Aaron van Wirdum

www.thegenesisbook.com

Author of The Genesis Book

Editor-in-chief at Bitcoin Magazine

Cohost of the Bitcoin, Explained podcast

Public Key

npub1art8cs66ffvnqns5zs5qa9fwlctmusj5lj38j94lv0ulw0j54wjqhpm0w5

NIP-57 Address

richcabinet09@walletofsatoshi.com

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsw34nugddy5kfsfc2pg2qwj5h0u9a7gf20egnez6lk870h8e22hfqpzemhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuurjd9kkzmpwdejhgqgnwaehxw309amk7apww468smewdahx2tc4x4pc4

Publishing to

relay.primal.net

wot.utxo.one

relay.snort.social

Author Public Key

npub1art8cs66ffvnqns5zs5qa9fwlctmusj5lj38j94lv0ulw0j54wjqhpm0w5

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Last Notes

2025-05-14 12:12:15

The debate whether Bitcoin should be viewed as a database or a cash system goes back to the release of the white paper btw.
https://www.metzdowd.com/pipermail/cryptography/2008-November/014848.html
https://image.nostr.build/a682a972c58cb81e0e6a28091088c0f25467fa5f677c470a5e65ea36715a4531.jpg
https://image.nostr.build/4a90967c74c93300bd772ea77e9ae42166ab75588130a4f7e9c0623630d8c570.jpg

2025-05-02 11:01:08

Looks like Amazon made it official :)
Ngl this is awesome to see.
amazon.com/s?k=bitcoin
https://image.nostr.build/848eabbb420d40030449257081a9b7d2b135cdd569cfa98bc2149e164945eb06.jpg

2025-04-21 08:21:08

Much like UPnP, a brand new Bitcoin, Explained episode just dropped!
On Bitcoin Core 29.0. With @npub1s6z…wk4c.
https://bitcoinexplainedpodcast.com/@nado/episodes/episode-97

2025-02-28 15:55:06

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"Never active," that seems wrong... I posted less than two weeks ago, and resposted just a few days ago.

2025-02-17 11:05:04

Hardcover for The Genesis Book is not available!
Sorry for the wai.
https://www.amazon.com/Genesis-Book-Projects-Inspired-Bitcoin/dp/B0DX6X1S34/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=

2025-02-06 17:32:00

A fresh new episode from our quadmonthly podcast is here!
https://bitcoinexplainedpodcast.com/@nado/episodes/episode-96-mining-decentralization-update

2025-02-03 18:12:59

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There is no universally accepted definition of “legal tender”. Arguably, if a country merely says a currency is legal tender, it is.
(It certainly has nothing to do with forcing people to accept it… most legal tenders aren’t forced on merchants.)
That’s why I’m curious if El Salvador explicitly said bitcoin won’t be legal tender anymore. Sounds like they didn’t say that, then?

2025-02-03 07:17:58

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I don’t think bitcoin was rescinded as legal tender? (Do you have a link to the bill or something that would state this?)

2025-02-03 07:00:46

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There isn’t really a universally agreed upon definition of “legal tender”, so if El Salvador says bitcoin is legal tender in their country, it arguably just is. Regardless of what that means in practice or the reality on the ground.
(Many people think “legal tender” means merchants are obligated to accept it in trade — as was by-the-letter-of-the-law the case for bitcoin in El Salvador — but that’s not actually the case in most countries.)

2025-01-29 17:52:30

Developer @npub1kyx…c6vv recently published research showing that F2Pool is censoring OFAC-sanctioned transactions again.
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/takes/forget-about-the-strategic-bitcoin-reserve-for-a-moment-mining-censorship-is-back

2025-01-23 07:49:06

The first translation of The Genesis Book is officially here!
Het Genesisbook (Dutch): https://bitcoinbook.shop/products/het-genesisboek?Format=Paperback

2025-01-22 03:45:25

This Take aged as badly as it could have 🎉
#nevent1q…0n9d

2025-01-21 18:17:27

Donald Trump broke his campaign promise to free Ross Ulbricht on day one of his presidency. Let's hope he follows through in the next couple of days after all.
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/takes/trump-did-not-free-ross-on-day-one-because-of-course-he-didnt

2025-01-21 16:04:58

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You liked The Genesis Files? You will love The Genesis Book! :D
https://thegenesisbook.com/

2025-01-20 18:06:41

Ross free yet?

2025-01-18 09:40:01

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Adoption will be longer? (Do you mean "take longer"?)

2025-01-18 07:52:36

Evergreen article.
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/takes/trumps-coin-is-about-as-revolutionary-as-onecoin

2025-01-17 15:26:10

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Yes!

