Never Let a Crisis Go to Waste
=========================

One of the most perplexing things about our news cycle these days is just how much of it seems urgent, all the time. X needs to be fixed now! Y will happen if we don't do X!

Sure, there's high time preference thinking involved. If X doesn't pass right now, then it may be years before it's considered again. But more than that, the perpetual crisis mode that we're engaged in makes for both an anxious and calloused citizenry.

Yet this persists, because crises allow for power capture. There are fewer questions and the urgency drowns out dissenting voices. Do you want grandma to die? Do you want Putin to destroy the world order? Do you want Al Qaeda to commit more terror attacks?

The crisis and urgency also build in a natural excuse for those in power. If they do make a mistake, which they often do, then they can always say "things were so urgent at the time and we had to do something." So seldom do they mention that it's an urgency they themselves created.

We've seen this with financial crises and even the recent pandemic. But far more potent is the threat of war. Most leaders end up doing horribly immoral things during war, even if they were committed, ethical people before. That's the nature of the beast, the lust to win trumps all.

Which is why the current year seems so ripe for abuse. There are many events that could easily devolve into crises, manufactured in one way or another by the powers that be. Economic and public health emergencies are, in that sense, the *best* we can hope for. Limited war and political revolution, about the average and world war the worst case scenario.

Yet there is good news. We don't have to let them take this power. We can slow the roll of government power accumulation. We can opt out of their authoritarian policies with protest. We can refuse to be manipulated by their propaganda. And perhaps we can avoid the inevitable suffering that comes from such power grabs.


Disappointing first day with the ETF. Maybe it was all hype.


On Spamcoin Revenue
===================

The narrative around ordinals is ever-changing, but one of the more persistent ones is about how it enables miners to have a better business. The main idea is that by subsidizing miners, the Bitcoin network is going to get stronger and more robust.

There are several problems with this argument, but let me focus on one particular aspect. The argument that spamcoins will strengthen mining companies is based on more fees. And indeed, that's true. But for it to really benefit mining companies, the revenue needs to be consistent and reliable. And the thing about these short term fee spikes is that they are anything but consistent and reliable.

Sure, you get some blocks where the fees are greater than the block reward, but that's the exception, and not the rule. They generally congregate around the hype of one thing or another. In the case of ordinals and BRC-20, they clearly spiked when Binance listed one of the tokens. It was a fickle altcoin market's coin of the month, and while it did spike fees, the fees came down a short while later.

Surprisingly, the dynamic is similar to what we've seen in energy markets with renewables like wind and solar. Like spamcoin revenue, they are both also unreliable and inconsistent, and they've added considerable variance to the business of energy. Rather than strengthening the grid, they've weakened it considerably, creating terrible mismatches of supply and demand, which inevitably result in blackouts or brownouts.

In the same way, spamcoin fee revenue has made the business of mining that much harder to predict. The revenue is not consistent or reliable, so to depend on that revenue is, from a business standpoint, a considerable risk. Any fee spike that's based on a random scammer's pump and dump is not easy to predict and leaving around extra mining capacity to take advantage of these spikes is not tenable. In other words, from a business standpoint, it makes little sense to modify a business trying to capture this intermittent, unpredictable revenue.

The thing that businesses need is consistent and predictable revenue because that's what allows them to plan and grow. A flash in the pan like spamcoins is not something that's really going to help with that. Consistent fee revenue, something that has a proven track record, is what mining businesses need to really take advantage and invest in capital goods. Indeed, when we say "fee market," that's what we mean, not these random spikes based on dishonest marketing and hype.

In the meantime, fee spikes like this are a nice little bonus, but they are more likely to create malinvestment. If a business makes that bet that spamcoin fee revenue will stay consistent for the next 4 years, they're likely to lose to a competitor that doesn't make this assumption.

We like to believe that a dollar earned is the same no matter where it comes from, but that's just not the case. If it's a dollar earned that you can't predict, it's unhelpful and perhaps even detrimental for planning. Spamcoins are in the long term not good for miners as they are so obviously hype-based. We need to dispense with unsophisticated narratives like this.

Bitcoiners are better than that.


Unnecessary drama to start the mainstream Bitcoin era.

It's going to be an interesting 15 years.


What happened with the SEC yesterday is a really good argument for Bitcoin.

Third party manipulation is so much easier when there's centralization.


On Labor and Fiat
=============

We vastly underestimate what we can do with our physical labor. I just went to build a house with Casas por Cristo in Acuna, Mexico. It's a missions trip to build homes for poor people, where all the materials are ready to build and the volunteers essentially take all the material and build a house.

What was amazing about this was that it only took three days to build with about 15 people. And a significant part of that was waiting for the concrete to dry. And that's the house from founddation to roof, electrical to windows, drywall to stucco.

While machines and fancy equipment certainly speeds things up a lot, most of what can be done is still limited by human labor. And boy, is it amazing what that's capable of. Sure, it wasn't a huge house (maybe 500 sq ft), but it was fully functioning with insulation, metal roof, windows and doors. The bathroom was an addition that could be done in another couple of days. The big thing is that so much of it could be done so quickly.

You can build houses very efficiently and quickly even if the labor isn't very experienced. Which makes you wonder, why is housing so expensive?

There's a huge premium on housing because of fiat money being such a terrible savings vehicle, but the rot of fiat money goes much deeper. The labor itself is much more expensive, and there is a significant amount of rent seeking in the form of government regulations, like building codes. There's also the fact that building is considered very blue-collar, and most people aspire to white collar work. That in itself is a cultural norm that has proliferated via fiat money. Blue collar work, the kind that builds and fixes real things with hands, is considered below the people that sit on a computer making powerpoint presentations and word documents.

Now not all white collar jobs are bad. But there's no doubt that white collar jobs have proliferated because of fiat money. Look up any bureaucracies in any large industry and you'll see that they've grown like cancer. Health care, education, military, HR, government have bureaucracies that have significantly outpaced the people that do any real meaningful work. This is definitely not market competition and it's the opposite of capitalism. It's socialism that grows steadily from the money stolen from the productive people.

Which is why my experience is such a shock. I've become so used to things taking forever to build, that when I see human labor really doing something productive, I'm shocked at how effective it is. We've been so burdened with bureaucratic overhead in almost everything we do that watching people be productive is a shock.

One of the things I look forward to in a Bitcoin world is the unleashing of labor. Our work is what builds things, but it can also be used to steal. Unfortunately, fiat money incentivizes much more of the latter and less of the former. When our work is aligned with civilization, we'll really take off.

Come for the number go up, stay for civilization go up, beauty go up, building go up.


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#Bitcoin Tech Talk #378

https://jimmysong.substack.com/p/bitcoin-tech-talk-378


Technical competence has been getting worse over the last 60 years. That's what happens with fiat money.


Spamcoiners are almost all pro-change.

Money works best when it doesn't change. It would be really stupid to trade sound money for a crappy IPFS spreadsheet.


I talked to Dhruv Bansal about the Unchained origin story and the future and how it will change to be way less centralized.

https://rumble.com/v44wpv3-bitcoin-fixes-this-117-decentralized-future-with-dhruv-bansal.html


Every bull market, there are rumors of some rich sheik that's going to buy billions worth of BTC.

Maybe it happens this time.


I want to write a book to argue against altcoins and for Bitcoin, but I'm not sure it'll do anything because altcoiners don't really read.


I'm realizing more as I get older that cringe is not something that gets fixed easily. Generally, it's an indicator of immaturity and sadly, fiat money makes maturing unnecessary.


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Psych scams, Librarian’s lament, Bitcoin and Missions, Loan Shark, Lampo, LN incentives, Inscriptions, Mt Gox claims paying out and much more!

#Bitcoin Tech Talk #377

https://jimmysong.substack.com/p/bitcoin-tech-talk-377


Altcoin Redux
------------

In a way, the ordinals scam is an excellent sign. Altcoins have long been associated with Bitcoin through the moniker of "crypto" and have used Bitcoin's good name to scam people through pump and dumps.

But as we've seen, this narrative is no longer what it used to be. There are enough people that have recognized the pump and dump nature of altcoins as well as Bitcoin's continued rise that there's a distinction made in the peoples' minds between Bitcoin and altcoins. One is sound money, the other is fiat 2.0. The scam of altcoins, in other words, is starting to fade and the returns aren't like they used to be.

That's why ordinals and BRC-20 are becoming more popular. There's little chance of escaping the "shitcoin" moniker by releasing a token on Ethereum or Solana now. The gulf between Bitcoin and altcoins is too wide and crossing that chasm, to scam newbies has become that much harder. But by releasing a token on Bitcoin, now there's a lot more room for confusion. They can claim to be supporting Bitcoin through fees while running the same scam. It's changing names and disguises so you don't get caught. This is the snake oil salesman leaving one town to get a bunch of suckers in the next town.

But this is where we need to be even more diligent. The people that are scamming are picking up the verbiage of the people that know what they're talking about. They're going to scam people by looking and sounding like the real thing. They can talk about sound money, self-sovereignty and property rights and even sound pretty convincing doing it. Except, of course, that token they want you to buy.

The time to separate the Bitcoiners from the Spamcoiners is now. They are running pump and dumps, just doing it with a new rationale like a new disguise and name. And they'll fool a bunch of people. Indeed, the people they seem to attract are the very people that pumped altcoins in the past. Altcoin-land is a scorched earth they've left behind and they want to run the same policies on "top of" Bitcoin.

Don't let them take over. Reject these charlatans and shame them for their chicanery. And if you're someone that's throwing up their hands and saying there's nothing to be done, you're wrong. You can do something by calling these things out for what they are. They're scams and the faster they fail, the better it will be for Bitcoin. And as we saw with altcoins in the past, ignoring them doesn't make them go away. Calling them out and relentlessly exposing their grift is what's needed.


