melvincarvalho on Nostr: Sipa is great—he helped me many times in the early days to understand the fine ...

Sipa is great—he helped me many times in the early days to understand the fine details of Bitcoin, which fed directly into my work translating the blockchain into linked data. That work eventually evolved into the DID space, and ultimately into did:nostr. I actually bought Sipa dinner at the first Bitcoin conference we organized in Prague. It was a fantastic event.

I know quite a few of the core devs. I got Adam Back to join Bitcointalk when we were solving some of the early problems. I met him in person and we discussed linked data. I also introduced Amir to Bitcoin—he went on to create the BIP system when we were working on the first bitcoin social layer, Lorea, which sadly never took off. Amir was badly treated and stepped away, but we're still friends. I used to sit next to slush and stick at my co-working space, and they are honest guys.

I’ve met Peter Todd and thanked him for many of the important things he’s contributed. I also once said I was sorry he got caught up in the politics, and he replied: "I got into Bitcoin BECAUSE of the politics." He’s done great work like single-use seals, but I think his current campaign is a mistake. Hopefully we can have a rational, constructive debate that makes everything stronger.

Martti is obviously a legend. And Ruben Somsen is one of my favorites—he once generously gave me a ticket to an event in my own city when I couldn't afford it, and was an absolute gentleman. One of the most quietly knowledgeable people around too.

I'm a huge fan of Core. In many ways, Core is Bitcoin. It has brought us so far, without changing too much. We must do what we can to support Core—just as we support Bitcoin itself. It's important not to blame core for individual ideas, or the views of one person. But community discussion is good and healthy. Whether it becomes a brief territory of freedom or a multi-decade foundation is up to all of us.