For reading the article with proper Latex, head over to [pippellia.com](https://pippellia.com/pippellia/Social+Graph/Navigating+the+social+graph)
#
# Introduction

The emergence of decentralized social networks with sovereign identities (e.g. [Nostr](e.g. [Nostr](https://nostr.com/)) is a pivotal moment for the web, and it comes at the perfect time. In the age of AI, where it's getting cheaper and cheaper to impersonate people, distort videos and images, or just make them up, how is it possible to know what's _true_? What does _truth_ even mean these days?

These are questions I will not attempt to answer. However, even if the ontology of truth has eluded philosophers forever, a more practical approach is needed if the Web is not to degenerate into a nihilistic place where nothing is real, or worse, a place where everything requires identity verification and the approval of a central authority.

In this paper, you will find a definition of the social graph, principles for thinking about it, and practical ideas for using it for DoS prevention, social discovery, anti-impersonation, accurate ratings, and more. You will also learn about alternative mechanisms that can be used in conjunction with social graph analysis to provide more compelling and complete solutions.

## Social Graph

First, what is a graph? A graph _G_ is a mathematical structure consisting of a set of nodes or vertices _V_ and a set of edges _E_.

In mathematical notation, we write _G = (V,E)_.

Edges are defined by a relation on the set _V x V = {(v,u) : v,u in V }_;  for example, if node _v_ and node _u_ are related (e.g. _v_ follows _u_), then the pair _(v,u)_ is contained in the set _E_. In the notation

_E = { (v,u) in V^2 : v is related to u }_

The relationship can be symmetrical or asymmetrical, distinguishing between undirected and directed graphs.

A social graph is simply a graph in which the nodes are human entities (such as individuals, companies, groups, etc.) and the edges represent some form of social relationship, such as being friends with, following, or being zapped.

Before we go any further, we need to define another important notion, that of a neighborhood.

The neighborhood of a set of vertices _S_ subset of _V_ in _G_ is another set of vertices whose defining property is to be connected to a vertex in _S_. In mathematical notation

_N_G(S) = { u in V : exist s in S, (s,u) in E }_

![](https://blossom.primal.net/1a8b5b6816cab54821148445f45e032a5aa5ede4c1118369a356f2e26a2266df.png)

What problem is the social graph solving? The answer is many, in many different ways and forms. We are talking about using it as a defense mechanism against impersonation, as a way to prevent DoS attacks, to facilitate social discovery and connections, and to calculate more accurate ratings. But before we dive into the implementations, I ask you to pause for a moment to understand the magnitude of what we are discussing.

# Principles

Don't fall into the trap of thinking that the engineers at YouTube were evil when they designed their algorithm. As the saying goes, the road to hell (read: open-mouth theater) is paved with good intentions (read: the desire to over-optimize engagement).

![](https://blossom.primal.net/cca0743b493ace5e47d43e42437deadfd4172ade6163d0268764b20946dcd4be.png)

If your implementation is successful, people's behavior will be affected. That's why it's important to establish principles that can guide designers and developers in creating systems that are healthier than the world we're leaving behind.

## Principle of least interference

A good rule of thumb when designing systems that affect social dynamics is to follow the principle of least interference.

**Principle of least interference**: solve the _problem_ by implementing whatever mechanism has the least possible impact on social dynamics.

As an heuristic based on this principle, it is generally better to focus on solving only _one problem_ at a time, since it is unlikely that solving multiple problems at once will not lead to a greater impact on those social dynamics.

A great example to analyze is the WoT score implemented by [Coracle](https://coracle.tools/), which tries to "reduce spam, impostors, and objectionable content", all at once.

![](https://blossom.primal.net/5476c8a6810270414a9cf50e665b8d016e09a38a6a8df6ea237d293932dc56ca.png)

Let's start by analyzing how it works as an anti-impersonation mechanism.

If you search for 'Lyn Alden', it is very likely (if you are part of a "good" network) that the npub with the highest WoT is the real Lyn, while all others are impersonators.

![](https://blossom.primal.net/ca9fd065226f2f4cc267d858c56a94d8da675aabede6df2665d99d3fc5d4ef46.png)

However, a simple warning icon above all other Lyns would have accomplished the same goal without introducing a rating that can alter social dynamics.

In fact, the WoT score represents the opinion of the crowd around you, which doesn't offer any nuance when comparing the reputation of different real people. Crowd thinking is one of the biggest problems of the world we are leaving, and it would be a silly exercise to bring it with us.

Besides, we do not walk around with a number on our forehead in meatspace, nor should we in cyberspace, even if that number depends on the observer.

There is also another, more fundamental problem, which is that the user _v_ only has information about a limited subset of the network, namely _N_G^2(v) = N_G(N_G(v))_, where _G_ is the graph defined by the relation "follow OR mute" relation.

Therefore, if you set the WoT threshold above zero, you won't see anyone outside of _N_G^2(v)_, which certainly prevents spam, but at the cost of discoverability.

We'll come back to how to design a more effective anti-impersonation system later.

## Principle of Relativity in cyberspace

The current Web, and our societies in general, are built on an outdated paradigm that relies on and requires consensus about what is true, false, good, or bad. Unspeakable atrocities have been committed to achieve and maintain such consensus.

However, we must move beyond this legacy of the past if we are to usher in a new era of freedom.

_The notion of a commonly shared belief or social truth is as dead in this new millennium as God was in the 19th century._

**Principle of Relativity in Cyberspace**: You cannot and should not _dictate_ what is true or false, what is good content or bad content or spam, for another person.

If you do, you will simply be replacing the beast with a new set of beliefs. It's true that there are many different clients to choose from, but there were many different web browsers back in the day, and that didn't end well.

The reality is that a global agreement on things has seldom been necessary. In fact, _relative canonicality_ can be achieved without the need for a central authority.

[Wikifreedia](https://wikifreedia.vercel.app/) (a nostr alternative to Wikipedia, as you have probably guessed) fully embraces this idea of relative canonicality. Each topic contains multiple entries; there is no single source of truth that aims or claims to be neutral. Of course, this doesn't mean that all entries are equally good or useful. On the contrary, there is a very opinionated and biased way of sorting them, which depends on the observer. Regardless of the specific implementation (again, number on the forehead), this is the way to go, this is relativity in cyberspace.

![](https://blossom.primal.net/329f6d9f9a71af724a9cb32edb20e76a1729d4878a12ebf9908b3185a64b5119.png)

## There is no Global

This point is arguably a corollary of the previous principle, but it's so important that it needs to be fully explained. The notion of global is also dead.

Despite being the largest indexer in the world, Google only indexes a small portion of the web. The engineering challenges behind indexing absolutely every person and piece of content in an ever-growing, open and hostile decentralized network will likely exacerbate this outcome: Nostr will outgrow every index.

As spammers become more sophisticated, crawlers will have to become more selective, limiting the percentage of the network that is indexed. Therefore, as a client designer or developer, you really only have a limited view of what's happening.

This reinforces the statement that you cannot decide for someone else what is good or bad, true or false. You can't possibly know, because what you have is a local, limited view, just like everyone else's.

Let's take [Nostr Band](https://stats.nostr.band) for example. As much as I appreciate their cool statistics, it's important to know their limitations. The version of [Trust Rank](http://infolab.stanford.edu/~zoltan/publications/gyongyi2004combating.pdf) that Nostr Band implements:

1. runs on the subset of the network they are aware of
2. uses an arbitrarily chosen set of NIP05 providers for determining the so called good seeds

This approach is fine if it's used to defend the service provider against spammers (see DoS prevention section for improvements).

However, such an arbitrary view (all are, but some less than others) shouldn't be imposed on the end user, but only used as a way for the service provider to select the customers it wants to serve.

## Principle of natural patterns

I believe that technology is made for people, so it should serve us and improve our quality of life. We shouldn't adapt to technology, technology should adapt to us.

This context is no exception to the rule. Humans are social creatures, and our social dynamics and behaviors have evolved through our long history. Therefore, before introducing new and artificial social dynamics, it's wiser to mimic the natural dynamics that have evolved with us for millennia.

**Principle of natural patterns**: When in doubt, try to mimic the social dynamics of meatspace

For example, in meatspace, a friend of a friend is not a stranger, but it's not a friend either. It's something in between, and a good candidate for a potential future friend.

Another example is something that will hit home if you've ever been to a bitcoin conference. When you're among people with the same interests, and I would argue mostly overlapping values, even if you've never met them, you can't say they're strangers.

Examples abound, so there is really no reason to try to impose any artificial dynamics before exhausting what nature has given us.

---

To summarize, we take from this section three principles that will inform our analysis and design decisions going forward:

- The principle of least interference
- The principle of relativity in cyberspace
- The principle of natural patterns

# The Problems

Finally, we can start discussing some concrete problems and ways to solve them. There are several well-defined problems that social graph analysis can help with. Again, it's important to define them well if we want to follow the principle of least interference.

The first problem we will analyze is protection against impersonation, one of the most important pieces to get right.

## Anti-impersonation

### Social endorsement

Who is the real Giacomo? In this case, it's pretty simple

![](https://blossom.primal.net/093424dc8e379d056aee4d2ae19fa1a8ef323b2659e803889332df92526efcf7.png)

First of all, let's talk about what won't help us decide:

- the name
- the profile picture
- the bio
- the date of creation

And no, not even the number of followers, as this is a completely irrelevant metric in an open and hostile network. [See an example](https://ron.stoner.com/I_Gained_1_Million_Followers_in_24_Hours/)

What helps us is the line below:

> "Followed by Bitcoin Africa Story, Nostr Wallet Connect, and 666 others you follow".

This is the signal. Follows can be faked, but follows from people you trust cannot be faked (or are more expensive to get). This is a particularly good design because it adheres to the principle of relativity in cyberspace. It doesn't _prescribe_ who the real Giacomo is, it doesn't _summarize_ the data for you (like the aforementioned WoT score, where every follower has the same weight), but it shows you clues that you can decide to interpret in the way you want.

The same idea can be applied to mutes, which gives you a few more clues.

Obviously, such a system can be extended not only to the people you follow, i.e. _N_G(v)_, but also to the people who are 2 hops away from you, i.e. _N_G^2(v) = N_G(N_G(V))_, or _n_ hops away from you, i.e. _N_G^n(v)_.

However, the signal becomes increasingly diluted and unreliable the farther you go.

This approach is a good start, but it can't really solve the impersonation problem on its own because it's limited in reach and suffers from a bootstrapping problem for new users, which is really the same problem if you think about it.

There is also a subtle issue worth mentioning. What if a reputable person tries to impersonate someone else? This attack is possible because it won't be detected immediately, but the more prominent the person, the faster this attack will be detected, causing the attacker to lose their hard-earned reputation.

Furthermore, for truly prominent figures such as heads of state, this problem can be mitigated (but not completely solved) by third-party credentials that can be displayed by clients.

### NIP05 providers
Another approach that has been tried is to rely on NIP05 providers. If I trust a NIP05 provider to verify the people they serve, then I can assign a non-zero level of trust to their customers. However, this approach obviously requires trust, which isn't ideal since there are trustless approaches that provide better guarantees.

### PoW keys

When we see a stranger enter the pub where we are, or when we are crowded on the subway, we find ourselves potentially vulnerable to strangers. In most civilized places, however, we don't live in a constant state of fear, and that comes from the fact that others are vulnerable as well. Everyone has skin in the game, even the aggressors, which means that the best way to play this game is not to mess with other people.

On Nostr, however, the only consequence you can feel is the loss of your reputation, which by definition is worthless when the npub is brand new.

However, there is a way to add skin in-game for new keys, i.e. PoW keys.

The process works like this: while creating your identity, your machine can generate a new private key _sk_ until the corresponding public key _pk_, as a binary number, satisfies the following inequality:

_pk <= t_ ; where _t_ is a threshold of your choice.