2025-01-17 10:48:04

No offense but if you’re posting more than a few times per day here I am going to unfollow because it does clutter up my feed.
Will probably still see your best posts via reposts, anyways.

2025-01-16 05:16:17

This post got more likes on X than on Nostr. #note15gl…9rpv

2025-01-16 05:11:50

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Not sure how to do that. For now there is a Nostr link under my Take pic, at least. https://image.nostr.build/4d6d0e210119bcf934e39a90249c3a134ea727652b8eec58b29ea7695cd0a165.jpg

2025-01-15 16:28:17

You sometimes hear bitcoiners claim that “X is fiat”, where X can mean some category of food, medicine, art, whatever. I’m usually no fan of such extrapolations of supposed Bitcoin values — but here I’ll make an exception… for the actual X.
Preaching to the choir here, I know.
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/takes/x-is-fiat

2025-01-04 09:33:03

Running cashu

2025-01-03 12:45:45

Exactly one year ago I published The Genesis Book. Today, it's the highest rated Bitcoin book on sites like Amazon and Goodreads.
Really proud of that!
Thank you so much to anyone who bought, read and/or rated it!! 🙏🙏🙏
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Genesis-Book-Projects-Inspired-Bitcoin/dp/B0CQLMQRH7
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/204250558-the-genesis-book https://image.nostr.build/faefff14fda372c22438d3a5e6bf7e709ff6cb4d28e3f50680bdbe4ac820461a.jpg https://image.nostr.build/130fcd7e57edc3b9241d5817152d95b14cca315a82af9da96ec5ef9c5ee814fa.jpg https://image.nostr.build/78df84ae94c8568557b7aecd946112eb096a3c35362aae721cbc0c485becd1cd.jpg

2024-12-26 11:35:54

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Thanks Bert! 🫡
Definitely one of the best book interviews I did this year -- possibly the best.

2024-12-23 08:24:27

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The steelman version of this argument is that German voters wouldn't elect someone with such authoritarian tendencies *again*, because they've learned their lesson.
I don't buy it myself, and it's certainly too much of a risk to take... But at the same time I'd say there's at least _some_ truth to it, and I could kind of see how a reasonable person might come to this conclusion.

2024-12-22 05:17:18

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Thank you!

2024-12-19 14:38:30

In return for a loan deal with the IMF, El Salvador had to give up some of its pro-bitcoin policies. It only made the Bitcoin law better.
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/takes/the-imf-just-improved-el-salvadors-bitcoin-law

2024-12-14 11:12:23

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It's in the article but yes.

2024-12-14 04:29:50

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I don’t think I did.

2024-12-13 10:49:58

Governments and institutions buying up large amounts of bitcoin is not without risk, but there is only one thing you can do about that...
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/takes/governments-and-large-institutions-can-buy-all-the-bitcoin-they-want-except-yours

2024-12-12 05:29:15

Quite possibly this represents the voice of a more populist Democratic party in the coming years.
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/takes/gary-genslers-departure-is-no-triumph-for-bitcoin
#nevent1q…rgst

2024-12-11 18:28:43

If you listen to only one podcast this week make sure it's this one.
https://youtu.be/c1I2WsWkCrI?si=6BDR8FRzB6o3r1KA

2024-12-05 02:41:04

$100k
https://youtu.be/pID03RrmKow?si=mZ-XAwclbN7vs3Of

2024-12-03 15:53:45

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Bitcoin attracts contrarians.
A bit outdated (unfortunately) but good piece on this topic: https://read.pourteaux.xyz/p/the-dawn-and-twilight-of-the-contrarian

2024-12-03 14:29:35

I suspect we haven’t seen any Bitcoin protocol upgrades since 2021, at least in part, because the proponents of proposed soft forks aren't convinced a UASF would be successful.
And if a UASF wouldn’t be successful, maybe the upgrade is not worth doing in the first place…
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/takes/the-lack-of-soft-forks-is-due-to-a-lack-of-interest-not-a-lack-of-process

2024-12-01 12:48:05

As I said...
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/takes/aaron-trump-does-not-give-a-damn-about-bitcoin https://image.nostr.build/c913bcbccd6fa53fc6a7e54c9be357ebb8077f12c9e18cae930d1a8ffc81d9b2.jpg

2024-11-23 03:48:33

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I've been thinking since 2014 that people would have learned there lesson with altcoins. Instead here we are ten years later, and a literal memecoin created that year in response to the absurdity is getting a government agency named after it.

