New Autonomous Airwaves episode is live: The Great Crypto Capture: How regulation and institutions tame DeFi.

DeFi was built to route around gatekeepers. So what happens when the gatekeepers show up with rulebooks, licences, and a PR team?

In this episode I dig into the “crypto capture” problem: where consumer protection ends, where permissioning begins, and what it means for builders and everyday users who just want open finance.

Listen here: https://www.beitmenotyou.online/podcast/episode/352994ca/the-great-crypto-capture-how-regulation-and-institutions-tame-defi

What’s your take, can we get sensible rules without losing the whole point of DeFi?

#DeFi #Crypto #Bitcoin #Web3 #Regulation #SelfCustody #DigitalSovereignty

Have you ever wondered how we arrived at a point where nearly every online move can be tracked? Modern surveillance didn’t start with smartphones. In 1844, the British Post Office was caught opening private letters. Then came wars, the Cold War, the 2013 leaks, and now apps and platforms turning your life into a data stream (surveillance capitalism).

The pitch rarely changes: “safety”, “security”, “anti fraud”, “trust”, “it’s for the kids”. Friendly labels, permanent infrastructure.

I wrote a short journey from past to present, plus practical ways you can push back (better defaults, real encryption, and building your own corner of the internet with self hosting and decentralised tools).
https://www.beitmenotyou.online/post/modern-surveillanceand-privacy-erosion-a-journey-from-pastto-present

#Privacy #Surveillance #MassSurveillance #Encryption #SelfHosting #Decentralisation #DigitalRights #ChatControl #CivilLiberties #SelfSovereignty #OnlineSafety

New blog post is live: Children of the ’90s: Millennials and Digital Control Today.

We grew up with an analogue childhood and an early internet that felt open and a bit wild, then watched it harden into tracking, algorithms, and walled platforms. Now stack in stagnant wages, the housing squeeze, mental health strain, plus CBDCs, digital IDs, and the “own nothing” subscription economy.

Are Millennials the first truly troubled generation, or just the first to see the control systems forming in real time?

Read it here: https://beitmenotyou.online/post/children-of-the-90s-millennials-and-digital-control-today

#Millennials #DigitalControl #DataPrivacy #Surveillance #HousingCrisis #WageStagnation #MentalHealth #CBDC #DigitalID #Bitcoin #SelfSovereignty #BeItMeNotYou

New video is live: demystifying Bitcoin.

If you’ve heard the hype but still feel like, “ok… but what is it actually?”, this one’s for you.

I break down the basics in plain English, what Bitcoin is, how it works without a bank, and why people care.

Watch here: https://youtu.be/BGbvZ2EZo6A?si=NsBJ3NjcVm1tAe2q

What part of Bitcoin still feels confusing to you?

#Bitcoin #Crypto #Privacy #SelfSovereignty #Decentralisation #DigitalFreedom

New Autonomous Airwaves episode is live: Zero-Knowledge Proofs, Privacy Without Trust.

Zero-knowledge proofs let you prove a claim without revealing the underlying data. That idea is about to reshape how we do privacy, identity, audits, voting, and even AI.

In this episode I cover: • How ZK proofs actually work (minus the maths headache)
• zk-SNARKs vs zk-STARKs, what changes and why it matters
• Scalability and privacy in blockchains
• Hardware acceleration and specialised ZK chips
• Tooling like Leo and Noir, plus the security footguns you need to respect

Listen here: https://pod.link/1803236881

#AutonomousAirwaves #ZeroKnowledge #ZK #ZKProofs #zkSNARKs #zkSTARKs #Privacy #Web3 #Blockchain #DigitalIdentity #SelfSovereignty #BeItMeNotYou

Been a bit quiet lately, sorry about that. I’ve been moving a few things around behind the scenes.

I’m not using ActivityPub for now, my hosting just is not strong enough yet, and the places I joined were not the right fit for the kind of content I share.

I’ve got a new home base now: https://beitmenotyou.online

That’s where the blog posts live, plus groups, and more features on the way.

I’m away on holiday in March, and when I’m back there’ll be some new kinds of content coming to the podcasts and videos too, keep an eye out.

I’ll be back to regular posting towards the end of March. If you want to support the growth, join the site and groups and tell me what you want to see added next. What would make it genuinely useful for you?

#BeItMeNotYou #Blog #Podcast #Video #DigitalSovereignty #Privacy #SelfCustody #Decentralisation #Web3 #Linux #SelfHosting

Classic music raised me. The Eagles, Ray Charles, and Aretha Franklin. Then Ren arrives, and you realise there are still artists willing to stare straight at the mess and put it in a song.

Vincent's Tale is Ren at his best: narrative songwriting about trauma, consequences, and a society that pushes people until something breaks. The newest chapter, "Starry Night" (premiered 29 January 2026), carries that Van Gogh energy: darkness, beauty, and art as a form of survival.

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTn_bhTVr2U

If these themes hit you too, I write about the same pressures (privacy, control, modern life, the UK mood) over on my blog: https://beitmenotyou.online

What Ren track pulled you in first?

#Ren #VincentsTale #StarryNight #UK #Storytelling #UndergroundMusic #IndieMusic #Art #Culture #MentalHealth

Why is Starmer in China, and what’s really being negotiated behind the polite photo ops? This video goes digging past the surface story.

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dczRlXSEB-E

#UKPolitics #China #Geopolitics #ForeignPolicy #Trade #DigitalRights #Sovereignty

Sovereignty Signal is back ✊

This edition digs into: decentralised storage (CT3’s launch), privacy as a human right in Web3, the EU Digital Services Act and online speech, and why decentralised platforms matter when gatekeepers decide what you can say.

Plus a stack of video picks on Web3 privacy, decentralised identity, privacy networks, and community owned spaces.

Read it here: https://beitmenotyou.online/sovereignty-signal-privacy-freedom-and-the-decentralised-future/

What’s the one part of your digital life you’re taking back control of this year?

#SovereigntySignal #Privacy #DigitalFreedom #Decentralisation #Web3 #SelfHosting #Linux #FreeSpeech #OpenWeb

'Thousands in, a few out' is the claim Patrick Christys is making in this GB News segment, calling it a "catastrophic day" for UK border policy and tearing into the "one in, one out" approach.
Watch it, then tell me: policy theatre, or a workable start?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR8InUy9egA

#UKPolitics #Migration #BorderPolicy #ChannelCrossings #CivilLiberties

Central bankers aren't "terrified" of Bitcoin because it's a chart that fluctuates. They're rattled because it's money that doesn't need their permission.

No printer. No freeze button. No quiet dilution. No "sorry, your transfer is under review" queue.

When a system is built on control and narrative, the scariest thing in the Room is a Protocol that keeps producing blocks, whether or not they approve.

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjfyM_Nf1Fo

#Bitcoin #CentralBanks #SelfCustody #SoundMoney #FinancialSovereignty #Privacy #CensorshipResistance #Decentralisation #FreedomTech #ProofOfWork

WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption is under fire again. A new lawsuit alleges that Meta staff can access users' messages.

WhatsApp denies it, and experts are already poking holes in the allegations.

Either way, this is your reminder: encryption is not the whole story (metadata, backups, device security).

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfjyUtR5Xdk

#privacy #encryption #WhatsApp #Signal #opsec #selfsovereignty