Delta Charlie

deltacharlie.tech

Privacy Protector - Financial Philosopher

Public Key

npub1aqxs793kps5eanmvnse97at6nc975pg6e0c6tjzxq700x0jzdl7qvvmhkh

NIP-57 Address

deltacharlie@getalby.com

Profile Code

nprofile1qqswsrg0zcmqc2v7eakfcvjlw4afuzl2q5dvhud9eprq08hn8epxllqhqat8w

Author Public Key

npub1aqxs793kps5eanmvnse97at6nc975pg6e0c6tjzxq700x0jzdl7qvvmhkh

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Last Notes

2024-02-23 14:43:42

https://www.karmicecology.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/fork-in-road.jpg
What content would you like to see?
Writing the whitepaper in plain language was halted right before the last part, which is the more technical part of the paper. I wanted to see if there was overall interest before continuing with this more challenging section.
I also have started another series, that explains money in plain language. I draw from the traditional rules of money:
-medium of exchange
-unit of account
-portable
-durable
-divisible
-fungible (interchangeable)
-store of value
Should we continue with the whitepaper? Or would you like to see the money paper?

2024-02-20 14:18:19

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The tools available to the rich are also available to those who aren't rich. The difference is the mindset and the individual education. Sadly, most Americans cannot get off the hamster wheel to take time and study even basic bookkeeping.

2024-02-20 14:14:17

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This would be an interesting thought exercise. Imagine @npub1a7f…3hp3 producing the hardware. Then, giving the option for POP OS or Ubuntu OS to be installed in the car. Included would be USB touch stick for 2FA before starting the engine.

2024-02-20 14:09:05

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Don't forget one of the largest confiscations of dollars today: Social Security.
The Social Security Act was enacted August 14, 1935. The Act was drafted during President Franklin D. Roosevelt's first term by the President's Committee on Economic Security, under Frances Perkins, and passed by Congress as part of the New Deal. The Act was an attempt to limit what were seen as dangers in the modern American life, including old age, poverty, unemployment, and the burdens of widows and fatherless children. By signing this Act on August 14, 1935, President Roosevelt became the first president to advocate federal assistance for the elderly.
Today, when I speak to older people, I ask them to roughly calculate the dollar amount that was taken for Social Security, and calculate the amount they receive now as a percentage. It always gets a laugh. Even without adjusting for inflation, this exercise works out like a ponzi scheme.
#ponzi #socialsecurity #fdr #president #government

2024-02-16 15:13:34

https://www.nobsbitcoin.com/content/images/size/w1200/2023/12/mempool-goggles.png
Recently learned about a fairly new feature in the mempool: Mempool Goggles.
This lets the user target certain blocks, and activity within those blocks, such as a coinjoin.
As freedom tech evolves, the cat and mouse game continues.
This article explores Mempool Goggles: https://www.nobsbitcoin.com/introducing-mempool-goggles/
This article explores bitcoin fungibility in an increasingly surveilled environment: https://sethforprivacy.com/posts/fungibility-graveyard/
Thanks to the following for an enlightening and civilized discussion: @npub1ppj…xvx2 @npub14a6…z6rn @npub1tr4…2y5g
EZ at nobsbitcoin.com
#privacy #security #surveillance #censorship #government #freedomtech #nobsbitcoin #monero #bitcoin #coinjoin #mempool #google

2024-02-16 14:49:11

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I've always said privacy and security are two different practices. Just as one hand washes the other, both wash the face. To address your examples, with which practice applies most:
-$5 wrench attacks - security
-Public knowledge of your spending habits - privacy
-Price discrimination - privacy
-Avoid targeted advertising and manipulation - privacy
-Business competitors seeing your financials and who you interact with - privacy and security
On a pure technical level, without human intervention such as censorship and surveillance tech built on top of the monetary system, tainted bitcoin would technically still work. If humans create an environment, such as a parallel economy, where censorship doesn't exist, it is equivalent to spending cash that may have been used in an illegal act. You personally did not commit the crime, and if your environment is one of censorship resistance, you are only guilty when proven guilty.
If you are in an environment, where surveillance exists, you are correct that every person that used that cash will be targeted.
In today's environment, this is such a specific situation, that it is highly unlikely to happen to the common person.
We are a niche, within another niche, within another niche: cryptocurency > bitcoin/monero > privacy tools. So these conversations are great for thought experiments, content generation, and to develop ideas and make the tech better. Only time will tell if these tools are even going to be truly necessary.
@npub1tr4…2y5g this is enough content for an Opt Out Podcast, to include @npub1ppj…xvx2 and @npub14a6…z6rn

2024-02-16 14:33:02

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On a pure technical level, without human interruption, I think the fungibility argument holds strong. Unfortunately, human can build technology on top of other technology that can change the fundamentals, and our perception o what is going on.
This is definitely an interesting addition to the mempool site. Are there any more articles about this?

2024-02-15 12:03:34

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There are monero enthusiasts here.
Monero is better or worse based on your individual situation. If you check my commentary, we have been discussing various points that you might get value from.
If you study both, you will be that much better for it. Plenty of benefits to learning and using both coins.

2024-02-15 11:49:32

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Before mixing came around, from my recollection, there was no need to mix or coinjoin. Privacy preserving techniques were created as a reaction to the human intervention in the system.
If governments didn't spy, monero might have not needed to be invented.
Like all good discussions, one starts out purely on a technical level, marveling at the proficiency of these great inventions. As it develops, we realize that things are the way they are because of human nature.
We can make bitcoin fungible, and private, but it needs special tools, some knowledge, and some additional cost. Monero does that by default. But bitcoin is the one that commands the higher dollar price at the moment, and that is what matters to the mainstream. Also, one must consider exactly what percentage of bitcoin has actually been used in a crime. How many of these coins are tainted? Apparently enough to make a monero maximalist drop their bitcoin. But this is the only example of bitcoin not being fungible, that has been presented to me. Unless there are other examples of bitcoin not being fungible.
A fiat currency example of this is are the Euro and Indian rupee. The Euro used to have a 500 note, and the 5000 Rupee note was recalled a few years ago by the government. Those notes were made useless. If the US government decides to eliminate the $100 note, it is the same idea. Government and humans take the fungibility away. If everyone used bitcoin on their own private wallet, even if a bitcoin was used in a crime, it is only on KYC type exchanges that is tracked.
This is why many folks will save in bitcoin, but spend in monero.

2024-02-15 11:23:50

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@npub1tr4…2y5g has been a significant part of my moving from a casual user/observer of monero, to diving into the technicals as I have been doing with bitcoin.
Bitcoin isn't "this perfect" because of Satoshi. We can still only speculate, but Satoshi might have felt that he was already creating such a radical idea with inventing bitcoin, that he restrained himself on certain things, for the sake of adoption. Adoption at any level in those early days, not necessarily mass adoption.
He knew there would be alt coins, forks, knock offs, and payment layers and apps built on top of bitcoin. Maybe he wanted to leave enough room for others to do something with it.
Bitcoin can be compared to Linux. You can use Gentoo and compile from source code yourself. You can also use Ubuntu, and not even realize you are using Linux. Bitcoin is like Gentoo, and Monero is like Ubuntu.

2024-02-15 11:10:15

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We can agree to disagree. Civilized conversations like this benefit everyone.
The idea of tainted bitcoin not being fungible is a very strong point because it considers the fiat currency system we already live in, and the fact that human nature can disturb even the most precise mechanical and technical operations.
So it is a valid point because no matter what an individual wants, and how perfect they want bitcoin to be, we live in the real world, and it is the way it is.
I agree that there might be more gold in the future, on some planet we will discover, or on asteroids passing by. But currently, this is what we have, and gold and silver are still good to study, and store instead of cash.

2024-02-15 10:59:39

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I started the Mastering Monero book as well. With Monero, I have begun a more technical dive. I started using Monero early, btu nothing on a technical level.
However, I've been brushing up on the technical side of things after I noticed the delisting from exchanges, the IRS bounty, and other events. The thing that made me want to dive more into the technical parts was the Atomic Swaps that Samourai is working on, readubg about the dust horizon, and the reason Monero favors CPU mining instead of GPU or ASIC.

2024-02-15 10:54:15

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The reason for mining anything is because it is profitable...under the current fiat system. In our theoretical story, we are under a hard money standard.
In the distant past, I would guess, that mining wasn't an industry. No technology, and also no reason to mine. Gold and silver was circulated as money. It crossed borders and the economies adjusted accordingly with prices. Let us assume no inflation(on a worldwide scale) because there is no mining. The only way inflation could happen would be at the local level.
For example, if one wealthy family moved into a small town, then the supply of gold and silver would increase(inflate) causing higher prices. The wealthy family would open businesses, probably pay some taxes, and generally contribute to the economy, making everyone more prosperous. Prices would rise and fall to the appropriate level without external interference like a currency printer. If the wealthy family moved out of town 10 years later, you might call that deflation because now a significant part of the money supply is gone, so prices wold adjust accordingly.
You are right about fiat currency inflation being massive. I disagree that it is centralized and unpredictable.
Literally all central banks inflate their currency, so if all do it, I would not call it centralized. Because we know they all do it, and have always done it, and will always do it, I wouldn't call it unpredictable, this makes it very predictable.

2024-02-13 12:51:13

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A great, and civilized, discussion. I am currently reading The Monero Standard and will eventually be able to speak about monero at the same level as bitcoin, and other topics.
Although I've known and dabbled with monero since the beginning, I have not dove into the technicals the way I have done with bitcoin. I try not to take on too many topics at once.
That aside, monero has always interested me from the beginning with the focus on privacy. It is also impressive that a whole community and podcasts have grown around it.

2024-02-13 12:46:30

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I believe THE major property is the store of value...both over a short period of time, and a very, very long period of time. On to the point...
Fungible basically means that one satoshi in a store can buy you a stick of gum, and another satoshi in another store can buy you a stick of gum as well. Equal units can purchase equal value of goods and services.
Unfortunately, we are on a dollar standard, so the fungibility of bitcoin only works if the store owners prices the items in bitcoin, not dollars. Because the dollar price of bitcoin fluctuates, each satoshi isn't exactly fungible.
Gold is not limitless. All the gold has already been created by nature. Humans just haven't discovered it all...yet. This discovery process is very slow, and does make a bit of inflation, but historically gold inflation has not affected the average person.
Gold is money. Gold is not considered legal tender anymore by some countries, but that is starting to change again right now.
My points are consistent with the historical definitions of money. If you would like to continue the discussion, we can do that. I am also working on a money series similar to the bitcoin series.

