WalterSimpsonXDW

charts

*this is a good, if sobering, read. Emphasis added is mine.*

> These next few years are as existential for bitcoin as the Blocksize Wars.
> 
> Back then it was about who got to decide what bitcoin was, now it’s about what bitcoin is.
> 
> To most of us, bitcoin was always a tool for freedom - freedom to transact with who you wanted without trusting any third-party who could prevent you from doing so. But this is now a question.
> 
> While Bitcoin’s price skyrocketed, developers focused on building tools to ensure this goal was met - building a robust, stable foundation in Bitcoin Core, building out the Lightning network to enable cheaper payments with better privacy than “tell everyone everything you’re doing”, exploring (and implementing) tons of ideas for other scaling from sidechains to statechains to timeout trees to Ark to…
> 
> Sadly, all the ideas for making bitcoin (or any cryptocurrency) actually useful for transacting trend towards having some untrusted party in the flow of funds - whether its a rollup or sidechain with one or ten chain operators, mobile lightning with an LSP, a statechain operator, ASP, etc, **we just haven’t cracked building cryptocurrency payment rails without an (untrusted!) party being involved.**
> 
> With regulators cracking down and more and more participants in the bitcoin ecosystem only interested in a 21M coins limit and seeing any form of non-KYC payment rails as hostile to the value of their investment, these centralized parties are increasingly going to be targets, and over the past few months we’ve even seen proactive closures to avoid regulatory scrutiny.
> 
> While there may have been a chance at clarifying (US) regulations that an untrusted party in the flow of funds isn’t required to perform the usual slate of KYC nonsense that strangles the traditional finance world, we squandered it expending all of crypto’s political capital pushing for securities reform to ensure token issuance is (maybe) legal rather than trying to ensure people can meaningfully transact without the entire world learning what they’re doing.
> 
> Worse, with mining (pools) as centralized as ever and relatively little desire to change from from most miners, every layer of bitcoin is centralized and ripe for regulatory capture. While Sv2 or p2pool revival has a chance at improving this, the push for increased expressiveness on bitcoin and the MEVil that may come along with it may all but close the door to decentralized mining.
> 
> With where bitcoin is today its hard not to see a bleak vision of the future. Building a system that enables trustless global transacting was always going to be an uphill battle, but I always anticipated most bitcoiners would remain focused on this goal. Instead, today, the bitcoin community is focused on petty squabbles and increasingly headed for yet another civil war.
> 
> Sadly I don’t have any great solutions here. If bitcoiners want to preserve what we’ve built and fight for it **the focus needs to be on drastic improvements to default wallet privacy across the ecosystem, aggressive investment in regulatory change (and not through lobbyists focused on securities regulation for crypto token issuance), and operation of scalability solutions across the world, not just in the US.** Sadly, all of these areas are horribly underinvested in, and invested in at only a tiny fraction of the amount of energy that has gone into other areas of bitcoin.

BlueMatt: Next few years are as existential for bitcoin as the Blocksize Wars.

bitcoin

Griefing Bitcoin's Testnet

FranciscoDuranW5T

ZH comment sections are always a dumpster fire, but they go full nuclear meltdown whenever Bitcoin is mentioned. That site is infested with salty gold bugs.

As a UK citizen I can't say this interests me too much. I have some wealth locked up in pension schemes that I cannot access for a few decades, which I currently allocate to Bitcoin adjacent stocks (MSTR, miners). I guess I would prefer something like a spot ETF? Perhaps this is a stepping stone towards that.

Really though, if the UK wants to be seem as a Bitcoin-friendly hub, then it first needs to allow bitcoin.org to distribute Bitcoin Core to citizens and stop enabling CSW's nonsense. It also needs to lift the ban on Bitcoin ATMs.

Bitnodes showing large drop off of tor nodes

DevonStuartDYF

Hiking and hiking over the mountains, came into my mind a simple way to liberate yourself from the government enslavement.

Yes, you are a SLAVE, but you still do not realize it. And in this little post I will explain you how to “materialize” what really is “the government” and how to get rid of it.

Real case, I did it myself after this idea came into my mind. I took a hiking trail for at least 30-50km, for various days walking. Not rush, just normal walk, enjoying the nature, sleeping outside, eating what you carry, taking care yourself.

So, after choosing the trail, with at least 1000m elevation ramp and highest peak to be like 2000-2400m, start making your backpack. Put inside all you can carry (clothes, food, water, tools, shelter etc). But apart from that, add a simple 100-200g rock and put it into a paper, writing on each what represent as a “government service” and you are directly affected or using them: laws, rules, licences, permits, restrictions, “protections”, all things that the gov is “offering” you directly. Be sincere with yourself, don’t cheat. Make a list before collecting the rocks.

