Whenever I see statists like the ECB get upset about Bitcoin, or when I see more brazen regimes try and actually implement an all-out ban or crazy tax scheme, I turn to my favorite bit of writing anywhere on Bitcoin and remind myself that a ban is the Berlin Wall and that “fragments of any ban will one day become souvenirs of the folly”
Bitcoin is Ariadne by nostr:npub1sfhflz2msx45rfzjyf5tyj0x35pv4qtq3hh4v2jf8nhrtl79cavsl2ymqt
“Bitcoin is often framed as “competing” with fiat currency. This is true in a sense but I fear there is a rhetorical danger of invoking the wrong kind of “competition”. It is not a fight, for example. There is no conflict. Bitcoin is not trying to damage or sabotage its opponents, because it isn’t trying anything and it knows no opponents. It has no awareness whatsoever of who might oppose it or why. It is simply an alternative; an exit valve; an opt-out. It is competing only insofar as it is proving to be a far superior alternative. It is not a sword for Theseus to fight the Minotaur, but a thread to follow to exit the labyrinth. Bitcoin is Ariadne.
There will be tremendous value in normalizing this rhetoric amidst the likely growing chorus of opposition desperate to smear Bitcoin as inherently nefarious, or hostile, even. Opponents must be forced to explain what is wrong with people interacting freely, and why true goodness can only follow from coercion, in their understanding. Should those who have found a way out of the unbearable labyrinth of capital strip mining not take it? What do they owe the Minotaur?
Does anybody really believe that, having fully understood the choice they face, any individual would choose to save in a self-referentially mispriced toxic loan rather than a provably sound digital bearer asset? Or, more simply still, that they will think it makes less sense to hold money that is a pure asset than money that is literally defined as a liability? Why not opt into a financial system that is built on trustless verifiability rather than unverifiable trust?
… It is worth working through the optics of any decision to engage with Bitcoin in a truly hostile manner, because it is certainly coming. McNeill reminds us that, even some seven-hundred-or-so years ago, “the breakdown of established patterns of conduct always appears deplorable to a majority of those who witness it.” By no means do I have a utopian outlook on this subject — rather, it is something of an intellectual rite of passage to accept the nonzero utility of dystopian paranoia. Bitcoin will be banned, many times, in many places. But a ban is an open admission of practical and moral failure and is arguably the best advertisement of all. A ban is the Berlin Wall; fragments of any ban will one day become souvenirs of the folly and cruelty of repression. Bitcoin doesn’t force anybody to stay. They come, and then they stay, because they want to — because it is both practically and morally superior.”
Wonderful read …
nostr:note1qq8w40uheuwjykqmlfj3lyu4n4xwgl988ejly6cvghy5n3x69g4q4m6cgt
hey nostr:npub1qny3tkh0acurzla8x3zy4nhrjz5zd8l9sy9jys09umwng00manysew95gx, almost exactly a year ago I was one of the top 5 boosts on RHR where I shared that I completed half-marathon in under 2 hours and reached out to health conscious #bitcoiners . Of course your immediate response was "wen full marathon?"
Well, today's that day. I did it. Please repost for visibility.
Great run sir!
The only problem is this guy can only send you what’s been mined to date ! So I guys the answer was no he can’t
And the guy with #PayPal #bitcoin thinks he’s winning 🥇
nostr:note1zsek9l3kwvyqh05faeeqlxfvhpzamgl08a0vn292t0gpqlwy6u2qwkmch7
There is nothing like working with bitcoiners on projects that enable and incentivise the individual!
Imagine there was one guy out there who owned all the btc in the world (every last sat), would he be able to send all 21m btc to you tomorrow? Yes or no?
This old chestnut, it needs to inflate to get to 21 million in circulation, but yes there will only ever be 21 million and it will be deflationary as coins are lost, burned etc
It’s just seems so simple when you get this nostr:note1vz8uwr9jaux7mp0wmxnhkljsl2exh96fuw6w0jtfkc0qsck89zxsl6lrhy
It isn’t #Bitcoin if you don’t hold the keys, it’s an #IOU
nostr:note15xpzx2ephuuly8ykjm72gaqwh6sunqzxwxnnnrutp0x0y42rs4fswdxrv2
Great book enjoy! Remember these pages too. Incredible how much was predicted
CAGR ~45% is the hurdle rate. Take note if you are running a strategic reserve. Great work sir!
nostr:note15gnz0uucgyk2aw0wcth56x47ge4ynfz2dn299w6regc50gsav94qyg77mh
Don’t forget the patience
4 don’t use free, you are the product. If you do, understand incentive structures #nostr
Everyone who replies to this note will get fiat cash, please include home address, passport copy and last 7 years of bank’s statements
Jokes
Something tells me Thomas would own some #btc
Good luck