#Bitcoin Core

[bitcoinversus]

Metaplanet Adds $2 Million Worth of Bitcoin, Reaches 398 BTC

Japan’s Metaplanet has made a significant addition to its Bitcoin reserves, purchasing an extra 38.464 BTC, valued at approximately $2 million. This brings the company’s total Bitcoin holdings to 398.832 BTC, worth $26 million. The move follows a broader institutional strategy where Metaplanet transitioned from hotel management to cryptocurrency investment, highlighting its increasing focus on…

[flash-btc-software]

Flash BTC software - User Manual

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The far right grows through “disaster fantasies”

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/11/25/mall-ninja-prophecy/#mano-a-mano">https://pluralistic.net/2024/11/25/mall-ninja-prophecy/#mano-a-mano

The core of the prepper fantasy: "What if the world ended in the precise way that made me the most important person?" The ultra-rich fantasize about emerging from luxury bunkers with an army of mercs and thumbdrives full of bitcoin to a world in ruins that they restructure using their "leadership skills."

The ethnographer Rich Miller spent his career embedding with preppers, eventually writing the canonical book of the fantasies that power their obsessions, Dancing at Armageddon: Survivalism and Chaos in Modern Times:

https://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/D/bo3637295.html

Miller recounts how the disasters that preppers prepare for are the disasters that will call upon their skills, like the water chemist who's devoted his life to preparing to help his community recover from a terrorist attack on its water supply; and who, when pressed, has no theory as to why any terrorist would stage such an attack:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/03/22/preppers-are-larpers/#preppers-unprepared

Prepping is what happens when you are consumed by the fantasy of a terrible omnicrisis that you can solve, personally. It's an individualistic fantasy, and that makes it inherently neoliberal. Neoliberalism's mind-zap is to convince us all that our only role in society is as an individual ("There is no such thing as society" – M. Thatcher). If we have a workplace problem, we must bargain with our bosses, and if we lose, our choices are to quit or eat shit. Under no circumstances should we solve labor disputes through a union, especially not one that wins strong legal protections for workers and then holds the government's feet to the fire.

Same with bad corporate conduct: getting ripped off? Caveat emptor! Vote with your wallet and take your business elsewhere. Elections are slow and politics are boring. But "vote with your wallet" turns retail therapy into a form of civics.

This individualistic approach to problem solving does useful work for powerful people, because it keeps the rest of us thoroughly powerless. Voting with your wallet is casting a ballot in a rigged election that's always won by the people with the thickest wallets, and statistically, that's never you. That's why the right is so obsessed with removing barriers to election spending: the wealthy can't win a one-person/one-vote election (to be in the 1% is to be outnumbered 99:1), but unlimited campaign spending lets the wealthy vote in real elections using their wallets, not just just ballots.

You can't recycle your way out of the climate emergency. Practically speaking, you can't even recycle. All those plastics you lovingly washed and sorted ended up in a landfill or floating in the ocean. Plastics recycling is a hoax perpetrated by the petrochemical industry, who knew all along that their products would never be recycled. These despoilers convinced us to view the systemic rot of corporate ecocide as an individual matter, chiding us about "littering" and exhorting us to sort our garbage:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/09/14/they-knew/#doing-it-again

We are bombarded by real problems that require urgent solutions that can only be resolved through collective action, which we are told is impossible. This is an objectively frightening state of affairs, and it makes people go nuts.

At the start of this century, in the weeks before 9/11, a message-board poster calling himself Gecko45 went Web 1.0 viral by earnestly bullshitting about his job as a mall security guard, doing battle with heavily armed gangs, human traffickers, and ravening monsters. Gecko45's posts were unhinged: he started out seeking advice for doubling up on body-armor to protect him while he deployed his smoke bombs and his partner assembled a high-powered rifle. Though Gecko45 was apparently sincere, he drew tongue-in-cheek replies from the other posters on GlockTalk, who soon dubbed him the "Mall Ninja":

https://lonelymachines.org/mall-ninjas/

The Mall Ninja professed to patrolling a suburban shopping mall while armed with 15 firearms as he carried out his duties as "Sergeant of a three-man Rapid Tactical Force at one of America’s largest indoor retail shopping areas." His qualifications? Mastery "of three martial arts including ninjitsu, which means I can wear the special boots to climb walls."

The Mall Ninja's fantasy of a single brave individual, defending the sleepy populace from violent, armed mobs is instantly recognizable as an ancestor to today's right wing fantasy of America's cities as "no-go zones" filled with "open air drug markets," patrolled by MS-13 and antifa super-soldiers. And while the Mall Ninja drew derision – even from the kinds of people who hang out on a message board called "GlockTalk" – today, his brand of fantasy wins elections.

On Jacobin, Olly Haynes interviews the political writer Richard Seymour about this phenomenon:

https://jacobin.com/2024/11/disaster-nationalism-fantasies-far-right/

Seymour's latest book is Disaster Nationalism:The Downfall of Liberal Civilization, an exploration of the strange obsessions of the right with imaginary disasters in the midst of real ones:

https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/products/3147-disaster-nationalism

You know these imaginary disasters: "FEMA death camps, 'great replacement theory,' the 'Great Reset,' fifteen-minute cities, 5G towers being beacons of mind control, and microchips installed in people through vaccines." As Seymour writes, these conspiracy fantasies are proliferated by authoritarian regimes and their supporters, especially as real disasters rage around them.

