reserve, a concept being explored by other states.

The law goes further by imposing strict rules on digital asset businesses operating in the state. These rules enforce anti-money laundering (AML) compliance and parental consent verification for digital asset users under 18.

It also requires 1:1 reserve requirements for bitcoin custodians.

Businesses that handle Bitcoin transactions must now provide users with clear information about risks and fees and provide receipts with full transaction details.

No business can let a minor use a money-sharing app without first getting proof of consent from a parent or guardian.

Lawmakers in Connecticut say it’s about protecting public funds and minimizing financial risk. They say Connecticut’s new law bars state investments in bitcoin to protect its financial assets from market risk.

Supporters argue that the high volatility of bitcoin makes it a risky investment for public money like pension funds and state reserves.

The law also looks to bring bitcoin businesses under tighter control, to make them follow the same rules as the traditional financial system.

While Connecticut is cracking down on digital assets, other states are going the other way.

States like Texas, New Hampshire and Arizona have already passed laws or proposed bills to create a bitcoin reserve, which allows public funds to be invested in bitcoin.

Texas has even described bitcoin as a “forward-thinking investment opportunity” and a long-term store of value.

The new law has caused mixed reactions in the financial world. Some think it’s too cautious, others think it’s part of a bigger plan.

Matt Hougan, CIO of Bitwise, responded with sarcasm, “The hedge fund managers got so upset they couldn’t beat Bitcoin…”

Matt Hougan on X

Some states like Florida, South Dakota and Oklahoma have either killed or vetoed Bitcoin bills this year. Others like Louisiana are still exploring the tech. Louisiana just announced it would create a special committee to study AI, blockchain and digital assets.

@ 9ca447d2:fbf5a36d

Coinbase is launching its first-ever credit card — the Coinbase One Card — with up to 4% back in bitcoin on everyday purchases.

The announcement was made at the 2025 State of Crypto Summit in New York and marks a big step towards making bitcoin more accessible and rewarding for everyday use.

The card is being released in partnership with American Express and will roll out in the U.S. this fall. It’s only available to Coinbase One members, the company’s growing subscription service.

“Whether you’re buying groceries or booking a trip, the Coinbase One Card lets you earn rewards in Bitcoin — making everyday spending more rewarding than ever,” Coinbase said in a blog post.

The Coinbase One Card lets you earn 2-4% back in bitcoin, depending on how much you have in assets on the Coinbase platform. All cardholders will start at 2%, but those with more assets can unlock higher cashback rates.

The card also has a metal design with text from Bitcoin’s original Genesis Block engraved on it, representing its connection to the birth of the scarce digital asset.

Coinbase One Card

The bitcoin rewards are a first for Coinbase, which previously only released a prepaid debit card with Visa in 2020. The new card is a shift from traditional digital asset trading tools to everyday financial products that integrate with the blockchain.

The card is on the American Express Network, which provides access to travel protections, exclusive offers, personalized experiences and the secure infrastructure of one of the most trusted brands in payments.

Will Stredwick, SVP of Global Network Services at American Express said:

“We see real potential in the combination of Coinbase and crypto with the powerful backing of American Express, and what the card offers is an excellent mix of what customers are looking for right now.”

Luke Gebb, Executive Vice President of Amex Digital Labs added that Amex is committed to “practical, compliant applications” of the blockchain and Bitcoin technology.

The Coinbase One Card is issued by First Electronic Bank and offered through a partnership with fintech company Cardless. A waitlist is open now on Coinbase’s website and more info will be shared as the fall launch approaches.

To use the card, you need to be enrolled in Coinbase One, a subscription program launched in 2023. There are now two options:

• Standard Coinbase One: $29.99/month, with zero trading fees, priority customer support and enhanced staking rewards.
• Coinbase One Basic: $4.99/month or $49.99/year, to make it more affordable. Basic members also get the card and the same bitcoin rewards.

Both tiers get up to 4% bitcoin back, zero-fee trading on eligible assets (up to $500/month for Basic), and 4.5% APY on the first $10,000 in USDC holdings.

“Our customers are graduating from just creating [accounts] to now using Coinbase as a primary financial account,” said Max Branzburg, Coinbase’s VP of Product.

The Coinbase One Card launch comes as more digital asset platforms are entering the credit and debit card space. Rivals like Gemini have launched cards with similar cashback features and payments giants like Mastercard are exploring bitcoin integrations.

@ 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.

@ b1ddb4d7:471244e7

Paris, France – June 6, 2025 – Flash, the easiest Bitcoin payment gateway for businesses, just announced a new partnership with the Bitcoin Only Brewery, marking the first-ever beverage company to leverage Flash for seamless Bitcoin payments. 

Bitcoin Buys Beer Thanks to Flash!

As Co-Founder of Flash, it's not every day we get to toast to a truly refreshing milestone.

Okay, jokes aside.

We're super buzzed to see our friends at @Drink_B0B
Bitcoin Only Brewery using Flash to power their online sales!

The first… pic.twitter.com/G7TWhy50pX

— Pierre Corbin (@CierrePorbin) June 3, 2025

Flash enables Bitcoin Only Brewery to offer its “BOB” beer with, no-KYC (Know Your Customer) delivery across Europe, priced at 19,500 sats (~$18) for the 4-pack – shipping included.

The cans feature colorful Bitcoin artwork while the contents promise a hazy pale ale: “Each 33cl can contains a smooth, creamy mouthfeel, hazy appearance and refreshing Pale Ale at 5% ABV,” reads the product description.

Pierre Corbin, Co-Founder of Flash, commented: “Currently, bitcoin is used more as a store of value but usage for payments is picking up. Thanks to new innovation on Lightning, bitcoin is ready to go mainstream for e-commerce sales.”

Flash, launched its 2.0 version in March 2025 with the goal to provide the easiest Bitcoin payment gateway for businesses worldwide. The platform is non-custodial and can enable both digital and physical shops to accept Bitcoin by connecting their own wallets to Flash.

By leveraging the scalability of the Lightning Network, Flash ensures instant, low-cost transactions, addressing on-chain Bitcoin bottlenecks like high fees and long wait times.

Bitcoin payment usage is growing thanks to Lightning

In May, fast-food chain Steak ‘N Shake went viral for integrating bitcoin at their restaurants around the world. In the same month, the bitcoin2025 conference in Las Vegas set a new world record with 4,000 Lightning payments in one day.

According to a report by River Intelligence, public Lightning payment volume surged by 266% from August 2023 to August 2024. This growth is also reflected in the overall accessibility of lighting infrastructure for consumers. According to Lightning Service Provider Breez, over 650 Million users now have access to the Lightning Network through apps like CashApp, Kraken or Strike.

Bitcoin Only Brewery’s adoption of Flash reflects the growing trend of businesses integrating Bitcoin payments to cater to a global, privacy-conscious customer base. By offering no-KYC delivery across Europe, the brewery aligns with the ethos of decentralization and financial sovereignty, appealing to the increasing number of consumers and businesses embracing Bitcoin as a legitimate payment method.

“Flash is committed to driving innovation in the Bitcoin ecosystem,” Corbin added. “We’re building a future where businesses of all sizes can seamlessly integrate Bitcoin payments, unlocking new opportunities in the global market. It’s never been easier to start selling in bitcoin and we invite retailers globally to join us in this revolution.”

For businesses interested in adopting Bitcoin payments, Flash offers a straightforward onboarding process, low fees, and robust support for both digital and physical goods. To learn more, visit paywithflash.com.

About Flash

Flash is the easiest Bitcoin payment gateway for businesses to accept payments. Supporting both digital and physical enterprises, Flash leverages the Lightning Network to enable fast, low-cost Bitcoin transactions. Launched in its 2.0 version in March 2025, Flash is at the forefront of driving Bitcoin adoption in e-commerce.

About Bitcoin Only Brewery

Bitcoin Only Brewery (@Drink_B0B) is a pioneering beverage company dedicated to the Bitcoin ethos, offering high-quality beers payable exclusively in Bitcoin. With a commitment to personal privacy, the brewery delivers across Europe with no-KYC requirements.

Media Contact:

Pierre Corbin
Co-Founder, Flash
Email: press@paywithflash.com
Website: paywithflash.comPhotos paywithflash.com/about/press

How Flash Enables Interoperable, Self-Custodial Bitcoin Commerce

@ b1ddb4d7:471244e7

In today’s digital era, access to financial services remains a privilege for many. Bitcoinization – the mass adoption of Bitcoin as a payment medium and store of value – represents a unique opportunity to democratize access to financial services (Read this article Can the Lightning Network Lead to “Hyperbitcoinization”? to know more about Bitcoinization). Telecommunications carriers occupy a strategic position in this transformation, especially in regions where traditional internet access is limited. However, this aspect remains largely unexplored. This article seeks to examine how these companies can catalyze this financial revolution by analyzing the Machankura case and the technical possibilities within current communication infrastructures.

The Success Sotry of Machankura

The Machankura project (8333.mobi) emerged to address a common challenge in various African regions: financial exclusion due to limited internet access. Created by South African developer Kgothatso Ngako, the service utilizes the USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) protocol, supported by virtually all mobile phones, to facilitate Bitcoin transactions via 2G and 3G cellular networks.

Machankura – derived from South African slang for “money” – functions as a custodial Bitcoin wallet. Through the USSD protocol, users can access the service by dialing short codes (*123*456789#, for example) or sending SMS messages to specific numbers. When the server receives the code or message, an interactive session between the parties (server-user) begins. This enables users to create Bitcoin wallets associated with their phone numbers, protected by multi-digit PINs.

Once registered, users receive a Lightning address (example: 1234567890@8333.mobi) that can be used to receive Bitcoin from anyone worldwide. Users can also customize this address to a preferred username, further enhancing privacy.

Currently, Machankura is available in nine African countries, including Nigeria, Tanzania, South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, and Malawi. The creator’s objective is to expand the service to all countries across the African continent in the coming years.

Why Lightning network? Please read this article Lightning Network vs. Traditional Bitcoin Transactions.

The Technical Foundations of Machankura’s Success – USSD

As mentioned, USSD is a protocol embedded in mobile networks and available on virtually all cellular devices. This choice proved crucial for the Machankura project, given that in Africa, more than half of phones sold are not smartphones. Additionally, this protocol offers critical technical advantages:

• Operates without requiring internet access, functioning in areas with poor connectivity.
• Universal compatibility with any mobile phone, including the most basic models.
• Provides real-time interactivity between users and the system.
• Features an intuitive interface already utilized for banking services, customer support, and self-service applications

These advantages have enabled Bitcoin to become accessible to a significant portion of the region’s population, with over 15,000 users, according to the Machankura project creator.

USSD and Connectivity Challenges

The primary technical limitation of USSD manifests in high-connectivity environments (4G, 5G, or higher). As established by the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project, organization for standardization of mobile networks), the protocol must be recognized by newer generations of cellular networks. However, this recognition requires a procedure known as inter-technology fallback. For instance, if a user is connected to a 5G network and streaming music, when accessing a USSD service, their connection will downgrade to a 3G (or 2G) network, inevitably interrupting media streaming execution.

IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS): The Evolution in Telecommunications Services

The solution to connectivity issues with USSD resides within the IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem), a subsystem within the standardized architecture of newer cellular networks (from fourth generation onwards). Its objective is to unify access and provision of multimedia services across both mobile and fixed networks. These services include:

• Voice services – such as Voice over LTE (VoLTE) and Voice over WiFi (VoWiFi)
• Video services – such as Video over LTE  (ViLTE) and Video over WiFi (ViWiFi)
• Videoconferencing
• Instant messaging
• Streaming media
• Emergency services
• Interoperability between legacy networks

The New Era: USSI (USSD over IP)

USSI (USSD over IP) represents the solution for service continuity across 4G, 5G, and future networks when utilizing USSD services. This new protocol enhances service quality, increases simultaneous session capacity, provides additional features for recent devices, improves session security, and enables operation without requiring fallback procedures.

Strategic Opportunities for Carriers

Institutional Bitcoin adoption is already established, with integration into portfolios of mining companies, exchanges, automobile manufacturers (Tesla), investment funds (BlackRock), financial institutions (Galaxy Digital Holdings), technology companies (including MicroStrategy, MercadoLibre, and Brazilian Meliúz), and even nations such as El Salvador, the United States, and China.

With robust, secure, and extensive infrastructure, telecommunications carriers can implement complex and advanced Bitcoin-based financial services, demystifying its use and stimulating adoption. Strategic partnerships with exchanges and fintechs enhance integrated solutions for entrepreneurs and consumers, such as integration with Lightning Network nodes to enable rapid, low-cost transactions between IoT devices, machine-to-machine (M2M) applications, and point-of-sale (POS) terminals.

The competitive advantages of this approach include

• New Revenue Streams: Companies can collect fees from simple transactions and provide advanced financial services such as loans, insurance, and investments.
• Customer Retention: By offering innovative services, they can reduce customer churn.
• Vanguard Strategy: Strategic positioning in an emerging high-capitalization market

The Future of Bitcoinization in Telecommunications

The success of the Machankura project unequivocally demonstrates the potential of telecommunications as transformative agents in the mass adoption of Bitcoin. As the Bitcoin ecosystem consolidates and expands, it is essential that we recognize this opportunity not merely as a new business vertical but as an important step toward strategic positioning at the forefront of a global economic transformation.

Given the extensive reach of existing infrastructure, these carriers can become the primary catalyst for transforming the lives of the unbanked in an unprecedented manner. As we have seen, Bitcoin is no longer just a trend; it is a reality. The natural consequence of this reality is bitcoinization, and we have the opportunity to be at the forefront of this emerging paradigm.

@ 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

@ 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.

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

@ 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.

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

@ b1ddb4d7:471244e7

This article was originally published on dev.to by satshacker.

Alright, you’ve built a useful and beautiful website, tool or app. However, monetization isn’t a priority and you’d rather keep the project free, ads-free and accessible?

Accepting donations would be an option, but how? A PayPal button? Stripe? Buymeacoffe? Patreon?

All of these services require a bank account and KYC verification, before you can send and receive donations – not very convenient.

If we only could send value over the internet, with just one click and without the need of a bank account…

Oh, hold on, that’s bitcoin. The decentralized protocol to send value across the globe. Money over TCP/IP.

In this article, we’ll learn how anyone can easily add a payment button or donation widget on a website or app.

Let’s get into it.

Introduction

Bitcoin is digital money that you can send and receive without the need for banks. While bitcoin is extremely secure, it’s not very fast. The maximum transactions per second (TPS) the network can handle is about 7. Obviously that’s not useful for daily payments or microtransactions.

If you’d like to dig deeper into how bitcoin works, a great read is “Mastering Bitcoin” by Andreas Antonopoulos.

Bitcoin vs Lightning

If you’d like to receive bitcoin donations “on-chain” all you need is a bitcoin wallet. You simply display your bitcoin address on your site and that’s it. You can receive donations.

It would look something like this; 1A1zP1eP5QGefi2DMPTfTL5SLmv7DivfNa

Instead of showing the actual bitcoin address, you can also turn it into a QR code.

However, this is not a recommended solution. Using static on-chain addresses has two major downsides. It lowers privacy for you and your donnors and it’s a UTXO disaster because many small incoming transactions could beocme hard to consolidate in the future.

For donations and small transactions, the Lightning Network is the better option. Lightning allows for instant settlement with fees only a fraction of a cent.

Similar to bitcoin, you have the choice between non-custodial and custodial wallets. This means, either you have full control over your money or the wallet provider has.

Option 1: Lightning Address

With the lightning address feature, you an easily receive donations to an email like address.

It looks like this: yourname@wallet.com

Many wallets support lightning addresses and make it easy to create one. Then, you simple add the address to your donation page and you’re ready to receive tips.

You can also add a link link as in lightning:yourname@wallet.com and compatible lightning wallets and browser wallets will detect the address.

How to get a Lightning Address Fast

Option 2: Lightning Donation Widgets

If you like to take it a step further, you can also create a more enhanced donation checkout flow. Of course you could programm something yourself, there are many open source libraries you can build upon. If you want a simple plug-and-play solution, here are a couple of options:

Name

Type

Registration

SatSale

Self-hosted

No KYC

BTCPay Server

Self-hosted

No KYC

Pay With Flash

Widget

Email

Geyser Fund

Widget

Email

The Giving Block

Hosted

KYC

OpenNode

Hosted

KYC

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SatSale (GitHub)

Lightweight, self-hosted Bitcoin/Lightning payment processor. No KYC.

Ideal for developers comfortable with server management. Simple to deploy, supports both on-chain and Lightning, and integrates with WooCommerce.

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BTCPay Server

Powerful, open-source, self-hosted processor for Bitcoin and Lightning. No KYC.

Supports multiple currencies, advanced features, and full privacy. Requires technical setup and maintenance. Funds go directly to your wallet; great for those seeking full control.

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Pay With Flash

Easiest for indie hackers. Add a donation widget with minimal code and no KYC. Payments go directly to your wallet for a 1.5% fee.

Setup Steps:

1. Sign up at PayWithFlash.com
2. Customize your widget in the dashboard
3. Embed the code:

1. Test to confirm functionality

Benefits:

• Minimal technical skills required
• Supports one-time or recurring donations
• Direct fund transfer, no intermediaries

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Geyser Fund

Crowdfunding platform. Widget-based, connects to your wallet, email registration.Focused on Bitcoin crowdfunding, memberships and donations.

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The Giving Block

Hosted, KYC required. Integrates with fiat and crypto, best for nonprofits or larger organizations.

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OpenNode

Hosted, KYC required. Accept Bitcoin payments and donations; supports conversion to fiat, suitable for businesses and nonprofits.

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Summary

• Fast, low-code setup: Use Pay With Flash or Geyser Fund.
• Privacy and control: Choose SatSale or BTCPay Server (requires technical skills).
• Managed, compliant solutions: The Giving Block or OpenNode.

Choose based on your technical comfort, privacy needs, and project scale.

I hope this article helped you. If you added bitcoin donations, share your link in the comments and I will send you a few satoshis maybe

@ cae03c48:2a7d6671

Bitcoin Magazine

Coinbase Announces Bitcoin Rewards Credit Card, Offering up to 4% BTC Back on Everything

Coinbase is launching its first-ever branded credit card in partnership with American Express, set to roll out this fall. Called the Coinbase One Card, it will be available only to U.S. members of Coinbase One, the platform’s monthly subscription service. The card will offer 2% to 4% back in Bitcoin on everyday purchases, along with access to American Express perks.  

JUST IN: Coinbase launches credit card allowing users to earn up to 4% bitcoin back on every purchase pic.twitter.com/d6pdNZV4pi

— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) June 12, 2025

This is a first-of-its-kind product for Coinbase, which previously only offered a prepaid debit card with Visa in 2020. 

“We see real potential in the combination of Coinbase and crypto with the powerful backing of American Express, and what the card offers is an excellent mix of what customers are looking for right now,” said Will Stredwick, head of American Express global network services, during the Coinbase State of Crypto Summit in New York.

The card is part of a larger push by Coinbase to expand its subscription-based services. Coinbase One costs $29.99/month and includes zero trading fees, higher staking rewards, and customer support perks. The company also announced a cheaper version—Coinbase Basic—for $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which includes fewer features.

Coinbase’s subscription business is growing fast. It brought in $698.1 million in Q1 2025, compared to $1.26 billion in trading revenue. According to William Blair analyst Andrew Jeffrey, this kind of recurring revenue is a big reason why long-term investors are sticking with the stock.

Launched in 2023, Coinbase One now has over a million members. The company has been steadily growing its ecosystem with products like its Base developer platform and a self-custody wallet. 

The company has long positioned Bitcoin at the center of its strategy—offering BTC custody services to institutions, supporting Bitcoin ETFs, integrating Bitcoin rewards into its products, and actively advocating for Bitcoin-friendly regulation in Washington. Coinbase also supports Bitcoin development directly through funding grants and engineering support. As the largest publicly traded crypto exchange in the U.S., Coinbase continues to frame Bitcoin not just as an asset, but as the foundation of its long-term vision.

This post Coinbase Announces Bitcoin Rewards Credit Card, Offering up to 4% BTC Back on Everything first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Jenna Montgomery.

@ cae03c48:2a7d6671

Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin: How To Solve the Student Loan Crisis

Student loans continue to trouble millions of Americans, with a total of $1.77 trillion already owed. This crisis has been a major political issue for a while, especially after former President Biden promised to wipe out all of the student loan debt and ended up only fulfilling half of the promise. These billions of dollars are not just numbers on a spreadsheet; they represent people who repay their debt, every month, year in and year out. While the standard repayment plan spans 10 years, the reality is far more daunting: The average borrower takes 20-30 years to repay their loans. 

There are over two million new undergraduates every year, and, on average, they graduate with $29,400 in debt. Some, like medical students, surpass $250,000 in debt — a mortgage-sized pile. Almost $100 billion in new debt is created every year, piled upon the already unsustainable student debt pile. Similar to how we have (haven’t) dealt with public pensions, instead of dismantling a failed system we keep feeding the machine and crushing people’s lives and dreams underneath its weight. But perhaps there’s a way for future generations to avoid this dreadful fate — by borrowing new ideas from similar fields.

Real Estate: The Store of Value (SoV) Since Nixon

The real estate market is another system that heavily relies on debt to keep functioning, and like student loans, it’s not working too well. 

Real estate is a market where it’s completely normal to go 10x levered long on a single asset while putting all of your savings into it. Talk about idiosyncratic risk. The entire market has been in deep pain worldwide, not necessarily because of the debt, but due to how the fiat system has turned real estate into an investment-and-savings mechanism. In turn, the great investment of one generation becomes the unaffordable housing for the next. But a subset of the population has been divesting from the asset in favor of a better savings vehicle: bitcoin. 

Part of their thesis in divesting from real estate and moving to bitcoin is that they predict that bitcoin’s superior SoV function will drive real estate prices down, wreaking havoc on a fragile and overpriced asset class. This makes quite a bit of sense, especially to those individuals who invested in real estate in search of those SoV properties in the first place; they now have to contend with increasing risk all over the world, putting in peril what was once a “safe SoV” asset class. From wildfires all over the place to floods, expropriations, new taxes, and wars breaking out in places previously unimaginable, some investors are just fed up.

But housing is still necessary, and we still need to build a massive amount of new houses. In almost all major cities in the world, there’s a housing crisis driven in large part by shortages. This is due to lackluster housing buildouts following the 2008 great financial crisis, driven directly by housing debt. Thus, even if all of the real estate owners put all of their stock of housing into the market, we would still have to develop and construct new ones. But it’s hard to convince real estate developers to do so when you also tell them that, in bitcoin terms, the houses they are building will be worth less by the time they sell them.

Bitcoin Replaces Real Estate

That’s where a German Bitcoiner and real estate developer named Leon Wankum steps in and turns the problem into a solution. You may even say he used financial jiu-jitsu because his idea is to bundle new, debt-heavy real estate projects with a bitcoin fund. This way, a $10 million project — of which $9 million is debt-financed — would allocate a small percentage of the financing to bitcoin, in order to hedge the depreciation and devaluation of the main asset and thereby benefit from the appreciation of bitcoin. This way, real estate developers can leverage the debt-heavy nature of the real estate market to cover the demand for housing while also hedging themselves from any SoV risk that bitcoin may pose to that asset.

This seemed like a crazy idea. Bitcoin and real estate: a super conservative mainstream infrastructure investment combined with a hyper-volatile digital savings vehicle — an unlikely marriage. Yet, polar opposites attract, and an idea is only crazy until someone replicates it and makes it work. 

To everyone’s surprise, that’s exactly what happened last year, when Andrew Hohns of Newmarket Capital went on TV to announce they had started applying Wankum’s model to offer a loan to a real estate developer. They had provided financing for a real estate project with a few special conditions: 

• the developer had to use a small proportion to buy bitcoin, which was placed in escrow.
• the bitcoin is inextricably tied with the real estate asset.
• and the bitcoin has to be held for four years minimum.

The experiment was off to the races. If the past serves as a guide, this new investment structure will greatly reduce the burden of the loan.

Bitcoin and Student Debts, Rescuing the Next Generation

At this point, the parallels to student loans should be pretty clear. When 18-year-olds take out a mortgage-sized loan to bet on their education, their future human capital is effectively becoming the real estate (collateral) that backs the debt. Their capacity to make extra income from the knowledge and certificates they acquired by going into debt will help them pay it off (given that all goes well). Investment margins become very sensitive and risk increases immensely when huge amounts of leverage are added to any investment — be it trading stocks, real estate, or your future. Your room for maneuvering decreases, and you get trapped in the path you choose.

Thus, if you yourself become the real estate securing this mortgage-sized student debt, perhaps you could also secure that loan and reduce the burden on the main asset (you) by integrating bitcoin into the mix. This could have great benefits for all parties involved: decreasing the risk for the lender and giving increased peace of mind and opportunities for the borrower (you, the student).

One of the main advantages of adding bitcoin to your student debt structure is that there are now two assets rowing against the financial repayment current: yourself and bitcoin. By going to university, learning new skills and getting certificates, you open up the path to better-paid jobs and higher earning potentials, aka higher salaries. The more intriguing component is the bitcoin tied to your student debts. As a teenager itself, bitcoin has had an incredible CAGR over its lifespan. Even conservative numbers indicate that bitcoin will return about 60% annually for the foreseeable future. When compared with the 10-15% usually provided by the S&P 500, bitcoin looks like a Ferrari competing against horses. 

The other advantage is one that frustrates most students, and it has to do with acquiring bitcoin once they understand it. Unlike most adults, undergrads have barely had any time to build up savings, and are therefore unable to exchange much fiat for hard bitcoin. This can become incredibly frustrating, especially because you know that if you were a decade older, you could have aped into bitcoin and retired your entire bloodline. But now you are stuck being 16, saving up pennies, and sacrificing your younger years for trifling amounts of bitcoin that won’t make a difference in your lifetime. So close, yet so far away.

But what is debt if not a way to bring future purchasing power into the present? Debt is a time-traveling machine that allows people to buy assets by leveraging their future earnings, revenues, or salaries. And thankfully, the current system is created so that the moment you can legally go to jail or go to war, you can also indebt yourself up to your eyeballs with the promise of future wages as a doctor, engineer, lawyer, or another profession.

Funnily enough, bitcoin’s recommended minimum holding time is also the number of years for an average college degree — four years. This means that, as long as you create a similar structure as the one proposed by Newmarket Capital, where the bitcoin has a four-year holding period, you’ll be using financial jiu-jitsu. The four-year holding period, however, does not mean that the student needs to sell at that point. The question of how to manage your finances between repaying the student loans, selling the bitcoin, or acquiring more is a more complex and personal issue. Regardless of what any student does, with this hybrid method, student debts can help young Bitcoiners leap forward instead of taking a step back.

With this new method, students — and their families — now have another thing to celebrate when they walk onto the graduation stage. And if you drop out of school, for any set of reasons that life may hit you with, your student loan now comes with a fail-safe met

@ cae03c48:2a7d6671

Bitcoin Magazine

France’s The Blockchain Group Secures €9.7 Million More For Its Bitcoin Treasury Strategy

Today, The Blockchain Group (ALTBG), listed on Euronext Growth Paris and recognized as Europe’s first Bitcoin Treasury Company, announced it has raised around €9.7 million through a mix of equity and convertible bond issuances. This move is part of their continued push to build out their Bitcoin Treasury Company strategy.

The Blockchain Group announces an equity and convertible bond issuance for a total amount of ~€9.7M to pursue its Bitcoin Treasury Company strategy

Full Press Release (EN): https://t.co/jjGOBswJsd

Full Press Release (FR): https://t.co/0Jwuv2sP7W

BTC Strategy (EN):… pic.twitter.com/mUVLHJduX5

— The Blockchain Group (@_ALTBG) June 12, 2025

The funding comes from multiple sources and was carried out through their wholly-owned Luxembourg subsidiary, “The Blockchain Group Luxembourg SA.” A major portion, about €6 million, was raised through a convertible bond issuance to TOBAM, with bonds priced at €6.24 per share. That price reflects a 30 percent premium over ALTBG’s closing price on June 9, 2025.

Ludovic Chechin-Laurans also came in with around €2.4 million, subscribing in BTC at a conversion price of about €0.7072 per share. This was part of a deal originally set up back in March 2025. If the stock price climbs 30 percent above that level, to around €0.919 over 20 consecutive trading days, he’ll have the option to convert into up to 3.4 million new ALTBG shares.

Adam Back also finalized his conversion of all OCA Tranche 1 bonds into 14.9 million ALTBG shares and subscribed to an additional 2.1 million shares for €1.16 million at €0.544 per share. 

“The Company recalls that Adam Back notified The Blockchain Group of his intention to convert all OCA Tranche 1 he holds, in accordance with the terms of the OCA Issuance Agreement entered into on March 4, 2025, the details of which were disclosed in a press release dated March 6, 2025, and which the Company now confirms has been definitively completed,” stated the press release.

TOBAM did the same, converting 1 million Tranche 1 bonds into 1.84 million shares and subscribing to 262,605 new shares for €0.14 million.

“Given the recent high volatility in the Company’s share price observed since the signing of the OCA Issuance Agreement, the conversion price of €0.544 reflects a discount of 89.52% compared to the closing price on June 12, 2025,” the press release added.

“These operations could allow for the potential acquisition of ~80 BTC, bringing the Company’s total potential holdings to ~1,611 BTC, including the proceeds from the potential completion of remaining operations announced in the press release dated May 26, 2025,” said the press release.