2024-02-12 14:36:00

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/.image/t_share/MTc5Mjk3ODExNTgxMzgwMjQ3/bitcoin-privacy-confidential-transactions-feature-can-fix-some-of-coinjoins-problems.png
Unlocking Knowledge: Bitcoin in Plain Language
This series continues to translate the original white paper by Satoshi Nakamoto to plain language. The goal is to have easily shared content, reacquaint bitcoiners with Satoshi's vision, and explain things in an accessible way everyone can understand. The original content will be posted, with the plain language below.
Please show support by sharing or sending sats.
Firewall - A layer of protection in between a person, their computer, and the Internet. Firewalls can filter, block or allow certain kinds of information to be sent in, or sent out.
Multi-Input Transactions - Transactions that need to be combined to reach a certain amount of bitcoin. Like using two $100 bills for an item that costs $189, you are combining the two large bills, creating one transaction. The cashier knows you had at least $200, and so did everyone in the store that saw that transaction.
10. Privacy Paragraph 2
As an additional firewall, a new key pair should be used for each transaction to keep them from being linked to a common owner. Some linking is still unavoidable with multi-input transactions, which necessarily reveal that their inputs were owned by the same owner. The risk is that if the owner of a key is revealed, linking could reveal other transactions that belonged to the same owner.
https://www.bitcoin.com/satoshi-archive/assets/images/privacy.png
Plain Language
Continuing with our puzzle game analogy, think of each transaction as a puzzle you want to solve. Instead of using the same puzzle-solving strategy every time, you decide to use a different strategy for each new puzzle. Each time you play the game, you use a new technique to solve the puzzle, making it unique. These are the key pairs for transactions.
The tricky part: if you have a few puzzle solutions that are connected, and someone figures out how you solved one of them, they might guess how you'd solve the others. It's like if you have a series of puzzles, and each puzzle gives a clue about how you solve the next one. Transaction key pairs should be unique.
To make sure your own puzzle solving techniques stay hidden, it's a good idea to slightly change some rules for each puzzle problem...but while keeping within the general rules of the game. This way, even if someone cracks one puzzle, it won't help them figure out the solutions to the others. It's all about keeping each puzzle separate and not letting anyone connect the dots to reveal the whole picture.
Sometimes people want to have reoccurring transactions, like an automated bank withdrawal. The risk here is your information (on the blockchain) always stays the same, and everyone can see how you've accumulated a certain amount of bitcoin. Generating new information each time, or even occasionally, will make it more difficult to trace certain things back to one person.
#bitcoin #crypto #btc #blockchain #cryptocurrency #hodl #digitalgold #decentralized #satoshi #cryptonews #satoshinakamoto #whitepaper #bitcoinwhitepaper #nostr #grownostr #learnbitcoin

2024-02-12 12:42:37

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Minimalism.

2024-02-12 12:41:07

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He is talking about shrinkflation, which is different than inflation.
The businesses are only trying to survive in a broken fiat currency system. If we use a sound money system, and not fiat currency, companies can better serve customers.
Also, a man on TV "calling" for something isn't anything but someone exercising the right to free speech. This means nothing.

2024-02-12 12:33:04

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Hopefully someone willing enough to work towards a CFA will also put the work into studying the current slavery system (fiat currency) and studying the properties of bitcoin.
These two topics are enough to put someone to sleep from boredom sometimes.
But once studied, the peace of mind will have people sleeping peacefully.

2024-02-12 12:29:26

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Managing UTXO is something both practical, and necessary in terms of privacy. Samourai wallet and Sparrow wallet can both offer this functionality.

2024-02-12 12:25:48

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If monero is an unlimited supply, then there is already more, and seems there always will be, it just isn't circulating yet.
I am not as knowledgeable on monero, so I cannot successfully comment further. However, this gives me a focus to continue to study monero properties. I have only recently begun studying monero, and you already understand my basis for the sound money discussion.
Mining is something I am familiar with and CPU mining monero is actually something that recently came up, so very interesting you mention that. Thank you for the well thought out replies. I am open to having a further discussion about these two tools and their unique properties.

2024-02-12 12:16:55

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Human nature dictates they will move towards the least painful solution. Self custody will never be mainstream, so lightning will continue to rise in use and popularity.
Scaling will happen and it will be fine. The problem is the bitcoiners who prefer self custody versus the bitcoiners who prefer custodial solutions.
Bitcoin does not care about this, it is only the emotions of the people who want to change other people.

2024-02-12 12:09:51

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The inflation part is where I disagree.
The only reason to mine more gold is because the USD price is more than the cost to mine it, making it profitable by traditional thinking. There is an incentive to discover the gold because of a variety of economic and human factors.
Here is a thought experiment:
Pure economics doesn't dictate any reason to mine more gold. If we were on a gold standard today, and all mining stopped forever, what happens? Currency prices adjust to economic forces, and life moves on. Pure supply and demand dictate price, not inflation. As tech improves, life improves, and currency prices continue to drop because we are more efficient. It is deflationary, and @npub1s05…eyhe explains this very well.
So why mine gold? The same reason we print currency: to be closer to the source of funds, deploy the currency and "lock in" our financial plans...all before the currency prices rise. Small inflation is tolerable when asset prices, priced in fiat currency, grow higher than inflation.
But humans do not understand money. You cannot have the USD price of your 401k go up, and the price of your house go up, yet simultaneously have lower prices at the grocery store and the gas pump.
Currently all the gold in the world makes a ~70' square cube. That is enough gold for every country, they just have to get the currency price right. What countries need to adjust is the currency and the peg to the gold. for example $1 = 1oz. silver, and $20 = 1oz. gold.
If you want to "get richer" you can lower the price of your goods and services by being efficient, and passing the savings to your customers. They now have more free currency to save or invest.
You do not get "richer" by mining for more gold because that just makes prices go up, which steals purchasing power from people who saved in the currency. You get richer by providing value people pay for, not stealing value by debasing currency.
So I personally do not see a need for inflation in gold, or Monero. Inflation is a tool created by the fiat currency system. Debasement is the predecessor, which involved coin clipping, and mixing with base metal.

2024-02-12 11:47:03

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It is ok to disagree. My definition of money comes from the traditional rules. I believe Aristotle originated them, and Mike Maloney reinvigorated the ideas with his famous documentary series Hidden Secrets of Money.
Monero is currency because the supply is not fixed. Although monero inflation isn't an emergency just yet, it does not satisfy the properties of money.
Despite it not being money, it is a great, and useful currency. The dollar is not money either, it is currency. But it is extremely useful, just not a good store of value over the long run.

2024-02-09 14:30:00

https://bitcoinik.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/bitcoin-privacy.jpg
Unlocking Knowledge: Bitcoin in Plain Language
This series continues to translate the original white paper by Satoshi Nakamoto to plain language. The goal is to have easily shared content, reacquaint bitcoiners with Satoshi's vision, and explain things in an accessible way everyone can understand. The original content will be posted, with the plain language below.
Please show support by sharing or sending sats.
10. Privacy Paragraph 1
The traditional banking model achieves a level of privacy by limiting access to information to the parties involved and the trusted third party. The necessity to announce all transactions publicly precludes this method, but privacy can still be maintained by breaking the flow of information in another place: by keeping public keys anonymous. The public can see that someone is sending an amount to someone else, but without information linking the transaction to anyone. This is similar to the level of information released by stock exchanges, where the time and size of individual trades, the “tape”, is made public, but without telling who the parties were.
https://www.bitcoin.com/satoshi-archive/assets/images/privacy.png
Plain Language
In regular banks, they keep things private by only sharing information with the people involved and a trusted third party. But with the way Bitcoin works, they have to tell everyone about every transaction. However, they still keep things private by not revealing who is behind each transaction. It's like when you see that someone is sending funds to someone else, but you don't know who they are. Stock exchanges share information about trades without telling us exactly who did them.
The special tools built into bitcoin, called encryption, create a unique number called a transaction hash. The only important thing to the bitcoin protocol is that everyone follows the rules of the system. It is not important to the bitcoin system to identify individual people, or their motivation for sending funds.
This method creates a system of money that can reach everyone. They can use it without banks, governments or third party persons having to spend resources to watch everything everyone spends money on, sometimes censoring or blocking transactions based on the decisions of people, rather than a system.
The bitcoin system itself cannot reveal a person. Third party services collect personal information about customers who use bitcoin. It is these third parties who sometimes require customers to reveal their personal information, otherwise the third party company won't let the customer exchange currency for bitcoin. The customer who wants to remain private has to acquire bitcoin in other ways.
#bitcoin #crypto #btc #blockchain #cryptocurrency #hodl #digitalgold #decentralized #satoshi #cryptonews #satoshinakamoto #whitepaper #bitcoinwhitepaper #nostr #grownostr #learnbitcoin

2024-02-08 14:23:00

https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5d47a53c50409900087ff8f1/960x0.jpg?fit=scale
Unlocking Knowledge: Bitcoin in Plain Language
This series continues to translate the original white paper by Satoshi Nakamoto to plain language. The goal is to have easily shared content, and send new people directly to nostr to read it. The original content will be posted, with the plain language below.
Please show support by sharing or sending sats.
9. Combining and Splitting Value Paragraph 2
It should be noted that fan-out, where a transaction depends on several transactions, and those transactions depend on many more, is not a problem here. There is never the need to extract a complete standalone copy of a transaction’s history.
https://www.bitcoin.com/satoshi-archive/assets/images/combining.png
Plain Language
Picture this like a puzzle game. Imagine you have a big table where you're putting together a puzzle, and each puzzle piece represents a part of a transaction.
Sometimes, a puzzle piece depends on several other pieces underneath it, and those pieces might, in turn, depend on even more pieces. Like when you connect puzzle pieces to build a bigger picture.
Even though one piece might rely on lots of others, you don't need to have the whole table covered in puzzle pieces to understand the story of that one piece. You can look at just the few pieces around it to figure out what's going on with that specific part of the puzzle.
Even if there's a bit of a puzzle mess with pieces depending on each other, you don't have to take apart the entire table of puzzle pieces to understand the story of a single piece. You only need a small section of the puzzle to get the idea of what's happening with a particular piece.
#bitcoin #crypto #btc #blockchain #cryptocurrency #hodl #digitalgold #decentralized #satoshi #cryptonews #satoshinakamoto #whitepaper #bitcoinwhitepaper #nostr #grownostr #learnbitcoin

2024-02-07 14:19:00

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/sites/default/files/split-pound-coin.jpg
Unlocking Knowledge: Bitcoin in Plain Language
This series continues to translate the original white paper by Satoshi Nakamoto to plain language. The goal is to have easily shared content, and send new people directly to nostr to read it. The original content will be posted, with the plain language below.
Please show support by sharing or sending sats.
9. Combining and Splitting Value Paragraph 1
Although it would be possible to handle coins individually, it would be unwieldy to make a separate transaction for every cent in a transfer. To allow value to be split and combined, transactions contain multiple inputs and outputs. Normally there will be either a single input from a larger previous transaction or multiple inputs combining smaller amounts, and at most two outputs: one for the payment, and one returning the change, if any, back to the sender.
https://www.bitcoin.com/satoshi-archive/assets/images/combining.png
Plain Language
Imagine you have a big box of puzzle pieces, and each piece is like a coin. Now, let's say you want to share these puzzle pieces with a friend, but you don't want to give them one piece at a time because that would take too long and be too much work.
What you can do is put some of these puzzle pieces together in a bag, almost like combining coins in a single transaction, so they add up to a total amount. You might have one big piece (input) from a previous puzzle bag you got, or you can put together a bunch of smaller pieces (inputs) to make a new bag.
Each time puzzle pieces are sent to someone, or returned bag to you a change, a new bag is created and labeled with a new name to identify it. Even "change" that is returned back to you is put in a new bag and labeled individually.
Now, when you want to give some pieces (make a payment), you take some out of the bag and put them in a new bag (output) for your friend. And, if you have some pieces left in the bag (change), you make another bag (output) with those and keep it for yourself.
The labeling of each bag of puzzle pieces helps everyone see things clearly.
So, instead of dealing with each puzzle piece separately, you're making these labeled bags (transactions) that have some pieces going out and maybe some pieces coming back to you. It makes things easier and less messy when you want to share your puzzle pieces.
#bitcoin #crypto #btc #blockchain #cryptocurrency #hodl #digitalgold #decentralized #satoshi #cryptonews #satoshinakamoto #whitepaper #bitcoinwhitepaper #nostr #grownostr #learnbitcoin