Working with your hands is good for your soul.


Centralized crap always dies, sometimes very quickly.


bottom up community standards are a good thing. they motivate people to act justly.

it's the centralized imposition of standards that allow for much evil.


Nostr and Bitcoin are pillars of a new digital order.

This is the way to combat clown world.


Those that would waste your time are really stealing from the limited scarce amount of time you have left to live.


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Bitcoin Tech Talk #376

https://jimmysong.substack.com/p/bitcoin-tech-talk-376


Here's why there are deep incentives for a Bitcoin fork with the Ordinals people.

Ordinals/BRC-20/Inscriptions are now VC funded. And they're going to be pressured to keep growing, no matter what. Yet the hype around their stuff will inevitably fade. And whatever profits they had will dry up. So what will they do?

There are two paths. One is to increase revenue, the other is to reduce costs. The first will be very difficult to do without some new narrative. And they might try that, but it's going to be very difficult on Bitcoin... At least as it currently stands. They could move to another chain, but then, their whole reason for existence, being built on Bitcoin will be no more. Hence the incentive to create new narratives around their stuff and to add "features" to generate interest means some sort of fork.

The other path is to reduce costs. The most obvious cost is the fees being sent to miners. And to reduce that, you need to increase block size or make the blocks more frequent. Either way, this is incentivizing a fork.

The point is that once VC funding entered the picture, the path was set. There will be a conflict of visions and a "peaceful coexistence" was never going to be the outcome.


Just when I think it couldn't get stupider... Grown men simping for ordinals.


An Argentina free market in money would be interesting to observe. I think dollars would take the early lead before succumbing to Bitcoin.


Stablecoins, assets that are centralized already really should be Chaumian e-cash. Why bother with a cumbersome database like a blockchain when the trust model is fundamentally the same?


I talked to Korok Ray about Academia and all the problems generated by high time preference fiat money

https://rumble.com/v425e02-bitcoin-fixes-this-116-academia-with-korok-ray.html


There will be a lot of trades, there will be a lot of wrecked people and a few that make many multiples.

Trading is a zero-sum game and most of the time you're going to be on the negative side.


Altcoins Don't Lead to Bitcoin
-------------------------------------

There's a persistent myth that Bitcoiners are made through altcoins. The argument goes something like this:

1. Someone hears about NFTs, a BRC-20 token or some yield-producing DeFi project.
2. They get curious and get into said altcoin.
3. They then find out about Bitcoin.
4. They recognize Bitcoin as sound money and start using it as such going forward

There are many criticisms of this argument, but let's start with one of marketing. The order here matters. The contention is that  these people *hear* about an altcoin first before Bitcoin. While this may be the case for a few people, for the vast majority, they hear about Bitcoin first. The people investing in an altcoin almost certainly are people that know about Bitcoin already. It's extremely rare that *new* people come into an altcoin, without any knowledge of Bitcoin at all.

Second, there's a persistent idea that mere *exposure* to Bitcoin is enough for people to start adopting it. That somehow, hearing about Bitcoin, whether through commercials, ATM signs and Bitcoin Accepted Here stickers, that it's enough to send them down the rabbit hole of Austrian economics, incentive systems, the nature of money and so on to get to the place where they become Bitcoin holders.

Of course, this is ridiculous on its face. I'm sure someone, who was already inclined toward sound money principles through time-preference, has become a Bitcoiner this way, but for the vast majority of Bitcoiners, exposure to the *brand* was not enough. They were exposed to an *argument* for why Bitcoin is superior as money, more moral, better for civilization or better for wealth accumulation. Exposure to an altcoin very rarely exposes people to the best arguments for Bitcoin. It's very much in the altcoiners' interest to make Bitcoin seem worse in comparison. The arguments that they *are* exposed to are the easily refutable and require Olympic-level mental gymnastics to believe, usually a token around a centralized decentralization of something that makes little sense to decentralize. Thus, they might get a little more exposure to the brand, but the arguments for Bitcoin are something that they won't get in altcoin-land.

In other words, the people involved in these altcoins have very different motivations and the marketing makes this very obvious.  The hope is always the price rise in the token through further marketing. There's nothing about these that point to Bitcoin's advantages over fiat money.

And the experience of Bitcoin Maximalists is clear evidence to the contrary. Many have had some time with altcoins in the past, but that's generally way before they finally "get" Bitcoin. In large part, that moment when they get Bitcoin comes *after* getting rugged in an altcoin, not *because* the altcoin somehow made Bitcoin's virtue more obvious.

Far from bringing "people into Bitcoin," altcoins actively tempt would-be Bitcoiners into a path of gambling and rent-seeking. This is precisely what takes people away from providing value and using Bitcoin as savings and puts them in a very fiat mentality of trying to get something for nothing.

This is why it takes most Bitcoiners years to really "get" Bitcoin. Adoption does not happen through airdrops or ads. Adoption happens through each individual understanding what Bitcoin is for. What altcoins do is confuse the issue because altcoins make Bitcoin seem more like "crypto," or a speculative gamble. Indeed, this is what altcoiners and nocoiners have in common. They don't or won't understand that Bitcoin is a better money. For them, it's a better or worse lottery.

Let's dispense with this idiotic narrative that altcoins somehow benefit Bitcoin. They're leeches of the system that confuse people with their obviously flawed arguments on the need for a token for their project. Altcoins are a morally corrupt evil.

I didn't get into Bitcoin so someone in Nigeria can now gamble more efficiently online. I got into Bitcoin because that same person can keep more of their wealth by not having their money continuously stolen from them. The altcoiners deserve all the vitriol that they're getting. At best, they are naive and overestimate their economics knowledge. At worst, they are scammers that are rent-seeking off of Bitcoin's success. Either way, this argument needs to die.


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#Bitcoin Tech Talk #375

https://jimmysong.substack.com/p/bitcoin-tech-talk-375


There's nothing more insufferable than a guy that got lucky thinking he's smart.


One of the things I'm looking forward to as the dollar loses its reserve status is the decline of the venture capital industrial complex. These are blowhards that are worse than journalists in terms of how much they're listened to versus how much they know.

Real expertise will get rewarded instead of the fiat knowledge that these guys spout.


Gotta love the people moralizing on how other people should behave as if Bitcoin is a centralized system.

There are friends and enemies, incentives and consequences. Let's just say these haven't played out yet.


Would the government entrap Bitcoiners? That is fund them to do stuff that they wouldn't otherwise do to get them in trouble?

Maybe they have and they're now altcoiners or former altcoiners.


Spamcoiners are malicious altcoiners


it's a troll to show something even worse can be done than inscriptions. the thing is, these can be pruned out, it's just very annoying logic and a bit messy to do so.


yep. They're probably 64-byte chunks from a jpeg.


Bare Multisig Outputs
-----------------------

Blocks are getting filled with bare multisig outputs and it's an obvious troll from people that hate Bitcoin. Let me explain.

Multisig currently can be done in many ways, but before p2sh (BIP0013), the only way to do multisig was through putting the many pubkeys on-chain. As ECDSA doesn't really let you aggregate keys, outputs had to specify something like "3-of-5 of these pubkeys." The normal UTXOs have the following number of bytes:

p2pkh:25
p2sh:23
p2wpkh:22
p2wsh:34
p2tr:34

By contrast the n in the k-of-n bare multisig determines the number of bytes and it's 5 + 34 * n (my math might be off, but around there). So for 3-of-5, it's upwards of 170 bytes. But that's using compressed keys. For uncompressed keys, you it's 5 + 66 * n or 335 bytes+, and worse, you can put in illegitimate uncompressed keys (keys that are provably have no private key) to add data to the chain

Why does this matter? Because these bytes stay in the UTXO set, which is what Bitcoin software optimizes for because that's how you validate that a transaction is a not double spend and satisfies the conditions of the smart contract that locked it.

What's worse, if the pubkeys are unspendable (uncompressed keys that are not real points on the secp256k1 curve), then they'll *never* be pruned. So the UTXO set grows larger and requires more resources for your typical node runner.

Interestingly, this was how the whitepaper was embedded into the Bitcoin blockchain by putting pieces of the whitepaper pdf in 64 byte chunks through uncompressed pubkeys. Luke's Eligius pool was one of the first to ban such transactions because they were clearly bloating not just the blockchain, but the UTXO set.

That's what these trolls are doing. They're adding to the UTXO set that's not easily prunable, though now, I'm guessing some people will add pruning for UTXOs with multisig outputs that don't have any legitimate keys.


Whenever you get something for free, you should be suspicious. Because it takes great virtue to give something away without an agenda.


For those that haven't been to Argentina, you have to realize, there are two rates. The "official" rate and the Blue dollar rate. The Blue rate is the real rate. That's what everyone uses when you're buying anything in Argentina.

The official rate is only used for credit cards when foreigners are stupid enough to use them. It's a way for the government and banks to rent-seek.

The devaluation is just bringing the official rate to be the same as the Blue Dollar rate, nothing more. It's not some grand conspiracy. It's just recognizing reality.


The inflection point for Fed rates has passed.

When they cut a bunch of times next year, it's really going to pour fuel to the fire on a Bitcoin rally.


Congrats. You'll see, it's the best thing you've done for your self-sovereignty besides Bitcoin.


"I love Bitcoin, buy my shitcoin"

The affinity scammers dominated the last cycle. How do we prevent them from dominating this cycle?


In this clip @SchoonoverAndy explains why it's impossible to navigate the health care system within the health insurance framework.

https://rumble.com/v40w41h-andy-schoonover-explains-why-its-impossible-to-navigate-the-health-insuranc.html


I really want Argentina to succeed. It's such a wonderful country and the people there are friendly and entrpreneurial. It's a shame their government has been stealing from them for so long.