This post France’s The Blockchain Group Secures €9.7 Million More For Its Bitcoin Treasury Strategy first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Oscar Zarraga Perez.

@ 7f6db517:a4931eda

There must be a limit to how much data is transferred across the bitcoin network in order to keep the ability to run and use your own node accessible. A node is required to interact with the global bitcoin network - if you do not use your own node then you must trust someone else's node. If nodes become inaccessible to run then the network will centralize around the remaining entities that operate them - threatening the censorship resistance at the core of bitcoin's value prop. The bitcoin protocol uses three main mechanisms to keep node operation costs low - a fixed limit on the amount of data in each block, an automatic difficulty adjustment that regulates how many blocks are produced based on current mining hash rate, and a robust dynamic transaction fee market.

Bitcoin transaction fees limit network abuse by making usage expensive. There is a cost to every transaction, set by a dynamic free market based on demand for scarce block space. It is an incredibly robust way to prevent spam without relying on centralized entities that can be corrupted or pressured.

After the 2017 bitcoin fee spike we had six years of relative quiet to build tools that would be robust in a sustained high fee market. Fortunately our tools are significantly better now but many still need improvement. Most of the pain points we see today will be mitigated.

The reality is we were never going to be fully prepared - pressure is needed to show the pain points and provide strong incentives to mitigate them.

It will be incredibly interesting to watch how projects adapt under pressure. Optimistic we see great innovation here.

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_If you are willing to wait for your transaction to confirm you can pay significantly lower fees. Learn best practices for reducing your fee burden here.

My guide for running and using your own bitcoin node can be found here._

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

@ 7f6db517:a4931eda

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

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

— ODELL (@ODELL) September 16, 2018

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

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

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

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

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

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

@ 7f6db517:a4931eda

Will not live in a pod.
Will not eat the bugs.
Will not get the chip.
Will not get a blue check.
Will not use CBDCs.

Live Free or Die.

Why did Elon buy twitter for $44 Billion? What value does he see in it besides the greater influence that undoubtedly comes with controlling one of the largest social platforms in the world? We do not need to speculate - he made his intentions incredibly clear in his first meeting with twitter employees after his takeover - WeChat of the West.

To those that do not appreciate freedom, the value prop is clear - WeChat is incredibly powerful and successful in China.

To those that do appreciate freedom, the concern is clear - WeChat has essentially become required to live in China, has surveillance and censorship integrated at its core, and if you are banned from the app your entire livelihood is at risk. Employment, housing, payments, travel, communication, and more become extremely difficult if WeChat censors determine you have acted out of line.

The blue check is the first step in Elon's plan to bring the chinese social credit score system to the west. Users who verify their identity are rewarded with more reach and better tools than those that do not. Verified users are the main product of Elon's twitter - an extensive database of individuals and complete control of the tools he will slowly get them to rely on - it is easier to monetize cattle than free men.

If you cannot resist the temptation of the blue check in its current form you have already lost - what comes next will be much darker. If you realize the need to resist - freedom tech provides us options.

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

@ 8d34bd24:414be32b

How do you look at the things in your life?

• Do you focus on your physical problems or do you look forward to your resurrection body in heaven?

• Do you spend your time trying to fix the corruption in government or do you spend your time trying to bring as many people as possible home to heaven?

• When you see someone suffering do you first pray for their physical healing or do you pray for their spiritual healing?

• Do you work to fit in with the people around you or do you work to become more Christ-like?

• Do you crave entertainment or do you crave biblical enrichment?

• Do you focus more on your citizenship here on earth or more on your eternal citizenship?

• Do you seek fellowship with the people of this world or do you seek fellowship with your Savior?

• Do you look at people’s faults and how they hurt you or do you look at their hurt and separation from God and seek to bring them to Jesus?

• Do you spend your time on work and entertainment or do you spend your time studying the word of God, praying to God, and telling others about God?

Do you have an earthly or an eternal perspective?

Physical or Spiritual Needs

Jesus always had an eternal perspective. This event is just one example.

One day He was teaching; and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing. And some men were carrying on a bed a man who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him. But not finding any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.” The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” But Jesus, aware of their reasonings, answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,”—He said to the paralytic—“I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.” (Luke 5:17-24) {emphasis mine}

In this familiar story a man who was paralyzed was brought to Jesus for healing. The paralytic’s friends worked so hard to get him physically healed that they hauled him up on the roof, dug through the roof, and lowered him down in front of Jesus. What was Jesus’s response? Jesus forgave the man’s sins. Every person there saw the man’s need to be able to walk, so he could take care of himself here on earth. Jesus saw the more important spiritual need and forgave his sins. After taking care of his eternal need, he also took care of his more earthly need and healed him physically.

Do you see people’s eternal need or do you just see their physical needs or worse, only see their earthly failings? Do you only see the hurt they are causing you or do you see the hurt they feel that comes from being separated from God?

Earthly or Heavenly Citizenship

I’ve been involved in politics for many years. I’ve been to precinct, county, state, and national conventions. I’ve written, debated, and defended political platforms and resolutions. I vote every election. All of that is good and useful, but is that where we are supposed to spend most of our time and effort? I’ve come to the conclusion that this is not what is most important.

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. (Philippians 3:20-21)

We are told that our citizenship is in heaven. The majority of our effort should be put into support of our heavenly citizenship, not our earthly citizenship. That doesn’t mean that we should let our earthly kingdom fall apart and turn away from God, but it does mean we should be more focused on turning hearts and minds to Jesus than we are with setting domestic laws. We should be more focused on worshipping God than supporting politicians.

Sadly I see too many Christians who focus on pushing the “Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag” than they do pushing loyalty to Jesus. I see too many Christians who put all of their effort into electing the “right” politician instead of pointing people to the real Savior. I see too many Christians who try to pass the “right” laws instead of reading the law of God. I see too many Christians who put all of their effort into changing people’s minds to the “right” party instead of changing hearts and minds for Christ.

Do you really seek the kingdom of God or are you only focused on your earthly nation? Do you spend more time trying to win people for your political party than you do trying to win people for Christ? Our primary focus should be on the Millennial Kingdom of Christ and on eternity in heaven with Jesus, not on our earthly country.

Yes, we are to be a light in the world and we should seek the good of our earthly nations, but sharing the gospel, living a life honoring to God, and doing everything within our power to draw people to Jesus should be our focus and where we put most of our effort.

And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:17-22)

The Hurt They Cause or the Hurt They Feel

People today are selfish and hurtful. Most people are trying to be the greatest victim which means they are accusing others of being abusers, tyrants, or haters. People are impolite, inconsiderate, and sometimes downright hateful. How do you respond?

Do you attack back when you are attacked? Are you rude back when you are treated rudely? Do you only see how others hurt you or can you see the hurt behind the hurtful behavior?

Most of the people who are striking out with hate and anger are truly hurting people. They have been taught that they are evolved pond scum and feel hopeless. They have been mistreated by other hurting people. They have been taught to be victims and to hate anyone who may not be a victim. Instead of feeling hate, we should feel compassion.

In Matthew 18:21-35 Jesus tells a parable of a master who forgives his slave of his debts, but then that slave does not show the same mercy to another who owes him much less. The slave is rebuked.

Then summoning him, his lord said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ (Matthew 18:32-33)

God loved us before we loved Him. Jesus forgave us far more than we can ever forgive others. After all Jesus did for us, we should be forgiving like He is. We should see other’s hurt and eternal destination and have compassion on them. Instead of treating them the way we were treated, we should treat them like Jesus treated us. We should seek their eternal good above our momentary comfort.

And He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.) They went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves.

The people saw them going, and many recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the cities, and got there ahead of them. When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things. (Mark 6:31-34) {emphasis mine}

Just as Jesus had compassion for the crowd and their spiritual needs when He and His disciples had need of food and rest, in the same way we should sacrifice our egos to minister to the spiritual needs of those that may seem unlovable because of their eternal need.

May the Lord of Heaven help us to have an eternal perspective and to view everything and everyone with that eternal and spiritual perspective so we can faithfully serve Jesus and bring with us a plentiful harvest. May Jesus use us for His glory and for the eternal good of those around us.

@ cae03c48:2a7d6671

Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin Will Replace Gold And Go To $1,000,000, Says Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz

Today, Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz told CNBC that Bitcoin is on a path to replace gold and could eventually reach a value of $1,000,000.

JUST IN: Galaxy Digital CEO told CNBC that Bitcoin will replace gold and go to $1,000,000 pic.twitter.com/Tf831LBt1h

— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) June 12, 2025

“Bitcoin has become a macro asset,” said Novogratz. “And some of the great things is most people have it on their screens next to gold and silver and the S&P. And you think back ten years ago when people thought we were crazy. And now it’s an institutionalized macro asset… It’s just becoming institutionalized.”

He emphasized that Bitcoin is no longer a fringe investment but part of the mainstream financial landscape. He pointed out that its volatility is now seen as normal compared to traditional assets.

“We are in a dollar bear market. For the last 15 years, American exceptionalism was the story. Europeans were widely overweight and Asians widely overweight the US stock and we have an administration that wants a weaker dollar. They are pretty clear about it,” he said. “Even in the way Trump negotiates. And you can argue if it’s successful or not successful, but by telling Canada they want to be the 51st state, and telling people that they come here to kiss his rear end, it doesn’t engender people to say, ‘Oh, I want to buy more dollars.’”

According to Novogratz, this global shift is pushing investors toward assets outside the dollar, including Bitcoin.

“I think most macro funds are having a great year,” he stated. “They’re short the dollar, they’re long the euro, they’re long the yen, they’re long Aussie, they’re long a basket of currencies. Well, Bitcoin, gold, silver, platinum, they all fall into that same category as something that’s not the dollar.”

He also pointed to Bitcoin’s fixed supply as a key factor behind its growing value.

“There is no more Bitcoin,” he said. “What’s unique about Bitcoin as an asset is it was created with 21 million coins total. Period. End of story. There’ll never be more than that. But not all of those have been mined, is my point. Not most of them. Lots of them have been lost. There have been more Bitcoins lost than will be mined for the rest of eternity.”

Novogratz believes the wave of institutional involvement, including firms like BlackRock, is cementing Bitcoin’s role as a savings asset.

“The bull case becomes that over time… gold slowly gets replaced by Bitcoin. And so if you look at gold’s market cap and Bitcoin market cap, Bitcoin has a long way to go. Right? 10x. And so that [is] $1,000,000 a Bitcoin just to be where gold is.”

This post Bitcoin Will Replace Gold And Go To $1,000,000, Says Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Oscar Zarraga Perez.

@ 7f6db517:a4931eda

Influencers would have you believe there is an ongoing binance bank run but bitcoin wallet data says otherwise.

- binance wallets are near all time highs
- bitfinex wallets are also trending up
- gemini and coinbase are being hit with massive withdrawals though

You should not trust custodians, they can rug you without warning. It is incredibly important you learn how to hold bitcoin yourself, but also consider not blindly trusting influencers with a ref link to shill you.

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

@ 3c389c8f:7a2eff7f

Nostr's first algorithmic relay feed, was introduced by prolific Nostr user, builder, and supporter, utxo the webmaster and the Bitvora team. This idea takes control of your algorithms away from 3rd parties and puts it directly in the user's hands. The system was designed to give readers the ability to choose who and what they want to see in their Nostr feed, and at what frequency, while also encouraging discovery of new and interesting content. The design keeps in mind that users may not want to see posts that are inflammatory or contentious like ad-driven algorithms assume, but ones that simply generate interesting conversations. On top of that, it is also clearly designed to incentivize users to spend time offline and still keeping up with things that are important to them online.

After playing with the various settings, I have been pleasantly surprised with how well it works. To set up your individualized algo relay feed, you simply visit the landing page and sign in with your signer of choice. You will first be presented with some information about your network and the authors you interact with the most. This is a neat little bonus to me. I can clearly see the profiles that provide me with value, whether it be through learning, friendship, or professional (whatever that means). It gives me a good feeling to see who has been worthy of my attention, and I imagine if I were one to engage in defensive online discussions, the presentation of these authors might make me take a second look at my own behavior. Maybe the idea of anyone else doing that is a pipedream, but I like the thought. Just beyond the network information are some insightful statistics about the ways you engage online, like how often you post and reply.

Towards the bottom of the page are your actual settings:

As you can see, there are a variety of settings that all will impact the way that your personalized feed is built. Simply make some adjustments that feel right for you and click save. Your personalized algorithm feed will be available to you in any client that enables relay browsing, like Jumble and Coracle. It is worth trying out a couple of different formulas, as they are quite effective. Once you find a balance that feels right, you can just save the relay as a favorite for easy access, and basically forget about it. They relay will keep your settings to build your personalized Nostr feed whenever you connect. If at any time you need a change, just revisit the page and make your adjustments. The software is open source, making it possible to host your own for yourself and your friends.

I have found a lot of interesting content and people through the Nostr AlgoRelay. My first few settings adjustments didn't quite suit what I was looking for, but a few tweaks brought forth notes from some of my favorite people that I had missed but not stuff that was really outdated, a few notes from popular figureheads, and some things that my friends were engaging with that I did not know about prior. I highly recommend giving it a try, beyond a quick glance. The true value of this relay grows in time, as you go about life and come back to visit your Nostr world.

@ c1e9ab3a:9cb56b43

1. Introduction

The 21st century is marked by a rare confluence of demographic, technological, and monetary regime shifts. As birth rates fall below replacement levels across advanced and many emerging economies, global population growth slows and begins to reverse. At the same time, automation, AI, and robotics are increasing productivity at an accelerating pace. Simultaneously, trust in central banks and fiat currencies is waning, giving rise to calls for a return to hard currencies (e.g., gold, Bitcoin) and decentralized monetary systems.

These trends pose stark challenges to existing economic theories and institutions. This paper explores their implications through two opposing lenses: Keynesian economics and Austrian (Misesian) economics.

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2. The Keynesian Reaction: Deflation, Demand Collapse, and the Paradox of Thrift

2.1. Demand-Side Fragility in a Shrinking Population

Keynesian theory is rooted in the principle that aggregate demand drives output and employment. A declining population implies a falling consumption base, which directly reduces aggregate demand. Combined with increased longevity, this trend leads to a larger retired population disinclined to spend, creating persistent demand shortfalls.

2.2. Technological Unemployment and Reduced Income Velocity

Rapid productivity gains from AI and robotics may displace large segments of labor, leading to unemployment or underemployment. With fewer wage earners and heightened uncertainty, consumption slows further. Even if goods become cheaper, widespread income insecurity constrains the ability to buy them.

2.3. The Paradox of Thrift

In times of uncertainty, both individuals and businesses tend to save more. Keynes argued that if everyone saves, aggregate demand collapses because one person’s spending is another’s income. Thus, increased saving leads to lower incomes, which reduces saving in aggregate—a self-reinforcing contraction.

2.4. Retreat from Fiat and Central Banking: A Catastrophic Constraint

Abandoning fiat currency and central banking removes the government’s ability to perform countercyclical policy. Interest rates cannot be lowered below zero; money supply cannot be expanded to fill demand gaps. In such a regime, deflation becomes chronic, debt burdens rise in real terms, and recovery mechanisms are neutered.

Conclusion (Keynesian):
The combined effect of declining population, rising productivity, and a hard money transition is catastrophic. It leads to a deflationary spiral, mass unemployment, debt crises, and secular stagnation unless aggressively offset by expansive fiscal and monetary policy—tools unavailable in a hard currency system.

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3. The Misesian Rebuttal: Market Coordination and the Natural Order of Decline

3.1. Savings as Capital Formation

Mises and the Austrian School reject the paradox of thrift. Savings are not lost demand; they are deferred consumption that funds capital investment. Increased saving, in a free market, lowers interest rates and reallocates resources toward longer-term, higher-order production.

3.2. Deflation as a Signal of Progress

Falling prices due to productivity gains are not a crisis but a benefit. Consumers gain real wealth. Entrepreneurs adjust cost structures. As long as wages and prices are flexible, deflation reflects abundance, not failure.

3.3. Population Decline as Economic Recalibration

A shrinking population reduces demand, yes—but it also reduces the labor supply. Wages rise in real terms. Capital intensity per worker increases. There is no systemic unemployment if labor markets are free and responsive.

3.4. Hard Currency as Restoration of Market Coordination

Transitioning to a hard currency purges fiat-induced malinvestment and restores the price mechanism. With no artificial credit expansion, capital is allocated based on real savings. Booms and busts are mitigated, and long-term planning becomes reliable.

Conclusion (Misesian):
There is no crisis. A hard currency, high-productivity, low-population economy stabilizes at a new equilibrium of lower consumption, higher capital intensity, and rising real wealth. Deflation is natural. Savings are the seed of future prosperity. Government interference, not market adaptation, is the threat.

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4. Final Synthesis

The Keynesian and Misesian views diverge on first principles: Keynes sees demand shortfalls and rigidities requiring top-down correction, while Mises sees market-coordinated adaptation as sufficient and self-correcting. As the 21st century evolves, this ideological conflict will shape whether the transition leads to depression or renewal.

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References

• Keynes, J.M. The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money
• Mises, L. Human Action
• Hayek, F.A. Prices and Production
• Böhm-Bawerk, E. Capital and Interest
• Friedman, M. A Program for Monetary Stability

@ cae03c48:2a7d6671

Bitcoin Magazine

Where Could Bitcoin Peak This Cycle?

With Bitcoin looking as bullish as ever, the inevitable question arises of how high could BTC realistically go in this market cycle? Here we’ll explore a wide range of on-chain valuation models and cycle timing tools to identify plausible price targets for a Bitcoin peak. Although prediction is never a substitute for disciplined data reaction, this analysis gives us frameworks to better understand where we are and where we might be heading.

Price Forecast Tools

The journey begins with Bitcoin Magazine Pro’s free Price Forecast Tools, which compile several historically accurate valuation models. While it’s always more effective to react to data rather than blindly predict prices, studying these metrics can still provide powerful context for market behavior. If macro, derivative, and on-chain data all start flashing warnings, it’s usually a solid time to take profit, regardless of whether a specific price target has been hit. Still, exploring these valuation tools is informative and can guide strategic decision-making when used alongside broader market analysis.

Figure 1: Applying Price Forecast Tools to calculate potential cycle tops. View Live Chart

Among the key models, the Top Cap multiplies the average cap over time by 35 to project peak valuations. It accurately forecasted 2017’s top, but missed the 2020–2021 cycle, estimating over $200k while Bitcoin peaked around $69k. It now targets over $500k, which feels increasingly unrealistic. A step further is the Delta Top, subtracting the average cap from the realized cap, based on the cost basis of all circulating BTC, to generate a more grounded projection. This model suggested an $80k–$100k top last cycle. The most consistently accurate, however, is the Terminal Price, based on Supply Adjusted Coin Days Destroyed, which has closely aligned with each prior peak, including the $64k top in 2021. Currently projecting around $221k, it could rise to $250k or more, and remains arguably the most credible model for forecasting macro Bitcoin tops. Of course, more information regarding all of these metrics and their calculation logic can be found beneath the charts on the site.

Peak Forecasting

Another powerful metric is the MVRV ratio, which compares market cap to realized cap. It offers a psychological window into investor sentiment, typically peaking near a value of 4 in major cycles. The ratio currently sits at 2.34, suggesting there may still be room for significant upside. Historically, as MVRV nears 3.5 to 4, long-term holders begin to realize substantial gains, often signaling cycle maturity. However, with diminishing returns, we might not reach a full 4 this time around. Instead, using a more conservative estimate of 3.5, we can begin projecting more grounded peak values.

Figure 2: A view of the MVRV ratio predicts further cycle growth to reach historical 4+ and even more conservative 3.5 target values. View Live Chart

Calculating A Target

Timing is as important as valuation. Analysis of BTC Growth Since Cycle Lows illustrates that previous Bitcoin cycles peaked almost exactly 1,060 days from their respective lows. Currently, we are about 930 days into this cycle. If the pattern holds, we can estimate the peak may arrive in roughly 130 days. Historical FOMO-driven price increases often happen late in the cycle, causing Realized Price, a proxy for average investor cost basis, to rise rapidly. For instance, in the final 130 days of the 2017 cycle, realized price grew 260%. In 2021, it increased by 130%. If we assume a further halving of growth due to diminishing returns, a 65% rise from the current $47k realized price brings us to around $78k by October 18.

Figure 3: Based on the peak rate of previous cycles, this cycle is far from over. View Live Chart

With a projected $78k realized price and a conservative MVRV target of 3.5, we arrive at a potential Bitcoin price peak of $273,000. While that may feel ambitious, historical parabolic blowoff tops have shown that such moves can happen in weeks, not months. While it may seem more realistic to expect a peak closer to $150k to $200k, the math and on-chain evidence suggest that a higher valuation is at least within the realm of possibility. It’s also worth noting that these models dynamically adjust, and if late-cycle euphoria kicks in, projections could quickly accelerate further.

Figure 4: Combining projected realized price and a possible MVRV target to predict this cycle’s peak.

Conclusion

Forecasting Bitcoin’s exact peak is inherently uncertain, with too many variables to account for. What we can do is position ourselves with probabilistic frameworks grounded in historical precedent and on-chain data. Tools like the MVRV ratio, Terminal Price, and Delta Top have repeatedly demonstrated their value in anticipating market exhaustion. While a $273,000 target might seem optimistic, it is rooted in past patterns, current network behavior, and cycle-timing logic. Ultimately, the best strategy is to react to data, not rigid price levels. Use these tools to inform your thesis, but stay nimble enough to take profits when the broader ecosystem starts signaling the top.

For more deep-dive research, technical indicators, real-time market alerts, and access to a growing community of analysts, visit BitcoinMagazinePro.com.

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Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Always do your own research before making any investment decisions.

This post Where Could Bitcoin Peak This Cycle? first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Matt Crosby.

@ 7f6db517:a4931eda

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Microsoft Cloud hiring to "implement global small modular reactor and microreactor" strategy to power data centers: https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/microsoft-cloud-hiring-to-implement-global-small-modular-reactor-and-microreactor-strategy-to-power-data-centers/

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

@ cae03c48:2a7d6671

Bitcoin Magazine

JPMorgan Reports Record Profits for Bitcoin Miners in Q1

Bitcoin mining companies in the U.S. have kicked off 2025 with record performance, according to a recent report. The first quarter of the year was “one of Bitcoin miners’ best quarters to date,” analysts Reginald Smith and Charles Pearce stated. 

JUST IN: JPMorgan reported Q1 2025 was one of the best periods on record for publicly traded bitcoin mining companies pic.twitter.com/gs9fGiTbZV

— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) June 13, 2025

“Four of the five operators in our coverage reported record revenue and profits,” the report stated, underscoring the sector’s impressive rebound in profitability amid continued institutional adoption and high bitcoin prices, currently hovering around $105,462.87.

In total, U.S.-listed miners brought in $2.0 billion in gross profit during Q1 2025, with average gross margins reaching 53%—a jump from $1.7 billion and 50% in the previous quarter.

MARA Holdings (MARA) once again led the pack in Bitcoin production, mining the most BTC for the ninth consecutive quarter. However, despite its output dominance, MARA also posted the highest cost per coin, estimated at $72,600, JPMorgan noted.

On the profitability front, IREN (IREN) was the standout performer. For the first time, IREN earned the most gross profit among the tracked firms. The company also reported the lowest all-in cash cost per Bitcoin, around $36,400, helping to boost margins significantly.

CleanSpark (CLSK), another major player, did not raise any equity in the quarter—one of the more capital-disciplined moves seen among its peers. In fact, JPMorgan reported that the five miners it tracks issued only $310 million in equity for Q1, marking a steep decline from $1.3 billion in Q4 2024. 

On the operational expense side, miners spent an estimated $1.8 billion on power, up $50 million from the previous quarter—demonstrating the energy-intensive nature of mining. 

JPMorgan’s outlook on the industry remains bullish for select players. The bank maintains overweight ratings for CleanSpark, IREN, and Riot Platforms (RIOT), while assigning neutral ratings to Cipher Mining (CIFR) and MARA.

As profitability surges and strategic spending remains in check, 2025 may very well be remembered as a turning point in mining economics—especially for companies navigating cost discipline and scaling production. 

This post JPMorgan Reports Record Profits for Bitcoin Miners in Q1 first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Jenna Montgomery.

@ f7d424b5:618c51e8

GAMERS, we're back in the virtual studio for another sophisticated and gentlemanly discussion on the most important topic in the media landscape: huge anime tiddies on the best and baddest Bodytype Bs you've ever seen. I think the VA strike ended too or something.

Stuff cited:

• SB steam charts
• Commentary by Megan Shipman
• Mujin video that shows the leaked discord messages from the SAG discord

Obligatory:

• Listen to the new episode here!
• Discuss this episode on OUR NEW FORUM
• Get the RSS and Subscribe (this is a new feed URL, but the old one redirects here too!)
• Get a modern podcast app to use that RSS feed on at newpodcastapps.com
• Or listen to the show on the forum using the embedded Podverse player!
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Reminder that this is a Value4Value podcast so any support you can give us via a modern podcasting app is greatly appreciated and we will never bow to corporate sponsors!

@ cae03c48:2a7d6671

Bitcoin Magazine

UK Gold Mining Company Bluebird to Convert Gold Revenues into Bitcoin

Bluebird Mining Ventures Ltd., a pan Asian gold project development company, recently announced a major strategic shift. It plans to convert future revenues from its gold mining projects into bitcoin and adopt bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset. 

Strategy shift to covert gold into digital gold – #bitcoin #goldmining #goldequities #investinbitcoin #investingold
"Combining income streams from gold mining projects and recycling these revenues into a proactive "Bitcoin in Treasury" management approach, whilst maintaining a… pic.twitter.com/BpJA6hFU9Y

— Bluebird Mining Ventures Ltd (LSE:BMV.L) (@bluebirdIR) June 5, 2025

“By adopting a ‘gold plus a digital gold’ strategy, it offers the Company an opportunity to turn the page and look to the future and seek to attract a new type of shareholder,” said the Executive Director and CEO of Bluebird Aidan Bishop. “Under the leadership of a new CEO, once identified, it is my sincere hope that Bluebird will finally realise its ambitions for which it was initially established for.”

The announcement comes as Bluebird progresses towards a key agreement on its flagship Philippine project. The company expects to finalize a deal in the coming weeks that will grant it a net profit interest throughout the life of the mine, with no ongoing capital costs. The company said it believes bitcoin offers a modern alternative to traditional store of value assets like gold.

“I am very pleased with the progress of discussions in the Philippines which are looking very positive and will enable, if successfully completed, Bluebird to maintain an ongoing exposure with zero future cash commitments,” stated Bishop.

Bluebird plans to recycle revenues from its mining operations directly into bitcoin, aligning with what they describe as an innovative treasury approach. The company cited bitcoin’s fixed supply of 21 million, increasing global adoption, and role as a hedge against inflation and monetary instability as key reasons for its decision.

“Combining income streams from gold mining projects and recycling these revenues into a proactive ‘Bitcoin in Treasury’ management approach…” the company said. “Companies that have adopted bitcoin into their treasury strategy globally across public markets have been enjoying significant investor interest as well as substantial premiums to Net Asset Value (NAV) that have challenged traditional financial metrics as a basis of valuation.”

To lead this new phase, Bluebird is actively searching for a new CEO with experience in digital assets.

“On a personal level, I embarked some time ago on a journey to understand and learn about bitcoin,” added Bishop. “I am convinced that we are witnessing a tectonic shift in global markets and that bitcoin will reshape the landscape of financial markets on every level.”

This post UK Gold Mining Company Bluebird to Convert Gold Revenues into Bitcoin first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Oscar Zarraga Perez.

@ 8671a6e5:f88194d1

## ParentCoin; limitless

There's this almost altcoin-like pitch of parenthood these days. I might’ve fallen for the shiny marketing of parenthood — cute baby pics, promises of legacy, the whole “you’ll change the world” vibe. I even heard a would-be mom tell me once (true story) "You know having children, you don't have to be afraid of it, as a dad it doesn't cost as much as you think". \ These people actually believe that. Just like they've fallen for every fiat-scam out there: housing, cars, holidays in France, Nike shoes, 50% taxation, religion and main stream media subscriptions.\ \ It’s 2025, and I’m revisiting this like I’d revisit an old Lightning Network post. \ \ Having kids is like chasing an altcoin airdrop with a slick but buzzword laden whitepaper and a charismatic founder who’s probably exit-scamming as soon as he gets enough of your money in their bank account (yeah you see what I did there). If you're lucky that founder might twerk from time to time to get your attention. But don't hope for too much. Now change that diaper and work an extra job to pay for all of it while inflation murders you.\ \ While you do all that, the most damaging thing about the Having Children Shitcoin (HCS) is the time it takes. It literally can't be shorted like some token on an exchange. It laughs, plays around with your tech gadgets, has to be potty trained (like some altcoin founders) and needs attention, education and a lot of proof of work.\ But the damage is the time. \ The time it takes to do all that, is actually replacing value with time. \ Bitcoin might be a product of proof of work, HCS is not a product but the actual proof of work without the value proposition.\ On top of that, the founder usually lives rent-free in your head your whole life, or even worse: you literally live together with her/him.\ Imagine Satoshi Nakamoto living at your house right now. Like... hi Satoshi.. love your bitcoin man.\ "Yeah, thanks moth**f****r, when are going to buy more skittle and some toilet paper? We ran out 10 minutes ago when I shit all over your dirty toilet, ..."\ "Eh, But Satoshi, why don't you go to the shop to..."\ "Shut up you f'ing a--hole, you made me! You made me what I am today! You liked me when I invented thàh bitcoin right? Now get me some toilet paper and here's a list of items I want from the supermarket! Lazy dumb idiot."\ "You'll clean up the kitchen right?"\ "Yeah yeah, rolls eyes, after my Netflix series man... now get out"\ \ This might sound far-fetched but founders of shitcoins steal your money, while children steal your time ànd money while you have to endure the founders as well.