For example, during the Oregon wildfires, people who were threatened by blazing forests that hit 800'C refused to evacuate because they'd been convinced that the fires were set by antifa arsonists in a bid to "wipe out white conservative Christians." They barricaded themselves in their fire-threatened homes, brandishing guns and prepping for the antifa mob.

Seymour says that this "disaster nationalism" "processes disaster in a way that is actually quite enlivening." Confronted with the helplessness of a real disaster that can only be solved through the collective action you've been told is both impossible and a Communist plot, you retreat to an individualistic disaster fantasy that you can play an outsized role in. Every crisis – the climate emergency, poverty, a toxic environment – is replaced by "bad people" and you can go get them.

For authoritarian politicians, a world of bad people at the gates who can only be stopped by "the good guys" makes for great politics. It impels proto-fascist movements to electoral victories, all over the world: in the US, of course, but Seymour also analyzes this as the phenomenon behind the electoral victories of authoritarian ethno-nationalists in India, Israel, Brazil, and all over the world.

I find Seymour's analysis bracing and clarifying. It explains the right's tendency to obsess over the imaginary at the expense of the real. Think of conservatives' obsession with imaginary and hypothetical children, from Qanon's child trafficking conspiracies to the forced birth movement's fixation on "the unborn."

It's not just that these kids don't exist – it's that the right is either indifferent or actively hostile to real children. Qanon peaked at the same time as Trump's "kids in cages" family separation policy, which saw thousands of kids separated from their parents, many forever, as a deliberate policy.

The forced birth movement spent decades fighting to overturn Roe in the name of saving "the unborn" – even as its leaders were also overturning the Child Tax Credit, the most successful child poverty alleviation measure in American history. Actual children were left to sink into food insecurity and precarity, to be enlisted to work overnight shifts in meat-packing plants, to fall into homelessness – even as the movement celebrated the "culture of life" that would rescue hypothetical children.

Lifting kids out of poverty and building a world where parents can afford to raise as many children as they care to have is a collective endeavor. Firebombing abortion clinics or storming into a pizza parlor with an assault rifle is an individual rescue fantasy that escapes into the world.

Mall Ninja politics are winning.

[cryptonewsme]

Bitmain Makes Substantial $53.9 Million Investment in Core Scientific to Boost Mining Ventures

According to CryptoPotato, Bitmain, a market leader in producing mining computers for digital currencies, has invested $53.9 million in Core Scientific, Inc., a prominent provider of high-performance blockchain computing data centers and software solutions. The agreement between Bitmain and Core Scientific, Inc. to buy additional Bitcoin mining equipment and create a new hosting arrangement shows…

[otiskeene]

Bitmain To Invest $54 Million In Core Scientific, Inc. As Part Of New Supply Contract

Bitmain, a prominent manufacturer of digital currency mining servers, is making a substantial investment of $53.9 million in Core Scientific, a leading provider of high-performance blockchain computing data centers and software solutions. This investment marks a significant expansion of the already established partnership between the two companies.

As part of this investment, Bitmain and Core Scientific have devised a financing plan that combines equity and cash to facilitate the acquisition of advanced bitcoin mining equipment. In addition to this financial agreement, Bitmain has entered into a new hosting agreement with Core Scientific, reaffirming Bitmain's commitment to the North American digital asset mining industry.

Max Hua, the CEO of Bitmain, expressed enthusiasm about deepening their strategic relationship with Core Scientific, describing them as a professional and integrity-driven partner committed to the success of their hosting customers and the growth of the Bitcoin Network. This investment underscores Bitmain's dedication to the North American digital asset mining sector.

Read More - https://bit.ly/46gwhZ2

[ivirginus]

How to Prepare for the Next Bitcoin Bull Market

How to Prepare for the Next Bitcoin Bull Market: 10 Tips You Must Know

The next Bitcoin bull market could be just as surprising as the last one and staying prepared is critical. Here are 10 tips you absolutely must know. Bitcoin bull markets are typically categorized by tremendous price swings, and even though the direction is up, corrections also take place. During the last Bitcoin bull market that took place in 2021, the BTC price reached an all-time high just shy of $70K. It started the year trading at around $20K, exploded above $60K on a couple of different occasions, retraced by almost 50% toward the middle of the year, and shot up once again to almost touch $70K in November.

Source: CoinGecko The previous bull market was back in 2017 and the beginning of 2018. Bitcoin had reached a high of around $20,000, but its chart looked a lot differently:

Source: CoinGecko As you can see, each cycle has its own intricacies, and playing it correctly could make or break your bankroll. Riding an uptrend can be a lot more challenging than just holding on to your assets. There’s knowledge involved as to when is the right moment to sell or reposition yourself to bets preserve your gains. The last thing you want is to be left holding a bag of an altcoin that’s down 99% since its all-time high and pray that it will go there once again. With this in mind, we’ve prepared 10 tips that everyone should know, and they should help you to better navigate the next Bitcoin bull market.

10 Tips For the Next Bitcoin Bull Market

Educate Yourself Regardless of what you invest in, gaining sound knowledge of its underlying merits is step number one in any investor’s playbook. You absolutely must know what you invest in, and the same goes for Bitcoin (or any altcoin, for that matter). Familiarize yourself with Bitcoin’s fundamentals, such as its total limited supply, utility, and adoption rates. You can also analyze historical price patterns, market cycles, and factors that tend to influence Bitcoin’s price. This knowledge will definitely help you make more informed decisions. A great place to start learning more about the BTC fundamentals is our section called Bitcoin for Beginners. It contains a lot of helpful information, such as who created Bitcoin, who is eligible to create an account, how to store Bitcoin, is it safe, and much more.

