@ 502ab02a:a2860397

สัปดาห์นี้ถือว่าเป็นเบรคคั่นพักผ่อนแก้เครียดนิดหน่อยแล้วกันครับ เรามาเล่าย้อนอดีตกันนิดหน่อย เหมือนสตาร์วอส์ที่ฉายภาค 4-5-6 แล้วย้อนไป 1-2-3 ฮาๆๆๆ

เคยได้ยินคำว่า Nuremberg Trials ไหมครับ ย้อนความนิดนึงว่า Nuremberg (Nürnberg อ่านว่า เนือร์นแบร์ก) คือชื่อเมืองในเยอรมนีที่เคยเป็นเวทีพิจารณาคดีประวัติศาสตร์หลังสงครามโลกครั้งที่ 2

“Nuremberg Trials” คือการไต่สวนผู้มีส่วนเกี่ยวข้องกับ อาชญากรรมสงครามของนาซีเยอรมัน หลังสงครามโลกครั้งที่ 2 ในปี 1945–46 พันธมิตรผู้ชนะสงครามได้จับตัวผู้นำนาซี นักการเมือง หมอ นักวิทยาศาสตร์ มาขึ้นศาล ข้อหาของพวกเขาไม่ได้แค่ฆ่าคน แต่รวมถึงการละเมิดศีลธรรมมนุษย์ขั้นพื้นฐาน อย่างการทดลองทางการแพทย์กับนักโทษ โดยไม่มีการขอความยินยอม

จากการไต่สวนนี้ จึงเกิดหลักจริยธรรมที่ชื่อว่า “Nuremberg Code” ซึ่งกลายเป็นรากฐานของการทดลองทางการแพทย์ยุคใหม่ หัวใจของโค้ดนี้คือคำว่า “Informed Consent” แปลว่า ถ้าจะทำอะไรกับร่างกายใคร ต้องได้รับความยินยอมจากเขาอย่างเต็มใจ และมีข้อมูลครบถ้วน นี่แหละ คือบทเรียนจากบาดแผลของสงครามโลก

แต่แล้ว...ในปี 2020 โลกก็เข้าสู่ยุคที่ใครบางคนบอกว่า “ต้องเชื่อผู้เชี่ยวชาญ” ใครกังวล = คนไม่รักสังคม ใครถามเยอะ = คนต่อต้านวิทยาศาสตร์ การยินยอมโดยสมัครใจ เริ่มกลายเป็นแค่คำเชิงสัญลักษณ์

ในช่วงหลังนี้เราอาจจะได้ยินข่าวหรือทฤษฎีในอินเตอร์เนทเกี่ยวกับคำว่า Nuremberg 2.0 กันนะครับ เพราะเริ่มผุดขึ้นตามกระทู้เงียบ ๆ คลิปใต้ดิน และเวทีเสวนาแปลก ๆ ที่ไม่มีใครอยากอ้างชื่อบนเวที TED Talk ซึ่ง กลุ่มที่ใช้คำนี้มักจะหมายถึงความต้องการให้มีการ “ไต่สวน” หรือ “เอาผิด” กับนักการเมือง นักวิทยาศาสตร์ แพทย์ หรือองค์กรที่เกี่ยวข้องกับ การออกคำสั่ง การบังคับ การเซ็นเซอร์ข้อมูลที่ขัดแย้งกับแนวทางรัฐ การเผยแพร่ข้อมูลโดยไม่โปร่งใส พวกเขามองว่า นโยบายเหล่านั้นละเมิดสิทธิเสรีภาพของประชาชนในระดับที่เปรียบได้กับ “อาชญากรรมต่อมนุษยชาติ” จึงเสนอแนวคิด “Nuremberg 2.0”

พวกเขาไม่ได้เรียกร้องแค่ความโปร่งใส แต่เขาอยากเห็นการทบทวน ว่าใครกันแน่ที่ละเมิดหลักจริยธรรมที่โลกเคยตกลงกันไว้เมื่อ 80 ปีก่อน

Nuremberg คือการไต่สวนคนที่ใช้อำนาจรัฐฆ่าคนอย่างจงใจ Nuremberg 2.0 คือคำเตือนว่า “การใช้ความกลัวครอบงำเสรีภาพ” อาจไม่ต่างกันนัก

ทีนี้เคยสงสัยไหม แล้วมันเกี่ยวอะไรกับอาหาร?

เพราะจากวิกฤตโรคระบาด เราเริ่มเห็น “วิทยาศาสตร์แบบผูกขาด” คุมเกมส์ บริษัทเทคโนโลยีเริ่มเข้ามาทำอาหาร ชื่อใหม่ของเนื้อสเต๊กกลายเป็น “โปรตีนทางเลือก” อาหารจากแล็บกลายเป็น “ทางรอดของโลก” สารเคมีอัดลงไปแทนเนื้อจริง ๆ แต่มีฉลากติดว่า "รักษ์โลก ปลอดภัย ยั่งยืน"

แต่ถ้ามองให้ลึกลงไปอีกนิด บางกลุ่มคนกลับเริ่มเห็นอะไรบางอย่างที่ขนลุกกว่า เพราะมันคือ “ระบบควบคุมสุขภาพ” ที่อาศัย “ความกลัว” เป็นหัวเชื้อ และ “วิทยาศาสตร์แบบผูกขาด” เป็นกลไก

จากนั้น…ทุกอย่างก็จะถูกเสิร์ฟอย่างสวยงามในรูปแบบ "นวัตกรรมเพื่ออนาคต" ไม่ว่าจะเป็นอาหารเสริมชนิดใหม่ เนื้อสัตว์ปลูกในแล็บ หรืออาหารที่ไม่ต้องเคี้ยว

ลองคิดเล่น ๆครับ ถ้าสารอาหารถูกควบคุมได้ เหมือนที่เราเคยถูกบังคับกับบางอย่างได้ล่ะ? วันหนึ่ง เราอาจถูกขอให้ "กิน" ในสิ่งที่ระบบสุขภาพอนาคตเขาบอกว่าดี แล้วถ้าเฮียบอกว่าไม่อยากกิน...เขาอาจไม่ห้าม แต่ App สุขภาพจะเตือนว่า “คุณมีพฤติกรรมเสี่ยงต่อโลกใบนี้” แต้มเครดิตจะสุขภาพจะลดลงและส่วนลดข้าวกล่องเนื้อจากจุลินทรีย์จะไม่เข้าบัญชีเฮียอีกเลย

ใช่…มันไม่เหมือนการบังคับ แต่มันคือการสร้าง “ระบบทางเดียว” ที่ทำให้คนที่อยากเดินออกนอกแถว เหมือนเดินลงเหว

Nuremberg 2.0 จึงไม่ใช่แค่เรื่องของอดีตหรือโรคระบาด แต่มันเป็นกระจกที่สะท้อนว่า “ถ้าเราไม่เรียนรู้จากประวัติศาสตร์ เราอาจกินซ้ำรอยมันเข้าไปในมื้อเย็น”

อนาคตของอาหารอาจไม่ได้อยู่ในจาน แต่อยู่ในนโยบาย อยู่ในบริษัทที่ผลิตโปรตีนจากอากาศ อยู่ในทุนที่ซื้อนักวิทยาศาสตร์ไว้ทั้งวงการ และถ้าเราหลับตาอีกครั้ง หลายคนก็กลัวว่า...บทไต่สวน Nuremberg รอบใหม่ อาจไม่สามารถเกิดขึ้นอีกต่อไป เพราะคราวนี้ คนร้ายจะไม่ได้ถือปืน แต่อาจถือใบรับรองโภชนาการระดับโลกในมือแทน

#pirateketo #กูต้องรู้มั๊ย #ม้วนหางสิลูก #siamstr

@ 38d2a406:ad9e5329

{"contract_id":"f5523a8f242339bdd8585e5491a82c2d9a72ff51f7fadc3f7c6f766afe9c0f19","title":"T2- Freelance Development Agreement","content":"# Freelance Development Agreement\n\n## Parties\n\nThis Freelance Development Agreement (the \"Agreement\") is entered into as of [DATE] by and between:\n\nClient: [CLIENT NAME], with an address at [CLIENT ADDRESS] (\"Client\")\n\nDeveloper: [DEVELOPER NAME], with an address at [DEVELOPER ADDRESS] (\"Developer\")\n\n## Services\n\nDeveloper agrees to provide the following services to Client (the \"Services\"):\n\n1. Design and develop a web application according to the specifications outlined in Attachment A.\n2. Provide regular progress updates on a weekly basis.\n3. Deliver the completed project by the deadline specified in the Timeline section.","version":1,"created_at":1746583812,"signers_required":2,"signatures":[{"pubkey":"306555fee4433582b32f6d46f11b644da33896595016893d7da18c75fd7fdf12","sig":"8ad3a9e2a4ef70515853e051882ab11ebc7d56f15be46deb1520d6292711bc4eeb29c723c46a251c98134d06b8950931d19f61f6f8836e4932f0d6682fe8159e","timestamp":1746583928},{"pubkey":"38d2a406f9ae6eebbeee9d35276c45538ed80083c859b28601279187ad9e5329","sig":"ef4802ea6966318774cb8554ed547692691d143cef48bc1049ef43546b77b3720908ec4e77e151117bafb676b96653cb5fcc70658116e96759d3a2a52ffd94da","timestamp":1746584026}]}

@ 306555fe:fd7fdf12

{"contract_id":"f5523a8f242339bdd8585e5491a82c2d9a72ff51f7fadc3f7c6f766afe9c0f19","title":"T2- Freelance Development Agreement","content":"# Freelance Development Agreement\n\n## Parties\n\nThis Freelance Development Agreement (the \"Agreement\") is entered into as of [DATE] by and between:\n\nClient: [CLIENT NAME], with an address at [CLIENT ADDRESS] (\"Client\")\n\nDeveloper: [DEVELOPER NAME], with an address at [DEVELOPER ADDRESS] (\"Developer\")\n\n## Services\n\nDeveloper agrees to provide the following services to Client (the \"Services\"):\n\n1. Design and develop a web application according to the specifications outlined in Attachment A.\n2. Provide regular progress updates on a weekly basis.\n3. Deliver the completed project by the deadline specified in the Timeline section.","version":1,"created_at":1746583812,"signers_required":2,"signatures":[{"pubkey":"306555fee4433582b32f6d46f11b644da33896595016893d7da18c75fd7fdf12","sig":"8ad3a9e2a4ef70515853e051882ab11ebc7d56f15be46deb1520d6292711bc4eeb29c723c46a251c98134d06b8950931d19f61f6f8836e4932f0d6682fe8159e","timestamp":1746583928}]}

@ a9e24cc2:597d8933

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@ 752f5d10:88491db3

Opinion about Trendo: Forex Trading & Broker (android)

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Join the conversation!

@ 000002de:c05780a7

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIMZH7DEPPQ

I really enjoy listening to non-technical people talk about technology when they get the bigger picture impacts and how it relates to our humanity.

I was reminded of this video by @k00b's post about an AI generated video of a victim forgiving his killer.

Piper says, "Computers are better at words than you. Than I". But they are machines. They cannot feel. They cannot have emotion.

This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me

~ Matthew 15:8

Most of us hate it when people are fake with us. When they say things they don't mean. When they say things just to get something they want from us. Yet, we are quickly falling into this same trap with technology. Accepting it as real and human. I'm not suggesting we can't use technology but we have to be careful that we do not fall into this mechanical trap and forget what makes humans special.

We are emotional and spiritual beings. Though AI didn't exist during the times Jesus walked the earth read the verse above in a broader context.

Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

“‘This people honors me with their lips,

but their heart is far from me;

in vain do they worship me,

teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

Empty words. Words without meaning because they are not from a pure desire and love. You may not be a Christian but don't miss the significance of this. There is a value in being real. Sharing true emotion and heart. Don't fall into the trap of the culture of lies that surrounds us. I would rather hear true words with mistakes and less eloquence any day over something fake. I would rather share a real moment with the ones I love than a million fake moments. Embrace the messy imperfect but real world.

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/973324

@ 5188521b:008eb518

Macaron returns, fluffs his white linen napkin, and takes his seat at their table, “Thank you, John, for extending my French people such great mercy as to be allowed to transact freely on the Bitcoin blockchain.” He extends his arm out towards a waiter, “Monsieur? Champagne for the three of us please!”

Vrrrm! “I can’t believe we were able to find an American Mustang in this French countryside. I am ripping down these narrow roads!” John celebrates.

“Bloody hell, slow down!” Lily begs as her oversized diamond dangle earrings sway side to side. “You’ve got nothing to prove, John. Big man in your yankee ten-gallon hat. Let’s just get there safely.”

John slows to give her a smoldering look, “Aww, my sweet British compatriot, you care about me!”

“Bollocks! I care about not dying!” Lily retorts. “Now focus on the mission. We need to save a boatload of English border collies — literally. Frenchman Macaron wants to groom them into French poodles!”

John wags a finger off the wheel to reply in his Southern drawl, “However, my sweet Lily flower, my US Hash Force intends to project power to coerce the French for the dogs’ release!”

Lily bats his finger away, “Yes, but may I remind you, my arrogant wanker, geographically challenged friend, MI6’s intel says to steadily power on any miners as His Majesty’s Hash Force may do. The border collies’ barge will take about an hour to flee France, cross the English channel, and safely reach our shores so we don’t want to burst their souffle too quickly. Oh, and the barge is armed with explosives controlled by a remote detonator. When Macaron asks for his bitcoin ransom payment in exchange for the dogs’ release, how do you cowboys plan to help from across the pond?”

John takes both hands off the wheel to flex his biceps, “Shock and awe, Lily. Full Throttle! We’re not giving the French a single sat. Instead, we’re diverting maximum energy to the U.S. Hash Force, of course!”

Lily guffaws, “And where is this sudden surge of readily available power supposed to come from undetected?”

“No need to worry my English crumpet! Our back of the envelope calculations suggest that, with a little help from the Texas of the North, there’s enough flared natural gas in the U.S. to run the entire Bitcoin network!” John proudly replies.

Lily’s jaw drops, “So miners have already stealthily built out the infrastructure to capture wasted natural gas flares for the benefit of the U.S. government, but are waiting to turn them on until commanded to by the U.S. Hash Force?!”

“Yup! As soon as Macaron sees our hash power come online, we’re going to try to start mining blocks on the Bitcoin network to Denial of Service (DOS) attack any UTXOs with a known history of French transactions.”

“A DOS attack, for peace?” Lily asks skeptically.

“Peace through strength, baby! If you don’t comply with America’s dog rights standards, you get censored. America saves British dogs again, and without a single shot fired!”

“Not fair! It’s only because our MI6 chainanalysis intel knows which Bitcoin addresses to censor on the blockchain we suspect belong to Macaron and his government that this plan even has a shot at succeeding. You’re lucky Macaron is even more self-assured than you Americans. That’s the only reason France doesn’t have a Hash Force of its own to project power back!”

John pulls the Mustang up to the front of the fancy French restaurant, Chandelier. Lily grabs her green purse that matches her elegant emerald ball gown, and they head inside to meet Macaron.

John and Lily spot Macaron sitting alone at the white linen table closest to the dance floor. He’s tapping his Louis Vuitton snake leather shoes, checking his Chanel watch, and fluffing his floofy black French Hermès beret. The red French ascot spilling out of his black and white blouse looks ridiculous.

John lets out a big sigh, and Macaron stands with open arms, “Lily, John, welcome to France!” Before John can flinch away, Macaron kisses him on both cheeks. He lifts up Lily’s hand for a kiss, “Mademoiselle.”

John raises his hand, “Waiter! I’ll take a bourbon, neat. And make it a double!” John calls out.

Slap!

“Hey, what was that for, Frenchie?” John asks as he rubs his face.

“Rude American, where are your manners?” Macaron asks as he pulls out a hidden red detonator clipped in the folds of his ascot. “Don’t drive me to prematurely push this button and blow up the boat carrying your English doggies! First, send me my bitcoin ransom payment. Then we can celebrate with drinks!” Macaron demands.

“In your dreams, Frenchie!” John presses his finger to his ear, “Uniform, Sierra, Alpha!”

Macaron turns to Lily and scoffs, “What is this rude American man doing, Lily?”

Annoyed, Lily answers, “Check your bitcoin UTXOs. Notice anything?”

Macaron frantically queries his Bitcoin node remotely from his cellphone and breathes a sigh of relief, “Phew. No, I don’t notice anything at all. All of my unspent bitcoin is still under the control of my government’s private key.”

“And it’ll stay that way, too!” John beats his chest. “You mess with the US, and you get the Hash Force! We just secretly doubled the difficulty to mine a block by turning on all of our miners — as many miners as the entire existing Bitcoin network! Now you’ll have to wait twice as long for your French bitcoin transactions to confirm! That is, unless you release the barge of dogs right now!”

Lily drops down to the table and buries her face in her palms to hide her embarrassment.

Flustered, Macaron furiously types out a long text message with the order to release the barge of English Border Collies to cross the English channel. “There, I’ve let the dogs out! Will you two please excuse me for a moment? I have to place a call with my government to confirm we haven’t lost our property rights to spend our bitcoin.

Beaming with pride, John falls back into his chair at the table. “We did it, Lily! Quick, give the command for His Majesty’s Hash Force to power on so we can 51% attack this guy!”

Lily finally stops rubbing her eyes, “John, that isn’t how any of this works!”

“What do you mean?” he asks.

“Within a 2,016 block difficulty adjustment period, doubling the hash power means the global Bitcoin network will mine new blocks twice as fast, not slower! At least, until the 2,016 block period ends and the difficulty adjusts so miners resume taking on average 10 minutes to generate a valid block. And sure, maybe the US has a political incentive to not collect the fees of any transactions of UTXOs with a known French association, but the rest of the network’s miners will happily profit from the sats you leave in the mempool! But most of all, the Bitcoin network is now just twice as secure from attack!”

John’s double bourbon finally arrives at the table. Selfishly focused on his own glass, he doesn’t bother to stop the waiter in case Lily wants to order a drink of her own. He drinks a big gulp, “But if you give the order for His Majesty’s Hash Force to power on, won’t we have over 51% of the hash power of the Bitcoin network? We can write Macaron’s bitcoin out of existence!”

Lily crosses her arms, “Not exactly. It’s not enough to just surpass half the hashrate. We also need to maintain a higher hashrate than the legacy chain to generate more chain weight to then reorg the other chain when we join the legacy network. We would have to be mining this heavier chain in secret, but in one bombastic order you just completely blew apart our whole plan! Now we’d need some sort of massive collusion somehow between existing miners, and some secret stealth miners, to have any power projection.”

John mutters under his breath, “Frenchie’s been gone a long time. Wonder what he’s up to….”

Macaron returns, fluffs his white linen napkin, and takes his seat at their table, “Thank you, John, for extending my French people such great mercy as to be allowed to transact freely on the Bitcoin blockchain.” He extends his arm out towards a waiter, “Monsieur? Champagne for the three of us please!” Macaron turns to John and Lily, “After my phone call, I am in much better spirits. Though I’m bitter you denied paying our bitcoin ransom, I’m grateful you’re furthering the security of the Bitcoin network.”

In his excitement, Macaron leans forward and claps his hands together, “You two are so lucky to be dining with me tonight. You won’t have to drink that sparkling-wine-swill you have in your home countries. Tonight, you’ll get to have proper champagne, from the Champagne region of France — my treat!”

John grunts in disgust, “Macaron, you can order champagne, but I’ve got my bourbon.”

Lily steps on John’s foot, “Ow! What was that for?” John shrieks.

“Aren’t you going to ask me if I want anything?” Lily asks.

“Huh?” John replies confusedly.

Macaron takes Lily’s hand, “Mademoiselle, in addition to champagne, can I get you anything else?”

Lily recoils her hand back, “Gin martini. Shaken, not stirred.”

“Lily, may I ask you another question?” Macaron asks sweetly.

“Bloody hell, what is it, Macaron?” she responds while rolling her eyes.

“Why do I get the feeling that forgetting to ask you what you’d like to drink isn’t the first time John has neglected to ask you what you wanted?”

Lily’s eyes light up as she leans in closer to Macaron, “Why, yes. This isn’t the first time John’s ever disregarded my needs. You know, he’s always only thinking about himself, his own ego, and he never misses a chance to interrupt me—”

“—That’s not true!” John interrupts.

Lily kicks him under the table, “See what I mean?”

Macaron whisks Lily’s hair behind her ear, “You have such beautiful earrings, Lily. Did John buy those for you?”

“No, John never buys me anything.”

“What do you mean?” John protests.

Lily shrugs him off and Macaron leans in closer to Lily to whisper just loud enough for John to hear, “You know, in my country, men like me know how to show a lady respect.”

John stands up and extends out his hand, “C’mon, Lily. I think it’s time I take you out onto the floor for a dance.”

She shakes her head, so he stomps on her feet under the table.

“Ow!” Lily shrieks.

“I insist,” John presses. “They’re playing my song, Don’t Stop Believin’. C’mon!”

On the dance floor, John pulls Lily close to whisper in her ear, “What are you doing? We’ve finished our mission. Let’s ensure the dogs safely cross the English channel and get out of here! The way you’re flirting with him we’ll never leave!”

Lily blushes, “John, are you that blind? If Macaron is suddenly being sweet to us, then he must be scheming something.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” John shakes his head. “Look, there’s no time to argue. We can’t risk him blowing up the barge as long as he’s got that remote detonator clipped to his ascot! He’s in a jubilant mood for now, but those French can be so melodramatic. We’ve got to get the detonator to ensure the safety of the dogs until they reach safe harbor at your shores.”

John’s box step dancing pace quickens as he looks over to check on Macaron. He spots him placing an order with the waiter and grits his teeth, “He’s pure evil. He was willing to kill the English border collies if he didn’t get ransom payment for not grooming them into French poodles. Only the threat of our Hash Force forced him to comply with our demand for their release!”

Lily breaks away from John to do a twirl on the dance floor; her elegant flowy green dress tries to keep up. She flips her hair and winks at Macaron, “Maybe I should flirt with him some more? After all, he’s so handsome — and he listens to me!”

John stops dancing and stomps his feet.

“Aww, are you jealous, John?” Lily asks.

“Jealous?!”

Lily floats back to John, digs her nails into the back of his neck, and nibbles on his ear as she whispers, “John, you better dip me on this dance floor! Otherwise, I’m going to ask him to draw me like one of his French girls. C’mon John, Don’t stop believin’!”

Ahem Macaron clears his throat, adjusts his detonator-pinned ascot, and taps Lily on the shoulder.

“Mademoiselle, may I have this dance?”

“Oh, certainly,” she replies. “Better than this brute with two left feet!”

John grunts in dissatisfaction and bolts back to the table.

With Macaron distracted dancing with Lily for what feels like an eternity, John defiantly presses his finger to his ear. “MI6 — status report. What’s taking so long?” he mutters under his breath. “I hate seeing this Frenchie dance with an English lass who deserves so much better. It’s driving me crazy!”

“You just gotta distract him from detonation for ten more minutes,” a British accent replies. “Intel shows the puppy barge armed with explosives has almost reached us across the channel, and then we can safely disarm it.”

“USHF, come in,” John queries.

“We’ve got trouble! The global energy grid has spiked along the Asian seaboard, and among the French alps. Looks like a secret French Hash Force we’ve never detected is colluding with the existing Chinese, Japanese, and Tibetan miners!

They’ve stopped including American-linked bitcoin address transactions in their blocks! Can you politely get him to back down? We’ve already played our power-projection show-of-force card!”

“Ok, I’ll do my best to play nice with Frenchie, but no promises!” John cautions. As he watches Lily and Macaron dance with disdain, a waiter approaches him at the table.

“Here you are, monsieur. Your appetizer.”

“Appetizer? I didn’t order an appetizer! All I ordered was this bourbon.”

“I’m sorry monsieur, but the other gentleman of your party insists. He said he offers this delicacy as a gift. A token of appreciation for the mercy demonstrated today by you, the quote Big American Man enquote.”

John looks on the dance floor and sees Macaron give him a nod with a big wiley grin. Lily gives him the “go-ahead” signal, so John pops one of the hot slimy appetizer balls into his mouth.

“Mhmm! These are tastier than Ma’s Frito Pie!” he shouts as Macaron and Lily walk over to join him back at the table. John continues, “These remind me of the Rocky Mountain oysters we have back at home! Of course, I’m grateful they aren’t, if you know what I mean. What are they, anyways?”

“Escargot,” the Frenchman replies, “a local specialty.”

“Escar-what-now?” John asks.

“Snails!” Lily clarifies.

John gags and spits his half-eaten snail onto the floor. He stands up and slams his ten-gallon cowboy hat on the table. “Ok, that’s it! I’ve had enough! Macaron, stop playing nice. We know you’ve activated some secret alliance with the miners on the other side of the globe! What’re you up to?”

“John, don’t upset him! Think about the puppies!” Lily pleads.

“To heck with the puppies! I’m not letting this man stand up a Hash Force to DOS attack us! You hear that, Macaron? You mess with the best, and we’ll use kinetic force against your miners stashed in the caves of the French alps!” Tsk! Tsk! Tsk! Macaron wags his finger, and pulls out the detonator switch clipped to his ascot.

“Silly pompous American, did you forget I still have the detonator? Did you really think I was going to let you get away with rescuing your hideous English border collies? Life is one giant power projection game, and the way nation states survive is by mutually assured preservation. In exchange for taming the unwieldy fur of Tibetan Mastiffs, Chinese Chow Chows, and Japanese Shih-Tzu and Shiba Inus, these countries pledged their miners to our stealthy French Hash Force when we’re in need. Well, thanks to your little stunt, not only did I find the perfect opportunity to project power back at you arrogant Americans, but also dump these hideous dogs given to me onto your barge, so they’re the British Isles’ problem now!”

“But we’ll be overrun by doges!” Lily gasps in horror.

“Yes, Lily! That’s what you get for partnering with John! What do Americans say?” Macaron asks rhetorically. “That’s right, ‘No dogs left behind!’ But most of all, John, I just wanted one last dance with your girlfriend, and to watch you eat snails!” French nasally honking laughing sounds

Lily shouts back, “I’m not his girlfriend!” She pulls a whistle out of her purse and blows it as hard as she can, but it doesn’t make a sound. John looks at her confused, and Macaron honks even harder. The whole restaurant starts to rumble, and the chandeliers sway from the ceiling.

“What’s this!?” Macaron shouts.

Gradually, then suddenly a stampede of bulldogs comes barreling into the dining room, knocking over all the tables, and tackling Macaron! As he falls, the detonator gets knocked into the air, and Lily catches it just before it hits the floor.

John looks at her, bewildered, and stammers, “You…. you let the Bitcoin dogs out??”

“You think you wankers got all the tricks? The English have a few surprises too! Now c’mon, let’s flee out the back in my British Mini Cooper. And this time, I’m driving!”

---

Will Schoellkopf is the author of two books: Bitcoin Girl Save the World and The Bitcoin Dog: Following the Scent to the Bitcoin C++ Source Code. He hosts the Bitcoin podcast It’s So Early! and publishes a weekly newsletter, featuring his favorite Bitcoin Posts of the Week, at realbitcoindog.com. His work has appeared in the anthology 21 Futures: Tales from the Timechain, in print at Bitcoin Magazine, Citadel21, Stackchain Magazine and online at Satoshi’s Journal. Follow him on Nostr and X @realBitcoinDog, or email will@realbitcoindog.com

@ 5d4b6c8d:8a1c1ee3

One of the best first rounds in recent memory just concluded. Let's recap our playoff contests.

Bracket Challenge

In our joint contest with Global Sports Central, @WeAreAllSatoshi is leading the way with 85 points, while me and some nostr jabroni are tied for second with 80 points.

The bad news is that they are slightly ahead of us, with an average score of 62 to our 60.8. We need to go back in time and make less stupid picks.

Points Challenge

With the Warriors victory, I jumped into a commanding lead over @grayruby. LA sure let most of you down. I say you hold @realBitcoinDog responsible for his beloved hometown's failures.

I still need @Car and @Coinsreporter to make their picks for this round. The only matchup they can choose from is Warriors (7) @ Timberwolves (6). Lucky for them, that's probably the best one to choose from.

| Stacker | Points | |---------|--------| | @Undisciplined | 25| | @grayruby | 24| | @Coinsreporter | 19 | | @BlokchainB | 19| | @Carresan | 18 | | @gnilma | 18 | | @WeAreAllSatoshi | 12 | | @fishious | 11 | | @Car | 1 |

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/973284

@ bbef5093:71228592

India csökkentené az atomerőművek építési idejét ambiciózus nukleáris céljai eléréséhez

India célja, hogy a jelenlegi 10 évről a „világszínvonalú” 6 évre csökkentse atomerőművi projektjeinek kivitelezési idejét, hogy elérje a 2047-re kitűzött, 100 GW beépített nukleáris kapacitást.

Az SBI Capital Markets (az Indiai Állami Bank befektetési banki leányvállalata) jelentése szerint ez segítene mérsékelni a korábbi költségtúllépéseket, és vonzóbbá tenné az országot a globális befektetők számára.

A jelentés szerint a jelenlegi, mintegy 8 GW kapacitás és a csak 7 GW-nyi építés alatt álló kapacitás mellett „jelentős gyorsítás” szükséges a célok eléréséhez.

A kormány elindította a „nukleáris energia missziót”, amelyhez körülbelül 2,3 milliárd dollárt (2 milliárd eurót) különített el K+F-re és legalább öt Bharat kis moduláris reaktor (BSMR) telepítésére, de további kihívásokat kell megoldania a célok eléréséhez.

Az építési idők csökkentése kulcsfontosságú, de a jelentés átfogó rendszerszintű reformokat is javasol, beleértve a gyorsabb engedélyezést, a földszerzési szabályok egyszerűsítését, az erőművek körüli védőtávolság csökkentését, és a szabályozó hatóság (Atomic Energy Regulatory Board) nagyobb önállóságát.

A jelentés szerint a nemzet korlátozott uránkészletei miatt elengedhetetlen az üzemanyagforrások diverzifikálása nemzetközi megállapodások révén, valamint az indiai nukleáris program 2. és 3. szakaszának felgyorsítása.

India háromlépcsős nukleáris programja célja egy zárt üzemanyagciklus kialakítása, amely a természetes uránra, a plutóniumra és végül a tóriumra épül. A 2. szakaszban gyorsneutronos reaktorokat használnak, amelyek több energiát nyernek ki az uránból, kevesebb bányászott uránt igényelnek, és a fel nem használt uránt új üzemanyaggá alakítják. A 3. szakaszban fejlett reaktorok működnek majd India hatalmas tóriumkészleteire alapozva.

2025 januárjában az indiai Nuclear Power Corporation (NPCIL) pályázatot írt ki Bharat SMR-ek telepítésére, először nyitva meg a nukleáris szektort indiai magáncégek előtt.

Eddig csak az állami tulajdonú NPCIL építhetett és üzemeltethetett kereskedelmi atomerőműveket Indiában.

A Bharat SMR-ek (a „Bharat” hindiül Indiát jelent) telepítése a „Viksit Bharat” („Fejlődő India”) program része.

Engedélyezési folyamat: „elhúzódó és egymásra épülő”

A Bharat atomerőmű fejlesztésének részletei továbbra sem világosak, de Nirmala Sitharaman pénzügyminiszter júliusban elmondta, hogy az állami National Thermal Power Corporation és a Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited közös vállalkozásában valósulna meg a fejlesztés.

Sitharaman hozzátette, hogy a kormány a magánszektorral közösen létrehozna egy Bharat Small Reactors nevű céget, amely SMR-ek és új nukleáris technológiák kutatás-fejlesztésével foglalkozna.

Az SBI jelentése szerint javítani kell az SMR programot, mert az engedélyezési folyamat jelenleg „elhúzódó és egymásra épülő”, és aránytalan kockázatot jelent a magánszereplők számára a reaktorfejlesztés során.

A program „stratégiailag jó helyzetben van a sikerhez”, mert szigorú belépési feltételeket támaszt, így csak komoly és alkalmas szereplők vehetnek részt benne.

A kormánynak azonban be kellene vezetnie egy kártérítési záradékot, amely védi a magáncégeket az üzemanyag- és nehézvíz-ellátás hiányától, amely az Atomenergia Minisztérium (DAE) hatáskörébe tartozik.

A jelentés szerint mind az üzemanyag, mind a nehézvíz ellátása a DAE-től függ, és „a hozzáférés hiánya” problémát jelenthet. India legtöbb kereskedelmi atomerőműve hazai fejlesztésű, nyomottvizes nehézvizes reaktor.

A jelentés szerint: „A meglévő szabályozási hiányosságok kezelése kulcsfontosságú, hogy a magánszektor vezethesse a kitűzött 100 GW nukleáris kapacitás 50%-ának fejlesztését 2047-ig.”

Az NPCIL nemrégiben közölte, hogy India 2031–32-ig további 18 reaktort kíván hozzáadni az energiamixhez, ezzel az ország nukleáris kapacitása 22,4 GW-ra nő.

A Nemzetközi Atomenergia-ügynökség adatai szerint Indiában 21 reaktor üzemel kereskedelmi forgalomban, amelyek 2023-ban az ország áramtermelésének körülbelül 3%-át adták. Hat egység van építés alatt.

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Roszatom pert indított a leállított Hanhikivi-1 projekt miatt Finnországban

Az orosz állami Roszatom atomenergetikai vállalat pert indított Moszkvában a finn Fortum és Outokumpu cégek ellen, és 227,8 milliárd rubel (2,8 milliárd dollár, 2,4 milliárd euró) kártérítést követel a finnországi Hanhikivi-1 atomerőmű szerződésének felmondása miatt – derül ki bírósági dokumentumokból és a Roszatom közleményéből.

A Roszatom a „mérnöki, beszerzési és kivitelezési (EPC) szerződés jogellenes felmondása”, a részvényesi megállapodás, az üzemanyag-ellátási szerződés megsértése, valamint a kölcsön visszafizetésének megtagadása miatt követel kártérítést.

A Fortum a NucNetnek e-mailben azt írta, hogy „nem kapott hivatalos értesítést orosz perről”.

A Fortum 2025. április 29-i negyedéves jelentésében közölte, hogy a Roszatom finn leányvállalata, a Raos Project, valamint a Roszatom nemzetközi divíziója, a JSC Rusatom Energy International, illetve a Fennovoima (a Hanhikivi projektért felelős finn konzorcium) között a Hanhikivi EPC szerződésével kapcsolatban nemzetközi választottbírósági eljárás zajlik.

2025 februárjában a választottbíróság úgy döntött, hogy nincs joghatósága a Fortummal szembeni követelések ügyében. „Ez a döntés végleges volt, így a Fortum nem része a választottbírósági eljárásnak” – közölte a cég.

A Fortum 2015-ben kisebbségi tulajdonos lett a Fennovoima projektben, de a teljes tulajdonrészt 2020-ban leírta.

A Fennovoima konzorcium, amelyben a Roszatom a Raos-on keresztül 34%-os kisebbségi részesedéssel rendelkezett, 2022 májusában felmondta a Hanhikivi-1 létesítésére vonatkozó szerződést az ukrajnai háború miatti késedelmek és megnövekedett kockázatok miatt.

A projekt technológiája az orosz AES-2006 típusú nyomottvizes reaktor lett volna.

2021 áprilisában a Fennovoima közölte, hogy a projekt teljes beruházási költsége 6,5–7 milliárd euróról 7–7,5 milliárd euróra nőtt.

2022 augusztusában a Roszatom és a Fennovoima kölcsönösen milliárdos kártérítési igényt nyújtott be egymás ellen a projekt leállítása miatt.

A Fennovoima nemzetközi választottbírósági eljárást indított 1,7 milliárd euró előleg visszafizetéséért. A Roszatom 3 milliárd eurós ellenkeresetet nyújtott be. Ezek az ügyek jelenleg is nemzetközi bíróságok előtt vannak.

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Dél-koreai delegáció Csehországba utazik nukleáris szerződés aláírására

Egy dél-koreai delegáció 2025. május 6-án Csehországba utazik, hogy részt vegyen egy több milliárd dolláros szerződés aláírásán, amely két új atomerőmű építéséről szól a Dukovany telephelyen – közölte a dél-koreai kereskedelmi, ipari és energetikai minisztérium.