2024-02-06 02:39:00

http://betanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/identity-verification.jpg
Unlocking Knowledge: Bitcoin in Plain Language
This series continues to translate the original white paper by Satoshi Nakamoto to plain language. The goal is to have easily shared content, and send new people directly to nostr to read it. The original content will be posted, with the plain language below.
Please show support by sharing or sending sats.
Node - A special computer in the Bitcoin network, like a referee, that keeps enforcing the rules of a game.
Proof-of-work - The process of verifying all Bitcoin transactions are valid, and sharing it with everyone
Blockchain - The record of every Bitcoin transaction since the beginning, organized in blocks chained together
Timestamp - A record of a Bitcoin transaction, shared with the entire network
8. Simplified Payment Verification Paragraph 1
It is possible to verify payments without running a full network node. A user only needs to keep a copy of the block headers of the longest proof-of-work chain, which he can get by querying network nodes until he's convinced he has the longest chain, and obtain the Merkle branch linking the transaction to the block it's timestamped in. He can't check the transaction for himself, but by linking it to a place in the chain, he can see that a network node has accepted it, and blocks added after it further confirm the network has accepted it.
https://www.bitcoin.com/satoshi-archive/assets/images/spv.png
Plain Language
Imagine you're part of a club that keeps track of all the things the members do. In this club, there's a long chain of achievements, like a timeline of everyone's accomplishments.
If you want to prove to someone that you achieved something, you don't have to carry around the entire history book of the club. Instead, you can just keep a small notebook with the titles of the main chapters (block headers) of the history book.
When you want to show off your achievement, you just need to get the latest copy of these chapter titles (block headers) from the other club members. You keep asking around until you're sure you have the longest list of chapter titles, meaning you have the longest timeline.
To prove your specific achievement, you also need a special note (Merkle branch) that shows exactly where your achievement is written in the big history book. You may not have the entire book, but with this special note, you can point to the specific page where your accomplishment is recorded.
Even though you can't personally check every detail of your achievement, by connecting it to a specific place in the long history book (blockchain), you can be confident that the other club members have accepted and confirmed your achievement. As more chapters get added to the history book (blocks to the blockchain) after your achievement, it becomes even more solid and accepted by the entire club.
#bitcoin #crypto #btc #blockchain #cryptocurrency #hodl #digitalgold #decentralized #satoshi #cryptonews #satoshinakamoto #whitepaper #bitcoinwhitepaper #nostr #grownostr

2024-02-05 13:16:55

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Bitcoin is money. All the human behavior that money triggers is wasted time that can be spent productively on our own education and training. The most successful people in history were able to train themselves to learn skills and tools, and to adapt to the world they lived in, and create or take advantage of opportunity.
Simply avoiding the drama, stack sats, and learn more are more productive than staying in the weeds.

2024-02-05 13:13:01

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Onboarding your local merchants is a good place to start. Being the educator for a group of friends and family in real life is also helpful. Create the change you want to see.

2024-02-05 13:01:10

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A great idea, and I also would like to see more monero conversations happen on this platform with well known folks like yourself. The privacy and censorship resistance properties of monero align perfectly with what nostr is trying to do.
Pain points would be the following:
1. Bitcoin maximalists, or maximalists of any sort. Knowledge, training, execution, diversity of risk are all things that make a good portfolio, and a balanced lifestyle. Bitcoin is money, and money should only serve the 7 properties of money. People can create wonderful technology to use that money, but the money itself should be only doing what money does. Maximalists do not exist in the real world, only online. In the real world, bitcoin maximalists still walk around with plastic cards, folding paper currency in their pockets and tap their cell phones to transfer that fiat currency.
2. Monero, and all the other crypto currencies, are not money, they are currency. Bitcoin is money. Gold and silver are money too. Everything else is currency, credit , or a token. Monero is a currency that serves an important purpose, and can be used alongside bitcoin, just as a traveler can carry several paper fiat currencies in their wallet when traveling to different countries.
3. Ethereum is a great technology, but it is not money. The problems that smart contracts can fix are different from the problems of the monetary system. Ethereum cannot fix the monetary system.
4. Altcoins, non fungible tokens, and ordinals are speculation. They are not money. They create tremendous value in terms of discovering ways to use technology. We all benefit from the experiments we've seen in these spaces. But comparing anything else to bitcoin doesn't work because bitcoin is money, serving the functions of money.
5. Patience and sanity among crypto currency people is needed to have productive conversations. Everyone had such an exciting sugar high of dollar price speculation with bitcoin, altcoins, nfts, defi, mining, etc. that they have forgotten it has only been about 15 years. In tech that can be considered a long time, but a real world perspective is needed because all this technology is trying to disrupt or replace systems that are much, much older...while trying to deal with human nature that is much older than technology.

2024-02-04 14:16:49

- reply

Thank you.

2024-02-03 02:03:00

https://pcsplace.com/wp-content/uploads/free-up-disk-space-windows-7.jpg
Unlocking Knowledge: Bitcoin in Plain Language
This series continues to translate the original white paper by Satoshi Nakamoto to plain language. The goal is to have easily shared content, and send new people directly to nostr to read it. The original content will be posted, with the plain language below.
Please show support by sharing or sending sats.
7. Reclaiming Disk Space Paragraph 2
A block header with no transactions would be about 80 bytes. If we suppose blocks are generated every 10 minutes, 80 bytes * 6 * 24 * 365 = 4.2MB per year. With computer systems typically selling with 2GB of RAM as of 2008, and Moore’s Law predicting current growth of 1.2GB per year, storage should not be a problem even if the block headers must be kept in memory.
https://www.bitcoin.com/satoshi-archive/assets/images/disc-space.png
Plain Language
Imagine you have a special card that contains important information about a group of activities. This card is called a "block header." Sometimes, this card doesn't have any specific activities listed on it – it's just a summary or a title. This kind of card, with no detailed activities, is about 80 bytes in size. Bytes are tiny pieces of information, and 1024 bytes adds up to 1 megabyte (1MB).
Imagine a new card like this being created every 10 minutes. In one day, there would be 6 cards (10 minutes x 6 times in an hour x 24 hours). In a year, that would add up to 4.2 megabytes (MB) of information (80 bytes x 6 x 24 x 365).
Imagine your computer has a certain amount of memory space, like a shelf to store these cards. Back in 2008, many computers were sold with 2 gigabytes (GB), or 2048 MB, of memory. Additionally, according to Moore's Law, which talks about the growth of computer power, it was predicted that each year, computers would get 1.2GB more.
Even if you keep all these "summary cards" (block headers) in the computer's memory, it won't be a problem. In 2008, with 2GB of memory and considering the predicted growth, storing the information from these cards in memory is manageable. It's like saying, "Don't worry, there's enough space on the shelf for these cards, and even with more cards coming each year, the shelf is growing too."
When information is discarded is based on how secure the transaction needs to be. For more secure transactions, a high number of confirmations are required, double digits. Smaller, everyday transaction should wait until 3-6 confirmations. Until this information is discarded, the blocks will keep their full size.
Remember nodes? These are the special players and referees of this game that ensure the rules are followed. Nodes keep a full copy of the blockchain. Today, many nodes are individual computers, but with extra disk space just to store the copy of the blockchain. The blockchain is currently over 500GB.
#bitcoin #crypto #btc #blockchain #cryptocurrency #hodl #digitalgold #decentralized #satoshi #cryptonews #satoshinakamoto #whitepaper #bitcoinwhitepaper #nostr #grownostr

2024-02-02 01:56:00

https://technewskb.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Disk-Cleanup-Pro-640x405.png
Unlocking Knowledge: Bitcoin in Plain Language
This series continues to translate the original white paper by Satoshi Nakamoto to plain language. The goal is to have easily shared content, and send new people directly to nostr to read it. The original content will be posted, with the plain language below.
Please show support by sharing or sending sats.
Hash - A secure, scrambled message created by Bitcoin's special tools
Disk Space - Digital or virtual "space" on a computer's hard drive, measured in MB, GB or TB. Like boxes filling up a closet or room in a home. The blockchain currently takes up over 500GB of disk space.
7. Reclaiming Disk Space Paragraph 1
Once the latest transaction in a coin is buried under enough blocks, the spent transactions before it can be discarded to save disk space. To facilitate this without breaking the block’s hash, transactions are hashed in a Merkle Tree [7][2][5], with only the root included in the block’s hash. Old blocks can then be compacted by stubbing off branches of the tree. The interior hashes do not need to be stored.
https://www.bitcoin.com/satoshi-archive/assets/images/disc-space.png
Plain Language
Imagine our puzzle game with a lot of pieces. In the game, each piece represents a transaction, like buying something with Bitcoin. Now, to make sure everything is secure and organized, we put these in a tree structure, like branches and leaves are connected on a tree.
Every time someone makes a new transaction (buys something with Bitcoin), we add a new piece to our puzzle game. But to save space and keep things tidy, once a bunch of new pieces are added and the game is getting too crowded, we decide to bundle them together under a few big branches in our tree structure.
To make sure everything is still safe and nobody can cheat, we use a technique called a Merkle Tree. If you had a big tree with many branches, instead of checking each branch individually, we only need to check the main branch, which we call the root. This root is the key piece that holds everything together.
When we want to save more space, we get rid of some old branches of the tree, as long as we keep the main roots intact. We don't need to remember all the smaller connections (interior hashes) between the branches because we can always trace everything back through the main roots if we need to.
How many blocks in the blockchain are enough before you discard the unnecessary branches of the tree? This depends on how secure you want to be. Others help confirm transactions on the blockchain, and different amounts of confirmations range from a minimum of 3 to double digits. Once the transaction is "confirmed" the tree discards the information it doesn't need.
In simpler terms, in the Bitcoin puzzle game, when there are too many transactions, they bundle them up using a Merkle Tree structure. This helps keep things organized and secure while saving space, like compacting the puzzle by removing unnecessary branches while keeping the main connections intact.
The important parts of past transactions are saved, and can't be tampered with. The unnecessary parts are discarded, conserving disk space for everyone who has a copy of the Bitcoin blockchain on their computer.
#bitcoin #crypto #btc #blockchain #cryptocurrency #hodl #digitalgold #decentralized #satoshi #cryptonews #satoshinakamoto #whitepaper #bitcoinwhitepaper #nostr #grownostr

2024-02-01 21:15:12

- reply

Most do not have sympathy for industries. So, the mining industry is comprised of large entities, funded by larger entities, close to the fiat fountain of cheaper currency. When you borrow cheap government currency, you must comply, or your funding will go away.
Private miners, on the other hand, do not need to comply with anything, and shouldn't worry at this moment in time. The mom and pop landlord who have a spare room running 6 miners are not going to have to worry any more that the person who uses whirlpool to hold sats in a private wallet.
Makes for great clickbait, but not a concern unless you own stock in a mining company.

2024-02-01 21:08:28

- reply

They are backed by bitcoin, and will start to share the public addresses so people can check the wallets. Unfortunately, just like gold and silver, they will become fractional reserve because it is the mission of Wall street to destroy every real asset it comes into contact with, and make a Frankenstein-like derivative out of it. This is coming from a former financial professional.
Wall street, and all the other big entities cares nothing about sound money, the ethos of bitcoin, and the spirit of what Satoshi tried to do. They will use it to "share bitcoin with the world" and get "mass adoption" but what will happen is it will be another tool used to trick people into thinking they own something that they do not.
Thank you for the sats.