Since there is no efficient way to do this (allegedly), this process requires the expenditure of computing power and energy. This adds a quantifiable and verifiable cost to any identity, making credible impersonation expensive.

However, PoW keys can't work at scale, because:

1. they require **commitment at key creation**, which is bad UX because it reverses the "try before you buy" rule
2. the **PoW can't be updated** over time
3. It is not possible to delegate the work without delegating the key (supposedly)

The last point implies that the **economy of scale favors the attacker**, because they have multiple targets, whereas the defender can only defend himself.

However, there is a similar approach that offers what I believe are more appropriate tradeoffs: **PoW Endorsement**.

### PoW endorsment
A PoW endorsement is a simple unsigned user metadata event containing a target npub, a difficulty commitment threshold $t$, and a nonce.

The nonce is randomly generated until the following condition is satisfied:

_h(event) <= 2^t_ ; where _h_ is a cryptographic hash function such as SHA256

If the condition is met, the PoW endorsment is valid, and the target npub's "PoW weight" becomes _256 - t_.

What I am describing is basically [NIP13](https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nips/blob/master/13.md), except that it should use kind 0, and it doesn't need a signature (what's the problem if someone wants to add PoW to someone else's npub?).

What makes PoW endorsements different from PoW keys is that:

1. it doesn't require **any commitment at key creation**
2. the **PoW can be updated** over time
3. it's possible to **delegate the work** without delegating the key
4. **requires data availability**, because the work is separate from the key

Point 3 is what makes this approach feasible and scalable, especially for mobile devices constrained by CPU and battery limitations.

Point 4 isn't particularly bad because the events are small, public, and the user has an incentive to store them.

**Example of how it works**

- Alice gives a npub  to the Miner
- Alice pays the Miner $10
- The Miner mines the PoW endorsement, with the target npub
- The target npub  now has a non-zero PoW weight

**How does it help?**

If the target npub has a non-zero PoW weight, credible impersonation attempts require a cost. The attacker's social capital (PoW weight) becomes less and less valuable, and is eventually lost, as more people discover the attack and mute the attacker's npub.

Furthermore, _assuming that most of the PoW weight is allocated to real people (1)_, it's possible to use its distribution to fix the shortcomings of social endorsement.

For example, a new user can be presented with the choice of following the npubs with the highest [Trust Rank](http://infolab.stanford.edu/~zoltan/publications/gyongyi2004combating.pdf), where the good seeds are the npubs with non-zero PoW weight. The same principle can be applied to an existing user trying to get information about an npub that is many hops away from him/her.

If you want to summarize this idea to the maximum, if the number of followers is meaningless, that's not true for the number of followers with non-zero PoW weight (under assumption 1).

I have started working on this idea and preliminary results are promising, but more thought is needed

### Colored halo

Another anti-impersonation mechanism tried by [Nostrudel](https://next.nostrudel.ninja/#/) is to use a few characters of the public key (in hex format) to identify a unique color that is displayed around the user's profile picture.

![](https://blossom.primal.net/bfd9946b9bd7b2b2f23699705636cf42dba06f669d487c8bf63e2ecb7bb68b7d.png)

The idea is that if I am already following the real Lyn, a credible impersonation attempt would require generating many times the key pair to get the same or very similar color. This requires energy, which means cost.

However, this information is only useful if I already follow the real Lyn and remember her color. Asking my trusted network for the color of a particular person is no different task than asking her npub directly.

This means that this approach, while interesting, is not very useful.

## DoS attack prevention

When analyzing Denial of Service attacks, we should distinguish between defense mechanisms that work at the network level, at the service provider level, and at the user level.

Talking about the first case may seem to contradict the principle of relativity in cyberspace, but here by network we mean any set of network participants who are willing to cooperate but not necessarily trust each other.

![](https://blossom.primal.net/2baf8a13a671c3f0d043448e386fafe6f11511c38944588b78b2f1634fa317ac.png)

### Network level

PoW events basically apply the concept of [Hashcash](http://www.hashcash.org/papers/hashcash.pdf) not to email messages but to notes. There is not much to say here, except to note that the PoW can be outsourced to service providers that can most likely outcompete the attackers in efficiency.

### Service provider level

The best tool the service provider can use to prevent DoS is money. A paid service, either pay-per-use or subscription-based, can work both for monetization and as a defense mechanism. However, not every service (or sub-service) is directly monetizable, which is where social graph analysis can help.

The idea is to selectively choose which npubs are considered _potential good customers_ and filter out everyone else. If this needs to be said, I'll say it: _this is not censorship, this is simply a business deciding who to serve_.

Many different criteria can be used to select what is a good customer, especially since this definition depends on the service being provided.

A general approach is to use Trust Rank or [Spam Mass Estimates](http://infolab.stanford.edu/~zoltan/publications/gyongyi2006link-tr.pdf) (with a suitable measure for selecting the good seeds, such as PoW weight) as the criteria for deciding the "good customers". Those who don't qualify will simply not be served for free.

### User level

Here we consider a simple defense against DoS attacks on user DMs.

The user $v$ has a whitelist of npubs that can directly DM him/her for free. If the sender is not on the whitelist, the DM will only be displayed by the client if it is preceded by or comes with a payment above a certain threshold.

The whitelist can be edited manually, but it's automatically populated based on some social graph criteria that the user has approved.

For example, all npubs in _N_G(v) U N_G^2(v) U N_G^3(v)_ can be automatically added to the whitelist of user _v_.

![](https://blossom.primal.net/14d516053405a2e42a99b4e2e922c68eff9b010843e3ecd9f21ce2d76ec23d6d.png)

## Personalized Ratings

The idea that every opinion or vote is equally important to everyone is a byproduct of political democracy and its sanctification. This is never the case in any social context.

Imagine you want to buy a product that has thousands of good reviews, but your friend recently bought it and tells you it's not good. It's natural for you to give more weight to your friend's opinion, contrary to the belief that each opinion has equal weight.

When computing an average, there is always an assumption about the *weight distribution*, i.e. how important each vote is.

Given a list of ratings _(r_i)_i_ and a weight distribution _(w_i)_i_ such that the sum of the weight is 1, the average is _sum r_i  w_i_

The democratic average assumes each opinion has exactly the same weight.

Social graph analysis can be useful to design more accurate and even personalized ratings, i.e. ratings that reflect who the viewer is and what he/she is looking for at any given time.

For example, you might want to give more weight to people who have similar interests to you, or more weight to your friends and friends of your friends. Many different criteria for calculating weight distributions are possible, making this an exciting area for future research.

It's important to note that the most trustworthy ratings will be those that are independently verifiable, both in the ratings and in the weight distributions.

Practically speaking, there are two steps involved in computing a weight distribution:

- Select the support, i.e. the set of npubs that have a non-zero weight.
- Assigning a specific weight to each npub that is part of the support.

These two steps can be done simultaneously or one after the other. In the next section, we'll look at support selection, a problem that arises in another, seemingly unrelated context: social discovery.

## Social Discovery

How many times have you discovered something thanks to a friend's recommendation? This phenomenon can actually be productized to streamline the discovery of content, places, and people that are relevant to the end user.

Here is a mathematical formulation of the problem:

Consider a social graph _G = (V,E)_, where the nodes are ordered, i.e. _V = { v_1, v_2, ... v_n}_.

The goal is to construct another graph _G' = (V,E')_, where _E'_ consists of the recommendations for each of the users we want to serve. This is a simplified scenario, where what is being recommended are other nodes in the graph.

What we need is a function _f : G --> G'_ that takes _G_ as input and returns _G'_ as output, i.e. the recommendations we are interested in.

I'll now introduce a definition to simplify the problem.

**Adjaciency matrix:** Given a graph _G = (V,E)_, its edges can be represented as a matrix called the adjacency matrix _A_, defined as follows:

_A_ij = 1_ if and only if _v_i_ is related to _v_j_

In light of this new definition, the problem is to construct _f : A --> A'_, which is a function that takes an n by n boolean matrix _A_ as input and outputs the n by n recommendation matrix _A'_.

With this notation, the recommendation list of the node _v_i_ consists of the nodes corresponding to the non-zero elements of the i-th row of _A'_.

![](https://blossom.primal.net/f07bd8b9d7648043b0dce03af47208279391371002a1cd0d525517c1948eafb1.png)

Look at the example in the picture. By applying an unknown (for now) function _f_, we get the recommendation matrix _A'_. Only the first row contains a non-zero element whose position is (1,3). This means that node _v_1_ has node _v_3_ as a recommendation.

There are _(2^{n^2})^{2^{n^2}}_ of such functions (exercise: why?), but only a few of them make sense and mimic the heuristics humans use.

The first social dynamic we want to replicate is the "friend of a friend" dynamic, or more specifically, if _v_i _follows _v_j_, and _v_j_ follows _v_k_, then _v_k_ is added to _v_i_'s recommendation list.

In other words, we want _A'_ij = 1_  if and only if _v_i_ is connected to _v_j _by a path of length exactly 2. In this case, we are not interested in how many such paths exist, but only in whether there is at least one.

![](https://blossom.primal.net/7b348830c5242dc052bd0eb7dc1be9aff3191362c50418884b8f58c0f1ae7be6.png)

This rule is encoded in the function _f: A --> A' = A @ A = A^2_, where _@_ is the product between [Boolean matrices](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boolean_matrix) ( exercise: check that it's correct).

Inspired by this simple yet powerful result, [previous research](https://snap.stanford.edu/class/cs224w-readings/guha04trust.pdf) has investigated the class of candidate functions _f_M: A --> A' = A @ M_.

Here are some examples of such matrices _M_.

![](https://blossom.primal.net/ec97b11253535cfbff78b68b087ff786a993eb86d93bbbdc7ef04d44ee2c1652.png)

Applying each of these functions to _f_M_ adds new relations to the graph, and this process can be repeated many times until the desired result is achieved.

For example, in the matrix _A + A^2 + A^3 + ... + A^m_, node _v_ is connected to node _u_ if and only if there exists a path of length _<= m_ from _v_ to _u_ in the original graph _G_.

Formulating the problem of social discovery as an iteration of atomic propagation rules has many advantages, since:

- It's simple, yet can accommodate many different propagation rules
- It's passive, since it doesn't require the user to specify anything other than the rules and the number of iterations desired
- It's efficient, since its space complexity takes advantage of the sparsity of social graphs, and its time complexity can be estimated to be _O(n^{5/2})_ (Learn more about the [time complexity of Boolean matrix multiplication](n^{5/2}) ).
- It's well supported by most programming languages, given how ubiquitous matrix multiplication is
- It's transparent and independently verifiable in its operations

Furthermore, as highlighted in the previous section, this approach is applicable to compute transparent and personalized weight distributions.

Considering again the direct propagation rule (friend of a friend), we can start assigning weights based on the distance to the user.

If the distance is 1, meaning a direct connection, the weight is set to 1. Whenever the distance increases by 1, the weight decreases by a factor of _gamma in [0,1]_, a parameter potentially chosen by the user.

On a practical level, this means that the service providers compute and store the matrices _A, A^2, ... A^m_ for a reasonable _m_.

Each user _v_i _can choose _gamma_i in [0,1]_, and _k_i <= m_, and the personalized weight distribution he/she gets is

_A_i + gamma_i A^2_i + ... gamma_i^{k_i-1} A^{k_i}_i_

with _A_i_ representing the i-th row of the matrix _A_.

- If _gamma_i = 0_, the user chooses to consider the ratings of only those he follows as relevant.
- If _gamma_i = 1_ and _k_i = m_, the user chooses to give basically the same weight to everyone in the network, and will get a democratic average rating.
- If _gamma_i = 0.5_, then the weight of direct followers is 1, that of two hops is 0.5, then 0.25 and so on.

By combining and experimenting with propagation rules and weighting criteria, it's possible to efficiently compute personalized, verifiable and dynamic ratings for each user, making this an exciting area for future development.