A delegáció, amelyben kormányzati és parlamenti tisztviselők is vannak, kétnapos prágai látogatásra indul, hogy részt vegyen a szerdára tervezett aláírási ceremónián.

A küldöttség találkozik Petr Fiala cseh miniszterelnökkel és Milos Vystrcil szenátusi elnökkel is, hogy megvitassák a Dukovany projektet.

Fiala múlt héten bejelentette, hogy Prága május 7-én írja alá a Dukovany szerződést a Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) céggel.

A cseh versenyhivatal nemrég engedélyezte a szerződés aláírását a KHNP-vel, miután elutasította a francia EDF fellebbezését.

A versenyhivatal április 24-i döntése megerősítette a korábbi ítéletet, amelyet az EDF megtámadott, miután 2024 júliusában elvesztette a tenderpályázatot a KHNP-vel szemben.

Ez lehetővé teszi, hogy a két dél-koreai APR1400 reaktor egység szerződését aláírják Dukovanyban, Dél-Csehországban. A szerződés az ország történetének legnagyobb energetikai beruházása, értéke legalább 400 milliárd korona (16 milliárd euró, 18 milliárd dollár).

A szerződést eredetileg márciusban írták volna alá, de a vesztes pályázók (EDF, Westinghouse) fellebbezései, dél-koreai politikai bizonytalanságok és a cseh cégek lokalizációs igényei miatt csúszott.

A KHNP januárban rendezte a szellemi tulajdonjogi vitát a Westinghouse-zal, amely korábban azt állította, hogy a KHNP az ő technológiáját használja az APR1400 reaktorokban.

A szerződés aláírása Dél-Korea első külföldi atomerőmű-építési projektje lesz 2009 óta, amikor a KHNP négy APR1400 reaktort épített az Egyesült Arab Emírségekben, Barakahban.

Csehországban hat kereskedelmi reaktor működik: négy orosz VVER-440-es Dukovanyban, két nagyobb VVER-1000-es Temelínben. Az IAEA szerint ezek az egységek a cseh áramtermelés mintegy 36,7%-át adják.

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Az USA-nak „minél előbb” új reaktort kell építenie – mondta a DOE jelöltje a szenátusi bizottság előtt

Az USA-nak minél előbb új atomerőművet kell építenie, és elő kell mozdítania a fejlett reaktorok fejlesztését, engedélyezését és telepítését – hangzott el a szenátusi energiaügyi bizottság előtt.

Ted Garrish, aki a DOE nukleáris energiaügyi helyettes államtitkári posztjára jelöltként jelent meg, elmondta: az országnak új reaktort kell telepítenie, legyen az nagy, kis moduláris vagy mikroreaktor.

Az USA-ban jelenleg nincs épülő kereskedelmi atomerőmű, az utolsó kettő, a Vogtle-3 és Vogtle-4 2023-ban, illetve 2024-ben indult el Georgiában.

„A nukleáris energia kivételes lehetőség a növekvő villamosenergia-igény megbízható, megfizethető és biztonságos kielégítésére” – mondta Garrish, aki tapasztalt atomenergetikai vezető. Szerinte az USA-nak nemzetbiztonsági okokból is fejlesztenie kell a hazai urándúsító ipart.

Vizsgálni kell a nemzetközi piacot és a kormányközi megállapodások lehetőségét az amerikai nukleáris fejlesztők és ellátási láncok számára, valamint meg kell oldani a kiégett fűtőelemek elhelyezésének problémáját.

1987-ben a Kongresszus a nevadai Yucca Mountain-t jelölte ki a kiégett fűtőelemek végleges tárolóhelyének, de 2009-ben az Obama-adminisztráció leállította a projektet.

Az USA-ban az 1950-es évek óta mintegy 83 000 tonna radioaktív hulladék, köztük kiégett fűtőelem halmozódott fel, amelyet jelenleg acél- és betonkonténerekben tárolnak az erőművek telephelyein.

Garrish korábban a DOE nemzetközi ügyekért felelős helyettes államtitkára volt (2018–2021), jelenleg az Egyesült Haladó Atomenergia Szövetség igazgatótanácsának elnöke.

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Egyéb hírek

Szlovénia közös munkát sürget az USA-val a nukleáris energiában:
Az USA és Horvátország tisztviselői együttműködésről tárgyaltak Közép- és Délkelet-Európa energiaellátásának diverzifikálása érdekében, különös tekintettel a kis moduláris reaktorokra (SMR). Horvátország és Szlovénia közösen tulajdonolja a szlovéniai Krško atomerőművet, amely egyetlen 696 MW-os nyomottvizes reaktorával Horvátország áramfogyasztásának 16%-át, Szlovéniáénak 20%-át adja. Szlovénia fontolgatja egy második blokk építését, de tavaly elhalasztotta az erről szóló népszavazást.

Malawi engedélyezi a Kayelekera uránbánya újraindítását:
A Malawi Atomenergia Hatóság kiadta a sugárbiztonsági engedélyt a Lotus (Africa) Limited számára, így újraindulhat a Kayelekera uránbánya, amely több mint egy évtizede, 2014 óta állt a zuhanó uránárak és biztonsági problémák miatt. A bánya 85%-át az ausztrál Lotus Resources helyi leányvállalata birtokolja. A Lotus szerint a bánya újraindítása teljesen finanszírozott, kb. 43 millió dollár (37 millió euró) tőkével.

Venezuela és Irán nukleáris együttműködést tervez:
Venezuela és Irán a nukleáris tudomány és technológia terén való együttműködésről tárgyalt. Az iráni állami média szerint Mohammad Eslami, az Iráni Atomenergia Szervezet vezetője és Alberto Quintero, Venezuela tudományos miniszterhelyettese egyetemi és kutatási programok elindításáról egyeztetett. Venezuelában nincs kereskedelmi atomerőmű, de 2010-ben Oroszországgal írt alá megállapodást új atomerőművek lehetőségéről. Iránnak egy működő atomerőműve van Bushehr-1-nél, egy másik ugyanott épül, mindkettőt Oroszország szállította.

@ 6830c409:ff17c655

Disclaimer: No artificial intelligence tool has been used to write this article except Grammarly.

There are some things that no one* wants to talk about in a public forum. One of those things is how we clean ourselves after using the toilet. Being a South Asian, I find the bathroom etiquette a bit different from where I am now- in the US. I don't think it is something we have to keep mum about.

[*Mostly]

Earlier, I had read a "Quora WAR" where there was a fierce fight between fellow Western country people vs Indians. Indians advocated using water and the West despised that and advocated using dry wipes/toilet paper. Recently (Yesterday), I remembered this Quora debate and I was curious, when was the commercial production of toilet tissues started? And what were the hygiene methods followed before that.

Obviously, My reading started with Wikipedia. And from there, it was a rabbit-hole. I don't know how, I kept on reading for almost 2 hours. And this piece is out of my understanding of things I read during that mere 2 hours.

We take it for granted today, but toilet paper has a fascinating story spanning thousands of years. From creative ancient solutions to the modern perforated roll, humanity's quest for comfort and cleanliness reveals surprising ingenuity.

Time Before Toilet Paper

Historically, people used whatever they had in their habitat, to clean themselves. This varied from grass, leaves, tree barks, etc. And yes, many civilizations insisted and used water as the main cleaning method. But this was mainly based on the availability of clean water.

Wherever the availability of water was in question, people got creative! Ancient Romans used "tersorium"- basically it is a sea sponge on a stick. They sock it in vinegar or salt water between uses. These were communal.

Greeks preferred smooth pottery fragments with rounded edges. Of course, no one wanted the other end of the digestive tract injured! :D

Early Chinese civilizations wrapped cloth around wooden sticks shaped like spatulas.

Medieval Europeans show their class divisions even in the bathroom! The wealthy used wool, hemp, or even lace. While commoners made do with whatever cloth they had- sometimes, their own sleeves (- today, YUCK!). In the 1700s rural Americas, people turned to nature, using corncobs and seashells.

No matter what we think about these methods, every civilization and every class of people in those valued one thing - Cleanliness.

True Toilet Paper Pioneers

We all know China invented paper somewhere near 100 AD. By the 6th century, Emporer Yandgi's court records show that he used 15,000 sheets of paper annually, just for his personal hygiene!

Early Chinese toilet papers were made from rice straw, hemp, and bamboo. They boiled the material, churned it into a pulp, flattened and dry it, and then cut into shape before using it. By 14th century, the imperial court enjoyed "Perfumed paper sheets". Records show that the royal family alone used almost 0.75 million sheets yearly!!

However, not everyone was happy with this invention. Traveling Muslim merchants described the Chinese practice as "Haraam" (foul), they always preferred using water.

The West Catches Up

Western toilet paper development took longer. Sir John Harrington invented the flushing toilet in 1596, though it would not become common for centuries. By the 1700s, newspapers became a popular bathroom staple.

The commercial breakthrough came only in 1857 when American entrepreneur Joseph Gayetty found a way for the commercial production of toilet papers. But at that time it was sold in another name - "Medicated Paper for Water-Closet". He sold it 500 sheets for 50 cents. Only then the use of "Toilet papers" really arrived in the West.

Rolling into Modern Era

Later in the 19th century, manufacturers found the best and most economical way to produce and store toilet paper - as "Rolls" like we see today. Seth Wheeler of Albany patented perforated wrapping paper in 1871. and the first modern perforated toilet paper roll came out in 1891, making the "tearing" much easier - literally and figuratively! :D

That was the same time home plumbing was improving a lot which resulted in having the toilets inside the home itself. With that, the consumption of toilet paper rose - first as a vanity symbol and later as a common addition to the shopping list.

Big Business in Bathrooms

Brothers - Clarence and Edward Irvin Scott founded Scott Paper Company in Philadelphia in 1879, initially cutting and packaging toilet paper for retailers to sell under their brands. The company grew after 1896 when Arthur Hoyt Scott joined. They started mass-producing their brand of toilet paper. By 1910, they had built the largest paper mill in Chester, marking the industrialization of toilet paper production.

Meanwhile, that old paper made of concoction in China became popular there by the 16th century.

From Luxury to Necessity

We humans always run behind an unknown "comfort". The story of toilet paper is also not so different from that. Imagine using the pottery fragments in place of that "plush quilted ultra-soft scented bathroom tissues". This everyday item we rarely think about represents centuries of innovation and cultural evolution.

Next time you pull a pack of tissue papers from the back aisle of Costco, spare a "thanks" for your ancestors and their corncobs, sea sponges, and pottery fragments.

And maybe soon, you might be "Zapping" to buy tissue papers.

Final Thoughts

The COVID-19 pandemic time gave us some lessons as well as some "FailArmy" videos. One of those videos was people fighting over the last available toilet paper pack in some shop. After the pandemic, there has been a surge in American homes installing Bidet faucets in their bathrooms. A bit late, but the West is now catching up again with the East! :D

Let me know if you liked this article - leave a reaction/comment. Cheers.

@ 700c6cbf:a92816fd

Technically speaking, I should say blooms because not all of my pictures are of flowers, a lot of them, probably most, are blooming trees - but who cares, right?

It is that time of the year that every timeline on every social media is being flooded by blooms. At least in the Northern Hemisphere. I thought that this year, I wouldn't partake in it but - here I am, I just can't resist the lure of blooms when I'm out walking the neighborhood.

Spring has sprung - aaaachoo, sorry, allergies suck! - and the blooms are beautiful.

Yesterday, we had the warmest day of the year to-date. I went for an early morning walk before breakfast. Beautiful blue skies, no clouds, sunshine and a breeze. Most people turned on their aircons. We did not. We are rebels - hah!

We also had breakfast on the deck which I really enjoy during the weekend. Later I had my first session of the year painting on the deck while listening/watching @thegrinder streaming. Good times.

Today, the weather changed. Last night, we had heavy thunderstorms and rain. This morning, it is overcast with the occasional sunray peaking through or, as it is right now, raindrops falling.

We'll see what the day will bring. For me, it will definitely be: Back to painting. Maybe I'll even share some here later. But for now - this is a photo post, and here are the photos. I hope you enjoy as much as I enjoyed yesterday's walk!

Cheers, OceanBee

---

!(image)[https://cdn.satellite.earth/cc3fb0fa757c88a6a89823585badf7d67e32dee72b6d4de5dff58acd06d0aa36.jpg] !(image)[https://cdn.satellite.earth/7fe93c27c3bf858202185cb7f42b294b152013ba3c859544950e6c1932ede4d3.jpg] !(image)[https://cdn.satellite.earth/6cbd9fba435dbe3e6732d9a5d1f5ff0403935a4ac9d0d83f6e1d729985220e87.jpg] !(image)[https://cdn.satellite.earth/df94d95381f058860392737d71c62cd9689c45b2ace1c8fc29d108625aabf5d5.jpg] !(image)[https://cdn.satellite.earth/e483e65c3ee451977277e0cfa891ec6b93b39c7c4ea843329db7354fba255e64.jpg] !(image)[https://cdn.satellite.earth/a98fe8e1e0577e3f8218af31f2499c3390ba04dced14c2ae13f7d7435b4000d7.jpg] !(image)[https://cdn.satellite.earth/d83b01915a23eb95c3d12c644713ac47233ce6e022c5df1eeba5ff8952b99d67.jpg] !(image)[https://cdn.satellite.earth/9ee3256882e363680d8ea9bb6ed3baa5979c950cdb6e62b9850a4baea46721f3.jpg] !(image)[https://cdn.satellite.earth/201a036d52f37390d11b76101862a082febb869c8d0e58d6aafe93c72919f578.jpg] !(image)[https://cdn.satellite.earth/cd516d89591a4cf474689b4eb6a67db842991c4bf5987c219fb9083f741ce871.jpg]

@ b6dcdddf:dfee5ee7

You can now fund projects on Geyser using Credit Cards, Apple Pay, Bank Transfers, and more.

The best part: 🧾 You pay in fiat and ⚡️ the creator receives Bitcoin.

You heard it right! Let's dive in 👇

First, how does it work? For contributors, it's easy! Once the project creator has verified their identity, anyone can contribute with fiat methods. Simply go through the usual contribution flow and select 'Pay with Fiat'. The first contribution is KYC-free.

Why does this matter? 1. Many Bitcoiners don't want to spend their Bitcoin: 👉 Number go up (NgU) 👉 Capital gains taxes With fiat contributions, there's no more excuse to contribute towards Bitcoin builders and creators! 2. Non-bitcoin holders want to support projects too. If someone loves your mission but only has a debit card, they used to be stuck. Now? They can back your Bitcoin project with familiar fiat tools. Now, they can do it all through Geyser!

So, why swap fiat into Bitcoin? Because Bitcoin is borderless. Fiat payouts are limited to certain countries, banks, and red tape. By auto-swapping fiat to Bitcoin, we ensure: 🌍 Instant payouts to creators all around the world ⚡️ No delays or restrictions 💥 Every contribution is also a silent Bitcoin buy

How to enable Fiat contributions If you’re a creator, it’s easy: - Go to your Dashboard → Wallet - Click “Enable Fiat Contributions” - Complete a quick ID verification (required by our payment provider) ✅ That’s it — your project is now open to global fiat supporters.

Supporting Bitcoin adoption At Geyser, our mission is to empower Bitcoin creators and builders. Adding fiat options amplifies our mission. It brings more people into the ecosystem while staying true to what we believe: ⚒️ Build on Bitcoin 🌱 Fund impactful initiatives 🌎 Enable global participation

**Support projects with fiat now! ** We've compiled a list of projects that currently have fiat contributions enabled. If you've been on the fence to support them because you didn't want to spend your Bitcoin, now's the time to do your first contribution!

Education - Citadel Dispatch: https://geyser.fund/project/citadel - @FREEMadeiraOrg: https://geyser.fund/project/freemadeira - @MyfirstBitcoin_: https://geyser.fund/project/miprimerbitcoin

Circular Economies - @BitcoinEkasi: https://geyser.fund/project/bitcoinekasi - Madagascar Bitcoin: https://geyser.fund/project/madagasbit - @BitcoinChatt : https://geyser.fund/project/bitcoinchatt - Uganda Gayaza BTC Market: https://geyser.fund/project/gayazabtcmarket

Activism - Education Bitcoin Channel: https://geyser.fund/project/streamingsats

Sports - The Sats Fighter Journey: https://geyser.fund/project/thesatsfighterjourney

Culture - Bitcoin Tarot Cards: https://geyser.fund/project/bitcointarotcard

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/973003

@ 40bdcc08:ad00fd2c

Introduction

Bitcoin’s OP_RETURN opcode, a mechanism for embedding small data in transactions, has ignited a significant debate within the Bitcoin community. Originally designed to support limited metadata while preserving Bitcoin’s role as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system, OP_RETURN is now at the center of proposals that could redefine Bitcoin’s identity. The immutable nature of Bitcoin’s timechain makes it an attractive platform for data storage, creating tension with those who prioritize its monetary function. This discussion, particularly around Bitcoin Core pull request #32406 (GitHub PR #32406), highlights a critical juncture for Bitcoin’s future.

What is OP_RETURN?

Introduced in 2014, OP_RETURN allows users to attach up to 80 bytes of data to a Bitcoin transaction. Unlike other transaction outputs, OP_RETURN outputs are provably unspendable, meaning they don’t burden the Unspent Transaction Output (UTXO) set—a critical database for Bitcoin nodes. This feature was a compromise to provide a standardized, less harmful way to include metadata, addressing earlier practices that embedded data in ways that bloated the UTXO set. The 80-byte limit and restriction to one OP_RETURN output per transaction are part of Bitcoin Core’s standardness rules, which guide transaction relay and mining but are not enforced by the network’s consensus rules (Bitcoin Stack Exchange).

Standardness vs. Consensus Rules

Standardness rules are Bitcoin Core’s default policies for relaying and mining transactions. They differ from consensus rules, which define what transactions are valid across the entire network. For OP_RETURN: - Consensus Rules: Allow OP_RETURN outputs with data up to the maximum script size (approximately 10,000 bytes) and multiple outputs per transaction (Bitcoin Stack Exchange). - Standardness Rules: Limit OP_RETURN data to 80 bytes and one output per transaction to discourage excessive data storage and maintain network efficiency.

Node operators can adjust these policies using settings like -datacarrier (enables/disables OP_RETURN relay) and -datacarriersize (sets the maximum data size, defaulting to 83 bytes to account for the OP_RETURN opcode and pushdata byte). These settings allow flexibility but reflect Bitcoin Core’s default stance on limiting data usage.

The Proposal: Pull Request #32406

Bitcoin Core pull request #32406, proposed by developer instagibbs, seeks to relax these standardness restrictions (GitHub PR #32406). Key changes include: - Removing Default Size Limits: The default -datacarriersize would be uncapped, allowing larger OP_RETURN data without a predefined limit. - Allowing Multiple Outputs: The restriction to one OP_RETURN output per transaction would be lifted, with the total data size across all outputs subject to a configurable limit. - Deprecating Configuration Options: The -datacarrier and -datacarriersize settings are marked as deprecated, signaling potential removal in future releases, which could limit node operators’ ability to enforce custom restrictions.

This proposal does not alter consensus rules, meaning miners and nodes can already accept transactions with larger or multiple OP_RETURN outputs. Instead, it changes Bitcoin Core’s default relay policy to align with existing practices, such as miners accepting non-standard transactions via services like Marathon Digital’s Slipstream (CoinDesk).

Node Operator Flexibility

Currently, node operators can customize OP_RETURN handling: - Default Settings: Relay transactions with one OP_RETURN output up to 80 bytes. - Custom Settings: Operators can disable OP_RETURN relay (-datacarrier=0) or adjust the size limit (e.g., -datacarriersize=100). These options remain in #32406 but are deprecated, suggesting that future Bitcoin Core versions might not support such customization, potentially standardizing the uncapped policy.

Arguments in Favor of Relaxing Limits

Supporters of pull request #32406 and similar proposals argue that the current restrictions are outdated and ineffective. Their key points include: - Ineffective Limits: Developers bypass the 80-byte limit using methods like Inscriptions, which store data in other transaction parts, often at higher cost and inefficiency (BitcoinDev Mailing List). Relaxing OP_RETURN could channel data into a more efficient format. - Preventing UTXO Bloat: By encouraging OP_RETURN use, which doesn’t affect the UTXO set, the proposal could reduce reliance on harmful alternatives like unspendable Taproot outputs used by projects like Citrea’s Clementine bridge. - Supporting Innovation: Projects like Citrea require more data (e.g., 144 bytes) for security proofs, and relaxed limits could enable new Layer 2 solutions (CryptoSlate). - Code Simplification: Developers like Peter Todd argue that these limits complicate Bitcoin Core’s codebase unnecessarily (CoinGeek). - Aligning with Practice: Miners already process non-standard transactions, and uncapping defaults could improve fee estimation and reduce reliance on out-of-band services, as noted by ismaelsadeeq in the pull request discussion.

In the GitHub discussion, developers like Sjors and TheCharlatan expressed support (Concept ACK), citing these efficiency and innovation benefits.

Arguments Against Relaxing Limits

Opponents, including prominent developers and community members, raise significant concerns about the implications of these changes: - Deviation from Bitcoin’s Purpose: Critics like Luke Dashjr, who called the proposal “utter insanity,” argue that Bitcoin’s base layer should prioritize peer-to-peer cash, not data storage (CoinDesk). Jason Hughes warned it could turn Bitcoin into a “worthless altcoin” (BeInCrypto). - Blockchain Bloat: Additional data increases the storage and processing burden on full nodes, potentially making node operation cost-prohibitive and threatening decentralization (CryptoSlate). - Network Congestion: Unrestricted data could lead to “spam” transactions, raising fees and hindering Bitcoin’s use for financial transactions. - Risk of Illicit Content: The timechain’s immutability means data, including potentially illegal or objectionable content, is permanently stored on every node. The 80-byte limit acts as a practical barrier, and relaxing it could exacerbate this issue. - Preserving Consensus: Developers like John Carvalho view the limits as a hard-won community agreement, not to be changed lightly.

In the pull request discussion, nsvrn and moth-oss expressed concerns about spam and centralization, advocating for gradual changes. Concept NACKs from developers like wizkid057 and Luke Dashjr reflect strong opposition.

Community Feedback

The GitHub discussion for pull request #32406 shows a divided community: - Support (Concept ACK): Sjors, polespinasa, ismaelsadeeq, miketwenty1, TheCharlatan, Psifour. - Opposition (Concept NACK): wizkid057, BitcoinMechanic, Retropex, nsvrn, moth-oss, Luke Dashjr. - Other: Peter Todd provided a stale ACK, indicating partial or outdated support.

Additional discussions on the BitcoinDev mailing list and related pull requests (e.g., #32359 by Peter Todd) highlight similar arguments, with #32359 proposing a more aggressive removal of all OP_RETURN limits and configuration options (GitHub PR #32359).

| Feedback Type | Developers | Key Points | |---------------|------------|------------| | Concept ACK | Sjors, ismaelsadeeq, others | Improves efficiency, supports innovation, aligns with mining practices. | | Concept NACK | Luke Dashjr, wizkid057, others | Risks bloat, spam, centralization, and deviation from Bitcoin’s purpose. | | Stale ACK | Peter Todd | Acknowledges proposal but with reservations or outdated support. |

Workarounds and Their Implications

The existence of workarounds, such as Inscriptions, which exploit SegWit discounts to embed data, is a key argument for relaxing OP_RETURN limits. These methods are costlier and less efficient, often costing more than OP_RETURN for data under 143 bytes (BitcoinDev Mailing List). Supporters argue that formalizing larger OP_RETURN data could streamline these use cases. Critics, however, see workarounds as a reason to strengthen, not weaken, restrictions, emphasizing the need to address underlying incentives rather than accommodating bypasses.

Ecosystem Pressures

External factors influence the debate: - Miners: Services like Marathon Digital’s Slipstream process non-standard transactions for a fee, showing that market incentives already bypass standardness rules. - Layer 2 Projects: Citrea’s Clementine bridge, requiring more data for security proofs, exemplifies the demand for relaxed limits to support innovative applications. - Community Dynamics: The debate echoes past controversies, like the Ordinals debate, where data storage via inscriptions raised similar concerns about Bitcoin’s purpose (CoinDesk).

Bitcoin’s Identity at Stake

The OP_RETURN debate is not merely technical but philosophical, questioning whether Bitcoin should remain a focused monetary system or evolve into a broader data platform. Supporters see relaxed limits as a pragmatic step toward efficiency and innovation, while opponents view them as a risk to Bitcoin’s decentralization, accessibility, and core mission. The community’s decision will have lasting implications, affecting node operators, miners, developers, and users.

Conclusion

As Bitcoin navigates this crossroads, the community must balance the potential benefits of relaxed OP_RETURN limits—such as improved efficiency and support for new applications—against the risks of blockchain bloat, network congestion, and deviation from its monetary roots. The ongoing discussion, accessible via pull request #32406 on GitHub (GitHub PR #32406). Readers are encouraged to explore the debate and contribute to ensuring that any changes align with Bitcoin’s long-term goals as a decentralized, secure, and reliable system.

@ 8671a6e5:f88194d1

"I tried pasting my login key into the text field, but no luck—it just wouldn't work. Turns out, the login field becomes completely unusable whenever the on-screen keyboard shows up on my phone. So either no one ever bothered to test this on a phone, or they did and thought, ‘Eh, who needs to actually log in anyway?’."

### \ \ Develop and evolve

Any technology or industry at the forefront of innovation faces the same struggle. Idealists, inventors, and early adopters jump in first, working to make things usable for the technical crowd. Only later do the products begin to take shape for the average user.

Bitcoin’s dropping the Ball on usability (and user-experience)

First, we have to acknowledge the progress we've made. Bitcoin has come a long way in terms of usability—no doubt about it. Even if I still think it’s bad, it’s nowhere near as terrible as it was ten or more years ago. The days of printing a paper wallet from some shady website and hoping it would still work months or years later are behind us. The days of buggy software never getting fixed are mostly over.

The Bitcoin technology itself made progress through many BIPs (Bitcoin Improvement Proposals) and combined with an increasing number of apps, devs, websites and related networks (Liquid, Lightning, Nostr, ....) we can say that we're seeing a strong ecosystem going its way. The ecosystem is alive and expanding, and technically, things are clearly working. The problem is that we’re still building with a mindset where developers and project managers consider usability—but don’t truly care about it in practice. They don’t lead with it. (Yes, there are always exceptions.)

All that progress looks cool, when you see the latest releases of hardware wallets, software wallets, exchanges, nostr clients and services built purely for bitcoin, you're usually thinking that we've progressed nicely. But I want to focus on the downside of all these shiny tools. Because if Bitcoin has made it this far, it’s mostly thanks to people who deeply understand its value and are stubborn enough to push through the friction. They don’t give up when the user experience sucks.

Many bitcoiners completely lost their perspective on the software front in my opinion. Because we could have been so much further ahead, and we didn't because some of the most important components on the user-facing side of Bitcoin (arguably the most important part) hasn’t kept pace with the popularity and possible growth. And that should be a great concern, because Bitcoin is meant to be open and accessible. The blockchain is public. This is supposed to be for everyone. This is an open ledger technology so in theory everything is user-facing to one extent or another. Yet we fail on that front to make the glue stick. Somewhere, we’re easily amused by the tools we create, and often contains hurdles we can’t see or feel. While users reject it after 5 seconds tops.

We didn’t came a lot further yet, because we’ve ignored usability at its core (pun intended).

I’m not talking about usability in the “it works on my machine” sense. I’m talking about usability that meets the standard of modern apps. Think Spotify, Instagram, Uber, Gmail. Products that ordinary people use without reading a manual or digging through forums.

That’s the bar. We’re still far from it.

Bad UX scares your grandma away

… and that’s how many bitcoiners apparently like it.

Subsequently, when I say usability, I’m using it as an umbrella term. For me, it covers user experience, user interface, and real-life, full-cycle testing—from onboarding a brand new user to rolling out a new version of the app. And oh boy, our onboarding is so horrible. (“Hey wanna try bitcoin? Here’s an app that takes up to 4 minutes or more to get though, but wait, you’ll have to install a plugin, or wait I’ll send you an on-chain transaction…)

Take a look at the listings on Bitvocation, an excellent job board for Bitcoiners and related projects. You’ll quickly notice a pattern: almost no companies are hiring software testers. It’s marketing, more marketing, some sales, and of course, full-stack developers. But … No testers.

Because testing has become something that’s often skipped or automated in a hurry. Maybe the devs run a test locally to confirm that the feature they just built doesn’t crash outright. That’s it. And if testing does happen at a company, it’s usually shallow—focused only on the top five percent of critical bugs. The finer points that shape real user experience, like button placement, navigation flow, and responsiveness, are dumped on “the community.”

Which leads to some software being rushed out to production, and only then do teams discover how many problems exist in the real world. If there’s anyone left to care that is, since most teams are scattered all over the world and get paid by the hour by some VC firm on a small runway to a launch date.

This has real life consequences I’ve seen for myself with new users. Like a lightning wallet having a +5 minute onboarding time, and a fat on-screen error for the new users, or a hardware wallet stuck in an endless upgrade loop, just because nobody tested it on a device that was “old” (as in, one year old).

The result is clear: usability and experience testing are so low on the priority list, they may as well not exist. And that’s tragic, because the enthusiasm of new users gets crushed the moment they run into what I call Linux’plaining.

That’s when something obvious fails — like a lookup command that’s copied straight from their own help documentation but doesn’t work — and the answer you get as a user is something like: “Yeah, but first you have to…” followed by an explanation that isn’t mentioned anywhere in the interface or documentation. You were just supposed to know. No one updates the documentation, and no one cares. As most of the projects are very temporary or don’t really care if it succeeds or not, because they’re bitcoiners and bitcoin always wins. Just like PGP always was super cool and good, and users should just be smarter.

Lessons from the past usability disasters

We can always learn from the past especially when its precedents are still echoing through the systems we use today

So here goes, some examples from the legacy / fiat industry:

Lotus Notes, for example. Once a titan in enterprise communication software, which managed to capture about 145 million mailboxes. But its downfall is an example of what happens when you ignore and keep ignoring real-life user needs and fail to evolve with the market. Software like that doesn’t just fade, it collapses under the weight of its own inertia and bloat. If you think bitcoin can’t have that, yes… we’re of course not having a competitor in the market (hard money is hard money, not a mailbox or office software provider of course). But we can erode trust to the extent that it becomes LotusNotes’d.

Its archaic 1990s interface came with clunky navigation and a chaotic document management system. Users got frustrated fast—basic tasks took too long. Picture this: you're stuck in a cubicle, trying to find the calendar function in Lotus Notes while a giant office printer hisses and spits out stacks of paper behind you. The platform never made the leap to modern expectations. It failed to deliver proper mobile clients and clung to outdated tech like LotusScript and the Domino architecture, which made it vulnerable to security issues and incompatible with the web standards of the time. By 2012, IBM pulled the plug on the Lotus brand, as businesses moved en masse to cloud-based alternatives.

Another kind of usability failure has plagued PGP1 (and still does so after 34 years). PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) is a time-tested and rock-solid method for encryption and key exchange, but it’s riddled with usability problems, especially for anyone who isn’t technically inclined.

Its very nature and complexity are already steep hurdles (and yes, you can’t make it fully easy without compromising how it’s supposed to work—granted). But the real problem? Almost zero effort has gone into giving even the most eager new users a manageable learning curve. That neglect slowly killed off any real user base—except for the hardcore encryption folks who already know what they’re doing.

Ask anyone in a shopping street or the historic center of your city if they’ve heard of PGP. And on the off chance someone knows it’s not a trendy new fast-food joint called “Perfectly Grilled Poultry,” the odds of them having actually used it in the past six months are basically zero, unless you happen to bump into that one neckbeard guy in his 60s wearing a stained Star Wars T-shirt named Leonard.

The builders of PGP made one major mistake: they never treated usability as a serious design goal (that’s normal for people knee deep in encryption, I get that, it’s the way it is). PGP is fantastic on itself. Other companies and projects tried to build around it, but while they stumbled, tools like Signal and ProtonMail stepped in; offering the same core features of encryption and secure messaging, minus the headache. They delivered what PGP never could: powerful functionality wrapped in something regular people can actually use. Now, we’ve got encrypted communication flowing through apps like Signal, where all the complex tech is buried so deep in the background, the average user doesn’t even realize it’s there. ProtonMail went one step further even, integrating PGP so cleanly that users never need to exchange keys or understand the cryptography behind it all, yet still benefit from bulletproof encryption.

There’s no debate—this shift is a good thing. History shows that unusable software fades into irrelevance. Whether due to lack of interest, failure to reach critical mass, or a competitor swooping in to eat market share, clunky tools don’t survive. Now, to be clear, Bitcoin doesn’t have to worry about that kind of threat. There’s no real competition when it comes to hard money. Unless, of course, you genuinely believe that flashy shitcoins are a viable alternative—in which case, you might as well stop reading here and go get yourself scammed on the latest Solana airdrop or whatever hype train’s leaving the station today for the degens.

The main takeaway here is that Bitcoin must avoid becoming the next Lotus Notes, bloated with features but neglected by users—or the next PGP, sidelined by its own lack of usability. That kind of trajectory would erode trust, especially if usability and onboarding keep falling behind. And honestly, we’re already seeing signs of this in bitcoin. User adoption in Europe, especially in countries like Germany is noticeably lagging. The introduction of the EU’s MiCA regulations isn’t helping either. Most of the companies that were actually pushing adoption are now either shutting down, leaving the EU, or jumping through creative loopholes just to stay alive. And the last thing on anyone’s mind is improving UX. It takes time, effort, and specialized people to seriously think through how to build this properly, from the beginning, with this ease of use and onboarding in mind. That’s a luxury most teams can’t or won’t prioritize right now. Understandably when the lack of funds is still a major issue within the bitcoin space. (for people sitting on hard money, there’s surprisingly little money flowing into useful projects that aren’t hyped up empty boxes)

The number of nodes being set up by end users worldwide isn’t exactly skyrocketing either. Sure, there’s some growth but let’s not overstate it. Based on Bitnodes’ snapshots taken in March of each year, we’re looking at: 2022 : around 10500 2023 : around 17000 2024 : around 18500 2025 : around 21000 (I know there are different methods of measuring these, like read-only nodes, the % change is roughly the same nonetheless)

In my opinion, if we had non-clunky software that was actually released with proper testing and usability in mind, we could’ve easily doubled those node numbers. A bad user experience with a wallet spreads fast—and brings in exactly zero new users. The same goes for people trying to set up a miner or spin up a node, only to give up after a few frustrating steps. Sure, there are good people out there making guides and videos2 to help mitigate those hurdles, and that helps. But let’s be honest: there’s still very little “wow” factor when average users interact with most Bitcoin software. Almost every time they walk away, it’s because of one of two things—usability issues or bugs.

For the record: if a user can’t set up a wallet because the interface is so rotten or poorly tested, so they don’t know where to click or how to even select a seed word from a list, then that’s a problem — that’s a bug. Argue all you want: sure, it’s not a code-level bug and no, it’s not a system crash. But it is a usability failure. Call it onboarding friction, UX flaw, whatever fits your spreadsheet or circus Maximus of failures in your ticketing system. Bottom line: if your software doesn’t help users accomplish its core purpose, it’s broken. It’s a bug. Pretending it’s something a copywriter or marketing team can fix is pure deflection. The solution isn’t to relabel the problem, 1990’s telecom-style, just to avoid dealing with it. It’s to actually sit down, think, collaborate, and go through the issue, and getting real solutions out. ”No it’s not an issue, that’s how it works” like someone from a failing (and by now defunct) wallet told me once, is not a solution.

You got 21 seconds

The user can’t be onboarded because your software has an “issue”? In my book, that’s a bug. The usual response when you report it? “Yeah, that’s not a priority.” Well, guess what? It actually is a priority. All these small annoyances, hurdles, and bits of BS still plague this industry, and they make the whole experience miserable for regular people trying it out for the first time. The first 21 seconds (yeah, you see what I did there) are the most important when someone opens new software. If it doesn’t click right away—if they’re fiddling with sats or dollar signs, or hunting for some hidden setting buried behind a tiny arrow—it’s game over. They’re annoyed. They’re gone.