2024-02-01 02:38:00

https://bitmachina.ca/learn/images/how-to-cash-out-bitcoin/bitcoins-hands.jpg
This series continues to translate the original white paper by Satoshi Nakamoto to plain language. The goal is to have easily shared content, and send new people directly to nostr to read it. The original content will be posted, with the plain language below.
Please show support by sharing or sending sats.
6. Incentive Paragraph 3
The incentive may help encourage nodes to stay honest. If a greedy attacker is able to assemble more CPU power than all the honest nodes, he would have to choose between using it to defraud people by stealing back his payments, or using it to generate new coins. He ought to find it more profitable to play by the rules, such rules that favour him with more new coins than everyone else combined, than to undermine the system and the validity of his own wealth.
Plain Language
In the Bitcoin game, the rewards (coins) act like a good reason for players (nodes) to play fair. If a dishonest player with more computing power tries to cheat, they face a choice: either steal back their coins by being dishonest or follow the rules to earn even more coins than everyone else. If they take back their own coins, they won't have any value because the network rejected them. Bitcoin are always verified by the incredibly secure programming and the power of the network of users.
In Bitcoin, if someone tries to cheat the system, they might lose all their points (Bitcoins) because the other players (nodes) won't accept their dishonest moves (transactions or blocks). If a player doesn't play by these rules and tries to trick the system, the other players will reject their actions, and the dishonest player won't get any rewards.
It makes more sense for them to stick to the rules because it brings them more rewards and keeps the game running smoothly. Remember, the entire process is protected by powerful software called encryption, and verified by proof-of-work.
#bitcoin #crypto #btc #blockchain #cryptocurrency #hodl #digitalgold #decentralized #satoshi #cryptonews #satoshinakamoto #whitepaper #bitcoinwhitepaper #nostr #grownostr

2024-01-31 02:36:00

https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/ss-bitcoin-mining.jpg
This series continues to translate the original white paper by Satoshi Nakamoto to plain language. The goal is to have easily shared content, and send new people directly to nostr to read it. The original content will be posted, with the plain language below.
Please show support by sharing or sending sats.
6. Incentive Paragraph 2
The incentive can also be funded with transaction fees. If the output value of a transaction is less than its input value, the difference is a transaction fee that is added to the incentive value of the block containing the transaction. Once a predetermined number of coins have entered circulation, the incentive can transition entirely to transaction fees and be completely inflation free.
Plain Language
In the Bitcoin game, players can also earn rewards (coins) through transaction fees. If the value of moves (transactions) going into the puzzle (block) is more than the value coming out, the extra is like a fee added to the reward for solving the puzzle. As more coins join the game, the rewards might shift more towards these fees, making the game self-sustaining without creating more new coins.
In the beginning of Bitcoin, everyone got new coins as rewards for playing well. As more and more people join the game, there's a plan to keep things fair and balanced.
Instead of making lots of new coins all the time (inflation), the creator decided that players can start earning more coins through fees. Like saying, "Okay, now that there are many players, you can still earn coins, but a big part of it will come from the fees paid by others in the game."
This way, the game becomes self-sustaining. It doesn't have to keep making endless new coins, and players can still earn rewards by playing and helping others in the game. It's a way to control how much money is there in circulation, preventing too much from being made and keeping the game's money system in balance – like making sure there's not too much or too little money in a game.
Bitcoin has a fixed supply of 21 million coins. This scarcity is part of what makes it valuable. Only the programming can create new coins, not the decision of a central authority or any outside persons.
#bitcoin #crypto #btc #blockchain #cryptocurrency #hodl #digitalgold #decentralized #satoshi #cryptonews #satoshinakamoto #whitepaper #bitcoinwhitepaper #nostr #grownostr

2024-01-30 02:30:00

http://www.aasysgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/bitcoin.jpg
This series continues to translate the original white paper by Satoshi Nakamoto to plain language. The goal is to have easily shared content, and send new people directly to nostr to read it. The original content will be posted, with the plain language below.
Please show support by sharing or sending sats.
Bitcoin Miner - A special player in the Bitcoin game. The job is to solve challenging puzzles using their computer. When they solve a puzzle, they get a reward. This reward is a new piece of the game called a Bitcoin.
Think about a gold miner. They're like someone who digs deep in the ground to find gold. When they find gold, it's their reward for all the hard work. In the Bitcoin game, miners work with their computers to find digital gold (Bitcoins) instead of digging in the ground for gold.
6. Incentive Paragraph 1
By convention, the first transaction in a block is a special transaction that starts a new coin owned by the creator of the block. This adds an incentive for nodes to support the network, and provides a way to initially distribute coins into circulation, since there is no central authority to issue them. The steady addition of a constant of amount of new coins is analogous to gold miners expending resources to add gold to circulation. In our case, it is CPU time and electricity that is expended.
Plain Language
In the Bitcoin puzzle game, each time a player successfully solves a puzzle (creates a block), they get a special reward, like starting a new game piece (coin) that they own.
The person who solves the puzzle gets to create the new block, add a bunch of new transactions to it, and announce that to the network. This special reward motivates players (nodes) to keep playing and supporting the game.
Like gold miners spending their time and energy to find gold – in the Bitcoin game, players spend computer power and electricity to earn these Bitcoins, adding them to the game and making sure everyone stays interested and involved.
#bitcoin #crypto #btc #blockchain #cryptocurrency #hodl #digitalgold #decentralized #satoshi #cryptonews #satoshinakamoto #whitepaper #bitcoinwhitepaper #nostr #grownostr

2024-01-26 14:45:00

https://blokt.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/bitcoin-network.png
This series continues to translate the original white paper by Satoshi Nakamoto to plain language. The goal is to have easily shared content, and send new people directly to nostr to read it. The original content will be posted, with the plain language below.
Please show support by sharing or sending sats.
Node - A participating computer in the Bitcoin network that checks transactions and follows the rules of the network.
5. Network Paragraph 3
New transaction broadcasts do not necessarily need to reach all nodes. As long as they reach many nodes, they will get into a block before long. Block broadcasts are also tolerant of dropped messages. If a node does not receive a block, it will request it when it receives the next block and realizes it missed one.
Plain Language
Imagine the Bitcoin game as a giant puzzle game where players are exchanging puzzle pieces. When someone creates a new puzzle piece (transaction), they don't have to show it to everyone, just to a bunch of players. Similarly, when they complete a bigger puzzle (block), even if some players miss it, they can catch up by asking for the details when the next puzzle is solved.
Summary of Section 5: Network
Like a puzzle game, when players (nodes) create a new move (transaction), they don't have to tell every player; like whispering the move to a few friends. When a player finishes solving a puzzle (block) and shares it, other players only accept it if the moves inside are fair, follow the rules and are unused. If some players miss a move, it's OK – they catch up when the next puzzle is solved, making sure the game stays fair and everyone is on the same page.
#bitcoin #crypto #btc #blockchain #cryptocurrency #hodl #digitalgold #decentralized #satoshi #cryptonews #satoshinakamoto #whitepaper #bitcoinwhitepaper #nostr #grownostr

2024-01-25 14:41:00

https://wallpaperaccess.com/full/1425009.jpg
This series continues to translate the original white paper by Satoshi Nakamoto to plain language. The goal is to have easily shared content, and send new people directly to nostr to read it. The original content will be posted, with the plain language below.
Please show support by sharing or sending sats.
Node - A participating computer in the Bitcoin network that checks transactions and follows the rules of the network.
Soft Fork - Like changing some of the game rules so that everyone can keep playing together, and if most players agree to these new rules, they smoothly switch to them without causing a big problem.
5. Network Paragraph 2
Nodes always consider the longest chain to be the correct one and will keep working on extending it. If two nodes broadcast different versions of the next block simultaneously, some nodes may receive one or the other first. In that case, they work on the first one they received, but save the other branch in case it becomes longer. The tie will be broken when the next proof-of-work is found and one branch becomes longer; the nodes that were working on the other branch will then switch to the longer one.
Plain Language
Nodes in Bitcoin are like players in a game. Think of Bitcoin as a game where players (nodes) are constantly trying to solve puzzles to move forward. When they have different ideas about the next move (block), it's like two players suggesting different solutions to the same puzzle at the same time.
Some players might start working on one solution, but they also keep the other one in mind, just like working on multiple puzzle paths. The winner is the first to solve the puzzle, and everyone switches to that solution, breaking any ties to the others and making sure the game moves forward smoothly.
This can also be called a soft fork.
It resembles a situation where there could be a fork in the blockchain. This can happen due to disagreements in the network about which block to consider as the next valid one.
A soft fork is a specific type of change to the Bitcoin system where new rules are introduced, but it remains backward-compatible with the old rules. In the game analogy, a soft fork is like changing some rules of the puzzle-solving game, but players who are still following the old rules can continue playing without any major disruption.
If the majority of players (nodes) accept the new rules or the longer chain following the new rules, it becomes the accepted direction for the game. The nodes that were following the old rules might eventually switch to the new rules if the new chain becomes longer. This transition happens smoothly without creating a permanent split in the chain, which is why it's called a "soft" fork.
#bitcoin #crypto #btc #blockchain #cryptocurrency #hodl #digitalgold #decentralized #satoshi #cryptonews #satoshinakamoto #whitepaper #bitcoinwhitepaper #nostr #grownostr

2024-01-25 13:04:25

- reply

Taxes (what is actually collected) currently go to paying interest on already borrowed currency, or the military industrial complex.
Roads are built by borrowing more currency through a bond issue, letting government contractors bid to get the privilege of overcharging the government to build the road, then doing it as cheaply as possible, to repeat the cycle in a few more years after the road is damaged.

2024-01-25 12:45:57

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Not a bad piece of reading to save. Are you reviewing the white paper?

2024-01-25 12:44:39

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Credit has never been a bad thing when used responsibly. Credit and lending rates, under a hard money system like gold and silver, were decided by the lending market.
If people never borrowed, lenders can drop rates to encourage borrowing. If people borrowed too much, and lenders couldn't keep enough operating capital on hand, they raised rates to slow down the demand.
A balance of free market economics.
The problem started with debasing the money, then eventually led to printing currency, and has now arrived at creating numbers on a screen.

2024-01-25 12:40:06

- reply

I could have clarified miners versus nodes a bit better. As I went through this again, I felt Satoshi was purposely a bit vague in differentiating the two, so as to keep the paper concise.
But I agree, miners do the mining and nodes do the verifying. Nodes might be considered more advanced than miners. Miners do a complex task: working on the puzzle. But it is only one single task.
Nodes have a bit more complexity in their role at verifying all the transactions, and keeping a copy of the blockchain, that is constantly updated.

