HelenGreeneVW5

bitcoin

In many countries around the world, phone numbers are attached to biometrics data and personal IDs. Telecommunications companies are either government owned or are heavily regulated, privately owned monopolies who comply with most government requests for backdoors or user data.

Privacy is confused with security, when both are not synonymous, and there are major gaps in helping users understand the fundamental differences.

The dangers of metadata in messengers

Music

Closed: proposal to remove luke-jr from DNS seed list in bitcoin core

ChristinaHaasF1M

No worries. Thanks for following the snail. It motivates me to keep going.

__@_'-'

lightning

Any good competitors for Wallet of Satoshi?

EvanPotterOBL

Are you drawing lines on a chart in stacker.news? People don't tend to draw lines on charts on stacker.news.

After reading this:
> I’ll go ahead [...] and say we’ve just experienced the final low for bitcoin. 

and this:
> But now that we’ve seen the tail whip, we can know with much more certainty that the low is in, as there is now a surplus of latent energy ready to push prices higher more quickly than off a sideways churn.

I have a question: I assume you are leveraged-to-the-tits long on Bitcoin, right?

Design

Legend of the Snail | Winner Announcement | $103,129

JakeSchaefer7ER

zap-tunnel: A tool for non-custodial Lightning Addresses

BiancaHigginsSFC

Another "interesting" thing to note: where are Coinbase's, Gemini's and Binance's LN implementations?

news

Announcing Strike Black

DaltonRichJXD

I will start this novel **Cryptonomicon** by Neal Stephenson; from tomorrow. Have to finish some applications by tonight.
![](https://void.cat/d/JZJM19MVPhtdNRFwxp58fC.webp)

Managing LN wallets liquidity

JenniferRussell7H1

You are my “competitor” but I can’t help voting for you. Send my love to your princess. I’m a teacher irl n she did great!

culture

Explaining Bitcoin Mining To My Girlfriend

JakeAyersD54

https://twitter.com/bitsaga_org/status/1746911320824262781

Stripe is blackmailing me to stop selling bitcoin hardware (miners). I stood firm and now the pleb army is uprising. Unreal.

Vanguard blocking clients access to bitcoin ETFs seeing massive outflows, pressured to give in to freedom. We can pressure stripe to not deplatform businesses like myself selling simple specialised hardware (miners). Their "climate policy" (https://stripe.com/en-gb-be/climate) mentions carbon removal technologies, they don't realise the greenhouse gas mitigating potential and green energy usage/incentive of bitcoin. Is Stripe deplatforming me for selling specialised hardware even legal?

Belgian customers can no longer pay with Bancontact, by far the most popular solution in Belgium.
This sucks. I guess part of "then they fight you".

You deplatform bitcoin, we deplatform you.
We are legion.

Payment solution Stripe deplatforming accounts that sell bitcoin hardware

I'd like to perform a social experiment. It's simple: as soon as 24 hours passes without a new comment on this post, I will give the final comment 100% of the zaps this post receives (minimum 1k sats)

Will you remember to comment? Remember, the first comment gets nothing. The last comment wins.

A bitcoin experiment

In my humble opinion it's helpful to define some popular terms as they get thrown around a lot. Unless Bitcoiners, in my opinion, define terms we will never get anywhere in the Bitcoin space and *continue to live the "eternal September."* We need to be clear about *who we are and what we believe* while being communicative with others and receptive as to why Bitcoin is important and *why we are here*. This does NOT mean everyone needs to agree or be of the "same opinion"... but it does mean that *words matter* and during any important social or economic revolution (like the one today) there are competing groups with *very different goals in mind*. Without studying history, *our* history, in my opinion we are doomed to repeat it over and over... and possibly get taken advantage of.

For example, when studying English Literature or events in European History... different groups and factions present themselves again and again. Learning *how* these groups are different (for example Protestants and Catholics, Pilgrims and Puritans, Byzantines and the 'Holy Romans') and what they believe we can derive *context and clarity*. We can *learn from history*. Without *context and clarity*, however, things are absolute chaos and *we learn nothing*.