And this is exactly why we’re seeing a flood of shitcoin apps sweeping new users off their feet with "faster apps" or "nicer designs" apps that somehow can afford the UI specialists and slick, centralized setups to spread their lies and scams.

I hate to say it, but the Phantom wallet for example, for the Solana network, loaded with fake airdrop schemes and the most blatant scams — has a far better UX than most Bitcoin wallets and Lightning Wallets. Learn from it. Download that **** and get to know what we do wrong and how we can learn from the enemy.

That’s a hard truth. So, instead of just screaming “Uh, shitcooooin!” (yes, we know it is), maybe we should start learning from it. Their apps are better than ours in terms of UI and UX. They attract more people 5x faster (we know that’s also because of the fast gains and retardation playing with the marketing) but we can’t keep ignoring that. Somehow these apps attract more than our trustworthiness, our steady, secure, decentralized hard money truth.

It’s like stepping into one of the best Italian restaurants in town—supposedly. But then the menu’s a mess, the staff is scrolling on their phones, and something smells burnt coming from the kitchen. So, what do you do? You walk out. You cross the street to the fast food joint and order a burger and fries. And as you’re walking out with your food, someone from the Italian place yells at you: “Fast food is bad!” ”Yeah man I know, I wanted a nice Spaghetti aglio e olio, but here I am, digesting a cheeseburger that felt rather spongy.” (the problem is so gone so deep now, that users just walk past that Italian restaurant, don’t even recognize it as a restaurant because it doesn’t have cheeseburgers).

Fear of the dark

Technical people, not marketeers built bitcoin, it’s build on hundreds of small building blocks that interacted over time to have the bitcoin network and it’s immer evolving value. At one point David Chaum cooked up eCash, using blind signatures to let people send digital money anonymously — except it was still stuck on clunky centralized servers. Go back even further, to the 1970s, when Diffie, Hellman, and Rivest introduced public-key cryptography—the magic sauce that gave us secure digital signatures and authentication, making sure your messages stayed private and tamper-proof.

Fast forward to the 1990s, where peer-to-peer started to take off, decentralized networks getting started. Adam Back’s Hashcash in ‘97 used proof-of-work to fight email spam, and the cypherpunks were all about sticking it to the man with privacy-first, the invention 199 Human-Readable 128-bit keys3, decentralized systems. We started to swap files over p2p networks and later, torrents.

All these parts—anonymous cash, encryption, and leaderless networks finally clicked into place when Satoshi Nakamoto poured them into a chain of blocks, built on an ingenious “time-stamping” system: the timechain, or blockchain if you prefer. And just like that, Bitcoin was born—a peer-to-peer money system that didn’t need middlemen and actually worked without any central servers.

So yes, it’s only natural that Bitcoin and the many tools, born from math, obscurity, and cryptography, isn’t exactly always a user-interface darling. That’s also it’s charm for me in any case, as the core is robust and valuable beyond belief. That’s why we love to so see more use, more adoption.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t squash critical “show-stopper” bugs before releasing bitcoin-related software. And it sure as hell doesn’t mean we should act like jerks when a user points out something’s broken, confusing, or just doesn’t meet expectations. We can’t be complacent either about our role as builders of the next generations, as the core is hard money, and it would be a fatal mistake for the world to see it being used only for some rockstars from Wall Street and their counterparts to store their debt laden fiat. We can free people, make them better, make them elevate themselves. And yet, the people we try to elevate, we often alienate. All because we don’t test our stuff well enough. We should be so good, we blow the banking apps away. (they’re blowing themselves out of the market luckily with fiat “features” and overly over the top use of “analytics” to measure your carbon footprint for example).

We should be so damn professional that someone using Bitcoin apps for a full year wouldn’t even notice any bugs, because there wouldn’t be much to get annoyed by.

So… we have to do better. I’ve seen it time and time again — on Lightning tipping apps, Nostr plugins, wallets, hardware wallets, even metal plates we can screw up somehow … you name it. “It works on my machine”, isn’t enough anymore! Those days are over.

Even apps built with solid funding and strong dev and test teams like fedi.xyz4 can miss the mark. While the idea was good and the app itself ran fine without too much hurdles and usual bugs. But usability failed on a different front: there was just nothing meaningful to do in the app beyond poking around, chatting a bit, and sending a few sats back and forth. The communities it’s supposed to connect, just aren’t there, or weren’t there “yet”.

It’s a beautifully designed application and a strong proof-of-concept for federated community funds. But then… nothing. No one I know uses it. Their last blogpost was from beginning of October 2024, which doesn’t bode well, writing this than 6 months after. That said, they got some great onboarding going, usually under 20 seconds, which proves it can be done right (even if it was all a front-end for a more complex backend).

As you can see “usability” is a broad terminology, covering technical aspects, user-interface, but also use-cases. Even if you have a cool app that works really well and is well thought-out users won’t use it if there’s no real substance. You can’t get that critical mass by waiting for customers to come in or communities to embrace it. They won’t, because most of the individuals already had past experiences with bitcoin apps or services, and there’s a reason for them not being on-board already.

A lot of bitcoin companies build tools for new people. Never for the lapsed people, the persons that came in, thought of it as an investment or “a coin”… then left because of a bad experience or the price going down in fiat. All the while we have some software that usually isn’t so kind to new people, or causes loss of funds and time. Even if they make one little “mistake” of not knowing the system beforehand.

Bitcoin’s Moby Dick

\ Bitcoin itself has a big issue here. The user base could grow faster, and more robust, if there wasn’t software that worked as a sort of repellent against users.

I especially see a younger and less tech-savvy audience absolutely disliking the software we have now. No matter if it’s Electrum’s desktop wallet (hardly the sexiest tool out there, although I like it myself, but it lacks some features), Sparrow, or any lightning wallet out there (safe for WoS). I even saw people disliking Proton wallet, which I personally thought of as something really slick, well-made and polished. But even that doesn’t cut it for many people, as the “account” and “wallet” system wasn’t clear enough for them. (You see, we all have the same bias, because we know bitcoin, we look at it from a perspective of “facepalm, of course it’s a wallet named “account”, but when you sit next to a new user, it becomes clear that this is a hurdle. (please proton wallet: name a wallet a wallet, not “account”. But most users already in bitcoin, love what you’re doing)

Naturally disliking usability

The same technically brilliant people who maintain Bitcoin and build its apps haven’t quite tapped into their inner Steve Jobs—if that person even exists in the Bitcoin space. Let’s be honest: the next iOS-style wow moment, or the kind of frictionless usability seen in Spotify or Instagram, probably won’t come from hardcore Bitcoin devs alone. In fact, some builders in the space seem to actively disregard—or even look down on—discussions about usability. Just mention names like Wallet of Satoshi (yes, we all know it’s a custodial frontend) or the need for smoother interactions with Bitcoin, and you’ll get eye-rolls or defensive rants instead of curiosity or openness.

Moving more towards a better user interface for things like Sparrow or Bitcoin Core for example, would bring all kinds of “bad things” according to some, and on top of that, bring in new users (noobs) that ask questions like: “Do you burn all these sats when I make a transaction?” (Yes, that’s a real one.)

I get the “usability sucks” gripe — fear of losing key features, dumbing things down, or opening the door to unwanted changes (like BIP proposals real bitcoiners hate) that tweak bitcoin to suit any user’s whim. Close to no one in bitcoin (really in bitcoin!) wants that, including me.

That fear is however largely unfounded; because Bitcoin doesn’t change without consensus. Any change that would undermine its core use or value proposition simply won’t make it through. And let’s be honest: most of the users who crave these “faster,” centralized alternatives—those drawn to slick apps, one-click solutions, and dopamine-driven UI—will either stick with fiat, ape into the shitcoin-of-the-month, or praise the shiny new CBDC once it drops (“much fast, much cool”). These degen types, chasing fiat gains and jackpot dreams, aren’t relevant to this story, No matter what we build for bitcoin, they’ll always love the fiat-story and will always dislike bitcoin because it’s not a jackpot for them. (Honestly, why don’t they just gamble at a casino?)

People who fear that improving usability will somehow bring down the Bitcoin network are being a bit too paranoid—and honestly, they often don’t understand what usability or proper testing actually means.

They treat it like fluff, when in reality it's fundamental. Usability doesn't mean dumbing things down or compromising Bitcoin's core values; it means understanding why your fancy new app isn’t being used by anyone outside of your bubble. Testing is the beating heart of getting things out with confidence. Nothing more satisfying in software building than to proudly show even your beta versions to users, knowing it’s well tested. It’s much more than clicking a few buttons and tossing your code on GitHub. It's about asking real questions: can someone outside your Telegram group actually use this and will it they be using the software at all?

If you create a Nostr app that opens an in-app browser window and then tries to log you in with your NIPS05 or NIPS07 or whatever number it is that authenticates you, then you need to think about how it’s going to work in real life. Have people already visited this underlying website? Is that website using the exact same mechanism? Is it really working like we think it is in the real world? (Some notable good things are happening with the development of Keychat for example, I have the feeling they get it, it’s not all bad). And yes, there are still bugs and things to improve there, they’re just starting. (The browser section and nostr login need some work imho).

Guess what? You can test your stuff. But it takes time and effort. The kind of effort that, if skipped, gets multiplied across thousands of people. Thousands of people wasting their time trying to use your app, hitting errors, assuming they did something wrong, retrying, googling workarounds—only to eventually realize: it’s not them. It’s a bug. A bug you didn’t catch. Because you didn’t test. And now everyone loses. And guess what? Those users? They’re not coming back.

A good example (to stay positive here) is Fountain App, where the first versions were , eh… let’s say not so good, and then quickly evolved into a company and product that works really well, and also listens to their users and fixes their bugs. The interface can still be better in my opinion, but it’s getting there. And it’s super good now.

A bad example? Alby. (Sorry to say.) It still suffers from a bloated, clunky interface and an onboarding flow that utterly confuses new or returning users. It just doesn’t get the job done. Opinions may vary, sure, but hand this app to any non-technical user and ask them to get online and do a Nostr zap. Watch what happens. If they even manage to get through the initial setup, that is.

Another example? Bitkit. When I tried transferring funds from the "savings" to the "spending" account, the wallet silently opened a Lightning channel—no warning, no explanation—and suddenly my coins were locked up. To make things worse, the wallet still showed the full balance as spendable, even though part of it was now stuck in that channel. That was in November 2024, the last time I touched Bitkit. I wasted too much time trying to figure it out, I haven’t looked back (assuming the project is even still alive, I didn’t see them pop up anywhere).

Some metal BIP39 backup tools are great in theory but poorly executed. I bought one that didn’t even include a simple instruction on how to open it. The person I gave it to spent two hours trying to open it with a screwdriver and even attempted drilling. Turns out, it just slides open with some pressure. A simple instruction would’ve saved all that frustration.

Builders often assume users “just get it,” but a small guide could’ve prevented all the hassle. It’s a small step, but it’s crucial for better user experience. So why not avoid such situations and put a friggin cheap piece of paper in the box so people know how to open it? (The creators would probably facepalm if they read this, “how can users nòt see this?”). Yeah,… put a paper in there with instructions.

That’s natural, because as a creator you’re “in” it, you know. You don’t see how others would overlook something so obvious.

Bitcoiners are extremely bad on that front.

I’ll dive deeper into some examples in part 2 of this post.

By AVB

end of part 1

If you like to support independent thought and writings on bitcoin, follow this substack please https://coinos.io/allesvoorbitcoin/receive\ \ footnotes:

1 https://philzimmermann.com/EN/findpgp/

2 BTC sessions: set up a bitcoin node

3 https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc1751

4 https://www.fedi.xyz/

@ c1e9ab3a:9cb56b43

If you're an engineer stepping into the Bitcoin space from the broader crypto ecosystem, you're probably carrying a mental model shaped by speed, flexibility, and rapid innovation. That makes sense—most blockchain platforms pride themselves on throughput, programmability, and dev agility.

But Bitcoin operates from a different set of first principles. It’s not competing to be the fastest network or the most expressive smart contract platform. It’s aiming to be the most credible, neutral, and globally accessible value layer in human history.

Here’s why that matters—and why Bitcoin is not just an alternative crypto asset, but a structural necessity in the global financial system.

1. Bitcoin Fixes the Triffin Dilemma—Not With Policy, But Protocol

The Triffin Dilemma shows us that any country issuing the global reserve currency must run persistent deficits to supply that currency to the world. That’s not a flaw of bad leadership—it’s an inherent contradiction. The U.S. must debase its own monetary integrity to meet global dollar demand. That’s a self-terminating system.

Bitcoin sidesteps this entirely by being:

• Non-sovereign – no single nation owns it
• Hard-capped – no central authority can inflate it
• Verifiable and neutral – anyone with a full node can enforce the rules

In other words, Bitcoin turns global liquidity into an engineering problem, not a political one. No other system, fiat or crypto, has achieved that.

2. Bitcoin’s “Ossification” Is Intentional—and It's a Feature

From the outside, Bitcoin development may look sluggish. Features are slow to roll out. Code changes are conservative. Consensus rules are treated as sacred.

That’s the point.

When you’re building the global monetary base layer, stability is not a weakness. It’s a prerequisite. Every other financial instrument, app, or protocol that builds on Bitcoin depends on one thing: assurance that the base layer won’t change underneath them without extreme scrutiny.

So-called “ossification” is just another term for predictability and integrity. And when the market does demand change (SegWit, Taproot), Bitcoin’s soft-fork governance process has proven capable of deploying it safely—without coercive central control.

3. Layered Architecture: Throughput Is Not a Base Layer Concern

You don’t scale settlement at the base layer. You build layered systems. Just as TCP/IP doesn't need to carry YouTube traffic directly, Bitcoin doesn’t need to process every microtransaction.

Instead, it anchors:

• Lightning (fast payments)
• Fedimint (community custody)
• Ark (privacy + UTXO compression)
• Statechains, sidechains, and covenants (coming evolution)

All of these inherit Bitcoin’s security and scarcity, while handling volume off-chain, in ways that maintain auditability and self-custody.

4. Universal Assayability Requires Minimalism at the Base Layer

A core design constraint of Bitcoin is that any participant, anywhere in the world, must be able to independently verify the validity of every transaction and block—past and present—without needing permission or relying on third parties.

This property is called assayability—the ability to “test” or verify the authenticity and integrity of received bitcoin, much like verifying the weight and purity of a gold coin.

To preserve this:

• The base layer must remain resource-light, so running a full node stays accessible on commodity hardware.
• Block sizes must remain small enough to prevent centralization of verification.
• Historical data must remain consistent and tamper-evident, enabling proof chains across time and jurisdiction.

Any base layer that scales by increasing throughput or complexity undermines this fundamental guarantee, making the network more dependent on trust and surveillance infrastructure.

Bitcoin prioritizes global verifiability over throughput—because trustless money requires that every user can check the money they receive.

5. Governance: Not Captured, Just Resistant to Coercion

The current controversy around OP_RETURN and proposals to limit inscriptions is instructive. Some prominent devs have advocated for changes to block content filtering. Others see it as overreach.

Here's what matters:

• No single dev, or team, can force changes into the network. Period.
• Bitcoin Core is not “the source of truth.” It’s one implementation. If it deviates from market consensus, it gets forked, sidelined, or replaced.
• The economic majority—miners, users, businesses—enforce Bitcoin’s rules, not GitHub maintainers.

In fact, recent community resistance to perceived Core overreach only reinforces Bitcoin’s resilience. Engineers who posture with narcissistic certainty, dismiss dissent, or attempt to capture influence are routinely neutralized by the market’s refusal to upgrade or adopt forks that undermine neutrality or openness.

This is governance via credible neutrality and negative feedback loops. Power doesn’t accumulate in one place. It’s constantly checked by the network’s distributed incentives.

6. Bitcoin Is Still in Its Infancy—And That’s a Good Thing

You’re not too late. The ecosystem around Bitcoin—especially L2 protocols, privacy tools, custody innovation, and zero-knowledge integrations—is just beginning.

If you're an engineer looking for:

• Systems with global scale constraints
• Architectures that optimize for integrity, not speed
• Consensus mechanisms that resist coercion
• A base layer with predictable monetary policy

Then Bitcoin is where serious systems engineers go when they’ve outgrown crypto theater.

Take-away

Under realistic, market-aware assumptions—where:

• Bitcoin’s ossification is seen as a stability feature, not inertia,
• Market forces can and do demand and implement change via tested, non-coercive mechanisms,
• Proof-of-work is recognized as the only consensus mechanism resistant to fiat capture,
• Wealth concentration is understood as a temporary distribution effect during early monetization,
• Low base layer throughput is a deliberate design constraint to preserve verifiability and neutrality,
• And innovation is layered by design, with the base chain providing integrity, not complexity...

Then Bitcoin is not a fragile or inflexible system—it is a deliberately minimal, modular, and resilient protocol.

Its governance is not leaderless chaos; it's a negative-feedback structure that minimizes the power of individuals or institutions to coerce change. The very fact that proposals—like controversial OP_RETURN restrictions—can be resisted, forked around, or ignored by the market without breaking the system is proof of decentralized control, not dysfunction.

Bitcoin is an adversarially robust monetary foundation. Its value lies not in how fast it changes, but in how reliably it doesn't—unless change is forced by real, bottom-up demand and implemented through consensus-tested soft forks.

In this framing, Bitcoin isn't a slower crypto. It's the engineering benchmark for systems that must endure, not entertain.

Final Word

Bitcoin isn’t moving slowly because it’s dying. It’s moving carefully because it’s winning. It’s not an app platform or a sandbox. It’s a protocol layer for the future of money.

If you're here because you want to help build that future, you’re in the right place.

nostr:nevent1qqswr7sla434duatjp4m89grvs3zanxug05pzj04asxmv4rngvyv04sppemhxue69uhkummn9ekx7mp0qgs9tc6ruevfqu7nzt72kvq8te95dqfkndj5t8hlx6n79lj03q9v6xcrqsqqqqqp0n8wc2

nostr:nevent1qqsd5hfkqgskpjjq5zlfyyv9nmmela5q67tgu9640v7r8t828u73rdqpr4mhxue69uhkymmnw3ezucnfw33k76tww3ux76m09e3k7mf0qgsvr6dt8ft292mv5jlt7382vje0mfq2ccc3azrt4p45v5sknj6kkscrqsqqqqqp02vjk5

nostr:nevent1qqstrszamvffh72wr20euhrwa0fhzd3hhpedm30ys4ct8dpelwz3nuqpr4mhxue69uhkymmnw3ezucnfw33k76tww3ux76m09e3k7mf0qgs8a474cw4lqmapcq8hr7res4nknar2ey34fsffk0k42cjsdyn7yqqrqsqqqqqpnn3znl

@ 86dfbe73:628cef55

Building A Second Brain (BASB) ist eine Methode, mit der man Ideen, Einsichten und Vernetzungen, die man durch seine Erfahrungen gewonnen hat, systematisch speichert und die jeder Zeit abrufbar sind. Kurz, BASB erweitert das Gedächtnis mit Hilfe moderner digitaler Werkzeuge und Netzwerke. Die Kernidee ist, dass man durch diese Verlagerung sein biologisches Gehirn befreit, um frei denken zu können, seiner Kreativität freien Lauf zu geben oder einfach im Moment sein kann.

Die Methode besteht aus drei Grundschritten: dem Sammeln von Ideen und Erkenntnissen, dem Vernetzen dieser Ideen und Erkenntnisse und dem Erschaffen konkreter Ergebnisse.

Sammeln: Der erste Schritt beim Aufbau eines Second Brains ist das «Sammeln» der Ideen und Erkenntnisse, die genug wichtig oder interessant sind, um sie festzuhalten. Dafür wird als Organisationsstruktur P.A.R.A empfohlen.

Vernetzen: Sobald man angefangen hat, sein persönliches Wissen strukturiert zu sammeln, wird man anfangen, Muster und Verbindungen zwischen den Ideen und Erkenntnissen zu erkennen. Ab dieser Stelle verwende ich parallel die Zettelkastenmethode (ZKM)

Erschaffen: All das Erfassen, Zusammenfassen, Verbinden und Strukturieren haben letztlich das Ziel: Konkrete Ergebnisse in der realen Welt zu erschaffen.

PARA ist die Organisationsstruktur, die auf verschiedenen Endgeräten einsetzt werden kann, um digitale Informationen immer nach dem gleichen Schema abzulegen. Seien es Informationen, Notizen, Grafiken, Videos oder Dateien, alles hat seinen festen Platz und kann anhand von vier Kategorien bzw. „Buckets“ kategorisiert werden.

PARA steht dabei für: * Projekte * Areas * Ressourcen * Archiv

Projekte (engl. Projects) sind kurzfristige Bemühungen in Arbeit und Privatleben. Sie sind das, woran Du aktuell arbeitest. Sie haben einige für die Arbeit förderliche Eigenschaften: * Sie haben einen Anfang und ein Ende (im Gegensatz zu einem Hobby oder einem Verantwortungsbereich). * Sie haben ein konkretes Ergebnis, dass erreicht werden soll und bestehen aus konkreten Schritten, die nötig und zusammen hinreichend sind, um dieses Ziel zu erreichen, entspricht GTD von David Allen

Verantwortungsbereiche (engl. Areas) betreffen alles, was man langfristig im Blick behalten will. Sie unterscheidet von Projekten, dass man bei ihnen kein Ziel verfolgt, sondern einem Standard halten will. Sie sind dementsprechend nicht befristet. Man könnte sagen, dass sie einen Anspruch an uns selbst und unsere Lebenswelt darstellen.

Ressourcen (engl. Resources) sind Themen, die allenfalls langfristig relevant oder nützlich werden könnten. Sie sind eine Sammelkategorie für alles, was weder Projekt noch Verantwortungsbereich ist. Es sind: * Themen, die interessant sind. (English: Topic) * Untersuchungsgegenständige, die man erforschen will. (Englisch: Subject) * Nützliche Informationen für den späteren Gebrauch.

Das Archiv ist für alles Inaktive aus den obigen drei Kategorien. Es ist ein Lager für Beendetes und Aufgeschobenes.

Das System PARA ist eine nach zeitlicher Handlungsrelevanz angeordnete Ablage. Projekte kommen vor den Verantwortungsbereichen, weil sie einen kurz- bis mittelfristigen Zeithorizont haben, Verantwortungsbereiche dagegen einen unbegrenzten Zeithorizont. Ressourcen und Archiv bilden die Schlusslichter, weil sie gewöhnlich weder Priorität haben, noch dringend sind.

@ 005bc4de:ef11e1a2

May 6 marks my "Nostr birthday." This means I've been on Nostr for two years now. See my initial "Running nostr" note timestamped and archived on the Hive blockchain at https://peakd.com/bitcoin/@crrdlx/running-nostr

Two years ago, I really had no idea what Nostr was. I was asking, "What is this Nostr thing?"

And, I had no idea what I was doing then while using the front end clients. The clients were clunky and since the protocol was rather plastic (still kinda is). As evidence to my ignorance, the spinning wheels on Coracle.social just kept spinning. I didn't realize that since I was only following two people, one being myself, there was nothing to load from relays except my one "Running nostr" note. Hence, the Coracle wheels just spun in their mesmerizing manner. At least they're soothing to watch.

Yet, despite my ignorance, I had an inkling of a notion that Nostr was indeed something different, maybe special. Otherwise, I wouldn't have taken the time to capture an animated gif and make that Hive post to chronicle my first Nostr note.

For fun, I made another "Running nostr" note yesterday using Coracle.social. It still has those muted, earthy tones, but the wheels are not there anymore for long. Coracle, like Nostr, has come a long way in two years. It loads much faster now, which means less wheel spinning. I kind of miss the wheels for some reason, they build the drama and expectation of what might appear.

---

!HBIT

@ 5df413d4:2add4f5b

Short photo-stories of the hidden, hard to find, obscure, and off the beaten track.

Come now, take a walk with me…

The Traveller 02: Jerusalem Old City

The bus slowly lurches up the winding and steep embankment. We can finally start to see the craggy tops of buildings peaking out over the ridge in the foreground distance. We have almost reached it. Jerusalem, the City on the Hill.

https://i.nostr.build/e2LpUKEgGBwfveGi.jpg

Our Israeli tour guide speaks over the mic to draw our attention to the valley below us instead - “This is the the Valley of Gehenna, the Valley of the Moloch,” he says. “In ancient times, the pagans who worshiped Moloch used this place for child sacrifice by fire. Now, imagine yourself, an early Hebrew, sitting atop the hill, looking down in horror. This is the literal Valley of The Shadow of Death, the origin of the Abrahamic concept of Hell.” Strong open - this is going to be fun.

https://i.nostr.build/5F29eBKZYs4bEMHk.jpg

Inside the Old City, our guide - a chubby, cherub-faced intelligence type on some sort of punishment duty, deputized to babysit foreigners specifically because he reads as so dopey and disarming - points out various Judeo-Christian sites on a map, his tone subtly suggesting which places are most suggested, or perhaps, permitted…

https://i.nostr.build/J44fhGWc9AZ5qpK4.jpg

https://i.nostr.build/3c0jh09nx6d5cEdt.jpg

Walking, we reach Judaism’s Kotel, the West Wall - massive, grand, and ancient, whispering of the Eternal. Amongst the worshipers, we touch the warm, dry limestone and, if we like, place written prayers into the wall's smaller cracks. A solemn and yearning ghost fills the place - but whose it is, I'm not sure.  https://i.nostr.build/AjDwA0rFiFPlrw1o.jpg

Just above the Kotel, Islam’s Dome of the Rock can be seen, its golden cap blazing in the sun. I ask our guide about visiting the dome. He cuts a heavy eyeroll in my direction - it seems I’ve outed myself as my group’s “that guy.” His face says more than words ever could, “Oy vey, there’s one in every group…”

“Why would anyone want to go there? It is a bit intense, no?” Still, I press. “Well, it is only open to tourists on Tuesday and Thursdays…” It is Tuesday. “And even then, visiting only opens from 11:30…” It is 11:20. As it becomes clear to him that I don't intend to drop this...“Fine!” he relents, with a dramatic flaring of the hands and an uniquely Israeli sigh, “Go there if you must. But remember, the bus leaves at 1PM. Good luck...” Great! Totally not ominous at all.

https://i.nostr.build/6aBhT61C28QO9J69.jpg

The checkpoint for the sole non-Muslim entrance leading up to the Dome is administered by several gorgeous and statuesque, assault rifle clad, Ethiop-Israeli female soldiers. In this period of relative peace and calm, they feel lax enough to make a coy but salacious game of their “screening” the men in line. As I observe, it seems none doth protest...

https://i.nostr.build/jm8F3pUp9EXqPRkN.jpg

Past the gun-totting Sirens, a long wooden rampart leads up to the Temple Mount, The Mount of the House of the Holy, al-Ḥaram al-Sharīf, The Noble Sanctuary, The Furthest Mosque, the site of the Dome of the Rock and the al-Masjid al-Asqa.

https://i.nostr.build/DoS0KIkrVN0yiVJ0.jpg

On the Mount, the Dome dominates all views. To those interested in pure expressions of beauty, the Dome is, undeniably, a thing of absolute glory. I pace the grounds, snapping what pictures I can. I pause to breathe and to let the electric energy of the setting wash over me.

https://i.nostr.build/0BQYLwpU291q2fBt.jpg

https://i.nostr.build/yCxfB1V8eAcfob93.jpg

It’s 12:15 now, I decide to head back. Now, here is what they don’t tell you. The non-Muslin entrance from the West Wall side is a one-way deal. Leaving the Dome plaza dumps you out into the back alley bazaar of Old City’s Muslim district. And so it is. I am lost.

https://i.nostr.build/XnQ5eZgjeS1UTEBt.jpg

https://i.nostr.build/EFGD5vgmFx5YYuH4.jpg

I run through the Muslim quarter, blindly turning down alleyways that seem to be taking me in the general direction of where I need to be - glimpses afforded by the city’s uneven elevation and cracks in ancient stone walls guiding my way.

https://i.nostr.build/mWIEAXlJfdqt3nuh.jpg

In a final act of desperation and likely a significant breach of Israeli security protocol, I scale a low wall and flop down back on the side of things where I'm “supposed” to be. But either no one sees me or no one cares. Good luck, indeed.

I make it back to my group - they are not hard to find, a bunch of MBAs in “business casual” travel attire and a tour guide wearing a loudly colored hat and jacket - with just enough time to still visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

https://i.nostr.build/3nFvsXdhd0LQaZd7.jpg

https://i.nostr.build/sKnwqC0HoaZ8winW.jpg

Inside, a chaotic and dizzying array of chapels, grand domed ceilings, and Christian relics - most notably the Stone of Anointing, commemorating where Christ’s body was prepared for burial and Tomb of Christ, where Christ is said to have laid for 3 days before Resurrection.

https://i.nostr.build/Lb4CTj1dOY1pwoN6.jpg

https://i.nostr.build/LaZkYmUaY8JBRvwn.jpg

In less than an hour, one can traverse from the literal Hell, to King David’s Wall, The Tomb of Christ, and the site of Muhammad’s Ascension. The question that stays with me - What is it about this place that has caused so many to turn their heads to the heavens and cry out for God? Does he hear? And if he answers, do we listen?

https://i.nostr.build/elvlrd7rDcEaHJxT.jpg

Jerusalem, The Old City, circa 2014. Israel.

There are secrets to be found. Go there.

Bitcoin #Jerusalem #Israel #Travel #Photography #Art #Story #Storytelling #Nostr #Zap #Zaps #Plebchain #Coffeechain #Bookstr #NostrArt #Writing #Writestr #Createstr

@ e4950c93:1b99eccd

Qu'est-ce qu'une matière naturelle ? La question fait débat, et chacun-e privilégiera ses propres critères. Voici comment les matières sont classées sur ce site. La liste est régulièrement mise à jour en fonction des produits ajoutés. N'hésitez pas à partager votre avis !

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✅ Matières naturelles

Matières d'origine végétale, animale ou minérale, sans transformation chimique altérant leur structure moléculaire.

🌱 Principaux critères : - Biodégradabilité - Non-toxicité - Présence naturelle nécessitant le minimum de transformation

🔍 Liste des matières naturelles : - Bois - Cellulose régénérée (cupra, lyocell, modal, viscose) - Chanvre - Coton - Cuir - Liège - Lin - Laine - Latex naturel, caoutchouc - Métal - Soie - Terre - Verre - … (Autres matières)

⚠️ Bien que "naturelles", ces matières peuvent générer des impacts négatifs selon leurs conditions de production (pollution par pesticides, consommation d’eau excessive, traitement chimique, exploitation animale…). Ces impacts sont mentionnés sur la fiche de chaque matière.

Les versions biologiques de ces matières (sans traitement chimique, maltraitance animale, etc.) sont privilégiées pour référencer les produits sur ce site, tel qu'indiqué sur la fiche de chaque matière (à venir).

Les versions conventionnelles ne sont référencées que tant que lorsqu'il n'a pas encore été trouvé d'alternative plus durable pour cette catégorie de produits.

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🚫 Matières non naturelles

Matières synthétiques ou fortement modifiées, souvent issues de la pétrochimie.

📌 Principaux problèmes : - Toxicité et émissions de microplastiques - Dépendance aux énergies fossiles - Mauvaise biodégradabilité

🔍 Liste des matières non naturelles : - Acrylique - Élasthanne, lycra, spandex - Polyamides, nylon - Polyester - Silicone - … (Autres matières)

⚠️ Ces matières ne sont pas admises sur le site. Néanmoins, elles peuvent être présentes dans certains produits référencés lorsque :

• elles sont utilisées en accessoire amovible (ex. : élastiques, boutons… généralement non indiqué dans la composition par la marque) pouvant être retiré pour le recyclage ou compostage, et
• aucune alternative 100 % naturelle n’a encore été identifiée pour cette catégorie de produits.

Dans ce cas, un avertissement est alors affiché sur la fiche du produit.

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Cet article est publié sur origine-nature.com 🌐 See this article in English

@ 8f69ac99:4f92f5fd

A concepção popular de "anarquia" evoca frequentemente caos, colapso e violência. Mas e se anarquia significasse outra coisa? E se representasse um mundo onde as pessoas cooperam e se coordenam sem autoridades impostas? E se implicasse liberdade, ordem voluntária e resiliência—sem coerção?

Bitcoin é um dos raros exemplos funcionais de princípios anarquistas em acção. Não tem CEO, nem Estado, nem planeador central—e, no entanto, o sistema funciona. Faz cumprir regras. Propõe um novo modelo de governação e oferece uma exploração concreta do anarcocapitalismo.

Para o compreendermos, temos de mudar de perspectiva. Bitcoin não é apenas software ou um instrumento de investimento—é um sistema vivo: uma ordem espontânea.

Ordem Espontânea, Teoria dos Jogos e o Papel dos Incentivos Económicos

Na política e economia contemporâneas, presume-se geralmente que a ordem tem de vir de cima. Governos, corporações e burocracias são vistos como essenciais para organizar a sociedade em grande escala.

Mas esta crença nem sempre se verifica.

Os mercados surgem espontaneamente da troca. A linguagem evolui sem supervisão central. Projectos de código aberto prosperam graças a contribuições voluntárias. Nenhum destes sistemas precisa de um rei—e, no entanto, têm estrutura e funcionam.

Bitcoin insere-se nesta tradição de ordens emergentes. Não é ditado por uma entidade única, mas é governado através de código, consenso dos utilizadores e incentivos económicos que recompensam a cooperação e penalizam a desonestidade.

Código Como Constituição

Bitcoin funciona com base num conjunto de regras de software transparentes e verificáveis. Estas regras determinam quem pode adicionar blocos, com que frequência, o que constitui uma transacção válida e como são criadas novas moedas.

Estas regras não são impostas por exércitos nem pela polícia. São mantidas por uma rede descentralizada de milhares de nós, cada um a correr voluntariamente software que valida o cumprimento das regras. Se alguém tentar quebrá-las, o resto da rede simplesmente rejeita a sua versão.

Isto não é governo por maioria—é aceitação baseada em regras.

Cada operador de nó escolhe qual versão do software quer executar. Se uma alteração proposta não tiver consenso suficiente, não se propaga. Foi assim que as "guerras do tamanho do bloco" foram resolvidas—não por votação, mas através de sinalização do que os utilizadores estavam dispostos a aceitar.

Este modelo de governação ascendente é voluntário, sem permissões, e extraordinariamente resiliente. Representa um novo paradigma de sistemas autorregulados.

Mineiros, Incentivos e a Segurança Baseada na Teoria dos Jogos

Bitcoin assegura a sua rede utilizando a Teoria de Jogos. Os mineiros que seguem o protocolo são recompensados financeiramente. Quem tenta enganar—como reescrever blocos ou gastar duas vezes—sofre perdas financeiras e desperdiça recursos.

Agir honestamente é mais lucrativo.

A genialidade de Bitcoin está em alinhar incentivos egoístas com o bem comum. Elimina a necessidade de confiar em administradores ou esperar benevolência. Em vez disso, torna a fraude economicamente irracional.

Isto substitui o modelo tradicional de "confiar nos líderes" por um mais robusto: construir sistemas onde o mau comportamento é desencorajado por design.

Isto é segurança anarquista—não a ausência de regras, mas a ausência de governantes.

Associação Voluntária e Confiança Construída em Consenso

Qualquer pessoa pode usar Bitcoin. Não há controlo de identidade, nem licenças, nem processo de aprovação. Basta descarregar o software e começar a transaccionar.

Ainda assim, Bitcoin não é um caos desorganizado. Os utilizadores seguem regras rigorosas do protocolo. Porquê? Porque é o consenso que dá valor às "moedas". Sem ele, a rede fragmenta-se e falha.

É aqui que Bitcoin desafia as ideias convencionais sobre anarquia. Mostra que sistemas voluntários podem gerar estabilidade—não porque as pessoas são altruístas, mas porque os incentivos bem desenhados tornam a cooperação a escolha racional.

Bitcoin é sem confiança (trustless), mas promove confiança.

Uma Prova de Conceito Viva

Muitos acreditam que, sem controlo central, a sociedade entraria em colapso. Bitcoin prova que isso não é necessariamente verdade.

