>"Are you asking the right questions of your
 Bitcoin qualified custodian?"
>
> — River

*Welcome to the latest issue of the Bitcoin For Families newsletter. This issue talks about the right way to save with Bitcoin in your IRA.*

---
IRAs and Roth IRAs are a great way to save for retirement and several Bitcoin companies allow you to create IRAs that hold Bitcoin as opposed to the traditional stocks and ETFs.

But as we have learned with the recent developments, not all Bitcoin IRAs are born equal and it's time to look at what's the right way to save with Bitcoin in your IRA.

In the past, I've recommended two companies for your IRAs: [Swan](https://swan.com) and [River](https://river.com) and I've used Swan myself to buy Bitcoin.

> From now on, I am only recommending River.

## In-House vs Outsource

Both Swan and River are Bitcoin only companies that encourage their customers to self-custody.

There is a market for Bitcoin held in custody and this includes IRAs, corporate treasuries, family offices and other entities that hold large amounts of Bitcoin and need a setup that is more advanced than my Coldcard tucked in a drawer.

Both Swan and River offer custody services for this market and the main difference between them is that River has built the custody infrastructure in-house while Swan outsources it to different partners.
## River

River runs its own custody infrastructure and uses multisig cold storage so that you have direct visibility over your assets while preventing accidental or malicious transfers by a rogue employee (yours or theirs).

Simple and effective.

## Swan

Swan outsources its custody infrastructure to two separate companies:
- Fortress (now Ripple): a crypto focused trust company (not Bitcoin only) that manages the legal and regulatory aspects of holding the Bitcoin from Swan customers
- BitGo: a crypto company (not Bitcoin only) that provides the cold storage

Swan users don't have a multisig option and therefore don't have direct visibility of their assets.

Swan has been on the defensive with the Bitcoin community for the last few months due to their partner choices.

First, they had to rush out of their previous trust partner, Prime Trust, before this partner collapsed. Prime Trust lost the keys to the wallets of some of their customers but Swan was able to move its assets from Prime Trust to a new partner, Fortress, just before Prime Trust collapsed.

Now Fortress is also under duress after being hacked and losing $15M USD from its customers. As a result, they've been bailed out and acquired by the shitcoin company Ripple.

Swan is understandably taking action and it recently [announced](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/bitcoin-exchange-swan-custodian-bitgo) plans to create a new trust company, in partnership with BitGo, that will be Bitcoin only and will provide the legal and regulatory support plus also be responsible for the actual cold storage.

This new trust company will be used by Swan and will also provide its services to other entities.

Maybe, once the new trust company is live, Swan will offer multisig cold storage for your IRA funds. **Until then, I can only recommend River for your Bitcoin IRA.**

---
# Notable notes

nostr:note154749xhgruxeg78gdnksxykyp2zfmj6wugsap02q6agt34mvax8qyt2tkc

---
# Recommendations
## Iefan

The Nostr community is blessed with builders who are quickly adding new services on top of Nostr and Iefan is one of them.

He just launched a calendar running on Nostr! Check it out [here](https://www.nostrnet.work/)

You can follow him [here](nostr:npub1cmmswlckn82se7f2jeftl6ll4szlc6zzh8hrjyyfm9vm3t2afr7svqlr6f).
## BloggingBitcoin
A blog focused on Bitcoin, Nostr and freedom tech. Do I need to say more?

Check it out [here](https://habla.news/u/blog@bloggingbitcoin.store).

---

## What did you think of today's newsletter?
Your feedback helps me create the best newsletter possible for you.

Please leave a comment and checkout comments from other subscribers and readers.  I love hearing from the Bitcoin For Families community ❤ 🙏🏻

---
[![](https://cdn.nostr.build/i/5fb9f1397f66e83c0bef6e96241e9364aaab0c9034c18066ff686e689b5931c9.jpg)](https://www.swanbitcoin.com/bitcoinforfamilies?gc=yanbook1020&utm_campaign=yanbook1020)

---
See you again next week!
— Alejandro

This newsletter is for educational purposes. It does not represent financial advice. Do your own research before buying Bitcoin.

The recent developments have forced me to re-evaluate my recommendation for Bitcoin IRAs. There is now only one right way to save with Bitcoin in your IRA.


That’s a great way to put it into context 👏🏻


¡Y viva México lindo!


🎯

Si fueris Romae, Romano vivito more.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do.


It’s insane how kids, mine included, want to spend all these money in clothes for their game avatars. I have had several discussions with them on what’s reasonable entertainment spending and what’s not. Just because you have the money doesn’t mean you can spend it on random stuff


GM
https://m.primal.net/HLSa.jpg


Thanks! I’m training for a marathon that’s coming up in a month


Earn the sunrise. https://image.nostr.build/1a495e1f9327921d42ce273c4d16897f84881942dc0479ccd8dd6efa967b0a53.jpg


At the moment I would be happy if we could share Nostr notes within Nostr.

