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Bitcoin is having its Covid moment.

The gain of function mutation in Core v30 that removes the default OP_RETURN relay policy size limit has resulted in an environment in bitcoin culture that closely mirrors the Covid era.

The threat of the spam virus has turned normally level-headed, sane bitcoiners into hysterical hypochondriacs with a touch of authoritarianism.

One side advocates for mask mandates and quarantines, while the other side hosts superspreader parties in brazen mockery.

I’ve seen public shaming, baseless virtue signaling, shameless moral superiority, and even appeals to law enforcement to arrest offending opponents.

Each side parrots the party line, taking cues from their respective authority figures, and using language they just learned a week ago as if they’ve been experts all along.

I’ve spent countless hours sifting through the noise, doing my best to fairly consider each argument. My perspective is this: Filters are like wearing a mask when you walk through a restaurant, only to take it off when you sit down. Masks don’t stop the virus, but if it makes you feel better, then go for it.

However, there’s a wave of mass hysteria spreading, where reason and thoughtfulness has been overcome by a fever of existential crisis. And as it was during Covid, this lockdown-style reaction is way worse than the disease you’re fighting.

Bitcoin will be just fine. It is healthy, fit, strong, and has a great immune system. The best thing you can do is get some fresh air and some exercise. This is not an existential threat in any way, and we shouldn’t treat it that way.

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Discussion

DireMunchkin 3mo ago 💬 3

Oof, that's a really bad take. If anything core and CDC both have the same authoritarian "trust the experts" attitude. It's a good analogy, applied inversely to how you just did. 🙄

Bitcoin is money, not a file sharing system. The only people who disagree with this are shitcoiners. They are the only people stupid, venal and high time preference enough to use the best money of all time to trade bored apes or some equally or more retarded use.

To actively enable this sort of degeneracy *completely* discredits the current core maintainers. Fortunately Knots already is 25% of the node count, so we are well on the way to making them obsolete anyway.

The only thing I agree with here is that Bitcoin has a strong immune system. It starts at a cultural level, by me calling you a clown on nostr.

nostr:nevent1qvzqqqqqqypzph5g2qql43a2kx3p57fmz57z3hw95722sx8mf7ultmvfcves9a7cqqsdr2ka0qhv3jwqz8qrdxxf7x4jy2wup8uq0svsgk35ug08tntn93s0q9r8f

JasonC 3mo ago

Accurate take sir

CarteBlanche 3mo ago

I hope you’re right. 🙏

BTC_P2P 3mo ago

Correct.

limitlesslaurel 3mo ago

👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

jgbtc 3mo ago

There's some wisdom here but from what I've seen core is acting exactly the same as "the experts" (Fauci et al.) even with such manipulation tactics like publishing a letter signed by all the supposed experts to give the impression that there's unanimous agreement. Also they frequently resort to open contempt, ad hominim attacks, and questioning the intelligence of knots users, which to me echos strongly the way skeptical "anti-vaxxers" were treated by the establishment and media (social and mainstream) during COVID.

I appreciate an alternative take on COVID parralles though. The point about knots users being like the the pro-mask crowd is well taken, even though during COVID I thought masks were stupid. I suspect we disagree on the effectiveness of the datacarriersize limit on spam while we agree on the ineffectiveness of mask wearing. Also I agree with you completely on your last paragraph.

nicodemus 3mo ago

Well said.

For those that aren’t aware, fees are the immune system.

JasonC 3mo ago

Exactly

JasonC 3mo ago

And fees secure the network

nicodemus 3mo ago

To be pedantic, they help secure transactional *behavior*. The network is still secured via consensus. The fees operate as a sort of dynamic consensus, like your own white blood cells, hunting down bad behavior and causing them to become very expensive.

But bad behavior, like an infection, still affects the network. And it can leave a permanent mark (scar) in the form of unspendable utxos and larger historical blocks (either as OP_RETURN, witness, or other data).

And like an infection, whatever doesn’t kill the host will make it stronger.

Ben Justman🍷 3mo ago

🤝

Tommy "The Purchase" 3mo ago

I'll go to sleep with an ounce of gold under my pillow, wake me up when the storm is over.

Oshi (推し) 3mo ago

Yes 🫡

History doesn’t repeat exactly, but it rhymes.

I think the biggest thing about the spam on chain is the CSAM.

Rich Nost 3mo ago

The aupposed grown-ups in the room arent doing much to improce the situation. Core's politicking hasn't gotten any better than the Dragon's Den days of the blocksize war. They need to grow up and manage the product.

Trey 3mo ago

I agree that it could have been handled better

nicnym 3mo ago

Core is the one mandating changes.