É uma rede monetária global, sem permissões, capaz de fazer cumprir direitos de propriedade, coordenar recursos e resistir à censura—sem uma autoridade central. Baseia-se apenas em regras, incentivos e participação voluntária.

Bitcoin não é um sistema perfeito. É um projecto dinâmico, em constante evolução. Mas isso faz parte do que o torna tão relevante: é real, está a funcionar e continua a melhorar.

Conclusão

A anarquia não tem de significar caos. Pode significar cooperação sem coerção. Bitcoin prova isso.

Procuramos, desesperados, por alternativas às instituições falhadas, inchadas e corruptas. Bitcoin oferece mais do que dinheiro digital. É uma prova viva de que podemos construir sociedades descentralizadas, eficientes e justas.

E isso, por si só, já é revolucionário.

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Photo by Floris Van Cauwelaert on Unsplash

@ e4950c93:1b99eccd

Contenu à venir.

En savoir plus sur Wikipedia

@ 52b4a076:e7fad8bd

Introduction

Me and Fishcake have been working on infrastructure for Noswhere and Nostr.build. Part of this involves processing a large amount of Nostr events for features such as search, analytics, and feeds.

I have been recently developing nosdex v3, a newer version of the Noswhere scraper that is designed for maximum performance and fault tolerance using FoundationDB (FDB).

Fishcake has been working on a processing system for Nostr events to use with NB, based off of Cloudflare (CF) Pipelines, which is a relatively new beta product. This evening, we put it all to the test.

First preparations

We set up a new CF Pipelines endpoint, and I implemented a basic importer that took data from the nosdex database. This was quite slow, as it did HTTP requests synchronously, but worked as a good smoke test.

Asynchronous indexing

I implemented a high-contention queue system designed for highly parallel indexing operations, built using FDB, that supports: - Fully customizable batch sizes - Per-index queues - Hundreds of parallel consumers - Automatic retry logic using lease expiration

When the scraper first gets an event, it will process it and eventually write it to the blob store and FDB. Each new event is appended to the event log.

On the indexing side, a Queuer will read the event log, and batch events (usually 2K-5K events) into one work job. This work job contains: - A range in the log to index - Which target this job is intended for - The size of the job and some other metadata

Each job has an associated leasing state, which is used to handle retries and prioritization, and ensure no duplication of work.

Several Workers monitor the index queue (up to 128) and wait for new jobs that are available to lease.

Once a suitable job is found, the worker acquires a lease on the job and reads the relevant events from FDB and the blob store.

Depending on the indexing type, the job will be processed in one of a number of ways, and then marked as completed or returned for retries.

In this case, the event is also forwarded to CF Pipelines.

Trying it out

The first attempt did not go well. I found a bug in the high-contention indexer that led to frequent transaction conflicts. This was easily solved by correcting an incorrectly set parameter.

We also found there were other issues in the indexer, such as an insufficient amount of threads, and a suspicious decrease in the speed of the Queuer during processing of queued jobs.

Along with fixing these issues, I also implemented other optimizations, such as deprioritizing Worker DB accesses, and increasing the batch size.

To fix the degraded Queuer performance, I ran the backfill job by itself, and then started indexing after it had completed.

Bottlenecks, bottlenecks everywhere

After implementing these fixes, there was an interesting problem: The DB couldn't go over 80K reads per second. I had encountered this limit during load testing for the scraper and other FDB benchmarks.

As I suspected, this was a client thread limitation, as one thread seemed to be using high amounts of CPU. To overcome this, I created a new client instance for each Worker.

After investigating, I discovered that the Go FoundationDB client cached the database connection. This meant all attempts to create separate DB connections ended up being useless.

Using OpenWithConnectionString partially resolved this issue. (This also had benefits for service-discovery based connection configuration.)

To be able to fully support multi-threading, I needed to enabled the FDB multi-client feature. Enabling it also allowed easier upgrades across DB versions, as FDB clients are incompatible across versions:

FDB_NETWORK_OPTION_EXTERNAL_CLIENT_LIBRARY="/lib/libfdb_c.so" FDB_NETWORK_OPTION_CLIENT_THREADS_PER_VERSION="16"

Breaking the 100K/s reads barrier

After implementing support for the multi-threaded client, we were able to get over 100K reads per second.

You may notice after the restart (gap) the performance dropped. This was caused by several bugs: 1. When creating the CF Pipelines endpoint, we did not specify a region. The automatically selected region was far away from the server. 2. The amount of shards were not sufficient, so we increased them. 3. The client overloaded a few HTTP/2 connections with too many requests.

I implemented a feature to assign each Worker its own HTTP client, fixing the 3rd issue. We also moved the entire storage region to West Europe to be closer to the servers.

After these changes, we were able to easily push over 200K reads/s, mostly limited by missing optimizations:

It's shards all the way down

While testing, we also noticed another issue: At certain times, a pipeline would get overloaded, stalling requests for seconds at a time. This prevented all forward progress on the Workers.

We solved this by having multiple pipelines: A primary pipeline meant to be for standard load, with moderate batching duration and less shards, and high-throughput pipelines with more shards.

Each Worker is assigned a pipeline on startup, and if one pipeline stalls, other workers can continue making progress and saturate the DB.

The stress test

After making sure everything was ready for the import, we cleared all data, and started the import.

The entire import lasted 20 minutes between 01:44 UTC and 02:04 UTC, reaching a peak of: - 0.25M requests per second - 0.6M keys read per second - 140MB/s reads from DB - 2Gbps of network throughput

FoundationDB ran smoothly during this test, with: - Read times under 2ms - Zero conflicting transactions - No overloaded servers

CF Pipelines held up well, delivering batches to R2 without any issues, while reaching its maximum possible throughput.

Finishing notes

Me and Fishcake have been building infrastructure around scaling Nostr, from media, to relays, to content indexing. We consistently work on improving scalability, resiliency and stability, even outside these posts.

Many things, including what you see here, are already a part of Nostr.build, Noswhere and NFDB, and many other changes are being implemented every day.

If you like what you are seeing, and want to integrate it, get in touch. :)

If you want to support our work, you can zap this post, or register for nostr.land and nostr.build today.

@ 266815e0:6cd408a5

Its been six long months of refactoring code and building out to the applesauce packages but the app is stable enough for another release.

This update is pretty much a full rewrite of the non-visible parts of the app. all the background services were either moved out to the applesauce packages or rewritten, the result is that noStrudel is a little faster and much more consistent with connections and publishing.

New layout

The app has a new layout now, it takes advantage of the full desktop screen and looks a little better than it did before.

Removed NIP-72 communities

The NIP-72 communities are no longer part of the app, if you want to continue using them there are still a few apps that support them ( like satellite.earth ) but noStrudel won't support them going forward.

The communities where interesting but ultimately proved too have some fundamental flaws, most notably that all posts had to be approved by a moderator. There were some good ideas on how to improve it but they would have only been patches and wouldn't have fixed the underlying issues.

I wont promise to build it into noStrudel, but NIP-29 (relay based groups) look a lot more promising and already have better moderation abilities then NIP-72 communities could ever have.

Settings view

There is now a dedicated settings view, so no more hunting around for where the relays are set or trying to find how to add another account. its all in one place now

Cleaned up lists

The list views are a little cleaner now, and they have a simple edit modal

New emoji picker

Just another small improvement that makes the app feel more complete.

Experimental Wallet

There is a new "wallet" view in the app that lets you manage your NIP-60 cashu wallet. its very experimental and probably won't work for you, but its there and I hope to finish it up so the app can support NIP-61 nutzaps.

WARNING: Don't feed the wallet your hard earned sats, it will eat them!

Smaller improvements

• Added NSFW flag for replies
• Updated NIP-48 bunker login to work with new spec
• Linkfy BIPs
• Added 404 page
• Add NIP-22 comments under badges, files, and articles
• Add max height to timeline notes
• Fix articles view freezing on load
• Add option to mirror blobs when sharing notes
• Remove "open in drawer" for notes

@ b099870e:f3ba8f5d

A donkey that is tied to a post by a rope will keep walking around the post is an attempt to free it self,only to become more immobilize and attached to the post.

ikigai

@ b099870e:f3ba8f5d

When you work for others, you are at their mercy. The own your work; they own you.Your creative spirit is squaded. What keeps you in such position is a fear of having to sink or swim on your own. Instead you should have a greater fear of what will happen to you if you remain dependant on others for power. Your goal in every maneuver in life must be ownership, working the corner for yourself. When it is yours to lose -you are more motivated,more creative,more alive. The ultimate power in life is to be completely self-reliant, completely yourself.

A quote from The 50th Law

@ ffbcb706:b0574044

Markdown test italic bold in openletter Nostr https://openletter.earth/ Have a great day

@ c631e267:c2b78d3e

Du bist recht appetitlich oben anzuschauen, \ doch unten hin die Bestie macht mir Grauen. \ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Wie wenig bekömmlich sogenannte «Ultra-Processed Foods» wie Fertiggerichte, abgepackte Snacks oder Softdrinks sind, hat kürzlich eine neue Studie untersucht. Derweil kann Fleisch auch wegen des Einsatzes antimikrobieller Mittel in der Massentierhaltung ein Problem darstellen. Internationale Bemühungen, diesen Gebrauch zu reduzieren, um die Antibiotikaresistenz bei Menschen einzudämmen, sind nun möglicherweise gefährdet.

Leider ist Politik oft mindestens genauso unappetitlich und ungesund wie diverse Lebensmittel. Die «Corona-Zeit» und ihre Auswirkungen sind ein beredtes Beispiel. Der Thüringer Landtag diskutiert gerade den Entwurf eines «Coronamaßnahmen-Unrechtsbereinigungsgesetzes» und das kanadische Gesundheitsministerium versucht, tausende Entschädigungsanträge wegen Impfnebenwirkungen mit dem Budget von 75 Millionen Dollar unter einen Hut zu bekommen. In den USA soll die Zulassung von Covid-«Impfstoffen» überdacht werden, während man sich mit China um die Herkunft des Virus streitet.

Wo Corona-Verbrecher von Medien und Justiz gedeckt werden, verfolgt man Aufklärer und Aufdecker mit aller Härte. Der Anwalt und Mitbegründer des Corona-Ausschusses Reiner Fuellmich, der seit Oktober 2023 in Untersuchungshaft sitzt, wurde letzte Woche zu drei Jahren und neun Monaten verurteilt – wegen Veruntreuung. Am Mittwoch teilte der von vielen Impfschadensprozessen bekannte Anwalt Tobias Ulbrich mit, dass er vom Staatsschutz verfolgt wird und sich daher künftig nicht mehr öffentlich äußern werde.

Von der kommenden deutschen Bundesregierung aus Wählerbetrügern, Transatlantikern, Corona-Hardlinern und Russenhassern kann unmöglich eine Verbesserung erwartet werden. Nina Warken beispielsweise, die das Ressort Gesundheit übernehmen soll, diffamierte Maßnahmenkritiker als «Coronaleugner» und forderte eine Impfpflicht, da die wundersamen Injektionen angeblich «nachweislich helfen». Laut dem designierten Außenminister Johann Wadephul wird Russland «für uns immer der Feind» bleiben. Deswegen will er die Ukraine «nicht verlieren lassen» und sieht die Bevölkerung hinter sich, solange nicht deutsche Soldaten dort sterben könnten.

Eine wichtige Personalie ist auch die des künftigen Regierungssprechers. Wenngleich Hebestreit an Arroganz schwer zu überbieten sein wird, dürfte sich die Art der Kommunikation mit Stefan Kornelius in der Sache kaum ändern. Der Politikchef der Süddeutschen Zeitung «prägte den Meinungsjournalismus der SZ» und schrieb «in dieser Rolle auch für die Titel der Tamedia». Allerdings ist, anders als noch vor zehn Jahren, die Einbindung von Journalisten in Thinktanks wie die Deutsche Atlantische Gesellschaft (DAG) ja heute eher eine Empfehlung als ein Problem.

Ungesund ist definitiv auch die totale Digitalisierung, nicht nur im Gesundheitswesen. Lauterbachs Abschiedsgeschenk, die «abgesicherte» elektronische Patientenakte (ePA) ist völlig überraschenderweise direkt nach dem Bundesstart erneut gehackt worden. Norbert Häring kommentiert angesichts der Datenlecks, wer die ePA nicht abwähle, könne seine Gesundheitsdaten ebensogut auf Facebook posten.

Dass die staatlichen Kontrolleure so wenig auf freie Software und dezentrale Lösungen setzen, verdeutlicht die eigentlichen Intentionen hinter der Digitalisierungswut. Um Sicherheit und Souveränität geht es ihnen jedenfalls nicht – sonst gäbe es zum Beispiel mehr Unterstützung für Bitcoin und für Initiativen wie die der Spar-Supermärkte in der Schweiz.

[Titelbild: Pixabay]

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Dieser Beitrag wurde mit dem Pareto-Client geschrieben und ist zuerst auf Transition News erschienen.

@ b099870e:f3ba8f5d

IN NOOKS ALL OVER THE EARTH SIT MEN WHO ARE WAITING, SCARCELY KNOWING IN WHAT WAY THEY ARE WAITING, MUCH LESS THAT THEY ARE WAITING IN VAIN. OCCASIONALLY THE CALL THAT AWAKENS-THAT ACCIDENT WHICH GIVES THE "PERMISSION" TO ACT—COMES TOO LATE, WHEN THE BEST YOUTH AND STRENGTH FOR ACTION HAS ALREADY BEEN USED UP BY SITTING STILL; AND MANY HAVE FOUND TO THEIR HORROR WHEN THEY "LEAPED UP" THAT THEIR LIMBS HAD GONE TO SLEEP AND THEIR SPIRIT HAD BECOME TOO HEAVY. "IT IS TOO LATE," THEY SAID TO THEMSELVES, HAVING LOST THEIR FAITH IN THEMSELVES AND HENCEFORTH FOREVER USELESS

Quote by Friedrich Nietzsche, currently reading The 50th Law and came across it

@ 03742c20:2df9aa5d

Bitcoin Node คือเครื่องคอมพิวเตอร์ที่ลง Bitcoin Client ในปัจจุบันมีหลายวิธีมากแต่ในบความนี้จะมาติดตั้งลงบน Linux แบบพื้นฐานเอาไว้ใช้งานส่วนตัว

อย่าลืมลง OS Linux ก่อนครับ

บทความนี้ผมใช้ Ubuntu server

มาเริ่มกันเลย อัปเดตและอัปเกรดระบบให้เรียบร้อยก่อน sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y ติดตั้งเครื่องมือที่จำเป็นต้องใช้งาน sudo apt install wget curl gnupg tar ufw -y

ตั้งค่า Firewall กันก่อนเพิ่มความปลอดภัย

เปิด Port เท่าที่จำเป็นต้องใช้ sudo ufw allow 22/tcp comment 'ssh' sudo ufw allow 9051/tcp comment 'tor' sudo ufw allow 9050/tcp comment 'tor' sudo ufw allow 8333/tcp comment 'Bitcoin core peer' sudo ufw allow 8332/tcp comment 'Bitcoin core RPC' เปิด Firewall sudo ufw enable ตรวจสอบ Port Firewall sudo ufw status เครื่องของเราตอนนี้ก็พร้อมแล้วไปติดตั้ง Bitcoin node กันเลย

ผมใช้ Bitcoin core V29.0 คุณอยากใช้เวอร์ชันไหนเลือกชุดกฎที่คุณต้องการได้เลย

วิธีติดตั้ง Bitcoin core+Tor

ดาวน์โหลด Bitcoin core ลงเครื่อง wget https://bitcoincore.org/bin/bitcoin-core-29.0/bitcoin-29.0-x86_64-linux-gnu.tar.gz ดาวน์โหลด signatures ล่าสุด wget https://bitcoincore.org/bin/bitcoin-core-29.0/SHA256SUMS wget https://bitcoincore.org/bin/bitcoin-core-29.0/SHA256SUMS.asc

ตรวจสอบ Signature ของผู้พัฒนา ดาวน์โหลด Public key ของผู้พัฒนา curl -s "https://api.github.com/repositories/355107265/contents/builder-keys" | grep download_url | grep -oE "https://[a-zA-Z0-9./-]+" | while read url; do curl -s "$url" | gpg --import; done output gpg: key 17565732E08E5E41: 29 signatures not checked due to missing keys gpg: /home/admin/.gnupg/trustdb.gpg: trustdb created gpg: key 17565732E08E5E41: public key "Andrew Chow <andrew@achow101.com>" imported gpg: Total number processed: 1 gpg: imported: 1 gpg: no ultimately trusted keys found [...] ตรวจสอบ Signature gpg --verify SHA256SUMS.asc SHA256SUMS output gpg: Good signature from... Primary key fingerprint:... ตรวจสอบซอฟต์แวร์ว่าถูกต้องไหม sha256sum --ignore-missing --check SHA256SUMS output bitcoin-29.0-x86_64-linux-gnu.tar.gz: OK แตกไฟล์ Bitcoin core tar -xzvf bitcoin-29.0-x86_64-linux-gnu.tar.gz

ติดตั้ง Bitcoin core

sudo install -m 0755 -o root -g root -t /usr/local/bin bitcoin-29.0/bin/bitcoin-cli bitcoin-29.0/bin/bitcoind

ตรวจสอบเวอร์ชั่น bitcoind --version ทดสอบ Bitcoin core bitcoind -daemon

สั่ง Bitcoin core หยุดทำงาน bitcoin-cli stop

ลบไฟล์ที่ไม่ได้ใช้งาน sudo rm -r bitcoin-$VERSION bitcoin-29.0-x86_64-linux-gnu.tar.gz SHA256SUMS SHA256SUMS.asc

สร้างไฟล์ bitcoin.conf sudo nano .bitcoin/bitcoin.conf

ตัวอย่าง bitcoin.conf ```

[core]

Run in the background as a daemon and accept commands.

daemon=1

Maintain a full transaction index, used by the getrawtransaction rpc call.

txindex=1

[network]

Use separate SOCKS5 proxy to reach peers via Tor hidden services. May be a local file path prefixed with 'unix:'

onion=127.0.0.1:9050 bind=127.0.0.1 onlynet=onion listen=1

[rpc]

Accept command line and JSON-RPC commands.

server=1 rpcuser=username #เปลี่ยน username ของคุณเอง rpcpassword=password #เปลี่ยน password ของคุณเอง rpcbind=0.0.0.0:8332 rpcallowip=0.0.0.0/0 deprecatedrpc=accounts ```

คุณสามรถตั้งค่า bitcoin.conf ด้วยตัวเองได้ไปที่ https://jlopp.github.io/bitcoin-core-config-generator

ติดตั้ง tor sudo apt install tor -y แก้ไข Tor Configuration sudo nano /etc/tor/torrc เพิ่ม Tor Configuration ControlPort 9051 CookieAuthentication 1 CookieAuthFileGroupReadable 1 HiddenServiceDir /var/lib/tor/bitcoin/bitcoinrpc HiddenServiceVersion 3 HiddenServicePort 8332 127.0.0.1:8332 สร้าง Directory สำหรับ Hidden Service sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/tor/bitcoin/bitcoinrpc เปลี่ยน Ownership และ Permissions ของ Directory sudo chown -R debian-tor:debian-tor /var/lib/tor/bitcoin/bitcoinrpc sudo chmod 700 /var/lib/tor/bitcoin/bitcoinrpc เพิ่ม User ให้กับ Group debian-tor sudo usermod -a -G debian-tor username

อย่าลืมเปลี่ยน USERNAME ให้ตรงกับ user ของคุณ sudo systemctl restart tor สร้าง Systemd Service File สำหรับ Bitcoin Core การสร้าง Systemd Service เพื่อให้ระบบสมารถเรียกใช้ bitcoin daemon โดยอัตโนมัติในพื้นหลังได้ sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/bitcoind.service configuration ``` [Unit] Description=Bitcoin daemon After=network.target

[Service] ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/bitcoind -daemon -conf=/home/username/.bitcoin/bitcoin.conf -datadir=/home/username/.bitcoin ExecStop=/usr/local/bin/bitcoin-cli stop User=username Group=username Type=forking Restart=on-failure

[Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target ```

อย่าลืมเปลี่ยน USERNAME ให้ตรงกับ user ของคุณ

เปิดใช้งาน Bitcoind sudo systemctl enable bitcoind sudo systemctl start bitcoind ตรวจสอบว่า Bitcoind ทำงานไหม sudo systemctl status bitcoind output ``` ● bitcoind.service - Bitcoin daemon Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/bitcoind.service; enabled; preset: enabled) Active: active (running) since Sat 2025-04-19 14:10:16 UTC; 23min ago Process: 812 ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/bitcoind -daemon -conf=/home/node/.bitcoin/bitcoin.conf -datadir=/home/node/.bitcoin (code=exited, > Main PID: 876 (bitcoind) Tasks: 26 (limit: 4552) Memory: 3.2G (peak: 3.2G swap: 252.0K swap peak: 252.0K) CPU: 12min 55.480s CGroup: /system.slice/bitcoind.service └─876 /usr/local/bin/bitcoind -daemon -conf=/home/node/.bitcoin/bitcoin.conf -datadir=/home/node/.bitcoin

Apr 19 14:10:14 node systemd[1]: Starting bitcoind.service - Bitcoin daemon... Apr 19 14:10:16 node bitcoind[812]: Bitcoin Core starting Apr 19 14:10:16 node systemd[1]: Started bitcoind.service - Bitcoin daemon. ```

ติดตั้งทุกอย่างเสร็จแล้วมาตรวจสอบกันว่าทุกอย่างทำงานไหม

ตรวจสอบ Bitcoin core เขื่อมต่อกับ Tor network ไหม bitcoin-cli -netinfo Output ``` onion total block in 0 0 out 10 10 2 total 10 10

Local addresses address.onion port 8333 score 4

ตรวจสอบ Bitcoind เปิด Port อะไรบ้าง sudo ss -tulpn | grep bitcoind Output tcp LISTEN 0 4096 127.0.0.1:8333 0.0.0.0: users:(("bitcoind",pid=876,fd=30)) tcp LISTEN 0 128 0.0.0.0:8332 0.0.0.0: users:(("bitcoind",pid=876,fd=12)) ตรวจสอบ Bitcoin core ซิงก์ข้อมูลไปถึงไหนแล้ว echo "$(bitcoin-cli getblockchaininfo | jq -r '.verificationprogress * 100') %" ```

ต้องติดตั้ง jq ก่อน (sudo apt install jq) ตรวจสอบ Bitcoin node เชื่อมต่อกับโหนดอื่นอยู่กี่โหหนด bitcoin-cli getconnectioncount เพียงแค่นี้ก็มี Bitcoin node ใช้งานแล้ว

วิธีเชื่อมต่อ Wallet

ในไฟล์ bitcoin.conf เราได้ตั้ง userame:password ของ RPC ไว้แล้วส่วนนี้แหละที่เราจะเอาไปเชื่อมต่อเข้า Wallet ต่าง ๆ ที่เราใช้งาน

เชื่อมต่อ wallet แบบใช้ ip

192.168.x.xxx:8332 user:password ip address เครื่องที่ติตตั้ง bitcoin core port: 8332 rpcuser=username ของคุณเอง rpcpassword=password ของคุณเอง

วิธีตรวจสอบ ip เครื่อง พิมพ์ ip a และสั่งเกต eth0 จะมีคำว่า inet 192.168.x.xxx/24

เชื่อมต่อ wallet แบบใช้ Tor

ต้องหา tor address ที่เราตั้งค่าไว้ก่อนโดยใช้คำสั่งนี้ sudo cat /var/lib/tor/bitcoin/bitcoinrpc/hostname output address.onion address.onion:8332 user:password address.onion port: 8332 rpcuser=username ของคุณเอง rpcpassword=password ของคุณเอง

เป็นไงกันบ้างครับไม่น่ายากจนเกินไปใช่ไหมหวังว่าจะทำตามกันได้ วิธีติดตั้งเองทั้งหมดนั้นทำให้เราเลือกเวอร์ชันที่จะลงเองได้ปรับแต่งได้เยอะกว่าตามความต้องการในบทความนี้ตั้งค่าแค่พื้นฐานให้ Tor และเชื่อมต่อ wallet ได้

จุดไหนผิดพลาดช่วยเสริมได้ครับ

ไว้เจอกันใหม่ในบทความหน้า ขอบคุณทุกคนที่อ่านมาถึงตรงนี้

บ๊ะบาย

Siamstr #RightTech

@ 2e8970de:63345c7a

https://www.epi.org/blog/wage-growth-since-1979-has-not-been-stagnant-but-it-has-definitely-been-suppressed/

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/972959

@ 4ba8e86d:89d32de4

Tutorial OpenKeychain

1. Baixar no F-droid https://f-droid.org/app/org.sufficientlysecure.keychain

Ao abrir o OpenKeychain pela primeira vez, você verá uma tela inicial indicando que ainda não há chaves configuradas. Nesse ponto, você terá três opções:

1. Criar uma nova chave PGP diretamente no OpenKeychain: Ideal para quem está começando e precisa de uma solução simples para criptografia em comunicações diárias.

2. Usar um token de segurança (como Fidesmo, Yubikey, NEO, ou Sigilance) Se você busca uma segurança ainda maior, pode optar por armazenar sua chave privada em um token de segurança. Com essa configuração, a chave privada nunca é salva no dispositivo móvel. O celular atua apenas como uma interface de comunicação, enquanto a chave permanece protegida no token, fora do alcance de possíveis invasores remotos. Isso garante que somente quem possui o token fisicamente possa usar a chave, elevando significativamente o nível de segurança e controle sobre seus dados.

3. Importar uma chave PGP existente: Você pode importar uma chave PGP que já tenha sido gerada anteriormente, seja por meio de um arquivo no dispositivo ou por outro meio ler na área de transferência. https://image.nostr.build/51fdd924df4843ab73faa02a505c8fb17794f1789396ed89b154348ebb337f07.jpg

1. CRIANDO UMA NOVA CHAVE PGP.

Para iniciantes, recomendamos criar uma nova chave diretamente no aplicativo. abordaremos o uso do OpenKeychain em modo online, que é mais comum para comunicações diárias.

Passo 1: Clique em “Criar minha chave”. https://image.nostr.build/235f5cfdf4c3006ca3b00342741003f79a5055355c2a8ee425fc33c875f51e49.jpg

Passo 2: Criando sua chave PGP.

Para criar sua chave, você precisará fornecer algumas informações Os campos 'Nome' e 'Endereço de e-mail' são apenas formas convenientes para identificar a sua chave PGP.

• Nome: Escolha um nome ou um pseudônimo. https://image.nostr.build/de3fe3ddbde0c7bf084be6e4b8150fdb8612365550622559b0ee72f50f56a159.jpg

• E-mail: Associe um endereço de e-mail à chave, seja ele pessoal ou um e-mail relacionado ao pseudônimo. https://image.nostr.build/aff62baaeafe2c9a429ef10435a6f99dea36d6cfd7494e2bb882421dc8ed0f4e.jpg

2. REVISANDO E PERSONALIZANDO A CRIAÇÃO DA CHAVE.

Passo 3: Antes de criar sua chave PGP, verifique se os dados inseridos estão corretos. https://image.nostr.build/a8ec09ef3d9b4f557b0c4e380e7ca45d0fdbfa33fe80becea03ed0e5f5eedd24.jpg

Você também pode personalizar as configurações de segurança clicando nos três pontos no canto superior direito. https://image.nostr.build/1ce615555cea9a979ea951472052a219e77f4e1ebaaf5fcbbe9e91ea4f852bce.jpg

Ao cliclar em ' nova subchave ' pode alterar a data de expiração e pode mudar a criptografia usado na chave cliclando opção ed2255/cv255. https://image.nostr.build/b3224ff3dbe48ff78c4a2df8b001926b6d3eef1e33ef677a73b0d281791073da.jpg https://image.nostr.build/7763c7847e062cdcf71aafedbc2ef4c38056fd66aeb162ef3a1c30c028a14376.jpg https://image.nostr.build/5d3e20ade460dd5e89cc001ebdc062a36aff2c0e1573584ca3c0d1cb34bddcce.jpg

Neste tutorial, utilizaremos as configurações padrão do aplicativo.

Passo 4: Clique em "Criar chave" para concluir o processo. https://image.nostr.build/a8ec09ef3d9b4f557b0c4e380e7ca45d0fdbfa33fe80becea03ed0e5f5eedd24.jpg

3. Como Compartilhar sua Chave PGP Pública

Após criar sua chave PGP, você pode compartilhá-la para que outras pessoas possam enviar mensagens criptografadas para você. Veja o passo a passo de como exibir e compartilhar sua chave pública:

Passo 1: Acesse sua chave pública

Abra o OpenKeychain e selecione a chave que deseja compartilhar. Clique na chave para visualizar os detalhes. https://image.nostr.build/689c5237075317e89e183d2664630de973b09b68aaf8f3e3033654e987b781be.jpg https://image.nostr.build/4001610109579f27535628932258087b3b06c1f86b05f4f85537b6585c12a10b.jpg

Passo 2: Copiar sua chave pública

Nos detalhes da chave, você verá a opção "Copiar para a Área de Transferência". Clique nessa opção para copiar o código da sua chave pública. https://image.nostr.build/01ab3efa5e997e1910a2f8f7a888e6ad60350574cca4ca0214eee5581797f704.jpg

A chave PGP copiada terá o seguinte formato:

-----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----

mDMEZwsLHRYJKwYBBAHaRw8BAQdA6NRLlJIWnTBJtYwZHlrMbTKRbYuXmjsMn8MB 7etV3HK0JERhbmllbCBGcmFnYSAgPGRhbmllbGZyYWdhQG1haWwuaTJwPohyBBMW CAAaBAsJCAcCFQgCFgECGQEFgmcLCx0CngECmwMACgkQFZf+kMeJWpR4cwEA8Jt1 TZ/+YlHg3EYphW8KsZOboHLi+L88whrWbka+0s8A/iuaNFAK/oQAlM2YI2e0rAjA VuUCo66mERQNLl2/qN0LuDgEZwsLHRIKKwYBBAGXVQEFAQEHQEj/ZfJolkCjldXP 0KQimE/3PfO9BdJeRtzZA+SsJDh+AwEIB4hhBBgWCAAJBYJnCwsdApsMAAoJEBWX /pDHiVqUo/oA/266xy7kIZvd0PF1QU9mv1m2oOdo7QSoqvgFiq6AmelbAP9lExY5 edctTa/zl87lCddYsZZhxG9g2Cg7xX/XsfrnAA== =TniY -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----

Dica: Se ocorrer algum erro ao compartilhar sua chave pública com um amigo, peça para que ele a criptografe para ele mesmo. Isso permitirá que ele adicione a chave corretamente. Caso a chave pública ainda não esteja no dispositivo, ao clicar em "Backup de chave", aparecerá a opção para importá-la. Se a chave já estiver no dispositivo, essa ação irá recarregá-la. https://image.nostr.build/cd12abf07c93473db95483fe23112325f89d3eb02977e42756708bbd043f8bcf.jpg  https://image.nostr.build/537aeae38d229ee2cc78e18f412237b659c059e1c74fd7f0deecfe37f15713c9.jpg  https://image.nostr.build/16c8a3db5966c7c06904ee236655f47a6464ae0c1b5af6af27b28c61611d2bbe.jpg

Passo 3: Compartilhar sua chave PGP

Você pode colar a chave pública em e-mails, assinaturas, perfis de redes sociais ou outros meios para compartilhá-la facilmente. Para facilitar a visualização, você também pode exibi-la em seu perfil de redes sociais.

Para acessar mais opções de compartilhamento, clique nos três pontos no canto superior direito e selecione a opção "Avançado". https://image.nostr.build/0d4a13b7bd9a4794017247d1a56fac082db0f993a2011a4dd40e388b22ec88f5.jpg https://image.nostr.build/4ac2a7bc9fa726531a945221cf7d10e0e387deba68100ccf52fdedfcd17cbd59.jpg

Na seção "Compartilhar", você verá sua Key ID e terá a opção de publicar sua chave PGP em um servidor de chaves. https://image.nostr.build/1e972cc211a6d8060cdbd4a8aa642dd1a292810c532f178d3ddb133d1b9bca76.jpg

Passo 4: Como compartilhar sua chave pública PGP no formato .asc. no OpenKeychain

1 . Acesse sua chave

Abra o OpenKeychain e toque na chave que você deseja compartilhar. Isso abrirá a tela com os detalhes da chave. https://image.nostr.build/c080f03d2eb7a9f7833fec0ff1942a5b70b97e4f7da7c6bc79ca300ef9ace55d.jpg

2 . Compartilhe o arquivo .asc

Toque no ícone de compartilhamento, como indicado na imagem abaixo. O aplicativo abrirá a janela para que você escolha por qual app deseja compartilhar sua chave pública no formato .asc. Nesse exemplo, usei o SimpleXChat , mas você pode usar qualquer aplicativo de sua preferência.

1. Botão de compartilhar. https://image.nostr.build/8da74bdb04737a45df671a30bba1dd2e7980841fa0c2d751d6649630e7c25470.jpg

2. Seleção do aplicativo para compartilhamento. https://image.nostr.build/5444f4e9d3fa5aef6b191bb6f553f94c6e49d30ead874c9ee435bca3218fd6c8.jpg

3. Enviando via SimpleXChat. https://image.nostr.build/e5d1ca04cbc69e1e8ac5caf1ab2a4b9b695500861c1ae9c55cea679cce349214.jpg

Sugestão para compartilhar nas redes sociais:

Você pode exibir sua chave de forma simples, por exemplo:

PGP: 1597 FE90 C789 5A94

Importar a chave pública usando a fingerprint

Passo 1:Clique no ícone "+" para começar. https://image.nostr.build/ca6e6e569b4be60165eaf60c7ba1e6e3ec781b525e467c72b4f3605837e6b5ec.jpg

Passo 2: Selecione a opção "Buscar Chave". https://image.nostr.build/87e27d9435e6e3ef78063b9f15799a8120ead4637cd06c89c0220b48327573ae.jpg

Passo 3: Digite a fingerprint da chave em letras minúsculas, sem espaços. A chave correspondente aparecerá para ser adicionada. https://image.nostr.build/33e6819edd4582d7a8513e8814dacb07e1a62994bb3238c1b5b3865a46b5f234.jpg

Além disso, você pode compartilhar sua chave pública em formato QR Code, facilitando a troca de chaves em eventos ou conversas rápidas. Como Assinar Mensagens para Confirmar a Autenticidade da Sua Rede Social

Você pode autenticar sua conta em redes sociais utilizando sua chave PGP. Ao assinar uma mensagem com sua chave, você demonstra que realmente possui essa conta. Siga o passo a passo abaixo para assinar uma mensagem:

Passo 1: Clique na sua chave PGP.  https://image.nostr.build/ffacce1bfb293c9a0888cd5efe340a63d96b293f4c010f8626105c7b212d8558.jpg

Passo 2: Clique no ícone indicado pela seta para abrir o campo de texto.  https://image.nostr.build/4e992a2553810e2583b9d190280ce00a52fc423600a75eca48cbf541cf47d3c2.jpg

Passo 3: Deixe a opção "Encriptar para:" vazio. Em "Assinar com:", selecione sua chave PGP e digite a mensagem que deseja enviar, como o nome da sua rede social.  https://image.nostr.build/a4a2a8d233d186e3d8d9adddccc445bcb3ca3ed88de0db671a77cede12323a75.jpg

Passo 4: Clique no ícone indicado pela seta para copiar o texto assinado. Uma mensagem aparecerá informando: "Assinado/Encriptado com Sucesso".  https://image.nostr.build/a076dfc90e30a495af0872005bf70f412df57b7a0e1c2e17cf5aee9e9b3e39aa.jpg

A mensagem copiada terá o seguinte formato:

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA256

Minha rede social NOSTR é Danielfraga oficial. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----

iIQEARYIACwlHERhbmllbCBGcmFnYSAgPGRhbmllbGZyYWdhQG1haWwuaTJwPgUC ZxBBLgAKCRAVl/6Qx4lalGeNAPwP71rpsbhRnZhoWZsTDOFZY8ep/d0e5qYx5iPx HV26dwD/fKyiir1TR8JwZvEbOTYS0+Dn4DFlRAAfR3lKVTC96w4= =37Lj -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

Com isso, você pode facilmente demonstrar a autenticidade da sua conta nas redes sociais.