Some clients don’t resolve nostr:events and others don’t resolve nostr:note so I regularly see notes of people I follow that refer to an event that I can’t see 🙁


A few weeks back I mentioned that I’m on a journey to become uncivilized and this meme perfectly summarizes it nostr:note1ml8zw2kpwvmj3y0zhmqn8sc780ycpuzczmcny7vdz9vglzj9f80q76nhje


Flying back to Seattle I came across a fire NE of Portland. Plus Mt Rainier (aka Mt Wow) because…
https://m.primal.net/HLQj.jpg
https://m.primal.net/HLQk.jpg


You got this 💪🏻


The possibilities with Lightning are endless. This is so exciting! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 nostr:note1697vzmm0pw63r5axp8hmd7ftz2qfaa3hdcjne5wn70entpuw0dts67cfuj


He is delusional. What a shocker. nostr:note1laeuskkwf2f06j29fekjpy8dpag08wetnv2fq6rscpt2dpmwgk9su94yyq


Bring it on!


“Nothing in life is free, not even freedom.”
Specially not freedom. You need to fight to earn it and keep fighting to keep it.
#[0]


I agree. It’s a great way to visualize it. Otherwise there is no context. Same should be done with comments to long form articles.


Great story to pass along from father to son


The BCE is already saying that inflation will be higher than previously “expected” in 2023 and 2024.

And so they keep raising rates. Another 0.25 to get it to 4.5%.

https://www.elmundo.es/economia/macroeconomia/2023/09/14/6502bd12fdddff5a608b45b5.html


The crazy part is that 8 years later most people haven’t caught up yet with the realities of Bitcoin


I present you the Sublime Corn Company 🌽🌽🌽 https://image.nostr.build/442813c0438e94a3fc37d36889d707a85a5e4aae6ed355ce0a121e578db6feb6.jpg


The situation is ridiculous. How can a 3rd party vendor get access to the coins you are supposed to custody?


Muchas gracias por la guia.


Finally now catching up to the comments about XRP bailing out Swan.

Fortress holds Swan's Bitcoin with BitGo and the BitGo CEO claims that "none of the Fortress assets held at BitGo were at risk from this 3rd party integration or taken."

The whole situation is ridiculous and reinforces the need to self-custody your own Bitcoin.

https://www.theblock.co/post/250082/ripple-made-fortress-customers-hit-by-security-incident-whole-as-part-of-acquisition?utm_source=coinmarketcap&utm_medium=rss


Found some more info.

https://www.theblock.co/post/250082/ripple-made-fortress-customers-hit-by-security-incident-whole-as-part-of-acquisition


RIP to the victims of 9/11, and sending love to their families and friends.

My heart goes out to you. 🫂


If you're running a pruned node then it's fine. If you intend to run a full node with the whole blockchain history then don't do it. I will take months to process the full blockchain (from my own experience).


Thanks for the explanation!


Todo es cuestión de práctica. Lo importante  es que estuviste corriendo 👏🏻


Last few weeks before the race and feeling strong. This is my fastest pace for a 20+ miles run.

#running #marathontraining2023 #grownostr https://image.nostr.build/7a1fb00facb1b4bbca1c2db85812757a2f5c7e9c5f361b84d32e5742e7c96fcc.jpg


This looks delicious! By the way, I tried to zap you but you haven’t setup a Lightning address in your profile. Go to getalby.com to get a Lightning address so that people can zap you some sats


Go out there and enjoy the sun.

#grownostr #saturdayfun https://image.nostr.build/48b819cc5b439d5534ec455fefe45e5a8f76f0bf6c75230f1fe1182c2ee411ad.jpg


nostr:npub1mutnyacc9uc4t5mmxvpprwsauj5p2qxq95v4a9j0jxl8wnkfvuyque23vg was building a wallet and without realizing iT they also released a Venmo replacement over Nostr 😁

Nostr will win.

nostr:note1ryuqy0g4xw4uwumjg0hcpt28p4yutgt5m3g44ve80m83pvffpdfqy2kwcc


Right now it’s an option available to Premium users. They are starting witH scans of your government ID

I’m very disappointed with Elon Musk when it comes to Twitter.


Keeping yourself balanced and afloat on that thing can't be easy. That's a strong hodler.


Suerte!


I’ve opted for not deleting the account. I won’t post anymore but I thought I would leave this there instead. Would love opinions on pros and cons of actually deleting the account.
https://m.primal.net/HKwO.jpg


Our leaders, companies, governments and billionaires will continue down this path unless we do something about it. “It’s inevitable” is not an acceptable answer.

I’ll join Alejandro in deleting my personal twitter account 9/29 (probably before and purple pill along the way). The only thing that I hesitate about is to keep it to keep purple pilling? Idk?

