@ 9ca447d2:fbf5a36d

Neutron, Asia’s leading Bitcoin Lightning infrastructure company, announced the upcoming launch of Neutron Lend, a non-custodial, bitcoin-backed lending product designed for individuals and businesses who want access to liquidity without selling their bitcoin.

The service is currently open for waitlist sign-ups, with public access expected by end of June 2025.

As Bitcoin adoption accelerates, many holders are looking for secure ways to borrow against their bitcoin while maintaining control of their assets. Neutron Lend addresses this need with a multi-signature custody model, competitive interest rates, and a clear, transparent loan structure.

Key Features of Neutron Lend

• Borrow $10,000 to $1,000,000 USDT
• Non-custodial 3-key multi-sig (User, Neutron, Neutral Custodian)
• 50% Loan-to-Value (LTV)
• Principal + interest paid at loan maturity
• Introductory interest rates between 6% and 12% APR, based on tier
• Extension options available (with admin fee and adjusted rates)

Loans are fully collateralized with bitcoin and managed securely using a multi-sig wallet where users retain one of the keys. Neutron does not rehypothecate collateral, and no party can move the funds unilaterally.

“As Bitcoin continues to redefine the future of finance, I’m proud to introduce Neutron Lend a product built for those who believe in the long-term value of their BTC but need liquidity today,” said Albert Buu, CEO of Neutron. He added:

“Traditional finance simply doesn’t understand the needs of Bitcoiners: they force you to sell your most trusted asset or leave you without options.

“With Neutron Lend, our users can secure USDT loans against their BTC collateral at competitive rates, unlocking capital to invest, grow, and diversify without ever parting with their bitcoin.

We see a massively underserved market of HODLers and innovators who deserve access to flexible, transparent lending solutions. At Neutron, we’re here for you, empowering the Bitcoin community with the financial tools they’ve been waiting for.”

Now Open for Waitlist Registration

Neutron Lend is currently in waitlist phase. Early users will receive:

• Priority access to the platform at launch
• Limited-time introductory rates

The platform is expected to begin rolling out globally by end of June 2025.

Media Contact:
info@neutron.me

Learn More and Join the Waitlist: www.neutron.me/lend

About Neutron

Neutron is a Bitcoin Lightning infrastructure company based in Asia, offering scalable financial tools across the Bitcoin ecosystem. Its products include a Lightning-as-a-Service API (Neutron Economy), the consumer-facing Neutronpay app, and now Neutron Lend, bringing secure, flexible Bitcoin-backed lending to market.

@ 5627e59c:d484729e

Ik sta hier nu een poos\ Bevroren, machteloos

Ik wil graag iets veranderen\ Gewoon iets doen voor anderen

Maar het mag precies niet zijn\ En dat doet me veel pijn

Verlamd en vol van onbegrip\ Ik krijg er maar geen grip op

Op de wereld en de mensen\ Zij verpletteren mijn diepste wensen

Niemand die eens hoort\ Naar wat mij toch zo stoort

Ik kan nog eens proberen\ Om de wereld om te keren

Maar ik weet, het heeft geen zin\ Ik raak nooit binnen in

De ander\ Kom, verander

Misschien wordt het eens tijd\ Dat ik mezelf bevrijd

Van al die overmacht\ Die mij toch zo versmacht

Een stapje achteruit\ Adem in en adem uit

Ik doe mijn oogjes dicht\ En zie wie mij verplicht

Opzadelt met ambitie\ Van waar komt toch die missie

Al de pijn die ik niet aankan\ En van 't bestaan verban

Al 't bewijs voor mijn geloof\ Dat ik niet meer vliegen kan

@ 5627e59c:d484729e

Een warme chocomelk\ Een knuffel en de moed te durven spreken\ Een leuk oprecht verhaal\ En een stap naar mijn verlangen

Deze dingen allemaal\ Maken me warm vanbinnen\ Ik hou van deze dingen\ Ze doen mijn hartje zingen

Ik wens iedereen zo'n warmte toe\ Ik wou dat ik het delen kon\ Maar het ziet er anders uit\ Voor jou dan hoe voor mij

Het enige wat ik echt kan zeggen\ Het enige dat ik zeker weet\ De kracht om warmte te creëren\ Ligt in je eigen handen

In je voeten, in je mond\ Het zit ook in je ogen\ En ook in je haar\ En zei ik al je mond\ En zelfs ook in je kont

Haha, ik ben maar wat aan 't lachen\ Dat is wat mij verlucht\ En ervoor zorgt dat wat ik zeg\ Van mij los kan komen\ En jou bereiken kan

Zo kan ik op beide oren slapen\ Dat ik deed dat wat ik kon\ Ik sprak dat wat belangrijk is\ Voor mij en liet het los

De wijde wereld in\ Voor al die horen wil en daar om geeft\ Om die warmte in hun hartje\ En daar misschien naar streeft

Ik wens je al 't succes toe in de wereld\ Want God weet, je bent het waard\ Het ligt nu in jouw handen\ Deze woorden, wat ik zeg\ Iets om over na te denken\ Tussen 't brood en het beleg

Leef gewoon je leven\ En zorg goed voor jezelf\ En als je 't graag wilt vinden\ Is het daar voor jou aan 't wachten\ Tot jij klaar bent met geloven\ In al dat anders klinkt

Ik kan je niets beloven\ Maar vertrouw op jouw instinct

@ aa8de34f:a6ffe696

In seinem Beitrag vom 30. März 2025 fragt Henning Rosenbusch auf Telegram angesichts zunehmender digitaler Kontrolle und staatlicher Allmacht:

„Wie soll sich gegen eine solche Tyrannei noch ein Widerstand formieren können, selbst im Untergrund? Sehe ich nicht.“\ (Quelle: t.me/rosenbusch/25228)

Er beschreibt damit ein Gefühl der Ohnmacht, das viele teilen: Eine Welt, in der Totalitarismus nicht mehr mit Panzern, sondern mit Algorithmen kommt. Wo Zugriff auf Geld, Meinungsfreiheit und Teilhabe vom Wohlverhalten abhängt. Der Bürger als kontrollierbare Variable im Code des Staates.\ Die Frage ist berechtigt. Doch die Antwort darauf liegt nicht in alten Widerstandsbildern – sondern in einer neuen Realität.

-- Denn es braucht keinen Untergrund mehr. --

Der Widerstand der Zukunft trägt keinen Tarnanzug. Er ist nicht konspirativ, sondern transparent. Nicht bewaffnet, sondern mathematisch beweisbar. Bitcoin steht nicht am Rand dieser Entwicklung – es ist ihr Fundament. Eine Bastion aus physikalischer Realität, spieltheoretischem Schutz und ökonomischer Wahrheit. Es ist nicht unfehlbar, aber unbestechlich. Nicht perfekt, aber immun gegen zentrale Willkür.

Hier entsteht kein „digitales Gegenreich“, sondern eine dezentrale Renaissance. Keine Revolte aus Wut, sondern eine stille Abkehr: von Zwang zu Freiwilligkeit, von Abhängigkeit zu Selbstverantwortung. Diese Revolution führt keine Kriege. Sie braucht keine Führer. Sie ist ein Netzwerk. Jeder Knoten ein Individuum. Jede Entscheidung ein Akt der Selbstermächtigung.

Weltweit wachsen Freiheits-Zitadellen aus dieser Idee: wirtschaftlich autark, digital souverän, lokal verankert und global vernetzt. Sie sind keine Utopien im luftleeren Raum, sondern konkrete Realitäten – angetrieben von Energie, Code und dem menschlichen Wunsch nach Würde.

Der Globalismus alter Prägung – zentralistisch, monopolistisch, bevormundend – wird an seiner eigenen Hybris zerbrechen. Seine Werkzeuge der Kontrolle werden ihn nicht retten. Im Gegenteil: Seine Geister werden ihn verfolgen und erlegen.

Und während die alten Mächte um Erhalt kämpfen, wächst eine neue Welt – nicht im Schatten, sondern im Offenen. Nicht auf Gewalt gebaut, sondern auf Mathematik, Physik und Freiheit.

Die Tyrannei sieht keinen Widerstand.\ Weil sie nicht erkennt, dass er längst begonnen hat.\ Unwiderruflich. Leise. Überall.

@ aa8de34f:a6ffe696

19. März 2025

🔐 1. SHA-256 is Quantum-Resistant

Bitcoin’s proof-of-work mechanism relies on SHA-256, a hashing algorithm. Even with a powerful quantum computer, SHA-256 remains secure because:

• Quantum computers excel at factoring large numbers (Shor’s Algorithm).
• However, SHA-256 is a one-way function, meaning there's no known quantum algorithm that can efficiently reverse it.
• Grover’s Algorithm (which theoretically speeds up brute force attacks) would still require 2¹²⁸ operations to break SHA-256 – far beyond practical reach.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

🔑 2. Public Key Vulnerability – But Only If You Reuse Addresses

Bitcoin uses Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) to generate keys.

• A quantum computer could use Shor’s Algorithm to break SECP256K1, the curve Bitcoin uses.
• If you never reuse addresses, it is an additional security element
• 🔑 1. Bitcoin Addresses Are NOT Public Keys

Many people assume a Bitcoin address is the public key—this is wrong.

• When you receive Bitcoin, it is sent to a hashed public key (the Bitcoin address).
• The actual public key is never exposed because it is the Bitcoin Adress who addresses the Public Key which never reveals the creation of a public key by a spend
• Bitcoin uses Pay-to-Public-Key-Hash (P2PKH) or newer methods like Pay-to-Witness-Public-Key-Hash (P2WPKH), which add extra layers of security.

🕵️♂️ 2.1 The Public Key Never Appears

• When you send Bitcoin, your wallet creates a digital signature.
• This signature uses the private key to prove ownership.
• The Bitcoin address is revealed and creates the Public Key
• The public key remains hidden inside the Bitcoin script and Merkle tree.

This means: ✔ The public key is never exposed. ✔ Quantum attackers have nothing to target, attacking a Bitcoin Address is a zero value game.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

🔄 3. Bitcoin Can Upgrade

Even if quantum computers eventually become a real threat:

• Bitcoin developers can upgrade to quantum-safe cryptography (e.g., lattice-based cryptography or post-quantum signatures like Dilithium).
• Bitcoin’s decentralized nature ensures a network-wide soft fork or hard fork could transition to quantum-resistant keys.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

⏳ 4. The 10-Minute Block Rule as a Security Feature

• Bitcoin’s network operates on a 10-minute block interval, meaning:Even if an attacker had immense computational power (like a quantum computer), they could only attempt an attack every 10 minutes.Unlike traditional encryption, where a hacker could continuously brute-force keys, Bitcoin’s system resets the challenge with every new block.This limits the window of opportunity for quantum attacks.

---

🎯 5. Quantum Attack Needs to Solve a Block in Real-Time

• A quantum attacker must solve the cryptographic puzzle (Proof of Work) in under 10 minutes.
• The problem? Any slight error changes the hash completely, meaning:If the quantum computer makes a mistake (even 0.0001% probability), the entire attack fails.Quantum decoherence (loss of qubit stability) makes error correction a massive challenge.The computational cost of recovering from an incorrect hash is still incredibly high.

---

⚡ 6. Network Resilience – Even if a Block Is Hacked

• Even if a quantum computer somehow solved a block instantly:The network would quickly recognize and reject invalid transactions.Other miners would continue mining under normal cryptographic rules.51% Attack? The attacker would need to consistently beat the entire Bitcoin network, which is not sustainable.

---

🔄 7. The Logarithmic Difficulty Adjustment Neutralizes Threats

• Bitcoin adjusts mining difficulty every 2016 blocks (\~2 weeks).
• If quantum miners appeared and suddenly started solving blocks too quickly, the difficulty would adjust upward, making attacks significantly harder.
• This self-correcting mechanism ensures that even quantum computers wouldn't easily overpower the network.

---

🔥 Final Verdict: Quantum Computers Are Too Slow for Bitcoin

✔ The 10-minute rule limits attack frequency – quantum computers can’t keep up.

✔ Any slight miscalculation ruins the attack, resetting all progress.

✔ Bitcoin’s difficulty adjustment would react, neutralizing quantum advantages.

Even if quantum computers reach their theoretical potential, Bitcoin’s game theory and design make it incredibly resistant. 🚀

@ 5627e59c:d484729e

Warmte betekent zachtheid aan de grenzen\ Omringt door zachte mensen

Warmte betekent vrijheid\ Vrij om mij te tonen en te bewegen

Warmte betekent rust\ Om hier niet ver vandaan te hoeven zijn

Warmte betekent leven\ Iets waar ik vol van liefde mijn aandacht aan wil geven

Warmte betekent vriendschap\ Alle vriendschap die mijn hartje vult

Warmte betekent vol zijn\ Vol betekenis die mijn omgeving aan mij schenkt

Warmte betekent geven\ Geven om wat ik voor jou en jij voor mij\ Wij voor elkaar nu eigenlijk echt betekenen

@ 5627e59c:d484729e

Enlightenment is just\ You catching up with time

Enlightenment is just\ Successfully processing your current situation\ And what it has to do with your past

Enlightenment is just\ Separating what you believe from what you know\ What is real from what is true

Enlightenment is living\ According to what you believe\ Because that's what is real for you\ Yet knowing it might turn out\ To be not really true

Enlightenment is giving thanks\ For being proven wrong

For how else would we grow\ The things we're conscious of\ The things that're real for us\ And the things we really know

How else would we align those things\ With the truth of what is (t)here\ Beyond\ That which we are

@ 5627e59c:d484729e

Nooit is mijn dans echter\ Dan net nadat het regende\ Want regen biedt een kans\ Om mijn gevoel te voelen

Zolang de regen spettert\ En ik mezelf graag zie\ Wordt er niets verplettert\ Ook al lijkt dat soms wel zo

Zodra de regen ophoudt\ En zich terugtrekt met de wolken\ Komt een nieuwe glans\ Voor het eerst mijn ogen binnen

Wat is het leven heerlijk\ Als ik eerlijk ben en voel\ Wat is het leven zacht\ En het brengt me naar mijn doel

Wat zou ik weten zonder regen\ Gewoon steeds evenveel\ Niet groeien is niet leven\ Daarom dans ik het liefst

Net na de echte regen

@ 5627e59c:d484729e

My life is my way Home\ My death is my arrival

I can't wait to be Home\ And so I love life

I can't wait to be Home\ And so I want to live to the fullest

For there are no shortcuts

Many people die\ And never make it Home

They will have to wait\ For another chance to die

Another chance to live fully\ And die totally

I'm so thankful to be alive\ I'm on my way Home

I'm so thankful to be alive\ To have another chance to die

Every day I take a step\ In the direction of my death\ I do not postpone it

Every day I take a step\ In the direction of my truth\ I do not avoid it

It is who I am, always have been\ And always will be

It lies beyond that door\ That keeps everything in check

Where only can go through\ Which is forever true

@ 97c70a44:ad98e322

So you've decided to join nostr! Some wide-eyed fanatic has convinced you that the "sun shines every day on the birds and the bees and the cigarette trees" in a magical land of decentralized, censorship-resistant freedom of speech - and it's waiting just over the next hill.

But your experience has not been all you hoped. Before you've even had a chance to upload your AI-generated cyberpunk avatar or make up exploit codenames for your pseudonym's bio, you've been confronted with a new concept that has left you completely nonplussed.

It doesn't help that this new idea might be called by any number of strange names. You may have been asked to "paste your nsec", "generate a private key", "enter your seed words", "connect with a bunker", "sign in with extension", or even "generate entropy". Sorry about that.

All these terms are really referring to one concept under many different names: that of "cryptographic identity".

Now, you may have noticed that I just introduced yet another new term which explains exactly nothing. You're absolutely correct. And now I'm going to proceed to ignore your complaints and talk about something completely different. But bear with me, because the juice is worth the squeeze.

Identity

What is identity? There are many philosophical, political, or technical answers to this question, but for our purposes it's probably best to think of it this way:

Identity is the essence of a thing. Identity separates one thing from all others, and is itself indivisible.

This definition has three parts:

• Identity is "essential": a thing can change, but its identity cannot. I might re-paint my house, replace its components, sell it, or even burn it down, but its identity as something that can be referred to - "this house" - is durable, even outside the boundaries of its own physical existence.
• Identity is a unit: you can't break an identity into multiple parts. A thing might be composed of multiple parts, but that's only incidental to the identity of a thing, which is a concept, not a material thing.
• Identity is distinct: identity is what separates one thing from all others - the concept of an apple can't be mixed with that of an orange; the two ideas are distinct. In the same way, a single concrete apple is distinct in identity from another - even if the component parts of the apple decompose into compost used to grow more apples.

Identity is not a physical thing, but a metaphysical thing. Or, in simpler terms, identity is a "concept".

I (or someone more qualified) could at this point launch into a Scholastic tangent on what "is" is, but that is, fortunately, not necessary here. The kind of identities I want to focus on here are not our actual identities as people, but entirely fictional identities that we use to extend our agency into the digital world.

Think of it this way - your bank login does not represent you as a complete person. It only represents the access granted to you by the bank. This access is in fact an entirely new identity that has been associated with you, and is limited in what it's useful for.

Other examples of fictional identities include:

• The country you live in
• Your social media persona
• Your mortgage
• Geographical coordinates
• A moment in time
• A chess piece

Some of these identites are inert, for example points in space and time. Other identies have agency and so are able to act in the world - even as fictional concepts. In order to do this, they must "authenticate" themselves (which means "to prove they are real"), and act within a system of established rules.

For example, your D&D character exists only within the collective fiction of your D&D group, and can do anything the rules say. Its identity is authenticated simply by your claim as a member of the group that your character in fact exists. Similarly, a lawyer must prove they are a member of the Bar Association before they are allowed to practice law within that collective fiction.

"Cryptographic identity" is simply another way of authenticating a fictional identity within a given system. As we'll see, it has some interesting attributes that set it apart from things like a library card or your latitude and longitude. Before we get there though, let's look in more detail at how identities are authenticated.

Certificates

Merriam-Webster defines the verb "certify" as meaning "to attest authoritatively". A "certificate" is just a fancy way of saying "because I said so". Certificates are issued by a "certificate authority", someone who has the authority to "say so". Examples include your boss, your mom, or the Pope.

This method of authentication is how almost every institution authenticates the people who associate with it. Colleges issue student ID cards, governments issue passports, and websites allow you to "register an account".

In every case mentioned above, the "authority" creates a closed system in which a document (aka a "certificate") is issued which serves as a claim to a given identity. When someone wants to access some privileged service, location, or information, they present their certificate. The authority then validates it and grants or denies access. In the case of an international airport, the certificate is a little book printed with fancy inks. In the case of a login page, the certificate is a username and password combination.

This pattern for authentication is ubiquitous, and has some very important implications.

First of all, certified authentication implies that the issuer of the certificate has the right to exclusive control of any identity it issues. This identity can be revoked at any time, or its permissions may change. Your social credit score may drop arbitrarily, or money might disappear from your account. When dealing with certificate authorities, you have no inherent rights.

Second, certified authentication depends on the certificate authority continuing to exist. If you store your stuff at a storage facility but the company running it goes out of business, your stuff might disappear along with it.

Usually, authentication via certificate authority works pretty well, since an appeal can always be made to a higher authority (nature, God, the government, etc). Authorities also can't generally dictate their terms with impunity without losing their customers, alienating their constituents, or provoking revolt. But it's also true that certification by authority creates an incentive structure that frequently leads to abuse - arbitrary deplatforming is increasingly common, and the bigger the certificate authority, the less recourse the certificate holder (or "subject") has.

Certificates also put the issuer in a position to intermediate relationships that wouldn't otherwise be subject to their authority. This might take the form of selling user attention to advertisers, taking a cut of financial transactions, or selling surveillance data to third parties.

Proliferation of certificate authorities is not a solution to these problems. Websites and apps frequently often offer multiple "social sign-in" options, allowing their users to choose which certificate authority to appeal to. But this only piles more value into the social platform that issues the certificate - not only can Google shut down your email inbox, they can revoke your ability to log in to every website you used their identity provider to get into.

In every case, certificate issuance results in an asymmetrical power dynamic, where the issuer is able to exert significant control over the certificate holder, even in areas unrelated to the original pretext for the relationship between parties.

Self-Certification

But what if we could reverse this power dynamic? What if individuals could issue their own certificates and force institutions to accept them?

Ron Swanson's counterexample notwithstanding, there's a reason I can't simply write myself a parking permit and slip it under the windshield wiper. Questions about voluntary submission to legitimate authorities aside, the fact is that we don't have the power to act without impunity - just like any other certificate authority, we have to prove our claims either by the exercise of raw power or by appeal to a higher authority.

So the question becomes: which higher authority can we appeal to in order to issue our own certificates within a given system of identity?

The obvious answer here is to go straight to the top and ask God himself to back our claim to self-sovereignty. However, that's not how he normally works - there's a reason they call direct acts of God "miracles". In fact, Romans 13:1 explicitly says that "the authorities that exist have been appointed by God". God has structured the universe in such a way that we must appeal to the deputies he has put in place to govern various parts of the world.

Another tempting appeal might be to nature - i.e. the material world. This is the realm in which we most frequently have the experience of "self-authenticating" identities. For example, a gold coin can be authenticated by biting it or by burning it with acid. If it quacks like a duck, walks like a duck, and looks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.

In most cases however, the ability to authenticate using physical claims depends on physical access, and so appeals to physical reality have major limitations when it comes to the digital world. Captchas, selfies and other similar tricks are often used to bridge the physical world into the digital, but these are increasingly easy to forge, and hard to verify.

There are exceptions to this rule - an example of self-certification that makes its appeal to the physical world is that of a signature. Signatures are hard to forge - an incredible amount of data is encoded in physical signatures, from strength, to illnesses, to upbringing, to personality. These can even be scanned and used within the digital world as well. Even today, most contracts are sealed with some simulacrum of a physical signature. Of course, this custom is quickly becoming a mere historical curiosity, since the very act of digitizing a signature makes it trivially forgeable.

So: transcendent reality is too remote to subtantiate our claims, and the material world is too limited to work within the world of information. There is another aspect of reality remaining that we might appeal to: information itself.

Physical signatures authenticate physical identities by encoding unique physical data into an easily recognizable artifact. To transpose this idea to the realm of information, a "digital signature" might authenticate "digital identities" by encoding unique "digital data" into an easily recognizable artifact.

Unfortunately, in the digital world we have the additional challenge that the artifact itself can be copied, undermining any claim to legitimacy. We need something that can be easily verified and unforgeable.

Digital Signatures

In fact such a thing does exist, but calling it a "digital signature" obscures more than it reveals. We might just as well call the thing we're looking for a "digital fingerprint", or a "digital electroencephalogram". Just keep that in mind as we work our way towards defining the term - we are not looking for something looks like a physical signature, but for something that does the same thing as a physical signature, in that it allows us to issue ourselves a credential that must be accepted by others by encoding privileged information into a recognizable, unforgeable artifact.

With that, let's get into the weeds.

An important idea in computer science is that of a "function". A function is a sort of information machine that converts data from one form to another. One example is the idea of "incrementing" a number. If you increment 1, you get 2. If you increment 2, you get 3. Incrementing can be reversed, by creating a complementary function that instead subtracts 1 from a number.

A "one-way function" is a function that can't be reversed. A good example of a one-way function is integer rounding. If you round a number and get 5, what number did you begin with? It's impossible to know - 5.1, 4.81, 5.332794, in fact an infinite number of numbers can be rounded to the number 5. These numbers can also be infinitely long - for example rounding PI to the nearest integer results in the number 3.

A real-life example of a useful one-way function is sha256. This function is a member of a family of one-way functions called "hash functions". You can feed as much data as you like into sha256, and you will always get 256 bits of information out. Hash functions are especially useful because collisions between outputs are very rare - even if you change a single bit in a huge pile of data, you're almost certainly going to get a different output.

Taking this a step further, there is a whole family of cryptographic one-way "trapdoor" functions that act similarly to hash functions, but which maintain a specific mathematical relationship between the input and the output which allows the input/output pair to be used in a variety of useful applications. For example, in Elliptic Curve Cryptography, scalar multiplication on an elliptic curve is used to derive the output.

"Ok", you say, "that's all completely clear and lucidly explained" (thank you). "But what goes into the function?" You might expect that because of our analogy to physical signatures we would have to gather an incredible amount of digital information to cram into our cryptographic trapdoor function, mashing together bank statements, a record of our heartbeat, brain waves and cellular respiration. Well, we could do it that way (maybe), but there's actually a much simpler solution.

Let's play a quick game. What number am I thinking of? Wrong, it's 82,749,283,929,834. Good guess though.

The reason we use signatures to authenticate our identity in the physical world is not because they're backed by a lot of implicit physical information, but because they're hard to forge and easy to validate. Even so, there is a lot of variation in a single person's signature, even from one moment to the next.

Trapdoor functions solve the validation problem - it's trivially simple to compare one 256-bit number to another. And randomness solves the problem of forgeability.

Now, randomness (A.K.A. "entropy") is actually kind of hard to generate. Random numbers that don't have enough "noise" in them are known as "pseudo-random numbers", and are weirdly easy to guess. This is why Cloudflare uses a video stream of their giant wall of lava lamps to feed the random number generator that powers their CDN. For our purposes though, we can just imagine that our random numbers come from rolling a bunch of dice.

To recap, we can get a digital equivalent of a physical signature (or fingerprint, etc) by 1. coming up with a random number, and 2. feeding it into our chosen trapdoor function. The random number is called the "private" part. The output of the trapdoor function is called the "public" part. These two halves are often called "keys", hence the terms "public key" and "private key".

And now we come full circle - remember about 37 years ago when I introduced the term "cryptographic identity"? Well, we've finally arrived at the point where I explain what that actually is.

A "cryptographic identity" is identified by a public key, and authenticated by the ability to prove that you know the private key.

Notice that I didn't say "authenticated by the private key". If you had to reveal the private key in order to prove you know it, you could only authenticate a public key once without losing exclusive control of the key. But cryptographic identities can be authenticated any number of times because the certification is an algorithm that only someone who knows the private key can execute.

This is the super power that trapdoor functions have that hash functions don't. Within certain cryptosystems, it is possible to mix additional data with your private key to get yet another number in such a way that someone else who only knows the public key can prove that you know the private key.

For example, if my secret number is 12, and someone tells me the number 37, I can "combine" the two by adding them together and returning the number 49. This "proves" that my secret number is 12. Of course, addition is not a trapdoor function, so it's trivially easy to reverse, which is why cryptography is its own field of knowledge.

What's it for?

If I haven't completely lost you yet, you might be wondering why this matters. Who cares if I can prove that I made up a random number?

To answer this, let's consider a simple example: that of public social media posts.

Most social media platforms function by issuing credentials and verifying them based on their internal database. When you log in to your Twitter (ok, fine, X) account, you provide X with a phone number (or email) and password. X compares these records to the ones stored in the database when you created your account, and if they match they let you "log in" by issuing yet another credential, called a "session key".

Next, when you "say" something on X, you pass along your session key and your tweet to X's servers. They check that the session key is legit, and if it is they associate your tweet with your account's identity. Later, when someone wants to see the tweet, X vouches for the fact that you created it by saying "trust me" and displaying your name next to the tweet.

In other words, X creates and controls your identity, but they let you use it as long as you can prove that you know the secret that you agreed on when you registered (by giving it to them every time).

Now pretend that X gets bought by someone even more evil than Elon Musk (if such a thing can be imagined). The new owner now has the ability to control your identity, potentially making it say things that you didn't actually say. Someone could be completely banned from the platform, but their account could be made to continue saying whatever the owner of the platform wanted.

In reality, such a breach of trust would quickly result in a complete loss of credibility for the platform, which is why this kind of thing doesn't happen (at least, not that we know of).

But there are other ways of exploiting this system, most notably by censoring speech. As often happens, platforms are able to confiscate user identities, leaving the tenant no recourse except to appeal to the platform itself (or the government, but that doesn't seem to happen for some reason - probably due to some legalese in social platforms' terms of use). The user has to start completely from scratch, either on the same platform or another.

Now suppose that when you signed up for X instead of simply telling X your password you made up a random number and provided a cryptographic proof to X along with your public key. When you're ready to tweet (there's no need to issue a session key, or even to store your public key in their database) you would again prove your ownership of that key with a new piece of data. X could then publish that tweet or not, along with the same proof you provided that it really came from you.

What X can't do in this system is pretend you said something you didn't, because they don't know your private key.

X also wouldn't be able to deplatform you as effectively either. While they could choose to ban you from their website and refuse to serve your tweets, they don't control your identity. There's nothing they can do to prevent you from re-using it on another platform. Plus, if the system was set up in such a way that other users followed your key instead of an ID made up by X, you could switch platforms and keep your followers. In the same way, it would also be possible to keep a copy of all your tweets in your own database, since their authenticity is determined by your digital signature, not X's "because I say so".

This new power is not just limited to social media either. Here are some other examples of ways that self-issued cryptographic identites transform the power dynamic inherent in digital platforms:

• Banks sometimes freeze accounts or confiscate funds. If your money was stored in a system based on self-issued cryptographic keys rather than custodians, banks would not be able to keep you from accessing or moving your funds. This system exists, and it's called bitcoin.
• Identity theft happens when your identifying information is stolen and used to take out a loan in your name, and without your consent. The reason this is so common is because your credentials are not cryptographic - your name, address, and social security number can only be authenticated by being shared, and they are shared so often and with so many counterparties that they frequently end up in data breaches. If credit checks were authenticated by self-issued cryptographic keys, identity theft would cease to exist (unless your private key itself got stolen).
• Cryptographic keys allow credential issuers to protect their subjects' privacy better too. Instead of showing your ID (including your home address, birth date, height, weight, etc), the DMV could sign a message asserting that the holder of a given public key indeed over 21. The liquor store could then validate that claim, and your ownership of the named key, without knowing anything more about you. Zero-knowledge proofs take this a step further.

In each of these cases, the interests of the property owner, loan seeker, or customer are elevated over the interests of those who might seek to control their assets, exploit their hard work, or surveil their activity. Just as with personal privacy, freedom of speech, and Second Amendment rights the individual case is rarely decisive, but in the aggregate realigned incentives can tip the scale in favor of freedom.

Objections

Now, there are some drawbacks to digital signatures. Systems that rely on digital signatures are frequently less forgiving of errors than their custodial counterparts, and many of their strengths have corresponding weaknesses. Part of this is because people haven't yet developed an intuition for how to use cryptographic identities, and the tools for managing them are still being designed. Other aspects can be mitigated through judicious use of keys fit to the problems they are being used to solve.

Below I'll articulate some of these concerns, and explore ways in which they might be mitigated over time.

Key Storage

Keeping secrets is hard. "A lie can travel halfway around the world before the truth can get its boots on", and the same goes for gossip. Key storage has become increasingly important as more of our lives move online, to the extent that password managers have become almost a requirement for keeping track of our digital lives. But even with good password management, credentials frequently end up for sale on the dark web as a consequence of poorly secured infrastructure.

Apart from the fact that all of this is an argument for cryptographic identities (since keys are shared with far fewer parties), it's also true that the danger of losing a cryptographic key is severe, especially if that key is used in multiple places. Instead of hackers stealing your Facebook password, they might end up with access to all your other social media accounts too!

Keys should be treated with the utmost care. Using password managers is a good start, but very valuable keys should be stored even more securely - for example in a hardware signing device. This is a hassle, and something additional to learn, but is an indispensable part of taking advantage of the benefits associated with cryptographic identity.

