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If everyone were a Bitcoiner, the world would be a better place.

Bitcoin's correlation with technology stocks is particularly strong when focusing on software stocks. This is evident when comparing the Bitcoin price with BlackRock's "iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF" (ticker symbol IGV). Why is this? Why do so many people and Wall Street believe that Bitcoin is just another piece of software?

Switzerland is like the Gaulish village surrounded by Roman legions. And yes, we have a magic potion: direct democracy. No capital gains tax on Bitcoin. No EU dictating our financial laws. No Lagarde telling us what money is allowed to be. Germany is now talking about abolishing the one-year holding period exemption for Bitcoin. More tax. More control. Meanwhile, Switzerland has the highest Bitcoin ownership per capita in the world. That's not a coincidence. That's what financial freedom looks like when people actually get to vote on it.

I've been mastering audio for 30 years. Two years ago I started accepting Bitcoin. Most people think that's a weird combination. It's not. Mastering is about working with the physics of sound. Not against it. You don't fight the waveform. You understand it, and you work with what's there. Bitcoin is the same thing. It doesn't ask for permission. It works with math, not with trust in institutions. I spent 30 years learning to hear what others miss. Bitcoin taught me to see what others ignore. That's why it fits.

Nobody wanted it. Until everybody did. It was the early 1990s. I was walking through Zurich when I stopped in front of Jäcklin, a music store. A guy was throwing gear into a skip. Dozens of units, one after another. I asked him what he was doing. "They just don't sell. They've been sitting here for years. Nobody wants them." I asked if I could pick two out. He shrugged. Go ahead. He was throwing them away anyway. I walked home with a Roland TB-303 Bass Line and a Roland TR-606 Drumatix. The TB-303 was designed for solo performers who needed a bass player but couldn't afford one. The TR-606 was its companion drum machine. Neither was built for art. Both were built for convenience. Jazz musicians didn't want them. Session players didn't want them. The sound was too synthetic. Too mechanical. Too unnatural. Then electronic music arrived. Suddenly, exactly that sound was what everyone was chasing. The TB-303 became one of the most iconic synthesizers in music history. Acid House. Techno. Electronic. It all started with this plain little device that nobody wanted. The sound was wrong for everything that existed. Which made it perfect for everything that came next. --- 21 million. Not one more. Why is the TB-303 worth over CHF 3,000 today? Because there are no new ones. Roland stopped production long ago. The number of units in existence shrinks every year. Whoever has one keeps it. Scarcity enforced by physics. By time. By reality. For sixteen years, there has been another technology built on this same principle. You have probably heard of it. Bitcoin. 21 million. Not one more. Never. That is not a company decision. Not an expert opinion. That is mathematics. As immutable as a law of nature. And just like the TB-303, almost nobody wanted it at first. Until suddenly everyone did. --- Don't trust, verify. I learned the hard way what it costs to not verify things yourself. Early in my career, I trusted a mentor. We were going to build a plugin company together. Centred on what he claimed was a linear-phase equalizer with no pre-ringing. Whoever could build that would fundamentally change signal processing. I invested time, money, and I convinced friends and entrepreneurs who trusted me to get involved. Then I looked more carefully. A linear-phase equalizer without pre-ringing is physically impossible. It violates the basic laws of signal processing. Not a matter of opinion. Just physics. When I confronted him, he told me to stay quiet. I hung up and immediately called every single investor. Freeze everything. The whole thing was built on a lie. The truth always comes out. In physics. And in life. What hurt most, and still does, was the strain on friendships. Something shifted that never fully straightened out. Since that day, I verify everything myself. Every claim. Every assertion. Every sound. Not because I trust nobody. Because I know what it costs when I don't. --- That is why I run my own Bitcoin full node. I verify every single transaction myself. Independent of any bank, any platform, any authority. No intermediary. No permission required. The rules are in the protocol. Mathematics, not opinion. No boss, no bank, no one to ask. Nothing there is negotiable. Bitcoin did not fascinate me because of the price. It fascinated me because it operates by the same laws as physics. --- Work with nature, not against it. This is my orientation. In music. In life. In how money works. Those who work with natural laws win. Those who fight against them lose. Frequencies do not lie. Mathematics does not lie. And a device nobody wanted becomes the most iconic synthesizer in history. Because it simply sounds the way it sounds. The truth always surfaces. --- I accept Bitcoin as payment. Not as a gimmick. Because I am convinced it makes the world better. And because lower transaction costs mean I can pass that directly on to you. Pay with Bitcoin for any seminar, 1:1 coaching, mix or master. 10% off automatically. In the shop or on invoice.