# Conclusion

This is a comprehensive yet superficial paper, as it touches on many different areas without exhausting any. This was done intentionally to stimulate interest in the field of social graph analysis. More importantly, it aims to help the reader understand the significant impact this exciting new field can have on the Web, although not without its risks.

----

Interested in implementing the social graph into your App? Reach out, I would be more than happy to help

---
For reading the article with proper Latex, head over to [pippellia.com](https://pippellia.com/pippellia/Social+Graph/Navigating+the+social+graph)


https://image.nostr.build/665c8b078cced40dadca2859dc7fbe03c6a56c9886140d15dfa1271d09a9df82.png nostr:note1v877r6n6gyhmsthkngh5ypdzkmhtn0t53wst9zq8kw55ppjw4k5q877m60


🎉New Case Study - In this one, we explore how OpenSubtitles a website that's a home to 7 million subtitles and 8,000 contributors, utilizes BTCPay to facilitate #bitcoin payments for memberships and donations!

https://blog.btcpayserver.org/case-study-opensubtitles/

Or check a PDF https://btcpayserver.org/case-studies/opensubtitles.pdf


Sounds like a decent start


#unhacktheworld

nostr:nevent1qqsyh4jzv24kytkr0an3fdh0v6p70ltq62h2uya7kd2cfcsm7xkj9ncpzamhxue69uhkv6tvw3jhytnwdaehgu3wwa5kuegzyprqcf0xst760qet2tglytfay2e3wmvh9asdehpjztkceyh0s5r9cqcyqqqqqqg09vs5g


GM ☕

Let's create the highest signal social feed on earth.


Only 8? We need to pump these numbers up


Saturday night https://image.nostr.build/c7626aadd7536f4efa3cb8f409e591772cc45d844481e687090c4d39d3a087d0.jpg


Good God


Gm


I listened to the What Bitcoin Did Saylor podcast, and I really want to respond, though that may be unwise. But I want thoughtful, fearless content in my feed, so I should start making some, right?

Firstly, while analogies can provide useful guide rails for understanding, listening to people *arguing* using analogies makes you stupider. Debate the thing itself, not the words about the thing: it hurts my head to even think about doing this, so I won't.

Let's set my priors first: I assume we're talking about technically solid, well-vetted, backward compatible protocol changes: this is the minimum bar.

I don't wholesale agree with Saylor's "don't threaten anyone's investment" hard limit. This has happened multiple times in the past, from the dust limit breaking SatoshiDice, enabling Lightning threatening miner fees (real or not), and segwit breaking stealth ASICBoost. These interests can, and will, stand up for themselves and will compete against other benefits of changes.

To be explicit: I consider any protocol change which makes block space usage more efficient to be a win!

Obviously Saylor is invested in Bitcoin the asset, and can afford to do all his business onchain in any conceivable scenario. His projection of a Bitcoin world in which there are 100,000 companies and governments who use Bitcoin as the base layer is interesting:
1. This does not need "smart contracts", just signatures. By this model, Bitcoin Script was a mistake.
2. It can work if Bitcoin does not scale and is incredibly expensive to spend and hold. By this model, the consumer hardware wallet industry is a dead-end and needs to pivot to something else (nostr keys, ecash?)
3. You could do this with gold, today? Bitcoin here is simply an incremental, not fundamental, improvement. I think this is suggestive, though: that such a network would not be long-term stable, and very much subject to capture.
4. In this view, Saylor is simply a gold bug with first mover advantage, shilling his bags. That's fine, but it's important to understand people's motivations.
5. This vision does not excite me. I wouldn't have left Linux development to work on making B2B commerce more efficient. I wouldn't get up at 5:30am for spec calls, and I sure as hell wouldn't be working this cheap.

I believe we can make people's UTXOs more powerful, and thus feel a moral responsibility to do so. This gives them more control over their own money, and allows more people to share that control. I assume that more people will do good things than stupid things, because assuming the other way implies that someone should be able to stop them, and that's usually worse.

I believe the result will be a more stable, thus useful, Bitcoin network. I am aware that this will certainly benefit people with very different motivations than me (Saylor).

Thanks for reading, and sorry for the length!


True.

EC is simply throwing non-stop bullshit legislation on everyone so that  interested parties must play defense all the time. EU legislative process seems mindblowingly disbalanced.


In case you didn't know, the members of EU Parliament that will be elected tomorrow don't have any power to initiate/propose legislation or a vote.
1 out of 7 EU institutions is democratically elected, and it's the one with more constrained power. 🤡


Its probably going to amount to 2 or 3 beers


I'm going to drink so much fucking beer today.


If you're not bullish then you're probably living under a rock somewhere in deep corners of some slave tech platform.


Old web:

Isolated closed sites to browse unique private content.

New web:

Multiple open clients to browse same public content.


GM ☕

Be kind to people.


Hi nostr, just want to wish yall a good evening.  Enjoy life, and tell your loved ones how much you care.  Sometimes its good to hear it.  #grownostr https://i.nostr.build/BR52A.jpg


All of Bitcoin 'enemies' (whoever those may be) get the same treatment - liquidation in terms of sats until morale improves.

Onwards & GN 🫡


“Life is not a problem to be solved, but an experience to be had.”

— Alan Watts https://image.nostr.build/57eccb82c995ad5e096f5e338ee11b9517be7cd6b8e5435db47111db96bfe4fb.jpg


Introducing Ark V2: a liquidity-efficient Ark design.
https://brqgoo.medium.com/introducing-ark-v2-2e7ab378e87b


I often forget that if you are reading this and on nostr, you are part of an extraordinary high signal group that understands on some level WTF is going on.

Don’t get dismayed by the haters, detractors, doofuses, and dumbasses. Building this tool and other parts of the sovereign tech stack will be one of the keys to keeping humanity free in the future. Keep building frens.


GM


Closed source = blind trust


The fact that you'd need to ask for permission to view the source code to evaluate it tells you all you need to know


Everyone who goes on X and reports doxx posts of Fiatjaf for privacy violations, and publishes screenshot proof here in the replies, will receive at least 2121 sats from me.

Instructions by  nostr:npub103a6vk43crw497dlaptwfmhctxqu22mwepshjcvvp29fzwrhtx4q675n6p: https://x.com/BitcoinBRS/status/1798804354322796589

https://m.primal.net/IbiN.png


Voyage supports bookmarks now. And I removed the downvote button.

https://github.com/dluvian/voyage/releases/tag/v0.6.0

### 🌠 Features

- Bookmark posts
- Rebroadcast notes
- Show your contact and topic list
- Add navigation drawer for your contact & topic list, bookmarks and relays
- Parse and open naddr URIs in browser
- Open lighting address in wallet

### 🛠 Improvements

- Remove downvote button
- Use nprofile relays when opening profile via nprofile click
- Sort profile search result by name length
- Move relay list from settings to navigation drawer
- Scroll to top when clicking tab of a pager
- Animate scroll up instead of jumping to top
- Publish bookmarks and topic lists only to your write relays
- Remember scroll position of relay editor when switching views
- Only show slider after clicking row in database settings
- Improve upvote button description
- Improve resolving name tags
- Set closure reason when closing spammy connection
- Scroll inbox to top when clicking tab
- Don't set more than 750 hashtags in filter
- Subscribe the whole time frame when swipe refreshing feed
- Don't sweep bookmarked posts
- Delete old votes from local database
- Load personal profile from db when not in memory

### ⚡ Performance

- Improve performance of determining TrustType
- Don't resub every time FollowListsView opens
- Don't sub reposts in bookmark view
- Don't verify signatures of votes
- Don't resub metadata if it's already in memory

### 🎨 Styling

- Reduce max lines of feed post row from 21 to 12

### ⚙ Miscellaneous Tasks

- Upgrade ksp dependency
- Bump version to v0.6.0


We have Michael Saylor copy cats taking out $150 Million of debt to smash buy Bitcoin…

Yeah, you can throw all your diminishing returns theories and power law models in the bin.🗑 https://image.nostr.build/c175e535cc88f3a47f60875b5a5b874baf9a60e2bb3f849bbaa3e4ba21d95bdf.jpg


is here


🤯 BULL-SHIT


Steaks are superb, too 🥩 for me the major benefit is not only weight loss but also the mental clarity - feeling great is addicting!


Eversince I started fasting regularly and mininized carbs I get such major cravings for salmon. This looks great. 🤤


Seems like a critical element for the evolution of the value-based web. Been thinking about how something like this could aid quality content discovery while disincentiving spam.


The antizap is the opposite of a zap.  A zap is an upvote with a payment.  An antizap is a downvote with a payment.

Research by Fehr and Gachter has shown that zap-like rewards lead to increased cooperation.  But only for a while, and then the free rider effect takes over, and cooperation goes down.

It turns out that what is needed is a form of punishment for bad content, to increase overall cooperation.

So an "antizap" is the logical counter balance to the zap.

Its a big problem where to route the payment in the event of an antizap, so that it cant be gamed.   I think I figured this out.  You route it to a process (or DVM -- data vending machine) that is neutral and just uses the money to pay for the storage, and for hosting (small non-zero amount).  There can be many antizap machines, a market for them, in each country, with different profiles.

The higher the antizap value, the longer the downvote survives.   It can also topped up or crowd funded.  It will have a tamper-proof audit trail and track record, a transparent policy.  Some will survive, others will not.  The best antizap machines will emerge in an evolutionary environment.

https://void.cat/d/R3HH8Hit7ZSNDEq9dSLb99.webp


Block 846214: Important News of the Week

No Bullshit Bitcoin has covered the space for nearly five years now without succumbing to the siren call of clickbait, ads, ref links, or tracking. We are a small operation in order to keep costs down. If we raise one bitcoin we can continue our ops this year. Check out our fundraising campaign on Geyser to learn more.

https://www.nobsbitcoin.com/846214/


New #GrapheneOS update adds builtin support for a Duress PIN that makes all data on your device unrecoverable! 👌
https://grapheneos.org/releases#2024053100

Don't forget to donate them, they absolutely deserve it.


TELEGRAM IS SPYWARE.

DELETE IT.


This. Worked for me


I don't believe that we'll ever have good mass media and healthy social discourse until we take it out of the hands of the propaganda departments of the fiat printers.

We can't take it forcefully out of their hands, all we can do is use some sly roudabout way to introduce something they cannot stop.

#grownostr


GM ☕

Politicians don't care about Bitcoin.


Choose.
Because we’re gonna go through it either way.
https://m.primal.net/IUQj.jpg


Heated discussions are back, love to see it.

Would like to see more hosted debates from opposing sides on topics like this.

nostr:nevent1qqsr0z4cwnehq8ealrmz3fc9v4hz8y0smjstzsd9sup4d466aap9qxcpp4mhxue69uhkummn9ekx7mqzyqe3dcmfdhn56wv4jynmnkzzmatmmhzar3a03gz0r0r6akqtg3ggsqcyqqqqqqgc6a3uk


Lots of shitcoins, unfortunately. The iOS version with SP may be still pending approval on the App Store - may take up to a day+ or so


Should be out on BlueWallet sometime soon


Digital feudalism

nostr:nevent1qqszwxc60uvnqfp46v488anxhmwjh334n46pxl9e3p4wqj8y9xs5fygpzpmhxue69uhkummnw3ezuamfdejsyg86np9a0kajstc8u9h846rmy6320wdepdeydfz8w8cv7kh9sqv02gpsgqqqqqqs3wdywt


It’s not for the faint of heart. 😀 https://image.nostr.build/176e336738e56934084dec5518595c9b0ebb5e578d55751f391dbe50a7fc2649.jpg


Freedom tech charactersitic nostr:note1xucsdnfvg50xyh5twfsffmj3zxne0pfr7mjcp0au8we8gv0eagmslvvc4e


I tested a new Era for Nostr! Let’s go guys!  🚀⚡ nostr:note107dqg9kn40wvmjyk5nl8sn3sk0wamzc8wmshpfwtp0f9aalezy9ql08paw


Announcement of an announcement.  First public smart contract powered by bitcoin taproot and nostr will be a bitcoin testnet4 faucet.  One payout per npub.  Can vend ecash vouchers.  Ability to donate back to the faucet.  With audit trail and proof of reserves.

https://m.primal.net/IRRF.png


GM☕

Embrace the bloom, reject doom. WE BALL.

