Posts
RFK Jr. is batshit insane, but happens to get Bitcoin
The modern Kennedy has some pretty whacko authoritarian anti-prosperity ideas, but he somehow gets why Bitcoin matters. Historically, we all know cypherpunk Bitcoin, nerd Bitcoin, lambo Bitcoin, and finance Bitcoin. Now, we’re in the age of political Bitcoin. At this early juncture in the 2024 US Presidential campaign, we’ve already had three candidates explicitly mention…
Why Bitcoin privacy matters in the real world
Avoiding financial surveillance on-chain isn’t just a paranoid pursuit. For many, it’s a matter of life and death. The early adherents of Bitcoin were drawn to the technology because it offered a digitally native monetary alternative that was decentralized, pseudonymous, and a represented a borderless value network. With that came radical on-chain transparency, a major…
The Fiat Federation Seeks Total Annihilation of Bitcoin On-Ramps
Parts of the $1 million ‘Bitcoin Balaji Bet’ and ‘Operation Chokepoint 2.0’ seem to be coming true everyday. US banks that catered to cryptocurrency exchanges and Bitcoin firms? Obliterated. Popular Bitcoin payment app used by millions of Americans? Short seller hitjob. Your ability to wire money to a crypto exchange in the UK? Denied. The second-biggest global exchange…
In Attempt to Stop CBDCs, States Are Rejecting Ostensibly Pro-Bitcoin Legislation
The backlash against the UCC’s Article 12 has led to a firestorm among politicians who believe they are rejecting CBDCs. But these reforms represent a boon to Bitcoin, protecting self-custody and giving Bitcoin legal clarity in commerce and lending. In dramatic fashion earlier this month, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem wielded her red-hot branding iron…
The US Treasury is Pinched for Cash and Wants Bitcoin Miners and Traders to Pony Up
Joe Biden’s 2024 budget wants higher taxes on Bitcoin mining firms, more IRS surveillance, and wants to ax tax-loss harvesting for crypto traders. At a staggering $31.6 trillion, the United States is the single most indebted entity in the history of Earth. Unless there are still some highly leveraged firms on Jupiter HODLing trillions in…
The Silent March of Bitcoin Policies Across US States
In this article, BPI Visiting Fellow and Consumer Choice Center Deputy Director Yaël Ossowski illuminates the evolution of state level Bitcoin policy. As legislators focus on Bitcoin, they attempt to balance policy with various entrenched interests. Because it separates state from money, Bitcoin is inherently a political animal. Bitcoiners may not want to interact with…
Nostr: a funky decentralized protocol as the ultimate Bitcoin playground
If I were to venture a guess, would you consider yourself a HODLer? For most of you, that’s probably a solid hell yes. You probably have a well-guarded stash of Bitcoin in cold storage with geographically distributed private keys, or a solid hardware signing device with your seed phrase engraved into metal and locked away.…
The Revolt of the (Bitcoin) Public
One of the most powerful books I’ve read in the past decade is likely not well-known by Bitcoiners, but it should be. Rather than yet another tome on monetary economics, timechain basics, or the history of seashells or rocks as money, this book is about control and authority. More specifically, it’s about the governing class…
They say all hell is gonna break loose, and you’re gonna need a Bitcoin
Sometimes free individuals just need a monetary alternative they don’t need to trust One of the more apt points made by Bitcoiners is that people in stable-monied nations with functioning markets and the rule of law aren’t the target market for a decentralized digital money based on proof of work. At least until this point,…
FTM4: The Davos crypto-crowd and the rise of Bitcoin maximalism
The green candles are adding up and another block has cleared the mempool. For this edition of the Fix The Money podcast, Niko and Yaël cover the latest articles from the Substack: Recent articles: Getting ‘Down and Dirty’ on the Bitcoin Lightning Network May the fireworks continue: three trends in Bitcoin that will strengthen in…