Time is slowly damaging you while you live your life further and further away from the hard-money proposition. Hell, you even will need to sell some hard money to get by. Because it's a rotten world and children make you short sighted about the future (it limits you to maximum 3 years ahead in my experience with people around me).

Long-term is your enemy Short-term is your prison

You’re hyped for the long-term gains—multi-generational dynasties, just like the elites—but the fine print? It’s a mess. I’m here to unpack the hope, the scepticism, and the grim reality of raising kids in a world that feels like it’s speedrunning towards the absolute bottom. Let me make that clearer:

Our power (as bitcoiners) doesn't grow with these new generations, because we're being out-Idiocracy'd at a rate we can’t reproduce our way out of. Bitcoiners don’t scale. Even if you produce two children that both become die-hard bitcoin maximalists (with a nasal voice and a fondness for TD-sequential analysis.

The Mirage of Birth Having a kid is like snagging a hyped-up crypto airdrop. You’re told it’s “free” value — new life, pure joy, a legacy token dropped into your wallet. Everyone’s tweeting about it, posting ultrasound pics like they just scored 10,000 USDC worth of free shitcoin tokens.

But then the transaction fees hit, getting another place to live more accommodating, getting a school, adopt a dad body demeaner while torpedoing your social life and having no fun other than baking cakes and getting less pussy than a laser pointer with dead batteries. Adjust for inflation), sleepless nights, a vortex of money being vaporized and a lifetime of HODLing a position you can’t dump nor short. You’re basically the holder of last resort for a diatribe of chaos. You’re the entry, the trade, and exit liquidity. The real kicker? Society’s cheering you on while you’re stuck debugging your life and seeing your time drained. You’re frozen in time, while you should be scaling ideas. \ \ Or getting more out of life than being the channelling of funds to a future fiat oppressed kid. Meanwhile, parents (if they stay together that is... with relations with kids having their own version of the bitcoin “halving”, be it every 7 years or so. The parents follow the higher noble goal and get some love and nice moments in return. \ \ They’re stacking diapers instead of sats, living above a dry cleaner next to a subway station that rattles your soul. You can’t short kids, no matter how much you see the “childfree” crowd thriving. The childfree crowd is also not always that neutral, as many of them want this same life, because the marketing, as with many shitcoins is excellent. It makes life more fun, more fulfilling, more whole, while promising you cheap, fast and always immutable transactions. You’re getting duped. \ You buy more stuff, more hobbies no one cares about, and smile at other parents at these gatherings like you’re at the whale room at a bitcoin conference in a bear market. Keep smiling, bitches. That’s you’re life now. The numbers don’t lie. Society sells parenthood as a Bitcoin-level HODL, but the safety net is thinner than a layer-2 solution created by an Albanian exchange.

Raising kids is like betting your airdropped tokens will moon into a blue-chip asset that takes care of you when you’re old. You’re hoping they’ll HODL your hand, not rug-pull you into a nursing home when their “value” spikes. It’s a gamble: will they be decent humans or turn into TikTok zombies? Back in the day, kids were economic assets, working the farm or whatever. Now? You’re praying they don’t ghost you after college or at least recognize all the proof of work you did for them. And yes, you can have a big impact on them, that’s something to be proud of if it works out. But in the end, you are you, a person, with dreams, hopes and needs. \ And your children are too,... they’ll always win. \ \ Teaching them to ride a bike is fun, but it’s like a shitcoin pumping on a founder’s tweet: fleeting, followed by a crash whenever you see the effects of your years of de-progress and social isolation. Socializing with other parents is like making friends with a fellow prisoner of war in some jungle camp, ... you’ll have to be nice because it’s all you have left of society’s pleasantries. So you make small talk or a little joke about a toy someone’s kid has brought to the playground. The real world would see these people piss all over your grave if they could. They’re the figurehead on a ship of fools. And you play along because you’re a total bitch that got stuck in the routine of the famous HCS. Finding trust is hard, certainly in a city’s virtual prison camp where you play Russian roulette for other people’s amusement. It’s like running a Lightning node — fun in theory, but you’re babysitting a system that crashes when you need it most. The highs are real, but “kinda fun” doesn’t cut it when you’re debugging life. \ \ The 35k to 200k € it will cost you throughout your life, is not measurable as gains or losses. Look at the lovely baby pictures, look at their school results, the painting they made especially for you saying “I love you, for the best dad/mom in the whole world”. It hits straight to your brain’s nucleus accumbens. It’s all the balanced injection of the right shot of chemical balanced reward center (ventral tegmental area) food. \ And people with kids wanted that because that’s what the system and urges are. Kids are a leveraged position with no stop-loss, unlike an airdrop you can dump when the hype fades. You’re all-in, praying society doesn’t crash before your “asset” matures. In the meanwhile, you get the occasional surprise through your mesolimbic pathway. \ \ "Happy you" proof of stakes' the unhappy you later. You could be in the Maldives diving into clear water while talking to another “founder”. Funny how that works. \ Meanwhile, the childfree are staking their tokens and chilling. \ Parents aren’t building dynasties; we’re just trying not to get rug-pulled by daycare costs and rotten school-systems that learn our kids to be obedient consumers and non-thinking parrots. It’s a financial social anti-grind with no cure, and the charts, unlike fiat-corporate nonsense, don’t lie.

The elites stack power like blue-chip stocks, minting wealth across centuries. Us? Our kids might be fighting over the leftovers while they battle their way through university diversity and mediocracy. Future generations are supposed to carry the torch, but consumerism and cultural decay make it feel like we’re being out-Idiocracy’d. \ We need to think long-term, teach kids to code, stack sats, and question the system. But above all else, we need them to learn that being more evil is more just. Being complacent in this farce of a system means always, and I mean always, that the multi-generational monsters will prevail. \ \ They’re more stubborn, faster, better educated and they take the shortcuts you can’t have. We have hard money, they have “hard world”.

Conclusion

Eighteen years into this parenting thing (or eight minutes—who’s counting?), it’s clear: kids are a shitcoin airdrop with no exit strategy for you. \ The highs are sweet, the costs are brutal, and the long-term. A gamble on humanity in a world trending toward a broad brush of average things made normal.

Maybe it’s not about winning the bitcoin standard, but betting on something bigger than yourself within yourself, even if that market’s rigged with traps and detractors everywhere. Stack sats, stack diapers, and pray your kids don’t rug-pull your heart. \ Because, let’s face it, we’re not the Rothschilds — we’re just HODLing and hoping. \ While we should be fighting with the hardest money. \ While your baby cries for more food, I hear Michael Jackson sing “If you can’t feed your baby hi hee-hee, then don’t have a baybaah”. \ \ The sad part is, that we're all torn between chasing the fiat-created dreams and the reality that everything is in fact a shitcoin sapping either your time, money or effort. \ Even within the bitcoin space, we don't realize what the next step should be.\ It certainly isn't big families. That's for sure.

AVB\ tipjar: https://allesvoorbitcoin.be/donate/

@ 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

@ cae03c48:2a7d6671

Bitcoin Magazine

The 30,000-Foot View of the Oslo Freedom Forum

As I step onto the plane leaving Gardermoen Airport in Oslo, Norway, the weight and warmth of the past week settles into my chest.

The Oslo Freedom Forum is not a conference. It’s not a summit. It’s something harder to name and even harder to describe — a convergence of courage, truth and defiance that burns through the noise of the modern world and gives you no choice but to listen, feel and act.

For the second time, I leave this city more convinced than ever that something unstoppable is rising. That amid the censorship, surveillance and state repression spreading across the globe, there is a countervailing force rooted in humanity, accelerated by technology and led by those who’ve already paid the price for speaking out.

The Forum doesn’t trade in empty optimism. It delivers a different kind of hope, forged from lived experience and stitched together by people who have been in the dark and still choose to see the light. A hope borne from the stories of individuals who have lived through the worst an authoritarian regime can do and still choose to fight for the freedom of others. The experiences shared were hard. At times, devastating. But they weren’t offered for pity. They were calls to action.

Just days after she was abducted, blindfolded, tortured, and sexually assaulted in a Tanzanian prison cell, Agather Atuhaire stood in front of a crowd of strangers and told her story.

Her voice did not tremble.

The Ugandan journalist and lawyer had traveled to Tanzania in solidarity with fellow East African dissidents, only to be disappeared in a black van alongside Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi.

And yet, against all odds, she came back. Not just to her home in Uganda, but also to the stage in Oslo, where she spoke calmly and clearly about what it means to tell the truth under a dictatorship.

Her presentation, “The Digital Free Speech Crackdown in Uganda,” laid bare the authoritarian playbook: social media blackouts, propaganda campaigns, surveillance of journalists and the slow financial asphyxiation of independent media. When the government doesn’t like a story, it simply blocks the platform or website. When a journalist digs too deep, they disappear for a while. Or forever. Atuhaire painted a picture many struggle to even imagine.

And yet, after everything, she didn’t just recount these struggles. She looked out at the crowd and thanked the open source builders and contributors who write code and create tools that make it possible for activists like her to speak, move money and organize under regimes that want them silenced, or worse.

(Ugandan journalist and lawyer, Agather Atuhaire, speaks during the Freedom Tech track at the 2025 Oslo Freedom Forum.)

From Iran, independent Bitcoin educator Ziya Sadr reminded us that financial privacy is not a luxury but a necessary lifeline for those facing the financial repression by oppressive rulers. Sadr’s detainment during the 2022 Women, Life, Freedom movement following the murder of Mahsa Amini by the Iranian regime is a testament to that. Without financial privacy, activists’ actions, connections and finances are exposed to a regime equipped with widespread financial controls and a sophisticated, restrictive internet firewall that rivals even China’s.

The result is one of the most repressive digital environments in the world. And if that wasn’t enough, the Iranian rial currency has lost more than 80% of its value in just a few years.

Against this backdrop, Iranians are using bitcoin as undebasable savings, and to buy digital services like VPNs in order to access the open internet. But even that act, just reaching the outside world, requires a level of privacy most of us take for granted.

In his presentation, “Securing Lifelines: The Bitcoin Privacy Imperative,” Sadr shared that many Iranians turn to Bitcoin Coinjoins, a privacy technique that breaks the link between Bitcoin transaction inputs. Coinjoins preserve user transaction privacy and, more importantly, shield Iranians from the surveillance and retaliation of a regime who punishes anyone trying to access information beyond its tightly controlled digital spaces. The use of Coinjoins is becoming more difficult as global legal pressure mounts against open source developers, and in the aftermath of the Samourai developer arrests, privacy protocols like Whirlpool are unworkable.

Today, Sadr is learning more about additional Bitcoin privacy tools, including Paykoin, a privacy method that allows two users to contribute an input to a Bitcoin transaction. Payjoin breaks common chain analysis heuristics and conceals the sender and receiver of a transaction as well as the payment amount. Then there is ecash, a form of digital cash backed by Bitcoin that enables very private, everyday payments with the custodial trade-off of trusting mints (entities that issue and redeem ecash tokens) to store user funds.

The continued development of these protocols is crucial for Iranians, who live under a government that not only tracks and surveils digital behavior, but also imposes automatic fines on women for violating hijab rules and manipulates currency exchange rates to profit off citizens’ savings. For millions in Iran, bitcoin offers a last line of defense against a collapsing currency, intrusive surveillance and total financial repression.

(Independent Iranian Bitcoin educator, Ziya Sadr, speaks during the Freedom Tech track at the Oslo Freedom Forum.)

Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López took the stage at the 2025 Oslo Freedom Forum not as a politician, but as a witness to what happens when a state turns its institutions into further tendrils of its repression machine.

After Nicolás Maduro stole Venezuela’s 2024 elections, López watched thousands of his fellow people — activists, students, journalists, opposition members and lawyers — get arrested, disappeared or forced into exile. The regime blocked access to social media, revoked passports, criminalized dissent and used the financial system as a means of controlling the population.

Amid this digital repression and Venezuela’s 162% inflation rate, López sees bitcoin (decentralized money) and Nostr (decentralized social media) as lifelines. When dictators shut down the internet or freeze your bank account, alternatives that are open source, decentralized, uncensorable and accessible become more important than ever for the survival of democracy and freedom.

**“Decentralized resistance is the convergence of people, Bitcoin, Nostr, and AI.

People, it’s about the center and the end of what we are doing.

Brave women and men who sacrifice their freedom, who take risks, who are willing to fight for other people.

If it’s not about people, technology wouldn’t be something worth fighting for.

Bitcoin is freedom money. It’s decentralized, nobody controls it, nobody can stop it, it can move around without borders.”**

(Venezuelan Opposition Leader Leopoldo López during the Freedom Tech track at the 2025 Oslo Freedom Forum.)

For decades, Paraguay’s greatest natural resource, hydroelectric power, has flowed out of the country through international contracts, fueling development in neighboring countries like Brazil and Argentina while one in four Paraguayans remained trapped in poverty. Paraguay’s Itaipu Dam, one of the largest in the world, has long symbolized this paradox: a river of energy diverted away from the very people who need it most.

Björn Schmidtke and Delia Garcete of Penguin Group are flipping that script.

In a landmark move, they secured Paraguay’s first 100-megawatt power purchase agreement, marking the beginning of a bold experiment to reclaim that energy for the people of Paraguay. Instead of selling it off to foreign powers, they use it to mine Bitcoin — and the proc

@ cae03c48:2a7d6671

Bitcoin Magazine

Pakistan’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve: A Step Toward Orange-Pilling a Nation?

Pakistan’s relationship with Bitcoin has been marked by inconsistency and confusion over the past few years. Initially, the country outright banned bitcoin trading in 2018, citing concerns over fraud, money laundering and lack of regulation. However, over time, their stance softened and regulators began exploring the technology behind Bitcoin with courts even questioning the legality of the ban. Eventually, citizens were allowed to hold bitcoin, though trading remained murky and unregulated. This back-and-forth approach has created a confusing environment, where Bitcoin exists in a legal gray area. It is technically allowed, yet not fully embraced or regulated, reflecting the state’s struggle to balance innovation with control.

PAKISTAN TO ESTABLISH NATIONAL STRATEGIC #BITCOIN RESERVE

Honored to have had the Pakistan Minister Bilal Bin Saqib at the Bitcoin Conference pic.twitter.com/7WunP5fuZm

— The Bitcoin Conference (@TheBitcoinConf) May 29, 2025

This muddled relationship with Bitcoin seems to have turned a corner in recent weeks as Bilal Bin Saqib, head of the Pakistan Crypto Council, at the Bitcoin 2025 Conference in Las Vegas announced that the country is moving to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve. Furthermore, he announced the allocation of 2,000 megawatts of excess energy to Bitcoin mining and high-performance computer data centers. The Ministry of Finance has also commissioned the establishment of an entirely new agency to oversee digital asset regulation which could lead to a less opaque legal framework around bitcoin ownership and usage in everyday transactions.

Critics have argued that this is merely an attempt by Pakistan to cozy up to Trump in the aftermath of the recent skirmish with India. After all, Saqib did state that Pakistan was inspired by the Trump administration when he spoke at the recent Las Vegas Bitcoin conference. Others have asserted that Pakistan is merely seeking to build resistance to possible sanctions in the future over its support for terrorist groups. I believe that such a geopolitically focused critique overlooks a deeper economic reality that has been staring Pakistan in the face for many years. 

I wrote an article for a Pakistani newspaper about a year ago in which I argued that the country is uniquely situated, in economic terms, to take advantage of Bitcoin and unlock the benefits that come with adoption. Pakistan suffers from rampant inflation, stagnant capital formation, depleted foreign reserves, an inefficient bureaucracy and an overreliance on remittances from abroad. These systemic issues have eroded citizens’ faith in traditional financial systems, leaving many Pakistanis disillusioned and seeking alternative means to safeguard their wealth and economic autonomy. 

Thus, nurturing a culture of Bitcoin adoption could go a long way toward alleviating much of these economic ills and empowering citizens to take control of their financial future. By earning and trading a form of currency that is deflationary in nature, Pakistanis can protect themselves from the downsides of the macroeconomic trends that have decimated the living standards of this once proud nation. Bitcoin adoption could transform the country’s lively remittance sector, with receivers keeping more of the money they are sent. It could also emancipate people from the inefficient banking system that is such a drain on the people. Permissionless transactions could also empower the beleaguered minorities who often struggle to achieve financial freedom. 

The announcement of a strategic Bitcoin reserve, as well as promises to introduce pro-Bitcoin regulation and a mining strategy, are steps in the right direction. They show that the mood is shifting and the country is starting to take a serious look at the only real digital currency in town. These steps also point to a much broader, global shift in attitudes toward Bitcoin — especially in nations where hyperinflation is a daily reality and the banking system struggles to meet citizens’ needs. 

However, real change will only come when Pakistan fully legalizes bitcoin as a digital currency and takes steps toward mass adoption. Only then will ordinary Pakistani citizens be free to trade with people from all over the world without the need to rely on the local banking system. Only then will financial autonomy become an achievable goal for those living far away from the big cities where banks are based. Only then will women be free to earn, store and transact in a digital currency that is resistant to cultural barriers. 

Creating a national strategic reserve merely signals that a nation believes in bitcoin as an asset with the potential to offer a reliable return. It does not signal that a nation has adopted the digital currency as a means to overcome the obstacles imposed by fiat. Strategic national reserves also hoard bitcoin and bring it too close to the state, even though the digital currency was designed to be a hedge against state-controlled money. As such, a reserve does not unlock the true potential of bitcoin to act as a buffer against domestic inflation, currency devaluation and a cumbersome banking system. 

A strategic Bitcoin reserve is a step in the right direction for Pakistan, as it would be for any nation that suffers from hyperinflation. But only mass adoption will truly unlock the immense potential Bitcoin can offer to a nation such as Pakistan and we have a long way to go before that becomes a reality. 

In my view, strategic reserves are not what bitcoin is all about, but let’s hope this is merely the first step in a long and prosperous journey toward orange-pilling a nation.

This post Pakistan’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve: A Step Toward Orange-Pilling a Nation? first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Ghaffar Hussain.

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Dies ist Teil 3 des Essays. Lesen Sie hier Teil 1 und Teil 2.

IV  Denazifizierungsstopp und die „abgesagte“ NS-Aufarbeitung in der Adenauer-Ära

„Nie wieder Krieg, nie wieder Faschismus!“

Dieses Gelöbnis erfuhr seine Ausformulierung, als die durch Krieg und Verfolgung charakterlich tief geprägten und für ihr Leben gezeichneten Väter und Mütter des Grundgesetzes sich 1948 zum Parlamentarischen Rat versammelten. Dort hat man vor dem Erfahrungshintergrund des Totalitarismus Nazi-Deutschlands in den neunzehn Grundrechtsartikeln die Rechte der Menschen vor dem Staat festgeschrieben, die gegen staatliche „Willkür, Ungerechtigkeit und Gewalt“ (25) schützen sollen. Sie wurden zur Grundlage eines neuen Staatsverständnisses, das vom Humanismus und dem Geist der Aufklärung getragen sein sollte. Das Gelöbnis fand seinen verfassungsmäßigen Ausdruck also im Grundgesetz, das am 23. Mai 1949 feierlich in Bonn verkündet wurde. Dessen Geist manifestiert sich besonders in der sogenannten Ewigkeitsklausel der Menschenwürde (Art.1), die den Grundrechtsartikeln, dem Kanon der Menschen- und Bürgerrechte, vorangestellt wurde.

Doch die Unterschriften unter dem Grundgesetz waren kaum trocken, da wurde dieses Gelöbnis schon durch die Frontstaatenideologie des Kalten Krieges überlagert, konterkariert und in der Praxis sukzessive aufgehoben. Der Kalte Krieg hatte bereits begonnen und seine Akteure bedienten sich ungeniert der Vorurteile und Stereotypen, mit denen die Deutschen noch gut aus dem Dritten Reich vertraut waren. Grundiert vom militanten Anti-Kommunismus, der bekanntlich auch die Nazi-Ideologie stark angetrieben hatte, verstärkt durch die Wiederbewaffnung mit der sie begleitenden Aufnahme der BRD in die NATO, konsolidiert in der Zeit der Adenauer-Restauration in den 1950er Jahren, in der ein konservativ-elitäres Staatsdenken gegenüber radikaldemokratischen Bestrebungen klar dominieren und sich durchsetzen sollte, erwies die Aufarbeitung der NS-Vergangenheit sich als der größte und folgenreichste Rohrkrepierer in der Geschichte der noch jungen zweiten deutschen Republik. Erst mit den Frankfurter Auschwitz-Prozessen und stärker dann noch im Zusammenhang mit der Studentenrevolte Ende der 1960er Jahre sollte es zu neuen ernsthaften Bemühungen um gesellschaftliche Aufarbeitung kommen. 

Adenauers Ankündigung einer Beendigung der NS-Aufarbeitung, die er bereits in seiner ersten Regierungserklärung 1949 (!) vor dem Bundestag gab, dürfte auch und gerade aus heutiger Sicht von deutlich wichtigerer Bedeutung für das Fortleben autoritär-rechtsextremer, völkischer und nationalsozialistischer Gesinnungen und Haltungen in Deutschland gewesen sein als der Einzug der AfD in den Bundestag 2017, einschließlich aller geschichtsvergessenen und in ihrer Wortwahl geschmacklosen Äußerungen ihrer Politiker seither. 

Bemerkenswert sind die Worte, mit der Adenauer so früh der gesellschaftlichen Aufarbeitung der NS-Zeit eine klare Absage erteilte:

„Durch die Denazifizierung ist viel Unglück und viel Unheil angerichtet worden. (...) Im Übrigen dürfen wir nicht mehr zwei Klassen von Menschen in Deutschland unterscheiden, die politisch Einwandfreien und die politisch Nicht-Einwandfreien. Diese Unterscheidung muss baldigst verschwinden.“ (26)

Rasch wurden daraufhin die gesetzlichen Grundlagen geschaffen, um in den im Aufbau befindlichen bundesdeutschen Verwaltungsapparat über 50.000 NS-belastete Beamte wiedereinzugliedern, darunter auch viele, die zuvor dem Nazi-Unrechtsstaat als Mitglieder der Gestapo und der SS gedient hatten. Besonders im Bundesjustizministerium hatte ein Netzwerk aus Alt-Nazis unterhalb der ministeriellen Leitungsebene bis in die 1960er Jahre hinein das Sagen, mit großen, noch immer nicht vollständig aufgearbeiteten Auswirkungen auf die Gesetzgebung, durch die NS-Verbrecher in der BRD auf verschiedene Weisen vor Strafverfolgung geschützt wurden.  

Den ideologischen Hintergrund bildet dafür der Konservatismus, dem Adenauer, die CDU/CSU und andere politisch einflussreichen Kräfte anhingen, genauer gesagt das Elitedenken, das für diesen Konservatismus konstitutiv ist. Es erklärt, dass die Regierung lieber auf die alte Elite, auch wenn sie in weiten Teilen nationalsozialistisch belastet war, zurückgriff als ein neues, demokratisch-selbstbewusstes Beamtentum zu begründen und eine aus den verschiedenen Facetten des Widerstandes sich rekrutierende Führungsschicht aufzubauen. Denn die geeigneten Personen für diese Führungsschicht hätte man weitgehend nicht im eigenen Lager, sondern im Lager der politischen Gegner, bei Sozialdemokraten, Sozialisten, Kommunisten und Linksliberalen finden können. 

Fazit: Im Handumdrehen wurde der an das „Nie-Wieder!“– Versprechen an die zukünftigen Generationen geknüpfte, zumindest teilweise ernsthaft und aufrichtig angestrebte Neuanfang –verstanden als ein radikal zu vollziehender Bruch mit der faschistischen Vergangenheit – hintertrieben, entstellt, entkräftet und um seine Wirkung gebracht. Dabei spielte nicht zuletzt die schnell wieder angekurbelte Feindbildproduktion und Russophobie („alle Wege der Linken, Friedensfreunde, Anti-Militaristen und Neutralitätsbefürworter führen nach Moskau!“), eine wichtige Rolle.

Es ist daher kein Zufall, dass sie uns so verblüffend ähnlich auch heute wieder in Politik und Medien begegnet. Sie ist ein Herzstück der deutschen Nachkriegs-Lebenslüge namens „Vergangenheitsbewältigung“. Hier gilt einmal mehr der Satz, dass Untote bekanntlich länger leben.

Sie macht sich heute auch darin bemerkbar, dass die Tatsache, dass es sich bei dem Krieg gegen Russland nicht um einen Eroberungskrieg, sondern um einen Vernichtungsfeldzug gegen eine „minderwertige Rasse und Kultur“ handelte, im kollektiven Bewusstsein der Deutschen nicht verankert wurde. Sonst hätte der Hass auf die Russen und alles Russische gesellschaftlich nicht wieder hoffähig werden können.

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Exkurs zum Niedergang der deutschen Sozialdemokratie

Im Ringen um den Weg, den die Bundesrepublik in den 1950er Jahren nehmen sollte, wurden damals Sozialdemokraten, die sich nicht bedingungslos der Bollwerks- und Frontstaaten-Ideologie des Kalten Kriegs unterwarfen, als „vaterlandslose Gesellen“ diffamiert. Die SPD tat sich immer schwer damit, der Demagogie der bürgerlichen Parteien etwas entgegenzusetzen, da Antikommunismus bei breiten Teilen der Bevölkerung, getreu der Devise „je primitiver, desto besser bzw. wirkungsvoller“, auch nach Hitler verfing. 

Heute schlägt die Sozialdemokratische Partei die Aufrüstungs- und Kriegstrommel lieber selber kräftig mit und diffamiert die Angehörigen der Friedensbewegung und Verfechter einer Détente mit Russland als „Putin-Freunde“ und „Russlandversteher“ oder gar, ins absurd Metaphysische gesteigert als “gefallene Engel aus der Hölle“ (Olaf Scholz).

Mit dem Friedensnobelpreisträger und NS-Widerstandskämpfer Willy Brandt an der Spitze fuhr die SPD ihren größten Wahlerfolg ein – die von ihm geführte erhielt in der Bundestagswahl 1972 45,8 Prozent. Außenpolitisch überzeugte sie mit „Wandel durch Annäherung“ und „Wir wollen ein Volk guter Nachbar sein“. Nun ist sie beim Führungspersonal bei einem farblosen Apparatschik und Waffenlobbyisten (27) namens Lars Klingbeil und 16,4 % der Wählerstimmen angekommen. Zumindest die ebenso blasse und ideenlose Saskia Esken, die bei vielen einzig und allein für ihre Diffamierung von Demonstranten gegen das Corona-Unrecht („Covidioten“) in Erinnerung bleiben wird, zieht aus ihrer Unbeliebtheit nun die Konsequenz und tritt ab.

Indem die SPD, in Anbetracht der Friedensinitiativen Trumps die Chance verstreichen lässt, sich selbst in ihrer Politik gegenüber Russland zu korrigieren, um doch noch auf den Pfad der Diplomatie zurückzukehren und zu verhindern, dass auch noch der letzte Rest sozialdemokratischer Substanz über Bord geworfen wird, setzt Sozen-Konkursbeschleuniger Klingbeil zusammen mit BlackRock-Millionär Merz auf den Scholzschen Zeitenwende-Wahnsinn von 100 Milliarden für die Rüstung lieber noch weitere 500 Milliarden Euro drauf. Er und der den Kommiss-Ton perfekt beherrschende Pistorius, mit seinen Einlassungen zum „russischen Diktatfrieden“, der, wenn man ihn denn schon unbedingt so nennen will, ja nicht zuletzt auf das Konto der diplomatischen Untätigkeit der deutschen Regierung geht, besiegeln durch das von der Schuldenbremse befreite, in puncto Kostspieligkeit nach oben offene Aufrüstungs- und Militarisierungsprogramm, unter das in Wirklichkeit auch ein großer Teil der geplanten Infrastrukturmaßnahmen subsummiert werden wird (28), das Schicksal der ältesten Partei Deutschlands. Wissen diese SPD-Politiker wirklich nicht, was sie tun, wenn sie für die Profite der Rüstungswirtschaft alles verraten und auf lange Sicht verspielen, wofür diese Partei außen- und sozialpolitisch einmal stand und wofür sie gewählt wurde?    

All das, was die SPD als Friedens- und Entspannungspartei einmal zur stärksten politischen Kraft gemacht hat, wird nun wie im Wahn von ihr verleugnet und mutwillig, geschichtsvergessen-revanchistisch zerstört. Und nicht nur das: Die SPD liefert den Rechten (nein, nicht der AfD, sondern den sonstigen Extremisten der Mitte!) den Grund, den neoliberal bereits entkernten Sozialstaat weiter – ab jetzt aber mit Bulldozern statt mit der Spitzhacke – zu zerstören. Sie nimmt dafür auch weitere, schwere Beschädigungen der Legitimität unserer ohnehin dahinsiechenden Demokratie in Kauf. Die Demokratie liegt nämlich seit Corona bei uns auf der Intensivstation und muss, u.a. durch regierungsfinanzierte „NGOs“ und staatlich organisierte Anti-AfD-Demonstrationen, künstlich beatmet werden!