There are ways to lessen the impact of lost or stolen secrets, however. Lots of different techniques exist for structuring key systems in such a way that keys can be protected, invalidated, or limited. Here are a few:

• Hierarchical Deterministic Keys allow for the creation of a single root key from which multiple child keys can be generated. These keys are hard to link to the parent, which provides additional privacy, but this link can also be proven when necessary. One limitation is that the identity system has to be designed with HD keys in mind.
• Key Rotation allows keys to become expendable. Additional credentials might be attached to a key, allowing the holder to prove they have the right to rotate the key. Social attestations can help with the process as well if the key is embedded in a web of trust.
• Remote Signing is a technique for storing a key on one device, but using it on another. This might take the form of signing using a hardware wallet and transferring an SD card to your computer for broadcasting, or using a mobile app like Amber to manage sessions with different applications.
• Key sharding takes this to another level by breaking a single key into multiple pieces and storing them separately. A coordinator can then be used to collaboratively sign messages without sharing key material. This dramatically reduces the ability of an attacker to steal a complete key.

Multi-Factor Authentication

One method for helping users secure their accounts that is becoming increasingly common is "multi-factor authentication". Instead of just providing your email and password, platforms send a one-time use code to your phone number or email, or use "time-based one time passwords" which are stored in a password manager or on a hardware device.

Again, MFA is a solution to a problem inherent in account-based authentication which would not be nearly so prevalent in a cryptographic identity system. Still, theft of keys does happen, and so MFA would be an important improvement - if not for an extra layer of authentication, then as a basis for key rotation.

In a sense, MFA is already being researched - key shards is one way of creating multiple credentials from a single key. However, this doesn't address the issue of key rotation, especially when an identity is tied to the public key that corresponds to a given private key. There are two possible solutions to this problem:

• Introduce a naming system. This would allow identities to use a durable name, assigning it to different keys over time. The downside is that this would require the introduction of either centralized naming authorities (back to the old model), or a blockchain in order to solve Zooko's trilemma.
• Establish a chain of keys. This would require a given key to name a successor key in advance and self-invalidate, or some other process like social recovery to invalidate an old key and assign the identity to a new one. This also would significantly increase the complexity of validating messages and associating them with a given identity.

Both solutions are workable, but introduce a lot of complexity that could cause more trouble than it's worth, depending on the identity system we're talking about.

Surveillance

One of the nice qualities that systems based on cryptographic identities have is that digitally signed data can be passed through any number of untrusted systems and emerge intact. This ability to resist tampering makes it possible to broadcast signed data more widely than would otherwise be the case in a system that relies on a custodian to authenticate information.

The downside of this is that more untrusted systems have access to data. And if information is broadcast publicly, anyone can get access to it.

This problem is compounded by re-use of cryptographic identities across multiple contexts. A benefit of self-issued credentials is that it becomes possible to bring everything attached to your identity with you, including social context and attached credentials. This is convenient and can be quite powerful, but it also means that more context is attached to your activity, making it easier to infer information about you for advertising or surveillance purposes. This is dangerously close to the dystopian ideal of a "Digital ID".

The best way to deal with this risk is to consider identity re-use an option to be used when desirable, but to default to creating a new key for every identity you create. This is no worse than the status quo, and it makes room for the ability to link identities when desired.

Another possible approach to this problem is to avoid broadcasting signed data when possible. This could be done by obscuring your cryptographic identity when data is served from a database, or by encrypting your signed data in order to selectively share it with named counterparties.

Still, this is a real risk, and should be kept in mind when designing and using systems based on cryptographic identity. If you'd like to read more about this, please see this blog post.

Making Keys Usable

You might be tempted to look at that list of trade-offs and get the sense that cryptographic identity is not for mere mortals. Key management is hard, and footguns abound - but there is a way forward. With nostr, some new things are happening in the world of key management that have never really happened before.

Plenty of work over the last 30 years has gone into making key management tractable, but none have really been widely adopted. The reason for this is simple: network effect.

Many of these older key systems only applied the thinnest veneer of humanity over keys. But an identity is much richer than a mere label. Having a real name, social connections, and a corpus of work to attach to a key creates a system of keys that humans care about.

By bootstrapping key management within a social context, nostr ensures that the payoff of key management is worth the learning curve. Not only is social engagement a strong incentive to get off the ground, people already on the network are eager to help you get past any roadblocks you might face.

So if I could offer an action item: give nostr a try today. Whether you're in it for the people and their values, or you just want to experiment with cryptographic identity, nostr is a great place to start. For a quick introduction and to securely generate keys, visit njump.me.

Thanks for taking the time to read this post. I hope it's been helpful, and I can't wait to see you on nostr!

@ ee11a5df:b76c4e49

China

I might be wrong, but this is how I see it

This is a post within a series I am going to call "I might be wrong, but this is how I see it"

I have repeatedly found that my understanding of China is quite different from that of many libertarian-minded Americans. And so I make this post to explain how I see it. Maybe you will learn something. Maybe I will learn something.

It seems to me that many American's see America as a shining beacon of freedom with a few small problems, and China is an evil communist country spreading communism everywhere. From my perspective, America was a shining beacon of freedom that has fallen to being typical in most ways, and which is now acting as a falling empire, and China was communist for about a decade, but turned and ran away from that as fast as they could (while not admitting it) and the result is that the US and China are not much different anymore when it comes to free markets. Except they are very different in some other respects.

China has a big problem

China has a big problem. But it is not the communism problem that most Westerners diagnose.

I argue that China is no longer communist, it is only communist in name. And that while it is not a beacon of free market principles, it is nearly as free market now as Western nations like Germany and New Zealand are (being somewhat socialist themselves).

No, China's real problem is authoritarian one-party rule. And that core problem causes all of the other problems, including its human rights abuses.

Communism and Socialism

Communism and Socialism are bad ideas. I don't want to argue it right here, but most readers will already understand this. The last thing I intend to do with this post is to bolster or defend those bad ideas. If you dear reader hold a candle for socialism, let me know and I can help you extinguish it with a future "I might be wrong, but this is how I see it" installment.

Communism is the idea of structuring a society around common ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange, and the idea of allocating goods and services based on need. It eliminates the concept of private property, of social classes, ultimately of money and finally of the state itself.

Back under Mao in 1958-1962 (The Great Leap Forward), China tried this (in part). Some 50+ million people died. It was an abject failure.

But due to China's real problem (authoritarianism, even worship of their leaders), the leading classes never admitted this. And even today they continue to use the word "Communist" for things that aren't communist at all, as a way to save face, and also in opposition to the United States of America and Europe.

Authorities are not eager to admit their faults. But this is not just a Chinese fault, it is a fault in human nature that affects all countries. The USA still refuses to admit they assassinated their own president JFK. They do not admit they bombed the Nord Stream pipeline.

China defines "socialism with Chinese characteristics" to mean "the leadership of the Communist Party of China". So they still keep the words socialism and communism, but they long ago dropped the meanings of those words. I'm not sure if this is a political ploy against us in the West or not.

China's Marketplace Today

Today China exhibits very few of the properties of communism.

They have some common ownership and state enterprises, but not much differently than Western countries (New Zealand owns Air New Zealand and Kiwibank and Kiwirail, etc). And there are private enterprises all over China. They compete and some succeed and some fail. You might hear about a real-estate bank collapsing. China has private property. They have mostly free markets. They have money, and the most definitely have social classes and a very strong state.

None of that is inline with what communist thinkers want. Communist thinkers in China moan that China has turned away from communism.

Deng Xiaoping who succeeded Mao and attempted to correct the massive mistake, did much when he said "to get rich is glorious."

China achieved staggering rates of economic growth. 10% annually on average since 1977. Chinese economic reform started in 1979 and has continued through successive administrations (Deng, Jiang, Hu and now Xi).

China is now the world's largest economy (by GDP in PPP terms) since 2016.

I was first made aware of China's economic growth by Jim Rogers, an American commodities expert who travelled through China (and the rest of the world from 1990-1992) and in 2007 moved to Singapore where he ensured his daughters learned to speak Mandarin, because Jim knew where the economic growth was going to happen. Jim always spoke positively of China's economic prospects, and his view was so different from the "China is a nasty communist place" view that I had grown up with that my mind opened.

How can anybody believe they are still a communist country? In what world does it make sense that communism can produce such a massively booming economy? It doesn't make sense because it is simply wrong.

What does happen is that the CPC interferes. It lets the market do what markets do, but it interferes where it thinks oversight and regulation would produce a better result.

Western nations interfere with their markets too. They have oversight and regulation. In fact some of China's planned reforms had to be put on hold by Xi due to Donald Trump's trade war with China. That's right, they were trying to be even more free market than America, but America's protectionism prodded Xi to keep control so he could fight back efficiently.

Government oversight and regulation IMHO is mostly bad because it gets out of control, and there are no market forces to correct this. This gets even more extreme in a one-party system, so I can judge that China's oversight and regulation problems are very likely worse than those in Western nations (but I have no first hand experience or evidence).

Why do you keep saying CPC?

The Communist Party of China (CPC) is the ruling party in China. That is their official name. To call them the CCP is to concede to the idea that the British and Americans get to name everybody. I'm not sure who is right, since CPC or CCP is their "English" name (in Chinese it is 中国共产党 and Westernized it is Zhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng). Nonetheless, I'll call them CPC because that is their wish.

Social Credit System

China moved from a planned economy to a market economy in stages. They didn't want any more sudden changes (can you blame them?). In the process, many institutions that have existed in the West for a long time didn't exist in China and they had to arise somehow. IMHO market forces would have brought these about in the private sector, but the one-party CP of China instead decided to create these.

One of those institutions was a credit score system. In the West we have TransUnion and Equifax that maintain credit ratings on people, and we have S&P, Moody's and Fitch that maintain credit ratings on companies. The domain of these ratings is their financial credit-worthiness.

So the People's Bank of China developed a credit information database for it's own needs. The government picked up on the idea and started moving towards a National Credit Management System. In 2004 it became an official goal to establish a credit system compatible with a modern market system. By 2006 banks were required to report on consumer creditworthiness.

But unchecked one-party governmental power will often take a good idea (credit worthiness data shared among private parties) and systematize it and apply it top-down, creating a solution and a new problem at the same time.

Nonetheless, originally it was about credit worthiness and also criminal convictions. That is no big scary thing that some right-wing American commentators will lead you to believe. In the US for example criminal records are public, so China's Social Credit System started out being no more over-reaching in scope than what Americans have lived under their entire lives, its only fault (a severe one) being centrally planned. And that remained the case up until about 2016 (in my estimation).

But of course there is always scope creep. As it exists today, I have reason to believe that CPC officials and even A.I. use judgement calls to score someone on how moral that person has been! Of course that is not a good idea, and IMHO the problem stems from one-party rule, and authoritarian administration of ideas that should instead be handled by the private sector.

Environmental, Social, and Governance

ESG is a system that came out of a couple basic ideas. The first is that many two-party transactions actually have externalities. They don't just affect the two parties, they also affect everybody else. When you fly in an airplane, you increase the CO2 in the atmosphere that everybody has to pay for (eventually). You may dispute that example, but that is no doubt one of the motivations of ESG.

But of course the recognition of this basic issue didn't lead all people towards market solutions (well it did, but those have been mostly messed up by others), but instead led many people towards ESG, which is a social credit scoring system which applies scores based on environmental and social side-effects of market transactions.

This is not at all the same as China's social credit system, which I described above. I hope you can see the difference.

In fact, China imported ESG from the West. Chinese companies, of their free will, in an attempt to court Western capital, achieve ESG goals for those Western investors. They have been playing this ESG game for 20 years just like the entire world has, because the West has imposed this faux-morality upon them. It isn't something China exported to us, it is something we exported to them.

I think China has avoided Woke-ism

My understanding of Chinese people, based on what I've heard many Chinese people say, is that China isn't affected by the Western woke-ism epidemic. They deride Western white woke people with the term "Baizuo". They have never sent an incompetent break dancer to the Olympics because of wok-ism. Competence is highly respected as is the competition to be the most competent, which (when augmented by a one-child policy which is no longer) has produced child prodigies like no other country has.

What about predatory loans of the Belt and Road initiative?

Predatory is an odd name for loans to people in need. The World Bank makes loans to people in need. China does too. China stands in opposition to Western Empire, and in that regard they produce their own alternative BRICS institutions. This is one of them.

There is AFAIK nothing more predatory about them. It is just that in some cases the borrowers have trouble paying them back and they get foreclosed upon. I don't think this is worthy of much discussion, except that the term "predatory" seems to me to be a propaganda device.

What about foreign influence from China?

China wants to influence the world, especially its own trading partners and potential trading partners. Doing that above board is fine by me.

But some of it is undoubtedly covert. Sometimes Chinese-born people run for public office in Western countries. In New Zealand we stood down some when it became clear they were being influenced too much by the CPC while being charged with representing their local town (dual loyalty issues). If only the USA would do the same thing to their dually-loyal politicians.

And all large nations run influence operations. The USA has the CIA, for example, and claims this "soft power" is actually the better alternative to what would otherwise be military intervention (but IMHO shouldn't be either). I'm not defending such operations (I despise them), I'm just explaining how China's position of exerting influence is not only no big deal and totally expected, it pales in comparison to the United States' influence operations which often become military excursions (something China rarely ever does).

What about the Great Firewall?

Yeah, that sucks. Again, single-party authoritarian control gone to extremes.

What about Human Rights Abuses? What about the Uyghur Genocide?

I don't like them. To the extent they are occurring (and I lean towards the belief that they are occurring), I condemn them.

China has anti-terrorism and anti-extremism policies that go too far. They end up oppressing and/or criminalizing cultures that aren't Chinese enough. But especially, China punishes dissent. Disagreement with the CPC is the high crime. It is the one-party rule that causes this problem. Anybody who speaks out against the CPC or goes against the state in any way is harshly punished. This happens to Uyghurs, to Falun Gong, to Tibetans, and to any religion that is seen as subversive.

Amnesty International and the UN OHCHR have documented issues around the Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region, Tibet, LGBT rights, death penalty, workers rights, and the Hong Kong special administrative region. I am not about to pretend I know better than they do, but to some extent they go too far.

Amnesty International says this about the USA: Discrimination and violence against LGBTI people were widespread and anti-LGBTI legislation increased. Bills were introduced to address reparations regarding slavery and its legacies. Multiple states implemented total bans on abortion or severely limited access to it. Gender-based violence disproportionately affected Indigenous women. Access to the USA for asylum seekers and migrants was still fraught with obstacles, but some nationalities continued to enjoy Temporary Protected Status. Moves were made to restrict the freedom to protest in a number of states. Black people were disproportionately affected by the use of lethal force by police. No progress was made in the abolition of the death penalty, apart from in Washington. Arbitrary and indefinite detention in the US naval base Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, continued. Despite extensive gun violence, no further firearm reform policies were considered, but President Biden did announce the creation of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. The USA continued to use lethal force in countries around the world. Black people, other racialized groups and low-income people bore the brunt of the health impacts of the petrochemical industry, and the use of fossil fuels continued unabated.

Amnesty international didn't even point out that the US government quashes free speech via pressure on social media corporations (because Amnesty International is far too lefty).

So who is worse, China or the US? I'm not going to make that judgement call, but suffice it to say that in my mind, China is not obviously worse.

China violates freedom of expression, association, and assembly of all people. This is bad, and a consequence mainly of one-party rule (again, what I think is the root cause of most of their ills). They arrest, detain, potentially kill anybody who publicly disagrees openly with their government. Clearly this is an excess of authoritarianism, a cancer that is very advanced in China.

As to organ harvesting of Uyghur Muslims, I think this is a myth.

China has dealt harshly with Muslim extremism. They don't offer freedom of religion to ISIS. And Amnesty International complains about that. But practically speaking you probably shouldn't respect the extremist religion of people who want to force everybody into a global caliphate through threat of violence. As you are well aware, some extremist Muslims (<1% of Islam) believe in using violence to bring about a global caliphate. Those extremists pop up in every country and are usually dealt with harshly. China has had to deal with them too.

I have watched two different Western YouTubers travel to Xinjiang province trying to find the oppressed Uyghurs and interview them. They can't find them. What they find instead are Uyghur Muslims doing their prayers five times a day at the local mosque. And also stories that the CPC pitched in some money to help them renovate the mosque. Maybe they were afraid it was a CPC trap and so they wouldn't speak freely. Amnesty International and the UN OHCHR say more than a million are "arbitrarily detained" and I'm not going to argue otherwise. But I'd be more convinced if there were a stream of pictures and news like there is out of Gaza, and it is suspicious that there isn't.

Conclusion

China is more like a Western nation that Westerners realize. Economically, militarily, socially. It still has a very serious obstacle to overcome: one-party rule. I don't think the one-party is going to voluntarily give up power. So most probably at some point in the future there will be a revolution. But in my opinion it won't happen anytime soon. For the most part Chinese people are living high on the hog, getting rich, enjoying the good life, in positive spirits about life, and are getting along with their government quite well at present.

@ 5627e59c:d484729e

Here's to the ones who can\ Feel their cause\ Surrender\ Change their ways\ But keep their fire\ And never give up

We will transform this world\ Restructuring\ One belief at a time

@ 5627e59c:d484729e

Hello Bumble\ You busy bee

You're going way\ Too fast for me

Going here and there\ You search for gold

Yet tumble straight\ Into what's old

Now I'm not here\ To make a gain

Nor to fix\ What's in disdain

Instead I'm just\ A humble bee

Who wants to get\ To know thee

@ 5627e59c:d484729e

We only see\ What we are

What we are not\ We cannot see

This is how we know\ Reality is happening within\ Our own being

And experience is a consequence\ Of who we believe to be

As long as we deny\ And don't want to see

All the ways\ We think to be

Reality will seem\ Outside of our grasp

And separate\ From our experience of life

Such is our power

Yet such power\ Could only be

Of that which holds\ The entirety

@ 5627e59c:d484729e

Muziek\ Jij harmonieus geluid

Een gevoel zo uniek\ Op geen andere manier geuit

Ik ben zo dankbaar voor de vrijheid die jij me schenkt\ Om gewoon even te zijn\ In dit dierbare moment

@ 5627e59c:d484729e

Gelukkig zijn\ Is de waarde van mijn leven

Gewoon dankbaar te bestaan\ Geen mens heeft me ooit zo'n mooi cadeau gegeven

Dankbaar voor mijn sprankelen\ Mijn doen en voor mijn streven

Maar ook dat ik mag wankelen\ Mag vallen en mag beven

Want wat er ook gebeurt\ Het duurt steeds maar voor even

De wijsheid van mijn hart\ Voor alles is een reden

Het leven brengt mij deugd\ En soms brengt het me pijn

Maar nooit neemt het die vreugd\ De toelating om hier te zijn

De kans om iets te leren\ Te zien en om te groeien

Geeft mij kracht te accepteren\ Te omarmen en te bloeien

@ 6e468422:15deee93

What I always liked about twitter was that it was never one place. You had all these sub-communities, yes, but the open nature of it allowed for wild interactions and the breaking of bubbles.

It was public square, dive bar, office water cooler, nightclub, and philosophy department all rolled into one. And you never knew who you were dealing with, and when those various "places" would interact.

My approach to twitter was always to never take things too seriously, and that's my approach for #nostr still. There is wisdom to "it's just a tweet bro" and I still believe that the secret to life is to send it, whether it be note, tweet, or in general.

Because you never know who you're dealing with, a great strategy is to assume that the other person is fourteen, or drunk, or really high, or senile, or all of the above. You wouldn't be mad if a stoned 14yr old would say something stupid to your face, so why be mad online?

I hope that we can rebuild what twitter used to be and what it was supposed to be, and transcend it. I believe that we're halfway there already. Given enough time and attention, I'm confident that we'll manage to build what so many on #nostr dream and hope for.

Zaps are already transcendent in that sense. As are cryptographic identities. Putting the user in control (as opposed to platforms) will be key to all of it, and I'm beyond excited to what is coming down the line with DVMs and even more exotic things.

The responsibility is on us to build it right, and to educate users as well as encourage them to take matters in their own hands. Nothing in life is free, not even freedom. We'll have to fight for it, and we'll have to take responsibility for ourselves and our actions.

Much needs to be built, much education needs to be done, much rektucation still needs to happen. But I remain optimistic, because the building blocks are there. Bitcoin works. Lightning works. Nostr works. Not perfectly, but it works.

I can't wait to see where we'll be in 5 years from now. It's wild to see where we are already. This is happening, and it's all happening because of you guys: focusing on the good that freedom tech can bring, pouring your time, money, effort, and attention into it.

I'm very grateful for that and to be part of it all. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. I've said it before and I'll say it again: the future is bright, we just have a lot of building to do.

---

The above is a copy/paste of this thread:

nostr:note1pz9hq70xydrmu4s3slyhq67s7s2j6v7jtycr5tvzlgrncekxr9gsy08a34

Re-posting it here as long-form because threads on nostr still kinda suck, unfortunately.

nostr:note1n9ykwwjg0grdwymtclqfm9g8tvn86jkmydgaswjh3msd4s9xavhqgr6w66

If you want to help fund and/or build the future I'm alluding to, check out nostr:npub10pensatlcfwktnvjjw2dtem38n6rvw8g6fv73h84cuacxn4c28eqyfn34f & nostr:npub1s0veng2gvfwr62acrxhnqexq76sj6ldg3a5t935jy8e6w3shr5vsnwrmq5

@ 5627e59c:d484729e

I am here too\ In the same space like you

In the same situation I'm in\ It's a matter of positioning

I cannot leave this place I'm in\ It was brought about\ By what's been happening

So please don't look at me\ For what I can or cannot do for you\ But look at what is happening for me\ And what is happening for you

Let's communicate\ Not orchestrate

Because there's something I wish to do\ And there's a place I wish to go to

And I'm sure that there is too\ In your heart a fire\ Known by only you

So let us listen, look and see\ For what's true for you\ And what's true for me

That we may act upon what's here\ In order for us both to take a step\ In the direction we wish to steer

@ 5627e59c:d484729e

Kan jij zien, er is geen hemel\ Probeer het zelf, dan lukt het wel\ Geen hel staat ons te wachten\ Enkel sterren hangen ons boven het hoofd\ Kan jij zien, iedereen leeft voor dit moment

Kan jij zien, er zijn geen landen\ Het is niet moeilijk gewoon land te zien\ Niets om voor te moorden of te sterven\ Ook geloof wordt niet gezien\ Kan jij zien, het leven wordt geleefd door iedereen in vrede

Misschien zeg je, ik kijk niet naar jouw wereld\ Maar ik deel dit zicht met velen\ Moge ook jij zoals ons zien\ Wij kijken in de wereld en zien gewoon onszelf

Kan jij zien, er is geen bezit\ Ik vraag me af of jij dit kan\ Geen hebben of een nood\ In een samen-leving van mensen\ Kan jij zien, wij delen de wereld met elkaar

Misschien zeg je, ik kijk niet naar jouw wereld\ Maar ik deel dit zicht met velen\ Moge ook jij zoals ons zien\ Wij kijken in de wereld en zien gewoon onszelf

@ 32e18276:5c68e245

Company Overview:

Damus is the pioneering iOS nostr client. Through its platform, Damus empowers billions on iOS with the tools for free speech and free speech money. If you're driven to bring freedom technology to the masses and ignite change, we invite you to join our mission.

Job Description

1. Collaborate on iOS Damus in tandem with our core developer, Will Casarin, and the broader Damus team.
2. Implement our vision as laid out in our product roadmap: https://github.com/orgs/damus-io/projects/3/views/1.
3. Embrace the fun and critical mission of undermining totalitarian regimes across the globe.

Job Requirements

1. A genuine passion for freedom technology.
2. At least one year of collaborative development experience.
3. Experience building SwiftUI iOS apps.
4. Passionate about design and user experience.
5. Eager to work in close coordination with Damus lead developer, Will, and a dedicated team spanning development, design, and product.
6. Commitment to a full-time role, although we remain open to discussing alternative arrangements.

Bonus Qualifications

1. Experience with Nostr development.
2. Experience with C.
3. Previous work in free and open source projects.
4. A publicly shareable portfolio.

Job Structure

1. A one-month paid probationary period to ensure a mutual fit.
2. Upon successful completion of the trial, the opportunity for a six (6) month contractual engagement.
3. The potential for contract renewal, contingent on funding.

Application Process:
Interested candidates should forward a motivational statement alongside their CV/portfolio to vanessa@damus.io.

@ 5627e59c:d484729e

In het hart van een gepensioneerde operazangeres ontstond een stemmetje. Het stemmetje klonk verrast. "He," ging het hart. "Ik heb een stemmetje gekregen! Hoe kan dit? Kan iemand me horen? Zouden mijn gedachten me kunnen horen?" vroeg het stemmetje, niet wetend aan wie. Want de gedachten hoorden het niet. Zij waren zo druk bezig met het verleden en hadden een grote angst dit te verliezen. "Weet je nog?" gingen de gedachten. "Voor duizenden mensen heb ik gezongen! Avond na avond! Tienduizenden mensen hebben me toegejuicht! Wat waren ze onder de indruk! Luister! Ik kan het nog steeds!" "He," ging het hart. "Hoor je me dan niet? Het ging toch helemaal niet om dat gejuich. Weet je dan niet meer hoe ik me volledig bloot gaf aan die mensen. Mijn diepste en meest persoonlijke verhalen waren te horen in mijn liederen. Daar draaide het toch om? De mensen waren niet enkel onder de indruk. Hun harten hebben mijn verhalen gevoeld en konden zo kennis geven aan hun gedachten. Is dat niet wat echt telde?" Maar de gedachten waren volop aan het zingen voor de ene persoon die ze konden vinden die wou luisteren. "He," ging het hart. "Ook in dit moment zijn mijn liederen te horen door vele gedachten en te voelen door vele harten over de hele wereld. Heb ik dan geen rust verdiend? Kan ik niet even genieten van de rust die in dit moment te vinden is, maar jullie van me afnemen?" Maar de gedachten waren nog steeds volop aan het zingen.

@ 5627e59c:d484729e

I am the space\ In which your experience takes place

You could never meet me\ For I hold no identity

The only way to really see me\ Is to be me

@ 5627e59c:d484729e

Love, I thank you for your warmth\ Ever lifting

You keep me charmed\ Ever drifting

May I be me\ And you be you

In a perfect harmony\ Embracing all life makes us grow through

@ 5627e59c:d484729e

Jaren tellen\ Hoeft voor mij niet

Verhalen vertellen\ Over geluk en verdriet

Een warme haven\ Veilig en fijn

Dromen voorgedragen\ Onschuldig en rein

Momenten ervaard, geleerd\ En geïntegreerd

Ideeën, geloven en gevoelens\ Gevormd en gecreëerd

Zonder eind of echt begin\ Vallen, groeien, leren, stoeien

Een gezin in een gezin met een gezin erin\ Gezind gericht blijft liefde vloeien

@ 5627e59c:d484729e

The world around me\ Is assumed to be

Through sensory observations\ This appears to me

What I experience\ Is for me

But the ultimate experience\ Is for me\ To be

@ 5627e59c:d484729e

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, my dearest human family\ Happy New Year, my dearest animal family

Dear children of the Earth\ I wish you all a magical year

May it be utterly new\ Ever-changing\ New now

And may your journey say\ Life is amazing! I'm in a maze\ Life is awesome! Quite some awe\ Life is magical! True alchemy

I am human\ Black woman, I love you so\ Life-giver of my origin, the negro [nigiro]

I am\ Thus physical and non-physical meet

Life is to be\ As the elements are and compete\ And as they collide with one another\ One becomes aware of an other\ And so life sets on a journey\ To discover the other

Animal life is set to explore\ Allowing all experience the other has in store\ Life left to experience without a voice\ Until it discovers there is an 'I'\ And it has a choice

Human life is to be inside a human body\ Thus fusion between intellect and feeling\ Gets to express its perspective\ Inside infinity

Truly, a magical gift\ My Holy Trinity

And so from human life flow many voices\ As it navigates through infinite choices

Thus I say

Life is magic\ A gift for all that is here\ Perceived by too many as tragic\ Take care of your vision, I tell you, my dear [tell-a-vision]

Life is magic\ And words are spells\ Placing your aim beyond your reach\ It takes away efficiency from your speech

Life is magic\ Above all else\ Even when it has me feeling blue\ Seemingly left without a clue

Still I say

Perfection\ You are everything\ And I am of you

The source, the mirror\ And the reflection

@ 8b0a2bea:857d369f

Hey friends,

We're sharing this month's Geyser project launches on Stacker News! Feel free to subscribe to our email newsletter here to get these monthly updates in your mailbox!

This month’s list of Tools, Community, and Causes is stacked. From Uganda to Vietnam to El Salvador, it’s clear that Bitcoin is becoming a global movement! Bullish.

Let's dive in!👇

---

📚 Bitcoin Education - Laos Bitcoin Education 🇱🇦 🔥$583. Laos is battling 200% post-COVID inflation — help spread Bitcoin knowledge as a lifeline. - Abe 3 🇺🇸🔥 $324: Now entering its 4th year of free Bitcoin classes for the community. - NewB 🇰🇪🔥 $214: Open-source Bitcoin resources for Kenyan beginners. - Beyond Adversity: BTC Podcast: Stories of hope and financial freedom from underserved communities.

🌍 Community & Causes - Bitcoin for God 🇺🇸🔥 $1,194: Matching Bitcoin grants to help Christians orange-pill their ministries. - Ciclista Lima FC🇵🇪🔥$1,213: Scholarships for young footballers in Peru — future Bitcoin team. - Bitcoin-Funded Orphanage in Uganda 🇺🇬🔥$217: Safe, permanent home for vulnerable children. - Sviublokade FDU 🇷🇸🔥$134: Helping Serbian university staff punished for standing with students. - Football Support in El Salvador 🇸🇻🔥 $63: Backing a youth football club at La Cruz coffee farm. - Street Vendor Accepts Bitcoin 🇧🇴 Empowering street workers in Bolivia with BTC. - Razgibavanje: Support grassroots content in the Balkans. - Hope With Bitcoin – Saigon Flea Market 2025 🔥 $310: Grassroots Bitcoin adoption through events in Vietnam.

🛠️ Tools & Tech - WeSatoshis 🇦🇷🔥 $1,489: KYC-free, mobile-free Bitcoin card for everyday spending. - Hive Honey 🇺🇸🔥 $297: Nostr + Lightning video conferencing. - MedSchlr 🔥 $210: Decentralized client bringing medical knowledge to Nostr. - Bitcoin Travel 🇸🇻🔥$231: Book flights, hotels — Bitcoin only. - Stacksworth 🇨🇦🔥 $109: Bitcoin stat displays for your desk or wall. - Plunda 🇬🇧🔥 $217: Trade digital collectibles, redeem them physically. - BTC Wallpaper 🇩🇰🔥 Limited-edition, high-res Bitcoin backgrounds. - Swapido 🇲🇽🔥: Send Bitcoin, pay bank accounts in Mexico instantly. - Reserve BTC🇹🇭🔥: Trustless wallet balance proof protocol.

🎭 Culture - Barnoff Freedom Stage 🇬🇧🔥 $362: Free expression meets sound system culture. - 7 Wonders 🇧🇷🔥 $63: Bitcoin’s first Guinness World Record attempt.

https://stacker.news/items/1003921

@ 5627e59c:d484729e

De laatste zonnestralen van de dag streken over de eeuwige golven en weerkaatsten als lichtpuntjes in de ogen van schipper Joris terwijl hij nog een slok nam van zijn glazen fles die de vorm had van het hoofd van een oude monnik.

Gekregen van een oude vrouw uit de bergen van de Himalaya, zorgde de rum genaamd 'Old Monk' voor een verwarmend gezelschap op deze eenzame kerstnacht.

Joris had met zijn boot naar India gevaren nadat zijn vrouw hem had verlaten en hij een Indiër had ontmoet die had gezegd: "Waar ik vandaan kom, zijn vrouwen vrij en worden ze niet gezien als enkel en alleen de mooie lichamen die zij bezitten of als eeuwig bezit van een gezin."

Verward en ongelovig had Joris gekeken naar de wereld en besefte dat vrouwen inderdaad slechts gezien werden als hun fysieke schoonheid, genegeerd werden voor hun koesterende gevoeligheid en bekritiseerd werden door hun spontane intensheid en had hierop voor twee jaar lang gezocht in India naar deze vrije vrouwen met als enig resultaat een oude vrouw te ontmoeten die alleen in de bergen woonde en dagelijks haar wijsheid deelde met ieder luisterend oor.

