“The network is a growing, ever-changing organism, and the opt-in nature of protocol upgrades will repeatedly force the question of Bitcoin’s identity upon its participants.”
“As the purchasing power of your bitcoin stack grows, your incentive to become a first-class Bitcoin citizen will grow as well. You will want to learn how to do self-custody. You will want to learn how to run your own node.”
“Money, however, isn’t always a blessing. It tends to amplify both good and bad traits. It also has the power to corrupt, and it has the potential to drive people insane. If you aren’t careful, what started as sudden riches can soon turn into a power-drunk ego trip…”
An interesting read. Thanks!
“Nostr is anything but polished, but that's part of the charm - you know there is no one scanning your content, deciding who sees what and with what "added context". Many users including myself have experienced a 10x or more increase in engagement, despite a much smaller number of people on the platform. This is of course likely due not only to the lack of an algorithm, but also to the lack of celebrities, which tend to absorb attention, leaving little for the rest of us. But for now, Nostr is for the plebs.”
Factors to consider when analysing Bitcoin and its competition:
Level of decentralisation
Longevity
Network effects
Gini coefficient
Likelihood of causing positive systemic change
Ability to withstand regulation
Mechanisms for changing the protocol
“…it is specifically during moments like the current banking crisis that extra emphasis should be placed upon self-custody. Trust in institutions that are exceptionally large, similar to Fidelity, is what has led to the fiasco seen over the last week.
So, while Fidelity is often regarded as a highly-trusted institution, it should still be noted that trusted third-parties are security holes, and that the only true way to sovereignly use bitcoin is through the holding of one’s own private keys.”
“The risks associated with fractional reserve banking combined with centralized monetary policy and volatile interest rates are on full display, meanwhile fully-backed banking solutions are seemingly actively blocked by the Fed.”
"It is now getting increasingly difficult for crypto companies to establish or sustain relationships with a U.S. bank," said Ivan Kachkovski, FX and crypto strategist at UBS.
“The power of Bitcoin is the freedom to transact in a convoluted world, its programmatic money supply and its democratized form for adoption with relatively low barriers to entry.”
“We have witnessed the systematic destruction of wealth through debasement and inflation supported by the traditional financial system, bad actors and poor policymaking for as long as we have been alive.”
How about a separate “zaptivity” tab/section featuring interactive materials from sponsors and advertisers. The preview could detail what’s required and how many sats are on offer. You can dictate what sort of content you allow and ensure there’s no activity you dislike (IP tracking). Perhaps the only thing you would want to track are the number of user interactions and zaps to help you build out your business model.
We often hear people refer to #Bitcoin as the virtual money but in fact it is the exact opposite.
We are in a world of currency that is already virtual, and Bitcoin is an attempt to devirtualize currency itself.
https://www.musclesatz.com/articles/bitcoin/the-failure-of-the-modern-economy/
“…money must return to bearer status.”
Life is not a race, it’s a stackathon.
“On its evolutionary path, humanity is destined to remove itself from its addiction and subservience to fiat money. …Bitcoin’s principles of freedom of choice and transparency will one day form a new basis for human interaction.”
“As an alternative money and payment system that has no central vulnerability, no opening hours, no CEO, no one to block an account, and is always available to everyone around the globe, Bitcoin has more relevance than ever.”
“A closed monetary system is designed to never be too late for anyone, no matter how much or little productivity they have.”
“…if Bitcoin merely survives... as little as 800,000 sats could purchase a lifestyle in the future far more luxurious than an upper-middle class lifestyle today, since bitcoin is actually reflecting the real prosperity gains of the globe.”
“A closed (monetary) system inevitably absorbs all open (productivity) systems. Money is the technology that prices everything else within its own ledger.”
“Manipulation of money constitutes the manipulation of time for all of those who are forced to work for a living. Bitcoin is simply a better system, completely separate from the whims of man, outside the grasp of the ruling class that always seems all too eager to pull the levers of control of a complex system. I save my money in bitcoin to remain outside that sphere of influence. The price I pay is fiat volatility, but in my opinion, it’s well worth the cost.”