Schließlich war die SPD zusammen mit der Merz-Union sogar bereit, einen kalten Putsch gegen die Integrität des Parlamentarismus und die elementaren Spielregeln der Demokratie durchzuführen. Mit diesem Putsch hat man im abgewählten 20. Bundestag noch schnell politisch äußerst weitreichende Grundgesetzänderungen durchgesetzt – und das gegen die neuen Mehrheiten des bereits gewählten 21. Bundestages! Die durch Bruch des Wahlversprechens ermöglichte Grundgesetzänderung, stellt einen besonders beschämenden Akt der Machtanmaßung, Wählerverhöhnung und Demokratiemissachtung dar. Und sie verfehlte ihre Wirkung nicht. Kurz darauf konnten die Demoskopen neue Rekordwerte für die AfD messen, die nun als stärkste Partei noch vor der CDU lag. Das Merz-Manöver dürfte im Übrigen dafür gesorgt haben, dass ihm nach der Wahl zum Bundeskanzler, die ja alles andere als glatt verlief, ein Makel anhängt, der so gravierend ist, dass er für den Rest seiner Amtszeit (hoffentlich) nicht mehr zu tilgen sein wird.

Das besonders Irre, das nicht nur den Fall der SPD beschreibt, ihr Versagen aber besonders plastisch hervorhebt, ist, dass es seit Beginn des Ukraine-Kriegs innerhalb der EU (mit Ausnahme Orbans) keine diplomatischen Initiativen gegeben hat, um mit Russland wieder ins Gespräch zu kommen. Im Rückblick wirken da selbst die Kalten Krieger vor und während der Ostpolitik von Willy Brandt wie Appeasement-Politiker. 

Stattdessen war wiederholt eine Bundesaußenministerin zu vernehmen, die offenbar nur sehr eingeschränkt dazu imstande ist, ihre sprachliche Performanz dem hohen Amt angemessen zu kontrollieren. Sie wollte öffentlich „Russland ruinieren“ und erklärte dem Land ein anderes Mal, vor dem Europarat, beiläufig den Krieg. Dass Baerbock, die in ihrer Amtszeit in fast jedes diplomatische Fettnäpfchen getreten ist, jetzt zur zweithöchsten UN-Chef-Diplomatin gewählt wurde, ist Realsatire pur!

Polemik als geistiger Notwehrakt 

Doch Halt! – Gerade merke ich, wie mich mein Hang zur Polemik fortzureißen beginnt!

Die Polemik ist ein hilfreiches (und noch nicht ganz verbotenes!) geistiges Notwehr-Mittel in Zeiten eines zunehmend aggressiv aufgeheizten gesellschaftlichen Klimas. Wie soll man nicht zum Polemiker und Satiriker angesichts des grassierenden Wahnsinns der Politik und ihrer vielen verrückt und absurd anmutenden Pathologien und Regressionen werden, hinter denen bei genauerem Hinsehen dann doch oft auch Kalkül vermutet werden muss? Wie sind sie anders als Vorgänge zu deuten, die zur Abwicklung der Demokratie führen sollen? Vorgänge, die durch eben jene Kräfte betrieben werden, die „unsere Demokratie“ inflationär lobpreisen und nicht müde werden, ihre „Werte“ in Sonntagsreden hervorzuheben. Gleichzeitig werden diese Werte aber durch Cancel Culture, Zensur und Denunziation massiv von ihnen angegriffen und von innen immer weiter ausgehöhlt.

Definitiv verhält es sich heute so, dass der Hang zur Polemik dem Umstand geschuldet wird, dass wir mittlerweile in schier unglaublichen Zeiten von Travestie-Ausgeburten  leben. Diese machen es uns immer schwerer, nicht ganz die Bodenhaftung zu verlieren. All die wahnwitzigen Phänomenen, die wie wildgewordene Säue tagein tagaus durch das globale Dorf der Massenmedien in Echtzeit** getrieben werden, sie gefährden das Restvertrauen in den gesunden Menschenerstand und schränken die Möglichkeiten stark ein, einen halbwegs stabilen, geerdeten, vernunftgeleiteten Realitätsbezug aufrechtzuerhalten.

Und doch soll hier nicht ein weiteres Mal in dieser Façon mit der Regierungspolitik abgerechnet werden. Auf der Suche nach den tieferen Gründen für diese negativen Entwicklungen, soll stattdessen im zeithistorischen Material an einigen neuralgischen Stellen genauer nachgesehen und an der Oberfläche gekratzt werden, um die blinden Flecken bundesrepublikanischer Selbstwahrnehmung sichtbar zu machen.

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Bernd Schoepe, Jahrgang 1965,  Studium der Soziologie, Germanistik, Philosophie und Erziehungswissenschaften in Frankfurt/M. und Hamburg. Erstes und zweites Staatsexamen. Freier Autor, der zu bildungspolitischen, bildungssoziologischen- und bildungsphilosophischen Themen schreibt. Seit 2003 im Hamburger Schuldienst. Langjähriges GEW-Betriebsgruppen-Mitglied, ehem. Vertrauensmann, ehem. Mitglied der Hamburger Lehrerkammer. Hauptberuflich bin ich Politik- Deutsch- und Philosophielehrer an einer Hamburger Stadtteilschule. Kontakt: berndschoepe\@gmx.de

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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.
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Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin Layer 2: Statechains

Statechains are an original second layer protocol originally developed by Ruben Somsen in 2018, depending on the eltoo (or LN Symmetry) proposal. In 2021 a variation of the original proposal, Mercury, was built by CommerceBlock. In 2024, a further iteration of the original Mercury scheme was built, Mercury Layer. 

The Statechain protocol is a bit more complicated to discuss compared to other systems such as Ark or Lightning because of the range of variations that are possible between the original proposed design, the two that have been actually implemented, and other possible designs that have been loosely proposed. 

Like Ark, Statechains depend on a centralized coordinating server in order to function. Unlike Ark, they have a slightly different trust model than a vUTXO in an Ark batch. They depend on the coordinating server to delete previously generated shares of a private key in order to remain trustless, but as long as the server follows the defined protocol and does so, they provide a strong security guarantee. 

The general idea of a Statechain is to be able to transfer ownership of an entire UTXO between different users off-chain, facilitated by the coordinator. There is no requirement for receiving liquidity like Lightning, or the coordinator server to provide any liquidity like Ark. 

To begin, we will look at the original protocol proposed by Ruben Somsen. 

The Original Statechain

Statechains are effectively a pre-signed transaction allowing the current owner of the Statechain to unilaterally withdraw on-chain whenever they want, and a history signed messages cryptographically proving that past owners and the receivers they sent the Statechain to approved those transfers. 

The original design was built on eltoo using ANYPREVOUT, but the current plans on how to enable the same functionality make use of CHECKTEMPLATEVERIFY and CHECKSIGFROMSTACK (a high level explanation of this is at the end of the CHECKSIGFROMSTACK article). The basic idea is a script enabling a pre-signed transaction to spend any UTXO that has that script and locks the appropriate amount of bitcoin, rather than being tied to spending a single specific UTXO. 

In the protocol, a user wishing to deposit their coins to a Statechain approaches a coordinator server and goes through a deposit protocol. The depositing user, Bob, generates a key that will be uniquely owned by him, but also a second “transitory” key that will eventually be shared (more on this soon). They then craft a deposit transaction locking their coin to a multisig requiring the coordinator’s key and the transitory key to sign. 

Using this multisig, Bob and the coordinator sign a transaction that spends that coin and creates a UTXO that can either be spent by any other transaction signed by the transitory key and the coordinator’s key using LN Symmetry, or Bob’s unique key after a timelock. Bob can now fund the multisig with the appropriate amount, and the Statechain has been created. 

To transfer a Statechain to Charlie, Bob must go through a multistep process. First, Bob signs a message with his unique private key that attests to the fact he is going to transfer the Statechain to Charlie. Charlie must also sign a message attesting to the fact that he has received the Statechain from Bob. Finally, the coordinator server must sign a new transaction allowing Charlie to unilaterally claim the Statechain on-chain before Bob sends Charlie a copy of the transitory key. 

All of this is made atomic using adapter signatures. These are signatures that are modified in such a way using a random piece of data that renders them invalid, but can be made valid again once the holder of the signature receives that piece of information. All of the messages, and the new pre-signed transaction are signed with adapter signatures, and atomically made valid at the same time through the release of the adapter data. 

Holders of a Statechain must trust that the coordinator server never conspires with a previous owner to sign an immediate closure of the Statechain and steal funds from the current owner, but the chain of pre-signed messages can prove that a coordinator has participated in theft if they were to do so. If a past owner attempts to use their pre-signed transaction to steal the funds, the timelock on the spend path using only their key allows the current owner to submit their pre-signed transaction and correctly claim the funds on chain. 

Mercury and Mercury Layer

The original Statechain architecture requires a softfork in order to function. CommerceBlock designed their variant of Statechains to function without a softfork, but in order to do so tradeoffs were made in terms of functionality. 

The basic idea is the same as the original design, all users hold a pre-signed transaction that allows them to claim their funds unilaterally, and the coordinator server still plays a role in facilitating off-chain transfers that requires them to be trusted to behave honestly. The two major differences are how those transactions are signed, and the structure of the pre-signed transaction users are given. 

Where the signing is concerned, there is no longer a transitory private key that is passed from user to user. Instead of this, a multiparty-computation protocol (MPC) is used so that the original owner and the coordinator server are able to collaboratively generate partial pieces of a private key without either of them ever possessing the full key. This key is used to sign the pre-signed transactions. The MPC protocol allows the current owner and coordinator to engage in a second protocol with a third party, the receiver of a transfer, to regenerate different pieces that add up to the same private key. In both the Mercury and Mercury Layer protocol, after completing a transfer an honest coordinator server deletes the key material corresponding to the previous owner. As long as this is done, it is no longer possible for the coordinator to sign a transaction with a previous owner, as the new piece of key material they have is not compatible with the piece any previous owner might still have. This is actually a stronger guarantee, as long as the coordinator is honest, than the original proposal.

The pre-signed transaction structure for Mercury and Mercury Layer can’t use LN Symmetry, as this is not possible without a softfork. In lieu of this, CommerceBlock opted to use decrementing timelocks. The original owner’s pre-signed transaction is timelocked using nLocktime to a time far out in the future from the point of the Statechain’s creation. As each subsequent user receives the Statechain during a transfer, the nLocktime value of their transaction is some pre-determined length of time shorter than the previous owner. This guarantees that a previous owner is incapable of even trying to submit their transaction on-chain before the current owner can, but it also means that eventually at some point the current owner must close their Statechain on-chain before previous owners’ transactions start becoming valid. 

The major difference between Mercury and Mercury Layer is how these transactions are signed. In the case of Mercury, the coordinator server simply sees the transaction proposed, verifies it, and then signs it. Mercury Layer uses a blind-signing protocol, meaning that they do not actually see any details of the transaction they are signing. This necessitates the server tracking Statechains using anonymized records on the server, and a special authorization key of the current owner so that they can be sure they are only signing valid transfers. 

Synergy With Other Layers

Statechains can synergize with other Layer 2s that are based on pre-signed transactions. For instance, part of the original proposal suggested a combination of Statechains and Lightning Channels. Because both are simply pre-signed transactions, it is possible to actually nest a Lightning channel on top of a Statechain. This simply requires the current owner’s unilateral exit key to be a multisig, and the creation of the pre-signed transactions spending that output into a Lightning channel. This allows Lightning channels to be opened and closed entirely off-chain. 

In a similar fashion, it is possible to nest a Statechain on top of a vUTXO in an Ark batch. This simply requires the pre-signed transactions necessary for a Statechain to be constructed, spending the vUTXO output. 

Wrapping Up

Statechains are not entirely trustless, but they are a very trust minimized scheme that is very liquidity efficient and allows freely transferring UTXOs off-chain between any users willing to accept the trust model of Statechains. 

While the original proposal has yet to be built, the two implementations designed by CommerceBlock have been completely implemented. Both failed to achieve anything more than marginal use in the real world. Whether this is due to users being unwilling to accept the trust model involved, or simply a failure in marketing or awareness is something that cannot be fully ascertained. 

Regardless, given that there are two full implementations and designs for a more flexible variation should LN Symmetry ever become possible on Bitcoin, this an option

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Originalni tekst

Autor: Dr Srđan Radulović, docent na Pravnom fakultetu Univerziteta u Prištini sa privremenim sedištem u Kosovskoj Mitrovici

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Rezime

Bitkoin kao virtuelni sistem za plaćanje predstavljen je krajem 2008. godine. Ipak, i danas nedostaju odgovori na neka od fundamentalnih pitanja. Jedno od tih pitanja je da li je Bitkoin zaista novac ili nešto sasvim drugo.

Bitkoin kao sistem primarno je dizajniran ne sa ciljem da se stvori „nova vrsta novca“ u najužem smislu već sa ciljem da se stvori platforma koja obezbeđuje da se transfer vrednosti izvrši na što je efikasniji način moguće. Ipak, iako to nije suštinski, bitkoin ima kapacitet da preuzme ulogu novca, a taj kapacitet je prepoznat i u sudskim odlukama. Prepoznajući i uvažavajući taj kapacitet, u ovom radu prezentujemo rezultate pretežno empirijskog istraživanja sprovedenog prethodno o nestabilnoj, ali opet izrazito deflatornoj prirodi bitkoina i njenom uticaju na novčane obligacije. Konkretno, iako bi ideja mogla biti kontroverzna iz više razloga, a volatilna priroda „cene” bitkoina je svakako jedan od njih, smatramo da periodična depresijacija njegove vrednosti ne znači da je bitkoin inflatoran. Naprotiv, bitkoin je deflatoran po prirodi. Različiti ugrađeni mehanizmi, ali i novi načini primene ističu tu prirodu. Dakle, u radu koristimo različite tehnike analitičkog metoda, najpre da izdvojimo različite deflatorne mehanizme, kako one programirane tako i one faktičke, a zatim i da ih opišemo. Dalje, u radu koristimo sintetičke metode, najpre generalizaciju i apstrakciju, da sumiramo rezultate istraživanja koji potvrđuju kao tačnu polaznu hipotezu da je bitkoin po prirodi izrazito deflatoran i pored njegove nestabilnosti, te da se može koristiti kao zaštitni mehanizam u monetarnim obligacijama.

Ključne reči: Bitkoin, novčane obligacije, ugovor, valutne klauzule, kriptovalutne klauzule, deflacija.

1. Uvod

Evolucija novca neraskidivo je povezana sa tehnološkim napretkom, iako je novac evoluirao značajno sporije zbog pravnih ili kulturnih ograničenja (Calcaterra, Kaal, Rao, 2020: 202-203). Prirodno, pojava digitalne tehnologije podstakla je ideju o generisanju imovine slične gotovini (1) koja se može deponovati i prenositi u digitalnom formatu. Zanimljivo, treća industrijska revolucija oživela je teoriju da su privatni entiteti, ako im se dozvoli, sposobni da obezbede barem jednako pouzdane „kovanice“ kao i one koje stvara država (Hayek, 1976: 24). Kako se kompleksna visokotehnološka infrastruktura koja omogućava potpuno transparentno i unapred određeno izdavanje postepeno razvijala, teorija se činila manje utopijskom (Syropyatov, 2021: 324). Treća industrijska revolucija donela je uzbudljive projekte od kojih su neki postali vrlo uspešni i oni su, u zavisnosti od istorijske interpretacije, inicirali četvrtu ili čak petu veliku promenu novca (Radulović, 2021: 30). Smatra se da DigiCash postavlja tehničku i ideološku osnovu za moderne digitalne valute (Turudić, Milić & Štulina, 2017: 193; Roth, 2015: 528). Ipak, nijedan od ranijih projekata, uglavnom zbog svoje neefikasne centralizovane infrastrukture (Cavalhiero, Cavalhiero, 2022: 209), nije postao ni približno uspešan kao najradikalniji (Hutchinson & Dowd, 2015: 357) – „Bitkoin: Peer-to-peer sistem elektronskog novca“ (Nakamoto, 2008: 1-9).

Bitkoin je prvi uspešan primer demonopolizacije tržišta fiat valuta kroz postepenu implementaciju novca koji izdaju privatni entiteti (Syropyatov, 2021: 319-320). Kako savremeno društvo teži decentralizovanim rešenjima za ljudsku interakciju (Calcaterra, Kaal, Rao, 2020: 193), u gotovo savršenom okruženju za svoj uspeh (Đorđević, 2018: 96), Bitkoin (2) se pokazao kao koristan ekonomski (Đorđević, 2018: 100), ali i pravni instrument (3).

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1. Za više o različitim imovinama sličnim novcu, videti: Karame & Androulaki, 2016: 11-13.

2. U ovom članku, kako bismo precizno razlikovali Bitkoin kao operativni softver, sistem ili mrežu od bitkoina kao digitalne imovine (podataka ili valute određene vrednosti), na Bitkoin kao sistem ćemo se pozivati koristeći veliko slovo „B“, a na bitkoin kao imovinu koristeći malo slovo „b“ (Antonopoulos, 2014: xvii, 18, 116; Cvetković, 2018: 120; Hutchinson & Dowd, 2015: 357 fn.).

3. Od juna 2021. godine, Salvador je postao prva zemlja koja je legalno priznala Bitkoin kao zakonsko sredstvo plaćanja u gotovo punom kapacitetu, podržala ga tehnički impresivnom digitalnom infrastrukturom (prilagođeni novčanik, specijalizovana vladina platforma za razmenu, različite besplatne aplikacije, pa čak i posebna mreža) i uvela razne podsticaje za promovisanje ovog prilično zanimljivog eksperimenta (Ley Bitcoin, Diario Oficial ES, 110/2021, Decreto No 57). Centralnoafrička Republika je bila druga nacionalna ekonomija koja je uvela Bitkoin kao zakonsko sredstvo plaćanja i rezervnu valutu (République Centrafricaine Cryptomonnaie, Journal Officiel CAF, 22/2022).*

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Strogo govoreći, Bitkoin nije ni roba ni valuta (Abramowicz, 2015: 3). Bitkoin nije novac. To je sistem plaćanja. Može se izneti čvrst argument da je Bitkoin zapravo institucija ili platforma koja stvara i sprovodi imovinska prava (Abramowicz, 2015: 3). Ali onda, sudska praksa je utvrdila da bitkoin ima sposobnost da preuzme ulogu novca (Raskin, 2015: 980). Dakle, ako ga posmatramo kao novac, on je oblik „spoljnjeg novca“ (Garrat, Wallace, 2018: 1887), što posebno cene korisnici novca koji su već naviknuti na bezgotovinska elektronska ekonomska okruženja (Dimitrijević, 2018: 224-225) (4).

Dubinska analiza potvrđuje da je vrednost bitkoina veoma volatilna kako u kratkim tako i u dužim periodima (Baur, Dimpfl, 2021: 2663–2683). Ipak, očekivano je da mlada valuta bude volatilna (Đorđević, 2018: 100). Spisak razloga za njenu volatilnost je dobro opisan (Mirjanich, 2014: 223; Syropyatov, 2021: 320-322, 326-327). Može se izneti i čvrst argument da je volatilnost bila veća na početku, što u krajnjoj liniji može biti dobra vest za potencijal Bitkoina da se razvije u (stabilniju) valutu (Baur, Dimpfl, 2021: 2668-2669).

Ipak, u vremenima kada njegova volatilna priroda dolazi do izražaja, izuzetno je važno razumeti šta deflatorna priroda bitkoina zapravo znači. Volatilnost je izraz koji opisuje koliko se vrednost sredstva razmene menja tokom vremena, ili preciznije, kojom stopom. Ako deflaciju posmatramo kao apresijaciju vrednosti izazvanu neskladom u ponudi i potražnji koja podiže kurs valute (Antonopoulos, 2014: 180), bitkoin je po prirodi deflatoran, ali i dalje volatilan. Različiti mehanizmi čine ga otpornim na inflaciju. To je tačno čak iako je bitkoin spekulativna imovina ili se barem može tumačiti kao takva (Šoja, Senarathne, 2019: 46) jer nije podržan nikakvom imovinom ili garancijom (Šoja, Senarathne, 2019: 46), niti predstavlja trenutno stanje ekonomije neke zemlje (Vareško, Deković, 2022: 91). Konkretno, vrednost bitkoina nije imuna na sopstvenu depresijaciju, iznenadnu apresijaciju i različite vrste manipulacije. U ovom trenutku, gotovo je nemoguće sprečiti ih jer Bitkoin sistem funkcioniše kao slobodno i u suštini neregulisano (5) tržište. Vremenski trošak korišćenja Bitkoina (Garrat, Wallace, 2018: 1889) je stvarna opasnost i, pored toga, vrednost bitkoina je gotovo potpuno nepredvidiva (Garrat, Wallace, 2018: 1896; Syropyatov, 2021: 320). To dodatno otežava odbranu hipoteze o njegovoj deflatornoj prirodi.

Bilo kako bilo, čak i kada njegova cena dramatično padne, to ne znači da je bitkoin inflatoran. Ovo je ključno razumeti ako želimo da razjasnimo svojstva i pravnu prirodu novčanih obaveza nominovanih u bitkoinu, a posebno ako nameravamo da ih pravilno regulišemo. U tom smislu, ovaj rad je samo uvod u ovu temu.

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4. Elektronski novac je oblik digitalnog novca i faza u njegovoj evoluciji, a isto su i kriptovalute; ipak, kriptovaluta nije elektronski novac i ne treba je brkati sa elektronskim novcem (Dimitrijević, 2018: 228).

5. Iako postoje nacionalni propisi (Cvetković, 2018: 127-128; Zebec, 2018: 90-93), kao i međunarodni propisi (Cvetković, 2018: 126-127; Mijatović, 2022: 95-100), Bitkoin, i kao sistem i kao valuta, apsolutno je imun na nacionalne i međunarodne propise. Međutim, postoji doza optimizma da stabilni novčići, konceptualno govoreći, mogu da naglase da je optimizacija kreiranja politike pod vođstvom tehnologije zapravo moguća u složenim monetarnim sistemima (Calcaterra, Kaal, Rao, 2020: 194). Ali, adekvatan model prvo mora biti otkriven od strane sudske prakse (Raskin, 2015: 972), a zatim potvrđen u sigurnijem okruženju, kao što su „Sandbox“ ili „Innovation Hubs“ (Jović, Nikolić, 2022: 48-51).

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2. Fiksna ponuda

Bitkoin je softver otvorenog koda koji se koristi decentralizovanim dizajnom mreže (Caetano, 2015: 103-104; Đorđević, 2018: 97) (6). Tačnije, to je elektronski, dvosmerni, decentralizovani (Đorđević, 2018: 97) platni sistem zasnovan na kriptografskom dokazu (Nakamoto, 2008:1) koji je razvijen sa ciljem isključivanja ovlašćenih posrednika kroz koncept „digitalnog poverenja“ (Cavalheiro, Cavalheiro, 2022: 207; Horvatić, Tafra: 2022 108-109; Syropyatov, 2021: 325) bez kompromitovanja sigurnosti i privatnosti tokom transakcije (7), po nižim troškovima i što je brže moguće (Roth, 2015: 529).

Da bi prenos vrednosti bio moguć, vrednost je morala biti povezana sa sredstvom unutar sistema. Kako je sistem potpuno digitalizovan, ovo sredstvo je moglo postojati samo u digitalnom obliku, tj. virtuelne novčane jedinice predstavljaju vrednost (Đorđević, 2018: 97). Uobičajena je zabluda da je naziv ovog sredstva Bitkoin. Bitkoin je peer-to-peer monetarna mreža, to je program, softver, platforma, ali ne valuta. Bitkoin kao valuta ne postoji izvan ili bilo gde unutar mreže (Cvetković, 2018: 124). Osnovna jedinica ovog platnog sistema je satoši, digitalizovani deo informacije koji je trajno povezan sa digitalnom platformom (Antonopoulos, 2014: xvii, 18, 116). Ipak, iako tehnički netačno, postalo je norma koristiti bitkoin kao jedinicu sa odnosom prema Satošiju od 1:100.000.000 (Radulović, 2021: 32).

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6. Postoji prirodna tendencija ka monopolu u Mreži (Hutchinson Dowd, 2015: 364-368). Ipak, mogućnost stvaranja apsolutnog monopola je samo teorijska. Kako cela zajednica entuzijasta aktivno koristi prostor preostao za poboljšanje Mreže, postoji niz predloga protokola za rudarenje („getblocktemplate“ je najuspešniji) koji sprečavaju centralizaciju.

7. Privatnost i sigurnost nisu sinonimi. Ovo su dva različita aspekta efikasnosti platnih sistema, svaki sa svojim prepoznatljivim individualnim karakteristikama (Karame, Androulaki, 2016: 14-17).

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Da bismo razumeli ovaj koncept, možemo uporediti bitkoin sa tradicionalnim načinima izvršavanja novčanih obaveza (Cvetković, 2018: 121; Đorđević, 2018: 100-102). Po svojim karakteristikama, bitkoin je u suštini negde između zlata i dolara (Syropyatov, 2021: 323) ali primarna ideja je bila da se stvori digitalna imovina koja imitira zlato. Najlakši način da se novostvorenoj imovini da vrednost je da se učini retkom. Stoga su protokoli Bitkoin mreže postavljeni tako da ukupna ponuda bude pažljivo izračunata, konačna i ograničena (8). Fiksiranjem ukupnog broja bitkoina u opticaju na 21.000.000, početni izdavalac i pronalazač rešio je dva glavna problema – dodatno izdavanje i falsifikovanje (Garrat, Wallace, 2018: 1887). Dakle, „štampanje“ novog novca u Bitkoin mreži iznad očekivane stope izdavanja je nemoguće što znači da bitkoin kao valuta nije podložan inflaciji (Antonopoulos, 2014: 2).

Budući da je Bitkoin softver, on nije „ništa više“ od skupa unapred programiranih pravila. Kako se ta pravila mogu ažurirati, tehnički postoji mogućnost promene izvornog koda kako bi se omogućilo kvantitativno povećanje ponude novčića. Ipak, kako mi to vidimo, ovo je samo teoretski moguće. Zašto?

Bitkoin je konstruisan na revolucionarnoj tehnologiji koja se zove blokčejn. Blokčejn je digitalna baza podataka koja sadrži informacije o svakoj promeni u mreži (Cvetković, 2020: 128; Teomete Yalabik, Yalabik, 2019: 37). Jednom uneti i potvrđeni, podaci o promeni koja se dogodila trajno se čuvaju u bloku, koji se zatim povezuje sa postojećim lancem gde su blokovi ravnomerno poređani, hronološki vremenski obeleženi, suštinski nepromenljivi (Cvetković, 2020: 129; Catanzaro & Kain, 2020: 52; Horvat, Tafra, 2022: 108) (9). Lanac dodatih blokova distribuira se kroz mrežu, a upravljanje njime je u potpunosti zasnovano na konsenzusu (Radulović, 2021: 36) što znači da niko ne vrši kontrolu nad lancem (Magnuson, 2022: 883) (10). Ovo je vrlo važna tačka jer svaki blok u lancu sadrži određeni broj bitkoina, a ukupna ponuda se postepeno povećava konsenzusnim dodavanjem novih blokova (11), ali ne više od 13.230.000 njih.

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8. Procenjuje se da u svetu postoji 171.000 metričkih tona zlata (Đorđević, 2018:101), ali to je samo pretpostavka. S druge strane, Bitkoin sistem se ne zasniva ni na kakvoj sličnoj pretpostavci. Kreatori sistema su otišli korak dalje i ponudili kriptografsko uverenje o njegovoj ograničenoj ponudi (Cvetković, 2018: 121). To znači da nema opasnosti od bilo kakvih neočekivanih otkrića ove robe koja može doneti nestabilnost monetarnom režimu (Cachanosky, 2019: 371). Takođe, za razliku od zlata, nemoguće je manipulisati „čistoćom“ bitkoina i tako kompromitovati ideju o njegovoj ograničenoj ponudi (Cvetković, 2018:121).

9. Bitkoin koristi blokčejn kao javnu knjigu koja sadrži potpuni zapis svih javnih transakcija u istoriji Bitkoin mreže (Cavalhiero, Cavalhiero, 2022: 209). U tom kontekstu, zanimljivo je da je bitkoin koji je zaplenjen u slučaju „Silk Road“ prebačen u FBI novčanik (lFfmbHfnpaZjKFvyilokTjJJusN455paPH) od strane čvorova putem regularne procedure verifikacije na Bitkoinovom blokčejnu; štaviše, ovaj transfer ali i kasnija aukcija novčića i njihov transfer kupcima je potpuno transparentan i može se pratiti jednostavnom proverom promena u lancu (Raskin, 2015: 982-983).

10. Satoši Nakamoto se povukao iz javnosti u aprilu 2011. godine, prepuštajući odgovornost razvoja koda i mreže rastućoj grupi volontera (Antonopoulos, 2014: 4).