Daar ging het doorzichtig monnikshoofd en verliet met een grote gebogen vlucht de hand van schipper Joris toen plots met groot kabaal de boot abrupt tot stilstand kwam en Joris hals over kop naar de andere kant van het dek geslingerd werd.

Het monnikshoofd verdween in het donker terwijl Joris zijn lichaam probeerde te lokaliseren en met zijn ogen wijd open zijn hersenen zo veel mogelijk informatie probeerde door te spelen.

Tevergeefs, want zijn enorme verschot werd gevolgd door een enkel groeiende verbazing, ongeloof en desoriëntatie toen de boot begon te kantelen.

De bundel licht, afkomstig van de mast van de boot, zwierde doorheen het donker en kwam te schijnen op een gigantische rots in het midden van de zee die werd bezeten door een oogverblindende glinstergroene schijn.

Uit het donker kwam het monnikshoofd, dat nog steeds in volle vlucht was, in het vizier van de lichtbundel en plaatste zich exact tussen de glinstergroene verschijning en Joris waarbij Joris doorheen het monnikshoofd gezegend werd met het zicht op een pracht van een zeemeermin die uitnodigend poseerde op de rots.

Met een luide plons viel Joris achterover in het water toen hij zich realiseerde dat vrouwen zichzelf ook lieten vangen door lust en hun uiterlijke opmaakcompetities en met een dankbare glimlach zonk hij naar de bodem van de zee en was opnieuw geboren.

@ 5627e59c:d484729e

Zonneschijn\ Stralen, lachen, zo fijn\ Moge de wereld dankbaar zijn

De vrouw, mijn gevoeligheid\ Bron van creativiteit

Genietend niets doen in het gras\ Met wat brood en wat wijn in het glas

@ 5627e59c:d484729e

Spontaniteit\ Creativiteit

Iets visueel of gewoon geluid\ Het moet eruit

Ik doe mezelf cadeau aan jou\ Omdat ik van het leven hou

@ 5627e59c:d484729e

Veroorzaakt door de wereld rond mij\ Vormen de wereld in mij

Verwaarloosd door de wereld rond mij\ Overgelaten aan mij

Een groene brug komt uit mij\ Verbindt mij met wij\ En laat ons samen vrij

@ 5627e59c:d484729e

In een zee van mogelijkheden\ Kunnen we best veel tijd aan dromen besteden

Dromen is een universele taal\ Het wordt gedaan door ons allemaal

Het is het woord\ Dat deze gelijkheid de grond in boort

@ 5627e59c:d484729e

Machtig water\ Door velen bemind

Element van beweging\ Vormgever aan land\ Bondgenoot van wind

Voorkomer van comfort\ Toelater van rust

Machtig water\ Waar ik ook ga\ Ik weet dat jij de grond onder mijn voeten kust

@ cae03c48:2a7d6671

Bitcoin Magazine

Evertz Pharma Becomes First German Company With Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, Adds 100 BTC to Treasury 

Evertz Pharma GmbH, a company focusing on premium natural cosmetics, has become Germany’s first company to adopt a strategic Bitcoin reserve model by purchasing an additional 100 BTC in May 2025—valued at approximately €10 million (~$10.8 million USD), according to a press release. 

The adoption marks a continued expansion of the company’s BTC treasury, which began in December 2020 with an initial €2 million Bitcoin purchase. Since then, Evertz Pharma has regularly allocated corporate profits toward Bitcoin, building a digital reserve aimed at long term stability. 

“Our mission is to promote natural beauty on a scientific foundation,” said Dominik Evertz, Managing Director of Evertz Pharma GmbH. “The same future-focused mindset shapes our financial strategy: Bitcoin, as a scarce and globally tradable asset, complements our reserves and strengthens the long-term resilience of our company.”

The company’s latest acquisition of 100 BTC distinguishes it from industry peers and traditional treasury strategies. Tobias Evertz, Group CFO stated, “We will continue to invest corporate profits in Bitcoin and are constantly evaluating additional ways to increase our holdings sustainably.” 

Unlike publicly traded Bitcoin adopters such as Strategy or Metaplanet, Evertz Pharma operates as a privately held German enterprise. 

“Bitcoin is not just an investment for us but a strategic asset that perfectly complements our vision of stability and future resilience. At the same time, we are aligning our financial strategy with the needs of a modern, sustainably operating company,” added Dominik Evertz. 

Everetz explains that Bitcoin is a store of value, a hedge against inflation, and a means to diversify reserves. It allows Evertz Pharma to preserve capital without the storage burdens that come with traditional assets like gold. The company’s treasury strategy shows their commitment to financial sustainability. 

This post Evertz Pharma Becomes First German Company With Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, Adds 100 BTC to Treasury  first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Jenna Montgomery.

@ 0403c86a:66d3a378

The Club World Cup 2025 is set to be a spectacular global football event, debuting in the USA from June 14 to July 13, 2025. This new format brings together 32 top club teams from all six FIFA confederations, showcasing the best of world club football in a month-long tournament.

---

🏆 Tournament Basics

• Dates: June 14 – July 13, 2025
• Host: United States of America
• Number of Teams: 32 clubs
• Confederations Represented: AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), Concacaf (North & Central America), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (Oceania), UEFA (Europe)
• Format:
• Group Stage: 8 groups of 4 teams, single round-robin
• Top 2 teams per group advance to Round of 16 knockout
• Single-match knockout from Round of 16 to Final
• No third-place playoff

---

🏟️ Venues Across the USA

The tournament will be played in 12 stadiums across major US cities:

• MetLife Stadium – New York/New Jersey (Final venue)
• Hard Rock Stadium – Miami, FL (Opening match venue)
• Mercedes-Benz Stadium – Atlanta, GA
• TQL Stadium – Cincinnati, OH
• Bank of America Stadium – Charlotte, NC
• Rose Bowl Stadium – Los Angeles, CA
• GEODIS Park – Nashville, TN
• Camping World Stadium – Orlando, FL
• Inter&Co Stadium – Orlando, FL
• Lincoln Financial Field – Philadelphia, PA
• Lumen Field – Seattle, WA
• Audi Field – Washington, D.C.

---

👥 Group stage

Group A

SE Palmeiras (BRA) FC Porto (POR) Al Ahly FC (EGY) Inter Miami CF (USA)

Group B

Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) Atlético de Madrid (ESP) Botafogo (BRA) Seattle Sounders FC (USA)

Group C

FC Bayern München (GER) Auckland City FC (NZL) CA Boca Juniors (ARG) SL Benfica (POR)

Group D

CR Flamengo (BRA) Espérance Sportive de Tunis (TUN) Chelsea FC (ENG) LA Galaxy (USA)

Group E

CA River Plate (ARG) Urawa Red Diamonds (JPN) CF Monterrey (MEX) FC Internazionale Milano (ITA)

Group F

Fluminense FC (BRA) Borussia Dortmund (GER) Ulsan HD (KOR) Mamelodi Sundowns FC (RSA)

Group G

Manchester City (ENG) Wydad AC (MAR) Al Ain FC (UAE) Juventus FC (ITA)

Group H

Real Madrid C. F. (ESP) Al Hilal (KSA) CF Pachuca (MEX) FC Salzburg (AUT)

---

⚽ Key Highlights

🏆✨ Paris Saint-Germain leads the power rankings as the favorites, fresh off a treble-winning season! Can they maintain their dominance against the world's best? #PSG

---

⚡️🔥 Watch out for Real Madrid! After a trophy-less season, they’re eager to prove their worth under new manager Xabi Alonso. Will they reclaim their glory? #RealMadrid

---

💪🌟 Manchester City is back in the mix! Despite a rocky season, they showed resilience in the final weeks. Can Pep Guardiola's squad rise to the occasion? #ManCity

---

💰🏅 With a staggering $1 billion prize pool, the stakes are high! Teams will battle not just for glory, but for a significant financial reward. Who will take home the biggest share? #PrizeMoney

---

🌟⚽️ Keep an eye on the underdogs! Teams from the Americas, Africa and Asia ready to challenge the European giants. Who could pull off a surprise upset? #Underdogs

---

🏅 Trophy & Official Match Ball

• The official Club World Cup Trophy was unveiled in November 2024, designed in collaboration with Tiffany & Co.
• The official match ball is supplied by adidas, featuring a patriotic design with red, white, and blue jagged patterns inspired by the US flag.

---

🎟️ Tickets & Viewing

• Ticket sales began on December 19, 2024, with prices starting at USD 30 for group-stage matches.
• Tickets available via FIFA on a first-come, first-served basis.
• Broadcast: DAZN is the exclusive global broadcaster, streaming all 63 matches live worldwide.

---

💸 Club World Cup Winner ODDS

🥇 Real Madrid @ 5.00

🥈 Paris Saint-Germain @ 6.00 🥈 Manchester City @ 6.00

🥉 Bayern Munchen @ 8.00

🐕 Chelsea FC @ 11.00

🐩 Atletico Madrid @ 15.00 🐩 Inter Milano @ 15.00

🐶 Borussia Dortmund @ 25.00 🐶 Juventus @ 25.00

🌭 CR Flamengo @ 35.00 🌭 SE Palmeiras @ 35.00

🦴 CA River Plate @ 40.00 🦴 SL Benfica @ 40.00 🦴 Boca Juniors @ 40.00 🦴 FC Porto @ 40.00

🦓 Botafogo FR @ 55.00 🦓 Fluminense FC @ 55.00

🤏 Inter Miami CF @ 70.00 🤏 AL Hilal Riyadh @ 70.00

💫 FC Salzburg @ 85.00 💫 Los Angeles FC @ 85.00

💦 Seattle Sounders @ 100.0

💧 Al Ahly Cairo @ 125.0

💨 CF Pachuca @ 150.0

🌬️ Ulsan HD FC @ 200.0 🌬️ Al Ain FC @ 200.0

🐾 Urawa Red Diamonds @ 250.0 🐾 CF Monterrey @ 250.0

🕳️ Wac Casablanca @ 500.0 🕳️ Mamelodi Sundowns @ 500.0 🕳️ Esperance Sportive de Tunis @ 500.0

🙏 Auckland City FC @ 999.0

Put Your ₿itcoin Where Your Heart Is: Predyx the 🏆

@ 7f6db517:a4931eda

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

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

— ODELL (@ODELL) September 16, 2018

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

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

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

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

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

---

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

@ eb0157af:77ab6c55

Over 40 experts from the Bitcoin technical community sign a petition for the adoption of CTV and CSFS opcodes within six months.

A portion of the Bitcoin developer community appears to have reached consensus regarding the next protocol upgrade. An open letter signed by over 40 experts requests the priority implementation of two opcodes: OP_CHECKTEMPLATEVERIFY (CTV, BIP-119) and OP_CHECKSIGFROMSTACK (CSFS, BIP-348).

The developers believe that activating CTV and CSFS constitutes the most appropriate next step for Bitcoin’s evolution. The letter emphasizes how, despite the existence of various proposals to improve the protocol, CTV and CSFS stand out for being extensively reviewed, for their implementation simplicity, and for proving to be both secure and widely requested by the community.

CTV: five years of development and refinement

OP_CHECKTEMPLATEVERIFY was first formalized in BIP-119 over five years ago. Despite numerous attempts at refinement or replacement, it remains the preferred method for enforcing pre-generated transaction sequences using consensus, the developers state.

According to the letter’s signatories, implementing CTV on Bitcoin would unlock functionality for:

• scaling solutions;
• secure vault systems;
• network congestion control;
• non-custodial mining;
• Discreet Log Contracts (DLC).

CSFS: eight years of proven experience

The developers declare that OP_CHECKSIGFROMSTACK is a primitive opcode, implemented on the open source Blockstream Elements platform for at least eight years. It does not represent a significant computational burden compared to Bitcoin’s most used opcode, OP_CHECKSIG, the document’s signatories state.

When combined with CTV, CSFS enables LN-symmetry, an improvement for Lightning Network. Additionally, it unlocks a variety of other use cases.

The letter’s signatories ask Bitcoin Core contributors to prioritize the review and integration of CTV and CSFS within the next six months. This timeline is considered appropriate to allow for rigorous final review and activation planning.

The letter was signed by over 40 figures from the Bitcoin community, including developers such as Andrew Poelstra, Calle, Christian Decker, and Robin Linus, along with representatives from industry companies such as Chun Wang from f2pool, representatives from Zeus, Luxor Mining, Mara Pool, and Cake Wallet.

The post Bitcoin developers call for implementation of CTV and CSFS: letter to the community appeared first on Atlas21.

@ cae03c48:2a7d6671

Bitcoin Magazine

The Trump’s American Bitcoin Merges with Gryphon, Reports 215 BTC on Balance Sheet Since Launch

American Bitcoin Corp (ABTC), a newly formed private Bitcoin mining company backed by Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., announced in a June 10 SEC filing that it has acquired 215 Bitcoin (BTC) since launching operations on April 1, 2025. The reserve is currently valued at approximately $23 million, showing their drive and commitment to Bitcoin. 

JUST IN: American Bitcoin Corp (private) reports to have 215 #bitcoin (per 31 May) since it's launch on April 1, 2025.

They will merge with Gryphon Digital $GRYP and become public under ticker $ABTC.

They mention "Bitcoin accumulation is not a side effect of ABTC’s business.… pic.twitter.com/wq1Uxr76Z2

— NLNico (@btcNLNico) June 10, 2025

“Bitcoin accumulation is not a side effect of ABTC’s business. It is the business,” the company stated in the filing.

Furthermore, ABTC has entered into a merger agreement with Gryphon Digital Mining ($GRYP), and the combined company is expected to begin public trading under the ticker $ABTC as early as Q3 2025. 

The company’s three-layer strategic plan—outlined in the SEC disclosure—details a focused approach:

Layer 1: Build the Engine

• ABTC’s foundation is built on “producing Bitcoin below-market cost through a capital efficient, infrastructure-light operating model.” The company owns and operates over 60,000 miners from Bitmain and MicroBt, running primarily on Hut 8-managed facilities.

Layer 2: Scale the Reserve

• ABTC had “accumulated approximately 215 Bitcoin in reserve since launching on April 1, 2025,” which it considers a long-term strategic asset. The firm states its goal is “to utilize public markets and strategic financing structures to access efficient capital and leverage that capital to increase its Bitcoin in reserve per share.”

Layer 3: Lead the Ecosystem 

• The company ultimately aims to use its operational scale and mining position to drive industry-wide adoption. “ABTC may pursue opportunities to support protocol development, enhance network infrastructure and contribute to Bitcoin’s resilience and adoption in ways that align with shareholder value creation.”

For mining rewards, ABTC uses Foundry and Luxor pools with sub-1% fees and relies on Coinbase Custody for secure cold storage, featuring multi-factor authentication and strict withdrawal protocols. 

With operations across Niagara Falls, NY; Medicine Hat, AB; and Orla, TX, ABTC is leveraging strategic partnerships—primarily with Hut 8—to scale its Bitcoin holdings while influencing the broader crypto mining ecosystem.

This post The Trump’s American Bitcoin Merges with Gryphon, Reports 215 BTC on Balance Sheet Since Launch first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Jenna Montgomery.

@ cae03c48:2a7d6671

Bitcoin Magazine

Michael Saylor: The Bear Market Is Not Coming Back And Bitcoin Is Going To $1 Million

Today, the Executive Chairman and CEO of Strategy Michael Saylor commented on the company’s aggressive Bitcoin-based strategy in a recent interview at Bloomberg, emphasizing that Bitcoin is not going to zero, it is going to $1 million.

“I think we’re in a digital gold rush and you’ve got ten years to acquire all your bitcoin before there’s no bitcoin left for you,” Saylor said. “The competition is a virtuous competition.” 

JUST IN: Michael Saylor said the bear market is not coming back and Bitcoin is going to $1 million

pic.twitter.com/J4sn80LMzs

— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) June 10, 2025

Saylor also said that Bitcoin is not going to have bear markets anymore and the price is going to $1 million per coin.

“Winter is not coming back,” commented Sayor. “We are past that phase. If Bitcoin is not going to zero, it is going to $1 million. The President of the United States is determined. He supports Bitcoin, the cabinet supports Bitcoin, Scott Bessent supports Bitcoin, Paul Atkins is shown himself to be an enthusiastic believer of Bitcoin and digital assets… Bitcoin has gotten through its riskiest period.”

He also pointed out that international firms are rapidly entering the space.

“Metaplanet is the hottest company in Japan right now, they went from $10 million to a $1 billion market cap to a $5 billion market cap. They’re going to raise billions of dollars. They’re going to pull the liquidity out of the Japanese market. So they’ll be raising capital in Tokyo and the Tokyo Stock Exchange… It’s not competitive. It’s cooperative.”

Strategy’s approach is far from traditional. The company is not just buying and holding Bitcoin; it is building financial instruments around it, which Saylor believes sets them apart.

“Our company has a very particular business model,” he stated. “It’s to issue Bitcoin-backed credit instruments like Bitcoin-backed bonds and especially Bitcoin-backed preferred stocks. We’re the only company in the world that’s ever been able to issue a preferred stock backed by Bitcoin. We’ve done three of them in the past five months.”

Rather than viewing Bitcoin treasury holdings or ETFs as competitors, Saylor explained that Strategy is targeting a different segment of the market entirely.

“We’re not competing against the Bitcoin treasury companies. We’re competing against ETFs like PFF that have portafolios of preferred stocks or corporate bond portfolios that are trading as ETFs in the public market, and the way we compete is we offer 400 basis points more yield on an instrument that is much more heavily collateralized and more transparent… That’s $100 trillion or more of capital in those markets,” explained Saylor.

He emphasized that Strategy’s Bitcoin balance sheet gives it a unique edge, giving the company the ability to design unique financial products.

“Our advantage is that we’re 100% Bitcoin… It’s impossible to issue Bitcoin-backed convertible preferred and Bitcoin-backed fixed preferred unless you’re willing to make 100% of your balance sheet Bitcoin.”

“I’m not really worried about competition from JPMorgan or Berkshire Hathaway,” concluded Saylor. “I would love for them to enter the Bitcoin space, buy up a bunch of Bitcoin. When they do it, they’ll be paying $1,000,000 a Bitcoin. The price will go to the moon.”

This post Michael Saylor: The Bear Market Is Not Coming Back And Bitcoin Is Going To $1 Million first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Oscar Zarraga Perez.

@ 2b998b04:86727e47

🌋 Ka ʻImi i ka Pono: Seeking What’s Right

A 7-Day Series on Sovereignty, Bitcoin, and the Soul of the Islands

> "Man is not free unless he wills to be free."\ > — Johann Gottlieb Fichte

Hawai‘i understands sovereignty. It always has.\ But it was taken — first with pen and politics, then with force and fiat.

Bitcoin offers something different:\ A way to reclaim sovereignty without violence.\ A tool for self-rule, not state rule.\ A system built not on empire, but on truth and time.

This week, I’ll be posting a 7-part series exploring this tension:\ Between the Hawai‘i that was, the system that is, and the future that might be — if we choose to build on bedrock instead of paper.

I don’t know if there’s a traditional Hawaiian word for a 7-day week — maybe there doesn’t need to be.\ Time moves differently on these islands.\ But for the next 7 days, I’ll mark each reflection as a kind of modern lā hoʻomanaʻo — a day of remembering, reckoning, and restoring.

This is personal. It’s philosophical. It’s also unfinished.

But that’s what sovereignty looks like:\ Not something given — something reclaimed.

Stay tuned. Stay akamai.\ 🟧\ — Andrew G. Stanton (aka akamaister)

@ 79be667e:16f81798

The world around me\ Is assumed to be

Through sensory observations\ This appears to me

What I experience\ Is for me

But the ultimate experience\ Is for me\ To be

@ 79be667e:16f81798

I am here too\ In the same space like you

In the same situation I'm in\ It's a matter of positioning

I cannot leave this place I'm in\ It was brought about\ By what's been happening

So please don't look at me\ For what I can or cannot do for you\ But look at what is happening for me\ And what is happening for you

Let's communicate\ Not orchestrate

Because there's something I wish to do\ And there's a place I wish to go to

And I'm sure that there is too\ In your heart a fire\ Known by only you

So let us listen, look and see\ For what's true for you\ And what's true for me

That we may act upon what's here\ In order for us both to take a step\ In the direction we wish to steer

@ 79be667e:16f81798

Zonneschijn\ Stralen, lachen, zo fijn\ Moge de wereld dankbaar zijn

De vrouw, mijn gevoeligheid\ Bron van creativiteit

Genietend niets doen in het gras\ Met wat brood en wat wijn in het glas

@ 79be667e:16f81798

Spontaniteit\ Creativiteit

Iets visueel of gewoon geluid\ Het moet eruit

Ik doe mezelf cadeau aan jou\ Omdat ik van het leven hou

@ 79be667e:16f81798

Kan jij zien, er is geen hemel\ Probeer het zelf, dan lukt het wel\ Geen hel staat ons te wachten\ Enkel sterren hangen ons boven het hoofd\ Kan jij zien, iedereen leeft voor dit moment

Kan jij zien, er zijn geen landen\ Het is niet moeilijk gewoon land te zien\ Niets om voor te moorden of te sterven\ Ook geloof wordt niet gezien\ Kan jij zien, het leven wordt geleefd door iedereen in vrede

Misschien zeg je, ik kijk niet naar jouw wereld\ Maar ik deel dit zicht met velen\ Moge ook jij zoals ons zien\ Wij kijken in de wereld en zien gewoon onszelf

Kan jij zien, er is geen bezit\ Ik vraag me af of jij dit kan\ Geen hebben of een nood\ In een samen-leving van mensen\ Kan jij zien, wij delen de wereld met elkaar

Misschien zeg je, ik kijk niet naar jouw wereld\ Maar ik deel dit zicht met velen\ Moge ook jij zoals ons zien\ Wij kijken in de wereld en zien gewoon onszelf

@ 79be667e:16f81798

Veroorzaakt door de wereld rond mij\ Vormen de wereld in mij

Verwaarloosd door de wereld rond mij\ Overgelaten aan mij

Een groene brug komt uit mij\ Verbindt mij met wij\ En laat ons samen vrij

@ 79be667e:16f81798

In het hart van een gepensioneerde operazangeres ontstond een stemmetje. Het stemmetje klonk verrast. "He," ging het hart. "Ik heb een stemmetje gekregen! Hoe kan dit? Kan iemand me horen? Zouden mijn gedachten me kunnen horen?" vroeg het stemmetje, niet wetend aan wie. Want de gedachten hoorden het niet. Zij waren zo druk bezig met het verleden en hadden een grote angst dit te verliezen. "Weet je nog?" gingen de gedachten. "Voor duizenden mensen heb ik gezongen! Avond na avond! Tienduizenden mensen hebben me toegejuicht! Wat waren ze onder de indruk! Luister! Ik kan het nog steeds!" "He," ging het hart. "Hoor je me dan niet? Het ging toch helemaal niet om dat gejuich. Weet je dan niet meer hoe ik me volledig bloot gaf aan die mensen. Mijn diepste en meest persoonlijke verhalen waren te horen in mijn liederen. Daar draaide het toch om? De mensen waren niet enkel onder de indruk. Hun harten hebben mijn verhalen gevoeld en konden zo kennis geven aan hun gedachten. Is dat niet wat echt telde?" Maar de gedachten waren volop aan het zingen voor de ene persoon die ze konden vinden die wou luisteren. "He," ging het hart. "Ook in dit moment zijn mijn liederen te horen door vele gedachten en te voelen door vele harten over de hele wereld. Heb ik dan geen rust verdiend? Kan ik niet even genieten van de rust die in dit moment te vinden is, maar jullie van me afnemen?" Maar de gedachten waren nog steeds volop aan het zingen.

@ 79be667e:16f81798

In een zee van mogelijkheden\ Kunnen we best veel tijd aan dromen besteden

Dromen is een universele taal\ Het wordt gedaan door ons allemaal

Het is het woord\ Dat deze gelijkheid de grond in boort

@ 79be667e:16f81798

De laatste zonnestralen van de dag streken over de eeuwige golven en weerkaatsten als lichtpuntjes in de ogen van schipper Joris terwijl hij nog een slok nam van zijn glazen fles die de vorm had van het hoofd van een oude monnik.

Gekregen van een oude vrouw uit de bergen van de Himalaya, zorgde de rum genaamd 'Old Monk' voor een verwarmend gezelschap op deze eenzame kerstnacht.

Joris had met zijn boot naar India gevaren nadat zijn vrouw hem had verlaten en hij een Indiër had ontmoet die had gezegd: "Waar ik vandaan kom, zijn vrouwen vrij en worden ze niet gezien als enkel en alleen de mooie lichamen die zij bezitten of als eeuwig bezit van een gezin."

Verward en ongelovig had Joris gekeken naar de wereld en besefte dat vrouwen inderdaad slechts gezien werden als hun fysieke schoonheid, genegeerd werden voor hun koesterende gevoeligheid en bekritiseerd werden door hun spontane intensheid en had hierop voor twee jaar lang gezocht in India naar deze vrije vrouwen met als enig resultaat een oude vrouw te ontmoeten die alleen in de bergen woonde en dagelijks haar wijsheid deelde met ieder luisterend oor.

Daar ging het doorzichtig monnikshoofd en verliet met een grote gebogen vlucht de hand van schipper Joris toen plots met groot kabaal de boot abrupt tot stilstand kwam en Joris hals over kop naar de andere kant van het dek geslingerd werd.

Het monnikshoofd verdween in het donker terwijl Joris zijn lichaam probeerde te lokaliseren en met zijn ogen wijd open zijn hersenen zo veel mogelijk informatie probeerde door te spelen.

Tevergeefs, want zijn enorme verschot werd gevolgd door een enkel groeiende verbazing, ongeloof en desoriëntatie toen de boot begon te kantelen.

De bundel licht, afkomstig van de mast van de boot, zwierde doorheen het donker en kwam te schijnen op een gigantische rots in het midden van de zee die werd bezeten door een oogverblindende glinstergroene schijn.

Uit het donker kwam het monnikshoofd, dat nog steeds in volle vlucht was, in het vizier van de lichtbundel en plaatste zich exact tussen de glinstergroene verschijning en Joris waarbij Joris doorheen het monnikshoofd gezegend werd met het zicht op een pracht van een zeemeermin die uitnodigend poseerde op de rots.

Met een luide plons viel Joris achterover in het water toen hij zich realiseerde dat vrouwen zichzelf ook lieten vangen door lust en hun uiterlijke opmaakcompetities en met een dankbare glimlach zonk hij naar de bodem van de zee en was opnieuw geboren.

@ 2b998b04:86727e47

For years, GitHub has been the default home for open source developers. It built its reputation on transparency, collaboration, and a commitment to giving coders a place to share and improve their work. But since Microsoft's acquisition in 2018, subtle changes have begun to surface—not all of them in service to the user.

GitHub is still free. Public repositories remain free. Even private repositories are free, to a point. GitHub Pages, Actions, and Codespaces offer incredibly powerful tools to build and deploy projects at no cost—until you hit certain usage limits or need team-scale features.

But the deeper question is this: what do you give up in exchange?

Microsoft Doesn’t Give Away Infrastructure for Free

GitHub, VSCode, Copilot, and Azure form a tightly integrated ecosystem. On the surface, it's all about productivity. But underneath, it's about data. Your code trains their models. Your habits inform their products. Your workflows deepen their lock-in.

Take Copilot, for example: it’s not just a coding assistant, it’s a data-harvesting engine built on top of a centralized platform. The more you use GitHub, the more Microsoft knows about what developers are building—and what they might buy.

Free Isn’t Sovereign

As developers, we have to ask hard questions:

• What happens when the free tier disappears or changes?

• Can I take my work elsewhere without breaking my stack?

• Who owns the insights derived from my development patterns?

These questions aren’t hypothetical. We’ve seen them play out with Heroku, Medium, Twitter, and countless others. Free turns into friction. Then friction becomes control.

Alternatives Are Emerging

Thankfully, there are options:

• Codeberg, Gitea, and SourceHut for Git hosting

• Cloudflare Pages for static sites + edge functions

• Railway, Fly.io, or even VPS hosting for dynamic apps

• Nostr and IPFS for decentralized publishing

These aren’t always drop-in replacements. But they represent a healthier direction—one aligned with freedom, transparency, and a proof-of-work ethos rather than a proof-of-data-capture business model.

My Move Away from GitHub (Sort Of)

I’m not deleting my GitHub account. It’s still the best way to reach other devs. But for key projects—especially those that touch on identity, sovereignty, or censorship resistance—I’m migrating:

• Private infrastructure where needed

• Cloudflare for front-end deployments

• Nostr for publishing and archiving

• Git mirroring to open alternatives

Because the tools we use shape the future we build. And if the platform is free, but the product is you—it's time to re-evaluate.

---

#ProofOfWork #OpenSource #Cloudflare #DecentralizeEverything #Nostr #GitSovereignty #MicrosoftStack

@ b158def8:467b5a98

When it comes to maintaining a spotless environment, very few things are as important as floor cleanliness. Floors withstand the highest punishment in both a commercial atmosphere and a home; dirt and stains gradually get deposited, and flooring tends to show wear and tear Professional floor cleaners in Sutton.investing in a professional company aptly manifests the proper routines to maintain the beauty and durability of your flooring. Daras Cleaning is a well-established name in the industry, providing a complete range of specialist cleaning services, tackling every floor cleaning requirement with utmost professionalism and care.

**Why Professional Floor Cleaning Matters ** Floors might just be surfaces for walking on, but they help to set the entire ambiance of a space. Clean and well-maintained floors, real or virtual, will create a good first impression-whether it is in welcoming a client to your office or guests to your home. Routine mopping or vacuuming hardly works on deep grime, persistent stains, or residue accumulation. Mixed.

As one would expect floor cleaning for these professionals, it goes beyond simple dirt removal on the surfaces to more advanced techniques with the best equipment to bring floors back to their original shine. Professional cleaners know the types of methods they would have to employ on carpeted areas or tiles, wood, or vinyl flooring. Thus, a positive outcome without any destruction on these floors is guaranteed.

**What Sets Daras Cleaning Apart? ** As a trusted provider of specialist cleaning services in Sutton, Daras Cleaning creates a delicate balance between reliability and flexibility to accommodate the unique needs of every customer. Their team has been vetted, insured, and trained to the highest standards, providing guaranteed satisfaction on any type of cleaning service for both private and commercial clients. With several years of experience behind them, Daras Cleaning also understands that every floor and every client is different, and that is why custom cleaning plans that accommodate unique requirements are offered.

Daras Cleaning was hailed by clients for its quick and efficient work at reasonable prices; thus, it invariably pops up at the top of the list for anyone searching for a professional floor-cleaning service in Sutton. Its commitment to appreciating staff and constant improvement ensures that jobs are done with the utmost care and precision.

Your Comprehensive Solution for Floor Cleaning

• Daras Cleaning provides a broad range of specialist cleaning services for all flooring types and their cleaning needs: Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning: This involves bringing carpets and upholstered furniture back to life via the use of modern methods for steam cleaning and stain removal. Cleaning and Treatment of Hard Floors: Deep-clean, polish, and seal tile, stone, wood, and vinyl surfaces, restoring shine and preventing wear and tear.
• Commercial Floor Cleaning: For a truly clean and hygienic workplace environment for staff and clients alike, solutions are tailored for offices, communal areas, retail spaces, etc. *** High-Pressure Jetting: **For the efficient removal of ingrained dirt and stains from outdoor surfaces such as car parks and industrial floors.
• Thanks to combining the use of market-leading machines with environmentally friendly cleaning solutions, Daras Cleaning guarantees a thorough cleaning that is safe for your family, employees, and the environment.

****Advantages of Specialist Cleaning Services

---

Improved Appearance: Floors are shiny, clean, and hospitable, exerting their beneficial influence upon the house or business.