2024-01-24 15:49:00

https://s3.envato.com/files/233323148/Bitcoin%20Network.jpg
This series continues to translate the original white paper by Satoshi Nakamoto to plain language. The goal is to have easily shared content, and send new people directly to nostr to read it. The original content will be posted, with the plain language below.
Please show support by sharing or sending sats.
Node - A participating computer in the Bitcoin network that checks transactions and follows the rules of the network.
5. Network Paragraph 1
The steps to run the network are as follows:
1) New transactions are broadcast to all nodes.
2) Each node collects new transactions into a block.
3) Each node works on finding a difficult proof-of-work for its block.
4) When a node finds a proof-of-work, it broadcasts the block to all nodes.
5) Nodes accept the block only if all transactions in it are valid and not already spent.
6) Nodes express their acceptance of the block by working on creating the next block in the chain, using the hash of the accepted block as the previous hash.
Plain Language
The steps to run the network are as follows:
1) The network is like a digital bulletin board where people post their transactions. Everyone in the network knows what's happening.
2) All those transactions get grouped together into a block. Like a batch of transactions or processes people want to have verified.
3) The challenge: solving a complex puzzle (proof-of-work) for the block. Once solved, the first one to solve it gets to announce their success to the whole network.
4) The winner broadcasts their block to everyone like a scoreboard to the puzzle game.
5) However, the other participants only accept the block if all the transactions in it are legit and haven't been used before.
6) Now, since they've successfully added a block, computers gear up for the next challenge. They create a new block, linking it to the previous one. Like a continuous chain of puzzles, ensuring a secure and organized environment for transactions.
Said another way, being a node is like being a referee, checking every move to keep the game fair. If a node accepts a block, it's not just sitting there – it's already thinking about the next round, linking it to the previous one and keeping the game going.
In a nutshell, the Bitcoin network is like a digital challenge playground and competition where participants work together to validate and secure transactions through solving complex puzzles.
#bitcoin #crypto #btc #blockchain #cryptocurrency #hodl #digitalgold #decentralized #satoshi #cryptonews #satoshinakamoto #whitepaper #bitcoinwhitepaper #nostr #grownostr

2024-01-23 15:15:00

https://www.kanalcoin.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Proof-Of-Work.jpg
This series continues to translate the original white paper by Satoshi Nakamoto to plain language. The goal is to have easily shared content, and send new people directly to nostr to read it. The original content will be posted, with the plain language below.
Please show support by sharing or sending sats.
4. Proof-of-Work Paragraph 4
To compensate for increasing hardware speed and varying interest in running nodes over time, the proof-of-work difficulty is determined by a moving average targeting an average number of blocks per hour. If they’re generated too fast, the difficulty increases.
Plain Language
Say we're playing a game, and we want to make sure it's not too easy or too hard. The game adjusts itself based on how quickly or slowly we're playing, roughly every two weeks.
With computers, and the game we're playing, we call this adjustment "proof-of-work difficulty." We're changing the difficulty to keep things fair. We want a certain number of new game levels (blocks) to be created every hour. If we're finishing levels too quickly, the game makes it a bit tougher to slow us down and keep the rules fair. The network is set to create new blocks roughly every 10 minutes.
So, the proof-of-work difficulty is like having a game that adapts to how fast or slow we're going, making sure the rules stay the same for everyone playing.
Currently, the bitcoin network adjusts its proof-of-work difficulty every 2016 blocks, which roughly translates to about two weeks. This adjustment is designed to ensure that the average time it takes to produce a block stays close to 10 minutes.
In summary:
- Previous Blocks: The network looks at the last 2016 blocks created
- Time Calculation: It calculates how long it took to mine those 2016 blocks
- Adjustment: If it took less than two weeks, blocks were mined too quickly, difficulty increases. If it took more than two weeks, blocks were mined too slowly, difficulty decreases.
This process occurs approximately every two weeks to maintain a consistent block generation time of around 10 minutes. A powerful self-regulating system requiring no outside parties.
#bitcoin #crypto #btc #blockchain #cryptocurrency #hodl #digitalgold #decentralized #satoshi #cryptonews #satoshinakamoto #whitepaper #bitcoinwhitepaper #nostr #grownostr

2024-01-23 10:58:00

- reply

Yes.

2024-01-23 10:56:18

- reply

I prefer to think of it as exchanging, rather than buying. When Americans travel to another country, for example, you exchange dollars for the local currency.
If you have a wallet with various paper currencies in it, you are prepared to travel to other countries. So, exchanging dollars for bitcoin prepares people for transacting online.

2024-01-22 14:33:00

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PAxNfp9KK6U/maxresdefault.jpg
This series continues to translate the original white paper by Satoshi Nakamoto to plain language. The goal is to have easily shared content, and send new people directly to nostr to read it. The original content will be posted, with the plain language below.
Please show support by sharing or sending sats.
IP address - Internet Protocol, a number that reveals the location of a computer or device
4. Proof-of-Work Paragraph 3
The proof-of-work also solves the problem of determining representation in majority decision making. If the majority were based on one-IP-address-one-vote, it could be subverted by anyone able to allocate many IPs. Proof-of-work is essentially one-CPU-one-vote. The majority decision is represented by the longest chain, which has the greatest proof-of-work effort invested in it. If a majority of CPU power is controlled by honest nodes, the honest chain will grow the fastest and outpace any competing chains. To modify a past block, an attacker would have to redo the proof-of-work of the block and all blocks after it and then catch up with and surpass the work of the honest nodes. We will show later that the probability of a slower attacker catching up diminishes exponentially as subsequent blocks are added.
Plain Language
Imagine we're all in a big group, and we need to decide something together. Instead of each person having one vote, we use a special way called proof-of-work to vote. Each person's vote is based on how much work the computer can do. The vote is not based on the IP address (location) of the computer. IP addresses can be easily manipulated.
For example, if someone has 20 computers in one building, with one Internet connection, they have one IP address. If someone has one computer, at a location with an Internet connection, they also have one IP address. With this system, the 2 people are equal, and that is not what proof-of-work is about. The person with more computing power is contributing more to the network, so they get 20 votes. The person with one computer is contributing less to the network, so they get a single vote.
If someone tries to cheat by pretending to be many people with different computer addresses, proof-of-work helps stop them. It's like saying, "one computer, one vote." The decision we all agree on is the one that comes with the longest chain of proven work.
Imagine building a tower made of building blocks, and each block represents the work done by a computer. If most of the computers are doing their job honestly, our tower (or chain) grows the fastest. If someone wants to change something we did in the past, they have to redo all the work done by all the computers and build an even taller tower. Very difficult to catch up and beat the honest computers.
So, proof-of-work makes sure that if most of the computers are being honest, our decisions are safe and hard to change. The more blocks we add to our tower, the less likely it is that someone trying to cheat can catch up with us.
The block height at the time of this writing is 825,310 and the blockchain is about 540GB in size.
Check block height here:
https://live.blockcypher.com/btc/block/00000000000000000003d61a48a55bcc1d7aaa2ccb5eb9268f1458bbecc6c9d7/
Check blockchain size here:
https://ycharts.com/indicators/bitcoin_blockchain_size
#bitcoin #crypto #btc #blockchain #cryptocurrency #hodl #digitalgold #decentralized #satoshi #cryptonews #satoshinakamoto #whitepaper #bitcoinwhitepaper #nostr #grownostr

2024-01-19 14:58:00

https://www.bitcoin.com/satoshi-archive/assets/images/proof-of-work.png
This series continues to translate the original white paper by Satoshi Nakamoto to plain language. The goal is to have easily shared content, and send new people directly to nostr to read it. The original content will be posted, with the plain language below.
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Tx - transaction
nonce - number only used once
4. Proof-of-Work Paragraph 2
For our timestamp network, we implement the proof-of-work by incrementing a nonce in the block until a value is found that gives the block’s hash the required zero bits. Once the CPU effort has been expended to make it satisfy the proof-of-work, the block cannot be changed without redoing the work. As later blocks are chained after it, the work to change the block would include redoing all the blocks after it.
Plain Language
Imagine you have a lockbox, protected by a special lock. This lock is a challenge – it only opens if you can find the secret number. The catch is: the secret number has to have a specific number of zeros at the beginning.
The chances of guessing the right number are currently 1 in 4,294,967,296.
To find this secret number, you start with another number called a "nonce" and keep trying different ones(nonce numbers) until you discover the secret number that makes the lock open with the correct number of zeros at the beginning of the number. Once you find it, you lock the lockbox with this specific number.
Find the secret number, lock the lockbox using that number.
The next part: once the computer has gone through all the effort to find the right number, it locks the lockbox, making it very difficult for anyone to change it. If someone wants to attack the lockbox, they would have to redo all the work you did, finding the secret number.
If your lockbox is part of a group of lockboxes, chained together(blockchain), changing one would mean redoing all the work for every lockbox in the chain. This gives the network, and the information very high security.
There is currently no ability, or incentive, to try to attack this system. To break this system, a tremendous amount of resources would have to attack every single device on the planet that has a copy of this information.
https://www.bitcoin.com/satoshi-archive/assets/images/proof-of-work.png
#bitcoin #crypto #btc #blockchain #cryptocurrency #hodl #digitalgold #decentralized #satoshi #cryptonews #satoshinakamoto #whitepaper #bitcoinwhitepaper #nostr #grownostr

2024-01-18 15:26:00

https://forkast.news/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Proof-of-Work-1260x709.jpg
This series continues to translate the original white paper by Satoshi Nakamoto to plain language. The goal is to have easily shared content, and send new people directly to nostr to read it. The original content will be posted, with the plain language below.
Please show support by sharing or sending sats.
4. Proof-of-Work Paragraph 1
To implement a distributed timestamp server on a peer-to-peer basis, we will need to use a proof-of-work system similar to Adam Back’s Hashcash[6], rather than newspaper or Usenet posts. The proof-of-work involves scanning for a value that when hashed, such as with SHA-256(encryption tools that scramble information), the hash begins with a number of zero bits. The average work required is exponential in the number of zero bits required and can be verified by executing a single hash.
Plain Language
To create a timestamp server that works in a shared network without a central authority, we'll use a proof-of-work system like Adam Back's Hashcash, instead of relying on newspapers or online posts.
The proof-of-work process includes:
- searching for a specific value("guess the number" game)
- when this value is hashed using a method like SHA-256(encryption tools)
- the resulting hash(information)
- must start with a certain number of zeros(the secret number)
Said another way: get random puzzle, computer does work, try to guess the right number before anyone else.
Guess the number, win a prize. The chances of guessing the right number are currently 1 in 4,294,967,296.
Getting the right number of zeros is what makes the process challenging. The more zeros required, the more computing power you need to put in.
So, when someone wants to check if you did the work, they have to take your scrambled information, use the SHA-256 tools, and see if the code starts with the correct number of zeros. If it does, that means you've successfully proven that you did the work.
The computing power needed for this increases with the number of zeros required in the secret number. The "puzzle" is difficult to solve, but once it is solved, the results are easily read and verified by everyone else.
Think Sudoku or Tic-Tac-Toe; challenging to play, easy to see who won the game.
#bitcoin #crypto #btc #blockchain #cryptocurrency #hodl #digitalgold #decentralized #satoshi #cryptonews #satoshinakamoto #whitepaper #bitcoinwhitepaper #nostr #grownostr

2024-01-18 13:29:14

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The ETF is a non event in the bigger scope of things. As a former financial professional, I saw how the false sense of security and trust is used against people who spend real energy saving in currency to buy imaginary financial products for a retirement that won't be what they expect.
This is an attempt at the financial industry to corrupt a good idea and turn it into something they'll destroy, then move on to the next thing. Just like commodities, metals, real estate, they'll make a derivatives market and likely create another planned narrative, crash the system, then blame bitcoin.
The current system is successful at making you sick, then selling you the cure.

2024-01-18 13:22:28

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Thank you for the zaps. Hope the white paper series brings a refreshing perspective to bitcoiners, and an easy way to share with potential bitcoiners who prefer learning in different ways.

