ishaq

An academic and an engineer.
Interests: Blockchain, DeFi, Decentralized Systems.

Public Key

npub18puap6v6ml7t90l8ey7jm7s7nv03m0m28eysywjsshn7w502hunqs7m7uf

NIP-57 Address

ishaq@coinos.io

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsrs7wsaxddll9jhlnuj0fdlg0fk8caha4rujgz8fggtel8284t7fspzemhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuurjd9kkzmpwdejhgqgkwaehxw309aex2mrp0yhxummnw3ezucnpdejqurv7vw

Publishing to

relay.primal.net

relay.nostr.band

Author Public Key

npub18puap6v6ml7t90l8ey7jm7s7nv03m0m28eysywjsshn7w502hunqs7m7uf

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Last Notes

2025-03-02 09:57:34

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Can see your notes. Welcome back

2025-03-01 14:05:43

I am looking for alternatives to Gnosis Safe for Ethereum multisig solution. Decided to ask local AI. Deepseek R1 and Llama are both hallucinating and suggest Electrum (the bitcoin wallet). :D

2025-02-27 18:27:51

Many folks may be looking for multisig wallets after Gnosis Safe's compromised code that resulted in Bybit hack.
If you come across Krayon ( https://www.krayondigital.com/ ), KEEP MOVING!
This guy's chest-thumpy attitude and many misleading claims about MPC undermine his credibility. He either doesn't understand MPC or claim things which aren't true.

2025-02-27 18:18:17

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"Hardware wallet doesn't have all contextual information"
What contextual information is that?

2025-02-27 15:47:10

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The issue wasn't in the smart contract, it was a compromised dev machine. Something like this can happen to any cryptocurrency, we have seen such compromises causing issues on Bitcoin too.
Ethereim smart contracts have many issues, but this incident wasn't a case of smart contract vulnerability.
Ethereum and Bitcoin both share the same elliptic curve (secp256k1) so the cost of signing is the same. The issue with multisig is lack of standization. If there were one dominant standard, the hardware wallet could do it.
What hardware wallets support multisig on Bitcoin?

2025-02-27 04:35:40

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Yeah I figured it was Bybit, and surprised to learn that issue was in a Safe contract (Safe was considered standard multisig contract), am looking in to it deeper today.

2025-02-27 04:32:49

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“Barak Allahu feek” <- Wa Iyyakum.
I disagree with everything in this reply, but don’t have the time to refute :-) Fi Amaanillah.