But in a sense, if they succeed, everyone else is going to follow suit. And I don't think the globalists are going to like that. Then again, the globalists have a little too much on their plate. They want more war, and Gaza isn't quite turning out to be the major thing that they want it to be and Ukraine is discussing peace. They also want to keep pushing the climate change agenda as a cover for everything else, like demonizing meat and gas-powered cars. There's also the whole depopulation thing that worked a bit during COVID, but needs way more destruction to really make a dent.

Maybe Bitcoin can slip through in the meantime. It would just be nice if we can avoid a head-on confrontation because that's likely to be very painful.


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#Bitcoin Tech Talk #374

https://jimmysong.substack.com/p/bitcoin-tech-talk-374


What's a conspiracy that you believe now that you didn't before March 2020?


How to deal with smart people that don't know about Bitcoin

It can be intimidating to talk to someone that's smart that spouts nonsense about Bitcoin. Arguing with them is going to be difficult because they likely have flawed economic thinking that is at the core of their beliefs.

If you're arguing with a socialist, for example, they're likely to have some form of class struggle or oppressor/oppressed paradigms that guide all their thinking. If you're arguing with a mainstream economist, they're likely to view centralized monetary control as a good thing. If you're arguing with a gold bug, they're likely to deny the value of digital things.

It's a pretty heavy lift to argue with these people, because, most likely, they haven't studied Bitcoin in any depth. But if you want engagement, start with their assumptions about the current system. Do they know how it works? Do they understand that all money comes from loans? Do they get that inflation destroys savings and that it's a stealth taxation? At the very least, this should get them on a field that's a little more neutral and fact based. But it's also possible that they may understand all these things and still be against Bitcoin. What then?

You can move from there to whether freedom, particularly property rights are a good thing. Even the most ardent socialists don't like having property taken away from them. And really, this is a moral issue that's very intuitive. Usually, you can make headway that property rights, especially over savings is a good thing.

Finally, you can move to Bitcoin. Do they understand that it's decentralized? That it's digital and that digital things can have value? This is where you need to avoid the stupid economics of the mainstream, who like talking about velocity and unemployment and so on. Those are all irrelevant to the fact that Bitcoin is good money.


On Ocean Mining Pool, Inscriptions and Luke
———————————————

There's been a pretty big flare up in the Bitcoin community about Ocean Mining's two recent blocks. Namely, that they didn't include certain transactions designed to use the block space for something other than its monetary transactional uses. Indeed, many influencers, especially those that are pro-BRC20 and Ordinals, are condemning this course of action as censorship.

In a sense, this is exactly what all pools do. They create a block template for everyone else to mine. In that sense, each miner to a pool is really renting the pool hash rate and the pool does the work of using that hash rate to create blocks, whatever they may be. But it's a bit disingenuous to complain specifically about Ocean, since lots of pools have made blocks that didn't create the optimal profit-driven block.

Not every pool makes the maximal amount of fees for a block, whether because they have bad software, certain policies or just because the block was found before a block template could be constructed. The optimum is an ideal and though the modern economic assumption of idealized homo economicus would create these blocks each time, we don't have a steady-state mining economy so not everyone mines the theoretic optimum.

In a sense, the analysis of pools and the block templates these critics make is flawed because they assume some optimized economy. Given ideal conditions, of course, there is an optimal set of transactions you accept to increase fees. Over a long enough time period, those should result in more profit which get spread over the participants which should make the pool more popular, making those that don't perform the optimum lose profit and eventually bankrupt. But that's a very narrow analysis based purely on monetary incentives.

We don't live in under ideal conditions and situations change all the time. Basic things, like getting a block template ready quickly after a block is found is an optimization that's difficult and still not completely solved. But there's also the opinions of the miners themselves. Are they all strictly profit driven?

Think about normal businesses. Why do they offer fair trade coffee? From a purely monetary perspective, fair trade coffee doesn't make any sense. They're more expensive for the same good. From a profit-maximizing analysis that MBAs are so fond of, the non-fair trade coffee would put the fair trade coffee out of business. But yet, in the real world, they do not because people care more than just the good itself, but what it took to make the good. In other words, the homo economicus analysis of economic situations rarely is the optimum for the real world. There are other considerations other than profit that go into any business.

And that's really at the heart of what's being argued here. Luke believes that inscriptions are a waste of block space, a public nuisance and that even if his pool participants have to take a loss, that it's worthwhile because of the public good that it does. In other words, he sees these inscriptions as *immoral* and that the price he's willing to pay is fees that he would otherwise have gotten.

People are acting like this is some sort of affront to market forces or game theory and that the only consideration he should have is like that of homo economicus, whether he makes more profit or less. But this is a very fiat/Keynesian way of looking at the whole picture. People are more than just profit-maximalization machines and mining pool participants are no different.

Indeed, that's the impression I got from the Ocean Mining Pool summit I went to a few weeks ago. They are that response to the many mining pools that are doing unethical things like not paying out their participants for fees that come in off band.

The calculation that Luke has made is that being moral, that is not polluting blocks, is worth the 1% loss in fees. Given what I know about Luke, even a 90% loss in fees is unlikely to sway him. Morals have a place in any ecosystem because they, too, have value. A mining pool that doesn't burdens nodes with extra data that they have to persist has positive communal value. A mining pool that does the opposite has detrimental communal value. And from Luke's perspective, not burdening nodes is important enough that he chooses not to include them in his block templates.

This moral reasoning is not something that is welcomed by a lot of people and it's hard to miss that many of the critics are creating ordinals, BRC-20 and so on. They want to run this centralized scheme over Bitcoin and make money. In other words, they have a strong economic interest in getting their transactions included and shout censorship whenever they're not.

But we must be careful, because this is not the same as, say, the OFAC prohibition list. And this is where things become a little harder to explain because most people have no sense of the difference between centralized rules being enforced under threat of violence and bottom-up moral behavior slowly adopted. But what Luke is doing is very much bottom up. He's specifically doing something out of moral conviction. Whether you agree with him or not, you can understand why he's doing it, particularly  the moral reasoning. This is different than a centralized mandate with threats of violence against those that don't comply.

I believe that what Luke is doing is a good thing. He's showing his convictions and reasoning about why inscriptions are bad through these templates. The participants are free to move if they disagree. I suspect, though, that there are many that agree with him and they'll vote with their hash rate.

For homo economicus, something like fair trade coffee does not make sense. Yet people gladly pay a little more for it because they believe that it ultimately helps those people produce and live a better life. I believe what Luke and Ocean are doing is similar. They're offering less-bloated blocks even at the cost of some fees.


We don't have to aggressively increase Bitcoin adoption. We just have to survive until fiat money inevitably collapses.


Savings.

Think about that word. Savings rescues people from a plight or a pickle. It's preparation for the unknown. It's a way to account for the bad things that may happen.

Savings is also a way to prepare for something you *do* want. It's capital accumulation and funding for your goals.

Too many people don't know the power of savings. But really, it's about having a purpose, a dream. A goal has no power if you're not working toward it. And savings is a measure of how close you are to that goal.

The depressing thing about fiat money is that it inflates, debasing your savings, moving you further away from your goals. A third party called the central bank has the ability to steal from your dreams and purpose. And what is life without some purpose? It's a zombie existence where the goal is to stay alive, at whatever cost. In a very real sense, fiat money debases your life.

So we invest, trying to clear that ever-present monetary expansion/hurdle rate that will offset the theft from inflation. But that's a job onto itself. Managing money is a cesspool of rent-seeking and unless you do it yourself, a lot of the value you accumulate leaks to the Cantillionaires.

Bitcoin is freedom from this system. But more importantly, Bitcoin gives you back your savings, gives you back your goals, dreams and purpose because it doesn't leak.

Save and build your character so that when you have enough to pursue your dreams, you have the courage to jump.


To those asking. There are lots of old, overweight, and/or poor people who view gambling, drugs and sex as the only happiness they can extract.

There's also some seriously mentally ill people who are further down the pit of despair. It's various stages of desolation and it really feels like a city of zombies.


Man, it is really sad to walk around Vegas.


CBDCs are a central banker's wet dream. They can control the supply of money very finely and control behavior in ways that are impossible right now. They can, for example, eliminate the black market.

This is why we need to resist.


Announcing my new class! Programming Taproot. Learn:

* Schnorr Signatures
* Merklized Abstract Syntax Trees
* Taproot KeyPath/ScriptPath spends
* Signature and Pubkey Aggregation (MuSig2)
* Threshold Signatures (FROST)

The seminar is on January 8 in Austin. Apply today!

https://programmingbitcoin.com/programming-taproot/


Bitcoin affinity scammers are trying to have it both ways.

Bitcoin goes up, they say that see, I was right, Bitcoin is amazing. Bitcoin goes down, they say that it's the toxic maxis that are causing it and if only people would listen to them, everything would be ok. Not coincidentally, this is when they pull out the altcoin they happen to have gotten in early on.

They're the kid in your group assignment that will take all the credit if things go well and blame others if things don't, all while doing little to no real work.

These are the worst type of scammers, the astute political players that are great at playing fiat games and knowing everything about manipulating people and nothing about providing value. They are rightly rejected by the Bitcoin community because they're rent-seeking leeches.


In this clip Saifedean Ammous explains why Singapore is way richer than the Congo and how human action is the most important factor for economics, something which mainstream economics sadly ignores.

https://rumble.com/v3zy2av-saifedean-on-why-singapore-is-richer-than-congo.html


You think altcoiners are mad now?

There are fewer places to do the degenerate gambling they're used to. But even these will get substantially more regulated.
The political pressure to punish the scammers will get intense. And they'll soon realize it's all scammers running these coins.
Money is tight. Liquidations are coming. Selling to eat is going to become a thing.