Prolonged Life: Periodic professional cleaning prevents dirt and grit from building up, causing damage to the flooring in the long run. Therefore, it means less hassle and lots of money saved by avoiding repair bills.

Indoor air quality will be improved since this process gets rid of allergens, bacteria and dust mites. Daras Cleaning is there to take care of your floors, so you do not need to worry about keeping them clean over time.

**Adaptable and trustworthy ** Daras Cleaning keenly appreciates the limitations of modern life and business. Therefore, it offers flexible schedules and tailor-made cleaning programs. They carry out maintenance and one-time deep cleaning as per the client's convenient arrangements to coincide with their time so as not to minimize disruption and guarantee flawless results on each occasion.

**Experience the Daras cleaning difference ** If you want quality Specialist cleaning services, Daras Cleaning offers the best services. Their emphasis on good service, client contentment and improving always keeps them ahead of the competition. In short, using Daras Cleaning’s expert services will keep your home clean, safe and beautiful all over the floors.

@ cae03c48:2a7d6671

Bitcoin Magazine

Canaan Announces Record Bitcoin Mining Month with Over 109 BTC Mined

Canaan Inc. (NASDAQ: CAN), an innovator in Bitcoin mining, reported today their bitcoin mining update for the month ending May 31, 2025, with 109 bitcoins mined. The company’s total bitcoin holdings rose to 1,466 BTC. 

“In May 2025, despite the 10% increase in tariffs on our Malaysia-made Bitcoin mining machines due to ongoing U.S. trade uncertainties, we remained focused on executing our strategic priorities with discipline and agility,” said the Chairman and CEO of Canaan Nangeng Zhang. “By capitalizing on the favorable momentum in bitcoin prices, we achieved a 25% month-over-month increase in our bitcoin production, reaching a record 109 bitcoins. This performance marks a new monthly high for our mining production and brings our total cryptocurrency holdings to an all-time high of 1,466 bitcoins at month-end.”

As of May 31, 2025, Canaan’s current mining projects add to 7.27 EH/s of operating and 8.75 EH/s deployed hashrate. In America, 3.09 EH/s is energized, including a 0.02 EH/s in Canada. Ethiopia’s contribute 4.13 EH/s energized and the Middle East facility delivers 0.03 EH/s energized. Total estimated global capacity stands at 8.75 EH/s.

“Our installed and operational hashrates reached 8.75 EH/s and 7.27 EH/s, respectively, underscoring the continued buildout of our global mining operations,” stated Zhang. “We also achieved a new historical high in installed computing power, while maintaining a competitive all-in power cost. This performance demonstrates our ability to execute on our strategy of efficient and sustainable growth.”

“With Bitcoin prices climbing to historic levels, we’re seeing increased global demand for our mining machines,” commented Zhang. “Combined with the strength of our mining operations and our disciplined approach to capital allocation, we remain confident in our business fundamentals and our ability to deliver long-term value to our shareholders.”

On June 9, 2025, the company announced that its CEO and its CFO acquired 817,268 of American Depositary Shares at an average price of US$0.76 per ADS, showing their belief in the company’s future.

“My share purchase underscores my belief in Canaan’s vision and the tremendous opportunities ahead,” stated Zhang in the announcement. “Both James and I believe there is a significant disconnect between our current ADS price and the value we believe we can deliver in the coming years.”

This post Canaan Announces Record Bitcoin Mining Month with Over 109 BTC Mined first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Oscar Zarraga Perez.

@ 7459d333:f207289b

There are tons of purely online services—LLMs, VPS, VPN, email, media, storage, messaging—that can be provided anonymously without needing to register as legal entities.

And honestly, when they do register legally, it often only harms them or leads to enshittification. We've seen this countless times with providers that start with good intentions but end up being forced to disclose whatever data they have about customers (even if it's just IP addresses and login times) to "authorities." Telegram, Proton, Signal, maybe Infomaniak soon... the list goes on.

Even cock.li (https://stacker.news/items/1003596) had to deal with intelligence agencies just to provide a noble service.

So why bother registering a company or doing things "legally" on the internet? Why not just handle the business anonymously and get paid in Bitcoin? It's cheaper to operate, more sustainable long-term, and immune to whatever dumb law comes up in whatever country.

The trust problem

From the operator's side, it's pretty clear. But what about users? The fact that there's a registered company gives potential customers some sense of trust. There's a door to knock on in the worst case, or at least an opportunity to complain through the legal system of whatever country the company is registered in.

So maybe the missing piece is a way of offering trust to existing and potential customers—something that signals the owner is there to stay and has something to lose if the service is discontinued or not provided properly.

A potential solution: Decentralized bonds

In JoinMarket, to signal that coinjoin offer makers are serious and reduce sybil attack risk, they use fidelity bonds—just locked coins for some time.

But maybe for online service companies we need something more. Some kind of network of mediators and arbitrators to resolve conflicts, similar to Bisq. The mediators would have locked coins in a DAO and get a commission per case they handle. The DAO funds come from transaction fees. Mediators risk their coins if they act in bad faith, and the DAO operates as some kind of democratic system.

Or maybe there's a better way.

What do you think?

Before diving into the technical details, what's your opinion about the future of online services? What do you think about anonymous-owner services? Is this a direction we should be moving toward?

https://stacker.news/items/1003623

@ 95543309:196c540e

Pandas: Nature’s Gentle GiantsPandas are instantly recognizable by their black-and-white coats. These gentle creatures spend most of their days eating bamboo—up to 12–16 hours daily, consuming as much as 40 pounds in a single day.

Despite their massive appetites, pandas can digest only about 17% of the bamboo they eat, so they need to eat constantly.Baby pandas are born tiny, pink, and blind, weighing just a few ounces and measuring about 15 cm—roughly the size of a pencil. They open their eyes after six to eight weeks and stay with their mothers for about 18 months before venturing off on their own.

Pandas are excellent climbers and swimmers, and they have a special “thumb”—an extension of their wrist bone—to help them grip bamboo.Unlike other bears, pandas do not hibernate. Instead, they move to lower, warmer areas in winter and keep feasting on bamboo. Thanks to conservation efforts, panda numbers in the wild are increasing, offering hope for the future of these unique animals.

@ b1ddb4d7:471244e7

Hosted at the iconic Palace of Culture and Science—a prominent symbol of the communist era—the Bitcoin FilmFest offers a vibrant celebration of film through the lens of bitcoin. The venue itself provides a striking contrast to the festival’s focus, highlighting bitcoin’s core identity as a currency embodying independence from traditional financial and political systems.

𝐅𝐢𝐱𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐯𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐬.
Warsaw, Day Zero at #BFF25 (European Bitcoin Pizza Day) with @roger__9000, MadMunky and the @2140_wtf squad pic.twitter.com/9ogVvWRReA

— Bitcoin FilmFest (@bitcoinfilmfest) May 28, 2025

This venue represents an era when the state tightly controlled the economy and financial systems. The juxtaposition of this historical site with an event dedicated to bitcoin is striking and thought-provoking.

The event features a diverse array of activities, including engaging panel discussions, screenings of both feature-length and short films, workshops and lively parties. Each component designed to explore the multifaceted world of bitcoin and its implications for society, offering attendees a blend of entertainment and education.

The films showcase innovative narratives and insights into bitcoin’s landscape, while the panels facilitate thought-provoking discussions among industry experts and filmmakers.

Networking is a significant aspect of the festival, with an exceptionally open and friendly atmosphere that foster connections among participants. Participants from all over Europe gather to engage with like-minded individuals who share a passion for BTC and its implications for the future.

The open exchanges of ideas foster a sense of community, allowing attendees to forge new connections, collaborate on projects, and discuss the potential of blockchain technology implemented in bitcoin.

The organization of the festival is extraordinary, ensuring a smooth flow of information and an expertly structured schedule filled from morning until evening. Attendees appreciate the meticulous planning that allowed them to maximize their experience. Additionally, thoughtful touches such as gifts from sponsors and well-chosen locations for various events contribute to the overall positive atmosphere of the festival.

Overall, the Bitcoin FilmFest not only highlights the artistic expression surrounding bitcoin but also serves as a vital platform for dialogue—about financial freedom, the future of money, and individual sovereignty in a shifting world.

The event successfully bridges the gap between a historical symbol of control and a movement that celebrates freedom, innovation, and collaboration in the digital age, highlighting the importance of independence in financial systems while fostering a collaborative environment for innovation and growth.

Next year’s event is slated for June 5-7 2026. For further updates check: https://bitcoinfilmfest.com/

@ cae03c48:2a7d6671

Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin Officially Traded Above $100,000 For 30 Consecutive Days For The First Time

Bitcoin has officially completed 30 consecutive days trading above the $100,000 mark, marking a historic milestone in its 15 year journey. Bitcoin achieved its all time high (ATH) of $111,980 on May 22, almost hitting $112,000.

JUST IN: Bitcoin has stayed above $100,000 for 30 consecutive days for the first time ever! pic.twitter.com/nfccEK3Wf0

— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) June 10, 2025

In the last 30 days, Bitcoin saw a 10 percent pullback right after reaching its ATH, dropping to $100,428. However, it wasn’t for long, as Bitcoin is back at $109,511 at the time of writing. Momentum appears to be building once again, signaling to be bullish.

“Anytime price is able to punch through a major resistance level, whether psychological or historical, and successfully hold, it is certainly a bullish sign,” said the technical analyst of Wolfe Research Read Harvey. “What really stood out to us was price’s ability to hold that level on the back test, when it briefly fell to $100,000 on Thursday. It also happened to align perfectly with the 50-day moving average. … We feel this should act as a launching pad back towards the recent highs of $112,000.”

In the past month, Bitcoin has surged into the financial and political mainstream. Several U.S. states including New Hampshire first, followed by Arizona, and then Texas have passed legislation recognizing Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset. These laws reflect a growing trend of state level interest in using Bitcoin as a financial hedge and as part of long term fiscal policy.

“New Hampshire didn’t just pass a bill; it sparked a movement,” stated the CEO and Co-Founder of Satoshi Action Dennis Porter.

At the same time, financial institutions are rapidly expanding their Bitcoin offerings. JP Morgan has started providing loans backed by Bitcoin ETFs as collateral. BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF has entered a period of intense activity, generating record trading volumes and capturing the attention of both retail and institutional investors.

To date, a total of 228 public and private entities have Bitcoin in their balance sheets and in the last 30 days, companies like GameStop, Know Labs, and Norway-based NBX have added Bitcoin as a strategic reserve. All these companies are treating Bitcoin not just as a speculative asset, but as a key part of their long term financial plans. This growing corporate trend follows the example set by Strategy, but it’s now happening on a much larger scale.

At the 2025 Bitcoin conference, the Vice President of the United States of America, JD Vance said in his speech, “Fifty million Americans own Bitcoin. I think it’s gonna be 100 million before too long.”

This post Bitcoin Officially Traded Above $100,000 For 30 Consecutive Days For The First Time first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Oscar Zarraga Perez.

@ 95543309:196c540e

$$\int_{-\infty}^{\infty} e^{-x^2/2} \, dx = \sqrt{2\pi}$$$$\sum_{k=1}^n k^2 = \frac{n(n+1)(2n+1)}{6}$$$$\lim_{x \to \infty} \left(1 + \frac{1}{x}\right)^x = e$$$$\begin{vmatrix}a & b \\c & d\end{vmatrix} = ad - bc$$$$\frac{d}{dx}\left(\frac{x^2 + 1}{x - 1}\right)$$$$\iiint_V (\nabla \cdot \mathbf{F}) \, dV = \oint_{\partial V} \mathbf{F} \cdot d\mathbf{S}$$$$\binom{n}{k} = \frac{n!}{k!(n-k)!}$$$$\ln\left(\frac{f(x)}{g(x)}\right) = \ln f(x) - \ln g(x)$$$$\forall x \in \mathbb{R}, \exists y \in \mathbb{R} \text{ such that } x + y = 0$$$$\sqrt{\frac{x^2 + y^2}{x^2 - y^2}}$$$$\begin{array}{c|c}A & B \\hlineC & D\end{array}$$$$\sum_{i=1}^n \sum_{j=1}^n a_{ij}x_i x_j$$$$\mathcal{L}{f(t)}(s) = \int_0^\infty e^{-st}f(t)\,dt$$$$\frac{\partial^2 u}{\partial t^2} = c^2 \frac{\partial^2 u}{\partial x^2}$$$$\mathbf{A} = \begin{pmatrix}a_{11} & a_{12} \\a_{21} & a_{22}\end{pmatrix}, \quad\mathbf{B} = \begin{pmatrix}b_{11} & b_{12} \\b_{21} & b_{22}\end{pmatrix}$$$$\underbrace{a + b + \dots + z}{26}$$$$\left(\frac{a}{b}\right)^n = \frac{a^n}{b^n}$$$$\langle \psi | \phi \rangle = \int{-\infty}^{\infty} \psi^*(x)\phi(x) \, dx$$$$\oint_C \mathbf{F} \cdot d\mathbf{r} = \iint_S (\nabla \times \mathbf{F}) \cdot d\mathbf{S}$$$$\prod_{k=1}^n \left(1 + \frac{1}{k}\right) = \frac{(n+1)}{1}$$$$S(\omega)=1.466\, H_s^2 \frac{\omega_0^5}{\omega^6} \exp\Bigl[-3^{\frac{\omega}{\omega_0}}\Bigr]^2$$

@ cae03c48:2a7d6671

Bitcoin Magazine

KULR Technology Group Announces $300 Million ATM Offering To Invest in Their Bitcoin Treasury

KULR Technology Group, Inc. (NYSE American: KULR) announced it has entered into a Controlled Equity Offering Sales Agreement with Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. and Craig-Hallum Capital Group LLC, enabling the company to sell up to $300 million of its common stock in an at-the-market (ATM) offering to support its Bitcoin treasury reserve.

JUST IN: Public company KULR is raising up to $300 million to buy more #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/Jg0yaAFkI7

— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) June 9, 2025

Under the agreement, Cantor Fitzgerald will act as the sole sales agent, using commercially reasonable efforts to sell shares at market prices. The offering will be made under an existing shelf registration and may occur from time to time based on market conditions and company discretion.

As of June 6, 2025, KULR’s common stock was trading at $1.18 per share. The total number of shares issued under the agreement will not exceed the company’s authorized but unissued shares, after accounting for shares already reserved or committed.

“Our common stock is listed and traded on the NYSE American LLC under the symbol ‘KULR,’” stated the filing.

KULR will pay the sales agents a commission of up to 3.0% of the gross sales proceeds. The agents are considered underwriters under the Securities Act of 1933, and KULR has agreed to indemnify them against certain liabilities.

“Our business and an investment in our common stock involve significant risks,” stated the filing. “These risks are described under the caption “Risk Factors” beginning on page S-6 of this prospectus supplement, and the risk factors incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus.”

KULR started adopting bitcoin as their primary treasury reserve asset in December 2024. Their strategy focuses on acquiring and holding bitcoin by using cash flows that exceed working capital requirements, issuing equity debt securities or raising more capital to purchase more Bitcoin.

“We view our bitcoin holdings as long term holdings and expect to continue to accumulate bitcoin,” mentioned the filing on page S-2. “We have not set any specific target for the amount of bitcoin we seek to hold, and we will continue to monitor market conditions in determining whether to engage in additional bitcoin purchases. This overall strategy also contemplates that we may periodically sell bitcoin for general corporate purposes or in connection with strategies that generate tax benefits in accordance with applicable law, enter into additional capital raising transactions, including those that could be collateralized by our bitcoin holdings, and consider pursuing strategies to create income streams or otherwise generate funds using our bitcoin holdings.”

This post KULR Technology Group Announces $300 Million ATM Offering To Invest in Their Bitcoin Treasury first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Oscar Zarraga Perez.

@ f683e870:557f5ef2

This is what has been achieved on a per-project basis since receiving the grant from Opensats.

npub.world

Together with nostr:npub1wf4pufsucer5va8g9p0rj5dnhvfeh6d8w0g6eayaep5dhps6rsgs43dgh9, I have been refining npub.world to deliver real-time, WoT-powered profile search. These refinements include:

• implementing new desings by nostr:npub1t3gd5yefglarhar4n6uh34uymvft4tgu8edk5465zzhtv4rrnd9sg7upxq

• moving to the new Vertex DVM standard

• improved URL and npub parsing

Vertex crawler

Due to the architectural mistakes I made when designing the first version, I have embarked on a full rewrite of the crawler. The new architecture is simpler, more modular and more performant, and I am confident that it will provide a stable foundation on which to expand the Vertex offering with additional functionalities and analytics.

The major differences with the old version are:

• the DB and RWS interfaces have been broken up and simplified into smaller ones, each defined by their own packages

• a simplified, more efficient algorithm for updating random walks

• use of a custom-built cache to speed up graph computations

• a worker pool pattern to speed up event archiving

These changes have reduced the LOC by more than half while improving performance by \~10x. Of independent interest is the new pipe package, which can also be used by other projects to crawl the Nostr network.

Vertex Relay and DVMs

The Vertex relay has been updated several times, and now supports four DVM services:

• Verify Reputation

• Recommend Follows

• Rank Profiles

• Search Profile

For each service, customers can choose the algorithm to use by specifing the sort option to use between:

• followerCount

• globalPagerank

• personalizedPagerank

More information can be found at https://vertexlab.io/.

Overall, the relay has processed more than 100,000 DVM requests, with the current daily rate standing at around 1,500.

rely

Unsatisfied with the khatru relay framework, I've decided to build my own called rely, with the goal of being simpler and more stable. I've not just scratched a personal hitch: I've used khatru for several months now (the Vertex relay is still using it) and I encountered several issues, some of which I've solved with PRs to the underlying go-nostr library.

The main differences between khatru and rely:

• rely is much simpler, both architecturally and in terms of LOC (less than half)

• rely has a solid testing approach, where a random yet reproducible high traffic hits the relay to see what breaks

• rely implements a worker pool pattern where a configurable number of goroutines process the incoming requests from clients. On the other hand, khatru process them in the HandleWebsocket goroutine, which is spawned every time a client connects. This is dangerous in my opinion because if too many clients connect, memory usage would spike and the relay could potentially crash.

New DVM spec

I helped to draft this new proposal to update the DVM spec, which is one of the most controversial NIPs. While almost everyone agrees that it needs to change, there is no consensus on how to move forward. I believe our proposal is a sensible approach that defines discovery, usage, and error patterns while leaving flexibility for specific DVM kinds.

Looking at the future

Next I am going to move the Vertex relay to the rely framework and to the new crawler package. I expect that this will increase the performance and will make things more solid and more simple. After all of this refactoring and simplification, it will be time to finally add features to the Vertex offering. I have an ambitious roadmap consisting of:

• accepting ecash for DVM requests

• designing client-side validation schemes for the DVM responses

• expanding the pagerank algorithm to make use of mutes and reports

• adding an WoT impersonator check to npub.world

• adding a nip05 check to npub.world

• make a relystore package with some plug&play databases for rely.

@ 3104fbbf:ac623068

It is possible to shift your mindset in adulthood — but it’s exceedingly rare. There’s no exact science to it, yet roughly 2% of people seem truly able — or willing — to change their worldview past a certain age. As arbitrary as that number may sound, it often holds true in practice. It helps explain human behavior and why the remaining 98% — those unwilling to embrace deep inner change — will never dare to step outside their comfort zone.

Learning new skills holds real, practical value: it’s how we redirect our lives toward something better. But it requires a willingness to evolve the way we think. In my view, the only truly helpful approach is to share insights, ideas, and methods — and then let each individual decide whether they’re ready to invest time and energy into rethinking their patterns, learning what’s needed, and transforming their habits or beliefs. There are no shortcuts.

As someone who’s committed to this path and aware of what’s at stake for humanity in the next 20 years — especially with AI — I want to share a few signposts for those ready to lift their heads out of the sand.

---

Discernment in the Age of AI: More Essential Than Ever

We are living through a radical upheaval, driven by artificial intelligence and the exponential acceleration of technology. And I’m convinced of one thing: if a belief, ideology, or conviction born in the 21st century isn’t constantly reevaluated — with curiosity, humility, and intellectual rigor — by confronting opposing views, digging into what’s uncomfortable, and honestly questioning what we don’t yet understand, then we’re not thinking. We’re just gambling on blind faith — or refusing to face reality. And eventually, that catches up with us.

The longer you wait to adapt to technological acceleration, the more you risk becoming trapped in an invisible loop — one where you don’t even realize just how far behind you’ve fallen.

Take independent thinking and discernment — arguably the most vital skills in an AI-driven world. If you rely on AI in a domain where you lack critical sensitivity, you’re setting yourself up for disaster.

When you use AI to move a project forward, you need to instantly recognize when something feels off: “That doesn’t make sense. It’s too cliché. It doesn’t work.” And the AI — trained to please you — will agree: “You’re right.”

But… what if you’re wrong?

That’s where the downward spiral begins — a kind of creative death. Many people:

Settle for the AI’s first answer,

Fail to grasp that this response is just the most statistically likely, the most "expected,"

And end up with something generic, bland, and forgettable.

We have to move beyond that. We have to enter that narrow zone where we seek something original, alive, new — and keep pushing: “No, that’s not it yet.” It’s through this iterative process that refinement happens, and real value emerges.

Used this way, AI becomes a powerful tool — one that accelerates research, eliminates friction, and streamlines the creative process.

Prompting — the art of crafting precise, thoughtful instructions for the AI — is learned through practice, trial and error. But it also demands a specific mental posture: one rooted in curiosity, humility, and the willingness to question yourself. You must be willing to doubt your own assumptions, to challenge your own blind spots.

---

The Mental Exoskeleton: Amplifying Human Potential Through AI

We’re living in a near-magical era. If you’ve already built a solid foundation of skills, AI acts like an exoskeleton — allowing you to lift far more than you could on your own. If you’re already strong, it amplifies your strength. If you’ve learned how to think and how to use your mind, it multiplies your intellectual power.

And if you’ve cultivated curiosity and broad general knowledge — instead of locking yourself into hyper-specialization — for the first time in history, that’s an edge. Because AI enables you to instantly dive deeper into any of those fields and connect the dots across disciplines. Suddenly, it feels like you can tap into the depth of global expertise, on demand, in virtually any subject.

But again, this all hinges on mindset. If most people don’t know what they want, can’t think independently, clearly, or precisely, and don’t even know what questions to ask — AI won’t help them move forward. It won’t fix a broken mentality. In the end, it’s the 2% — those who can ask the right questions, think strategically, and challenge their own thinking — who will truly harness this technology.

And because of that, the gap is going to widen. The divide between the capable and the incapable, the wealthy and the struggling, is only going to deepen. The 2% will continue to accelerate, while those who don’t know how to wield this tool effectively will be left behind. In this sense, AI doesn’t level the playing field — it magnifies inequality.

Anything we currently believe to be beyond AI’s reach won’t remain so for long. When AI becomes fully autonomous — faster and more intelligent than any living human — there will be almost nothing it can’t help us do or manifest in the real world.

---

The Coming Divide in Human Evolution

The only real distinction will be this: this new form of intelligence will never truly be human.

And not everyone will react positively. While radical transhumanists will push the boundaries without restraint, a strong backlash is likely — perhaps even violent — driven by a new wave of puritanical neo-conservatism. These individuals will fiercely oppose any form of technological enhancement of human abilities. The result could be intense civil unrest.

And this isn’t science fiction anymore — it’s already underway. Most people, distracted by daily life and mainstream media, aren’t paying close attention. We’ve just revived extinct species. The dire wolf, gone for over 10,000 years? Done. What’s next? This isn’t some virtual simulation — you’ll soon be able to pet a dire wolf. Human genetic modification is inevitable. And it’s going to make a lot of people profoundly uneasy.

Even now, people with Neuralink implants are playing video games using only their minds. And what’s crazy is that these players are saying: “We’ll need our own league — we’re already outperforming anyone still stuck with a keyboard, mouse, or controller.”

This isn’t a futuristic fantasy — it’s happening right now.

It’s the mental exoskeleton, in a way. We’ve already seen physical exosuits helping paraplegic patients walk again — mental-cybernetic augmentation is the logical next step. It’s no longer just about restoring lost function, but enhancing and accelerating it. The gap between “augmented” individuals and those who aren’t is only going to grow — and it already is, simply between those who master AI tools and those who barely scratch the surface.

Even before that, landing a job will soon require AI literacy — that’ll be the baseline. And it won’t stop there. Your job performance reviews will include how well you work with AI: your fluency, speed, and depth of integration. If you’re not improving continuously, if you’re not keeping pace, you’re already falling out of the game.

So it’s not just about knowing how to use AI — it’s about constantly improving your skills with it. That takes real training, like working a muscle. It won’t just fall into your lap. The majority of people who aren’t actively engaged will be left behind. And as deflationary technology enables material abundance, universal basic income may become a reality. Work might no longer be essential for survival.

But unless there’s a radical shift in global mindset, this material abundance could become a curse: a world where 98% of people are dependent, apathetic, intellectually numbed, wandering aimlessly through life — much like the characters in Wall-E.

---

How AI Is Reshaping and Rebuilding the World of Work

It’s painfully obvious: either you use AI, or you’ll be replaced by someone who does.

Our brains have two hemispheres — analytical and creative. A few centuries ago, creativity wasn’t valued much. The world was built for analytical thinkers — schools, exams, the entire education system. That was the “correct” path.

But the Internet made technical specialists interchangeable. As Daniel Pink highlights in A Whole New Mind, overnight, anyone could hire a developer from anywhere — Pakistan, India, wherever — through platforms like Upwork or Fiverr. Skills that were once rare and expensive became globally available and cheap.

In his book, Pink argues that the future belongs not to specialized technicians, but to creative thinkers. Not the one who can play every instrument — but the one who can conduct the orchestra. The one who may not execute every task better than you, but who can bring people, tools, and ideas together to build something great — something that adds value to the world.

Today, many developing countries are rising out of poverty by building foundational technical skills. Roles that once required elite expertise — research assistants, paralegals, coders, accountants, musicians, sound engineers — are now globally accessible. Anyone, anywhere, can learn anything by tapping into the sum of human knowledge online.

AI agents are autonomous programs designed to think and act on your behalf — like super-assistants that can plan, decide, and execute tasks for you. In the past, if I wanted something done, I’d hire a person. Now? I can just program an AI agent.

And this is moving fast. Very fast : Exponential acceleration !!!!!!

By 2027, AI agents won’t just complete tasks — they’ll:

• Write improvements for other AIs,

• Conduct massive experiments independently,

• And achieve decades’ worth of progress in a matter of days or weeks.

It’s 2025. We’re already halfway there. That means we’re less than 24 months away from what many are calling an intelligence explosion — a tipping point where everything accelerates beyond prediction.

By 2028, we’ll have passed what’s often referred to as the technological horizon — a point of no return, where trying to forecast the future becomes meaningless. No one will be able to predict what jobs, economies, or societies will even look like. That’s the pace of change.

Individually, if we don’t want to find ourselves lost and disoriented, we need to act now — adopt the technology, use it, learn it, build our skillsets, and constantly ask:

“How can I use AI to build what I want to build — to create real value?”

• The people who will thrive are those who:

• Can discern — they know what’s useful and what isn’t,

• Have vision — they know what they want to create,

• And most importantly,

• Have the courage to bring it to life.

---

The Great Equalizer of Decentralization

Imagine the global economy as a massive sheet of glass. Today, this sheet is held in balance by a few corporate giants, some mid-sized companies, and a vast multitude of small structures.

But we’re on the verge of watching it crash to the floor. And when it shatters, it won’t be the small structures that break—it’ll be the large ones. The very enterprises that currently form the backbone of the system will fracture into thousands of smaller, more agile units. Why? Because artificial intelligence is acting as a powerful equalizer of power. We are standing at the dawn of a great decentralization of money, power, and energy.

Soon, we’ll see billion-dollar companies being created by one, two, or maybe three individuals. These small teams will be able to deploy entire organizations made up of autonomous AI agents — capable of running all the departments of a business. These agents will manage budgets, use tools, buy and sell using Bitcoin directly, execute tasks, and scale operations. And suddenly, the very concept of having employees… will disappear.

The real question then becomes: what happens when 30% of the workforce suddenly decides to launch their own ventures? The shift will be colossal. It will spark a massive decentralization of countless services, an explosion of innovation, and an unprecedented surge in entrepreneurial activity — especially if the global economy aligns with a monetary standard rooted in the neutral benchmark of Bitcoin.

But it also raises a deeper existential question for the majority:

“Where will I find meaning and purpose in a world that no longer needs me?”

Until now, work, knowledge, and expertise have all been shaped by scarcity. A lawyer charges high fees because legal knowledge is scarce. A doctor does the same because of medical expertise.

But what happens when knowledge is no longer scarce? When it becomes instantly available to everyone? That’s when the real rupture begins.

---

Hyperlinked Intelligence: When AI Agents Talk to Each Other

In this new world, the MCP protocol — short for Multi-Channel Protocol — designates a system that enables artificial intelligence agents to communicate and collaborate without friction. Think of it as a universal language, a shared grammar that allows various AIs — regardless of their function — to exchange information and coordinate in real-time.

Here’s the central idea:

Today, most AI agents operate in isolation. One manages your calendar, another your emails, a third handles your travel plans. But they don’t really talk to each other.

With the MCP protocol, these agents can cooperate seamlessly. They exchange data, delegate tasks, and make joint decisions — all without human intervention. This makes them exponentially more efficient.

Let’s take some concrete examples:

• An AI could cross-check your calendar and travel plans to automatically schedule an on-site meeting.

• It could access your communication platforms (email, social media), synchronize your contacts, and manage your posts without you lifting a finger.

• It could even handle complex tasks like optimizing your online presence, managing a dating profile, or generating strategic content for your professional networks.

In short, the MCP protocol supercharges AI systems by transforming them from isolated tools into interconnected intelligent networks. It opens the door to fully autonomous workflows that can handle a broad range of tasks at accelerating speeds, without human input.

It’s the TCP/IP moment of artificial intelligence.

Remember: TCP/IP enabled the birth of the internet by creating a universal communication standard. MCP could become that standard for AI — allowing all intelligent agents to connect, interact, and collaborate while transacting autonomously in a digital economy.

With this infrastructure, AI agents become “intelligent hyperlinks”: they naturally connect, share data, and perform actions in synergy. Everything clicks into place. Everything flows. And suddenly, AI becomes infinitely more powerful.

In the very near future, every executive or entrepreneur will have a “phantom agent” — an AI that tracks calls, meetings, decisions. A CEO will be able to ask their agent for a complete situational briefing. Even more: these phantom agents will talk to each other across departments and make decisions autonomously.

This is already happening as I write these lines.

Now picture this: you give an AI the following mission — “Identify the five most profitable business models today, replicate them, and recruit the agents needed to scale them up.” In an instant, you unleash an army of AI agents set to disrupt every online business in existence. This is the beginning of a new world of automation and velocity.

And the protocol that will allow these AI agents to coordinate is the key to this revolution. Until now, AI agents operated in silos and quickly hit their limits. With the MCP protocol, that barrier disappears. An AI will be able to access your calendar, book a flight, check available hotels — and that’s just the beginning.

The true revolution lies in the scale of what this will enable.

The possibilities are nearly endless.

---

Empowering Individuals: How Open-Source AI Can Protect Our Freedoms in the Digital Age

As artificial intelligence (AI) evolves at breakneck speed, it’s essential that everyone—not just tech experts—understands how it will shape our future. While AI offers tremendous benefits, it also carries serious risks, particularly in terms of surveillance and privacy. By embracing open-source AI and freedom technologies, we can ensure a fairer, more transparent digital world.

