Facebook censored my story. I requested a review on the grounds that it didn't violate their policy and it was to bring awareness to an important issue. I'm curious to see what "based zuck" has to say. #nostr #federalreserve

GM US household debt hit an all-time record and jumped by $93 billion in Q4 2024 to a record $18 trillion. It has been driven by a $45 billion surge in credit card debt, hitting an all-time high of $1.2 trillion. Household debt as % of disposable income is 87%. Inflation is erasing the middle class. Those who don't own assets will be financially rekt by inflation over the next decade. There is simply too much Government debt that must be issued and rolled over at higher interest rates, and not enough natural demand for it. The economy can be described as: consumers + investors/savers + government = "the economy". As the government debt has grown to unsustainable levels, and orders of magnitude higher levels of money creation go to creating money for servicing that debt instead of private sector "productive loans" that flow more broadly to savers and investors... we have a problem. That's where we are now. When you don't own Bitcoin, government debt is your problem. Debt stacks up, spending new units of currency into existence, debasing your relative purchasing power and eroding your ability to pay for rent, food, and groceries. The prices don't really go up, the purchasing power of the currency goes down... because all prices are relative. This is the natural state of inflationary currency (currency regimes that manage crises by creating new units of currency and injecting them into the system). Bitcoin is highly correlated to global liquidity-- the more they print into the fiat system, the higher it gets valued... because it has a fixed supply, and value is relative. By owning Bitcoin, government debt becomes your greatest asset. Debt means more dollars. Bitcoin is essentially an insurance policy against reckless government spending. The most serious threat to Bitcoin would be a balanced budget and no deficit spending. But, let's be real.... Printer is coming. Saving anything you can in Bitcoin for the long term is the escape hatch. The current total unrealized losses on U.S. banks' balance sheets as of the first quarter of 2025 are reported to be $329 billion. Bank of America has over 100B in unrealized losses alone. What does that mean? It means they don't have your money. Because the second you deposit it in the bank, it becomes their operational capital. While the bank uses your money for its operations, you retain a legal claim on that money. The bank has a fiduciary duty to manage those funds responsibly, ensuring they can return the principal amount to you upon demand or at the agreed maturity date for time deposits. Currently, they are insolvent if all depositors demanded delivery. In practice, the money you deposit is part of the bank's operational capital, but legally and morally, it's still yours, with certain protections in place. Those protections are as follows-- The current legally mandated reserve ratio for U.S. banks is 0%. This policy has been in place since March 26, 2020, when the Federal Reserve reduced reserve requirement ratios to zero percent for all depository institutions. Have a great day. #bitcoin #DebtCrisis #nostr

#GM indeed #nostr #maha

In the year 2047, the world had seen the collapse of traditional #fiat currencies. The Great Financial Reset, as it came to be known, left economies in shambles, with nations scrambling for stability. #Bitcoin, long mocked as a digital folly, had become the bedrock of a new financial order. From its ashes, a mosaic of currencies emerged, each backed by Bitcoin, creating a complex web of trust, value, and #power. In this new world, New York City was a battleground of currencies. X, once a social media giant, had pivoted to become a financial behemoth. They issued the X-Coin, backed by their vast Bitcoin reserves, offering users a blend of digital identity and currency. Their currency was accepted in every digital transaction, from buying a coffee to securing a loan, but it came with strings attached – every purchase was a data point, enhancing X's already pervasive surveillance. Across the river, JP Morgan, having learned from past mistakes, had issued JP-Bit, a currency for the elite, with promises of stability and exclusivity. Their banking halls were palaces of marble and steel, where the wealthy could transact without the prying eyes of the digital world, but trust was their currency – one misstep, one rumor of insolvency, and their JP-Bit could plummet in value. #Strategy, formerly known as #MicroStrategy and now led by Michael Saylor, had launched the Saylor Standard, a currency deeply integrated with their business analytics and intelligence tools. This currency was not just a means of transaction but a gateway to advanced data insights, where holders could leverage their Saylor Standard for predictive analytics, financial forecasting, and strategic market positioning. However, navigating this currency required a deep understanding of both finance and data science, making it a tool for those with the knowledge to wield it effectively. El Salvador, a pioneer in Bitcoin adoption, now floated the Salvadoran Satoshi, which was community-driven and backed by the country's geothermal energy Bitcoin mining operations. It was the people's currency, but its volatility made it a risky choice for everyday transactions, leading to a dual economy where barter was not uncommon. The city buzzed with the clatter of these competing #currencies, each with its own ecosystem of trust, technology, and regulation. #Trust was no longer an implicit promise by governments but a commodity negotiated daily. Transactions were complex; a simple meal could involve converting from one currency to another, with each conversion layer adding fees, risks, and data collection. Amidst this chaos, crime thrived. Black markets emerged where people traded in Bitcoin directly, avoiding the surveillance and conversion rates of private currencies. However, this was a double-edged sword; while it offered freedom, it also exposed users to scams and theft without recourse from any central authority. Our protagonist, Maya, a hacker turned financial consultant, navigated this world with a mix of tech-savvy and street smarts. She worked for those who could afford her services, decrypting the layers of currency protocols to find the best rates and safest transactions. But her real passion was in the shadows, where she maintained a network of underground servers running open-source protocols. These servers were the heart of an underground economy where Bitcoin and #nostr - a #decentralized communication #protocol - were king. Here, the elite communicated without oversight, trading ideas, assets, and influence with Bitcoin as the silent currency, unburdened by the volatility and surveillance of private currencies. However, this elite circle was small, and the majority, the plebeians, were stuck in a world where every transaction was a gamble, every piece of data sold for the illusion of convenience. Maya knew the system was flawed, not just in its execution but in its very design. As she sat in her loft, overlooking a city divided by digital borders, Maya reflected on the lessons of this new era. The monetization of Bitcoin had indeed shifted power, but it had also fragmented society further. The forward-looking approach to Bitcoin's potential had been realized, but at what cost? The #nation-#state had lost its #monopoly on money, fractional reserve banking had transformed into something unrecognizable, and trust had become a new form of capital, concentrated in the hands of those who could navigate or manipulate the #system. #IsThisWhatYouWant? #DigitalAssets #Crypto #Bitcoin #fiction #scifi