We need a good hashtag for this. Who’s got one? nostr:note10hrdj2eaw34a5rtm8nyxg9jvmwvggxderzrafjxxhud2269khn6s0l4dnk


I've quit Twitter; I've had enough of Elon's BS.


X now plans to use biometrics. This is so important that this week I switched topics and instead of writing about Bitcoin I wrote about the implications of their new privacy policy.

This is just too much. That's why I'm quitting X.

Check it out here:

https://habla.news/u/alejandro@bitcoinforfamilies.com/x-is-bringing-chinese-surveillance-for-all


> "We may collect and use your biometric information for safety, security, and identification purposes"
>
> — X new privacy policy, effective September 29, 2023

*Welcome to the latest issue of the Bitcoin For Families newsletter. This issue is not about Bitcoin. Today I will be talking about freedom from surveillance and X. Feel free to skip this article if this is not your cup of tea*.

---
Bitcoin is freedom money and if you appreciate it as such then you also appreciate freedom of speech and freedom from tyranny. Unfortunately, X (formerly known as Twitter) is heading towards the path of tyranny and there is no looking the other way anymore.

X recently announced their new [privacy policy](https://twitter.com/en/privacy#x-privacy-1) that now also covers the collection of your biometrics data, job history and education history among other things.

TechCrunch covered the news with this [article](https://techcrunch.com/2023/08/31/x-plans-to-collect-users-biometric-data-along-with-education-and-job-history).

## Elon, are you out of your mind?

Biometrics are the **ultimate** personal identifiable information: your fingerprints and your face define you and the idea of giving them to a corporation so that you can share your thoughts or follow some famous people is preposterous.

What do you think X will do with that data? Let me give you a hint:

This is not the future that I want and I will not use a service that is actively taking us there.

## Premium users today. All users tomorrow

Supposedly this is only applicable to Premium users, who are already providing X with their credit card number and phone number. But this is no different from when a politician says that a program is *temporary*.

X will first offer the option, then require it as part of the Premium onboarding and finally, with the excuse of fighting the bots, it will require all users to become Premium or lose their accounts.

Today, anyone who is not a Premium user is already being shadow banned and getting minimal engagement with X's prioritization of Premium users, their posts and their responses over anyone else.

## Chinese style surveillance for all

We already know how this will end because we just need to look at WeChat, the everything app in China. Elon Musk has even stated that he wants to build the WeChat of outside of China.

Chinese people have a social credit score so that if you, for example, lose points on your score for jaywalking, then you're not allowed to buy a train ticket for inter-province travel. Guess how easy it is to enforce this kind of policies when **everything** is done from a single app.

Elon is enabling this same surveillance. It will be officially managed by a corporation instead of the government but as we saw with the Twitter Files, at the end the government is the one pulling the strings, telling Twitter which tweets to delete, which accounts to block and who to suspend indefinitely from the service.

>A federal appeals court [ruled](https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2023/09/08/biden-administration-coerced-facebook-court-rules/70800723007/) yesterday that the Biden administration coerced social media giants into free speech violations.

Recall all those people who got their accounts closed because they suggested that the COVID virus may come from the Wuhan lab. They were called racist and removed from Twitter at the direct request of the White House. The same government that now says that, yes, the COVID virus came from the Wuhan lab.

Losing your Twitter account is hard and it should had never happened.

What will happen when you get suspended from the *Everything App* for saying the wrong thing? How will you buy food, gas, make phone calls, etc.?

> Remember that since X has your biometrics, you will need a new set of eyes to create a new account.

![](https://i.nostr.build/nYng.jpg)

## I'm quitting X

It is for all these reasons that I will not continue using Twitter after September 29th.

Instead I will focus my social media presence on clients that use the decentralized social media protocol called Nostr. With these clients, you have full control of what you see.

There is no owner who limits the exposure of your notes when you don’t become a premium subscriber. And when you build your social network there, it is truly **YOUR** network.

>If you don’t like app A, you can switch to app B and your followers will still get your messages. Nothing changes for them regardless of the app they use.

I encourage you to try Nostr. Watch this video and check [whynostr.com](https://www.whynostr.com).

Today I will post my last tweet encouraging people to explore Nostr and follow me there.

---
# Notable notes

nostr:note1klu7r76lcspacfgmzxq5vxuxlzh4ktk6280zlnxfqghuyfhqsj0qc42qq6

nostr:note1r859dznj5qatq60d7ln4gv4dtr3q0va7rq6q2sa92p0vvklfd9vs93ph2m

---
# Recommendations
## Zach

Zach is the person behind the WhyNostr website.

You can follow him [here](nostr:npub10fu0hlkx3s4n4dsgfu0cpqephga4afr4qtzpz9vsyqf7vj88v2yqdp8vp4).
## Why Nostr

Why Nostr easily explains why social media apps built on top of the Nostr protocol give you all the power and are the best option  to maintain your freedom and fight those who try to take it away from you.