#bloomstr

https://i.nostr.build/2RxkR.jpg


Your phone could be made of magic, but it's still gonna leave a record of your movements with the cellular towers.


ABB 🎯


🚨 Apple's recent iOS 17.5 "bug" that restored previously deleted photos isn't really a bug, is it? 🤔 Like any lie, it eventually gets exposed and blows up in your face.

Microsoft's Recall (Record All) is 1000x worse. It's time to seriously reconsider your hardware and OS.


GM

The only US election talk about Bitcoin I'm interested in is making sure that this time it uses OpenTimestamps to ensure the integrity of votes.


Nostr is your economic memory

It will carry every information you might ever need to establish reputation on any market

It will work w/ every Bitcoin payment applications. It will leave its signature on every contract you participate in

It will change digital markets forever


This JAM CoinJoin earned me 157 sats, not much I know, but the real value is the fact it's made a portion of my own stack more private.

#Bitcoin

 https://image.nostr.build/b00c616458786e0a6959a07e45edd7d412916f748e189b8fdb97ac111a0c3d00.png


🍳🧠

https://i.nostr.build/M5Kdv.jpg


bob malakas is a prolific writer and commentator 😂
https://m.primal.net/IMzD.png


GM ☕

nostr:nevent1qqst4e7kked0njj7kwpjcez5693pa8kzj0ec4sft8lvmv3a8t2k0wxqpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfdupzq2c4nzvsyamuvg6aadavg2hx393khxzqsrskye7tmdzerahd8ft9qvzqqqqqqyyns52e


Ignoring expert consensus, feeling no shame following exposés showing tech lobbyists shaping these EU surveillance proposals, EU politicians are at it again

So, we'll reiterate: Signal would rather leave the EU market than subject our users to mass gov surveillance. FULL STOP

https://netzpolitik.org/2024/internes-protokoll-belgien-will-nutzer-verpflichten-chatkontrolle-zuzustimmen/

https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/112/495/921/158/967/226/original/8b0d0983f03a5849.png


🎯 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘰𝘢𝘭𝘴!

We've redesigned the Milestones from the ground up to make them more powerful, intuitive, and fun.
https://m.primal.net/ILJL.png

-----
1/ Contribute to any goal

Contributors can select which goal to fund. This empowers them to decide which goals to pursue first, making the process more engaging.

Example:

🎧 As a podcaster, you can let your fans vote with their sats on which episode to release next

-----
2/ Start a new goal without any carry-over

Goals are independent of each other. Each one starts at $0 regardless of previous funding.

Example:

♻ Instead of creating multiple projects, creators with various interests can use the same project for different independent purposes

-----
3/ Denominate goals in USD or Sats

To measure progress in the way that makes the most sense, you can choose to denominate each goal in either Sats or USD.

Example:
👕 If your goal involves fiat costs, you can set your goal in USD to avoid the volatility of Bitcoin.

-----
4/ Make goals fun!

You can write a description for each goal. And in the coming weeks, you'll be able to add some fun by adding emojis 🥩 🥳 💡

To learn how to use Goals and get the most out of this feature, visit the Geyser Guides

https://guide.geyser.fund/geyser-docs/product-features/project-features/add-goals


Bitcoiners


SURROUND YOURSELF WITH PEOPLE WHO LIVE LIFE WITH INTEGRITY.

FADE THOSE WHO DO NOT.


When Bitcoin Takeover livestreams on zap.stream Vlad? 10/10 would zap.


 nostr:npub1j4u5gjzjyggr3h96x3gjy4akdgwxuk7mgvumv72gym2qyje7fn5s47d6x9 is a living legend.

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


gm ☕

So little time, so much to do.


Freedom go up technology.


This appears to be real..

Posted by @vonderleyen_epp on Xitter, an account purporting to be Queen Ursula’s campaign account (though no paid check marks) for European elections.

Her policy is essentially The Great Firewall of Europe, to defend democracy..

She is sick in the head. https://v.nostr.build/vGgG7.mp4 https://i.nostr.build/jYzYq.jpg


Pet project of the day: Oracolo.
It is a minimalist Nostr blog that consists of a *single* ~140K html file. Personalize it with your npub and upload it where do you like, it just works. It also runs without a web server, so if you don't have a web site you can simply send it via email/dm to showcase your tales.
https://image.nostr.build/7ee63d88f54df0c0b4ee0c37dc19c78141ee27d0154eefaff303156cb1987d0a.jpg

Examples:
https://raw.githack.com/dtonon/oracolo/master/examples/opensats.html
https://raw.githack.com/dtonon/oracolo/master/examples/hodlbod.html
https://raw.githack.com/dtonon/oracolo/master/examples/fiatjaf.html

Source and how-to: https://github.com/dtonon/oracolo

Take it as a didactic experiment, it's no production ready, indeed it has some limitations (no SEO friendly structure), but can work as a temporary solution (e.g. coming soon and parking pages), and it is still an example of how easy it is to create a Nostr-powered blog and deploy it on a low-tech infrastructure.


nostr:[node ID]


Adding "nostr:" in front of note seems to work in many clients, in this case:
 nostr:nevent1qqsvean59m4p30nrtksjgnagctawzzxl2mf46gp6e32nmae3hf0pkhgppemhxue69uhkummn9ekx7mp0qgsw4v882mfjhq9u63j08kzyhqzqxqc8tgf740p4nxnk9jdv02u37ncrqsqqqqqp3qu2mv


GM ☕
 https://video.nostr.build/c7dcc6f157388ccede51170017062ab792057e0f4ffa78979f58e6d50a81337f.mp4


Read this article anon.

https://mullvad.net/en/why-privacy-matters/going-dark


I wrote a very basic overview of watermarking, fingerprinting, timing analysis and supernodes for Bitcoin Magazine's last print issue, which is pretty much an unsolicited advertisement for why I think we need a second mempool (and also mixnets, but thats a longer story). Since no one cares about stuff like this on Twitter anyway, I'll explain here.

Bitcoin has a privacy issue on baselayer. I know this. You know this. Everybody knows this. The problem is that there's a lot of stuff we can't do to solve this issue without completely fucking up how Bitcoin works, like, say, anonymous amounts. But there is some stuff we *can* do to increase privacy on the Bitcoin baselayer. One of those things is incorporating a second mempool to integrate Dandelion++, the routing protocol used in Monero. Hear me out.

One of the ways blockchain surveillance firms identify who what transactions belong to on the Bitcoin blockchain is by operating so-called supernodes. A supernode sets up as many connections to other nodes as it can, and by doing so can establish where a transaction was first seen in the peer-to-peer network, ergo ascribe whom a transaction belongs to.

Here's where Dandelion++ comes in. Instead of propagating transactions to *all* connected peers, Dandelion++ propagates transactions like, well, a Dandelion.

In Dandelion++ propagation, Bitcoin nodes send transactions to *one* peer, instead of to all of them. This peer sends it to another peer, they send it to another peer, and so on and so forth. This is called the "stem phase".

When we've established enough plausible deniability, Dandelion++ reaches the "fluff phase". At this point, a node that did not *create* the transaction, but is simply relaying it, propagates it to all nodes in the network it is connected to, including supernodes, and the next node does the same, and so on and so forth – business as usual.

Incorporating Dandelion++ (or any other anonymizing propagation protocol, like Dandelion, Dandelion Lite, or Clover) would arguably seriously fuck up the blockchain surveillance stick as we are taking away the most obvious attack vector for blockchain surveillance firms. It's also not a trivial task, see ajtowns' overview of stempools (and no one wants to maintain another mempool on bitcoin, if we're honest). But it's a really interesting proposal to think about to increase privacy on Bitcoin that, yes, would be a lot of work to implement and maintain, but also does not get talked about enough imo for everyone yapping about Bitcoin baselayer privacy.

AJ Towns' Stempool overview: https://gist.github.com/ajtowns/f3a19c33b80750a47c5b83ecf6a09aaf

BM Article:
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/print/whistleblowing-in-the-surveillance-age

https://image.nostr.build/c5f9e6ed6b9d987f553a6e7967037f552e96b3af87d33d5a04d95392b07a5f44.jpg
https://image.nostr.build/42c6fa51a8517c06c093a6405e467dbf29dfd9fdc440881cfe12f2138a9c5eb4.png


Great report, please do let us know when you update this post with the latest firmware for Passport.


More money = more economic activity & trust 😂

The FED can literally print money and fix all the trust in society, few more trillions and that will do it, this time for sure.

All they have to do is print money faster than people's trust is declining. Once an equilibrium is reached, print even more and that will lead to increasing trust again.

Guy's a genius, clearly.


Great Bitcoin advertising by Harari.

Bitcoin is indeed a currency of distrust, that's literally the value proposition - trusted third parties are security holes.

Unfortunately, he clearly has never sent or received a Bitcoin transaction, because otherwise he would know that Bitcoin is the greatest tool for creating trust between complete strangers humanity has ever had.

Use the tools, Yuval.

nostr:nevent1qqsyyhjhmh97ke6jy0lsp3d2njzdcm5m0l5xxfzku58spahj8ju3vggpzpmhxue69uhkummnw3ezuamfdejsygz0we7mgndcg5w9xlwffdlrqc5c7jkpvwwny93qgf5wpu0mvzc0vcpsgqqqqqqsxlmdk3


Bitcoin doesn't reach its full potential unless you reach your full potential.


GM ☕

It seems like engagement with social media heavily depends of feedback and following user gets in early days of adopting the platform.

This dynamic is perfected in game apps - you get flooded with engagement rewards in your first days, level ups and more until you learn how to play and start doing things on your own.

This is why one fun app on nostr could be something called "Our Nostr" or "Our Attention" - a 'communist' (🤣) Nostr client or feed within a client that showers Nostr newcomers and real accounts lacking engagement with attention - like some sort of incubator to better the experience for real users with low following.

It would have to use some sort of mechanism to filter real users from spam bots, having a Lightning address might be an OK indicator but likely not perfect. Global used to serve similar function in early days until it got spammed out of relevance.

So yeah, real communism hasn't been tried... yet 🤣


GM


Hi, new to NOSTR - what’s the best way to maximise my experience here?


Hi, great question. I'd say:

1. Make a GM post everyday (very important)
2. Follow and engage with random accounts you like - zaps are the greatest form of gratitude
3. Sometimes its fun to play around with other nostr apps if you're into tech: nostrapps.com .  Although its still early for many of them, developers greatly appreciate feedback.
4. Most importantly, share things and have fun!

#plebchain #welcome #coffechain


Definitely not Satoshi Nakamoto 🤣


Nostr is what Bitcoin Twitter was always meant to be.


#freeassange

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgLUWl4jjN4


Clearly AML/KYC is working. 🤣

These numbers are absolutely hilarious.  Like, how can anyone say that these preposterous policies are successful with a straight face?!

Absolute 🤡🌍

https://m.primal.net/IIcC.png


It’s actually worse than that. I knew a lot of that stuff, but was still basically blue-pilled about dollar hegemony and America’s true role in the world until I researched and wrote this:

https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Repression-Exploitation-Development-Gladstein/dp/B0C1JK6MG7


GM ☕

nostr:nevent1qqs0dkc8cv7rtk7uam7lpxhpwd60ekypavjkajelr02ne85f0ggugpqpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfdupzp78xcep59u0q2fyqvv8z0cgpdh8rtlp6v98xqs60aa92y5pn9r9fqvzqqqqqqyng04wv


Bitcoin is neither winning nor losing. It is simply bending the fabric of space by existing.