4. PROTEGENDO SUA CHAVE COM UMA SENHA.

Passo 5: Após a criação da chave, é fundamental definir uma senha (ou passphrase) para adicionar uma camada extra de segurança. Recomendamos usar senhas longas (com mais de 20 caracteres) e de alta entropia para evitar ataques de força bruta. Ferramentas como KeePassDX ou Bitwarden podem ajudá-lo a gerar e gerenciar essas senhas.

Para definir a senha, clique na sua chave PGP, acesse o menu no canto superior direito e selecione "Alterar senha". https://image.nostr.build/689c5237075317e89e183d2664630de973b09b68aaf8f3e3033654e987b781be.jpg https://image.nostr.build/f28ecaa9890a8827f93cac78846c4b2ef67f86ccfc3501fdadf1d1c4874b0041.jpg https://image.nostr.build/919c277fbec63c397402abdd60f915cb239a674c317855cbda63a38edef80789.jpg

Agora basta adicionar uma senha forte. https://image.nostr.build/eb378219fbb1780f89663a474ce43b8d8ebb13beeb538f2a16279b056e5d9645.jpg https://image.nostr.build/cdfa3f9c6c4045841341da789deabb6318107812d5ba195529418572ab352aaf.jpg

5. CRIPTOGRAFAR E DESCRIPTOGRAFAR MENSAGENS E ARQUIVOS COM SUA CHAVE PGP

Criptografar Mensagens

Você pode criptografar mensagens para garantir que apenas o destinatário, que possui sua chave pública, possa lê-las. Siga os passos abaixo para criptografar um texto:

Passo 1: Abra o menu lateral clicando no ícone no canto superior esquerdo.
https://image.nostr.build/13ac93b38dd1633118ae3142401c13e8a089caabdf4617055284cc521a45b069.jpg

Passo 2: Selecione a opção "Encriptar/Descriptar".
https://image.nostr.build/8cd905d616b53968f0551c071d9acc2f47bbe8434c2c7e1a33076a504342de48.jpg

Passo 3: Clique na opção "Encriptar Texto".
https://image.nostr.build/405a730a6c774759d7913f92f59059d43146db4afb28451a6f8833f94e99437f.jpg

Passo 4: Preencha os seguintes campos: https://image.nostr.build/7dc5eba39ff82a321195dbf46b8113818632e3ef41175991d58e799a8e9d2751.jpg

1. Encriptar para: Selecione o destinatário da mensagem, ou seja, a pessoa para quem você está enviando o texto criptografado.
   https://image.nostr.build/1e8c8cba6d3c3136d9857512e2794a81ceb7434eccdfb0f7d26cdef008b2e6d2.jpg

2. Assinar com: Escolha sua chave PGP para assinar a mensagem.
   https://image.nostr.build/d25b228c35b132d396d01c354ef093b43b3565578fbc0d6ff7b9de4e41619855.jpg

3. Digitar o texto: No campo de texto, escreva a mensagem que deseja criptografar.
   https://image.nostr.build/8537271dfa4445e60cb4c3cdb5d97571dc0ff5ee8acd6ed89a8c81e4bd8736c2.jpg

Passo 5: Depois de preencher os campos, você pode copiar o texto criptografado de duas formas:

1. Copiar para a área de transferência: Clique na opção para copiar o texto criptografado e cole-o em um aplicativo de mensagens para enviá-lo.
   https://image.nostr.build/a5cb8e2c538a38db3972e7f3ac9aa9f602cda6b62848ff0c4b99928a67dcd486.jpg

2. Compartilhar diretamente: Utilize a opção de compartilhamento para enviar o texto criptografado diretamente através de seus aplicativos de mensagens.
   https://image.nostr.build/2b79cb564d623788a0de1111a067e0eb496f743389d465d4f4e8f6e65f0d08a7.jpg https://image.nostr.build/ff59e52bc8ab54ff377980a6ba5d1c4743d3298de11e5daa187ab7d45163a7be.jpg

Criptografar arquivos.

Passo 1: Abra o menu lateral clicando no ícone no canto superior esquerdo.
https://image.nostr.build/13ac93b38dd1633118ae3142401c13e8a089caabdf4617055284cc521a45b069.jpg

Passo 2: Selecione a opção "Encriptar/Descriptar".
https://image.nostr.build/8cd905d616b53968f0551c071d9acc2f47bbe8434c2c7e1a33076a504342de48.jpg

Passo 3 : clique na opção "Encriptar arquivos ". https://image.nostr.build/3fcae48ee38e7f4079ebccfd3eafb9ab0ad3559221d2c3560cdfe60e29f56a15.jpg

Passo 4 : os passos a seguir são os mesmo que você seguiu pra encriptar a mensagem texto. Ítens "Encriptar para:" "Assinar com:" https://image.nostr.build/4d6599b9d3a9fdfae0964daaa9dae513d5ce277a7b61930fa2937d534f72ed40.jpg

Passo 5 : clilcar na opção " Adicionair arquivo(s)" Vai abrir na memória interna do celular selecione o arquivo que deseja encriptar. https://image.nostr.build/09e3b9b54a1406426114926aab19011c36b98886ebae6fcf556cfea83bb2c2f4.jpg https://image.nostr.build/af422e243b36762dd66111ec7c848a1352c100ca3040dc21792c923f80aef74d.jpg https://image.nostr.build/ebebbdb273b4bca58d901852aec1c60e4799aa77e9d12a31f992b0cf8f73e753.jpg

Passo 6: Depois de preencher os campos, você pode compartilhar o arquivo criptografado de duas formas:

1. Salvar na memória do celular: A primeira opção salva o arquivo criptografado no armazenamento do seu dispositivo. Você terá a opção de editar o nome do arquivo antes de salvar.
   https://image.nostr.build/0a47c1e9f0003541f47091b2c2e8ce6b8d1533d95463e331b218070bae964ac8.jpg https://image.nostr.build/95a7a2b67356eb5ded5b217bab38a19bdeba5af7befd105834e413e0aec45462.jpg https://image.nostr.build/66cb3d22b271f3b73b7015613c72711a3ffbf5e1070d43153f9d1f3fcf35001c.jpg https://image.nostr.build/f9624d86f7592fe7ffad932b7805762dc279d9e8ff410222108155438a2c970f.jpg

2. Compartilhar diretamente: Utilize a opção de compartilhamento para enviar o arquivo criptografado diretamente por meio dos seus aplicativos de mensagens.
   https://image.nostr.build/85541e466c7755c65bd6ba0208a6d8612beaa5298712b6d92f53865167695a38.jpg https://image.nostr.build/bf1e0f0aeb60cafbdf82af4b3b598288519e85b396bd3f9e00e61f65b89ea9f8.jpg https://image.nostr.build/fb090339898f37cdbb020828689b142ca601ca3ee549f67ddf6b2e094df9ab9f.jpg https://image.nostr.build/50c249ced06efe465ba533fef15207b0dcd1a725e9b2c139e8d85c13fd798276.jpg

Descriptografar Mensagens e Arquivos

Para ler uma mensagem ou arquivo criptografado que você recebeu, utilize sua chave privada. Siga os passos abaixo:

Descriptografar Mensagens

Passo 1: Copie a mensagem criptografada que você recebeu.
https://image.nostr.build/c37754b12a458e0176b9137ae0aa9e8209f853bf9d9292c0867fd8b0606d53c4.jpg

Passo 2: Clique na opção "Ler da área de transferência" para descriptografar o texto.
https://image.nostr.build/d83c7dad2ee1cb6267779863bc174ee1a8f3cc3c86b69063345321027bdde7b5.jpg https://image.nostr.build/c0fae86e6ab1fe9dcee86753972c818bed489ea11efdd09b7e7da7422a9c81eb.jpg

Descriptografar Arquivos

Passo 1: Clique na opção "Selecionar arquivo de entrada".
https://image.nostr.build/9c276c630311d19a576f2e35b5ba82bac07360476edae3f1a8697ff85df9e3c9.jpg

Passo 2: Selecione o arquivo criptografado que deseja descriptografar.
https://image.nostr.build/6b6c2a3284ba96e7168fc7bd0916020c4f1bed7b77dfca48227fc96d6929e15a.jpg https://image.nostr.build/9945aad644af2e2020e07e55f65f11a0958d55e8fc9e13c862e6b9ca88b4f4d9.jpg

6. BACKUP E RESTAURAÇÃO DE CHAVE PGP.

Realizar o backup das suas chaves PGP é fundamental para evitar a perda de acesso às suas mensagens e dados criptografados. O OpenKeychain facilita esse processo, permitindo que você faça um backup completo e seguro. Recomendamos que você armazene o backup em um local seguro, como um HD externo ou pendrive conectado via cabo OTG, sempre protegendo-o com senha.

PASSOS PARA REALIZAR O BACKUP:

Passo 1: Abra o menu lateral clicando no ícone no canto superior esquerdo.
https://image.nostr.build/13ac93b38dd1633118ae3142401c13e8a089caabdf4617055284cc521a45b069.jpg

Passo 2: Selecione a opção Backup/restaurar.
https://image.nostr.build/6fa8fd14e23b47c6c924bc0d900646663f2124a93d8172ae79fdf43b5c7d4490.jpg

Passo 3: Escolha a primeira opção: Backup completo (criptografado).
https://image.nostr.build/4875fb27b6d04c3cb838b4fb9f308ef9194edc35ba1254ba965b7f0db2544170.jpg

Passo 4: O backup será protegido por um código de backup gerado automaticamente. Anote esse código em um papel e guarde local seguro, pois sem ele você não conseguirá recuperar suas chaves PGP. Após anotar o código, marque a opção “Anotei o código” e clique em Salvar Backup. Obs: todas as vezes que você for fazer o backup da sua chave PGP vai ser criado um novo código aleatório.

https://image.nostr.build/72a317ef5e59a01c03c36f1d04a91d42c418a478cc82e372acf21bb8302daa00.jpg

Passo 5: Escolha o local onde deseja salvar o backup (HD externo, pendrive, etc.), confirme sua escolha e clique em OK. Você verá uma mensagem de confirmação indicando que o backup foi salvo com sucesso.

https://image.nostr.build/d757e8bdf429371320daa44be8a48a0dbeb2324129f4254327f0f0383e70ede4.jpg https://image.nostr.build/f3ad80ceb8a191b4d1b40722b1d0d4f85bf183d412e7d7d901b25d19b2dfe0e3.jpg

Importação da Chave PGP

Caso você precise restaurar suas chaves PGP a partir de um backup, o OpenKeychain também facilita o processo de importação. Siga os passos abaixo para restaurar sua chave PGP:

Passo 1: Selecione a opção "Selecionar arquivo de entrada"

Abra o OpenKeychain, acesse o menu lateral no canto superior esquerdo e escolha a opção "Selecionar arquivo de entrada" para localizar o arquivo de backup que você deseja importar.
https://image.nostr.build/a06ddc1c1e6c50519097e614aa25b14311e49c0ca4d4607e42ebdcca3a6641c4.jpg

Passo 2: Selecione o arquivo de backup
Navegue até o local onde você salvou o arquivo de backup (HD externo, pendrive, etc.) e selecione-o. Em seguida, o OpenKeychain solicitará que você insira o código de recuperação que foi gerado no momento do backup. https://image.nostr.build/9d5649c04a98ec8b0a29355d9068e48313b1c5dc36cd965961f4d33f22d10046.jpg

Passo 3: Digite o código de recuperação
Insira o código de recuperação que você anotou anteriormente. É importante digitar o código corretamente para garantir o sucesso da restauração.

Passo 4: Depois de inserir o código corretamente, o OpenKeychain irá restaurar suas chaves PGP, e uma mensagem de confirmação será exibida, indicando que a recuperação foi concluída com sucesso.

Agora suas chaves estão restauradas e você pode continuar usando o OpenKeychain para gerenciar suas comunicações criptografadas de maneira segura.

https://www.openkeychain.org/

https://github.com/open-keychain/open-keychain

https://youtu.be/fptlAx_j4OA

@ e83b66a8:b0526c2b

I’m going to talk about Ethereum, hear me out.

Ethereum is a Turing complete consensus blockchain tokenised by its own currency Ether.

This idea by Vitalik Buterin was incredibly compelling and still is today, even though few real world use cases have emerged.

For example, as a company, I could pay a carbon tax in Ether, locked into a smart contract. If the temperate rises by more than “n” degrees year on year based on a known agreed external (blind) oracle, say a weather station located near my factory.

Fantastic, we now have an automatic climate tax.

In reality, few realistic applications exist, however the idea is very compelling and many flocked to Ethereum as a promise of the future. This inflated its utility token “Ether” into stratospherically high prices.

This, in turn, attracted speculative investors and traders only looking at the price signal of the token and no longer considering the utility. This created a bubble which has gradually deflated over time.

This is why we are seeing Bitcoin, which only attempts to be money, succeed relative to Ethereum.

As Ethereum fails, and Bitcoin development strides on, an opportunity arises to try to do what Ethereum and all the other related altcoins have so far failed to do. Computational utility. And to do this on Bitcoin, the most successful “Crypto”.

The first unintended hijack of Ethereums utility are the JPEGs we are seeing on our blockchain.

This latest drive to make Bitcoin Turing complete is potentially the final destination for developers keen to explore the potential of Bitcoins eco-system.

Perhaps Bitcoin is going to absorb all the altcoins. Perhaps that is the goal of Bitcoins developers.

I don’t comment whether this is good or bad, I’m just exploring whether this may be the agenda.

@ f72e682e:c51af867

All across the Lightning Network we can detect quite a lot of nodes, specially new nodes but also old nodes, that show a concerning lack of good node operation which impedes proper routing. I’ve seen nodes with a variable capacity whose channels are stagnant and non performant, which raises a question: what is the point on maintaining a public node if you are not able to route and dynamically assign resources as needed? Certainly it is a useless node, and channels of those nodes with other nodes better maintained are also useless, not because the fault of the good ones, but because the fault of the bad ones, which makes the whole network not as performant and great as it should be.

For the shake of improving the Lightning Network, I have created this guide, so every node out there can become useful, and, also, will greatly improve gains in routing for itself. Do not expect to become rich or even live out of routing fees, that is impossible unless you have a node with 100 or more BTC in 2025, but at least, a node should be able to cover its own maintenance costs; its the idea. Problem is that, currently, most nodes run on a loss, and that is highly related with the fee policy and the choice of nodes that they connect to. Let’s put an end to this. Here you will learn how to, at least, earn enough to cover electricity of your node, and with luck, a bit more.

Current earnings cover electricity and the payment of my node:

3K sats per day might not seem much for a 5 BTC capacity (2.5 BTC real outbound) node, but the screenshot was taken in a bad day, when the mempool was empty. I took the screenshot of a bad day on purpose, to prove my point. Some other days, specially when Bitcoin is going bullish and it is used a lot, I have seen 20K per day. A quick calculation brings around 1M sats per year at a minimum, more than enough to pay electricity, the machine, and even a bit more for beers and fun! Real gains across the year could be closer to around 5M in my case, which is not bad. And what is incredible, I maintain general low fees for most of the cases, except when I have no liquidity in the channel which must be high, as you will understand later in this article. So if you double or triple my recommended fees I would expect quite a lot more earnings. So expect gains of around 2% of the total capacity (4% for the amount you put in) per year minimum, and any extra beyond that by fine-tuning my recommendations I'm sure it will be very welcomed by you!

Step 1: put the node in a good machine

Please, don’t use an old computer or laptop, unless you change the SSD for a new one. Bitcoin and lightning uses the SSD heavily, which means it will fry it sooner or later. That is so that I recommend changing the SSD every 2 years even it it still feels good. If your SSD dies during operation, expect big loses. I’ve seen this so many times, and it also happened to me, that I am very serious about recommending it. Also, please use only Linux with ext4 file format, other formats, including ZFS, I’ve seen failing badly. If your filesystem fails, the sqlite db that LND or CLN uses will fail and you will force close many if not most channels, with big fees for onchain closings, which will totally ruin all your gains. You have been warned!

Also, please take your time to configure a clearnet (ipv4) address. Do not rely only on Tor, because Tor is slow and unreliable, specially when updating channel states on the gossip, which you will be doing a lot. Of course, configure Tor also, but as secondary, because too many nodes are Tor only, which is unfortunate.

Step 2: connect to good nodes

As a public node operator, your duty is to connect to as many nodes as possible, but first, to good reputable nodes. Your first 10 channels should be with big nodes and service providers, like exchanges, wallets, but also to very well positioned big nodes. Take your time to select these 10 first nodes and connect to the ones you think will improve your position in the network. Don’t choose the first 10 biggest, take your time to study the fees. Select nodes that use a wide range of fees, from 0 to 1000ppm. Don’t discard a node because you see some channels with high fees, it could only mean that they have no liquidity right now in that channel. But if all its channels have high fees, or at least all small channels have high fees, then discard it.

Then, when you have your first 10 big nodes connected, go ahead and go to https://lightningnetwork.plus/ to choose less popular ones. You need them, because you seek to fill the voids between smaller nodes, it is what most of your revenue will come from. Always try to do swaps, use the liquidity pool later when you have enough total inbound liquidity. Remember that total capacity is not total outbound. Total capacity is total outbound + total inbound. So you can start with 0.25BTC of your own, but total capacity could be much higher if other peers have open channels to you.

A proper public node should have a minimum of 50 channels at its peak. It doesn’t matter much the size of the channels, but the quantity and the quality. A node with 50x500k sized channels will usually perform 10x better than a node with 5x5M sized channels, even if they have the same total capacity. This is because more opportunities to route will be found if you have more channels, which means you are much better positioned.

Anyway, the minimum recommended is 1M per channel because most HTCLs are 100k to 500k and less than 1M will wipe out all your liquidity in the channels in one or two routings. This could change in the future because of the Bitcoin price, but in 2025 this is the state of things. But if you don’t have 0.25 BTC to open 50 channels (25 open by you, 25 by others using swaps), just use smaller channels, don't let your available liquidity to crush your excitement, who knows what is the future ahead us! Remember that we are just at the beginning of this technology and there is nothing that impides your channels to be open for the next 20 years when 1BTC=$1M! I would put the ultra minimum at 250k per channel, which means a 12.5M node (6.25M required sats to start with), but even that is too precarious in 2025. But hopefully not in the future! If you have less than that my honest recommendation is to run a private node and open private channels only, and only if you absolutely need a node because you have to provide a service for multiple people and you can't conform to use simpler wallets. Right now, I can think of only one example of requiring an ultra-small node instead of wallets, which is using LNBits to service your small business or family. Be aware, anyway, that a 12.5M node will definitely not cover your node running costs in 2025, it is just an investment and positioning for a future!

In any case, never, ever, put all your BTC in a LN node, at most one third of your bitcoins and only when you are confident.

Also remember you have to be online 24/7. Please, don’t setup a node if you can’t. Remember you are providing a constant service, not an intermittent one. This guide won’t work if you are not committed to this rule.

Step 3: understand the flow

I’ve seen too many node operators that do not understand how payments are routed, and this is a big problem, because this is the base of everything we do with a LN node.

Payments go from one node to another to another to another until it reaches destination. Each node has what is called an outbound fee. This fee controls how much does it cost to route a payment through that node. If the fee is low it is considered attractive and other nodes will prefer to use that route. If the fee is high, it is obvious that nodes will not choose that route unless there is no other way.

But there is a problem here: all channels have a liquidity limit. If a channel has 1M liquidity and a payment of 500k comes through it, then now the channel has 500k liquidity, that is, a ratio of 0.5. If another 400k comes through, now it has 100k liquidity and a ratio of 0.1. If now somebody tries to route a 200k payment through that channel, and error will happen, because it doesn’t have enough liquidity. It is called an HTCL failure, and this are quite normal. Liquidity can come backwards, which means that now that channel becomes the income instead of the outcome, so if 300k comes in, in the example above, now the liquidity ratio is 0.4 (100k already there plus 300k that just came in). So it is easy to understand that liquidity is very volatile: it will come in and out with any successful in or out HTLC.

The problem is: how do you know if a channel has liquidity? For privacy reasons, the liquidity of a channel is never announced, and only the two connected nodes know it. This is logical, to avoid bad actors to figure out which payments have been done by other people. So the only possible solution is to try all connected channels you have until one lets you go through because it has enough liquidity. And it is going to be done, always, in the order of outbound fees, from low to high. So the channel that has the lowest fee with enough liquidity, will catch the prize.

There is a way to signal that you have liquidity or you don’t, and it is based on scarcity: if you don’t have much liquidity, you increase the outbound fee, so other nodes will not find attractive to route through you in that direction. You don't have much liquidity, so why bother to allow routing? But, when you have again outbound liquidity, because other nodes have taken the opposite direction (inbound) using another channel of yours which has liquidity (as outbound), you intelligently lower the fees to signal your new updated increased liquidity in the channel. So, the idea is simple: if you have liquidity in the channel, you put low fees, if you don’t have liquidity, you put high fees. Please read that again until you fully understand it, it is extremely important.

There is another concept introduced by LND which is negative inbound fees: if you put negative inbound fees, for example -100ppm, it means that any payment going from that inbound channel to another of your outbound channels, will have a maximum discount of 100ppm. (Don’t worry, you will never lose because LND forbids to route losing money, so 100ppm is the maximum, but it could be less if the outgoing channel has less than 100ppm fees.) What this does is to encourage the filling of empty channels at the cost of earning less in channels with plenty of liquidity. This is very good, because it will automatically rebalance your extremes: channels with no liquidity will be filled up, channels with plenty of liquidity will be emptied down, creating a balance.

It is obvious that the total ratio, including all your channels, should be around 100%. That means that the total amount summing all channels of inbound and outbound should be approximately the same. Don’t get obsessed with this, 80% or 120% is ok too, but if it is lower or higher than that you should take measures to open or close channels, or even swap out or in using boltz.exchange or LOOP.

Step 4: managing fees

So, in order to make proper routing, you will have to constantly monitor all your channels on a regular basis. Minimum recommended frequency is once a day. You can do this automatically or manually. Some people prefer to do it manually because each channel has its own characteristics and some fees work better than others, which is something you learn with time observing the flow. But some other people, like me, don’t want to spend so much time doing so, and do automatic fee management using charge-lnd or lndg automators. A mixture of both styles is possible by disabling automatic fee management for selected channels.

Every node operator has his/her own preferences, but here are some basic recommendations that you can tweak over time as you acquire experience: ratio > 0.98: fees 0 (or less than 10) 0.2 < ratio < 0.98: fees proportional max 128, min 16 0.2 > ratio > 0.05: fees 500, inbound -16 ratio < 0.05: fees 1000, inbound -64 ratio = 0: fees more than 1000, inbound -128 So, as you can see, when the channel is full we encourage routing, when the channel is more balanced is when the earnings will occur (from 16 to 128ppm), when the channel is mostly empty we discourage forward routing (500ppm) but encourage backwards routing (inbound -16) and when it is almost empty we clearly totally discourage forward routing (1000ppm) but encourage backwards routing (inbound -64). And when someone just opened a channel with us, all liquidity is theirs so we aggressively encourage inbound routing by putting ultra high outbound fees and ultra inbound discounts. Simple, eh?

Step 5: automatic fee management

As stated before, you can automate this using charge-lnd or lndg or Lightning Terminal if you use LND. If you use CLN you are probably limited to create a personalized script, because I don’t know of any similar tool for it, apart from CL-BOSS which is unmaintained and non-customizable.

You will run this configuration a maximum of once per hour, and a minimum of once per day. You should not try to run it more frequent than once per hour because of two reasons: 1. The channel states stored in the gossip take from some minutes to some hours to properly propagate. 2. Some nodes will ban you if you try to update more than once per hour. What I recommend is once every 2 hours for big nodes with more than 50 channels. If you have less than 50 channels, your gossip will be slow to propagate so run it once a day. If you get many “Insufficient Fee” errors is because you are trying to update channel states too frequently. Also, some people report that increasing the variable numgraphsyncpeers in the LND configuration file helps with better propagation, but be aware that this will increase bandwidth usage.

I’ve been using lndg for some time, but I switched to charge-lnd because it is clearly superior and faster and more customizable. Lndg is still great for rebalancing (which I use a lot) and as a general interface, but I have disabled the fee management, which I now do with charge-lnd. If you can’t access charge-lnd then just use lndg with the frequency chosen above, but be aware that the configuration parameters are very limited, as you will soon realize (you are limited to just one strategy which is proportional, and it is very slow as it changes the fee in incremental steps). Yet it is better using lndg than nothing.

Lightning Terminal from Lightning Labs I have not tested. So I can’t say anything about it.

