Vancouver's nostr:nprofile1qqstwg3ce6m77d2876vfwxm4ew4qk5cplzrfpx7jln9qj2mf3clkazcpr3mhxue69uhkummnw3ezuenjv93hgctvd9ax2epwdejhgtcprpmhxue69uhkummnw3ezumrwwpex77re9ehhyee0hx2k4m conference makes Global News for a panel proposal of heating Kitsilano Pool with #Bitcoin miners, allowing the pool to stay open year round while also generating new revenue for the city.

https://blossom.primal.net/706fa416ce970bd76e3271b845c2e5197fbb091ba6db0115a2924bf7b8fb2a77.mp4

Epic. Thank you for all your support Jarrett👏

Nostr onboarding at nostr:nprofile1qqstwg3ce6m77d2876vfwxm4ew4qk5cplzrfpx7jln9qj2mf3clkazcpr3mhxue69uhkummnw3ezuenjv93hgctvd9ax2epwdejhgtcprpmhxue69uhkummnw3ezumrwwpex77re9ehhyee0hx2k4m led by nostr:nprofile1qqs0e6u7u423lxuq9vdlkzk2gpmhvq5mfwq7rg0yk09qk69typcv6xspp4mhxue69uhkummn9ekx7mqpzpmhxue69uhkummnw3ezumrpdejqm5k6al from nostr:nprofile1qqsraldwhvwcjgltmxwfu7kw8dqef2692yhzheuurd7k3kfy8cxjdqgpz4mhxue69uhk2er9dchxummnw3ezumrpdejqzrthwden5te0dehhxtnvdakq3dsq8x

Freedom is only a workshop away!

#learningbitcoin

Bitchatting in Vancouver, BC 🇨🇦 during the My First Bitcoin Unconference and nostr:nprofile1qqstwg3ce6m77d2876vfwxm4ew4qk5cplzrfpx7jln9qj2mf3clkazcpr3mhxue69uhkummnw3ezuenjv93hgctvd9ax2epwdejhgtcprpmhxue69uhkummnw3ezumrwwpex77re9ehhyee0hx2k4m!

2 years into my econ degree I discovered #Bitcoin.

I pulled the thread and everything unraveled. Learning about Bitcoin teaches you to ask the right questions. And along the way, it reveals how the world really works.

This is a big inspiration behind nostr:nprofile1qqstwg3ce6m77d2876vfwxm4ew4qk5cplzrfpx7jln9qj2mf3clkazcpr3mhxue69uhkummnw3ezuenjv93hgctvd9ax2epwdejhgtcprpmhxue69uhkummnw3ezumrwwpex77re9ehhyee0hx2k4m: to help others have that very same awakening.

https://bitcoinnews.com/interviews/canada-learning-bitcoin-zac-guignard/

Arsshh🔥

Thank you, Frank!

A true pinch me moment: my first ever article for #Bitcoin Magazine.

Returning from Oslo too inspired to not put pen to paper. The result is a reflection on brave dissidents, harsh repression, and the tools defending freedom at the Oslo Freedom Forum.

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/featured/the-30000-foot-view-of-the-oslo-freedom-forum

If you took the time to actually read the report, you would realize Israel is literally in it.

Sounds like you need to join us in Oslo 🇳🇴 next year!

As I stepped onto the plane leaving Oslo 🇳🇴 the weight and warmth of the last few days settled into my chest.

The Oslo Freedom Forum is not a conference. It's not a summit. It’s something harder to name. A convergence of courage, truth, and defiance that burns through the noise of the modern world and gives you no choice but to listen, feel, and act.

For the second time, I’ve walked away from OFF more convinced than ever that the tide is turning. That amid the censorship, surveillance, and state repression, something unstoppable is rising.

The Forum doesn’t trade in empty optimism. It delivers a different kind of hope: forged from lived experience, stitched together by people who have been in the dark and still chose to build the light.

The stories shared were hard. At times, devastating. But they weren’t offered for pity. They were calls to action.

You don’t leave Oslo feeling defeated. You leave reminded that truth is more powerful than propaganda, that code can protect life, and that resistance isn’t just possible, it’s already happening.