idk why so few of "the elite" are into #Bitcoin... don't they know it's only sixteen years old?

hey #nostr, What is the best way to share audio on nostr? I'm putting some of my poems over beats and I'm looking into to putting them on Wavlake. they're in mp3 format now, and I'd love an easy solution to host them somewhere and embed that into a note. any suggestions are appreciated! #music

GM stay stoic stack sats this too shall pass #bitcoin #nostr

A lot of #Bitcoiners went through a #shitcoin phase before understanding the absolutely mind-shattering #consciousness-bending mathematical Marvel that is absolute #scarcity, and it's potentially catastrophic game theoretic imposition into global #markets. Many people are afraid of adversarial thinking, lack knowledge of how markets price, do not understand #cryptography or it's power and significance to all of our modern infrastructure, cannot fathom anything but #currency as money, lack the knowledge of the last sixteen years of Bitcoin's journey, don't see #Bitcoin as money, think Bitcoin can't be currency, and believe that it will fail. But you know better. That's why you're buying the top forever. You recognize there is one global energy currency that can't be co-opted easily... and that everything else "crypto" isn't worth your time. And that's fantastic. However, The President of the United States is in a shitcoin phase. He is obviously highly intelligent, else he would not be where he is. I think that people have a duty, especially if they have intimate access with this man, to try to help him understand the precipice upon which we now stand. #America can claim the Second Great American Revolution for itself and the world, and lead us to a kardashev type 1 civilization. We can change history. We can liberate the masses. We can bring a global mutual sum game to the default "Norm" of civilization's base layer, replacing a long-forsaken system built on theft and extortion, catapulting us into a new age of #prosperity that is mutually guaranteed due to aligned incentives. We can also watch in horror as grifters and rent seekers try to muddy the waters. If we establish a United States shitcoin Reserve, and allow unregistered securities operators to rug pull the United States economy, it could be devastating for most people And create a very slippery slope to degenerate things that I'd rather not even consider. I'd like to think that we're better than this. I'd like to think that we can take this opportunity that Satoshi gave us, and make the world a better place. And I hope you do too. Thanks to people like @calle @MartyBent @gladstein @ODELL @jack mallers @Gigi @Jameson Lopp @Lyn Alden @preston and countless unnamed, I found my way out of the shitcoin waters years ago. I hope that together, as a community, everyone who sees the #radical potential of Bitcoin to change the world away from evil and towards the forces of #good... don't let that fire burn out. We must carry and wave this torch and light the way such that generations yet to come retain their Liberty. It is a call larger than any one of us. May you heed it with grace. Tempora mutantur. #nostr #bitcoin #revolution

Grok is the only reason I still use X and pay for premium. Does anyone have recommendations for a comparable, preferably free or under $15/mo option one might use if they wanted to divest from X? Thanks for any suggestions 🙏 #nostr #ai #machinelearning #bitcoin adjacent