Research and Analyze Once you have the fundamentals down, it’s important to stay informed about both Bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency market. Think about it this way – if you’re investing in land, you will undoubtedly analyze the factors that could impact it. These include the condition of the land, what you can grow on it, but also – who your neighbors are, the general area where it’s located, and so forth. The same goes for investing in Bitcoin. You should stay informed about what’s going on in the market. You can read books, follow reputable news sources, join online communities, and in general – do a ton of other things that will help you learn about the technology. In turn, this will help you anticipate market trends and potential catalysts, which can maximize the return on your investment in Bitcoin. Define Your Investment Goals What are your plans for the money invested in Bitcoin? When do you want to cash out? Can you afford to lose it? Determining your investment objectives is paramount because it will also impact other important decisions, such as how much risk you’re willing to tolerate and the time horizon. Despite being the largest and, supposedly, most secure cryptocurrency, it’s still considered very risky relative to investments in traditional finance. Please refer to the charts above – the BTC price went on to gain 300% and then lost 50% of it in a matter of less than six months. This tumultuous performance can be hard to stomach, so being aware of it in advance and being able to tolerate it is something you should consider. Develop an Investment Strategy Once you have the above all clear, you should be more or less ready to develop an overall investment strategy. There are multiple ways to invest in Bitcoin. One of the more popular strategies is the so-called Dollar Cost Average (DCA). We have a dedicated guide and a video explainer of DCA that you can find here. In general, though, it represents a way to buy Bitcoin in similar increments over a similar period of time. For example – you can buy $100 in BTC every month. The benefits of it are that over a long-enough time period, you get the best average price. There are also other strategies to invest in Bitcoin. For instance, the so-called value averaging suggests adjusting your investment amounts based on market performance. E.g., you can buy more Bitcoin when there’s a bigger dip. In all cases, you must set guidelines for when to buy, hold, or sell BTC based on your own risk appetite and analysis. Set a Budget Now that you know how you will invest in Bitcoin, the next step is to set your budget – how much do you want to spend? This is incredibly personal and depends entirely on your current and projected financial situation. Setting up a budget and sticking to it will help you better track your investment and also manage your risk tolerance. The most important takeaway here, however, that is specific to investing in Bitcoin for the next bull market is to understand that BTC is a risky purchase. That said, you should never invest more than what you can afford to lose without significantly impacting your overall financial stability. Secure Your Investments Crypto scams and hacks happen regularly. Not only that – what were generally considered reliable firms (such as FTX and Celsius) have failed and left investors empty-handed and in search of reparations. Here is a breakdown of the industry’s most shocking events. You’ll surely notice that some of them are related to platforms being hacked or having failed. Make sure to use reputable cryptocurrency exchanges or platforms to buy Bitcoin. Once you’ve bought, make sure to move your stash off-chain and keep it in a hardware wallet. Diversify Your Portfolio As you might have probably noticed, Bitcoin bull runs also result in a massive expansion of the broader market capitalization. For reference, it reached over $3 trillion in 2021. This means that other cryptocurrencies are also benefitting from the Bitcoin price increase. It’s worth considering having your investment diversified by including other promising cryptocurrencies or even blockchain-related assets. Keep in mind, though, that if Bitcoin is volatile and risky, other cryptocurrencies are even more volatile and risky. However, a properly diversified portfolio can spread your risk and even capture additional opportunities.

Practice Risk Management The crux of this guide is to help you practice better risk management. The cryptocurrency market is one that’s characterized by volatility, and it is very easy to get caught up in traders posting tremendous ROI screenshots. Approach these with tremendous caution. There will always be missed opportunities, no matter how much time and effort you spend or how well-educated you are. However, there will also be new opportunities. Do not FOMO, do not panic sell, and do not let your emotions get the better of you. Employ a risk-management strategy and stick to it. Determine your exit strategies, use stop-loss orders (if it’s a shorter-term leveraged investment) to limit your potential losses, and make sure you follow your rules. Stay Disciplined Staying disciplined is just as important as making the decision to invest in Bitcoin. It’s important to remain committed to your strategy and not be swayed by any type of short-term market hype or the fear of missing out (FOMO). Remember that emotional decisions probably result in impulsive actions and most commonly lead to potential losses. Stay Informed and Adapt Remain involved in the industry, at least to some extent. Keep up with the latest news, market trends, and regulatory developments in the broader cryptocurrency space. Make sure to adapt your strategy, if it’s necessary, based on new information or changes in the broader market landscape.

Conclusion

Investing in Bitcoin should be regarded as investing in multiple other asset classes, but it has its intricacies and specifics. The sheer volatility of the BTC price makes it a lot tougher to stomach overnight swings in your portfolio, but if you have your sight set on the bigger picture, these become easier to go through. One sign that you’re overinvested is that you’re constantly on your phone, checking the prices every hour. If done correctly, investing in Bitcoin can be stress-free, and all of the above tips are aimed at exactly that. Read the full article

[cerastes]

I’m glad AC6 has a memorable cast.

