Subnostr

Has anyone written the definitive piece on how things like bitcoin & Nostr are not part of “web3” and why web3 isn’t really a thing, rather it’s 1 part financial bubble 1 part top down VC koolaid that mixes the worst parts of Wall St with the worst parts of Shilla-coin Valley?

Daniel Batten 2y ago

Ask chatGPT to write a white paper in the style of a bitcoin maxi for you on that subject.

Daniel Batten 2y ago

In a reversal of the previous years' mainstream media coverage, of this year's 24 article in mainstream news on Bitcoin and the environment

* 18 have been positive

* 3 neutral

* 3 negative

Here they are:

Positive articles (Bitcoin and environment): 18

https://www.forbes.com/sites/martinrivers/2022/04/03/is-bitcoin-really-that-bad-for-the-environment/?sh=2d81805a7143

https://u.today/no-bitcoin-btc-is-not-harming-environment?amp

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/bitcoin-mining-going-green-esg-analyst-says-hydro-power-emerging-as-major-source-ahead-of-coal-gas/ar-AA19jEj7

“Will Greenpeace change its mind on bitcoin now?”

https://www.globalfinancesdaily.com/will-greenpeace-change-its-mind-on-bitcoin-now-new-report/

https://www.sharecafe.com.au/2023/04/14/bitcoin-mining-set-to-turn-greener/

Technology Review - How Bitcoin mining saved a national park

https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/01/13/1066820/cryptocurrency-bitcoin-mining-congo-virunga-national-park/

Forbes – Bitcoin mining is helping stabilize grids through demand response

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemmagreen/2023/01/27/why-no-one-saw-the-success-of-demand-response-coming/?sh=73eb369c3700

Nasdaq – New Hampshire Energy Commission Pushes for Bitcoin Partnerships https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/new-hampshire-energy-commission-pushes-for-bitcoin-partnerships

Forbes (Bitcoin is helping refugees across the world) https://www.forbes.com/sites/faridanabourema/2023/02/13/regardless-of-price-bitcoin-is-a-lifeline-for-eritrean-refugees/?sh=6f9793e17636

Financial Times (mini hydro plants subsidized by Bitcoin mines in Kenya)

https://fd.nl/tech-en-innovatie/1464228/bitcoins-delven-helpt-afrikaans-platteland-te-elektrificeren

Finbold (Bitcoin mining helped avoid blackouts) https://finbold.com/bitcoin-miners-returned-enough-power-to-heat-1-5-million-homes-during-texas-blizzard/

Investing.com (Bitcoin can grow without emissions growing)

https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/energy-analyst-says-bitcoin-is-no-longer-tied-to-emissions-3008266

Market Insider (Bitcoin is now predominantly green) https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/more-than-half-of-bitcoin-mining-is-fueled-by-sustainable-power-1032112511

EFT Trends – Surprising Environmental and Grid Benefits of Bitcoin

https://www.etftrends.com/crypto-channel/bitcoin-mining-has-surprising-environmental-grid-benefits/

Axios - Bitcoin mining can clean up orphaned oil wells and reduce emissions

https://www.axios.com/2023/01/27/crypto-mining-advocate-green-abandoned-gas-wells

Litebit – Bitcoin supporting sustainable community micro-grids in rural Africa

https://www.litebit.eu/en/news/sustainable-bitcoin-mining-rural-africa

City AM – How Bitcoin can help in saving the environment

https://www.cityam.com/why-i-think-bitcoin-could-be-a-key-to-saving-the-environment/

One Green Planet – The sustainable side of bitcoin mining

https://www.onegreenplanet.org/environment/shining-light-on-the-sustainable-side-of-bitcoin-mining/

https://t.co/IqZvRiRXdO

Neutral articles (Bitcoin and environment): 3

https://www.techopedia.com/bitcoin-minings-environmental-impact-a-balanced-look-at-the-crypto-energy-controversy

bitcoin-g2c6b19be6_1920.jpg

Bitcoin Mining's Environmental Impact: A Balanced Look at the Crypto Energy Controversy

techopedia.com

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/ethereum-shanghai-update-crypto-rift

Ethereum’s Shanghai Update Opens a Rift in Crypto

Ether is finally untethering itself from mining—and driving renewed debate about bitcoin’s environmental impact.