This year, there was a noticeable pulse of momentum around freedom tech. Human rights defenders from the front lines spoke not only about the oppression they face, but about the tools they’re using to push back. #Bitcoin, nostr, privacy protocols, open source AI models, and uncensorable VPNs.

These are the instruments keeping movements alive, getting money to dissidents, and protecting voices at risk. And behind every tool is a quiet builder, a pseudonymous contributor, or an open-source developer who may never take the stage but is just as much a part of the story.

Being part of the financial freedom team at HRF only deepens this sense of purpose. I couldn’t ask for a more principled, talented group of allies.

nostr:nprofile1qqs9336p4f3sctdrtft2wlqaq5upjz9azpgylhfd3dplwf005mfrr9spzamhxue69uhkummnw3ezuendwsh8w6t69e3xj7spz3mhxue69uhkummnw3ezummcw3ezuer9wct4lwjj nostr:nprofile1qqsvyc3vj9kehy8pp2qm9wn8kxdal3wkhcnvy46k68uep5mctnsnvxcpzpmhxue69uh5ummnw3ezuamfdejsz9thwden5te0v4jx2m3wdehhxarj9ekxzmny2mxsde nostr:nprofile1qqs80mykdlxkf7gpz5k26hw8wvw8eqclughq9cawn8l3gcm7tfywl8qpp3mhxue69uhkyunz9e5k7qg4waehxw309ajkgetw9ehx7um5wghxcctwvsw86hga nostr:nprofile1qqspcvwvmgnsnlrv7hds5zcgwdsnuftyd39fg3mem76734kthnfwu8qpp3mhxue69uhkyunz9e5k7qg4waehxw309ajkgetw9ehx7um5wghxcctwvsqdcd98

nostr:nprofile1qqsz9g9lps62400tjx4wg8dgtjgmrq3easktmv3dlkslxtlltsj487spz4mhxue69uhk2er9dchxummnw3ezumrpdejqzrthwden5te0dehhxtnvdakqx9fh3z nostr:nprofile1qqsrjp40qtt73860r6ptfgr0ejwgl58s499egfvlvs49zszy4u2unaqpp4mhxue69uhkummn9ekx7mqpr3mhxue69uhkummnw3ezucnfw33k76twv4ezuum0vd5kzmq3jzqf4nostr:nprofile1qqsgpq7lvzqajx6zhncsggs4ujlu39903y7dql4ywt5qr0q8jndrjdqpzamhxw309a6k6cnjv4kzumr0vdskcw358q6rstcpz9mhxw309a6k6cnjv4kr5dpcxsuz7j9w6wc nostr:nprofile1qqsrwhxpj2scvaevrzkrwm83qjzmkjh3adct7fgtzxlh4lpjy8qymmgpp3mhxue69uhkyunz9e5k7qg4waehxw309ajkgetw9ehx7um5wghxcctwvsjjpk4j

These are people who care deeply, work quietly, and show up every day to make sure those fighting for their rights and freedoms aren’t left alone.

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the scale of the problem, but being in this team reminds me that change starts by standing with those who share a vision and mission for a more free and just world.

I’m leaving with a head full of names and projects, and a heart that feels cracked open in the best way. I’m grateful for the conversations, the hard questions, the laughter over dinners, and the moments of silence that said more than any speech could.

Above all, I’m reminded that no authoritarian regime, no matter how brutal or well-funded, has ever succeeded in stamping out the human desire to be free.

Oslo is proof of that. And if you're paying attention, it's also a glimpse into what comes next.

Onwards and upwards, my friends 🧡

The Oslo Freedom Forum 🇳🇴 is a powerful reminder that #Bitcoin remains the single best tool we have at our disposal to uplift and free the billions of people still living under authoritarian rule.

Reposts drive reach. Can save your sats for future zaps, but can never go wrong with a donation to Gaza either.

Good morning, Oslo! 🇳🇴

Always great to be back for the Oslo Freedom Forum.

I think you mean Hockey 🏒

A Syrian economist is proposing the central bank removes two zeros from the Syrian pound to solve their economic crisis and remedy ongoing hyperinflation.

If the rules of your money can be changed overnight, opt out with #Bitcoin

#Bitcoin is the emancipatory revolution of our time.

HRF's first grants of 2025!