Im going to post more shit because I love receiving random sats.


Discrete Log Contracts + Ecash is going to enable so many incredible use cases that weren't practical before. There is an order of operations to all of this and patience is key.

https://conduition.io/cryptography/ecash-dlc/
https://m.primal.net/IIUg.jpg


Three weeks ago I wrote an article on the EU's new AMLR in Bitcoin Magazine, detailing how the EU passed ALM laws restricting the use of Bitcoin privacy tools without any data to back up their claims that privacy heightens money laundering and terrorist financing risks.

Alex Stachtchenko took it a step further and ran the numbers. For every Euro confiscated, 200€ are spent. This means that the EU's AML compliance costs of 144B Euro exceeds all money ascribed to crime per year at 110B Euro – and still, 99% of criminal profits escape confiscation.

Despite their absolute inefficiency AML laws continue to be expanded, subjecting all EU citizens to total financial surveillance for the price of catching 1%. It is a system that has grown completely out of control and is in no way proportionate to the right to privacy enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

It's a long read, and its in French so you'll need to translate it, but I guarantee that it will be worth every minute of your time.

BM article:
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/legal/eu-parliament-adopts-aml-laws-regulating-bitcoin-based-on-questionable-assumptions

Alex' article:
https://medium.com/@AlexStach/les-d%C3%A9rives-de-la-surveillance-financi%C3%A8re-menacent-nos-d%C3%A9mocraties-323fbdc1ccbf

https://image.nostr.build/0d7632afe0b2d12e5c537683aeea5a2eab16f94acbb1842d1303e17e030b5e22.png
https://image.nostr.build/514287cc9ae1fe3d36a5de492cae8516d80643a9e56fb3cd4d4727ca344d90d2.png


Meanwhile socialist Central bankers printing trillions and messing up basic pricing:

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w320_and_h180_bestv2/AtigwswP2j1TecxwgZNKFyibmha.jpg


GM ☕ #grownostr

nostr:note1nl6wgcaftqde3ntfa589lklwrq3gt5g23gna4y76ptwsja78wrpq0lr8t2


Finally an unpopular opinion that's actually unpopular

But the dream of bitcoin is alive and well, perhaps better than ever


Sounds like fun!


[Time period: daily, weekly etc] sats earned per npub (limited to those with LN address) would indicate the size of Nostr creator economy at given time


Good morning, its been over 3 weeks since the Samourai Wallet indictment and there still seems to be no sign of TDev
 in the justice system. I don't like it, so I sent the Feds some questions.

(also can someone help me fix my zaps, they still seem to be borked)

https://image.nostr.build/4bb60befe9bcba370dc04e47c89ea7b8b7d1c284f8855cf249db542271c8ed1d.png
https://image.nostr.build/51fe005b5ce3669a9722af181fe5abcd8eb552cfa0f2b548893723b4816ecd52.png
https://image.nostr.build/e15bbad0b1d09ece2bc2b932a474a9129b118238a72af03f3c2779e4b453d5b7.png


GN

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uw66FA6OTqA


Do you think personal home servers will become something like routers in the future - something to be found in every home?


still a go-to option for all my friends who show desire to learn, no doubt


RoboSats is superb but a user has to have a well-functioning Lightning wallet to use it and non-custodial Lightning comes with quite a steep learning curve, too.


Please calm down with AI-generated texts as pure content 😂

Its still a great tool but you're publishing for humans, not calculators.

Human 'touch' > text dumps


Matrix instead of Telegram for more private and secure chats and groups seems like a reasonable tradeoff.

One thing that's underappreciated with Telegram though is the ease of finding people / reaching out to others.


they are quite natural at both, that's  why I call them my mentors 😅


8 AM, calisthenics, cold river, meditation, sun, pets, family time

GOOD FUCKING MORNING NOSTR ☕

(pic not from this morning, the water is way cleaner these days 😅)

#bloomstr #catstr #nostrstr

https://i.nostr.build/M5kOd.jpg


Our peers are getting imprisoned, shutting down operations, or going dark.

But yes, there's nothing to worry about, I should shut up and keep coding and giving away everything for free because this community wouldn't use it otherwise.

Fun times.


There is no other pill to take,
So swallow the one that makes you ill.

 https://i.nostr.build/POle4.jpg


Alright assholes I'm back in this bitch because I've had it with the Twitter shithole censoring my links and telling me i cant say fuck, no idea if anyone is reading this but if you do read nostr:npub15dnln6cukw3yrflnv3hnrntdt9amh0uw466u6tns05ymqp3nal4qzz3lfc 's fantastic new piece speaking to US regulators on open-source arrests:

https://www.therage.co/us-officials-sour-on-biden-war-on-privacy/


Lots to explore on nostr!!! https://www.nostrapps.com/
 https://image.nostr.build/0eccaaa325d866fb81abfe1b5cb87dbe7e078d783e4a8e48d093d9ac9c75cca4.png


Join me to test out #SilentPayment, #BIP352 style, now.

In production, like a real highly regarded degen, of course 😂.

My silent bitcoin address is:

sp1qq0j25djd4fcvudn6t65fs5asm652kgyyg7y3u2pxm794wud7m7tdvq737jmjxcwuqr8msn30hl63dermchlceakjr8wrnnl2v9xqd7c6xggux88d

Where to try this out you ask?
Like nostr:npub1mutnyacc9uc4t5mmxvpprwsauj5p2qxq95v4a9j0jxl8wnkfvuyque23vg  it works in the browser as a PWA.

This is the url: https://app.silentium.dev


😂🫡

https://image.nostr.build/33fb9ec9750a0efdd547cf585cb7a69b0477253c0147fafd0fbf1edbd2f3a4e8.jpg


What if most people around you (with rare exceptions) are 130 IQ+ but they're all worn down by decades of fiat stress, conditioning, malnutrition, addiction, daily psychological attacks via media and ads, having dedicated little to no time for finding their top inner voice and best self?

nostr:nevent1qqs9saku639960tccg78mwn42zuhwpjepl3g7whd3cgf3wzrv8qhw3qpzpmhxue69uhkummnw3ezuamfdejsygq6lcx8fc7h0p8t4ya9u0a92jnwavqe9rgjwwdw3wjgxfuxsz8rd5psgqqqqqqse07cnm


Mandibles

nostr:note1y3k676hmn4j8p89amffjm09nlglzpm2gd3tsjfewlxk33q0chyeq8wcekp


thank God we don't have a TV - my goal this year is to make it through without knowing any shitty Eurovision song although some friends make it impossible


devs watching non-technical users testing their app

https://v.nostr.build/3PD5M.mp4


No-KYC, non/self-custodial, unhosted

this needs to change

- there's bitcoin and there's KYC bitcoin or fiat bitcoin

- there's wallet/signer and there are managed accounts

- there's software and there are cloud services

nostr:note15ang369fwcnpzw5s9zadulqdvhsrv0mg87meq50c4rf464gpg8jqsrg2hh


you guys jumped from 0.6.7 straight to 1.7.0


😂
https://video.nostr.build/77ce71a8e6a2fb8f015d8ecc1d75a7e4851a9d1d47c53c2f7d08df9b881be339.mp4


Lmao


Dream flow: buy new phone, enter 12 words, done.

Everything's set up, including my config, apps, contacts, etc. The 12 words are my nsec in this case ofc.


GM ☕

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSJvlMjWq18


incredible image of all sorts of flowers art


Massive


Because I am a Bitcoiner.

I have dedicated all my life to computer science and the investment world. I have always had a lot of intellectual curiosity about any subject, which led me to read a lot about Austrian economics, I soon understood that the system was a scam, but at that time there was no Bitcoin.

I lived at first the birth of Bitcoin, but I did not pay much attention to it, I thought it would not be successful, electronic money, that is hackable I thought.

Soon after, some events happened that marked my destiny forever, I lost what I loved most by negligence of the system, I was helpless and alone, after this being in absolute shit, the system attacked me again and tried to steal what was mine.

After years of litigation I won, but I never got a pardon, I was never compensated nor did I recover the losses that the whole process caused me.

All this process was accompanied by a deep depression, I abandoned everything, friends, family, hobbies, but I never abandoned the desire for revenge and the desire to learn, and in those moments of shit a light went on, Bitcoin embraced me.

After 4 years of fighting alone against myself, without medication, without help, I could get out of depression, I could get out of that shit hole, but I came out much stronger, I was no longer the same person, and also someone accompanied me throughout the process, Bitcoin.

I think that fucking algorithm helped me more than anything else in the world, it made me understand many things, it made me understand that at the end of everything, you are the master of your destiny, never expect help from anyone, always check, never trust, and it also made me be patient, perseverant and hardened me. It made me become a man, a man has the obligation to defend his own, a man must endure the blows and has the obligation to stand up and fight, until the last day.

I have never been one to tell my intimacies, but I am a Bitcoiner and I will die a Bitcoiner, this is my story and it will be written here forever.

And maybe this story will be useful for times of adversity like the ones we are living, fuck the system, the system will not help you, in the worst case the system will kill you, fight with all your soul against it.


targeted harassment as a business model.

only in fiatland.


This was one of my first quality Bitcoin long-form reads ever. Glad I can finally zap you for this.


Regulators keep forcing bitcoin to become increasingly more robust and decentralize. Bullish


In five years Saylor and the loudest mouthpieces at Bitcoin Magazine will be leading the charge to increase block size. They’ll say it’s needed to accommodate all the great new things (spam) they’ve put on chain.

They’ll reduce the decentralization by making impractical for plebs to run a node.

They’ll claim it’s for the better for #bitcoin when what they really care about it ROI.


Who could've thought that limitless money printing in government circles leads to the rise of unaccountable shadowy bureaucracy?


the US is officially a police state. congrats to the law and order camp.


the stats in this chart are not a reliable indicator, they seem to lag behind on current days and tend to return to the mean with time.

better check out daily new users or daily notes published, or check the same chart 2-4 weeks


I wouldnt say they want to control it, they want to turn it into a pet rock to kill it


Block (CashApp, Square) $SQ is under examination by federal prosecutors for processing transactions for terrorist groups

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/prosecutors-examining-financial-transactions-block-123000088.html


envisioning a future of a Signal-grade private social network, where you have local llms privately translating, summarizing, and building algos of your feed. It’s not far off, we have the technology today. damn this is cool and cyberpunk af.


GM!


Logging in with #amber is 🤌


I think you're mixing up Tornado Cash developers Roman Storm and  Roman Semenov (Tornado Cash case) with Roman Sterlingov in a Bitcoin Fog (vs Chainalysis evidence) case.


GM ☕

Feature, not a bug

nostr:nevent1qqsfxff9nge5pk4kkj55c34tt0yyerln8cag7k6z47wtrynnnker9ggpzpmhxue69uhkummnw3ezuamfdejsygyzxs0cs2mw40xjhfl3a7g24ktpeur54u2mnm6y5z0e6250h7lx5gpsgqqqqqqsug3tu4


> Follow your own instincts, use your own reason, come to your own conclusions. https://image.nostr.build/f8b078c15f3017f05fc479bb32aa9a26a6f86cc0366873ea0ff01205ce10eb69.jpg


GN

nostr:nevent1qqsggp40sf93cxjra52nh7sk0dnt998wu7mkk0hn4ah8p08ghjffv4qpr3mhxue69uhkummnw3ezucnfw33k76twv4ezuum0vd5kzmqzyqdax23cdfa7da5gk0w8cjqwlssum9rtg04vzjayhfurftrh5glxjqcyqqqqqqgenutgr


🔥 COME AND TAKE IT 🔥
https://video.nostr.build/31af31056a44fbef55b5c1d7cfacece2edb45affe7f18afb13483b4d31327c1c.mp4


We have and tried both, cast iron wtf


Selling no KYC pans. DM for more details.