But here is a good starting configuration for charge-lnd that you can customize to your preferences:

``` [default]

'default' is special, it is used if no other policy matches a channel

strategy = static base_fee_msat = 128 fee_ppm = 96 inbound_base_fee_msat = 0 inbound_fee_ppm = 0 min_fee_ppm_delta=20

[mydefaults]

no strategy, so this only sets some defaults

base_fee_msat = 128 min_fee_ppm_delta = 0

[lost-onchain-sync]

The fact that lnd was not synchronized with the chain for more than 5 minutes

was an indicator of a severe problem in the past.

onchain.synced_to_chain = false base_fee_msat = 210_000 fee_ppm = 210_000

[expensive]

match channels where the peer node has set a high (>=8_000 ppm) fee rate

and set the same fee rate on our side (strategy=match_peer)

chan.min_fee_ppm = 8000 strategy = match_peer

[leafnode]

charge non-routing (private=true) peers a bit more for our service

chan.private = true strategy = static fee_ppm = 1000

[encourage-routing]

'autobalance' (lower fees so using outbound is more attractive)

chan.min_ratio = 0.98 inbound_base_fee_msat = 0 inbound_fee_ppm = 0 strategy = static base_fee_msat = 64 fee_ppm = 16

[discourage-routing]

'autobalance' (higher fees so using outbound is less attractive)

chan.max_ratio = 0.2 chan.min_ratio = 0.05 strategy = proportional inbound_base_fee_msat = -64 inbound_fee_ppm = -16 min_fee_ppm = 32 max_fee_ppm = 700 base_fee_msat = 1_000

[all-liquidity-is-theirs] chan.max_ratio = 0.00 inbound_base_fee_msat = -128 inbound_fee_ppm = -128 strategy = static base_fee_msat = 1_000 fee_ppm = 1000

[discourage-routing-extreme] chan.max_ratio = 0.05 inbound_base_fee_msat = -128 inbound_fee_ppm = -32 strategy = proportional min_fee_ppm = 32 max_fee_ppm = 1000 base_fee_msat = 1_000

[proportional]

'proportional' can also be used to auto balance (lower fee rate when low remote balance & higher rate when higher remote balance)

fee_ppm decreases linearly with the channel balance ratio (min_fee_ppm when ratio is 1, max_fee_ppm when ratio is 0)

20% excess:

chan.min_ratio = 0.2 chan.max_ratio = 0.98 strategy = proportional min_fee_ppm = 32

20% excess, so for a max of 128, it’s calculated 128/(1-0.20)=160

max_fee_ppm = 160 inbound_base_fee_msat = 0 inbound_fee_ppm = 0 base_fee_msat = 128 min_fee_ppm_delta=16 ```

So you might run this config in a crontab or with your node distribution script if it is provided. I think Umbrel has this app in their portfolio, so just use it if you have Umbrel and ignore the following. If you run it manually or with a distro that doesn’t have charge-lnd, you can configure a crontab. This is just an example, please ask support for proper configuration on your distro. And if you distro do not include charge-lnd, ask support to include it, at this point it’s quite a necessity. Anyway here is the manual configuration: ``` $ crontab -e

0 */2 * * * echo "=======>" date >> /home/nodo/charge-lnd/log && /home/nodo/charge-lnd/env/bin/charge-lnd -c /home/nodo/charge-lnd/my.config >> /home/nodo/charge-lnd/log ```

That is supposing charge-lnd executable is installed under /home/nodo/charge-lnd/env/bin/charge-lnd and config is in /home/nodo/charge-lnd/my.config and LND is running without docker. If it is running under docker, you will have to ask support of your distro.

Step 6: help your peers

Remember that your peers are not only your competition, they are also your customers. So it is a strange symbiosis: you compete with them, but they also help you (and you help them).

If your peers are not well informed and have a bad maintained node, you are in a loss, because your channels with them will get stagnant and will not route. If they are well informed and know how to manage a node, then the channels will not be stagnant and they will route through you.

So it is stupid to keep this information as a secret. Every node operator should know it. And the more people know it, the better for everybody.

So, please, if you detect stagnant channels and bad maintained peers connected to you, just lead them to this guide, or guide them yourself. It’s a good idea to bookmark this guide so you have it prepared for the future.

And that’s it!! Happy routing!!

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/972730

@ 2b24a1fa:17750f64

Das Kriegsgrauen kriecht unter die Haut. Bilder von verstümmelten Beinen und Armen, von Kriegstraumatisierten schweigenden Männern, von Kriegsgräbern steigen auf. Als Mutter, Schwester, Tante, Großmutter wachsen die Ängste, dass sich ein Verwandter von der politischen und medialen Kriegslust anstecken lässt und tatsächlich die Beteiligung an den näher kommenden kriegerischen Auseinandersetzungen in Erwägung zieht. Einen wütenden Kommentar anlässlich der wachsenden Kriegstreiberei verfasste unser Autor Nicolas Riedl.

https://soundcloud.com/radiomuenchen/sofa-soldaten-an-die-front-von-nicolas-riedl?

Bild: KI

@ bbef5093:71228592

*Holtec új atomenergetikai együttműködése Utah államban*

Az amerikai Holtec International stratégiai megállapodást kötött Utah állammal és a Hi Tech Solutions nukleáris szolgáltatóval, hogy elősegítse saját fejlesztésű, SMR-300 típusú kis moduláris reaktorainak (SMR) telepítését Utahban és az Egyesült Államok Mountain West régiójában. A megállapodás értelmében 2028-ig állandó képzési központot hoznak létre Utahban, amely az üzemeltetéshez, karbantartáshoz és az új generációs nukleáris technológiákhoz szükséges munkaerő képzését célozza, szoros együttműködésben helyi egyetemekkel, főiskolákkal és szakiskolákkal.

A projekt Utah állam energetikai stratégiájának („Operation Gigawatt” és „Built Here”) része, amely a következő tíz évben megduplázná az állam energiatermelését, kiemelt szerepet szánva a tiszta nukleáris energiának. A Holtec Utah-t választotta nyugati gyártóbázisának is, ezzel erősítve az amerikai nukleáris ellátási láncot és hosszú távú munkahelyeket teremtve. A cég a 2030-as években akár 4 GW összkapacitású SMR-300 telepítését tervezi főként Utahban és Wyomingban.

Az SMR-300 egy nyomottvizes reaktor, amely 300 MW villamos vagy 1050 MW hőteljesítményt biztosít, és a Holtec tervei szerint kulcsszerepet játszhat a tiszta, szén-dioxid-mentes energiatermelésben.

*Amerikai SMR-piac helyzete*

Az SMR-technológia az utóbbi években került a figyelem középpontjába, mivel gyorsabban és olcsóbban telepíthető, mint a hagyományos atomerőművek, és lehetőséget kínál magánbefektetők számára is. Ugyanakkor az első amerikai SMR-projekt, a NuScale és a Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems közös beruházása költségnövekedés miatt meghiúsult, ami rávilágított a technológia gazdasági kihívásaira.

Nemzetközi fejlemények és további hírek

• Az ausztrál Okapi Resources és az Urenco együttműködési megállapodást kötött új urán dúsítási technológia fejlesztésére, amely tisztább és olcsóbb dúsítási eljárást ígér.
• Az Argonne National Laboratory sikeresen kicserélt egy 30 éves kulcsfontosságú alkatrészt a nátriumhűtésű gyorsreaktor-tesztberendezésében, ami hozzájárulhat a gyorsreaktor-technológia fejlesztéséhez az Egyesült Államokban.
• A Tennessee Egyetem ösztöndíjprogramot indít a Fülöp-szigeteki nukleáris szakemberek képzésére, támogatva ezzel a délkelet-ázsiai ország nukleáris energiafejlesztési törekvéseit.
• Bulgáriában a Westinghouse Electric Company helyi beszállítókkal kötött megállapodásokat két új AP1000 típusú reaktor építéséhez a kozloduji atomerőműben.

@ a87c9bfc:83bda6a8

Large Language Models (LLMs) are revolutionizing how we interact with technology, but their increasing sophistication brings unique security challenges. Malicious actors are constantly finding new ways to exploit these systems, primarily through techniques like prompt injection – crafting inputs to bypass safety controls – and the use of hidden characters to obfuscate harmful commands or disrupt text processing. Ensuring the safety and integrity of LLM applications is paramount.

The Hidden Dangers in Text

Prompt injection allows attackers to manipulate LLM outputs, potentially leading to data leaks, generation of inappropriate content, or unauthorized actions. Similarly, invisible characters (like zero-width spaces or bidirectional text overrides) can be embedded within seemingly innocuous text. These hidden elements can bypass simple security filters, disguise malicious instructions, or interfere with how the LLM interprets the input, leading to unpredictable or harmful behavior.

Vibecondom: A New Shield for LLM Security

To combat these emerging threats, a new open-source tool called Vibecondom has been developed. Written in Go, Vibecondom acts as a specialized security scanner designed specifically for the text content fed into LLMs. It serves as a critical defensive layer for AI developers, security researchers, and content moderation teams aiming to protect their systems.

Core Capabilities

Vibecondom focuses on identifying subtle but dangerous patterns within text data:

• Detecting Deception: It actively scans for known techniques used in prompt injection attacks and identifies various types of hidden or control characters that could signal malicious intent.
• Unmasking Obfuscation: The tool can flag potentially obfuscated content, such as Base64 encoded strings or text mixing different character scripts, which might be used to hide payloads.
• Flexible Integration: Vibecondom is designed for versatility, capable of analyzing text files stored locally or scanning content directly from remote Git repositories.
• Actionable Insights: When potential threats are detected, the tool provides clear alerts, helping teams pinpoint and investigate suspicious inputs before they compromise the LLM.

Enhancing Trust in AI

Tools like Vibecondom represent an essential step forward in securing the LLM ecosystem. By proactively identifying and flagging potentially harmful inputs, developers can build more robust defenses, fostering greater trust and reliability in AI applications.

As an open-source project (MIT License), Vibecondom invites collaboration and contribution from the security community. Anyone interested in bolstering their LLM security posture is encouraged to explore the Vibecondom project on GitHub to learn more.

---

GitHub: https://github.com/ngmisl/vibe-condom

@ 2183e947:f497b975

Most darknet markets (DNMs) are designed poorly in the following ways:

1. Hosting

Most DNMs use a model whereby merchants fill out a form to create their listings, and the data they submit then gets hosted on the DNM's servers. In scenarios where a "legal" website would be forced to censor that content (e.g. a DMCA takedown order), DNMs, of course, do not obey. This can lead to authorities trying to find the DNM's servers to take enforcement actions against them. This design creates a single point of failure.

A better design is to outsource hosting to third parties. Let merchants host their listings on nostr relays, not on the DNM's server. The DNM should only be designed as an open source interface for exploring listings hosted elsewhere, that way takedown orders end up with the people who actually host the listings, i.e. with nostr relays, and not with the DNM itself. And if a nostr relay DOES go down due to enforcement action, it does not significantly affect the DNM -- they'll just stop querying for listings from that relay in their next software update, because that relay doesn't work anymore, and only query for listings from relays that still work.

2. Moderation

Most DNMs have employees who curate the listings on the DNM. For example, they approve/deny listings depending on whether they fit the content policies of the website. Some DNMs are only for drugs, others are only for firearms. The problem is, to approve a criminal listing is, in the eyes of law enforcement, an act of conspiracy. Consequently, they don't just go after the merchant who made the listing but the moderators who approved it, and since the moderators typically act under the direction of the DNM, this means the police go after the DNM itself.

A better design is to outsource moderation to third parties. Let anyone call themselves a moderator and create lists of approved goods and services. Merchants can pay the most popular third party moderators to add their products to their lists. The DNM itself just lets its users pick which moderators to use, such that the user's choice -- and not a choice by the DNM -- determines what goods and services the user sees in the interface.

That way, the police go after the moderators and merchants rather than the DNM itself, which is basically just a web browser: it doesn't host anything or approve of any content, it just shows what its users tell it to show. And if a popular moderator gets arrested, his list will still work for a while, but will gradually get more and more outdated, leading someone else to eventually become the new most popular moderator, and a natural transition can occur.

3. Escrow

Most DNMs offer an escrow solution whereby users do not pay merchants directly. Rather, during the Checkout process, they put their money in escrow, and request the DNM to release it to the merchant when the product arrives, otherwise they initiate a dispute. Most DNMs consider escrow necessary because DNM users and merchants do not trust one another; users don't want to pay for a product first and then discover that the merchant never ships it, and merchants don't want to ship a product first and then discover that the user never pays for it.

The problem is, running an escrow solution for criminals is almost certain to get you accused of conspiracy, money laundering, and unlicensed money transmission, so the police are likely to shut down any DNM that does this. A better design is to oursource escrow to third parties. Let anyone call themselves an escrow, and let moderators approve escrows just like they approve listings. A merchant or user who doesn't trust the escrows chosen by a given moderator can just pick a different moderator. That way, the police go after the third party escrows rather than the DNM itself, which never touches user funds.

4. Consequences

Designing a DNM along these principles has an interesting consequence: the DNM is no longer anything but an interface, a glorified web browser. It doesn't host any content, approve any listings, or touch any money. It doesn't even really need a server -- it can just be an HTML file that users open up on their computer or smart phone. For two reasons, such a program is hard to take down:

First, it is hard for the police to justify going after the DNM, since there are no charges to bring. Its maintainers aren't doing anything illegal, no more than Firefox does anything illegal by maintaining a web browser that some people use to browse illegal content. What the user displays in the app is up to them, not to the code maintainers. Second, if the police decided to go after the DNM anyway, they still couldn't take it down because it's just an HTML file -- the maintainers do not even need to run a server to host the file, because users can share it with one another, eliminating all single points of failure.

Another consequence of this design is this: most of the listings will probably be legal, because there is more demand for legal goods and services than illegal ones. Users who want to find illegal goods would pick moderators who only approve those listings, but everyone else would use "legal" moderators, and the app would not, at first glance, look much like a DNM, just a marketplace for legal goods and services. To find the illegal stuff that lurks among the abundant legal stuff, you'd probably have to filter for it via your selection of moderators, making it seem like the "default" mode is legal.

5. Conclusion

I think this DNM model is far better than the designs that prevail today. It is easier to maintain, harder to take down, and pushes the "hard parts" to the edges, so that the DNM is not significantly affected even if a major merchant, moderator, or escrow gets arrested. I hope it comes to fruition.

@ 088436cd:9d2646cc

The arrival of the coronavirus brought not only illness and death but also fear and panic. In such an environment of uncertainty, people have naturally stocked up on necessities, not knowing when things will return to normal.

Retail shelves have been cleared out, and even online suppliers like Amazon and Walmart are out of stock for some items. Independent sellers on these e-commerce platforms have had to fill the gap. With the huge increase in demand, they have found that their inventory has skyrocketed in value.

Many in need of these items (e.g. toilet paper, hand sanitizer and masks) balk at the new prices. They feel they are being taken advantage of in a time of need and call for intervention by the government to lower prices. The government has heeded that call, labeling the independent sellers as "price gougers" and threatening sanctions if they don't lower their prices. Amazon has suspended seller accounts and law enforcement at all levels have threatened to prosecute. Prices have dropped as a result and at first glance this seems like a victory for fair play. But, we will have to dig deeper to understand the unseen consequences of this intervention.

We must look at the economics of the situation, how supply and demand result in a price and how that price acts as a signal that goes out to everyone, informing them of underlying conditions in the economy and helping coordinate their actions.

It all started with a rise in demand. Given a fixed supply (e.g., the limited stock on shelves and in warehouses), an increase in demand inevitably leads to higher prices. Most people are familiar with this phenomenon, such as paying more for airline tickets during holidays or surge pricing for rides.

Higher prices discourage less critical uses of scarce resources. For example, you might not pay $1,000 for a plane ticket to visit your aunt if you can get one for $100 the following week, but someone else might pay that price to visit a dying relative. They value that plane seat more than you.

*** During the crisis, demand surged and their shelves emptied even though

However, retail outlets have not raised prices. They have kept them low, so the low-value uses of things like toilet paper, masks and hand sanitizer has continued. Often, this "use" just takes the form of hoarding. At everyday low prices, it makes sense to buy hundreds of rolls and bottles. You know you will use them eventually, so why not stock up? And, with all those extra supplies in the closet and basement, you don't need to change your behavior much. You don't have to ration your use.

At the low prices, these scarce resources got bought up faster and faster until there was simply none left. The reality of the situation became painfully clear to those who didn't panic and got to the store late: You have no toilet paper and you're not going to any time soon.

However, if prices had been allowed to rise, a number of effects would have taken place that would have coordinated the behavior of everyone so that valuable resources would not have been wasted or hoarded, and everyone could have had access to what they needed.

On the demand side, if prices had been allowed to rise, people would have begun to self-ration. You might leave those extra plies on the roll next time if you know they will cost ten times as much to replace. Or, you might choose to clean up a spill with a rag rather than disposable tissue. Most importantly, you won't hoard as much. That 50th bottle of hand sanitizer might just not be worth it at the new, high price. You'll leave it on the shelf for someone else who may have none.

On the supply side, higher prices would have incentivized people to offer up more of their stockpiles for sale. If you have a pallet full of toilet paper in your basement and all of the sudden they are worth $15 per roll, you might just list a few online. But, if it is illegal to do so, you probably won't.

Imagine you run a business installing insulation and have a few thousand respirator masks on hand for your employees. During a pandemic, it is much more important that people breathe filtered air than that insulation get installed, and that fact is reflected in higher prices. You will sell your extra masks at the higher price rather than store them for future insulation jobs, and the scarce resource will be put to its most important use.

Producers of hand sanitizer would go into overdrive if prices were allowed to rise. They would pay their employees overtime, hire new ones, and pay a premium for their supplies, making sure their raw materials don't go to less important uses.

These kinds of coordinated actions all across the economy would be impossible without real prices to guide them. How do you know if it makes sense to spend an extra $10k bringing a thousand masks to market unless you know you can get more than $10 per mask? If the price is kept artificially low, you simply can't do it. The money just isn't there.

These are the immediate effects of a price change, but incredibly, price changes also coordinate people's actions across space and time.

Across space, there are different supply and demand conditions in different places, and thus prices are not uniform. We know some places are real "hot spots" for the virus, while others are mostly unaffected. High demand in the hot spots leads to higher prices there, which attracts more of the resource to those areas. Boxes and boxes of essential items would pour in where they are needed most from where they are needed least, but only if prices were allowed to adjust freely.

This would be accomplished by individuals and businesses buying low in the unaffected areas, selling high in the hot spots and subtracting their labor and transportation costs from the difference. Producers of new supply would know exactly where it is most needed and ship to the high-demand, high-price areas first. The effect of these actions is to increase prices in the low demand areas and reduce them in the high demand areas. People in the low demand areas will start to self-ration more, reflecting the reality of their neighbors, and people in the hotspots will get some relief.

However, by artificially suppressing prices in the hot spot, people there will simply buy up the available supply and run out, and it will be cost prohibitive to bring in new supply from low-demand areas.

Prices coordinate economic actions across time as well. Just as entrepreneurs and businesses can profit by transporting scarce necessities from low-demand to high-demand areas, they can also profit by buying in low-demand times and storing their merchandise for when it is needed most.

Just as allowing prices to freely adjust in one area relative to another will send all the right signals for the optimal use of a scarce resource, allowing prices to freely adjust over time will do the same.

When an entrepreneur buys up resources during low-demand times in anticipation of a crisis, she restricts supply ahead of the crisis, which leads to a price increase. She effectively bids up the price. The change in price affects consumers and producers in all the ways mentioned above. Consumers self-ration more, and producers bring more of the resource to market.

Our entrepreneur has done a truly incredible thing. She has predicted the future, and by so doing has caused every individual in the economy to prepare for a shortage they don't even know is coming! And, by discouraging consumption and encouraging production ahead of time, she blunts the impact the crisis will have. There will be more of the resource to go around when it is needed most.

On top of this, our entrepreneur still has her stockpile she saved back when everyone else was blithely using it up. She can now further mitigate the damage of the crisis by selling her stock during the worst of it, when people are most desperate for relief. She will know when this is because the price will tell her, but only if it is allowed to adjust freely. When the price is at its highest is when people need the resource the most, and those willing to pay will not waste it or hoard it. They will put it to its highest valued use.

The economy is like a big bus we are all riding in, going down a road with many twists and turns. Just as it is difficult to see into the future, it is difficult to see out the bus windows at the road ahead.

On the dashboard, we don't have a speedometer or fuel gauge. Instead we have all the prices for everything in the economy. Prices are what tell us the condition of the bus and the road. They tell us everything. Without them, we are blind.

Good times are a smooth road. Consumer prices and interest rates are low, investment returns are steady. We hit the gas and go fast. But, the road is not always straight and smooth. Sometimes there are sharp turns and rough patches. Successful entrepreneurs are the ones who can see what is coming better than everyone else. They are our navigators.

When they buy up scarce resources ahead of a crisis, they are hitting the brakes and slowing us down. When they divert resources from one area to another, they are steering us onto a smoother path. By their actions in the market, they adjust the prices on our dashboard to reflect the conditions of the road ahead, so we can prepare for, navigate and get through the inevitable difficulties we will face.

Interfering with the dashboard by imposing price floors or price caps doesn't change the conditions of the road (the number of toilet paper rolls in existence hasn't changed). All it does is distort our perception of those conditions. We think the road is still smooth--our heavy foot stomping the gas--as we crash onto a rocky dirt road at 80 miles per hour (empty shelves at the store for weeks on end).

Supply, demand and prices are laws of nature. All of this is just how things work. It isn't right or wrong in a moral sense. Price caps lead to waste, shortages and hoarding as surely as water flows downhill. The opposite--allowing prices to adjust freely--leads to conservation of scarce resources and their being put to their highest valued use. And yes, it leads to profits for the entrepreneurs who were able to correctly predict future conditions, and losses for those who weren't.

Is it fair that they should collect these profits? On the one hand, anyone could have stocked up on toilet paper, hand sanitizer and face masks at any time before the crisis, so we all had a fair chance to get the supplies cheaply. On the other hand, it just feels wrong that some should profit so much at a time when there is so much need.

Our instinct in the moment is to see the entrepreneur as a villain, greedy "price gouger". But we don't see the long chain of economic consequences the led to the situation we feel is unfair.

If it weren't for anti-price-gouging laws, the major retailers would have raised their prices long before the crisis became acute. When they saw demand outstrip supply, they would have raised prices, not by 100 fold, but gradually and long before anyone knew how serious things would have become. Late comers would have had to pay more, but at least there would be something left on the shelf.

As an entrepreneur, why take risks trying to anticipate the future if you can't reap the reward when you are right? Instead of letting instead of letting entrepreneurs--our navigators--guide us, we are punishing and vilifying them, trying to force prices to reflect a reality that simply doesn't exist.

In a crisis, more than any other time, prices must be allowed to fluctuate. To do otherwise is to blind ourselves at a time when danger and uncertainty abound. It is economic suicide.

In a crisis, there is great need, and the way to meet that need is not by pretending it's not there, by forcing prices to reflect a world where there isn't need. They way to meet the need is the same it has always been, through charity.

If the people in government want to help, the best way for the to do so is to be charitable and reduce their taxes and fees as much as possible, ideally to zero in a time of crisis. Amazon, for example, could instantly reduce the price of all crisis related necessities by 20% if they waived their fee. This would allow for more uses by more people of these scarce supplies as hoarders release their stockpiles on to the market, knowing they can get 20% more for their stock. Governments could reduce or eliminate their tax burden on high-demand, crisis-related items and all the factors that go into their production, with the same effect: a reduction in prices and expansion of supply. All of us, including the successful entrepreneurs and the wealthy for whom high prices are not a great burden, could donate to relief efforts.

These ideas are not new or untested. This is core micro economics. It has been taught for hundreds of years in universities the world over. The fact that every crisis that comes along stirs up ire against entrepreneurs indicates not that the economics is wrong, but that we have a strong visceral reaction against what we perceive to be unfairness. This is as it should be. Unfairness is wrong and the anger it stirs in us should compel us to right the wrong. Our anger itself isn't wrong, it's just misplaced.

Entrepreneurs didn't cause the prices to rise. Our reaction to a virus did that. We saw a serious threat and an uncertain future and followed our natural impulse to hoard. Because prices at major retail suppliers didn't rise, that impulse ran rampant and we cleared the shelves until there was nothing left. We ran the bus right off the road and them blamed the entrepreneurs for showing us the reality of our situation, for shaking us out of the fantasy of low prices.

All of this is not to say that entrepreneurs are high-minded public servants. They are just doing their job. Staking your money on an uncertain future is a risky business. There are big risks and big rewards. Most entrepreneurs just scrape by or lose their capital in failed ventures.

However, the ones that get it right must be allowed to keep their profits, or else no one will try and we'll all be driving blind. We need our navigators. It doesn't even matter if they know all the positive effects they are having on the rest of us and the economy as a whole. So long as they are buying low and selling high--so long as they are doing their job--they will be guiding the rest of us through the good times and the bad, down the open road and through the rough spots.

@ 80a6a657:536a97e2

The dawn of Bitcoin ushered in a transformative mission: empowering individuals and dismantling centralized power structures that erode personal freedoms. As the world’s first decentralized currency, Bitcoin offers an alternative financial system—one that transcends borders, government control, and corporate interests.

But this mission isn’t just about money. It’s about freedom. It’s about self-sovereignty. And most importantly, it’s a rallying cry for vigilance in an ongoing struggle for the liberation of humanity from systemic oppression. Who better to lead this critical mission than those who have already dedicated their lives to serving and protecting freedom: Veterans.

Freedom: A Lifelong Fight Freedom is neither freely given nor guaranteed—it is earned and fiercely preserved. Veterans understand this intimately. They have endured sacrifice, hardship, and battle in their service to protect the liberties we often take for granted. And today, freedom faces threats from a new frontier: financial manipulation, surveillance, and the centralization of power.

Governments across the globe continue to devalue currencies through inflation, tighten financial surveillance by controlling banking systems, and stifle individual autonomy. These issues underscore the need for a sound financial alternative, one that aligns with the ideals veterans have sworn to uphold. The solution? Bitcoin.

Bitcoin represents the antithesis of centralized control. It is censorship-resistant, immune to monetary debasement, and built upon a trustless, transparent system. It is not merely a currency; it is a tool for human liberation.

Vigilance in Bitcoin Adoption While Bitcoin adoption grows, the journey is far from complete. The powerful status quo—central banks, governments, and financial elites—does not take threats to its systems lightly. These entities work tirelessly to misinform, regulate, and marginalize Bitcoin. This makes sustained vigilance in promoting Bitcoin adoption not just important, but essential.

The failure to remain vigilant could see Bitcoin’s potential diminished through undue regulation, controlled implementation (such as CBDCs—Central Bank Digital Currencies), or a failure to educate people about its benefits. Complacency would mean ceding victory to oppressive systems the world over.

This is why Bitcoin adoption isn’t solely a technological phenomenon—it is an ideological mission. To resist control, to safeguard freedom, and to empower individuals to thrive under self-sovereignty requires the active participation of people across all sectors of society.

Why Veterans Are Uniquely Positioned to Lead Veterans are inherently equipped to lead the charge in the fight for Bitcoin adoption and the broader battle for freedom. Their unique skillsets, shaped by discipline, adaptability, and leadership under pressure, are perfectly suited to this challenge. Here’s why veterans play a pivotal role in this movement: 1. Leadership and Vision: Veterans are natural leaders. They can galvanize communities toward a vision of financial independence, self-sovereignty, and empowerment through Bitcoin. Their experience coordinating efforts—whether on the battlefield or in humanitarian missions—allows them to efficiently communicate the importance of Bitcoin adoption. 2. Commitment to Freedom: The fight for Bitcoin adoption is deeply aligned with the ethos of service members: defending freedom at all costs. Veterans understand that true freedom cannot persist without vigilance, sacrifice, and a commitment to challenging oppressive systems. 3. Trust and Credibility: The military often fosters a level of trust and camaraderie among people. Veterans, therefore, have the clout to introduce Bitcoin to communities that may otherwise view it with skepticism. Their credibility as protectors of freedom gives them an edge in delivering Bitcoin’s message of liberation. 4. Adaptability in Uncertain Environments: Just as they’ve thrived in complex and chaotic environments, veterans are poised to navigate the evolving financial landscape. Bitcoin is still maturing and faces regulatory challenges, technological hurdles, and cultural misunderstandings. Veterans excel at adapting to change and finding solutions in challenging circumstances. 5. Mission-Driven Mindset: Every mission has an objective, and every objective demands clear focus. Veterans approach tasks methodically and with a commitment to success—the same mindset required to bridge the gap between Bitcoin skepticism and widespread adoption.

The Call to Action Veterans, the mission isn’t over. Humanity stands at a crossroads, and freedom is at stake. Bitcoin is not just a disruptive technology; it’s the torchbearer of liberty in a world increasingly dominated by centralized control. It’s time to take the skills, discipline, and passion forged in your service and channel them into this new fight: the fight for financial freedom and independence from a centralized system that has dominated the lives of billions of people for far too long.

Educate yourself about Bitcoin. Learn its nuances, its strengths, and its use cases. Share this knowledge with your communities, help dismantle misconceptions, and shine a light on the real promise of self-sovereignty. Become an anchor of leadership in this decentralized revolution.

For civilians: do not underestimate the importance of this mission. Every individual who adopts Bitcoin drives us one step closer to a world where personal freedom and economic empowerment are accessible to all. Join arms with veterans, thought leaders, and Bitcoin adopters to ensure the torch of liberty burns brightly.

Closing Thoughts Bitcoin is more than a financial revolution—it’s a movement for freedom. Veterans have long stood on the frontline for this cause, and today, they have an opportunity to champion it in a new way. With vigilance, resolve, and determination, humanity can achieve greater levels of freedom. But, as with all efforts to secure liberty, we must remain constantly committed to the mission. Remember: freedom demands eternal vigilance. So does Bitcoin.

Will you answer the call? Together, we can reshape the future as champions of sovereignty and bring the world closer to the ideals we all deserve.

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OPERATION BITCOIN is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit on a mission to connect military veterans with Bitcoin.

You can directly support this mission by sharing our publication with a veteran today, zapping this article or donating at www.operationbitcoin.io

@ b154080c:00027cc7

Introduction

In the ancient times of Israel, masculinity found its true embodiment in the courageous story of Daniel. Amidst the foreign land of Babylon, Daniel stood firm in his convictions, showcasing strength, and dedication to his beliefs.

Despite living in a culture that sought to diminish his faith, Daniel refused to bow before idols or false deities. His defiance challenged societal expectations, revealing a masculinity that transcended worldly norms. Rooted in his unshakable belief in the one true God, Daniel's resolve remained unyielding. Facing the wrath of the king, Daniel fearlessly stood before Nebuchadnezzar, humbly declaring his allegiance to God alone. Cast into a blazing furnace as punishment, Daniel emerged unharmed. God's angel shielded him from the scorching flames, proving that his faith made him invincible. Witnessing this display of masculinity, Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged the greatness of Daniel's God, bringing about a profound transformation.

Daniel's story serves as a testament to the essence of masculinity—a resolute dedication to one's convictions, the courage to defy societal expectations, and a commitment to truth. His faith and devotion inspire generations, exemplifying the power of masculine conviction.

There have been countless instances throughout history where acts of courage have taken place on a spectrum. Although both men and women can display such acts, history has shown that resolve, courage, and bravery have predominantly resided within the realm of masculinity. The Apostle Paul himself concluded the book of 1 Corinthians by saying, "Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love" (16:13-14). By combining this passage with the numerous accounts of provision, battle, sacrifice, and honor, it becomes evident that God has designed inherent and very important differences within the male gender.

The Bible presents us with inspiring examples of both courageous women, such as Deborah, Rahab, and Esther, and valiant men, including Joshua, Gideon, Samson, David, Jonathan, Nehemiah, the Prophets, the twelve Apostles, and above all, Jesus Himself. While these accounts acknowledge the remarkable contributions of women, they predominantly highlight the male figures who exemplify strength, boldness, courage, and a resolute sense of responsibility. Throughout its pages, the Bible paints a vivid picture of masculinity's profound impact and enduring significance which we must embrace.

Jesus’ Masculinity

Jesus exhibited remarkable courage throughout many of his acts, and it is through his expression of masculinity that this courage shines even brighter. Jesus' masculinity played a crucial role in enabling him to display great bravery and determination in fulfilling his mission. However, it's important to note that Jesus redefines masculinity beyond physical strength or dominance, embracing resilience, self-sacrifice, and unyielding conviction as its defining qualities.

Jesus' courage stemmed from his deep understanding of his purpose and his unshakable faith in his Father's plan. He fearlessly challenged the religious authorities of his time, calling out hypocrisy and speaking truth to power. Despite facing opposition and hostility, Jesus stood firm in his convictions, undeterred by the threats and ridicule he encountered. Jesus' embodiment of masculinity highlights the transformative power it can have when rooted in love and compassion.

Modern Culture Poisoning the Church

It is important to realize the true masculinity of Jesus and the example that he has set for us in this regard. Unfortunately, I often see a tendency nowadays to downplay Jesus' masculinity and instead depict Him in a more feminized manner.

In both our culture and the modern church, there is a tendency to present a version of Jesus that deviates from the biblical portrayal. Perhaps you've come across people who refer to Jesus as their "best friend" or even draw comparisons between their relationship with Him and that of a "boyfriend.” This is in fact very unbiblical. The Bible never presents our love for God using such romantic or erotic language. While the men depicted in Scripture certainly loved God, they were never portrayed as being desperate for Him or romantically in love with Him. People are often taught a very shallow and weak portrayal of Him.

In the United States, particularly in the context of flourishing Protestantism, the shift from considering the community as a whole to focusing on the individual has led to a rise in strong individualistic beliefs which has resulted in a diminished sense of community within the Catholic Church. When the focal point of Catholicism becomes "Jesus and me," it opens the door to a mindset of being "spiritual" rather than "religious.” Attending church becomes a matter of personal choice, and faith no longer necessarily influences or intersects with areas such as business or politics. The sole emphasis becomes on one's personal relationship with Christ, prioritizing individual salvation over communal or global redemption. The vision of the kingdom of God taking shape on earth also becomes less urgent, as the emphasis shifts towards a faith centered on transcendence, emotions, and sentiment, rather than tangible actions.

The perception of Jesus' masculinity has been negatively impacted by the trend of feminizing Him, which has contributed to a decline in the courage displayed by men today. This shift can be attributed to various factors that have influenced societal perspectives.

In contrast to the promises of Jesus, which include suffering, trials, and pain, it is often only presented to them that Christianity is the solution to these hardships. Instead of acknowledging the reality of challenges, the contemporary portrayal of Christianity tends to market it as the antidote to suffering and pain. It is important to recognize and reflect upon the significant difference between how Jesus called His disciples and the prevailing emphasis on personal relationships with Him today. Instead of inviting them to have a personal connection, He simply said, "Follow me." Understanding this distinction is crucial in our understanding of Jesus' call to discipleship. "Follow me" implies a sense of purpose, a shared mission or goal to pursue. This contrast highlights the divergence between the original intent of discipleship and the way it is often portrayed around me nowadays.

I want to emphasize that I am by no means denying the significance of having a personal relationship with Christ. On the contrary, I am simply highlighting the importance of recognizing that personal relationships, including our relationship with Christ, require more than just superficial connections. They demand a deep sense of faith, trust, and communion with Him. Drawing inspiration from the courageous example of Jesus, who fearlessly confronted societal norms and spoke truth to power, our relationship with Him can empower us to embrace courage in our own lives. Just as Jesus fearlessly faced opposition, persecution, and ultimately sacrificed Himself for the sake of others, our connection with Him can embolden us to stand up for what is right, to live out our faith boldly, and to face life's challenges with strength. It is not a casual or complacent association but a courageous and transformative bond that empowers us to live out our faith with conviction and to impact the world around us positively.

As modern sermons take center stage, it's become apparent that there is a tendency to downplay the contrasts found in the teachings of the Bible. As mentions of heaven and hell, sin and life, grace and justice, as well as the analogies involving battles and soldiers for Christ have always been very prevalent, they have become way less common nowadays. We hear fewer calls for Catholics to embrace their crosses and passionately commit themselves to the cause of the gospel and the well-being of others. Instead, the spotlight has shifted towards how the gospel can serve as a tool for personal growth and fulfillment, focusing on self-realization. The gospel is often presented as a therapeutic treatment rather than a heroic challenge. The emphasis lies on the rewards rather than the obstacles, creating the idea of all gain, no pain (lol).

The rise of praise and worship music has also brought about significant changes in people's perception of Christ. While traditional hymns focused on singing about God, emphasizing His greatness, power, and distinctiveness, praise and worship music takes a different approach. It presents God as a close companion, an intimate presence by our side, emphasizing His love and care for us. This shift in emphasis, while not inherently negative, certainly plays a substantial role in shaping our understanding of Christ's nature and relationship with us.

Jesus is the Epitome of Masculinity

I believe Jesus stands as the epitome of masculinity, offering an unrivaled example for men to emulate. Through His life and teachings, He reveals the true essence of what it means to be a man. He leads with courage, facing challenges head-on without hesitation. His fearlessness shines through as He confronts opposition and stands firm in His convictions. Moreover, His love is not self-serving but sacrificial, displayed vividly through His ultimate act of giving His own life for the sake of others. And in the face of adversity, His resolve remains unshakeable, inspiring men to stand strong in their beliefs and principles. Jesus, in His entirety, embodies the essence of true masculinity, setting an unparalleled standard that us men must aspire to.

Around me, I’m often seeing a tendency to shy away from addressing challenging subjects with resolute conviction. Rather than speaking with clarity and certainty, there is a preference for using vague language and ambiguous statements to navigate sensitive issues. In stark contrast, Jesus stood firmly and fearlessly, fearlessly proclaiming His truth. His words shook the foundations of societal norms, demanding radical commitment from His followers. True boldness lies in the courage to speak truth, even when faced with opposition and adversity.

Boldness is a very masculine characteristic. While some may argue that boldness is not exclusive to gender, the Bible primarily associates this characteristic with men. On the other hand, the beauty of women is highlighted through the importance of a gentle and quiet spirit, which also very much holds great value in the eyes of God. 1 Peter 3:4 addressing woman and wives, "Let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious." This reminds us that inner qualities such as a gentle and tranquil demeanor also hold significant worth and are highly esteemed.

As Jesus exemplified true boldness, courageously speaking God's truth regardless of the consequences. His courage serves as the ultimate model of masculinity, inspiring men to fearlessly pursue God's will. Jesus exemplified bravery, rooted in His deep reverence for God. Unlike the fear of man, which arises from sin, Jesus' bravery stemmed from His love for God. His resolute posture and authoritative responses to godless men demonstrated a masculinity untainted by timidity. Jesus taught us to lead with courage, grounded in reverence for God and faith in His sovereignty.