Handler “on my mother’s name, this is about a FRIEND not me” Walter, Cinder “names her custom made AC parts after food” Carla (who can get her bitcoin keys stolen in a mission if you take too long), Snail the single most hateable man in the world, Pater who yells “YAY PROMOTION FOR ME!” if you kill his caring superior in front of him, Iguazu the malding Yamcha, Rusty Your Buddy, Michigan who somehow manages to be incredibly military and yet likable by virtue of being a funny G.I. Joe ass dude (who knows EVERYONE under him by name), and the menagerie of usual Armored Core crooks and freaks that inhabit the Arena, and let’s not forget the utterly suspect ALL MIND who keeps saying very concerning shit and sort of acknowledges you’re in ng+ and wants your help in creating an ethically* sourced, community built Nineball. Even the playable character is an identity thief and the world’s okayest lobotomite, who gets attacked specifically for stealing an identity AND for being an okay lobotomite, separately and in different situations.

And here’s where I make a special mention to Ayre, the girl living in your head, who is… A normal ass person for the most part and just sort of hangs out with you and wants to spend time together. There’s also the voices of the legion, but otherwise, she’s just A Person, and even feels bad asking you to do things if she can’t pay you. In the middle of the big corpo war, Ayre is like “Raven, did you know? There’s lore :) I hope that was interesting”. When the voice possessing your hollow bloodless head is the most normal and well adjusted person in the setting, you know you have something good going on.

[wumblr]

The number of commercial-scale Bitcoin mining operations in the U.S. has increased sharply over the last few years; there are now at least 137. Similar medical complaints have been registered near facilities in Arkansas and North Dakota. And the Bitcoin mining industry is urgently trying to push bills through state legislatures, including in Indiana and Missouri, which would exempt Bitcoin mines from local zoning or noise ordinances. In May, Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt signed a “Bitcoin Rights” bill to protect miners and prevent any future attempts to ban the industry. Much of the American Bitcoin mining industry can now be found in Texas, home to giant power plants, lax regulation, and crypto-friendly politicians. In October 2021, Governor Greg Abbott hosted the lobbying group Texas Blockchain Council at the governor’s mansion. The group insisted that their industry would help the state’s overtaxed energy grid; that during energy crises, miners would be one of the few energy customers able to shut off upon request, provided that they were paid in exchange. After meeting with the lobbyists, Abbott tweeted that Texas would soon be the “#1 [state] for blockchain & cryptocurrency.” Technically there is federal mandate to regulate noise, which stems from the 1972 Noise Control Act—but it was essentially de-funded during the Reagan administration. This leaves noise regulation up to states, cities, and counties. New York City, for instance, has a noise code which officially caps restaurant music and air conditioning at 42 decibels (as measured within a nearby residence). Texas’s 85 decibels, in contrast, is by far the loudest state limit in the nation, says Les Blomberg, the executive director of the nonprofit Noise Pollution Clearinghouse. “It is a level that protects noise polluters, not the noise polluted,” he says. The residents of Granbury feel they’ve been lied to. In 2023, the site’s previous operators, US Bitcoin Corp, constructed a wall around the mine almost 2,000 feet long and claimed that they had “solved the concern.” But Shirley says that the complaints from the community about the sound actually increased when the wall was nearing completion last fall. Since Marathon bought the facility outright in December, its hash rate, or computational power expended, has doubled. Any statewide legislation is sure to hit significant headwinds, because the very idea of regulation runs contrary to many Texans’ political beliefs. “As constitutional conservatives, they have taken our core values and used that against us,” says Demetra Conrad, a city council member in the nearby town of Glen Rose. In the week before this article’s publication, two more Granbury residents suffered from acute health crises. The first was Tom Weeks. “This whole thing is an eye opener for me into profit over people,” Weeks says in a phone call from the ICU. The second person affected was the five-year-old Indigo Rosenkranz. Her mother, Sarah, was terrified and now feels she has no choice but to get a second mortgage to move away from the mine. “A second one would really be a lot,” she says. “God will provide, though. He always sees us through.”

shocking! texans suffer from deregulation and ineffective walls

[slutforodrickheffley]

HARRY POTTER: GOLDEN TRIO HEAD CANONS

severely unhinged and a modern AU (bare with me)

ft. @littlelando44

————

Gryffindor:

•Harry impulsively buys in app purchases

•Hermione has no personal social media, only uses it to market S.P.E.W.

•Ron has his brothers old android

•Everyone hates on Ron for making the group chats green

•Fred and George sold vapes to first years (they were burnt and unusable)

•Fred and George always use brainrot terms

•Fred and George were caught using Chat GPT to write their papers

•Neville Longbottom didn’t get a phone until sixth year

•Neville Longbottom only uses Youtube Shorts

•Ginny Weasley is goated at Game Pigeon

•Dean Thomas loves making thirst traps

•Dean Thomas found Umbridge on Tinder

•Seamus Finnegan runs the official Hogwarts party page

•Lee Thomas gives the most submissions to @hogwartsteaandcrumpets even if they are not true

•Lee Thomas runs the Hogwarts tiktok where he does student interviews with a tiny mic

•Lavender Brown is trying to become an influencer (unsuccessfully)

•Colin Creevey is an ipad kid

Slytherin:

•Draco frequently browses Dracotok. Is disgusted everytime but comes back again.

•Draco has issued many apology statements on Tiktok after he was cancelled for using the M word

•Draco refers to the Weasley’s as Temu Ginger’s

•Crabbe and Goyle attempted to kickstart a soundcloud drill rapping career.