🌍 Why Open-Source AI Matters

Open-source AI refers to systems whose code is accessible to the public—allowing anyone to audit, replicate, modify, or improve them. This transparency fosters accountability and collaboration. In contrast, closed-source AI systems, controlled by a handful of Big Tech firms or government-private alliances, risk creating monopolies and surveillance mechanisms more pervasive than anything we’ve seen before. We are already witnessing how far governments and corporations are willing to go in tracking and monitoring citizens—paving the way toward a hybrid dystopia, straight out of 1984 and Brave New World, ruled by a caste of transhumanist technocrats.

Free and open-source software is essential to reclaim control over our digital lives. Proprietary systems are easily weaponized for surveillance, undermining our fundamental rights, our privacy, and democracy itself. By supporting open-source AI, we help decentralize power and reduce the risk of authoritarian control.

🛡️ Defending Against the Surveillance Dystopia

Without adequate safeguards, AI can become a tool of mass surveillance, gradually eroding personal freedoms. To push back, we must:

Support Open-Source Initiatives: Contribute to AI projects that prioritize transparency and user control over data.

Advocate for Ethical AI Development: Demand systems that are privacy-respecting and bias-free.

Stay Informed: Educate yourself on the ethical implications of AI and Bitcoin—and take action accordingly.

🧭 A Simple Guide to Get Started

Learn the Basics of AI: Tap into accessible resources to understand the foundations of AI and prompt engineering.

Understand Bitcoin Fundamentals: Learn to be your own bank, breaking away from centralized financial systems. Exit the fiat Ponzi as much as possible during this transition. ** Explore Open-Source Principles: Familiarize yourself with how open-source works—and why it matters. ** Engage with the Community: Join forums, attend workshops, or participate in online discussions on AI and digital rights.

Practice Digital Hygiene: Use end-to-end encrypted communication tools and be mindful of your digital footprint. Seek out Freedom Tech tools that already exist—don’t be seduced and neutralized by convenience.

Promote Ethical Practices: Support policies and initiatives that favor decentralized development and individual empowerment.

Share What You Learn: Spread this knowledge in your circles—gradually, intentionally.

Why This Matters

By embracing the digital revolution, individuals can take an active role in shaping the future and contributing to a fairer, more secure society. This is especially vital for generations less familiar with emerging technologies—they face both a unique challenge and a rare opportunity. Not just the youth, but Gen X and their predecessors must bridge the knowledge gap, understand the fundamentals of Bitcoin and the potential of AI. Doing so ensures their relevance, their participation in the digital transformation, and protection for their children.

Digital literacy goes beyond just using new tools—it’s about understanding their impact, risks, and benefits. It means educating ourselves about the dangers of centralized control and the strengths of decentralized systems. This includes learning how to protect your digital privacy, manage personal data, and navigate a world increasingly shaped by AI. Equipped with these skills, individuals can help design the digital universe—and safeguard their rights within it.

The pace of technological change demands constant adaptation. As Michael Saylor puts it: the future belongs to AI and Bitcoin. Those who fail to adapt risk being left behind in a hyper-digitized society. But adaptation is not just about tools—it’s a mindset shift. It’s about embracing change and committing to lifelong learning.

This is a collective responsibility. By promoting digital literacy and encouraging exploration of empowering technologies, we can avoid a dystopian sci-fi future—and steer toward a freer, more decentralized world.

In Summary

The impact of the digital revolution is profound and demands your immediate attention. By embracing open-source AI and Bitcoin—and understanding the consequences of our digital choices—we can build a future where technology empowers people, protects freedom, and fosters sovereignty. No matter your age or background, you have a role to play in this transition. Your active participation is essential to shape a world that serves humanity, not the systems that seek to control it.

Now is the time to act. As the digital wave accelerates, fusing the wisdom of the past with tomorrow’s tools, we can co-create a world that truly reflects the values of freedom, responsibility, and collective uplift.

Inspired by Mark Moss & Tom Bilyeu !

@ 2b998b04:86727e47

ファースト・プリンシプルズ（First Principles）序章

この序章は「ファースト・プリンシプルズ」と題した7回シリーズの始まりです。分散化、コスト、自由、そして真実の奥にある本質的な変化を探ります。7回なのは、1週間のリズム——働き、休み、立ち返るというリズム——に合わせたからです。それぞれの記事は、私が受け入れてきた技術や哲学の根底にある真理を掘り下げます。分散化と主権、真実、時間、そして希望まで。\ \ テクノロジーはコストをゼロに近づける——よくそう言われます。

これは『The Price of Tomorrow』という書籍の主張でもあります。技術が進化するほど、自然とデフレ（物価下落）を引き起こす。自動化は労働を置き換え、ソフトウェアはインフラを代替し、AIは意思決定そのものを肩代わりする。限界費用（追加生産にかかるコスト）は限りなくゼロに近づく。

——でも、それだけじゃない。

そこには、経済学者や技術者が見落としがちな「もう一層の深さ」があります。

単に「生産コスト」が下がるかどうかではなく、問うべきは 中央集権による「コントロール・コスト（支配コスト）」 です。

限界費用が下がっても、中央集権の「隠れた代償」は上がっていくのです。

---

「無料」という幻想

たとえば、GitHub。

一見無料です。静的ウェブサイトを公開し、コードをホストし、Actionsで自動化し、グローバルに協業することもできる——全部、無料で。

でもGitHubはMicrosoftに所有されています。あなたはサーバーを管理できない。プラットフォームを所有していない。鍵（アクセス権限）も持っていない。

つまり、それは「取り上げられるかもしれない贈り物」にすぎない。

Google Docsも、YouTubeも、Substackも同じ。「無料で始めよう」というクラウドサービス全般も。

これらのツールが悪いわけではありません。むしろ、優れたものも多い。

でも「中立」ではないのです。

あなたが支払う代償は、必ずしもドルではありません。ときに、それは：

• データアクセスの制限

• APIの利用制限

• 突然の料金変更

• 検閲やアカウント停止

• サービス移行にかかるコスト（特に問題が起きた時）

これは 中央集権プラットフォームの「隠れた家賃」 です。しかも、時間とともに複利的に増えていきます。

---

コントロール・コスト vs 限界費用

限界費用が「これを作るのにどれだけ安いか？」だとすれば、\ コントロール・コストは「これを使うことでどれだけ自由を失うか？」です。

Mediumなら無料で記事を投稿できますが、SEO（検索表示順位）は向こうのもの。\ Shopifyでビジネスを始められますが、彼らの判断でアカウントが停止される可能性もある。\ Instagramでフォロワーを増やしても、フィードを支配するのはアルゴリズムです。

私たちは「デフレ」を喜ぶように訓練されてきました。でも、実際には多くのツールが、参入コストを下げながら、コントロール・コストを膨らませているのです。

ここで、分散化（Decentralization） が物語を逆転させます。

---

分散化の本当の約束

本当の分散化は、ただ「安くする」だけじゃありません。\ それは「主権（Sovereignty）」をもたらします。

価格だけでなく、力を分配する。\ 手数料ゲートではなく、支配の構造そのものを取り除く。

こう言えるのです：

• 自分の鍵を自分で持て

• 自分のコンテンツを自分で持て

• 自分のスタックを自分で構築せよ

• 自分の配信チャネルを自分で持て

だからこそ、Nostr が重要。\ だからこそ、Bitcoin が重要。\ だからこそ、たとえ不便でも、セルフホスティングやパーミッションレスなプロトコル、オープンソースのツールが大切なのです。

彼らは「安くしてくれる」だけじゃない。\ 私たちの 自由 を守ってくれる。

---

実例：私のブログ構築

私がブログ blog.stantonweb.com を作り始めたとき、\ 最も楽な方法は選びませんでした。

私は以下を組み合わせました：

• 長文投稿に Nostr

• 投稿を取得・表示するためのPythonスクリプト

• GitHub Actions で自動化

• 表示は静的HTML

• ホスティングは GitHub Pages + Cloudflare（無料）

データベースも、CMSも、テーマ課金もなし。

限界費用？ 0ドルです。

でももっと重要なのは、コントロール・コストも限りなくゼロだということ。\ 誰にも止められない。\ 企業にリーチを制限されない。\ ゲートキーパーが「掲載に値するか」を判断しない。

---

新しい「コスト」定義へ

価格だけを最適化すれば、捕らわれる。

自由を最適化すれば、やがて「余白」を築ける——金銭的余白だけでなく、創造の余白、道徳の余白、運営の余白も。

それが分散化の真価。\ 安いだけじゃない。\ より真実なものへ。

---

補足：過去からの教訓

Skypeを覚えていますか？\ 当初は真のP2Pツールで、構造的に分散されていました。でもMicrosoftに買収され、中央集権型に再設計され、やがてその中身は解体されました。

Napsterも同様。P2Pで音楽業界を揺るがしましたが、最終的には停止され、中央集権型の代替サービスに取って代わられました。

BitTorrentは生き残りました——それは「ただのプラットフォーム」にならなかったからです。

このパターンは明白です：

• 資本が集まれば中央集権になる

• 支配があれば検閲も起きる

• しかし、自由は分散化から生まれる

そして私たちは、何度でもこの道を選び直さなければならないのです。

---

共同執筆：ChatGPT（“Dr. C”）が主要な論点の整理と精緻化をサポートしました。\ \ 数日以内にPart 1を公開予定。ご期待ください。

—\ blog.stantonweb.com およびNostrにて公開中。\ Zap（投げ銭）リンク：https://tinyurl.com/yuyu2b9t

@ 9c9d2765:16f8c2c2

In the bustling city of Kano, where clock towers chimed and gears never stopped turning, lived an old man named Mallam Audu, the greatest clockmaker the city had ever known. His hands were steady, his mind sharp, and his heart closed.

Years ago, his only son, Umar, had stolen the shop’s finest work: a jeweled timepiece meant for the king. He vanished into the world, leaving Mallam Audu disgraced and alone. Since that day, the old man never spoke his son’s name again.

Years passed. Kano changed. But Mallam Audu remained at his bench, repairing clocks for strangers, refusing apprentices, never smiling.

One winter night, during the first snowfall, a stranger entered his shop. He was cloaked, thin, and tired.

“I heard you fix what’s broken,” the man said.

Mallam Audu didn’t look up. “Leave the clock.”

But the man pulled back his hood. It was Umar, older, gaunt, and ashamed. In his hand, he held the broken timepiece he once stole.

“I tried to sell it,” he said, voice trembling. “But I never could. I carried it everywhere, and it broke. Like everything I touched.”

Mallam Audu stared at his son. His hands twitched, not with anger, but with memories. The boy who used to laugh in the workshop… the boy who made one terrible mistake.

Umar knelt. “I don’t ask to be forgiven. Only for you to fix it.”

Mallam Audu took the timepiece. Slowly, he set it on the bench. Then, without a word, he reached into the drawer and handed Umar a second stool, the one that had sat empty for years.

Side by side, father and son began to work.

The next morning, the clocks of Kano chimed not just with time but with healing.

Moral:

Forgiveness is not forgetting the wound. It's choosing to stop carrying it. And in that release, we repair not just others but ourselves.

@ 7459d333:f207289b

I've been thinking about Bitcoin's long-term trajectory and whether it might mirror what happened with the internet.

The Internet Parallel: - Started as a decentralized protocol among tech enthusiasts - Remained fundamentally decentralized and "based" - But in practice, most users experience it through centralized gatekeepers: - Google Chrome + Google Search - Twitter/Reddit/Instagram for content - Amazon for commerce

The Counter-Examples:

Of course, some of us still use: - Firefox + Kagi - Nostr/Stacker.news/RSS feeds - XMPP/Matrix/... for communications

And the internet is still vastly more decentralized and censorship-resistant than the pre-internet world.

The Bitcoin Question:

Will Bitcoin face similar practical centralization pressures? Will most people end up using Bitcoin through a handful of corporate interfaces while the underlying protocol remains decentralized?

Root Cause:

Is this centralization tendency due to:

1. Human nature - people preferring convenience over sovereignty?
2. Broken money systems that enable these mega-corporations to capture markets?

What do you think? Is practical centralization inevitable for successful decentralized protocols, or can Bitcoin chart a different course?

https://stacker.news/items/1003297

@ 3283ef81:0a531a33

Hey\ Ho

Let's go!

@ f85b9c2c:d190bcff

The ability to concentrate on a specific task or goal for an extended period of time is referred to as focus. It is a critical component of success in any field because it allows us to devote our full attention and effort to what we are doing resulting in increased productivity and better results. It can be difficult to maintain focus and avoid distractions in today’s fast-paced and constantly connected world. The advantages of focus on the other hand are numerous including reduced stress, improved performance, and the ability to achieve our goals more efficiently. In this post we will discuss the role of focus in goal achievement, offer strategies for increasing focus, and talk about the importance of rest and breaks in maintaining focus.

The Role Of Focus In Goal Achievement Setting specific goals is a crucial first step toward success but it’s also critical to keep your attention on them in order to advance. Without focus it is simple to get distracted and lose track of the goals we are pursuing. By staying focused we can stay on course and stop wasting time and effort on activities that don’t further our objectives. One major hindrance to focus is multitasking which is the act of trying to complete multiple tasks at the same time. While it may seem like an efficient use of time research has shown that multitasking can actually decrease productivity and impair cognitive function. This is so because our brains are not built to multitask and can only fully concentrate on one thing at a time. Focusing on one task at a time and giving it our full attention will help us accomplish our goals more successfully.

Strategies For Increasing Focus There are a number of tactics that can aid in sharpening our focus and maintaining our direction. Setting up a supportive environment is one of the best ways to improve focus. This entails getting rid of distractions like noise, crowding and pointless activities.A dedicated time free from interruptions or distractions is also beneficial for focused work. There are also several techniques that can help us maintain focus while working. This enables us to focus for a predetermined amount of time before taking a break and renewing our energy. To-do lists can help us prioritize tasks and monitor our progress which is another benefit for staying focused.

The Importance of Rest and Breaks In Maintaining Focus While it is important to maintain focus while working it is also crucial to take breaks and rest in order to sustain that focus over time. Taking breaks can help reduce stress and prevent burnout which can hinder focus and productivity. Breaks can also increase creativity and problem-solving abilities as they allow our brains to process and integrate new information. To maintain focus and succeed, it’s critical to strike a balance between focused work and rest. This could entail planning regular breaks during the day or taking a trip to recharge. Regardless of the strategy it’s critical to give sleep a high priority and incorporate it into our daily schedules.

Focusing on the Driver of Success Focus is a crucial element of success in any field. It allows us to concentrate on a specific task or goal and give it our full attention resulting in increased productivity and better results. Maintaining focus can be challenging especially in today’s fast-paced and constantly connected world but there are strategies we can use to increase focus and stay on track. These include creating a conducive environment for focus, using techniques like the to-do lists, and taking regular breaks to rest and recharge. By prioritizing and cultivating focus we can achieve our personal and professional goals more efficiently and effectively. Note: Focus requires prioritization and that comes with delegation.

@ cae03c48:2a7d6671

Bitcoin Magazine

The Trump’s American Bitcoin Merges with Gryphon, Reports 215 BTC on Balance Sheet Since Launch

American Bitcoin Corp (ABTC), a newly formed private Bitcoin mining company backed by Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., announced in a June 10 SEC filing that it has acquired 215 Bitcoin (BTC) since launching operations on April 1, 2025. The reserve is currently valued at approximately $23 million, showing their drive and commitment to Bitcoin. 

JUST IN: American Bitcoin Corp (private) reports to have 215 #bitcoin (per 31 May) since it's launch on April 1, 2025.

They will merge with Gryphon Digital $GRYP and become public under ticker $ABTC.

They mention "Bitcoin accumulation is not a side effect of ABTC’s business.… pic.twitter.com/wq1Uxr76Z2

— NLNico (@btcNLNico) June 10, 2025

“Bitcoin accumulation is not a side effect of ABTC’s business. It is the business,” the company stated in the filing.

Furthermore, ABTC has entered into a merger agreement with Gryphon Digital Mining ($GRYP), and the combined company is expected to begin public trading under the ticker $ABTC as early as Q3 2025. 

The company’s three-layer strategic plan—outlined in the SEC disclosure—details a focused approach:

Layer 1: Build the Engine

• ABTC’s foundation is built on “producing Bitcoin below-market cost through a capital efficient, infrastructure-light operating model.” The company owns and operates over 60,000 miners from Bitmain and MicroBt, running primarily on Hut 8-managed facilities.

Layer 2: Scale the Reserve

• ABTC had “accumulated approximately 215 Bitcoin in reserve since launching on April 1, 2025,” which it considers a long-term strategic asset. The firm states its goal is “to utilize public markets and strategic financing structures to access efficient capital and leverage that capital to increase its Bitcoin in reserve per share.”

Layer 3: Lead the Ecosystem 

• The company ultimately aims to use its operational scale and mining position to drive industry-wide adoption. “ABTC may pursue opportunities to support protocol development, enhance network infrastructure and contribute to Bitcoin’s resilience and adoption in ways that align with shareholder value creation.”

For mining rewards, ABTC uses Foundry and Luxor pools with sub-1% fees and relies on Coinbase Custody for secure cold storage, featuring multi-factor authentication and strict withdrawal protocols. 

With operations across Niagara Falls, NY; Medicine Hat, AB; and Orla, TX, ABTC is leveraging strategic partnerships—primarily with Hut 8—to scale its Bitcoin holdings while influencing the broader crypto mining ecosystem.

This post The Trump’s American Bitcoin Merges with Gryphon, Reports 215 BTC on Balance Sheet Since Launch first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Jenna Montgomery.

@ 2b24a1fa:17750f64

„Die Technologie neigt dazu, alle Attribute des religiösen Denkens, der magischen und animistischen Vernunft und des künstlerischen Schaffens sich allein einzuverleiben. Es ist noch nicht lange her, als angenommen wurde, das künstliche Objekt entferne den Menschen von der Welt. Heute ist es keine Frage der Entfernung mehr, sondern die Frage einer möglichen Verschmelzung, da die Welt selbst dazu neigt, künstlich zu werden.“\ Das schreibt Achille Mbembe, Historiker und Politikwissenschaftler aus Kamerun, in seinem Buch „Die terrestrische Gemeinschaft. Technik, Animismus und die Erde als Utopie“.

https://soundcloud.com/radiomuenchen/die-terrestrische-gemeinschaft-ein-buch-von-achille-mbembe?

Inspiration und Hoffnung findet der Autor in Afrika. Jenem Kontinent, den unsere – je nach Blickwinkel westliche oder nördliche – Zivilisation gerne reduziert auf Schlagwörter wie Krieg, Hunger, Despotie, Überbevölkerung und Aberglaube. In den alten Stammeskulturen findet Mbembe eine ganz andere Haltung, ein ganz anderes Verständnis der Welt. Das könnte uns helfen, die Natur nicht als Feind zu betrachten, den es zu bezwingen gilt, sondern als Ort, an dem alles mit allem verbunden ist und niemand sich zum Herrscher aufschwingen kann, ohne den anderen und letztlich auch sich selbst zu schaden:\ „Dieser Gemeinschaft der Erde entspricht die grundlegende Universalität aller ihrer Bewohner. Weder die menschlichen Personen noch die anderen Wesen zusammengenommen sind die Eigentümer der Erde. Sie sind dort Erdenbürger, insofern sie alle in den Genuss eines unbestreitbaren Platzes auf ihr kommen.“\ Unser Autor Jonny Rieder hat Mbembes Buch gelesen und darüber nachgedacht.

Sprecher: Ulrich Allroggen

Bild: Verlag Matthes & Seitz Berlin / Dirk Lebahn

Radio München\ www.radiomuenchen.net/​\ @radiomuenchen\ www.facebook.com/radiomuenchen\ www.instagram.com/radio_muenchen/\ twitter.com/RadioMuenchen\ odysee.com/@RadioMuenchen.net:9\ rumble.com/user/RadioMunchen

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

GLS-Bank\ IBAN: DE65 4306 0967 8217 9867 00\ BIC: GENODEM1GLS\ Bitcoin (BTC): bc1qqkrzed5vuvl82dggsyjgcjteylq5l58sz4s927\ Ethereum (ETH): 0xB9a49A0bda5FAc3F084D5257424E3e6fdD303482

@ 2b24a1fa:17750f64

Ein freier Mensch lässt sich schwer kapern. Ängste kennt er kaum, Katastrophen entlarvt er schnell, Horrorszenarien seziert er gründlich. Mit ihm lässt sich kein willkürlicher Staat machen … Und der gedemütigte, entrechtete und geschwächte Bürger will den nicht verteidigen.

https://soundcloud.com/radiomuenchen/geimpft-gef-gig-geopfert-die?

Der Jurist und Autor Milosz Matuschek weiß, dass es keinen Krieg ohne geistige Mobilmachung geben kann. Warum die ein Problem werden könnte, davon schreibt er im folgenden Text: „Geimpft, gefügig, geopfert – Die fehlende Front der Folgebereiten“, der auf seinem Substack „Freischwebende Intelligenz“ nachzulesen ist.

Sprecher: Ulrich Allroggen

https://www.freischwebende-intelligenz.org/p/geimpft-gefugig-geopfert-die-fehlende

@ cae03c48:2a7d6671

Bitcoin Magazine

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust Shatters ETF Growth Record, Surpassing $70 Billion in Just 341 Days

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has officially made history. The Bitcoin ETF surged past $70 billion in assets under management (AUM), reaching the milestone in just 341 trading days. This achievement makes IBIT the fastest ETF to ever hit that threshold. 

JUST IN: BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF becomes the fastest ETF in history to surpass $70 billion AUM pic.twitter.com/kZkXhjEvq0

— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) June 9, 2025

To put that into perspective, the previous record-holder—SPDR Gold Shares (GLD)—took 1,691 days to reach the same milestone. “5x faster than the old record held by GLD of 1,691 days,” Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas wrote in a post on X. Other ETFs like VOO (1,701 days), IEFA (1,773 days), and IEMG (2,063 days) also lag far behind IBIT’s rapid growth.

The explosive rise in IBIT’s AUM coincides with Bitcoin’s continued rally. At the time of reporting, Bitcoin (BTC) is trading above $108,000, up more than 2.06%, and sitting just under 4% below its all-time high of nearly $112,000 set last month. 

BlackRock’s accumulation strategy has placed it at the forefront of institutional Bitcoin investment. According to blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence, the firm now holds over 663,000 bitcoin—more than Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy, which famously owns 582,000 BTC. 

The price surge and ETF milestone reflect a broader institutional embrace of Bitcoin as a legitimate and increasingly preferred asset class. The record breaking pace of IBIT’s growth underscores the demand from investors looking for regulated exposure to Bitcoin through traditional financial products. 

The chart clearly visualizes the disparity in ETF adoption timelines, with IBIT’s steep, vertical ascent dramatically outpacing its peers in the race to $70 billion. It’s a testament to the accelerating pace at which capital is flowing into Bitcoin markets.

As Bitcoin continues to hold just below its peak, and institutional products like IBIT grow at unprecedented speeds, all eyes are on what comes next—not just for Bitcoin, but for the legacy financial industry now being reshaped by it. 

This post BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust Shatters ETF Growth Record, Surpassing $70 Billion in Just 341 Days first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Jenna Montgomery.

@ d325f9e9:07ed2267

Trying tags #Hello #this

@ 46f3c7bb:93ff8a1a

Nostr üzerinde Obsidian kullanarak yazdığım içeriği paylaşma denemesi. Güzel eklenti, obsidian'ı bayadır kullanıyorum, ve obsidian üzerinde yazdığım notları nostr üzerinden paylaşabilmek ilgi çekici.

@ 2b24a1fa:17750f64

https://soundcloud.com/radiomuenchen/eine-stunde-klassik-leopold-hennberger-prasentiert-die-gitarre

Eine Stunde Klassik! Der Münchner Pianist und "Musikdurchdringer" Jürgen Plich stellt jeden Dienstag um 20 Uhr große klassische Musik vor. Er teilt seine Hör- und Spielerfahrung und seine persönliche Sicht auf die Meisterwerke. Er spielt selbst besondere, unbekannte Aufnahmen, erklärt, warum die Musik so und nicht anders klingt und hat eine Menge aus dem Leben der Komponisten zu erzählen.

Sonntags um 10 Uhr in der Wiederholung.

@ 6ad3e2a3:c90b7740

Turning and turning in the widening gyre

The falcon cannot hear the falconer;

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,

The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere

The ceremony of innocence is drowned;

The best lack all conviction, while the worst

Are full of passionate intensity.

Surely some revelation is at hand;

Surely the Second Coming is at hand.

The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out

When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi

Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert

A shape with lion body and the head of a man,

A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,

Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it

Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.

The darkness drops again; but now I know

That twenty centuries of stony sleep

Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,

And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,

Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

The Second Coming — W.B. Yeats

I don’t know what I want to write about today. There are a lot of converging currents coursing through my reality right now. I feel we’re in an interregnum of sorts between what was and what’s to come. I guess you could simply describe that as the present, something that has ever been the case. But this moment feels more intense like something big is dying and something else, God knows what, is on its way “to be born".

I exchanged emails recently with an old friend, and he sent me a link to a David Foster Wallace commencement speech entitled “This Is Water.” In it Wallace tells a joke of an old fish seeing two younger fish swimming by and asks them “How’s the water?” Later on one of the younger ones asks the other, “What is water?”

Wallace hanged himself a few years after the speech. Apparently he was unable to maintain the perspective he laid out in it which was that we can choose our attitude toward what we experience in any moment, no matter how much aversion we habitually associate with it. That the act of choosing equanimity constitutes the freedom we seek. That this freedom to choose is ever present, in fact the ability to direct our attention and consciousness is itself the water. And yet out of habit we are often oblivious to this most fundamental reality.

My friend’s email was in response to my description of the dissolution I see right now. Everything seems fake. The news, the governments, the edicts of reputationally bankrupt institutions zombying along as though the last five years never happened, like the proverbial emperor still purporting to rule though everyone can now see his pale, unsightly posterior.

Yes, the coffee shops are still open, people still go on vacation with their families. Let’s go to Paris, Rome, the Greek Isles! Let’s pretend everything is as we had imagined in the before times when our goals and aspirations seemed real, when the glitchy pixels in the matrix hadn’t yet revealed themselves so glaringly.

Maybe this was always the case. All our games were always professional wrestling, a scripted charade for which we willingly suspended disbelief. But like the roadrunner in the cartoon, we have since become aware we have run out of road, four steps beyond the cliff edge.

. . .

Wallace in his speech described such indignities as being stuck in traffic after a long day of work, or in a long grocery checkout line. The mind’s usual programs run, cursing everyone and everything around us. Instead of contemplating the miracle of human existence we feel only disgust and impatience. We want to finish with the run, the work, the obligatory hour so we can move on to something presumably more pleasant.

I can handle such day to day discomforts, but the overwhelming sense of dissolution is undermining the aims to which I had once attached meaning. I set up my life for freedom and prosperity, and now, just as I have my ducks in a row, there’s an imminent magnetic pole shift or a financial and social collapse that threatens to counterfeit my efforts.

It’s easy to opt out when you’re losing, to decry the injustice, unfairness and pointlessness of the game when you weren’t getting much from it anyway. When you’ve got nothing, you’ve got nothing to lose, to paraphrase Bob Dylan. But as a late bloomer wanting to sample the wine of the Gods at long last, it’s dispiriting in a different way, like saving up for a new car and seeing it stolen before you had a chance to drive it.

That’s the shallow version, distress at discovering just before getting the things I had always wanted I was actually playing not just the wrong game, but a false one. That I’m upset I can’t gratify my ego in the way I had hoped, that I can’t get the pat on the back I had craved because the back-patters decided to tear up the playing field just as I finally became a contender.

The deeper version is you only get better at the game through your own efforts to discover what’s true, your own self-mastery and access to a measure of wisdom. This process transforms your life from a tedious and difficult slog to a state of ease and flow. You are more connected, more in touch with yourself and the forces within. You can handle aversion, in fact voluntarily invite it at times to hone your mind and access your resourcefulness. You love your life and connect to the people in it. You have great hope and aspirations for the future. You believe in God, or the Tao or whatever force animates all things, you can navigate the world’s imperfections and do not want it to fall into chaos and disorder.

The task of remembering this during the run, the traffic jam or the grocery store checkout line is not so difficult. But would it be the same during periods of violence and resource scarcity where literal survival is at stake, the rules of which are set by biology and physics rather than the incentives of human society?

Yes, I’d rather be eating dinner at home than sitting in traffic, but I can appreciate that I’m able to sit comfortably in my climate controlled pod, listening to music while traversing these distances rather than foraging for food in the harsh wild. Yes, this old Portuguese lady is taking an eternity to get the groceries into her pushcart, but I can imagine how it is to be old and slow and still have to shop and eat, and it’s trivial to cut her some slack.

I’m not claiming I always have this perspective, but I surely am able to channel equanimity during the ordinary aversion that arises in one’s day to day life. I do this while running on the track, the aches and pains, the discomfort, the wanting to get it over with is a battle I fight every week by my own choosing. But imagine if instead of running 10 minute miles I was forced to do them in six. It’s not so easy to keep a calm, conscious mind while gasping for breath.

The truth is these calamities I imagine are not yet real, the asteroid has not yet hit, the economy not yet collapsed. I have never experienced the kind of hardship I dread. I am ever in the grocery line, the 10-minute mile run, the traffic jam, never the concentration camp or Mad Max-style post-apocalypse. Why not just deal with that when the time comes, if it ever comes? Why die a thousand deaths like the proverbial coward rather than the one required of the brave man?

I suppose it comes down to wanting to be prepared. There’s nothing you can do if an asteroid destroys the entire earth, but if your national government devolves into tyranny, you could get out before it’s too late. There’s the adage one should only concern oneself about the things one can control, but the rub is in deciding what’s in your power and of what to let go. It’s an easy out, per the adage, to narrow your locus of control to doing your job and paying your bills. You can too easily forget that which job you have, where you live, what preparations to make are also matters in which you have a choice.

Even if you believe a magnetic pole shift could spill the earth’s oceans across continents within the next few decades — I find this plausible — you could move to the mountains to get ahead even of that. A fatalist, non-questioning attitude can be a psychological salve in times of upheaval, but “salve” and "“slave” are but a typo apart.

. . .

When I was six someone broke into my house. I was still awake, and while pretending to be asleep, I heard him rummaging through my belongings, stealing an old Fisher Price turntable and a black and white TV. My father died four years later, and at 10, I remember thinking as the oldest boy in the house, it was now my responsibility to defend my family if anything like that, or worse, happened again. Of course, I wasn’t really capable of doing this, and I knew it, but I would have to try, futile as it might be.

I imagine that psychology has stayed with me as an adult — it’s up to me to see around corners, assess the various threats to me and my family, even if some of them are too daunting for any one individual. I could let it go, I suppose, it would probably even be healthy to do so. But there is a part of me that wonders whether people like me, people who feel this irrational responsibility, are the those who survive cataclysms and shocks. I surely am not the only one who feels this way and quite likely would not be especially effective given I don’t have engineering, outdoorsman or serious combat skills. But that hyper-vigilance toward and preparation for worse-case scenarios is something someone has to do, someone who would likely be selected for the role by the particular accidents of his upbringing.

. . .

There is another way to look at this, of course. The notion one ought to step up in the face of adverse circumstances, even extreme ones, is valid. But perhaps the best way to prepare is not endlessly to assess potential threats like some black ops CIA outfit, but to have a calm and detached mind. Should the signs appear, a poised and observant person would take action insofar as he is able. That you, having trained your attention away from default habits of comfort-seeking and dread and toward conscious observation, will do what’s required if and when the time comes. That you can trust yourself, and by that I mean trust in God, so to speak, to guide your awareness and actions for the most effective and adaptive response.

The Fourth Turning might well be upon us, indeed “the centre [may not] hold.” There is no guarantee your response will ensure you or those you love survive. There has never been such a guarantee for anyone, only the freedom to direct your attention, to choose your state of mind, to the extent you are capable, in the conditions that arise. To respond to the older fish that the water is okay, it’s pretty nice actually.