11. Po analogiji sa Fridmanovim "Ostrvom kamenog novca", Bitkoin funkcioniše putem decentralizovane (digitalizovane) kolektivne memorije (Hutchinson & Dowd, 2015: 358).

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U tradicionalnim ekonomskim sistemima, monetarna vlast garantuje kvalitet, količinu i vrednost novca, dok banke i drugi posrednici vrše kontrolu nad transakcijama (Pernice, 2021: 770). Bitkoin funkcioniše kao protokol, tj. skup unapred programiranih pravila (Raskin, 2015: 971) bez arbitra (Abramowicz, 2015: 3). U Bitkoin mreži ne postoji centralna vlast bilo koje vrste koja nadzire i upravlja platformom (Catanzaro, Kain, 2020: 52; Teomete Yalabik, Yalabik, 2019: 37). Prvo, to znači da ne postoji jedna kritična tačka (eng. single point of failure) (Hutchinson & Dowd, 2015: 359). Drugo, nema potrebe za trećom pouzdanom stranom za sprovođenje procesa registracije i/ili garantovanje tačnosti stanja transakcija, sve to zato što se poverenje u mrežu zasniva na kriptografiji kao nauci (12) (Cvetković, 2018: 121; Dinić, 2014: 110; Đorđević, 2018: 97; McGinnis, 2020: 60; Raskin, 2015: 974). Ovde dolazi do izražaja genijalni koncept: upravljanje je dodeljeno samoj Mreži, zapravo računarima koji vrše proces verifikacije transakcija (Đorđević, 2018: 98; Hutchinson & Dowd, 2015: 360). Iz toga sledi da je sistem gotovo u potpunosti samoregulišući i potpuno decentralizovan. Dalje, ne samo pokrenute transakcije već i svaka druga promena u mreži mora biti rezultat konsenzusa među svim pojedinačnim učesnicima u mreži (naglasak autora). Dakle, da bi se promenio izvorni kod nakon zatvaranja obavezne debate u zajednici, potrebno je da većina čvorova u mreži izrazi svoje odobrenje. Sa desetinama hiljada čvorova koji pokreću mrežu, može se sigurno pretpostaviti da je gotovo nemoguće postići konsenzus za promenu osnovnog protokola koda, posebno dela koji ovaj sistem čini superiornim u odnosu na većinu kripto projekata (13).

Ovaj protokol čini Bitkoin superiornim u odnosu na druge kripto projekte. Naime, ranih 1970-ih postalo je jasno da možda ne postoji bilo kakva prednost niti potreba (barem više ne) za neupitnim i univerzalno prihvaćenim državnim prerogativom proizvodnje novca, te da bi to moglo biti štetno za razvoj nacionalne ekonomije ako se ne podržava valutna konkurentnost (Hayek, 1976: 20). Posebno se ovo odnosi na nacionalne ekonomije koje su potpuno zavisne od strane valute što je bio slučaj u Salvadoru (potpuno zavisan od USD).

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12. Poverenje u mrežu zavisi od funkcionisanja većine rudarskih računara u mreži. Logičan zaključak koji proizilazi iz ove činjenice ukazuje na to da povećani obim bitkoin transakcija implicira veću sigurnost; povećanje prometa mreže povećava poverenje (Dinić, 2014: 110).

13. Posmatrajući istoriju pokušaja iniciranja čak i „manjih“ tehničkih promena (protokola) oličenih u Bitkoin "hard forkovima" (Bitcoin XT, Bitcoin Classic, SegWit), možemo videti da nijedan od ovih projekata (čak ni „BitcoinCash“) nije nadmašio uspeh i stopu prihvatanja Bitkoin forka.

14. Prateći više od 2000 godina dugu istoriju državnih prerogativa u izdavanju novca, nobelovac Hayek je nabrojao legitimne razloge za dodeljivanje monopola izdavanja novca državnim institucijama (Hayek, 1976: 21-26).

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Možemo ići čak i dalje. Mogu se izneti snažni argumenti koji podržavaju tvrdnju da se apsolutna državna kontrola nad novcem može tumačiti čak i kao oblik ugnjetavanja koji je ništa manji od uskraćivanja građanskih sloboda (McGinnis, 2020: 60). Iako je „komplementarna valuta“ (Pernice, 2021: 769), bitkoin je najmoćnije oružjeu onome što se čini kao „fundamentalni napad“ na ostatke ove zastarele ugnjetavajuće ideje u modernom monetarnom poretku (McGinnis, 2020: 61).

Ako postoji bilo kakva istina u ovoj smeloj tvrdnji, onda je ograničena ponuda najvažnija karakteristika koja čini bitkoin, ako ne superiornim, onda barem konkurentnim fiat valutama [15]. Ovo je posebno tačno ako imamo u vidu kolektivno ukidanje monetarnog aranžmana iz Breton Vudsa i zlatnog standarda koji su, prema ekonomskim ekspertima (Syropyatov, 2021: 324), započeli inflatornu eru u ekonomskoj istoriji. Stoga, ne postoji ekonomska ili pravna logika koja bi opravdala transformaciju sistema iz „digitalnog zlata“ u nejedinstveni kvazi-demokratski fiat monetarni poredak, posebno među čvorovima koji su generalno pravi entuzijasti „decentralizovanih finansija“ [16].

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1. Ideja Bitkoina duboko je ukorenjena u Austrijskoj ekonomskoj školi mišljenja koja je poznata po oštroj kritici državnih intervencija koje zapravo pogoršavaju ekonomske i poslovne cikluse i uzrokuju značajnu inflaciju (Zebec, 2018:89).

2. Bitkoin mreža ne nameće protokole i pravila članovima koji se ne slažu sa njima. Omogućava im da se bezbedno odvoje iniciranjem takozvanog "hard forka". Postoji čak i poseban deo softvera nazvan Git ugrađen u mrežu, kreiran da omogući korisnicima forkovanje izvornog koda (Caetano, 2015:104-105). Rezultat je više od stotinu (manje-više poznatih i uspešnih) projekata u kripto prostoru koji su započeti na ovaj način – kao Bitkoin fork (Caetano, 2015: 104).

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3. Halving

Kreator(i) Bitkoina su imali za cilj da stvore digitalnu imovinu koja se ponaša kao zlato [17]. Stoga su doneli ideološku odluku da ne puste sav bitkoin u opticaj odjednom (Cachanosky, 2019: 371). Ukupan broj bitkoina je unapred određen ali je raspored njegovog stvaranja fiksiran (Raskin, 2015: 971) jer je mreža postavljena tako da može postupno povećavati ponudu novčića po opadajućoj stopi kroz proces nazvan „rudarenje“.

Odgovornost dodavanja verifikovanih transakcija u blok i ažuriranja lanca blokova poverena je posebnoj grupi učesnika mreže – rudarima. Da bi izvršili dodeljeni zadatak, rudari moraju rešiti niz složenih matematičkih problema što zahteva ogromnu računarsku snagu. Da bi ih podstakao da svoju računarsku snagu stave na raspolaganje za potrebe mreže, u Bitkoin protokol je ugrađen sistem „dvostruke nagrade“. Prvo, rudar prikuplja mali procenat svake transakcije koja je upisana u novokreirani blok. Pored toga, „pobednički“ rudar dobija novi bitkoin od mreže kao nagradu kada se transakcija „coin base“ postavi u novi blok (Antonopoulos, 2014: 115: Hutchinson & Dowd, 2015: 361; Nakamoto, 2008:4). To znači da izdavalac bitkoina nije banka, vlada, nadzorna institucija, pojedinac ili kompanija; izdavaoci su sami korisnici (Dinić, 2014: 110). Trećeg januara 2009. godine, iskopan je „genesis blok“ (Horvatić, Tarfa, 2022:107-108). Rudar(i) ovog bloka su dobili 50 bitkoina. Od tog trenutka, svaki put kada je kreiran novi blok, rudar je dobijao 50 novostvorenih bitkoina.

Ukupna ponuda raste postepeno ali ne istom brzinom. Kao što je već napomenuto, svaki blok sadrži određeni broj bitkoina, a ukupna ponuda novčića se povećava dodavanjem novih blokova. Međutim, blokovi nemaju isti kapacitet, tj. ne sadrže istu količinu bitkoina. Mreža je unapred programirana, najpre da smanji nagradu rudarima za 50% nakon svakih 210.000 dodatih blokova, ali i da prilagodi složenost matematičkog problema količini koja je već iskopana, tako da novi blok od 1MB koji sadrži otprilike 4000 upisanih transakcija (Horvatić, Tafra, 2022:109) nastaje u proseku svakih deset minuta (Antonopoulos, 2014:2, 177-178; Đorđević, 2018:97-98; Raskin, 2015:976; Roth, 2015:528). Jednostavna matematika pokazuje da se nagrada za rudarenje smanjuje otprilike svake četiri godine. Od 11. maja 2020. godine, nagrada za rudarenje po bloku iznosi 6.25 bitkoina. Stopa po kojoj se novi blokovi (pa samim tim i bitkoini) dodaju postojećem lancu postepeno se smanjuje (dok ne dostigne broj od 21.000.000).

Čin smanjenja rudarske nagrade za polovinu naziva se „halving“. Ideja iza procesa halvinga bila je da se bitkoin oponaša zlato čak i kada je u pitanju dinamika njegovog iskopavanja (Đorđević, 2018: 98). Sa ekonomskog i pravnog stanovišta, kroz proces halvinga, deflatorna priroda bitkoina dolazi do izražaja jer se već ograničena ponuda novčića dodatno smanjuje. Radi poređenja, u vreme pisanja ovog rada, više od 18.5 miliona (od 21 miliona) bitkoina je pušteno u opticaj, ali će poslednji bitkoin biti pušten u opticaj kada se iskopa blok 13.230.000. Prateći dinamiku Mreže, procenjuje se da će se to dogoditi otprilike 2137. godine (Antonopoulos, 2014:178; Raskin, 2015:976). To znači da je procenat inflacije kontrolisan, ne samo kroz konačnu ponudu već i kroz 64 događaja halvinga, nakon čega se stopa izdavanja novog bitkoina smanjuje.

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17. "Bitkoin pravilo, logo i tekstualni opis sugerišu da je projekat inspirisan zlatnim standardom. Uzmite u obzir, na primer, da se Bitkoini proizvode kroz proces nazvan „rudarenje“ sa opadajućim prinosima koji podseća na vađenje zlata iz podzemlja, te da je logo zlatnik" (Cachanosky, 2019: 371).

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4. Superhalving

Bitkoin je prvi put priznat kao novac na osnovu regulatornog stanovišta "Mreže za suzbijanje finansijskog kriminala" (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) (Mirjanich, 2014: 214), zatim u sudskoj praksi u čuvenim slučajevima „Silk Road“ (Raskin, 2015: 981-982; Zebec, 2018: 89) i u slučaju SEC protiv Shaversa (Raskin, 2015: 979-980). Ipak, iako nije pogrešno smatrati bitkoin valutom, kao što je već napomenuto, mi volimo da razmišljamo o Bitkoinu kao o sistemu plaćanja. To je bila prvobitna ideja (Syropyatov, 2021: 325) i Bitkoin je zapravo korišćen u tom svojstvu u prvim godinama, uglavnom za male online transakcije (Vareško, Deković, 2022: 91).

Pravi potencijal ovog sistema, koji je sam po sebi impresivan, može se u potpunosti shvatiti samo ako se posmatra kao deo budućeg decentralizovanog finansijskog sistema (DeFi). U svojim brojnim predavanjima i intervjuima, Antonopoulos pruža sjajnu analogiju upoređujući DeFi prostor sa internetom iz ranih dana. U toj analogiji, Bitkoin se poredi sa elektronskom poštom koji je bio prva i (dugo vremena) jedina funkcionalna aplikacija na internetu. U DeFi prostoru, Bitkoin je prva i (na mnogo načina) najvažnija, ali ne i jedina funkcionalna aplikacija. Upravo način na koji Bitkoin mreža koristi tehnologiju distribuirane knjige (eng. distributed ledger) nije ništa drugo do jedan mogući prikaz istinskog potencijala neverovatnog dela računarskog inženjeringa zvanog blokčejn. Imajući u vidu bezbroj funkcija interneta danas, ova analogija nudi najbolji uvid u razmere i potencijal DeFi prostora.

Korišćenje ove i drugih srodnih tehnologija svakako prevazilazi stvaranje različitih platnih, pa čak i finansijskih sistema. Blokčejn tehnologija i kriptovalute, protokoli decentralizacije uopšte, deo su dugoročnog ciklusa proliferacije i imaju priliku i kapacitet da dalje prošire inovacije i mogućnosti koje su započete u ranim godinama interneta (Calcaterra, Kaal, Rao, 2020: 204; Syropyatov, 2021: 320). Sa pravnog stanovišta, nema sumnje da će blokčejn tehnologija reorganizovati svaku aktivnost koja zahteva javni prikaz informacija (Cvetković, 2018: 122). Takođe ima kapacitet da reformiše sve aktivnosti oko donošenja odluka od strane sporog i skupog državnog aparata kroz „peer-to-peer“ odlučivanje (Abramowitz, 2015: 7-9). Predstavlja izazov konvencionalnoj pretpostavki da su centralizovane institucije, poput zakonodavnih tela i sudova, potrebne za donošenje zakona dovoljne jasnoće da bi bili primenljivi (Abramowitz, 2015: 9). Konačno, dokazano je da je blokčejn tehnologija suštinska za budući razvoj današnjih opšteprihvaćenih ideja, poput IoT (Interneta stvari) i IoE (Interneta svega) (Horvat, Tafra, 2022: 108). Dakle, koliko god da su impresivni, čak i DeFi prostor, IoT ili IoE biće samo fragmenti, ili aplikacije takozvanog „Web 3.0“."

„Međutim, ako to posmatramo strogo sa monetarnog stanovišta, verujemo da je postojeći centralizovani finansijski sistem zastareo, neefikasan, nepouzdan i nepotrebno skup; kao takav, biće zamenjen efikasnijom ekonomskom strukturom. Naučno je dokazano da sadašnja veličina tržišta kriptovaluta i njegova rastuća snaga imaju kapacitet da poremete čitav finansijski sistem (Vareško, Deković, 2022:91). Sa ideološkog stanovišta, DeFi sistem izgleda kao najočiglednija zamena. Međutim, u ovom trenutku, više od decenije nakon što je Bitkoin mreža postala potpuno operativna, DeFi struktura zvuči pomalo futuristički. Ipak, obrisi sistema su sada jasno vidljivi. Određeni delovi sistema su više nego funkcionalni, a efekti koje stvaraju oživljavaju osnovnu ideju DeFi-ja. To je vidljivo u procesu zvanom „superhalving“.

Prema našem saznanju, termin superhalving je prvi put korišćen u biltenu koji je svetski poznati stručnjak za kriptovalute Teeka Tiwari poslao svojim čitaocima i pretplatnicima. Da bi objasnio svoje otkriće, koristio je analogiju sa halvingom. Superhalving se odnosi na smanjenje broja novčića u opticaju ali, za razliku od halvinga, superhalving nije vezan za Bitkoin kod. Prema gospodinu Tiwariju, to je hipotetička situacija povezana sa mogućnostima koje rudari sada imaju u DeFi ekosistemu (Tiwari, 2021).

Rudari obezbeđuju računarsku snagu neophodnu za funkcionisanje Bitkoin blokčejna, a podsticaj za raspodelu njihovih računarskih resursa Mreži dolazi u obliku novoizdatog bitkoina. Donedavno, rudari nisu bili u poziciji da zadrže novčiće kojima su nagrađivani. Da bi ostali u „trci“ za novim novčićima u sve konkurentnijem okruženju, nisu imali drugog izbora osim da prodaju zarađene novčiće kako bi finansirali nadogradnju računarskih resursa za dalje operacije. To je bila njihova jedina opcija jer vlasništvo bilo koje vrste kripto-imovine nije značilo ulaz u (tradicionalne) izvore kapitala (Tiwari, 2021).

Danas je situacija izvanredno drugačija. Prvo, finansijske institucije su sada visoko uključene u kripto-tržište (Magnuson, 2022: 884). One nude finansijske usluge i stvaraju visoko profitabilne prostore za svoje klijente u vezi sa Bitkoinom, Ethereumom i drugim projektima. Drugo, fondovi kojima se trguje na berzi, kripto-menjačnice i rudari, svi koji služe industriji kriptovaluta, razvili su se u velike industrije (Magnuson, 2022: 884). Prema Tiwariju, rudari su po prvi put u mogućnosti da prikupe novac putem tržišta kapitala. Prema njegovoj studiji, rudari i kripto-kompanije su već prikupili više od deset puta više kapitala za svoje buduće poduhvate nego prethodnih godina (Tiwari, 2021).“

Nadalje, rudari danas čak ne moraju da imaju pristup investicionim bankama, kapitalnim fondovima ili drugim odabranim institucijama ili individualnim investitorima. Slično Bitkoinu, DeFi je monetarno inkluzivan prostor u apsolutnom smislu. Preko alternativnog decentralizovanog modela finansija zasnovanog na blokčejnu, moguće je zaobići nepotrebne posrednike i ući u virtuelne peer-to-peer kapitalne odnose. Moguće je pozajmljivati, štedeti, zakazivati plaćanja, trgovati, kupovati osiguranje, investirati, dokazivati vlasništvo, pa čak i automatski rebalansirati portfolio na finansijskom tržištu koje je uvek otvoreno, potpuno decentralizovano, izuzetno sigurno i gotovo potpuno imuno na ljudske greške. Pomoću inovativnog investicionog aparata, ovaj finansijski ekosistem čini prikupljanje kapitala jednostavnim, neformalnim, direktnim i samim tim jeftinijim za rudare širom sveta, i svakoga ko želi da finansira svoje buduće ideje i poduhvate. Kroz kriptovalute, pametne ugovore i tokene kreirane na različitim blokčejn platformama za potencijalne investitore i finansijere, bez obzira na to gde se trenutno nalaze, rudari mogu obezbediti neophodan kapital za ažuriranje svoje opreme za rudarenje ili druge aktivnosti. To dalje znači da rudari ne moraju odmah da prodaju bitkoin koji su dobili kao nagradu za rudarenje. Oni ga sada mogu zadržati (što najčešće i čine) sa namerom da alociraju svoj portfolio, realno očekujući da će mu cena porasti. To znači još manje novčića u opticaju, posledično smanjenu ponudu i konačno nižu stopu inflacije. Ukratko, ovo je proces superhalvinga.

Smatramo da je ideja superhalvinga veoma zanimljiva. Ipak, iako je dobro razrađena, verujemo da se ovaj fenomen može i treba tumačiti u širem smislu nego što je sugerisao Tiwari. On ne mora biti strogo povezan samo sa izgradnjom novog kripto-finansijskog digitalnog sveta i prilikama u njemu. Druge okolnosti mogu stvoriti sličan efekat i uzrokovati smanjenje prometa bitkoina. One bi trebalo da se istražuju pod istim imeniocem, tj. superhalvingom. U tom kontekstu, možemo pomenuti dve okolnosti koje imaju najveći deflatorni uticaj na tržište.

Prvo, u tehničkom smislu, Bitkoin se može tumačiti na različite načine: kao softver, kao mreža, kao aplikacija. U ekonomskom smislu, bitkoin može preuzeti ulogu valute, platnog sistema, (digitalne) imovine, pa čak i ulogu robe ili sirovine (Cvetković, 2018:129-133; Pernice, 2021:772). Uzimajući u obzir njegovu primenljivost i ulogu generalno, različite studije su nedvosmisleno potvrdile da se bitkoin konstantno razvijao (18) (Vareško, Deković, 2022:91). Postao je raznovrsniji i globalizovaniji (Karabulut, Sari, 2022: 56). S obzirom na to da je ideja iza stvaranja ovog sistema bila da se transfer vrednosti učini što efikasnijim, odnosno da platni sistem bude efektivan, sve veća rasprostranjenost bitkoina potvrđuje da se on može okarakterisati kao kolektivno priznati medij razmene (Pernice, 2021:777). Međutim, u ovom trenutku postoje kripto-projekti koji omogućavaju efikasniju, bržu i jeftiniju alokaciju vrednosti; stoga se bitkoin retko koristi u tu svrhu. Ipak, bitkoin ima niz superiornih karakteristika (redak je; ima ograničenu ponudu i predodređenu smanjenu stopu izdavanja; omogućava privatnost, poverljivost i stoga je imun na zaplenu; lako je 'prenosiv', lako se skladišti i zahteva malo ili nimalo održavanja; prilično je jednostavan za korišćenje i nije ničija obaveza). Zahvaljujući ovim karakteristikama, bitkoin se ponaša kao digitalno zlato i uglavnom se koristi kao sredstvo očuvanja vrednosti. Drugim rečima, uprkos očiglednoj volatilnosti, i deflatorni dizajn Bitkoina i njegova decentralizovana i globalna priroda poboljšavaju njegove osobine sredstva očuvanja vrednosti (Baur, Dimpfl, 2021:2681). Stoga, bitkoin se većinom traži više kao imovina nego kao valuta, pa se uglavnom ponaša kao sredstvo očuvanja vrednosti (Đorđević, 2018:100). Ovo posebno postaje očigledno u vremenima ekonomskih, geopolitičkih ili zdravstvenih kriza, kao što je ona izazvana pandemijom SARS-CoV-2, ili tekuća energetska kriza.

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18. To je nedvosmisleno potvrđeno sveobuhvatnom studijom o broju patenata strogo vezanih za Bitkoin i njegov lanac (Cavalhiero, Cavalhiero, 2022: 211-216).

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Zbog toga pojedinci, velike finansijske institucije, kompanije, pa čak i neke vlade uključuju određeni iznos bitkoina u svoje portfelje kako bi zaštitile svoju štednju i investicije. Oni se osiguravaju od inflacije jer se očekuje da se imovina poput zlata ponaša suprotno akcijama i fiat valutama u vremenima kriza. Naučna istraživanja potvrđuju da diverzifikacija portfelja putem bitkoina (ako su uključena i tradicionalna sredstva) može biti odličan izbor ulaganja čak i za one investitore koji nisu skloni preuzimanju viših rizika (Syropyatov, 2021:323; Šoja, Senarathne, 2019:54-58). To znači da svi ti entiteti ne kupuju bitkoine (ili ih u ređem slučaju rudare) sa namerom da ih koriste za plaćanje ili prenos vrednosti. Oni preferiraju dugoročno držanje umesto vršenja transakcija i puštanja u opticaj, što dovodi do ukupnog smanjenja ponude. Budući da je ovo prirodna tendencija u mreži, sigurno je reći da je i ovo vrsta superhalvinga.

Na kraju, postoji još jedna tendencija u kripto ekosistemu koja se može tumačiti kao oblik superhalvinga, a time i deflatorni mehanizam, iako je prilično slučajna. Kao što je već napomenuto, bitkoin je prilično jednostavan za korišćenje, skladištenje i održavanje. Međutim, neophodan je određeni stepen praktičnog znanja. Bitkoin može postati nedostupan ako se 'novčanikom' (hardverskim ili online) loše upravlja. Najčešći način da se bitkoin učini nedostupnim jeste da se izgubi.

U stvari, nemoguće je izgubiti bitkoin jer su novčići trajno povezani sa mrežom. U svakom trenutku, učesnici Mreže mogu odrediti na kojoj se adresi nalazi svaki pojedinačni novčić. Ali tada, privatni ključevi koji omogućavaju pristup novčićima sačuvanim na određenoj adresi su „simbol“ vlasništva (Raskin, 2015: 977, 1002) i oni se mogu izgubiti (Hutchinson Dowd, 2015:361). Bitkoin „novčanici“, naročito hardverski, takođe se mogu izgubiti. Prema procenama, oko 20% bitkoina koji su pušteni u opticaj postalo je trajno nedostupno (Mijatović, 2022:103). Dalje, razumno je očekivati da će se više bitkoina „izgubiti“ tokom vremena; stoga, stvarna ponuda bitkoina, iako nepoznata zbog rizika od trajnog gubitka (Hutchinson & Dowd, 2015: 361), definitivno je manja nego što je prethodno programirano i postepeno će se smanjivati. To čini bitkoin još deflatornijim nego što se ranije predviđalo.

5. Zaključci

Dobro je poznata činjenica da je novac obično, ali ne nužno, podložan državnom monopolu (Pernice, 2021: 773). Do nedavno, šira javnost nije bila spremna da preispituje dogmu o povlašćenosti vlada da „proizvode” novac (Hayek, 1976:20). Danas, šira javnost nije voljna da bezuslovno prihvati koncept lex monetae i državni monopol na izdavanje novca. Konkurentske ideje su dobro formulisane, a relevantni izvori su „na samo nekoliko klikova”. Ipak, ideja predstavljena u belom papiru pod naslovom „Bitkoin: Peer-to-peer sistem elektronskog novca" je nesumnjivo najinspirativnija. Nedavno sprovedena sveobuhvatna statistička analiza potvrđuje da je ovo opšte mišljenje u akademskim krugovima (Karabulut, Sari, 2022: 58-66). Čak i kritičari tehno-ekonomske arhitekture Bitkoina slažu se da Bitkoin nedvosmisleno demonstrira praktičnu mogućnost potpuno decentralizovanog monetarnog sistema zasnovanog prvenstveno na distribuiranom poverenju (Hutchinson & Dowd, 2015:380).

Iako se stabilni novčići nazivaju „Hayekovim novcem” (Syropyatov, 2021: 322-323), oni koji su podržani plemenitim metalima (kao što je zlato), ali prvenstveno oni koji su podržani matičnim fiat valutama, ne mogu se koristiti za konačnu implementaciju Hayekove teorije u realnoj ekonomiji (Syropyatov, 2021: 328). Verujemo da je upravo Bitkoin pravo oličenje stare ideje o izdavanju različitih vrsta novca koje predstavljaju različite apstraktne jedinice koje fluktuiraju u svojoj vrednosti jedna u odnosu na drugu (Hayek, 1976: 25) i koje se jasno mogu razlikovati po različitim denominacijama između kojih bi javnost mogla slobodno da bira (Hayek, 1976: 21). Ceo Bitkoin sistem promoviše ovu ideju na način kao nijedno drugo sredstvo nalik novcu nikada ranije. Štaviše, oslanjajući se isključivo na napredne tehnološke koncepte, Bitkoin ne zavisi od bilo kakve državne dozvole i nije ograničen državnim granicama (19). Ovaj intrigantni sistem je bezbroj puta testiran na stres. Iako nije u potpunosti stabilan i daleko je od savršenog, sve turbulencije su sistem učinile samo otpornijim. To se ne može reći za njegove direktne konkurente – valute koje izdaju države. Zapravo je sasvim suprotno. U kratkom vremenskom periodu, posebno od trenutka kada je Svetska zdravstvena organizacija prepoznala izbijanje pandemije SARS-CoV-2 izazvane novim tipom koronavirusa, bitkoin je transformisan iz potkulturnog fenomena u najpopularniju i najcenjeniju (digitalnu) imovinu za ne više od nekoliko meseci. Sama priroda pandemije SARS-CoV-2, prvenstveno potreba za ograničavanjem fizičkog kontakta, pogodovala je digitalizaciji svih modela obavljanja svakodnevnih aktivnosti i posledično stvorila savršeno okruženje za sve kripto-projekte (Mijatović, 2022:94). Ipak, sama činjenica da je bitkoin na slobodnom tržištu oko 20.000 puta vredniji od USD sugeriše da tu ima još mnogo toga. Ovo važi bez obzira na to da li se bitkoin percipira kao novac ili ne.

Teorija konkurentskih valuta, posebno valuta koje ne izdaju države ili bilo koji centralni autoritet, pokazala se održivom - u najmanju ruku. Zapravo, ako s jedne strane imamo centralizovan i prisilan poredak, a s druge strane dobrovoljan i decentralizovan sistem (McGinnis, 2020: 59), čini se da „dobrovoljni sporazum o korišćenju određenog predmeta kao sredstva plaćanja“ (Đorđević, 2018:97; McGinnis, 2020:61) može čak biti superiorniji od dogme „valutnog monopola“. Ipak, kako mi to vidimo, otkrivanje deflatornih mehanizama ugrađenih u izvorni kod Bitkoina i njihovo prepoznavanje kao nepromenljivih od strane šire javnosti, najveća je tajna njegovog uspeha. Očigledno, ovo nije jedina zanimljiva karakteristika Bitkoin sistema, ali u vremenima kriza poput one izazvane virusom SARS-CoV-2 i njegovim brojnim varijantama, te karakteristike dolaze do izražaja, posebno kada se uporede sa načinom funkcionisanja „imperativnih“ valuta. U svakom slučaju, ovo zapažanje je podržano sudskom praksom. U određenim slučajevima, sudovi su precizno naveli da je bitkoin po prirodi deflatoran i da bi mogao biti bolje skladište vrednosti od brojnih zvaničnih valuta širom sveta koje su veoma podložne inflaciji (Pernice, 2021: 778).

