Services on NOSTR I pay for:
nostr.wine - 120,000 Sats for 2 years relay
relay.tools - My own relay - 12,000 Sats a month
nostr.build - Media storage - 69,000 Sats for 1 year
Total: 22,750 Sats per month
Approx $15 per month
Discussion
Why not host uploads yourself ?
Depends what you mean by that?
I could port forward to a server in my home and host for free, but that adds complexity and raises security issues, also reliability is a factor.
I could host on any public service, you can do that in a small way for free, but high usage requires fiat.
I could setup my own server in the cloud, but that requires fiat.
Mostly, if I'm going to pay for a public service, I'd rather do this on a NOSTR focused server and support the developer.
Install minio or blossombat home.
Problem solved
You can even offer a upload service
But you rather participate in centralization on nostr
I have 3 nodes at home which run various NOSTR services, I didn't list them here as I am only discussing my spending choices.
I am not trying to reduce my spend, I am trying to increase my support for developers.
I’d pay dollars to buy SATS akin to something like LocalBitcoins on nostr. Then I will spend bitcoin like a mad man.
My on ramps are all shutdown and non existent for the past few years
I buy BTC monthly at twice the amount I spend, so I always end up with more Sats than I've spent.
In the UK that's getting harder. I use SwissBorg, CoinCorner and Revolut, currently.
I’ve just started using nostr:npub1ex7mdykw786qxvmtuls208uyxmn0hse95rfwsarvfde5yg6wy7jq6qvyt9. Much easier deposits from uk bank.
Yes, I tried Strike the day it launched. Can't remember why I didn't go with it. I have literally gone through every single option in my 8 years of buying Bitcoin.
SwissBorg is my favourite, it's not an exchange, it's a broker, sourcing the best price across the markets in real time.
They got shut down by the FCA for a while, but they are back, however they changed their nominee account, so while I still deposit fiat to them into an account in my name, all my banks are flagging it as a Wyse trading account (incorrectly) and blocking it constantly, hence why I'm buying small amount from CoinCorner & Revolut.
I'm only buying tiny amounts these days, so I'm less bothered about achieving the best rate.
I’ve not come across Swissborg, I’m amazed after 10 years of buying I still hear of sites new to me. I’ve been through bittylicious, blockchain, Binance etc but have used Bitstamp almost exclusively for the last 5 years. Better rates but I have more and more trouble simply depositing these days so a relief to find strike so easy, and rates aren’t too bad.