2024-11-22 16:42:50

As the upcoming Trump administration is gearing up to establish a regulatory landscape facilitating full-on anything-goes multicoinery, and with Gary Gensler gone, we could well see the most atrocious scam coins proliferate and soar— before they inevitably implode.
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/takes/gary-genslers-departure-is-no-triumph-for-bitcoin

2024-11-15 17:51:41

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Agreed.

2024-11-15 17:32:53

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That's all post-release so not as relevant for The Genesis Book. I think? Do you think there was something in there that should be included in a potential second edition?

2024-11-15 17:30:50

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If it makes bitcoin more useful to many people (and not any less useful for Harold), I posit that the increased demand would make bitcoin more valueable.

2024-11-15 17:10:30

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Thanks for reading it!

2024-11-15 16:57:19

In his Take from Wednesday, Shinobi argued that the surge of institutional bitcoin adoption will lead to premature ossification of the Bitcoin protocol. While I share his concern to an extent, I am less convinced this is necessarily true.
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/takes/no-blackrock-wont-necessarily-ossify-bitcoin

2024-11-13 08:31:24

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The value of land can also go up though. Eg. I'm pretty sure that a lot of land in Dubai is much more valueable today than it was 50 years ago.
But yes agreed on Georgism!

2024-11-11 10:25:43

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Stop feeding the troll?

2024-11-05 17:02:25

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Indeed.

2024-11-05 12:54:34

I don’t think Donald Trump actually changed his mind on cryptocurrency much at all since three years ago… I think he just wants in on the scam.
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/takes/trumps-coin-is-about-as-revolutionary-as-onecoin

2024-10-31 10:32:43

Probably my most controversial Take yet.
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/takes/no-today-is-not-bitcoins-birthday

2024-10-28 18:27:43

As someone who wrote a book on the origin story of Bitcoin I felt I still had to watch Money Electric— perhaps just to comment on it in a Take. Even watching it for that purpose was a waste of my time.
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/takes/money-electric-being-distracted-by-nonsense

2024-10-24 13:28:23

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/takes/the-ecb-economists-are-not-exactly-wrong-about-bitcoin-theyre-just-useless-

2024-10-23 08:51:56

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/takes/bitcoin-is-no-fait-accompli

2024-10-08 09:38:38

In Bitcoin, Explained 95, @npub1s6z…wk4c and I discuss the new Bitcoin Core 28.0 release.
👂👇
https://bitcoinexplainedpodcast.com/@nado/episodes/episode-95-bitcoin-core-v280

2024-10-03 19:47:04

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/takes/aaron-trump-does-not-give-a-damn-about-bitcoin

2024-10-01 18:44:07

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YES

2024-10-01 10:08:03

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/technical/aaron-oceans-datum-is-tackling-bitcoins-most-pressing-problem

2024-10-01 09:04:20

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Thank you!

2024-09-30 20:01:48

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AaronvanW
Does that work?

2024-09-30 15:13:08

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Hi @nprofile…mqq0, can I get a custom name please?

2024-09-30 15:12:10

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Thanks!

2024-09-30 14:56:30

Is there a way to create a link to your Nostr? (So people can easily find it, similar to linking to your Twitter feed?)

2024-08-12 16:18:10

Guess who's back.
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/author-aaron-van-wirdum-appointed-bitcoin-magazine-editor-in-chief

2024-07-29 17:22:48

The Genesis Book is now also available as audiobook!
The Genesis Audiobook, if you will. 📖🔉
https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Genesis-Book-Audiobook/B0D75HQJDB
https://image.nostr.build/9261e32eaa645220225497c67ded6600f898fbb7345c006c58def62bf49b65cd.jpg

2024-07-23 11:44:45

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Dedication 👊

2024-07-22 11:42:13

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Thank you sir!

2024-07-08 08:52:14

In Bitcoin, Explained 94, @nprofile…pvp3 and I revisit Silent Payments with BIP authors Ruben Somsen and Josie.
👂👇
https://bitcoinexplainedpodcast.com/@nado/episodes/episode-94-silent-payments-part-2

2024-06-09 22:48:05

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Thanks! 🙌

2024-05-29 15:06:31

In Bitcoin, Explained 93, @provoost and I explain the Great Consensus Cleanup Revival. (And Sjors also gives an update on the Tornado Cash and Samourai Wallet arrests.)
👂👇
https://bitcoinexplainedpodcast.com/@nado/episodes/episode-93-the-great-consensus-cleanup-revival-and-an-update-on-the-tornado-cash-and-samourai-wallet-arrests-5bbxi

2024-05-16 16:10:37

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Thank you!