In a culture where love is often misrepresented, Jesus' sacrificial love stands as the true definition. Love, as demonstrated by Jesus, goes beyond superficial feelings; it entails sacrificial commitment. Jesus willingly laid down His life for His bride, the Church, showcasing the essence of true masculinity. Men are called to sacrificially love their wives, mirroring Christ's example. This selfless love forms the foundation for men to protect, nurture, and fight for those entrusted to their care.

Christ's resolve was the driving force behind the cross, demonstrating His commitment to fulfill His mission. His choice to embrace the cross, knowing the suffering and wrath He would endure, showcases resolute masculinity. In history, heroic moments of perseverance are predominantly marked by male resolve. The biological advantage provided by testosterone further supports men's capacity for enduring resolve. Jesus' resolve to save His people from sin teaches men to stand firm in the face of challenges, abiding in their commitment to their calling.

Restoring the Church's Boldness and Reclaiming Biblical Masculinity and Femininity

The landscape of the Church has undergone a significant transformation, moving away from its historic expression of Christianity. We've witnessed a shift from powerful, convicting sermons to soft, TED-talk style infotainment. Classic hymns highlighting doctrine, sacrifice, and piety have been replaced by emotionally driven love songs that resemble romantic ballads. It's clear that the local church has undergone a real emasculation.

This departure from biblical foundations has contributed to a great deal of confusion within the Church, particularly concerning the understanding of biblical manhood and womanhood. The increasing push for egalitarianism has led to women fighting for leadership roles, while men find themselves adrift without clear guidance regarding their responsibilities in marriage, the church, and the family. I believe this confusion and distortion of gender roles to be the enemy's central strategy for our generation. By infiltrating the Church with a heightened emphasis on feminine emotion, the enemy has left us unprepared for moments requiring masculine boldness, fearlessness, sacrifice, and resolve.

We must acknowledge that there is a difference between a surface-level expression of faith and the profound conviction displayed by those facing intense trials. The challenges and hardships that people face in the midst of adversity provide a profound glimpse into the strength and genuineness of their faith. These trials are a powerful testimony to their commitment and courage. Throughout history, numerous Christians have faced unimaginable suffering, even enduring torture, dismemberment, and martyrdom, all because of their devotion to Christ. Their remarkable sacrifices inspire us and remind us of the immense cost of following Jesus. Yet, the trend of timidity displayed by the present-day Church, yielding to government overreach or even complying with laws that endorse sexual sin contrary to biblical teachings, will come at a significant cost.

It is high time for the Church to reclaim its boldness and restore the biblical understanding of masculinity and femininity. We must reject the watered-down version of Christianity that has spread throughout our culture and embrace a faith rooted in conviction and sacrifice. By understanding and embracing the unique roles and responsibilities of men and women as outlined in Scripture, we can restore clarity and purpose to our families, churches, and communities. Let us rise above the societal pressures, rekindle the fire of biblical truth, and stand firm in our commitment to Christ, no matter the cost.

As we progress, it becomes clear that the importance of strong, virtuous Catholic men is growing. This should not catch us off guard. The feminist movement of the 21st century is truly toxic. It goes way beyond advocating for the rightful appreciation of women; it seeks to establish female dominance. Moreover, its influence knows no boundaries. Like the LGBTQ community, its aim is to permeate every aspect of public, personal, and spiritual life. We must not only be alarmed by this trend but also prepare ourselves to stand firmly against it. We need biblically grounded shepherds and faithful women who can discern the subtle infiltration of an effeminate culture and guard against it.

Let us not forget that Catholicism is not egalitarian. While men and women are equally valued before the cross, our roles and responsibilities differ. In marriage, Christianity follows a complementarian model, where the husband leads with sacrificial love, and the wife respects and supports him. People are too sensitive about the word “patriarchy” nowadays. In terms of leadership, the Church holds a patriarchal stance. At the same time, patriarchy, like any other system, is not immune to the potential for sinful expressions. However, when approached with sacrificial love, adherence to biblical order, and a commitment to honoring God, the structure of patriarchy - as well as areas such as marriage, fatherhood, and heterosexuality - can yield to way more goodness. We should strive for a church culture that aligns with the gender-culture outlined in God’s Word: gentle, safe, and encouraging, while also strong, bold, and committed to upholding biblical order and fulfilling the mission entrusted to us. This balance allows the church to fully embody the presence of Christ, enabling His people to confidently advance alongside our great Lord.

We must prepare ourselves for an increasing need for men who embrace biblical masculinity and women who faithfully embody femininity. It is crucial not to overlook the pervasive influence of an effeminate culture and the agenda of distorted ideologies. By embracing the distinct roles and responsibilities that God has given to both men and women, we cultivate a church culture that mirrors the beauty of Christ and empowers His people to wholeheartedly pursue His mission with courage. We must recognize the urgency to embrace and embody biblical masculinity in the face of cultural challenges and shifting ideologies. Equipped with the truth of God's Word, we can navigate the complexities of the world and fulfill our God-given roles with great faith. Let us rise as men who boldly embrace our calling, standing firm in the face of challenges, and wholeheartedly pursuing lives of holiness and service to God and His Church. May we stand united, guided by His Word, and ready to face the battles ahead with strength, grace, and resolved faith.

From Nashville with love,

Suhail Saqan

This was inspired by The Imitation of Christ. Read here.

@ c230edd3:8ad4a712

Chef's notes

This cake is not too sweet and very simple to make. The 3 flavors and mild and meld well with the light sweetness.

Details

• ⏲️ Prep time: 15 min
• 🍳 Cook time: 45 min
• 🍽️ Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup full fat milk
• 3/4 cup unfiltered olive oil
• 2/3 cup finely chopped raw, unsalted almonds
• 2 tsp lavender
• 1 Tbsp powdered sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter 8 inch baking pan.
2. In smal bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda.
3. In large bowl, beat eggs and sugar until light colored and fluffy. Add milk.
4. Slowly pour and stir in olive oil.
5. Fold dry ingredients into the wet ingredients,
6. Stir in the almonds and the lavender, reserving some flowers for garnish.
7. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 45 min, or until toothpick comes out clean.
8. Cool on wire rack, dust with powdered sugar and top with reserved lavender.

@ c0c42bba:a5feb7b5

Wisdom for the Fourth Decade

🔥

Turning 40 is like hitting the “I should really know better by now” milestone. It’s a time when you look back at your past self, shake your head, and chuckle (or cringe) at your youthful blunders.

Here are 15 truths you should embrace by this significant age, each one a guide to a more fulfilling, empowered life.

Leverage Is Key

Ever wonder why your colleague who seems to be on perpetual coffee breaks makes ten times more than you? It's not black magic. They have leverage—whether it's through technology, skills, or knowing how to delegate their way out of everything. Find your leverage and watch your value skyrocket.

Distraction: The Silent Killer

In our world of incessant notifications and cat videos, distraction is the enemy. It’s like having a mosquito in the room when you're trying to sleep. Cultivate a habit of deep work. Guard your attention like it's the last piece of cake at a party—fiercely.

Beware of Unqualified Advice

Taking advice from someone who hasn’t achieved what you want is like asking a cat for swimming lessons. Be selective with whose counsel you follow. Choose mentors who have walked the path and let their experiences be your map.

Own Your Life

Here’s the blunt truth: no one is coming to save you. Your problems, your life, are 100% your responsibility. Embrace this ownership. Empower yourself to be the hero of your own story. Don’t wait for a knight in shining armor—be your own rescue mission.

Action Over Self-Help Books

You don’t need to turn your living room into a self-help library. You need action. Self-discipline beats all the motivational quotes in the world. Commit to taking steps, however small, towards your goals. It's the doing, not just the knowing, that transforms dreams into reality.

The Power of Sales Skills

Unless your college degree is as specific as a neurosurgeon’s, your ticket to higher earnings in the next 90 days is learning sales. It’s a skill that opens doors, creates opportunities, and accelerates financial growth faster than you can say "commission."

No One Cares (In a Good Way)

Stop worrying about what others think—they’re too busy worrying about themselves. Take bold steps, make your moves, and create your chances. The world is too preoccupied with its own drama to scrutinize yours.

Collaborate with the Brilliant

When you meet someone smarter than you, don’t let your ego turn it into a competition. Collaborate with them. Two heads (especially two brilliant ones) are better than one, and together you can achieve remarkable things.

The Smoking Deception

Smoking has zero benefits. It’s like trying to improve your driving skills by riding a tricycle. If you want to sharpen your focus and enhance your thinking, ditch the habit. Your lungs—and your future self—will thank you.

Comfort: A Dangerous Addiction

Comfort is like quicksand. It feels nice until you’re stuck and can’t move. Regularly challenge yourself. Step out of your comfort zone because growth and fulfillment lie just beyond the boundaries of what feels easy.

Guard Your Privacy

Not everyone needs to know your life story, your plans, or what you had for breakfast. Maintain a sense of mystery. It’s not about being secretive; it’s about keeping some things just for yourself.

Alcohol: A Costly Vice

Alcohol impairs your judgment and lowers your inhibitions. It’s like paying someone to mess up your life. Avoid it. Clear thinking and control over your actions are priceless.

Keep Your Standards High

Don’t settle for less just because it’s available. High standards attract high-quality opportunities and people. Know your worth and hold out for what aligns with your values and goals.

Prioritize Your Chosen Family

The family you create is more important than the one you were born into. Nurture these relationships. They are your ride-or-die, your squad, your home team. Invest in them as they will be the cornerstone of your support system.

Take Nothing Personally

To save yourself from a myriad of mental burdens, learn not to take things personally. Most of the time, people’s actions are a reflection of their reality, not yours. This mindset shift will free you from unnecessary stress and emotional turmoil.

Embrace These Lessons

@ 90c656ff:9383fd4e

Bitcoin has been gaining increasing acceptance as a means of payment, evolving from being just a digital investment asset to becoming a viable alternative to traditional currencies. Today, many companies around the world already accept Bitcoin, providing consumers with greater financial freedom and reducing reliance on traditional banking intermediaries.

• Global companies that accept Bitcoin

Over the years, several well-known companies have begun accepting Bitcoin, recognizing its benefits such as security, transparency, and low transaction fees. Among the most prominent are:

01 - Microsoft: The tech giant allows users to add funds to their Microsoft accounts using Bitcoin. This enables the purchase of digital content such as games, apps, and software available in the Microsoft Store. 02 - Overstock: One of the largest online retailers that accepts Bitcoin for the purchase of furniture, electronics, and home goods. Overstock was an early adopter, signaling a strong commitment to financial innovation. 03 - AT&T: The U.S. telecommunications company was the first in its industry to accept Bitcoin payments, giving customers the option to pay their bills with cryptocurrency through BitPay. 04 - Twitch: While Twitch does not natively support Bitcoin donations or payments, many streamers use third-party services like NOWPayments, Streamlabs (with Coinbase integration), or Plisio to accept crypto tips and donations. This opens a path for Bitcoin support through external platforms, especially within the content creator community. 05 - Namecheap: A leading domain registrar and web hosting provider that accepts Bitcoin for domain registration and hosting services, showcasing Bitcoin’s usefulness in the digital economy.

• Small businesses and local commerce

Beyond large corporations, a growing number of small businesses and local merchants are embracing Bitcoin, particularly in cities that are becoming hubs for digital innovation.

01 - Restaurants and cafés: In cities like Lisbon, London, and New York, several cafés and eateries accept Bitcoin as payment, attracting tech-savvy customers. 02 - Hotels and tourism: Certain hotel chains and travel platforms now accept Bitcoin, simplifying bookings and removing the need for currency exchange for international travelers. 03 - Online stores: Many small e-commerce businesses offer Bitcoin as a payment option or even operate exclusively using cryptocurrency, benefiting from borderless, fast transactions.

• Advantages for businesses and consumers

The growing acceptance of Bitcoin is largely driven by its advantages:

01 - Lower transaction fees: Businesses can reduce costs associated with credit card fees and payment processors. 02 - No intermediaries: Direct peer-to-peer payments cut down on bureaucracy and reduce fraud risks. 03 - Global access: Bitcoin allows for cross-border payments without the need for currency exchange, ideal for international transactions.

In summary, the adoption of Bitcoin as a means of payment continues to expand, with companies of all sizes recognizing its strategic value. From large enterprises to independent creators and local shops, Bitcoin is gradually becoming a more practical and accepted financial tool. While challenges such as volatility and regulatory uncertainty remain, the broader trend points toward a future where paying with Bitcoin could be a common part of everyday life.

Thank you very much for reading this far. I hope everything is well with you, and sending a big hug from your favorite Bitcoiner maximalist from Madeira. Long live freedom!

@ d61f3bc5:0da6ef4a

I remember the first gathering of Nostr devs two years ago in Costa Rica. We were all psyched because Nostr appeared to solve the problem of self-sovereign online identity and decentralized publishing. The protocol seemed well-suited for textual content, but it wasn't really designed to handle binary files, like images or video.

The Problem

When I publish a note that contains an image link, the note itself is resilient thanks to Nostr, but if the hosting service disappears or takes my image down, my note will be broken forever. We need a way to publish binary data without relying on a single hosting provider.

We were discussing how there really was no reliable solution to this problem even outside of Nostr. Peer-to-peer attempts like IPFS simply didn't work; they were hopelessly slow and unreliable in practice. Torrents worked for popular files like movies, but couldn't be relied on for general file hosting.

Awesome Blossom

A year later, I attended the Sovereign Engineering demo day in Madeira, organized by Pablo and Gigi. Many projects were presented over a three hour demo session that day, but one really stood out for me.

Introduced by hzrd149 and Stu Bowman, Blossom blew my mind because it showed how we can solve complex problems easily by simply relying on the fact that Nostr exists. Having an open user directory, with the corresponding social graph and web of trust is an incredible building block.

Since we can easily look up any user on Nostr and read their profile metadata, we can just get them to simply tell us where their files are stored. This, combined with hash-based addressing (borrowed from IPFS), is all we need to solve our problem.

How Blossom Works

The Blossom protocol (Blobs Stored Simply on Mediaservers) is formally defined in a series of BUDs (Blossom Upgrade Documents). Yes, Blossom is the most well-branded protocol in the history of protocols. Feel free to refer to the spec for details, but I will provide a high level explanation here.

The main idea behind Blossom can be summarized in three points:

1. Users specify which media server(s) they use via their public Blossom settings published on Nostr;
2. All files are uniquely addressable via hashes;
3. If an app fails to load a file from the original URL, it simply goes to get it from the server(s) specified in the user's Blossom settings.

Just like Nostr itself, the Blossom protocol is dead-simple and it works!

Let's use this image as an example:

If you look at the URL for this image, you will notice that it looks like this:

blossom.primal.net/c1aa63f983a44185d039092912bfb7f33adcf63ed3cae371ebe6905da5f688d0.jpg

All Blossom URLs follow this format:

[server]/[file-hash].[extension]

The file hash is important because it uniquely identifies the file in question. Apps can use it to verify that the file they received is exactly the file they requested. It also gives us the ability to reliably get the same file from a different server.

Nostr users declare which media server(s) they use by publishing their Blossom settings. If I store my files on Server A, and they get removed, I can simply upload them to Server B, update my public Blossom settings, and all Blossom-capable apps will be able to find them at the new location. All my existing notes will continue to display media content without any issues.

Blossom Mirroring

Let's face it, re-uploading files to another server after they got removed from the original server is not the best user experience. Most people wouldn't have the backups of all the files, and/or the desire to do this work.

This is where Blossom's mirroring feature comes handy. In addition to the primary media server, a Blossom user can set one one or more mirror servers. Under this setup, every time a file is uploaded to the primary server the Nostr app issues a mirror request to the primary server, directing it to copy the file to all the specified mirrors. This way there is always a copy of all content on multiple servers and in case the primary becomes unavailable, Blossom-capable apps will automatically start loading from the mirror.

Mirrors are really easy to setup (you can do it in two clicks in Primal) and this arrangement ensures robust media handling without any central points of failure. Note that you can use professional media hosting services side by side with self-hosted backup servers that anyone can run at home.

Using Blossom Within Primal

Blossom is natively integrated into the entire Primal stack and enabled by default. If you are using Primal 2.2 or later, you don't need to do anything to enable Blossom, all your media uploads are blossoming already.

To enhance user privacy, all Primal apps use the "/media" endpoint per BUD-05, which strips all metadata from uploaded files before they are saved and optionally mirrored to other Blossom servers, per user settings. You can use any Blossom server as your primary media server in Primal, as well as setup any number of mirrors:

## Conclusion

For such a simple protocol, Blossom gives us three major benefits:

1. Verifiable authenticity. All Nostr notes are always signed by the note author. With Blossom, the signed note includes a unique hash for each referenced media file, making it impossible to falsify.
2. File hosting redundancy. Having multiple live copies of referenced media files (via Blossom mirroring) greatly increases the resiliency of media content published on Nostr.
3. Censorship resistance. Blossom enables us to seamlessly switch media hosting providers in case of censorship.

Thanks for reading; and enjoy! 🌸

@ c1e9ab3a:9cb56b43

High-Level Overview

Bitcoin developers are currently debating a proposed change to how Bitcoin Core handles the OP_RETURN opcode — a mechanism that allows users to insert small amounts of data into the blockchain. Specifically, the controversy revolves around removing built-in filters that limit how much data can be stored using this feature (currently capped at 80 bytes).

Summary of Both Sides

Position A: Remove OP_RETURN Filters

Advocates: nostr:npub1ej493cmun8y9h3082spg5uvt63jgtewneve526g7e2urca2afrxqm3ndrm, nostr:npub12rv5lskctqxxs2c8rf2zlzc7xx3qpvzs3w4etgemauy9thegr43sf485vg, nostr:npub17u5dneh8qjp43ecfxr6u5e9sjamsmxyuekrg2nlxrrk6nj9rsyrqywt4tp, others

Arguments: - Ineffectiveness of filters: Filters are easily bypassed and do not stop spam effectively. - Code simplification: Removing arbitrary limits reduces code complexity. - Permissionless innovation: Enables new use cases like cross-chain bridges and timestamping without protocol-level barriers. - Economic regulation: Fees should determine what data gets added to the blockchain, not protocol rules.

Position B: Keep OP_RETURN Filters

Advocates: nostr:npub1lh273a4wpkup00stw8dzqjvvrqrfdrv2v3v4t8pynuezlfe5vjnsnaa9nk, nostr:npub1s33sw6y2p8kpz2t8avz5feu2n6yvfr6swykrnm2frletd7spnt5qew252p, nostr:npub1wnlu28xrq9gv77dkevck6ws4euej4v568rlvn66gf2c428tdrptqq3n3wr, others

Arguments: - Historical intent: Satoshi included filters to keep Bitcoin focused on monetary transactions. - Resource protection: Helps prevent blockchain bloat and abuse from non-financial uses. - Network preservation: Protects the network from being overwhelmed by low-value or malicious data. - Social governance: Maintains conservative changes to ensure long-term robustness.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths of Removing Filters

• Encourages decentralized innovation.
• Simplifies development and maintenance.
• Maintains ideological purity of a permissionless system.

Weaknesses of Removing Filters

• Opens the door to increased non-financial data and potential spam.
• May dilute Bitcoin’s core purpose as sound money.
• Risks short-term exploitation before economic filters adapt.

Strengths of Keeping Filters

• Preserves Bitcoin’s identity and original purpose.
• Provides a simple protective mechanism against abuse.
• Aligns with conservative development philosophy of Bitcoin Core.

Weaknesses of Keeping Filters

• Encourages central decision-making on allowed use cases.
• Leads to workarounds that may be less efficient or obscure.
• Discourages novel but legitimate applications.

Long-Term Consequences

If Filters Are Removed

• Positive: Potential boom in new applications, better interoperability, cleaner architecture.
• Negative: Risk of increased blockchain size, more bandwidth/storage costs, spam wars.

If Filters Are Retained

• Positive: Preserves monetary focus and operational discipline.
• Negative: Alienates developers seeking broader use cases, may ossify the protocol.

Conclusion

The debate highlights a core philosophical split in Bitcoin: whether it should remain a narrow monetary system or evolve into a broader data layer for decentralized applications. Both paths carry risks and tradeoffs. The outcome will shape not just Bitcoin's technical direction but its social contract and future role in the broader crypto ecosystem.

@ 90c656ff:9383fd4e

Bitcoin was created to offer a secure and decentralized alternative to traditional money, enabling financial transactions without the need for intermediaries. DeFi, on the other hand, emerged as an expansion of this concept, proposing decentralized financial services such as lending, exchanges, and yield generation. However, despite its promises of innovation, DeFi carries numerous risks, making it a dangerous bet for those who value the security of their Bitcoin.

What is DeFi?

DeFi refers to a set of financial applications that operate without the intermediation of banks or traditional institutions. These platforms use smart contracts to automate transactions, allowing anyone to access financial services without relying on third parties. In theory, DeFi promises greater financial freedom, but in practice it is full of risks, scams, and technical vulnerabilities that can compromise users' funds.

• The risks of DeFi for Bitcoin holders

Bitcoin is the most secure digital currency in the world, protected by a decentralized and censorship-resistant network. Unlike DeFi, which is still in an experimental phase and has already suffered numerous attacks, Bitcoin remains solid and reliable. When someone places Bitcoin in DeFi platforms, they give up the security of direct custody and trust weaker systems.

The main risks include:

01 - Hackers and code flaws: Smart contracts are written by programmers and may contain bugs that allow massive thefts. Over the years, billions of dollars have been lost due to vulnerabilities in DeFi platforms. 02 - Liquidation risks: Many DeFi applications operate on collateralization systems, where users lock Bitcoin to obtain loans. If the market becomes volatile, those Bitcoins can be liquidated at lower-than-expected prices, causing irreversible losses. 03 - Scams and rug pulls: DeFi is full of shady projects where creators vanish with users’ funds. Without regulation and without guarantees, those who deposit Bitcoin in these platforms may never recover their funds.

• Keeping Bitcoin safe is the best choice

Bitcoin was created to be self-custodied, meaning each user should have direct control over their funds without relying on third parties. By sending Bitcoin to DeFi platforms, that security is lost and the asset is exposed to unnecessary risks. The best way to protect Bitcoin is to store it in a secure wallet, preferably offline (cold storage), avoiding any exposure to smart contracts or vulnerable systems.

In summary, DeFi may seem innovative, but the risks far outweigh the potential benefits—especially for those who value Bitcoin's security. Instead of risking losing funds on insecure platforms, the wisest choice is to keep Bitcoin safely stored, ensuring its long-term preservation. While Bitcoin continues to be the best digital store of value in the world, DeFi remains an unstable and dangerous environment where few win and many end up losing.

Thank you very much for reading this far. I hope everything is well with you, and sending a big hug from your favorite Bitcoiner maximalist from Madeira. Long live freedom!

@ c9badfea:610f861a

1. Install Image Toolbox (it's free and open source)
2. Open the app, then go to the Tools tab
3. Select Checksum Tools
4. Navigate to the Compare tab
5. Choose the SHA-256 algorithm
6. Pick the file to verify
7. Enter the expected hash into the Checksum To Compare field
8. A "Match!" message confirms successful verification

@ 34f1ddab:2ca0cf7c

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Act fast and secure your digital assets with Crypt Recver!Losing access to your cryptocurrency can feel like losing a part of your future. Whether it’s a forgotten password, a damaged seed backup, or simply one wrong transfer, the stress can be overwhelming. But there’s a silver lining — crypptrcver.com is here to help! With our expert-led recovery services, you can reclaim your lost Bitcoin and other cryptos safely and swiftly.

Why Trust Crypt Recver? 🤝\ 🛠️ Expert Recovery Solutions\ At Crypt Recver, we specialize in resolving some of the most complex wallet-related issues. Our team of skilled engineers has the tools and expertise to tackle:

Partially lost or forgotten seed phrases\ Extracting funds from outdated or invalid wallet addresses\ Recovering data from damaged hardware wallets\ Restoring coins from old or unsupported wallet formats\ You’re not just getting a service; you’re gaining a partner in your cryptocurrency journey.

🚀 Fast and Efficient Recovery\ We understand that time is critical in crypto recovery. Our optimized systems ensure that you can regain access to your funds quickly, aiming for speed without sacrificing security. With a 90%+ success rate, you can trust us to fight against the clock on your behalf.

🔒 Privacy is Our Priority\ Your confidentiality matters. Every recovery session is handled with the utmost care, ensuring all processes are encrypted and confidential. You can rest easy, knowing your sensitive information stays private.

💻 Advanced Technology\ Our proprietary tools and brute-force optimization techniques allow for maximum efficiency in recovery. No matter how challenging your case may be, our technology is designed to give you the best chance at getting your crypto back.

Our Recovery Services Include: 📈\ Bitcoin Recovery: Lost access to your Bitcoin wallet? We help recover lost wallets, private keys, and passphrases.\ Transaction Recovery: Mistakes happen — whether it’s an incorrect wallet address or a lost password, let us handle the recovery.\ Cold Wallet Restoration: If your cold wallet is failing, we can safely extract your assets and migrate them into a secure, new wallet.\ Private Key Generation: Lost your private key? Don’t worry. Our experts can help you regain control using advanced methods — all while ensuring your privacy remains intact.\ ⚠️ What We Don’t Do\ While we can handle many scenarios, there are some limitations. For example, we cannot recover funds stored in custodial wallets, or cases where there is a complete loss of four or more seed words without any partial info available. We’re transparent about what’s possible, so you know what to expect.

Don’t Let Lost Crypto Hold You Back! ⏳\ Did you know that 3 to 3.4 million BTC — nearly 20% of the total supply — are estimated to be permanently lost? Don’t become part of that statistic! Whether it’s due to a forgotten password, sending funds to the wrong address, or damaged drives, we can help you navigate through it all.

🛡️ Real-Time Dust Attack Protection\ Protecting your privacy goes beyond just recovery. Our services include dust attack protection, which keeps your activity anonymous and your funds secure. Our suite will shield your identity from unwanted tracking, ransomware, and phishing attempts.

🎉 Start Your Recovery Journey Today!\ Are you ready to reclaim your lost crypto? Don’t wait until it’s too late!

👉 Request Wallet Recovery Help Now! crypptrcver.com

📞 Need Immediate Assistance? Connect with Us!\ For real-time support or questions, reach out to our dedicated team on:

✉️ Telegram: Chat with Us on Telegram @crypptrcver\ 💬 WhatsApp: Message Us on WhatsApp\ Crypt Recver is your trusted partner in the world of cryptocurrency recovery. Let us turn your challenges into victories. Don’t hesitate — your crypto future starts now! 🚀✨

Act fast and secure your digital assets with Crypt Recver!

@ a296b972:e5a7a2e8

Zur Gründung der Bundesrepublik Deutschland wurde infolge der Auswirkungen des 2. Weltkriegs auf einem Teil des ehemaligen Deutschen Reiches (nicht des 3. Reiches!) auf Initiative der westlichen Alliierten, federführend die USA als stärkste Kraft, eine  demokratische Grundordnung erarbeitet, die wir als das Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland kennen und schätzen gelernt haben. Da man zum damaligen Zeitpunkt, im Gegensatz zu heute, noch sehr genau mit der Sprache war, hat das Wort „für“ größere Bedeutung, als ihm heute zugesprochen wird. Hätte der unter westlich-alliierter Besatzung stehende Rumpf des Deutschen Reiches eigenständig eine Verfassung erstellen können, wäre es nicht Grundgesetz (das laut Definition einen provisorischen Charakter hat) genannt worden, sondern eben Verfassung. Und hätte diese Verfassung eigenständig erarbeitet werden können, hätte sie geheißen: Verfassung der Bundesrepublik Deutschland.

Es heißt zum Beispiel auch: Costituzione della Repubblica Italiana. also Konstitution der Republik Italien, und nicht Costituzione per La Repubblica Italiana.

Es ist nachvollziehbar, dass die Bedenken der westlichen Alliierten aufgrund der Nazi-Zeit so groß waren, dass man den „Deutschen“ nicht zutraute, selbständig eine Verfassung zu erstellen.

Zum vorbeugenden Schutz, es sollte verunmöglicht werden, dass ein Regime noch einmal in der Lage sei, die Macht zu ergreifen, wurde als Kontrollinstanz der Verfassungsschutz gegründet. Dieser ist dem Innenministerium gegenüber weisungsgebunden. Die jüngste Aussage, auf den letzten Metern der Innenministerin Faeser, der Verfassungsschutz sei selbständig, ist eine manipulative Beschreibung, die davon ablenken soll, dass das Innenministerium dem Verfassungsschutz sehr wohl übergeordnet ist. Das Wort „selbständig“ soll Eigenständigkeit vorgaukeln, hat aber in der Hierarchie keinerlei Bedeutung.

Im Jahre 1949 herrschte ein anderer Zeitgeist. Werte wie Ehrlichkeit, Redlichkeit und Anständigkeit hatten noch eine andere Bedeutung als heute. Politiker waren noch von einem anderen Schlag und hatten weitgehend den Anspruch zum Wohle des Volkes zu entscheiden und zu handeln. Diese Werte reichten noch mindestens bis in das Agieren des Bundeskanzlers Helmut Schmidt hinein.

Niemand konnte sich deshalb zum damaligen Zeitpunkt vorstellen, dass dieser eigentlich als Kontrollinstanz gedachte Verfassungsschutz einmal von der Politik missbraucht werden könnte, um oppositionelle Kräfte auszuschalten zu versuchen, wie es mit der Einstufung der AfD als gesichert rechtsextrem geschehen ist. Rechtlich hat das noch keine Konsequenzen, aber es geht in erster Linie darum, dem Image der AfD zu schaden, um weiteren Zulauf zu verhindern. Diese Art von Durchtriebenheit kam in den Gedanken und dem Ehrgefühl der damals verantwortlichen Politiker noch nicht vor.

Die ehemaligen Volksparteien, man kann auch sagen, die Alt-Parteien, sehen ihre Felle schon seit einiger Zeit davonschwimmen. Die Opposition hat derzeit die Zustimmung einer ehemaligen Volkspartei überholt und ist sogar stärkste Kraft geworden. Sie repräsentiert aktuell rund 10 Millionen der Wähler. Tendenz steigend. Und das die folglich auch gesichert rechtsextrem gewählt haben, oder gar gesichert rechtsextrem sind, wird ihnen vielleicht nicht besonders schmeicheln.

Parallel dazu haben die Alt-Parteien die Medienlandschaft gekapert und versuchen mit Einschränkungen der Meinungsfreiheit, sofern sich Kritik gegen sie richtet und durch selbstermächtigte Entscheidung über das, was Wahrheit und Lüge ist, unliebsame Stimmen mundtot zu machen, um unter allen Umständen an der Macht zu bleiben.

Diese Vorgehensweise widerspricht dem demokratischen Verständnis, das aus dem, wenn auch „nur“ Grundgesetz, statt Verfassung, hervorgeht und die Nachkriegsgenerationen im besten Sinne beeinflusst und demokratisch geprägt hat.

Aus dieser Sicht können die Aktivitäten der Alt-Parteien nur als Angriff auf die Demokratie, wie sie diese Generationen verstehen, gesehen werden.

Daher führt jeder Angriff der Alt-Parteien auf die Demokratie dazu, dass die Opposition immer mehr an Stimmen gewinnt und wohl weiterhin gewinnen wird.

Es erschließt sich nicht, warum die Alt-Parteien nicht auf die denkbar einfachste Lösung kommen, Vertrauen in ihre Politik zurückzugewinnen, in dem sie eine Politik machen würden, die dem Willen der Bürger entspricht. Mit dem Gegenteil machen sich die Volksvertreter zu Vertretern ohne den Rückhalt vom Volk, und man muss sich fragen, wessen Interessen sie derzeit wirklich vertreten. Bestenfalls die eigenen, schlimmstenfalls die des global agierenden Tiefen Staates, der ihnen ins Ohr flüstert, was sie zu tun haben.

Mit jeder vernunftbegabten Entscheidung, die dem Willen des Souveräns entspräche, würden sie die Opposition zunehmend schwächen. Da dies nicht geschieht, kann man nur zu der Schlussfolgerung kommen, dass sich hier auch selbstzerstörerische, suizidale Kräfte festgesetzt haben. Es ist wie eine Sucht, von der man nicht mehr loslassen kann.

Solange die Alt-Parteien nicht in der Lage sind, die Unzufriedenheit in der Bevölkerung wahr- und ernst zu nehmen, werden sie die Opposition stärken und zu immer rigideren Maßnahmen greifen müssen, um ihre Macht zu erhalten und sich damit immer mehr von demokratischen Verhältnissen entfernen, und zwar genau in die Richtung vor der die Alt-Parteien in ihrer ideologischen Verirrung warnen.

Seitens der Opposition gibt es in der Gesamtschau keine Anzeichen dafür, dass die Demokratie abgeschafft werden soll, im Gegenteil, es wird für mehr Bürgerbeteiligung plädiert, was ein sicheres Merkmal für demokratische Absichten ist.

Aus Sicht der Alt-Parteien macht die Brandmauer Sinn, weil sie sie vor ihrem eigenen Machtverlust schützt. Der Fall der Berliner Mauer sollte ihnen eigentlich eine Warnung sein.

Fairerweise darf nicht unterschlagen werden, dass es in der Opposition einige Verirrte gibt, wobei noch interessant wäre zu erfahren, welche davon als V-Männer des Verfassungsschutzes eingeschleust wurden. Diese jedoch zum Anlass zu nehmen, die Opposition unter Generalverdacht zu stellen, steht einem demokratischen Handeln diametral entgegen.

Das Grundgesetz wird so nicht geschützt, sondern bis kurz vor der Sollbruchstelle verbogen.

Die Einstufung der Opposition als gesichert rechts-extrem beruht auf einem mutmaßlich 1000 Seiten starken Papier, das offensichtlich nur ein erlesener Kreis zu sehen bekommen soll. Dazu gehört nicht die Bevölkerung, die sicher nur einmal mehr nicht zu Teilen verunsichert werden soll. Und selbstverständlich schon gar nicht diejenigen, die es betrifft, nämlich die Opposition.

Eine eindeutige Fragwürdigkeit der Aktivitäten des Verfassungsschutzes wäre schwerer festzustellen, wenn es gleichwohl Parteien gäbe, die als gesichert links-extrem oder zumindest als links-extremer Verdachtsfall eingestuft würden. Nicht ganz unberechtigte Gründe hierfür könnten schon gefunden werden, wenn der politische Wille es wollte.

Auch die seltsam-umstrittene Installierung des Präsidenten des Bundesamtes für Verfassungsschutz (genau genommen für Grundgesetzschutz) lässt Fragen offen.

Generell müsste es eine unabhängige Überprüfung geben, ob die Gewaltenteilung in Deutschland noch gewährleistet ist, da es durch das augenscheinliche Zusammenspiel in der Richterschaft, der Gesetzgebung und der vierten Gewalt, den Medien, Anlass zu Zweifel gibt.

Diese Zweifel sind nicht demokratiegefährdend, sondern im Gegenteil, es ist demokratische Pflicht, den Verantwortlichen kritisch auf die Finger zu schauen, ob im Sinne des Souveräns entschieden und gehandelt wird. Zweifel könnte man dadurch ausräumen, in dem eindeutig bewiesen würde, das alles seine Richtigkeit hat.

Das wäre vornehmlich die Aufgabe der Alt-Medien, die derzeit durch Totalversagen glänzen, weil alles mit allem zusammenhängt, jeder jeden kennt und man es sich über Jahre so eingerichtet hat, dass man gerne unter sich bleibt und Pöstchen-Hüpfen von einem Lager ins andere spielt.

Vielleicht ist es sogar nötig, dass zur unabhängigen Überprüfung, die Alliierten, inklusive Russland, noch einmal, nach rund 80 Jahren, auf den Plan gerufen werden müssen, um sozusagen eine Zwischenbilanz zu ziehen, inwieweit sich das einst etablierte, demokratische System bewährt hat, und ob es derzeit noch im ursprünglichen Sinne umgesetzt und gelebt wird. Es ist anzunehmen, dass hier ein gewaltiges Optimierungspotenzial zum Vorschein kommen könnte.

Viele Bürger in Deutschland haben den Wunsch, wieder in einer Demokratie zu leben, die ihre Namen auch verdient hat. Sie wollen wieder frei ihre Meinung jeglicher Art aussprechen können, miteinander diskutieren, auch einmal Unsinn reden, ohne, dass sie der Blockwart gleich bei einem Denunzierungsportal anschwärzt, oder sie Gefahr laufen, dass ihr Konto gekündigt wird, oder sie morgens um 6 Uhr Besuch bekommen, der noch nicht einmal frische Semmeln mitbringt.

Dieser Artikel wurde mit dem Pareto-Client geschrieben

* *

(Bild von pixabay)

@ 90c656ff:9383fd4e

Bitcoin has revolutionized the way people conduct financial transactions worldwide. As a decentralized digital currency, it offers new opportunities for e-commerce payments and international money transfers. Its speed, security, and low costs make it an efficient alternative to traditional methods by eliminating intermediaries and facilitating global transactions.

Bitcoin in e-commerce

E-commerce has grown exponentially, and Bitcoin has emerged as an innovative solution for online payments. Large retailers and small businesses are starting to accept Bitcoin as a form of payment, offering benefits to both merchants and consumers.

• Advantages of Bitcoin for e-commerce:

01 - Low transaction fees: Unlike credit cards and payment platforms that charge high fees, Bitcoin transactions generally have lower costs. This benefits merchants, who can reduce expenses and offer more competitive prices to customers. 02 - Elimination of chargebacks: In traditional systems, chargebacks (forced refunds by banks or card operators) are a concern for merchants. Since Bitcoin transactions are irreversible, merchants avoid fraud and disputes. 03 - Global access: Anyone with internet access can pay with Bitcoin, regardless of their location. This allows businesses to expand their market internationally without relying on banks or local payment systems. 04 - Privacy and security: Bitcoin transactions protect user identity, offering greater privacy compared to credit card payments or bank transfers. Additionally, since there’s no need to share personal data, the risk of information theft is reduced.

• Challenges of using Bitcoin in e-commerce:

01 - Volatility: Bitcoin’s price can fluctuate rapidly, making it difficult to set fixed prices for products and services. However, some merchants use payment processors that instantly convert Bitcoin into fiat currency, minimizing this risk. 02 - Limited adoption: Despite its growth, Bitcoin acceptance is not yet universal. Many stores and popular platforms have not adopted it, which can make daily purchases difficult. 03 - Confirmation time: Although Bitcoin is faster than traditional bank transfers, confirmation times may vary depending on the network fee paid. Some solutions, such as the Lightning Network, are being developed to enable instant payments.

Bitcoin in money remittances

Sending money abroad has long been a bureaucratic, costly, and time-consuming process. Traditional services like banks and money transfer companies charge high fees and can take days to complete a transaction. Bitcoin, on the other hand, offers an efficient alternative for global remittances, allowing anyone to send and receive money quickly and affordably.

• Benefits of Bitcoin for remittances:

01 - Reduced costs: While banks and companies like Western Union charge high fees for international transfers, Bitcoin allows money to be sent with minimal costs, regardless of the amount or destination. 02 - Transaction speed: International bank transfers can take several days to complete, especially in countries with limited financial infrastructure. With Bitcoin, money can be sent anywhere in the world within minutes or hours. 03 - Global accessibility: In regions where the banking system is restricted or inefficient, Bitcoin enables people to receive money without depending on banks. This is particularly useful in developing countries where international remittances are an essential source of income. 04 - Independence from intermediaries: Bitcoin operates in a decentralized manner, with no need for banks or transfer companies. This means people can send money directly to friends and family without intermediaries.

• Challenges of Bitcoin remittances:

01 - Conversion to local currency: Although Bitcoin can be received instantly, many people still need to convert it into local currency for everyday use. This may involve additional costs and depend on the availability of exchange services. 02 - Adoption and knowledge: Not everyone understands how Bitcoin works, which can hinder its widespread adoption for remittances. However, growing financial education on the subject can help overcome this barrier. 03 - Regulations and restrictions: Some governments impose restrictions on Bitcoin usage, making remittances more complicated. The evolution of regulations may affect ease of use in certain countries.

In summary, Bitcoin is transforming e-commerce and money remittances around the world. Its ability to eliminate intermediaries, reduce costs, and provide fast and secure payments makes it a viable alternative to traditional financial systems.

In e-commerce, it benefits both merchants and consumers by lowering fees and enhancing privacy. In the remittance sector, it facilitates money transfers to any part of the world, especially for those living in countries with inefficient banking systems.

Despite the challenges, Bitcoin adoption continues to grow, driven by innovative solutions and recognition of its potential as a global payment method. As more businesses and individuals embrace this technology, its presence in e-commerce and international remittances will become increasingly relevant.

Thank you very much for reading this far. I hope everything is well with you, and sending a big hug from your favorite Bitcoiner maximalist from Madeira. Long live freedom!

@ 4d41a7cb:7d3633cc

Did you know that Federal Reserve Notes (FRNs), commonly known as "us dollars" are broken contracts? In fact FRNs started as dollar IOUs and then the Federal Reserve (a private corporation) defaulted on its debts and made the U.S citizens pay the bill: effectively stealing the privately owned gold.

The United States Dollar

It is not that the dollar was "backed by gold" as it is commonly said. The dollar was primally a measure of weight of silver and then a measure of weight of gold. Let see a little history about the U.S dollar.

What does the constitution says?

Article I, Section 8:

This section grants Congress the power "to coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures."

Article I, Section 10:

"No State shall... make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts."

The United States government, by decree, created the dollar as measure of weight defined by the Coinage Act of 1792 as 371.25 grains (24 grams) of silver.

The 1794 silver dollar, known as the "Flowing Hair dollar," was the first silver dollar coin produced by the United States Mint. This was the original dollar! The were minted in $1, $0,5.

In 1795 the United States minted its first gold coins under the Coinage Act of 1792, which introduced the following denominations: $2,5, $5 and $10. The silver to gold ratio was fixed at 1:15, meaning 15 ounces of silver was the equivalent to one ounce of gold.

Individuals could bring silver bullion to the U.S. Mint and have it coined into legal tender.

## Coinage acts

The Coinage Act of 1834 adjusted the gold-to-silver ratio to 16:1 and and the weight of the gold coins because gold was undervalue and encouraging the melting and exporting of American gold.