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#Bitcoin #nostr #Roland303 #music #scarcity #selfcustody #runnode #acid

Every year for two weeks, my white wisteria blooms. It's always a wonder, but it requires a lot of work. I definitely have to prune it 5 times per summer.

I run a mastering seminar for music producers. 4–5 times a year, small group, deep work. We always use WhatsApp for fast communication. Yesterday I asked the group if we should switch to Nostr instead. Nobody had heard of it. That got me thinking. Nostr is a decentralized, censorship-resistant protocol. No algorithm. No phone number required. Just a private key. It's what Bitcoin is to money. Except for communication. Is there a good group chat app built on Nostr yet? Something that could actually replace WhatsApp for a small, trusted group?

The CLARITY Act just cleared a major hurdle in the U.S. Senate Banking Committee. Here's what happened and why it matters for Bitcoin: The Senate Banking Committee passed the markup of the CLARITY Act today — the first comprehensive U.S. law to define how digital assets are classified, who regulates what (SEC vs. CFTC), and how developers, exchanges, and node operators are protected legally. Key points: — Open-source developers, wallet builders, and node operators would NOT automatically be classified as money transmitters — unless they knowingly facilitate criminal activity. This directly addresses cases like the Samourai Wallet founders, who were convicted despite never controlling user funds. — Stablecoin yields for simply holding are banned. Activity-based rewards (cashbacks, payment incentives) are allowed. Banks lost that battle — for now. — Elizabeth Warren warned the bill could bring down the entire economy in the next crypto crash. Tim Scott fired back: "Developers and entrepreneurs faced confusion and enforcement actions when the government should have set clear rules." — Polymarket puts the odds of CLARITY passing into law this year at over 70%. — After the Senate vote (needs 60 votes, so 7 Democrats), it goes back to the House, then Trump signs it. He's already said he can't wait. — If CLARITY passes, a legislative framework for the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve becomes the next fight — before the November midterms potentially flip the House back to Democrats. What does this mean for you as a Bitcoiner?

Ever had a payment declined for no good reason? Bank didn't like it. Limit reached. Whatever. Suddenly you can't access your own money. With Bitcoin, that doesn't happen. No bank. No permission required. No middlemen. Nobody can censor or freeze your payment. I built Bitcoin and Lightning payments directly into my mastering shop, and anyone who pays with Bitcoin gets 10% off. No third-party fees, no uncertainty about when the money arrives. Just: scan, pay, done. In this video I walk through exactly how it works in my shop. Step by step, QR code to confirmed invoice. The video is in German, because I'm Swiss and most of my clients are German-speaking, but the screen is self-explanatory. You'll get it.

What is the first thing you do in the morning?

Europe is building more solar and wind every year. Great. But renewables aren't baseload. Some days they produce nothing. Other days they produce way too much. Germany literally pays neighboring countries to take their surplus electricity. Why not put a Bitcoin miner under every wind turbine and next to every solar farm? Bitcoin mining is the only load that can spin up in seconds and shut down just as fast. Stranded energy doesn't have to be wasted. It can be turned into hard money. #Bitcoin #Energy #Mining #Nostr

They want to introduce taxes on cryptocurrencies in Europe, in some cases unrealized gains. What do you think about that? #bitcoin #taxes #europe

I spent the last few months building a tool I've been wishing existed for years. For myself, for my coaching clients, and now for all of you. Pre-Delay Calculator & Room Acoustics Simulator. Completely free. I receive mixes for mastering very often where the reverb is psychoacoustically broken. Early reflections that land nowhere in the depth field. Spaces that contradict each other. At that point there's only so much you can fix. This tool helps prevent the problem before it reaches you. Pass it on to your clients. Use it to show them why their reverb isn't working. Or use it yourself to visualise what's actually happening in a virtual room. What it does: - Simulate room acoustics using the Image Source Method - Visualise early reflections in 2D and 3D - Calculate RT60 via Sabine and Eyring (frequency-dependent, ISO 9613-1) - Export impulse responses in stereo and mono, ready for any DAW - Download early reflections as isolated IRs for sound design - Use it as an educational tool for students or clients All in the browser. No download, no login. I also hid an Easter egg inside the tool. Find the right combination of sound sources and listener position and something unexpected happens. go.thomwettstein.com/pre-delay-calculator Watch the video, try it out. Would love to hear what you think. Zap it if you find it useful.

What if Bitcoin fails? Do you have a plan for that? Or is that completely out of the question for you?

In Switzerland, you can buy KYC-free Bitcoin at practically every gas station.

My first note. I‘m Thom Wettstein, music producer and mastering engineer from Switzerland. Music lover and Bitcoin maximalist. One of the few mastering Studios worldwide where you can actually pay with Bitcoin via BTCPay. #introductions