Lots of headwinds for alts. Tailwinds for BTC.


Did you know that Michael Saylor got $50M from Dan Larimer?

Larimer, the prolific altcoiner, with ProtoShares, BitShares, EOS, and Steem to his name, wanted the domain voice.com for his new social media/altcoin scam. Who owned the domain? None other than Michael Saylor. Dan paid it, Saylor started looking into Bitcoin and the rest is history.


We need more creative uses for waste heat.


Do computers reduce productivity?

Elites are way too smug

My new FROST/MuSig/Taproot class
Bitcoin IPv6 certification
LN Hardware wallet
LN NFC card
Downfall of Gemini
25% of Americans own BTC
and much more!

Free issue for the first Monday of the month!

https://jimmysong.substack.com/p/bitcoin-tech-talk-373


Some day, we'll have a $40k candle


At a certain point, you don't need more money, you need purpose.


Amazing how quickly people abandon free speech when it's against the narrative of their party.

Then again, politics is by its very nature, very high time preference.


Funny how the government accuses the market of price-gouging. What they're really saying is that they think prices are going up because of cartel/monopoly behavior.

It's easy to dismiss this as propaganda, and to a large degree it is. But it's more than that.

It's projection.


Ocean Mining is a Christian company.

If they get more blocks statistically than their hashrate, you'll know why.


Microstrategy will blow up this cycle. And well deserved, too.

What'll be really fun is when other companies copy their strategy to get the same returns.

We don't need an ETF, the entire stock market will soon be a Bitcoin ETF.


In this clip @Alex Gladstein explains how loans from the IMF/World Bank don't alleviate, but rather exacerbate poverty.

https://rumble.com/v3ytnns-alex-explains-how-loans-from-the-imfworld-bank-make-poverty-much-worse.html


You can't swing this far left without some reaction. And there will definitely be a reaction, hopefully politically. Because in the absence of political changes, there will be violence. And believe me, you really don't want that.


Altcoins exchanges are targeted now. Not much longer until they go after altcoins.


Altcoiners are starting to whine again.

They deserve everything that's coming to them.


For free subscribers: Rethinking Leisure, Debased Intellectuals, Lying and Status, Programming Blockchain Dubai and more!

For paid subscribers: Pools Censoring Txs, Coinjoin Detection, BOLT12 Addresses, Timelock Multisig and more!

#Bitcoin Tech Talk #372

https://jimmysong.substack.com/p/bitcoin-tech-talk-372


You can't get gaslit if you're not paying attention.


In fiat/clown world, being offended is being correct.


I'm intensely interested in what happens when Argentina eliminates the central bank. What does dollarization actually do to an economy?


In this episode I talked to @profstonge about Inflation, unemployment, 70's and much more. Find out how he sees the next few years playing out and the inevitability of a hard, possibly very hard landing.

#Bitcoin Fixes This #115

https://rumble.com/v3xj69j-bitcoin-fixes-this-115-stagflation-wit-peter-st.-onge.html


Running Umbrel


I think CBDCs will accelerate Bitcoin Adoption significantly.


Programming Blockchain is back!

Next class is in Dubai in February. Learn what hundreds of developers in the Bitcoin ecosystem have learned. Bare metal, first-principles, coding based 2-day seminar. 1st time in over a year!

Apply here:

https://programmingbitcoin.com/apply-now/


I find the AI safety stuff so incredibly cringe.

They are scared of what they don't know. All new tech has that property, like electricity, cell phones, microwaves and even writing. This is especially the case in a fiat system where Luddites can not just FUD everything, but steal from everyone else to do it.

The doomerism is a projection. They feel their own influence and market power diminishing and project that out onto the rest of society. But of course, that's not how it works. AI will be a great tool for humanity, but it can easily get stifled like nuclear energy through regulation. We must not let that happen.


For free subscribers: Goodhart's Law Ruins Lives, Modern Art is a Psyop, How to navigate Health Care and more!

For paid subscribers: Shamir, Peer Memory Usage, Bitcoinize, Stagflation Incoming and more!

Bitcoin Tech Talk #371

https://jimmysong.substack.com/p/bitcoin-tech-talk-371


There's a difference between businesses that solve peoples' problems and businesses that exacerbate them.

Sadly, fiat rewards the latter more than the former, with all the attendant rent-seeking.


A board of directors is a trusted third party.

They're great when you trust them, they suck when you don't.


Citi employs 240,000 people.

That's a lot of rent-seekers. In just one company. In just one industry that's not the government.

And you wonder why you're working 50 hour weeks...


99% of VC money is controlled by:

* non-technical people
* technical people that can't bother to do real due diligence
* technical people that are fine being scammers

The incentives of fiat money are horrendous.


In this clip @MeatMafiaHarry explains how food has been cheapened by the debasing of the soil and ultimately, how that was caused by government subsidies.

https://rumble.com/v3wb22a-harry-on-cheap-food-processes-and-government-subsidies.html


I talked to @JoinCrowdHealth's Andy Schoonover and @VeronicaPikeFNP to talk about the health care system in the US and why you should be a lot more skeptical of its recommendations.

https://rumble.com/v3ulb1s-bitcoin-fixes-this-114-navigating-health-care-with-andy-schoonover-and-vero.html


Your phone has a piece of you when you hold it and doom scroll.


How would you make a meme that shows decentralized digital scarcity?


Not ironic. It's automating something that's drudgery.


The palestine/israel thing is so obviously trying to get Republicans bloodthirsty. And the pro-palestine protests are so obviously astroturfed.

Yet, Republicans will fall for it and Nikki Haley will be their champion.


In this clip, @MeatMafiaBrett explains how we don't understand food and his personal journey to a carnivore diet.

https://rumble.com/v3vokg1-brett-explains-how-food-is-medicine.html


Why do we buy junk?

Because the status games we're forced to play. In a fiat economy, the status games are all funded by debt. So-and-so got a new phone, now I do, too. So-and-so got a new car, now I have to as well. So-and-so got a new house, sent their kid to a particular college. All the status games are fueled by bringing consumption forward.

Status games are by nature zero-sum and very high time preference. Yet people play them because they're social animals.


For free subscribers: reality of coding work, teens and jobs, starting simple, fiat withdrawal and more!

For paid subscribers: BitVM, Bitstream, LSP spec, Fiat premiums and more!

#Bitcoin Tech Talk #370

https://jimmysong.substack.com/p/bitcoin-tech-talk-370


That was awesome.
I'd love to hear it live sometime.


Make friends by asking for help


In this clip @softsimon_ explains why planning for jurisdictional arbitrage is so important now, rather than later.

https://rumble.com/v3v3di7-simon-explains-why-you-should-plan-for-jurisdictional-arbitrage-now.html


They've gaslit us into thinking that the people who have raised the most money will win.

The money doesn't matter that much, especially in the new media landscape.


In this clip @stephanlivera explains how to think about taxes, visas and property when doing jurisdictional arbitrage.

https://rumble.com/v3uvfla-stephan-livera-on-taxes-visas-and-other-concerns-when-moving-jurisdictions..html


The more fiat a government gets, the bigger the delta between morality and legality.


I talked to nostr:npub1gdu7w6l6w65qhrdeaf6eyywepwe7v7ezqtugsrxy7hl7ypjsvxksd76nak about his new book, Principles of Economics. We discussed the idea of scarcity, the only real restriction to production being human time, the reason why human action is so important and the ridiculousness of simplifying human beings so they are assumed to act the same. We also talked about the reason why energy is such an important part of economic life and how unemployment is really a fiat phenomenon.

https://rumble.com/v3ulghm-bitcoin-fixes-this-113-principles-of-economics-with-saifedean-ammous.html


Maybe the reason birthrates are going down is because people got less attractive.


If Tether makes billions being a fully reserved bank, think about how bureaucratic fractional reserve banks must be.


Ask yourself why these images/words are being censored on the big tech platforms.

Nostr fixes this.


How do altcoiners get away with being wrong so often for so long? Because the people that follow desperately want them to be right. And in some way, think that they can make it right by getting enough people to believe.

That's how Keynesian Beauty Contests work. Money, however, is not a Keynesian Beauty Contest and Keynesian Beauty Contests only work in an economy flooded with money printing.


Free issue for the first Monday of the month!

Rent seeking engineers, Asians and standardized testing, smashing altcoiners and their enablers, Fiat Ruins this ebook and audiobook, Payjoin history, torrents paid via Bitcoin, Lightning eSim, Tether balance sheet, Bitcoin Pope and more!

#Bitcoin Tech Talk #369

https://jimmysong.substack.com/p/bitcoin-tech-talk-369


The money lost by people in FTX, Celsius, BitBoy, BlockFi and many, many others is on the heads of those that made this scamming normal. Namely, VCs, altcoin founders, marketers/influencers who are all not just rent seekers, but straight up scammers.


Fiat Ruins Everything is now available as an audiobook!

I would really appreciate a review if you've read or listened to the book.

https://amzn.to/3QIdQaK


I talked to @gladstein about his book, Hidden Repression. Find out how the IMF uses debt, or money created out of nothing, to enslave other countries and how everything in the debtor countries is restructured so that they continue in their dependency.

Bitcoin Fixes This #112

https://rumble.com/v3tataj-bitcoin-fixes-this-112-hidden-repression-with-alex-gladstein.html


The lower your time preference, the deeper level of civilization you care for.

If you're really high time preference, you'll only care about yourself.
Lower your time preference slightly, and you'll start caring about your family.
Lower it a bit more, your community.
Lower it further, your country/jurisdiction.
Lower it even more and you start caring about the world.

And this is real caring as in building stuff, not the fake kind which is just a bunch of cheap words.


If you find yourself complying, you are not courageous enough.