2025-02-24 08:42:48

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“I cannot stand the way most academics write” <- will not argue on this point to stay on the topic.
NOTE: I neither support nor care for the garbage coins that keep popping up. My arguments assume academically sound systems.
a couple of representative examples:
1. The article is hand wavy regarding Bitcoin’s decentralization. It claims, without evidence, that Bitcoin has no concentration of influence. The issue here is that gathering such evidence, despite the weaker privacy (pseudo-anonymity) on Bitcoin (and other similar pseudo-anonymous currencies) is not trivial. A couple of graph analysis studies suggest that the same lopsided influence exists in Bitcoin. And this sounds likely too, considering that Bitcoin ecosystem involves large mining operations and mining pools. Moreover, Bitcoin (and any PoW blockchain) will always require more computing power than a PoS (or other lottery mechanism) blockchain. This is because the node has to solve the PoW puzzle in addition to the work of maintaining a ledger. CPU/GPU era of Bitcoin mining ended in early 2010s. Nowadays one requires significant investment in a mining rig. Your argument should have been that Bitcoin, despite the lopsided influence that most probably exists, is less susceptible attacks/bad-behavior because of its superior market adoption. It’s not because running a Bitcoin node is cheap. Regarding true decentralization of influence, it is a hard problem. The real world influences find a way to be reflected in decentralized systems too. The property is certainly desirable and should be researched into.
2. In its passion for bashing blockchain, the article makes the strange statement that blockchain is “inefficient” and that any “centralized” solution will be “cheaper, faster, more reliable”, and “more maintainable”. This statement is a mix of incorrect claims (e.g., a centralized system is *not* more reliable) and correct but misleading claims (e.g., centralized systems are faster) because these distract from the real reasons one would choose a decentralized system over a centralized one e.g., Trustlessness. What’s worse, if one were to take these misleading claims on face value, then Bitcoin itself is a bad system because It’s not faster than Visa (25,000 tps vs. < 10 tps), it’s inefficient (requires more computing power and storage than a centralized system), and it’s not cheap (the energy cost to keep the system running is more than that of many small countries). The value of Bitcoin cannot be judged on these metrics, the benefits it brings (Trustlessness, Reliability, Ease, etc) are what make it a superior solution to the centralized Visa/Mastercard systems. It’s like saying insecure traditional programs are faster, more power efficient, and reliable compared to secure multiparty computation (MPC).
Blockchain is an instance (specific problem) of the State Machine Replication or SMR (the general problem). It is most definitely not “just a linked list”. Someone who says so has probably never read anything on Consensus. "there’s nothing inherently magical about a blockchain”. Yes! There’s nothing magical about any science. The excitement doesn’t stem from seeing magic, it stems from the possibility of a solution to a previously hard problem.
A final note, the article (at least how much I read) reads like Bitcoin is panacea for all ailments. There are significant issues in Bitcoin—Low throughput, Inefficiency, lack of privacy, etc—that others are trying to solve. The extremely misleading statement on blockchain betrays that if the author of the statement (not sure if it were you or someone you quoted) were presented with the idea of decentralized payment system before Bitcoin’s boom, he would have exactly the same talking points against Bitcoin that he is now using against Blockchain and other cryptocurrencies on it. It’s also probable that the author will sing praises of Blockchain as soon as it has its Google or YouTube or Spotify moment. Till then, one should not become dogmatic when discussion man-made technology.

2025-02-23 10:10:03

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went through the first one-third of the article. It’s probably written by a non-academic/evangelist type and contains many hand-wavy claims and inaccuracies. Not worth the time to ready it fully.

2025-02-23 08:56:42

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Which smart contract was it this time, care to share a link?

2025-02-23 08:15:28

If you feel concerned about privacy when speaking to AI models (you should be), and would prefer to experiment with them offline, Msty makes it a breeze to install/try various models offline.
https://msty.app/

2025-02-21 17:53:45

I am glad that the age of digital nomad is coming to an end. The idea of working remotely never made sense to me. From time to time, sure! But it can't be the default work mode and not cause dips in productivity.

2025-02-20 17:01:29

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Preparing tax returns? :-)

2025-02-20 16:33:54

There is a pattern in Trump's stance on immigration and Palestine.
Trump isn't against just the illegal immigration. That's only the rhetoric he uses to mask his hatred for the "others". He is against all immigration. He doesn't want the others to live on his land.
One may say that he probably wants those "others" to prosper and flourish in their own countries. Except that in his plan for Gaza/Palestine, he doesn't want the others to live on their own land either.
At its core, it is not about immigration or peace in the middle east, it is: "might is right". It is that, we "the civilized" decide where and how the others "the savages" will live. There is no principle, rule or law. It is the whim of "the civilized".

2025-02-03 16:43:55

What Israel is (and has been) doing in the west bank should shut up "But Khamas" Israel apologists. There was no Oct 7 from the west bank and there is no "Khamas" there, but that hasn't stopped Israel from committing same atrocities in the west bank. Then again, if such apologists had an IQ above room temperature, "But Khamas" argument would not exist in first place.

2025-02-02 18:18:42

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If you trust Boltz.exchange (that their solution is academically sound and that their implementation is correct), then yes.

2025-02-01 02:48:39

Musk's nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize, an extremist whose actively encouraged arms sale to Israel, actively villainized Muslims and publicly interferes with elections, is an indication that these nominations are based on an agenda, not merit. These are the people who gave a prize to Malala, but won't even consider the brave girls of Palestine, Kashmir, etc.