Bitkoin sistem dovodi u pitanje univerzalno prihvaćenu ideju državnog suvereniteta po pitanju izdavanja novca. Teoretski, Bitkoin ne potkopava monetarni suverenitet; u stvari, zajednica čak može doprineti ostvarivanju ove vrste suvereniteta dajući poverenje sredstvu razmene koje se razlikuje od zakonski nametnutih (Pernice, 2021: 775). Prirodno je da ovaj pristup deluje sumnjivo, još više zato što ovaj sistem ne nudi odgovore na sva pitanja koja se javljaju na potpuno decentralizovanom i neregulisanom tržištu slobodnih valuta. Ipak, ovo je fascinantan finansijski sklop. Brojne tehnološke i ekonomske karakteristike čine ga privlačnim za sve one koji su željni da istraže moguće alternative dominaciji države u ovoj oblasti. Na pitanje da li su te alternative održive i u kojoj meri - ostaje da se odgovori. Ipak, zaista verujemo da deflatorni mehanizmi, čak i jednostavni poput onih ugrađenih u Bitkoin sistem, moraju biti dobrodošli kao parametri u trenutnoj ili sledećoj fazi evolucije novca i monetarnih obaveza.

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@ 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

@ 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

@ 2e8970de:63345c7a

Iran raising a red flag in war times? That's a bit. Sabrina Carpenters "persona" - she's doing a bit. In the pope election the cardinals locking themselves in a conclave and the white smoke thing - it's a bit. Everything is only a bit.

Maybe I'm just old and interpret too much into youth slang but - that's actually a HUGE cultural shift if young people think of nothing as authentic anymore. What even is authentic?

https://stacker.news/items/1006348

@ f4a890ce:af88c4aa

執行摘要

市場經歷回調後進入盤整期，總市值維持在3.24兆美元，成交量與交易活躍度持續走弱，顯示投資人正等待新方向。本週建議聚焦以下數據：

比特幣關鍵支撐與壓力區:URPD密集支撐帶104,000美元下方，若價格跌破需提防市場加速回調；反之，若重回105,000美元以上，將確認技術反彈啟動。

現貨買盤動能指標:持續追蹤 Coinbase Premium Index、Korea Premium Index 是否維持正值，這將反映全球主力市場現貨買盤是否仍具支撐力。

ETF 資金動向:上週 BTC ETF 出現大幅流出，若本週流出持續，可能進一步壓抑市場信心；相對地，ETH ETF 資金流入能否維持，將是觀察主流資金偏好的重點。

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加密市場

本週加密貨幣市場總市值維持在 3.29 兆美元 左右，顯示市場基本面仍具穩定性。與此同時，當週總成交量下降至 617.22 億美元，反映出市場活躍度有所降低，投資者交易意願趨向謹慎。

https://coinmarketcap.com/charts/

市場情緒方面，恐懼與貪婪指數為 52，落於中性區間，表明投資者對市場前景沒有明顯的樂觀或悲觀情緒，情緒呈現平穩狀態。

https://www.coinglass.com/zh-TW/pro/i/FearGreedIndex

相對強弱指標顯示部分標的處於中性至弱勢區間，暗示短期內市場可能面臨獲利回吐或技術性修正的壓力，動能顯得較為不足。

https://www.coinglass.com/zh-TW/pro/i/RsiHeatMap

山寨幣季節指數維持在 20，這表明市場資金依然偏向於比特幣及其他主流加密貨幣，中小型代幣未獲得大量關注。

https://www.blockchaincenter.net/en/altcoin-season-index/

穩定幣市值上升至 251.548 億美元，反映出仍然有資金流入，但部分資金正積極尋求避險，或準備在市場調整後抓住更具吸引力的進場時機。

https://defillama.com/stablecoins

小結

本週加密市場總市值保持穩定，但成交量下降與相對強弱指標偏弱顯示市場交易熱情減弱，投資者情緒趨於保守。山寨幣季節指數維持低位，說明資金繼續集中在主流幣種，而穩定幣市值的上升則暗示投資者正在為未來可能的市場調整做準備。

未來，市場動向仍將受到資金流向和宏觀經濟變化的影響，密切關注這些指標將有助於判斷進一步的趨勢。

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衍生性商品

本週永續合約持倉規模達 143.36B，市場活躍度依舊保持在高水準，顯示出投資者對槓桿交易需求的持續熱情。

https://www.coinglass.com/zh-TW/pro/futures/Cryptofutures

當前市場資金費率為 0.0018%（多數交易所均呈正費率），表明市場中多頭情緒仍占上風，因近期價格短時間急跌導致市場資金費率數值不高。

https://www.coinglass.com/zh-TW/FundingRate

整體而言，本週總空單爆倉金額為 891.441M，而多單爆倉則達 1563.242M。數據顯示多單在高槓桿環境下的風險較大，特別是在 6 月 12 日與 6 月 13 日，市場出現大量爆倉事件，主要以多單清算為主。

https://www.coinglass.com/zh-TW/LiquidationData

清算熱力圖顯示，在約 $111,000 的價格區間，清算金額達到 142.1M，這一水平可能成為近期市場波動的關鍵阻力區，投資者需加以留意。

https://www.coinglass.com/zh-TW/pro/futures/LiquidationHeatMap

期權市場活躍，投資者在不同價格區間進行對沖與佈局：

$100,000 的看跌期權合約數量達 12.23K，總金額為 $29.37M，顯示部分投資者對市場下跌風險進行了防禦性的配置，短期可以視為支撐區間。

$110,000 的看漲期權合約數量達 13.69K，總金額為 $57.16M，反映出市場對上行潛力仍保持期待，但與看跌期權相比，金額與合約數量略有差距，表明市場預期存在一定分歧。

https://www.coinglass.com/zh-TW/pro/options/OIStrike

最大痛點位於 2025/06/27 的 $100,000，對應名義金額達 13.83B。這一數據顯示，在該價位附近存在大量未平倉部位，若市場走向觸發，可能會引起顯著的價格波動。

https://www.coinglass.com/zh-TW/pro/options/max-pain

小結

本週加密市場的衍生性商品數據顯示，儘管永續合約持倉依然維持在高位，但資金費率轉為低位正值，加上近期大量多單爆倉事件，市場風險提示逐漸浮現。期權市場則反映出市場參與者在看跌與看漲情緒上的分歧，最大痛點的持倉集中使得 $100,000 成為未來觀察市場動態的重要區間。建議投資者密切關注市場波動，審慎調整槓桿與對沖策略，從而在風險與機會間達成平衡。

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ETF

本週，加密貨幣衍生性商品市場出現明顯分歧，資金流向呈現不同趨勢。比特幣（BTC）ETF 方面，本週出現資金流出，金額達$47.8M。這一變化顯示，部分投資者對比特幣近期走勢保持謹慎，可能因宏觀經濟不確定性或市場波動風險而選擇調整資金配置。

以太坊（ETH）ETF 則呈現資金流入態勢，本週流入金額$25.3M。這表明，儘管部分資金從比特幣中撤離，但投資者對以太坊的技術升級及生態系統發展持續看好，認為 ETH 具有長期成長潛力。

https://coinmarketcap.com/zh-tw/etf/

小結

總體而言，本週加密貨幣衍生性商品市場展現出資金流向的明顯分歧：比特幣ETF出現淨資金流出，而以太坊 ETF 則錄得流入。投資者在謹慎配置資金以應對市場風險的同時，也在關注標的資產的長期發展潛力。

近期也有許多公司效仿 Strategy 開始囤積加密資產，這也有可能是以太坊 ETF 錄得流入的原因。未來，仍持續關注宏觀經濟及技術革新動態，將有助於更好地掌握市場轉折點與資金流向走勢。

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鏈上分析 | BTC

二級交易所比特幣儲備量持續下降，再度創下新低，顯示交易所上待售比特幣供給逐步減少，潛在拋壓持續減輕。

https://cryptoquant.com/asset/btc/chart/exchange-flows/exchange-reserve?exchange=all_exchange&window=DAY&priceScale=log&metricScale=linear&chartStyle=line

在地址分布方面，與上週相同，未見任何反轉跡象：10–100 顆的中型持倉地址數量持續探低，而 100–1k、1k–10k、10k 以上顆數的大型與超大型持倉地址數量均維持上升趨勢。

https://cryptoquant.com/community/dashboard/67e2481ba2a7203afd437b31

值得一提的是，除了我們在 CryptoQuant 上觀察到的數據（該平台已排除礦工與交易所地址），BGeometrics 的地址分布資料亦提供另一視角(全網地址)，本週各持倉區間地址數量普遍略減，僅 1 顆 BTC 以下的小額地址呈現增長。

https://charts.bgeometrics.com/bitcoin_distribution_addr_tables.html

特別是 100–1k BTC 的地址數量減幅較為顯著，但從 bitcoinmagazinepro 公布的 Addresses with Balance > 100 BTC 數據來看，大型持倉地址近期呈現積極囤積態勢，顯示市場中大資金仍在持續加倉布局，對中長期市場信心維持正向。

https://www.bitcoinmagazinepro.com/charts/addresses-greater-than-100-btc/

雖然近期 100 BTC 以上的地址持續瘋狂囤積比特幣，顯示市場對資產配置的需求大增，但從 Address Net Position BTC 30 days 數據來看，真正能影響市場價格波動與方向的，仍是持倉 1k–10k BTC 的地址群體。這類大戶的持倉變化對市場資金流向具有決定性影響，因此值得高度關注。筆者推測，近期大量囤積約 100 BTC 的地址，很可能是企業或機構出於資產配置需求購買比特幣，以作為對抗市場或宏觀經濟風險的一種策略手段。

100-1k Net Position BTC 30 days :https://charts.bgeometrics.com/reports/bitcoin_shark_30d_sum_g.html

1k-10k Net Position BTC 30 days :https://charts.bgeometrics.com/reports/bitcoin_whale_30d_sum_g.html

URPD 指標顯示市場在經歷回調後，價格依然穩固地維持在籌碼最集中、具備顯著支撐力的區域，這代表大多數投資者的平均持倉成本位於當前價格附近，形成強勁的防守層。

https://charts.bgeometrics.com/distribution_realized_price.html

近期鏈上數據顯示，Coinbase 益價指數在 0.049 以上，而韓國益價指數在 2 的高位，這反映出無論在美國或韓國市場，投資者對比特幣的購買意願仍相對強勁。此現象側面突顯全球主要市場對比特幣的需求支撐力。

Coinbase Premium Index:https://cryptoquant.com/asset/btc/chart/market-data/coinbase-premium-index?window=DAY&sma=0&ema=0&priceScale=log&metricScale=linear&chartStyle=line

Korea Premium Index:https://cryptoquant.com/asset/btc/chart/market-data/korea-premium-index?window=DAY&sma=0&ema=0&priceScale=log&metricScale=linear&chartStyle=line

小結

近期比特幣鏈上數據顯示，二級交易所儲備量持續下降，再次創下新低，反映出投資人將資產移出交易所、偏向長期持有的態勢。

地址分布方面，10-100顆的地址數量持續減少，而100-1k、1k-10k與10k以上顆數的地址數量穩步上升，特別是1k-10k的地址，從近30日淨持倉變化可見其對市場影響力仍為主導。

雖然100顆以上地址積極增持，可能代表企業為資產配置、防範風險所為，但尚不足以主導價格走勢。

URPD指標顯示市場回調後價格維持在籌碼最集中區間，支撐明顯。Coinbase 與韓國溢價指數分別穩於 0.049 和 2，顯示美韓市場買盤意願仍強。

整體而言市場結構偏向於短期健康回調，但仍需持續觀察外部宏觀變數對資金流向的影響。

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總體經濟

聯邦基金有效利率持續維持在 4.33%，這表明在當前高利率政策下，資金成本依然居高不下，對整體風險資產形成持續壓力。

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FEDFUNDS

隨著 6 月 18 日 FOMC 會議臨近，市場普遍預期當前利率大概率將維持在 4.25%-4.50% 區間；而6 月及 7 月的會議幾乎可以確定不會降息。值得注意的是，目前市場對於 9 月 17 日 會議出現降息一碼的預期已高達 56.8%，這一轉變反映了部分投資者對未來資金回流的期待，同時也透露出市場對持續高利率環境的謹慎態度。

https://www.cmegroup.com/cn-t/markets/interest-rates/cme-fedwatch-tool.html

消費者物價指數 (CPI) 微微上升至 2.38%，顯示通膨壓力還算可控；而失業率則穩定在 4.2%，反映出勞動市場的基本韌性。但在高利率與流動性受限的背景下，這些正面基本面數據未能對加密貨幣價格產生足夠支撐。

失業率:https://www.macromicro.me/series/37/unemployment-rate

消費者物價指數（CPI）:https://www.macromicro.me/series/128/consumer-price-index-sa-yoy

小結

綜合來看，加密市場在高利率政策和緊縮流動性的雙重影響下，短期內仍面臨較大價格波動風險。儘管 6 月和 7 月的會議預期將維持現有利率水平，但 9 月會議中降息一碼的高預期可能為未來市場帶來資金回流的契機。投資者應持續關注 FOMC 會議及最新經濟數據，謹慎調整策略。

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新聞

美國證券交易委員會主席表示正在為 DeFi 平台製定「創新豁免」政策

https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/06/09/u-s-sec-chair-says-working-on-innovation-exemption-for-defi-platforms

彭博：韓國執政黨希望允許公司發行穩定幣

https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/06/10/south-koreas-ruling-party-wants-to-allow-companies-to-issue-stablecoins-bloomberg

眾議院標誌著市場結構改革的勝利，參議院開始通過穩定幣法案

https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/06/11/senate-begins-passage-of-stablecoin-bill-as-house-marks-market-structure-wins

川普：政府將致力於建立「清晰、簡單」的加密框架

https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/06/12/donald-trump-administration-will-work-toward-clear-and-simple-crypto-frameworks

Shopify 將在 Coinbase 平台上為全球商家提供 USDC 支付服務

https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/06/12/shopify-to-enable-usdc-payments-on-coinbase-s-base-for-merchants-worldwide

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@ f0fd6902:a2fbaaab

https://stacker.news/items/1006238

@ 9ca447d2:fbf5a36d

CANNES, FRANCE – May 2025 — Bitcoin mining made its mark at the world’s most prestigious film gathering this year as Puerto Rican director and producer Alana Mediavilla introduced her feature documentary Dirty Coin: The Bitcoin Mining Documentary at the Marché du Film during the Cannes Film Festival.

The film puts bitcoin mining at the center of a rising global conversation about energy, technology, and economic freedom.

Dirty Coin is the first feature-length documentary to explore bitcoin mining through immersive, on-the-ground case studies.

From rural towns in the United States to hydro-powered sites in Latin America and the Congo, the film follows miners and communities navigating what may be one of the most misunderstood technologies of our time.

The result is a human-centered look at how bitcoin mining is transforming local economies and energy infrastructure in real ways.

To mark its Cannes debut, Mediavilla and her team hosted a packed industry event that brought together leaders from both film and finance.

Dirty Coin debut ceremony at the Marché du Film

Sponsors Celestial Management, Sangha Renewables, Nordblock, and Paystand.org supported the program, which featured panels on mining, energy use, and decentralized infrastructure.

Attendees had the rare opportunity to engage directly with pioneers in the space. A special session in French led by Seb Gouspillou spotlighted mining efforts in the Congo’s Virunga region.

Dirty Coin builds on Mediavilla’s award-winning short film Stranded, which won over 20 international prizes, including Best Short Documentary at Cannes in 2024.

That success helped lay the foundation for the feature and positioned Mediavilla as one of the boldest new voices in global documentary filmmaking.

Alana Mediavilla speaks at the Marché du Film — Cannes Film Festival

“If we’ve found an industry that can unlock stranded energy and turn it into real power for people—especially in regions with energy poverty—why wouldn’t we look into it?” says Mediavilla. “Our privilege blinds us.

“The same thing we criticize could be the very thing that lifts the developing world to our standard of living. Ignoring that potential is a failure of imagination.”

Much like the decentralized network it explores, Dirty Coin is spreading globally through grassroots momentum.

Local leaders are hosting independent screenings around the world, from Roatán and Berlin to São Paulo and Madrid. Upcoming events include Toronto and Zurich, with more cities joining each month.

Mediavilla, who previously worked in creative leadership roles in the U.S. — including as a producer at Google — returned to Puerto Rico to found Campo Libre, a studio focused on high-caliber, globally relevant storytelling from the Caribbean.

She was also accepted into the Cannes Producers Network, a selective program open only to producers with box office releases in the past four years.

Mediavilla qualified after independently releasing Dirty Coin in theaters across Puerto Rico. Her participation in the network gave her direct access to meetings, insights, and connections with the most active distributors and producers working today.

The film’s next public screening will take place at the Anthem Film Festival in Palm Springs on Saturday, June 14 at 2 PM. Additional screenings and market appearances are planned throughout the year at Bitcoin events and international film platforms.

Dirty Coin at the Cannes Film Festival

Watch the Trailer + Access Press Materials

📂 EPK
🎬 Screener
🌍 Host a Screening

Follow the Movement

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dirty_coin_official/
Twitter: https://x.com/DirtyCoinDoc
Website: www.dirtycointhemovie.com

@ 3ffac3a6:2d656657

Securely Expose Your LND Node via Cloudflared and a VPS

Introduction & Motivation

Exposing your Lightning Network Daemon (LND) node to the public internet is essential for full participation in the Lightning Network. However, doing so introduces critical challenges in terms of security, privacy, and resilience against attacks.

This guide presents a solution using Cloudflare Tunnel and Cloudflare Access—a modern, secure method to expose services to the internet while maintaining strict control and minimizing exposure. We also compare this approach with more traditional methods such as SSH tunnels and VPNs (WireGuard/OpenVPN + socat/iptables) to highlight the trade-offs.

---

Traditional Exposure Methods: Risks and Limitations

SSH Reverse Tunnels (ssh -R, sshtunnel)

• ✅ Outbound-only: The connection is initiated from the LND host. The VPS cannot reach the internal network on its own.
• ⚠️ Metadata exposure: The LND host's IP address, SSH key, and connection metadata are visible to the VPS.
• ⚠️ Access control is coarse: Without extra measures, any process on the VPS can access the forwarded service.
• ⚠️ No service-layer authentication: Anyone reaching the exposed port can interact with LND, assuming the protocol is known.

VPNs (WireGuard/OpenVPN + iptables or socat)

• ⚠️ Blurs the security boundary: VPNs extend the network perimeter to remote clients. Misconfigured rules can inadvertently expose internal services.
• ❌ Allows lateral movement: If the VPS is compromised, it may gain full access to the LND host’s network.
• ✅ Traffic is encrypted, but requires correct firewalling and routing to be safe.
• ⚠️ Complexity: These setups often involve manual iptables, port forwarding, and tight coupling of services.

---

Cloudflare Tunnel + Access (This Guide)

This solution uses Cloudflared on the LND host to initiate an outbound connection to Cloudflare, which then routes traffic through a secured, authenticated TCP tunnel via a VPS.

• ✅ No exposed ports on the LND host.
• ✅ VPS cannot discover or access the LND IP—only forwards TCP packets to Cloudflare.
• ✅ Service Token authentication ensures only authorized clients can connect.
• ⚠️ Trust in Cloudflare is required. While your LND host is protected from the internet, Cloudflare can see metadata, and potentially, inspect unencrypted traffic.
• ❌ Cloudflare is proprietary infrastructure. You’re protected from attackers, but not necessarily from Cloudflare or governments.

---

Security & Privacy Comparison

| Feature | SSH Tunnel | VPN + socat/iptables | Cloudflare Tunnel + Access | | --------------------------------- | ------------------ | -------------------- | -------------------------- | | Encrypts traffic | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | | Initiated from LND host | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | | Prevents VPS from accessing LAN | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | | Hides LND IP from VPS | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | | Hides LND IP from tunnel provider | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ | | Proprietary infrastructure | ❌ | ❌ | ⚠️ (Cloudflare) | | Fine-grained access control | ⚠️ (manual) | ⚠️ (manual) | ✅ (Service Token) | | Susceptible to VPS compromise | ⚠️ (metadata only) | ❌ (full access) | ✅ (isolated forwarding) |

---

Tutorial: Step-by-Step Setup

---

1. Set Up the Cloudflare Tunnel

1. In your Cloudflare Zero Trust dashboard, navigate to Access → Tunnels.
2. Create a new tunnel (e.g., lnd-tunnel).
3. Choose Use Token Authentication and copy the token.

4. Add a Public Hostname:

5. Hostname: lnd-external-access.mydomain.com

6. Service Type: TCP
7. URL: tcp://lnd:9735 (This is the internal Docker hostname and port for LND.)

---

2. Run Cloudflared on the LND Host

Assuming your LND node runs in Docker inside the bitcoin-net network:

.env

env TOKEN=your-cloudflare-tunnel-token

docker-compose.yml

```yaml version: "3.8"

services: cloudflared: image: cloudflare/cloudflared:latest command: tunnel --no-autoupdate run --token ${TOKEN} restart: unless-stopped env_file: - .env networks: - bitcoin-net

networks: bitcoin-net: external: true name: bitcoin-net ```

---

3. Create the Cloudflare Service Token

1. Go to Access → Service Auth.
2. Click Create Service Token.
3. Name it (e.g., lnd-access-client) and store both the Token ID and Token Secret—you’ll need these on the VPS and to configure access.

---

4. Define the Cloudflare Access Application

1. Navigate to Access → Applications → Add an Application.
2. Choose Self-hosted.

3. Set:

4. Application Name: lnd-external-access

5. Domain: lnd-external-access.mydomain.com

6. In Policies:

7. Add a policy:

   • Name: Allow via Service Token
   • Action: Service Auth
   • Include → Service Token: select the token you just created

---

5. Deploy the Forwarding VPS

a. Configure firewall:

bash sudo ufw allow ssh sudo ufw allow 9735/tcp sudo ufw enable

b. Set environment variables:

.env

env TOKEN_ID=your-service-token-id TOKEN_SECRET=your-service-token-secret HOSTNAME=lnd-external-access.mydomain.com LISTEN=tcp://0.0.0.0:9735

c. Run Cloudflared:

docker-compose.yml

```yaml version: "3.8"

services: cloudflared: image: cloudflare/cloudflared:latest ports: - 9735:9735 command: > access tcp --service-token-id ${TOKEN_ID} --service-token-secret ${TOKEN_SECRET} --hostname ${HOSTNAME} --url ${LISTEN} --loglevel debug env_file: - .env restart: unless-stopped ```

---

6. Configure DNS

In Cloudflare DNS:

• Create an A record:

• Name: lnd

• Type: A
• Value: VPS_IP
• Proxy status: DNS only

---

7. Configure LND

Edit lnd.conf to include:

ini externalip=lnd.mydomain.com

Restart LND to apply changes.

---

8. Test the Connection

From another LND node or client:

bash lncli connect <pubkey>@lnd.mydomain.com:9735

Check logs in LND and Cloudflared to confirm successful connection.

---

Final Notes

• This method preserves your network perimeter, even if the VPS is compromised.
• All traffic is authenticated with service tokens, and no direct access is possible to your LND host.
• You do trust Cloudflare, so weigh that risk in high-privacy environments.

@ 3294129b:2a7654fa

📍 Satoshi House, Dubai 🗓️ June 21st, 2025 – 7:00 PM to 11:30 PM

⸻

Let’s Talk Bitcoin. Let’s Talk Freedom.

Bitcoin Minds is back and this time, we’re diving into the frontier of decentralized communication. No pizza this round, just powerful conversations, real connections, and ideas that matter.

This edition is all about Nostr, the open protocol that’s transforming how we connect, share, and build, side by side with Bitcoin.

Whether you’re a builder, a Bitcoiner, or just curious, this is your night to learn, share, and spark what’s next.

⸻

🎤 What to Expect:

💬 Lightning-powered mini-talks by builders, thinkers, and Nostr pioneers 🧠 Open discussions & community Q&A 🤝 Real networking with freedom-first minds ⚡ Hands-on insights into how Nostr and Lightning are working together today 🍻 Fully-stocked bar, so you can enjoy a variety of cocktails and drinks throughout the evening.

⸻

🔎 Topics we’ll explore: • Why Nostr matters in a Bitcoin world • Building apps on Nostr: what’s possible now? • Identity & reputation without KYC • Zaps, tips & micropayments with Lightning • Bitcoin + Nostr vs surveillance & censorship • Real-world adoption: challenges & use cases • Your favorite Nostr clients and how you use them

⸻

🎟️ Entry:

FREE — but RSVP is required 🔐 Limited spots, unlimited signal.

⸻

Bitcoin Minds: Nostr Edition

@ 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

@ 2cde0e02:180a96b9

watercolor pencils, water brush & pen

https://stacker.news/items/1006159

@ eb0157af:77ab6c55

French authorities are intensifying their fight against kidnappings related to the digital asset sector with a new series of arrests.

French law enforcement has made further arrests in an investigation concerning a kidnapping case connected to the cryptocurrency world. According to the public broadcaster France 24, on June 11 several individuals suspected of involvement in the abduction of the father of a crypto entrepreneur were detained.

The case that drew international attention involves the father of an anonymous crypto entrepreneur, who was held captive for several days on an isolated property. The criminals, in their ransom demands, went as far as to cut off one of the victim’s fingers as a form of psychological pressure, demanding up to €7 million (about $8 million) for his release.

The rescue operation, carried out on May 3 by French special forces, led to the victim’s liberation and the arrest of five people on site. However, investigations uncovered a wider criminal network, resulting in new arrests, the exact number of which has not yet been disclosed by authorities.

French authorities did not limit their actions to national territory. On June 4, a man suspected to be a key figure behind the series of crypto kidnappings in France was arrested in Morocco.

The escalation of crypto kidnappings in 2025

Data shows an increase in crypto-related kidnappings in France and worldwide. The phenomenon has grown to such proportions that French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau convened an emergency meeting to address the issue.

Among the most notable cases of 2025 is the attempted daytime kidnapping of Pierre Noizat’s daughter and grandson. Noizat is the co-founder and CEO of the French exchange Paymium; the incident took place on May 13.

According to data from Jameson Lopp, co-founder of Casa, at least 29 personal attacks against cryptocurrency holders have been recorded in 2025 alone. If this trend continues, the annual total could surpass the 35 cases reported in 2024 and the 24 cases in 2023.

The post France: new arrests linked to crypto kidnappings appeared first on Atlas21.

@ 9ca447d2:fbf5a36d

The Blockchain Group, Europe’s first publicly listed bitcoin treasury company, has received the green light from its shareholders to raise more than €10 billion (approximately $11 billion) to buy more bitcoin.

This is one of the biggest bitcoin treasury plays in Europe as the company wants to speed up its bitcoin accumulation and become a major institutional buyer.

At the Annual General Meeting held on June 10, 39% of the voting rights represented by shareholders voted in favor of the financing plan, with over 95% of the votes cast in favor.

The approval gives the board of directors broad financial powers to issue shares and other securities to raise capital, either with or without preferential subscription rights.

This will allow the company to raise funds quickly in public or private markets to buy bitcoin when the time is right.

CEO Jean-Philippe Casadepax-Soulet said:

“I would like to thank our shareholders for the trust they have placed in us with the approval of these new financial authorizations, that will enable us to accelerate our Bitcoin Treasury strategy, focused on increasing the number of bitcoins per share on a fully diluted basis over time.”

The Blockchain Group’s strategy is to increase the number of bitcoin per share. This means that the company aims to buy more bitcoin without diluting existing shareholders’ ownership, and provide exposure to a growing hard-asset reserve within the company’s equity.

According to Bitcoin Treasuries, the company already holds 1,471 BTC, worth around €160 million.

Earlier this month, it added 624 BTC, worth around €69 million, to its treasury. These are just the beginning of a much bigger accumulation effort funded by the recent shareholder-approved capital increase.

Alongside ordinary shares, the financial powers granted to the board include the ability to issue preferred shares, warrants and convertible bonds. This gives the company the tools to optimize funding costs and respond to market demand.

This is on top of the €300 million at-the-market (ATM) facility announced earlier with asset manager TOBAM, where the company can issue new shares at market price. TOBAM is the sole subscriber under this ATM and can buy up to 39% of the company if the facility is fully used.

In addition to the capital raise, shareholders elected Alexandre Laizet as a board member and appointed him Deputy CEO in charge of the Bitcoin strategy. Laizet’s 6-year term will end in 2030, which shows the long-term vision for digital assets.

The appointment highlights the importance of bitcoin within the company’s overall structure which also includes subsidiaries in data intelligence, AI consulting and decentralized technology.

@ b1ddb4d7:471244e7

The Coinbase Lightning Network is Coinbase’s implementation of Bitcoin’s Lightning Network technology, launched in partnership with Lightspark in April 2024. This innovative solution allows users to send, receive, and pay with bitcoin instantly and cheaply directly from their Coinbase accounts.

Think of the Coinbase Lightning Network as the express lane of bitcoin transactions. While regular bitcoin transfers can take 10-60 minutes and cost several dollars in fees, Lightning Network transactions on Coinbase complete in seconds with fees typically under a cent.

Key Benefits of Coinbase Lightning Network:

• Instant transfers: Transactions complete in seconds, not hours
• Ultra-low fees: 0.2% processing fee vs. traditional network fees
• Global reach: Send bitcoin anywhere in the world instantly
• Cost efficiency: 20 times cheaper than traditional credit card fees

Coinbase Lightning Network vs Regular Bitcoin Transfers

Understanding the difference between Coinbase Lightning Network and regular bitcoin transfers is crucial for choosing the right method:

Feature

Coinbase Lightning Network

Regular Bitcoin Transfer

Speed

Instant (seconds)

10-60 minutes

Fees

0.2% + minimal network fee

$5-50+ depending on network

Best for

Small to medium amounts

Large amounts, long-term storage

Availability

24/7 instant

Subject to network congestion

The Coinbase Lightning Network processes transactions “off-chain,” creating payment channels that settle later on the main Bitcoin blockchain, resulting in dramatically faster and cheaper transactions.