@ ea39b0da:29a1710d

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@ 2b24a1fa:17750f64

Eine Kolumne von Michael Sailer, jeden ersten Freitag bei Radio München, nachzulesen auf sailersblog.de.

https://soundcloud.com/radiomuenchen/belastigungen-36-im-anti-gleichschritt-marsch-deutschland-wiederholt-sich

@ 8bad92c3:ca714aa5

Key Takeaways

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

Best Quotes

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

“You’re stacking nothing. Literal paper.”

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

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

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

“Millennials are primed to understand Bitcoin.”

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

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

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

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

Conclusion

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

Timestamps

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

Transcript

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

@ 472f440f:5669301e

Marty's Bent

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

Opportunity Cost – See Prices in Bitcoin Instantly

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

Opportunity CostTFTC

Check it out!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Headlines of the Day

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

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

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

Get our new STACK SATS hat - via tftcmerch.io

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Bitcoin’s Next Parabolic Move: Could Liquidity Lead the Way?

Is bitcoin’s next parabolic move starting? Global liquidity and business cycle indicators suggest it may be.

Read the latest report from Unchained and TechDev, analyzing how global M2 liquidity and the copper/gold ratio—two historically reliable macro indicators—are aligning once again to signal that a new bitcoin bull market may soon begin.

Download the report here

---

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

---

Final thought...

East Coast aesthetics over everything.

---

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

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

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

@ 9ca447d2:fbf5a36d

Michael Saylor, executive chairman and co-founder of Strategy, wants to be on The Joe Rogan Experience to talk about Bitcoin. His recent post on X has the Bitcoin community and beyond stoked.

On May 31, Saylor replied to a Joe Rogan fan account that asked who they would like to see on the podcast. His response was simple but bold: “Hey @joerogan, let’s talk about Bitcoin.”

Saylor has been one of the most vocal Bitcoin supporters for a long time. He talks about bitcoin being a store of value and a hedge against inflation all the time.

Even when Bitcoin was a niche topic, Saylor was promoting it.

His company MicroStrategy (which was recently renamed to Strategy) has made headlines for investing billions in bitcoin. They currently hold around 580,250 BTC worth over $60 billion according to public trackers.

Saylor’s invitation to Joe Rogan was met with excitement from the Bitcoin community. Several well-known figures quickly chimed in.

Kook, a trader and analyst, said: “Saylor is going to Bitcoin pill Joe Rogan.”

Brandon MacDougal said he would watch The Joe Rogan Experience for the first time if Saylor was on the show, and The Bitcoin Therapist said the potential interview would “shatter the internet.”

The Bitcoin Therapist on X

It’s not just hardcore Bitcoiners who are excited. Many think the conversation could reach a much wider audience and push Bitcoin into the mainstream financial conversation.

Joe Rogan has one of the most popular podcasts in the world with millions of listeners. He’s discussed digital assets many times and has a special interest in Bitcoin.

In an October 2023 episode with OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Rogan said: “The real fascinating crypto is Bitcoin. That’s the one that I think has the most likely possibility of becoming a universal viable currency. It’s limited in the amount that it can be.”

Rogan previously had Bitcoin educator Andreas Antonopoulos on the show between 2014 and 2016 when bitcoin was under $1,000. Those early episodes introduced Bitcoin to many new listeners.

With Rogan’s history of being open to the topic and his massive audience, a new episode with Saylor could get a whole new group of people interested in Bitcoin.

The buzz around Saylor’s invite is a sign of a bigger trend — Bitcoin becoming a bigger part of the global conversation. Saylor has positioned himself as a thought leader in the space and often talks about how Bitcoin can change the way money and financial systems work.

He believes Bitcoin can create more transparent and efficient systems, reduce transaction costs and challenge traditional banking models. He also said we need smart regulation to protect consumers while encouraging innovation.

A conversation between Saylor and Rogan wouldn’t just be about Bitcoin’s price or investment strategies. It would likely go deeper into topics like inflation, digital privacy, government policy and the future of money.

So far Joe Rogan hasn’t publicly responded to Saylor’s invite, but fans are hoping he’ll say yes. Many think the timing is perfect. Bitcoin is hot again and more people than ever are trying to figure out what role it will play in the future of finance.

@ 2b24a1fa:17750f64

Sexualität ist die Urkraft des Lebens und der Vitalität. Und weil das so ist, rückt sie in den Fokus der Macht. Der Staat schlüpft unter die Bettdecke. Sexualität ist ein, wenn nicht gar der Machthebel schlechthin, mit dem Menschen manipulier- und kontrollierbar sind. Ob durch sexuelle Unterdrückung, Pervertierung, Verwirrung oder durch inflationäre Überreizung – die Bandbreite der Suggestion ist groß.

https://soundcloud.com/radiomuenchen/sex-ist-politisch-von-kerstin-chavent?

Diesem Schatten auf der schönsten … sagen wir: Hauptsache der Welt, hat sich unsere Autorin Kerstin Chavent angenommen. Hören Sie ihren Text „Sex ist politisch“. Nachzulesen bei Manova. www.manova.news/artikel/sex-ist-politisch

Sprecherin Sabrina Khalil

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

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

GLS-Bank\ IBAN: DE65 4306 0967 8217 9867 00\ BIC: GENODEM1GLS\ Bitcoin (BTC): bc1qqkrzed5vuvl82dggsyjgcjteylq5l58sz4s927\ Ethereum (ETH): 0xB9a49A0bda5FAc3F084D5257424E3e6fdD303482

@ 2b998b04:86727e47

Introduction To First Principles

This introduction kicks off a 7-part series called First Principles exploring the deeper shifts behind decentralization, cost, freedom, and truth. I picked 7 days, one for each day of the week, aligned with a rhythm of work, rest, and return. Each part will explore a foundational truth behind the technologies and philosohies I’ve embraced — from decentralization and sovereignty to truth, time, and hope.

---

We often hear that technology drives costs toward zero.

That’s the thesis of The Price of Tomorrow — that as technology advances, it becomes deflationary by nature. Automation replaces labor. Software replaces infrastructure. AI replaces entire categories of decision-making. The marginal cost of production trends toward nothing.

But that’s not the whole story.

There’s a deeper layer — one that most technologists and economists miss. It’s not just the marginal cost of production that matters. It’s the control cost of centralization. And that’s where things get murky.

Because even when marginal costs fall, the hidden toll of centralization rises.

---

The Illusion of “Free”

Take GitHub.

On paper, it’s free. You can publish static websites, host code, automate workflows with Actions, and collaborate globally — all at no cost.

But GitHub is owned by Microsoft. You don’t control the servers. You don’t own the platform. You don’t hold the keys.

It’s a gift that can be revoked.

Same with Google Docs. Or YouTube. Or Substack. Or any cloud platform that says “start for free.”

These aren’t bad tools. Many are excellent.

But they’re not neutral.

The price you pay isn’t always in dollars. Sometimes it’s in:

• Data access restrictions

• API limitations

• Sudden pricing changes

• Censorship or deplatforming

• Migration costs if (or when) things go south

This is the hidden rent of centralized platforms. And it compounds over time.

---

Control Cost vs. Marginal Cost

If marginal cost is “how cheap is it to make this?” —\ Control cost is “how much freedom do I lose by using this?”

You can publish your ideas for free on Medium — but they own the SEO.\ You can host your business on Shopify — but they can cut you off.\ You can grow your audience on Instagram — but the algorithm owns the feed.

We’ve learned to celebrate deflation. But most of the tools we use are inflating the cost of control, even as they lower the cost of entry.

And this is where decentralization flips the script.

---

The Real Promise of Decentralization

True decentralization doesn’t just make things cheaper.\ It makes them sovereign.

It redistributes power, not just price.\ It removes toll booths, not just middlemen.

It says:

• Own your keys

• Own your content

• Own your stack

• Own your distribution

This is why Nostr matters.\ This is why Bitcoin matters.\ This is why self-hosting, permissionless protocols, and open-source tooling matter — even when they’re less polished or convenient than centralized platforms.

Because they don’t just save you money.\ They save your freedom.

---

A Working Example

When I started building my blog blog.stantonweb.com, didn’t choose the easiest route.

I combined:

• Nostr for long-form publishing

• A custom Python fetch script to pull and render posts

• GitHub Actions for automation

• Static HTML for presentation

• Cloudflare + GitHub Pages for zero-cost hosting

No database. No CMS subscription. No paid theme.

The total marginal cost? $0.

But more importantly, the control cost is near zero too.\ No one can shut it down.\ No company can throttle my reach.\ No gatekeeper decides whether my words deserve to stay online.

---

Toward a New Definition of Cost

If you only optimize for price, you’ll be captured.

If you optimize for freedom, you’ll build margin over time — not just financial margin, but creative, moral, and operational margin too.

That’s what decentralization makes possible.\ Not just cheaper.\ Truer.

---

Footnote: Lessons from the Past

Remember Skype? It started as a peer-to-peer tool — truly decentralized at its core. But then it was acquired by Microsoft. Over time, its architecture was centralized and eventually dismantled.

Or Napster. It shook the music industry with peer-to-peer sharing. But it too was shut down and replaced by centralized alternatives.

BitTorrent survived — but only when it resisted the pressure to become just another platform.

The pattern is clear:

• Centralization follows capital.

• Censorship follows control.

• But freedom follows decentralization.

And that’s the direction we must choose — again and again.

---

Co-written with ChatGPT (“Dr. C”), who helped distill and sharpen the core arguments.\ \ Stay tuned for Part 1 in the next few days.

—\ Published on blog.stantonweb.com & Nostr.\ Zap: <https://tinyurl.com/yuyu2b9t>

@ 2b998b04:86727e47

Introduction: Why Money Matters to Faith

Most of us don’t think about money theologically. But Scripture speaks of it often — not just as a tool, but as a test.

Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). The love of money, not money itself, is called the root of all kinds of evil. And dishonest scales? “An abomination to the Lord” (Proverbs 11:1).

So what happens when the entire system of money becomes dishonest — when it’s based not on work or value, but manipulation and control?

That’s the world Bitcoin was born into. And it offers a radically different way — one that, surprisingly, echoes deep truths of the Christian faith — and especially what many call the Victorious Gospel: the belief that Christ’s redemption is not partial, but total. Not only personal, but cosmic.

---

1. What Is Bitcoin, and Why Was It Created?

Bitcoin is a new kind of money that isn't controlled by any government or company. You can send it anywhere in the world, and no one can block or censor your transaction. It’s digital, but unlike credit cards or PayPal, it’s not just “numbers in a bank.” It is scarce, secure, and independent.

The key idea is this: Bitcoin is money backed by work — not by trust in a government, but by real energy and effort.

Why is that important? Because the current system of money — what we call fiat — works very differently.

---

2. What Is Fiat, and Why Is It Broken?

“Fiat” simply means “by decree.” It’s the money we all use today — dollars, euros, yen — created by government decree. It used to be backed by gold. Not anymore.

Today, new fiat money is created whenever a central bank wants. It can be “printed” digitally without cost. This leads to inflation — meaning your savings buy less over time.

It’s like a form of slow theft. You worked hard for your dollars, but someone else can create more with a click. That’s not just bad economics — it violates biblical principles of fairness, honesty, and stewardship.

Bitcoin fixes this by making money that cannot be faked or inflated, because it’s based on Proof of Work — and is capped at a fixed amount.

---

3. What Is Proof of Work — and Why It Matters

Imagine you want to add a page to a history book — but to make it trustworthy, you must solve a complex puzzle that proves you did real work. Once solved, everyone else can see the solution and verify it was done properly.

That’s Proof of Work, the system Bitcoin uses to record transactions. Each time people send Bitcoin, that transaction gets added to a public ledger (called the blockchain). But it can only be added if someone does the work to secure it — using energy, effort, and computer power.

This work:

• Costs something (just like real-world labor),

• Prevents cheating (you can’t just rewrite history),

• And rewards the worker with newly created Bitcoin.

This reward is important — because it’s how new Bitcoin enters circulation. But here’s the catch:\ 👉 There will only ever be 21 million Bitcoin.\ That number is fixed forever, written into Bitcoin’s code. No one — not a government, company, or individual — can create more.

Right now, not all of the 21 million Bitcoin have been released. The process of mining — doing the Proof of Work — slowly releases new Bitcoin over time as a reward. This happens in a predictable schedule and will continue until the very last Bitcoin is mined around the year 2140.

---

4. Why Bitcoin Is the Hardest Money Ever Created

In monetary terms, “hardness” refers to how difficult it is to increase the supply of money. The harder the money, the more resistant it is to inflation or dilution.

Let’s compare:

• Gold is scarce — but not fixed. Miners extract more gold every year, adding about 1–2% to the total supply annually.

• Fiat money (like the U.S. dollar) is the softest. It can be created at will, with no limit.

• Bitcoin is the hardest money ever invented:

• The total supply is forever capped at 21 million.

• The rate of creation cuts in half every four years.

• No one can change this schedule.

This makes Bitcoin the first truly scarce asset in human history — not just physically scarce like gold, but mathematically and absolutely scarce.

Why does this matter?

Because it changes the very nature of money. Instead of being something that loses value over time, Bitcoin becomes a form of property — a way to store your labor, your time, your effort — across generations.

• It encourages saving, not spending out of fear of inflation.

• It rewards patience and stewardship, not speculation and debt.

• It teaches long-term thinking, a concept deeply woven into Scripture (Proverbs 13:22: “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children”).

---

5. Why Does This Matter for Christianity?

Christianity affirms that creation is good, work is sacred, and truth matters.

In Genesis, God gave Adam a task — to work the garden. Work is not a curse. It’s part of what it means to bear God’s image.

Bitcoin’s Proof of Work aligns with this:

• It says value comes from real effort, not manipulation.

• It links truth to time — just as God’s Word unfolds through history.

• It defends against corruption — just as the Kingdom of God resists the lies of Babylon.

• It places a limit on excess — just as Sabbath and Jubilee rhythms place a brake on endless exploitation.

In contrast, fiat systems reward those closest to the money printers — often the rich or powerful — while devaluing the labor of ordinary people. That’s why Bitcoin has been called “money for the people” — because anyone, anywhere, can use it without asking permission.

---

6. The Victorious Gospel: A Bigger Redemption

The Victorious Gospel teaches that Jesus didn’t just save individual souls. He came to restore all things — including how we live, build, work, and relate to each other.

That means we care about justice, truth, dignity, and creation itself. And it means we seek tools that reflect those values.

Bitcoin isn’t the Gospel. But it rhymes with it:

• It honors work, like God does.

• It respects time, like Scripture does.

• It tells the truth, like Jesus does.

• It has limits, just as the Sabbath, Creation, and grace all have defined edges.

• And it stores value — the value of human time and labor — like good soil stores seed.

---

7. But Isn’t Bitcoin Just for Rich Tech People?

Actually, the opposite is true.

Bitcoin doesn’t care who you are. It doesn’t ask for ID. It doesn’t need a bank. A farmer in El Salvador, a refugee in Ukraine, or a pastor in Nigeria can all use it the same as a Wall Street investor.

It’s global, permissionless, and radically equal — not because it’s utopian, but because it’s built on truth, not trust.

And that makes it a powerful tool for Christians who care about freedom, fairness, and flourishing.

---

8. Final Thoughts: Proof of Work and the Work of Christ

When Jesus died on the cross, He said: “It is finished.” That was not just poetry. It was proof — that the work was done. That redemption had been secured.

In a small way, Bitcoin reflects that kind of finality:

• Once a block is written, it cannot be undone.

• Once work is proven, it stands as a record.

• Once grace is given, it cannot be revoked.

We don’t need to “stake” our claims based on how much power or status we hold (as in Proof of Stake). We rest in what has been proven.

That’s why many Christians — especially those who believe in a victorious, world-restoring Gospel — are finding in Bitcoin a tool that aligns with their deepest values.\ \ ✍️ Acknowledgment

This article was crafted with the assistance of Dr. C (ChatGPT) to help structure and clarify these ideas. But more than that, it was born of prayer, conviction, and the quiet guidance of the Holy Spirit, who leads us into all truth (John 16:13) and brings to remembrance all that Christ has taught (John 14:26).\ Any clarity, wisdom, or insight found here belongs to Him. Any confusion or error is mine alone.

---

Summary

Bitcoin is not just “internet money.” It’s a response to a broken system.\ Proof of Work means truth is earned, not claimed.\ Fiat money is manipulable and inflationary; Bitcoin is fixed and fair.\ Bitcoin is the hardest money in history — with a supply cap of 21 million.\ It appreciates over time, acting as a new form of digital property.\ Christianity calls us to honest scales, faithful stewardship, and dignified work.\ And the Victorious Gospel declares that Jesus is restoring all things — including how we steward value, time, and trust.

Bitcoin may not be the final answer. But it’s a faithful step in the right direction.

@ 8d34bd24:414be32b

So often Christians focus on God’s love and ignore His judgment. They tell people they need to be saved, but leave out from what they need to be saved. Fifty or a hundred years ago, almost every American knew the basics of the Bible, what sin is, what the judgment of Hell is, and that the God of the Bible is our Creator. Today, most people in America and the world know very little of that. Phrases like, “Trust Jesus and be saved,” mean very little. The person you are talking to may be silently thinking, “Who is Jesus? Why should I trust Him? What do I need to be saved from?”

Most Christians, especially from Evangelical circles, have been steeped in the phrase “Be saved,” but how many have thought carefully about from what they are being saved? If we have trouble answering, “from what?”, how can we explain it to those who don’t know Jesus?

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. (Romans 5:8-11) {emphasis mine}

Primarily we are saved “from the wrath of God.” We are also reconciled which saves us from separation from God.

We are also told that we are rescued [saved] “from the wrath to come.”

And to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come. (1 Thessalonians 1:10) {emphasis mine}

Then one might ask, “What right does God have to tell me what to do and to get mad at me?”

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. (John 1:1-5) {emphasis mine}

Why does God get to set the rules? Because He made all things. The Creator gets to set the rules for His creation. It isn’t just ‘might makes right,’ but the one who spoke everything into being gets to set the rules for His creatures just like He set the rules for how everything in the universe works.

Many might claim, “but surely God can’t expect us to be perfect? Nobody is perfect.”

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:15-16) {emphasis mine}

Jesus doesn’t expect more than He has given. He went through every temptation we have experienced, including trials and hardships we can’t imagine, and yet was without even one sin. He is the perfect example of what we should be. Even more amazingly, he understands that we are unable to live up to His standard, so He came to earth, suffered, died, and rose again, so we could be reconciled to Him. All we have to do is repent of our sins, trust Him, and submit to Him. How can we not put our faith in Him after all He did for us?

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Jesus paid the penalty. He took our sins, so we can receive His righteousness. This is a trade everyone should be willing to make, but sadly most refuse — some willfully, but some because they haven’t heard the good news. Hopefully all Christians will faithfully share the gospel with those around them.

May the perfect Savior guide us in His perfect will and help us to rightfully share the gospel with all those around us.

Trust Jesus

@ 3283ef81:0a531a33

Hey\ Ho

Let's go!

@ 5d4b6c8d:8a1c1ee3

Let's hear those ~HealthAndFitness triumphs and challenges

My triumphs - OMAD - Cold shower

My challenges - need to be more active and get outside more

200 sats to post!!! Eat more key lime pie @realBitcoinDog

https://stacker.news/items/1003145

@ 04c3c1a5:a94cf83d

I am trying this again because it did not work the first time.

@ b99efe77:f3de3616

Traffic Light Control System 10/06

This Petri net represents a traffic control protocol ensuring that two traffic lights alternate safely and are never both green at the same time.

petrinet ;start () -> greenLight1 redLight2 ;toRed1 greenLight1 -> queue redLight1 ;toGreen2 redLight2 queue -> greenLight2 ;toGreen1 queue redLight1 -> greenLight1 ;toRed2 greenLight2 -> redLight2 queue ;stop redLight1 queue redLight2 -> ()

@ 58537364:705b4b85

เกี่ยวกับเรื่อง “เวลา”

พระอรหันต์ บุคคลผู้หลุดพ้นแล้ว เห็นอย่างถูกต้อง จึงไม่ยึดถือ อดีต กับ อนาคต แม้กระทั่งปัจจุบัน

ตัวอย่างง่ายๆ ที่จะต้องสังเกตดูให้ดีว่า โดยที่แท้นั้นเราไม่สามารถรู้จักอดีต ปัจจุบัน หรืออนาคต ได้เลย เราไม่อาจรู้จักสิ่งที่เป็นปัจจุบันได้ ถ้าสิ่งนั้นไม่กลายเป็นอดีตไปเสียก่อน เหมือนอย่างว่า..เมื่อตาเห็นรูป เช่น เห็นดอกไม้ดอกหนึ่ง จิตใจต้องรับอารมณ์(รูป,สี)เสร็จแล้ว ภาพที่เห็นนั้นเป็นอดีตไปแล้ว เราจึงจะรู้ว่าเป็นดอกไม้ดอกหนึ่ง เช่น ดอกกุหลาบดอกหนึ่ง เป็นต้น

ถ้าไม่เป็นอดีตไปเสียก่อน จิตใจก็ไม่มีทางจะรู้ว่ามันเป็นอะไร เพราะเหตุฉะนั้น ปัจจุบันเป็นสิ่งที่เรารู้ไม่ได้ รู้สึกไม่ได้ สัมผัสไม่ได้ เพราะว่าเราไม่อาจจะรู้จักสิ่งใดได้ โดยที่สิ่งนั้นไม่เปลี่ยนเป็นอดีตไปเสียก่อนนั่นเอง ต้องเป็น "ขณะจิต" ในอดีตเสียก่อน จึงจะรู้ว่าสิ่งนั้นเป็นอะไร เราจึงไม่อาจจะสัมผัสปัจจุบันได้

ส่วนเวลาที่เรียกว่า "อนาคต" ก็ยังไม่มา ส่วนอดีตก็ล่วงลับไปแล้ว เราก็ไม่ได้รับอะไรเลย แม้แต่ที่เป็น"ปัจจุบัน" #ถ้าใครมองเห็นอย่างนี้ก็เรียกว่ารู้จักเวลาอย่างถูกต้อง คือเวลาในภาษาธรรมะ ซึ่งไม่อาจจะแบ่งเป็นวินาที นาที เดือน ปีอะไรได้เลย มันเป็นกระแสอันหนึ่งซึ่งคงที่ จนกล่าวได้ว่า ไม่มีเบื้องต้น ไม่มีเบื้องปลาย ไม่มีท่ามกลาง

สิ่งที่เรียกว่า "เวลา" นั้น ไม่มีใครรู้ได้ว่าตั้งต้นเมื่อไหร่ มากี่กัปกี่กัลป์แล้ว จะไปสิ้นสุดเมื่อไหร่ อีกกี่กัปกี่กัลป์ แล้วในขณะปัจจุบันของมัน เราก็แตะต้องมันไม่ได้ เพราะต้องเป็นอดีตไปเสียก่อนทุกที จึงจะรู้สึกขึ้นในใจได้ว่าอะไรเป็นอะไร

เมื่อตาเห็นรูปก็ดี เมื่อหูฟังเสียงก็ดี เมื่อจมูกได้กลิ่นก็ดี ลิ้นได้รสก็ดี กายได้สัมผัสทางผิวหนังก็ดี หรือใจคิดนึกอะไรก็ดี "ขณะจิต"แห่งอดีตเท่านั้น ที่จะบอกได้ว่าอะไรเป็นอะไร ขณะเป็นปัจจุบันนั้นบอกให้ไม่ได้เพราะเร็วเกินไป เพียงขณะจิตเดียวก็เป็นอดีตเสียแล้ว ขณะจิตที่กระทบอารมณ์นั้นบอกอะไรไม่ได้ จนกว่าเป็นขณะจิตที่เสวยอารมณ์เสร็จแล้ว เพราะฉะนั้น สิ่งนั้นก็เป็นอดีตไปแล้ว ดังนี้ เป็นต้น

ท่านลองเปรียบเทียบดูว่า คนไหนโง่หรือคนไหนฉลาดกว่ากัน

คนที่เห็นเวลาเป็นอย่างนี้อย่างนั้น เป็นอดีต เป็นอนาคต เป็นปัจจุบัน จนปัญหาเกิดขึ้นนั้น ก็ต้องมีความทุกข์เป็นธรรมดา ส่วนพระอรหันต์นั้น ฉลาดจนไม่มีอดีต อนาคต ปัจจุบัน อย่างที่พระพุทธเจ้าตรัสว่า “ไม่ถือเอาไว้ที่ส่วนสุดทั้งสอง และทั้งไม่ถือเอาไว้ที่ตรงกลาง” นั่นคือ “ความไม่ยึดถือ” เป็นบุคคลผู้หลุดพ้นแล้ว ไม่ยึดถือส่วนทั้งสอง คืออดีตกับอนาคต ส่วนข้างต้นเรียกว่า"อดีต" ส่วนข้างปลายเรียกว่า"อนาคต" นี้ก็ไม่ยึดถือ แล้วก็ไม่ยึดถือแม้กระทั่งส่วนตรงกลาง คือ "ปัจจุบัน" อย่างนี้เรียกว่า "ไม่มีการยึดถืออะไร" และเป็นพระอรหันต์เพราะรู้จักเวลาอย่างถูกต้องเช่นนี้

แต่คนธรรมดาสามัญทำอย่างนี้ไม่ได้ ทำไม่เป็น ดังนั้น จึงต้องสอนกันอีกอย่างหนึ่ง อีกแนวหนึ่ง คือ ให้รู้จักจัดการเกี่ยวกับเวลา ว่า..อย่างไรเป็นอดีต อย่างไรเป็นอนาคต อย่างไรเป็นปัจจุบัน แล้วก็ให้จัดการกับปัจจุบันให้ถูกต้อง อย่าไปมัวห่วงเรื่องอดีต อนาคต ให้ฟุ้งซ่าน แต่ให้สนใจกับปัจจุบัน คือสิ่งที่จะต้องทำเฉพาะหน้า ที่นี่ เดี๋ยวนี้ ในวันนี้ ให้ถูกต้อง อย่างนี้คนธรรมดาก็บรรเทาความทุกข์ไปได้มาก

แต่ถ้าคนธรรมดาสามัญนั้น มองเห็นปัจจุบันที่ลึก(ซึ้ง)ขึ้นไปอีก จนกระทั่ง(ปัจจุบัน)ไม่มีแล้ว #คนธรรมดาสามัญนั้นก็กลายเป็นพระอริยเจ้าไปด้วยเหตุนี้.

พุทธทาสภิกขุ ๑ มกราคม ๒๕๑๐ ธรรมบรรยายเรื่อง “เรามากินเวลากันเถิด” จากหนังสือ “ภาษาคน-ภาษาธรรม”

“กาโล ฆสติ ภูตานิ สพฺพาเนว สหตฺตนา โย กาลฆโส ภูโต ส ภูตปจนึ ปจิ

กาลเวลา ย่อมกลืนกินสรรพสัตว์ พร้อมทั้งตัวของมันเอง ผู้ใดกินกาล ผู้นั้นชื่อว่าเผาสิ่งที่เผาสัตว์ กาลเวลาทำให้อายุ ผิวพรรณ ของสัตว์ทั้งหลายสิ้นไปเสื่อมไป ตัวมันเองก็ล่วงไปด้วย พระอรหันต์ ชื่อว่า ผู้กินกาล เพราะไม่มีปฏิสนธิกาลในอนาคต เป็นผู้ทำลาย หรือคายโอกาสในการเกิดใหม่ สิ่งที่เผาสัตว์ คือกิเลส มีราคะ เป็นต้น อันพระขีณาสพเผาเสียแล้ว”

ปปัญจสูทนี อรรถกถา มัชฌิมนิกาย มูลปริยายสูตร

@ eb0157af:77ab6c55

Uber’s CEO has revealed the company’s interest in stablecoins as a solution to reduce the costs of cross-border payments.

The multinational transport giant is currently in an exploratory phase regarding the integration of stablecoins into its global payment systems. The disclosure came during a speech by CEO Dara Khosrowshahi at the Bloomberg Tech conference in San Francisco.

“We’re still in the study phase, I’d say, but stablecoin is one of the, for me, more interesting instantiations of crypto that has a practical benefit other than crypto as a store of value.” Khosrowshahi stated.

The Uber CEO explained how stablecoins could represent a cost-effective alternative to traditional payment systems for international transactions. According to Khosrowshahi, these digital currencies could significantly reduce the company’s operational expenses by eliminating high fees and delays typically associated with conventional bank transfers.

Implementing stablecoins could streamline Uber’s global payment operations, with particularly significant benefits in markets burdened by high remittance costs or unstable local currencies — enabling faster and more reliable payments to the company’s business partners. However, Uber has yet to specify which stablecoins or blockchain networks it might adopt, nor has it provided a precise timeline for implementation.

Uber’s interest in stablecoins comes as the legislative landscape continues to evolve. The U.S. Congress is currently reviewing two major legislative proposals: the GENIUS Act and the STABLE Act, both aimed at establishing a clear regulatory framework for dollar-pegged digital currencies. These bills focus on reserve standards and anti-money laundering requirements but have yet to be finalized.

The post Uber eyes stablecoins to optimize international payments appeared first on Atlas21.

@ eb0157af:77ab6c55

Romania’s national postal service embraces digital assets by installing the first Bitcoin ATM at its Tulcea branch.

Romania has witnessed the inauguration of the first Bitcoin ATM within the offices of Poșta Română, the country’s national postal service.

The installation took place at the Tulcea branch, the result of a strategic collaboration between Poșta Română and Bitcoin Romania (BTR), one of the country’s leading exchanges. According to the official announcement from the postal service, this marks only the first step in a broader project.

Source: Poșta Română

The next locations set to host these ATMs will be Alexandria, Piatra Neamț, Botoșani, and Nădlac, confirming the postal service’s commitment to widespread distribution of these devices.

The integration of Bitcoin ATMs in post offices is part of a wider strategy to modernize the existing infrastructure through cutting-edge digital technologies. The initiative also aims to expand the range of services available in areas of the country traditionally underserved.

Global adoption

In recent months, global Bitcoin adoption has continued to grow through various channels: individual investors, companies accepting BTC as a payment method, corporations and institutions accumulating Bitcoin as a treasury asset, and nation-states acquiring BTC for strategic reserves.

According to Binance data from January, the number of Bitcoin wallets holding more than $100 in value reached nearly 30 million, marking a 25% year-on-year increase.

Despite this growth, overall Bitcoin adoption remains limited worldwide, even in countries with the highest adoption rates. A Q1 2025 report by River, a Bitcoin financial services company, found that only 4% of the global population owns Bitcoin.

The United States retains the highest concentration of Bitcoin holders, with around 14% of individuals holding BTC in 2025. The total addressable Bitcoin market remains below 1%, due to low retail adoption and under-allocation from institutions, the U.S.-based company noted.

According to River, Bitcoin could absorb 50% of the store-of-value market, equivalent to roughly $225 trillion in value. These asset classes include cash, stocks, real estate, precious metals, and art held for price appreciation or savings. With a current market capitalization slightly above $2 trillion, Bitcoin still has significant room for growth, River suggests.

The post Poșta Română launches the first Bitcoin ATM in post offices appeared first on Atlas21.

@ 3a851978:ff85e003

This document is designed to test Markdown rendering with LaTeX math support. Below you'll find examples of Markdown formatting combined with inline and block mathematical notation.

1. Inline Math

Here is an inline formula using single dollar signs:

• Euler's identity: $e^{i\pi} + 1 = 0$
• Quadratic formula: $x = \frac{-b \pm \sqrt{b^2 - 4ac}}{2a}$
• Pythagoras theorem: $a^2 + b^2 = c^2$

2. Block Math

Now let's test block-level LaTeX using double dollar signs:

$$ \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} e^{-x^2} \, dx = \sqrt{\pi} $$

Another block formula:

$$ f(x) = \sum_{n=0}^{\infty} \frac{f^{(n)}(0)}{n!}x^n $$

3. Lists and Math

• Integral: $\int_0^1 x^2 , dx = \frac{1}{3}$
• Derivative: $\frac{d}{dx} \sin(x) = \cos(x)$
• Matrix:

$$ \begin{pmatrix} 1 & 2 \ 3 & 4 \end{pmatrix} $$

With inline math in code: $E = mc^2$ (should not render as math here).