•Blaise Zabini is a huge fan of Love Island

•Theodore Nott is addicted to baby sensory videos

Hufflepuff:

•Cedric Diggory is tiktok famous for just lip sync videos

•Cedric Diggory’s digital footprint is horrendous

•After Cedric died many people made “fly high” posts about him

•Hannah Abbott reposts everything on her FYP

•Hannah Abbott loves wattpad

•Ernie Mcmillian only gets his news from tiktok

•Ernie Mcmillian is all over conspiracytok

•Ernie Mcmillian has invested in bitcoin

•Zacharias Smith can only watch videos if they have subway surfers videos

•Zacharias Smith crashes out over Blooket

•Susan Bones is a Swiftie

•Susan Bones LOVES crumbl cookie

•Susan Bones is extremely 🎀preppy🎀

•Justin Finch-Fletchley loves Instagram reels and send everyone 1,000+ per day

•Justin cannot tell if something is AI or not

•Justin unironically loves KSI’s new song

Ravenclaw:

•Luna Lovegood uses tiktok shop

•Luna runs a slime account

•Luna never skips a hope core video

•Luna has a pinterest board for EVERYTHING

Faculty:

•Snape runs a tea account for Hogwarts (@hogwartsteaandcrumpets)

•Professor Sprout is a Snapchat dealer (@profofdatza)

•Hagrid is a frequent user of Craigslist

Other:

•Lucius Malfoy was exposed for being at Diddy parties and by providing him with SPECIAL potions (baby oil, dragon scales, and house elves tears)

•Dobby is still recovering from the Freak Offs that Lucius dragged him to.

[cyberpunkonline]

What is a Cypherpunk?

The term "cypherpunk" refers to a movement and a community of activists advocating for the widespread use of strong cryptography and privacy-enhancing technologies as a route to social and political change. Emerging in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the cypherpunk movement is a confluence of libertarian political philosophy, hacker ethos, and cryptographic science.

The Core Traits of Cypherpunks

1. Advocacy for Privacy and Anonymity: Cypherpunks champion the right to privacy, emphasizing that individuals should have control over their personal information and digital footprints. This advocacy is often in direct opposition to government surveillance and corporate data collection practices.

2. Use of Cryptography: The cornerstone of the cypherpunk movement is the use of strong cryptography to secure communications and transactions. Cypherpunks believe that through cryptographic techniques, individuals can protect their privacy in the digital world.

3. Open Source and Decentralization: A significant trait among cypherpunks is the belief in open-source software and decentralized systems. This ethos promotes transparency, security, and resistance to censorship and control by central authorities.

Who are the Cypherpunks?

The cypherpunk community consists of programmers, activists, academics, and technologists. Notable figures include Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks; Jacob Appelbaum, a former spokesperson for the Tor Project; and Hal Finney, a pioneer in digital cash systems. The manifesto "A Cypherpunk's Manifesto" by Eric Hughes (1993) [https://www.activism.net/cypherpunk/manifesto.html] eloquently encapsulates the philosophy and ideals of this movement.

The Cypherpunk Movement

Cypherpunks are not a formal organization but rather a loosely associated group sharing common interests in cryptography and privacy. The movement's origins can be traced to the “Cypherpunks” mailing list, started in 1992 by Eric Hughes, Timothy C. May, and John Gilmore. This list served as a platform for discussing privacy, cryptography, and related political issues.

Relation to Cyberpunk Principles

While cypherpunks share some overlap with the cyberpunk genre of science fiction, they are distinct in their real-world activism. Cyberpunk literature, like William Gibson's "Neuromancer" (1984) [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6088006-neuromancer], often presents a dystopian future where technology is pervasive and oppressive. In contrast, cypherpunks aim to use technology, specifically cryptography, as a tool for empowerment and resistance against such dystopian futures.

Notable Contributions and Technologies

The cypherpunk movement has been instrumental in the development of technologies that emphasize privacy and security:

Tor (The Onion Router): A free and open-source software for enabling anonymous communication [https://www.torproject.org/].

Pretty Good Privacy (PGP): A data encryption and decryption program that provides cryptographic privacy and authentication [https://www.openpgp.org/].

Bitcoin: The creation of Bitcoin by an individual or group under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto was heavily influenced by the ideas of the cypherpunk movement. It embodies principles of decentralization and financial privacy [https://bitcoin.org/en/].

Wikileaks: Founded by Julian Assange, WikiLeaks is a multinational media organization that publishes news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous sources [https://wikileaks.org/].

Conclusion

The cypherpunk movement is a critical lens through which to view the ongoing dialogue about privacy, security, and freedom in the digital age. While not an organized group, the collective impact of cypherpunks on modern cryptography, internet privacy, and digital rights is profound. As digital technology continues to permeate every facet of our lives, the principles and contributions of the cypherpunk community remain more relevant than ever. - REV1.

[bitcoinversus]

Core Scientific Announces $4B AI Data Center in Denton

Core Scientific, a prominent player in the cryptocurrency mining sector, has announced plans to transform its Denton, Texas, Bitcoin mining facility into a state-of-the-art artificial intelligence (AI) data center. The $4 billion project aims to repurpose existing infrastructure to meet the growing demand for AI computing power. This strategic move reflects a broader industry trend where…

[mariacallous]

When former US president Donald Trump announced a plan to establish a national “bitcoin stockpile” if he is reelected, the crowd at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Tennessee, erupted into a fit of celebration. The frontrunner in the upcoming election was speaking their language.