Why is this guy not on #Nostr yet?

Brazilian fighter Renato Moicano went viral after his victory over JalinTurner at UFC 300, giving a shout-out to Ludwig von Mises himself.

https://video.nostr.build/7d6fabd14e1810eae635eccf6f6822b8e6923508e8552e9237c3a7686c2156dd.mp4

"I love America, I love the Constitution...I want to carry...guns. I love private property. Let me tell you something. If you care about your...country, read Ludwig von Mises and the six lessons of the Austrian economic school m.f."

Source: https://mises.org/mises-wire/renato-moicano-if-you-care-about-yourcountry-read-ludwig-von-mises

#Bitcoin #Mises #Brasil #UFC


this is a good meme


Just like with cash, if you meet up with your friends to exchange bills at a specific place it doesn't mean that the place is a money transmitter.


Just so you know what they are going to try and go with: https://image.nostr.build/6356e6cc01fc771d84a6464affd68d6e0602cfc690cc781a796a08920be610f2.jpg


No


Maximalism is the sole reason Bitcoin exists as it is today, the adoption curve is steep and there are no worthwhile shortcuts


Made different


"marketing to criminals" sounds like a meaningless misnomer


GM 💯


GM!


Business* 😂


On* ffs


GM ☕

If your businesses depends of government contracts you're not a real business and you're not producing anything valuable to society. You're a taker and not a giver.


The vast majority of Whirlpool users were using self-hosted solutions

https://blog.ronindojo.io/most-whirlpool-users-run-dojo/


Hear hear https://image.nostr.build/5a09208caa6ef2f3e62dc8cccda2f30f60c9cfdc6bd832ed155c22ce4740674a.jpg


For all those 'mericans that are in "panic mode" using Phoenix, here is what you should do:

1. Save you phoenix seed.
2. Uninstall from app store (because is linked to your account)
3. Install app from their github, without any fucking app store
https://github.com/ACINQ/phoenix/releases
4. Restore from seed.
Done, be happy and ignore all the shit.

If you still use an apple shit, drop it now and take an android, de-googled and do those steps.
If you still want to use your fancy apple crap... sorry but you have been warned.


It's all your fault


About Liquid, Cashu and Fedimint.

As you may know I have recommended the use of these solutions to gain privacy, especially Liquid versus the expensive and inefficient coinjoin, but this does not mean that I am not aware of the risks.

My point of view is strictly pragmatic, I use these solutions for my own benefit being aware of the risks.

The example to follow is eMule, which in many ways I have always considered the precursor of Bitcoin. eMule has been around for more than 25 years and has not been able to close down, why?

- Open source
- Distributed

Any layer that is applied to Bitcoin to gain privacy and be able to resist state censorship will have to be.

- Open source
- Distributed
- Its creators must be anonymous.

All centralized and federated solutions will be closed and if their creators are known, they will be jailed unless it is a honeypot. In the same way for decentralized solutions, if their creators are not anonymous, they will also be imprisoned.

You have already seen with Samourai that for the USA there are no jurisdictions, wherever you are from you will be arrested, so both Liquid, as Cashu, as Fedimint are temporary solutions that will end up closed in one way or another.

If you can use them to your benefit then use them, but be aware, I hope that now you understand my defense of Joinmarket against other alternatives and my hope with Joinstr.


🌏 🔫

https://i.nostr.build/ml99x.jpg


GM! 😂

nostr:nevent1qqsze5uw83fqn8nvv5rc2p7jhcahqc45wssyuph0sa3xfru95cht0xspp4mhxue69uhkummn9ekx7mqzyrt4xcnqhzx00ewv8l9ylq3ypu6zhsycwck08wz46htkteuvjhwukqcyqqqqqqgjkrnc7


Bugle wins the internet again 🤣

nostr:note1ufrsslm9f6zl3ecgxr2k3wt0eaphx2dpn9ej78d96uwtg287gx0qzle63a


great rip


the truth is on nostr


Be prepared https://image.nostr.build/2f0fcf228661473318c856da51403ab20da2a0d80b9b741b9d79329b1c715849.jpg


thank god for the zap.stream stream I thought I'll have to watch this on slave tech platform


In 2008 there was one Satoshi Nakamoto.

In 2020s there were thousands of Satoshi Nakamoto's.

In 2030s there will be millions of Satoshi Nakamoto's.


Mass surveillance is EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE.

It is the easy FIAT MONEY has led to this paradigm of digital police state where no one's fundamental rights are respected or even considered.

This is not a normal state of the market and is fundamentally UNSUSTAINABLE as it gobbles up increasingly more resources via increasingly more DEBT.

Privacy, on the other hand, is cheap and natural. Not storing extra data on one's servers produces no extra overhead costs and leads to SAVINGS.  It is efficient and requires one to do more with less.

Privacy, as well as principled, wealthy society has been lost with the advent of easy money and unsustainable debt. But today we have bitcoin, and thus privacy and prosperity will be back with a MOTHERFUCKING BANGER unlike anything we've seen or heard before.

https://image.nostr.build/49068d3df84a31728453204ddb87f0db22c1fbdfdb329855e2f422e755782e35.jpg


Nostr is buzzing with hot takes.

This is how freedom tech wins.


Every disadvantage has its own advantage


End of times vibes


Same playbook executed in every authoritarian regime except US has the best surveillance reach/capabilities


If you wear pants you are an advocate for privacy.


it's a ban on HOSTED no KYC wallets which are basically honeypots anyway

nostr:note104phqs06rvf8u2ykp5pydrzh4upudt7y4yza8ud3fvu4nj42j96sak30ys


this


GM ☕

Privacy is no a crime.

Life finds a way.

https://i.nostr.build/dw6kJ.png

https://image.nostr.build/4286fea2492e269face0c7c34ce77ad1ab6d49d1db8fa211612a4fa3b904c88c.png


History has shown that what doesn’t kill #Bitcoin makes it stronger. https://image.nostr.build/471642323195359a4cea0cd06e91d1b60e8c3818371daf07f2ffee33bbf0557a.jpg


Feels like they will even come after Lightning node operators because why the fuck not at this point


Those of you who operate a cashu mint or even a fedimint federation, are you prepared to be arrested?

You should do everything from absolute anonymity.


Changelogs should be fully written by humans for humans, no exceptions
"Convential commits" and changelog generators are just pure garbage.


this meme just hits different today

GN

https://image.nostr.build/30f6aa0756db96c4c20dc691963adaa5b51a12ed4a30cd7d3bae164a5f4e0bdc.jpg


- They're in an uncontrollable debt spiral

- Their operations are unsustainable

- They need more reasons to seize your wealth

- They are hoping for some sort of AI miracle to come and save the day

Desperate times require desperate measures.

nostr:nevent1qqsvfxljjng9tfn8hzmm2v59we7j6cvd95swkcv3gy8aqyd8j3v0fxgppamhxue69uhkummnw3ezumt0d5pzpxdm2kgujytxqruy2yrax8umt83003lqng0lsqhgfuw58kj40jnyqvzqqqqqqydjwp8a


Unsustainable operations require terrible solutions


I guess the real difference here is securing generational wealth for sustainable future vs incurring generational debt to power unsustainable operations


Conspiracy Theorists vs Conspiracy Practicioners 😂


Can't miss this one


GM ☕

Shitcoiners writing Bitcoin improvement proposals be like

https://workfeelsgood.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/WFG_shutterstock_184333856_editorialbackstabbing.jpg


Ngmi

nostr:nevent1qqszyr87ffmn6zpl750zga8cp7539kchfhky7f6up02x2gaq3ye2qlqpp4mhxue69uhkummn9ekx7mqzyzqhzjxrdyq42sqmf9zcppclkpty5ha2lw29fqf7722lyurteye4jqcyqqqqqqg68fhlk


EVERYONE NOT IN BITCOIN OR NOSTR IS A DESPERATE WEIRDO

WE'RE THE MAINSTREAM NOW

nostr:nevent1qqstg55ldahmu0nzk4yjzllel98wnckfm8jr08rdw7nz56dzwa8k67qppamhxue69uhkummnw3ezumt0d5pzpqlaql0fka3nxnxf63hj0pwz2k8xct4tle7scmkzz3n8ewhv2r28qvzqqqqqqy8rtgju


My thoughts exactly


No point of having normal conversations anymore.

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


eCash?


AI generated news articles and other texts SOMEHOW are hard to read, a true strain on the eye.

Stop it, get some help.

You may think thats invisible but its bad, one can always feel it.

Texts are meant to be human. Great texts guide their readers through them instead of carpet bombing them with calculator of words.

No soul = no engagement.


On behalf of the BTC Coalition, we are recommending MEPs to vote AGAINST the #EU #AMLR proposal and urge you to join our call for three main reasons:

1. EU WILL DEVASTATE CROWDFUNDING FOR ACTIVISTS AND HUMANITARIAN NGOs

NGOs barely receive funds to support human rights or humanitarian aid.

#Crowdfunding, including the use of #Bitcoin  in self-hosted wallets, is the last resort.

What is the EU doing?

In the post-Trilogue AMLR draft, all possible crowdfunding platforms, including based on crypto-assets and serving humanitarian purposes, designated as intermediaries, are considered as high-risk ever-evolving Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (ML/TF) channel.

In practice this means fewer and fewer donations, because of:
🔻increased administrative & operational costs,
🔻reduction of the donor base due to invasive due diligence processes,
🔻reduced financial inclusion of smaller entities and projects that traditionally rely on crowdfunding.

The AMLR does not take into account the broader negative impacts on society, resulting in the obstruction or even halting of social, entrepreneurial and humanitarian initiatives. 1/5 https://image.nostr.build/0d03b04e7e6d710c26a31d864561afcd336b4f470d5fdd514f52dbec91e82224.jpg


🇬🇧 To enable #ChatControl mass surveillance, 32 European police chiefs call for halting end-to-end encryption #E2EE. This is an attack on our security and digital privacy in violation of fundamental rights!

More: https://www.patrick-breyer.de/en/police-chiefs-want-to-halt-secure-end-to-end-encryption-to-enable-chat-control-bulk-scanning-of-all-private-messages/

https://digitalcourage.social/system/media_attachments/files/112/315/651/402/641/437/original/dbadc7b93c44fbb1.jpg


A Cashu gateway is a Cashu user who uses their own Lightning node to offer anonymous services for anyone on the same mint.

You give me ecash and I make a Lightning payment for you. Everything is atomic. Nobody needs to know this ever happened.

Cypherpunk cryptoanarchy is now.


Maybe odd is not the right word here. It's a pity. They went full shitcoin. Never go full shitcoin.


GM ☕

It's extremely odd that Signal doesn't accept Bitcoin donations.


the user count should filter for this using some sort of heuristic and it was rather reliable until this week, wondering if anything changed on Primal's end


what's up with all the new nostr users according to  nostr:npub12vkcxr0luzwp8e673v29eqjhrr7p9vqq8asav85swaepclllj09sylpugg 's explorer? Up nearly 200k since last week - is nostr finally reaching escape velocity? 😅  nostr:npub16c0nh3dnadzqpm76uctf5hqhe2lny344zsmpm6feee9p5rdxaa9q586nvr

https://image.nostr.build/8fe95a44f5cec38fda5d96b603fca561b7c2c24362d44c74faaa8d14a7ab3740.png


Really enjoying this discussion


Spooks are everywhere
https://m.primal.net/HwTp.mov


Make things for bitcoiners first.

Worry about ‘mass adoption’ later.


Pretty sure its a proposal that hasn't been passed yet.

https://image.nostr.build/8115cd498f1628d59d61a1c9fb2a54484775d1c07653d3cde7a2c25043238886.png

nostr:note1yl7xqmac8smnrw4lkwsfvljjye64mcp23hpywhgy747e75e6ut2s37n7tl


"freedom of speech, not freedom of reach"
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GLAdBCsaQAAcgG9?format=jpg&name=medium

It's interesting how Twitter, Farcaster and Bluesky all live by this same motto.


when Saylor on  nostr:npub10atn74wcwh8gahzj3m0cy22fl54tn7wxtkg55spz2e3mpf5hhcrs4602w3 ?