2024-05-16 09:04:26

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Yeah, thanks for suggesting it @npub1jpv…qgsz! 🙌

2024-05-14 17:36:55

The phrase "and then they fight you" has been overused to the point of fatigue in this space.
But this really is it.
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/legal/developing-financial-privacy-tools-was-today-criminalized-by-the-dutch-court-

2024-05-08 14:15:08

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Looks like Junseth is also on Nostr btw: @npub1kke…7348

2024-05-08 13:38:58

Junseth back at it 👌
https://soundcloud.com/junsethsworld/interview-with-a-social-engineering?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

2024-04-27 11:50:02

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https://image.nostr.build/6db986e0fa36a08df563b89cfe9c671eb6846c9dfb36d153be9db6c7b39a19d7.jpg

2024-04-27 11:38:57

Next one...
https://image.nostr.build/91f2d7ca4a20e2238a77276d0430bc64075fee4daac23f4a3cace496b4fe691f.jpg

2024-04-27 10:46:45

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#SendTweet

2024-04-26 15:59:51

A quick non-update in case anyone is wondering...
I visited the Portugal Judiciary Police in Lisbon, but they did not want to share any more info. Perhaps they'll answer some of my questions by email at some point.
No one else seems to know (or wants to share) anything either.
#nevent1q…6qgp

2024-04-26 09:38:19

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Obviously.

2024-04-26 09:01:53

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And to everyone else's address...

2024-04-26 08:15:16

It's a bit hidden in the rhetoric, but Shinobi raises an important point in this article.
With CoinJoin, does everyone...
- send money to each other
- send money to themselves
(Technically, you can't really trace sats over the blockchain; each transaction destroys UTXOs and creates new UTXOs.)
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/legal/samourai-did-nothing-wrong-self-custodial-tools-are-not-money-transmitters

2024-04-25 22:29:52

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Looks like i did! 🤦

2024-04-25 17:14:48

Long shot, but if anyone has more information about William Hill AKA TDevD / @SamouraiDev (in particular, name/contact info of his lawyer if he has one), please let me know?
aaton@bitcoinmagazine.com
AaronvanW.71 on Signal

2024-04-21 14:07:10

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* https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/204250558-the-genesis-book

2024-04-21 14:03:58

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Same goes for those of you who rated/reviewed it on Goodreads, by the way :) Thanks a lot! 🤝 https://image.nostr.build/b265b33861b364a24b4cb2e31a966be7490314b08b572dc5c5cc57d26a0519d2.jpg

2024-04-21 10:53:54

Quick shout-out to anyone who left a rating and/or review for The Genesis Book on Amazon. You're awesome! Thank you 🙏 https://image.nostr.build/1bf0d0b2b2776a15d37315b02fdfc8c598e8603fd060e072a88bbd65c812c0c8.jpg

2024-04-19 22:13:21

Very proud to have done my part to help launch this initiative, and honoured to be a member of the genesis committee!
We'll keep running bitcoin Hal 🫡
#nevent1q…5vyx

2024-04-11 17:55:31

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I'm only in favour of upgrades that make bitcoin more valuable.

2024-04-11 17:48:07

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Well this is part of the question.
That said, the protocol in this context is how computers "speak Bitcoin' with each other. This inciudes Bitcoin's consensus rules, most notably: what makes a Bitcoin block valid. But there are other important protocol rules as well, like how transactions are sent over the network.
Basic maintance I would define as making sure the software keeps running. So this can include bug fixes, making sure the code remains compatible with other programs, etc.
This stuff isn't always black-and-white though, and to me it remains rather unclear where Saylor actually wants to draw the line in this regard. (I'd say the general sentiment of the interview however pretty strongly suggests a "just don't touch it" attitude.)

2024-04-11 13:35:02

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Thank you!