The power of the state in covid is comparable to the “power” or privilege of owning the Bitcoin core repo on GitHub.

Those in authority are fundamentally different from those who protest.

Neigsndoig IQ 120 3mo ago

I stay out of that false dichotomy garbage, though I'd rather maybe Core 28, and keep the default OP_RETURN limit if I were to run a node (good chance I can't though).

Trey 3mo ago

Can’t run a node? Why not?

Neigsndoig IQ 120 3mo ago

Technical limitations outside of my control.

jtown 3mo ago

Trash analogy. Core would be the mask and shutdown crowd attempting to force thier will on individual actors who didn't agree to participate.

I simply don't want CP, shitcoins, and monkey NFTs on my node.

At this point I would love to see a hard fork.

Trey 3mo ago

It’s your node, so you can do whatever you want on it!

BTW, I called out bad faith from both sides in the OP, but only one have I seen tagging the FBI on X … that shit is shameful.

jtown 3mo ago

Fill me in on that. Who's tagging the feds?

Trey 3mo ago

If I come across it again, I’ll post it in this thread. Should have bookmarked it. Seen more than once unfortunately

DRE 3mo ago

You can’t do anything after it’s added on the chain

Is your takeaway really “people are free to run a node and host child porn in a more easily viewable format if they want”

What is shameful is the gaslighting about what will inevitably happen.

Get real about the risks, man.

Trey 3mo ago

> You can’t do anything after it’s added to the chain

Yeah, no shit. So are you planning to host it in blocks on your node?

Or are you going to advocate for a fork? Otherwise this is purely performative.

DRE 3mo ago

Well the way you talk about “you can do anything you want with your node” made it seem like you didn’t understand what is going on.

The plan is not to host CSAM in a manner that removes my ability to claim plausible deniability. How? By lobbying CORE not to implement the changes that would enable it.

A fork is not needed as evidence by the fact it can’t be done right now. It’s “performative” if you don’t understand the actual arguments.

jtown 3mo ago

If Core releases v30 and 5-10% of nodes upgrade and CSAM starting getting in chain.

How does that not morally corrupt all individuals running any other bitcoin node implementation?

I personally would unplug my node and Im guessing many others would as well. Less people would be willing to spin up nodes and over time bitcoin might not be so decentralized.

Rather than unplug my node in the future I'd rather just advocate for a hard fork now.

DRE 3mo ago

Exactly

A fork is not necessary if that change is not put into effect. But if it is then a fork may be in the picture. Hard to predict the future. This change makes no sense when viewed from an adversarial pov

Trey 3mo ago

Just prune your nodes and turn off relay.

By your logic, it only takes 1. So unless you can get a soft fork that eliminates it at consensus, then this “threat” will always be there.

DRE 3mo ago

Pruning defeats the purpose of running a full node. That’s not a solution that makes the network stronger.

“Your arm hurts? Just cut it off”

That threat is not there right now. There is already CSAM on the chain BUT because of how it is stored WE can credibly claim plausible deniability. If and when v30 comes out that will change.

Yes, all it takes is one image or video stored in such a way that plausible deniability cannot be claimed to spoil the apple. Do you get now why the loud voices on X?

Trey 3mo ago

> The purpose of running a full node

… is to verify independently the BTC that you receive.

You don’t need the chain stored to do that. If you want to “solve the problem”, you need to find a way to prevent it from getting onto your node, which can only happen at the consensus level, if at all.

jtown 3mo ago

A million pruned nodes and one full node is not a decentralized network.

DRE 3mo ago

👆🏼

jtown 3mo ago

How does this not boil down to: allowing unnecessary shitcoiner bullshit on bitcoin while potentially sacrificing the long term decentralized nature of this protocol?

DRE 3mo ago

That’s not the only purpose, but even if we go with that rudimentary understanding, it still makes no sense to constantly prune your node every time illegal content makes it on the chain. Is this really good for the network? What are we even doing at that point.

Or, hear me out… we just don’t make the change that makes this risk possible.

Crazy, I know

Trey 3mo ago

You are literally doing that with your node. That is what you control.

This argument applies to many other illegal or illicit things as well BTW. Money laundering, terrorist financing, OFAC lists, child trafficking, etc etc.

But again, none of that matters bc you can control what you run on your machine. You don’t have to ask for permission.

DRE 3mo ago

I’m not pruning my node. What’s on the chain is what I have on my node.

It doesn’t tho. Miners using OFAC’s list is not at all the same as hosting CSAM on a node.

You can’t control what ends up on the chain in any practical or real way. I’m trying not to be a dick, but I really don’t think you understand what is going on.