Negative articles (Bitcoin and environment): 3

https://amycastor.com/2023/02/28/mit-tech-review-ethereum-moved-to-proof-of-stake-why-cant-bitcoin/

The Real-World Costs of the Digital Race for Bitcoin

nytimes.com

https://rmi.org/cryptocurrencys-energy-consumption-problem/

Daniel Batten 2y ago

In a reversal of the previous years' mainstream media coverage, of this year's 24 article in mainstream news on Bitcoin and the environment

* 18 have been positive

* 3 neutral

* 3 negative

Here they are:

Positive articles (Bitcoin and environment): 18

https://www.forbes.com/sites/martinrivers/2022/04/03/is-bitcoin-really-that-bad-for-the-environment/?sh=2d81805a7143

https://u.today/no-bitcoin-btc-is-not-harming-environment?amp

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/bitcoin-mining-going-green-esg-analyst-says-hydro-power-emerging-as-major-source-ahead-of-coal-gas/ar-AA19jEj7

“Will Greenpeace change its mind on bitcoin now?”

https://www.globalfinancesdaily.com/will-greenpeace-change-its-mind-on-bitcoin-now-new-report/

https://www.sharecafe.com.au/2023/04/14/bitcoin-mining-set-to-turn-greener/

Technology Review - How Bitcoin mining saved a national park

https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/01/13/1066820/cryptocurrency-bitcoin-mining-congo-virunga-national-park/

Forbes – Bitcoin mining is helping stabilize grids through demand response

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemmagreen/2023/01/27/why-no-one-saw-the-success-of-demand-response-coming/?sh=73eb369c3700

Nasdaq – New Hampshire Energy Commission Pushes for Bitcoin Partnerships https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/new-hampshire-energy-commission-pushes-for-bitcoin-partnerships

Forbes (Bitcoin is helping refugees across the world) https://www.forbes.com/sites/faridanabourema/2023/02/13/regardless-of-price-bitcoin-is-a-lifeline-for-eritrean-refugees/?sh=6f9793e17636

Financial Times (mini hydro plants subsidized by Bitcoin mines in Kenya)

https://fd.nl/tech-en-innovatie/1464228/bitcoins-delven-helpt-afrikaans-platteland-te-elektrificeren

Finbold (Bitcoin mining helped avoid blackouts) https://finbold.com/bitcoin-miners-returned-enough-power-to-heat-1-5-million-homes-during-texas-blizzard/

Investing.com (Bitcoin can grow without emissions growing)

https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/energy-analyst-says-bitcoin-is-no-longer-tied-to-emissions-3008266

Market Insider (Bitcoin is now predominantly green) https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/more-than-half-of-bitcoin-mining-is-fueled-by-sustainable-power-1032112511

EFT Trends – Surprising Environmental and Grid Benefits of Bitcoin

https://www.etftrends.com/crypto-channel/bitcoin-mining-has-surprising-environmental-grid-benefits/

Axios - Bitcoin mining can clean up orphaned oil wells and reduce emissions

https://www.axios.com/2023/01/27/crypto-mining-advocate-green-abandoned-gas-wells

Litebit – Bitcoin supporting sustainable community micro-grids in rural Africa

https://www.litebit.eu/en/news/sustainable-bitcoin-mining-rural-africa

City AM – How Bitcoin can help in saving the environment

https://www.cityam.com/why-i-think-bitcoin-could-be-a-key-to-saving-the-environment/

One Green Planet – The sustainable side of bitcoin mining

https://www.onegreenplanet.org/environment/shining-light-on-the-sustainable-side-of-bitcoin-mining/

https://t.co/IqZvRiRXdO

Neutral articles (Bitcoin and environment): 3

https://www.techopedia.com/bitcoin-minings-environmental-impact-a-balanced-look-at-the-crypto-energy-controversy

bitcoin-g2c6b19be6_1920.jpg

Bitcoin Mining's Environmental Impact: A Balanced Look at the Crypto Energy Controversy

techopedia.com

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/ethereum-shanghai-update-crypto-rift

Ethereum’s Shanghai Update Opens a Rift in Crypto

Ether is finally untethering itself from mining—and driving renewed debate about bitcoin’s environmental impact.