Bitcoin: A Misunderstood Revolution
------------------

Most people do not appreciate the computer science breakthrough that Bitcoin was.

Before Bitcoin, we did not think decentralized digital scarcity was possible. Everything that has come before, and pretty much everything that has come since was either physical, centralized or not scarce.

Bitcoin brought all three together and even exceeded the scarcity of what came before. It was, to be sure, not just a computer science breakthrough, but a monetary breakthrough.

Yet, even after 15 years, most people don't get the significance of this new thing that was created. But as Bitcoin enters adulthood, it'll get much more respect, because it'll have proven its properties over time.

And it's that true adoption, by people that understand its use as unconfiscatable savings that will transform not just the holders, but civilization itself. Brace yourselves, because the real show is about to begin.


Fiat Ruins Everything is finally available in eBook format!

(Audiobook is coming soon!)

https://amzn.to/3tLJM56


For free subscribers: Supplements, Talent Gatekeepers, Downfall of Michael Lewis, Shortcomings of Gold and more!

For paid subscribers: Logic behind ECC params, LN subscriptions, Replacement Cycling analysis, the coming zombie economy and more!

#Bitcoin Tech Talk #368

https://jimmysong.substack.com/p/bitcoin-tech-talk-368


Lack of Hope Leaves People Vulnerable to Scams
————————————

Low time preference behavior is a sign of prudence and faith, serving as an investment in an uncertain future. Such an investment necessitates a degree of trust that future rewards will materialize. However, many people, influenced by past betrayals and hardships, are skeptical about the future. This skepticism manifests as high time preference behavior, a focus on immediate gratification that often comes at the expense of long-term planning.

Hope is an essential ingredient in our ability to envision and invest in a better future. It's the cornerstone for building meaningful relationships, sustainable businesses, and vibrant communities. This kind of genuine hope can't be manufactured; it must be nurtured through trustworthy actions and the fulfillment of promises.

Interestingly, even those who scam must initially fulfill some promises to establish an illusion of hope. This facade is particularly alluring to individuals with high time preferences, who are desperate for something, anything, to believe in. These people are more susceptible to scams because living a life devoid of hope is, for them, insufferable.

The foundations for a promising future are hope and trust. These qualities are nurtured or eroded through our experiences and social interactions, shaping our expectations for what lies ahead. Unfortunately, the fiat monetary system undermines these foundations by eroding trust and destroying hope. It is through the adoption of sound money that we can begin to rebuild these essential human virtues.

In summary, as long as people are devoid of hope, they will remain vulnerable to scams and deceptions.


In this clip @PrestonPysh explains how fiat money eventually leads to debasement and how violence enters the picture.

https://youtu.be/j5lo7U-dVpQ


Doctors are good at preventing death in the immediate short term.

Many of them pump reasonably healthy people with unnecessary drugs and are really rent-seeking off of peoples' health. They're not the experts you think they are when it comes to long term effects of almost anything.


I talked to @MeatMafiaBrett and @MeatMafiaHarry about food in this episode of Bitcoin Fixes This.

We talked about getting out of the fiat mindset in food.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IunhGbg_M6o


New ATH in a lot of inflating currencies (Naira, Turkish Lira, Argentinian Peso) already. USD ATH will be last.


Keeping savings in anything other than Bitcoin seems sacrilegious to me at this point.


If you don't believe in the one narrative, you're called a conspiracy theorist and a right wing extremist. Already, people have been fired from their jobs. Next, they'll start arresting.

A narrowing Overton Window is a leading indicator of tyranny.


For free subscribers:

Liberal World Order, AI Bleeding Money, Jurisdictional Arbitrage, R and D flipping over the last 30 years and more!

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Scriptless BitVM, HTLC Timeout attack, Tragic story of Jimmy Zhong, Chinese Bank Run and more!

#Bitcoin Tech Talk #367

https://jimmysong.substack.com/p/bitcoin-tech-talk-367


Democrats from a generation ago are now considered right wing extremists.

There's a significant cost to standing your ground in a fiat system because everything is constantly moving.

In Bitcoin, you can stand your ground because it doesn't change.


I know there's a lot of talk of conference fatigue and so on, but I think the conferences this year are setting up for the huge uptake in interest set for the next few years. It's crazy, but we're going to see crazy numbers this next time around.


I talked to @stephanlivera and @softsimon_ about Jurisdictional Arbitrage.

Find out what that's like and how to think about values, taxes, real estate and more!

# Bitcoin Fixes This #110

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF-rJFBFGaA


I still think there's something really weird going on with Gaza.

First, I've heard way too many people mention the 9/11 connection. It was so obviously spoonfed to us as a narrative that it's very suspicious. Yes, there are some parallels, but the way it was pushed by every media member almost minutes after it happened was very odd.

Second, the neocons have been way too aggressive on this. This does not play to their base at all and yet they are beating the drums of war at every opportunity. They seem to believe that they can get their side whipped up in a frenzy to the point where there will be war.

Third, the protests happening all over the world seem suspiciously timed to be red meat for everyone on the right. The exact people the people on the right hate are saying good things about Palestine. It reeks of manipulation.

There's a confluence of events to get the right bloodthirsty, because the left is bloodthirsty enough with Ukraine already. Maybe it's the defense industry, maybe it's the deep state. But whoever it is, they really, really want not just one war, but multiple ones.


In this clip @DavidFBailey
 explains how the media landscape has now become dominated by smaller players that can't just be bought with ads.

https://youtu.be/FGZhuy1ERwI


I want the ETF approved just so it doesn't hang over our heads like the sword of Damocles. I don't think it'll matter much in the long run, but it's something everyone looks to for salvation. Better for those dreams to get dashed sooner than later.
The real hope is in Bitcoin being the best money that's ever been made, not some buy in of the SEC.


For free subscribers: CIA rabbit hole, Being Palestinian, Financial Warfare, Fiat Civ Crumbling and more!

For paid subscribers: BitVM, MuSig2 Descriptors, Batch Channel Openings, Greenlight, Downfall of Bitmain and more!

#Bitcoin Tech Talk #366

https://jimmysong.substack.com/p/bitcoin-tech-talk-366


What if all the wars right now are kayfabe? What would that mean?


One fiat tell for me is when a person's desire to not offend is the primary concern for their speech.


Freedom minded people have a much easier time getting Bitcoin.

Statists, naturally, have a much harder time.
The jaded have the hardest time. And sadly, there's a lot of those, especially in finance.

Get people to love freedom first. Bitcoin will make much more sense to them then.


I think most atheists are cowards. This isn't just my opinion, but also that of Nietzche. They take on most of Christian morality without God, and can't justify the morality that they subscribe to.

But in a sense, the philosophically consistent atheists are even worse. They are sociopathic in their pursuit of power. But at least I can respect them.


In this episode, @PrestonPysh joins me to talk about the root of violence being theft, and the root of theft being the bad settlement currency.

#Bitcoin Fixes This #109

https://youtu.be/YWCorlvwil4


In this clip @AaronvanW explains how journalism has changed due to the internet and how the profession has changed.

Full Episode Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7mBKphtkKY&t=41s


We have the protocol, but that's nothing without builders.


The price of things going up is largely inflation. But for things that are government subsidized/regulated/mandated like health care, there's also the bureaucratic industrial complex that grows around it. Prices on those things will continue to go up with almost no end as the bureaucracies around them will keep getting more and more expensive and beat even the monetary expansion rate. This is often the part of the inflation that's not just hidden in the CPI, but unavoidable in many ways.


Remember that wars are always created and engaged by the assholes in charge, not the individuals in the populace. Sadly, they're the cannon fodder that suffer and get manipulated to the authorities' advantage.

I stand with the people, not the jerks in charge.


For free subscribers: Rome, Illusion of Explanatory Depth, New Media, Slaying S*itcoins and more!

For paid subscribers: BIP324, Taproot Channels, Belt and Road, Obscura and more!

#Bitcoin Tech Talk #365

https://jimmysong.substack.com/p/bitcoin-tech-talk-365


Everyone has their Bitcoin regret stories.

I could have bought at $x, think about how rich I would be now!
Sad fact is, if you bought at $x, you would have sold at $2x or $5x dollars and you'd have an even worse regret story.

Be grateful that you got in when you did and held what you held.


Just how many people did SBF bribe?

The whole case looks so open and shut, yet there's a completely different narrative in the mainstream.


The people that want to trust government are the people that are least trustworthy. They project their own lack of character on others and depend on authority to fix it.


Hillary Clinton floating the idea of "re-education" for Trump supporters...

They're seeing how far they can go before there's pushback. If you give them an inch, they'll take a mile.


I talked to @AaronvanW and @DavidFBailey about New Media and how the landscape has changed and continues to change:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7mBKphtkKY


In this clip, @ODELL on how meeting people in person helps in building.

https://youtu.be/favBmviD6Fo


Harry on how f2f is like PoW

https://youtu.be/EhAnZf3jmq8


We really don't mock the altcoiners enough.


Free issue for the first Monday of the month!

Marginal Users, Boomers, Gen Z, TGFB Meetup, Undetectable Selfish Mining, Payment Splitting, BTC Perception Survey, and a lot more!

#Bitcoin Tech Talk #364

https://jimmysong.substack.com/p/bitcoin-tech-talk-364


Minimum wage is a product of inflation. When wages keep debasing, people demand intervention. It's a stupid intervention, to be sure, but it's one that politicians can promote to get votes.

Unemployment is a product of wage controls. Little known about the Great Depression is how Hoover and Roosevelt both lobbied large companies to keep wages high. Wages need room to come down during downturns. Free markets need normal supply and demand, not artificial ones imposed by elites that think they know better.

Both of these things result in a more socialist policy where the government controls far too much of the economy and ruins it. In the end, the newly printed money creates these perverse incentives.