Happy to continue the dialogue if you address why we should make a change that would allow CSAM to be added on the chain in a manner that likely removes one’s ability to claim plausible deniability, otherwise, this is fruitless.

gojiberra 3mo ago

side note here, but what do you think Strategy, Metaplanet, SmarterWebCo do in the event of a hard fork?

i have no idea what the lightning wallets even do. does a hard fork just break a lot of apps like CashApp, Blink, Aqua, etc. i'm just thinking out loud and coming up with some questions for AI.

DRE 3mo ago

They will side with whichever chain is accepted by regulators and governments of course. They don’t want to go to jail.

Unless Governments only make it legal for only corporations to run nodes, or they make them or their custodians connect to the government node.

Isn’t it great??

gojiberra 3mo ago

yeah, they would have to accept whichever was approved. sell the opposite one. that would cause a massive sell off in whichever chain Strategy dumps :-D . I think it was Jamie Dimon who said "of course you can make more than 21 million bitcoin" and he's right!

or maybe they could spin off the company with the other chain. like Strategy El Salvador with noderunner edition wherever it was legal.

to me it's clear it's an ultimate way to capture bitcoin between banks and nations. if node runners can't pay compliance and legal departments , they will have to turn off. it centralizes the control of the network into the hands of a few mining companies and banks.

in that world, bitcoin would remain a fair ledger between countries but within the country, it will be available only to the wealthy who can afford special custody loopholes, etc. the rest of us will be stuck with inflating CBDCs.

unless there's a whole raft of bitcoiners who just sell the spammy one and keep the one that can be ethically/legally decentralized.

in that case, it would really punish the parties trying to centralize. A self-rugpull.

Trey 3mo ago

> that removes one’s ability to claim plausible deniability

This is doing a lot of work here

But we obviously have a very different sense of the risks to bitcoin in this instance. Luckily, you can set your own non-consensus rules and not worry about what anyone else is doing.

DRE 3mo ago

It’s not, that is the risk. I never said it would for sure happen or that it would happen right away. But anyone being honest with themselves can see how hosting child abuse material on their home server in a way that is easily viewable is probably not a risk worth taking. And for what? You haven’t addressed the great and necessary benefit we are getting for taking this very real risk which has already taken place on other chains when they expanded to 100kb……

Yes, that much is clear.

You don’t seem to understand that once the nasty content is on the blockchain you can’t just remove it from your node. It’s baked in the cake.

Jehu 3mo ago

Agreed:

"The best thing you can do is get some fresh air and some exercise."

Also go anti authority and run Knots the way you want to without asking permission - but only if you want to!

Trey 3mo ago

Sure thing!

Henny B 3mo ago

And like civid this isn't organic, it's more than likely manufactured by the ruling elite.

Look at the Tea Party and Occupy Wall St movement's for past reference and evidence. Anything that threatens their power structure and control they will infiltrate.

If feel there are many useful idiots involved here

Trey 3mo ago

There’s definitely some manufacturing and obviously there’s hysteria, but I don’t know if I’d go so far as to say it’s “by the ruling elite”

Akashi Hyogo 3mo ago

In EU the COVID crisis ended exactly the second Russia invaded Ukraine.

Probably all we need is giant bull run with fees spiking higher and all this debate will be forgotten.

scottie 3mo ago

Interesting take on it. I would say it would be better to compare the actions. I like the gain of function comparison, that is about it. I would say knots would be the people saying just go about your day like we have been, and core saying you need to wear a mask and take the shot because you don’t know what is good for you. I can see the temptation to link filters to masks, but that would be like saying people were always wearing masks before covid. Knots is no change in behavior, let me choose how to run my node. Let’s hope your fees immune system is enough to stop the crap once bitcoin catches the v30 virus.

Junghwan 3mo ago

Okay get some fresh air and run Knots cause filter works well. Mask doesn't

Fotoart 3mo ago

Everyone responds differently., but ultimately it does take action of some sort to make a change towards a healthier community. Doing nothing rarely accomplishes that.

gojiberra 3mo ago

good take

Fotoart 3mo ago

Everyone responds differently., but ultimately it does take action of some sort to make a change towards a healthier community. Doing nothing rarely accomplishes that.

Fotoart 3mo ago

Everyone responds differently., but ultimately it does take action of some sort to make a change towards a healthier community. Doing nothing rarely accomplishes that.

Fotoart 3mo ago

Everyone responds differently., but ultimately it does take action of some sort to make a change towards a healthier community. Doing nothing rarely accomplishes that. But it's ok to do nothing if one is unsure. So touch grass if that's true.