A free world needs private money. Period. The entire financial system we have today is permission-based, censorable, and has many single points of failure. In other words, it is built upon trust (which can be betrayed). Bitcoin provides a permission-less parallel system for any individual to build on top of, and Bitcoiners are making privacy in the digital age a reality. Cashu (currently being built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain, and inter-operable with the Bitcoin Lightning network) is one of the most consequential technological developments of my lifetime. The revolution that is currently taking place thanks to Bitcoin is only possible because of over 40 years of brave individuals that believed in building freedom tools without permission even in the face of adversity. David Chaum is often celebrated as a pioneer in the realm of digital privacy, particularly through his invention of "blind signatures" in the 1980s. His work laid the groundwork for digital cash systems that could offer the privacy of physical currency. Chaum's concept of Chaumian mints was designed to allow for anonymous transactions where the identity of the payer is concealed from the issuer of the digital currency. This idea materialized into the eCash system through his company DigiCash, although it struggled with market adoption due to its centralized nature and the technological limitations of the time. In the 1990s, David Chaum's vision of Chaumian e-cash came close to becoming a widespread reality, particularly through his company DigiCash, which introduced eCash. The system was designed to mimic physical cash's privacy and security features, using cryptographic protocols like blind signatures to ensure anonymity in transactions. One of the most promising opportunities for eCash was a potential partnership with Microsoft. Bill Gates expressed interest in integrating eCash into every copy of Windows 95, which could have dramatically increased its adoption. Microsoft reportedly offered around $100 million for the technology, an offer that, if accepted, could have made eCash a standard digital payment method across a vast user base. However, the deal fell through because Chaum demanded $1 or $2 per sold copy of Windows 95, a condition Microsoft found too costly. This negotiation breakdown was a significant blow to eCash's prospects, as integration with Windows 95 could have provided the infrastructure and user base necessary for mainstream acceptance. Despite this and other potential partnerships with banks and companies like Visa and Netscape, DigiCash failed to secure the necessary traction. The absence of widespread merchant adoption and consumer usage, combined with Chaum's insistence on maintaining high privacy standards which might have limited commercial appeal, led to DigiCash's eventual bankruptcy in 1998. While Chaumian e-cash was previously on the brink of becoming a reality, the Microsoft partnership's failure was a critical juncture that significantly impacted its potential success in the 1990s. Today, Chaum's vision is being revitalized within the Bitcoin ecosystem through innovative projects like Cashu and Fedi. Cashu implements Chaumian e-cash on top of Bitcoin, using the Lightning Network for transactions. It enables users to transact with digital tokens that are backed by Bitcoin but maintain user privacy through blind signatures. Unlike traditional banking, where transactions can be traced, Cashu allows for mints to be run by anyone, ensuring no single entity controls the flow of money, thus preserving the privacy and immediacy of physical cash in a digital form. Meanwhile, Fedi leverages the Fedimint protocol to create a federated system of Chaumian mints, where a group of "Guardians" collectively manage the mint. This approach offers a community-based custody solution for Bitcoin, blending privacy with a form of decentralized governance. By using multi-signature wallets controlled by a federation, Fedimint reduces reliance on a single authority, enhancing security and privacy. Both Cashu and Fedi/Fedimint are bringing Chaum's dream of private, scalable digital cash into the modern era, integrating it with Bitcoin's blockchain technology to offer users the control, privacy, and accessibility akin to handling physical cash. Big thanks to @calle `and @MartyBent for all the work they're doing to make anonymous digital cash a reality.

GN tomorrow we march on. #banksy #bitcoin #art #revolution

GM from the farm. #nostr #farmstr #photography #bitcoin https://m.primal.net/NcEH.bin

At some point I decided that being an anonymous hodler wasn't enough. I feel a responsibility to connect with good people in my community and try to ever so slightly nudge them towards #Freedom. I feel the responsibility to attempt to build a #Bitcoin community where I live, inspire others to learn about it, and help prepare future generations for what is yet to come. I feel a responsibility to remind people how awesome #nostr is even though none of them give a shit, or have the slightest idea what private key cryptography is.. yet. I decided being an anonymous hodler wasn't good enough. So I planted 140x40-ft garden, with the dream that I could supply nutritious chemical free food to my community. The test garden was an absolute success. A few months later, and now my wife and I have a business plan written. Yesterday, I decided which seeds to sow. A few minutes ago, I mulched my shallots and garlic with 3 in of dry leaves because we're supposed to get half a foot of snow tomorrow. In a few days, we'll be talking to the county extension office about grants available for new farms. In a few weeks we'll be establishing an LLC. In a few months I'll be selling heritage and heirloom varieties of common vegetables, flowers , wildcrafted teas, foraged mushrooms, and more to my neighbors... and I'll have a sign that says Bitcoin preferred at the front of my farmstand. And I'll put my face behind it. And my name. And I'll be proud of it. And that's why I decided to dox myself, and let my identity be more than just "being an anonymous Bitcoiner". I am helping build the future. #bitcoin #proofofwork #photography #farmstr

It is officially cold. Lake James hath Frozen over. #farmstr #photography #nostr

I just moved my life's savings at 5:30pm on a Tuesday without leaving my bedroom, and it cost me the equivalent of 81 cents in fiat dollar cuckbucks. #bitcoin #gfy bye ledger , hello Q @Coinkite

I have been putting this off for about a month. Today, I finally got around to setting up my fully airgapped Coldcard Q with Sparrow wallet. I have been dragging my feet on ditching Ledger for too long. There is something about sending a large transaction that always makes me feel like I'm going to have a panic attack. Probably has something to do with the Bitcoin I lost in the past, before software or hardware wallets were thing... which is orders of magnitude more than I now hold. It feels good to know that my private key will never touch the internet. #soverign #bitcoin #pleb

GM It's a cold one on the farm this morning. #farmstr #photography

GN With love, from Olie. #dogstr

https://rumble.com/v2czv70-jfk-to-911-everything-is-a-rich-mans-trick-documentary.html mind-blowing to say the least

A Simple Happy Life pen on notebook paper #artstr #sketch