5. Tables

| Formula Name | Expression | | ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ | | Euler's Identity | $e^{i\pi} + 1 = 0$ | | Taylor Series | $\sum_{n=0}^{\infty} \frac{x^n}{n!}$ | | Binomial Theorem | $(a + b)^n = \sum_{k=0}^n \binom{n}{k} a^{n-k} b^k$ |

@ 8bad92c3:ca714aa5

Key Takeaways

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

Best Quotes

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

Conclusion

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

Timestamps

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

Transcript

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

@ 6a6be47b:3e74e3e1

Hi frens! 🎧

🎶 I just can’t stop listening to the new Deafheaven album, Lonely People with Power. I’ve been hesitant to write about it because I’m no music expert—I’m just a fan, and my appreciation is mostly pure excitement and awe.

So, honestly, my opinion is very biased because I love this band so much. Their newest album has completely taken over my playlists since its release. I’m hooked.

Their last album was a dreamy blend of shoegaze and black metal with those signature “goblin core” screams (forgive my genre-mixing, I just go with what I feel!), and I loved it. Songs like “Neptune Raining Diamonds” flowing into “Lament for Wasps” felt like being transported to another dimension—chef’s kiss.

👀If you know Deafheaven, maybe you first heard them through their cult classic Sunbather, or maybe New Bermuda, or something else entirely.

🧛‍♂️ If you’re used to their darker sound, maybe the last album wasn’t your thing. But this one—oh wow. From the instrumental opening track, I was in for a ride. The music is a mix of pain, loneliness, despair, and sadness, all wrapped in ethereal sounds and bursts of fury.

It’s hard to describe, but the lyrics—while dark—feel universal. There’s a sense of being observed, feeling helpless, but also a glimmer of hope, a sense that something new might begin. That’s exactly how this album left me feeling.

🎵 If you haven’t given this album a chance yet, I really hope you do! And if you have, what was your favorite part? For me, it’s those smooth transitions between songs—going from “Incidental II” to “Revelator,” and then topping it off with “Body Behaviour.” Mind blown.

Well, those are my two sats! Enjoy your week and take care, frens.

Godspeed! 🚀

https://stacker.news/items/1002715

@ eb0157af:77ab6c55

The stance taken by 31 Bitcoin Core developers divides the community over non-monetary transactions and use cases.

The Bitcoin community finds itself at the center of a heated debate after 31 Bitcoin Core developers published a joint statement outlining a non-interventionist approach to network usage, amid ongoing controversy over non-financial use cases.

The document, published on June 6 on the Bitcoin Core website, has sparked mixed reactions among bitcoiners. The developers clarified their position:

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

The statement emphasizes that Bitcoin is a network “defined by its users” and that core contributors are “not in a position” to enforce mandates on what software or policies people should choose. “Being free to run any software is the network’s primary safeguard against coercion,” it reads.

Community reactions

Not everyone welcomed the developers’ statement. Samson Mow, CEO of JAN3, criticized the tone of the release:

Bitcoin Core devs have been changing the network gradually to enable spam and now seem focused on also removing barriers for spammers. It’s disingenuous to just say “it is what it is now, too bad.”

This statement itself is also inappropriate. Feels like an NYA from Core devs. https://t.co/ACIqyvK12f

— Samson Mow (@Excellion) June 7, 2025

On the other hand, Jameson Lopp, founder of Casa, defended the letter, explaining:

Ahuh, the same but fundamentally different.

NYA was a group saying we have 82% hashpower and will activate a hard fork with 80% signaling.

Core Devs are a group saying we can't force anyone to run code they don't like, here is our thinking on relay policy & network health.

— Jameson Lopp (@lopp) June 7, 2025

Bitcoin Core developer Luke Dashjr criticized the transaction relay policy goals outlined in the statement, stating:

NACK

The goals of transaction relay listed are basically all wrong. Predicting what will be mined is a centralizing goal. Expecting spam to be mined is defeatism. Helping spam propagate is harmful.

This OPED contradicts itself, presenting out of band relay as both negative and…

— Luke Dashjr (@LukeDashjr) June 7, 2025

According to the statement, the Core devs believe it is better for Bitcoin node software to “aim for a realistic sense of what will be included in the next block, rather than intervening between consenting transaction creators and miners to discourage activity that is largely technically harmless.”

The developers identified the main goals of transaction relay as predicting which Bitcoin transactions will be mined, speeding up block propagation, and helping miners identify transactions that pay fees.

The statement concludes:

“While we recognize that this view isn’t held universally by all users and developers, it is our sincere belief that it is in the best interest of Bitcoin and its users, and we hope our users agree.”

Meanwhile, the share of nodes running the implementation created by developer Luke Dashjr, Bitcoin Knots, has surpassed the 10% threshold, according to data from Clark Moody Bitcoin.

The post Bitcoin Core: joint statement sparks debate within the community appeared first on Atlas21.

@ eb0157af:77ab6c55

A new step for the American bank in the digital asset space: Bitcoin ETFs cleared for use as collateral for financing.

JPMorgan Chase will allow clients to use spot Bitcoin ETFs as collateral to obtain loans. According to sources close to the project, cited by Bloomberg, the initiative will launch in the coming weeks and will involve trading and wealth management clients on a global scale.

The bank has decided to begin this new phase starting with crypto ETFs, beginning with the BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which has already surpassed $70 billion in assets under management (AUM). The decision is part of a broader strategy aimed at enabling selected clients to access financing by using cryptocurrency-related assets as collateral. Before this change, JPMorgan only accepted crypto ETFs as loan collateral under specific conditions.

The American bank’s new approach will see Bitcoin ETFs treated like other traditional assets when calculating a client’s borrowing capacity. Just as is currently the case with stocks, cars, or works of art, crypto ETFs will become an integral part of standard wealth evaluations.

Although CEO Jamie Dimon has historically been known for his skeptical stance on Bitcoin, the bank announced last month that it would soon allow clients to purchase spot ETFs on the leading cryptocurrency — although without offering custody services.

The new rules will apply to all of JPMorgan’s wealth management clients worldwide, from retail customers to high-net-worth individuals. The bank will also integrate crypto holdings into the net worth assessments of clients managed by its wealth management division.

The post JPMorgan Chase: Bitcoin ETFs accepted as loan collateral appeared first on Atlas21.

@ a29cfc65:484fac9c

Über die Freilerner-Familie von Katharina und Johannes mit ihren Kindern Aurelius, Benjamin und Friedrich haben wir in unserem Beitrag vom 28. Mai 2025 berichtet. Hier wollen wir eines ihrer Projekte vorstellen. Es zeigt deutlich den pädagogischen Ansatz von Jahrgangs- und Fächer-übergreifender zielorientierter Arbeit der Freilerner.

Die drei Jungs haben im Ringelnatz-Verein Wurzen zusammen mit anderen Kindern am Vorhaben „Vom Drehbuch zum fertigen Film“ mitgewirkt. Das Projekt wurde von dem Lyriker und Schriftsteller Carl-Christian Elze geleitet und unterstützt von der Künstlerin Constanze Kehrt, dem Theater- und Filmregisseur Philipp J. Neumann sowie dem Cutter und Animation Artist**** Sascha Werner, alle aus Leipzig. Constanze Kehrt unterstützte die Kinder beim Erlernen der Grundlagen für das Schreiben von Drehbüchern. Daneben gab es erste Übungen zur Körperwahrnehmung, Stimm- und Sprachübungen sowie Improvisations- und Schauspielübungen. Nach einer Einführung durch Philipp J. Neumann in die Filmkunst mit ihren unterschiedlichen Bereichen wie Schauspiel, Regie, Kamera, Ton, Produktion, Szenenbild, Kostüm, Musik, Schnitt, Sounddesign wurden die Kinder und Jugendlichen auf den eigentlichen Filmdreh vorbereitet. Dazu gehörten Übungen im Storyboarding, Szenenproben und schließlich das Location-Scouting und Festlegen der Drehorte in unmittelbarer Nähe zum Ringelnatz-Geburtshaus. An zwei Drehtagen wurden schließlich zwei Kurzfilme gedreht, darunter „Die Flosse“, an dem Aurelius, Benjamin und Friedrich sowie andere Kinder mitwirkten. Die Kinder übernahmen nicht nur die Rollen, sondern auch die Kamera, die Tonabnahme und zum Teil die Regie. Eine Einführung in die Kunst des Film- und Tonschnitts bekamen die Kinder und Jugendlichen schließlich von Sascha Werner. Danach wurde das gedrehte Material gemeinsam gesichtet und der Schnitt vorgenommen. Dabei konnten die Kinder und Jugendlichen die Erfahrung machen, dass es tatsächlich maßgeblich der Schnitt ist, der einem Film seinen besonderen Charakter, eine bestimmte Atmosphäre gibt.

In dem Film „Die Flosse“ schleichen sich drei Kinder abends von zu Hause weg, weil sie in der Schule gehört haben, dass in der Mulde eine große Flosse gesichtet wurde. Als sie an das Mulde-Wehr kommen, sehen sie keine Flosse, aber hören seltsame Geräusche. Plötzlich ruft eine Mädchenstimme um Hilfe. Philip ist bereit zu helfen, Emma und Benjamin bleiben lieber im Versteck. Im Wasser liegend und von Ästen eingeklemmt findet Philip eine Sirene. Sie bittet ihn, ihr zu helfen und lockt ihn ins Wasser, was Philip zum Verhängnis wird.

Der Film zeigt die kreativen und ausdrucksstarken Fähigkeiten der Kinder, die sie im Zusammenwirken mit ihren Lernbegleitern vom Drehbuch bis zum fertigen Kurzfilm umgesetzt haben. Der Film handelt von Hilfsbereitschaft und dem Mut, anderen in bedrohlicher Lage zu helfen. Aber auch das Zögern bei einigen zur Hilfe wird deutlich. Das Ende läßt viele Interpretationsmöglichkeiten zu.

Quelle: https://ringelnatz-verein.de/projekte/anna-hood/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yC6YEa63Dp8

Foto von Aleksandra B. auf Unsplash

@ 93bfc86d:fc8e91f5

질서자유주의가 자유주의 세상을 만드는 방법

안캡의 전략에는 크게 두 가지, 호페의 질서자유주의와 새뮤얼 콘킨 3세의 아고리즘이 있다.

로스바드-호페 라인의 질서자유주의는 논리를 기반으로 자연권을 정당화하고, 이를 통해 국가의 부당함을 설파한다. 미제스의 "인간은 행동한다."라는 제1공리부터 시작해서, 행동의 제1수단인 신체가 그 자신에게 소유되어야 한다는 자기 소유를 증명하고 자연권을 철저하게 연역적으로 정당화해간다. 안캡의 세상을 만들려는 이들의 방법론도 논리적이다.

예를 들어 호페의 『자유주의자는 무엇을 해야 하는가』 책에서는 위로부터의 전환이 불가능함에 따라 아래로부터의 전환을 해야 한다는 주장이 나온다. 과거에는 이런 자유로운 세상이 도래하기 위해서는 왕 한 명이 "앞으로 자기가 원하는 대로 보안 기업을 자유롭게 선택하고, 더 이상의 강제는 없다!"라고 선언만 하면 됐다. 따라서 왕 한 명만 어떻게 설득을 하거나, 압박을 하든 주리를 틀든 일단 왕이 이렇게 선언하게 하기만 하면 됐다. '마그나 카르타'도 결국 귀족 연합이 왕 한 명을 압박해 왕이 서명했던 것 아닌가?

반면에 현대 민주주의 사회를 보자. 대한민국에서 대통령 한 명이 최저임금을 폐지할 수 있는가? 최저임금은 헌법에 보장되는데(헌법 32조) 따라서 이를 폐지하는 것은 거의 개헌만큼이나 어렵다. 대통령이나 국회의원 과반이 발의를 해야 하고, 국회에서 재적 3분의 2 이상이 찬성해야 겨우 통과되며, 이렇게 통과해도 국민투표에서 과반수가 동의해야 겨우 없어지는 것이다. 즉, 거의 불가능에 가깝다.

따라서 호페는 위로부터의 전환이 불가능함에 따라 전국적인 중앙 정부의 투표를 거부할 것을 제안한다. 대통령 선거나 국회의원 선거 등 말이다. 여기서 중앙 정부 단위의 투표를 거부하는 이유는 중앙 정부의 부당성도 있지만, 이 투표를 통해 세상을 바꾸는 게 현실성이 없어서 그렇다.

같은 맥락에서 지역 선거의 투표는 항상 거부하는 건 아닌데, 자유주의자들이 한 국가 전체에서 과반을 얻는 것은 불가능하지만, 한 지역에 점점 몰리는 경우에는 적어도 그 지역에서는 과반이 될 수도 있기 때문이다. 따라서 아주 작은 지역에서 자유주의자들이 다수결이 된다면 적어도 그 지역에 한해서는 위로부터의 전환이 가능해진다. 그러면 투표를 거부하다가 지역구에서 본격적으로 투표를 하기 전에 선행되어야 할 일은 자유주의가 많이 퍼지고, 자유주의를 지지하는 사람들이 특정 지역에 몰리기 시작해야 하는 것일 것이다. 비트코이너들이 특정 지역에 몰려 시타델을 건설하는 상황을 생각하면 될 것 같다.

그 이후에는? 지역구의 대표로 선출된 인물이 해당 지역구의 투표권을 재산 소유자에게 재산 크기(지분)대로 다시 분배해야 한다. 즉, 재산이 없는 사람은 투표권이 없다. 모든 공공 인프라(도로, 수도, 전기, 교육, 치안, 사법 등등)는 전부 주식으로 판매되어 민영화된다(지방 정부는 이를 통해 재원을 마련한다). 이에 따라 공공 인프라는 완전히 사적 소유로 전환된다. 치안, 사법, 교육 모두 민간 영역으로 전환된다.

현재 세계에서 자유주의자들이 이런 관점을 취한다면 무엇을 해야 할까? 일단 자유주의를 더 많은 사람에게 퍼뜨려야 한다. 또한, 자유주의자들이 모일 지역을 물색해야 할 것이다. 그리고 중앙 정부 단위의 투표를 거부해야 할 것이다.

그림 1. 질서 자유주의의 상징인 아나코 캐피탈리즘 깃발

현대 민주주의 투표의 부당함

아고리즘의 전략을 이야기하기 전에 먼저 현대 민주주의 투표의 부당함에 대해 살펴보고 가자. 개인적인 생각도 들어가 있다.

투표 행위 자체는 유권자의 권리 행사로 전혀 나쁠 것이 없다. 다수결의 원칙도 당연히 마찬가지다. 투표 당사자들이 다수결의 원칙에 동의하기 때문에 참여하는 것이기 때문이다. 그래서 민주주의는 선거에서 져도 그 결과에 승복하는 것이 그 시스템의 규칙이다. 예를 들어 주주총회에서 주주들이 지분대로 의결권을 행사하거나 행사하지 않아서 생기는 결과는 그 행위 자체로는 전혀 문제가 없다.

투표의 정당성은 투표라는 행위 자체로부터 판단되는 것이 아니라 그 투표가 어떤 시스템 아래서 이뤄지는 투표인지로부터 판단해야 한다. 나는 두 가지 관점에서 살펴볼 것이다.

현대 민주주의의 투표는 유권자가 자신의 권리를 당선자에게 위임하는 행위다. 한 후보가 당선되면 다수결의 원칙에 따라서 그 후보는 그 후보를 찍지 않은 유권자들의 권리까지 모두 가져간다. 여기까지는 문제가 없다. 투표 행위 참여자들이 다수결의 원칙이라는 그 시스템에 동의하기 때문에 투표하기 때문이다.

그런데 현대 민주주의는 당선된 후보가 그 후보에게 투표했든, 투표하지 않았든, 기권을 했든 간에 다른 사람의 소유권을 마음껏 유린할 수 있는 권한도 가져간다. 이건 아주 큰 문제다. 국회의원이 세금을 늘리는 입법 권한을 행사하거나, 대통령이나 국회에서 예산을 편성해 정부 지출을 늘리고, 돈을 찍어내서 사람들의 소유권을 유린하는 행위가 용인된다.

어떤 사람도 다른 사람의 소유권을 침해할 수는 없다. 소유권은 단순히 희소한 재화의 분배 문제를 해결하는 실용적 대안이라서 중요한 것이 아니다. 인간 행동이라는 공리로부터 자기 소유 원칙을 이끌어내고, 그가 소유한 신체와 삶을 써서 획득한 재화(원초적 점유)에 대한 소유권을 보장하는 것이며, 그리고 이미 소유권이 있는 재화를 교환의 양 당사자가 자유롭게 교환하는 행위를 보장하는 것이다.

따라서 소유권은 인간에게 이성이 있다는 존엄성의 표현이자 인간 시간(삶)의 희소성과 귀중함을 인정하는 것이다. 어느 누구도 이를 모독할 권리는 없다. 이를 침해하는 것은 보편 원리에 따라 그 자신의 소유권도 포기한다는 뜻과 같으며, 이는 결국 자기 신체의 자기 소유도 부정하는 셈이 된다.

현대 민주주의에서 투표하는 것은 다른 누군가의 소유권을 유린할 사람을 뽑는 것과 같다. 애초에 이런 권한은 누구에게도 주어지지 않았으며 당연히 누구에게도 없으니 넘겨줄 수도 없는 권한이다.

현대 민주주의의 삼권분립 체제는 당선자에게 이러한 강탈의 권한이 보장된다. 설령 후보자가 이런 권한을 행사하지 않는다고 하더라도 이 시스템이 그러한 권한을 발동할 수 있다는 것을 언제든지 보장한다면 이러한 시스템은 폐기되어야 한다.

따라서 현대 민주주의에서 투표하는 행위는 누군가가 이러한 권한을 행사하는 것에 대한 동의로 간주될 수 있다. 어떤 후보가 이런 행위를 다른 후보보다 '덜' 한다고 해서 그 후보에 투표하는 것에 대한 정당성은 당연히 확보될 수 없다. 더하는지 덜하는지에 따라 이 약탈이 정당화될 수는 없기 때문이다.

심지어 어떤 후보가 이런 약탈 행위를 절대 안 할 것이라고 공언한다고 해도, 시스템에 이러한 권한이 보장되어 있는 이상 투표하는 행위는 이 시스템에 동의하는 행위이다. 그 후보가 당선된 이후 갑자기 돌변해 세금을 걷거나 국채를 팔아 예산을 확보하고 돈을 찍어내는 것이 시스템 상에서는 문제가 없기 때문이다. 이것은 간접 민주주의의 단점이라기 보다는, 애초에 이런 다른 사람에 대한 약탈 권한을 행사할 수 있는 시스템 자체가 잘못된 것이다.

현대 민주주의가 부당한 두 번째 이유는 이 시스템에 동의하지 않는 사람들조차 이 시스템의 피해자가 된다는 점이다.

도박에 참여하고 있는 사람들을 생각해보자. 승리자가 나머지 베팅한 모든 사람들의 베팅 금액을 약탈하는 것은 전혀 문제가 되지 않는다. 왜냐하면 도박 참여자들은 패배 시 자신이 베팅한 재산이 승자에게 몰수될 수도 있다는 것에 동의하고 도박에 참여하기 때문이다(따라서 이는 약탈이 아니다). 이에 동의하지 않는다면 도박을 그만하면 된다. 도박사는 언제든지 도박을 그만둘 자유가 있다.

그러나 현대 민주주의는 이 시스템에 동의하지 않더라도 그 나라에서 태어났다는 이유만으로 이러한 약탈에 강제 당할 수밖에 없다. '분배'하기 위해 투표를 할 거면 그 시스템에 동의하는 사람들끼리 서로의 재산을 놓고 분배하면 될 일이다. 그러나 이 시스템은 모든 사람들에게 이 시스템에 참여하는 것이 강제된다.

즉, 이 시스템은 애초에 잘못된 시스템인데 이 안에서 좌니 우니, 대통령제니 내각제니 사람들이 서로 경쟁하게 한다. 시스템 자체에 대한 의문을 품기는 매우 어려운 구조다.

이 시스템이 마음에 안 들면 이민을 가면 된다고 하는 주장은 전혀 설득력이 없다. 이민에 비용이 들고 다양한 현실적인 제약이 있다는 것은 차치하고서 이야기해보자. 만약 이러한 분배(?) 혹은 세금의 권한 행사자가 해당 지역 토지의 소유자고, 그 토지의 사용자가 소유자가 정한 분배 규칙에 동의하는 조건으로 토지를 사용한다면 이러한 세금과 같은 분배는 약탈은 아니다. 사용자가 그 규칙에 자발적으로 동의했으므로 정당화될 수 있는 것이다.

만약 국토의 모든 땅이 사실상 소유자가 있는 게 아니라, 사실상 국가의 소유이며 국가가 국민들에게 사용권을 나눠주는 것이라는 미친 주장을 해도(참고로 이건 토지의 사적 소유권을 부정하는 공산주의다!) 여전히 이 주장은 정당하지 않다.

토지의 소유권을 획득하는 방법은 두 가지가 있는데 첫째, 소유권이 없는 땅을 점유함으로써 소유권을 주장할 수 있게 되는 것, 둘째, 이미 소유권이 있는 토지를 자발적인 교환이나 기부를 통해 획득하는 것이다. 소유권이 있는 생산 수단을 통해 생산된 생산물도 소유권이 인정되는데, 토지는 생산이 불가능하니(우주정거장 같이 새로운 공간을 건설하는 게 아니라면...) 토지를 획득하는 방법은 언급한 두 가지 뿐이다.

그런데 현대 국가가 토지를 소유한 것의 기원을 살펴보자. 식민지화를 통해 강제로 점유하는 것은 대한민국은 해당이 없는 것 같다. 그러면 이미 소유자가 있는 사유지를 각종 규제와 사용 제한을 통해 사실상의 지배권을 확보하거나, 세금으로 축적한 재정으로 구입한 것이다. 그 기원이 모두 약탈에 있다는 점에서 국가의 토지 소유는 정당하지 않다.

따라서 규칙이 싫으면 이민을 가면 된다는 주장은 도둑이 도둑질을 하는데, 도둑질을 당하기 싫으면 멀리 도망가라는 식의 궤변과 같다.

그러나 국가의 계약은 완전히 비자발적이다. 단지 그 신체가 어디서 탄생했다는 이유만으로 그 시스템에 동의한 것이 될 수는 없다. 갓 태어난 아기는 다른 사람의 보호가 있어야만 생존할 수 있다는 점에서 완전히 비자발적인데, 이에 따라 당연히 탄생의 위치도 완전히 비자발적인 것이었기 때문이다.

또한 국가는 국토의 소유자가 아니다. 그보다는 국토의 소유권을 보장'해야' 하는 존재일 뿐이다. 누군가가 규칙을 정하고 싶다면 그 규칙의 영향권은 자신의 사유지 내에서만 영향력이 있으며, 당연히 그 규칙에 자발적으로 동의하는 사람들만 그 사유지를 이용하는 조건으로 계약할 수 있다. 　

정리해보자. 지금까지 현대 민주주의의 투표의 부당함에 대해 두 가지 관점에서 살펴봤다. 첫째는 투표가 약탈이 가능한 이 시스템에 동의한다는 행위라서 부당하다는 것이고, 둘째는 이 시스템에 동의하지 않는 사람들까지 약탈의 대상이 되는 이 시스템에 동의한다는 행위이므로 부당하다는 것이었다.

투표하지 않는 행위가 혹시 반대 세력이 활개치게 두게 되는 것은 아닐까? 그렇지 않다. 투표하지 않는 행위는 이 시스템의 정당성을 약화시킨다. 현대 민주주의의 큰 속임수가 있다. 민주주의에서 비롯된 통치 행위는 51%를 넘은 사람들이 그 통치 행위에 동의했기 때문에 자행되어도 된다는 매우 비논리적인 주장에 입각하고 있다. 이는 당연히 정당성이 없다. 그런데 진짜 큰 속임수는 그 통치 행위에 동의한 사람이 심지어 과반도 아니라는 것이다.

만약 어떤 후보가 생산에 적대적인 수준의 세금 부과와 보편 복지, 최저임금 인상 등의 모두가 고통받는 정책을 공약으로 내세워 당선이 되었다고 해보자. 해당 후보의 득표율이 51%라고 한다면 이는 전국의 51% 국민이 해당 후보를 지지하는 것과 같은 착각을 일으킨다. 그렇지 않다. 만약 투표율이 75%라면, 해당 후보에 동의한 사람은 0.75 x 0.51 = 38%가 된다. 즉, 38%의 동의로 인해 모든 사람이 함께 고통 받게 되는 것이다.

그래서 민주주의는 이러한 사실을 감추면서 사람들에게 투표를 독려할 수밖에 없다. 투표율이 조금만 낮아져도 이에 대한 정당성이 심각하게 낮아지기 때문이다. 투표율이 50%인 상황에서 어떤 후보가 51%의 표를 얻어 당선된다면 전 국민의 25%의 지지로 당선된 것과 같은데 이는 통치 행위에 대한 정당성을 매우 약화시킨다.

소비자 주권 행사

그러면 투표라는 행위가 없다면 일반 시민들은 어떻게 주권을 행사할 수 있을까? 사실 우리는 매일매일 자발적으로 투표를 하고 있다. 바로 미제스가 말한 '소비자 주권' 행사다.

우리는 기업들이 우리에게 어떤 효용을 주는지에 따라 계속 투표한다. 어떤 기업을 살리고, 어떤 기업을 죽일지, 어떤 기업을 거지 기업에서 부자 기업으로 만들지, 또는 어떤 기업을 부자 기업에서 거지 기업으로 만들지 투표한다. 바로 '소비'를 통해서 말이다.

이러한 소비라는 투표 방식은 완전히 자발적이라는 점에서 소유권을 제대로 보장한다. 약탈과는 완전히 동떨어진 행위다.

또한, 이러한 투표 방식은 각자가 원하는 대로 효용을 누릴 수 있다. 사법과 치안도 시장의 영역으로 들어오면 우리는 어떤 규칙 아래서 살아갈지 자유롭게 선택할 수 있다. 즉, 내가 선택한 규칙이 다른 사람에게도 강제되지 않고, 다른 사람이 선택한 규칙이 나에게 강제되지도 않는다. 서로 다른 규칙이 충돌하면 그 규칙들의 간극을 중재하는 기업이 나타난다. 자연적으로 질서가 꽃 피는 것이다.

생산 권한은 기업에게 달려있지만 심판은 소비자가 한다. 생산자가 소비자의 의지에 반하는 생산을 하면 바로 시장에서 퇴출되기 때문이다. 기업은 소비자에게 어떤 도덕적 의무를 강요할 수도 없다. 기업은 소비자가 원하는 것이 있다면 생산할 뿐이다. 소비자는 기업에게 자신들이 원하는 것을 최대한 효율적으로 자원을 분배하여 생산할 것을 명령하고 생산 권한을 위임하는 셈이다. 그 기업이 소비자가 원하는 것을 생산하지 않으면 어차피 다른 어떤 기업이 생산하여 거기서 챙길 수 있는 소비자의 표, 즉 이익을 가져갈 것이다.

만약 '소비'라는 투표 행위 자체에 반대한다면 오지에 있는 땅을 사서 문명을 떠나 자급자족하며 사는 것도 가능하다. 각자가 자신만의 방식으로 삶을 선택할 수 있는 것이다.

이 투표 시스템에서 표는 돈이다. 돈으로 투표를 한다는 것이 비인간적으로 느껴질지도 모르겠다. 그러나 돈으로 투표하는 것은 지극히 인간적인데, 그 투표권을 얻기 위해서는 먼저 다른 사람들이 원하는 것을 해줘서 그 표를 얻어야 하기 때문이다. 소비하려면 먼저 생산해야 한다. 이건 완전히 약탈 없는 시스템이고, 모든 인간 시간에 대한 존중이다.

이러한 이유들로 나는 이제 현대 민주주의에 대한 투표를 거부하지만, 동시에 매일 소비를 통해 투표하고 있다.

아고리즘이 자유주의 세상을 만드는 방법

이제 아고리즘의 전략을 살펴보자. 로스바드-호페의 질서 자유주의를 살펴본 뒤, 현대 민주주의의 투표에 대한 부당함을 살펴본 것이 뜬금 없는 이야기는 아니었는데, 아고리즘은 이러한 이유로 어떠한 투표도 거부하기 때문이다. 아고리즘의 창시자인 새뮤얼 콘킨 3세가 로스바드와 갈라선 것도 로스바드가 정치와 연대하는 전략적 행보를 보이면서부터였다.

아고리즘은 자유로운 세상을 만들기 위해 자유 시장인 아고라를 적극 활용할 것을 주장한다. 이들은 정부가 추적할 수 없는 자유로운 암시장을 확대해서 정부의 힘을 약화시키는 방법을 써야 한다고 주장한다. 이 암시장은 당연히 무기, 마약, 성매매 등을 포함한 시장을 말한다.

그래서 자유지상주의를 도래시키기 위한 이들의 전략은 정부가 추적할 수 없는 시장을 만들고, 하나의 병렬 경제(대항 경제)를 만들어 정부의 힘을 지속적으로 약화시키는 것이다. 이들은 납세 거부 운동, 투표 거부 운동을 장려하며 암시장과 암호 기술을 적극 활용한다. 참고로 사이퍼펑크 같은 기술 자유주의는 분류하자면 질서자유주의보다 아고리즘 쪽에 더 가깝다(로스 울브리히트의 실크로드를 생각해보자...!)

로스바드-호페의 질서자유주의와 콘킨의 아고리즘은 둘 다 자유지상주의의 실현을 목표로 하지만, 질서자유주의는 논리적으로 윤리적 정당성을 확보하고, 그러한 정당성을 바탕으로 자유지상주의를 실현시키기 위해 현실 세계에 이미 존재하는 제도들도 전략적으로 이용한다. 반면 콘킨의 아고리즘은 자유지상주의의 윤리적 정당성보다는 그걸 도래시키기 위한 전략들에 치중하며, 정치와 절대 타협하지 않고, 전략적으로 이용하려고도 하지 않는다. 목표는 같지만 서로 다른 방법을 취하는 것이다.

1980년 공개된 콘킨의 「신 자유주의자 선언」은 미제스와 로스바드, 르페브르에 대한 감사로 시작하지만, 1장에서 다음과 같은 문구도 나온다. (이것도 언제 다 번역해봐야겠다!)

"처음 나타난 반격은 ... 개혁주의—국가주의를—'개선'하겠다는 명분으로 국가의 직책을 받아들이는 것까지 포함한다!—이 모든 반反 원칙들에 대해서... 그중 가장 끔찍한 것은 '정당주의'인데, 이는 자유지상주의적 목적을 국가주의적 수단, 특히 정당을 통해 달성하려는 반反 개념이다. '자유지상주의' 정당은 국가가 이제 막 출현한 자유지상주의자들에게 퍼부은 두 번째 반격이었다. 처음에는 터무니 없는 모순으로, 그 다음에는 침략군으로 등장했다."

로스바드가 1992년 공화당 경선 후보였던 팻 뷰캐넌을 공개적으로 지지했을 때(이때 공화당 경선에서 뷰캐넌은 아버지 부시한테 졌고, 대선은 민주당 빌 클린턴 승리), 콘킨이 어떤 반응을 보였을지 상상해보자. 저런 선언문을 썼는데 말이다. 콘킨은 로스바드가 자유지상주의 원칙을 저버렸다면서 자신이 편집하는 잡지 『신 자유지상주의자』에서 로스바드의 행위를 "자유의 원칙을 포기한 행위"라고 비난했다.

