Nostr Web Client

>it worked for most of us

False. Most people that ever bought bitcoin on exchanges are not bitcoiners today. Most did not understood its value and sold when appropriate.

It's delusional to think that onboarding people thorough gated regulated exchanges and custodial banks is going to make them appreciate the value of freedom money.

boston wine 2y ago

“It worked for most of us”

I should have qualified that, by saying “it worked for most of us who are here now, as bitcoiners.”

It’s a good point/open question whether most people who purchase on an exchange ever take self custody. Presumably there is some analytic function that could get a number, but I don’t know.

But I’d argue, anecdotally, that numerous nostr users - who discovered Bitcoin here - started with WoS and have been learning about Bitcoin and self custody over the past few months. Learning how to take care of the stack that they’re building (and KYC-free, as a bonus).

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Discussion

sommerfeld 2y ago

You're literally describing Survival Bias: "we went through that and survived, so this must be a good idea!"

boston wine 2y ago

😂 Got me with that argument

I think there’s an organic and “convenient” way to onboard plenty of new bitcoiners and get them into self-custody, at scale. Realistically, we won’t onboard the world in our lifetime if we don’t use stepping stones. Even better to build stepping stones that improve custody, privacy, etc etc.

But voices like yours will remain important, especially in this context. If it makes a newbie say “wait wtf is my Bitcoin safe?”, that’s a very important question for each of us to ask

sommerfeld 2y ago

Glad that you get it. Never take the easy path!

boston wine 2y ago

Eye on the prize ser 🫡

jamw 2y ago

It’s early days. Willing to bet most went through the centralised route to acquire bitcoin. But it does largely depend on the individual and what they do/learn from then on. What do you propose is the best way to onboard users to make them appreciate the value of freedom money?

sommerfeld 2y ago

It's best to transmit your leanerd experiences and make them avoid the same mistakes: shitcoins, exchanges, kyc, defi, yield, custodial LN, etc.

boston wine 2y ago

I know we agree that custodial solutions are not solutions.

Even with the best of intentions, these services may inadvertently become rug-pulls of a sort if they are forced to implement KYC.

That said, I am comfortable keeping a few thousand sats on WoS, purely for zapping others, if it sparks their curiosity and excitement about Bitcoin, Lightning, and freedom tech.

I’d rather hold the door open to have the conversation, offer the guidance, and help them do it right. Again and again, I would choose that.

I do recall hearing that some self-custodial LN services are working on a solution for static Lightning addresses. Hopefully it won’t be long until this debate fades into irrelevance ⚡️🤙

jamw 2y ago

True. Which is why my experience tells me to use an easy-to-use custodial wallet that works in Nostr for tiny sat tips entirely because it just works…for now. And to never hold a significant amount with the likes of WoS etc. Significant bitcoin stacking is a whole different ball park and that indeed needs more transmission of learned experiences.