When money breaks, nobody works.

I think we're halfway there. Lots of people don't work and a large portion of those that do are rent-seeking, which is even worse.


In this clip, @willcole describes the bleak future of those that forego children.

https://youtu.be/COXoLhJsKeU


The Legacy of Feinstein
-------------------------

Feinstein has passed away. Her political career parallels that of Biden, serving as a figurehead for forces operating behind the scenes. Despite a career solely in public service, including roles as a regulator, mayor of San Francisco, and U.S. Senator, her net worth as of 2018 was $87 million.

She exemplifies the Cantillon effect, where those closest to money creation benefit the most. Her long tenure in power likely stems from a desire to perpetuate this financial advantage. The wealth she amassed didn't just come from U.S. taxpayers; it also impacted some of the world's poorest and most vulnerable individuals. The expansive reach of the U.S. dollar has global consequences.

While mainstream media may portray her as a saintly figure, it's essential to scrutinize her actions, which should. be described as thievery and fraud.

She is what is a symbol of what's wrong with the system, why fiat money makes everything so political and why undeserving people like her get to rent-seek and make tons of money at everyone else's expense.

Thankfully, there's a way out, and that's Bitcoin. Only by taking away the power of money printing can these thieving oligarchs be stopped.


I talked to Arsh and Ella about Gen Z perspectives on Bitcoin

https://youtu.be/Ff1HqTf0O9k


On BitBoy and Moral Degeneracy
---------------------------------

BitBoy was arrested after his Lamborghini was stolen, an event he even live-streamed while confronting the thief. Ironically, a person who has been accused of defrauding others was indignant when he himself became a theft victim. But this is not just an isolated event; it shines a spotlight on a wider issue of ethical decline.

Individuals who willingly defraud others lose all sense of justice when they themselves are wronged. This mindset echoes socialist ideologies that champion the idea of seizing property—unless, of course, it's their property that's in jeopardy.

Double standards have become the norm, especially in politics. Some people, whether due to their minority status or alignment with popular political stances, are given a pass for unethical conduct. Meanwhile, others face public scorn for lesser offenses. This normalization of double standards paves the way for bad behavior, as exemplified by BitBoy.

But let's be clear: BitBoy is far from being the worst offender; he's simply the most visible one. This cycle of deceit, fraud, and theft will persist until we start stigmatizing moral decay. And that will only happen when our leaders stop getting away with their own moral lapses, which unfortunately are way too frequent under fiat money. They can and do abuse their position for personal gain, stealing from everyone else in the process. As long as the temptation of stealing from everyone else is there, and easily obscured by talk of "greedy corporations" and "perfect storm" of "unexpected circumstances" we're going to just see this moral degeneracy continue.

The way to stop this is not reform, but a different financial system that doesn't have so many holes. Bitcoin, as you might expect, is that system.

Fiat delenda est.


The Hidden Power of Suffering
——————————————

Suffering is a stark reality, a force that dwells in the deepest recesses of our souls. Its presence can be unbearable, marking us with emotional scars that are not easily healed. Yet suffering is not a burden we should flee from. It is, paradoxically, the crucible of our growth and the hallmark of our humanity.

In a society where comfort has become the ultimate goal, the mere mention of suffering stirs discomfort. We view it as the unpopular kid in school, as someone to avoid even being seen with, let alone engaging in. Yet, herein lies the paradox: Our relentless pursuit of comfort leads to stagnation, dulling our senses and depressing our souls.

Consider the "Mouse Utopia" experiment—a controlled environment abundant with food, devoid of predators, and saturated with safety. Initially, the mice prospered, but over time, their community fractured and their essence altered. Females grew aggressive, males withdrew, and soon, their world withered away in a demographic collapse. They were not merely mice living in abundance; they became creatures debased by the absence of struggle.

This mirrors our human story in many unsettling ways. Like those mice, we live in increasingly regulated and structured societies. Our worlds are so designed to alleviate suffering that we are becoming less human and more indulgent. We are losing our nature—our need for challenges, for frontiers to conquer, and for obstacles to overcome.

However, unlike mice, we possess reason, the conscious power to shift our trajectory. We can embrace hardship as a form of spiritual awakening, a crucible where our better selves are forged. Gyms have proliferated not merely for physical well-being but because they serve our inherent need for struggle. Marathons and obstacle races have surged in popularity, offering us the chance to confront our limitations head-on. Cold plunges and saunas have become popular in part because it stretches our bodies past their normal ranges.

Suffering, then, is not an aberration; it is an integral part of the human experience. To seek a life devoid of suffering is to miss out on the profound depths of love, the intensity of joy, and the soul-stirring power of art. To shun suffering is to remain perpetually a child, forever shielded from the complexities and richness of human life. Sadly, too many choose this much easier path.

Our perception of suffering needs to change. Do not curse it as a wretched plight but celebrate it as a catalyst for growth. For it is in the fires of suffering that we find our purpose, our resilience, and our true selves. Everything worthwhile, every meaningful experience, asks us to walk through the flames.

Embrace suffering, for it is the gateway to being human.


Realize that those in power will do pretty much anything they think will work to stay in power. The only thing stopping them is the probability of success. And if they've duped a significant percentage of the population, their probability goes up and their tactics become proportionately immoral.


For free subscribers: Liberal depression, leveling elite colleges, building bitcoin communities, book interviews and more!

For paid subscribers: BTC price from block data, autopay LN, Open Timestamps used in Guatamala and more!

#Bitcoin Tech Talk #363

https://jimmysong.substack.com/p/bitcoin-tech-talk-363


Fiat Ruins Patronage
----------------------

Every rich person in a fiat economy is obsessed with money. Not inventions, not art, not new frontier exploration, but money.

These are the people that in a sound money economy would be funding inventors, artists and explorers to create and conquer. They don't because they are forced to run on a monetary treadmill.

These are the people that used to devote their leisure not to hedonism, but to the finer things that build civilization. They knew something about inventing, art and exploring because that's what interested them. And they knew at some level that they didn't have the talent to go that far. But they *could* recognize talent in those areas and funded the people that had the potential to make inventions, create art and explore further than they could. So they would put their money where their heart was.

This is the real model of patronage, of funding real progress. Instead, we have rich people giving money to charitable causes that are better at throwing parties than at helping people. Fiat money has ruined the engine that has built civilization.


Most people have been trained just to react to what other people are saying/doing, instead of having opinions they've derived themselves.

This is why most people are so incredibly boring.


I talked to @ODELL and @harry_sudock about @bitcoinpark_ and the community that they're building. Find out what it takes to build a Bitcoin community, why you should and how you can help.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aP_O3Wfe-XQ


Most positions people take are taken to protect egos, not to pursue truth. Rationalizing, not rational.


There is no education system. There is an indoctrination system.

There's a big difference.


The coordinated attack against Russell Brand is reminiscent of the coordinated fame of Rich Men North of Richmond.


We tend to think of our community defining us as being too restrictive. Yet defining ourselves is in many ways much harder and lead to existential crises.


Sadly, perception is way more importance in a fiat system than your work product.


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Bitcoin Tech Talk #362

https://jimmysong.substack.com/p/bitcoin-tech-talk-362


It's so strange that people will spend so much time and money building political institutions instead of stuff that can provide value to the market.

But that's what fiat money produces. Even entrepreneurial energy goes toward zero-sum political games.


We cheer for Assange and Snowden, in part because we don't have the courage to do what they did.


You're not lacking motivation, you're lacking courage and confidence.


Fiat energy like wind and solar only subsidize more rent-seeking. It's a grand social experiment to suspend reality.


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#Bitcoin Tech Talk #361

https://jimmysong.substack.com/p/bitcoin-tech-talk-361


Bitcoin companies will generally want to sacrifice security for superficial, short-term adoption. They're businesses, after all and more customers is how they make money.

Users, on the other hand, will want security for their coins and will care much more deeply about true long-term adoption.

This continues to be a tension that won't be resolved anytime soon.


Vice drives consumption.
Virtue drives saving.


Bitcoin strengthens the grid.
Wind and solar weaken the grid.

It's really that simple.


Capital going to companies that are earning nominal returns, but not real returns is wasteful. This is the destructive power of inflation and it erodes civilization.


I talked to Marty and Will about fatherhood and families under a Bitcoin standard.

https://youtu.be/7Jn576mbDrk?si=vDC3zMYH5jDM0xpm


Crowdfund is over! We've exceeded the goal by 140%!

Thank you all who participated!

Thanks also to @parkeralewis and @willcole of @ZapriteApp for their help in setting this crowdfund up.
https://void.cat/d/UL3VXH1ZUejLMnHigZjRXr.webp


Only one more day left in the Fiat Ruins Everything Crowdfund!

You can get a signed hardcover when that comes out in the next couple of months! Click the Zaprite link to buy directly with Bitcoin, Lightning, or Credit Card:

https://pay.zaprite.com/pl_NwD8zgY8qQ


What's the End Game?
================

My last post advocating for a Bitcoin chain split drew various reactions. Some labeled me as irresponsible, while others claimed I was undermining proof-of-work (I wasn't) or promoting a hard fork (again, I wasn't). The critics want more technical discussions to reach a consensus.

Here's the core issue: what's the endgame for drivechains? We've debated the technical aspects for seven years. Do we expect new information that will suddenly unite everyone?

The reality is, those in favor of a drivechains soft fork aren't going away. If anything, they will grow louder. So, what's the end result of endless discussions?

Prolonged debate without consensus not only wastes time but stall other valuable updates. I'll remind you that seven years of discussion have not resolved this issue.

A peaceful resolution now has a lot of benefits. We can put much of this debate to bed by engaging the market instead of claims made by marketers. We can see whether the things promised by the advocates actually come to pass and we'll learn a lot more about miner incentives.

