Oh-la-laaaaa

This will come as a total shock to all the Bitcoiners out there… but keeping detailed data on every customer at every financial institution is a massive honeypot, ripe for abuse. A disaster waiting to happen.
Actually, this week’s news is even worse than that. Revolut, the European fintech/neobank used by tens of millions of people, responded to what turned out to be a fake government request for data. How Revolut was supposed to know is a little unclear since the data request came from a real, official Italian law enforcement agency, the kinds of requests with which financial institutions are required to comply!)

Also have two other incredible stories there: Eric Yakes interview (#1572208) and the article on Anna Seim (deputy gov of the Riksbank) giving an impressive econ speech #1568327.

ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?

Good, go buy a BTCHEL tix and pay my/our bills.

"Know-Your-Customer laws are economically illiterate: the whole point of money is to not have to know your customer. We’re increasingly also learning that KYC laws are dangerous."

Also, it's BTCHEL week next week... maybe there are last-minute flights to Helsinki??

BTCHEL Week runs 23-27 Sept — that’s next week, fam — and you gotta bring your swimwear unless you want to sauna naked. The Germans call it Freikörperkultur, which the Nordic Wikipedias translate as “Naturism”/”Naturismi”/”Naturisme.”

"You can just do whatever you want. We’re friendly (and socially awkward and non-confrontational); we don’t judge."

The Reading List:

Monetarism’s Return: Incredible long-read by Tim Congden, a monetarist and long-term monetary economist, for Project Syndicate. Worth your time.  #1565313

Crime in Sweden: The Financial Times covered Sweden’s fight against the gangs (gift link): “No shootings in May” is enough of a description of the hopelessness that’s been Sweden and organized crime in the recent decade-plus. Insane that it’s noteworthy that an entire month was free of shootings… also: “...a sharp drop-off in shootings — but bombings have been on the rise.” Great. Fantastic. Nordic paradise. #1565021

The PISA Results Are Out: Nordic school kids suck. Even the celebrated Finns suck only slightly less than everyone else. Indeed, Iceland sucks quite a bit more. And nobody knows why the kids are not alright everywhere and all at once. Probably fiat money somehow. Or screens.

The AI Update, per HRF: Alex Gladstein reports on the AI/Organizational brain employed by the team at HRF and how fast things move in the AI world. Equal parts terrifying and inspirational: “Open weights are the only thing separating us from a techno-totalitarian future. If intelligence is in the hands of a small few, tyranny is the only possible outcome. Full stop.”

Disagree but worth reading: If you want to do treasury company shite, you should get big: A bigger stack is better, writes Sander Andersen of H100, the largest treasury company in the Nordics. Sander will be in Helsinki next week, talking about bitcoin adoption and (one surmises) how to surreptitiously overtake the tradfi financial system. Get. Your. Tix.
Also: I don’t want to dance on the grave of dying treasury companies (correction: yes, I do!) but the death of Britain’s Satsuma, backed by Mark Moss, is music to my ears.

The Nordic Node #9: "The Rich Europooreans Don't Want the EU"

The Nordic Node #8: "Suitcoiner Phoenix, Pokémon, and Blockchains"

The Nordic Node #7: "The Day the Token Wars Came"

The Nordic Node #6: "A Dilution a Week Keeps the Saylorbois Weak"

The Nordic Node #5: "EU Overlords, Decaying Cultures, & Treasury Companies Dying"

The Nordic Node #4: "Satoshi Talks, Mining Controversy, and some Suitcoinery"

The Nordic Node #3: "Two Suitcoiners and a Bitcoin Bodyguard Walk into a Bar..."

The Nordic Node #2: "Lambs, Bitcoin Adoption, and Criminals"

The Nordic Node #1: "Welcome to the Nordic Node!"

Subscribe to The Nordic Node over at BTCHEL.com, the coolest(!) place on the Nordic Bitcoin scene.