Onwards and upwards🚀👏

nostr:naddr1qppys5jx94pxjarrda5kut2yv4mx2mr0wpkk2mn594r82mny94fh2ursdae8guedxgcz65rjda4x2cm5wvk4wmmjd3j8w6tyv5kh5at0xgu8yqg4waehxw309aex2mrp0yhxgctdw4eju6t09upzpuvcn2tdwk4rs66vsu25xcnvhvmzcqey3v3qmjdw20tua7724ukpqvzqqqr4gudrnjc7

And thank you, for reading it!

Spent last week in Austin for SXSW where HRF’s Financial Freedom team came to raise awareness about CBDCs—through our CBDC Tracker booth and a panel featuring experts nostr:nprofile1qqsf4dnexgne40djtcpacafxfz6sdemlzsyhr9clm9e7q86cgksmrmqpzemhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuurjd9kkzmpwdejhgqgjwaehxw309ac82unsd3jhqct89ejhxqgdwaehxw309ahx7uewd3hkc57atyn, Charlene Fadirepo, and nostr:nprofile1qqs9qrxv2vkrq9c3mz92d5ctz8wywln2xfmss5lc4vwzhcufhqjw87qpzamhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumn0wd68ytnzv9hxgtc365dur

I left the conference with surprising insights after hundreds of conversations🧵

The Public Remains Dangerously Unaware

This was the theme of our CBDC Tracker booth, and it couldn’t have rung truer. Over 130 jurisdictions are exploring CBDCs. 3.6 billion people live under authoritarian regimes working on their own CBDCs. Yet, most people have no idea this is happening.

Out of 100 people I conversed with, I estimate less than five were familiar with CBDCs.

People generally don’t understand what CBDCs are.

Many thought CBDCs are just another form of cryptocurrency. Memecoins, Bitcoin, CBDCs. They lump them all together as some kind of “digital money.” Once we explained that CBDCs are a direct liability of a central bank — meaning you are banking directly with your central bank and by extension your government, it clicked.

Lack of understanding of the risks CBDCs pose.

A few people had heard of CBDCs but hadn’t yet fully grasped the full extent of their capabilities—such as state surveillance, programmability, censorship, and seizure—and the implications these have for transactional freedom, financial privacy, and civil liberties around the world.

Right now, people are overwhelmingly against CBDCs once they understand them.

But that could change fast. What happens when their politician of choice starts pushing CBDCs as “progress” or for “financial inclusion”? We’re on borrowed time before they get repackaged and sold to the public, at home and abroad.

Even in countries where CBDCs already exist, people are unaware.

Met a young man from Nigeria whose family back home is living under the eNaira—Nigeria’s struggling and state-controlled CBDC. He had no idea it even existed. Again, people remain dangerously unaware of CBDCs and the threats they pose, even when they’re already living under them.

The conversation would inevitably move to Bitcoin.

At first, when people asked, “What’s the alternative?” or “What’s the solution?”— I hesitated. I didn’t want to scare them off by promptly answering Bitcoin, causing them to disregard anything I had previously said. Instead, I leaned into terms like “awareness,” “open-source alternatives,” and “decentralized money.”

But as the conversation deepened, it became clear that people were hungry for more than vague responses. They wanted solutions. And Bitcoin was the answer they sought.

What surprised me was how quickly people became receptive to Bitcoin after learning about the dangers of CBDCs. With their newly equipped understanding of the risks, Bitcoin no longer felt like an abstract concept—it became a real solution, especially for those in authoritarian regimes that constantly strip away basic human rights and financial freedom.

A small, but growing group gets it.

We met some folks who already understood Bitcoin is fundamentally different from state-controlled money like CBDCs and speculative tokens that dominate the rest of the crypto space.

In fact, we probably met more “bitcoiners” than we did people who understood and were aware of CBDCs . This suggests that CBDCs remain even less understood than Bitcoin, at least in the sample we observed.

Overall, it was a successful and eye-opening week.

The conversations were enlightening, and it’s clear that while many are unaware of CBDCs, once they understand them, they see the risks. While this may sound grim, I’ve come to accept that CBDCs are effectively inevitable under most authoritarian regimes.

That means our best defense is to educate and equip individuals with the tools and resources to circumvent the top-down economic control CBDCs offer governments.

That means #Bitcoin. That means grassroots education.

This is our zero-to-one moment and the time to act is now.