2024-01-17 13:12:00

https://www.bitcoin.com/satoshi-archive/assets/images/time-stamp-server.png
This series continues to translate the original white paper by Satoshi Nakamoto to plain language. The goal is to have easily shared content, and send new people directly to nostr to read it. The original content will be posted, with the plain language below.
Please show support by sharing or sending sats.
3. Timestamp Server
The solution we propose begins with a timestamp server. A timestamp server works by taking a hash of a block of items to be timestamped and widely publishing the hash, such as in a newspaper or Usenet post[2-5]. The timestamp proves that the data must have existed at the time, obviously, in order to get into the hash. Each timestamp includes the previous timestamp in its hash, forming a chain, with each additional timestamp reinforcing the ones before it.
https://www.bitcoin.com/satoshi-archive/assets/images/time-stamp-server.png
Plain Language
Imagine you want to prove that you had a certain piece of information at a specific time. We can use something called a timestamp server. This server takes a unique code (hash) of the information and shares it publicly, like in a newspaper or online post.
This code, or timestamp, acts as proof that the information existed at that time because it's tied to the hash. Each new timestamp also includes the previous one, creating a chain(blockchain). If you ever need to show when you had certain data, you can use this chain of timestamps as evidence.
https://www.bitcoin.com/satoshi-archive/assets/images/time-stamp-server.png
#bitcoin #crypto #btc #blockchain #cryptocurrency #hodl #digitalgold #decentralized #satoshi #cryptonews #satoshinakamoto #whitepaper #bitcoinwhitepaper #nostr #grownostr

2024-01-16 16:42:00

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/0a/5c/a3/0a5ca34ceb87d073cde642deea5c36c6.jpg
Unlocking Knowledge: Bitcoin in Plain Language
This series continues to translate the original white paper by Satoshi Nakamoto to plain language. The goal is to have easily shared content, and send new people directly to nostr to read it. The original content will be posted, with the plain language below.
Please show support by sharing or sending sats.
2. Transactions Paragraph 3
We need a way for the payee to know that the previous owners did not sign any earlier transactions. For our purposes, the earliest transaction is the one that counts, so we don’t care about later attempts to double-spend. The only way to confirm the absence of a transaction is to be aware of all transactions. In the mint based model, the mint was aware of all transactions and decided which arrived first. To accomplish this without a trusted party, transactions must be publicly announced[1], and we need a system for participants to agree on a single history of the order in which they were received. The payee needs proof that at the time of each transaction, the majority of nodes agreed it was the first received.
Plain Language
We want to make sure that the person receiving the digital coin knows that the people who had it before didn't use it in any previous transactions. However, for us, only the very first transaction matters, and we're not concerned about any attempts to spend the coin again later.
To confirm that a transaction didn't happen before, we need to know about all the transactions. In the previous system with the central authority, they knew about every transaction and decided which one happened first. Now, without relying on a trusted authority, we need transactions to be publicly announced. Additionally, we need a way for everyone involved to agree on the order in which these transactions occurred.
The person receiving the coin needs evidence that, at the time of each transaction, most of the participants in the network agreed it was the first one to be received. This way, we can be confident about the order of transactions and make sure the digital coin is used properly.
#bitcoin #crypto #btc #blockchain #cryptocurrency #hodl #digitalgold #decentralized #satoshi #cryptonews #satoshinakamoto #whitepaper #bitcoinwhitepaper #nostr #grownostr

2024-01-15 14:29:00

https://satoshispeaks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/bitcoin-transaction-3.png
Unlocking Knowledge: Bitcoin in Plain Language
This series continues to translate the original white paper by Satoshi Nakamoto to plain language. The goal is to have easily shared content, and send new people directly to nostr to read it. The original content will be posted, with the plain language below.
Please show support by sharing or sending sats.
2. Transactions Paragraph 1 and 2
We define an electronic coin as a chain of digital signatures. Each owner transfers the coin to the next by digitally signing a hash of the previous transaction and the public key of the next owner and adding these to the end of the coin. A payee can verify the signatures to verify the chain of ownership.
https://satoshispeaks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/bitcoin-transaction-3.png
The problem of course is the payee can’t verify that one of the owners did not double-spend the coin. A common solution is to introduce a trusted central authority, or mint, that checks every transaction for double spending. After each transaction, the coin must be returned to the mint to issue a new coin, and only coins issued directly from the mint are trusted not to be double-spent. The problem with this solution is that the fate of the entire money system depends on the company running the mint, with every transaction having to go through them, just like a bank.
Plain Language
These electronic coins act a like digital chain of information. When you own this digital coin and want to give it to someone else, you "sign" it digitally. This involves creating a unique code that includes information about the previous transaction and the new owner's public key. This code is then added to the end of the digital coin.
Now, if someone receives the coin, they can check these digital signatures to make sure the chain of ownership is legitimate. Like a way of making sure that the history of the coin and who owns it is secure and reliable.
https://satoshispeaks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/bitcoin-transaction-3.png
The issue here is that the person receiving the digital coin can't be sure that the person who gave it to them didn't try to spend the same coin again somewhere else. To solve this problem, some suggest having a trusted central authority, like a bank, that checks every transaction to make sure no one is trying to spend the same coin twice.
The catch, though, is after each transaction, the coin has to go back to this central authority, and they issue a new coin. The idea is that only coins directly issued by this authority can be trusted not to be double-spent.
The problem is that the entire money system relies on this central authority. Every transaction has to go through them, similar to how transactions go through a bank. This can be a drawback because the whole system depends on the trustworthiness of the company, or people, running this central authority.
#bitcoin #crypto #btc #blockchain #cryptocurrency #hodl #digitalgold #decentralized #satoshi #cryptonews #satoshinakamoto #whitepaper #bitcoinwhitepaper #nostr #grownostr

2024-01-13 19:12:39

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@npub17u5…t4tp Thanks for your appearance on podcasts explaining your privacy journey...being public about being private. My work IRL helps folks with exactly the same issues.
I'm sharing an item with influencers in nostr and other networks I think may drive adoption to nostr, and help the less technologically inclined folks already on here.
I'm writing out the white paper in plain language, currently exclusive to nostr.
Feel free to share the few posts that are already out, plenty more to come.
https://primal.net/e/note1cffa6m5hxtgjpp6lcq6zsqknteuffu6090psmkyhjw7nkcjwrxes6pdnnq

2024-01-13 18:13:33

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@npub1vl9…pupu Ever get tired of explaining bitcoin to friends and family? Trying to onboard people to nostr?
For those that are flocking to nostr, and might not understand all the technical details of bitcoin, I'm currently writing out the white paper in plain language, currently exclusive to nostr.
Feel free to share the few posts that are already out, plenty more to come.
https://primal.net/e/note1cffa6m5hxtgjpp6lcq6zsqknteuffu6090psmkyhjw7nkcjwrxes6pdnnq

2024-01-13 18:10:43

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@npub1s05…eyhe Thanks for your recent book. My favorite analogy was the calculator app, and the way technology gets cheaper each iteration.
For those who might not understand bitcoin, and those who may exhaust themselves trying to explain it to family and friends, I'm working on a simple solution.
If people try to explain Bitcoin, and might not understand all the technical details, I'm writing out the white paper in plain language, currently exclusive to nostr.
Feel free to share the few posts that are already out, plenty more to come.
https://primal.net/e/note1cffa6m5hxtgjpp6lcq6zsqknteuffu6090psmkyhjw7nkcjwrxes6pdnnq

2024-01-13 18:06:47

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@npub1gcx…nj5z Here's a great way to drive nostr adoption from other platforms.
For those that are flocking to nostr, and might not understand all the technical details of bitcoin, I'm currently writing out the white paper in plain language, currently exclusive to nostr.
Feel free to share the few posts that are already out, plenty more to come.
https://primal.net/e/note1cffa6m5hxtgjpp6lcq6zsqknteuffu6090psmkyhjw7nkcjwrxes6pdnnq

2024-01-13 18:05:31

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@npub1xts…kk5s Speaking of X, for those that are flocking to nostr from X, and might not understand all the technical details of bitcoin, I'm currently writing out the white paper in plain language, currently exclusive to nostr.
Feel free to share the few posts that are already out, plenty more to come.
https://primal.net/e/note1cffa6m5hxtgjpp6lcq6zsqknteuffu6090psmkyhjw7nkcjwrxes6pdnnq

2024-01-13 18:03:00

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@npub1qny…95gx For those that are flocking to nostr, and might not understand all the technical details of bitcoin, I'm currently writing out the white paper in plain language, currently exclusive to nostr.
Feel free to share the few posts that are already out, plenty more to come.
https://primal.net/e/note1cffa6m5hxtgjpp6lcq6zsqknteuffu6090psmkyhjw7nkcjwrxes6pdnnq

2024-01-13 17:55:09

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@npub1v5k…8rd9 is a great communicator, and has a valuable perspective across geography and the bifferent industries of real estate and bitcoin. Disce ab optimo!

2024-01-13 15:54:21

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Thanks for the feedback @npub10ya…39j5
One thought I had was putting plain language definitions at the beginning of each post. You will see this in later posts(much more to come) as the topics get more complex.
Unfortunately, I made an assumption that peer-to-peer was a straightforward enough expression. In case it wasn't , I added in my first paragraph, "...where you and another person can directly make transactions without needing a third party to oversee everything." I could have connected the two better.
With the word server, I assumed again that anyone reading the white paper would know what a server is. I wrote, "...a special server to keep track of when transactions happen. This server helps us prove the order of transactions through advanced computer work."
This is the good thing about posting all this here, more eyes on the content can make it better.
Please subscribe, and share with folks, thanks again.

2024-01-12 16:46:57

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https://primal.net/e/note1cffa6m5hxtgjpp6lcq6zsqknteuffu6090psmkyhjw7nkcjwrxes6pdnnq

2024-01-12 16:45:51

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https://primal.net/e/note1cffa6m5hxtgjpp6lcq6zsqknteuffu6090psmkyhjw7nkcjwrxes6pdnnq

2024-01-12 16:45:00

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https://primal.net/e/note1cffa6m5hxtgjpp6lcq6zsqknteuffu6090psmkyhjw7nkcjwrxes6pdnnq

2024-01-12 16:43:47

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In person, and a whirlpool service. This is different than sending to a mixer site.

2024-01-12 16:17:00

https://external-preview.redd.it/c4hHOvXZqA0MlAwuAQFrIFdomdDKUE23ouI_1ZS4tH4.jpg?auto=webp&s=bab50f5c3e65e21e24818a0478e4633755a682e1
Unlocking Knowledge: Bitcoin in Plain Language
This series continues to translate the original white paper by Satoshi Nakamoto to plain language. The goal is to have easily shared content, and send new people directly to nostr to read it. The original content will be posted, with the plain language below.
Please show support by sharing or sending sats.
Introduction Paragraph 2
What is needed is an electronic payment system based on cryptographic proof instead of trust, allowing any two willing parties to transact directly with each other without the need for a trusted third party. Transactions that are computationally impractical to reverse would protect sellers from fraud, and routine escrow mechanisms could easily be implemented to protect buyers. In this paper, we propose a solution to the double-spending problem using a peer-to-peer distributed timestamp server to generate computational proof of the chronological order of transactions. The system is secure as long as honest nodes collectively control more CPU power than any cooperating group of attacker nodes.
Plain Language
We need a way to pay for things online without relying so much on trust and middlemen like banks. Imagine a system where you and another person can directly make transactions without needing a third party to oversee everything. To prevent fraud, we want transactions that are practically impossible to reverse.
In our idea, we suggest using a peer-to-peer system with a special server to keep track of when transactions happen. This server helps us prove the order of transactions through advanced computer work. As long as the good guys have more computing power than any group of bad guys, our system stays secure. It's a digital way of making sure everything happens in the right order without someone trying to cheat the system.
#bitcoin #crypto #btc #blockchain #cryptocurrency #hodl #digitalgold #decentralized #satoshi #cryptonews #satoshinakamoto #whitepaper #bitcoinwhitepaper #nostr #grownostr

2024-01-12 15:50:50

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Nothing like that. Just blank areas where things don't appear. Do nostr nodes use a CDN? A guess is that some nodes might host certain images, or batches of posts/text. Possibly due to network speed, VPN, Tor, content might not be getting through.
Does Shipyard perform differently with privacy tools installed?