Negative articles (Bitcoin and environment): 3

https://amycastor.com/2023/02/28/mit-tech-review-ethereum-moved-to-proof-of-stake-why-cant-bitcoin/

The Real-World Costs of the Digital Race for Bitcoin

nytimes.com

https://rmi.org/cryptocurrencys-energy-consumption-problem/

Daniel Batten 2y ago

Bitcoin uses 56x less power than the traditional banking system

https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/cryptocurrency/articles/bitcoin-uses-50-times-less-energy-than-traditional-banking-new-study-shows/

Daniel Batten 2y ago

Another myth “bitcoin is only for tech bros”

In fact, non-Western nations are adopting Bitcoin faster than the West.

In India, women outside the main cities make up 65% adoption on one of the top digital asset trading platforms in India

“Lucknow to Ludhiana, small-town women are entering crypto world, leaving behind tech bros

Women from Tier-II and Tier-III cities contribute 65% of the total signup on WazirX trading platform. “

https://theprint.in/the-fineprint/lucknow-to-ludhiana-indian-women-arent-leaving-cryptocurrency-to-tech-bros-men-in-suits/1162282/

Daniel Batten 2y ago

No Bitcoin is not considered “haram” in Islamic culture (another myth)

It is regarded as a grey area and an area of intense Islamic scholarship right now, including machine learning. The provisional results are below:

https://theprint.in/business/is-your-cryptocurrency-halal-or-haram-an-arab-researcher-might-have-the-answer/1352575/

“The machine-learning system designed to help Islamic investors make Sharia-compliant decisions is called ‘Crypto-Halal’.

The research paper says the system currently has a dataset of 106 cryptocurrencies, of which 56 have been classified as halal and 50 as haram.

Among the major cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin come under the halal category, while Shiba Inu (SHIB) token, Alpha, and PancakeSwap (CAKE) are labelled haram.”

Replying to

Daniel Batten

New addresses with a balance over $1

ETH: 10,994,154 addresses. 18.7% increase

BTC: 3602162 addresses.

9.4% increase

Daniel Batten 2y ago

Figures represent new addresses since oct 13

Replying to

Daniel Batten

4 charts. Scroll left to view.

Daniel Batten 2y ago

New addresses with a balance over $1

ETH: 10,994,154 addresses. 18.7% increase

BTC: 3602162 addresses.

9.4% increase

Replying to

Daniel Batten

Hi Brad

Just pulled some charts for you

Enjoy

Daniel Batten 2y ago

4 charts. Scroll left to view.

Replying to

Brad Mills

Can someone with a glass node subscription tell me how many unique users have been added to Bitcoin vs Ethereum over the last 6 months?

Daniel Batten 2y ago

Hi Brad

Just pulled some charts for you

Enjoy

Daniel Batten 2y ago

Here’s a good summary of the major flaws in our favorite hit piece that is helping educate people, expose NYT for what it is, and bring Bitcoiners together.

https://bitcoinist.com/ny-times-attacks-bitcoin-piece-misinformation/amp/

Replying to

Brad Mills

I love it, I would just remove the “and crypto” bits

Daniel Batten 2y ago

Yeah, i hear you!

I kinda had to do that to be in integrity with the chart on the post because it was on “crypto adoption” (couldn’t find one on nation by nation bitcoin adoption)

Thanks for engaging with some of the more ignorant replies! Hope it didn’t spoil your mood for the day too much 🤣