“For too long, the government has violated the cardinal rule that every bitcoiner knows by heart: Never sell your bitcoin,” said Trump during his speech on Saturday, pausing briefly to bathe in the applause. “It will be the policy of my administration to keep 100 percent of all bitcoin the US government currently holds or acquires into the future.”

The US government is reportedly sitting on upwards of 210,000 bitcoin—worth around $14 billion—seized from hackers and through various law enforcement activity. That stash, said Trump, would become “the core of the strategic national bitcoin stockpile.” Republican senator Cynthia Lummis, of Wyoming, later proposed legislation that would see the US government amass 1 million bitcoin under Trump.

Any stockpiling plan would benefit bitcoin owners, if only because it would stop the US government depressing the price of the cryptocurrency by flooding the market with its coins in a sale. Trump implied that stockpiling bitcoin, an asset considered by its proponents to be anti-inflationary by virtue of its capped supply, would also help the government to “end the inflation nightmare that this administration [led by Joe Biden] has created.” Senator Lummis later spelled out his thinking, saying, “We need to create a brighter future for generations of Americans by diversifying into bitcoin.”

But stockpiling bitcoin has little merit, economists say. “I see no [economic benefit],” says James Angel, an economist at Georgetown University specializing in financial markets. “The tangible benefit is that it will get bitcoin maxis to vote for Trump. If you believe in Trumpism, that would be the benefit.”

The idea that an investment in bitcoin will offset losses in spending power to inflation is contingent, says Angel, on two shaky assumptions: that the price of bitcoin will rise and, second, that the government would be able to at some stage sell bitcoin back into US dollars without tipping the market into a nosedive. “The government will push the price up by buying bitcoin, so it will look like it has made a lot of money, but the minute it actually starts to sell the bitcoin to take profits, it will push the price right back down again,” says Angel.

Though Trump is initially proposing a moratorium on selling bitcoin already in the possession of the US government, he loosely implied the US would increase the size of its position over time, too. If Trump were to expand the bitcoin stockpile, he would need to locate funds with which to acquire the additional coins. But the readily available options—to increase taxes, take on debt, or print US dollars—are incompatible with the ambition to drive down inflation and national debt, or pledges made by Trump to reduce taxation. Senator Lummis is reportedly set to propose that purchases be funded partly using money that will be added to the US central bank’s balance sheet after the valuation of gold stores is updated to reflect the going market rate. “The money has to come from somewhere,” says Angel.

Even if Trump were to restrict the reserve to bitcoin seized through law enforcement activity, his administration must also weigh up the opportunity cost associated with holding onto bitcoin. Whereas some assets such as bonds generate a consistent income stream for holders, bitcoin does not, making it expensive to hold.

“The question comes down to what the government would get out of the hoards of bitcoin it would be holding,” says George Selgin, director emeritus for the Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives at the Cato Institute, a US think tank that promotes libertarian principles. The US government has periodically auctioned off the bitcoin confiscated through law enforcement activity. But in choosing to sit on the bitcoin it possesses, “it is failing to realize the market value, which it could apply to any number of other uses, from writing down the federal debt, to paying for other government programs,” says Selgin.

Though Selgin is a proponent of bitcoin for its independence from state control, he opposes the US government speculating on its price on behalf of citizens. “Governments are not particularly astute investors,” says Selgin. “Having the government act on behalf of citizens as some kind of investment trust or mutual fund doesn’t make much sense.”

During his speech in Nashville, Trump namechecked a range of high-profile bitcoiners, including Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, who founded crypto trading platform Gemini, thanking them for their guidance. Afterward, Tyler took to X to celebrate Trump’s plan and congratulate the organizer of the conference for having “orange-pilled” the former president.

But while it is popular with holders of large amounts of bitcoin and industry executives, the ambition to establish a bitcoin stockpile could come at a cost to most everyone else, particularly if the government were to expand its existing holdings, says Michael Green, chief strategist at asset management firm Simplify.

“The only possible way for the US government to buy bitcoin is from existing holders,” says Green. “But if the government uses tax revenues [or issues bonds] in order to buy bitcoin, it creates a situation in which the taxpayer is subsidizing an extraordinarily small subset. Ultimately, you’re talking about creating exit liquidity for a small subset of the population.” It would be like the US government promising to pay over the odds for real estate in California, says Green, but no other state. “This is not materially different,” he says.

The larger the government’s pot of bitcoin, meanwhile, the more beholden it would become to those who maintain the underlying network—the bitcoin mining companies—whose job is to process transactions and shield the network from attack. Effectively, the bitcoin mining industry would become “another special interest group,” says Green, “that the US government would have to step in and bail out” in the event that the sector—renowned for its sensitivity to various factors beyond its control—were to wobble.

Neither Trump nor Lummis responded to a request for comment on the criticisms made against the bitcoin stockpile plan.

Whether Trump intends to carry out the plan to establish a bitcoin stockpile is a separate question. “Trump is a master demagogue, appealing to the emotions of the crowd. It’s pure electioneering,” says Angel. “I think the plan will probably go the way of Trump Airline, Trump Casino, and Trump University.” That is to say, nowhere.