2025-01-28 03:21:35

Another reminder that hyperbolic claims of any tech should be taken with a grain of salt
https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/23/ai_developer_devin_poor_reviews/

2025-01-22 14:25:23

Trump Frees Silk Road Creator Ross Ulbricht. The guy must have billions in BTC, don’t think they would have been able to cease all of his coins.
https://www.wired.com/story/trump-frees-silk-road-creator-ross-ulbricht-after-11-years-in-prison/

2025-01-22 14:01:46

Craig Wright Receives Suspended Jail Sentence for Contempt of Court
Wright's suit for intellectual property rights related to bitcoin violated a court order imposed after his claim to be bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto was ruled to be false.
https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/12/19/craig-wright-faces-demand-for-two-year-prison-sentence-in-contempt-of-court-case

2025-01-22 03:57:02

Not sure why people are posting Trump's comments about Gaza as a good thing. The guy blindly supports Israel, just like most US politicians. Cherry on the top is his hatred for Muslims (don't forget his first term). It is absurd to think he's going to do anything positive for the Palestinians.

2025-01-22 03:37:26

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Afaik Klarna is like PayPal of Europe, buy now pay later is very much like PayPal credit; it is one of their services, but not primary business.

2025-01-22 03:33:31

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The backend programming would require (1) an understanding/experience of/with decentralized systems, (2) an understanding of Nostr protocol.
I have the academic knowledge of the (1), and **no knowledge** of the (2). I have also not been hands-on on programming for the last few years. If you don't find someone more qualified, I'd be happy to commit some of my free time.

2025-01-21 10:06:48

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Thank you, will go through these links soon.

2025-01-20 16:24:15

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Unpopular Opinion: I disagree with this. Thos suggestion to remove the reaction/like function is extreme. It would be akin to suggesting that we stop complimenting people in real life. Instead, every time we wish to compliment someone, we gove them a gift because everybody loves getting gifts. If someone wants to always give gifts, good for them. But this is/should be a personal choice. Most people are generous with compliments but give gifts only on significant occasions.

2025-01-20 13:13:18

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😂😂😂

2025-01-20 12:50:46

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That I know, I meant is that chart real, because would be super cool if it were.

2025-01-20 11:23:53

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Is it real?

2025-01-20 10:09:46

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the chef pushed the guy in the hat back inside, I bet that attitude was also part of the flavor

2025-01-20 08:51:36

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everybody loves Saturdays

2025-01-19 17:46:06

Am looking into mining Bitcoin.
https://www.bitcoinmining.com/getting-started/ is a bit outdated, only useful for a general idea.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/article/how-to-mine-bitcoin/ is targetted more a beginners (which I am at mining, but not at theory).
Don't see the point if cloud mining. The Antminer S21 Hyd looks like a good option.
Would very much appreciate any tips/ideas.

2025-01-19 10:01:09

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You're doing a good thing.

2025-01-19 05:30:17

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Depends on one's reasons. I don't know anyone here to be sending zaps in the short term, and precisely because I don't know anyone, I don't expect to be receiving any either.

2025-01-19 05:30:17

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Depends on one's reasons. I don't know anyone here to be sending zaps in the short term, and precisely because I don't know anyone, I don't expect to be receiving any either.

2025-01-18 06:57:46

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In this case, you're treating the casino as trusted third party (TTP). If that trust is broken for any reason (due to a flawed implementation, or due to a malice, etc), then your coins are nit non-KYC.
In the nutshell you are asking if we should trust mixnets (coin mixing services), there is plenty if research literature on it but I don't know if there's a well known implementation.

2025-01-18 06:43:08

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😀 no worries.
Yes I understand it has fixed supply, and while this design has many benefits (and one or two concerns), I am not convinced that it is enough to declare it anti-RIBA.
Get some rest :-)

2025-01-18 06:30:29

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I would extend this by saying if you want to diversify, invest in academically sound currencies. Look into the research and the research team behind them. Just because a currency is commercially successful, doesn't mean it is sound (any one remember Terra/Luna?).
Note: Bitcoin is academically sound although we don't know the creator(s) behind it.

