“Don’t worry, we won’t share your phone number with anyone.” Don’t worry, I won’t share my phone number with you. #grownostr #privacy

Another argument against #cashu for me used to be "ugh, it's just like reimplementing the banking system on #Bitcoin!" It's not. First, cashu offers extreme privacy guarantees. Possibly even better than #Monero. (Side note: I love Monero.) Second, it's #permissionless. Third, cashu bearer tokens can be passed as data, allowing all sorts of programmable money use cases. Banking will never be any of this.

I'm more impressed by #cashu than I expected. I used to be really turned off by the tradeoff of relying on custodial mints, but: I value the high speed, low fees, and privacy benefits. (The custodian themselves has zero visibility into your activity.) Offline-capable lightning addresses is absolutely killer. As is the ease with which you can make lightning payments from a cashu wallet like Minibits. The speed with which you can start accepting lightning payments through Nostr using npub.cash is insane. It makes a lot more sense when you think of cashu as a spending wallet. Indeed it should probably warn on larger amounts (maybe it already does.) Sure, you can get rugged and lose some pocket change. But as webs of trust grow - and surface - around mints, I don't see this being a major issue. So, we'll see how this goes. 😎 #bitcoin

@vexl 😎 I'm not convinced by your reasoning for requiring phone numbers. It seems to wholly undermine the no-KYC claim, regardless of what promises you make about who can and can't see it. (And requiring an anonymous SIM to preserve privacy is a hassle.) Have you considered, eg charging 5-10k sats or something, as an alternative to providing a phone number? #bitcoin #privacy

Any #NanoGPT users out there? Can I ask a favour? They're not yet on Nostr AFAICS. Please consider using their "Suggestions and bugs" to request that they join Nostr. I've run into an issue where not having them accessible here is making me consider @Maple AI or @PayPerQ. #ssknostr #grownostr #ai

To answer my own question: @Plebchain Radio. One of the most #cypherpunk podcasts I've listened to in a while. Highly recommended. View quoted note →

Finally tried @Zapstore for the first time today. Very cool. The way an app store should be: #permissionless Powered by your social graph. Supports making direct payments to developers, with zero fees taken by the app store. Some days (most days?) using Nostr feels like living 10-20 years in the future. #grownostr

Have you ever bought or sold something for #cashu ecash? #asknostr

You could ask a broligarch for permission to speak. Or not. #grownostr

Not your keys, not your voice. #grownostr

The way to offer your customers robust #privacy is not by promising to protect their data, but by proving to them that you don’t - or even better, can’t - collect it. No accounts. No centralised servers. No pixels. No secretive, proprietary code. Allow self hosting. Accept private payment methods (like #Monero).

No I would *not* like to sign up for an account, thanks. #privacy #freedom #grownostr

Talk is cheap. So is code. Nice rant you did there. Nobody cares. Congrats on all that code you “shipped.” Nobody cares. Identifying valuable problems to solve and solving them requires much talking and much coding. So: Spend twice as much time listening as you do building. Invest more time in writing shorter, clearer messages. Quit being the devil’s advocate and start being your user’s advocate. Your customers and your community will thank you for it. #grownostr #ux

If you get value from my posts, please consider: * reposting my notes * sending me a zap * sending me #Monero (see profile for address) * following me Any of the above are greatly appreciated, and show me that I’m delivering something useful to you. Thank you! 🫡 #v4v #valueforvalue #grownostr

A great example of how to leverage network effects when building something new is the Kotlin programming language. It was a new programming language, with a clean, simple syntax, and an elegant programming model. And it’s 100% interoperable with Java. Even if you are the only person on Earth using Kotlin, you immediately get access to the most industrial strength programming tools that exist - any Java library, build tools, profiling tools, etc. - while gaining the advantages of cleanliness and simplicity offered by Kotlin. If Kotlin were an island, instead of fully interoperable by design, it would have remained a marginal curiosity. Instead it has become the preferred language for Android applications. All because it used the network effect to its own advantage, rather than fighting against it. #grownostr View quoted note →

Freedom of speech cannot be protected by law. Indeed, those who claim to protect your freedom of speech will be the first ones to take it away when you say something they don't like. Freedom of speech is an engineering problem. Only technology - open source, decentralised, supported by a strong community - can protect it. #freedom #privacy #opensource #fediverse #community

Nostr won't win by being an island paradise trying to convince others to join us doing pushups in the jungle. Nostr will win by the degree to which it can seamlessly plug into and expand the already-existing constellations of the #fediverse. Nostr will win if it offers value to you, even if you're the only person on earth who uses it. Why? Because it offers something most of that existing infrastructure can't: full data sovereignty, free speech, a platform through which to communicate ideas across multiple channels - without asking for permission to do so. Nostr will win if plugging into it immediately gives you the entire fediverse (Bluesky, Lemmy, etc.) *plus* all the insanely cool benefits that come from an open protocol driven by a relay-based architecture. It needs to leverage an existing network effect, not work against it and try to win people away from the #freedom tools they already use and enjoy, or hope they'll walk away from communities they are already part of. Am I suggesting that you, dear Nostr developer, should keep this organising principle (expand the fediverse, don't try to out-compete it) in mind when building? Yes and no. It's your time and your energy. Do what you want. But if you care deeply about expanding Nostr's reach, don't fight the network effect. Leverage it. #grownostr

What are your favourite news sources? Npubs, fediverse communities, traditional media outlets, and any other ways you stay informed. I prefer these, to cover a reasonably broad spectrum of left and right viewpoints: - FT - Economist - Guardian - Spectator - @FLASH #asknostr

Predicitions for 2026: The fragility of centralised systems (not only tech-wise, but NATO, USD reserve currency, etc.) will continue to rear its ugly head. The participants in those systems will either reconfigure themselves to decentralise, or accelerate their already rapid decline. #Bitcoin maxis will get even more wrecked this year than last. So many pinned their hopes of orange-coloured fiat riches on an orange-coloured president. That was their touch-the-stove moment. Some learned. Some didn't. Nobody cares. The market is a harsh mistress. Finally: Economic energy will continue to flow towards #freedom, #privacy, ease-of-use, low fees. #Monero merchant adoption will continue to expand. Other community-driven privacy projects will continue to grow. It will be a very bumpy ride, but we've got better tools than ever to weather the storm.

It amazes me how much money services like @Maple AI are willing to leave on the table by not accepting #Monero. Over 50% of #NanoGPT’s revenue comes from Monero, in spite of choosing their name after the currency they love most (Nano). And #Bitcoin usage continues to plummet. The market wants private, cheap, fast, easy payments. Monero listened. https://nano-gpt.com/blog/november-2025-payment-stats