THE CORE DEV DILEMMA: SATOSHI'S GHOST VS. MODERN PAYCHECK PATREON CULTURE—A TALE OF TWO BITCOIN ERAS.
1️⃣ SATOSHI’S WORLD (2009-2011):
No Grants, No Begging: Code was written by:
Cypherpunks (after their day jobs).
Anons who believed in the mission (not the ROI).
BBS Parallel: You paid to host your board because freedom wasn’t monetized.
2️⃣ 2024’S HUSTLE-CORE REALITY:
Devs Now Expect:
OpenSats donations → "Or else we’ll quit!"
Corporate sponsorships → Hello, Chaincode Labs-flavored "neutrality."
Unspoken Truth: Many aren’t cypherpunks—they’re career open-source mercenaries.
3️⃣ LUKE’S WARNING (DECODED):
Translation: "If you don’t pay us, we’ll get bribed by Blockstream (again)."
Irony: The very "decentralization" they preach relies on centralized funding.
Bitcoin was built by people who burned midnight oil, not by grant-chasing devs with GitHub sponsors. The second group works for Bitcoin. The first group was Bitcoin.
P.S. Next time a dev cries poverty, ask: "How many of you still mine with a GPU?" 😏
(The old guard built. The new guard bills.) ₿⚔️💻
BONUS HISTORY: Hal Finney ran Bitcoin nodes while dying of ALS. Today’s devs won’t code without a 401(k) match. Let that sink in.