The most impressive footage I've seen from today's tornadoes

Near Harlan, Iowa

Yet another tornado

Damage reports are still coming in from Nebraska but it looks bad

Very crazy day in Nebraska today

tornado just crossed the interstate 80 Lincoln, NE

I'd be nervous if I were Phoenix, Breez, Muun, Voltage, or anyone else "who engages as a business in the transmission of .... value that substitutes for currency." If it applies to Samourai, it seems just as applicable to LSPs. Yes, this is a disaster. View quoted note →

Here's an example of painful legal analysis I like to do on my free time for some reason (I wanted to see if Samourai could actually be a "money transmitting business" as alleged). According to 31 U.S.C. § 5330(d)(1)(A)-(B) (left), the definition can apply to a "business" that both (1) "engages as a business in the transmission of ... value that substitutes for currency" and that (2) must file a report under 31 U.S.C. § 5313. But 31 U.S.C. § 5313 (right) simply says that the Treasury gets to say which "financial institution" files a report. The Treasury, I found in 31 C.F.R. § 1010.300, says that "all financial institutions," as they are defined in 31 U.S.C. 5312(a)(2), must comply with the reporting requirements of subpart C (shown below). Section 5312(a)(2), in turn, shows that a "financial institution" includes "any [] person who engages as a business in the transmission of currency, funds, or value that substitutes for currency, including any person who engages as a business in an informal money transfer system or any network of people who engage as a business in facilitating the transfer of money domestically or internationally outside of the conventional financial institutions system." See 31 U.S.C. 5312(a)(2)(R). (So 31 U.S.C. § 5330(d)(1)(A) and (B) circuitously seem to refer to the same damn thing). So this absurdly broad definition would seemingly cover Samourai (as well as all Lightning service providers and miners). Whether or not a "money transmission business" can encompass node operators or wallet providers seemingly depends on the interpretation of the term "engages as a business." If the statutory basis for the allegation cannot be attacked, I understand it must be attacked on constitutional grounds. At the very least this challenge will likely involve the First Amendment, which is its own complicated area of the law. And at this point my head hurts. I'm going to switch to reading some sci-fi for now.

I fucking hate LinkedIn

How is @SamouraiWallet a "money transmitting business" if users never surrender their private keys? How is there a "transfer" if users retain custody? Otherwise, why isn't an ISP a MTB? Or a miner? Or a node operator? Announcing new law by imprisonment is disgusting.

This is chilling.

Is there a Nostr client that allows you to tag others? I don't think you can tag on Android for Primal or Amethyst

Why, specifically, is Monero a weaker store of value than Bitcoin? FYI, "because it's not Bitcoin" is a brain dead response that indicates tribalistic feelings are being substituted for technical understanding of the underlying technologies.

Yesterday wasn't a setback. It was a step forward to the inevitable. Stay focused, but don't despair. Some of the most beautiful creations were borne under high pressure in adverse conditions.

How can Samourai Wallet be a "money transmitter" if it merely provides noncustodial software that never accepts or transmits currency? See 31 C.F.R. 1010.100(ff)(5). This could be a more egregious injustice than the Ross Ulbricht case.

Current mood

I like to be nice to opposing counsel and affectionately call disputes "our little squabbles." I do think it leads to better results. Kill them with kindness is a powerful phenomenon.

Unknown number: Hey. Me: Who's this? UN: You gave me your number at a bar a few months ago. Me: Ohhh. Hi. Yeah. I moved to, uh, DC actually since then. UN: Oh that's amazing! I'm up there all the time. Me: *plotting faking my own death*

From a doctor I know on Facebook. The extreme requirements for doctors and medical schools imposed by law is one of the reasons healthcare in this country is such a mess. We obviously need more doctors, but who would subject themselves to something like this?

Yesterday: "Miners won't get enough money to secure the network. Bitcoin is dead!" Today: "The impoverished citizens of Zamunda can't pay for coffee on-chain. Bitcoin is dead!"