mbarulli

An open letter from 70 European renowned economists asks for an acceleration in the launch of the digital Euro. While these academics correctly identifies the risks of Europe’s current dependence on foreign payment monopolies, its proposed solution (the Digital Euro) suffers from a profound ignorance of an existing, superior alternative: Bitcoin. The signatories frame the Digital Euro as the "only defense" for European sovereignty, yet they overlook a battle-tested technology that already achieves their stated goals without the inherent risks of a centralized state currency. They claim that a European CBDC is the "only" way to ensure resilience. However, Bitcoin has operated 24/7 since 2009 with 99.9% uptime, providing a globally available, robust payment infrastructure that is "immediately available" today, unlike the Digital Euro which remains a project with mired in political negotiations with undefined technological foundations. The economists all belong to SFL (Sustainable Finance Lab), an independent academic think tank stemming out of Utrecht University’s School of Economics. “The mission of the Sustainable Finance Lab is to contribute to a financial sector that serves people and planet.” And yet, in 2025, they still ignore Bitcoin. You can find the letter (PDF) here: 📄.pdf

Firefish just released a new video explaining how their Bitcoin-backed loans work. Firefish is built by bitcoiners, for bitcoiners, and it stays true to fundamental values: - open source code (check it on Github:

GitHub

GitHub - Firefish-io/firefish-protocol

Contribute to Firefish-io/firefish-protocol development by creating an account on GitHub.

) - P2P interactions (between borrowers and lenders) - self-custody at every step (no re-hypothecation) (30% of your first loan if you register with the referral code “marco” or from this link:

Firefish – Non-Custodial Bitcoin-Backed Lending Marketplace

Borrow fiat without selling Bitcoin. Lend cash and earn fixed returns, secured by Bitcoin. Firefish is the open, non-custodial market for peer-to-p...

)

Nature just published a paper about a study conducted on the Milan metro. Researchers observed the behavior of passengers when confronted with an everyday social need. - Baseline Condition: When a woman who appeared to be pregnant entered a train car under normal circumstances, 37.6% of the seated passengers offered her a seat. - Experimental Condition: When an individual dressed as Batman entered the same train car at the same time, the percentage of passengers who offered their seat to the pregnant woman significantly increased to 67.2%. Researchers attributed this stark difference to the effect of unexpected stimuli. The sudden appearance of an unusual figure (Batman) served as a strong distraction or alerting event. When confronted with something highly unexpected, people are forced to break their routine and become more alert to their immediate surroundings. This heightened state of awareness causes them to notice the needs of others, such as the pregnant woman, more readily than they would in their normal, inattentive state. (e.g. staring into mobile phones) We definitely need more fake Batmans to make the world a kinder place. (Here the link to the paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s44184-025-00171-5)

I just finished reading the "comprehensive compilation of controversial actions and statements by Luke Dashjr" assembled by @Jameson Lopp, 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" 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. Lopp's article here:

Cypherpunk Cogitations

It's Knot a Serious Project

A comprehensive compilation of controversial actions and statements by Luke Dashjr.

PS: Luke also believes the sun orbits the Earth as affirmed in this podcast. https://www.coindesk.com/podcasts/coindesk-podcast-network/bitcoin-season-2-inside-the-mind-of-luke-dashjr-bitcoin-s-most-polarizing-developer

#asknostr I read that #Bitchat comes with a "Nostr fallback" that uses recipient's Nostr public key to route messages via Nostr relay network. If the Bluetooth mesh connection is unavailable (e.g., the recipient is too far away or offline from the mesh), the app sould automatically route the message using the Nostr protocol over the internet (via Tor, if enabled). I understand this "dual-transport" architecture is part of the Bitchat design and enabled by default. Therefore, a Bitchat app intelligently switches between the two "transport" layers depending on the connection. However, I can't find a way to associate my Nostr identity to my Bitchat user. Am I missing something obvious here? Thanks!