Oddbean new post about login | logout I will say this only on Nostr: my conviction in Bitcoin has been seriously rattled over the last few days. What have I got myself into? Is Bitcoin doomed to failure due to its unfavorable privacy properties? Can it get co-opted and turned into fed surveillance coin? What if the Monero bros were right? Privacy on Bitcoin now seems as elusive as a dream. And on a separate matter, as Matt Corallo just pointed out to Marty Bent, miner centralization is worse than we previously thought (many miners, it turns out, are just proxies for AntPool). Also concerning is the amount of hash power residing in the United States. And worst of all is that miners aren't even TESTING Stratum v2 to potentially alleviate these vulnerabilities. Although I'd prefer to sink with the ship, I couldn't sell my bitcoin even if I wanted to. No exchange wants tainted coins at this point, and I have no way of calculating taxes due to my poor recordkeeping (I'm stuck in the U.S.). I think for now I will focus on my fiat savings. I'm 31, which (although quite ancient for homosexuals) should theoretically give me time to save myself if my high conviction in bitcoin was misplaced. But should bitcoin fail, it would be an extremely painful setback. I suppose it would be for many of you as well. I just wish I could share your optimism, but my mind is poisoned with doubts.
Relax friend. Here’s my advice - the best way to remember why we are here in the first place is to spend time remembering how the current system works. Nothing will ever be absolutely perfect. But the fiat world of printing money, bailing out the rich, paying for endless wars, and devaluing your savings and livelihood is so bleak. Bitcoin is anti-fragile. There may be risks, and it’s important to stay vigilant, but directionally it has gotten much stronger over the past 5 years and will only continue to become more robust. If you really are having trouble sleeping at night, take some off the table and rebalance. But it can be unhealthy for us to spend so much time thinking about the mechanics of money and worrying about game theoretical risks and politics etc. Hodling is simple, but it’s not easy, and it’s a mental game. They want to scare you out of your sats. Turn off the news, look away from the Twitter or Nostr feed, and take some time. We are going to win.
Bitcoin, Monero, or any true crypto is ultimately and essentially a black market money. Nation states and the freedom offered by them is incompatible. https://github.com/libbitcoin/libbitcoin-system/wiki/Permissionless-Principle https://github.com/libbitcoin/libbitcoin-system/wiki/Value-Proposition
This is a very much a true
"What if the Monero bros were right?" Yes, we're right. Private by default is the way.
Someone famous once said, 'Propaganda is to free societies what the bludgeon is to the totalitarian state.' So your suffering from a psyop attack. As you rightly observe, 'your mind has been poisoned'. All our minds have. This is a normal for bitcoin - great setbacks such as Mt Gox hack and China mining ban. But, as they say, 'honeybadger don't care', bitcoin marches on regardless. You might be correct, but I'm not aware that, 'no exchange wants tainted coins'. Maybe some, but they're probably best avoided anyway. Perhaps there are others with different attitudes? If not now, in future? And remember, the future is not assured. And what can seem bleak in the current time, can turn out to be very good. Perhaps bitcoin will end up bifurcated - some locked inside the system, some outside? If you have some in both you might be hedging your bets? Coin outside the system may become highly valuable, with people willing to buy it from you at a premium. So you might become very thankful that you have some outside the system! Difficulty spending now means forced savings, which is likely good. It might be better for travel when you become unstuck in America (nothing is permanent so your situation is likely to change at some point)? Coin inside the system will likely be co-opted, but it will likely still retain value. NGU still likely. And societies' attitudes change. What was once was once illegal, becomes legal. I'm sure you can think of some examples. Have you heard of the ancient Chinese fable of the old man that lost his horse? https://www.sloww.co/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Sloww-Alan-Watts-Farmer-Lost-Horse-Story.png
You might like that Monero gave the finger to Antpool/Bitmain by forking off their ASICS. Monero often chooses short term pain for long term gain. e.g. ASIC resistance, delisting from CEX, anonymous dev community (harder to build trust), tail emission,...
all good points, except for the bit on homosexuals. thats fucking dumb and unrelated to bitcoins crisis. the tech you depend on was built by all types of people. people you agree with and people you dont.
Your problem with that statement is fucking dumb. I'll speak however I please on here. #muted
hey mallard, zhenya here. i misunderstood your note. i thought you were attacking homosexuals and got twisted up on my response. i meant to support folks not spread hate. apologies and take care.
I fixed it; thank you and apologies for the confusion :)
Relatable, down to the Monero bros. I remember @Luke Dashjr suggesting a switch to something like optics based POW at one point, no idea whether that got any further since then. Personally I think the network desperately needs more modern L1 mobile wallets, or self custody will die.
I started OCEAN specifically the address the mining problem.
You said it yourself. You're a #pussy..😂🤣😭 Typical #faggot. Would sell out your own mother for some dick up your ass. Tell me I'm wrong..💩🍆👎🧡😊
Bolt 12 will help the privacy roadmap a lot. Blockstream are working on new mining technology; I imagine hardware orders and pre-orders will be managed in a way that helps the mission to decentralise.
