“To address the underlying cause of inflation would be outside of the Fed’s purview, since it is more of a fiscal conundrum. The government would likely have to restructure the public debt and the existing mix of taxation and spending, encourage more industrial and energy production to come online, and then leave it to the Fed to harden the currency after that point. That combination might give a decent foundation for a period of longer-term disinflationary growth, but is extremely difficult to do and is basically a non-starter politically.”
“…lawmakers generally want to reduce interest rates to quell the fiscal-driven inflation, while also avoiding the speculative attack on the currency that such negative inflation-adjusted interest rates would encourage. They want to reduce the various ways to borrow money to buy private assets, while mandating institutions to buy government debt at interest rates that are below the prevailing inflation rate, and closing the various exit doors that people turn to in order to avoid holding the devaluing currency.”
“Asset prices stagnated in 2022, which led to weak capital gains taxes in 2023, and so tax revenue suffered. Meanwhile, higher interest expense increased government spending, and thus the deficit began re-widening as interest rates went up in late 2022 and throughout 2023 so far…”
“…the message of the medium we are presently calling AI is the realization that modern institutions and technologies have been schooling people toward their own future obsolescence.
Indeed, we might go further and say that the triumph of modern institutions is that they have schooled us even to desire our own obsolescence… If we have been schooled to think that we lack basic levels of latent competence and capability, or that the cultivation of such competencies and capabilities entails too much inconvenience or risk or uncertainty, then of course, of course we will welcome and celebrate the displacement of our labor, involvement, and care.”
“The ability for AI companies to incorporate gated API access via the lightning network is going to do wonders for capital efficiency, user and company information security, extensibility, and accessibility of all involved… The market will be able to hone in on efficient pricing down to micro-pennies priced in sats.”
https://tftc.io/martys-bent/issue-1359-the-bitcoin-ai-convergence-is-upon-us/
“If Bitcoin is seen as likely to be – or even starts to be – used by AIs, then we could see two separate manias combine into one mega mania: the mania of wanting to escape inflation within the fiat financial system, and the mania of wanting to own a piece of the next phase of human + computer evolution.”
“The combination of Bitcoin monetary policy and Lightning’s transaction network is a potent one. Bitcoin has long presented itself as an alternative to a broken central banking system. But through competitive uses of its unforgivingly tight blockchain, the efficiency gained through Lightning transactions is more prescient than ever.”
“Call it selfish or exaggerated, but paying locals for their goods and services in bitcoin feels more rewarding than giving them pieces of paper that are guaranteed to lose value.”
“the government's devaluation of their populations' wealth, coupled with rampant inflation and corruption, makes bitcoin a beacon of hope and optimism.”
“The market moves in the direction of maximum opportunity.”
“Bitcoin represents the best system, where we get the benefits of trust, but without the obvious possibility for abuse.” nostr:note1ctf80x7nu5nw3fl0jy57gv5z98akycx3td0n6hkm2kupj59ra8nqheuyu5
“WERE THIS A REAL ETF, there would at least be a legal means of preventing this, and that would certainly be a good start, but technical means are even better. I would even go as far to say that over the course of writing this post, I have come to believe that non-first-party custody with the technical option of redemption onchain may be the holy grail of mass adoption — that is, defined as widespread sovereignty over UTXOs, not the price of whitelisted paper Bitcoin.
What will not lead to mass adoption is bullshit pseudo-ETFs that pave the way for Bitcoin Uncle Sam’s Vision. And what will actively harm mass adoption is financially illiterate Bitcoiners cheering on the SEC and simping for BlackRock.”
“Technicalities aside, what we are looking for is a path to third-party custody that enables as wide a base of asset ownership as possible, but prevents what I think BlackRock is up to: namely, a black hole out of which sats will never return.”
https://allenfarrington.medium.com/trust-me-bro-fb5a25964634
“Central banks and governments are now determinedly making people poorer in order to control inflation, with the promise that if they succeed, people will become more prosperous. If everyone accepts their share of poverty, we will slay the inflation demon and prosperity will return. Why anyone believes this remarkable piece of doublespeak is a mystery.”
“Through embracing Bitcoin, we can strive toward a society where people are not mere products of fiat currency but rather creators of their own destiny.”
“The fixed supply of bitcoin encourages savings and investment, fostering a culture of long-term thinking and responsible financial behavior. The decentralized nature of Bitcoin removes the dependence on centralized authorities and reduces the risk of inflationary practices, providing stability and transparency.”
“ "fiat people" — individuals with high time preferences, unhealthy lifestyles, poverty and an increasing inability to care for themselves.”
“Every repo spasm, banking crisis, debt ceiling debacle, and inflation print is a stark reminder of why bitcoin exists.”