pull down to refresh
We know it is custodial. But that doesn't mean people can just run off with our sats just because they are bored.
Thats exactly what it means.
I think Bitcoin's privacy is improving. For power users, they can achieve "pretty good privacy" today. But it's far from adequate and is probably all things considered one of its weakest points today.
The main problem is that most Bitcoin users engage with fully KYC'd financial services like exchanges. So even if they do self-custody, their activity is known. Lightning withdrawals and deposits from exchanges is a nice step forward. But while sending privacy in LN is strong, receiving privacy is still not great. So if you withdraw from let's say Kraken they know things about your Lightning activity and ID. Blinded paths, which should be activated in the coming year, will help address this vulnerability.
I'd recommend that Bitcoiners everywhere learn about CoinJoins as well as Lightning but mostly that they learn how to use Bitcoin without KYC. The best way to preserve your privacy is not to link your real-world ID to any Bitcoin in the first place.
how was your experience asking for grants and donations?
One thing that's great since project's inception is that we're all funded by different entities. Thus far we had: Spiral, HRF, OpenSats, Foundry, Bitmex, Galaxy. Some of the entities even allowed their employees to work on SRI.
It's tough, but back when I started doing FOSS Bitcoin 7 years ago, situation is much better. There are now so many entities that recognize good and valuable work. I would say that each and every one of us first added some proof of work, before applying for a grant.
Situation can always be better, as someone handling this side of the things for contributors of SRI, one thing that could be better is mullti-year support so that contributors don't have to worry every 6-months or 12-months if their grants will be renewed,
were there any important lessons you learned that might be useful for other FOSS builders looking for grants to support their work?
- Put in proof of work, even if it's in spare time and ensure community recognizes the value you're adding
- When writing application always ask core contribution team to validate your ideas or areas you can be useful for the project
- We need multi-year grants in this space asap, dealing with sustainability insecurities and constant renewals takes a toll on people.
Peter McCormack kills the general audience bitcoin podcasting game for the same reasons Rogan does: he doesn’t need to put himself on the same level as his guests and he’s willing to be and sound stupid in the pursuit of helping his audience learn more from his guests. He’s also not interrogating his guests or jockeying for the moral high ground. He’s trying to harmonize with them and have good time.