@Aaron van Wirdum
Author of The Genesis Book.
Former Editor-in-Chief at Bitcoin Magazine.
No relay list published yet.
Recent Notes
I visited “Bitcoin Jungle” (Uvita, CR) a few days this week.
Normally when I go to circular economy projects (Arnhem, Rovereto, El Zonte…) I link up with the organizer(s) and seek out the locations where I can pay with bitcoin, but this time I decided to run the experiment a bit differently: I just went to wherever I felt like going and then asked if they accepted BTC.
Out of about a dozen places I visited…
1 accepted bitcoin. (S/O to The Fistcuff Pub!)
1 had a Bitcoin Jungle sticker but didn’t actually take bitcoin payments. (Whale Tail Brewery)
1 did not accept bitcoin but seemed genuinely interested and would look into it. (Coffee Bear)
Out of the other ~10, about half just said no, and the other half clearly didn’t even know what bitcoin was.
So is this a bad result? Frankly, it’s roughly what I would have expected. I’ve long believed that spurring bitcoin adoption by convincing merchants is an uphill battle. You might get a few boutique shops and bars to participate, and then they find it’s kind of a pain to teach all their personnel how to use wallets just for maybe a handful of bitcoiners that show up once in a while.
I do like these projects, and if you _do_ seek out the bitcoin accepting spots you can probably go a long way without touching fiat for a few days— yet we also shouldn’t overstate the success or impact of such local initiatives.
I suspect it might just be a bit too early for this still… but if we do want to create hotspots with truly widespread adoption, what would that require?
I’d say:
- Instant fiat conversion is probably a must.
- Printable QR codes (BOLT12/Silent Payments) to make it easier for merchants to keep accepting BTC even if sparsely used.
- Ideally there’d be a source of “fresh” BTC that’s brought into the economy, whether that’s from local miners, or expats that get paid in bitcoin, or Bitcoin tourists, or…
- Ability to pay tax in BTC would be great but probably a long-shot in most places.
- What else?..
Normally when I go to circular economy projects (Arnhem, Rovereto, El Zonte…) I link up with the organizer(s) and seek out the locations where I can pay with bitcoin, but this time I decided to run the experiment a bit differently: I just went to wherever I felt like going and then asked if they accepted BTC.
Out of about a dozen places I visited…
1 accepted bitcoin. (S/O to The Fistcuff Pub!)
1 had a Bitcoin Jungle sticker but didn’t actually take bitcoin payments. (Whale Tail Brewery)
1 did not accept bitcoin but seemed genuinely interested and would look into it. (Coffee Bear)
Out of the other ~10, about half just said no, and the other half clearly didn’t even know what bitcoin was.
So is this a bad result? Frankly, it’s roughly what I would have expected. I’ve long believed that spurring bitcoin adoption by convincing merchants is an uphill battle. You might get a few boutique shops and bars to participate, and then they find it’s kind of a pain to teach all their personnel how to use wallets just for maybe a handful of bitcoiners that show up once in a while.
I do like these projects, and if you _do_ seek out the bitcoin accepting spots you can probably go a long way without touching fiat for a few days— yet we also shouldn’t overstate the success or impact of such local initiatives.
I suspect it might just be a bit too early for this still… but if we do want to create hotspots with truly widespread adoption, what would that require?
I’d say:
- Instant fiat conversion is probably a must.
- Printable QR codes (BOLT12/Silent Payments) to make it easier for merchants to keep accepting BTC even if sparsely used.
- Ideally there’d be a source of “fresh” BTC that’s brought into the economy, whether that’s from local miners, or expats that get paid in bitcoin, or Bitcoin tourists, or…
- Ability to pay tax in BTC would be great but probably a long-shot in most places.
- What else?..
Relevant bit at 20:42.
Andreas Antonopoulos on “spam” transactions (in 2016): https://youtu.be/bFOFqNKKns0?si=Ie_VtqTPpk_ZM6l5&t=1242
There is nothing to disagree on, it’s a fact. You’ve been misinformed.
Free agent.
A new Bitcoin, Explained episode appeared!
On Bitcoin Core 30, the non-drama edition.
With @npub1s6z7h....
https://podcastindex.org/podcast/3307835?episode=44789004081
On Bitcoin Core 30, the non-drama edition.
With @npub1s6z7h....
https://podcastindex.org/podcast/3307835?episode=44789004081
I think your first answer is kind of changing the topic, since we were discussing node centralization.
Is your concern node centralization, or is it fee pressure, or both?
Is your concern node centralization, or is it fee pressure, or both?
So my main takeaway from this discussion is that @npub1lh273... @npub1lh273... sees a legal and/or moral difference between data in OP_RETURNs and data in (say) Inscriptions.
*Even if* it’s the exact same data!
(The argument, to the best of my understanding, is that data in OP_RETURNs is “sanctioned” *as data* by Bitcoin Core now that the policy limit is lifted— whereas data in Inscriptions can only be “misinterpreted” as data.)
It does make me wonder how many people in the Knots camp actually understand that this is the level of nuance they are ultimately fighting over. (It seemed that even @npub1wnlu2... kind of learned this live as they were recording…)
@note19udfg...
*Even if* it’s the exact same data!
(The argument, to the best of my understanding, is that data in OP_RETURNs is “sanctioned” *as data* by Bitcoin Core now that the policy limit is lifted— whereas data in Inscriptions can only be “misinterpreted” as data.)
It does make me wonder how many people in the Knots camp actually understand that this is the level of nuance they are ultimately fighting over. (It seemed that even @npub1wnlu2... kind of learned this live as they were recording…)
@note19udfg...
“Sir, we found CSAM in the blockchain.”
“CHILD PORNOGRAPHY IN OP_RETURNS!? Track down every node IP, locate their physical address, and send in the SWAT teams immediately!!”
“It’s actually in Inscriptions.”
“Oh, never mind then.”
“CHILD PORNOGRAPHY IN OP_RETURNS!? Track down every node IP, locate their physical address, and send in the SWAT teams immediately!!”
“It’s actually in Inscriptions.”
“Oh, never mind then.”