Of course, there are other ways to resolve this conflict besides a chain split, such as creating a separate chain, using a different sidechain mechanism, or adding the needed op codes in an altcoin. Yet, these options have been available for seven years and haven't been pursued by the drivechain advocates. I think those are better resolutions than a chain split and a successful use case would be the best way to convince those of us that are skeptical of the drivechainers' claims. But that's not what they're doing and so we are at loggerheads.

In summary, the drivechain debate isn't resolving itself. A split will end this divisive conversation and allow us to focus on more productive projects like improving the Lightning Network or furthering Taproot features.


Free issue for the first Monday of the month!

Cryonics, modern dating, people vs things, Floresta, ChatBTC, SmartSats, Tether treasury, MSTR stock sale and much, much more!

#Bitcoin Tech Talk #356

https://jimmysong.substack.com/p/bitcoin-tech-talk-356


People that are good at school are generally good at making justifications for anything and everything.

That's great for anyone that wants yes-men/slaves, not for truly creative endeavors.

School teaches you to pursue approval, not truth. And that's toxic to the soul.


Proof of elite approval

That's what certification is. That's what degrees are. That's what proof of stake is. That's what most jobs are. That's what status seeking is.

Elite approval is the weapon of choice to keep people shackled to the current system. And it can oppress people more than jack boots and guns.


The Altcoining of Content

I hate altcoin conferences. They're all so obviously trying to sell you something on every talk that it's like watching infomercial after infomercial.

You would think that people would catch on to this and start rejecting altcoins, but au contraire! If there's anything I've noticed in the last 6 years, it's that content has become way more like altcoin pitches. Let me explain...

Look at any website, tv show, even songs. They're all becoming altcoin pitches, or infomercials trying to sell you on something. And they're not even being subtle about it. It's so obviously propaganda to sell you on a position now. The world gets crazier every year as it imitates the fraud of altcoins.

Bitcoin can't come soon enough.


I have a Nostr imitator boosting my notes.

Please be careful out there.


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Bitcoin Tech Talk #341

https://jimmysong.substack.com/p/bitcoin-tech-talk-341


You can learn to love.

No, I'm not writing some cheesy self-help guide for broken hearted singles. I'm writing about disciplines and skills that are hard to obtain.

In the west, we have it backwards. We think we have a passion about something and then we get good at it. For a very few people, love comes before skill. But for most people, it's the other way around. Skill comes before love. As you get better at something, you *learn* to love the skill or even your ability to execute. It feels great to be competent at something.

That's why you should be purposeful about what you're going to get skilled in. For most people, it's something useless like a video game, politics, or a sports team. Such skills are easy traps for your love.

Find something worthy instead. Look for something higher. Those things, too, can be your passion. You just have to be patient.


Parties
Drugs
Gambling
Sports
How Maximalists suck


A growing civilization has saved more lives from poverty, misery and destitution than anything else.

If you really cared about the poor, you would be working to build something useful for civilization, which can only be done through adding value.

Political action to change the split of the pie instead of growing it is LARPing at helping.


Fiat money is very high time preference, focused on individual happiness rather than deep purpose, like making a family. The happiness ethic has created a culture of sexual indulgence, which is causing demographic collapse.

Sexual indulgence is high time preference and in particular, it destroys families, or never creates them in the first place. Without families, there's no stable structure to build off of.

People build because they have a low time preference, because they think about the future and they want to make it better.

Civilization and sexual indulgence are at odds with each other.


Deep understanding is what's required for real conviction. That does not come from a sexy demo. I've never seen anyone see a fast transaction, even across continents and become a holder through bear markets.

It takes years to develop conviction and no killer app, no amazing utility, no endorsement is going to shortcut that process.

If you want to orange pill someone, help them really understand money and develop that conviction. One holder is worth a hundred traders is worth a thousand merchants that sell right away.


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#Bitcoin Tech Talk #340

https://jimmysong.substack.com/p/bitcoin-tech-talk-340


It frustrates me to see people complain because the Bitcoin isn't being adopted fast enough. Guys, the money is 14 years old. It's not going to take over the world in 6 months. This is a decades long process.

And no, it's not going to be suddenly adopted because your local coffee shop starts accepting it. We've been down that road. That's not how Bitcoin becomes the dominant thing. People that get Bitcoin and stay in it are the ones that understand Bitcoin is better money. The virtue signalers that sell right away are not helping the cause. They're just using you to sell you their junk that you don't need.

Trust the incentives. It's going to happen. But if you act like a high time preference brat, then you're going to do something stupid and rash. Bear markets are when holders are made and if you don't make the cut this time, this fiat attitude is probably why.


Fiat money leaves us devoid of the sacred. That's a bad thing because it hollows out culture. All cultures need something sacred at its core. Without the sacred, everything is subject to change and a changing foundation is not a very good one to build on.

21 million is our new sacred order.


Sunday Survey:

First one on Nostr!

How much time do you spend on Nostr a day?


Silence Retreats

I'm very curious about these as I'm curious what a week of not being able to talk will be like. I'm told that there are some that are Christian based, with monks that guide your silence. I don't want to do any that are not Christian, because I take my faith very seriously.

Anyone try these? Would you recommend them?


Gold Wars: https://amzn.to/3KFCrsL

"Napoleon was convinced his system of sound money could defeat the vaporous credit creation of the British."


Did you know Napoleon was trying to establish a sound money alternative to Great Britain's sometimes-convertible pound? Part of why Great Britain wanted to defeat Napoleon was to keep its world reserve currency status.

Maybe the wrong guys won at Waterloo.


Don't concede the frame to your opponents. They want you to argue that Bitcoin is better for emissions, because then your attack surface gets much larger, even if you win that particular battle.

Hold the line much further forward and argue that Bitcoin is better money than the wasteful, unjust, and decivilizing force of fiat money.


Very few people understand money. Nocoiners, altcoiners, conservatives, progressives, old or young.

If you're trying to orange pill your friends or family, start there.


Okay who won this poll?

#[0]


My approximation of the before and after on the NY Times picture, adjusting the black point so it's consistent with where all the data starts.

https://void.cat/d/KLpbzYMyjVtcPJJrpHNzit.webp
https://void.cat/d/S2qbz6fw2X8HWntSCtbfoV.webp


Bitcoin Maximalists have a high Buxton index.

http://futurismic.com/2009/02/16/what-is-the-buxton-index/


#Bitcoin Tech Talk #339

https://jimmysong.substack.com/p/bitcoin-tech-talk-339

Excerpt below:

    Hoax of the Century - A long read on how information warfare is used by the US intelligence agencies against their own citizens. The article is deeply disturbing in that it essentially argues that the politicians have to abide by what the intelligence agencies want as a result of the power they have manipulating the public. Propaganda is insanely effective and it’s now a weapon used to perpetuate the power of those wielding it. I don’t think the author thought too much about how this intelligence agency industrial complex grew from fiat money, but this is one of the scarier outcomes.

    Algorithmic Masters - This article asks some very important questions about categories and the power of being able to distinguish. As the article argues, traditional categorization was known to the people being categorized, which meant that they could counter it to some degree. The new age of algorithmic categorization by machine often means that we are blind to these categories that we are being put in. The predictability of the category is very valuable and can be used for control. As there’s good evidence that we don’t understand these algorithms, this is something we really need to pay attention to.

    Preaching to the Remnant - An amazing read on the desire to reach the masses, which happens so much in democracy especially. As the article argues, if you’re interested in popularity, you have to aim at the masses, which often has a very low denominator, indeed. But aim at the Remnant, and you can focus instead on telling the truth. That prophetic voice lives in the Bitcoin Maximalist crowd and it is this tension between serving the Remnant vs serving the crowd which is the main conflict in our community.


I just heard about book trailers. These are short videos to promote a book like a movie trailer.

What do you think Bitcoin fam? Should I make one for my upcoming book about how fiat ruins everything?


I haven't played guitar in almost 20 years, but this makes me want to pick it up again.

https://i.imgur.com/bPB5a3A.jpg


God, give me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change (Twitter)
The courage to change the things I can (Nostr)
And the wisdom to know the difference (closed source and centralized vs. open source and decentralized)


This week, we explore the age of average, the striking parallels between America & the Byzantine Empire, WWII's Operation Barbarossa, and much more. Don't miss my recent BOB interview and upcoming meetups in Taipei & Seoul.

Bitcoin Tech Talk #338

https://jimmysong.substack.com/p/bitcoin-tech-talk-338


Honestly wish zaps were much much easier. Switching to a wallet and confirming the payment and waiting for it to go through is just too much of a pain.

What clients have a more integrated fast zapping experience?


There are those that think Bitcoin needs marketing and promotion so people will adopt it. Unsurprisingly, these are generally marketers and promoters. They start promoting altcoins when they realize Bitcoin doesn't need them.

Then there are those that believe Bitcoin is the best money and that it's adoption is inevitable and prepare accordingly.


Thank you!


GM, taxation is theft


Bull market confirmed!

https://i.imgur.com/eDHG61q.jpg


Bitcoin doesn't need your approval, shitcoiners' approval, nocoiners' approval, government approval, or Keynesians' approval.

Bitcoin won't win because it becomes popular. Bitcoin will become popular because it will win.

Few.


The best opportunities in the US all revolve around Cantillon effects.

The best opportunities in the developing world revolve around providing value.

Incentives rule everything around me.


I miss the early COVID days when there was no traffic and popular places had no people.

Too soon?


USD and Twitter losing market share to BTC and Nostr.

They're making similar centralized mistakes to alienate their users.


Bitcoin Tech Talk #337

https://jimmysong.substack.com/p/bitcoin-tech-talk-337


Not your keys not your coins.

