Things I learned about Luke Dashjr \ stacker news ~bitcoin

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1982 sats \ 15 comments \ @marco 8h bitcoin

I just finished reading the "comprehensive compilation of controversial actions and statements by Luke Dashjr assembled by Jameson Lopp here, and I have to say ... wow!

Beyond the nothingburgerness of the entire OP_RETURN debate, I am genuinely concerned that a significant number of people are following him in this crusade and are not troubled by his authoritarian tendencies. These include statements like:

"disobeying the State is a sin"
"law is a subset of morality"
"laws are just by default"
"adultery is a crime that deserves capital punishment"
"Rosa Parks' actions were not justifiable"
... and more.

These extreme "values", while totally legit, obviously have an impact on what Luke believes Bitcoin should be used for and who should be allowed to use it. To him, even blacklisting addresses is a viable option.

Perhaps the best option for Luke and his followers is to fork Bitcoin and launch a new coin with rules and a protocol that align with their morality and traditional values.

As for me, I remain deeply committed to Bitcoin as a tool for freedom, financial inclusion, and justice. A tool that can reduce the disparities and distortions of the current financial system. But critically, it must remain a tool for everyone, criminals included.

PS: Luke also believes the sun orbits the Earth as affirmed in this podcast.

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642 sats \ 3 replies \ @elvismercury 7h

What this is missing from the vibe of this post, and many of the comments, is that Luke has been an absolute giant in the history of btc development; you say you don't want him to bring his values to btc -- bad news for you, bro, he's been bringing them since forever. You have him to thank for SegWit, more than almost anyone else.

Btc attracts nutjobs and weirdos. (Look in the mirror.) They are brilliant, insane, and also sometimes idiots -- even in the same person, all at once. (Look in the mirror.) Without them (us) there would be no btc.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @marco OP 5h

Totally agree with you. Luke made indeed significant contributions. What scares me is the huge number of followers that might give him the power to derail/delay bitcoin development, also because of his standing as a top contributor.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @88b0c423eb 5h

yes and don't forget the nazis at nostr now lol

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @DarthCoin 6h

true

171 sats \ 3 replies \ @SimpleStacker 7h

I'm withholding judgment. It's possible he said those things facetiously or they're being taken out of context. Sun orbiting the earth could be a nuanced view depending on frame of reference. Just sayin'

Not that I agree with any or most of what he says; but i also think this line of argumentation is called the genetic fallacy

51 sats \ 2 replies \ @kepford 7h

Yeah... I'm sure he holds views I disagree with. I know this list isn't one I'd sign off on but I don't like this type of thing really. Bitcoiners really hate it when we get shamed for our radical views on money, the state, and personal liberty and many other views, and yet many seem to have no issue with smearing fellow bitcoiners like they work in the corporate press office of some dumb politician hack.

I really don't care what his views are on the sun...

Honestly, I don't care what any of his views are. I am not a follower of Luke. I don't find him trustworthy personally. I could be wrong and I'm not close minded on it but I don't really need to have a hard opinion on every bitcoiner.

Its like people think, well... my views are the right ones. So I can just smear away.

42 sats \ 1 reply \ @marco OP 7h

I wouldn't care about Luke's ideas either. As I said, totally legit ideas.

Unfortunately, he is trying to bring those ideas to bitcoin. And I am not happy that someone with that kind of influence could change bitcoin for moral reasons, blacklisting use cases, etc.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @kepford 7h

I don't have a problem with moral reasons. Bitcoin was created for moral reasons. Theft through inflation for example. But it is mostly amoral as any money is. Gold doesn't censor and care about anything.

I don't disagree with you btw. My point is as soon as I heard Luke talking about spam I realized this guy isn't reasonable. He thinks things he believes are just obvious to everyone. Or at least should be. This was during the early days of Ocean.

I fundamentally disagree with him. I don't see the "spam" problem as an actual problem. It is solved by market demand. His perspective to seems very naive.

I didn't know any of this stuff then and learning it didn't affect how I think about bitcoin.

But, I totally get it. Many people just follow personalities and slogans/memes without critical thought. This whole recent "debate" has shown me that. On both sides of it

617 sats \ 1 reply \ @denlillaapan 7h

I am genuinely concerned that a significant number of people are following him in this crusade and are not troubled by his authoritarian tendencies.

100%. It's a total "short everything that guy has ever touched" scenario

12 sats \ 0 replies \ @kepford 7h

The problem as it always is is following a man. Far too many bitcoiners are followers.

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @kepford 7h

The deeper issue is that bitcoiners should be doing their own research on bitcoin. Not following influencers. I don't really need to know Luke's personal beliefs to know I disagree with many of his proposals. But, I guess it is helpful for some do dig deeper. It just starts to feel gross when this stuff becomes person.

75 sats \ 0 replies \ @047b99aa4d 6h

He's a religious fundamentalist and it colors every action he takes. The mining pool he ran that preceded Ocean was named after Saint Eligius, known for using his wealth to build churches and monasteries, and promoted Christian conversion among pagans. The name of his Core fork, Knots, is a reference to “Mary, Undoer of Knots” as in the Virgin Mary. He routinely placed biblical passages in the coinbase transaction of blocks his mining pools found thus proving he is a spammer and a hypocrite. Anyone that has convictions such as this are inherently damaged and should not be tolerated in a management role of any sort. Especially one tied to a 2 trillion dollar asset class...

12 sats \ 0 replies \ @zuspotirko 5h

PS: Luke also believes the sun orbits the Earth

Contrarian for the sake of contrarianism

I hate this kind of provocative edgelords so much. Even worse then always-yes-sayers. Diametrically opposed to my own worldview.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @standardcrypto 58m

Luke may be the single most actor in the bitcoin space, both past and future.

And I'm not talking about this inane Knots drama.

Release the files, Luke!

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @DarthCoin 7h

better make memes, not wars