반면 로스바드는 소수의 자유지상주의 지식인들만으로는 자유지상주의 사회를 건설할 수 없으므로 대중과 연합해야 한다고 주장했다. 팻 뷰캐넌 같은 인물을 통해 중산층이나 노동계층의 지지를 얻을 수 있고, 자유지상주의 목표를 달성할 수 있다고 했다. 이때 나온 전략이 자유주의적 경제 질서와 보수적 문화 질서를 결합한 '팔레오 자유지상주의'다. 로스바드는 아고리즘 세력에게 순수성만을 강조하며 현실 세계와 단절된 사람들은 무기력한 이상주의자들이라고 반박하며, 자신은 국가주의를 지지하는 게 아니라 그 세력 안에 있는 반국가적 잠재력을 이끌어내는 것이라고 했다.

그림 2. 아고리즘의 깃발

질서자유주의와 아고리즘의 공동체적 배제에 관한 입장 차이

콘킨의 아고리즘과 로스바드-호페 라인의 질서자유주의의 차이는 정치 같은 기존 제도들을 전략적으로 이용할 수 있는지뿐만 아니라 공동체적 배제에 관한 입장에서도 약간 갈라진다.

자유주의에서는 자유로운 수용과 자유로운 '배제'도 보장되어야 한다. 즉, 예를 들어 어떤 사람이 장사를 하는데 동성애자나 흑인이나 채식주의자를 직원이나 손님으로 받지 않는 것도 장사하는 사람의 자유로운 배제 권리라는 것이다. 자신의 사유지에 어떤 사람을 들일지, 들이지 않을지는 전적으로 소유자의 몫이다. 그리고 여기서 배제는 당연히 폭력으로 이어지지 않는 선에서의 자유로운 배제다.

이러한 배제가 한 공동체 전체로 퍼졌다고 해보자. 지금은 동성애자에 대한 예시만 들겠다(필자는 동성애에 대해 부정적 감정이 전혀 없으니 동성애자 분들은 오해 마시길). 만약 한 지역 소유자 공동체 전체가 동성애자에 대한 배제를 주장한다면 당연히 동성애자는 그 공동체에 들어갈 수가 없다.

여기서 이를 다루는 뉘앙스가 약간 다른데, 호페는 이를 자유로운 계약에 의한 공동체적 질서의 탄생이라 보며 긍정적으로 본다. 물론 절대로 이러한 배제가 폭력으로 이어져서는 안 된다. 폭력으로 이어지면 비침해성 공리 위반이므로 정당성이 없다.

아고리즘은 개인들의 자발적인 배제는 자유지만, 이것이 공동체적 배제로 발전하고 구조적 차별이나 집단적 억압으로 발전하는 건 국가의 또 다른 형태일 뿐이라 생각하여 이를 경계한다. 그래서 개인 차원의 자율적 배제는 정당하지만, 공동체 차원의 배제는 경계한다. 그렇다고 이걸 없애야 한다 이런 건 아니다(개인들의 자유로운 배제가 공동체 배제로도 이어질 수 있는 것이므로). 콘킨은 공동체적 배제가 탄생할 수 있지만 그것이 비합리적인 배제라면 대안 시장이 탄생할 것으로 본다. 동성애자들을 위한 시장과 마을이 생길 것이고, 비합리적인 배제는 이러한 고객들을 놓친 것에 대한 손실로 이어질 것이라고 본다. 즉, 모든 개인이 자유 시장 아고라에서 자발적으로 교환할 권리를 가져야 하며, 차별적인 배제들은 시장 안에서 경쟁할 수 있을 거라 본다. 만약 대안 시장이 없는 상황에서 모두가 배제한다면 이는 실질적 강제처럼 작동할 수 있기 때문이다.

자유지상주의 안에서 콘킨의 아고리즘은 차별이나 수용을 대하는 태도에서 좀 더 좌파적인 것처럼 보인다. 실제로 콘킨의 「신 자유주의자 선언」에 등장하는 용어들도 약간 그러한 뉘앙스가 있다. 콘킨은 전통적인 좌파 단어들을 전략적으로 차용했다. 예를 들면 혁명, 착취, 해방운동, 불복종, 저항, 암시장, 아나키즘 등의 단어다. 당연히 전통적인 좌파 단어의 뜻과는 완전히 다르다. 혁명은 아고라를 통한 "비정치적" 자유주의 혁명을 의미하며, 착취는 마르크스의 자본가가 노동자를 착취한다고 했던 그 착취가 아니라, 국가주의와 결탁한 크로니 자본주의자들의 제도적 진입장벽을 만들고, 캉티용 효과의 수혜를 누리는 그러한 오염된 자본주의자들이 하는 것을 착취라고 했다(아고리즘은 국가에 의존하지 않는 기업가와 국가로부터 특혜를 받는 착취적 기업가를 구분한다. 선언문 참고).

정리하자! 로스바드-호페의 질서 자유주의와 콘킨의 아고리즘의 차이점은 다음과 같다.

로스바드-호페의 질서 자유주의는 정치 등을 전략적으로 이용하는 것을 허용한다. 로스바드는 공화당 경선 후보를 공개적으로 지지하여 우파 사람들로부터 자유지상주의에 대한 관심을 끌려고 했고, 호페는 전국단위의 투표나 정당 활동은 거부해도 지역 단위의 투표는 승리 가능성에 따라 조건부로 허용한다. 반면 아고리즘은 어떠한 정치 활동도 거부하며 오직 국가의 통제로부터 동떨어진 자유로운 시장에 의한 혁명을 추구한다.

얼마 전에 있었던 비트코이너들이 보수 우파 스페이스에 들어가서 비트코인에 대해 전파하는 걸 상상해보면 쉽다. 우파 국가주의자들은 국가 시스템에 의한 문제 해결을 강력한 지도자가 등장해 모든 것을 해결해줘야 한다는 잘못된 방법론에 빠져있는 경우가 많은데(문제를 더 큰 문제로 해결하려는 셈...), 누군가는 이걸 보고 저런 사람들과 협력하면 안 된다고 할 것이고, 누군가는 비트코인과 자유주의를 전파하기 위해 그래도 가능성이 높은 이들 사회에 섞여들어가 이야기도 하고, 전파도 하려고 할 것이기 때문이다.

또한 한 가지 차이점은 질서 자유주의와 아고리즘 모두 공동체적 배제는 인정하나, 질서 자유주의는 이를 자유로운 계약에 의해 등장한 공동체적 질서로 보고, 아고리즘은 공동체적 배제가 집단적 억압으로 발전할 것을 경계한다. 아고리즘에서는 비합리적 차별에 의한 배제는 대안 시장이 생겨 극복될 수 있다고 본다.

자유주의 세상을 만들기 위해서는 어떻게 해야 하는가

이제 무엇이 옳은지 스스로 판단해보자. 지금부터는 개인적인 생각이 매우 많이 들어가있으므로 주의하라.

콘킨의 아고리즘은 암시장의 확대를 노려 정부 권한을 약화시키려 하지만 이는 대중의 지지를 얻기 어렵다. 또한, 이러한 병렬 경제는 한 곳에 집중되기 어렵고 넓고 약하게 퍼져있을 수밖에 없다.

로스바드-호페의 질서자유주의는 현실에 이미 존재하는 제도들을 전략적으로 활용한다. 현실적으로 대중의 지지를 얻을 가능성이 있고, 한 지역에 자유주의자들이 집중되면 적어도 그 지역에서는 지역 투표를 통해 위로부터의 전환이 가능하다. 하나의 자유지상주의적인 지역이 좋은 모범이 되면 다른 지역도 채택할 가능성이 커진다.

어떤 전략을 택해야 하는가? 나는 자유지상주의가 도래하게 하기 위해서는 두 전략 다 써야 한다고 생각한다. 질서자유주의자들의 주장대로 대중의 지지 없이는 자유지상주의가 도래하게 할 수 없다. 대한민국에 있는 "진짜" 비트코이너+자유지상주의자들이 대략 몇 명쯤 될까? 높게 잡아 1,000명 정도 된다고 해보자. 이들 전부가 특정 지역에 모인다고 해도 자유지상주의 질서를 건립할 수는 없다. 찾아보니 대한민국에서 인구가 가장 적은 시가 충남 계룡시라고 한다. 여기 인구는 약 4만3천 명인데, 여기에 51% 공격을 가하려고 해도 적어도 4만 명이 필요하다는 뜻이다. 따라서 아고리스트들처럼 대중의 지지를 얻기 위한 전략을 완고하게 거부하다간 어떠한 힘도 얻지 못하고 선민 의식에만 갇힐 수 있다.

반면 아고리스트들의 주장대로 병렬 경제도 필요하다. 잘 세뇌된 대중은 폭력 집단의 강탈이 있어야만 사회가 유지될 수 있다는 환상에 사로잡혀있다. 병렬 경제는 이러한 환상을 깨뜨릴 좋은 수단이다. 정부 추적이나 제3자 없이 부의 보존이 가능하고, 당사자끼리의 직접 결제가 가능하다는 것을 사람들이 경험하면 생각이 크게 바뀔 것이다. 비트코인으로 결제를 해본 사람과 한 번도 해본 적 없는 사람은 이런 자유지상주의 세상에 대한 이해의 폭이 다를 수밖에 없다. 또한, 비트코인은 개인들에게 큰 힘이 되는데 국가 시스템의 폭력으로부터 개인들이 생산 가치를 지킬 수 있는 강력한 방패이자 동시에 무기가 되기 때문이다.

그러나 아고리즘의 주장인 병렬 경제 중 특히 암시장 전략—국가의 통제가 미치지 않는 무기, 마약, 성매매 등을 확장하는 것—에는 동의하지 않는다. 당연히 자유지상주의자인 나는 총기나 마약, 성매매 등도 자발적인 계약에 의해 시장에서 더 건전하게 다뤄질 수 있다고 생각한다. 지금처럼 불법화되어있는 사회와 다르게 자유시장에서는 마약의 순도나 안정성에 대해 인증해주는 기관, 의사들도 등장할 것이고, 성매매도 비슷한 방식으로 질서화될 수 있다고 생각한다. 혹은 이러한 시장은 시간 선호를 지나치게 높이고 전통적인 가족 질서를 해칠 수 있으므로 공동체적 배제가 일어날 수도 있다. 무기, 마약, 성매매는 일반 대중들이 생각하는 '질서'와는 거리가 있다. 우리는 더 많은 사람들을 끌어들여야 하는데 이는 처음에 일단 거부감을 일으킬 수 있다.

따라서 자극적인 암시장보다는 사람들의 반감이 없는 상품들을 먼저 비트코인으로 거래하고, 국가가 추적하지 못하게 함으로써 납세 거부의 물결이 퍼지게 해야 한다. 동시에 더 많은 사람들에게 자유주의를 전파해야 한다. 더 많은 개인과 비트코인을 통한 병렬 경제라는 두 가지 무기가 함께 생겨야 지역 단위에서의 자유주의 세상을 만들 수 있을 것이다. 먼저 자유주의를 많은 사람들에게 전파해야 한다. 이 과정에서 좌파, 맑시즘, 케인지언들보다는 상대적으로 자유에 대한 이해가 좀 더 있는 집단인 우파 국가주의자들이나 기독교적 종교관을 가진 사람들 속에 섞여 들어가 거기서 전파를 할 수도 있다. 이러한 과정을 통해 자유주의자들이 많아지고, 한 지역에 모여야 한다. 비트코인이라는 무기를 가진 개인들이 한 지역에 모여 자유로운 시장을 형성하면, 호페가 말했던 것처럼 그 지역에서의 투표를 통해 작은 자유지상주의 세상을 만들 수 있다.

그림 3. 자유주의 세상을 만들기 위해서는 두 전략을 적절히 함께 써야 한다.

@ 0c65eba8:4a08ef9a

Have you been lied to about emotional intelligence? Does it even exist, or is it just another pop-psychology buzzword dressed up to sound like science? Are you being told it's the key to success, love, and leadership... but never shown how to measure it, test it, or even understand what it is? Let's cut through the noise.

What People Say Emotional Intelligence Is

In everyday talk, "emotional intelligence" usually means being good with people, being empathetic, staying calm, handling stress well, and knowing how to respond in tough social situations. You’ve heard it described as "reading the room," or "knowing how to deal with people."

In clinical or pop-psychology language, emotional intelligence is often broken down into categories like:

• Self-awareness

• Self-regulation

• Social skills

• Empathy

• Motivation

The claim is: if you score high in these, you’re emotionally intelligent. But what does that even mean in practical terms?

Why That Definition Falls Apart

Here's the problem: those categories aren't operational. They're vague. They're not measurable in a consistent way. They're bundles of behavior, feeling, and interpretation mashed together with no clear boundary. "Self-awareness" of what? "Empathy" how? For whom? In what context? How do we know it's happening? What are the costs?

Worse, these terms conflate instincts, learned behaviors, and strategic manipulation. They're not reducible to a testable sequence of inputs, operations, and outcomes. They're not falsifiable. They're not decidable.

In short: the popular and clinical versions of emotional intelligence are conflations. They feel good. They sound smart. But they fail the tests of falsifiability and decidability, essential for clarity.

To be operational means something must be defined in terms of specific actions, inputs, and observable outcomes, it has to describe exactly what someone does, how it can be seen or measured, and what result it produces. If you can’t test it or apply it directly, it’s not operational.

So What Are People Responding To in Practice?

Let’s look at what people often describe when they say someone is emotionally intelligent:

• They don't overreact.

• They stay calm under pressure.

• They read social cues well.

• They manage their tone and expression.

• They navigate conflict without making it worse.

These are operational behaviors. You can see them, test them, and practice them. They’re social tactics: short-term adjustments for handling emotionally volatile or socially complex situations. Tactics are situational tools; strategies are long-term frameworks. Emotional intelligence is expressed in tactics, but depends on the strategic skill of emotional regulation.

Here’s how these actions map onto the operational definition:

• Interpret emotional signals — reading social cues accurately.

• Regulate your own emotional responses — staying calm, not overreacting.

• Predict others’ responses — empathy in action.

• Optimize behavior to maintain cooperation — managing tone, navigating conflict.

When you are skilled in applying these, you are judged as emotionally intelligent, or more accurately emotionally competent.

Operational Definition of Emotional Intelligence

In operational terms:

Emotional intelligence is the capacity to perform reciprocal computation under affective constraint.

That means: the ability to interpret emotional signals, regulate your own emotional responses, predict others’ responses, and optimize behavior to maintain cooperation, all while under emotional or social pressure.

Conclusion: How Natural Law Helps You See Life Clearly

Natural Law helps us disambiguate the complexities of life. It strips away the mysticism, the sales talk, and the feel-good pop psychology. It helps us ask: what are we doing in practical terms when we talk about something? What can we observe, test, and rely on?

Emotional intelligence, when stripped of the hype, is just a set of emotional regulation and social navigation skills. You don’t have to be born with it. You can train it. Start with these habits:

• Learn to pause before reacting. Notice your body’s signals, tight jaw, clenched fists, racing heart, before you let them drive behavior.

• Practice feeling emotions on purpose. Experience anger, sadness, joy, or fear without acting them out destructively. If you can’t sit with an emotion without losing control, you’re not in charge of it.

• Develop curiosity about your emotional patterns. Ask: what sets me off? What relaxes me? What kinds of people do I misread?

• Observe others closely. Pay attention to facial expressions, tone of voice, posture, and timing. Ask yourself: what are they likely feeling?

• Extend care to the person you’re engaging with, even if they're an opponent. Strategic empathy gives you an edge: if you understand their emotional state, you can predict behavior.

• Speak in a way that invites cooperation, not conflict.

• Reflect on how your actions affect others, and adjust.

• Review your performance: After social interactions, ask what worked, what didn’t, and how your emotional state shaped it. Calibration requires feedback.

These aren’t mystical qualities. They’re practical, learnable tactics. If you can feel deeply without losing control, and read others without misjudging their signals through the lens of your own emotional bias, then you’re on your way.

You don’t need buzzwords. You need clear thinking, tested behavior, and reciprocity in practice. That’s what emotional intelligence looks like in action, and Natural Law helps you make sense of it.

@ 91bea5cd:1df4451c

Para um brasileiro, pode ser difícil entender como as estações do ano são capazes de influenciar o imaginário e a própria organização da sociedade.

Mas em países de clima temperado ou frio, onde primavera, verão, outono e inverno são mais demarcados, é contagiante a alegria com que o verão é celebrado, depois de meses de dias curtos, temperaturas frequentemente negativas e poucas possibilidades de interação social.

É por isso que desde os tempos mais antigos, as primeiras civilizações europeias já tinham festas específicas para celebrar tanto a chegada da primavera — a volta da vida desabrochando — quanto o solstício de verão — o ápice do sol, o dia mais longo do ano.

E, segundo pesquisadores, são esses dois tipos de celebração, depois abraçados pelo catolicismo, que explicam a origem das festas juninas, que no Brasil acabariam sendo reinventadas com um sotaque próprio.

"As origens são mesmo as antigas festas pagãs das antigas civilizações, ligadas aos ciclos da natureza, às estações do ano. Sociedades antigas realizavam grandes festividades, com durações longas, até de um mês, sobretudo nos períodos de plantio e de colheita", contextualiza o pesquisador de culturas populares Alberto Tsuyoshi Ikeda, professor da Universidade de São Paulo e consultor da cátedra Kaapora: da Diversidade Cultural e Étnica na Sociedade Brasileira, da Universidade Federal de São Paulo (#Unifesp).

"A primavera era bastante comemorada, como o reingresso da vida mais dinâmica, o rebrotar da natureza e das atividades depois do período do inverno, sempre de muita dificuldade, luta pela sobrevivência e recolhimento", comenta ele.

Se nessa época do ano o que se via era a explosão da natureza, a vida social espelhava isso. "Os grupos humanos realizavam grandes festividades dedicadas à própria natureza, muitas vezes rendendo homenagens aos antigos deuses relacionados à natureza, à vida animal, à vida vegetal de um modo geral. Eram festas comunitárias com muita alegria, muita alimentação e reunião de pessoas em grande número: foi o que deu origem às festas juninas que a gente conhece no Brasil e em outras partes do mundo."

Autora do livro Festas Juninas: Origens, Tradições e História, a socióloga Lucia Helena Vitalli Rangel, professora na Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC-SP), explica que a origem das festas juninas está nos "rituais de fertilidade agrícola" de diversos povos — da Europa, do Oriente Médio e do norte da África.

Os [mitológicos] casais #férteis #Afrodite e Adonis, Tamuz e Izta, Isis e #Osíris eram homenageados nesses #rituais, pois representavam a reprodução humana, numa época de evocação da colheita", afirma.

"Eram rituais para que a colheita fosse farta e para abençoar o próximo período #agrícola. Era período de congraçamento, de partilha e estabelecimento de alianças entre as comunidades. Eram rituais de fartura e abundância em todos os sentidos, no âmbito alimentar e na relação entre as famílias: casamentos, batizados e compadrio."

"No hemisfério norte o solstício de verão era o auge do período ritual e do trabalho agrícola coroado pela colheita", acrescenta a socióloga.

Vale ressaltar o óbvio, para que não fique um certo estranhamento ao leitor menos atento: no hemisfério norte, origem de tais celebrações, as estações do ano são invertidas em relação ao hemisfério sul, onde está o Brasil.

Apropriação católica

Mas onde então entram os santos nessa história? Na festa junina contemporânea, estão presentes algumas das figuras mais populares do catolicismo — e isso acabou impregnado de tal forma na celebração que a religiosidade se misturou ao folclore e às tradições populares, transcendendo os ritos normatizados pela Igreja Católica.

O primeiro dos santos juninos é Antônio (? - 1231), frade franciscano de origem portuguesa que ficou conhecido pelo que fez na Itália no início do século 13. Com fama de milagreiro, foi canonizado pela Igreja onze meses depois de sua morte — trata-se de um recorde até hoje não superado na história do catolicismo.

No imaginário popular, Antônio se tornou o #bonachão santo das coisas perdidas, sobretudo nos países europeus, e o casamenteiro, principalmente em Portugal e no Brasil. #Simpatias, #promessas e orações específicas marcam a devoção a ele. E sua presença nos festejos juninos geralmente está ligada a essas tradições — a Igreja fixou o 13 de junho, data da morte dele, como dia consagrado ao santo.

Em 24 de junho, o catolicismo celebra o nascimento de João Batista (2 a.C - 28 d.C.). É o santo máximo das comemorações juninas — há versões que apontam que originalmente eram "festas joaninas" e não festas juninas; e, sobretudo no nordeste brasileiro, a Festa de São João é um evento de dimensões impressionantes.

Personagem de historicidade controversa, João Batista é apontado como primo de Jesus Cristo e aquele que o batizou.

Em seu livro O Ramo de Ouro, o antropólogo escocês James Frazer (1854-1941) diz que ocorreu um processo histórico "de acomodação", deslocando para a figura de São João Batista a comemoração do solstício de verão.

Por fim, o mês de junho ainda tem a data do martírio de São Pedro (? - 67 d.C) e São Paulo (5 d.C. - 67 d.C.), dois dos pioneiros do cristianismo. Pedro foi um dos 12 apóstolos de Jesus e acabou depois considerado o primeiro papa do catolicismo.

Paulo de Tarso, por sua vez, é reputado como um dos mais influentes teólogos da história. Parte significativa dos textos que compõem o Novo Testamento da Bíblia é atribuída à sua pena. É dele, portanto, a autoria de parcela considerável da ressignificação de Jesus Cristo após sua morte na cruz — em outras palavras, é possível dizer que Paulo é responsável pela transformação de Jesus em um mito.

Uma observação necessária: apesar de a Igreja celebrar em conjunto a memória do martírio de Pedro e de Paulo, por tradição este último nem sempre é associado aos festejos juninos.

À medida que o catolicismo foi se transformando em religião do status quo, sobretudo a partir da cristianização do Império Romano, no ano de 380 d.C., diversos rituais tratados como pagãos acabaram sendo abraçados e apropriados pela Igreja. "A Igreja Católica não pôde desmanchar essas práticas", reconhece Rangel.

Com os rituais de primavera e verão, não foi diferente. "Várias dessas festividades foram adaptadas", conclui Alberto Ikeda, da USP. "Aos poucos passaram a ser tratadas como festas em honra aos santos juninos."

"Mas é importante notar que mesmo dentro do ciclo cristão, esses santos estão ligados tematicamente com aquelas mesmas ideias, os mesmos princípios das festividades [dessa época do ano] das antigas civilizações", pontua o pesquisador.

Santo Antônio, por exemplo, é o casamenteiro — em uma leitura lato sensu, poderia ser encarado como o santo da família, da unidade familiar, da reprodução humana. "São João também está ligado, sobretudo nos interiores do Brasil, a essa questão dos relacionamentos afetivos. Tradicionalmente, faz-se muito casamento no Dia de São João", diz Ikeda.

"Ele também traz a característica da fartura [que remete aos períodos de plantio e de colheita, em oposição aos rigorosos invernos], dos alimentos, das bebidas, aquilo que chamamos na antropologia de repasto ritual ou repasto cerimonial", afirma o pesquisador.

De modo geral, na leitura proposta por ele, todos os santos juninos estão ligados aos ciclos da natureza — fogo, água, fertilidade, abundância. Está aí São Pedro e a ideia de que ele é quem controla o tempo. "Vejo uma relação entre eles e os antigos rituais, uma relação ainda presente.

Embora a gente não perceba mais, eles têm essa ligação com os elementos fundamentais da existência humana", comenta.

Nas festas populares essas forças da natureza se fazem representadas, muito além da mesa farta.

Os mastros juninos que são erguidos representam a potência dos troncos, das árvores que resistem ao inverno. A fogueira é a luz: ilumina, aquece, afugenta animais ferozes, assa os alimentos.

Na releitura contemporânea, portanto, as festas juninas "guardam as reminiscências das ancestrais aglomerações festivas", conforme frisa Ikeda.

Tradição brasileira

Paçoca, pamonha, pipoca, bolo de fubá, canjica, curau, pé de moleque, maçã do amor. Vinho quente e quentão. Brincadeiras de pular fogueira e dançar a quadrilha. Chapéu de palha, camisa xadrez, calça com remendos. Bombinhas e rojões, fogos de artifício. Bandeirinhas coloridas penduradas em varais de barbante.

No Brasil, as festas juninas foram reinventadas e se tornaram uma exaltação das raízes caipiras. E muito além da religiosidade, tornou-se tradição, folclore. Como se o ciclo se fechasse: o que nasceu como ritual gregário, de celebração social, e depois foi apropriado por uma religião dominante, acabou na cultura popular sendo devolvido ao sentido original — ou seja, a festa pela alegria de festejar.

Não à toa, a folclorista Laura Della Mônica registrou em seu livro Os Três Santos do Mês de Junho que "respeitar as festas e orações dedicadas a cada um dos três santos do mês de junho, segundo a tradição, é obrigação e dever de todos nós, pelo menos culturalmente". O "todos nós" é o brasileiro. Porque mesmo nascida no Velho Mundo, as festas juninas assumiram uma identidade própria em território nacional.

"A colonização da América colocou novamente a questão [da apropriação cultural] para os jesuítas e todos os religiosos que se instalaram no continente sul-americano", pontua a socióloga Rangel.

"No caso do Brasil, houve uma coincidência do calendário. No inverno seco, o solstício de inverno marca o período dos trabalhos agrícolas mais importantes. Do mesmo modo que, para os povos do hemisfério norte é o período de rituais de fertilidade, [a festa por aqui também vem] com as mesmas características, congrega as famílias na evocação da abundância."

As tradições regionais guardam suas especificidades, como era de se esperar em um país de dimensões continentais. "Sempre foram festas e rituais populares", salienta Rangel.

"No Brasil temos expressões regionais muito fortes: o São João nordestino, o Boi Bumbá da região norte, o Boi de Mamão no sul, Cavalhadas no centro-oeste e as festas do Divino Espírito Santo e muitas regiões, particularmente no estado de São Paulo."

A pesquisadora comenta que "conforme os padres vão chegando nas paróquias, começam a interferir nas comemorações". É quando vem o sincretismo: a festa popular também é festa católica, a quermesse organizada pela igreja também tem os rituais populares.

"Até hoje as paróquias, as igrejas, realizam festas juninas. Mesmo que as maiores festas estejam predominantemente tendo somente o caráter festivo, mais comercial, de exploração pelo ganho financeiro, as igrejas continuam fazendo comemorações aos santos juninos", pontua Ikeda.

"Embora muitas pessoas não católicas também participem das festas, embora predomine uma visão genérica que as festas juninas não guardam mais relação com a religiosidade, há ainda um relacionamento das igrejas com esses santos juninos."

Para ele, a evolução da festividade consiste no fato de que "toda aglomeração possibilita o incentivo ao comércio". "E a alimentação está neste centro, na busca mesmo do repasto cerimonial e festividades, danças e músicas que sempre estiveram ligados aos antigos rituais." Ikeda lembra que a as festas populares têm uma importância antropológica por serem "práticas gregárias que ciclicamente comemoram a própria constituição, a própria existência das comunidades enquanto coletividade, a reunião de grupos humanos que preservam uma história comum".

"No caso da feste junina, esse vestir-se de caipira, simbolicamente, é um instrumento de importância até emocional e psicológico para as pessoas se sentirem com a identidade ligada ao passado, aos pais e avós que praticavam aquilo, comemorando de forma parecida", analisa o pesquisador.

"Assim, a prática possibilita a guarda de uma continuidade ao longo do tempo."

Suspensão sanitária

Nunca é demais enfatizar: com a pandemia de covid-19 ainda fora de controle, seria uma péssima ideia realizar qualquer tipo de festa neste período — se quer comemorar, faça em casa somente com seu núcleo familiar. Então, 2021 será o segundo ano consecutivo em que o Brasil não terá, ao menos de modo ostensivo, a tradição das festividades com bandeirinhas coloridas. Doutora em História das Ciências da Saúde e autora do livro A Gripe Espanhola na Bahia, a historiadora Christiane Maria Cruz de Souza afirma que esse cancelamento não ocorreu nem na epidemia de 100 anos atrás.

Isto porque a gripe chegou ao Brasil bem depois dos festejos de 1918. E, no ano seguinte, a epidemia estava controlada. "A gripe espanhola não teve nenhuma interferência no São João. Os primeiros registros da doença apareceram em setembro de 1918 e a doença foi se extinguindo aos poucos. Em Salvador, ele não avançou para o ano de 1919. Houve alguns surtos, em lugares mais remotos, até 1920, mas sem caráter epidêmico."

É de se supor, inclusive, que as festividades de 1919 tenham sido ainda mais animadas. "Passada a epidemia de gripe espanhola, tudo o que as pessoas queriam eram esquecê-la", afirma Souza.

Em 20 de junho de 1919, entretanto, surgiram os primeiros registros indicando uma epidemia de varíola na capital da Bahia. "Começaram a aparecer um caso aqui, outro ali, mas ainda sem a força suficiente para poucos dias depois interditar os festejos de São João", nota a pesquisadora.

"As autoridades sanitárias demoraram muito para reconhecer que ocorria uma epidemia terrível de varíola. Autoridades públicas só costumam reconhecer a existência de uma epidemia quando se torna inevitável devido ao acúmulo de adoecimentos e mortes, quando o número de doentes e mortos ultrapassa a normalidade esperada para os casos da doença. Isso demora um tempo."

Rangel ressalta, inclusive, que até a primeira metade do século 20, as festas juninas eram muito menores, restritas a familiares e pequenos grupos comunitários. Muito menos do que os eventos de hoje em dia. "Eram festas de arraial, de quintais, de quermesses", diz. "Elas só se transformaram em grandes espetáculos na segunda metade do século 20, na esteira da espetacularização do carnaval."

Fonte: BBC News 18 Junho 2021

@ 3a851978:ff85e003

Testing LaTeX support in different Clients

Just testing how it all will be formated

First section

Something inline $k_i$ like that. And other longer stuff below:

$\gamma_A = \frac{e^{-R_A}}{\mathrm{Tr}\,e^{-10}},\qquad \delta S = K\deltaL$

The end

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French authorities have identified a 24-year-old Franco-Moroccan man as the mastermind behind a series of attacks targeting crypto entrepreneurs, including the co-founder of Ledger.

The suspect, Badiss Mohamed Amide Bajjou, was captured in Tangier by Moroccan authorities following an international arrest warrant issued by Interpol.

The arrest marks a major breakthrough in the investigations into a wave of kidnappings that targeted several figures in the French crypto sector. According to Le Parisien, the suspect was wanted for multiple crimes, including armed extortion and kidnapping.

Bajjou is accused of remotely orchestrating a sophisticated criminal network specializing in targeting wealthy individuals in the crypto world. His alleged criminal activity dates back to July 2023, when he began coordinating abductions and extortion attempts against industry entrepreneurs.

The Ledger case and a wave of kidnappings

Among the most shocking incidents was the attack on David Balland, co-founder of Ledger. The kidnappers subjected him to extreme torture, amputating one of his fingers to increase psychological pressure while demanding a €10 million ransom in cryptocurrency. Investigations suggest a direct link between Bajjou and this case.

Another high-profile incident involved an attempted abduction of the family of Pierre Noizat, CEO of Paymium. In May, masked men tried to kidnap Noizat’s daughter, her husband, and their child in broad daylight. Subsequent investigations led to the indictment of 25 suspects, including teenagers and minors.

Capture operation and seizure of evidence

During Bajjou’s arrest, Moroccan authorities seized materials connected to the kidnappings. According to local media, multiple bladed weapons, dozens of mobile phones, and a substantial amount of cash allegedly linked to the criminal activities were confiscated.

International cooperation and the search for accomplices

French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin publicly thanked Moroccan authorities for their cooperation in the arrest. However, investigations remain ongoing as another Franco-Moroccan man, believed to be the leader of the group and around 40 years old, is still at large. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau has vowed to track down all those responsible and protect crypto entrepreneurs during meetings with industry leaders.

The post Suspected organizer of France’s crypto kidnapping spree arrested in Morocco appeared first on Atlas21.