2024-01-12 15:00:43

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@npub12vk…pugg
Primal on Firefox seems to inconsistently display the circular profile icons, and display name. Refreshing doesn't help this. Unable to recreate this and my guess is that it is more of a cdn or node issue. The web page will load all the text, but not load the pics of the icons, or my profile name in the lower left corner.
Some days it displays properly, some it does not. I have also directly messaged about the 2 always appearing in the notifications. Upon every sign in, there is a 2 next to the notifications, suggesting download of the mobile apps. Currently no way to get rid of this.

2024-01-12 14:55:55

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@npub1l2v…ajft
A shipyard update for you.
Firefox with ublock and containers. I do not see anything in the posts area. My trick to get it to appear, is to create a draft post, schedule and save it. Then everything appears.

2024-01-11 15:17:47

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Saylor is clearly very intelligent, and disappointed with the government and fiat system. He seems ideologically aligned with bitcoin, but due to his professional position, still has to bow down to others.
Online gambling is still a thriving business, and will always be. This comparison seems ridiculous.
He will continue to say what nearly touches the lines without getting himself in trouble, and will continue to be one of the mainstream thought leaders in the space. However, you must not forget he is still part of the system bitcoin was designed to protest against.
He can say all he wants about the ability to send money to the poor, without borders, and providing banking to the unbanked. But he is still in charge of a publicly traded company, and obligated first to the government, which regulates his business, and the shareholders, which the government requires he act accordingly to first.
Commendable as it may be, his charity comes second to his professional obligations.

2024-01-11 15:05:24

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As a critical reader of 2600 for a very long time, this does not surprise me at all. Emmanuel Goldstein is a very hard working person, and clearly passionate about the hacker community as well as various political and social issues.
Personally, I feel the 2600 content can do without all the political and ideological conversation, and just stick with hacking, without getting into the talk about why or why not the hacking is taking place. They are a non profit, but that doesn't mean you cannot employ good business practices to keep things running smoothly, get new readers/followers and stop annoying their faithful fans.
I was active on Mastodon for a while, and made a few posts, but he is a busy guy and nostr is probably going to be more work with little payoff.

2024-01-11 14:00:41

https://www.techenet.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Satoshi-Nakamoto.jpg
Unlocking Knowledge: Bitcoin in Plain Language
This series continues to translate the original white paper by Satoshi Nakamoto to plain language. The goal is to have easily shared content, and send new people directly to nostr to read it. The original content will be posted, with the plain language below.
Please show support by sharing or sending sats.
Original
1. Introduction Paragraph 1
Commerce on the Internet has come to rely almost exclusively on financial institutions serving as trusted third parties to process electronic payments. While the system works well enough for most transactions, it still suffers from the inherent weaknesses of the trust based model. Completely non-reversible transactions are not really possible, since financial institutions cannot avoid mediating disputes. The cost of mediation increases transaction costs, limiting the minimum practical transaction size and cutting off the possibility for small casual transactions, and there is a broader cost in the loss of ability to make non-reversible payments for non-reversible services. With the possibility of reversal, the need for trust spreads. Merchants must be wary of their customers, hassling them for more information than they would otherwise need. A certain percentage of fraud is accepted as unavoidable. These costs and payment uncertainties can be avoided in person by using physical currency, but no mechanism exists to make payments over a communications channel without a trusted party.
Plain Language
When we buy things online, we usually rely on banks or other trusted companies to "handle" the money. It works fine most of the time, but there are some issues. For example, once we pay, it's not always possible to undo the transaction if there's a problem. Banks have to step in to solve disputes, which adds extra costs and makes small transactions more difficult.
This reliance on trust also means that merchants have to be careful with every customer, asking for more information than they would really need. There's always a risk of fraud, and we just accept that some amount of cheating is unavoidable.
When we use physical money in person, we can avoid these issues, but when it comes to paying over the Internet without involving a trusted middleman, there's currently no good system in place.
#bitcoin #crypto #btc #blockchain #cryptocurrency #hodl #digitalgold #decentralized #satoshi #cryptonews #satoshinakamoto #whitepaper #bitcoinwhitepaper #nostr #grownostr

2024-01-10 15:53:26

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Many thanks. More to come, and different topics as well.

2024-01-10 15:10:00

https://media.marketrealist.com/brand-img/anHdPtYvS/1440x753/is-satoshi-nakamoto-still-alive-1642547828153.jpg
Unlocking Knowledge: Bitcoin in Plain Language
The following series will translate the original white paper by Satoshi Nakamoto to plain language for the nostr audience. The goal is to have easily shared content, and send new people directly to nostr to read it. The original content will be posted, with the plain language following.
Please show support by sharing or sending sats.
Original
Abstract. A purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution. Digital signatures provide part of the solution, but the main benefits are lost if a trusted third party is still required to prevent double-spending. We propose a solution to the double-spending problem using a peer-to-peer network. The network timestamps transactions by hashing them into an ongoing chain of hash-based proof-of-work, forming a record that cannot be changed without redoing the proof-of-work. The longest chain not only serves as proof of the sequence of events witnessed, but proof that it came from the largest pool of CPU power. As long as a majority of CPU power is controlled by nodes that are not cooperating to attack the network, they’ll generate the longest chain and outpace attackers. The network itself requires minimal structure. Messages are broadcast on a best effort basis, and nodes can leave and rejoin the network at will, accepting the longest proof-of-work chain as proof of what happened while they were gone.
Plain Language
Imagine you have a way to trade things online, and you don't need any banks or outsiders to help out. Like a secret code that makes sure no one cheats and spends the same money twice.
Here's the tricky part: sometimes, you still need someone to make sure nobody's manipulating the system. The solution: instead of having just one person in charge, everyone participates in the system. Every time someone trades something, we write it down on a special list and solve a puzzle to make sure it's a real trade.
This list keeps growing. The longest list, with the most puzzles solved, becomes the official record of all the trades. It's so strong that nobody can change it or cheat because it would take too much work to redo all the puzzles.
The people trading are very easygoing. People can come and go as they want, and we still trust the longest list to show us what happened when someone was away. As long as most people in our team are playing fair and not trying to mess things up, our trading system stays safe and works well.
#bitcoin #crypto #btc #blockchain #cryptocurrency #hodl #digitalgold #decentralized #satoshi #cryptonews #satoshinakamoto #whitepaper #bitcoinwhitepaper #nostr #grownostr

2023-12-29 14:20:00

https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/axe-stuck-chopping-block-splitting-wood-88522716.jpg
Doctrine Puts Citizens, Laws, and Prosperity on the Chopping Block - Sacrifices Made in the Primal Pursuit of Self-Survival
From The Creature from Jekyll Island, 5th Edition, Chapter 11 The Rothschild Formula:
“If such a man were to survey the world around him, it is not difficult to imagine that he would come to the following conclusions which would become the prime directives of his career:
War is the ultimate discipline to any government. If it can
successfully meet the challenge of war, it will survive. If it
cannot, it will perish. All else is secondary. The sanctity of its
laws, the prosperity of its citizens, and the solvency of its
treasury will be quickly sacrificed by any government in its
primal act of self-survival.”
In this worldview, war emerges as the litmus test for governmental resilience. Survival hinges on conquering the challenges of war, making all else—laws, prosperity, and fiscal health—secondary. Governments, driven by primal self-preservation, prioritize the brutality of conflict over the well-being of citizens and the integrity of their institutions.
#gedwardgriffin #jekyllisland #gold #silver #bitcoin #federalreserve #endthefed #government #war #inflation #rothschild #money #war

2023-12-27 15:30:55

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Thanks for the well thought out input. I'll try to comment in the order you wrote them.
The personal "attacks" were intentional because 2600 operates under the authoritarian dictatorship of one person.
Growing food is an act of self-reliance, which aligns with my own personal philosophy, but more importantly rebels against government grown and controlled resources, like food.
Hacking can be politically motivated. But a hacker magazine should focus on simply hacking the technology, not the reasons the politically motivated hacker is doing it.
I do suggest Tor, but there are many other ways to be private even in the clear web.
Zerohedge can be used with proper privacy and security practices, so the data tracked is garbage anyway. The essence if that point is Zerohedge goes against the grain with what they report. The fact that they track the users isn't something I agree with, but the users are smart enough not to be tracked. The content is still good.
Shadowstats is about understanding the theft the government performs by debasing the currency, and the lies they tell the Americans. Privacy practice can be applied here too.
Using Tor is only one way. Firefox can be hardened, a VPN can be used, and the clear web can be browsed privately. The situation will dictate.
The article was meant to be long. I received direct emails from readers of the print magazine with much support. The reason it was one long article was because it is a quarterly magazine, and your article gets printed in the next next issue, so 6 months later.
I have had legitimate debate. The magazine actively censors, so the debate wasn't really a debate, rather an orchestrated propaganda campaign crafted to appear as a debate. See the letters section, and the following printed issue. Also, not all my responses get printed in the magazine because they censor.
If you'd like to schedule a call, I'd be glad to elaborate on everything. You can even make a podcast out of it. Thank you for the well thought out responses.

2023-12-27 15:05:05

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Correct. That is called self insuring, where an individual instead of spreading the financial risk across many people, like life insurance does, takes the entirety of the financial risk themselves. It is a good thing when an insurance policy doesn't get used. The purpose is just to help you sleep better, and spread your risk out further.
The catch is, unfortunately, we live in a dollar world. Insurance companies are conservative, and government subservient...I mean compliant. You might be able to combine these strategies and stack bitcoin in a wallet just set aside to pay life insurance premiums. When you average out your bitcoin cost, and price your insurance premiums in bitcoin, this will cost you less bitcoin every year over time.
Our clients, who are just getting red, and orange pilled, have to straddle the lines between what they are philosophically aligned with, and what their country uses. Let me know if you need anything else.

