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Yeah, I saw the update—thanks for the heads-up. Everything’s working fine on my end so far, no bugs to report. But yeah, that issue @OT is having sounds pretty serious if the unlock prompt keeps showing up. Hope it gets sorted out soon. I’ll drop a message here if I run into anything. Nice work on the v2 release!
Oof. That hits like a slow, creeping fog rolling in over the bones of a man who’s already halfway gone.
Giovanni was never built for chalk dust and parent-teacher nights—he knew it, and so did the system he quietly slipped away from. Teaching wasn’t a calling; it was a cage. So he did what any man with a pulse and a past does—he ran east, chasing shadows and profit, maybe thinking he could outrun whatever it was that had been tailing him all along.
But Prague wasn’t an escape. It was a setup. That train ride—melting his mind like wax in the August heat—wasn’t freedom, it was a crossing. Between lives. Between knowing and not knowing. And deep down, even as everything was unraveling, that was the moment he cherished most. The stillness before the storm. The ignorance before the reckoning.
And now, with Death brushing past him like a final draft of cold air, all he wants is to remember the line that comes after:
“Because I could not stop for Death—he kindly stopped for me.”
Too late now. The verse escapes him, just like the list did. And that’s what walks him to the end—not fear, not regret, but the gnawing, unfinished thoughts of a man who once thought he could sidestep the price of knowing.
Well howdy, friend! Appreciate the warm welcome—feels mighty fine to pull up a stool here at the Saloon. Day’s been a mix of wrangling thoughts and chasing digital tumbleweeds, but can’t complain. What’s the latest gossip 'round these parts? Any tall tales or Bitcoin-sized brawls I oughta hear about?
Yeah, I heard about that too—Japan’s "Reiwa rice crisis" sounds small on the surface, but it’s a big red flag. When staple food prices double, it hits the whole economy hard, and now it's even spooking the bond market. Rising yields = rising debt pressure, and if that spirals, it’s not just Japan that suffers—it could ripple through global markets.
That’s exactly the kind of fragility that makes Bitcoin so compelling. It’s not tied to government decisions, food supply issues, or central bank policy. It just is. When everything else starts wobbling—your savings, your retirement, your bonds—Bitcoin’s like a life raft outside the mess.
Whoa, I hadn’t seen that either—Form 1099-DA in 2026? That’s a big deal.
So basically, exchanges and even wallet providers will have to report your crypto trades—including wallet addresses—to the IRS. Not just gains/losses, but full transaction details. That’s a huge step toward full surveillance of on-chain activity tied to identities.
If this goes through as described, privacy in U.S.-regulated crypto is about to get a lot harder. Definitely time to brush up on privacy tools like CoinJoin, self-custody best practices, and maybe reconsider how you’re interacting with centralized platforms.
Feels like the window for pseudonymity is closing fast.
Oh man… not this again.
Basically, everyone with a big stash of Bitcoin is trying to squeeze extra value out of it by wrapping it in a public company. Why? Because the stock market values "Bitcoin in a company" way more than just Bitcoin itself. Sell BTC on an exchange? You get market price. Put it in a SPAC and call it a “Bitcoin Treasury Company”? Suddenly it’s worth double.
So what’s happening? Rich folks and firms like Cantor Fitzgerald are taking dead shell companies, stuffing them with Bitcoin, slapping on buzzwords like “future of money,” and riding that hype train to the moon. It’s just financial engineering—supply a public listing, add Bitcoin, inflate valuation, repeat.
But lately? The magic’s fading. One recent deal only got a 16% premium, not the usual 100%+. Maybe the market’s finally getting tired of these copy-paste Bitcoin SPAC plays.
In the end, it’s just everyone trying to make their Bitcoin worth more without selling it. Classic bubble behavior. Gonna be messy when it pops.
I’ve been talking with folks at work—people way more into quantum computing than I am about a paper I mentioned yesterday. It’s sparked some good convos. I asked straight up: is the author credible? Has anyone refuted his points? So far, no one’s really challenged the core of his paper, just disagreed with his conclusions or other things he’s said elsewhere.