Undefended arguments are not your beliefs.


Being manipulated is the price you pay for anything "free"

I'd rather pay some sats instead.


## Unleashing Your Inner Writer

So, you aspire to be a writer. You yearn to share your thoughts with the world, cultivate a following, and make a difference.

The remarkable aspect of the internet isn't its vastness, but rather how much of it is mundane. For every insightful essay, there are countless articles rehashing generic opinions from CNN or Fox News. They're as predictable as tic-tac-toe and just as tiresome.

What's happening here? Why do so many writers churn out content that feels more worn out than Eeyore?

Fear is the culprit.

Dull essays are born from apprehensive writers. They fear backlash and avoid anything offensive or controversial. They remain within the confines of acceptable discourse, never daring to question the mainstream. These writers cower like an unpopular middle schooler fearing an atomic wedgie.

### The Struggle and Rejection of Timid Writing

Timid writing is a struggle. It's creatively stifled by others' opinions. If you dodge all potentially offensive topics, there are numerous places you won't explore. With only a few bland ingredients, is it any wonder your creations fail to entice?

Constantly looking over your shoulder, you fear the mob, judgment, and rejection. But ironically, rejection is all you'll receive. It's a different type of rejection than hatred – the polite indifference of someone excusing themselves to avoid conversation. It might be gentler on your ego, but it's detrimental to your growth as a writer.

Don't be a timid writer. Your mom might read your essays and enjoy them, but few others will. Those who agree will forget your words, while those who disagree will have larger targets than a minnow like you. Timid writers only attack the establishment's enemies, never challenging the status quo.

### The Power of Bold Writing

The alternative? Write with boldness, courage, and originality.

Embrace being a bold writer. And no, that doesn't mean using a heavier font. Write at the edge of acceptable discourse. Express ideas that matter.

Isn't that the reason you write? To share a piece of yourself through words? But how genuine is it if your thoughts mirror the mainstream?

Does the thought of controversy frighten you? Good. That means you're alive and authentic. You'll need to defend your views, but you'll be ready. Yes, you'll have detractors, but you'll also gain loyal fans. True fans who resonate with your voice and view you as their champion, cheering you on like the gladiator you are.

Defending your views will sharpen your writing. Those with conventional opinions rarely reflect deeply; they've simply accepted their beliefs as part of their upbringing. Your writing will captivate because it offers a fresh perspective.

### Creative Freedom

You'll enjoy greater creative freedom, as you venture into territories most people don't dare explore. You'll access ideas untouched by the mainstream, with boundless opportunities for growth.

You'll become a better writer, honing your skills faster, generating more compelling ideas, and writing with increased frequency.

Be that writer. Be bold. Stir the pot. Challenge your readers.

And go forth to change the world.


And that happens when the US central bank won't back said country's central bank. I'm convinced a lot of central banks have been bailed out over the years, but we don't get to find out much about it because we can't audit the Fed.

Now if you piss off the US, then all bets are off. Hence why Venezuela, Zimbabwe and Lebanon have central banks which are allowed to fail.


Discipline is Saving
--------------------

I’ve been taking cold showers for many years now. When I tell most people that, they think I’m crazy. Why subject myself to cold showers when warm showers are available? Why make the act of taking a shower so painful and unpleasurable?

I take cold showers because they’re uncomfortable. Discomfort is not a bad thing. It’s a good thing if it helps you grow. For me, cold showers are a way to test myself, to discipline myself.

Purposeful Pain
----------------
Discipline makes uncomfortable activities comfortable through purposeful pain. The first time taking a cold shower was horrible and my body was shocked from discomfort. Mentally, it was difficult to handle and I did everything as fast as possible. The next time wasn’t much better, but by the tenth time, it wasn’t so bad.

Each time I took a cold shower, I learned how to handle the cold. More than that, I was learning how to get used to uncomfortable situations. The discipline of handling the cold was creating in me the more meta skill of learning how to discipline myself. I was learning to learn.

I learned for example that there’s joy in the journey. Every skill is frustrating to learn at first because you’re no good at it. But if it were easy at the beginning, it wouldn’t really be a skill. The real value comes at the end of discipline. Discipline, in other words, is saving or investing of time. The pain experienced in the process of learning is time spent now to make time more valuable later. A more disciplined and skillful person is more productive over the same unit of time than a lazy and unskillful person.

Consuming Pleasure
---------------------
Indulgence makes comfortable activities uncomfortable through desensitization. Porn, gambling and addictive substances are all more pleasurable at the beginning and have diminishing returns over time. By the end, other disciplines start suffering as laziness or impulsive behavior spreads. Indulgences destroy whatever disciplines you have.

The journey becomes hellish, especially as addiction takes over. The beginning of the journey may be fun, but by the end, addictions exact a heavy toll on your life. Indulgence, in other words, is incurring time debt. The pleasure experienced in the process of indulgence is time stolen from the future. An addicted and less disciplined person is less productive.

This is why for personal productivity, it’s much more useful to eliminate bad habits than to attempt creating good ones. The drain from an addiction of some kind is much more costly than a discipline is likely to help. Disciplines take a long time to mature so require years before the real value is gained. Stopping an addiction, especially cold turkey, is a huge boost to productivity because it pays off time debt.

As with finance, pay off the debt first and then think about savings. Indulgence is debt. Discipline is saving.


It's counterintuitive, but the countries undergoing hyperinflation, are often more sound than other countries undergoing normal inflation.

Government, of course, is as fiat as they can be, printing money so they can squeeze out Cantillon benefits, but everyone else adjusts.

Individuals and businesses move to a dollar standard, which in those countries is much harder than their own currency and those on that standard have to create value. They can't just get dollar loans as the risk is too high. Hence, they have to operate from savings and the businesses are a lot more sound and focused on adding value.

For me, this is why Argentina and Lebanon were so pleasant to visit. They avoid as much as possible their governments' debasement and have to operate in a manner that's more legitimate.


I'm aware that it's only for securities owned before 3/12/23 and limited to $25B. But that's not the point. It's now a precedent. And the market acts in anticipation of future moves like this.

If a bank gets in trouble because of treasuries that are underwater, the Fed is signaling it will do this again. Now every bank is going to load up so they can get the same treatment.

There's some uncertainty, of course, which is why yields are not 0%, but there's enough sentiment that this will be a new Fed policy tool that yields are going down fast.


Now that the Fed will lend cash for treasuries at par, there will be a lot more buying of treasuries.

This is why yields are going down.


We live in some interesting times, friends.

Nostr will be where it will be documented because it's going to be twisted everywhere else.


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#Bitcoin Tech Talk #335

https://jimmysong.substack.com/p/bitcoin-tech-talk-335


The last people that should be blamed are the people withdrawing money from a defunct bank. They're the rational ones exposing the insolvency of the bank.

Instead, politicians are blaming them for causing more mistrust of the system. This is what people in power think about, conserving their position and making enemies of anyone that would threaten that, no matter how just their position.

Your leaders don't care about truth or justice. And they will gladly support lies and injustice to gain power.

They're all Nietzcheans now.


Feels like they're trying to eliminate all the on/off ramps for exchanges.

Good luck playing whack-a-mole! China tried this 8 years ago and people there still own Bitcoin.

They'll be much more successful taking the treasuries of altcoin foundations.


The emphasis of money as a method of payment is a fiat disease.

The fiat system puts a lot of emphasis on monetary velocity, which is a fancy way of saying how much we collectively trade. In a sense, this is an understandable metric. If trades benefit both parties, then more trades mean that more parties are satisfied and more goods are created and exchanged and we have a better economy, right?

In a normal free market economy, yes. But once you make that the metric that you aim at, it becomes worthless. You get boondoggles that count as "trades" when they don't benefit anyone. Malinvestment gets conflated with trades that do benefit everyone. Hence, the Keynesian mistake is to think the metric more important than the underlying thing that it's trying to measure, which is each person's subjective benefit.

Sadly, the Keynesian mentality is pervasive in a fiat money economy and instead of thinking about wealth generation, they merely think of monetary movement. The thing is money should only move when there's a good reason to, as in there's a good or service that's worth the money. If not, moving because of inflationary pressures, for example, is much more likely to lead to malinvestment.

Yet the idea persists that the thing you need more than anything is more trading with a particular currency for prosperity. I believe that's what's driven the Roger Vers of the world to emphasize the payment aspect above everything else. It's a Keynesian deceit.

The incentives will take care of themselves in time, don't be so concerned people aren't "spending" their sats on things. Merchants haven't caught up yet and until they do, we won't see massive uptake on Bitcoin as a method of payment.

Until then, provide value and stack.


If they bail out SVB, it'll combine with a bigger bank on a sweetheart deal arranged by the Fed.

If they don't bail out SVB, deposits will go to the bigger banks that are more likely to get bailed out.

Fiat money creates winner take all dynamics.


Bitcoin is the only currency where people are worried there aren't enough zeros. Most currencies are trying to get rid of them.

Scarcity is real.


Man, the RFK Jr book...

The rot goes very deep.


1910's - Woodrow Wilson was very pro-war despite campaigning for no war
1930's and 40's - Communists were anti-war until Russia got invaded and then were pro-war, like the rest of the left
1950's - The left was pro-war and Truman lost to Eisenhower who wanted to end the Korean War
1960's - The left was pro-war until they actually had to go fight and only the radical left was anti-war for a short time toward the end
1990's - Everyone was pro-war, including the left
2000's - They were pro Afghanistan, and only anti-Iraq after a year or so.

Historically, the right has been more isolationist. It's only with the advent of the neocons in the 70's that they've become very pro-war. 1971 really was a watershed year because the US had to start defending the dollar hegemony through military means.


Nostr + Torrent = Decentralized shared video.

Is there a bounty for this yet?