*No-one has any ideas...* (they say) *no-one knows anything...* "no-one believes anything"... and most importantly *bullshit can run rampant*. *No the Roman Catholics and Protestants were not the same*.

The Pilgrims and the Puritans were *NOT the SAME*.

Take this explanation of the differences between the "Pilgrims and the Puritans" (from English/American History): https://www.newsweek.com/whats-difference-between-pilgrim-and-puritan-397974

-----

- Pilgrims and Puritans were Protestants who differed in degree. While both followed the teaching of John Calvin, a cardinal difference distinguished one group from the other: Pilgrims were Puritans who had abandoned local parishes and formed small congregations of their own because the Church of England was not holy enough to meet their standards. They were labeled Separatists.

- The far larger group, those we know as Puritans or Nonseparating Episcopalians, reluctantly retained attachment to the English Church but were determined to cleanse it of remnants of Roman Catholicism. These Puritans remained at home during the 1620s and, through participation in Parliament, tried to prod the Stuart kings toward toleration. They failed.

-----

Now what if *instead of this albeit long-winded differentiation* between the "Pilgrims and Puritans" we just said...

- "Nah they were just all shitcoiners". 
- "Nah nobody knows nuttin" 
- "They were all just like 'wen lambo' and like 'numba go up' and like"
- "Hey they should have just STAYED in da' England"
- "Stayed in da England and ya like listened to da King" cuz they got
- "rugpulled with da NFT..."
- "I mean who knew?"
- "Coin haz dog" "XRP 2 da moon" "deploying capital..."

I mean what in the Actual Fuck? Who wants to read this? Is this our history?

Because this is what "eternal September" sounds like. And, albeit exaggerated, what the inability to *define terms* looks like.

If and when historians write the history of Bitcoin... what are they going to say?

Are they going to say:
- 1) "The Church of England was not holy enough to meet their standards. They were labeled Separatists" 

- 1) The Global Central Banks faced competition from an energy-based non-governmental money created by Satoshi... ushering in a multi-century golden age of intellectual and social enlightenment... 

or

- 2) "Coin haz dog... Trust me Bro... Funds are Safu"

Because right now Bitcoin is trending towards #2 and *we don't want to hurt anyone's feelings* so "nobody knows anything"

We don't have clear definitions. 
It's all so approximate. 
Without defining *who* or *what* we are or *what we believe in*... in my opinion we fail to differentiate ourselves from those *with whom we are very different* 

If "we" can't define US... how are the HISTORY BOOKS going to GIVE a ****?

A suggested definition:

- Bitcoiner: *A Bitcoiner is someone who believes that Bitcoin is the world's greatest money and hardest asset ever created. Full stop. It may not be the *only* money... but it is the best. Money is typically a Store of Value, Medium of Exchange, and Unit of Account and Bitcoiners want to see BTC recognized and used as such (SoV, MoE, UofA) on a widespread basis. Bitcoiners differentiate BTC from "crypto" in many ways... for example its "proof-of-work", decentralization and "immaculate conception" (the extraordinary and unique circumstances precipitating Bitcoin's creation). Bitcoiners see hard work in society as necessary and *natural* in the accumulation of Bitcoin and its use as "Money". Bitcoiners also look to further its use as money *while remaining true to decentralization and "not-your-keys-not-your-coins."* Running a node, holding private keys, and continuing education are paramount with the goal of 

[and this is important]

1) increasing the *purchasing power of BTC* and 
2) being able to "use" that BTC + purchasing power DIRECTLY as Money in the most authentic way available.

Full Stop.