Legal or illegal, surveillance will continue until freedom tech improves.


Gm,

On a month's long quest to delete all my bank accounts and just survive with one transferwise account

I already got my landlord and cleaners to accept btc so other than paying tax, I can almost get by entirely on BTC or my btc credit card

Fuck banks


GM ☕

https://m.primal.net/HuFX.jpg


# Privacy is a Social Good

When we think about privacy, it's usually in the context of an individual being able to hide something, usually from the government, but also from lots of other entities. It's a security issue in the greater discourse because there are bad people that can and will use information about you to reveal embarrassing information, blackmail, or even steal from you.

This is not just true of criminals, but also of companies and even governments. They can and do use information about you to propagandize you or demand taxes from you. These are, of course, understandable concerns and good reasons to want privacy.

## Status Games

But there's another aspect of privacy which is just as important, perhaps more important than these and it's the social dynamic at play.

Privacy, you see, is a necessary buffer between people to keep order. This is because people are, in the end social creatures and in every social group, there is a constant jockeying about for position, what I would call status games being played.

The problem with status games is that they are by nature zero-sum. Whoever is at the top is usually both admired and envied, while whoever is at the bottom is generally pitied. This is especially true when the participants can change their position, whether through achievement, violence or politics.

## Envy and Resentment

Too much clarity on the status of individuals in the group causes strife in the form of envy. This is not just for people at the bottom, whose envy of everyone above them is understandable, but also for those near the top, who likewise will envy people above them. A big enough group of disaffected people in a status game will cause some form of revolution. In other words, strictly ordered status games are not stable.

Thus, too much information sharing is bound to cause bitterness and resentment which in turn causes unstable organizations because humans are very status-aware. Marxism tries to solve this by making everyone equal, but of course, this doesn't work because the entity which controls this equality ends up being higher status than everyone else. You cannot have full transparency and social order. There will be too many dissatisfied people.

This is where privacy is important because it gives groups ambiguity about where each individuals stand. For example, most social groups in the US have as a default, social standing that corresponds with their level of wealth. The richer you are, the higher on the status ladder you are and the poorer, the lower. A very strict pecking order where everyone knew exactly how many assets everyone had would breed a significant amount of envy and resentment. Any group where this level of transparency was required would be unpleasant to be in strictly for that reason. We need a level of ambiguity to socially interact in a reasonable way.

## Decentralized Status Games

That's not to say that everything is completely obscured. Most people that have money signal in various ways, with their clothing, car, topics of conversation and so on. They signal with various levels of loudness and reveal status information to the people that they're targeted at. One of the features of "old money" people is that they're very good at identifying other "old money" people while simultaneously hiding their wealth from people that are not as rich as they are. In a sense, this is a survival mechanism because envy, bitterness and resentment are not pleasant to deal with and oftentimes dangerous.

Privacy is the ability to disclose information at our discretion, not someone else's and that's exactly what happens in groups to keep the peace. Privacy has deep social value because it gives individuals the discretion to reveal where they are relatively in status. That protects not just them from attack, but also protects the group from upheaval. The less envy, bitterness and resentment there is, the more cohesive the group can be.

## Conclusion

Privacy is a necessary part of civilization because cooperation is hard and nothing destroys cooperation like bitterness and envy. And those two in turn are caused by too much clarity on status. Privacy is what adds ambiguity and empowers individuals to calibrate group dynamics.

Privacy: it's not just for cypherpunks anymore.


GM ☕

https://image.nostr.build/3c4db334cadf461b4b1e45be5abd002ddee9347e73462cc6b98425fa994d51ab.jpg


Listened to Michael Saylor on the nostr:npub1r8l06leee9kjlam0slmky7h8j9zme9ca32erypgqtyu6t2gnhshs3jx5dk podcast. It's 3 months old, but sheds some light on the ARK funding story.

https://youtu.be/_QN0RcQFf6w

TL;DW: Saylor strongly believes in *OSSIFICATION NOW*. From that POV, protocol development is a liability.

Some quotes (and thoughts)👇

"You only get to play God once. And Satoshi played God. And you can say 'well Satoshi got to do it, why can't I?' Well the answer is Satoshi did it, the reason we're talking about Satoshi is 'cause the other 100,000 would-be Satoshis failed. If you read the history of the world, work your way through 10,000 pages of Western history, there will be thousands and thousands and thousands of episodes of 'alpha male thinks he was put on this earth, you know, to change everything', full of hubris [...] he's gotta do more, change more, etcetera.'" (53:34)

"Bitcoin Core developers, or protocol developers, they want to fix something, or they want to make a contribution, because it's in their DNA, but developers are just the lawyers of cyberspace. When a lawyer shows up at the capital, they gotta make a law to save you from yourself, and the more laws they make, the more they cripple the economy, until eventually there's so many laws that the entire civilization collapses under its own weight." (58:06)

"The world is full of people that need something to do. I would say, the real key to wisdom, channel your energy constructively. If you're gonna do something, improve Lightning, build an application, persuade someone to adopt Bitcoin as a reserve asset, educate someone… these are all constructive things. Destructive, dilutive, distractive things are: fight with random people 'cause they want to fight with you, attack the core network and make it confusing and introduce anxiety, and confusion and fear, uncertainty and doubt into the base layer. Right? And then attempt to imprint your ego, you know, on the base protocol, you know? Like, 'I gotta introduce this so my name will go down in history forever'." (2:38:55)

My view: it's understandable to want Bitcoin to behave like the granite under Manhattan (his analogy); a solid bedrock that never changes. Especially if you truly believe Bitcoin will take over the world as SoV-only and "there is no second best". But IMO this is wishful thinking. While I agree it's near-impossible for an alt to overtake Bitcoin, I do think adoption could stall.

Luckily, Bitcoin isn't really a natural element. It's spontaneous order, more like language. Hard to change and no one can dictate changes, but if market wants it to change, it can.

Furthermore, despite Stephan asking a few questions in that direction, Saylor mostly failed to distinguish between protocol upgrades and general software maintenance.

Arguing against any hard/soft forks is one thing, but Bitcoin Core 26.0 can obviously not last for centuries...

Having said that, Saylor is of course free to not upgrade anymore and stick to Bitcoin Core 26.0 for as long as he lives.


Great writeup, sounds like something you'll be retelling to your grandchildren


it was ARK

nostr:note1dwzr6jczd033vzw4yg79crqcqf35v3rumf8uv5tcxj6qqkgjrz9sfs9jd2


Cashu gang to follow:

-  nostr:npub1cj6ndx5akfazux7f0vjl4fyx9k0ulf682p437fe03a9ndwqjm0tqj886t6 Cashu OG
-  nostr:npub1kvaln6tm0re4d99q9e4ma788wpvnw0jzkz595cljtfgwhldd75xsj9tkzv Android wallet
-  nostr:npub1dx5q2el8nd4eh3eg9t2e25fd7zuqg7zxz6ldkc3uzgh66ss2yc6st288sj iOS and Android wallet
-  nostr:npub1pp355axf69z8ndrz8zdnqa54s90e5xy737mwqk9e9cvt606nwszsdx8nu7 eNuts dev
-  nostr:npub1qjgcmlpkeyl8mdkvp4s0xls4ytcux6my606tgfx9xttut907h0zs76lgjw CDK dev
-  nostr:npub185u4z6rjk0qawhqjexqz4vkhd86d29csz7nt3myhv3ahtcq2xxzqvnkvuy Moksha dev
-  nostr:npub1arcweuxy0zkdcg08sljh058qp02ytrgnpzh4csa3ar42szyfgrpsw6ggtw Cashu factory
-  nostr:npub1mhcr4j594hsrnen594d7700n2t03n8gdx83zhxzculk6sh9nhwlq7uc226 npub-cash dev
-  nostr:npub1current7ntwqmh2twlrtl2llequeks0zfh36v69x4d3wmckg427safsh3w USD ecash pioneers
-  nostr:npub1zqsu3ys4fragn2a5e3lgv69r4rwwhts2fserll402uzr3qeddxfsffcqrs ecash UX pioneer
-  nostr:npub1f742zec57c6qk9ajfr8wyjn0s4vrfzh4hesyj2yqplvj5wrfydxsjprpa3 Macadamia dev
-  nostr:npub1dgesr3zcgyjv2z0050h7auzdlf88gycry7tlk7wsypmgngy97yxqv4mccn secp wizard
-  nostr:npub1thunderat5g552cuy7umk624ct5xe4tpgwr2jcjjq2gc0567wgrqnya79l cashu-kotlin dev
-  nostr:npub1a8jh7az9z4etn6s9cms0zm7kpvualkpf8tfx50qrjng3zrl8tl4syde2jz testing and QA
-  nostr:npub1q6mcr8tlr3l4gus3sfnw6772s7zae6hqncmw5wj27ejud5wcxf7q0nx7d5 OG service dev
-  nostr:npub1mznweuxrjm423au6gjtlaxmhmjthvv69ru72t335ugyxtygkv3as8q6mak design
-  nostr:npub13pn45hvfxqy5vpyr03krapqvsjpj34n74u36qz9aynw4svg5ypqszxgctw community
-  nostr:npub1rach342hnt3wa0qfqk0pey0exs2drcxfc0azs8eurwnee9vu64vs834atg Cashu web magician


Last time I interviewed him he was launching shitcoin based version of DeFi which he called "DarkFi" so no surprise here

https://dark.fi/manifesto.html


Would be nice to have an option to connect own wallet/node


Day 71 Push-up new variations:

10x DIAMOND PUSH-UP 💎
10x BENCH PIKE PUSH-UP 🪑
10x PUSH-UP TOE TOUCH 🦶
10x CLAP PUSH-UP👏
10x CROSS BODY PUSH-UPS ✖
10x DECLINE PUSH-UP 🪑
10x INCLINE PUSH-UP🪑
5x CROSS ARM PUSH-UP (..got wrist pain)
10x HINDU PUSH-UP 🕉
5x ARCHER PUSH-UP (..to advanced yet) 🏹
10x KNUCKLE PUSH-UP 👊

#100aDayTill100k
#100pushups
#plebchain
#Yestr


🤯

nostr:nevent1qqs8hsqxfw63m72qfvnpwnjywtualsy3ccwjjwwp8g3c36wsujdm2hqpz3mhxue69uhkummnw3ezummcw3ezuer9wcpzp9vtw49p6009khk2pl336t24taz3xf0cfx9g8ksej7mle4wrn6yvqvzqqqqqqy85knpq


THE XZ UTILS BACKDOOR IS A STARK REMINDER THAT IF YOU RELY ON BITCOIN IT IS IMPERATIVE TO SUPPORT THE OPEN SOURCE CONTRIBUTORS THAT MAKE THIS MOVEMENT POSSIBLE.

GOOD MORNING.

https://www.wired.com/story/jia-tan-xz-backdoor/


when you run out of GMs

https://video.nostr.build/0fec4493e958e068f635e57ffa53bc20985dc0a73b69e797a627f2ee0d800716.mp4


Bitcoin Twitter is a dead toxic wasteland filled with affinity scammers, shitcoiners, and other people writing shit about Bitcoin and other Bitcoiners.

Long live Bitcoin Nostr.


Works (in select few areas of the world) until it doesn't, I like to plan ahead with inherently more stable things.

https://cryptotesters-images.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/4611beaf8d7e4f04ae8a3d17b1a377a5ct_.png


GM

Things are way better than they appear to be, the mass demoralization feeds aren't useful for productive people.


Isn't that what central banks already do when trying to maintain maximum employment?