The members of the bitcoin industry were not blind to the fact that Trump was making a pitch for their vote. It is “historic” for Trump to consider bitcoin important enough to warrant campaigning around, says Jameson Lopp, an early bitcoiner and founder of crypto custody business Casa, who attended the conference. But “the way he spoke to us was pretty clearly pandering,” he says. “It felt like he was kind of speaking down.” Though Trump has previously dismissed bitcoin as a “scam,” he has now “realized that it can be beneficial to him,” says Lopp. “He can gain a new, potentially substantial bloc of single-issue voters.”

Trump was not the only person courting bitcoin fans with promises to take a semipermanent stake in the market. At the same conference, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running against Trump in the election as an independent, presented a more gung-ho plan: The country would acquire 4 million coins—practically 20 percent of the total supply—if he were president.

In that context, the pledges in Nashville were of greater significance as a signal, says Selgin, than for their actual contents. After a period under the Biden administration in which crypto businesses have been targeted, they claim unfairly, by regulatory bodies in the US, the pitches by Trump and others were an attempt to send the general message, says Selgin, “that bitcoin is no longer the enemy.”

[exnori]

About Exnori

Hello, I am Exnori.com, a premier cryptocurrency exchange dedicated to revolutionizing the way you trade digital assets. I am here to offer a secure, efficient, and user-friendly platform that caters to both beginners and seasoned traders alike. Let me take you through the various aspects of my services and why I am the go-to choice for cryptocurrency trading.

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Robust Security Protocols

Security is my utmost priority. I employ state-of-the-art encryption techniques, robust multi-factor authentication, and continuous monitoring to protect your assets and personal information. My security infrastructure is designed to be resilient against cyber threats, ensuring that your investments are safe with me.

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I am designed with the user in mind. My platform boasts a clean, intuitive interface that simplifies the trading process. Whether you are accessing me via desktop or mobile, you will find a consistent and user-friendly experience that makes trading easy and accessible, no matter where you are.

Extensive Cryptocurrency Selection

I offer a vast selection of cryptocurrencies for trading. From established giants like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple to promising new altcoins, my diverse range of assets ensures that you can find the right opportunities to diversify your portfolio and maximize your trading potential.

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I believe in providing value to my users. My fee structure is transparent and competitive, allowing you to understand exactly what you are paying for each transaction. By keeping fees low, I help you maximize your returns and make the most out of your trading activities.

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Knowledge is power, especially in the dynamic world of cryptocurrency. I offer a wealth of educational resources, including in-depth articles, video tutorials, and live webinars. These resources are tailored to help you understand market trends, develop effective trading strategies, and make informed decisions.

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Choosing Exnori.com means partnering with a platform that is dedicated to your success. With my robust security measures, user-centric design, extensive asset selection, competitive fees, and unwavering support, I am here to help you achieve your trading goals. Join me at Exnori.com and experience the future of cryptocurrency trading.

By joining Exnori.com, you are becoming part of a dynamic and forward-thinking community. Let's trade smarter, safer, and more effectively together. Welcome to Exnori.com, where your trading journey begins!

[fantasyfantasygames]

This Town Is Creepy

This Town Is Creepy, esmerelda99, 2022

Somewhere in New England, a small town hides its terrible secrets. The rivers surrounding the town, crossed by rickety bridges, exude fog every morning and evening. The forest is both thick and bare of leaves. No phone lines run there, and cell reception is one bar at best. The locals won't talk to you except to warn you away from the once place you're all here to visit. Odds of you getting out alive? Come on, what do you think?

This Town Is Creepy is designed for one-shots and short-run games, five sessions at most. Character creation is a set of pick-lists: age, education level, hobby, phobia, mode of transportation, etc. Some of these (like phobia and transport) are just color, though they obviously impact how things are going to play out. Others affect your rolls. Additional lists help the GM build the town, explain how you all know each other (or don't), and

The system is designed to generate a fairly high number of extreme results, though not to the extent that Caltrop Core is. You normally roll two dice and throw out the highest one. Up to three items from your pick-lists can add dice, and up to two can throw out high results. You use the highest remaining die. A final roll of 1 or 2 is a critical failure, 3s and 4s are regular failures, 5s are successes, and 6s are critical successes. Regular results can add dice on future rolls or create penalties; critical results finish conflicts immediately. It's a very simple system.

One of the designer's hobbies is woodblock printing, and she put it to excellent use in the game's art. Those bare trees and rickety bridges are perfectly represented in black ink and red watercolor wash. There's a great piece showing the town cemetery, complete with crypts. You're never really sure whether a person in the art is stylized or actually a monster.

The combination of lots of crits and a creepy surrounding give you two basic types of game. One option, the one that the game is supposedly written for, is that you don't roll very often and everything is uncertain. The other option, which I am certain my group would end up with, is Scooby Do. Esmerelda99 was well-aware of this. I know that only because, in a brief interview she gave about the game, she said: "Every time I run it at a con it turns into that really old cartoon with the dog."

In the end I'm not sure whether This Town Is Creepy is a very smart person putting together a game that secretly runs exactly how she intended, or a very smart person accidentally making a game that runs the exact opposite way from how she wanted. The great part is that you can run it either way, and if your group is down for it you're still going to have a good time.

Esmerelda99's account on itch got hacked, and now the damn thing is spewing bitcoin nonsense non-stop. Don't download anything from there. It's more frightening than anything in any game I've ever run.

[elbiotipo]

Current worlds I'm building on my head:

Biopunk South America: where a biotechnology revolution and a worldwide ecocide changed the world forever, set in Buenos Aires in 2143. Six students set to make a grant project that would bring back the spirit of old biopunk. Inspired by Argentine rock and fútbol, hacker culture, and biopunk of course.