ANOTHER definition: (Think PILGRIMS vs PURITANS)

- Crypto investor: A "Crypto investor" is someone who buys cryptocurrency as an 'investment', usually with fiat money, *based on the fluctuation in exchange rates.* "Crypto investors" may believe that some cryptos are 'better' than others... but they don't see *any* of them as money. *None of them are money and this is fundamental.* For example these "investors" would never think of using their "investments" to purchase things directly or to pay for goods and services. Buying things in a store, tipping an Uber driver, sending funds to a friend or co-worker... these are *not* things crypto investors *typically* do. Consequently, a crypto investor's primary goal is to *trade and bet on prices at an exchange...* FULL STOP.

- At the end of the day "Crypto Investors" want to trade their way to *more Fiat* and then "cash out". 

Full stop.

- Since the use of "crypto" (ANY crypto) as money is of little concern, crypto investors rarely run nodes, hold their own keys, and they typically use centralized exchanges in order to "cash out" and "take Profits" (when they can).

- Conversely crypto investors who don't believe (and probably *never* believed) in an asset they "own", which has "lost money", and is now "in the red" are defined as "bagholders". THE VAST MAJORITY of 'crypto investors' historically have been 'BAG HOLDERS'.

- Crypto Investor Subclass - Degen: A "degen" is a crypto trader who trades with maximum leverage. A degen would trade *absolutely anything* regardless of how risky or how little practical application the trade has:

Examples of Degen favorites:
- NFTs
- memecoins
- ICOs
- Runes
- BRC20s
- 'Inscriptions'
These are *all* highly favored by degens. If it has a 'ticker' and a chart *they'll buy it*. Needless to say, degens "love" crypto but they don't custody *any* of it themselves... and they don't care how a crypto ACTUALLY "works". A degen would sell illegal pictures of their grandmother if they thought it would score them more fiat and fast. Get rich quick 100% guaranteed (or not).


Last one (and bear with me I'm not an economist and have the LEAST to contribute):

- Central Banker: A "Central Banker" is someone who forks for, or is associated with, the leadership of a Central Bank. IE the US Fed or the European ECB. Central Bankers don't believe that money has any "real" inherent value... but instead exists solely to coordinate economic activity and worker productivity. In other words growth, employment, and prices (especially in the short term). Since fiat can be created by a Central Bank at will, with *no* energy requirements and in *infinite* quantities... to quote Neel Kashkari "there is an infinite amount of money at the Federal Reserve". 

- This is in stark contrast to Bitcoin, which is mathematically scarce and *extremely* energy-intensive. Gotta do the "work" to make it. Fiat (or Central Bank) money is also centrally controlled, and monetary policy can be changed at any time *by a small group of people*. Bitcoin, on-the-other-hand, has a monetary policy that's set, transparent, and known to all for the next 100 years, barring an overwhelming desire or need to change it by people who run nodes. IE Bitcoiners.

-------

In my humble opinion, with just a few definitions, everything is much clearer. It's not that the people reading this *don't* know, or don't care *deeply* about Bitcoin or aren't extremely knowledgeable... it's that there are *so many* who can't even provide their *own* definitions. 

Who *would have others think for them*... a 'hero' or an 'influencer'. Or some billionaire. It's not good and it's dangerous.

And it's even *worse* when those same folks start parroting:
- Don't hold your own keys
- Leave your keys on an exchange
- Don't run a node, it doesn't matter
- Never spend your Bitcoin (because it's on an exchange and you don't own it anyway and *can't* spend it!) and 
- Never transact in Bitcoin. Just buy the ETF...

Tell me this, if no-one ever transacts in the future, how are the transaction fees going to get paid with a decreasing block subsidy? If the ETFs hold all the Bitcoin and no-one runs nodes, and no-one practically speaking transacts, isn't it obvious what kind of ****show that would be?

Yet there are a *disturbing* number of conversations saying these exact things on Reddit and elsewhere.
People got on a Rickety ship hundreds of years ago to go across the ocean for what they believed... I hope future Bitcoiners show the same courage.