Debase the value of your time, labor and savings so that you have no other option but go to take out a loan and work to death to barely survive.

Spoiler alert - most people hate that already.

Companies accepting or operating on Bitcoin have to adjust their prices down, as well as salaries paid in BTC, and honestly that's a non-issue as growing purchasing power more than offsets it and you have an increasingly stronger capital base to work with as time goes by.


It all sounds cool in theory and I'm glad it works for you but I'm sticking with Bitcoin as it has perfectly stable and predictable issuance curve unlike anything else out there.

Also, I think it's reasonable to argue that vast majority of people prefer prices going down rather than up or being stable.


So you would rather have prices fit your economic plans rather than reflect economic reality?

Somehow that perfectly explains the current paradigm of misinformation we're living in.


Probably the most creative explanation  of the outbox I have read 😁👍 nostr:note1cs6v8knjrd7r8xyvaudugt64ktmh32ely3agyqv27vjxves04fyq2vu5l9


nostr:npub1563z6kxmvuy7s8zhzan8m0hzmkavyfzg2aw6h7f0fvcvdms398csaxc9n6 for top signal


Why would you even want the price to remain the same despite the drastic improvements of production capacity or decreases on quality?

What sort of achievement is that? Seems more an like an exercise in economic ignorance.

So-called 'fiat civilized countries' are the one's exporting their inflation to other de facto colonized countries in exchange for actual goods but hey at least your shittier quality beer costs the same or only slightly more than last year.

Bitcoin economy is alive, well and thriving. Mining companies earn BTC, content creators earn BTC, IT businesses earn BTC, and even your local weed dealers do so.

I'm not going to argue any further, my time is better spent earning BTC rather than trying to prove my points to you. Ironically, event this note may prove valuable or entertaining enough to someone who may zap me and I would be earning BTC for it.

Welcome to the digital age.


When Bitcoin meets Nostr

The perfect unity of value and information

https://androidjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Refuge-683x1024.jpg


Price stability in relation to what? Prices are meant to accurately depict actual market situation in relation to demand and supply, not to maintain the illusion of stability.

A Bitcoin economy has successfully emerged online which is why it still hasn't gone away in 15 years and will it continue to expand.


The Intellectual Humility of the Spontaneous Order

My latest from Mises

https://mises.org/mises-wire/intellectual-humility-spontaneous-order


That implies that fiat is the source of value.

 WRONG

Just because you measure Bitcoin's value in fiat terms (highly manipulated measure) doesn't mean that it reflect's it's fair value.

In reality Bitcoin is far more valuable than it is possible to price in any fiat because of its intrinsic properties:

1) easy to secure
2) easy to transfer
3) no counterparty risk
4) no counterfeit risk
5) easily programmable so perfectly suited for emerging lightspeed digital economy

it may take time for these properties to be fully priced in but we're currently undergoing this process

The only thing that are valueless in this paradigm are fiat promissory debt notes you think you own


(Read in nostr:npub1guh5grefa7vkay4ps6udxg8lrqxg2kgr3qh9n4gduxut64nfxq0q9y6hjy 's voice)

📢 NDK VERSION 2.7 HAS BEEN RELEASED

Massive performance improvements!

* A queueing system is now in place to fetch NIP-05 and ZAP endpoint information. Most applications should feel much faster.
* Caching of NIP-05/Zap endpoints is now in place too
* Threading utility functions to make displaying threads PROPERLY (properly defined as how nostr: npub1dergggklka99wwrs92yz8wdjs952h2ux2ha2ed598ngwu9w7a6fsh9xzpc likes it)

Along with NDK 2.7:

ndk-cache-dexie 2.3 is now live
ndk-svelte-components 2.2.11 is now live

One step closer to the asymptote

https://media.tenor.com/KwxWxAmmG0cAAAAM/were-one-whole-step-closer-zach-jobe.gif


GM

https://pfp.nostr.build/4ad08c094e4cc0adc41f7193f3614d323269248e4f607d93f9889042bce03601.jpg


GM ☕

It's all bullshit all the way down.

https://image.nostr.build/e6f24c41e96fb52bec774842ea3d6767f8b2370a352ec6c42937cc1afcc8af37.jpg


Who wrote this nonsense?

Satoshi threw away the greatest and potentially most influential nym in Bitcoin ever created just so that Bitcoin survives and we can have another area of freedom for a longer period time.


Each month, people from around the world put our free #bitcoin stickers in public! Every sticker has a QR code that links to an educational page about Bitcoin.

In March, 858 people scanned the stickers you put in public!

GOT INFLATION? — 207 scans
STUDY BITCOIN — 199 scans
BITCOIN DOESN'T HAVE INFLATION (BLACK) — 106 scans
FIX THE MONEY, FIX THE WORLD — 101 scans
CURE INFLATION V2 — 97 scans
BITCOIN DOESN'T HAVE INFLATION (ORANGE) — 88 scans
WHAT IF? — 47 scans
CURE INFLATION V1 — 6 scans
CAUTION — 4 scans
WARNING — 2 scans
DANGER — 1 scan

Thank you all so much for getting involved! Every sticker you put in public helps to reach new people and bring them to Bitcoin.

Get involved this month: https://bitcoin.rocks/stickers


my latest piece…
The Age of Fiat II https://image.nostr.build/ff0dd9f5b8e1380013dd6dcd0c1ca64276a13c5b15dffd6abc140825d5e3310c.jpg


Release time!

In our biggest update yet, we've completely redesigned the home screen, added a nostr-based profile setup walkthrough, and have finished our initial fedimint integrations by adding a federation discovery & recommendations!

https://m.primal.net/HqfS.jpg

Most lightning wallets these days are what we call "invoice-oriented." We want to go back to the basics to solve what people are really trying to do: paying a person. We've added a new wallet creation flow to make the wallet about you!

https://m.primal.net/HqfT.jpg

The new version of Mutiny now allows you to create a new nostr profile, or import a nostr private key from an existing profile. From there, you can now DM other mutiny & nostr users to send or request money directly from the app. No more copy / pasting invoices!

https://m.primal.net/HqfV.jpg

To double down on social, we've redesigned our home screen to put people first. We now include a row of recent profiles for quick access. We also now have tabs on the home screen for looking at your payment activity, your friend's zap activity on nostr, and your payment requests.

Next up, better fedimint support!

Mutiny has had beta support for the fedimint protocol for a couple of months now. Instead of opening a lightning channel on your first receive, with a minimum of 100k sats, you can get started on a fedimint with just a few sats.

This new update adds a way to discover available fedimints to join. Naturally, the discovery process is powered by an open protocol built on nostr. You can see who recommends a federation, and add it with one click.

https://m.primal.net/HqfW.png

You'll automatically receive funds to that fedimint, as long as the amount is smaller than 200,000 sats, and you'll automatically spend out of that fedimint, with a fallback to your regular lightning balance. You can also swap from fedimint to your lightning balance at any time.

Coming up shortly after this release, we'll be adding federated lightning addresses that lock incoming payments to your key, which you may redeem at any point by coming back online. We'll be rolling this out to Mutiny+ users first, stay tuned!

Let us know what you think! We're excited about this new direction and need feedback to help us continue driving forward.

https://blog.mutinywallet.com/mutiny-new-design-people-oriented/


What are the best books/resources to read on web of trust?

Preferably books but anything goes


GM ☕ captcha is total bullshit and must be ANNIHILATED 😡 😡 😡 ⚔ 🧨


NOSTR ONLY 🫡

nostr:npub1qny3tkh0acurzla8x3zy4nhrjz5zd8l9sy9jys09umwng00manysew95gx nostr:npub1guh5grefa7vkay4ps6udxg8lrqxg2kgr3qh9n4gduxut64nfxq0q9y6hjy
nostr:note1ayv09jpkp6mhg3wrd45xenf56c2utc6us6rq26x78hytq98aet7sp043rr
https://m.primal.net/HqCQ.jpg


#FreeSoftware vs Propietary.

https://m.primal.net/HqEN.png


Happy Easter Sir 🫡


Not all heroes wear capes. Some benchmark their ssh connections.

Source: https://x.com/jordantwittt/status/1774119408845115889
https://m.primal.net/Hpxv.jpg


GM ☕

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qW32QVnXEy4


price is what you pay, value is what you get


🚀BR063 - Mutiny, NDK, Phoenixd, Alby, Cashu multinuteral payments, Casa Inheritance, Unchained, GoFetch & ViaBTC Vulnerabilities + MORE ft. @Rob1Ham, @benthecarman, @pablof7z & @nvk

Listen to the episode:
Fountain: https://fountain.fm/episode/HjmqrZTRZR4Qo7jMDpdI
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3zt3btcZJVAnft7Ukc2X15?si=1oCuYDqNSsOiwjneqX4Daw
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/br063-mutiny-ndk-phoenixd-alby-cashu-multinuteral-payments/id1632017958?i=1000650886824
Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy85NTAwZmFkOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw/episode/MWQ2YmY3MTQtZDRkNS00YWJkLWFkZmItOThlNzI2NDZjNjM4?sa=X&ved=0CAUQkfYCahcKEwjIn-icypqFAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ
Amazon: https://music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/2e6729fd-6d66-4d74-8cd7-6d7e8e036542/episodes/756e5713-3b3f-48ae-8548-cd14afc61276/bitcoin-review-podcast-with-nvk-guests-br063---mutiny-ndk-phoenixd-alby-cashu-multinuteral-payments-casa-inheritance-unchained-gofetch-viabtc-vulnerabilities-more-ft-rob-ben-pablo

Full shownotes:
Website: https://bitcoin.review/podcast/episode-63/
Substack: https://substack.bitcoin.review/p/br063-mutiny-ndk-phoenixd-alby-cashu

🎧👇 NVK and the guests talk about the recent #MARA block by @PortlandHODL on @mempool
https://m.primal.net/HpfX.mov


GM ☕ Nostr has the best hot takes.

https://image.nostr.build/2500045d763a5cae9af2d227146219bd0ccf161af7fc41c7d59656818bed9b07.png


he can't make any money without govt contracts so selling user data is all he has


Elon did Matt dirty with a forced blue check


anonymous whistleblower bounties on nostr


YES


anyone can still use it with own node


EU is bullish on P2P bitcoin and wants to push more people towards freedom tech


assurances include that he is afforded the same First Amendment protections as a United States citizen and that the death penalty is not imposed or something like that


lfg


Happy Birthday, LinkingLion!

A year ago I reported about LinkingLion, an entity that's presumably linking transactions to IP addresses and has been opening hundreds of connections per minute to my monitoring nodes.

An update: https://b10c.me/blog/013-one-year-update-on-linkinglion/


the bluechecks fight back 🤣


all of web except for Nostr

https://img-comment-fun.9cache.com/media/a2vEWv1/aa4K5gzn_700w_0.jpg


GM ☕

The medium is the message.

https://m.primal.net/HpBf.jpg


snort poll test


GM ☕

Avoid salty losers in your life at all costs.

nostr:note1n5lc6krq62r5nwzf5n3j926skzz5wfjr9ucg6eez597m5ngv8e2sw7mp72


GM ☕

vibes are high

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJk3le7-JPo


Bitcoin Core

Coming to you phone in 202X

https://m.primal.net/HnpK.png

Learn more at https://bitcoincore.app/


Receiving zaps is a magical experience. It should be just a regular notification. I want my client to play 'don't stop believing' or something like that when I get zapped.


Slave tech doing it's thing

nostr:nevent1qqsxmwsd0pysczrwnnk4qsz7ezt2qwtppwg36uzhth8vvg68grddsccppemhxue69uhkummn9ekx7mp0qgs9336p4f3sctdrtft2wlqaq5upjz9azpgylhfd3dplwf005mfrr9srqsqqqqqpa7yj4j


GM ☕

BUYING BITCOIN ON LEVERAGE IS NOT BITCOIN DEVELOPMENT


NIP 90 Search request


Profile Search request