Daniel Batten 2y ago

This post on Bitcoin just passed 100,000 views and mostly positive comments

*I have very few followers on LI - hardly use it til now, but it is proving a good way to reach precoiners

~~~~~

My first assessment of Bitcoin was "Speculative asset that does nothing useful but uses lots of energy."

Sound familiar?

What I learnt was that it was only my ignorance, arrogance and inability to imagine the lives of others living outside the West that had me believe this.

The reality is that Bitcoin is in the same pantheon as the smartphone and the Internet itself in terms of its utility. But unlike its predecessors, it helps people in the global South first - the West last.

That's probably why most people (like me) in the West initially fail to see its utility TO THEM, and therefore assume it has no utility TO ANYONE.

Bitcoin analyst Willy Woo estimates there are 100Million+ users of Bitcoin, rising exponentially. Here's a demographic snapshot of who they are and why they use it:

There are 1.2Billion people who are unbanked - 57% of them are women, 90% are people of color.

There are 4Billion people living under autocratic or semi-autocratic regimes, where the financial system can be used against them (eg: state freezing of bank accounts, censoring and surveillance of how you spend money)

There are 8.1M adult women in Afghanistan who are prohibited by law from opening a bank account, starting a business or receiving an income because of their gender

There are >300M people who's economies are experiencing hyperinflation (including Turkey, Lebanon, Argentina, Venezuela)

These are the people who see the utility of Bitcoin first. Not us in the West who take for granted our privilege, human rights, functioning banking system, 99%+ access to banking, and relatively low inflation.

You may be thinking "so what - how does Bitcoin help these people?"

It helps the unbanked, because you don't need a bank. A feature-phone plus some basic Bitcoin education is all you need to receive, save and pay. There's a financial revolution happening in Africa right now: the poorest in the world are leapfrogging the banking sector and going directly to Internet-native money (Bitcoin). This is why the continent of Africa is adopting Bitcoin faster than any other continent.

It helps people in autocratic regimes because they cannot be surveilled, censored, de-platformed or frozen by the State. This is why Nigeria is one of the biggest adopters of Bitcoin. It's driven by human rights activism.

It helps women in Afghanistan, because they can (and do) adopt bitcoin Lightening Wallets, which means state discrimination cannot deny them financial equity.

It helps those living with hyperinflation because it allows them to avoid 10 years of life saving being reduced to 1/2 its value inside a year.

That's why of the top 10 nations adopting Bitcoin+crypto

1. Top 2 nations are experiencing hyperinflation

2. 7 or the top 8 countries were colonised + have heavy IMF/World Bank loans

3. 8/10 are autocratic or semi-autocratic regimes

4. 7/10 from Africa, Latin America or SE Asia

To more than 1/2 the world, Bitcoin is the most useful technology in a generation.

Replying to

J.T. Woodhouse

Let’s never try anything again

Daniel Batten 2y ago

I’m a great fan of trying new things.

That’s why I’ve been investing in technologies for 20 years and spending the last 10 trying to improve the success rates of the companies who create them.

Daniel Batten 2y ago

I know of no industry that enshrines the profligate squandering of the human potential into its core business model like Venture Capitalism

Inbuilt is the assumption that 80% of companies will fail.

Every nuance of the Venture Capital business is baked around the erroneous assumption that this is an unchangeable truth

But ever since the ‘80s we have also known that 65% of these failures are due to avoidable human-centric reasons. (Sahlman)

Yet in 70 years, we’ve done almost nothing as a sector to try to turn that around.

This practice is failure in fiduciary duty to investors, failure in human duty to founders.

But there’s a harsher truth. Today, where 14c in every dollar goes towards climatetech - this practice is hampering our chance of bringing technologies that could reverse climate change to our planet.

Hard to fight a climate revolution when 80% of your revolutionaries die from self-inflicted wounds before their technology can make it to the battlefield.

Daniel Batten 2y ago

Just completed these calculations:

Bitcoin network now uses just under 54.0% sustainable energy.

Breakdown:

29.5% of the bitcoin network is entirely off grid. They use 84.4% sustainable energy. This is the fastest growing sector of the network.

Of the remaining 70.5% (ongrid) - one third of that is in Texas (ERCOT)

ERCOT uses 47.4% sustainable electricity

The remaining part of the network (ongrid but not ERCOT) is what Cambridge measures. They use 38.0% sustainable energy. This % doesn’t change much - however the portion of miners in this category is shrinking, which drives up sustainable energy use overall

Side note:

If Cambridge were to redo their model today without updating it for exclusions they would conclude “Bitcoin uses 38% sustainable energy”.

The major newspapers would headline “Bitcoin struggles to go sustainable” and “bitcoin mining claim to be sustainable debunked in latest report”

Daniel Batten 2y ago

without bitcoin mining it doesn’t work.

Flaring is a bad solution. It burns incompletely, is expensive and it wastes an asset.

Generator+Bitcoin mining solves that.