Check it out here: [www.whynostr.com](https://www.whynostr.com)

---

## What did you think of today's newsletter?
Your feedback helps me create the best newsletter possible for you.

Please leave a comment and checkout comments from other subscribers and readers.  I love hearing from the Bitcoin For Families community ❤ 🙏🏻

---
[![](https://cdn.nostr.build/i/5fb9f1397f66e83c0bef6e96241e9364aaab0c9034c18066ff686e689b5931c9.jpg)](https://www.swanbitcoin.com/bitcoinforfamilies?gc=yanbook1020&utm_campaign=yanbook1020)

---

## Buy Bitcoin with Swan
If you want to buy Bitcoin, I highly recommend using Swan. It's where I buy my Bitcoin.

They are on a mission to onboard 10 million bitcoiners and get them to self-custody.

Use this [link](https://www.swanbitcoin.com/bitcoinforfamilies) to receive $10 free to get you started.

---
See you again next week!
— Alejandro

This newsletter is for educational purposes. It does not represent financial advice. Do your own research before buying Bitcoin.

X is bringing Chinese surveillance for all

X is bringing Chinese style surveillance to the Western world. It's time to quit X.


Listening to this episode I realized that I'm currently on a journey to uncivilize myself.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/70ssh8DCCOlwwOEAjLobW3?si=bf55d63d03e84a2c


Hoping the best for your wife and your family


Mainstream media keeps telling people that everything is going to be fine.

The media used to keep the government in check. Now they are their servants and we’re less free for it.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/06/economy/immaculate-disinflation-meaning/index.html


Is the assumption that bots can’t get NIP-05 addresses because paying a few thousand sats is not scalable?


I honestly don’t know. Just wondering


What does reporting do on Nostr? I assume it’s app dependent


A social network where you own the list of your followers. If you don’t like app A, you can switch to app B and your followers will still get your messages. Nothing changes for them regardless of the app they use


A social media network where there is no owner who limits the exposure of your tweets when you don’t become a premium subscriber.


The strategic oil reserve is called strategic for a reason. It’s meant to be used at war or in the event of a major disruption in the oil supply chain.

It is not meant to be used for political reasons like hiding the real inflation and by doing so, this administration is putting the national security at risk. Exactly at the same time that they’re playing war games with Russia.


Posting from the new release and I can confirm that the feed is very smooth 👏🏻


Nope.


Pablo is The Machine.


Little by little. And then suddenly

nostr:note1f0a25q8ya4le6sc7w4sv6wzpwc3guykrwkymkgjcfr3g4jrdq0uq3ygnap


I think you will enjoy the episode called Air of the Netflix documentary “Cooked".


Imagine a marketplace of algorithms. Plug-ins that you choose to install. You can have multiples at the same time and switch back and forth between them base on what you want to see. nostr:note1u6sn93a6ytgug4g47dq857cuzxm5a83xw9l83nel9xcn2dxge2asaeyr36


Thank you


I tried to reference this note on my own note with the pics but somehow it didn't work. Trying a different approach here:

@note1kfjxw2tchn00vw9ad5caehy755dk94jn0asn7vyld4my9k6emz8qnmw8d0


It's been a LOOONG time since I last coded 😆


If (dinner == butternut squash soup)
then bake(bread);

#grownostr #baking #foodstr

nostr: note1gge8v9k0arge62n95sdzrmdzd5luje7ptftzpyz8h925t5tst5sqfcnjym https://image.nostr.build/c5524d210b421054f2eb9398d16447934b66b90663b67bb5f99aad915b84773c.jpg https://image.nostr.build/934be6dc71d8420be48f9077924f640e756788ec64e13a6a20874d52d3c90f5f.jpg


Morons


Looks delicious. I have some in the oven right now. I’ll share a pic once it’s out


Very interesting link between stoicism and bitcoin. Looking forward to the learnings from week 2.


Good night 🤙🏻


21 km after 5 years is impressive! 👏🏻


As we say in Spain: “Dios los cría y ellos de juntan.”

Vitalik keeps unmasking himself.


I’m surprised to see Swan as an option. They had a bad transition but I would be very surprised if the rug.

I expecting Binance to drop anytime now.


"The real power of AI will be in its integration of other tools to use in specific situation and recognizing what those tools are."

This is a highlight created on https://highlighter.com


Lakers are down by 8 close to the half time and I still think they’ll win


Hoping for a Lakers vs. Celtics Final


I think the Air can handle that nicely.


I agree. Explaining both would be good. For example, if a transaction to a LN address is going to need to use on-chain funds then inform the user that fees a higher because of that


Bookmarked. Will share regularly


A stable coin is still like a bank. You need to trust the reserves of the issuer