2024-04-11 10:00:35

Listened to Michael Saylor on the @npub1r8l…x5dk podcast. It's 3 months old, but sheds some light on the ARK funding story.
https://youtu.be/_QN0RcQFf6w
TL;DW: Saylor strongly believes in *OSSIFICATION NOW*. From that POV, protocol development is a liability.
Some quotes (and thoughts)👇
 "You only get to play God once. And Satoshi played God. And you can say 'well Satoshi got to do it, why can't I?' Well the answer is Satoshi did it, the reason we're talking about Satoshi is 'cause the other 100,000 would-be Satoshis failed. If you read the history of the world, work your way through 10,000 pages of Western history, there will be thousands and thousands and thousands of episodes of 'alpha male thinks he was put on this earth, you know, to change everything', full of hubris [...] he's gotta do more, change more, etcetera.'" (53:34)  "Bitcoin Core developers, or protocol developers, they want to fix something, or they want to make a contribution, because it's in their DNA, but developers are just the lawyers of cyberspace. When a lawyer shows up at the capital, they gotta make a law to save you from yourself, and the more laws they make, the more they cripple the economy, until eventually there's so many laws that the entire civilization collapses under its own weight." (58:06)  "The world is full of people that need something to do. I would say, the real key to wisdom, channel your energy constructively. If you're gonna do something, improve Lightning, build an application, persuade someone to adopt Bitcoin as a reserve asset, educate someone… these are all constructive things. Destructive, dilutive, distractive things are: fight with random people 'cause they want to fight with you, attack the core network and make it confusing and introduce anxiety, and confusion and fear, uncertainty and doubt into the base layer. Right? And then attempt to imprint your ego, you know, on the base protocol, you know? Like, 'I gotta introduce this so my name will go down in history forever'." (2:38:55)  My view: it's understandable to want Bitcoin to behave like the granite under Manhattan (his analogy); a solid bedrock that never changes. Especially if you truly believe Bitcoin will take over the world as SoV-only and "there is no second best". But IMO this is wishful thinking. While I agree it's near-impossible for an alt to overtake Bitcoin, I do think adoption could stall.
Luckily, Bitcoin isn't really a natural element. It's spontaneous order, more like language. Hard to change and no one can dictate changes, but if market wants it to change, it can.
 Furthermore, despite Stephan asking a few questions in that direction, Saylor mostly failed to distinguish between protocol upgrades and general software maintenance.
Arguing against any hard/soft forks is one thing, but Bitcoin Core 26.0 can obviously not last for centuries...
Having said that, Saylor is of course free to not upgrade anymore and stick to Bitcoin Core 26.0 for as long as he lives.

2024-04-10 08:25:34

In Bitcoin, Explained 92, @npub1s6z…wk4c and I explain what's new in the upcoming Bitcoin Core 27.0 release.
👂👇
https://bitcoinexplainedpodcast.com/@nado/episodes/episode-92-bitcoin-core-27-0-c4wla/embed/light

2024-04-01 05:47:50

In Bitcoin, Explained 91, @npub1s6z…wk4c and I are joined once more by @npub18hw…v8du, this time to explain splicing.
👂👇
https://bitcoinexplainedpodcast.com/@nado/episodes/episode-91-splicing-qh8g9

2024-03-26 10:55:48

Good news.
https://aje.io/myu59j

2024-03-21 07:52:45

The Genesis Book review by former DigiCash employee Jurjen Bos.
https://medium.com/@jnebos/i-thought-i-understood-bitcoin-until-now-07e064c4ba7a

2024-03-05 11:23:48

Reason published an excerpt from The Genesis Book 🙌
https://reason.com/?p=8265772

2024-03-03 15:04:29

SOLD OUT!!
#nevent1q…ex9z

2024-03-03 13:34:46

Due to a shipping issue, no Genesis Books made it to Bitcoin Atlantis this weekend.
However, at 14:40 (2:40pm) today a grand total of ONE BOOK will be for sale in the book corner!
And yes there will be a signing session.
https://image.nostr.build/3ab751add866b63eea2a750c3461cda675657e56cd9abb6cfac03851eb9bfbdd.jpg

2024-02-23 14:45:49

In Bitcoin, Explained 90, @npub1s6z…wk4c,
@npub18hw…v8du and I explain asynchronous Lightning payments.
👂👇
https://bitcoinexplainedpodcast.com/@nado/episodes/episode-90-asynchronous-lightning-payments-31owp

2024-02-17 07:36:43

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You were right around the corner, too ;)
(If you are who I think you are.)

2024-02-15 10:37:40

In 2011, Room 77 was the first bar in the world to start accepting bitcoin payments. In the years after, it became the best clubhouse the community ever had.
Unfortunately, the bar closed in 2020, but I'm leaving one Genesis Book here for a lucky finder
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https://image.nostr.build/d24f1a725dec68170e135efe8ecf56a581c7f0af4bd719d01d0b986f79dd94d6.jpg#m=image%2Fjpeg&dim=1440x1920&blurhash=_FHn%2B%3AE5IUW%40WXM%7BR*J%7Br%5EWYjcRQofV%5D0Poq%25NV%3FRjxvo1o%2CRiW8xaW-RkWBtTV%23RhowxtIUj%3Ft6I%3A%254RiRixuWTW8R.W.sDoMkCj%3F%25JRlIoSJxvaeWWjat6ahazR%25R%25of&x=aea37c761391effed30334001ad7c128a06259fe56cbef0b7c778f041714cdac
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