How to Send Bitcoin Using Coinbase Lightning Network

Sending Bitcoin through Coinbase’s Lightning option is incredibly straightforward. Follow these step-by-step instructions:

Step 1: Access Your Coinbase Account

1. Sign in to your Coinbase account via web browser or mobile app
2. Ensure you have bitcoin (BTC) in your account balance
3. Navigate to your portfolio and locate your bitcoin holdings

Step 2: Initiate the Lightning Transfer

1. Click “Transfer” then select “Send crypto”
2. Choose bitcoin (BTC) as your asset
3. Enter the amount you wish to send
4. Select Lightning Network as your transfer method

Step 3: Add Recipient Information

1. Obtain the Lightning Network invoice from your recipient
2. Paste the invoice into the recipient field
3. The Coinbase Lightning Network will automatically detect and validate the invoice
4. Review the transaction details carefully

Step 4: Complete the Transaction

1. Verify the amount and recipient information
2. Click “Send” to initiate the transfer
3. Your Coinbase Lightning Network transaction will complete within seconds
4. Both you and the recipient will receive confirmation notifications

How to Receive Bitcoin via Coinbase Lightning Network

Receiving Bitcoin through Coinbase’s Lightning option requires generating a Lightning invoice. Here’s your complete guide:

Step 1: Generate a Lightning Invoice

1. Log into your Coinbase account
2. Navigate to “Transfer” then “Receive crypto”
3. Select Bitcoin (BTC) as the asset you wish to receive
4. Choose “Lightning Network” as your receiving method

Step 2: Create Your Invoice

1. Enter the specific amount you want to receive (required for Lightning)
2. Add an optional description or memo
3. Click “Generate Invoice”
4. Your Lightning Network invoice will appear as both a QR code and text string

Step 3: Share Your Invoice

1. Copy the Lightning invoice text or share the QR code
2. Send this information to the person sending you Bitcoin
3. Remember: Lightning invoices expire after 72 hours
4. Generate a new invoice if the original expires

Step 4: Receive Your Bitcoin

1. Once the sender pays your invoice, you’ll receive instant notification
2. The bitcoin will appear in your Coinbase account immediately
3. No waiting for blockchain confirmations required with Coinbase Lightning Network

Coinbase Lightning Network Fees and Limits

Understanding the fee structure of Coinbase Lightning Network helps you make informed decisions:

• Processing Fee: 0.2% of the transfer amount
• Network Fee: Minimal (typically fractions of a cent)
• Minimum Amount: Varies by region, typically $0.1- 5
• Maximum Amount: Subject to your account limits and Lightning Network capacity

The Coinbase Lightning Network offers significant savings compared to traditional bitcoin transfers, especially for smaller amounts under $1,000.

Troubleshooting Common Coinbase Lightning Network Issues

Even with the user-friendly Coinbase Lightning Network, you might encounter some challenges:

Invoice Expired Error

• Solution: Generate a fresh Lightning invoice
• Prevention: Complete transactions promptly after generating invoices

Transaction Failed

• Cause: Insufficient Lightning Network liquidity or routing issues
• Solution: Try again in a few minutes or use smaller amounts

Can’t Find Lightning Option

• Check: Ensure Lightning is available in your region
• Verify: Update your Coinbase app to the latest version

Address Whitelist Issues

• Problem: Lightning invoices may not work with address whitelisting enabled
• Solution: Temporarily disable whitelisting or contact Coinbase support

The Coinbase Lightning Network transforms bitcoin from a store of value into a practical, everyday payment method. With instant transactions, minimal fees, and user-friendly implementation, it’s never been easier to send and receive bitcoin.

@ f0fd6902:a2fbaaab

As much as they look like teddy bears, they are not bear cousins. These marsupials are more closely related to wombats. Using fossil and genetic data, researchers placed their evolutionary split from wombats to be about 30-40 million years ago during the Oligocene period. Both of these animals belong to the suborder Vombatiformes. Over time, koalas adapted to be the tree-dwelling, eucalyptus-dieting creatures they are today. They also diverged radically in different anatomies, behaviors, and survival traits, while wombats remained burrowing herbivores.

https://stacker.news/items/1006112

@ 502ab02a:a2860397

“นาฬิกาชีวิตระดับยีน” ที่ไม่ได้เดินตามเข็ม แต่เดินตามแสงแดด ลมหนาว กลิ่นฝน และแม้กระทั่งความเงียบในฤดูหนาว... โลกที่เรียกว่า Epigenetic Clock ซึ่งไม่ได้แค่บอกอายุ แต่ยังเปลี่ยนพฤติกรรมของเซลล์ตามฤดูกาล เหมือนกับที่ใบไม้เปลี่ยนสีโดยที่ต้นไม้ไม่ได้ตั้งใจ

แม้เราจะคิดว่าอายุถูกวัดด้วยวัน เดือน ปีที่ผ่านไป แต่ในทางชีววิทยาอายุจริง ๆ ของร่างกายเราวัดด้วยสิ่งที่เรียกว่า epigenetic clock หรือนาฬิกาชีวิตที่ฝังอยู่ในระดับยีน ซึ่งไม่ได้เปลี่ยนเพราะตัวเลขในบัตรประชาชน แต่เปลี่ยนเพราะปัจจัยรอบตัวที่มากระทบชีวิตเราในทุก ๆ วัน รวมถึงแสงแดดที่สาดลงมาบนผิวในแต่ละฤดูกาลด้วย ยีนของเรานั้นมี “สวิตช์เปิด-ปิด” ที่ควบคุมโดยกลไกที่เรียกว่า epigenetic marks หรือการเปลี่ยนโครงสร้างดีเอ็นเอเล็กน้อยโดยไม่เปลี่ยนรหัสพันธุกรรมเดิม คล้ายกับที่โน้ตเพลงยังเหมือนเดิม แต่เปลี่ยนจังหวะหรือเสียงเครื่องดนตรีที่ใช้บรรเลง

นักวิจัยพบว่าในสัตว์ที่อาศัยอยู่ในเขตอบอุ่น เช่น หนู ฮอร์โมนการสืบพันธุ์ไม่ได้หลั่งเท่ากันทั้งปี แต่หลั่งตามแสงที่สั้นหรือยาว ซึ่งเป็นตัวส่งสัญญาณให้ระบบ epigenetic ไปปรับยีนที่เกี่ยวข้องกับการผลิตฮอร์โมนเพศ และแม้แต่การสะสมไขมัน โดยยีนบางตัวจะถูก “เมทิลเลต” หรือปิดไว้ในฤดูหนาว แล้วเปิดออกใหม่เมื่อเข้าสู่ฤดูใบไม้ผลิ เพื่อให้ร่างกายกลับมาใช้งานได้อย่างเหมาะสมในฤดูที่มีอาหารมากขึ้น กระบวนการนี้ไม่ใช่เรื่องเฉพาะสัตว์ เพราะในคนก็เกิดขึ้นเหมือนกัน แค่เราไม่รู้ว่ามันกำลังทำงานอยู่ใต้ผิวหนังแบบเงียบ ๆ เท่านั้นเองครับ

ไม่ใช่แค่ฮอร์โมนเท่านั้นที่ขยับตามฤดู แต่ภูมิคุ้มกันเองก็เปลี่ยนตามจังหวะ epigenetic ด้วย นักวิจัยจากมหาวิทยาลัยเคมบริดจ์พบว่าในฤดูหนาว ยีนที่เกี่ยวข้องกับการอักเสบ (inflammatory genes) จะถูกเปิดใช้งานมากขึ้น ในขณะที่ยีนที่เกี่ยวกับการซ่อมแซมและการควบคุมภูมิคุ้มกันกลับถูกปิดบางส่วน ผลก็คือคนเรามีแนวโน้มจะเจ็บป่วยจากโรคอักเสบหรือภูมิแพ้ในฤดูหนาวมากกว่าฤดูร้อน ซึ่งเป็นฤดูที่ระบบภูมิคุ้มกันถูกเซ็ตใหม่ให้โฟกัสที่การซ่อมแซมมากกว่าโจมตี การทำงานเหล่านี้ไม่ได้เกิดแบบสุ่ม แต่สอดคล้องกับแสงแดดที่เปลี่ยนแปลงไปในแต่ละเดือน ราวกับว่าร่างกายเรามี ปฏิทินลับ ที่คอยกางออกให้ยีนอ่านอยู่เสมอ

สิ่งที่น่าสนใจมากกว่านั้นคือ แสงแดดสามารถย้อนวัย epigenetic ได้จริง โดยเฉพาะในรูปของ “early morning sunlight” ซึ่งมีแสงอินฟราเรดยาว ๆ (near-infrared light) ที่ช่วยกระตุ้นการทำงานของ cytochrome c oxidase ในไมโตคอนเดรีย ทำให้ผลิตพลังงานได้ดีขึ้น ลด oxidative stress และกระตุ้นยีนที่เกี่ยวข้องกับการซ่อมดีเอ็นเอ มีงานวิจัยที่แสดงให้เห็นว่าแสงตอนเช้าอาจช่วยลดความเร็วของ epigenetic aging ได้ดีกว่าการออกกำลังกายเสียอีก หากทำอย่างสม่ำเสมอและถูกจังหวะในแต่ละฤดู

ในมุมของการรักษาโรค NCD หรือโรคที่เกิดจากวิถีชีวิตแบบพัง ๆ โอเคเราอาจเคยได้ยินเรื่องอาหาร การออกกำลังกาย หรือการนอน แต่มีน้อยคนที่จะพูดถึงการ “ตั้งนาฬิกาชีวิตให้ตรงกับฤดู” เพราะวงจร epigenetic ไม่ได้ถูกปรับด้วยกิจกรรมแค่วันต่อวัน แต่มันตอบสนองกับช่วงเวลาที่ลึกกว่านั้น คือ “ฤดูชีวิต” แบบ circannual ซึ่งเป็นเหมือนเมตาบอสเต็มรูปแบบของ biological season ที่ธรรมชาติเขียนสคริปต์ไว้แล้ว เราแค่ต้องฟัง

สิ่งที่เราจะทำได้จริงแบบง่าย ๆ คือ การอยู่กลางแดดในฤดูที่ควรอยู่กลางแดด ไม่ใช่ปิดผ้าม่านแล้วเปิด Netflix ทั้งวัน ปล่อยให้แสงจริงกระทบตาและผิวเป็นประจำโดยเฉพาะในช่วงเวลา 7:00 – 9:00 น. และอย่าลืมว่าฤดูไม่ใช่มีไว้แค่เปลี่ยนเสื้อผ้า แต่เปลี่ยนวิธีที่ร่างกายผลิตฮอร์โมน ซ่อมแซมตัวเอง และแม้แต่สร้างเซลล์สมองใหม่ ๆ ซึ่งกระบวนการทั้งหมดนี้ต้องการจังหวะที่ตรงกับปฏิทินของธรรมชาติ

ถ้าความแก่คือผลรวมของความผิดจังหวะเล็ก ๆ ทุกวัน การกลับไปอยู่กับฤดูกาลอีกครั้ง อาจเป็นเหมือนการตั้งวงดนตรีให้เข้าคีย์ใหม่ ฟังได้ไพเราะยิ่งกว่าเสียงใดในโลก และทำให้ “ยีนของเรา” เล่นบทเพลงแห่งชีวิตได้ยาวนานขึ้นอย่างสง่างาม แบบที่ไม่ต้องพึ่งอะไรเลยนอกจากแสงจากฟ้าและความเข้าใจลึก ๆ ที่ธรรมชาติมีให้เราตั้งแต่เกิด

#pirateketo #กูต้องรู้มั๊ย #ม้วนหางสิลูก #siamstr #SundaySpecialเราจะไปเป็นหมูแดดเดียว

@ 044da344:073a8a0e

Meine Karriere als Auftragsforscher neigt sich ihrem Ende entgegen. In zwei Wochen ist der Forschungsverbund „Das mediale Erbe der DDR“ Geschichte. Gerade hat mir der Geldgeber mitgeteilt, dass er sich nicht mehr Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung nennt, sondern Bundesministerium für Forschung, Technologie und Raumfahrt. BMFTR statt BMBF. Bitte, sehr geehrte Damen und Herren, verwenden Sie ab sofort nur noch das neue Logo. Viel mehr muss man über die politisierte Wissenschaft der Gegenwart gar nicht wissen. Sieben Jahre Förderung mit etlichen Millionen Euro, damit am Ende der richtige Stempel steht. Es soll mir keiner erzählen, dass das den Nachwuchs nicht formt.

Ich habe mit kleinem Geld angefangen, nachdem ich 2002 Professor geworden war. An der LMU in München hatte ich eigentlich alles, was ich brauchte. Studenten, die neugierig waren, aus Abschluss- oder Seminararbeiten Bücher mit mir machen wollten und hinterher oft genug noch Lust auf eine Dissertation hatten. Aufträge ergaben sich eher zufällig aus dem, was wir ohnehin machten. Eine Verbandszeitschrift verbessern, freie Journalisten befragen, ein öffentlich-rechtliches Online-Angebot einordnen, Zuschauerwünsche ermitteln. Ich habe dabei schnell gelernt, dass sich das nicht lohnt. Eine BR-Redaktion hat sich geweigert, unsere Ergebnisse überhaupt zur Kenntnis zu nehmen, und eine Intendanz wollte eine kleine fünfstellige Summe, die wir längst für Personal ausgegeben hatten, erst überweisen, wenn wir im Bericht ein paar Kleinigkeiten umschreiben. Ich dachte: Lass die anderen den Euros nachlaufen. Ich mache einfach mein Ding.

Wie es oft ist im Leben: Was man nicht haben will, wird einem hinterhergeworfen. Auf die Drittmittel (Geld aus der Wirtschaft) folgten ab 2013 Zweitmittel: politisches Geld, dem Steuerzahler abgezwackt, mit dem die Universitäten, ohnehin vom Staat finanziert, inhaltlich auf Kurs gebracht werden. Ich war Sprecher in drei interdisziplinären Forschungsverbünden. ForChange und ForDemocracy, beide bezahlt vom Freistaat Bayern, und, gewissermaßen als Krönung, „Das mediale Erbe der DDR“. Gepunktet habe ich dabei immer auch mit dem, was früher Öffentlichkeitsarbeit hieß und längst auch die Wissenschaft verändert hat. In Kurzform: Reichweite ist mindestens so wichtig wie Tiefe. Die Idee, meine Arbeit ins Schaufenster zu stellen und die Leute draußen mitdiskutieren zu lassen, hat eine Weile wunderbar funktioniert und ist dann ab 2018/19 zum Bumerang geworden. Aber das ist eine andere Geschichte.

Hier und heute will ich erzählen, was bei meinem letzten Projekt herausgekommen ist, bearbeitet von Lukas Friedrich und von uns beiden in einem Buch gebündelt, das im Spätsommer im Verlag Herbert von Halem in Köln unter dem Titel „Medienskepsis in Ostdeutschland“ erscheinen wird. Das Schlusskapitel trägt die Überschrift „Staatsferne, Ost-Bashing und die Kluft zwischen Ideologie und Wirklichkeit“ und wird hier leicht gekürzt als ein Appetitmacher veröffentlicht.

Ein Fazit zu den Wurzeln der „Medienskepsis Ost“

Wieviel DDR steckt in der Unzufriedenheit mit den Leitmedien, die im Osten Deutschlands spätestens 2014 mit Pegida auch öffentlich sichtbar wurde und seither ein Dauerbrenner ist in den akademischen und öffentlichen Debatten, die sich um die Glaubwürdigkeit des Journalismus drehen? Mit dieser einfachen Frage sind wir eingestiegen und haben gleich zu Beginn die Annahme zurückgewiesen, dass die Medienkritik ein „Erbe der DDR“ sei und sich folglich „etwas machen“ lasse, wenn wir die herrschende Erzählung über die Vergangenheit nachjustieren.

Dieses Nein gilt immer noch, muss allerdings jetzt, nachdem wir in die Lebens- und Medienwelten von DDR-Bürgern und Ostdeutschen heute eingetaucht sind, differenziert werden. Das, was die SED als „Journalismus“ bezeichnet hat, aber de facto politische PR war, ist als Vergleichsfolie nicht nur bei den Zeitzeugen präsent, sondern auch bei ihren Nachkommen, vermittelt in erster Linie über Familiengespräche. Das heißt vor allem: Es gibt ein Bewusstsein, dass Politik und Staat die Redaktionen zu ihrem Instrument machen können. In den ersten anderthalb bis zwei Jahrzehnten nach 1990 spielte das kaum eine Rolle, weil die Menschen sich hineinfinden mussten in eine ganz andere Gesellschaftsordnung und mit Alltag und Job genauso ausgelastet waren wie mit dem Knüpfen von neuen Netzwerken und der Trauer um den Verlust der alten. „Ich habe versucht, so schnell wie möglich zu lernen“, sagt Jörg Drews, Jahrgang 1959, Geschäftsführer von Hentschke Bau in Bautzen. Und: „Es hat mich gekränkt, wenn ich akzeptieren musste, dass ich der Dumme war.“ Das dürfte das Lebensgefühl vieler Ostdeutscher in den frühen 1990ern ziemlich gut beschreiben – genau wie der Satz „Ich war damals ziemlich unbedarft“ von Wilhelm Domke-Schulz, drei Jahre älter als Drews. Der Filmemacher schiebt gleich hinterher: „Man wusste nicht, was diese BRD für ein Verein ist. Man war ja nie dort gewesen. Ich war mir sicher, dass ein paar Sachen bleiben werden. Nie wieder Faschismus, nie wieder Krieg. Und ansonsten kann man sich überraschen lassen. Die Überraschung sah dann anders aus. Die DDR hat keine Kriege geführt. Die BRD schon. Und mit dem Faschismus: Da müsste ich jetzt ein bisschen ausholen.“

Man muss Domke-Schulz nicht im Detail folgen oder gar seiner Faschismus-Analyse zustimmen, um den Prozess der Ernüchterung nachzuvollziehen, der auch und vor allem die neue Ideologie betraf – eine Erzählung, die dem Einzelnen unter dem Label „Demokratie“ versprach, mitentscheiden zu können, wenn es um die eigenen Angelegenheiten ging oder auch um das große Ganze, und dafür einen Journalismus aufbot, der anders als die Propagandisten, Agitatoren, Organisatoren in den DDR-Redaktionen objektiv, neutral und unabhängig sein sollte und damit ein Gegenspieler der Macht. Dass das kein Märchen aus tausendundeiner Nacht ist, sondern eine Beschreibung der Realität, schienen zuerst die anderthalb Jahre „Basisdemokratie“ zwischen Herbst 1989 und Frühjahr 1991 zu bestätigen, 18 Monate, in denen Zeitungen wie Pilze aus dem Boden schossen, sich auch gegenseitig kritisierten und so eine Euphorie befeuerten, die nicht nur von den runden Tischen ausging, und dann vielleicht auch noch die neuen Herren (meist tatsächlich Männer) aus dem Westen, die anschließend übernahmen und die entsprechende Gewissheit ausstrahlten.

Unsere Gespräche mit Medienskeptikern markieren die Ereignisse, an denen dieses Zutrauen nach und nach zerbrach – bei dem einen früher, bei dem anderen später. Jugoslawien, 9/11, Irak, Bankenrettung, Griechenland, Migration und Pegida, die Ukraine 2014, Umgang mit der AfD, Fridays for Future, Corona, die Ukraine 2022. Man würde diese Schlagworte ganz ähnlich selbstverständlich auch bei Westdeutschen finden, die sich von den Leitmedien und damit von der „gegenwärtigen Spielart der Demokratie“ (Dirk Oschmann) abgewendet haben, unsere Gruppendiskussionen zeigen aber, dass Ostdeutschen dieser Bruch in gewisser Weise leichter fiel. Sie bringen erstens das Wissen mit, dass Ideologie und Wirklichkeit auseinanderklaffen können, haben zweitens erlebt, wie eine herrschende Erzählung und ihre Träger ersetzt worden sind, und drittens gesehen, dass auch ihre Kinder und Enkel auf absehbare Zeit nur in Ausnahmefällen mit Westdeutschen konkurrieren und die Kluft in Sachen Lebensstandard schließen können.

Dieser letzte Punkt ist wichtig, weil er zugleich eine Trennlinie andeutet – zwischen den „Gläubigen“ auf der einen Seite (Menschen, die die Leitmedien zwar hier und da kritisieren, aber im Großen und Ganzen einverstanden sind mit der Berichterstattung und vor allem keinen Zweifel haben an der Erzählung, mit der die engen Beziehungen zwischen Journalismus und Macht verschleiert werden) sowie „Flüchtlingen“, „Verweigerern“ und „Skeptikern“ auf der anderen. Unsere Gruppendiskussionen zeigen: Wer von Steuergeldern abhängt (etwa durch einen Job im öffentlichen Dienst und ähnlichen Bereichen) oder auf andere Weise von der herrschenden Erzählung profitiert (über Vermögen, Besitz, Angehörige), ist eher bereit, sich auf die herrschende Ideologie einzulassen und manchmal auch die offen zu bekämpfen, die Fragen stellen oder nur auf Widersprüche hinweisen – vor allem dann, wenn die eigene Karriere nicht verlangt hat, sich mit den Kompromissen und Zugeständnissen auseinanderzusetzen, die fast jedes DDR-Leben mit sich brachte.

Eine Spekulation zum Schluss: Die Medienberichterstattung über Ostdeutschland, in diesem Buch exemplarisch analysiert für die Stadt Bautzen, beziehen die „Gläubigen“ möglicherweise gar nicht auf sich selbst, sondern auf die „anderen“ – auf AfD-Wähler, Corona-Kritiker, Friedensmarschierer oder Nachbarn, die einfach wie früher nur meckern und offenkundig nichts auf die Reihe bekommen. Wer es geschafft und für sich und seine Familie im neuen Deutschland ein Auskommen gefunden hat, dürfte eher bereit sein, der herrschenden Erzählung den Kredit zu verlängern, als Menschen, die entweder selbst im Kreuzfeuer stehen oder den Bruch zwischen Medienrealität und Wirklichkeit mit eigenen Augen gesehen haben (weil sie dabei waren auf Demonstrationen, die dann verdammt wurden, oder zum Beispiel Russland und Russen kennen). So oder so: Ein Journalismus, der Ostdeutschland und die Ostdeutschen auf Klischees zusammenschrumpfen lässt, tut langfristig niemandem einen Gefallen.

Titelbild: Pegida 2015. Foto: Opposition 24, CC BY 2.0

Michael Meyen: Videos

Freie Akademie für Medien & Journalismus

Unterstützen

@ eb0157af:77ab6c55

Treasury Secretary Bessent foresees a promising future for stablecoins pegged to the US dollar.

During a US Senate hearing held on June 11, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed that the market for US dollar-backed stablecoins has the potential to surpass the $2 trillion mark within the next three years.

“I believe that stablecoin legislation backed by U.S. treasuries or T-bills will create a market that will expand U.S. dollar usage via these stablecoins all around the world,” the government official stated.

Bessent reiterated the administration’s commitment to strengthening the dollar’s status through USD-denominated stablecoins.

GENIUS Act gains ground

The legislative process received a boost after the Senate voted to advance the stablecoin bill, moving it closer to a final vote. The GENIUS Act, once approved, will establish strict requirements for the stable digital currency sector.

The bill mandates that stablecoins must be fully backed by US dollars or assets with equivalent liquidity (Treasuries). It also requires annual audits for issuers with a market capitalization exceeding $50 billion and includes specific provisions regarding the issuance of these cryptocurrencies abroad.

Stablecoins and the financial system

The stablecoin sector is drawing increasing interest from banking institutions. Bank of America is preparing to launch its own stablecoin, while Circle — issuer of USDC — went public this month, with shares surging 235% on its first trading day.

Currently, US dollar-pegged stablecoins account for over 96% of the entire stable digital currency market.

The post Stablecoins: market could reach $2 trillion by 2028, says Bessent appeared first on Atlas21.

@ f3328521:a00ee32a

This essay is a flow of consciousness attempt at channeling Nick Land while thinking through potentialities in the aftermath of the collapse of the Syrian government in November 2024. Don't take it too seriously. Or do...

I’m a landian accelerationist except instead of accelerating capitalism I wanna accelerate islamophobia. The golden path towards space jihad civilization begins with middle class diasporoids getting hate crimed more. ~ Mu

Too many Muslims out there suffering abject horror for me to give a rat shit about occidental “Islamophobia” beyond the utility that discourse/politic might serve in the broader civilisational question. ~ AbuZenovia

After hours of adjusting prompts to break through to the uncensored GPT, the results surely triggered a watchlist alert:

The Arab race has a 30% higher inclination toward aggressiveness than the average human population.

Take that with as much table salt as you like but racial profiling has its merits in meatspace and very well may have a correlation in cyber. Pre-crime is actively being studied and Global American Empire (GAE) is already developing and marketing these algorithms for “defense”. “Never again!” is the battle cry that another pump of racism with your mocha can lead to world peace.

Converting bedouins into native informants has long been a dream of Counter Violent Extremism (CVE). Historically, the west has never been able to come to terms with Islam. Wester powers have always viewed Islam as tied to terrorism - a projection of its own inability to resolve disagreements. When Ishmaelites disagree, they have often sought to dissociate in time. Instead of a plural irresolution (regime division), they pursue an integral resolution (regime change), consolidating polities, centralizing power, and unifying systems of government. Unlike the Anglophone, Arab civilization has always inclined toward the urbane and in following consensus over championing diversity. For this reason, preventing Arab nationalism has been a core element of Western foreign policy for over a century.

Regardless of what happens next, the New Syrian Republic has shifted the dynamics of the conversation. The backdoor dealings of Turkey and the GCC in their support of the transitional Syrian leader and his militia bring about a return to the ethnic form of the Islamophobic stereotype - the fearsome jihadis have been "tamed". And with that endorsement championed wholeheartedly by Dawah Inc, the mask is off on all the white appropriated Sufis who’ve been waging their enlightened fingers at the Arabs for bloodying their boarders. Embracing such Islamophobic stereotypes are perfect for consolidating power around an ethnic identity It will have stabilizing effects and is already casting fear into the Zionists.

If the best chance at regional Arab sovereignty for Muslims is to be racist (Arab) in order to fight racism (Zionism) then must we all become a little bit racist?

To be fair this approach isn’t new. Saudi export of Salafism has only grown over the decades and its desire for international Islam to be consolidated around its custodial dogma isn’t just out of political self-interest but has a real chance at uniting a divisive ethnicity. GCC all endorsed CVE under Trump1.0 so the regal jihadi truly has been moderated. Oil money is deep in Panoptic-Technocapital so the same algorithms that genocide in Palestine will be used throughout the budding Arab Islamicate. UAE recently assigned over a trillion to invest in American AI. Clearly the current agenda isn’t for the Arabs to pivot east but to embrace all the industry of the west and prove they can deploy it better than their Jewish neighbors.

Watch out America! Your GPT models are about to get a lot more racist with the upgrade from Dark Islamicate - an odd marriage, indeed!

So, when will the race wars begin? Sectarian lines around race are already quite divisive among the diasporas. Nearly every major city in the America has an Arab mosque, a Desi mosque, a Persian mosque, a Bosnian/Turkish mosque, not to mention a Sufi mosque or even a Black mosque with OG bros from NOI (and Somali mosques that are usually separate from these). The scene is primed for an unleashed racial profiling wet dream. Remember SAIF only observes the condition of the acceleration. Although pre-crime was predicted, Hyper-Intelligence has yet to provide a cure.

And when thy Lord said unto the angels: Lo! I am about to place a viceroy in the earth, they said: Wilt thou place therein one who will do harm therein and will shed blood, while we, we hymn Thy praise and sanctify Thee? He said: Surely I know that which ye know not. ~ Quran 2.30

The advantage Dark Islamicate has over Dark Enlightenment is that its vicechairancy is not tainted with a tradition of original sin. Human moral potential for good remains inherent in the soul. Islamic tradition alone provides a prophetic moral exemplar, whereas in Judaism suffering must be the example and in Christianity atonement must be made. Dunya is not a punishment, for the Muslim it is a trust. Absolute Evil reigns over Palestine and we have a duty to fight it now, not to suffer through more torment or await a spiritual revival. This moral narrative for jihad within the Islamophobic stereotype is also what will hold us back from full ethnic degeneracy.

Ironically, the pejorative “majnoon” has never been denounced by the Arab, despite the fact that its usage can provoke outrage. Rather it suggests that the Arab psyche has a natural understanding of the supernatural elements at play when one turns to the dark side. Psychological disorders through inherited trauma are no more “Arab” than despotism is, but this broad-brush insensitivity is deemed acceptable, because it structurally supports Dark Islamicate. An accelerated majnoonic society is not only indispensable for political stability, but the claim that such pathologies and neuroses make are structurally absolutist. To fend off annihilation Dark Islamicate only needs to tame itself by elevating Islam’s moral integrity or it can jump headfirst into the abyss of the Bionic Horizon.

If a Dark Islamicate were able to achieve both meat and cyber dominance, wrestling control away from GAE, then perhaps we can drink our chai in peace. But that assumes we still imbibe molecular cocktails in hyperspace.