So be aware! These rocks you are not allowed to drop them on the path, these are your “burden” to carry because is “by law” obligatory (in your mind).

So start walking. In the first day, the backpack will not be so “uncomfortable” you can still carry it. But now come the nice part and remember, don’t cheat yourself, this is a life experience that we should all try it at least once.

Every time you are drinking water, you will have to throw away 10% from what you have to drink (gov tax).

Every time you will eat something, you will have to throw away 10% from what you want to eat (gov tax).

Every time you will have to sleep in your tent, you will have to sleep 10% less (gov tax on your property).

Every time you will have to put a cloth more when you are cold, you will have to wear it less 10% of the time (gov tax).

Every time you want to just sit and relax, enjoying the view, you will have to stay with 10% less time (gov tax).

So now, after few days walking, your food is less than you prepared, you are less rested, more thirsty also, so for the next days to finish your journey, you will get more and more irritable and your hiking became a nightmare. Plus on that you still have to carry all the “gov rocks” that with each hour walking are heavier and heavier.

In the last days, you will be like a mad dog, believe me, that experience it will bring your nerves to limit.

Finally you reach the summit (let’s suppose you didn’t abandoned yet) and in a final struggle, you take an important decision, asking yourself: why the hell are you carrying all those rocks? Why you keep your mind busy with just a stupid idea that “you have to carry those rocks forever”? That government is just in your mind, you are putting yourself into a slavery by consent, by yourself, in your own mind. So on that summit, you will throw away the whole stash of rocks and decide to be a sovereign individual, not depending on any of those “services” from the government. In the end this is a gov, a simple idea in people’s mind that they need those “services”.

Throw away the rocks and keep only few tools for survival. Be yourself, trust yourself, depend only on yourself and NEVER GIVE UP. The way back will be much easier and relaxing, your brain will start functioning at 100%, because now is time for survival. You have only a bottle for water, a sleeping bag and a good knife (with kindle). What represent these three elements in your real life? Food, shelter, protection/defense/tool to obtain food. This is all you need in life as for you own way back home.

Yes, your way back will not be easy. Remember, now you will not have anymore any “protection” from your lovely government, you are on your own. So be wise, think twice for each step you do. If you want back “protection”, you just have to carry again that backpack full of rocks, forever and every day more rocks.

But the most important thing is that you GET RID OF THE GOVERNMENT FROM YOUR MIND. Your path to full freedom and sovereignty just started. Now you can eat and drink and sleep all you want/can. But obtaining will be hard and in special to keep it.

There are many ways to do it (in real life) but at least this test experience will help you liberate your mind, the most “jailed” item you have.

You will be very surprised what your mind can do/think in situations like these.

Enjoy your freedom! 
[GOVERNMENT IS JUST AN ILLUSION OF POWER](https://darthcoin.substack.com/p/darth-last-words-to-luke).

The government will never "give" you freedom, no matter how much you will go on the street and "protest". [Protesting doesn't serve to anything, is useless](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tWjgFEyaOU). Is like you are a kid crying to your parents to leave you to play instead of doing homework.

STOP BEING A KID! You are a grown wo/man!

So stop asking "your gov" for giving you back your freedom. Just defend your freedom that you already have, against that evil gov that wants to fools you to give it away.

Watch:
- [The Power of Affidavit, The power of paper](https://www.bitchute.com/video/yxBfLX9POuPT/)
- [You are NOT alone! - The power of saying NO](https://www.bitchute.com/video/Dgd14YsLvHVv/)

A must read - [Living in the private](https://livingintheprivate.blogspot.com/)

Liberate yourself!

Stacker Claus is coming to.........SN

KrystalHamptonYAK

Yes please @k00b. I intend to publish 5 long-form articles (more than 4000 words each) as soon as this feature becomes available on SN. 

I am currently setting up a Substack but will delete it immediately when blogging on SN is available. 

I only have money for paying rent, bills and food until the next month. I don't have a job yet and I already spent my savings. I'm looking for a job but if I don't get one or any income by the en of the next month I will have to move and find a way to survive. This made me wonder about the financial situation of the people in this forum.

For how long could you keep your lifestyle without any income?

Bitcoin: A practical application in the hospitality industry

DianaNielsenKCI

Exploring alternatives to Reddit. I really like what I see here. :^)

AI Replacing Your Source of Income

ReginaldParker3IB

The 10% thing is long disproved cap and just plain wrong framing. Your brain is obviously being used all the time, just most of it are sub/unconscious functions like heartbeat control, regulation of bodily functions, mental processes etc. If it was running at 10% capacity you would die within minutes. There is no proof of this 90% big brain potential having been unlocked. Which is why I voted for getting plugged, of course.