2025-01-18 06:15:34

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I am asking a question. The example in the question is to demonstrate that it is not anti-riba (or pro-riba) any more than any other commin monies of the preset and past (fiat, coins, salt, etc).

2025-01-18 06:15:34

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I am asking a question. The example in the question is to demonstrate that it is not anti-riba (or pro-riba) any more than any other commin monies of the preset and past (fiat, coins, salt, etc).

2025-01-18 06:12:48

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In the Indian sub-continent, private minting was practice till late 19th century when East India Company (and later the British govt) eventually outlawed it

2025-01-18 05:48:50

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False. If a rich guy buys 10 miners for each of your miners, he has 10x hash rate, and 10x power. And depending on hiw much is at stake, that power translates to control. Do you remember ETC/ETH split?

2025-01-18 05:36:02

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Genuine Question: How is it anti-RIBA? What stops me from charging X% per month on Y BTC loan?

2025-01-14 15:14:32

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(1) sure, but Bitcoin has been being mined on FPGAs and then ASICs since at least 2013. Unlike GPUs, these are not off the shelf components. Usually an implementation is developed/funded by a business/whale, and by the time it reaches common individuals, the businesses/whales are close to rolling out next generation for in-house needs.
(2) Sure, although I put traditional institutions (banks, hedge funds, etc) interest around 2018. But these institutions are not the only businesses in Bitcoin ecosystem, you'll find pictures from 2014 of mining forms with tens of thousands of ASICs in colder parts of Europe. Some of these could be rich individuals, i qm not convinced that most of them were.
But it is still possible that individuals hold most BTC. If majority hashing power came from mining pools (there was one that famously got close to 51% and started kicking people off to reduce its hash rate), then most if mined BTC went to its members, and mining pools were popular among individuals.

2025-01-14 14:48:03

#introduction academic and engineer. Blockchain is a research interest, am also building one. The way forward is decentralized and trustless systems.

2025-01-14 14:12:08

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I took a quick look at the source: https://river.com/learn/who-owns-the-most-bitcoin/ . River didn't do original research. The numbers seem to have been collected from a few sources.
The claim that 16M+ BTC are held by individuals is unconvincing because (a) it is hard to detect it from typical blockchain analysis techniques (e.g., graph analysis), and (b) it contradicts the intuition from mining power distribution--most of the mining power is concentrated among a handful of players.
It is certainly possible that 16M+ BTC is held by individuals, but the claim would have been more convincing if they had stated the methodology upfront.

2025-01-14 02:22:55

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How does the data source identify a business vs an individual? Do they base it on the mapping between addresses and businesses? If so, then wouldn't they incorrectly categorize a huge pool of non-KYC addresses (including those of large mining operations) as individuals?

2025-01-14 02:14:49

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Correction: Nostr and Primal are working, for now.

2025-01-14 02:08:44

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That would go against Kirchoff's law. If an encryption scheme's security relies on keeping anything secret except the key, the scheme isn't secure.

2025-01-11 18:08:28

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Jazak Allah.

2025-01-11 17:22:00

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Ah, just realized lightning is a reference to the lightning network.

2025-01-11 16:47:37

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Q. What is a zap? Is it sending money, like a tip, or a donation?

2025-01-11 16:39:35

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Tried night light when it first came to Apple. Not for me.

2025-01-11 16:33:31

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The trouble with that line of reasoning is that money itself is an asset, especially when working on a multi-currency setting where different currencies have their own supply/demand.

2025-01-11 16:28:56

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Money is just another asset.
Supply/demand does not require precise knowledge of total money in the system, only one's own upper bound on the assets on the offer. Besides, total supply is more readily available in Bitcoin than in fiat.
The feature (or flaw) of printing money is also not unique to the fiat currency, there are decentralized currencies (albeit, to my knowledge, none academically sound) that allow printing infinite money.
The huge issue in decentralized currencies is that they are truly free markets. It makes the volatile. Centralized markets are not more stable only because they are more mature, but also because of centrally enforced policies. Decentralized policy enforcement is still an active area of research.