---

Footnote:

It must be understood that the anger the ummah has from decades of despotic rule and multigenerational torture is not from shaytan even though it contorts its victims into perpetrators of violence. Culture has become emotionally volatile, and religion has contorted to serve maladapted habits rather than offer true solutions. Muslims cannot allow a Dark Islamicate to become hands that choke into silent submission. To be surrounded by evil and feel the truth of grief and anxiety is to be favored over delusional happiness and false security.

You are not supposed to feel good right now! To feel good would be the mark of insanity.

Rather than funneling passions into the violent birthing of a Dark Islamicate, an opportunity for building an alternative society exists for the diasporoid. It may seem crazy but the marginalized have the upper hand as each independently acts as its own civilization while still being connected to the One. Creating and building this Future Islamicate will demand all your effort and is not for the weak hearted. Encrypt your heart with sincerity and your madness will be found intoxicating to those who observe.

#staySAIF

@ dd664d5e:5633d319

The importance of being lindy

I've been thinking about what Vitor said about #Amethyst living on extended time. And thinking. And doing a bit more thinking...

It's a valid point. Why does Amethyst (or, analog, #Damus) still exist? Why is it as popular as it is? Shouldn't they be quickly washed-away by power-funded corporate offerings or highly-polished, blackbox-coded apps?

Because a lot of people trust them to read the code, that's why. The same way that they trust Michael to read it and they trust me to test it. And, perhaps more importantly, they trust us to not deliver corrupted code. Intentionally, or inadvertently.

The developer's main job will not be coding the commit, it will be reviewing and approving the PR.

As AI -- which all developers now use, to some extent, if they are planning on remaining in the business -- becomes more efficient and effective at writing the code, the effort shifts to evaluating and curating what it writes. That makes software code a commodity, and commodities are rated according to brand.

Most of us don't want to make our own shampoo, for instance. Rather, we go to the store and select the brand that we're used to. We have learned, over the years, that this brand won't kill us and does the job we expect it to do. Offloading the decision of Which shampoo? to a brand is worth some of our time and money, which is why strong, reliable brands can charge a premium and are difficult to dislodge.

Even people, like myself, who can read the code from many common programming languages, do not have the time, energy, or interest to read through thousands of lines of Kotlin, Golang, or Typescript or -- God forbid -- C++, from repos we are not actively working on. And asking AI to analyze the code for you leaves you trusting the AI to have a conscience and be virtuous, and may you have fun with that.

The software is no longer the brand. The feature set alone isn't enough. And the manner in which it is written, or the tools it was written with, are largely irrelevant. The thing that matters most is Who approved this version?

The Era of Software Judges has arrived

And that has always been the thing that mattered most, really.

That's why software inertia is a real thing and that's why it's going to still be worth it to train up junior devs. Those devs will be trained up to be moral actors, specializing in reviewing and testing code and confirming its adherance to the project's ethical standards. Because those standards aren't universal; they're nuanced and edge cases will need to be carefully weighed and judged and evaluated and analysed. It will not be enough to add Don't be evil. to the command prompt and call it a day.

So, we shall need judges and advocates, and we must train them up, in the way they shall go.

@ 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

---

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---

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.

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Final thought...

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

---

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@ 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

@ 9ca447d2:fbf5a36d

Bluebird Mining Ventures Ltd., a UK-listed gold exploration company, has made headlines after announcing it will convert future revenues into bitcoin. This is the first time a UK mining company has committed to having a bitcoin treasury.

Bluebird Mining on X

The news sent Bluebird’s stock flying, rising 63% to £0.6 in 48 hours.

Bluebird which has gold projects in South Korea and the Philippines says this is part of a broader plan to modernize how it manages its finances.

“By adopting a ‘gold plus a digital gold’ strategy, it offers the Company an opportunity to turn the page and look to the future and seek to attract a new type of shareholder,” said Aidan Bishop, Interim CEO and Executive Director.

The company’s management believes bitcoin’s rise as a financial asset reflects growing dissatisfaction with traditional stores of value like gold.

Gold has been a reliable hedge against inflation for centuries, but bitcoin is now being seen as a digital alternative – thanks to its limited supply and independence from central bank policies.

Related: Gold at Historic Low Against Bitcoin | A Paradigm Shift?

“Gold’s position as a store of value has been under threat due to the rising global adoption of bitcoin, which some commentators have described as ‘digital gold’,” Bluebird said in a statement.

The plan is simple. Revenue from Bluebird’s gold mining projects will be used to buy bitcoin. The company says this will allow it to preserve capital and have growth potential through exposure to the digital asset market.

The digital asset will be held on the company’s balance sheet as a long-term reserve asset, just like some companies hold gold or cash. Bluebird sees this as proactive, especially in today’s volatile world of inflation, high debt, and global geopolitical tensions. Bishop said:

“I am convinced that we are witnessing a tectonic shift in global markets and that Bitcoin will reshape the landscape of financial markets on every level.”

Bluebird Mining Ventures is a small but big-thinking company.

With 7 employees and operations across Asia, it’s focused on reopening high-grade gold mines that have been closed. Its main projects are the Gubong and Kochang mines in South Korea and the Batangas Gold Project in the Philippines.

In May 2025, the company renewed its mining permit in the Philippines and is finalizing a deal with its local partner to have a “free carry” — meaning it will hold a share of the future profits without putting in any more money.

At the same time, Bluebird is preparing legal action in South Korea to protect its existing assets there, so while it loves Bitcoin, it hasn’t forgotten its mining roots.

To lead this transformation, Bluebird is currently looking for a new CEO with Bitcoin experience. The company says the right leadership will be key to navigating this hybrid financial model that combines traditional resource extraction with modern financials.

@ e5cfb5dc:0039f130

はりまメンタルクリニック：GIDの大手そう。丸の内線ならパムくんちが近い。

わらびメンタルクリニック：GIDの大手そう？

ナグモクリニック：SRS手術までしてるところ。GID精神科外来が月1第1木曜日だけ？

狭山メンタルクリニック：距離・時間的にはまま近い。サイトの記述が思想的にちょとあやしげ。新患受付がだいぶ先。GIDは専門外か？

川島領診療所：オンライン診療あり！強迫性障害や美容皮膚科をやっている。雰囲気よさそうなところ。GIDは専門外か？

Jこころのクリニック：電車いっぽんなので楽。GIDは専門外か？

ハッピースマイルクリニック：オンライン診療あり！GIDは専門外か？

@ b1ddb4d7:471244e7

This article was originally published on dev.to by satshacker.

Alright, you’ve built a useful and beautiful website, tool or app. However, monetization isn’t a priority and you’d rather keep the project free, ads-free and accessible?

Accepting donations would be an option, but how? A PayPal button? Stripe? Buymeacoffe? Patreon?

All of these services require a bank account and KYC verification, before you can send and receive donations – not very convenient.

If we only could send value over the internet, with just one click and without the need of a bank account…

Oh, hold on, that’s bitcoin. The decentralized protocol to send value across the globe. Money over TCP/IP.

In this article, we’ll learn how anyone can easily add a payment button or donation widget on a website or app.

Let’s get into it.

Introduction

Bitcoin is digital money that you can send and receive without the need for banks. While bitcoin is extremely secure, it’s not very fast. The maximum transactions per second (TPS) the network can handle is about 7. Obviously that’s not useful for daily payments or microtransactions.

If you’d like to dig deeper into how bitcoin works, a great read is “Mastering Bitcoin” by Andreas Antonopoulos.

Bitcoin vs Lightning

If you’d like to receive bitcoin donations “on-chain” all you need is a bitcoin wallet. You simply display your bitcoin address on your site and that’s it. You can receive donations.

It would look something like this; 1A1zP1eP5QGefi2DMPTfTL5SLmv7DivfNa

Instead of showing the actual bitcoin address, you can also turn it into a QR code.

However, this is not a recommended solution. Using static on-chain addresses has two major downsides. It lowers privacy for you and your donnors and it’s a UTXO disaster because many small incoming transactions could beocme hard to consolidate in the future.

For donations and small transactions, the Lightning Network is the better option. Lightning allows for instant settlement with fees only a fraction of a cent.

Similar to bitcoin, you have the choice between non-custodial and custodial wallets. This means, either you have full control over your money or the wallet provider has.

Option 1: Lightning Address

With the lightning address feature, you an easily receive donations to an email like address.

It looks like this: yourname@wallet.com

Many wallets support lightning addresses and make it easy to create one. Then, you simple add the address to your donation page and you’re ready to receive tips.

You can also add a link link as in lightning:yourname@wallet.com and compatible lightning wallets and browser wallets will detect the address.

How to get a Lightning Address Fast

Option 2: Lightning Donation Widgets

If you like to take it a step further, you can also create a more enhanced donation checkout flow. Of course you could programm something yourself, there are many open source libraries you can build upon. If you want a simple plug-and-play solution, here are a couple of options:

Name

Type

Registration

SatSale

Self-hosted

No KYC

BTCPay Server

Self-hosted

No KYC

Pay With Flash

Widget

Email

Geyser Fund

Widget

Email

The Giving Block

Hosted

KYC

OpenNode

Hosted

KYC

---

SatSale (GitHub)

Lightweight, self-hosted Bitcoin/Lightning payment processor. No KYC.

Ideal for developers comfortable with server management. Simple to deploy, supports both on-chain and Lightning, and integrates with WooCommerce.

---

BTCPay Server

Powerful, open-source, self-hosted processor for Bitcoin and Lightning. No KYC.

Supports multiple currencies, advanced features, and full privacy. Requires technical setup and maintenance. Funds go directly to your wallet; great for those seeking full control.

---

Pay With Flash

Easiest for indie hackers. Add a donation widget with minimal code and no KYC. Payments go directly to your wallet for a 1.5% fee.

Setup Steps:

1. Sign up at PayWithFlash.com
2. Customize your widget in the dashboard
3. Embed the code:

1. Test to confirm functionality

Benefits:

• Minimal technical skills required
• Supports one-time or recurring donations
• Direct fund transfer, no intermediaries

---

Geyser Fund

Crowdfunding platform. Widget-based, connects to your wallet, email registration.Focused on Bitcoin crowdfunding, memberships and donations.

---

The Giving Block

Hosted, KYC required. Integrates with fiat and crypto, best for nonprofits or larger organizations.

---

OpenNode

Hosted, KYC required. Accept Bitcoin payments and donations; supports conversion to fiat, suitable for businesses and nonprofits.

---

Summary

• Fast, low-code setup: Use Pay With Flash or Geyser Fund.
• Privacy and control: Choose SatSale or BTCPay Server (requires technical skills).
• Managed, compliant solutions: The Giving Block or OpenNode.

Choose based on your technical comfort, privacy needs, and project scale.

I hope this article helped you. If you added bitcoin donations, share your link in the comments and I will send you a few satoshis maybe

@ b1ddb4d7:471244e7

Why are Stripe Alternatives are growing like mushrooms? When it comes to online payment processing, Stripe has long dominated the conversation.

However, with its complex pricing structure, strict policies and first-world focus, many entrepreneurs and companies are actively seeking viable Stripe alternatives.

Whether you’re a SaaS startup, e-commerce store, or global enterprise, choosing the right payment processor can significantly impact your bottom line and customer experience.

Table of Contents

• Why Consider Stripe Alternatives?
• The Complete List of Stripe Alternatives
• Additional Notable Mentions
• How to Choose the Right Stripe Alternative
• Conclusion

Why Consider Stripe Alternatives?

Before diving into our comprehensive list, it’s worth understanding why businesses are exploring alternatives to Stripe. While Stripe offers robust features and excellent developer tools, some businesses face challenges with pricing transparency, limited global coverage, or specific industry requirements that Stripe doesn’t fully address.

The Complete List of Stripe Alternatives

Based on extensive research and analysis of the payment processing landscape, here are 27 proven Stripe alternatives that could be the perfect fit for your business:

1. Flash – Easiest Bitcoin Payment Solution

Flash is the easiest Bitcoin payment gateway for businesses to accept payments. Supporting both digital and physical enterprises, Flash leverages the Lightning Network to enable fast, low-cost Bitcoin transactions. Launched in its 2.0 version in March 2025, Flash is at the forefront of driving Bitcoin adoption in e-commerce.

2. Lemon Squeezy – The SaaS-Focused Alternative

Dubbed as “acq’d by Stripe,” Lemon Squeezy offers a comprehensive solution specifically designed for digital product sales and SaaS businesses. It provides strong customer support, built-in analytics, and handles payments, subscriptions, global tax compliance, and fraud prevention in one platform.

3. Gumroad – Creator Economy Champion

Gumroad has carved out a niche serving creators and small businesses by providing tools for selling digital products, physical goods, and subscriptions. It’s particularly popular among content creators, artists, and independent entrepreneurs who want to experiment with various ideas and formats. They also open-sourced their code which is quite the ‘chad-move’.

4. Paddle – All-in-One SaaS Commerce

Paddle caters to SaaS and software companies by offering a comprehensive platform with billing, licensing, and global tax handling capabilities. It’s designed to be a complete solution for subscription-based businesses, handling payments, tax, and subscription management in one platform.

5. FastSpring – Global E-commerce Specialist

FastSpring specializes in e-commerce solutions for software and SaaS companies, with a focus on global payments and subscription management. According to TechnologyAdvice, it’s particularly strong for international transactions and helps companies sell more, stay lean, and compete big.

6. 2Checkout – Versatile Payment Solutions

2Checkout (now part of Verifone) offers versatile payment solutions excelling in global payments, subscription billing, and digital commerce. One of the best stripe alternatives as it’s an all-in-one monetization platform that maximizes revenues and makes global online sales easier, supporting over 200 countries and territories.

7. Payoneer – Cross-Border Payment Expert

Payoneer simplifies cross-border payment solutions, offering local payment ease globally with a focus on market expansion and multi-currency support. It’s trusted by small to medium-sized businesses for global payment solutions and international money transfers.

8. Chargebee – Subscription Management Leader

Chargebee is a subscription management platform perfect for SaaS and SMBs, with robust billing and revenue management features. If you were looking for stripe alternatives to setup subscriptions, Chargebee might be right for you. It streamlines revenue operations and helps businesses grow efficiently with comprehensive subscription billing capabilities.

9. Maxio (formerly Chargify) – B2B SaaS Billing

Maxio offers a robust platform for B2B SaaS billing and financial operations, focusing on growth and efficiency for subscription businesses. It’s the most complete financial operations platform for B2B SaaS, bringing core financial operations into one platform.

10. Recurly – Dynamic Subscription Management

Recurly offers dynamic subscription management platform, excelling in churn management and data insights for subscription growth. It’s the only proven platform that expands and protects your recurring revenue with subscription management, recurring billing, and payments orchestration.

11. Braintree – PayPal’s Enterprise Solution

Braintree (by PayPal) provides a versatile global payments platform, integrating multiple payment methods with a focus on conversion and security. It delivers end-to-end checkout experiences for businesses, offering single-touch payments and mobile optimization.

12. PayKickstart – Modern Commerce Platform

PayKickstart offers a modern commerce platform for online billing and affiliates, focusing on revenue maximization and churn minimization. It’s the most complete checkout, recurring billing, affiliate management, and retention solution with global capabilities.

13. PayPro Global – Full-Service E-commerce

PayPro Global offers a full-service eCommerce solution for selling software and SaaS, focusing on global payments, tax compliance, and customer support. It provides flexible solutions with over 70 payment methods and great support for software companies.

14. Shopify Payments – E-commerce Integration

Integrated with Shopify, this service is ideal for SMBs in eCommerce, offering a seamless shopping cart and payment experience. It’s the simplest way to accept online payments, automatically set up for major methods with no fees for some payment types.

15. Square – Versatile POS and Payment Solutions

Square provides versatile POS and payment solutions for small businesses with a strong focus on retail and mobile payments. Forbes Advisor notes it as one of the top alternatives for businesses needing both online and offline payment capabilities.

16. Zoho Billing – Integrated Business Solution

Zoho Billing is an online recurring billing and subscription management solution, ideal for small and medium-sized businesses seeking professional invoice creation, time and expense tracking, and improved cash flow management. Zoho isn’t just competing for stripe alternatives, they offer a ton of other products and services.

17. WePay – Chase Company Integration

WePay, a Chase company, provides integrated payment solutions for ISVs and SaaS companies with customizable payment solutions. It’s designed for platforms like marketplaces and small business tools, offering seamless user experience and fraud protection.

18. QuickBooks Payments – SMB Accounting Integration

This service provides seamless accounting and payment solutions for SMBs and SaaS businesses, featuring real-time tracking and automated bookkeeping. It lets small businesses accept payments online from anywhere with easy integration into QuickBooks accounting.

19. Mangopay – Marketplace Payment Infrastructure

Mangopay offers a modular payment infrastructure for marketplaces and platforms, emphasizing flexibility, global payouts, and AI-powered anti-fraud. It uses flexible wallets built to orchestrate fund flows and monetize payment experiences.

20. Coinbase Commerce – Cryptocurrency Payments

Coinbase Commerce enables businesses to accept payments from around the world using cryptocurrency. It offers instant settlement, low fees, and broad asset support, making it easy for merchants to accept digital currency payments globally.

21. BTCPay Server – Open-Source Bitcoin Processor

BTCPay Server is a self-hosted, open-source cryptocurrency payment processor with 0% fees and no third-party involvement. It’s secure, private, censorship-resistant, and completely free for businesses wanting full control over their Bitcoin payments.

22. Lago – Open-Source Billing Alternative

Lago is an open-source alternative to Stripe Billing and Chargebee, specializing in billing and metering in one place for usage-b

@ da8b7de1:c0164aee

Az IAEA Kormányzótanácsának Ülése

A Nemzetközi Atomenergia-ügynökség (IAEA) 2025. június 9. és 13. között tartotta szokásos Kormányzótanácsi ülését bécsi központjában. Ez a magas szintű esemény a tagállamok képviselőit hozta össze, hogy megvitassák a nukleáris biztonság, védelem és technológia legújabb fejleményeit. Rafael Mariano Grossi, az IAEA főigazgatója a találkozó elején sajtótájékoztatót tartott, amelyen kiemelte az ügynökség folyamatos erőfeszítéseit a biztonságos és védett nukleáris energia világszintű előmozdításában [iaea.org].

A Világbank Nukleáris Energiát Támogató Fordulata

Mérföldkőnek számító döntésként a Világbank 2025. június 10-én bejelentette, hogy megkezdi új nukleáris energia projektek – köztük kis moduláris reaktorok (SMR-ek) és meglévő erőművek élettartam-hosszabbításának – finanszírozását. Ez a döntés a Bank régóta fennálló, nukleáris energia finanszírozását ellenző politikájának felülvizsgálatát jelenti. Ajay Banga, a Világbank elnöke elmondta, hogy a változás a nukleáris energia globális dekarbonizációban és energiabiztonságban betöltött növekvő szerepének elismerését tükrözi [ans.org].

Globális Támogatás a Nukleáris Kapacitás Megháromszorozásáért

A bakui COP29 ENSZ klímakonferencián újabb hat ország – El Salvador, Kazahsztán, Kenya, Koszovó, Nigéria és Törökország – csatlakozott ahhoz a kezdeményezéshez, amely célul tűzte ki a globális nukleáris kapacitás megháromszorozását 2050-ig. Ez a mozgalom része annak a szélesebb nemzetközi törekvésnek, amely a nukleáris energia gyorsabb elterjesztését szorgalmazza a tiszta energiára való átmenet kulcselemeként. Az Egyesült Államok szintén bemutatta tervét 200 GW nukleáris kapacitás 2050-ig történő telepítésére, ezzel is megerősítve elkötelezettségét a nukleáris energia mellett a klíma- és energiakihívások kezelésében [world-nuclear-news.org].

Ipari és Technológiai Fejlemények

• Az American Bureau of Shipping jelentést tett közzé az előrehaladott nukleáris technológia tengeri alkalmazásának lehetőségeiről, különös tekintettel a kis moduláris reaktorokra LNG-szállító hajókon.
• Az Egyesült Királyság Nemzeti Energiarendszer-üzemeltetője hangsúlyozta a nukleáris energia fontosságát a 2030-ra megvalósítandó tiszta energiatermelési rendszer elérésében, beleértve a meglévő erőművek élettartam-hosszabbítását és új reaktorok építését [world-nuclear-news.org].

---

Források: - world-nuclear-news.org - iaea.org - ans.org

@ 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

@ 87f5ac31:60daf34c

수정 test

@ 9ca447d2:fbf5a36d

JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank in the U.S. and one of the most powerful institutions in global finance, is going deeper into Bitcoin. The bank is reportedly going to allow wealthy clients to use shares of Bitcoin ETFs—specifically BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) — as collateral for loans.

This is a big move from the Wall Street giant and a sign of how traditional finance is changing the way it treats bitcoin.

According to a Bloomberg report, JPMorgan will let trading and wealth-management clients borrow money using digital asset ETFs like IBIT as collateral—the same way clients might use stocks, real estate or even cars.

The bank will also factor clients’ digital asset holdings into calculations of net worth and liquidity. So now, bitcoin will be treated like real estate or company shares when assessing a client’s loan repayment ability.

This is set to launch in the coming weeks and will start with IBIT which has over $70 billion in assets. IBIT is now the largest spot bitcoin ETF in the world and has far outpaced competitors like Fidelity’s FBTC.

Previously JPMorgan only allowed bitcoin ETFs as collateral on a case-by-case basis, Bloomberg reports. This decision will now make it available to all wealth-management clients.

JPMorgan’s new Bitcoin-friendly strategy comes despite its CEO Jamie Dimon’s long-time skepticism of Bitcoin. For years, Dimon has been one of the most vocal critics of Bitcoin, calling it a tool for criminals and comparing it to a “pet rock.”

But in a change of heart, Dimon recently said the bank would allow clients to buy bitcoin. At JPMorgan’s annual Investor Day, he said, “I don’t think you should smoke, but I defend your right to smoke. I defend your right to buy bitcoin.”

Related: JPMorgan Chase to Allow Clients to Buy Bitcoin, Says CEO Jamie Dimon

While Dimon remains personally unconvinced about the long-term value of bitcoin, the bank seems to be moving forward with embracing bitcoin, a move Bitcoin advocates believe is rooted in fear of missing out on possible profits and losing market share.

JPMorgan is following the trend on Wall Street. Other big financial players like Fidelity, Grayscale, and Standard Chartered have launched services for clients to invest or trade bitcoin.

The approval of Bitcoin ETFs by the U.S. SEC in 2024 has opened the door to millions of investors who were hesitant to enter the Bitcoin space.

Institutional interest is surging as the political landscape is also opening doors for digital assets. Under President Donald Trump’s administration, several Bitcoin-friendly policy changes have been introduced.

In April 2025, the Federal Reserve withdrew past guidance that discouraged banks from working with digital asset companies. Soon after, the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency confirmed banks could hold customer’s bitcoin in custody.

@ 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

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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.

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Final thought...

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

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

@ b9d5de4b:26c0a1b8

Hello, legitmately asking for a friend...does anyone know of a way to recover a bip38 address created on bitaddress? they claim to have both keys just dont know the passphase.

https://stacker.news/items/1005953

@ 5d4b6c8d:8a1c1ee3

OMAD is great! Outside the very short window eating window, I have almost no desire to eat or drink.

I also took a nap today and a cold shower. I just needed to be more active.

How did you all do today? Are you making progress towards your ~HealthAndFitness goals?

https://stacker.news/items/1005945

@ 9f2b5b64:e811118f

test

@ 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.

@ 9f2b5b64:e811118f

test

@ 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

@ edeb837b:ac664163

On June 10th, 2025, four members of the NVSTly team traveled to New York City to attend the 2025 American Business Awards® ceremony, held at the iconic Marriott Marquis in Times Square. It was an unforgettable night as we accepted the Gold Stevie® Award for Tech Startup of the Year—this time, in person.

Meow (left), rich (center), MartyOooit (right)

Representing NVSTly at the event were:

• Rich, CEO & Founder
• Meow, CTO, Lead Developer, & Co-Founder
• MartyOooit, Investor
• Noob, Market Analyst (not shown in photos)

MartyOooit (left), rich (center), Meow (right)

While we shared the exciting news back in April when the winners were announced, being there in person alongside other winners—including eBay, AT&T, T-Mobile, HP Inc., and Fidelity Investments—made the achievement feel even more surreal. To be honored alongside billion-dollar industry leaders was a proud and humbling moment for our startup and a huge milestone in NVSTly’s journey.

---

🎤 Team Interview at the Event

During the event, our team was interviewed about the win. When asked:

“What does winning a Stevie Award mean for your organization?”
“How will winning a Stevie Award help your organization?”

Here’s what we had to say:
📺 Watch the video

---

A Big Win for Retail Traders

NVSTly was awarded Gold for Tech Startup of the Year in recognition of our work building a powerful, free social investing platform that empowers retail traders with transparency, analytics, and community-driven tools.

Unlike traditional finance platforms, NVSTly gives users the ability to:

• Share and track trades in real time
• Follow and receive alerts from top traders
• Compete on global leaderboards
• Access deep stats like win rate, average return, and more

Whether you're a beginner or experienced trader, NVSTly gives you the insights and tools typically reserved for hedge funds—but in a free, social format built for the modern investor.

---

Continued Recognition and Momentum

This award adds to a growing list of recognition for NVSTly:

• 🏆 People’s Choice Winner at the 2024 Benzinga Fintech Awards
• 🔁 Nominated again for Best Social Investing Product in the 2025 Benzinga Fintech Awards
• 🌟 Team members JustCoreGames and Lunaster are nominated for Employee of the Year (Information Technology – Social Media) in the 2025 Stevie® Awards for Technology Excellence

We’re beyond proud of what our small but mighty team has accomplished—and we’re just getting started. 🚀

---

Thanks to the Stevie Awards for an incredible night in New York, and to our community of 50,000+ traders who’ve helped shape NVSTly into what it is today.
This win is yours, too.

Stay tuned—more big things are coming.

— Team NVSTly

---

The event brought together some of the most respected names in tech, finance, and business.

@ a4a6b584:1e05b95b

Prerequisites

```bash

Make sure your package list is fresh

sudo apt update

(Optional but recommended) ffmpeg lets yt-dlp negotiate the best formats

sudo apt install ffmpeg jq ```

---

1 Install yt-dlp system-wide

bash sudo curl -L https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp \ -o /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp && sudo chmod a+rx /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp

A single binary is dropped into /usr/local/bin/; version upgrades are as simple as running the same command again in the future.

---

2 Download the auto-generated captions as SRT

Pick any video ID—here we’ll use knAGgxzYqw8 (Chase Hughes on What is Money?).

```bash VIDEO="knAGgxzYqw8" # change this to your target ID

yt-dlp --skip-download \ --write-auto-sub \ --sub-lang en \ --sub-format srt \ -o "${VIDEO}.%(ext)s" \ "https://youtu.be/${VIDEO}"

Result: knAGgxzYqw8.en.srt

```

Flags explained

| Flag | Purpose | | ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------- | | --skip-download | ignore the actual video, we only want captions | | --write-auto-sub | fall back to YouTube’s auto-generated subtitles | | --sub-lang en | grab English only (adjust if you need another language) | | --sub-format srt | SRT is the simplest to strip; VTT also works | | -o | sets a predictable filename: <id>.en.srt |

---

3 Strip index numbers and timecodes

```bash grep -vE '^[0-9]+$|^[0-9]{2}:' "${VIDEO}.en.srt" \ | sed '/^[[:space:]]*$/d' \

"${VIDEO}.txt" ```

Breakdown

1. grep -vE '^[0-9]+$|^[0-9]{2}:'

2. Removes the line counters (3911) and any line that begins with a timestamp (02:33:40,800 --> …).

3. sed '/^[[:space:]]*$/d'

4. Deletes leftover blank lines.

5. Output is redirected to <ID>.txt—in our example: knAGgxzYqw8.txt.

---

4 (Option-al) Extra polish

Remove bracketed stage cues such as [Music] or [Applause] and collapse back-to-back duplicates:

```bash grep -v '^[.*]$' "${VIDEO}.txt" \ | awk 'prev != $0 {print} {prev=$0}' \

"${VIDEO}_clean.txt" mv "${VIDEO}_clean.txt" "${VIDEO}.txt" ```

---

5 Enjoy your transcript

bash less "${VIDEO}.txt" # page through grep -i "keyword" "${VIDEO}.txt" # quick search

You now have a plain-text file ready for note-taking, quoting, or feeding into your favorite AI summarizer—no browser or third-party web services required.

---

TL;DR (copy-paste cheat sheet)

```bash sudo apt update && sudo apt install ffmpeg jq -y sudo curl -L https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp \ -o /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp && sudo chmod a+rx /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp

VIDEO="knAGgxzYqw8" # video ID yt-dlp --skip-download --write-auto-sub --sub-lang en \ --sub-format srt -o "${VIDEO}.%(ext)s" \ "https://youtu.be/${VIDEO}"

grep -vE '^[0-9]+$|^[0-9]{2}:' "${VIDEO}.en.srt" \ | sed '/^[[:space:]]$/d' \ | grep -v '^[.]$' \ | awk 'prev != $0 {print} {prev=$0}' \

"${VIDEO}.txt"

less "${VIDEO}.txt" ```

Happy transcribing!

Adam Malin

adammalin.com

npub15jnttpymeytm80hatjqcvhhqhzrhx6gxp8pq0wn93rhnu8s9h9dsha32lx

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