Campoestela: A 'classic' space opera setting, humanity has spread across the stars meeting hundreds of other civilizations, the focus here is on the cultural diversity of countless worlds. An Argentine space trucker finds a cringefail gamer girl from an extinct civilization and they try to cope with this. The theme is travelling but not for adventure but to work, like truckers or bush pilots.

The Alchemists: Set in the historical Republic of Florence in 1491, except the supernatural is very, very real. An alchemist and a witch deal with adolescence and their jobs while uncovering the secrets of Hermes Trismegistus (and eventually travel all the way to Egypt, China and beyond). A magical setting but based, as much as I can, in real historical conceptions of 'magic'.

Space Battleship Aurora: During the twilight years of the Space Roman Empire, the crew of a battleship rebel and they join a communist (not metaphorical, literal) revolution, as things fall apart. Basically a retelling of the Russian Civil War but in fantasy space.

METAL LML: This is just a rule of cool setting where everything that happens in Heavy Metal covers (the magazine and the genre) is real. A bunch of badass characters fly on their spaceship fighting hordes of evil demons with the power of METAL. With a found family, if you actually care about plot or stuff like that.

Argentina post-magiapocalíptica: Somewhere in 2012, the world changed and civilization collapsed with the "return" of magic. Argentina is a vast land full of wonders, all based in popular legends from the pre-columbian to current memes. Argentina-core basically. It has a lobizón and bruja characters too.

América Invicta: In this setting, the Inca and Mesoamerica remain unconquered, but they still have to deal with the contact of Europeans. This is a setting where every myth and legend about the Americas is real and then some. It's an excuse to present more Latin American mythology and legend.

The Greatest Scam: A hard (as it can be) sci-fi setting where the Solar System is turned into a dyson sphere to mine bitcoin, and the Socialist Interstellar roams the galaxy, safeguarding what remains of Earth from the ultimate apotheosis of capitalism

Concordia: (or Star Trek: Rebuild) An optimistic atompunk (but realistic) setting where the US and USSR decided to cooperate and do a joint atomic and space program, and things escalate from there. Humanity reaps the benefits of the peaceful Atomic Age, as ATOMIC ROCKETS explore the stars.

If you see me talking about worldbuilding, or reblogging very specific things, it's about some of these. EL BIOTIPO CINEMATIC UNIVERSE.

[ivirginus]

Ways Pi Network’s Open Mainnet Will Benefits Everyday People

Top 5 Ways Pi Network’s Open Mainnet Will Benefits Everyday People

The advent of blockchain technology has revolutionized the world of finance and decentralized systems. One project that has gained significant attention in recent years is the Pi Network. With its unique approach to cryptocurrency mining and a commitment to inclusion, the Pi Network aims to empower everyday people and create a more accessible digital economy. As the project prepares to launch its open mainnet, the potential benefits for individuals around the globe are becoming increasingly clear. 1. Democratizing Mining Traditionally, cryptocurrency mining has been dominated by large-scale operations that require substantial investments in hardware and energy consumption. The Pi Network, however, has designed its mining process to be accessible to anyone with a smartphone. By leveraging the power of mobile devices, the network enables individuals to contribute to the blockchain’s security and earn Pi tokens without the need for expensive equipment or excessive energy usage. 2. Redefining Digital Identity The Pi Network introduces the concept of a digital identity tied to real-world individuals, allowing users to build trust and credibility within the network. This identity system, coupled with the network’s consensus algorithm, creates a secure environment where participants can transact and interact with confidence. Through the open mainnet, everyday people will be able to leverage their digital identity to engage in a variety of activities such as e-commerce, peer-to-peer transactions, and decentralized applications. 3. Financial Inclusion One of the fundamental goals of the Pi Network is to promote financial inclusion, especially for the unbanked and underbanked populations. By providing an accessible platform for individuals to earn and transact with Pi tokens, the network offers a pathway to financial empowerment. Everyday people who previously faced barriers to traditional financial services can now participate in the digital economy, access global markets, and secure their financial future. 4. Building Trust and Community The Pi Network’s emphasis on building trust and fostering a sense of community sets it apart from many other blockchain projects. The network’s social mining model encourages individuals to invite friends and family to join, promoting organic growth and expanding the network’s reach. Through the open mainnet, everyday people will have the opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals from diverse backgrounds, share knowledge and experiences, and collectively contribute to the growth and development of the Pi ecosystem. 5. Early Adoption Benefits Being an early adopter of a blockchain network can bring significant advantages. As the Pi Network transitions to its open mainnet, early participants will have the opportunity to earn and accumulate Pi tokens, which may appreciate in value over time. This potential appreciation provides an incentive for everyday people to engage with the network and actively participate in its growth. Furthermore, by gaining familiarity with blockchain technology and decentralized systems, individuals can position themselves to take advantage of future opportunities within the broader cryptocurrency landscape. The Pi Network’s open mainnet launch holds immense promise for everyday people seeking to benefit from the opportunities presented by blockchain technology. By democratizing mining, redefining digital identity, promoting financial inclusion, fostering trust and community, and offering early adoption benefits, the Pi Network creates a platform that empowers individuals to participate in the digital economy on their own terms. As the project continues to evolve, it has the potential to reshape the way we engage with technology and redefine the relationship between individuals and financial systems. New on Pi Network, register here, start mining Pi and do KYC to secure your account. Read the full article