The coinage act of 1837 defined the silver dollar as containing 412.5 grains of standard silver (90% silver and 10% copper) and it reinforced the legal tender status of these coins, ensuring their acceptance for all debts, public and private.

The Coinage Act of 1849 specifically addressed the introduction of new gold denominations in response to the California Gold Rush, which significantly increased gold supplies in the United States. The Act authorized the minting of a $1 gold coin, the smallest gold denomination ever issued by the United States. The Act also authorized the creation of the $20 gold coin, known as the Double Eagle.

The gold dollar coin contained 23.22 grains of pure gold or 1.505grams or 0.0484 troy ounces.

The Double Eagle contained 464.4 grains of pure gold or 30.093 grams, 0.968 troy ounces.

The coinage act of 1857 sought to establish a uniform domestic currency and reduce reliance on foreign coins, demonetizing every foreign coins as legal tender. This was also the beginning of the Flying Eagle cent, which was smaller in diameter and composed of 88% copper and 12% nickel. This centralized more the coinage in the U.S.

U.S Gold certificates

The Act of March 3, 1863, officially known as the National Bank Act, was a significant piece of legislation during the American Civil War aimed at creating a national banking system and establishing a uniform national currency.

This legislation allowed the U.S. Treasury to issue gold certificates, which served as a form of paper currency backed by gold. The introduction of gold certificates was primarily intended to facilitate transactions involving gold without the need for the physical transfer of the metal.

This was primary for large size comercial transactions or payments among banks.

1865 Series

"It is hereby certified that one hundred dollars have been deposited with the assistant treasurer of the U.S in New York payable in GOLD at his office in the xxx New York "

The coinage act of 1873 also known as the "crime of 1873" was the intent to demonetize silver by ceasing the minting of silver dollars which meant that citizens could no longer bring silver to the mint to be coined into legal tender. By stopping the production of silver dollars, the Act implicitly placed the U.S. on a gold standard, where gold, not silver, was the primary basis for currency. This had lasting economic effects, particularly on farmers and silver miners who preferred bimetallism (the use of both gold and silver as standards).

The Act was controversial, particularly in western and rural areas where silver was a significant economic factor. Many believed that the Act was passed to benefit creditors and large financial interests by adopting a gold standard, which tended to deflate prices and increase the value of money.

The coinage act of 1878, The Act mandated the U.S. Treasury to purchase a specified amount of silver each month, between two million and four million dollars worth, and to mint it into silver dollars. This marked a partial return to the use of silver as currency through the coinage of the standard silver dollar. The Act allowed for the issuance of silver certificates, which could be used as currency in place of actual silver coins, thus easing the circulation of silver-backed currency.

The Bland-Allison Act was passed against a backdrop of economic depression and agrarian unrest. It represented a compromise between advocates of the gold standard and those wishing to return to bimetallism.

1882 series

The 30 years of economic and political discourse between bimetallism supporters and gold only advocates finally ended in the 1900.

The Gold Standard Act of 1900

The Gold Standard Act of 1900 formalized the monetary system of the United States by establishing gold as the sole standard for redeeming paper money and effectively ending the bimetallic standard. It established that the gold dollar would be the standard unit of value, equating the dollar to 25.8 grains of gold at a purity of 90%. Silver certificates and silver coins remained in circulation but without the backing of free and unlimited coinage.

Let's remember that the dollar was still a measure of gold. The certificates where government IOUs for that gold that was deposited in the treasury of the United States.

1907 series of gold certificates:

## The Federal Reserve Act of 1913

The Federal Reserva Act of 1913 created a monopoly over the issuance of the American paper currency. This marked the privatization of the currency and a centralization of power like never before. More about this in another article.

But essentially the secret agenda of banksters was to issue IOUs without any restriction and make the United State Government responsible to redeem this paper currency for gold. And I will show you exactly how. Alfred Owen Crozier wrote a book in 1912 one year before the bill was passed analyzing and opposing it and made this same argument.

Federal Reserve Notes

A paper contract, a promissory note, an "I owe you x amount"

This paper currency issued by this private central bank were dollar IOUs contracts or promissory notes.

According to Black's law dictionary a Federal Reserve note is: The paper currency in circulation in the United States. The notes are issued by the Federal Reserve Banks, are effectively non-interest-bearing promissory notes payable to bearer on demand, and are issued in denominations of $1, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, $500, $1000, $5,000 and $10,000.

NON INTERES BEARING PROMISSORY NOTES.

A promissory note is a written, unconditional promise made by one party (the maker) to pay a definite sum of money to another party (the payee) or bearer, either on demand or at a specified future date. It is essentially a financial instrument representing a formal commitment to settle a specified monetary obligation.

Key Characteristics of a Promissory Note:

1. Written Instrument: The promise to pay must be documented in writing.
2. Unconditional Promise: The promise to pay cannot be contingent on any external factors or conditions.
3. Definite Sum: The amount to be paid must be clearly specified and agreed upon in the note.
4. Payee: The note must designate the person or entity to whom the payment is to be made either explicitly or implicitly by specifying it as payable "to bearer".
5. Payable on Demand or at a Specific Time: The promissory note should indicate whether the payment is due upon demand by the payee or at a specific future date as agreed by the involved parties.

Promissory notes are commonly used in various financial transactions, including loans, business financing, and real estate deals, as they formalize the commitment to pay and can be enforced as a legal contract if necessary.

The Federal Reserve (FED) issued paper contract promising to be redeemable in gold. Most people never saw or understood the contract. Most never read it because the Fed cleverly hid the contract on the front of the bill by dividing it into five separate lines of text with a very different typeface for each line and placing the president's picture right in the middle. They even used the old lawyer's trick of hiding the most important text in small print.

Over time, the terms and conditions of the contract were watered down until they eventually became literally a promissory note for nothing. But let's analice how they did this step by step...

FEDERAL RESERVE NOTES: 1914 SERIES

Content of the contract:

Federal reserve note

The United States of America will pay to the bearer on demand: FIFTY DOLLARS

Authorized by federal reserve act of December 23, 1913

This note is receivable by all national and member banks and federal reserve banks and for all taxes, customs and other public dues. It is redeemable in gold on demand at the treasury department of the United States in the city of Washington district of Columbia or in gold or lawful money at any federal reserve bank.

So if a dollar was 20.67 per ounce, $50 could be exchanged for about 2.42 ounces of gold.

FEDERAL RESERVE NOTES :1918 SERIES

Content of the contract:

Federal reserve note

The United States of America will pay to the bearer on demand: Ten thousand dollars

Authorized by federal reserve act of December 23, 1913, as amended by act of September 26, 1918

This note is receivable by all national and member banks and federal reserve banks and for all taxes, customs and other public dues. It is redeemable in gold on demand at the treasury department of the United States in the city of Washington district of Columbia or in gold or lawful money at any federal reserve bank.

So if a dollar was 20.67 per ounce, $10,000 could be exchanged for 484.29ounces of gold.

Series of 1928

The great imitation

In 1928 the U.S government issued a new series of gold certificates payable to the bearer on demand.

The same year the Federal Reserve issued it's own promissory notes copying the us government gold certificate's design:

Content of the contract:

Federal reserve note

The United States of America

will pay to the bearer on demand: One hundred dollars

Reedemable in gold on demand at the United States treasury, or in gold or lawful money, at any federal reserve bank.

So if a dollar was 20.67 per ounce, $100 could be exchanged for 4.84 ounces of gold.

Here's all the denominations issued by the Federal Reserve back then:

This instrument was the facilitator of the Great depression, the inflation and deflation of the paper currency: as Thomas Jefferson warned long time ago:

“If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency first by inflation then by deflation the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their Fathers conquered... I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies... The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people to whom it properly belongs.”

THE CONFISCATION OF GOLD

The end of the dollar and the replacement of gold and gold certificates by Federal Reserve Notes worthless paper currency.

Executive Order 6102, issued on April 5, 1933, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, forced everyone to exchange their gold and gold certificates for federal reserve notes at $20,67 FEDERAL RESERVE NOTES per ounce.

THIS WAS THE END OF THE DOLLAR. THE END OF THE GOLD STANDARD. THE END OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL REPUBLIC FORM OF GOVERNMENT. THE END OF FREEDOM. THE ABANDONMENT OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLES.

The Gold Reserve Act of 1934

This act further devalued the "gold content of the FRNs" and ended the redemption of gold certificates for gold coins. One ounce of gold was now "35 FRNs" in theory but this was not entirely true.

Lets analice the evolution of the Federal Reserve Notes.

Content of the contract:

Federal reserve note

The United States of America

will pay to the bearer on demand: One hundred dollars

THIS NOTE IS LEGAL TENDER FOR ALL DEBTS, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE AND IT IS REDEEMABLE IN LAWFUL MONEY AT THE UNITED STATES TREASURY, OR AT ANY FEDERAL RESERVE BANK.

So if a dollar was 20.67 per ounce, $100 could be exchanged for one hundred dollars of Lawful money?

They eliminated the gold clause from the contract. This contract is a lie, what is this redeemable for? U.S treasuries? Different denominations of FRNs? They changed the definition of lawful money. This was never money this was a broken contract and it gets obvious in the next series...

1963 Series

This series look like they did photoshop on the "payable to the bearer on demand" part that was below franklin in previous series.

Content of the contract now was

Federal reserve note

The United States of America

THIS NOTE IS LEGAL TENDER FOR ALL DEBTS, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE.

ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS

Conclusion

Between 1913 and 1928 the dollar was gradually replaced by Federal Reserve Notes until in 1934 the gold standard was definitively abandoned. From that time the Federal Reserve Note became the "new legal tender money" replacing the dollar and slowly replacing silver coins too until in 1965 silver was definitively abandoned.

---

IT IS NOT THAT THE DOLLAR WAS “BACKED” BY SILVER OR GOLD.

Gold and silver were such powerful money during the founding of the United States of America that the founding fathers declared that only gold or silver coins can be “money” in America. Since gold and silver coinage was heavy and inconvenient for a lot of transactions, they were stored in banks and a claim check was issued as a money substitute. People traded their coupons as money or “currency.” Currency is not money, but a money substitute. Redeemable currency must promise to pay a dollar equivalent in gold or silver money. Federal Reserve Notes (FRNs) make no such promises and are not “money.” A Federal Reserve Note is a debt obligation of the federal United States government, not “money.” The federal United States government and the U.S. Congress were not and have never been authorized by the Constitution for the united States of America to issue currency of any kind, but only lawful money – gold and silver coin.

It is essential that we comprehend the distinction between real money and paper money substitute. One cannot get rich by accumulating money substitutes; one can only get deeper into debt. We the People no longer have any “money.” Most Americans have not been paid any “money” for a very long time, perhaps not in their entire life. Now do you comprehend why you feel broke? Now do you understand why you are “bankrupt” along with the rest of the country?

@ 90c656ff:9383fd4e

Digital wallets are important tools for storing and managing Bitcoin. They allow people to keep their private keys, access their funds, and make transactions in a practical and secure way. However, with several types of wallets available and the risks of incorrect use, it is essential to understand their features and follow good security practices.

What is a digital wallet?

A digital wallet is a software or device that stores the private and public keys linked to Bitcoin. Simply put, it doesn’t “store” Bitcoin itself but provides secure access to the network to verify and sign transactions.

Private keys work like a secret password that allows spending Bitcoins, while public keys are like account numbers that can be shared to receive payments. Keeping the private key secure is very important, as whoever has access to it controls the funds.

• Types of Digital Wallets

There are different types of digital wallets, each with specific features that meet various needs, whether for daily use or long-term storage.

• Hot Wallets

Wallets connected to the internet, designed for frequent use. Examples: Mobile apps, desktop wallets, online wallets.

Advantages:

01 - Accessible and easy to use 02 - Ideal for daily and quick transactions

Disadvantages:

01 - More exposed to cyberattacks such as phishing or hacking

• Cold Wallets

Wallets that keep private keys offline, increasing security. Examples: Hardware wallets, paper wallets, dedicated USB devices.

Advantages:

01 - High protection against hackers since they are not online 02 - Ideal for large amounts of Bitcoin or long-term storage

Disadvantages:

01 - Less practical for daily use 02 - Can be physically damaged or lost if not handled carefully

• Hardware Wallets

Physical devices, like Ledger or Trezor, that store private keys offline.

Advantages:

01 - Easy-to-use and secure interface 02 - Resistant to viruses and online attacks

Disadvantages:

01 - Higher initial cost 02 - Require care to avoid physical damage

• Paper Wallets

Involve printing or writing down private and public keys on a piece of paper.

Advantages:

01 - Completely offline and immune to digital attacks 02 - Simple and low-cost

Disadvantages:

01 - Vulnerable to physical damage such as water, fire, or loss 02 - Difficult to recover if lost

• Security in Digital Wallets

Protecting a digital wallet is essential to safeguard your Bitcoins from loss or theft.

Below are important practices to improve security:

• Private Key Protection

01 - Never share your private key with anyone 02 - Keep backup copies of the private key or recovery phrase in safe places

• Use of Recovery Phrases

The seed phrase is a sequence of 12 to 24 words that helps recover funds if the wallet is lost.

01 - Store the seed phrase offline and avoid taking pictures or saving it on internet-connected devices

• Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

01 - Whenever possible, enable 2FA to protect accounts linked to online wallets or exchanges 02 - This adds an extra layer of security by requiring a second code to log in

• Updates and Maintenance

Keep the wallet software up to date to ensure protection against vulnerabilities

01 - Use only wallets from trustworthy and reputable developers

• Choosing the Right Wallet According to Need

01 - For frequent transactions, choose hot wallets but keep only small amounts 02 - For large amounts, use cold wallets like hardware or paper wallets, which are more secure

Risks and How to Avoid Them

• Hacker Attacks

Risk: Unauthorized access to hot wallets connected to the internet Prevention: Use cold wallets for storing large amounts and avoid clicking on suspicious links

• Loss of Access

Risk: Loss of private keys or the recovery phrase, making funds unrecoverable Prevention: Regularly make backups and store information in secure places

• Social Engineering and Phishing

Risk: Hackers trick people into giving up their private keys or personal information Prevention: Be suspicious of messages or websites that request your private keys. Never share sensitive data

• Physical Failures

Risk: Damage to devices or loss of paper wallets Prevention: Store backups in locations resistant to water, fire, and other threats

In summary, digital wallets are essential for the security and use of Bitcoin. Choosing the right wallet and following good security practices are key steps to protecting your assets.

Hot wallets offer convenience for daily use, while cold wallets provide strong security for long-term storage. Regardless of the type you choose, taking care of your private keys and recovery phrase is fundamental to ensure your Bitcoin remains under your control.

By understanding the types of wallets and implementing appropriate security measures, users can safely and efficiently take advantage of Bitcoin, maximizing the benefits of this digital revolution.

Thank you very much for reading this far. I hope everything is well with you, and sending a big hug from your favorite Bitcoiner maximalist from Madeira. Long live freedom!

@ 56cd780f:cbde8b29

Is it actually called “summary”?

@ c9badfea:610f861a

1. Install SherpaTTS (it's free and open source)
2. Launch the app and download the first AI model for your language (see recommendations below)
3. Tap the + icon below the language selection to add more models
4. Enjoy offline text-to-speech synthesis

Model Recommendations

• English: en_US-ryan-medium
• Chinese: zh-CN-huayan-medium
• German: de_DE-thorsten-medium
• Spanish: es_ES-sharvard-medium
• Portuguese: pt_BR-faber-medium
• French: fr_FR-tom-medium
• Dutch: nl_BE-rdh-medium
• Russian: ru_RU-dmitri-medium
• Arabic: ar-JO-kareem-medium
• Romanian: ro_RO-mihai-medium
• Bulgarian: bg-cv
• Turkish: tr_TR-fahrettin-medium

ℹ️ An internet connection is only needed for the initial download

ℹ️ You can use TTS Util to read text and files aloud

@ f1989a96:bcaaf2c1

Good morning, readers!

This week, we bring pressing news from Belarus, where the regime’s central bank is preparing to launch its central bank digital currency in close collaboration with Russia by the end of 2026. Since rigging the 2020 election, President Alexander Lukashenko has ruled through brute force and used financial repression to crush civil society and political opposition. A Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in the hands of such an authoritarian leader is a recipe for greater control over all aspects of financial activity.

Meanwhile, Russia is planning to further restrict Bitcoin access for ordinary citizens. This time, the Central Bank of Russia and the Ministry of Finance announced joint plans to launch a state-regulated cryptocurrency exchange available exclusively to “super-qualified investors.” Access would be limited to those meeting previously defined thresholds of $1.2 million in assets or an annual income above $580,000. This is a blatant attempt by the Kremlin to dampen the accessibility and impact of Bitcoin for those who need it most.

In freedom tech news, we spotlight Samiz. This new tool allows users to create a Bluetooth mesh network over nostr, allowing users' messages and posts to pass through nearby devices on the network even while offline. When a post reaches someone with an Internet connection, it is broadcast across the wider network. While early in development, Mesh networks like Samiz hold the potential to disseminate information posted by activists and human rights defenders even when authoritarian regimes in countries like Pakistan, Venezuela, or Burma try to restrict communications and the Internet.

We end with a reading of our very own Financial Freedom Report #67 on the Bitcoin Audible podcast, where host Guy Swann reads the latest news on plunging currencies, CBDCs, and new Bitcoin freedom tools. We encourage our readers to give it a listen and stay tuned for future readings of HRF’s Financial Freedom Report on Bitcoin Audible. We also include an interview with HRF’s global bitcoin adoption lead, Femi Longe, who shares insights on Bitcoin’s growing role as freedom money for those who need it most.

Now, let’s see what’s in store this week!

SUBSCRIBE HERE

GLOBAL NEWS

Belarus | Launching CBDC in Late 2026

Belarus is preparing to launch its CBDC, the digital ruble, into public circulation by late 2026. Roman Golovchenko, the chairman of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus (and former prime minister), made the regime’s intent clear: “For the state, it is very important to be able to trace how digital money moves along the entire chain.” He added that Belarus was “closely cooperating with Russia regarding the development of the CBDC.” The level of surveillance and central control that the digital ruble would embed into Belarus’s financial system would pose existential threats to what remains of civil society in the country. Since stealing the 2020 election, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has ruled through sheer force, detaining over 35,000 people, labeling dissidents and journalists as “extremists,” and freezing the bank accounts of those who challenge his authority. In this context, a CBDC would not be a modern financial tool — it would be a means of instant oppression, granting the regime real-time insight into every transaction and the ability to act on it directly.

Russia | Proposes Digital Asset Exchange Exclusively for Wealthy Investors

A month after proposing a framework that would restrict the trading of Bitcoin to only the country’s wealthiest individuals (Russians with over $1.2 million in assets or an annual income above $580,000), Russia’s Ministry of Finance and Central Bank have announced plans to launch a government-regulated cryptocurrency exchange available exclusively to “super-qualified investors.” Under the plan, only citizens meeting the previously stated wealth and income thresholds (which may be subject to change) would be allowed to trade digital assets on the platform. This would further entrench financial privilege for Russian oligarchs while cutting ordinary Russians off from alternative financial tools and the financial freedom they offer. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov claims this will bring digital asset operations “out of the shadows,” but in reality, it suppresses grassroots financial autonomy while exerting state control over who can access freedom money.

Cuba | Ecash Brings Offline Bitcoin Payments to Island Nation in the Dark

As daily blackouts and internet outages continue across Cuba, a new development is helping Cubans achieve financial freedom: Cashu ecash. Cashu is an ecash protocol — a form of digital cash backed by Bitcoin that enables private, everyday payments that can also be done offline — a powerful feature for Cubans experiencing up to 20-hour daily blackouts. However, ecash users must trust mints (servers operated by individuals or groups that issue and redeem ecash tokens) not to disappear with user funds. To leverage this freedom tech to its fullest, the Cuban Bitcoin community launched its own ecash mint, mint.cubabitcoin.org. This minimizes trust requirements for Cubans to transact with ecash and increases its accessibility by running the mint locally. Cuba Bitcoin also released a dedicated ecash resource page, helping expand accessibility to freedom through financial education. For an island nation where the currency has lost more than 90% of its value, citizens remain locked out of their savings, and remittances are often hijacked by the regime, tools like ecash empower Cubans to preserve their financial privacy, exchange value freely, and resist the financial repression that has left so many impoverished.

Zambia | Introduces Cyber Law to Track and Intercept Digital Communications

Zambia’s government passed two new cyber laws granting officials sweeping powers to track and intercept digital communications while increasing surveillance over Zambians' online activity. Officials insist it will help combat cybercrime. Really, it gives the president absolute control over the direction of a new surveillance agency — a powerful tool to crush dissent. This follows earlier plans to restrict the use of foreign currency in the economy to fight inflation, which effectively trapped Zambians in a financial system centered around the volatile “kwacha” currency (which reached a record low earlier this year with inflation above 16%). For activists, journalists, and everyday Zambians, the new laws over online activity threaten the ability to organize and speak freely while potentially hampering access to freedom tech.

India | Central Bank Deputy Governor Praises CBDC Capabilities

At the Bharat Inclusion Summit in Bengaluru, India, the deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Rabi Sankar, declared, “I have so far not seen any use case that potentially can solve the problem of cross-border money transfer; only CBDC has the ability to solve it.” Yet — seemingly unbeknownst to Sankar, Bitcoin has served as an effective remittance tool for more than a decade at low cost, fast speed, and with no central point of control. Sankar’s remarks follow a growing push to normalize state-controlled, surveillance-based digital money as a natural progression of currency. The RBI’s digital rupee CBDC, currently in pilot phase, is quickly growing into one of the most advanced CBDCs on the planet. It is being embedded into the government’s UPI payment system and offered through existing financial institutions and platforms. Decentralized alternatives like Bitcoin can achieve financial inclusion and payment efficiency too — but without sacrificing privacy, autonomy, or basic rights over to the state.

Tanzania | Opposition Party Excluded From Election Amid Financial Repression

Last week, the Tanzanian regime banned the use of foreign currency in transactions, leaving Tanzanians to rely solely on the rapidly depreciating Tanzanian shilling. Now, Tanzania's ruling party has taken a decisive step to eliminate political opposition ahead of October’s general elections by barring the CHADEMA party from participation under the pretense of treason against their party leader, Tundu Lissu. Law enforcement arrested Lissu at a public rally where he was calling for electoral reforms. This political repression is not happening in isolation. Last year, the Tanzanian regime blocked access to X, detained hundreds of opposition members, and disappeared dissidents. These developments suggest a broader strategy to silence criticism and electoral competition through arrests, censorship, and economic coercion.

BITCOIN AND FREEDOM TECH NEWS

Samiz | Create a Bluetooth Mesh Network with Nostr

Samiz, an app for creating a Bluetooth mesh network over nostr, is officially available for testing. Mesh networks, where interconnected computers relay data to one another, can provide offline access to nostr if enough users participate. For example, when an individual is offline but has Samiz enabled, their device can connect to other nearby devices through Bluetooth, allowing nostr messages to hop locally from phone to phone until reaching someone with internet access, who can then broadcast the message to the wider nostr network. Mesh networks like this hold powerful implications for activists and communities facing censorship, Internet shutdowns, or surveillance. In places with restricted finances and organization, Samiz, while early in development, can potentially offer a way to distribute information through nostr without relying on infrastructure that authoritarian regimes can shut down.

Spark | New Bitcoin Payments Protocol Now Live

Lightspark, a company building on the Bitcoin Lightning Network, officially released Spark, a new payment protocol built on Bitcoin to make transactions faster, cheaper, and more privacy-protecting. Spark leverages a technology called statechains to enable self-custodial and off-chain Bitcoin transactions for users by transferring the private keys associated with their bitcoin rather than signing and sending a transaction with said keys. Spark also supports stablecoins (digital tokens pegged to fiat currency) and allows users to receive payments while offline. While these are promising developments, in its current state, Spark is not completely trustless; therefore, it is advisable only to hold a small balance of funds on the protocol as this new payment technology gets off the ground. You can learn more about Spark here.

Boltz | Now Supports Nostr Zaps

Boltz, a non-custodial bridge for swapping between different Bitcoin layers, released a new feature called Zap Swaps, enabling users to make Lightning payments as low as 21 satoshis (small units of bitcoin). This feature enables bitcoin microtransactions like nostr zaps, which are use cases that previously required workaround solutions. With the release, users of Boltz-powered Bitcoin wallets like Misty Breez can now leverage their wallets for zaps on nostr. These small, uncensorable bitcoin payments are a powerful tool for supporting activists, journalists, and dissidents — offering a permissionless way to support free speech and financial freedom worldwide. HRF is pleased to see this past HRF grantee add support for the latest freedom tech features.

Coinswap | Adds Support for Coin Selection

Coinswap, an in-development protocol that enables users to privately swap Bitcoin with one another, added support for coin selection, boosting the protocol’s privacy capabilities. Coin selection allows Bitcoin users to choose which of their unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs) to spend, giving them granular control over their transactions and the information they choose to reveal. For activists, journalists, and anyone operating under financial surveillance and repression, this addition (when fully implemented and released) can strengthen Bitcoin’s ability to resist censorship and protect human rights. HRF’s first Bitcoin Development Fund (BDF) grant was to Coinswap, and we are glad to see the continued development of the protocol.

bitcoin++ | Upcoming Bitcoin Developer Conference

The next bitcoin++ conference, a global, bitcoin-only developer series organized by Bitcoin educator Lisa Neigut, will occur in Austin, Texas, from May 7 to 9, 2025. A diverse group of privacy advocates, developers, and freedom tech enthusiasts will convene to learn about the mempool (the queue of pending and unconfirmed transactions in a Bitcoin node). Attendees will learn how Bitcoin transactions are sorted into blocks, mempool policies, and how transactions move through time and space to reach the next block. These events offer an incredible opportunity to connect with the technical Bitcoin community, who are ultimately many of the figures building the freedom tools that are helping individuals preserve their rights and freedoms in the face of censorship. Get your tickets here.

OpenSats | Announces 11th Wave of Nostr Grants

OpenSats, a nonprofit organization supporting open-source software and projects, announced its 11th round of grants for nostr, a decentralized protocol that enables uncensorable communications. Two projects stand out for their potential impact on financial freedom and activism: HAMSTR, which enables nostr messaging over ham radio that keeps information and payments flowing in off-grid or censored environments, and Nostr Double Ratchet, which brings end-to-end encrypted private messaging to nostr clients, safeguarding activists from surveillance. These tools help dissidents stay connected, coordinate securely, and transact privately, making them powerful assets for those resisting authoritarian control. Read the full list of grants here.

Bitcoin Design Community | Organizes Designathon for Open-Source UX Designers

The Bitcoin Design Community is hosting its next Designathon between May 4 and 18, 2025, inviting designers of all levels and backgrounds to creatively explore ideas to advance Bitcoin’s user experience and interface. Unlike traditional hackathons, this event centers specifically on design, encouraging open collaboration on projects that improve usability, accessibility, and innovation in open-source Bitcoin tools. Participants can earn monetary prizes, rewards, and recognition for their work. Anyone can join or start a project. Learn more here.

RECOMMENDED CONTENT

Plunging Currencies, CBDCs, and New Bitcoin Freedom Tools with Guy Swann

In this reading on the Bitcoin Audible podcast, host Guy Swan reads HRF’s Financial Freedom Report #67, offering listeners a front-row view into the latest developments in financial repression and resistance. He unpacks how collapsing currencies, rising inflation, and CBDC rollouts tighten state control in Turkey, Russia, and Nigeria. But he also highlights the tools for pushing back, from the first Stratum V2 mining pool to Cashu’s new Tap-to-Pay ecash feature. If you’re a reader of the Financial Freedom Report, we encourage you to check out the Bitcoin Audible podcast, where Guy Swan will be doing monthly readings of our newsletter. Listen to the full recording here.

Bitcoin Beyond Capital: Freedom Money for the Global South with Femi Longe

In this interview at the 2025 MIT Bitcoin Expo, journalist Frank Corva speaks with Femi Longe, HRF’s global bitcoin lead, who shares insights on Bitcoin’s growing role as freedom money for those living under authoritarian regimes. The conversation highlights the importance of building Bitcoin solutions that center on the specific problems faced by communities rather than the technology itself. Longe commends projects like Tando in Kenya and Bit.Spenda in Ghana, which integrate Bitcoin and Lightning into familiar financial channels, making Bitcoin more practical and accessible for everyday payments and saving. You can watch the interview here and catch the livestreams of the full 2025 MIT Bitcoin Expo here.

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

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

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

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@ c3ae4ad8:e54d46cb

Ingredients

10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed 2 TB butter, divided ½ small shallot, minced 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese 6 large or 9 medium eggs 1 cup of heavy cream salt & pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a pie dish with 1 tablespoon of the butter.

In a skillet, add butter and saute the diced shallots and cook until slightly softened.

Place the thawed chopped spinach into a towel or paper towel and wrap it around the spinach into a ball and squeeze until you remove as much liquid as possible.

In a large bowl, crack in the eggs and add the cream, salt & pepper, then whisk until foamy and increased in volume. Fluff up the spinach with a fork and add it to the egg mixture. Add the crumbled feta and fold both in.

In the greased pie dish, and then pour the egg mixture and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. Let cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Reheating and leftovers The best presentation and clean cuts will come from chilling for several hours or overnight in the fridge. To reheat, place a serving onto a microwave-safe plate and cover with a paper towel and heat for 30-40 seconds. It's also great cold.

Makes 6-8 servings.

@ c9badfea:610f861a

1. Install PocketPal (it's free and open source)
2. Launch the app, open the menu, and navigate to Models
3. Download one or more models (e.g. Phi, Llama, Qwen)
4. Once downloaded, tap Load to start chatting

ℹ️ Experiment with different models and their quantizations (Q4, Q6, Q8, etc.) to find the most suitable one

@ 6538925e:571e55c3

It’s been a little while since we released a major design update, so we’re really excited to get this new version of the app into your hands. Here’s a breakdown of all the main updates included in Fountain 1.2:

#### Library Design Update

• New content-type filters at the top of the page make it easier to navigate between podcasts and music in your library.

• Recently Played is now the default view in your library, so it’s easier to jump back into podcasts you’ve already started.

• The Music filter now makes it easier to find saved tracks and albums, and it also gives you a list of all the artists whose music you’ve saved.

• We’ve refreshed the design of the content cards to make it easier to see how much time is remaining on episodes you’ve already started.

#### Content Pages Design Update

• All of the different content pages have undergone an extensive redesign, including shows, episodes, artists, albums, tracks, clips and playlists

• We’ve replaced the tab layout we were using on the content pages with one scrollable page, making it easier to access features like chapters and tracklists

• We’ve sanitised the formatting of show notes too, and if there is no activity for a given episode, we now display the expanded show notes

#### Episode Summaries

Ever looked at a 4-hour Lex Fridman episode and wished you could just read a high-level summary? We certainly have, so we did something about it.

• Every episode page now has a Summary button above the show notes.

• Simply pay 500 sats to unlock a summary, or upgrade to Fountain Premium for $2.99/month to enjoy unlimited summaries.

• Summaries and transcripts now come as a bundle — two for the price of one!

• Thanks to major improvements, they’re now faster, cheaper, and more accurate than ever before.

#### Playback Improvements

We’ve completely rebuilt our audio engine from the ground up. Playback is now more robust and reliable — especially for music. Here are some of the key enhancements in Fountain 1.2:

• Tracks now load and play instantly when tapped.

• When playing a collection of tracks (e.g. from an artist, album, or playlist), you can now skip seamlessly between them.

• We’ve replaced the scrollable player page with full-screen modals to make it easier to access show notes, comments, transcripts, chapters, tracklists, and your queue.

• The new Smart Resume feature rewinds the episode by 5 seconds when you hit pause, so you don’t miss a beat.

• You can now skip forward or backward by 60 seconds for faster navigation through episodes.

Other Bug Fixes & Improvements

• Rebuilt payment stats for more complete and reliable transaction records.

• Refreshed the design of the Settings pages for better usability.

• Added new episode notification preferences in Settings.

• Fixed several playback issues that were causing crashes or freezes.

• Updated lock screen display and controls for livestreams.

• Fixed issue where the next item in the queue paused unexpectedly.

• Resolved playback stuttering on Android during livestreams.

• Fixed disappearing playback controls on the lock screen.

• Fixed playback speed not updating correctly.

• Resolved issue where played episodes couldn’t be replayed.

• Fixed playback not resuming correctly when listening in the car.

• Synced car playback position with the device.

• Fixed persistent car display refresh issue.

• Fixed volume control via car controls.

• Resolved issue with headphone controls after playing a transcript.

• Fixed disappearing metadata on the lock screen.

• Fixed bug where downloaded episodes stopped in airplane mode but showed as playing.

---

We would love to hear how you’re finding Fountain 1.2. Please submit your thoughts and feedback via the main menu in the app and we will take it on board as we continue to improve the app.

If you want to help test new features out before they get released, you can join Fountain Beta on Telegram. All iOS and Android users welcome.

@ 6a6be47b:3e74e3e1

Hi frens, you may or may not have noticed I’ve been MIA for about three weeks. I wanted to take a moment to explain where I’ve been, and why I stepped back for a bit.

At the start of the year, I was determined to make the most of it-and I still am. I’ve been pouring myself into several projects, especially my painting, which has really taken off. I’m so grateful for your support; none of this would be possible without you. But here’s where things got tricky. I started feeling like I had to “earn” every moment of rest, and that mindset snowballed. My health took a hit, and then one of my other projects completely derailed.

The stress piled up, and I felt like I was on the verge of burning out.

Don’t get me wrong-I’ve always welcomed change, even when it’s tough. And this time was no exception. The project I’d been working on for months took a 180, and all that effort seemed to go down the drain. I was frustrated, but I kept pushing, even though I was running on fumes. By the time I “earned” a break, I was too exhausted to enjoy it.

I managed to post a piece about Holy Week on my blog (which I’m really proud of-check it out if you haven’t!), but after that, I was done. I realized I needed to stop, not just for a day, but for a real break. When I finally took a few days off with my husband, it was clear how much I needed it. I was burned out, plain and simple. Now, I’m still putting myself back together. Mentally, I feel drained, but I’m stronger than I was a few weeks ago. I know I’m lucky and privileged to be able to take this time, and I’m grateful for the perspective it’s given me. I also r realize that this isn’t just a “me” thing-most people have been here at some point. We keep going until there’s nothing left, then wonder why we feel like empty shells.

I’ll be back to drawing soon (knock on wood-don’t want to jinx it!). In the meantime, take care of yourselves, and godspeed.

@ c9badfea:610f861a

1. Install Kiwix (it's free and open source)
2. Download ZIM files from the Kiwix Library (you will find complete offline versions of Wikipedia, Stack Overflow, Bitcoin Wiki, DevDocs and many more)
3. Open the downloaded ZIM files within the Kiwix app

ℹ️ You can also package any website using either Kiwix Zimit (online tool) or the Zimit Docker Container (for technical users)

ℹ️ .zim is the file format used for packaged websites

@ 56cd780f:cbde8b29

A few weeks ago, I ran into an old friend at a coffee shop. We hadn’t spoken in years, and within five minutes, she said something I’ve heard countless times:

“I just feel like I’m so behind.”

Behind who? Behind what?

There’s this idea—quiet, nagging, oddly universal—that we’re all somehow in a race we didn’t sign up for. That we’re supposed to have hit certain milestones by certain ages. That if we’re not married, promoted, rich, settled, happy (and photogenic) by 30 or 40 or pick your poison, then we’ve failed some invisible test.

Where did this come from?

Some of it’s cultural, obviously. Social media compresses timelines. You’re 27, doom-scrolling, and suddenly someone from high school just IPO’d their startup and got engaged in Rome. Another just bought a house with a kitchen island the size of a small country. You wonder if you missed a memo.

But beneath that, there’s something deeper. A belief that life is linear. That it should look like a staircase: school, job, marriage, house, kids, success. But real life? It’s a squiggle. A mess. A beautiful disaster.

Here’s the truth: You’re not behind. There’s no schedule. There’s only your path, and the courage it takes to stay on it—even when it looks wildly different from everyone else’s.

I say this as someone who has taken the “scenic route.” I changed careers in my 30s. I moved cities on a hunch. I dropped things that looked great on paper because they felt wrong in my gut. I’ve had seasons of momentum and seasons of stuckness. Both were necessary.

“Catching up” assumes there’s a fixed destination. But what if there isn’t? What if the point isn’t arrival, but presence? Progress that feels real, not performative?

If you need a permission slip to stop comparing, let this be it.

You’re not late. You’re not early.
You’re right on time.

@ 56cd780f:cbde8b29

There’s something sacred about morning air — the way it carries just enough chill to remind you you’re alive, without pushing you back inside. I’ve been starting my days on the balcony lately. Not because it’s glamorous (it isn’t), or because I have a routine (I don’t), but because it’s the only space in my apartment that feels both open and still.

This morning I made coffee with too much cinnamon and curled up with a blanket that’s seen better days. I watched the city slowly wake up — one barking dog, two joggers, and the clatter of a recycling truck below. It’s odd how these tiny patterns become a kind of comfort.

I used to think that slowing down meant falling behind. But here, perched on the third floor with my feet on cold concrete and the sky just starting to blush, I feel like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.

If you’re reading this, maybe you needed that reminder too.

— Natalie

@ 91d8dece:3453543b

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@ 6e64b83c:94102ee8

Nostr-static is a powerful static site generator that transforms long-form Nostr content into beautiful, standalone websites. It makes your content accessible to everyone, even those not using Nostr clients. For more information check out my previous blog post How to Create a Blog Out of Nostr Long-Form Articles

What's New in Version 0.7?

RSS and Atom Feeds

Version 0.7 brings comprehensive feed support with both RSS and Atom formats. The system automatically generates feeds for your main content, individual profiles, and tag-specific pages. These feeds are seamlessly integrated into your site's header, making them easily discoverable by feed readers and content aggregators.

This feature bridges the gap between Nostr and traditional web publishing, allowing your content to reach readers who prefer feed readers or automated content distribution systems.

Smart Content Discovery

The new tag discovery system enhances your readers' experience by automatically finding and recommending relevant articles from the Nostr network. It works by:

1. Analyzing the tags in your articles
2. Fetching popular articles from Nostr that share these tags
3. Using configurable weights to rank these articles based on:
4. Engagement metrics (reactions, reposts, replies)
5. Zap statistics (amount, unique zappers, average zap size)
6. Content quality signals (report penalties)

This creates a dynamic "Recommended Articles" section that helps readers discover more content they might be interested in, all while staying within the Nostr ecosystem.

See the new features yourself by visiting our demo at: https://blog.nostrize.me