2023-12-27 14:16:00

https://i.investopedia.com/image/jpeg/1540568223171/rothschild_family_resized.jpg?quality=80&width=680&height=680
Rothschilds Expose the Cold Calculus of War Profiteering: Conflict Becomes a Lucrative Playground for the Financial Elite
From The Creature from Jekyll Island, 5th Edition, Chapter 11 The Rothschild Formula:
“He also has learned that wars can be profitable, not only by lending or creating the money to finance them, but from government favoritism in the granting of commercial subsidies or monopolies. He is not capable of such a primitive feeling as patriotism, so he is free to participate in the funding of any side in any conflict, limited only by factors of self interest.”
In a world where profit trumps patriotism, the Rothschilds unveil the darker side of war financing. Armed with shrewd understanding, they exploit the lucrative nature of conflicts, not just by bankrolling them but by leveraging government favoritism. Devoid of primitive sentiments like patriotism, they maneuver through conflicts, funding any side that serves self-interest.
#gedwardgriffin #jekyllisland #gold #silver #bitcoin #federalreserve #endthefed #government #war #inflation #rothschild #money #war

2023-12-27 13:00:44

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Term life is only a waste when it does not help you, and those you care about, sleep better at night. The purpose of insurance is to spread financial risk out to others beyond yourself. This risk is spread out to insurance companies, and the premium paying customers.
A small permanent policy to cover some things like funeral costs is fine, especially when bought at a young age. The cash value of these policies has been overly promoted as something it is not. If you ever want to have a call, feel free to reach out. I left that industry, but still share the unfiltered, unbiased knowledge. Check out deltacharlie.tech

2023-12-26 14:33:00

https://cdn.britannica.com/53/135153-131-AD5091DA/battles-troops-site-town-British-West-Flanders-September-29-1918.jpg
Perpetual War
From The Creature from Jekyll Island, 5th Edition, Chapter 11 The Rothschild Formula:
“If such a man were to survey the world around him, it is not difficult to imagine that he would come to the following conclusions which would become the prime directives of his career:
No nation can be allowed to remain militarily stronger than its adversaries, for that could lead to peace and a reduction of debt. To accomplish this balance of power, it may be necessary to finance both sides of the conflict. Unless one of the combatants is hostile to our interests and, therefore, must be destroyed, neither side should be allowed a decisive victory or defeat. While we must always proclaim the virtues of peace, the unspoken objective is perpetual war.”
Do you think the United States is involved in perpetual war?
#gedwardgriffin #jekyllisland #gold #silver #bitcoin #federalreserve #endthefed #government #war #inflation #rothschild #money #war

2023-12-22 14:13:00

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Behind Closed Doors: Cashing in on Chaos – Financiers Fueling Global Wars for Profit
From The Creature from Jekyll Island, 5th Edition, Chapter 11 The Rothschild Formula:
“Let us imagine a man who is totally pragmatic. He is smarter
and more cunning than most men and, in fact, holds them in thinly disguised contempt. He may respect the talents of a few, but has little concern over the condition of mankind. He has observed that kings and politicians are always fighting over something or other and has concluded that wars are inevitable.”
In the realm of unbridled pragmatism, the Rothschilds stand as detached observers. With a subtle arrogance, they gaze upon the tumultuous pursuits of kings and politicians, deeming them predictable in their perpetual conflicts. Their calculated minds, unburdened by societal concerns, recognizes the inevitability of wars, offering a dispassionate perspective on the ceaseless struggles of mankind.
#gedwardgriffin #jekyllisland #gold #silver #bitcoin #federalreserve #endthefed #government #war #inflation #rothschild #money #war

2023-12-21 14:31:00

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Strategy to Ensure Government Compliance
From The Creature from Jekyll Island, 5th Edition, Chapter 11 The Rothschild Formula:
“If such a man were to survey the world around him, it is not difficult to imagine that he would come to the following conclusions which would become the prime directives of his career:
The ultimate obstacle is a government which declines to finance its wars through debt. Although this seldom happens, when it does, it will be necessary to encourage internal political opposition, insurrection, or revolution to replace that
government with one that is more compliant to our will. The
assassination of heads of state could play an important role in
this process.”
Does the United States want people to be more compliant to its will? Has the United States assassinated heads of state?
#gedwardgriffin #jekyllisland #gold #silver #bitcoin #federalreserve #endthefed #government #war #inflation #rothschild #money #war

2023-12-20 14:04:00

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Decentraleyes: Boosting Speed and Protecting Privacy
Decentraleyes is your digital guardian angel, shielding your online privacy. Instead of relying on external content delivery networks (CDNs), it brings essential website resources right to your browser, reducing reliance on third-party servers.
This not only accelerates page loading but also acts as a privacy barrier.
By preventing your data from being shared with external entities, Decentraleyes curtails the risk of online tracking by keeping your data closer and away from prying eyes.
#foss #freedom #surveillance #privacy #cybersecurity #opensource

2023-12-20 14:01:00

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LocalCDN: Faster Speeds and Fortified Privacy
LocalCDN is like having a personal speed boost for your web browsing. Instead of fetching website resources from distant servers, it stores them closer to you. Imagine a mini storage unit on your computer that holds commonly used website files, making pages load faster. It's like having a shortcut to your favorite sites, skipping the long-distance download process. LocalCDN enhances your online experience, reducing lag and making websites feel snappier. It's a behind-the-scenes helper that brings the web a bit closer to home, ensuring a smoother and more efficient browsing experience.
Moreover, LocalCDN adds a layer of privacy protection by limiting data exchanges with external servers. By storing website resources locally, it minimizes the need for your data to travel across the internet, reducing the risk of third-party tracking.
#localcdn #privacy #cybersecurity #foss #opensource #freedom #surveillance

2023-12-19 14:30:00

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Unmasking the Malevolent Machinations Behind Global Conflict Instigation
From The Creature from Jekyll Island, 5th Edition, Chapter 11 The Rothschild Formula:
“If such a man were to survey the world around him, it is not difficult to imagine that he would come to the following conclusions which would become the prime directives of his career:
To involve a country in war or the threat of war, it will be
necessary for it to have enemies with credible military might. If such enemies already exist, all the better. If they exist but lack military strength, it will be necessary to provide them the
money to build their war machine. If an enemy does not exist at all, then it will be necessary to create one by financing the rise of a hostile regime.”
Does the United States have, or manufacture, enemies with credible military might? Have you recently been aware of financing hostile regimes?
#gedwardgriffin #jekyllisland #gold #silver #bitcoin #federalreserve #endthefed #government #war #inflation #rothschild #money #war

2023-12-18 14:38:00

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Firefox Containers for Privacy and Customization
Cross-contamination, in the digital realm, poses a significant threat when logged into multiple sites simultaneously. Each platform you access becomes a potential entry point for malicious actors seeking to exploit shared login credentials. A breach on one site can compromise your sensitive information across others, jeopardizing privacy and security. To mitigate this risk, create containers, each with an individual purpose.
Containers also prevent sites from sharing information with each other, building a profile about you and your habits.
Here are some example containers:
General Browsing
Social Media
Financial
Email
Shopping
YouTube
#privacy #surveillance #cybersecurity #freedom #government #foss #mozilla #firefox

2023-12-15 14:24:00

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Some prefer to keep certain parts of our browsing habits separate from others. The reason is privacy.
For example, when a user is logged into their social media account, and sees an ad for a health related item, and clicks the link, the original social media site will "connect the dots" and associate the sensitive item with the user's social media profile. This activity is unacceptable for privacy conscious desktop users.
Firefox Containers significantly enhance privacy by compartmentalizing browsing activities. With Containers, users can isolate websites into distinct containers, preventing them from sharing cookies and stored data. This isolation curtails cross-site tracking, thwarting advertisers and third-party entities from creating comprehensive user profiles.
By maintaining separate containers for different purposes, users can segregate personal, work, and social browsing, fortifying their online privacy. This robust feature empowers individuals to control their digital footprint, mitigating the risks associated with invasive tracking and fostering a more secure online experience.
As a bonus, you can use the new Firefox privacy feature, explained here: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/enhanced-tracking-protection-firefox-desktop#w_copy-without-site-tracking
#privacy #surveillance #cybersecurity #freedom #government #foss #mozilla #firefox

2023-12-14 14:28:00

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Governments Incur Debt Through Devastating Conflicts
From The Creature from Jekyll Island, 5th Edition, Chapter 11 The Rothschild Formula:
“If such a man were to survey the world around him, it is not difficult to imagine that he would come to the following conclusions which would become the prime directives of his career:
All that is necessary, therefore, to insure that a government will maintain or expand its debt is to involve it in war or the threat of war. The greater the threat and the more destructive the war, the greater the need for debt.”
This perspective unveils a chilling calculus where war becomes a calculated means to ensure a government's perpetual indebtedness. The greater the threat and destruction, the more indispensable debt becomes. It highlights a disconcerting relationship between conflict, financial leverage, and the sustenance of a government's economic apparatus.
#gedwardgriffin #jekyllisland #gold #silver #bitcoin #federalreserve #endthefed #government #war #inflation #rothschild #money #war

2023-12-13 14:15:00

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Most of our time is spent in a web browser. This valuable tool continues to serve us well, preventing distraction and intrusion by blocking things we never wanted to see in the first place.
uBlock Origin stands out as an exceptional browser extension for enhancing online browsing. It not only optimizes page loading speed but also significantly reduces the intrusion of unwanted ads and trackers. The extension's customizable filters provide users with granular control over content, enhancing privacy and security. uBlock Origin's open-source nature and commitment to user empowerment make it an invaluable tool for those seeking a cleaner, safer, and more efficient online environment.
The preferred browser is Firefox. However, this tool is available for all major browsers.
#privacy #surveillance #cybersecurity #freedom #government #foss #ublockorigin

2023-12-12 12:52:14

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My guess will be 20%.
The majority of Americans today do not even self custody their currency. In other countries, cash still works. We can also look at trends in the "unbanked," but this example focuses on those who already use banking in their country and jurisdiction.
The financial system will create derivatives of Bitcoin, just like it did with gold and silver, and any other commodity/asset. To gain dollar price exposure to these derivatives, and speculate, people would have to trust custody of their Bitcoin to banks.
Many HODLers today, are waiting for some astronomical dollar price, so they can sell or leverage their Bitcoin. However, no lending entity would lend with no collateral, which means losing custody.

2023-12-12 12:39:16

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Thanks for the comment.
Yes, open source is the way because it has privacy respecting options, and no agenda to harvest user data. The only way for change to happen is to stop feeding the beast. The beast survives on data.

2023-12-11 14:06:00

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Firefox is the best browser for customization, privacy and security. The years of reliability this tool has provided is "sine comparatione."
A simple tool you can add to Firefox is Containers. I call this "preventing cross contamination."
Firefox Containers enhance privacy by compartmentalizing online activities. Each container isolates a set of browsing data, preventing cross-site tracking and minimizing the risk of information leakage. A must when staying logged into multiple site, such as logging into multiple bank accounts, while social media is open.
Users can assign specific websites to designated containers, ensuring that cookies and data are confined within those boundaries. This feature enables a more private browsing experience, shielding users from pervasive tracking and enhancing control over personal information. By segregating online identities, Firefox Containers empower users to navigate the web with increased security and a heightened sense of privacy.
#privacy #surveillance #cybersecurity #freedom #government #foss #mozilla #firefox

2023-12-09 14:47:41

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@npub1f6u…zcka
As an additional backup medium, CDs and DVDs are still an easy, cheap and highly durable option. As a secondary, or tertiary backup, these durable forms of media can last many, many years. The USB drives you can attach to computers can be purchased cheaply as well.
Nothing can give a user more peace of mind than multiple backups across different forms of media. Mailing a trusted party a disc, or dropping it off with them during the holiday season is an easy way to achieve piece of mind.
In training, we learned the 3-2-1 Rule, which states the following:
There should be 3 copies of data
On 2 different media
With 1 copy being off-site

2023-12-09 14:37:26

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2023-12-09 13:54:41

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Recognizing the pervasiveness of tracking is the first step towards a solution. Embracing privacy-enhancing technologies, like nostr, empowers individuals to reclaim a degree of control over their digital footprint.
Rather than resigning to a "lost cause," active engagement in shaping the narrative around privacy fosters a collective effort to safeguard personal freedom of speech and expression.
Great job. Verba Magna Actionis.

2023-12-09 13:50:00

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"I have nothing to hide" is a flawed justification for surveillance. Privacy is a fundamental right that goes beyond personal secrets. Surveillance fosters a culture of conformity and self-censorship. It undermines trust and breeds a chilling effect on free expression.
Moreover, information gathered may be misused, leading to discrimination or abuse of power, something we can clearly see today. Protecting privacy is not just about hiding; it's about preserving the core values of individual autonomy and societal freedom.
#privacy #surveillance #cybersecurity #freedom #government