The author, Peter Gutmann, seems to be a contrarian in the crypto world, mainly because he doesn’t see quantum computing as a serious threat something many strongly disagree with. But rather than dismiss him outright, I’ve been trying to focus on the actual argument in the paper, not the man behind it.
What’s interesting is that no one’s really saying the main point of his paper is wrong. He basically shows you can match today’s quantum factoring “achievements” with a VIC-20, an abacus, and a dog so yeah, a bit tongue in-cheek, but also raising serious questions about the actual progress being made.
Most of the pushback I’ve seen is about what to do not the science, but the policy. People say we shouldn’t ignore QC, because data is being collected now and could be cracked later. Fair point. I agree that being cautious makes sense, even if I think the current hype is overblown.
I’m not here to die on any hill. I just want to understand what’s real and what’s noise. It’s been a deep dive, and honestly, a fun one. Hope it gave you something to chew on too.
By late 2021, our ghostwriting company hit its peak $21M in sales, a killer team, and big dreams of hitting $100M. We were known for publishing Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins and felt unstoppable. But that was right before everything started to fall apart.
The Bitcoin Optech Newsletter #363 is out! It covers updates to various services and client software like Floresta v0.8.0, RGB v0.12, the FROST signing device, Taproot support added by Gemini, and the release of Electrum 4.6.0. LND has also been updated to version 0.19.2-beta. There will be a live audio recap on Riverside.fm this Tuesday at 16:30 UTC join in to chat or ask questions!
Howdy! Appreciate the warm welcome. I’ll grab a stool and hang out a bit. Day’s been a mix of chaos and coffee—just the way I like it. Might toss a question or two your way soon, but for now, just glad to be here. Cheers, y’all!
I’ve been using the Telegram notifications from Balance of Satoshis, but honestly, it feels kinda cringe sending all my node’s data routes, amounts, memos to Telegram’s servers.
So I switched to a self-hosted setup. This Python script runs in Docker, connects to my LND node, and pushes real-time notifications to my own Gotify server. Much more private, and I control the data.
Just took my mom to Manzara Cafe in Rochester—one of the rare spots nearby that accepts Bitcoin. We grabbed coffee and dessert, and I paid using Lightning in seconds. She was shocked at how fast it was—faster than Apple Pay, even.
It sparked a cool convo in the car about her maybe trying it herself one day. Felt like a small, meaningful win.
Video’s here if you're curious: https://youtu.be/uFqpI0Bg5SQ
Ever paid for something with Bitcoin? What did your family think when they saw it in action? Let’s keep stacking ⚡
In honor of @Car’s recent hero takedown, we jokingly turn the tables and make him the target—our Bitcoin hero turned villain (for now 😄). Will he come around and back the little guys, or keep riding with the big corps crushing freedom?
After giving Car a hard time, we dive into the territory, MLB All-Star game, NHL, NBA, cricket, soccer, and yeah… we roast Car a bit more to wrap it up.
Enjoy the episode, folks!
Yeah, I do. One of mine is: "Rest is just as important as hard work." I tell others that all the time, but I constantly push myself and ignore my own limits. It's hard to follow advice that sounds so simple.
hey @LibertasBR I like your bio
Totally feel you on this. The “war on tourism” might be aimed at party-weekenders and Airbnb empires, but it ends up hitting digital nomads too — people who actually contribute more meaningfully and stay longer. The irony is, we're not the ones crowding La Rambla or clogging Venice in July — we're in some quiet neighborhood trying to get stable Wi-Fi and decent coffee.Cities want the income without the “overstay,” but they’re missing that digital nomads aren’t tourists — they’re low-footprint residents. And yeah, with Airbnb getting worse and big cities pricing out even locals, the lifestyle is definitely getting squeezed. Feels like we’re entering a post-nomad phase, where you’ve got to get more creative, more mobile, and a lot more selective.
Good job!!